Free Sex, Love, and Aliens, Volume 1 by Beth D. Carter, Ashlynn Monroe, Imogene Nix, Jaye Shields

them.”
    He couldn’t look at Joruzan, sure he’d see a similar fear in the other man’s eyes. Cedun fought the sense of vertigo. Defeated it. He glanced again at the door then Joruzan. “Kick it down.”
    Joruzan, his face set in granite like lines, nodded. They reared back together, lifted their legs, and rammed the wood. It splintered beneath their combined efforts.
    A scuffling sound caught his attention and he was off, legs pumping. The door was open and he looked within, his heart thudding hard when he saw Valerie tied to the bed, her mouth gagged. Joruzan shoved past him, throwing himself to his knees.
    “Valerie…”
    The anguish in Joruzan’s voice speared Cedun as he looked for Gia, but there was no sign of her. Fear was more than a cold trickle now, his body felt as if it were encased in ice. “Where is Gia?”
    Valerie looked at him, her face pale. “He… He took her through there. He’s planning… Dear God! He’s mad!” Tears oozed down her cheeks, but he couldn’t stay. Gia was still in danger. Needed him.
    The door Valerie had indicated was shut, and he laid a shaking hand on it. The whole time his mind circled in a loop of ‘ Let her be safe .’
    The knob turned without a squeak and he peered inside. There, looming over his precious Gia, was Garret. Naked and fully aroused, ready to rape her.
    Cedun’s muscles coiled tight as he took in the view before him. Gia was on the bed, spread-eagled, legs and hands tied. She too was naked and pulling at the bindings.
    Cedun gave a roar of anger. Fury, such as he’d never felt before, gave him the speed he needed. He charged, only stopping when he’d knocked Garret aside. He didn’t feel the impact, but somehow his hands rose, gripping the man at his neck, squeezing.
    “I will kill you for this.” The words were a feral snarl as the primitive need to protect and avenge his mate rose. Death is all he deserves.
    “Gggg… Ghhhhh….” The gurgle tore from Garret’s throat, his vocal chords rippling beneath Cedun’s grip. Fingernails tore at him, but he ignored the sting of Garret trying to loosen his hold.
    “Cedun, let him go.” A hand landed on his shoulder. He wanted to pull away from the touch, but his hand loosened just a little. It was enough for the man to wheeze and his face to lose the bright purple tones.
    “Now is not the time to act in anger. Let him go.”
    He turned to Joruzan, who now stood beside him. “He would have…” He struggled with the emotions that battered his mind and heart.
    “But he didn’t. We got here in time. Let him face trial.”
    How could he? How can you not , whispered his brain. Think of Gia. Cedun stilled, breathed deeply. Right now, he wanted to end Garret. It was like a drug, calling to him with a siren’s voice.
    A sound echoed through the room. Gia sobbed, and for a second longer the pain squeezed his heart and demanded that the creature they knew as Garret should be put down like a rabid dog.
    Slowly, he released Garret and watched as he fell to the floor. The stench of urine invaded his nostrils, and his contempt for the cowering creature grew.
    One step back then another, each was difficult. He spun and there was Gia, curled up in a fetal ball, Valerie’s arms around her shoulders. The tattered remnants of clothing covered her heaving body. He shook, hoping that he hadn’t been too late. That she wouldn’t cringe from him. Cedun’s heart shriveled at the sounds she made. They were the noises a desperate and helpless woman made.
    He advanced and dropped to the floor beside her, and for a moment she cringed then launched herself into his arms. His enfolded her.
    “I was not too late?” he asked. She shivered in his arms, and his heart cracked just a little more.
    “No. You saved me.” Her fingers dug into his shirt.
    He let go of the anger and breathed in her scent. “Then let me take you home.” He slid careful fingers under her body as the door was shoved open and his own guard