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“Besides,” I added, trailing my fingers through his mane, “who else would put up with my trash-talking and inappropriate jokes?”

He chuckled, the sound rumbling through both our bodies. “No one, kassari. Absolutely no one.”

And as we lay there, still joined, twin suns casting golden light across our tangled limbs, I knew with absolute certainty that I’d found everything I needed in this one, fiercely possessive alien warrior. My fate-mate. My home.

We had a cliffside shelter now—a sprawling structure that nestled into the rocky outcropping like it had grown there naturally.

Legion architects had worked with Rodinian craftsmen to create something that honored both worlds: sleek tech and primal comfort coexisting in perfect harmony.

The highest of technology but in a den that worked with the natural world around us.

Like Hobbiton if the hobbits lived in suburbia—with a courtyard open to the stars yet chockfull of Legion tech and Rodinian comforts.

I’d fallen in love with it the moment Rhaekar had brought me here, claiming this territory as ours with a formal ceremony that involved a lot of growling and scent-marking that had made his fellow Reapers rumble with approval.

The central space—an open-air atrium—was my favorite.

Retractable shields could close it off during storms, but most days we left it open to the elements, letting the amber light of Rodinia Tertius’s twin suns pour in like honey.

Flowering vines that changed color with my mood (a housewarming gift from one of Rhaekar’s battle brothers) trailed along the stone walls, currently a contented shade of blue-violet.

There were nights I’d lie in bed and listen to the wind outside, tangled in the arms of the fiercest, grumpiest alien the galaxy had ever seen, and wonder how I’d ever lived without him.

Without this. The connection that hummed between us had only grown stronger over the months, a golden thread that bound us together across distances, through dreams, beyond what I’d ever thought possible when I’d been that skeptical journalist chasing stories in the Sahara.

Then, there were the other nights. The very active, very loud nights.

The ones where Rhaekar would return from a mission with that particular glint in his eye, and I’d barely make it to the bedroom before finding myself pinned beneath two hundred pounds of possessive alien male.

The nights where our bond would flare so bright with shared pleasure that neighbors half a mile away swore they could see our dwelling glow.

Those nights had led to this morning—me stretching out on a smooth stone bench in our atrium, soaking up the early sun like a contented cat. Three months since my last cycle. Two weeks since the medical scanner had confirmed what Rhaekar had already known from scent alone.

That morning, I lay back on the sun-warmed stone, lazily drawing circles on my belly with my fingertips. No more sandstorms. No more drones—for now. Just me, my mate, and the suspicious bloating that had kept me from buttoning my favorite shorts.

“You think it’s weird?” I whispered to the little life growing inside me. “That your dad is part giant cheetah, part growly teddy bear?”

I traced the barely-there curve of my abdomen, still flat enough that only I would notice the change.

“Your dad’s going to teach you to track prey across the desert and growl at inappropriate moments.

I’ll teach you to hack Legion security protocols and make dirty jokes that scandalize his commanding officers. ”

Rhaekar’s purr rumbled behind me. I hadn’t even heard him approach. Typical sneaky catman.

“Our cubs,” he corrected softly, kneeling beside me. “Plural.”

I raised a brow, propping myself up on my elbows. “That’s optimistic.”

He placed one large hand over mine on my belly, his warmth seeping into my skin. Through our bond, I felt his absolute certainty—not a guess, but knowledge.

“I can hear their heartbeats,” he said, his voice filled with wonder. “Two distinct rhythms. Different from yours. Faster.”

My own heart skipped a beat. “Twins?”

He pressed a kiss to my shoulder, a gesture so tender it made my throat tight with emotion. “Twins,” he confirmed.

“That’s fate,” I whispered, echoing his favorite explanation for everything from our initial meeting to why he always found the ripest fruit at the market.

“Yes,” he agreed solemnly, though I could feel his amusement through our bond. “Fate has blessed us doubly.”

I snorted, relaxing back against him as he settled behind me on the bench. “Desert Daddy strikes again.”

He chuckled low, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me into his lap like I weighed nothing. I didn’t protest. His chest was warm. His tail curled around us both—a protective circle that somehow included my still-flat belly in its sweep.

“You are pleased?” he asked, a hint of vulnerability in his voice that few besides me ever heard.

I turned my head to meet his golden eyes, now soft with an emotion that would have shocked his fellow warriors. “Terrified,” I admitted. “Excited. Overwhelmed.” I paused, feeling for the right word. “Complete.”

His purr intensified, vibrating through my back. One clawed finger gently traced the mark on my collarbone.

“I never thought to have this,” he said quietly. “A mate. Cubs. Peace.”

“You thought you’d die gloriously in battle and have songs sung about your heroic end?” I teased.

“Something like that.”

“Sorry to ruin your plans with domestic bliss.”

He nipped lightly at my ear. “Not sorry.”

I laughed, settling more comfortably against him.

We sat in contented silence, watching as the twin suns climbed higher in the sky, casting our shadows long across the stone floor.

From this vantage point, we could see the desert stretching out below—the same desert that had nearly killed us both, that had brought us together, that had changed everything.

I looked out over the dunes—burnished gold under twin suns—and smiled.

“They’re going to be trouble.”

“Like their mother,” Rhaekar agreed, his hand splayed protectively over my abdomen.

“And stubborn like their father.”

“Strong,” he countered. “Fierce.”

“Loved,” I added softly.

His arms tightened around me, and through our bond, I felt a surge of emotion so powerful it brought tears to my eyes—protectiveness, pride, and a love so deep it defied the language of any world.

From Earth to exile to everything I’d never dared hope for…

The desert hadn’t taken anything from me.

It gave me everything.

I placed my hand over his, feeling the slight roughness of his palm, the careful way he kept his claws retracted whenever he touched me. My fierce warrior. My mate. The father of my children.

“They’re going to have your eyes,” I said with sudden certainty.

“And your spirit,” he replied.

I leaned back against his chest, our heartbeats finding the same rhythm as they always did when we were close.

And somewhere beneath our joined hands, two tiny hearts beat in their own distinct pattern—new lives created from our impossible bond, proof that fate, the universe, or whatever cosmic force had brought us together knew exactly what it was doing.

Desert wind swept through the atrium, carrying the scent of distant rain. Life-giving water coming to transform the arid landscape, just as love had transformed us both.

“Come,” Rhaekar said, lifting me easily in his arms. “The healer wants to see you today.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting him carry me back inside. “Worried?” I asked, though I could feel through our bond that he wasn’t.

“No,” he said simply. “But I want to hear our cubs’ heartbeats with more than just my ears.”

Our cubs. Our future. Our fate.

And as he carried me through the home we’d built together, I sent silent thanks to whatever portal, wormhole, or cosmic accident had dropped me into this world—into his arms—and changed the course of both our lives forever.

Next Up in the Legion: Savage Lands Sector ...

Snared

One human. One jungle. One silent protector who was never meant to love.

When cryptid podcaster Miri De León stumbles through a rift and lands on a remote, sentient jungle planet, she doesn't expect to meet a lethal alien with glowing eyes, a deadly tail…and a touch so gentle it undoes her.

But Lor Pardus has been alone too long. Scarred by war, shaped by nature, and haunted by dreams of a female he's never met—until now.

She’s the key to unlocking the jungle’s secrets…and the mate fate refused to let him lose.

Scroll through to read an excerpt.