Heart of the Hunted Read online

  She flailed, she clawed, but her invisible foe carried her out of the herd and a decent distance from the creatures.

  He whispered, “I am here to return you to Imrahl.”

  She looked around for him, and she could feel him if not see him. The hard warmth pressed against her back and mouth was indicative of the lean lines of the Luthin. She had never seen one in action before, so to speak.

  Bree slowly nodded, and he eased his hand from her face.

  “Will you come with me a longer distance so we can put up a shelter for the night?” His whisper was low and deep. She felt it more than heard it.

  She nodded.

  He set her on her feet and placed her hand on his ribs. “Hold tight and walk with me.”

  She groped for the spot his waist would be and locked her fingers around a belt. He walked and she followed.

  His steps wove them between tufts of grass until he reached the spot that he considered suitable for rest. He slid a pack off, and the moment it left his body, it became visible.

  She watched the pack hover in the light of the moon and stars. It opened, and a compressed tent flicked out. It set up neatly with a nearly silent pop. The bedroll was a tube that he flicked to unroll it into the tent.

  The tent flap rose up. “Come inside. It will be safer for you than out in the elements.”

  She still couldn’t see him. “Are you joining me?”

  “Yes. I need to remain in contact with the tent to hide us.”

  Grimacing at the fact that she had probably just dumped herself back into the fire, she crawled into the tent and scooted to the far edge of the bedroll.

  “You smell like the skark.”

  “Is that what they are called? They are very friendly.”

  He laughed. “To you. To the others, they are deadly, as I am sure you are aware.”

  She wrinkled her nose and settled facing the wall of the tent. “I was simply holding on.”

  She squeaked when a large hand slid around her ribs and pulled her back against him.

  “Sound advice. Get some rest; we will need to get to the portal in the morning.”

  He was radiating heat and a scent that she associated with Rrassic.

  She let herself relax and whispered, “Who are you?”

  “Hunter Arix, at your service.”

  “Ah. You know who I am already.”

  “Bree, late of agricultural planning, recently of the Breeder compound.”

  “Right. Thanks for coming after me, Arix.”

  “It is my job.” He pulled her in tight, and he exhaled softly. “Rest now. We need to walk quite a distance in the morning.”

  She never slept well with someone else in her bed, but it hadn’t been an ordinary day.

  * * * *

  Arix finally understood why they had taken her when they did. The woman in his arms was turning receptive, and he was stuck guarding her. Her scent overpowered that of the skark, and the sweet-hot aura of her made her glow in the darkness of the tent.

  He closed his eyes and calculated the time it would take to get to a portal junction and the differential of the signal to the response time. Doing the math allowed him to ignore the soft curves of her body pressed against his and the blood that was rushing around and gathering in his groin.

  It was going to be the worst night’s sleep he had had in ages, but he still wouldn’t let her go.

  On Imrahl, he had deliberately stayed away from contact with the humans, but now that he had no option, he was recognizing their appeal.

  Chapter Three

  Bree jolted awake with the urgent need to pee. She eased away from Arix, but his arm tightened on her.

  “Where are you going?”

  She blushed but muttered, “A call of nature. I need to relieve myself.”

  He sighed and sat up, taking her by the hand. “Come with me.”

  She was still blushing when he helped her out of the tent and walked a distance from their small structure.

  “Sorry there is no cover. I will turn my back.” His voice was amused.

  “How will I know?”

  He paused and a dark shape was silhouetted against the moon. “Is this better?”

  She smiled fleetingly. “It is something. Fine. Turn around. I am going to walk a dozen paces and then do what I have to.”

  “Very well. If you run, I will catch you.”

  She scowled. “I am not going to run.”

  He turned, and she walked the dozen steps from him, hiking up her tunic, sliding down her trousers and doing what she needed to. At least she only had to worry about water. She hadn’t eaten anything yet, so that wasn’t a concern.

  When she was done, she grabbed a handful of grasses to tidy up and stood up with her clothing in place as quickly as she could manage.

  She walked back up to his dark silhouette and cleared her throat. “Done.”

  He nodded and placed her hand on his back again. “Just keep your hand on me and you won’t stumble.”

  “Right. Back to bed.”

  “Indeed. There are still several hours before dawn, and you will need your strength.”

  She didn’t know if he could see her, but she nodded. He led her back to the tent, and they arranged themselves as they had before.

  His hand on her belly kept her back against him. She was shaking from exhaustion as she fell into sleep again.

  Dawn light and strange noises got her up. She was alone in the tent. She groped the floor to make sure she was on her own. The grunting and snuffling grew louder, so she opened the tent and emerged to see the herd of skark around them.

  She clapped her hand over her mouth as she saw grass bend and slowly straighten. Her Hunter was treading carefully.

  When she emerged, her escort from the day before came up to her and carefully nuzzled her.

  “Hello again. What brings you here?”

  She felt Arix’s hand at her waist, pulling her toward him so he could whisper in her ear. “They followed you.”

  She murmured back, “Why?”

  He chuckled, and she felt his nose against her ear. “You smell good.”

  “Well, how are we going to get away from them and get back to the spot where I came through?”

  “We aren’t. That spot has moved. Our portals are generated by an anchored mechanism. It broadcasts to a corollary on the target world. That is what we need to aim for—the spot that the portal forms at.”

  “You know where that is?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good. Why are you invisible?”

  “The skark seem to have it out for Rrassic. I didn’t want to tempt them.”

  “Try it. I promise to defend you.”

  She looked down, and his arm slowly faded into view around her.

  She had never seen a Luthin-Rrassic this close up before.

  Bree turned her head, and she was face to face with him. At this range, the mottled green velvet nap of his skin was obvious, and the golden streaks made for ideal natural camouflage. There was a forest on his body. It was a wild mix of dark colours and gold highlights.

  His eyes were black on black, and his hair was the same dark shade as his eyes.

  There was no doubt about it, like most of the Rrassic, he was exceptionally pretty.

  He slowly straightened, pulling away from her slightly. Huh, he was also exceptionally tall. She knew that he had covered her entire back and then some the night before, but since she was a little on the short side, looking up soon became a burden.

  She looked around to watch the beasts’ reactions. A few looked up but none of them broke out in hostility.

  “I think you are good. They don’t seem to care, and frankly, you look more like them than I do.”

  He made a small sound, and she grinned. It appeared she had offended him.

  “I meant colour-wise.”

  “Oh. I see. Well, that is an accurate assessment.�
�

  She chuckled. “So, do you have any food with you?”

  Bree turned to look at him, and to her gaze, he appeared embarrassed. He removed a pack he had over one shoulder and reached in, opening a package and snapping off a cube.

  “Here. They are compressed rations. It should be a fairly efficient meal replacement.”

  She took the cube and gnawed on it. “Any water?”

  He nodded and fished a bag of it out of his pack. “Here. Skekt has plenty of fresh water, so I didn’t bring much of it.”

  She gnawed and sipped while surrounded by alien beasts and the man who had tracked her. No, this wasn’t odd at all.

  While she was gnawing on her food, he was rolling the bedroll and packing the tent. The beasts didn’t do more than snuffle at him. She finished her breakfast as the suns were an inch above the skyline.

  Her escort was nuzzling her and trying to urge her onto its back.

  “I think you should get on. The herd seems to be moving in the direction that we want to go, and they do a good job of masking your scent.”

  “What about you?”

  “I will see if one of them wants to take me on, and if not, I will run alongside.”

  Bree scowled as her beast knelt beside her. “Are you sure?”

  “I am sure. Get on.”

  She shrugged, and as she clambered up onto the wide back, Arix’s hands lifted her and set her gently in place. It was such an old-world gesture that she looked at him in surprise.

  He smiled slightly, nodded and went to negotiate for his own ride.

  She was humming a tune about being back in the saddle as the beasts started walking. Arix was on the back of one of the skark nearby, but the creature didn’t look happy about it.

  He spoke to her softly when his ride drew abreast. “We will travel with them for a day, and then, we will head north. Can you ride that long?”

  She nodded. “They are wide enough to sleep on if you have to. I learned that yesterday.”

  “I do not know how long this one will tolerate me, so if I disappear, know that I am nearby.”

  She grinned. “I will listen for screams. It was the hunting roars that set the skark off the last time. Just a little warning. I am guessing they are highly territorial.”

  “I believe our contact has transferred enough of your scent onto me. I should be safe as long as I am careful.”

  She chuckled and leaned forward on the skark, relaxing and letting the slow rocking motion lull her into a light doze.

  Her belly was full and she didn’t feel hunted, so it was a good day to rest.

  The suns were nearly directly above when she snapped out of her doze and sat up. The skark were nearing another watering hole, and she knew what was going to come next.

  With a grin, she got up and jumped into the water when her ride waded into the waist-deep pool. She was rolled until she was cleaned by the herd, and when she was dripping wet but very happy to have been accepted by them, she waded out and found a rock to sit on.

  “They are treating you like one of their calves. You can see their toes. The skark are born with the ability to cling to their parent. The herd carries them from watering hole to watering hole and grazes them in the evenings. You are one of them as far as they are concerned.”

  She glanced over where Arix was sitting with his body gleaming with proof of his own bath. “Seriously?”

  “After watching them with you, they seem to be behaving as if you were a toddler. Your scent must be muddling things.”

  Bree cocked her head. “Why aren’t there any little ones with them now?”

  “They only breed once a decade. It is probably an inborn genetic protection against overpopulation.”

  She smiled. “So, are you planning to ride one of the skark again?”

  “Yes.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You just washed me off.”

  Arix stared at her in astonishment. “You are correct. Would you assist me in cloaking myself once again?”

  Bree looked down. “I am a little on the damp side right now.”

  “I don’t mind if you don’t.”

  She wasn’t sure if he was trying to put the moves on her or if he was just trying to get them out of there. Either way, she only had one response. “Fine. Get over here.”

  He rose lazily to his feet. The skark were grazing nearby and were keeping an eye on them.

  “We have chaperones, so no funny stuff.”

  “I stand warned.” Arix grinned and stepped toward her.

  When he was in front of her, she reached out and slid her arms around him, pulling him close and pressing against him.

  He held her and stroked his palms down her back, keeping them to the dip of her spine and never delving lower. It was as decorous as possible with her squished to him.

  She leaned against him and closed her eyes. In her mind’s eye, she imagined that they had just been on a date and got caught in the rain. He was keeping her warm; that was all.

  The bands of muscle around his ribs were impressive, as was the chest her face pressed against.

  “You are smaller than I thought you would be.” Arix’s voice was low, and she could hear the reverberation through his chest.

  “You are more naked than other Hunters. Why no tunic?”

  “Ah, as an off-world Hunter, I can link in to certain materials and extend my projection field through them. To do so, I need to hook a lead into my flesh via a needle, so it is easier to skip the tunic. I wear it when on regular duty on Imrahl.”

  She blinked. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

  “Oh, yes. But, if it keeps you safe, I would do it a thousand times over.”

  She leaned back in his embrace and stared up into the dark eyes. “I think I need to scent your back now.”

  He slowly opened his arms to let her go, and Bree slipped in behind him, caressing his back muscles with her hands, feeling the small bumps that must have been connection points.

  She ran her hands over him, and his muscles locked into rigid lines. She felt like she was teasing, but if he needed her scent, she would give him what she could.

  She stroked her hands up to the base of his neck where his hair was wound tightly into a bun. “You are the first Rrassic that I have seen with long hair.”

  He cleared his throat, and his voice was rough. “Luthin hair has the shifting follicles that allow us to camouflage. Cutting it is painful. We simply bind it up, and when it gets to hip length, it snaps off painlessly.”

  She smiled wistfully and said, “I would like to see it down one day.”

  He turned to face her. “Would you? You have your choice of us. No Luthin has been chosen as a mate by a Breeder.”

  She shrugged. “I am not yet a Breeder.”

  “You are nearly receptive.”

  Bree scowled. “That is what my manager said. What the hell does it mean?”

  He stroked her cheek. “It means that like the rest of the females who were brought to Imrahl, your personal cycles have been delayed. Now, your bodies have adjusted to the environments and they are resuming their natural functions. You are going to ovulate in the next day or so.”

  “How do you guys even know that?”

  “Scent. Physiological symptoms. Changes in complexion, and of course, the increase of tactile contact.”

  She stroked his cheeks with her fingertips, realized what she was doing and lowered her hands.

  “There is nothing to be embarrassed over. Your change to Breeder status has upset you, but that is nothing to get embarrassed about. Your work is valuable, but your genes are even more so. If you carried a child with blended genes, you would be able to choose the father of the child for your next, or you could move on to another lover. The choices are all in your hands.”

  Bree nodded. “Right. All the choices except I have to make a choice. The option to ignore it and get back to my day job is gone.”

  “Co
rrect.”

  “So, why shouldn’t I make a new option and stay here? The guys who grabbed me are very flat. I don’t see it being a problem.”

  He stroked her cheek softly. “Do you actually believe they were here alone?”

  She blinked slowly and thought about it. The more she thought, the closer she got to him.

  Chapter Four

  When the skark bullied her back onto her escort, she thought about where the other evil Rrassic could be hiding. Sure, the men who had captured her on Earth had threatened her family and friends, but at least she was treated normally on Imrahl and they abided by their own laws and regulations.

  Life on Imrahl was predictable. If you were genetically able to be a Breeder, you were put in the Breeders’ quarters, guarded and pampered. If you were a worker, you worked and got free time for every four days of work.

  Imrahl was predictable, reliable and if she couldn’t be home, it was the next best thing. She wanted to go back to Imrahl in the worst way.

  Bree sighed and blinked rapidly as she heard a mechanical sound that she wasn’t expecting. She looked back to Arix, and he vanished as she watched.

  To her astonishment, she felt him yanking her off the skark, just as the flier did a low overhead sweep.

  She thudded to the ground, and Arix covered her body with his. The herd began to pound past them, and less than a minute after she had first heard the flier, there was silence.

  He whispered in her ear. “They are coming. If we are separated, I will find you.”

  She didn’t need to ask who was coming. A mix of Rrassic were surging toward them, seemingly springing out of the plain itself.

  Her view was obscured by Arix’s arm. He covered her completely, camouflaging them both.

  They remained immobile with him protecting her until the Rrassic scented them.

  Bree tried to hold onto the ground as Arix was pried off her. He fought the others the moment he wasn’t touching her. She heard grunts and thuds, but a Zjin grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, walking swiftly to a location that was unknown to her.