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But those earbuds turned out to be my undoing. Lodged firmly in my ears, music pumping, I didn’t hear them coming. I didn’t stand a fucking chance.
We were nobodies on Earth, and we were about to be nobodies who died on a faraway planet.
I saw her. And it was like everything else ceased to exist. There was no sea of sand, no zeelk, no sky or sun or cliffs. There was only her, shining like a single star in darkness. Shining like a beacon, a sign, a glorious explosion of destiny.
My priority now was to get my mate out of the fray and away from here as quickly as possible. But that would mean leaving her kind behind, and that was something that could not stand.
I liked witnessing the fire of spirit that made her run against all odds. But I did not appreciate that she was currently running from me.
“Get your hair under control, woman, or I will be forced to sheer it off with my blade.” The thought of changing anything about her physically pained me, but as stray strands of her hair got sucked into my mouth, causing me to choke, I realized that it may be necessary.
I squinted, still holding tight to my squirming, biting woman,
I was finally able to fully take in the sensation of having my mate pressed against me. Even the useless bite of her tiny teeth felt good, and I tightened my arm’s hold on her,
My strangely pretty mate had not yet learned that there would be no escape from me.
What a strange and sublime creature fate had chosen as my mate. A creature with skin the colour of milk. And blood the colour of poison. Never had I known, in all my war-filled life, a poison quite this sweet. So sweet I’d gladly let it kill me. Over and over again.
The men who’d told me of this bond’s power, who’d warned me of this lovesickness, had not exaggerated. My entire body, my very existence, was for her, now. How could she not see that? And how could she not feel the same?
I was bending my head, muttering her name against her hood, my arm tightening around her waist when I smelled it. The scent normally intoxicating, but in this moment, horrific. Zeezee’s blood.
It would have been so easy to just lay there and never get up again. Well, it would have been easy if a certain alien weren’t going into nuclear meltdown mode above me. He was kneeling at my side, his face twisted in a manic snarl, growling and snapping his jaws,
But that blackness wasn’t cold. Not at all. It cradled me with warm arms and echoed with the alien whisper of my name.
If she dies, there will be no salvation from my rage.
I knelt next to Rika, grasping one of Zeezee’s hands and pressing her tiny knuckles to my forehead. After a moment, I lowered her hand back down, carefully, so carefully, before turning my attention to Rika.
Maybe he took me home and dumped me off with his mom.
mom in law meeting time!!😍
I always knew my crush on the fox in Robin Hood would come back to bite me in the ass.
you mean nick wilde??😏
if trying to get it just right, she said our word for “hello.” My tail thumped the sand, warmth filling my chest. She must have learned that today with Rika. What a glorious thing, to have your mate waiting for you at your tent, ready to greet you like that. Such happiness was almost beyond comprehension.
ready to greet you with the word “hello” 😍😍😍 what joy
I would learn every intricacy of her kind. I would learn exactly how to provide for her. I would spend the rest of my life making sure something like that never happened again.
We would likely be back before sunrise, but I had brought Zeezee’s shielding cloak all the same, as well as the hard shells she wore on her feet during the day. The fabric garments she wore between her feet and the shells were wearing thin in places, so I’d fashioned her new ones from the softest, thinnest parts of the dakrival hide. I’d reinforced her leg garments with much tougher dakrival leather along the inner thighs, cutting away the bloodied parts, and had crafted a saddle of sorts using a frame of bone and more heaped layers of leather.
I’d copied the design of the ones she’d come with, and the ones I made seemed far better constructed, the fabric softer and also more durable. But clearly I had done something wrong. “I can adjust them. Give them here.”
Was she asking who had made her garments? I couldn’t see why that mattered. “I made them last night.” I gestured to myself.
A strong warrior who seemed addicted to giving me pleasure, who’d made me a pair of freaking socks, plus new pants and a saddle? My last boyfriend couldn’t have even been bothered to take the trash out.
good thing he ended up deciding to take the ultimate trash out. himself.
The need to kill. He had hurt my Zeezee. It was time for him to die.
hello, my name is inigo montoya. you killed my father. prepare to die.
If you die, I will wander the sands forever bereft without you.
You must live. You must fight. You must. You must.”
Being able to speak with you is a treasure I could not have fathomed. I did not think I would ever get to talk to my mate.”
His face softened. “And then, some days after that, I found you. And my life has been bathed in glory ever since.”
he’s such a sweet-talker
Had he been saying stuff like this to me the whole time? I might not have fought his advances off so much if I’d known that I was bathing his life in glory.
“Based on what you said, I am in love with you. I feel that I must be the most in love of any warrior who has ever lived. How does a human warrior make his woman be in love?” Whatever it was, I would do it. Zeezee groaned.
“But how does it happen?” I could not keep the growl of irritation out of my voice. All this talk of falling and time was making me impatient. I wished to understand immediately so that I could make Zeezee be in love with me right now.
“Where do I fall in these stages?” She stiffened again, her words coming haltingly. “Um, well, I definitely would say that... I like you a whole lot.” Satisfaction snapped in me like a cord pulled taut. Pride surged, and I held my weapon a little higher with my free hand. “This is good,” I grunted. “For you I am only one step away from in love, then. I am very close.”
I ignored her words, grinning as I looked out over her head. She could not take away the fire of hope blazing in my chest, now. Zeezee liked me a whole lot.
“Clearly because you are perfect. And you are the perfect mate for me.”
“I will not tie you up, my beautiful mate. I will not make you stay here with me. But you should know that, if you flee, I will always follow. No matter where you run, I will find you. I will not force you to live as my mate, but I will always be at your side. Until the very end of my days.”
“You could say something, you know,” I whispered, anxiety pulling at me. Buroudei sucked in a great breath. “Forgive me, Zeezee. You have broken open my world and put it back together again. Your words have forged futures I never thought I’d live to see. It is difficult to speak.”
“No, it’s true. I couldn’t speak your language then.” “Then how do you speak with us now? You only have one tongue. It does not seem like you would learn our language so easily.” My pride flared in defensive anger. How dare he insult my mate’s perfect, single tongue.
“Mmm. Tastes like steak.” I did not know what steak was, but the eroticism of the image before me led me to think it was something to do with mating.
Oh honey💀
“Doesn’t sound like a complete plan to me. You left something out. Or someone.” “And what, or who, is that?” I asked dryly. I already knew the answer. “Me. I’m coming with you.”
Pride replaced my dismay. My little warrior, willing to go to such lengths for her people.
