Forbidden (A Serian Novel) (3 page)

"Please don't," she cried to feign helplessness, even as she smiled internally. He underestimated her.
The was the problem with Serian males, they didn't realize how strong their women could be. Especially, half-breeds. With one hand, she shoved him and played along with his fantasy.

Cold-hearted eyes narrowed, scanning
her body. Hunger gleamed in them as he pressed his obvious arousal against her.

She wanted to throw up and scrub her skin raw from his touch.

"I love a good fight." He licked his lips.

"I'm glad you agree." The idiot remained ignorant as she reached her free hand behind her. Ha! She grasped the handle of her second macca, pulled it slowly back around to point into his side, and then fired.

Anara shoved his large body off hers and let his head slam against the ground without a care. She smiled. "Moron."

The blast from the maccas gave her at least one hour before they awoke, confused and extremely pissed. The low hum came again and she froze as the pod neared her again, before it changed direction.

The dumb machine may not have picked her up, but it would know two of the guards lay knocked out if it scanned them.

She picked up her small bag. The light weight showed just how much she held valuable in her life. She returned one macca in the back of her pants and kept the other in her right hand as she moved closer to her only escape.

"Wow." She slapped her free hand over her mouth. Two more Antikas still stood guard by the ship. The ship was big enough for maybe ten people to travel, black and sleek with sharp angles, but the Serian symbol ruined the beauty. The time had finally come for her to travel to Earth.

Her heart raced as she prepared to take down the last Antikas, both men identical in face, size, and build. She searched for some difference between them other than their hair color. The one closest to her wore long brown hair with blue streaks, which looked sexy with his blue skin, but his brother's purple streaks captured her gaze. Their chiseled jaws, wide shoulders, and narrow waist would tempt any woman, even her, who never wanted a man again. Wow! She really needed some sleep before she did something stupid.

The brothers didn't speak as they stood in front of the ship and luckily with no clue of what had happened to the other soldiers. Anara scanned the area once again and then raised both maccas to aim at them. Two more Antikas to take down and she would be ready to go. She could do it. She needed to.

Her hands shook and despite the cold, she started to sweat.
One deep breath, then another. Slowly, she pulled her finger back to fire the first shot. Her aim hit dead into the closer brother.

Blue streaked through the air and then his body fell to the ground without a fight.

Her feet moved on their own as she fought the need to flee, but she stood her ground, and then took another deep breath.

Swiftly, the brother with purple streaks moved in. He made it within inches of her before she pulled herself together.

She fired. His large body collapsed next to her. Relieved she didn't have another oversized Antika land on her, Anara let out her held breath.

It was time. Tears threatened to fall, but Anara forced composure and boarded the ship. The tears were for Laili and anyone else who deserved to be free.

She let her bag drop quietly to the ground before seeking out the pilots. Their laughter reached her ears. She moved in their direction and snuck up behind them.

So oblivious of their surroundings, they kept on talking as she leveled her weapons at their heads.

"Ready to depart?" She made sure to keep her voice strong and couldn't hold her smile back when her voice didn't crack once.

"Almost."
The bald pilot never turned to realize the danger. His fingers flew across the controls as he prepared the ship.

Anara's grin widened as the young pilot spun around in his chair. The blue of his face turned nearly white when he saw her weapon. He stretched a shaky hand to tap the older pilot on the shoulder.

"What is—?" The older pilot twisted his chair around to face her.

Anara swallowed the laughter that bubbled up inside of her. She’d never seen a Serian so scared. For once, she got a chance to put fear into
a their eyes, instead of the other way around.

"I think we're ready now." She stopped her laughter, but she liked to tease them. She winked as she lowered her aim to their more personal parts. Both men nodded and turned to prepare the ship for departure.

Within minutes, Anara felt relief flow through her as the ship lifted smoothly from the ground, bringing her a little closer to her life on Earth.

"Set the trip to planet Cryok." Going straight to Earth would be too easy for them to find her. Easy didn't work for her.

"What? They'll kill us on sight if we don't get permission to land there." The older pilot stood and turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"No, they'll kill
you
on sight. I'm a prisoner." She really hoped Ryin would be there when they landed, because, if not, she would have a problem convincing the others to help. Unfortunately, she was probably going to get him in trouble since she was sure no one else knew about him wanting to help her. She never would've put him on the spot, but there was no way she could've stayed on Seria any longer with them hunting her down. Moving her escape up made it impossible to make everything perfect. Plans to land on Cryok was last minute and hopefully not a mistake.

"Fine."
He returned his focus to the controls.

"Set coordinates to seven, five, three,
eight. Planet Cryok." The younger pilot stuttered the command.

"Repeat." The computer replied, clearly unable to understand the pilot's stutter.

Anara listened to the older pilot take over the voice controls and as they went through space, she saw the glow of lights and even other planets. Not that she knew which planets they were, but it didn't matter. She gasped at the sight of the vibrant red planet. That one she knew. Ryin described it to her before and there was no denying it.

The older pilot laughed. "Do you think you'll actually get to enjoy freedom? They'll come for you. Not only did you steal a ship, but you stole Jacrar's ship. He's in control of the Serian soldiers. All of them."

Jacrar. Anara would love to have revenge for her parent's death and even Laili's, but she never realized whose ship she’d hijacked.

"He missed me the first time." She shrugged and acted like his threat didn't mean a thing. Still, the Commander of Seria's best soldiers hunted her and it didn't sit well with her.

"You'll see," he said.

"Be quiet before she shoots us," the younger pilot whispered to stop his comrade. His knuckles turned white as he held tight to the control stick.

Only a few hours later, Anara grew anxious as they prepared to land the ship. Out the window, she could see tall buildings, homes, and lots of people. A lump formed in her throat. From the height and build of the people, they were all men. Not a huge surprise, she just wasn't ready to be surrounded by all of them.

The ship landed with little turbulence. Anara m
otioned the pilots to the door. She started to step out and almost fell face first. She couldn't move! Something invisible held her in place. Fear gripped her and her heart started to race. "What's going on?"

This time the younger pilot smiled and stuck his chest out in accomplishment as he explained. "If a ship is stolen, the theft protection comes on and holds any unauthorized person frozen in place. You're stuck until someone shows up to take you back."

Anara let out a frustrated breath and pulled the triggers on her maccas. Their bodies dropped with little noise on the soft soil. The smug pilot didn't look so confident now.

Loud footsteps grew closer to her and then there they stood. The weapons they pointed at her didn't seem familiar, but she worried more about the ones who didn't have weapons. They held their hands up and a light shined from their fingertips, which reminded her of the blue light that came from her maccas. She didn't want to end up blasted by those guys.

"Drop your weapons."

Two of the Cryoks' eyes looked green, one had blue eyes, and another purple, but they all glowed. She recognized none.

"I said, drop your weapons."

The maccas clattered to the ground then one of the men grabbed them. There she stood, frozen in place with a species that could kill her for trespassing and she held no weapons. And there was no sign of the only one she could trust.

Chapter Four

"Ryder?" Lyliane looked down at him as concern filled her big brown eyes.

Ryder's small body trembled. "He's here."

His mother's eyes went round as she realized who Ryder meant by 'he.'

"Hide, son. Now!" She nudged him onward with unsteady hands and forced him to hide beneath the stairway.

Tears streamed down his Oreo-covered face. He
had been experimenting with different ways to eat Oreos, until he felt the evil seep into his space.

"Hello, Lyliane."

A voice he hoped he would never hear again penetrated the walls around him. Ryder shivered as a chill shot up his spine. Then he heard Mark's voice.

"You need to go." The
soft voice he was used to sounded deeper than normal, and angry.

Since his mother had brought Ryder to Earth to live with Mark, Ryder never once heard him get
angry. Jacrar could get angry.

Just then Ryder knew he'd never see Mark again. His father would see to Mark's death.

A loud bang sounded before his mother's scream pierced the air. Ryder knew it was Mark's body that crashed to the floor after. A tear ran down his cheek for the man who’d become his real father, even if only for a few months.

"Please, just leave us alone." His mother's words came out broken, with sobs in between, as she begged.

"Give me my son." His father's booming voice echoed through the house. "You've embarrassed me as you whored with a human and took my son along with you. I'm going to have a lot of fun with your punishment."

"You never loved me; you were only with me to get a powerful son! How could wanting to be with someone I love and who loves me be a crime?"

Jacrar laughed. "Love? He is a worthless human and you're a fool to fall in love with one. Son, come tell your mother goodbye."

Ryder knew he shouldn't but he hurried out of his hiding place to run straight to his mother. To get to her, he needed to avoid Mark's motionless body. She wip
ed away the tears from his face, but they kept streaming out of his eyes.

"Everything's okay, little one.
You grow up to be the man I know you'll be." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

Ryder started to speak before his father's large hands jerked him away and shoved him into the arms of a stranger.

"I just want you to know that 'my' son will grow up to be just like me and if he doesn't, well, you know what will happen. Unfortunately, he already has Jatron abilities, so he'll have a lot to make up for." A dagger in his hand, Jacrar walked closer to Lyliane.

Ryder thrashed and screamed as the Antika held him captive. The arm around his waist didn't budge, no matter what Ryder did. "No!"

"I can't wait until you get what you deserve, Jacrar." His mother glanced back to Ryder with tears in her eyes.

"Ha! We'll see or should I say,
I'll
see." His father turned to look at the Serian who held Ryder. "Take him to the ship. I'll be a while."

He
screamed, but it didn't matter anymore. His father would kill his mother and Ryder would be alone for good.

****

Covered in sweat, Ryder woke up, jumped out of his seat and reached for his weapon. His heart raced and his gaze darted around the ship, alert for danger.

Nothing.
Just a dream. He’d gone years, until recently, without a nightmare of his mother's death. Why would they start back up now?

The pilots ignored his unusual actions. After all, no one wanted to offend the son of Jacrar, no matter what his father thought of him.

"Sir, we've got a problem," his pilot spoke.

Ryder looked at the time, then out the window. They never made it to Earth. Outside the ship, he saw the glow of the red planet. "Why are we at Cryok?"

"This is where the ship went."

"Then we might not have to worry about her, they'll kill her on sight." Or maybe they'd help her since she's only a half-breed and a woman. Everyone knew that Cryoks had no females and had to find theirs with other species. "We cannot land on their planet."

"We have waited here for thirty minutes, but there's been no movement of the hijacked ship. The tracking device is still active. At one point, someone set off the alarm. She shouldn't have been able to leave the ship, but somehow the alarm has been disengaged." The pilot pointed at the dot on the screen that flashed steadily.

"If they can disengage the alarm, shouldn't they have been able to disengage the tracker?" Ryder muttered to himself, not really needing the answer, since the Cryoks knew Serians would never come to their planet without permission.

The alliance between the two planets was not strong and if either made a wrong move then that alliance would be severed and a war would break out.

"We'll just have to wait. Let me know if the fuel levels become too low. We may have to get another ship out here if it does."

Ryder looked down at the picture in his hand. The female was a half-breed with wild curly blonde hair. The blue eyes had been the first thing to catch his attention. She seemed so familiar. It didn't matter; she was his target. His father had finally given him a job other than patrol and he couldn't mess it up.

The job started off with him searching for her on Seria until she escaped by stealing one of Jacrar's ships. It was a great way to start off the first mission he'd had in years. Letting the girl escape was one thing, but letting her steal Jacrar's ship made it that much worse.

Ryder opened his mind and then scanned. He'd been unsuccessful in finding her using his abilities so far and didn't think it would happen as far away as she was. It was worth a shot.

He could still see her, even at a distance. The deeper he went into his gift, the more her silver and pink essence captivated him. Her energy reached for his, which sent a stimulating shock straight to his groin.

No way! It was the female he'd crashed into two days before. She was his target and now he knew why. His father probably thought Ryder was involved with her. That also explained why he got the job right after he saw her attacked.

He didn't even notice she was a half-breed when they met. Not with the strength of her Jatron abilities or with her features hidden from him.

He groaned. Their energy mixed, forming multiple colors. The connection between them grew vigorously. He collapsed to his knees with the sudden burst of power. Ryder forced himself to breathe.

What did she do? His whole body hummed with excitement.
When he closed his mind, a small connection to her lingered in between. He couldn't block her, which made him nervous, and maybe a little more curious about her. He never would've thought she was a half-breed by the feel of her powers.

"Sir?"
His pilot's eyes narrowed.

"She's strong. Somehow she's done something to me." He moved back to his seat, and didn't elaborate on what she did, because he felt clueless himself. He did know he hid a full erection beneath his pants and he didn't plan to tell a follower of his father's that a half-
breed aroused him.

Especially now that he really had no idea what to do about her.
This was the female that affected him with just the touch. Whatever simmered between them was surely going to be the cause of his death.

His father would finally have his chance to get rid of him once and for all.