Chapter 18

Paige

T he last of the Thachiens disappear over the horizon and something squeezes my heart. My friends are huddled together, tears streaming down their faces as they tremble in fear.

My gaze slides to Ryan, still lying motionless on the ground. Draxel pulls her shoulders and lays her on her back gently.

Varek shakes me. “Go. She needs you.”

He’s right.

I take off and join Draxel’s side. I reach for Ryan and he slaps my hand away.

“Mate,” he growls and snarls at me.

For a second, I’m frozen by the anger and violence in his voice, but then I remember it’s just the bond. He’s worried about her. He’s trying to protect her.

“I know she’s your mate, but listen. She won’t be able to understand you. If you are the first thing she sees when she wakes up, she’s going to fight and she could hurt herself more.”

His jaw goes tight, all the muscles in his body clenching. He drops his spear and softly caresses Ryan’s cheek where a bruise is already starting to bloom. Draxel looks pained, but finally takes a step away from her, never taking his eyes off her.

I move in close and give her a little shake. “Ryan?”

Her brows knit.

“Ryan? Can you hear me?”

Her eyes pop open and she flinches. “You piece of—”

“No! No!” I shout. “It’s me! It’s Paige!” I throw my hands up and give her some space.

Ryan focuses on me and then she settles before reaching for her cheek and wincing. “Jesus Christ. That ugly bastard really got a good shot of me, huh?”

“How do you feel?” I ask. “Do you think you can stand?”

She nods. “Wait a second. What the fuck are you doing back here? We thought for sure you were alien food. And now you’re back and you’re—” Her eyes roam up and down my body. “Healthy? Clean? Wearing their clothes?”

“It’s a long story,” I say.

“Yeah, I’d say. You look like you just came back from a tropical vacation.”

I grit my teeth as she pulls herself to her feet and wobbles a bit.

“Whoa there.” I grab her by the shoulders. Once she’s solid on her feet she brushes me off.

“Answers, let’s go,” she barks.

I turn my head, inclining it to the place where Varek and Draxel stand, both staring at us.

Ryan sucks in a sharp breath.

“They aren’t bad, I promise.”

“That’s the one that took you, right?” She asks.

I nod.

“And the other one?”

Your mate, I want to say. But I hold my tongue. “A hunter. They are called Vruts.”

“Vruts? More like fucking brutes.”

I roll my eyes. “Brutes that just saved your life.”

Ryan scoffs, her shoulder slamming into mine as she takes off for the other women still huddling by the edge of the ship. “Yeah? I don’t see Cristina over there safe and sound.”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks and the air surges from my lungs.

They blame me. Or at least Ryan does.

As they should.

With Varek and Draxel at my side, we approach the women. Everyone looks terrified except for Ryan who is rubbing her cheek and working out her jaw.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” I say, looking at my friends, “but these guys are actually good. They have a home not too far from here. Shelter. Food. And a healer.” I point in the direction of the glowhollow so that Varek knows what I’m saying.

Varek’s hands crush into fists at his sides. We hadn’t discussed it, but he had to know after this attack that I would never be okay leaving them out here. It was only a matter of time before the Thachiens came back and by the look of Melina, she wasn’t going to last long unless Selvara got a look at her.

And maybe even then she’s still might not survive.

“And Cristina?” Lara asks. “Who were those things? Where did they take her?”

I let out a ragged breath. “Those are Thachiens. Look, as much as I want to go after her, right now we can’t.”

“Why?” Lara presses.

“They took her into a really dangerous area. When we get back, Varek and I will approach the council to see if they will send some hunters out to find her. But for now—”

“But for now, what? We just let them take her? We assume she’s dead?” Ryan asks. “Great.”

I look to Varek, whose eyes are distant, and I hate that I feel so far away from him. He doesn’t look back at me.

“Right now, the most important thing is getting you guys safe. We can hike to the glowhollow.”

“But Melina—” Nicole says.

I cut her off. I would ask Varek to carry her, but the slash on his back is too deep. “Draxel? Would you be able to carry our friend?”

He bows his head, his eyes always on Ryan.

I turn back to Nicole and her eyes are wide. “Wait, how did you do that?”

“Do what?” I ask.

“You spoke in, like, alien or something,” Lara says. She sniffles and clears her throat. “Can you understand them?”

“Yes.”

“How?” Lara asks.

I shake my head. That’s a mystery I still haven’t figured out. “I really don’t know. But if it happened to me, maybe it will happen to the rest of you.”

“I don’t fucking want it to happen to me,” Ryan mutters.

“Draxel will carry Melina,” I say to the women while I point to the massive male on my left.

Nicole hovers closer to Melina. “And you trust him?”

I swallow. A week ago, I wouldn’t have imagined trusting anything that walked on this planet. Now? I know the Vruts are kind. They are gentle. And if there’s a chance that any of the other women in front of me are mates to Vrut males, they will never be more protected than at the glowhollows.

“I do,” I answer. “We are safe with them.”

It takes a bit more convincing, but finally the women let Draxel approach Melina. He picks her up gently, his arms under her back and legs, but his attention remains on Ryan. We pass out the provisions so that the women can get something in their bellies as we walk. Nicole wraps one of Ryan’s arms across her shoulders to help steady her, despite Ryan’s protests. We walk toward the glowhollows in relative silence.

My friends couldn’t talk to my mate even if they wanted to.

Lara bumps my shoulder, her brows raising as she points to Varek. “That one stares at you.”

I nod, following her gaze. His jaw is tight, no doubt in pain from the slash across his back. I wonder what else has him looking so solemn. Is he worried about what comes next? What will happen when we get back?

I sigh. “He’s my mate.”

Lara blinks back at me rapidly. “I’m sorry, your what?”

“My mate,” I repeat. “It’s a Vrut thing. Hard to explain.”

“Try me.” She takes a big bite of the dried meat in her hands. “Last week I crash landed on an alien planet. Things aren’t seeming so crazy anymore.”

My lips twitch on what would be a smile if I didn’t feel the weight of everything crashing down on my chest. How she can still manage to have a sense of humor is beyond me. But I should probably explain everything just in case we arrive at the glowhollows and she sees a Vrut light up like Varek or Draxel.

I give her a quick rundown on the whole mate thing—at least what I understand. It’s about survival, but it’s also about love. It’s something bigger than any of us, and not something we can control. The glows chose for Varek to be my mate and because of that, the council—the Vrut clan—accepted me into their lives.

It would be the same for my friends, right? The Vruts will accept them even if they didn’t mate with anyone?

From what I’ve learned, mates are so infrequent that even the chance of new female mates is too precious to turn away.

My stomach churns as we walk further and I can see the mountain cliffs. My gaze darts to Varek but he won’t look at me. The tension between us–the distance–makes my skin crawl. As if my body is literally calling to him, begging to make things right.

As we near, I move closer to him and reach for his hand, but he pulls his away. His chest flares bright green like I’ve come to expect, but Varek doesn’t acknowledge me.

“Varek,” I whisper. The sound seems to fizzle out among the soft sprinkle of rain.

Nothing.

I reach for my chest, an ache spreading again.

Nerves knot my belly. Maybe we should have discussed all this before I just made the decision to bring them back.

What if things don’t turn out like I expect? What if my friends are turned away?

What if I still can’t save them?