Free Defender (New World Book 7) by C.L. Scholey

were in a remote deeply forested area. Her world was gone. Where are we? The beast stopped and Macey was clutched under her arms and pressed to his chest, belly to belly.
    “I’m taking you down into the valley below, little female human. I won’t drop you. You have no need to be afraid. You don’t need to die. There’s a cave down there and my shuttle.”
    Macey would have screamed if she could. The rock face was a sheer drop hundreds of feet down. Her heart began to pound, she couldn’t control it.
    “Human female, stop. I said you will be fine. I’m a warrior used to threats and uttering threats. How can you not understand a simple guarantee of safety? If I wanted your fear, I would dangle you over the edge not ease your fears. Now be eased, damn you.”
    The beast had the nerve to be condescending as though what he spoke was fact. He jumped. The claws on the beast’s feet squealed as he surfed down the mountain side. One arm held her secure to his chest, pressed along the length of his body, the other stretched out back behind him. Sparks flew in his wake from long talons against the darkness. Their pace was electrifying and Macey’s tummy lurched in protest as their speed increased. A number of times they were airborne, and then landed against hard rock in a zig zag. An eagle squawked and took flight when lightning flashed.
    The beast hit the ground running, and she was tucked under an arm. Macey had no idea how he could find his way in the pitch black. He stopped and swung her up to cradle her against his chest. The pressure to hold her was slight but enough to know she wouldn’t be dropped. She heard a huge amount of expelled air, smoke swirled and a door in the dark opened to reveal the inside of a shuttle. Everything inside was lit up with florescent lights. Macey was slung over his shoulder. When he entered the shuttle, the door closed behind him. Sealing her in with him. She was taken to a room with a small silver cage with bars spaced only an inch apart. It looked like an overgrown hamster house. The beast set her down beside the cage; the shuttle floor was icy. Her chest was on fire while the rest of her begged to shake with cold.
    On all fours, he changed into the male she had seen in the shed. The grey hardness disappeared into his skin looking like mercury. His breath was ragged. He sat back on his haunches and stretched. When he turned to gaze at her, Macey was impaled by dark eyes. He was power, and gorgeous, and too terrifying to comprehend.
    “Don’t die of fright, little human female. I need to settle you in here. I have to regenerate. You can’t wander my vessel.”
    He was the beast and yet she would be caged. She saw nothing in his expression, no pity, no remorse, no anger. His appearance was drawn and haggard. When his warm hands settled onto her bare arms, he released her as though injured. He sat back to stare at his palms. His grey covering enveloped him. The beast growled low in his throat. He glared at her.
    “I’m not hurting you. Stop being frightened.” The grey disappeared and he once more looked like a man.
    Macey was surprised at his anger. It was as though she were the one tormenting him. Her fingers twitched. Her jaw quivered. Feeling began to return.
    “Name?” she whispered. Her lips barely moved; her breath almost inaudible.
    “I’m Taz. I’m a Tonan warrior from a distant planet. I’m here to observe, but I hate this place. It’s time for me to go home and end my mission. Earth is an awful planet. You’re lucky I found you. I can keep you—somewhere.”
    “Cold.”
    He will keep me somewhere?
    Would she be kept caged forever? Taz felt her face. His fingers lingered. Macey coughed and shivered. She was soaked, frozen, and afraid. In her haste to retrieve the gas for the generator she forgot she had draped her jacket over Haven in order to protect the child from the heavy rain as they fled the cottage. The numerous puddles had soaked her shoes, her slide down