Serix followed Cassie out into the city streets. Fortunately, he had guessed right: it was early in the morning, so they would have at least some cover before the sun rose and wiped out the shadows they would use for cover. He stayed close to Cassie as they moved, his luminescent eyes darting back and forth between alleyways as he searched for signs of movement. There was nothing yet, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling of unease in the pit of his stomach. It was too quiet. There was something else that bothered him, too; something he was forgetting, something important. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

It was when he and Cassie were hurrying across an open road to hide in a nearby alleyway that Serix caught a glimpse of violet in the corner of his eye. Cold terror seized his limbs and he opened his mouth to shout a warning to Cassie, but it was too late. A group of six Lunairans shot out from the shadows around them. Serix reached for his gun, but two of the Lunairans grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back. A third slipped his gun from its holster, disarming him.

While this was going on, two more Lunairans had seized Cassie in a similar manner. Serix writhed against his captors’ grip, only succeeding in having his arms twisted painfully behind his back. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out. The Lunairan attackers didn’t seem to notice his struggles. They were all staring at Cassie with a mixture of curiosity and disgust.

“Is it a real human?” one of the Lunairans asked. He leaned towards her to get a better look, but kept a wary distance as though she might try to bite him.

“It certainly isn’t a Lunairan,” one of the males restraining Cassie replied with a roll of his eyes. He glanced at his companion, “Do you think we can kill it?” One of the others laughed cruelly and drew a Silencer from his belt. Serix paled. He couldn’t lose her, not after everything they had been through together. He squirmed vainly against the two Lunairans that had him pinned and was about to call out when a new voice spoke up.

“Absolutely not,” the pilot said sharply, stepping out from an alleyway. The Lunairan hastily put his weapon away and brought his arm up in a sloppy salute. The pilot ignored him and stepped over to Cassie. He took her chin in one hand, turning her head from first one side and then the other, and proceeded to examine her as if she was an expensive purchase. Serix tensed with fury.

“Let her go,” he spat, finally finding his voice. The pilot turned and looked at him with surprise, as if he forgot Serix was even there. His curious expression turned to one of loathing as he stepped over to him.

“Ah, my missing Scout,” the pilot smiled coldly. “Found at long last. You didn’t really expect to hide from me forever, did you?” He leaned down to look Serix in the eye. “Tell me. Why would you do such a thing? Surely you weren’t idiotic enough to try and save this human. [i]It[/i], like all the others, needs to be eliminated.”

“[i]She[/i],” Serix snarled, glowering at the pilot with as much hatred as he could muster. “Has done nothing to deserve death. Let her go. I’m the one who broke your rules. She has nothing to do with it.” He met Cassie’s gaze, silently pleading her not to argue. “If you must kill someone, take me and let her go.”

“You would sacrifice yourself for the human’s sake?” the pilot quirked a brow at him and laughed. “Really, now. You almost sound like a mated male.” His smile faded when Serix said nothing. The pilot looked from him to Cassie, and turned back to him with a shocked expression. “You didn’t. You actually mated yourself to this human scum?”

“Yes,” Serix lifted his chin as much as he could with the two Lunairans keeping him pinned. “This human is my mate.” In the next instant, he felt a sharp blow to his head and his vision swam. The pilot stood over him, his arm poised high to strike again.

“You wretch,” the pilot hissed. “You are a disgrace to our kind. I [i]was[/i] just going to detain you until we could rid you of your ridiculous ideas, but I can see now that there is no hope of fixing you.” He drew a weapon from his belt, a laser gun with far more potency than the average Silencers that were given to the Scouts, and pointed it at Serix’s chest. “I will kill you, myself. But first,” he turned his weapon and aimed at Cassie instead. “You will watch her die.”

“[i]No[/i],” Serix cried, struggling against his captors. It was no use; he was hopelessly trapped. He met Cassie’s eyes once more and called out to her, “Cassie, I’m sorry. I love you. I’m so sorry.”