Chapter 30
Haley
“I want you to be happy.”
His words echo through me, and I believe him. There is a hesitancy in his voice that I have never heard before. The confident warrior that I have fallen for is gone, and in his place is this tender man who looks as if he is already mourning my absence.
Tears burn my eyes and threaten to spill over again as I gaze up at him. I can see the sincerity and love written all over his face and it warms me, and yet. . .
When I first told Chad about my diagnosis, he reassured me that it didn’t matter, but it did. I saw how Draggar acted with the children in his tribe. How he patiently answered each one of their questions and how he happily carried them around. He would make an amazing father, and he deserves to have children of his own. Not to mention that his whole species is literally on the brink of extinction.
I could tell him that I don’t want to be with him and that I want to return to Earth, and I have no doubt that he would do everything in his power to make that happen.
I almost laugh because I’m not sure how he would manage to get me back to Earth, but I’ve never known a more determined person. There is not a doubt in my mind that he would figure out a way to make it happen. That’s just the kind of guy he is.
If I reject him, now, then I would also never have to worry about him falling out of love with me. I’d never have to wonder if he will turn out to be just like Chad and spurn me. If he will hurt me.
As I gaze into his silver eyes that always seem to look at me like I’m the best thing he’s ever seen, it finally hits me.
Draggar is nothing like Chad, and he never will be.
He is as different from my ex as anyone can possibly be and he’s shown me that in countless ways. When he made note of how much I enjoyed the purple berries and he made sure to pick some every chance he could or the hours he spent making me clothes because he saw how threadbare mine were. The care and gentleness he’s shown tending to my feet and the way he carried me in his arms, even though I’m not exactly lightweight. The way, even when he’s sound asleep, he pulls me close as if he can’t bear the thought of not having me nearby.
Everything Draggar has done since I met him has been a demonstration of his feelings for me. Of how much he loves me.
Even in the beginning of our relationship, I don’t think Chad ever put me first in anything. I think back to our first date. He picked the restaurant and the movie we saw that night, and every restaurant and movie after that. That was a pattern that continued throughout our relationship. For our first Christmas, he bought me a cheap bath set, even though I bought him the expensive watch he specifically asked me to get.
But that’s not the type of person Draggar is. He is generous, gentle, protective, and loving all while being a confident, fearsome warrior who makes me feel cherished and safe. He is everything I have ever wanted in a man. . . Well, almost everything.
I certainly never saw myself falling in love with an alien warrior with color-changing skin, but that’s exactly what’s happened. I can’t imagine my life without him in it, and I realize that I don’t want to. I want to be by Draggar’s side in everything. I want to be his mate.
“I don’t want to go back to Earth.” My mouth suddenly feels dry. “I want to stay right here with you on Laedirissae.” My voice is soft as if I speak any louder the words won’t mean as much and what feels like a sacred moment between us will be broken.
I don’t know how I ever thought I could leave him. No wonder every time I considered it, my brain had a hard time accepting it. Draggar is the most important person in the world to me – no, in the universe.
Back on Earth, I thought I knew what love was, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. In past relationships, I considered myself lucky if my boyfriends didn’t ask to borrow money. And when Chad and I started dating, I thought I had hit the jackpot. Yeah, he wanted everything to be his way, but he was funny, had a great job, and he seemed to accept my health issues.
For a time, I thought it had to be love. He ticked off all the boxes that I thought made a good partner in life, that I always been told I should want, and so, I had to love him. Because if I didn’t love him, then something was wrong with me.
Then, on the day I walked out of his house after catching him red-handed, it hit me. I wasn’t upset so much about losing him as I was about the hurtful comments he made and the betrayal I felt. And now, I know what we had together was never love. Not even close to it.
This is love.
This all-consuming feeling and desire to never leave Draggar’s side. My constant worry about him, and the fact that I would do anything to protect him – even challenge a dinosaur. The happiness that fills my chest and the pounding of my heart when I’m near him, and the way that my insides feel like they’re melting when he smiles crookedly at me. And I can’t hold it in any longer.
“I love you. I want to stay here and be your mate and make a family with your nephew. Forever, if you’ll have me.” The words pour out of me in a nervous rush.
Draggar’s answering smile is so sudden and bright it nearly blinds me with its radiance, but it’s what he says next that makes it feel like my heart expands in my chest until it is going to burst.
“I love you, too, amoris, with all of my hearts. And I don’t want you to be anywhere else but by my side.”
I don’t know who makes the first move, but we come together in a scorching kiss that quickly escalates until I find myself pressed up against a tree with my legs wrapped around his hips.
We’re both so aroused and ready that it doesn’t take long for us to join and rush headlong into an orgasm that leaves me seeing stars.
Afterwards, Draggar gently helps me rearrange my clothes and kisses me one last time before we head back to the campsite.
My face feels like it’s on fire and I’m glad the sun has finally set and the darkness offers a little privacy. Neither Draggar or I were quiet earlier and I’m almost positive by the grin on Vrenner’s face and the chuckles from the other men that they overheard us. Especially, considering the enhanced hearing Laediriians seem to have.
I settle down on the pallet that Draggar laid out for me earlier as he sits down beside me while one of the other men passes around hunks of roasted meat to everyone. The meat is slightly charred on the outside, but it’s juicy and delicious and coated with a seasoning blend that adds a little spiciness. Before I realize it, I’ve eaten two big hunks along with a palm full of the berries I love so much and a couple pieces of warm flatbread that Draggar packed just for me.
The atmosphere around the fire is jovial and the men laugh and tease each other. Even the younger one who grumbled about our slower pace has a carefree smile stretched across his face.
If it wasn’t for the color-changing teal skin, they could almost pass for any group of guys on Earth shooting the breeze around a campfire. During the time I’ve spent with Draggar and his tribesmen, I’ve learned that although we may look vastly different and come from different worlds, we’re really not all that different when it comes to the basics.
We goof off. We laugh and grumble. We’re impatient or shy. We even love the same.
Well, almost the same, I amend as I think back to all of the extra’s Draggar’s cock has that are definitely like nothing I have seen or experienced before.
“Haley, will you tell us of planet Earth?” Vrenner asks, his voice breaking me from my thoughts.
And just like that, I’m the center of attention with six sets of eyes locked on me. I shift on the pallet I’m sitting on and try to think of how to explain Earth to them. “Earth is a lot different than this planet, and in some ways, it’s similar. We don’t have a lot of really dangerous creatures like Laedirissae does.”
“No tiniiosroaming around, then,” The one that I think is named Sorrin jokes and the others chuckle.
“No, we don’t have anything that looks like a tiniio. Not anymore. We used to have dinosaurs millions of years ago that resembled them, but they became extinct a long time before humans appeared.” I smile and relax a little as I speak.
They’re all watching me with rapt faces, and I realize they’re genuinely interested in hearing about Earth. Which makes sense, humans and Earth are the aliens to them.
“Honestly, the most dangerous animal on Earth is probably other humans. We’re not always kind to each other and we don’t have tribes like you do. Or at least they’re not common in the place I’m from on Earth. I admire that about your planet. The way you help each other.”
It’s true. During our journey through the jungle today, I watched as they banded together to protect each other and me, to keep a constant surveillance for any threats. Then, when we stopped for the night, they immediately assumed their duties and worked as a team to set up camp. I think back to the village and everything I saw of it and what Draggar has told me.
Everyone seemed content and they worked together for the common good of the tribe. There was a strong sense of community among them, like they were all one big family. I don’t have any family left on Earth, and I didn’t realize until after I was abducted how much I missed that sense of belonging to something bigger than me and always having someone in my corner.
The men ask a few more questions until it grows dark and the twin moons that they call the Sisters have risen high in the sky. By then, I’m beginning to get tired, and I cover my mouth as a loud yawn slips out.
Draggar looks over at me. “Enough. My mate needs her rest.”
They quickly decide who will take the first watch and then the others begin to settle down for the night, and before I know it, I’m curled up on the pallet with Draggar’s large frame at my back.
He’s like a furnace and the warmth from him seeps into me lulling me into drowsiness. His thick, muscular arm settles on top of my waist and I sigh as he pulls me closer into his embrace. We may be sleeping on the ground with jungle all around us, but right here and right now, I have never felt more at home.
That’s my last thought before I drift away to sleep, relaxed with the knowledge that no matter what happens, my mate is by my side.
****
It takes us another full day of travel before we near the site where the ship crashed.
I’m grateful Draggar kept a slow pace for me as the journey was strenuous at times, especially when we eventually had to cross the river. Just like his father had warned, the shallow, slow-moving river that the Laediriians normally walk across with no problem had swelled with the heavy rain from the storm.
We were forced to travel a good distance out of the way until Draggar found a shallower, more sedate section for us to safely cross. As the hours have slowly ticked by, a steady thrum has settled inside me urging me to hurry up and get to my friends.
At the same time, I’m scared at what I’ll find when we get there. What if we miscalculated and they ran out of food and water days ago? What if another one of those pterodactyl things – which, I’ve found out they call anuroi – has attacked them? Or a tiniio? Or the Pugj? Or even one of the other tribes on this planet? A tribe that might not be as welcoming as Draggar’s is.
Anything could have happened in the time that I’ve been gone, and I’m so scared that when we get to the girls, it will be too late.
I almost want to turn around and run back to the village with its tall, safe walls and Draggar’s cozy hut, but I can’t. I have to help the girls. We may not have known each other long, but they’re the closest friends I’ve ever had. I can’t leave them out here by themselves.
So, I keep moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other.
Early in the morning, as the sun has just risen over the horizon sending out a beam of light, we crest the top of a hill. In the distance, I make out the reflection of sunlight reflecting off of something metal.
It’s the spaceship. It has to be.
My heart pounds as it fills with bittersweet anticipation. We’re almost there. Just a little bit further and I’ll know if they’re okay.
Still, my stomach clenches in nervous dread as we make our way down the hill and through the dense trees towards the crash site. Draggar must feel my worry because he places his calloused hand in mine, giving it a squeeze of comfort. The essence of his spirit inside me is confident with a quiet strength, and it relaxes me, leeching away some of the anxiety tumbling through me.
I’m still amazed that we can actually feel each other’s emotions. I don’t really understand it, and I’m not sure how it works, but I don’t really have to know to be able to appreciate it.
After a short while, we reach the edge of the clearing and I can spot the mangled wreckage through the trees. I take a step forward, ready to burst through the line of dense foliage and race to the ship, but before I can, Draggar holds up his hand and urges me to wait.
“Let us make sure it is safe before we approach the wreckage, amoris.”
I open my mouth to protest, but then I nod my head when I realize he’s right. Anything could have happened while I’ve been gone, and anything could be inside the ship.
Better safe than sorry.
We crouch down and observe the crash site for a little while. The entire clearing is eerily quiet and still, and I don’t see any signs of the others. But I do notice a few changes.
The churned-up soil is muddy in some places from the recent storm, and I spot human-sized footprints scattered all around the clearing. Upturned pieces of concave metal have been placed in a neat line outside the ship. They’re full of water, and that’s when I realize my friends cleverly searched through the wreckage to find things that could be used as containers to catch the rainwater to drink.
The opening in the side of the ship that we used as an entrance has been covered up with a sheet of metal that someone must have scrounged from the wreckage. There are dozens of deep parallel grooves etched in random spots on the outside of the ship, and I’m pretty sure they weren’t there before. It seems like something I would have noticed.
I’m puzzling over that when a loud screech pierces the air around us, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I recognize that sound. It’s an anuroi – the large dinosaur birds that look like a cross between a pterodactyl and an overgrown half-plucked chicken. That’s when it dawns on me, and my heart sinks into my stomach.
The deep grooves scratched into the metal of the ship are claw marks from an anuroi.
Just as I have that thought two large shadows fall over the clearing and I realize it isn’t just one anuroi. It’s two, and their cold, beady eyes are centered right on the spaceship as they go into a fast dive bomb straight at their target.
Over the loud din of the anuroi, a shout rings out across the clearing. “Big bird incoming! Everyone get ready!”
It’s Mara!
My heart leaps in my chest at the sound of her voice, but I don’t have a moment to dwell on the relief flooding through me. All too soon, the two feathered beasts hover right over the ship. Their long sharp claws rake over the metal with a shrill noise that sounds like a thousand nails against a chalkboard, and my ears feel like they’re going to explode from the sound.
They use their pointy beaks with rows of razor-sharp teeth like a can opener, trying to pierce through the metal to make a larger opening to get to the prize inside. The prize they are so desperate to reach is my friends.
I freeze as I watch the overgrown birds pummel the spaceship with their beaks and claws. I don’t know how much longer the ship can hold out against the relentless attack of the two determined predators. There are already so many holes in it, it’s only a matter of time before one of them gives way and the anuroimanage to reach their prey.
All of this has played out over mere microseconds, but it feels like hours to me. And that’s when I realize that while I’ve been frozen stiff in shock, everything has been moving around me.
Dirt and leaves fly everywhere from the force of the two beasts’ wings flapping to keep them airborne. It’s hard to see through the whirlwind they create, but I can just make out what looks like long spears sticking out of the top of the ship. My friends are fighting back against the beasts trying their hardest to get to them. They use the myriad of holes and gouges that were torn into the ship when it crashed to reach the two predators with their spears.
One of the spears manages to sink into the neck of one of the anuroi and it reacts by opening its beak and releasing a shriek that sends a chill down my spine. Before I have another thought, Draggar and the other men surrounding me release a loud roar that can only be described as a battle cry and they race into the clearing with their swords drawn.
The loud cry from the warriors distracts the anuroi enough that another of the spears manages to land deep into the eye of one of the beasts. The overgrown bird screeches in outrage and shakes its head, slinging around globs of malodorous saliva that even I can smell from my vantage point.
I watch in stunned fascination as the warriors work in tandem to draw the attention of the two beasts away from the ship until the anuroi are completely focused on the men. Their swords glint in the morning light as they slash and whistle through the air.
The warriors lurch and dodge in a well-choreographed play as they work together to completely surround the anuroi. It’s an amazing display of their skills and I can’t look away. The beasts fight desperately in an attempt to grab the men in their beaks, but it’s a losing battle.
One of the anuroi swoops downward with a cry and a large warrior – the blacksmith, Maalin, I think – brings his sword down hard, slicing the beast’s clawed foot off.
The attacking anuroi falters and begins to drop lower towards the ground, and as it does, Draggar jumps upward like a basketball player going in for a slam dunk and his sword slices cleanly through itswing, cutting it in half.
The big bird lurches to the side and dips even closer to the ground, allowing Vrenner to sink his sword deep into its throat. Dark red blood sprays out from the deep wound and covers Vrenner’s face. The large anuroi crashes to the ground with a sharp rattle rumbling from deep within its chest as it breaths out its last.
The remaining anuroireacts to the death of its companion by growing even more frenzied in its attack, like it’s realized that the same fate awaits it. Desperation shines in its beady gaze as it uses its beak and claws to try to grab onto the warriors.
But it’s no use, and Draggar proves that moments later by plunging his sword deep into the beast’s chest. The anuroi falls to the ground with a crash.
And just like that, the fight is over.