The Alien's Revenge: A SciFi Alien Warrior Romance (Drixonian Warriors Book 4)

by Ella Maven

  Somewhere in the difference, a welf howled. Ward’s mate, Reba, gripped the neck fur of her welf as she sniffed the air and whined.

  Daz swallowed, and while he held himself in check, he visibly shook with his fists clenched tight at his sides and his scales rioting into a cascade of colors. “Drak said he saw you conspiring with the Uldani and had him beat so badly he couldn’t defend himself. After we cast him out, you sought to silence him forever. Is that correct?”

  Crius’s head hung between his shoulders. “Yes.”

  “Drak?” Daz called. “Is there anything you want to say to him?”

  No there wasn’t. The revenge I’d sought had soured in my gut, and I didn’t like how it made me feel. I shook my head.

  Daz shoulder heaved as he continued. “You are also accused of purposefully conspiring with the Uldani’s for them to take one of our females. Do you deny it?”

  “No,” Crius said, softer this time.

  Gar’s grip tightened on Crius’s arm, and he winced.

  “Miranda,” Daz called. “Is there anything you want to say to Crius?”

  “Yeah,” she shouted. “You’re a motherfucking bastard.”

  Frankie covered a laugh with a cough, and Tabitha cackled until Justine shot her a dark look.

  “Why?” Daz asked, a slight plea in his voice that pricked at my scalp. “Why would you betray your clavas?”

  Crius clenched his jaw, and just when I thought he would remain silent, he said, “Sometimes we have to do what’s best for one and not all.”

  Daz shook his head. “That’s not the Drixonian way. We have adapted to new ways and will continue to adapt, but one thing will always be true—She is All. And never betray your fellow warrior. You failed both.” He rose to his full height. “Crius, you are cast out of the Night Kings. You are not welcome within our borders and your name will be sent to the other Drixonian clavases, so they know you are not to be taken in.” He reached out and ripped the tag from Crius’s arm with a sharp tug. “If we see you again in our territory, you will be killed. You have until nightfall to reach our borders.” He nodded at Ward and Gar.

  They removed his chains as the gates opened. The warriors standing at the front of the group closed rank, cutting Crius off from venturing further into the clavas. The only way he could go was out. Forever.

  Instead of Crius walking, I saw myself. Stumbling with pain, heartsick and nauseous, Daz could have torn my heart out and I wouldn’t have noticed the difference. The gates closed, and I flinched, remembering the sound that had been like a stab in my gut. My clavas had meant everything to me—I’d been a loyal scout, known for my stealth.

  Alone, I had no one. Nothing. After Crius slashed my throat, I’d wandered for rotations, maybe an entire cycle, eating nothing but leaves and rotten fruit that had dropped to the forest floor.

  When I’d found the spring with the falling qua—I’d been taken aback at the beauty of the place. That was the only reason I’d kept myself alive. I’d found a sanctuary. And with it, I’d focused on the revenge I’d one day seek.

  “Drak?” said a soft voice. I snapped back to present to find the gates closed and Miranda cupping my cheek as she searched my eyes. “You okay?”

  I swallowed, nodding with jerky movements. Over her shoulder, I saw Daz stride toward me, Frankie at his side.

  “I know I can never give back what I took from you—”

  “Crius.” I interrupted him. “He took.”

  Daz nodded. “But I was a part of it. I know I can’t give you what you lost back, but I hope seeing Crius answer for what he did helps you be more comfortable here.”

  I nodded, unsure what to say. I wasn’t comfortable. I sought my roof and my stars with Merr-anda’s warm naked body next to mine. I wanted to bathe in my spring while Merr-anda lay on the rocks with the sun shining on her skin.

  “Tomorrow,” Daz said. “I’d like you to show us where the Kulks attacked you. We need to find out if more are in the area to see if they left any behind. You were one of our best scouts before, so not only can you lead us to the right area, but you can help us try to determine their goal and where they might have gone next.”

  Vague memories in shadows flitted through my mind. Daz had often called upon me to handle the more difficult areas of our territory. It was why I’d been where I was on that day when I’d seen Crius with the Uldani.

  My skills had only improved in the ten cycles I’d been on my own. While I’d felt out of place since returning, I latched onto the purpose he’d given me with my claws. I nodded immediately. “I will. They burnt … my hut.”

  “He’d built a home in the trees,” Merr-anda added. “Above ground. They couldn’t reach it, so I’m guessing they set fire to it to smoke us out. Good thing we weren’t there at the time.”

  “Tomorrow,” Daz said. “Now, we relax.”

  “We’re going to have a celebration tonight,” Frankie said, her eyes shining as she glanced between me and Merr-anda. “To welcome you home, Drak. Xavy’s spirits and a bonfire. Maybe Sax will tell us a story like he sometimes does.”

  Merr-anda’s fingers closed around my wrist. Her bloom quivered with excitement. She liked this idea, so I’d go along with it.

  “Great idea,” Merr-anda said. “Do you need help with the food?”

  “Sure, if you want. Justine is being a tyrant in the kitchen. Tab didn’t chop the herbs fine enough, apparently.”

  Merr-anda laughed. “Oh, I’ll show her fine.” She turned to me. “Want to watch us cook? We’re generous with samples.”

  I nodded. I didn’t care about the food, but I enjoyed the way Merr-anda lit up around the other females. Her eyes shone, and her bloom brightened. She loved her friends, and I wished I could remember what that was like. Sometimes I’d get flashes of talking with Ward, and his smile, but that was it. Maybe fifteen cycles had been too long for our friendship bond to last.

  “Merr-anda, Drak, wait up!” Reba walked quickly toward us, her welf pet bumping into her legs as she walked, nearly knocking her over. In a flash, Ward was at her side, wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. She rolled her eyes at him, muttering, “I wasn’t going to fall.”

  “Your balance is terrible,” Ward said.

  “You try carrying extra weight in an awkward place,” she groused at him before turning to me with a kind smile. “Hi, Drak. I’m Reba.” She waved a small hand at me. I wasn’t sure how to return the greeting, so I nodded back. I did a lot of nodding.

  “Um,” she bit her lip and glanced at Ward. “I wanted to thank you. Ward said it was you who dropped the numa mat on him when we were being attacked by the hunners. You…you saved his life. And now knowing your story, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you walked away. But you didn’t. That shows me…” she smiled at Merr-anda. “It shows me you have a good heart. I’m sorry seems very inadequate for what you went through, but I am sorry. I’m glad the truth is now known.”

  Merr-anda hugged Reba, murmuring some words in her ear. Reba pulled away, wiping her eyes before nudging Ward forward with a strong elbow jab. He jolted forward, shooting her an annoyed glare before meeting my gaze.

  “Drak,” he said softly.

  I didn’t respond.

  He sighed heavily and scratched his head, a pained twist to his lips.

  Reba tugged on Merr-anda’s arm. “Why don’t you two talk? We’ll be in the kitchens when you’re through catching up … and all.” She turned big eyes to Merr-anda, who was watching me closely. I gave her a nod, and with a swift smile, turned and hurried away with her friend.

  Ward watched them go longingly, then straightened his spine with a determined clench to his jaw. “I don’t know where to start. But Reba is right—thank you for what you did when we were under attack from the hunner horde. When I spotted you, I could barely believe my eyes. Why did you help?”

  “Female,” I rasped. “Didn’t remember much … but that … She is All … I remembered.”

 
He shook his head. “I should have known. I never thought it made sense that you would betray us, but Crius had been so convincing, and you wouldn’t deny it. I don’t think I ever got over it. We were close. I don’t know if you remember, but you used to give all your scouting reports to me. While Gar was off being Gar and Sax and Xavy were getting into trouble, we’d sit by the fire with some spirits and fantasize about what we’d do if we ever got back to Corin.” He cocked his head and his eyes held a bit of hope. “Do you remember?”

  I swallowed, searching hard in the bright light of my mind. I wanted to remember, more than anything. I had a glimpse of the clavas fire flickering in his eyes as he sat beside me, but that was it.

  “Maybe … with time,” I said.

  Ward’s face fell, but he quickly wiped it clean.

  “I’m sorry, I—”

  “Don’t be sorry,” Ward bit off, his eyes turning stormy. “Don’t you flecking be sorry for anything. You never betrayed this clavas. When it mattered, you saved me, Reba, and Merr-anda. Crius has the blood of his own on his hands, but yours are clean.”

  He reached out and clasped me around the back of the neck, drawing our foreheads together. When they touched, he exhaled, and I closed my eyes.

  “A lot has changed, Drak,” he said softly. “But my loyalty to you remains. If you need anything, you just ask me. I don’t blame you if you don’t feel like you can trust us again, but I hope you find it in yourself to forgive us.” He pulled back to stare me in the eyes. “I’ll never forgive myself for not fighting for you harder. All I can say is I’ll spend the rest of my life at your side.”

  Miranda

  I was elbow-deep in a type of biscuit dough when Drak strode into the kitchens. His eyes came to me immediately, and he came to my side. His nostrils flared as he drew closer, and immediately dipped his head to sniff the mixture. He jerked back and his eyes went wide, a small smile tilting his lips.

  “It smells good, right?” I asked. “We use antella fat and your harriker seeds which taste a lot like our wheat when ground down in a powder. That’s how we make flour.”

  “It was Justine’s idea,” Naomi said, placing a tray near me so I started assembling the biscuits. “Nero sneaks in and steals them all the time. They are his favorite, and since the guy makes zero noise, he gets away with it.”

  “Wait until you try them,” I told Drak. “We flavor them with a little guara rind and some other herbs.”

  Drak reached his hand inside the bowl and I smacked it. “No way.”

  He frowned at me and gestured to my hands. “But you.”

  “Yeah, but I cleaned them first,” I said.

  Drak looked so hurt and I nearly laughed. “Just wait until their baked. They taste better that way. I promise.” I tempered my words with a kiss on the cheek. That seemed to appease him.

  “I wasn’t … interested in this,” he said, waving a hand around the kitchen bustling with the women and a few males. “But the food … different.”

  It had been clear when we arrived that while the males could cook, they certainly didn’t experiment. They ate mostly whole fruits and meat. They hadn’t bothered to use herbs or find a grain to mill. They’d previously been employed by the Uldani who provided rations and after that, it’d been a war where they got by with whatever was easiest to procure.

  Us Earthers wanted more—spices, sauces, and a little variety on our food pyramid. A lot we learned from Anna, who had ten years of experience on us. Ever since we started cooking, the Night Kings could barely stay out of the dining hall. It got to the point Daz put them all on a schedule which included regular exercise since a lot of the food we made had some, uh, extra calories. Oops. Couldn’t have out-of-shape Drixonians, I guessed.

  Drak looked around the kitchen in wonder, watching as Frankie pulled a tray of cookies out of the wood-burning oven. Tabitha hummed to herself as she stirred a large pot of flavored meat on an oven-type device we’d had Hap make.

  As I watched Drak, my smile faded, remembering that for ten years he’d lived on only food he had handled himself. Antella meat he’d hunted and dried. Fruit he’d picked. He hadn’t had time to play around with ingredients on this planet—he’d only been trying to survive.

  I swallowed and focused on my biscuits. I had to make these huge—about the size of a dinner plate—as sandwiches for the Drixonians. On nights like this, we’d set out a buffet line in the dining hall. They’d file in with large leaves as plates, help themselves to a heaping sandwich full of meat along with whatever sides we made and carry it out to mill around the large fire in the center of the compound.

  “Drak?” I called.

  He stepped to my side immediately.

  I gestured to the pail and cup in the corner. “Wash your hands and you can help me make these biscuits, okay?”

  He followed my instructions immediately, washing halfway up his arms with such concentration, that I had to cough to cover my laugh. He returned to my side with his hands stretched out in front of him, so he didn’t touch anything.

  After that, I showed him how to make the biscuits. He was a quick study, but I didn’t miss when he stole a ball of dough and popped it into his mouth when he thought I wasn’t looking.

  When he tasted it, he smiled.

  The sun was set by the time the clavas gathered around the fire to eat their meal. There was minimal talking as everyone ate, and I never got over the sight of the big strong Drixonians sitting with their leaf-plates balanced on their knees and the sauce from the meat dripping down their chins.

  Tabitha sat with her sandwich half-eaten, her hand propped on her chin as she gazed around the fire.

  “Tab, are you not hungry?” Naomi asked. We made smaller biscuits for us, which the guys would eat in literally one mouthful.

  “Oh, I’m hungry.” Tab said. “But I made this meat with extra sauce on purpose and I’m not missing it.”

  “What are you talking about?” Justine crunched a mouthful of crispy yona chips.

  “We don’t serve napkins on purpose.”

  “Yeah,” Frankie said. “Because the guys clean their faces with their tongues—” Her eyes went wide. “Oh.” She started laughing. “Tab, you’re ridiculous.”

  “I’m not ridiculous!” Tab cried. “I don’t have any of those tongues to my lonesome, so I’m going to sit here and enjoy the show, okay? Go back to eating and leave me to my porn in piece. Jerks.”

  Drak wasn’t paying attention to our words. I watched as he took a large bite, chewed, and then unfurled that devilish tongue to catch a drop of sauce that was about to drip off his chin. His piercings glimmered in the flames of the fire. He must have felt eyes on him because he glanced up to find me, as well as Naomi and Tabi, staring at him. He slowly drew his tongue back into his mouth and cocked his head with a questioning look. I burst into laughter.

  After that, I indulged in Xavy’s spirits. Lately he’d been influenced by our activities in the kitchen and had begun flavoring his spirits. So, while they still burned up my entire esophagus and probably took about ten years off the life off my kidneys, at least they had a nice aromatic citrus hint to them like a bootleg White Claw.

  I offered some to Drak, but he shook his head, and I got it; he remained wary of this place and these warriors. But for me, I needed to kill off some steam and that meant getting a little blitzed and dancing with my girls while we sang a cappella mashups of our favorite songs. Well, the non-preggers humans could drink. The knocked-up ones got to bust a gut laughing at our antics.

  My signature was “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé because I knew the entire dance. I added my own choreography flair too, and just managed to stay on my feet when Naomi—who went the wrong direction on her Uh-Ohs—crashed into me.

  She wrapped her arms around me, big brown eyes glassy from the spirits and a smile so wide, she lit up the dark. “Missed you. So much. You’re back, and now we’re all whole again.”

  I tugged her hair. “I’m back.”

&nbs
p; “Don’t leave me again,” she said.

  My response was on the tip of my tongue, to say, Of course not. But then I remembered Drak and our conversations. I glanced up, searching for him, but not finding him in the seat where I’d left him. The sun of his aura gave off an intense glare, spitting out angry flares every now and then.

  So, I didn’t answer, only squeezed her tightly as the spirits churned in my stomach. By the time I’d forced myself to sober up a bit after downing a whole bunch of qua and shoving a leftover sandwich in my mouth, I went in search of Drak, finally finding him sitting at the edge of the cliff, staring out over the moonlight rippling off the surface of the freshas, which was what they called their ocean. Drixonians weren’t seafaring. Apparently, the sea had its own hierarchy of alien life, and the Drixonians weren’t a part of it. I was fine with that. Boats weren’t my thing anyway.

  I plunked down next to him cross-legged. He sat with his knees cocked, wrists braced on his knees.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I should have been paying—”

  “No,” he grunted. “Your happiness … laughter…” his eyes closed briefly. “It was good for you.”

  “But you’re not happy.”

  He turned to me and cocked his head. “Do I need to be?”

  I frowned. “What do you mean? Of course, you should be happy.”

  “I don’t remember...” He sighed. “Even before…was I happy?”

  “Before you were cast out?”

  He nodded.

  I thought for a minute. “Do you know what it feels like to be happy? Can you remember ever being happy?”

  “When I was … chit … with mother.”

  I smiled. “Okay, and how would you describe when you’re happy?”

  “Content…” he said. “Not … defense. No fighting.”

  “Is there another time you remember being happy?”

  “With you,” he answered quickly. “On my roof. In the hot spring.” His lips turned up and his aura calmed as a serene smile stretched across his face. “Happy.”

  “I was happy there too,” I said wistfully.