Rogue Warriors of Lorr
Captured By the Alien Chapter 20

of her arms and sell it to the highest bidder-hopefully, its father-as soon as it was born.

Time wore on, and Scarlett's spirit dropped a little more each day. The only thing that kept her sane was the growing weight of her belly and the strong kicking of her child. However, this was a source of despair as well because she knew they would tear her baby out For now, she had to focus on the health of her baby as it was the only reason to keep working. Scarlett had been punished enough times to know that the Flemlars would have no problem subjecting her to t*****e, even if she was heavily pregnant.

One day, Scarlett was cleaning Meshka's rooms when she spied a master keycard on her mistress's bedside table. Scarlett did not think the woman would be careless enough to leave the keycard to her ankle cuff just lying around. Still, she also knew her masters expected slaves to be stupid.

So stupid and submissive, we wouldn't dare try to steal or use a keycard.

Scarlett looked around, making sure her guard, Genia, was not around. Pretending to dust, she crept closer to the bedside table and picked up the keycard as quickly as she could.

Carefully, she sat down on the floor and pressed the keycard to the panel on her anklet. With a satisfying click, the anklet unlocked.

Scarlett stared at it in shock for a few seconds. Reaching down, she tugged on the ends and took it off. For a few seconds, she enjoyed the heady feeling of freedom and indulged in a fantasy of sneaking out of the house right now.

With a deep breath, Scarlett clipped the anklet back on and returned the key. The anklet was not locked now, and she could take it off whenever she liked. All she needed to do was wait for an opportunity to escape.

Her duties for the day did not seem so tiresome now that she had an edge on her masters. She felt almost cheerful and had to put in some effort to stop herself from smiling. If she was suddenly upbeat, the Flemlars and other slaves would be sure to notice. Several times, Scarlett was tempted to make a run for freedom. She cleaned the front hall for a few hours, the street only a few short steps away. She stood right at the edge of the doorway, watching the passersby and thinking about joining them. When she noticed Genia staring at her, Scarlett quickly went back to work.

Later that day, Scarlett was taking trash out to the dumpsters in the back of the house. A path curved around the nearest wall that would take her straight to the gate. Again, she considered running.

At the last moment, she stopped herself. Scarlett had to plan carefully. She knew that. If she tried to escape and got caught, the Flemlars would lock her up. She might even end up being punished, and that would definitely put her child at risk.

So far, the Flemlars had allowed her to go back to her regular duties. Even though she was given a lot of work, they had allowed her regular visits with a doctor that she had to pay for, decent food, and an actual bed to sleep upon.

To the Flemlars, this was a great concession, probably because they realized a healthy baby would bring a higher bid than a thin or ill newborn. Scarlett knew they considered all others servile to them, and their treatment of her was not meant to imply equality or even consideration. They cared for her as if they were indulging a pet, not as if she was a human being.

That night, Scarlett washed and ate and went to bed early, curling up under the covers and closing her eyes so Genia would think she was asleep. Scarlett waited until all the noises of the palace settled down before peeking out over the blankets.

She checked on Genia, who was leaning against the wall, snoring softly. Everyone must be pretty complacent about her by now, especially considering that she had a very large belly and couldn't move very fast. Scarlett thanked all the gods for their stupidity in underestimating her.

Scarlett slipped the anklet off and hurried to her balcony. The night was quiet, a soft breeze playing with her hair. She looked around for a few minutes and then, satisfied no one was there to see her, she crept out into the gardens.

She stayed in the shadows of the great trees, hurrying toward the front of the grounds. To her dismay, a whole phalanx of armed guards was stationed at the main gate. She watched them for a few moments, scrutinizing them as they took shifts patrolling the front road and sections of the garden.

They will be there all night. The Flemlars must have put on extra security.

With her heart sinking, Scarlett headed back through the garden. She took a half-hearted walk around the grounds, but the boundary wall was solid brick and stone, over ten feet tall. No way could she get over it.

With a terrible defeat crushing her chest, Scarlett realized she couldn't escape yet. Going back to her room upset her so much that she could not control her tears. She crawled into bed and slipped the anklet back on, curling up and wrapping her arms around her belly.

Scarlett cried hopelessly, wondering how she was going to survive this nightmare.

The mood on the cargo ship was tense as they entered Xoyosan space. They encountered no resistance, but all of the men knew that if the Xoyosans realized the vessel was full of Lorr, they would be immediately shot down.

They landed at a busy docking bay, all of them wrapping themselves in ragged cloaks so they could disembark. No one paid much attention to them as they unpacked crates and moved goods into the cargo bay.

Dezar set the ship up to refuel, and then they left the dock as if they were heading to a nearby bar to wait. Once they arrived at the sleazy dive, Dezar made contact with one of his moles and obtained the address of the illusive Flemlars compound. Procuring a hovercraft was not difficult, and Grux felt a growing sense of satisfaction as they continued to outwit the Xoyosans. All his grief, his loss, and helplessness, finally began to abate as they got closer to their destination. class="calibre13

When they arrived at the massive estate, Grux saw the front gates were heavily guarded. Dezar had his men park the hovercraft in the nearby scrub to conceal it, and then the five Lorr warriors crept up on the security forces and took them out. The Xoyosans barely put up a fight, but Grux knew that to them, it seemed as if the shadows had come alive. No one could see a Lorr warrior coming if he didn't want to be seen.

The five Lorr warriors crept into the estate in total silence. Concealed by darkness, they entered the building and began searching the servants' quarters.

Grux and the others managed to check out several rooms without waking the occupants. There were many different kinds of races, as well as quite a few humans. Grux couldn't hide his disgust. It was as if the Flemlars simply enjoyed collecting living things like they were objects.

Grux was surprised by a tall, broad figure standing right in the doorway of one room. He almost barreled straight into her as he forced his way in but recovered quickly enough to take down the large Xoyosan female with one blow. Then, he crept toward the bed, wanting to take a quick look and then move on until he found his mate. To his surprise, Scarlett raised her head from the pillow, gasping when she saw him.

It was as if there was no space between them. Grux didn't even have an impression of crossing the room. She was simply in his arms. He felt her trembling as her voice muffled against his chest. He knew she was trying not to cry for joy. "You came," she moaned.

He nodded, leaning back to look into her eyes. "Of course, I came," he whispered back. They shared a tender kiss while Dezar began to motion frantically from the door.

"We gotta go, now!" Dezar hissed. Grux nodded and took Scarlett's hand, holding it tightly.

They ran through the palace halls, heading back to the front entrance. Their footsteps were soft on the hard, tiled floor, and the palace stayed quiet. Grux felt sure they had completed their mission without waking anyone.

Until they hit the main foyer. Right in front of the doors, blocking their path to freedom stood the Flemlars themselves, both armed with impressive rifles.

They trained the muzzles on them, both of them glaring at the Lorr attempting to steal their property.

"We have you now!" Targol cried. "All of you are done. You hear me. I should shoot you all right now. You were warned not to come here, Prince of Lorr!"

"Now you can be our slave, too." Meshka cackled.

Grux held his tongue, his eyes darting back and forth between the two. He could sense Dezar relaxing beside him, even as Scarlett's fingers turned icy cold in his own warm hand.

"Who's a slave?" a sudden voice cracked confidently through the air, and Dezar let out a satisfied laugh as the rest of his men fell in behind the Flemlars.

"You hurt one hair on the prince's head or his mate's, and you are dead, you hear me?" Dezar's first mate growled into Meshka's ear.

Meshka gulped, her eyes widening with fear as the muzzle of a powerful gun was pressed to her head. Targol attempted to fire anyway and ended up with a strong Lorr arm wrapped around his throat, ready to break his neck. "Now, you die." Grux took slow, purposeful steps toward the Flemlars. Dezar laughed softly and his men tightened their hold on the Flemlars, ready for Grux to dole out justice to the slavers who had stolen his mate. "Wait!" cried Scarlett. "Just wait."

She ran ahead of Grux, looking into the eyes of the two she hated more than anyone else in existence. Grux saw her tremble with fear as she stood before them, all her years of servitude catching up to her. Yet she bears them no ill will. I can tel

Grux was genuinely amazed at the strength of his mate's heart.

"If you let me go, I'll spare your lives," Scarlett said softly. Grux made a sound of protest, but he did not argue with her. Meshka broke first.

"Fine!" she snapped. "I revoke my ownership of you. Scarlett, you are free to go."

"I also revoke my ownership," Targol said, practically spitting the words. "Go, Scarlett."

Scarlett turned to Grux, smiling. He was holding a small comm device.

"Did you get that?" she asked. Grux nodded.

"I sure did. I've also broadcast it to all the relevant authorities. They'll receive the message immediately."

Dezar gave the Flemlars a cold look.

"That also gives us passage through your airspace. Now that we no longer have possession of your property, we must be allowed to leave without being harmed."

Scarlett stood in front of Grux, tears welling in her eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it, smiling as he took in her expression. Scarlett was still shocked; the reality of her situation had yet to sink in. "Scarlett," he whispered. "You're finally free."

She threw her arms around him, and his lips found hers, both of them kissing each other as if the world was ending.

Or beginning.