Alphas of Pandora, page 31
The thought of it sent a shiver down her spine. Being stolen away from her home, crash landing on an unfamiliar planet, meeting the man who had turned both her mind and body inside out, all of it felt like a story she had overheard or a life that she had been tricked into believing was her own. Those memories had been walled off in her mind, blocked from her conscious awareness, so that she did not go completely crazy.
Castor had protected her, the bond whispered through her mind, cajoling her toward acceptance in the way it always had. He had saved her from being raped, killed and torn apart by mindless Alphas, not necessarily even in that order. But she wondered if they were doomed to replay the same story over and over again. She would pull away and he would drag her back, but never offer her what she truly needed.
Freedom.
When Castor abruptly stopped, his body tense, Aura assumed the worst. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face against his shoulder in fearful anticipation, assuming they were moments from being torn apart. And she had no interest in watching it happen.
He had to jostle her a few times before she would lift her head. Her gaze followed his outstretched arm, and she saw the last thing that she thought to ever lay eyes on again.
Their cabin. The same one that he had brought her to after rescuing her when they first met. And the place where he had taken her soul.
A strange mix of feelings rose in her and burned at the back of her throat. There was longing, mixed with revulsion and a healthy dose of fear as memories surfaced. She didn’t want to remember her time in this place, much less be forced to relive it. Castor had claimed her when she was at her most vulnerable, it would be even harder to resist his pull now.
The door was cracked and tilted on its hinges, but otherwise the cabin appeared to be the same as they’d left it. It was unlikely in the extreme that anyone else had been here in their absence. Dried leaves covered the roof and overgrowth from nearby vines climbed up the exterior walls, nearly covering windows that were already boarded up. The cabin did not seem out of place with the surrounding forest, as if it were being swallowed up by encroaching vegetation. Eventually, there would be nothing left.
Castor left her inside while he went about securing the door. Dust and grime covered every surface, even the floor, broken only by the tracks of her feet as she moved from one side of the room to the other. To her relief, there was no scent from other Alphas in the air. None of them had bothered to come in here and corrupt her old nest.
Despite the dust, a pleasant feeling rolled over her when she looked at the pile of furs that had been her nest for the days she had been trapped here. She resisted the urge to crawl inside, hating that her mind associated the dirty pile with any pleasant feelings.
When Castor finally entered the cabin, she tensed in anticipation. But he paid little attention to her. He seemed singularly focused on getting the cabin locked down by nightfall. He used a spare piece of wood to secure the door which effectively trapped them inside. Then he moved to the windows, reinforcing the wood planks with a hammer.
They did not speak until much later when he tossed a ration pack in her lap.
“That one is the last,” he murmured, not looking at her. “You should eat half now and save the rest for later.”
She took in his immense form, that seemed even larger from where she knelt on the floor. It was impossible not to notice just how much larger his body was than her own. “What about you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Meaning that he would go hungry if it meant another meal for her. She didn’t bother to insist that he take it, the thin frown he wore made it clear that there would be no convincing him to share the last of their food. “How much longer will we have to stay here?”
Castor answered without hesitation. “It is only another day’s walk to the boundary of Pandora, but that represents some of the deadliest terrain in the entire sector. According to the heat maps, Alpha’s congregate there in large numbers.”
“And what does that mean?”
“If Legion and Adrian have not already reached the city, then they never will. Rescue will arrive within hours or not at all.”
And if rescue did not come, it would only be a question of who would get to them first, the Alphas or Faseer and his soldiers.
Aura tossed the rations aside, her appetite fled. She saw no point in eating now. Either they would be rescued in time for it not to matter or they would be dead. “We made it this far. Shouldn’t we try to make the rest of the journey ourselves, if Legion doesn’t come?”
He shook his head. “I have no desire to watch you be torn apart. What you have seen is nothing compared to what is out there.”
And she didn’t want to think about what might be out there, even as she proposed facing it head on. That was the most paradoxical thing about being close to him, it made her feel both impossibly fragile and also impervious to harm. Despite every attempt to fight it, she had internalized the idea that he would protect her, even against impossible odds.
It was a difficult thing to reconcile with her desire to be free of him. Their weeks apart had proven that forgetting him wasn’t possible. He would always own a piece of her, no matter the distance separating them.
But when she met his bloodshot eyes, rimmed in red, an unexpected wave of tenderness washed over her. He looked like a man who had been brought to the very brink of what he could tolerate and then forced to give more. He had spent the better part of a day carrying her through the forest.
“You should rest,” she murmured. “It’s been almost two days since you last slept at this point.”
Surprisingly, Castor didn’t argue. Which had to mean that he was about to fall asleep on his feet. He made a point of walking the room one more time to check the doors and windows, as if there were no number of times that he could do it and be assured they were safe. Eventually, exhaustion won out over caution because a body can only be pushed so far.
When he settled on the floor next to her, she pretended not to be affected. She shifted to the side to keep a bare inch of space between them but did not get up. It made her feel better to have him beside her, even though she hated to acknowledge that even within herself.
“I don’t know who I am anymore,” she whispered.
No response was forthcoming. When she glanced down, his eyes were closed.
His shirt gaped open as he lay on his back, exposing the bulging expanse of his upper chest. With one hand, she touched him at the base of his neck and smoothed across his collarbone. Her fingertips pressed lightly into the flesh, testing the resiliency of his skin. Even with that light touch, her fingers burned at the heat of him, like she touched a pile of coals instead of a man. Aura touched the slim metal chain then gently pulled it free, letting the ring fall out of his shirt and swing down.
Aura twirled the ring around her fingers, inspecting it, but not pulling hard enough to dislodge the chain and possibly wake him. It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but ornate, with swirled patterns etched onto the sides. And it was made of a heavy metal, the weight of it palpable as it rested on her palm. The shape of the ring and its weight made it impossible not to think of the twisting band as a shackle, another thing that would tie her to him in the same way as the bond.
When she let the ring fall, it struck his chest harder than she intended. Castor made a small noise and shifted in his sleep. His brows furrowed and frown wrinkles gathered there for a moment before he sighed and his face smoothed while his breathing evened back out. She stared down at him, wondering if this was how he would always look if he did not feel the weight of the entire world on himself. In sleep, he appeared younger and more innocent, with none of the strain that would appear the moment he woke.
In that moment, he reminded her of the child that he must have been at one point. Innocent and desperately in need of love, as all children were.
Unsure of the impulse that drove her, Aura leaned down to press her lips against his. The kiss felt final, as if a deal had been sealed. She pulled away less than a moment later, searching his face for evidence that he had wakened. But the lines of his face remained smooth and his breathing even. He was either in a deep slumber or excellent at pretending.
Aura leaned away because the urge to touch him was overwhelming and he needed to sleep. She wanted to run her hands down his body and let the warmth of his skin envelop her, but that was all physical. What scared her most was how much she felt the need to protect him when she stared down at his face, unguarded in slumber.
For a flashing second, she could almost imagine that peace was possible between them.
Thirty-Seven
The rumbling started when the sun went down. Growls and barks that began as a distant sound slowly grew louder. They hadn’t been discovered yet, but it wouldn’t be long. The Alphas would have already picked up her scent in the forest and would eventually track them to the cabin.
Aura assured herself for the dozenth time that the windows and door would hold, just as they had before. But that didn’t stop her heart from beating a hundred times faster than it should as the growls grew louder.
She knelt next to the window so that she could peer out through the heavy boards and into the darkness. Large shapes moved through the trees, but had not come closer, at least not yet.
But it was only a matter of time.
The rogue thought came that she could pry the boards apart and go outside. Whatever was out there would make quick work of her and the end would come much sooner than if she were subjected to whatever horrors the Vigilians had planned. A death that would be over in minutes had to be preferable to being tortured for all her remaining years of life.
But giving up would mean leaving Castor behind. Did she have the strength to do that?
When a hand closed on her upper arm, it wrenched a scream of surprise from her throat. She turned to see Castor’s stern face over her shoulder. But he wasn’t looking at her and instead trained his narrow gaze outside.
“They’re coming,” he said, voice flat.
Aura smelled the Alphas before she laid eyes on any of them. The overwhelming stench of unwashed male body and pheromones assailed her nostrils as the first ones entered the clearing. Even in the dim light of the overhanging moon, they barely looked like men. Faces twisted into inhuman snarls as they moved with the savagery of animals, one even stalking forward on all fours.
“Last time they fought each other,” she said, pitching her voice to something barely above a whisper. “Why are so many of them together?”
“Bad luck,” Castor replied grimly. There were at least five of them approaching the cabin, sniffing the air as they went and growling in a shared cadence. The Alphas should be solitary, but these seemed to have formed a group. “You should come away from there.”
But Aura shook her head. “I want to see.”
As she exhaled the last word, one of the Alpha’s perked up its head from where it had been nosing on the ground and let out an eager yipping sound. The next moment, a heavy body collided against the wall with a loud bang.
She scrambled back from the window, practically falling into Castor’s arms. And for the first time since they had been reunited, she had no urge to pull away. “Will they be able to get inside?”
“Eventually, yes. This place isn’t a fortress.” His arms came up to cradle her body, and he angled himself so that he could still see out the window, but she faced away. “Particularly if they’ve figured out how to cooperate.”
Aura pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart took the harshest edge off her fear. “How long do we have?”
He shrugged, but she felt his body tense. “Not long.”
Castor shifted with her still in his arms to reach for the bag that he had carried with him since leaving Pandora. He pulled out a gun and held it up in front of her, expression grim.
“This only has one bullet left in it,” he said, placing it in her hands. “And the trigger sticks so you’ll have to pull it hard.”
She looked up at him in confusion, the weapon heavy as she gripped it with both hands. “One bullet isn’t enough for all of those Alphas.”
“It isn’t meant for them.”
Another moment passed as they stared at each other before she understood what he meant. A quick death was preferable to a slow one, if those were the only choices available. “What about you?”
He looked away. “My fate is sealed with yours.”
The sound of cracking wood came from the door as heavy bodies threw themselves against it. Splinters flew off across the room, the barrier never intended to withstand that amount of force.
Acceptance was the only thing left for them. The monsters circling the cabin were moments from finding a way inside. She stared down at the gun, trying and failing to imagine using it on herself. “You’ll have to do it.”
A sad smile touched his lips. “Do you really think that I’m remotely capable of ending your life, even if it saves you pain? I will die fighting for you.”
And it all made sense to her, now that it was much too late.
Aura set the gun down on the dusty floor, ignoring the angry growls that filled the air and shook the walls surrounding them. She turned in the circle of his arms and touched his chest with trembling fingers. Castor stared down at her, but she refused to meet his gaze as she reached into the gap of his shirt and pulled out the chain wrapped around his neck. He offered no resistance as she reached behind him to undo the clasp and let the heavy ring fall into her palm.
She held it up between two fingers so the metal glinted in the low light. “Does it matter which finger I put it on.”
Castor took the ring from her and held it in his own hand. For a moment, she wondered if he had changed his mind and no longer wanted her to wear it. But a beat later, he gently took her left hand and slid the ring onto her fourth finger. The fit was loose but not enough for the ring to fall off. Aura closed her fist around it, the metal warm from the heat of his body where it had rested against his heart.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered against his lips as wood cracked and metal screeched around them.
They kissed as the world descended into chaos around them, one last moment of peace before the inevitable end.
The drone of an engine surprised them both. Brightness illuminated the clearing, sending streaks of white light across the room that were nearly blinding in their intensity.
“Is it Legion?” Aura asked as they scrambled to their feet.
Castor pressed his face against the gap in the boards covering the window, squinting against the harsh light. The tense set of his shoulders did not relax as a low growl slipped from his lips. “I don’t think so.”
Guns shots and angry scream rang through the clearing, making the hairs rise on the back of her neck and freezing the blood in her veins. Screams of agony overlaid the firing of automatic weapons as someone waged a brief and completely one-sided war. As terrifying as the feral men out there were, they stood no chance against advanced weapons. Castor moved into a defensive position between her and the door.
Finally, everything went quiet and still. Until a recognizable voice boomed over a loudspeaker, issuing commands.
“We have the place surrounded, Castor.” Faster sounded as triumphant as he ever had, even through the electronic wheeze of the loudspeaker. “Surrender peacefully now so no harm comes to the Omega.”
Her hands gripped his arm tightly when Castor made a move to rise, her expression frantic. “Don’t go out there.”
“If I don’t then they will only burst in here.” He pressed the gun into her hands, forcing her fingers around the grip when she refused to take it. “I will hold them off for as long as I can.”
She wrapped her free hand around his neck, irrationally unwilling to let him go. “You can’t just walk out there and let them kill you. You can’t leave me.”
A stricken look crossed his face for a brief moment before he bent his head and took her lips with his own. The kiss was passionate and excruciating, full of all the things that neither of them had figured out how to put into words. His hands came up to grip her arms but then he was gently pushing her away, forcing distance between them despite his obvious reluctance.
I love you.
It was impossible to know if the words were spoken or thought and if only one of them expressed the sentiment, or both. While tears streamed down her face, he turned back towards the door with his shoulders set like a man ascending the gallows before his execution.
Aura opened her mouth to beg him to stay or to insist that they trade her life for his, when a low humming sound filled the room. Castor lifted his arm to look at the transponder wrapped around his wrist. The matte black band now had an orange glow that pulsed in concert with the hum steadily growing louder.
“Stay here,” Castor commanded as he yanked open the door. Before she could reply, he was gone.
Without a second thought, Aura rushed after him to the door and straight into a scene of utter chaos outside. The Vigilian soldiers indeed had them surrounded, their white uniforms imprinted on her memory like an awful taste in her mouth. But a second sky car had arrived and Guardian Alphas streamed out of it to immediately engage with the soldiers.
Legion and Adrian had arrived with a small army, and not a moment too soon. It wasn’t precisely perfect timing, but obviously could have been worse. The clearing had turned into a battlefield with the sights and sounds of war exploding over her senses.
Aura stood in the doorway of the cabin, scanning the clearing full of male bodies for any sign of Castor. Men grappled hand to hand, while others fired weapons wildly into the surrounding trees. The air smelled of blood and hatred, enough to make her gag on it. She was too afraid of the melee to leave the doorway, but it was impossible to tell from this vantage point which side had the advantage.
