Page 42 of His to Mate

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A low rumblewoke Ann up hours later. It was a sound like thunder, but loud enough to wake her up. Rain must be on the way, she decided as she heard another rumble roll along. A good storm would be nice if she could stay awake for it.

She stretched, felt Katy cradled against her stomach, and Rager wrapped around her from behind. His arm was over her, curled around Katy, and all was well. She moved a little to ease the ache she felt in her hip, it had been a very vigorous night and she ached all over, but she wasn’t about to complain.

He’d rocked her world with his very intense attentions. She’d been disappointed in his tame reaction to her news, but the way he’d worshipped her after dinner more than made up for it. Kind of. So, he wasn’t as excited as she was, it would be alright. She took a deep breath, looked around in the darkness, but couldn’t see any signs of lightning. Maybe it was still too far away to see, she thought, and closed her eyes.

Exhaustion pulled at her to fall back into the embrace of sleep. She wasn’t just tired because of her pregnancy now, Rager had worn her out. She had every right to sleep the night away now. She fell asleep again, a smile on her face, to dream about a day when she was out playing with her daughter on the grass behind their house, Katy grown up and eager to play with her tiny human. A small child, about three years old, with her daddy’s orange eyes, and her mommy’s hair. That smile was all Ann’s mom though, she’d just noticed when she woke up, screams and the sounds of explosion unmistakable this time. That was no storm on the way, somebody had decided to blow things up.

She reached for him in the darkness, her mate, her protector, but he wasn’t there. She pushed up in the bed and tried to see him in the darkness. “Rager?”

Another rumble, closer, and fear coursed through her veins. “Rager?”

She said it a little higher this time, the fear she felt made it sound tight. She scrambled over the bed and found him busy on his side of the bed, his black cargo pants on but not zipped or buttoned as he looked for his boots. A loud noise, and then the night lit up as the explosion made her scream. Katy barked frantically at her side, and Rager jumped over her body. “Stay down, Ann. Just stay down. My men are on the way.”

“What’s happening?” she screamed to be heard, her fingers clutched at his naked biceps. They were too wide for her hands to wrap around, but she knew she could hang onto him if she had to. He didn’t have a shirt on, she thought, as the sound of the explosion started to fade away. He needs a shirt, if something falls on him, he needs a shirt.

“You need to finish dressing, darling,” she said, stupidly she knew, but it was some direction to go in.

The house shook with another explosion, and she screamed loudly. But she couldn’t hear it over the sound of the explosion. She turned and clutched at the pillows beneath her head and pulled one over it to make sure it was padded from anything that might fall.

“Alright, get up. Hurry, put something on, anything. Just hurry, darling.” He jumped off of her, threw his shirt on, and kicked his feet into the boot he’d found on her side of the bed. He stared out at the sky, lit with the glow of fire, and waited for her to move.

She scrambled from the bed, grabbed a shirt, a pair of pants, and threw on shoes. She didn’t even take the time to put on underwear or a bra, she just threw on clothes and nothing more. She completely forgot about socks or shoes, as fear was now in control of her every movement. The urge to go, to hide wouldn’t leave her alone, and finally consumed her. Smoke had started to filter in through the windows, and she coughed as he put on the rest of his gear. She scrubbed at her face and picked up Katy. The little dog tried to scrabble up to hide in her hair, but Ann kept moving and the dog couldn’t perch there like she wanted to.

Ann put her under her shirt and cupped her to her stomach so she could hide as another explosion went off. Ann dropped down to the floor and Rager was there with her, to protect her, as he’d promised he would. He pulled her close to him, tucked her under his body, to keep her safe if anything fell on them. She trembled in his arms and sought out his scent with her nose. She pressed her lips to his neck for a moment, just to let him know she loved him, even if she had never said it to him.

“Come on, let’s get down to the storage area. I have a safe room for you down there. Let’s hurry, baby. Stay calm, don’t run off in a panic, stay calm and we’ll get through this. Now, follow me.”

The news must have gotten out and they’d decided to attack tonight, she thought as she turned to him. Fear made her eyes wide, she could feel it, but he looked calm. Angry, but definitely calm, as if the world wasn’t exploding around them. She inhaled a deep breath and nodded.

She took his hand and stood up. His hand swallowed hers, so large against the delicate bones of her hand. She was safe with him, she told herself. It didn’t matter how much the rogue aliens hated her. He’d keep her safe. He’d promised.

Later, when this whole mess was sorted out and the rogues out there blowing up the world had been stopped, she’d tell him she loved him. She’d tell him about all the hopes she had for their future, and how she wanted a life filled only with love between them and the children they’d bring into the world. But right now, she had to survive, and that meant following her now silent mate.

He stalked softly in the darkness, careful to scan around every corner before he took them a little further through the house. One hand was in hers, the other held his light gun out, ready for any danger that came their way. They were near the stairs, and Rager took a moment to look down over the banister. He pulled back and cursed.

Noise downstairs meant they weren’t alone anymore. The servants didn’t stay in the house at night, Ann knew, and she was fairly certain it wasn’t them anyway. Rager moved them back to the wall the banister was attached to and tried to look down. She knew he couldn’t see anything, not from where they were. Soft voices, the shuffle of a foot moved too quickly over tile so that it squeaked, and the sound of furtive movements told them the house had been invaded. That wasn’t the servants that moved down there.

Ann stood there, quiet, until a scent caught her attention. There must be a huge fire nearby, caused by the explosions no doubt, because the house filled with the acrid scent of smoke. “Rager, I think the house is on fire.”

She whispered it softly, so softly she was certain he hadn’t heard her. But his hand tightened around hers and she knew he had. He turned back to her, ready to say something but he stopped. Somebody, a woman, screamed downstairs before she cut it off quickly. The silence that came after was broken by the sound of gunshots. Something hit the floor, a body, the woman’s Ann could only assume.

“Fuck, they are in the house. Hurry, Ann.” Rager guided her to the staircase in the darkness, and all she could do was follow. He held out the gun-like thing that shot out blue lights that could kill. She hadn’t seen it in action often, only once when they’d first been taken by the aliens, but she knew what it could do.

There were more gunshots downstairs near the back of the house, by the kitchen, quick and sharp, so it must have been automatic weapons. Ann heard men scream as Rager guided her down the hall. Suddenly, he pushed her behind him down to the floor and stood his ground as his weapon let loose with a volley of blue light.

“Die, traitor scum!” She heard a stranger shout from in front of them, but then he screamed as the weapon’s volley hit him in the head. The body slumped to the ground, and Ann felt shock take hold. Everything went quiet around her, and she held Katy tight against her stomach. Rager tapped her shoulder and she stood up to follow behind him.

They walked a few more feet before she heard more bootsteps, and two determined-looking men came out of the darkness. More gunshots, more blue lights, more bodies, and they moved again. Ann was on automatic, her thoughts as staccato as the gunshots that came from the automatic weapons.

Rager had guided them down the stairs, through the hallway there, and down until they were almost to the living room. They were almost past it when something whizzed by her head. She heard the shot after it passed her head and the bullet embedded itself into the wall. She turned to stare at the hole, somehow darker in the dim light that came from the windows in the living room.

Rager turned instantly and shot at the man hidden in the living room. The assailant fell and Rager pushed Ann behind him, but she didn’t move from his side. There was danger on every side, from every direction. She had no weapons to defend herself with, she could only rely on him, so that’s what she did. She let him lead, and she walked behind him.

They made it past the living room, and down the hall to the storage area. He pushed aside her boxes of baby items, and the other things they’d stacked in the room, to reveal a panel that moved aside when he pushed another section of the wall.

“In there. You’ll find food and water. Don’t open the door, don’t come out. There’s a bucket if you need the toilet. I know it’s not great, but it’s all we have right now. Stay here, Ann. Keep our baby safe, alright? Keep you safe, for me.” He kissed her deeply, quickly, and before she could even touch his face again, he was gone.