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Brute. Brute, please come. We’re in danger. There’s an alien in our quarters and it’s threatening us. Please help.
Will he hear me? Will he come?
A dark thought hits me. What if Brute is hurt? What if one of these horrid creatures wounded him, or worse?
But then I feel it. The surge of warmth that flows straight to my heart, offering me comfort. The promise that he’s coming. The promise that he’ll keep me safe. Not just me, but my mother as well.
Relief ripples through me.Oh, thank God. He’s alive. And I don’t believe he’s hurt. Surely, I would feel his agony through the bond if he were injured.
Mom and I exchange a worried glance.
“We don’t have any weapons,” Mom says in English. “Except for maybe a knife from the kitchen.” She inhales a shaky breath. “If you distract him for a second, I’ll sneak by him and grab a knife from the kitchen.”
“No, Mom. I won’t let you do that. He might become agitated and attack you. He moves very fast. I think our best bet is to stay put. Brute is coming. He’s on his way.”
She gives me a dubious look. “You can’t know that. He’s probably still on the bridge. You said Chief Xorrsa was on his way, but he hasn’t shown up either. I bet more of these awful creatures beamed aboard, and the Darrvasons are busy fighting them. I-I recognize the race. This male is a Grozznolan. Likely a mercenary. That’s how most of their males make a living. We encountered a small group of them at an outpost many years ago, and your father showed me a picture of what they looked like.”
“A mercenary? Paid for by whom?” I shake my head, trying to clear the confusion. “It doesn’t really matter who paid them, I guess. All that matters is that we stay safe until Brute arrives. He’s coming. I know he is. I can feel it, Mom. His thoughts and his emotions. Even though he hasn’t claimed me yet, we-we’ve already started developing a heartbond.”
She gasps, and her eyes widen. “How close is he?”
Before I can answer, the Grozznolan male comes nearer and kicks the sofa we’re hiding behind. “Come out, females!” it screeches in a high-pitched tone that hurts my ears. “Come out, or I will shoot one of you!”
“We would come out,” I say as a thought comes to me, “but we’re unable to walk. Many humans are unable to stand up when they are afraid. Our ankles stop working.” I pretend to stand up, only to fake a fall next to my mother.
The Grozznolan stares at me quietly for a few seconds, its eight dark eyes blinking repeatedly. I think I’ve confused it. Good.
Mom elbows me lightly, and when I glance at her, I see the corner of her mouth twitching with a smile.
“But you know what helps us walk again?” I say in an innocent tone. “Water. Lots of water. If you could go to the kitchen and fill a few glasses with water and bring them back to us, we could drink the water and then in a minute or so, we’ll be able to stand again.” I keep my expression serious, not wanting to give the creature any indication that I’m full of shit.
To my dismay, the Grozznolan growls and waves his weapon in the air. “I don’t have time for that. Make yourselves walk.” He kicks the sofa again. Then he snarls and reaches one of his large tentacles for me. He drags me upward so quickly that I don’t have time to grasp the sofa. My mother screams and grabs my leg, but she eventually loses her hold and the Grozznolan lifts me higher in the air.
“Let me go!” I slam my fists into the tentacle that’s wrapped around my leg, though I soon become dizzy. I’m upside down and all the blood is rushing to my head.
The creature shakes me and emits another growl. I gasp and cry out, and my mother won’t stop screaming. She jumps over the sofa and runs straight to the Grozznolan, but it simply uses another one of its tentacles to pick her up. Fear lances through me.Please don’t hurt my mother.
Only seconds later, a second growl joins the cacophony in the room. The growl of a Darrvason male. A familiar growl that fills me with relief.
Brute. My mate.
My…what?
Did I really just think that?
I don’t witness Brute touch the Grozznolan creature, but suddenly the foul beast drops to his bulging knees, then he falls forward with a heavy thump, and the weapon clatters to the floor.
Mom and I fall from his retracting tentacles with a soft thud, though Brute is barreling toward me, no doubt trying to reach me before the impact. He scoops me up in his arms and then hurries toward my mother, and goddammit could he be any sweeter? The fact that he’s quick to check on Mom brings tears to my eyes. It’s a testament to his character.
Warmth continually flows down the bond from Brute, and he tightens one arm around me as he kneels at my mother’s side. He offers his other arm to Mom and helps her stand.
Are you all right?he asks through the bond.
Yes, I am, thanks to you. What about you? Are you hurt?I send back.
I am fine, little female. I am so sorry the creature threatened you. I am sorry he managed to touch you and your mother before I arrived. If I could kill him all over again, I would. I’m sorry Chief Xorrsanever showed up. He was trapped in a corridor with several of the Grozznolans and couldn’t reach Deck Twenty-Two, though he managed to slay the creatures, and he survived. I tried to send others to you, but no one else could come either. I am sorry.
It's not your fault. You tried your best, and you came when it really mattered. You saved us. Thank you.
