Striker Excerpt

As I promised the second part of the excerpt for Striker. Enjoy the raw, unedited excerpt of Striker!!

Striker (The Valespian Pact #2)
© 2013, Lexi Ander

Excerpt:

"The kits..." Zeus choked. He couldn't say more. That they may have lost the children had Zeus gasping, his vision clouding with excess emotion.

Maddux's large hands her smooth and hairless, and like the rest of his body, the golden rosettes set against skin so deeply black that the yellow color sparkled like uncut jewels. Zeus never witnessed a psionic healer at work and when Maddux's palm's began to glow Zeus almost pushed Maddux away from Dargon, his mind drawing up the image of the Qrxzl's glow.

He gave a warning hiss.

"Zeus. Zeus!"

He raised his gaze to Maddux's crystalline blue eyes. "I would never harm them. I will do everything in my power to help them. I give you my word."

Zeus heard Maddux's words but he couldn't stop the long guttural noise. His Uda'Mahte'lan lay before him unconscious and injured. Zeus rode a wave of instinct to protect his amor.

"Prince Zeus," Warlord Sohm'lan called and he snarled.

"Zeus," Alpha whispered. He closed his eyes and shivered. "Calm down for me, please."

Immediately, Zeus felt contrite. With effort, he stamped down his impulses and walled in his emotions. when he next opened his eyes, Maddux's palm lay on Dargon's golden forehead and the other was over Alpha at the bade of Dargon's throat. He waited for the verdict as Maddux sat up.

"Alpha is fine, exhausted but unharmed. As far as I can tell, the kits are not in distress and I could find no injury. I believe Dargon took on as much of the ... I am not sure what happened but he too it into himself to protect Alpha and the kits."

"Will he be..." Zeus coughed, his throat raw.

"I believe, given time, yes. His nerves are a little frayed." Maddux leaned forward to whisper in Zeus's ear. "I think that was meant to kill you. If you had been the only one to bare the burden of the assault they would have succeeded."

Maddux only confirmed what Zeus had been thinking. The question: What to do about it?

Axis squatted on his heels next to Zeus. The GryFalconi's gray and red plumage stood straight up giving him an aggravated look. He drew off his shirt to reveal wide muscular shoulders and a hard sculpted chest. His dark brown skin was lightly covered with fluffy gray feathers that spanned across Axis's pectorals, narrowing to form a line down the center of his abdomen to disappear into his uniform trousers.

Using one of his sharp nails, Axis tore strips from his tunic. Zeus wondered what Axis was doing until Axis reached for Zeus's hand. He had forgotten he had been injured, the pain something else he shoved to the side with his emotions.

"This is all we can do for you until we get back to the shuttle. There is a med kit there, not that we can get it now."

Zeus nodded numbly. He knew he should be saying, doing more. He had been more functional after the attack on the Gorgon. Zeus's nerves felt brittle, as if he would burst into a million pieces any second now. A white haze crouched at the edge of his vision, threatening to overwhelm him. There was something wrong, something very wrong with him.

He gripped Axis's wrist with his good hand and stared into the large circular black eyes rimmed with canary yellow. "Please." He was not adverse to begging, not when it came to his family. "Protect them for me."

Those huge eyes stared at him unblinking. Zeus did not know what Axis's answer would be. He hoped, he prayed the reply would be yes as his sight went completely white and soft downy feathers brushed his cheek before unconsciousness overtook him.

*END OF CHAPTER*

 

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