Page 57 of Keeping His Mate
“Yes, sir. A hybrid,” the guard with the spiky black hair replies.
“Kill it. A mixed creature like that is worth nothing.”
And there goes my last remaining shred of composure. I kick against the bark of the tree as I let fly a string of obscenities that they can’t even hear because the gag in my mouth muffles all of it. That just makes me even angrier, so I scream into the cloth gag until my throat burns.
The guard missing three of his front teeth and has swollen, gray gums gives me a hard kick to the shin, and I double over in pain, wailing into the gag. “Quiet, human whore.”
The rest of them laugh at my pain. A tear falls from my eye, landing on the toe of my boot, and I focus on it as it slides from my boot onto the moss beneath. It’s the only thing keeping the throbbing pain from my shin from swallowing me whole. So, I continue tracking my tears, even when Spiky Hair kicks my other shin.
And again, when Bzzsil’s two-fingered hand curls into a fist and connects with my cheekbone. And again, when Gummy sends a punch straight into my gut, stealing the breath from my lungs. The tears splatter my boot like rain, drops of blood soon follow from the cut Bzzsil’s claws left on my cheek. They fall. They splash. Then they roll to the ground.
This could be the last trace of me left on Oluura, I realize. Just tears and blood, far from the place I call home, far from the male I’ve fallen madly in love with. Far from everything and everyone that matters and tied against a random tree.
“If this is it, may my memories embrace those I love with the warmth I can no longer provide,” I whisper into the gag. Then I close my eyes, letting images of Bruvix fill my mind. His captivating dark blue eyes, his bulky biceps, his large, rough hands––only tender when he’s touching me. And his scars. The beautiful, unforgettable features that mark him as a survivor. A warrior. A powerful fucking beast. My beast.
“Come along, pretty one,” Bzzsil croaks as two of his guards untie me from the tree. For a moment, I think I might have a chance to bust free of this rope and run, but one of them quickly uses the rope from around the tree and wraps it around my wrists while five others keep their pistols pointed towards my face.
Then I’m dragged through the woods by the rope––no assistance offered when I trip or stumble over a fallen branch, of course––back toward the main path. What will happen when we come face-to-face with the clan? Am I really about to watch my clan get murdered right before my eyes? Am I about to be sold into slavery alongside Ava, Kate, and Chloe?
No. No, no, no, no. This cannot be how it ends.
I spent months floating around space, yanked in and out of consciousness each time I was sold, and then returned. I can’t go back to that life––waking up and wondering where the hell I am, who owns me, and what I’ll have to endure.
Though, I’m fairly certain I’ll be daydreaming about my weeks in stasis if Bzzsil Chi is my new owner. He might just sell us off to the highest bidder, but he could also keep us and have us work in that wretched brothel I’ve heard mentioned by Varrek and Bruvix. I can’t decide which would be a worse fate.
“Hurry up, hideous slut,” Gummy yells as he shoves the butt-end of his pistol into the base of my spine.
I yelp in pain, but he doesn’t let me stop to take a breath before he’s shoving me forward.
“You find her unpleasant to look at, G’rugivic?” Axe Hand asks from in front of me.
“All humans are,” Gummy yells. “Too weak.”
“So you would not take her cunt?” Axe Hand asks with a sickening laugh.
“Well, of course, I would,” Gummy replies as if this should be obvious. “From behind, though, so I would not have to look at her.”
Wow. As if the gaping hole in his mouth where teeth should be is a fucking work of art. I’d rip that pistol out of his hands and shoot myself in the temple before I’d let him touch me. All of them. Creepy shitbags.
I can’t let them reach the village; I suddenly realize. If they do, it’s certain death for everyone I care about. I can act as a distraction. Bother them. Taunt them. Infuriate them. That, I can do. At least for a little while.
Planting my feet in the dirt, I lean back on my heels, coming to a full stop. Gummy shoves me forward, but I don’t fall. He does it again, and I land on my knees.
Good, good. Keep going.
I groan as if in pain, which I’m still in from the kicks and punches from earlier, but not this little tumble. But I act as if I can barely hold myself up, then collapse onto my side. Gummy calls for Axe Hand, and yells at me to get moving. I don’t though. I curl in on myself, forming a tight ball. Because I know what’s coming, and as much as I’d rather avoid getting beaten by these thugs, I’d much rather waste a few more minutes to protect the clan.
Axe Hand sends his boot into my shoulder, and several black spots fill my vision. Okay, this might’ve been a terrible idea. If I pass out from the pain, they’re just going to carry me to the village. That’ll take less time. I can’t have that. I can’t make this easy for them.
“Inbred fucking cowards!” I yell, but the gag makes it sound like gibberish. Gummy’s yellow eyes go cold, and a shiver races down my spine. He stands there, fists balled at his sides as he tilts his head, trying to figure out what I said.
So, I do it again, this time in Tagalog, as memories of learning cuss words while visiting my cousins in the Philippines flood my mind. “Putang ina mo!”Your mother is a whore!
And again. “Wala kang kwenta!”You’re fucking useless!
Clearly, yelling into the gag is the right way to go, because since they can’t understand me, their imaginations fill in the blanks, and they assume I’m saying something much more offensive than I actually am.
“Gago, subukan mo lang!” I shout.You fucking bastard, just try me!