by Grey, Lena
“Trauhn?” Ken-zee stiffens in my arms. “Whatthehellarethosethings? Ohmygod! Theyrecomingrightforus!”
Panic in her voice tells me something is very wrong. I stop in my tracks, turn and put her down, pushing her behind me.
Serigs.
An entire pack of them. The scraggly beasts rarely approached Rakui hunters. But a small female emitting a mating scent must be too much for them to resist.
“What are they?” Ken-zee asks in the common language.
“Serigs. Do not worry, mate. Trauhn protect Ken-zee.” I lift her high above my head and push her onto a thick tree branch. “Serigs no climb. Stay here where safe.” I draw my sword.
“You can’t fight them. There’s too many! We should run away.”
I take my eyes off the advancing serigs to smile reassuringly at my mate. “Trauhn is Rakui warrior. Protect Ken-zee.”
Ken-zee screams, her fearful voice echoing through the forest. The sound momentarily stops the serigs in their tracks. They look at her, their heads tilted at an odd angle, and answer her scream with a corresponding screech.
I face the serigs; this is my chance. Rushing forward, my blade slicing through the air, I make contact with the beasts that threaten my mate. Two fall, then four and five.
The serigs keep coming.
I extend my claws, slashing at the four-legged enemy with my free hand, ignoring the various blows the serigs land to my body. One beast latches onto my thigh with its sharp teeth. I strike it down, but not before it tears the flesh. Still, I fight on, blood seeping from my wounds.
I must protect my mate. I must protect my Ken-zee.
Chapter 10
Kenzie
* * *
I watch in horror, my heart pounding in my chest, as Trauhn fights the alien wolves.
They aren’t wolves exactly. They’re wolfish creatures that look like they had cross-bred with rabies-infected bats. Yeah, they’re wolf-bats with beady, yellow eyes and sharp fangs. Trauhn calls them serigs.
My barbarian fights like a warrior, his movements smooth, powerful, relentless. But each time he takes one wolf-bat out, several more appear from the shadows. He’s bleeding from several wounds, including a horrible gash on his thigh. It’s only a matter of time before his strength gives out.
Think, Kenzie. Think!
“Retreat, Trauhn,” I call out. “Save yourself!”
“No retreat,” he yells back. “Trauhn protect mate.” His belief that has to protect me is unwavering and he won’t stand down.
Oh God, the serigs are closing in and he’s almost completely surrounded. Soon they will overtake him.
I can’t let Trauhn die for me. I have to do something. “You’re not killing him on my watch, assholes.”
Reaching into my survival pack, I rummage around until my hand closes around my stun blaster. I’ve never used it outside the training range. Unlike Jade and Jillian, who spent many hours gaming, I’m not the best shot. Yet I know how to power the blaster on and remove the safety. I know how to aim it, how to shoot it.
With two hands, I hold the blaster steady and take a deep breath. With a serig centered in the sight, I pull the trigger. A beam of laser energy drops it to the ground, alive and twitching but immobile. I aim again and shoot. Another wolf-bat collapses.
Trauhn is still losing ground though. He needs more help than I can provide as a tree sniper. With adrenaline pumping through my blood, I sling my pack over my shoulder, drop down from the tree and run forward.
“Yippee Ki-yay you mangy motherfuckers!” I scream, raining laser blasts on the pack. The closer I get, the less accurate I need to be, freeing me to fire faster.
Trauhn looks at me with surprise and I grin back at him, taking down another serig just before it attacks him. He stomps on its head and the sound of bone crushing beneath his boot makes me shudder.
After a few more blasts from my weapon, the remaining wolf-bats back off, slinking away out of sight and back into the trees. When I’m sure the serigs aren’t coming back, I set the blaster’s safety and tuck the gun into the waistband of my tight, high-tech leggings.
Trauhn moves from serig to serig, driving his blade systematically through each stunned beast. Not a bad idea considering I don’t know how long they will stay down. I don’t like it, but in a place like UD237, sometimes it’s kill or be killed.
When every stunned serig is dead, reality catches up with Trauhn and he drops to a single knee. He’s badly wounded, leaking blood that’s every bit as golden and shimmery as his scales.
“Trauhn!” I rush toward him, tears blurring my vision. Was I too slow to act? If my hesitation cost him his life, I’ll never forgive herself.
When I reach him, he wraps a bloodied arm around my waist and pulls me tight against his sweaty chest. “Ken-zee safe,” he says, his voice weak.
He looks at me like I’m the suns and the moons and the stars above. Nobody has ever looked at me like that. Warmth radiates from my chest and spreads outward throughout my whole body.
I have the sudden urge to kiss him. But before I can act on that urge, his grip on me goes slack, and he drops to the ground.
Chapter 11
Trauhn
* * *
I open my eyes to darkness. My entire body aches, the pain worse than the time I was mauled by a great white cooba in the high ice caves.
On my back, I can not see the stars. That is when I realize I am in some sort of shelter. A shiny, lightweight covering is over my body. It is not made from the hide of any beast I have seen but it keops me warm. My wounds are bound by a type of white cloth.
The opening to the shelter pull back and I see the silhouette of an angel bathed in moonlight. A lovely, divine being that momentarily distracts me from my injuries. Perhaps the gods have delivered me to the heavens. The angel kneels next to me and lifts the covering on my thigh wound. I suck in a breath when agony radiates from the area. Surely the heavens would not be so cruel.
“Thankgodyoureawake. Ididntmeantohurtyou. Lookslikethebleedinghasfinallystopped.”
Two tiny hands cup my face. That is when I know the angel is my Ken-zee. Her words do not make sense, but her caring gesture is clear. She is worried about me and is relieved that I am alive.
Memories of the serig fight slowly come back to me. My Ken-zee left the safety of her perch on the tree and joined me in battle, using a magic weapon to help fell the beasts. When I collapsed from my injuries, she must have built a shelter and tended to my wounds instead of fleeing to safety and leaving me to die. Pride washes over me at this realization.
Remmel was wrong about Ken-zee. My mate is small, yes, with little physical strength. But she is not weak. She has the strength of a warrior within her.
She cared for me when I was hurt, and now I will care for her. I struggle to get up and she stops me. “You’re hurt,” she says in the common language. She points to my wounds. “Trauhn must rest.”
We both know she is right. My body has an innate ability to repair itself. With adequate rest, a Rakui’s wounds heal quickly. My eyes drift to the magic weapon at her waist. Unlike similar weapons used by rogues, hers does not kill the intended prey. I point to it, a question in my eyes.
“It’s called a stunblaster,” she says.
“Stunblaster,” I repeat.
“Two words. Stun. Blaster. It’s a type of gun.”
Gun. Another word from the Cavern of Memory. Ancient Rakui warriors used guns that spit light and fire. Our ancestors’ guns were deadly. “Ken-zee gun no kill.”
Ken-zee shakes her head. “No kill. Just stun.” She falls over, like she is hit by the stun blaster. Then she gets back up again to show she is fine.
“How does Ken-zee gun work?”
“Like this.” She shows me how to enable the gun and how to shoot it.
Other than offering a temporary respite during an enemy attack, what good is a weapon that does not kill? “Trauhn kill serigs. No more stun.”
She seems to find hum
or in my words. “Yes. Trauhn did kill the serigs. He protected Ken-zee. Now Ken-zee will protect Trauhn so he can rest and heal.”
Her words are more complex than mine, but I understand. “Did serigs return?”
“No.” She pats her weapon, then points to my sword. “If they do, I will stun them first, then kill them.”
I smile. My Ken-zee is everything a Rakui male would want in a mate. A kind and caring female willing to fight for others, one who will fiercely protect the kits she would soon bear. I am truly blessed.
Reaching out, I stroke her soft mane. “Ken-zee mine.”
When she smiles in response, my heavy eyelids close. It is time for more sleep.
* * *
When I wake again, the suns are up and the crisp morning air feels refreshing. I stretch my large limbs and flex my muscles, testing my agility and strength. My worst wounds are not healed yet, but most of the pain is gone. I can fight again if needed.
I sit up, startling Ken-zee who is leaning against her pack with her stun blaster in her lap, facing the opening to the shelter. She is chewing on what looks like dried meat and drinking from a shiny metal tube. Had she had been awake all night watching over me, protecting me?
“Food,” she says, offering me a piece of the meat. “Eat.”
I take it, eager to suppress the hunger that rumbles in my belly. The taste is odd, a mix of sweet like fruit from the banan tree and salt from the black water. It will suffice, but it is not as good as the thick strips of kerboo my tribe seasons and dries.
“Itsbeefjerkey. Teriyakiflavor. Notahugejerkyfanmyself. Butitsbetterthanstarving.” She hands me another piece.
I want to learn her strange words, to talk with her in her native tongue, teach her the Rakui language.
“Areyouthirsty?” She offers me her metal tube. “Water. Drink.”
I accept the tube and drink. The liquid is clear and had no taste. It is not the same mineral-rich water I am used to, but it quenches my thirst.
She takes another bite of her meat and chews it through. “How are you feeling?”
“Trauhn good. Travel now.”
Ken-zee shakes her head. “No travel. You need more rest.”
We had survived the night without further attack, but the simple shelter my mate erected will not keep us safe for long. There are too many forest beasts willing to attack a tasty female in heat.
And now that I was feeling somewhat better, my desire to mate with Ken-zee had returned, and that desire was stronger than ever. My healing wounds were secondary to claiming my mate.
“Danger here.” I wave my arm to indicate the expanse of trees that surrounded the shelter. “Trauhn take Ken-zee to safe place.”
“I know there is danger here,” Ken-zee agrees. “But we need to wait. We shouldn’t travel until you’ve had more time to heal. The serigs could have killed you.”
Ken-zee worries about my safety, which warms my heart and makee my cock harden beneath my leathers. I take her hand and press it against my groin. “No wait. Travel to safe place. Trauhn mate with Ken-zee.”
A burst of color rises from Ken-zee’s pale cheeks and she snatches her hand away. My mate is shy, yet I can tell from her scent that she is pleased with my size. My chest puffs out with pride. “Trauhn big, strong Rakui warrior.”
“Youcansaythatagain. Howbigisthatthinganyway? Doallalienshavemostercocks?”
I grin when she reverts to her native tongue, speaking rapidly, her eyes wide. Her scent and expression tells me what he need to know. I stand and offer her my hand. “Travel now. Trauhn make Ken-zee happy.”
“Youwinbigguy.” She takes my hand and gathers her belongings, placing everything except the stun blaster in her pack. She slips the gun into the waist of her tight leathers.
I move to the opening of the shelter and make sure it was safe to leave our cover. Outside, I watch as Ken-zee quickly disassembles the shelter and adds it to her pack. I marvel at how the shelter folds down to almost nothing, taking up very little space. Urth hides are very strange indeed.
“We go now.” I start to lift Ken-zee over my shoulder, but she stops me.
“Yes, we can go now.” She slings her pack over her shoulder. “But you’re still hurt so I will walk.”
She weighs less than a half-grown Rakui kit. We will make faster time if I carry her. “Trauhn fast. Ken-zee slow.”
“I don’t care if I’m slow. I’m walking.” To prove her point, she stomps off, charging through the trees at a pace that is faster than I expect. My mate is stubborn and headstrong. I like that about her. Yet she is walking the wrong way.
I catch up with her in a few strides. Taking her hand, I lead her in the correct direction. “Ken-zee walk. This way.”
“Fine. You lead, I’ll follow.”
Before she can protest, I snatch the pack from her shoulder. If she will not let me carry her, the least she can do is let me carry her belongings.
The small shake of her head makes me grin.
Chapter 12
Kenzie
* * *
I’m hot and tired and frustrated by the steady strum of desire that throbs between my legs.
While tending to Trauhn’s wounds and watching over him while he slept, my libido had waned. Dragging his heavy body away from the dead serigs—no easy task considering my size—cleaning away his blood and patching up his wounds had dampened my desire.
I hadn’t slept a wink the night before; I was afraid to nod off. That gave me too much time to think about the solar storm, crashing on UD237, the fate of the other girls, what I had willingly agreed to do with Trauhn.
I’m worried that splitting from Jillian was a mistake. Not that I had a lot of say in the matter. Trauhn was determined to take me—somewhere—to have sex and didn’t seem like the kind of guy to take no for an answer. Not that I want to tell him no…now that we’re moving again, I’m hornier than ever.
When he woke the second time, he was raring to go. Literally. I almost fainted when he placed my hand over his hard cock. I don’t have a lot of experience judging penis size, but even through the leather of his kilt I can tell he is huge.
Just thinking about his size makes my body tremble with anticipation, which only makes me feel hotter. Not helpful while trekking through a sweltering forest at a brisk pace.
A tiny voice in my head is nagging me to slow down and appreciate the natural wonders of this foreign world. In Earth’s North America Sector, the few forests that haven’t been lost to climate change or urban development are designated as protected wildlife habitats and are off limits to the public.
The local parks have a few trees, but I’ve never been in an untamed, heavily wooded area like this. At a glance, the vegetation on UD237 looks similar to the plant life on ancient Earth. Yet there are distinct differences.
The colors here are more diverse and vibrant. There are various shades of green and brown, but there is also a variety of plants and flowers in shades of blue, purple, orange and yellow. The trees here are different, too. Taller and leafier with twisted, spiral-shaped trunks and lots of big, thick branches that extended outward like giant arms.
We hadn’t seen any more serigs, so if they are lurking nearby they’re keeping out of sight. Other than creepy insects that I bat away when they get too close and a few bird-like creatures flying high above the trees, there are few signs of wildlife. Maybe the predators are afraid of my big, burly Rakui.
I use my sleeve to wipe away beads of sweat from my forehead. “Do you think Remmel and Jillian have found my friends?”
Trauhn nods. “Remmel good tracker. Find more females, keep Jill-ee-un safe.”
Right. That plan was already established. Conversing in broken Old Galactic isn’t very productive. “Trauhn and Kenzie could help find more females.”
“Mate first,” Trauhn says without breaking stride. “Make kit.”
Yeah, I still don’t know what that means. “What is a kit exactly?”
Trauhn stops and looks
at me like I had just grown serig fangs. “Kit.” He reaches out and touches my flat stomach, then uses his hands to demonstrate a round, full belly. “Kit.”
My eyes widen. So a kit is a baby, not his junk, and he wants to make one before we look for my friends. Didn’t Jillian say she doubted that could happen? Even though my TEASE also wants me to get pregnant, I’m not really into the whole procreation thing. I’m also leaving this planet as soon as the rescue arrives—and I don’t want to leave with an alien bun in the oven.
Thankfully, I’m not in the fertile phase of my monthly cycle. So my plan is to follow Trauhn to the ‘safe place,’ wherever that is, get enough action to satisfy both of our urges, then convince him to help me find the other students.
“Ken-zee mating scent grows stronger.” He looks at me with a heated, knowing gaze that makes me squirm.
“Yes,” I acknowledge. Why bother denying it? “How far away is the safe place?”
“Not far,” Trauhn saya.
In a Rakui’s world, is ‘not far’ equivalent to a mile, an hour or another full day of travel? “Thanksforclearingthatup,” I mumble as we set off again.
Our journey eventually leads us to a river that cuts a path through the trees. There’s a collection of large, flat stones leading across it. The stones are placed enough together that they make me think this is the Rakui version of a bridge.
Trauhn stops and kneels at the edge of the river. “Rest. Drink.” Using his hands to scoop up the water, he drinks deeply.
I kneel beside him and swish my hands in the water to wash them off before drinking. The water is cool and satisfying. It tastes different than the purified water we drink on the Educator. When I’ve had enough, I refill the canteen in my pack and splash water on my face and neck.