Protected by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (books that read to you .txt) 📖

with the group of Zintas he brought with him, and he smiles, flashing sharp teeth at me as my gaze lands on him.

Wow, buddy, these guys are gonna kick your ass.

I’m not paying any attention until a shove at my back tells me that I’ve been bought. An alien with dark-red skin stands next to the stage waiting for me, a leash in his hand, and I pause.

What if I’m wrong? What if Vrex isn’t going to make it? My skin crawls as the red alien steps forward, his grin showcasing sharply pointed teeth.

That’s when the room erupts into chaos.

A Braxian leaps forward and punches the red alien in the face. The alien drops like a stone while I gape at the Braxian, who hauls me into his arms.

“I can walk!”

“Quiet.”

I growl. “Put me down, asshole.”

“I was tasked with keeping you safe, female. And the Assassin of Agron is scarier than you are.”

Awesome.

Swords are clashing, and I shudder as a piercing scream sounds. A group of Braxians are fighting in front of us, preventing anyone from getting close as they drive through the crowd and toward the door.

I look over my shoulder, where more Braxians are guarding our backs, cutting down anyone who gets close.

“Ivy!”

I crane my head toward the door. “Vrex?”

Someone has given him a sword, and he’s fighting toward me like a berserker. The room is pandemonium, and I watch as Vrex reaches for a Zinta attempting to escape with one of the women, kicking him in the gut as he tries to flee. He picks up the blue-skinned woman and throws her to another Braxian, who plucks her out of the air, ignoring her screams.

There’s a method to the madness, I realize. The Braxians have slaughtered most of the Zintas, along with anyone else dumb enough to attack or attempt to take one of the kidnapped woman with them.

He came for me. Like he promised he would.

God, I’m so fucking glad to see him alive.

He seems invincible as he fights his way toward me. Like a superhero. But he’s still just a man.

I itch to join the fight. I push my hands against the Braxian’s chest so I can get enough leverage to see over the crowd. He helpfully holds me a little higher, although he’s not feeling cooperative enough to put me back on my feet.

I come perilously close to whining. “I want to fight!”

He ignores me, and I’m forced to watch as the Zintas attack. Aroth meets my gaze, his teeth bared as he drives toward me.

I raise my middle finger. Now, if only I could be the one to—

Vrex is suddenly there, and there’s nothing but surprise on Aroth’s face as he’s impaled on my huge warrior’s sword.

When did you start thinking of him as yours, Ivy?

The Braxian with the green eyes says something to Vrex, whose mouth twitches as if he’s thinking about smiling. Together, they cut down the remaining Zintas, while the rest of the Braxians take care of anyone who thought they could get away with buying and selling women.

Vrex is drenched with blood when he reaches me, but I don’t care as he pulls me to him.

“Thank you,” he says to the Braxian, who nods as he hands me over. The Braxian gives me a look like he’s glad he doesn’t have to deal with me anymore, and I send him a winning smile.

“If I’m not allowed to smile at other females, you can’t smile at any other male,” Vrex growls at me, but his eyes are lit with humor and relief as he cups my face.

“I’ll try my best,” I say, absurdly pleased to feel his arms around me.

Vrex lets me stand, and I stare around us at the carnage.

“Don’t look at that,” he says, his voice soft, and I lean up and kiss him. I’ve seen death and horror, but something about the way he wants to protect me from it melts my heart.

The warrior with the green eyes approaches.

“It is nice to see you alive,” he says. “We have had warriors searching for you for days.”

“This is Dexar,” Vrex tells me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close. “He is the qatai of his tribe.”

I examine the huge warrior. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He nods. “You too.” He returns his attention to Vrex. “We need to leave before news of this spreads throughout this land.”

The wave of his hand encompasses the room, and I carefully keep my eyes on his face, choosing to ignore the splashes of red in my peripheral vision.

“The females have been given credits and set free,” one of the warriors announces, and Dexar nods.

“Good.”

The low murmurs in the room drop to silence as Rakiz appears in the doorway, his face tight.

“Let’s go,” he says, and we all follow him out.

The people who live here are no longer minding their own business as they go about their day. Every single one of them stares at us, most of them in fear. There must be twenty Braxians with us, and we’re traveling in a pack. Vrex has ensured that I’m safely in the middle of the group, surrounded by warriors, but my neck itches as we march through the silent streets.

It feels like an hour later when we finally reach the dock.

The first person I recognize is Nevada. She grins at me, striding forward to give me a hug.

“About damn time you showed up.”

I laugh. “It wasn’t my fault, I swear.”

“Well, the others will be happy to know you’ve finally been found. Now we just need to find Charlie, and you guys can focus on getting home.”

Vrex tenses at that, and I glance at him. Truthfully, I haven’t even thought about getting back to Earth over the past few days.

More Braxians wait, some of them already seated on the Zintas’ boat. I guess we’re taking it with us. I’m fine with that.

Spoils of war.

Another boat sits next to it. A smaller boat—one small enough that I almost want to ask how the