Ranger Knox (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 1)

by Meg Ripley

  "I need you to stay out here and watch the ship," she told James, "Call in to me if you notice anything strange."

  "Like what?" he asked, a hint of both confusion and concern in his voice.

  "You'll know," she told him, ducking down to enter the ship again.

  Around her the crashed vessel was eerily quiet except for the clicking. She moved along the hallway cautiously, watching the red glow from the emergency lights for any sign of shadows or movement. The sound of a piece of metal falling to the floor ahead of her startled her and Alexis pressed herself to the wall. Sliding around the corner, she saw what made the sound.

  A panel lay on the floor beneath an exposed section of the internal components of the ship. Tiny lights flashed within the components, occasionally joined by a small spark. She watched the section in silence for a few seconds. Nervousness rolled through her belly and her hand twitched on the hilt of the knife. A moment later, the flashing diodes within the components disappeared as something dark slithered across them.

  Alexis surged forward, pushing herself off the wall to propel her body toward the open section of the wall. She brought the knife down into the thick black tentacle with all of the strength she could put behind it. It bucked against her, nearly shoving her back against the wall, but she held her ground, keeping the knife deeply buried in the rubbery, muscular creature.

  A strangled animal scream reverberated through the ship and Alexis finally withdrew the knife. Oily-looking blood obscured the glitter from the microchips and she carefully returned the knife to her bag. The tentacle coiled, then shot down toward the floor, extending from the wall as it slithered toward her. Alexis jumped away from it and began to run.

  She could feel the creature hitting the backs of her heels as she ran, pushing her to run faster and harder until she finally burst out of the ship into her father's arms.

  "Alexis! What was that scream?"

  "Come on," she said without answering his question, "we need to get back to my house."

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw the end of the tentacle dip out of the door, then recoil back into the ship. She met James's eyes, then started back toward her house.

  Tyrok was quiet on the bed when she entered her bedroom, but she knew that was only an effect of the drug she had injected into his heart. It would not last for long without the next step of the treatment. She pulled the knife out and let the bag drop to the floor. Coming to the side of the bed, she gazed down at him. He was gorgeous, more beautiful than any man she had ever seen, and she felt drawn to him.

  She paused long enough to run her fingers along the curves of his face. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

  "I'm sorry," she whispered and reached forward to draw the knife from the base of his throat down the middle of his chest.

  She stopped right above his heart and tilted the knife, pushing the tip deeper into his skin. Bright green blood slicked across his body and he arched toward the pressure of the knife. Alexis watched as the microchips glowed, lighting up as if drawing power out of Tyrok's body. When they went dark, she pulled the knife away and dropped it on the floor, no longer wanting to see it.

  "Alexis? Are you alright?" James asked from the doorway.

  She hadn't realized that he was standing there and felt self-conscious in the way that she gazed at Tyrok. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she dipped a fresh cloth into the water basin and started carefully washing the blood away from his chest.

  "I'm fine," she said, putting as much conviction into the words as she could.

  "No, you're not. What just happened?"

  "I'm fine, Dad. I'm a doctor. This is what I trained to do. I can't get emotional about it."

  "But you are. What did you just do to him?"

  "There is something in the ship. It embedded Tyrok with control chips so that he and the ship were linked. He was the only one on it because he was all the creature needed. When the ship crashed, it lifted some of the control, but the creature is trying to fix it, which means interfering with the components directly linked to Tyrok. It must have damaged them, because he was crashing. As the creature tried to repair the ship, it was killing him."

  "I don't understand."

  Alexis finished washing Tyrok and dried him carefully.

  "I need you to help me lift him so I can wrap his chest and change the sheets on the bed. He's going to have to stay here for a while."

  James allowed the conversation to drop as he helped her lift Tyrok off the bed and place him carefully on the sofa in the living room so that she could replace the bedding that was now soaked in blood and water. He continued to prop him up as Alexis wound long strips of gauze around him to cover the wounds on his chest, then lowered him carefully to the sheets.

  "I had to deactivate the control chips," she said softly as she brought the cool, fresh sheet up over Tyrok.

  "Is he going to be alright?" James asked.

  "I hope so."

  ****

  For days Tyrok lay still and silent in Alexis's bed. She knew his body was fighting to regain control of itself and restore order now that the chips were no longer controlling him. She found herself talking to him as she went about her duties, telling him about herself, the mission, her worries, and anything that came to mind.

  Rather than asking for her father's help, she changed his bandages herself, cutting the strips away to reveal his healing wounds and then allowing his body to rest against hers as she propped him up to wrap him in new gauze. Each time she looked at him she felt herself falling harder for him. He was startlingly attractive, but she felt a connection to him that went beyond just the smoothness of his skin, the curve of his full lips, and the long eyelashes curled against his cheeks.

  It had been more than a week since the crash when she came in from a particularly difficult day, bathed, and stopped by her bed to touch his face before going into the living room to sleep on the couch. As she stood there, however, the empty space beside him on the bed seemed to call out to her. The expanse looked cool and soft. She had had James help her change the sheets again the day before and she could still smell the fresh scent clinging to the fabric.

  Her entire body seemed to release its tension at once as Alexis lowered herself to the mattress and rested back into the pillows. After a week sleeping on the couch the bed felt heavenly beneath her. The sensation of Tyrok so close to her only increased the feeling of calm and she curled onto her side with her back to him so she could drift to sleep.

  Alexis didn't realize how deeply she was sleeping until she suddenly snapped awake. For a moment, she didn't know what had awoken her, then she felt the movement beside her again and realized that Tyrok was stirring. She remained still, not wanting to startle him any more than just waking up beside a stranger probably already would by turning over to face him.

  She expected him to jump out of the bed and start asking questions, but instead he surprised her by sliding closer. The warmth of his body wrapped around her, drawing up against her back to tuck himself into all of her curves. She gasped slightly and felt him touch a hand to her hip, then draw it up and drape it around her waist.

  "Tyrok," she started, but didn't know how to continue.

  His face nuzzled her hair at the back of her neck.

  "I could hear you," he said softly, the sound of his voice sending a shiver down her spine.

  "When?" she asked.

  "Every day. I could hear you talking to me. It is the only thing that kept me going."

  He touched a kiss to the back of her shoulder. She sighed at the feeling and rolled over so that she faced him. Their bodies touched lightly and their faces were so close Alexis could feel his breath on her lips.

  "Tell me more," Tyrok whispered and she smiled.

  "About what?"

  "About you. I want to know everything."

  She laughed and cuddled a little closer to him, tucking her hands under her cheek.

 
"There isn't much to tell. I have been here for almost two years and before that I was in the military back home, and before that I was raised by a military man, which basically means I was always in the military."

  She laughed again and he smiled. Her heart soared.

  "Are you ever homesick?" he asked.

  Alexis nodded.

  "Sometimes. It's just so different here, but I've only ever had my father, so at least he's here with me."

  "What do you miss the most about Earth?"

  Alexis let out a long breath of air, looking into the distance as she pondered his question. There were many things that she missed about the comfort of her home planet, but finally she settled on the one thing that pulled at her the most.

  "The stars. I always loved looking at the stars. It never gets dark for long enough here to see them."

  She looked back into Tyrok's face and saw him smiling at her.

  "Watch this," he whispered and rolled onto his back.

  Alexis followed his lead, flipping onto her back so that her shoulder touched his. Tyrok reached beside him to the bedside table and closed the cover down over the small nightlight she had placed on the table the week before as if to keep vigil over him. Alexis had drawn the light-blocking curtains and suddenly they were in nearly complete darkness.

  She felt Tyrok sit up slightly then heard a sound as if he was blowing out a stream of air. Above her the ceiling shimmered then came to life with dozens of tiny balls of light. They glittered against the darkness, shifting every few moments to create patterns and familiar constellations.

  Alexis gasped, but couldn't move. She stared at the stars surrounding her and felt emotion welling in her throat. A few tiny sounds escaped her lips and Tyrok rested back against the pillows.

  "You're –" she started, but paused again.

  "Yes."

  Alexis gave a short laugh.

  "I didn't think you were real," she shook her head and tried to come up with the words to make more sense, "I mean, Star Lords. I thought they were just a fairy tale."

  "Do you think that I'm just a fairy tale?" he asked and she noticed his voice had dropped lower.

  She turned back onto her side to face him at the same moment that he rolled toward her.

  "Maybe," she breathed and felt his hand come to her cheek.

  His thumb stroked her cheekbone gently, then he ran his fingertips along the curve of her jaw. Using his hand to steady her head, he drew his face closer and touched his lips to hers.

  ****

  Tyrok lifted his lips from hers and stared into her face as if evaluating her reaction. In the shimmer of starlight, she could see his stunning, unworldly eyes and felt like she was falling into them. After a moment, he brought his mouth back to hers. Alexis relaxed into the kiss, complying with the pressure of his mouth to open her lips. He coaxed her tongue forward and stroked it with his, eliciting a small moan from her throat.

  Alexis felt Tyrok press his body closer to hers, then loop an arm around her waist so he could lift her up and roll onto his back to bring her down on top of him. She slid against him and felt the roughness of the gauze on his wounds touch the sliver of skin exposed between the hem of her shirt and her waistband.

  "Are you ok?" she asked.

  Tyrok nodded, lifting his head to capture her mouth in another kiss. When they parted, Alexis pushed back so that she sat on her knees straddling his hips. She tucked her fingers under the end of the bandage and loosened it. Moving slowly, she pulled the layers of the gauze so that they slid out of place. As they unwound from around him the bandages revealed his chiseled body and a scar down the center of his chest from where she cut him.

  Tossing the bandages aside, Alexis leaned down and touched a kiss to the scar. Tyrok sighed beneath her and she continued, trailing her lips up his chest and onto his neck. Tyrok's hands came up to cup her hips, his fingertips kneading into her. They moved up so that he could grasp the hem of her shirt and pull it up over her head, dropping it over the edge of the bed.

  He rolled them over so that he hovered over her, nudging her thighs apart with his so that he could settle his hips between them. Alexis felt his hand come to the front of her bra and release the clasp. She shifted her weight to allow him to peel the garment away and toss it aside to join her shirt. His mouth dropped to one breast and Alexis gasped, arching against the feeling of his tongue slipping around her hardened nipple.

  Tyrok's mouth traveled over to give the same attention to the other nipple, then moved onto her belly. The tip of his tongue touched her skin, dragging down toward her hips and dipping into her navel. He kissed down to the waistband of her pants and Alexis felt herself writhing in anticipation of a more intimate touch. She felt his hands come to the front of her pants to unfasten them and he blew a cool stream of air against the skin he had dampened with his tongue. Alexis's breath caught in her throat and she lifted her hips, allowing him to ease her pants down over her hips and off of her.

  His fingers hooked around the waistband of her panties and soon the damp scrap of lace joined the rest of her clothing on the floor. Alexis felt suddenly shy as Tyrok's eyes grazed over her appreciatively. He touched his fingertips to the side of her ribs, trailing them down to trace the curve of her waist, over the swell of her hip, and then down her thigh.

  Alexis drew in a breath as his touch continued up the inside of her thigh and then delved into her hot, wet core. He swirled his fingertips into the sensitive pearl of flesh at her peak and Alexis cried out, gripping the sheets on either side of her. Tyrok paused to let her relax, then continued his exploration of her body. A moment later, she grabbed onto his wrist, pulling his hand away from her body and closing her eyes.

  "Wait," she panted.

  "What's wrong?" Tyrok asked, bringing his body forward to kiss her.

  "Not yet," she whispered.

  Tyrok smiled at her and brought himself down on top of her so that she could feel the weight of his body from her legs up to her shoulders. She reveled in the pressure, bringing her hands to the small of his back to hold him closer. His mouth played across hers and his hips began to rock against hers. She felt the hardness of his erection nudging her and she bit her lip against the delicious sensation.

  Alexis slipped her hands between them to release his pants and then paused. She closed her eyes, again trying to come up with the right words.

  "When you say that you are a stunning facsimile of a human," she began, awkwardness building in her chest, "does that mean…" she trailed off and Tyrok laughed, leaning down to nip at her earlobe.

  "Everything is exactly as you would expect it to be," he whispered into her ear.

  Alexis felt a thrill go through her and she continued her efforts to remove his pants.

  "I think it was a perfectly valid question," she teased. "You never know what you are going to discover when a strange ship crash lands on your planet."

  With those words Tyrok went still against her. She wriggled her hips against him, trying to encourage him to keep up his dizzying movements, but he remained in place.

  "Oh, no," he muttered.

  "What's the matter?" she asked.

  Tyrok pushed back so that he could look at her face.

  "Where is my ship? What happened to it?"

  Alexis shook her head in confusion.

  "It is right where it crashed. What do you mean what happened to it?"

  "You healed me, which means that you went back to the ship after you brought me here."

  "Yes, but I haven't been back since."

  "Oh, no. We need to go there now. Can you show me where it is?"

  Tyrok scrambled off the bed and Alexis felt cold, empty, and humiliated still sprawled naked across it. He tossed her clothes onto her stomach, only worsening the feelings. She started to dress and he must have noticed her pained expression because he paused for a moment to touch a kiss to her lips.

  "I'm so sorry, but this is something we need to do right now."

  "Why?"
/>
  "You say that you love the stars so much, well if we don't get to my ship quickly, they might all go out for good."

  ****

  Alexis chased after Tyrok, bursting out of the house while still pulling her shirt on over her head.

  "What do you mean the stars will go out?" she asked frantically.

  "Where is the ship?" Tyrok asked without answering her question.

  "It's on the other side of that hill," she said, pointing in the direction of the hill on the border of the village. "You didn't answer me."

  Tyrok started toward the hill, his jaw set with determination.

  "You thought that Star Lords were fairy tales so you probably didn't know that our ships are not the same as others."

  "What do you mean?"

  "My ship carries extraordinary power. It literally has within it the ability to extinguish the actual stars just as quickly as I created the little ones in your bedroom. Without the stars, everything in this universe will die."

  "I still don't understand."

  By this point they were cresting the hill and Tyrok was staring down at the crashed ship. Alexis followed his gaze and gasped. Ahead of them the ship looked nearly perfect, the warped, twisted mass of metal now a sleek, shimmering ship.

  "Thank god it's still here," he muttered. "The creature inside that ship, the one that was controlling me, has been repairing it since the day of the crash. It knows that if it can get the ship operational again, it will have the ability to control the universe."

  "But if it could do that on its own, why was it controlling you?"

  "I know how to operate the ship and as long as it was controlling me, it was also controlling my capabilities. We have to stop it before it figures out how to operate the ship."

  "How are we going to do that?" Alexis asked, struggling to keep up with him as he ran down the side of the hill and pushed toward the ship.