I snap my eyes open. Whispers of Aoa surround me while the female stands there with her hands covering her mouth. The gesture reminds me of Stephanie, the human who enthralled my brother. She covered her mouth like this after she ate Sor’s flesh. Cute human females, carrying our fierce goddesses inside them.
Feli pats the female’s head and whispers something in her ear.
I grind my teeth. I am so annoyed, I wanna rip him to pieces. I growl at the pair of them.
The female sits down, and Feli returns to the controls.
Gur holds his charred arm, his eyes ablaze. “Kill him,” he grits past clenched teeth.
Nobody moves.
“Kill him!” he repeats, then takes out his ax, bends at the knee, and throws.
I don’t dodge the incoming weapon aimed at my head. Instead, I snatch a male next to me and force him in front of me, then bend. The ax hits the male’s forehead, splitting his head wide open. It appears that Gur missed and hit the male, which isn’t my fault. The subtribe won’t tolerate a provocation like this. Bonus points for me if he’s someone’s brother or father or cousin. Revenge must be served.
A male in front of me turns from the platform and cries out. He drops to his knees, shaking the dead male on the ground. “Ore. Ore. Ore!” he calls.
Ore’s head hangs back as the male scoops him up to hug him, blazing silver eyes locked with mine. Just when I think he’ll attack me, he spins and leaps, his hunter pushing forward midleap. Gur’s hunter responds and meets him halfway. They clash in a flurry of long claws and sharp teeth. The female is screaming, running toward Feli, who hides her behind his body. Gur’s males rush from the training field, and the subtribe surges forward, war cries vibrating their chests right before they attack.
Males fight all around me, and I stand there sinking into the mud, staring at my female and the male who, by all accounts, protects her. I’m rationalizing why she would run to him and not to me for protection, and even though I understand I’m standing in the middle of a fighting pit, making her choice of Feli a wiser and more sane decision, I am offended…and hurt. I think she hurt my fucking feelings. I didn’t even know I had feelings.
I push my way through the battlefield and climb onto the platform. Feli reaches for his ax. “Don’t even think about it,” he says.
“Think about what?”
“Taking the female.”
“Your games are over. Gur started a conflict with a subtribe. You and I both know this won’t be resolved for a long time, and the female is in danger if she stays in the camp.”
“She’s staying with me.”
“Over my hunter’s tooth, Feli. Move away.” I allow my hunter to push forward, claws extending, jaw expanding, and I show him my teeth.
“Predator!” The female spins on her little foot and bolts.
My hunter sees prey on the run, and it’s over. He breaks through and guns after her.
Chapter Twelve
Michelle
My feet keep slipping over the mud as I sprint as fast as I can, trying not to fall, searching wildly for a way out of the camp. Huge creepy creatures from nightmares run past me, along with males in their bipedal form, their fight over at the platform.
What the hell happened?
One minute, I was a prize in a competition, the next, a meal amid the throng of alien predators. This entire time, I believed they were warriors, a class we could ally with, and my brother would love to ally with these guys. They’re built for fighting and hand-to-hand combat, and the Martians would tremble in their wake should they ever decide to overthrow Earth’s rule.
I reach the forested area, almost out of the camp. Yes! Seeing the goal line makes me redouble my effort. I run into something, bounce off as if I hit a wall, land on my ass, then scoot back as I see a creature advancing. Another creature jumps over me, and I duck, covering my head. I hear tearing, a yelp, and then silence.
I’m afraid to look up, so I don’t. Predators prey on humans, and I don’t want to face one. I pray it will finish me off quickly, not painfully. Slowly sinking into the mud, I rock in place.
Something tugs on my fur.
I peek through my fingers. With no lips over the teeth, it leaves them exposed so the first thing I note is flesh stuck between