BAKI

STRANDED WITH AN ALIEN

A SCIFI HOLIDAY TAIL

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 © November 2022 by Ella Maven

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

Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs

ABOUT BAKI

While on the run from the aliens who abducted me from Earth, I find an abandoned shack on this alien planet and hide inside. When a winter storm descends, I’m stuck inside with no food, no warm clothes, and only melted snow for water.

But I’m not alone. There is a blue alien outside watching me with his violet eyes. I’ve seen his bulk, his powerful tail, and the sharp blades that emerge from underneath his scaly skin. I figure that I’m done for, and that I’ll freeze to death in this shack like a lonely human popsicle. But then the gifts start appearing under a snow-covered tree. And I have to wonder—is this a lure to coax me out of my hiding spot, or is this some sort of miracle?

Baki is part of a shared series with talented authors in the science fiction romance genre. It is also a part of the Outcasts of Corin series by Ella Maven, but can be read as standalone.

Check out the rest of the books in the series:

STRANDED WITH AN ALIEN

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

About the Author

ONE

Baki

Vinz fiddled with the handlebars on my bike. With a scrunched nose, he eyed me. “How long are you going to be?”

Ever since bonding with his mate, Vinz had been quite the family man. And to him, that family included our entire village of Sari, which included me. I attached my pack to the back of my bike and pulled the strap tight to secure it. “As long as it takes.”

He frowned. “That’s not a good answer.”

I gripped him around the back of his neck and brought our foreheads together in the traditional Drixonian warrior sign of affection. “You know I’ll be fine.”

He huffed, and his hot breath puffed over my face. “The weather is supposed to be shet.”

I pulled away and patted my pack. “I have plenty of supplies.”

His tail swiped the ground behind as he nibbled on his lip. “Maybe I should go with you.”

We had just relocated to a new village after our old camp had been ambushed by our Joktal enemies and burned to the ground. Our new home was perfect for the mated members of my clavas and for the rest of our warriors, but for me, the closeness was suffocating. I had always kept to myself, and at our old camp I spent most of my time tending to my beloved yuza plants. We seasoned our food with the seeds, healed wounds with the juice from the stems, and dried the leaves to smoke when we needed to relax. We had to leave our old camp in a hurry, and the yuza plants had been too young to move without killing them. In the new village, I’d spent time fixing some of the structures and hunting. But I yearned to return to my field of yuza and retrieve the plants so I could once again grow them in our new village.

And a large part of me was eager to be alone with my own thoughts for the first time in a while.

I shook my head at Vinz’s offer to come along. “There are four females now for us to protect. Stay and spend time with your mate.”

“Maybe I can get another warrior—”

“Stop.” I patted his shoulder. “I have to harvest the yuza now or the entire crop will be lost. I’ve done it by myself for many cycles. I’ll be back before you can miss me.”

Vinz opened his mouth to likely protest again when a female voice shouted, “Baki!”

Amber, Vinz’s mate, jogged toward us carrying a small satchel. Her curly hair bounced around her shoulders while her pale cheeks carried a faint flush. I knew what that was from since my hut was next to theirs. Vinz was very loud in all aspects of his life, even under his furs with his mate.

Amber was kind and gentle. Some of the other females from Earth weren’t sure what to make of me—I wasn’t like most of the other Drixonian warriors, especially our drexel Kutzal who walked around scowling and barking orders at everyone who wasn’t his mate.

Handing me the satchel, Amber smiled softly. “The girls and I made you some treats. Vinz said it might snow, so we also packed some flavored drink packets that Frankie showed us how to make.”

Frankie was the mate of Daz, the head drexel of the Drixonian warriors. He lived in the rebuilt city of Granit. Through the trees surrounding our village, I could see the tops of the buildings that made up the city.

Vinz dropped a kiss on top of his mate’s head. “That was kind of you.”

Amber’s eyes sparkled. “Lu enjoyed the last of the yuza, so we’re eager to grow the plants again.”

Lu was the most recent addition to our clavas—Axton had rescued her and returned her home to reunite with her friends. Two more females of their group—all escaped from the clutches of the evil Uldani—remained missing. I had already promised them all I’d keep my eyes open for any signs of the human females. “I will return the plants safe and sound in time for the warm season.”

Amber squeezed my arm, and the feel of her small, thin fingers on my scales surprised me. “We care more about you than the plants, Baki. Remember that. Bring yourself home safe and sound.”

I glanced at Vinz, but he only nodded at me in agreement. I wasn’t use to this sort of care and attention. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Why would Amber care this much about someone who wasn’t her mate? So I responded in a husky tone. “Of course.” I cleared my throat. “I should get going. I’m trying to beat the snowstorm.”

“Don’t push it too hard,” Vinz said.

“I can stay at the old camp if the storm gets too bad. Some of the shelters survived the fire.”

Vinz frowned. “Be careful. The Joktals are still out there, and likely looking for revenge.”

“You worry too much. You know I’m great at staying out of sight.”

Vinz huffed. “Whatever. Just get back here before I have to leave my mate’s warm, soft body to come find you.”

“Vinz!” Amber smacked him in the stomach.

He stretched his mouth into a cheeky grin in response.

I laughed. “I would never make you want to do that.”

“I swear,” Amber muttered, her cheeks pinking more.

Pulling my furs tighter around my shoulders, I sat astride my bike and turned it on. The familiar rumbling between my legs excited me. “See you all soon.”

As the bike lifted into the air, propelled by the powerful jets of air beneath, Vinz and Amber stepped back as dust swirled around them. Vinz waved, and I saw him mouth, “She is All.”

“She is All!” I shouted back our creed over the rumbling of my bike. Yuza was a close second for me, but females would always come first. It was in my blood. With a roar of the bike, I took off away from our village, heading north to our former home among the cold cliffs of planet Corin.

I rode through the night and all through the next rotation, eager to get to my destination. But as the sun began to fall on the second rotation, I stopped to eat a decent meal and get some rest. The storm was coming—I could feel it in the air—but it was still a few rotations away.

With a fire crackling in front of me, and the meat of freshly killed bilket in my stomach, I leaned against my pack on the ground and stared up at the twinkling stars in the sky. I could just barely see the outline of our sister planet, Torin, where I’d lived for more than one hundred cycles. Corin was the original home of the Drixonian race, but when a virus wiped out all our females and most of our elderly males, we traveled to Corin to work for the Uldani. It took many more cycles until we realized the Uldani were attempting to turn us into mindless servants for them. We fought to free ourselves, and only when we were truly out from under Uldani rule did we return to our former home on Corin.

But Corin had changed in our absence. New species had settled here—warring, violent species who were not willing to share the bountiful planet they’d recently found. The Joktal were one such race—four-armed warriors with bony armor and not many weaknesses. They were the ones who ambushed our former home and burned most of our camp to the ground. I was part of the Lone Howl clavas, a group of outcast warriors who had long remained distant from the Drixonian community. But on Daz’s urging, we moved closer to Granit, and Kutzal seemed determined to be less isolationist, mostly for the benefit of his human mate.

I’d been fine with isolation. I’d preferred it, actually. Long ago branded as a son of naught because my father deserted the Drixonian army, I, along with the rest of the members of the Lone Howl like Vinz, had never been privy to proper Drixonian training relating to fighting and giving females pleasure. I’d grown up on my own, cultivating plants and befriending wildlife because taking lives was never something I enjoyed. When I did hunt for food, I always thanked the animal for giving up its life for me.

So under the darkening sky and sparkling stars, I sighed with contentment as I enjoyed the silence. I sat in a small clearing surrounded by trees and brush for cover. As my eyes started to slide closed, I figured I could take just a little nap and then be on my way.

I’d been dozing when I jerked awake. I took a moment to assess what had woken me, when a twig snapped somewhere in the distance. My cora slammed against the cage of my chest as I slowly reached for my bladed staff.

It was probably just a foraging antella, or maybe a bilket rummaging among the brush, but then a pair of glowing eyes flashed from behind the trunk of a tree. I gathered my feet under me and curled my tail protectively around my feet just as I heard the sharp intake of breath. A moment later, two Joktals burst through the clearing.

Striding forward on thick legs, they were fast fleckers. They each wore a harness lined with blades, and one bled from a wound on his arm. Their large triangle heads were nothing but leathery skin stretched over hard bone. “Where is she, Drix?” One spat through his mouth-hole full of sharp teeth. “We know you have her.”

I stayed in my crouched position. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sniff her out,” one growled at the other. “While I beat the truth out of this one.”

The last battle was still fresh in mind—I could still hear the war cries from my fellow warriors and feel the sticky blood on my face and in my hair. The smell of our burning homes remained stuck in my nostrils. Sometimes I woke up thinking I was still there cutting through Joktal bodies and stepping over them as they lay dying at my feet.

The blood. The smells. The death rattles. I never got used to them.

But I couldn’t turn tail and run. According to them, there was a she somewhere around here, and I couldn’t let them chase her down. It was either them or me, and I was betting on me. I let my machets emerge from my scales on my forearms, head and down my back. The Joktals snorted at the sight but didn’t back down.

I surged up from my crouch and slammed the blade end of my spear into an eye of the Joktal closest to me. The weapon sank into his skull with a wet crunch. Blood flowed down the shaft, and I went to my dark place.

I didn’t know what I did after that—I never did. All I knew was that suddenly I stood near my dying fire, my staff held limply at my side, and two massacred Joktal bodies still twitching. I’d nearly decapitated one, and the other lay with his guts strewn near my bike. I registered some pain near my shoulder, and I glanced down to see a wound bleeding black blood, mingling with the yellow blood stains of the Joktals.

My muscles ached and trembled while my head spun. This was always the worst part—the realization after the blackout. Sometimes I wondered if this had happened to my father too, and if that was why he’d deserted the Drixonian army. If that was the case, I couldn’t say I resented him for changing the course of my life. With every act of violence, I found a little bit more of myself slipping away.

I ached for a puff of yuza, but we’d used the last of my stock a while ago back at the village. Yuza was what brought me back into myself. Kept me centered and focused. Without it, I might have gone mad long ago. Violence would never leave my life, I realized that. Yuza was how I coped. And once I couldn’t find a way to cope… then my life might not be worth it anymore.

I kicked dirt over the fire to suffocate the last remaining embers and gathered my things. I tried to rinse the blood off my scales as best as I could, but I could feel the dried flakes sticking to me. My hair was heavy with it. I wanted to vomit.

I couldn’t stay there with the bodies at the scene of the crime so I retied my pack to the back of my bike and took off in the darkness for the settlement. The air grew cooler the farther north I traveled, and the wind picked up. The sun was just rising over the horizon when I cleared the last treeline and crested the last hill before coming to a stop on the cliff’s edge—the former home of the Lone Howl clavas.

All that remained of Kutzal’s hut was a foundation of blackened char on the rocks. The stairs on the cliff leading down to the ledges where we’d built our huts had been smashed. Leaning over the edge of the cliff, I watched the waves of the freshas smash against the bottom rocks.

The bridge leading to Vinz’s hut on the next cliff was long gone, and so was his building. Our communal fire pit on the cliff’s edge was covered over with dried twigs. Anger flared at the way we were erased from our home, but I couldn’t dwell too long on it. This place was also tainted with a bloody battle that almost killed several of our warriors. One of our youngest—Trapt—nearly gave his life in an effort to get help for us when we’d been under siege.

Leaving my bike hidden under a large bush, I strode off in the direction of my crops and my drying shack which had also doubled as my home. I used to sleep there among the drying yuza away from the rest of the clavas. While Vinz was friendly with me, I had never been very close with any of the warriors. I think they thought me odd. And they were not wrong.

Vinz lived for battle. So did Kutzal. They reveled in protecting their females with bloodshed. I wanted the females safe too, but I didn’t enjoy killing to do it. I wished I did. My hands shook as I held them out of in front of me, still stained with the Joktals’ blood. Why couldn’t I be like every other Drixonian warrior?

I reached the edge of my crop fields and my shoulders slumped in relief at the sight of the yuza plants standing tall and ready to be harvested. It was a little past their prime, but the plants would just be a bit sweeter. I had managed to arrive before they turned bitter, which was all I hoped for.

A freshwater stream that led into the freshas trickled nearby, and I crouched on the bank to wash off the rest of my skin. Intent on washing my machets as well, I lifted them from underneath my scales. The black blades were still sticky, and I was just smoothing the water over my back and hair when a splash caught my attention.

I didn’t have my staff on me, but I kept my machets raised as I slowly stood. There couldn’t be more Joktals here, could there?

I thought about running when the sight of a patch of skin caught my eye. It wasn’t the red of the Joktals or the brown furred skin of the Wutark. Long dark hair dripped down a pale back, and then a head turned. One brown eye stared at me, while the other could only be seen through a bloody, swollen slit. The human female stood on one leg while the other was tucked against her, the ankle at an awkward angle. Bloody, wearing nothing but a stained, torn shirt, she stood frozen.

What I didn’t expect her to do next was let out a scream so piercing that I had to cover my ears moments before she cocked back her arm and whipped a rock directly at my head.

TWO

Thea

As soon as the rock left my hand, I took off on a sprint. Well, as much as I could sprint with a seriously messed up ankle and wonky depth perception as my one eye was nearly swollen shut.

I splashed through the water without any finesse, hoping my rock hit its target and would buy me some time, but I wasn’t very hopeful. That blue alien had been huge, with glowing purple eyes and freaking blades sticking out of his arms. Any second now, I expected to feel the slice of those spikes tearing my back into ribbons.

I hit the bank with a cry and scrabbled up the mud with two hands and one working foot. A grunt behind me let me know the alien wasn’t far behind, and I ran harder, putting weight on my ankle that I feared broken. Sobbing as pain lit up every single nerve receptor in my body, I hobbled across a field of plants that appeared more like crops than wild foliage. Planted in a row, they were all the same height and towered over my head. Footsteps pounded behind me, and a desperate cry bubbled up my throat. I didn’t even know where I was going, or what I was doing. Pain warped my thoughts, and fleeing seemed like the only option to survive.

Suddenly the crops ended and in front of me stood a shack that was about the size of a one-car garage. I darted to the door, flung it open, and collapsed inside. I had just enough energy to turn around and slam a wooden bolt into the lock before something solid slammed into the door from outside.

“Stay away!” I screeched as I shuffled my way across the floor. The inside was dim, with only two narrow windows near the roof that were in no way large enough for the blue alien to squeeze through.

I looked around for a weapon but found nothing. The shack was mostly empty except for a wooden palette in the corner and a few dry pitchers. The roof was peaked, and rows of naked wooden rafters ran lengthwise across the shack, like an unfinished attic.

Leaf debris littered the floor, and the entire place had a smoky sweet smell that itched my nose.

Shouting came from the other side, along the thud of a fist hitting the door.

“Go away!” I screamed as I crawled to the corner. I had nothing—no water and no food. Nothing but the shirt on my back and a seriously injured and battered body. The only protection I had from the purple-eyed, black-bladed, blue-scaled monster with a thick tail was this shack and my wits.

The pounded stopped along with the alien’s garbled words that I couldn’t make out. Huddled in the corner of the shack, shaking with adrenaline and pain, I remained as quiet as I could be while I listened for the alien’s next moves. Leaves crunched, and I audibly tracked his progress as he walked the entire outside perimeter of the shack. I thought my heart was going to explode in my chest when he paused at the corner where I sat. I didn’t want to have to run again. My ankle was a solid throbbing point of pain, and my head pounded from the red aliens’ blows. I shivered remembering the first strike from that massive bony arm. I couldn’t believe my skull hadn’t caved in. The fact that I was alive right now was a miracle on its own.

But he kept walking, and soon I couldn’t hear his footsteps or his heavy breathing. Nothing but the wind picking up outside and whistling through the cracks in the planks of the shack.

Crawling toward the door, I peered through a hole near the hinge. But the blue alien was nowhere to be seen. A stone walkway I hadn’t noticed before led up to the shack, and on one side was a plant, the same as the crops in rows, but this one was shaped into a five-foot cone like an evergreen tree. The plant swayed in the breeze and clouds darkened the sky.

Shivering, I turned around to better inspect my new home. At least for a little while. Other than the wooden palette in the corner, there wasn’t much else. The floorboards were marred with a few burn marks here and there, which made me think someone had lived here at one time. A lump along the wall caught my attention, and I inspected it to find a scrap of fabric with man-made—or alien-made—stitches.

A sudden thought occurred to me. Was I squatting in the blue alien’s home? Did he live here? But it didn’t look lived in at all. It looked abandoned.

I lay on my side, wishing I had a blanket to cover myself. The temperature felt like it was lowering by the minute, and the wind was picking up outside. I could smell a storm in the air, and that would bode very, very badly for me since I currently only wore a large T-shirt.

I had to leave this shack eventually, since there was no food or water here. But I’d give it a little more time. My body was spent, and I didn’t think I could ask much more out of it.

I finally let the tears fall. I hadn’t cried once since I woke up and realized I was not in my bed. Hell, I wasn’t even on Earth. I was in a cage surrounded by red aliens with four arms and bony triangle heads, and they’d given me a new accessory in the form of a language translator implant behind my ear. I had only been able to get free because one of them had forgotten to lock the cage door, and even then I’d only gotten away because I’d managed to cut one of them after they nearly beat me to death.

I’d hid in a hole in a tree while they searched for me and only when they left the area did I venture out to take stock of my situation. Spoiler, my situation was shit. It wasn’t like my life on Earth was anything to write home about, but at least I’d had a job bartending at my local dive bar and had enough money to pay my rent, feed, and clothe myself.

Here? I had nothing but an ex-boyfriend’s big T-shirt that I’d worn to bed. It was the one thing I’d kept of his because it was soft and I’d bought it for him. So really, it was mine. And now the torn and bloody shirt was merely a shell of its former self. Kind of like me.

I didn’t want to fall asleep, so I stayed awake for a long time, until the shadows deepened, the sun set, and the pitch black of night surrounded me. I had a fleeting thought that sleeping wasn’t good for the likely concussion I had, but hell, I was just so tired. And so in pain. Maybe a little cat nap wouldn’t be so bad. The blue alien wouldn’t be able to get in without a whole lot of noise, and I was a light sleeper.

That was my last thought before I drifted off.

My nose itched. I twitched it, but the sensation didn’t go away. I blinked my eyes open, and for a moment, I was lost. Then the reality of my situation came back—escape, alien planet, shack, cold.

Absolutely fucking freezing.

Without moving, I cast my gaze around my small shack to find the reason for the extreme cold. Snow. Real actual snowflakes drifted down from the small window along the wall that I’d rolled against in my sleep.

And my first thought was—water.

My body protested every movement, but I managed to sit up, grab the empty pitcher, and set it under the window. It didn’t take long for the snowflakes to gather as this wasn’t a case of the flurries. This was a full-on snowstorm with howling winds and a darkened sky.

I breathed into the pitcher, and the snow melted fairly quickly despite the cold air. I sipped the water, crunching down on a few hard chunks of ice, and let the liquid soothe my parched throat. It didn’t taste great—there was an odd vinegar taste, but it was better than nothing.

On Earth, I was a scrappy survivor, but knowing how to sweet talk drunks into getting an Uber home and finessing as many tips as I could were not the skills needed to survive on an alien planet.

I peered out through the crack in the hinge and realized with dawning horror that I couldn’t see anything. While I’d slept, the snow had already built up on the other side of the door—there had to be at least two feet out there already. Two feet of frozen white stuff that sure felt like dirt being thrown over my coffin. I couldn’t get out to forage for food or try to find something warm for myself. Why couldn’t I have arrived on this planet in the warm season? Of course not. I had to be here when it was fucking snowing.

I took stock of my injuries. By prodding my eye, I determined it was slightly less puffy, and I probably had the cold to thank for that. I could put at least a little weight on my swollen ankle, but the floorboards of the shack were freezing. If I didn’t get something to keep myself warm—and soon—I was going to start losing toes. Maybe some fingers. A nose. Fuck, this was a horrible way to die.

When I stood, I noticed another crack in the door hinge and peered out. Since I’d been asleep, a few rows had been trimmed from the crops, and in the distant, I swore I could make out the gray smoke of a fire. My stomach churned. Something was out there. I wasn’t alone.

My gaze strayed to the plant closest to my door. A bit of color poked up through the white at the base of the tree, and I strained my eyes to see what it was. It hadn’t been there yesterday.

Pressing my good eye right up against the crack, I squinted until I could make out some sort of brown parcel through the heavily descending snow. What was that? With hobbling steps, I made my way around the inside of the shack, peering through any crack I could find. Was that blue alien watching me? Was this some sort of trap?

He was nowhere to be found, but with the blue and purple vegetation of this planet, he could easily be camouflaged. I returned to the front door and looked at the parcel again. It hadn’t moved. All I had to do was open the door and reach for it…

I glanced around the shack, finding a few abandoned sticks and carefully unbolted the door. As soon as the bolt lifted, a surge of panic lit my blood. Was he waiting just outside the door to surge in and kill me? With one shaking hand, I eased the door open while holding the stick like a weapon with my other hand. I was going to die in here anyway, and what if something that could help me survive was there?

I slipped a hand between the door and the doorframe and wiggled my fingers for a second before yanking my hand back. When nothing with a tail and teeth grabbed for me, I slid the door back even more. A drift of snow fell in, piling on top of my bare feet, and I hissed at the cold.

Extending the stick, I tapped the parcel at the bottom of the tree. It felt… sort of soft. Nothing deadly at first glance. It appeared to be wrapped in a type of worn leather with a thin bit of twine around it. I was dying of curiosity. With the end of the stick, which had a forked knot on it, I snagged the twine and pulled the package closer to me. At first, it dragged in the snow, but then it rolled onto a smoother edge and slid the rest of the way easily.

As soon as it was within reach, I grabbed it and tossed it onto the floor of the shack. With my heart in my throat, I slammed the door shut and locked the bolt closed. Shaking, muscle trembling with weakness, I slowly slid down to the floor on my butt.

Belatedly, I realized I sat in a pile of snow, so I crawled off of it toward the package. I had been right—it was some sort of brown leather with a dried vine tying it all together. With my teeth, I broke the vine and slowly peeled back the layers of leather. Nestled inside were several bundles of leafs, also tied with vine, and a thick pelt of fur.

Shock spread through my body like a blast of hot air. Gently, I brushed the soft fur with my palm before taking it out of the package. The pelt was large, like the size of a twin-bed comforter, and I nearly wept when I wrapped it around my cold shoulders. Inside the leaf bundles were what I could only assume was food—what looked like dried berries, some meat jerky, and a few round things that I thought were nuts.

The package contained a blanket for warmth and food for sustenance. I didn’t know what to make of this. It hadn’t been a trap, or I would have been attacked the moment I opened the door. Was the food poisoned? I sniffed at it but couldn’t find a reason anything on this planet would take the time to poison me. If that blue alien really wanted to, I fully believe he could get inside the door with enough effort.

After sniffing the beef jerky and taking a tiny taste with the tip of my tongue, I decided fuck it. I was starving, fairly warm, and if this was going to kill me, at least it tasted good.

I scarfed down the jerky, drank a little more melted snow, and then counted out the nuts. I only ate five, because I didn’t know how long this storm would last, and I knew I had to ration myself. With the leather parcel, I fashioned some makeshift shoes by tearing the leather in half with my teeth and using the vine as shoelaces. They were wonky and not exactly functional, but they kept my feet warm and hopefully prevented frostbite. After another drink of water and a quick pee in the corner, I settled down on top of the leftover leather and leaves and snuggled down into the warmest fur I had ever felt in my life.

I wasn’t quite sure who my secret Santa was, but they’d kept me alive for at least another day.

THREE

Baki

While she slept, I didn’t.

The storm came in fast, way faster than I expected. My comm was useless here, as I knew it would be, since our receptors had been fried when we left.

At first, I hadn’t dared get too close to the shack. The female was injured and terrified. I knew if I tried to make any contact too early, I’d only be met with aggression. Kutzal would have burst in there and dragged her out, but I wasn’t Kutzal. I was Baki, and I detested the look of fear in her eyes.

Before the snow fell, I managed to clear out a few rows of yuza. Since the female was in my drying shack, I built a makeshift shelter and managed to dry a few quickly over a fire and bundle them up. I’d just wrapped them in a water-proofed leather wrap when the first snowflakes began to fall.

I’d checked on the female then by leaning a fallen tree branch against the shack’s wall and climbing up it to see in the small window. She’d been laying on the floor, her eyes closed, while her entire body shivered.

I’d scrambled to provide some supplies for her, wrapped them up, and placed them under the yuza plant near the shack’s door. Then I’d fixed a temporary shelter in the wooded area surrounding the shack by propping a few branches together to make a cone shape, and covering the whole thing with a pelt of thick moss. A small hole in the top allowed the smoke from my campfire to escape and I leaned back to wait for the female to find the package I’d left her.

As the smoke filled my lungs and the yuza plant settled me, I had heard the slightest creak of a wooden door. Peering through my shelter, I saw her use a stick to drag the package closer and then yank it inside. The door slammed shut, and I smiled.

“Enjoy my gifts, female,” I murmured to myself. I wanted to do more, like stomp in there and demand she let me take care of her, but I’d seen the look in her eyes. She wouldn’t take kindly to force. And brute aggression wasn’t really my style.

I’d wait her out, and in the meantime, I’d keep her alive. The fur pelt I’d included would keep her warm for now. The next package would include tools to make her own fire.

She had to be one of Tasha’s friends, right? The only ones missing yet were… I scratched my head. I couldn’t remember their names. Missy? Neven? Something like that.

The snow fell for two more rotations. I hunted and cooked meat before wrapping it while it was still warm and placing it in satchels below the tree. When I checked on the female when she was sleeping, I found she’d been melting the snow to drink and she’d even made a pair of foot coverings with scraps of leather. I was impressed with her resourcefulness.

Using a flat board from inside the shack, she’d cleared a little path for herself to get the packages from under the tree before scurrying back inside. But she still opened the door holding a weapon every time she retrieved a package. Her gaze remained wary, alert, and violent. She was not ready for my approach.

As the sun rose on the third rotation, the snow stopped. I would have to harvest the yuza and smoke it before it rotted. Already I knew most of the stems would be useless, but at least the leaves were still salvageable. But my first priority, as it was every day, was to check on the female.

I clambered out of my shelter and stretched as I blinked up into the sun that I hadn’t seen for thee rotations. In the distance, our sister planet Torin also bore the glow of a returning sun.

I scratched my stomach and tossed my fur pelt over my shoulders. A stillness hung in the air as the area hadn’t quite come to life yet after the storm. Briggers were quiet, and I didn’t even hear the rustling of bilket in the underbrush.

The snow was up to my thighs, and I trudged through it on my way to the shack. I was nearly at the shoveled walkway when deep imprints in the snow caught my eye. My cora plunged into my boots. Something had been here, and it had walked right up to the shack door.

I surged toward the door and pulled on the handle. It flew open, unbolted, and snow swirled in behind me as I took in the empty shack. The female was gone.

* * *

Thea

“So stupid, Thea.” I muttered to myself.

I knew this had been a terrible idea, but I finally understood what the term cabin fever meant. I could not spend another day cooped up in that shack alone. The presents under the tree had been great, but it was only a matter of time before whoever was leaving them came to collect for their kindness. And I didn’t want to be there for that. Of course, the snow made for an easily tracked getaway, but if I could just reach some sort of stream, I could make my way undetected south. At least, I was hoping south was the right direction. I needed to get close to the damn equator on this planet. No way would I survive another snowstorm. I wouldn’t always have some alien Santa providing me gifts.

I clutched a branch I’d fashioned into a spear and carried the supplies on my back in a pack. Not for the first time, I wondered how the hell I’d gotten here. I didn’t remember any sort of trip. One minute I’d been in my bed and the next I’d been stared at by a red-skinned alien as he peered at me through bars of a cage. Were there other women? Were they still alive?

As I trudged through the snow, this started to feel like the worst idea ever. My makeshift shoes were already soaked, my legs were numb, and I was nearly dizzy in the sea of white.

I should go back. The cabin had felt like a prison, but it had been safe. I turned around and surveyed my way back. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like I’d walked maybe a mile. My ankle throbbed, and one of my myriad cuts itched. I scratched it, thinking that the heat emanating off my skin probably wasn’t a good sign. Nearly blinded by the white snow, I peeled back the fur to check out the cut. The edges were raw, and it smelled funny.

Fuck, my head felt like cotton. Where was I again? I spun in a circle and lost my footing. I collapsed onto all fours with my face smushed into the snow. I spit it out and shook my head, but my vision was a little fuzzy.

I patted the snow and was surprised that it wasn’t cold to the touch. In fact, I was a little hot. I pushed the fur pelt off me with a grunt and then tugged my shoes off. Why couldn’t I just nap here? I’d rest a little and then return to the shack. The snow was kind of soft now that I thought about it.

I leaned back to stare up at the sky, and as my eyes began to close, a shadow fell over me. “More clouds?” I murmured. But as a figure came into focus over me, I learned it was no cloud.

This figure had a round head with black horns curling out the side. A silver ring was pierced through his septum. Long dark hair flowed to the middle of his blue-scaled back, and he stood above me with a gun-like object in his hand. Some part of my brain thought it looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“Guess you found me,” I muttered, too tired to get up.

Slipping the gun object into his holster, he immediately dropped to a crouch and grabbed my pelt. He wrapped me in it, and I struggled weakly. “No, too hot.”

He said something under his breath that sounded like a curse as he bundled me tightly like I was a baby to be swaddled and hauled me into his arms. My stomach protested the quick action, and I gagged.

He began to walk, and all I could make out was my bare feet bobbing in front of me. My toes were a kaleidoscope of colors. Was that right? I didn’t remember my toes looking like that. “Wh-where are we going?” I managed to murmur through lips that didn’t seem to want to move very fast. Was I drunk?

He picked up speed, and soon we were moving over the snow so fast that I felt like I was in a car on the highway rather than in some alien’s arms. One part of my brain said that I should be fighting and fleeing, but his arms were just so strong, and I felt so safe.

When I caught sight of the cabin, I pointed with a wobbly finger. “Hey, we’re home.”

He shifted me in his arms, and suddenly that gun was in front of me again. I lifted my gaze and met a set of deep purple ones. I swore the alien looked sorry as he whispered one word before firing the gun. Pain shot through the side of my skull, and the world went black.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I felt was pain. Every single nerve was firing a warning in my body, and I could do nothing but curl up and breathe through it. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breath out. I focused on that until the pain faded into a dull throb.

I stared at the back wall of the shack. My memory was a little fuzzy, but I guessed I’d done what I said I would—just take a little nap and then return. Look at me, surviving like a champ. Except why was I so tired? Why was my heart pounding, why was my tongue swollen, and why did I feel like someone was holding a hot poker to my face?

Crackling reached my ears, and I rolled over slowly. The shack spun for a minute, and my vision went wonky. I shook my head and smacked my lips. In the middle of the shack was a small fire leading up to the vent in the roof. And sitting at my side, crouched on the balls of his feet, was the blue alien.

I shrieked and tried to sit up, but my arms gave out on me. My shoulder hit the floor with a smack, and I whimpered. Why was I so weak? Fuck, I felt like I was dying.

“Are you hungry?” said a deep voice. A blue hand appeared in front of my face holding a dried concave leaf. Puddled in the middle was a fragrant smelling liquid with chunks of… something floating on top. The smell wasn’t bad, but the thought of swallowing anything made me want to hurl. I gagged, and he quickly dropped it. “Okay maybe later.”

He tugged at the fur wrapped around me, and when I tried to hold on to it, he tugged it from my grasp with barely any effort. His dark head bent as he prodded at the cut on my arm. I wasn’t proud of the pathetic sound I made.

The gun-like object lay discarded on top of an empty satchel, and I remembered now why it was familiar. It was a language implant updater. But how had he known what my language was?

He stirred something in a small basin with a stick. When he lifted it up, the stick was coated with a creamy substance about the consistency of Vaseline. He sniffed it and then swiped a bit on his finger. I tried to shimmy away from him, but he gripped my thigh and held me still as he patted the substance onto my cut. I swallowed as a cooling sensation flowed over my skin. “What is that?” I whispered hoarsely.

His gaze flicked to me. “Healing salve from the yuza.” He pointed to a stack of plants that were the same as the crops outside.

Wait, had I stumbled across an alien farmer? “Who are you?”

“I’m Baki, a Drixonian warrior.” He swiped his thumb through the salve and then smoothed it in the middle of my eyes and across my forehead before he dropped a dot below my nose. I inhaled a cool freshness and already my head felt cleared.

“I’m Thea,” I said.

“And you’re a human female.”

“How did you know that?”

He fluffed a fur beneath my head and urged me to rest on it. “I will explain soon. First you need to rest. You had the frozen fever.”

I found myself snuggling under the pelt he’d thrown over me and turning my face toward the warmth of the fire. What was in that salve?

The frozen fever he called it, and while my memory was still fuzzy, a few snippets came back to me—the way I’d felt hot and torn off my clothes and insisted I could just rest. A dawning horror settled in my gut. I’d been experiencing serious hypothermia symptoms. I’d heard one of my bar patrons tell a story one time about how he was hunting caribou, got lost, and nearly froze to death. His friends had found him nearly naked and half sleep under a tree.

I shivered. If it wasn’t for this blue alien, I’d be a Thea popsicle right now. I glanced up at him, but he was busy with several pots, stirring and tasting things like a line chef.

“Were you the one who left me packages under the tree?”

His movements stopped, and he turned to meet my gaze. “Yes,” he answered simply.

My eyes were growing heavy. “So you’re my alien Santa.”

As I drifted off to sleep, I heard him mutter, “What’s a Santa?”

FOUR

Thea

He didn’t know I was awake.

I’d opened my eyes a few minutes ago to find my head surprisingly clear and the sky dark. The only light was from the carefully tended fire which had dried logs on top. Where Baki got that dried wood was a mystery to me. I could still see the large snow drifts halfway up the outside walls of the shack through the crack in the planks.

Baki was still here, of course. Facing away from me, he stood in the corner holding a large pitcher of melted snow. I watched as he lifted it over his head and tipped the spout. Water spilled down his dark hair and beaded off like a duck’s feathers. With his large hands, he finger-combed his hair before rubbing a small rag over his shirtless back. I swallowed as I took in the shifting of his muscles. Baki was built strong but wiry.

His tail—thick at the base and narrowing into a point—hung still with the end resting on the floor. Distracting by the appendage, I didn’t see his hand fiddling with his pants before it was too late. Suddenly they dropped to his ankles, and I stared at the alien’s tight, round ass that was just… there. All in its pale blue glory.

I wasn’t a prude, and I’d seen a lot of butts, but I’d certainly never seen a butt like his. I knew I should shout out to him to cover up, that I was watching, because this was creepy, right? But all the words jammed in my throat and died on the back of my tongue before I could say a word.

He turned slightly as he washed himself, and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head at the sight of his dick, rest soft yet long and thick over his low-hanging blue balls. This alien was hung. With a cock. One that had a wide head and some odd bump at the upper base.

I swallowed, but my mouth had long gone dry. My throat made an odd clicking noise, and Baki jerked his head toward me. Our gazes met, and my body went stiff with fear. Would he be angry? I still didn’t know what he wanted with me or why I was even here.

But instead he cocked his head. “Are you feeling better?”

That was it. While he relaxed with his dick out, he asked a perfectly innocent question. And then he continued to wash as if this wasn’t absolutely fucking surreal.

“I-I am, yes.” I answered. Because what else do I say? Should I tell him to put his dick away? But part of me didn’t want him to, which was a little bit insane. It was just… Baki, in all his blue-scaled, black-horned, and long-tailed glory, was an absolute work of art. Of the extraterrestrial variety. “Maybe I do still have a fever.” I frowned as I pressed the back of my hand to my forehead.

Yanking up his pants and belting them with a clasp at the base of his tail, he hurried over to me with concern.

“Nevermind,” I blurted out before he could get too close. “I just…I’m a little groggy from sleep.”

He nodded. “Want to wash? I have another pitcher of qua for you.”

My implant translated qua as water. “Um…” All I could think about was how he would sit here in the furs and watch me as I washed with my whole bitties and kitty out. “I don’t think—”

“I’ll leave to get more snow to melt,” he rose and draped a fur pelt over his shoulders. “Take your time.”

With a nod, he flung the door open and disappeared in the dark in a swirl of snow. I stared at the closed door, waiting for him to fling it open and yell, “Just kidding!” and then watch me wash just like I watched him.

But the door remained closed, and I could hear the crunch of his footsteps in the snow as he walked away from the shack.

Bracing myself on the wall with a hand, I wobbled to my feet. Still lightheaded and weak, I stumbled over to the corner and knelt there. After undressing quickly, I dumped the pitcher of water over my head. I’d expected it to be freezing. It was melted snow after all, but the water was warm. He had to have heated it over the fire, which was a surprising kindness. What was he getting out of helping me?

I reached for another rag, which was coated in some sort of slippery coating that lathered like soap and smelled a bit like minty cucumber. I scrubbed my dirty, filthy skin and did my best to clean my hair. I had needed a haircut before I’d been taken from Earth, so now my locks were just a mess of split ends and knots. The soapy rag worked enough that I could finger comb through my hair, but I still felt my eyes well up at the condition of it. I had always prided myself on my hair, and it was maybe a silly thing to get upset about, but I just felt so unlike myself that my gross hair was like salt in the wound.

By the time I heard the crunch of Baki’s footsteps returning, I was already dressed and huddling back under the fur near the fire so my hair would dry.

A light knock rattled the door. Clearing my throat, I called, “Come in.”

The door swung open, and Baki stepped inside. I marveled that he only wore pants, boots, and a fur cape to keep warm. Most of his chest was bare as well as his lower back. But he didn’t even appear cold.

His gaze flicked to me as he placed a large pitcher full of snow near the fire. Crouching, he eyed my hair with a slight wrinkle to his nose, which made me feel self-conscious.

“What?” I asked as I shoved the stringy strands behind my ear. Meanwhile his hair looked fantastic, flowing over his shoulders all shiny and soft with small braids woven throughout.

A muscle in his jaw ticked as he shuffled toward me on the balls of his feet. I braced, but he kept coming. As he rounded my back, I turned with him, unwilling to let him out of my sight. His expression softened. “Let me.”

“Let you what?” I felt my nostrils flare like a scared deer. I was twitchy, hurt, and vulnerable. I didn’t know what to make of Baki, and I also knew I wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight. My muscles already trembled from holding myself upright for this long.

He moved quickly this time, sliding around to my back before I could spin around to face him. He gathered my hair in a gentle fist. “This.”

That was all he said, but I knew what he meant. I went very still as his position at my back was not ideal. But he only held a rough-looking white comb in front of my eyes before drawing it back. A second later, I felt a slightly tugging on my hair as he pulled the comb through my tangled rat’s nest.

Anxiety clawed its way up my throat. Even on Earth, I’d been wary of people touching me, especially my hair. I had a good friend who was a hairstylist, and she was the only one who could mess with it.

Allowing myself to sit with my back to a likely predator while he tended to my hair was not the Thea I’d ever been. My scalp prickled, and my hands itched to strike out. Then a steady hum began from behind me, and the vibrations dug their way into my muscles like a massage therapist’s fingers. Slowly, the tension left me until all I could focus on was the steady tug on my hair and the purr-like vibrations at my back. I closed my eyes as I felt Baki’s thick yet agile fingers weave a few braids at my temples. I heard a few soft snips and registered that a few inches of my nasty split ends lay around us in a dark fluff.

“Thank you,” I heard myself murmur as a set of strong hands tugged my shoulders onto a solid chest.

“Rest, my human,” a deep voice rumbled behind me amid that purring vibration.

* * *

Baki

I let the female sleep on me. With the fire at her front, and me at her back, this was the warmest she’d get in this shack, and I knew she needed to be kept warm. When I’d found her among the snow drifts, I’d been terrified she was dead. Her small, pale feet had been a purplish white and her lips a sickly blue.

I lifted her hand and inspected the tips of her fingers. They were a nice rosy red, and I breath out a sigh of relief. What had she been thinking trekking through the snow alone without proper covering? If she was well, I would have scolded her.

The other human females I’d met had been smitten with their mates. Less wary. Where as this female was like a trembling abandoned chit. I had long suspected I was a broken Drixonian content to be alone away from violence. I had even worried that my dedication to our creed—She is All—was merely a duty rather than an instinct.

But around this female, this Thea, instincts I didn’t realize I had rushed into my cora and blood like a tidal wave. I wanted to hold her in my arms forever to keep her warm and safe. I wanted to dress her in warm clothes, coat her soft skin in yuza cream to keep it supple, and braid her hair with decorative gems.

With her, I wanted to be a Drixonian warrior rather than the weird, reclusive Baki.

I smoothed the hair on top of her head, and she smacked her lips in her sleep. Immediately, I began to prush again, and the vibration settled her. That was another instinct I hadn’t thought I had. Drixonian males prushed for their mates in order to relax them when scared or show appreciation while intimate. I’d never prushed before, and never expected to. But when I’d felt her tremble at my touch with fear, my body had known what to do.

I appreciated her caution. She was a feisty female, although a bit feral, but I couldn’t blame her. She’d been hurt badly and likely scared out of her mind. It was right of her not to trust me. When she woke, we’d have to speak, and I was somewhat nervous about it. What if she tried to run again? I wouldn’t be able to let her go. I’d chase her all over this planet and onto the next. Because in my cora, with every fiber of my sola, I knew she was safest with me.

Something about her soothed me too. I had always felt like an odd outcast and unlike the other Drixonians, but she was like a missing piece that settled in my chest and made me whole.

We sat there by the fire until the shadows grew long and the sky darkened. I didn’t move, even as my legs cramped and my back ached from the awkward position. The fire was beginning to sputter, and I knew I’d have to tend to it soon.

And then she woke.

First her eyelids fluttered, then her nose twitched, and finally she jerked her arm to her face and rubbed her eyes. She looked at me without a hint of wariness, and I enjoyed the brief time she was too groggy to comprehend our positioning. Then she jerked upright with a gasp.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, scratching at her ear.

I tried to hide my wince as I shifted toward the fire and placed another dry branch on top of the embers. After fussing with it a bit, flames finally flickered to life again.

When I turned, Thea sat with her legs drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her shins. A defensive position, but at least she didn’t look scared of me anymore.

“Why are you being so kind to me?” she asked.

“I plan to return you to your friends,” I said.

Her dark eyebrows dipped. “My friends? On Earth?”

“No, I mean Tasha, Amber, Trix, and Lu.”

I expected her face to brighten, but instead she only shook her head. “I don’t know those names.”

That was not the answer I expected. “You don’t? Weren’t you living on this planet with them before you were taken from your camp?”

She blinked. “I’m sorry, but no. I woke up on this planet in a cage surrounded by red, four-armed aliens. And I was the only human.”

I blew out a harsh breath and rubbed at my forehead. She must have been who the red aliens were searching for when I killed them. And she’d been alone… how many more humans were on this planet in danger? “I didn’t realize that.”

“So wait, there are more humans?” She dropped her hands to her sides and crossed her legs. A more open and trusting posture.

“More females,” I confirmed. “They are at the village with the rest of my clavas.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And what do you do with these females?”

“We protect them. Our Drixonian creed is She is All. Harming females goes against everything we believe in. The females are mated to some of the Drixonian warriors.” Her eyes widened in alarm, and I quickly rushed to add, “But that is not a requirement for our protection.”

Her chest heaved, and I could hear the increase in the beat of her cora. I waited her out while she nibbled her lip and thought about what I said. “So, you’ll take me to the rest of these women?”

I nodded. “As soon as some of the snow melts, I’ll retrieve my bike and we can travel back.”

“So this isn’t your home?”

“It was,” I gaze around the shack as I remembered living here in peace and quiet. “But the red aliens you mentioned—the Joktals—raided our camp and burnt most of our homes. We moved closer to the Drixonian city of Granit for safety. We could not afford to live here any longer because our females were too vulnerable.”

“The Joktals.” She shuddered. “They were not nice.”

“They hurt you.”

“Yes,” she said. “When I tried to escape.”

“On my way here, I saw two of them searching for someone. I killed them.” The words normally would have made me sick to say out loud, but in front of Thea, I only felt pride.

For the first time, something like affection flooded her face. “I can’t say I’m sorry they are dead.”

“Were there more?”

She nodded. “Close to a dozen.”

“I will protect you.”

Her eyes shone in the flickering of the flames. “Okay.”

Her soft voice warmed my gut, and I found myself appreciating the roundness of her eyes and the curve of her lips. The way her hair framed her face in soft curls that had escaped her braids. The slender arch of her neck. The other females I’d seen as just more members of our clavas. But with Thea, I felt a surge of attraction.

I couldn’t let her know. She thought she was safe here in this shack with me. If she knew that the sight of her had begun to harden my cock, she’d be terrified.

Shifting my weight, I reached for my food pack to keep myself busy. “You’re probably hungry.”

“I could eat.” Again with that soft kind voice that gripped me by the balls. Fleck, I would eat off this female’s feet if she asked me to. I remembered how Vinz hadn’t wanted to let Amber know how badly he wanted her, but he hadn’t been able to stay away. I’d found him spying on her from the cover of my yuza crop. At the time, I thought his feelings were strange. And now I understood.

I handed her the best of my rations while I nibbled on a flavorless tuber. All the while, I willed my cock to settle and my cora to quit pounding at the female’s presence. I didn’t succeed at either.

FIVE

Thea

“I can come outside.” I stomped my feet, which were now covered in a heavy boots that Baki had made out of a thick, rubber-life leaf sandwiched between thick layers of fur.

He tugged his fur cap over his broad shoulders and answered simply, “No.”

Baki never seemed to panic. His tone remained even-keel no matter my tantrum or meltdown. And I’d had a few. It had been about four days since I’d nearly died of hypothermia and I was, once again, going a little stir-crazy. But Baki remained patient and calm.

“I’m warm.” I flopped my arms at my sides. I had been outfitted in a ridiculous amount of clothes. Baki had traveled to his “bike” and retrieved more supplies so I was now bundled up like I planned to hike Mount Everest. In fact, I was sweating a little.

“You can stand at the door and watch.”

“Baki—”

“The snow is still too high, and I could lose you.”

“I’m not a cat,” I muttered.

He turned to me with a small smile on his face and purple eyes twinkling. My stomach gave a little swoop, and I pretended it was indigestion. “What’s a cat?”

“A small pet.” I curled my fingers. “With claws.”

He extended his. “Like these?”

I swallowed. His were a lot longer and could do a lot of damage, although I’d been nearly shredded by a stray cat that lived behind the bar before. “Sort of.”

He sheathed his claws. “I have to grab some of the crop.” His gaze drifted down my body. “You can undress.”

I knew what he meant—to take off my cold weather clothes—but my stomach did that swoop thing again. I pressed a hand to it. “I want to help.”

“You will help.” He opened up the door and a strong breeze blew into our shack. The fire protested. “You will help me tend and dry the yuza.”

I’d learned that was the original reason he’d returned from his new village—this yuza stuff was some sort of important crop and he needed to harvest it. I felt better and I was tired of sitting around in close proximity with an alien who was altogether too kind and too patient. Add in that my warped brain was now finding him attractive, and I knew I needed some fresh air. But the way he handled my mood swings and near death—not too mention that he’d killed some of my captors—frankly, he’d endeared himself to me. And I rarely liked anyone.

My boss had always said I was like a cat, and one day I’d find my person. Crazy as it sounded, I was starting to believe Baki was my person. This alien with his calm tone, braiding skills, and a love for plants was who I found my soul reaching toward.

So instead of arguing more, I conceded, because this was what Baki wanted. “Fine.” I tugged off my mittens. “Will you be long?”

He tilted his head and peered outside. “I will compromise. You can stand right outside the door and watch me.”

With my one mitten off and tucked between my teeth, I went still. “Really?” I spoke around the mitten, so it sounded more like willy?

He smiled again, and damn I was starting to enjoy his casual grins. “Yes. Would you like that?”

I nodded eagerly and shoved my hand back in my mitten. Flapping my arms like a penguin, I marched toward him. He let out a soft chuckle as he stepped outside. I followed and shut the door behind me while he took off down a path he’d shoveled toward the rest of the crops.

While I couldn’t move very well, I was dying for some exercise, so I walked up and down the path while Baki went into the thigh-deep snow to hack at the yuza plants. He used the blades on his forearms—which he said were called machets—to slice the plants off near the root. They reminded me a bit of corn stalks. They stood tall with broad leaves and thick stems.

At the end of each row, he piled them up in a bundle. Some which were mushy and smelly were discarded, which he did with a frown.

“Do you want these carried into the shack?” I asked as I stood near a bundle.

He stood up from where he’d been crouched over a plant and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He smeared a streak of green dirt there, and I hadn’t realized my aesthetic was alien cowboy, but yet here I was with another belly tingle.

I imagined Baki in a hat, some Wrangler jeans, and a pair of steel-toed boots. Tugging at the neck of my fur coat, I let some air cool my heated skin. Yes, blue collar alien was my thing, apparently.

He smiled at me. “I can get it.”

I resisted stomping again. “I can do it.”

He waited a beat before answering. “Okay then.”

I bent down and hauled the bundle into my arms. It was much heavier than I expected and I could barely see around the leaves to check where I was walking. Still, I made it to the door and nudged it open with the toe of my boot. I dropped the leaves along a wall the farthest from the wall and swiped my hands together with satisfaction. See? I could be helpful.

I went back out to see Baki carrying not one, not two, but three bundles. And he wasn’t even breathing hard.

“Show off,” I muttered as he passed me.

“What does that meant?” he called.

“It means I admire how big and strong you are.”

When I returned to the shack with another bundle, his eyes sparkled. “Show off,” he said, very proud of himself.

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.

Once all the bundles were inside, I stripped down to a spare shirt of Baki’s and a pair of his pants we’d managed to alter. The amount of supplies Baki carried with him made me believe he really did come from a village with women. Because I couldn’t imagine even males in another galaxy were that prepared when traveling. But then maybe I was wrong. Baki was a different breed of man, that was for sure. Were they all like him?

It wasn’t like I was eager to meet more aliens. As much as I was interested in this village of his, I also wondered if he’d continue to be this kind and doting on me. Was I growing too used to him? Independent was my middle name back on Earth, but here…I needed Baki, and denying that fact was stupid.

Baki plopped down a bundle of the yuza plant in front of me and handed me a small blade. “If you cut the leaves off the stalk and make a pile next to you, I’ll hang the leaves for drying.” He pointed to the naked rafters above us. Now this shack made a whole lot more sense.

He crouched next to me and pointed to a little furry sphere that sat at the base of some of the larger leaves. “This is the seed pod. Place them in one basket and pile the stalks in another.”

The instructions were simple, and I appreciated that. I’d always liked to work and be useful. More and more I was starting relearn who I was… or at least get used to the alien planet version of Thea. It was amazing how disconnected I felt from myself when all the stuff around me was stripped away. Here it was just me and my mind, forced to be together in a way I’d never had to before.

I got to work, slicing off the thick leaves while Baki strung them up from the rafters. “What do you use the yuza for?”

“The sap is a healing salve which I used on your wounds.”

“I remember. It felt cool.”

He nodded. “The seeds we use to season our food. And we smoke the dried leaves.”

My knife slid sideways, and I nearly took a chunk out of my hand. “You smoke it?”

He nodded. “It is a reward we indulge in, often after battle.” After a shy smile, he added, “I tend to smoke it more often.”

My hands fell lax in my lap as I felt a bubble of laughter float up my throat. I’d found a blue collar alien stoner, and I wasn’t mad about it. Weed had been a favorite pastime of mine on Earth. “So how does it make you feel?”

“Relaxed.” His gaze dropped. “Forgetful.”

“Forgetful?”

His fingers fluttered as if he wasn’t sure of his words. “I don’t have to remember what I don’t want to remember.”

Our eyes locked. I swallowed, because there surely were a whole lot of things I wanted to forget right now, like the fact that I’d been beaten half to death by four-armed aliens on a planet that wasn’t Earth—and that I truly had no idea how long I’d survive here.

My single mom had warned me more times than I could count not to take drugs from strangers, but she hadn’t specifically mentioned aliens in another galaxy, so maybe I was in the clear. She’d passed away a few years ago, and I sent up a silent plea for her to forgive me. “Do you know how it affects humans?”

“Lu snuck some of her mate’s when he wasn’t looking and talked a lot before eating half her weight in fried tubers and then falling asleep for half a day.”

I laughed. “I would like to meet Lu.”

His eyes crinkled. “They would welcome you.”

I wasn’t sure. A part of me, the stupid insecure part who had never been good at making friends, wondered how much I’d be welcomed at this village. According to Baki, these women had two friends who were still missing. I imagined they’d be very disappointed if I showed up instead of their friends. And maybe that was a stupid concern, but I was still human, after all.

I shook the thought away. For now, in this shack, it was just me and Baki. “Can I try some?”

The nubs above his eyes twitched in surprise before shifted to sit next to me. “Are you sure?”

I bumped him with my shoulder. “You won’t let anything happen to me, right?”

I said it cheekily as a joke, but his brow wrinkled. “Absolutely not.”

“I believe you.”

He withdrew a pile of crackly, dried leaves from a pack. Apparently when I’d confiscated his drying shack, he’d dried some crops in a makeshift shelter over a fire, so he already had some leaves ready to go. He rolled them carefully inside the thin outer casing of a vine.

After lighting one end on fire, he stuck the joint into the side of his mouth and puffed while throwing another log on the fire. I pictured him in some alternate universe country music video, driving a truck on a dusty road with the windows down and a dog in the passenger seat.

The smoke, scented like an earthy mint, curled up toward the vent in the ceiling and fuzzed my brain a little.

“I wanted to make sure it was a good batch.” He withdrew the joint, flipped it deftly with his fingers, and handed it to me with the burnt end pointing at him. “Not too much.”

Yeah, I wasn’t stupid. I sniffed at the joint before sucking some smoke in my mouth. I let it marinate there a moment without inhaling before blowing it out in a thin stream. My eyes slid closed as whatever this alien herb was worked its way up to my head. Feeling brave, I took one more puff, inhaling this time, before blowing it out.

The joint was taken from my fingers, and I opened my eyes to find Baki watching me with his face inches away. “How do you feel?” he asked.

My limbs felt both heavy and light at the same time, like I could barely lift my arm but I was convinced I could maybe fly or at least float. Baki’s eyes seemed to glow like gems. I reached out a hand and cupped his face. The muscles of his cheek jumped beneath my touch, but he didn’t move away. “Thea?”

“I feel relaxed,” I answered. “And forgetful.”

I thought he’d be happy, but instead his mouth turned down at the corners. “Yes. Forgetful.”

How had I gotten here? I could barely remember. All I knew was that I was nice and warm in a shack with snow all around us in a perfect winter landscape. And in front of me was an alien who’d taken care of me, fed me, and killed for me. “Do you have a mate?”

“No,” he said softly.

“Why not?”

“A long story for another time.”

I frowned. “Your females must have ridiculous standards.”

He winced, and I couldn’t figure out why. “What do you want, Thea?”

“In a mate?”

“No, in—” he shook his head with a small smile. “Sure, in a mate.”

“Patient. No one’s ever patient with me. I know I can be moody, difficult, and maybe cynical but when my life has never gone well or according to plan, I sort of gave up on optimism.”

Wait, I was remembering. This wasn’t good. I tried to reach for the joint, but he held it out of my reach. “I don’t think you’re difficult.”

I snorted and felt like I needed to giggle. “That’s because you’re patient.” He didn’t respond to that, so I kept going. “I want someone who sticks up for me. Because I can be a real ball buster, men would always let me take the lead. I always had to point out if a waitress brought our wrong meal or if our electric bill was wrong. Just… be a man, you know?”

“I don’t know what a lot of those words mean.”

I waved hand with a yawn. “It doesn’t matter, because I know you’d calmly tell a waiter that you asked for Grey Goose vodka, not Tito’s. I mean, you killed two guys for me.” At that, I giggled inappropriately, and I couldn’t seem to stop.

He blinked at me.

I held up a finger in the air, but when I looked at my hand, I saw double. I shook my head and soldiered on. “And, you hunted for me. Like Tarzan. Do you know how hot it is when someone is just fucking capable? Capability is incredibly underrated on the dating apps.”

Again, he stared at me. “Who is this Tarzan who hunted for you?”

I hiccuped. “He’s made up.”

Baki looked adorably confused so I grabbed his face and smushed his lips together. My voice went all high without me meaning to. “My Baki is better than any stupid Tarzan. He never gave Jane any drugs to forget just how badly her life had gone to shit.”

Baki’s eyes peered at me above his protruding cheeks. “Thea?” He spoke around his pursed lips. “I don’t understand.”

“Sorry.” I let go of his face, and he rubbed his cheeks.

“What do you mean your life never went according to plan? You mean before you were abducted?”

He was harshing my buzz making me remember things. I ticked them off on my fingers. “No dad, single mom who was great but worked all the time. Bad attitude in school so I got in trouble. My grades sucked. Fell into the wrong crowd in high school and dated a boy who smacked me. Graduated and couldn’t afford college. Met another boy who stole from me. Worked odd jobs, never got ahead. Finally had my own apartment and was bartending and then woke up here, wherever this is.”

Baki plucked me off the ground and deposited me in his lap so quickly that my head spun. Suddenly we were in closer, so close that I could smell the soap from his hair and feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. The intensity in his eyes cut through my drug haze. “We will make up for your Earth life here. You will never feel another blow, what’s yours is yours, you’ll always be fed, and we have a whole village who will care and fight for you.”

I clasped his face, softer this time. He was so handsome with his high cheekbones in a pale blue. “That sounds lovely but not real.”

“It is real.” He insisted. “Because we made it so.”

SIX

Baki

Thea was talking a lot like Lu, but she hadn’t asked for food yet. I expected that was coming and mentally calculated how much I could let her eat before I had to go hunting again. I’d do it, but I wouldn’t leave her when she was still feeling the effects of the yuza.

She was also…touchy and affectionate in a way I never thought she’d be. Thea had a personal boundary around her at all times which I respect. But now she was grabbing at my face, playing with the ends of my hair, running her fingertips across my shoulders. I didn’t mind—I more than liked it—but if she kept going, I was not going to be able to hide my growing evidence of how much I enjoyed her touch

“I’m sure you have a wonderful village and lots of cute little blue babies running around, but I’m bad luck and I will absolutely fuck up the vibe,” Thea said, tugging at a stray fiber on my pants. “So I’ll visit and then… go somewhere else.”

She was under the impression that I wouldn’t do everything I could do ensure her health and happiness. “What is luck?”

“Luck is…your chance of winning or being happy. And my odds are definitely losing and being miserable.”

That was nonsense “Luck is not a thing.”

She eyed me. “Uh, it definitely is.”

“No, Fatas rewards or punishes us based on our behavior and here, on this planet, she will reward you.”

“That’s sweet you think that. How do you know I’m a good person?”

“Because I know,” I insisted. “Fatas kept you alive to meet me. And you make me happy.”

She placed hand dramatically on her chest. “Me? How in the hell have I made you happy?”

“You are strong and stubborn. You like to help and be busy. You are a fighter, but you also like when I take care of you. And taking care of you makes me happy.”

She eyed me. “You’re too good to be true. You sure you don’t have a mate?”

The recognition was coming back into her eyes. The yuza was still there, floating around in her blood, but it was time to tell her the truth. “Our females all died almost two hundred cycles ago. Only male warriors are left.”

For a moment, she didn’t react, and then her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “What?”

“A virus wiped them out, and a lot happened after that. We left to live at our sister planet with a race we thought wanted to be our allies, but instead wanted to enslave us. We fought them and moved back home with some human females we rescued.”

Her breath whistled between her teeth. “Well shit. Are you sure Fatas is who you want to believe in?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “Because you’re here in front of me. I would never wish for you to be taken from your home, but now you’re with me, and I’m with you. That’s enough evidence of Fatas for me.

She shifted closer and picked up one of my hands and ran her fingers over my knuckles. “So that’s about your entire species, but what about you, Baki? Has Fatas been kind to you?”

The flames of the fire flickered over her face. Her lips were wet from her licking them, and her cheeks were flushed from the yuza she’d smoked. But her eyes were clearing. She wanted to know about me. I wasn’t sure anyone in my life had ever been interested enough in asking me a question like that.

“Before I met you?” I whispered hoarsely. “No. No she has not.”

“Tell me,” Thea said with a soft urgency. “Depending on how bad it is, I’ll fight her.”

A laugh nearly left my lips. “And I believe you would. When I was a young chit before the virus, my father deserted the Drixonian army. He knew the punishment, and he did it anyway.”

“What’s the punishment?”

“The branding of any of his offspring. I’m a son of naught, which in the old rules meant I could not mate or procreate, and I wouldn’t be able to serve any important positions in the military. I would forever be a second-class Drixonian.”

Fire blazed in her eyes. “That’s some bullshit. Fuck their made-up brand. Around me, you’re Baki.”

“It’s not a made-up brand.” I tugged my hair to the side and twisted to show her the back of my neck where the brand was burned onto my skin. A circle with a line through it.

She let out a gasp that rattled in my own chest. When I let my hair fall and faced her again, her hand was clamped over her mouth.

“It’s okay, Thea,” I said. “It was a long time ago. The new drexel of the Drixonians doesn’t believe in that.”

“It’s not okay.” Tears spilled out over her bottom lashes. “It’s absolutely not okay.” Her hand dropped into a fist on her lap as she trembled. “Here I was bitching about my bad luck and you… you’re sitting here with a damn brand on your skin from your own people!”

“Thea.”

She sucked in a breath and turned her head to the side as her lips wobbled.

I reached for her fist and closed my hand around it. “Listen to me.”

Gradually her fist loosened, and the tension left her body. “I’m listening.”

“Every Drixonian has a hard story. But now we are back on our planet, rebuilding our city. Even if I never met you, seeing some of my friends with their mates makes me put what we went through behind us. We’re stronger now than we ever were, and have discarded some aspects of our society that weren’t right—like the sons of naught.”

Her wet eyes met mine. “You really mean it? You want me to go home to your village? And stay there?”

I nodded. “More than anything.”

She sniffed. “And you’ll be there, right. Not here?”

“I only came back here one time to harvest the yuza crop we had to leave behind and collect seeds.”

“You plan to replant at your new village.”

“Yes.”

The back of her hand swiped her nose. “I can help. I had some plants at my apartment. Guess they’re dead now, but I took good care of them. I wasn’t allowed to have a pet, so I talked to their little green leaves.” Her hand unfurled and her fingers slipped between mine. “Succulents were really big right before I was abducted.”

I didn’t know what succulents were. “You can have any plant you want at the village.”

“Will I be required to… have a mate? Are there any single females?”

I tried not to tense up at the thought of her and I separated. “You do not have to mate. All the females now are mated.”

“How many are there?”

I counted in my head. “Four.”

“I’ll be the fifth wheel? Ugh.” Before I could ask what a fifth wheel was, she continued. “But you’ll be there.”

I’d already answered that. “Yes.”

“And you’ll…” she fidgeted with her fingers, like she didn’t know how to ask.

“I’ll always be there for you.”

And then she lifted her head with dry eyes. Straightening her shoulders, she lifted her chin and gave me a look that I couldn’t decipher but that stirred something in my chest and groin. “Well I answered this, so now it’s your turn. What do you want in a mate?”

* * *

Thea

His expression went blank for a second before shifting into confusion. “I haven’t ever thought about it before, since I didn’t think I’d mate.”

My heart lurched. Now that I knew more about the loss and tragedy Baki had experienced, I was shocked that he still remained a gentle soul who just loved his plants. “Well, do you have thoughts now?”

His chin dropped for a minute before he lifted his head to meet my gaze. “You.”

“Baki—”

“I have met human females, but none have ever held my attention like you do.”

A thought occurred to me. “So wait, if you’ve never been around any of your females...” He waited patiently for me to finish. “You have never been intimate with someone?”

He shook his head. “It was a desire that remained dormant. Until you.”

My breath sped up as my skin broke out in goosebumps. “What?” I asked breathlessly.

“I’m attracted to you, Thea. I wanted to tell you now before my body gives it away.” His eyes dropped to his lap. “I will keep myself under control and won’t touch you.”

My mind was mostly clear although it seemed like it took me longer than normal to process his words. “D-Do you want to touch me?”

He didn’t answer, only stared at me with a panicked look in his eye, which looked unusual on his normally placid face.

“Baki?”

“I will not touch you.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

“I know, but please don’t make me answer, because I will not lie.”

I shifted to my knees in front of him and leaned over his lap. He remained frozen, eyes wide in alarm. “What if I touch you first?”

His adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “What kind of touch?”

“A kiss?” My breath blew across his lips, and he shuddered.

“Is that the mouth touch I’ve seen some of the warriors do with their mates?”

“Yes, that’s the mouth touch.”

His fingers twitched in his lap. “Does it feel good?

“Yes,” I whispered. His eyes were so close that all I could see was vivid purple.

“I want that kiss from you.”

I closed the gap and touched my lips to his in the most chaste kiss of my life. He inhaled sharply, and his lips trembled against mine.

“More?” I asked.

His nostrils flared. “There’s more?”

“Open your mouth.”

When his lips parted, I slanted my head and slid my tongue inside. A rumbling groan emanated from his chest as his tongue, studded with ball piercings, connected with mine. My head spun as he dug into the act with gusto, his mouth slotting over mine perfectly as we deepened the kiss.

Suddenly he jerked back and piled a spare fur on top of his lap. His entire body vibrated with restraint. I reached for his hand, but he slid away from me while shaking his head. “I cannot.”

Concern put a damper on my raging hormones. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

“You didn’t hurt me, but if we do the kiss more, I’m not sure I can hold back.”

I had to be crazy, because the next words out of my mouth were nuts. “You don’t have to hold back.”

He nodded vigorously. “I do.”

I was confused, and maybe a little hurt. So he’d… rejected me? Well, fuck. Of course, that was his choice, and I wasn’t angry with him, maybe more with myself for making him feel pressured. “I’m sorry, I—”

“You still are under the effects of yuza,” he interrupted me in a rush of words. “Tomorrow, when it wears off, and you still want to do the kiss. And touch. Then I will accept. Then I won’t hold myself back.”

As a bartender, I’d been hit on, my ass grabbed, and even a tit squeezed without my permission. I’d never gotten used to it, and I hated every slimy touch, but I also was never surprised anymore when it happened. Now this male alien—who could have easily overpowered me in a place where no one could hear my protests—was respecting my sober consent.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes again. I rarely cried, but Baki made me feel like I could display any emotion without backlash. He accepted me as I was, and that was a novelty.

His face fell when he saw the first tears fall. He immediately gathered me in his arms. “I’m sorry,” he said as he embraced me. “I’m so—”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I babbled. “It’s just no one has ever treated me with as much care as you have, and I don’t think you have any idea how incredibly perfect you are.”

He settled us on our sides by the fire and tossed the fur over us. With his strong fingers and slightly extended claws, he massaged my scalp and combed through my hair as I lay on my stomach with my arms pillowing my head, face turned toward him. His expression was soft in the low firelight.

“I am not perfect. I am not even a good warrior.”

“How so?”

“I never had pleasure training like the other warriors. I fear I do not know all the ways to please you.”

That was the last thing I expected him to say. “Honey, I guarantee you’re a fast learner. We’ll figure it out together.”

His eyes crinkled. “What is this honey?”

“It’s a term of endearment.”

“A good thing?” When I nodded, he smiled. “I like this honey.” But his smile faded quickly. “I am also not like the other warriors who are skilled in battle and used to violence. I fight when I have to, but I have to become someone else to commit the acts. Afterward, I am sick.” His eyes were troubled. “I have never admitted that before. To anyone. ”

“Baki,” I whispered, cupping his face and smoothing the wrinkles over the nubs on his brows. “You’re insecure about this?”

He nodded. “It is not the Drixonian way. I should relish battle. I should enjoy punishing our enemies and defending our females. I often wonder if my father… if he felt this way too. And that was what made him choose to desert. If that’s the case, I’m not sure I can be angry at him.”

“Honey,” I whispered. “You don’t have to be like everyone else. You can enjoy peace and your plants. You don’t have to love violence.”

“It is a way of life here.”

“Maybe, but you never have to pretend like it’s something you enjoy or that it’s instinctual. When you return to your village, you should tell someone. Your leader.”

“Our drexel is Kutzal. He will not understand.”

“Is he one with a human mate?”

“Yes.”

“He will understand. And I will talk to his mate. Don’t endure, Baki. Speak up about your pain. I’ll be right there when you do it.”

SEVEN

Thea

Baki lay on his back, faced turned toward me, his arms flung over his head with his palms up. I smiled, thinking he slept like a toddler.

Sunlight streamed through the vent in the ceiling of the shack, signaling it was morning. What remained of the fire was only a few smoldering embers, but I could feel a slight warmth to the air like the weather pattern was shifting. Outside, I heard the steady drops of snow melting from tree branches. A bird or animal chirped in the distance.

I would have loved a steaming mug of coffee to sip while enjoying the quiet morning. And that itself was a crazy thought. I was enjoying this quiet morning snuggled under a warm blanket and tucked up against the very hot body of Baki.

My mind felt clear and peaceful this morning, more so than I could remember. Even on Earth, I’d been running myself ragged between working and trying to make ends meet. There was a simplicity to life here in this shack, but I knew it was all because of Baki. I would have starved or frozen to death on my own.

I leaned close and ran a finger tip down the broad bridge of his nose and across the nubs on his brow. His lips twitched, and when he opened his purple eyes to blink at me, they were surprisingly alert. I usually took a good half hour to even remember my name, but Baki was full coherent within a second.

He lowered his arms, and clasped my hand in both of his. With his gaze on mine, he drew my hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to the back of my knuckles.

“Good morning,” I said softly.

He folded his arms behind his head. “Is it a good morning? What happened?”

“A lot of things.” I propped my head on my hand. “I’m warm. I have food. And I woke up next to you.”

He watched me for a moment. “You remember last night?”

“I do.” Every bit of it. The yuza was something else—in a way it cleared the cobwebs in my mind. I felt like I saw everything clearer this morning. I was optimistic. I was content.

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You are beautiful in the morning.”

It was amazing that he could say words that from another mouth could have felt like just a line. A trade for something he wanted. But he lay passive beside me with a slight smile on his face, the fur blanket gathered around his waist.

And in that moment, I’d never felt more beautiful, even with bed head, no makeup, smelling like a campfire and yuza smoke. “You are too.” I slid my hand lower, and his stomach muscles tensed when I stopped there. A vein on his neck popped out, and his eyes lit from within.

“Baki?”

“Yes?”

“Will you hold back now?”

A shudder wracked his body, and the blanket covering his groin twitched. “I will not,” he whispered hoarsely.

I couldn’t be sure if his trembling was a result of arousal or nerves or a mix of both. I continued to slide my hand lower, pushing the fur down. I sucked in a breath when I realized he’d taken off his pants to sleep. The flared head of his light blue cock came into view first, and I tugged down the fur to his knees to reveal the hard, veiny shaft and his light blue balls. He was hairless, and his cock jerked as I bent over him.

“Thea,” he growled as I let my warm breath gust over his tip. His hand clamped onto my neck, and the strong grip made my pussy clench. “What—?”

“Just let me,” I said softly as I wrapped my hands around the base of his cock. His thighs twitched.

“I don’t—”

“Shhh,” I cooed as I wrapped my lips around the head of his cock.

His grip on my neck tightened, and I groaned. I rarely felt comfortable enough with anyone to let them touch me like that, but it was a sensation I secretly craved. His hand grounded me, and I let my mouth slide down his shaft. A slick liquid leaked from his tip, and it wasn’t an unpleasant taste—a little sweet.

On my knees, I used one hand to grip his cock and the other to roll his balls. As soon as I touched the sensitive sacs, he let out a garbled sound. I peeked up his body to find him lifted up on his elbows as he watched his cock slide between my lips.

“Thea,” he rasped, and my name on his blue lips while his eyes fired violet bolts of need sent zings of pleasure into my core. His hips jerked as he caught onto the rhythm with which I bobbed on his cock. His breathing sped up, and his chest heaved. I swore I could feel his heart beating, or maybe that was mine. I slipped my hand down the front of my pants and slid my fingers through the wetness of my arousal.

His nostrils flared and with a growl that was wholly unlike the Baki I knew, he curled up, grabbed my hips, and tugged me up his body. Somehow I lost my pants in the quick manuever and when my hands and knees hit the floor, my pussy hovered over his mouth.

His long tongue—longer than I realized—extended up and lapped up my slick with slurp.

“Oh yes.” My arms trembled, and I locked my elbows as he tugged me lower. His tongue was all over the place, swiping through my wet lips, flicking at my clit, dipping into my entrance, and sliding around to toy with my back end.

His tongue was long, thick, and agile, and those piercings were like a god send. I found myself rocking against his face shamelessly as he suckled with moans of pleasure.

I need more and just as I was about to cry out in frustration, he plunged that thick tongue into my entrance and vibrated it.

My eyes rolled back into my head, and I saw stars. Speared on his tongue, I came like a geyser with an undignified shout. Before my orgasm was finished, Baki rolled me onto my back, knelt between my legs, and pulled me up his thighs as his thick cock slammed into me.

With my knees hooked over his hips, I couldn’t do much but take his thrusts as he filled me with his thick cock. I felt a tickling at my clit, and I looked to find that node at the base of his cock had extended and latched onto my hard bud. When the suction started, I writhed like I was possessed.

“Told you that you looked beautiful in the morning.” Baki’s voice rasped over gravel. “But this is even better. This is how you should always look. Flushed and whimpering on my cock.”

“Oh fuck,” I muttered. This Baki was just as possessed, his eyes like neon pools and his lips peeled back to reveal fangs.

He kept up the pounding as he rolled forward until he was braced above me. Spread open below him, I could only take what he was giving me, and I loved it. I had no thoughts, no worries, no nothing. Baki took care of everything and for once in my life, I didn’t have the pressures of the world weighing down my shoulders. Here there was no rent, no job, no nothing. All the feminism left my body as I decided that taking Baki’s cock was about the best position in the galaxy.

“This is what I was made to do.” He gripped my hair and tugged my head back so I was forced to look into his eyes. “Yuza, the village, everything takes a back seat to pleasing you and keeping you at my side.”

“Baki,” I groaned out as I felt another orgasm building at the base of my spine.”

“That’s my name. And I belong to you.”

I came silently this time, my jaw dropped. Baki reared back his head, neck muscles straining, as his cock pulsed inside of me. A few of my body parts went numb, and when I came back into my skin, Baki remained inside me, but I was cradled against his chest. His large arms and legs wrapped around me like a massive koala. I dabbed at the wetness on my face and realized tears had squeezed from my eyes. And Baki was dropping gently kisses on the top of my head while murmuring sweet things like, “My sweet Thea. I dedicate myself to you. Honey. Forever.”

I patted his back with a weak hand, wishing my tongue would operate so I could return the sentiments but right now it was sort of jelly in my mouth.

His hands gripped my face and lifted my head. “Do you need water? Food?”

I shook my head and finally got my tongue to work. “Nothing. Just hold me.”

He smiled. “I can do that, my Thea. I can do that.”

I was apprehensive about leaving the shack. By the next morning, the snow had melted considerably. The yuza crop was strapped to Baki’s bike, and there was no more reason to stay.

I’d come to love our little shack. At first, it had been a prison, and then it had been a home. But it was time to return to the village. I couldn’t ask Baki to remain away from his people any longer, even if I was nervous about meeting them. What were the humans like? How would they greet me? Would the other warriors be violent and aggressive? If I was honest, I was scared.

“You are uneasy.” Baki touched my arm as we stood near his bike. We’d finished packing everything, and I’d found myself staring back at the shack from underneath my furred hood. I was once again bundled up like a toddler, but I was warm, so I couldn’t complain.

I was uneasy, but I didn’t want Baki to think I was being critical of his family and his village. “I’m just nervous about meeting the inhabitants of your village,” I said honestly. “I’m not really a people person.”

“The females will be happy to have you. And the other warriors will too. Remember, She is All. You will be welcomed.”

Right. She is All. “But I like you. I don’t know if I’ll like anyone else.”

He smiled, and let out a soft chuckle. “It is okay not to make friends right away. They will give you time.”

I bit my lip. “Okay.”

“Come, honey,” he tugged on my hand. “Time to go home.”

His bike was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. Fashioned like a Harley-Davidson, it hovered in the air and propelled by powerful jets of air beneath. I rode in front of Baki, gripping the handlebars between his larger palms.

We rode until my stomach rumbled and the sun was dipping below the horizon. It would be night soon, and Baki said it would be best to make camp for the evening.

While a fire rumbled nearby, I dug into the rations. A few packets caught my eye, and when I held them up and shook them, some powder rattled inside. “Baki, what’s this?”

He glanced up from the fire. “Amber told me it’s a drink powder.”

“Drink powder? Can I open it?”

“Sure.”

I unsealed the top of the pouch and sniffed the contents. I felt crazy at the thought, but the powder smelled sweet and… like chocolate. “Do we still have some warm water?”

He handed me a pitcher wordlessly and watched as I dumped the powder inside. After swirling it with a clean knife, I took a careful sip. Warm, sweet liquid slid over my tongue and it tasted enough like chocolate that I groaned out loud. “Bless these women,” I muttered to myself.

“Do you like it?” Baki asked.

I nodded vigorously before taking another gulp. Handing him the pitcher, I urged, “Take a sip.”

He did and made a face. “It’s not to my taste.”

I laughed. “More for me then.”

But later, when I had finished the pitcher and was settled down for sleep, I spotted him secretly digging into the pitcher for more of the drink. I smiled to myself. And here I thought he couldn’t lie.

He had let the fire burn down to mostly embers, and I was wondering if I could get him to get naked, when a sound in the distant made my blood freeze in my veins. I’d heard that sound before, that rattling of armor. The heavy breathing. The smell.

The Joktals materialized out of the bushes like a small army. There were six of them, but it felt like dozens, as they clacked their bony arms and rattled their blades against tree trunks.

I felt phantom throbbing in my face as I remembered the beatdown I’d received at their hands. My stomach churned. Our escape—Baki’s bike—lay behind three of the Joktals. I choked out a terrified cry and reached for Baki. But he wasn’t my Baki anymore. His face was stone as he stood before me. His fists flexed and his scales rippled as his machets rose along his forearms, the top of his head, and down his back. His tail curled around to the front of his body protectively.

His eyes weren’t the ones that had stared at me adoringly and whispered his truths in the dark privacy of our shack. These were laser-focused and shimmering with violence.

And it pissed me off. It angered me that I was helpless against these fucking four-armed aliens, that Baki was forced to become something he didn’t want to be, and that he wasn’t safe in his village tending to his crops happily.

A stick lay nearby, and I picked it up. A Joktal snorted, as if amused I was bothering to defend myself. I recognized him. He’d been the one to strike me first in the cheek when I’d tried to escape. He’d rattled my brains and made me bleed. And now he intended to do it again. “Fuck you,” I muttered before hurling the stick at him. It bounced off his hard bony chest with a dull clatter. The Joktal made a sound that might have been a laugh and surged toward me.

But Baki was there first in a blur of blue and black. He kicked out at the Joktal, sending him staggering back, and then in a roar of movement, the rest of the Joktals descended on him.

The Joktals were strong as fuck, but Baki was quicker. Deadlier. He leaped and spun. Blood arced in the air, and I wasn’t sure who it belonged to. A severed Joktal hand hit the ground, a blade still clutched in its fist, and I scrambled for it. The handle was sticky with blood, and I staggered back, blade up in front of me, as the Joktal who’d first struck me broke from the fray and advanced.

“Put the blade down, little human,” he said with a sneer. “Before you get hurt worse than before.”

A grunt reached my ears, and I glanced over in time to see Baki’s head jerk with a blow from one of those bony Joktal arms. He was battling two of them now while the rest lay in bleeding pieces on the ground.

Baki’s body hit the ground with a thump, and I didn’t recognize the sound that left my throat as I dove onto the ground next to him. His chest heaved, and he was coated in a mix of yellow and black blood that was so thick I couldn’t determine where he was bleeding.

His eyes were glazed and unfocused. I clutched his face just as I felt a hand twist in my hair. “Up, human,” said the sneering Joktal.

I whirled around and stabbed out with my blade, somehow catching the Joktal in the lower belly. The knife sank into his flesh with a wet hiss, and his eyes went round. He reared back his bony arm, and on instinct, I covered Baki’s body with mine. I waited for the arm to descend, for the pain to wash over me, for the crack of my spine.

But instead something moved below me. Baki. Rolling onto his stomach, he flung out his leg, catching the Joktal at the knees. The big red body hit the ground, and Baki was once again on his feet. He dispatched the two Joktals standing over him with slashes of his machets. And then the last Joktal, the fucker who left his mark on me with permanent scars, rose once again.

But Baki was there. Swiping the blade from my hand, he raked it across the Joktal’s throat with a powerful slice.

For a moment, the Joktal stood standing as if nothing had happened. But then a yellow fluid began leaking from his neck. He waved on his feet, and then with a thud that rattled my bones, he fell backward with dead eyes and a gaping mouth.

Braced with his legs apart, deadly blade still clutched in his bloody, clawed first, Baki stood panting as he stared at his last prey. The clearing was littered with bodies. Baki alone had killed six Joktals who each stood a foot taller than him. And he’d done it for us.

Suddenly the blade dropped from his hand, and he wobbled to the side. He choked, and then collapsed to his knees as he retched our last meal onto the blue grass. I staggered to him and knelt at his side. Clutching his head, I drew him to my chest. His body trembled, and he rasped in a broken voice. “Don’t… want you to see me… like this.”

Tears leaked out of my eyes as I imagined all the times he had to fight, to kill, to commit violence and suffered after alone, not wanting to appear weak to his fellow warriors. Petting his hair and rubbing his shoulders, I whispered, “You won’t do this alone anymore. Not on my watch.”

A shiver clacked his teeth together and slowly his arms came around me. He tucked his face into my neck, and I let him rest there. For all the times he’d taken care of me in the short time I’d known him, this was my turn to take care of him. As he continued to shake, I told him about my plants that I’d had back home just to fill the silence and give him something else to focus on. I told him about my job, and the raven I fed at my apartment.

Eventually he stopped shaking, and an hour might have passed before he lifted his head. The color of his complexion had returned to normal, and his heart no longer pounded in his chest. The Baki I knew was back in his eyes, serene and calm. His big hands gripped my face. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry you had to do that.”

He nodded but didn’t glance at the bodies around us. “I’m sorry I had to do it, but I’m not sorry I did it.”

“You saved us. Thank you.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed and then gave me a shaky smile. “I did, didn’t I?”

“I don’t even have a scratch on me.”

His smile grew bigger. “I kept my promise.”

“You did, honey. You did.” I reached for his hand just as a death rattle sounded from a nearby Joktal. And then my wrists began to burn from within.

EIGHT

Baki

I rubbed frantically at my wrists in the grass as the pain spread like a fire. The black lines starting our loks began to appear—two parallel lines running the circumference of my wrist as if inked by an invisible hand. And between the lines a pattern began to appear, one that chased away the last bit of nausea from my stomach as my chest purred with the beginning of a prush.

“Baki?” Thea’s wide, startled eyes met mine. “What’s happening?”

I gripped her hand and brought it to my lips. “The pain will fade. I’ll explain when it’s done.”

Moments later, the lines flashed a bright white before dulling to a rich gold. The pain fled as quickly as it had come. Thea and I knelt in the grass holding hands with matching loks on our wrists, something I never thought I had, something I had never even coveted. But now, I knew this was the last missing piece of what I had needed in my life.

“These are loks,” I said softly as Thea rotated her wrists in awe. “Fatas has blessed us as mates. It means we are… meant to be.”

Even now, I felt her in my mind, a soft breeze that wove its way among all the nooks and crannies in my mind to clear out the dust.

She blinked. “I feel… full. My head is full.”

“It’s me,” I whispered. “We can feel each other.”

“Just your emotions though. You’re like… a plant. Yuza.”

“The other females call it our aura.”

She smiled, and the sun shone. “I like it.”

I explained a little more as we sat there in the dirt—how it was rare once upon a time to find our Fatas-blessed cora-eternals but since meeting human females, the once rare pairing had become common. And still just as cherished. She asked what triggered it, and I told her that I must have killed whoever spilled her blood. She pointed to the last Joktal I’d dispatched, but I didn’t waste time on his body.

We washed up in a nearby stream, and I closed my eyes as Thea poured qua over my hair to clean it. She marveled at the cuts I’d sustained in the fight had mostly healed, and I explained it was the power of the cora-eternal bond.

“So wait, I’ll heal faster too?” she asked. When I nodded, she prodded. “Any other super powers?”

“Daz thinks your lifespan will be extended, but that hasn’t been a theory we can test out until…”

“Until we live longer than a hundred or so years?”

“Yes.”

She pressed a hand to her chest. “Wow.” As we walked toward my bike, she swung our linked hands. “Are you okay?”

“I’m great,” I told her.

“No, about…” she waved a hand behind us. At the bodies.

“Oh,” I murmured. “I am fine. Your presence made the aftermath bearable.”

“I’m glad.” She squeezed my hand.

We mounted the bike and rose into the air with a dull roar. By the time we reached the edges of the Drixonian border, the sun was low in the sky. I sped past the border and through the dense forest. When the village came into sight, I could see a few dark figures standing at the entrance. Likely, they had been alerted to our presence by the security installed at the borders by Daz’s clavas.

In front of me on the bike, Thea tensed slightly. I understood why she was nervous. Peopling, as she called it, wasn’t my strength either. But now that I understood myself a little better and had a plan to talk to Kutzal, I was eager to be less of a recluse. And I thought that Thea would really enjoy the company of Tasha, Amber, Trix, and Lu.

As we drew closer, I saw Amber and Vinz standing at the entrance to the village, as well as Trix and Kutzal. I knew the moment they realized I had a female on my bike with me. Trix let out a holler, and soon the crowd increased. I spotted Lukent and Tasha among the gathered.

I slowed my bike and touched down. When I turned it off, silence reigned for a brief moment before Trix stepped forward next to Kutzal. She’d taken well to being Kutzal’s mate, and a natural leader, although I noticed she and Tasha often deferred to each other like a team. Lukent and Tasha stepped forward too, but Trix kept walking until she came to stand next to my bike. Thea’s cora beat rapidly under my hand where it rested on her chest, and she’d slid back so far against me as if she wanted to melt into my skin.

Trix, with her auburn hair in braids, and her face smeared a bit with dirt, broke into a kind smile. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen an expression that gentle on her. “Hello, welcome to our village, Sari.”

Thea swallowed, and her cora seemed to slow. “Hi, I’m Thea.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Trix’s gaze scanned Thea’s rags that we had fashioned into clothing. “I’m sure you’re hungry and thirsty. We have plenty of food.”

Tasha, standing next to Lukent, turned to Amber. “Can you check that Baki’s hut has clean furs?”

“On it!” Amber called and turned on a heel to disappear back into the village. Now it was my cora’s turn to pound. I knew these females were special.

“Who’s here?” A high voice cried and then a small form wedged herself between two warriors. Lu tripped on a tail and righted herself as Axton pushed his way behind her. “Slow down, mate.” He growled.

But Lu ignored him as she caught sight of Thea. Her eyes went wide, and I braced for the disappointment, when she realized it wasn’t her best friend Maisie who she talked about all the time.

Except Lu didn’t react as I expected. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes shifted to me in wonder. “You found a new one?”

Stuck dumb at her words, I could only nod. She ran forward and gave me a quick hug around the waist, although her arms barely reached around my hips. Then she hopped in front of Thea, who stared down at Lu from the bike like she was some sort of odd creature. “I’m Lu. Look, I’ll be honest that I thought maybe you were Maisie or Neve, but it’s fine you’re not, because the more we save the better. How did you get here? Who had you?” Her gaze dropped to Thea’s wrists. “Oh my God, you have loks.” She squinted at me with a sly smile. “Baki, you dog. We leave you alone for five minutes and you come home with a mate—“

A big blue hand clamped around Lu’s mouth. Axton, her mate, hovered over her, violet eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry, she can be—ouch!” He withdrew his hand and shook it with a fierce glare at Lu.

Lu whirled on him. “You’re lucky you’re my cora eternal or I’d do more than bite you. I’d de-nut you. Don’t shush me, you big lug.” She smiled brightly at Thea. “So anyway—hey!”

This time it was Tasha who yanked on Lu’s arm. “Will you cool it? She’s clearly shocked as hell.” Her voice gentled as she addressed Thea. “Have you been here on Corin long?”

Thea shook her head. When she spoke, her voice rasped. “Maybe a few days. Hard to tell.”

“See?” Tasha chided Lu. “She just realized aliens exist a few days ago and you’re all up in her face.”

“I don’t mind,” Thea said quickly, effectively quieting the quarrel. She cleared her throat. “I like Lu. I mean, I like all of you. You seem nice. And welcoming.” She pitched forward as if she needed my protection a little less. “I appreciate it.”

Lu clapped her hands together with a cry of joy. “See? She likes me. Ha!” Her cackle led to a few snorts of laughter from the gathered warriors.

“Okay, life of the party.” Trix rolled her eyes. “Back up and let the two lovebirds dismount. Her legs are probably cramping.”

When I helped Thea off the bike, her smile widened and her breeze in my mind fluttered warmly. “I guess we’re home,” she said to me softly.

“Yes,” I answered with a prideful swelling of my chest. “We’re home.”

* * *

Thea allowed herself to be led away by the females. She turned and gave me a curious gesture with her fist closed and her thumb extended. The only reason I didn’t rush to her aide was because she had a smile on her face.

A hand clamped on my shoulder. “That’s a good thing.” I turned to see Vinz making the same gesture at me. “They call it a thumbs up. It means everything is good.”

I made a fist and lifted my thumb. “Like this?”

“You got it.”

Kutzal joined us, as well as Lukent. Axton hovered nearby, his gaze locked in on Lu’s back as she bounced and talked at a rapid pace while she walked.

“Want to tell us what happened?” Kutzal said. “I see you have the yuza crop.” I glanced at my bike to see a few warriors were unloading the dried stacks. “But you also have a female.”

As we walked toward the dining hut, I gave them a brief summary of the events—how I met the Joktals on the way and found a wounded female in a stream near the shack. Kutzal listened with a frown as I described the battle on our way home. His gaze took in my condition. “Any injuries you need to see the healer for?”

I shook my head and held up my wrists. “These seem to make me feel invincible.”

Kutzal snorted. “They do, but remember you’re not.”

We collected some food and sat down at a private table near the back of the dining hut—just me, Kutzal, Lukent, Vinz, and Axton. I had planned to have a private talk with Kutzal, but now that we were seated and eating, I felt I needed to get it off my chest now. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Kutzal chewed and gestured with hands greasy from the meat for me to continue. He wasn’t making eye contact, but Lukent must have sensed something in my tone, because he leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes focused on me thoughtfully.

I blurted out the truth. “I don’t like to fight.”

Kutzal’s head went up and his jaw stopped mid-chew. He blinked a few times before swallowing, swiping his hands on his pants, and clasping his hands on the table. I had his full attention now, and it was a little intimidating. “Explain.”

“Fighting, violence. It makes me ill. I never told anyone because I was enough of an outcast already… I didn’t want to be an outcast of the outcasts. I’m a Drixonian warrior. I’m supposed to want to defend our lives and our females.”

“But I’ve seen you fight,” Vinz said, clearly confused. “You’re really flecking good at it, and I’ve never seen you hesitate.”

“I kind of black out,” I explained. “I just do it, but afterward I’m sick and dizzy. I can’t keep food down. Why do you think I smoke so much yuza? It’s how I cope.”

Vinz swiped at his mouth as his lips turned down at the corners. “Well, fleck. I didn’t know, brother.”

Kutzal remained quiet, watching me.

“I felt shame and guilt over it,” I tried not to fidget. “I planned to never tell anyone until Thea convinced me.” I blew out a harsh breath. “Sometimes I wonder if that was why my father did what he did. Maybe it’s hereditary.”

I fell silent and bit the inside of my cheek. Axton continued to eat as if nothing happened, while Lukent’s expression had morphed into something soft, something like sympathy.

Kutzal remained like stone. His eyes hard as flint. I felt panic well up my throat as I fought the churning of my stomach. My food sat in front of me, uneaten. “Kutzal, I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize.” Kutzal’s voice sound strange. Strangled. He turned to Lukent. “Get me the spirits.”

Lukent nodded and jogged to the back of the dining hall where we kept the fermented drink. When he returned, Kutzal grabbed the bottle and drank directly out of the amber-colored spout. He exhaled with a wince as he set the bottle roughly on the table. Then he wiped his face. “Fleck, I wish Trix was here. She’d know what to say.”

“Give it a try, Kutz.” Vinz grabbed the bottle and took a swig himself. “You’ve been at least bearable lately.”

Kutzal shot him a glare before leaning forward to pin me with his intense eyes. “I’m sorry, Baki.”

His apology stole my breath.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice this about you.” He ran his hand through his hair roughly. “Fleck, this is hard. I-I know we’re a warring race and we have traditions, but Daz wants things to change, and so do I. We’ll always believe She Is All, but that doesn’t mean we all need to draw the blood of our enemies.”

All three of us stared at Kutzal. Even Axton sat slack-jawed with his mouth full.

“And if that’s why your father left…” Kutzal shook his head. “Fatas forgive me, but I can’t say I blame him. I don’t understand how you feel, because I love nothing more than hearing the last gasp of an enemy, but I don’t have to understand. I just have to believe you.” With a grunt, he leaned back in his chair. “And I believe you.”

My cora stuttered in my chest, and I felt light-headed but for a different reason. Relief.

“You’ll stay in Sari and be in charge of the yuza with your mate. I can’t promise that you won’t have to be violent again, but I’ll never make you.” He snatched the bottle and upended half of it in his mouth. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Fleck.” The bottle hit the table with a thunk. He eyed each of us. “How’d I do?”

Speechless, the four of us stared at him. I was the first one to find my voice. “G-good, Kutzal. I—yeah, that was good.”

Vinz’s wide eyes took up half his face. “Fleck, what happened to you? Where’s the Kutzal that used to make me piss myself?”

“I’m still here, flecker,” Kutzal growled. He shivered and gagged. “No more nice Kutz today. I’m all niced out. I need to go punch something.”

He stood up so fast, his chair clattered to the ground behind him. With another look at me and an awkward pat on my shoulder, he fled the dining hut.

Vinz turned to stare after him, but I could only blink at the wall in front of me, barely able to believe that my drexel had believed me and treated what I perceived as a lifelong weakness with understanding. Well, as understanding as Kutzal could be.

“You okay?” Lukent asked softly.

I nodded dumbly. “I didn’t expect that.”

“We’re all sorry we didn’t notice,” Vinz said. “Even Axton.”

Axton gave a grunt that might have been acquiescence.

“If it wasn’t for Thea, I wouldn’t have said anything ever.”

“Well,” Vinz said. “If it wasn’t for Trix, that Drix who just left would have never said any of those words out loud.” His brow wrinkled. “Are we sure he wasn’t body snatched?”

“What’s body snatched?” I asked.

“Like someone else is wearing his body like a meat suit.”

“Kutzal would never let himself be killed with his body that intact.” Lukent tapped a claw on the table.

“You’re right,” Vinz agreed. “He’d have to be decapitated or something.”

I got the sudden urge to see Thea to tell her the good news and celebrate.

“I’m going to go find my mate,” I said.

Vinz smiled at me. “Of course. And if Trix is there, tell her to check on Kutzal.”

I smiled. “I will. Come by later for some yuza.”

“You can count on it.

NINE

Thea

The girls never once made me feel bad that I wasn’t one of their lost friends. They welcomed me with open arms, chatter, and food. I got a tour of the village, which was small and cozy. Many Drixonian warriors milled about, some making tools, other fixing the thatch-roofed huts, and many eating.

Sari was mostly one long wide dirt road. In the center of the village was a large tree with benches below it. It was there I took Amber aside. “I just need to know,” I said with my hand on her arm. “How did you make that hot chocolate?”

She beamed proudly. “Frankie showed us. We’ll visit Granit soon so you can meet the rest of the women. There are a lot there… maybe a dozen? Anyway, she’s Daz’s mate. They share all kinds of tips with us about living here, and they’ll be so happy to hear Baki rescued you.”

It was like… a family. A big family. And I’d been accepted in with no questions or concerns. I’d truly never had that in my life.

I felt Baki in my mind and turned to see him walking toward me with the most serene, content expression on his face. Amber was talking more, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he approached. Eventually she fell silent with a knowing grin on her face. “I’ll leave you two alone to get some rest,” she said with a pat on my shoulder. She left to join the rest of the women.

Baki stopped in front of me and immediately drew me into his arms. Hugging me tightly, he sighed against the top of my head. “How are you, honey?”

The term of endearment from his lips made my chest warm. “I’m great. How are you?”

He grabbed my shoulders and shot me a wide smile. “I talked to Kutzal.”

I had met Trix, his mate, and while she was definitely tough, she had a soft way about her from the way she talked to the other women, especially Lu. I’d alway seen her with Kutzal, and it was clear he absolutely worshipped her. I couldn’t imagine her with a rigid, violent mate. “And?”

“He understood. Well, he didn’t understand because he enjoys bloodshed, but he said he accepts me as I am. And that he won’t ask me to fight unless absolutely necessary.”

“Baki,” I whispered, thinking I was going to have to do something nice for Trix and Kutzal. “I’m so happy for you.”

“I wouldn’t have done it without you. The other warriors were there too, and they even apologized for not noticing.” The relief settled into his eyes, chasing away the shadows that had lurked there. “I can relax now. Relax with you.”

Holding his hand, I tugged him toward his hut. “Look, I want to show you the perfect place for planting the new yuza crop.” He walked behind me as I skipped down the center street. A few warriors greeted him, and Trix gave me a wink as I walked by where she stood near a break in the huts. Beyond that, I could see a fenced-in area, and Kutzal was wrestling with another warrior. Grunts could be heard, and I swore blood stained the dirt. I stopped short. “Um, is everything okay?”

Trix flapped her hand. “Everything’s great. Kutzal is in his element. I promise.”

I frowned at Baki, who chuckled softly. “He needs to get some aggression out. I promise the warrior he’s fighting is enjoying himself.”

I figured that was healthy as long as there was consent all around. With another wave at Trix, I pulled Baki toward the long stretch of tall grasses near his hut toward the back of the village. “Here!” I made a flourish with my hand. “The ground is clearly fertile and it’ll be right outside our door so we can keep our eye on the crop.”

He squeezed my hand. “This is perfect.”

I beamed.

“I always intended to plant here.”

I deflated a bit. “Oh, I thought it was my idea.”

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and nestled his chin on top of my head. “We’ll say it was your idea.”

I patted his hand. “It’s okay. I don’t need the ego stroke.”

A breeze blew through the village, rustling the tall grasses. I imagined rows of yuza here. I’d step out of the front door of our hut and call for my mate. Baki would emerge from the crop with dirt on his scales and a smile on his face. We’d kiss, and then go eat a meal after a long day of work. I couldn’t wait to get my hands dirty. I’d lived in city apartments all my life, and now I was… an alien weed farmer. And I couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Baki nuzzled behind my ear. “How do you feel about your luck now?”

My eyes watered as my head fuzzed with peace. “My luck has turned, honey. Since I met you, my luck has turned.”

We kissed there, in front of our home, near the future site of our yuza farm, and in full view of a bustling village. This was where we’d find our happiness. Together.

Thank you for reading Baki! This book felt like a warm hug to write, and I hope you felt it too! Be sure to read the other amazing holiday “tails” from the talented authors in the Stranded with an Alien series!

FROST by Ava Ross

TALIZ by Alana Khan

ZEARN by Rena Marks

SAKAR by Ella Blake

SINTA by Honey Phillips

VIXEN by Tana Stone

Interested in more books about my Drixonians? Check out the rest of my books at www.ellamaven.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ella Maven is a USA Today Bestselling author who decided to finally unleash the alien world that had been living in her head for years. (Is that weird? Probably). Her books feature dominant, possessive aliens who are absolutely devoted to their humans.

She lives on the East Coast with her completely normal husband and two spawn who sure seem alien some days.

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