THE ALIEN’S CHASE

OUTCASTS OF CORIN

ELLA MAVEN

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

Copyright © 2023 by Ella Maven

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

Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs

First Edition: April 2023

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

About the Author

Also by Ella Maven

ONE

Neve

The aliens chasing me didn’t want to kill me, and it was the unknown that made my heart beat louder and my legs pump faster as I raced across the open plain into the dense brush of a forest.

I’d been running from the red, four-armed aliens and their eye-less scent hounds for weeks. I’d tried to keep track of exactly how long it had been, but I’d lost the shred of bark I’d been marking a few days ago. Maybe a week ago. Time was a blur.

My friends and I—all Earth abductees who escaped our alien imprisonment—had just settled into some sort of life on this planet when we’d been stolen from our camp by warthog-like enemies. I’d managed to get free of them, and ever since I’d been searching for Tasha, Amber, Trix, Lu, and Maisie. I knew they were still alive since I felt their presence. But they were too far away for me to listen to their thoughts.

It was a creepy thing to do anyway. I rarely did it to them and never told them I had the ability. Who would want to be around someone like that? But in this case, I would have given anything to once again spy on Amber’s daydreams or feel the warmth of Tasha’s thoughts. She was always brimming with care and concern for the rest of us, and just a second of her thoughts was enough to soothe my anxiety.

A sound crashed to my right, and I turned a sharp left as the thoughts of one of the alien’s hunting me shouted loud and clear in my mind. If we can just cut her off at the cliff…

One of their hounds brayed. I cursed under my breath and doubled back. They were faster than me, but they were also louder. They’d grabbed me once before I escaped, so they’d touched me. And as soon as someone touched me, their thoughts filtered into my head on a slow trickle. The longer they touched me, the more I could hear.

I took another hard right and stumbled as the ground took a hard incline. I’d been running for an hour already, and I was about out of stamina. The air was cooler here, much cooler than where my friends and I had camped. Although I wasn’t sure why, the aliens had constant thoughts about wanting to avoid heading north, so north I went.

The pack I wore that held my dwindling supplies slapped on my back as I raced up another sharp incline. Something rattled the branches over my head, and I glanced up to see a flash off a pink furry body leaping among the trees.

I reached a peak and skidded to a halt. Just beyond my toes the land dropped off suddenly. A rushing river roared below in a valley, and beyond—past another incline—were snow-capped mountains of dense vegetation. My breath whistled between my teeth.

“Shit, Neve,” I whispered to myself. “This might be a problem.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I could see the shifting figures of the red aliens and the bounding shapes of their hounds in the plain below. They were maybe a half mile away, but they could cover that ground much faster than I had. I counted about a half dozen of them, which meant they would easily surround me. Fear froze my muscles as my brain battled indecision. I could run in either direction along the ridge, but they’d catch me soon. Or I could take my chances sliding down the cliff. But once I was in the river valley, would I be able to get back out?

A hound brayed. The red aliens shouted something in their guttural language. My fingers fluttered as I shifted my weight from foot to foot. My heart beat in my chest like the Jaws theme. Right, left, or down? Right, left, or down?

I took one step to my right just as a rustling sound could be heard over the rush of the river below. As the red aliens crossed the plain with their hands, the blue grass on the edges rippled. The group halted, their triangular heads swiveling. The hounds pawed the ground and growled.

At first I thought the wind was blowing the blades of grass, and the way the sunlight hit them, they appeared pink. Until I realized there was something traversing over the grass—a pink flood of furry bodies that advanced on the red aliens at a fast speed.

“What the hell?” I muttered and seconds later the flood reached the first red alien. Bodies piled onto him, and he screamed as they covered him like some sort of locust infestation. I couldn’t even make out individual bodies—just a sea of pink fur with whip-like tails and big round eyes. Flashes of teeth bit into flesh. Screams rent the hour. Hounds brayed before their voices cut off into pained whimpering before they, too, fell silent in the attack.

A few pink bodies remained standing outside the flood of pink—little sentries of animals that reminded me of monkeys. But bloodthirsty ones.

My stomach churned as the tide shifted to reveal the massacre they left behind—stripped bones. Bare armor. Empty collars. A terrified sound left my throat, and I clapped my hand over my mouth just as the head of one of the sentry’s heads turned one hundred and eighty degrees and met my eyes. His teeth peeled back, and he let out a screech of alarm.

“Shit!” I hissed as the tide shifted direction—toward me. They sped from the plain into the forest, and the trees shook and rattled as they leapt from branch to branch making it seem like a windstorm was heading my way.

Panic thawed my muscles as I turned and leapt off the edge of the cliff. I hit the slope in a cloud of dust and began to run. I fought gravity as it threatened to send me head over heels into the river blow. If I just stayed on my feet… I might get out of this alive. I flailed my arms to keep my balance and let out a terrified cry as my knees buckled. I managed to regain my balance but didn’t dare look back. I couldn’t look back. All my focus was on getting down this hill without breaking every bone in my body. But fuck, this was a long distance—maybe two hundred yards. My muscles screamed. Dust choked me as dirt blurred my vision. I let out a cough and stumbled. My foot slammed into a rock, and I screamed as my toes crunched. My ankle twisted, and then suddenly I was no longer upright.

My hip hit the ground, then my shoulder, and then my entire body was rolling down the hill. I curled into a ball to protect my head, but that was all I could do as I hurtled toward the valley below. Pain streaked through my body like wildfire. This was it. I was going to die. Neve Hillshire, who had led a quiet Earth life as an insurance underwriter, was going to becoming nothing but another human casualty on this damn planet. I didn’t even hate it. It would have been a nice place to settle if it wasn’t full of things trying to kill me.

I choked on a sob as the sound of water grew closer. My back was in agony. I swore I no longer had skin covering my spine. I couldn’t even be sure my foot was still attached to my body.

Suddenly, I bounced. Airborne for a few minutes, I let the cushion of air surround me until a moment later, I hit the ground with a thud. I skidded for a few feet before coming to a final rest.

Every breath hurt. But I was breathing. My heart raced. But it was beating. I lay immobile, wondering if I’d die from the fall or from the pink furry creatures when they inevitably descended the cliff after me. I waited for the sound of their tiny feet racing toward me. But all I could hear was the rushing river nearby. Craning my neck, I glanced up the hill, but my vision was doubled. I could have sworn I saw a little pink body peering down at me, but when I blinked, it was gone.

Groaning, I tried to sit up, but my back and ribs protested. I lay on the bank of the river on a patch of damp grass which seeped through my clothes and felt cool on my bruised skin.

My hand closed around a stick, and after plunging it into the mud, I hauled myself to a sitting position. Just that amount of movement took too much energy and caused so much pain that I trembled. I breathed through it, trying my best to compartmentalize my injuries and pain to focus on how to keep myself alive. I smelled of blood—an iron tang hung in the air around me. If I didn’t find a way to take care of myself soon, some predator would be more than happy to end my suffering.

My ankle was a throbbing point of agony—I couldn’t be sure if it was broken or just twisted. I wore a pair of boots that laced up to my ankle, and I didn’t dare unlace them. I didn’t know much, but I knew the compression would help. My clothes were torn all over, revealing bloody patches of skin on my legs, torso, and arms. A trickle of something warm slid down the back of my neck. When I swiped at it, my fingers came away red.

The river rushed nearby, and I could see that the edges were shallow enough that I could sit down and clean my wounds. Was there bacteria in this river that would kill me? Maybe, but sitting here with dirty open wounds would kill me faster. Using the stick as an anchor in the wet ground, I hauled myself toward the river’s edge on an army crawl.

The first trickle of cool water on my abrasions made me hiss, but it felt good too. I slid into the shallow edge and undressed to assess my injuries. My pants would have to be cut into shorts. The lower half were nearly useless now. I could use the fabric for bandages. My shirt was still usable, although there were a few new holes, and some areas were now stained red.

Very aware that I was that wounded animal at the watering hole who was susceptible to any and all predators, I tried to move quickly, but my movements were sluggish. My vision hadn’t fully corrected itself, and I worried about a concussion.

After ripping my pants into shorts and redressing, I tried to stand. With a hiss, I collapsed back into the water as pain shot up my leg so fast that my head spun. I couldn’t put weight on my ankle. How the hell was I going to survive?

With my head hung between my shoulders, I wished I could cry. Shed some tears. Scream and yell. I felt all those things inside, but I couldn’t seem to express them outwardly. I admired that quality in others—Maisie and Lu showed their emotions easily. They cried, they laughed, and they got angry. I had never been good at expressing my emotions, but at least I’d been able to cry when my cat died or laugh at a friend’s joke. Now that my brain had been messed with… it seemed the only thing I could do was absorb the feelings of others without letting out my own. Sometimes my head and heart had felt so crowded around the other women. But every time I tried to scream or cry or let anything out, it all clogged in my throat like a traffic jam.

The cool rushing water soaking through my boot dulled the pain of my ankle, but the throbbing was still there, reminding me of my injury. I’d have to deal with it eventually, but for now, I’d keep my boot laced and try to keep my weight off it as much as I could. Cupping the water with my hands, I drank my fill.

The stick I used to drag myself to the water was sturdy and had a small Y on one end that I could stick under my armpit to use as a crutch. When I felt strong enough, I hauled myself upright. I hobbled for a moment on one foot and the crutch, but eventually got my balance. With every step, pain shot through my injured leg, but I gritted my teeth and slowly made my way along the bank. I needed shelter. The sun would drop soon, and I couldn’t be out here injured and vulnerable.

The land on either side of the river rose sharply to peaked cliffs. I could have climbed one with two good legs, but not with one working ankle. Further down the river, the grassy bank gave way to rocky alcoves and after much deliberation while the sun began to set, I picked a small cave with vines hanging over the front. There, I picked through my pack with the last bit of light I had left.

All my supplies were crushed from my fall, from the berries I’d picked that morning to the starchy roots I’d boiled a few days ago. Still, I ate what I could, licking the leaves clean that I used to package my food before carefully wrapping a meager portion for tomorrow. Food would be a priority the moment I woke up. With this ankle, it might take me days to find something that would fill my stomach.

Just the thought of moving about injured filled my gut with dread, but I couldn’t dwell. I had to sleep, and maybe in the morning… the pain wouldn’t be too bad. I could only hope.

Relk

Biza whirled her tail rapidly as she dropped a blade at my feet. I picked it up carefully and examined the weapon of the red, four-armed aliens known as the Joktal. They’d been skirting the edges of my territory for weeks, and I’d ordered Biza and her roost of neevias to attack the moment they crossed the border. It seemed they did, as Biza’s pink fur was stained with a sticky substance, and she kept picking at her teeth with her long claws.

The rest of her roost had likely already retreated to their treetop homes up on the cliff, but Biza never left my side. She’d been my constant companion for many cycles now, and I barely knew a time before her. After tossing the blade on the table holding all the supplies I’d taken from trespassers, I leaned down and swirled my claw in the sand at my feet. We’d developed a crude language between us with claw scratches and drawings. She had a knack for language too, and I could understand a few of her words that she chirped or squeaked.

Anything else to report? I asked her.

Red aliens chasing small creature. It ran. Smelled hurt. Left it alone.

I frowned, wondering if they were hunting game.

We’ll look for it tomorrow, I signed to Biza. Might need to end its suffering.

Biza let out a small coo of acknowledgement before climbing up my arm to rest on my shoulder. There, she went to work cleaning her fur.

The small fire near my chair flickered against the cave walls full of my etchings and Biza’s scratchings. After poking at the fire and watching the smoke rise up through my vent, I walked to the front of the cave. I didn’t bother hiding my entrance—Biza and her roost would alert me to any predators if I didn’t detect them first. My cave sat high on the eastern cliff of the river. I’d carved a set of stairs in the side of the mountain to take me to the peak, where a dense forest provided plenty of food. Biza’s roost lived there, and their chatters filtered down to my cave as they bedded down for the night, surely satisfied and a little boastful after their kill.

The first time I met Biza, she’d been alone and cornered by a large frickel. I’d chased off the big predator and expected her to run off at the sight of me. But she’d stayed… and then her roost arrived. The small neevias seemed harmless at first until I got a good look at their teeth and claws. They could strip the meat from the bones of someone the size of me in half a yora. Strength in numbers was how they worked, and the only reason they hadn’t made a meal of me was because of Biza. She’d called them off, and ever since she stayed by my side. The rest of her roost merely tolerated me, but she was the oldest—the matriarch—and so the rest fell in line to respect me like she did. I hadn’t wanted a companion. In fact, I hadn’t intended to live very long at all. Biza kept me going.

The river rushed below as the breeze changed enough to carry a peculiar scent. I inhaled, detecting blood and something else new. When I turned to meet Biza’s big round eyes, she cooed again to confirm. That was the new creature. We’d definitely have to look for it tomorrow. I swore I could taste the pain in that scent of blood. It might be dying.

I let my gaze drift past the mountain peak on the other side of the river. Sometimes I felt drawn to travel beyond my borders. To see if there were others like me. Pain flared in my temples as it always did when I tried to cast my mind back to the past. My earliest memories were of Biza. She and I had discovered this cave together. I’d known skills that I didn’t remember ever learning, like how to hunt and fight.

But I’d never met another like me. At least… not that I could remember. Pain streaked across my forehead again, and I huffed a breath of annoyance. Forget it. I didn’t need to remember. If there were others like me, maybe there was a reason I wasn’t with them. I couldn’t make any mouth sounds like Biza could, just an odd rumbling in my chest that had only happened once when Biza was hurt, and I’d been trying to calm her.

Maybe my kind didn’t want me. And if that was so, then I didn’t want them.

TWO

Neve

They were all smiling. All of them. I wanted to smile too but it was like my face muscles wouldn’t work.

But I understood in my head and heart why they were smiling. I felt it too, like a hot burning coal in my chest. We were free. Sure, we were on a strange planet with only the clothes on our backs and a few meager supplies. But the sun was shining. We were breathing. And no terrible gray aliens were poking at us in some underground lab.

I leaned my head back and squinted into the sky. A breeze blew over the blue grass and ruffled the leaves of the nearby trees, creating a blur of blue and purple. My feet shifted in the green dirt, which smelled rich and mossy.

“Neve?” Tasha called out. I turned to find her watching me with my head cocked. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m okay.”

She smiled, and I managed to lift just the corners of my lips. Her smile widened. She’d worked so hard to get us all to work together—first when we escaped the Uldani and second when we’d snuck aboard a ship and made our way here to a whole planet away from the aliens who’d captured us. Earth was a distant memory. A past life. This was our new life.

“We should keep moving,” said Trix as she finished braiding her long dark hair. She gripped a long blade in one hand and hauled her pack on her back. “We shouldn’t be out in the open like this until we get to know the wildlife here.”

Lu made a squawking sound as she flailed at some insect that had crawled up her leg.

I was still learning the abilities of my altered mind. Little by little, I let myself focus on each woman. Their thoughts were muddied, but their feelings—I got those clear. Tasha was anxious but determined. Trix was usually angry, and this time her anger was tinged with triumph. As the youngest of all of us, Maisie and Lu were scared but trying to be brave. Amber was exhausted and concerned about all of us.

And I was… I was alive.

I took one step, and then a terrible roar rent the air.

I woke up with a gasp and sat up quickly, which was a terrible idea. Pain speared through me like a lance, leaving me breathless. Everything hurt. My back ached like I’d broken my spine. A few fingers were swollen at the knuckle. My head pounded. And my ankle… my ankle throbbed so hard that I swore it made a drumbeat in my ears. The ankle of my boot was stretched to its limits around the swollen joint.

“Shit,” I muttered as I fumbled with the laces. The cool morning air chilled me, which helped the feverish heat coming off my skin. My stomach rolled as I peeled away the ankle of my boot to reveal my swollen and discolored ankle.

The release of the pressure brought back the pain tenfold, and my head spun with the pain. I turned on my hip to gag, but my empty stomach couldn’t produce any contents.

I pressed my forehead to the cool floor of the cave and focused on breathing. In and out. In and out. I wasn’t sure how long I laid there as pain short-circuited my nervous system, but eventually the pain dulled to a manageable ache. Using the remaining strips from my pants that I’d cut off, I wrapped my ankle gingerly. It was no ACE bandage, but it would have to do. I tucked the ends in to keep it secure and frowned at my swollen toes. I tried to wiggle them and only received pain and nausea for my troubles, so I decided not to do that again.

I’d crawled into this cave in the near dark last night and promptly passed out, so I took my time now to look around at my makeshift home. Some dirt and slimy moss covered the cave which was about the size of a half-bathroom. There was just enough room for me to sit down. My hip bones scraped along the walls. Before I left Earth, I’d been an avid hiker at a healthy weight with plenty of plump and curves. I’d lost it all since.

Using the crutch from last night, I hobbled out of my cave to peer up into the morning sun. It hadn’t yet crested over the mountains on either side of the valley, but I could see the beginnings of its rays over the far peak. At the bank of the river, I washed myself—the cool water did a lot to help the pain. I unwrapped my bandage to let the water wash over my sore ankle. When it felt sufficiently numbed, I rewrapped it and sat on the bank to assess my situation.

I needed food, and my best bet was setting up some traps. I couldn’t hunt—not that I’d ever been as good at it as Trix—and I didn’t trust my balance to try to catch any fish in the water. I spotted some bushes farther down the bank with what looked to be berries on them. I was pretty sure I’d eaten them before, and they’d been tasty. Best of all, they hadn’t killed me. I could dig up some roots too.

I was fairly confident in a trap along the river’s edge. There had to be small game here, and maybe even some larger game too. After drinking some water and gathering my strength, I made my way down to the berry bushes. Using a large leaf, I piled a bunch inside while also eating some. Next, I dug up some roots and added that to my food stash. Near the berry bushes along the river, I fashioned a small snare trap using some strong vines. They wouldn’t hold any large game, but they would maybe catch one of those small squirrel-like things I’d eaten before. It’d been a while since I had any sort of meat. This was much farther north than I had settled with the other women, but the climate wasn’t much different—just a little cooler—so I didn’t expect a drastic change in the small animal population.

After that, I retreated to my cave. Just that small amount of movement had exhausted me, and I knew my body was still working on healing after that fall. Laying on my side with my hands for a pillow, I closed my eyes to get some rest.

I woke with a start, and for a moment, I just blinked at the wall until a frantic rustling and a high-pitched, panicked squeal reached my ears.

My heart leapt with hope. Had I caught something in my snare? Would I get to eat some protein today? I hadn’t expected to catch anything this fast. Using my crutch, I crept from my cave and hobbled down the riverbank to where I’d set my traps.

As I drew closer, the rustling stopped, and as I peered through the berry bush, I caught sight of pink fur. Immediately, I jerked back and lost my balance. I fell on my butt with a groan as pain shot through my injured leg. “Damnit,” I muttered as I gathered my hands under myself. On my knees, I carefully parted the bush’s limbs. There, hung by its back legs a foot off the ground, was one of the fuzzy pink creatures I’d see absolutely decimate the small group of red aliens. I gasped as its round eyes widened to take up its whole face. Its mouth opened, and it let out a cat-like hiss. I expected the sharp teeth I’d seen earlier. But this one didn’t have teeth, just a mouth of soft gums. It’s small five-fingered hands flexed but instead of claws, its nails were rather blunt.

I’d only seen the creatures from far away, but they’d been about the size of a large cat—maybe twenty pounds. But this one was tiny and couldn’t have weighed more than ten pounds. “Are you just a baby?” I whispered to it.

It hissed at me again fiercely but without teeth, it wasn’t very intimidating. I sat back on my butt, feeling miserable. My excitement over a possible meat meal was swept away as fast as the river current. As hungry as I was... I wasn’t hungry enough to eat this baby. Something about its eyes were too smart, too human-like, that I couldn’t imagine killing and cooking it. Just the thought turned my stomach. Back on Earth, I’d been a vegetarian, but I’d quickly had to change my ways in order to survive. Sometimes, the only thing to eat was whatever animal Trix had cooked.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead as my stomach growled. I’d been so excited to eat, but not at this cost. Even though I’d seen what this little thing could turn into, I found myself reaching forward to cut the vine. I imagined Trix telling me I was too soft-hearted, and maybe I was. Or maybe I just wasn’t desperate enough yet.

The little creature went into a spinning frenzy as my hands hovered near its small, bound feet. As soon as I cut it free, it fell to the ground and tried to scamper away, but one of its legs seemed to be hurt, because it stumbled and collapsed. With accusing eyes, it glared at me. Like it knew I was the one who set the trap.

“I’m sorry, little buddy,” I said as I unwound the vine from around its back legs. “I was hoping you were something tasty.”

A thump came from behind me, followed by a low growl that sent a chill down my spine. The pink creature shrieked and launched itself at me. As his claws dug into my shoulder, I cried out just as another, loud growl rumbled the ground. Twisting slowly at the waist, I came face-to-face with a hog-like animal covered in course, wiry hair. But this hog was massive, probably the size of a male lion, and had a mouth that could easily chomp off my head. Horny bumps ran along the crown of his head like a stegosaurus.

“Shit,” I muttered as I tried to skirt the bush at my back. The only thing I had for protection was a blade I’d stolen from the red aliens, and I wasn’t even sure it could pierce the thick hide of this massive hog.

Still, as the pink creature chattered in alarm from its perch on my shoulder, I brandished the knife. The hog snorted and pawed the ground with massive hooves. I felt like an ill-equipped bull fighter as the advancing animal lowered its head as if to charge.

I let out a squawk and as it lunged toward me, and on my good leg, dodged the first charge. The hog was too big to turn quickly, which was my only advantage. Leaving my crutch behind, I ran toward my cave. But my ankle was no good, and my leg crumpled after two steps. I hit the ground on all fours just as the pounding hooves of another charge shook the ground under me.

The pink creature shrieked, small hands digging into my scalp as I rolled to the left. A hoof connected with my shoulder, and I screamed. Would the pain ever end? Was my future doomed to never-ending pain?

I blinked up at the sky, waiting for the next charge to finish me off, when another sound blotted out the rushing of the river nearby. The pink creature made a different sound now, like an excited chirp. I sat up slowly and for a moment wondered if I was dreaming. Descending from the mountain was a pink tide rushing toward us at a rapid speed, like a killer fur tsunami. The bodies leaped over each other, tails whipped, and teeth flashed. They made a chorus of chattering chirps that shook me to my core.

“Oh my God,” I whispered just as the hog caught sight of the new arrivals. He let out a bellowed roar and then took off down the bank in the opposite direction of the pink tide on a fast gallop. I was all but forgotten as he raced away, but he didn’t get far as a tide coming from the other direction cut him off. He went down quickly, with barely a sound, and in seconds only a pile of his picked-clean rib bones was visible.

The flood was now coming from all directions—left, right, and down the hill in front of me, and they weren’t stopping. Soon I’d be nothing but a pile of bones like that hog. The only way I could escape was into the river, but the water would drown me in an instant. Did I want to drown by water or by the pink furry flood?

The creature on my shoulder sent up another sound, another chirp, but this one lower in tone. The tide shifted to surround me, and I scrambled backward until my feet splashed into the edge of the river. Glancing behind me, I once again weighed my options. Further down, white water rushed over large boulders, and I envisioned my body being crushed to bits. I wasn’t a good swimmer with two functioning legs. Injured, I’d drop like a rock.

But as quickly as the pink furry tide arrived, they came to a sudden halt about ten feet away. None advanced to dine on my eyeballs. They all just stood around me, perched on their back feet like little meerkats, and blinked at me with big round eyes. My breath stalled in my lungs. Why were they hesitating? Would they draw straws to see who got the meager amount of meat on my bones?

The creature on my shoulder wrapped his tail around my neck possessively. Silence descended, and my harsh breathing sounded loud in my ears. My ankle throbbed and my shoulder ached. I tried to stand up, but only got as far as my knees before my head spun with dizziness. I was so hungry. So tired. In so much pain. I wasn’t sure how much I could take.

A ripple of chirps went through the gathered creatures. Heads turned down the riverbank. I squinted, and in the distance, I could make out a large figure walking toward us. Covered in blue and black mottled skin, it strode confidently on two thick legs. As the figure drew closer, my muscles tensed—this was some sort of alien male with purple eyes, black horns like corkscrews out of the side of his head, and a thick tail that hovered above the ground behind him. He wore a fur shawl on his thick shoulders as well as a pair of worn pants and thick boot-like shoes.

His thick, muscled chest was bare, and long dark hair hung down to the middle of his back. And he was strapped with weapons—knives on his waistband, some sort of spiked armor on his tail. A spear on his back.

On his shoulder sat a small pink creature—an adult version of the one who sat on mine. My companion let out another excited chirp and leapt from my shoulder. But it must have forgotten its injury, because it stumbled as it hit the ground. I scooped it up in my hands. “Careful,” I murmured, as if it could understand me. It blinked at me with big eyes before the blue alien’s friend let out a piercing whistle that made me flinch.

The baby in my hands carefully climbed down, and with a small limp, made its way toward the blue figure. The pink crowd parted to let him through, and the blue alien’s adult friend hopped off his shoulder to speed toward the baby. The two met with the adult clearly fretting over the baby and shooting me irritated looks.

“I’m sorry,” I said, as if that meant anything to anyone here. “I didn’t mean to catch him. I let him free.”

The blue figure kept walking, and the pink animals continued to part for him like he was Moses in the Red Sea. Did they do what he said? Would he order them to feast on my bones?

I tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go. It was either… vicious pink creatures or the swift river of sure death.

The alien drew closer, and his purple eyes seemed to glow as they never wavered from my face. Still, his face was like stone, and when his lips parted, black fangs emerged. He stopped five feet away, and his tail came to rest on the ground behind him. He didn’t brandish a weapon, but then he didn’t need to. I was sure he could slice me to ribbons with a few swipes of his clawed hands.

Fear settled in my lungs like a thick fog, and I focused on breathing as he lifted his nose to scent the air. A small metal stud glinted from one nostril as the breeze picked up his dark hair and tossed it around his shoulders. I nearly forgot to breathe, because yes he was terrifying, but something about him was also regal.

I managed to stand just as he took another step toward me. My flight instinct kicked in, and I hobbled away from him. “Please,” I whispered in a hoarse voice. “Please just leave me alone.” I stumbled near the ring of pink monkeys, and they parted for me like I was an orca in a school of fish. Emboldened, I kept going thinking I maybe had a chance to get out of this alive.

The blue alien turned to watch me, as I limped my way through the crowd. Part of me wondered if I should just sit down on the ground and accept whatever fate was coming to me, but my survival instinct was too strong. And if there was a way to rescue my friends and see them again, then I had to stay alive.

I hobbled my way toward my cave, and when I was close enough and no one had chased me, I took off on a wounded sprint. Diving inside, I scooted to the back corner and clutched my blade with both fists. In the small space, my breathing sounded harsh, and my pounding heart seemed to echo all around me. I waited for the blue alien to grab me and drag me out. Or for the pink monkeys to invade my space and turn this into my grave.

But all I heard was a chattering before that rustling sound of many monkey feet sounded before I spotted a fluid tide of them running past the mouth of my cave. Not toward me… but downstream. Not one of them even looked inside.

As the last monkeys passed, I could barely believe I had survived this, when a familiar little face popped in the opening of my cave. I let out a little shriek as the baby chirped at me before hopping away.

I waited, huddled in my cave with my knife in my hands for much longer, until my legs cramped, and my eyes blurred with fatigue. Only then did I creep to the entrance and peer out. Straight ahead, I only saw the rushing river. To the right, nothing, and to the left…

A scream tore out of my throat as the blue alien looked back at me with a silent glare. Scrambling back into my cave, I blinked the sweat out of my eyes as he dropped to a crouch at the entrance. He wouldn’t fit inside, but his arms were long. Not to mention his tail. He could easily reach me if he wanted to.

“Get away!” I yelled as I slashed my knife in the air in his direction. “Go! Leave me alone!”

He cocked his head. Backlit by the sun outside, I was once again taken by how huge he was. Maybe three times my bulk. Close to seven feet. With a fucking tail, claws, and horns. He was equipped in all the ways I was not, and I had never been more aware that I was an outsider on this planet.

He reached down to his belt, and I kicked out, sending some rocks skittering his way. “Don’t!” My voice cracked with terror. I didn’t want to die here in this cave. And if he took out one of his weapons, I was done for. I couldn’t help my pleading whimper. “Please just leave me alone.”

He stared at me before his fingers fiddled with a pouch on his pelt. Just when I thought my heart was going to burst from fear, he withdrew a leaf tied with a dried vine. With a silent nod, he placed it at the entrance to my cave. Then, moving swiftly and gracefully for such a large figure, he stood up and strode away.

Again, I remained huddled in my spot until the sun began to set. Only then, as the last rays of light lit my cave, did I reach for the small bundle. I unwrapped it carefully to find several strips of dried meat. Food. Protein. A lifesaver.

So not only did he not kill me… he was also gifting me food? While I didn’t trust a motive behind this gift, I was aware that if he hadn’t wanted me dead, he could have easily done it at the riverbank. And so I would take this food, eat it, and use it to fuel my body to get healthier. If all he was doing was fattening me up for a better meal… Well, then he’d have to catch me first.

The meat was flavorful and salty, and I found myself licking the leaf to get every last flavorful crumb. As the sun set, I crept out of my cave. This time, I was completely alone. At least… no one was nearby, although I couldn’t be sure someone wasn’t watching me from a safe distance. As I crawled to the water’s edge, I could have sworn I felt eyes on me, but I heard no roar of a predator. No chattering of the pink monkeys. After drinking my fill from the stream, I crawled back to my cave. There, I collapsed on the hard ground and closed my eyes. I’d survived today. I’d battle tomorrow in the morning.

THREE

Neve

I survived the next day. And the next. And the one after that. By the fourth day, I could put weight on my ankle, and by the fifth I was running. Well, jogging. I wasn’t going to win any sprint awards, but at least I could get around.

I still didn’t trust myself to do any mountain climbing, so the valley had been my home for the last week. I’d tried to catch some fish but had been unlucky. It didn’t really matter though, because every day I was getting deliveries via pink monkey. As soon as the sun began to appear over the mountain opposite my cave, I’d hear the soft pitter patter of feet. And then the baby who’d I’d saved from my trap would appear with a little pack on his back. Inside would be berries and meat. One time there was a soft pile of curds that tasted like cheese. The package would be enough to get me through the day, and while I wasn’t comfortable relying on it, I didn’t have much of a choice. I tried to hunt and gather on my own, but I couldn’t do much while my ankle healed, so my deliveries were the only thing keeping me alive.

I’d started calling the monkey, “Buddy” which wasn’t a creative name, but it felt both gender neutral and appropriate. He was absolutely my buddy. He watched me with his big round eyes as I ate and twitched his tail in time to my chewing. If there was a noise outside, he’d swivel his head and peel his lips back. Little sharp teeth points had begun to emerge from his gums, and he’d showed them to me with lots of chattering and monkey-grinning that reminded me of teenage bragging.

I’d seen what his kind could do to an alien three times my size, so while I was no longer scared of him, I remained wary. Maybe Buddy would turn on me when he got older and could tear into my flesh with his teeth. Maybe they really were fattening me up. And what was with that blue alien? I hadn’t seen a trace of him.

If it wasn’t for him giving me that first bit of food, I would have assumed Buddy was stealing me food, but sometimes I’d get more of the leaf-wrapped packages that he’d handed to me.

“This isn’t all your doing, is it, Buddy?” I asked him one morning as I munched on some sort of citrus fruit. “Did he put you up to this? Why?”

Buddy blinked at me and then swiveled his head when something splashed in the river. I waved a hand. “Ignore them. I tried to catch them, but I didn’t have any luck, so I think they’re just taunting me at this point.”

Buddy chirped softly.

I offered him a segment of the fruit, and with a twitchy little grin, he took it from me with his small hands and shoved it into his mouth. His cheeks bulged as he chewed, and I smiled at him. “You’re so cute.”

Sometimes I thought he knew what I was saying, because at my words, he preened. His little chest puffed out, and he ran a hand over the top of his head as if he was smoothing his hair. Did he get that gesture from the blue alien?

“So who is he?” I asked Buddy. “Is he nice? Does he want to eat me along with your family?”

Buddy shuffled forward. Gripping my neck with his tail, he swung up onto my back before dangling from the ceiling and then dropping back down.

Remembering something, I said, “Oh! Give me a minute.” Turning my back on Buddy as he chased his tail, I rummaged in the small back corner of the cave until I found what I was looking for. “Ta da,” I said with a flourish as I produced a small ball that I’d made from some dried reeds.

Frozen, Buddy stared at it with distrust.

“It’s a ball,” I explained before I rolled it toward him. As the ball drew closer, he let out a frightened squeak and darted from the cave.

“Hey!” I called after him, but he was back in thirty seconds, racing a circle around the ball as it came to a stop on the stone ground.

He went still with it, watching it carefully as if it was a snake ready to strike.

“It’s not alive,” I tried to reassure him. “See?” I held up my hand and then slowly lowered it. With my forefinger, I flicked the ball, so it rolled a few inches. “It only moves if you make it.”

Buddy eyed it for a long time before gently reaching a hand forward and mimicking my flicking gesture. When the ball bounced off the side of the cave, he shrieked with delight and hopped around on his two back feet.

Watching his antics, I couldn’t help but smile. I wanted to laugh. He was hilarious as he flipped the ball all over the cave with his feet. But I couldn’t bring myself to force the sound from my throat. Instead, I sat there like as statue with a frozen smile as that caged, trapped feeling in my chest tightened with each breath.

“Give me a minute, Buddy,” I said softly as I crawled out of the entrance of the cave. He followed me, batting his ball around, while I stood up and stretched my arms over my head. The sky was overcast today, and I could smell rain in the air. Eyeing the riverbanks, I wondered how much water the river could hold before it overflowed. I couldn’t see any sort of waterline among the vegetation and mountains from earlier floods. I was confident I was safe. As the first raindrops began to fall, Buddy let out a chirp and placed his ball in his pack. I gave him a little wave. “See you tomorrow.” He waved back, as he’d begun to do as a mimic of me, and then he raced off down the riverbank. I wasn’t sure where he went or if the blue alien and the rest of the pink monkeys lived on this side of the river or the other. I hadn’t even been able to find a bridge, so I’d been stuck on one side of the riverbank.

I retreated to my cave, and by mid-morning the skies had opened up into a downpour. I rocked with my hands wrapped around my knees to keep in some warmth. Buddy had brought me a fur blanket one morning, and I was grateful for it, but the damp air still chilled me to the bone. Despite my chattering teeth, I dozed off, and only awakened when I felt a tickling at my toes. Blinking groggily, I stared at the water lapping at my feet in confusion. “What?” I murmured before a rush of water drifted to my ankle bones. It was then I peered out to find not a river rushing by, but a flood that had overtaken the banks and was currently invading my cave.

“Shit!” I cried out as I grabbed my bag of supplies and hauled it on my back. Splashing through water, I scrambled to the entrance of my cave to an ankle-deep current that threatened to sweep me downstream. Rain poured down, soaking me immediately, and I glanced around frantically.

I had to get to high ground. The sky looked gray for miles, and I didn’t think the rain was going to stop anytime soon. This valley was going to be a deathtrap in under an hour. I glanced behind me, but with the rain, the slick grass and mud, the ascent up the mountain looked nearly impassable. “You have to find a break in the mountains, Neve,” I whispered to myself. It was the only way. There had to be some sort of path out of here.

I took off on a sprint downstream, so I didn’t have to battle the current. My ankle didn’t flex as well as it normally did, but the cold water seemed to numb any pain. It might swell to a softball, but that was something I’d deal with later when I wasn’t under the threat of drowning.

Heart racing, arms pumping, I ran as fast as I could as the water slowly began to rise. In no time, it was up to mid-calf, and panic began to set in. The thought of paddling for my life made my lungs seize. I wouldn’t survive it.

Exhausted, I bent over, coughing up a lungful of rainwater when I heard the unmistakable howling of a red alien hound. Whirling around, I blinked through the sheets of rain to see a cluster of red aliens standing on the hilltop on my side of the river. All they had to do was slide down the hill and they’d have me in their clutches. A hound howled again, and an alien with a large crescent moon scar on his neck uncoiled a glowing whip from his side as his eyes settled on me.

Sweat mixed with the cold rain dripping down my face. Why couldn’t they just leave me alone? What did they want from me?

Helplessly, I spun in a circle to look for a possible escape route, and my eyes landed on an elevated bridge about a hundred yards downstream. The water was rushing over the wooden planks, but if I got there in time, I might be able to cling to the railing and get across. I couldn’t go up. So I had to go over.

Inhaling sharply, I raced toward the bridge just as a growling shout came from behind me. Heavy footsteps and the galloping of the hounds followed me. Any second, I expected to feel the hot lash of a whip streaking across my back.

Reaching the bridge, I glanced behind me to find my pursuers had reached the bottom of the hill and were sprinting towards me. I took one step onto the bridge, and the rushing water nearly swept me off. With a gasp, I went to my knees as I clutched the railing. Sputtering, I hauled myself to my feet as my ankle protested. The red aliens were gaining ground fast, and as one of them pulled a laser gun from his belt, I let out a despairing sob. Still, I refused to give up. Using all my strength, I stumbled across the bridge using the railing as my guide. One hand over another. One foot after another. Water rushed up to my knees, and every step felt like I had fifty-pound weights around my ankles.

When I reached the end of the bridge, I threw myself to the opposite bank and landed in water that nearly swept over my head. Flinging myself upright, I felt a hot lick of pain along the side of my head. A stream of blood hit my chest, and I reached up to finger the ragged edge of what used to be my right earlobe. Behind me, a hound growled. The red alien with the neck scar shouted triumphantly.

The rain poured. My heart slowed. Every muscle in my body ached. My ankle throbbed, and my eyes stung. The entire right side of my face felt like it was on fire. I turned to see the glowing whip arc above me. I swore time slowed as I stared at the weapon that would either bring me death or capture. Either way, I knew this was the end for me. The sounds of the flood faded. I couldn’t hear the hounds growling anymore. Only the soft thoughts of the women I missed so very much. “I’m sorry, friends,” I whispered in a calm daze. “I didn’t make it.”

Suddenly a slim dark object streaked through the air. The whip separated in one clean slice and the glow vanished. The two pieces fell into the river with a hissing splash before being swept away downstream. A blue figure stepped in front of me, and I stared up at his wide back and long dark hair. Water beaded off his black mane, and his muscles flexed as he flung a blade at one of the red aliens. It struck him right in the neck, and he gargled as he stumbled back. Body flipping over the railing of the bridge he landed in the water. In a second, the red alien was underwater and flung downstream.

With a flick of his muscled arms, black blades emerged from the blue alien’s scaled forearms, along the top of his head, and down to the base of his thick tail. My jaw dropped as advanced on the attacking red aliens without hesitation.

Laser gun fire sliced through the air, but it sailed past us ineffectually, and the blue alien didn’t stop. With a crouch and leap, he landed on the bridge before advancing on the red aliens and their hounds.

The red aliens were at a disadvantage on the narrow bridge. The blue alien was slightly shorter, but his movements were quicker and more efficient. He moved like a trained boxer while the red aliens fumbled with their weapons as they sought to fight back.

It was no contest. As the blue alien tossed the last red alien with the crescent scar and his hound off the bridge, he stood with his back to me, heaving a large breath, before turning to glance at me over his shoulder. Purple eyes bore into mine.

Alarm flared in my chest as he spun and began to advance on me. I backed up, but my ankle rolled on a rock, and I lost my footing. With a splash I hit the water, and this time, I couldn’t make it back up. The current swept me away, and I flailed as I sought to keep my head above the surface. Gasping for breath, I inhaled a lungful of water. Choking, screaming, crying, I reached my hand out of the water for one last hope just as my vision dimmed and my world went black.

Relk

I closed my hand around the pale wrist and pulled the limp body from the water. The creature hung from my hand as if dead. Dark hair covered its face in a wet mass. One of its ears was injured, and the ragged edge dripped with bright red blood. Its clothes were rags, so thin that I could see through to its pale skin underneath. Its chest heaved, and the small creature’s body jerked with a cough as water dribbled from its lips. Cradling the creature in my arms, I pushed its hair back as its narrow chest inflated with a rattling, wet breath.

My cora pulsed as I got my first good look at the creature’s face. Before, when Biza’s son had been near this pale form, I hadn’t been able to get a good look. Biza had told me this was a female of an unknown species. She had round eyes, which were currently squeezed shut. Full pink lips which were parted to reveal blunt white teeth. Through the ragged clothing on her chest were two breasts topped with hard nipples. I swallowed as my gut clenched. I’d never seen anything like her before. And so painfully thin. After I’d seen her that day along the river, I’d judged her harmless, and I’d given Biza’s son, Giro, permission to bring this creature food. Had she eaten it?

Body tensing, she coughed again, and her eyes opened slightly to stare up at my unfocused. Her lips moved, and she mumbled a few unintelligible sounds before her eyes closed again, and her body went slack.

As my cave was upstream, I set off against the current with the female in my arms. By now, the water had reached my knees, but I didn’t dare stumble once with my precious cargo. I wasn’t sure what she was or where she was from, but I knew I had to keep her safe. I didn’t know where this strong desire came from, but it was there in my frozen memories. Not knowing who or what I was, I relied on my instincts, and this one beat strongly inside of me.

As I ascended the mountain to my cave, I was relieved to emerge from the water. I’d long ago carved stairs into the cliff which made my ascent easier. I had to adjust the female in my arms a few times, but she remained still and quiet.

As I reached my cave, Biza was at the entrance chattering away in furious, anxious tones. I held up a hand to assure her I was okay, and she fell silent as soon as she spotted the female in my arms. Giro, who was playing nearby with a small round object, leaped up and down at my feet to try to get to the female. Biza grabbed him and hugged him to her chest as I retreated into the cave and out of the pouring rain.

I set the female on a bundle of furs near my burning fire. Her entire body trembled, and her flesh was dotted with raised bumps. Her once pink lips were now blue, and her skin was nearly translucent. When I felt her forehead, the flesh there burned my fingers, but her arms and stomach were cold like death.

Biza came over with Giro trailing her cautiously. Sniffing, she hovered over the female and placed a small hand on the female’s cheek. She craned her neck to examine the ear wound. The little wrinkles on the neezia’s face deepened.

She’s not well, Biza signed.

What can I do? I asked her.

Get her warm and dry. This is not skin that can stay wet and cold. Water in her breaths. Not good.

The female coughed weakly and once again opened her eyes. Tugging at her clothes, she mumbled one word as her unfocused eyes rolled. “Koold. Soo koold.”

I gripped the front of her cold wet rag of a shirt and ripped it down the middle. She let out a dazed gasp and one arm shot up to cover her breasts. I didn’t understand why she didn’t want me to see them, but I felt like I needed to respect her wishes. So I averted my gaze even though I didn’t understand it. With Biza’s help, I undressed the female and then wrapped her in a warm, dry fur. She remained slightly conscious throughout my handling of her. Occasionally, she’d attempt to bat my hands away. “Doond tach,” she’d mumble.

But I ignored her, intent on helping her. When she was wrapped in a swaddled bundle like a baby neezia, I settled her in my lap and sifted my fingers through her hair near the fire. The heavy dark locks were soaked and cold, but soon the fire dried them into fluffy waves. She watched me with half-closed eyes and finally stopped trying to fight me. When her hair was almost dry, her eyes closed, and she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

I laid her down in my bed palette and watched her doze. The muscles in her face moved a lot, and she mumbled words in a language I didn’t know. Her body jerked and drops of a salty liquid dotted her heated brow. I mopped them away as soon as they appeared while Biza bandaged the female’s ear with her small, dexterous hands.

I remained crouched near the female throughout the rest of the rotation and into the night. The rain eventually stopped, and moisture hung in the air from the flooded river. While Biza kept watch over the female, I allowed myself a short sleep before waking up to once again stay by the female’s side.

It was another full rotation and night before the female’s breathing stopped rattling in her chest and her skin temperature evened out. She was no longer cool to the touch in some places and hot as a fire in others. When the sun rose on the second rotation and filtered through the vent in my cave to dapple her face, she blinked awake.

I hovered over her, examining the color of her skin and the brightness of her eyes. She no longer looked ill, but just as I was about to celebrate a triumph, her eyes widened, her mouth opened, and she let out a scream so loud that I reared back in alarm.

FOUR

Neve

Purple eyes bored into mine, and the scream that tore out of my throat was as surprising to me as it was to him. He jerked back as I scrambled away from him. The fur covering me dropped, and cool air licked at my nipples. I glanced down to find myself completely naked and let out another shriek of horror as I grabbed the fur and brought it up to my chin. Continuing my mad scramble until my back hit a stone wall, I stared at the blue alien who remained crouched beside a fire.

“Why am I naked?” I choked out. Glancing around, I shuddered at being cornered in the back of a cave. The only way out was straight ahead, and the massive blue alien was blocking the way. “Why am I here? Who are you?”

He remained silent, and I fought to keep my heart rate under control as it threatened to pound right out of my chest and sacrifice itself into the fire. What had happened? How had I gotten here?

My ankle throbbed. The right side of my face hurt. I lifted my hand to finger my ear, only to find the rim and lobe bandaged. Pain flared when I poked it. And then my memories came back. Being pursued by the red aliens. The whip. And then the blue alien to my rescue. His hand closing around mine. Vague images of me being carried in his arms. A fire. So feverishly hot and yet so cold. Chills. Hands disrobing me. Strong fingers scratching at my scalp.

I jerked my hand into my hair to find it dry. My forehead was a normal temperature. My mouth tasted like something died, but I was no longer trembling with unstoppable chills.

He’d brought me up here and cared for me. He’d touched me. I wait for his emotions to filter through my brain, but nothing came. Frowning, I stared at him closely and opened up my mind link to sort out his feelings. And yet, for the first time since I encountered these new abilities, I was met with an un-ending ocean of ice. I couldn’t sense anything. Not his thoughts. Not his emotions. Nothing. But his soul was there as I could see blurry images moving beneath the ice under my feet. Shifting blue and black images. Colorful thoughts. Memories. But they were locked there. And the part that made my breath hitch in my chest was that the blue alien stood on the ice with me in his own mind. The images were as hidden to him as they were to me.

I so badly wanted to believe that he’d brought me here out of kindness. Hell, I’d even take pity, but I couldn’t put truth in a wish. Since leaving Earth, everything I’d encountered had tried to kill me. How could this blue alien be an exception? It wasn’t possible.

A familiar chattering drew my attention, and Buddy galloped toward me with a little squeak. He landed in my lap and proceeded to comb out the ends of my tangled hair.

“Well,” I corrected my own thoughts. “Everything has wanted to kill me but you,” I whispered to him. Buddy only answered with another squeak.

The older pink monkey who Buddy had ran to the other day climbed up the blue alien’s leg to settle on his shoulder. She stared at me curiously but made no move to attack me. As Buddy continued to groom me, I took in my surroundings. The fire was nestled into a dug-out pit, and the smoke rose to small slitted vents in the ceiling. A bundle of furs were stacked neatly nearby, and I realized I was on some sort of padded, elevated bed. Clothing hung on a crude rack, and near the fire a primitive bowl, cup, and plate sat on a legless table.

So this was his home. Or at least a temporary one. Was he alone? Did he have a whole clan of aliens who looked like him somewhere close by?

I opened my mouth to talk, but my tongue felt too thick to get any words out, and my throat clicked dryly. The blue alien gestured to a spot next to me, and I glanced down to find a cup of clear liquid. Sniffing it first, I determined it was water, and guzzled it quickly. When I was finished, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Uh, hello,” I said to the blue alien.

He remained silent. Not even a grunt. I hadn’t assumed he could understand me, but I did spot a translator implant behind his ear similar to mine.

Buddy drew my attention with a squeak. He pointed at the blue alien with his small hands before pointing to his mouth and then squeezing his lips shut.

“He can’t talk?” I asked Buddy. He only blinked at me. I mimicked the gesture of squeezing my lips shut and then pointed at the blue alien. Buddy let out a squeak that I had learned meant he was happy.

“Can’t talk,” I murmured. Well, not like it mattered anyway. We couldn’t understand each other.

With a quick fluid movement, the blue alien shifted forward. A strong, warm hand closed around my sore ankle that had somehow slipped out from under the fur. I let out a yelp of surprise and pain, but the alien didn’t let go. In fact, he ignored my sounds of protest as he slid the fur up to my knee.

His fingers prodded at the swollen joint, and then he reached over to a small cup and scooped a dollop of what looked like green salve in his fingers.

“Hey.” I tried again to dislodge his grip. “What is that stuff?”

Again ignoring me, he rubbed the salve all over my ankle, and I gasped at the cooling sensation he left behind. It felt a bit like aloe left in a fridge, and immediately I could feel the salve sinking into my skin like magic. The aching of my ankle abated, and when he finally released me, I rolled it with more ease than I had since my injury.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

He let out huffing breath—the only real sound I’d heard him make so far—before dropping several leaf-wrapped bundles in my lap. They looked identical to the ones Buddy had delivered to me every day. “So these definitely came from you?” I said out loud.

He only watched me before claiming a bundle for himself and biting into it… leaf and all. He finished it off in three bites, and then gestured for me to eat. I did the same as him this time and didn’t unwrap the bundles. These were filled with a mushy type of grain that reminded me of sweet rice and nestled in the center were chunks of a stringy vegetable. Overall, it didn’t taste bad, and I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I finished off three bundles all on my own. “Thanks,” I said to him. Although part of me still worried he was fattening me up for something.

His tail swished lazily behind him, and he’d removed the spiked armor from the end. He had also taken off all his weapons, which remained in a neat pile on an unrolled fur near the front of the cave. He wore only a pair of pants—and his entire presence was a little overwhelming with his cascade of dark hair and muscled physique. I remembered the way he’d fought the red aliens with efficient violence with the black blades that rose from under his scales, and it was a stark contrast to the peaceful, still creature that sat in front of me right now. The way he’d touched my ankle had been soft and gentle. Based on my first impressions of him, I hadn’t thought he was capable of that.

I met his gaze, carefully studying his face for the first time. His eyes had previously terrified me, but now they were a softer, calmer purple. They were pretty, which was an odd thing for me to admit. His heavy brow was marked with a row of small nubs, and his fangs peeked out of his top lip. A few metal hoops hung from his pierced ears. I lifted my hand self-consciously to touch what was left of my right ear. The blue alien’s gaze followed mine and his face darkened for a moment. I quickly dropped my hand, and his eyes fired. But the sheet of ice over his emotions remained thick and cold as always. Not even a crack.

Before I could process what was happening, he’d scooped me into his arms. Rising to his full height, he strode toward the front of the cave. My head spun for a minute as I flailed to keep the fur around me. The two pink monkeys followed us, and as we emerged from the cave, a sea of pink descended the top of the cliff toward us. With a yelp, I clung to the blue alien, but the sea of pink paid us no mind, parting around us as they fled down the hill to the river. The blue alien carried me down the mountain on stone stairs carved into the cliff, and I wondered if he’d created them.

I couldn’t be sure how long I’d been in that cave. All I knew was the river was once again contained by its banks, but the effects of the flood could still be seen as the berry bushes that had once lined the banks were stripped bare. If I was still on my own, I would have been hard pressed to find food.

The pink monkeys rushed into the river with screeching and chattering. Fanning out up and down stream, they began to wash each other with efficient little scrubs before dissolving into playtime splashing. I’d seen them tear flesh from bones and yet they weren’t mindless little carnivores. They reminded me a bit of orcas—deadly but intelligent.

I started to panic as we reached the river’s edge, because the blue alien holding me wasn’t stopping. He took one step into the stream before tearing the blanket off me and dunking me under the stream in one swift movement.

I came up sputtering with my hair covering my eyes. Submerged in the water up to my chest, I glared at the alien as he waded into the water next to me. Then he had the audacity to lift his hand to his face and pinch his nose with this finger and thumb.

I couldn’t stop my indignant shriek. “Are you telling me I smell?”

He had no fear in the face of my anger. In fact, he seemed to have infinite patience with my flails and cries. Just when I was about to unleash more anger at the indignity of this situation, he reached for me with unsheathed claws. I let out a yelp of fear, but I should have worried, because all he did was rake his claws through my hair and thoroughly douse the greasy locks in the water.

He was cleaning me.

But what he did next made my heart race more than fear. Standing, he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his pants and lowered them. Just… shucked them off and tossed them to the shore leaving him standing in front of me in all his wet, naked glory.

The breath left my lungs in a whoosh as I could do nothing but stare at the blue figure in front of me. Surely I was looking at one of the wonders of this world, because this alien was art. The water reached the middle of his thick, tree-trunk thighs. His ass was high and round. I should have stopped my perusal there and looked away, but it was impossible when he twisted slightly at the waist and presented to me the massive rod hanging between his legs. Rod. Bat. Club. Massive fucking member.

This guy was hung with a thick, light blue dick with a flared mushroom head. The head was pierced with a thick golden ring. He was hairless, and a bump protruded from the top of the base of his cock while his heavy balls hung low.

Not that I had been unsure, but this alien was most definitely male. But in no way, judging by the size of that organ between his legs, were we sexually compatible. I couldn’t imagine taking that thing inside of me. I’d feel it tickling my tonsils.

And there I sat naked in the shallow edge of the river while he splashed water on himself like this was any other day. Normally nudity invoked vulnerability, but if anything, this blue alien was even more powerful naked.

The pink monkeys began to scatter as the alien bathed, and I sat frozen on the riverbed rocks. Soon only a few monkeys remained, and they weren’t close by. The blue alien dunked his head underwater and flung his hair back like some eighties music video, and my heart pounded in my chest. I shouldn’t find this attractive. This wasn’t attractive. Was it? Maybe I was still delirious from my fever and possible concussion. That had to be why my skin felt hot despite the cool water rushing over it.

Suddenly he turned toward me and speared me with his unique purple eyes. While he might not have been vulnerable naked, I certainly was. Like a scared deer, I immediately wanted to flee. The fur blanket was crumpled on the bank, and I wanted it more than anything. Scrambling backward like a crab, I made it to the bank and had my body halfway out of the water to my waist when the blue alien went to his knees in front of me. His arms caged me against the grassy bank with his fists on the ground on either side of me.

My nipples—hard because of the cold, of course, no other reason at all—brushed his chest, and I shuddered involuntarily.

Shifting my body, I hauled myself out of the water and placed my butt on the bank, but he came with me, his big body hovered over mine, his hips between my knees, as he studied me like I was an interesting new specimen.

“Please,” I whispered.

His eyes dropped to my mouth, and there they stayed until I swallowed around the lump in my throat. I couldn’t quite sort out my emotions. Was I scared? Curious? Or worse… aroused? All I knew was that I no longer felt the cold of the water. My skin burned, and my belly felt like it was on fire. And lower… my stomach clenched. His eyes dipped to my breasts, and I held back a whimper as one of his hands slowly lifted. Gently, like I was a kitten, he brushed the back of one sharp, deadly claw over my hardened nipple. Biting the inside of my cheek until I couldn’t stand the sting anymore, I watched as his purple eyes widened and his pupils dilated.

An odd rattle sounded from his chest, and he jerked his gaze up to mine as if the sound came from me. “That’s you,” I managed to whisper as I lifted one finger to tap his breastbone. “You’re making that sound.” Why did my voice sound so husky? What was happening?

Suddenly he backed off, but I couldn’t make my muscles move to scramble away even though I sat with my legs spread to this stranger. Trembling all over, I watched as his eyes drifted to between my legs, where dark curly hair covered my pussy. His head tilted slightly, and he inhaled deeply before that odd rattling increased in volume. It sounded almost like a purr, but this one was rusty from disuse, like an old tomcat who finally found his mate.

His hands settled on the tops of my thighs before parting them more so he could get closer. “I—” I gasped as my muscles failed to come to my rescue. Instead, my body let him manipulate me until his face was inches from my pussy. “Oh God,” I murmured just as he opened his mouth. But he didn’t bite me. Instead a long black tongue unfurled from his mouth. Three ball piercings lined the middle, and the very tip extended to taste a sample of my skin at the crease of my thigh.

I shuddered, and this time a pathetic, needy whimper dripped from my lips. As soon as the sound was out, he reacted to it with a harsh, hot breath over my flesh. Leaning forward, his black horns rasped along my thighs just as he gave my pussy one, long, slow lick.

“Oh shit,” I cried out as my thighs clenched around his ears. He did it again, circling my clit before spearing my entrance with the pointed tip. Bracing myself with one hand behind me, I tangled the other in his dark hair as I held on while he dove in with his lips. A fang nipped me, and I let out a long low groan. If he was some alien vampire, then I was a goner, because I could no longer flee. I could do nothing but feel the heat coursing through my body as this blue alien took me apart with his mouth. I hadn’t had an orgasm in years, and I’d never had a man go down on me. The feel of his wet, strong tongue teasing my bundle of nerves had me grinding against his mouth. The rumble in his chest increased, drowning out the sound of the water, of my gasping breaths, of the obscene wet licking sounds that was his tongue lapping at and my drenched pussy.

When his tongue slipped inside of me, I threw my head back on a scream. My body convulsed, and before I could catch another breath, I was coming on his face with a howling cry. Over and over again the convulsions rocked my body. Heat spread to every limb, and I saw stars at the corners of my eyes. He licked me through it, increasing the intensity until my hand weakly fell from his hair. Too sensitive, I pushed his head away with a little shove, and he immediately relinquished his position between my legs. Lifting his head, he panted through parted lips, his face shiny with my juices, and his eyes glowing a deep indigo.

“Holy shit,” I whispered as he stared at me.

Was this it? Was he like a black widow and now he’d devour me? But instead, he only rose from the water to his feet. His massive, pierced cock hung in my face, and I panicked that I would have to return the favor. Maybe this was their custom. But that thing would absolutely choke me.

The blue alien stepped out of the water and walked behind me. I spun around, still worried, to see him gathering the fur he’d tossed from my body. He approached me, carefully wrapped me in the sun-warmed fur, and then hauled me into his arms. He slowly began his ascent back to the cave, and I stared at him the entire time, wondering what would happen next.

The pain and terror of the red aliens I could handle because I knew what was coming. There were no surprises. I was never under the delusion that the bad guys weren’t bad. But this blue alien… his kindness and care worried me. What was the reason? Was betrayal in my future?

FIVE

Relk

Her flavor hung on my tongue, and I wished for it to remain forever. I wasn’t even sure how it happened. I’d been bathing one minute and the next, all I could smell was her, and my first instinct was to get a taste of that fragrant pink flesh between her legs. She was sweet and musky, and I kept swiping my tongue over my lips and chin so not a drop went to waste.

She remained quiet in my arms, but I could feel her cora pounding like a fist in her chest. Her eyes remained wide and a bit wild. Had I scared her? Her sounds had been those of pleasure, I was sure of it, and she hadn’t pushed me away until her last cries had faded. Fleck, she still smelled like a dream, and I wanted more of her immediately.

The only problem was my cock. At the first scent of her, it had unusually swelled and hardened. Was I allergic to her? What could this mean?

When we arrived at the cave, I carefully placed her on the bundle of furs and retreated to the fire so I could examine my body. I tugged my pants down to find my pale blue cock had darkened and the head was a deep purple color. Pain surged from my balls to the tip, and I peeled back my lips in anger. What was happening? I knocked the butt of my hand against my forehead, wishing for a return of some memories, but my mind was frozen as always.

Fleck, I ached from my thighs to my belly. I knelt in front of the fire and pressed down on my cock. Just the feel of my palm along the sensitive skin had me throwing my head back with relief, and as soon as my fingers closed around the shaft, I let out a long low breath of pleasure.

Stroke. Stroke. Twist at the tip. The movements felt like instinct, and I gritted my teeth as the pain remained on a throbbing ache in my balls. This must be the antidote. It felt too good to be wrong.

Suddenly a small hand joined mine. I jerked my head to stare into the eyes of the little female. She blinked at me through a face full of dark, wet locks. “Sokay,” she murmured softly. I watched the bob of her throat and ached to taste her skin there. “All halp.”

I didn’t know what she said, but her hands were caring, nurturing, and when she reached down to squeeze my balls, my body bucked forward. Her hand jerked back, but I sent her a pleading, desperate look to touch me again. I would have preferred death over the lack of her touch in that moment.

With a soft smile curving her pink lips, she reached down again and closed her hand over the top half of my cock, her fingers nestled right under the hood. She squeezed at the same time I did, and my balls drew up tight.

My mouth dropped open, my tongue rolled out, and my hips punched forward without thought. In our hands, my cock pulsed, and a stream of thick liquid jetted from the tip to land into the fire with a hiss. The stream kept coming in thick spurts until my balls were emptied, and I felt wrung out. Exhausted. Like I could sleep for days.

My head rolled on my shoulders, and I almost tipped forward into the fire, but the female’s gentle hands on my shoulders pulled me to her side. Our bodies shifted back, and my head landed on a soft pillow of fur.

The female settled beside me, and my eyes closed. I heard her murmur a few more sounds before sleep took over.

Neve

I could hear Trix in my head. You jacked him off? What the hell are you thinking?

And I’d have to answer that I wasn’t really thinking. Maybe I was still under the influence of that wicked orgasm he’d given me at the river, and so my typical guard had been lowered. He lay next to me, his big body at rest for the first time since we’d met. His breath whistled between his teeth, and his massive chest rose and fell with deep breaths. He was out.

Part of me was shocked that he’d been content to take care of himself, but his movements had seemed unsure. Clumsy. As if he’d never masturbated before. I wasn’t the most sexually experienced woman, but hand jobs were hand jobs. At least, I had assumed all hand jobs were the same, but I’d never, ever wrapped my hand around a cock that was blue and as thick as this guy’s. And the way he’d looked at me… it hadn’t been creepy or seductive or even satisfied. He’d been thankful. Reverent. Utterly grateful that I’d touched him. I glanced down at my hand and wiggled my fingers. Just a little touch and he’d been like a big blue marshmallow in my arms.

I reached for the store of the food he had and grabbed a stick of dried meat. I ate the whole thing before washing it down with a few gulps of water. When I laid back down on the furs, he’d somehow shifted closer to me. His pants still hung around his knees, and his cock was large even at rest. When I’d first seen his cock, I’d been in awe but also terrified of it as a weapon. But he hadn’t used it like that. He hadn’t done one single thing to hurt me yet.

I couldn’t believe I was talking my way into trusting him, but he’d kept me alive when I would have surely perished. That way he’d washed my hair in the river—he’d been so gentle for someone so big and strong. I hadn’t allowed myself to relax even in front of the other women, but now I felt my heartbeat slow to a resting rate and the constant tension in my muscles ease. In this cave, with the fire slowly dying and the heat of the blue alien next to me, I closed my eyes and felt safe for the first time in as long as I could remember.

Laying on my side, I watched as the blue alien crouched near the fire. The smell of cooking meat hung in the air, and my nose twitched while my stomach growled. He must have heard it, because he swiveled his head to glance at me over his shoulder. I smiled, and his gaze dropped to my lips before he looked away. The shapes beneath the ice of his mind shifted in a colorful blur, but nothing was distinguishable yet. Would it ever thaw? Or was he just a frozen tundra forever?

Buddy rolled a small ball to me, and I rolled it back. Nails clicking on the stone floor, he chased after it. His mother—I assumed she was his mother—hovered nearby watching us closely. I didn’t think she fully trusted me yet, but she hadn’t made any move to hurt me. She’d chattered at me in a scolding tone a time or two. Sometimes I could have sworn she made whole syllable sounds rather than just chirps, but it was nothing I could quite figure out yet.

Yesterday, she hadn’t been in the cave when I’d touched the blue alien by the fire, and that was likely a good thing. Would she have thought I was hurting him? I could tell she was protective, which was amusing because the blue alien seemed perfectly capable of defending himself. I hadn’t seen his black blades again since that day he’d fought the red aliens. They’d sank back under his scales as quickly as they’d risen. Rotating my wrists, I poked at my own forearms. How cool would it be to have built-in weapons? Instead I had blunt teeth and pathetic strength.

When I rolled the ball again, Buddy chased it, but his weak leg buckled dangerously close to the fire. His little body tipped toward the flames, and I lunged for him, catching him before he could get hurt. He didn’t seem to understand the danger, as he just chattered at me with a big grin and continued after the ball.

Before he could snatch it, his mother picked it up and carefully spun it in her hands. Maybe she thought the game was too dangerous, but instead of scolding either of us, she crept closer to where I lay amongst the furs. The big blue alien watched us closely but didn’t make any move to intervene. Still, the pink monkey’s sharp fangs were right there, and I knew what she was capable of. I held my ground anyway, trusting the blue alien wouldn’t let her gnaw on my limbs right there in front of him.

She stopped in front of me, so close that I felt her course fur on the sides of my arms. “Hi,” I said softly. I placed my hand over my heart. Maybe all I needed to do was talk to her in a reassuring tone. Even if she couldn’t understand me, she’d be able to sense my desire for peace. “Neve.” I pointed at myself again. “Neve.”

She blinked her thin eyelids before her mouth opened and she said in a clear tone, “Biza.” Her small hand patted her chest. Goosebumps lifted on my arms as the shock of her diction sank in. I’d previously only heard her chirp, but she could form words. Syllables. What else was she capable of?

“Biza.” I repeated. So, we were making introductions? She couldn’t kill me now that she knew my name, right? Excitement bubbled in my chest. While I hadn’t been able to converse with the blue alien yet, talking with Biza was encouraging. And maybe part of me just wanted a damn friend. I hadn’t participated much in the conversations my friends had had, content to sit back and let them bond, but now I wished I’d spoken up more, offered pieces of myself. Loneliness sucked.

Biza drew my attention as she next pointed at Buddy. “Giro.”

I nodded and said, “Giro.”

Next, she pointed at the big blue alien, and I held my breath, so very eager to know his name. I’d seen him orgasm, but I had no idea what to call him.

Her little mouth moved. “Relk.”

“Relk,” I whispered, and the alien crouched near the fire made a rumbling sound in his chest as his eyes glowed fiercely. “Relk,” I said again, with a smile now.

Biza, seemingly now content she’d done her duty, retreated to the small area of the cave where she and her son made their home and went to work picking through Giro’s fur. Every so often, she’d glance over at us.

The clothes I wore were Relk’s—made of fabric scraps and furs which he’d cut down and resewn to fit me. I’d watched him make them this morning. His thick fingers had moved deftly with a crude needle and thread. While he hadn’t made a move on me again, he always watched me with a heated gaze that kept me warmer than any thick fur.

I crawled out from under makeshift bed and straightened my clothes. They were still a bit big, but I was pretty sure I’d fill them out soon now that I was eating regularly. I was eager to gain weight. I hadn’t had my period in so long probably because of malnutrition and stress. As much as I enjoyed not dealing with menstruating, I knew my body wasn’t healthy. I would have given anything to have the red tide right about now.

As I drew closer to Relk, he placed a few hunks of cooked meat on a large leaf beside him. He pointed at it and then resumed cooking the rest of the fish. All day, he’d done everything for us. Fetched me water, cleaned the cave, caught our food, and now he even picked the bones of the fish for me.

He carried me everywhere too. When I had to make a bowel movement—which I’d had to communicate with awkward finger pointing in an alien version of charades—he’d carried me to a spot on the cliff above, dug a hole, and then turned his back so I could do my business. He was like the ultimate camp guide. Luckily, we had a chamber pot for pee, so I didn’t have to climb a cliff every time I needed to relieve myself. He emptied it regularly, which would have embarrassed me in my past life. He seemed almost proud to do it, like taking care of me was a duty he found value in. His treatment of me didn’t make me feel like a spoiled brat, but more like a treasured companion. The thought was wild. I kept reminding myself to remain cautious, but his actions didn’t jive with any malicious intent. He didn’t seem in a hurry to take me to any sort of leader. His once-fierce eyes were now nothing but kind.

But there was still the problem of communication. Sometimes I could read his emotions, but he was fairly placid most of the time. And eventually… I’d want to leave. I couldn’t stay here knowing my friends could be out there suffering. I had to find a way to look for them. How would I ever be able to explain that to Relk?

I ate my fish, and when I finished that portion, he gave me more and more until I had to lean back with a full belly. The feeling of my skin stretching tight around my stomach was a foreign feeling. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate until I was full.

I estimated about five more hours of daylight. This would likely be our last meal of the day. Although it had been nice to do nothing but lay about the cave all day, I was eager to stretch my legs. Get some air. Breath something other than camp smoke. When I stood up, Relk stood with me. When I took one step toward the cave entrance, he took one step with me. His eyes never left me, and I sensed a bit of tension in his big body, like he thought I might be trying to run away.

“There is no way I’m running away from you,” I said, hoping my calm tone conveyed reassurance. “I just want to take a walk.” I scissored my first and second finger in a walking motion. “Come with me?” I beckoned him with my hand and began walking slowly toward the front of the cave. He followed like a puppy with halting steps as if confused, but when we reached the outside, I lifted my arms in the air and exhaled loudly with a slow, exaggerated stretch. The sky was clear, and a soft breeze blew over my face. I closed my eyes and breathed in the damp air. Below, the river babbled happily. My ankle still ached a bit, but I knew in another couple of days, I’d be nearly good as new.

I opened my eyes as Relk stepped next to me. His arm brushed mine, and goosebumps dotted my skin. Glancing up at him, I let myself dream for a moment of staying here with him forever. It wouldn’t be a bad life.

But I couldn’t live here knowing my friends were out there somewhere. Maybe in the clutches of the red aliens or something worse. Were they hungry? Were they in pain? Worse… were they alive?

The thought of Lu and Maisie—the youngest of us—scared and crying made my chest tight. When they’d been taken from Earth, they’d been college students. They’d still had so much of their lives to live. So many things to experience. Too much time already had been spent on fear. I only wanted them to be as happy as they could be in this galaxy. I gazed at Relk, who stood beside me gazing out over the valley like a lion king. Gratefulness swarmed in my heart, and I wished I had the ability to communicate that to him. As much as I was thankful for him, I wished more than anything that Relk could have found Lu and Maisie. They needed him more than me. Except the thought of Relk looking at anyone else like the way he looked at me left a sour taste in my throat. I’d only known him for a short time, and yet I felt almost possessive over him. Despite his capable nature, there was also a sadness that hung over him like a cloud. Did Biza sense it too? Was this why she watched over him so closely?

A sudden squawk from a winged creature in the air startled me, and I jerked back. Relk immediately reached for me with a concerned wrinkle in his brow.

“I’m fine.” I felt silly. “Just startled.”

His gaze coasted down my body as if checking for an injury. Even though I knew it was invasive, I once again reached into his mind to sense his thoughts and feelings. And once again, all I was left with was a cold chill from his frozen lake.

I had never really been anything to anybody in my life. My parents had been decent but cold, and I’d been an only child. Shy at a young age, I’d never had close friends, and the few men I’d dated had never been a love match. I couldn’t remember any of them doing much for me but paying for dinner. What Relk had done for me in a matter of days put them all to shame. Only my friends had done as much for me as he’d done, and I had repaid them by probing their thoughts without them knowing. And I hadn’t let them get close to me. Sometimes, I wondered if I was worth knowing in the first place.

I found myself wondering what Relk thought of me. Maybe he thought I was interesting because I was different. Surely if he’d found me with my group of friends, he would have paid more attention to bubbly Lu or pretty Tasha.

I rolled my eyes at myself. What were these thoughts? This was a waste of energy. Relk wasn’t some alien husband. He was another part of my story. One I’d eventually have to leave in my past like everything else.

I swallowed as my stomach rolled. The thought of leaving him hurt, but one day I would have to. And the worst part was, how could I make him understand? We could converse with basic commands and hand movements, but there was no way I could convey my gratitude toward him while also explaining why I had to move on. I couldn’t ask him to leave this place. This was his home, and while this valley had once terrified me, I now found infinite beauty in it.

The grass was a lush blue that coated the two mountains like carpet, and the river below sparkled in the sun. I hadn’t seen another predator since that day on the bank, and I wondered if Relk’s presence had something to do with it. He had to be the apex predator here.

He grabbed a small sack at the entrance of the cave and slung it over his shoulder. He’d used it this morning to gather some fruits, so I assumed we’d do a little gathering. He led the way down the stairs, keeping an eye on me the whole time in case I stumbled. I wasn’t that clumsy, and my ankle was feeling pretty good, so my confidence in my health rose. And once again I was reminded how well he watched out for me. I couldn’t quite understand why though. I hadn’t done anything for him accept a barely passable hand job, and he’d done a lot to protect me before that ever happened. He also hadn’t made any sort of motion to do more.

When we reached the valley, a breeze picked up my hair and on an inhale, my mouth sucked in a strand. Coughing, I sputtered inelegantly to get it out. Suddenly Relk’s face was inches from mine, and his big hand swept my hair back from my face.

Blinking at him, I stood frozen as his eyes cast a worried look over my face. I couldn’t even be embarrassed about choking on my own hair, because I was too captivated by his warm purple eyes as they locked onto mine. His thumb caressed my cheek and my belly warmed. He didn’t make a sound, and I wished for a whispered word, maybe even my name, but he didn’t speak as his finger drifted to brush across my bottom lip.

Without thinking, I reached out for his face. He flinched at my first touch, but when I tried to pull back, he grabbed my hand and placed it back on his cheek.

While most of his body was covered in large blue and black scales, the ones on his face were must finer, so much that they looked almost like human flesh. He was soft to the touch, fuzzy, almost like velour. I ran my fingers over the knobs on his forehead, and just as I did so, he dropped to his knees in front of me.

SIX

Relk

The wet ground soaked through the knees of my pants as I knelt in front of the female. Neve. She was a Neve. I didn’t know what that was, but it was what I would call her now that she knew my name thanks to Biza. I’d never been able to say my name to her, but through some trial and error, we’d worked out the one syllable sound over a long period of time. She was very good at diction, and I’d found she could mimic all kinds of animal sounds, from growling predators to squeaking rodents.

Neve remained standing in front of me, and I admired the way her stomach was much rounder since the rotation I first saw her. That filled me with pride. I had done that. I had provided for her. I was eager to retreat to the furs again tonight. Would she let me touch her again? Would she wrap her fingers around my hardness and stroke me? My cock had been half-hard all day thinking of her hands and voice. How could I ask her to touch me again? And most importantly, would she let me touch her? I ached to sip on her taste again. Sometimes I could still catch her flavor on the back of my tongue, and it drove me wild all rotation.

I needed her to know that I was hers. I didn’t quite know why, or how, but I knew that my devotion belonged to her. While I’d spent all the time in my memory conquering this valley and making myself the top predator, I now had an owner. Someone above me. This female. Something inside of me felt right in that decision, but the reasoning was hidden beneath the frozen ice with the rest of my past. I had given up long ago on it melting. Although sometimes, when Neve looked at me a certain way, I swore I could feel warm cut through the clouds above my frozen memories.

I was very aware of my size, and the cautious way in which she watched me. While those looks had lessened, and she seemed to trust me, I didn’t only want trust. I wanted her to want me. Need me. Keep me. That had to be my destiny. My fate. I’d found this valley, cultivated it to sustain my life and those of the neevias. Was capable of defending it. All of that must have been in preparation for her arrival. Now she was here, and here was where she’d stay with me. I just had to prove it to her. I didn’t like the way she looked beyond the mountains sometimes, as if searching for something. I had everything she needed right in this valley. And if it wasn’t here yet, I’d go get it for her.

I leaned forward and pressed my face to her rounded belly. With a gasp, her hands sifted into my hair, and I shivered when her fingers brushed the sensitive skin around my horns.

“Relk,” she whispered. My muscles quivered at the sound. I hadn’t heard my name in so long. While Biza knew it, she didn’t use it, but this female said it with a soft familiarity that I wanted to hear all the time. Maybe it was because it was the only word we both understood. I wished so badly I could say her name back, but my throat only clicked around my useless voice. All I could do to respond was start the rattling vibration in my chest that seemed to soothe her.

Her fingers scratched my scalp, and I nudged at the waistband of her pants just as a crashing sound came from behind us.

I leapt to my feet and whirled around with my machets extended. Neve let out an alarmed sound behind me, and her fingers curled into the back of my pants. I curled my tail in front of us protectively, read to take on anything that dared to attack me in my valley.

But all that stood in front of us was a pair of neevias. I recognized them as Biza’s nephews. They were a trouble-making pair who were infinitely curious, and that might have been the reason they stood frozen at the bottom of the valley holding a lumpy sack between the two of them.

With two squeaks, they shoved it in my direction before taking off up the mountain with skittering leaps and shouts for their mother. She’d likely scold them and keep them locked up for a rotation or two. I glanced up at my cave to find Biza on the outside ledge watching the two neevias race back up to the cliff and their home.

But my attention quickly diverted to the sack. A few items had fallen out, and I knew at once they belonged to the Joktals. Neve must have recognized the whip and weapons too, because her fingers tightened in my pants. I patted her hands before approaching the sack with caution. Knowing the two troublemakers, they found this while scavenging. They weren’t brave enough to take it from anyone, and they would have alerted me to any Joktal presence immediately. They were naughty but loyal.

So this must have belonged to one of the Joktals who I killed. Crouching in front of the sack, I dug through it to find some useful weapons, armor, a spare change of clothes I would cut to fit Neve, and a few rotations rations of food. In the bottom of the sack, my hand closed around a familiar object. My cora pounded as I withdrew a transplant updater gun. It was still charged, and the dial still worked. I flipped through the languages to find which ones were used the latest. There was one called DRXNN, another JKTL and another that was ERTH-ENG.

With the gun held to my implant, I fired all three into the device. The first did nothing, which was interesting. I must have already known it. The next two sent pain slicing into my skull, but I quickly shook it off.

Neve watched me with wide eyes and winced every time I clicked the trigger. She didn’t seem scared of the updater, and she’d likely seen one before since she had an implant. She reached for me and rubbed my scalp around the implant. In a soft, soothing voice, she spoke. “I know, it hurts, doesn’t it?”

Shock knocked me on my ass as I let out a harsh breath of recognition. My sudden movement surprised her as she let out a cry and fell backward too. I stared at her while she stared at me before I lunged toward her and motioned to her mouth frantically. Had one of those languages really been hers? Had I been that lucky?

“Wh-what?” she stuttered. “You want me to talk?” I nodded, and her jaw dropped. “Wait, c-can you understand me?” When I nodded again, her eyes went wide, and her breath hitched. “Really?”

When I nodded a third time, she lunged forward onto all fours with an eager look. “Hold up one finger for yes and two fingers for no. Is your name Relk?”

I loved how she said my name with her tongue. It rolled off the tip with a sweet glide. I held up one finger.

She patted her chest. “I’m Neve. I’m a human.”

The word human tickled something in my brain, and I flinched, but I couldn’t quite place where I’d heard it before. I hit my forehead with the heel of my palm in annoyance.

“Hey, hey.” She took my hands. “Don’t do that. Don’t hurt yourself. Do you… do you know what a human is?” Reluctantly, I held up two fingers. Her smile was kind, but sad. “It’s okay. I don’t know what you are either.”

I held up two fingers again.

Her head cocked. “No?”

Two fingers.

“Does that mean…” she nibbled her lip. “Does that mean you don’t know either?”

I held up one finger.

Her round eyes blinked. “Wait, do you… Are you missing memories?”

I stared at her before slowly lifting my hand with one finger extended.

Neve

His frozen lake made sense now. Neither of us could see what was beneath the thick layer of ice. His memories were trapped there while he stood on the surface alone.

Well, he wasn’t alone anymore. I was there with him now.

“Do you remember anything?” I asked.

One finger. He trembled slightly, and his face was pinched as if my questions caused him pain. I reached out and cupped his cheek. He leaned his face into my touch. “Does it hurt to try to remember?”

One finger.

“Well, shit,” I whispered.

The breeze blew. Somewhere in the distance, an animal let out a soaring caw. For the first time in a long time, I felt like crying for someone else. But I couldn’t cry. The emotion remained trapped inside, and I realized I had more in common with Relk than I realized. Both of us were frozen in our own ways.

“Do you know how you lost your memories?” I asked him.

Two fingers.

I had figured that would be his answer but wanted to make sure.

“I’m sure you have family looking for you, right? Friends?” If I had to guess, he was probably from some sort of warrior species, which meant he’d belonged somewhere at some point in his life. He wasn’t a self-reproducing worm. He had to come from somewhere. But I’d never seen his kind before. Trix had mentioned spotting a few different alien types on her hunts. Maybe she’d mentioned a blue alien before, and I’d forgotten.

He grimaced and ducked his head as he rubbed at his temples. The effort of trying to remember his past was causing him pain, and I was the cause.

“Hey,” I tugged him to me and wrapped my arms around his waist. Laying my head on his chest, I said, “I’m sorry. I won’t ask anymore. It’s okay.”

His fingers stroked my hair, and I felt him nuzzle the top of my head. We sat like that for a while until my stomach growled, and then we made a small picnic with the food we’d found from the red alien’s sack. I sat cross legged at Relk’s side while he stretched out his legs and leaned against a rock. As he chewed, his gaze roamed up and down the riverbank, his gaze intent on watching for danger, and I felt safe out in the open as long as he was by my side.

When I finished eating, I rested my head on one of Relk’s thick thighs. His big hand palmed my stomach, and his claws tickled my skin through my shirt. The sun heated my face, and I gazed up at Relk, wondering if there was any way I could help him thaw the ice of his mind.

I didn’t want to ask him too many questions if it was causing him pain. What would he think if he knew I could see the frozen lake hiding his memories? Maybe he’d be terrified of me, or think I was some sort of evil being. I hadn’t dared to tell the other women, and while I trusted Relk to keep me safe, I didn’t trust him yet to fully accept me for what I was. Or what had been done to me.

His gaze dropped to mine, and he lifted his hand to prod at my chin. I pretended to bite his finger, and his lips curled to reveal the tips of his fangs. Why had I thought they were scary before? They were kind of cute.

His hand tapped my lips, and then he gestured to his ears.

“Do you want me to talk?” I asked.

He held up one finger and then lowered his palm to rest on my throat. At first I was confused but when I said, “Okay, I’ll talk,” I realized he liked feeling the vibration of my vocal cords. My heart squeezed.

“I’m from Earth.” I explained. “I didn’t come here willingly. I was abducted and brought here.” I swallowed, and his jaw clenched. His lip curled into a snarl. I placed my hand over his at my throat. “It’s okay. Well, it’s not okay, but I’m still alive, so that’s something.”

His breath shuddered out of his chest.

“Other human females like me were abducted too. We were held captive for a long time on another planet… The one over there.” I pointed to the planet we’d come to know as Torin as the globe hovered in view like a close moon. Torin was the sister planet to this one, Corin. Nearly identical in climate, it was where the Uldani held us. I didn’t tell that to Relk though. “We got free, came here, and were doing fine until we were separated by some big warthog-looking aliens. They sold me to the red aliens, and I got free of them and had been running from them ever since.” I smiled. “You saved me from them though.”

His chest rumbled, and he huffed out an annoyed breath. His tail thumped the ground, like just the thought of the red aliens had him ready to punch something.

“I wish…” I took a chance and told him my fear. “I wish I knew why you were so nice to me. No one other than the other human women have been nice to me since I arrived in this galaxy.”

His tail thumped again before curling protectively around my back. I wasn’t sure what kind of answer that was, but it certainly felt like he wanted me to know he would always keep me safe.

“You’re good, Relk,” I whispered. “You’re the only good thing that’s happened to me in a very long time.”

There, on that frozen lake of his mind, his hand curled around mine. Warmth hit my face, and for the first time I glanced up to see the shimmering orb of a distant sun appear through the clouds of his mind.

I couldn’t ask him if he felt it too. He’d think I was out of my mind. But my heart soared with a bit of hope as I sat up at his side and leaned closer. Could I really help him clear his mind? Could we ever see what’s beneath the ice? But as suddenly as that warmth had appeared, it vanished just as a crackling sound came from the red alien’s sack.

A garbled voice came through in the same guttural language that I had come to know from the red aliens. Relk lunged for the sack and ripped out a pocket in the side. A small black object thudded to the ground. The voice crackled again from a speaker, and I realized that we had found some sort of radio or communication device. Relk frowned at it and held it close to his ear.

“What does it say?” I asked, eager to know if more red aliens would soon be invading our valley.

Relk’s nostrils flared in frustration before he picked up the implant updater. Selecting a language on the dial, he held it up to my ear and waited for my signal that I was ready. Knowing the pain that was to come, I nodded, closed my eyes, and clenched my jaw. The first fire was painful, but the second language was worse. My head felt clouded, but as the radio crackled to life again, distinct words filtered into my realm of understanding.

“… expanding and reproducing with the human females. None in our possession. Have you caught the one who escaped north?”

Silence fell as the speaker on the other end waited for an answer they’d never get.

“Goreo? Veldum? Are you there?”

They were not there. They were likely swept somewhere down stream. If they were alive, they weren’t anywhere close.

“—Wants us to act soon. We can’t let them take any more territory. It’s time to gather forces and take over Granit and the Drixonians.”

The sound that emerged from Relk’s chest was something of a growling rattle that seemed to rise from the very depths of his soul. An anguished cry that had no tone but yet I felt like a stake to my heart. Trembling, he dropped the radio and slammed his fists into the side of his head with two loud thunks. Face pinched in agony, he panted with harsh breaths as he doubled over. I reached for him instinctively, wanting to soothe him, because it was clear something the red aliens did was jogging something in his frozen mind. The images beneath the ice were a vicious blur, and a crack appeared beneath my feet as something slammed into the ice from below.

“Relk!” I grabbed for his arm just as his fists flew out. One caught me on the jaw, and suddenly the world was spinning. Pain flared into my skull and down my spine. Gasping for breath, I doubled over and tried to remain conscious as my vision swam with dark spots.

Relk made another anguished sound and then his arms were around me, cradling me to his hard body. His chest rattled that rough purr, and I breathed through the pain until my jaw merely throbbed.

“S’Okay,” I tried to tell him. “I know it was an accident.”

But he only squeezed me tighter and rocked me like I was a baby. The entire situation would be amusing another time, because we were both so focused on soothing the other.

The radio lay silent at Relk’s side, and I forced myself to think back to what had been said. Whoever these Drixonians were, they were enemies to the red aliens. And… they were expanding and reproducing with human females. I let out a gasp and jerked out of Relk’s arms. “These Drixonians. Do you know who they are?”

His eyes clouded, and he flinched. Lips trembling, he held up two fingers.

“Do you think you knew in the past? Is that what triggered your headache?”

This time he held up one finger, which confirmed my suspicions. The words expanding and reproducing with human females played over and over again in my mind. My stomach churned. Was that where my friends were? Held captive and… bred by these aliens? I wanted to vomit.

Relk watched me carefully. I had just told him not long ago that I wouldn’t run away from him. That I wouldn’t leave him. And I didn’t want to… but I had to. I picked up the radio to find a small screen with a topographical map.

“Can you read this?” I asked Relk.

He glanced at it and gave me a short nod.

“Where are we?”

He pointed to a northernmost point on the map.

“And can you see where Granit is?”

He barely flinched this time as he gazed at the map with squinted eyes. There was writing on it that I couldn’t read, but Relk could as he pointed at a southern part of the map marked with a few crude slashes.

I swallowed as I gathered up my courage to say the next few words. “I need to go there, Relk.” His head slowly lifted as he met my gaze. “I need to go there. Soon.”

SEVEN

Relk

My brain felt like it was oozing out of my ears. The pain was nearly blinding, and I tried to focus on what Neve was saying. The words Granit and Drixonians were like blades to the temple, which told me they were important to my past. But in what context, I had no idea. Every time I tried to peer through the layer of ice in my mind, a gust of wind stole my breath.

Neve’s small face swam into my vision, and I latched onto that rather than my own thoughts.

“The radio. They said the…” she grimaced. “…the Drixonians have human females, and they could be my friends. I need to find them.” She gripped my hands, and her throat bobbed with a deep swallow. “I have to save them.”

But I could keep her safe here. Didn’t she see that? Outside of my valley, I wasn’t confident. How many of these Drixonians were there? I held up two fingers and pointed at the ground between us. I want to stay here.

One thing I’d learned about Neve was that she was a survivor. No matter what was chasing her, she was going to do all she could to stay alive. And that made her stubborn. She showed that stubbornness now as she shook her head. “I know it’s safe here. And I’ll always thank you for what you’ve done for me. But it’s time for me to do what I’m meant to do. I can save my friends. I know I can. So, I have to leave.” Her fingers trembled in mine. “Please let me leave.”

The sun was setting. Soon it would be dark, so there would be no leaving today. She must have noticed me eying the sun. “I won’t leave until sunrise tomorrow. All I need you to do is point me in the right direction.” She held up the remote. “I can use this map if you help me read it.”

Tomorrow. I could do tomorrow. One more night to hold her safely in my arms. One more night to explain the situation to Biza. We walked up to my cave and after a quick meal, settled down into the furs for the night. Neve’s warm body snuggled up against mine. Her small hand slid down my chest to pause at my stomach. Her big eyes rounded as they watched me in the dying firelight. “Can I touch you one last time?” She pressed her lips to the hinge of my jaw.

As much as I enjoyed her touch, I was much more interested at the moment in touching her. She seemed to find touching her lips to me an intimate act. I tapped my lips and then hers and tried to look inquisitive.

“Kissing,” she whispered. “That’s called kissing.”

I liked kissing Neve. I liked it a lot. I leaned pressed my lips to hers before sliding down her body. My horns caught on the furs and tugged them down along with me. I slid her pants off next so that she was bared to me like she had been before on the riverbank. She looked even more delicious now—her skin had plumped on her stomach and hips. Her skin was rosy and less pale. I nuzzled against her thigh as he hands slid into my hair. “Relk,” she whispered.

My cock was an iron spike in my pants. Using one hand, I shoved them down to free the hard appendage, and sighed with relief when it bobbed free.

With a long lick, I tasted her wet flesh covered with soft curls. My chest rattled with pleasure at her taste, which was even stronger than before now that she hadn’t just bathed. She’d responded so well before when I’d licked at a small hardening bud at the top of her cleft, and when I tickled it with my tongue, she let out a breathy cry that made my balls ache.

Everything about her sounds turned me on. I couldn’t make my own, so it was my mission in life to get her to cry out in pleasure.

Involving my fingers, I swirled at her wet entrance before sliding back to her other hole. She jerked in my touch when I pressed against the wrinkled skin there.

“Relk,” she groaned. “Please.”

With my tongue, I speared her entrance and let the ball piercings rasp along her smooth inner walls. She clenched around me, crying out my name and a few other curses before her body began to convulse. Her moans and shrieks filled the air, and I smiled at the thought that if anyone was in the valley, they would hear how well I could pleasure my female.

When her body slumped, I cleaned her before sliding back up her body. The tip of my cock leaked a clear, slick fluid along her skin. Her dark, wet eyes held mine as she gestured for me to get into a kneeling position. Bracing herself on her elbows, her upper body elevated, she smiled at me. “Straddle my chest,” she said softly. “I want to do something for you.”

I didn’t quite understand what. When I knelt on either side of her slim body, my cock bobbed in front of her lips, and I had only a moment’s notice before she leaned forward and licked the leaking tip.

Pleasure zinged up my spine. My body bucked, and I had to slam my first on the wall beyond her head to keep myself from thrusting into her. She smiled at me before opening her jaw wider and taking the head of my hard cock into her mouth. She slid down about an inch before sucking and slowly dragging her head back. My cock pulsed, and my vision doubled. The delicious drag of her tongue on my sensitive skin was enough to drive me crazy. Heat blasted through my blood as instincts threatened to take over. My body wanted to thrust. To pump. To breed. But I couldn’t do any of that with the delicate Neve below me. With the energy surging through my body, I’d hurt her for sure.

I tried to back away, but she clasped my hip with one hand and dug her nails into my scales as she took me into her mouth again. I threw my head back, unable to look at the enticing sight of her. Closing my eyes, I gave myself over to her, letting her guide me on the rhythm until my thighs shook and my balls drew up tight.

There was no warning as my cock pulsed and began to fire into the wet heat of her mouth. And she didn’t pull back either. Her throat worked as she swallowed my seed until it was too much and she pulled off with a sputter, I jerked my cock down so it finished releasing on the soft, pink flesh of her nipples.

When my cock gave one last half-hearted spurt, my shoulders rounded, and I nearly collapsed on top of her. Cock barely softened, I panted as I caught my breath while Neve grinned below me with satisfaction. “Did you like it?”

There wasn’t a word strong enough to describe how I felt about it. Sliding to the side, I lay beside her and swirled my fingers through the white drops on her chest. She smiled shyly, and then let out a gasp as I leaned down to clean her skin. “Relk, you don’t—” her voice cut off on a phone when I sucked a nipple into my mouth and laved it with my tongue.

I didn’t stop until she was clean, until every drop of me was clean from her skin and she lay below me, quiet and sated with the firelight created shadows on her skin.

Clutching her to my chest, I buried her face into my neck. There, she let out a contented sigh.

Did she really think I’d let her leave this valley on her own? She might have her plans for tomorrow, but I also had mine. And I was determined to get my way. No way was she leaving me. Ever.

Neve

I was up with the sun. Relk had fixed my well-used pack a few days ago, patching the holes and fortifying the seams with a thick thread of vine. As I packed my spare clothes, my movements were sluggish and hesitant. I had thought I’d be elated to have a direction, a purpose, and a plan to find my friends but instead I was dreading leaving this cave. And it wasn’t because I worried about the danger that lay beyond this valley. It was because I didn’t want to leave Relk.

Last night had been another night where he’d taken me apart with his tongue and fingers in an embarrassingly short amount of time. Earth Me would have found this absolutely crazy, but everything with Relk felt right. From our quiet, content moments when we were eating, to the passionate way he touched me under the furs. It wasn’t awkward or weird. And I was giving that up, because I couldn’t let myself rest until I knew I had done everything I could to help my friends. Even if that was leaving one of the best things that had ever happened to me.

I ran my fingers over the clothes he’d mended for me. The food he’d prepared—dried strips of meat, dried berries, and a few nut-like legumes. He remained on his stomach in the furs, head pillowed on his folded arms, his dark purple eyes still heavy with sleep as they watched me.

“I’m sure you can tell,” I said as I tied the pack’s strings. “I’m not eager to leave.”

His eyes tracked my movements as I stood. The furs barely covered his large body, and I couldn’t help my eyes from drifting down his muscled back to the top of his rounded ass. He was perfection, truly, and I could barely believe I’d found someone like him in his galaxy. I’d come to the conclusion that he had to be a transplant like me. He probably had a happy home planet somewhere with beautiful blue females. A utopian society. He didn’t belong here alone any more than I did.

I hated leaving him. I had so badly wanted to help him find his memories, but now that I thought about it… how narcissistic was I? Why was I so special that I thought I could cure him? I was only someone who had brought danger to his peaceful valley. It was better that I leave before the red aliens sent more men to harm Relk, Biza, or Giro.

Speaking of those two, they hung in the corner, having arrived shortly after I woke up. They watched the two of us carefully. Biza was back to glaring at me, and her son just looked confused.

I wished I could explain to them that I was leaving in a way they would understand. That I was doing this for the good of everyone.

Dread settled heavy in my gut. I hadn’t been able to eat that morning, which I knew was stupid. I needed my strength. But I couldn’t seem to force anything down.

I was doing the right thing in leaving. So why didn’t it feel right? I turned to find Relk had emerged from under the furs and had pulled on some pants. He picked up a pack and began stuffing it with food, some furs, weapons, and spare clothes. I watched him in confusion. “What are you doing?”

He ignored me and gestured to Biza. With another glare at me, she leapt up on his shoulder and perched there. Giro let out an excited chirp and climbed up on my shoulder. I stared at him. “What’s going on?”

Relk only strode to the front of the cave with his full pack strapped to his back. When he reached the entrance, he turned to face me. When I didn’t follow, he lifted his nubbed brow.

“I don’t… what are you doing? You only have to show me a path to get across the river and over the mountain. I can handle finding Granit.”

His brows lowered, and he gave me a look that made me feel like I was a complete idiot. I glanced around me at his cave. The fire had long died. All his furs were stored in his pack along with his roll of weapons. The rack with his clothes was empty. Realization dawned, and with it came another torrent of guilt. “Wait, are you coming with me?”

Again, his look was deadpan and long-suffering. He lifted a hand and flicked one finger in the air.

No, no, I can’t ask this of him. I rushed to his side and gripped his arm. “Relk, no. This is my journey to take. Even the word Granit caused you pain. I cannot expect you to take me there.”

His nostrils flared and he lifted up a finger again, this time shaking it in my face.

“No.” I stomped my foot like a child.

One finger poked me in the chest.

“This is your home. Here with Biza and Giro. I can’t ask you to leave.”

He let out a long sigh and gazed out of the cave at the opposite mountain. Linking his hand in mine, he pointed at us before pointing south. We’re both going, I felt like he was saying. His tail curled protectively around me, and for the first time in a very long time, I wanted to cry. I wished so very badly I could release the emotion welling inside of me.

Relief. Guilt. Overwhelming affection for this blue alien who had shown me nothing but kindness.

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Just so I understand… you’re going to take me to Granit to help me find my friends?”

The corners of his lips turned up, and again he held up one finger with a satisfied smile.

My hands felt sweaty. “Thank you.”

He led the way out of his cave and down the stairs, and I followed. The cool morning air warmed quickly. With Giro perched on my shoulder, I hooked my thumbs in my pack and walked beside Relk as we made our way upstream. I kept expecting Giro and Biza to hop off, but neither seemed intent on moving.

When I’d arrived in this valley, I’d been hurt, starving, and terrified. A lot had changed in just a few days. I walked without pain, my belly was full, and with Relk at my side, I didn’t have to constantly watch for something trying to kill me.

His gaze scanned the area around us constantly, and I’d noticed long ago that he could see farther and hear better than I could.

We walked for half the day until the valley began to even out, and we came across a bridge that took us across a narrower point in the river. We hiked up the mountain and reached the top by mid-afternoon. There, we could see out over a long stretch of land, which was mostly clumps of vegetation and grassy plains.

There, we stopped for a meal. Biza and Giro scattered to find their own food, while Relk doled out rations from his pack for the two of us. He studied the map while we ate, and I tried to see anything in the distance that resembled a city. Buildings. Any sign of intelligent life, but it was just a large stretch of wilderness. How far would we have to travel? How long would it take? The entire journey seemed daunting. I knew I had to take one day at a time. One step at a time. Relk pointed out various details on the map, and from his gestures I understood the direction we were going and where our destination was located.

Biza and Giro joined us shortly after, and Giro grinned at me with a mouth covered in sticky fruit juice. I cleaned him up with a wet rag while Biza and Relk seemed to be conversing in a series of hand gestures, dirt drawings, and chatter.

After that, we continued down the far said of the mountain on a gradual decline. There was no path, but Relk’s bulk crashed through the vegetation, leaving a depressed area in his wake for me to get through.

I tried not to think about how far we’d have to go, but as the day wore on, the sun beat down, and my legs ached, I began to feel nervous. Would my body be able to take this travel?

By late afternoon, we’d left the dense ground vegetation and had entered a cool-air cluster of massive trees with trunks that reminded me of California Redwoods. I marveled at the size of the trees, but something about the area raised goosebumps on my arms. Winged creatures with double beaks gazed down on us from the branches above. They squawked to each other in a mimicking cadence that made me think they were communicating our presence to each other. Giro seemed just as alarmed as me, as he wrapped his little arms around my neck, while Relk walked just as confidently as ever with a calm Biza on his shoulder. I spun around in a circle as a distinct rustling reached my ears.

A flash of blue and white caught my eye just as a series of furred figures descended from overhead—sliding down to the ground on rope-like vines. They landed silently on feline paw pads and surrounded us with arrows drawn on ornate string bows. There had to be two dozen of the bipedal blue and cream striped creatures, and they blinked at us with very round fly-like eyes. I could see my fright reflected back in all of them.

Despite their short stature, they outnumbered us, and seemed adept archers. They wore no clothing, and had small breasts topped with furred nipples. I gripped Relk’s hand, heart pounding, as I pleaded silently for these furry creatures not to shoot us.

And then one last furred figure dropped to the ground. This one wore a beaded belt and strode toward us without fear, although she bore no weapon. A flurry tail swished behind her. As she drew closer, she let out a series of chirps, and to my surprise, Biza answered.

The blue creature raised one furry paw, and the archers dropped their weapons. I breathed a sigh of relief until the leader looked at me with curiosity. Stepping toward me, she reached toward me with her three-toed paw. I flinched reflexively, but Relk stepped in front, blocking me from the creature’s touch. The leader chirped out what sounded like a sharp warning, and Biza answered, sounding like she was negotiating. Only after a tense conversation did Biza pat Relk on the head. With a glance back at me, he nodded, and then stepped aside.

Trying to control my nerves, I let the creature reach out her paw and stroke my hair. She prodded at my arms, my stomach, and then sniffed between my legs. I held my breath as she inspected me, and only let out a relieved breath when she stood and let out a rapid chatter. All the archers around us surged forward, and we were forced to walk with them. One touched my shoulder as we walked, clearly curious about me, and their thoughts filtered in.

What’s he doing with this thing?

What is it?

Do we have to feed it?

When I met her many eyes, she bared blunt teeth at me, and quickly looked away. Relk slipped his fingers in mine as we approached an aged stone gate covered with vines. The gate opened, and we were ushered inside.

EIGHT

Neve

Large trees rose all around us and emerging from hollowed out trunks were more blue furred creatures of various genders to gawk at us as we walked by. None them seemed shocked at Relk’s appearance despite the fact that he towered over all of them—the tallest had to be only four feet—but I was definitely the main side show attraction. They dart forward to pluck at my hair and poke my stomach. They sniffed me, and one licked the back of my hand. When I yelped in surprise, they only glared at me.

Our procession continued to a small courtyard, where several furry creatures wearing beaded belts knelt on a wooden platform about four feet off the ground. Relk and I were pushed inside the U, where we stood quietly. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and just as I turned my head, a pain flared in the left side of my skull. I cried out and Relk’s arms closed around me. His chest rumbling in some sort of warning tone. When I blinked to my left, I found an unbothered furry figure holding a language transplant updater gun.

Relk snatched it from the creature and flipped the dial a few times before tossing it to the leader, who now stood at the top of the U. She fired the gun into her own implant, and then passed it down the line.

Finally, she turned to and let out a series of chirps that my implant translated on a slight delay. “Does your species have speech?” She asked me.

“Um, yes,” I answered.

The leader nodded. “Good. You are now in the loris settlement of Trilia, and I’m the Queen Poroa.”

So, she wasn’t just a leader. She was a queen, and the very title of royalty made me nervous. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you.” I made a little bow. Then changed it to a curtsy. And finally, I tried to smile in deference. What were the customs here?

“What are you and what business do you have with Relk?”

Biza chirped up, but Poroa lifted a paw. “I’d like to hear from the furless one.”

I swallowed. “I’m a human.” I wasn’t quite sure how much to say. What if these loris were allies to the Drixonians? “And I’m a companion of Relk’s.”

“Relk is always welcome here, but your presence surprised us. I apologize if the aggressive welcome was unpleasant.”

“Uh, sure. It was fine.” I cleared my throat. “And understandable. You were defending your home.”

She knelt then, and I made to the do the same until Relk grasped my arm to keep me upright.

“We will provide a meal and you can sleep here for the night,” Poroa said. “It is safe here from the Joktals.”

“The Joktals?” I asked.

“The red, four-armed aliens.” Her little jaw clenched. “They have captured some of our kind in the past, and it is one of the reasons we have relocated and bolstered our defenses.”

“They chased me for many days,” I said. “Relk saved me.”

She nodded. “He does that.”

I wanted to ask more questions but with a sharp bark of sound, Poroa sent the whole settlement into a tizzy. Loris dashed about while Relk and I were swept up in another wave of movement. Transported to another area of the settlement, we were told to sit on platform tables and given steaming piles of meat that we ate with skewers.

All around us, loris ate and talked. I caught a few snippets of conversation, but it was overwhelming. Relk kept a hand on my leg at all times, and it was really the only thing that kept my grounded in the crowd of aliens.

Eventually, Poroa joined us at our table. She knelt with a pitcher in her lap and handed it to Relk first. Using both hands, he tipped it back and took several large gulps. He handed it to me with a small smile.

“It’s our kiva drink, made from a fruit that only grows in this region,” Poroa said proudly.

I could smell the fermentation. I took a sip and nearly sputtered the mouthful back into the pitcher. Squeezing my eyes shut, I managed to swallow it. The heat of the drink slid down my throat, and I felt it pool in my stomach.

Poroa took a gulp and then passed it back to me. “Oh, I’m good.” I rubbed my stomach. “So full after that amazing meal. Thank you for that.” I smiled, but her expression turned sour, and she glanced at Relk. He pushed the pitcher toward me again, almost apologetically.

Great. With a smile I didn’t feel, I took the pitcher again and drank from it. The drink went down easier this time, and by the fourth round, my head was already spinning.

Poroa’s fur was sparkling, and Relk kept falling to his side. Only Giro and Biza had their full faculties, and Biza looked like a proper designated driver as she tittered around cleaning up after us.

“So,” Poroa said as she leaned on a loris and flapped her paw in the air. “Tell us how you got here to Corin.”

I hiccupped before explaining as briefly as I could. I wasn’t sure I got the timeline right, but I told her how I was abducted from Earth, brought to Torin, escaped my captors and arrived here on Corin. I patted my chest. “You’ve never seen anyone who looks like me?”

“I’m sorry, but no. And I would have remembered.” Poroa lifted the pitcher and emptied the last drop in her mouth. “You’re quite ugly.”

Relk jerked to life and pointed a deadly claw at her, but she only batted it away with her tail. “Of course, you’d disagree. She looks like your females.”

That perked me up. Hell, it nearly sobered me up. “Wait, you know what the females of his species look like?”

Her big eyes focused quickly and darted to Relk’s face. Suddenly, her tongue wasn’t so loose. “I mean… I can only imagine. They must have looked similar to you. You have the same build, yes?”

I reached for her, desperate for some information. “Poroa—”

“Well, I think we’ve all had enough for the night.” She stretched her arms over her head and swiped at her face with her tail. “Vickers,” she poked at the loris next to her. “Please show them to a place to sleep.”

I tried again. “Poroa—”

“Sleep well, human,” she cut me off with a sharp look. With a swish of her tail, she skittered off, and I was left with a tired Giro, a very annoyed Biza, and Relk, whose gaze had gone very distant as he stared after Poroa.

The following walk was a blur. We were whisked away into a hollow of a tree that had to be twelve square feet. A plush bundle of furs lay along one side, and after splashing some water on my face from a basin in the corner, I collapsed into the softness. After providing a small nest for Giro and Biza, Relk joined me. His body was even hotter than usual, and his eyes were a little unfocused as he lifted a hand to cup my face.

“Did you know that Poroa knows about your past?”

His gaze dropped before he held up two fingers. I sighed with a groan. Why had she avoided talking about it?

Relk lifted my hand and pressed it to his chest where he had begun his soft purring. The vibration chased away my thoughts of Poroa as I snuggled against him. Between the steady beat of his heart, and the soothing rumbles of his purring, I found my eyes closing and soon I drifted off into sleep.

When I woke up, I was alone. No Relk. No Biza. Not even Giro. The morning sun streamed through the open hollow of the tree, and I stretched my arms over my head while climbing out of the furs. After washing my face and grabbing a quick drink of water, I emerged from my hollow.

In the distance, I could hear the chatter of the morning meal, and I took my time getting there as I meandered through the settlement. Bright flowers grew in small patches, and I passed a few loris who carried their young on their backs in slings. A stream trickled nearby, and I stopped for another drink. Crouching on the rocky bank, I swirled my fingers in the water, enjoying the cold freshness. A shadow fell over me, and I turned quickly with a smile, expecting Relk. Instead, the loris named Vickers who led us to our hollow knelt next to me.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye as he dipped a dirty bowl in the water and began washing it. He seemed young—his fur was almost downy, and he was thinner than some of the adult males I’d seen.

I made to stand when his soft voice said in a low tone, “Poroa doesn’t talk about Relk’s past in front of him because it causes him pain. And she doesn’t trust you fully yet.”

I immediately froze before twisting my head to scan his profile. He continued to wash the bowl while he talked.

“His kind used to live on this planet long ago, but all their females were killed by a virus, so the remaining living males left to start over on Torin.” He shrugged. “That didn’t go well either, or they only returned recently.”

Hope soared in my chest. “So he has others like him? A home?”

“Yeah, Relk has something wrong up here,” he tapped his temple. “Poroa thinks seeing his own kind will kill him.”

“Kill him?” I whispered with dread.

“They messed with his head on Torin.”

My stomach twisted as bile rose in my throat. “They? Who’s they?”

“The Uldani.”

I pressed my hand over my mouth. Is that why I felt some kinship toward Relk? Because deep down, we had both been through the same trauma?

Vickers leaned back and eyed me. “The Uldani tortured a lot of Drixonians.”

My skin broke out in goosebumps. “The Drixonians?”

He nodded. “That’s what Relk is. They live in few days’ travel away in Granit.”

And with those words, my heart imploded.

Relk

Neve must still be sleeping, I signed to Biza. The neevia and her son hopped on my shoulders as I gathered some food to take to my female. While I thought Biza would stay back with her roost, she’d instead handed over the matriarch duties to her younger sister and insisted on accompanying me. Giro wouldn’t think of leaving Neve either. He’d grown fond of her. And I was grateful for Biza’s companionship. She was incredibly loyal, and I knew now to take that for granted. She’d likely return to her roost in the future, but she’d see me through on his mission.

Poroa watched me as I selected the food for Neve. “You’ll be leaving today?” She asked.

I nodded, and Biza let out a chirp of confirmation.

“You know where your bike is,” Poroa said. “I never thought I’d see the day you come for it. You won’t go back to the valley?”

I shook my head. Before I’d found my valley, I’d come across some loris beaten and caged by a group of Joktals. I’d killed the red aliens and let them free. They’d insisted I come to their home, and that was when I’d met Poroa. She agreed to keep my bike safe for me while I continued north alone. I hadn’t ever intended to come for it.

Poroa crossed her arms over her furry chest while her tail twitched restlessly behind her. “Biza doesn’t want to tell me where you’re going.”

I had told Biza to keep our destination a secret. While I trusted Poroa to keep my bike safe, I didn’t know all of her allies. I only knew the Joktal were her enemies. But maybe she’d be required to warn these Drixonians of my journey. Pain flared behind my eyes, and I winced.

Poroa stood. “Be careful. Try to stay away from any settlements you see.” She nibbled on her lip. “And you’re always welcome here.”

I gave her a grateful nod, even though I never meant to return. I had a suspicion that where I was going was a one-way trip. And maybe that was a fitting end for me.

With Neve’s food in my hands, I walked back to the tree hollow. I stepped inside quietly, expecting to find her still sleeping, only to see that the furs were empty. With a frown, I set down my food. The neevias scrambled off my shoulder and searched the small hollow by lifting up the furs and sniffing around, but Neve was nowhere to be found.

I was about to turn around and search for her when something caught my eye. Or rather, the lack of something. Her pack was gone.

Cora thudding, alarm flaring in my chest, I raced from the hollow and nearly knocked over Poroa. She stumbled back with Vickers at her side, who looked panicked and disheveled.

“She’s gone,” Poroa panted. “I’m sorry Relk. But she was spotted climbing the gates a little while ago.”

I grabbed at Vickers, whose guilty look told me he was to blame. My hand closed around his neck, and he let out a squeak of fright that made Poroa let out a series of protests. “Put him down! Please! He didn’t mean to!”

I shook him and released his neck just enough so he could speak. In a strained voice, he uttered. “I thought I was helping. I told her who you were.”

Poroa went silent for a moment before she smacked Vickers hard on the back. “You didn’t.”

I dropped him to the ground, and he hit with a thud and a cough as he clutched his abraded throat. My heat pounded, and I stumbled back as he said the words in a low tone. “I thought she could help if she knew…”

If she knew what? If she knew what?

“—If she knew he was a Drixonian.”

Pain blacked out my vision as I crumpled to the ground.

NINE

Neve

I longed for the salty drip of tears to stain my cheeks. As I ran, my chest hitched with the mockery of sobbing, but the emotion remained welling up inside like a sinking ship. Soon I swore I’d drown.

I hadn’t wanted to leave Relk. I already missed him. But I had to. As soon as Vickers said that my savior was a Drixonian warrior, I knew I couldn’t remain at his side. It wasn’t because I judged him for being a Drixonian. I knew in my heart Relk was good. I had to leave because I refused to take him into the lion’s den of a place that could break his mind. Kill him. I would never forgive myself if I was responsible for that.

I’d finish this journey on my own. I had taken my pack of provisions and the map. I didn’t need Relk. I wanted him. But I didn’t need him. At least, that was what I told myself.

Still, I ached for his silent, protective presence. He’d been able to convey a lot to me without thoughts and words. I hoped Giro understood. At least I knew Relk had Biza at his side.

I hoped it took a while for Relk to realize I was missing. Would he try to come and find me? Likely. But I was a needle in a haystack the size of a planet.

Until about noon, I trudged south through dense forests and long stretches of plains. The air gradually grew warmer, and I had to roll up the pants that Relk had made for me. Even running my fingers over his crude stitches made my heart ache. Would he understand? Would he think I abandoned him? Would he hate me? Uneasiness knotted my stomach, and I was only able to eat a few bites of food when I stopped for a mid-day meal. I estimated I had about three to four days of travel which wasn’t too bad. Even though my heart ached for companionship, I was certain I’d be fine in a few days. I’d liked loneliness before, and I could like it again.

I began walking again on flat ground covered in a soft moss. Tall trees towered overhead, and I blinked at the sun’s rays peeking through. I thought I heard a crack of a twig somewhere, and I went still before turning around to take a look behind me. Seeing nothing, I took one step backward. A snapping sound rent the air, and something tightened around my ankle moments before my world turned upside down.

Suspended by a rope around my ankle, I screamed as I rose in the air. The more I writhed, the more the rope tightened painfully on my bare skin. I felt the skin split and the warm trickle of blood on my shin.

I stared helplessly at my pack which lay on the ground. Inside was my knife that I could have used to cut myself down with. Despite the pain in my ankle, I twisted my body in an effort to break the rope.

Footsteps approached, and I froze. But there was no camouflage for me. I hung in the middle of a cleaning from a branch twenty feet in the air. There was no hiding. I was caught. The only mystery now was by whom?

Familiar boots came into my line of sight, as well as a set of furry paws. My stomach sank as fear tightened its icy grip on my lungs. Swallowing, I craned my neck to see two red aliens staring at me with satisfaction. Joktals, Poroa had called them. It was nice to put a name to the face of the aliens who were about to kill me.

One of them had a scar on his neck that flicked something in my memory. He’d chased me on the bridge. Even through the torrent of rain, I’d spotted that crescent-shaped scar. How did he survive the river?

One thing was certain, he recognized me, because his glare promised lots and lots of pain. The blood rushed to my head, making my dizzy. My vision swam. “What do you want with me?” I asked weakly.

“Cut her down.” Crescent Scar ordered the other one.

With a leap and a flash of his blade, the rope holding me up went slack. With a cry, I fell to the ground, and the only thing that prevented me from breaking my neck was the mossy ground. Still, I landed on my shoulder, and my joint cracked in pain. Rolling on my stomach, clutching my arm, I gasped through the nearly blinding pain. A foot landed in my midsection, cutting off what little air I’d managed to get. A shadow fell over me, and Crescent Scar unsheathed his weapon from his belt. His blade flicked the remnants of my ear, and I felt the wound reopen. Blood dripped into my air as I lay flat on my back, arm screaming, ankle shredded.

He’d kill me now, right? This was it?

“Tie her up,” Crescent Scar sneered. “We’ll take her to the fort. Maybe we can negotiate using her.”

“Negotiate with who?” I asked.

“None of your business,” he snapped.

A foot kicked me over onto my stomach, and my arms were wrenched behind my back. My shoulder screamed in pain, and my vision doubled. I could barely breath, and when I heard a distinct buzzing in the air, I thought I was imagining it. Until the decibels grew so loudly that the air seemed to vibrate, and the buzzing shifted to a dull roar. The eyeless hound brayed.

“He dies this time,” Crescent Scar ordered his companion and their hound. I lifted my head up to see a wheel-less motorcycle that hovered in the air thanks to two circles of jets underneath the body of the vehicle. A hover bike of sorts. But that wasn’t what caught my attention—it was the driver. A massive blue and black alien with long dark hair and two small pink furry creatures perched on his shoulders. My jaw dropped. Relk had arrived. And the sight of loyal Biza and Grio with him stole the breath from my lungs.

How had he tracked me this closely? I’d thought I’d covered my path better. This was almost so easy, it was embarrassing. But as much as I wanted to be saved, I didn’t want Relk to be a sacrifice. He hadn’t seen us yet, and I wished he’d just keep driving even as my fear over my own fate was nearly suffocating.

I watched with mixed emotions as he drew his vehicle to a halt and settled it on the ground about a hundred yards away. My hope to avoid drawing his attention died when Crescent Scar uncoiled his glowing whip and began to advance on Relk with silent footsteps. My hope to avoid this fight was over. All I could now was warn Relk before he got ambushed.

I gathered all the breath left in my body and shouted as loudly as I could. “Relk!”

His head whipped toward me, and his lips peeled back to reveal his black fangs. With a vision jerk of his arms, his blades unleashed from beneath his skin. His machets, I’d learned they were called from Biza, and they were as magnificent as when I first saw them. Chest puffed, he raced toward the Joktals. His mouth opened, and I knew if he could, he’d be filling the air with a battle cry. My heart lurched at the sight of him careening into an uneven battle without hesitation. For me.

Crescent Scar’s whip whistled through the air with a yellow glow and snapped dangerously close to Relk’s head. I hauled myself to my feet and immediately stumbled as pain shot up my leg. The jarring of my steps sent bolts of fire through my shoulder. I clutched it and went to my knees. As Relk lashed out at the attacking hound, his gaze drifted to me. Distracted, he didn’t see the hound’s teeth closing on his hand until it was too late.

I swore I felt the echoing pain in my own hand. Relk’s tail slammed into the hound’s side, and with a pained squeal, it relinquished its hold on Relk’s hand. Another stab of Relk’s tail, and the hound was dead.

The two Joktals approached him at the same time from either side. Crescent Scar’s whip wrapped around his leg, and the heated coil immediately burned through his pants. “No!” I shouted as I snatched my knife from my pack and raced toward Crescent Scar. He turned on me with teeth bared. Relk chopped the whip in half moments before laser fire went sailing past his arm.

With a vicious throw, Relk sent a blade straight into the eyes of the other approaching Joktal. He went down and didn’t get up. Crescent Scar withdrew his blade in my direction, but Relk was there before I could even get close. He slammed his fist into Crescent Scar’s bony face again, and again. Bones cracked, and I couldn’t be sure who was hurt worse—the Joktal or Relk. Crescent Scar punched Relk in the gut, but that was the last blow he landed because in the next second, Relk’s tail swept him off his feet. He fell to the ground on his back, and then Relk raked his forearm blades across his vulnerable throat. Blood sprayed as the Joktal gurgled his last breaths.

Stumbling back, covering in blood, Relk hit the dirt on his knees. I rushed to his side just as he tipped to the side. A cut below his eye leaked profusely, and the whip mark on his thigh was a deep dark messy welt.

“Relk.” That lump in my throat threatened to burst. If only I could cry. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

His purple eyes held mine, and I waited for the censure and the anger to mar the pretty color, but instead he only lifted a hand to swipe at my bloody ear. His chest rattled in a broken, pained purr.

“Don’t try to comfort me now.” I settled his head in my lap as Biza appeared at my side with a water skin. While Relk wasn’t glaring at me, Biza sure was. I had a feeling if Relk wasn’t conscious, Biza would be picking her teeth with my bones.

“I’m sorry,” I said to her as I pour water on Relk’s thigh. His back arched as he hissed between his teeth. Wincing, I implored to her. “I did it for him. I swear.”

Her little nose scrunched, and she snapped her teeth at me. Because of my focus on Relk, I didn’t notice the pain in my wrists right away. I was too busy cleaning Relk’s wounds. It wasn’t until they burned like they’d been branded, that glanced down at them to find black marks on my skin.

I rubbed at them furiously, but I wondered if I was hurt worse than I originally thought, because more black marks appeared as if I was being tattooed by an invisible gun. Two thin lines ran the circumference of my wrists and between them was a geometric sun-like pattern. Had I hit my head without remembering? Was that why I was seeing things?

“What?” I whispered to myself before Relk’s thoughts blasted into mine with the speed of a full-blown tornado, whipping so fast I couldn’t make anything out.

I glanced down to see him staring at his own wrists, his chest heaving, as his mouth moved silently. One thought filtered spun out of his tornado storm to smack me in the skull—Mate.

Relk

I stood in a melting puddle on the still-frozen lake in my mind. The clouds above had thinned enough so I felt a slight warmth on my face. I tilted my head back to enjoy it just as a small hand slipped into mine. Curling my fingers around the soft ones, I glanced down to see Neve staring up at me. My wrists no longer burned, but the markings there glowed a bright white before shifting to a shiny permanent gold. Her wrists bore the same matching markings.

“Relk?” Her lips moved but I felt like her voice was in a tunnel. I shook my head and immediately regretted it as a sharp pain flared. It ebbed as quickly as it came. “Relk?” She called again, and this time her voice was clear.

I opened my mouth and sound rumbled from my throat, a sensation I hadn’t ever felt in my life. “I’m here.”

Neve sucked in a sharp inhale as I wrapped my fingers around my throat. “Did you hear that?”

Eyes wide and round, she nodded.

“This is a dream, right?” I said. “Now that you know what I am, you don’t want anything to do with me. And I don’t blame you.”

“This isn’t a dream,” she whispered. “And that’s not why I left. I did it for you.”

Relk.

Relk.

I opened my eyes to find myself on my back staring up at the sky. A breeze blew over my face. My face hurt. My ribs hurt. A lot hurt, but it was all bearable. I’d felt worse in the past. In my mind, the sun continued to warm the icy surface of my memory lake. I tried to sit up as Neve scrambled to my side.

“Don’t try to move,” she urged me.

I’m fine, I tried to say, but there was no pleasant vibration of my throat.

Neve only smiled and said, “You’re not fine.”

I swallowed and tried again to talk, but no sound came out. Disappointment swamped me, and anger quickly replaced it. How could I have thought I could talk again? Of course I couldn’t. I didn’t have the ability. I wasn’t born with it.

“You can talk to me in here,” She tapped my temple. “I can read your thoughts.”

You can read my thoughts?

Her eyes dropped, and I didn’t like the look of shame that passed over her face. “Yes.”

How?

“I don’t know. I couldn’t before… not until these.” She held up our wrists, which bore matching gold marks. The sight tickled something in my brain. The images beneath my frozen lake shifted. I swore I could see a blue face, but then as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and I was left with a throbbing in my temples.

I’m not sure what these are. I think I used to know—

“Don’t try to remember.” Neve pressed a hand on my shoulder. “Look at me, Relk. In the eyes.” I did, as her little jaw clenched. “Don’t try to remember anything.”

Why?

“It’s why I left.” She glanced at Biza who sat nearby glaring at Neve. “Vickers told me you’re a Drixonian.”

I’m sorry.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” she said fiercely. “And I don’t… I don’t care that you’re a Drixonian. I wouldn’t even care if you were a Joktal. It doesn’t matter. Because I know who you are in your heart. I know what you’ve done for me. And I left because I’m terrified that if we go to your home and see your kind, that your mind will shatter. I don’t want to be responsible for that, Relk. Don’t you see?” Her eyes blinked rapidly. “So can you go back to Poroa with Giro and Biza?” Her voice dropped to a raspy whisper. “Please. I don’t want to break you.”

When I struggled to sit up this time, she let me. Red blood dripped from her ear. Her ankle was a mess of broken skin, and her skin was even more pale than usual. You’ve been through a lot in the short time you left me.

Her body slumped forward as if she finally gave into exhaustion. “I missed you.”

Don’t leave me again.

Her eyes met mine, and sincerity lurked in every corner. “But—”

I’m coming with you. And that’s final.

She pressed her lips together, and then her shoulders slumped. With a resigned sigh, she said, “Okay.”

Despite what my body had been through, I found the pain lessening with each moment, faster than I normally healed. I rubbed my wrists, curious about the strange markings. Using the supplies I had stored in my bike, I bandaged Neve’s ear as well as her ankle.

“It’s already scabbing.” She twisted her ankle as I wrapped a cloth around it. “That’s odd.”

How so?

“That’s so fast.”

After tying off the bandage, I sat back on my haunches. I’m healing faster too.

“You are?”

I pointed to my thigh, where the whip had burned through the top layer of my scales. Already the skin was light blue with regrowth.

Her lips parted in surprise. “How is that possible?”

I shrugged and handed her a ration of food. Eat.

While munching on a piece of bread that Poroa had given me, she pointed asked about my bike. I told her my earliest memory that I had was being on that bike and that I kept it stored at Poroa’s while I traveled farther north.

She picked at the bread with her gaze downcast. “What did you think when you first saw me at the river?”

That you might die soon.

“Hey!” She snapped indignantly.

I knew you weren’t made for the northern weather, and you had no defenses. Just a blade that you wielded with a shaky hand.

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, you don’t have to rub it in.”

I also knew that I wanted to protect you. Keep you safe.

“You sent me food with Giro, right?”

I nodded.

“But why? Why did you bother with me. It’s clear I’ve only made your life harder.”

At first, it was instinct. I don’t know what it was, but I sensed that it was my duty to guard you. And after that, I grew to like your company.

“Are you sure about that?” She gave me a shy smile.

I’m sure. And you haven’t made my life harder. Interesting, yes. But not harder. I know I’m supposed to be here with you. I feel it here. I pounded my fist on my chest over my beating cora. I don’t have memories, just instincts. So I have chosen to go with them.

She nibbled the corner of her lip. “What if your instinct is wrong?”

Then it’s wrong. At least this is my choice. But I don’t think it’s wrong.

“What if something happens to you at Granit? I felt the lake in your mind melting, but—”

My back snapped straight. You have seen my lake?

Her breath stuttered. Her mouth flapped open and closed. As her panic grew, the sun in my mind dipped behind storm clouds. “I—I mean—” Shame flared in my chest like a hot brand. My temples pulsed. Standing up, I gripped my head as Neve scrambled to her feet beside me. “Relk—”

Explain how you can read my thoughts and see my lake. Even saying the words made my face burn. I can’t read your thoughts, only feel a burning sun in my mind that I think represents your emotions. Have you always been able to hear my thoughts?

“No,” she insisted, and the storm clouds around my lake grew darker. “I have never been able to read your thoughts, but since we met, since you touched me, I’ve been able to see your lake.

I held up my wrist markings. I saw you there when we got these.

She swallowed and nodded. “Right.”

And is this something other humans can do?

She shook her head, and the warmth of her sun dimmed. I didn’t like it. I reached for her. Neve, tell me why you can.

My fingers wrapped around her wrist, and she attempted to tug them free. Her body trembled. “I don’t want to tell you.”

Why?

“Because.” Her voice shook. “I think… I think the same aliens that messed with my brain messed with yours too.”

The ice beneath my feet rocked. A cracking sound split the air. In my mind, the sun was gone. So was Neve. I was all alone. Suddenly a gray face appeared. I opened my mouth and a scream echoed across the frozen expanse of my mind.

TEN

Neve

His mouth gaped open, as his hands flew to his throat. Choked breaths gasped out as he fell to his knees.

I went down with him, clutching his head to my chest. He had said I was the sun in his mind melting the ice. So I thought warm thoughts despite the fact that I felt chilled all over. I thought of the sun. Of the beach. Of a warm fire burning in a fireplace. Chestnuts roasting. Barbecue on a summer grill. All the warm things I could think of as Relk panted in my arms. His mind was a dark storm, and I held his physical body since I couldn’t contain his wild thoughts. Gray images shifted beneath the ice, and I could have sworn a three-fingered hand shot up out of an ice hole to grab at Relk’s leg.

Biza fluttered around us, and we remained huddled on the mossy ground until the sun began its nightly descent. It might have been hours until Relk’s storm calmed and only a cloudy sky remained.

He pulled out of my embrace and gazed around us at a concerned Biza and frightened Giro. His body still trembled, but his thoughts were in order, which I was grateful for. He hadn’t broken yet. Maybe, just maybe, if we did this gradually, he could survive this.

His thoughts were centered on one word. Uldani.

“The Uldani held me and my friends for a year. Maybe a few years. I lost count.”

His fingers rubbed at my temple before sliding back into my hair. They paused along a raised ridge on the crown of my head. His eyes went distant as he picked up my hand and pressed it along the side of his head. There, I felt a similar scar.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry they had you too.”

I don’t remember. Not really. A few images. I don’t know why they had me. Or how.

I didn’t tell him what else Vickers had said, about all the females of his kind dying and how they traveled to another planet. He’d had enough for the day. I couldn’t bear to lose him when we could finally communicate.

“Let’s not think about it,” I whispered. “Not today. Maybe not for a few days.”

I thought he’d press, but he must have been exhausted, because he just nodded. We will settle for the night.

Fatigue had wound its way into every muscle down to the tips of my fingers. “I would love that.”

We sat by the fire, nightfall all around us. Biza and Giro were asleep, the little furry bellies rising and falling with deep breaths. Neevias, they were called, according to Relk.

He lay with his head on my lap while staring up at the star-filled night sky. I ran my fingers through his hair and couldn’t stop the gratitude from welling in my heart that he was alive and well. That he hadn’t lost his mind. We could do this.

Sometimes his gaze would flick to me cautiously, and I knew what he was wary about without even digging into his mind. “I don’t always read your thoughts,” I said. “I have to open myself up to them, and I know it’s an invasion of privacy, so I don’t do it all the time.”

But now?

“Well, now I am,” I pouted. “Because we’re having a conversation.”

He smiled.

“And sometimes your thoughts are so loud. Overwhelmingly loud. And then I can’t help it. I hear them as if you voiced them.”

What was the first thought heard from me?

I rubbed my lips together as I cast my memory back. “Mate.”

Mate?

“Yes.”

His purple gaze held mine. I called you my mate.

“I think so. Yeah.”

He held up his wrists. I think it has to do with these.

My hand drifted down to cup his chin, and he tilted his head back. I couldn’t resist bending to drop a kiss on his forehead. His arm circled around my back and his hand flexed on my back, and his eyes glowed as he stared up at me. His thoughts weren’t clear words, just a hazy type of heat that seemed to grow in intensity.

And then there the word was again. Mate.

My belly dipped as he shifted to sit up, and my gaze dropped to the visible bulge in his pants. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the memory of that thick organ in my hands.

I want you.

My voice shook. “I want you too.”

Carefully, I sat up, and he watched me with a heated gaze while I crawled into his lap and straddled his waist. His big hands settled on my thighs, and as I leaned closer to his face, the frozen air of his icy tundra rippled. A single ray of sun split through the clouds of his overcast mind, and I felt it hit my face with a warm blast despite the cool night temperatures. I nearly crowed with triumph as I felt the first taste of victory. Of hope. If we could melt his ice like this, he just might be okay.

A flash of surprise cut through the heat of his purple gaze, and he shook his head slightly.

You are so hot in my arms. You fit perfectly.

I did fit perfect tucked against his muscled chest. His fingers curled into my thighs as his nostrils flared. Chest heaving, he slid his palms around to my ass and tugged me tight against him. The bulge in his pants pressed against my core, and I let out a small whimper.

More clouds split. The sun grew stronger. Beneath my feet, water pooled on the icy surface. I wasn’t quite sure how this was working—was it his arousal? Intimacy?

He leaned toward my neck, but I stopped him halfway. His body shuddered, but he didn’t press. He remained still as I closed the distance myself and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. He jerked in surprise, but I didn’t pull back. Kissing him felt right. Natural. My blood heated. My lower stomach clenched. The kiss deepened as he seemed to catch on. His tongue lapped into my mouth, and a rumble in his chest caused a vibration on my sensitive nipples. As the kiss continued, my head spun. Heat flared behind my eyes. My chest inflated. My toes curled.

I suddenly felt like I could burst out of my skin, like my inner self was screaming to get out and my flesh was too tight to contain it. Clutching Relk’s shoulders, I moaned into his mouth. The world tipped, and I felt the soft grass at my back as Relk loomed over me. My shirt was tossed over my head, and his head lowered to suck a nipple into the wet heat of his mouth. I cried out as I gripped his horns for purchase. My hips lifted, seeking friction. My head spun as I sought to find myself in this madness of arousal, but I was lost to the heat and strength of his body. I’d wanted to melt his ice… but was he also melting mine?

He slipped further down my body to remove my pants, and I stared up at the starry night sky as he dropped his head between my legs. It hadn’t been that long since he’d used his tongue on me, but as soon as I felt the first lick, I felt like I’d die if he stopped. My moans soared to a higher pitch as he played with my clit and speared my entrance. I came without warning, bucking up into his mouth and clenching my thighs around his head.

He lifted his head, purple gaze searing me to the core. The puddle beneath my feet expanded. The sun grew stronger.

He sat up between my legs, and his nostrils flared as indecision crossed his face. I felt the same way. The bulge in his pants terrified me. I’d held that thick shaft in my hands. But this entire situation had spiraled. With our bodies, we were thawing both our emotions. And that wasn’t all. I so very badly wanted this intimacy with him. I ached with emptiness despite just coming all over his face. He wouldn’t hurt me. I was sure of it. Maybe we could try…

I don’t want to hurt you.

Of course, I’d known that was where his thoughts were be before I even entered his mind.

I sat up, and he slid back, watching me carefully if not with a trembling wariness. “It’s okay,” I said, my hands reaching for him. “You won’t hurt me. Can we try something?”

His lips parted and a harsh breath rasped out. Yes.

I smiled. “Lay on your back.”

He complied quickly, and I tried not to stare too long at his cock straining the fabric of his pants or else I’d lose my courage.

With careful hands, I unclasped his pants and slid them down his legs. His tail lay silent and calm on the grass beneath him, but I’d seen what the limb could do. His hard cock bounced free. Had it grown since I’d seen it last? It was bigger. I was sure of it.

“Oh boy,” I whispered to myself as I gripped the base of the shaft.

He jerked to a sitting position with his arms braced behind him. Concern wove into the grooves of his forehead. Why are you scared?

“I’m not scared, just nervous,” I told him. “But I want to do this. Trust me, okay?”

His eyes softened. I trust you.

Lifting up on my knees, I directed his cock head at my entrance. Even the flared tip felt huge, but I was drenched with my own lubricant. I looked into his eyes as I lowered myself onto him. He inhaled sharply when his tip slipped inside of me, and his big body shuddered in my arms. His hips bucked up, and I gasped as my body clenched around the top half of his shaft. That was about all I could take of him. The pierced ring of his cock slid along my inner walls, and my eyes rolled back into my head.

He went still at my gasp, and he trembled at the effort to keep himself motionless. I swiveled my hips, giving myself time to adjust to his size. I wasn’t a virgin, but I might as well have been considering his size.

His mind was a whirling mix of melting thoughts. My legs shook as I lifted myself up and dropped back down. His chest rattled as his breathing turned into harsh pants. Lips feeling back, he gripped my hips so hard I was sure I’d have finger-shaped bruises for days.

“Does that feel okay for you?” I asked breathlessly, still trying to get my bearings.

His nostrils flared as he held up one finger. Then he pointed at me with a raised brow.

I rasped out a choking laugh before lifting one finger in answer. As I did so, I lifted and lowered my body. Once. Twice. The third time, I could fit about three-quarters of him inside of me. By the fourth, I was nearly at the base. Sweat trickled down my back. I swiped a few salty drops off my upper lip. My thighs trembled with the effort to hold myself up.

While Relk looked wary and concerned at first, his expression shifted now. No longer unsure, his eyes narrowed as he took over. One hand shifted to the nape of my neck while the over curved to support my ass. With an enviable ease, he lifted me up and down on his cock like I weighed nothing. The rattling in his chest grew to a steady purr, which seemed to vibrate the air around us. I curled my legs around his hips and held on as he fucked up into me. I felt his cock swell, and just when I thought he’d come, I felt a tickle on my clit. Gasping, I glanced down find that node at the top base of his cock had extended. When it latched onto my clit, a suction sensation started that had me crying out with surprise pleasure.

My sounds only spurned him on, and while he had been controlled a moment ago, his movements were now forceful and driving. I felt every reverberation throughout my body as he slammed me onto his cock again and again. Between the slide of his piercing, the suction of his node, and that constant vibration, I felt on the brink of exploding into a million pieces.

My perfect mate. My sun.

I opened my blurry eyes to find his expression twisted into a pleasureful grimace—all of that caused by me—and that sent me into orbit. I screamed about my orgasm as I clenched around his thick shaft. His cock pulsed inside of me, and I felt the hot splash of his cum coat in my inner walls.

My body bucked and convulsed around him, and I swore I blacked out for a minute, only coming to with him stretched out over top of me. The flickering fire warmed my face. The grass was soft at my back. He held a cup of water to my lips, and I drank greedily as he wiped at my sweaty face with my shirt.

When he slid out of sight, I felt his hands coast down my body and suddenly a soft tongue lapped at my well-used pussy.

“Relk,” I murmured, so sensitive that even his soft licks were slightly painful. But the pain eased as he continued to carefully clean me. I shuddered a few times when he brushed against my clit. The bundle of nerves there felt like they’d been through a storm, but the aftermath was a cleansing.

When he was satisfied, I was clean, he lay on the grass beside me and tugged me into his arms. I rested my head on his chest and let my thoughts clear.

His lake was still frozen, but wet puddles dotted the surface. He stood in the middle with me, surrounded by the melting ice. He opened up his mouth and moved his lips. And from all around me, I heard in a deep voice, Mine.

ELEVEN

Relk

My favorite thing to do was learn about Neve. I wished I could read her thoughts as she could read mine but feeling her emotions through the sun in my mind was second best.

Over the next two rotations as we road toward Granit on my bike, she spoke more freely. She touched me whenever she could, often linking her hands with mine. When we stopped for meals, she’d sit so close to me that her entire side brushed mine. I felt like I’d won the ultimate prize in life whenever she smiled at me.

“My friends don’t know about…” she tapped her head. “You know.” She said as we ate our mid-morning meal.

They don’t?

“The Uldani experimented on us all differently. Tasha has a heightened sense of smell. Amber dreams of the future. I wasn’t sure what they’d done to me for a long time, not until my head started to feel crowded. Noisy. It was then I realized that if someone touched me, it opened up their mind to me. I could hear their thoughts.”

Why didn’t you tell them?

She picked at her strip of dried meat. “Because it’s creepy. I didn’t want them to be self-conscious around me. So I just tried my best to ignore their thoughts.”

Will you tell them when you see them again?

Her gaze lifted to mine. “If I see them again, yes.”

You will.

“I hope so.” She sighed. “We all have side effects though. Negative ones. Trix heals fast but being touched causes her pain. Tasha has a heightened sense of smell but gets nosebleeds and headaches.”

You?

She bit her lip. “I can’t… emote.”

I don’t know what that means.

“I can’t express strong emotions. I can’t get really angry. Sadness is more like… apathy. And the worst is that I can’t cry.”

What is crying?

She swiped her finger under her eye. “My eyes leak salty tears when I’m sad. It can happen when I’m happy too. But mostly sad. Or scared.”

How is crying a good thing?

“Because I can’t cry, it just all…” She rubbed her chest. “It’s all stuck here. Sometimes I feel like my heart will explode. I want to get it out. To scream. To cry. To drain myself dry. I don’t feel like myself. I haven’t felt like myself for a long time.”

I wish I knew what it was like to feel like myself too.

She smiled sadly. “We’re more alike than we ever thought, huh?”

The thoughts of the gray aliens no longer caused me pain, although I still couldn’t fully remember them. What do you think the Uldani wanted to do to me?

“Maybe whatever they were trying to do backfired,” she said. “What would they gain from you losing your memory?”

I don’t know. Pulling out the map, I pointed to a nearby cluster of peaks. That’s Granit. We are close. Maybe another half a day. We should probably leave the bike behind and travel the rest of the way on foot. I want to observe before we make contact with them.

Neve nodded, but I knew she was nervous. Her sun was dim.

I reached for her hand. It will be all right.

“I’m scared of what we’ll find. What if my friends are hurt? Abused? I just don’t know what to expect. And what if you feel conflicted about seeing your kind?”

Anger swelled in my chest. There will be no conflict. You are my mate. My priority. My reason. I will kill everyone in Granit if it means saving you and your friends.

She pressed her lips together. “I don’t want you to have to kill anyone.”

Don’t doubt me.

She blinked rapidly. “I don’t, Relk. I don’t doubt you at all.”

After leaving my bike behind, we traveled for another half a day before reaching the forest that bordered Granit. We’d be there soon.

Giro and Biza leapt from branch to branch above us with silent steps. I only knew they were up there because occasionally I’d see flashes of pink fur. Ever since we entered this forest, I’d had an eerie feeling that someone was watching us. My machets ached to lift out of my scales to be ready to defend, but I forced myself to remain calm.

Neve picked up on my anxiety. Her hand was clammy in mine, and she walked with hesitant footsteps at my side. Her gaze constantly darted side to side and her sun in my mind seemed to tremble behind dark clouds.

Suddenly Biza let out a screech of alarm. A moment later I heard a familiar buzzing sound that made my chest go tight. Neve whirled around with jerky movements. “What? What do you see?”

Not see. Hear. I tapped my ear.

Eyes wide, she shook her head. “I don’t—” Her mouth dropped open as her head whipped toward the buzzing sound which had grown louder. “Oh shit.”

Bikes that sound like mine. Drixonians.

“More than one,” she cried.

Grabbing her hand, I took off on a run to the left. According to the map, there was a slight ridge there, and as long as we were out of sight, they wouldn’t see us. I couldn’t be sure they were Drixonians, but my scales tingled like my body knew my own kind was close. My head pounded as the bikes drew closer, and I had to shake it as the clouds in my mind darkened. Since Neve’s sun had arrived in my mind, I’d never lost sight of it, and now there was only a very faint glow. What would happen to me if it disappeared forever?

As we ran, the bikes shifted direction, like they knew where we were. I glanced up and around, wondering if we’d been seen by some scouts, but I could detect no other movement except for the neevias above us.

The roar grew louder, overtaking us as ran until I looked over my shoulder to see half a dozen black bikes ridden by blue and black figures. Dark hair. Horns. Long tails.

They looked just like me.

Neve let out a cry and stumbled over a rock. She went down hard on her knees and screamed out in pain. Her sun shook.

I hauled her into my arms, but the delay cost us. We were surrounded by six bikes that touched down on the ground. Clutching Neve to my chest, I whirled around, searching for an escape, but they had us trapped.

Shutting off his bike, a male Drixonian with a long dark braid and pierced nipples dismounted from his bike in one smooth jump. Stepping in line next to him was a Drixonian with long hair on top, shaved on the sides, and fingers lined with rings. Something about him was familiar. My head pounded, and I blinked as my vision wavered.

The sun. Where was Neve’s sun?

The Drixonian with a braid took a step toward me, and I unleashed my machets and bared my teeth. My tail curved protectively in front of me with the spiked armor displayed on the tip.

His eyes went wide for a moment before squinting in confusion. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s just me. Sax.”

That didn’t mean a thing to me. I didn’t lower my machets.

“Sax Bakut.” He said as if that would make a difference. Instead my head only ached more. I remained silent as he took a step toward me. “Who are you?”

“Stop,” Neve wriggled out of my hold and limped to stand in front of me. “Stop talking to him.”

The braided Drixonian remained confused. He eyed Neve, and I despised that he even looked at her. Would he take her from me? Over my dead body. With my machets out, I reached into my waist harness and withdrew two blades. Brandishing them at my sides, I stared him down.

“What the fleck?” he muttered. “Why don’t you—?”

The Drixonian with the rings suddenly let out a gasp. “It’s Relk.”

At the sound of my name from his lips, a sharp pain sliced through my temple. I dropped my blades to grip my head. My mouth opened in a silent scream. The pain. Neve’s sun was nowhere to be seen. The air of my mind was cold, so cold. My teeth chattered. Wind whipped chunky flakes of snow. There were no more puddles. Only ice.

“Stop talking to him!” I heard Neve shout. But her sun… her sun was gone. I couldn’t get warm. The pain was too much.

“Go get Maddic,” someone barked, and that name sent another bolt of agony slicing through my skull. With a gasp, I fell to my knees.

“Get Maddic and get a female, for fleck’s sake!” A male voice roared.

“Don’t touch him!” Neve screamed.

Soft hands settled on my back. Her trembling voice whispered in my ear. “Hold on, Relk. Don’t leave me. Please. Feel my warmth. Feel me.”

But I was too far gone. The cold was too much. I collapsed to the ice and passed out.

Neve

He had broken. Relk was broken. His mind was a chaotic, disordered mess. I couldn’t even get in. I was no longer on the ice with him. I was outside the snow globe watching the storm inside. I banged on the invisible glass calling his name, searching for him in the whiteout conditions, but there was nothing.

I whirled on the Drixonians, anger swelling inside of me in a way I hadn’t felt ever. When it had come to my fate, I’d been resigned many times, but Relk wouldn’t go this way. Not him. Not if I was still alive.

“I told you to stop talking to him,” I growled, my voice a deep rumble that didn’t seem like my own. I pointed at the braided Drixonian. “You did this.”

I expected him to cock back his hand and slap me across the face, but his gaze only dropped to my wrists before his jaw tensed. “Fleck.”

A screech sounded from above, and Biza flew to the ground in a whirl of pink fur and gnashing teeth. Giro was right behind her as they advanced on the braided Drixonian in a blur. But there were only two neevias, and I knew they’d be no match for the six large aliens. I couldn’t let anything happening to my companions. The six Drixonians immediately unleashed their machets and crossed their arms at the wrists in front of their necks in a defensive stance. Terrified, I rushed at Biza and Giro. Grabbing their tails before they could latch onto flesh, I hauled them into my arms. They were angry wriggly bundles, but I held on tightly. “Calm down,” I snapped at the neevia pair. “Please.”

The braided Drixonian slowly dropped his arms. “Are they with you?”

I nodded solemnly before dropping once again to Relk’s side. His remained huddled with his arms over his head. There was no getting to him. My sun was nowhere to be seen to warm his mind.

Another bike arrived, but I barely paid any attention as I continued to talk to Relk and rub his back. Footsteps drew closer, and a Drixonian wearing a fur wrap and leather harness stumbled forward. “Relk,” he whispered brokenly in a hoarse rasp. “No.”

He hit his knees in the dirt and reached for Relk, but I shoved his hands away. The neevias hopped to Relk’s side and bared their teeth. The fur wrapped Drixonian blinked at me dazedly before his gaze took in my wrists, and then Relk’s matching marks.

“What happened?” He whispered. He whirled around, voice gaining in intensity. “What the fleck happened to him?”

“We don’t know,” the braided Drixonian said. “But he didn’t recognize me. He didn’t recognize any of us. When we said his name, he collapsed in pain. He’s been there since.”

“It’s been so long, I didn’t recognize him at first,” said the Drixonian with many rings. He gestured to me. “His mate is protecting him.”

The newcomer met my gaze. “I’m Maddic.”

“I don’t care,” I snapped.

His lips tilted up, and I wasn’t sure what was so funny about that. “What’s your name?”

“You can’t have me.” I held onto Relk tightly. “I belong to him, and he belongs to me.”

“I don’t want to have you,” Maddic said, his smile growing. “But my mate might.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Well he can’t have me either.”

“I don’t know, I think you might want to meet my mate.” His sat back on his haunches. “Her name is Maisie.”

I didn’t think. I only reacted. Something had broken in me when Relk broke, and I couldn’t seem to control my emotions. My sedative nature was no more. I lunged at Maddic, landing on his chest as he fell onto his back with a grunt. Some of the Drixonians around us took a step forward, but Maddic held up his hand. He didn’t make a move to defend himself as I gripped his harness and growled inches from his face. “Where is she? What have you done with her?”

He remained calm beneath me. Not even a quiver of nerves. Was I really not threatening at all? “She’s at home, probably baking.”

That wasn’t the answer I was expecting. “What?”

“She and Lu, they like to bake.”

My hand went lax on his harness as my heart pounded in my ears. “What did you say?”

He sat up, and I shifted off of him to crouch at his side. “Trix, Tasha, Amber, Maisie, and Lu. They are all safe in a village outside Granit.”

“You lie,” I hissed.

“Do I?” He cocked his head. “Who told you that was a lie?”

“The Joktals…” Doubt made my voice fade to an insecure tremble. “They said you took human females to breed.”

“I mean, some are breeding,” muttered a Drixonian.

“What?” I snapped.

The braided one hit the speaker on the back of the head with a strong thwack. “Shut the fleck up.”

“How many chits does Val have now?” He rubbed the back of his head.

“Will you shut up?” Sax growled back.

“Who’s Val?” My stomach rolled as I shifted back toward Relk. He still remained huddled in one spot, and I didn’t know what to do. Should we leave this place that was triggering for him… or were these Drixonians the way to cure him? I’d built them up in my mind as violent predators. But they hadn’t hurt me. They’d been kind. And then there was the fact that this Maddic knew my friends. “You’ll let me see my friends?”

Maddic squinted. “I’ll make you a deal. You let us take Relk with us to Granit to have him see a healer, and I’ll bring the whole crew to see you.”

I reached out and grasped Relk’s arm. “I have to stay with him.”

Maddic stood and dusted off his pants. “Oh, I know. You’re cora-eternals. We wouldn’t separate you.”

“We’re what?”

“Didn’t Relk explain your loks to you?” He pointed to my wrist markings.

“No.” I stood up too, keeping my leg touching Relk. “He didn’t explain anything to me. He’s lost his memories.”

Maddic went still. “What?”

“He doesn’t know he’s a Drixonian. He doesn’t know any of you. Whenever something from his past came up, he’d experience terrible head pain.” I swallowed. “Seeing you sent him over the edge. He’s…” I rattled my hand next to my head. “He’s frozen up here.” Did this sound crazy to them? “Sometimes my sun could warm him. Make him start to remember. But now…” I shook my head as a lump in my throat choked me.

Maddic’s jaw worked as he stared at Relk. “Well then, shine on, female. You’re the only thing he’s got that can thaw him.”

TWELVE

Neve

I clutched Relk’s hand and touched it to my cheek. His scales were cold. He remained awake, staring straight up at the ceiling. Sometimes he’d blink. But he didn’t react to voices or touch. He was like a vegetable, and his mind continued to be a frozen snowy wasteland.

Through the windows of the infirmary, I could see the sun had set. We’d driven fast toward the city of Granit, and maybe at another time I would have appreciated the new, strange city, but I hadn’t been able to focus well as my concern was Relk’s well-being. We’d ridden straight through a long city street, and many Drixonian males had stopped to gawk at us.

We’d stopped outside a large building with a grand set of stone stairs. Maddic had carried Relk inside and straight to the infirmary where he’d placed Relk on a bed. Two older Drixonians were there—one walked with a limp—and once they’d examined Relk, they’d confirmed he had no physical injuries. It was just his mind.

So I remained by his bedside even when I spotted an unfamiliar human face peering at me through the glass window of the door. She’d only smiled at me sadly before the braided Drixonian named Sax had whisked her away gently. Before that, I’d spotted their matching wrist marks. Loks, Sax had said they were. I took a washcloth from a basic of warm water, wrung it out, and dabbed at Relk’s face and hands. I’d felt it was my duty to find my friends, but I felt like it was my purpose to save Relk.

“—Maybe isn’t the best time—”

“A million of those eerie hounds couldn’t keep me away,” a familiar voice snapped. I turned with a gasp just as the door to the infirmary swung open. Trix stopped just inside, her expression fierce. “Neve.”

Tasha rushed past her, hair flying, and tackled me in a tight hug. “Neve!” Her tears tickled my cheek. “Oh my God, it’s actually you.”

Our bodies jerked as Maisie and Lu slammed into us. “We’re together again!” Lu wailed. Maisie blubbered like a baby. Behind me, Trix stood with her lips pressed together, eyes shining.

Beside her, Amber smiled at me. “I knew we’d see you again.”

Amber had visions of the future, and they always came true. She would have assured the girls I was alive.

“Is it really you?” Tasha gripped my face and peered into my eyes. “Really?”

“It’s really me.” There was that swelling feeling again in my chest as my emotion welled up with nowhere to go. I glanced at all of them, taking in their conditions. They were all plumper than the last time I’d seen them. Maisie’s cheeks were rosy and healthy. And they all, each and every one of them, had loks.

Trix stepped to the end of Relk’s bed. “This is him?”

I reached for his arm and tugged it against my chest. “This is Relk.” I hated that they had to see him like this. I wanted them to see his kind smile. To witness his bravery. To know him, not this statue.

Maisie and Lu pulled from my embrace and after wiping their tears, they each grabbed a basin and filled it with warm water. Tasha sat down on the other side of the bed and reached for a washcloth. As she began to wipe down Relk’s arm, Trix gathered a set of fresh washcloths from a shelf.

One by one, my friends tended to my mate. They didn’t ask me questions about what had happened to me since we separated. They didn’t treat Relk with fear or caution. They took care of my mate as they would their own. And more than ever, I wanted to cry.

I opened up my mind link to each of them, even Trix who I’d touched once or twice.

He’ll get better, I know he will.

What a handsome Drixonian Neve found.

I’m sure he loves her.

I wonder if Bazel made her sweet biscuits? I smiled at Lu’s wandering thoughts as she swiped at Relk’s fingernails. I’m hungry.

I knew Neve would survive. She’s one of our strongest.

I closed my mind link as my chest grew tight. Maybe this was my reward for living a hard life—my friends. Despite our separation, they were still rooting for me. Caring for me. Taking care of my mate. I had been so worried in that past that they would reject me if they knew the truth about me. But Relk had accepted me. I had to be confident that they would too. I cleared my throat. “I need to tell you all something.”

Trix, who had been washing some dirty basins, glanced over her shoulder as she turned off the water. Grabbing a dry towel, she stopped at the foot of Relk’s bed. “What’s up?”

Maisie sat beside me, and Lu, Amber, and Tasha sat on the other side of the bed. I gazed at each one of them in turn. “I know my alter.”

“You do?” Trix wrapped her fingers around the headboard. “How did you find out?”

I twisted my fingers around the damp rag in my lap. Needing something to do, I began to comb Relk’s hair. “I’ve known for a while. Since we arrived on this planet.”

The girls remained quiet. Trix crossed her arms over her chest. “You didn’t want to tell us.” She spoke as fact, and I nodded in confirmation.

“Neve,” Tasha reached across the bed and squeezed my shoulder before settling back in her seat. “You can tell us anything.”

“I can read thoughts.”

Maisie jerked. Lu’s eyes bulged. Trix remained quiet while Amber dropped her head.

I kept going. “If I touch someone, it opens up a mind link between us. I don’t always read everyone’s thoughts. I usually have to pay attention and focus, but sometimes I hear thoughts if they are loud enough.”

“And you were worried to tell us?” Tasha asked.

I nodded and picked a knot out of Relk’s hair, avoiding eye contact. “I was worried how you all would react. It’s creepy and invasive.”

“Sure it is,” Trix snapped angrily. “But you didn’t ask for it. This was done to you just like our alters were done to us. You didn’t have to hide from us, Neve. You never have to.”

“Relk told me you all would understand.”

“Well, Relk is smarter than you,” Trix shot back. I had to smile at her anger. She huffed and looked away. “At least now you know.”

“They Uldani had Relk too,” I explained. “They made him lose his memories. That’s why he’s like this. When he saw the other Drixonians, something broke.” I rubbed his arm to get some warmth back into his scales. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You can see his aura, right? That’s a benefit of the loks,” Lu said.

“His aura is a frozen lake, and we’d been melting it to get to his memories stuck under the surface, but now he’s nothing but a snowstorm.”

Trix tapped her lips. “We need to get Daisy here. Her mate, Rex, was held by the Uldani too. They messed with his mind, and he was close to going mad until Daisy helped him.”

“Maisie, let’s go get her,” Lu said.

“It’s late,” Maisie glanced out the window.

“Daisy will want to help.” Lu rose and held out her hand. Maisie rounded the bed and grabbed it. “We’ll be right back.”

They jogged out the infirmary door.

“So Relk isn’t the only Drixonian the Uldani had?” I asked the girls.

Trix blew out a long breath as she sat down in Maisie’s vacated seat beside me. “I guess we have some time before the girls come back. How about a Drixonian history lesson, huh?”

By the time Trix was finished talking, my head spun. Vickers had been right—the Drixonian females were killed long ago by a virus started by the Uldani, who then took advantage of the Drixonian crumbling society by making the Drixonians work for them. They experiment on some of the Drixonians in secret in attempt to make a subservient race. When the Drixonians found out, they revolted. After living on Torin for many years in small groups, they eventually defeated the Uldani after they learned of the gray aliens kidnapping women from Earth. After that, they returned to Corin, their original home, to rebuild their once great city of Granit.

The Joktals hadn’t been right. The Drixonians were our heroes, not our abusers.

“She is all,” I whispered their creed that Trix had taught me, as well as their greeting which I’d seen Sax do—arms crossed at the wrists in front of their necks.

“He didn’t remember any of that, but he knew.” I wiped Relk’s chest with a warm cloth. “He knew to protect me. He said he didn’t know why he felt that way, but he did.”

“It’s in their blood. Their souls.” Trix explained. “All of them.” Her fingers hovered over the back of Relk’s hand. “Despite what was done to him, he was still himself.”

“He always seemed bigger than that small valley.”

“He was basically Drixonian royalty,” Amber spoke up.

“What?” I asked.

She smiled. “My mate, Vinz, told me. Relk was the son of some high-ranking official. He was born mute and was on the fast track to becoming a pilot when his father deserted his post.”

“Deserted?” I whispered.

“He’s a son of naught.” Tasha said. “Just like our mates.”

“Son of what?”

Tasha reached over Relk’s body and tugged his hair from the back of his neck. There, burned into his scales, was a small brand—a circle with a line through it. “Sons of naught were the outcasted offspring of deserters.”

I fixed his hair to cover the brand as anger swelled inside of me. “Maybe it’s good he doesn’t remember that.”

“Maddic was closest to him. But he had his memories then. Something must have triggered him to lose them,” Tasha said.

Trix sighed. “We might never know.”

Suddenly a scream sounded from somewhere outside our room, and we all stared at each other with wide eyes. The door flew open, and Maddic appeared with a grimace on his face. “Uh, Neve? You’re needed in the room across the hall. I’ll stay with Relk.”

Frowning, I stood slowly just as I heard a very rising chatter of alarm. My heart dropped. “Oh shit,” I whispered. “Biza!”

Racing out of the infirmary, I barreled into the room across the hallway. There, Biza hung from a fixture on the ceiling by her tail. Giro was beside her, and they were both baring their sharp teeth to a pair of Drixonians huddled in the corner. The neevias weren’t allowed in the infirmary until they’d been checked for any diseases or parasites so they didn’t get the other animals in the city sick. I had been so wrapped up in Relk that I had forgotten to warn the Drixonians of the neevias non-docile nature.

The one Drixonian, a male with scarring on his back and his machets out, braced himself protectively in front of another smaller Drixonian. The smaller Drixonian held my gaze with wide eyes, and I was struck speechless for a moment. I had been told that all the female Drixonians had been killed in a virus, but this Drixonian was definitely female—she had large breasts and delicate feminine features. A small scratch on her arm dripped red blood—which surprised me because Relk’s blood was black. She was stunningly pretty, and I gawked for a minute until Biza’s screech drew my attention again.

“Try it, you little fleck,” the male Drixonian said as he flexed his arms.

I had to diffuse this, and quick. I rushed forward and reached for Giro as he dangled from the ceiling. “Come here, Giro. It’s okay. Come on.”

Biza let out another indignant shriek. “I know,” I said to her. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I should have been here.”

With the two neevias bundled in my arms, I turned to the Drixonians. My friends huddled in the doorway, watching silently.

The male Drixonian remained tensed but allowed his machets to retract. “They hurt her,” he said in explanation for his aggression.

“I should have warned you before you examined them. They can be very defensive and have sharp claws and teeth.” I nodded to the female Drixonian who had shifted from behind the male’s back. “Are you okay?”

“It’s just a scratch,” she said with a shaky smile. “Trapt overreacted.”

“I did not,” he snapped. “They could have killed you.”

“You grabbing me and pulling me away from them hurt worse.” She held up her wrist where finger marks were still indented in her scales. “See?”

His gaze flickered with guilt before his expression hardened. “I will do what it takes to save your life.”

“Oh, you’re so dramatic.” She rolled her eyes like an annoyed teenager.

“He’s not wrong,” I tried to diffuse their argument. “They could have really hurt you. But they probably wouldn’t. Right, Biza?” The neevia only sniffed haughtily.

The female stepped forward. “I’m Bazel. My mom is Anna and my dad is Tark.”

Her mother’s name gave me a hint—the female Drixonians might have all been killed, but this female was born from her human mom and Drixonian’s dad mating. From one look at her, I could confirm we were reproductively compatible species.

“I’m Neve. My mate is—”

“Relk.” Bazel smiled. “We heard. Val asked me to check the neevias. I should have said something to you first, but I didn’t want to bother you when you were at Relk’s bedside. I touched the smaller one, and the bigger one scratched me.”

“She’s his mom. I’m sorry you were hurt. How about I stay here and do what needs to be done? You can direct me.”

Bazel smiled. “I’d like that.”

“I’m staying too,” Trapt said. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood like a sentry near the door. “Just in case.”

Bazel walked toward me, her long skirt fluttering around her ankles. Trapt’s gaze followed her. By the look of him, he wasn’t merely following his duty. He seemed head over heels for the pretty young woman.

I helped Bazel finished checking the neevias, and soon she declared them healthy and parasite free. We left them in the room with a meal, and then I relieved Maddic from Relk’s beside with the rest of the women. I had just sat down when the door swung open.

Maisie and Lu walked in and following behind them was a pretty woman with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled freely at me. Trix rose from her seat so Daisy could sit down beside me.

Tasha waved at the girls. “Let’s give them some privacy.” To me, she added. “Maddic is guarding the door. If you need us, just holler for him and he’ll go get us.”

“Thank you,” I murmured as I watched my friends leave.

Tasha glanced at me over her shoulder. “If you need reassurance, just…” she tapped her head with a smile. “You know. I’ll be thinking positive thoughts.”

“I love you,” I blurted out.

The corners of her eyes crinkled. “Love you too.”

When the door swung shut, I turned to Daisy. She smiled at me. “Hi, I’m Daisy, Rexor’s mate.”

“I’m Neve. And I’m… um… Relk’s mate.”

Her eyes drifted toward his body. She patted his hand comfortingly. “I heard.”

“I don’t know if you can help me, but any advice you can give would be great. I understand the Uldani had Rex too.”

She nodded and explained Rex’s situation. He’d been physically altered by the Uldani—he had white hair and wings, along with a split tail and tongue. But the alter affected his brain too. “In a way, he had a split personality. There was him, Rexor, the kind mate who cared for me. And then other was violent beast which emerged when he got angry. And every time the beast emerged, it cracked a part of his brain. He was convinced there would be a day where he’d just succumb to madness and remain in his beast form all the time.”

“That’s so horrible,” I whispered.

“It was. He never hurt me, but he was in so much pain.” She took one of my hands in hers. “But you and Relk are cora-eternals. These loks… they give us faster healing powers and a connection that’s nearly unimaginable to anyone on Earth. You can reach him. You’re the only one who can reach him.”

“But I can’t.” I felt helpless. “I usually could join him in his mind. We stood on his lake of frozen memories. We had melted some of it but now…” I shook my head. “I can’t see anything. He’s in a blizzard.”

“How did you melt him before?”

“He said I appeared as… as a sun. That I broke through the clouds.”

She bit her lip. “When did your sun shine the brightest?”

“When I had strong emotions. Whether it was arousal or… love.”

She smiled. “Then get as close to him as you can. And focus. It might hurt you. You might exhaust yourself. But if you want Relk back, you need to force your sun to shine. You’re all he has.”

I gripped her hands tightly. “What if I can’t do it?”

“You can,” she whispered. “I could do it, and I can tell by looking at you that you’re stronger than I ever was. You’ve been through so much. This is one last hurdle before you can finally be happy.”

“Be happy?” I whispered. I wanted to be happy. Here in this city with my friends and my mate. “Okay,” I squeezed her fingers before letting go. “Okay. I can do this.”

Daisy rose and wrapped me in a warm hug. “I’ll leave you alone and tell Maddic not to bother you.”

“Thank you so much, Daisy. I hope we can talk more in the future.”

She grinned. “Don’t worry, we have plenty of time. Focus on your mate. We’ll be here for both of you when it’s over.”

With a wave, she left, leaving me alone with Relk. I stared at his chest rising and falling with deep breaths. His eyes remained open, and he blinked every ten seconds like clockwork.

I gripped his hand in mine, feeling the strong callouses of his palms. I slid my hands up his forearms, detecting small slits in his scales where his machets could emerge. Slowly, I climbed into bed, seeking his warmth. I pressed my forehead against his temple, getting as close to him as I could. Then I closed my eyes, and I opened up my mind link to him.

At first, I saw nothing, but I took one step forward and suddenly my vision filled with white. Ice wind blasted me in the face and whipped my hair. I gasped as I fought to breath in the sub-zero temperatures. At least I was inside the snow globe of his mind. I fought my way forward through snow drifts waist deep. In the distance, I could just make a dark figure standing all alone.

Focusing on that, I pushed forward. Wind chilled me to the bone. My nose ran, and my teeth chattered. Cold seeped into my bones, and my toes grew numb, but still I pressed onward. I had to get to Relk. I had to do this.

The snow grew higher. Thicker. I could no longer see the lone figure. I couldn’t even walk. I inhaled an icy breath that froze my lungs, and despair swamped me as I struggled forward. Two inches. One inch.

Zero inches.

“No,” I cried out as I punched at the snow with my red, numb fists. “Relk,” I screamed just as I felt something hot trickle down my cheek. Vision blurring, I swiped at my eyes. My hands came away wet. Confused, I licked my finger, and tasted salt.

I was crying.

THIRTEEN

Relk

Something warm dripped on my face. I tried to swipe at it, but my arms were frozen to my sides. My entire body was frozen. All I could see in front of me was white. Above me, only dark clouds. The snow and ice was never ending.

Where was I? Who was I?

Every time I felt like I had a grasp on reality, it blew away in the icy wind. Cold. So cold. Maybe this was it. I could just huddle here and wait for the end.

The warm trickle down my face again. Where was that coming from? I glanced up and could have sworn the clouds had lightened in color. The wind seemed to slow.

I wiggled my numb fingers and felt life return to my limbs. Another warm drop hit my face. Then another. The clouds above opened up to dump a warm rain, soaking me like a warm bath. I tossed my head back and opened my mouth to drink down the water while the snow all around me melted. Water rushed at my ankles, and the hard surface beneath my feet rocked.

The rain let up just as the clouds split to reveal a beam of sun that shone on me with a cleansing heat. I glanced down just in time as the ice beneath my feet cracked. Plunging into the warm water, I gazed all around me at familiar images. Maddic smiling while holding a laser gun. My mother. Pain and loss. Happiness and hope.

A hand plunged into the water from above, and I grasped onto it. The pale hand pulled me to the surface, and when I gasped a breath of fresh air, I gazed up into the relieved face of my mate. Neve. Her eyes leaked as her shoulders shook.

“You’re here,” I said in awe.

“I’m here,” she sobbed. “I’ll always be here.”

My eyes focused. I lay flat on my back and hovering above me was Neve’s face. Her eyes dripped warm, salty drops onto my face. I lifted my arms and swiped at her wet cheeks. What’s this?

Her body bucked. “I’m crying,” she blurted out with a loud sniff.

Are you happy?

She hiccupped. “So happy. Beyond happy.”

I clutched her to my chest, and she buried her face in my neck. Her body trembled, and I rubbed her back until her sobbing sounds faded.

You did it. I thought I’d be frozen forever. But you came.

She pulled back and swiped at her wet face. “I didn’t think I could do it. The snow was so high. It was so cold. And then… I started crying.”

But you said you can’t cry.

“I didn’t think I could. But apparently we’d changed each other.” She threw back her head and hollered. “Ah! I never thought it would feel so good to cry.” Her gaze dropped to mine. “So… your memories?”

They are there. It’s too much right now. I’ll wait for them to filter back a bit at a time. But the lake is no longer frozen. They are there for me to grab when I need to.

She nodded. “Take your time.”

Hugging her, I took in my room. We were in some sort of infirmary with about a dozen beds and medical instruments. Through the window, I saw the morning sun. And at the door to the room, through a small round window, I spotted a familiar face peeking in. As soon as we made eye contact, he ducked out the way. I smiled. Hey, Neve?

“Yeah?”

Can you let Maddic in?

She jerked back. “You remember him?”

I do.

She grinned. “Good. He’s been worried about you the most.” She climbed off my bed and rushed to the door. As soon as she opened it, Maddic peeked his head in. I sat up and waved at him. “Oh thank fleck,” he said as he strode toward the bed. “Do you have any idea how hard this has been on me?”

I pointed at him, then at myself with a raised brow.

“Yeah, yeah. I guess it’s been hard on you too.” He sat down in the chair beside my bed with a heavy sigh while Neve hovered nearby. “I’m sorry, Relk. If I would have known you didn’t have your memories… I would have come after you. I thought you just wanted space.”

I remembered now. We’d had an argument about the new settlement, and I’d gone off on my own. I’d woke up the next rotation and I didn’t remember who or what I was. I patted his arm to accept his apology, even if he didn’t need it.

“Do you still remember your signs?” he asked.

My hands went still. My signs? I swirled my fingers in the lake of my mind and suddenly there it was. The Drixonian sign language we’d developed. I’d forgotten it all.

I… remember now. I signed to him, my fingers moving with barely any thought.

He grinned. “Fleck yeah. You’re back.” He looked over his shoulder and cupped his hands over his mouth. “Come in, he’s back!”

Five Drixonians trickled in, and I recognized them immediately—Kutzal, the leader of our sons of naught clan. Lukent, Vinz, and Axel.

Hi, brothers, I signed.

Vinz beamed. “He is back!”

“Told you,” Maddic shoved him before gesturing to my mate. “Neve brought him back to us.”

Neve’s cheeks colored, but she smiled at each Drixonian in turn as they introduced themselves to her. Last was Kutzal, who sank down on his knees in front of her in a gesture that surprised us all. “My mate, Trix, spoke of you often. We had scouts out looking for you. She said you were strong and could survive. You not only did that, but you returned our lost brother to us in more ways than one. Thank you.” He crossed his wrists in front of his neck and ducked his head.

Clearly unsure what to do, Neve shifted her weight from foot to foot. I smiled at her. He’s right.

“I, uh, of course,” she stuttered. “Relk saved my life about three times. So I owed him.”

Kutzal stood and approached my side of the bed. He had always been gruff and cold. But maybe it was the loks on his wrists or this mate of his that changed him. He clasped the back of my neck and bent at the waist until our foreheads touched. “Welcome home, Relk.”

I closed my eyes, remembering now the importance of this Drixonian greeting between warriors. I nodded, and he drew back with a small smile. “There is a lot to celebrate today. The females of Granit are preparing a feast.”

“My friends?” Neve asked.

“They’ll be helping, but no, I mean the females who live here with their families.

Families? I thought at the same time Neve squeaked. “Families?”

Vinz clapped me on the shoulder. “We’re rebuilding. Get ready to meet a lot of new people.”

“If it’s too much, you can take a break,” Neve said.

I’ll be fine. What about you?

Neve nibbled her lip. “So, how many people are we talking?”

“It’s loud when we have a big feast together.”

Trix walked in and linked her hands with Kutzal. Neve stared at where they touched. “It’s basically a Dave & Buster’s in the dining hall. Bring ear plugs.”

“Trix, you…” Neve pointed at their hands. “You can touch?”

“Just him. Sometimes the girls. We told you the loks are amazing.”

Neve rotated her wrists then met my gaze. “You’re not wrong.”

No, she’s not.

Neve

Trix was not wrong. The dining hall in the main building of Granit was massive—it reminded me of some medieval banquet room with high ceilings and massive wooden tables. And it was loud.

There were massive Drixonians carrying plates of food. Human women scurrying about. And then there were the kids. Babies. Toddlers. Pre-teens. So many that my head spun. But the best part was that everyone was happy. So many long, loving looks between mates. Pairs with loks everywhere. Pregnant women with doting mates.

I learned that years ago many of the Drixonians had been tasked on delivering cargo for the Uldani in exchange for the release of some of their own the Uldani had kept as prisoners. And it would have gone to plan… except the Drixonians showed up and realized the cargo was human women. Putting them in harm’s way was against their creed. They never intended to take them for mates until their loks began appearing and they all fell in love.

The cora-eternal bond was activated when our blood was spilled, likely by an enemy. And the loks appeared when that enemy was killed. So when Relk killed the Joktal with the crescent scar, that was when we got our loks. The Drixonians believed in a karma-like deity called Fatas, and that Fatas blessed them with us women after all they’d been through. I think it went both ways. We were blessed with them after all we’d been through.

Biza sat on Relk’s shoulder, and he fed her small bites, which she munched on happily. Giro sat on the table near me, snatching food from my plate and eating noisily. I had to keep wiping his little mouth. Their run in with Trapt and Bazel was all but forgotten. Bazel sat with her mother and father, and I was struck by how much she looked like both of them.

Relk ate his fill of the meal, which consisted of ingredients I’d never seen before, but yet all seemed to taste sort of similar to Earth food. With more resources at their disposable, the women of Granit had become excellent cooks. It filled me with so much joy to watch my friends learning new cooking techniques and eating happily.

Maddic stuck to Relk’s side, and I appreciated the big alien’s snark. He was also crazy about Maisie, which certainly elevated my opinion of him.

Similar to Trix, Kutzal was intense. Vinz was a bit of a loose cannon but turned into a puppy with one look from Amber. Lukent was a quiet protector of Tasha, constantly her shadow as she made her social rounds in the dining hall. Lu and Axel were just cute. He sat with her on his lap feeding her sweet biscuits.

A short woman with long dark hair, big brown eyes, and a smattering of freckles plopped down in the empty seat next to me that Tasha had vacated. “Hi!” She said brightly. “I’ve been trying to make my way over here all night. I’m Frankie. Daz is my mate.”

I had heard of Daz. While each clan, or clavas, of Drixonians had their own leader, or drexel, Daz was the top leader. He had already greeted Relk earlier, and I found him just as intense as Kutzal. Frankie, however, was like a little sprite of sunshine. “Hi, I’m Neve.”

“The girls talked about you all the time. We had scouts out looking for you, did you know that?”

I nodded. “I did. Thank you.”

“It’s important to these guys. You were the last woman we knew about that was still out there.” She bit her lip. “I’m worried there are more somewhere that we don’t know about.”

“I worry too. Relk said he told Daz about the Joktals plan to attack Granit.”

She sighed. “Yes. We knew it was coming eventually but…” She blew out a breath. “Those assholes can’t share a whole planet?”

A laugh bubbled out of me. “I guess not.”

“We’ll be ready.” She jerked her chin with determination. “You’ve seen Relk fight, right? Like you’ve seen him outnumbered in a battle?”

“Multiple times.”

“So imagine that times one hundred. The Drixonians launching into battle is sickening to me because I’m terrified they will get hurt, but it’s also absolutely awe-inspiring. The Joktals are formidable, but they will lose if they try us. Mark my words.”

I loved how confident she was. “Okay. I believe you.”

She grinned, suddenly all sunshine again after her fierce words. “If you need anything, make sure you let us know, okay? You’ll be staying at a village right outside the city limits. Kutzal set that up for you, and it was where we used to stay, so I think you’ll find it perfectly acceptable. There are small houses. A kitchen. Meeting area. A nearby stream. You name it.”

“That sounds delightful. Thank you.” My eyes welled up, and I swiped at them quickly. That had been happening most of the day. Now that my tears had showed up, they seemed to want to stick around.

Frankie grinned and then gave me a quick, tight hug. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered as she walked away.

Crying again?

I turned to find Relk watching me with a wrinkle in his brow. I smoothed it with the tip of my finger. “I’m okay.”

Can you cry too much?

I laughed. “No.”

He frowned again. I’m going to ask around to make sure. He turned to Maddic and began signing something furiously. Maddic glanced at me before bursting into laughter. Maddic clapped him on the back. “Ah, your woman is normal. Get used to it.”

The next day, I took one step inside the village and burst into tears. The small cabins reminded me of a summer camp I’d gone to as a kid. I wondered how many good conversations had been had on the benches that surrounded the large tree that towered over the center of the village.

You’re crying again. Relk remained concerned. Biza and Giro stared at me from their perches on his shoulders.

The girls crowded around me. They had also been terrified the first time I’d cried. But I’d explained it was a good thing, honestly, and that I might have a hard time regulating my emotions over the next few weeks or months. They understood the negative side effects of our alters more than anyone, but they still fussed over me.

“Do you like it?” Tasha asked. “We didn’t have time to decorate or plan a party.”

“Stop,” I wailed. “I love it. It’s so cute.”

“Right?” Lu said with a little hop. “I think it’s so adorable.”

“So. Adorable.” I sobbed into my hands.

“She’s a mess,” muttered Trix as she walked by me with Kutzal.

I was a total mess. Maisie gripped my hand and tugged me after her. “Come on, I want to show you and Relk your cabin.”

Stumbling after her, I gazed around me in wonder. “We get our own?”

“Of course. We all get our own. Yours is next to mine and Maddic’s. He insisted.”

I turned to find Maddic talking next to Relk. They were signing to each other. I was going to have to learn their language soon. There would be no translator implant update for that.

We stopped outside a small cabin with a dried flower wreath on the door. With a smile, Maisie pushed open the door and waved her hand inside. “Ta-da.”

With my hand linked in Relk’s, we walked inside. The cabin wasn’t big—maybe twenty by twenty feet. But it had a large bed with plus furs, a small two-person table, and a small bathroom. It was more than I could have ever hoped for since I left Earth.

Giro and Biza hopped off Relk’s shoulders and landed on the bed in a small heap of fur. There, they began to groom each other. From a dusty cave to this room must have felt like winning the lottery to them.

I started crying again.

“Oh jeez,” Maddic muttered.

“Let’s give them some privacy.” Maisie ushered him out the door. “Let me know if you need anything,” she called before shutting the door behind her.

A lantern flickered in the corner as Relk drew me into his arms. “Are you sure you still want me?” I blubbered.

Always.

“Even if I cry every day?”

Even if you cry all day every day. You are still my Neve. My mate. You still brought warmth back into my life. You healed me. And I will stick with you. He cupped my face and tilted my head back. You’d do the same for me.

“I would,” I whispered through my tears.

Then let’s be what we are without apologies. Forever.

My tears fell harder. And this time, I didn’t stop them.

Thank you so much for reading The Alien’s Chase! I’d appreciate it if you drop me a rating and review on Amazon and Goodreads!

If you’re new to my books, please check out my website for my bibliography and reading order, www.ellamaven.com

What’s next?

The Outcasts of Corin concludes with

Trapt and Bazel’s story in

THE ALIEN’S REWARD.

Preorder now!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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

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

ALSO BY ELLA MAVEN

Drixonian Warrior Series

Anna and Tark: The Alien’s Future (prequel)

Daz and Frankie: The Alien’s Ransom

Sax and Valerie: The Alien’s Escape.

Ward and Reba: The Alien’s Undoing

Miranda and Drak: The Alien’s Revenge

Gar and Naomi: The Alien’s Savior

Xavy and Tabitha: The Alien’s Challenge

Nero and Justine: The Alien’s Equal

Stolen Warrior Series

Rexor

Mikko

Fenix

Zecri

Mates of the Kaluma

Hunted by the Alien Assassin

Protected by the Alien Bodyguard

Claimed by the Alien Chieftain

Rescued by the Alien Outlaw

Outcasts of Corin

The Alien’s Sacrifice

The Alien’s Surrender

The Alien’s Battle

The Alien’s Bounty

Monster Hotel

The Guest With Claws

Standalones:

Claimed by the Demon Alien

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

About the Author

Also by Ella Maven