Captured by the Alien Warrior by Hope Hart (best pdf ebook reader for android TXT) 📕

I thought she would go deeper into my lair, where she would likely have become lost and I would have easily trailed her scent.

Instead, she could have lost her life. Her short two-leg life. I rustle my wings at the thought, and Charlie shifts next to me. She is not sleeping and is instead staring up at the night sky, her jaw tight as she ignores me.

My two-leg form. I had forgotten. Forgotten that my people had this form even though we once used it just as much as our winged form. We danced in this form, laughed in this form, mated in this form. My parents…

No.

I push away the thought. If my people had spent more time in their winged form, perhaps they would still be alive today.

I smell salt and glance at Charlie. Tears are tracking silently down her face as she looks up at the stars. She sniffs, and something in my chest hurts.

I harden myself against it. I am Dragix. Two-leg tears mean nothing to me.

Charlie

I don’t bother getting up the next morning.

There’s no point. Instead, I ignore Dragix as he rises, and I push away his head as he snuffles at me. He may think he’s won, but I can outlast him. Three years ago, I promised myself that I’d never be a prisoner again.

And I keep my promises.

Dragix stomps away, his tail flicking over the ground as he lets out a sound somewhere between a hiss and a growl.

Oh, I’m sorry, is your pet not entertaining you as much as you’d like? Maybe you should let her fucking go.

On the bright side, I’m not living in constant terror now. If he was going to kill and eat me, he likely would’ve done it last night, when the air around us heated with his rage.

Dragix must turn back to me because I can feel those gold eyes on my face. I ignore him, and he stomps back. He waits until I eventually meet his gaze and then shows me the edges of his teeth.

Asshole.

“What do you want?”

He obviously can’t reply, and this pleases me. Frustration shines in those gleaming eyes for a moment, and then he leans down, pushing against me with his head.

He wants me to get up.

“Sorry, I don’t speak giant lizard. Maybe you should turn back to a man and we can have an actual conversation.”

He roars at me, and I slap my hands over my ears.

Then, with a gust of air, he takes off, shooting up into the sky in the blink of an eye.

God, he’s fast.

Now that he’s gone, I drag myself to my feet. Maez will likely come up soon. Maybe I can take her by surprise and knock her out. Then I can skedaddle down into the mountain and haul ass out of here before Dragix gets back.

Except that she never comes up here unless he’s here, and he rolled that godforsaken rock in front of those stairs last night. All while staring at me as if to say “go ahead and move that.”

I move back to my shady spot but leave my legs in the sun as the day heats. I’m not used to Dragix being gone for so long. Usually, I’d estimate it at less than twenty minutes, but the sun is rising in the sky, and he’s still not back.

Am I missing a perfectly good opportunity to escape? Or maybe he’s punishing me? Perhaps he has even decided to just leave me here to rot.

I get to my feet and walk the perimeter. Again. In the distance, the calls of birds sound, followed by a howl that gives me goose bumps. Misty, early-morning sunlight softens the plains in front of me. To my right, a forest stretches, and through the green leaves, I can see dark-blue branches reaching for the sky.

A herd of the animals that Dragix seems to love are moving as one across a wide meadow on my left, and I can practically hear the thunder of their hooves as they sprint for the cover of the trees.

Likely because they’re aware of the huge predator who likes to pick them off whenever he wants a snack.

It still feels weird to be looking up at a green sky, and for a moment, I’m so incredibly homesick that I’m once again brushing tears off my cheeks.

Earth wasn’t perfect, that’s for sure. Especially for me. Sleeping in my car wasn’t exactly a good time, and moving from state to state to escape my sociopath ex was wearing on me. Never being able to make friends, only working temp jobs—it sucked. Not to mention, I was abducted by the Grivath on Earth. Being sold on an alien planet and crash-landing on this one? Also not cool.

But living in my car was better than this.

Finally, finally, Dragix approaches. I stay seated in the shade as he lands, his gaze going straight to me.

Then that bright light comes out of nowhere and he’s suddenly a man again. Only this time, he looks much more comfortable in his body as he stalks toward me.

I stand up, if only to avoid looking up at his giant—

Don’t think about that. Do not. Think. About. That.

“Where have you been?” I snap. “If you’re going to keep me here, you can’t just take off and leave me without any water.”

He nods. “You are right. I apologize.”

I’m so stunned to hear those words from the guy that I blink, almost missing what he says next.

“I have been practicing my shift,” he says. He steps back, transforms into a dragon and then back again.

This time, it’s his stomach that rumbles, and the corner of his mouth tips up.

He’s beautiful. So incredibly beautiful that it almost hurts to look at him. But he’s also a dragon, and he’s keeping me here against my will.

“Shifting forms quickly drains my energy and makes me hungry. If I do not eat, I will not be able to spit flame,” he explains as if I asked.

“I need to get