I awoke to the strange sounds of nature around me and at once was on edge. Jennifer was no longer lying next to me. Her clothing was gone and the fire was all but out. I bolted out of bed and quickly pulled on my clothing too, setting out to look for her. When I called her name, no one answered. The silence made my heart sink as I thought about the dangers she could be in. I leaped up to the second cave in one smooth motion and saw that Ragal, too, was gone.

The warming sound of Jennifer’s laughter came to me from over the hill. At once, I jogged up the steep mountain to find her. She was sitting around a small fire, Ragal on one side of her and a stranger on the other. The young man was looking at her like she was a queen. Instantly I was filled with rage, she was mine. He saw me approaching before the others. Jumping backward, the stranger had a look of pure fear in his eyes when he saw me. Jennifer turned to see what was wrong and smiled at me.

“We were wondering if you were going to join us,” she said with a wink.

“I told him that the extra weight would take its toll,” muttered Ragal.

I placed a protective hand on Jennifer’s shoulder. “The weight made no difference. Who is this?”

Jennifer looked over at the stranger and cleared her throat. “This is Mavic. He comes to the mountains to harvest herbs. He was just telling us about the men who control the city. I think we know why our militia turned back.”

“Doesn’t he fear us like the rest of your kind?” I asked, glaring at him.

He shook his head, approaching me and offered a hand. “No sir, I mean you are a little intimidating, but that’s just because of your size. I couldn’t care less if you are an alien.”

“Huh,” I muttered, a little uneasy. “So, why are you here?”

“I come out here to pick herbs, I’m not a fan of the city, to be honest. You shouldn’t go that way either. There’s nothing but evil there.”

“We have to find the others, I’m sure my brother told you as much.”

Mavic nodded his head. “Yeah, but I didn’t see anything in the city. That’s not something that they could easily cover up. Do you know anything about the area?”

I shook my head, “I don’t know anything about the whole damn planet.”

“I do,” muttered Jennifer. “This place isn’t on our trade route though. I thought we had deals with everyone, too.”

“You wouldn’t have trade deals with them. No one does. No military will touch the place and the government pretends like they don’t exist.”

“My outpost men turned back last night, why?”

“Because of Charles Vega,” said Mavic softly as he shook his head. “The man is a monster.”

“Really?” I asked, intrigued. “A monster? Isn’t that a little strong for a mere human?”

“No,” he said passionately. “No words are too strong for that beast. He came into town and took over, drove out the military and slaughtered anyone in his way.”

Jennifer gasped. “You can’t be serious. How is it that we haven’t heard about him before this?”

“He keeps a tight wrap on things inside the city. The only people who come in and out are those that he lets.”

“So, the entire city is being held prisoner?” I asked.

He shook his head, “Getting out isn’t the problem. He’ll let you walk out of there like it’s just another day. Getting back in is where you hit trouble. Vega doesn’t like outsiders coming in. So, he lets anyone leave who wants too but they weren’t allowed to come back.”

“Why doesn’t everyone flee then?”

Mavic shuddered and looked away from me. I knew that whatever he was going to tell us wasn’t going to be easy for him. I saw the darkness in his eyes; overpowering and sad. He had seen far more than his sunny disposition let on. For a young man, I would have expected to see others around but he was alone. Another sure sign that something wasn’t right with the situation. Humans traveled in packs it seemed, whereas Mavic was alone.

“In the beginning, there were rumors. We thought that it was just the city gossip. People started to leave in flocks when they saw the monster that he was. Then, communications stopped. We all had family who’d left, though some of us chose to stay.”

“What happened to them?” I asked though I had a pretty good idea.

He shrugged, “Your guess is as good as anyone else’s, but they were never seen or heard from again. After the initial first wave left, people started to hide instead of taking the risk in leaving.”

“You think he had them killed?” Jennifer asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Did you know someone that left?” she asked softly.

He nodded, “We all did. This was about five years ago. My mother fled to find us a new home. She never returned.”

Jennifer gasped softly, “Mavic, I’m so sorry to hear that. What about your father? Do you have any other family?”

Mavic shook his head again, “No. Vega rounded up all the men who were fit. It was simple, work for him or stay out of his way. My father didn’t like the options. He and a small faction retaliated against Vega. He sent me out here through an old tunnel passage and set me up in the hills. Vega’s men don’t come this far on patrol.”

“You’ve been here for five years?” I asked.

He shrugged, “On and off. I’ll go back into the city every few months to get supplies and see if anything has changed, but it never does.”

“Could your father help us once we get inside? We just want to find our brothers.”

“If you can find him. He didn’t meet me the last time I went, I don’t know where he is anymore.”

Jennifer took Mavic’s hand and I felt a rush of jealousy that she was touching another man. The way he looked at her, with adoration and desire made my blood boil. I struggled to keep my temper under control. Her eyes were full of concern for his plight. I swallowed roughly, catching Ragal’s amused gaze. I was territorial over her, even though we hadn’t spoken about the future yet. There was no time between finding my family and our night of passion, though I hoped that there would be much more.

“Mavic, we will find out where your dad is for you, okay?” she offered.

“Jennifer,” I started but she shot me a look that made me pause immediately.

“We will find him for you,” she reiterated. “But we need you to help us get into the city. You said something about tunnels? Do you think you can lead us there?”

He shook his head adamantly, “No, it’s too dangerous. Jennifer, they are bad men. You should just stay here with me.”

I cleared my throat, “I don’t think so. We can keep her safer if she is with us. Plus, I’m not leaving her alone with you or anyone else for that matter.”

Jennifer glared at me but I didn’t care. I had said my piece and it wasn’t going to change. “We need your help, Mavic. Even if you can’t show us the way, maybe you could tell us. If we don’t get in there, we will lose our family too. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

Mavic looked at Jennifer and she smiled reassuringly. “We will be safe, I promise. Don’t you want us to find your father?”

“Fine, but please stay away from Vega. He will hurt you and I don’t want that.”

“I know,” she whispered. “We will stay away from him.”

I was about to interject, to tell Jennifer not to make promises like that but it was too late. The relief I saw in Mavic’s eyes were enough to silence me. He needed her to tell him she would be safe, even if it was a lie that we all knew. There were no promises after we entered the city. I had a sneaking suspicion about Vega, but I needed to see him firsthand before I jumped to any conclusions. Jennifer pulled away from Mavic and looked back at me.

“Are we ready?” she asked.

I nodded, “Mavic? Why don’t you tell Ragal how to get into the city?”

Pulling Jennifer away from the other two, I found a spot where I knew that we wouldn’t be overheard. “What are you thinking making a promise like that? His father is probably dead.”

“I don’t know, he just looked so sad. He has no one out here.”

“I don’t like the way that he was looking at you. If this town is as dangerous as he says, maybe you should head back to the outpost and let us take it from here.”

She glared at me, “If you think you can control me, Zaruv, you are dead wrong. No man, alien or otherwise will ever control me. Do you understand that, you pompous jerk?”

My temper flared but I kept it under control. “You are infuriating. If you go, you need to listen to me okay? I don’t think this Vega is the only danger in town.”

“Trying to tell me what to do again? Great, just what I need,” she muttered.

I took her arm, softly caressing it and gazing into her eyes. If we weren’t in such a dire situation, I would have dragged her back to the cave and showered her perfect body in kisses once again. As it was, I needed her to understand that I couldn’t lose her, not after everything that had happened. She was the only thing keeping me from losing my mind in the chaos of the past few days. She was my light in the approaching darkness.

“Please, Jennifer,” I begged. “Please promise that you will do as I say in there. I can’t lose you.”

She softened at my words, blushing and reaching for my hand. “I promise you Zaruv that I will follow your lead. But I need you to promise something too.”

“Anything for you,” I said as I tilted her chin up to me, our lips almost touching.

“We have to try and find Mavic’s father. I know what it’s like to be all alone. It’s a rough life. He needs someone else.”

“If I do this, will you stop flirting with him?”

Jennifer glared at me, “I wasn’t flirting with him! He must be five years younger than me. I was just trying to make him feel better.”

“Well, I have no doubt that you did that, but don’t lead the poor thing on. You are mine.”

She grinned, “Feeling a bit protective?”

I nodded and tilted my head down, kissing her gently on the lips. Even the brief touch set my body on fire. I ran my fingers up her arms, pulling her closer to me until we were pressed together in a moment of pure pleasure. I would have taken her again except for Ragal and his noisy coughing. She broke away from me, her cheeks flushed with the same desire that had taken hold of me.

“I know where we are going,” Ragal said. “Mavic is in the caves but he told me the way. Are you two ready or should I find you another cave?”

Jennifer rolled her eyes, “Let’s go get your brothers back.”

Taking her hand, we carefully made our way down the mountain. The silence in the air was heavy with foreboding. I didn’t know what we were walking into, but if my hunch was right, there was going to be more trouble than Mavic ever could have imagined.