Chapter 21

Julie

Orsu and I didn't get out of bed until the sun was high in the sky the next day. We'd stayed up the entire night mating over and over again. I had known that luminescence was a bit like an aphrodisiac, but I'd had no idea it would be as powerful as it was. My need to mate with Orsu left me feeling hollow and achy every time he pulled out of me. Needless to say, it was a fun night.

I was hoping to find Gabby now that I was up and about. I was sure word had spread about Orsu and I's luminescence after Brexl saw us run by him glowing last night. Even so, I wanted to tell Gabby the good news myself.

"You should stay in bed," I heard Tarak's voice from behind the curtain leading to their private cave.

"But I feel fine now," Gabby's voice came through as well.

I knocked at their entrance and they went silent. Tarak pulled back the curtain and looked relieved to see me.

"Julie, come inside. Perhaps you can convince my mate to lie down and rest."

"Rest? Are you not feeling well?" Sickness was no joke on Valo Prime. We had no modern medicine here. If we got sick with a strange alien disease then it could easily be a death sentence for us.

"No, I'm feeling fine. I just had an upset stomach this morning, that"s all," Gabby argued.

"Why don't I go get Sozu?" I suggested. "Can he tell if someone is sick or not?"

Tarak nodded his head. "He can."

"Great! I'll be right back." It wasn't hard to find the young Sirret. He was with Talia, Sarah, and Jax. The four of them had formed a tight-knit friend group and they could almost always be found hanging out together.

"Sozu," I waved him over. He got up from the table and approached me.

"I need you to come with me to Tarak and Gabby's cave. Gabby might be sick but we're not sure."

Sozu's face grew somber as he nodded his head. He took his job as the dekes' healer very seriously.

We walked at a fast pace until we were outside Gabby and Tarak's cave. I knocked at the entrance and Tarak let us in.

"Savrix," Sozu bowed with his fist over his chest.

Gabby was sitting on one of the chairs and the young Sirret wasted no time approaching her.

"May I?" he asked, pointing to her arm. I'd observed that was Sozu's preferred way to use his healing ability.

"Go ahead. I don't feel sick anymore. I'm pretty sure I'm fine," she continued to argue.

Sozu didn't say anything though. He didn't need to argue. He would know the truth soon enough.

The healer sat in the chair next to her and placed his hand on her arm. He sat there for a long moment looking puzzled.

"What is it?" There was an undeniable desperation in Tarak's voice. I couldn't imagine the fear he must be feeling after losing both his mother and sister to illness.

"I haven't felt this before. There's something there, but it doesn't feel like a sickness should. It's-" His voice abruptly cut off as his jaw hung open in surprise.

"What? What do you sense?" Gabby cut in, sounding concerned now too.

"You're pregnant. I've never sensed a pregnancy before, but I have no doubt in my mind that's what this is."

"Pregnant?" Gabby's hand moved to her belly. Tarak's hand joined hers as he got on his knees before her.

"We're going to be parents," he said with a quiver in his voice.

"We'll give you your privacy," I stated as I ushered Sozu out of the room. I spared a quick glance behind me before I closed the curtain. Gabby and Tarak were hugging now, looking so full of hope and joy.

News about Gabby's pregnancy spread and it didn't take long for conversations about what this hybrid pregnancy might look like to spread.

"So Sirrets only carry their young for five moons? Has it always been like that?" Gabby asked that afternoon after lunch.

"As far as I can remember," Neelu replied while mending some clothing.

"Do Sirrets experience illness during pregnancy too?" This time it was my turn to ask. Now that Gabby was with child the possibility I could become pregnant grew tenfold. I liked the idea of carrying Orsu's child. I'd like to start a family with him. Picturing the cavern filled with our chunky babies brought a smile to my face.

"No, that is strictly a human thing. Sirrets don't get sick during gestation."

"Lucky you," Gabby pouted. It had been two days since Gabby's first encounter with morning sickness and it had only gotten worse. Her food aversions had caused her to leave the cookfire on more than a few occasions. I had figured out how to make pancakes with the ingredients we had on hand which was Gabby's go-to meal now.

Taylor approached our little group and sat next to us on the padded cushions the women kept near the cook fire.

"Hey Gabby, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, what's up?" Gabby turned her attention to the confident woman with long black hair.

"I was thinking about our food problem."

We still hadn't figured out what to do now that our extra grain was gone. My plans to make meat filled pastries was out of the question and the extra time the guys could have used to hunt had passed. The clock was ticking and although the hunters had started going out again everyday, they wouldn"t be able to hunt enough animals to last us through the winter.

"When we were on the ship, I saw one of the aliens open a row of cabinets by pressing on the wall. It had a bunch of supplies in it and some of them looked like freeze dried food rations. I was thinking that we could go back to the ship and search the wreckage. I could go with whomever you choose and point out where I'd seen the cabinets."

"Don't you think the captor who survived would have taken whatever rations were left?" I asked. Not to sound pessimistic, but if he'd been desperate enough to steal our grain it was probably because the ship didn't have any food left.

Taylor shook her head. "There was some debris blocking the cabinets after we crashed. I doubt he could move the wreckage on his own, but I'm confident if we had some of the Sirrets with us, they could move the debris out of the way."

Gabby sat back and thought about Taylor's idea. "I'll present it to Tarak. I think it's worth a shot."

Later that day, at the evening meal, Tarak stood up as we all ate.

"I have an announcement to make," he started, and everyone grew quiet.

"A plan to search the crashed ship for food has been presented to me. I agree with my mate that it is worth checking out." Whispers of excitement spread throughout the cavern.

"I know our future is uncertain. As of this moment we do not have enough food to present to the goddess and to survive the winter." The reality of our situation hushed everyone once again. "But even with all this uncertainty, I still have more hope than ever before. The future has never been brighter." Our Savrix looked down at his mate with love in his eyes. "We will get through this." He paused and looked around at his dekes."There once was a time where we thought all hope was lost. We had no reason to hope back then, and yet we banded together and learned how to thrive. We can do so again."

The cavern broke out in cheers and Tarak sat back down and placed his hand on Gabby's belly with a smile.

I turned to Orsu, who lifted my chin and pressed his lips to mine. I could feel all the joy emanating from his soul through that kiss. Tarak was right. Our future may be uncertain, but it had also never been brighter. I was still anxious about what might happen to the dekes, but I also knew that in the end everything would be okay–better than okay.