Coletti Warlords: Reality Bites by Gail Koger Read Free Book Online Page A

that before? All the energy I needed was right there, waiting for me. Had Zarek booby-trapped Jaylan’s mind? Did it matter? Sooner or later, Mog and his furry friends would break in.
    I tapped in to it. Whoa! What a rush. It was like being hit by lightning. I fixed my attention on healing Jaylan’s ribs and smiled as they knitted together.
    Without warning, an absolutely terrifying entity wrapped around my mind and sifted through my memories.
    A jolt of raw fear shook me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break the connection or stop him. What kind of creepy, alien monster did I have stuck in my head?
    A savagely dangerous voice asked, “Creepy, alien monster?”
    I was so dead. I should have known he would be monitoring his hunter. “Are you Zarek, the all-powerful Overlord of the Coletti Clans?” Please say no. Please say no.
    “I am.”
    Fuck it. “If you’re going to kill me, do it, but I’m not apologizing for borrowing a smidgen of your power to keep Jaylan alive.”
    “Your willingness to fight for your mate is the only reason you weren’t punished.”
    “He’s not my mate,” I snapped.
    “Yet you risked death to save him.”
    He had me there. “Do I have your permission to put Jaylan back together?”
    Zarek’s enormous power crackled through me. “You do.”
    I reveled in the energy cascading through me and sent it into Jaylan’s jaw and arm. Relief flooded me as he healed perfectly. Jaylan’s life force grew stronger, but he was still unconscious. “He needs blood.”
    “A Hus Ping is an acceptable donor.” Borrowing my telekinesis, Zarek dragged a huge teddy bear over to us.
    I pulled the knife from my boot and sliced open the moaning bear’s arm, letting the blood run into Jaylan’s mouth. “C’mon, c’mon, that cyborg’s gonna break in.” I rubbed his throat. “C’mon, Skippy, swallow. That’s a good boy. You can do it.”
    “Drink,” Zarek commanded drily.
    Jaylan immediately sank his fangs into the arm and drank deeply.
    Why in the hell hadn’t he done that earlier? “Please tell me the cavalry’s coming.”
    “Jaylan’s warriors are dealing with a Rodan attack on the Mars outpost.”
    “So we’re on our own?”
    “My hunter knew the risk when he hijacked the Hus Pings’ supply shuttle to rescue you.”
    “Yeah, Jaylan’s got more balls than sense.”
    “Why do you try to hide what you are?”
    Talk about being blindsided. How much had bigmouth told him? When in doubt, lie. “I’m not hiding anything. The fact is, I have no desire to be a broodmare or give up my humanity to become an alien freak.”
    Zarek countered with a cold fury. “You little fool, did you really think I wouldn’t recognize my own kin?”
    What? Every nerve in my body twanged with shock and denial. “There’s no way in hell I’m related to you.”
    “Thor was my son.”
    All my pent-up anger bubbled out. “Well, Gramps, your precious son turned my mother into his blood whore.”
    “An unfortunate necessity.” Zarek’s tone was lethally matter-of-fact.
    Pain twisted my heart . “Because he already had a mate?”
    “Yes.”
    “Any siblings I should know about?”
    “Mera bore Thor no children.”
    I took a deep breath to ease the constriction in my chest. “My sperm donor’s dirty little secret is safe with me. I want nothing to do with his family or you.”
    “Colettis never abandon their children. If I had known of your existence, I would have come for you.”
    “Right, because psychic females are such a valuable commodity.”
    Zarek’s anger burned through my mind. “I will not apologize for doing what is necessary to save our race.”
    “And you just made my point. I’m nothing to you except a broodmare you need to rebuild your empire.”
    “You are your father’s daughter.” Was there was a touch of pride in his voice?
    Another blow shook the door. Mog and his furry minions were getting impatient
    “Place your explosive a meter from the control panel. The