by Sonia Nova
“That’s amazing,” Olivia said. She kept touching the tattoos on his arms, tracing the intricately woven lines with her fingers, and he couldn’t help the shivers that coursed through his body at her gentle caress. The tattoos started to glow brighter and his tail swished in pleasure. “You’ll have to tell me about them all one day.”
Kraev closed his eyes at her touch. In his mind, he could picture her lying in their bed, picking out tattoos and asking him what they meant while she traced them with her fingers. Or her lips.
“I’ll do that,” he replied, his voice gruff.
His tail kept swooshing behind him, twitching to wrap around Olivia’s leg, but he wasn’t certain she would appreciate the intimate touch. Besides, he needed to stay focused. He looked up to the sky and kept walking down the slope, trying to keep his thoughts in check.
He focused on their environment and ignored the soft curves of his mate pressed against his back, until a sound in the distance made him pause. He turned in the direction of the sound and saw a small, dark spot between the clouds.
“There’s a ship coming,” he said, nodding toward the skies. He couldn’t tell whether it was a Suhlik ship or a Mahdfel ship yet, but he knew he couldn’t be too careful. He started to jog toward a slight outcrop of rock that he’d noticed in the mountain. Hopefully, they could hide underneath it.
“That’s a ship?” Olivia asked, squinting at the skies as he set her down on the ground beneath the outcrop. “How can you tell?”
“I’ve spent years flying in these skies. You learn to recognize the sound of a spaceship, no matter how far.”
Her brown eyes grew concerned. “Is it Suhlik?”
He shook his head. “I can’t tell yet. It’s better to stay hidden until I know for sure. With any luck, it’s a rescue ship sent to find us.”
Olivia nodded, but Kraev felt her body tense. He wasn’t sure he believed the bit about a rescue ship either, not with his wristband communicator broken. Minutes passed by as they waited for the ship to fly closer and he kept peeking up at the skies. When the ship finally flew close enough for him to see it properly, his heart froze.
“It’s Suhlik,” he said under his breath. “Stay hidden.”
The fact that a Suhlik ship had gotten this far and was flying freely without any Mahdfel ships around was bad news. Olivia seemed to realize this too. She sucked in a breath and huddled closer to him. Kraev wrapped his arm around her in comfort. Hopefully, the ship wouldn’t see them from here.
They stayed huddled together for several minutes until the ship finally passed over them. A heavy breath escaped Olivia’s lungs.
“Are we good to go now?” she asked.
Kraev shook his head. “Sensors could notice our movements at this distance still,” he said. “We need to give it a few more minutes until the ship is focused elsewhere.”
Olivia nodded and remained in her place. After a while, she suddenly asked, “Did you always want to be a pilot?”
“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “Ever since I first entered my warrior training as a child, there was something about being in a ship – and in space – that always appealed to me. Maybe it was because it meant not normally having to deal with the Suhlik up close and personal. I get to keep their ugly faces out of sight and focus on blowing up their ships instead.”
Olivia chuckled. “I can see why that would be appealing. Yesterday was definitely too close to comfort on the ‘up close and personal with the Suhlik’ front.” She shivered at the memory, and Kraev pulled her tighter against his chest.
“You’ll never get that close to one again as long as I can help it,” he replied.
He hated how close the Suhlik had gotten to her. Their security measures on the planet had failed at the most crucial moment and he had nearly lost his mate before he’d even met her.
His blood boiled at the thought. He was going to have words with the Warlord about that.
As if sensing his turmoil, Olivia moved even closer to him, pressing her hand against his chest. She looked up at him, straight into the eyes, and he was taken aback by the unmistakable trust in her gaze. She hadn’t trusted him when they’d met. She had been suspicious of him even still in the cave. But now, it felt like something had shifted.
“I know you’ll keep me safe,” she said, her voice speaking of that same trust.
Kraev vowed to never break that trust for as long as he lived.
CHAPTER 11
OLIVIA
Olivia had never thought that she’d actually feel safe against the Suhlik. She’d lived in abject terror of them ever since the invasion of Earth, certain that they’d return and take her one day, like she’d gotten away from them when she wasn’t supposed to.
But here, even though this was by far the most real danger she’d been in since that first day the Suhlik had entered her world, she didn’t feel that fear. She felt safe. Protected. She knew that Kraev would let nothing bad happen to her. It was the strangest feeling, and she couldn’t really explain to herself why she trusted him that much. Just that she did.
Several more minutes passed before the sound of the enemy ship finally disappeared. They emerged from beneath the outcrop. Olivia immediately moaned in pain as the throbbing in her ankle increased. Crouching low beneath the rock had done her no favors.
“Are you alright?” Kraev asked, his expression concerned.
“I’ll be fine,” Olivia said, pressing her arm against his chest for support. She could feel the steady rising and falling of his heartbeat beneath his muscular chest, and the tattoos on his skin lit up brighter.
Now knowing the meaning behind the fluorescent light, her cheeks flushed at the reaction. She quickly pulled her hand away and turned to the sky. She could no longer see the Suhlik ship that had passed above them and she was grateful for that.
“We should get going again,” Kraev said. “There’s still plenty of daylight left.”
Olivia nodded. She let him hoist her onto his back, wrapping her arms and legs around him again – as well as her limbs could wrap around his large, muscled body – and absorbed the heat he was putting out. She was cold, but he managed to be boiling despite being still shirtless. If it came down to it at night, she wouldn’t be opposed to huddling against him for warmth.
Kraev carried her as they continued to descend the mountain, but they soon came to a steep cliff face and there was no way that Kraev could carry her down. Instead, he set her back on the ground and they made slow progress on their own feet. Her ankle burned, but she knew they couldn’t stop in the middle of the rocks, so she ignored the pain.
By the time they got to the bottom – and it was a good thing that another ship hadn’t come nearby, because there was no way that they could have moved anywhere fast enough to shield them – she was breathing heavily.
“I can’t do anymore,” she said, collapsing down onto a rock that wasn’t buried in ice and lifted her leg up so it was elevated. “It’s really hurting now.”
Kraev immediately rushed over and wrapped his hand around her ankle softly, checking the joint slowly to make sure that he wasn’t hurting her. His deep turquoise eyes were etched in concern. “I don’t want to make it worse.”
“I don’t think it’s getting worse,” she said. “It’s just that using it so much is making it ache and throb more. I just need to keep it elevated for a while.” Her stomach rumbled. “And I’m getting a little hungry too, I guess.”
Kraev nodded. He looked around at where they’d stopped. “Okay. We can stop nearby for the night. I just need to find somewhere that’ll keep us sheltered and out of sight.” The wind was starting to pick up, but the exertion from walking for so long was staving off the cold for now.
Olivia hated being left on her own for those ten or so minutes, even though she knew Kraev was nearby. She was on a strange planet and she had no idea what kind of creatures crawled in the dark.
When Kraev finally returned and hoisted her into his arms so that she di
dn’t have to strain her ankle any more, she relaxed into his hold. Already, the chill was getting to her again and having him carry her bridal style was like being wrapped in a nice warm blanket.
She wished he was actually wrapped around her.
The cave was a lot smaller this time, but it would still keep them out of sight of the sky. It had only a small opening that Kraev had to crouch to enter through. Inside, he had already deposited their supplies.
“I’ll get a fire going before it gets dark,” he said.
Light was barely filtering in through the small entrance and the sun had nearly set. Olivia could see the several moons high up in the sky again. Kraev handed her the parachute from the backpack and she wrapped it around herself again. She watched him work with her knees pulled up to her chest to try and keep warm even though she knew she should be elevating her ankle.
“I hope the volcano base is warmer,” she said, her teeth chattering.
“It is,” Kraev said. “It’s the only place on the planet that’s properly warm. It’s why the greenhouses are out there, too.”
She shook her head. “I can’t imagine growing up on a planet like this. How did you live?”
Kraev burst into laughter. “Stars, I’m not from here.”
“Why is that so funny?” she asked with a frown, feeling a little offended. Maybe there was some obvious cultural heritage that she’d missed because of her ignorance. Kraev had spoken of home, but somehow, she had assumed that home meant here.
He seemed to realize he’d offended her and held out a placating hand. “Just because there’s nothing really here. I don’t know. I guess it’s because it’s so different from my home planet. You weren’t wrong to assume. There are plenty of young warriors on R-2841 now who were born here.”
“So where were you born?”
“I was born on Raewan. It’s a planet in the same galaxy as R-2841. I suppose it has a similar story to yours, only ours began many decades before yours. The Suhlik came and the Mahdfel came to rescue the planet. The Raewani people were very primitive then and the traditional culture is still strong even among the Mahdfel on the planet.” He went quiet, looking into the fire in thought. “I have not been on Raewan in years.”
“Do you have family there?” she asked, leaning forward as she listened to him speaking.
She knew nothing about his culture, but she was very interested to learn as much as possible. It was so different and yet the story was so similar. She wondered if the colorful tunic and pants he wore were a part of that traditional culture he’d mentioned.
She half-regretted not having learned more about the Mahdfel and the many other planets they traded with. She’d had a strong desire to stay as far away from all things extra-terrestrial for as long as she could. Yet, a part of her wouldn’t have wanted to hear this from anyone’s lips but Kraev’s.
“I do.” He smiled now, clearly thinking of his family. “My mother and six brothers.”
“Six!” she said, her eyes widening in surprise. “So many kids!” She couldn’t even imagine what it must be like to have such a large family.
“And that’s not including Zevyk, who is basically my brother too.” He grinned, looking satisfied with himself. It was clear that he loved his family very much.
“Are you close?” she asked. If he hadn’t been back to see them in years, she wondered how close they could be. She saw her parents and brother every week.
But then again, they lived in the same city, just a thirty-minute drive from each other. It wasn’t difficult to see them.
“Very. I know it might not seem like it.”
She flushed, knowing she must have given away her thoughts on her face. “Sorry,” she interrupted. “I wasn’t judging. Just curious.”
“We are close, but we all have our own lives and obligations. R-2841 is under constant threat from the Suhlik, but Raewan is living in prosperity for now. When the Warlord in charge of R-2841 requested more warriors for this location, I immediately signed up. Staying here and keeping Raewan – and the rest of the universe – safe by not letting the Suhlik get hold of the hellstone is where my duties lay.”
He shuffled a little closer to her as she continued to shiver, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The heat was instant and welcome, and she leaned into his arms.
“But maybe now that I have my mate, I’ll take some time and go see my family. We can take some time,” he corrected. “My number one duty now is to make sure that my family is happy. And now, you are my family.”
Heat flooded her cheeks at his words. “I would like to see your home planet,” she admitted. “And I hope that you could visit my home planet one day, too.” Was that even possible? “I have a younger brother. And my parents are both still well, living in my home town.”
With how everything had gone after being sent to this planet, she hadn’t had much time to think about her family. But now that she did, tears threatened to spill forth from her eyes. She cleared her throat, pushing the thoughts of her family aside.
“But of course, I don’t want you to abandon your duty if that’s what’s important.”
She already felt bad that he was out here in the mountains, caring for her, when he could have been fighting the Suhlik. Duty seemed so important to him and she was keeping him away from that. The thought of him out there in danger made her increasingly uncomfortable though. The more time she spent with him, the closer she grew to him.
If he ended up like Tammy, she wasn’t sure how she would cope. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get attached to someone who might just die soon. It was a thought she was pushing to the back of her mind and trying to ignore. There were no Suhlik with them now, just the two of them learning about each other, skin-to-skin and cozy in the small cave.
“I would love to visit your planet and meet your family,” he said, his words spreading a new hope and warmth through her. “And I want you to meet my family. I want my sons to know their uncles and their grandparents.”
“Sons,” she said, feeling a little flush at the idea.
Kids. Already. They were already talking about kids.
It shouldn’t have been strange, considering that was the exact reason she had been sent here for. To make little warrior babies with her alien match. But what surprised her was that she was no longer so terrified about the whole idea.
Stars, she was losing it. She needed to backpedal in this relationship, and fast. She had known Kraev for barely twenty-four hours. She needed to–
“Lots of sons,” he said, squeezing her tight against his chest. Clearly, he was determined not to let the topic go. “Our sons.”
Her yawn was well-timed. The conversation had suddenly gotten too intense for her. Or, more like, the conversation had made her realize how intense her feelings toward Kraev were starting to get, and she was shying away from that. She couldn’t have such feelings for him in such a short time… Right? Just days ago, she had thought all Mahdfel were brutes.
“You should get some sleep,” Kraev said.
“You’re the one who should be sleeping. You didn’t get any sleep last night, did you?”
“I need to be awake to watch the entrance, in case any Suhlik manage to track us,” he replied, though he made no move to stand at the edge of the cave entrance today like he had yesterday.
She could see it in his posture and his face now that she was looking at him. Lines that had not been there before framed his features, and even his tail was still. He was tired.
“Really,” she said. “Please, just get a little bit of sleep. Just a couple of hours.”
He dithered, his sparkling turquoise eyes looking hesitantly into hers.
“I’ll rest my eyes for a little bit,” he conceded at last. “But I can’t go to sleep. I won’t risk it.”
“Okay,” she said, knowing a tone of finality when she heard one. She yawned again. “I am going to try and get some sleep though. Wake me if you need anything.”
She shimmied down
so she was lying beside the fire in the small cave. Forming a pillow from the parachute and draping it over the rest of her, she put down her head and shut her eyes.
She already knew that Kraev and their many sons would be visiting her in her dreams tonight.
CHAPTER 12
KRAEV
Kraev had been certain that he wouldn’t fall asleep. He’d stayed awake for this long before and coped just fine. But soon, he found himself flickering his eyes open and he realized he’d been out cold. He lay on the cool rock floor of the cave, his arms wrapped around Olivia, and he knew that was the reason he’d succumbed to his tiredness.
Sitting with her, he had just been so comfortable and content. He hadn’t been as alert as he should have been. He tightened the arms around her waist and shoulder for a moment, taking in the sweet scent of her and the warmth of her body, reveling in her small form nestled against his.
Then, it hit him.
There was a reason he’d woken up now. The fire had gone out, but it didn’t look like that had just happened. He looked around the cave and could see nothing different, but a strange sensation crawled up his spine. Something rustled outside the cave, and suddenly, every hair on his body stood on end.
They were being watched.
He turned his head slowly toward the entrance. There was no one in the cave with them, but there were people nearby. He was sure of it.
He had been worried the fire might attract Suhlik to their location, but it hadn’t been optional. It was too cold during the nights even though they were sheltered from the brunt of the wind. He would have been okay, but he was terrified that he was going to make Olivia ill if he didn’t keep her warm. She was so small and cold.
He untangled himself from her and moved toward the mouth of the cave. He hadn’t taken off his weapons belt since the Suhlik had attacked and he rested his hand on the butt of his gun now, just in case he was right and one of the evil creatures did spring out of one of the many hiding places the foothills had to offer.
