Operation: Marauder
Chapter 25

A man entered the interrogation room. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting anyone to be in here because a sick smile spread across his face when his black eyes landed on Zoey.

Her heart pumped into overdrive once she recognized those black eyes and pale skin. It was the red fangs that scared her, though; he had recently fed. She prayed it hadn’t been her father.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing all chained up in here?” he wondered as he slipped into the room. His eyes flitted down to the handcuffs, something twisted and satisfied glinting in the black orbs.

He approached her. She couldn’t pull away from him when his talons grazed over the nape of her neck, brushing her hair off her shoulder.

He paused, inhaling deeply, then frowned at her. “You smell like an Arthonian female.”

Curious, he leaned in closer; a shudder ran through Zoey and she had to fight every instinct she had to not cuss him out, afraid of what he would do if she tried to fight. There was no iron around for her to fend him off with. She had the plasma sword Rowan had given her, since the men who had brought her in didn’t deem it fit to search her, but she couldn’t do anything with it when her hands were chained to the table.

“Interesting. You’ve been marked as one of their mates.”

Zoey wasn’t sure what he meant by being marked by Rowan, but the very word sent a shudder through her and she somehow knew he had. As to why or what it meant, though, she was lost. Nevertheless, it probably wasn’t good that the Wraythe knew.

To her relief, he pulled away from her. “Jabraylen will want to meet with you. You will be handy if the Arthonians prove to be more difficult.”

“Of course they’re going to be difficult,” she snapped. “You want to kill them for their blood!”

“You clearly don’t know how good they taste or understand the feeling of their blood running through you. You feel invincible, human. We nearly are with their blood. Let’s go.”

He yanked on the handcuffs, snapping them as easily as if they were made of paper and dragged her out of the room.

Zoey knew better than to try to use brute force to escape his grasp, so she reached for the hilt of the plasma sword at her back and pressed the button twice. The blazing hot blade came to life and cut his arm clean off. While he wailed, she swung the sword in a downward arch, cutting through him, shoulder to hip with surprising ease. She gagged at the stench of cooked Wraythe and staggered away before she threw up in the open hallway.

In her rush to get away from the diced body, she nearly tripped on the foot of another body. She choked on a scream at the three dead humans lining the corridor, their throats torn open in a gory display of the Wraythe’s savagery.

Her heart stopped when she recognized one further down. “Dad!”

Never mind the blaring alarm warning her they were under attack, or the fact she was very alone if a Wraythe found her, she bolted to the end of the corridor. She dropped to her knees and inspected the wound across his chest; it looked like the Wraythe had got him with his needle-point claws. Almost afraid of the answer, she checked for a pulse.

Slow but steady.

She sat back on her heels in relief, memories she had locked away flooding her mind. All of the good times they had shared hit her hard and it took everything she had to not burst out crying. Her heart felt as though it was being torn in two.

She missed those times. She couldn’t sit on his shoulders anymore, but she missed their hiking trips and going to museums. He used to spoil her and make her feel like the most important person in the world.

Then it all stopped and now he was embarrassed to have brought her in to this world.

Shoving aside her emotions, just like he had taught her to do, she shook him awake. “Dad? Can you walk? We have to get moving.”

They were sitting ducks in this corridor. She didn’t know how to use the plasma sword properly; it was only useful to her if she caught her attacker by surprise, which wasn’t ideal if she had her injured father with her.

She needed to replace Rowan. He would know what to do.

Aaron’s eyes fluttered open. “Zoey?”

A small smile--one Zoey hadn’t seen in almost ten years--tugged at the edges of his mouth. Then it turned into a scowl when the day’s events caught up with him. “Are you all right?”

“Better than you. Can you walk? We need to replace Rowan.”

“Rowan?” he grunted as she helped him to his feet. Wincing, he clutched his chest and wobbled. She quickly tucked her arm around his waist to steady him. “Who’s Rowan?”

Now was the time he chose to start sounding like a father again? He didn’t get to use that judgmental tone with her. He lost that right.

“Rowan’s one of the aliens Jack works with. He’s their Captain and is basically a certified Wraythe killer.”

He seemed satisfied with her answer, and the underlying sass, and nodded to her. “He and Jack were in a meeting when shit hit the fan. The boardrooms are this way.”

He gestured to the right corridor in an intersection they approached. As soon as they turned the corner, Zoey wished they could go down literally any other hallway.

There were no bodies, but there was an alarming amount of blood and bullet casings on the floor. There was no way to tell if it was fresh or not. The fact there wasn’t any screams was a good sign. . . wasn’t it?

Her dad didn’t seem to think so and pulled her to the side, peering down all the corridors warily. “This isn’t a good idea, Zoey. The place is crawling with Wraythe. We’ll stay put and wait for reinforcements.”

She glanced around the corner at the blood then back to her father. “I think those were our reinforcements. I’m not waiting around for someone who may or may not come to our rescue.” She refrained from adding that they probably weren’t going to be much help against the Wraythe, anyway. “Besides, I’ve killed two of them already, what’s a few more?” She sounded much braver than she felt.

He cast her a look of doubt she was very familiar with. “When have you killed two Wraythe?”

“Last week and half an hour ago. I’m not as useless as you think I am.” She pulled out the plasma sword, pressing the button once to show off the short blade for the knife setting.

He stared at it in wonder. “Where did you get that?”

“Rowan gave it to me.”

As soon as the Arthonian’s name left her mouth, he gave her a reproachful glare. “When this is over, you’re going to return it to him.”

“I didn’t steal it!” Okay, maybe, technically, she had stolen it before Rowan said she could have it. She kept that to herself, though. “We don’t have time for this. Let’s move.”

Even in his weakened state, he still had enough strength to pull her to a stop. “Zoey, I said we’re staying put.”

She opened her mouth to tell him he couldn’t boss her around, but a Wraythe rounded the corner in front of them. A smile sprouted on her face. “I’m afraid it’s too late for you to run, humans.”

Before Zoey could brandish her weapon, the Wraythe had her pinned to the wall, a foot off the floor. The female let out a satisfied hiss while Zoey struggled in her grasp.

“Let her go!” Aaron pushed the Wraythe; she lost her footing and fell, but she recovered much faster than he anticipated and threw him down the corridor into a wall. He slumped on the floor, still.

“Dad!”

Zoey tried to get to her feet, but the female was faster, hauling her upright so she could have better access to her throat. She felt the tiniest prick of her fangs, then the Wraythe pulled back, scowling at her. “You’ve been mated to one of the Arthonians.”

So she’s been told.

“I don’t know what that means,” she barked, angry that the enemy was pointing things out she didn’t understand.

She narrowed a pair of black, deadly eyes on her. “It means you get to live a little longer, human.”

One minute, a sinking feeling pitted in Zoey’s stomach. In the next, pain flared on the side of her face and the world faded to black.

Rowan picked up the pace when he heard his men calling out to each other.

He hadn’t made as much progress as he wanted for the interrogation rooms. They appeared to replace a Wraythe down every corridor. Definitely more than the fifteen predicted to have invaded the base. Jack, used to running with the Arthonians, kept his pace and played enough of a distraction for the Wraythe for Rowan to finish them off.

They rounded the corner to replace his men had barricaded the corridor leading to the hangar, in the middle of a firefight. They had broken out the plasma guns and easily dispatched the two Wraythe that had attacked them.

Knox grinned at him as he approached. “Finally come to join the party, I see.”

“Is Zoey with you?” He could only hope that she had somehow made her way here safely, but as he glanced around the group, he didn’t see her silky black hair or steel blue eyes. His hearts sank.

Maliki frowned. “We thought she might be with you.”

Knox stepped up, patting his shoulder. “We’ll replace her, Cap’.”

Rowan appreciated the sentiment and nodded to them in thanks. “We can’t leave the Marauder alone. Mave, Knox, Maliki, stay with the ship. Don’t let the bloodsuckers touch her. Cas, Jack--you’re with me.” He turned to Mave. “If we’re not back in half an hour, take her out of here.”

Jack balked. “Wait, wait. You’re taking the Marauder? Rowan, we can’t leave these people behind.”

“I can’t let them take the Marauder either,” Rowan reasoned. “She’s our only ticket off this planet.” And Rowan had an inkling it was the Wraythes’ too. “Once the Wraythe realise we’re not here anymore, they’ll leave the base. Your people will be safe.”

He could tell Jack still didn’t like it, but the human rolled his shoulders back and nodded anyway. It wasn’t like he had much choice in the matter. Rowan had decided.

Maliki and the others retreated back to the hangar, while Rowan led Cas and Jack to the interrogation rooms. The closer they got, the more his stomach knotted as they passed body after body. The Wraythe had been uncontested on this side of the base. Free to roam and feed off any human they desired. Given free reign to replace Zoey before he could.

His hairs pricked; he didn’t realise he was growling until Cas touched his shoulder lightly. “She’ll be all right, brother.”

He didn’t know that, though, and that was the worst part.

“Dad!”

Rowan snapped out of his thoughts, following Jack’s gaze down the hallway. His father was slumped against the wall, a puddle of blood at his feet; though, judging by all of the blood in the hallway, Rowan wouldn’t rush to assume it was the colonel’s.

Jack knelt at his side, Cas rushing to join him, while Rowan kept an eye out for the Wraythe that did this.

They were alone in the corridor, but he caught the scent of the Wraythe and someone else. Her scent instantly relaxed him, despite the fact how much he hated her scent was mingled with a Wraythe’s.

“Dad?” Jack shook him, earning a glare from Cas. “What happened?”

The human could barely lift his head. “There was a Wraythe,” he pointed out the obvious. “Zoey wanted to replace Rowan. I told her we should stay put. She never listens. . .” He fell into a coughing fit.

Ignoring his slight towards his mate, Rowan bent down and picked up the plasma sword he had given her.

“A Wraythe came out of nowhere,” Aaron pushed on, wincing as Cas tended to his wounds. “She took her. Saying something about someone wanting to meet her. I don’t understand what they would want with Zoey. She’s hardly one for intel.”

Cas lifted his gaze up to Rowan, all too aware of what the Wraythe did to their mates.

Rowan was stupid and didn’t think it would matter if she was marked. It was a natural pheromone that was released when a mate was found; there was nothing he could have done to prevent it, but he still felt like he should have seen this coming and stopped the humans from separating them. The mistake might cost Zoey’s life.

“They don’t want intel,” Rowan growled. “They want me, and Zoey’s the way to get my attention.” He turned to Jack. “Stay here. I’m getting her back.”

Jack looked like he wanted to protest, but he knew his father was in no condition to move and he couldn’t be left alone.

Cas stood up, growing his claws. “Lead the way, Captain.”

They ran down the corridor, following Zoey’s scent. It was still fresh, not more than a few minutes old, to Rowan’s relief. They only had to pass a few intersections when he heard Zoey’s voice echoing down the hallway.

“For the record,” she called, not sounding the least bit terrified, making Rowan swell with pride, “if I still had my plasma sword, you’d be diced up into little pieces by now.”

“Shut up.”

They turned the corner to replace a female Wraythe in the middle of dumping Zoey on the floor. Zoey glared up at her--then she saw Rowan. He didn’t have to tell her not to say anything to give them away; she lifted her defiant gaze back to the Wraythe, wiping the bead of blood running down the side of her face.

As much as Rowan wanted to tear the female’s head off for hurting his mate, he shrank back to the corner with Cas. They needed the Wraythe to move away from Zoey more or she would be at risk of getting caught up in the fight.

Thankfully, it didn’t appear there were any other Wraythe nearby. Yet. He didn’t know where the female was supposed to meet with the others. Rowan hoped it wasn’t here and the female had dropped Zoey because she was tired of the insults.

“Your breath smells like rot, by the way,” Zoey went on ruthlessly.

The female bared her fangs and hissed. “I said shut up, human!”

“What are you going to do, bite me? That wouldn’t make Jabraylen very happy, would it?”

Cas gave Rowan a look--as if he could tell Zoey to stop antagonizing the Wraythe.

The Wraythe snarled and stepped for her. Rowan snapped. He couldn’t risk it. He lunged for them.

The Wraythe didn’t have time to react, between Zoey kicking her knee in and Rowan dragging the Wraythe away from her. Cas jumped in and led Zoey down the corridor while Rowan dispatched the female. He dug his claws into her neck and wrenched it aside. He made sure the Wraythe was dead before he looked for his mate. “Zoey?”

Cas had her sitting on the floor while he examined her eyes, even as she protested. “I’m fine,” she insisted.

“You have a mild concussion,” Cas pressed. “Take it easy.”

“My dad-”

“He’s with Jack,” Rowan assured her, kneeling beside her. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms to remind himself that she was okay. He reached out for her, taking her hand while Cas tidied up her wound.

She calmed down and smiled at him. “I really am fine.”

“I know, but you have no idea how worried I’ve been.”

She looked up at him, a softness in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. His insides melted. He wanted to lean in and kiss her, show her how lucky he was to be her mate.

Cas cleared his throat, sensing Rowan’s shift in mood. “We shouldn’t leave Jack and the colonel alone for too long.”

“Help me up,” Zoey demanded.

Rowan took her hands and pulled her to a stand. His hands lingered around her waist a little too long, and Cas gave him a look, reminding him he should be more focused on protecting his mate, not feeling her up. There would be plenty of time for that later.

“Stick close, Zoe.”

She took his hand and followed them down the corridor.

Zoey didn’t know what she would have done if Rowan and Cassian hadn’t shown up when they did. She was all set to fight that bitch, but she knew she wouldn’t have won without any of her lucky weapons.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Rowan slipped the plasma sword hilt into her palm and gave her a tight squeeze to make sure she didn’t drop it this time. She nodded to him in thanks--then dove for the corner when they ducked behind cover.

A series of hisses rang throughout the corridor they had been about to enter. Rowan plastered himself up against the wall beside her, claws sprouting from his fingertips.

“They’re close,” a Wraythe said. “I can smell them.”

Another ring of hisses agreed.

Steeling himself, Rowan quickly peeked around the corner then squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He flashed five fingers. Zoey didn’t have to be fluent in the art of military hand signals to know that meant there were five Wraythe in the next corridor.

Too many for them to fight.

Rowan checked his watch then silently swore.

The next thing Zoey knew, the rumble of the hangar doors was shaking the building.

Panic seized her. The Marauder!

“Fuck!” a Wraythe screeched. “They’re leaving and taking the ship! Get to the hangar! Now!”

In a blur, five Wraythe whizzed passed them, not taking a moment to glance behind them. Thankfully. As hard as Rowan tried to push her into the wall, she didn’t think it would pass the Wraythes’ notice.

She sank against the wall when Cassian and Rowan relaxed. “So. . . if the Wraythe didn’t take our ship, who did?”

Considering the Arthonians didn’t seem concerned about it, Zoey assumed it was part of the plan. She just hoped part of the plan involved them coming back to pick them up.

“I told Mave to take the ship out of here if we didn’t come back in time,” Rowan confessed. “We have to replace our own way out of here now.”

“The place is swarming with Wraythe,” she unnecessarily reminded them. “They’re not going to let us walk out the front gates.”

“No,” he agreed, grinning like a maniac, “but they’ll get out of the way if they don’t want to be run over.”

After seeing bullets bounce off their skin, she doubted any car could survive playing Chicken with a Wraythe. . .

Unless that vehicle was designed to withstand a Wraythe attack.

She grinned. “I just realised why you were so specific with your list. I made an anti-Wraythe vehicle.”

“You can never be overprepared. We’ll pick up Jack and the colonel then head to the garage. Hopefully the Wraythe haven’t messed with my car.”

She snorted, very confident that wouldn’t be an issue. “Trust me, no one’s getting into your Rover unless they have keys.”

Cassian checked the corners. “All clear.”

Nodding, Rowan took Zoey’s hand then followed Cassian down the corridor. She hadn’t been taken too far from the interrogation rooms, and in a couple of minutes, they found Aaron and Jack at the end of the hallway. Her father was leaning against the wall, pale and still bleeding; Jack was doing his best to patch him up. She broke away from Rowan and ran for them.

Jack swung his arms around her, squeezing her tight. “You okay?”

“Zoey?” Aaron weakly reached out to her.

She took his hand. “I’m here.”

“Did that Wraythe hurt you?” His eyes went to the blood on the side of her face.

She shrugged it off. “It’s nothing. Rowan took care of her.”

Her father’s eyes flitted up to Rowan and Cassian. “Thank you for bringing my daughter back.”

Rowan grunted then pulled Zoey to her feet, tucking her behind him protectively. “I didn’t do it for you.” He redirected his attention to Jack. “We need to move out. Mave took the Marauder. Our transportation is in the garage.”

Jack moved to help Aaron to his feet, but Cassian took him, easily holding the colonel’s weight with one arm around his back.

“I’ll take point,” Rowan volunteered. “Jack, take the rear. Zoey, remember SMX-332?”

She did and gripped his belt.

“Who put you in charge?” Aaron sneered. “My son is your liaison, your commanding officer. You will obey him.”

“Dad, don’t start,” Jack snapped at him, tired and fed up. “He’s a decorated soldier in his military and has been fighting Wraythe longer than I’ve been alive. He can lead the fucking group.”

Zoey would have stopped in her tracks if Rowan hadn’t been tugging her along. “Wait. How old are you?” He didn’t look older than thirty to Zoey.

He kissed the top of her head. “That’s a talk for another time. Let’s replace somewhere safe first.”

“Did you just kiss-”

“The man said another time, Dad,” Zoey snipped. She definitely did not want to have this talk in an army base with Wraythe lurking around every corner. “Let’s move.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rowan winked at her then took the lead, claws out. She clung to his belt like a lifeline, ducking and lunging with him. When the Wraythe appeared, she released him and tucked away off to the side with Cassian and Aaron. Jack and Rowan apparently had a system and efficiently dispatched the enemy then moved for the next hallway.

Only one Wraythe slipped past them. Cassian barely had time to set Aaron down when the Wraythe was on him. He dodged every swipe and kept him away from them, but the Wraythe was fast and wouldn’t let Cassian get any shots in. He lunged for the Arthonian, digging his claws into his shoulder. He yanked him close, fangs aimed for his throat.

Ignoring her father’s protests, Zoey rushed to action, tapping the button on her hilt twice. “Hey, asshole.”

It was enough of a distraction for the Wraythe to pause. Enough time for Zoey to thrust the plasma sword into his back.

Yowling, the Wraythe dropped Cassian and turned to her. The medic grabbed either side of his head and tore it off in a disgusting display of black blood and visceral parts.

Zoey nearly dropped her sword, the blood drained from her face and limbs so fast. No amount of horror movie nights with Jack had desensitized her for that.

Panting, almost growling, Cassian looked at her, a wild side to his eyes she’d never seen in a man before. Never thought she’d see it in the kind doctor who only wanted to heal people.

Suddenly, Rowan’s arm was around her waist. “We have to keep moving.”

He disengaged the sword and herded everyone down the hallway. She tried to clear her mind, pay attention to Rowan’s movements, but it was as if her mind had disconnected from her body. Her body ran on autopilot, stiffly, clumsily, while her mind tried to calm down and accept all the blood, violence, and screams around her.

Before she knew it, Rowan was unlocking his Rover and putting her in the passenger seat. She was mildly aware Jack was shooting at Wraythe trying to stop them from leaving, while Cassian loaded her father in the backseat.

“Let me drive,” she said, slowly coming out of the shock. Being behind the wheel was exactly what she needed to distract herself. To be useful again. She didn’t know how long Rowan had been dragging her through the base, how long she had made their evacuation more difficult, but it ended now.

Rowan searched her gaze, worry etched in his features. “We can talk about what happened earlier if you want, but right now we need to focus on making out of here alive. Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”

She nodded. “I’ll get us out of here. You just worry about the Wraythe.”

He kissed her forehead, making her warm and fuzzy inside. It helped put her mind at ease.

Jack started cussing up a storm, so he broke away to help him. Zoey shuffled over to the driver’s seat and started the engine. Rowan had to drag Jack away from his cover, and shoved him into the backseat. Cassian quickly followed, winding the window down, gun at the ready. Rowan did the same in the passenger seat.

A Wraythe leapt onto the hood of the Rover and pounded his fists into the windshield. The reinforced glass paid off; his black blood smeared the glass, but he wasn’t getting in.

Zoey grinned proudly then slammed on the accelerator. The Wraythe went flying off the back. The garage door was already open, torn to shreds by the Wraythes’ vicious claws, but the hole wasn’t big enough for the Rover. Not yet.

“Zoey?” Jack was the first to voice his concerns, as Cas and Rowan were too busy shooting the Wraythe trying to catch them on the sides. “This isn’t an action movie. We can’t drive through that.”

Ignoring him, Zoey flicked the switch she’d added on the console. The car rumbled and vibrated as an orange film swept over the car. She hid her surprise from everyone; when she built the mechanism according to Rowen’s specs, she had guessed it was some form of protection. She would have never guessed it was a smaller version of Marauder’s shield.

She caught her father’s eyes widening in the back. “You’re not seriously going to. . .”

“Hold on to something.”

Rowan finally pulled his eyes away from his window and swore under his breath when he saw what they were about to run into.

Zoey flattened the pedal and squeezed the wheel tight as they smacked into the door. The steel peeled away at the weakest points and gave way, like they had blasted their way through paper.

Ignoring Jack and Aaron’s shouts at her, Zoey hooted her joy--then she quietened down when the main gate fell into view.

The Wraythe had stacked their SUVs and raised the barriers. Her designs were good, but they weren’t that good.

She eased up on the gas pedal.

“Keep going,” Rowan ordered, pointing to the fence leading out to a field. “If we can plow through the garage door, we can get through the fence.”

Zoey’s heart pounded in her ears. He was right, of course.

She changed course for the fence.