Chapter 8
HAL
I have to wrestle the beast inside me just to make myself leave that room.
Even though I know she could not be in safer hands, it does not matter; logic no longer reaches me.
My mind rejects it, claws at the thought, spiraling as it tries to calculate how to protect the people I love while I am being torn in opposite directions, as if something inside me is slowly splitting me in two.
The Lord of Light knows I am grateful beyond measure, and yet, I am still shocked that He has gifted Dawn to me. But if I am true to myself, I must admit I am terrified and wholly unprepared.
I have long since accepted that a mate was not meant for me.
There were hundreds of us within the compound—an extraordinary number for my kind to begin with. Living in such close quarters meant most found their mates quickly, drawn together by an instinct none of us could escape. Those who did not were left with little hope of ever finding one.
I had made peace with being among the latter.
As I glance around the compound, watching my people move from one place to another, a quiet pride settles over me. Against all odds, we have built something here. Something lasting.
When I first approached Father about creating a better environment on Hallister, I had an idea of what we could be, but no vision for how to move forward.
But our numbers were dwindling. We were surviving, although barely.
It took several rotations, countless arguments, and more effort than I care to remember, but the compound eventually became more than a refuge. It became a home.
We were thriving now—not as scattered individuals, but as a community.
Of course, not everyone chose unity. Some prefer to keep their distance, content to live apart from the others. But most of the females came once the compound was completed, and our numbers have grown steadily ever since.
Risings have passed. And after all this time, I had finally resigned myself to the truth. If I had not found my mate by now, I never would. At least, that was what I had believed until Dawn … My communicator blares again, and I answer it with a low, restrained growl.
“I’m coming, Oset. This had better be important.”
Before he can respond, I step into the docking bay. The air feels heavier here — stale, metallic, wrong.
Bane, who is rarely seen outside the communication tower, is already waiting beside Oset. His usual composure is gone, replaced by something tight and uneasy, almost wary. That alone is enough to sharpen my instincts. They both turn toward me as I enter, and neither of them look relieved to see me.
“Report.”
Bane is the first to answer.
“HaL, the sensors are detecting a disturbance in the outer atmosphere. At first, I dismissed it as a random chunk of iron drifting through the Void, but the heat signature from its thrusters proved otherwise. It could be debris from the rogue Korgon ship that slipped past your brothers during the initial battle, or it could be a probe searching for the female. What concerns me is that it is not attempting to land. Instead, it is maintaining its position by matching Hallister’s natural rotation.
Our surveillance systems are too limited to determine its size or whether it is manned or unmanned. ”
“Oset, did you destroy the escape pod?”
“We did. It is at the bottom of Grave Cove. It took three mammoths to pull it from the side of the mountain where it had embedded itself. We removed the modules Bane told us to, and the rest will remain forever frozen at the bottom of that trench, buried beneath layers of ice and water.
The ditch the landing created took longer to cover than Gelid was comfortable with.
He nearly pulled the mammoths back before the job was finished, as frost was already beginning to creep along the tops of the mountain peaks in that area.
That is why I was trying to contact you earlier.
I was ready to throw that male into the cove myself.
You would think those mammoths were his younglings, given how protective he is of them.”
“Is that supposed to reassure me?”
“No.”
“At least you are honest.”
“I have found it tends to save time.”
I glance toward the darkened entrance, though there is little to see beyond the shifting veil of snow. Grave Cove lays somewhere beyond those mountains, hidden beneath a landscape that has already begun to erase every trace of what had happened there.
“How long before the ice seals the trench completely?”
“Gelid believes it has already begun.”
My stomach tightens.
“Already?”
“Yes, the frost … it is moving differently this season. The animals, especially the mammoths, are acting strange. They kept stomping the ground like it is freezing below, not above us.
“Bane, have you detected any changes in the hot springs?”
“No, but not all the sensors in the area are reporting correctly either. Things could be happening we simply cannot see.”
Not happy with his answer, I turn to Oset.
“Oset, I did not authorize you to save anything inside the pod. The Korgons might be tracking those pieces as we speak.”
Because I am forcing myself to be here, my beast snarls as I fight the change, since he feels these conversations are unwarranted and a waste of time. Bane steps forward, his smaller form instantly submitting to my beast.
“HaL, I should have convened with you before asking Oset to retrieve them, but these parts are rare, and the compound needs the energy packs for the upcoming frost. I will go through each chip personally to make sure nothing is being transmitted.”
Even though I am aggravated that they did not contact me immediately, I am glad that they proceeded with the compound in mind. It has taken rotations for the males to pull together, as we are all naturally loners.
“Have you tried to contact the ship or drone directly, Bane?”
“I have, with no success.”
“Then I believe we should investigate this interloper who seems to be spying from space!”
However, just as I turn toward the outer terminal and my personal shuttle, it is as if my feet refuse to move.
Gritting my teeth, I fight to keep my beast contained as the thought of leaving Dawn behind is unacceptable in his …
my mind. I feel Oset come up beside me and he reaches out to touch my arm, only to pull back quickly when a growl leaves my throat.
“HaL, until the mate bond is solidified, you are fighting a losing battle.”
I try to force another step forward only to feel my muscles tighten up further.
“No one else can fly the shuttle, Oset. We must find out who is out there, the compound’s safety depends on it.”
“I agree my friend, but it is not going to be you. Contact your father and see if he can send someone else.”
I try to take one another step only for the hair on my entire body to fully emerge, and Oset steps back.
“HaL, you are dangerous to everyone right now. The best thing you can do is go to your female and stay there until the bond is solidified.”
“I will not force this bond on her. I need to learn to control it. Does … it … get … easier?”
“Yes and no, but time helps. The longer you are together, the more relaxed your beast will become, but I think it is different per couple. Eirwen is a strong, dominant female, so she does not need me, and my beast acknowledges that. Your beast may never feel that way about the little human the Lord of Light chose for you.”
The moment I turn back, the tension in my shoulders relaxes, and my thoughts shift: if I cannot fly out, then who can? I hit my communicator, “SCOUT, I need your assistance.” Before the sentence is fully sent, he is standing before me in his massive battle form.
“HaL, how may I be of assistance? Is the bio-dome failing, or has there been a landslide? My sensors are not finding any fault lines or cracks that are concerning right now. Nevertheless, your voice and facial expressions are at an elevated stress level.”
“These last few risings have shaken up my world, but as for the compound, there have been a few small tremors recently, but nothing maintenance cannot fix. However, that is not why I need you. I am sure you are aware that I have formed a mate bond with the human who landed in the escape pod.”
“Yes. ANDI confirmed his suspicions with the rest of us when Troza requested the update for the translators and medical center. Congratulations.”
“Do not congratulate me yet. Dawn has yet to accept the bond, and I have no idea how to proceed. But that is not what I need your assistance with.
Bane has detected a disturbance in our atmosphere, and I cannot leave to investigate it. Being the only authorized pilot capable of leaving the atmosphere has never been an issue before, but that is no longer the case.
I need you to investigate the disturbance. I also believe Oset needs training so he can take over if I am unavailable. My beast is not going to allow me to stray far from Dawn for quite some time. Until now, I never realized how vulnerable I was leaving my people by having only one trained pilot.”
SCOUT does that odd stillness that reminds you he is so much more than a physical presence, and I hear a large boom that has all of us but him ducking.
“Forgive me for the disturbance, HaL. You were correct to be concerned. That was an unmanned probe stationed in the inner atmosphere watching for any signs of the female.”
“Did it find her pod before we were able to disassemble it?”
“Negative. If it had, it would have left.” He smirks with that utterance. “Before I had it destroyed by an asteroid.”
He lets the statement hang for a moment before continuing.
“I have also attached an outgoing tracking signal and the coordinates to SiN. He’s still gathering evidence regarding this abduction.”
His attention shifts to Oset.
“Oset, if you will accompany me to the shuttle, I’ll connect you with Tordan. He can run you through a series of simulations aboard the shuttle without actually leaving the planet.”
He gives a slight nod toward the shuttle.
“We have found it is easier—and considerably faster—when you can experience it firsthand.”
You cannot miss the aggression in Oset’s large form. “I take it I have no say in the matter, HaL?”
“Oset, if something happens to me, you are the only one I trust to see to Troza, Dawn, and your own mate and younglings. You must be prepared to take over if I am not capable. Forgive me for not foreseeing this issue sooner.”
“Hmmm,” is all the answer I get from him.
“SCOUT, should I be worried about other probes?”
“I will monitor the area myself for the next lunar rotation. Until I give you the okay, as my SAGE would say, you need to keep the female indoors.”
“I had not planned on taking her out anyway since her delicate skin cannot tolerate these temperatures, as you well know.”
“And as you know, all information is freely shared between all the AIs. My SAGE started working on garments that will make Dawn’s life easier the moment ANDI confirmed she was going to survive.
” He goes still once again. “Excuse the interruption; the Commander is yelling as usual, so Oset, if you are ready, I am a busy AI.”
Oset gives me a dirty look before following SCOUT out to the shuttle, and without thought, I find my legs moving back into the compound to the medical wing and my mate.