by Luna Hunter
They’re using some kind of force to suppress our engines. If we don’t find a way to break through, we’ll die — but going outside means certain death.
“I’ll stop them.”
I turn around and to my surprise I see Captain Price has taken a step forward.
“B-but,” Olivia stammers, “you won’t be able to…”
“I know,” he says. “Word needs to get out. This is the only way. I’ll stop them,” the human commander repeats.
“No,” I say. “I’m the general. I should go.”
Olivia pulls at my arm, tears forming in her eyes.
“Don’t,” she stammers. “Please don’t.”
“We don’t have any other choice,” I say. “Otherwise, we are all stranded here.”
“With all due respect,” Price says, “I insist that I go. You have seen them with your own two eyes. You have been down in the caves, and according to Olivia you have received visions of some kind, right?”
I nod.
“Then you know more than anyone else on this ship, and your survival is the most important thing of all. You can’t put yourself at risk, General. You’re too valuable.”
I clench my jaw so tightly it hurts.
“I can’t let you walk to your death,” I growl. “I’m the general. I lead by example. If anyone goes, it should be me.”
“Sir,” Rufus says, “if I may speak… any one of us would gladly sacrifice themselves for you, for the Zorans, for the universe. It is why we’re here. Allow us to do this.”
I can’t send other men into death while I’m cozied up in my ship. It’s not right.
Teodor places his hand on my shoulder.
“He’s right,” my second-in-command says softly. “You have saved our lives countless times, sir. Allow us to return the favor.”
Damn it.
I’m their leader. I want to keep everyone safe. Every death, hell, every injury weighs on my mind. And now, they want permission to walk straight into death? To be stranded on this alien world so that I can escape?
My honor will not permit it — but my heart forces me to.
The sight of tears streaking down Olivia’s face is what breaks my resolve. The things that I’ve seen need to be shared with the world. My personal honor be damned.
“Fine,” I growl. “Fine. Permission granted.”
Captain Price nods, keeping a straight face.
When I first met the human commander he was shaking like a leaf, absolutely terrified by my presence. Now, he is about to ride into certain death to save all of us with a determined look on his face.
Hell of way to redeem yourself.
“You absolutely sure?”
“One hundred percent,” Price answers. “I’ll create a diversion so you can the hell out of here.”
I grab his shoulder. “I’ll never forget this, Price.”
He nods and turns towards his men. “I’ll need volunteers to follow me out into the storm,” he says. “There will be no return.”
To my surprise every single one of his men step forward.
“Martinez, Patterson, come with me. The rest of you: godspeed.”
“Sir?” Rufus says. “Permission to join Captain Price, sir?”
He’s one of my top soldiers, a born leader. I don’t want to lose him, but I’d never hold anyone back from glory.
“Permission granted, soldier.”
He grabs my hand and squeezes hard. “It was on honor to serve beside you, sir.”
“Likewise, Rufus. Likewise.”
He turns towards Price and raises his rifle.
“Let’s give them hell.”
I salute them, and the entire crew follows suit. A silence falls as the group of four heroes make their way down to the ramp. We’re all painfully aware of the fact that they’re paying for our survival with their very lives.
It’s an uncomfortable feeling, and it gives me extra motivation to stop the Tyk’ix threat, no matter what it takes. Their deaths will not be in vain. Price, Martinez, Patterson, Rufus. They will not be forgotten.
“They are ready, sir,” Teodor says.
“Stand ready. Engage engines as soon as you’re able.”
“Yes, sir.”
I walk up to the window and look at the clearing down below. The Tyk’ix are still there, watching, waiting. Olivia stands next to me, her fingers intertwining with mine.
“Go.”
The exit ramp falls down into the dirt and the four heroes ride out on a jeep. Price is driving, while Rufus is manning the cannon on the back, firing wildly at the circle of aliens. Martinez and Patterson are providing cover fire with their rifles, both seated next to Price.
The Tyk’ix spell is broken as the jeep barrels through them. Instantly the ship’s engines kick back in.
“We’re online!” Teodor says.
I swallow the lump in my throat. I’ve never given a more difficult order.
“Engage,” I growl.
The ZM Bran lunges forwards, levitating a few feet above the ground. Down below I see Captain Price raising his fist victoriously.
Goodbye, Jonathan.
“Full throttle!” Teodor says. “Go!”
The ZM Bran gives it everything she’s got, and we’re launched off this alien world with a dazzling kick. I’m forced to hold onto the railing, one arm holding Olivia’s waist, as we rise into the sky. I welcome the intense pressure of lift-off. The pain in my chest, the shortness of breath, the dazzling light. It’s like riding a tremendous wave, with freedom so close you can nearly taste it.
Within seconds we’re among the stars, breaking free from the planet’s atmosphere, from the Tyk’ix’s evil grasp, heading back towards home.
We are safe for now — but our journey has only just begun.
29
Olivia
The green planet grows smaller and smaller.
From out here, it looks like such a peaceful place. A lush world, filled with life. Who could have known that behind that veneer lies a terrible, horrible secret, of psionic aliens with a lust for blood?
I can’t believe Jonathan sacrificed himself like that. Martinez, Patterson, Rufus. They’re all heroes. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.
To think I was nothing but mean to Captain Price. I refused to travel alongside him when he picked me up on Audur, declined his invitation to share a meal with the crew, called him a coward when the Zorans first showed up…
And now he’s proven himself the most courageous of us all.
Vukan is sitting down in his captain’s chair, his eyes squeezed shut. Outside, the stars are passing us by. The ship is eerily quiet. All our thoughts are still with the men down below.
“What now?” I ask softy.
“Set a course for Earth,” he tells Teodor. “And put me on speaker.”
Vukan clears his throat before addressing the entire ship.
“Attention crew. This is your general speaking. To our human guests: Welcome on board the ZM Bran. I have set a course for Earth, and we will arrive in several days. You are our guests, and you will be treated as such. To my men: I expect you to treat the humans as if they are our brothers.”
He continues with a short debriefing of what we both encountered underground. I can hear the crew murmuring when he mentions their fleet of warships he saw in his visions.
Meanwhile, I sit in the corner and try to make sense of it all. I still feel I can’t relax. It feels like the Tyk’ix’s tendrils are only an inch away, ready to reach out and grab me at any moment, as if they tricked me this whole time.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to find my center, but it doesn’t work. It feels like I’m secretly still underground, locked in a damp seller, and they’ve given me this illusion of escape only to torture me further.
Vukan’s hand on my shoulder breaks the spell and brings me back to reality.
This is the real world. I’m sure of it. The warmth that spreads through me the moment Vukan to
uches me — that must be real.
“Can we talk?” he says.
“Of course,” I answer as I scramble through my feet.
He leads us both to his personal quarters. Once we arrive he sits down in chair, while I sit down across from him. His shoulders are slumped — I’ve never seen Vukan so vulnerable before.
“What’s on your mind?” he asks.
“I’m trying to make sense of it all,” I answer. “But my mind is foggy. I feel like I’m lost. What do we do now?”
“What do you mean?” he growls. “We go the Federation to my king, to the Alliance and we tell them what we saw!”
“What if they dismiss it all as dreams? As spore-induced paranoia and hallucinations?”
“They can’t,” he says. “They won’t,”
“I hope you’re right.”
Vukan pulls me out of my chair and into his lap. He tilts my chin up with his fingers.
“Look at me,” he says. “We’re going to convince them, and that’s final. I won’t rest and I won’t give up. I will never back down on this. Ever.”
“You’re right,” I say.
“You’re damn right I’m right.”
I lean down and kiss him. His warm lips feel perfect on mine, and a glow travels through my entire body. I stroke the back of his neck lovingly, gazing into those beautiful, clear blue eyes of his.
He wraps his hands around my waist, holding me tightly.
“Do you want to talk about what we saw?” he asks.
I rest my forehead against him. “I don’t… but I think we should, before we forget any important details.”
Vukan sets his com to record and we discuss everything we saw. The visions of death, of destruction, of coming war — every horrible thing either of us can remember. Slowly but surely, we piece a narrative together.
These Tyk’ix are older — their skin is darker, wrinkled and cracked, like leather that has been in the sun for too long. The city itself must have been millennia old, carved from the rock itself. From the glimpse of their thoughts, we realized they consider themselves the dominant species of the galaxy. Everything else is either food or a tool of war, and they dream of enslaving both our kinds.
The Zorans will be used as forced labor. And as far as mankind goes? We are nothing but food to them.
That thought sends shivers right down my spine.
They have prepared for the upcoming war for centuries, if not longer. Thousands upon thousands of spaceships lie in waiting, hidden in deep space, ready to strike.
We have to convince the Zoran King and the Human Federation that a total war is coming. If we can’t do that, then we’ve already lost.
“We’ll get them,” Vukan says. “I know my king. If I tell him what we saw, he will listen.”
“I hope so.”
I rest my head on his chest, and my Zoran mate runs his hand through my blonde hair. I can feel the dirt trickling down the back of my neck. My palms are still covered in mud as well. Another souvenir from those damn caves…
“I feel dirty,” I say.
“Then let’s get you cleaned up.”
30
Vukan
I stand up and carry Olivia to my private bathroom. Her arms are wrapped around my neck, my hands resting on her firm bottom.
The Zoran uniform she’s wearing is in quite a rough shape. It’s scraped on her knees, and all the crawling through the grass and the dirt has stained the overall all over.
Time to take it off.
I lower her down to her knees and pull the zipper down. Slowly but surely her pale, naked skin comes into view, and I feel my heart rate increase instantly.
It’s not the first time I’ve seen her naked, but that was under very different circumstances. Then we were both fighting for control. It was a match, a battle of wills, and I spanked and fucked her until she cried out my name and begged for my seed.
Now, it’s different.
We’ve been through hell together. We traversed the depths of an alien planet, encountering petrified cyborgs and malevolent aliens, and we lived to tell the tale.
We came out of the confrontation scarred, both mentally and physically, but alive, with a renewed sense of appreciation for life — and each other.
I wouldn’t have survived this all if it wasn’t for her. She gave me a reason to fight harder, to resist with every fiber of my being, to soldier on when everything seemed lost. She pulled me back from the brink of death.
No matter what happens, I know one thing for sure: Olivia is my mate, for now and forever. Nothing can ever change that.
I slide the overall down her naked shoulders. It falls down, pooling around her ankles. She steps out of the garment, a shy smile on her lips. Her underwear follows a moment later.
The human female is naked and stunning.
I suck in air between my teeth as my eyes scan her beautiful frame. Every inch of her is perfection, from her round breasts to her curvy, full hips. I want to kiss and stroke and squeeze and love every inch of her.
She crosses her arms over her chest, avoiding my inquisitive eyes, a blush forming on her pale cheeks.
“I thought we were going to shower,” she says.
“Sorry, your body distracts me,” I growl as I turn the handle.
A waterfall pours down from the shower head, splashing on the tiled floor. Olivia steps under the warm rays, a sigh of relief leaving her body. My eyes are still glued to her frame.
I watch the drops of water slide down her shoulders, down her lower back, past the curves of her ass and her thighs, towards her shapely ankles.
Fuck, this woman is perfect.
With a single flick of my wrist my armor comes undone, falling to the floor with a thud. Underneath, I am naked. With a single step I am next to Olivia, and my arms wrap themselves around her wet, naked body.
She leans into me, resting her head on my broad, fit chest, her eyes closed. I kiss the top of her head and drink in her intoxicating scent.
I lather up her hair, my fingers massaging her scalp, and she purrs like a kitten. I can feel the tension leaving her body as she rests against me.
My hands move down her body, covering every inch of her with soapy bubbles. I can’t help but spend an extraordinary amount of time lathering up her round breasts, my fingers digging into her soft skin.
My palms are simply drawn to them, as if they contained magnets. Olivia doesn’t seem to mind one bit. One corner of her mouth is pulled up into a lazy smile, and my hard, throbbing cock is standing at full attention between her legs, pressing against her wet folds.
She reaches down and runs her fingers along my length.
“Is that for me?” she asks.
“All yours,” I growl. “Only yours,”
I whirl her around and press my lips against hers, my tongue brushing against her bottom lip. I can’t resist her any longer — I must have her now.
Olivia kisses back, moaning into my mouth, the palms of her hands resting on my broad, naked chest. My hands move down to her ass, but she resists when I try to lift her up.
“Not so fast,” she says. “There’s something I want to do first…”
Without breaking eye contact, my human mate drops down to her knees in front of me. My eyes grow wide when I realize what she’s up to.
Her blue eyes move to my blue hardness.
“I’ve been waiting to do this,” she says before opening her mouth and taking me between her lips.
I have to hold onto the wall for support as my knees grow weak under her skilled mouth. She kisses down my shaft, her tongue pleasing every inch of me. Her hands become a blur as she strokes me, planting wet kisses on the head of my cock.
I growl like an animal, my hands balling up to fists as my toes curl with pleasure.
“Stop,” I growl. “You’re going to make me come!”
“I know,” she smirks. “I want you to.”
By the king. The words that leave those lips of hers…
Bu
t no — my seed belongs between those shapely legs of hers. I reach down and pull her up. My strength is so great she flies up, and I catch her in mid-air, my hands finding the cheeks of her ass. My cock rests against her entrance, and I lower her down on my shaft.
Olivia’s eyes grow wide, her mouth hanging open as my hardness fills her, inch by inch. She cries out my name and I shut her up with a kiss, my tongue entering her mouth.
I fuck her. I fuck her with all my strength, slamming every inch of me into her, our bodies working as one. I rest her back against the tiled wall as I bury myself inside of her.
All the frustration, the tension, the fear leaves my body. My mind is freed from dark visions, from alien invasion, from worrying about future.
Right now, there is only me and her. There is only Olivia and I.
I feel my orgasm quickly approaching. All the pent-up lust I’ve carried around with me has driven me to the brink. I can’t hold back. I don’t want to hold back.
I unleash myself with a mighty roar. My fingers sink deeply into her skin, my raw voice echoing off the walls as our love is consummated. I shoot my load deep inside of her — where it belongs.
Our tongues find each other, our passionate kiss sealing our love.
That love we share with one another is stronger than any monster or alien. Nothing can break our bond.
Love will always set us free.
Afterword
Thanks for reading!
The Galactic Mates series will reach it’s thrilling conclusion in the eighth and final book! I want to give it all the time and polish it needs.
If you sign up for my newsletter I’ll drop you a line when it comes out, so you won’t miss it. I’m aiming for a launch in early April at the moment.
If this was your first entry in the Zoran universe: I hope you enjoyed your stay! Read on for the first two chapters of Alien General’s Baby, the book that started it all.
Warmest regards,
Luna.
Preview of Alien General’s Baby
1. Jillian