Excerpt

“You’re in The Hunt. There are three ways to leave the arena. You can get yourself killed, captured by a hunter or win.” He briefly glanced their way. “From what I’ve observed so far you’ll be captured and processed before the day is over.”

“Hunt?” the male asked. His eyes were opened wide. Panic and fear splashed across his face.

The female gasped and clutched the male tighter, pressing her body against his back.. “Arena?”

Xrez stared at them, pitying them for the circumstances that they’d found themselves in. It wasn’t their fault that they were useless. They were a product of their species. And it wasn’t their fault they were on Turolois. His father was to blame for that.

“My advice? Summon an escape pod. Two hunters followed me and should be closing in on our position. If you leave now, you’ll have a chance to put distance between you and them. They are pack hunters and skilled at what they do. Leaving here on foot is no longer an option as they’ll pick up your scent and corral you into a trap.”

The male scrunched his face, and his lips thinned. “You sound bonkers, man. If you aren’t going to help, get out of here.” Spittle dropped from his lips. “What’s with the bad costume anyway? Are you some messed up cosplayer?”

Xrez didn’t have the energy to indulge these two any longer. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t register in their tiny brains. He’d given them sound advice, and they hadn’t made a move to save themselves.

He took one last glance at the pair of weaklings. If a hunter didn’t capture them soon, their stupidity would get them killed. Yes, it was best that they were taken right away so he could focus on helping the other humans to Level Two.

“I’m so scared of that thing, Spencer,” the woman cried. “It’s so ugly. It looks like a monster.”

“Don’t worry, Mary Ann. This is just a crazy scheme to frighten us. I hate weirdos like him,” the male said in hushed tones. “Ignore him. Maybe if we do, he’ll go away and leave us alone.”

Monster? Ugly?

Is that how humans viewed him? The females of his species found him attractive, virile and strong.

Xrez shrugged. The female didn’t know what a good mate was considering what she’d been used to on Earth. Xrez left the opposite way he’d come, following the scent of one female in particular. He hadn’t gotten two clicks away before he’d heard the screams. It seemed the Cyrox’s efforts had paid off. They’d just acquired a male and female without having to do very much work at all.

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