CHAPTER 5
Naraq
Sanctarians didn’t regenerate blood like this species, at least not as quickly, and the pods couldn’t replicate their life-force or antibodies.
Humans were my last option to save a dying planet with a blood type that was universal to all, especially Sanctarians, and Alexa proved our bloodlines would mix well.
How stubborn and stupid the previous ruler had been not to listen. His misplaced bias against this planet and its people brought Sanctarians to the edge of extinction.
Alexa shuffled behind me, and my hungry gaze flicked to her.
Alabaster skin made my mouth water, and I could drown in her sea-blue eyes.
When she came on my finger, and her scent filtered into my nostrils, it required every ounce of control not to bond with her.
I could worship her right here, right now, even though we were complete strangers.
I viewed humans as limited in their knowledge and growth and didn’t like the way they abused their planet, but Alexa opened my eyes to a different side of the species.
Some of these issues were true, but they’d shown acceptance and compassion, even if their leaders possessed ulterior motives.
My companion didn’t have to come forward for testing, but chose to.
Their government wanted the coordinates of my home and the technology to travel interdimensional, but some things needed to evolve naturally. To give another species access to that information when they were power-seeking would be as dangerous as our stale blood problem.
Alexa’s question annoyed me when I should’ve been grateful.
As a half-human, she’d adapted to their proximity to the sun, their ways of existing, and their rules.
My overwhelming attraction to her was another matter, keeping me in a hyper-state of awareness of her heartbeat, her breaths, the temperature of her body, her scent, and the curves of her human form, which I wasn’t accustomed to, but I craved to map with my hands and tongue.
Alexa’s life-force was highly addictive in its uniqueness, richness, and fresh flavor. Her memories interested me, along with her knowledge of Earth.
Of course, Alexa wouldn’t want to leave her home, but neither did I. Her fear was a natural response, but our emotional connection would override that the stronger it grew.
She knew nothing of her second home, and apprehension radiated from her in waves. Other Sanctarians had matched with humans, but I would be the first to return home with a female who carried half our blood. Were there more like her?
“Naraq,” she questioned again in a tone I found synonymous with agitation.
I finished pulling on my boots, inhaled a calming breath, and faced her.
One eyebrow arched over her lovely blue eyes, another feature not seen in Sanctarians, and her arms crossed over her pert breasts.
Blonde hair sat high on her head in some type of band, and I itched to see it flowing over her shoulders like the women from my home planet.
She also wore nothing to enhance her features, but I had to admit she was still the most attractive woman I’d ever beheld.
“I understand your reluctance to leave your home, but I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t necessary, Alexa.”
“Why is it necessary?”
“Your life-force and the antibodies it contains.”
“So, I’m to be food?”
“No,” I chuckled, surprised. “You’re not food in the way you think.”
“Then what am I?”
“My match, my companion.”
She tossed one hand in the air, surprising me again. Our females didn’t disrespect their companions.
“That’s just a play on words, Naraq!”
Nor did they raise their voices.
“Our bodies don’t manufacture antibodies. You’re proof that we can coexist, that our blood will mix well, and that we can have healthy children.”
“Won’t the human life-force distort the DNA of future Sanctarians? Some could be born more human.”
It was my uncle’s concern, and one scientist on my planet had presented, but it didn’t outweigh the need. “Yes, it will, but it’s worth the slight anomaly.”
“Anomaly? Will our children be an anomaly to you?”
“Children?”
“Yes, sex leads to babies.”
“Fetuses grow in a laboratory on my planet, where they’re monitored.”
“Not ours.”
“Our women haven’t given natural birth to children in centuries.”
“This woman will.”
“You wish to argue about a pregnancy that hasn’t happened?”
“Promise me you won’t take my babies from me.”
“I don’t understand the importance of this issue to you, Alexa.”
“The importance is a sign of negotiation and trust between us.”
“I’ve negotiated enough, Alexa.”
“Then return me to Earth because this is a hard line for me. I will not be used to save a species that doesn’t respect my wishes.”
My chin lifted as I moved toward her, not liking the steel in her eyes or the thought of her trying to separate from me.
“Believe me when I say I was as surprised as you to find a match. I’m doing the best I can while trying to be attentive to the needs of a companion I don’t yet understand or know.
I gave you my reasons for needing humans, so give me yours for a pregnancy that hasn’t happened. ”
She stepped forward, meeting me toe to toe, even though her eyes met my stomach.
When she finally tilted her head back, tears clung to her eyelashes.
“My Sanctarian father abandoned me, so I grew up knowing I was different, but not why. I was never sick, always the odd one out, and I knew I was part of something else, but told it was a lie.”
The beat of her heart thumped in my ears as her cheeks turned bright red.
Sanctarians were a controlled race as far as emotions, but this little human moved me with her explanation.
With ease, I lifted her off the ground until she could look me in the eye.
“I will not take our children from you, Alexa Turner.”
Her chin trembled even as tears slid over her flushed cheeks. “Do you promise?”
“My word is law on Sanctum.”
Hesitantly, slowly, she slipped her arms around my neck and laid her face against my chest. “Thank you, Naraq. I apologize if I seem difficult.”
A humming started in my blood as her heart rate settled into a comforting, soft thud. My arms slid from her underarms to circle her back, holding her tightly against my chest.
“Don’t move,” I whispered against her ear, rubbing my face against her cheek.
“What is that noise?”
A slow grin spread, not truly understanding it myself. Sanctarian couples were notoriously private with affection, but I knew this could happen. “I like you, Alexa Turner, and my body’s response is proof. What took you so long?”
One soft hand slid down my braid, her warm lips touched my throat, and the humming in my blood grew louder.
“I was unsure and afraid, and I didn’t want to leave my grandfather. He’s sick, Naraq.”
“Why hasn’t he used our regenerators?”
“He refuses and says he’s ready to die.”
“This saddens you. I feel it.”
“Yes. Can you help him? I won’t leave him here alone.”
“If that is his wish, I won’t interfere.”
“Another man threatened us, Naraq. Not only is my grandfather sick, but he also can’t defend himself.”
“Is that why you didn’t come for testing?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to leave him, but he made me promise to come today.”
“I owe this grandfather my thanks.”
“So, you’ll help us?”
“Of course.”
She lifted her face to mine, her sweet lips hovering above my mouth, and cupped my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“Why did another human threaten you?”
“There is a turquoise mine on my land. It’s hidden, a secret, untouched for generations, but someone is trying to steal it when it belongs to my family, to my grandfather.”
My mouth twitched before a smile spread. Alexa inhaled sharply. “What?”
“I’ve never seen you smile.”
“You like when I smile?”
“I like it a lot. Why now?”
“Because we need more turquoise to return home, Alexa. That’s how and why your mother and father met.”
“I thought you’d harvested enough.”
“Close, but we need more. The centers are draining our supply faster than we can replenish it, so I’ve ordered the regenerators removed in two days. This mission to Earth was a one-way trip, with the knowledge your planet and others along the way held the turquoise we would need to return.”
“Instead, they used your regenerators without giving you the turquoise.”
“Exactly.”
“Humans will see that as a negative action.”
“Humans aren’t delivering on our request, leaving me with no choice.”
“Don’t remove them until you determine how much turquoise is on my land.”
“Who is attempting to take it from you?”
“My neighbor, and somehow, he knows about the gemstone mine. He’s been sneaking onto my land at night and searching for it.”
“Then I will thank him as well before I kill him.”
“No, Naraq. If you kill a human, your people will become the enemy.”
My eyes narrowed on Alexa’s upturned face as my thoughts drifted to a solution. She was right.
“What are you thinking, Naraq?”
“Lara.”
“How may I be of help, Naraq?”
“Can we extract from the mine my companion speaks of?”
“One moment,” Lara replied. “Yes, the turquoise is extractable and plentiful.”
“Notify my commander to meet us there with the command ship.”
“As you wish, Ruler Supreme.”
“Now let me help you, Naraq.”
“I need no help.”
“Humans don’t believe what they don’t see.”
“What is happening between us is private. I will not share you with anyone.”
A hint of a smile spread across her face, and my eyes narrowed, witnessing something beautiful, but also knowing this human understood her species better than me.
“You don’t have to share me, Naraq, but let me talk to them.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You don’t understand the possessiveness Sanctarians feel for their companions. If they harmed you, I’d destroy the entire planet.”
“Really? An entire planet? That’s sort of flattering and romantic, but unnecessary. Remember, I’m half-human.”
“I remember.”
“I saw your frustration on television, Naraq.”
“How did you see when no one else did?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because half of me is Sanctarian, and we’re companions.”
“So, you accept me?”
“I accept that I’m different, that there’s something bigger in the universe than me, and I accept that you’re my companion. I knew it from the first moment I saw you without understanding it.”
“We need to bond.”
Her eyes lowered to my chest. “I’m not ready to bond yet, but I agree to leave with you.”
The bonding only happened when the female allowed it, and I accepted that rule, but it was proving to be difficult. “When you’re ready, Alexa.”
Her gaze lifted before she placed both of her hands on my cheeks. “I feel going slower is hard for you, but may I kiss you once? It’s all I want.”
“Kiss? Sanctarians share affection through the life-force. We don’t kiss.”
She chuckled before running her fingers featherlight across my lips. “You might like it.”
“Very well, Alexa. Kiss me.”