Borj felt his lips curve. “Did you see how fast Tink, Tilly, and Hannah took out Merrick and half his warriors? They were amazing.” Borj said hopefully. He looked over at J’kar who was weaving dangerously fast through some peculiarly thick trees. “Hannah escaped a situation such as this one once before.”
The only sign J’kar gave at having heard Borj’s murmured words was a tightening of his hands on the controls of the glider. “Their world is very dangerous.” J’kar responded with worry. “I am concerned we sent Terra there.”
Borj couldn’t suppress his bitter laugh. “Their world…what of our own? I thought bringing Hannah here would be safer but she has been taken from me twice! Terra will probably be safer on Earth than here. Besides, she has Mak to protect her and Cosmos.”
“That is true. No one can get by Mak. Out of all of us, he is the meanest!” J’kar said with a nod. “We are almost as far as we can go safely in the glider. I do not want to take us any closer for fear of being seen.”
“J’kar.” Borj said quietly. “I am proud to be called your brother. I want you to know this should things not go well.”
J’kar snarled showing his canines at Borj. “Nothing will go wrong except to the bastards who took your mate. If you even suggest anything different, I will personally kick your ass when we get your mate back to the palace.”
Borj didn’t reply. He did not want to express his fears that things could very easily go wrong. He knew what could happen to an unprotected female, even one who believed she was as strong as Hannah did. In truth, human females were much weaker than even Prime females.
“Bite your tongue or I swear I’ll cut you off and do this on my own.” Hannah’s voice snarled out in Borj’s mind. “J’kar isn’t the only one who is going to kick your ass when we get back to the palace.”
Borj jerked as if he had been shot. He flushed a dark red. He had not meant for Hannah to pick up on his doubts. He could feel her anger in her heated words.
“I will happily let you kick my ‘ass’ as you put it when we get back to the palace.” Borj chuckled softly. “I apologize, my little warrior, for not having more faith in your abilities. I will not let such thoughts take over again.”
Hannah fought back a grin. Borj thought she had a lot to learn about Prime but he also had a lot to learn about human females. They were not the roll over and play dead type. She would have to take him on an assignment with her sometime and see how he handled it. Maybe they could do it as a vacation back to Earth. As long as they were away from most humans, it should be safe. Hannah let plans for the future guide her. It helped her keep her sanity.
Hannah gently rubbed her side where Bachman hit her. She could feel the tender skin. He had come up behind her when Mazzum set her down after he discovered she was awake. She was trying to focus on what Borj was saying to her while keeping a blank mask on her face and looking for some type of distinguishing landmark for Borj to find her and wasn’t expecting him to attack her. The bastard came up and kidney punched her taking her to her knees with a cry of pain. Once on her knees, he pulled her long hair back exposing her neck to the sharp knife he ran along it. The tip barely caressed her skin but it was enough to leave a long, thin cut about four inches long along it. Luckily, Mazzum’s arm snapped out and took the blade easily from Bachman’s hand.
Mazzum snarled at Bachman as Bachman raised his hands with a grin on his face. “Chill out, man. I was just prepping her for you. A little fear helps keep them under control.” Bachman laughed at Mazzum.
“Amurr said no damage. You think he will not slit both our throats if the female dies? You touch her again without my permission and I will slit your throat and save him the trouble. We do not need you any more now that we have the female.” Mazzum snarled out taking a threatening step toward Bachman.
“That is where you are wrong.” Bachman said through narrowed eyes. “You and your brother won’t survive without me on Earth. You need my contacts and resources. If you and your fucking brother try to go to Earth without my help you’ll both be caught and taken apart piece by little piece like lab rats. Only I can get you what you both want. This bitch is just a sample. There are far more beautiful women where I come from, isn’t that right sweetheart?” Bachman said looking at Hannah with a cold grin.
“Why don’t you bend over and let him fuck you, Bachman? You’re such a wuss attacking defenseless women you probably don’t even have any balls for him to worry about.” Hannah replied through clenched teeth as she breathed through the pain.
Bachman’s eyes narrowed dangerously and he took a step toward Hannah with his hand raised. Hannah braced herself for another hit but Bachman’s fist was caught in Mazzum’s thick hand before it connected with her face. Hannah watched in satisfaction as sweat beaded on Bachman’s forehead as Mazzum squeezed his fist around Bachman’s hand.
“She has a point.” Mazzum murmured with an evil grin. “Amurr said I could not fuck her without him but he didn’t say anything about not damaging you.”
Bachman’s eyes flew up to look in panic up at the huge male towering over him. The sweat on his face suddenly vanished as he paled at the threat. Hannah looked on as Bachman suddenly realized that he was not in as much control as he thought.
Mazzum chuckled as he brought his other hand up to cup Bachman’s groin. “Yes. I think I can see you bent over.” He said before he released Bachman with a shove and bent over to grip Hannah’s arm in a tight grip, pulling her to her feet.
“Move! Both of you. If she cannot walk because of the damage you did, you will carry her.” Mazzum said coldly pushing Hannah in front of him until she was standing next to Bachman’s pale, shaking form.
Hannah didn’t say anything else. She focused on trying to see something other than massive trees and thick undergrowth. There was nothing else she could send to Borj that would help him. Even the direction the glider went was lost thanks to Bachman. Now, she focused on keeping a light contact with Borj and not falling as they moved into the thick growth of the forest. Mazzum pushed them hard, often getting impatient with both of them when they stumbled or began to slow due to fatigue. Hannah’s gut was telling her to play the weak female and she was playing it to the fullest extent of her acting ability. In truth, she could have been moving at over twice the speed they were covering, even in the thickest growth. It wasn’t much different than some of the terrain she covered when photographing the mountain gorillas or some of the different plants and animals in the Amazon. Bachman was not fairing as well. There was no acting in his flushed face or heavy breathing. He might know how to survive in the urban jungle but he wasn’t used to the rougher terrain.
Mazzum finally called a halt again when Bachman tripped again. Hannah leaned over looking at the ground acting like she was too tired to even stand up straight. Mazzum came over to her and pushed her down onto the ground roughly near a tree. He knelt down next to her grabbing one of her hands and pulled it behind her. He tied one end of a thick, coarse rope around it before tossing the other end of the rope around the tree. He grabbed the end and tied her other wrist so her back pressed tightly against the tree forcing her to sit straight against it.
Hannah turned her head when he grinned at her. She bit her lip when he grabbed the front of her shirt between his thick hands and ripped the front open sending buttons scattering in all directions. Hannah’s breathing increased as panic swept through her. She refused to look at Mazzum as he gripped the front of her bra and snapped the material freeing her breasts to his gaze.
Hannah couldn’t pull her legs up because Mazzum was kneeling between them. She fought back a scream as he leaned forward sniffing her neck and running his tongue along it. A fine trembling began as she realized her worse fear was about to happen and there was nothing she could do to stop him. Hannah couldn’t quite prevent the slight sob that escaped as she felt a callused hand against her breast.
“You smell good even when you are sweating. I am going to enjoy fucking you. The human male
says a female can take more than one male at a time. Tell me how I should take you. Tell me!” Mazzum growled in a soft, menacing voice.
Hannah turned her head and looked Mazzum in the eye. “I’ll be dead before that ever happens.” Hannah replied in a voice devoid of emotion.
Mazzum looked at Hannah a moment before he laughed out loud. “I don’t think so, little human. I plan on having much pleasure with you before that happens.” Mazzum said squeezing Hannah’s nipple between his fingers until she gasped in pain.
Hannah gasped as pain shot through her. Her lips parting in a cry of pain. The moment her lips parted, Mazzum crushed his lips down on hers taking her mouth in a savage, bruising kiss. He continued kissing her and roughly squeezing her breasts as Hannah fought to turn her head. When she tried to bite him, he bit her back hard enough to break the skin on her lip. Hannah felt his hard arousal against her thigh and his canines lengthen as he became more aroused. One of his thick hands wound around her long braid holding her head still while he ravaged her mouth and breasts.
When he broke the kiss, he was breathing heavily. With a curse, he glared hard into Hannah’s stricken dark, green eyes. He pulled back into a sitting position and let his thumb rub over one of her bruised nipples.
“I will keep you. I like your taste. Soon, you will not remember your bond mate. You will only know my touch.” Mazzum said thoughtfully.
“Never.” Hannah said in an emotionless voice. “I’ll never forget Borj. I’ll never belong to you.”
Mazzum merely smiled. His gaze swung around to where Bachman was sitting against a tree watching them. His gaze was glued to Hannah’s bare breasts and he was stroking his cock through his pants. Hannah looked over to where Bachman was sitting watching with a grin on his face and shivered. Bachman’s eyes met Hannah’s for a moment and she shivered again as she saw the lust in them. Mazzum must have seen the same thing. His eyes narrowed for a moment before he turned back to Hannah with a gleam in his eye.
“Perhaps, I should see how many ways a human male can be fucked.” Mazzum said with an evil grin before he stood up.
Bachman didn’t realize Mazzum’s intent until it was too late. Hannah eyes widened as she watched Mazzum strike Bachman in the head knocking him to the ground. In moments, Bachman was tied up and leaning over a fallen tree with his pants around his ankles. Hannah closed her eyes and hummed to herself in an effort to block the sounds of Bachman’s screams.
Chapter 17
Borj and J’kar were traveling along the steep ravine Core had pointed out in the holovid. They were making good time. One group reported finding an abandon glider almost forty clicks to the southwest. One of the men was a tracker and was able to follow a step of single tracks but only for short distance before they disappeared. The tracks were headed northeast towards the mountains. Core and Merrick were heading that way in an attempt to cut Amurr off. Teriff and Te’mar would back them up.
Borj wiped the sweat off his brow before reaching up to grab a large rock overhead and pull himself up. J’kar was about five paces behind him. Borj was just about up when he felt Hannah’s scream and horror. He fought for calm as he pushed up over the ledge and rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. J’kar moved up quickly and knelt beside him. Borj shook off J’kar’s hand as he focused on Hannah.
Borj felt her horror as Mazzum touched her and her revulsion as he kissed her. Inside, she was screaming and struggling to distance herself from Mazzum’s touch. Borj’s fists clenched into tight fists as he sent wave after wave of comfort to Hannah in an attempt to help her. He was breathing heavily as he felt the pain radiating through her as Mazzum pinched and fondled her.
“I am with you, Hannah. You are not alone.” Borj said softly. “Focus on my voice. Do not think about what is happening. Hear only my voice, feel only my warmth surrounding you. I will not let you go through this alone.”
“I can’t do this. I can’t do this.” Hannah whispered softly. “Take me away from here. Please Borj, take me away from here.”
Borj’s soft cry of torture escaped at Hannah’s helpless plea. “Come with me, Hannah. Let me take you with me to my home near our ocean. We will walk along the pink sands. You will love the wildness of the waves breaking along the shores. There is a small cove nearby where we can swim and no one will bother us. The water is warm and clear and you can see forever.” Borj whispered back imagining he was brushing Hannah’s long hair back from her face so he could see her beautiful eyes. “We will watch as the birds and water mammals play. I will show you the sea dragons. You will love them. They are very colorful and love to play in the waves.”
Hannah focused on Borj’s voice as he told her about the sea dragons forcing the feeling of Mazzum’s touch out of her mind as she wrapped herself in Borj’s warmth. She could vaguely feel when Mazzum seemed to realize she had withdrawn into a place he couldn’t reach her. She heard herself reply to whatever he said but it wasn’t until he actually stood and moved away from her that she came back to her surroundings. When she saw what Mazzum was doing to Bachman she wished she could escape back into the world Borj had taken her. Unfortunately, Bachman’s anguished screams then quiet sobs made it impossible. All Hannah could do was close her eyes and hum while she tried to picture being back with Borj.
“We will get her back soon.” J’kar said as he watched Borj’s face twist in anguish.
Borj sat up and braced his head against his knees as he fought the devastating rage and pain racing through him. He felt Hannah’s sudden withdrawal as whatever was happening to her became too much for her to block anymore. Her horrified screams filled his head before everything seemed to stop and a soft humming took its place. Her mind could not handle what was happening any longer.
Borj wiped a hand across his cheek surprised when it came away damper than from just sweat. He stared at the traces of his tears on his palm. Closing his hand around it, he looked up into J’kar’s sympathetic eyes.
“I am going to kill all three of those bastards. I seek the Right of Justice. It is my right to end their lives for what they have done to my bond mate.” Borj said quietly.
J’kar nodded his head. “You will have the Right of Justice. I will let the others know.” J’kar promised.
Borj rose to his feet with renewed determination. He listened as J’kar spoke into his comlink quietly telling all the members that Borj was demanding the Right of Justice. There was silence on the other end for moment before each group reported back in agreement. None of the men would be killed unless there was no other way. All the men knew that a grievous injustice was done for a Right of Justice to be declared. The men’s deaths would be long and brutal to justify the crime committed against a Prime male’s bond mate or family.
Neither man spoke again as they continued on moving even faster. It would be dark soon and they would have to move slower. Borj hoped on the one hand that with two humans, Mazzum would be forced to stop for the night. On the other hand, he feared what Hannah would go through if they did. His gut turned at what she had already gone through. A cold calm settled over him. He promised he would be with her through it all and he would. He refused to allow the guilt or pain take hold. There would be time later for him to confront it. Right now, his focus was on one thing and one thing only, getting Hannah back into his arms where she belonged.
Hannah focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Mazzum had untied her when it was time to leave. Hannah ignored his chuckle when she jerked the remains of her top together and tied it in a double knot. She froze when he ran his fingers across her cheek, refusing to give him the satisfaction of feeling her horror at his touch.
“He was not nearly as satisfying as I imagine you will be.” Mazzum murmured.
Hannah simply stood still and waited. She focused on the pain in her wrists where the ropes had cut deep welts as she struggled to get free when Mazzum had finally left her and Bachman alone for a little while when he went to get cleaned up in a nearby stream. She could still s
ee him but he was a good twenty-five feet away. Far enough for her to get a head start.
Hannah had cringed when she looked at Bachman. He had a dazed expression on his face until he saw her looking at him. Then, a look of pure hatred and rage flared in his eyes causing Hannah to work on the ropes even harder. She watched in horror as he rose stiffly and walked towards her. Hannah’s head fell back against the tree when he knelt next to her.
“You are going to fucking get me out of this hell, do you understand? I’m going to kill that bastard and when I do, you are coming with me and leading me to wherever in the hell we have to go to get off this fucked-up world.” Bachman whispered hoarsely in Hannah’s ear.
Hannah looked at Bachman out of the corner of her eye. “And if I do? What will you do for me?” Hannah asked looking back to where Mazzum was naked and washing himself in the stream.
“I’ll kill you quick.” Bachman said softly. “If you don’t, I’ll make what he did to me look like child’s play. I’ll draw every last scream out of you before I let you die.”
Hannah’s eyes jerked back as she felt the tip of a blade against the underside of her bare breast. He didn’t press enough to break the skin but enough to let Hannah know what he planned to do if she didn’t cooperate with him. Hannah nodded her head briefly. She had a better chance of getting away from Bachman in this type of terrain than she did from Mazzum.
“What do you want me to do?” Hannah asked looking back at where Mazzum was beginning to get dressed.
Bachman stood gingerly and stepped back around the tree so Mazzum couldn’t see him near Hannah. “Nothing yet.”