Terrik (Moon Hunter's Inc. Book 3) Read online

  Moon Hunter’s Inc.

  Book 3

  Terrik

  By Catty Diva

  Cover By Jesh Art

  Editing By Addicted to Reviews Editing

  2016 Copyright by Catty Diva

  Any resemblance to any persons living or dead are simply a coincidence. Any locations or events are fictitious or used in a fictional manner. The story is strictly a product of the author’s imagination.

  Chapter 1

  Dreams

  He thrashed on his bed coming awake suddenly. It was the same dream he’d had since the raid on the space station that had held the heinous lab. The place was connected to his past and the more he learned, the more he realized many, if not all, of his fellow hunters were touched personally by what the labs had done in the past.

  Throwing the sheet off his naked and sweat drenched body, he felt the cool air calm him as his temperature went down. Dreams like these hadn’t affected him since he was a youngster. Terrik was strong and capable so he feared little, but he did dread failure. When he’d been sent to provide backup for Cyn and Bear at the space station Alpha, an inability to properly complete his mission had never occurred to him.

  It was what this dream had been about, he recognized the odor of corruption filling his nose as the same rot he has scented the second he’d entered the lab area. The sounds of despair still filled his ears and his eyes had soaked in the hopelessness of those remaining in the cages. Even though he wanted to turn away, he couldn’t. Thank the Gods, they had been able to free so many people. Hundreds of victims, some on the edge of death, had been removed to Oison.

  That was another thing that worried Terrik ceaselessly. While he agreed the Mazlans he knew were great guys, they were being too helpful without even having been asked. What was the Mazlans’ concern in all this? He had no doubt they had one. If only they could find the next lab, he intended to accompany this group of refugees to Oison and ask a few questions of his own.

  Terrik went to his bathroom turning on his shower to the coldest temperature he could handle. There was no time to accommodate his cock’s needs and besides, the silly thing would shrink at the thought of any but the traitorous bitch that had escaped him at the lab. She was what was bothering him the most. His dreams of suffering were balanced with dreams of what he wished to do when he caught her. And catch her, he would.

  As he stepped under the stream his body protested the cold. His cock tried to shrivel up inside him and hide away. He looked down and saw it was doing a good job of that. His balls had also drawn up but they were still getting hit by the cold water. His nipples had hardened and goosebumps broke out all over his skin. Just a couple more minutes and he would be ready to keep his mind on his work.

  A little later, he sat in his living room in the corner he designated as his office space. He was dry and dressed, ready to get to work and able to work from home at this stage of the hunt. All hunters had both computer training and field training and the computer aspect that he was working now could be done from anywhere. They were all issued top of the line laptops with the latest programs for searching, hacking, and whatever else a hunter needed to do.

  This was the best job a person could have and the pay wasn’t skimpy, either. The benefits might even trump the pay, at least they did when he was pretending to be a rich playboy. Terrik was one of what the new guys called the one percenters. Those were the nine hunters who Cash had given one percent of the business as long as they followed the rules. So Cash had the controlling ninety-one, but Terrik and the others were often consulted on major decisions anyways.

  Cyn and Justice were the other one percenters he worked with the most, but both had gone into semi-retirement after meeting their mates. Jealousy reared its ugly head, but he would find the right one in time. It couldn’t be her, she was all wrong for him.

  Studying the results he’d gotten, a smile came over his face. Terrik had a good lead on the happenings at New Cairo space station and now they would have a direction to take their investigation. He loved it when things seemed to come together. Cash had been right about the moon below the station. Energy was being used, enough to run a lab and a prison.

  Once he was on the station, he would find a reason to go to the moon. A rich playboy would want to race buggies on the surface. Terrik loved pretending to be a rich playboy and getting to do the types of things he could never afford otherwise.

  To cover his visits with Cyn and Alex, they would pretend to be a threesome enjoying some meaningless sex. Too bad he’d not had the chance to play with Cyn before she’d settled down. She was gorgeous and so much more his type than the woman he was aching for. It was stupid to want someone who was so bad. He’d never wanted the evil type before and now he wondered how it would all end.

  How anyone could see all that suffering and not give a shit amazed him. The information he now had definitely pointed to the moon below New Cairo Station. Terrik had his bag packed and sitting by the door. His new background as a rich trust fund playboy who was allergic to work and wanted to do nothing, but to have sex and play all day, was already set up along with an account that had plenty of money for whatever he needed to do.

  The file was now complete and he was ready to go first thing in the morning. Tonight, all he wanted was a good night’s sleep. It was something he hadn’t managed since he’d returned from that mission on space station Alpha. It worried him that he was obsessed with that female and not just because she was bad and had escaped. It was the aching need to be with her in the Biblical sense that disturbed him the most.

  Before he turned in, he took another cold shower hoping to settle whatever the creature that was inside him was. Terrik wasn’t crazy and he had found out there were shifters all around him. Not that he could shift, but maybe he had just the smallest part of one inside and that’s why it was pissed all the time? It was the only explanation that made any sense.

  His shower done, he dried off and went to bed. Lying there, counting the cracks in the ceiling, he saw it wasn’t going to be any easier tonight than it had been the last couple of weeks. The tossing and turning was getting old, but the remembering and second guessing was far worse.

  Something was going on and it ran deep. Cash and Razar were keeping secrets and people could get hurt. Cash knew things about the labs that he wasn’t sharing and he had a personal reason to see them all taken down. It was also likely that he knew why Razar and the Mazlans were so invested in rescuing the victims of the labs.

  Terrik was no slouch. He’d researched his fellow hunters and all of them were connected to the labs. He’d bet money they were all lab bred and raised. It was true of him, Justice, and Cyn, they all admitted as much. It was his guess that Cash had been gathering all those that were lab-bred and working to have the money to pursue those who ran the labs. It seemed so clear to him he would be surprised if all the hunters hadn’t already figured it out.

  At some point, the sleep pulled him under and the dreams began again. It was the same fucking thing almost every damn night. It was so real, his throat and eyes burned from the acrid scent that came from the cages. The inhumanity of it all came crashing down on him and he wanted to punish everyone who had played a part in this misery.

  She was there, every time. The woman just stood there looking at him with a blank expression on her face. He moved forward. She was guilty and she would face justice. Almost there, she was so close and she just disappeared into thin air. Was he crazy? Did he miss a hidden exit? Something had happened and she had escaped.

  Now he had to live with his failure. She was out there somewhere doing the same thing she had always done, benefitting from the pain of others. The woman was completely e
vil and not only had he allowed her to escape, but he had feelings for her that might make others question his commitment in catching her.

  Terrik sat up sweat pouring off him. His mouth was dry and foul tasting and he had goosebumps all over him. His dream stayed with him, taunting him. He was sure if it had been a pleasant dream, it would have been gone already. Only bad dreams seemed to linger long after waking.

  It was nearly time for the day to start anyway so he just got up. This time the shower was warm and relaxing. It tempted him to stay longer as it washed his worries away, but only for a little while. He dried off and dressed with care. After all, he was a playboy rich kid and an adrenaline seeker. The last part was true, the first part wouldn’t be hard to act out with the account Cash had set for him.

  A smile flashed across his face. This was going to be so much fun. Since he’d become a hunter he’d been able to act in this role several times, each time managing to fulfill some dream or secret desire he had. Terrik didn’t have a list like some of the other hunters did. Each place had its specialties and he chose the ones closest to his heartfelt desires.

  The fact that Cash, who was attached to his money, had to cut funds loose for him to live a fantasy life, made it even sweeter. Cash wasn’t stingy exactly. He let money go when he needed to, you could just see the pain he felt when he had to.

  Terrik grabbed his bag, he would get breakfast on the ship. One more look around to be sure he had all he needed and he was out the door and into the shuttle waiting patiently.

  Chapter 2

  Mazlans

  Razar rolled over restlessly waking Lista. He hated that he hadn’t been able to sleep well since he’d learned the truth. While life would be more settled had he not known, he couldn’t wish away the moment of truth when he’d been sent the information by an anonymous source. Ha! He was certain it had been Willoughbee, the former warden of Oison that had sent the package of shame to him.

  Insane, that’s what the Emperor had been and instead of his people practically worshipping the bastard, they should have beheaded him. Usually, he was all for helping mentally unstable people, but not this time. The Emperor’s mind had been eaten up with evil and it had spread like a cancer not only throughout the male, but it had infected those closest to him as well.

  Every time Razar thought he’d uncovered the full extent of the evil, a new low presented itself. The package had contained copies of funds sent to the Emperor and merchandise sent to Earth and space stations under the control of Earth. The merchandise had been Humanoid in nature. The sorry son of a bitch had sold what he considered low class prisoners to the labs for experimentation. They were Mazlans who had pissed him off and spoken out against him.

  The whole thing brought such shame on his people, even though all involved had been killed. His demon wanted to break free and find something to smash every time he even thought about it. Razar was sure Cash already knew. He had accepted their offer of help with no questions and not even the hint of surprise. Cash had also looked pleased at the information Razar had ferreted out and added to what he shared from his anonymous informant. None of the information had shown what their evil Emperor had been capable of.

  That could not be said of the hunters Cash employed. Curiosity radiated off each one of them. Razar was sure they would ask questions if he was ever near them. That’s why the victims had been spirited away quickly and quietly. Many had been so near death that he was amazed they had all survived. Some were meeting with their families now that they had gained weight and looked less like living skeletons, which is what they’d looked like straight from the labs. The next lab would be hit soon if they were following the plan Cash and he had set down.

  Lista’s hand rubbed his back offering comfort. She didn’t know what a messed up legacy his Emperor had handed down to them. Only Razar, his father and some of his brothers had any idea. They would take the burden of the shameful acts on themselves and shield their families and the rest of their people from the darkness hidden in their past. It would all be fixed, as much as was possible, soon.

  Next would be the lab at New Cairo. It was one of the first ones built away from Earth. New Cairo was second only to Alpha. Razar had given up that location so they could tear down the organization behind the labs and free the victims.

  Lista’s hand had moved around and now was tempting him into making love to his beautiful mate. He had spent enough time on brooding, now it was time to live. He rolled over to face his beautiful mate. It was times like these and being a father, that he lived for. By the time they were through, they both fell into an exhausted sleep.

  Razar woke the next morning with a smile on his face. He would not allow this situation to ruin his life. His com buzzed, it was Cash. “Good morning, Razar.”

  “Is it?”

  “Is it what? A good morning? Yes, I believe it is. My people are on their way to New Cairo. I expect we’ll have answers within a week or two. I also have some Intel on the next location. Once I get a few more facts, I’ll decide who to send in there.”

  “I’ll be glad when these animals are taken down and face justice.” Razar admitted.

  “Your help and support has made a big difference. You should feel good about all you’ve done to help bring about the end to such evil. How are the people from Alpha doing?”

  “Several have been reunited with their families, several don’t have anyone except the people they were imprisoned with. DNA testing found some familial connections that I thought you might want a heads up on. Justice and Cyn’s father is in this group. His mate is Cyn’s mother and they have one child with them. The problem is they’ve had six children and the others were all removed. I’m assuming Cyn is the oldest. I’ve told them about her and they don’t want her to worry while she’s on an assignment. They want her told when she returns. I’m not sure they should wait.”

  “Your background is different than ours, Razar. I think it will affect her emotionally. She’s raised herself without parents but she’s always craved the relationship she had with them even though she barely remembers it. She’ll be pissed once she finds out we waited, but I’ll take it all on me. Anyone else?”

  “Not in your inner circle, but some of your newer hunters. I’ll send you a complete list. Most of them want to meet their families now. The only exception is Marcella Grayson. She’s been abused and it can’t be hidden. There’s a ton of emotional baggage and she says she used to be beautiful, but now she’s hideous.”

  “I thought you could do a lot for scars and such.”

  “We can, but not all at once. She’s already gone through three treatments and she fights them every time. The girls talk her into trying again. There’s noticeable improvement, but she’s a stubborn one. That’s probably what got her all the negative attention. The female has a strong personality, she needs something to do that engages her mind, but she refuses to go out around people, doesn’t want to be seen.”

  “Hm, you teaching her some computer skills?”

  “A few. They are all using computers to catch up on what’s been going on in the world while they’ve been trapped. What do you have in mind?” Razar asked.

  “Teach her how to do research so she can help bring down the people who caused her so much pain.”

  “That might help bring her some closure. You have a good idea.”

  “Don’t act like you can’t believe it. I have good ideas all the time.” Cash protested.

  Razar chuckled. “Oh, you were serious?”

  “Don’t be like that. It was my idea to go after the labs and so far, it’s gone well.”

  “I wish we could escalate the search and destroy. It makes me sick to think of what those people are going through. There just doesn’t seem to be any other way.”

  “Celebrate each victory and remember, each successful mission leads us to the next. We will free them all, we just can’t do it all at once.” Cash promised.

  “Just let me know if you need anything. We are wil
ling to do our part.”

  “Right now taking care of those injured and getting them into normal lives, is the best thing you and your people can do. My people are hunters and destroyers, this time yours are the safety and the healing. It’s ironic, given the destruction your race is capable of dealing out.”

  “It is, it is also hard to sit on the sidelines and wait for results.”

  “I know. I’m not sure how you do it but it is a blessing for the survivors.”

  That statement cut into Razar’s heart. Just another reminder of those that didn’t make it and the pain and suffering of those that did make it through. “Keep me in the loop and remember my people are a resource for you in this war.” Yes, it was a war and before long it would be brought to them. Razar knew it would only be a matter of time before the evil creatures behind the labs struck out at Oison or the moon the hunters called home.

  “I won’t forget. There’s this feeling that I have that we’ll be calling you in before long.”

  Razar was happy to hear it. Even though his kind were naturally caretakers of those weaker than them, they were also people of action. Sitting around waiting was objectionable to them. It was a good thing most of his people didn’t know about this. They would be screaming for blood and it would be hard to hold them back. “We will be waiting to hear from you.” Once they said their goodbyes, they hung up.

  “Who was that? Cash?” Lista asked from the doorway.

  “Yes, I was updating him on our guests.” Razar acknowledged.

  “I like that term better.”

  “What?”

  “Guests sound better than victims.”

  “You’re right. I need to get a new mindset for those that are freed.”

  “I’m so proud of what you’re doing. Not everyone would step up as you have.”

  “Don’t be proud of me. I’m not doing as much as I should.”

  “I know you feel you owe them something even if I don’t know why. Stepping up and fulfilling obligations is more than many others do. Whether you owe them or not, I’m still proud of you.” Lista offered.