Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Who The Hell Are You?

Getting in the house was easy. He elongated his body and slipped in the pet door.

Raptor heard the woman move in the dark. He glimpsed moonlight on steel and realized she was armed. He didn't want her to shoot him by mistake, so he stepped away from the wall and the deep shadows. She raised the gun, pointing it right at his groin.

Immediately, he raised his hands over his head and started babbling something about her having a gun and the men wanting to burn her out. Thank the Interstellar gods his mouth worked... because nothing else did.

"Who the hell are you?" The woman demanded.

Raptor's brain was shouting, It's her—OUR KEEPER. It's her.

His cock was doing a happy dance. All the blood in his body had rushed to that organ and he had to bite his lip to keep from groaning out loud when it went from a resting state to fully charged in the space of one heartbeat. Or one deep breath—as it was her scent that did it to him.

Along with the fact that she threatened him with a weapon, and earlier had almost shot him because he was near her enemies. They had repeated that scene innumerable times over the centuries. Whenever his Keeper was reborn to this world, Raptor would find her and she not only refused him—she'd tried to kill him. Every fucking time.

It became Raptor's fate to be denied the only woman who might save his soul. Her rejection happened so many times that at least a century ago, he'd given up searching for her.

Thank the gods Keepers never remembered their past lives.

But he remembered—every single one of them—and Raptor didn't want to do this again.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice. His body began pumping out Binding Pollen the moment he scented her. Coating his skin with the iridescent powder that was created only for her... his mate.

Those damn Interstellar gods had to be laughing at him. They let him run. Let him refuse his fate. Maybe because they knew there was no running from his destiny?

It was a thought.

Raptor couldn't look at her anymore. It hurt. So bad. Part of him wanted to turn and run away as far and as fast as he could move. He closed his eyes and reached out, bracing his hand on the wall. But it didn't erase what he'd seen.

His Keeper was amazing.

In every reincarnation, she'd been tall. Her body was curvy and strong. At this time... Grace was all of those. She'd braided her beautiful dark hair into one thick mass that hung over her shoulder. The small amount of moonlight coming through the window beside him highlighted her pretty pale skin. He couldn't see if she had freckles or not, as she did in most of her past lives, but Raptor had seen the bright sparkle of her green eyes. In the past, those eyes had shot fire at him over and over again. Just as they did today.

He didn't have time to fall apart. Someone was trying to kill his Keeper. This changed everything.

Raptor straightened away from the wall and took a deep breath of her scent mingled with the spicy aroma of Binding Pollen. Just as he opened his eyes, he heard the distinctive sound of a shotgun being racked. Shit.

"Who the hell are you?" Grace asked him again.

At least she'd raised the barrel a few inches, pointing at his chest instead of his groin. "My name is Raptor. Makayla asked me to bring you to her. But I believe we should discuss that at another time. I didn't listen to the conversation the men had with their boss. They could try to set your house on fire."

Raptor watched her carefully. Grace was still pointing the shotgun at him. Depending on what she loaded it with—rock salt would hurt—or the larger gauge ammunition could kill him. He didn't want to find out what was in there, so he remained motionless. Prepared to drop to the floor if she made any move to shoot. Although in this tight space, he probably couldn't move fast enough to dodge bullets.

Grace didn't blink or relax the tiniest amount. "They won't burn me out. Not until they find my research. First, they'll break in, torture and rape me, take the research—and then burn me out. If you're telling the truth and aren't one of Garret's men, you might want to get the hell out of here."

"I'm telling the truth. Makayla sent me."

"How the hell am I supposed to trust you?" she demanded.

Even without the bad guys surrounding her home, it was a good question. Fortunately, he had the answer. "Because she gave me a coded message. Something she thought you'd recognize as coming from her. Makayla told me to say, ‘I'm calling in my marker, Gracie. Not just for me, but for Kit Kat and Little Bit, too. I need you. For a couple weeks, a month, hell... Just come. You can decide how long you want to stay once you get here. All three of us are pregnant. There isn't a doctor here and we're having lots of complications. My husband trusts Raptor to bring you to us. Come on, Parrothead, bring Baby and come visit. I need you.' That was it." He shifted in place and hissed, "Do you believe me? Will you point the gun somewhere else? Where is the baby? We should get out of here."

His plan for this mission just went to hell. He silently cursed his choice of body for this job and rearranged his attitude. Raptor didn't plan to be friendly. He had no intention of trying to impress the Earth female because it didn't matter if she wanted to come with him or not. He was taking her back to his brother's mate.

But now there was a change in plans. Raptor couldn't be an ass to his Keeper.

Grace

She didn't blink or move. For several moments, she continued to watch him and thought about Makayla's message. It was definitely from her friend.

There were a few pieces of the message that she wanted to think about when she had time, like the fact that she hadn't heard from Makayla in almost a year. Now she evidently had a husband. Was living somewhere without medical help, and all three women were pregnant? Yeah. Definite issues.

But the stranger was right. This wasn't the time or the place for questions. Dropping the tip of the shotgun, she pointed it at his knees. "Kayla must know something about you I can't see. I don't know how the hell we can get out of this mess to go anywhere. But if we make it out alive, I have to do something first. Something more important than getting rid of the idiots trying to kill me."

The man was shorter than she was. This Raptor person wasn't attractive to her in the least. And yet... there was something about him that intrigued her.

"If I help you, will you agree to come with me when it's done?" Raptor asked.

Raising her eyebrows, Grace sighed. Unfortunately, she didn't think anyone could help. "If you can somehow help me live through tonight and expose these monsters, I'll gladly go with you and even throw in the sexual favor of your choice," she said sarcastically. Very aware there was nothing he could do. They were going to die as soon as the men became tired of watching the house and broke in.

The numbers were not in their favor. She knew Garrett. She might kill one or two—but if they rushed her—the sheer numbers would ensure her enemies won. And he'd send more, not leaving it to just the three she saw outside her window and the one she figured was at the car.

Raptor's gaze heated and Grace struggled not to roll her eyes. She didn't bother to explain that her comment was a joke. Leaning against the wall, she shrugged. "It won't be as simple as killing the idiots, although that is probably where we need to start. But yes. If you help me, I'll go with you on one condition."

Raptor frowned. "What is your condition?"

"My cat goes too. Because I don't go anywhere without Baby..." Her voice faded when she thought of something. "Where the hell is Makayla living where there are no doctors? In outer space? " Then she held up her hand. "Don't answer that. You're right, everything else can wait until we get out of here alive. If we get out alive—because I'm not sure that's possible. Just agree the cat goes too and you've got a deal."

The low growl Raptor emitted at her answer shouldn't have curled her toes. But it did.

His reply was immediate, "Agreed. The cat goes, and when we've taken care of your problem, I get the sexual favor of my choice. "

Raptor

"You realize the offer of a sexual favor was a joke, right?" Grace glared at him.

Raptor grinned at her before slipping into the shadows. He quickly blurred his form so Grace wouldn't see how he fit through the pet door. But he raised his voice to make sure she heard him. "No. You are not mine," he agreed. "Not yet."

"Believe me, Grace, I know it won't be that easy. I'll be happy if you don't try to kill me." He kept the— this time— in his mind, silent. No matter how much he enjoyed hearing the offer, Raptor didn't take Grace seriously.

And he had no objection to taking the small furry animal with them. Raptor knew many humans kept them for pets. He didn't see the attraction, but something that small wouldn't get in the way. In fact, the cat would be the least of his worries.

Frowning at him, Grace stepped back and returned to her living room. He knew she didn't understand his comments. That was okay. But she didn't stop him from going through her space, so maybe she trusted him a little.

Raptor drifted around the house. He started checking doors and windows, peeking through curtains, trying to see the men. As he moved around her small home, he noted how nice everything looked. It was obvious she loved this cabin and had taken the time and effort to paint the walls and pick furniture and decor that enhanced the feminine space. Besides the kitchen and living room, she had a bedroom, bathroom, and what looked like a combination office and lab.

He already knew the land around her cabin was green and lush. He figured it would be hard for her to leave this place. And the woman had a lot of stuff. Depending on how long it took to handle her monsters, they might not have time to pack everything and take it with them. Going with him meant she'd lose everything.

He shook off that thought. Someone wanted to kill her. If he hadn't come for Grace, she might have died this night. Keeping her alive was more important than hauling her stuff across the universe.

When Falcon first contacted him, Raptor was several solar systems away. It had taken him almost a week to travel the distance to Earth. From the conversation he'd had with his brother, he understood how urgent this mission was.

"I need a favor. Can you give me a couple of weeks?" Falcon asked.

"What's going on?"

"My Keeper, her sister, and her cousin are pregnant. All three are having medical issues. The pregnancies are developing too quickly, and the symptoms aren't what they expect. We settled on the planet of Megoth, and there are no doctors here. Just the med bay units on a few ships." The transmission wasn't perfect. But Falcon looked worried.

He tried not to show any emotion. "You want me to go to the Alliance and get a Guardian doctor?" Technically, Raptor was a runaway Guardian. Going to the Alliance for anything wasn't a good idea. But for his brother... he would do it.

"No. I could send for one without involving you. My mate wants a human doctor. More... she wants her friend. A woman from Earth who specializes in difficult pregnancies. Can you go get her and bring her to us?"

It took Raptor a few moments to answer. He didn't go to Earth. Ever. In all the many years he'd been on his own, that was the one planet he stayed away from. On purpose. But how could he say no to his brother? He couldn't. Not in these circumstances. If Raptor refused to go and something happened to Falcon's mate and unborn child—his niece or nephew—he'd never forgive himself.

Sighing heavily under his breath, Raptor shifted in front of the ship's navigation panel. "Send me the information I need to find her. I will leave immediately."

Raptor ended up getting more than the woman's name and location from Falcon and his mate, Makayla. He got Makayla's plea and a special message for her friend. Along with some instructions. She told him to give Grace whatever time she needed to get ready. Hopefully not more than a week or two, but if the doctor had to finish something at the lab or gather supplies—Makayla wanted him to wait for her friend and not rush her. Falcon's mate even told him that if Grace couldn't or wouldn't come—to leave her on Earth.

Before Raptor could respond, Falcon sent him an encrypted message. Telling him to ignore his wife and give the woman a week if she needed it. Once the week was up, Raptor was supposed to bring Grace to Megoth. It didn't matter if she wanted to come or not. Nor did it matter if she was ready. A week was all the time they could spare. Falcon promised him if the woman refused, he'd take the heat.

Yeah, Raptor was pretty sure he was the one who would get blamed for kidnapping the woman, no matter what Falcon promised him. As the only police force in the universe, Guardians were supposed to capture criminals not become one. Getting Grace to agree to accompany him was a much better plan.

Especially since that would be her first step to becoming his Keeper—agreeing to spend time with him.

The last message from Falcon included all sorts of advice on how to impress Earth females. His brother swore it all worked, that not only Falcon but two other Guardians had used the process with their Keepers. He promised him that if the advice worked on Keepers, it should work on the female doctor, making it easy for Raptor to convince her to come and help Makayla and her family.

Raptor had not only ignored all the advice on body type, hair length, and muscle mass... he'd done almost the exact opposite. He'd really screwed that one up. The only thing he could do was get Grace on his spaceship. Then, while taking her to Makayla, he would reread Falcon's advice on impressing his Keeper—and see if any of it worked.

But first, "I'll go outside and take care of our problem. You pack the things you want to take. I have a place we can stay until we've exposed your monsters and completed the task you set."

Grace shook her head. "You can't go out there alone."

"I have the right skill set."

This time, the woman laughed. "Are you saying I don't? I met Makayla in the army. We are both snipers, both rangers. I know how to kill, Raptor."

He turned around and looked at her. At the grim determination on her face. He sighed. "Okay, I believe you. But do you enjoy it? There may come a time when you have too many enemies for me to fight alone. If I can't defend you... then do what they trained you to do. Until that time, let me handle it. It doesn't hurt me to do this."

Grace let out a gust of air, commenting, "It should hurt. Taking a life should hurt."

Raptor didn't agree. "Not if they've threatened me or mine."

She was back to rolling her eyes. "I'm not yours."

Raptor grinned at her before slipping into the shadows. He quickly blurred his form so Grace wouldn't see how he fit through the pet door. But he raised his voice to make sure she heard him. "No. You are not mine," he agreed. "Not yet."