She was hurting. Her ankle might be broken or at least sprained but she ignored the pain. She looked down. The man she’d kicked held his jaw with one hand while still gripping her other ankle with his other hand. Taking aim, she kicked out as hard as she could. Her foot nailed his crotch.

She’d hit her intended mark. She saw his mouth open. His hold on her ankle was suddenly gone as he grabbed for the front of his pants. He fell slowly backward to crash to the floor. He made a high-pitched squeal. Joy hit her in that second. That was another way men were universal no matter what planet they came from.

Ariel twisted her body try to kick at another man who held her but they released her. Both of them backed away from the bed before she got the chance. Terror was etched on their faces as they stared toward the broken bedroom door. Her eyes followed theirs. Ral stormed into the bedroom.

Rage like nothing she’d ever seen before twisted his features. He roared. It hurt her ears. The conis didn’t translate. She didn’t need to be told what that sound meant. Ral’s eyes met Ariel’s. She saw his eyes flash over her body. He moved fast to throw himself at the nearest man to him. He attacked the man to her right.

Something warm sprayed her. She looked at her arm and saw bright red dots all over her body. Her brain registered it was blood. Her eyes turned in shock to Ral and the man. She saw the flash of a metal blade in Ral’s hand. The large intruder dropped to his knees. She saw that his throat was slashed. He pitched forward. Ral roared again as he dove for the other man before the first body even hit the floor. The second man didn’t even get out a sound before Ral was on him. Ral’s arm rose and she heard a grunt. She listened to silence for a second before she heard a soft whine from the end of the bed.

Ral rose up from the floor alone. He walked slowly to the end of the bed. He glared down at the man Ariel had kicked in the crotch. She saw Ral bend down. His expression was still masked in pure rage. A whine, louder this time, came from the man. Ral dragged him up by his hair and Ariel watched as Ral slit the man’s throat, tossing his body aside. Ral was breathing hard. He was bloodstained—it was on both hands, the blade he still held and splashed on his clothes. He turned to stare down at Ariel.

“I’m okay,” her voice broke. “You got to me in time.”

Ral dropped the blade on the bed as he reached for her. Ariel didn’t flinch as Ral reached for her with both bloody hands. He gently lifted her up into his arms and held her tightly against his bloody chest. He buried his face in her throat. He was still breathing hard and shaking with fury.

Ariel didn’t hesitate. She threw her arms around his neck to hold on to him for dear life. Ral had saved her again. He’d killed for her again. They had survived and they were both together.

Ral refused to put her down, refused to leave her side. Ariel didn’t mind at all. They sat on the couch with Ariel firmly on his lap. Ral’s arms were around her, holding her tight. After a shower, they were both clean with wet hair and fresh clothing. The dead men had been removed from Ral’s home. She’d been lucky. Besides some bruises, she’d just sprained her ankle. Nothing was broken.

The uniformed Zorn police force had come and gone. Ahhu had arrived to treat injuries. Erra was bruised but fine. She’d run for help but Ral had gotten home before the neighbors could rush to Ariel’s rescue. The conis had been moved into the living room. The bedroom was bloodstained and off limits until it could be cleaned up.

“I don’t understand why they would dare,” Erra said softly. “You are Argis Ral.”

Erra held ice to the large bump on the side of her forehead. “It was death for them if they harmed Ariel or not.”

Ral eased his hold on Ariel and gripped her jaw gently. He turned her face so they could stare into each other’s eyes. “I know why this happened. I know you will be angry. I am enraged. When we took the tests at medical we were monitored without our knowledge. Someone with access to that monitoring released them to the population to watch on the conis. We were seen by many.”

Ariel blinked. She was horrified as his words set in. The blood drained from her face and she felt a little dizzy. Her heart almost stopped. She stared into his eyes and saw his rage reflected there. He nodded at her grimly.

“Many males probably viewed the monitoring of us. I think that is why they dared come after you. They saw how it is between us.”

“Oh God,” she breathed. “I’m in a porn video on the internet with you.”

He frowned. “I…”

“I know. You don’t understand but I do. What we did anyone can see on the conis, right? Us naked and doing what we did together at medical?”

“I had it removed from the archive.”

“But once it’s on the conis it is out there. You can’t stop it from being seen.”

He frowned. “That is not true. Once it is removed from the archive it is gone from the conis.”

“Can’t someone store it and watch it later or put it back on the conis?”

“Our conis isn’t like that. It has to be in the archive to view it on a conis.”

Relief hit her. “You’re sure?”

“Positive. That is why I was late. I was told about it and had it taken care of. All monitoring of us was destroyed. It makes me burn with rage to think of the males who saw you naked. They saw what I see when I touch you. That is mine alone. I want to kill every male who looked at your beautiful body being touched by me.”

She shut her eyes. She opened them after taking a deep breath. “So why did they attack? I don’t understand.”

“You are very responsive to my touch and you are different from our women. You make males very hard, Ariel. Very hard and very stupid if they think they can touch you and come after you. I will make them very dead if they try again. I kept you home out of fear that you would attract males with your looks. I was afraid they might scare you by approaching you to talk to you but I never thought anyone would dare come after you like this. You are mine.”

The front door opened suddenly. Ariel gasped as she was moved from Ral’s lap so fast that the world spun as he leapt to his feet to snarl at whoever walked into his home.

He moved between Ariel and the front door to protect her. She could see Ral’s tense body.

His large frame slowly relaxed and he sat down. He reached for Ariel, lifting her back onto his lap. She stared in shock at their company. She felt instant anxiety. Six men entered the room. Ariel recognized the three brothers and Hyvin Berrr. The other two men were strangers but they were dressed like guards with weapons strapped to their hips. The front door shut firmly when the last male entered the room.

“What do you want?” Ral glared at his father. “I am furious with you. You ordered those tests. Only you could order us monitored without consent. This is your fault.”

Hyvin Berrr lowered his head slightly. His eyes, much like Ral’s, locked onto his son’s raging glare “I did not know someone would steal the monitoring to put it on the conis for all to see. That was not my intention. You are slated to take my place one day to lead Zorn. I needed to make sure you were not bewitched. I wanted her tested. I wanted to see how she was controlling you.”

Ral snarled. “You put her in danger.”

The man lowered his eyes, glancing at the floor and then back up. “I know. I have no excuse. I apologize. I know she is not bewitching you. I saw the monitoring and the test results state there is no chemical control.”

“Shit,” Ariel sighed. “Great. Did anyone not see us have sex?”

“I did not,” Erra said in a very soft tone.

Ariel shot her a grateful look. “Thank you.”