Chapter Seven

Maya trembled as the pincer arms released her on the cargo floor. She fell to the metal on her hands and knees, gasping with fear. All she could think of was Remy floating through space, at its mercy, and that knowledge left her chilled long enough that she almost forgot she herself was at risk.

Only when a strong hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to her feet did she remember these people intended to harm her as much as they had Remy. If not, they wouldn’t have risked injuring her by colliding with the skid.

She trembled as she looked up, finding two towering Alphas above her, flanked by a man who was clearly a Beta standing behind them. The Beta bore a strong resemblance to the dark-skinned man with the white hair, though his hair was black, and she assumed his natural color.

The one she identified as Aurelius from Remy’s comments to him probably dyed his hair, because he wasn’t old enough to have white hair yet. It was certainly a shocking contrast, and it made him look scarier. When he grinned, he revealed a gold tooth, and she couldn’t help recalling ancient stories of pirates that her mother had read to her when she was a child. Her favorite had been “Peter Pan,” but this guy made Captain Hook seem like a pussycat.

“Take off your suit.”

Maya shook her head, clinging to it with desperation. If she removed her hood, they would smell she was an Omega. She hadn’t taken her suppressant for two weeks, and though she should be at least a week from another estrus, they would still know what she was. They were Alphas, and if they were like the kind she knew, except Remy, they would take advantage of that.

She fought, but it did no good. The Beta male came forward after a nudge from the one who looked like him, and he stumbled a little before grabbing hold of her. Maya clawed at him and hit him in the solar plexus, making him bend forward. All that did was shove her toward the dark-skinned Alpha.

He grasped her in one arm and ripped off the helmet with the other. He and Aurelius both immediately stiffened as they inhaled deeply. A purr of satisfaction went through the one holding her, and she trembled.

“What is it?” asked the Beta, looking worried.

“She’s an Omega, Nico,” said the one not holding her.

The Beta grimaced. “Surely, she bears Remy’s mark then?”

The one not holding her practically salivated. “No. He’s pathetic not to have claimed such a tasty morsel.”

“Kirk, you should—” Whatever Nico planned to say, he was drowned out.

“This is an unexpected gift.” Aurelius sniffed her, dragging her closer to lick the gland on her neck.

Maya almost vomited at the sensation and the wrongness of it. Even in the throes of estrus, she couldn’t imagine ever finding it pleasurable to have that man touch her in such an intimate fashion.

“What about Remy?” asked Nico with an edge of desperation. “We should go after him.”

“Forget him,” growled Kirk. “He doesn’t matter.”

“Aurelius?” asked Nico.

The man hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “He’s likely going to spend the rest of his short life drifting until he runs out of oxygen. Who cares? We have more important things to focus on.”

“The salvage?” There appeared to be a hint of hope in the Beta’s eyes.

Maya whimpered when Aurelius shook his head. “Her. She’s worth more than a hull full of salvaged ship parts. We’ll head back to civilization in the morning,” said Aurelius.

“Until then?” asked Nico. He seemed stiff with dread.

Maya could relate, feeling it herself.

“I believe the Omega has some entertaining to do. We’ll have some fun with her until we find an auction to sell her.” Aurelius leered at her. “Are you close to estrus, Omega?”

She jerked way, fearing he’d let her more than she’d managed it on her own strength. She quickly realized he did so because it sent her flailing into Kirk’s arms when she tripped over his foot.

“Tell me when you’re going to be in estrus again, Omega,” said Kirk in a commanding tone.

She trembled and tried to jerk away when Kirk’s arms tightened around her, but he easily subdued her. She stomped backward with her boot to crush his toes, and he hadn’t expected that. He howled with outrage and agony as he let go of her, and she started to run.

Unfortunately, Aurelius was able to catch up with her easily since he was an Alpha. He grasped hold of her hair, arresting her flight, and making her scalp sting enough to bring tears to her eyes. “Where are you going, little plaything? The fun is just beginning.”

“Why do you get her first?” asked Kirk with a decidedly un-Alpha whine in his voice when he realized Aurelius was dragging her away.

“I’m the captain, and what I say goes.”

As he dragged her past Nico, she made eye contact with the Beta male, and she could see his disgust at what was unfolding. “Help me. Please. Please!”

He stiffened, but then he looked away. He would be no assistance, but she hadn’t really expected him to be. No one else had acted when Thane had raped her years ago, other than her own brother. If it had been another Omega who wasn’t his sister, she doubted Chase would have had the courage to do anything either. Alphas could be bullies, and everyone tended to fear them.

She was grateful Remy wasn’t that kind of Alpha. Contrasted with these two or Thane, she realized she was unfairly judging him and holding back from allowing him to claim her because of her experiences with men like this. Remy was nothing like these Alphas, and if she managed to escape this, she would happily accept his bite on her to fuse their scents and gain the protection of being his Omega.

He dragged her into small quarters that were unkempt and smelled foul. She wrinkled her nose, especially when he pushed her onto the bed. He clearly wasn’t going to bother with anything like foreplay, because he had her on her hands and knees. He pushed her down hard and rough, his hands going to her jumpsuit. She screamed her outrage when he ripped it open near her crotch with his hands a moment later, not even bothering with the front closure.

The position forced her face against the pillow, and she was having trouble breathing. She turned her head, struggling to draw in a deep breath that didn’t smell like the unwashed bedding and terrible body odor permeating the room. As she did so, her gaze fell on a knife on the nightstand.

It was just lying there for anyone to grab, including a desperate Omega. She simply had to be able to reach it. She stretched out her arm, but she wasn’t quite close enough. She’d have to wriggle away and get ahead a few inches. She turned her head, looking up at Aurelius. He wasn’t looking down at her. He was too focused on pulling his cock from his pants.

It was hard and big, and she shuddered at the thought of it entering her when she had no slick to ease its passage. That was one of many reasons the idea of him taking her disgusted her.

She refused to allow another man to impose his will upon her, and when he started to bend down, she kicked back with her foot, colliding with his jaw. That was enough to send him stumbling back for a moment, though he looked more stunned than in pain. It also gave her an opportunity to scramble forward, and she grasped the handle of the knife.

As he reached out for her ankle and pulled her toward him, flipping her onto her back, he was clearly angry. His rage was no match for her own, and she didn’t allow herself to think about it as she brought up the knife and rammed it under his chin and upward as hard as she could while he bent down to face her. Surely, she must’ve struck his brain.

With a groan, he collapsed backward as convulsions made his body twitch. He flopped on the deck in a series of seizures, heels drumming the floor before his body became utterly still.

Maya let out a sob, but it was one of brutal glee rather than sadness. She’d bested him, preventing him from taking what he wanted from her. She had not even a flicker of remorse that he was dead.

She got to her feet, reluctantly approaching to make sure he was in fact gone, but when she kicked him, there was no response. With a deep breath for courage, she bent down and grasped the knife handle, tugging it from his body. It was a gruesome, squishy business that made her want to puke, but she couldn’t face Kirk without being armed in some fashion.

As she finally extricated the knife, she heard a scraping sound outside the door. She braced herself to confront Kirk as it started to open. She brought the knife back, prepared to ram it into him just as ruthlessly as she had Aurelius. She wouldn’t let another Alpha use and hurt her.