ALIEN’S CHALLENGE

OUTLAW PLANET MATES

NANCEY CUMMINGS

CONTENTS

About Alien’s Challenge

The World of Outlaw Planet Mates

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

Afterword

Outlaw Planet Mates

Also by Nancey Cummings

About the Author

ABOUT ALIEN’S CHALLENGE

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. One minute, Alice was camping, trying to connect with nature, then there’s this blinding white light. Gravity must have quit because Alice and her sleeping bag were floating off the ground.

Classic alien abduction.

She wakes up on an alien planet full of, you know, aliens. Outlaws. Rules are optional and people are property. So not cool. Then there’s a train robbery and she’s getting abducted. Again.

But this guy? He’s a giant lizardman, a solid wall of muscle, scales, and bad attitude. He’s dangerous, and he’s gone into a mating fever, which he says is her fault.

So what is she going to do about it?

Better question, what is tall, dark, and grumpy going to do about it?

Two decades ago, Faris was exiled to this prison planet. Only the strong survive here.

He’s too old for a mating fever, but his body has other ideas. The human female was not part of the plan, an ordinary smash and grab, but she’s his now.

And he does not share.

Alien’s Challenge is a standalone book in the Outlaw Planet Mates series. The books can be read in any order. No cliffhangers, no cheating, and an HEA.

THE WORLD OF OUTLAW PLANET MATES

Reazus Prime is a hard planet. Once a prison, it was abandoned once the mines dried up and the Overlords could no longer turn a profit off the prisoners. Now it’s a haven for outlaws, pirates, and anyone holding a grudge against authority.

It’s isolated, alone, and the only ships coming are the worst sort. One such ship carrying a cargo of abducted human women, explodes in orbit. A lucky few were ejected in pods, only to crash on the outlaw planet.

Now the race is on to find and claim the human females.

PROLOGUE

ALICE

“Hello!” A figure waved in the distance.

Oh no. Alice’s stomach sank. Not that Miriam wasn’t a nice person, but what the hell was she doing here?

“Miriam! How unexpected,” Alice said. She stood from her folding camp chair.

“Am I interrupting?” Miriam’s too-perky voice verged on teasing as she looked around the campsite.

Tent for one. One sleeping bag. One chair. Yeah, Alice was alone. She’d been alone since her last boyfriend ditched her and didn’t have the emotional strength to trifle with romance again.

“It’s just me and the mosquitoes,” Alice said.

“I brought pizza.” Miriam held up a flat cardboard box and gave a shy smile. “It’s low-carb with a cauliflower crust.”

What kind of abomination was that?

“Great,” Alice said, voice flat. “But what—”

“I’m not commenting on your weight,” she said quickly. “You were talking about cutting back on carbs, so I thought this would be a nice olive branch.”

Alice didn’t think the low-carb pizza had been a comment on her weight, but now she did.

And yet, Miriam continued, “If you want, I can get you a buddy membership at my gym. I can show you some exercises that are really great at working your glutes—”

Alice rolled her eyes. Well-meaning people kept offering unsolicited tips and advice about exercise or food. It was exhausting. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

This was a one -person camping trip. Super exclusive. Just Alice and her fat butt.

“Oh, I wanted to apologize,” Miriam said.

“You could apologize on Monday.”

She bit her lower lip. “You’re mad at me. Is it the pizza? I’m not making a dig about your weight. Really. I like the cauliflower crust. I order it all the time.”

“It’s not about my weight,” Alice snapped.

But thanks for bringing it up twice.

“I know I messed up. You’re my friend and I’m sorry,” Miriam said.

Alice took a deep breath, willing the tension to leave her body. That was the point of the camping trip, right? Commune with nature. Relax. Forget the world and the damn internet for a few days.

Until the root of her problems showed up with a cauliflower pizza.

Miriam wasn’t her friend. They were colleagues. Yes, they were friendly at work, but they never socialized outside of work hours. That, Alice suspected, was her fault. She was prickly, and Miriam was so damn nice it was suspicious. Fresh out of school, she was so eager about everything.

Okay, that was definitely on Alice. She had a cold, cynical heart.

Maybe, just maybe, it had a little to do with how her ex-husband, Travis, dumped her because he “just couldn’t support her self-destructive life choices” and immediately started flirting with Miriam. Like, right in front of Alice in the library.

First, enjoying food was not self-destructive.

Second, having your husband hound you into going to the gym before work when you wanted to sleep did not make you a fan of working out. It made you resentful.

Third, it was a remarkably bad idea to work at the same school as your ex. She should have transferred to another school in the district.

Alice was better off without Travis. Miriam could have him. The ink wasn’t even dry on the divorce papers before he started putting the moves on her coworker.

Not that Miriam was anything but professional during work hours. She seemed to recognize that Travis was a giant douchebag. A fact that had taken Alice years to see. So it was a complicated mess of feelings, most of which fell on Alice.

Ugh. She wanted to get away from this garbage.

Alice tilted her face to the sky, which had turned a deep violet as the sun slipped behind the trees. She needed a drink. She needed to get laid.

She couldn’t do anything about that, but there was pizza.

“We might as well eat before it gets cold,” Alice said. A low-carb pizza sounded like it would taste terrible. Being cold would only make it worse. “Pull up a piece of ground. I’ve only got one chair.”

Alice had no intention of being a gracious host and giving up her seat. Miriam was ten years younger than her and probably did yoga every morning. She could sit on the ground without her knees and back complaining.

“Awesome.” Miriam folded her legs and sat gracefully on the ground like it was nothing. “I really am sorry. I just posted a picture to my Insta, and it became a thing.”

Alice saw the photo, a dumpster behind the school filled with old textbooks they had weeded out to make room for new books. #backtoschool #weedingthelibrary

The internet lost its collective mind.

Look, twenty-year-old textbooks did not help anyone. In fact, parents screamed about outdated textbooks. Old textbooks got weeded to make room for the new books, and that usually meant going to the dumpster. There wasn’t a farm upstate that took elderly textbooks, and precious few places accepted donations, let alone two hundred and fifty copies of US History that didn’t include the last two presidents.

Yeah, it was unfair, but sometimes books have to go to the big library in the sky.

But there was Shakespeare in the dumpster!

The internet was not having it.

The world will not miss thirty copies of a 1997 edition of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare will survive, she wrote.

Maybe that hadn’t been the smartest comment. Live and learn. Ever since her inane decision to engage on social media, the messages and emails hadn’t stopped. Her mother called wanting to know what Alice had done. Even Travis seemed concerned.

So a weekend in the woods seemed a good idea. Smart, even.

The problem was, between the earnest but insulting comments about her weight and trekking all the way out here with a pizza, Alice couldn’t tell if Miriam was sincere or not.

That’s a lot of work just to get a fat joke in. So, probably sincere. Clueless, but sincere.

“I’m not upset with you,” Alice said.

A white light flooded the area, blinding her.

CHAPTER 1

ALICE

Today’s outlook: it’s gonna suck.

In all fairness, all the days had sucked since Alice went camping and subsequently got abducted by aliens. Nothing about today was remarkable on the suckage meter. Same old, same old, sitting on an ornate cushion on the floor, wearing a collar attached to a leash.

There were certain unexpected events that Alice had mentally prepared for. Sinking in quicksand? She had a plan. Need to send a message to her past self to save the future? She already picked out a password. Zombies? Aim for the head and destroy the brains.

Alien abduction while camping? Not so much. It was ironic because that was how it always happened in the movies. Okay, maybe one movie, but it made an impression on her.

That she was even camping was bullshit. Yeah. She wasn’t a fan of camping, even if that had more to do with the alien abduction than actually struggling to pitch a tent.

Long story short, bright light, floating off the ground, little green— gray? —men, and she woke up here.

Well, not here, here. At a warehouse was her best guess. The building had that cold, industrial look with concrete floors and harsh lighting.

A fog lingered in her head, making her sluggish and slow to respond. She was forgetting something important, but it kept slipping from her mind, like trying to hold water in her hands.

People—alien people? —kept talking. Alice tried to ask where she was and all the other typical questions about what the hell was going on, but her words slurred. They injected her with something. She tried to struggle but moved like she was stuck in mud.

He was there. Tall, red scales, watching her with reptilian eyes. His name was Randevere, as far as she could tell. Someone jabbed her behind the ear, and she could understand them. When she tried to speak, they patted her on the head and called her a “cute, little, squishy thing.”

They treated her like a child. Worse, a pet. Randevere’s cute, squishy human pet.

Before she could protest that she was a person, not a cat, they shoved her into a crate. The days that followed were hazy. Sleep in the crate. Come out of the crate and sit on a pillow. Be quiet.

Alice suspected that her food or water had been drugged. Exhaustion never seemed to leave her.

Today was different. Today, they were on a train. For the last few hours—how many she couldn’t say, but it felt like five or six—the train zipped along through an urban maze into a rolling prairie, and now the tracks wound their way through a mountain pass.

Alice watched the landscape, the fog in her head slowly lifting. She marveled at how the alien landscape all felt so similar, despite two suns in the sky. The larger sun looked like the regular old sun. The second was tucked up alongside it, diminutive in appearance, and cast a bluish light.

This was definitely an alien planet.

Surrounded by aliens.

Who put a collar on her.

Sitting on a cushion and being treated as a pet wasn’t the worst outcome. No one tried to eat or fuck her. Randevere largely ignored her, which was fine and dandy. She had food and water, even if it was drugged. Clothing that covered a bit more would have been nice, though.

The current snow-covered mountain view outside suggested that Alice would freeze when they got to wherever they were going. Fluffy white flakes sped past the window. Hopefully, someone would realize she needed shoes, pants, and a coat.

Alice rubbed a hand up her arm to warm her bare skin.

“What is it doing?”

A tug at the leash attached to her collar forced her to turn at Randevere’s question.

“I’m cold. I need clothing.” After chipping her, they gave her a piece of gauzy cloth and a blanket. She wrapped the gauze around herself like a sarong, even though the cloth didn’t hide anything, and huddled under the blanket.

Randevere watched her, the vertical pupils in his eyes narrowing, and the frills at the side of his neck fluttered. “She’s trying to speak. How charming.”

“I’m not trying, I am speaking, you giant red jackass. Give me shoes.” She pointed to her foot. “Shoes! I need shoes.”

“You do have tiny feet, yes you do.” He patted her on the head.

“No, I’m cold! I need shoes and a coat. Look at my goosebumps!” She shoved her arm in his face. The thin hairs stood on end.

Her antics no longer amused Randevere. He pushed her away, forcing her back down onto her cushion. “You will be quiet, or you will be put in your cage. Do you understand?”

“I understand you’re a dick.”

He tilted his head, watching her.

“I understand,” she muttered. She curled up on the cushion, tucking her feet under herself, and resumed watching the world glide by.

She didn’t know where they were going, but she guessed it wouldn’t be her idea of fun.

The train entered a tunnel. With the outside view nothing but blackness, Alice had nothing to distract herself from her misery and resentment.

Randevere had staff, or maybe henchmen. Three aliens, the same reptilian variety as him, came in and out of the carriage. When he wasn’t issuing orders, Randevere busied himself with a handheld device that reminded her of a phone, not that she could get a good look at the screen. Not that she could read anything on the screen.

Ugh, abduction problems.

Maybe he was Googling “how to take care of your new human.” At least she knew that he knew her species name. She heard someone say human and Earth, so all he had to do was look up her basic human needs. The internet made this problem, so now it could fix it for her.

Alice rose to her knees on her cushion. The floor of the train swayed.

“Human,” she said, tapping her chest. “Alice.”

“Not now,” Randevere grumbled.

“I’m human, from Earth.”

“I said be quiet.”

The collar issued a mild shock, nothing more than the pop of static electricity on a cold day. Regardless, Alice’s eyes went wide and she gasped, clutching the collar.

That fucker.

“Be quiet like a good pet, or I’ll use the collar.”

Alice sat back down, an ugly loathing brewing in her guts.

I’ll smother him in his sleep the first chance I get.

The lights flickered, and she heard shouting outside.

Men with guns burst into the carriage.

FARIS

Only the strong survived on Reazus Prime.

Old hands at the saloon slapped each other on the back, congratulating themselves on another day of survival. They celebrated with lukewarm beer that tasted like piss, liquor that would taste better if it were piss, and food bland enough that you wished it tasted like piss.

Trust was for fools. Trust got you a knife in the back. Faris had learned that lesson the hard way.

Survival.

Faris wanted to do more than merely survive. He’d stubbornly clung to life on this hellhole of a planet out of pure spite. He craved revenge.

Today, he would take the knife his former partner left planted in his back and return the favor.

Twenty-three years ago, nearly half his life ago, Faris killed a male and was dumped on Reazus Prime by the Overlords to serve a life sentence. He’d killed since then but found he couldn’t regret a single one. The first killing had been necessary. As the fourth son with a four-syllable name, he did the unpalatable work his family required and paid the price.

Since then, he tried to avoid taking a life, but sometimes a slithering bastard wouldn’t take no for an answer and more drastic measures had to be taken.

He didn’t like it, but that was the cost of survival on this planet.

If the goal of imprisonment there was to make a person think about their life choices and repent, then mission accomplished. Faris had plenty of long, solitary nights under the stars to think and even more frigid nights huddled under a thin blanket. He questioned every damn life choice he ever made that led to this place but he was here now.

And the Overlords weren’t. Two decades ago, the mines dried up and they left everything behind, including the prisoners.

Only the strong survived.

Faris shifted, his boots sinking into the snow. The cold seeped in through his gloves and coat. The hovercycle between his thighs rumbled and purred, wanting to lunge forward. The snowstorm created enough cover that he was not concerned about being spotted.

The train snaked through the mountain pass, a black streak oozing through the gray stone and snow.

“Now?” Perrigaul’s hovercycle rocked forward.

“Wait.” Their timing had to be perfect.

“Now,” Perrigaul said. He wanted revenge as much as Faris. Randevere planted a lot of knives the day he betrayed his business partners and left them for dead.

Faris clamped a hand on his companion’s shoulder, keeping the impetuous youth in place. Faris had been twenty-five when he was transported to Reazus Prime. Perrigaul had been eight.

Eight.

Faris knew what he had done but couldn’t imagine what crime a child, little more than a hatchling, could have committed that warranted a life sentence on an inhospitable rock. The child wouldn’t have survived on his own for more than a day, and Faris distrusted the male who proclaimed himself the hatchlings’ protector. Impulsively, Faris made a trade for the child. They’d been like brothers ever since.

Perrigaul hadn’t liked Rand when he joined the crew, which should have been Faris’ warning. The youth had an uncanny ability to sense trouble that saved their tails more than once.

“Come on, I’m freezing my frills off,” Perrigaul grumbled.

Faris ignored him. Perrigaul was soft, too soft for this world, and that was partly Faris’ fault.

The train sped forward, gliding on the mag levitation track. Their timing had to be perfect. They only got one shot at this.

“Now,” Faris said.

He pushed off, his hovercycle speeding down the steep slope toward the maglev tracks. Snow flew past him, thick in the air.

The bikes wanted to connect to the tracks. Internal sensors were drawn forward, ready to dock and zip along at ludicrous speeds.

With a jolt, his bike hit the track. The machine hurtled forward, the last car of the train growing closer. They had moments to connect before the train entered the tunnel; a force field would shut out any stragglers hoping to hitch a ride.

Reazus Prime was a dangerous place, full of criminals and miscreants. Ne’er-do-wells would take a hovercycle down a mountainside just to rob a train.

Faris would know.

The bike inched closer to the train. Faris deployed the leash. Power zipped down the tether, forcing a connection between his bike and the train’s security system.

The display on Faris’ control blinked. Success.

A glance to the side showed Perrigaul struggling to make the tether connect. He smashed buttons, his mouth moving in shouted curses that the wind swept away.

The tunnel grew closer.

Faris told Perrigaul his bike was a pile of expensive junk, all flash and no substance, but the youth wouldn’t hear it.

“Now or never,” Faris said, knowing that Perrigaul would not be able to hear him.

Power crackled and fizzed along the tether.

The train entered the tunnel, plunging into darkness. The security field slammed down on the other side of his bike, close enough to shave off the tip of his tail.

The bikes docked along the back of the caboose.

Now came the tricky part.

Faris climbed aboard, a plasma blaster strapped to his back while a small arsenal of various weapons of destruction decorated his person. Using an iron lever, he pried open the back door.

The male guarding the door jerked in surprise but never shouted his warning. He crumpled to the floor after a blow from the pry bar.

“No style,” Perrigaul teased, stepping over the fallen guard.

“Brute force is a style.”

Perrigaul removed his blaster from his holster, the weapon humming to life. “Setting to stun?”

“Yes. I’d prefer not to make any corpses today.” He stepped over the stunned male. “It’s not this poor bastard’s fault he works for Randevere.”

Randevere, though…

The mere thought of the male left a sour taste on Faris’ tongue. If he had the chance to make Randevere a corpse, he just might.

They advanced through the train cars. Faris had the guards stunned and bound before they knew what was happening. Most did not require extra attention, but a few hardier males needed to stay unconscious.

Brute force was a style. His commanding officers from the Imperial Forces would not find the description flattering, even if it was accurate.

Perrigaul worked on unlocking doors and bypassing alarms.

“I’m appalled at the security, really,” Perrigaul said, stepping over a male who lay on his side.

“Don’t get sloppy. There’s five more cars to go,” Faris said.

“How many carriages on a train does one male need?”

“One for him and the rest for his ego, plus baggage,” Faris said, his tone dry.

Perrigaul laughed, his frills rippling along his neck. “The others think you just grunt and stab people to communicate. No one believes me when I say you have a sense of humor.”

Faris preferred it that way, honestly. He worked hard to hone a reputation that encouraged people to leave him the rotza alone.

Finally, they reached the luxury compartment near the front of the train. The guards there were no more competent than those at the back of the train. Once bound and no longer a threat, Faris opened the last door.

He tried hard not to think strategically about what waited on the other side, about the number of guards, their weapons, and how to extract their target without damage.

The surprise on Randevere’s face, however, was worth all the weeks of planning and the fortune spent on bribes.

The barely clothed human female he pulled in front of himself to shield his body with, however, was a complication.

CHAPTER 2

FARIS

A human.

Rotza.

Rotting rotzas.

Faris knew Rand had attended an auction of salvaged goods. Nearby asteroid belts damaged plenty of vessels, leaving them stranded and drifting. Scavengers would tow the ship to the nearest station with salvage rights of the cargo. The good stuff—mostly weapons, some luxury goods, but who was sending that to this stinking corner of the universe?—went up for auction. The rest was sold for scrap. Plenty of junkyards were full of abandoned ships, picked over for parts.

Rand was supposed to have purchased an antique blaster, a real gem in pristine condition.

Not a breeder.

There must have been a pod at the auction and he couldn’t help himself. Faris didn’t know if Rand planned to fill a nest with her, but the male liked pretty, expensive things. Conspicuous consumption could be his house motto.

“Owenfaris, fourth child of the Eternal House. I am honored,” Rand said, a slow grin spreading over his face.

Faris kept his face neutral. He would not give Rand the satisfaction of seeing his discomfort at the sound of his full name.

The human female twisted, trying to break free, but Rand pinned her against his front with a strong arm over her shoulder. She wore a golden collar, a leash, and thin cloth wrapped around her torso.

Rand held the antique blaster in his other hand, hanging loose at his side.

“Rand.” Disdain dripped from Faris’ voice. “Hiding behind females?”

“Randevere,” he snarled. “Use my name. You disgrace your house, but you will not disgrace mine.”

The female spoke. It sounded like babble, the kind of disjointed and broken speech that hatchlings utilized.

“Shh, pretty one,” Rand said, pressing the side of his face into her hair.

Humans were so odd-looking. Fragile, like a strong wind could break them. Lacking protective scales, their nude skin was exposed for all to see. No claws. No tail. No spurs on their heel. Utterly defenseless.

Yet so much fur. The poof of fur on top of their heads looked like the downy feathers of hatchlings. Two thin strips of fur hovered over their round eyes. Humans were cute. Painfully cute. Faris could not understand how anyone would want to mate with one, even if humans were celebrated for being universal breeders.

Some genetic quirk made human DNA compatible with nearly every form of sentient life. They were highly sought after, especially the female, by species with low birth rates. On a planet like Reazus Prime with a low female population? Human females fetched a small fortune at auction.

The concept of owning people like property turned Faris’ stomach. How could a male mate with a female so helpless?

Rand loomed over the female. His scales shimmered in the light. Once they were vivid blues and purples, even flashes of gold. Now they were as red as Faris’ own raggedy scales.

Reazus Prime had changed them both.

“Let the female go,” Faris said.

“You do not dictate the orders, lordling—” His words were cut off.

The female kicked backward, slamming her bare foot into Rand’s knee. He yelped more in surprise than pain, but he must have eased his grip on her. She darted to the side, grabbing the blaster.

She pointed it at Rand, babbling in that nonsensical hatchling speak.

“You do not know how to use that,” Rand said.

She huffed, then flicked a switch. Lights along the barrel of the blaster flickered to life. Frankly, Faris was amazed the ancient batteries still had power.

“You would not use that,” Rand said.

“Do you have rotza for brains? Do not challenge the female,” Faris said.

She glanced at him, the blaster never wavering from her target.

Slowly, her lips pulled back and she bared her teeth, blunt with no fangs. So strange.

Rand tugged on the leash. She jerked forward. As she did, she pulled the trigger, hitting Rand in the shoulder.

Perrigaul sucked in a breath. Faris did the same. The blaster made an alarming clicking noise but remained stable. For the moment.

Rand fell to the ground, screaming in pain. She tumbled down next to him, still attached by the damnable leash. The blaster bounced against the floor, but she never lost her grip.

“Bad human!” Rand screamed. “They said you were trained.”

The female struggled to her feet, smashing the side of the blaster against Rand’s face.

“Don’t!” Faris warned. Aging power cells were notoriously unstable. Any jostle and the entire unit could explode into plasma and shrapnel.

The female looked at him. She jerked the blaster at Rand.

“Do not,” Faris said. She said something in angry tones. “I agree. He deserves it and worse, but that blaster is old and unreliable.”

Again, angry words. Her eyes—round, with round pupils—glared at him like he had caused her offense. She then slammed the butt of the blaster into Rand’s nose.

Faris suddenly understood the attraction to humans.

“If you set the blaster down, I will incapacitate Randevere,” he said.

She gave him another sharp look but complied.

Perrigaul bound Rand, all the while the male made threats and promises of retribution.

“Be quiet, Rand. Do not make me stun you,” Faris said, half-hoping the male would continue to talk. Stunning Rand into unconsciousness had its appeal.

“You think you can steal from me? You?” Rand spat, missing Faris’ boots but making his contempt clear. “I will hunt you down and reclaim what is mine! I will tear the frills from your neck…oh wait, that’s already been done.”

Faris yawned, then hit Rand with the stunner. The male twitched satisfyingly, flopping around on the floor before finally passing out.

Perrigaul nudged him with the toe of his boot. “I think you used too low a setting. That should not have taken so long.”

“Oh? That’s a real shame.”

ALICE

“He can file a complaint with my boss,” the big one said.

The smaller one laughed. Well, he made this clicking noise that could have been a laugh. The big one didn’t seem alarmed, so probably a laugh.

“I didn’t mean to do that,” she said, stepping away from Randevere’s unconscious body. Her finger slipped. Honestly. She only grabbed the gun because Randevere didn’t seem to think she was smart enough to take it from him, so fuck him. But shooting him? Not the plan.

Pistol-whipping him had been pretty satisfying, though.

Alice raised a hand to cover her mouth and hide her smile. That hadn’t been like her, but she’d never been abducted by aliens, sold, and then used as a meat shield, so maybe that was like a stressed-out her. Except stressed-out Alice went camping to avoid mean comments on the internet, not bash people’s noses in with guns.

Nothing made sense.

Big watched her, the quills on top of his head flexing up and down.

“I’m not a violent person. I’m a librarian,” she said.

He tilted his head and looked almost sympathetic, as if he understood her existential crisis. He was big, red, and covered in scales. She mentioned that already. His face was grayer, like the scales had faded with age. They looked rough and worn. Feathery quills at the top of his head were a deeper red with white scattered in.

Small, standing next to him, was a vivid scarlet by comparison, all shiny like he oiled his scales.

Big was…hot? Rough, absolutely, but it worked for him. Two legs, two arms, a tail—but who was counting? Humanoid or human-ish enough. He wore a long woolen coat, open to reveal a tight-fitting shirt and trousers. The trousers bulged in the right places too. He had a silver fox vibe going on, which was so weird because he was a massive red lizardman.

Maybe it was gratitude at being rescued from Randevere, or maybe it was the lingering effects of whatever her abductors drugged her up with, but Alice wondered what he looked like under his clothes.

“What is wrong with me? You’re an alien, and you can’t even understand a word I’m saying.” She pushed her hair out of her face. Adrenaline and fear had kept her going since she woke up, but she’d crash soon. “I want a shower, a brush, food, and I want to go home.”

Alice didn’t care if that sounded whiny. She pistol-whipped an alien asshole, and she was going through something. Let her whine.

Okay, snap decision. Big and Small seemed to dislike Randevere as much as her, which made them all right in her books. The enemy of my enemy and all that.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m coming with you,” she said.

Big blinked at her.

She sucked in a breath. His eyelids didn’t move, but a gray membrane moved across his eye from side to side. Oh, and his pupils were vertical slits, but that wasn’t so strange. He was the same type of lizardy-looking alien as Randevere with red scales, flexible quills at the top of his head, and a tail.

Lizard people. Sure, why not? Since waking up in the warehouse, she’d seen lots of aliens. She just never really looked at their eyes before.

And she thought that was hot?

Alice glanced at him again, just to be sure.

Yup, still hot.

“Can she understand us?” the small one asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

The quill’s on Big’s head flexed up and down. “Female, allow me to remove the collar. Sentient beings are not property.”

“Thank fuck for that,” she said.

Holding still, Big hacked through the collar with a knife. She tried real hard not to think about what a knife could do to her neck if she moved, or the blade slipped. Finally, the cursed thing fell away.

“Thank you,” she said, rubbing her throat.

“She understands. The translation chip is defective,” Big said. The quills on his head went flat. “Or Rand enjoys it when his breeders speak like hatchlings.”

“Breeders? No, no, no. I was his pet,” she said, needing to erase the mention of breeding from the conversation. No one was breeding anyone, hot lizardman or not.

Big patted her on the head. “See? It is cute.”

“I’m not cute, you scaly bastard.” She slapped his hand away.

“Adorable,” Small said, sounding less convinced.

She shook a finger in warning at Small but continued to speak to Big. “I’m coming with you.”

He watched her, the quills flexing up and down. Eventually, he let out a low hissing noise which reminded her of a tired sigh. “I’m sorry. You make no sense. You better come with us.”

Alice grabbed her blanket off the floor.

Yeah, this wasn’t going to cut it.

“I need shoes and clothes.” She lifted a foot.

The red guys looked at each other. The smaller one’s side ruffles flexed and went flat.

“Is it speaking?” he asked.

“Shoes. Cold.” She hopped from foot to foot, then mimed shivered, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing to keep warm.

“The female’s chip is defective. She is speaking nonsense.” The larger one glared at her like it was her fault. “I believe she is telling us that she requires footwear, and she is cold.”

“Yes!” Alice sighed, never so happy to be understood.

The big one stripped Randevere of his boots. He then cut her blanket into narrow strips. Getting the idea, Alice wrapped the cloth around her feet and stuffed the excess into the toes of the boots.

Good enough.

She stomped in a circle, getting the feel of her boots. “Thank you,” she said, giving the big one a smile.

He gasped.

“What did they do to her teeth?” the small one asked.

“What? Nothing.” She ran her index finger over her teeth just to make sure. Everything felt fine.

“They took her fangs.”

“That is barbaric,” Big said, not sounding surprised.

Being misunderstood was getting real old, real fast.

“Alice,” she said, putting a hand to her chest. “I’m Alice.”

“Al-iss,” Big repeated.

“Yes! That’s my name.”

“I think that is the female’s name,” Big told Small.

Real old, real fast.

FARIS

“I will take Alice to repair her chip,” Perrigaul said. He reached out a hand to stroke Alice’s hair.

“No,” he growled. “Do not touch her.”

Perrigaul jerked his hand back. “No? Why is that?”

“Do not touch her without permission,” Faris grumbled. “She is not a pet.”

Perrigaul held up his hands in surrender. “Fair. What are we going to do with the human?”

“I will take Alice to repair her chip. You will take the blaster to our buyer,” Faris said. The idea of Perrigaul alone with Alice made his scales itch.

“After that?”

This male and his ceaseless questions were getting under Faris’ scales.

“I’ll figure something out,” Faris answered.

“She is worth a fortune,” Perrigaul said.

“No. We do not sell sentient beings.”

Perrigaul’s quills went up. “I am stating a fact. She is worth a fortune, and people with more resources than two thieves will attempt to take her.”

“I know this.”

Humans had arrived on Reazus Prime a few years ago as sentient cargo. An accident caused the original ship to detonate. Some cargo pods fell to the planet’s surface. Some drifted in the black of space, waiting to be salvaged. He guessed this was what happened to Alice, given how Rand purchased her from a salvager’s auction.

“We should take her to a human sympathizer. They can find a place for her,” Perrigaul suggested.

Giving the female away, even to those who could best help her, felt wrong. He needed her to stay close so he could protect her.

“I have stated the plan. Chip,” he pointed to himself. Then he pointed to Perrigaul, “Blaster. When we have completed our tasks, we will meet at the nest.”

Perrigaul grumbled that he did not like the plan, but he agreed.

Alice crouched on the floor, rolled over an unconscious guard, and unbuttoned his shirt.

“What is she doing?” Perrigaul asked, horrified.

“She requires clothing.” Faris felt ashamed that he had not realized. She was cold and wore only a scrap of fabric.

The thought of her wearing another male’s garment outraged him. She should smell like him, no one else.

Faris scrubbed a hand over his face. No, that was incorrect. It did not matter whose scent she carried as long as she was properly dressed for the journey ahead.

Still, if it did not matter, then she might as well smell like him. He would not examine the logic of that too closely, for his peace of mind.

“Alice, wear this.” He shrugged off his coat and handed it to her.

She looked surprised but slipped it on. The fabric swallowed her, like a child dressed in an adult’s clothes. She tied the belt around her waist and pulled up the hood.

Faris adjusted the cording in the hood, fitting it around her face and allowing her to see. She watched him with her strange, round eyes.

This wasn’t warm enough.

He removed his scarf and wound it around her neck. She touched it with her bare fingers.

“Gloves,” he said, patting the coat’s pocket. She mimicked him and withdrew his pair of thermal gloves. “Wear them. The strap adjusts,” he said.

She fumbled with the strap; the gloves far too large for her tiny human hands. He adjusted the straps until the gloves fit well enough not to fall over, annoyed with himself the entire time. This female was a burden, and yet he had to keep her warm. He couldn’t explain the compulsion.

There. Now she was protected from the cold.

Perrigaul laughed. “I dare you to deny that she is adorable.”

She was. His two hearts couldn’t deny it.

He looked away quickly. What was wrong with him? He gave his coat away to a stranger. You didn’t survive on Reazus Prime by giving away anything, let alone a coat when a snowstorm raged outside.

Faris nudged Rand with his boot. Still unconscious. The stunner may have been at a higher setting than necessary, but Rand would wake, eventually. Faris crouched down and stripped the fancy coat from the male. This was Rand’s fault, so Rand could donate his coat.

If Perrigaul thought the indigo blue coat with white fur trim was humorous, he kept it to himself.

“Time to go,” he said. They’d been on the train too long.

He scratched behind his ear.

A scale came loose.

Well, rotza.

CHAPTER 3

FARIS

The fever.

He was too old for this. That a male his age would enter the fever and molt like a juvenile was ludicrous. His last molting had been eight years ago, and even then, he had been too old.

Now he was positively ancient in terms of Nakkoni biology. His quills were turning white.

They worked their way back through the train toward their tethered hovercycles. Perrigaul double-checked bindings and locked doors. When the train arrived at its destination, Rand and his guards would be discovered in an embarrassing condition. Normally such pettiness warmed Faris’ hearts, but he had larger concerns.

What was he going to do with the female? With Alice?

Al-iss.

What a charming name. Two syllables with a proper Nakkoni sibilant sound at the end.

Faris scrubbed his hand over his face. He needed air. The coat stank of Rand, which was good. It blocked the female’s scent.

If this was the effect she had on him just by being in the same space, how could he take her to the nearest settlement? Perrigaul could take her to have her chip repaired.

No.

As much as being near her aggravated his fever, the thought of her riding on Perrigaul’s cycle with him pressed close behind her, blocking her from the wind with his bulk…

No. Absolutely not. Faris would pull out his quills before he allowed that to happen.

They finally reached the platform at the back of the train. Cold, crisp air helped to clear his head.

“Falsespire is the closest settlement,” Faris said. “I will take the female there and you will—”

“Deliver the goods to the buyer. I know.” Perrigaul sat astride his cycle and added the blaster to the satchel at the cycle’s side. “What will you do with the female?”

“Alice. Her name is Alice.”

At the mention of her name, she tugged on his coat sleeve. She babbled a question. He could only guess but as she seemed to understand him, she probably wondered about her fate.

“Find a safe place for her,” Faris said.

Perrigaul snorted. “Ain’t no such thing.”

“I’ll think of something.”

“Send her back to Urf?”

Alice made excited noises at this. “Urth! Urth!”

The cold made the tip of her nose and her cheeks pink. Something hard inside him uncoiled at the eagerness on her face.

“Urth,” he agreed, because he was a fool.

He could help her return to Urth. Tickets off the planet were expensive. Few freighters came to Reazus Prime, and the ships that made regular visits weren’t the kind that offered luxurious accommodations to paying customers. Not to mention the added complication that Urth’s location was a closely guarded secret and the only people who knew died when their ship exploded in orbit.

“I’ll think of something,” he repeated. He’d use his portion of the blaster sale, if needed, to get Alice home and keep her safe.

Especially from him.

ALICE

Okay, tense.

Alice wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but she heard Earth. Big put her on this motorcycle that hovered above the ground—also, can we talk about that?—and sat in front of her.

Riding on a hovering motorcycle was not fun. It looked cool in the movies, but all she got was a face full of snow and cold wind. Pulling the hood down and pressing her face against Big’s back helped, but the gloves were huge and did nothing to keep the cold from slipping in. Still likely better than nothing. The entire ride, Big sat stiffly, like touching her was gross.

To sum up, Alice was cold and gross, which is exactly how she felt on the train with Randevere. At least now there was no Randevere.

The bike bounced over rough terrain. He reached back to keep her in place while she clutched at his middle. His two hands remained on the handlebars, and the bike steadied.

Wait.

That was a tail wrapped around her, pressing her to his back.

Okay, okay. Breathe.

It was a tail. A helpful tail. Red with bits of faded gray, some scales had black at the edges. Just a tail.

Eventually, when this rollercoaster of the last few days finally ended, Alice would freak out. She had a lot to process since getting caught in that levitation beam and absolutely no time to process. New facts were put into a holding pattern, just running on a loop of, “Wow, that’s weird! I’ll deal with it later.” She neatly placed Big’s tail in that box.

She pulled up the scarf to cover her nose. Her breath steamed against the fabric, but it was warm and smelled…nice? Like cedar or pine. Outdoorsy.

He understood her when she told him her name. That meant something. He repeated it back, dragging out the last half with a soft hiss. Al-iss.

Did Big offer his name or the name of his companion? No. That also had to mean something, like maybe they knew she wasn’t going to stay around long so don’t develop any attachments.

He mentioned Earth. She wished she knew what they had said about Earth. Hopefully, it was something like “Let me get this chick on the first ship to Earth and we’ll go out for pizza.” Okay, maybe not pizza.

Her stomach rumbled. How long had it been since she ate? At the warehouse, they made her drink this gloopy, jelly-like liquid. It made her gag but took away her nausea and dizziness. Randevere gave her little bites of food and water, never enough to satisfy but just enough to keep away the worst of her hunger pains. Every time she ate, the mental fogginess returned, so the food was probably drugged.

Mentally, she listed her priorities: get water, get food, get clothes, and get home. She’d figure out a way to get Big to help her.

Still, something nagged at the edge of her memory, like she was forgetting an important fact. Her memory had gaps, like having to struggle to recall her mother’s name. Natalie, for the curious.

Vibrations from the motorcycle slowly drained her tension. The bike was big, and straddling the machine meant that the seat hit her in the fun zone. Add in the vibrations and she was turning into a big fan of riding bikes. She squirmed, aware that she pressed against Big. He grunted but didn’t complain.

When they stopped, she needed to do something about the ache growing in her core.

What was wrong with her? Could this be a side effect of whatever drugs Randevere and the gray aliens gave her?

Wait, gray? No, green.

She had fuzzy memories of green faces with big black eyes, then nothing.

Huh. Another gap in her memory.

Okay, abducted by little greenish-gray men.

Drugged or not, she knew that desire was a side effect of high -stress situations and adrenaline. Her body was attempting to cope, albeit in a sucky way. Craving alien wang wasn’t going to solve anything, even if that sounded like a really good idea.

The hoverbike lurched again. The tail tightened. Her lady parts throbbed.

A really, really good idea.

This was hell.

FARIS

During the ride, Alice kept her head tucked down, presumably for warmth. He didn’t mind. He rather enjoyed the way she clutched at his back and pressed up against him. He enjoyed it too much. The more she rubbed up against him, the more she smelled like his. Covering her in his outerwear was not enough. She needed to be his.

That was the fever talking.

They couldn’t reach Falsespire soon enough.

Faris didn’t need the complications that a female brought, especially a human female. When he wasn’t fighting off challengers to claim her, he’d be chasing his tail trying to appease her. Females needed things, comforts before food and shelter. Soft things, things Faris couldn’t provide.

Maybe once he knew how to be soft with a female, but that was a long time ago, when he had been Owenfaris, fourth child of the Eternal House. Now he was simply Faris.

To avoid detection, they traveled down a seldom -used dirt road. Calling the narrow track a road was generous, however. Trees pressed close, suggesting the road was about to be swallowed back up by the forest. Navigating in the snow took all his attention.

As evening approached, the trees thinned. The track widened into a proper road and then vanished into a gorge.

Once, a bridge had spanned the gorge that separated Falsespire from the rest of the world, but that bridge collapsed shortly after the prison administrators abandoned the planet. No one seemed motivated to rebuild when ferries worked well enough.

They idled at the foot of the vanished bridge. Wind stung his eyes. Snow fell in spurts, thick and heavy one moment, then nothing for a few seconds. Lights glowed from a town on the other side, tucked against the mountain. In the brief moments the snow lifted, the observatory and transmission antenna towering above the village became visible.

Alice pointed at the transmission tower with excitement.

“Do not be excited. It has not worked in years. If ever,” he said. “They call this Falsespire for a reason.”

More excited chattering. All he could see of his human was her eyes, peering out from between the hood and the scarf.

“It was a research outpost when the Overlords ran the planet,” he said, not entirely understanding the compulsion to explain this to her. “I guess they thought they were going to do research but gave that up. There’s more profit to be made in mining.”

Although he had heard rumors about the kind of research conducted in Falsespire, the kind prohibited on law -abiding planets.

She responded. Her tone carried enough attitude to convey a snarky reply.

He couldn’t help himself. The stump of his broken frills flexed. If he were not a battered male, his frills would ripple in mirth. As it was, the coat’s hood hid the remaining appendage. Just as well. No one needed to see a broken male embarrass himself flirting with a pretty female.

Faris scrubbed his hand over his face. He needed to shove a fistful of snow up his nose to block her scent. Like an insidious raider, the fever wormed its way past his defenses. Alice was not his female and she was not pretty. Probably. She was too soft and had no scales to speak of, and his fingers brushed against that soft skin when he helped dress her on the train and...

Fine, she was a pretty human, but it did not matter.

“The ferry will be here soon,” he said.

He signaled with the cycle’s lights again. This time, he got a reply. Within minutes, they were safely across the gorge and Falsespire sheltered them from the storm.

Narrow lanes wound through the small village. It was easy enough to traverse on foot, but he wanted to keep the cycle nearby if he needed a quick escape. The snowstorm kept people inside, leaving the lanes empty. Only the hardiest people were out tonight.

He stopped at a food stall decorated with crude paintings of what it served. He didn’t particularly care what it sold as long as it was hot. Apparently, Alice felt the same. She pointed to the painted dishes and made a gesture for eating, then drinking.

“Did Rand feed you?”

She made a face, then stuck out a pink tongue.

Faris recoiled. Short and wide, her tongue was so strange. Smooth. Deviant.

“I will feed you whatever you like, but put that away,” he said.

She responded, knowing he couldn’t understand her, and he liked how she insisted on being part of the conversation.

“All is safe for humans. If it is to your liking, I cannot say,” he said.

The stall sold savory pies with various fillings, some of which might have been the meat it claimed to be, and a single variety of a sweet fruit pie. He ordered two of each. What Alice did not like, he consumed. The fever burning in him required fuel.

A small overhang from a nearby building sheltered them while they ate. Faris watched Alice sniff the pie, then take a bite. She scrunched up her nose and spat it out.

“No? Try this one.” He handed her another.

She gave him a wary look but took a small nibble at the corner. It was so strange watching someone without fangs eat. She swallowed then flashed him her flat, blunt teeth. It made him inexplicably pleased knowing he caused that smile.

Once they consumed the last of the pies, he took her to the kind of shop that didn’t hang a sign over the door. The best places—or, in this context, the worst places—were found by word of mouth or if you knew what to look for.

The front operated as an all-hours gaming club. Allegedly, they served food, but no one ate the food if they valued their health. Nothing out of the ordinary there. The back had a rotating stock of goods, usually the kind that fell off the back of a cargo ship.

“Before we enter, take this,” he said, removing a blade from his boot.

Alice looked at the blade with uncertainty.

He explained, “It is more important to be seen as capable of defending yourself than being able to use it properly. If you must use it, aim for the gut. Like this.” He demonstrated. “Never overhand. It is too easy to be blocked or disarmed. Do not aim for the upper torso. Too many bones. Do you understand?”

He held out the blade to her, handle first.

She took the blade. The light spilling through the windows hit her eye, and for a moment he wondered if she planned to stab him. He did not know her and had given her a weapon.

How exciting. Humans were so capricious.

Instead of stabbing him, she nodded and mimicked the move he showed her.

“Keep it close,” he said. She tucked it into the belt of the coat and followed him inside.

Cold air rushed in as they entered, and the room fell silent. Faris grabbed the end of the scarf and tugged.

Alice took a stumbling step, shouting her inscrutable angry words, and swatted at his hand.

He leaned down to speak, keeping his voice low. “If you are not attached to me, someone will take you.”

Her eyes were furious, and his tail twitched at the possibility that she would stab him now. She grabbed his hand. She jerked it up, as if to show him, barked something rude—he had no doubt her words were rude—and rolled her eyes.

Faris sucked in a breath. That was horrifying. Eyes should not move like that. It was unnatural.

Aware that they were being scrutinized, he headed to the back, pulling Alice along by the hand.

“Kamron!” he shouted, knocking on the locked door.

The door opened a crack. A muddy green eye with a black vertical slit peered through.

“Just the male I wanted to see! Those new converter kits came in,” Kamron said.

The male flung the door open. He wiped his hands on a cloth and stuffed it into a pocket. Boxes and open crates cluttered the floor. If there was an order to the chaotic storeroom, Faris could not find it.

“By new, you mean used and falling apart,” Faris said.

“They still have life in them.” The male waved Faris over to a crate in the corner and removed the lid. The converter kits inside were battered from use, but the worst of the engine grime had been cleaned.

Rotza. He needed those parts for his ship. Even if they only worked once, it’d be enough to get off the planet to a station with a scrap yard that hadn’t been picked clean.

“How much?” Faris asked.

Kamron named a price that made Faris laugh.

“Pass, but good luck finding another fool willing to pay.”

“I found the fool. I know you need them,” Kamron said.

“I want them but I am patient.” Faris’ quills flexed up and down as he spoke. He’d been repairing the ship for years. Parts were difficult to come by, especially parts that worked. “Those would do damage. I’m better off waiting.”

Kamron huffed, and his neck frills fluttered in irritation. “You have no funds because you purchased a human. It is all right. I understand why you would pass on quality goods.”

Alice said something sharp.

“Defective chip,” Kamron said. He went to a shelving unit and rummaged through a box. “I got you. I’ll include a new chip for the cost of the converter kits.”

“I am not purchasing your defective converters,” Faris replied, keeping his voice even. Betraying his interest in the items would have a detrimental effect on negotiations. “We require a chip. Nothing else.”

“Both converter kits, plus the chip.”

“No.”

“I’m allowed to make a profit. You’re taking food out of my hatchling’s mouths.”

“You do not have hatchlings,” Faris retorted. “Please, continue to gouge me on the price. I’m sure you have plenty of customers looking for this particular piece of equipment.” He glanced at the empty door. “I believe they are forming a line now.”

“Fine, both converter kits for the price of one,” Kamron grumbled.

“Including the chip.”

“Including the chip.” Kamron’s quills went flat against his head. Despite the male’s indignation, it was a good price.

Within minutes, Alice was sitting on a stool as Kamron replaced the defective chip.

“Oww…what the hell?” Alice complained, rubbing the tender spot behind her ear.

“It is not a pleasant sensation,” Faris said.

“Expect a headache and audio distortion for a few hours,” Kamron said, shoving the chip implanter back onto the shelf.

“You can understand me. Finally!” She jumped to her feet, her round eyes staring at him like she could put him under compulsion. “What the fuck is your name, Big?”

CHAPTER 4

ALICE

“Big?”

Alice cringed. Yeah, it was a terrible name. “I’ve been stressed. My creativity is a little lacking.”

“I have been called worse,” he said. “My name is Faris.”

“Owenfaris, fourth child of the Eternal House of—” the one called Kamron explained.

“Faris, only Faris now,” he said, speaking over Kamron.

“Faris,” she repeated. It was a good name. She smiled at him. His feathery quills flexed up. “I’m Alice Serrano.”

“Alice of many syllables. A prestigious name.”

“Serrano is the family name,” she explained. “Well, thank you.” She dug her hands into the coat pockets—his coat pockets. “For everything, really. Fixing this and getting me away from Randevere—”

“Just Rand,” Faris said. “He does not deserve the honor of three syllables.”

“Dishonest male,” Kamron spat. Alice had a feeling that if Kamron considered someone dishonest, they had to be the worst kind of crook. “You took the female from Rand? I approve.” Kamron directed this statement to Faris.

“I have so many questions,” Alice said. Like where the hell was she, what the fuck was going on, and what the hell? Mainly that one.

“We must journey to my nest. I will answer your questions then,” Faris said.

Kamron tapped the window. Outside was a curtain of swiftly falling white flakes. “Good luck getting anywhere tonight. The ferry doesn’t run in a snowstorm like this.”

“It is fine,” Faris said. He pressed his thumb to a device that Kamron handed him.

“Pleasure doing business with ya. I’d offer you a room for the night, but too many people saw you walk in with a human. I don’t need that kind of trouble.”

Frankly, Alice didn’t want to know what sort of rooms Kamron offered. Filthy, judging by the state of the place. The floors were sticky from various…fluids: beer, sweat, blood, and anything that might leak out of a person. Years’ worth of dirt and grime accumulated on every surface. It was clear that no one had ever taken a mop or even a damp cloth to the place.

Not that this place was worse than the rest of the town. The entire town seemed to be a collection of shipping containers repurposed for housing and welded together in a heap that threatened to topple over.

Still, Kamron mentioned trouble for humans, and she needed to know more. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“He means that others will challenge me for you,” Faris said.

“Because I’m your property?” Just saying the words made her angry. Since the moment she woke up, it was a nonstop parade of sexist crap, and she still didn’t have any pants. “This place is the worst.”

“You are not my property, but a foolish male will try his luck to take you. I will protect you.” He growled as he spoke.

Hot. Yeah, definitely hot.

“Hold my hand as we leave,” he ordered.

Hot and bossy. Amazingly, that worked for her.

Conversation fell silent as they entered the main room. Too late to avoid attention, Alice pulled up the hood on her coat.

As predicted, some dirtbag grabbed Alice.

“Pretty human!” Two arms locked around her, and another stroked her hair like a dog. Four arms. The man had four arms, all of which were very busy holding her against him.

“Let me go!” Alice twisted and turned, struggling to grab the knife. The belt of the coat came undone with her efforts. She now had multiple hands on her and was flashing her business to the crowd. This was a nightmare. “I swear, I will kick you in your alien nuts.”

“Let the female go,” Faris said.

“No, I don’t think I will.” The man’s breath stank like booze. Cheap booze. “How much for the female?”

“She is not for sale,” Faris answered.

What was wrong with this place?

She adjusted her grip on the knife’s handle, bending her wrist to poke the blade against Mr. Grabby Hands’ stomach. The blade pushed in just far enough to get his attention.

“Let me go or I'll stick this in you,” she said.

Please let me go. I really don’t want blood all over me.

When he failed to respond quickly enough to her satisfaction, she applied more pressure.

He laughed. The four-armed fucker laughed.

“You are not the sort to kill a male,” Mr. Grabby Hands said.

Faris stepped right into their personal space, pressing a barrel to the side of the man’s head.

“She may not be, but I am,” he said, his voice colder than the snowstorm outside. “Let the female go or I decorate the floor with your brains.”

“I think we will play cards for the female.” The male did not release her.

Seriously, what was wrong with this place?

The quills went flat on Faris’ head. That couldn’t be good.

“Close your eyes, Alice,” he said, voice now colder than the blizzard outside.

She closed her eyes, there was a pop, something warm splattered her—don’t think about it, just don’t—and she fell to the floor.

Chaos erupted. People jumped to their feet, chairs overturned, and punches were thrown.

“Female, follow me,” Kamron instructed as he crawled under a table. Glass shattered on the floor next to her. Following Kamron might not be the smartest move but it had to be safer than sitting on the floor in the middle of a bar fight.

She shuffled forward, joining him under a table.

“Drink?” He jiggled a flask in her direction. When she declined, he took a long pull.

People hit the ground hard and were slow to pick themselves back up. Cards and tokens littered the floor.

She picked up a silver hexagon-shaped token. “Is this money?”

“Only in this province. That will buy you a meal.”

She shoved it into a pocket. Cash was cash. Even having a single coin made her feel more in control.

The fight showed no signs of stopping. Faris stood at the center of the maelstrom, fending off several attackers with nothing more than his fists and well-placed kicks.

Mr. Grabby Hands moaned on the floor, bleeding heavily from a head wound. He also seemed to be missing an ear.

“He fights like an Imperial soldier,” Kamron said.

“Who? Faris? Is he good?”

Kamron snorted, the frills at the side of his neck fluttering. “When he is done destroying my property, tell your male that I will bill him.”

“He didn’t start it. That creep grabbed me.” She didn’t understand the need she had to defend Faris, but he was the only decent person she’d encountered since going camping in the woods.

“He brought a human female here. He started it.”

“This place is the worst,” she muttered.

FARIS

The haze of the fight took over. It was the fever, the chemical imbalance roaring through his body.

Faris reveled in the simple pleasure of fist striking flesh, feeling bone give way from the force of his blow. He was not a good male and never pretended to be. He only hoped that he had not frightened Alice. Currently, she was hiding under a table, cradling the blade he gave her to her chest.

That pleased him more than it should.

Someone capitalized on his distraction as he watched Alice and grabbed him by the quills. The shafts detached painfully, no doubt taking a good chunk of skin with them.

“You egg kicker,” he growled. The quills would fall out when he molted, but now the skin under his scales would be raw.

His tail whipped from side to side as he lost himself to the rhythm of the brawl. A blade punctured the coat, but he did not care. It was Rand’s, after all. Adrenaline numbed the sting of his scales being pierced. It did not matter. Faris would be the last male standing.

He was the fourth child of the Eternal House of Nakkon. He was made to be sacrificed. The Imperial Militia shaped him, honed him into a weapon, and then his family turned that weapon against their allies.

Sentenced for life on this prison planet, he had been without purpose. Now he had a female to protect, and no one here in this seedy establishment, this miserable town, or this wretched planet would harm her.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Kamron took Alice to the back.

No.

Faris stalked after the male. If Kamron thought he could take Alice from him, he was gravely mistaken.

“Are you in there? Your pupils have expanded, and your eyes are black,” Kamron said.

Faris growled. Dilated pupils were another sign of the fever as hormones surged out of balance within his body. Throwing himself back into the fight would help to purge the chemicals but then he would be distracted from protecting Alice.

He stretched out a hand, touching Alice’s cloud of brown hair. She needed him to be focused.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Though a shower would be amazing. And pants. I mentioned pants, right?”

“Shower. Rest. Garments,” Faris said, his voice thick and husky. He could do these things for her.

“You got to leave but you can’t go through the front,” Kamron said, interrupting the ways Faris would provide for his mate.

Faris growled.

Kamron held up his hand in submission. “Whatever you’re going through, don’t do it here.” He kicked up the corner of a filthy area rug, revealing a trap door. “This tunnel will take you to the edge of town.”

Faris opened the hatch. Blackness and icy cold filled the tunnel. He did not want to take his mate through a cold, dark tunnel but the noise from the brawl continued.

This was the only exit.

CHAPTER 5

ALICE

They trudged through the tunnel. Fortunately, Faris could see in the dark or knew the way because he traversed the tunnel with confidence. She held onto the sleeve of his collar, trying her best not to stumble on the uneven surface.

Eventually, the tunnel ended in what could charmingly be described as a storm drainage ditch.

Better than a sewer.

Faris helped Alice as she tried to scramble up the side. Snow made everything slick, and she was so tired.

“Can we please sleep? Or sit for a minute?” she asked, panting. “I should have slept on the train.”

“You do not want to sleep around those males,” Faris said.

“Yeah, that’s why I stayed awake,” she said around a yawn. She had been running on adrenaline for a while now. The coming crash would be epic and hard.

This part of the town had the same ramshackle, rusty shipping container vibe. Snow collected in deep drifts and softened harsh edges of the buildings. There was no noise except for the whine of a nearby generator. In the quiet of the snowstorm, it was almost charming.

A cold wind pierced through the coat, going through all her layers.

Eh, maybe not charming.

“We must rest for the night,” Faris said.

He took off in long strides, being damn near a giant. Alice trudged. So much trudging. Snow seeped in through the weird hole in the boot’s heel, soaking the wrapping. Frostbite seemed inevitable.

Faris whipped around. Irritation radiated off of him. “You are too slow.”

“I’m trying. The snow is deep, and my feet are wet.” She wasn’t a complainer, but she struggled to keep a whine from her voice.

“I will carry you.”

That was all the warning he gave before he scooped her up. Cradled against his chest, she watched his face as he navigated the slick street. The shadows hid any blossoming bruises, if he bruised. Of course he bruised. He bled. Living beings with circulatory systems bruised.

“Your poor feathers. Did it hurt?”

“They are quills, not feathers,” he said. Then, “It was not pleasant.”

“Do you have bruises?”

He answered slowly, as if reluctant to admit a weakness. “Under my scales. We are here.”

They entered a building with a wooden sign depicting a stylized tower swinging over the door. The interior was clean and, most important, warm. Faris arranged a room, a meal, and a delivery of supplies in short order.

Up a narrow flight of stairs, Faris unlocked a door to a no-nonsense room and deposited her on the bed.

The only bed.

Marvelous.

The rest of the room conformed to the budget hotel standard: a tiny table with two chairs crammed in a corner, a nightstand, a lamp probably meant to create a cozy atmosphere but just seemed to fail against the drabness of the room. At least the room was clean, smelling of industrial-strength chemicals. She’d take bleach over dank and the aroma of old cigarettes.

Alice shivered. Now that she was out of the cold, she couldn’t get warm.

Faris loomed over her. The remaining quills flexed up and down on his head. It shouldn’t have been funny and giggling at the massive alien who was trying to help you was such a terrible idea, but she couldn’t stop the laughter.

This had to be shock, right? She kept panic at bay for days, and now, exhausted, frozen, and with her feet wet, she was done. So done.

“You will clean yourself and then you will sleep,” Faris ordered. He unwound the scarf and untied the belt of the coat.

“No. I have questions and you will give me answers. One, where am I? Two, how did I get here? I mean, I have a vague idea, but I need you to confirm it. Three—”

“No questions. Shower. Sleep,” he said, talking over her.

Despite her utter exhaustion, she could not let that go. Talking over people like they weren’t even there? Rude.

“Wow, you’d have answered my questions by now if you weren’t being such a bossy bitch,” she said.

“The answers are complex, and you will have additional questions,” he retorted, irritation in his voice. “You could be clean and asleep by now, but you insist on arguing.”

“I do love a good argument.” This prompted another fit of giggles, for no good reason. “Sorry. I’m so tired, I’m slap -happy.”

“No one will slap anyone,” he said, his voice firm.

“Good to know.” She pulled herself to her feet, aching in every joint. “Where’s the bathroom? I hope they have hot water.” Then, when she thought about it, “I hope I can figure out the bathroom. I mean this looks like a motel room, so some things must be universal.”

“Undress. I will assist,” he said.

“What? No.” Absolutely not. She realized he saw her when she wore nothing more than a decorative handkerchief, but she wasn’t interested in him assisting her in the shower.

The bathroom was a simple tiled room with a drain in the center, a sink along one wall, a wooden bench along the far wall, a complicated silver hose and showerhead hanging on a hook, a narrow shelf built into the tile wall, and a trench in the corner.

Her exhausted brain took a few seconds to realize that people with thick lizard tails couldn’t sit on the type of toilet she was familiar with.

Faris adjusted something on the hose until water poured out. He placed it back on the hook. “Toilet, sink. Soap is on the shelf. Is the water too hot?”

She stuck her hand under the stream of lukewarm water. “No. It’s fine.”

“I will remain outside the door. Call me if you require assistance.”

His overbearing attitude should have been a turnoff, but she felt charmed by him. Had to be a lingering side effect of the abduction. Multiple abductions. Well, two. She wasn't a victim of serial abductions.

She hoped that wasn’t a thing.

Even lukewarm, the water felt amazing. She sat on the bench and let the gunk and grime—and Grabby Hands’ blood—sluice off her. Exploring the bottles, she found a sweet-smelling oil, something that smelled like bleach, and a floral lotion. The last bottle contained the nearest thing to body wash, so she used that. Despite not lathering, she felt clean. The soap was a simple nutty fragrance, perfumed from whatever fat was used, like cocoa butter. She worked it through her hair, so damn happy to wash away the horrible events after she woke up in the warehouse.

She needed to get home. Answers about what happened would be nice but getting home was more important. Her poor Mom. Alice couldn’t imagine the horror of having your child just vanish in the woods. Her mom probably thought she got eaten by a bear or murdered by a serial killer. Or her ex-husband.

Another gap in her memory was filled. She had an ex-husband, Travis. His face remained foggy, but she remembered taking off her wedding ring and stuffing it in a jewelry box.

How many people did she leave behind? She wanted to find the aliens who abducted her and smack them across the face with a pistol and stab them until her rage drained away.

Faris would help her, she felt certain. He didn’t explicitly say he would, but he didn’t jump at the chance to sell a valuable human female, either. When Small mentioned sending her off to human sympathizers to “figure out what to do with her,” Faris said no.

Alice trusted him. Since she woke up naked in a warehouse, surrounded by strangers who saw her only as an opportunity to turn a profit, he was the only decent person she’d met. Considering that he shot multiple people, the bar for decent was low.

Fine, she shot Randevere, who was technically a person. Despite it being a total accident, she’d do it again. She wasn’t meeting her own definition of decent either.

But Faris hadn’t killed anyone, not even Grabby Hands. Injured? Yes. Beat the snot out of? Without a doubt. Murdered? Everyone at the bar was breathing the last time she checked.

Beyond that, she felt safe with him. Everything had been a chaotic jumble until he showed up. The chaos continued, but she felt safe next to him in the center of the maelstrom.

He’d help her get home. She knew it.

FARIS

He needed air. The sound of water filled the room. Foolishly, he strained to listen for her heartbeat.

This was the fever. His cock throbbed, demanding release. Remaining passive while she wrapped her arms around him during the cycle ride had been one of the most difficult feats he ever achieved. Not slaughtering the male who attempted to take her had not nearly been as challenging as not responding to her touches.

He opened the window and took a deep breath of the cold, clean air.

It would pass.

He would molt. The hormones responsible for new scale production would burn off. The female would no longer invade his thoughts. His cock would be his own once again.

He rubbed the palm of his hand against himself. He had carried her in his arms, held her soft form against his. The lustful part of his mind whispered that his constant erection would frighten the female. A quick release would take the edge off.

The water continued to run. He would be quick, he silently promised as he opened his trousers and took himself in hand.

His cock was swollen and hard. Lubricant oozed along the seams; that was how strongly his body reacted to the female.

He stroked his length, from the wide base to the tapered tip.

He had believed himself too old to molt and too old for a fever. Males his age should have more dignity than to hunger after a female, yearn to implant his seed into her, and make a nest.

Chastisement fell away as he pictured Alice in their nest, drunk with desire and filled with his eggs. Her dark hair would spill around her. He’d roll her onto her stomach, have her lift her tail to present like a Nakkoni female. Instead of a tail, she had her round human ass. He wanted to grab onto her, to drive into her.

Pleasure coiled at the base of his spine, spreading through him until he felt he would explode. His stem opened, the three petals expanding in his fist. His cock pulsed, spilling a thick fluid. The edge was not gone. If anything, it was keener than before. Now that he had imagined Alice in his nest as his mate, the yearning for the impossible would not leave him.

He sagged against the window frame.

This will pass, he told himself.

He suspected that it would not.

CHAPTER 6

ALICE

Alice found an oversized tunic and a robe hanging on a hook outside the bathroom door. She finger-combed her hair, hoping for the best but expecting a rat’s nest once it dried. Once dressed, she found Faris sitting on the floor by the window, a first aid kit at his side. A tray with sandwiches and a jug of water sat on the table.

Faris had his shirt off, a bottle in one hand and a wad of cloth in the other. From the way he twisted his arm, she assumed he meant to clean the wound between his shoulders.

“Let me,” she said, taking the bottle of cleaning solution and the cloth.

“No. You need to rest,” he said.

“I won’t rest if you’re grunting and cursing,” she retorted. She pulled over a chair and pointed at it. “Sit.”

She waited.

He huffed and he puffed.

“I’d be finished by now,” she said.

“Doubtful,” he muttered, but he sat with his back to her.

A red gash tore through the scales, leaving a jagged line and exposed pink flesh.

She took a deep breath and released slowly. Blood never bothered her, but the inside stuff—muscle, mucus, all that—made her queasy.

“You are distressed,” he said.

“I’m okay. I’m certified in first aid,” she said, although her annual certification was more about determining if a person was breathing and calling 911 than slapping on bandages. “Clean the wound, yes?”

“Clean the wound, remove the damaged scales, and apply a sealer.”

She tipped the bottle to the cloth, then pressed that to his back. The wound bubbled and fizzed. If it stung, Faris remained silent.

Focus on the nice things—the different things.

Faris had a very nice set of shoulders, broad and sturdy. He was big too. Broad as well as tall. Yes, he was a massive lizardman. He had quills on his head and a tail. For all of that, he was hot. Literally. The man threw off heat like a furnace.

This close, she detected a sweet aroma like almond oil. It must have been his soap. His scales weren’t a solid color either. They were variegated red and gray, sometimes a streak of black. The surface was dull and the edges rough, almost raggedy. The cloth caught on the rough edges.

Concentrating on the appealing aspects of him, she dabbed and swabbed until the area was clean.

“Okay, next step,” she said. He handed her a pair of pliers. “You’re joking.”

“No. Pull the damaged ones. They will not repair themselves, and the skin underneath will not heal properly and scar.”

A jagged scar lower on his back testified to this.

She gave the pliers a test clamp. “Will it hurt?”

“I am in a molting cycle. It does not matter,” he answered, which was no answer at all.

“Fine, be all tough. You know, it’s okay to admit that something hurts. To feel pain is…normal.” She almost said human but caught herself.

The quills on his head, what was left of them, flexed up and down. The gesture made her think of the way a person’s shoulders moved when they laughed.

“I assure you,” he said, “I experience pain. This conversation is painful.”

Oh, Hot Lizardman is sassy too.

“Hush, I’m a damn delight and you know it.” She slipped the pliers under a broken scale and pulled. His shoulders tensed, but he remained silent. The scale pulled free with a side-to-side jiggle.

She cleared the obviously broken scales and then the ones surrounding the area. They pulled away easily enough. Finally, all that remained was tender pink skin and the open gash.

She ran a hand over the remaining scales, surprised at how silky and smooth they felt. She expected rough, like a fish. The old scar on his lower back had a glossy pink appearance, and it felt hard when she applied pressure.

He grunted.

“Sorry,” she said. “What happened here?” She lightly brushed the scar with her fingertips.

“It was a long time ago.”

“Sold a kidney on the black market. I got ya,” she said in a joking tone and continued her exploration. Where was this touchy-feely stuff coming from? This wasn’t like her. She wasn’t a shy person, but she didn’t feel strangers up, even if they were incredibly attractive.

She ran her hand against the grain of the scales, the rough edges of a few catching against her palm. They were damaged as well and came away easily with the pliers.

With that finished, she rinsed again with the cleanser and Faris handed her a white tube. “Apply this to the wound. It will create a barrier,” he said.

Alice applied a dab to his back. A sharp, astringent odor tickled her nose. Good to know that medicine smelled like medicine on the other side of the galaxy, or wherever she was.

“This won’t, like, burn a hole in my skin?” she asked, her finger hovering over the glob.

“It is safe for many beings.”

“But humans? Specifically humans? I’ve had a rough day and I’d like to avoid chemical burns,” she said. Rather than answer, he handed her a square of gauze. “Thank you.”

After applying a thick layer with the gauze, she told him to turn around so she could clean his front.

Leaning forward to dab at the cut on his brow, the front of the tunic gaped open. His eyes drifted down. A moment later, she realized.

“Oh! Sorry. Didn’t mean to flash you.” She tightened the ties at the front of the tunic. “It’d be better if I was closer.”

His quills flexed up and down. “Yes, that would be more efficient.”

She dragged the chair closer, but that wasn’t close enough. The scales were small and the light wasn’t right. Feeling bold, she sat directly on his lap.

“That’s better. Turn this way.” With her finger under his chin, she tilted his head to the light. Now she could see the finer scales around his temple. Perfect.

She repeated the process of cleaning and plucking out the damaged scales.

“How about the quills?” she asked. He had a plucked chicken look going on but didn’t mention it to avoid insulting his vanity, though he didn’t seem the vain sort. She reached for the quills, curious about how they felt.

He grabbed her hand, holding her by the wrist. “Leave them.”

“Sure. Sorry I’m all touchy. I’m not normally like this.” She tugged for him to release her, but he held firm.

She licked her lips. His eyes tracked her tongue, the vertical slits expanding. So strange. His features weren’t human, not even close, but he was good -looking with sharp cheekbones and a heavy jaw. He didn’t even have lips, not plump ones. What he had were thin and barely registered as lips. When he spoke, teeth flashed. Lots of teeth. How did his people kiss with mouths like that?

What would it be like to kiss him?

That idea seemed like the best idea in the world. She leaned in.

“Alice—”

She pressed her lips to his. She poured her desire into the kiss, moving her lips over his, and he…was unresponsive.

She jerked back, stumbling off his lap. She covered her mouth with her hands, like that could erase her unwanted advance. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Alice—”

The bed hit the back of her legs, and she tumbled down. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. Is this stress? It has to be.”

How long since she last slept? She couldn’t sleep on the train. Even locked in her crate, her mind wouldn’t quiet. Restless energy, plus fear, kept her wide awake. Fear was great at generating insomnia.

“Eat, then sleep.” Faris handed her a sandwich.

Food sounded good.

“My momma always said never make a big decision on an empty stomach,” she said, then frowned. Another fragment of her memory fell into place, but it did not make her feel better. She felt homesick.

Pleasantly thick slices of bread sandwiched a fried egg. It smelled divine. Eagerly, she bit into it. The fried egg had a rich, buttery flavor. It was simple but perfect.

“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to my mouth,” she decided.

Faris’ quills flexed. Judgy lizard.

“So, about my abduction—”

“Tomorrow,” he said, not allowing her to finish her question. He ate his sandwich in two bites and started on another.

“The one-word answers are losing their luster, to be honest,” she said between bites.

“I will answer any questions you have tomorrow. Does that satisfy you?”

“You know, if you’d just tell me, you’d be done already, but let’s continue to protest and tell me why you can’t spit it out now. It’s funny in that way that’s not really funny at all.”

“There is nothing to spit. Do all humans speak in such riddles?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” she said dryly.

His remaining quills went back. That probably wasn’t a good sign, but Alice wouldn’t apologize. She thought that was pretty damn witty.

“You need to sleep,” he grumbled.

“Trust me, if you don’t tell me, I’ll keep myself up worrying about it,” she said.

“You misunderstand. You were removed from a stasis pod less than three days ago. The drugs are still in your system, making you lethargic and dull-witted.”

“Watch it with the dull-witted comments,” she retorted.

He huffed. “To counteract this, you were injected with a stimulant. Do you recall an injection?”

Damn it, she did. Memory was foggy, and those first moments were slippery, refusing to be pinned down, but there had been an injection. “Yes,” she answered.

“That is for the buyer’s benefit, to make you more alert and bright -eyed.”

“They gave me uppers?” She didn’t wait for the answer, because obviously, yes. “They gave me uppers. Is this why I feel, you know?”

She leaped off the bed, mortified at her behavior. Wearing nothing but an oversized shirt and kissing the hot red lizardman, all while drugged.

“It is not uncommon for a female to be given a drug to make her receptive to her owner’s attention,” he said.

“What a lovely way to say roofied and raped.” She sat on the bed, curling her legs under herself. “They drugged my food.” Not a question, because she already knew.

“Assuredly,” he said.

Gah, she felt unclean and needed another shower. A dozen showers to scour off her skin where they touched, grabbed, and squeezed her, all while she was too drugged up to fight back. Even better, she wanted to take a baseball bat and start smashing skulls.

That sounded so, so good.

Alice never thought she was a violent person. She loved reading on rainy days and listening to true-crime podcasts. Okay, maybe that was a clue. She spent a lot of mental energy following murders and art thieves, probably more than was healthy but she needed to listen to something while she did the dishes and folded laundry.

Tomorrow’s agenda: source a baseball bat.

She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

“The stimulants typically last for a few days before the effects diminish,” he said. “When that happens, you will pass out and sleep until your body burns off the remaining stasis chemicals.”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice how you said pass out and not fall asleep.” Even as she grumbled, she crawled under the blankets.

“Sleep,” he ordered.

“Bossy,” she muttered, but snuggled in. The sheets were crisp and clean and blankets soft.

Faris arranged some blankets into a pile on the floor.

“The bed’s big enough for us both,” she said, drowsiness making her bold, or perhaps it was the last of whatever they injected into her at the warehouse.

“No.”

“You’re hurt. Sleeping on the floor can’t be good for your shoulder.”

Crouched on the floor, his tail lashed out behind him.

“Then let me sleep on the floor.” Leaving the cozy bed sounded like the worst idea, but Faris shouldn’t sleep on the floor. Opening her eyes felt impossible.

Whatever he said, she didn’t hear it as she fell asleep.

FARIS

He could not sleep. He washed and oiled his scales. He tried to meditate, but all he could focus on was the steady rhythm of Alice’s breathing. She invaded his thoughts. She had been fearless that day, but she had, as she said, been drugged. He could not judge her based on one day alone. Who would she be when she woke?

He suspected that she would continue to be fearless, if perhaps more careful in her words and actions.

In the small hours of the night, the power went off. The building fell silent as the furnace died. All he could hear was Alice’s chattering teeth.

He crawled into the bed, but only to warm her; he still had some shred of self-control. He was not a mindless creature to the cravings of the fever. He could hold the shivering female to him and resist the temptation of her soft form.

When human females first arrived on Reazus Prime, he had not been interested. Universal breeding meant nothing when he did not wish for hatchlings. A male such as himself did not deserve a mate or children. Still, he imagined that life now. A nest. A home.

Such foolishness. What kind of life could they have on Reazus? What legacy did he have to give? A fourth child with a four-syllable name, made for sacrifice? He had nothing. Anything of meaning, he gave away.

She rolled to face him, snuggling closer. He stiffened, quills up, unsure how to respond. She did not wake but continued to sleep.

He relaxed; his quills lowered.

He would see her safely back to Earth, no matter how it made his hearts hurt to let her go.

CHAPTER 7

FARIS

When morning arrived, Faris found himself reluctant to leave the bed. His tail tangled with her legs. Her face had a vulnerable expression while she slept. When she woke, she would be confused. He wanted to be there to calm her.

Foolishness.

Alice would sleep for half the day. When the stimulant wore off, she crashed hard. Her body required rest. Lurking over her made no difference.

He needed to do damage control. The heist, a simple smash and grab, had spun wildly out of control, and his actions after the fact made it worse.

Falsespire? The nearest town to where they departed the train? What had he been thinking?

Faris studied the figure in the bed. He knew what he had been thinking. Alice had nothing. No clothes. No shoes. She did not even have her words. Exposed to the elements, she would not have survived a lengthier journey. As it was, he kept her in the cold for too long and then dragged her into the busiest gambling den in the town. He practically sent Rand their coordinates.

That did not matter. Rand, for all his faults, was not unintelligent. He would have calculated the train’s location when they departed and deduced his destination.

Hard -pressed to find a way he could have handled yesterday better, the feeling he had made a serious error lingered.

The storm continued, isolating the mountain village from the outside world. The sky was a bitter gray with no hint of the sun. He made the trek to retrieve his hovercycle while the streets remained empty. He caught himself sniffing the collar of his coat, which smelled of Alice.

Foolish old male.

“Won’t be going anywhere today. The ferry won’t run in weather like this,” the innkeeper informed him when he returned.

“Then you can help me. My companion requires garments for the cold, including a good coat, and I’d like to avoid the market.”

He sat at a table, stomach rumbling and ready for the morning meal. The fever burned calories at an alarming rate and hunger constantly chased him.

The innkeeper, a female of similar stature to Alice, said, “I’m too busy to run your errands all day.”

Faris set a credit chip on the table and said nothing, waiting. Silence, he discovered, was often more effective to get what he wanted than threats or bargaining. Alice required proper garments today. If they had to leave suddenly, he wanted her to be dressed for the cold.

“I don’t want any trouble,” the innkeeper said.

“None intended.” Faris set down another credit chip.

The innkeeper grabbed the chips and set down a bowl with a bit too much force. Watery porridge sloshed over the side. “You can have my castoffs.”

“I am much obliged. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You paid me.”

He admired the innkeeper’s entrepreneurial spirit and added another credit chip for the bundle of garments she delivered.

Communications were slow, if they worked at all. That both helped and hindered him. Rand would be slow to receive reports about Faris arriving in town with a human female and the ensuing brawl.

Rand would understand what that meant. He may have believed that Faris took Alice on the principle that no person should own another, and under normal circumstances, he would. The brawl pointed to another motivation: the fever.

Faris sent a message to Perrigaul alerting him to an incoming delivery from Kamron. He avoided mentioning Alice, in case the message was intercepted. When the comm network was operational, the message would be delivered.

Hopefully, that would be good enough.

ALICE

“Miriam!” Alice sat up in the bed, the blanket falling away as her shout echoed in the room.

How could she have forgotten about Miriam?

The fog had lifted in her brain, and she remembered everything. No more fuzzy gaps. No more slippery thoughts. She had been camping when Miriam showed up with the worst pizza imaginable and they were abducted by little green men.

Miriam wasn’t her favorite person, but she was taken too. Alice had to find her and then figure out how to get back home.

A knock rapped at the door a moment before Faris entered, carrying a tray. Whatever was in the bowl smelled delicious. “You are awake. How do you feel?”

“Better.” Alice stretched, her body aching. Faris tracked the movement. “How long have I slept?”

“It is near sunset now,” he answered.

“Wow, the whole damn day,” she said.

“Who is Miriam? She must be important to have three syllables,” Faris said. He had seemed impressed to learn that her family name had three syllables. He handed her a bowl of gray mush and a spoon. “It is porridge,” he said.

“Miriam was with me when I was abducted. When we were abducted,” she corrected herself. She stirred the porridge with the spoon, finding it sticky and thick. “That’s not the first time you’ve mentioned three syllables. What does that mean?”

She blew on the spoon before taking a bite. Slightly sweet, the porridge had a bland quality. A mouthful felt like chewing glue, but she was too hungry to turn down food. She depended completely on Faris, and she wasn’t going to turn her nose up at the meal he provided.

She forced herself to smile and make yummy noises.

“It is not pleasant. You do not have to pretend,” he said.

“Oh, thank fuck.” She swallowed the mouthful with a grimace.

He watched her carefully as she ate. “Three is a sacred number for my people. A three-syllable name is respectable.”

She sensed that it was more complex than being respectable. “But your name has two.”

“I am not respectable,” he said.

“Agree to disagree.”

His eyes did that sideways blink again. This time was less disturbing.

“I killed a male,” he said.

She nearly dropped the spoon. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Yesterday, he shot people. A lot of people. Plus, he was efficient about it, like he had a lot of practice shooting people. She couldn’t even pretend it was in self-defense. He robbed a train. He was a thief. Hell, he stole her.

Remarkably, this did not bother her. It’s not like he was a serial killer. He went out of his way to maim —not kill —the goons on the train and in the club. Unless that’s what he wanted her to think, to get her guard down.

“Are you a serial killer?” she blurted out.

“I do not enjoy killing, but I must do what is necessary,” he replied.

She had no response to that.

“This is not a good place,” he said. “Reazus Prime was a prison planet. Everyone here was a convict or an administrator.” His top lip curled as he said the word, like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

A prison planet.

Alice finished the bowl, thinking about the bomb Faris dropped.

“I need to go home to Earth,” she said. Then, as an afterthought, “I need to find Miriam.”

“Who is Miriam?”

“She was with me when I was taken,” she said, realizing she repeated herself. “She’s my friend. Kinda.”

While Miriam was a colleague, one Alice found annoying, and this whole thing was sort of Miriam’s fault, she didn’t deserve to be left behind. Alice might not like the woman, but she had a heart.

“Speaking of abductions, so aliens. That’s a thing,” she said.

“Obviously.” Faris sat on a chair and kicked his feet up on the mattress. Shoeless, she had a good look at his very alien feet. Four long toes and a talon—thumb?—at the back.

“Aliens are a thing,” she repeated. Placing the empty bowl on the side table, she sat cross-legged on the bed. “Honestly, I should be a lot more freaked out than I am. I guess I have Star Wars and Doctor Who to thank.”

Waking up to inhuman faces had been more shocking than upsetting. What had upset her were the gaps in her memory and her sluggish brain, a side effect of the stasis pod.

“There has not been a war with Earth. This doctor misinformed you,” Faris said.

That was the cutest thing she’d ever heard.

“Okay, so let’s start with the basics,” she said. She had a long list of questions and starting with fundamentals seemed the best approach. “Aliens know about humans, so why don’t humans know about aliens? I mean, until I woke up here, I would have told you that aliens are make-believe.”

“I do not know intergalactic policy. Earth may be protected because the inhabitants are primitive.”

“Primitive!”

“Earth lacks interstellar travel.”

“We went to the moon,” she protested.

“Any species can bang two rocks together and go to their planet’s moon. It is not difficult,” he said, voice dripping with boredom.

Wow. The arrogance.

Alice swallowed the urge to argue. “So, aliens know about Earth and occasionally steal people.”

“What is known of Earth is very little. Humans appeared here two years ago. A ship with human cargo detonated and the cargo was ejected. Your pod was part of a salvage auction,” Faris said.

She blinked, hearing his words but the meaning did not quite sink in.

“Two years? Two years!” She jumped up from the bed. “I was in a stasis pod for two years? Oh no, my mom thinks I’m dead.” She paced the room, the floor cold against her feet. “I figured a few days, a week maybe. I could say I took an impromptu trip but not for two years. She probably thinks I was eaten by a bear.”

Alice gasped. “Or murdered and buried in a shallow grave. Poor Mom.”

She had to get home quickly, just to tell her mother she was alive. Her job would be long gone, but that didn’t bother her. Interesting. Her heart hurt imagining her mother cleaning out Alice’s apartment, though.

Then, a thought. “Wait, how long is a year for you?”

“A rotation around the sun.”

“Yeah, but how many days? A year on Earth is three hundred and sixty-five days, and a day is twenty-four hours, and an hour is... wow. This isn’t helpful.” Comparing units of time seemed fruitless, and nothing good happened from panicky math.

A hand gently touched her shoulder. “I do not like this face you make.”

“My I’m-about-to-freak-out face?”

“Yes, it is very…” His thin lips pulled down into a grimace, and his eyes squeezed shut.

Alice covered her mouth with her hand. She shouldn’t laugh. It wasn’t funny, but something broke in her and the laughter turned into tears. She was a mess, a crying, blubbering mess.

“My apologies. I did not intend to upset you,” he said. He rested a hand on her shoulder, stiff and uncomfortable, like he seldom touched people for purposes other than stabbing.

She threw her arms around him, needing contact with another living person.

“Hug me back or it’s weird, Faris,” she said between sobs.

His arms came around her, holding her. Initially awkward, once his stiffness melted, the embrace was perfect.

He said nothing, patting her back and stroking her head as she cried out her fear and confusion from the past few days. He did not offer empty promises that everything would be okay. She didn’t need fairy tales. She needed to mourn her family and friends, the life she had been stolen from, and the minuscule odds of ever finding her way back home.

It wasn’t fair. She was angry and sad and alone. No one knew what happened to her, and she felt so very alone.

Not entirely alone. Faris’ warmth anchored her to the moment. He was solid and present. He had a strength to him that was more than muscle. It ran deeper. Eventually, her breathing evened and her heart calmed.

She pulled away, wiping at her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cry all over you.”

“It is not a concern,” he said, and she believed him. “Let us assume that a year is roughly the same.”

“Okay, I can do that. You have to help me get back to Earth,” she said. Then, as an afterthought, “And find Miriam.”

“That is my intention but I do not know Earth’s location. I do not believe anyone does,” he said.

“Well, that’s not true because someone came to Earth and started snatching people.”

“And their ship exploded. They did not share the location.”

“Typical,” she muttered. “Someone figured it out, so we can too.”

“The galaxy is large.”

Alice took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Panic would not win. She had this. She was a librarian, after all. Finding information was what she did. “What do we know? Earth is in a spiral arm of the Milky Way, near the edge. It’s an eight-planet system. Nine? Shit, how does Pluto figure into this?”

“That is vague.”

“Well, I’d have more information if we had a computer or a map or something.”

His quills went flat. “Network connections were damaged during the storm.”

“Earth is the third planet from a yellow sun.”

“There are many eight-planet systems with yellow suns.”

She tossed her hands in the air in frustration. “I’m trying to think of solutions, not reasons why you can’t find a needle in a haystack.”

“I said I would help you return to Earth, not locate needles.” He hissed out the last word, sounding annoyed.

“We need information, and we’re not getting any here. We need navigation charts, and we need to figure out what happened to Miriam.” Alice resumed pacing, now with purpose as her order-loving brain made a list. “We were abducted at the same time, so I think we can assume that we were put into pods near each other. If so, then we can assume that her pod was salvaged along with mine, so she went through the same warehouse as me. If we’re lucky, she’s still there.”

“Doubtful. Human females are a highly sought commodity.”

Her skin crawled at being called a commodity, but sure. It was what it was. “Then they should have a record of who bought her.”

“Auctions like that do not keep records,” Faris said.

“Oh, my dear sweet lizardman, they most certainly do. They might promise anonymity, but they definitely keep track of who drops stacks of cash and on what.” Not that Alice attended any of those sorts of auctions, but that was Capitalism 101: know your customer and hoard their data.

He scratched at the side of his neck, then jerked his hand away when he caught her watching. “We will have to journey to the Hub to get this information from the warehouse.”

“And navigation charts?”

“Yes, I will acquire those for you.”

An impossible-to-fight smile broke across her face. She had a plan and some tiny sense of control.

“I feel better already,” she said. “When do we leave?”

CHAPTER 8

FARIS

Her smile was radiant, like the sun breaking through the clouds. Faris hated to steal her sunshine.

“We must remain here until tomorrow. Possibly the day after,” he said.

The smile faltered. “It’s been two years. I suppose a day or two won’t make a difference.”

For her, no. For her friend, it depended on who purchased her from the auction, if her pod had been in the auction at all.

She stretched, arms over her head, and the hem of the tunic lifted. Leaning to the left, then to the right, she complained about sore muscles.

“That is a side effect of the stasis. I know what will make you feel better,” he said, unable to look away from her thick thighs. They were so nude; no scales, just beige flesh that promised so much delight. When they were in the bed, he noticed that her arms were covered in thin, fine hairs. His fingers itched to discover if her thighs had the same fine hairs.

Even more intriguing was the thatch of dark hair between her legs. Was it as soft as the hair on her head?

Alice noticed his blatant stare. She tugged down the tunic, her face a blushing pink. “I don’t suppose you found me some pants?”

“You will not need clothes for what I have planned.”

The pink on her face deepened to a scarlet. Interesting.

He handed her the robe to wear and ordered her to follow.

Snow piled high in drifts on the back deck, but a path had been cleared to the hot springs. The springs ran under the town. Most residences had a pool to take advantage of the hot springs. This pool was rough stone surrounded by a wooden deck. Steam curled above the water. Snow continued to fall but melted when it hit the warm air.

“Hot tubs?” Alice asked.

“Naturally occurring hot springs. Soap and rinse at the stall, then soak. It will help ease the ache in your body,” he said. Dropping his robe, he walked naked to the shower stall.

Feeling her eyes on him, he slowed his pace to let his tail sway from side to side. The cold smarted against his bare feet, but the discomfort was a price worth paying as long as she watched. He rinsed and soaped himself quickly, the water tepid. Once suitably clean, he eased into a tub.

Heat soaked deep into his muscles. He tilted his head back, watching snowflakes flutter through the air and melt above the water.

“Join me,” he said, not looking at her.

“I’m good.”

“You are not, stubborn human. This will help.”

She said nothing, shuffling her feet. Eventually, she said, “You’re naked.”

“Have you not seen a grown male before?”

“No. Yes! I mean, yes, but not a lizardman,” she said, sounding flustered. He bet she looked adorable when she was flustered.

“Should I stand so you can examine me for your edification?”

She made a strangled noise, halfway between panic and amusement. “Nooo…You stay there.” Then, in a quiet voice, “Who talks like this?”

Alice hustled to the shower stall, grumbling about the cold deck. He did not look but he heard the water run, more muttering about the cold and an alarming clack of chattering teeth, then the shutting valve. Her steps pounded against the wooden deck, he heard the robe falling, and then the satisfied moan as she eased herself into the water.

His cock jerked with interest.

Faris risked a glance in her direction. Submerged to her neck, she had her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

“Nothing should feel this good,” she said.

The silence was companionable. The heat eased sore muscles. His body ached not from the injuries sustained but from the rapid growth of new scales pushing out the older. His hormones were unbalanced. It would pass. By tomorrow or the next day, he would be himself again.

Alice’s sighs of pleasure went directly to his cock. He did not think that would pass so easily. Still, if he did not look at her luscious form, it was tolerable. Platonic. They were two strangers enjoying a hot soak, watching the snow. Nothing more.

The companionable silence did not last.

“Tell me about the man you murdered,” she said.

ALICE

“It is not important,” he said, like it wasn’t important.

“Look, you said you weren’t a serial killer. Fair, but it is important because I’m trying to figure out if you’re going to murder me. A random act of violence, or did he have it coming?” Alice asked.

Faris probably wouldn’t murder her. Probably. If he wanted to kill her, he could have let her freeze in the snow or suffocated her while she slept. She could lower her guard, unless getting her to trust him and then making with the murdering was how he got off.

Ugh, this was impossible.

“Sorry. I trust you, for some reason, but not knowing is throwing me into a tailspin of anxiety.”

His quills, half plucked, went up and down. “Do humans have tails? Did you lose yours in an accident?”

“What? No. Humans don’t have tails,” she said, not even bothering to touch on vestigial tails. Not the time or the place. “I answered your question. You answer mine.”

“The male had it coming. I do not take a life without cause,” he said.

When he offered no further explanation, Alice went to the next question on her list. “What does ‘fourth child’ mean?”

He sighed dramatically, the drama lizard. “I have already said that three is a sacred number. A clutch is three hatchlings. Always.”

Pieces slide into place.

“Unless there’s a fourth,” she said, turning to watch his reaction.

He sank in the water, his head dipping under. His knees poked out of the top, and his tail lolled over the side like he was too large for the tub.

“A first child is the heir. The second, a scholar. The third is for the Empire and enters the military. The fourth is a sacrifice.” He paused, sitting up. Water sluiced off his arms, his red scales dark. “In the old days, the fourth child was given to ancestors or left to the kindness of the wilds.”

That sounded ominous. “Is that a pretty way of saying adopted out, or do you mean they killed the extra—” she attempted to ask.

“It was a cruel time and long ago,” he said, not letting her finish the question. Fair. It was a gross question. “Now the fourth child is raised to be a useful tool. An instrument deployed at the right moment. We are told that we have no destiny of our own and that we will likely die serving the family.”

“A sacrifice,” she whispered.

“Yes. So it was with my family. We are traditional and a...minor noble family. My sister had a political marriage, but it was a bad match. He was a violent male.” His quills went back. “He treated my sister poorly but there was nothing to be done. His influential family protected him. I did what was required of me and was sentenced to life here for my sacrifice.”

Nothing to be done, her foot. “Are you telling me that murder was better than the fallout from a divorce?”

“Politics,” he said, his voice gruff.

Alice dipped under the water, letting her hair fan out. She noticed a comb in the pile of clothes that Faris scrounged and didn’t look forward to working out the tangles.

She looked up at the sky. Snowflakes fell in lazy circles, obscuring the stars.

“I’m divorced,” she offered, filling the silence. “Did you leave anyone behind on…”

“Nakkon. No. I have no mate,” he said. “What did your mate do to be removed from your house?” He sounded so damn earnest it was sweet.

“Ex-mate. It wasn’t him. It was me. I got old and fat. He thought he could do better.” The words were poison, but it felt good to speak them, like draining the venom from her body.

Water splashed, and Faris climbed out of the tub. He crouched next to hers, his big red dick right at eye level, hanging between his muscular thighs.

His eyes are up there.

Alice forced herself to look up.

“He is a fool. How many bones must be broken to restore your honor?”

So damn earnest.

“I like you, lizardman.” She wagged a playful finger at him.

Faris frowned and grabbed her hand, turning the palm up. He poked at the pruney skin. “The water is damaging you.”

“Oh, it’s fine. That happens.” She pulled her hand away, aware of how she brushed his thigh.

He watched her intently. “One moment,” he said, then padded away to a stack of towels.

Naked.

Alice stared at his butt. He had a tail. She knew he had a tail, but she had never imagined how that tail would look, thick at the base of his spine and swaying with every step.

Shit, Faris was hot. Like, hot hot. She thought that yesterday, but she’d been drugged so that didn’t count. Now her head was clear, and she was drooling over a lizardman’s ass.

A fine lizardman’s ass.

Stop it. You’re going home.

Exactly. You’re going home, a naughty part of herself replied. What does it matter? Get some tail.

He held out a large towel and said in a deep voice, “Let us return to the room.”

Alice climbed out of the tub, water sluicing off of her. Wet hair dripped down her back, and she shivered, exposed to the cold air. If she worried about how her stomach rolls looked, one look at Faris’ hungry gaze erased any doubt that he liked what he saw.

He dried her off with a large towel, his hands clinically brushing along her curves. His dick stood at full attention, letting her know that he enjoyed this. It was a deep magenta, wide in the middle, and came to a point. Ridges ran down the sides. It looked intimidating.

His quills went up slowly, as if asking if she liked what she saw.

“Yes,” she said. “We should definitely go to our room.”

CHAPTER 9

ALICE

Once in the room, Faris handed her a bottle of lube.

“Wow, that’s direct,” she said, awkwardly holding the bottle.

“Will you oil the scales on my back and reapply the ointment to the wound?” He dropped the towel around his waist and sat on the floor.

“Sure, not a problem. You don’t want to know what I was thinking.” She grabbed a pillow to kneel on because her spirit was still in her twenties, but her knees were absolutely thirty-three.

She reapplied ointment on the wound and declared it was healing nicely. Then she warmed up the oil between her hands before spreading it on his shoulders.

His scales were different today, brighter, and smoother. They gleamed in the dim lighting of the room.

“Is all this new growth?” she asked, running her hand down his back to his hip. The scales absorbed the oil quickly, like soaking in the hot tub had stripped them.

“Growth happens quickly over the first day.”

A jagged line of pink scar tissue sat at his lower back. The scar was not as old as the others on his arms and shoulders.

“Something happened here,” she said, brushing her fingers over the tissue. His tail flinched, thumping loudly against the floor. “Sorry,” she said.

“It is sensitive.”

“Looks like it didn’t heal well.” She worked the oil into the surrounding scales.

“No. It was a wound meant to kill me,” he said. Then, in a grumbling voice, “Rand is sloppy in many ways.”

“Randevere did this.” She brushed against the scar again. His tail twitched slightly.

“I do not wish to speak of the male.”

Understandable.

She finished his lower back, arms, and even the back of his neck. “The feathers?”

“Quills,” he corrected. He then reached up and pulled away the remaining quills. “They were falling out.”

She massaged his skull. At first, his posture was ramrod straight, as if unused to being touched, but then the giant lizardman melted. She dug her fingers in and wondered how often he was touched by another person, even platonically. The last person to touch her was the masseuse who worked on the knot in her upper back, and that had been two months ago.

Two years and two months ago, actually. So she was touch-starved. Big deal. She was human.

Faris leaned back against her, his slippery back against the cottony front of her robe. The friction made her nipples rock hard. She wondered if he could feel them.

“And your tail?” she asked.

He stilled, then answered in a soft yes.

“Is that too intimate? Tell me if I’m overstepping. I don’t know what the social protocols are regarding tails,” she said.

“Generally, you do not touch another’s tail unless you intend to build a nest with them,” he said.

“That sounds nice.” And permanent. Playing with the lizardman’s tail was more than flirting but she couldn’t stop her hands from staying.

The scales were smooth, large at the base, and diminishing in size toward the end. A throaty groan vibrated in him loud enough that she felt it.

He twisted to face her. Hunger burned in his eyes. “Alice Serrano.”

It was a question.

“Yes,” she answered.

He slammed his face against hers. The hard scales of his forehead hit hers.

“Oww!” She jerked away, covering her mouth with her hand for protection. “What was that?”

“I replicated what you did yesterday.” He paused. “There is nuance to the maneuver,” he muttered.

A kiss. That headbutt was his attempt at a kiss.

“Like this,” she said, rubbing her fingers along the spikes of his jaw. They were more flexible than she expected. She drew him in and slanted her head to the side to avoid bumping noses.

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and drew back.

He ran a finger over his lips, as if considering the kiss. “That was pleasant,” he concluded.

“That was mild. Let me try again.”

This kiss was harder, deeper. His lips were thin and not terribly responsive, but at least this time she knew he wanted to kiss. She ran her tongue over the seam of his mouth, encouraging him to open.

It was like a light went on.

His chest rumbled, and he pushed forward. He nipped at her lips, his tongue everywhere. Every. Where. Her mouth. Her ears. Her neck. The robe fell open and slid to the floor.

He reached for her breasts, then hesitated.

“It’s okay. I like for them to be touched, but they’re sensitive, so just grab them.” She cupped her breasts to demonstrate, rolling her thumb over her nipples.

He mimicked her gestures, holding both her breasts and lightly squeezing.

A lizardman is playing with my boobs.

Life was strange but awesome.

He pushed her back to the floor, the pillow now under her head. His tongue had to be magic because it felt amazing and found all the good places, like he was mapping her body. He’d lick and stroke, watch her response, nod, and then move on.

Neck? Good.

Belly? Nice but weird.

Elbow? Ticklish. Stop.

Hip? Good.

Thigh? Very good.

He spread her thighs open and kneeled between them. His short quills went down.

“What?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

“You are human.”

Alice bit back her natural instinct for a sarcastic comment about his observational skills.

He continued, “I want to please you, and that requires that I familiarize myself with your anatomy.”

Oh, well, when he put it that way…

“Let me show you how to please me,” she said. With one foot planted on the floor, she angled herself for him to watch her stroke herself.

He leaned in, fascinated. “Repetitive rubbing?”

“For me, yes. This is my clit. It’s a sensitive nerve bundle.” She circled her clit, rubbing and then stroking down. “Would you like to try?”

His finger replaced her own, touching her too lightly.

“Harder. I won’t break,” she said.

He applied pressure, rubbing and circling. Alice tilted her head back, moaning. His quills went down at the sound. He leaned, pressing his mouth to her exposed flesh, and licked.

“Oh!” Absolute delight shot through her, curling her toes. Her fingers tangled with the short quills on his head, holding him in place. This new growth had a soft, feathery feel.

Faris responded eagerly, licking and sucking with a voracious appetite.

Pussy? Very, very good.

FARIS

His mate’s taste flooded his mouth. He worked his tongue, licking and sucking until she reached a climax. It was a glorious thing to watch.

His cock throbbed.

“The bed. Now,” he commanded.

“How do you want me?” Alice asked.

“Hands and knees.” He did not know how humans usually mated, but this was the typical position for the Nakkoni who had to navigate tails.

He ran an appreciative hand over the curve of her ass. Her body was soft and generous here. She was soft everywhere.

He spread her cheek, exposing the silky pink flesh of her sex. He ran a finger over her folds, enjoying her shivering response. Warmth enveloped his finger as he pushed in. She was a marvel, moaning for him and pleading for more.

Faris, please.

“You are luscious,” he said, leaning over her to take his position. He licked the shell of her ear. Human ears were much larger than Nakkoni but so much more sensitive. He rather liked them.

Now, Faris.

He pushed into her. The heat of her made him gasp. Tight and eager, she rocked back to meet his thrusts. One hand rested on her hip, the other tangled into her still -damp hair.

They moved together, bodies acting on instinct even as they fumbled over their differences. Those were minor details. Alice fit him like they had been made for each other, Nakkoni and human. Softness to his harshness. Laughter to his sulking silences.

Alice trembled and quaked. He could watch this again and again, the give of her flesh against his, the beige against his scarlet, and the way her eyes fluttered shut as she moaned so beautifully.

His mate. He couldn’t let her return to Earth, not now. Not when his twin hearts beat for her.

Alice cried out underneath him, collapsing until her arms rested on the bed.

His climax sent bright and sparkling shivers throughout his body, emptying his seed inside her.

He stilled, his cock expanding as the petals unfurled.

“What is that?” Alice gasped, which quickly turned into a moan.

“My petals.” He drew back, one petal slipping out.

She reached for it, running her hand over the length. The outside was smooth, but the inner flesh had suction cups designed to hold onto the female. He moaned as she stroked him, rocking his hips forward.

“Is this a tentacle? I saw your dick. It wasn’t a tentacle.”

“It is my petal. The stem expands into three. The inner flesh—”

“Don’t you dare stop,” she gasped. The petal rubbed against her clit, sucking and pulling the sensitive nub.

He complied, rocking into her. The two petals inside her channel expanded until he could hardly move. Her core squeezed him, sending unimaginable pleasure through him. She gave a throaty moan, and he felt the raw ecstasy of it coiling around himself.

He released again, planting more seed deep inside her. Perhaps one would take. He knew that the drugs used in a stasis pod adversely affected fertility until they left the body, but he hoped for a hatchling.

They collapsed next to each other on the bed.

She raised herself on her elbows and examined his petals. She ran a finger down the inside flesh, gliding over the suckers.

He shivered, then moved her finger to the less sensitive seam where the petals joined. “You are insatiable,” he said.

She chuckled, warm and rich. “Just curious. Is this okay?”

“Very. You are welcome to stroke my cock and my petals anytime.”

“Will you explain how it works?”

His tail twitched. “I believe I gave you a very thorough demonstration.”

Her cheeks flushed a deep pink. “You came then it—” She held up a fist and slowly uncurled her fingers.

“Expansion is to ensure that my seed takes root. The sucker cups are to ensure that it is a pleasurable experience for the recipient.”

She nodded, then yawned. “That’s fascinating. I’ll need another demonstration.”

He pulled her to him, wrapping her in his embrace. “Insatiable female. I am no longer a young male. I require rest.”

That earned him another laugh. Then, with a mischievous grin, “Three is a sacred number, huh?”

ALICE

Alice rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart. The new scales had not yet hardened and had a spongy texture. She ran her fingers over him, marveling at the vivid scarlet coloring. Feeling the need to explore their difference, her hand wandered to appreciate the fine, flexible scales around his eyes and mouth, harder spines around his jaw, and the remains of his sensitive frill along his neck.

Then came a second thump, almost synchronous with the first.

Unsure what she heard, she crawled over him to press an ear to the other side.

“You are curious,” he said.

“What the hell am I hearing?” Alice sat up, straddling his torso.

“My twin hearts.” He took her hands and positioned them, presumably, over his hearts.

“Twin hearts,” she said. He warned her that their physiology was different. She took the scales, feathery quills, and a dick that split into three tentacles in stride, but somehow two hearts struck her as strange. “What do you need two hearts for?”

“It is ancillary and remains unused except in high -stress situations.”

“Like spontaneous adult puberty?”

“Do not call it that,” he chided.

“Don’t get snippy because you’re all moody and angsty because of the hormones,” she teased.

From what he described, this fever sounded horrible. Hormones out of balance, molting of scales, and his libido in overdrive. Puberty was bad enough the first time around. She’d hate to do it again because of a random attraction.

“It is not pleasant,” he admitted.

A familiar hardness poked her from behind.

“Well,” she said, leaning back to grind against him, “it’s not all bad.”

CHAPTER 10

FARIS

Dawn had not yet arrived. Alice stirred in his arms, her back pressed against him.

“Hard again?” she muttered.

“For you.” He whispered the words against the shell of her ear, causing her to shiver. Soft and responsive, he enjoyed how even the slightest touch generated a reaction. “Lift your tail for me, Alice Serrano.”

She rolled over onto her belly and raised her hips. She rested her folded arms on a pillow.

Gorgeous.

He admired the luscious fullness of her ass, his hands rubbing and squeezing the flesh. She groaned, pushing back against him.

“Don’t make me wait,” she said, her voice needy, as if she had a fever of her own burning within her.

He pushed his stem into her, moaning at the heat of her. They moved together. With a few strokes, the petals separated from his stem. They expanded within her. With a small adjustment, he slipped one petal out so it rubbed her clit.

The effect was immediate. Alice gasped and quivered, she moaned and cried for more. He pulled back slowly, letting the petals rub along her core, before thrusting in again. No matter how she bucked and begged, he kept the pace steady.

He did not understand how she fit him so perfectly. Their bodies were different, hard and soft, but he could imagine no one else in his arms.

Soon, she clenched around him.

They rested together, limbs entwined. His twin hearts beat a consistent rhythm. Eventually, he realized it matched her single human heart.

This was more than the fever. This was more than attraction and hormonal lust. He admired the fight in her. He liked her, and had from the moment she struck Rand with the end of the blaster.

She was also compassionate. She saw beyond his disfigurement and touched the scarred remains of his frills. No one had…no one had ever touched him like that. It was not pity or kindness. It was yearning. True desire.

For him.

Faris huffed with amusement. He was too old for fanciful thoughts. He said he would return her to Earth. Alice believed him to be an honorable male who kept his pledges.

They needed to leave that day, to start Alice’s impossible quest, before he succumbed to the temptation of keeping her.

He listened to the sounds of the house as it woke for the day. Communications had been restored during the night. His message to Perrigaul had gone through. A reply waited to be read, but Faris was reluctant to leave the warmth of the bed.

Watching Alice drift back to sleep was his priority. Her lips twitched, then grew slack. A rumbling snore escaped her, and it was adorable. This noise was far too loud for such a small being.

VOICES DOWNSTAIRS and footsteps on the stairs caught his attention.

The door opened without a knock. The innkeeper stood in the doorway, framed by light. “There’s a fair number of people looking for you. I told you I don’t want trouble.”

Arguing would not change the innkeeper’s stance. Either Rand’s crew was searching for him, or Rand dangled enough credits to motivate the townsfolk. Either way, they had to leave.

“Thank you for the warning. Is there a back way out?” He sat at the edge of the bed and pulled on his clothes.

The innkeeper pointed to the window. “Don’t fall.”

He huffed, knowing that he’d climbed out of higher windows.

“Alice, wake up.” He shook her shoulder, rousing her. She blinked, bleary. “You must dress. Quickly.”

“What’s going on?”

“We need to leave.”

His words pierced through her grogginess. She perked immediately and lurched out of the bed; her legs tangled in the sheets. Kicking free of the blankets, she dressed in the clothes the innkeeper provided the day before. The sleeves and trouser legs were too long. She rolled up the cuffs and pronounced herself ready.

Faris opened the window. It was a small drop onto a roof, then they could climb down to the ground. Alice squeezed between him and the window frame.

“Oh no,” she said. “Absolutely not.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Right now, no.”

Faris chuckled, climbing through the window. He gripped the ledge, then dropped down onto the lower roof. He held his arms up, gesturing for Alice to jump. “I will catch you.”

She looked pale in the silvery light of early morning. “I’m going to regret this,” she muttered, but climbed out and fell into his arms.

They made their way across slippery shingles and eventually down to the ground. His hovercycle waited in the alley next to the building.

He peeked around the corner. No one was watching the alley. He unlocked the vehicle and walked it to the inn’s backyard. The engine protested the cold and sputtered to a start.

“Climb on,” he ordered.

Faces peered out of a window at the back of the inn. A door flung open. It was time to leave.

Alice wrapped her arms around him, and they were off. People burst out of the inn. He sped through the twisting lanes of the town, randomly changing direction to lose their pursuers. The weather was not so cold, and they had enough fuel to reach the next town. He just needed a little more time.

The hovercycle came to an abrupt halt. Snow skidded over the edge, tumbling into the gorge.

The ferry was gone. He had not lost their pursuers at all. The ferry was not running—either through malice or misfortune—and they were trapped.

ALICE

“Do you trust me?” Faris glanced at a device on his wrist, then tightened his grip on the motorcycle’s handlebars.

Alice peered around him to look at the gorge, the lack of a bridge, and then glanced back at their pursuers.

The answer came easily. She trusted him. More than she should, considering they had known each other for two entire days, but actions spoke louder than words. Faris had given reason after reason to believe that he was a man of his word.

Decent. Honorable. No matter how he described himself.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his middle and said, “Yes.”

The engine on the motorcycle revved.

“Hold tight. Do not let go,” he said.

“It’s probably too late to discuss helmets but remind me to bring it up after we’re done running for our lives,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face against the rough fabric of his coat.

His back moved with silent laughter, which horrified her because this was not the time for laughing.

The motorcycle sped forward.

This is fine, this is fine—the ground fell out from underneath them—this is not fine.

They fell…

And fell…

And…

CHAPTER 11

ALICE

And landed.

The motorcycle bounced, metal groaning from the impact. It tilted dangerously to one side, skidding across a metal surface.

Wind swirled around them, her hair lashing against her face. The cliff face moved. No, Alice realized, they were rising. The town came into view and grew smaller. They were on top of a ship.

Faris wrapped his arms around her and threw himself off the bike. They rolled, the cold metal surface searing through her coat.

The surface gave way—no, it curved—and they gained speed. It was an uncontrollable roll off the hull of the ship. He reached out and grabbed a ladder rung.

Suddenly, their momentum ceased. The motorcycle slid past them and over the side, into the chasm.

His legs kicked, trying to find purchase. “Pull yourself up,” he said, the wind nearly drowning out his voice.

The ladder stretched forever. Her muscles would not cooperate.

“I can’t,” she said.

“You can. Do not look down.”

She looked down.

Falsespire grew smaller by the second. Dizziness battled nausea. She didn’t know which would win, but either way, it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Alice, climb,” he said, yanking her attention back to him.

Her stomach churned, but she managed to pull herself up the ladder.

One rung at a time, she coached herself. Slowly, painfully slowly, she pulled herself up.

At the top, she scrambled as far away from the edge as possible.

A hatch opened.

“You’re late,” Faris said.

FARIS

Perrigaul appeared pleased with himself, his quills fluffed and perky. “Hello, I am well. Thank you for asking.”

“Stand aside. Let Alice in,” Faris ordered.

Perrigaul disappeared down the hatch. Alice peered over the ledge, then climbed down the ladder. He followed, and the hatch closed behind him.

An old prison transport ship. The interior had changed little in the years since the prison closed. Hard benches ran along the wall, complete with manacles still bolted to the floor. It was a cold, unforgiving vessel, and the leaks around the pressurized seals promised to freeze him to the bone. Still, it was an improvement over the last transport ship he had ridden in.

“Do I want to know how you came by a prison transport ship?” Faris asked.

“I stole it.” Perrigaul slapped Faris on the back, like he delivered the punchline to a great joke.

“You stole a ship,” Faris repeated. He removed his coat and draped it over Alice’s shoulders. He could deal with the cold better than her.

“If they did not want their ship stolen, they should have better security protocols.”

Faris scrubbed a hand along his jaw. “This is what I meant by unnecessary risks. Actions have consequences and—”

“Your message said to come immediately,” Perrigaul interrupted. “Did you want me to travel to the Hub to see if I could coax our ship into the air? And then fly back to Falsespire and scrap your remains out of the gorge?”

Fair enough, Faris mentally conceded, though he would never admit it.

“The tether failed,” he said, grasping onto a fault to complain about.

“Well, it’s a stolen ship. What can you do?” Perrigaul seemed unconcerned that Faris nearly fell off the top of a moving ship.

“Not to complain, but shouldn’t someone be flying this?” Alice asked.

“The computer is flying,” Perrigaul answered. He regarded Alice with curiosity. His nostrils flared with a deep breath and he shook his head, quills flat. No doubt he smelled Faris on Alice. “Did you fix the human? Are you keeping her?” he asked.

“If you mean, did we get the translator repaired, then yes. That was fixed. If you’re talking about me as a person, screw you. I don’t need fixing,” Alice said. “And no one’s keeping me.”

“We will reunite Alice with her Miriam and return her to Earth,” Faris said.

Perrigaul blinked. “What’s a Mir-ri-am?”

“She was abducted with me,” Alice said.

“Now we must find a random human as well as find Earth?” Perrigaul turned to face Faris. “How do you propose we finance this farce? Do you know what our ship needs to leave to be spaceworthy?”

He knew. Repairs and replacement parts created a running tally in his mind. “We’ll use our profits from the sale of the blaster. We can sell this transport.”

“You’ll use your half of the profits. Not mine.”

“You are co-owner of the ship, which means you are also responsible for the repairs and maintenance.”

“And now I am destitute as well as tasked to a fool’s errand,” he said.

“Finding Miriam and Earth isn’t a fool’s errand,” Alice added.

Perrigaul tossed a sharp look to her, as if he blamed her.

Faris stepped in front of Alice, blocking her from Perrigaul’s sight. He did not get to look at Alice that way. No one did.

“What other promises have you made?” Perrigaul asked.

“I gave my word,” Faris said, voice rumbling with a warning.

The younger male snorted. “Your word. The word of a thief.”

“Says the male who arrived in a stolen transport,” Faris said.

“Says the male who rescued you from an angry mob.” He stepped closer, radiating menace.

The intimidation tactic might have worked, but Faris knew the male too well. “How long until we reach the Hub?” he asked.

Perrigaul flicked a hand along his chin in a rude gesture, then tossed himself into the pilot’s chair. “Three hours, assuming the fuel gauge is correct. We may need to refuel.”

Faris refused to be drawn into the male’s dramatics. He escorted Alice to the bench. There were no safety harnesses. A rummage under the bench produced a ration kit.

He sniffed a ration bar, deemed it old but edible, and passed it to Alice. She nibbled on the corner.

“You did not steal a vessel with a full tank?” Faris asked.

“Why, yes,” Perrigaul said in a tone of mocking delight, “it is amazing how I determined your location and arrived just as you were chased to a literal cliff. Sometimes I impress myself. Please, don’t thank me. Your lovely scowl is all the thanks I need.”

Faris took a large bite of his half of the ration bar. “Thank you. I see that it was not a mistake trading away my Imperial-issued boots for you.”

Perrigaul laughed, his frills fluttering.

“You traded boots for him?” Alice asked.

“To be fair, they were very nice boots,” Perrigaul said. “I was not cheap.”

“You were pathetic. All big eyes and starving,” Faris said.

The scrawny youth had been half the size a hatchling should be for his age. An older male took possession of Perrigaul almost immediately, touching the child in a way that made Faris’ scales crawl. He bargained away his most valuable possession to save the child.

“Do you wish me to retrieve your cycle or not?” Perrigaul did not wait for his response and the vessel dipped to the bottom of the gorge.

“He’s been a burr under my scales ever since.” His tail twitched in amusement, despite the grumble in his voice.

ALICE

Alice stretched out on the bench. Little more than foam over metal, her back would pay the price.

Lying on her side, she had a clear view of the manacles bolted to the floor. They rattled and slid across the floor as the ship moved. She couldn’t look away.

Faris told her this planet had been a prison. The reality of that fact remained an abstract concept to her until she saw the manacles. This was a transport ship for prisoners. Those manacles were meant for prisoners.

Most important, who did Perrigaul steal this ship from that they felt it was important to keep the manacles?

She should sleep. Her eyes felt gritty but her mind would not quiet.

Faris sat in the front with the other guy, Perrigaul. The drone of the engine nearly drowned out Faris and Perrigaul’s conversation, but she caught most of it. They bickered with a warmth that spoke of years of friendship. She was glad he had a friend in this place. This planet seemed the sort of place you needed friends.

“Is it the fever?” Perrigaul asked.

“Of course, it is. Do not touch me,” Faris snapped.

Alice lifted her head to look at them. Perrigaul had one hand pressed to Faris’ chest. He made a clicking noise and pressed his palm to the other side of his chest.

“You are bonded,” Perrigaul said.

“I am not. It is the fever.” Faris knocked his hand away.

“What have you done?”

Faris said nothing. His lack of response worried Alice.

Bonded?

CHAPTER 12

ALICE

They stopped for fuel at a trading post. No longer in the mountains, the trading post was on an open plain. Patchwork buildings clustered around an airfield. As far as Alice could tell, the main attraction was the wind. A cold wind slapped her in the face, watering her eyes, and slicing through her clothes.

“Refuel. Alice requires supplies, and I require a meal,” Faris said to Perrigaul.

“I don’t need anything,” she said.

“False. Humans are intolerant of the cold. You require proper outfitting.”

Well, true. “If you don’t mind spending the money.”

“What else is there to spend it on?” His tone implied that it wasn’t a question, but she knew the answer anyhow. Perrigaul had droned on for ages about all the things he could not do or purchase because Faris “needed to rescue a human.”

Their first stop was a stall that sold massive bowls of noodle soup. They ate at a rickety table in a sunny patch.

Alice poked at the pieces of vegetables and what she assumed was a hard-boiled egg. The broth had a rich, savory flavor. She couldn’t finish the entire bowl and pushed the remains to Faris. She nibbled on a thick slice of buttered bread.

“Is it not to your liking? You require more nutrients,” he said.

“No, it’s really good, but I can’t eat all that. It’s huge.”

“My metabolism is still overactive,” he said as he drained the last of the broth from his bowl. Then promptly started on hers. “It will return to normal levels.”

“I’m sure growing all the new scales and feathers takes a lot of energy.” As a teenager, Alice had been constantly hungry.

“It is better today,” he said. His foot bumped into hers under the table.

Perrigaul slung himself onto the bench next to Faris. “We are refueled. Now finish stuffing your face and let’s leave. The guards are paying too much attention to the registration of the transport, and I have a terrible feeling that they are honest.”

“Honest just means they require a large bribe,” Faris said. “Alice requires equipment. We cannot leave yet.”

“It’s fine,” she said. The clothes the innkeeper sold to her were warm and fit well enough with the sleeves and legs cuffed. Fashionable? Not a chance.

Perrigaul gave her a cutting look. “Spending our credits again,” he complained.

Faris’ short quills went flat. “Spending my share of the credits. You have a problem with that?”

Perrigaul slurped his soup, his eyes never leaving Alice. “No problem at all. Be careful parading your pet human around. Randevere is offering a nice bounty for her return.”

Alice ignored him, chewing on her delicious slice of bread because she would not let a grumpy dick ruin that for her.

Finding clothes proved harder. Not built like a giant, lacking four arms or a tail, clothing just wasn’t made for a two-armed, tail-less biped humanoid like herself. Perrigaul complained the entire time, because of course he did. One shop referred her to another because they were “her kind,” whatever that meant.

Apparently, it meant human.

Alice’s eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the shop. Little more than a corrugated metal and plastic sheeting, the building was filled with heaps of clothes. There didn’t seem to be an order to the chaos, just piles of used clothing on tables.

Perrigaul made a frustrated noise and loudly announced that he had better things to accomplish than watch Alice spend all their money.

“A human!” A woman appeared from behind a curtain. She had a friendly face, and she was entirely human. A large, stone-gray alien followed her. Don’t-fuck-with-me vibes rolled off of him but the woman smiled and patted him on the arm.

Excitement vibrated through Alice. Another human. The loneliness of being so isolated lifted for a moment.

“Where did they dig you up?” the woman asked.

“Oh, I was, umm, in storage,” she answered.

“Recently defrosted. Nice to meet you. Jasmina.” She thrust her hand out.

“Alice Serrano.”

“And this is?” Jasmina nodded toward Faris.

“My mate…Alice requires appropriate garments. Sturdy boots, trousers, warm items, comfortable items, a heavy coat that will allow her to move easily, and all the usual smaller items,” he said, rattling off a shopping list.

“I don’t need much,” Alice said. Perrigaul’s stingy words came back. She owed Faris so much. She’d never be able to pay him back.

Jasmine gave Alice a wary look but continued to pluck items off a nearby pile. “If he’s paying, let him. We don’t need you lurking, by the way,” she said, directing her words to Faris.

“I will not leave my…Alice,” Faris said.

“Then stand outside. The shop isn’t big enough for you to follow us around and my mate is standing guard.” The large gray alien made a noise that could have been interpreted as agreement. He stood at the back of the shop, as unobtrusive as possible.

Faris’ short quills flexed up and down. “Very well. I will be outside the entrance.”

Jasmina held a few items up to Alice, measuring by sight. She shook her head, tossing it aside, and plucked an oatmeal-colored sweater off the top. “Possessive aliens. They’re all my mate this and my mate that. Give a girl some space, right?”

“It’s not like that,” Alice said.

“Not like what?” Jasmina asked. Her arms were full of garments for Alice to try on.

“We’re bonded,” Alice whispered. It wasn’t a secret, but she had overheard Perrigaul and Faris’ conversation. Being bonded seemed like an accusation, like something that she should casually discuss with strangers.

“Oh, sweetie, do you know what that means?” She hung up a few items on the dressing room wall. Calling it a dressing room was generous, as it was a blanket suspended on a rope.

“Not yet,” Alice admitted with reluctance. The opportunity to ask Faris what they meant hadn’t arisen yet. Perrigaul kept skulking around, giving her the evil eye.

“Well, there’s bonded, like a chemical connection. Their bodies alter when they take a mate. That’s for life. Try these on and I’ll wait outside,” Jasmina said, exiting the stall. She continued to speak. “Then there’s a spiritual bond, but only a few species can do that. Also for life.”

“I’m seeing a pattern.” Alice tried on the clothes, making a pile of fits and doesn’t fit.

“A physical bond where they mark you, so no one makes a play for you. That’s usually for life. Then there’s bonded like a contract, where they keep for a season or two. That’s the most common around here.”

A contract? Faris had never mentioned a contract. Perhaps that was his plan and Perrigaul didn’t like it.

No. Faris was helping her go home. No bonds or contracts.

“What about you?” Alice asked, trying on a pair of pants that were just barely too small in the hips. “How long have you been here? How did they get you? Do you know how to get home?”

“Home? Sorry, there’s nothing for me on Earth,” she said from the other side of the partition. “I got lucky and my three mates found me. They’re good guys.”

“Three,” Alice repeated.

“Yup, they keep me busy.” Jasmina chuckled.

Alice continued to try on the clothes. Surprisingly, she ended up with more items in the fit pile than the other. She’d have to go through and pick out her favorite, rather than just make do with whatever fit her behind.

“What kind of bonds do the Nakkoni have?” Alice asked.

“Oh, I don’t know much about them. Those Imperial types keep themselves to themselves.” There was a pause. Then, “I have some shoes for you to try on.”

Alice emerged with a few practical pieces: pants, leggings, two lightweight pullover shirts, a sweater, and a shirt large enough to be a sleep shirt. Jasmina added socks and underwear to the pile. Alice tried on shoes, disheartened until Jasmine produced a pair of flexible shoes made from recycled plastic.

“Don’t forget gloves, scarf, and a hat,” Jasmina said. The pile kept growing. Eventually, even the store owner couldn’t think of another thing for Alice to buy.

As Jasmina folded the purchases, she lowered her voice. “You don’t have to go with him.”

“What?”

“If you want out, I know people. People who can hide you. We humans have to stick together.”

Alice perked with interest. “Actually, I’m looking for the woman I was abducted with. Her name is Miriam.”

Jasmina shook her head. “Doesn’t ring any bells.”

“Could you ask around? Is there like a registry or—”

The woman laughed. “A registry? This ain’t that kind of place. The best we got is word of mouth. I can ask around, but I’ll be honest, as long as you’re with those two lizards, no one is going to talk to you.”

“Because they’re Nakkoni?”

“Because they’re your owners,” Jasmina said, nearly hissing with disgust.

Alice recoiled. “Faris is not my owner. He’s taking me back to Earth.”

“Sure he is, honey.” Jasmina slipped a piece of paper between the folds of a thick sweater. “If you change your mind about ditching them, remember that you’re not alone.”

“I trust Faris.”

“Uh-huh, but that other one? He looks like he’d sell his own mama for the right price.”

Alice said nothing, letting Jasmina finish wrapping up and bagging the purchase. She trusted Faris, perhaps too much. She followed him off a cliff, after all. But Perrigaul…

Yeah, no. She didn’t trust that guy at all, and he mentioned that Randevere had a bounty on her. Maybe she needed to get out in front of the problem instead of waiting for the inevitable betrayal and take the help Jasmina offered.

Or Jasmina could be the friendly face to lure naïve women into bad situations.

“Thanks for the advice,” Alice said, taking the bags.

Jasmina grabbed her wrist. “You’re not alone. This place is…not good. Helping each other is how we keep our humanity.”

“How long have you been here?” Alice searched the woman’s face, as if the fine lines around her eyes would give her that answer.

“I was one of the first to wake up. Like I said, I was lucky.”

Alice believed her, about everything. Maybe she was a sap or too trusting, but Jasmina wanted to help. “Thanks, really. If he’s not who I think he is, I’ll be back,” she said.

FARIS

His presence in the shop made the human female uncomfortable, so he guarded the entrance. Though they spoke in quiet tones, he caught snippets of Alice’s and the female’s conversation.

He did not like it. He wanted to know what Alice said but demanding to be informed would confirm the worst about what the female Jasmina said about his kind. If there had been another merchant to outfit Alice, they would have left.

He was loath to imagine the poison the female dripped into Alice’s ear, but she required a properly fitting coat more than he needed his ego swaddled. Let Jasmina say what she would. His actions proved his sincerity. Alice understood that.

Faris spotted a shadow lurking in an alley. Darting forward, he grabbed the figure by the throat and slammed him against the building. The male’s tail thumped against the wall.

“Perrigaul,” he snarled.

“I can’t breathe,” the male croaked. Faris released him and he rubbed his throat, giving Faris a harsh glare. “What was that for?”

“Human sympathizers,” Faris said. “You brought us to a trading post full of human sympathizers.”

“We needed fuel.” His tail went still.

“There are other trading posts.”

“Worried that your pet human will run away?”

Faris slammed Perrigaul against the wall again, this time squeezing his throat until he heard a gurgling noise. “Alice is not a pet. You yourself said she is my bonded mate. You will give her the respect she is due.”

The male clawed at Faris’ grip, trying to pry off his fingers. It was no good. Faris was taller and stronger than Perrigaul. The advantage was his.

Perrigaul raised his legs and kicked, landing a solid blow. His back talons punctured Faris’ thigh, the new scales not hard enough to deflect.

Faris hissed in pain and dropped Perrigaul. “You fight dirty.”

“I learned from the best.”

The two males rubbed their respective wounds.

“You are worried, that’s why you skulk outside the shop,” Perrigaul said.

“I am worried that she will be taken against her will. If she chooses to leave…” His voice faded, unwilling to consider. He knew the depth of his emotions for her, but Alice kept her feelings well-guarded. Perhaps she did not feel the connection between them, or she was unwilling to tie herself to a disfigured male such as himself.

Faris cleared his throat. “If she chooses to leave, I will respect her decision.”

An alert chimed from Perrigaul’s communicator. Looking at the screen, his quills went flat. “We need to go. Now.”

“What have you done?”

“Nothing.”

Faris did not believe Perrigaul but collected Alice. She wore a practical coat with a hood. He approved. Jasmina gave Alice a meaningful look as they left. Curiosity wanted to know, but he could not gain his mate’s trust if he demanded to know all her secrets.

They hurried through the market streets, toward the landing field. A small crowd gathered around their transport ship. Not good but they could handle it.

In the crowd, Faris spotted the bright blue uniform of the town guard.

“Of course you landed in a trading post that has a guard,” Faris said.

“I thought this place didn’t have laws,” Alice said, leaning close to him.

“They’re only laws if you can enforce them, which they can,” Perrigaul retorted.

Authority existed at the local level if a person was strong enough to take power. A few warlords seized control of towns. Mostly it was an extortion scheme, paying taxes for protection. Rarely, very rarely, a handful of warlords set themselves up as magistrates or mayors and dressed their minions as guards.

A minion in a fancy costume was still a minion.

“Is this your vessel?” A local guard strode toward Perrigaul, orange skin and violet markings vivid in the sun.

“This one? No.” Perrigaul kept walking, but the guard grabbed him by the arm.

“This vessel was stolen,” the guard said.

“Like I said, not my vessel, not my problem.” Perrigaul tossed Faris an annoyed look.

“And you purchased fuel for a vessel that is not your problem because…”

Alice shifted beside Faris. “This is my fault. I took too long shopping. I told you I didn’t need new clothes.”

“Yes, this is your fault,” Perrigaul agreed.

Faris’ fist slammed into the male’s jaw. His head snapped back, and his tail landed on the dusty ground. “Any other witty remarks to add? Do not deprive us of your sparkling insights.”

Perrigaul rubbed his chin, slowly rising to his feet. “Are we fighting now? I think I would like to fight now.”

“I don’t think you’re worth the effort. Let us agree that I won the altercation, and you can slink off to lick your wounds.”

The males stood chest to chest, quills up. Faris was sure they looked ridiculous, the short male trying his best to intimidate the larger male who had downy tufts on his head like a juvenile. They were both fools.

“I need access to the vessel,” the guard said.

“He needs access,” Perrigaul said, ignoring the guard.

“Oh? Perhaps you should unlock the vessel,” Faris said.

“Eh, I’d be more inclined if he asked nicely.”

Faris glanced away to speak to the guard. A small crowd had gathered to watch, enjoying the hardships of others. Alice put up the hood on her coat. He sincerely hoped no one in the crowd made the connection between Rand’s bounty and Alice.

“He says you need to ask nicely,” Faris said to the guard.

“Open this at once! By order of Warlord Davith, open the vessel or be detained,” the guard ordered.

Faris turned back to Perrigaul. “He says no.”

“Did you even try to bribe him?” Perrigaul sighed dramatically.

The guard grew agitated. “This ship is stolen, and I am authorized by Warlord Davith to seize it—”

“You stole the ship!” Faris gasped. “Guard, arrest this male.”

“I do not know why you are surprised. You told me to steal it,” Perrigaul said.

“I told you to find a vessel that would be ideal, not find a vessel to steal.”

“You thought that bucket of bolts was ideal?” Perrigaul waved a hand at the aging transport vessel.

“No, and quite frankly, I planned to take off without you. This vessel is an embarrassment. You need to consider how what you steal reflects on your choices as a person.”

Perrigaul’s tail twitched, his only sign of amusement.

While they distracted the guard, Alice unlocked the door and slipped inside.

It was time to end this farce.

“Are you going to fight me or bore me into surrender?” Faris asked.

Perrigaul grinned, baring his fangs.

They lunged at the guard.

CHAPTER 13

FARIS

Years of experience let Faris and Perrigaul move in sync without speaking. They took the hapless guard’s blaster and baton.

More guards arrived, wearing their bright blue coats. The uniforms bore the signs of use. The people who wore them were more than a show of strength. They enforced the warlord’s law.

Good. Faris appreciated the challenge.

The guards fought with skill, but Faris fought better. From his youngest days, he had been trained for battle, then served for years in the Imperial military. One guard or three made no difference. They were bullies, relying on superior weaponry and numbers.

A solid blow between his shoulders sent him stumbling. The old wound howled with pain. He blocked and danced out of the way. Perrigaul fought alongside him until he no longer did.

The guards overwhelmed him. He moved defensively, blocking and dodging, but never gaining ground. Survival was moment to moment but so much relied on making it out of this wretched place. He could not fail.

He would not.

A female’s cry of distress broke the haze of the fight.

Alice.

A guard roughly marched her out of the ship, her arm twisted behind her back at an uncomfortable angle. A head wound bled copiously on the guard. Faris puffed up with pride at the sight.

A blow to his lower back sent him to his knees. He landed roughly on the ground. A booted foot pressed between his shoulder blades, keeping him down. Faris struggled to raise his head enough to watch Alice. If they mistreated her, he’d decorate the town with their blood.

“Stay down or the female suffers the consequences,” a coarse voice warned.

Faris ceased struggling, mentally eviscerating the guards.

“This one has a bounty for her return,” the guard said.

“Bind them and deliver them to the warlord,” another ordered.

ALICE

“Owenfaris, fourth child of the Eternal House of Nakkon.” The man shifted forward in his chair. A thick scar ran along one cheekbone, bare with no scales.

Correction, throne. Constructed of metal and bone, a large animal skull, monstrous in proportion, perched at the top. The skull almost looked like a dragon’s. Alice wanted to believe it was fake because she didn’t want to imagine the living creature with such massive teeth.

Bones, painted gold because why not, radiated out from the skull like a sunburst. The design added a certain nefarious flair, but really, it was hard to tone down the nefariousness on a bone throne. The entire thing was perched on a dais, letting the warlord sit higher than the people standing before him.

It was the ornament of a petty tyrant.

The tyrant in question was also a Nakkoni. His scales were silver, edged in a shimming violet that could have been powder or could have been natural.

“Davith,” Faris said.

The warlord jumped down from the throne and circled Faris. “You’re nothing more than a common thief. How far the Imperial family has fallen,” he tutted.

Casually, as if inspecting a farm animal, he grabbed Faris under the jaw and tilted his head to and fro.

Alice could see Faris’ strain at the bindings on his hands.

“New growth. Aren’t you a little old to molt?” Davith tapped Faris on the brow, laughing. “It’s not even hard yet. You’re as soft as a hatchling.”

“And it took five of your guards to subdue me,” Faris said.

“You must forgive them,” Davith said. “A single guard could have done the job, but how often does one get the chance to best one of the Imperial bloodline? They could not resist. I’m envious of them, to be frank.”

He produced a knife and ran the flat edge of the blade along Faris’ cheek. “I owe you a scar. You stole the vessel from the Weaponsmiths, my allies, then you fly it into my territory," Davith growled, though his voice whined at the last syllable.

“They do not tolerate thieves. I am obligated by my allegiance to hurt you but, rest assured, I do this because it gives me pleasure,” the man said with a nasty grin.

The blade sliced along Faris’ cheek. Blood, bright red, welled.

Awesome, a tyrant with a grudge.

Alice felt like she was trapped in one of those overly complicated fantasy shows, the super grim kind with a complicated political history. Characters held grudges and spoke of things that happened a century ago like it was recent.

One hundred and twenty-eight seasons ago, our harvest suffered from blight. When we asked to purchase grain so our people would not starve, you tripled the price. Today, we levy this tariff in the name of vengeance!

Someone needed to say something, or this posturing would be endless.

“Are you about done? My back hurts and I’d like to sit down,” Alice said.

Davith turned to her. Faris lunged, restrained by the guards. “The female you stole from Randevere,” he said.

“I liberated myself,” she retorted.

Davith’s quills went up. “She went with you willingly? Did she not see your disfigurements?”

“There’s nothing wrong with him,” Alice protested.

Faris leaned back, letting the guards take his weight, and he kangaroo-kicked Davith with both feet right in the gut.

The warlord stumbled to the floor. “Take them to the cells!”

CHAPTER 14

FARIS

“Perri sold us out!” Alice paced the cell.

“He did not.”

“Sure looks like it from here, which is the inside of a jail cell.”

“Sit. Calm yourself,” Faris said.

The cell, constructed of cinderblocks, offered a narrow bench as accommodation and nothing else. Faris sat on the bench, examining the handcuffs. The design was primitive: steel cuffs connected by three links of chain. These cuffs were weak where the chain attached to the bracelet. By twisting the chain and bringing his wrists together, the chain would shear off at the joint.

Alice tossed herself down next to him. “Will that work?”

“Who has decades’ worth of criminal experience?”

She raised her hands in surrender, a ludicrous gesture with bound hands.

Within a minute, he broke the chain. “Now your turn,” he said, demonstrating how to maneuver her wrists to get enough torque.

“I’m not strong enough,” she said.

“It is not about strength. It is physics. Keep going.”

She did. Bringing her wrist together in the correct motion to snap the chain took two attempts, but she grinned in triumph.

“We will remove the cuffs once Perrigaul releases us. Until then, it is prudent for our captors to believe us bound,” he said.

“He’s not coming back. He ditched us. We’re on our own.”

“Patience.”

She let out a huff. “What did that guy mean about Imperial blood?”

“It is nothing.”

“Save me from men who think they have to coddle me,” she said, slouching against the wall. “If you just told me, we’d be onto a new topic by now.”

“Would that new topic be how I cannot trust Perrigaul?”

“Don’t try to be funny and distract me. Imperial blood. Spill it.”

His quills rose at her choice of words. “My grandfather is the emperor of all Nakkon and the territories.”

She was silent for a moment. “You said your family was minor nobility.”

“My mother is the third child. There are several heirs before me, and a fourth child would never be suitable. I am insignificant.” In previous centuries, his egg would have been exposed to the elements to perish.

“You seem to be famous, Owenfaris of the Eternal House of Nakkon. Everyone knows you.”

“I am not that male any longer. I am Faris. Only Faris.”

Shifting to face him, she rose to her knees. Fingers stroked along his jaw, brushing his spines. “I like Faris,” she said.

He covered her hand with his. Some emotion was lodged in his chest, swelling and pressing against his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. He had no words for this.

“What I don’t like is you keeping things from me,” she said.

ALICE

The lack of information was one thing, but her lizardman’s closed mouth was frustrating beyond belief.

“Remember when you said you would tell me everything?” she asked.

“I have answered your questions.”

See? Frustrating.

“Look, you have the advantage here,” she said. “I don’t know what I don’t know, so I can’t ask good questions. Please just tell me what you think is relevant, like the emperor being your grandfather.”

“That is not relevant,” he said.

“It puts a target on your back, so it is.”

The feathers on top of his head went flat. “Would not explaining mundane details be condescending?”

Fair point.

“Normally, yes,” she agreed, “but nothing is mundane for me. I’m a librarian. I like knowing stuff. If I don’t know it, I can find out. Being a know-it-all is annoying, but it’s my vocation. My calling. Not knowing is…” She gave an anguished cry of exasperation.

“Librarian. That is a scholar?”

“More like I look after the books for students.”

His tail did a thing, a twitching thump, that looked happy.

Faris had a happy tail. If they weren’t in jail, she’d be cooing over how adorable it was.

“We have time. Tell me what you wish to know,” he said.

So much. Alice ran through her list. New questions were added so quickly that she forgot the older ones.

“Okay, what does ‘bonded mate’ mean to you?” she asked. Jasmina’s words echoed in her mind. “Are you going to ditch me when your fever is over?”

He drew back, growling. “No. I will not.”

“The hormones are making you say that now.” Her ex-husband made all sorts of pretty promises too, but he left.

Faris grabbed her hand and placed it over his auxiliary heart. Layers of fabric prevented her from feeling the beat, but she remembered how it thumped under her touch.

“This is because of you. Only you. Know that I am yours for as long as you will have me. My hearts belong to you.”

She wanted to believe him; she really did. “Travis said the same thing. Well, with only one heart, but he made promises about forever too. Then he left.”

“Travis.” He ground out the word.

“My ex-husband. Former mate.” She took a shaky breath, suddenly aware of tears rolling down her face. Things had been over with her ex for two years. Honestly, they had been distant for a while before they split. She didn’t miss him, but seeing him every day at work kept the pain fresh, like worrying a bad tooth with her tongue.

She felt like an injured animal when it came to love, optimistic and wary at the same time.

“We were married for eight years. I didn’t even know anything was wrong. Well, I knew he didn’t like that I put on weight, but metabolisms change. I’ve always struggled with my weight, and once I hit thirty, boom. I hope they think he murdered me and buried me in the woods.” She was babbling. This was embarrassing.

Faris leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “My words are not promises. They are fact.”

“You’re just saying that because your hormones are out of whack. They’ll wear off, and you’ll wonder what you ever saw in me.” She didn’t think she could endure it if Faris broke her heart.

“I see now that I must uncover Earth’s location and make this Travis suffer for causing you such self-doubt.”

Alice laughed, which sounded more like a sob. She could totally picture the surprise on her ex’s face when confronted with a giant red lizardman who nursed grudges like they were his children.

“It is not the fever,” he said. His hand gripped the back of her neck, holding her in place.

“You don’t know that. Humans are like super breeders. You have magic pheromones and stuff.”

Now he laughed. “I have encountered human females before. None had magic pheromones. I admired the way you hit Rand with his blaster.”

“Seriously? Violence did it for you?”

“Stealing his blaster from his hands? Yes, that did it for me.”

Well, that was something to think about.

“I knew at that moment that I would not rest until you were mine. Every moment since then has only confirmed that you were the best thing I have ever stolen because I love you,” he said.

Alice squeezed her eyes shut. This was too much, too raw. She liked him, sure, but love? Since Faris burst onto the train, guns literally ablaze, it had been a nonstop rollercoaster. Hardly the basis for a lifelong commitment.

“We barely know each other,” she said, pulling back.

His grip eased on her neck. “You make me feel alive.”

Huh. Not what she expected him to say.

“I’ve been surviving ever since I arrived on this rock. Only surviving. That’s a hard way to be. Now I feel something here.” He lightly tapped his twin hearts, one after the other. “Could be hope. Could be optimism. I want things no disreputable male should want, and I want them with you.”

“What sort of things?”

“A nest. Hatchlings if we are blessed. Justice.” He said the last part in a voice so quiet that it suggested what he asked for was outlandish.

Justice. On this planet? Stranger things have happened.

“I like you,” she whispered, as if telling him a secret. “I like that you try to be kind when this place does not tolerate kindness.”

“I am not kind,” he protested.

“Rescuing little orphans—”

“I had a job that required a small frame. It was not charity for Perrigaul.”

“Rescuing me when I’ve just caused a world of trouble for you.”

“The fever adversely influenced my decision -making ability.”

“And far too humble to admit that he’s not all kinds of wonderful.” Alice knew then that she didn’t want to leave this male. Earth was her past. The future was uncertain, but they would face it together. “I see who you are, Faris. You can’t hide that you’re fundamentally decent. So if you want a nest, we can do that. I still want to go to Earth and tell my mom that I’m alive, though.”

He sat in silence, as if stunned.

“We can do that,” he eventually said, his voice husky with emotion.

FARIS

Alice nestled against him, sleeping. He counted the even, deep breaths.

His bonded mate.

He wanted forever, told her as much, but achieving that seemed less and less likely. The moment he fixed one problem, another appeared. The situation reminded him of the fable of the impatient fisherman who did not want to waste time repairing his boat. He saved time in the short run, but soon enough his boat sprang a leak. Then another. And another. He spent all his time plugging leaks, caught no fish, and nearly drowned.

That is how Faris felt: plugging leaks quickly, but never fast enough to get ahead.

Alice murmured in her sleep, the scarf around her neck coming undone.

He regretted nothing. She threw all his plans off course, but this was better.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the consequences of your actions,” a familiar voice said.

Faris’ quills went up in surprise. He had not heard any approaching footsteps. “Your stalking technique is much improved.”

Perrigaul stood outside the cell, grinning smugly from the other side of the force field barrier. He wore the bright blue uniform of the local guard and a helmet with a visor that covered the tophalf of his face.

“That looks terrible with your complexion,” Faris said.

“Yes, yes. Critique my appearance instead of thanking me for freeing you.” Perrigaul produced a key card and swiped it through the lock. The barrier flickered and dispersed. “Now hurry.”

“I knew you would return. Alice believed you abandoned us.” Faris gently jostled his mate’s shoulder, rousing her from sleep.

“I should have,” Perrigaul said. Then, in a quieter voice, “Why must you always insist on rescuing strays?”

“I rescued you.”

“Which shows a remarkable lack of judgment.”

“She needs me. Us,” Faris added hastily.

Perrigaul huffed. “I suppose she is not useless. She did take a baton off a guard and club him. That was amusing.”

Faris was sorry he missed that. “I saw the damage.”

Alice yawned and stretched. “Sorry, I thought the grogginess was over. Oh, he came back,” she mumbled.

“We are leaving,” Faris said, rising to his feet.

“Yes, let us hurry before one of these drones realizes that I am an imposter,” Perrigaul said. Then, in a louder voice, “On your feet. The warlord wants to see your sorry face. Now.”

Perrigaul’s tail wagged when he noticed the broken cuffs. Faris held his wrists together, as if they were still bound. Alice imitated him automatically.

His mate had such an instinct for subterfuge. Pride blossomed inside him. She was a scholar, supervised an archive, and shaped the education of young hatchlings. She was talented, curious, fearless, and, most remarkably of all, thought he was worth loving.

He imagined her at the Imperial court, adorned in finery. She had complained about complicated politics, but he knew that she would master court intrigue quickly. She’d be an arachnid, sitting in the web she spun, pulling the strings to direct the court as she saw fit.

She’d be a glorious empress.

A baton hit him on the shoulder, and not lightly. “Focus,” Perrigaul said.

“You are enjoying this,” Faris hissed.

“Very much. Now, look like you want to snatch the quills from my head. Good.” Then, in a louder voice, “March, you blight on your house.”

They marched down a corridor toward a locked door. Perrigaul’s stolen card unlocked the door. On the other side, a guard sat at a desk. Beyond that desk was the exit.

The guard frowned at a data tablet in his hands.

“The warlord requested the pleasure of their company,” Perrigaul said, pitching his voice low.

“I do not have a transfer order,” he said.

“I was unaware that the warlord needed your approval. That seems to be something worth mentioning to Davith.”

Color drained from the guard’s face. He entered a code, and the final door unlocked. “Go on through, sir.”

Perrigaul gave a crisp nod, then shoved his baton into Faris’ back. “Move.”

Outside, Faris resisted the urge to grab the baton and give Perrigaul a taste of his own treatment. Too many eyes were watching. They marched through the streets of the trading post, meandering until they ducked into a narrow alley.

Crates stacked precariously provided enough of a boost for Perrigaul to climb up a building. From the roof, he gestured to Faris to hurry up.

“I don’t have the upper body strength to do that. I couldn’t climb the rope in gym class,” Alice said.

“I will carry you.” He squatted down, intending for her to climb onto his back. “Hold on tight.”

One hand gripped his shoulder and the other arm wrapped around his throat. The pressure was not comfortable, but he could tolerate it.

“You seem to spend a lot of time carrying me. Sorry if I’m too heavy,” she said, her voice right in his ear.

“It is a pleasure.”

She huffed, swallowing a laugh. “I doubt that. Am I too heavy?”

He would rip the talons from the male who made her doubt herself. Her ex-mate. Humans did not have talons, he reminded himself, so it would have to be fingernails.

“You are not. Now, hold tight and allow your mate to flaunt his strength.”

Faris climbed the rope, careful not to dislodge Alice.

“Finally. A daring daylight prison escape is not the time to flirt,” Perrigaul chided.

“You are incorrect,” Faris said. He could think of no better time to flirt.

“The landing field is three buildings over. Hurry.” Perrigaul pointed to the landing field.

They raced across the rooftops. Gaps between the buildings were narrow enough to jump, even for Alice. In no time, they were wiggling through a hole in the wire fencing and then at the transport ship.

“I appreciate the lack of security in these small trading posts,” Faris said. The engine rumbled, and the ship groaned as it left the ground. The comm unit crackled with demands for clearance and orders to land.

Alice turned the unit off. Perrigaul clucked with disapproval. “What? Were we going to comply?” she asked.

“Absolutely not, but it is good to know what the enemy is saying,” Perrigaul said.

“Sounded like they were all bark and no bite.”

Perrigaul’s quills went up and down. His tail twitched. “How dare you be amusing.”

Alice rolled her eyes, causing Perrigaul to visibly flinch. “Do we have anything to drink?”

Faris produced a dusty bottle of water from an old ration packet. He felt ashamed that they failed to restock on provisions, but Alice did not complain. They would be landing at the Hub soon enough, and he would restock their ship with whatever Alice craved.

He did not relax until they were out of communication range. Alice stretched out on a bench and fell asleep.

“Do humans sleep this much? Is this excessive? This seems excessive,” Perrigaul said.

Faris glanced at the navigation. Thirty minutes until they reached the Hub.

“She was in a stasis pod for two years, plus transit from Earth. Her fatigue is not excessive,” he said. Perrigaul knew that, but still, he eyed Alice, trying to find fault with her.

“You do not like my mate,” he said.

Perrigaul snorted. “My dislike is irrelevant. You are determined to keep the human, but I do not trust her.”

Now Faris snorted. “Do you believe that she is an agent of Rand? That he planted a vulnerable human female in my path, knowing that I would be unable to resist rescuing her?”

As he said the words, he realized that was exactly what Perrigaul thought. Had Rand planned to set a trap for Faris, such a target would be irresistible.

“Alice is not helpless.” The opposite, in fact.

“She is capable,” Perrigaul admitted, his voice strained, like paying Alice a compliment was agony.

“Should I have left her there? For Rand to grow bored of his pet and sell her to another master?” His scales crawled, imagining another male having designs on his mate. Rand wanted a trophy to impress. His intentions were innocuous at best, neglectful at worst. Whoever he sold Alice to would not have harmless intentions.

Faris growled at the unknown, hypothetical male.

Perrigaul’s tail thumped against the floor. “Stop growling at me. You trust too easily.”

“I trust you, and you released me from prison. I am a good judge of character,” Faris said.

“You trusted Rand, and that resulted in us both being left for dead and bleeding out in the snow,” he countered. “Why this female? You have never lost your head over a female.”

Faris glanced back at Alice’s sleeping form. They had liberated other females and sent them off to handlers who could place them in a safe situation. “At first, it was to spite Rand. She was expensive and he would be upset at her loss. Then…she saw me.”

“Her vision is adequate, for a human.”

Faris leaned forward, willing his friend to understand. “No. She sees me. Not Owenfaris of the Eternal House. Not a fourth child. Not a curse or a burden or a sacrifice. Not a placeholder for the emperor. Not a thief. Not a murderer. Me. She sees me.”

Perrigaul said nothing. The drone of the ship’s engine filled the silence.

Then, “You rotzaking bastard. I could be halfway across the planet now. I could buy a small island in the tropics and fish all day. Instead of living a life of idle pleasure, I return for you and your human and you don’t even let me have the luxury of being angry with you. How dare you.”

Faris wrapped his hand around the back of Perrigaul’s neck and rested his forehead against the male. “I love you, too.”

CHAPTER 15

ALICE

Alice wasn’t sure what she expected from the Hub. The primary city on the planet was a sprawling mess. Some parts were highly organized with a grid street system and ornate buildings. Other neighborhoods were little more than shantytowns. Half the architecture was built for the ages, and the other half was cobbled together from whatever materials were available.

The entire place had a colonial feel, with the people in charge building palaces for themselves and the other half barely getting by.

Traffic was a snarled mess. They landed on the outskirts of the city. Faris sold the transport to a dealer who didn’t ask too many questions and bought an all-terrain vehicle. All-terrain sounded useful, but it sat in traffic like any other vehicle.

“What happened to the original inhabitants of the planet?” she asked.

“Reazus Prime was uninhabited,” Faris said.

“If you believe that fable,” Perrigaul said. “The prison administrators blighted the crops, and the indigenous people either starved or traded their land for food.”

“If you believe that fable,” Faris mocked. “The Overlords would not negotiate with beings already here. They would have slaughtered them and seized the planet.”

Perrigaul nodded. “That is accurate.”

That summed up the feel of the Hub in Alice’s mind. Designed by people who would rather commit genocide than negotiate, the city had a brutal edge that demanded you adapt or perish.

They spent a handful of days in the city to repair Faris’ battered motorcycle. She upgraded her translation chip to allow her to read as well as speak.

Visiting the warehouse that auctioned off Alice proved less satisfying than she expected. She wanted closure, some sense that this episode was over, or some reason behind her abduction beyond common greed.

The family running the auction could give her none of that. They just sold what the salvagers delivered. They had no record of Miriam or another pod brought in with hers. Nor did they have any record of where Alice’s pod had been discovered or in what area the salvage crew had operated. They had a list of items the salvage crew brought in, and no, they would not share that with her.

Alice even tried to sweeten their disposition by purchasing a clunky reading tablet that no one wanted. It came loaded with out-of-date reference books, textbooks, and classic literature.

No joy. The auctioneers would not give up their sources.

That was fine. While Alice was haggling, Perrigaul hacked into their network and stole all their data.

Outside, Perrigaul scrolled through the data he pulled. “There is no listing for a data recorder of the destroyed ship. We can assume those items are still debris, floating out there.”

Alice hugged the tablet to her chest. “This is amazing. We can determine the location of the ship wreckage and find the data recorder or navigation logs. Even if they don’t have specific coordinates for Earth, we can calculate its location based on fuel consumption. All we need to do is research. I live and breathe research.”

“It may not be as simple as that,” Faris cautioned.

“We need our ship to be able to leave the ground before we can go picking through garbage in space,” Perrigaul added.

It would work. She knew it in her soul. Even if it didn’t, she had some measure of control. Searching for Miriam and Earth could take years, or a lifetime, but she was doing something and not just reacting to whatever hand fate dealt her.

ALICE RESTED on her back with her arms behind her head, watching the stars. Of all the strange sights since she left Earth—people with four arms, people with tails, two suns—the night sky drove home the fact that she wasn’t, err, at home.

Her eyes kept searching for familiar shapes, for the Big Dipper or Orion’s Belt. Instead of waypoints, she found she was quite lost.

The noise of the city drifted up to her rooftop hideaway. They were staying in a two-room building that offered little in the way of privacy. It did, however, have a wonderful rooftop garden.

“Here you are.” Faris stretched out beside her, his presence adding heat to the chilly air. He covered them with a blanket.

Alice grinned, her nose numb from the cold. She had an idea to warm herself up.

She moved to straddle Faris. He was so warm, like a heated mattress pad. She moaned.

“Are you comfortable?” He sounded amused.

“Why do you feel so good? It must be some trick,” she teased.

His hips bucked. She felt his already hard dick push against her. “Not a trick.”

“You’re insatiable.”

“Only for you,” he said, his voice pitched low.

Alice wiggled down until she could unfasten the front of his pants. She felt insatiable, herself. It was nice to have someone watch her with such blatant desire. Being wanted so unapologetically was intoxicating and she wanted him in return.

His cock sprang free. In the relative darkness of the rooftop hideaway, his dick was a deep red. She ran a hand up the shaft, appreciating the grooves. Now that she knew they were seams and that his dick expanded into tentacles, she gave the grooves extra attention.

She licked up the seams. His entire body tensed, lifting off the ground.

“Too much?” she asked, pulling away. She kept one hand on him, stroking up his considerable length.

“Again,” he panted.

Gladly.

Alice returned to her task, lavishing attention on him and exploring every inch of skin. He had to be kissed, stroked, and tasted. She didn’t stop until he came apart underneath her and bloomed.

She licked the sensitive inside flesh of his tentacle dick, loving the way he hissed and gasped.

She was a long way from home but if she was lost, she had good company. The best.

AFTER A FEW DAYS, they were ready to leave the city. Faris and Perrigaul had been evasive about the base of their operations. They lived on a ship that didn’t fly.

“So where are we going?” she asked.

Faris pointed straight ahead. Mountains dotted the horizon.

More mountains. Awesome. At least she had a coat and a good pair of boots now.

The vehicle traveled at a decent pace over flat ground. As the landscape grew rough, progress slowed. The setting sun cast a golden glow as they were halfway up the mountain slope.

Metal gleamed in the fading sunlight. The ship perched on a ledge barely wide enough to support its weight.

“That’s your ship? Wow, that’s a full-on secret volcano lair.”

FARIS

“It is impressive,” he admitted. Imperial design, the ship’s class was somewhere between the standard prisoner cargo vessel and the flagship of the fleet. It was, in other words, suitable for the disgraced grandchild of the emperor.

He could not wait to show his mate the nest he had built. Initially, he required shelter that could be secured, and the Imperial ship fit his needs. The improvements he made since then? They were for more than survival. He transformed the ship from functional into a comfortable nest for his mate, even though he did not realize it at the time.

More than simply displaying his nest-building skills, he craved a taste of his mate. They had precious little alone time since leaving Falsespire, and he wanted her in his bed. Now.

“Has he told you how he crashed that ship and escaped custody?” Perrigaul asked, interrupting Faris’ thoughts.

Alice tugged on his sleeve. “Don’t leave me hanging. Explain.”

The vehicle climbed to the small plateau where the ship rested and came to a halt.

“This is the prison cargo vessel that brought us to this place,” he said.

“That’s a prison ship.” Her tone sounded less than impressed.

“Indeed. It is most secure.” He strode up the ramp to the airlock.

“So secure that you crashed it,” Alice said, following.

“I was still Owenfaris, fourth child of the Eternal House of Nakkon.” He winked. “The crew failed to update the ship’s AI, and members of the Imperial family are ranking officers. The prisoners rebelled, I locked the crew out of the controls, we crashed, and then we were free.”

“That’s horrible,” she said, because she was compassionate.

Faris frowned. The events had been horrible, but many years separated him from the smoke and chaos of the crash. “It was long ago.”

“Perrigaul was there. You said you bought him for a pair of boots.”

“He was there. Rand too. We were on the same transport ship.” He ran a hand up the back of his head, fluffing his quills. “There are better things to speak of. Let me show you our nest.”

“I will unload the vehicle. Do not mind me,” Perrigaul grumbled.

Faris ignored the male.

Little remained of the ship’s original design. But for upgrades, the helm was largely untouched. The officer cabins had been combined to form larger quarters. The galley and mess hall had been refurbished into a comfortable kitchen and living space. Water cleansing units replaced most of the original sonic units.

Originally, prisoners had been corralled into large holding cells. No facilities. Minimal water and food.

It was a short journey, the authorities said, not a luxury cruise. Prisoners could go a day or two without water.

Faris ripped out the entire area down to the support beams. Now it served partially as a workshop and the rest an empty cargo bay.

“What is that?” She pointed to a large gray box standing.

“A stasis pod,” he said.

“Why do you have such a hateful thing?” Her voice rose in pitch.

His mate was upset. Did she think he trafficked sentient beings? He placed a hand on her shoulder for reassurance.

“It was part of the original equipment. I keep it for medical reasons.”

“Medical reasons.” Her tone made it clear that she did not believe him.

He had gutted most of the original features of the ship, but not this one. He understood her skepticism.

“The nearest medical clinic is an hour away. Yes, medical reasons.”

“Fine. I still hate it, though.”

As the tour continued, Alice said little. He was proud of the ship but grew nervous. Did his mate not approve? He should have vowed to remove the stasis pod. The less she said, the more he was determined to drop the pod off the mountainside.

He explained the security upgrades he made and the efforts it took to restore power to the ship. Abandoned for years, snow and ice had done considerable damage to the electrical system.

Finally, they came to his quarters.

“If it does not meet your approval, I can change it,” he said.

The door opened, and the lights flickered to life. Two cabins had been combined to create a larger space, but it was stark. Functional but not much more. Pillows and bedlinens were mismatched and worn, but clean. A single potted plant sat on a table, the leaves dropping from dehydration.

Alice took in the room, a smile on her soft lips. “I like it. I mean, it’s rather barebones here, but the bones are good.”

“There are no bones. There was an infestation of small rodents, but they were eradicated long ago.”

She lightly batted at his arm. “Gross. I mean I like the space, but right now I’m interested in bed.”

She stroked along his neck, stimulating the ragged remains of his frills. They had not had an opportunity to be alone since Falsespire.

“That is relevant to my interests,” he said with a purr.

An alarm sounded.

CHAPTER 16

ALICE

Alarms.

Faris raced to the helm. The last few days at the Hub had been peaceful. Alice had immersed herself in the old reference books and navigation charts, searching for a mention of Earth or anything Earth-like. She almost forgot what heart-stopping panic was like.

On the monitor, a man wearing a makeshift mask held a gun to Perrigaul. Behind them, a familiar figure sauntered up. No mask. No attempt to obscure his identity.

Randevere.

In the distance, vehicles approached. This was not good.

“So much for your secret volcano lair,” she said.

Faris’ quills went flat. “This is a mountain, not a volcano, and it is hardly a secret.”

Aliens didn’t understand a quality spy joke, but perhaps this wasn’t the time for a joke. Right. Read the room, Serrano.

“Rand,” Faris growled. He leaned forward, planting his hands on the control panel. “I failed to check the perimeter. This is my fault.”

Randevere waved, the figure tiny on the monitor.

“What’s that in his hand?” Alice asked.

The image zoomed in. He held a rectangular device.

“That is a detonation device,” Faris said.

Explosives.

Panic tightened her chest.

“What does he want?” she asked, knowing the answer.

Faris said nothing. He flicked a switch. “Rand,” he growled.

There must be outside speakers because a slow grin spread across Rand’s face. “You have something of mine,” he said. “I will trade you the little thief for the female.”

Perrigaul’s quills went flat. “Do not do it.”

“I agree, it is not a fair trade,” Randevere said. “The female is worth so much more than the boots you traded last time.”

Alice sucked in a breath. “You traded your boots with Rand? He’s the asshole who had Perri? And then he was your business partner and then he stabbed you both and left you for dead?”

“I am aware.”

“Perri is right. You’re a terrible judge of character.”

Faris blinked, his vertical pupils narrowing. It was the way a predator watched prey. Alice shifted uncomfortably.

“Now is not the time for amusing quips. We must concentrate,” Faris said.

On the monitor, Perrigaul struggled to break the man’s hold. Rand gave a dramatic sigh and shot Perrigaul in the foot. He collapsed to the ground, howling in pain.

Faris cursed in multiple languages, too fast for the translator chip to decipher.

Vehicles arrived, unloading Rand’s minions. Each was armed to the teeth and looked eager for a fight.

This was more than a standoff. Rand planned to kill them.

“I’ll do it,” she said.

“No.” His tail lashed wildly, striking her legs. “I will not allow it.”

“He’ll blow up the ship if you don’t.”

Faris growled. “Rand will do that regardless.”

Great. Everyone was going to die.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, the brief flare of pain piercing through her panic. Think, think, think.

“Time is up! We’re coming in,” Rand shouted.

Faris pressed a panel and an overhead compartment opened. He took down a small pistol. He displayed it to her, turning it over slowly. “Power on. Trigger. Only use it if you must,” he said, pressing it into her hand.

He stuffed a similar pistol into the waistband of his pants. Then he crouched down to the floor and removed a panel. “Maintenance passages. Follow this through three junctures and take the path to the right. It will take you to our cabin. Lock yourself in there.”

Alice stared down in the black tunnel. She had never been claustrophobic, but her fat butt had never tried to squeeze through a crawlspace. “No. I can’t.”

“You can and will.” He gripped her arms and pressed his forehead to hers.

“No, I mean I physically can’t.” She hated to admit the plain facts, but Faris didn’t understand. “I’m too big. I’ll get stuck.”

“The passage is large enough for an adult Nakkoni. I am bigger than you, yes?”

Reluctantly, she agreed. Faris wasn’t as round as her, but he was a thick slab of muscle and took up more space.

“I can crawl on my hands and knees. You will not be stuck. If you cannot go forward, press up on the floor panels. They are easily removed.”

She didn’t like it. “While I’m hiding, what will you do?”

His thin lips curled back, revealing sharp teeth. “This is a prison vessel, and the armaments are fully operational.”

FARIS

Alice descended into the maintenance passage, blaster in hand. He wished he had a light to give her. It was clear she did not want to escape via that route, but there was no alternative. Rand would breach the ship any moment, and there was only one exit from the helm.

Foolish. Short-sighted. Greedy.

He listed his faults and there were many.

How did he fail to notice that the ship had been disturbed? They had been away for days, and Rand knew their location. A quick scan of the security logs revealed all. He had been too distracted to notice.

Now his mate was in danger and his friend was bleeding on the snowy ground. Perrigaul, Faris knew, would crawl away to protect himself. Now that he was injured, Rand would forget about his existence.

But Alice? No. Rand would not lose interest so quickly.

Faris activated a security protocol, releasing a pair of security drones. They would shoot at anyone who got too close to the airlock but would be easily destroyed. A few more commands activated the turrets. They would hopefully take out a few of Rand’s minions. Anything more held the risk of disturbing the explosives that Rand planted.

He grabbed a blaster and headed down the corridor to the airlock, pausing where the corridor narrowed to create a chokepoint. Outside he would quickly be outnumbered, but here he could hold them off for a time.

He did not have to wait long before the first target emerged from the airlock.

CHAPTER 17

ALICE

Heavy footsteps pounded on the flooring grates above her. Alice kept her face tucked down, in case they could see her in the passage. No one gave any indication that they saw her. From the sound of fighting and gunfire, they were busy.

She counted the junctures, taking the right branching path. He said right. She felt confident about that.

Continuing on, the noise overhead diminished. All she could hear was her own hyperventilating. She didn’t like tight spaces. She had this recurring dream of trying to get into her attic crawl space, but the hatch kept getting smaller and smaller, a la Alice in Wonderland. Yeah, she didn’t need to analyze that nightmare too hard.

Fortunately, Faris was truthful about the passage being wide enough to accommodate her. In one spot, she got stuck, but that was because her coat got caught on a valve.

The passage came to an end. This had to be the place.

She listened to determine if the room was empty. Not a sound.

Sitting back on her heels, she pushed against the floor panel. It was heavy, and her arms shook as it lifted. She heaved it to one side, then pulled herself up. Her arms burned from the effort. Damn her wimpy upper arm strength. She’d go to the gym and pump iron or whatever people did to build muscle. Her knees hurt too. Thirty-three was apparently too old to crawl around on the ground without consequences.

Cold metal pressed against the side of her head. Alice froze.

“On your feet, female,” Rand said. “Faris is so predictable. His cabin. No creativity. That is why he is still a petty thief and I control a region.”

Alice rose to her feet, her knees and back protesting.

“Now walk.” He waved the blaster to the cabin’s door, and she walked.

They traveled down the corridor into the workroom. Her body froze when she realized what he meant to do. Rand tugged on her arm, dragging her toward the loathsome stasis pod. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

“In you go,” he said.

She shook her head. She remembered everything in a terrible torrent, the cold, dispassionate gray-green faces that snatched her, the screams of other women being shoved into pods, and the pleading. So much pleading.

“No,” she said, her voice little more than a croak. The past felt as if it were happening again, and she could not break free. She’d go back into the pod and be torn away from her life. She’d lose Faris and even prickly Perrigaul. She’d wake up at some distant point only to find that years, perhaps decades, separated her from the man she loved.

Her heart ached.

“Female—”

“What are you going to do, shoot me? You won’t get a good price if I’m damaged.”

He slapped her across the face. “A good pet obeys her master.”

Alice pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, tasting blood from a split lip. The slap released her from panic’s grip. She spat.

“You think Faris will save you? I have him outnumbered and surrounded. Climb into the pod and this will all be a dream. You will wake up in a new home with a new owner.” His tail whipped from side to side. “Or continue to try my patience. I have spent a lot of resources to recover you, but I am ready to cut my losses.”

She ran. Panic took over her brain and told her to run, so she bolted like a frightened bunny. She did not get far before a heavy weight pushed her to the floor.

On her back, Rand loomed over her. His quills stood on end and his lips were pulled back, displaying his unnervingly sharp teeth. “Foolish female—”

Explosions rocked the ship. Alice could picture the narrow rock ledge crumbling away, rock tumbling down the mountainside.

No, no, no.

The shock on Randevere’s face told her that the charges fired too soon. He had planned to be off the ship when the explosives detonated.

The world went sideways. Gravity lurched, then quit. The ship slid.

Time slowed. All she could think of was that Faris confessed that he loved her, and she said nothing. Nothing! She loved him, knew it days ago, and if she died, he’d never know. The wrongness of this hurt more than she thought possible, more than realizing that her then-husband no longer loved her.

If she got out of this, she’d tell him. Immediately.

Alice grabbed onto a support beam, wrapping her arms around it. Her feet dangled. Tools and equipment tumbled by. She ducked her head down, and debris hit her shoulders.

Rand grabbed her foot.

The extra weight made her slip. Heavy tools flew past, none striking him because he was a lucky bastard.

Alice kicked, desperate to shake him off.

Something heavy slammed into her hand, crushing her fingers. Pain roared through her, white -hot and throbbing.

They fell.

Alice twisted enough to see herself hurtling toward the open pod.

Rand hit first, catching the lip. Bones cracked.

She landed on him with a groan. Pushing herself up, she rolled to the side. Her chest hurt. Everything hurt. Her fingers felt broken, like they weren’t connected to her, and the air hurt touching them.

Rand clawed at her, but he must have been in worse pain. She broke his grasp and slid off the pod.

Her hand slapped against the control panel. Lights blinked on, and the front panel closed.

“No! No!” Rand said, beating on the inside of the pod. White gas filled the chamber. Soon the pounding stopped.

“I didn’t mean…” she started to apologize, then stopped. That had been an accident, but she wasn’t going to release him. Randevere could stay in the pod, at least until they figured out what to do with him.

Or forever. She was okay with forever.

FARIS

Faris stood in the airlock, blaster pointing at a male just outside. The male held the detonator. His lips curled back in a snarl, revealing blackened teeth and a wave of hot, fetid breath rolled over Faris.

The male pushed the button.

He felt the ground rumble before he heard the detonations. Instinct had Faris launch himself through the airlock, onto the crumbling ground. He scrambled, racing to get ahead of the collapsing shelf.

“What have you done?!” The butt of his blaster slammed into the grinning male.

The male thought to fight back, his hands clamped on the barrel of the blaster and wrestling for control.

So Faris let the male have the blaster. He released his grip, and the male stumbled back. A solid kick in the torso sent the male over the cliff’s edge.

The ship groaned, tilting dangerously on the precipice.

Perrigaul limped forward, favoring his injured foot. “I am smaller. I will go in and retrieve Alice.”

The remaining cliff crumbled away. The ship slipped over the edge. Metal screamed against rock, tumbling and creating a wave of noise.

His hearts sank.

He ran forward but Perrigaul held him back. “Let me go,” he ordered.

“Go carefully. There is a medical kit in the vehicle.” Perrigaul surveyed the remaining vehicles. “Perhaps more than one.”

“Alice does not have time.” She could be bleeding or unconscious. Fuel components could be leaking, ready to ignite.

“Calm your tail,” Perrigaul snapped.

Faris took a breath. Rushing in without thought would cause more harm than good. “Then let us hurry.”

Perrigaul moved slower than Faris liked, but the younger male kept him focused. They would require tools to free her from the ship. His mate would need medical attention. They would need a vehicle to bring her to a medical clinic.

All the while his hearts pounded, hoping that for once fate would be kind to an unfortunate fourth child. He needed Alice. She breathed life into his hollow existence. His hearts beat for her. Without her, they would cease.

Finally, finally, Faris climbed onto the twisted wreckage of the ship. It landed on its side. The airlock was now on the roof. Somehow, either during the explosion or the slide down the mountain, the cargo bay doors had been ripped open.

He entered there, holding onto the lip of the door and his feet swinging in empty space. Power flickered, raining down sparks. He dropped down, landing on what had been a wall. The incessant alarm covered over any cries for help Alice might make.

He sniffed the air.

Blood.

He followed the trail, scrambling over the wall, fallen debris, and down the corridor. Blaster fire scorched the walls. Bodies littered the floor. Some stirred, still living.

Faris was not inclined to help, but his mate had a soft heart. He’d return to help the survivors, if possible.

She was not in his cabin, but he detected an oily scent. Rand had been there.

He continued his search, tracking Rand’s oily aroma until he found Alice pinned under a fallen support beam in the workroom.

“Faris! Are you real?” Her eyes were unfocused. A concussion? Humans seemed frail, prone to brain injuries. It was a problem.

“I am. Remain there.”

She laughed, then coughed. “Sorry. Ow…I love you. Not sorry about that. Everything hurts.”

His tail swayed, happy at her words. “I will free you, then you may profess your devotion.”

“Ow, don’t make me laugh.” Her voice sounded tired. “I mean, I was worried that I never told you. Are you sure I’m not dead? A spaceship fell off a mountain.”

“Normally it is not an issue, but this ship has crashed before.”

“Airbags were already deployed. Gotcha.”

He wanted to clarify that some stabilizers and impact absorbers were a one-time use item he never replaced, but now was not the time. “I will return.”

The workshop was a jumbled mess, but he found an iron bar to use as a lever and a length of rope. He was able to shift the support beam enough to pull her free.

Cradling her battered body to his, Faris buried his face into her cloud of hair. He nearly lost her. Could still lose her.

“Ow, ow, don’t squeeze so tight,” Alice moaned.

“Tell me where you are injured.”

“I think I broke my hand. Maybe a rib. Something clocked me on the head.”

Yes, he visually cataloged those wounds.

“Where are you?” Perrigaul called from somewhere in the ship.

“Here! Alice is injured,” he shouted. Then, in a normal speaking voice, “Where is Rand? He was in here with you.”

“The stasis pod.”

Buried under fallen panels, hidden in shadows, the stasis pod glowed. His mate would have to explain how she tricked Rand into the pod, but that was a story for another day.

REMOVING Alice was simply a matter of finding the most stable route and climbing out. The pod, however, took considerable effort and coordination to haul out. If it crashed into a few walls and had been dropped once, pods were sturdy and could take a fair bit of punishment. A few of Rand’s injured men were able to climb out under their own power. Faris ignored them and they stayed away from him. Good.

He tended to Alice’s injuries. She babbled as she cleaned the simple lacerations, and he feared that she suffered a concussion. He administered pain medication for larger injuries. Her hand might not have been broken, but her breathing was shallow and her torso hurt to the touch. The ribs likely had a crack.

Snow began to fall. They could not stay out in the elements for much longer.

“The ship is beyond repair,” Perrigaul said.

The wreckage carved a scar into the mountainside. The twisted remains were not suitable even for scrap.

“That is for the best.” It was time to leave behind his past. Owenfaris was no more, and it was time for Faris to shed the last remains of that male.

Faris kicked the stasis pod. Exposed to the sunlight, the capsule seemed harmless. Why did he even have such a contraption on board? Alice had been right to question its presence.

“We can sell him. He would fetch a good price from the right buyer,” he said.

Alice cradled her injured hand to herself. “As much as I hate him, no. Selling people is wrong, even for assholes.”

His mate had morals. So strange. “He would do the same to you without hesitation,” he said.

“Still doesn’t make it right,” she said.

Moral superiority would not keep her safe, he wanted to say. Perhaps he should have left the pod in the wreckage. Falling snow would cover it soon enough. If the pod was ever discovered, a scavenger could decide Rand’s fate.

“I believe there are many lucrative bounties out on Rand,” Perrigaul said.

A smile spread across his mate’s face. “I am absolutely okay with that.”

Justice was scarce on Reazus Prime, but Rand would get his fair share.

“You require medical attention. Rand will wait,” Faris said.

He retrieved the vehicle, loaded up his passengers and the pod into the back, and headed to the nearest settlement.

Alice sat next to him, her head resting against his arm.

“This is nice,” she uttered. That had to be the pain medication taking effect.

“It is a short journey,” he said.

“No, I mean this. Us. I love you and I even like Perrigaul.”

The male in question chuckled from the backseat.

“I will give you the things you have lost. Earth. Your friend,” Faris said. Accomplishing those goals was now more difficult than when they started, but the impossible jobs were the only ones worth doing.

He glanced down at his mate. Her eyes were closed, but a smile lingered on her soft lips.

He’d do the impossible for Alice, and they’d make their home among the stars.

EPILOGUE

PERRIGAUL

Perrigaul and Alice watched the monitor, the atmosphere tense in the control room. Since Faris decided to take a human for a mate a year ago, their lives had been…interesting, which was not a compliment. The last year had been violent, explosive, painful, and expensive. Extraordinarily expensive. Now they chased rumors to find a single stalk of grass in a field.

A lost stasis pod, drifting in space, originating from a point they did not know. Impossible.

Yet here they were.

“You should be out there,” Alice said.

“For once, I agree,” he said.

Faris took too many risks. Whether it was the older male’s nature to act without considering the consequences, or if he had been conditioned into this behavior, Perrigaul could not say. He only knew that he did not trust his friend to act judiciously while on a spacewalk. The tether was sturdy but could be severed with jagged debris.

He leaned forward, studying the scan of the debris field. They had confirmed the debris as part of the ship that transported Alice and the other human females. Whether this section contained what they sought, scans alone could not say. Faris suited up and went out into the black to visually inspect the wreckage. It was a slow, tedious process, and a male known for risky decisions would be bound to do something foolish.

Faris’ impulsiveness had benefited Perrigaul, specifically when they were both on the prison transport all those years ago. Faris traded his boots to take possession of a young Perrigaul. It had not been an act of kindness. Faris exploited the scrawny Perrigaul to crawl through the ventilation system to spy on the ship’s crew.

He glanced up at the ventilation ducts. It seemed impossible that he had ever been slender enough to crawl through such a thing.

Faris also took a foolish, impulsive risk in liberating Alice. Perrigaul resented her presence at first, not trusting either Faris’ instinct or her. Yes, if pressed, Perrigaul would admit that Faris had little choice. Did he leave the female to the kindness of the wilds? Dump her off at the nearest settlement and call it a job well done?

No. Even Perrigaul knew that would be wrong, but a good partner did not add a member to the crew without discussing. They were partners, but Faris had an arrogant, imperious streak and did not always behave as a partner.

“You don’t like me,” Alice said.

Perrigaul sighed. They were having this conversation again. Initially, he disliked her, which he felt was fair as she did not trust him. His position had softened over the last year. It was hard to resent the female when she made his friend so deliriously happy.

It was disgusting, honestly, the way Faris doted on his mate. Perrigaul did not feel resentment. His nest did not feel empty at night. He had never needed anyone. From an early age, he learned to take care of himself, and he remained self-sufficient. He did not need a mate to be content.

He did not.

“I do not dislike you,” he replied.

“Oh, that’s cold. No like, no dislike. Only ambivalence.”

“I tolerate you,” he replied dryly.

The corners of her mouth curled upward. Truthfully, he had grown to like Faris’ mate.

“I’m not fishing for compliments here, but you could be nice,” she said.

“Fission for compliments sounds highly irregular and dangerous. Do not do this on our ship.”

“Fishing. You know—” She held an invisible rod and cast it over a shoulder.

He blinked, forcing a blank expression on his face. “I do not know.”

“Fish. Aquatic animals.” She paused, and he kept the blank expression. She continued, “You catch them with a net and eat them. Yummy yum.”

“Is Earth an agricultural planet? I was reared in the city.”

She stared at him.

His tail twitched.

“Oh, you fucker. You know what a fish is,” she said, then kicked his foot with her tiny foot.

He returned the gesture. “You are my friend, Alice Serrano.”

Her lips pulled back in that odd human expression of happiness. He did not understand how baring one’s teeth was considered a friendly gesture. Humans were so weird.

“Do not be flattered,” he cautioned. “It is known that my taste is questionable.”

“Super dubious,” she agreed.

Static broke over the commlink, followed by Faris’ voice. “I found something.”

ALICE

She circled the stasis pod. It was battered and dented. Soot covered it in a thick layer. Amber lights flickered dimly under the grime, the only sign it was still operational.

The pod had been through hell. It was amazing it still worked, honestly. From all that she’d learned in the last year, stasis pods were notoriously unreliable.

The last year had been…interesting. She was hard -pressed to put it in other terms. On one hand, she missed her mother and Sunday brunch with homemade donuts coated in sugar. She also missed being able to search all of human knowledge from her phone, even if the internet was mostly cat videos and people being assholes.

Being with Faris offered an entire galaxy of new books to read, history to learn, and so much stuff to discover. Just so much. The know-it-all in her had died from happiness, resurrected, and now haunted markets trying to scoop up as many books and data cubes as possible. Every day she learned of a new planet, new culture, and new people. Interestingly, the universe seemed to favor bipedal lifeforms. People came with multiple limbs, even some tentacles, tails, wings, claws, fangs, fur, scales, horns, feathers, and in a variety of hues. Different but still humanoid, although Faris assured her there were far more interesting people in the universe, just not in that quadrant.

And Faris. He was his own category of goodness. There weren’t enough words to say how utterly happy she felt with him. From the moment he burst onto that train to rob Rand, she had him pegged as a good guy and he hadn’t disappointed her.

The good stuff outweighed the bad. Hands down.

They delivered Rand to the warlord with a grudge, Davith. Having a rival in a stasis pod went a long way to resolving the grudge between him and Faris. They stayed in the trading post for a few weeks but Alice didn’t trust the guy, so they moved on.

Jasmina proved true to her word and got Alice in contact with a human-sympathetic settlement in the mountains. The settlement was barely a village with a handful of liberated human women and established mated couples. Even a harem or two. The village lacked reliable power and network connections but no one would snatch Alice and try to sell her. She never appreciated the ability to come and go as she pleased until it was taken away. Despite the safety of the village, Faris and even Perrigaul trailed after her, looking appropriately threatening.

Perrigaul had even become a friend. He periodically scrounged up data cubes with Nakkoni dramas which they watched together. She didn’t really understand the dramas because the actors displayed little in the way of facial expressions. So much was unspoken and conveyed through body language: happy tail, danger tail, questioning quills, and amused frills. Perri loved to explain the subtle meaning in enormous detail; most of it was bull but she enjoyed playing along with his games.

It had been a good year. Alice would never have guessed the turn her life would take when she went camping, but she couldn’t imagine plodding through her days without Faris. Her days had been filled with work, self-doubt, and little else. Sure she always had electricity, stores filled with shoes that fit her feet, and pizza delivered to her house, but her life had been empty. Now she had an entire galaxy to explore and absolutely the best partner to explore it with.

Alice gave Faris’ arm a gentle stroke. He tilted his head, his quills flexing in an unspoken question. Her future was with him and nothing was better than falling asleep listening to the twin beats of his hearts.

Well, playing with his petals was pretty great.

His tail twitched playfully, as if he could sense the turn of her thoughts.

“Later.” She blushed and tried to get the conversation on the right track. “I don’t like you going out there by yourself.”

“I had the situation under control,” he said.

“We need another suit.” If anything had happened, he’d be stuck outside in the black of space. The ship did not have a second suit. Perrigaul and Alice would have to wrangle the ship close enough to grab Faris with a scoop or net, which was too slow if he had a leaking air canister. “Two suits,” she said.

He nodded, a human trait he picked up.

Alice scrubbed the front panel with her sleeve. Frost coated the glass, which was probably not glass but some high-tech polymer. She could barely make out a face on the other side.

A human face.

Miriam.

“We should open this now,” she said.

“No, that would be unwise,” Faris said.

Alice huffed. “I need a bit more of a reason than unwise.”

“We are unable to provide medical attention, should she need it. These pods are not designed for humans, and she may have been given too much of the stasis drug.”

“Fine.”

Alice had felt sick, groggy, and confused when she woke in the warehouse. How would Miriam feel after three years of being in a pod? Probably like she’d been hit by a bus. Alice had felt achy and tired for so long. She had also been given drugs to keep her groggy and less likely to fight her captors.

How would Miriam react to waking on an alien planet? To seeing her first aliens? That the possibility of returning to Earth diminished every day?

She continued to rub the front panel, revealing more of Miriam’s face. The sleeping woman looked peaceful, like a fairy tale princess waiting for her prince. Or aliens. Or rescue from the stand-offish coworker she’d accidentally been abducted with.

Alice pressed her hand to the panel.

The blinking lights gained speed, rapidly cycling between amber and blue, then a sustained blue.

“Oh shit, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she said, pressing buttons to stop the process.

To no avail. A mechanism clicked. The panel slid open, and pressurized air hissed as it escaped.

Well, fuck.

AFTERWORD

That ending was so mean! What’s happening with Miriam? Will Perrigaul be the next romantic lead? It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?

There will be another book, Alien’s Heart. Right now I’m eyeballing Summer 2022. I have a couple of contractual obligations to get out of the way before getting Miriam out of the states pod.

If you want to discus spoilers or give me an earful, I have a spoiler thread up in my Facebook group:

facebook.com/groups/NanceyCummingsReadersGroup/

And check out The Hub reader’s group on Facebook for the rest of the series!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/854826322125572

After Lorran, I was feeling burnt out. It was a long, hard winter. While I’m an introvert by nature, it turns out that I do need some human contact, occasionally, to recharge my creative juices.

Thing improved after vaccination and being able to actually hug my friends again. We cried. No joke. Tears.

Since I had been struggling to get my creative mojo back, I decided that I was going to say yes to anything that spark some interest in me.

And that helped. Saying yes made me focus on possibilities, not getting stuck in my own worries.

Eden Ember originally floated the idea of a former prison planet that was not a pirate haven. A pirate planet, you guys. So I said yes. Bouncing ideas and world building with a multi-author group was just what I needed.

As of this time, there are 9 other books in the Outlaw Planet Mate series. I encourage you to check them out.

I also said yes to a few more things and you’ll just have to keep your eyes peeled.

The best way to do that is to join my newsletter:

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jektemqay4

Or stalk me in the Facebook group:

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OUTLAW PLANET MATES

Don’t miss out on the rest of the series! They are standalone books and can be read in any order.

https://nanceycummings.com/outlaw-planet-mates/

Alien’s Mercy - Leslie Chase

Alien’s Treasure - Elin Wyn

Alien’s Jewel - Ava York

Alien’s Challenge - Nancey Cummings

Alien’s Stone Heart - Lynnea Lee

Alien’s Fate - Eden Ember

Alien’s Sacrifice - Cady Austin

Alien’s Bounty - Lena Grey

Alien’s Surrender - Harper Rosling

And check out The Hub reader’s group on Facebook for news about the rest of the series!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/854826322125572

ALSO BY NANCEY CUMMINGS

Warlord Bride Index (with Starr Huntress)

Snowed in with the Alien Warlord

Alien Warlord’s Passion

Warriors of Sangrin (with Starr Huntress)

Paax

Kalen

Mylomon

Vox

Warlord’s Baby

Seeran

Rohn

Jaxar

Havik

Lorran

Ren

A Winter Starr (with Starr Huntress)

Alien Warlord’s Miracle

The Alien Reindeer’s Bounty

Delivered to the Aliens

Tail and Claw (Celestial Mates)

Have Tail, Will Travel

Pulled by the Tail

Tail, Dark and Handsome

Valos of Sonhadra

Blazing

Inferno

Taken for Granite (Khargals of Duras)

Dragons of Wye (with Juno Wells)

Korven’s Fire

Ragnar

Alpha Aliens of Fremm

Claimed by the Alien Prince

Bride of the Alien Prince

Alien Warrior’s Mate

Alien Rogue’s Price

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Join my newsletter and get a FREE copy of Claimed by the Alien Prince.

Get it at here:

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jektemqay4

I write fun, flirty and fast stories featuring sassy heroines, out-of-this-world heroes, all

the mischief they can managed and plenty of steamy fun. Hopefully you want to read

them too.

I live in an old house with my husband and a growing collection of cats.

Follow my Facebook reader group for early teasers and whatnots.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/895051017325998/

Table of Contents

Title Page

Contents

About Alien’s Challenge

The World of Outlaw Planet Mates

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

Afterword

Outlaw Planet Mates

Also by Nancey Cummings

About the Author