by A. G. Wilde
He released the guard from his grasp and the Hedgerud snarled a little.
“What’s the deal you were talking about then?” he asked.
Ka’Cit shrugged. “You take your friends off my property, tell your master you failed him…and you get to live. Win win.”
The guard snarled some more but said nothing else.
For the next few minutes, he loaded the bodies of his comrades into the hovering vessel, and only when the ship rose higher then took off did Ka’Cit turn to look back at Nee-ya.
She was watching the ship go and when she finally looked at him, he saw her shoulders sag.
She’d been nervous.
As he dropped the blaster and disengaged the electric fence that had started zinging once more, she hopped out of the hover car and ran to him.
He caught her in his arms.
“How’d you get them to go?” she asked.
Ka’Cit grunted. “I asked them nicely.”
Her eyes met his for a moment before she chuckled. “And…they’re not coming back?”
He shook his head.
He doubted it.
Directive Exhashimor was even more powerful than the Tasqals themselves.
A registered being from a Class Four planet, the Directive protected her like a precious metal—for the sake of peace across the universe.
His Nee-ya was like a piece of treasure.
She was treasure.
His treasure.
“I never did say thank you,” she whispered. “For registering me. For giving me so much. I don’t think I can accept it, actually.”
Ka’Cit stiffened.
“It’s a lot,” she whispered.
“I’d give it all if it meant I get to spend even one day with you.”
She smiled and leaned her head against him as she looked toward the main building.
Ka’Cit followed her gaze.
“This is where I live. It’s not much but—”
“It’s perfect.”
Ka’Cit’s life organ swelled.
She wasn’t looking at the house.
She was looking at him.
Epilogue
Six months later
Nia looked out the window of the house down onto the grounds.
Morpheus hung his head over his enclosure and pointed his gaze straight at her as if he knew the exact moment she was looking his way.
Riv had sent him to live with them after he’d heard Ka’Cit was revamping his “farm.”
Now, instead of heaps of metal, they had a few animal enclosures and even a field for vegetables.
The metal wasn’t all gone though.
It turned out Ka’Cit used the scraps for custom upgrades on almost any device you could think of. He really was good with his hands and that wasn’t restricted to simply forging metal.
They’d spent a month building a barn to store most of the metal chunks and the house was looking more and more like a homestead as the days went by.
As she stared out the window, she spotted him pulling a hay bale toward Morpheus’ enclosure and had to stifle a giggle as Morpheus dipped his head over the enclosure to chew on Ka’Cit’s hair.
She could hear his grunt of annoyance even from the distance.
He glanced her way then, and stopped what he was doing.
Nia felt the breath pause in her throat.
Even after all this time, when he looked at her, she found she could not breathe.
And he did it a lot—as if he still couldn’t get used to seeing her in his space…as if he was scared she was a mirage that would disappear if he got too close.
It turned out that his homestead was larger than Riv’s property and she’d gotten the idea of setting up a few houses for some of the humans they’d helped the robot dude, V’Alen, rescue—that was, if any of them wanted to move out on a farm in the middle of nowhere.
Word was that V’Alen and his friends had gotten the humans out, all because of the metal part she and Ka’Cit had stolen, and she thought some of them coming to live on Hudo III was a great idea.
Though…there was the issue of obtaining legal status on the planet. After what she’d gone through, she wasn’t sure how that would work yet.
But where there was a will…
Glancing at her wrist, her eyes moved over her tattoo.
She still couldn’t believe it.
He’d given her so much, and all with the thought that she would never want him… that they would never be together.
He’d been prepared to get himself abducted just because of her.
Since that day when the gator-guards had left, she’d been watching the skies for their return. But they hadn’t.
Just in case though, she’d finalized her registration with Geblit.
When she looked up again, Ka’Cit was dumping the hay into Morpheus’ enclosure while ducking out of the way so the animal didn’t chew his hair again.
Then he looked her way once more.
Nia set down the dish she’d been drying. She’d totally forgotten she’d been in the middle of doing the dishes anyway, and she headed out the door toward him.
Ka’Cit walked toward her before racing up to her and swooping her up into his arms.
A giggle burst from her lips as he cradled her into his arms.
“Honestly, you make me feel so small!”
“You are small, ta’ii.” He caught her lips in his for a sweet kiss.
As Nia sobered and he put her on her feet, she glanced up to meet his eyes.
“Ta’ii doesn’t mean ‘friend,’ does it?”
She swore his color changed to a darker shade.
Ka’Cit’s eyes twinkled a little before he shook his head.
“What does it mean?”
He pulled her toward him again. “That’s for me to know.”
Nia giggled and settled into his embrace.
She already knew.
She’d asked Riv a long time ago.
Ta’ii didn’t mean “friend.”
It meant “sweet, flower” in Old Merssi and the thought that he’d been calling her his sweet flower from the first time they met was a thought that warmed her heart.
12 months later
Nia smoothed the new tunic Ka’Cit had bought her and patted her afro to make sure it was in place.
Ka’Cit gripped her other hand in his and squeezed it almost too tightly.
He was nervous.
So was she.
In front of them was a room full of little children all running around and playing together. There were squeals of laughter and joy filling the space and it was hard not feeling lightheaded and happy.
“Do you think one of them will like us?” Ka’Cit’s voice was a low whisper by her ear and when she looked up at him, she couldn’t help but smile.
He was dressed in his best tunic, his hair was flowing down his shoulders, and he wasn’t wearing his mask.
He cleaned up well and every time she looked at him, she couldn’t believe he was hers.
“What if none of them like us?” He glanced at her now and she chuckled a little.
“I’m sure we’ll find a child that likes us as much as we like them. Today,” she gripped his hand, “we become parents.”
They’d talked about it for a while. Made the plans.
There was already a room waiting at home, they’d bought toys, and they’d filed all the paperwork.
She couldn’t believe it but, after months of planning, today was the day.
Lauren had given birth to a bubbly baby boy, now toddler, and she had to admit that seeing their family had influenced her and Ka’Cit to get the ball rolling.
“It will be fine,” she whispered, not sure if she was reassuring him or herself.
As soon as she said those words though, a child looked up from what she was doing.
She was a light blue with two little antennae rising from her head and pointed ears like Ka’Cit’s.
She looked at them for a few
moments and Nia’s heart thumped against her chest.
When she turned her gaze to Ka’Cit, he was staring at the little girl too.
The child stood then, and took up the picture she was drawing.
She took a few hesitant steps before she paused and Nia stooped so she was on the child’s level.
That seemed to help and the child walked forward.
“Did you draw a picture?”
The child nodded and turned the picture to show them.
Ka’Cit stooped as well and as they both looked at the drawing, Nia fought to keep the surprise from her face.
It was clear who the figures on the paper were and her heart swelled.
“That’s you.” The child pointed to one of the figures. “And that’s you.” She looked at Ka’Cit and pointed to another figure.
“And is this you?” Nia asked, pointing to the blue figure on the paper.
The child nodded.
But there were more figures on the paper.
“And who are these?” Ka’Cit asked.
“Those are the bad guys.” The child pointed to a set of dark figures. “We’re fighting them because they’re not nice.”
Nia glanced at Ka’Cit and their eyes met.
Maybe finding a child that fit them perfectly wasn’t going to be so hard after all.
“Come!” The child grabbed Ka’Cit’s hand and he had a moment of surprise where he looked at Nia for help.
Nia chuckled and shrugged as the child led him away and back towards her seat.
As Nia watched them go, her smile grew wider and a warm feeling enveloped her.
Her hand moved over her stomach.
It was still flat.
Nothing gave away the secret growing underneath.
She wasn’t showing yet, and she assumed that would be the case for the next few weeks at least.
That was good because she hadn’t told him yet.
They were still going to adopt a child either way and she wanted the moment he found out about the pregnancy to be perfect.
The coil fell out some months ago and well…it appeared that miracles did happen…if you were lucky.
And according to him, he was the luckiest man alive.
Maybe he was right.
But as she watched him play with the child, Nia came to another conclusion.
Maybe she was the lucky one.
A note from A.G
I hope you loved Ka’Cit and Nia’s story!
Oh my goodness…I don’t know, but these two…
If you follow me on social media you probably saw my post about finishing the book and then going back to write some more.
Well, here’s how that happened.
I originally finished Ka’Cit’s Haven and was ready to send it to the editor when I paused.
It didn’t feel like it was done.
Ka’Cit and Nia’s story felt so real to me that even when I typed the last word, I still wanted to go on.
So I did.
I legit almost cried when I wrote the epilogue.
He’s such a good soul, I just wanted him to get his HEA so bad.
And I mean a real HEA—one where he felt loved, appreciated, and WORTHY.
I’m not crying. You’re crying!
*takes a moment and a deep breath*
I do hope you enjoyed his story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Next up is a book for the Restitution series. If you haven’t started that series yet, the first book is already out. It follows the guys fighting against the Tasqals.
Book one is Ajos’ story and book two will be V’Alen’s.
If there’s someone’s story that you want to read about, let me know on Facebook or send me a message through my website at agwilde.com.
I promise I’ll try my best to see if it’s possible.
Catch you on FB or at the back of my next novel! Till then, happy reading!
♥
A.G.
Other books by A.G.
Captured by Aliens
Xul
Crex
Yce
Kyris
Kyro
Riv’s Sanctuary
Riv’s Sanctuary
Sohut’s Protection
The Restitution
Ajos
Acknowledgments
This goes out to all the readers of my books and to everyone who has loved them.
Thank you!
I would not be able to do this without you and I am truly grateful.
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About the Author
A. G. Wilde is an avid reader, a gamer, a lover of all things space, alien, and sci-fi.
She is addicted to intense romance, irresistible heroes, and deliciously naughty things.
