Chapter 29 Harb’k

I stepped out of my shuttle, ready to fight, only to see Zoey already running to me, her friend trailing behind her. What phenomenal luck.

I ordered my shuttle to uncloak so they would see me. The look of relief was evident when she did.

“Harb’k!”

I ran toward her, eager to hold her in my arms, but also because I knew there were enemies around. I needed to protect her. Just as I got within arm’s reach, I saw them. The two humans aimed their weapons at me and fired.

I heard the gunshots moments before she tumbled into my arms. I caught her and rolled out of the way. I didn’t feel any of the bullets so they must have missed. Good.

I grabbed the small blade I’d attached to my belt and threw it at my nearest adversary. As he fell, the hilt sticking out of his face, the other two panicked, ducking back into the building and giving me enough time to carry my mate to the shuttle.

Kan’n had landed next to me and was currently helping Riley.

“Get inside,” I said, setting Zoey down by my shuttle’s door. “I will take care of them.”

But Zoey stumbled the second I released her. I righted her again, and this time, she slumped against my shuttle. There was a look of shock on her face. It was only then that I saw the blood on the front of her hoodie. She looked down at her stomach, then put her hand over the growing spot of blood. The tang of iron filled my nostrils.

No! I caught her in my arms before she fell.

“Zoey!” Riley tried to run toward us, but Kan’n grabbed her and shoved her into his shuttle. “Go. Get the female to safety,” Kan’n said. Then he charged at the humans.

Panic set in as I carried her into my shuttle, our enemies forgotten.

“Shuttle! Zoey’s been shot. We need to get to Franklin. Now.” There was a full-body medical unit there. I wasn’t sure a handheld device could save her. There was so much blood.

I laid her in my sleeping nook and returned with my medical device.

“Hang on, Little Star. I’m here.”

“Harb’k.” She reached for my face as I unzipped her hoodie.

Then, I pushed her shirt up to see the damage.

I had seen countless injuries before in my lifetime. On myself, on other hunters. Even on humans. This was the first time it made me feel physically ill.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“No,” I lied. “You’ll be fine.”

I realized only now that I needed to remove the bullet before I could get the medical unit on her. I didn’t know how to do it on a human. If it were me, I’d just dig it out, but her body was delicate.

“Shuttle? What should I do? I need to remove the bullet. But I can’t.”

Krux! My entire universe was imploding, and I didn’t know what to do.

“Put the device on her first. The medical bed can remove the bullet later.”

Right. Why didn’t I think of that?

The shuttle suddenly jerked, and Zoey inhaled sharply.

“Sorry. Flyers. I won’t be engaging, just evading. I’m trying to convince the shuttle it can go faster. I’m contacting the mothership building now.”

“Harb’k?” Zoey reached up to touch my face, and I cupped her hand in mine. Her hand was so cold. “Did... did I ever…” She gasped.

“Shh! Don’t try to talk. You can tell me after.”

“No.” She panted, trying to get the words out. “I need to tell...”

“Whisper the words. I can hear you.”

“I love you, Harb’k.”

“I love you too, Little Star. You are my mate. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I’m so sorry.”

She didn’t reply.

“Zoey?”

Her eyes were closed, and she did not respond.

“Zoey! Wake up! Please.”

“Ahh, stop, Harb’k. You’re breaking my heart, and I don’t even have one,” said Pip’s voice. Our Pip’s. “Kan’n says he’ll neutralize the threat. Sam’s with Riley. Zoey’s still alive. I’m receiving her vitals from the healing device. We’ve got flyers on our tail, though. I need you to hold her still.”

I did, while keeping pressure on her wounds.

“And Harb’k?”

“What?”

“Did you know your shuttle is scared of flyers?”

***

My mate’s eyes blinked open, and she looked around, confused. She relaxed when her eyes landed on me.

“Harb’k.” She spotted the glass of water, tried to push herself up and reach for it, and groaned. “Where are we?”

“You are still not fully healed.” I helped her up, then picked up the glass and held it to her lips. “We are in the mothership building in New Franklin.”

“Mothership building?”

“Yes. Some of our Tech Wizards have been replicating a mothership, but without flight capabilities. This is the medical bay.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” She looked down at her stomach. “Riley!”

“She’s safe.”

She relaxed. “Those assholes got me good, didn’t they?”

“They did. But they are dead.”

“You?”

“I only got one,” I said regretfully. If I could kill them all for her, I would. “I was unable to stay and fight. Kan’n immobilized them, and your friend finished the job. She was very angry when she saw you bleeding.”

“Riley always was trigger-happy. Thank you for coming for me.”

“I will always come for you.”

“How did you find us?”

“Mountain Pip contacted ours the moment that shuttle took off. It only remained hidden as long as it was stationary. Pip’s sorry he was a jerk. His words. He wanted to be here when you woke, but they banned him from the medical bay for being annoying.”

The corner of Zoey’s lips lifted. “How long did that take?”

“About two hours. I told him we’ll find him once you’re feeling better and he can apologize.” I unclipped my communicator from my seat and contacted my shuttle. “But I promised my Shuttle I’d alert it when you wake.”

“Greetings, Zoey.”

“Hi, Shuttle.” A smile lifted the corner of Zoey’s lips.

“I’m glad you are awake. Harb’k was illogical with you.” There was some interference followed by, “No, Pip. You’re not allowed in here. Get out.”

That had Zoey smiling even harder. “We’ll see you back on the ship soon. Say hi to Pip for me.”

I disconnected before Pip could take over the call.

“Thank you,” she said. “And thank you for being here, even though I left you without much explanation.”

“I will always be here for you,” I repeated. “Because you are my mate.”

She glanced away, and the tiny gesture made my chest feel like it was being torn apart. “So I didn’t dream up our conversation after all.”

“It was not a dream. You told me you loved me.” I held onto her hand, refusing to let go, afraid that if I did I’d lose her again, this time for good.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked.

I frowned. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because...” She pressed her lips in a thin line, and tears welled up in her eyes. She inhaled a shaky breath and then pressed her hand to her belly again. “Oww.”

“Relax.”

“I can’t. I have to tell you.” The monitor showed her heart rate increasing.

“Be calm. I already know. It’s okay. You are still my mate, and I still want you.”

She shook her head. “No. You don’t get it. You want a family. I can’t offer that to you.”

“I know. I saw the report from the medical bed. The human medic explained it. You do not have a womb. I don’t care. You are worth so much more to me than an offspring I’ve never met.”

She blinked. Then she was crying.

“Do not cry,” I begged. “Please. I hurt when you cry.”

“I don’t want you to settle for half a woman who can’t give you what you want.”

I growled. “What do you mean? Who told you that? Tell me so I can end their existence. Your worth is not based on your ability to create life. You are not half of anything. You are fully my mate. And you are perfect.”

“But you want a family so much. You mentioned how much knowing you had a future gave you hope. I can’t take that from you.”

“There will be plenty of Xarc’n/human children to continue our race. Just the fact that they exist is enough to give me hope. I don’t need my own. I do need you. You are my future. When you were unconscious, I thought I was going to die from the pain in my chest. I cannot live without you.”

“You really mean that?”

“Yes. Every word. I love you, Zoey.”

“I love you, too.”

Then she was sobbing in my arms.

The door opened and the human medic walked in. “You’re supposed to alert me when she wakes, not make her cry. Go shoot some flyers or something.”

“I will not leave my mate.”

He sighed. “All of you hunters are the same. Fine. If you’re going to be here, at least help me get her back into the medical unit. She has one more round.”

I picked her up carefully and followed the medic to the next room.

When she woke again the next day, she was looking much better. She was also ravenous, which was normal after using a medical bed. She was shocked at how fast she’d healed, but I wasn’t. It took three whole days. That was a long time in a medical bed.

The doctor returned and proclaimed her good enough to go. But she’d have to return for a checkup in two days. I guessed we were going to be staying in New Franklin for a while.

With her hand in mine, we stepped out into the bustling town. It was a bright sunny day, the kind that flyers loved the best, but there were plenty of survivors—or were they settlers now?—out and about. They stayed under walkways and patios covered by awnings.

She inhaled sharply as she looked around, and I tried to see the settlement as she would, for the first time, after living out in the scourge-filled landscape. Since the original two-building affair, New Franklin had grown. Not only were there many newly inhabited buildings, but there was a general store, several restaurants, a bar, and an inn for travelers. That was where we were staying tonight, though I usually stayed in my shuttle when I visited.

With the new influx of settlers, they’d adopted a token system that worked in conjunction with bartering. But we didn’t need to worry about paying for food. There was a warm meal waiting for us at the hunter’s compound, which was just a short walk from the mothership building.

“Evie is eager to meet you. She’s Tavir’k’s mate, and she’s a very good cook. She found out you’ve been in the medical bay and insisted on making you her special lasagna. You should give her your meat cookie recipe. The hunters here will love it.” I found myself rambling, but I couldn’t help it. I was so happy to have Zoey by my side, and I was excited to show my mate everything.

“Uncle Harb’k!”

I braced for impact as the youngster launched himself at me. I caught him, then once he was back on his feet we butted horns in greeting. Ryan was still young enough that it was a gesture of affection, but he was growing fast.

“Uncle Harb’k has a girlfriend! Eeeew!” He made gagging noises. “You’re going to be boring like all the other adults now. No fair!”

Zoey watched us, amused.

“This is Ryan. Tilly and Rayk’n’s offspring. You’ll meet them soon.” I turned to Ryan. “Is Evie in?”

“Yeah. She’s making healthy food with vegetables.” Ryan made a face. “I have to go. I’m late for training. Nice to meet you, Zoey. Bye.”

“This is where it all started for the hunters in New Franklin,” I said as we approached the unassuming structure. “This is where the hunters and their mates live. Lenny and Sam lived here too.”

“An industrial building?”

“It is easily defendable. And that one over there was the original human building. They used to funnel the scourge here”—I gestured at the area around the compound—“during the summer.”

She looked around the busy courtyard filled with bustling people and laughing children. “I would’ve never guessed this was a battlefield.”

I kept walking but she stopped. There were unshed tears in her eyes.

“What is wrong? Are you hurting? Should we go back to the medical bay?”

“No, no. I’m fine. It’s just… Look at this place! I’ve been to other settlements and visited many camps. But they weren’t like this. This feels so… normal.”

I understood. The hunters here still had to work hard every day to prevent the scourge from reestablishing nests, but here inside New Franklin, there were none. My entire life’s work had been to rid the universe of the scourge menace. But until I’d come to Earth, I hadn’t really understood why my job was so important.

Now, I got it. I pulled Zoey into my arms, getting lost in the depths of her gray eyes.

I had a home to defend now. A mate. A future.

The door to the compound opened, and Evie greeted us, her sun-colored hair in a bouncy ponytail. “What are you doing just standing there, Harby? Come on in! I can’t want to meet your mate!”