The Alien’s Challenge

Drixonian Warriors #6

Ella Maven

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2020 by Ella Maven

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.

Copyedited by Del’s Diabolical Editing

Cover design by Natasha Snow

First edition September 2020

Dedication

There’s someone out there for everyone.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

The Alien’s Equal

Acknowledgments

About the Author

One

Tabitha

He skated his fangs down the side of her neck, barely scratching the surface, and the pleasurable sting of the scrape throbbed in her clit. His fingers tangled in her hair to keep her throat bared to him while he held her wrists in an iron grip with his other hand. She was trapped, unable to move, absolutely at his mercy—and it only made her wetter.

“Please,” she gasped.

“That’s it,” he growled as he licked the sensitive skin below her ear. “Beg me.”

She gasped as his fingers released her hair only to travel to her aching breasts where he toyed with a nipple while the cool, gold of his rings raised goosebumps on her flesh—

“No!” I groaned and slammed down my Planet Torin version of a pencil. “No rings, Tabitha, for fuck’s sake.” I licked my thumb and erased the words, but I could still see the faint ghosting of the letters on the pamphlet, taunting me. Only one Drixonian wore a full set of rings, like a freaking mob boss, and I hated how badass they looked on his blue skin.

I glared at my paper and kept writing.

Once he finished with the pink nipple, leaving it smarting and distended, his hand slipped around to her back, where it coasted over her round ass. He gave one cheek a firm slap, and she moaned against the wall he’d pressed her against. Continuing lower, he slid his hand between her cheeks before plunging two thick fingers into her pussy.

She cried out as he slammed in her, up to his knuckle, pressing deep. He held her like that, not moving, with her wrists still pinned, and then viciously twisted his fingers. Her legs trembled with the need to come, but she wanted more, needed more…

“Ready to beg yet?” He taunted her, and she gushed on his hand at the words. Any other time, any other male, and she would have smacked him. But not this one, not the big male with the charming smile and the violet purple eyes. “Beg for my cock.” His thumb pressed at her back entrance, and she went wild, writhing against him like a wanton thing. “Beg. Me.”

“Please,” she whimpered, so close but not quite there. Not without his thick pierced cock. “Please, Xavy.”

“No!” I wailed and with a vicious thrust, snapped the pencil in half over my knee. I flopped onto my desk, flinging my head onto my folded arms.

This was not working. I had a good streak of super sexy stories for the girls to read, but lately I couldn’t get stupid Xavy out of my head. No matter what I wrote, I could no longer picture characters I made up, but only him and me in the throes of passion.

I was tired of it. I didn’t have my fun vibrating toys on this damn planet so getting off wasn’t as fun or easy as it used to be, so I walked around in a perpetual state of sexual frustration. Me. Tabitha Markel. On Earth, I’d had my pick of frat boys, nerd boys, and jock boys on my college campus. Easy peasy to get a little something and if no one caught my eye, I headed home to my vibrator.

Now, I had nothing but a Drixonian warrior I wanted to hump like a dog who charmed everyone but me. Ridiculously unfair. He had the best smile, fangs and all, and when he let that tongue out of his mouth during mealtimes, I swore I saw heaven.

But that tongue wasn’t mine. That thick cock I longed to see wasn’t mine. His smiles weren’t even for me. So, I was reduced to writing fantasies about him like a creeper. Tabitha Markel was not a creeper. I was a go-getter. I got what I wanted. And I wanted Xavy.

I didn’t need forever or all the fated mate stuff and a baby. I just wanted a good dicking. Was that too much to ask? It didn’t help all my friends were mostly mated except me and Justine, and all they talked about was how satisfied they were. Even Naomi, who arrived on an alien planet a virgin, snagged her a mate and was getting laid on the regular.

A knock sounded at my door, and I shoved my paper and broken pencil into my desk drawer. “Come in!” I called out.

My door opened and a blue head peeked in, their sparking purple eyes peering at me. “You busy?”

I smiled and stood, my mood immediately lightening. “Never too busy for you, Hap.”

He smiled, and it felt so damn good to see him smile, that my eyes threatened to water. I sniffed and stepped forward, hugging his solid body tightly. There were a few weeks there where I had worried I’d never get my friend back. On top of the guilt he felt over not being able to defend us against an enemy clavas, he’d been injured severely.

Even now, he didn’t have full use of his left arm. But under the care of Shep, the Drixonian’s eldest healer, he’d regained his confidence—and he’d found love. Seriously. Even Hap had gotten his happily ever after with Shep.

I’d suggested to Justine we follow their lead and hook up, and she’d rolled her eyes at me. I took that as a maybe.

“How’s my bestie?” I asked as he returned my hug with his good arm.

His eyes were brighter than I’d ever seen them, even before his injury. Love looked good on him. “Working on a new project for Shep. I’m making him a set of drawers on wheels for storing and transporting his supplies. I took a break because my hand was cramping.” He flexed his injured arm. “Thought I’d come see what you’re up to.”

Hap was an excellent furniture maker. He hadn’t quite realized the depth of his skills until we described Earth-type designs and he went above and beyond. We all had beautiful bureaus and desks. But the most gorgeous creation he’d ever made were the matching wrist cuffs he’d whittled for himself and Shep to symbolize loks. I loved them and what they represented.

“Where’s Shep?” I retreated to my desk and popped a few pieces of fruit in my mouth. Hap sank down on the edge of my pallet and ran his palm over the furs. My room was tucked into a row of homes the Night Kings had built us women after we’d arrived. I did my best to decorate it like my college apartment—bright colors and tacked up “posters” of drawings Justine had done. I could have done with a Jason Momoa poster, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“He’s in a meeting with the council.”

My eyebrows rose. “Really?”

He nodded. “He seemed … distracted yesterday, and then today Tark asked him to come to the meeting.”

I grimaced. “This entire situation makes me anxious.”

Hap’s complexion paled slightly. “You and me both.”

For the last week, the mostly quiet and peaceful home of the Night Kings had been overrun with all the Drixonian clavases left on Torin. After their Uprising from the exploitative Uldani, they all separated into gang-like motorcycle clubs with their own leaders and hierarchy.

But Daz, the Night Kings drexel and mate to my friend Frankie, decided the only way to beat the Uldani once and for all was to unite. So, they all came here. Outside my door was a massive blue sausage party, and I wasn’t allowed to participate.

Daz didn’t trust every Drixonian, despite their strict She is All creed, so he requested all of us females remain behind closed doors as much as possible. I hated it and spent most of my time staring out my window, waving at random warriors until Daz or Ward growled at me.

I really didn’t want to think about what was coming, especially when I looked outside to see warriors training for war.

“How’s writing?” Hap asked.

I welcomed the change of subject, but not to that topic. “Writer’s block. I’ll get over it.”

He squinted at me. “Are you writing about Xavy again?”

“No!” I blurted out. Much too loud. Much too fast.

Hap hid a laugh behind his hand.

I rushed over and hit him in the face with a pillow. “You jerk!”

He fell back on the bed, not because I hit him so hard, but because he couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore. He pulled me down with him, and we wrestled for a bit with me digging my blunt nails into his ribs and him tickling me until we both flopped onto the furs out of breath.

Hap smiled and ran a finger down the bridge of my nose. “You know, Xavy has always been nice to me. He’s nice to everyone. But once we started becoming friends, I could tell he wasn’t happy with me. He wasn’t rude—that’s not his way. But he went out of his way to avoid me.”

“What?” This was brand new information. “No way.”

“Yep, and then I came back mated to Shep, and now he’s once again my best friend.”

“You’re saying you think he was jealous of you?”

“Jealous of how close we are, yes.”

I pressed my lips together, thinking. Hap and I had been fast friends, even before we could communicate. He reminded me of a young, cute Tom Holland in alien form. He was sweet and gentle and didn’t growl like the rest of them.

As soon as the Drix installed my language implant, Hap and I had been attached at the hip. He got me, and I got him. When he was hurt, I’d been devastated, and I worried every minute he was gone with Shep. I’d never been more relieved to see him come back smiling and the happiest he’d ever been. Shep doted on him, and Hap deserved it.

“I don’t get it,” Hap said, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. “Xavy does whatever he wants—makes his own spirits and goes on reckless rides with Sax. He blurts out whatever he thinks. But yet when it comes to you, he won’t take what he wants.” Hap turned his head to look at me. “Don’t you think that’s odd?”

“I think you’re reading too much into it.” I rose to a sitting position.

Hap’s eyes followed my movements. He hesitated before saying softly. “Maybe I am.”

“I’m fine. I have my writing, my girls, and you.” I spread my arms out to my sides. “That’s all I need.”

Hap sat up and wrapped his good arm around me. “You’ll always have me, Tab.”

“I know.” I hugged him back then shoved him to his feet. “Now go. Break time’s over. Finish your lover’s gift.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to write some more. Freshen up before the big party tonight.” Finally, finally, we were being let out of our cages. As long as we each had a Night Kings escort, we were allowed to spend the night around the fire eating snacks and drinking Xavy’s spirits. I intended to get a little toasted, which didn’t take long with his homemade brew.

Tonight, was a celebration of the clavases coming together, and I heard rumors it was also a reward to all the warriors for enduring their training before the war. That word sent shivers down my spine.

“Who’s your escort?” Hap asked.

I shrugged. “Don’t know yet. I’m supposed to be ready when the sun begins to set.”

“I’ll see you out there. Don’t drink too much. Xavy apparently made something special for tonight.”

I tapped my fingers together and grinned. “I see.”

Hap rolled his eyes. “See you soon,”

“Bye Hap.” I waved as he walked out the door, shutting it softly behind him.

I sighed and stared at my desk, wondering if I should try to write again. Then I decided to hell with it. I’d take a nap. And dream about a purpled-eyed charmer who wanted nothing to do with me.

Two

Xavy

I hated meetings. Of course, I never told anyone that, but I spent every single one jiggling my leg under the table, barely able to resist the moment I could stand and get the fleck out of there.

I liked action. I liked doing. While I understood how important these meetings were, it didn’t mean I liked them. I preferred to get my orders and carry them out. Fast. Sitting and talking was not my thing. Moving and doing was.

My leg shook as we sat at the large council table while Nero read his report. Sax shot me a dark look. I stilled it but compensated by tapping my fingers against my thigh.

Daz loved meetings because he was a leader who was born to delegate. He’d managed to consolidate all the clavases in record time and convinced their drexels he should remain at the head of the table. After some grumblings and a few scuffles, Daz had come out the victor.

And really, with the information Nero continued to uncover, they hadn’t needed much convincing. The Uldani had flecked us, and would always fleck us, unless we beat them once and for all.

The agreement Daz had made with the former drexels was that once we gained independence, they could once again separate and maintain control of their own clavases. The unity would remain as long as the final war, and after that, we could disband as we saw fit.

As for Night Kings? We’d follow Daz to the ends of the galaxy.

A knock sounded at the door just as Nero wrapped up his report. Ward opened it, and Tark stepped through, Shep at his back.

“I brought Shep to talk about that information I mentioned.” Tark moved out of the way to wave Shep ahead of him.

Daz nodded. “Come in. Take a seat.”

Shep moved so fluidly with his cane I often forgot he had it. He took a seat and propped it at his side, face flushed and eyes bright. Ever since he’d found his second mate in Hap, he walked with less weight on his shoulders. He seemed younger.

I assumed that was what happiness did to a person. I wouldn’t know. My fingers curled into a fist on my leg as I thought of bright eyes, soft curves, and laughter. I’d never get that happiness because I was messed up in the head. I wouldn’t touch one purple hair on her head. Ever.

I cleared my dark thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to mourn what I couldn’t have.

“Tark filled me in on your plans,” Shep said. “I know there is a great concern for the Uldani’s technology and long-range weapons.”

“If we don’t find a way to disable them, we’ll be dead before we ever get close to Alazar.” Ward pounded a fist on the table.

“Right,” Shep breathed. “Unless … we could get close without detection.”

“How are we going to do that?” Gar snorted. “Turn ourselves invisible?”

Shep turned his head closely and looked Gar square in the eye. “We won’t. But I know who can.”

The room went still. I sucked in a breath and held it as Shep leaned back in his chair. He had everyone’s attention now. And he knew it. “We’re not the only ones who would like to see the Uldani fall…”

* * *

My fingers itched to get inside the cruiser which now sat safely inside our walls. Gar and Naomi had recently uncovered one of our spacecrafts, which we had thought all along to be destroyed, in an underground Uldani hideout. Gar had blown his way out and managed to hide the cruiser until we could send a team to safely retrieve it.

Nero and his team had since been working on it so it would be in top condition when we would need it.

Turned out we needed it sooner than we thought. As in tomorrow. And I was going to be the one to drive it. Just me, because we didn’t dare waste one more body on what could likely be a suicide mission.

I strode toward my hut, eager to break out the spirits for the bonfire feast tonight. At least the pre-planned party would see me off in style, even though no one but the inner circle knew. It had to stay that way. What I was about to do could blow up in our faces, and the rest of the Drixonians could always plead I was some rogue warrior if I failed spectacularly.

I was eager to sit down in that cockpit, grip the wheel in my hands, and feel the steady hum of the powerful machine all around me. That was what I was born to do, what I’d been training for since I could walk. I never got the chance. Now, I’d get a shot at my birthright.

A flash of purple caught my eye, and I had to catch myself not to stop and stare. Tabitha. The one reason why the thought of leaving squeezed my lungs painfully until I couldn’t catch my breath. I glanced over to see her talking to Naomi and Gar.

I disliked the idea of the females outside at the feast tonight, but I also understood they’d been cooped up for a long time. And now I’d get a chance to watch Tabitha from afar one last night. I swallowed, my gaze roaming from the top of her hair down to her bare toes.

When she’d first arrived, her hair had been a brighter purple, and I assumed it was her natural color until it began to fade. I’d grown concerned, thinking she was ill, but Daz had assured me Frankie promised him Tabitha was fine, and that humans often dyed their hair different colors.

While the color wasn’t the same vibrant purple it’d been when she arrived, apparently her and Tark’s mate experimented with dyes made from ground up flowers. Her hair once again shone a shiny purple. Sometimes I fantasized like an idiot about how her locks matched my eyes.

Stupid. I was insufferable.

If only … if only I was a normal Drixonian with honor, I would have sought to claim her the day we were safe. But the desires I’d ignored for years only returned with a vengeance whenever she was around, shaming me. So, this would be it. I’d get one last night to take in her beauty before I left for the most dangerous and important mission of my life.

I shook myself. I needed some spirits. I wanted to smile and laugh and enjoy my brothers. No more of these dark thoughts.

“Xav!”

I turned at the voice to see Sax jogging toward me. He came to a stop and immediately gripped the back of my neck, smashing our foreheads together so hard I winced from the pain.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

I grinned at him. “It’s okay. I know you’re always eager to touch me.”

He shoved me away with a laugh. “You wish. I know you’re always shooting Val envious looks. I’m sorry Fatas didn’t pair us, but it’s probably for the best.”

“We’re both too reckless to belong together.” I remembered all the times we took off on stupid joyrides and nearly got ourselves killed on more than one occasion.

“Hey, I’m tamed now. I got a chit on the way and everything.”

“I can’t believe we’ll all be subjected to another Saxus. Fatas help us.”

He hit me in the shoulder. “Better than another of you.”

My gaze strayed to Tabitha, and I yanked it back before Sax noticed. But of course, the smart fleck caught it. His voice lowered. “You could have made your move, brother. I don’t understand why you didn’t.”

I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter now. I’ll be leaving. And maybe not returning.”

All humor fled from Sax’s face, and this time when he hit me, he meant it. “Don’t talk like that.”

“I’m being realistic.”

“I hate that you have to go.”

“You and I both know I’m the best choice.”

“I tried to get Daz to send a squad to help you—”

“It’s pointless to waste any more warriors.” I held up one finger. “I can fly.” I held up another one. “And I can talk. Charm. Negotiate. Whatever I have to do.”

He gritted his teeth. “Doesn’t mean I’m happy about my best friend flying off to unknown land on this flecking planet.”

“We all have our purpose, Sax. You had yours when you stole that data from the Uldani, and now you’ll be raising the next generation.” I patted my chest. “This is mine. You have to let me have it.”

His eyes dropped to his feet, and he braced his hands on his hips. “I just wish it was different.”

“I don’t,” I said. “This is what I’m trained to do.” I needed to remember who I was—a Drixonian warrior. She is All. It was best I get away from here, from Tabitha, before I did something that went against that creed. I’d never forgive myself.

Sax sighed heavily. “You’re right,” he murmured. “You really are the best choice. If anyone has a shot at success on this mission, it’s you.”

His confidence inflated my chest. I felt like I could breathe again. Softer this time, I touched our foreheads. “I appreciate your support.”

“Always.”

I drew back. “Now can you let me get the spirits so we can get this bonfire going? I’m in the mood to watch the females dance and laugh until I pass out.”

“Dance and laugh, huh?”

“Yes,” I cupped my hands at my chest as I backed up toward my hut. “I like watching their breasts shake.”

His face darkened. “You better not be watching Val’s!”

“Never!” I let out a booming laugh across the courtyard as I turned on a heel and ran the rest of the way to the sounds of Sax hollering good-natured insults at me.

* * *

That night, the spirits flowed freely. Even though only the council knew about my important mission, it seemed everyone within the walls was aware that something was coming on the horizon. Something big. Something like… Freedom. But before that, there would be war. We’d been there before. We could feel the change in the air.

Their cheeks reddened from my spirits, the females huddled around the fire laughing. I enjoyed the way their skin flushed when they were feeling the effects of my brew. I especially enjoyed the way Tabitha grew louder, her movements more exaggerated. Right now, she was telling a story and her arms waved wildly while Frankie laughed uproariously.

Daz watched his mate from a short distance away. Her belly seemed to grow every day. Val and Reba too. I figured it would only be a short time before Miranda and Naomi announced they were pregnant as well.

The females weren’t the only reason for the final upcoming battle for our freedom, but they were the push we needed. The purpose. I would do anything to keep Tabitha’s smile that bright. Tonight, she wore what the females called a dress.

To me, it was a large shirt with no pants, and the short material showed off her legs. A strong breeze could lift the loose fabric and show everyone her cunt, which made me grouchy. I didn’t want anyone seeing Tabitha like that. The tops of her breasts spilled over the top and jiggled when she moved.

I couldn’t look away, and my mind played in vivid detail what I would do to that creamy skin if she was my mate. I’d press them together and stroke my cock through them while she knelt below me, pretty eyes watching me with lust. And then I’d cover her large breasts with my seed, rubbing it into her skin and refusing to let her use the cleanser until the next morning. She’d remain in my bed, smelling like me while I cupped her cunt as we slept.

I shook my head, cursing under my breath. That was why I couldn’t get near her. Because the things I wanted to do to her weren’t fit for a warrior. I didn’t trust my self-control around her, and she’d probably run screaming if she knew all the ways I wanted to make her filthy.

She looked up at that moment, our eyes catching over the flickering flames of the fire.

I usually looked way when she caught me staring at her, but tonight my brain was too thick with spirits and the anticipation of tomorrow. And maybe, I wanted her to have a fond memory of me if I never returned—if she even cared to have any memory of me at all.

At times, I felt her eyes on me, but I wasn’t sure it meant anything. Tabitha liked to look at all of us, laugh with us, and sometimes brush our arms with her soft fingers. Naomi called Tabitha’s actions flirting. When I’d asked what that meant, Naomi had told me it was a way for women to show interest in a male. I tried to remember if Tabitha had ever flirted with me.

Someone sat down on the hollow leg next to me, and I turned to greet them. I stopped short when I realized Justine was my company. And she hadn’t sat down here on a whim. She was watching me closely, her dark eyes searing into me below her fringe of black hair. “Hey, Xav.”

I took a gulp of spirits and let the liquid fire slide down my throat to spark in my belly. “Hey there, Jus.”

She propped her chin in her fist. “What’cha doing?”

I raised my cup. “What’s it look like?”

“Pretending to stare into the fire when really you’re watching Tabitha’s every move?”

“Psh.” I made a dismissive sound. “I’m watching Val. Trying to find a way to steal her away from Sax.”

Justine laughed. “Yeah, I’d love to see how that works out. He dotes on her.”

“You think I can’t dote?” I nudged her with my elbow. “I’m an excellent doter.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay Mr. Confident. Well it’s clear despite your typical avoidance that you would prefer to dote on Tabitha. I don’t really get you two.”

“There’s nothing to get.” My voice cracked, and I tried to hide it by clearing my throat.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and it made me uncomfortable. She was the only female who could make me squirm with one glare. If she ever chose a mate, he would have to possess the biggest balls in the clavas.

Finally, she shook her head with a sigh. “Whatever. I don’t even know why I’m getting involved. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of listening to her get herself off through our walls.”

My mouth went dry. “She does … what?”

Justine shot me a knowing grin, and I realized I’d been had. “You’ll have to ask her. I swore I heard her say your name a few times during her climax.”

While I sat frozen, she clinked her cup with mine, stood up with a flourish and pranced—I hadn’t thought Justine capable of prancing—over to the rest of the females. She only stopped once when Nero stepped into her path. He said a few low words to her, which she seemed to toss back at him with a flick of her hair. She brushed past him, and he watched her go.

I couldn’t stop thinking of her words. Tabitha made herself climax? In a clavas full of available males, she was servicing herself. I could barely suck in a breath as my chest tightened. My cock kicked in my pants, lengthening to half hard as I imagined Tabitha with her head thrown back, legs open, fingers moving along her slick folds…

I had to leave. If I sat here any longer, I would make a fool of myself. I wasn’t fit for company. I took one last look across the fire to catch a glimpse of Tabitha, but she wasn’t there. I straightened, glancing among the blue bodies, but didn’t see one hair of her purple head. That wasn’t like her. She loved the bonfires and the feasts. She was usually one of the last to leave, eager to remain talking and laughing with whoever would keep her company.

What if she wasn’t safe? What if one of the warriors from another clavas had her cornered? Sometimes the spirits made them forget their creed.

I shot to my feet, my head muddled from the spirits as I’d drank more than I usually did. I shook it as clear as I could. Before tomorrow’s mission, I had one more tonight. Find Tabitha and make sure she was safe. Then get the fleck away from her before I dishonored myself. But even as I took off into the darkness, I couldn’t stop the images of Tabitha on her knees, in my bed, at my side.

I should have stayed on my flecking log.

Three

Tabitha

I smoothed my dress on the way back to the bonfire. I’d had to run to the bathroom to break the seal, even though I hadn’t had that much to drink yet. Normally I was the first to feel the effects, even with my higher tolerance, but tonight I felt like I wanted to take it slow. To remember this night. We weren’t let out that often anymore and I wanted to enjoy it.

I shivered as I remembered Xavy’s eyes on me. I always loved how they glowed in the fire, the orange of the flames and the purple of his irises dancing together like experienced partners.

Tonight, he hadn’t tried to pretend he wasn’t watching me. Part of me wished he wouldn’t do that because every time it got my hopes up. If he would just … completely ignore me I could maybe focus my attentions elsewhere. But no, I only wanted that bastard.

“Tab?” My name cut through the darkness as I walked between two huts. I knew that voice. I stopped abruptly and blinked at Xavy’s form backlit by the moon and a lone solar light on the side of a hut.

“Xavy?”

His gaze darted around. “Are you okay?”

I frowned. “Um, yeah? I had to use the expeller.” I used their term for it, even though it sounded gross and clinical.

His shoulders dropped. “I noticed you weren’t at the fire. I was worried.”

My frown immediately lifted as goosebumps raced up my arms. “Aw, so you came looking for me like a knight in shining scales?” I took a step forward and crossed my arms over my chest. Xavy’s gaze dropped to my boobs for a split second before darting back to my face.

His eyelids fell to half-mast and his breathing sped up as he leaned against the side of the hut, the picture of effortlessly casual. I knew better. “I’m not sure if a knight in shining scales is a good thing or a bad thing.”

I skipped a step closer. My bare feet kicked up some dirt. I didn’t wear shoes often, and my soles had gotten pretty tough. I stood close enough I could feel the heat from his body. All the Drixonians ran hot. I laid a hand on his muscled forearm. “It’s a good thing.”

His muscles flexed beneath my touch. “Are you flirting with me, Tab?”

The question caught me off-guard. “Who taught you that word?”

The corner of his mouth kicked up into a lop-sided smirk. “I’m no snitch.”

I dug my nails into his scales. “Where did you learn that word?”

He laughed, and I loved the deep, husky sound. Tonight, it was a little louder and looser from the spirits, which I could just detect on his breath. He tapped his temple. “I pay attention to your Earth speak. I like the slang. Now answer my first question.”

“And what was it?”

He moved so quick I barely blinked. With his chest pressed to mine, and my back against the wall of the hut, he loomed over me with a hand braced near my head. His eyes glowed a warm violet. “Are you flirting with me, Tab?”

Xavy had never acted this forward with me, not in the entire time I’d been on this planet. I pinched myself discreetly on the thigh, barely able to believe this was actually happening and I wasn’t passed out somewhere dreaming. He was just so big and masculine, his nipples rings begging to be tugged and his hair calling out to me to grasp and pull. How had I thought I could find a mate in any other male here? It was only Xavy for me.

A single claw on the side of my neck reminded me I still had a question to answer. I swallowed and peered up at him in the dark. “Yes, Xav. I’m flirting with you.”

He inhaled sharply, and his eyes closed briefly as that claw tip ran down over my clavicle before skating along the neckline of my dress, catching on the sensitive skin at the top of my breasts. “And on Earth, what is the purpose of flirting?”

I couldn’t think as he ran that sharp point over and over the skin, dipping just below the neckline to catch on the outer edge of my areola. “Purpose?”

“What comes next?”

He watched his finger move over my chest, which heaved as I sought not to pant out loud like a starving dog in front of a bowl of food. I was starving. For a Drixonian-inspired orgasm.

“Kissing. Fucking.”

A shudder ran through his big body as his eyes bored into mine. “Do you touch yourself and think of me?”

“What?” I nearly shouted, and as soon as the word was out of me, I knew who was responsible for him asking this question.

Justine. The traitor. The snitch. Our damn walls were too thin. “Xavy…”

“Show me,” he rasped as he gathered the hem of my skirt in a fist, slowly lifting it up my thighs.

My knees were going to give out. My nipples pebbled like marbles and my pussy clenched. If he drew my dress up any farther, he’d be able to see by the damp spot on my panties I was wet.

I unstuck my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Show you?”

“Yes.” His gaze had dropped to where he held my dress in a death-grip. “In case I don’t…” he swallowed heavily. “Please. Let me see how you touch yourself.”

I’d touched myself plenty in my bed all alone, but never had I been turned on, even with my own fantasies, as I was now. I’d never performed for a man before, but this was Xavy. And he’d said please. I was positive I’d suck his cock in the middle of the feast, in front of everyone, if he had asked me nicely with a cherry on top.

I batted my dress out of his hand and shimmied my underwear down my legs, leaving them pooled around one ankle. He took a small step back as I tugged my dress to the waist with one hand, revealing my pussy to his gaze.

“Holy Fatas,” he murmured as he took in my lower half. I would have given anything to feel that pierced tongue in my mouth, around my nipples, and pressed to my clit, but if this was all I was going to get, I was going to enjoy it.

I pinched my nipple through my dress and let out a soft moan.

Xavy pressed a hand to his groin, where an impressive rod had grown down the leg of his pants. He gripped it, hard, so hard I thought his claws would tear through the fabric.

I lowered my free hand between my legs, running my fingers through the wetness gathered there. I leaned my shoulders against the wall and jutted my hips out, giving him the best view I could muster. I didn’t feel self-conscious, because he’d asked for this, and frankly, it felt fucking good to touch myself. My clit was already swollen, begging be touched just from hearing a plea fall from Xavy’s lips.

His face twisted into a grimace as he gave his thick cock one stroke. “Beautiful, Tab,” he whispered. “Let me see your fingers. I want to know how wet you are.”

And I just grew wetter. I pulled my fingers away and showed him the liquid glistening on the pads. “So wet, Xav.”

“Fleck,” he groaned as his hand stroked his cock again. “Please, I want to see more.”

I flicked my clit with my thumb as I slid two fingers inside of myself. I arched my back, letting out a long moan at the fullness. It wasn’t enough, not now I’d seen what kind of monster he was packing. What would it feel like to ride that thickness until I screamed?

Just the image of it had me working my clit faster, pumping my fingers into my slick channel with more force. I let my eyes fall half-closed as I imagined myself on all-fours, Xavy behind me with his hand tangled in my hair, growling and snarling as he fucked me like a beast.

I wanted that—the tug on my scalp, the heat of his hand swatting my ass, and the grip of his fingers around my neck squeezing as I raced toward an orgasm that I knew would be huge. Immense. Torin-shattering.

“Xavy,” I murmured. “Yes. You feel so good.”

Suddenly my feet weren’t on the ground anymore. My fingers were pulled from my body and replaced by thicker ones. I widened my eyes as I tightened my thighs around Xavy’s waist.

He’d hauled me in the air, my back against the hut, as he rutted against me. His fingers speared my pussy, the thickness causing a pleasure-filled cry to leave my lips.

“Yes,” I cried out. “More.”

Three fingers entered me as his thumb swirled my clit. He tugged down the top of my dress and one of my breasts popped out. He lowered his head and drew one beaded nipple into his mouth. With his tongue piercings, he circled the hard bud, and I bucked into him as my pussy clenched hard around his fingers.

His other hand left my waist to close around my neck. His applied pressure and our gazes met. Held. His violet eyes glowed like beacons as he dry humped me like a man possessed. His fingers made obscene sounds and I might have been embarrassed at how wet I was if Xavy was any other person.

“When you come, you say my name, Tab,” he growled. “You say my name.”

“Yes,” I gasped, feeling heat pooling in my core. “So close.”

The edge of his tail slithered up my leg and when I felt the very tip press against my back entrance, my eyes rolled back in my head and I came like a geyser. “Xavy!” I came so loud that he shoved a thick thumb into my mouth to muffle my cries. I bit down on it, hard.

My body, impaled on his fingers and held by his palm at my throat, shook and trembled. Still shaking with the aftereffects of the numbing orgasm, I whimpered slightly around Xavy’s thumb, sucking on it like a lollipop.

His gaze homed in on my lips.

“Xav,” I mumbled around the digit.

He panted, chest heaving, as he slowly let me down until my feet touched the ground. He withdrew his fingers from me slowly and unwrapped his hand from my neck. After that, he took a wobbly step back. “I’m sorry I touched you,” he murmured, and it seemed as if his cheeks darkened in the moonlight. “I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”

“I have zero complaints.” I was a little breathless, but I couldn’t miss the bulge in his pants.

“But I didn’t ask…”

“I could have said no. And you would have stopped.”

He swallowed but didn’t respond. I knew him though. He would have stopped. Not that I would ever ask him to.

I tugged my skirt down and stepped toward him. He took another step away from me and kept going until his back hit the side of the other hut.

I reached for him. “I’m pretty good at touching myself, but I’m much, much better at touching this.” I squeezed his cock through his pants, and he jolted so hard I thought he’d come out of his skin.

He watched me with flared nostrils and his hands fisted at his sides while I reached around him and unbuckled the clasp of his pants above his tail. The waistband gaped in the front with enough room for me to stick my hand inside and pull out his cock. As predicted, it was perfect and massive. A row of piercings like a Jacob’s ladder ran down the underside of his shaft, along with a pierced ring at the tip. My mouth watered.

“Tab, no,” he murmured, shoving my hands away.

My stomach plummeted. “What?”

He stuffed his cock back in his pants awkwardly since it was still way too hard to look like anything but a snake hidden in his crotch. “I can’t do this. I touched you. That is all, and I shouldn’t have done that.”

I started to feel the creep of embarrassment, and that pissed me off because Tabitha Markel did not get embarrassed. “Why not?”

“Because you are not mine to touch.”

My eyes nearly bugged out. “Uh, what? I decide who touches me. And I decided your touch was acceptable. No one else decides that.” I swallowed and righted my dress the best I could, shoving my boob back inside the top. “If you don’t want me touching you, you could have given me a heads up before I got your cock out.”

I had to get out of here before I cried. I could feel the beginning prick of tears. What was happening? How had this turned from the best night into the worst? Of course, he could say no, but it didn’t seem to make sense. He’d wanted me to so badly and then…

I took a step and realized my underwear were still around my ankles. Great. I hopped on one foot and tugged them off just as I heard Xavy take a step toward me. “Please don’t be upset, Tab.”

“I’m not upset because you stopped this,” I sniffed, my voice going slightly shrill. “I’m upset because I don’t think you’re being truthful with me about why.” I turned and with a vicious overhead throw, whipped my panties at his head. They caught on the tip of one of his horns and stayed there.

Xavy peered at them out of the corner of his eye.

I made no move to retrieve them.

He snatched them from his horn and gripped them tightly as he held out his other hand. “I do want you touching me.”

I glared with my arms crossed over my chest. “Don’t patronize me.”

“I’m not. But Tabitha, once we start, I don’t think I can stop. And I don’t know how far I’ll take it.”

I was pissed, but I focused on processing his words. I cocked my head and lowered my brows. “What do you mean by that?”

His jaw clenched. “The things I want to do to you, Tabitha. They aren’t right. I’m flecked in the head.” He jabbed at his skull. “I’d dishonor my creed and my brothers. I’d hurt you. And I’d die before I let that happen.”

My mouth dropped open, and a sliver of fear trickled down my spine. “What kind of things?” I’d been so sure I knew who Xavy was. Could I have been wrong?

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Look, tomorrow I won’t be here. No one is supposed to know, but I needed to tell you before I left. In case I don’t return. If there was anyone in the galaxy for me, it would be you, Tab. I’m sorry I can’t be what you need. Trust me, I’m not for you. I’m not for anyone.” His eyes softened. “Take care of yourself.” He lifted my panties to his nose and took a sniff. A small smile graced his lips. “Thanks for the parting gift.”

With that, he turned on his heel, and walked away.

Four

Tabitha

I opened my eyes and a bright, searing light forced them closed again. I let out a small groan and rubbed my eyelids with the heels of my palms. Where was I? The sun was never that bright in my room.

Speaking of my room… I wasn’t in my furs. I was wrapped in a rough material that scratched my bare arms and I lay on a floor that was most definitely solid. And kinda cold. More alarming than the cheap blanket and hard floor was said floor was also… Vibrating? It felt like I was in a car on some long stretch of flat highway. Wait a minute…

I cracked my eyes open, slowly this time, and tried to get my bearings. I was huddled in some sort of alcove and I couldn’t have sat up if I tried. I’d managed to wedge myself—or someone else had wedged me—in a narrow space at the bottom of what looked like a metal wall.

“What the hell?” I whispered to myself. “How much did I drink last night?”

My head spun and my stomach lurched at the reminder I’d had way, way too many spirits last night. My tongue felt like it was covered in moss and I was dying for some qua. After that whole scene with the pierced Drix who shall not be named, I’d drank. And drank. And danced. And did I throw up? I remember slumping against Miranda while asking for the nearest Sheetz because I was hungry for a chili dog.

And then… What happened after that? I remember stumbling away from the girls who were also feeling the effects of the booze and finding a ramp that had seemed interesting at the time.

Shit. This was bad. Unbelievably bad. Even though I barely had room to do so, I rolled onto my stomach, relieved to see at least I had my clothes on beneath the blanket. I army-crawled out of the space and into a larger area of what looked very much like some sort of aircraft.

Still on my stomach, I gazed around. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. I knew the Drix had stolen their cruiser back, so I must have stumbled onto it last night. No big deal. Surely the rumbling beneath my feet was just them testing the engine. Motor. Whatever made this thing fly.

With a wince, I pulled myself to my knees and then rose the rest of the way to my feet, using the wall as a prop. It was then I sighed and let my eyes open a little wider.

Stretched before me was an entire wall of windows above a cockpit-like control panel. And what I didn’t see out those windows were a bunch of Drix milling about on the ground. No, no I didn’t. I saw the sea way, way down and I saw sky. Sky we were currently flying in at breakneck speed. My lungs seized, and my heart plummeted. Had I been stolen by the Uldani?

I did what any sane person would do when taken away from the only safety she knew. I opened my mouth and screamed. My knees buckled and hit the floor with a smack just as a high-backed chair spun around. Sitting in the seat, purple eyes wide as saucers, was the pierced Drix who shall not be named. I immediately clamped my hand over my mouth, silencing myself, as we stared at each other. He didn’t look to be any happier about the situation than I did.

“Tabitha?” Xavy’s voice was a hoarse whisper as his gaze darted around the aircraft as if searching for the hole I’d used to breach the hull. “How did you—? What are you doing here?”

“Why are we in the air?” I screeched. Panic had set in, and words spewed from my mouth without filtering through my brain first. “What’s going on? Did you kidnap me? Am I being sold to the Uldani?”

My words caused Xavy’s face to shift from shock to anger. He unglued himself from his chair and stalked toward me. “Are you kidding? Of course, I didn’t kidnap you. And over my dead flecking body would I ever let anyone sell you.” He ended on a growl. His hand grasped my arm and he hauled me to my feet. Grasping my neck, he rubbed his thumbs under my jaw, studying my face as I sought to breath normally while my heart pounded in my chest like a jackhammer.

“Xavy, what… why am I here? I just woke up and I was asleep under there.” I pointed to my crevice.

He glanced at it with a frown. “I don’t know. All night, some crews were working to clean and run some tests on the cruiser. This morning, I boarded and left. Do you remember anything from last night? Did someone bring you on board?”

I closed my eyes, desperately searching my memories for a snippet of what happened. “I don’t remember much after chili dog,” I murmured.

“What?”

I shook my head as a few smokey remnants of memories flitted through my liquor-soaked brain. Me lumbering up the ramp to investigate some twinkling lights. Hearing a few deep voices and wedging myself in a small hole to wait until they left. Except … I’d never left. Because I fell asleep.

My eyes popped open, and I bit my lip as I stared into Xavy’s eyes. I could tell he was concerned, bordering on angry at the thought someone hurt me. No one did. Well at least, no one did but him. The memory of his words to me, the rejection had stung, forced me to take a few trembling steps back. His hands fell from my neck to flop listlessly at his sides. “Tab?”

“I drank a lot. After … you walked away from me. I remember now I saw the cruiser was open and decided I wanted to see what it looked like. When I heard voices, I went to hide. I fell asleep and woke up here. In the air. With you.” My eyes drifted to the window, realized we were still flying. “Shouldn’t you be driving this thing?”

He stared at me for a moment, like he couldn’t believe what I was saying, and then he shook his head. “It’s on auto-cruise based on the flight plan.” He whirled around and raced over to the control panel. “But I have to switch to manual so we can turn around.”

“Turn around?”

He didn’t even bother glancing at me over his shoulder as he pressed some buttons and took his seat. “You can’t come with me on my mission,” he scoffed.

I took a few steps forward until I could see the side of his face, which I glared daggers at. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, I don’t want to come with you anyway.”

His shoulders bunched, and a muscle in his jaw ticked but he didn’t answer me. “Fleck, I can’t turn around now. The wind patterns over the sea are against us. I’m going to lose so much time.”

“I’m sorry.” Shit, now I felt guilty. “I shouldn’t have wandered in here last night, but I had no idea I’d wake up…,” I waved a hand at the window, “in the sky!”

He cut a razor-sharp look at me. “Maybe you shouldn’t have had so much to drink.”

I gasped, feeling the cut of his words. “Excuse me? First of all, you make that potent stuff, and second of all, I drank to forget the feel of your hands on my body!”

He went still. Deathly still. His fingers hovered above the control panel and his eyes bored into mine. The chill emanating from him filled the space and sent goosebumps racing up my arms.

“I see,” the words were like icicles jabbing into my temples. He turned away, dismissing me completely, and focused on flying the aircraft.

I sank down in the chair next to him. He’d taken my words the wrong way. I’d meant I had to drink to forget the feel of him or else I would have tracked him down, which would probably end up in me embarrassing myself.

He’d told me no, and I had to respect that.

But Xavy didn’t take it that way.

I couldn’t read his mind, but the way his features went sub-zero, he probably thought I regretted what we’d done. Maybe he thought I was disgusted.

I hated miscommunication. I liked honesty. But I didn’t correct him. Did it matter? Not really. He’d made it clear nothing would happen between us. He was taking me back before he flew off on some secret mission to the unknown. Still, his feelings were hurt. Did I really want him thinking I was repulsed by him? No, no I couldn’t live with that. He was focused now on flying, so I resisted distracting him. I’d tell him once we safely landed. Yeah, I’d do that. This silence was fine for now, and he didn’t seem receptive to listening to me anyway.

What a cluster fuck. I could hear Justine now. Only you, Tab. Only you.

I dropped my head in my hands. No more spirits. No more blue dick. I was going to be a spinster.

“Lean back,” Xavy barked, and I jerked to attention. I hated this cold tone to his voice; that wasn’t Xavy. He was happy. Charming. Had I done this to him? He’d made the right decision rejecting me from his life.

I squirmed until I hit the back of my seat. My feet didn’t touch the floor in the massive chair meant for a Drixonian, so they jutted straight out, and I felt like a little kid. I wiggled my toes just as Xavy slammed his hand down on a button. Straps emerged from slots in the chair and wrapped around me, locking me in tight. Now I felt like a little kid about to ride a roller coaster.

Another voice filled the cruiser. “Xav?” Nero.

“Change of plans. I’m turning around.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Tabitha managed to sneak on board last night.”

“I didn’t mean to!” I yelled.

Xavy ignored me. “I have to bring her back.”

“Absolutely. And quick. You’re not far from your destination, and she can’t come with you. Xavy, the Kaluma … I don’t know how they’ll react to a female.”

My heart pounded. Who were the Kaluma?

Xavy’s nubbed brow lowered. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know much about them, but they wouldn’t respect her sovereignty as an unmated female.”

Xavy cursed. “I’m on my way back.”

“Be safe, brother.”

“Always.”

He flipped a switch, and the cruiser once again fell silent.

I stared out at the sea below us, waves rippling across the surface. Xavy tapped on a few screens and then wrapped his clawed fingers around a wheeled knob. “Hold on.”

I didn’t have anything to hold on to but the straps across my chest, so I fisted them, elbows cocked. “Holding on.”

The cruiser slowed, and Xavy spun the knob. The cruiser tilted, banking like a plane heading in to land, but we weren’t landing, just turning around to take my hungover ass back to safety. Guilt churned in my gut. I owed Xavy an apology. I owed a lot of people apologies. This wasn’t college. I couldn’t get fucked up and wake in a strange bed with a few muttered apologies and have everything be okay. There were consequences here. Drastic ones.

I was working on all I had to say when Xavy hollered a panicked, “Fleck!” A bright light flashed before my eyes, and then… We were falling. Fast.

Five

Xavy

I’d known I could die on this mission. I knew it as soon as the decision was made. I’d known it last night when I’d found true happiness touching Tabitha, and I’d known it this morning as I’d said goodbye to my fellow brothers.

I’d expected to die at the hands of the Kaluma or some other species on this planet. I hadn’t expected to get blown out of the sky before making contact. And I hadn’t expected to be responsible for the life of the most precious human to me in the entire galaxy, even if she hated my touch.

Those were all the thoughts swirling through my head as I sought to keep the cruiser in the sky even though I knew it was a lost cause. We were going down. Something had hit us—something explosive and meant to absolutely shoot us down. The only consolation was it hit off-center and on my side of the aircraft rather than Tabitha’s.

Flames tore through the cockpit, singing my arm as I slapped my palm over the emergency signal. At least Nero would know what happened if we didn’t make it. I surged out of my seat. Alarms buzzed all around us and lights flashed, signaling that this cruiser, while not breached, was going down. The outside structure was too damaged and no longer air-worthy. We’d just acquired this flecking thing and I’d already lost it.

Tabitha’s screams echoed in my ear as I hauled a go-bag out of the emergency panel and strapped it to my back. The cruiser tilted wildly, spinning out of control, and it took every muscle I had to remain upright.

We had to get out of this thing before it hit the qua, because it was going to make a massive splash, sending predators from all corners of the cursed freshas eager to feed on whatever unlucky creatures were left inside.

As long as I was conscious, that wasn’t going to be us. With my claws, I slashed at the straps holding Tabitha to her chair. They fell away and I snatched her up.

She wrapped her limbs around me like a numa vine. Smart female.

As the cruiser plummeted toward the freshas, I raced to the back, my boots slipping as the aircraft began to roll. I punched the eject button and as soon as the emergency exit panel opened, I grasped Tabitha tightly to my chest and launched myself out of the cruiser.

Tabitha didn’t scream. She didn’t make one single noise, but I could feel her hot breath on my neck and her racing cora beating in time with mine. I yanked on the cord of the emergency bag and glider wings burst from the sides. Tabitha jerked in my arms at the sound and gripped me tighter.

I angled my body toward the coast and hoped we’d get as close as possible before gravity sent us plunging into the freshas. Behind us came a massive splash and a cool spray hit my back as the cruiser hit the surface. I didn’t turn around to see what creatures were already looking to investigate the crash.

Up ahead rose a cliffed coast. Small inlets led me to believe we’d be able to find a cave or some place to rest until I could come up with another plan. My immediate worry was to get us out of the freshas and away from whatever shot us down.

Tabitha’s hair fluttered around us, tangling in my lashes, and catching on my lips. She was alive, and so was I. That was all that mattered now. I just had to make sure we stayed that way.

I set my gaze on the cliffs and in particular a small cove I could see well above the surface of the freshas. The wind tore at my scales, making my eyes water, and Tabitha made small whimpers against my neck. I wished I could comfort her, but I was too busy focusing on gliding us as close to safety as possible. It became apparent quickly we were not going to make it.

I tried to tip up the front of the glider wings but even now I could smell the freshas and see the small huppas gliding just under the surface. They wouldn’t hurt us. It was what I couldn’t see swimming up from the depths that worried me.

“Whatever you do,” I yelled over the rushing wind. “Do not let me go.”

Tabitha nodded, and a moment later I wrenched my body upright. The wings caught on the air and sent us upward for a moment before we plummeted to the freshas’ surface.

We hit feet first, plunging down way too far for my liking. Immediately a grouping of huppas surrounded us, little mouths gaping and eyes bulging. As I gripped Tabitha with one hand and pushed toward the surface with the other, I took comfort in that. When they sensed a bigger predator, they’d leave. That was what I had to be worried about.

The wings tumbled to the sea floor far below us, breaking off from the emergency pack on my back on impact. My lungs screamed, and I worried for Tabitha. Her body bucked against mine, and when I glanced down at her face, her cheeks were bulged, bubbles leaving her lips while her eyes remained wide and panicked.

When we breached the surface, she gasped gratefully. Her wet hair clung to her face as she spit out qua and gulped in air.

I kept us at the surface while we both caught our breath.

“Holy shit,” she panted. “I can’t believe that just happened. How are we alive?”

I began to strike out toward the cliff with one arm while I held her with the other. “I’m not sure either, but we won’t be for long if we don’t get out of this qua.”

“Right,” she murmured. “Can’t swim forever.”

“Oh, I can swim for a long time. I’m not worried about that. Remember the creatures who took down Gaul’s boat?”

Her face drained of color as she pushed away from me and began frantically searching the qua for any sign. “Wait, they’re here? Where? Oh my God, that’s just want we need a giant squid.”

I didn’t know what a squid was, but it was clearly a terrifying creature on Earth. “Tabitha, we don’t need to be looking for it. We need to be moving out of this qua.”

She darted her gaze to me, and then with quick strokes, took off toward the cliff. “Let’s go then,” she called over her shoulder. Her feet kicked behind her. In moments, she had made it an impressive distance. My little female was a swimmer.

I took off after her and slowed to her pace when I caught up.

She didn’t look at me, only kept those steady strokes, her arms slicing through the qua with efficiency.

We were close, the cliff another dozen strokes away when Tabitha made a garbled noise and disappeared below the surface.

I dove down and what I saw sent my cora pounding and my blood heating despite the cool temperature. Her hair in a cloud around her face, she reached toward me. Eyes wide, bubbles erupting from her mouth as she shouted one word. I didn’t have to hear it to know what it was—my name. Xavy. A tentacled arm gripped her ankle, pulling her down below.

“Tab!” I yelled back, the bubbles clouding my vision for a brief moment before I batted them away and dove toward her. My machets lifted from my skin, and my lips curled back in a snarl. Portcrewllers were vicious, territorial animals, but I’d hoped we were close enough to shore to avoid them. I could just detect two glowing eyes gleaming at me. Taunting me.

I reached Tabitha’s side and immediately sliced into the tentacled arm. The suctions broke free as a rumbling growl reached my ears. Tab shot toward the surface and I followed. More tentacled arms emerged from the depths on all sides of us, and I couldn’t be sure if they belonged to one portcrewller or many.

I slashed at every one that came at us, and thought I was in the clear when one arm closed around my thigh while another latched on to Tabitha’s waist.

She thrashed as it dragged her back below the surface. I hacked at the tentacle holding me, but this one was thicker, and despite my sharp machets, cutting through it wasn’t easy.

When I seemed close, two more enclosed my wrists, stretching my arms out to my sides. I arched my back and roared, bucking my hips and slashing with my tail, but my efforts were in vain. The portcrewller was too strong.

Meanwhile Tabitha struggled and strained, pushing down on the tentacle wrapped around her. Her neck bulged, and I knew she wouldn’t be able to remain underwater for much longer.

My lungs screamed at me for oxygen. How long could Tab hold her breath? Was this it? Had we survived the crash only to drown?

Tab’s struggles grew weaker, and her eyes bored into mine. She was out of time, and so was I. Her lips moved, and I couldn’t tell what she was saying, only catching I’m sorry. My cora cracked, my head pounded, and I watched helplessly as her body slumped in the tentacled grip. Her arms floated limply around her.

“Tab!” I hollered, renewing my struggles even though they were in vain. In a moment they’d drag us under, feast on our flesh with their teeth.

Movement caught my eye as a dark figure emerged from the depths, moving fast. I braced for the portcrewller’s jaws to come into view, but in the next instant, the tentacles holding me went lax. When I yanked my arms away, the sliced-clean ends of the tentacles appeared.

Was there a bigger predator than the portcrewller around? I struck out toward Tab just as the tentacled arm which had been slowly dragging her further below the surface fell away from her body. I grabbed her and without hesitation shot to the surface.

She didn’t open her eyes or move. The next few moments were a blur. Once we broke the surface, I swam faster than I ever had in my life until I reached the rocky cliff. I pulled her onto a flat rock and immediately pumped her chest. Remembering some healer techniques Rokas had taught us, I breathed into her mouth, tasting the salty freshas on her lips.

Her skin was pale, nearly blue, and her body limp. “Come on, Tab,” I pleaded. “Please, please breathe.”

I kept going, breathing and pumping her chest, refusing to give up. I want to scream and fight and draw blood to punish whoever was responsible for making my Tab suffer, but I couldn’t do that. I had to concentrate on the repetitive movements.

When she coughed, I rolled her onto her side, where she threw up qua and bile while her body shook and trembled. I rubbed her back and brushed her hair from her forehead. Only when I heard my name in a hoarse whisper did I scramble to face her. “Tab?”

“Wha—?” she blinked her eyes open at me. “How did we get away?”

I glanced back at the freshas, and my eyes caught something bobbing at the surface nearby. A shiny, scaled fin and a set of glowing purple eyes. It vanished below the surface so fast, leaving not even a ripple behind, so I could have sworn I imagined it.

“I don’t know,” I answered Tab, turning back to her. “I think something saved us. Or maybe it just didn’t like the portcrewller. I have no idea. But we’re here. Alive.”

“How many times can we almost die in a day?” she murmured, a small smile on her lips.

I shrugged with a grin. “I might have one more life or death experience left in me this rotation.”

She laughed weakly. “Well, seeing as my comfort zone is zero, I would say I’m at my limit.”

“Well, good thing I don’t have anything planned until tomorrow.” I swept one arm under her knees and the other around her back as I rose to my feet. I gestured toward a cave above us with my chin. “We’re heading up there to get some rest.”

“Rest would be great.” She let her head fall against me.

I picked my way up the craggy cliff toward the cave, hoping I wasn’t about to impose on some creature’s home. The last thing we needed was some Drix-sized brigger to peck out my eyeballs for getting near her nest. Not that I’d ever seen one, but I’d heard rumors of massive winged beasts around this continent.

When I took a tentative step inside the cave, it seemed empty. Still, I placed Tabitha on the ground at the entrance while I grabbed a solar light from my bag and investigated the cave.

I found nothing but a long-abandoned nest, which would make great kindling for a fire. I needed to assess our injuries and give us time to eat and rest. Tomorrow, I’d figure out our plan.

I returned to Tabitha to find her much more alert, eyes finding me immediately when I emerged from the darkness of the inner cave. “Everything okay?”

I nodded as I crouched next to her. Gripping her neck, I tilted her head to get a good look at her. She had a few scratches on her face, and her ankle was covered in welts from the suctioned teeth that had had a hold of her. The skin was broken in places, small rivulets of red blood leaking on the cave floor. I gritted my teeth as I contemplated diving back into the freshas to finish off the damn beast who had made my female bleed.

Worse than that, she trembled, and I didn’t like the blue tinge to her lips. I forgot how the humans couldn’t handle low temperatures. This area of the planet was cooler this time of the sun cycle.

I picked her up again, seeking to warm her with my body heat. “Come, my female,” I said in a dramatic voice. “Entire my palace I have decorated just for you. Enjoy the gritty floor and spiky walls. I had to barter many crops for it.”

Her small laugh echoed toward the back of the cave, and it was probably all in my head, but I swore the walls themselves brightened at the sound.

Six

Tabitha

Xavy’s backpack was like a magician’s hat. First it had sprouted wings, and now he kept reaching inside, pulling out vacuum-sealed bags of all kinds of things, so many that a small pile sat next to the flickering fire.

The first thing he’d produced from his magic bag was a thin blanket made of shiny material which reminded me of those silver thermal blankets back on Earth. The sea water had been freezing, and the only clothing I had was my thin dress currently drying on a rock outside.

I sat beneath the massive blanket naked, trying not to feel weird about it. Not that I ever really minded nudity, but Xavy and I had had a complicated twenty-four hours. I didn’t need to add awkward nakedness to it.

Crouched near the fire, he produced a bar of tein as well as some dried fruits, which I scarfed down. My stomach had been protesting since I woke up on the cruiser. I also took small sips of qua, not eager to use too much. I didn’t want to know what would happen if we ran out. Although based on all the trinkets he had in that bag, maybe he had a water purifier. I’d tasted their freshas when I’d nearly drowned—twice. It had been salty as fuck.

I realized Xavy had just been taking inventory of the pack contents. His fingers flitted over the food and qua jugs before carefully packing everything back inside the bag, save a few packages of food and another jug of qua.

“You’re going to eat too, right?” I asked him.

He finally set the bag aside and took a seat next to me, his back against the cave all. His answer was to shove a whole tein bar in his mouth and grin at me as crumbs dropped on his bare chest.

“Hey, don’t waste any crumbs.” I picked up a large chunk that had plunked to the cave floor and glared at him.

He snatched it from my hand and shoved it in his mouth. “Not wasted,” he said with a full mouth.

Sometimes he was so like the boys I knew back home, and other times he was every inch a one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old warrior from another planet. I liked him both ways, but I might have liked him the most when he was at ease. Charming. All grins and dimples.

I didn’t want to think about last night, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was always there, lurking in the back of my mind like a shadow. At the time I’d been angry at the rejection, but I’d had more time to ruminate on his words now.

He didn’t deny wanting me, but he said he didn’t trust himself to stop and worried that the things he wanted to do to me were dishonorable.

Maybe I was fucked up in the head too because dishonorable things sounded right up my alley.

Xavy said he didn’t trust himself, but no matter how I spun it, I did trust him. Was my trust in him enough for both of us? I refused to pressure him to do anything he didn’t want to do or would later regret.

I had to decide if I was going to let it go or push Xavy a bit more to tell me what was going on inside his head. The first would keep us as friends. The second… had the potential to blow up in my face. And I’d had enough explosions for the day.

Beside me, Xavy picked up the next package, which I assumed was food, but when he opened the wrapping, I realized it was a small medical kit. Shifting to crouch in front of me on the balls of his feet, he beckoned with his fingers. “Let me see your legs, Tab.”

Oh right, my legs, which currently stung like I’d been whipped by an entire school of jellyfish. The salt water hadn’t helped at all. Whatever that tentacled thing was, his little suckers had teeth. When I’d felt them bite into my skin, I was afraid to look down, terrified I’d no longer have my limbs at all.

I stuck my bare feet out of the bottom of the blanket, doing my best to cover all my personal bits. One thing I really missed was nail polish. Maybe it was silly, but I always had my toenails painted on Earth, and I changed the color often depending on my mood. We’d been able to replicate hair dye, but nail polish was a no go. I wiggled my naked toes. Xavy’s good nature fled as he took in my injuries. With his nostrils flared and his jaw ticking, he ran his fingers gently over the wounds. When he hit a particularly sensitive spot, I jerked away from him on a hiss.

He darted his gaze to my face. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Just stings.”

He nodded. “As it should.”

“Why don’t you have any of these? That damn thing had a hold of your thigh and both your wrists.”

He held up his hands and flexed them. I saw a few dings in the scales there, but other than that he was unarmed. “Thicker covering than you.” He poked around in the med kit. “Need to get you females some scale suits.” He produced a wrap. “We only have one vial of medis, and I don’t need to save it for me, but I’m worried about any more injuries you could sustain. I don’t want to waste it on something not life-threatening.”

I didn’t like any of those words. Not about the medis—I didn’t care about that. All I needed was for the blood to clot and a decent wrap to prevent infection. Already the blood had slowed to a trickle. But thinking of us doing more dangerous things that could potentially kill me and require life-saving medicine was horrific. I swallowed around a thick ball in my throat. “Are we… going to be risking our lives in the near future?”

He held my gaze. “You know us Drix don’t like to lie.”

“I don’t want you to lie.” I grazed my fingers over the back of his hand.

His tongue snaked out to wet his lips. “We don’t have a choice. We can’t stay here. We have no way of getting back without the cruiser as we’re on a different land mass. Our only choice is to travel the rest of the way to the Kaluma on foot. And hope they don’t kill us for trespassing before we even get a chance to ask for help.”

My heart thudded. “Damn, Xav. I said don’t lie, but maybe you could sugarcoat some things next time.”

“Sugarcoat?”

“Soften your words. Be a little more optimistic about our life prognosis.” I sighed heavily. “Damn.”

He looked adorably confused. “I don’t—”

“It’s fine,” I waved a hand. “Thank you, for being honest.”

He didn’t seem to believe me, but he dropped it. Ducking his head, he began to gently wrap the wounds around my ankles. “We need to get some sleep tonight and work on our plan.”

I liked that, his talk of our plan. I had never been that good at following orders. I wanted to be involved and have my voice heard. Well, at least, out of bed. In bed was another story. I like that he was communicating with me rather than leaving me in the dark, or worse—lying to me.

“So, can you start from the beginning? What is this mission and who are the Kaluma?”

His fingers stilled before he resumed bandaging my legs, but now his movements were stiffer, his expression tense. He didn’t talk again until he was finished and then he leaned back on his haunches with his wrists braced on his knees. “Shep told us about the Kaluma, an isolated race native to this planet who are extremely territorial. They have abilities that would be extremely useful in our final war with the Uldani. And that’s my mission—to convince them it’s in their best interest to join us in the fight.”

“What abilities do they have?”

“Extreme camouflage. Shep said they can change colors and patterns to blend in with their surroundings so that they are nearly invisible. It’s what we need if we want to get anywhere close to Alazar.”

“And so why did the council send you?”

He held up one finger. “I’m the best pilot.” He grimaced as his eyes drifted toward the sea before he held up a second finger with a tip of his lips. “And two, I’m the most charming.”

I snorted.

He gasped in mock offense. “You don’t think so? I’m sure Gar would do a bang-up job asking a hostile race for a favor.”

I ignored the hysterical image of Gar trying to negotiate. “I’m sorry, did you say hostile?”

“I can’t be sure, but it’s possible scouts of theirs shot our cruiser down.”

“So, they already tried to kill us?” I squeaked.

I don’t know, I—” frustration crept into his tone and he fisted his hair. “I don’t know, Tab. All I know is that the only way back home is across the freshas. We have no aircraft, and even though I sent a signal to Nero we were going down, they have no way of rescuing us. We can’t stay in this cave forever.”

“Can’t we?” I grumbled. “I could learn to live off the land or whatever.”

He ignored me. “I’ve turned it over and over in my head nonstop, but the only solution I can come up with is to continue to the Kaluma settlement and ask for their help, and possibly an escort home. Shep thinks they have air travel abilities.”

I slumped. “I’m sorry, I feel like this is all my fault.”

He scoffed and rested his warm palm on my bandaged ankle. “It’s not. I would have gotten shot down with or without you. Taking you to the Kaluma poses a lot of problems but…” he shrugged. “There’s no point in thinking back. This is our situation now, and we have to face it head-on.”

He sounded so capable when he spoke like that. If I was honest, it turned me on a little bit.

“I heard what Nero said about how they might treat females.” I nibbled my lip. “I don’t want them to think I’m unmated.”

Xavy scratched the back of his neck. “I thought about that too. We can tell them we’re mated. They have to respect that. I don’t know a species who doesn’t honor that code.”

I winced. “Uh, some humans don’t.”

He glanced sharply at me. “They don’t?”

“There’s good and bad of every species, Xav. I just hope we meet some of the good Kaluma and not the bad.”

He stared at the wall behind my shoulder before lowered his gaze to poke at the cave floor. “Me too, Tab. Fatas has stayed with us this long. I hope she doesn’t desert us now.”

* * *

Xavy

The breeze blowing the cool freshas air into our cave felt good on my heated skin, but as I poked the fire, I could tell Tabitha was shivering. Her lips trembled, and she rubbed her hands over her shoulders under the blanket. She’d been able to dress again, but her clothing was thin.

I knew I would have to lay with her, and warm her with my body heat, but I was putting it off. Like a coward. I didn’t trust myself being that close to her. My cock was already hard just from being in this flecking cave with her.

Her hair had dried, and it framed her face in purple curls that blew in the soft winds. I longed to wrap it in my fist and tug. I wanted to hear the quickening of her breath, smell the gush of her arousal, and see the way her pulse beat rapidly in her neck.

Fleck, this was why I avoided getting close to her. I’d controlled myself while bandaging her wounds because I’d been so enraged at the sight of her blood. I hadn’t thought about how she was naked under that blanket. But now, that was all I could think about.

“Xavy?” Her soft voice drifted through the smoke.

“I’m here.”

She hesitated before speaking. “Yes, I know you’re there. And I’d like you over here. Please? It’s freezing and I know all you Drix are like personal heating pads.”

And now I definitely couldn’t avoid her. She’d asked me to keep her warm, and I could never deny her request.

I finished tending the fire and strode to where she lay nearby. I’d already taken off my boots, but I left my pants on, which was necessary. I’d like as many layers between her and I as possible. I settled down at her back and wrapped my arms around her body. She went stiff, and remained that way for a few moments before asking, “Can you… hold me under the blanket?”

I exhaled, my breath ruffling the curls I was resolutely trying not to sniff. “Why?”

“Because I’d be much warmer if we trapped all the hot air under the blanket.”

She was right. I’d hoped maybe she forgot how warm air worked. Of course, she didn’t. Steeling myself, I unwrapped the blanket from her back and shifted my body to press against her. Immediately, she sighed happily and squirmed back into me, which meant her sweet little ass rubbed right up against my hard cock.

I dropped the blanket back on top of us and held my arms and hands awkwardly away from her. I tried to think of un-attractive things like Sax eating with his mouth full or that time Luna puked up a moira hairball. I was moderately successful in calming my racing cora when Tabitha turned in my arms.

She faced me, eyes reflecting the flickering flames of the fire, her full breasts pressed against my chest.

I could even feel the beaded tips of her nipples rasping along my scales.

“Xavy?”

I avoided looking at her. “Yes.”

“Can you look at me?”

Fleck, she wasn’t letting me avoid her.

I swallowed my irritation and met her gaze.

She smiled slightly. “I’ve been thinking a lot about… us. Well you.”

Fleck, I already didn’t like where this was going…

“And I want to talk. About what you said. About the things you—” She licked at her lower lip before biting it. “About the things you said you wanted to do to me.”

I groaned. Out loud. Because no, I didn’t want my mind to go there, not now while she was in my arms. “Tab, we need to sleep.”

“And we will. It’s barely dark out. We also need to talk.”

“We already talked.”

“No, we were both emotional and drinking. Now we’re sober and calmer.”

I was in no way calm. “Speak for yourself.”

With a determined glint to her eye that shot an unsettling bolt of dread straight into my gut, she rose over me. Forced onto my back with her legs straddling my waist, I gazed up at her as she ran one finger over her lips. “Tell me, what do you want to do to these?”

“Tab—”

“And don’t sugarcoat,” she warned with narrowed eyes. “I mean it.”

“I’m worried you won’t trust me if I’m honest. With no sugarcoating.”

“Xavy you haven’t stepped over the line in all the time I’ve known you. Last night, you stopped when you felt yourself lose control. Today, you saved my life like a zillion times. You need to trust yourself as much as I trust you. Because Xavy, I do.”

“You said you drank to forget my hands on—”

“Yeah, I drank to forget because I felt like crying thinking you were leaving, and I’d never feel you again.”

I swallowed and after hearing the truth of her feelings, took a leap with my eyes wide open. “I want to kiss you. I want to bite your lips hard until you whimper, until they are swollen and tender.” The words poured out of me without conscious thought because I’d imagined many, many times what I’d do with unlimited access to Tabitha. “I want to see what they look like wrapped around my cock while I’m feeding it to you until I touch the back of your throat.” Sax had let slip one time about an act Val called a blow job and I hadn’t been able to think of much else since.

Tab’s eyes were huge and round, her lips parted and a reddish tinge to her cheeks. With trembling fingers, she lowered the straps of her dress down her shoulders. “Without touching, tell me what you’d do to these.” She lowered the top of her dress to expose her full breasts to my hungry gaze.

I fisted my hands at my sides, to stop myself from grabbing her.

“On Earth, sometimes we call these tits,” she murmured, cupping her breasts, and thumbing the stiff peaks.

Tits. I liked it. Just thinking the word felt dirty. “I want to suck them into my mouth, bite your nipples until I leave marks behind. I want to stroke my cock between them until I release my seed and then rub it into your skin, so you’d smell like me. I want to pierce your nipples with hoops and play with them in our furs until you’re crying for me to let you climax.”

Her chest heaved, those magnificent tits rising and falling with each breath. The flush had spread all over body now, from her cheeks to her neck, to her chest. “You want to see my nipples pierced?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

I nodded. “More than anything.”

Her hands grasped the hem of her dress where it rested on my bare stomach. She drew it up, slowly, enough for me to see she was still bare underneath. Her golden curls were damp with her arousal, and just the smell of her had my cock jerking in my pants.

She slid her hand down her stomach to rub softly through her wet folds. “And this? On Earth we call it a pussy. And this,” she lightly pressed on her pleasure nub. “this we call a clit.” Her lips parted on a moan. “What would you do to that, Xavy? What would you do to me if I let you have this pussy?”

I inhaled, wishing I could taste her in the air. “I’d suck your clit until you screamed and then I’d enter your body with my tongue, teasing you until you begged me by name. When you were limp and soaked, I’d redden your ass with my hand. There wouldn’t be a place on you I didn’t mark. You’d be covered in my bites and my handprints. I’d fill you only when I was satisfied with how well you were marked.” I let out a small shuddering breath as I took in her sweet scent.

“I’d fill you with my cock while I wrapped my hand around your throat, forbidding you to look away from me.” My voice was a near growl now, and I was too in my own head to focus on Tabitha’s reaction beyond her wide eyes and silence. “You’d know it was me inside you the whole time. And then, I’d put you on your hands and knees, pull your head back by your hair, and enter you from behind. Your other hole. So, there was no place left on you untouched by me.”

I expected her to separate herself. Fleck, part of me thought she’d leap into the freshas to get away from me, but instead she fell to one hand braced on my chest, our faces close, while she began to grind her hips down onto my shaft with that sweet wet cunt.

“Nothing about that scared me, Xavy,” she whispered, her breath warm and intoxicating.

I took me a moment to process her words, and then anger sparked inside of me. I reared up to a sitting position with one crunch of my abdominals and gripped Tabitha’s curls in my fist. I tugged quickly, forcing her head back, and she let out a small cry.

“Don’t tease me, Tabitha.” I bared my teeth at her as I held her against me, our faces almost touching. “This isn’t a game.”

“Or what?” she gasped, her neck arched so far it had to be painful.

I eased up slightly. “Or what?”

“Don’t tease me, Tabitha,” she mocked with a low growl. “Or what? What are you going to do, Xavy? Follow through on those plans for my body? Because I’m not protesting.”

“You don’t understand. An honorable warrior knows you’re not property or something to be owned. But I’m not honorable in the way I want you. I’d want to possess you, Tab.” Her eyes flared, but I shook my head. “No sugarcoating. I’d own you. I’d mark you. Just the thought of my fang marks in your shoulder has me close to releasing my seed right now without a hand on my cock. What female would want a male like that in her life?”

Tabitha swallowed, and her eyes were alight, brighter than I’d ever seen them, glowing like the sun. “Me,” she gritted out, lips curled back in a feral snarl I was sure was a mirror of mine. “I’m that female who wants a male like you.”

My blood was on fire, racing through my veins while my cora beat its fists against my ribcage. I slid my hand down her back to cup her ass, letting my claws press into her skin. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and then she did the one thing that sealed her fate and mine. She let out a soft gasping moan that felt like fingers around my cock, and on the edge of that sound were two words, “Please, Xavy.”

I let the fire consume my blood as I slammed our mouths together.

Seven

Tabitha

Good Lord this alien could kiss. His tongue stroked into my mouth like it had a mind of its own. His ball piercings raked over my teeth before he bit into my bottom lip. I groaned, loving the sharp sting of his fangs and the way his claws dug into my ass. Another flex of pressure, and he’d break my skin, but he skirted the line with a controlled strength that turned me on like nothing else.

I raked my nails down his scales and his skin jerked beneath my touch. When I looped a finger through his nipple rings and tugged viciously, he shifted his head to the side and drew my earlobe into his hot mouth. “You pushed me, Tab,” he whispered. “You sure this is what you want?”

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. His cock was rock hard between my legs. So far, his bite lived up to his bark, but he still had a lot to prove.

With a growl he encircled my waist with his big hands, picking me off his lap like I weighed nothing more than a pound and laid me on my back on the blanket. He gripped my left breast and bit down on the sensitive underside.

I cried out, arching my back as he licked at the mark before he moved to another patch of skin and sucked hard. Glowing purple eyes locked on my face while he ran the ball piercings over my nipple, torturing the hardened tip until it was red and wet. Satisfied, he moved onto the next.

I gripped his horns as the torment went on, unsure if I wanted to push him away or bring him closer. He mixed pleasure with pain just enough to throw my head into a tailspin.

My dress was bunched around my waist, and he tore it down my legs as he moved lower on my body, biting and sucking as he went until my body was littered with his marks. Before I could even process his plan, his head lowered between my legs and he licked a long path through my wet folds. My thighs shook where they rested on his shoulders, and I moaned out a long, “Yes.”

“You like my tongue on your cunt, Tab?” he rumbled as he ran the back of a claw over my clit.

I bucked my hips, wanting his mouth. “What does it look like?”

“Looks like you’re dripping for me,” he murmured before sucking my clit into his mouth. He ran the edges of his fangs over the sensitive bud, and I thought I’d come out of my skin. He held my hips down with one arm, so I was immobile.

I could do nothing but lay there and take what he wanted to give me.

He retracted his claws and plunged two fingers inside of me, working my inner walls as he went hard at my clit using a combination of his tongue, piercings, teeth, and lips.

I thrashed my head and pulled his hair as pleasure swamped me. I could feel the tidal wave of my climax bearing down on the shores of my blood, and it was so massive, a sliver of fear streaked through me. Xavy’s fingers left me, and the wave slowed, but it didn’t stay that way for long. With a wicked grin, he slipped his tongue inside of me and began a steady vibration.

The wave hit, crashing into me like a tsunami. I came hard with an ear-splitting scream.

His arm dislodged from my waist, so I bucked up into his mouth wanting more, wanting it all, and he didn’t let me go. His fingers wrapped around my thighs and he pressed his face against my pussy, shaking it back and forth like a dog with a bone.

I slapped my hands on the cave floor as the orgasm seemed to go on forever, my inner walls squeezing his tongue until I felt wrung out. Dry. Famished. Exhausted. Only when I lay on the floor, limp as a rag doll, did he pull himself from my body, but not without one last long lick and a swirl around my clit. I jerked weakly at the pressure on my over-sensitized skin.

He rose above me to his feet and reached behind him to remove his pants. When they dropped to his ankles, I got a look at fully naked Xavy for the first time in my life. I knew I’d never forget it. His thighs were thick, and his massive cock jutted straight out, a steady stream of libo leaking from the tip. He was a work of art, his abdominals cut into his skin like a sculpture. I wanted to worship him, especially after he made me come hard twice in two days.

He made to kneel, but I held out a hand, stopping him. He lowered his nubbed brows and went still, standing with his feet braced apart, shoulders back, and hands fisted at his sides.

I managed to make my limbs work and crawled toward him on my hands and knees. His gaze went immediately to my breasts as they swayed under me. The cool night air wafted over my skin, making me aware once again of all the places he marked me, which were hot and swollen

When I reached him, I went up to my knees and reached for his cock. I’d only gotten to touch it once, for seconds, and if he even tried to bat my hand away again, I’d knee him in the balls. But he didn’t move, even when I wrapped both of my hands around his cock and stroked, his only reaction was a slight shifting of his hips.

“You wanted to see my lips around your cock, didn’t you?” I asked.

His nostrils flared, and with a lunge, he took over. A fist gripped the hair on top of my head, holding me in place while he barked. “Open your mouth.”

I dropped my hands from his cock, letting them fall to my sides, as a sense of warmth and contentment washed over me. Yes, this was it. I knew what I wanted, and that was for Xavy to take over, to manhandle me as he wanted. So, I sat back on my heels and opened my mouth wide, staring up at him with as must trust as I could project. Use me for your pleasure.

He held the base of his cock in a tight grip and fed it into my mouth, just as he said he would.

I closed my lips around the velvety head and moaned, knowing how good the vibrations would feel zinging down his shaft.

He exhaled roughly and pulled his cock out before plunging it back in, his grip on my hair still firm.

The piercings on the underside of his cock would leave my lips bruised and swollen tomorrow, but I didn’t care. Right now, they felt amazing, and I let my bottom teeth catch on them with a click as he withdrew his cock. His lips pulled back, and a low growl rumbled from his chest. His cock leaked in the back of my throat, and I grinned around the massive dick in my mouth.

He plunged his cock into my mouth further, gagging me with the tip in the back of my throat. When I choked, his eyes went wide, and he pulled back in alarm.

I dug my nails into the back of his thighs, encouraging him to keep going. With my tongue, I played with the ring on the tip.

After that, he didn’t draw it out, and he didn’t take it slow. He fucked my mouth hard, thrusting between my lips repeatedly, growling and snarling like I’d never seen Xavy before.

I loved it. The taste of his libo was sweet and watching Xavy lose himself in me was pure bliss.

He was using me, but he knew it was me.

Our eyes locked the entire time, and I focused on the maelstrom of purple and black swirling there.

With a final growl, he pulled out of my mouth. He wrapped a fist around his cock and began to stroke. And I knew he planned to do exactly what he promised. When he finally came, he roared my name as a reverent, “Tabitha” that echoed off the walls and sent a bolt of heat swirling in my core.

His release shot from his tip, catching me on the chin, neck, and coating my breasts. He seemed to come forever, until I was covered in him.

His hand fell from my hair and his body wavered.

I shuddered as the night air was already cooling the sticky fluid. With a thud, he hit the cave floor on his knees and gathered me in his arms, pressing me against his chest. It wasn’t until I caught my breath that I realized he was trembling while he chanted in my ear. “I’m so sorry, Tab. I’m so, so sorry. Please forgive me.”

* * *

Xavy

I knew this would happen. I’d gone too far. But the feel of Tabitha’s body, the taste of her, fleck even the smell of her had been too much for me to take. I’d used her, just as I said I would, out of my mind with lust. It wasn’t until I got a good look at her tear-stained face and bruised lips that I realized what I’d done.

“I’m sorry, Tab. My sweet Tabby.” I couldn’t stop the words from pouring from my mouth. I should let her go. The last thing she probably wanted now was for me to touch her, but I couldn’t seem to pull myself away. Maybe I could at least comfort her now.

I ran my palms over her hair, smoothing the curls back into place and massaging the area of her scalp where I’d held her immobile, a hole for my cock, like the flecked-up shet I was.

I checked the rest of her body, wincing at the marks on her pale skin and ignoring the flare of possessiveness I felt at the sight of them. Surely this would be the last time I touched her.

Lastly, I studied her face. Her eyes were wet, tear-tracks running over her cheeks. And her sweet beautiful lips that were the source of her gorgeous laughter, were bruised and swollen. I had done that to her.

“Xav,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

I’d done that too. Fleck, she was covered in me. I’d shot my seed all over her like a salibri marking its territory.

“Tabby, I’m sorry,” I rubbed my thumb over her lip. “I’ll never—”

“Stop talking,” she said. “Can you get me some qua?”

I grabbed at the nearby jug and held it up to her. She gulped a few mouthfuls before signaling she’d had enough. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

I waited for her lips to curl with revulsion and for her to curse me out. But instead her eyes sparkled, and those swollen lips curled into… A smile?

“That was awesome,” she dropped a kiss on my chin.

I was speechless. “What’s awesome?”

She laughed, my favorite sound, a loud burst of joy that filled the cave and sent my cora racing again. “Good. Great. Amazing. Wonderful.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Really hot.”

Was I dreaming? “But I hurt you.”

She touched her lip. “A little, but I liked it.”

I blinked at her. “I don’t get it. I used you roughly. I left bruises behind…”

She shivered and rubbed her arms. “Let’s clean up and then we can lay down and talk. I’m cold again and you’re like a furnace.”

I didn’t know what a furnace was, but I wiped us both down with a small cloth dipped in qua until we were clean of the mess. After that, we settled on our sides, using my pants wrapped around the pack as a pillow. She pressed her naked body against mine under the blanket and made a content sigh. “So,” she yawned. “Where were we? Oh right, you were apologizing for nothing.”

“Your lips—”

“Yeah, and I might not be into that all the time, but for now, it was hot, and I liked it. We need to talk about how you shouldn’t feel ashamed of what turns you on. As long as the person you’re with consents, and they’re uh, of proper age, it doesn’t matter what you do. On Earth, we call them kinks. Some people get off on all kinds of things. Feet. Dressing up as an animal. Dressing in leather.”

I didn’t know a lot of her words, but I understood the meaning of what she was saying. Still, my training as a warrior and the creed I’d followed my whole life seemed at odds with what we’d just done. “I’m worried that if you tried to stop me, I wouldn’t have stopped.”

“When I choked, you did stop. I urged you to keep going. I trust you, Xavy. Do you trust me?”

I frowned at her. “Of course, I do.”

“How about we have two signals that either of us can give when we don’t like what’s happening. We hear the word or give the non-verbal clue, and the other person has to stop. Would that make you feel better?”

I nodded.

“Okay, so if either of us says pineapple, we have to stop.”

“Pineapple?”

“It’s an Earth fruit. Just go with it.”

“What does it look like?”

“It has spikes on it. It’s about the size of your head.”

“Does it taste good?”

“Xavy, focus!”

“Right, right, sorry.”

“Okay, so the nonverbal clue will be this.” She rapped on my arm with her knuckles twice in rapid succession, paused, then followed up with a third tap. “There, now you do it back.”

I mimicked her signal on her forehead with one claw.

She laughed. “See? Now we have a solid form of communication.”

I let my claw slide down her face to rest under her chin. I tilted her face toward me. “And you trust me to stop?”

“I do.” She emphasized her answer with a squeeze on my wrist. “And this is all normal, Xavy. Couples… mates… have to learn about each other. I’m sure there will be a time you’ll do something I don’t like. And I’ll do something you don’t like. We tell each other and move on.”

I drifted my hand further down her body to rest on her chest. Despite our earlier cleaning session, I could still feel a few drops of my seed left on her skin, and she smelled of me.

My cock hardened again, and I swallowed as I gathered a drop on my finger and lifted it to her lips. Eyes bright, she drew my finger into her mouth and twirled her luscious tongue around my claw.

Pulling my finger from her mouth, I kissed her, taking care to be gentle with her lip. I sipped at her mouth, lapped at her tongue, and combed through her hair with my fingers. She arched into me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I pulled back and rested my forehead on hers. “We need to sleep.”

She yawned again and snuggled into my chest, drawing her hands up to clasp them at her chest. Her eyes closed. “Yeah, you wore me out. All that flying and crashing and swimming and pussy-eating.”

I snorted. “I’m not the only one who ate.”

She burst out laughing. “Oh ho-ho, look who’s got jokes?”

I rolled onto my back, bringing her with me to rest on my chest. With a hand resting behind my head, I smiled at the ceiling. Tomorrow was a new day. As long as Tabitha was safe, happy, and could trust me, then I could begin to trust myself.

Eight

Tabitha

I woke up to a hand between my legs and fingers plucking at my nipple. I opened my eyes to see a cave wall and two blue hands playing my body like I was an instrument. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been at me before I woke up. My pussy was already slick and my nipples a flushed pink. I looked down at my body, marveling at the myriad of marks all over my skin as a result of last night.

“Tabby,” a smooth voice murmured in my ear. “I know you’re awake.”

I reached behind me and sank my fingers into his har. “I am now.”

He bit down on my ear and I arched into him. His hard cock leaked libo over my lower back as he rolled his hips behind me. “I want inside my Tabby this morning.”

“You were last night.”

“I want my cock inside you making you scream this time.”

At his words, I felt myself grow even wetter. But I didn’t want to make this easy on him. Maybe it was too early to test him. Maybe I should just play along and have lazy morning sex, but we’d had an important talk last night, and it was crucial he had paid attention.

I extricated myself from his clutches, which wasn’t that hard. After an initial tightening of his arms, he let me get to my feet. With my back to him, I stretched my arms over my head and rose up onto my tiptoes, gazing out into the mouth of the cave where the sun was just beginning to rise over the water. It was a gorgeous view—if I wasn’t aware of some giant tentacled monster waiting for me just under the surface.

I glanced at Xavy over my shoulder. He hadn’t moved other than to roll onto his back. His narrowed eyes took in my bare back and paused on my ass. I shook it a little, and his chest decompressed.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

His gaze darted to mine and his eyes narrowed. “Laying here.”

“I thought you wanted your cock inside me this morning?”

I could actually see said body part twitch beneath the blanket laying loosely across his hips.

His breathing sped up and I swore I saw a vein pop in his temple. “You moved away from me.”

“I didn’t say pineapple.” I shook my hair out. “Maybe I want you to work a little harder for it. Convince me. Why should I let your big cock inside my tight little pussy, Xavy?”

His eyes went dangerously dark, and as he rolled to his feet as gracefully as a panther, I took an instinctive step back as a small blare of alarm sounded in my head. Maybe I’d pushed him too far. But I’d told him I trusted him, hadn’t I? And I meant it. So, I swallowed and tilted my chin up as he prowled toward me.

His movements were as fluid as water, and his muscles bulged as he seemed to flex and swell before my eyes. Lust swirled in my gut. If this went well, I expected to get the pounding of my life, because the promise was right there in the hurricane storm of his eyes.

* * *

Xavy

She was a tease, and it made me so flecking hard I could barely stand it. As I approached her, a flare of panic crossed her eyes before she tilted her head up valiantly. No word crossed her lips as I bore down on her. She wanted this, and I was going to give it to her.

When I reached her, I immediately grabbed her throat and turned her so her back was plastered to my front. I ground my hard cock against her spine, and she went up to her tiptoes as I tightened my grip around her neck. Her pulse beat rapid fire against my fingers, and I loved the way little pants left her lips.

Small bumps had erupted all across her skin, and a flush crept up those beautiful full tits of hers to spread around her neck. I slid my other hand down her body, pausing to press on all the marks I made last night. She squirmed but didn’t speak or tap her safe rhythm on my skin.

“Who are you to say I have to work for your cunt?” I rasped as I dipped my mouth toward her ear. “Shouldn’t you work for my cock? I know how much you love being full.”

“Oh fuck,” she whispered, her hands coming up to wrap around my arm.

I slid my fingers into the curls at the top of her mound and immediately sought out her hard clit, giving it a flick and a swift pinch. Tab cried out, hips bucking as her body trembled against mine.

“Say, ‘Please Xavy,’” I murmured, giving her wet folds a light slap. She jerked in my touch with a moan. “Say, ‘Please give me your cock.’”

“I don’t beg.” Her lips said one thing, but her body said another as she ground her sweet ass back into my cock.

“You’ll beg me, Tab,” I pinched her clit and slapped her cunt again, harder this time, and she screamed. “You’ll beg me until you’re hoarse.” She smelled like a flecking dream, so ripe and hot. My hand was already coated in her, and I hadn’t even slid inside. I let go of her neck, before giving her my command. “Get down on your knees. Spread your legs.”

She dropped immediately, as if she were relieved she no longer had to stand. With her knees spread, her cunt facing the freshas, I knelt behind her and fisted her hair. As soon as I yanked her head back, I kissed her. Her groan filled my mouth, and I continued to play with her body as I dueled with her tongue.

There was nowhere I didn’t touch, from rolling her nipples to caressing her cunt. Her hips rocked back and forth slightly, and I knew she was ready to be filled when I gave her lip another bite and her cunt another slap.

When I pulled away, her eyes were glazed over, and her mouth slack and wet. “Beg me,” I murmured.

“Please, Xavy.” She swallowed and fisted her hands on her thighs. “Please give me your cock.”

I nearly came from just those words, which I felt over every inch of my scales like a battle cry. I hauled her into my lap, her back to my front, and as soon as her legs straddled my thighs, I lined up at her entrance and slammed her down on my cock. Her ass hit my groin with a slap, and she threw back her head, sending a cascade of curls across my chest while she shouted out my name.

I didn’t give her time to catch her breath because I was out of my mind. I drove her onto my cock as I thrust up into her. I needed to hear her scream with pleasure at the end of my cock. I dug my fingers into the soft flesh of her hips, already eager to get a look at the marks that would surely appear there later on her pale skin.

In front of us, the sun rose over the freshas, and the orange rays on her glistening skin made her sparkle, like a living image of Fatas. Her purple head turned, and she speared me with a wild gaze as she fell forward onto her hands. I followed her until she braced herself on all fours while I knelt behind her, pounding into her sweet cunt while she gushed and writhed beneath me.

“Did I earn it?” I slapped her ass with the flat of my palm.

She glared at me over her shoulder. “I don’t know. You didn’t make me come yet.”

With a growl, I went down on one hand, while I slid the other down her belly until I reached her clit. There I pinched and rolled it between my fingers until a shudder ran down her spine. She fell to her elbows, and as she did, she screamed, bucking back into me while her inner walls squeezed my cock so hard I saw stars.

“Coming,” she gasped. “Oh fuck, I’m coming.”

She shook as her high-pitched moans greeted the rising sun, and when her movements slowed, she murmured in a slurred voice. “Okay, you earned it.”

I ached to beat my chest, to announce to the entire planet that I’d earned this beautiful female in front of me, and I’d given her pleasure. My balls drew up tight, and I wanted to come in her sweet cunt, but I remembered how hard she came back at camp, when I’d prodded her back entrance with my tail.

I pulled out of her cunt and she collapsed onto her belly. “What—?”

Prodding her back entrance with the tip of my cock, I pushed. “I earned your cunt and your ass, didn’t I? I earned it all.”

I kept pushing, but she was tight as fleck. She was going to feel so good on my cock. She was going to squeeze it so tight…

Vaguely, I registered shouting, and then a kick, two in a row followed by a third, slammed into my side. I darted my gaze up to see Tabitha scrabbling at the cave floor, trying to crawl away from where I held her waist tight.

Her eyes were wild, her face red, and when she glanced at me over her shoulder, her lips were moving. “For fuck’s sake, pineapple, Xav!”

Dread stopped my cora as every muscle in my body turned to a rotten goo. I fell back and scrambled away from her on my hands and feet, my movements uncoordinated and sloppy.

Tabitha rolled onto her back and sat up, rubbing at her face with the heels of her hands. Immediately her expression went from anger to alarm. “Xav, no, wait.”

“I hurt you.” I huddled in a dark patch at the back of the cave and dropped my head in my hands. “Oh Fatas, I knew this would happen. I knew it and still I touched you. Because I’m selfish.”

“Hey, hey.” Her feet padded toward me, and then her soft hands combed through my hair and rubbed the back of my head. “Come on, you didn’t hurt me. I mean, not yet. You would have torn me in two if you hadn’t stopped, but—”

I jerked my head up to face her. “I would have?”

She winced. “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have led with that. You stopped, Xav. Granted, I had to yell a few times and kick you, but you did stop.”

“I almost didn’t,” I snapped. “No more, we can’t do this until I can guarantee I won’t hurt you.”

She heaved a sign and sank bank on her heels. Nibbling her lip, she grabbed a jug of qua and forced it into my hand. “Drink.”

I drank even though I wasn’t thirsty. When I handed it back to her, she took a dainty sip. “This is my fault.”

“How?”

“Just let me talk, okay? Jeez. Mr. Interrupter. Anyway, I wanted to test you, to see how you’d handle what we talked about last night. And that was stupid. I clearly pushed too hard, and we went too far. So … we’ll pull back now. Start slower. And I’m not saying I don’t want your cock, uh, back there. But you’re massive. That hole doesn’t stretch as well as my other one. We’d have to work up to you sticking your dong in there, okay?”

“Dong?”

She waved at my crotch. “You know.”

“You females have many terms for cock.”

She laughed lightly, and the sound made me smile. “We do, and we have just as many for pussy.”

I brushed my finger across her chest. “I like tits.”

“Yeah, that’s been established.” Her smile was soft, amused. But it slowly faded as she leaned forward and took my face in her hands. “Do you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I’m the one who is sorry.”

“How about we agree that both of us had a part to play in that situation and we start over.”

“That is acceptable, but I think it’s best not to touch. For a while.”

“But you didn’t—”

“I’m no longer hard, Tab. Thinking I broke you was enough to send my cock and balls into hiding.”

She stuck her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout and walked her fingers down my thigh. “What do I have to do to get them to come out and play again?”

I laughed. “They are being punished. No play time for at least a rotation.”

“A whole rotation? That’s cruel and unusual punishment.”

“It’s not long enough.”

Her chin dropped to my knee. “But I feel like you’re punishing me too.”

I drew her into my lap and while the feel of her naked body comforted me, my cock remained soft. As it should, the sick fleck.

She came willingly, her skin soft under my palms, and her muscles pliant as I ran my hands up and down her back. Her fingers rubbed my shoulders, and I let my head fall back to thunk on the cave wall. Closing my eyes, I relished the feel of her in my arms.

We stayed like that for a while until her soft voice broke the silence. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and lowered my head to look at her. “Just enjoying holding you. This may be one of the last places we feel safe for a while.” The sun’s rays had reached far into the cave. We needed to move, as the more time we delayed traveling, the lower our rations would dwindle.

She shivered and pressed her face into my neck. There, she murmured in a low voice. “I always feel safe with you.”

I didn’t understand what I’d done to earn her trust. “I don’t know how you can say that.”

She smiled. “I promise, one day you will see what I see in you, and you’ll trust yourself as much as I do.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Rubbing our noses together, she said, “I’m always right.”

Nine

Tabitha

The no shoe thing was a problem. Despite the toughness of my soles, I wasn’t prepared to go rock climbing and hiking in undeveloped terrain. At first, we tried to fashion some sandals out of leaves and vines, but it was a disaster. So, I traveled on Xavy’s back like a little kid. I resented it at first, but I also was very aware that the pace Xavy kept was blistering. I never would have been able to keep up in thee-hundred-dollar hiking boots, let alone bare feet and a dress. At least I’d gotten my panties back, which Xavy had sheepishly pulled from his pocket to hand to me.

Leaving our cave was bittersweet. I’d come to like that little place in the few hours we’d been there. When we exited the cave, Xavy had to scale a steep cliff with me clinging to his back. Fortunately, it was slanted slightly, and he could half-walk, half-crawl, but I still expected us to plummet to our deaths any moment.

Xavy, being Xavy, seemed to enjoy the thrill, telling me excitedly about a time he hiked a cliff-face with Sax while fighting a Rizar pack. He spoke as if it was just another day—a fun little adventure—which had resulted in a dozen Rizar deaths and Sax with a spear sticking out of his thigh. Xavy laughed recalling Sax’s limp on their way back to camp. These Drix had weird senses of humor.

We reached the top, and I was able to study this continent’s land for the first time.

Jasper, the continent where the Drix and Uldani made their home, was more of a deciduous forest with streams, lakes and vines. Here, the humidity hung in the air like a thick blanket, making it hard for me to catch my breath. My dress and hair clung to my damp skin, and I would have given anything for a proper bath. We’d used some qua from the sea to clean up before we left the cave, but that had long since evaporated on my skin, leaving behind a gritty, salty texture.

Of course, Xavy was fine. The Drix didn’t sweat. As far as I could tell, their scales would lift slightly to cool their body temperature. They always seemed fascinated by our damp skin. His hair was coated with a thin oil, so it repelled all water, leaving him looking like he’d just stepped off a galaxy runway. I didn’t even want to know what I looked like. A wet cat probably. Not that it mattered. I would be perfectly happy if these Kaluma thought I was some gross creature and left me alone. I could only hope.

“So, tell me all you know about these Kaluma,” I said as Xavy trudged through the dense jungle-like underbrush, slashing at massive dripping leaves with his forearm machets. Occasionally he pulled out a piece of paper with handwritten scribbles on it, which he said was Nero’s directions. He constantly consulted the direction of the sun to be sure we were heading the right way.

“I don’t know much, only what Shep told us, and that wasn’t a whole lot.”

“Well what do they look like?”

“Scales the color of bronze, but they can change colors to blend into their surroundings. I suspect they will see us before we see them. Fleck, they might even know we’re here already.”

“Great,” I muttered.

“The Uldani haven’t messed with them, as far as we know, because they’re extremely hard to defeat in battle. They’re territorial, isolated, and prefer to stay that way.”

“So, all signs point to them being very unhappy with our presence.”

He hesitated before answering. “Correct. This was not a mission I was expected to return from.”

“Wait, what?” I smacked his chest and hiked myself higher on his back. I awkwardly grabbed a horn and wrenched his head to face me.

“Ouch,” he protested.

“Explain.”

“I thought I made this clear already,” he scowled at me and shook his head, but I hung onto his horn in a death grip. “We never expected them to say yes, or even give me a chance to explain, but their abilities are worth the risk.”

“No, they’re not!” I exclaimed. “Nothing is the worth the risk of you losing your life to beg some hermit people for help.”

“It is to us. To our future.”

I let go of his horn with a shove and seethed from my position on his back. “This is ridiculous. Well, I’m going to give them the what for. They’re not killing you. Or me. And if they won’t help us fight the Uldani, they can help us get home at the very least.”

He snorted. “You think they’ll listen to you?”

I smirked, even though he couldn’t see my face. “Hey, I can be persuasive.”

“So can I, Tabby. Maybe together we can manage to pull this off.” He slapped at a low-hanging vine. “Never thought I’d say that. I’d resigned myself to going at this alone. And as much as I’m fearful for your safety, I can’t say I don’t want you here. Your presence gives me more to fight for.”

“Xav,” I murmured as warmth spread to my numb limbs. “I’m glad I’m here. I’d rather be with you than back at the camp worrying myself to death that you wouldn’t return. So, whatever we face here, we face together. As a team.”

“As a team,” he echoed.

I readjusted the pack on my back and rested my chin on his shoulder as we continued on. There were more insects here—small little gnat-like things and many-legged centipede-like crawlies who hid as soon as they heard us. We weren’t quiet. There wasn’t much of a way to be quiet. Twigs snapped and leaves shook. There was no nice little path carved into this jungle. It was just us, hacking our way through like eighteenth century explorers.

We walked until the sun began to set, and only then did Xavy decide it was time to rest. Under the cover of a massive tree in a well-shaded area, we ate a measly portion of the food we had—which was slowly dwindling.

Xavy refilled our qua jugs with some rainfall that had gathered on the leaves. After that, he directed me onto his back again. I wasn’t sure why, as I thought we were finished walking for the day—until he turned to a massive trunk and with his claws unsheathed, climbed with the swiftness of a bear. When we reached a fork in the branches, he tested the weight and grunted with contentment.

A few months ago, I was in my fifth year of college—I’d changed my major about four times—going to frat parties and trying to finish my degree. Now I was in a tree sitting on the lap of a massive blue alien who I was somehow falling in love with. Or maybe I’d been in love with him long before this.

Either way, we were high enough in the tree we could gaze out at the jungle below. I’d asked Xavy why we were resting for the night in a tree, and he explained our position here was easier to defend and we were less likely to be ambushed.

I accepted that answer.

The waning moon didn’t offer much light, but we didn’t really need it. Xavy held me in his arms, my back to his front, as a steady vibration rumbled from his chest. Prushing, the Drix called it, and the act was like a massage and white noise machine all in one. It soothed me to my very bones, and I leaned my head back against his shoulder. I was physically exhausted, but my mind raced.

“I don’t know the exact location of their camp,” Xavy murmured softly as he nuzzled my hair. “But we should reach it sometime tomorrow. I expect they will make themselves known as soon as we enter their territory.”

Dread pressed on my shoulders like a yokel. “Are you scared?”

He went still and silent for a moment before he resumed his nuzzling and prushing. “I’m worried for you.”

“Not yourself?”

“No, not myself. I came to terms with the reason for this mission. I’ve spent most of today wondering if I was making the wrong decision. If we should try to find another way home… I don’t know if this is right, but I can’t think of any other way to get you home. I don’t know this continent well enough to keep you safe for that long.”

“I want to keep going to the Kaluma,” I said. “No matter how scared I am. That’s your mission, and I won’t let my presence deter you from it.”

His lips pressed against my temple as he said with awe, “My determined female.”

I snorted into the dark. “On Earth, the only things I seemed determined about were partying and wasting credits.”

His arms tightened around me. “Tell me about Earth Tab.”

“Earth Tab was … not focused. I didn’t have goals, which explained why I changed my major so much.”

“What’s a major?”

I tried to explain college the best I could, and he got the general idea, since the Drixonians had career tracts as well. Except theirs were determined at a young age through aptitude tests. “My parents kept telling me to grow up, that one day I was going to have to realize the world isn’t all fun and games.” I laughed wistfully. “Ah, if only they knew I had to travel to another galaxy to wise up.”

“I was like that,” he said. “I wanted to pilot a cruiser because I wanted the status. I wanted to show off my accomplished missions badges to all the females. Before the virus, we hadn’t had a credible outside threat for a long time. We’d all grown complacent. My parents said the same thing as yours—that one day I’d get a mission that meant something, and it wouldn’t be about the recognition, but the mission itself.”

“Like this one?” I whispered?”

His fingers dug into my hip. “Like this one.”

“They’d be proud to see you now.”

“I was a problem chit, always mouthing off and getting into trouble.”

“No, you?” I gasped in mock surprise.

He chuckled. “What about baby Tab?”

“I was cute and loved rainbows and unicorns, but I also loved to play in the mud with boys in said colorful accessories. My parents didn’t know what to do with me then, and they didn’t know what to do with me at twenty-two either.”

“You are brave, Tab. You stood up to me. You’re honest and good. You’re like a beacon of light in our clavas. Everyone wants to be around you. You make us all remember what to fight for.”

“I miss them.” I sniffed, feeling the prick of tears in my eyes.

“I know,” he murmured, his lips grazing the back of my shoulder. “I miss mine, too. But when I’m around you, it’s easy to forget all I’ve lost.”

And that was how I fell asleep, with a smile on my lips, thinking of what I had right there in my hands with Xavy. I’d fight like hell to keep it.

* * *

Xavy

I woke up to the sound of rustling. I opened my eyes to find Tabitha had turned in my arms in the middle of the night, and she now straddled me, her face smashed into my chest. I’d noticed in the cave she moved often in her sleep and often sprawled over me like a chit. It was one reason I’d locked my arms around her so we both didn’t find ourselves falling out of the flecking tree.

I stretched my toes and remembered about the rustling. I glanced up, expecting to feel a soft breeze wafting through my hair, only to come face to face with a massive feathered beast. I went still as my cora raced an alarm in my chest. I’d heard rumors of the giant briggers called varins who lived on this planet and could snap a limb off with their giant beaks.

I stared into its black beady eyes full of murderous intent while it clacked its curved yellow beak the size of Tabitha’s torso, and I fully believed it could gobble her in two bites. Might take four for me.

For a moment, we sized each other up. The varins probably assessed which part of my body he could peck off first and ingest, while I examined its body for weak points. That was always what I searched for first whenever I took on an enemy. Everything had a weakness. Mine happened to be the sleeping bundle in my arms.

The varins was covered in a thick pelt of oily feathers that glistened a blue-black in the morning sun. It had three feet—two in the back and a larger in front—covered in a scaly skin and topped with razor-sharp claws. The front foot was larger, the claws longer, and had an extra spur in the back.

I’d climbed this tree to get away from as many predators as possible, but I hadn’t accounted for this. The varins blinked at me and lifted its front foot as if to take a step toward me. I stiffened, and Tabitha took that time to wake up. She rubbed her face in my chest, smacking her lips, before pushing her hair out of her face. I didn’t dare lower my gaze to look at her, as the varins had taken its focus off of me and landed it on her.

“Don’t move,” I said softly.

“What?” Her voice was groggy, and she rubbed her eyes.

Before I could stop her, she turned her head, froze when she caught sight of the varins, and then opened up her mouth to let out an ear-splitting scream.

The jungle erupted at the sound. The varins threw back its head and let out a series of whooping calls as it flapped its wings aggressively. Somewhere in the distance, other varins answered. Animals in the underbrush below us skittered away, probably seeking to hide at the sound of what I could only assume was a varins hunting call.

We were the prey.

Tabitha shot her arms over her head and waved her hands at the massive animal. “Shoo!” she shouted. “Go away, fucking vulture.”

I was already dragging her away as she taunted the animal that definitely wanted to eat us along with its friends. I didn’t bother climbing down the tree. There wasn’t time. With Tabitha in my arms, still screeching at the bird, I leapt from branch to branch.

Crashing sounds from above us let me know the varins was descending, slamming into leaves and tree parts with its giant wings. Dozens of whooping calls sounded around us, and I knew it was only a matter of time before a flock descended on us. I could fight one varins, but a whole group? I’d be flecked.

I risked a glance up the tree and found another varins had joined our initial enemy, and they bore down on us, beaks open and snapping as they sought a fresh flesh breakfast.

I’d climbed high on purpose, attempting to keep us safe from ground predators, so it was a long way down. My heel glanced off one of the last branches, and I knew in an instant when I couldn’t grab purchase we were going to be going down. Fast. I wrapped my arms around Tabitha and curled into a ball around her huddled form.

The sense of free-falling was disorienting, especially as leaves smacked me on the way down. A nearby branch slashed into my arm and pain streaked up my shoulder. We hit the ground on a slope and tumbled until we came to a stop at the bottom of a ravine.

Varins circled overhead, screaming out their frustrations at being unable to penetrate the dense jungle underbrush to get to us. Their wingspan was too wide, and they’d be rendered flightless down here.

Tabitha groaned beneath me, but I didn’t have time to assess her injuries because the two varins chasing us were either starving or had a death wish. They hit the ground in a flurry of claws and feathers and stalked toward us. I was backed up against a small hill, unable to flee fast on foot. I couldn’t turn my back to them and climb, so I shoved Tabitha behind me and unleashed my machets.

“Come on,” I beckoned with my fingers. “Just a little closer, brigger-brains.”

The smaller of the two came at me first, kicking out with his clawed feet and spurs. I slashed at his feet, severing his front foot, and he screamed an eerie sound that nearly made me cower and cover my ears. Yellow blood spurted from his leg and he hopped around on his back two feet, screaming and clicking his beak in pain.

I took advantage, slamming my tail into its body. When it tipped over, I was already on it, slicing my machets into his neck. Finally, that blasted noise stopped as the varins quit breathing. Couldn’t do that with its head severed from its body.

I stepped back, flinging dripping blood off my hand to find the other varins stalking Tabitha. She held a big stick in her hand, and she jabbed it at the beast. Instead of fear, she glared in anger, snapping her blunt teeth back at it. I almost laughed, but there was no time to waste. While the varins was distracted by Tabitha I walked up behind it and twisted its head off its body. Blood spurted and Tab dropped her stick. “Fucking gross, Xav!” she screeched, and this time I actually did laugh.

She whirled on me with fire in her eyes. “Now I’m covered in ostrich goo!”

“Ostrich?”

She gestured to the varins. “It looks a bit like an Earth ostrich, if an ostrich was a bloodthirsty three-legged demon who could fly.”

I reached for her. “You okay? That was a bit of a fall.”

She blew out a breath and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I’m sure I’ll be covered in bruises by sundown, but for now, I’m alive and so are you. That’s all that matters.”

“Well,” I brandished a hand at the dead bodies. The severed foot was still twitching. “Ready for breakfast? Because we’re having them.”

She blinked at me. “What?”

“They’re varins, and I don’t know what they taste like, but we’re about to find out.”

She wrinkled her nose and then shrugged. “Whatever. I’m hungry. Maybe it’ll taste like chicken.”

I didn’t know what this chicken tasted like, but I hoped she liked it.

After cleaning up in a nearby stream, I made a small fire. Skinning the varins proved harder than I anticipated. They didn’t have much meat and their bones were light and hollow. Tab told me that was normal for birds.

I managed to find some decent cuts and cook them up. Tab pronounced it didn’t taste like chicken at all, but that she liked it. I was so hungry, I barely chewed. Flavor was the last thing on my mind. As much as I liked a good fight, I didn’t feel confident in these new surroundings. I hated not knowing what was to come, and the unknown that awaited us, which could be dangerous for Tabitha, put me in a sour mood.

Tabitha picked up a varins feather and tucked it behind her ear. She preened, batting her eyelashes at me. “How does it look? I always did love a good accessory.”

And just like that, my mood lifted. No matter what life threw at my Tab, she found something to smile about. Her grin was contagious. “You look beautiful as always, Tab.”

Her grin widened and she gave me a peck on the nose. “You’re so sweet.”

I repositioned the feather over her ear, so it didn’t fall out. “I want to be when I’m with you.”

“Sweet in the streets, rough in the sheets. That’s my Xavy.”

I blinked at her. “I don’t know what that means.”

She giggled. “It means you’re sweet to me in everyday life. Like this. But in the furs, you can be as rough as you want. Best of both worlds.”

I gripped her chin. “I still can’t believe you haven’t run from me yet.”

Her eyes sparkled. “You’ll have to chase me off of you with a stick.”

Rubbing my nose with hers, I laughed. “Never.”

After burying the varins carcasses and doing our best to erase the evidence of our presence, I pulled a transplant updater out of the pack. “I meant to do this sooner. Nero downloaded the Kaluma language onto here.” I held it up to my ear and felt the slight sting of heat as the updater uploaded the language to my implant. I did the same to Tabitha and she winced. “Okay?”

She nodded and gave me a brave smile. After that, I hauled her onto my back, and we kept going. The closer we got to what I thought were the boundaries of the Kaluma’s land, the more I grew anxious. I tried not to let it show to Tabitha, but I could tell she was feeling the same.

“What was your life like on Corin?” she asked softly. “Do you remember?”

“I was an only chit. My dad was a warship captain, and that was what he wanted me to be, but all chit, male and female, get aptitude tests at an early age. I tested as a hand-to-hand fighter and a cruiser pilot. He was disappointed. I told him I didn’t want to command a flecking warship anyway. We fought. He got sick two rotations later and died within a few yoras.”

“Xavy,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. “I had to make peace with it a long time ago. He said my mother coddled me, and maybe she did. We laughed a lot, her and I. She was the funniest person I’d ever known. When she died, she told me she was proud of me, and told me never to stop laughing. So, I guess I’ve tried to make them both proud.”

“If they could see you now, Xav, they would absolutely be proud. You’re respected. You took on this mission knowing the extreme risks.”

“I carried a lot of guilt for my desires.” Even at a young age, my fantasies had been… different. “I wondered if my father always saw that in me and that was why he was so hard on me.”

“No,” she answered quickly. “Don’t make me repeat myself. There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with me, and there’s nothing wrong with us together.” She gripped me tighter, and her arms seemed to ground me. “I’ll prove it to you if it’s the last thing I do—”

Her words cut off on a scream as she was wrenched off my back. “Tab!” I shouted and whirled around only to be struck in the back of the knees with a hard blow. My legs buckled, and I hit the ground hard. I turned my head and lashed out with my machets but there was nothing there. Nothing. Tabitha was suspended in mid-air, but something was holding her, because she struggled and kicked, screaming my name.

I stumbled to my feet but didn’t get far as pain exploded in the side of my head. The world went upside down for a moment as I found myself spitting out dirt and leaves on my hands and knees. “Fleck,” I blinked and shook my head, but my vision swam as my skull felt like it’d been tossed against cliff.

Tabitha was still screaming. “Let her go!” I growled.

A voice answered me, a low rumble that came from somewhere above me. “I don’t think we will.”

I lifted my head and one minute, the ground before me was empty, and in the next moment a series of subtle clicks reached my ears. One by one, scales flipped to reveal a massive bronze creature, standing taller than me with long white hair down to the small of his back and a swirl of white tattoos covering his neck and chest. The sides of his head were shaved, and matching tattoos covered his scalp. A row of small barbs began at each side of his neck, and extended out, increasing in size to large spikes jutting out from each shoulder.

He wore only a pair of pants in a unique silver material. He studied me with glowing blue eyes while swinging a club in his clawed hand.

“Kaluma,” I whispered.

He smiled, revealing sharp pointed teeth. “Drix,” he hissed.

I held my hands up, palms out. “I’m sorry for trespassing. I mean no harm. I seek an audience with your pardux.”

He continued to swing that club, and only glanced once at Tabitha, who had fallen silent. More clicks followed, and soon we were surrounded by over a dozen Kaluma. One of the largest held Tabitha in his massive fists. Her chest heaved, and her eyes were wild, but she’d ceased struggling.

Finally, the head Kaluma gestured to another behind him. “Bring them.”

I exhaled, but my relief was short-lived. A massive Kaluma approached me, a club in his hand. I realized what he was about to do a split second too late. The club slammed into my head, Tabitha screamed, and everything went black.

Ten

Tabitha

I opened my eyes with a jerk, sitting up so fast my head spun with dizziness. Groaning, I prodded my temple and winced as my fingers pressed on a sore spot. When I pulled my hand away, flakes of dried blood fell from under my nails.

Now I remembered—that Kaluma swinging a club like a baseball bat right into Xavy’s head, his lifeless body hitting the ground. Me screaming, and then… an explosion of pain. Seemed they’d clubbed me too.

I glanced around to gather my bearings. My vision was a little blurry, but I could make out green-ish walls surrounding me in a cylinder. At least I wasn’t tied up. The ground I lay on had an odd springy texture. Something brushed along the back of my thigh and I squeaked as I whirled to find out what touched me. All around me, like a massive mosquito net, hung thick tendrils of leafy vines so dense I couldn’t see through them. I glanced up to see a spoke-like wheel above me, which spread the vines out to create a type of living tent.

I shivered, the air cool, as I took in the rest of my surroundings. My vision had begun to clear up, and I could see I was in some sort of living space. Across from me was a massive pile of fabric and leaves which I could only assume was a bed. A few chairs were scattered around the area, as well as crates of material that seemed to be clothes. A table stood nearby, with a few cups and bowls on top. The center of the floor was covered in a leaf-woven mat that was remarkably clean.

What I didn’t see was Xavy. I stood up, but my head throbbed, and I had trouble focusing my vision. I had to have a concussion, and who knew how long I was out. Long enough for the Kaluma to drag me here. But that didn’t matter right now. I had to get to Xavy. I was still alive, and I could only hope that meant he was too.

Just then several vines separated, and two figures walked inside. I took a step back, eyeing them. They looked to be females, as they each wore slashes of white material which wrapped around the backs of their necks like scarves and hung down the front of their bodies, to cover their full breasts. The ends were tucked into long, belted skirts of the same material.

Their hair was white, like the males I’d seen, and they each wore carved ornate necklaces around their necks and upper chests made of an iridescent white stone that reminded me of Mother of Pearl. Instead of the shoulder spikes of their male counterparts, they only had small nubs.

They were gorgeous, with high cheekbones, and golden bronze scales. Their eyes were their most unique feature—a bright blue that seemed to glow from within. They were taller than me, maybe five-foot-ten to my five-foot-five. They also looked a little terrified of me. Well, the feeling was mutual. Despite them being unnaturally attractive, my head still spun from the damage their men had done to me.

The one with shorter hair seemed to be younger. Her face had less lines, and she studied me like I was a museum exhibit. She held fabric draped across her two open palms, and she eyed me before turning to her companion. “Has Varnex seen her? She’s pale and small. What could he want with this creature?”

The other one sighed. “You know Varnex. He wants to collect anything unique.”

“Uh, hi,” I waved. “I can understand you.”

Both stared at me, and then the one with the fabric dropped it and opened her lips. A split second of a scream got out before the older one clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

“Gurla, go get Sherif.” She took her hand away with a pointed look.

Gurla’s eyes took up nearly the entire top half of her face. “But Wensla, Bosa said—”

“I know what he said, and I don’t care. Go. Get. Sherif.”

Gurla nodded and with one last look at me, took off like a shot, her skirt billowing behind her.

Then it was just me and Wensla, facing off against each other. I had zero idea how to fight, but I readied myself in case I had to slap a bitch or pull some hair. Maybe she saw something in my eyes because she held up her hands. “I won’t hurt you.”

I pointed at my head. “Well I don’t really trust anything any of you say. And how can you understand me?”

She picked up the cloth Gurla had dropped and brushed off some debris with a sigh. “There isn’t anything that happens on this planet that Varnex doesn’t know about. He knew the moment the Rahgul delivered you humans, and Varnex ensured we would be able to communicate.”

I eyed the opening directly behind her. “Well that’s great, but all I care about is Xavy.”

She cocked her head. “Xavy?”

“The Drixonian I was with.” I swallowed and remembered our plan. “My mate.”

It was her turn for her eyes to go wide. “Your mate?” Her gaze skittered over my body. “But where is your mating collar?” She brushed her fingers over her necklace.

“Collar? What? No, I don’t wear a collar. But he’s my mate.”

“Varnex will not honor—”

The vines opened again with a vicious whipping sound, and a large Kaluma male stepped into the tent. And by large, I meant massive. He was bigger than any of the other males we’d seen earlier, and older. Built like a World’s Strongest Man competitor, his barrel chest expanded as he filled the room with a presence that was nearly suffocating. He wore a kilt-like skirt that fell to the top of his knees and no shoes.

He was scarred all over with little nicks marring the bronze of his scales. He stared down his nose at me with a mixture of curiosity and desire. I instantly disliked the vibe, and took note of Wensla’s posture, which had turned from confident to submissive. And not willingly submissive. After making a small sound that sounded like a curse, she fisted her hands where she held them clasped against her belly and tightened her jaw.

Based on her reaction and seeing as Gurla was nowhere to be seen, I assumed this was not Sherif. With dread, I had a feeling this was Varnex, the pardux, and he was in charge. I took in that the tattoos on his chest and neck matched the pattern of Wensla’s and Gurla’s necklaces. That did not fill me with good thoughts.

The blue of his eyes was less bright, covered in a thin milky sheen, which sent an eerie shiver down my spine as he stepped into my space. There was nowhere for me to retreat, and even if there was, my body was frozen in terror. This male looked like he could crush my head like a grape, and I wasn’t about to test that theory. He picked up a lock of my hair and rubbed it between two calloused fingers. “Fascinating” he murmured.

I was no stranger to men looking at me with want, but the possessive lust in his eyes made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

I swallowed, finding my voice. “Where’s Xavy? Where’s the Drixonian?”

“She has an updated translator implant, Varnex,” Wensla said softly. “And she says this Drix is her mate.”

“Making friends?” he sneered at her.

She ducked her head like a kicked puppy and a ball of dread tumbled down my throat, choking me. “I’m sorry, she—”

“Leave us.”

No, I absolutely did not want to be alone with this guy. “Where’s Xavy?” I demanded, louder this time. “I need to see him. You can’t keep me from my mate.”

He scoffed. “He’s not your mate.”

“Is he alive?” I darted my gaze to Wensla, who had parted the vines with one hand to leave. At my question, she paused, and glanced at me over her shoulder. The pitying look she gave me sent white hot rage singing through my veins.

“Is he alive?” I shouted, ignoring the narrow-eyed gaze of the male in front of me. If they killed Xavy, then they might as well kill me. No way was I leaving here without him, and over my dead body would I be part of a harem to this dickhead. I raised up on my toes and screamed in Varnex’s face. “Where is Xavy? Take me to him now, or I swear on everything that is holy, I will make your life miserable. You won’t sleep easy because I’ll be waiting for your eyes to close so I can bite your dick off and feed it to a varins. Now, take me to Xavy right this minute!”

That was when I heard it, a call so faint that I thought I imagined it, but it was there, like a whisper in my ear. Tabby.

Varnex reached for me with a growl, but I was small and quick. I ducked under his arm and took off at a dead sprint flying past Wensla and out of the vine-room like the devil was on my heels. Except I didn’t get far. I took a few steps on the spongy ground and stopped dead, pinwheeling my arms so I didn’t fall to my death.

I found myself maybe six stories above the ground on a brown mossy platform which extended out from a massive redwood-sized tree, like a large mushroom out of some fantasy land. Below me was a network of mushrooms platforms, all with vine roofs and walls. Foggy clouds drifted in and out of the trunks and homes, the humidity dampening my skin.

“Xavy!” I called out, panicking. I was trapped here on this stupid fucking mushroom with a massive alien who…

“Tab!” The voice was a pained croak from below, but now I knew I hadn’t imagined it. At the sound, I caught other Kaluma peeking out of their vine homes, peering up at where my toes curled over the edge, eyes glowing like blue Christmas lights. Varnex roared from inside his tent, no doubt on his way to drag me back inside by my hair.

There had to be a way down. Gurla had left, and Varnex had arrived. That was when movement to my left caught my eye. A large vine thick as my wrist shook and when I raced over to it and looked down, I saw Gurla descending on it, sliding down effortlessly as she hopped from platform to platform like a parkour champion.

Varnex stomped outside, and I knew I had to make my move. It was now or never. Xavy said I was brave, and I had to believe in myself. I couldn’t let him down.

I gripped the vine, said a small prayer to Fatas, and slid down like the rope activity in high school gym class. Air rushed by me, blowing my dress up like Marilyn Monroe over a city grate. I was giving everyone here a show, but it didn’t matter, as long as this would take me to Xavy. At least I had my underwear back.

My hands and inner thighs burned where they rope chafed them. I didn’t dare look, knowing I’d left skin and blood behind on the vine as I slid down way too fast. I stuck out a foot to catch on a platform to slow my descent. Varnex’s shouts followed me as he sought to organize his warriors to subdue one little human female.

The vine shook as I rested, and I glanced up to see a Kaluma male on his way down. “Shit,” I muttered, and glanced around. It seemed there was a large transportation system here, vines of different lengths and thicknesses used to move from one platform to another. I raced to the opposite side of the platform, ignoring the bronze face that peeked out of the home as I shot past.

I grabbed for a different vine, a thinner one, and hopped on that one. I did that a few more times, changing vines and platforms as more warriors began to follow me. It was only a matter of time before they caught me, but I had to get to Xavy first to see with my own eyes he was alive.

“Xavy!” I cried again. And that was when I heard his voice again, stronger this time, and closer, but still below me. I leapt from the last platform and hit the ground, actual blessed dirt and not a monster mushroom.

I began to run, following the sound of my name as he barked it over and over again on a chant. I didn’t take time to look around, but I was aware of groupings of Kaluma males watching me with a sort of detached curiosity. I found it weird they weren’t chasing me, but I was grateful for it. All I focused on was getting to Xavy. If he was alive, then everything would be okay. We’d make it out of here. I knew we would.

I searched for a ground level vine hut, or something, but his voice still sounded off, like I wasn’t looking in the right direction. I whirled around, confused, until he spoke again, and I realized he was still below me.

I stumbled back, my foot hitting something hard and I looked down to find a grate in the ground, and between two bars were a three blue fingers. Relief coursed through me as I dropped to my stomach to peer between the bars. Stuffed in a hole that wasn’t large enough for him to lay down, Xavy sat huddled with his knees to his chest. But that wasn’t the worst of it, he was beat to shit. Black blood coated the entire side of his face and his one eye was swollen shut. His beautiful full lips were split, and his one wrist hung at an odd angle, making me think it was broken.

“Oh my God,” I gasped as I shoved my arm through the bars. Our fingers met, locked, and he smiled, which only made his lips bleed more. “Xavy.” I couldn’t stop the sobs from bursting from my mouth. “What did they do to you?”

He shrugged, but the action was stiff. “I’ve had worse. Are you okay? How did you get here?”

Footsteps sounded nearby, and I knew the bastards had found me, not that they had to look far.

“Get away from the prisoner, human.”

I turned my glare to Varnex who stood a few feet away, flanked by two massive guards with clubs. Letting go of Xavy’s hand, I rose to my feet with balled fists. “What did you do to him? We said we came in peace. Get him out of that fucking hole and get him medical attention.”

“I think you’re mistaken who we are, little thing,” he snarled. “You trespassed on our lands. So now he’s our prisoner, and you’re our property.”

“Like hell, I am,” I spat. “And what exactly do you think you’re going to do with your new property?”

He grinned, and I wanted to sink into that hole with Xavy. “Whatever I want. I’ve never had a human cunt.”

Growls and roars rose up from the Xavy’s hole as he banged on the bars. “Touch her and I’ll strip your skin from your bones. She’s mine. My mate!”

“She has no marks. She’s unclaimed.” Varnex cocked his head. “But not for long.” He tipped his head to a Kaluma behind him. “Bring her back. She needs to get used to her new home.”

“No fucking way!” I put up my fists, like that was going to do anything. Xavy roared and beat the bars of his prison, but that didn’t do a damn thing as two Kalumas gripped my arms in their massive fists and began dragging me away. My bravado all but gone, I dug in my heels, pleading and crying.

They’d managed to drag me a few feet away when a figure slid down a nearby vine and hit the ground on a thud. A deep voice boomed over the cacophony. “What’s this about, Varnex?”

A large Kaluma stepped into our path. He was alone, except I noticed a few Kaluma stood slightly behind him but off to the side, as if ready to step in when needed. Gurla also stood in the shadows, huddled with Wensla and a few other females. I wondered if this was the Sherif she’d been sent to find.

He wore a pair of pants, gray boots, and no shirt. His hair hung down to the middle of his back, a few braids scattered amongst the shining white locks. Like the women, he had high cheekbones and big round eyes.

While Varnex had a massive overpowering presence, Sherif possessed more of a quiet intensity. His white tattoos swirled across his chest and rose up his neck like flames. When he moved, they almost seemed to flicker. His clear, bright blue eyes were intelligent, assessing, although he always kept Varnex in his sights. I sensed tension between the two, and I tried to calm my racing heart to pay attention.

“I’m not required to fill you in on my activities.” Varnex crossed his arms over his massive chest.

Sherif didn’t snap back. He only nodded in acknowledgement. “I didn’t say you were. I’m asking.”

“These two were found within our borders.”

“Hostile?”

“Any Drixonian presence is hostile.”

“That’s not true!” I shouted. “He told your men we come in peace. We wanted to talk.”

“Talk about what?” Sherif asked.

“I’m not interested in talking,” Varnex spoke, but he was looking at Sherif when he said it.

“Do you intend to claim her?” Sherif asked.

“She’s my property.”

“She’s my mate!” Xavy roared from his hole. I whirled around to see his head spikes sticking up through the bars of his cage as his tail slapped angrily on the edges.

Varnex ignored the racket. “She has no marks—”

Sherif’s eyes narrowed. “Varnex, if she’s mated, you cannot—”

“I can do what I want on my land!” Varnex shouted, his voice booming so loudly the very ground seemed to shake. A few women whimpered, cowering against each other, and I got the sense that good things never followed Varnex’s anger. I didn’t know whether to weep or fight.

Sherif’s jaw ticked, and that was the only emotion I’d seen him show so far. He did not cower in the crushing waves of Varnex’s anger. “We still have honor, Father.”

I sucked in a breath. These two were father and son? There seemed to be no love lost between them.

Varnex’s eyes blazed. “Watch yourself, son.” He spat the last word into the dirt like poison.

But Sherif didn’t back down. His face carefully blank, he said, “Taking her as property when her mating situation is in dispute could bring down a whole army of Drixonians on our head. He came here, to us, which means his brothers know where he is. You want her? You challenge him for her.”

“Challenge?” I whispered.

“I accept!” Xavy shouted on a growl.

“It’s not first blood,” Sherif said. “Challenge is to the death.”

My legs buckled.

“I still accept!” Xavy banged his fists on the bars. “I’ll challenge any of you for her. I’ll challenge you all. And I’ll flecking win.”

His voice rumbled down my body, and while I was grateful he would fight for me, I didn’t want this. Fight to the death? He’d give it his all, but in the shape he was in … how could he win against these invisible motherfuckers and this Varnex who was almost twice his size?

“Challenge,” Varnex scoffed. “Unbelievable. Why would I do that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Something wicked gleamed in Sherif’s eyes for a split second. “You can beat one Drix. He isn’t even the largest I’ve seen.” I heard a grumble from Xavy, but I couldn’t make out his words. “Challenge him, beat him, and then no one can ever dispute your claim on the female.”

For a long time, Varnex only stared at his son, and then an evil smile stole over his face. He held his arms out to this sides. “Why not? It’s been too long since I spilled blood.” He reached over and gripped my chin with his clawed hand before sneering in my face. “And it’ll make claiming my prize even sweeter.”

“He’ll have to heal first, of course,” Sherif added. “No honor in fighting a wounded opponent.”

Varnex’s head swiveled to his son. “Of course.” Varnex kept that eerie grin, but his teeth were clenched. His grip tightened on my chin until I whimpered. At the sound, he shoved me away. I only remained upright because of the Kaluma holding my arms. Pain sliced across my cheek, and I felt a trickle fall down my chin. When I glanced at my chest, a spot of blood bloomed on the neckline of my dress.

“Tab!” Xavy called weakly. “Are you okay?”

How did he know? “Just a scratch,” I shouted back.

Sherif motioned to two warriors who had stepped closer behind him. “Get him out of the hole. Tie him to a harka tree and give him some water and a meal.” He said all this with his eyes on his father, daring him to deny Xavy a chance to heal.

The warriors moved immediately, not waiting for Varnex’s confirmation. I saw his nostrils flare at that and a vein in his neck bulge in anger. Varnex turned to me. “Let her stay with her mate another night or two. Let’s see how long she lasts sleeping out here with her beloved before she’s begging to join me.”

“I’d rather be eaten alive by fire ants and have my eyeballs pecked out by ravens than let you touch me.” I lunged at him, but arms held me back.

He gave me a curious look before huffing a derisive laugh. “I’ll enjoy breaking that spirit of yours, human.” He stalked off, knocking his shoulder into Sherif’s as he passed. His son didn’t even stumble as he planted his feet, crossed his arms, and waited for his orders to be carried out.

Eleven

Xavy

I was surprised I still lived. Two things kept me alive while I’d been beaten near to death—Tab and my mission.

Two bronze hands unlocked the barred lid over my head and hauled me out of a stone-walled box. They weren’t gentle, not that I expected them to be, and they dumped me on the ground unceremoniously. Unable to catch myself properly with my flecked-up wrist, I hit face first and got a mouthful of dirt.

“Hey!” Tabitha cried from somewhere behind me. A scuffling sound followed. “It wouldn’t kill you to be gentle with him, assholes!”

I liked her insults. I didn’t understand them all, but she spit them with venom. I imagined she could be calling them something mundane like finger, and it would still sound like she wanted to slice their heads off. The thought made me smile and my lips were still stretched in place when a Kaluma hauled me to my feet. He eyed me warily. “What do you have to smile about?”

I blinked at him with my one good eye. “You’d smile too if you were lucky enough to have a mate like her.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes, and he glanced at Tabitha. When he turned back to me, his expression was guarded. “I imagine I would,” he said under his breath. His touch gentled as he marched me over to a large tree.

I stumbled along after him. “There are females here.” I’d seen a few while they were clubbing the life out of me in the middle of their settlement. “None interested in your ugly face?”

His expression turned stormy and he shoved me roughly to the ground so that my head slammed into the trunk of the tree with a thud. “You talk too much,” he growled.

I would have shrugged if I had the energy.” Not the first person to tell me that.” I rolled to a sitting position, my back against the trunk as hands tugged at my body, rearranging me.

Bare feet and legs entered my limited vision and I tried to reach for her, only to find my one hand already bound to the tree with a shackle. I tugged on it, but the metal links were strong. Maybe at my full strength I could break them, but not with my ribs screaming like this.

My brave, beautiful Tabby collapsed at my side, her hands immediately gripping my face. I couldn’t hold back the groan as she rubbed her thumb over a sore spot on my jaw. I was sure there were a few cracked bones in my face. “Xav,” she murmured, tears streaming down her dirty face. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head, trying to reassure her. “Not your fault. I knew this would happen.”

“That they’d nearly kill you?”

“For trespassing? Yeah. My only hope was they wouldn’t kill me. And since I’m not dead yet, I consider that a win.”

“Crazy Drix,” she muttered.

She looked over her shoulder, and I only just now realized that Sherif stood behind us with two of his warriors. He still wore that weird blank expression of his. “Can I have something to clean his wounds with?” she asked him.

“Wensla is bringing them.” His gaze stuck on where Tab held my face in her hands. I ran my hand up her arm, and his eyes darted there. Held. His chest expanded before he exhaled with a rough breath.

There was something weird going on here, and I was going to find out what it was, right after I ripped the flecking head from that pardux’s body. I knew I had to observe, be alert, but my head swam, and my body ached. I needed to rest first, eat and drink, and then I’d plot how the fleck I was going to beat an opponent who could turn invisible.

A group of about five Kaluma females approached us, each carrying supplies. I didn’t trust them because I didn’t trust anyone in this place. The one leading the pack, who looked to be the oldest, placed a bin of cloudy qua and a rag near Tabitha’s feet. My mate immediately dipped the rag in the qua before hesitating. “Why isn’t it clear?”

The female glanced behind her, where Sherif stood. He gave her a brief nod before she answered. “It’s a cleaning solution. But Varnex wouldn’t approve, so please dump it when you’re finished. Don’t drink it either.” She beckoned another female closer, who nearly tripped over her own feet in a rush to place several jugs of qua nearby. “Drink those.” More females came forward with food, a few furs, and some stacks of fabric.

Tabitha placed her hand on the older female’s arm and squeezed. “Thank you, Wensla.”

She nodded and her gaze drifted to me to study my injuries. “Varnex said you have two sundowns to heal. No more. The fight will occur at sundown on the third day.”

I nodded. “That’s enough time.”

“Enough time?” Tabitha squeaked. “Your wrist looks broken.”

I grabbed a strip of fabric and began to wrap it around said wrist. “It’ll heal, Tab.”

“But—”

I looked her in the eye, not wanting anyone to know that I would not, in fact, heal in time. But I couldn’t let anyone know I’d have weaknesses. “I’ll be fine.”

Her mouth clacked shut, and her eyes flared with protest. She didn’t speak though, choosing instead to dip the rag in the treated qua before wiping down my face, starting with the matted blood in my hair.

I watched the other females, finding it curious they all wore necklaces in the same pattern of Varnex’s chest tattoos. They huddled together in a group, whispering quietly together, but there was no interaction between them and the other Kaluma males. Every male here had varying patterns of tattoos. Why did all the females’ necklaces match only Varnex’s?

For the first time I was able to get a good look at the settlement. A grouping of harka trees rose high into the sky, and vine domiciles rested on fungus platforms. I saw a few warriors swinging on vines as they made their way down to the ground. In the distance, I could see a dirty arena where some warriors were training. Nearby was a fenced off space that looked like a garden for crops.

I searched for couples walking around the settlement, anything indicating family units, but I heard no chits squawking and heard no laughter. Nero and Tark had warned me they treated their females differently, but this seemed… way off. Tension and anger hung in the air like smoke, so thick I nearly gagged on it.

Despair rose up in my gut, sharp like a blade. Even if I managed to best Varnex, how would I be able to convince any Kaluma warriors to help us? Nothing about this place seemed settled. What would entice them to fight for us and this planet? I had one secret I was keeping close to my chest, but I began to wonder if anyone here would care.

My gaze settled on Sherif, who continued to watch Tabitha’s ministrations. With one last look at me, he ordered a few of his warriors to remain behind as guards and called to the females to leave us be.

Tabitha again thanked her new friend, and as the sun began to dip below the horizon, we found ourselves alone. Well alone except for two guards, but they stood a short distance away. It was pretty clear to everyone I wasn’t going to go anywhere. Even if I could break through these chains and run away with Tabitha, I had no doubt they’d find me quickly. For all I knew, there was an invisible flecker standing right over me. I shivered thinking about it.

“Are you okay?” Tab asked immediately. “Cold?”

“I’m fine,” I tried to smile at her, but found only about half of my face worked. The other half was swollen, tight, and hot.

“You’re absolutely not fine,” she muttered.

“How did we get here?”

“I don’t know. They swung that club at you, and hit you so hard, I thought you were dead. Then they hit me, and I passed out. I woke up in what I think is Varnex’s bedroom.” She shuddered. “That guy gives me the creeps. I ran out as soon as I saw a chance to find you.”

I peered up. “From up there?”

She held up her hands, and I cursed at the state of her palms. “Tab!”

“I slid down. I wasn’t thinking about how bad it would hurt and how I would most likely die if I fell. I just had to get to you.”

I imagined her small body careening down those vines, scared out of her mind as she called my name. My brave, bold Tabby. “Don’t put yourself in harm’s way like that again. Not for me. Not for anyone.”

She was silent for a moment. “I don’t think I can promise you that.”

I huffed. “Promise me you’ll at least think about it.”

“Okay, I can do that,” she conceded.

My eyes drifted to that hole I thought I’d die in. “I woke on the ground. They clubbed me until I coughed up blood and then tossed me inside that hole.”

Tears dripped from her eyes, and she wiped them away on a sniff. “I hate them for that. All of them.”

I had a few hunches that all of them weren’t so bad. I needed time to figure it out. I might be healing, but I was going to be busy for the next three rotations. “I need you to do me a favor, Tab.”

“Anything,” she answered immediately.

“Come here close,” I tugged on her arm, and she placed her face next to mine, our temples touching. “I need you to make friends with the females. Talk to them. Figure out what’s going on here. Something is off.”

“I thought so too,” she whispered. “The vibe is all kinds of wrong.”

“Vibe?”

She pressed on my thigh as she turned her head until her lips were right along the shell of my ear. “The atmosphere. The feelings. It’s so tense.”

“See what you can find out. You’re charming and they seem to like you already. Can you do that?”

She pulled back with a wicked smile as she dunked the blood-soaked rag in the qua and rang it out. Her eyes held a determined glint. “Absolutely. I’m great at getting the goss.”

“I don’t know what goss is.”

She laughed, a short tinkling sound, which had both Kalumas craning their necks to get a look at her. When I glared, they turned away once again.

Despite her bravery, I could feel tremors in her hands as she touched me, and she nibbled her lip, blinking rapidly as she came across the full extent of my injuries. She met my eyes with fear. “Xav,” she whispered. “What are we going to do? Three days, and—”

“One day at a time,” I cut her off, not wanting her to work herself up further. “And we use our time wisely. Everyone has weaknesses. We’ll find Varnex’s, and then we’ll find everyone else’s okay?”

“What’s yours?”

“You, Tab,” I said. “It’s you, and they already know that. What they don’t know is that you’re also my greatest strength.”

Her face crumpled and she planted her face into my chest as her shoulders shook—with tears or laughter I wasn’t sure. When she lifted her head again, it seemed it was a mixture of both, as she swiped at her cheeks with a smile. “You always say the best things.”

“Of course, I do, why do you think they sent me?”

She rolled her eyes and continued wiping me down. When she felt I was as clean as possible, my attention turned to her injuries. With my one good hand, I wiped her palms clean and wrapped them with some spare fabric. After I pressed a kiss to each of her wrists, we ate.

I could barely lift my arms, so she fed me, breaking off small hunks of the moldy bread. I could only eat that plus some flavorless mush in a bowl because all my teeth hurt. I prodded a few, wincing when they felt loose. I hadn’t lied—normally I could heal well after one night’s sleep, but these injuries were serious. Thinking of fighting anyone right now had my entire body breaking out into full-blown tremors.

Tab noticed and panicked until I got her to lay her head in my lap and cover herself with a fur. I prushed for her, the sound a little crackly and broken, but it was enough for her to fall into a fitful sleep. I followed soon after, begging Fatas to give us a little hope with the next sunrise.

* * *

Tabitha

When I woke the next morning, Xavy was still asleep. We’d shifted in the night, so now he lay spooning me, his one bound arm bent behind him at an awkward angle. The other lay under my head, offering me his biceps as a pillow. Even in his sleep, he sought to give me comfort.

A tray of fresh food sat beside us, and I wondered who placed it there. The porridge was still steaming, and I took a few bites along with a gulp of qua. I finished that with a handful of berries and left the rest for Xavy. I didn’t need food like he did. I wasn’t trying to nourish a healing body.

After pulling on a pair of tattered sandals that Wensla had generously given me, I left him still sleeping, and went in search of the Kaluma women. Xavy had given me a job today, and I was going to get an early start. I needed as much time as I could to charm the females. The two guards—different warriors than from the night before—stopped me before I could get far.

“Sherif said you’re to stay here,” said one with the sides of his head shaved and the top braided down his back like a Viking.

“Oh!” I said, playing dumb. “I didn’t know that, but I really need to see Wensla. If you can just point me in her direction—”

“I’ll go get her for you.” The warrior made to leave, and I knew I had to stop him. I wanted to observe the women in the settlement, not talk to Wensla here where these guards would be listening.

“No, please just let me know where she is. See, I’m having this female problem…” I fluttered my hand near my crotch. “And I could really use her help. But it’s kind of an emergency—”

His eyes went wide, his face paled, and his hand shot out with his clawed finger pointing to a small path. “Down that way. Not far. Clothing washing time.”

I grinned. Ah, males, so easy. Mention a female problem and they immediately wanted nothing to do with you. With a small bow, I tinkled my fingers in a wave. “I’m so grateful. Thank you.”

I took off down the path before he could change his mind. As he’d said, I didn’t have to go far. The sound of rushing qua reached me first, followed by soft female voices. I picked my way over roots and rocks until I reached a small bank. There, knee deep in qua, stood about a dozen Kaluma females washing long swatches of fabric. Their long skirts were gathered between their legs and tucked up into their belts.

Gurla caught sight of me first and gasped. Wensla’s head went up and she immediately dumped her washing in another female’s hands as she waded toward me on the shore. “Human.” Her eyes darted around, as if searching for my guards. “What are you doing here?”

“I came alone. No worries. I told them I had a female emergency, which I do not, but they were more than happy to show me where you all were.”

Wensla’s lips pursed, but I heard her mutter under her breath. “Too clever for your own good.”

I ignored that. “So, can I help? I’ve learned pretty quick on this planet how to wash by hand.” I made a fist and flexed my biceps. “This is from washing my furs. And only mine. I don’t wash the other girls’ stuff because I’m not touching all those fluids they produce with their Drix hunks.”

The Kaluma woman stared at me like I’d gone mad. I hadn’t realized Gurla had stepped up beside her until she spoke up. “You said change was coming Wen. A purple storm—”

“Hush,” Wensla said to Gurla, her gaze on me. Her hand came up and she brushed the front of her necklace before her shoulders hitched with a sharp inhale. Then she reached out a hand for me and gave me a stiff smile. “Come, Tab. If you’d like, you can wash with us.”

“I would like,” I answered her with a smile and stepped into the swiftly running stream.

The Kaluma females were taller than me, so the qua swirled around my thighs by the time I reached them. Wensla showed me how they washed, and I paid close attention. Some of the fabric seemed a bit threadbare, and now that I was able to get a closer look at the women’s clothes, many were mended.

Not that anything was wrong with that, but the women didn’t seem happy. They didn’t gossip or tease or make jokes. There was no laughter here. One of them caught the end of a shirt on a rock while she washed it and tore it. There was much consternation and tension after that as they all huddled around the garment talking of ways to repair it.

I wanted to get Wensla alone, and I finally found my chance a little while later. She’d retreated to a lone rock on the bank eating a juicy fruit while staring thoughtfully at the water.

“Mind if I sit you with you?” I asked when I reached her side.

She jerked and frowned, seemingly surprised that’d I’d caught her off guard. “If you’d like.”

I slid onto the rock next to her and wrung out the wet ends of my dress. I’d have to ask for some clothes. This thing had seen better days. “You don’t trust me, do you?” I propped my chin in my hand.

She gave a short burst of laughter. “I barely trust anyone. Don’t take it personally.”

“We could get to know each other—”

“Human, in three rotations you will either be dead or in Varnex’s furs. There’s no point in spending my time making friends only for me to have to watch your body burn later.”

I sucked in breath and tried to resist my desire to scratch her eyes out. “Or my mate will win.”

This time when she laughed, the sound was bitter and sent a sharp stab of icy fear into my veins. “He will not win. Varnex will find a way to defeat him.” Her expression turned pensive. “And I’ll tell you now, I’m sorry for that. He seems like a good male. And you together…” Her cheeks darkened and she ducked her head. “I see the bond you have.”

“But you haven’t seen Xavy fight, you don’t know—”

“I know,” she leaned closer, so that I could see every line in her face and the faint scar etched into her cheek, “that what Varnex wants, he gets. He wants you, a fertile human. And he will get you.” She yanked her head back, clenching her teeth as if she said more than she wanted. “I’m sorry, Tabitha.”

She stood up and I reached for her, my hand grabbing on her skirt. “Then help me. Help us. I can see there’s something very wrong here—”

She yanked her skirt out of my grip and turned on me with a hiss. “You have no idea what’s going on here.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But you could tell me.” I was full-on pleading now, because this conversation was going all wrong, and I felt like I’d make some irreparable damage to our tentative friendship. “Help us, Wensla, and we’ll help you.”

For a moment, Wensla’s gave drifted to Gurla, who had let a small winged insect land on her fingers. She smiled at it as it fluttered away. For a long time, Wensla didn’t move or speak, until finally she turned to me with a defeated downward curve to her mouth. She said in a soft voice. “I’ll think about it,” before striking out into the stream in Gurla’s direction.

I smiled into my lap. That could have gone better, but it could have gone a hell of a lot worse too.

* * *

As I trudged behind the women on the return path to camp shouting reached my ears, and the unmistakable rumble of Xavy’s angry shout.

“I should have known better than to trust you fleckers, now where is Tabitha?” he roared up from ahead.

“Oh shit,” I murmured, and squeezed myself between the women ahead of me before taking off at a run. My sandals slapped the dirt as I called out, “I’m here, Xav! Im fine!”

I had a fleeting thought that these Kaluma were probably tired of us calling for each other when I burst out at the end of the path to see Xavy standing beside the harka tree, his one arm still tied to the trunk, while he stood feet braced apart, machets out. They rose out of his mohawk like thorns hiding in a rosebush.

Before him stood two guards, including the one I’d tricked. His head whipped toward me, where he glared like I’d betrayed him. I gave him a nervous laugh right before Xavy whirled in the dirt to face me. His eyes went wide, and his machets fell back under his scales just as I flew myself at him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I’m fine. I was just spending time with the women.”

His mouth dropping onto the top of my head, where he placed a kiss as his free hand clutched at my waist. “I was terrified,” he murmured. “I woke up and you were gone…”

I closed my eyes as guilt twisted my gut. “I’m sorry. I know you need rest, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

He lifted my head off his chest with a gentle hand on my cheek. His thumb swiped the skin under my eye and gave me a soft smile. “It’s okay. You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”

I smiled at him and raised up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. He moaned, and I was about to lose myself in it when a feminine voice behind us made a choked sound. I turned to find all the women staring at us.

I didn’t let go of Xavy. I never minded public displays of affection, and I was going to take every chance I could get to touch him.

“Happy now, Drix?” hissed one of the guards.

“Flecking peachy,” he shot back, and I had to clap a hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. He’d picked up our English Earth slang more so than any of the other Drixonian warriors. I imagined he got peachy from Naomi.

The guards ignored him and turned back around to take up their posts. Wensla was whispering to the women, encouraging them away from us. I watched them go, wondering when I’d get a chance to talk to Wensla again, when she broke away from the back of the group and hurried toward me. After glancing at the guards, she handed me a bundle of fabric. “Here’s some clean coverings for you.” Her gaze scanned my dress. “We can wash what you’re wearing tomorrow.”

My dress was gritty and disgusting. “I’d love that. Thank you.”

She met my eyes squarely, and I swore I saw a modicum of respect there. “I’ll come get you at high sun to help with the evening meal.”

I nodded dumbly, surprised at her invitation. Xavy’s arm, still wrapped around my waist, went tight.

She gave me a small smile and then walked away briskly, head down.

I turned to Xavy and gave him a beaming grin. “I think I made a friend.”

He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Of course, you did. No one can resist you.”

Twelve

Xavy

The guards let me off my chain only so I could take a piss and do my other business. I was tempted to aim my stream at them, but I resisted. I didn’t need another beat down. Most of the swelling in my face had gone down overnight, but my ribs creaked with each breath, and my wrist wouldn’t be fully healed in three rotations.

While Tabitha ate, I exercised as much as I could with my one arm tied to the tree. They let out some length in the chain so that I could do some pushups and run in place. I even did some pull-ups on a low-hanging branch with my one good arm.

I would use the trunk as a sparring post later, when I could test my wrist in privacy. I didn’t want anyone knowing where my weak points were. I didn’t trust a single flecker in this place not to run and tell Varnex every report of my condition.

I sat down on a fur and drew Tabitha into my lap. She came with a happy sigh and I combed her hair with my fingers, fascinated with the way the curls sprang back. When I’d woken up and she’d been gone, I panicked. I had been convinced they’d taken her from me and was a moment away from tearing the tree apart to get myself loose. Then I’d seen her running toward me, hair flying. I should have known she had started early working on getting to know the females.

“How do you feel about this afternoon?” I asked her.

“I’m nervous but excited.” She picked at the fabric of the new dress she wore. “I think I made progress with Wensla. She’s not happy, Xav. She looks beaten down, but there’s a fire in her too, a bit of resistance left. Whatever Varnex and this place has done to her, it hasn’t broken her, not yet.”

“If anyone can get her to stick her neck out to help, it’s you.”

“I hope.” She nibbled her lip.

At mid-day, a nervous Gurla arrived with lunch. She also came to retrieve Tab. I let her go with a kiss. She followed the Kaluma female to a large wooden structure at the far end of the settlement. Steam rose from a hole in the roof, and I assumed that was where the kitchens were. My stomach rumbled. All this healing made me hungry. I drank some qua and ate the lunch Gurla had provided—strips of cured meat and some mushy vegetables.

My head no longer throbbed, and even though I could have taken a nice long rest, I forced myself to sit at attention at the base of the harka tree and studied the settlement. Working the crops in the garden were a few females I’d never seen before. From this distance, it was hard to tell, but they looked older—stooped backs and a few walked with canes. They were the first females I’d seen that wore necklaces with different patterns—none matched Varnex. A few older males worked with them too, and I could make out a few matching tattoos. So that was where the elder couples were. So where were the younger ones? The chits?

A hunting party returned, marching through the settlement with a large shaggy animal tied to a stake by its hooved feet. Some younger warriors brought up the rear of the group—not chits but not full-grown males either. Thin and dirty, they wore not much else but loin-clothes.

A deep voice boomed from the training arena. A group of warriors trained with spears and clubs, hitting stuffed fabric bags propped up on sticks. The thwacking sound made me shiver, because I remembered vividly what those clubs felt like as they hit my flesh and bone. They were all nude, and I realized why when they one-by-one camouflaged themselves as a trainer called out instructions. I realized they were practicing their ability on command, which led me to believe that it took a massive amount of control.

A vine shimmied near the colony, and a moment later Varnex hit the ground, his boots kicking up dust. He wore a skirt-like covering of a thick, shiny material that fell to his knees. Other than that, he was bare, and his long hair was pulled back into a braid.

He glanced over at me and met my eyes. His gaze held mine as he made his way toward a smaller arena, closer to me, flanked by a few of his warriors. I didn’t look away, wondering what his game was. When he began to fight one of the warriors, his body shifting from visible to invisible with ease, I snorted to myself.

I knew what kind of leader and warrior Varnex was—he ruled on intimidation and fear. No Drix would ever let an enemy see them train. It gave away too much. Even now, I could see that he favored his left hip, and he left himself vulnerable at the back of his neck when he lowered a shoulder to ram his training partner with his shoulder spikes.

Varnex wanted to scare me. Intimidate me. Make me afraid and nervous. But I was a Drixonian, and I was one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the Night Kings. I wasn’t intimidated. In fact, confidence pounded with every beat of my cora. I studied his every move. I watched as his camouflage flickered when he was struck.

Stupid, stupid pardux. He underestimated me. Most did. Of course, it still wouldn’t be easy. If I couldn’t see him, I couldn’t take advantage of his weaknesses. My mind chewed on that problem, wondering how I would handle him when I could only fight blind.

The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I whirled around. The air shimmered for just a moment, a slight blur in the shape of a male. I narrowed my eyes. Someone was there. Before I could say a word, a series of clicks reached my ears.

Sherif appeared behind me, crouched on the balls of his feet. He wore a pair of pants in that same shiny material as his father. His gaze was on Varnex training, and I returned to my own study, ignoring the Kaluma behind me. I wasn’t about to tell him to leave, and I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to watch my opponent fight.

“When he lowers his shoulder on a charge, he does so at an angle. He leaves his left side open,” Sherif spoke in a deep, low rumble. “Exposes his stomach.”

My shoulder tensed. Why was he telling me this? “I noticed.”

“And his left hip—”

“Is weak,” I finished for him. “He favors it.”

I glanced back at Sherif, who inclined his head in agreement. “Old injury.”

“Blanking takes energy.”

“Blanking?” I asked.

“When our scales flip to match our surroundings.”

“When you go invisible.”

“It has to be learned. It’s not instinctive. If we’re hurt badly enough or too tired, we can’t blank.”

Was he going to tell Varnex I knew his weaknesses? “Why are you telling me this?”

“It won’t be easy to defeat Varnex. He’s pardux for a reason.”

I eyed him, searching his glowing eyes, but they were expressionless. His face was hard. I’d never met another being who hid his thoughts and emotions so well. Not even Gar. “Do you want me to defeat your father?”

He was quiet for a long time. We listened to Varnex grunt and taunt his training partners. The warrior was strong, massive, and quick. This wouldn’t be an easy fight, not even if I knew his every move before he made it.

Finally, Sherif answered my question in a soft voice. “I’m not sure.”

I turned around, but he was gone. Not even a blur remained. When I caught sight of him again, he had reappeared on the opposite side of the settlement.

I was eager for Tabitha to get back. Maybe she had better luck with the females, because I sensed Sherif was going to be my biggest battle, and it would be all mental.

* * *

Tabitha

The kitchens were housed in a large wooden structure with several slatted vents in the roof. A row of fire pits lined the wall, and bowls and kitchen utensils were stacked on a table along another wall. A large table took up much of the center of the room and on top sat hunks of raw meat. Out back, I’d seen a few warriors carrying a fresh kill, and they had cut it open and hung it up to let the blood drain.

Normally, that would have made me gag, but I’d been on this planet for a few months now. I was used to game being prepared.

Wensla rattled off orders although she wasn’t a drill sergeant, and she didn’t seem to get off on ordering the other women around. She was efficient, and the women scurried to follow her orders. She motioned to me to follow her, and I found myself standing at a narrow table piled with a light orange root-like vegetable. The smell reminded me of a sweet potato.

“These tubers must be peeled and chopped for the evening stew,” Wensla explained. She handed me a crude knife; the handle wrapped in a scrap of leather. “Like this.” She ran the blade over the skin, scraping off a thin layer, before slicing it up in one-inch cubes. When she was finished, she dropped the pieces in a large bowl between us.

I immediately reached for one and copied her movements. I wasn’t as adept with scraping—I would have killed for a vegetable peeler—but I got the job done. She watched me carefully before resuming her work.

Conversation was limited. Several women worked behind us preparing the meat by hammering it into thinner strips and then slicing it. They seasoned it with what looked like a salt mix before handing it off to another set of women who threw it into a large iron pot to sear.

Smoke filled the room, and since the only openings were the vents above us, it wasn’t long before I was sweating through my new clothes. I pushed back my hair with the back of my knife-hand, wishing I had some sort of hair tie. “I never worked this hard peeling potatoes for mashed taters at Thanksgiving,” I grinned at Wensla. She glanced at me with a raised brow. “It’s a holiday in America. On Earth. We peel and chop a potato, which looks a lot like this, boil it, and then mash it with butter and milk.” My mouth watered. “I could so go for my grandmother’s mashed potatoes right now. And her twice baked. Really any potato. That women knows her spuds.” The familiar hole in my gut from missing my family gnawed at me, but I pushed it aside. Now was not the time for melancholy.

“We mash the tubers sometimes,” Wensla said. “But Varnex prefers stew. It stretches the crop.”

I nodded. “Right, that makes sense. So, does he decide everything around here?”

Her hands stuttered, and her knife slipped on the skin of tuber. The tip sank into her palm, and immediately dark blue-black blood welled at the tip. “Oh my God,” I lifted the skirt of my dress to press on her wound. “Are you okay?”

She still hadn’t made a sound, and when she met my eyes, hers were round and wet. Her throat worked as she swallowed thickly. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“We should wrap this or something. I don’t think anyone wants bloody stew.” I said the last two words with an exaggerated British accent, but of course she didn’t get the joke. I cleared my throat. “Do you have a healer area? Medicine? First aid supplies?”

“Gurla,” Wensla called, and the girl rushed over, her hands coming up to cover her mouth when she saw Wensla’s injury. The cut was deep and she’d already soaked the hem of my dress. “Please finish the tubers with Yupli.”

“What happened?” she asked, her fingers on Wensla’s arm.

“My hand just slipped.” She gave Gurla a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry.”

Gurla didn’t look convinced, but she called over Yupli and attacked the tubers. Wensla gestured to the door. “We’ll head to the healer’s hut. It’s nearby.”

My dress was still covering her wound, my hands pressing on top, so we moved in tandem, a bit like our legs were tied in a three-legged race. When we walked out the door, I glanced across the settlement to Xavy. I couldn’t see him well, but he sat with his knees bent, eyes staring off to the side. I looked in that direction to see Varnex training with a few warriors, grunts and thuds echoing down the path.

Wensla and I walked farther down a narrow path before ducking inside a small hut which only contained a bench, a dirty leave-covered bed, and a table of supplies. Wensla’s arms shook as she tugged her hand from my grip and began to wipe it clean.

“Is there a healer here to help?” I asked.

“She passed,” was all Wensla said.

“I’m sorry if I distracted you,” I said, unsure what to do. I stared at the blood stains on my dress as I sank down on the edge of the bench.

“You didn’t,” she said. “Well, you did, but it’s not your fault.” I waited her out as she slathered some goop on her cut and then hauled a long strip of fabric from a bin before methodically wrapping her palm, crossing over her wrist and between her index finger and thumb.

When she finished, she flexed her hand and then leaned on the table with both hands, dropping her head between her shoulders. She took a few deep breaths before she spoke again. “You bring change. I don’t know what change yet, and if the change is good, but you have brought it down on our heads.”

I opened my mouth, but then shut it again. “I don’t understand.”

She turned and leaned back against the table. “Some Kaluma females have forecasting abilities. Mine is still developing, and I didn’t have my vision about you until after we met.”

“What was your vision?”

Her knuckles turned white where she gripped the table at her hips. “A blue and purple storm, sharp as knives, sweeps through our home. I don’t know what you leave in the wake. All I know is that everything changes.”

“Good or bad changes?”

Her breath hitched. “I don’t know. It’s why I didn’t want to speak to you. I didn’t want to trust you. But now I wonder…” she shook her head.

“I don’t want to bring any bad changes to you Wensla. Neither does Xavy.”

Her eyes drifted off. “I believe you.”

I had to stop myself from jerking with shock. “You do?”

She nodded. “I do. How you and Xavy are together… It’s not an act. You’re mates, I believe that with my every breath. You remind me of the way my parents were.”

Her past tense made me question, “Are they still alive?”

She shook her head. “No. And I don’t think anyone in this settlement has seen a coupling like that for a long time.”

I rose to stand next to her and gathered her injured hand in mine. “Tell me what’s going on here, Wen. Please.”

She was silent for a while, her breathing rapid as if she sought to summon courage out of the air.

“Varnex wasn’t always bad,” she whispered. “He was a good pardux, strong and smart, for many generations. His devoted mate extended his life, and we prospered. Couples found mates, had offspring. Our crops flourished and the hunting was plentiful. Sherif’s older brother was born, and we rejoiced in the birth of the future pardux. Sherif was born, and the two brothers grew up together.

“Then Kazel disappeared during a hunting party. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “No trace. That was twenty sun-cycles ago. Varnex’s mate, our pardua…” Wensla shook her head. “She couldn’t handle the loss of her oldest, her favorite, which she never denied. She took her own life.”

“Oh no,” I gasped.

“Sherif was not yet a mature Kaluma, and Varnex went mad. He couldn’t handle the loss of his oldest son and his mate.”

“Went mad how?”

Wensla eyes went unfocused, and she stared at a spot over my shoulder.

“Wen?”

Finally, her gaze met mine and her fingers brushed over her necklace before yanking on it with a vicious tug. “He took all the fertile females in the settlement for himself.”

I blinked at her. Suddenly the pieces began to fall into place in my mind. The necklaces of all the females that matched his own. The lack of children here. The tenseness of every male. “But… how? Why would the warriors let him do that?”

“For a while, we’d been birthing less females, which was a growing concern. Varnex insisted his genes must be used to repopulate. He would provide daughters for the next generation.” A shudder went through her body as her eyes squeezed shut. “He told them once he impregnated us, he’d set us free to mate.” When she met my gaze again, her expression was desolate. “It’s been over ten cycles. He hasn’t impregnated any of us yet.”

I shook with rage and had to grind my teeth together, so I didn’t scream. “He sleeps with all of you?”

She nodded. “On a rotation. Gurla avoided his attentions because she was too young, but she recently matured, and I can’t…,” she let out a short sob and bit down on the back of her hand. “I can’t let her go through it. I’d let him grunt over me every night if it would save her from it, but it won’t.” She inhaled sharply. “I’m willing to risk the storm. We can’t go on like this. We will die out.”

“And no one sees this? No one will challenge him?”

“He still has the loyalty of the majority of warriors. Sherif is—” she clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.

“Sherif is what?”

“I can’t…”

“Tell me, Wen. Tell me.”

She panted short breaths. “Sherif is quietly gathering his own faction, but he cannot challenge Varnex. That’s not done. If he kills Varnex without support, he will not be honored as the next pardux. It will be chaos and infighting.”

“But if Xavy beats Varnex?”

For the first time, a light of hope shone through a small crack in the lines of her face. “If Xavy beats Varnex, Sherif will be our next pardux.”

“Will he do what Varnex has done?”

She shook her head. “He’s a good male. Fair. He hates his father, but he’s also smart. He can’t be too impulsive, or we will all lose everything.”

“Help us, Wen,” I said. “Help us defeat Varnex. I promise you that we don’t mean you harm.”

Wen’s jaw tensed and the she nodded her head with a glint of determination in her eye. “I have some ideas…”

Thirteen

Xavy

I barely tasted the evening meal of stew. Tabitha and I sat as far away from the guards as we dared. She repeated her conversation with Wensla in whispers, although sometimes her voice rose as she grew angry, and I had to shush her.

Shoveling the food in my mouth, I listened intently. The Kaluma were unraveling at the hands of their mad pardux. Sherif was still a variable. I couldn’t determine how he’d react if I killed his father. Would he thank me, or would he kill me in turn?

“Wensla said he’ll fight dirty,” Tabitha was saying.

I grunted as I scraped my bowl for the last bits of stew. I’d figured that.

“She said she will try to move herself into his, um, rotation for the night before the fight. She can try to drug him. Not much, just enough to make him woozy.”

“That’s risky, Tab.”

“She’s desperate. And so are we.”

“I’ve been watching him. I can beat him, Tabitha, I know I can.”

“With your injuries?”

“I only need to tire him out and land a hit. Make him bleed. If I can drain his energy, he won’t be able to blank. He’s a big target. I won’t miss him if I can see him.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Xavy, but—”

“I know, one wrong move and I’m dead and you’re wearing his collar.”

Her eyes went round and began to fill.

“Fleck, I’m sorry.” I drew her against my chest.

“Don’t even say that.” Her little fist smacked my arm.

I told her about how Sherif spoke to me earlier in the day, and her expression grew hopeful. “He has to want you to win, right?”

“I’m sure he’s conflicted. Not matter what, Varnex is still his father. And if what Wensla said is true, he was once a respected pardux.”

She fell silent after that, and I pulled a fur over her as we watched the sun drop below the horizon, sending the settlement into darkness. At this time of day, the place was almost beautiful as the flickering torches from inside the vine homes made them glow from within.

Tabitha mumbled that they seemed like fairy lights to her. I didn’t know what those were, but she had a small smile on her face as she said it.

“I’m proud of you, Tab.” I rubbed my palm up and down her back. “You worked hard to gain Wensla’s trust, and that could be the difference between us living or dying.”

She didn’t answer, only squeezed my waist as she embraced me. The guards still stood sentry, but they didn’t linger close to us. I began to wonder if they were meant to keep us in place or if they were meant to guard us from Varnex seeking to end us prematurely.

Sherif was the only one who scheduled the shifts. In fact, he was the one who seemed to be operating the whole settlement, while Varnex only deigned to descend from his harem house to train. He didn’t eat at the tables around the kitchens either. The females delivered his food to him.

I would relish watching him bleed. I tried to imagine Daz turning mad and taking all the females for himself. I couldn’t even fathom it. The betrayal some of the warriors must have felt…

Wensla had said most fell in line because Varnex had made them promises. But I couldn’t think of a promise Daz could make any of us in order to go along with that crazy self-centered plan.

Varnex thought only his seed should be the basis for the next generation of Kaluma. Shameful. The very idea of it made my skin itch and my blood hot. He gave his females no choice. He hadn’t honored them. He’d collared them like property and forced them to lay in his furs, to take his cock.

If I got the chance, I’d cut it from his body and shove it down his throat. A sick roiling began in my gut as I began to wonder if I was anything like him.

Tabitha must have sensed my anger because she turned in my arms and cupped my face. “Hey, your heart is racing a mile a minute. Are you okay?”

I didn’t know what a mile a minute was, but I assumed it was fast. “I’m angry at how he’s treated his females. Wensla said there were only about a dozen fertile females left, and he takes them all for himself. Not giving them a choice.” I felt my nostrils flare. “I think of the words I said to you in that cave, and my desires, and I feel shame. Am I like Varnex?”

Tabitha straddled my waist and gripped my face, hard. Her eyes shone in the dark. “You listen to me. Wensla said seeing us together is what made her want to help us. Because she sees the devotion and respect we have for each other.” She shook her head. “You are nothing like Varnex. Nothing. You don’t want to own my whole life and tell me what to do. You treat me like a partner, or a teammate. You saw how they cowered when he spoke to them. He makes them wear those necklaces because he’s a narcissist, not because he’s proud to call them his.”

She was right.

I wanted Tabitha to wear my mark because I wanted everyone to know this brave, purple-haired beauty was mine. I craved her laughter. I wanted her to desire me with her every breath, not fear me.

“Do you see the difference, Xav?” she asked softly.

I did. Thinking of how Varnex treated his females and how they feared him showed me how I treated Tabitha was nothing like that. It wasn’t as dishonorable as I’d made it out to be in my head. The truth and rightness of what we shared together clicked into place. “You belong to me, Tab,” I whispered, my lips skimming her jaw. “And I belong to you.”

“Yes.” She ran her hands through my hair. “Give and take.”

“I want to very much give you my cock right now and watch you take it.”

She huffed a laugh before sobering quickly. “Please? Just in case…” She let her words fade. She didn’t have to say them. I knew what she meant. In case tomorrow you die.

“I can’t spread you out as much as I’d like,” I nibbled her lips. “The guards are nearby. I don’t want them seeing any of you. I’ll take you properly after I crush Varnex’s head beneath my fists.”

She moaned and her hips rolled against me. “Ugh, why is that hot?”

I chuckled as I pressed my lips to hers. When her breath hitched, and her mouth opened on a gasp, I delved inside tasting every area of my Tabby I could reach with my tongue.

“Let me make you come, my Tabby,” I whispered.

“Like I’m going to say no,” she breathed.

Beneath the furs, I hiked up her dress and pressed against her center, finding her slick already. My cock jerked in my pants, seeking her heat, but it would have to wait. I refused to come inside her for the first time while chained to a tree. I plunged my fingers inside of her, and she moaned as her hips jerked.

Her breasts bounced against me, and I freed a nipple to tug into my mouth. “Oh,” she breathed, her hair tickling the base of my horns and the sides of my head. “Love the way you touch me, Xav.”

The guards had to have known what we were doing, despite our effort to keep quiet. Tabby was a noisy thing and I didn’t want to miss out on hearing the pleasured sounds roll off her tongue.

When she came, her inner walls rippled around my fingers, and her little teeth latched onto my shoulder. I tugged my cock from my pants and on a long, low groan I came in my fist.

The scent of us filled my nose, and I was still hard despite coming.

She stared into my eyes, her soft hands stroking my face.

With my come-covered hand, I rubbed my release all over her cunt. I should have asked first, but other than an initial jolt when I touched her, she remained in my lap, her eyes half-closed. When I felt she was sufficiently coated with me and I’d marked her enough, I withdrew my hand.

With a wicked smile, she grabbed my wrist and licked my palm. I nearly came again. “I like knowing you’ll smell like me tomorrow.”

Her cheeks reddened in the dark. “Me too.”

She didn’t leave my lap, and I was reluctant to separate from her. Eventually she slid down my chest to curl up in my lap like a welf pup. As tired as I was, my mind wouldn’t calm as I thought about what the next rotation held.

My eyes had finally closed when I felt the hair on the back of my neck prickle, and I didn’t have to turn around to know who was there. “Hello, Sherif.”

Leaves rustled behind me, and Tabitha made a little snort in her sleep, but didn’t wake.

He crouched beside me, and I turned my head to see him signal to the guards to leave us. They ambled away quickly.

“I would not have chosen to take your cruiser down.”

I didn’t expect him to admit that was the work of the Kaluma. “What’s done is done.”

“Waste of resources,” he muttered.

“How did you come to possess a long-range weapon?”

“We bought it off-world, back when we used to travel.”

We fell silent, and I ran my fingers through Tabitha’s hair. Sherif’s gaze strayed to my sleeping mate. He swallowed and clenched his jaw in a rare sign of emotion.

“Did you decide whether you want me to win or your father?” I asked.

“Who he is now is not my father.” He tapped a stick on the ground. “If you win tomorrow, I will give you an audience to hear why you sought us out. But I make no promises we will honor your request.”

I inclined my head. “Fair.”

“Varnex will insist on a spiked club for a weapon. You’ll have your machets.”

Again, I nodded.

He finally met my gaze, the glowing orbs studying me in a way that made me way to squirm. I resisted.

“He has fought Drix before. He will go for your eyes and your neck first. Then your gut.”

He didn’t want to tell me this. Despite his cold eyes, the set of his lips told me every word pained him. No matter if he believed his father was no longer himself, telling an enemy how to beat him still must have felt like the ultimate betrayal.

“He will act fast before he wears out. Stay the course. It’ll be long and bloody.” Without another word or my acknowledgement, he blanked out before my eyes. I could barely detect a slight shimmer in the air as he walked away. Still, I called after his retreating form. “You’re doing the right thing.”

Silence met my words, and I figured he didn’t hear me, until I heard the words drifting through the night air. “We’ll see tomorrow at sundown.”

“Yes, we will,” I whispered into the dark. I fell asleep holding my Tabby close.

* * *

Tabitha

The flickering lights from the torches cast eerie shadows over the arena. The mood was electric as dozens of warriors lined the fence, some sitting on top while others perched in tree branches from above. It felt like something out of a Mad Max movie—the Mel Gibson versions.

I stood next to Xavy along one edge of the rectangular fence as we awaited the arrival of his opponent. If the arena had been a football field then Sherif would have stood outside the fence at the fifty-yard-line, and I found that quite interesting, as if he wanted to appear neutral. Xavy had told me about his visit the night before, and my heart went out to him.

He looked anything but vulnerable now. He stood with his feet braced apart, arms crossed over his chest. Only a few other warriors were larger than him. His hair hung down to his back, small braids interspersed in the long locks. His scales glowed in the flames, making him appear like a golden god. If I didn’t already have a mate, I would definitely be writing some sexy fantasies about Sherif.

I’d been struck by his presence from the beginning, and it made me mourn for what Varnex had become. If he’d been anything like Sherif in his prime, then he must have been a well-respected leader. Now he was nothing but a madman bully, lost to his grief.

Of course, I couldn’t imagine what it had been like to lose a mate and son, but he had another son right here, who clearly loved him despite his insanity. This was a beautiful settlement, rich in crops, and he was throwing it away.

Standing to the side of Sherif was Bosa, who Wensla told me was in charge of the settlement’s defenses and close friends with Sherif. I remembered him as the one who’d appeared before us in the jungle right before one of his warriors clubbed Xavy in the head.

Wensla said he wasn’t fond of Varnex, but that he’d never been great with authority. Above all, he detested outsiders, and that made me nervous. I worried that even when—I refused to think if—Xavy beat Varnex, would we still be able to plead our case? Would we be able to leave without harm? Bloodlust hung in the air like a vapor, and I could nearly taste the iron tang in my mouth.

A shout arose from the other side of the fence followed by a steady drumbeat and chanting. The crowd there parted to reveal Varnex leading a pack of warriors. One flew a tattered golden flag over his head while another pounded the heels of his palms on a small bongo-like drum.

Varnex strode forward with big dick energy swagger that made me gag. The entire thing was like a UFC entrance and it was so over the top, I rolled my eyes. “Who does this guy think he is, Conor McGregor?” I muttered under my breath. But even I had to admit the sound was a bit intimidating.

Varnex had been oiled down, his feet bare, and besides the shiny kilt covering his man bits, he wore an elaborate fur vest with various golden adornments. The pelt belonged to what looked like a salibri relative, since its head was still intact, the open jaws and false eyes low over Varnex’s forehead.

I shivered at the awesome effect. His braid hung over one shoulder. Bringing up the rear of his pack were his women. His harem. Wensla was in front, and she’d clearly been told to look the part, as her eyes were lined in black. They all wore jewelry in the same color as their necklaces.

I met Wensla’s gaze and she gave me a sharp shake of her head—that meant she’d been unable to drug Varnex. My heart sank.

I didn’t really get this display. Who was it for—Xavy? I glanced at him, but his expression held nothing. He’d been like that all day. Gone was the charming Xavy full of jokes.

He worked out all day as best as he could tied to that damn tree. He ate and was kind to me, but I could tell his mind was on the fight the entire day.

And now, he watched Varnex, though he didn’t seem to be focused on the pomp and circumstance of it all. He watched his opponent curiously, like I would watch a strange dog—cautiously to see if it were friendly, or if it would bite my head off.

Varnex entered the arena through a small opening, two guards flanking him, which was another show of power. The guards weren’t going to fight for him, but he intended to intimidate. I wanted to throw up my hands and ensure him we were all thoroughly intimidated, and it would be nice if we could just get this fight moving.

“I, Varnex Hawka, pardux of the Kaluma IV settlement, challenge this Drixonian invader to the death for property rights to the human breeder.”

My stomach flipped over, and every hair on my body stood on end. Human breeder. I had no name; I was only a womb to him that he would own. I could have wept right there, and I almost did, until Xavy’s fingers found mine in the dark.

He clasped our hands together and squeezed tightly.

Our eyes met, his purple irises swam with love and confidence, two things that made me want to go to my knees and worship him. What had I done in this life to deserve him? Nothing, but I refused to believe his Fatas would give us our perfect match and then rip it away.

“I believe in you,” I mouthed.

His inhaled deeply, as if he wanted to suck the oxygen from my words. Then he gave me a brief nod before turning to Varnex. “I accept.”

I glanced at Sherif, who watched his father with unveiled contempt. I shivered at the orange blaze reflected in his cloudy blue eyes.

Varnex took his time removing his fur vest and handing it to a guard behind him. The drums continued to beat. A pardux, pardux, pardux chant remained at a lower volume.

Once Varnex was divested of all his ridiculous accessories, the guards left the fence, and the pardux lifted his hands. The drumbeats and chants fell silent.

I turned to leave, but Xavy gripped me around the back of my neck. I squeaked right before he planted a solid kiss on my lips. “Stay near Sherif,” he whispered.

I nodded and blurted out the first three words that came to mind. “I love you.”

His eyes warmed for a split second before Varnex made a grunting sound. Xavy’s pupils went dark. “Go.”

I didn’t waste time. I ran to the side of the fence where Sherif stood and slid under the lowest rung. He didn’t touch me but gave me a chin lift in acknowledgement. Bosa shot me a caustic look, but another large warrior—I remembered him as the one who had grabbed me in the jungle—stepped up at my back to cage me against the fence. I glanced back, worried for a moment, but his expression was kind as he gave me a brief nod. I gripped the top bar of the fence and faced the arena.

There was no announcer yelling “Let’s get ready to rumble!” or a referee. Just two warriors standing on either side of the arena facing off against one another. The ground was packed solid with dirt and had been cleared of debris.

Xavy hadn’t let on he was still hurting from his beating, but when he didn’t know I was looking, I’d been able to tell he favored his ribs and wrist. However, now he stood tall and strong, his tail merely twitching as he held it off the ground by a few inches.

“When are we doing this Varnex?” he called. “I’m ready to take my mate on a proper bed. I heard yours would be nice after a decent cleaning.”

I groaned quietly. Of freaking course Xavy couldn’t help himself and had to trash talk.

Without warning, Varnex blanked. Just…gone. Xavy tensed immediately dropped to a crouch, his machets out and his wrists crossed in front of his neck. His chin was lowered, only his eyes visible above his fists. His tail swept the ground all around him as if feeling for something. He went still a split second before his body was yanked to the side and he went sailing through the air. Sailing. Through. The. Air. Xavy was probably six-foot-five, two hundred and forty pounds, and Varnex had tossed him like he weighed nothing.

I couldn’t breathe as he crashed into the fence with a wooden creak before landing on the ground with a thud. Shouts and cheers went up from the spectators. They viewed this entire fight as entertainment while I saw it as what could possibly be the end of my life. With a slight shake of his head, Xavy was back on his feet, arms crossed at his neck. He peered into the darkness, but I could tell he had no idea where Varnex was as his eyes darted from place to place.

With a grunt, his body folded, and he fell onto his back before completing a backward roll onto his feet. The fight was fully engaged now, and the hits kept coming as Xavy sought to evade an invisible enemy.

I could see when the blows connected, as his head rocked to the side or his leg was swept out from under him. It was like the scene in Fight Club when Ed Norton was punching himself, and it was the most surreal thing I’d ever witnessed. The noise was deafening around me, warriors jeering the “weak Drix.”

Each time Xavy got up, I grew more and more anxious. He hadn’t gotten a hit in, not one. In fact, he’d been doing nothing but defending himself.

“How is this fair?” I whispered. “How much more can he take?”

Xavy spat on the ground, and the black liquid coloring the dirt made me nauseous. When he gritted his teeth, his fangs were stained with blood. He had a cut on his cheekbone, and the skin of one of his forehead nubs was split open, leaking blood into his eye.

He was limping now, and his tail had all but fallen still. His crossed arms at his neck continually slipped lower, like he couldn’t hold them up, and I met Wensla’s eyes from across the arena.

She didn’t even hide the trickle of tears leaking from her eyes. Gurla clung to her, weeping softly.

Sherif hadn’t moved an inch. He stood watching carefully, his arms crossed over his chest. Bosa spoke to him in low tones while throwing me glares, but I ignored them. I wouldn’t let Xavy be out there alone.

“Come on, Xav!” I shouted. “Focus. You can do this!”

If he heard me, he didn’t acknowledge it. And that was when his head rocked back violently, and he crashed to the ground on his back. “Xavy!” I screamed as dread creeped down my spine to swirl in my gut like acid.

He didn’t move.

Fourteen

Xavy

I hated losing. Not because of the pain—I liked to fight, so pain always came with it. The taste of blood in my mouth was familiar, and I prodded at the cut on the inside of my cheek where my fangs had sliced into the thin flesh.

But losing? Losing pissed me off. I had a lot of pride, maybe too much. Bu tonight, I had to lose, at least for a little bit. Varnex was tired. He might be invisible, but he was not silent.

His breathing was fast and hot.

I’d worked hard to tire him out. Every time I rose from one of his blows, I’d make him chase me. I had him doing laps around this arena without him even realizing it.

I hadn’t told Tabitha my plan. I needed her emotions to be genuine.

She had to believe I was hurt, but still the sound of her screaming my name in absolute terror was torture.

This was all necessary and part of my plan. Even down to the blood in my eye and coating my tongue. By now, I could just barely detect a slight shimmering and blurring of the background to clue me into Varnex’s body. I’d been studying this entire fight—gauging how close he had to be before I heard his breathing, when exactly I could see a brief outline of his form, which was when he was moving fast to strike.

So that was when I knew he was coming to finish me off. I could just barely hear his labored breathing and feel the whoosh of air as he swiped his claws, aiming for my throat.

I grinned.

Rolling to the side, I heard the thud of his fist hitting the packed dirt, as well as the crunch of his knuckles. He roared in pain as I swiped my tail where I knew his legs were. When he hit the ground, I slashed my machets across his belly.

A foot hit me in the thigh, and I stumbled back, but not before his body flickered before me. Dark blood puddled on the ground and I swiped at my bloody eyes. His scales clicked, and he rose before me as a visible warrior, panting hard with one hand wrapped around a massive gash across his stomach. Blood seeped out from between his fingers.

He growled at me, and his scales flickered, but only a few clicked, and I saw the first glimmer of fear on his face. He couldn’t blank.

I’d worn him out and injured him.

“Now the fight really begins,” I spat at him and crouched in a fighting stance, my wrists crossed in front of my neck.

“Pik!” he shouted, and someone outside the fence tossed him a spiked club. I cracked my neck. I’d expected this. The crowd was more jittery now, and when I risked a glance at Tabitha, she stood motionless, a pale vision against the backdrop of the bronzed Kaluma.

Varnex swung his club at me, but I sidestepped it easily. His chest heaved, and his oiled body was covered in dust. His braid had come undone, so his hair hung in dirty tendrils around his shoulders.

He pointed his club at me. “I was going to make your death quick. But now I think I’ll take you apart limb by limb and make the human watch.”

I bared my teeth. “Then come and get me. What do you want first? My left arm?”

He swung the club again, and I ducked it, then slashed at his ribs with my forearm machets. His scales split and more blood splattered the dirt.

“How about my left leg?” I kicked out, and he spun to avoid my leg, leaving his back exposed. I connected, sending him spinning away from me. “Or my right arm?” I slashed it across his back, from one shoulder to his hip, and he shrieked in pain and outrage.

“My tail?” I slapped his arm, relishing in the snap of his bone. The club fell from his hand, useless. “Or my right leg?” I kicked it away before leaping in the air and planting my right boot in his face.

He landed on his back and I hit the ground on the balls of my feet.

He wasn’t going to go down easy though. He quickly shuffled away and found his feet while searching desperately for the club, but it lay behind me. To get it, he had to go through me. His nostrils flared and blood dripped down his legs to puddle in the dirt. His wounds, untreated, would be mortal, but like me he would fight to the end.

I had to respect him a little for that.

He lowered his shoulder and charged me, losing all sense of technique, his rage fueled by pain and fear. His entire left side was open and exposed. At the last moment, when he was nearly upon me, I lowered my chin and shoulders. My head machets caught him to the left of his gut, and he made a choking sound as I used his momentum, flipping him over my head to land on his back.

I went down with him, and landed on his belly, my back machets plunged into the soft tissue of his chest and stomach. He writhed below me, gasping and gurgling. When I pulled out of his flesh, his body jerked, and when he tried to stand, he couldn’t.

I slowly rose to my feet and glared down at the defeated pardux; his body littered with holes.

His blood dripped from my machets onto my scales and the dirt below me. The metal tang filled the air. And the crowd… half was silent, watching to see what I’d do, while the other half continued to yell Varnex’s name, encouraging him to get up, to keep fighting. But Varnex knew he was done. He stared at me with wide eyes as blood leaked from his mouth and nose.

I leaned down and spat on his cheek. “Pineapple, mother flecker,” I growled before I raked my arm machets across his neck, nearly severing his head from his body. Stumbling away, pain echoing in every part of my body, I fell to my knees, letting my machets descend back under my scales. The crowd had fallen silent.

Footsteps pounded the dirt, one set, running fast, and when I turned my head—even that motion hurt—all I saw was a flurry of purple hair and white fabric before Tabitha slid to her knees at my side and flung her arms around my neck. “Xavy,” she whispered into my neck. “I told you I believed.”

She wasn’t crying anymore. While tear tracks stained her cheeks, she was now full of vindication.

Boots stopped in my line of sight, and I looked up to find Sherif standing over the body of his father. He didn’t speak, and I was sure I wasn’t the only one who held my breath as he crouched to lower Varnex’s eyelids.

His lips moved silently, and I didn’t dare interrupt. Finally, he stood and fisted his arms at his sides. “Varnex lost the challenge. Xavy the Drixonian’s claim to his human mate will be honored. Tomorrow at sunrise, we will discuss the changes which will be made around here. For now, there is food and drink prepared by our females. Freshly rolled yuwana to smoke. The only rule—do not touch any of the females. Enjoy, celebrate new beginnings, and…” he hesitated a moment before finishing, “…mourn the pardux who served you well in his prime.”

Bosa cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Taking bets on who wants to fight Cravus!”

The big warrior next to him tipped up the corner of his lips and punched his friend. Laughter followed, and the crowd dispersed.

“Distract them with food, alcohol, and drugs. Smart, man.” Tab muttered.

Together, we rose to our feet, and I took a few awkward steps when my wrist began to ache. “Fleck, I think my wrist broke again.”

“Your wrist—?” Tab gasped and held her wrists out to me. Two thin black lines ran around the circumference of her wrists, and when I held mine up, the same markings were being etched into mine as if by an invisible hand.

“Tab,” I murmured.

Her eyes were huge and round, tinged with pain and awe. “We’re—”

“Cora-eternal,” I whispered, wrapping my hands around her slim neck. She grabbed my face, and we watched each other’s loks finish, glow a bright white, and then darken to a shiny gold. The pattern was big and bold and messy. Like us.

I pressed our foreheads together just as her aura crashed into me, a rollicking purple storm full of noise and lights. It was brilliant and beautiful, just like my Tab.

“Mine.” My voice rumbled out on a rasp as I felt the possessiveness well up stronger than I ever felt before.

Her eyelids fluttered. “Yours.”

I needed her now. I’d fought for her, I’d killed for her, and now I deserved my prize. I hauled her over my shoulder, and she yelled at me and pounded my back with her fists. I swatted her perfect ass, and she quieted. I whirled around, meeting the startled eyes of Wensla. “Where’s the stream?” I shouted, my voice guttural with need.

She pointed to the path Tabitha had emerged from yesterday, and I took off at a run, Tab bouncing on my shoulder like a spoil of war.

* * *

Tabitha

This was going to be good. No, great. No, world-shattering. Xavy’s body vibrated beneath mine, and I could feel his desire coursing through him physically as well as in the soaring dragon that represented his aura in my mind. Of course, his aura was a dragon.

My head felt crowded with him in there, flapping about and banging into things.

He wasn’t gentle or careful. His aura invaded every nook and cranny, like he wanted to know every single of inch of me. I wasn’t surprised. His aura wasn’t any different than the male himself.

We reached the stream and I expected Xavy to stop and put me down, but he raced into the bubbling qua, wading out to a deep center before diving both of us under the surface. Luckily, I was able to take a breath before my head plunged into the cold qua.

Lips pressed to mine, and I opened my eyes underwater as Xavy wrapped me in his arms. With a powerful thrust of his legs, he brought us to the surface, where we bobbed, kissing and necking like a pair of love-starved teenagers. I watched the blood wash from Xavy’s scales and pressed my sodden dress to his cuts. They were already clotting with that magical Drixonian healing ability.

“How are you able to swim and hold me?” I nuzzled against his neck as he ran his hand through his hair to clean it. “You have to be hurt.”

“I am… or I was. I could barely stand, but then our loks appeared. I’d heard they caused rapid healing in both of us, but I hadn’t believed it until I felt a surge of energy inside of me.” He pushed my wet hair from my face. “Mate, I wasn’t as badly hurt as I let Varnex believe. I was tiring him out and studying him so I could detect his position. They might look invisible, but they are still there, still able to be struck and hurt.”

“I believed in you, Xavy. I did. But when you fell… I thought my heart would stop beating.”

“I’m glad it didn’t. Or I would have had to restart it, cora-eternal.” I always loved when Daz called Frankie that, but it had never filled me with lust. When Xavy said it? I swore I could have come right there. I rolled my hips against the hard ridges of his stomach, and his grin turned feral. “Now let me enjoy my mate’s cunt. You can’t tell me I didn’t earn it this time!”

“Oh, you earned it.”

With a growl that made my inner walls clench, he surged toward the shore. On the way he tore off my wet dress, and when we reached a low hanging branch along the shallow bank, he hung it there with a wet slap.

“Grip the branch,” he rumbled in my ear as he spun me around to face the shore.

I wasn’t coordinated, dizzy from his kisses, and weak from arousal. “What?” My toes gained purchase in the muddy bank as Xavy’s hands directed me to wrap mine around the branch, my dress fabric protecting my hands from the rough bark. “Keep them there.”

“Why?” I whispered, craning my neck to look over my shoulder.

Splashing sounded from behind me, and then strong hands spread my legs. I cried out as my feet left the ground. For a second, I hung by my arms right before Xavy’s massive shoulders slid under me. Purple eyes bore into mine just as he placed my weight on his face and sucked my clit into his mouth.

I screamed, and the only reason I kept hold of the branch was because all my muscles locked with the pleasure swirling through my core.

He prushed below me, the qua’s surface vibrating with the sound as he speared his tongue inside of me.

“Xavy!” I cried, unable to stop the bucking of my hips as I ground down, chasing the orgasm I could feel building. A wet finger, slicked with my juices, pressed at my back entrance and this time I was ready. I relaxed the muscles and he slid in up to the knuckle. And that was all it took. My body locked around him in my ass and pussy as I threw my head back and came with a wordless cry.

Shudders wracked my body as I came for what seemed liked forever, the orgasm affecting every muscle from my cheeks to my little toe. I registered I was falling, but I shouldn’t have worried, because Xavy caught me in his arms.

“That’s my cora-eternal,” he cooed in my ear on a whisper. “Now you’ll take my cock.”

“Yes,” I mumbled, barely able to see straight as tremors still coursed through me.

We left the water behind, and I held him tight as he took a few steps into the jungle-area before laying me down on the soft, sponge-like ground.

I ran my fingers over it to find it was one of those mushroom platforms the Kaluma built their homes on. This one rested on the ground, like it’d fallen from its place on the tree. Either way, it was soft, and I smiled dopily at Xavy as he wedged his hips between my thighs.

His hand closed around my throat, and I immediately arched into his touch. His hand cupped me as his fingers pressed urgently at my entrance. “Place your hands around my wrist, Tab.”

I blinked at him, unsure what he was asking until my brain kicked in. I wrapped my fingers around the wrist at my throat, and his response was a grin that was all fang. “I want to see our matching loks while I take you, my mate. You’re mine, body and cora, understand?”

“And you are mine,” I whispered.

He slammed inside of me on a growl and my eyes rolled back into my head. He ground into me, his balls tickling my ass as I wrapped my legs around his waist to hold on for the ride. He reared his hips back and slammed forward before starting a punishing pace that was all hard cock and powerful thighs. Flesh slapped and my entire body vibrated with his prushing and growls.

“That’s it, perfect Tabby,” he rasped, his fingers digging into my neck so hard I knew I’d bruise. And I fucking loved it, gushing around his cock with every squeeze. “Take me in that tight cunt of yours. Get used to it. I won’t have my fill of you for a good long time. You’ll fall asleep with my cock inside you and wake with my tongue between your legs. And you’ll beg me for it each time.”

“Yes, mate.” I gasped, unable to take a full breath. My lungs burned and that only caused the fiery embers of my next orgasm to catch fire like a dry piece of kindling.

His subcock, that glorious piece of Drixonian anatomy I’d heard so much about, latched onto my clit and sucked.

I exploded—nothing but orange and red bursts behind my eyes as Xavy’s fire-breathing dragon spewed flames.

I screamed as my inner walls clenched around him and on triumphant roar, he came, his cock pulsing inside of me as he filled me to bursting. He pumped into me over and over again, extending my orgasm until I was one giant ball of nerves, every inch of me singed by his fire.

I welcomed the flames with open arms.

Fifteen

Xavy

By the time I carried Tabitha back to the settlement with the remains of her dress draped over her nude body, she was nearly comatose, a small smile on her lips while she snuggled into my chest.

I couldn’t stop staring at our loks. I wanted to beat my chest with pride and then fall down on my knees thanking Fatas for blessing me with such a perfect mate. She was everything I could have wanted—full of life and laughter and a perfect fit for me. In and out of the furs.

Two warriors barred my entrance into the settlement, and I stopped short, peering at their faces in the flickering torch light. Sherif stood beside the large warrior I’d come to know as Cravus, a massive Kaluma who was mostly silent but whose keen eyes seemed to miss nothing. Tabitha didn’t stir in my arms.

I held my chin up, ready to take on whatever they threw at me, but cautious of Tab in my arms.

“Drix,” Sherif nodded.

“Pardux,” I answered, granting him his new title.

He inclined his head. “For now.”

“Is there a reason for this?” I shifted my weight. “I’d like to find a place for my mate and I to sleep that’s not on the ground chained to a tree.”

“I admit I doubted you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Some warriors are calling for your head even though you won the challenge fairly.”

“And are you going to make them step in line?” I cocked my head.

He huffed a short laugh. “You let me worry about that.”

“I’m going to be a little anxious when it’s my head on the line.”

He sobered quickly. “As long as I’m alive, you won’t be harmed here again. Your earlier beating wasn’t my call either.”

“Figured that.”

He jerked his head behind him. “Wensla prepared a vinus for you.”

I lifted my brow. “Is there anything that female doesn’t do around here?”

Sherif’s lips tightened. “Her role, as well as the rest of the females’, will change around here.”

“Sure hope so.”

He turned to walk toward the harka tree, and I fell in line behind him. We approached a low fungus, only a few feet off the ground around the back of the settlement, far away from the revelry of the celebration which I could hear in the distance. Wensla stood on the platform with her hands clasped in front of her. Gurla stood at her side, nearly vibrating with excitement.

“We worked on this all day,” Gurla blurted as soon as we were close. “Of course, we couldn’t tell—” her gaze slid to Sherif before she murmured lower, “um, the pardux. But we wanted a place for you two to rest if…” she shrugged, losing her words.

I gave her a smile. “Thank you.” I shouldered through the hanging vines to find a small vinus had been prepared for us—a leafy bed covered in furs rested on the ground, while a tray with food and drink sat on a table along with a lit lantern.

The smell of roasted meat made my stomach rumble. I needed to eat before I slept. As I placed Tab among the furs, I heard steps behind me and turned to see Wensla standing just inside. Her gaze drifted to Tab. “Does she need anything?”

Drawing the furs up to her chin, I shook my head. “She’s fine. I appreciate the food. She will likely wake up hungry.”

“Right,” she nodded definitively. “I’ll place another tray right outside at sunup for her.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to.” She held my gaze, and her blue eyes swam with tears before she blinked them away. “Thank you, Xavy the Drixonian. I know you fought for her, but you saved us all.”

“I fought for all of you,” I said. “She is All.”

Her lashes fluttered, and she inhaled sharply before nodding. “Enjoy your food.”

She stepped out, and I didn’t bother with manners.

I grabbed a handful of the steaming meat and shoved it in my mouth. Fighting always made me ravenous, and tonight was no different. I left a small pile for Tab in case she woke hungry, but ate my fill knowing Wensla would provide anything we needed. I tore into some tubers that had been mashed with salt and tore off a hunk of bread slathered with a sweet cream. Next, I downed an entire jug of qua myself, spilling some down my chest.

Finally sated, I sank down on the edge of the furs.

Tabitha mumbled something in her sleep, and I crawled to the head of the bed to sit where she could curl into my lap, which she did.

I couldn’t sleep yet, still high on the adrenaline from fighting and filling Tab. She smelled like me, like us, and I tangled our fingers together, marveling at the matching loks.

The vines opened, and I expected Wensla, but instead Sherif stepped inside. He held the neck of a bottle in one hand, and a dark liquid sloshed inside. He placed it on the table near my head before taking a seat in the only chair in the place, which creaked under his weight. He gestured toward the bottle. “For you. Figured you maybe wanted to do some celebrating of your own.”

I picked up the bottle and didn’t bother to sniff the contents. I held his gaze as I took a swig, relishing the sweet burn of the fermented drink as it slid down my throat to heat my belly. “Not bad. Wish I had my own to share. I make the spirits for our clavas.”

He braced his elbows on his knees. His white hair hung loose around his shoulders, the lantern light causing it to glow. His light eyes held mine. “Maybe one day I’ll get to try it.”

“I’d like that.”

“So.” He rubbed his palms together. “Tell me why you’re here. Why would you come all this way risking death, and with a female nonetheless?”

“Tabitha joining me was not planned. She was on the cruiser without me realizing and I was turning around to take her home when… you Kaluma decided I should meet some portcrewllers.”

His lips tilted up. “Sorry about that.”

“You don’t look sorry.”

“Ah well, you’re alive so it couldn’t have been too bad.”

Despite his flippant attitude, I was starting to like this warrior. “And the reason I’m here? I was sent as a delegate to ask your help in defeating the Uldani.” I started from the beginning, explaining what happened to our life on Corin, how we suspected the Uldani had a hand in the virus that killed thousands. And how they continued to prey upon us, stealing humans from Earth to attempt forced breeding. “As long as Alazar stands, they will continue to be a danger to us and to these females we have taken on to protect.”

For a long time, he didn’t move, and then he heaved a long sigh before leaning back in the chair, forcing it onto two legs as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And why would we help you do that? They don’t bother us.”

“We have stolen data from them recently and have found they sold many of our warriors to the Plikens.”

That got a response of him. He cursed low under his breath. “Heard about how they run Vixlicin. Slaves in mines, gladiators, prisons.”

“Right, and there was one name that didn’t seem familiar to us, with a mark beside their name that made us believe he wasn’t a Drixonian. Does the name Kazel mean anything to you?”

The front legs of his chair crashed down, and he lunged forward until our noses almost touched. “How do you know that name?” he hissed, his eyes lightening to a near blinding white.

“I just told you,” I bared my teeth, refusing to back down from his anger. “He was stolen from this plant and sold to the Plikens.”

He rose to his feet and whirled around, showing me his back, as he fisted the hair at the top of his head. His shoulders hitched, and I could hear his panting breaths in the dim light. When he spoke again, his voice was low and deadly. “If you’re lying to me, I will rip out all of your machets one by one and then peel your skin from your body while you scream.”

“Descriptive,” I muttered. “And I’m not lying. I know you care about honor, and so do I. So do we.” I took another swig of the spirits. “Who is he?”

Sherif dropped his hands to his side and slowly turned to sink down in his chair once again. “He’s my brother. My blood brother.”

A pang of sympathy in my gut made me wince. “I can’t promise Kazel is alive. I can’t even promise he’s still on that planet. But I can promise you he was once sold there. If you help us, we will do everything in our power to find him when we search for our own stolen brothers.”

He held my gaze silently for a long time. “And how would you like us to help you?”

“Got a few warriors who are really good at that blanking thing you do?”

For the first time since I’d met him, Sherif grinned.

* * *

Tabitha

When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring at a wall of vines, and for a moment, I panicked. The last time I woke up like this, I’d been alone. But a solid wall of heat at my back and a soft snoring made me smile. I rolled over to find Xavy fast asleep on his back, arms and legs spread out like a starfish.

The evidence of last night’s fight remained on his scales, but the cuts were healing, and his expression was peaceful. I admired his loks where they rested on the furs, happily comparing the patterns to mine. They reminded me of wings, and I smiled, remembering his dragon aura in my mind, which was calm and resting.

I reached across him for a drink of qua, finding my throat sore from last night’s screaming—first in fear during the fight, and then in pleasure afterward.

He’d won, he really won.

I almost wondered if I’d wake up this morning and it would have all been a dream, but there was no Varnex, no scary Kaluma warriors demanding the use of my womb. Just Xavy, passed out next to me in his birthday suit.

I pulled down the furs to study myself and prodded each mark he’d made last night. My thighs burned, and my breasts were tender. I wondered what I looked like, because I could only imagine the hickeys he’d left all over my neck.

I should have let him sleep, but I was nearly giddy with relief and happiness. He was mine—Xavy the charming fighter and pilot, was all mine. I had the loks and sore pussy to prove it.

The furs had slipped down to his waist, and I could see the outline of his cock resting against his thigh. Glancing at his face to confirm he was still sleeping, I pulled the fur down to his knees, revealing his half-hard shaft. I flicked the piercing at the tip with a finger, but he didn’t move.

Grasping it gently at the base, I licked around the head before drawing the tip into my mouth.

His hips jerked, and he made a snorting sound, but his eyes remained closed.

I smiled and sucked while rolling his balls in my other palm.

A long, low moan left his lips before his eyes popped open. They immediately dropped, alert, to meet mine.

“Tab,” he whispered.

“You can keep sleeping,” I murmured as I licked down the row of piercings on the underside of his shaft. “I’m just taking care of this for you. Mate.” I grinned and took him into my mouth, sucking hard.

He groaned and folded one arm behind his head. “Like I’m going to sleep through this.” He reached down and fisted my hair gently. “Keep going, pretty Tabby. Suck me off with that mouth of yours.”

His raspy demand turned me on, and I felt myself grow wet as I straddled his leg.

I went to work with my mouth and fist, working him over as he bucked his hips into my face.

He came on a low growl, holding me as the head of his cock bumped the back of my throat.

Before I could blink, he hauled me up his body and plunged his still-hard cock into my wet entrance. I threw my head back as I rode him hard, slamming my ass onto his thighs until the sounds of our slapping flesh and breathy moans filled the space. He fondled my breasts and teased my nipples before digging his claws into my hips as he encouraged me to fuck him faster and harder.

“I don’t think there will be a morning where I don’t want to fill you.” He smacked my ass and I yelped. “Come on my cock, pretty mate. I want to feel you squeeze me.”

My orgasm rolled into me slow and lazy, and I braced myself on his chest with my hands as it built until I shuddered and whimpered. He fucked into me until he came too, his cock pulsing as he emptied his release inside me.

I collapsed on his chest, and he ran his hands up and down my body, pressing kisses to my temple and hair. “Best morning ever,” he whispered. And I giggled.

No one bugged us. I only got out of bed when I smelled food to find a tray of fruits and some porridge-like mash along with a steeped tea. Xavy told me that was all Wensla’s doing, and then he told me about his conversation with Sherif while I was asleep.

“So, he said yes?” I spooned a bit of the porridge into my mouth. It was sweet and nutty.

“He said he would gather a council today. They have to vote him in as pardux, but he said he doesn’t foresee that being a problem. There are some Varnex holdouts, but none that are strong enough to beat him in a challenge. So, after he is confirmed as pardux, he will bring my proposal to the council for consideration.”

“I can’t believe that about his brother. Wensla said he disappeared one day, and that was the catalyst for everything—his mother taking her own life and his father going mad.”

Xavy nodded. “And as far as we know, the Uldani are responsible…”

“They have a lot to answer for.”

His face darkened as he stabbed at some fruit with a small wooden pick. “Yes, they do.”

Around mid-day, Sherif arrived with Wensla in tow. Xavy left with him, and I watched them go anxiously, hoping the council had agreed to help us. As usual, Sherif’s expression gave nothing away.

Wensla no longer wore her heavy necklace. In fact, she wore nothing but a band across her breasts and a pair of loose pants with sandals. She handed me a similar outfit, and I got dressed while she prepared our lunch.

I wasn’t quite hungry yet. Xavy and I hadn’t done much since breakfast but lay in the furs and clean ourselves with the basin of qua and a foamy soap. So, I sat while she nibbled on a sandwich full of meat leftover from the night before.

“So, tell me what’s happened since last night,” I said, eager to get some gossip. I missed chatting with my friends back at the Night Kings clavas.

Wensla smiled, and I realized I’d never seen a true smile from her, not until now. “I met with Sherif this morning. All the unmated females will be able to choose our mates. He also said if we choose not to mate, that’s an option as well, but he strongly encouraged me to try, because as you can see, we need to repopulate.”

“Are you okay with that?”

She nodded. “I am, because he said Gurla and I may mate the same male.”

I cocked my head, unsure why that mattered. “Why do you want to do that?”

“Gurla is…” Wensla swallowed and her eyes drifted to her sandwich, where she picked the crust before she once again met my gaze. “I love her. We love each other.”

My mouth dropped open. I’d had no idea, not in all this time. I knew she was protective of Gurla, but I hadn’t realized why. “Oh Wen. I can’t imagine how hard this was on both of you.”

Her eyes filled, and she didn’t bother to hide her tears as they dripped to dampen her bread. “I had managed to save her from his attentions, but he was losing interest in me and some of the other females. It was only a matter of time.” She let out a long breath and waved her hand. “But that’s in the past now. I love Gurla, but I want to be a mother. So does she. So, we will choose a male mate who will take both of us.”

“I don’t think you’re going to have a lack of volunteers for that action.”

She laughed, and the sound was pretty. “There were several in the council already who asked to be considered.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

She nodded vigorously. “Very much so. And it’s something I thought I’d never have. I thank you, the purple storm, who blew in here and changed everything.”

“I think that was all Xavy.”

She shook her head. “If it weren’t for you, I believe Varnex would have killed Xavy immediately. They kept him alive at first to learn more about you.”

I didn’t want to think about Xavy dying at their hands before he was even able to state the purpose of his mission. “Well, then I’m glad I accidentally fell asleep on his cruiser. Sometimes mistakes work out in the end.”

“You’re a brave human, Tabitha. I’ve heard stories about humans, and most paint you as weak and easily controlled. You are neither.”

I laughed but startled with a short scream as the vines flew open.

Xavy burst inside, his face alight as he grinned and held out his hand. “Come, Tab. I have something to show you.”

I took his hand because I’d let Xavy lead me anywhere.

Sixteen

Hap

I stared down the tree-lined path leading away from our gates. This was my routine every morning. After waking Shep up with my lips around his cock, I’d eat, grab some pula, and sit on the parapet at the top of our gates.

I was waiting for Tabitha. Just as I’d been since we woke up to find she was gone and learned with horror she’d boarded Xavy’s cruiser. The last we heard from them was a distress signal. And that was it. When I’d found out about that, I’d crumpled to the ground and screamed until I went hoarse. My best friend couldn’t be dead. Tabitha was larger than life, from her purple hair to her smiles to her winks. Everyone loved her.

A hand settled around my waist and I was pulled back into a solid body. I didn’t have to look to know who it was as I could tell by the ornate wooden cuffs on his wrist that matched my own. Shep rested his chin on my shoulder. “I worry this obsession with watching for her is going to cause you more pain.”

“She’ll be back. I know it.”

He was quiet for a long time. “Hap, they crashed into the freshas.”

Some of the others had wanted to hold a memorial for Xavy and Tab, but I refused. Until we had proof they were dead, I wouldn’t believe it. “She’s alive. I can feel it.”

His hand drifted up to rub my stomach. I loved when he did that. “I believe you.”

“Do you?” I turned in his arms to assess his expression.

Of course, his eyes were nothing but warm and caring. That was Shep. Some rotations I wasn’t sure I deserved him, but he told me over and over again I made him happier than he’d been since before the virus. That I was the missing piece that made him feel like he had a home and a place.

“I do, but that doesn’t mean they’ll make it back. They could be anywhere.”

“They’ll find a way.” I was insistent.

Shep smiled and cupped my face. “I wanted you to fight for yourself, but it seems my plan backfired on me. Now you’re nothing but stubborn grit.”

I grinned. “See? You have no one to blame but yourself.”

He snorted, and I turned back around to gaze down the path. I took a sip of my pula, remembering Tabitha telling me stories about a place called Starbucks where she ordered flavored drinks with sweet cream on top. Frachipino or something.

“Do you know what a Frachipino is, Shep?”

“A what?”

“Never mind.”

Without Tab, I wasn’t sure I ever would have had the courage to tell Shep how I felt, or even know what to do with my hand on a cock. Tabitha knew. She knew everything, it seemed. I hoped, wherever she was, that she’d finally convinced Xavy to kiss her.

I sighed. “I should probably get to work. Frankie’s crib isn’t going to make itself.”

Shep nodded and took a step off the parapet, me at his heels, when I felt the ground rumble. I froze, and Shep whirled around, eyes wide.

We both scrambled to the top as shouts rose from inside the walls.

Daz tore out of the dining hall, Sax on his heels, as the rumble grew louder, shaking the trees and walls, the very air vibrating in a blur.

I placed my hands over my ears as a massive hover car, bigger than the size of a Drixonian cruiser, roared up the path.

It could have been anyone—the Uldani, a Pliken army, anything. But I knew in my heart who was in that vehicle.

“Tabitha,” I whispered.

Seventeen

Tabitha

When we’d first arrived at the Kaluma settlement, I’d been terrified and would have given anything to leave as soon as possible.

As excited as I was to get back to my friends—I missed my girls and Hap—I couldn’t stop crying at leaving Wensla. Her and Gurla showered me with gifts, things I didn’t want to take, but couldn’t refuse because I knew that would have been rude. They gave me white stone bracelets and a few pendants, extra clothes, and a whole package of a sweet bar of candy they called jio.

All the women hugged me, and some were already paired up with warriors they’d secretly crushed on for years while suffering—literally—under Varnex. The once somber atmosphere was alive with hope, and I was so proud to be a part of it.

There was still a faction of warriors who had distanced themselves, and Xavy told me those were the Varnex loyalists.

Sherif had shrugged and said, “They’ll either come around or they’ll be in the ground.” And that was that.

I shivered at the coldest in his tone. He would be a strong pardux.

Now we rode in a tank-like hover car called a returo. It was like nothing I’d ever seen. It could travel over water for short distances, and luckily the Kaluma knew which routes to take to get us back to our continent safely.

Sherif didn’t join us, as he couldn’t leave his settlement during a major adjustment. His friend Cravus stayed behind too. Leading our small contingent of twenty Kaluma warriors was Bosa. He and Xavy had made nice after Bosa clubbed him in the head.

I didn’t see how that was something one could get over. I kept my distance from the big Kaluma, but he didn’t seem to like me either. I remembered Wensla saying he didn’t like outsiders. When I’d expressed worry to Xavy about him joining us, he’d told me that while Bosa hated outsiders, he liked the Uldani the least. He was eager to fight, as Kazel, Sherif’s brother, had been a good friend of his.

I slept for most of the journey near the back of the returo, while the rest of the warriors sat in a line on identical chairs lining the sides. They didn’t speak much, and many of them dozed as well during the smooth ride.

Xavy woke me up with a touch to my shoulder.

I blinked my eyes open to see him crouched in front of me.

“We’re almost home, Tab.”

Home. The word filled me with warmth and excitement. Shaking off the last bit of sleep, I hopped up and rushed to the center of the returo. Like a submarine, the only way to see out of the car was through a telescope.

The warrior responsible for the post stepped aside for a moment to let me peek outside.

I caught a glimpse of the familiar tree-lined path and nearly squealed at the sight of the gates.

“Home,” I whispered.

Xavy wrapped his arm around me as we walked to the side of the returo, where the hatch would open. We wanted to be the first ones off the vehicle so Daz would know this was a friendly visit from the normally secluded Kaluma.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot, vibrating with excitement. As soon as the returo rumbled to a stop and settled on the ground, a hiss echoed through the cabin and then the hatch opened. As soon as there was a crack large enough for me to slip through, I darted out of Xavy’s hold and bolted outside.

“Tab!” I heard him call, but I knew this was safe. This was home. Rounding the front of the returo, I heard the creek of the gates begin to open.

“I’m home!” I called, laughter bubbling up from my throat as I nearly tripped over my own feet. I heard the pounding footsteps of Xavy behind me just as a blue figure burst through a small crack in the gates.

Hap raced toward me, his hair flopping. “Tabitha!” His voice cracked, and we hit each other at maximum speed. The breath left my lungs in a rush as he crushed me to his chest, picking me off the ground while he chanted in my ear. “I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew.”

“I missed you so much,” I gasped. “Now let me down before you crack a rib.”

He dropped me and I felt Xavy at my back. Hap reached over me and clasped Xavy’s head, briefly touching their foreheads. “Thanks for bringing her back to me. I guess I’m glad you’re alive too.”

Xavy laughed. “Well you’ll have to share her now.” He held up our clasped hands.

Hap’s eyes went wide, and he slapped a hand on his chest, staggering back. “I knew that too!” he cried. He whirled around to where Shep had made his way toward us. “I told you, didn’t I, Shep? They were meant to be!”

“You did, Hap,” he clasped a hand on his mate’s shoulder, his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Welcome home, you two.”

Squeals and screams erupted from inside the walls and a second later, a group of female bodies flung themselves down the path. Of course, a few were slower than normal with their big bellies, but Miranda and Justine led the pack along with Reba’s welf, Luna. Bazel was there too, Tark and Anna’s daughter, barreling toward me with her little arms pumping.

Everyone hit me at once, and Xavy was smart enough to move out of the way as we hit the ground in a pile of limbs, hair, and tears.

We all talked at once, and there were I miss you’s, and I love you’s, and I hate you’s—Justine—until Xavy reached into the pile and pulled me out by my neck. “Quit smothering my mate,” he hollered, a smile on his face as he proudly displayed our wrists. The squeals renewed and he rolled his eyes.

A loud voice boomed over the din. “Our prodigal son as returned.” Daz strode toward us, a large grin on his face while Sax bounded out from behind him.

I expected Sax to greet his best friend in the typical forehead touching Drixonian way, but instead he threw his arm around his shoulders and curled it into a headlock. With gritted teeth, he began to slap at Xavy’s head. “If. You. Ever. Pull. That. Shet. On. Us, Again, I will kill you, myself.” He ended his tirade with a volley of blows.

“Sax!” Val scolded, and finally the Drix released his hold on a shove.

Xavy stumbled away and when he lifted his head, he was grinning, his hair wild. “Aw, was someone cranky without his Xavy-Wavy?”

“Yes!” Val called out with her hand cupped around her mouth. “He was insufferable.”

“Payback sucks.” Xavy pointed at his friend. “How do you think I felt when your ass was locked in Uldani jail?”

Sax sniffed, and with a roll of his shoulders, clasped his hand on the back of Xavy’s neck. Their foreheads touched, and their lips moved. I let them have their privacy, my heart swelling at the friends once again reunited.

I cleared my throat. “So, we have three announcements. One, Xavy and I got our loks. Two, I’m never drinking spirits again.” Laughter met my words. “Okay, so maybe that’s a lie.” I grinned. “And three, we brought friends.”

I waved my hand in a flourish to the returo behind us. I waited for the excitement when everyone caught sight of the Kaluma, but silence met my words. I turned around to find nothing but the returo. Had they not emerged from the returo yet? “Um, hello?”

More silence.

Xavy snorted. “Quit showing off.”

A rumbling laughter from the direction of the returo met his words, and then one by one in a series of clicks, the Kaluma appeared. They were scattered—Bosa leaned casually against the side of the returo and a few perched on the hood while a couple more had climbed trees. All without us knowing.

Bosa took a step forward with a confident swagger. “Heard you all needed some help wiping the Uldani off the planet.”

Daz stepped forward, his hair blowing in the wind and his red armband with the gold trim clearly visible. “We do.”

Bosa shrugged. “Turns out I like watching them bleed.”

Daz grinned.

* * *

Luckily the returo was small enough to be wheeled inside the gates. After that, the Kaluma were shown to two huts, where they’d sleep ten each. We hadn’t been gone that long, but more huts had been built to accommodate the many clavases making their homes within the Night King’s Walls.

Xavy was immediately whisked off to a meeting with the council and Bosa, so I retreated to my room with Hap and the girls. He refused to leave my side, and I’d forgotten how much his presence made me content.

We piled into my room, where I gave them an abridged version of all that had happened over the last few days. There were a lot of gasps and a few tears as I talked about Wensla and the other females. But we all felt hopeful that their lives would be changing for the better.

“Bosa is kind of intimidating.” Naomi laid on her stomach, her feet kicked up behind her. Frankie played with her hair while Miranda, Justine, and Reba lounged on some pillows in the corner. Anna had taken Bazel away for a meal, and Val was busy with a wounded warrior from training. Hap perched on my desk while I sat on the chair next to him.

“He is,” I agreed. “Stay away from him. He’s not a fan of humans. Well, he’s not a fan of anyone who isn’t Kaluma.”

Hap’s fingers brushed over my wrists. “And you’re happy?” His eyes shone.

“Very,” I smiled.

“I knew it,” Justine announced. “I just didn’t know it would take stuffing you two in a cave for a while to force you to see what was in front of your faces.”

“Hey, I knew we were meant to be together, Xavy just…” I sighed. “He needed to learn to trust himself with me.”

“What does that mean?” Frankie moved onto braiding another section of Naomi’s hair.

I felt a little awkward with an audience talking about my sex life with Xavy. Sure, I wrote dirty things, but that was fiction. Fantasies. Talking about my real life was weird. “We both have certain things we like in bed. And Xavy didn’t think I’d be into it. But since we were clearly made for each other, I’m way into it.” I winked at Hap. “If you all hear some interesting noises coming from his hut, don’t worry.”

“You’ll be moving to his hut?” Justine cheered with her hands in the air. “That means I won’t have to hear you moaning his name to yourself.”

I scowled at her. “Yeah, about that, you little snitch—”

“It all worked out in the end,” She sang to herself with her eyes closed.

“You just wait. I’ll get back at you. Maybe I’ll slip some stories into Nero’s ear.”

Justine’s expression immediately went tight, and her hard gaze zeroed in on me. “Why him?”

“Why not?” I smirked.

“I’m single and not ready to mingle. You all are doing enough work with your wombs. I’m fine as I am.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Fatas chooses for you,” Hap said.

She turned her glare on him. “Fatas doesn’t know I exist.”

Frankie clapped her hands. “Enough talk about Justine. She’s happy being our grumpy, lovable unmated friend.” She leaned back and rubbed her protruding stomach. “So, Tab, what kind of sounds are we going to be hearing in the middle of the night?”

I dissolved into giggles on Hap’s lap.

* * *

Xavy

I returned from the council meeting with my mind crowded from all we’d talked about. Bosa had ideas and didn’t like to be told what to do. Sherif had warned me of this but told me he was still the best warrior for the fight against the Uldani. I loathed thinking about what the next rotations would hold as he tried to make him fall into line with us.

Already, he was clashing with Daz, who wouldn’t put up with that for long. Still, we had to play nice. We needed the Kaluma, and they wanted information about Kazel. We’d make it work.

I stepped into my hut, planning on a quick cleansing before searching the grounds for my mate. As soon as I stepped in my door, I stopped short.

Tabitha knelt on my furs, completely naked, wearing only a necklace and a smile. I moved closer, and at first my muscles locked when I saw the necklace was made of the same material as the Kaluma female collars—until I looked closer.

First of all, it wasn’t a thick, high band that wrapped around her neck like Varnex’s females had worn. This one was thinner, laying over her chest and dipping down to the tops of her breasts. And the pattern… the pattern was the same as our loks.

“How—?” I began.

“One of the females, Yupli, she worked on it all night for me.” Tabitha’s small fingers touched the necklace with reverence.

I swallowed, my eyes drawn to the pattern, so boldly marking her as mine. “But … doesn’t it remind you of bad things?”

She shook her head, and her tits wobbled. “No, because I chose to put this on. I’m choosing to wear it and be yours, Xavy. That’s the difference.”

“I’ll wear one too,” I blurted.

Her smile grew. “We can share.”

The shining iridescent surface of the stone gleamed in the dim light of the hut. The setting sun’s rays cast an orange glow over the surface while it also reflected the purple of Tabitha’s hair. Her aura in my mind swirled sensually, and I could smell her arousal.

I released the clasp of my pants and stepped out of my boots before striding to our furs naked. She reached for me as I drew closer. “I told the girls to ignore any and all noises from this hut.”

I laughed. “Good, because I intend to make you scream.”

“And moan?”

“And groan.” I rose over her until she was forced onto her back, her hair spread out on the furs and her legs parted. Her curls and folds were wet with her juices. “And pant. And call my name over and over again.”

“Xavy,” she murmured as I lowered my mouth to her cunt. I licked at her lazily and she gripped my hair. “Go on then. You’ve earned it. Make me scream.”

I did. By the time we were through and she was riding my cock with her tits and necklace bouncing, every sound of pleasure had dripped from her tongue. She fell asleep against my chest, sated.

War was coming, that much was sure, but with Tabitha in my arms and knowing many of my brothers felt the same happiness I did, I believed we could do anything.

Even defeat the Uldani.

With that on my mind I let myself drift off to sleep, happiness flowing through my veins.

Thank you so much for reading The Alien’s Savior! Want a free bonus story in the Drixonian universe? Get it FOR FREE along with loads more bonus content when you sign up for my newsletter.

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Download The Alien’s Healer.

Thanks for reading about my Drixonians! I’d love it if you’d consider leaving me a review on Amazon or Goodreads!

If you missed reading about Daz and Frankie, you can get their story in The Alien’s Ransom. Sax and Valerie’s story is in The Alien’s Escape. Ward and Reba’s story is The Alien’s Undoing. Miranda and Drak’s story is The Alien’s Revenge. Gar and Naomi’s story is The Alien’s Savior.

The next book is Justine and Nero’s story. These two find love amidst a war in The Alien’s Equal.

The Alien’s Equal

He’s done waiting… and is ready to claim his mate.

Justine: Alien planet life isn’t so bad. I’ve taken a vow of celibacy so the perfect male specimens walking around with their bulging muscles and other…bulges…don’t do it for me. I’m content to live my life and avoid the one male with the soft voice and all-knowing eyes who has me rethinking that vow.

But our peaceful existence is threatened by enemies who want to use my human friends and I as nothing but breeders. I spent too long without control of my life to sit back on the sidelines during an alien war where my friends and I are the spoils. I’m slapping on warpaint and suiting up alongside my alien saviors. No one controls my destiny but me.

Nero: Justine is mine—I knew it the moment I met her. But she requires patience and a gentle touch. I can’t rush this, or I’ll never win her over. But as war looms, I realize I might have waited too long. My role is crucial to ensuring the Drixonian’s complete freedom from the exploitative Uldani, and it’s a mission I might not return from.

Even worse news? Justine insists on fighting at my side. What she doesn’t know is that my patience has come to an end. By the time I’m through, she’ll beg me to claim her.

The Alien’s Equal is a full-length Sci-Fi Romance novel featuring a stubborn heroine with a fighter’s determination and an obsessed alien who’s losing his patience waiting for the mate of his dreams.

PREORDER THE ALIEN’S EQUAL

Acknowledgments

This series wouldn’t be anything without my readers. Thank you so much for loving these blue guys as much as me. I feel so grateful for each and every one of you!

Thank you so much to Natasha Snow, my cover designer, who continually inspires me with her amazing work. This series might not have ever gotten off the ground without her amazing covers!

Thank you to Del for the thorough edits. I appreciate you working with me during the craziness that is homeschool and quarantine!

Thank you so much to all my readers in Ella Maven’s Haven! You make me smile every day.

About the Author

Ella Maven is the pen name for a multi-published USA Today Bestselling author who decided to finally unleash the alien world that had been living in her head for years. (Is that weird? Probably). Her books feature dominant, possessive aliens who are absolutely devoted to their humans.

She lives on the East Coast with her completely normal husband and two spawn who sure seem alien some days.

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