THE ALIEN’S FUTURE

A DRIXONIAN WARRIORS NOVELLA

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 Edie Danford

Cover design by Natasha Snow

First edition February 2020

DEDICATION

To making your own future

CONTENTS

The Alien’s Future

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

The Alien’s Ransom

Acknowledgments

About the Author

THE ALIEN’S FUTURE

Jealousy looks good in blue

Spaceship travel when you’ve been kidnapped sucks.

I don’t get a pillow, there are no snacks, and worst of all—the ship crashes. Except, it doesn’t crash on Earth, or even Mars. Nope, I’m in a whole new galaxy on a foreign planet and some body-builder-looking horned aliens with lots of piercings have decided I’m their new plaything. And not in a good way.

Until one alien decides he’s not going to share, and maybe I have a concussion from the crash, because I’m all about the possessive way he protects me. But there’s no way he’ll fight his whole clan for me… right?

The Alien’s Future is a standalone prequel novella in the Drixonian Warrior series. It can be read before, during, or after any book in the series. Enjoy!

ONE

Anna

I hadn’t signed up for this.

I was a librarian from a small, southern town with limited social skills and zero self-defense strategies. I wasn’t sure I could even throw a punch. I couldn’t say I’d ever really faced danger other than that time at the beach when something slimy had touched my leg. I’d been sure that I was about to die a grotesque death as a result of a thousand Portuguese man o’ war stings, never mind that they didn’t live off the coast of South Carolina. Anyway, the slimy thing had ended up being just an old, popped inner tube, but for a moment there I’d seen my life flash before my eyes.

The last characteristic I would identify with was brave, but as I faced off against a gross creature on a spaceship speeding through some unknown galaxy with only my pink gel-tip nails as weapons, I figured, well, this might earn me a courageous badge.

I shuddered just looking at my adversary. Pale white skin, one eye, and a red slash for a mouth. The worst part was the little hole above its eye which fluttered open and closed like a dolphin’s blow hole. The weapon he gripped in his three-fingered hand was a long metal rod with a bulbous spiky tip, and it reminded me of a medieval Morningstar, except this one was electrically charged. I’d heard the hum when he turned it on.

The reason for my sudden bout of bravery? Trying to save the woman behind me who, frankly, was not helping the situation. She spewed profanities at Blow Hole, who looked like he really, really wanted to zap us into oblivion. Outside the small porthole to my right, distant stars and closer asteroids whizzed by. I couldn’t see Earth. Heck, I couldn’t see Pluto. We were far, far away from the Milky Way.

What was I even doing? Even if I bested this alien thing, there were at least half a dozen more behind him with similar weapons. If I managed to miraculously fight them all successfully, what was my genius plan then? Pilot this ship back to my universe?

“Hit me again, motherfucker. I dare you!” Potty Mouth yelled over my shoulder. I knew I shouldn’t have been judging her cursing, but I was most likely delirious. My brain had already began disassociating from terror, hence my reminiscing about the beach. We were both clad in plain gray shift dresses made of some weird slinky material, like a polyester blend which I normally disliked. Why was I thinking about fabric now?

“O-bey,” Blow Hole said. Behind that slash of a mouth was a jagged row of crooked teeth. I assumed they were teeth. I couldn’t be sure because they were gray and pitted like the moon.

Potty Mouth had an injured wrist because she’d woken up screaming and thrashing. She’d cracked her hand on the metal walls of the ship and then wailed louder. Time was hard to keep track of, but that had to have been a day ago. Or maybe it was hours? I didn’t know. I’d fallen asleep under my weighted blanket in my townhome after watching Friends reruns and woken up here with no memory of the journey. The only clue was a needle prick in my arm.

There were two other women on the ship too, but they were past the point of protecting—they were no longer alive. Just remembering their still bodies had my eyes stinging with tears. I’d kept hoping they’d wake up. But as their skin dulled and their bodies stiffened, it had been apparent that whatever the aliens had given us to put us to sleep in order to snatch us from Earth and put us on this godforsaken ship was just a little too permanent for them. If kidnapping Earth women turned into a habit for Blow Hole and his buddies, they might want to work on the dosage.

To be honest, Potty Mouth wasn’t looking too good either. Her breathing was labored, and her skin was turning a gray color. She could barely stay on her feet, and her words were beginning to slur.

Maybe the only reason I was bothering to protect her was because I was terrified to be the only one left with these things. Which made me feel like a horrible person, but my sympathy was pretty well used up on myself at this point. I didn’t have much for anyone else.

Potty Mouth had shuffled her way toward the cockpit, so we were in front of a panel of lights and buttons. A pilot sat off to the side, but he had no weapon and his hands were clenched on a U-shaped steering apparatus. His one eye was wide, shifting between us and the screen like he was a distracted father driving with his toddler in the car.

Through the large front window of the ship loomed a massive planet, atmosphere swirling with greens and blues and turquoises. I might have thought it was pretty if I were… you know… back on Earth watching a NASA report and not seeing it up close and personal. I hadn’t bought tickets for this space adventure.

Blow Hole jabbed his weapon at us. The ship lurched and the weapon missed my side by an inch. Potty Mouth gave a weak scream and collapsed. Her eyes fluttered shut, her chest heaved, and a distinct rattle burbled from her throat. Shoot, shoot, shoot. If I wasn’t mistaken, she was a goner like our other two companions.

I turned to face Blow Hole, and his eye narrowed on me. I was alone with these things, and—I risked a glance out the front window—we were speeding toward the surface of that strange planet. Despair swamped me, just as Blow Hole came at me again, his pudgy arm held high, weapon aimed to smash into the side of my head. I crouched into a ball, arms cradling my head.

Crash.

Hiss.

Alarms blared. Lights flashed. I peeked through my fingers to see said electrically charged weapon smashed into the ship’s console. Where the controls were. Blow Hole and his friends were emitting high-pitched shrieks of panic as the ship rocked. Then rolled. Then the entire space craft pitched forward, hurtling toward the surface of the looming planet at a rate that seemed… lethal.

For a moment I stared helplessly at the ship’s glitching front monitor which showed the fast-approaching planet. This was it, wasn’t it? No way in hell I was surviving this. But then…my spine straightened. No. I didn’t want to die. I wanted the chance to get back to Earth. I wanted to taste strawberries again. Be with a man. Laugh with friends. I wanted to live. And I was going to do it. Or at least give it my best college try.

None of the Blow Hole aliens were paying attention to me, too focused on squeaking and wailing and pressing ineffectual buttons on the busted console. I leaned down and pressed two fingers to Potty Mouth’s neck. I couldn’t feel a pulse. I placed my hand on her head, said a few words in mourning, and scrambled backward.

The ship wasn’t large—a back room where us humans had been kept, a center area, and then the cockpit. I fell on my knees twice as the ship undulated like a roller coaster. I hurtled myself into the back room and glanced around frantically for any way I could secure myself to possibly survive this crazy crash. I didn’t have much hope, but maybe there was a chance we’d plop in an ocean all calm-like. If the planet even had oceans.

A deafening bang sounded off to my left, and the entire ship rocked, taking my feet out from under me and sending me sliding headfirst into the side of the ship. My head hit metal with a crack, and pain exploded in my skull. My vision dimmed, and I fought for consciousness. If I went under now, then this was all over. My arms flopped like wet noodles and my legs wobbled like jelly.

What had caused that bang? Maybe the engine had blown. Did this thing have an engine? Whatever. I was pretty sure it had been an explosion, which did not spell good things for my future.

I managed to get onto my hands and knees and lifted my throbbing head. Focus, Anna. In front of me was some sort of metal chest. I remembered now that the Blow Hole things had unlocked it to provide us with our shift dresses. It was huge, about the size of a love seat, with strong metal clasps that locked the lid place.

I crawled toward it, sliding along the way as the ship continued to lurch. I unhitched the clasps, lifted the lid, and hauled my body up and over the edge. After landing on piles of soft material, I let the weight of the lid drop, plunging me in darkness. The locks clicked into place, and I began to twist, surrounding myself with the fabric, hoping it provided some sort of barrier for when this whole ship hit something solid. I huddled in my cocoon of fabric, my eyes squeezed shut, and dreamed of strawberries. That was the last thing I remembered before my entire body jolted, pain streaked through my limbs like wildfire, and my brain blanked out.

When I next opened my eyes, I thought I’d gone blind. I saw nothing but inky black. My head throbbed viciously, every muscle ached, and I was pretty sure I’d broken a few fingers. Maybe a hip. Did I still have a spine?

I blinked and tugged at the thick wrapping around me. A light pierced through the material, and I froze. Was this it? Had I died? Was I seeing the light? I inhaled and smelled… fresh air. Vegetation. The lid of the chest had cracked open, which was a good thing because I hadn’t contemplated how I was going to undo the latches from the inside.

I banged on the lid with my fist, pain reverberating down my arm with every hit. More fresh air, and I sucked it in greedily, happy to be rid of the stink of the metal and grime from the spaceship. One more blow and the lid flung open to reveal a sky. An actual freaking blue sky with wispy light green clouds.

I clawed at the fabric, ripping myself out of the cocoon, and scrambled out of the chest. I hit the ground—ground!—with a thump. I stared down at the soil, which looked a bit like chunky matcha powder, and sifted the dark green dirt through my fingers. Tall grass, probably about hip-height on me, grew in thick clumps, the blue-green blades swaying in the slight breeze.

I lifted my head and muffled a squeak. Ahead of me, on the horizon above a line of blue-leafed trees was another massive planet, so close I could see glimpses of continents and water. I stared in wonder. Two planets side by side? What was this place? To the right of me, a massive orange sun beamed its rays, warming my skin through the thin fabric of my dress. The smell of this planet was different than Earth. It had a fresh soil scent, but there was an underlying sweetness to it. Like nothing I’d ever smelled before.

The scent of hot metal and smoke wafted under my nostrils on a small gust of wind, and I glanced behind me to see the remains of the spaceship. The front end was buried in the dirt, so only the back half of the ship was visible above ground. The metal was blackened and some of the panels covering the hull had curled and melted from the heat revealing a massive hole.

I swallowed. How the hell had I survived that crash? No way was anything alive in there. A Blow Hole hand lay a foot from the ship, severed at the wrist. I shuddered, a chill creeping down my spine.

The bravery I’d felt on the ship fled as I took stock of my situation. I was on a strange planet. Alone. No food. No idea what awaited me in the dense thicket of trees ahead. I had visions of giant spiders and saber-toothed tigers. Beasties eager to eat me. I hung my head. I’d read too many fantasy and sci-fi books. My imagination knew no bounds in envisioning all the ways I could die a gruesome death.

I saw no signs of intelligent life. No shelter. No E.T. eager to help me. Maybe I should scavenge around the ship for food or weapons. What would a heroine in my favorite novel do? Well, she’d probably have flowing, dark hair and wise eyes. She’d be cunning and strong. I had a curly red mop and freckles. I knew the Dewey Decimal System by heart. And I could bake a heck of a blueberry pie. I’d won first place in a South Carolina fair a few months ago.

I took a deep breath. I’d come this far and survived a spaceship crash. I puffed out my chest. I could do this. Whatever it was.

Deciding to scavenge what I could from the ship, I pulled some fabric from the trunk. Ripping it into strips with my teeth, I wrapped my hands to protect against the hot metal of the ship. I had no shoes, so I also wrapped some fabric around my feet as makeshift slippers. Feeling rather clever, I trudged over to the wreckage. The grass, despite its thickness, was surprisingly soft as it tickled the back of my knees.

I entered the ship through a convenient massive hole in the side of the hull and began my search. I mourned the loss of the women who’d traveled with me. There weren’t many bodies to be found, most had burned up, but I tried to give their final resting place as much dignity as I could. The front end was mostly blocked off by metal panels that had scrunched up in the crash. I could see glimpses of the cockpit and some Blow Hole bodies. I shuddered and turned away.

I managed to find some thin white things that looked like a type of cracker, and a thick paste that smelled slightly edible. I hoped it was some sort of protein, because crackers weren’t going to cut it. I might still have been alive, but hunting my own food was a whole challenge I had no idea how to tackle. Honestly, I’d been considering going vegan until… well, until I’d crash-landed on a strange planet.

I was deep into the ship, rummaging through a knapsack when a low humming sounded. I whipped my head to stare at the cockpit, wondering if I’d somehow flipped a switch, but there were no signs of life. No lights. No engine.

Where the heck was that humming coming from? It grew louder quickly, vibrating through the air and walls around me. A metal panel shrieked somewhere, probably knocked off a hinge by the aggressive sound waves.

Icy fear slid down my spine to settle in my belly where it churned like acid. I risked a glance out the window and froze solid, too terrified to even scream. First, all I saw was green dust, then I could make out black shapes gliding over the surface of the planet. Bikes with handlebars. Motorcycle-looking things without wheels hovering over the ground and moving at breakneck speeds. At least a dozen of them. I couldn’t quite see who rode the bikes. I caught glimpses of blue masses and black horns, and that was enough for me. I ducked, hoping they didn’t have amazing vision to be able to see my face through the small window.

My lucky chest was at least fifty yards from the ship. They’d see me for sure if I tried to hide in there. All I had was this wreck of a ship that had been my prison once but was now my saving grace. Maybe they were coming to salvage parts or to check for survivors to eat with gnashing canines.

“Oh lord, oh lord, oh lord,” I chanted as I whirled around, searching for somewhere to hide.

A cabinet door hung loosely from the ship’s side. I ripped out stacks of cords and circuitry from inside, then squeezed my body into the narrow crevice. I shut the door just as the roar of the bikes stopped, and a voice called out a command in a language I didn’t know.

Sweat dripped down my temples, matting my hair and slipping down my cheeks to drip off my chin. The metal was still hot as heck, and I felt like a lobster in a pot. Still, I sucked in a breath, squeezing my eyes shut as the first footstep clomped onto the metal floor of the ship. The footstep was loud, heavy, and I couldn’t imagine who the foot belonged to. Could they smell me? My sweat, my fear?

More footsteps followed, along with deep voices and a low tsking sound that might have been laughter. I jerked with each thump and scrape as they searched through the ship. Footsteps approached my hideout, and I opened my eyes, wishing I’d grabbed a weapon before hiding in here. Where was that medieval Morningstar when I needed it?

A large shadow stepped in front of my hiding spot, blocking the light filtering through the crack in the door. I held my breath as the shadow stopped. I heard a deep inhale, and then a rumbling voice.

I began to shake my head because I knew what was next. I just knew, and that was when the door to my hideout ripped open. My eyes landed on a blue, scaled abdomen stacked with muscles, then traveled up a broad chest darkened with scars and patches of darker blue scales. It looked almost like cerulean camouflage. I continued my gaze up, up, up to a slightly humanoid face—mouth, nose, and two eyes. But he had no hair and sticking out from each side of his blue-scaled head were two black horns, cork-screwed into fine points that looked sharp enough to slice me in two. And swishing behind him was a thick, scaled tail tipped with a spiked metal band.

At his back, at least a dozen more aliens stood, all blue like him, gaping at me. His lips twisted up, mouth opening to reveal two rows of teeth and two long fangs. He spoke a sentence, and while his words were nonsense to me, I got the impression he said something like, Well, what do we have here?

I opened my mouth, and I screamed bloody murder.

TWO

Anna

I didn’t wait to see what they planned to do. I turned into a tiny whirlwind, hurling myself from my hiding spot and streaking toward the exit. I must have taken them by surprise, because for a few precious seconds, none of the big Blues moved. Then one of them barked a sharp command, and the Blues closed ranks, blocking my exit with their massive bodies.

I screeched to a halt and searched desperately for an alternative escape route, but I didn’t get anywhere. Suddenly, I was airborne as a hand around my throat lifted me off my feet and squeezed painfully. I kicked my legs as one of the Blues held me up to his face, narrowed black eyes studying me.

I gasped for air, but the more I struggled, the tighter he gripped me. Heart pounding in my ears, I went limp because… well, I was tired. I was no Cross-fitter, okay? I took casual walks three times a week so I could indulge in cookies when I felt like it. I hadn’t prepared my body for life on a hostile planet. When I stopped my flailing, his grip loosened a fraction so I could suck in some air.

As the alien studied me, I studied him back. His black shiny hair was shaved on the sides and the top pulled back into a ponytail at his crown. Rows of gleaming rings pierced the scaled flesh of his prominent brow where a human’s eyebrows would be.

Other than the top of his head, he was hairless, scales chipped and scarred all over his body which told me he’d seen some things. But what I absolutely did not like, the thing that had me frozen in shock and fear, was the disdainful curl of his lip, and the way he regarded me like I was prey.

All the Blues wore matching red-colored metal armbands on their biceps with a symbol carved into them, except the one who held me—his metal band was thicker, and rimmed in gold, which made me think he was some sort of leader. They wore dark pants held in place over their tails by a backwards belt-type thing, and large black boots on their feet. No shirts, although a few wore ragged vests in the same material as their pants. What curdled my stomach and had me whimpering in terror was that all of them watched me with same hungry look as their leader.

All but one. He stood off to the side, one of the largest of the group. His arms were crossed over his chest, fists clenched. His cheeks were pierced so little metal spikes stuck out of his flesh like artificial dimples. His horns, unlike some on the other Blues, were intact and not chipped. And his eyes didn’t peruse my body like I was Sunday brunch. He watched me carefully, his gaze locked on mine, and his muscles tight.

Instinct kicked in and I began to struggle again as my head swam. “P-please,” I gasped, and I wasn’t sure who I was asking, Ponytail or Dimples, but I could barely breathe with the tightening fingers wrapped around my throat. My lungs burned, and I kicked my legs one more time as I tried to suck in air.

The hand released, and I fell to the floor, my knees buckling so my butt smacked hard on the metal. I cried out, and a low growl reached my ears just as that damn hand was back, this time gripping the front of my shift and tugging. Undressing me.

I went back into wildcat mode. No way was I getting naked in front of these very big and very male aliens. The hand succeeded in ripping my dress down to the middle of my breasts. I whimpered as his middle claw scraped my skin like a hot poker. Red blood bloomed in a vertical line. I flinched away, dislodging his hand, and tried to hold the torn scraps of my dress together as I braced for a blow.

It never happened. A shadow fell over me, and I went still. Standing above me was Dimples, his feet braced on either side of my body. His hands were clenched at his sides, tail flicking behind him so it made angry swishing sounds on the metal panels. I didn’t move. There was nowhere to go, and something told me Dimples was…different.

He didn’t yell or shout, but he spoke low, terse words to the leader. Eventually his fists unclenched, his palms out in supplication. Ponytail glared at me, black eyes promising some sort of retribution. But then he jerked his chin at Dimples in a sharp nod. He turned on his heel and brushed past the line of Blues to exit the ship. They followed him, a few glancing backward at me and throwing Dimples scowls.

I stayed huddled at Dimples’s feet. I didn’t know if he could be trusted, but I didn’t have many options here. I could…make friends. Maybe. Slowly, I reached up, and placed a hand on his thigh. His chin dipped, and he pierced me with a fierce, heated look before dropping to a crouch. He still towered over me, even perched on the balls of his feet. I was only a few inches over five feet and this guy must have been close to seven feet tall. His face was well-formed. Deep-set eyes, full lips, and high cheekbones. His hair was a wavy mass of black, curling around his ears and horns. I couldn’t believe I was considering him handsome, but he was… Blue scales, horns, tail, and all. He wore no shirt, and now I could see the symbol on his armband, which matched the rest of his group, was a black teardrop.

From his belt, he unstrapped a small bottle. He popped the cap and handed it to me. I sniffed it, eyeing him. It had a faint vinegar scent. I frowned at him. Was he drugging me? I shook my head and tried to hand it back to him.

His brows dipped, and he pushed my hand back toward me. I tried again to hand it to him. Finally, he snatched it from me and tilted his head back to let a few clear drops from the bottle fall on his tongue. Then he held it out to me, one nubbed brow lifted. Like, See? It’s fine.

I salivated at the idea of a drink. I didn’t know what the liquid was, but I was dying of thirst. Maybe it was their form of water. I didn’t think much else could go wrong, so I took it from him. I inhaled sharply, gathered my courage, and took a gulp of the liquid. The texture was odd—a bit thicker than water with a slight vinegar aftertaste—but it still satisfied me in the way water did. I took another sip, and then another, before handing it back to him.

His lips turned up into something of a smile—a kind one, not the cruel one like his leader had. God, he was… handsome. Those black eyes turned warm, swirling, and I realized they weren’t actually black. He had a very dark purple iris surrounding his pupil, and around that was only a thin edge of white.

He lifted his massive five-fingered hand, fingers topped with sharp black nails, and I flinched, remembering the other blue hand that had stolen my breath and tried to take my clothes. He paused, and his jaw clenched. He dropped his hand, anger replacing his concern. Great. Now I’d pissed off the one good thing that had happened to me during this entire mess.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and he cocked his head.

I didn’t think he could understand me, but maybe my tone would convey what I wanted to say. My voice was low and rough. I didn’t talk much under ordinary circumstances, and now it was scratchy from screaming and near strangulation. “Thank you for, uh, preventing Ponytail from taking my clothes. I mean, maybe you’re not really nice, and you’re just delaying the inevitable, but it was nice all the same.” I bit my lip. “Are you nice, Dimples?”

My eyes burned, and shoot, I just realized I’d hadn’t cried yet. Not when I woke up on the spaceship, not when the ship crashed, and not when the leader had his fingers wrapped around my throat. But now, with Dimples offering me something to drink and protecting me from having my clothes ripped off, a sob left my throat, blubbering and ugly.

I cradled my head in my hands as arms encircled me. He lifted me, making a small chiding sound with an under-the-breath murmur. “Ch-ch-ch.”

I glanced up to see he was carrying me out of the spaceship, toward the rest of the Blues waiting on their bikes. For a moment, I thought about fighting and trying to get away, but that seemed fruitless. I only had my two feet to carry me, and these aliens had machines. They would catch me in an instant. No, I decided my best course of action right now—it was subject to change—would be to go quietly, observe, and play nice.

I didn’t get a good look at the bikes before he straddled a gleaming black seat and settled me in front of him, one strong arm wrapped around my waist. There were no wheels, just three giant circular disks parallel to the ground. He flipped a switch, and the bike roared to life. Those disks pushed out air like uber-powerful leaf blowers, sending the dirt swirling around us, and we rose slowly until we were about ten feet from the ground. Grass blew around us from the force of the air elevating the bikes. The leader at the front lifted a hand, and then we were off, speeding over the landscape.

Dimples’s arm held me tight, while the rest of the Blues watched us carefully out of the corners of their black eyes. We rode for what felt like hours, until the sun began to dip below the horizon, and the air began to chill. I huddled back into Dimples, needing his warmth because the dress I had—now ripped—didn’t offer much insulation.

I tried to stay awake, I really did, but the bike’s vibration, coupled with the heat from the big blue body, lulled me into a sense of safety, no matter how false. I closed my eyes and let the rumble of the bikes be my lullaby.

Tark

The small creature in my arms fell asleep. When she’d first gone limp, I’d worried she’d died, but her chest still rose and fell, and I could feel the steady beat of her cora. She was so fragile, her flesh unprotected. No scales, no nothing.

I stared at the scratch Bult had made on her skin with his claws. Her red blood had dried now, and the sight of the wound still had me barely suppressing a roar as my machets itched to lift under my skin and hurt the one who’d made her bleed. I’d never felt like that before. I’d seen plenty of blood and death in my lifetime, but nothing had riled me like seeing her in pain. In fact, I’d felt her pain like a burning slice on my chest, so strong I’d had to glance down to make sure a claw hadn’t cut me.

Flecking Bult. He hadn’t thought of the consequences of gripping her throat like that and slicing her skin. I didn’t even think he noticed she couldn’t breathe. All he’d been interested in was figuring out what species she was and if he could use her for his own advantage. Thank Fatas I’d been able to get Bult to back off.

I wished I had more than qua to offer her, but I’d already eaten my tein and monstra rations. I was sure she needed sustenance. Who knew how long she’d been on the Raghul ship?

We’d been out scavenging when we saw the ship plummeting in the distance. I still wanted to return to the wreckage to see if any parts could be salvaged, but the health of the little thing in my arms came first. I focused on riding my bike when all I wanted to do was stop and make sure she was all right.

She was female; her breasts were visible beneath the thin shift she wore. But she wasn’t Drixonian. Her flesh was pale, nearly without color. She had no tail, or horns, and I doubted she had machets or she would have used them to defend herself. But she was fascinating. Vivid red hair sprouted from her head in an interesting twisty pattern. Her pale face was spotted with tiny brown dots. Something about her tugged at me, pulled at my cora, made it beat faster and harder.

Fatas gave us what we needed when we needed it. For a long time, I’d thought she was punishing us, but this female made me wonder if Fatas had decided to bless us again. I knew with every fiber of my sola that I had to protect this female. Bult would try to take her, and I didn’t have any hope he’d treat her kindly. He was cruel on a good day to his most trusted warriors, because he thought the only way to lead was to put down those around him. This little fragile female would be just another tool to exert his dominance. I knew one thing for sure. I couldn’t let him use her.

By the time we arrived back to our home—the permanent camp of the Black Blood clavas—all that was visible from the sun’s rays were a few streaks of orange on the distant horizon. I glanced over at Corin, the twin planet of Torin and our homeland. I dipped my head in reverence as I did every night. One day, I vowed to return there and help rebuild the Drixonian civilization. It seemed an impossible wish since Drixonian females were gone. Extinct. They all died, along with most of our elder males, in the virus that struck our species a hundred and fifty sun-cycles ago. I glanced down at the small female in my arms. There was no way this little thing could be bred, not by a Drixonian cock, not for Drixonian young. The horns alone would rip her apart. Drixonian women had special wombs and birthing canals to protect them during labor.

On Planet Torin, our home was on the northwestern coast of the continent Jasper. Many other clavases made their home on the western half of the continent, and while we used to be friendly with many, Bult had managed to make enemies. To keep our clavas safe, we’d built up walls with thick lumber, and the only entrance was a large gate which swung outward. Two of our younger warriors heard our bikes and opened the gates. As we passed, they stared at the bundle in my arms, and I glared back.

We parked our bikes in the garage where more warriors greeted us. Everyone had a job here, and those who showed mechanical skills were in charge of the bikes. They were serviced every rotation, because it was really the only thing of value we had. Well, until we found this female amid the wreckage of a Raghul cargo ship.

Bult wasted no time. Immediately after dismounting his bike, he strode toward me with fierce determination, his second and third in command in step behind him. I stood my ground, the female in my arms still fast asleep. Or maybe she was only pretending to be. Her breathing had changed slightly, but she hadn’t moved. I adjusted her in my arms and tucked her face into my chest. She fit perfectly, her body warm and the softest thing I’d ever felt, even softer than a welf cub’s fur. And her smell… It heated my blood, made my head spin.

As Bult approached, I willed myself to keep my machets lowered. I’d almost raised them in the ship, and that would have been the worst thing that could happen. Raising my machets to Bult, our drexel, would be considered a challenge, one he’d relish. He’d been waiting for an excuse to take me out. Ever since Gupa’s death, I hadn’t bothered to hide my distain for Bult, and he’d noticed. Yesterday, I would have welcomed the challenge, but now I had a new mission and that was protecting the female in my arms. I had to be smart.

“She sleeps?” he asked, eyes hungrily taking her in.

“If she survived that crash, she’s probably injured,” I said. “Do you think we should have Shep look at her and then let her rest?” I forced out the question with effort when the last thing I wanted to do was ask him permission. But I had to make him think this was his idea. Even now, most of the clavas watched us carefully, waiting for a sign of weakness from Bult. A sign of aggression from me. We weren’t known for civility.

Bult, to his credit, wasn’t stupid, and he knew what I was doing. But there was no rush. She was ours, and she wasn’t going anywhere. He could wait until she healed some to do whatever it was he wanted with her. He knew the Raghul were most likely working for the Uldani and this human female was for them. I wouldn’t put it past him to sell her to our enemies. Of course, I would never let that happen, but he didn’t know that. Yet.

He sniffed, puffing out his chest. “Take her to Shep. Let me know when she wakes.”

I nodded and strode off quickly before Bult changed his mind. The only reason he was letting me do this was because I often helped Shep. Shep was the healer, and I was the one who tinkered with his machines and made sure they worked. He was the oldest of the Black Bloods. He remembered females and even had had a mate before she died in the tide of sickness that took three-quarters of our species and our only way to repopulate. The rest of us in this clavas had been infants or small youth, with no memories of the breasts from which we suckled.

Shep, as one of the last elder males alive and our healer, was given special privileges. Other than Bult, he was the only one who had a private living space. We’d built him a small hut away from our barracks.

I called Shep’s name as I entered his front door. He had his back to me and was stirring something on his stove. He also had the privilege of not having to eat the meals provided by our cooks, which had questionable taste on a good day. Shep could make his own and often shared with me.

“Find anything interesting?” he asked without looking at me.

“You could say that,” I said.

He sprinkled in a few spices and tested the broth in his pot. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, see for yourself.”

He turned around with a grin on his face. When he saw the bundle in my arms, his mouth went slack, his eyes widened, and his face paled. He blinked a few times and then grabbed blindly for his cane. Long ago his left leg had been smashed during a bike crash, and by the time we’d had access to medis, it’d been too late to repair. He shuffled toward me in his uneven gait, his gaze never leaving the female. Finally, his chest heaved, and his voice shook as he pointed a shaky finger to his back room where he kept all his healing supplies. “Take her there.”

I strode to the private back room of his hut and laid the female on a cot in the corner. Moments later, Shep followed on a quick hobble, his cane thudding on the hard ground.

He didn’t speak, and I didn’t interrupt him as he went to work immediately, scanning her vital signs and smearing healing ointment on her cuts. He wasn’t being conservative with his supplies like he usually was for the rest of us.

Since our uprising against the Uldani, healing supplies had been scarce. While we were able to free ourselves from the Uldani rule, we didn’t defeat them. They still lived and hoarded the medicine and technology. We had free access to the fuel deposits on Planet Torin, but that was about it. Everything else had to be salvaged or stolen. After the Uprising, the remaining Drixonian males—all transported from Corin to Torin—separated into clavases and each elected their own drexel to lead.

Before, we used to live prosperously on Planet Corin. Shep had told us about our females, how they ran our home planet, organized the farming seasons, birthed our sons and daughters. They were revered, respected. Drixonian males were the warriors. We defended our planet successfully, but sickness couldn’t be cured with our weapons and muscles.

When our females fell ill and died from an unknown virus, Drixonian civilization fell apart. That was part of the reason we’d been so ripe for the Uldani to exploit. We’d lost all direction, and our once virile libidos fell silent. Some males could coax their cocks to wake with other males, but they were rare.

Shep’s voice captured my attention. “She is a human,” he said softly, reverently, his hands barely skimming her hair as he placed the scanner back on his instrument table. His watery eyes met mine. “She’s from a planet called Earth, two galaxies away.”

A human? I’d heard of humans, but I’d never seen one and hadn’t ever expected to. I sucked in a breath. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I’ve never seen one, but I have heard of them. My scanner confirmed her species. I don’t know much about them, and without access to the Rinian Galaxy network, I can’t learn more. The last update on my system was before the Uprising.”

When we’d gone to war with the Uldani fifty sun-cycles ago, they’d destroyed all the towers that connected us with the network but one. And that last one could only be accessed from the Uldani fortress which Drixonians couldn’t get near. They lived on the eastern half of the continent, and the two halves were separated by rugged, mountainous terrain.

I ran a finger down one of her slender fingers. “We found her on a crashed Raghul ship.”

Shep sighed. “They are the only ones with the tech and power to travel that far.”

She looked even tinier in the massive cot fitted for Drixonian males. Her pale skin shone in the bright solar bulbs of Shep’s workroom. Her feet were so small, toes shorter than my littlest claw. “Why would they have a human on their ship?”

Shep ran his hands through his graying hair and sat down on a stool. He fiddled with the end of his cane. “Before Bult cut off contact with our allies, I heard rumors that the Uldani were collecting females of various species. For what… I don’t know.”

My hands curled into fists, and I barely suppressed a growl. The Uldani were elitist. They considered themselves the pinnacle species despite their many weaknesses. The only reason they’d want other species was the very reason we rebelled against their rule—they were conducting experiments on living beings. Raghuls… well, they’d do anything for the right price, and the Uldani had enough wealth to get the Raghuls to do their bidding.

My blood pumped hot, and I felt my lips curl into a snarl as I imagined the Uldani’s hands on my female. Poking her, violating her, cutting into her soft skin, causing her pain.

A hand landed on my shoulder. I glanced up to see Shep standing above me, his brow furrowed. “Calm yourself, son. She’s safe now.”

“Is she?” I growled. “Bult already seeks to use her in any way he can to benefit himself.”

“Did she get these from the crash?” He pointed to the blossoming splotches of blue and purple that had begun to appear on her skin.

“What are those?” I asked.

“Injuries. Blood pooling under her skin—”

“Blood!” I roared, jerking to my feet. “Will she live?”

He held up a hand and snapped, “Tark!”

I willed myself not to punch a hole in his wall. “Explain,” I barked. “Will she live?”

Shep was not amused with my tone. His eyes narrowed. “Sit and calm yourself. Yes, she’ll live.”

I sat with a thud, dropping my heavy fists onto my thighs with a smack. I bit the inside of my mouth, tongue flicking at my piercings to keep myself from talking.

“Humans have all their bloodlines right under the skin. They bleed easily, and if they are hit or squeezed, these bloodlines will rupture, spilling blood under their skin before they repair. It is normal, although painful.”

My gaze drifted down her body, taking in the multiple marks all over her skin. Then I took in the bruising at her throat. Marks in the shape of fingers. And the thin scratch between her breasts which had drawn her blood. I leapt to my feet as my cora slammed against my ribs, and a rushing sound roared through my ears. Bult had done that. He’d marked her, spilled blood from her body. At the time, I’d felt an echo of her pain in my body, like fingers around my throat. The scratch of his claw down my chest.

“That is from him,” I told Shep, pointing at her neck. My voice was something I didn’t quite recognize. “He held her off the ground by her throat. I will kill him for that.” Shep sucked in a breath, but I kept going. “I will kill anyone who spills her blood. No matter the cost.”

THREE

Tark

Shep used some of our precious medis to fix the little human’s broken wrist, fade her bruises, and close the scratch on her chest so it was no longer visible. He explained how fragile the bones of her species are, and I wondered what life was like on her home planet that she could live this unprotected with her soft skin and thin bones. Shep said she had reached maturity and was old enough to birth children. But yet she was so small…

I sat by her bedside, holding her hand. Shep had dimmed the lights, and he now sat across the room, his eyes heavy, sipping some of our spirits.

“When I said she was safe,” he said into the stillness of the room, “I meant for now. Here, in my hut. But out there…” He gestured with a loose hand as the spirits were beginning to get to him. “Not so much.” He leaned forward. “You know what I’ve always said—”

“She is all,” I recited back to him. It was the lesson he’d drilled into me since we worked as muscle and law enforcement for the Uldani, and he was my captain. I wished more than once that he’d been the Black Blood drexel, but Shep hadn’t wanted the fight. So Bult had taken over instead, and our clan had steadily been declining in worth and values since. Gupa’s death had been the end of my loyalty to Bult. The younger Drixonian hadn’t been ready for a single mission, but Bult had sent him anyway. He’d been captured and killed by a Rizar clan. I’d been furious at the loss of a promising young warrior. Every life was precious for our dying species.

Shep smiled and nodded, relaxing. “Correct, Tark. She is all. Females are the priority. As long as she’s alive on this planet, she will be wanted by those who wish to use her. She’s managed to survive this long, which is no easy feat, but this planet is a whole other set of challenges. She needs a protector.”

“That will be me.” I watched her face and noticed her eyeballs moving beneath her eyelids. Her chest hitched before evening out again into deep breaths.

“You must stay away,” he said quietly.

I glanced up at the male I respected the most. Both my parents had died of the sickness early before we knew how devastating it was going to be. Shep had been like a second father to me. I knew what Shep meant, and the sacrifice I’d have to make. I swallowed. “I will miss you.”

He grinned, big and wide, showing a row of strong, sharp teeth. Despite his age and injury, Shep was still healthy and built, his broad chest swollen with muscle. “I will miss you too, son.”

“Will you come with us?”

He shook his head. “My place is here. I sense a change coming, and I think I’ll need to be here to help clean up the mess. I might not admire Bult, but there are plenty of males here who show promise to be good and productive.” A wistful look passed through his eyes. “Like you.”

I clenched my jaw as regret soured my stomach. “I should have challenged Bult a long time ago.”

“No, I think it’s all shaking out as Fatas intended. And if I can play a part in getting this female to safety, then that’s good enough for this old man.”

“You’re only three hundred cycles old,” I said with a laugh. Drixonians lived about five hundred sun-cycles.

“Well, I’m twice your age.” He rose to his feet, leaning more heavily on his cane than usual. “I’m going to get some sleep before the sun comes up in a few hours. I suggest you do the same.”

It would be hard to sleep. My body felt on constant alert around the female. Shep pressed something into my hand. I glanced down at the small disk. It was an old translator implant. I hadn’t seen one for a hundred years, not since we worked as Defens for the Uldani. “This needs a new QR chip, but this is the last implant I have. I’m sure you can replicate it if you find the parts. A good place to start would be the Raghul spaceship.” He squeezed my fingers before stepping away. “Take a day, gain her trust, and make a plan. Then leave here, scavenge the spaceship, and disappear.”

I closed my hand around the translator, and then slipped it into the secure pouch in my pants. I rose and clasped my hand around the back of his neck. “She is all.”

Although I pretended not to notice, Shep’s lips quivered slightly when he clasped my neck and touched my forehead to his with a quietly whispered, “She is all.”

He left the room to retire to his cot, and I leaned on the side of the bed where the female rested. I’d remain here until she woke up, and then I had to find a way to make her understand she was safe. I patted the translator in my pocket. The sooner we could communicate, the better. I crossed my arms on the bed, rested my chin on my hands, and waited.

Anna

I woke slowly, struggling with consciousness like I was swimming my way to the surface of a deep pool. I blinked, my eyes finding a wooden beam ceiling and light streaking in through a round hole in the far wall.

The primitive structure stood in direct contrast to the machines in the room around me—monitors and devices. Tablets. Small cylinders that looked like external thermometers from back home. I was laying on a massive bed, the material beneath me soft. How were they powering all these things? I didn’t see wires or electrical outlets. Batteries? Solar power?

I took stock of my body. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the bike with… Dimples. My body stiffened. Where was he now? Was I safe?

I struggled to a reclining position, elbows under me, and turned my head to the left. A massive blue body was hunched on a chair, his head resting on folded arms on my bed, fast asleep. I could tell it was him by the tousled hair and shapely horns. Shapely? Really Anna?

The beautiful black ridged cork screws emerged from his head above his ears and stuck straight out either side. He’d have a hard time fitting through doorways on Earth. I leaned back to get a look at his face in rest. His full lips looked soft and that furrowed, nubbed brow was now smooth, no evidence of tension. I’d figured all aliens looked like those Blow Hole guys, but this one was…something else. Similar musculature structure as humans—two legs and two arms. Well, and then there was that tail. Even now, in sleep, the end twitched back and forth like a cat’s. Maybe he was dreaming.

Speaking of dreaming, was I dreaming? How was any of this real? Were humans that backward with technology that we had no idea this kind of space travel was possible, and life forms such as the one slumbering before me existed? I didn’t feel insane, but maybe that crash had made me hallucinate. Needing to prove to myself this was real, I gently touched one tip of his horn. I’d barely brushed it with the pad of my index finger when his head jerked up, dark eyes immediately open and alert. No signs of sleep on his face anywhere. Dang, that was some SEALs-type stuff.

I gasped and yanked my hand back. “Sorry,” I said, wincing. “Sorry, sorry, to, uh, touch you. Without consent.”

His eyes softened, and those full lips spread into a smile. His hand lifted, and this time I didn’t flinch away as he cupped my cheek. “Ch-ch-ch,” he said in that weird chant he’d done earlier. I wondered if those were words or some sort of comfort sound. Either way, it worked, because I felt my body relax. He wasn’t ripping off my clothes or hollering for his friends to come ravage me. Or eating me, which could have been a possibility with the size of those fangs in his mouth. But he definitely, most definitely, was real. From his horned head down to his massive booted feet.

He patted my cheek and then murmured some soft words before retreating to a small table in the corner of the room. He seemed to be preparing something on a slab of wood. He glanced over his shoulder at me continuously and in minutes he was back. On the slab of wood was… Well, I assumed it was food.

Seeming to remember the drink incident from yesterday, he picked up a hunk of what looked like a pink fruit and opened his mouth to sample it first. I was supposed to be paying attention to him eating, making sure whatever he ate wasn’t poisoned, but I got distracted by his tongue. In my defense, anyone would. His tongue was long, and black, and pierced with three separate little balls right down the middle.

He placed the fruit there, and I actually found myself thinking lucky fruit like a crazy person. He chewed and swallowed. The tip of his tongue came out to lap up a bit of juice from his chin. From. His. Chin. Heck, I figured his tongue could reach his own throat. Then, as if he hadn’t just blown my mind, he held the plate of food out to me and gestured for me to eat.

I stared at him. What was going on with me? I’d had one boyfriend in my life. One. We’d had relations one time, and it had hurt and been overall terrible, and then he’d dumped me. Tale as old as time, right? Frankly, I’d wondered if I felt attraction, because most men didn’t do it for me. I’d thought maybe I was attracted to women instead, but that had also been a no-go. I focused on my library and my children’s program curriculum and life had been fine, if not a little boring.

Now I was on a strange planet, and all I could think about was hiking up my metaphorical skirt for… Dimples. And it wasn’t just that he was hot and ripped with muscles and the owner of a long, agile tongue. He was kind. He’d prevented that Ponytail jerk from ripping my dress off. He’d given me a drink from his own stash, he’d cradled me in his arms on that bike, and now he was feeding me while remembering my distrust from yesterday.

Looking around the room, I also suspected he’d had a hand in healing me, because my arms and legs were mysteriously absent of bruises. My hurt wrist barely even ached. The scratch on my chest? Gone.

I had questions, so many questions, but my stomach rumbled, and I decided to take a moment with Dimples. I could pretend we were on a date and the food he’d prepared was surf ’n’ turf. Who knew what the next hour would hold? I’d deal with what to do next after I filled my belly. I sat up, crossing my legs in front of me. Dimples was on the chair, hunched over, so we were mostly eye level with each other.

I picked up a pink hunk of… whatever it was… and plopped it in my mouth. I chewed, expecting a consistency like watermelon and instead got a feeling more like Jell-O. It had a sweet, pleasant taste, and I went back for more. There was also a purple-ish bread-roll-looking thing that was good, kind of like a yeasty sweet potato.

After that, he handed me a cup of liquid. “Qua,” he said, with a jerk of his chin.

It was the same drink he’d offered yesterday. I’d wondered if it was their form of water. Either way, my stomach hadn’t rebelled against it, and most of all, it was cool and refreshing. I finished the cup and continued to pick among the food and munch on what look appetizing.

Dimples watched me patiently. He didn’t eat anymore, seemingly content to feed me. I tried to hold out food to him, because he must have needed a whole lot of sustenance for that big body, but he would squeeze his lips shut, or lean back with a firm, “nit,” which I took to mean no.

I wanted to call him something other than Dimples. I’d hoped we’d find a way to communicate soon, but names seemed like a good place to start. I placed my hand over my chest and said, “I’m Anna.”

For such a rugged-looking male, his face was very expressive. That ridged brow looked like bone but moved like muscles. He cocked his head and reached his hand out, laying it softly over mine. The heat of his skin seared me. “Um anna,” he said.

Shoot, that didn’t work. I shook my head and tried again. “Anna.”

He blinked. He mouthed something, like he was trying out the sounds, before he said, “Enna.”

I smiled and nodded, then gripped his hand in both of mine. The scales on his skin were smooth, like a snake’s, but also a bit soft, like they had a sheen of velvet on top. Weird. I then pressed his hand to his chest. “You?” I asked.

“Enna,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s me. Who are you?” I tapped his chest over I thought his heart would be.

His nostrils flared, and for a moment, I wondered if he didn’t like that I’d touched him. But then he leaned in and said in a firm tone. “Tark.”

Holy sugar, did we actually communicate? “Tark,” I repeated. If that was his name, it suited him. Strong.

His breathing sped up, and he leaned into my touch, his eyes closing briefly before they opened. Heat flared in the swirling purple of his irises. “Tark,” he said again, pointing to himself. Then he pointed to me. “Enna.”

I nearly burst into tears. Instead, I reached out and ran my fingers over that nubbed brow. His face was so human-like, and that was probably why I felt so safe with him. There weren’t scales there. In fact, his face was rather smooth, the lighter blue skin stretched tight over high cheekbones. He let me touch him, even as I sifted my hands through his soft hair and scratched a fingernail on his ridged horns. He seemed to like that the most, his lips parting and his head turning like a puppy wanting scratches.

I eventually took my hand away, unsure how far to take it. Maybe he had a wife or mate or little… blue toddlers running around this place. I didn’t know, and the last thing I wanted was some giant blue female to whack me.

I ate some more, and when the food was finished, my fingers were sticky with juice. I stuck my thumb in my mouth to lick it off. But when I lifted my gaze to Tark, I froze.

He stared at me with hunger. And not creepy hunger like Ponytail, but longing hunger, like I was a coveted jewel among a pile of rubble. His chest heaved, and his tail lashed the floor behind him. Okay, maybe there wasn’t a Tark mate, because he murmured a few words, which ended with “Enna,” before he gripped my wrist softly, snaked out his tongue, and licked my fingers clean.

I didn’t move. I didn’t make a sound. My heart pounded in my chest like a runaway train as he drew each finger in his mouth, that tongue swirling around my digits and dipping into the webbing between them. His eyes were closed as he did so, and he made a rattling noise in his chest, almost like a purring. Color rose to his cheeks, darkening the skin there.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from that tongue and the sight of my fingers disappearing in his mouth. His metal piercings massaged my skin. Warmth pooled in my stomach and slid lower. Fear mixed with arousal. Was he licking me before he took a bite? Was this like a mama cat cleaning her kitten? Or was this… erotic? I didn’t know, but for some reason, I didn’t pull away or yell. My heart raced as sweat dripped down my spine.

He pulled off my last finger with a pop. His mouth hung open, white fangs glistening, nostrils flaring in and out. His neck was corded, and his muscles taut, like he was barely controlling himself. A streak of concern flashed through me. He was so very, very male. If he wanted, he could take me. I wouldn’t be able to fight him.

But he didn’t shove me on my back and push his way inside. No, he murmured my name, low and reverent, before he leaned in and began to clean my face. With his tongue. Never in my life would I have thought a tongue on my chin and the corners of my mouth would be erotic, but then I never thought aliens existed either. Tark, with his talented tongue and sweet breath, was driving me to madness as he licked across my closed lips, the metal balls teasing the seam. My breasts felt heavy, while my hard and aching nipples pushed at the fabric of my dress. I shifted my legs, a small moan leaving my throat as my inner muscles throbbed with want.

Tark heard my needy noise, because he froze. His eyes met mine, inches away. My lips parted, and the rumbling in his chest deepened to a rough growl before he pressed his lips to mine. His tongue swept inside, and I lost track of everything. Who I was, where I was. I gave back as much as I could, running my tongue over those metal balls, drawing a groan from him. Heat streaked through me like wildfire in my veins. I clutched his shoulders, pulling him closer, and he stretched over me until I was on my back.

And still, he kissed me, tongue studying every recess in my mouth, like it needed to learn me inside and out. I wanted that tongue elsewhere. On my neck, my breasts. Between my legs.

What the heck was happening to me?

I pulled back on a gasp, looking up into his vivid purple eyes, which had lightened. His lips were red and swollen. I didn’t know what to make of my actions. This wasn’t me. Was there some type of aphrodisiac in their food? Their drink? Because this was crazy. Yet, I couldn’t deny there was a strong pull toward him. Only him. I hadn’t met many of the others yet, but I knew in my heart none would compare to Tark.

Still, this was…insane. I’d crashed on a strange planet that I never knew existed and been taken in by alien creatures that we’d never heard of. Was I the first person to make contact? If I ever made it back to Earth, I’d be in history books. Jumping the bones of the first alien I saw wasn’t the right thing to do. I should have been focused on getting information and finding out if there was any way I could get home. Not this alien with a wicked tongue.

With great effort, I shot him a weak smile and slid out from under him. I waited for the growl, a smack. But he let me go. He let me retreat to the far corner of the bed. He stayed hunched over, fists planted in the bedding.

“I’m sorry, Tark,” I said. “I’m just… I’m confused. And scared.”

I tried to plead with my eyes for him to understand. His eyes had darkened again to almost black, and his expression was like thunder, his lips pressed into a strange line. He was probably angry with me. And the kicker was? I respected him even more for letting me have my space.

A crash sounded in the other room, followed by a muttering voice, and I gasped as I craned my neck to see who it was. Tark didn’t move, his gaze still steady on me, brow furrowed until I could barely see his eyes.

Another Blue walked into the room. This one was older, his dark hair streaked with white, his scales not quite as shiny. His face was lined with age, and he walked with a cane. He was handsome though, very handsome, with a strong jaw and kind eyes. He stopped in the doorway, and I worried Tark was going to take his head off for interrupting us. But the older Blue didn’t look afraid. He looked amused, if anything. He walked right past Tark, as if the man wasn’t exuding homicidal vibes, and approached me.

He picked up a scanner and began to run it down my body. I let him because he wasn’t touching me, and something told me he was responsible for the medical paraphernalia in here. The man spoke again before slowly turning to eye Tark. I realized then he’d been talking to him. Not me.

Tark said something through gritted teeth. Older Blue answered with a few terse words, and whatever he said pissed Tark off even more. His tail smashed into the plate I’d eaten from, sending it flying into the far wall, before he stalked outside.

I watched him go, my heart sinking. I didn’t want to feel guilty for stopping our kiss, but I also wished I could tell him why I stopped.

I looked at Older Blue hopelessly, and even though he couldn’t understand me, I still asked, “Will Tark be okay?”

Older Blue just smiled, placed his hand lightly on my shoulder, and nodded. I let that soothe me because I didn’t have much of a choice.

Time was a hard concept for me, but it seemed like Older Blue spent a good hour checking me out. His touch was gentle and clinical. It also did nothing for me. I had no desire to kiss Older Blue, despite the fact that he was very attractive in a silver fox kind of way. Nope, I wanted none of it. I just wanted Tark back. And as the time dragged on, I worried he wouldn’t bother returning.

FOUR

Tark

We’d built our settlement around the five-story former living quarters of a rich Uldani town. Most of the area had been damaged in the Uprising, and all of the Uldani had fled to the east of the continent. Most Drixonian clavases—there were many of us—had settled into former Uldani dwellings vacated during the Uprising. The fifth floor was mostly missing, and a bit of the fourth as well, a result of the Uldani sabotaging their own structures to try to make them unlivable for us.

But Drixonian males had learned a lot since our females died. We’d learned how to be resourceful. We’d managed to rebuild what we could and settle into what was left. Most of the solar panels had been salvaged and provided fuel for our cooking units and cleansers. We rationed everything, and while the drexel was supposed to abide the rations, I knew Bult coveted much of the solar power for himself. Flecking selfish.

After we’d freed ourselves from Uldani service, us Drixonians separated into small clavases, pledging loyalty to drexels who had proven themselves. Some clavases still worked to maintain the peace, which had always been our jobs, while some worked outside the law. We were friendly with some, while we avoided others at all costs. Bult originally had led us to be one of the good ones, but greed had eventually captured his attention. He’d cut off most of our allies and focused on raiding. I could challenge him now, but Shep was right. Enna would never be safe in a clavas, and not one with so many Bult faithful. Even if I killed him, there would be those seeking to overtake me.

Living as a lonas was best. No clavas or brothers. But I’d have Enna, and she’d be safe. I’d miss my brothers, and most of all Shep. After my parents died, he’d taken me under his wing. I’d served under his command for the Uldani. He’d been my mentor and role model.

I strode toward my room, avoiding eye contact with other males. As one of the older members of the clavas, I was afforded my own room on the third floor. Of course, I wasn’t older by much. I was born right before the first wave of the virus hit, which took ten cycles to ravage its way through our population. The younger warriors, those born toward the end of the virus’s destruction, often had to bunk together.

In the privacy of my own space, I let out my rage on the solid wooden pole that I used as a sparring post. My machets lifted, razor-sharp blades that emerged from the scales in my forearms, in a strip on the top of my head, and continuing down my back to the base of my tail. I unleashed my claws, and I sliced at the wood. Chunks went flying, coating me in dust and debris, and still I attacked.

I’d lost control around the female—Enna. Beautiful, soft Enna. I was still losing control. Shep’s words went through my head over and over again. She is all. She is all. She is all. The elder Drixonians who’d survived the sickness worked hard to pass on our culture to the rest of us too young to remember. Number one rule was to respect females, which meant we were never to touch one without their wanting it.

I’d broken that rule already. I’d kissed her and touched her. Even now I could feel her on my tongue. My cock, which rarely made its presence known, was a painful rod against my thigh. I’d scared her. Her terrified eyes, the way she’d scrambled away from me, haunted me.

I slashed my arms across the wood, rammed it with my head-spikes on a growl. My body grew slick with sweat until the wood completely shattered into pieces around me—no longer a post but a pile of wood chips.

I collapsed onto my knees, letting my machets retreat, and held my head in my hands. I shouldn’t have run away, but my frustration over the communication barrier had reached a boiling point. I reached a shaky hand into my pouch and withdrew the translator. Just a QR chip and it would be a working unit. I only needed a small circuit and I’d be able to talk to my human female, my Enna.

I closed my fist around the translator and placed it back in its hiding place in my pouch. I might not deserve Enna now, but I would prove myself worthy. I’d save her from this place, help her communicate, and then keep her safe for the rest of our lives. I pictured her smile and the trusting way she looked at me. I could get that back. With a groan, I heaved myself to my feet. Today was the day to plan, and to do that, I had to be alert. Mindful.

After drinking some qua and stuffing a few tein bars in my mouth, I retreated to my cleanser to wipe the dirt and sweat from my body. When I peeled off my pants, my cock was still hard. I frowned and pinched the tip, which usually worked to soften it on the off chance I ever hardened. This time, that didn’t work.

As I stood in the cleanser, letting the hot, filtered air clean my hair and body, I pictured Enna’s sweet face. Her beautiful mouth, and that hot, wet tongue of hers when it tangled with mine. I wanted to suck her breasts, and lick at the sweet cream between her legs. Shep had taught us all about pleasuring females and informed us that Drixonian males had long been revered as legendary lovers. I longed for the day I could show Enna, if she ever honored me with the chance.

I wrapped my hand around my cock and tugged, feeling the ridges rub on my fingers. A moan fell from my lips, and my balls tightened, feeling full to bursting. I imagined the tight heat of Enna’s body when I sank inside, when I brought her pleasure. I stroked myself harder, head back, fangs digging into my bottom lip. Her walls would clamp around me as she climaxed, and I’d drive into her again and again, taking her higher, until I filled her with my seed.

As a surprised shout fell from my lips, my cock erupted. Thick ropes of come hit the wall of the cleanser, only to be whisked away immediately. My legs shaky, I placed a hand on the wall. My cock had barely softened. The last time I’d come had been… maybe five full sun-cycles ago. Many, many rotations. And it had never felt like that. Enna. It was all her doing.

I turned off the cleanser and dressed quickly. Tonight would be the night. I’d take Enna to the spaceship to find a QR chip. After that, I’d be able to explain everything to her. I hoped. Then we’d disappear. I wished I could return her to her home, but it wasn’t possible. Only the Raghul had the ability to travel that far, and since they were the ones to steal her, they wouldn’t be offering to take her home any time soon. We couldn’t even return to our home planet, as the Uldani had destroyed all our ships in the Uprising. We had been defensive warriors who patrolled our own atmosphere in short-range ships, not marauders who traveled to other galaxies.

I glanced around my room, searching for any valuables I had to take. My possessions were minimal. My bike was the most valuable thing I owned, and I’d had her fifty cycles, which was a third of my life. I wouldn’t be able to take her when I left, as she was too loud. I hoped someone else took care of her. I gathered my essentials and stuffed them in a bag. I’d have to come back and get them as it would only invite questions if I carried a pack around camp.

For now, I had to show my face. If Bult got an idea of what I was planning, it’d be war. A sharp knock rattled my door, and I approached cautiously. I peered through the small hole in my door, relieved as fleck to see Vye on the other side and not Bult.

I opened the door and waved my friend inside. He was shorter than me, but well-built and deceptively strong. He’d also been very good friends with Gupa, and he hadn’t been the same since he lost him. He’d seemed to mature quickly after that, and I’d noticed he’d been quietly sowing seeds of discontent about Bult among the rest of the clavas.

“Is it true?” he asked, his voice low and firm. I always liked that about Vye. He didn’t shout or act impulsively. “Did you find a female today?”

There was no point in lying. Too many had seen her. “We did. Shep says she’s a human.”

“I heard Bult…” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “I heard Bult laid his hands on her until you stepped in.”

“You heard right.”

He swore softly and his machets lifted slightly before settling back beneath his scales. “He’s gone too far. He’s forgotten everything we are.”

“I agree, but he still has support.”

Vye crossed his arms over his chest. “I think it’s mostly support based on fear now. I’ve been asking around.”

“You need to be careful. I’m behind you in this, but if he gets wind of your mutiny too soon…”

Vye blew out a harsh breath. “I know. I know. But now that he has a female… We have to act quicker.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder and lowered my voice. “Let me get the female to safety. Then you can return the Black Bloods to honor.”

Vye’s chin lifted and his chest puffed out. “I will.”

I clasped the back of his neck, and he did the same to me. I touched our foreheads together and murmured, “She is all.”

“She is all,” he returned. I grinned, and he grinned back.

Vye left my room, and I watched him go, feeling less guilt over leaving. It felt good to speak our mantra again, as we’d gone so long without saying it. How could we put our females first if we didn’t have them?

Gathering what I needed, I left my room and jogged down the stairs of the barracks until I reached the main hall. I didn’t make it far before I saw Bult striding toward me, followed by his second and third in command, who I called Two and Three because their identities had all but vanished in Bult’s shadow.

“Female make it through the night?” Bult asked, drawing to a stop in front of me.

He spoke of her as if she was a wounded animal. “She lives,” I said.

He nodded, his gaze drifting toward the direction of Shep’s hut. “I have to ride out today. Scouts have reported some activity from the Sharp Blade clavas in our territory. I’ll be back tomorrow morning, and then I want to see her.”

We used to be friendly with the Blades, until Bult became convinced they had been pilfering our fuel. He had no evidence of this.

I didn’t want to ask, but I had to. “Do you have plans for her?”

He cocked his head, his upper lip curling. “Why? Interested in keeping her for yourself? Playing hero?”

I clenched my teeth. “You forget where we came from—”

“Of course I do, Tark.” He held his arms out to the sides. “Do you see any Drix females about? Hmm?” I didn’t respond as he stepped closer. “No, you don’t. Because they’re all dead, and they were the only ones who could continue our species. You and Shep can fleck off with your she is all bullshit. There are no more she’s. There is a female alien species who we can use or sell to benefit all of us. I’m sure the Uldani will hand over some medis in exchange for her. You think she’s going to push out your spawn?” He laughed. “Zero chance. There is no more future for the Drix. There is only now, and I intend to make the Black Bone clavas rich and prosperous with the time we have.” His nostrils flared. “Get in my way, Tark, and I’ll take you out.” He grinned cruelly. “But not before stuffing that little female with my cock while you watch.”

He gestured to Two and Three. “Watch him and the female. Guard the gates. No one in or out until I get back.” With a thump of his tail, he turned and walked away.

I watched him go with clenched teeth, my machets itching to lift. But I couldn’t. I had honor and slashing a male in the back was cowardly. I glanced at Two and Three, who watched me warily. Fear hid behind the false bravado in their eyes. I’d use that to my advantage, because my plan had not changed. Tonight, we would escape.

Anna

After Tark left, I fretted for a while. Older Blue, who I learned was named Shep after an awkward and long conversation, remained patient with me. He showed me how to bathe, which blew my mind. Essentially, I stood in a cylinder, like a standup tanning booth, as hot air blasted me. And it worked.

After I emerged and pulled the old gross dress over my head, I discovered that Shep was gone. I took another nap, because why not? And when I awoke, I was still alone. I wandered around the back room for a while, which reminded me of a doctor’s office exam room. I didn’t dare touch any gadgets, for fear I’d blow up either myself or the hut. Then I sat on the bedding, pulled my knees to my chest, and forced myself to work through my feelings.

I’d been so focused on surviving, and I finally had time to process. Or at least, process what I was capable of. I still wasn’t sure I’d quite fully wrapped my brain around where I was. Or how I got here. Or what the hell I was going to do.

It amazed me how quickly I’d come to rely on Tark and process my new surroundings. Growing up, I’d never really had a home base. I was an only child, and we moved often for my father’s job, mainly in the South. Then my parents divorced when I was a preteen, and my new normal was an overworked mom and an absent dad. I’d been relatively close with my mom, but she died of a heart attack when I was in college. After that, I moved several more times as better-paying library jobs opened up. I’d been in South Carolina for only about a year and a half before… Well, before I’d woken up on a spaceship.

I had a few friends who would miss me, but probably not anyone who would actively push to find me. I hadn’t talked to my dad in three years. I’d learned to adapt quickly to new circumstances, but those circumstances still had boundaries and certain parameters since they were all on… well… Earth. I’d always been a curious person. As a kid, I loved fantasy books and used to analyze the black and white maps in the front of the books. Tracing my fingers over the little triangle mountains and the squiggly line oceans, I’d close my eyes and picture another world. Of course, that’d been from the safety of my bedroom where the only stars were the glow-in-the-dark ones on my ceiling.

Yet now that another world was my reality, I wasn’t losing my mind, only mildly freaking out inside. I could only surmise that the source of my semi-calm was Tark. Something about him made me feel safe, and I wanted to explore that. Maybe that made me a little loony, but if focusing on Tark helped me cope with my current situation, then I was going to go with it. Anything was preferable to losing my mind.

Deciding to explore a bit more, I left the bed and crept to the front room of the hut. The walls reminded me of a log cabin—thick, rounded trunks held together by a blackened substance. A table stood off to one side with a few chairs, and in the other corner was a smaller set of bedding. This looked to be more like Shep’s living quarters. A pair of boots stood in one corner, and some pants hung over the back of a chair. I wondered what Tark’s home looked like.

I wrapped my fingers around the door’s handle and pulled. The door gave way, a bit of light spilling inside. I gasped and quickly shoved it shut. I had assumed they’d locked me inside. I could open this and just… walk out. Maybe escape. But the thought of striking out on my own on an unknown planet sounded like a terrible idea. Even though I had no idea what awaited me in my future, Tark seemed like my best bet. Not that I was ever good at betting.

I sighed and slipped over to a window. Earlier, I’d heard noises outside, so I didn’t think we were in a secluded area. I peered out, hiding in the shadows as best as I could. I wasn’t risking the chance of walking out there alone and getting snatched up by Ponytail or worse. Was there worse? Probably.

From what I could see, we were in some sort of encampment or settlement. Except it looked like it’d been through a war. At the end of a cracked road stood a large apartment building. The top floor was shorn off and half of the floor below it. Through a hole in the bottom floor, I could see more blue aliens milling about. A lot more. Many walked along the road or stood outside a large garage structure, where they knelt next to dozens of hover bikes. The Blues were strapped with weapons and had multiple piercings on their faces. I thought about Tark’s tongue…and wondered where else these aliens had hidden piercings.

I shook myself. It’s not the time to daydream, Anna! I craned my neck to look outside as far as I dared. In front of another building, racks of what looked to be animal skins dried in the sun, while more aliens knelt over buckets of liquid, dunking clothing and scrubbing them clean. In a larger courtyard area to my left was a large fire, and many aliens stood around, stirring things in pots and eating.

Their technology interested me. Many had a gun-like device strapped to their belt. Their medicines were superior to ours, and that shower thing was definitely like nothing I’d ever seen before. I still couldn’t figure out how that air had cleaned me, but it had. My hair shone, and my skin nearly glowed. But their camp seemed on the primitive side—hand-washing clothes and cooking over an open fire. How did they get their tech? If they stole it, I was curious who they stole it from.

One thing I didn’t see: Females. Unless this species had no distinguishing features between males and females, which I kind of doubted. No females with breasts, no couples who looked to be together. Nothing. Just an entire camp of about fifty big blue males. Plus little ol’ me.

I sucked in a breath and slid back farther into Shep’s house. This was… even worse than I thought. What did they plan to do with me? And now I’d pissed off Tark. The thing was, I was less upset that I’d hurt the only male who’d been nice to me, and more upset that I’d hurt him. The sweet, gentle protector who’d kissed me until I didn’t know my name.

The door swung open with a bang, and I jumped back, expecting Shep, but instead Tark’s wide frame entered the room. His brow was furrowed, lips thinned, and all my hopes that his anger had cooled during the time he was gone were dashed.

“Tark?” I said softly, stepping out from the darkness of the corner.

His head turned to me. His great chest heaved, and then his face softened. “Enna,” he said, holding out a bundle. He placed it on the table and pushed it toward me, then gestured to it with his hand.

I unfolded the fabric to reveal a pair of pants and a shirt. Both were crudely sewn, but they looked like they’d fit. I hadn’t seen a single male out there even close to my size, which meant he would have had to make these himself or have someone else make them. Either way, he’d made the effort to find me clothes that fit, enabling me to wear something other than this horrid dress that made me think of those Blow Hole jerks.

Beneath the clothes were a pair of boots. Real actual boots with soles. And just like when he’d given me something to drink, I burst into big, fat, ugly sobs, right there in Shep’s living room.

He rushed to me immediately, hefting me into his strong arms and depositing me on his lap, settling us both into a soft chair tucked into the corner of the room. “Ch-ch-ch, Enna,” he murmured into my hair.

I wondered if he understood tears. I’d only cried when he did nice things for me, and they were kind of happy tears, but only because there’d been so much crap before this act of kindness. I had worried I’d never eat or have real clothes again.

I got myself under control, wiping the tears from under my eyes and giving him a watery smile. “Thank you, Tark,” I said.

He seemed to like when I said his name, and surely enough, he returned my smile. And maybe the oxygen on this planet had something in it, because I did an insane thing. I kissed him. Just a quick press on the lips. I didn’t stop to think how he’d take it, or if he’d try for more. All I knew was that I wanted to thank him, and I wanted to do it with a kiss.

His hands, which had been wrapped around my waist, flexed, but remained where they were. He didn’t try to take it further. He seemed content with the kiss, leaning back in the chair and giving me a self-satisfied look. Ah, so males from this species weren’t so different than human males in some ways.

I slowly climbed off his lap and grabbed the clothes he’d brought me. I pointed to the back room to indicate I was going to get dressed, and he nodded, those dark eyes trained on me. Once out of his sight, I hurriedly tore off the dress, tossing it into the corner of the room. They could burn it for all I cared. I slid the pants on, which fit a bit like leggings. The fabric was unfamiliar, of course, and when it came into contact with my body heat, it almost seemed to conform to my curves. Interesting. And comfy. The shirt was a little big and hung off one shoulder. I mourned the lack of a bra, but there was nothing I could do about that.

The boots were awesome. I slipped my feet into them, and like the pants, they formed to my feet. The soles were thick but not too cumbersome. I smoothed my hands down my legs, smiling and feeling more like myself than I had since I left Earth. I skipped out of the back room feeling like a new woman. I twirled in front of Tark, my hands out, like I was trying on wedding dresses for him. “What do you think?”

His grin was huge, and his dimple piercings flashed in the light of the room. He murmured something in his deep voice. I pretended he’d said, “You look amazing.”

He looked kissable. Lickable. And I was about two seconds away from giving in to my urges when the door opened and Shep walked inside.

FIVE

Tark

I reluctantly tore my gaze away from Enna. Her smile was captivating, and I vowed to make her smile as much as I could. I hadn’t expected her to be so happy about new clothes. They weren’t made as well as I would have liked, but they were the best Hilo could sew on such short notice. I made a mental note she liked gifts.

Shep cleared his throat and raised his brows at me. “One of Bult’s seconds is guarding my door. You know anything about that?”

My mood immediately soured. They were taking shifts, so I’d be guarded all night. “Bult’s orders. He doesn’t trust me.”

The corner of Shep’s mouth lifted, and he plunked down a packet of meat on the table. He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “He shouldn’t trust you.”

“I wish he was stupid,” I muttered.

“If he was stupid, he wouldn’t be our drexel,” Shep said. “Now how about we feed your female.” He turned away from me and powered up his cooking device.

Enna had been listening to our exchange, her face pinched in concentration, as if she was trying to guess what we were saying. I couldn’t get this translator implant fixed fast enough. I longed to talk to her.

“Enna,” I called to her. I sat down at the table, beckoning her with my fingers. She took a few cautious steps toward me, her cute little nose in the air, sniffing as Shep seared our meat. Despite the empty chairs, Enna perched herself on my lap, and my chest nearly burst with pride. I wrapped my arms around her and inhaled the scent of her clean hair.

In minutes, the three of us had plates of antella meat with some vegetables from the clavas’s garden.

“What’s your plan?” Shep asked, his voice pitched low so our guard couldn’t hear.

I jerked my chin toward my bag in the corner. “Supplies are all packed. While Hilo made her clothes, I was busy.”

“Oh yeah?”

“The supply hut along the back wall. I dug a tunnel leading under the wall to the other side. Didn’t take near as long as I’d expected.” I glanced at Enna. “I guess I was motivated.”

Shep smirked. “You don’t say? I’m assuming you need something from me? Like a distraction for your guard?”

I nodded. “Any ideas?”

“Sure. I know Blusser can’t resist spirits. I’ll provide him with some and add a little sleep aid. He’ll be passed out and snoring in no time.”

I smiled. “Perfect. But will they suspect you?”

Shep shook his head. “Stop worrying about me. Worry about yourself and your Enna.”

I glanced down at my empty plate. My stomach was a mass of nerves, but I’d forced myself to eat because I needed the energy. “I won’t be able to take my bike.”

“I figured that.”

I placed a hand on Shep’s shoulder as I already mourned the loss of my bike. “Take care of her for me?”

He smiled and clasped my shoulder. “She will be in good hands.”

Later that night, I sat in the darkness listening as the sounds of the clavas faded. When I was sure they were all either asleep or passed out, I crept to the window and glanced outside at my guard. I smiled. The sleep aid Shep had covertly given him had worked. Blusser was slumped over, asleep. Soft snores left his mouth.

This was my chance. I gathered my pack and slung it over my shoulder. I’d checked it three times to be sure I had everything I needed, including a few extra clothes I had Hilo make for Enna. The translator implant was tucked away in the pouch at my belt.

With one last look at Shep, I turned toward the back room to retrieve Enna and pulled up short. She stood in the doorway, big eyes illuminated by the starlight creeping in through the windows, her gaze on my pack. Her mouth opened, and closed, and she spoke. “Urrrr leeeevin meh?”

I didn’t bother to answer her, since I didn’t know what she was asking. All I knew was she looked incredibly sad. Did she not want to leave? I wished I could explain to her that I was doing what was best. She was fully dressed, but barefoot. I grabbed her shoes and knelt at her feet, gesturing for her to put them on. Her expression cleared, confusion replacing the sadness. “Um cumming wit uuu? Waree?”

Once her shoes were on, I grabbed her hand. Even though she couldn’t understand me, I spoke anyway. “I’m taking you away from here so I know you’ll be safe. I’ll protect you, Enna.”

She studied my face, and lifted her hand to cup my cheek, slight tremors shaking her hand. I nuzzled into her palm and kissed her wrist. Flushing, she drew her hand back. She bit her lip, eyes still huge and a little wet. She nodded.

I opened the front door slowly. Blusser was still snoring, and the camp was deserted. The clavas fire was merely embers, and a few passed-out bodies were scattered around it with nearby spirits bottles empty.

I turned around and placed my hand over her mouth gently, a sign that I needed her to be quiet. She jerked at my touch, but then seemed to understand and nodded. I took a step outside, pulling her behind me. Once the door was shut, I slipped around the side of Shep’s hut, seeking the safety of the dark shadows.

We headed for the supply hut. I’d placed bedding over the newly dug tunnel in case anyone ventured inside. The tunnel led outside our walls, and branches covered the opening in the dense forest. I hated that I had to make Enna crawl through dirt like an animal, but it was the best option we had to escape.

It took us longer to get to the hut than I wanted, but Enna’s legs were much shorter than mine. She wouldn’t be able to keep up with my walking pace, even if she were running. I would have to carry her once we made it outside these walls. Crouched to remain in the shadows, we didn’t have that option inside the gates.

When we reached the hut, I hefted her into a window, then quickly followed her. She clung to me in the darkened hut with groping hands, and I wondered how well she could see. My eyes had long adjusted to the darkness. I pulled a small solar light from my belt and turned it on. Enna blinked at it, then grabbed it from me with an excited noise.

I shoved the bedding aside to reveal the hole in the floorboards. Enna gasped and shined the light into the inky blackness. “Weer gooin en derr?”

It took some awkward hand motions, but I convinced her to crawl into the hole. I followed her inside, and after grabbing the bedding and re-covering the hole with it, I urged her ahead. She looked nervous and kept glancing back at me like she was afraid I didn’t plan to follow. I wished I could tell her I’d never leave her.

When we reached the other side, I pushed through the leafy covering and pulled Enna out. I held her to me. “You did great, Enna.”

Face streaked with dirt, she beamed at me and patted my cheek. She brushed off her clothes as best as she could. “Ware too nau?”

I gripped her hand and knelt for her to get on my back. The leaves above me rustled. I shoved Enna behind me and rolled to the side just as two feet landed on the ground where I’d been kneeling. Enna muffled a scream, and I jumped to my feet. Juster, Bult’s third, stood with his feet braced and machets lifted.

“I knew you’d try to steal her,” he said, his lips curled into a snarl. “You thought only Blusser was on guard?” He cricked his neck and flexed his arms. “Your mistake. I’ve been watching you this whole time sneaking around. It wasn’t that hard to find your exit hole. And now I have to kill you for stealing Bult’s property. Or I’ll just hurt you real bad and drag you back so Bult can make an example of you. But probably not until you hear the female screaming for what Bult has planned for her.”

Protectiveness surged within me as I unleashed my machets. The bone blades lifted from under my scales, the black shining under the moonlight along my forearms, the top of my head, and down my back to the base of my tail. My nails lengthened into claws. We were bred for fighting, us Drixonians, with razor-sharp weapons just below our skin waiting to be unfurled. We could skin an antella in seconds with just our claws.

“Ooo mah gawwsh.” Enna gasped, but I couldn’t turn to comfort her. My focus had to be entirely on my adversary.

Juster was one of Bult’s best, because he was a good fighter. But he wasn’t me. Juster had tried for the element of surprise, dropping in on me from the trees, but he’d failed. As he watched me ready my armor, the first flicker of fear entered his eyes. I was bigger. Older. What he didn’t know—and what he should fear the most—was that I had something to fight for. Enna. I’d do anything for her, even kill a fellow Drixonian.

Engaging in the Drixonian battle stance, I crossed my arms at the wrists in front of my neck and met his gaze from between my fists.

Juster growled and leaped. I arched my back to avoid him, and his forearm machets missed me by inches. I ducked and swung my leg out, taking him off his feet. I brought my tail armor down, but he rolled, and I hit dirt.

Juster flipped back onto his feet and brought his head down. One of his scalp spikes slashed me in the neck, and I shuffled back.

“One more of those and you’ll bleed out.” Juster grinned, emboldened by his small victory.

It’d be his only one. I was done being cautious. I didn’t want to kill Juster, but it was clear he would kill me, given the chance. No way would I let him take me alive. With a warning growl, I advanced. Juster was ready for me to come at him, but he wasn’t ready for my speed. I slammed my fist into the side of his face, stunning him long enough to get him on his back with my machets at his throat. His eyes went wide, and he tried to roll. I held him in a firm grip. He wasn’t going anywhere.

I had to admit, even I was surprised at how quickly I’d beaten him. I felt stronger, faster, and I assumed it was because I had something to fight for. “I can just put you out,” I said. “We don’t have to kill each other.”

He struggled beneath me, but my weight on his chest held him in place. My knees pinned his arms so he couldn’t slash at me, but his efforts were digging his machets into my thighs. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

“You’re going to… have to… kill me.” His eyes burned into me, and his words soured my gut.

So I did the only thing I could do, the most humane way I could kill him in the situation. I snapped his neck. A crack echoed through the forest, and Juster’s body went still and lifeless. One of Enna’s soft sobs followed.

I stood slowly. Sorrow wracked my body as I stared down at the body of Juster. I hadn’t had a choice, but that didn’t make it any easier to terminate the life of one of my own, especially as none would be born to replace him.

I squeezed my eyes shut and turned to Enna. The reason I was sacrificing everything. She looked at me, horror and panic written all over her face. I glanced down at myself, brushing at a cut in my chest that still bled. My machets dripped with Juster’s blood. The life I’d taken. I couldn’t imagine how I looked to her. Would she ever see me the same? Had I lost her?

I wanted to reassure her that I was still me. Still Tark. But I didn’t have time. We had to get out of here as fast as we could. I lunged toward her, and she let out a short scream. I picked her up, cradled her in my arms, and took off into the forest at a dead sprint.

Anna

He ran so fast that the world was a blur of dark shapes. My tears dried as soon as they dropped from my eyes. I clung to him, stomach churning. The torment in his eyes—he hadn’t wanted to kill that other alien. Maybe I’d been interpreting it all wrong, but I assumed it all had to do with me. Tark was leaving with me, and he wasn’t allowed. He’d killed for me.

Since I’d walked in on him strapping a pack to his back, my life had been a roller coaster of emotions. I’d thought he was leaving me, sneaking out in the middle of the night. But then he’d taken me with him, only to shove me into a hole in the ground. I’d been elated at our escape, only to lose my freaking mind when that other alien had challenged Tark.

I wondered if Tark had planned to leave me out here on my own. As in, he would help me escape but then head back to his home. But he still wore the pack, and I couldn’t imagine he’d be welcomed back if he’d killed one of them. I’d caused that. Me. Or really, the Blow Hole jerks who’d started this whole thing. My anger at them roared to life again.

My head spun, and despite Tark’s smooth gait, the constant motion was making me sick. I smacked his chest to get his attention, and his gaze snapped to me. But he didn’t slow. I struggled in his arms and hit his arms with my fists. Finally, he drew to a stop. Carefully, he set me on my feet, and I stepped away.

The moonlight backlit him, and I couldn’t help but flinch at his wicked silhouette. His black blades, which moments ago had lifted from his scales like an enhanced Wolverine, were still on full display, their slick surfaces gleaming in the starlight. Their triangular points were bent like large shark’s teeth, jutting from his forearms, the center of his skull like a mohawk, and down his back to the base of his tail. I’d seen what those blades could do and how they could slice through his opponent’s scales like butter. I couldn’t imagine the damage he could do to human flesh.

His chest heaved, and his hands fisted at his sides. His eyes were impossibly black, and his body still shuddered with repressed anger. Did he resent me for making him kill one of his kind?

He took a step toward me, and while in the back of my mind I didn’t think he’d hurt me, I flinched again and stepped back. He froze, and the life seemed to drain from his eyes.

Maybe I was in shock, because I could do nothing but whisper, “I’m sorry.” I wasn’t even sure what I was sorry for. That he killed for me? That I’d flinched from him? That we were in this situation neither of us had asked for?

“Enna.” My name was a broken whisper. He looked up into the sky, closed his eyes, and then his big body jerked. His body buckled and he fell to his knees with a thud, his blades retreating back into his skin so he was once again the gentle Tark I had grown to care for.

I hated how defeated he looked. I didn’t really know what was going on, but I got the sense he was sacrificing a lot for me. His last exchange with Shep, where they’d clasped arms and murmured soft words to each other, couldn’t have been interpreted as anything but a goodbye.

Shaking myself out of my stupor, I stepped forward and slid my fingers into his damp hair. He was coated in sweat and dark blood, but I ignored it all. My big alien needed comfort, and I needed it too, so maybe we could lean on each other. He was so tall, his forehead rested between my breasts, and I cradled his head in my hands. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding onto me tightly, like he wished to never let me go.

“I’m sorry you had to kill one of yours, Tark. I don’t know why you’re doing this for me. You could have let Ponytail have me. You could have done so many other things, but instead you chose to escape with me.”

He tilted his head back and dark eyes met mine. They were firing now, streaks of lighter purple swirling around his iris. The heat from his body seeped into my muscles and heated my bones. I finally registered our positions, and what they meant. This big alien, this dangerous male with built-in weapons and arms bigger than my torso was on his knees. For me.

His hands began to move, squeezing my waist and slipping down to cup the cheeks of my ass. I squirmed under his touch, already growing wet between my legs at the intense look in his eyes and his wandering hands. His nostrils flared, and his lips parted, fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

“Tark,” I whispered.

He growled and my world spun. One minute I was standing, and the next I was on my back, my head cradled by soft moss. Tark slid my shoes off, and then my pants. I instinctively pressed my thighs together, but with his hands on my knees, he speared me with a heated look and murmured a few syllables. My core pulsed. I froze and then relaxed my muscles, spreading my legs wide. I bit my lip, wondering what he thought. Did I look like other females he’d seen?

He stared down at the space between my legs, his eyes wide, and his cheeks flushed. He still looked deadly with a scabbed-over cut on his chest and blood splattered on his scales. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t turned off by the sight of him. If anything, the evidence of how he fought for me turned me on even more.

His hands, with now-retracted claws, touched me. It was just a brush at first, and then he spread my folds. With his head cocked to the side, he studied me, and I forced myself not to move. This was hot, his intense perusal. He wanted to learn me, my body. And I was more than happy to let him.

He inhaled sharply, folded his big body in half, and latched his mouth directly onto my clit. He hollowed his cheeks and sucked. I screamed as my back bowed, and he held onto my bucking body, lips still firmly sealed over my skin. He lashed his pierced tongue back and forth across my clit, and the metal balls were like a massage to my engorged flesh. I writhed beneath him, and my fingers gripped his hair and tugged. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, he began to hum. He set a rhythm of suck, lick, swirl, suck, lick, swirl. He hummed through it all, and the steady vibrations echoed to each of my limbs, so I felt him everywhere.

Just as I felt the orgasm building, building, so big that I swore I’d combust, he pulled off my clit, twirled his tongue around my entrance, and speared me with that talented appendage.

I swore I levitated. His tongue reached all the way inside, to places I’d never been touched before. His hums turned into growls, and his lips worked alongside his tongue. As he ate at me, my cries and groans punctuated the still of the night.

He touched me everywhere inside, his piercings rippling down my inner walls and lighting my blood on fire. I scratched the ground, digging my fingers into dirt. Then I grasped at his hair. I raked my heels down his giant back, and marveled at the male on his knees, his lips locked onto my sex, servicing me.

His eyes, like purple lasers, met mine over the bucking of my body. His lips curled, and his tongue dipped farther. My orgasm barreled down my spine like a scorching flame, and I detonated. My vision whited out, my neck craned, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head while I shuddered. And shuddered. And shook, and whimpered.

When I came back to myself, I was still on my back, naked from the waist down, and Tark’s head was resting on my thigh. His tongue lapped at me lazily, cleaning my sex and my inner thighs, even dipping to sample the crack of my ass. His eyes were closed, his features relaxed with bliss.

I told myself to sit up, to say something, to reach into his pants and return the favor, but my eyelids were droopy. I yawned, and thought of a few things I wanted to say, but never got them out as I drifted off into a post-orgasmic nap.

SIX

Tark

I felt reborn from one taste of Enna. She’d fallen asleep while I’d licked her, and I could have lain there forever between her legs, but we had to put more distance between us and Bult’s camp. I hadn’t meant to stop this long, but I’d been overwhelmed by the scent of her and that breathy way she’d said my name.

She was still asleep in my arms, and I kept a steady pace as I jogged through the forest toward the spaceship, careful not to jostle her too much. She’d given me the best gift I could ever receive in this life and continued to do so every time she smiled at me. Leaving all I’d known and killing Juster was worth it.

I ran for hours, Enna asleep in my arms. I’d never needed much sleep, but with Enna on my tongue, I felt like I could keep this pace for three straight rotations. I wanted to make it to the spaceship by the time the sun rose.

A warm glow peeked over the horizon, signaling oncoming dawn, when Enna woke. I crested a hill to see the spaceship wreck just ahead of us. She blinked her pretty eyes and furrowed her brow before patting my arm. I finally came to a stop and placed her on her feet. Her lips parted in wonder when she caught sight of the spaceship.

I didn’t bother to explain. I grabbed her hand and tugged her along after me. She followed, tripping over her feet before moving her legs faster to keep up. By the time we reached the hole in the hull, she was panting. She bent at the waist, hands on her knees and peered up at me through her hair.

“Dam ur faasd.” She squinted into the darkness of the ship. “Wut r we dooin heer?”

I pulled her inside and found a spot free from debris and hidden from outside view. I pushed on her shoulder until she plopped down on the floor. I held my hand up, palm out, gesturing for her to stay. Her eyes shifted and she crossed her arms over her chest. “I wull stae, not a doge.”

I handed her the solar light so she’d be able to keep track of where I was. When I was content she wouldn’t get in my way or hurt herself on any of the ship’s damaged parts, I got to work.

Back when we worked for the Uldani, our jobs were hired muscle—law enforcement and bodyguards. I’d accompanied the Uldani as protection on several Raghul ships, so I knew my way around the spacecraft. The Uldani thought we were only good for fighting and doubted our intelligence, but I had paid attention as I’d stood in the background. Always. I learned what powered the ships—special fuel the Raghul found on a distant planet. I knew what the control panels did, and, in a pinch, I’d probably be able to fly one of these things. That was how I knew there would be a QR chip on board. I’d have to dismantle the steering panel to get to it, and I hoped it wasn’t damaged.

Getting to the cockpit of the ship proved harder than I had thought. Most of the front section had been destroyed or buried from impact, and I began to worry this was fruitless. I could barely squeeze my body through the crumpled metal, and the cockpit chair was crushed across the entire control panel.

“Fleck,” I muttered, now on my hands and knees because there was no standing room. I pulled on the chair, and it came away in pieces to reveal a severely damaged control panel. A bloated Raghul body lay crushed under a panel. I wrinkled my nose at the smell and pushed on. A Raghul weapon, one of their turpins, was lodged into the right side where most of the engine controls were located. An indication of why the ship had crashed? I’d have to ask Enna later.

The engine controls were not my goal, so I focused on the steering mechanism. The panel’s cover was dented, and I hoped all the precious parts beneath it weren’t damaged. That was my only hope to make this implant work. Now I just needed the correct tools to dismantle the panel. Because of course the flecking Raghul had special tools for just about every part on this ship.

I wrenched open the melted cabinet door above the driver’s seat. Tools rained down on my head, pinging off my horns and clattering to the floor. Enna’s solar light waved wildly, and I reassured her by saying her name softly and telling her I was okay. That seemed to settle her, and her light retreated. I dug around in the cabinet, feeling for the three-prong rod that I needed. “Thank Fatas,” I said when my fingers closed around it.

The panel had four layers with intricate connectors I had to unscrew and carefully lift so I didn’t damage what was beneath. I put Enna out of my mind so I could concentrate.

By the time I reached the bottom level, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. I wiped my brow as sweat dripped into my eyes. The sun had just begun to rise, its rays heating up the dark metal of the ship so the inside felt like a boiling pot. I ran my finger over all the wires, chips, and censors. When I saw the familiar circle shape and light yellow of the QR chip, I tilted my head back and shouted with victory.

“Tark?” I heard Enna call. I plucked the QR chip from its spot and turned to crawl out of the cockpit. I emerged to see Enna sitting just where I’d left her, the sun glinting off her pretty red hair. Her big eyes took me in as I scrambled around the ship, looking for the next object I needed. Providing her with a translator wasn’t enough. I had to upload her language onto the device so I’d hear her words in my language, and she’d hear mine in hers.

A translator updater had to be somewhere on this ship. I knew the Raghul always traveled with one. If they traveled to Earth, then Earth languages had to be on it. The site of the cabinet Enna had hid in when we found her caught my eye. The door hung ajar where Juster had ripped it open. I tore it off the rest of the way and clawed at the tangle of wires until my hands closed over a familiar handle. I held it up and flicked it on, hoping it was charged. It beeped weakly, and I blew out my breath, knowing I didn’t have much time before it died. On the screen was the language it had updated for its last user. I squinted at the words. “Anglish.”

“English?” Anna said. “Did u sae English?”

I didn’t bother to respond. I was going to take my gamble on this language. I held the updater to my right ear and pressed the trigger as the updater’s signal connected with my implant. A warmth spread throughout my skull and then the updater beeped, signaling it was done.

I set it down gently, just in case I’d need it again, and dropped to my knees in front of Enna. I tugged the small translator chip out of my belt pouch and pulled off the back. After slipping the QR chip into place and hearing a small activation chime, I nearly wept.

Enna watched me silently, and I rubbed my damp palms on my knees. I’d only seen a translator implant installed once. I knew it would hurt Enna, but only for a brief moment. I held up the chip and pointed to the spot behind her ear. Then I gestured between our mouths.

She frowned, and I didn’t think she understood. She brushed her fingers over the implant and cocked her head. “Will this help us talk?”

Her voice. Oh Fatas, her voice. I could understand her! Nearly giddy, I focused on the next step. I held up the implant again. “I need to place this—” I touched it to the skin behind her ear. “—right here.”

I didn’t think she quite understood yet, but she swallowed and looked at me with so much trust in her eyes, it took my breath away. She nodded and said, “I trust you.”

My sweet Enna. She trusted me. I would spend my entire life keeping that trust.

I willed my hands not to shake. I pressed the small button on the side of her implant to turn on the implantation sequence. The implant vibrated and a few sharp needles descended. “Planet Torin, Drixonian,” I spoke against it to set the correct language. The button flashed a yellow light to signal it was ready. I met Enna’s eyes, held her chin, and with a quick jerk of my palm, shoved the implant against her skin. Her mouth dropped open, her skin paled, and as the needles sunk into her skin and curved to cement their place, she opened her mouth and screamed.

Anna

Pain slammed into my skull and cascaded down my spine. I fell onto my back and clawed at the thing Tark had screwed into my head. “Get it off!” I screeched as the device beeped and then the pain intensified. I writhed on the ground, unable to see Tark through the tears in my eyes, betrayal singeing my nerves. “It hurts! Get it off of me!”

His hands entered my vision, reaching for me, and I batted them away. I snarled at him, even though the pain, as quick as it had come, began to lessen.

“I know it hurts, but it’ll only last a moment. Give it time.”

“Yeah? Well, how long do you consider a moment?” I snapped at him. I froze and realization dawned on me, taking my attention away from the stupid device now stuck on my head. I’d understood him. I jerked upright and stared at him. “Did I just understand you?”

He smiled. “Yes. That’s why we’re here. I needed a chip for your translator implantation device.”

That was why we came all this way back to the ship, why he’d run here with me in his arms, why he’d been banging around at the front of the ship for what felt like ages. To fix something that would allow us to communicate. My heart swelled, the pain in my head merely a dull ache now. I could live with it, if it meant I could finally talk to him. And then it happened. My eyes burned, and I blubbered out a sob.

Tark gathered me into his arms, and I clung to him, wetting his skin with my tears. “Ch-ch-ch, Enna,” he said. “Ch-ch-ch.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping my tears and trying to get control. “It seems like every time you do something nice for me, I can’t help the tears.”

“Is that not normal for humans?”

“Well, usually we cry when we’re sad.”

His brows furrowed as he thought about that one. “But you are not sad about the nice things I do, are you?”

I laughed. “No, it seems like every time you show me kindness, all the scared emotions and everything I’ve repressed since landing on this planet come out. In tears.”

“I plan to show you more kindness, so I guess you’ll be crying a lot.”

I reached up and palmed his cheek. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that we can talk.”

“It is all I thought about since Shep gave me the device.”

“So how does it work?”

“I programmed it so you speak and understand my language. I updated my implant, which I already had, with your language.”

“How… how can it do that?”

“The device translates the words before it hits the part of our brains that interprets language.”

It still didn’t make sense to me, but then neither did Shep’s medical instruments or how I’d woken up in his hut with all my injuries completely healed. “We don’t have anything like this on Earth.”

He nodded. “We don’t know much about humans, but we have heard your technology is primitive to ours.”

I decided not to take offense at being called primitive. “So you know I’m human?”

“I didn’t at first. Shep had to tell me. How did you come to be on this Rahgul ship?”

“Rahgul?”

“Those are the species who fly this type of craft. One eye, pale.”

“Ah yeah, I called them Blow Hole aliens in my head, because they looked like dolphins.”

“Dolphins?”

I waved my hand; we didn’t have time to cover Earth species right now. “I’ll explain that another time.” I began to talk about how I’d gone to sleep in my bed on Earth, and I’d woken up on a spaceship with a few other human females, two of them dead. I explained how the crash happened and how I’d managed to survive, which was still a shock to me. He listened with rapt attention, his fists clenching a few times as I went over how close I’d come to dying.

“And then,” I said. “Well, then you and your, uh, friends showed up, and I think you understand what happened after that better than I do.” I shifted in his lap, staring up into his handsome face. “Are we going back?”

He inhaled sharply, and I didn’t miss the way sadness crossed over his features like a cloud. He shook his head. “No, sweet Enna. We will not be going back.”

“Does it have to do with the Ponytail guy?”

“Who?”

“The man who held me…” I wrapped my hands around my throat.

His face darkened, and the corners of his mouth twisted into a snarl. “Yes. Bult is our drexel, and—”

“Wait, what’s a drexel?” I asked.

“Our leader.”

“Oh, okay go on.”

“He started out a good warrior, but time has worn on him, and he’s turned self-serving. I don’t know his full plans for you, but they were not good. He threatened you, and I know he’d either keep you for himself as a pet or sell you to a species who would mistreat you, like the Uldani.”

My gut feeling on Bult had been right. “Who are the Uldani?”

“They are another species on this planet.” His jaw clenched. “And our enemies. Shep and I think that was where this ship was heading. There are rumors they are collecting females of different species.”

“For what?”

He shook his head. “We are unsure, but it wouldn’t be good. They are known to experiment on living beings with zero regard to the lives of their subjects.”

I shuddered. “I take it you know these Uldani?”

With a sigh he picked me up and shifted us. He rested his back against the side of the ship, and I straddled his lap, facing him. The position was intimate, yet comfortable, and I settled against the alien who I’d known from the beginning had tried to save me—who was still saving me.

“We are Drixonian, and this planet we are on now is Torin. We used to live on the sister planet, Corin.” He pointed out of the hull of the spaceship to the brilliant planet I’d seen when I crashed. “Our civilization thrived as our females ruled—they organized our government, our crops, just about every part of our lives. Us males were the warriors. We protected our females and our planet while breeding to continue the species.”

His head drooped, and his eyes closed momentarily. “Until about a hundred and fifty sun-cycles ago, when an unknown virus spread. It killed all our females, and most of our elderly males. The males who were left were lost. The government went to pieces, our crops died. Our females were our purpose and our lives. All we knew was battle. Without them, we just drifted. The Uldani, on our sister planet, swooped in. They told us we could move to their planet and work for them. Be their law enforcement and their protection from invaders. We agreed. And life was okay for about a hundred cycles until we realized they’d systematically begun kidnapping our males and experimenting on them. Killing them.”

I sucked in a breath. “No. That’s horrible. Why?”

“We don’t know. We led a rebellion, and while we didn’t defeat the Uldani, we gained our independence. They hoard the tech on this planet, in a fortress on the eastern coast of the continent, and we are left with scraps.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Thousands. We separated into clavas, each choosing a leader. We are mostly outlaws. We scavenge and raid.”

“So there are more… um… clans like yours?”

He cocked his head. “We are called clavases.”

“Right, so more of these?”

He nodded. “Some we are allies with or used to be until Bult burned those friendships. But organization is historically not our strong suit.” He held up his arms, and his blades lifted slightly from his skin before settling back down. “This is what we know. What we were bred to do.”

“You’re like Spartans,” I said, running my hands over his skin.

“Who?”

“A civilization, from, uh, Earth history.”

“Earth,” he said with wonder, his dark eyes shining. “I wish I could return you, Enna. But we have no ships and no way to travel that far.”

I sucked in a breath at his words and my heart beat a mournful rhythm. No more Earth. I’d never see my townhome or my neighbors or sweet little six-year-old Mara who visited the library faithfully every Tuesday to check out a new dinosaur book. Tears flooded my eyes and spilled over my lashes.

“I’m so sorry,” Tark said. “But the only species we know who has the capability to travel to your home planet are the Raghul, and they are in league with the Uldani.”

I swiped at my eyes. I’d deal with my grief later. “So they’re not your friends, right?”

He shook his head. “And the Uldani destroyed our ships in the rebellion. We have no way to travel off-planet. The Uldani hoard a few emergency ships in unknown locations. We have tried to find them, as some of the Drixonian wish to return to Corin.”

I scowled. “I really hate these Uldani.”

He laughed and sifted his fingers through his hair. “Me too, sweet Enna. Me too.”

SEVEN

Tark

As much as I enjoyed talking to Enna, we couldn’t spend any more time at the ship. We were exposed, the heat was too much, and the smell from the few bodies that hadn’t burned up on impact was overwhelming.

With Enna in my arms and my pack on my back, I traveled as far as we could away from the wreckage until we both needed to stop and eat. I settled us among dense foliage to camouflage us against predators and worse—Bult. After we munched on some tein bars and downed some monstra, Enna laid her head against my chest. Her warmth seeped through my skin, and my blood hummed. I could finally speak to her, and she was just as sweet as I’d imagined. Perfect for me, and well worth everything I had to do, and would most likely have to do in the future.

I glanced at my tag, the metal armband with the black blood drops stamped into it which I had worn so proudly at Shep’s side for many rotations. But I was no longer a Black Blood. I flexed my biceps with a sigh. I’d take it off when we reached our new home.

“So what now?” she asked, her warm breath heating my skin. Her fingers scratched at the scales on my shoulder as I rested against a tree trunk with her tucked against my chest. “If we’re not going back… where will we go?”

“We will live on our own. I know some places we can be safe and hidden away. As long as Drix like Bult exist, you will not be safe in a clavas. I will take care of you and protect you.”

She leaned back. I’d expected her to be happy, but instead her eyes drooped with sadness. “But why would you do all that for me? Abandon everything you know… I can’t ask you to do that.”

Her little white teeth nibbled on her lower lip. I reached out and pulled on the flesh, freeing it from the abuse. “You didn’t ask me. I’m honored to be the one to protect you. Maybe another male would be more worthy but…”

She shook her head so violently that her hair swirled, cascading over her shoulders. “No, Tark. I wouldn’t choose anyone but you. Out of all those Drix, you were the one who stepped up when Bult had his hand around my throat. You.”

I cupped her neck gently, rubbing my thumb over the dip at the base. “I’ll do all this for you because from the moment I saw you, I felt drawn to you. When Bult put his hand around your neck, when he scratched you, I felt it. There are rumors we have fated mates, but I’ve never met a human female. I’ve never met a female at all unless you count our animal species.”

Her mouth dropped open. “What?”

“I was a chit, only just learning to talk, when all our females fell ill and died. The Uldani keep theirs hidden away, and the other species on this planet are either animals or non-humanoid species.”

She blinked at me. “But you… you kissed me, and you…” She squirmed in my lap, and my cock began to take notice.

“I licked your cream?” I said.

“Oh goodness gracious,” she breathed, her cheeks reddening. “Yeah. That.”

“The elder males, like Shep, who survived the virus and have experience with females, insisted we remember our intimate skills. Drixonians are legendary lovers.”

“Legendary love—” She shifted in my lap and gasped when she felt the hard ridge of my cock between her legs. “Oh my. Ooooh my. So you’ve never, uh…”

“Penetrated a female with my cock? No. Some Drix manage to get hard a few times a cycle, but most of our libidos are dormant. We assumed we’d live that way for the rest of our lives, as only Drixonian females—or so we thought—would excite us enough to mate.” My hands coasted down her back. “Until I met you, and my desire for you is unending.” Her lips parted, and her eyes went soft and warm. The green orbs entranced me. “I wish to show you what I’ve learned. Will you let me be your lover?”

My sweet Enna’s lips turned up, and her chest heaved. Her luscious breasts jiggled, making my cock twitch. She shifted on my lap, rolling her hips, and a bit of mischief crept into her grin. “Yes, Tark. Yes.”

With an elated growl, I rolled forward, placing her on her back on a mossy patch of ground. I stripped her out of her clothes until all her pale, naked flesh was exposed to me. She didn’t move to cover herself up, or even look nervous. Her trust in me nearly took my breath away. The pink nipples on her ripened breasts hardened beneath my gaze. I had never seen anything more beautiful, and my mouth watered. Would those pretty peaks taste like her cream? I lowered my mouth and latched onto a nipple, rolling the metal in my mouth around the sensitive flesh. She cried out and gripped my horns, urging me to continue to suckle the bud. I loved on it until the skin was red and wet before moving onto her next nipple. All the while, she moaned beneath me.

“I want to see you,” she whispered as I kissed my way down her stomach. A shudder wracked her body. “Take off your pants, Tark.”

I shucked my boots and unhooked my belt at the top of my tail. After rolling my pants off my legs, I tossed them in the corner with Enna’s clothes. I had no idea what the men of her species looked like, so I rose up on my knees so she could look her fill. Her gaze coasted down my body, and she sucked in a breath when her eyes landed on my cock. “Oh Lawd,” she murmured.

She slowly reached out to touch the tip of my cock, which leaked with my libo. Shep said it was warm slick to ease our way into females. “This is… wow,” she said.

Was that good or bad? I began to worry. “Is my cock not to your satisfaction?”

Her gaze shot to mine. “Satisfaction?” Her shoulders shook, and then laughter bubbled out of her. “Satisfaction?” Her voice rose. “Your penis is a work of art. I don’t even know where to start. The head is angled and it’s ribbed, long and thick. To add to that, you have a notch on the top to rub against my…” she blew out a breath and her cheeks pinked. “To answer your question. I’m quite satisfied.” She shrugged as her flush continued down her neck to the top of her breasts. “Not that I have that much experience but I, uh, have an active imagination and a love of romance books.”

I wasn’t sure of much of what she said, but from I could understand, I liked. My cock liked it too, especially when she closed her hand around the shaft and tugged. I tilted my head back on a moan. She squeezed harder, and my hips began to jerk in time with her strokes. “Please Enna,” I whispered.

“Please what?” She said.

“I don’t know,” I stared at her helplessly. “I don’t know.”

She leaned forward and licked at the tip of my cock. My libo glistened on her tongue before she pulled it back in her mouth. “Mmmm,” she said. “How is this possible? You taste sweet.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. Her hands, her tongue, the way she allowed me to touch her. I needed to taste her again. I pushed on her shoulders until she was once again on her back, and then I tugged her legs apart. This time, she opened them willingly, and I sank down to the floor to drown myself in her cream.

I sucked on her pretty hard nub, loving the way she gushed into my mouth on a silky moan. I lapped at her entrance and dipped inside where my cock ached to be. She arched her back and said my name in breathy pants as I speared her over and over with my tongue. I hummed, the vibration a skill that only the Drix had, a vibration of our throat, tongue, and cock. She went wild beneath me, just like she had the night before. “Yes!” she screamed. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop!”

Like I’d ever stop. I’d make my home between her thighs if she let me. I raked the metal in my mouth over that spot inside of her I’d only dreamt about. Her body locked up, her legs shook, and she shouted out my name as shivers coursed down her spine. Her heels skittered on my back, and still I ate at her, unable to stop myself. She was just so sweet, my Enna.

When her body stopped shaking, I rose above her, still licking around my mouth to gather up the last of her cream left on my skin. She swallowed, cheeks red, breasts heaving. “You are so good at that. Legendary lovers is right.”

I needed more. My cock ached and my balls felt like they weighed double, hanging heavy and full between my legs. I spread my libo down my shaft. “I need you, Enna.” I could barely get the words out. “I need you badly.”

She reached up and gripped my cheeks. “You have me.”

With a growl, I entered her, plunging my cock into her warm, wet depths. She screamed in pleasure, clenching her inner muscles around me. My eyes nearly rolled back in my head. My hips jerked, and I couldn’t stop the thrusts. I couldn’t slow down, I couldn’t do anything but mindlessly pound into my sweet Enna, again and again. The need to fill my female and revel to her screams and cries of pleasure was woven into my very bones. I’d thought I’d been bred to fight? Oh no, I’d been bred to do this.

I powered into her until her body slid forward, head sliding close to a rock. To avoid hurting her, I pulled out and hauled her up into my arms. I flipped her onto her hands and knees, gripped her shapely hips, and slammed into her again. She pushed backward, taking everything I gave her and giving it back. My balls slapped against her nub and she arched her back so prettily. I gripped her hair, angling her face so I could see how well my cock made her feel. Her eyes were half-closed, mouth open.

“I’m going to—” She let out a high-pitched shriek. “I’m going to come again, Tark. Your cock. It’s vibrating.”

Her body shook, and I tugged her upright, needing more skin-to-skin contact. I sucked on her neck and rubbed her hard nub with one hand, while I pinched her nipples with the other. My balls drew up, and my cock twitched inside her sweet body. Something was happening to me. My blood sparked. My tail thrashed. My muscles swelled.

“You are mine, sweet Enna,” I growled into her ear as I pounded into her harder. “Mine and only mine. Forever.”

She threw her head back on my shoulder and screamed. Her inner walls pulsed around my cock, squeezing it impossibly tight. My balls throbbed, my cock pulsed, and then I came. The orgasm hit me like a comet, singeing my body from the inside out. I filled her with everything I had, sealing my mouth onto hers and swallowing her cries as my cock emptied inside of her.

My thighs shook and gave out. We crashed to the mossy ground, and I just narrowly avoided crushing her. My hips still rolled, moving my cock inside of her gently. I couldn’t pull away, even as she moaned softly and sweetly beneath me. The feel of her around me… this was home. Not Planet Torin or Planet Corin. Not back at my room in the barracks. Not anywhere, but here, inside my sweet Enna. I’d found everything I ever needed.

I rolled us to our sides, her back to my front, still connected. I pressed kisses to her neck, and she reached back, her hand stroking through my hair and over my horns. She sighed, and her sweet pussy rhythmically squeezed me.

“I am yours,” she said softly as I stroked the soft skin under her breasts. “And I’m honored to be yours.”

Anna

I didn’t have words for what Tark and I had just done together—in any language. The pleasure was indescribable, and Tark’s declaration that I was his comforted me on a soul-deep level.

He held me tightly, his hands caressing me, and I nuzzled back into him. His cock finally slipped from my body, but he didn’t move, didn’t separate us an inch. The wind rustled the leaves above us, letting a sun rays warm our bodies. For a brief moment, I could almost believe I was on a normal picnic on Earth with a normal boyfriend who’d just blown my mind.

“You know,” I said softly. “I never really had a home on Earth. We moved around a lot, so I was always in new places with new people. I wasn’t grounded. I had no roots. My mother died and my father and I lost touch. How did I have to travel all this way to a strange planet and find you to finally feel like I’m home?”

His breath gusted in my hair. “Sweet Enna, I was thinking the same thing. My home is you.”

I brushed my fingers down his arm. His skin fascinated me. Up close, I noticed his scales were more pronounced on different parts of his body, mostly on his shoulders, chest, and down his sides.

“You mentioned that Shep is your elder. So how old is he? How old are you?”

“I’m one hundred and fifty cycles old.”

“What?” I rolled in his arms to face him. My translator interpreted a cycle as one full rotation of Torin around the sun—so like a year. “Is your cycle comparable to our year on Earth?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure about that.”

“And you’re one hundred and fifty cycles old?” I squeaked.

“I am.”

I nibbled my lip as my anxiety spiked over my next questions. “And how long do you live?”

“About five hundred cycles.”

I shot up to a sitting position. “Five hundred?”

His hand settled on my thigh. “Human life expectancy is shorter, right?”

“Yeah, I’m thirty and I might live to one hundred if I’m lucky.”

He frowned at that, and then shrugged. “Well then I’ll go when you go.”

I jerked back. “What does that mean?”

“What is the point without you?”

“You lived one hundred and fifty cycles without me!”

He cocked his head, a patient smile on his lips. “Yes, but that was before I knew you existed. Before I knew what it was like to find my other half. Now? You are my purpose.”

Oh jeez, that was crazy. I wanted to tell him on Earth we’d call that insanity, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Because a part of me thought the same thing, as messed up as it sounded. “Look—”

His head whipped to the side and his hand clapped over my mouth, cutting off my words. His chest heaved as he stared through the dense brush to the large clearing beyond. For a split second, we sat in silence, and then he hurled himself to his feet. He shoved his legs into his clothes and threw mine at me. “Get dressed. Now!”

I fumbled with the heap of tangled fabric. “What? Why?”

“They are coming. Don’t you hear the bikes?”

The hover bikes. I tried to listen as I got dressed, but I heard nothing. “No, I don’t hear anything.”

“Fleck me,” he muttered, stomping into his boots. “Fleck. Fleck. Fleck. We shouldn’t have stopped so long here.”

“Wait, if you hear the bikes, then that means…”

His eyes whipped to me, and I didn’t see fear, but instead only rage. “Bult is on his way.” He slid to the floor on his knees and gripped my shoulders. “I need you to listen to me. I’d planned to run and never face Bult again, but if he was able to track us here…” he shook his head. “He will continue to hunt us down. I must face him and challenge him.”

“Challenge him? What does that mean?”

“I have to fight him, Enna. To the death.”

“What?” I shrieked.

He looked over his shoulder. “They will be here soon. Stay here behind this tree and don’t come out until I come get you.”

He stood, and I lunged after him, latching onto his ankle. “No! Are you sure we don’t have time? This is an entire planet! We can run!”

He looked down at me with that patient smile that I’d loved a minute ago but now hated. “There is no time. They will see us. We end it now, and then we can live the rest of our lives in peace.”

My eyes pricked with tears. “Please, Tark. Don’t fight.”

His jaw clenched. “I will give you anything, Enna. Anything. But I can’t give you this.”

He tugged his foot out of my grip and strode away from me toward the clearing

“Shit,” I hissed as I finished getting dressed. I didn’t usually swear, but this called for all the cursing. “Shit, shit, shit.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Tark or have faith in his ability—I’d seen how quickly he dispatched that other alien—but I didn’t trust Bult. Not one bit.

I scrambled on my knees and pressed my chest against the trunk, peering around it cautiously. No way would I hide away while Tark fought to the death for me. For us.

I squinted through a break in the brush. In the distance, the familiar swirling green dust cloud that surrounded the bikes approached rapidly. At the front of the pack, I could just make out Bult’s ponytail whipping around behind him.

Tark, my big, beautiful, perfect male, stood about fifty feet away with his legs braced apart and his head back. He looked almost regal standing his ground. The sunlight glinted off his tail, and I squinted to get a better look. There, on the end, was a spiked ring. To fight. I swallowed. Everything felt a whole lot more real.

The billowing green cloud drew closer. My hands grew damp. Sweat trickled down my spine. And I did all I could do. I waited and I watched.

Tark

The clearing was large, close to the open plains where the spaceship had crashed. I cursed myself for not traveling farther, but part of me had always known Bult would do everything in his power to find us. This was probably for the best. I was glad I hadn’t removed my tag yet. The absence of it would have been a symbol that I was an outsider, and as such I wouldn’t have been afforded the opportunity to challenge a drexel one-on-one. As of now, I still bore the tag of the Black Bloods, and I’d defeat their drexel and return the clavas to its former glory.

Bult pulled to a stop in front of me, about half a dozen of Bloods behind him. He took his time turning off his bike and swinging off the seat. He approached me slowly, his gaze shifting between me and the tree line behind me. I hoped Enna listened and stayed out of sight.

“Where is she?” he said, stopping a fair distance away.

“She’s gone,” I answered.

He huffed a laugh. “You think I believe that?”

I shrugged. “I don’t care what you believe.”

“There is no way you sent a defenseless female into the wilds of Torin all by her lonesome. That’s the problem with you, Tark. You’re too selfless. You think I kept my clavas alive by being nice and kind?”

“I think there are many ways to maintain a clavas, Bult. Your way isn’t the only way.”

He was silent for a moment. “Here’s what I think. I think she’s back behind you somewhere cowering in the brush. I’m not quite sure what you think you’re doing with her, but it doesn’t matter. Because once I tear your cora out, she’ll be returned to me.”

I willed myself to maintain calm. “She was never yours.”

He lifted his pierced brow. “Oh? She was mine the minute I saw her. The Uldani should pay a nice price for her. So, here’s the deal, you let me pass and retrieve my property from that ship, or I’ll kill you.”

The threat to my female boiled my blood. My skin pulled and itched, like it was too tight for my body. I didn’t say a word, and let my machets rise, rippling along my forearms and from my head down my back. My intent was clear; no one raised their machets to their drexel unless they were issuing a challenge. And a challenge was a fight to the death. I crossed my arms in front of my neck.

With a snarl, Bult lifted his machets in answer. “This field will be soaked with your blood.”

He didn’t come at me swiftly like Juster did. Bult was too experienced for that. He approached slowly with his forearms crossed in front of his throat. His metal-spiked tail thumped. He’d pierced the entire length and threaded blade-tipped bars through every hole. His tail was the deadliest thing about him, and I knew to stay away from it in order to survive.

I bounced on the balls of my feet, my arms crossed to protect my throat, the most vulnerable place on a Drixonian’s body. With a short growl, he spun, tail lashing out. The tip nearly caught me in the thigh, but I jumped back just in time. He didn’t wait for me to recover; he came at me full force. His forearms uncrossed on a downward slash and his machets grazed my chest. My scales, which acted like armor, absorbed the blow. Still, I smelled my blood as he succeeded in slicing a few shallow cuts into my flesh. To dodge more blows, I fell back, rolling into a crouch and spinning so my tail rose up and slammed into his shoulder.

He roared and stumbled to the side. Black blood immediately began to ooze down his right biceps. He shook out his arm, nostrils flaring. “I let you have that one.”

I didn’t bother to respond. We both knew he was lying. I slowly rose to my feet, tail braced in front of me protectively. I cracked my neck and crossed my arms again. This time, he rushed me. Maybe he thought he could catch me off guard or out-muscle me, but I was ready.

We parried, sometimes locking forearm machets before one of us broke and tried to ram into a soft belly with our heads. Bult’s head spikes had been damaged long ago, and it was one reason he relied heavily on his tail. He lashed my back a few times, and despite the scorching pain coursing down my spine, I kept my mouth shut. I wouldn’t cry out. I wouldn’t show weakness.

The green dirt beneath our feet grew dark and wet with blood. Our boots slipped on the slippery grass blades. Still we fought. Bult’s eye had swelled shut, and I was limping as a result of a large gash on my left thigh. He wiped the blood out of his good eye and crossed his arms. “I’m ready to end this, Tark. It’s been fun. But I’m due my prize now.”

His tail lifted, and I dodged out of the way. On my bad leg. I stumbled, and the tip of his tail slashed down onto my crossed arms. The blow separated them, exposing my neck, and he took advantage, shoving me to my back with his machets poised at my throat. I froze, chest heaving despite his weight, and stared into his black eyes. I knew what was coming next, and all I had to do was be patient, because if I knew Bult…

He grinned, showing his fangs. “I dreamed of getting you on your back for cycles. You know who’ll be on their back next? The female—”

I curled my tail around his neck and squeezed. The spikes dug into his exposed flesh, and his eyes went wide. His muscles slackened, and I took advantage. I ripped him off me with my tail and shoved him to the ground on his stomach. I pounced and gripped his hands behind his back in one of my fists while I held his tail immobile with the other. He struggled as blood pulsed from his neck.

“That’s the problem with you, Bult,” I hissed in his ear. “You talk too flecking much.”

I lifted his head and let go of his tail long enough to rake my forearms machets across his throat. I heaved myself off him and scrambled to my feet. His body twitched as his blood gushed into the dirt. His mouth opened, but he couldn’t speak. I bent down, unclasped the drexel tag from his arm, and watched his eyes dull as the life left him.

EIGHT

Anna

I didn’t think about how Tark told me to stay hidden. I didn’t pay attention to the other aliens who stood at their hover bikes, possibly waiting their turn to kill Tark.

When Bult had him on his back, I hadn’t taken one breath. My lungs ceased working. My heart hadn’t beat. My organs didn’t function again until Tark stood on shaky legs over Bult’s body.

I hurtled out of the safety of the trunk’s shadow and ran full speed toward the blood-soaked Tark. I made it about halfway when he turned. I felt his gaze like a tangible hook, sinking deep into my flesh over my heart. My steps faltered, and I sucked in a breath.

Whoa, what was that? My wrists felt funny too. I slowed to a jog and glanced at them as they started to tingle like a sunburn. The tingling shifted to a burning sensation, which grew hotter, more painful, and I pulled to a stop, inspecting the source of the pain just as two white lines appeared on my skin, running parallel to each other around my wrists.

My breathing picked up as the pain intensified. I cried out, falling to my knees as the bands shone like golden threads. Inside the lines, a pattern began to emerge, and I rubbed them against my pants, tears pricking my eyes as my skin felt like I’d been scorched on a hot stove.

I glanced up helplessly to see if Tark could help me, only to find he was also on his knees staring at his hands. Golden bands shone on the blue skin of his wrists. His shoulders shook as he held his hands out, turning them over again and again.

Pushing aside the pain, I crawled toward him. “Tark?”

“Enna,” he whispered, his dark eyes full of wonder.

“What is this?” The bands were complete now, and while my skin still burned, the pain was receding. “What happened?”

He shook his head. “I don’t… I don’t know.”

The hook in my heart pulsed and locked into place. Warmth spread throughout my body, a sensation of belonging and security settling into my skin like a permanent blanket. Emotions slammed into me. Happiness, confusion, pain, lust. They hovered in my brain like a cloud, separate from me but still… there.

Tark managed to close the distance and reached for me, pulling me against him. I stared at the bands on his wrists and held mine up to his. They matched. Both had the same geometric angled pattern.

“Tark, I—”

“I feel you,” he whispered against my hair. “You’re scared and confused, but you feel whole. Just like I feel whole.”

That was what it was. I could feel him inside of my head. “Yes, all of that. I feel you too.”

“There is a Drixonian myth of fated mates but…” He shook his head. “But they were just that—myths.”

“Yeah, well, on Earth we had myths about aliens and here you are, actually real.”

A shadow fell across us. I stayed huddled into Tark’s chest, reluctant to be pulled from this intimate moment.

“Tark,” said a deep voice above us, his voice tinged with wonder. “Your wrists… I’ve never seen anything like it. Are you okay?”

“I’m better than ever,” Tark responded. “I’m bonded to my female, and the threat to us is dead.”

“We respect the results of the challenge. The Black Blood clavas is yours.”

Tark held me tighter and rose to his feet. “Thank you, but I don’t want it. It’s yours, Vye.

I lifted my head to check out Vye. Standing shorter than Tark, he was packed with muscle. His head was shaved, and his ears were lined with gold rings. He frowned. “Are you sure?”

“As long as you leave us alone and promise not to speak of what happened here. I don’t know what the Uldani or other Drix would do if they found out we can bond to humans.”

Vye’s dark gaze shifted to me, and his expression went a little soft. “I promise, Tark. She is all.”

Tark smiled and handed Vye the band he’d taken from Bult’s arm. “Good luck and be a fair and wise drexel.”

Vye wrapped the band around his biceps, clinching it in place. “I will. Take care of yourself, Tark. And your human.”

He turned and lifted his arm with the drexel band. I held my breath for a moment, worried, but the other males bowed their heads, signaling their acceptance of the change of leadership. I smiled, relieved. Vye shot me a smile over his shoulder and then made a signal. In moments they were on their hover bikes riding away, towing Bult’s bike and his body behind them.

I thought we were alone until the sound of another bike approached. I braced, worried it was one of Bult’s faithful who wanted their revenge, but as the bike grew closer, I spotted Shep. He pulled another bike behind him on a tether.

Tark’s face lit up as Shep pulled to a stop in front of us. “Shep!”

After Shep dismounted, he grabbed his cane and approached us slowly, gaze scanning us. He didn’t say a word as he approached Tark and picked up his wrists. Rotating them, he ran his fingers over the golden tattoo-like markings. “Unbelievable,” his whispered. “I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime…”

“Does he know what this means?” I asked Tark, holding my own wrists out.

“I think he does,” Tark answered.

Shep’s body jerked. “And you found the chip for her implant? I wish I could understand her.”

“I did.” Tark’s chest puffed out. He produced the implant updater he’d stowed in his pants. He held it up to Shep’s ear and pressed a button. The male flinched, before his eyes shifted to me.

I waved with my fingers. “Hello.”

He grinned. “Hello, Enna.” Shep cupped Tark’s cheek and patted it a few times. “Fatas chose well.”

“What does that mean?” Tark asked.

“Your Enna is your fated mate, your cora-eternal. Those bands on your wrists are unique only to you two. Like fingerprints. Back on Corin, they were rare. One or two in a generation.”

“A generation? For Drixonians wouldn’t that be… every five hundred cycles?” I stared in awe.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Shep said. “For us, we worship no God and believe only in Fatas, who alters her plan to allow us to prosper.” He shook his head, and his voice shook. “For so long, many thought she was punishing us. But this…” He gestured to our wrists. “This means she has given us hope again.”

“By giving us something to live for? To protect our females?” Tark asked.

“Not only to protect them, but to continue the procreation of our species.” I sucked in my breath at procreation as Shep went on. “Those wrist marks proving she’s your cora-eternal means you are compatible to breed.”

I nearly choked on my own spit. “I can have Drixonian babies?”

Shep nodded, and then his expression turned dark. “Tark, it’s even more important now that you separate yourself and hide her away. Maybe the Uldani know already, but if they get their hands on a human female… It won’t be long before they find out.” He pointed to the bike he’d ridden on, and I now recognized the second bike he’d towed. “I brought your bike.”

Tark looked like a kid who’d been reunited with his puppy. “You did?”

Shep held out a small screened device. “Here is a comm. If you ever need anything, I’ll be available. Anytime, anywhere.”

Tark took the comm and slipped it into a pouch on his belt. “I will, Shep.”

“Maybe you can come visit us,” I said. “You’ve done so much for us.”

Shep gathered me in his arms. Tark stood nearby, tense but allowing the touch. I rolled my eyes at his anxiety over another male touching me. Shep pulled away and ran his hand over my hair before releasing me. “Maybe I will. I’ve decided to go lonas as well. Take some time to travel around. This… This changes everything.”

Tark nodded. “I will let you know where we settle. Come by and see us sometime, old man.”

The two males hugged, and then Shep untethered Tark’s bike from his own. I didn’t miss a large pack on the back, which Shep must have packed for us. With a final wave, he took off into the distance, leaving us with a crashed spaceship, a hover bike, and still many more questions. Tark stared off into the distance after Shep’s bike.

I slipped my fingers into Tark’s and squeezed. “Are you okay?” I asked. I knew the answer; I could feel his emotions in my head. He was a little sad, but mostly feeling determined.

He glanced down at me, and his expression cleared, warmth filling his gaze. “I’m good. I will heal. We have an expression, left over from our civilization on Corin: she is all. I knew it but never fully understood it. And now I do. You are all, Enna. And as long as you are with me, I will always be okay.”

“Me too,” I said, nerves fluttering in my chest like a flock of sparrows. “So the plan is…?”

“The plan is we get on my bike, and we ride. We land wherever it feels right.”

“We land wherever it feels right,” I echoed, excitement spiraling in my blood. “Let’s do it.”

As we soared over the blue grass and green dirt in his bike riding toward our future, I decided maybe I was exactly where I was meant to be. Alien planet with an alien mate, and all.

Thank you so much for taking a chance on a new author and checking out my series! I had so much fun writing this story, and I have lots of plans for my Drixonians.

Check out the first full-length novel in the Drixonian Warrior series:

The Alien’s Ransom

Frankie: I thought alien abductions only happened in movies. But here I am on a strange planet with green soil and a gang of muscled, wicked-horned aliens on hover bikes. All I want to do is go back to Earth, but the alpha male in charge has decided I belong to him. Now I'm on the back of his bike speeding to an unknown destination and super freaked out about liking his biceps and serious scowl. Good thing I have some banked personal days, because this might take awhile...

Daz: The job is supposed to be easy. All I have to do is deliver a spaceship of living cargo to the vile Uldani and they'll release my brother. If I fail, they'll take it out on him. Except the cargo is something I've never seen before--human females. The one called Frankie is beautiful and soft, and I've already spilled blood for her. Now how am I going to save my brother? Because this human female is mine.

Available on Kindle Unlimited

(Tark and Anna make an appearance! You don’t want to miss what they’re up to! *grin*)

You can also get the complete 7-book Drixonian Warriors boxed set that includes two novellas, bonus scenes, and an exclusive short story!

Available in Kindle Unlimited

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Read on for an excerpt of The Alien’s Ransom (Drixonian Warriors Book One)

THE ALIEN’S RANSOM

From Chapter One

There were a lot of things public school didn’t prepare me for. How to balance a checkbook. How to change the oil in my car. The proper way to load a dishwasher.

But public school, most freaking definitely, did not prepare me for how to deal with extraterrestrial motorcycle clubs.

Yeah, you heard me. E.T. motherfuckers on wheel-less bikes that hovered above the ground. The bikes looked a lot like regular motorcycles on top, but instead of wheels, flat circular disks the same circumference as the bike’s body spanned the bottom. The riders didn’t look like E.T. They looked more like giant, horned bodybuilders covered in shiny scales in various tones of blue.

We heard them first, a ground-shaking rumble like a volcanic eruption before they appeared over the horizon like a locust swarm. One rode out in front, the others flanking him. They seemed to be males, but I couldn’t tell for sure until they got closer. They were humanoid, with noses, mouths, and two eyes. Wicked black horns corkscrewed out of the sides of their heads, ending in sharp points. I was probably in shock because I couldn’t do much more than stare.

A warm breeze blew over my skin, which was nice since I wasn’t wearing much. I sat on the ground with six other women, wearing whatever we’d worn to sleep before we’d been snatched out of our beds. On Earth. At least, I was sure that was what had happened. I’d gone to sleep and woken up in that spaceship with no recollection of how I got there. I kept hoping I’d wake up in my apartment to the beeping of my dying smoke alarm because I hadn’t bothered to change the batteries yet. But nope.

As much as I wanted it to be, this was not a dream. After we landed on the planet, we’d been ushered out of the spaceship—an actual spaceship! —by another type of alien… Species? They were easily eight feet tall and wide as freaking Grizzlies, so even if they hadn’t been covered in plated armor and helmets, I wasn’t going to fuck with them. I eyed the gun-like things on their hips and shuddered.

The Dolphin-Hole aliens had taken their stupid ship and left, just zoomed off into the distance leaving us on this strange planet with Armored Bears and the incoming bikers. We seemed to be in a rather deserted area. I would compare it to the places outside Vegas where the mob buried bodies. This planet was covered in a coating of green dirt, kind of like matcha powder, and the vegetation was blue—from the grass to the distant forest-like area where the hover bikes had emerged.

The craziest thing was not only could I see a sun, but also a whole other freaking planet. It wasn’t like I could leap over there or anything; it was probably still light years away. But it was visible and rising over the horizon with a blue-green swirled atmosphere. It reminded me so much of Earth my heart ached.

The biggest biker—I assumed he was the leader—came to a stop and five others followed. The bikes settled, kicking up dirt as they dropped to the ground. The dust swirled around the alien’s tree-trunk legs as they approached. They wore black pants which looked a bit like shiny leather and black boots. Most of them wore no shirts, displaying muscle upon muscle, and their scales were mottled, almost like blue camouflage. A few had ratty-looking vests with patches on them. I didn’t want to know what they had to do to earn those patches. I assumed it wasn’t community service.

Each one had a red armband on their left biceps with a symbol stamped in the center that I couldn’t make out. Oh, and they had tails. About six feet long, their tails were thick at the base and narrowed to a spiked point. Most of them had some sort of jewelry on the tips. Well, less jewelry and more like weapons, such as collars of blades and chains of spikes. Their pants were held up by their tails, with a clasp of some sort at the top, like a backwards belt.

This meeting reeked of a handoff, because the Armored Bears, while tense and alert, did not seem surprised at the bikers appearance. I kept my eyes on the biker leader.

His armband was a little different—the edges trimmed in a gold thread, and he was seriously fucking scary-looking. His prominent brow was ridged in a series of nubs over his black eyes, and as he flexed his arms, a seam split open from the scales on the outside of his forearms. A row of black blades emerged, about six inches long and four inches wide, shaped like shark’s teeth.

I imagined they could slice through anything, including me. As quickly as they rose, they settled back into his skin, and I wondered if that was some sort of display of dominance. I accepted the challenge silently with a shudder. He was dominant. Done. No need for more demonstrations.

His septum was pierced with a thick ring, his black hair streaked with silver hung straight to his shoulders. It blew in the breeze like he was the star of some intergalactic shampoo commercial. Dove for Extraterrestrials on Bikes. Christ, I was delirious. My friend Paris always told me I laughed at inappropriate times, and that was true, because my brain seemed to handle stress with humor.

Something about the leader’s posture, and that of the rest of his crew, made me uneasy. They had humanoid features, and I could tell from their expressions they thought something was wrong. They glanced at each other, murmuring harsh words in a guttural language. The leader’s nostrils flared as he surveyed us, his fists clenched at his sides. His hands appeared to have five fingers, each topped with a pointed black nail.

Most of the women looked away and a few whimpered, but I kept watching him. His gaze landed on me, and a flicker of darker blue flashed over his scales. His tail thumped the ground, and I felt it, like an electrical current speeding through the dirt. Those eyes looked into my very soul, and a fissure of heat licked at my spine.

I looked away first, because what the hell was that? Did magic exist here? Did he cast a spell on me? When I looked up again, he was conversing in muted tones with the head Armored Bear who stood in front of us holding a wicked-looking spear. About a dozen more Armored Bears stood guard over us, as if a bunch of weapon-less women in sleepwear were any threat.

I had on a pair of short shorts and a large T-shirt. I was better off than the girl in the back who wore nothing but a sheer teddy. Pitiful thing. But really, who slept in stuff like that?

About four of the Armored Bears were checking her out with hungry eyes. Well, from what I could see through the slits in their helmets, I assumed they were hungry eyes. Kind of hard to tell because they had no eyelids, just these big yellow eyeballs. Occasionally, an opaque film would descend over them before disappearing again. It was freaking me out.

I stared down at my feet. I’d meant to repaint my toenails before bed but had fallen asleep before doing so. They were a chipped bright pink, and sitting here on a foreign planet, I couldn’t believe I was actually thinking about my stupid, fucking toenails. Who gave a fuck when aliens were going to rape or eat us? I shivered and glanced around, like I’d find evidence of a gnawed-off human arm laying nearby.

My way of dealing with stress all my life had been to just not deal. After my mother died when I was two, my father raised me. He was a fantastic dad, but a little overbearing. He made the decisions for me, and I went with the flow. That had been a fine plan for the most part because my life had flowed on a calm current. Floating in an inner tube, I’d been content to let the wind blow me around since I’d never strayed far from shore. When the seas got a little rough, I’d laugh it off and move on. But this? This wasn’t a small storm at sea. This wasn’t even a hurricane. This was Armageddon. My inner tube had popped a long time ago, and I was drowning.

Miranda sat beside me, and although she shot me cautious looks, we hadn’t spoken since I’d woken up. I needed some time to deal with the fact this wasn’t a dream. I’d bitten my lip to hell, and still I was here and not in my bed. I wasn’t waking up in my apartment, grabbing a granola bar to go, and getting ready for my waitressing job. I wasn’t fielding my best friend’s phone calls about when I was going to pick up my bridesmaid dress. The answer was never if I could help it. Peach wasn’t my color. Nope, I was here, on a planet with a gleaming orange sun that seemed so close I couldn’t understand why we weren’t all burnt to hell, and a sister planet that loomed like a threat.

“Hey,” I whispered to Miranda, unsure if we could talk. Some girls were sniffling. Shrieking Blondie sat with her head bowed, hair covering her face, slender shoulders shaking. I wanted to go to her, but the guards glared every time we so much as scratched an itch.

Miranda turned to me. “Hey, back.”

“Sorry for my freak-out back there.” I gestured to the area where the spaceship had landed.

She smiled. “Hey, it’s okay. You didn’t hear me when I woke, up. I did the same thing, but I got it under control before they shot me full of that paralyzing shit again.”

“Yeah, what the hell was that?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged.

“Any idea where we are?”

“None. Another solar system? Some black-hole time warp?” She pointed to where the hover bikes rested on the ground, the sun rays gleaming off the polished metal. “I mean, what are those things?”

“I vote for black-hole time warp. That’s easier than believing this place has existed all this time, and all we’ve accomplished through our space research was dissing poor Pluto.”

Miranda snickered, and me being me, the daughter of a loud Italian chef, I opened my mouth and hooted.

Big mistake. Huge. The guard next to me took one of his massive club hands and swung it at me on a hiss. I didn’t have time to duck or dodge because it was coming at me like a chunk of concrete. I managed to avoid a full-contact blow, but he still cracked me across the cheek. Blinding pain scorched across my face and down my neck as my head felt like it spun three hundred and sixty degrees. I fell to the side, lungs burning as I inhaled dirt and whatever air was on this godforsaken planet. I struggled to stay conscious. Cries surrounded me, and I felt gentle hands in my hair as Miranda spoke to me softly.

I wasn’t in Jersey anymore, Toto. How that blow hadn’t killed me, I wasn’t sure. My entire body ached. Did he know humans were fragile creatures made of flesh and bone and blood? A dark liquid mingled with the dirt beneath me. My blood.

Something thumped the ground, hard enough to make my teeth rattle, followed by a dull roar. Earthquake? Tsunami? Was there even water on this planet?

Miranda gasped, and my vision cleared in time to see the Bladed Blues leader sprinting toward me. I wondered if he planned to finish off the job, and I wasn’t sure I cared at this point. Use me as an example, fucker. I dare you.

Except he was heading toward the guard who’d cracked me. His scales seemed alive, as ripples of varying blue shades shimmered over his body. His forearm spikes unfurled as he raised his arms, and in my head, I heard a metal-like, unsheathed-sword sound effect. He leaped in the air—I swear it was in slow-motion—as his mouth opened to release a thunderous growl. His spiked forearm whipped toward the guard and then fell to his side as he landed with a massive thud, dust surrounding him.

I didn’t understand what had just happened. At least, I didn’t understand until the guard’s arm fell off. The same arm which had clubbed me over the head fell off his freaking body and landed in the dirt in front of me with a thud, the fingers still twitching. With a wheezing, high-pitched squeak, he held his now-armless shoulder, as thick, clotted liquid squirted from his body.

What followed was chaos.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you so much for taking a chance on me and checking out my alien world. I’ve been a huge fan of alien romances for years, and finally decided to go ahead and take the plunge. So far, it’s been a blast and the community has been amazing and welcoming.

Thanks so much to my beta readers: Jody, Susan, Patty, Mary (x2), and Fran. I appreciate you all taking the time to read about my big blue guys and give me feedback.

To the readers: I have lots planned for this series, as well as spin-offs, so please stay keep your eye on my books! Feel free to get in touch with me: Ella@EllaMaven.com.

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.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

The Alien’s Future

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

The Alien’s Ransom

Acknowledgments

About the Author