The Alpha Gladiator Read Online Free Page B

overpower both guards.  
    “Don’t.”
A low voice whispered from her right.  
    Aleirah turned her head and frowned
at the mousy looking woman who seemed to be a wilted flower in the coarse gown
their captors provided.  
    “Excuse
me?” she asked.
    “Don’t
try to leave.   You’ll never make it.”
    Aleirah went back to staring at the door.   She had not time for scared, pathetic women.   “You wish to remain a prisoner here, go right
ahead. I must find my Alpha.”
    “What
is that? Your husband?”
    “No,” Aleirah said .   “My leader.”
    “You’ll
never get to him.   He’s probably at the
ludus.”
    Aleirah frowned.   That wasn ’t a word she was familiar with.   “What is that?”
    “Where
they train the captured men for the arena,” the woman said.   “Soon he will fight for his life.”
    Aleirah had no doubt Ravage would be
able to hold his own ground, defeat any fighter they paired him with.   She had seen him claw his way to the top and
defeat the old Alpha.   The man might have
been old, but he had still been formidable.  
    Aleirah raised her chin.   “My Alpha is a fierce warrior.   He
will win any challenge and kill them all.   Then he will free our people, and we will find our own way home.”
    “You
are delusional,” the woman said angrily.   “And if you try to escape, you will bring nothing but problems for us.”
    The
fearful woman got up and moved away. Aleirah was thankful the lady was
gone.   She went back to studying the
door.   She had fought her captors when
they’d snared her, she’d fought in the cargo hold of the ship that transported
them from Lycanis, and now she was determined to live up to being part of such
a fierce race of warriors.   Rising, she
moved toward the door, pushing a woman off a chair and scooping it up as she
walked with determined strides.   The
displaced female screeched in some odd language, but Aleirah didn’t care.   She waited by the door and at the marked hour
brought it overhead as the guard stepped through.   Using all her strength, she crashed the chair
down upon his head, knocking him sideways into the door.   Aleirah dropped the chair and jumped on the
fallen man, letting her claws through in order to shred the man to pieces.   Her goal was his blaster.   If she had that, she could fight her way
toward Ravage’ s side.
    But
as she went for the kill, the hum of a weapon caught her attention and she
glanced up to see the second guard level his gun at her.   Pain coursed through her as the energy bolt
blasted her so sharp and intense she was left a writhing mass on the floor,
helpless to do anything but watch as the guard stood above her, drew back his
fist, and punched her across the jaw.   Unfortunately, the hit didn’t knock her unconscious, although it did
send stars to circle around her head and render her limp enough not to fight
when the guards grabbed her arms and dragged her from the room.

 
    Chapter Four
     
    Ravage sat in his cell, analyzing
the prison he was
kept in.   The bars were made of thick
iron and, even with his strength, unbendable.   The other three walls were made of stone, making escape impossible.   The realization was a bitter pill to swallow.
Helpless rage swept through him that he and his people had been so easily
taken.   He had fought savagely, doing
everything in his power to defeat the enemy who dared invade their planet, and
he recognized how complacent they had grown over the decades of peace.   If … when … they returned to their
home, Ravage vowed to change their vulnerability.   No more would he allow his people to be
endangered.  
    Suddenly,
an electric wall hummed to life in front of the door, snapping him to
attention.   He jumped to his feet and
crouched in a defensive position, waiting with clenched fists. The door opened
and Aleirah was shoved forward.   She
stumbled but luckily stopped before hitting the force field.
    “Ravage?”
she whispered, tears