by A. G. Wilde
“I don’t know. He’s…different.”
“He is. He is my closest friend.”
“I can see why.” She laughed.
Riv turned her to face him. He looked tired but there was a relaxed look on his face.
“Let’s go inside.” He was looking at her with such reverence, she couldn’t believe they’d actually shared so much together.
Looking at him now, she could see her future in his eyes.
She couldn’t be more ready.
She was about to tell him just what she was thinking when there was a crackle in the air.
Grot’s boom of a bark rumbled through the space immediately, as he began to snarl.
Riv stiffened, his eyes darting around them.
“Phek,” she heard Ka’Cit mutter.
“What is it?” she asked.
It felt like static was suddenly crackling in the air and as Grot continued to bark, the tension in the air became very real on a literal level.
Riv gripped her and pushed her behind him as something crackled and materialized in the air in front of them.
It was like a glowing orb of light and electricity and as she watched, her eyes wide, there were shapes materializing in front of them.
Four alligator-guards appeared out of thin air.
Time stood still.
“What the actual phek?” Riv muttered.
Okay, so it wasn’t just her imagination, then. They’d literally appeared out of thin air.
She’d had no idea teleportation was possible until that very moment.
The guards took a second to take in the surroundings, their gaze locking on her, then moving to Riv.
Riv pushed her farther behind him as Grot came by his side, both blocking her from the sudden danger in their midst.
Everyone was frozen and staring at the huge beasts. The guards’ blasters were pointed and ready and as they looked toward the hovercar, she stiffened along with Riv.
They were going to see Ka’Cit and the bodies of their comrades.
SHIT.
She could tell when they saw their fellow guards because their blasters suddenly charged all at once.
Ka’Cit raised his hands. “Funny story…” he began.
There was a roar before one guard lunged his way.
Riv spun, his arms around her as he lifted her, and threw her over the fence unto a fat cow-hippo.
“Duck!” he managed to say before something slammed into his back.
One of the guards jammed his blaster against Riv’s shoulders and their eyes locked.
Fury.
Cold, cold fury.
Riv roared, fangs flashing.
A blur of black cut through the air as Grot jumped, his teeth sinking into the guard’s arm.
Shit shit shit.
Today was not the day she thought she’d have to fight monster gators but she guessed she didn’t have a choice.
Gripping the cow-hippo, which she was surprised hadn’t thrown her to the ground, Lauren slipped off its back, her head flashing from left to right as she tried to find a weapon of some kind.
There was only a rake and hay.
A rake and hay.
Shit.
Behind her, she heard a hard thud and turned in horror, hoping she didn’t see blue on the ground but Riv was still upright. The gator guard was immobilized and Riv held his blaster.
In front of him, Grot had another guard’s blaster-holding arm in his mouth and the guard was hammering his fist into the dog with all his might, his blaster rendered useless. But Grot did not let go. Despite the beating, he held fast.
On the ground lay another guard, motionless. She had no idea how he’d been taken down.
To the left, Ka’Cit laughed and she looked at him in horror. He had two guards cornering him and he didn’t seem to care.
As Riv lunged toward the alien beating on Grot, movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye.
The guard who had attacked Riv first was rousing, his eyes on Riv’s back.
She knew what she had to do.
Grabbing the rake, she launched herself over the gate in a move she didn’t know her limbs could complete.
When she landed on her feet, she was pleasantly surprised.
The guard didn’t see her coming.
Racing toward him, rake high in the air, she slammed down the metal part into the guard’s head with a roar of her own.
Already weak, the guard’s knees buckled.
“Pesky alligator piece of shit!” She slammed the rake into the guard again, and again.
It wasn’t until a strong hand closed over her arm and took the rake from her trembling hand that she stopped.
Wide-eyed, she stared at the guard.
He was going to get a big lump on his head where she’d beat the rake into it.
“It’s ok,” Riv said, pulling her into him.
Her eyes moved over him quickly. Apart from his ripped tunic, he seemed okay.
Grot limped over to rub his nose against her and she dropped to her knees, wringing out of Riv’s arms to grab ahold of the dog.
“Oh my God, is he going to be all right?”
“He’s tougher than you think,” she heard Riv say.
Her gaze moved to the sound of a chuckle to land on Ka’Cit.
She couldn’t see his face behind the mask but he was the only other conscious individual around for miles so the laugh must have come from him.
He stepped over the bodies of the two guards who’d taken him on. Spinning a small device like a mini-flashlight between his fingers, he approached.
“How did you…” She stared at him. She didn’t remember seeing him brandish a weapon.
“He zapped them,” Riv offered.
Her eyebrows rose a little.
“Low power,” Ka’Cit said. “Just enough to zap them good.” He paused, his head turning to regard the other bodies. “Looks like they have new tech. Teleporters are rare.”
Riv grunted. Stooping down to her level, he touched her cheek. “Are you okay?”
Her gaze scoured his face. “I am, but you and Grot aren’t.” She glanced at Ka’Cit, then back.
“They came because of me, didn’t they?”
Riv’s lips formed a thin line, but he didn’t respond.
“Help me round them up, Ka’Cit. We have to let them know my La-rehn is off-limits. Now and forever.”
Chapter 30.5
Lauren paced, the rake still in her hand and her thumb in her mouth as she ground down the last bit of fingernail there.
Riv and Ka’Cit had set all eight guards against the side of the hovercar, the ones that had arrived the day before and those that had teleported.
She watched as they gathered the blasters and stepped back.
“Ready?” Ka’Cit asked.
Riv grunted.
With the press of some button in his hand, Lauren felt a soft zing across her flesh but nothing else happened.
She was about to ask what he’d done when one of the guards groaned.
The guard’s eyes opened and he snarled immediately.
She wondered why the guard didn’t attack at once but his gaze was on Ka’Cit, and when she looked, Ka’Cit had a blaster trained on him.
“What is the meaning of this, Merssi?” The guard’s yellow-eyed gaze flashed to the men and then to her. As soon as he saw her, he snarled once more. “You harbor property of the High Tasqals.”
Another of the guards stirred.
The first guard continued. “You will relinquish the property or face…consequences.”
“We will do no such thing,” Riv replied.
The guard that she’d hit with the rake stirred, his clawed hand going directly to his head. With what looked like a wince, he turned his gaze on her.
Lauren gripped the rake.
She wasn’t sorry about hitting him with it. She’d do it again, too.
“Qrakking jekin,” he snarled and made to get up when Riv’s boot landed in h
is chest.
“Take one more step and I can’t promise you’ll have legs to walk with anymore.”
Ka’Cit grunted and pointed the blaster at the guard’s legs.
The guard growled and settled back down.
“You are trespassing,” Riv spoke. His voice was deceptively calm, but she could see from the look in his eyes that he was trying incredibly hard to control himself.
His arms were crossed casually but he kept rolling his neck.
It reminded her of the calm before the storm, when he’d suddenly lashed out at the males at the market.
One of the guards laughed, its tongue churning within its mouth as it regarded Riv.
“Trespassing?”
The other guards were stirring now and Lauren gripped the rake tighter.
With them all awake, she hoped they didn’t attack again. Grot was injured and it would be eight against three.
“This Sanctuary is protected by the Interplanetary Union undersigned by Ambassador Geblit Cakhura.”
Lauren’s eyes widened.
Geblit?
Geblit was an ambassador?
Suddenly, him knowing what species she was when they’d first met made a whole lot of sense.
One of the guards spat.
“We don’t care about your stupid farm. We’re here for the human female you harbor illegally.”
“I’m not here illegally.” She stepped forward, rake in hand.
The guard paused before glancing at the others and they all began to snicker.
They could understand her.
Of course, they could. They worked for the same people who had abducted her.
“You belong to our master,” another guard said.
“I don’t belong to your master,” she continued.
“She belongs to me.” Riv stepped beside her. “And she’s a protected refugee under the Union. The Union knows she was trafficked. Maybe you want to bring your master to the high court? A Tasqal has never appeared there for any crime before.”
The guards glanced at each other, an unsaid conversation occurring between them. But she couldn’t even focus on that.
All she could hear repeating in her head was what Riv said.
She belongs to me.
The guard who’d woken first regarded them with cold eyes.
“You must be a fool to have sponsored a Class Four being like this,” he finally said.
“Maybe, but that’s none of your phekking business.” Riv took a step forward. “Now,” his gaze traveled over the group of guards, “get off my land.”
As soon as the guards teleported away, Lauren’s shoulders sagged.
She’d had no idea she’d been holding on to tension the entire time that she’d waited for the guards to leave.
“Do you think they’ll be back?” she asked as she watched Ka’Cit examine one of the blasters they’d taken from the guards.
“Most likely.” Riv turned to her and pulled her toward him, holding her close.
His head descended till his face was buried against her neck and he inhaled deeply.
Behind them, Ka’Cit’s shoulders sank.
“Was looking forward to zapping them to oblivion,” he murmured to himself before letting out a sigh.
As his head turned toward them, he seemed to freeze and watch them for a few seconds.
“See you in the next few months or so. Link me if they return.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. He was hopping into his hovercar and heading toward the barrier.
Lauren stiffened. “Won’t the barrier kill him?”
Riv lifted his head and watched Ka’Cit go. “The phekker has some device that disables it.”
Lauren turned her eyes to him. “Shouldn’t you be concerned about that?”
Riv shrugged. “It’s Ka’Cit. He’s harmless.”
Right.
He sure seemed so.
Glancing around the grounds, she searched for the familiar black form of Grot.
As if he knew what she was looking for, Riv turned her toward him instead.
“He’ll cocoon for a few days. Heal. You won’t know he’d been injured.”
“Cocoon?”
“Cocoon.”
Before she could ask any more questions, Riv lifted her into his arms and marched toward the house and straight to his room, sliding the door shut behind him.
“All I can think about right now is you. All I can think about is the fact that they wanted to take you away from me.” He turned, pressing her against the wall. “I don’t want to feel that ever again. I don’t want to ever be alone again.”
Lauren threaded her hands into his hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“All I want to do…” Riv pressed farther into her and she felt his arousal throbbing against her leg “…is take you here. Right here, right now. I want to be reminded that you’re mine…because you are mine. I’m not letting you leave.”
She was about to make a joke about her having never wanted to leave when Riv’s mouth crashed into hers, his hands gripping her hips as he lifted her to cradle his waist.
“My La-rehn,” he groaned as he ground himself into her.
“Riv,” she breathed, her body set afire by the feel of his need.
Riv paused to let her slip to the ground so she could shimmy out of her trousers, and as soon as the garment fell, he spun her so she was facing the wall.
A sound of surprise left her lips. She could feel the heat of his erection against her.
Hard, hot, long it pressed into her, promising her of pleasure to come.
“La-rehn?” His fingers found her clit and she moaned an answer. “Every cell in my being is screaming that I claim you.” He paused, the only sound being her breath coming in short gasps as he circled her bud with his finger.
“I need to feel you clasping me with that hot cunt of yours. Need to feel you surround me.”
Lauren’s eyes rolled back.
His sheer need for her was stimulating her own desire.
As his cock found her entrance, Lauren bit her lip, waiting for that sweet, sweet moment when his head popped past her resistance and he settled deep within her.
She was already wet, wet enough to take him, and she reached behind to grip on to him as she heard the clasp of his trousers release.
With a strong surge forward, Riv seated himself deep, a low groan rumbling through his chest as he leaned against her, plastering her against the wall.
Gripping her breasts, he took the lobe of her ear into his mouth as he withdrew then slammed into her again.
“You’re mine,” he whispered. “Mine to keep. Mine to take,” he grunted as he thrust deep, the proclamation searing into her thoughts.
She could feel her orgasm building and she bit down hard on her lip as his tempo increased.
“You’re mine, La-rehn,” Riv whispered.
Turning her head, Lauren looked at him through glossy eyes. “And you’re mine.”
Her own proclamation seemed to hit him by surprise because he paused and she was sure she felt him harden even more within her.
“You’re mine too, Riv. I proclaim you as my own,” she clarified.
His vision seemed to change, becoming so intense she couldn’t break his gaze even when he began to barrel into her hard.
Her eyes rolled back as her orgasm turned her cunt into wet, dripping honey and as his own orgasm rocked him, they cried out at the same time, collapsing against the wall.
It took a few moments for her to recover and Lauren let her body sag against his.
Riv breathed into her hair, inhaling deeply as he fought to calm down.
“Phek,” he muttered. “Did I hurt you?”
He was still pulsing within her and it made a lazy smile spread across her face.
“Not enough, gnora,” she replied and Riv froze.
“Gnora?”
Lauren blinked. Did she say it wrong?
“Isn’t that how it’s pronounced?”
<
br /> Riv’s intense gaze met hers. “How did you learn that word?”
“I heard you say it and now I know what it means.”
“And now that you know what it means?” He was studying her for her reaction as if he wasn’t sure how she was going to respond.
He was still so hesitant, still doubting himself and what he meant to her.
She found it lovable.
Leaning back into him, she planted a kiss on his neck.
“Soul mate.”
“You think I’m your soul mate?” He blinked, still searching her face.
“I don’t think so. I know it. I can feel it deep down. I wasn’t taken away from my home on Earth for nothing. My whole purpose was to be here, right now, with you.”
Riv swallowed hard, pulling her closer to him as he buried his head into her hair.
They stood like that for a few moments before a breath shuddered through him.
“I think I love you,” he said.
Lauren smiled.
She’d waited ages to hear those three words, but not just from anyone. She was happy she was hearing it from him.
“I love you, too, Riv.”
“Let’s go to bed.”
“Let’s.”
Epilogue
Two weeks later
Life on the Sanctuary seemed to have gone right back to normal.
The umus whistle-wheaked like maniacs every day, wanting to be fed.
Grot went off hunting, disappearing for hours, but returned every night to sleep at the foot of their bed.
The tilgrans still greeted her every morning, stretching their necks over the edge of their enclosure to bump their heads gently into her and the ooga still ignored them for the most part, grazing happily.
As they cuddled in bed, her head resting on his chest, Riv played with her hair.
He still hadn’t heard from his brother and she knew it was stressing him. She’d told him it was fine for him to go look for his sibling but he refused to leave her alone, still fearing the alligator guards reappearing.
It was a difficult decision to make.
A part of her felt guilty being the reason he didn’t want to leave, no matter how he assured her it was fine.
Just as she snuggled farther into him, the sound of his comm pinging sounded in the room.
Riv didn’t move to answer it.
