Rescued by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (literature books to read TXT) 📖

passing it to her, and One Arm drops to his knees.

Long Horns narrows his eyes at his friend as he loses consciousness, and my hands begin to shake as he swings his head, eyes focused on us.

“What did you do?” he snarls.

He stalks over to us, grabbing me by the front of my dress and hauling me up to my knees. In a perfect moment of unity, I reach back as Nevada slides the handle of the knife into my hand.

Long Horns shakes me, and I gasp. He raises his fist, and I swing my arm wildly.

Surprise is on my side.

Blood sprays my face as I slash the knife across his throat. I may not know much about self-defense, but I sure as hell know where the carotid artery is in humans. And it looks like Dokhalls have a large artery in a similar spot.

He drops me, gurgling as he clutches at his throat. It’s not pretty, and my stomach is swimming as he falls to the ground.

“Holy shit, Zo. Remind me never to piss you off.”

I swallow down bile. I’ve never killed anyone before. I don’t know if the other Dokhalls are dead, but I get to my feet, still clutching the knife in my hand.

Nevada is silent as I step close to One Arm. I hesitate, my heart pounding. If he’s conscious, this could be the last move I make.

Nevada groans, the sound more like a sob, and a surge of protectiveness makes the decision for me.

I lean down and slice his throat.

Broken Nose is already dead, his mouth covered in foam. I step over him, my movements mechanical, my body numb. Am I in shock?

Nevada gets to her feet, leaning against the cave wall as she rocks from side to side. I move further out of the cave, throw my head back, and scream as loud as I can.

I continue until I’m hoarse, and Nevada nods approvingly.

“You’re not worried about more Dokhalls?” I ask her.

“We’re close enough to camp that if the Braxians are looking for us, surely someone will have heard that. Besides, if the Dokhalls get here first, maybe you can offer them some water.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Ha ha.”

She grins and then clenches her eyes shut, moaning. I rub her lower back, and she leans into my hands.

“That helps,” she says.

“I need to examine you. I’m not going to touch you until I can wash my hands, but I need to see what’s going on. Is that okay?”

She nods, and I help her sit back down against the cave wall.

Nevada has had her bloody show. And within a few minutes, she’s no longer interested in talking between contractions. I go outside again and scream some more.

I have my head tipped back, the knife clutched in my hand, and I’m screaming furiously at the sky when Tagiz and Hewex burst through the trees, a group of warriors behind them.

I take one look at Tagiz and burst into tears.

He grabs me, pulling me close. Behind him, Hewex checks the Dokhalls, glancing from the Dokhalls to the knife in my hand, and his eyes widen slightly.

Tagiz’s huge hands cup my face, and suddenly I’m gasping into his mouth as he devours me.

His lips are hot and hard, and one of his hands slides to my back, pulling me even closer. I tilt my head sideways, and he plunders my mouth, not holding back this time.

I revel in it.

The tiniest moan leaves my throat, and it’s that sound of pure want that shakes me from my daze.

I push away from Tagiz, trembling. “Where’s Rakiz?”

He opens his mouth, his eyes dark as he begins to explain something about another attack, but Nevada calls my name.

I glance back at the cave. “We can’t move her without a mishua. Send someone for Rakiz.”

Tagiz nods and turns to one of the warriors. “Run,” he says, and the guy sprints back in the direction they came from.

“I’m scared more of them will come.”

“We have Kroniz and some of the other warriors guarding the perimeter.”

Relief rushes through me. “Okay. I need you guys to boil some water,” I tell Tagiz.

He glances at Jozet, who is staring at the cave, horror on his face as Nevada groans in pain.

I elbow Jozet. “Water. Now.”

He gets to work, gathering sticks for the fire, and I head back into the cave.

Nevada opens her eyes, squinting at Tagiz.

“Rakiz?” she pants.

“He’s coming,” I say. “It’s going to be okay.”

I glance at Tagiz. “Tell me they’re bringing a healer.”

“Moni was with Rakiz. We were all separated during the attack. Dragix arrived and handled the Dokhalls we were fighting, and he was circling back toward Rakiz when we left.”

Nevada gets onto her hands and knees, a long groan leaving her throat. Tagiz’s face turns white.

Jozet approaches. He’s managed to find another bowl from the sad collection of utensils in the corner. The Dokhalls must have been here for at least a few days. Maybe even longer.

Steam is rising from the bowl, and I smile at him.

“Place it right there, please. I need some string, a knife that hasn’t been used to kill anyone recently, and the cleanest, warmest shirt we have.”

The guys get to work, murmuring amongst themselves, and I turn to Nevada, who is currently in her own little world, dealing with the pain.

I examine her, and my chest fills with dread, although I manage to keep my voice light, confident.

“Okay, Vada. Soon, you’ll probably get the urge to push. Wait until you can’t do anything but push, and then you’ll give it all you’ve got.”

She nods, and I take some of the clean water, giving her a few sips. I rip the sleeve off my dress and bathe her face.

Jozet’s eyes are wild when I glance at the warriors, and Tagiz still looks pale. They have no problem slaughtering any creatures who threaten us, but the sight of a woman in labor has stunned them into terrified silence.

Jozet breaks that silence as Nevada lets out a sound of