Alien Conquest (Fated Mates of Xaensskar #2) - Jude Gray Page 0,2

friend. They won’t even know you’re a girl.” He gestured at my “disguise,” which is how I always dressed when I went to work. I dressed as a boy, bound my small breasts, bulked up my shoulders, and wore loose, shapeless clothes beneath my too-large coat. I twisted my long, stick-straight hair into a knot at the nape of my neck before donning my worn, brown cap.

I also smeared dirt on my face because with my smooth, pink cheeks, pale skin, and delicate features, I might not fool anyone. And the streets weren’t safe for a girl—for a boy, either, but especially not for a girl. It was harder to steal stuff when the men you stole from were paying too much attention to your pretty face. Some of them offered to pay a female thief to bend over in a dark alley, and some of them just grabbed her up and used force to get what he wanted. Who would stop him, after all? No one, not even the law. It was a street thief’s lot in life to have no rights.

Ilen taught me how to “be a boy” early on, and as good as I was at thieving, I was just as good at pretending to be male.

“I’m not letting you go,” I said firmly. “Don’t make me call Xor.”

He paled, wavering for a second at the thought of Stone Haven’s guard. Xor was a huge Hagriga, one of the only races on Xaensskar with horns and tails. We were all scared of him, but as grim and frightening as he was, he was never cruel—at least not to me. Though he might deny it, Xor took care of the Stone Haven street kids—in his own subtle way.

He didn’t hesitate to hand out ass-whippings, should a kid deserve it, but he didn’t beat up on them for no reason.

“I’m not going to fuck with Dexx Tavin, and neither are you. He’s a barbaric asshole.” I lowered my voice the way I did when I gathered the littles around me for scary story night. “He’s a Craeshen. They were born without hearts, you know.” I widened my eyes. “And they have no conscience. They eat children’s hearts because they have none of their own.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes, but I saw his throat bob as he swallowed. “That’s stupid. You lie.”

I growled at him, growing impatient. “I’ve heard the stories. Listen, Vihn. I’m older than you. Trust me that I know what’s best.” I grabbed his skinny arm once again and began dragging him from the alley.

But I misjudged his determination to see his mo, and his need to not disappoint her. He grabbed the back of my neck and slammed my forehead against the rough exterior brick wall, and by the time I picked myself up off the ground and wiped the blood from my eyes, he was gone.

Chapter Two

I ran all the way to East Corvin.

I figured I’d follow Vihn to Dexx Tavin’s estate, sneak in after him, and at least have his back and try to hurry him along as he took whatever items of value his mother had bagged up for him. I couldn’t begin to fathom her reasons or intentions, but I was sure of one thing. She didn’t give a fuck about her son.

Maybe she thought Vihn could get out with the goods, sell them, and bring her the money. She had her hooks in him, and from what I’d seen that night, Vihn would do just about anything for the woman who’d thrown him away.

He thought it was his fault that she’d kicked him out when he was a little kid. He thought he needed her love and acceptance, because apparently he saw himself through her eyes. She’d screwed him up good. Poor kid.

I took off my coat before I crossed the street to Eastmeadow. There was no time to do more than place it behind a tree and hope no one would find it before I returned to retrieve it.

Dexx Tavin didn’t play heavy with security, probably because he was so arrogant he didn’t believe anyone would pose a threat to him, but he did post guards—and it was those guards I needed to get past. I couldn’t wiggle my way through a window—not because they were protected, but because the second I strode through his gates and rushed up his paved drive, the guards were going to pounce.

But I could lie my way out of anything. I hurried through