Captured by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (interesting books to read for teens .txt) 📖

to communicate with this female—with Charlie—frustrates me. Someone must have caused her injuries. I will find out who, and I will turn them to ash.

I scan her body, noting the black-and-blue bruising along her arms and legs. She has a long cut along her thigh that has reopened with her movement and is slowly oozing blood.

She squeaks as I lean down, and her hand lashes out, attempting to push my head away as I stroke my tongue along the deep cut. Her panic fills the air, and I give her a warning look as she raises her fist once more. I was surprised more than anything when she hit me the first time. But the second time, when she struck my sensitive eye…after I shook off the pain…I was…amused.

Charlie attempts to retreat, wincing at the movement, and I am no longer amused.

I show her my teeth, and she freezes. Then I snap my mouth shut as her pain and fear turn to dismay. I raise one leg, placing my foot gently—so gently—on her chest. I must be careful not to damage the fragile two-leg.

She yelps as I slowly push her down, pinning her in place. I keep my claws sheathed, and then I lean down, attempting to ignore the way she trembles as I lick at her wounds.

Charlie is silent, her jaw set as she stares toward the entrance to my lair. But her blue eyes are shining with…water. Tears. The word floats into my mind. The sight of the saltwater dripping down her face makes me want to snarl as I gently stroke along her cuts and bruises.

She ignores me as I return my attention to her head. The sun is low in the sky when Maez reappears.

“She will need water,” Maez tells me. Charlie ignores her, and I glare down at her. Betrayal. That’s what the new scent is. She believes Maez should have helped her. Should have taken her from me.

The thought is ludicrous, and I step away, allowing Maez to approach with a cup of water. Now that the two-leg is no longer bleeding, I’m able to tolerate Maez as she hands Charlie the cup. Charlie gulps it down, and Maez leaves before returning when it is filled once more. She repeats this again until Charlie shakes her head at the offered cup.

The sun has set, and Charlie is shivering. I lie next to her, and she finally returns her attention to my face. I raise one wing over her, protecting her from the elements, and lay my head next to hers as I close my eyes.

Charlie

Someone is shining a light in my face. I scowl, attempting to raise a hand to shield my eyes. It’s probably a cop, about to bang on my car window and tell me I can’t sleep here.

I can’t raise my arm, and panic makes me jolt awake. There’s no cop, no car, and no Earth. I blink back tears as it all hits me again. I’m on Agron, on top of what appears to be a mountain, and the light is from the sun, which is rising on my left.

My arm is trapped by a huge wing. A dragon’s wing. Dragix, I mouth, remembering what the purple woman called him yesterday. I gaze up at the sky, attempting to come to terms with the fresh hell I’ve woken up to.

Count your blessings, Charlie. You’re alive, you’re no longer stumbling through the woods, and the dragon hasn’t barbecued you yet.

The dragon lets out a snore, and I stare as smoke twirls up above our heads. Now that he’s not holding me down with his giant foot, I take the time to examine him.

His scales are warm. In fact, I’m so toasty beneath his wing that I’m almost sweating in spite of the slight chill of the morning.

He’s so huge it seems unbelievable. His head is longer than my torso, and the claw I’m currently studying is larger than my hand. The rest of him is curled, almost like a cat, his huge body bunched as if ready to take off at any moment.

His scales aren’t blue or green. They’re both and every color in between. Some are such a light blue that they appear almost silver, while others are such a dark green that they’re almost black.

Along that serpentine neck, sharp horns jut up, even more protection from anyone—or anything—that would be dumb enough to attack. Something swishes along the ground, and I crane my head, wondering if I need to be wary of snakes up here.

It’s his tail. It sweeps lazily along the ground, and I return my attention to his face as he opens his mouth in a yawn, showcasing those gleaming rows of teeth.

On this planet, he’s one-hundred-percent predator, and I’m nothing but prey.

But I’ve been outweighed and outmatched before and survived. This is no different.

I just need to figure out how to sneak away from this oversize lizard.

The lizard in question opens one eye, then the other, his gaze already on my face. I attempt to raise my arms again, and he shifts his wing. I instantly regret it as I lose the warmth, but he huddles close as we eye each other in silence.

I had a reason for telling him my name yesterday. On Earth, we’re told that if we’re ever kidnapped, we’re supposed to attempt to build a relationship with our kidnapper. People are less likely to kill you when they see you as a human being.

I snort. Who knows if that will work on Agron.

Either way, if I can build some kind of bond with the dragon—who clearly understands me—maybe I can convince him to let me go.

My stomach chooses this moment to let out a growl.

Dragix’s eyes widen, and he moves his head close to my stomach, tilting his head as if waiting. He doesn’t have long to wait, and a few seconds later, my stomach lets out another howl.

His gaze returns to my face, and his eyes appear to be