Securing Sara (The Beast Masters Series) Read Free

prepared for whatever may come.
    Let it be women , thought Jaston.
    Lorne touched his shoulder. The Gods will see to our needs. They will be just and good.
    Jaston flinched. He’d not meant to let his thoughts slip down the mental path all Ralenium males shared. It had been many moon cycles since they’d had a shipment of women. They were in dire need.
    Standing at the ready, he watched as the vessel descended. Markings on the underside of it became visible and he knew then the ship belonged to the Voxenites. His loathing of them was well-known but they were a necessary evil, one he had to overcome his hate of in order to ensure females were brought to Ralen. His lip curled in disgust and the guard nearest him cleared his throat.
    “Sir,” the young guard said. It was all the warning Jaston needed.
    Jaston groaned. “I will not kill any of them—this time.” He paused. “Unless they annoy me again.”
    The outer force field retracted fully and the vessel entered its final stage of descent to landing pad two. Jaston never put much interest in the technologies his people possessed. He took what was forced upon him and often retreated to the woods to hunt and survive, even though he had a perfectly acceptable dwelling. It was the envy of many since he was high in the ranks of the guards, but Jaston liked being one with nature. Not one with machines. Their ancestors of old did not rely on technology for day-to-day living and they had become fierce.
    Already Jaston’s beast wanted to be free, to run, to be one with the planet. It hated being caged within him as much as he hated keeping it there. Once the women were offloaded and a price negotiated, he’d shift forms and run free and wild once more.
    The ship sputtered before coming to a final rest on the landing pad. There was a flash of red, and then the planet’s defense system took hold of the controls. The vessel would not be able to fire upon anyone or leave without their say-so.
    Jaston waited with baited breath as the bay doors opened slowly. Smoke billowed out the sides, and he remembered hearing how the Voxenites added certain elements to the breathable air upon their vessels. It made breathing for them easier, but for any humanoids, it tended to cause at least slight discomfort, and in some cases hallucinations or extreme agitation. When the additive met with other, normally oxygen-rich air, it reacted, causing a puff of smoke.
    The smoke cleared and Jaston’s heart lodged in his throat. The first sign of life was the legs of lowlife Voxenites. Then Jaston spotted the telltale signs of females. He and the other Ralenium males around him drew in large breaths. One by one the women were offloaded into a large, huddled-together group. They looked scared, underfed, barely clothed and some appeared battered.
    The rage he carried already for the Voxenites intensified, and he found himself stepping forward, ready to confront them all. His hands itched for the change. He could feel his beast spring to life within him, wanting free, wanting to tear the gill-breathers to bits and feast upon their entrails.
    Lorne shook his head. Not yet. You will scare the females.

Chapter Three
     
    The ship sputtered and tipped slightly to one side. Sara gasped and fell against the unforgiving wall of her cell. Her fingernails were long since worn to stubs and the scabs on the tips of her fingers had only just started to fall away. She’d had pretty nails once. Well-manicured and even dyed a light pink. That was gone now. So were nearly all traces of the life she’d finally built for herself. It wasn’t plush or anything, but it was hers and she got by on her own. She’d had her own repair shop and she was damn handy when it came to fixes on ships, outrunners or other standard modes of transport. She wasn’t bad with tinkering around with other objects either.
    She’d picked up the skills out of necessity and they’d helped her carve a way for herself. A path that didn’t