Page 71 of The Alien Warrior's Vow

“The Ungazi were there. They found the terros and his pregnant mate.”

“We have reason to believe they are heading this way,” the Healer said gravely.

Fear struck her heart and Emma glanced at Lans. “They’re going to kill us.”

Twenty-One

Lans

“Korben is here?”he asked, striding down the hallway of the cavern with Clavas right on his heels.

“Yes.” Clavas tapped his interface. “They did not want to leave the area without making sure that you had recovered well. If not for the Healer’s instructions, they would have crowded the room.”

Lans was glad they had not made camp in his recovery room. Because of that privacy, he had mated with Eema.

Lans’s fingers curled into fists.

The sweetness of their union had been cut short by the Ungazi threat. He should have been whisking Eema off to celebrate their mating. He should have been tongue deep in his mate until nightfall. Instead, he was facing a calamity that had once wiped out every female in his tribas.

Including his own mother.

The Ungazi would pay for all the wrongs they had done.

“Why appear now?” Lans wondered aloud. “Why not sun rotations ago when they were near our hideout?” He recalled Zar’s tale of the huge, mysterious ship that had tried to kidnap Chozo. “Why would they go after Chozo instead of the females at that time?”

“We shall ask them before we end them,” Clavas said, his jaw clenching.

They turned the corner and stepped into a small room. It was the Healer’s own study, fitted with a small damas that spilled into a delicate rock carving, huge interfaces with spinning holos, and more books than Lans had ever seen in his life.

“Lans!” A deep voice cried.

Moments later, Lans was wrapped in two burly, blue arms.

Korben stepped back and smacked him. “You look well.”

Pin approached, his eyes fixed on Lans’s chest where the arrow had pierced him. “I am most grateful to the Healer.”

“Not more than I, I’m sure.” Lans accepted Pin’s embrace.

Tiegan strode up to him next. He said nothing, but the way he clasped Lans’s upper arms spoke volumes.

Lans’s lips twitched when Zar hung back. “Comrade, you are not going to cry, are you?”

“Do not ever scare me like that again.” Zar gave him a hard look. “Apart from Si-Moon, I have no one I trust more than you five. That number cannot shrink.”

“Understood.” Lans nodded.

“Did Eema join the other females?” Korben asked. “My mate was quite anxious to see her when we arrived.”

Lans dipped his head in affirmation.

Tiegan rubbed his chin. His lean face caught the light and a sparkle crept into his blue eyes. “They seemed almost eager to leave us. Do you think they wish to badmouth their mates?”

Zar scowled. “I have given my Si-Moon nothing to complain about.”

“Neither have I.” Pin crossed one ankle over the other. “I did find it strange how happy they were to huddle together.”

“They must be plotting something,” Clavas mused.