by Kylie Gold
Once I made it down a hill, I spotted Nova and his men.
20
Nova
It felt like I couldn’t breathe, and it wasn’t because of the thick air in the jungle. My entire chest cavity ached from having to trade Julia, but I couldn’t show my pain because no one but Bru and I knew about my feelings for Julia. If my men saw anything resembling mourning, they would know something was up. I tried my damnedest to push it down, but the pain was consuming. My fated mate was gone forever, now in the hands of those wretched humans from Harp. And in my heart, I knew I wouldn’t be able to attack the humans anymore. I would be in fear of Julia being in the mix, and one of my men attacking her before I could get to her. I would defend our village, but never again would I order attacks on convoys or stations. Even if I couldn’t have her, I didn’t want harm to come to Julia.
My heart was heavy as we made our way through the jungle, my mind tortured by thoughts of the future. Surely she would find another lover; another man would know her body just as I had. The thought alone made my stomach churn and bile rise in my throat. I couldn’t imagine another’s hands on her. And what would it mean for me? Bru has already said the hurt would never leave. Would I be able to find another, even just to keep me company? Perhaps even have a few children to carry on the family bloodline. Then I wondered if she would even feel a loss. Never did we talk about our feelings for one another; so while I could swear up and down that I sensed she felt the same, I would never know if she did. But I was certain I would feel the hurt enough for the both of us. That stubborn human had worked her way under my skin and bore into my flesh—never would I be able to shake the memory of her, of that I was certain.
Soon after we crossed the river and began to near the end of our journey, I felt a heat prickle at the back of my neck. Just before I could turn, a yell sounded from behind us, “Hey! Watch out!” a very familiar voice sounded.
For a split second, I wondered if I was dreaming, but as I turned and actually saw her, I knew it was real. Julia was running at us full speed, waving her arms in the air with panic over her face. Relief and confusion struck me at the same time. While I was happy to see her, I didn’t understand what was going on. We all stopped, watching her as she came towards us. When she was within feet of me, she spoke again, “Lyle and Mason…” she began, panting, trying to catch her breath, “They didn’t… They didn’t listen to your agreement. They said they had an ambush waiting for you. To wipe out the leaders so they could overthrow the village…” she managed to get out.
My eyes were wide. They what? I knew we couldn’t trust those wretched men; my only wish was that I would have gone back on my word as well and brought extra men with us. I turned to my warriors, “Get in the trees! Wait for them to approach before attacking, so they don’t know we are here,” I called to them in hasty Navanian. They nodded before skillfully climbing trees in the nearby area, completely hidden by the large leaves.
I turned my back to Julia, grabbing her arms by reaching behind me. Standing with her on my back, she wrapped her legs around my waist. Then following my men, I climbed a nearby tree, taking Julia to safety with me. I hoisted us up the twisted bark until we entered the leaves, staying low in the branches to watch for the humans. Just mere seconds after we were in the safety of the tree, a militia of twelve humans marched through the trees with guns in hands. Julia had been right. In the back of my mind, I was beyond appreciative that Julia had escaped to come warn us and wanted to rejoice in the fact she clearly cared for me and my people—but my main thought was getting myself, Julia, and my men back to safety. And if meant killing that entire militia, then so be it.
As the humans marched between the trees, my men swooped down from the branches with weapons in hands. With all of them fighting, it was five against twelve, but with my men being able to surprise attack, nearly half of the humans were killed in one blow when they first jumped from the trees. Naturally my instinct was to jump down from the trees and help fight them as well, but I didn’t want to risk Julia being spotted and hurt in the crossfire. I stayed in the trees, watching the fight from above. Once I felt confident that my men would win and wouldn’t need my help, I began climbing across the branch until I reached another tree and made the small leap to the next. I climbed tree to tree with Julia securely on my back. I didn’t stop either, propelling myself forward until we reached the end of the trees. Finally, I leaped down from the last tree and kneeled down to let her off my back.
21
Julia
Nova led us back to his hut, his hand actually holding mine as we walked through the village. My heart was still racing from it all. I couldn’t believe I had actually ran back to him, and that he and his people actually listened to me. And jumping through the trees had been completely terrifying as shelling sounded in the background; each time Nova leaped between trees I was sure that a stray bullet would get him or me. But, the man had moved swiftly and gracefully through the leaves and branches, returning us to safety. And as we walked hand-in-hand through the village, many eyes were on us—I knew it was from confusion as to why I was back, and why we were holding hands rather than me being tied. But Nova walked confidently and briskly to his hut, immediately pulling me inside and shutting the door. There were no words exchanged before his lips were on mine, his hands going to the small of my back and pulling me against his body.
His kiss was borderline desperation, mixed with hunger and passion; his tongue immediately intertwining with mine. I kissed him back, my lips moving against his with fervor and fire. Nova’s hands gripped at my back before sliding down over my body, gripping and exploring every inch. The kiss was ended when he pulled away suddenly. His hand found mine again and he tugged me back into the bedroom. When we approached the foot of the bed, he turned back to me and picked me up by the hips. Nova held me against his body as he moved onto the bed, placing me down gently on the blankets. Then the kissing resumed with the same intensity as before.
I pulled away then, my lips going to his neck, kissing and sucking at spots I remembered which wound him up from previous encounters. Nova let out a shaky breath as I did, a groan then erupting from the back of his throat. He was quick to move his hands to my pants, hurriedly unfastening them and pulling them down; I kicked my shoes off as he did. As my lips met the crook of his neck, nibbling gently just above his collarbone, Nova ripped my panties at my sides, discarding the torn fabric. He then barely shrugged down his shorts, just enough to let free his erect cock before he spread my legs. Wrapping my legs around him, his arms went around me, holding me to him as he thrusted himself into me.
I had no idea just how aroused I was until I felt his cock fill my pussy, a moan slipping from my lips and against the skin of his neck. Nova didn’t hold back, completely fueled by raw emotions as he thrusted in and out. I moved my hips against his, sending him deeper into me with every thrust he made. Nova nuzzled his head down, motioning for me to get away from his neck. As I moved my head, his lips returned to mine. He kissed me senselessly as his arms grew tighter around me. It was rough and fast, but completely and utterly perfect. I didn’t realize how badly I craved him until it was too late. As his hips rocked into mine, filling my body with endless ecstasy, I knew he was the only one my heart and body wanted.
Nova’s hand came back from around my back and gripped my shirt, ripping it open causing buttons to pop of and fly out in every direction. I sat up a bit as he pulled it from my arms; Nova reached around me and unfastened my bra and discarded that as well before letting me lay back down. His lips showered my chest in kisses as he continued to move his hips against mine. Nova reached and grabbed my legs to turn me at an angle before thrusting back in, the tip of his cock hitting a spot of sheer pleasure. I felt breathless as he continued to pound away at the spot, never letting up as he held me against his body, his lips covering my chest.
My walls began to constrict around him as the pleasure became too much for my body, my hips still moving against his. His
cock began to vibrate lightly at the sensation. His lips moved to one of my nipples, taking the rosy bud into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around it before flicking his tongue just over the tip and sucking on it softly. My hands gripped his back, moaning time and time again. As my hips bucked into his, Nova began moving his in a more ragged fashion. He would pull out slowly before dipping back in for just a second, then pull out again and ram back inside, hitting the sweet and tender spot. Both of us struggled to get full breaths of air as the vibrations grew stronger.
His pattern continued as he kissed his way to my left breast, pulling that nipple into his mouth as well. The vibrations were intense and strong, my sex gripping him with each movement he made. Soon, neither of us could seem to hold back from our climax anymore, my legs holding on tightly to him as I felt my entire body peak and then shudder as I released. Almost at the exact same time, Nova’s cock shook almost violently before he sent it completely in and released himself. His body collapsed against mine. I could feel his chest heaving as he laid over me, his head nestled against my neck.
After a few moments of collecting ourselves, Nova rolled off of me and laid next to me, tossing an arm over his forehead. I managed to catch my breath, letting out a sigh as I relaxed. After all of the stress, heartache, and tension those last couple of days, it was definitely needed. Once again, I felt almost connected with him. I sat up on the bed, stretching my arms. As I stretched, I felt his fingertips glide against the skin of my back, sending a shiver up my spine. My eyes gazed over to him to find him looking back at me with a look of adoration twinkling in his eyes. I couldn’t help but smile softly at it.
But then his expression dropped a bit, a sudden thought weighing heavily on his conscience. His eyes still held that look of fondness, but also held hurt and hesitance. Nova’s fingers idly drifted up and down my back as he began to speak, “So… did you want me to escort you back to Harp?” he asked, his voice meek.
I hedged a bit, looking away as I thought. When questioned, I realized that I didn’t know. While I longed to see my father and brother, and to let Ryan’s wife know what happened to him, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to take me back. Sitting there trying to picture my life, I couldn’t see it without him—even if he did infuriate me. Nova challenged me, and that was something I had always wanted in a mate. Human men weren’t challenging in the way I wanted; I wanted to be challenged mentally and politically. The only challenge human men had ever given me in the past was the challenge of keeping them loyal. Something told me that wouldn’t be an issue with Nova. I nibbled on my bottom lip as I got lost in deep thought. Finally, I shook my head, “No, I don’t want to leave…” I told him, my eyes slowly moving to him. “I’d like to stay here with you,” I admitted, my cheeks turning a deep pink.
Nova sat up then, his eyes on me. His arm wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me into his side, “I would like that a lot,” he breathed to me. My eyes went to his, his citrine irises burning into mine. “I know… I know we haven’t exactly gotten along, and that things this past week have been muddled and confusing—but I have feelings for you. Strong feelings. My tribe has a prophecy about outsiders mating with leaders of our people, which leads to peace among the land. And the outsiders and the leaders are what we call fated mates, which is exactly what it sounds like. I don’t know if that means anything to you, but it means a lot to me. It explained to me what all was going on and the attraction I had for you. After realizing that and almost losing you… I’ve come to realize I love you, Julia. And I know I’ve had a fucked up way of showing it, but I do. I love you.”
There was a lump in my throat as I held back my tears, completely touched by his words. I couldn’t believe he had just uttered those words. And the thought of us being fated mates or whatever was shocking and scary, but it sort of made sense. From the beginning, even when we were at each other’s throats, there was an underlying attraction present. I had never been one to believe in destiny or fate, but maybe that’s what was pulling us to one another. I couldn’t even begin to try and understand the concept of the premise of fated mates, but I was sure with time I would grasp it.
All I knew in that moment, through all of the confusion and mixture of emotions, was that I did love him. That alone was a lot to take in. I sat in complete silence as I tried to process everything he had said on top of my own emotions. My head was foggy from the storm of new information and feelings. But once I had a minute to internalize everything and sort my own thoughts, my eyes lifted back to his. Nova’s eyes had grown washed with worry from my silence. My hand reached for his cheek, cradling it in the palm of my hand as I gazed at him with tears forming in the corner of my eyes. “I love you too,” I breathed. “I don’t know anything about fate and all of this, but from how I feel about you, it feels right. And the reason I told you to send me home in the first place was because I realized I had feelings for you, but didn’t want to cause you any distress. And I didn’t want your tribe to turn against you. I know how much they mean to you…”
As I held his face, his hand lifted to mine, holding my chin so that I couldn’t turn my gaze away from his, “You mean a lot to me,” he breathed. “My tribe has been my everything for years now, and just because I am dedicated and loyal to my tribe, doesn’t mean I couldn’t give you loyalty or dedication. And while they won’t be happy and some may try to revolt, I feel confident that everything will work out in the end. Once they understand we are truly fated mates, the majority of them will come around. I can handle the rest of them. Besides, we don’t have to go through it alone. A neighboring tribe, their leader has a human wife and a hybrid child. They have been seeking friendship from tribes, but before I was disgusted by their relationship and their mission of peace. But now that I am beginning to understand my love for you… I can see how they fell for one another. It’s something none of us can control, but it is what we are destined to do. We can seek their guidance and perhaps gain an alliance with them. I’d be willing to try if it meant keeping you here.”
There already was a Navani and human couple? And they had a child? It was a little bit of a shell-shock to hear at first, but once the initial shock ended, it was actually a bit of a relief. Knowing someone had already gone through it, and that we could turn to them for help, was comforting; it was nice to feel like we could possibly have some support. My hand lowered from his face and held his hand. His large red hand closed around mine. “Are you sure about all this? I really don’t want to be the cause of any sort of trouble in your tribe…”
Nova’s eyes held mine, “Any trouble caused by your mere presence here is trouble I’m willing to deal with. I already almost lost you once, and I don’t want to experience that feeling again. I mean it when I say I love you. And while it’s hard to adjust to, I want to embrace it and all the changes which come with it. You are worth it. Even though I want to sew your mouth shut sometimes, I want you to be mine and stay mine,” Nova smiled a bit when he mentioned wanting to sew my mouth closed, causing me to smile back.
I leaned into him then, kissing his lips sweetly. His large hand laid flat against my back, holding me to him. As we sat together, holding one another, kissing, a realization came upon me. It had felt like everything was ending the last couple of days, but with us finally admitting our feelings to one another, I realized that it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t the end, but a new beginning. The beginning of our lives together.
22
Nova
After a few days of complete and utter chaos, the tribe seemed to settle. Announcing that Julia was my fated mate caused a complete uproar, a revolt almost instantly taking place—led of course by the two warriors who had just returned from captivity. I understood their frustration and their disgust, I had once been in that mindset myself; but I couldn’t help who I was fated to be with. I and a few of my closest commanding warriors settled it down and stopped a mutiny from happening, I brought Bru to a village meeting to explain the prophecy to everyone. It wasn’t an inst
antaneous fix, but it definitely helped in calming them down. And within a couple of days, the majority of the village was at peace with it. They weren’t happy, but they were accepting it.
At that point, I took to making sure Julia acclimated well with the tribal life, showing her around the village. I introduced her to many of the people, wanting her to know them and for them to know her. Kena, Tarik’s wife, actually seemed to take to Julia rather well—she even agreed to help make Julia some clothes she would be comfortable in, seeing as Julia didn’t exactly seem enthused that the women in our village wore dresses. So when I was away, tending to village matters, Kena taught Julia the basics of sewing and made her shorts and tops. Within a couple of weeks, life seemed to be actually looking up.
But then there was the matter of the humans. After Julia ditching them and joining my tribe, they had taken offense by it, thinking we had planned it all just to get my warriors back. While it would have been a brilliant plan, we certainly hadn’t planned it. Attacks were becoming more and more frequent, and while most of my men had healed and returned to their positions, we were still down by quite a lot because of lost lives in the explosions and amputees not being able to enter combat. We simply didn’t have the manpower to hold them off much longer.