by Pearl Foxx
On her next pass, she tried the orange button.
Missiles dropped from the ship, shaking the earth and toppling a few trees.
“Oopsies,” Jude muttered.
“Careful with those,” the AI advised, sounding just enough like Warren that Jude’s heart gave an aching squeeze. But she smiled. If only he could see her now …
If the orange button were missiles, she couldn’t wait to see what the red button did, but on her next pass, she only saw one Vilka in the clearing, and his black and silver fur was splattered with blood.
“Get me down there!” she shouted to the AI as she slammed the ship into a bone-jarring stop. “Get on the ground!”
“There is some debris in the clearing—”
“Fuck the debris! He’s hurt! Get down there!”
The steering column went stiff in her hands as she guided the ship to the ground, but the AI brought out the landing gear just as the ship touched down.
“Open the hatch!” Jude shouted. She was already sprinting toward the back, scanning for a gun.
She spotted one that looked like her LiteBlaster and grabbed it off the wall. She jumped outside as soon as the hatch had released.
Gerrit shifted as she skidded into him, his naked body shining with sweat and blood. A huge gash lined his side, as did a series of claw marks, deep and grooved. They would leave scars.
“You’re okay,” she said in a rush. She pressed her hand against the wound, terrified when she felt how much blood he was losing. “You’re going to be fine.”
He grunted at her, blinking slowly. “Just a … scratch.”
His words were weak, his breath wheezing. For a horrible second, she worried he’d punctured a lung, but no blood came from his mouth and he seemed to deepen his inhales. She pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. “We have to go. Where’s Savas?”
She glanced around as she spoke and kept a firm grip on her gun. She found the safety and flipped it off, ready to kill anything that moved.
“Took Caj into the jungle.” He coughed with a wheeze and took a few deep breaths.
“Okay. Time to get to your feet.” She got her legs beneath her and prepared to help lift Gerrit. A limb snapped in front of her.
She jerked her gun upright, ready to fire, when she saw a small group of bloodied Vilkas walking out from the direction of the camp with their hands up.
“Stay there,” she instructed them, uncertain if she could trust them.
“The others knocked us out,” the lead Vilka said. His wide eyes went to Gerrit. “We didn’t know what was happening. Is our Alpha okay?”
Jude lowered her gun. “He will be. Get your asses over here and help me lift him. He’s losing too much blood, and we need to bandage his wound in the ship. We’re sitting ducks out here.”
“Sitting ducks, ma’am?” the Vilka asked, cocking his head and looking around.
“Just get over here!”
“Be nice,” Gerrit panted.
Jude rolled her eyes at him. Her dress was soaked with his blood, and his skin was going cold. When the Vilkas reached them after what felt like a million years, they lifted him up, and she led the way, jogging back to the ship.
“Put him in the hold!” she shouted. She pulled a med kit off the wall where she’d found the gun.
The Vilkas brought Gerrit inside, and she closed the hatch, only breathing in relief when it had sealed them safe inside. She tore open the med kit and scrambled around until she found bandages like the one used on her shoulder.
“You!” she shouted at a nearby Vilka. “Wrap him up. We have to slow down the bleeding.”
“He’ll be fine, ma’am,” another Vilka said. “Just a flesh wound.”
She whirled to face him, her mate’s blood drying on her hands, on her face, and in her hair. “Did I ask if he was going to be fine? Get those bandages on him!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Jude … I’m all right,” Gerrit said, eyes shining from the fight.
“Save your breath,” she snapped.
He laughed but then winced.
Her heart broke. She dropped to her knees beside him and rained kisses on his face. “Never do that again,” she said between each one.
“Those … were some nice moves up there,” he said when she’d released his lips. He grinned crookedly up at her, but the expression was ruined by the pale hue of his face.
“You don’t need to suck up to get into my pants.”
The other Vilkas laughed. The one bandaging Gerrit’s side taped down the last corner and said, “The bleeding should slow by the time we make it home.”
“All right,” Jude said, standing. “Let’s go. It would be just our luck if those fucking lizards—”
“Draqons,” Gerrit corrected with a grin.
“—swung by for a quick snack. Everyone strap in. This might get bumpy.”
“Ma’am, I can fly,” one of the men offered, but she just glared at him until he sat down and strapped in. No fucking way was she trusting anyone else to get Gerrit home in one piece.
She hurried off toward the pilot’s chair, already thinking about getting the ship safely into the air without jostling Gerrit too much.
“That’s my mate,” she heard him tell his men.
They murmured in approval, and she couldn’t help the delirious grin spreading across her face.
21
Jude
The ship descended toward the mountain’s landing pad with lurching uncertainty. Jude gripped the steering column tightly and gritted her teeth as she guided the damaged ship onto the narrow pad. If she miscalculated her landing even slightly, they’d spin into the mountainside and crash.
She’d had enough crashing for one lifetime.
The ship shuddered onto the stone landing pad with a mechanical hiss. Jude allowed herself a quick, relieved sigh before she unstrapped and rushed back to Gerrit and his men.
As his men unstrapped Gerrit from his seat, she opened the hatch with a whoosh of compressed air. Instantly, a biting mountain breeze whistled into the ship, twisting her hair around her face.
She’d just stepped outside when someone bellowed, “What the hell is happening? Whose ship is this? What the fu—is that Gerrit?”
A tall man with broad shoulders and a face with kind eyes and laugh lines strode across the landing pad toward Jude. The hangar doors were open, and she spotted more men and women filling the illuminated space. The man reached the ship’s hatch and stuck his head inside, taking in the bloody and wounded soldiers with a sweeping glance before homing his focus in on Gerrit.
“He took a hit to his side. I don’t think it’s anything major,” Jude said from the ramp.
The man shot a glance at her, but all he did was shout back toward the hangar, “Get a gurney in here!”
“I’m not,” Gerrit wheezed from his seat, “letting you roll me in on a gurney.”
“You’ll do what I say, and you’ll like it,” the man barked back. He narrowed his gaze at Jude. “Who the fuck are you?”
Jude narrowed her own eyes at him. “How about you tone down the attitude, sparky?”
“Did she just call me sparky? What the hell is a sparky?” He turned to Gerrit. “Did a human just call me—”
“She’s my … mate,” Gerrit managed.
The man’s stern expression went slack with surprise. “Well,” he said, staring at Jude, “that’s something. I’m Rayner, Beta of Clan Vilka.”
“I’m Jude. Now are you going to get him out of here or are you going to keep standing there staring at me?”
Gerrit grunted out a laugh, and Rayner smiled. “I like her,” he told Gerrit before crossing to his Alpha. With the help of Gerrit’s men, he hefted him up and guided him off the ship.
Jude followed them toward the open hangar. Rayner practically carried Gerrit, but he gave Gerrit the dignity of at least looking like he was walking somewhat on his own when they were met with the slew of Vilkan soldiers awaiting orders.
“Where’s your brother?” Rayner asked. “We sent him to bring you back—”
“He betrayed me. Brought Savas right down on top of us.”
“What?” Rayner shot a horrified glance at Jude, who nodded in confirmation. Rayner growled. “I always disliked that little shit.”
“He’s just”—Gerrit sucked in a shaky breath—“confused.”
Rayner met Jude’s eyes again. He rolled his eyes, and Jude liked him a fraction more for it. “I was confused this morning,” Rayner muttered to Gerrit before they reached the soldiers, “about whether I should eat fried pyrll or sautéed fruta. That was a confusing decision. What isn’t confusing is betraying your brother.”
Yes, Jude could like this guy.
They reached the hangar doors, and the waiting soldiers surged toward their Alpha and the other wounded Vilkas. The people crowded about and hurled questions at them, though they stepped back to allow Rayner and their Alpha to pass. Jude folded into the throng of worried Vilkans; no one opened a path for her. She could just make out the top of Rayner’s head as he helped Gerrit down the parted path between people.
“Hey!” A red-haired woman with a swollen, pregnant belly and pale skin beneath a smattering of freckles appeared beside Jude and took her arm. Like they had for Rayner, the Vilkas parted around this woman, and a path opened before Jude. “I’m Vera, Rayner’s mate. Did I hear Gerrit say Caj betrayed him?”
“He did.” Jude picked up her pace to keep up with the long-legged woman. “Savas jumped us.”
Vera grimaced. “I knew he wouldn’t stay in hiding for long. That would have been too lucky.” She leveled a long stare at Jude as they hurried after Gerrit and Rayner. “Who are you? You can’t be Hylan. Rayner said they have scales on their legs.”
“I’m human.” Jude hesitated, but then she added, “I’m Gerrit’s mate.”
Vera’s mouth fell open, and she fumbled to a stop. “His mate?”
Jude nodded. “Are you human?”
Vera started back again, doubling her pace to catch up to Rayner. Jude hurried after her. “I am. Abducted from Zynthar International about four months ago.”
“What the fuck? They abducted you?”
Vera waved off Jude’s concern like it didn’t even matter and like she just casually tossed around her abduction like it was no big deal. She pulled Jude forward once again. “Savas and his men did. Rayner helped us escape. The other women are back on Earth now. Well, except for Niva. Oh.”
Vera’s face fell so completely that Jude felt a prickle of fear. “What? What is it?”
The woman shook her head, her eyes flickering ahead to where Rayner steered Gerrit down a rock-hewn corridor that seemed to lead deeper into the mountain. “Niva has a bit of a crush on Gerrit. She’ll be devastated when she hears you’ve mated.”
Jude felt a prickling along the back of her neck. She felt … territorial. Even a touch jealous.
“But you’re his true mate?” Vera continued.
“His what?”
Vera cast Jude a long look. “He hasn’t told you about it?”
“No. What’s a true mate?”
The corridor grew narrower, and they had almost caught up with Rayner’s long stride. Around them, people stepped back out of the way to let their group by, their eyes flashing wide when they saw Gerrit’s wounds. As they passed, Vera grabbed a young Vilkan’s arm and said, “Get Decallian. We’ll need water, food, and fresh bandages. Humir too. Tell her to hurry.”
“Is he okay?” the young Vilkan whispered. Her wide eyes flashed up to Rayner and Gerrit. Jude heard genuine worry in her voice.
“He will be. Just get Decallian. Hurry.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The girl paused. “Ma’am?”
Vera’s jaw clenched, but she said softly, “Yes?”
“What about Niva? Should I tell her Gerrit—I mean, Alpha—”
“No,” Vera said quickly, her eyes going to Jude. “No, don’t tell Niva. I’ll talk to her. Just get Decallian.”
“Right away, ma’am.”
Vera squeezed the girl’s arm before releasing her.
“What was that about?” Jude asked, watching the girl dart away. “Who’s Decallian?”
Vera turned to Jude. “We had a servant revolt recently under Gerrit’s father. He was a good man from what everyone tells me, but there were some, let’s call them outdated customs. Gerrit saw the servants through the crisis safely with the help of Decallian, the servant keeper, and established rights for everyone within the clan. He’s a very good man. You’re lucky to have him as your mate.” Vera placed a hand over her belly with a soft smile then turned her focus back on Rayner in front of them.
“And the true mates?” Jude prompted, thinking about the conversation between Caj and Gerrit back on the Hylan boat.
“Right. True mates. That’s what Rayner and I are. It’s rare within the clans, but when it happens, it’s forever.”
“Gerrit did some ceremony that bound us when the Hylas tried to capture me.”
Vera’s brows rose, a smile tugging at her lips. “Wow. You must have some good stories. Did the ceremony use your blood?”
“Yes.” Even though Jude couldn’t deny her feelings toward Gerrit, the thought of being bound to him forever terrified her.
“That’s just the mating ceremony, then. Like a wedding at home. This is different. If Gerrit is your true mate and you’re separated, he will die.”
Jude’s mouth fell open in horror. “Are you serious?”
“It’s okay. If you two were true mates, you would know it. There’s like this connection between the two of you. A binding, of sorts. You would know it if you felt it. Here we are. Thank the moons. And Decallian is waiting for us.”
They came out of the corridor and stepped into the hugest cavern Jude had ever seen. She would have stumbled to a stop if it hadn’t been for Vera tugging her along. The ceiling stretched so far above their heads that Jude could barely make out the top, but when she squinted, she saw a lattice work of openings in the ceiling where moonlight streamed in through.
“Worms.”
Jude glanced back at Vera. “What?”
“Worms carve the tunnels up there. It’s what causes the lace pattern in the ceiling. Come on. Here’s the donjon.”
In front of them, a huge pillar of sorts was positioned in the center of the cavern. More pillars were spread throughout the vast space, all with rooms carved inside them and windows with warm light spilling out. Rayner helped Gerrit through the door of the column in front of them. The round, ruddy-faced woman named Decallian, Vera, and Jude rushed in after them.
“Here you go, pup,” Rayner said with a grunt, depositing Gerrit onto a pile of cushions inside the entry.
“Don’t call me a pup.” Gerrit swatted at Rayner’s hands with a growl.
Jude crossed to his side without even thinking, even as she glanced around at the space.
It was lush and rich. Everything an Alpha’s home should be. Heavy silks hung from the smooth rock walls. Cushions were piled into the corners. A massive, hand-carved table took up the center of the space. Above it, a crystal chandelier hung with flickering little lights inside it. As Jude passed beneath it, she spotted the source of the light: fluttering little bugs.
“Are those lightning bugs?” She sank onto the cushions beside Gerrit, careful to not disturb him. She pressed her hand against his side.
Gerrit looked up at the light above them as Rayner and Decallian readied the first aid kit. “Their spit makes the crystals.” He winced as Rayner pushed away Jude’s hands and ripped off the taped bandage to start swabbing the wound.
“Fucking Avilku!”
Everyone turned toward the exclamation. Swanson stormed into the entry, his eyes on Gerrit, who offered him a weak smile and said, “Glad to see you made it.”
“I wish I could say the same about you. It was the Hylas and Draqons you were supposed to not let nearly kill you. Not our own people.”
Gerr
it grimaced. “Too soon, Swanson. Too soon.”
“Sure. Sure. Hey, Jude. Glad you’re not dead. That’s good.”
“Thanks for sending people to kill us,” Jude said with a smirk in case Swanson thought she was serious.
“You’re welcome,” he said with a bow. “Anything I can do to help.”
Rayner slapped humir into Gerrit’s wound, making him howl. “Is anyone going to explain how the hell we have another human on Kladuu? What’s your name again?”
“Her name is Jude,” Vera said tartly, slapping a bundle of silky white bandages into Rayner’s hand. Jude recognized it as the same material her shoulder had been wrapped with. “And she’s his mate, so be nice. She could have you put in a cell for speaking to her like that.”
Jude brightened. “I could?”
“Don’t give her any ideas,” Gerrit groaned. “She has a sadistic side. Swanson?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Send out a group to scan our perimeter. Savas and Caj are still out there.”
“On it!”
Swanson darted out the front door, which was a lavish slab of solid wood. Rayner started wrapping Gerrit’s side and said, “I still can’t believe Caj would do that. What got into him?”
“He’s a fool,” Gerrit mumbled, face white. “But he’s my brother. I want him brought back if he’s out there.”
Rayner tied off the end of the bandage and examined his work. With an approving nod, he stood. Vera immediately came to stand by his side. “I’ll go out with them. If he’s out there, we’ll bring him home, Gerrit. Just get some rest.”
“Oh,” a new voice from the front entry gasped. “Oh, Gerrit.”
Jude turned to find a young, stunningly beautiful black woman standing in the doorway. From the look on her face and sheer devastation in her wide gray eyes, Jude knew this had to be Niva. There was no other way to explain her expression other than to call it love.
“I’m fine, Niva,” Gerrit managed, offering the young girl a simple smile. “Nothing dramatic. Just a little claw swipe.”
“Claw swipe, my ass,” Rayner grumbled. “What did these Vilkas have? Steel nails?”