by Stacy Jones
“I saw a town not far ahead so we will need to be careful of any stray Earthians, but I think a respite is in order before we continue on,” he announced.
“Sounds good to me. But, speaking of continuing on, where are we going?”
“I had not anticipated returning, but I believe my cabin would be the safest place for us. I also have any tools you might need to make the beacon operational.”
“Uh huh, and your cabin is where?”
“Ah. It is in the Kootenai National Forest, in the region you call ‘Montana.’”
“And you’re sure it’s secure?” she pressed.
“Very. I built it myself in a very remote area so there are no records of its location or construction, and the chances of an Earthian stumbling onto it are slim.”
“Good.”
Mira felt better knowing their destination, at least for the short term. It spoke to how much she trusted Zaek that his describing the cabin as remote didn’t alarm her. If he had a nefarious bone in his giant body, she would’ve seen or at least sensed it by now. The human men chasing them were the real threat, and she knew it. Zaek was the only thing standing between them and her untimely death.
Taking a seat on the ground, she leaned back against a tree trunk and stretched her legs out in front of her. Zaek sat opposite her against another tree and extended his legs out alongside hers. Pulling off their respective bags, they passed items back and forth and had a midnight forest picnic by the light of the moon. They ate in companionable silence for a while until Mira filled her empty stomach enough to focus on curiosity instead of hunger.
“So, can I ask what you’re doing here? On Earth, not here here.”
He chuckled at her unnecessary clarification before his smile slowly melted away, and a serious expression fell over his harsh face.
“My people—the Khargals—are, or at least were, at war with the Ektops. They inhabit one of the planets in our system. My home, Duras, is harsh. Over time, resources have become scarce and insufficient to support the population. But, our neighboring planet, Niruba, is lush and has abundant resources. Unfortunately, the Ektops believe they have a claim on Niruba, though being that it is situated between our planets, I have never been able to understand how they came to that conclusion. They are wholly unwilling to share. So, we went to war.”
“That’s awful. I’m sorry,” she murmured.
“The war lasted longer than anyone could have predicted. The situation on Duras was becoming dire, so seven exploratory missions were sent out to find a planet with the resources we need, collect them, and bring them home to tide us over until the war ended. My crew and I did not have success at first, so it was decided we would venture farther out. We finally found a planet that had what we needed, but as we were passing Earth, we were hit by a severe solar flare. Our sensors did not warn us, and the electromagnetic pulse caused catastrophic damage to our systems. We were pulled into your orbit and crashed in the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of France. Many of the crew died that day. That was roughly a millennium ago.”
She gaped at him, and sputtered, “A thousand years ago?”
“Mmm.” He didn’t seem to notice her shock and continued the story. “The rescue beacon was lost in orbit. We have waited all these years for it to fall so we could send a distress signal to Duras. Which you did,” he ended with a small but grateful smile.
Mira was stunned. That was not at all what she’d expected to hear. She thought he was here by himself to retrieve alien technology from human possession and assumed the device was comparable to a deep space probe that had somehow crashed to Earth.
“So now what?”
“We need to repair the beacon so it can send out a signal to my brethren’s sigils and alert them to impending rescue. Duras will have sent a return signal by this time with coordinates to the retrieval location, as well as when to expect them, but the beacon must be fixed for me to access that information.”
“That’s… wow. Okay.”
Mira wanted to say the most prominent emotion she felt was sympathy or even horror at what he and all his people must have endured being stranded on an alien planet for a thousand years, but that would’ve been a lie. She did feel those things, intensely, but they weren’t foremost. Even the realization that there was no way she was asking to take the device back to the higher ups at Area 51, now that she knew its purpose, wasn’t paramount. Understanding she’d have to come up with an alternate plan of survival was beyond daunting, yet, it wasn’t at the top of the pile of emotions making her chest feel tight.
No, what she felt the strongest was sadness, which was almost unbearably selfish and made her feel like an asshole, because she was sad for herself.
It wasn’t until the impossibility of a relationship was revealed to her in inarguable transparency that she realized she was secretly hoping for just that, despite her efforts to convince herself it wasn’t going to happen. She didn’t care if Zaek was an alien. Well, not true, exactly. Him being an alien added to his appeal for her.
She liked him. A lot. She wanted to see if there was something between them, if there was something meaningful in the instant connection she felt.
“Mira?”
Jerking her head up to look at Zaek, she found him leaning forward and frowning at her in concern. Realizing he’d been trying to get her attention for a second, she winced.
“Sorry, I guess I zoned out there.”
“I asked if you were ready to move on.”
“Oh. Sure. Yeah.”
She had more questions for him, including her proposal that he provide her with enough information to appease General Harrison, but they were pushed aside for a later time by the sense of loss that swept through her, however silly and illogical she tried to tell herself it was.
24
Zaek
They traveled most of the rest of that night before they stopped to sleep. At Mira’s insistence, they took turns keeping watch. Late the next morning, they worked on the beacon for a while before walking until night fell. Zaek could tell she was tiring fast, that she wasn’t accustomed to so much activity followed by insufficient sleep. He offered to carry her, but she politely refused. He wanted to slow down for her, but he knew that was dangerous. Thank Lar, they were getting close to his cabin.
Better to push on and let her rest in the safety of my home.
He noticed she was quieter than usual during that last leg of their journey and seemed a bit glum. He assumed that was from learning of her people betraying her. He didn’t know how to make her feel better, so rather than possibly saying the wrong thing and making her feel worse, he left her to her thoughts and focused on devising a strategy to convince her to go with him when he left this planet. If she refused, he would have to stay on Earth with her. He was willing to do so, but… he really didn’t want to. He missed Duras something fierce. He wanted to go home, but more than that, he wanted to show her the beauty of his planet.
They’d been on the run for seven days and seven nights. It was very early morning on the eighth day that they finally arrived at his cabin. Mira had fallen asleep at some point in the last hour. He tried to land gently so as to not disturb her, but she jerked awake with a snort and darted a bleary look around the second he touched down.
“You are safe, Fluffy Bunny. We have arrived at my cabin,” he murmured reassuringly, petting her braided hair to calm her.
“I fell asleep,” she groaned, stating the obvious.
“Mmm. You are tired,” he responded, wisely deciding not to mention she had not only fallen asleep but also drooled on him.
Untying her harness, he tenderly lowered her to her feet but kept a hand on her shoulder, under the pretense of steadying her in case she stumbled. In reality, he had become hopelessly addicted to having her close and found that it physically pained him to not be touching her.
Being in near-constant, physical contact with her over the last few days, particularly after not having had any prolonged interacti
on with another being in so long, was having an intense effect on him. That she was his mate, something he now accepted as irrefutable, meant his attachment to her was quickly reaching levels one might refer to as obsessive. He, personally, found this development more than agreeable, but he also knew humans did not have a decisive way of identifying their mate as Khargals did. He thought Mira liked him, but did she like him as much as he liked her? That he was not at all sure of. In fact, he was almost positive she could not possibly like him with the same fervor he felt for her, otherwise her having affection for him would not be in question.
So, in an effort to avoid spooking her, he decided to employ the tactic of subtlety. In warfare, he was quite adept at being stealthy and furtive to avoid alerting the enemy to his intentions. With Mira, he was finding it more difficult.
She was just so fucking adorable he almost could not bear it at times. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and squeeze her, then feed her as many doses of dassa—mating fluid—his gland would provide so she was tied to him forever and could never ever get away and leave him alone again.
But those would be the actions of a dishonorable male, and he was not that.
Instead, he resolved to lose what remained of his sanity while he anxiously waited for some sign that she was developing feelings for him.
Zaek deactivated the security system then held the door open for her. Quickly shutting and locking it behind them, he stayed close and watched her reactions as she glanced around and took in the home he’d built for himself.
Flicking on the lights, he trailed her as she wandered from the foyer to the open living room then into the connecting kitchen. He tried to see it from her eyes. He’d stolen only what he had to have for construction and gathered the rest himself, harvesting wood and stone from the land around him, but because time was something he had an excess supply of, everything was crafted with care.
“You built all of this yourself?” she marveled, flashing him a wide-eyed look over her shoulder.
“Yes.”
“This is amazing! It looks like something a woodland fairy would live in… if that fairy were giant,” she added with a laugh.
Zaek grinned proudly at her praise, “Thank you. It took many years, but the work kept me from losing my mind altogether.”
The base of his horns heated at the look of sympathy she gave him. Redirecting her attention away from his revealing admission, he asked, “Did you want to rest a little longer? I have only one sleeping room, but you are welcome to it. Or perhaps you are hungry? I could assemble a meal for us.”
“Actually, do you have running water here? I would kill for a hot shower.” She made a face and quickly amended, “Not kill! I’d just really like to get clean.”
“Of course,” he bit back a smile, both amused at her correction and pleased he was learning to recognize when she was using an idiom. “I need to turn the water back on. Let me show you the bathing room, and then I will do that.”
After leaving her in the bathing room, he made a quick trip to the backyard and turned power on to the well, then went to the kitchen to prepare a meal, anticipating she would be hungry when she emerged.
25
Zaek
Ten minutes later, the steam from the shower had dispersed her essense to every corner of his house until the very air tasted of it. It was inescapable. There was nowhere to retreat, nowhere to hide where her scent would not find him and seep into his brain to chip away at his resolve to gentle her into falling in love with him.
The flash-her-your-cock-to-stun-her-so-you-can-pounce-and-claim tactic he’d just made up was looking more and more appealing the longer he drowned in the smell of her body.
Visions of stalking her like a sartek through the red forests of Nuzepar flooded him, but instead of wearing the traditional hunting garb, he’d be naked, and she wouldn’t really be trying to get away.
After another ten minutes, he managed to overcook the noodles, burn the bread, and salt the sauce so much it was almost inedible because he couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the knowledge that Mira—his tiny, adorable, smart, fucking sexy Earthian mate—was naked and wet on the other side of the wall.
“She is trying to kill us. There is no other explanation.”
Agreed. She is far more devious than we gave her credit for.
“Lar’s wings!” he exploded. “How long do humans bathe?! It has been ages and she is small! There cannot be that damn much to wash! I do not think we can take much more of this torture.”
Bracing his hands on the kitchen counter, he bowed his head and tried to breathe through his mouth to limit how much of her mouthwatering scent he was forced to smell.
It did not work.
Even a freezing shower outside with the hose was not enough to bring back his sanity. His cock was a steel fucking rod in the boxer briefs he’d changed into, and he was positive if he so much as grazed it with a fingertip he would explode and paint the walls of his kitchen with cum.
Since he did not think that was a scene she was quite ready to bear witness to, he very deliberately didn’t touch his dick even to adjust it to a more comfortable position.
Spinning on his heel, he stalked to the bathing room and stopped outside the door.
“We should knock and tell her the food is ready. Then she will get out and no longer be naked.”
Yes… but then she will get out and no longer be naked.
He froze with his fist raised then slowly lowered it to his side.
“Fuck. That is a very valid argument.”
Returning to the kitchen, he occupied himself by setting the table. When that was finished, he paced. Wrapping his wings around him like a blanket, he used them to cover the bottom half his face, including his nose, not that it helped, so only his eyes and up were visible.
Five minutes later he realized it might have been wise to cover his eyes as well.
He froze when he heard the water shut off, and the creak of the door opening a short time later, before the padding of bare feet sounded in the hallway. When Mira peeked around the corner it was to find him standing stock still in the middle of his kitchen peering at her wide-eyed from over his wings like he thought he was Batman.
She blinked up at him in surprise before the cutest fucking giggle in this world, or any other, spilled from her pretty pink lips.
He felt that sound in his balls. Why he felt it in his balls he didn’t know, and right at that minute, he didn’t much care, because just then she hesitantly stepped around the corner and revealed that she was clothed in nothing but a towel.
Zaek had not known his eyelids were capable of opening any wider, but they were.
He groaned like he was dying as he slowly, lovingly scanned her from wet, dripping curls to naked toes scrunched against the wood of his floor.
Her claws are painted pink. I had no idea that was my favorite color until this very moment.
“You are naked,” he croaked, his gaze now glued to the droplet of water trailing down her neck and chest, over the pale mounds of her breasts before disappearing under the towel.
He would give his left arm to be that water droplet or, better yet, to follow its path with his tongue.
His wings, of their own volition, slowly unfurled until they were open and curved, ready to snap forward and envelop her at a moment’s notice.
“All my clothes are dirty, and I didn’t want to put them on when I just got clean. I was wondering if you had anything I could wear,” she breathed.
Her cheeks were bright pink, but the look in her big, blue eyes was not one of bashfulness. She was scanning him much the same way he had her, taking in his own state of undress and the unconcealable erection straining against his tight black briefs.
No, she most definitely did not look shy. She looked hungry.
His heart leapt in his chest thinking it might be hunger of an erotic nature… until her stomach growled so loudly he thought for a second some kind of wild animal had made its wa
y into the house. They both jumped. While startling and intensely disappointing, the sound did serve to stop him from backing her into a corner to hunt down that water droplet.
“I will retrieve clothing!” he blurted before retreating from the kitchen like he was being chased by villagers with pitchforks.
He returned with a pair of sweatpants and the only remaining shirt he had in his possession since he’d long ago given up wearing them. Human clothing was exceedingly restrictive on his wings and tail. To make them more comfortable, he modified them, which meant the pants had a hole cut in the ass and the shirt had two big slits on the back.
After stumbling over an explanation of the alterations, he handed them to her and watched as she left the kitchen to dress in the bathing room.
When she came back, he managed to hold in his second groan, but just barely.
The clothes were so big on her small frame she was almost swimming in them. It didn’t matter. Seeing her in them, in his clothes, was damn near as devastating as seeing her in a towel.
The little spin she did to show him the slits in the back revealed an enticing swath of bare, pale skin that nearly brought him to his knees. She’d thankfully folded the waistband of the pants enough that the tail hole was no longer visible otherwise he would have completely lost control of himself and pounced on her.
26
Zaek
“You know, I’ve had breakfast for dinner, but I’ve never had dinner for breakfast,” Mira quipped, throwing him a smile over her shoulder as she walked to the eating room.
“I like spaghetti,” he admitted sheepishly, bouncing his wings in a shrug.
As they sat at the table, he caught the uncertain look she gave the food and apologized for his subpar cooking.