by Crystal Dawn
Desperate people had been known to throw themselves in front of vehicles or try to jump onboard. That wouldn’t happen if they couldn’t catch them. Right now Kasey felt better than she had felt in, well since the attack on Purgatory. Going over the choices on where to settle, she decided on a city 100 miles away. There had been a small office the company she worked for had kept open in that town.
It was on the outskirts and they had put it in a house they had picked up for little money. There had been plans to eventually remodel it so it would look more like an office but it had never happened. Due to its location and appearance, she hoped the Grabbers had missed it. That was where they would go now. There was a wooded area nearby where they would hide and at dusk, they would slip in putting the hover car in the garage.
Having a plan always made her feel better and now she was able to relax and enjoy the ride. She searched the maps, found their destination and loaded it. Now the car drove itself. Looking around near the road, she was glad to see most houses were untouched. Even the few that were may not have been damaged by the grabbers. Looting and rioting by locals in the wake of the Grabbers retreat had caused as much damage as the enemy. Seeing what fear had done to her friends and neighbors had hurt her soul.
The wooded area drew near and the hover car stopped at what had once been a small rest station for travelers. It was still intact because it wasn’t one that had bathrooms or vending. There was nothing here of value and only a shelter and a trash can was here for use by those walking to enjoy the scenery.
It was a good place to settle down and hide. They got out to stretch their legs and pick out something for supper. Kasey decided to try one of the shakes since she had grabbed a large box and it turned out to have a fruity taste. She got another pouch and this one tasted completely different from the last but just as good. She sat down on the bench under the shelter and ate her feast. Her mind drifted back to the first time she’d seen Subchief Ranni.
Things were bad, very bad. The Grabbers had finally been chased off and everyone seemed to think the Majuri were some kind of alien saviors. Kasey knew a little about them, but under the circumstances she was suspicious of them. Why would they fight to save her world? What did they want?
She and her siblings needed some food and water. They hadn’t been able to get out for a while and their need was immediate. The Majuri had set up a station with supplies for those in need and everyone was encouraged to come and get what they needed. Kasey had to take the risk for Hel’s and Lane’s sake.
They walked to the station, all the vehicles in the area had been destroyed. It was a pretty day for a walk if you didn’t look at all the destroyed buildings and the signs that the dead were enshrined in some of them. A warrior was handing out supplies and loading her and her siblings with what they could carry when she felt the weight of someone’s eyes on her.
The guy was in full Majuri warrior gear, possibly straight from one of the isolated skirmishes still being fought planet wide. He reminded her of the descriptions of old Earth Vikings from the stories her father had told them when they were little. His metal helmet had horns protruding from each side, little horns up the middle and the helmet was gold in color. Some tiny chains dangled from it. His chest was bare and slicked with sweat. He wore leather pants and fingerless gloves that went halfway to his elbows.
His sword had a skull on it and looked heavy and sharp. Her gaze moved up to his face and grass green eyes held her look. Shaking his head as if he were in a daze, his long braid of hair moved calling her attention to it. Gorgeous is what he was, but the look he gave her frightened her and she rushed her siblings out of the camp as he stared after them.
To this day, she wasn’t sure what had happened. From the look he gave her, she had expected him to descend upon her like a Viking of old and throw her over his shoulder absconding with her. Instead, he had watched her escape, a terrible look of frustration upon his face as if he’d been unable to move.
Since that day months ago, she’d avoided any Majuri and made a point to find out all about him. Ranni that was his name. He was from a long line of Chiefs and he was first in line to be his father’s heir. She’d heard he was from the same line as the most famous Chief of all, Radvar. He was famous both for being universally considered the best Chief the Majuri had ever had and the only Chief that had ever disappeared without a trace.
Yes, there were some supposed scientist who had a theory that he had gone back in time and created a dynasty with humans. DNA from his line was found in the first humans the Majuri ever came into contact with and they had even discovered a planet they initially thought was Earth, but had turned out to be called Jaded. Artifacts had mentioned a Chief Radvar as the leader of the planet and his mate had been called Shay.
Archeology was a hobby of Kasey’s and all this had happened a year before the Grabbers has descended on her home. Streamline scientist had scoffed but that hadn’t prevented the scientist who had discovered the Jaded from presenting their theory. If not anything else, it gave people something to think and argue about.
Ranni resembled his fifty times great Uncle Radvar. Both had dark hair and an unbelievable body. Radvar though had hazel eyes while Ranni’s were the green of grass. She’d seen pictures of Radvar online and had thought him handsome. Now she thought Ranni was even more handsome. It still didn’t change her mind about getting caught by him and his warriors.
Chapter 4
The Chase
Ranni tipped his head back and roared like an angry beast. His gums itched with the need to drop his fangs so he could kill something. His nails itched too and they lengthened ready to rip someone’s head off. This was getting old and tiresome.
“Where do you think we lost her?” He asked.
“At one of the side tunnels but I’ve no way of knowing which one.”
“How did this happen?”
“You tell me. Subchief. You were hunting her too.” Flander pointed out.
Even as pissed as Ranni was he had to acknowledge the truth. This time he’d been part of the problem. If he’d been more careful instead of rushing blindly after her, he might have noticed when they lost her trail by the scent.
“We must go back and find where she veered off the trail. Let half the males rest and the others head out with us. We’ll mark the trails we don’t take and they can divide into squads to follow them.”
“I’ll tell the males.”
Ranni grunted. His mind was already on his mate. She was more of a challenge than he’d ever expected. It was embarrassing that she’d outsmarted him again. Once Flander had the males assembled, they took off heading back the way they’d come. Some of the males looked confused, they didn’t know she’d outsmarted them again.
The first few side tunnels they came to didn’t carry her scent going in. Flander marked those for the other males coming later to check out. They continued until there was a major split in the tunnel. Once he was in a few feet, her scent continued to be present.
“This is where she went.” Ranni decided. They headed down the tunnel eventually coming to a locked door.
The tech expert worked at the lock until Ranni was tired of waiting. “Step back.” He told his males and they all did. He pulled his lazar gun and blew the door apart.
“You could have brought the whole tunnel down on our heads.” Flander observed.
“Could have, but I didn’t.” Ranni grinned.
They headed in quickly realizing this was some kind of factory. They went up to the first floor and Ranni now knew what his mate had wanted here. “Call the ship. She has transportation and we need some now.”
Flander immediately saw to it. They went to the door only to find it was sealed. The tech seemed unable to open it so Ranni took matters in hand. His second glared at him. “What? At least we’re not underground.”
Now they strode out into the sunshine and found their air bikes waiting for them. There were more high-tech options, but most of the warriors loved to rid
e these. The bikes had changed little since early times. Once he had his helmet on, he was ready. Hopping on, Ranni led the group driving hard and recklessly.
Where would she go? She could have gone in any direction. “Flander, have the ship scan for her and her siblings.”
“Okay.” Flander sounded unsure. Normally Ranni would consider it cheating to take the easy way out. Right now he was getting tired of her home field advantage and he would use any advantage he could. “They have them about a ninety miles from here moving north. There’s a city, Winter’s Haven that may be there target.” Ranni adjusted his directions slightly. She would be in his grasp soon.
Once they were together in person she would feel the pull he felt. It was a documented fact that many human’s felt the mating pull. Surely his mate would because she’d given him a hard enough time already. It was time for things to be easier for him. The miles counted down on his dashboard and they were moving at a furious pace.
That’s when all hell broke loose. Ranni blamed himself for being completely focused on his mate. The Grabbers came out of nowhere. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and pulled his gun just in time to blow the Grabber into pieces of flesh and bone. Turning his bike around, he shot four more of them quickly before coming to a stop and pulling his sword from where it rested on his back.
Grabbers used guns, but he could deflect most bullets or lasers with his sword. It wasn’t just his, all Majuri weapons were made that way. They might look primitive, but the alloy absorbed or reflected most types of energy. His males were all giving a good accounting of themselves and other than some injuries, all seemed to be doing fine.
It amazed him that these Grabbers had attacked his squad. Majuri were warriors not bottom feeders like these males were. Any Majuri warrior could take out two or more of their soldiers even a barely trained youth.
“Leave one alive for questioning.” He ordered although he couldn’t say much if they didn’t. Ranni had killed all those he had fought.
Flander managed to keep the last one alive for him. “You did well.” Ranni praised.
He could communicate with the vile creature through the translators all Majuri had implanted in their inner ears. “Why did you attack us?”
“Looking for the genius.” The Grabber said.
“What the hell does that mean?” Ranni asked.
“They’ve been looking for a female that worked in the tech company. She was some kind of rising star. The Grabbers call her the genius.” Flander explained.
“Do we look like we have a woman with us?”
“Same you search for.” The prisoner said.
“You search for the one I’m after?”
“Yes.”
Anger rolled over Ranni and he had his sword in his hand without a conscious thought. The prisoners head fell to Ranni’s feet. “We need to find her before one of them do.” He hopped on his bike and rode fast and hard.
“Maybe they were the only ones after her.” Flander said. The helmet made talking easy, but sometimes Ranni didn’t feel like talking.
“If they feel she’s that important, I’ll bet there is another group nearly to her.” It made sense to him that these grabbers were only meant to slow him down. Maybe they hadn’t realized his men were armed with guns and had felt they would have a chance to escape. Grabbers were dishonorable and they made no sense to him.
They were driving the bikes at the fastest speed allowable for conditions and while Ranni was reckless, he knew in this case safety was important. If he and his males didn’t arrive uninjured, they would be no good to his mate.
The number of houses alongside the road slowly increased telling him they were nearing a population center. A quick look at his dashboard told him it was the one his female had been heading toward. He slowed down and pulled over at the sign that announced this was Winter’s Haven population 454, 811. Ranni knew the population was a tenth of that number now that the Grabbers had destroyed so much and killed so many.
His eyes were on the prize as they closed in on her location, but his dash showed she was on the move. Fear washed over him as he worried that the Grabbers might have her or she might escape him and hide her and her siblings only to be found by the Grabbers. His search for his mate had a new sense of urgency that hadn’t been there before.
He veered off the previous path in an attempt to reach his mate but the path wasn’t one that allowed for their bikes. Pulling over, he watched the path she was taking looking for a place to intercept her. “We need to head to point B to intercept them.” Ranni said referring to a point he’d placed in the map.
“Are you sure?” Flander asked.
“Yes, why?”
“It just looks like a house.”
“They need to stay somewhere for the night.” Dusk was nearly on them. “Let’s head out.”
They arrived at the house in question and his dash showed she was inside. Now the question was how to take her and her siblings into custody in the easiest possible way. He motioned to his males and they surrounded the house. Finally she was trapped and it had only taken a squad of males and all the technology they had at their fingertips to do it.
Ranni walked up to the door and knocked. “I know you’re in there and you don’t want to make me come in after you.” He could hear whispering inside. “Kasey, open the door. We only intend to help you. The Grabbers are searching for you. We intercepted a group of them and they told us you were the reason they were left here.” Footsteps came toward the door halting every few steps as if unsure of what to do. “Let us help you.”
The door opened slowly and she stood in front of him. She was everything he wanted and all he would ever need. Her scent was like oranges and vanilla and he loved it. “Was that true?” She asked.
“What part?”
“The Grabbers left some of their kind behind to get me?” She asked.
“Yes, but the ones we ran into won’t be looking for you anymore. Still, there are more of them out looking as we speak.” He observed.
“The lesser of two evils.” She whispered almost to herself.
“You consider me an evil?” He asked one brow raised in question.
“Not you particularly, your race in general. They take over wherever they go.”
“It is not our plan to take over here. We are assisting your people and fighting off the Grabbers. If some of our males or females find mates and stay with them or take them away, that is not our plan. We know our mates on sight and can’t resist the pull.”
She started to say something but shut her mouth. “Lane, Hel!” She yelled. Her brother popped out from behind her and her sister slipped up to her other side.
“Are we going with the hottie?” Her sister asked.
“I suppose we have no choice.” She said and Ranni found her attitude hurt his feelings. The only one that had ever done that before had been his father. He wanted her to be happy to be going with him and not sad.
“It is my intention to protect the three of you.”
Her sister stepped up to him and squeezed his arm. “Mm, nice muscles.” She winked at him. Was her sister flirting with him?
Flander snorted while trying not to laugh and Ranni shot him a dirty look. “The young girl can ride with you, Flander. Have one of the males take the boy. I’m taking Kasey and we’ll meet back at the drop point. Any questions?” Ranni asked with a glare. Flander started to speak than thought better of it.
They could be picked up right here and it was dangerous to ride at night especially alone. That’s what Flander wanted to question but Ranni needed time alone with his female. This was the best way to get it. She got on behind him and he loved the warmth of her body pressed against his. It was a feeling he’d almost given up on ever knowing.
He started the bike and took off in a flash. They went several miles before he pulled off the path and stopped. “Why are you stopping? Are we in danger?”
“No. I wanted to know why you ran from me. My people
came her to help yours. We did help chase off the Grabbers and we brought needed supplies.”
“I didn’t want to be taken away from my planet.”
“We never spoke. Why did you think l would take you away from here?”
“It was something I saw in your eyes. Was I wrong?”
“No, you weren’t wrong. Your world isn’t the safest place for you right now. With me your brother and sister can get their education. They won’t have to worry about food or medical care.”
“Are you trying to make me feel selfish?”
“What? No! I’m trying to convince you that I would be good for all of you. They would be treated as my family. You wouldn’t be alone anymore, not ever. I’d see to your needs and theirs.”
“In return for what?”
“You’re my mate, my one and only. Do you not feel anything for me?” Ranni asked and he noticed her pink cheeks. Yes, she felt something but was it only physical?
“I sense a connection, but you and I are still young.”
“My people think it’s a lucky male that finds his mate so young.”
“My people believe mating comes when one is older.” Kasey declared.
“Older? How much older? Are we talking a year, five, ten? Is this what you want?”
“I don’t know, just older.”
“How old was your mother when she mated your dad?”
“A bit older than I am.”
“We will go to meet the others and I want you to think on what we’ve discussed.”
“Okay?”
They got on the bike again and Ranni headed to the meeting spot. He had no intention of letting her go, ever. It would be a good thing if he could make her believe it was her choice, but take her anyway.
Chapter 5
Spaced Out
They met up with the others near the hover car factory. Ranni hadn’t tried to talk to her since they’d made the stop not far from where he’d cornered them. He’d won and she’d lost but maybe that had been the outcome all along and she’d just refused to face it. The Grabbers had once again influenced her life and she thought this wouldn’t be for the betterment of it either.
