Chapter 4

M

y heart stopped when my crazy bond mate fell over as if she had died. She had been trying to convince me these God powers were harmless tools. I am failing at being her bond mate. Reluctantly, carefully, I placed that device in her bag with the others.

That Infant Chetaht was hissing angrily at me as I pulled my bond mate over my shoulder to find a safe spot to hide from the Kanenites who invaded my world.

This foreign woman was fascinating and infuriating all at once. The Kanenites have gathered and stolen most of my world's people and animals. I was the last of my tribe, the last of any life left on my planet, along with the Chetaht and my alien mate.

I wondered how she had traveled to my world, but my guilt was all-consuming. What kind of Chief will I be for my people? I guessed I would never be chief now. The Laverian people are now somewhere up in the stars.

The female that I found myself bonded to had fainted after she touched her tool. I had to carry her to this cave. She had been asleep, and I was worried she wouldn?t wake up. I Heard the frantic rhythm of my heart pounding, like a wild beast trapped in a cage trying to escape. My ears pounded and added to my desperation. I needed my mate safe and unharmed.

The night sky was so beautiful I often took smoke next to an open fire just to gaze up and wonder what lived beyond the stars. Now, my heart clenches because anger will always fill me at the sight of the night sky.

Life exists up out in the stars. Evil had come and stolen my people. I was on my traditional excursion where I dressed as our ancestors would have, and I lived in the wild for thirty rotations to become one with the land that provides.

This was the way of my kind. My father is retiring as Chief, and he wants me to take on the role of Chief since it is my time to lead. I was three days from being complete with my thirty days of wild. when I saw the signals from my village when the invasion happened. The sky lit up, and these flying ships swooped down and attacked.

By the time I made my way to my home, my village was vacant. The spacemen stole everything from me. Everyone I knew was now gone. My parents, my people.

I was nearly captured by the tiny ships that scanned my land when I discovered that this cave hid me from the God power of the space machines.

These spacemen have scanners to find us. I saw them use the scanning thing that flew around when they took the animals. In a matter of days, they have taken every living thing. I had tracked this baby Chetaht after I witnessed the creature's pride captured days ago. I don't know how this little one was overlooked, but when it bravely left its den early to seek out its mother. I knew I had to capture it and ride out what was left of our life together. Either that tiny beast would devour me, or the spacemen would capture me.

I felt nothing but guilt and loneliness. The man I was reduced to, became a hopeless soul. I was weak and at a loss. I had contemplated ending my life. I am a Laverian warrior male, the next in line to be Chief. I am supposed to be stronger than that.

I am supposed to honor my people in all my actions. Their fate utterly haunted me. I have no idea what these Kanenites are doing to my tribe up in the stars. I had decided to focus on saving that abandoned Chetaht kit, I made that my priority. After all, he was left alone like I was.

These Chetaht's are vicious, even at the size of a kit, so I was reluctant to grab it. I fashioned a net to catch the tiny beast. When I finally saw the kit again. I swooped it up in my net only to be confronted by a feisty fearless alien woman.

She came out of nowhere to rescue the creature I was trying to save. To my shock, the woman lit a flame in my soul and initiated my mate bond. She is unlike any other female I have ever encountered. She lacks horns and purple skin, however I found her enthralling still. She is so enticing and beautiful that even the Chetaht kit attached itself to her. I have never heard of a Chetaht being tamed, not even a kit.

Chetaht's are the apex predator in my world. They gave the Kanenites hell, trying to collect them. That freezing blue beam was the only way they could collect these wild beasts.

I was wallowing in my doom. My tribe was stolen, and my planet was wiped out of all its living creatures. I just wanted to try to save the kit. Now I have my mate. My soul wanted to celebrate, but I was distraught because I was doomed to watch her suffer, maybe even witness the spacemen take her too.

I figured in a few weeks, when this kit grows to its full size. I would end up being the Chetaht's last meal. It is better to go out like that than face the fate of being alone and starved to death. Now I have a bond mate who seems insane and doesn't care about her safety. I don't know how to save her. I thought I'd probably die soon trying to save her.

Looking at all the iron cores peeking through the rock ceiling, all I was feeling was my soul was grieving for the life we should have had together. Suffering for my people, what fate do they face? I was so angry. I wish I could fight and save them. I was powerless against the God power the spacemen wield. Why had the God's forsaken me and my world? I was being tormented.

I was almost convinced that God's powers were just advanced tools until she hurt herself by touching the God's power. I picked her up and ran off to take her to safety, with a Chetaht hissing at my heels. I want to know the name of this beguiling female. I vow to realize it before my demise. I have a stack of smoked prill fish; it is not good, but it is part of the diet I am to have when I am on my traditional excursion. I had offered the growing Chetaht beast a stack, and it hissed at me.

"What, not good enough?"

That creature curled up next to my sleeping mate. I longed to do the same. I wasn't going to fight that little beast to do it. Besides, my mate was not ready for me to hold her. I wondered if I would ever get the chance.

"Fine, I need to sneak off to catch fresh prill. When my mate wakes up, she will be hungry. "I had snapped at the beast.Prill fish was the only food available, and I hoped the spacemen had not found my secret water hole."Keep her safe while I am out getting fresh fish," I muttered in defeat.That infant beast chuffs at me. I left the safety of the cave. I piled a bushel of branches over the entry so it would stay hidden from view. Most of the ships had gone. Two flying machines have been making rounds with their scanners, looking for resources. I figured the ship that landed in the open meadow was the last.My planet was doomed. If we could evade capture, we would eventually starve. Being hidden in the cave has kept that scanner from detecting us. I suspect the metal veins in this cavern have somehow shielded me. I am unsure if being captured would be a better fate.I made my way to the water hole, and it was small. I have been placing prill fish in it to stalk pile a food source. I pulled my catch box up, and a pile of prill fish flapped. I assumed that was about the last of my fish. My stomach clenched as I thought of my beautiful, creamy-skinned, blue-eyed alien woman. Her long, dark blonde hair looked so silky I wanted to run my fingers through her hair so badly. My heart rushed like the rapid rivers near my home. Keeping my hands to myself was hard. She was back at the cavern, and I wanted to hurry. I did not want her to wake up alone.Fighting my need to mate her and seal our bond was all I wanted to do now that I had recognized her as my true bond mate. Circumstances were not ideal. I was ashamed that I could not give my mate what she deserved. I wondered if these aliens brought her here. Maybe she had escaped somehow. However, she seemed like the sight of them was new to her. I had so many questions.I don?t know how she got here. I had never seen her kind before. I recognized her as my bond mate the moment I saw her. So, I cared not where she came from. All those mate responses I had only heard about until then had me feeling wrapped up in desires and urges to complete our bond. Both elation and bitter sadness wage war in my heart.This insane exotic female seemed scared of nothing and was remarkable and infuriating all at once. All I wanted was to keep her safe, loved, and happy. My heart ached with failure, and I didn't see how I could spare her misery. The life I had imagined when I discovered my bond mate had been stolen from me by the spacemen.I had no good future to promise my female. It was too dangerous to take her to my home. The attacks had damaged my village, but my home still stood. Out of my reach, too dangerous to return to. I searched for survivors and barely got away before the scanning flying machine could find me.I made my way back to the hidden cave. My heartbeat was fast as my eyes settled on my sleeping mate. Her beauty had me captivated. Gods, I needed to know her name. She laid peacefully down on my pallet of furs. I wouldn't say I like bringing her here—a dirty, primitive cave.I had prepared a pot of prill fish stew for my mate and me. I had offered a pile of fresh prill for the growing beast."You like your meat raw," I said as I sat beside the fire, holding back my urge to hold my mate.I was disgusted that my only option was to offer her prill fish. I need to try to get my female to drink. She had slept for two rotations. If we die here, I can only hope our next life will give us a happier experience together. She deserved better, the best kind of life.I had only dreamed of being mated and giving my mate all of my love and protection. Building a family and making memories of a happy life together. My dreams shattered, and I was facing a catastrophic short life ahead with my new mate. I had cried out, cursing the Gods for such a fate.The stench of prill fish filled the cavern as I tried to give water to my sleeping mate. I sucked in a trembling breath to calm myself because I was a failure to my people, and now I had failed my new bride while she was sleeping. I needed to be stronger than that for her.Would she ever wake up? I wondered with a deep sadness.I really needed to know her name. Before death came to steal away my future, if nothing else, I needed her name. I would search for her in my afterlife. If I could speak her name before I died."Please drink, please wake up my bond mate." I had spoken.