Prologue/Excerpt
Abby's POV
"Take off your clothes," It wasn't a request, it was a command. He walked over to his tools casually, scanning over strange items he meant to use on me.
Aliens and their lobotomies.
I tried to say something but nothing came out. He'd knocked all the fight right out of me, left me standing there like a deer in headlights.
"I'm waiting," he said, leaning against the table, watching me. I squirmed under his stare.
'Come on, Abby,' I told myself. I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and lifted it a little. Played with a loose thread. But that was it. I couldn't do it.
I just couldn't.
"Please, have mercy," I begged. Next thing I knew, he was right there in front of me. Nearly gave me a heart attack.
"I said strip, human." He looked at me with annoyance, like he didn't understand what was so odd about his request.
But he didn't know my secret, about who I really was. If he knew, then what?
I've spent my life running and hiding from human men, now alien men? Big, 7-8ft tall, muscular, scary aliens who could sniff my scent and find me like dogs.
He stared into my eyes like he was trying to see inside my head. I looked away fast. Something about his eyes made me feel weak all over. Made me think things I shouldn't be thinking. Like he had some kind of hold over me. He used his finger to make me look at him again. "You're not like the other males from Earth. You're weak, helpless, useless."
It didn't hurt my feelings—our own men said worse things. But right now I was trying my best to keep what I really was a secret. Not just for me, but for my sisters hiding up in the mountains.
"You are hiding something. I do not tolerate deception. Men should have honor, regardless of rank or species. You have no honor. A man should fight and protect those weaker than himself. While I admire your refusal to reveal where your human women are hiding, there are far better methods of extracting it from you."
He pressed something on the wall and a glass door appeared out of nowhere. Behind it was something that looked like a huge bathtub filled with glowing water.
"What is that?"
"Our technology is far beyond yours. This will pull the secrets from your mind and show me everything you know." He walked across the room like he owned it, every step reminding me he was royalty. Cruel royalty. "I won't ask again. Strip!"
"No, please," I begged, but the look in his eyes crushed whatever fight I had left. It felt like he'd put me under some kind of spell. His eyes controlled my body, his presence made me feel like nothing more than a tiny human standing before a god.
"Now," he said, quiet but scary as hell.
Everything in me wanted to fight back, but my body wasn't listening. My fingers started to loosen up, the fabric slipping. A tear rolled down my cheek. I couldn't stop it.
"I... I can't," I whispered. My voice was shaking. "Please... don't make me do this."
He got closer. So close I could feel the heat coming off him. His smell hit me, and the scent itself made my head spin and my knees wobble. Somehow, he was controlling me.
I shut my eyes tight, trying to block him out. But I couldn't. He was everywhere. In every breath, every heartbeat. He was in control and I was nothing.
He reached out and wiped the tear off my face. His touch was gentle, which somehow made it worse.
"Open your eyes," he said, softer now.
I didn't want to, but the way his fingers pressed against my skin made it clear I didn't have a choice. I opened my eyes and seeing him that close made me forget how to breathe.
"Good," he said, almost like he was talking to a scared animal. "Comply. Do not make this more difficult than necessary."
I swallowed hard. He stepped back but his eyes did not leave mine. No way around what he wanted. No saying no to him. I knew if I didn't do what he said, things would get a lot worse.
My hands were shaking as I started lifting my shirt again. I could feel the fabric against my skin. My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears. I had to do this. Had to survive no matter what.
The shirt got to the point of no return. Cold air hit my stomach. The binding wrapped around my chest that made me look flat was hidden behind my baggy shirt.
He watched me closely, eyes scanning over my exposed skin. I started unwrapping the cloth around my chest but didn't even get it halfway off before the cold air hit my naked breast. I gasped and covered myself with both hands. He just stood there staring, his breathing changing. Nobody had ever seen me naked. Not even other women. Here I was, being forced to show what I really was to some alien man.
"Impossible," Zarak muttered under his breath, displaying shock and confusion for the first time. "You're... a woman."