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Hold the fucking phone.
I stared at Naxer, whose eyes were full of a look I only wished I could have gotten from a human man. Like I was standing with him at the center of his world, and he’d do anything to win me.
I’d dated men intimidated by my former military career or who’d tried to “tame” me. They would attempt to dismantle, word by word, any possibility of me wanting to engage in any level of intimacy or commitment with them. I just let them wave their sexist-ass red flags in my rearview as I moved on as quickly as possible.
Other guys simply thought I was lying when I said I’m retired Special Forces. That bullshit always pissed me off.
One guy continued to deny it even after I saved him from a mugger. I didn’t have any use for guys like that, especially not in bed.
Having this four-armed blue giant giving me a flash of tenderness in his normally fierce eyes affected me way more than I was used to. Especially given the circumstances.
“You think I’m your soul mate?” I couldn’t keep some of my incredulousness out of my voice.
“Yes. You are my Sheleki.” His slate-blue skin seemed to radiate warmth as he gazed at me. His fingers flexed as if he was holding himself back from reaching out to touch me.
He carried on. “The one female in the universe destined to be the perfect mate for my Gladiator’s inner Wulfaen spirit. You are my mystical other half that would bring balance and prevent the madness.”
My pulse quickened under his intense stare. The way he looked at me made me intensely aware of my body. I didn’t want to be.
Maybe he had never seen an attractive woman before in his life. Maybe that was what this weird, protective, smitten-tough-guy vibe I got off him was about. But the look he turned on me firmed. He seemed slightly angered by the question, but strangely enough, that only made him look hotter. He seemed ready to die on this hill.
“I mean,” I said, “I’m not one to crap on people’s beliefs, but how would you even know?”
“My Wulfaen knew you from the start. He is still gnawing at me, but he has calmed.”
I stared at him, wondering if my translator was malfunctioning. Or maybe it just wasn’t getting across this concept properly. “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better, especially since the first thing you did was decide to help me. Though it doesn’t look like you did that entirely on principle.”
“No,” he said with a wry little twist to his smile. “Not entirely on principle.” His eyes gleamed briefly, then he sobered. “Though I have explained my beliefs about how they treated you.”
“Okay,” I said, sensing the possibility of actually getting help to rescue the others. “I’m still digesting this whole Sheleki thing you just told me about. But let’s talk about how we’ve got this common enemy for a second.”
He nodded. “How is your stomach?”
“It took the meat pretty well. I wish I had some grapes. Do you have any fruit?”
He shook his head. “No, and there aren’t any in this area of the wilderness that are not poisonous,” he said apologetically.
Great.That means his field rations are going to block me up like a week of MREs—Meals, Ready to Eat.
Oh well. I’ll deal with it.
Just like I dealt with everything, including alien abductions and apparently lovestruck, weirdly spiritual nonhumans.
“Can I get another of those meat bars?” I asked.
He handed me another from his pack and grabbed one himself. His disappeared in a few bites. The flashes of his sharp teeth fascinated me. The teeth of a carnivore. “You wanted to ask about my plans against the slavers?”
“You said you wanted to hunt them down,” I said, glad to put aside the whole “soul mate” thing for a minute while I tried to work out what to say about it. “I want in on that action, and I want to do it sooner rather than later.”
He nodded, staring at me thoughtfully. “That is understandable. You speak of wishing to protect the others. Are you the only capable one among them?”
I hesitated. Take the risk of exposing myself, to push our team up and sell myself as a credible ally, or continue keeping my mouth shut? I did the math for a moment, then decided. “There is another woman; her name is Zahira. She was the closest thing to a friend I had since coming to this place. But as far as I can tell, I’m the only one with any military training.”
“You’re a warrior?” He sounded even more fascinated.
“Retired US Army Special Forces. I have trained long and hard to kick enemy ass, and the Omers are even more my enemy than yours. I want to wreck them.” Now that my strength was slowly returning, my anger was back as well. I bit into the meat bar fiercely.
That seemed to delight him. “Good. Then I do not have to worry that my warrior life may upset you. When I ruled as Alpha, my pack remained true to the warrior’s way.”
