Alien Romance Box Set: Uoria Mates II Complete Series (Books 1 - 10): A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance

by Ruth Anne Scott

  "The Denynso fear nothing," he growled, repeating the words that he had said just the day before in the meeting hall.

  "That's not true," Loralia said.

  She took a step toward him and Pyra felt unnerved. Bannack had stepped out of the room so he was alone with the strange woman and the evaluating way that she was looking at him made Pyra uncomfortable.

  "I have run into battle with more species than any other warrior leader. I have led my men into the depths of hell and back. I have killed and I have bled and kept going. I have looked creatures in the eye and watched as the life drained out of them, leaving them empty shells. I am not afraid of anything."

  "You cannot convince me, Pyra. I know that you are a great and powerful leader. You have achieved amazing things and protected your kind courageously. Courage, however, is not the lack of fear. It is the willingness to be afraid and still do what needs to be done. I can feel that you are tremendously brave and do not fear things that most people would. But I also feel that you are tremendously courageous. There is something inside of you that is very afraid and you have not faced it."

  Fear was something that the Denynso were taught from a very young age to push aside. If asked most could not even remember a time in their lives when they were genuinely fearful of something. Fear would keep them from their tasks as warriors, which was what these men were born to do. The more Loralia spoke to him, however, the more Pyra wondered what she was feeling and how much of him she really understood.

  A sense of relief washed over him as the human women arrived, breaking the uncomfortable tension that had built in the room. He wanted to get away from Loralia. He pushed out of the room and down the stairs so that he could talk to Zuri, Samira, and Elianna.

  "Where's George?" he asked.

  "You asked for the human women," Ciyrs told him.

  "He knows her better than any of them do. Go find him."

  Pyra sat down on the edge of one of the large chairs so that he could face the women lined up along the sofa staring back at him.

  "I suppose you all know now that Ivy is missing."

  The women nodded.

  "Elianna told us that she woke up this morning and Ivy was gone," Samira said.

  "It is not just her," Pyra said. "That man who she has been with is also gone."

  "His name is Maxim," Zuri said.

  Pyra turned to her slowly.

  "Maxim," he said. "They somehow got him past the wall that Loralia made and the warrior guards that I positioned at the windows and doors. Did she mention to any of you that she was planning an escape?"

  "An escape?" Zuri asked in a shocked voice. "You said that anyone who wanted to was free to go. That is not escaping."

  "I said that they could go at that moment, and that didn't include the men who were under quarantine."

  "You called for me?"

  Pyra turned toward the masculine voice and saw George standing at the entrance of the living room. He stood and faced the man.

  "Do you know where Ivy is?"

  Genuine shock crossed George's face.

  "What do you mean do I know where Ivy is?"

  "No one told you?" Zuri asked.

  "Told me what?"

  "Ivy and Maxim are missing."

  "How did Maxim get out?"

  "We don’t know."

  "You didn't know that she was missing?" Pyra asked.

  "No. She was so devastated after your outburst yesterday that I thought it might be better to give her some time to herself. I haven't spoken to her since we were in the meeting hall. "

  Pyra felt anger twist in his stomach at George's choice of words, but he pushed the feelings down.

  "We need to find her," he said, keeping his voice as calm and even as he could. "If he keeps changing, she will be in serious danger before too long, and if she somehow finds a way to make it back to Earth with him along, all hell is going to break loose."

  Chapter Ten

  "Do you really think that it is a good idea for us to go back to your kingdom? If we are trying to get away from everyone, why would we go to the first place that they would probably look for us?"

  Ivy watched Maxim rearrange the supplies tucked inside the blanket and roll it back up so that it was more compact.

  "I don't think that they are going to look for us there," he said, giving the ends of the blanket a final tug to ensure that it wouldn't unravel.

  "Why not?"

  "Because I think that they are going to think in the exact same way that you do," he said, walking up to her and tucking a finger under her chin so that she lifted her face to his. "They are going to think that since we are trying to get away it would be far too obvious to go right back to my home. They would assume that even if a despicable creature like me would want to go back there, that a level-minded and in control of all of her faculties human such as yourself would discourage me because that is the first place that they would look."

  "So they won't go looking in the first place that they would look?" Ivy asked, feeling slightly dazed.

  "Exactly."

  Maxim touched a kiss to her lips and Ivy smiled. It made her happy to hear Maxim being playful about the situation, but she still had a heavy feeling in her stomach thinking about going to the kingdom where he grew up. Not only would traveling there require them to go very close to the settlement again, but it would also put them somewhere that Pyra knew how to get to and where they could not easily escape. Considering she knew nothing about Uoria and had no other options, however, Ivy knew that all she could do is place her trust in the man she had fallen in love with and hope that he was right, or that if he wasn't, they would be able to protect each other again.

  Stepping out into the brightness of the new morning made Ivy feel far more exposed than when they were running toward the cave under the protective cover of the night. She felt like there were eyes looking at her from every angle, watching her as they walked away from their shelter. It was as though the blades of grass themselves could see her and were whispering to each other as they bent with the breeze, passing along the information so that they could betray them to Pyra.

  "How far is the kingdom from here?" she asked.

  She hoped that she could distract herself enough to shake the uncomfortable feeling off of her and keep moving ahead more confidently.

  "A few days' walk," Maxim told her. "We should go for a few hours, rest for the afternoon, and then go as late into the night as we can. It will be better if we sleep during the day and travel at night until we get there."

  She felt like Maxim had heard her thoughts and though she knew that he hadn't actually been able to hear her, unlike the Denynso warriors and their mates who actually could communicate with one another simply through their thoughts, it was comforting that he was responding to her needs. She was ashamed to admit it, even to herself, but part of her had taken what Pyra said about his kind deeply to heart. She hadn't wanted to believe a word of it, and still didn't, but when she saw the damaged area of his skin continue to spread and the upheaval in the meeting hall, part of her began to wonder if he really did have the capacity to devolve into something gruesome and terrifying. With each kind word and tender gesture, however, he was separating himself further from this fear and she had the ability to concentrate just on her love for him.

  They walked largely in silence, each concentrating on the area around them and using all of their senses to try to detect if the warriors had found them and were coming after them. The sun was already well into its descent from its noon peak when they found a thicket of trees with a small creek nestled in the moss-covered ground and took refuge in the shade. Ivy rested back against the moss, closing her eyes for a moment and becoming highly aware of a bead of sweat that trickled from her hairline and made its way across her forehead, down her cheek, and onto her lips. She licked it, noting the saltiness that was so close to tears.

  "Is there ever any pattern to the weather her
e?" she asked.

  Just a few days before she had shivered with the cold wind that whipped around her as she walked through the settlement, and now she felt like the sun was singeing her skin with every moment. It was disorienting in a way that seemed to blend time so that she had difficulty knowing just how long it had been since she arrived on the planet or even since she and Maxim had met. She disliked the feeling and again found herself missing Earth, if this time only for the predictability and structure of the seasons.

  Maxim laughed as he carefully unrolled the blanket and removed a few containers including the water canisters that they had already emptied.

  "You'll get used to it," he said.

  "If there's no pattern, there's nothing to get used to," she argued.

  He glanced up at her as he removed the cap from one of the canisters and leaned down toward the creek to fill it with water that was rushing past over the rocks so quickly it faded from its usual jewel tone to a softer lavender that reminded her of Loralia's eyes.

  "That is what you will get used to."

  Ivy smiled at him and took the water that he offered her. She tilted her head back and let a large sip fill her dry mouth and wash down her throat. The taste was pure and slightly sweet, unlike any water that she had ever had at home. It cooled and revived her, and Ivy felt better instantly. She sat up and helped Maxim spread out the food he had chosen for their midday meal.

  "You'll have to let me cook for you sometime," she told him. "I think that you would really like the food on Earth."

  Their eyes met and she saw the hint of sadness in his. Her mood lowered and she reached for his hand.

  "You know that you may never make it back to Earth, right?" Maxim asked softly. "Without the benefit of the university shuttle that brought you here, you really have no transport. And it's not like we can go to the Denynso compound and ask them to call the shuttle for us."

  "I know," Ivy said.

  Though she had been fighting hard with herself trying not to admit it, deep inside she knew that the chances of her getting off of Uoria were very slim. Her decision to run from the settlement was not just running from Pyra and the rest of the Denynso for that moment. It was a decision to run from life as she knew it and everything that she had imagined for her future. She had taken a leap that had her tumbling through the complete unknown.

  Maxim reached for another container out of the blanket and she heard him hiss in pain as the injured area of his arm touched the fabric. He pulled his arm back protectively, clutching it close to him and covering the area with his hand. His eyes slid up to Ivy, his gaze filled with concern as if worried that she had forgotten about the injury and was now going to leave. Ivy put the canister in her hand onto the ground and slid closer to him, resting her head comfortingly on his shoulder.

  "Let's see if we can make that better," she said.

  She reached for his arm, but he pulled it back like he had when he first showed the reaction to her back at the settlement.

  "You can't fix it," he said.

  "Ivy reached again and took his arm, gently pulling it towards her so that she could look at the skin.

  "I can try."

  The place that Ciyrs had touched was still deep, but it no longer looked like an angry open wound. Instead, it had turned to ash, creating a powdery grey gash in the white expanse of skin. She ran the pad of her thumb along the skin. It felt cold and slick, and for a moment she had to withhold a shudder that threatened to roll down her spine. Forcing herself to stay calm, she continued to touch the skin and looked up into Maxim's eyes. As she gazed at him, the uncomfortable reaction to the texture of the skin eased. She took Ciyrs' bag and searched through it, pulling out containers of the healing ointment, additional herbs, and strips of fabric.

  She dipped one of the pieces of cloth into the creek and used it to gently clean the wound, then patted it dry. Remembering how Ciyrs and Elianna had treated the surgical sites of the people after removing the Covra eggs, Ivy coated the wound with the healing ointment, packed it with the herbs, and wrapped it with the other strips of fabric. When she was finished, Maxim drew it against his stomach again and rested his hand against the new bandage.

  "Thank you," he said softly.

  As they walked over the next few days Ivy changed the bandage each time they stopped to rest. The white area of the skin seemed to be getting smaller with each application, and the wound less deep. On the third morning, just after the sun came up, they stepped down into a deep burrow where Maxim said that they could sleep.

  "Are you sure that whatever made this burrow isn't here anymore?" Ivy asked nervously as she followed Maxim down into the dirt cave.

  Maxim laughed and dropped the bags and blanket to the ground.

  "What made this burrow hasn’t been here in a very long time. I promise that you are safe."

  "Let me change your bandage before we go to sleep."

  Even though she was exhausted after traversing a particularly rough and hilly area of the planet, she didn't want to neglect the care of his wound, especially when it was responding so well to the ointments that Ciyrs and the women had made. Maxim sighed and sat down, extending his arm to her dramatically.

  "Don't be like that," she said playfully, taking the end of the bandage and starting to unravel it. "How much farther do we have to go?"

  "Not too far now," Maxim said.

  "You told me that you had never left your kingdom before you started toward the settlement. How do you know how to get around the planet so well?"

  "That is one of the strange things about our elders. They teach us that we should never leave the kingdom, that we should remain close to home except in urgent situations, but they also insist that we know the surrounding areas to the detail. As children we learn the different lands and how to access them as quickly as possible from the kingdom."

  "Maybe that's so if there ever is an emergency, that you will all be safe."

  "I suppose so. With as much as our elders choose to keep from us, I'm glad that they at least gave us that."

  Ivy nodded as the released the final layer of the bandage and pulled it away from Maxim's arm. She gasped, her hand immediately going to touch his skin. The area that had been white and slimy was completely healed. All that was left of the injury was a depression where Ciyrs had burned away Maxim's skin with his touch, and even that was covered over with smooth, even skin. She ran her hand along it, tears forming in her eyes. She kissed his arm tenderly and looked up at him smiling. There was no sign of the horrible reaction to the flowers. Ivy felt her heart soar. This confirmed to her even further that Maxim was not one of the vicious creatures that Pyra said that he was. The transformation from such peaceful beauty to one of the Klimnu was not inevitable, it was not something that they just had to accept and wait for, but something that they could change.

  "Were you really worried that what Pyra said was true?" Maxim asked.

  He didn't sound upset with her, but Ivy felt a tinge of guilt anyway.

  "I don't know anything about this planet, Maxim. I don't know about anything about your kind or the Klimnu or anything. I might for a moment have worried that the reaction was going to spread even more, but I still came for you and I am with you now. Your heart didn't change. Even as the reaction on your skin got worse, you didn't change. You never showed the cruelty or disregard that the Denynso have described in the Klimnu." Her head dropped and she continued to stroke his skin with her fingertips. "I'm sorry."

  "It's alright," he said soothingly. "It's expected for you to worry about something that you don't understand. You didn't lose faith in me, and that's all that matters. No matter what any of them were saying, you knew who I really was and you never let go of that." He tucked a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to look at him. "I will never be able to thank you enough for that."

  Chapter Eleven

  Maxim and Ivy were awake and packing their supplies late that afternoon. Just as the fi
nal flashes of the sunset sank beneath the edge of ground in front of them, they stepped out of the burrow and continued on toward the kingdom. Ivy walked with a renewed sense of purpose, the complete healing of his skin removing the last lingering hints of trepidation that had been tormenting her during their journey. She knew that they were still in danger if Pyra and the other Denynso found them, but at least now she had the confidence of knowing that Maxim was whole and unchanging, that they only needed to find a way to get beyond the seeking eyes of the warriors and they could start their own lives together. She was no longer afraid that she would soon be alone.

  It was nearly midday when Ivy felt Maxim's hand touch her wrist. She looked up from where she had been watching her feet tamping down the blades of grass to mark their progress across the wide, smooth pasture that they were crossing. Ahead of them she saw a faint outline against the sky. It was in the distance, far enough away that she couldn't make out the distinct shapes of anything, but close enough that it was definitely a break in the even monotony of the meadow.

  "That's it," he said, his voice lowered to an almost conspiratorial whisper. "That's home."

  Ivy turned her hand so that she could intertwine her fingers with Maxim's and they started toward the kingdom, their pace quickened by the anticipation of arriving after such a long journey. They closed the distance in what seemed like a matter of moments and finally Ivy could see the kingdom that she had been thinking of since they huddled in the cave wondering what they were going to do next. It was smaller than she had imagined, but beautiful in its meticulous care, and even more so by simply being there. They seemed to be approaching it from one side rather than the front because all Ivy could see was the tops of buildings over a stone wall that was much taller and more pristine than the one at the settlement.

  "Now that I have been to the settlement with the humans I can see just how similar the two places are," Maxim said. "My kind did all that they could to help them make their home here and survive their first years. It had to be terrifying to suddenly be in such an unfamiliar place and know that you are most likely never going to be able to leave it, that it has to be your home whether you want it to be or not."