Mine!

Chapter 1

I scent you somewhere, little human female.

Grey shield raised and agitated, Huck was in a flurry, racing tree to ground to tree. Long talons and claws dug into the bark, then ground as he propelled further faster. His movement so dizzyingly wild, the tips of his razor sharp weapons caught more air than substance. Where are you female? So damn close. The scent filtered to his nostrils teasing, taunting, doubling his effort. The planet’s earth was eaten up beneath his harried motion. Foliage flew within his wake as his commanding presence wouldn’t be denied the spoils of victory. To scent her was to have her. Death would come swiftly to any who stood in his way.

Closer, closer.

He could taste her in the breeze. Female fragrance danced across his tongue filling his mouth. Excitement thundered in his chest. His search would soon be at an end at long last. No more lonely shuttle, no more empty days running into nights. A new home, a new planet and a new beginning were almost in his grasp. His talons twitched to touch soft flesh. The strong surface beneath him, simply connecting with earth was bliss. The hard shuttle floor beneath his feet would be a distant memory once he secured the female and made his way to Bagron. Every inch of him was alive.

The search for the female came to an abrupt halt. His claws skidded on the terrain, sending brown dirt particles flying. Huck scowled as he came to a dead stop. Growling, he sliced his talons across a tree trunk to keep from slaughtering the interference. There were six human males standing around a battered shuttle craft. He thought he’d scented a female. I know I did, damn. The scent was gone, testosterone filled the air. All six men, various sizes shapes and colors were joking and laughing. Huck sensed no threat—paltry pieces of fluff—he leaned against the trunk of the tree, dropping his shield. None of them noticed him. The idea made him shake his head, if he chose they would already be dead.

You should’ve seen ole Tom go flying last night. Fuck can he soar. Damn near dented the wall.

One male, Caucasian, tall, red hair, was laughing so hard tears were rolling down his face. Another man, shorter with a stockier build, tan, and bald, shoved him and turned beet red.

Go fuck yourself.

Another, the biggest of the lot, slapped his thighs and roared with laughter. We’re all gonna fuck ourselves before that bitch spreads her legs.

Bitch, a female dog or derogatory human slang term for a human woman. Huck heard his shield mutter within his thoughts as it did often. He was used to its ramblings; sometimes he ignored its musings, other times he agreed. Human males had no imagination. Tempest, hellcat, whirlwind, was construed as cute as far as Huck was concerned. Females, in his opinion, resembled four legged furry beasts in no way, shape, or form. Huck had learned humans used odd terms more often than not. Then again, if it was metaphorical speech, the men could be interpreted as assholes, puckered sphincters spewing shit.

Morons.

Who the hell teaches a woman to fight like the karate kid? The red head moved his arms like a dying bird and Huck supposed he was trying to look dangerous. Huck snorted. Not. Their banter was humorous, but he was growing impatient.

I hear her old man was a Navy SEAL.

No, man, he was a Green Beret.

Her old man was a SEAL, and her mother was a Green Beret, and they gave birth to an untouchable.

Huck had heard enough. From their joking he was convinced there was a female around, somewhere. He wanted her, and patience was never his strong point. Huck stepped into the open. All six men stopped laughing and stared at him. The scent of fear wafted to Huck’s nostrils and he scrunched his nose.

Who are the bitches now? Huck’s lips twitched at his shield’s sense of humor. All of the men sported facial hair. Where their shirts were ripped, many had chest hair and leg hair in places their pants didn’t cover. His shield had a point; Huck had never seen a furry female.

The grey shield he used when he planned to kill remained down, but didn’t mean the shield wasn’t active. His source of protection for over a thousand years, the shield was an extension of him. Huck’s personal weapon and at times confidante. At the moment, the shield was content to watch. Huck wore form fitting grey pants that hugged his hips to his ankles. The rest of him was bare. All six men centered their gaze onto him, all six wary.

You’re a Tonan aren’t you? one of the men said.

Yep, Huck said.

You’re going to kill us, aren’t you?

Maybe later, I haven’t decided. The idea is amusing. For now, I want the female. I know you have one; she’s mine now.

The Tonan and the titan. Buddy, I got some advice for you. All six of us are no match for you, granted. But Becky will kick your ass.

Huck was surprised when the red-haired man laughed. They were staring death in the face and cracking jokes?

You want to die? Right? Huck said.

"Buddy, we sleep with knives, not Becky. One little nightmare when she’s crashed and holy hell, run for your life when she wakes. She’s a tornado of motion."

And heaven help you if she sees grey. Hates the color with a passion, so I’d suggest a change in clothes, Tom said.

Where is the female? Huck was getting annoyed, his fingers twitched to throttle someone. He already knew some females were terrified of grey; it was a Tonan color.

Remember your mission. Sometimes his shield was too annoying.

A man threw up his hands looking exasperated. Beats the hell out of me. Off smashing the crap out of some hapless creature who shit where she walked, who knows? Look, we don’t want any trouble. We stopped here for water and we’re leaving as soon as she comes back.

Get your water and go, you may leave with your lives, but you will also take off without the female, Huck said.

Fine, let’s the hell outta here, the largest man said. We’re done.

Come on, Jack. Becky’s a shit, but can you blame her? The six of us are bad enough. She can’t be left here with him. Look at the size of him and he’s a Tonan warrior. You really think she’ll be fine?

You wanna take a Tonan warrior on for Becky? It’s not like you’re getting anything from her, none of us are, Jack said. Hell, out of the lot of us, she’d be the better man. Look, Tonan, buddy, you want her, find her. And thank you for not disembowelling me.

Jack jumped into the shuttle. Four others followed. The one man who offered up the resistance was left; he was the smallest. He hesitated only a second before he spoke.

Are you going to kill her?

If I say yes, will you war with me?

Yes.

It would take me two seconds to kill you.

Then I’d only have to worry over her for two more seconds.

The little man balled his fists. Huck’s armor came up. His grey shield slammed over him from within. The man went white as a star. Huck clicked his long talon fingers together, sparks flew. His clawed feet gripped the earth and he took a step to show the male what damage the claws could do to simple terrain beneath his feet. A long grey tail snapped like a whip, cracking against bark leaving a scorch mark, making the man jump. Huck was a huge warrior to begin with, even without his shield. Taller than many Tonan warriors, when Huck talked everyone listened.

Change your mind, little male? Huck asked.

No.

The word was a squeak. The man had guts, he wasn’t lying. The male’s fear was palpable, but he stood his ground. He swallowed hard and raised his fists into the air. The little mouse had more balls then the five huddling together taking bets on whether he’d be sliced or diced.

A worthy opponent in heart only. Killing him would be senseless, he was unarmed.

Go with your companions. The female will be fine. Scared shitless no doubt, but I will use a kind hand.

Watch she doesn’t bite it off, buddy, Jack yelled when he stuck his head out the door. He grabbed a handful of the little man’s shirt and dragged him inside. The shuttle door closed with the small man yelling for Huck not to hurt the female.

Huck frowned, the little male was desperate, pounding on the shuttle door. Malice wasn’t Huck’s intent. There were renegade Tonan who had joined Cobra and the number was growing. The only way to join the winning side, Cobra’s side, was to have a mate. Huck wasn’t stupid. The Zargonnii and Castian warriors teamed up with mated Tonans. Dark warriors joined with Cobra as well. The Gorgano joined with rebel Tonans, but neither side trusted the other. It was a fool’s convenience for an alliance and would lead to no good. The few remaining Tonans were evil. Huck was ashamed of his race. Yes, Tonans should be feared. But the dumbasses were dropping like flies.

There was no doubt in Huck’s mind he could tame a human female. All he had to do was find her. Taking a step, Huck stopped as grim realization settled. There was one other thing he had to do. Cobra allowed no liars. Between Castians and Tonans, it was well known the longer the Tonan tail the bigger the liar. Huck had told his share of lies, he wasn’t ashamed, but there was no way around the inevitable. He paused at an audible shudder from his shield for the task at hand. He took a deep breath and braced himself. Huck gripped his tail in a fist. With a giant tug he ripped his tail off. Huck threw back his head and bellowed as he flung it to the ground.

"Fuuuuckkkk."

The pain was excruciating. Tonan warriors rarely felt pain, their shield protected them, but this was a direct attack on his shield by him. A necessary evil, didn’t mean his shield had to like it. Huck gasped in huge amounts of air. A twelve-hundred-year-old tail didn’t go without cost. For a second he staggered and dropped to a knee. His arm came up to shield his face when the shuttle took that moment to rise and hover, rancid fuel was filtered by his shield, black smoke billowed.

That piece of shit is on its last leg, Huck muttered.

The foliage around him stirred, few sticks danced wildly then settled as the shuttle shot forward. If the vessel survived another ozone entry he’d be surprised. The female was lucky he sent her companions on their way without her.

Groaning, Huck stood, hands braced on his knees. His breath evened and he straightened. He refrained from placing a hand on his ass. A breeze brought him the scent he desired and he tilted his head slightly to the left. The smell was subtle but enough. As he began, to move he realized the female was heading toward his shuttle. It meant she was searching for useful items. He hoped she wasn’t a thief. Cobra was strict when it came to integrity. Huck would beat her if he had to, he wouldn’t put up with sticky fingers.

Luck was on his side he’d found a human scent at all after his shuttle console detected erect heat sources emanating from the planet surface. Humans were hard to come by. He hoped the female was cute and he hoped she was of child bearing years. There was time to produce a son. At his age, the probability of conception during the last stage of must was still high. If he showed up on Cobra’s planet, he’d have a much better chance if not only mated but his mate carrying with a piece of his shield. Cobra would have to take him. Giving an offspring a piece of a warrior shield showed integrity. The idea made him groan. Huck hadn’t needed integrity in…well ever.

Huck hated the desire for companionship, but flying around the galaxy on a one man mission was annoying. His shield was getting on his nerves.

Why couldn’t I have been born evil filth? Life would be so much easier.

Huck supposed it could’ve been worse, being born with the nil capacity for compassion. Then again, he figured if he was, he wouldn’t care. He never really thought of the need for others until everyone was gone. He loathed being on Tonan ships when a female human was destroyed. Each death brought the Tonans closer to annihilation. When evil cares for nothing it means they don’t care for themselves. That wasn’t the way Huck wanted to live. For him there was a need for a hive. For him to belong, sacrifices had to be made.

Letting the humans go without slaughtering even one was annoying. It would have been pleasant to crush the throat of the ass named Jack. That male’s scent was repulsive, wormy; his character was without scruples. But, it wouldn’t have been a fair battle. A human can’t fight with loathsome or repugnant tendencies being used as weapons, and otherwise the male was unarmed. There would be no going to Cobra claiming the males attacked him, his tail would grow. Cobra thought of human males as harmless. If Huck slaughtered the harmless, his new integrity would be in question.

Stupid growing tail, he grumbled. Stupid integrity.

The pain near his ass was subsiding. Huck gave in to his desire and dropped his shield to rub his butt. He gritted his teeth and snarled. Then, remembering human females were terrified of absolutely everything, he tried to calm his outer features, then stopped trying.

No one can fucking smile when their ass hurts this bad. She’ll have to suck it up.

Gait stilted, knees bowed, growling and grouching, he continued on toward his shuttle.

* * * *

Becky saw the shuttle in the clearing. Scorch marks on the ground were few, unlike the trail of devastation their shuttle made during a landing and takeoff. The thrusters on this particular shuttle must be operational and well maintained. Her hand on the hull, she walked around the vessel dragging her fingers over the warm smooth sleekness. It looked like a vessel the Tonans gave to humans to head to Ulsy with, but far more superior and looked in perfect running condition. Of course it was grey.

I hate the color grey.

Tonans had a thing for grey. Becky had seen a shielded Tonan warrior her last day on Earth. The transformation was an eye opener. Ugliest thing she’d ever encountered. Thankfully, she saw the creepy alien on the ground waving a taloned fist at the shuttle as she and the others sped away. Becky chuckled with the image.

There’s pissed and then there’s butt fuck ugly furious as hell pissed.

The fighting in the sky was less as the Earth was deemed uninhabitable the day she escaped. She and her six companions found—stole—the shuttle they traveled in. It was a chance meeting with the other five men. Becky had been roaming with Raymond for a few months. A little guy with a big heart, there was no attraction between the two, simple companionship. They worked together over the months to find food and shelter, always on the move. As time passed there was no denying their circumstances; it was