Page 2 of Alien Warrior’s Claim (Nyxari Bondmates #1)
LAZRIN
T he ground trembled beneath my feet as the Kradax charged through the undergrowth. I leapt over a fallen log, signaling my warriors to flank the hunting pack. Ahead, alien screams pierced the forest—high-pitched and desperate, unmistakably the sounds of prey.
My lifelines pulsated beneath my skin with inexplicable urgency. Three days we'd tracked these strange creatures who fell from the sky. Three days of watching them stumble through Arenix's dangers with fatal ignorance as they set up a makeshift shelter and then began to explore the lands around them like blind prey. Now they faced the forest's apex predators, and something within me refused to let them perish.
"Vrithar ka!" I commanded, vaulting through the dense foliage. My hunting band followed without question, eight of Nyxari's finest warriors armed for the kill.
We burst from the treeline as three massive predators cornered their prey against a rocky outcropping. Two small bipedal creatures cowered—unlike any species I'd ever encountered. They had fragile-looking skin in varied hues, their frames diminutive compared to our own forms. Their limbs lacked even the most basic defensive features—no claws, no natural armor, not even proper fangs. How such vulnerable creatures created advanced technology was incomprehensible.
The largest raptor's scales shifted to match the surroundings, its six powerful legs tensing for the final lunge. Six rows of dagger-like teeth gleamed in its elongated jaws as it prepared to feast.
I raised my curved blade, ready to signal the attack—then froze as one of the aliens turned to face the predators.
She was diminutive even for their kind, with dark hair pulled back from a face set in determined lines. A sharpened piece of metal clutched in her hand like a pathetic weapon. But it wasn't her appearance that hit me like a physical blow—it was the violent reaction that surged through my body the instant my gaze locked on her.
My lifelines erupted in blinding gold light. Pain and pleasure fused into an overwhelming tide that nearly drove me to my knees. Heat surged through my veins, my markings blazing with a brightness I'd never experienced in twenty-eight cycles of existence. The sensation was like molten metal being poured into ancient channels that had lain dormant my entire life, suddenly flooding with sacred energy.
"?" Varek's voice barely penetrated the roaring in my ears.
I couldn't respond. My focus remained fixed on the female as the lead raptor lunged toward her. Something deeper than instinct, more powerful than protective urges crashed through me—the imperative to defend what the ancestors had destined as my other half.
A primal challenge erupted from my chest as I launched forward. The raptor pivoted at the sound, its elongated head swiveling to assess this new threat. Too late. My blade found the vulnerable spot behind its armored jaw, severing vital connections. Hot blood sprayed across my chest as the beast collapsed.
The second raptor leapt at me with blinding speed. I ducked and spun, evading its massive claws by the narrowest margin. Its scales shifted, trying to disorient me with rapid color changes, but I'd hunted their kind since my first rites of passage. My blade sliced through its exposed throat in a single fluid motion.
Around me, my warriors dispatched the remaining predator with ruthless efficiency. Kralin's energy spear impaled it mid-leap, the weapon's charged tip burning through scales and flesh.
The battle lasted mere heartbeats. Three kradax—each capable of decimating an entire herd of grex—lay dead at our feet. Yet my attention never left the female. My lifelines continued to pulse with golden light, synchronized to a rhythm I'd never felt before but instantly recognized from ancient teachings.
The female stood her ground, bloody metal shard still raised. Her eyes—a color I'd never seen, like the amber forests in autumn light—watched me with a mixture of fear and defiance that stirred something powerful in my chest.
Through the haze of my reaction, I noticed something peculiar—beneath the sleeve of her garment, which had risen during her defensive stance, faint silvery lines pulsed against her skin. She quickly tugged the fabric down, concealing the markings.
I approached slowly. Up close, I could see the patterns beneath her skin more clearly—silvery lines that shifted and pulsed, similar to our lifelines but more delicate, as if newly formed. My warriors spread out behind me, alert but non-threatening. Varek's sharp intake of breath told me he'd noticed my still-glowing lifelines.
"She bears markings," he murmured, his voice tinged with disbelief even as his hand touched his own dark silver skin. "Not like ours, but similar."
"Impossible," Kralin whispered. "These soft-skinned strangers can't carry lifelines."
Yet the evidence pulsed before us, undeniable.
I extended my hand toward her arm, compelled to investigate these strange patterns. As my fingers neared her skin, her markings brightened, glowing with silvery light that pulsed in perfect rhythm with the golden patterns on my own flesh.
The shock froze me in place. This defied all understanding. Lifebonds occurred only between Nyxari, and even then, they were increasingly rare as our female population dwindled. Yet there could be no mistaking the synchronization of our markings, the pull that drew me to this alien female.
"A lifebond?" Varek whispered incredulously in our language. "With an alien? The Elders will never accept this."
His question broke my stunned paralysis. I stepped back, struggling to regain composure as the female watched with obvious confusion. She spoke, her voice producing sounds incomprehensible to me—flowing syllables lacking the resonant depths of Nyxari speech.
I caught one recurring sound that seemed intentionally directed at me—perhaps a name, though I couldn't replicate it with my different vocal structure. She was attempting communication, but without translation tools, I had no means of understanding her.
More aliens emerged from the forest, dragging one of their injured. The female's attention shifted to this newcomer, giving me precious moments to gather my scattered thoughts.
"Bind the wounded one's injuries," I ordered Tamir. "Use the luminbloom salve."
While Tamir worked, I couldn't stop my gaze from returning to the female. Her markings had dimmed slightly but still shimmered beneath her skin. The pull toward her remained strong, a physical tether between us.
A commotion from the direction of their camp drew our attention. More aliens approached, these carrying weapons. Their leader—a tall male by their standards though a head shorter than me—barked commands, his stance aggressive despite our obvious physical advantage.
The marked female stepped between us and her approaching people, making placating gestures to both sides. She spoke rapidly in her incomprehensible language, the sounds flowing together in patterns I couldn't decipher.
"She protects us from her own kind," Kralin observed with surprise.
The newcomers halted a cautious distance away. Their leader's commands were harsh, threatening despite the difference in our fighting capabilities. The female responded, her tone firm but conciliatory.
I maintained a neutral posture while assessing these new arrivals. If they attacked, we would defend ourselves—but that would mean harming the female's people, perhaps the female herself.
That thought struck me with unexpected force.
After a tense exchange, the strangers moved to retrieve their injured companion. They backed away slowly, the marked female among them, though her gaze remained locked on mine until the last moment.
"What now, ?" Varek asked as they retreated. "The Elders must be informed."
I nodded, though I made no move to leave. The pull toward the female remained strong, a physical ache demanding I follow.
"A hunting party will remain to watch them," I decided. "The rest will return with news of these strangers."
"And the female?" Varek's tone held concern. "Your lifelines still glow for her. This is unprecedented."
As night fell, I made my decision. "Kralin, take two warriors and return to the settlement. Tell the Elders what we've witnessed."
I paused, considering the barrier that separated us from these strange visitors. "Request that Elder Rylis bring the translation stones. If we are to understand these humans—and they us—we must bridge the language divide."
Kralin nodded, understanding the gravity of my request, then disappeared into the darkness with his companions.
The rest of us remained at the forest's edge, watching their camp prepare for darkness. My lifelines continued to pulse with persistent rhythm. With each beat, I felt the pull toward the human camp, toward the female who had somehow awakened something dormant within me.
I positioned myself at the perimeter, eyes fixed on their fires. Somewhere among those strange beings was a female who had altered my existence with a single glance.
I did not even know her name. Yet already, she had claimed a part of me I had never intended to surrender.