Challenging Saber

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Seven Years Before – Earth:

The Collapsed Parking Garage:

“This way,” Hunter said in a quiet voice.

Saber nodded, staring at the dark crevice between the huge slabs of concrete. A curse echoed through his mind when he saw Hunter disappear into the opening. Sometimes he wondered about his friend’s sanity. If it had been him, he’d have left the human woman to her fate.

A grimace crossed his face as he slipped through the hole and slid down the incline created by the collapse of the building. With a shake of his head, he knew deep down he would have done the same thing as Hunter did if a human female had risked her life to save him. It was bred into their species to protect those that were weaker, that included all females.

Over the last four years of his mission, he had met a few human women. Most of them had been pleasant, but overall, he found them to be either too demanding or too delicate for his tastes. That had led to many frustrated nights since his arrival on the planet.

He paused when Hunter glanced at him and held up two fingers, then a third. Stepping to the side, he and Dagger spread out while Hunter took the center. This was Hunter’s mission; they were the support. His vision quickly adjusted to the darkness. His gaze narrowed on the dim light and the soft voices in the far corner. Hunter slowly moved off to search for the female that had helped him, leaving him and Dagger to deal with the other two. He watched as Hunter disappeared into the darkness before returning his attention to the two figures by the fire.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the figure of the youngest human. She wasn’t quite a woman, but she wasn’t a child either. What he did know was that she was in a very dangerous situation, and that ignited a flame of anger inside him that he had never felt before.

His eyes scanned the shadows of the parking garage for signs of any males. It was hard to tell from the scents in the air. He could smell fresh blood and the acidic smoke from the fire. The blood was the same as from the warehouse where they had tracked the female earlier. He knew that the female Hunter was seeking had to be here, it was just a matter of where.

He turned his gaze to search for Hunter. He caught a glimpse of his friend’s shadow and knew that Hunter was in the mode that made his name famous. It wouldn’t take long for Hunter to find his prey.

He glanced at Dagger. Surprise and amusement swept through him when he saw Dagger’s intense gaze on the two females. Dagger had always been the most forceful and deadly out of the three of them. It wasn’t like he or Hunter couldn’t be put in that same category, it was just they didn’t play with those that pissed them off before killing them. Dagger was known to draw out the deaths of those stupid enough to get under his skin.

Turning his gaze back to the two females, Saber felt a strange twist in his chest as he listened to them quietly talk. The little one was trying to take care of the other. His eyes swept over her tousled blonde hair and slender, almost fragile form.

Anger burned in him as he wondered why the females did not have a male or males to protect them. As a Trivator warrior, protection of a female within a family unit was top priority. If a warrior proved himself worthy, he would be gifted with a family of his own. All warriors hoped to one day prove they were strong enough to have an Amate, a mate, to carry on their bloodline and fill the empty space inside them.

Saber looked critically at the young girl’s face. There was something about her in particular that pulled at those protective instincts, that made him want to shield her from the horrors outside. She was too young and delicate to be living this way.

He wasn’t sure what Hunter’s plans were for the other female, but he had a feeling that it would involve offering his protection. If Hunter did, then these two would also receive the same shelter and care. That meant that he and Dagger would protect them as well, since they considered Hunter more of a brother than a friend.

Satisfied with his reasoning, he decided that Hunter could protect the one he was seeking, Dagger obviously was focused on the welfare of the injured female, and that left him to care for the little one. A grin curved his lips. Since she was obviously the youngest and smallest, that meant his job would be the easiest. He could handle that.

He snapped back to the present when he saw Dagger motion for him to move forward. He nodded and stepped out of the shadows into the dim light of the fire.

A moment later, he realized that he might just have made the biggest error of judgment in his life. His mistake was thinking the littlest one would be the easiest to control.

He drew in a hissing gulp of frigid air as he bent forward. He was trying to keep his footing after the little hellcat with blonde hair nailed him in the stomach with an anything-but-fragile piece of broken concrete that lined the fire pit. She had thrown it underhand with enough force to leave him gasping for air.

He rocked for a moment, trying to push away the pain. He thanked the Goddess that she hadn’t hit him a few inches lower. If she had, any hope of ever having a family would have been over. Straightening, he glared back at her defiant eyes.

Something tells me this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought, he reflected, warily watching as she bent and picked up another fragment of concrete.