The Alien’s Claim by Zoey Draven

Epilogue

Two weeks later…

* * *

Steppingfoot inside Jaxor’s base was surreal.

It had been over a month since they’d been there, but they’d decided to make the pit stop, though it was out of their way on their journey.

They parked their hovercraft in the same place—in the tunnel next to the kekevir, which immediately roused when they heard the noise. The gate was, surprisingly, still in place, shut tight.

They both walked in silence down the tunnel and Erin squeezed Jaxor’s hand, looking up at him.

When he met her eyes, she asked, “Are you okay?”

He’d become quieter and quieter as the Pass of the Kokillix drew closer.

“The last time I was here,” he said, “it was one of the worst moments of my lifespan. Realizing that you had been taken. This place had once been my sanctuary. It had once brought me peace. But returning…it only makes me remember that span.”

Erin had feared as much and she bit her lip, wanting to comfort him, but knowing that he needed to do this.

There was something of his mother’s that he’d left behind. A old jewelry box, he’d told her. He’d had it packed but had left it behind in his rush to reach the Golden City, to try and save her.

She saw the travel sack at the entrance of the tunnel and watched as Jaxor knelt beside it, rummaging. Then he nodded. He held up a small, beautiful box, though the lid was damaged and bent. He inspected it and then carefully placed it inside, padding it with spare furs.

Then he stood, taking in the sight of his base. Surprisingly nothing had changed. There hadn’t been a huge storm. It wasn’t flooded. Nothing was in disarray. In fact, in some ways, it remained completely unchanged. She still heard the kekevirs’ hisses. The waterfall still trickled. There was a quiet, hushed peace to the little place that Jaxor had made his home.

Only upon closer inspection did she see the little cracks. The door to their sleeping cave was off its hinges from when the Mevirax male had chased after her. Their crops were withered and dead. Another of the shield links above had lost power completely, so only half of his base was hidden.

She’d hated Jaxor in this place. She’d fallen in love with Jaxor in this place. They’d conceived their child in this place. It was strange to see it with new eyes, especially with her rounding belly and the knowledge of everything that had come to pass since the last time she’d been there.

But Jaxor needed to say goodbye to the place that had been his home for five years. Especially since they were journeying to their new home, to begin their life as a mated pair. It would be in the outpost of Jiralla that they would raise their child. It was there they would begin again, begin anew.

Vaxa’an had offered Jaxor his old title, his old life. After word spread that Jaxor had killed Po’grak and was partially responsible for obtaining the treatment that would help restore Luxirian females’ fertility, he’d become a hero.

Everywhere they went in the Golden City, he was greeted with thanks and awe and support, which had only served to make him uncomfortable—considering he didn’t see himself as a hero at all. He’d confided in her that it made him feel like a fraud. Her mate wasn’t used to the attention and she knew that a part of him longed for the quieter life he’d once led in the Pass of the Kokillix.

So, when Vaxa’an had offered him the position of Ambassador of Jiralla—which had always been his to claim since his birth—he’d been tempted. Jaxor had always been meant to oversee the outpost. While he hadn’t been the firstborn son of Kirax’an, Jaxor’an was always meant to rule in his own way.

Jirallawas a smaller outpost to the east, the last remaining and sometimes forgotten outpost of Luxiria. From what Jaxor had told her, it was situated deep within the Forest of Olara and protected by ancient stones of the Fates. Its main purpose was to import fire fuel to the Golden City and the remaining outposts because of its proximity to ancient bogs.

The only thing that kept them in the Golden City had been Vaxa’an and Kate. Jaxor was loathe to leave his brother considering the two had just reconnected, but since the other women had returned to their respective outposts with their Ambassador mates—Beks and Lihvan to Kroratax, Cecelia and Rixavox to Velraxa, Taylor and Vikan to Lopixa, Lainey and Kirov to Troxva, and Crystal and Cruxan to Otala—Erin knew it was only a matter of time before they moved forward with their own lives too.

Erin wrapped her arms around Jaxor from behind, pressing her forehead into his back as he looked around the base.

“I am ready to go,” Jaxor said quietly after another moment.

Erin nodded and threaded her hand with his again. “Do you need to grab anything else?”

“Nix,” he said, blowing out a small breath. “It is time to leave this life behind.” He looked down at her, brushing his fingers across her cheek. “Especially when I am eager to start this next one with you. With our offspring.”

Erin smiled, her stomach fluttering. He still made butterflies burst in her belly. Every single day.

“Okay,” she said softly and, with one last look at Jaxor’s base, they turned back towards the tunnel. When they reached the kekevir gate, Jaxor lit the sconces on the wall, casting light into the tunnel…and then she watched as he unlocked the gate, swinging the door open.

“It is their facev,” Jaxor told her, climbing onto the hovercraft after her, carefully tucking the travel sack with his mother’s heirloom with the rest of their baggage. “Once the fires go out, they can reclaim it.”

Erin nodded. Jaxor turned on the hovercraft engine and they rose vertically until they emerged from the overhead entrance. It was a clear, crisp day, no fog bank overhead for once. Erin could even see the glimmering Lopitax Sea from that distance.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she murmured, sighing.

Jaxor leveled a grin down at her and she was pleased to see that his spirits were lifted again. It was as if a weight was released from him and her heart skipped a beat just looking at her handsome mate. He’d make a wonderful father. He’d make a strong Ambassador. Because she already knew that he was the most perfect mate and life partner that she could ever have hoped for.

Erin couldn’t help but let her eyes stray east from that view. Towards Jiralla…but also towards the Caves of the Pevrallix.

It had been decided by the Council of Virzalla, by Vaxa’an, and the Ambassadors that any Mevirax who wished to pledge themselves to the rule of the Golden City would not be exiled. Those who remained loyal to Tavar, however, would be.

Over fifty Mevirax warriors chose exile. They’d been loaded onto a Luxirian spaceship and sent off to a neutral colony, to begin a new life in the vast universe, wherever that might be. Their names and information had been logged into the Uranian Federation’s vast database and they would be branded with their exile wherever they went…but at least they chose life.

The Mevirax that remained had more options. They could settle in the Golden City—though that had its own consequences, since some in the Golden City were angry and mistrustful about their presence. They could also settle among the outposts, as well. In fact, a few Mevirax had chosen to settle in Jiralla.

Most, however, had returned to the Caves of the Pevrallix, which was now officially under control of the Golden City. There was even talk that it would be made an outpost with time, considering that it was close to a sacred place of the Fates and that it was rich in Luxirian crystals. For now, the responsibility of overseeing the Caves of the Pevrallix fell to the Ambassadors, who would take turns visiting. The Mevirax might not like the intrusion, but they’d been able to return to their home. Most of them had been born in those caves.

There was still so much that had to be determined and decided about the Mevirax, but for now, it was a temporary solution. Luxiria was ever-changing, just like all planets and civilizations. That much was obvious to Erin.

Still, as she looked east, towards the Caves of the Pevrallix, she remembered back to a few days ago. She’d been in the marketplace with Jaxor in the Golden City and they’d been purchasing some material for clothing to take to Jiralla.

And that was when Erin had seen her.

Kossira.

She’d been one of the few that chose to stay in the Golden City. A warrior guard had been assigned to her, watching over her since many did not know how to react to her presence. A pregnant Luxirian female.

They’d connected eyes across the plaza. Erin remembered Kossira’s longing when she’d told her about the Golden City, in the darkness of the dungeons. And despite the stares and looks that the Mevirax female was receiving, her expression had been curious and riveted as she’d gazed around the marketplace, at the bustle of the people. There was a hunger and a longing in her eyes even then.

But right then, Kossira had looked at Erin and Erin had looked at Kossira. She was reminded that her mate, Tavar, had been killed in the battle with the Jetutians and she wondered if she still mourned for him.

Kossira inclined her head at Erin, her hand going to her round belly. It was an acknowledgement. A greeting. A simple recognition.

Erin had nodded back and then Kossira had slipped into the crowd, her guard trailing her, his hand placed protectively on her back, and then she’d disappeared from view.

Jaxor hadn’t seen Kossira. He’d been busy purchasing silk for her new dress, but he saw something in her eyes that made him worry.

“What is it?” he’d asked, brushing his hands across her cheek as the stall vendor had looked on.

“I’ll tell you later,” she’d promised, giving him a smile. They didn’t keep secrets from one another anymore. She wasn’t sure how to feel seeing Kossira, because she brought up memories Erin would rather forget. But she couldn’t deny that a part of her was relieved to see her well, happy even. Because she’d always been in the back of Erin’s mind.

And after it was announced that Lacarra, the second Mevirax to receive the treatment from the Jetutians, was pregnant, that she and her mate would also be remaining in the Golden City, there was a surge of breathless hope that seemed to overtake Luxiria.

News of the cure that Privanax was working tirelessly to replicate was all that people talked about. He was trying to make a treatment that wouldn’t cause pain and suffering when administered to females, but Erin knew that many would take that sacrifice willingly, if only they could have children of their own once more.

So, yes, Luxiria was ever-changing. Its history was being written, right before their very eyes.

Jaxor brought her back to the present, however, dragging her gaze away from the east. They were still hovering over Jaxor’s old base.

He brought her in front of him, pressing her gently into the console of the hovercraft, his chest to her back.

Pressing a kiss to the shell of her ear, he asked, “How about we go grab some obiraxi from the coast while we are here?”

Erin looked back at him, a slow grin appearing. His blue eyes were knowing. “We have time?”

“We will make time,” he said, his finger dragging across the silver pad, the hovercraft moving towards the shimmering sea in the distance. “I know how much my luxiva loves obiraxi.”

“You spoil me,” she teased, leaning back in his arms. “Let’s take back a whole bag, okay?”

His soft, husky laugh made her shiver. “Whatever you desire, rixella.”

His hand settled on the gentle swell of her belly. She felt his heartbeat thud against her back and she smiled as the Lopitax Sea came further into view the farther they went.

When she could smell the salt of the sea, she breathed it in deep.

Once, she’d been disappointed that the Fates had chosen Jaxor as her mate. Once, she’d thought him a half-wild brute in a loincloth, who was cold and unfeeling and detested the very sight of her.

Now?

She wondered how it was possible she’d ever felt that way.

Now?

All she saw was the Jaxor she’d fallen deeply, deeply in love with.

He loved her for all her flaws and she loved him for all his.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Is this real?” she whispered, tilting back her face to look into his eyes, smiling. “Are you real?”

He grinned down at her.

“Kekevir.”

It was the word that they said to each other when things felt like a dream, to remind them that this was their reality. That this wonderful happiness was actually real.

They said it to one another almost every day.

“Kekevir, rixella,” he murmured again, unable to resist giving her a small kiss.

Erin still pinched herself, just to be certain.