Saxon (Shared Survival Book 1)

by Annalise Alexis

  “I missed you,” he whispers in my ear, slowing his pace. Every inch of him slides back and forth with intention, like he’s savoring every sensation. His strong hands wrap around my shoulders, guiding me up and onto his lap so that I’m sitting on him.

  I wrap him in a tight embrace, and we hold each other. He grips my thighs, lifting me up and down with ease, and as he fills me completely over and over, a sense of finality settles into place. He’s it for me. No matter what, we’ll figure this out.

  The buck of his hips and the thumb he rubs along my clit send me over the edge, and I cry out with him deep inside me. He grunts with one last thrust, and we both collapse on the pallet.

  I hate that I can’t see him. I know he’s right here, but with no light, it still feels like he’s so far away.

  Damn, when did I get so emotional?

  His skin’s warm to the touch now and I lie on his chest, keeping him close. “Forgive me for my absence, my Leigh,” he says, helping me slide my shorts up.

  “Why are you apologizing? It’s not like you asked Anya to dart you.”

  Saxon chuckles, and presses a kiss to my cheek. “Ah, that is the human female’s name. I do not care for her methods of protecting you, but the sentiment does not go unnoticed. I cannot stay angry with someone who cares for you as I do.”

  “She really does. Care about me, I mean. She just does it in her own way.”

  “Her way is cumbersome, inconvenient, and my tolerance of her methods has expired. But I cannot deny its efficacy. It is an easy thing to love you, Mu Xitall. There is nothing I would not do to keep you safe. I expect no less from those you surround yourself with.

  “My ire with her stems from what would have occurred if more soldiers were to have arrived and she was unable to protect you herself.”

  My fingers dance along the strong muscles of his shoulders, and I cringe when I reach the tiny spot where the dart was and feel the swelling. It hasn’t healed for some reason. There must still be some residual poison in it. “Hey, I’m fine. Right? We’re both okay. But I don’t ever want to do that again.”

  He chuckles. “Perhaps, we should ensure your human friend is aware of your preferences.”

  “Oh, she knows. I was so pissed when she charged in there like a psychotic Mother Earth. But then she took us here to keep us safe once she figured out what was going on. This is her place, and it’s a big deal for her to let someone in.”

  “This dwelling. It is secured?” Saxon asks. “I cannot sense anyone outside of your human companion. And even then, her scent is faint.”

  Shifting on the hard ground, I opt for lying flat on my stomach to give my hips and back a break. Almost as if he can sense my discomfort, Saxon pulls me mostly on top of him, and I melt against his chest.

  “Yeah,” I mumble, already being pulled under by the lull of my exhaustion. My man’s safe. I’m safe. And in this moment, that’s all that matters. “This place is locked up tight like Fort Knox. Oh, and Anya’s not crazy, after all. She’s a spy. Forgot to mention that.”

  My head tingles in the most wonderful way as Saxon threads his fingers through the strands and massages my scalp. “I suspected this much. Rest now, my Leigh. You strained your body too much carrying me here.”

  I mean to tell him how bossy he is, how it’s not like I had a choice, but when he starts to hum Clare De Lune, all conscious thought is lost and I fall into darkness.

  Chapter Twelve

  Saxon

  “I was wondering when you’d come. Took you longer than I suspected. She still passed out?” the one called Anya asks, calling me from the shadows. As soon as my Leigh was deep in sleep, I exited the room via the ventilation system to scout.

  I need to ensure my mate and I are safe here and the security measures in place are sufficient. Anya does not know of our kind’s ability to disconnect our joints to allow for smooth passage though small spaces. If not for that ability, the pressure in the wet ooze alone would have ended me.

  “She is.”

  “Ducts? Or did you override the key panel and disarm the motion sensors?” she asks, seated in front of several large illuminated screens. They appear to be some kind of rudimentary processing machines. Back on Revaris, everything is connected to the chips placed in our brain. You sync, you think, it happens. Here there is the necessity to punch tiny buttons to spell out each word and wait for the thing to respond.

  How tedious and time consuming.

  When I don’t answer, she taps a few of the buttons on the machine to her right. Several red lines flash on the screen then turn green.

  “Computer says the sensors are all intact. The ducts then. Surprised you could fit. Guess I should have considered that before I put you in there.”

  Suddenly, the female jumps from her chair, and in one smooth motion pulls a long barrel weapon from underneath a nearby table. A loud crack resonates through the room when she cocks it.

  “This is not necessary—”

  “Speak for yourself,” she says, then slams her hand down on a red lever. The lights go out, and we’re left in total darkness.

  Shaking my head, I engage my battle suit. Humans. Do they not realize an elevated species can see in the dark? Like with many things on this planet, I do not understand the point of this. Is it a sparring session? Some sort of competition? Surely, she does not believe she can overpower me.

  Again.

  Pavil’s annoying laughter echoes in the back of my head. Of course, my mind would summon the sound knowing the female has, in fact, overpowered me once. Wherever he is, he better be following my orders. I need to get my mate off this spirit-forsaken planet before I’m forced to massacre an entire army to save her. And myself. Something I will not hesitate to do if forced.

  The human female dives around the corner, and I advance, slowly, keeping low to the ground. The smell of her excitement and fear triggers my instincts, and my claws lengthen. Veins swell with the urge to hunt, and my pupils widen. I want to give in, allow my instincts to consume my mind and hunt her like I did those males in the woods.

  Revari males are carnivores with an instinctual drive to provide for the females and young of their tribe. We fight, protect, and kill to feed our people. But we are also raised to protect life if at all possible.

  Giving in would allow a more volatile side of me to escape, and I would not be in complete control of my aggression. I cannot harm her. Not after everything she has done for me and my mate. She is part of my female’s tribe and, as such, should be protected.

  The familiar whistle of those cumbersome darts rings out in the distance and I roll to the side, narrowly avoiding them. Up on my feet, I press myself against a metal cabinet and wait for her to approach. Her steps may be muffled, but they are loud to my ears, and I can count the number until she comes within arm’s reach.

  It really is a wonder she was able to catch me unaware before. In hindsight, the safety of my mate in that moment consumed me. Her beauty, her scent—just the gift of her existence commands my attention. I will need to do better in the future.

  Anya sneaks closer, the same familiar heavy metal weapon causing her to displace weight on her right.

  “You may lower your weapon. I do not wish to harm you.”

  She positions the weapon and laughs. “Right, and I’m an alien from outer space. Oh, wait. That’s you. So, no thanks. I’m going to tie you up, then figure out what to do with you.”

  Her eyes are wild and bloodshot. Exhaustion has darkened the skin underneath. She has expended a great amount of energy trying to find and rescue my Leigh. My annoyance with her softens, however it will remain as long as the hole in my fucking back. Her insistence on playing this little game does not make it any better.

  “We do not have time for this nonsense.” Shifting too fast for her to register, I rip the dart propeller from around her neck, leaving the weapon in her hand alone, and crush it. Then I dive behind a metal partition.

  “Aw, man. What the fuck? That took m
e months to carve. What that really necessary?”

  I let out a huff. “You expected something less? That makes twice you have attempted to kill me.”

  “Damn it. I didn’t expect you to be that fast.”

  “I would apologize, but to be honest, I do not give a shit. Now tell me, those males chasing us. Who are they?”

  “I’m not saying nothin’ until you come out from behind that wall. I’m not new to this game, boy, let me see you.” She motions me forward with the barrel of her weapon, and even though I know the ammunition cannot pierce my suit, I offer up my hands in submission. The seeing contraption on her face has a strange gleam to the lenses when she finally finds me in the dark.

  Her chest is puffed out in confidence and her shoulders have relaxed. She does not realize it, but she has gotten too close. The ancient weapon in her hands has given her a false confidence, that if I chose to act would lead to her doom.

  However, she will remain unharmed. I will tolerate her, as I do the furry overlord—from a distance and in small doses.

  Wait, damn it. Where is the wretched creature? I can scent it. Hear the faint beat of its heart. Surely, it has been fed. My Leigh will not be pleased.

  “There you are. Keep those claws where I can see ‘em,” Anya warns, holding me in her sights. I maintain my hands in a raised position and walk forward three steps. “Fuck, you’re more impressive awake. Starting to second guess my game plan here.”

  “The furry overlord, Bink. Where is she? Has she been maintained?”

  “Holy shit, Leigh sure has you trained, don’t she? The little brat is the next room over, bathing in a mound of catnip. She’s fine. It’s you I want to talk about. Now, I know my friend likes you—loves you, even—but I’m not about to let you whisk her off into the sunset or wherever the fuck you’re plannin’ to go without knowing every single detail about you.”

  My jaw tightens, and my nostrils flare. How dare she demand something of me when she has already wasted my time and attempted to poison me. “Choose your words carefully, female. My patience wears thin. I will answer your questions but I require your respect in return. Lower your weapon.”

  She chews on her lip, then groans. “Damn it, Leigh. If you get me killed,” she mutters to herself. “The armor you’re wearing…does it come off?”

  “It does. If I command it to do so.”

  “Fine. Drop the suit and I’ll drop the gun. Probably couldn’t get a shot off before you were on me anyway. I might look like a harmless old bitch, but I can and will put you on your ass if there’s any funny business. Got it?”

  I nod, then slowly slide my nail across my wrist, calling the inky black body armor to return. “As I stated before, I do not wish to harm you. I only wish to keep my Leigh safe.”

  Anya eyes me for a moment, the lines around her mouth pulling taut. “All right. But one false move and you’ll regret it. I didn’t survive this long trusting people, and I’m sure as hell not going to start with a big gray alien.”

  “ I would expect nothing less. Now if we are finished, I would like to inquire about our current situation—”

  Anya hits the button to restore the lights, and a loud static blares from the tiny box next to her. She holds up a hand. “Shh. Quiet. I’ve been waiting for this.”

  A male’s voice begins to filter through a black machine on her desk. The majority of what is said is garbled and unclear.

  “Damn it, I couldn’t make it out. Could you understand it? They won’t use that channel again, and it took me a week to predict which one they’d use next.” She pauses for a second. “We’ve stopped trying to kill each other, right? Because this is really important.”

  I nod. These humans make no sense. Two seconds ago, she was hell bent on knocking me out and now she is asking me for help.

  “Is it something that could assist in protecting my Leigh?” I ask, hesitant to gouge my own flesh if not necessary. The poison she infused me with has weakened my ability to heal. The language simulator in my brain records on a constant loop, and I can learn new languages through recall and replay. What was spoken will be recorded in there, but getting it out is going to hurt like hell.

  “That’s the ghost channel Elgin and his prick buddies use to speak to their government contacts. They rotate through them regularly. I’ve spent months trying to nail down the pattern, ever since Leigh told me she sunk Henrietta’s predecessor, convinced he’d turn on her, and this was the first time I was right.”

  Needing no further explanation, I use my nail to dig into the back of my skull where my chip resides. The pain is not as significant as before when it required a reset. Anya pales when I come back with bloodied hands.

  “Whoa, did you just cut that out of your brain?” she asks, face contorted in disbelief. Again, I do not understand her reaction.

  “Do human males not sacrifice for their females?”

  “Eh, they usually just take us out to dinner and even then, they expect to be praised.”

  Ah. No wonder they have evolved at such a slow rate.

  After manually accessing its data bank, I replace the chip and utilize my abilities to reproduce the sounds.

  “How’d you…you know what? It doesn’t even matter.” She grabs a writing utensil and places it on a thin white sheet. “Do it again, slower this time. Then I want to try something.”

  I indulge her, despite my desire to refuse. I do not see how this helps me or my Leigh, but the thoughtful set of her brow suggests she is close to finding whatever she needs to discern the human’s next steps.

  “Damn, the static covers it up no matter what we do.” Anya sinks down in a chair and motions for me to do the same. “Sit over there, and don’t worry. It’s not booby trapped or nothing. If you want to prove you’re not here to kill me and are really trying to protect our girl, here’s your chance.”

  Our girl? I growl, letting my nails grow long enough to splinter the portion of the chair in my grip.

  Anya throws up her hands. “Message received. She’s yours. A little advice? Don’t be telling her that. She’s as independent as they come and wouldn’t appreciate being labeled as property.”

  “Do not confuse my choice of words. Leigh is my mate. To cheapen that by assuming I would ever categorize her that way is a grave offense and one I do not take lightly.” I stand and harden the set of my jaw.

  “Slow down, cowboy. I was just makin’ sure. I care about her, too, you know. Or else I wouldn’t have risked my life to bring your ass here in the first place. If she didn’t love you, I’d have left you to die in the woods.”

  Despite the crudeness of her words, I do not fail to see their value. “No one understands the need to survive more than me. I do not fault you for listening to your instincts.”

  Her wrinkled face scrunches up. “Really? I kind of expected more of a reaction. Some outrage, or I don’t know, maybe another growl.”

  I nod, confused. In all the time I have spent with this female, I still cannot adequately analyze her reactions or interpret her next response. Humans are so complicated. I have no idea how they have continued to survive this long. Their facial expressions say one thing, and their mouths say another. Do these creatures ever say what they mean?

  “Right. Let’s get on with it then. See this right here? It is a private server that contains the video proof of your rescue and a log of all the communications between Elgin and the private contracting company he uses—transcripts, too. They have no idea, but he records everything. Little bonus to living on the island, you don’t need two-party consent to be recorded.

  “Problem is, I can’t access it. It’s protected with voice recognition software. Now, I hacked the program hiding it, and I know the password, but I can’t copy a voice.” Anya looks off into the distance at a set of numbers pinned to the wall and swallows hard. “If I could, I wouldn’t be stuck here, hiding in plain sight, wishing I’d taken the blue pill.

  “Anyway none of that is important. If you can clone this
voice, I can destroy the proof he has of your existence and get you some of the information you need.”

  Rather than answer her, I repeat her words with her exact sound pattern. Explanations won’t suffice for someone as untrusting as she is, but proof is undeniable. Plus, I’ve grown really fucking tired of this conversation. She’s intolerable, and I miss my mate.

  “Damn, that’s…creepy as hell. Okay, let me pull up the recording. Hold on a minute.”

  Anya types furiously on her antique machine until she finds whatever she needs, then takes out a small black speaking device. The sound of a male’s voice fills through the room, and it is one I will never forget.

  A deep growl rumbles in my chest and I squeeze my hands into fists trying to curb my rage, and only the sweet scent of my mate and the patter of her feet on the floor soothe my demand for blood. She wraps her arms around me, and the mixture of our scents clinging to her skin make me want to rip off her clothes and take her again.

  “Ugh, just hearing Elgin’s voice makes me want to throw up. I remember that pompous, self-gratifying speech. It was at our pre-reveal of the Juniper wasn’t it? Wait, you came? I begged you and you refused!”

  “It was and I did. Just because I didn’t announce it doesn’t mean I wasn’t there.”

  “You should have said something. I bitched at you for over a week for not coming.”

  “Why the hell are you out of bed? You need to sleep,“ Anya says, ignoring my mate’s question.

  Leigh twists the ends of my hair through her fingers. “I woke up to pee and he was gone. So, I came out here to make sure you weren’t killing each other. Seems like things are going well.”

  The silver-haired female cocks a brow. “Yeah, better than I thought anyway. I figured by now he’d be on his ass passed out or I’d be dead. I never imagined this whole being civil thing.”