Hunting Purity (The Hunting Series Book 2)

by Tracy Lauren

  What I need is a trophy, I reason. A prime candidate immediately comes to mind. I will find the Ihasa and kill him! Peace and contentment flood back into me. I will be seen with the Ihasa’s head and they will think Purity is nothing more than the spoils of war. And once I have her on Braga Faro Sintra, perhaps I can set her to work for my house. I do need a liaison to deal with the high bidders. Though weak, Purity is an exotic creature. She would do well in such a profession and she would always be by my side, my partner in life and in business.

  Now that is a thought that brings me peace. It presents a slight problem however. None of the other house masters have mates. Some keep harems, of course. And others, like Sarran, are celibate, focusing all their energy into their houses and slaves. It is consuming work to run a house, but if Purity were to help me, perhaps it would not be so very hard. But I would be the only master with a mate. I wonder if perhaps I should keep a small harem, for appearances only of course. But the thought is abhorrent to me and I push it away.

  Before Purity, there was no other female who caught my interest and now that she is in my life the idea of simpering slaves and house whores is all the more repulsive. Besides, I would not have them near my Purity, tainting and hardening her in the way that they inevitably would. No, if Purity is to be mine it will only be the two of us. Now and forever.

  Slowly, I mentally tie up all loose ends, planning my return to Braga Faro Sintra with my mate in tow. All that is left is to claim her fully. I smile, pleased with myself.

  The breeze kicks up again and I marvel at the scent of this world. It is the perfume of trees, nature, and the warmth of the sun. It is pure and clean in a way that I suspect Braga Faro Sintra never was. This rustic life and the quiet solitude of the forest have been more enjoyable than I imagined. I will miss all of it dearly when I return home and wonder if Purity will too.

  Reluctant to leave this world, I come to one final decision. I will treat the rest of our time here as a formal bonding ceremony. It will be our shared vacation before we return home.

  Besides, what harm can a few more days of relaxation do?

  Eager to see my mate, I make my descent from the cliffside. Once my feet are on the ground, I follow her trail into the forest. Her aroma is even more intoxicating than it was our first night here. I still smell her sweetness, only now it is laced with my own warrior scent. I am happy and smiling as I search for her…but everything changes when she runs smack dab into my chest.

  “Hero!” she cries. Her hands tremble and tears spill from her eyes as she clings to me. That is when another scent hits me. It is the scent of a male.

  Chapter 26

  Purity

  Hero’s eyes grow furious and he sniffs at the air. It dawns on me that he can probably smell Rylan. Add that to me running up frightened and in tears and I’ve suddenly got one very angry alien on my hands.

  “Wait! Hero, wait! Please!” I have to grab at him to hold him back. He pulls his short swords from their sheaths and I have to scream his name to stop him. “HERO! Listen to me!”

  His eyes meet mine and I see the concern there. Rylan was a fool to mistrust my safety with Hero.

  “Everything’s okay,” I promise him. “I just want to go back to the cave. We need to talk.” I tug hard at the straps across his chest, forcing him to follow me. Reluctantly, he changes direction and even scoops me up into his muscled arms, carrying me the rest of the way back.

  On a normal day, Hero would build the fire and start working on dinner. But today, he stands with his back to me, staring out into the forest with his swords drawn.

  “Please, Hero. Would you just trust me for one second?” I plead. “Everything is fine! Come sit down so we can talk.”

  His muscles flick in a way that makes me think he’s all instinct right now, it’s like he can’t even hear me.

  “Goddamn it, Hero! We need to fucking talk!” I finally scream at him in frustration. That catches his attention and he grudgingly joins me near our fur blanket… Only he doesn’t sit down. No, he crosses his big arms over his chest and continues to shoot his gaze outside the cave.

  “An alien came, Hero. His name was Rylan—”

  Hero growls, his body looking so tense I worry he’s about to sprint out into the forest.

  “Focus!” I shout. “He offered to rescue me, he even said he had a human mate aboard his ship.” Purposefully, I leave out Rylan’s warning about Hero being dangerous. It just doesn’t seem very helpful to put on the table in this moment.

  “He also said…he said it was dangerous here, that there are bad people. I have questions, Hero. There was a girl like me on the first night, a human. She told me the same thing. She said that if I didn’t run, I would be killed. I think we’re still in danger. We’ve been living in this little bubble out here for the past few days, but the reality is that anyone could come along and find us.”

  Hero groans and rubs at his neck, before spilling out a long stream of words. The subtle gestures of his hands mean nothing to me.

  “I DON’T GET IT!” I bellow. “I don’t understand you! And I have questions that need answering! Do you know what’s going on here? Why aren’t you more concerned? Are you just cocky, or do you know something I don’t?”

  He raises his brow at me and the hint of a smile teases at the corner of his mouth.

  “Now is not the time to be cute, Hero!”

  He shakes his head, his frown returning and his gaze shifting back out toward the trees. Eventually, he motions for me to wait.

  “Please don’t go out there right now. I’m scared and I just want to know what’s happening.”

  He sighs and comes close, pulling me tightly against his chest. He breathes in my hair and nuzzles me. When I look up at him, he’s searching the ceiling as if trying to think of some way to connect with me.

  “Soon,” he says finally. His use of English brings tears to my eyes. “Purity”—he touches my chest—“He’Rokvska Naa”—and motions toward himself. My tears fall and he wipes at them, sighing heavily. “Hero,” he amends, tapping his chest again. And that’s all I catch; the rest is soft assurances accompanied by a confident look in his inhuman eyes.

  Then he leaves me alone in the cave. I feel helpless as I stand there in the shadows, looking out at the afternoon sky, unable to shake this weary feeling.

  Hero is back and forth from our encampment, dragging logs and branches. I’d smile and admire the sweat dripping down his muscled back if I wasn’t feeling so unsure about our safety. I want to place my trust in Hero, but without talking…I just don’t know what the larger picture is here.

  Why was I brought to this place? I take a seat next to our cold fire pit and poke at the ashes with a stick, looking for answers in the only place I can—within myself.

  When I woke up, I was in a cage. There were others…humans and aliens. But Hero wasn’t there. Neither was Rylan. Rylan said he met Hero on the first night, but when did they arrive? I scan our empty cave again. I assume we all got here at the same time, otherwise this place would be more lived in.

  Rylan called Hero a gladiator. Did he mean like Russell Crowe, or is the alien version of a gladiator different than the human one? I look out at my companion. He’s big and strong and carries old-fashioned weapons despite the fact I know he’s familiar with more advanced technology. Then there’s the way he dresses, with leather holsters strapped across his chest. Of course, Rylan also called him a hunter. Did he just mean that he’s primitive, like a hunter-gatherer?

  I rub my forehead, worrying I won’t ever be able to fully understand the lizard man out there. I mean, he’s an alien, for goodness sake. There might always be differences in the way we think.

  I watch as Hero works with an intensity I haven’t seen from him before and it causes my concerns to abate. Whatever he’s doing out there, he’s doing it for me. Alien or not, some things are universal…like love.

  Anyway, Hero isn’t the problem. It’s the dangers that might be lurking in
the woods. If it were just Hero and me, we could spend the rest of our lives here building something together. But it’s not just us. I know Rylan said there were ships to the east, but even if we got on one, where would we go? Is there anywhere safe outside this spot we have here?

  I edge toward the mouth of the cave. Hero isn’t far away. “What are you making?” I ask.

  He motions toward the opening I stand in and I assume he’s talking about a door or, by the look of his project, a wall. He’s working on a frame and there’s a tall pile of thick and leafy branches nearby he likely plans to cover it with. Already I can tell that when his work is done our cave entrance will be completely camouflaged from the outside.

  “That’s smart. You’re good at this kind of thing,” I say, offering him a gentle smile. “I’m sorry I freaked out earlier. It’s just not easy having all these gaps and I really wasn’t expecting to run into anyone out there. It threw me.”

  Hero stops his work and looks upon me with sympathetic eyes. My stomach chooses that moment to growl. I rub at it, realizing I haven’t eaten yet today. Hero opens his arms to me and I go to him. He hugs me against his side, cooing sweet words into my ear as he leads me back inside the cave.

  Chapter 27

  He’Rokvska Naa

  I set a fire for my mate and take a moment to retrieve a creature who had the misfortune of falling victim to one of my snares. I butcher it quickly, not allowing Purity to help this time. I have too much work to do to focus on training her.

  She still seems troubled as she sits before the fire, and I remember the leaves I collected a few days ago in the hopes that they might make a good tea. I add them to my water pouch and set it close to the fire to heat. Once the meat is on the spit and Purity has some roots to chew on in the meantime, I get back to work.

  I am disturbed by our camp’s infiltration. It should not have been possible. On our first day here I set my scanner to give warning if the bio reads of something large came within range. For some reason it did not go off and when I checked the device everything seemed to be functioning fine.

  As a safety measure I increase the parameters, though I think it must have been the intruder who caused the glitch. I assume he cloaked himself in some way…a variable I had not anticipated.

  We were lucky it wasn’t another hunter, and luck is not something I often rely on. The thought of it makes my blood run cold. Had it been the Ihasa he would have killed my Purity. Then, not even his head on a pike would be enough cease my rage.

  I resolve to monitor my scanner more closely and exercise greater stealth when we leave our cave. And, I will not leave Purity alone again. I cast my eyes over to her. She is forlorn. The strain of not understanding what is happening is wearing on her spirit. I must find a compatible translator soon.

  I finish my work on the screen I am constructing for our cave and prop it over the entrance so that I may add the final branches to it, making it appear as natural as possible.

  “That’ll be helpful once it gets cold out,” Purity tells me when I come inside. I want to tell her we won’t be here that long, but there’s no point. Not yet at least.

  Sitting by the fire, I take the meat from the spit. “I don’t suppose you have another story this evening?” I ask her, but I can tell she is in no mood for such things. I tear a piece of meat from the carcass and pass it to her. I’m pleased when she inches close enough to me that our shoulders touch. When I look down at my female she gives me a weak smile and I know that even though she is troubled, we are okay.

  “I did not expect this day to take such a sour turn,” I tell her, just because I feel the need to talk. “You will always be safe with me. I hope you know this, even if you do not know my words. There is no hunter or beast on this planet who could get the better of He’Rokvska Naa. And you are mine now, no harm will ever come to you.”

  She leans against me as she eats and I hope she finds comfort in the sound of my voice, as I find comfort in hers.

  “I plan to keep you,” I admit. “If that is what you desire, of course. I do not know the mating customs of your people, nor do I know the customs of my mother’s home world. All I know is life on Braga Faro Sintra and it is not a place with a great many examples of love…not like what burns between us at least. But if you will have me, I will make you my partner, in life and in business… You do not know this, but it was not long ago that I was a slave. When I bought my freedom, I thought I would never again allow myself to be owned. Yet, I would give myself to you if you would have me.”

  Purity must sense the gravity of my proposal and she watches my face with great scrutiny, trying to make some sense of what I tell her. There is a long pause as she decides how to respond.

  “I would never go anywhere without you. You know that, right? I’d have killed Rylan before I let him take me away. There’s no rescue unless it’s the both of us…and if we never get rescued, I’m okay with that too. I could be happy like this, just the two of us forever.”

  I smile down at her. “A promise to kill anyone who thinks to separate us and a vow to be together forever. I think we are officially mates, let us drink to it.” Buzzing with joy, I reach for my water pouch. It is warm from the fire and the tea has surely brewed inside. I pass it to my Purity. Her smile is soft as she takes it from my hands and brings it to her lips, but a mere second later she spits it out in a wild spray that makes our fire hiss.

  “What the hell?” she coughs and sputters. Quickly, I take it to my lips, worrying I have accidently given her something dangerous. But the drink is warm and flavorful.

  “That’s not water!” she points out. I laugh, realizing her confusion. Digging into my small pouch, I pull out a few remnants of the dried leaves, bringing it to my nose to show her it is pleasant. Then I mime putting it into the water pouch and point out where I had it heating.

  “Oh my God. You made tea?” she asks sheepishly, her face growing red. I smile and nod. She covers her face in embarrassment. Her shoulders shake and I worry she is crying, but when I pry her hands away, I see she is laughing instead. “Wow, I really killed that moment, didn’t I?”

  “Like a trained gladiator,” I tell her, sharing her mirth. I pass her the water pouch again and she takes it from me, testing the contents once more.

  “Now that I’m giving it a chance, it’s delicious,” she sighs. “Thank you.”

  “Anything for you.”

  “It’s funny, you know…how easy it is to take pleasure in the simple things here. And the amount of joy that comes from a little hard work. I had so many luxuries in my old life, but nothing compares to something like this.” She holds up the tea-filled water pouch. “Or the comb you made for me.”

  “We will have nothing but luxuries on Braga Faro Sintra…but I know exactly what you mean. There is no joy in the arena. Not like the joy that comes from feeding my mate, or making a fur for her to lie on at night. I am reluctant to bring our time here to an end.”

  “Brahga Fahyo Sen…Sen… You’ve said that before. I recognize it.”

  “It will be our home.” I nod, stroking her hair. “Your wound is healing nicely,” I notice, giving it a quick inspection.

  “If only I could understand you,” she sighs.

  “We get by well enough for now,” I tell her as we begin to clean up together, tidying our meager supplies and rinsing our hands in the skull bowl.

  “Look at us, like an old married couple,” she says, smiling as we work. I am not familiar with the word married, but I think I get her meaning.

  “We fit together nicely,” I agree, pulling her close. We press our noses together and she strokes my muscled arms with soft hands. Then, I hear a snap. Both of us pop our heads up to peer at her clothing. One of her shoulder straps has given out and now hangs loosely over her breast.

  “Oh, for goodness sake,” she frets, trying to pulling away to inspect it. But I still my female.

  “It is a sign,” I tell her with a wicked smile, leaning in to kiss the now exp
osed skin. She laughs and throws her arms around my neck. I lift her up and carry her to our fur blanket.

  “Let me help you out of that,” I say, tugging gently at the other strap, until it slips over her shoulder and down her arm. I move to her legs, caressing every inch of her as I do, before I pull her boots loose and toss them aside.

  “Teach me this,” I ask, pointing at the short top she uses to cover her breasts. With a bright smile, she reaches behind herself to undo the tiny hooks, slipping it off and passing it to me.

  “There will be no more of this on Braga Faro Sintra,” I warn, tossing it over her boots. “I refuse to wrestle with something so silly each time I wish to touch your breasts.”

  Together we pull off the remainder of her clothing and I take in the exotic beauty of my mate. Her usually pale skin looks golden in the firelight and the weariness from before has washed away entirely, leaving only a hopeful happiness shining in her eyes.

  I kick off my boots and unlace my holsters. When I reach for my belt, she sits a little straighter, looking ready to devour me. Already my cock is hard and it springs from my pants as they drop to the floor.

  She pushes herself to her knees, licking her lips. Her gaze connects with mine. “I love you…in case you were wondering,” she tells me.

  I reach down and pull her hands to my chest, placing them over my heart. “Purity.” Then I place my own large palm across her chest, dwarfing her. “He’Rokvs— Hero,” I tell her.

  A broad smile spreads across her face. “I thought so.”

  She’s still smiling up at me as she grips my cock and I suck in my breath as she takes me into her mouth. Watching her on her knees before me, working to bring me pleasure…it is the most erotic thing I have ever seen. The smooth and rounded curves of her back are as hypnotizing as the view of my cock disappearing into her mouth. Purity… She is so foreign, like nothing I have ever touched before, I think to myself as I trail my fingers down her spine.