Free GalacticInferno by Mel Teshco Page A

in her throat, Ally veered left at the end of the dark
lane, perceiving he and Bonnie weren’t alone. She risked a glance over her
shoulder.
    Oh, hell.
    Four dogs had broken from the pack and followed, their
flashing eyes revealing their intent to kill.
    A warehouse loomed ahead. A handful of steps led to a small
concrete landing and a steel door. Oh, god. Please don’t let the door be
locked.
    She heard a savage growl—so close! She half-screamed as a
dog leaped and hit her from behind, its dead weight bouncing against her spine
as its canines sank deep. She kept right on running. If she stopped she’d be
dead. It was as simple and as terrifying as that.
    She heaved out a sob as a chunk of her flesh gave way,
tearing free. Warmth poured down her back and the dog fell to the ground with a
snarl.
    Bonnie strained against the leash, all but pulling Ally up
the warehouse steps.
    Breath rasping, Ally fumbled for the door handle. It didn’t
budge. Bloody. Fucking. Hell.
    She twisted to face the dogs, scanning desperately for a
weapon—anything. Bonnie stood her ground, hackles standing on end and her teeth
bared as she growled.
    The big tan dog in front revealed bloodied canines, his top
lip curling high. Oh, shit. This was undoubtedly the dog that’d attacked her.
And by the way he stalked forward and the others fell back at his flanks, he
was the alpha male, the top dog.
    She’d need to take him out first. Lop the head off the
dragon. If only she had something to defend herself with aside from her bare
hands.
    The lead dog suddenly leaped, hitting her chest and knocking
her to the ground. As another two dogs fell on Bonnie, Ally pulled her knees up
to her chest and kicked out hard. One of her feet connected to the alpha’s
thick snout, the other on his barrel chest. He let out an irate yelp, slamming
into another one of his pack members.
    She glanced over at Bonnie. Her dog labored under the double
attack and was struggling to stay on her feet. Bloody hell. She sucked in a
desperate breath. The dogs were taking out Bonnie so the alpha could dispatch
Ally without any outside threats.
    It was human meat these animals craved.
    She moved backward, slipping in something wet. She looked
down. And froze. Blood, and lots of it.
    Hers?
    Everything abruptly spun around her. She battled not to pass
out, not to give in. And didn’t even see the alpha dog until he bit deep into
her thigh. She screamed at the piercing pain. The dog shook his head, shredding
right through her jeans and savaging her flesh.
    She struggled, growing weaker and more ineffectual by the
second. But somehow she took absurd comfort in the fact she’d gone numb to any
pain.
    Gunshot boomed, much closer this time. Or was she dreaming?
Then she heard Renate’s frantic shout. “Ally!”
    Everything blurred and her eyes fluttered closed. Her lips
tilted into a half-smile.
    Renate was alive.

Chapter Six
     
    Sounds infiltrated Ally’s consciousness. The murmur of
voices. The soft tread of someone moving around. Strange scents filled her
sinuses. Rich earth and something sharper, more pungent. Foreign. She moved a
little, aware of something extremely soft beneath her spine.
    “She is waking, my friend.”
    Who the hell is that?
    She frowned, struggling to open her eyes.
    A hand moved gently over her brow. “Ally, can you hear me?”
    Renate. Oh, thank god.
    She pushed into his hand. “Yes.”
    His relieved sigh fanned her face. Warm. Comforting. His
thumb stroked her too-hot skin as he murmured heavily, “You’re okay. Thank the
gods.”
    Her eyelids strained apart. Light hit her pupils and she
turned away with a moan, waiting as her vision adjusted. Damn. Her head felt
all kinds of fucked up, her stiff muscles and aching bones telling her she’d
been hit by a truck, or worse.
    “Where am I?” she managed. Hell, it even hurt to speak.
    “You’re on the mother ship, kitten.”
    She shrank back, breath hissing. No! And then it all came
back to her.