“He’s very young,” she lied unrepentantly. “He’s very ill.”
Ulf briefly took his eyes off the fight he was engaged in to stare down at her. “The boy is sickly?”
“Yes, very sickly.” Raine had no problem telling that truth.
“How did he survive the destruction?”
“His brother hid him and all of us.”
“It is good that he has a strong clan leader to protect him.”
Their attention was caught by Skars, who gave a loud grunt when an Olggan managed to rake merciless claws down his chest.
Well, hell. She couldn’t stand and watch the man get killed after he had saved her life, especially if that meant she would have her own personal squad making sure she didn’t become alien roadkill. That the others in her group would be afforded the same protection made it a win-win as far as she was concerned, and she could put off having sex until they no longer needed their protection. If not, then how bad could having sex with an alien Viking be? Other than the red eyes, and some of them having an orangish tinge to their skin, they seemed normal.
Her mind refused to go the nether regions of their bodies. She would cross that bridge when she had to. Much later. That was, if her husband survived the goon squad of aliens that were determined to make her a widow.
Seeing a metal rod poking out of the debris of a destroyed building, Raine started to climb out of the window.
“Stay still,” Ulf ordered.
Undeterred, she climbed out, taking no notice of her shirt being torn by the metal of the door.
Placing her hands on her hips, she turned to confront the red-eyed alien who surprised her by not touching her to stop or help her climb out. “I’m not trying to run away. I’m going to help if all you’re going to do is stand here and watch my husband get killed.”
In her mind, she wasn’t really married to Skars, but if Ulf and the other Vikings were convinced she had come around to their way of thinking, then maybe they would lower their guard.
“You’re not going to try to run away again?” He stared at her dubiously.
“No. What kind of wife would I be if I left my husband when he is in danger?” Trying to come across as sincere, Raine held out hope that Ulf would stop her and step in himself.
“Then you help.”
There went that, she thought, glaring at the Viking who should have been called Oaf.
“Thanks,” she gritted out between clenched teeth.
Moving to the pile of debris, she managed to yank the metal rod out. She held the heavy metal rod like a bat as she moved closer to the fighting.
The lump of fear in her throat nearly choked her. Buying time, she looked over at Ulf. She hesitated, still expecting him to stop her. “Aren’t you going to help?”
He raised his brows, as if not understanding why she was asking the obvious. “I’ll watch the woman and boy.”
She had never felt so helpless in her life. All she wanted to do was run screaming in terror and not have to deal with any aliens ever again.
Bile from her empty stomach threatened to choke her when yet another headless Olggan fell at her feet. What was with these aliens? Were the Olggans going to rise from the dead? Was that why they kept decapitating them? She had no liking for the Olggans, but there were different ways to kill them beside chopping off their heads.
Lifting her eyes from the bloody ground littered with alien body parts, Raine saw Skars already fighting another one before the one she was staring at hit the dirt while another one was coming up on him with claws extended.
Any fear she held dissolved at the oncoming threat. She needed Skars alive. He could be their only lifeline in a world where humans were on the verge of becoming extinct. Her small group needed the Vikings more than they needed them. She didn’t know how their Viking marriages worked, but on Earth, wives protected their husbands.
Holding the metal rod tighter in her grip, Raine closed her eyes and swung at the Olggan about to take her husband out.
At a loud sound, Raine opened her eyes to stare horrorstricken, seeing Skars laid out in the dirt next to the headless corpse.
All the aliens and Vikings stopped fighting to gape at her. Instead of helping, she had knocked Skars out. Rage filling the Vikings’ faces had her debating whether to run or stay. It was the Olggans who made the decision for her.
Using their hesitation to strike out at the one she had been aiming for in the first place, she swung the rod out again, hitting a hand that was pulling out a net hooked to its side. The sucker was going to capture her with the net! Any sympathy she had for the Olggans died.