Redeeming The Alien Werewolf

11.

Vanessa

I screamed and the monster recoiled, its grotesque features contorted in agony as it staggered backward.

Everyone in the arena recoiled in pain, including Draug. Ignoring my bleeding arm, I ran to him, dragging him to the exit.

I covered his ears and screamed again, having an even worse effect on everyone else.

"Vanessa?" Draug mumbled. "What are you doing?"

"Protecting us," My voice was hoarse. I didn't know why my screams felled these aliens, but they did. I tried to scream again, but I was losing my voice.

The arena was a battlefield of confusion, everyone scrambling to regain their footing while others remained incapacitated by the power of my scream. I dragged Draug clear of the arena.

"Vanessa," he breathed, eyes wide. "You did this."

"Guess so." I nodded, tone raspy. "Something about my voice, my screams, it hurts alien ears. Time to move up the plan– we're escaping now."

Draug recovered from my scream and could stand on his own now. We grabbed some discarded armour and strapped it on quickly.

The stale scent of sweat and blood hung in the air as I gripped the hilt of my makeshift weapon, a jagged piece of metal that had once been part of a support beam.

"Let's go find a ship." Draug pointed down a corridor.

I ran with Draug by my side, his gold eyes blazing like molten fire. Behind us, the arena was a cacophony of terror and violence.

Insectmen swarmed around us, their chitinous exoskeletons reflecting the harsh glare of the overhead lights.

My heart pounded, each beat a reminder of how out of my depth I was in this nightmarish world.

"Stay close," Draug growled, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me. In a blur of motion, he grabbed a massive sword, cleaving an approaching insectman in half. Its black ichor splattered on the ground, forming a macabre constellation.

I tried to swallow the bile rising in my throat and focused on the task at hand: survival.

"Why are they doing this?" I asked between breaths, parrying an attack from one of the smaller insectmen. The disgusting crunch of its exoskeleton echoed in my ears as I struck it down. "What do they want from us?"

Draug snarled as he dispatched another opponent. "They serve the Empire," he gritted out. "We're caught in the middle of a power struggle between the Intergalactic Alliance and the Empire."

"Intergalactic... what?" I gasped, ducking under the swipe of a pincer. Had he mentioned that earlier? In response, Draug lunged forward, driving his sword through the creature's head.

"An alliance of planets who don't even know the Empire exists. The idiots refuse to acknowledge someone would even try to usurp them," he explained, his breathing heavy. "These males are the Empire's foot soldiers. Their goal is to conquer distant worlds that the Alliance doesn't know about and enslave or exterminate the inhabitants. I think your planet is the first."

I couldn't help but shudder at the thought of what might have happened if Draug and I hadn't found each other. My eyes scanned the arena, trying to find an escape route amidst the chaos.

The bodies of fallen insectmen piled up around us, a grim testament to the brutality that had unfolded.

"Will the Alliance come help us?" I asked, my voice shaking with fear and desperation. "Or are we just pawns in this game?"

Draug's gaze met mine, fierce and unwavering. "We'll make our own fate," he promised, his hand firmly gripping my arm. "Together."

With that, we continued fighting our way through the hordes of insectmen, side by side. Every swing of our weapons, every dodge and parry, brought us closer to freedom– or death. But as long as I had Draug by my side, I refused to give in.

The air in the corridor was thick with the acrid stench of sweat and blood, punctuated by the sickening crunch of chitin as Draug's fist connected with an insectman's carapace.

I fought back a wave of nausea, gripping my makeshift weapon in my trembling hand.

"Vanessa, watch out!" Draug yelled, his voice tense with urgency.

I spun around just in time to see another insectman lunge at me, its mandibles clicking frantically.

Shit!

✶ ☾ ✶

AUTHOR'S NOTE

SWOOOOON, SWOON, SWOON, SWOON- I'M SWOONING OVER DRAUG VARG 😍

He's literally a fictional alien that I wrote but I'm still swooning over him, okay? That's normal, right?

How're you doing? Update me in the comments and let's chat! I'm hella busy atm with life but it's a good busy!!

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Virtually yours,

Ro