Page 142 of Galaxy Circus Act One

Natalia screeches. “You’re not suggesting I am hiding the cyborg, are you?” she demands, putting her hands on her hips and standing defiantly in front of her cave. “I will not let you search my private quarters.”

Becausethat’snot suspicious at all. The chuckle I was holding finally releases in the form of a choking cough. I wouldn’t put it past her to be conspiring with Josa. She doesn’t like Lila either, and getting rid of her would solve a problem for her.

Maxsim starts to argue with her, but Xavier quickly steps in, putting his hand gently on the big alpha’s shoulder. “That’s okay, we don’t actually need to see inside her den.” He waves a hand and produces another flickering ball of light similar to the one that is floating above us, lightening up the area. It splits intofive other balls, and my mouth drops open as they shoot off in the directions of the five different caves. The one heading for Natalia’s shoots cheekily between her legs, causing her to jump and scream. Xavier chuckles with amusement.

“They will tell me which one he is in, and then it is only a matter of dragging him out,” he explains to Maxsim.

We all wait in silence, anticipation prickling the air around us, and I see Xavier shudder. I step up next to my friend, putting my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” I ask as one of my tentacles sneaks out and wraps gently around his leg in comfort, uncontrolled by me.

“Yes, of course. I can just feel his terror, and it is quite heady.” He sways slightly, almost like he’s getting drunk off the emotion. Ah, so he’s absorbing the cyborg’s utter despair. “I can’t wait to take a crack at his mind before you dispose of him. I’ve never rifled through a cyborg’s brain before, and I’m looking forward to the experience.”

Xavier sounds absolutely giddy.

I drop my hand back down to my side, but my tentacle caresses him reassuringly before it drops as well.Stupid horny beast. You’re almost as bad as the damn merman.

This is why Xavier is terrifying. He can talk about rummaging around in someone’s mind quite casually, but to everyone else, it’s horrifying. I’m just glad I’m not on the receiving end of that torture.

He stiffens and turns to face the cave on the far right. “That one.” He points at it, and the three cats that are still in cat form race toward it and disappear into the darkness, their footsteps silent over the icy terrain.

I go to follow them, adrenaline rushing through my veins, but Maxsim puts a hand against my chest, stopping me in my tracks. I glance down at it before looking back up at the alpha cat and arching my eyebrow. “Let them bring him out. There’s nowherefor him to go, the cave is a dead end. Now that they know he’s there, he won’t be able to hide from them like he has been.”

I remove the cat’s hand from my chest but does as he asks, grinding my teeth with impatience.

This psychotic cyborg ismine.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Maxsim

Ican feel the tension running through both the warlock and the kraken. The cyborg has really stepped over the line. On Iceen, trying to kill off your competition is common practice for females, but I know this is not the case elsewhere. I cannot believe he was hiding here in our quarters underneath our noses and I had no idea.

I eye Natalia suspiciously out of the corner of my eye. There is no way he should have been able to get in here without some kind of assistance, and I would not put it past her to be the one who helped purely out of spite, because that’s just who she is. Once the others leave, I will demand answers from her. I can’t wait to leave Earth and make our way back to Iceen. I am done with this vile bitch. I will be making it known that neither my family clan nor Echo’s will support her family as our leading matriarch. It is time for a change in leadership.

The sound of a scuffle reaches my ears, and I can tell by the way the other two stiffen that they can hear it too. Before long, Trace, Sim, and Fuse drag out a man wrapped head to toe inthick furs. The only feature I can make out is a tuft of metallic green hair sticking out from underneath a hat that is lodged firmly on his head. He’s struggling and yelling obscenities at them, but the three of them have a good grip on the cyborg with their teeth.

They deposit him unceremoniously face down at our feet, hissing at Josa before backing away and returning to the entrance of their cave. The three cats decided to share a den, since they are better protected from Natalia’s wrath and manipulation as a group, and I fully supported their choice.

Xavier rolls the man over with a heavy foot. The encroacher tries to clamber back to his feet, but the kraken shoots out a couple of tentacles and pins him to the ground. Another one shoots out and peels the cap and scarf off the man, exposing the telltale shimmery skin of a cyborg.

“Josa,” Caspian sneers, and his unveiled hatred of the cyborg is palpable in the air as his tentacles flex a little tighter in response. “Look at you, hiding like a mitavin like you have something to be afraid of.”

The warlock doesn’t say anything, just stares down at the defiant creature with his arms crossed.

“I’m not scared. You can’t do anything to me.”

“Why?” Caspian asks, genuinely interested, and Josa looks confused, his brows pinching together as he tries to follow the kraken’s train of thought.

“Why what?”

“Why don’t you think we can do anything to you?” Caspian clarifies.

“I’ve done nothing to deserve punishment,” he snivels, and Caspian starts to chuckle.

Looking over at Natalia, I watch her face. She has a sneer on her face, her claws are extended, and her fur is bristled, but I can smell the fear wafting off of her. She knows her involvementin all of this will not go unpunished. In fact, she may have just accidentally secured a way for me to keep Echo permanently safe. I turn back to look down at the cyborg. His own fear is also visible. His skin trembles slightly, and I can see a drop of sweat roll down his temple. I can’t believe he’s been here under our noses the whole time.

“You and I and all of the kitties know that’s not true.”

I growl under my breath at the kraken calling us kitties, and he just smirks at me before he continues to bait the cyborg.