Possessive Alien’s Mate by Luna Hunter

Chapter Four

Thiray

The human femalestirs in her sleep. I place a cloth on her forehead and wipe her dark hair from her face.

“Calm down, farlin,” I whisper.

I shouldn’t call her that, but I cannot resist. It’s a term of endearment usually saved for the most intimate of lovers, but it just feels right. She doesn’t know what it means, so it’s harmless. But if my brother heard me use it…

“You are safe here. I will protect you.”

I know she can’t hear me in her delirious dream-state, but it pleases me to speak to her. My thumb gently strokes her cheek. She is strong, this one. The toxins in the Crokkal’s bite can kill instantly, but she fights back. Soon, she will make a full recovery.

The same cannot be said for me.

I have purged the deadly poison from her body by sucking it out of her wound, flooding my sensitive receptors with it. This far away from Yssadril, even a Thaana is susceptible to Crokkal poison. I need to find my way home, and fast.

And yet, all that matters to me at this moment is that Viliana, along with the other females, is safe.

I lean down and kiss Viliana on her forehead. Her wonderful scent surrounds me, and a brief but intense flash my body urges me to mark her as my own. I growl to myself.

Keep it together, Thiray. You are not a rut in mating season. You are better than this.

I close the door to Viliana’s room only to be instantly accosted by the three other human women.

“What have you done to her?!” The mouthy one demands to know.

“She is safe and resting.

“How do we know that’s true?! Can we see her?!”

“You may, but it is important that she rests. Do not try to wake her.”

Two females enter the room, while the mouthy one looks at me distrustfully.

“I demand you return us all back home right this instant!”

“There’s no home for you on Earth anymore, human.”

“What do you mean?”

“Has Viliana not told you?” I ask.

“Told us what?”

I suck in a breath. I find it's best to always state the truth, as harsh as it can be.

“You are now a threat to the Interstellar Union, and you will be treated as such, human. You are now involved in something greater than your previous life. You have become a part in a fight that will shape the future of the galaxy.”

“What? What does that even mean? Why can’t I just go home?!” She says, her voice taking on a frantic edge.

“Because they will kill you, little one. The Union, the Uttux, they will find you, and they will kill you, because you know too much.”

Her face turns as pale as my own. Interesting. Human faces are so easy to read. Why do they all wear their feelings so publicly?

“I barely know a thing,” she mumbles. “Are we… safe, here? Will they, these people who hurt Viliana, won’t they come for us?”

I nod. “They will, little one, but you are safe with me. My ship is cloaked, and it has the speed to outrun any Union vessel. They will not find us. Now, I have business to attend to. There are bunks in the back of the vessel for you and the other females, and the replicator will see to your dietary needs.”

I excuse myself and head to the helm of the ship. Closing the door behind me, I take a deep breath. For a moment there, I thought I’d lost Viliana. I got there just in time.

No, a fraction too late. I should have intercepted that Crokkal before he busted down that door. Still, the important thing is that she’s on my ship, that we’re flying away from Earth as quickly as possible, and that she’s safe.

I call Commander Dhauk on an encrypted line. The enraged Dohan answers instantly, the veins on his neck bulging clearly on the holographic image.

“You Thaana bastard!” He shouts. “You kidnapped our women! You called in the Crokkals, didn’t you?! Sneaky black-eyed bastard! Xaldur warned me about you!”

“I did not,” I say. “Calm down, Dohan. I saved the women.”

No matter what I tell him, he won’t listen. The commander is convinced I stole the women from under his nose, and nothing I can say will change his mind.

I will have to prove him wrong with my actions.

“Meet me at Tograr II. I will hand over the women to you there — is that acceptable?”

Tograr is around half-way between Doxhar and Thulara. I’ll still be able to see Yssadril in time if we meet there.

Dhauk glares at me. “What’s the catch?”

“There’s no catch. Meet me at Tograr II. Thiray out.”