Tribe Protector

by Stacy Jones

  “Me ha Lily. Krarr shh tul aout ,” she grunted out, introducing herself and thanking them for their help.

  Their eyes widened simultaneously and they shared a long glance, an entire silent conversation seeming to pass between them, before looking back at her.

  As if her words were an invitation, rather than what she thought was a polite but aloof greeting, Lok stepped forward. Before she could step out of his reach, he was almost chest to chest with her and had all four of his hands and—is that his tail? —on some part of her.

  “Oh! You’re very… touchy, aren’t you? Just skipped easing into it and leapt straight into full on contact, huh?” she stuttered nervously.

  She was taken aback at the unexpected contact, but strangely not alarmed, even as she began trying unsuccessfully to remove his appendages from her person.

  His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, touching her hair, pinching her clothes, running his palms down her arms and lifting them up so he could peek at her underarms while his tail seemed to be inspecting her boots and calves.

  Every time she removed one hand another took its place, making her feel like she was losing a fight against an overly grabby octopus.

  She would have been far more alarmed if his examination hadn’t felt clinical, but it did and she, thankfully, wasn’t getting a sexual vibe from him. Interested, yes, but not sexual. He reminded her of her best friend in college before she’d dropped out to take care of the farm. Trevor was brilliant, an actual genius, but he was often ignorant of social niceties, leading to more misunderstandings than she could count.

  Because he reminded her of her friend, she was inclined to be more forgiving than she would have for anyone else in that situation… until he accidentally touched her breast, that is.

  “Whoa there, buddy!” she exclaimed.

  Before she could do more than slap his hand and cross her arms over her chest protectively, Drrak was lifting her off her feet. He brought her to his chest then growled viciously at Lok, who was blinking in confused surprise, all four hands and tail still outstretched toward her.

  Tor, who’d reacted quickly enough to catch Trrak before he could leap at Lok, began laughing while Frrar and Arruk both scowled, clearly about as pleased with the boob grab as she and Drrak were.

  Rork moved to stand at his brother’s side, his expression amused but apologetic.

  “Vatorr. Mek bror na rekkr, Pasha. Shh kavarr frrn, Drrak ,” he uttered soothingly, his smokey voice almost hypnotic as he told her it was an accident, that Lok meant no harm and that Drrak should’ve known that.

  “Apology accepted, but na aaras yrrta ,” she said sternly, pointing a finger from Lok to her breasts and telling him not to grab her anymore.

  Understanding crossed his face, followed promptly by a wince. He purred softly, his expression contrite as he retracted his hands and tail, letting them fall limply to his sides.

  He glanced at each of the guys and Rork before meeting her stare.

  “Me ha taska, me pari tul kavarr, na rasht ,” he apologized, telling her he’d only been curious and hadn’t been trying to make her angry.

  “Let me down, Drrak,” she instructed, wriggling in his arms.

  He grumbled in clear reluctance but placed her gently on her feet without argument, although she did feel him tangle his fingers in the end of her braid as if he wasn’t willing to completely let go of her.

  “Let’s just forget that happened and get on with checking out the camp, okay? It’s going to be dark soon, and I’d prefer not to be out there once the sun goes down.”

  Lok and Rork frowned in confusion since she’d spoken English, but her guys began gathering up supplies immediately and had them ready to go within minutes.

  Moving to Arruk once everyone had geared up, she lifted her arms, signalling she wanted him to carry her. Returning his happy smile with one of her own, she wrapped herself around him and leaned in for a quick kiss and nibble on his full lower lip, loving the way his hands reflexively tightened their grip on her and the deep purr that started in his chest.

  When she pulled back, she caught both Rork and Lok watching them with wide, speculative stares, their interest and curiosity transparent.

  Something about the intensity they were projecting set off warning bells in her mind.

  She instantly regretted kissing Arruk and allowing Drrak to pick her up. Lily realized she’d let her guard down around them because she assumed Frrar trusted them, but it was probably in her and the guys’ best interest if she toned down the human displays of affection and remembered to present a dominant front.

  Thinking back over her actions since they’d arrived, she tried to determine if she’d done anything else that could be seen as being too outside of what was expected of females. She couldn’t think of anything just then, but she vowed to be more cautious.

  She didn’t feel threatened by them so much as their attention was too pointed, as if they were taking mental notes on her behavior. She didn’t know them, had no way of knowing if they were acting as spies for Akksha, and planned to tell the intimidating woman details about Lily that could be used against her and the guys in the future.

  Why the hell didn’t that occur to me earlier?

  Suddenly wary of the two, she couldn’t keep from giving Frrar a worried glance, immediately wanting to get his opinion on her concerns but also not wanting to tip off the brothers that she was suspicious.

  When Rork followed her gaze to Frrar then looked back at her with a new awareness in his eyes she understood she should have stopped herself from looking to him.

  Shevari females were supposed to be the boss, and she’d just given herself away.

  Awesome. I would make a shit spy.

  L ily clung to Arruk as they swung in a group through the trees, racing against the setting sun. Drrak’s nest was apparently so far from the center of tribe territory that Frrar thought they should be able to make it there, check it out, and make it back before it got dark.

  She could see how stressed Frrar was and picked up the urgency he felt. Drrak had wanted to wait to check it out till the next day, when they had more daylight, but Frrar was insistent they needed to do it that night.

  It worried her to learn Drrak was so close to danger. She planned to insist he move into their hut or, if he wasn’t comfortable with that, near them, although she did secretly hope he would stay with them.

  Frrar and the brothers were in the lead, about five feet in front of her, with Tor on her and Arruk’s left, and Drrak, carrying Trrak, was bringing up the rear.

  Hoping the brothers were out of hearing range, she took the opportunity to find out a bit more about them, knowing Arruk had a penchant for people watching and was her best bet for answering her questions.

  “ Are Rork and Lok iztari ?” she asked, whispering the question as softly in his ear as she could in an effort to hopefully remain undetected by their ridiculously keen hearing.

  He pulled back to glance at her from the corner of his eye, his expression questioning, but shook his head in reply, telling her that her earlier assessment of tribe dynamics were correct.

  “Who is their mate, their Pasha?” she asked next, just as quietly.

  “No mate,” Arruk answered.

  “Really? Why?”

  “They mushh wanted, but no Tuurrska , no… show? Mm, no deesplay?” He shook his head as if that wasn’t th e word he wanted.

  “They haven’t done the presenting ritual?”

  He nodded and continued, “They norra … er, want be carreful, not want be Shaerii by any Pasha, but wait for purrfect mate.”

  “Oh. That’s actually kind of romantic,” she mumbled, feeling bad for her earlier suspicion about them.

  She couldn’t imagine only having people you’d known your whole life to choose from for selecting a significant other, and knowing that if you didn't find someone who fits you, you’ll spend your life alone.

  No wonder they're curious about me. I would be, too, i
f I were them.

  Still, if they’re looking for a mate, they’re looking at the wrong girl. I’ve got enough on my plate with Frrar, Arruk, and Tor… and Drrak.

  Twisting around, she eyed the brothers with new awareness, only to find Lok glancing back at her over his shoulder.

  Their gazes locked and Lily froze, blinking at him owlishly and feeling her cheeks heat when she realized he was smiling just slightly at her.

  No. There’s no way he understood what I asked Arruk. Right?

  Her eyes narrowed suspiciously until she remembered Arruk had used a few shevari words. Those might have been enough context for him to get an idea of what she’d been asking.

  Well, shit. So much for being super sneaky and trying to glean information about them without them knowing. Stupid superhero hearing.

  Lily forgot all thoughts about being caught gossiping when Arruk came to a stop and dropped to a branch below them where Frrar, Lok, Rork, and Tor were waiting. Drrak landed next to her just as she slid down Arruk’s body, setting down the cub before positioning himself so she was walled in on all sides by giant alien men.

  She knew they were doing it to keep her safe but being surrounded by naked dudes, three of which she wasn’t intimate with, was not a situation she was accustomed to finding herself in.

  Aside from her discomfort at being caged in by large, swinging cocks, she was genuinely scared. The information Akksha had shared with Frrar was beyond disturbing and had her worried, more than she’d already been, about the danger the intruders represented.

  “The faster we get down there and check stuff out, the faster we can leave,” she reassured herself.

  With that thought in mind, she put her hand on Frrar’s back and nodded to the ground when he glanced back at her.

  She held her breath when he dropped to the forest floor, her eyes scanning what she could see of their surroundings, both above, around, and below since they didn’t know who or even what they were up against. They could be giant lizard people or fucking dragons for all they knew.

  After seeing some of the crazy animals native to this planet, she wasn’t discounting anything. If she was right and the intruders were dumped cargo, they could originate from a planet nothing like this one or Earth, some place harsh and unforgiving where the people had evolved all manner of defense mechanisms. They could have mind powers or breathe fire or spit spikes. Hell, it could be the fish aliens causing the trouble, kidnapping women for experimentation or who knows what .

  Her mind was spinning with speculation, and she was seriously regretting sending Frrar to the ground first, wishing, as cold-hearted as it may sound, that she’d sent one of the brothers, someone she didn’t love. Didn’t need .

  Just as she was about to call Frrar back up to her, Rork, as if he could feel her rising anxiety, glanced at her, smiled reassuringly, and dropped to the ground.

  For some reason, knowing that Rork was down there with him helped calm her panic and released some of the tension knotting her muscles. She didn’t even know the guy, but she felt confident in her assessment of him; that he was more than capable of handling whatever was thrown at him and, as such, would be able to effectively guard Frrar’s back.

  After a few minutes, Drrak left her side with what she was coming to understand was his usual lack of warning, joining Frrar and Rork on the ground, followed shortly by Lok and then Tor until it was just her, Arruk, and Trrak left in the tree.

  Waiting while they scouted was the hardest part of going to the ground. It always made her antsy, anxiety causing her heart to pound and her palms to sweat as she tried to visually track them with little success. Their natural camouflage blended so well with the foliage that they all but disappeared until they moved again.

  Finally, Tor appeared back at the base of the tree and signaled the all clear. Arruk passed Trrak down to him then turned to her, lowering her by her arms until Tor could grab her.

  As soon as her feet touched the ground, the guys moved in to surround her once again, making it impossible for her to see around them as they cautiously and quietly walked deeper into the forest, with Trrak scouting ahead.

  They didn’t go far before the cub growled low in his throat, and she caught a whiff of something that made her stomach turn: the smell of rot and death. She almost didn’t want them to step away when they came to a stop, didn’t want to have to see what she could smell but knew she had to, had to do everything she could to help.

  Lily knew it was going to be worse than she anticipated when her guys all put comforting hands on her, their expressions ranging from badly hidden horror to rage.

  Glancing at each one in turn, she sucked in a bracing breath, grimacing when it brought in more of the horrible smell, and nodded her head, saying with more confidence than she felt, “It’s okay, let me see.”

  Taking her at her word, they reluctantly stepped to the sides, clearing her line of sight.

  It took a moment of staring for her mind to comprehend what she was seeing, but as soon as it did, her hands flew up to her mouth to muffle a cry. Highlighted by the filtered colors of the sinking sun, setting the forest floor on fire with a riot of purples, reds, and oranges, she took in the brutalized corpse of a citri, gruesomely pinned to a tree trunk with what looked like oversized porcupine quills. Its snow white fur was stained red with blood, a pool of it dried on the ground beneath it.

  Her gaze darted to the surrounding trees, seeing more dead animals pinned to them, like some kind of macabre perimeter line.

  With each new animal she saw, each new harmless citri and forest creature slaughtered, her shock and revulsion began to change. The ache in her chest began to shift from sorrow to anger and then a cold kind of fury.

  “What kind of fucking monster would do this?” she breathed, her voice shaking.

  She didn’t even realize she was crying, tears slipping silently down her cheeks, until Lok reached out and caught one on the tip of his finger.

  She stared at him as he inspected it, feeling welcome numbness sweep through her.

  She didn’t react when he stepped closer, didn’t move when he slowly, hesitantly, wrapped his arms around her, joining her guys in trying to bring her comfort even when there was none to be found.

  She let him hold her, resting her cheek against his lower chest, but her arms stayed hanging limply by her sides. Her eyes were locked on the strange, alien footprints littering the forest floor. Even when Arruk began stroking her back and Tor began petting her hair while Frrar pressed gentle kisses to the palm of the hand he was holding, she remained still and quiet.

  It wasn’t until Drrak knelt to bring himself into her line of sight that she reacted, his bright, wild eyes holding more sympathy and understanding than she could deal with just then.

  A strangled sob escaped her and her face crumpled, prompting all the men surrounding her to crowd even closer, touching and stroking and holding her, their purrs blending until she felt like she’d been encased in a vibrating cocoon of safety and love.

  She took their offered comfort and strength gratefully, let it seep into her and calm some of the storm raging inside.

  When her tears stopped and she felt a little stronger, a little more equipped to deal with the horror around them, she stroked her hands over them in thanks and stepped back, taking deep, calming breaths through her mouth.

  Don’t think about it, just do what needs to be done.

  L ily motioned to the guys not to follow her and walked around the campsite, careful not to disturb anything, while Trrak ventured a bit farther out, following scent trails with Drrak on his heels.

  She kept her gaze on the ground for now and away from the corpses. Trying not to step on any of them, she cataloged the tracks present, squinting through the deepening gloom at the different kinds as well as how far apart they were spaced to get an idea of the size of the owners.

  She counted at least a dozen different sets of prints, from at least nine different species which meant there was more than
one of some. Most had claws, but they ranged in size. As best as she could figure by the stride lengths, the biggest one was probably close to nine feet tall while the smallest was closer to her height.

  The set that scared her most looked entirely too much like the prints of a raptor she’d seen at a museum once. There was a deep gouge at the beginning and end of each step, meaning it had a huge claw on both ends of its feet, which were about twelve inches long.

  And there’s no telling what the rest of it looks like.

  Worse, there was no way of knowing if this was the only camp or if there were more hidden in other parts of the forest. There could be more of the raptor-footed aliens waiting out there.

  When she’d looked at all the tracks, she walked to the base of one of the surrounding trees. Steeling herself, she slowly raised her gaze higher and higher until the body of the citri came into view.

  Hit with anger and revulsion all over again, she grit her teeth and balled her fists, trying to remain calm enough to take in any details present instead of focusing on the pain and terror the poor animal must have experienced.

  Whoever did this needs to die. Slowly. Heartless fucking bastards.

  Reaching out, she wrapped her hand around one of the footlong, red and orange quills pinning it in place and yanked it out, turning it this way and that, trying to visualize what kind of being it came from when a thought occurred to her.

  Traps. We could set traps for these monsters.

  Spinning around, she walked quickly to where the guys were still waiting, her mind flooding with every kind of boobytrap she could think of, everything from what Grams had taught her for hunting to ones she’d seen in movies and on television.

  “I have an idea. I need to speak to Akksha,” she announced, not really looking at anyone in particular, her focus turned inward.

  “No now, mek Lily. Dark,” Frrar rumbled softly as he cupped her cheek, bringing her eyes to him and out of her absorption.