Page 25 of Mated to the Vikings

The connection was surreal, electricity surging, the rush the most incredible series of sensations. Whatever scientific experiments had gone on, I knew in my heart that these poor creatures understood but there was more.

They would exact revenge.

“What have they done? What are humans capable of?” I knew the wretched answer. We were all doomed to face the same horrors as before.

Only this time, and if we lost, we would become extinct.

I knew what I had to do, no matter if I lost my life. I had to find someone I could trust and break open this story before it was too late.

For a brief second, I closed my eyes, able to see images from his mind but nothing that made any sense. There was such power in this man, a brutal level of anger.

Then I knew without question.

These creatures would consume everything, take what they wanted.

And they were very hungry.

CHAPTER 6

Erik

The shadows were our friends.

The others were restless, eager to swarm the compound, exacting revenge on the humans who’d attempted to destroy our lives. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. I was no more Galerian than I was human, the hybrid DNA taking a toll.

We’d remained in the cave through the night and into the next afternoon, hoping the storm would break but we could wait no longer. I had a sense of urgency, perhaps because of the special female. But I also gathered time was of the essence. With the crash landing of the last shuttle, I knew that more humans would arrive soon. Then the real war would begin.

We would be the brutal, unforgiving monsters we’d been accused of being.

“You seem tense,” Brexin said.

“Apprehensive, yes.” Our previous attack would have their armed guards on standby, prepared for another one. I had no way of knowing whether they’d increasing their security. While we were twenty strong, their numbers were greater even if our weapons were far more powerful.

“The female is inside. Will she come with us willingly?”

I had no way of knowing. What we’d shared had been cathartic, passionate in the most savage manner, but we were still monsters in humans’ eyes. “She will come with us one way or the other.”

“I’m sorry, Erik.”

This was the first time I heard true concern in my friend’s voice. I tipped my head, gazing into his eyes. They’d changed in appearance, almost black in color. “Why?”

“This shouldn’t have happened. What will the humans do once they arrive?”

“What they have always done, simply conquer and take what doesn’t belong to them.”

“Then we will fight to the death,” he stated, snarling under his breath.

“Yes.” They were now my people and I was willing to die for them.

Sadly, I wasn’t a good man. That had been made perfectly clear before on every occasion that the great Dr. Fields could manifest, reminders of why I should shut my mouth and accept the ultimate penance for crimes performed years before. The very ones for which I’d thought I’d served my time. I wasn’t just bitter at the outcome. I was in the mood to exact revenge.

And I would.

Snorting, I tipped my head back and roared, bellowing toward the snow-driven sky. I was still in significant pain, the kind of agony that furrowed into the dark recesses of one’s heart and soul. Although I was no longer certain I even had a soul.

I was nothing more than a barbarian, my functions limited to hunting. At least that’s what the human scientists believed. I was now a member of the Galerian clan; powerful and intelligent, the ancient species had once ruled several planets. I’d been one of the lucky bastards, escaping a true hell. There were countless others who remained inside a barricaded facility built by humans. Unfortunately, I had no accounting of the actual numbers given the number of clan cities. The reports had been sketchy. Every human volunteer had been treated like animals even before the procedures had begun, constantly reminded that we were nothing on Earth but useless pieces of flesh.

The scientists had succeeded in altering my DNA. Now, I had to accept there was no turning back.