Free Claimed by the Alien King by Juno Wells Page A

honey, you know you want it," he said. "You like it rough." He yanked her hair. With a scream, Maya took off in a run. She ignored the protests of her aching body and fled blindly down the street. She could hear him behind her, chasing her with a nasty laugh that echoed in her head. Taller than her, his legs longer, the man would catch her in no time.
    Hide!  But where? Maya surveyed her surroundings, her eyes darting around in a wild, frantic search for a place to secure herself. Another alleyway was up ahead and when she was abreast of it, she darted inside. Her heart racing, she hoped it wasn't a—
    Deadend.
    She spun around and her terror skyrocketed when she found the man blocking the exit. She reached into her bag yet again, this time for her apartment keys. They were the only serviceable item she could use as a weapon. But the man propelled toward her, knocking her back and the keys out of her fingers. Her tired body was unable to withstand the force of his push and she cried out as she stumbled to the floor. He was on her in an instant, his mouth turned up in a malevolent grin.
    "Can't get away now, can ya?" he said. His words and the evil intent clear in his eyes was the final push Maya needed. A surge of adrenaline filled her, and with as much strength remaining in her as possible, she punched him in the throat.
    The man cried out and moved off her and Maya took that chance to scramble to her feet. A door stood on one wall of the alleyway and Maya ran for it. The man was getting to his feet. To run out of the alleyway meant another chase and she wasn't sure her body could endure. She needed to secure herself.
    Her hands on the handle, she pressed it down and pushed the door inward. Spinning around, she shoved the door closed. But she'd made a bad choice. The door had no lock. He would get in. He would yank the door open and—
    "Where the hell did she go?" she heard. His voice sounded thick and far away. Breathing hard, Maya stared at the door in a mixture of fear and confusion. What did he mean by that? She was right here. Maybe he was playing more games with her. Trying to give her the false sense of relief that she'd escape only to burst right in and hurt her.
    Turning, Maya intended to find a way out or at least a place to hide, but what she saw made her immobile. She was in a strange circular room. Along the curved walls were rectangular blocks. They housed large, oval-shaped, glass embeddings which emanated a gentle, cerulean light. The floor was translucent, shimmering as though it only consisted of water. Above her, circular rows of amber lights further illuminated the room. Up ahead, affixed to the wall was a humongous TV-like display screen with four smaller screens on either side of it. Beneath those screens was a massive keyboard…or panel. It contained a confusing mix of buttons and knobs. Three large leather chairs with shiny, metallic arm rests faced the panel, the middle chair the largest.
    The more Maya looked around, the greater her sense of familiarity grew. She'd seen stuff like this before…but on movies. It looked like…it looked like the inside of a spaceship.
    That's impossible. I'm inside a building!  Maya looked behind her at the door she'd entered. It was embedded into one of the rectangular blocks. She could no longer hear the creep outside anymore but that could be a trap. Though she longed to retrieve her abandoned handbag, she would wait a little while longer until she was sure the man had lost interest in her. It was strange he didn't follow her, but she felt relieved he didn't.
    Her eyes darting around the room, Maya took hesitant steps forward. It  looked  like a spaceship, but it was probably one of those scientific research centers. But why would they have one here in this crime-ridden neighbourhood? And why would they leave the door to a place like this unlocked? They were just asking for someone to steal their expensive, high-tech stuff.
    She held her breath as she walked