thunk it?”
The tiger hissed at me. “The Overlord is a pack leader. I pay homage as is proper.”
What a suck-up.
“You could learn from her,” Zarek scolded. He turned his attention to Tiko. “Where is your pack?”
“Dead. They were slaughtered by the alien snake.” The image of an Askole formed in her mind.
Damn. It was Karoo. The butcher needed to be put down like the rabid animal he was.
“Your grief is mine,” Zarek said solemnly.
“You honor me.” Tiko’s rage was a living thing. “I will find the monster and kill it.”
My rage equaled hers. “I’ll help you. Your monster also murdered my father.”
“Askoles are very difficult to kill,” Gramps warned. “Let me deal with him.”
“But—”
“Disobey me in this, and you will not like the consequences,” Zarek growled.
“Yes, sir.”
Tiko rolled over on her back, exposing her stomach. “As you command.”
The Overlord snapped into battle mode. “My ship is under attack. I will send Jaylan to you.”
“Wait! That’s not necessary.” Shit! Zarek had severed our link.
“The elder is your mate?” Tiko sat up and casually cleaned her right paw, exposing needle-sharp claws.
I eased back a step. “Oh God, no. He’s my grandfather.”
Jaylan appeared next to the bog. He was loaded down with enough weapons to take out an army. His furious gaze settled on me. “Bree!”
“That’s my mate.” I waved all friendly like.
Honey bunny’s hands curled into fists, and he bared his fangs in a snarl.
Tiko cocked her head. “He looks very angry.”
“He does, doesn’t he?”
“Perhaps you should run.”
I shook my head. “Running from a predator is never a good idea. Always be the first to attack.”
“Sometimes running is the only option.”
“Not with warlords. They always catch you, and then there’s hell to pay.” I stomped over to Jaylan and smacked him in the chest. “Where the hell have you been? Didn’t you hear me calling you?”
He crossed his arms and glared down at me. “Nice try.”
The menace in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. He was determined to be a snot wad. “Why are you upset? Everything’s under control.”
“You lied to me.”
I shrugged. “I might have omitted a few tiny details, but I felt there was no need to disturb your rest.”
“My rest?”
Shit! He had his scary face on. “You did all the heavy lifting yesterday. It was my turn to handle things.”
“Did your father allow you to go on missions without backup?”
God, no. I sidestepped the question. “I had Zarek.”
“Only because Voss summoned him. Now I must answer to the Overlord for your actions.”
“Oh. Shit. Sorry.”
“Sorry? Until you’re fully Coletti, you cannot teleport safely. Had you tried, you could have materialized in the bog. You will learn to obey me.”
Hanging on to my temper by a thread, I snapped, “What happened to us being partners?”
Jaylan leaned down until we were nose to nose. “We’re on a hostile planet and being hunted by assassins. We do not separate for any reason.”
Dammit, I hated when he made sense. “You have a point, but—”
Madal jumped on Jaylan’s back and gnawed fiercely on his battle suit. “Run, Bree.”
I grabbed the cub by the scruff of his neck and pulled him off. “Isn’t he precious?”
Jaylan hollered, “Precious? He’s a nuisance.”
“He’s a baby.”
Tiko growled a warning. “My baby.”
I put Madal down and pointed at my warlord. “This is Jaylan, my mate. Jaylan, this is Tiko and her son, Madal.”
Jaylan knelt and offered Madal his hand. “It is an honor to meet you, small one.”
Madal wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You stink.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
Jaylan smiled. “Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“It keeps the predators away.” Jaylan projected the image of the armored insects into Madal’s mind.
“Zip-zips. Bad.”
A beam of dazzling red energy shot from the sky and struck Zarek’s base.
Shit.
The tiger hissed at me. “The Overlord is a pack leader. I pay homage as is proper.”
What a suck-up.
“You could learn from her,” Zarek scolded. He turned his attention to Tiko. “Where is your pack?”
“Dead. They were slaughtered by the alien snake.” The image of an Askole formed in her mind.
Damn. It was Karoo. The butcher needed to be put down like the rabid animal he was.
“Your grief is mine,” Zarek said solemnly.
“You honor me.” Tiko’s rage was a living thing. “I will find the monster and kill it.”
My rage equaled hers. “I’ll help you. Your monster also murdered my father.”
“Askoles are very difficult to kill,” Gramps warned. “Let me deal with him.”
“But—”
“Disobey me in this, and you will not like the consequences,” Zarek growled.
“Yes, sir.”
Tiko rolled over on her back, exposing her stomach. “As you command.”
The Overlord snapped into battle mode. “My ship is under attack. I will send Jaylan to you.”
“Wait! That’s not necessary.” Shit! Zarek had severed our link.
“The elder is your mate?” Tiko sat up and casually cleaned her right paw, exposing needle-sharp claws.
I eased back a step. “Oh God, no. He’s my grandfather.”
Jaylan appeared next to the bog. He was loaded down with enough weapons to take out an army. His furious gaze settled on me. “Bree!”
“That’s my mate.” I waved all friendly like.
Honey bunny’s hands curled into fists, and he bared his fangs in a snarl.
Tiko cocked her head. “He looks very angry.”
“He does, doesn’t he?”
“Perhaps you should run.”
I shook my head. “Running from a predator is never a good idea. Always be the first to attack.”
“Sometimes running is the only option.”
“Not with warlords. They always catch you, and then there’s hell to pay.” I stomped over to Jaylan and smacked him in the chest. “Where the hell have you been? Didn’t you hear me calling you?”
He crossed his arms and glared down at me. “Nice try.”
The menace in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. He was determined to be a snot wad. “Why are you upset? Everything’s under control.”
“You lied to me.”
I shrugged. “I might have omitted a few tiny details, but I felt there was no need to disturb your rest.”
“My rest?”
Shit! He had his scary face on. “You did all the heavy lifting yesterday. It was my turn to handle things.”
“Did your father allow you to go on missions without backup?”
God, no. I sidestepped the question. “I had Zarek.”
“Only because Voss summoned him. Now I must answer to the Overlord for your actions.”
“Oh. Shit. Sorry.”
“Sorry? Until you’re fully Coletti, you cannot teleport safely. Had you tried, you could have materialized in the bog. You will learn to obey me.”
Hanging on to my temper by a thread, I snapped, “What happened to us being partners?”
Jaylan leaned down until we were nose to nose. “We’re on a hostile planet and being hunted by assassins. We do not separate for any reason.”
Dammit, I hated when he made sense. “You have a point, but—”
Madal jumped on Jaylan’s back and gnawed fiercely on his battle suit. “Run, Bree.”
I grabbed the cub by the scruff of his neck and pulled him off. “Isn’t he precious?”
Jaylan hollered, “Precious? He’s a nuisance.”
“He’s a baby.”
Tiko growled a warning. “My baby.”
I put Madal down and pointed at my warlord. “This is Jaylan, my mate. Jaylan, this is Tiko and her son, Madal.”
Jaylan knelt and offered Madal his hand. “It is an honor to meet you, small one.”
Madal wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You stink.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
Jaylan smiled. “Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“It keeps the predators away.” Jaylan projected the image of the armored insects into Madal’s mind.
“Zip-zips. Bad.”
A beam of dazzling red energy shot from the sky and struck Zarek’s base.
Shit.
Similar Books
