Shield - A New Species Fanfiction (Wild at Heart Chronicles, Book 1)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

At first, the creature remained unseen as X-013 stalked towards it with his lips curled back in a snarl. A single emergency light located beside the partition on the ceiling gave him an advantage in the dark. Keeping his vision trained where the net protruded upward, the male noticed the empty space above it rippled like the sheen of a mirror doused by trickling water. The distinct shape of the intruder was more visible the longer he stared, but it was its sinister eyes that kept the male at a distance and wary despite the urge to claim back what was taken from him.

X-013's eyes travelled down to the huddled form of the female, and he growled to startle her but she remained unresponsive. Her ability to sleep through her own abduction confounded him. Unless succumbed by the tranquilizers forced upon him by Mercile, any subtle disturbance would bring him to attention at once-no matter how exhausted he felt.

Unless...

A sudden thought sent a cold sensation to the pit of his stomach.

Had the creature claimed her life?

Shifting closer, the male sniffed the air but could not pick up the scent of her blood. He strained his ears, careful to keep the thing within his sights, and was rewarded by the faint sound of her heartbeat. The female was alive, but her shallow intake of breath unsettled him.

A chirping sound brought his attention back to the creature. As it lowered the female to the floor, the outline of its body rippled and changed from translucent to pitch black. The male had never seen a more unnatural creature in his life. Light from the ceiling caught on the creature's glistening skin. The texture appeared rough and jagged ridges protruded from the length of its back. Its long, slender tail whipped from side to side as it studied the male with rapt attention and it parted its mouth to offer a mischievous grin. A dark bluish- purple tongue slithered out to lick an eye, but when the female whimpered in her sleep it cocked its head down and trailed the tongue to the side of her face instead.

The female shuddered and whimpered again.

X-013 felt his entire frame coil with rage. He snarled at the creature and rolled his shoulders back, hands flexed at his sides in preparation for a fight. The creature's pupils narrowed to slits and it placed its body over the female's, lowering its triangular head as it hissed and growled back. A sharp-clawed hand lifted to drag the female further beneath its bulk, the possessive manner in which it claimed its prize a testament of its sex.

As a male, X-013 knew it meant the gesture as a challenge.

He began to circle the creature in hopes of luring it away from the female, but the stubborn thing merely tracked his movements with large eyes and maintained its position. Left with little choice, X-013 charged and tackled the creature so they both rolled onto the floor and away from the female. The creature slipped from his hold and turned, striking the male with its powerful tail. The force threw him several feet across the basement, and he felt a burning sensation along the length of his left arm where the tail had made contact with his skin. Pushing himself back to his feet, X-013 stared at the two lacerations on his arm while blood dripped to the floor.  The cuts were deep, but they'd heal and the pain was bearable. His eyes roamed the space of his territory in search of the intruder, but it was gone.

No, not gone, he thought with absolute certainty. Hidden.

Stalking him.

X-013 could feel the penetrating gaze of the creature while he stood his ground. As a predator, the thought of something hunting him set him on edge. The male wasn't prey by any stretch of the imagination, and he would rectify that notion the moment his enemy was within sight. He allowed his keen senses to pick up the trace of the creature's scent or the slightest change in the air. More than once, his eyes darted back to where the female lay on the ground. He forced himself to remain in place, despite his animal's persistent desire to scoop her up in his arms and take her to the safety of his den.