Telan turned around to see who had taken the deadly bombs off his back. “Do you know how to use those? They are very deadly, so be careful little lady.”
“Yes, back home I was very good with grenades. These are a bit different, do I just push this button,” she pointed to the small bump on the end that appeared to be a trigger mechanism, “then throw it?”
“Yes, make sure you are close enough to them, but far enough from any of our warriors before doing so. You don’t want to accidently kill any of us, do you?” He raised an eyebrow while assessing her arms. She would have to get closer to the action before throwing any at the back of the Insectoid line.
“Don’t worry about me, I know how to throw.” She smiled and ran forward to her front lines, pushed the button, and let it fly. She smiled as she realized the grenade was going to land in the middle of a group of about twenty insectoids who had just come out of the forest.
When the mini bomb went off, because it really was a small bomb, those insectoids she targeted were blown to smithereens. The ground around her shook and she almost lost her footing. She was quite proud of herself and pumped a fist into the air. The next thing she knew, she was on the ground and something large and grotesque was on her back.
Marcon had watched his mate to see what she would do. He was rather proud of her initiative and strength when she threw the grenade into the Insectoid’s flank. But he saw black as soon as one of those who had made it past their front line had tackled her and was on her back. He yelled and dove to drive the Zateelian off his mate.
They fell to the ground next to Maddie. While they were fighting and rolling around Maddie got to her feet and grabbed a knife from the vest of the nearest fighter. She ran to Marcon and the cockroach. It was on top of her mate and she saw something that would haunt her nightmares for a long time to come. Its mouth was opened and some sort of rod was coming out of its open maw, making its way to Marcon’s mouth.
She didn’t even think, she went straight to the thing of nightmares and cut that rod off the face of her enemy before it touched her mate’s mouth. Then she screamed like a warrior princess and started stabbing its neck over and over yelling, “Not this time. Die you butt munching wanktastic bogle extractor!” She continued to stab the thing in its neck so many times, that she decapitated it.
Marcon had to pull the knife out of her hand and get back behind the front lines before another Zateelian could get to them. “Great job! And thank you for saving me, but how about we stay behind the front lines? Let the warriors in the front throw the grenades, alright?”
“No, I will not stay back do nothing while my people fight, and die for me.” Maddie had witnessed one warrior on the front lines go down, she had no desire to see another one die.
In front of them one warrior had been fighting hand to hand, or was it hand to appendage? When out of nowhere the cockroach used it grasshopper-like appendage and speared the warrior through. He died quickly and another warrior who had a long sword cut the head off the cockroach. She almost gagged, but looked away just in time to see two enemies coming too close for comfort to her and Marcon. She pushed Marcon out of the way while she shot her phaser into the nearest bug’s eye. Its head exploded and Marcon used the distraction to shoot at the other cockroach before it could touch Maddie.
Maddie looked to the rear of the insectoids and realized she had the perfect opportunity to throw her last grenade. After she let it fly, a new sound gave her strength and hope. The shuttle was back and firing its laser cannons at the rear of the insectoids. A wicked smile took over and her adrenaline rushed faster as she began to fire at the insectoids around her with renewed faith in their victory. Even as she felt the energy from the grenade and the laser cannon, she kept herself upright and didn’t stumble once.
After the shuttle arrived, the enemy had no hope. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as another twenty warriors repelled down the side of the ship and jumped right into battle with the enemy. Her chest heaved with pride, as she realized that she belonged to a true warrior tribe, again.
It only took about another ten minutes and all of the insectoids were dead. Haver, the shuttle’s pilot, landed the shuttle not too far from the meadow and got out to help clean up the dead carcasses of their enemies.
Chapter 9
By the time Maddie and Marcon, along with the remaining couples, flew back to the settlement, she was exhausted. They had lost nine warriors to the battle, but the enemy lost close to one hundred. It was a successful campaign, but the losses still bothered her. Any loss of her tribe was unacceptable.
“Marcon, now that we know they are still here, what will happen next?” Maddie snuggled next to her future mate. They were at his apartment and sitting on his sofa.
“We will mount an expedition and search the entire continent until we are sure we have eradicated the Zateelians. Once the new warriors arrive with the Commander’s ship, we should have this planet safe again.” He hugged her tight and heaved a sigh.
“This means no more excursions, doesn’t it.” Maddie knew they would have to stay inside the safety of the walls until the planet was secure.
“For you, yes. But for the warriors, we will have to start going out en mass to ensure that there are no more Zateelians.”
“Alright, but for tonight, can I stay here with you? I’m not sure that I’ll be able to sleep after what I saw and did today.”
“Of course, I will sleep on the sofa.” He stood up to grab a blanket and pillow, but was stopped by Maddie.
“No, I want to sleep in your arms.” From the look on Marcon’s face, Maddie thought he was thinking about more than sleep. “Tonight isn’t the night to consummate our relationship, but I don’t want to sleep alone. Can you handle that?” She looked up lovingly into the eyes of the man she knew without a shadow of a doubt was the one for her.
He smiled and said, “Yes, as long as you don’t start kissing me when we are in bed. Then all bets are off.”
She giggled. “When we mate, I don’t want it to be after such a gruesome day. I want it to be the capstone to a wonderful and romantic day.” She reached her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.
He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I will plan something very romantic as soon as you name the date.” Then he kissed her ear and nibbled on her lobe.
She softly moaned and said, “As soon as you can arrange it. I’m ready.”
He pulled back, in shock, not sure if she really meant it or not. “Yes? You are finally ready to become my mate?”
“Yes, Marcon. I am.” She leaned over and kissed him with all of the love she felt for him.
They spent the rest of the evening on the couch kissing and discussing their upcoming nuptials. When they finally made it to bed, Marcon hoped he would be able to restrain himself for the one night. Maddie had finally agreed to mate with him, he only had to wait two more days and then she would be all his.
***
They slept through most of the night with only a few nightmares. Each time Maddie awoke with a start, Marcon was there to wrap his arms around her. The toughest part of the fight had been when she saw the insectoid trying to drive its appendage down his throat. She knew that if it had gotten into Marcon’s mouth, he was dead. That appendage was how they infected the host body with their eggs. That scene played itself in her mind many times throughout her nightmares. Waking up to his arms comforted and calmed her each and every time.
She spent the next two nights with him as she was afraid to sleep alone. But each night the nightmares grew less and less intense. Finally, her last dream the night before her wedding was actually a happy one. Her subconscious knew she was about to marry her true mate and it was happy.
Word made its way around the settlement of their wedding and when she walked into the banquet room that had been dressed up to look like a church, it was full the brim. She smiled and cried as she made her way down the aisle, looking at everyone who had become her friends and family, almo
st overnight.
When she finally looked at Marcon, nothing else mattered. She no longer saw or heard anyone or anything except for the handsome and strong man waiting for her. Maddie picked up her pace, forgetting that she was supposed to walk slowly to him and hugged him when she made it to the end of the long aisle.
Instead of waiting for the Commander to finish the ceremony, Maddie kissed her mate right in front of the entire assembly. Everyone in attendance laughed and cried as they watched the first of many mating ceremonies to come after the latest battle. Everyone knew it wasn’t over and they were far from safe, but for today, they only thought about the love and possible futures of all of those who were now part of their extended family.
The End
Did you enjoy Maddie and Marcon’s story? Want to see what happens when Venay’s new ship arrives? Then come on over to Amazon and pick up book 3, Worlds Entwined now!
Worlds Entwined, Book 3 of the Alpha Alien Abduction Tales
Acknowledgements
I hope you enjoyed this 15K word novella! It was fun to write! A couple of the characters from this book will be seen again in the next one, Worlds Entwined. Can you guess who’s next up to mate? Who might die?
I have to say a huge thank you to Dawnya Goode for beta reading this one for me! I tried to get it out as quickly as possible so that you could read it before book 3. Some of the content in this story sets up book 3.
What do you think of this cover? Pretty amazing, right? I asked my cover artist, Victoria Cooper to use this model but gave her a vague description of the plant life. What she came back with was just fantastic! She must be reading my books! LOL How else would she capture the look and feel of my alien planet so well?
A huge thank you to all of the fantastic people of the world who have read my books! I couldn’t keep doing this without your support!
Worlds Explode Page 5
