by Mira Maxwell
Table of Contents
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Her Alien Warrior
The Guards of Attala: Book 4
Mira Maxwell
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
One
OZMYX
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up mere seconds before I see the fierce red eyes glowing from behind the trees. Veryn and Havdyn haven’t noticed it yet. They’re still focused on cutting down the tree that we plan on taking back to the fortress for firewood. I can see Savannah through an opening in the trees, still soaking in the warmth of the hot spring. It was stupid of me to leave her alone while I put the rest of our supplies back in the snow vehicle. We shouldn’t have lingered here this long and now we will surely pay for that mistake.
The creatures lurking in the trees are the Ixahns and they always travel in packs. Adrenaline starts pumping through my veins and my already magnified senses are kicking into overdrive. The sound of the axe hitting the tree reverberates through my head, the noise of it echoing off the expanse surrounding us.
“Veryn,” I say, not any louder than if he were standing directly in front of me. That’s all it takes. Now the only sound is the gentle splashing of Savannah in the pool. The others haven’t moved but they sense the danger around us now as well. My eyes are still fixed on the beast hiding just behind the trees across from the pool when I sense a presence to my right. I move my right hand slowly to the blade tucked in the belt at my waist and pull it free. I test the weight of it in my hand as a slow growl rumbles in the throat of the beast to my right. I steal a glance to the left where Veryn and Havdyn are also standing at the ready, weapons gripped tightly in their hands. At least two more Ixahns are stalking us from the left. They have us surrounded.
I have no way of alerting Savannah to our situation without drawing them out, and by then, she’ll be well aware of what’s happening. I curse myself for allowing her to come along. This hostile environment is no place for a female, especially one that has been placed in my charge for protection. To allow any harm to come to the woman from Earth would mean I have failed at the job Mallyk entrusted me with. Their safety is our only concern until they get what they came for and leave for their planet again.
The tension in the air reaches a boiling point. I sense the movement of the pack and quickly engage the beast to my right while at the same time I shout, “Savannah, take cover!”
I collide with the Ixahn. Its incredibly powerful legs grip my side as its teeth snap at my face. From looking at them, it would seem like an easy task to overpower them due to their size. On all four legs, it only comes to my knees, but it only takes one venom filled bite from their fangs to bring the largest of Attalans down. Even if only for a short time.
I kick it off me and slice at it with my blade. It manages to clamp down on my forearm but the leather bands on my arms protect me from a puncture wound. Its tooth catches, trapping it in my grasp. Within seconds I plunge my knife into its neck, giving it a clean, quick death.
I’m on my feet and moving toward Savannah while Veryn and Havdyn dispatch multiple Ixahn as they attack from the trees. While the trees provide protection from the elements of this planet, they also harbor dangerous creatures. We aren’t the only ones that flock toward the hot springs for the sustenance it provides.
The low branches scrape my face and arms as I catapult myself toward the open space in front of me, toward Savannah. There are three Ixahn circling the pool, fangs bared, growling and snapping at the small figure quaking in the center of the water. The snapping of branches underfoot and the slap of branches pulls their attention to me. I’m the perfect diversion.
“Move Savannah,” I say. Then the image of the beasts circling the water flashes through my mind and I have a change of thought. “No, stay where you are.” I’ve never encountered the Ixahn near water before but it’s clear they won’t submerge themselves in it. She’s safest in the center of the pool right now.
“No problem,” she says quietly. “I’m not moving.” There’s no conviction in her voice and I know she’s scared. How could she not be? She may as well be roasting over a fire.
I’m focused on the beasts moving toward me from my front when my instincts kick in and I sense something behind me. I turn, but not fast enough. I’m hit from behind, throwing me forward. I catch myself on my knee at the same time I feel its teeth sink into the skin just below my neck. Moving quickly, I grab the creature and pull it over my head, detaching its jaw from me before tossing it into the water in front of me. Savannah squeals and scrambles against the side of the pool, drawing the attention of one of the Ixahns.
Poison quickly moves through my blood, making my vision blur and my limbs feel heavy. When the next Ixahn makes its move, I manage to grab it and launch it through the air, across the pool so it collides with the beast about to pull Savannah out of the water. They collide with a loud thud, throwing them both back into the trees and away from Savannah.
The Ixahn in the water starts to move toward Savannah. I try to lean forward and grab it by its hind legs, but I lean too far and go face first into the pool. My vision is blurry and I wish my body would work faster to fight the poison before I black out entirely.
“Ozmyx!” Savannah shouts. I shake my head to clear it, then fight against my sluggishness to get to the creature in front of me. I manage to grab onto it, plunging it down into the water, holding it there. Finally, it’s quiet again. In the next moment Veryn and Havdyn come crashing through the trees into the opening by the hot spring. They’re in battle mode but as soon as they see us, they drop their weapons to their sides.
“We should go,” I tell them. “Once night falls, we’ll have more than a pack of Ixhans to deal with.”
“We’ll secure the trees. It should only take a few minutes,” Veryn says, nodding and turning to head back into the trees. Havdyn follows behind, both looking determined to secure the materials and get us out of here.
My head starts to clear once the others leave us. My body is fighting off the poison, but my limbs still feel heavy, as if it will be a struggle to pull myself out of the water. My eyes focus on Savannah, still cowering toward the back of the pool, her eyes huge as if she’s in shock.
I realize I’m still holding the Ixhan in my hand, though it has long stopped struggling. I toss its body out of the water in the direction that the others ended up. It startles Savannah and she stands up straight in the water, looking toward the trees where I’ve tossed the body. She’s either unaware of the fact that she’s exposing herself to me or she just doesn’t care at this point. As for me, maybe it’s the poison in my body clouding my thoughts but I can’t look away from her.
He
r long brown hair is plastered to her face and shoulders. Large droplets of water are running off the ends of her hair leaving wet trails down her skin. Unlike Attalan women, she has large breasts - the largest breasts I have ever seen. Two globes of mouthwatering flesh, tipped with hard pink berries. My mouth starts to water and I have an overwhelming desire to pull those hard tips into my mouth. I want to feel the weight of them in my hands, exploring their softness while they make my cock hard.
I’m licking my lips as these thoughts overpower me when I look up and meet her eyes. Her cheeks flush pink and she quickly covers her chest with her arms. She doesn’t hold my gaze. When she looks down at the water I snap out of my trance and shake my head. I don’t know what came over me. As second in command, I don’t have any time for these distractions. And I most certainly don’t need to waste time fantasizing about a female from Earth.
I dip myself under the water to rinse the blood off my body and clean the bite wound that is already starting to heal on my shoulder. Without wasting another glance at Savannah, I pull myself out of the warm water.
“Get dressed,” I say. “We’ll leave in five minutes.” Without chancing another look, I walk off into the trees. Back to where the snow vehicle is parked and where the other warriors will be readying our supplies so we can leave. Veryn and Havdyn are just finishing tying the trees to the top of the vehicle when I slosh my way over. Without a word to them I open the passenger door and get inside. I need to leave this place. There’s something about it that bewitched me into having impure thoughts about this woman. Either the poison or the adrenaline must be to blame. It’ll be best if we get back to the fortress and I can get back to my post without the distractions of these Earth women. Unlike the weakness of some of my other warrior brothers, I plan on keeping my oath to the guard, no matter how appealing I find her breasts to be.
Two
SAVANNAH
The drive back to the fortress is uncomfortably quiet. One of the aliens says something to Ozmyx but he just grunts and waves him off. He’s in an even grumpier mood than usual and I have a bad feeling it has something to do with having to defend me at the hot spring. I know he didn’t want me to come in the first place, but our stay is taking longer than we had anticipated and I need to find more supplies. This place is what they say, dangerous and deadly. I also didn’t anticipate that we’d spend our days out here at the fortress instead of safe inside the city. They have doctors and advanced technology that can treat almost any ailment but we’re far from those resources out here.
It’s almost dark when we drive up to the huge wooden gate in the center of the rock walls. The walls make everything darker, blocking out the little light that’s left at this time of the day. There are guards at the gate, but I can’t make them out right now. Once the gates are fully open, we drive inside and I immediately notice the huge fire blazing in the center of the fortress. The sound of the huge gates closing behind me with the soft glow of the fire in front of me helps to calm my nerves.
When the vehicle stops and the warriors move to get out, Ozmyx makes a strained sound and freezes, as if something is causing him pain. I glance over and notice that the bite on the top of his shoulder is still open and oozing some sort of dark liquid. He only pauses for a minute and then he’s out of the truck, walking toward the fire. I scurry around the vehicle and come up behind him.
“I should take a look at that bite,” I say when I catch up to him. He doesn’t slow his pace, so I grab onto his arm trying to get him to slow down. He acts as if my hand scalds him, pulling away from my touch. I don’t know why his reaction to me stings, but it does. I just don’t understand what I ever did to make him dislike me so much. “It hasn’t healed yet and I wouldn’t want you to get an infection.”
At least he has stopped and turned to look at me. I’m not sure that he’s going to answer me when he says, “The poison slows the healing process. It will heal eventually.” With that simple explanation, he turns and heads toward the fire again.
“Well should it be oozing like that?” I shout it to his back as he walks away. I can’t help myself. One of the most frustrating things about being a doctor is knowing what’s best for someone even when they aren’t convinced of it themselves. I can already picture step by step what I would do for it. I have a clear, liquid disinfectant that I would use to wash out the wound, extricating as much of the poison as I can. Then I would aid the healing by putting a few staples in the cut. Even if it’s slow to close, at least it won’t become infected. Ozmyx pays me no mind though, he walks off without another word.
Diana and Mallyk approach and I try to shake off my frustration. When we reach each other we embrace and I no longer feel so alone. I was eager to go on this adventure. The thought of traveling across space to reach a planet that could ultimately provide the resource that we so desperately need to save Earth was a no brainer for me. But the longer our mission drags on, the more homesick I become. Everything is so different here. The constant cold and snow. Strange foods, different technology. Then there are the warriors who refuse to be helped by me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a woman or because I’m human, but I never thought I’d be met with such animosity.
“How did it go?” Diana asks. “Did you find anything promising?”
“I don’t really know. I collected a lot but I’ll need to test them to see if any hold any promise,” I say. Then, turning to Mallyk, I continue, “I’ll need to journey back to our ship. I only have basic supplies with me and I’ll need to use the equipment in the med bay so I can test these plants.”
Mallyk does something with his head resembling a nod and says, “Of course. In the morning when it is light and safe to move outside of the walls, I’ll have Ozmyx escort you to the ship.”
Diana smiles up at Mallyk and wraps her arm around his waist. She’s in love with her alien and I can see she’s happy that he’s so accommodating. I don’t know how to confess that I don’t want Ozmyx escorting me anywhere. It’s awkward because I don’t want to offend Mallyk or Diana.
“Oh, well…you know, he was actually bit by an animal at the hot springs today and it looked like his shoulder was sore. Maybe it’s not such a good idea to send him on another trip already?”
“He’ll be fine by morning,” Mallyk says.
Okay. So, I’ve definitely succeeded in not offending him, but I’m still stuck with unwanted company.
“I hate to take up the time of your second in command. It seems like there must be something more important that he should be doing instead of walking me to the ship.” He turns his head and looks at me strangely. For a moment I think he’s onto me. But then he surprises me.
“There is nothing more important than making sure you are safe. That is the task we were given and we will carry it out with the utmost seriousness. Besides,” he adds, “even traveling during daylight can be dangerous. It is never safe to be outside of the walls on your own.”
“It’s fine, Savannah,” Diana adds. “You need to have someone with you to keep you safe.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling defeated. “I’ll plan on leaving in the morning, weather permitting.”
“I’ll make sure Ozmyx is ready,” Mallyk says.
My smile is hesitant, but I manage it before I nod my head and turn toward my quarters. “Good night,” I say over my shoulder, with a wave of my hand. I walk past the fire in the center of the fortress and chance a glance in that direction, just to see if any of the other women or warriors happen to be hanging out over there. There’s no one around. It’s a strange feeling, being alone so often in this place. I imagined it would be more like camping, where we’d all be together while we search for the Eclaydian and then travel back to Earth together. All the unexpected romantic connections have changed how things have gone on this trip. I’m strangely homesick and excited to return to Earth, sooner rather than later.
Leaving the quiet behind, I step inside the sleeping quarters that I now occupy by myself. It has been the fiv
e of us for a long time. We trained together on Earth before our mission departed. We lived on a spaceship together for the trip from Earth to Attala. The thought of taking on this new adventure seemed possible with a strong team and even better friends. Now, one by one, they have found mates with the warriors on this planet. Natalie is still stuck in the city due to her injury when we crash landed and I’m here…alone. I can’t imagine mating to these warriors. I’ve been unlucky in that I’ve been supervised quite often by Ozmyx, Mallyk’s second in command. It should be an honor that my safety means so much, but he’s a hard one to relax around. He’s closed off to the point that even when we’re together, I still feel alone.
Aside from that issue, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the cold on this planet. It’s cold everywhere we go from morning until night. Not only did I want to go to the hot springs to explore the things that grow there, but I was dying to soak in a hot tub. Our only other option while we’ve been at the fortress is to sponge off in front of the fire in our rooms. Not something I’ll miss when we head home.
Home. I’ve been thinking about going home a lot lately. We’ve acquired the Eclaydian and Mina has processed it. As far as I’m concerned there’s no reason to continue hanging around. This is a time sensitive mission and it feels like we’ve been gone long enough. We need to get on with bringing Natalie back to the fortress with us and getting back home.
There’s a soft glow coming from a small opalescent spherical shaped rock sitting in the corner. I assume it’s their version of a lamp, only better because it comes from their planet and there’s never any need to replace a lightbulb. Though the rock glows, it doesn’t emit any heat. So though it has been glowing the whole time I’ve been gone, it’s ice cold in here. Strangely, I’m almost used to the cold at this point. I practically brace myself for it when I move from place to place. The Attalans use portable heat cubes so they’re able to stay warm even in the middle of a snowstorm out in the open. Fires are another option when the conditions allow for them. Neither of which have been utilized while I’ve been away which explains the frigid cold that will keep me from any sleep until it warms up in here.
