Verakko relaxed a fraction. Not anytime soon. Even if the small amount of venom he’d been able to inject into the male hadn’t killed him, it would’ve certainly put him out of commission for a few days. Still, he could’ve landed close by to recover. It’d be better if he and this mysterious female got out of here sooner rather than later. Unless she, too, was an Insurgent. She’d tied him up, after all.
“Hey, alien! Answer me.”
Verakko felt a flare of annoyance for a moment before her use of words settled over him. Alien? He stiffened. Sitting up straighter, he ran his gaze over the female again. His eyes locked back on hers. “You’re human.”
A small pink tongue darted across her full lower lip, distracting him, and she gulped but said nothing.
Did this mean their plan had worked? He studied her worn clothing and pile of handcrafted supplies. “How long have I been unconscious?”
“You’ll answer my questions first,” she said, shooting him a glare.
Verakko tilted his head at the small human, and his mouth quirked upward despite himself. She was brave, to say the least. “I was dropped here by some pishot Strigi. Does that answer your questions?”
Her frown deepened at his tone. “How can we understand each other?”
“You were implanted with a translator, it seems.” Allowing his body to calm, he swayed her. “It would make sense to tell me where you came from. What would be the harm?”
Her irises dilated, and she swiftly replied, “I came from…” She paused and blinked at him. After a moment, she shook her head as if to clear it. “What was that?”
Verakko couldn’t stop his mouth from falling open.
She narrowed her eyes at his surprised expression. “Did you try and do something to my head?”
Never in his life had his sway been so easily rejected. He was regarded as one of the more powerful of his kind, and although his sway often didn’t hold for long stretches of time, it usually required more effort to shake off than that. He shifted in his seat, his pride injured by the tiny Earthling, and decided his weakened state was obviously the cause of his malfunctioning gift.
“How about you untie me, and then we can talk?” he offered. Breaking out of these ropes would be easy, but he suspected the only reason this human was sitting so close to him at the moment was because she assumed he’d been rendered immobile. If he revealed his strength, she’d likely run or attack, and he was not in the mood to subject his abused body to any more physical exertion at the moment.
She grinned, displaying small white teeth, and his cock gave an unwelcomed twitch of interest. “Not a chance. How do you know what humans are?”
“How about a drink of water, then? At least give me that.” Truth be told, he didn’t really need water. His people were most comfortable in the dry Dakuun desert, their bodies adapted to survive on minimal resources. What he did need was to see her more closely. The urge to leap over the fire, just to get a clear view of her eye color, was like a living entity clawing inside him.
She stared at him hard, and he could almost see her weighing his request. Her gaze strayed to a primitive wooden bowl filled with water, and she nibbled her pink lower lip. His blood heated, and his cock gave another involuntary twitch. Recently, he’d witnessed quite an odd practice from a few of the humans and their mates, and he’d not been able to get the image out of his mind since. It’d been odd and unpleasant, their mouths locked together like they were trying to inhale each other’s air. So why couldn’t he stop thinking about taking that lip between his own teeth?
Goddess help me. What’d gotten into him? He peered down at his wrists, holding his breath, then exhaled. No marks.
“Answer one of my questions first, then I’ll give you a drink of water,” she said finally.
He lifted his chin, mirroring her own stubborn posture. “Have my eyes changed? Have the irises and whites both turned completely black or possibly yellow?”
She pursed her lips.
Verakko stifled a hiss. How to get her to answer him? “It’s important. It…it’s indicative of…my health. Please.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. “No. They haven’t changed.”
“Promise to tell me if they do, and I’ll answer your questions.”
She studied him for a moment and then gave a tight nod. “How do you know what I am?” Her stoic countenance held strong, but he saw the briefest flash of fear in her eyes. What had the Insurgents done to her?
He took a deep breath to allow the bubbling snarl building in him to abate before answering. “I’ve met a few of your kind. Two, to be exact. I was with one of them, Alice, only hours ago. We released you from the facility you were being held in. Do you not recognize my voice?”
“Alice?” she shot forward before realizing it and then halted. “You know Alice?”
“You know Alice?” Verakko searched his mind for an explanation. There was no way this female could know Alice unless… He took in the sight of her weathered clothes and handcrafted supplies once more. “You’re one of the females who ran off into the forest weeks ago, aren’t you?”
She opened her mouth then closed it again.
Relief, worry, and annoyance all exploded in Verakko and, failing to contain himself, he blurted, “That was such a stupid idea. How could you have run off like that? Do you know how many people have been trying to find you? The other humans have been worried sick.”
Her head snapped back, and her cheeks flushed bright red. “Hey! You don’t get to judge me. You have no idea what I
