sp; Our Prillon teammates hadn’t wasted their resources. All around the edges of the room they’d set up barriers and defensible positions. But nothing was going to stop the beast.
“About time, Mills,” Captain Dorian yelled, standing up to fire at the beast from behind a capsized table on my right.
The beast roared and advanced mindlessly, swinging his huge fists like wrecking balls. So much for his lucid moment. Whatever was left of Angh wasn’t in there now. He was a drone. A servant of the Hive.
I knew the Atlan warlord was still inside him, somewhere. He’d shown himself. Briefly.
Everything had gone according to plan, everything except this. “Don’t shoot.” I held up my hand and gave the order as the rest of ReCon 3 flooded the room.
“The rest are dead,” Jack reported and I nodded as the Prillon crew stood from their hidden positions and every single ion blaster and rifle in the room was pointed at the beast.
“Hold your fire,” I ordered again, just to be clear.
“What the fuck are you doing, Mills?” Dorian bellowed at me as the beast advanced on him.
“Trust me.” I caught my friend’s eye. “Keep him occupied, but no head shots. Body shots won’t kill him. Draw his attention. I need some time.”
“You’re insane, Mills.” But the big golden Prillon warrior nodded and took a step back, firing at the enraged beast, careful to aim at his shoulders. His thighs. I had no doubt Dorian didn’t realize it was Warlord Anghar. The beast’s face was practically unrecognizable. Even then, I only knew Angh through Dax and Sarah. The Prillon had probably never met the Atlan. The fighting teams rarely mixed on the battlefield.
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it now,” Dorian shouted at me as he fired again and again. The beast’s body was singed, visible vapor rising from his shoulder into the air, but he kept walking. The Hive tech had turned a beast into a true monster. Stronger than any living creature I’d ever seen.
“Trinity, have the tranqs ready.”
“How many?” she asked.
“All of them,” I said. I meant to take Angh down, and take him home. “If he doesn’t go down, take him out.”
“You can’t be serious,” Jack grumbled, but Trinity was already reaching into her gear for the tranquilizers as Jack moved up to cover her.
I stepped back and grabbed the tranquilizer injections from her just as the beast reached Dorian. He wrapped his hands around Dorian’s neck, lifted him off the ground like the seven-foot Prillon warrior weighed nothing, and threw him against the wall.
Dorian fell to the floor but was instantly on his feet in a crouch, blood dripping from his head, battle fury glazing his eyes. His battle cry was loud, a clear challenge meant to keep the beast’s attention as I advanced on him from behind.
The distraction worked as the beast took a step forward to finish what he’d started.
I slung my rifle to the ground and dropped all my gear. I needed a running start and didn’t want the extra weight. I ignored Jack’s cursing and checked the angle of the injectors in my hand.
“Now!” Dorian’s order was a boom in the room and I ran as he reached for the beast, used every ounce of strength he possessed to hold Angh in place for precious seconds so I could make my attack.
Silently, I sprinted forward and jumped on the beast’s back. The moment I made contact, I jammed the injectors into the side of the warlord’s neck.
With a roar, the beast reached behind him, grabbed me by my armor and threw me so that my back hit the wall next to where Dorian had been moments ago. I slid to the ground in a heap and struggled to right myself, head spinning, the pain like I’d cracked open my skull. The iron scent of blood filled my helmet but I blinked it away as Trinity opened fire to keep the beast off me, shooting as his legs.
“Hold your fire!” I tried to yell, but the order came out more of a croak. I didn’t need to worry. The beast swayed on his feet, fighting the drugs that flooded his system, but I’d given him enough to take down a large elephant. Even the Atlans weren’t that strong.
Jack fired once. Twice. Like Trinity, keeping the strikes to the Hive implants on the beast’s legs and shoulders until he toppled, unconscious.
Trinity lifted her helmet and looked at me, a slight shimmer in her eyes as she stared at the felled Atlan. “Why did you do that, Seth? Why did you have us save him?”
“Because he’s my friend.” One of the few still alive, if being implanted with Hive technology could be considered living. But at least now he’d have a chance. The docs could remove most of the tech and send him to live on the Colony. He’d never fight again, but at least he’d survive.
He might hate me for it. I knew that on a gut level. But I’d seen too much death. He’d just have to fucking get over it. Get tested for a mate, like my sister, Sarah, had talked me into last year. In a moment of weakness, full of whiskey and reminiscing about home, I’d given in and let her take me to the testing center for her Christmas present. She was so in love with her matched mate, Warlord Dax, that I simply couldn’t tell her no. She’d risked everything to save my life. Denying her was not an option.
The testing? Yeah, that had been a huge mistake. First, it had been a year since I’d sat in that stupid chair and still no match. Second, I doubted I’d survive until the end of my tour long enough to get one. And if I did get matched before my service was up, leaving a grieving widow was not something I wanted to do. A pregnant wife? A child? No fucking way. Because if I had a mate, I’d want it all, but that was impossible. That was beyond cruel. I couldn’t be that selfish.
Sarah didn’t understand. She lived a different life. Warlord Dax had retired once they were mated and the two of them settled into civilian life on Atlan. They were wealthy, living in a massive home with servants and accolades for his time in the Coalition Fleet. They hosted dinner parties and played with their daughter. A different life and not one I could offer any woman.
Dorian crouched down next to me and I lifted my gaze to meet his. “You are one crazy bastard, Mills.”