by Presley Hall
“I’m so glad I came on this mission,” Cora murmurs as she snuggles against me, her head pillowed on my chest. “It was terrifying sometimes, especially being captured again. It was harder than I expected in so many ways, but it was so worth it. Not only did I succeed in doing my part and helping the women, but I found you too.”
“We found each other,” I murmur, stroking her hair with my metallic hand.
She presses her lips against my chest, then looks up at me. “I love you, Druxik. I’m so glad that you’re mine.”
“I love you too,” I say softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “You will always be enough for me, just as you are. I don’t need anything but you.”
We lie for several more minutes in comfortable silence, basking in the warmth and comfort of each other’s bodies. I feel full of emotions that I never thought I would have, some of which I’m not even sure I have a name for. But all of them lead back to Cora.
I’m the luckiest man in the universe to have been given her as my Irisa.
Just as I’m beginning to doze a little, Cora takes a deep breath and props herself up on one elbow. I open my eyes and look at her, my brows drawing together. She seems almost nervous, and I’m not sure why.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, running one hand gently down her arm. “Is something the matter?”
She bites her lower lip. “I’ve been thinking about it since we left Nierra, and… I’d like to adopt Miri. Her parents are dead, and while it’s good that we were able to get her off Nierra and away from those awful traders, she still needs someone to take care of her. She’s so young.” Cora speaks faster, her voice shaking a little. “I want to raise her, to give her a home and be responsible for her. You remember, I told you that happens sometimes on Earth.”
“I do remember.” I nod, holding her gaze. I can recall that conversation almost word for word—it was the first time Cora told me about why she can’t have children of her own.
“I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to force you to agree,” she adds hastily. “Since we’re mated, this should be a decision the two of us make together, and I don’t want you to feel like I dragged you into it. But Miri doesn’t have any parents or family now, and we’re taking her to a strange place. She’ll be alone, with no one to care for her. No one to love her and support her. So I want us to do it.”
A little of the nervousness leaves her voice as she makes her case, and I’m reminded suddenly of when she barged into the war council back on Kalix to make her argument as to why she should be allowed to take part in the mission. It makes me smile to remember it. I can hear the same thread of excitement in her voice under the nervousness, the determination and resolve. When Cora wants to help someone and believes in a cause, she’s stubborn and passionate.
But it’s one of the things I love most about her.
My mate suddenly stops speaking, breaking off mid-sentence. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks, narrowing her eyes as a flush tinges her cheeks.
Warmth spreads through my chest, a feeling of such intense love that I don’t entirely know what to do with it all.
“Yes,” I tell her without hesitation. “Yes, of course Miri can live with us. We’ll adopt her.” I pause, reaching up to touch Cora’s cheek gently. “I could see a bond forming between you two from the moment she ran into your legs on Nierra. From the moment you wrapped your coat around her and protected her. It all came so naturally to you. That’s why I care so much for you. It’s part of why I love you—because of your heart. Your compassion and devotion to helping others.”
She smiles at me, her eyes glistening in a way that makes the blue-green of her irises dance like water. “You’re sure?”
“Beyond any doubt. The gods have many plans, my Irisa,” I say, still stroking her cheek gently. “Sometimes they’re hard to discern. Sometimes they come with pain as well as joy. But the same twists of fate that caused us to be thrown together and recognize that we were fated to be mates—they also put Miri in our path. We were meant to be her parents. We were meant to love her just as we love each other.”
A huge smile breaks out over Cora’s face, and she presses her lips against mine. I return the kiss eagerly, tangling my fingers in her hair as she wraps herself around me. Her joy is infectious, and I feel the same happiness flood me, a feeling of rightness and completion.
When I left Kalix, I had no one but my fellow warriors.
And now, coming home, I have a family.
Despite the protestations of my cock, I break the kiss before it goes too far, brushing Cora’s hair out of her face.
“We’ll have to find a home, when we get back to Kalix,” I tell her. “One that’s good for a family. I’ve lived in the barracks since I was a child. It’ll be the first time I’ve lived in a house of my own.”
“I can’t wait to have a home with you and Miri. A place of our own—it’s like a dream.”
“No,” I correct her, giving her another kiss. “It’s real. And it always will be.”
A hungry growl leaves my throat as I lean over her, cupping her face in my palm as my lips explore hers. Heat is already building inside my veins again, and I plan to take my time showing Cora just how happy she’s made me.
After all, we have the whole night—and all the ones to come after.
29
Cora
Druxik’s immediate and enthusiastic acceptance of my plan to adopt Miri made me fall in love with him all over again. But after another round of intense, toe-curling sex and a dreamless night spent curled up in his arms, I wake up in the early morning hours full of anxious anticipation.
Today, we’ll find out what Miri thinks of my idea.
I hope she’ll trust us enough to accept that we want what’s best for her, and to understand that we’re not trying to replace her parents—merely to fill a void that their deaths left.
As Druxik and I get out of bed and head over to her room, he takes my hand in his larger one, offering me silent support. I haven’t said a word about the butterflies flapping in my stomach, but I know he can tell I’m nervous. He knows me well enough by now to read the subtle signals of my expression and body language.
“She would be lucky to have you as an adoptive mother,” he says quietly. “Just as lucky as I am to have you as my mate.”
I squeeze his hand, shooting him a quick smile as we reach Miri’s door.
She seems happy and well-rested this morning, and I take her into the bathing room and dress her in some borrowed clothes from my own wardrobe since there are no extra clothes of her size on the ship. After we head back into the main part of the small cabin, I sit her down on the bed so that Druxik and I can crouch in front of her.
“Druxik and I have something we’d like to ask you. We know you loved your parents very much,” I tell her softly. “And we know that you’re sad they’re gone. We would give anything to be able to bring them back to you, and I want you to know that.”
The little girl looks at me with her huge eyes, drawing her lower lip between her teeth.
“But you can’t,” she murmurs. The seriousness of her voice makes her sound much older than she is in this moment.
“No,” I say, stroking her cheek with the backs of my knuckles. “We can’t. But if you want, Druxik and I would like to do something else. Druxik is my mate—like we told you, we’re in love. And when we get back to Kalix, his home planet where we’re going now, he and I will live together.”
Something almost like longing passes over Miri’s expression when I say the word home, and it makes my heart hurt. I know that even if she doesn’t choose to let us adopt her, we’re doing the right thing by asking. She needs to know she’s wanted and accepted. That she’ll have a home on Kalix no matter what.
“We know we can’t ever replace your birth parents, but if you want, we’d like for you to come and live with us there. We want to be your adoptive parents, and love and care for you your whole life. We’ll keep you safe and mak
e sure no one ever frightens you again.” I rest my hands on her knees, looking up at her small face. “But we want to know what you want. Is that something you would like? Do you want to live with us?”
Miri blinks. Tears shimmer in her eyes as her mouth falls open a little.
“Do you mean it?” she asks, shifting her gaze between my mate and me. “You want me to stay with you? You’ll keep me safe?”
“We promise.” The deep rumble of Druxik’s voice is full of nothing but sincerity. He glances at me with eyes full of love before turning his gaze back to Miri. “Cora and I will never let harm come to you ever again. And we want you to have a home with us.”
“You’ll be my parents, now that mine are gone?” Her lower lip trembles a bit as she says the words, but I see hope in her eyes too. “You really want to?”
“Yes.”
Druxik and I both say the word at the same time, and my heart swells with happiness. Hearing him tell me last night that he wanted to adopt Miri was wonderful, but hearing him say the words to her is even sweeter.
“We want that more than anything,” I tell Miri. “We care about you very much.”
There’s a small moment of silence, and I count the heavy beats of my heart as I wait for Miri to speak again. Then the little alien girl holds her arms out to me, snuggling against my chest when I pick her up.
“I… I do want that,” she says in her small voice, looking over at Druxik as she rests her head against my shoulder, her arms wrapped around me. “I want to live with you.”
A few days later, I bring Miri up to the captain’s deck to watch Druxik pilot the ship.
The way she burrowed into my arms when she said that she wanted to live with us, and the way she’s clung to me every moment since, makes my chest ache with both happiness and sadness.
I hate every terrible thing that’s happened to Miri—that she lost her birth parents, that she’s been through so much fear and hurt at such a young age. But I’m grateful that we can give her comfort and safety and love now. Despite everything, she’ll grow up loved and cherished.
And I’m especially grateful that Druxik wants this too. I was nervous in the moments before I shared my idea with him, but I realize now that I shouldn’t have been. He cares for Miri as much as I do, and I know he’ll be an amazing father to her.
When we join him on the deck, he looks over and beams at us. “Ah. My two favorite ladies.”
After setting the controls to autopilot, he pulls Miri onto his lap, letting her poke at the buttons that are safe and gently guiding her hands away from the ones that she shouldn’t touch. I step up closer to them, and he wraps one arm around my waist, pulling me against him as we watch Miri examine the controls with the wide-eyed interest.
“We’re almost to Kalix,” he tells Miri, toying with her curly black hair as she pretends to pilot the ship with one of the levers—one that’s disengaged from the actual controls while it’s on autopilot.
“I can’t wait to see it,” she says enthusiastically. “Do you have a house?”
“Not yet,” Druxik admits with a laugh. “But we’ll pick one out. The three of us. Would you like to help choose a place for us to live?”
“Yes!” Miri squeals, tugging on the lever. “Go faster?”
“We’re going as fast as we can,” Druxik tells her with a deep chuckle. The sound warms my insides, and I smile down at the two of them. They’re already quite the pair.
“Can we fly other places?” she asks.
“Yes. We can go on adventures, when I have the time to do so and it’s safe.” He glances up at me. “What do you say? Do you want to be a family of explorers, Cora?”
“I would love to explore with you,” I say, running my fingers over the base of his horns and making him growl softly. “Nowhere too dangerous though.”
“Dangerous!” Miri chirps, and I can’t help but laugh. She still has moments where her trauma shows, times when she has bad dreams or gets frightened. But she’s strong and brave, and I can see her recovering from her awful experience more and more every day.
“What’s Kalix like?” Miri asks curiously, looking up at us. “Is it pretty?”
“It’s beautiful,” Druxik says. “It’s wild in places, with forests and lakes and rivers, and many wild animals. There are people all over Kalix, a lot of them who live in the wilderness outside the cities. But you’ll live near the capital city with us, where the other warriors and Cora’s friends live.”
“City?” The little girl frowns, her green face scrunching up as she considers his answer. “Is it big?”
“Not too big,” I tell her. “But there are lots of things to do there. You’ll meet the king and queen of Kalix. The queen is one of my friends.”
“Ohhh.” Her eyes go wide. “A queen?”
“Yes, Queen Emma. And I’ll take you to my favorite place to eat, where they have delicious breads filled with sweet things. And to the market, where we can buy flowers and things for the house. It’s huge, and there are all kinds of food, fabrics, and knickknacks.”
“And when you’re older,” Druxik tells her with a smile, “I’ll teach you how to pilot a smaller ship. And I’ll teach you how to fight, just a little, if you like.”
“My friend Jade can help with that too,” I offer, thinking of Emma’s friend Jade. She’s the only one of us Terran women with an aptitude for combat, and I know her mate Brele sometimes takes her to the ring near the palace to train with him.
“You can do anything you want,” Druxik tells Miri, smoothing her hair as he looks down at her. She beams up at him, seeming thrilled by the prospect. “You can be anything you want. We’ll always love you, no matter what.”
For the next several minutes, Miri peppers us with more questions about Kalix, her eyes shining with excitement as we paint a picture of the planet for her.
“Can we see the wilderness?” she asks, twisting a little on Druxik’s lap to look at me.
“Well, Prince Brele lived out there for a while,” I say, grimacing a little. “Maybe we can all go for a little hike sometime—but not too far. Not far enough to risk running into one of those weird bears Jade told me about.”
“Be-ars.” Miri says the word strangely, cocking her head as she rolls it around on her tongue, and I laugh.
“Krauks, they’re called,” Druxik says, his rich brown eyes shining with amusement. “But hopefully we’ll never see one of those. I promised to keep you both safe, and I’d be neglecting that vow if I let you wander into krauk territory.”
Miri’s eyes go round. I love seeing the anticipation in her eyes as we talk about Kalix, and her curiosity. She’s been through so much, but she’s more resilient than I could ever have imagined. Despite the awfulness she’s seen in the universe and the pain she’s suffered, she can still let herself feel happiness and hope, and I’m so grateful for it. I want her to feel that way every day for the rest of her life, and I know Druxik feels the same.
As I watch the two of them, listening to Druxik tell her more about Kalix and Jocia and what our lives will be like there, I can feel my own excitement growing at the thought of what my life will be like on Kalix now, when we get back.
When we get home.
Everything will be different—but in the best way possible.
As I lean closer to Druxik, overwhelmed with happiness, I feel his body react unconsciously, leaning toward mine as well. He’s always drawn toward me, just as I am to him.
I smile down at them both as my heart swells in my chest, my emotions overflowing. I never thought I’d have a family, and even though the one I’ve found is as far from traditional as I could’ve possibly imagined, that doesn’t matter in the slightest to me.
Because it’s mine.
And it’s the most perfect thing I could ever have hoped for.
Epilogue
Brooke
Slowly, very slowly, I come back to consciousness.
I’m groggy and disoriented, my mind too fuzzy to form comp
lete thoughts yet. I blink as I slowly sit up, pressing my palms against the cold stone floor beneath me. My entire body aches, my muscles screaming in protest at every little movement.
It takes me a second to remember what happened. The lingering pain, along with the last vestiges of whatever I was drugged with, slow my recollections. But then the memories come back in a rush, flooding my mind with vivid images and sounds. My breath catches, and I choke back a cry of dismay.
Fuck. The rescue.
The almost-rescue.
I remember escaping from the warehouse, running through the streets with the other captive women and those strange bronze-skinned aliens with the curved horns. I remember the fighting, the blood, the clash of weapons and sound of blaster fire.
And most of all, I remember the fear.
I hesitated for just a second when we reached the ship, just the barest fraction of a second. Who could blame me? I don’t trust any aliens, and the woman who claimed to be friends with the bronzed warriors wanted us to get on a ship with them so we could go to another strange place. For all I know, they could’ve planned to keep us as sex slaves or sell us themselves.
For a split second, I doubted whether I could trust our supposed rescuers, and my racing footsteps slowed.
It was just the tiniest of pauses, a subconscious moment of doubt… but it was long enough for one of the guards to wrap a meaty hand around my arm and pull me back. One of the bronzed aliens tried to grab me, but it was too late. My captors had reclaimed me, and the ship was leaving.
I tried to get free. I remember fighting against the guards, struggling hard enough that they had to drug me again. They couldn’t even get close enough to put that awful cloth over my face again; they had to shoot a tranquilizer dart into me. I would have bitten the hand off anyone who tried to smother me with that cloth.