Mama and the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien #1) - Honey Phillips Page 0,8

from the shock of being woken so unexpectedly.

“I don’t know, baby.”

The girls started to gather around her. Even Molly roused herself from her usual apathy to join them as they waited in tense silence. The alarm cut off, and the sudden silence became as deafening as the noise had been. The red lights continued to flash as strange men strode into the corridor. Not men, Abby realized, more aliens. Massive, heavily muscled aliens with reptilian features, ridged hairless skulls, and an intimidating array of weapons. She couldn’t help but wonder if they hadn’t fallen from the frying pan into the fire.

Chapter Five

Hrebec stepped into the third transportation bay, already braced for what he would find. The first bay had been packed with majinda plants, which were not illegal to transport but were illegal to sell on Karmad due to their effects on the natives, although he had no proof that was their intended destination. The second bay was filled with illegal furs and mounted specimens of rare species that were under planetary quarantine. Their presence alone would command a long jail sentence for the seven-person crew—now four, since three had foolishly refused to surrender.

As soon as he entered the small area, his appalled gaze went to the incubators. A horrible vision flashed before his eyes: row after row of the plastic domes, gradually growing cold and empty as their efforts failed and the children died. These were not Cire babies, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t leave them to suffer.

“Get them out of there!” he roared. “Get them out now!”

Sedlit went to the control panel, quickly searching for the entrance controls. In the process, he activated the audio controls, enabling him to hear the infants crying, along with a second set of cries.

As Hrebec strode into the nursery, a distinct sentence halted him.

“Don’t you dare touch them. They’re our children.”

His tail quivered at the sound of the low, furious voice, and despite his desire to free the infants, he found himself turning in that direction. A small figure stood on the other side of the glass. She was most definitely not Cire, but as his gaze traveled from a head of short tousled dark hair to big grey eyes and then down over a very curvy and indisputably female figure, he didn’t find that a lack. His tail twitched and his shaft started to thicken before he forced it under control.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“I’m Abigail Wentworth. We’re humans, stolen from a planet called Earth, and those are our children. I’m not going to let you take them away.”

Since she currently stood in a Vedeckian cell, there was no way for her to prevent him, but her fierceness impressed him. He also had no intention of separating children from their mothers.

“Sedlit, can you unlock the second room?”

“Just a minute, sir. I think it’s… Yes, that’s it.”

The wall between the two rooms opened. He was vaguely aware of the other females gathering behind Abigail Wentworth, but his attention remained fixed on her. With the panel open, he caught a hint of a sultry sweetness that shot straight to his shaft. His tail curved around in front of his leg, trying to get closer to the female. Her pale eyes, sparkling in the dim light, flickered to the incubators. As she made a wary step in that direction, he noticed a small female clinging to her leg.

“You have a child?”

“Yes.”

An unexpected feeling of disappointment rushed through him. She already had a mate. Stepping back slightly, he gestured for her to proceed. Keeping a wary eye on him, she stepped into the room and gestured for the other females to proceed to the incubators. One hand on her daughter, she followed them, then picked up a… a Cire infant?

“You have one of our children?” he asked sharply.

“She’s mine.” Abigail cuddled the baby with one arm and pulled the older child close with the other.

“She?”

The room literally spun around him as he heard the gasps from his crew.

“Yes. Why does it matter?” Before he could respond, she raised her chin defiantly. “I know that you think female ‘product’ has more value, but I won’t let you take her. She needs me.”

“Did you give birth to her?” he demanded impatiently.

He had experience enough with other races to read the hesitation on her face, and he knew the answer even before she shook her head. Some of his elation died, but he was still overcome to find a female Cire, alive. The Red Death had taken