Stolen and Seduced - Christine Pope Page 0,318

of my kind.”

“That’s the thing…they weren’t just killing; they were spreading their virus well before we showed up. The second wave just happened to come with the portal when we did.”

Her eyes grow wide with fear. “But, but how?” Her little hand tightens around mine.

I smirk slightly, knowing she is starting to see the bigger picture. Trust my words. I lead her over to the master computer and pull up our database with all the information we gathered from previous encounters with their kind. “Serpenites are also known as the “Imposters” they have the ability to look like any living thing. Their venom is ten times more deadly than a king cobra.”

Her mouth falls open. “Holy shit.” She then shakes her head in disbelief. “How…how were they spreading this virus?” She gulps, oddly touching her lips. I can practically see the gears inside her head turning.

“Through a bite or kiss.”

Her legs fail her.

I catch her, putting my hand on the small of her back. Her gaze turns distant as if she’s having one of her episodes again.

Veda

This is all too much; my head feels like it’s about to explode. This whole time I thought my captor was the enemy, but it turns out he is the hero. How is that possible if the Dragonoids were the ones to blow up Earth? What possible explanation could justify destroying an entire planet?

Then he explains the Serpenites can appear as anyone and they were on Earth before the Dragonoids showed up. Which means maybe someone I thought was human…wasn’t. Oh, God! Carter! That kiss!

Have I been infected? My fingers glide across my lips. He had kissed me with a wickedly hot amount of passion that was toe-curling but also not Carter. He was the “I’ll make love to you” type, not the “I’m gonna fuck you like an animal” type.

If I tell Eleazar a Serpenite kissed me, he is going to set flame to this entire universe. Because according to Eleazar, I belong to him.

I feel his hand move to the small of my back, his heat radiating into my core. The sensation relaxes me a little as if he is trying to absorb all my worries. When I look up, he’s already staring at me with an unreadable expression. “I think…” My thoughts jumble together, listening to my heart drum in my ears.

His hands caress my back. “What’s the matter?”

“A Serpenite kissed me.”

An intense glower spread across his face, fire burning in his eyes while a cloud of smoke flares from his nostrils. “When? Where?” He shucks the equipment off the counter onto the floor. The broken pieces rocket through the air. I back pedal to avoid getting hit with one.

“On the ship before you took me. I didn’t know.”

“ARRRRHHHH!” he roars, sounding like a dragon, his scales flaring out. He knocks over the pod and the aliens in lab coats go scurrying to the other room. “That man you were with. That was a Serpenite!”

I am cowering in the corner. “I didn’t know. I swear.”

Eleazar’s grumble reverberates through me. He hangs his head in between his shoulders, his hands gripping the edge of the table in front of him. After what seems like an eternity of silence, he speaks. “It’s not your fault. That’s how deceptive the Serpenites are. I didn’t know. Otherwise, I would have fucking killed him.”

Slowly, I get up and creep towards him. Nerves zip through me. The implications for what he’s done coursing through me. “Thanks for saving me.” I throw my arms around his thick, scaly waist.

His large arm embraces me, meshing me into his side. I let out a breath, leaning my head against him. “Anytime, human. But there’s something else I need to show you.”

“Okay.” I smile at him. He doesn’t return the favor, and it turns my smile upside down.

Letting go of me, he takes my hand and leads me through the doors the scientist bolted through earlier.

The sight of what lies before me has my heart stop then restart. “Oh my God. How?” Tears instantly fall from my eyes as I see two little bodies I recognize, both with the same shade of auburn hair as my sister. I look at him, beaming. “You didn’t?”

“I didn’t.” He points to the other scientists in the room. “We did.”

I let go of his hand and run over to their unconscious bodies hooked up to machines, and I pepper both of their foreheads with kisses. “Oh, my babies. Are they going to be okay?” I’m