Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
She was at the door now. Keeping the makeshift “bat” in one hand, she slowly pushed it open with the other, wondering what she was going to find…
6
ANDI
The first thing she noticed was that the floor was a mess. Somehow one of the food storage cabinets had come open and spilled its contents all over the place. There were many tiny food cubes—which were full meals that had been dehydrated and miniaturized. Each one was the size and shape of a sugar cube, which meant that hundreds of meals could be stored with no problem. But now they were all over the floor, along with several other boxes and bags of snacks that Andi had stored in the cupboard for longer trips.
The snuffling, crunching, crackling sound was coming from behind the long counter which ran the length of the kitchen area. There was a little corner alcove at the far end and Andi could hear what sounded like crunching coming from behind it.
Must be some kind of alien animal that got in and now it’s enjoying the snacks, Andi thought. She felt a slight measure of relief—on the whole, she thought she’d rather confront the alien version of a raccoon or a rat than a sentient being who might mean her harm.
Taking a firmer grip on the “bat,” she crept closer to where the sounds were coming from. She could smell a familiar cheesy scent now and she thought she knew what the animal had gotten into.
Her guilty pleasure was Cheetos and she’d bought a big bag and only eaten a few before storing them in the cupboard. They must have fallen out and now whatever it was that had gotten into the ship was having a delicious, cheesy feast.
“All right, you…whatever you are,” Andi muttered under her breath. “Get ready for a surprise!”
Raising the metal bar high above her head, she lunged around the counter and found…
Her Protector on his hands and knees with his face buried in her bag of Cheetos.
7
CADE
“Cade? Cade? What are you doing down there? Why are you eating like that?”
The voice was soft and familiar so Cade wasn’t frightened. He turned his head and saw HER—his female. The one who belonged to him.
The salt-and-crunch sticks were delicious, but he was more interested in her.
“Cade?” she said again and then added some other words that he didn’t understand. But that didn’t matter. Her voice was soft and sweet and he loved it when she said his name. He turned and came towards her, snuffling at her knees.
She was all that was good in the world—and he was supposed to protect her. That was all Cade knew. That was all he needed to know. He pressed himself against her legs, rubbing enthusiastically.
“Cade?” she said again and he felt her fingers in his hair. Her touch was so soft and gentle—everything about her was soft and good. He rubbed his head against her knees, making a low rumbling sound in his throat that spoke of his approval. Good—she was good—she was all that was good in the world.
This was his female and he would love and protect her always.
8
ANDI
“Cade? What happened to you?”
Andi looked down at her huge Hybrid Protector in dismay. What was he doing?
His mouth was covered in orange crumbs from the Cheetos he’d been eating when she found him and he was currently down on all fours, rubbing his head against her knees and making a low rumbling sound in his throat. He reminded her of a huge dog or cat. Why was he acting like this?
She found a napkin and wiped his mouth, getting rid of the orange crumbs.
“Did you bump your head?” she asked, lifting his chin to look him in the eyes. “Do you understand me? Hello?”
Cade simply made that rumbling sound again and bumped his head against her hand, like a cat or a dog asking to be stroked.
Suddenly a memory popped into her head—Cade telling her about Zo’rath Three and its inhabitants and why they wouldn’t want to end up there.
“…they’re no more than animals and that’s how the females treat them—like pets. I mean, not like they have a fucking choice but it’s still not a great situation,” he had said, when explaining what had happened to all the males on the planet.
“Oh my God,” Andi whispered as the full impact sank in. She and Cade hadn’t crash landed on the uninhabited world of Zo’rath Two—they were on Zo’rath Three—the place where a chemical in the atmosphere had simplified all the men’s minds, leaving the women in charge.
No wonder Cade was acting like he was a big dog or cat—his mind had been, well… downgraded, for lack of a better word. He wasn’t going to be able to think rationally or help her solve this problem and figure out how to get them out of here.