The Lonely Orphan (The Lost Planet 5)

“It’s hard to focus with a blade at my carotid,” she grumbles, pinning me with a fierce glare.

“Where would you rather I stick you, feral one?”

Her cheeks flame red and she slaps me. I gape at her in shock.

“You hit me!”

“You were being a dick,” she defends.

“Are you always so mean?”

At this, she laughs, and it sounds beautiful. “Always.”

Aria has a spine of steel and I’ve seen her lash out at others, but she’s always been kind to me. So different than Lyric. Lyric practically breathes fire.

I relent and slide the magknife down, angling it up toward her ribs. My hand stays firmly splayed on her rump in case she tries to make a run for it. It’s nice and round in my hand. Makes me wonder if it’s squishy. I give it a little squeeze, earning myself another slap.

“What the rekk was that for?”

She curls her lip up. “I’m not even answering that question, dumbass.”

“I just wanted to know what it felt like when I squeezed it,” I try to explain. “The book never described how an alien’s rump felt.”

“Book? What, do they have alien porn here? Fucking weirdos. Anyway, on Planet Normal, you take a woman to dinner first before you feel her up. Write that in your damn book,” she says in a dry tone. “Now hold still. This won’t hurt. It just tells me whether or not what you speak is the truth. I’ll try and ask simple questions that require one word answers. If you’re telling the truth, it turns green. Red means a lie. Yellow means unclear. Do you understand, monster man?”

“Clearly.”

“Good,” she murmurs as she sticks an electrode to my temple. Then, she repeats the action on the other side before turning on the machine. “There. Ready?”

“Ready.” Green. I give her rump a quick slap to indicate my readiness.

“Do you like touching my ass?” she snaps.

“Yes.” Green.

“Typical male,” she grumbles. “Okay, first question. Is Aria safe?”

“Yes.” Green.

“Are you going to hurt her?”

“No.” Green.

She presses her lips in a firm line as though she doesn’t believe the truth-teller. “How many monsters are at your compound?”

“Ten, not including the mortlings.” Green.

Satisfaction gleams in her eyes. “We can take ten.”

I cock my nog to the side. “You want us?”

“No, I’m saying…forget it. Just shut up and answer my questions.”

Irritating female.

“Go on, feral one. I haven’t got forever.”

She rolls her eyes. “Okay…here’s one. How old are you?”

“Eighteen revolutions.” Green.

“What about you?”

“We’re not talking about me.” Pause. “In my head, I’m still twenty-one, having finally committed a crime severe enough to be exiled so I could seek out my sister. But who knows how old I really am or how much time has passed.” Another pause. “Whatever, I’m twenty-one. Next question. Do you eat humans?”

I scoff at her. “That’s rekking disgusting, Lyric. Do you eat monsters?”

“Answer the question, creep,” she hisses.

“No,” I growl. Green.

“Do you bite?”

“No.” Red.

“Asshole!”

“It’s a moronic question,” I defend. “I bite meat to eat…I don’t bite aliens!”

She narrows her eyes at me. “We’ll see, liar.” After letting out a heavy sigh, she taps on her chin, thinking. “Does Aria like you?”

“Yes.” I flash her a smug grin. Green. “I’m her favorite.” Red. My heart sinks.

“Who’s her favorite?” she challenges.

“Sokko.” Yellow.

“And…” she implores.

“Breccan.” Green.

“But you’re third favorite?” she taunts.

“Yes,” I admit with reluctance. Green.

“Who is Sokko?”

“Her son.” Green.

Her eyes fill with tears, but she quickly blinks them away. “Did she want to have him?”

“Yes.” Green.

I think about how sweet she is with Sokko. Loving and caring. My chest aches with longing.

“Do you love her?”

“Yes.” Green.

“You wish she were your, er, mate?”

If this gets back to Breccan…

“No.” Red.

“Are you a home-wrecking monster?”

I frown. “No.” Green. Even though I don’t understand the term, I get her insinuation.

She lets out a sigh of relief. “Are you going to hurt me?”

“If I have to.” Red.

Her face lights up wickedly. “I knew it.”

With newfound bravado, she starts to pull away. But I’m not done holding her yet. My claws bite a warning into her fleshy rump as I keep her in my lap.

“B-But you said,” she whispers, squirming at the way my large hand holds claim to her rump.

“I’m not hurting you,” I tell her. Green.

“Stupid machine,” she grumbles.

“I just want to keep you right here.” Green.

“Are you going to rape me?” Her blue eyes are hot with accusation.

“No,” I snap. Green. “I’m not a rekking Kevin!” Green.

“You know Kevin?” she asks in astonishment.

“If I ever meet Kevin, I will bite all right. I will rip every piece of skin from his body with my teeth. I’ll cut off his cock and rekking feed it to him. Then, I’ll walk him right into a den of sabrevipes so they can feast on his disgusting carcass.” Green.

“He hurt my sister,” she says sadly, a tear leaking down her cheek. It’s a statement that she wants confirmation to, but we both know the answer. Yes.