others, which was one of the more redeeming characteristics that she possessed. His tail twitched, his breath coming out in rough pants. He was in such a state that when he heard the solid tread of feet, he jerked upright, not recognizing the clipped sound.
The tread of the female caretaker was typically soft, not hard like those approaching now. If it were someone who was coming to take him away early, he would risk his chances against them. It was late, and he knew that many would be trickling out. Few scientists seemed to work after the midday storms rolled through. He might have a chance to fulfill this plan against a warrior rather than the small female. He would strike mercilessly to overpower whoever entered his cell.
A dark figure rounded the corner, and he froze, at first not recognizing the stranger who approached until the offworlder was right in front of his cage. Only then was he able to make out the familiar blue eyes staring at him. She touched something at her neck, and he heard her voice from within the helmet.
“Okay, big guy, this is going to suck for a little bit, but everything is going to be fine.”
His lips pulled back from his teeth at the ultimate betrayal. She was the one they were employing to take him away. Why else would she be garbed in protective wear? The black material clung to the curves and dips of her body like armored skin. She was transporting him personally, perhaps?
He snarled, his arms braced away from his body, his claws unsheathing.
“I’m so sorry, Merlin,” she whispered.
What was this Merlin? She had said this before, many times over the days since he awoke in this terrible place.
Her hand flattened against the panel, and he immediately sucked in a deep breath, filling both sets of his lungs just before the mist began to spray into the cell. Just as he planned, he swayed on his feet and sank to the ground where he had been standing, his head against the grass in what he hoped was a perfect mimicry of his state of paralysis when sedated.
She made a rough throaty sound and entered his abode.
Though his lungs burned, he did not dare to move or draw a breath. At sixty counts, he could feel her footsteps vibrating on the ground as she made her way over to him. At seventy-five, he could sense the heat from her body as she stepped beside him and dropped down to his level. At eighty, her hands gripped his shoulders. At eighty-five, he deep exhaled and drew in a breath of clean, drug-free air as he surged to his feet.
His growl rattled out of him. He had her! He roared triumphantly as she opened her mouth to scream. The sound was lost beneath his bellow, and with one swift move, he yanked her up into his lower arms. As he expected, she was a firm but comfortable weight. With another roar, he surged forward swiftly on his paws and raced out the entrance.
Freedom, at last!
Chapter 16
Oh shit. This wasn’t part of the plan. Charlie’s fingers fumbled and deactivated her outward speaker so she could speak on the frequency that Jace—nimble-fingered self-taught tech that he was—put together for them to be able to speak on without being monitored. She didn’t know how long it would take security to catch them if Erik didn’t disable the correct monitors. At least the alien was racing in the right direction. She didn’t know how he knew the route, but she was thankful that it was working in their favor.
“Erik, we have a situation!” she shouted into the link.
Cursing followed her statement from Erik. “What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know how it happened, but he ambushed me!”
“He? The alien—he?”
“Yes, the fucking alien. He escaped his confinement and we’re heading through corridor V12.”
“We?” Erik squawked and followed it with another round of profanity.
“Yes, we. He grabbed me. No doubt he will abandon me outside of the dome at some point once he has gotten away to a safe distance, but I need you to make sure that the exit route from corridor V12 is completely shut down.” She swallowed a groan as the alien took a sharp corner, jostling her in his grip.
“Fuck! We were supposed to sneak him out through entry V23C. Did you already pass the turn off? Maybe you can get him moving in that way.”
“Negative,” she hissed. “He’s going to the general access bay. Shut