Ka'Cit's Haven: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Riv's Sanctuary Book 3)

by A. G. Wilde

  The occurrence was rare but whenever it happened, the torrent was heavy.

  “I have to take you home.” It felt like he’d said those words in that sequence too many times now. Almost as if he was trying to convince himself rather than notify her about something.

  “I don’t know. That thing looks pretty angry. Think we’ll get there in time?”

  Ka’Cit started the engine. “I’d wager you on that, but it would be unfair. You don’t know what this machine can do.”

  A frown materialized on her brow almost immediately. “What more can it do?”

  Ka’Cit chuckled.

  “Hold tight, ta’ii.”

  36

  The hover car was moving so fast it felt as if everything around them was a blur.

  She had no idea how he was even seeing where they were going, but he was focused and sure.

  They were outrunning the rain!

  It felt dangerous, wild, and free.

  As soon as they made it on the plain leading back to the Sanctuary, she let out a whoop of delight as the hover car swooshed over the tall yellow-orange grass.

  Ka’Cit glanced her way, concern in his eyes, but his gaze softened immediately when he saw that she wasn’t terrified but that she was…happy.

  And she was happy.

  For the first time in a long while, she was truly happy.

  Holding on to the dashboard, Nia stood and threw her head back. The wind played in her hair and her cloak, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

  For that moment, she opened herself and truly allowed herself to feel. But that only caused one thing.

  The glee she’d just been feeling slowly died even as the hover car began to slow down.

  Her eyes opened and she saw the familiar structures of Riv’s Sanctuary approaching.

  Home.

  Her gaze moved to Ka’Cit and he locked eyes with her.

  “Home.” He echoed her thoughts.

  “Yea,” she replied.

  Fuck. There was that feeling again.

  There was a look in his eyes, one that had been there ever since they’d spent the night together.

  Had he regretted it?

  …She hadn’t.

  As the hover car slowed down even more the closer it came to Riv’s energy fence that surrounded the property, Nia pulled her gaze away from him.

  She could see figures within the yard.

  Riv and Lauren suddenly looked up, their heads angled in the hover car’s direction.

  They were staring at the approaching vehicle and she could see when Lauren realized it was them.

  The woman didn’t even hesitate. She was hastening down the path heading toward the barrier.

  A string of guilt passed through her.

  She’d made them worry so much. While she’d been out there being cuddled, protected, and having sex with the man beside her.

  Her gaze fell back on him. He wasn’t looking at her now. He was focused on Lauren as she hastened down the path, a strange look in his eyes.

  As Lauren drew closer though, Nee-ya realized she’d been mistaken.

  He wasn’t looking at Lauren. Well, not directly. He was focused on Lauren’s rounded belly.

  The wind was pressing Lauren’s dress against her frame, highlighting the bump in great detail.

  She was even bigger than Nia had first realized.

  “Nia!” Lauren almost stumbled and Riv caught her.

  Back up at the house, two more people appeared, Sohut and Cleo, and they too started heading toward the barrier.

  As the hover car stopped, Nia hopped out and rushed toward them, just as the energy barrier stopped zinging.

  “Lauren!” Nia hopped out of the vehicle and gripped the other woman, throwing her arms around her neck while trying not to squish Lauren’s belly.

  “Oh my God, Nia!” Lauren sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?”

  Lauren eased back enough so they were looking at each other. “We didn’t see…we didn’t hear.” Tears were flowing freely down the woman’s face and they prompted her own tears, which Nia tried to hold back.

  “It wasn’t your fault. Just a really freaky accident. But I’m safe now.”

  Sohut and Cleo arrived and Cleo immediately joined the embrace, turning it into a group hug.

  “Can’t believe we almost lost our little sister,” she said.

  Nia smiled. “Can’t get rid of me so easily.”

  Riv made a sound behind Lauren, one that sounded like a shocked gasp, and when Nia’s gaze met his, he looked horrified.

  “We weren’t trying to get rid of you. That morning, when I complained about you being a pain in my—” He cleared his throat and his scowl deepened before he ran a hand through his hair. “This is your home. We weren’t trying to get rid of you.”

  Nia couldn’t help it. She grinned.

  Riv’s scowl deepened but it was clear he was getting used to his humans’ display of teeth every now and then, for he didn’t flash fangs back.

  “I was only joking, Riv.”

  “Are you all right though? Did they hurt you?” Lauren was looking her over and Nia smiled.

  Lauren was going to be a great mom.

  “No, I’m fine. I got lucky.”

  “Lucky Ka’Cit was there. I agree,” Sohut finally spoke and that’s when she realized that Ka’Cit hadn’t said a word yet.

  When she turned, she realized why.

  He’d exited his hover car and he was leaning against it, looking their way and listening to the conversation, but he hadn’t crossed the barrier to enter the compound.

  “Was he…weird with you?” Lauren whispered. “I know he’s Riv’s friend but he’s a strange guy. If he was bad to you in any way…”

  Nia was shaking her head before Lauren could finish. “No. No. He was…perfect.”

  She glanced back at him once more and stepped out of the embrace of the two other humans.

  As she headed back his way, that horrible feeling that had been weighing her down from before came back and when his gaze met hers, the feeling only intensified.

  “Are you going to come inside?”

  He barely shook his head, as if he was holding himself rigid, and when her gaze fell to his arm still holding on to the hover car, she realized she was right in that assumption.

  His arm was flexed so hard she could see the veins pop out against his skin.

  “Ka’Cit?”

  “I have to go.” He looked away from her. “Now.”

  Hurt filled her and it filled her deep, hitting right against the base of her heart.

  “Yea,” she tried to smile but it was hard, resulting in a smile that was hardly even there. “I guess you have…other jobs. I don’t want to cause you to be late for those too.”

  She saw, rather than heard, the sigh that left his body.

  He still wasn’t looking at her as he got back into the hover car.

  Fuck.

  What was happening right now and why was it so hard?

  Tears were filling her eyes for some reason and she was having a real hard time holding them back.

  “This was…fun.”

  Ka’Cit grunted. “It was but…you’re better off here. This is your world.” He sighed. “You are better off here.”

  The fact he’d said she was better off there, twice, was something she noted and she opened her mouth to say something, but no words came.

  “This is…”

  “Where it ends. Where everything goes back to the way it was.”

  There was such heartache in his voice, she wondered if she was hearing her own words being spoken.

  A big fat raindrop fell from the sky and landed smack in her face, masking the first tear that slid down her cheek.

  Nia wiped it away and looked up.

  The dark cloud had spread and the wind had picked up, whipping the fabric of her coat.

  Another fat drop hit her squarely on the forehead.
<
br />   “Go in,” Ka’Cit said.

  His gaze was still averted and it made something wring in her heart.

  “Ka’Cit?” she whispered.

  “You will get wet,” he continued.

  Maybe she was an idiot.

  She’d thought there’d been something there, something more than…she didn’t even know…

  But…this was it.

  This was it. The end.

  Turning, she swallowed hard and steeled herself as she began walking back toward the group of aliens and humans waiting for her.

  That’s when she heard him call her name.

  “Nee-ya…”

  Nia’s heart thumped in her chest, hope rising within her like an ocean wave. Glancing behind her, her gaze fell on him and the ocean wave crashed.

  Her heart fell.

  In his hand was the holographic tilgran he’d bought for her.

  Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Nia moved forward to take it and her fingers brushed against his.

  Electricity shot through her at the touch of their skin and she had to force herself to breathe normally.

  She wasn’t just imagining this, was she?

  She couldn’t be the only one affected by this.

  He must feel it too.

  He must!

  But… “Bye, Nee-ya.”

  Her tear-filled eyes met his one last time as he moved his hand, breaking their contact.

  “Bye, Ka’Cit.”

  As the hover car moved backward, turned, and began shooting across the plain, Nia watched it go.

  Bye, Nia.

  His words echoed in her ear.

  It didn’t sound like a temporary farewell.

  That…that sounded like goodbye.

  Terse.

  Frigid.

  Final.

  37

  It turns out that Sohut and Cleo hadn’t gone on their assignment because they’d been too worried about her.

  If not for the call she’d been able to make from Ka’Cit’s watch when she’d been in orbit, they’d have spent the entire time clueless and worrying.

  “So tell us what happened? How did Ka’Cit find you? Where did he find you? I swear, we didn’t stop looking for you. We looked everywhere.” Lauren’s eyes were starting to water again and Nia reached across the table to squeeze the woman’s hand.

  They were all sitting in the main room, which they’d designated as the living and dining room, and everyone’s attention was on her.

  Luckily, they hadn’t asked why she seemed so sad. At least, not yet. If anything, she’d just say it’s because she was a bit tired.

  Hopefully, they’d buy it,

  Cleo had made some sort of sweet tea from some herbs she and Sohut had brought back after one of their excursions, and there was a steaming cup of it in front of her.

  It smelled good but she couldn’t even focus on the drink.

  All she could think about was those last few moments by the edge of the property.

  All she could see was Ka’Cit’s hover car zooming away, again, and again, and again.

  “Was it the Hedgeruds? The Tasqals? Did they somehow pull you away from us?” Lauren continued. “We didn’t see any guards. It’s like you disappeared. I swear I almost went into labor from the shock.”

  Riv growled something, clearly displeased about that part.

  Nia forced a smile. “It’s stupid how it happened. I got caught in the crowd and couldn’t push my way back. The Niftrills did it. Thought I was one of them.”

  Riv cursed underneath his breath.

  “Niftrills?” Lauren asked.

  “Yea. My cloak resembled theirs. I’m a similar size to them and they couldn’t understand me. Thought I was with their group and they sort of just pulled me along. I tried calling out to you guys but the noise of the Exchange…” Nia shrugged. “You couldn’t hear me. But it’s fine now. I’m here.”

  “Niftrills work for merchants. Why didn’t the merchant let you go when they took you to the ship?” Riv growled.

  A huge sigh left her body and Nia closed her eyes for a second. “The merchant was a crooked one. She scanned my bracelet. Figured out it was fake. She wouldn’t let me go after that. She locked me up.”

  “Locked you up?” Lauren frowned. “To take you to the authorities or something?”

  It was hard to meet Lauren’s gaze and she really didn’t want the woman to feel worse about the whole situation than she already did. It hadn’t been Lauren’s fault.

  “She wanted to traffic me.”

  Lauren’s hand flew over her mouth. “Oh my God.”

  Nia hurried to add, “It isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

  She knew she was simplifying it all but Lauren didn’t need more stress, especially in her condition.

  And, well, talking about it made her relive it, and all she could think about was him.

  “But Ka’Cit found you. How?” It was Sohut that spoke. Cleo was parked in his lap and he had to lean around her so he could make eye contact.

  Nia shrugged, her gaze falling to the tea in front of her. “I don’t know how he found me. But I was lucky that he did.”

  Lauren’s fingers brushed over her hand. “Nia, you’re acting…different. Is there something you want to tell us? Did something happen to you out there?” She paused, her gaze darting to her mate’s and then to Cleo’s. “You’re safe with us. You know that right? I know we messed up and I don’t know how we’re going to make up for that but…you can tell us anything. We’ll try to fix it.”

  Nia shook her head once more.

  “You didn’t mess up.” She looked around the group. They were all looking at her with regret in their eyes. “You really didn’t. Think of it as a…free trip I got up into space.”

  Lauren’s eyes widened then and she realized they hadn’t known she’d actually left the planet.

  “Long story.” Nia smiled and that smile was interrupted by a yawn.

  “You must be tired,” Cleo murmured. “It sounds like a lot. You should go rest. We’ll continue this conversation later.”

  Nia nodded.

  “You’re sure you’re all right?” Lauren was still studying her with concerned eyes.

  Nia nodded again. “It’s nothing. Cleo’s right. I am really tired. But to answer your question, nothing happened out there. Ka’Cit helped me off the ship. I saw those aliens who took us from Earth.” That got a collective gasp. “Ka’Cit fought them. I helped where I could. Turns out there are more humans out there somewhere.”

  “What?” That was also collective.

  Nia huffed a laugh through her nose. “Yea. Long story but they’re safe now, I think. Tell you about it later.”

  She didn’t have the energy to speak about it now.

  At the moment, she only wanted to go into her room and lay down on her bed in the darkness.

  “But, yea, nothing happened apart from that.”

  Nothing.

  Nothing at all.

  She could still hear the others moving about the house, but Nia stayed in bed, listening to the rain pummel the roof.

  In another time, it would have been a soothing sound that would have lulled her to sleep. But right now, it only heightened her sorrow—a bit like listening to sad love songs when heartbroken and ugly crying into the pillow.

  Only, she wasn’t crying.

  She just felt…numb.

  Was she just being stupid?

  Possibly.

  This could simply be an effect of being alone for so long. That, as well as seeing Cleo and Lauren so happy with their mates.

  That’s what this was.

  Ka’Cit didn’t owe her anything.

  Things like that happened all the time on Earth.

  It was stupid of her to expect more.

  He was a man, a handsome one at that, who could be with any woman he wanted.

  And if he didn’t want her then…

  The thought made her shudder as a sob lodged in her throat.

/>   Tomorrow, she’d get back to her routine of getting up early and tending to the animals and the rest of the Sanctuary.

  Life would go back to normal and she could get rid of this sense of want and loss that she was feeling.

  Easy.

  Right?

  Ka’Cit stopped his hover car in the middle of the plain and killed the engine.

  He was half-way between his home and Riv’s Sanctuary and out here there was nothing.

  Nothing except him and his thoughts.

  His pain.

  The water was falling from the sky so hard, he could hardly see before him and the darkness of the sky permeated the world around him.

  He let out a roar as he slammed his fist against the hover-car’s controls.

  Reaching up, he released his mask and threw it off as he buried his face into his hands.

  Everything within him told him to turn the vehicle around, head back to the Sanctuary and claim his human.

  Everything within him.

  But he couldn’t.

  He phekking couldn’t.

  For her sake, he had to leave her alone.

  He could see it in her eyes.

  He’d hurt her.

  It was the opposite of what he’d wanted to do, but he’d done it any way.

  She was hurting.

  Phek.

  She’d probably hate him after this and he deserved it.

  He could take her hate.

  Hating him was good.

  Not for him, but for her.

  Even if she hated him, there was still a chance she could find happiness.

  And with that thought, he forced down his own sorrow and stared ahead into the torrent of water falling before him.

  He’d known this was going to happen.

  He’d known the end would come.

  So why was it so phekking hard to go on?

  38

  For the next few days, Nia did just what she’d put her mind to do.

  She’d wake up early and almost stumble over Grot in the hallway, before heading out to do her chores.

  The routine came back easily and she could almost pretend that her little adventure hadn’t happened.

  Ka’Cit hadn’t returned to the Sanctuary since that rainy day but that wasn’t out of the ordinary.