by Ella Maven
I wanted to say more, to apologize for failing her and asking for another chance, but fatigue pulled me under again. When I opened my eyes next, Reba lay on her side facing away from me with her back mashed up against my side. I blinked at the ceiling for a few times, noting the setting sun, before I realized someone else was in the room with us. I turned my head to find my brother sitting in the chair beside me. His head was bent with his hands clasped between his knees. He sat still and silent.
“Brother,” I murmured.
He slowly lifted his head. He made no sound other than to lean forward and clasp the back of my neck. I did the same to him, and he brought his forehead to touch mine in the official warrior greeting. As brothers, we held the position for a long time, breathing each other’s air. Finally, he let me go and sat back, but his expression, normally stoic, was troubled.
“We were organizing a search for you,” he said. “We were to leave the morning after you arrived.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. “Fortunately, we made it home. Did you meet Reba yet?”
His rings in his nose caught the light as he flared his nostrils. “Yit.”
It was one word, but I knew my brother and this question had bothered him. “What’s wrong?”
“Her,” he grunted. “I don’t like her.”
That was the last thing I expected him to say. “How can you say you don’t like her? Did something happen when you first met? I’m sure she was scared—”
“She almost got you killed.” He spoke through gritted teeth as his black eyes flashed at me.
I stared at him for a moment, searching his face until he turned away. “Brother.”
“Nit, she is not worthy of you.”
“Gar,” I said firmly. “Did you know that Gaul had her alone in a hut for six rotations? He filled her head with lies to turn her against me. I’d only had her for a few rotations, long enough to fall for her and her kindness but not long enough to prove I was a male she could depend on for the rest of her life. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she turned against me. But she didn’t.”
Gar still wouldn’t look at me, but I knew he was listening because a muscle in his jaw ticked.
“When they had me beaten and placed in Drixonor to die, she got out of her locked hut by observing a weakness in the guard shift. She opened the gates, found a hunner nest and led the entire swarm into the camp to attack the Red Hands all while covering the two of us in numa. She did that,” I nearly growled. “This small human who you seek to blame.”
“You wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for her,” he protested. Weaker this time.
“And if it wasn’t for us, she wouldn’t be here at all. Daz told me the Uldani brought these females here because of us, because they want to breed us with them. She was brought here against her will. She was terrified and ran from me to try to save her own life. I call that brave. She’s kind and loves that little welf pup like her own child. I could list numerous ways in which she’s the perfect mate for me.”
Gar’s gaze shifted toward her, and I saw the slightest softening in his expression.
I tempered my tone. “You will need to learn to accept her. She is important to me. She is all, Gar.”
His eyes dropped, as if ashamed. “She is all.”
I sighed, trying to be understanding. “If it makes you feel any better, I would have reacted the same way if our positions were reversed.”
I thought it would appease him, but he shook his head, still not meeting me eyes. “No, you wouldn’t have. You would have remembered our creed and treated her well. I did not, and I think it will take me time to correct my thinking.”
“You can have that time,” I said.
“So much is changing,” he said. “It is a lot.”
Gar hated change. Each time our lives were uprooted, I felt like he retreated further and further into himself. “I know. But I’m always here. And I will always be your brother.”
He lifted his head then, and his eyes finally held a small spot of purple warmth, so rare for my cold brother. “Promise.”
“Promise.”
His eyes shifted to Reba. “She is pretty. And if she did what you say—”
“—she did—”
“—then I admire that.”
I smiled. “Well that’s a start.”
He rose and strode over to the corner where Luna chewed on a bone. He knelt down and let her sniff his fingers before she licked at his extended claws. Before standing up, he ruffled her ears.
“Her name is Luna,” I said.
He raised a nubbed brow. “She has a name?”
“Of course, she’s a pet. Reba said she needed a name.”
“Oh, well if Reba said…”
I almost snapped at him until I saw the faintest upturn of his lip. I laughed. “Leave us be, brother. I need sleep so I can get up tomorrow and yell at you for your dirty hut.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
With a short jerk of his head, Gar left me. I spent the next few minutes staring at the ceiling. My mind was still a jumbled mess from my conversation with Daz. Our race had the possibility of a future. I didn’t want to thank the Uldani for a thing, but if they hadn’t brought these females to Torin…
“Did you mean what you said?” a soft voice filled the darkening room. Reba rolled over to face me, her eyes wide awake and alert. Had she been awake during my conversation with Gar?
Reba
I didn’t want to let on that I’d been awake when his brother visited, but I also really needed to know if what Ward said was just to appease his brother or if he really meant it.
“Were you awake this whole time?” he asked. There was no censure in his voice.
I bit my lip and nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
He rolled to face me. “It’s fine. I didn’t say anything you couldn’t hear.”
I was so nervous my voice shook. “So, you meant what you said?”
“I meant it all, but I don’t know which part you’re referring to.”
When I’d first met Ward, I never would have thought him capable of a soft, affectionate expression, but he looked at me now like I was delicate. Precious. We’d come a long way since the Glower days. “You said you don’t blame me for what you went through.”
He jerked. “I don’t blame you. If you heard that, then you heard what else I said. If it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have been stolen from your home on Earth and brought here. Sure, I was angry you ran away from us on the rotation you arrived, but I never blamed you for that.” His hand sifted through my hair, clean now from the cleanser I’d used this morning in the back of his hut. “If anything, you should hate me. I promised you I’d never let you become a victim again, and I failed that.”
I shook my head. “No, no you didn’t.” He tried to speak over me, but I placed a finger on his lips. He narrowed his eyes at me and hmphed a protest but didn’t speak. “Listen. There were many moments in that hut where I felt like a helpless victim. But then I remembered all you’d taught me. To pay attention to my surroundings. To make note of everything that could be important later. I did that because of you. You empowered me not to be a victim.”
I hadn’t realized I’d felt that way until the words were out of my mouth. I’d been attempting to reassure Ward, but in doing so, I’d found my truth.
“I don’t think I can take credit for your bravery,” he said.
I smiled at him. “How about we agree that we both played a hand in keeping ourselves alive? If you hadn’t played your part with Gaul for all those rotations, I wouldn’t have had the benefit of observing all I did.”
“Staying away from you during that time was the hardest thing I’d ever done. But Gaul saw me leaving your hut after the first visit and threatened me. Well, he threatened you in order to keep me away.”
“You did what you had to do,” I brushed my fingers along his jaw. “And I’m gr
ateful for it. I am so, so sorry you had go through the pain you did. When I saw them dragging you through the camp I thought—” I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “I thought you were dead.”
“I thought I was dead too. When I heard your voice and saw your face, I thought it was some sort of dream before Fatas took me home.”
“I just couldn’t help but think if I stayed on your bike, then none of that would have happened.”
He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “I don’t condone placing blame on people for doing what they thought was right. Gaul is responsible for his actions. Not you.”
I bit my lip and thought about that. For a long time, I’d placed some blame on my sister’s best friend. Paula had been the reason Zara was near that alley. She’d been getting another bottle of wine for their girls’ night because Paula had been too tired after work to get it herself.
I’d blamed her so much that I’d shunned her at the funeral. That hadn’t been fair of me. It wasn’t Paula’s fault. Or Zara’s. Or the maintenance man who hadn’t fixed the broken streetlight. It’d been that asshole who’d raped her and choked her and who now rotted in prison. It was his fault and his alone. Part of me wished I’d get the chance to apologize to Paula for how I treated her. “I’m sorry, Paula,” I whispered to myself. Maybe she’d hear me from galaxies away. Her nose would itch, and she’d know someone had been thinking about her. Something had to be said for putting good karma out in the world.
“Who’s Paula?”
I shook my head. “I’ll explain another time. But here’s the agreement. You don’t get to blame yourself for the Uldani bringing me here, and I don’t get to blame myself for what Gaul did to you.”
He laughed then, a soothing sound in the moonlit dark. “I will agree to that.” He rolled on top of me, bracing his elbows on either side of my head so I wouldn’t have to take his weight. He nuzzled his nose to mine. “Tell me, clever Reba, will you take me as your mate? Will you claim me as I claim you?”
I mock-gasped. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”
“Girl … friend?” he frowned. “I don’t know that term. I’m asking you to be mine until we take our last breaths.”
I bent my knees on either side of his hips and ran my fingers down his spine. “But we don’t have the loks, like Frankie and Valerie have.”
“That doesn’t matter. In our civilization, we mated for life and at our choosing. Finding your cora-eternal was rare. Almost a myth. The fact that we have two in our clavas is… it’s unheard of. So, the loks don’t matter. Not to me. Not when I know you are the one I want by my side.”
My heart skipped, and my blood warmed. His words settled something inside me that hadn’t been right since before my sister died. Maybe even never.
“Claim me,” I said. “I claim you too, Ward. Only you. Forever and ever.”
His chest began to vibrate, and soft puffs of breath left his lips in a “ch-ch-ch” sound. I relaxed further into the furs as the sound calmed my beating heart. His lips touched mine, and I lost myself in the taste and feel of Ward.
He tore off my clothes and plastered his already naked form to mine. My stiff nipples and sensitive breasts rubbed against his hard chest, sending bolts of pleasure to my core. His hard cock with its metal tip rubbed against my clit, and I was about to beg him to fuck me already when he pulled back, mouth open and fangs shining.
“It’s been too long since I’ve tasted my clever human,” he slid down to the edge of the furs, threw my legs over his broad shoulders and lowered his mouth to my pussy.
I cried out at the first lap of his tongue. He sucked and nipped at my clit, driving me half mad. My heels dug into his back as I gripped his horns and thrust against his mouth. He speared his tongue into me and when it began to vibrate, I came on a shout, bucking against him as I relished in the sweet friction.
Before my legs could hit the furs, he was over me and inside me, his thick cock spreading me to bursting. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on. “Yes, please, fuck me, Ward. Fuck me!”
He thrust into me hard, holding himself over top of me with extended arms. He watched his cock enter my body over and over again, the shaft glistening with my juices from his oral attentions.
“My cunt,” he grunted. “My clever human. My mate.” His violet eyes met mine before he threw back his head and came on a roar.
After, he cradled me in his arms, and I smiled to myself that this big alien male was a cuddler.
My head, which had been a whirling mix of emotions since that morning, finally calmed. I knew my place, which was here with Ward at my side. I could plan a future around that, for me, Ward, and our baby.
“I’m pregnant,” I whispered into the night air.
Ward, who had been slowly stroking my back, froze. For a long time, he didn’t speak, until finally he whispered in a monotone, “What did you say?”
“I’m pregnant,” I said. “Gaul had told me it was possible, and then when we arrived everything felt so uncertain, but I wanted to know. Valerie tested me earlier today. I’m … I’m going to have your child, Ward.”
He gripped my face almost to the point of pain as his eyes went so wide, I could see an entire ring of white. “You’re sure?”
“Well, as sure as I can be based on the accuracy of Valerie’s test. Apparently, you Drixonians are a virile bunch.”
“You’re to have my chit?” he still seemed a bit shell-shocked.
I’d never seen him like this, even when faced with Gaul or a horde of angry crocs.
“I am.” I squeezed his wrist. “We will have a couple of little ones running around this camp soon.”
His eyelashes fluttered and he exhaled on a shaky breath.
“Are you … happy?” I bit my lip.
His eyes popped open again. “Happy? There is no word to describe how I feel. So much more than happy. Excited. Grateful.” He pressed a savage kiss to my lips before sliding down my body to rest his ear on my now-flat stomach.
“I never thought this would be possible,” he murmured. “A chit to call my own. A clever beautiful mate. A future for my beloved race.” He lifted his eyes to me. “I will spend every breath proving that I am worthy of you.”
I ran a hand over his bald head and smiled. “Consider it already done.”
Seventeen
Ward
Daz sat at the head of his meeting table, flanked by me and Sax. Also, in attendance were Gar, Xavy, and Nero.
We met in a back room of the barracks, where Frankie insisted we have snacks and had snatched away the bottle of spirits with a glare at Xavy. “You can’t plan a battle while you’re drunk,” she snapped.
After she left the room, he grinned and produced another bottle from his pocket. He took a swig before plunking it down in the center of the table. Sax snatched it up and guzzled down a quarter of the bottle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Daz glared at him.
“What?” Sax shrugged. “I have a pregnant mate.”
Daz leveled him with a look. “So do I.”
I cleared my throat. “I have announcement to make before we begin. My Reba is with child as well.”
Gar’s chair squeaked as he jerked to his feet. “What did you say?”
I remained calm despite the aggression rolling off his body. “I said Reba is pregnant. Valerie tested her and she told me last night.”
Gar’s massive body heaved as he fought to keep himself under control. I’d known this would affect him greatly, which was why I wanted backup when he heard.
“Sit down, Gar,” Daz ordered.
Gar plunked down into his chair, his expression stunned as he murmured. “A Garundum chit.”
“You will make up with Reba,” I said, before turning to Daz. “She has agreed to be my mate. I’ve claimed her.”
“Congratulations, Ward,” he said. “Clever female for a loyal male.”
I met Gar’s eyes, but his were unfocused, probably remembering another tim
e. Another female. His twin. I would speak to him later but knew the talk of battle plans would distract him for the moment.
“So,” Daz began. “Ward told Gaul we have a weakness in our southeast perimeter and that we often leave it unguarded.”
Nero rubbed his finger along his lips in thought. “Smart. It’s where my eyes are most hidden.”
His eyes were what Nero called his sensors. They detected and recorded movement and heat. Nero studied the recordings every rotation. He was only alerted via an alarm if the movement and heat signatures identified an enemy—such as a Drixonian warrior body or another predator.
“So, we expect them to enter our territory there?” Xavy asked. “Seems a bit too easy, Does Gaul believe you betrayed Daz?”
It was hard to say. “I am guessing he will question everything I told him.”
The room fell silent until Daz spoke up. “He will enter the territory in the southeast as you led him to believe.”
I frowned. “Are you sure?”
He raised a nubbed brow. “I’m not finished yet. He will send a few males there as a diversion. He will send his main contingent in the opposite direction to catch us off guard.”
“How can you be so sure?” Sax asked.
“Because that’s what I would do,” Daz said. “And Gaul thinks like me. He just hopes for a different outcome.”
“So, you don’t think we should strike first?”
Daz shook his head. “No. The females need guarded, so we’d have to split our clavas, leaving us with half our males. Plus, we are defended from three sides thanks to the cliff. So, no. We will wait for them. And be ready.” He pointed to Nero. “Strengthen your eyes at the main gain and the northwest perimeter of our territory.”
While our camp remained enclosed behind walls on the cliff, we claimed territory past the reaches of our walls. All clavases did. It was where we were allowed to hunt, grow crops, and claim anything that entered our perimeter. Much of the center part of the western continent was mutual territory.
Nero nodded at the order. “Consider it done today.”
