Hunter's Claim: The Alliance Book 1 (2 page)

Jesse wrapped her arms around her knees and
buried her face in them. Dread washed through her as she waited for
the small group to walk away. Their laughter was filled with cold
hatred. These were the types of people who gave humans a bad name.
If she was an alien, she would have washed her hands of humanity
within hours after meeting them.

She sat back and rested her head against the
metal that made up the wall of the old warehouse. She would need to
make sure they were gone before she could safely move. She closed
her eyes and felt fatigue pull at her, encouraging her to give into
the darkness. She brushed the cut on her arm, letting the salt from
her fingers get into the wound so it would throb. She needed the
pain to help keep her awake.

Her thoughts drifted to her two sisters. She
was worried about Jordan. Three nights before she and Jordan had
gone out together. Jordan had startled two men in one of the back
alleys they were cutting through on their way back to the parking
garage. She had gone ahead of Jesse in her excitement to share what
they had found with Jordan. Jesse had stopped briefly to rearrange
their stash for the night when she felt it shift. Seconds later,
Jordan’s screams had chilled Jesse to the bone. She had to force
herself not rush to her sister’s aid which had been her first
instinct. She would not do either of them or Taylor any good if she
was captured. Instead, she had pulled the large hunting knife that
had belonged to her father out of her boot and quietly snuck up
behind the men who were attacking Jordan.

Jesse fought back the nausea as she thought
of what she’d had to do to save her sister from being raped and
murdered. She had killed the man who was on top of Jordan. Her
father had always told them that a wounded man was like a wounded
bear or mountain lion, extremely dangerous and unpredictable.

The other man had run as soon as he saw his
bigger friend was dead. Jesse had pushed the man off her younger
sister and gathered her in her arms. She wish she could have spent
more time comforting her but it was too dangerous. They had left
without the food they had stolen. It had been three days since any
of them had eaten and now Jordan was sick. She had to make it back
with the food she had taken tonight or none of them would make it
much longer.

She pulled the scarf up over her nose and
mouth to help keep in the warmth as she waited. The coldness of the
floor and the metal were sending shivers through her body. In some
ways it was a blessing as she knew she wouldn’t fall asleep if she
was cold and uncomfortable.

No, now it is just a waiting game until I
can escape from the mad humans,
she thought as she listened to
the woman and three men talk about how they were going to slice up
the alien they had captured.

Hunter strained against the chains holding
him to the metal bed. His head fell back against the hard surface
in frustration. They had bound him with multiple chains from his
shoulders down to his feet. He jerked his head sideways trying to
dislodge the rag they had put in his mouth but it was useless with
the tape covering it.

He clenched his fists in rage as he thought
of the deceit of the humans. Even their females were not to be
trusted. He had heard talk among the other warriors of how
primitive and hostile this world was. He cursed at his own
instincts to protect the female of any species.

He had been returning from bringing in
several humans who had set off bombs close to where they were
establishing a support center for the humans living in this area.
This was to be his last tour before being deployed back home. Now,
he would never see the beautiful valleys, mountains and oceans of
his world again.

The only regret he had was that he had not
killed the traitorous woman who had tricked him. It burned against
his pride that he had been tricked even if it turned out to be a
good thing. These were the humans they had been searching for
before he had encountered the ones setting bombs. They had heard of
a group of humans who were trying to capture a Trivator warrior and
take
him
to a lab. He had just not
expected a female to be involved.

He knew how devious human women could be. He
had seen some of the things they were capable of many times over
the past three years he had been on this planet. He had reacted on
instinct when he saw the males attacking her. Her terrified cries
had pulled at the protectiveness of his species.

He lay still as the door to the transport he
was in opened and the large human male who had hit him in the back
of the head walked forward with a grin. A low rumble of warning
exploded from his chest as he stared back into the cold blue eyes
of the human. His own dark yellow eyes burned with hatred and a
promise of death the first opportunity he got.

“You can growl all you like,” the man said
with a nasty grin as he leaned over Hunter. “I’m going to be using
your balls if you have any as a decoration on the back of my truck
by tomorrow night. Let’s see how much growling you do when Betty
cuts off your little jewels for me.”

The man jerked back a step when Hunter
strained again. He gave another laugh when he saw there was no way
Hunter was going to be able to break the chains. With a salute, he
turned and jumped out of the back of the van leaving Hunter alone
in the dark again.

Hunter lay back, trying to think of a way,
any way, he could possibly escape. The first thing he would do once
he was free was hunt down the man who was in here; the second would
be the woman. He would show them what happens to anyone who attacks
and threatens a Trivator warrior.

*.*.*

Jesse rolled stiffly to her knees before
using the side wall to help her stand. She had been frozen in one
spot for almost three hours before the lights in the other room had
finally gone out. She bit back a groan as her stiff muscles
protested. She wasn’t sure if the three men and one woman were ever
going to settle down. The one huge guy had come out every thirty
minutes to climb into the back of the van before leaving again.

She bent to pick up her backpack before
releasing a sigh of resignation. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t
just leave the alien to die. She had listened to the others talk
about what they were going to do to him. She would just as soon
shove her dad’s hunting knife into his heart if he had one then
leave him to those crazy lunatics.

Straightening up once again, she drew in a
deep breath behind the black scarf covering most of her face. She
would release him. Well, she would release most of him if she could
and leave him the means to finish the task while she ran like hell.
She ran her hand over the universal key set her dad had shown her
how to use. It would be a huge loss but she wouldn’t have much
choice.

Jesse set the black backpack just inside the
opening that she had squeezed through before. She might have to run
like hell but she couldn’t leave the food behind this time. Her
sisters desperately needed it.

Pulling her father’s hunting knife out, she
glanced around the fallen debris before quietly stepping out. She
let her eyes sweep the area before she swiftly jogged over to the
side of the moving van. Pressing her back up against the cold
metal, she waited for several long seconds, listening. Sweat beaded
on her brow even though the air was frigid. She could even feel the
dampness as it slid down between her shoulder blades, a testament
to her fear.

She refused to give in to the terror
threatening to choke her though. She couldn’t just leave him to
die, even if he was an alien. No one deserved to die the way the
men and woman were planning. If she couldn’t release him, the least
she could do was end his life in a more humane way.

Jesse moved slowly, pausing to listen in
case anyone came out to check on the van again. Her heart was
pounding in her chest as she reached over and carefully slid back
the bar locking the back of the van. Her hands shook as she pulled
the door open just far enough for her to slip through the
opening.

The silence and darkness inside the moving
van caused her to start panting. She had never seen one of the
aliens up close before. She had always done everything in her power
to stay as far away from them as possible so she had no idea of
what she was about to see.

She fumbled in the front pocket of her black
cargo pants for the small penlight that she always carried. She
turned it on and moved it along the floor until she saw the leg of
a metal bench. Taking a timid step forward, she ran the light up
along the bench until she encountered the huge boots of the
alien.

She stepped forward on silent feet until she
was even with his feet. She frowned when she saw the thick chains
holding him to the metal bench. She moved up his body, staring at
the chains that were threaded through every few inches up his body.
She flashed the light down to the corners and saw that there was a
master lock on each corner. She turned to look at the top of the
metal bed to see if there were additional locks there as well.

She froze when her eyes locked on a pair of
glowing yellow ones that were watching her with silent rage. Her
hand began to shake so badly that she had to use both hands to hold
the beam steady.

“I…,” she began in a muffled whispered. She
licked her dry lips behind the scarf before impatiently pulling it
down below her chin when she felt like she was about to suffocate.
“I… oh hell.”

Jesse stared at the beautiful features of
the man lying on the table. Even with the gag in his mouth, she
could tell he was handsome in an exotic kind of way. He had long,
thick black hair that was pulled back. His eyes were the shape of a
lion or tiger. They were a deep yellow, almost gold color and
glowed in the reflection of the flashlight. He had high cheekbones
and small ridges along his nose which was flatter than a humans.
Her eyes moved down over his shoulders and chest. He had very
little hair on him considering he looked like he was part feline.
One thing stood out above all others, though. He was huge! He had
to be close to seven feet tall and she had never seen any man
outside of the movies that muscular.

Her eyes jerked back to his when she felt
more than heard the slight rumble of a growl coming from him. That
was when she realized that she had dropped her left hand down to
rest on his stomach. Blushing, she pulled her hand away quickly and
took a step closer to his head. She needed to make him realize she
was there to help him.

“Please, be quiet,” she whispered next to
his ear. “They will kill me or worse if they catch me and I can’t
be… I have to leave. I’m going to remove the gag from your mouth.
Nod twice if you understand what I am saying.”

She pulled back just far enough to see if he
understood her. Satisfied that he did when he nodded twice, she
carefully picked one corner of the tape loose. With a look of
apology, she ripped it off his mouth. The moment the tape was gone,
he turned his head and spit the rag out of his mouth.

Jesse almost ran when he turned his hostile
gaze back on her and bared his teeth. Her eyes widened and she bit
her lip in indecision. A sense of panic began to sweep through her
at the crazy decision she had made. If the humans outside the van
didn’t find and kill her, the alien inside it looked like he would
do it without any hesitation.

“Please, listen to me,” she begged
desperately, glancing at the door before looking at him again.
“They want to kill you in a very horrid and painful way. I… I can’t
let them do that but I can’t let you kill me either. Please, please
understand me. I can undo the locks holding you down. I’ll undo all
of them but one.”

Her hand trembled as she reached out to
touch his face. She needed him to believe her. She needed to know
that he wouldn’t snap her neck or, her eyes moved to his sharp
teeth, tear her throat out as she leaned close to him. She gently
touched his jaw so he could see she meant him no harm.

“I’ll show you how to use the keys I have to
undo the lock. When you are free, you will need to go to the left.
There is a door on the far side of the building that will lead you
outside. Ten blocks to the west are some of your people. They will
help you,” she whispered looking into his eyes intently as she
gently rubbed his jaw with her thumb. “Do you understand what I’ve
told you?”

“Yes.”

Jesse gave him a shaky smile before she
moved to one of the locks near his head. Setting the penlight down,
she pulled the universal key set out of her pocket and went to
work. It took her several minutes to undo the lock. Once it was
unlocked, she pulled it free of the loop as quietly as she could
and set it down on the floor of the van before moving to the next
one. Within minutes, she had his arms free.

“Wait,” she whispered when she saw him start
to pull the chains from his upper body. “We need to be as quiet as
possible until I can get at least one of your feet undone. Can you
lift the chain off quietly while I work on the other lock?”

“Yes,” he hissed.

Jesse nodded in relief. She was beginning to
feel a glimmer of hope that maybe she would be able to pull this
off and both of them could escape and go their own ways. She was
more familiar with the locks now and it only took her a few seconds
to undo the third lock holding him captive. She was about to
explain how to use the keys when the sound of footsteps outside the
van drew their attention.

Jesse looked fearfully at the huge male
sitting up on the table now. Her eyes flew to the last lock. She
had to undo it or he would be an easy target for them. She scooted
between the wall of the van and the table and frantically worked at
it. They would know something was wrong when they saw the doors
unlocked. Her hands shook so badly she almost dropped the key
several times.