Dykan lifted his hand. “This is not your fault. It was that little bitch. She made me walk right into her trap. If I get my hands around her throat, I will squeeze every bit of life out of her.”
“Who?”
“Kat. I knew she was dangerous. This is what you get for ignoring your gut feeling. She must have shot me in the back.” Dykan took in a deep breath and grunted when he stood up.
He should have been more alert. He and his crew had gone into one of the many taverns in the capital of Cassidiri. Within a few seconds, they had been surrounded by beautiful females. Females who had been attracted by the Makaen bad-boy image and the stories of Makaen endurance when fucking. One female had offered herself to him, practically pushing her breasts in his face. But Dykan had felt nothing. Not for her or any of the other females. No matter how sexy they had been, his body hadn’t reacted. His cocked had stayed dormant; he hadn’t even felt a twitch. His Kitten had made his cock rock-hard with nothing more than a glare.
But his Kitten was gone. He had sent her away. Forgetting her was not that easy, though. His cock remembered her all too well and apparently wouldn’t settle for anyone else, wouldn’t settle for less. Dykan still wanted her, even after the hours-long fuck session half a rotation earlier.
Fuck! Frustrated, he had swallowed down his mug of ale in one go and told his crew that he was in need for some fresh air and was going for a walk. They all had looked at him as if they had seen water burn. No wonder—he rarely declined a female’s blatant offer to have sex. He had told his crew to have a good time and that they would see each other back on the ship.
From the moment he had left the tavern, he had sensed that someone was watching him. Instead of going back to the tavern to warn his crew—he could have been wrong, and he didn’t want to concern them unnecessarily, not while they were enjoying themselves—he had walked over to the town square and chosen the most strategic point to get a good view of the surroundings, and of anyone following him. He had pretended to have a relaxing drink in the sun. In reality, he had been highly aware of what was happening around him, ready to attack if needed. Until he had seen his Kitten in the distance walking toward him. First he had thought his mind was playing tricks on him, but then a whiff of her scent had reached his nostrils. What was she doing there? It wasn’t a coincidence. He didn’t believe in coincidences.
Distracted, he had watched her come closer. When he had seen a Cassidi male approach and talk to her, his muscles had tensed. Then the Cassidi had put his hand on her breast. That sight had made his blood boil, and a loud drumming in his head had made thinking impossible. A primal urge had made him cross the square in a few jumps. With murder on his mind, he had dragged that filthy Cassidi away from his female, pinning him against the wall. No male touched his female with impunity. The Cassidi would have to pay for that indiscretion with his life.
Due to his rage, it had taken a while before he had noticed Kitten talking to him, but when her voice finally penetrated his mind, his attention had turned to his female, and reluctantly he had released that Cassidi male.
No, not his female. She had made that perfectly clear to him a little later. She preferred that fancy crybaby over him. It had made Dykan wish he had squeezed that male’s neck just a little longer and harder. He had also realized that even though he and Kitten had been standing so close that they could physically touch, they were also worlds apart. And that had unsettled him. Part of him considered her to be his female, while another part damn well knew he didn’t have the right to feel that way. For his own sanity, he had needed to get some distance between them. He had needed to get off this planet as fast as possible.
The last thing Dykan remembered was Kitten murmuring something and then a sharp pain between his shoulders. And then nothing. That little bitch had stunned him!
“That little human did this?” Selvin asked in disbelief.
“Half-human.”
Dykan and Selvin flung their heads in the direction of the soft voice. Between the thick bars of his cell door, he saw Kat standing at the entrance of the dark hall, staring at him.
Kat had never been so nervous. The thought of confronting Dykan, after she had shot him, made her feel sick.
“Tell me again why I have to do this?”
“Well, because sending your brother in wouldn’t be wise,” Mitha answered. “They hate him, but more importantly, the captain needs to hear this message coming out of your mouth. He may not believe us.”
“You can do this,” her brother encouraged. “They’re locked up and can’t hurt you. Just stick to the plan and we’ll be off, rescuing Lucas before the sun sets. Remember, you are in charge. You are the deal maker.”
The deal maker? That sounded pretty dubious. Kat nodded, blowing out a breath. Yes, she could do this.
“Um…one more thing,” Lirid continued.
Kat gave him a suspicious look. “What?”
Lirid cleared his throat. “When they’ve agreed to help us, you need to stun them once more.”
“What in the hell for?” Kat cried out.
“Well, we can’t let them know where we are, can we? And I doubt they’d like to play pin the tail on the donkey until we reach their freighter. If we just release them, they might turn on us when they’re free. So they need to be knocked out for a little while.”
“Damn it, Lirid! That was not what we agreed upon. They were supposed to be incapacitated only once.”
“Yes, but plans change. And unfortunately, we hadn’t thought this part through well enough. So we need to improvise. And don’t worry, being shot twice won’t harm them.”
“How do you know that for sure?” Kat asked, frowning.
Lirid waved his hand. “Oh, please. They’re Makaen. A little bit of electricity won’t hurt them. Who knows? Maybe the surge will zap some intelligence into their caveman brains. So it’s a win-win.”
He held out the stun gun.
“That’s not funny, Lirid,” Kat murmured as she reluctantly took the gun from her brother and put it in her pocket. “I really don’t like this.”
Mitha wished her luck and opened the door to the basement. Kat walked down the stone stairs that ended at the beginning of a long, dimly lit hallway. On the right were the cells, eight in total, with Dykan in the last one—looking pissed, fierce and dangerous.
“That little human did this?” she heard Selvin say.
Kat sighed. Be brave, she told herself, you’re in control here.
“Half-human,” Kat uttered.
Dykan flung his head toward her and stared at her with murder in his eyes. Yep, it was best if she didn’t come too close to him. With her hand sliding over the damp wall, Kat walked toward Dykan’s cell, passing the cells the other five Makaen were locked in. They were sitting on the floor, leaning their backs against the wall, looking none too pleased as well.
“Where are we?” Dykan asked with a growl.
“In a Cassidirian prison cell,” Kat answered as stoically as possible.
“Why?”
Kat swallowed, hoping that Dykan couldn’t see how nervous she was.
“You didn’t want to listen to me. I had no choice. This way you can’t walk away without hearing me out.”
Dykan blew out a breathy laugh. “You locked us up because I didn’t want to listen to you? Female, you are something else. Okay, then let’s get this over with. Talk, human.”