Alien Conquest (Fated Mates of Xaensskar #2) - Jude Gray Page 0,9

male—could care about little animals. I’d never really seen that before, not in a man. They rarely even named their xildes, which served them faithfully, and sometimes for a man’s entire lifetime. The Craeshen were not a soft, emotional people. But Dexx seemed, in some ways, to be different.

Of course, he had stuffed us into the back of this truck and refused to tell us anything or give us breakfast or even a blanket to warm us, so it wasn’t like he was Mr. Softy.

“I’m starving,” Vihn complained.

I understood. I hadn’t had any food since early yesterday. “I’m sure they’ll feed us when we get to wherever it is they’re taking us.”

“Sure,” he said scornfully. “Gruel and garbage, they’ll feed us.”

I sighed. He seemed a little less afraid and a little more thirteen-year-old boy. Still, he didn’t let go of my hand.

The journey was endless. Eventually, the roads became so rutted and rough that the trailer beat us worse than the guards had, bouncing us off walls and banging us off the floor, scaring us half to death as a couple of times, we thought the trailer had been unhitched and we’d been pitched over a cliff.

Finally, we stopped.

I heard vehicle doors slamming, and then what sounded like a dozen xildes nickering and the deep rumble of men talking. I cocked my head, listening. “What on Xaensskar is happening?” I muttered.

Then the bolt was shoved back on the heavy door of the transport, and I shielded my eyes from the blindingly bright sunlight when the door was flung open. “Out,” a guard bellowed.

I attempted to do as he asked but my legs were numb, my body stiff and cold, and though I was no longer chained, I couldn’t quite make myself move. The guard reached in, grabbed a handful of my shirt, and dragged me out. I hit the ground with a cry of agony—which sounded nothing like the cry of outrage I’d had in mind. He didn’t hesitate to give Vihn the same treatment, and I flinched when Vihn’s bony body slammed against the ground beside me. Vihn did nothing more than groan.

I forced myself to my feet, then leaned against Vihn when he stood. “Where are we?”

Men were scurrying around pulling xildes from trailers, loading them with bundles of supplies, and shouting back and forth as though no one knew how to do anything other than yell. And all I saw when I looked around us was…nature. Woods, trees, animals calling and singing and scurrying through underbrush. There was an actual dirt road winding through the trees, and even as I watched, one of the guards mounted his xilde and started slowly down that rutted, white road.

I’d only ever been in the city, and I put my hand to my chest as I turned in a circle and took in the strange but awe-inspiring sights. My lungs expanded with the strange scents, but somehow, it seemed even colder here, and my nostrils burned when the cold air seeped into them. “This is…”

“The end,” Vihn spat. “What are they going to do, imprison us in a forest? This is our punishment?”

“Punishment,” I breathed. “Vin, this is…amazing. It lifts my spirit just to see it.” I spread my arms and closed my eyes as I threw my head back and inhaled deeply. “I would live here forever!”

Vihn made a strangled sound and I dropped my arms and opened my eyes, losing my smile immediately when I saw that Dexx Tavin was standing in front of us, glaring down from his great height.

“Oh,” I said, gulping.

“One boy who does nothing but whine and one boy who acts like a little girl. Transforming the two of you into decent men may be a task beyond me.”

Vihn and I both gaped at him, silent, until he snorted, turned on his heel, and stomped away. Then we looked at each other, our eyes wide.

“Transform us,” I murmured. “What is this Craeshen intending?”

“Into men,” Vihn said meaningfully. “You should hope they don’t discover how impossible that transformation will be for you.”

My heart sank, but then I straightened my spine. “He isn’t the type to allow his men to rape and torture. He stopped the guard from beating me in the courtyard, remember.”

Vihn shrugged, and then we both backed away in horror when Bo, the big guard I met last night, strode toward us leading an enormous, shaggy xilde. He said nothing as he grabbed a resisting Vihn by one arm and the seat of his