Page 21 of Fated to the Hunter (Xarc’n Warriors #13)

I blinked awake, cocooned in heat and muscle, Bael’k’s arms wrapped around me like a fortress.

For a heartbeat, I forgot we were alone inside a Dead Zone surrounded by more scourge than I could count.

All I knew was that I was in the arms of my protector.

His woodsy scent, his warmth, the steady thrum of his heartbeat under my cheek all felt so natural, like I belonged here. Safe. Wanted.

It was my fourth time waking in Bael’k’s arms in this bed. We napped when the sun was at its highest in the sky. And then again at night. It was morning again.

I burrowed deeper into his chest, the steady rise and fall of his breathing anchoring me like gravity, and reminding me that despite everything I’d been through these past few years, I was still alive.

I hadn’t wanted this. Not really. For years, I’d tried to avoid the messy tangle of emotions and true connection, terrified I might get attached only to have them cruelly torn away again.

I’d told myself I was fine on my own, that I didn’t need anyone.

I’d been on the run with Travis for a few months. We were still arguing, but unable to leave each other because we were all we had left, when we had a stroke of good luck. We found my family, hiding out down the road from my brother’s old place.

But that had been a curse, rather than good luck.

Hunger and sickness picked us off one by one, and the scourge finished the job when spring finally came.

I didn’t know how I made it to New Franklin.

But when I did, I was lost, angry, and heartbroken.

I avoided intimacy like the plague. Losing people was tough, and I’d barely survived it the first time.

I’d avoided friendships too, but people like Dottie and Connie eventually wormed their way in.

And now, here I was, wrapped in Bael’k like he was the only thing keeping me tethered to this terrifying new world. And the wildest part? I didn’t want to leave.

Somewhere between the excitement of being on an honest-to-goodness quest and the quiet moments where he just listened, and I mean really listened, as I worked through things in my head out loud, I’d stopped resisting.

And now, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back to the way things were before. I wasn’t sure I could.

Because that terrifying new world? It wasn’t so terrifying anymore, not when I was with him.

Instead, all I saw now was all the potential to grow.

Just a few short days ago, my goal had been to help rebuild things, to make things the way they had been before the bugs and the chaos, but that didn’t seem enough anymore.

I wanted it to be better. I didn’t want to restore what we had, but to build something new. Something better.

Could I do that with Bael’k by my side? As what, exactly? My alien boyfriend? That didn’t sound right. Boyfriend sounded wrong for someone like Bael’k.

I leaned back, putting enough space between us so I could drink him in.

Those majestic horns, that chiseled jawline, the firm lips that kissed me like I was the only thing that mattered in the universe.

And then there was the rest of him. He had shoulders built like he bench-pressed meteors, a chest so broad that it could moonlight as a mattress, and arms that even now wrapped around me with a gentleness that defied their strength.

Alien boyfriend didn’t even come close. But if not that, then what? A mate?

That was so… permanent. Was that really what I wanted?

Bael’k’s arms tightened around me with a sleepy groan. “You’re squirming,” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep. “Stay still. We still have time to rest.”

I smirked, not bothering to hide it. “Clingy much.” He’d insisted on holding me every time we napped, claiming that it was for my safety. I wasn’t complaining.

He cracked one eye open, the gold of it still hazy. “You enjoy it.”

I did. Too much. But I wasn’t about to admit that while his bedhead was making my heart do gymnastics. Horns and messy hair were a hell of a combo. I reached up to finger-comb through strands that had fallen out of the leather thong tying them back.

The rumbling started from his chest like distant thunder. A wicked grin was all the warning I got, and his mouth was on mine.

I kissed him back, because of course I did. His lips were warm, and his hand cradled my jaw like I was something precious. The world narrowed to just us, just this moment.

Then I pulled back, breathless. “We can’t.”

He blinked, confused. “Can’t what? Kiss? Because I was about to upgrade that to ravish.”

I laughed, pressing a finger to his lips. “We have to go. Clues, remember? The whole reason we’re stuck in this place?”

He groaned dramatically, flopping back onto the pillow like I was ruining the best morning of his life.

“You’ll survive,” I said, already climbing out of the blankets. “And if you’re good, maybe I’ll let you kiss me again after we find something useful.”

He watched me with a lazy smile. “I’m always good.”

I shot him a look over my shoulder. “That’s debatable.”

He puffed out his chest. “I am the best fighter in my contingent.”

I let him have that even though I was pretty sure that Connie had said that title belonged to Jorg’k.

We made our way up to the library, and Bael’k paused briefly in the foyer to look out the windows. It was still quite early in the morning, but there were flyers out already. Last night, it had taken almost until sunset for them to clear out.

“I don’t like this.” His lips settled in a thin line.

“What do you see?” I asked as we stepped into the library.

“There are more of them today. And there are scuttlers lining the fences. They were not there yesterday.”

“Do you think they suspect something?”

“Perhaps.”

I didn’t like the way he said that, like he really wanted to say yes, but didn’t want to worry me.

Grabbing an emergency food bar from my pack, I ate breakfast while perusing the shelves.

There were so many books here that I was starting to doubt I could ever find the answer.

Yesterday, I’d gone through most of the scientific and philosophical texts, since that was where my brain urged me to look first. I’d looked for loose sheets of notes tucked into the pages and skimmed through the contents.

But I really hadn’t known what I was looking for. And the sun had set with us not a single step closer to solving the riddle.

“Point to the stars with a question, and there you will find the answer.” I couldn’t help repeating the riddle over and over.

Deciding on a different approach today, I went through the entire collection shelf by shelf, reading each title out loud if it was in English, just in case it was something else.

Whoever had curated this collection had been a man of many hobbies and interests, from history, art, and philosophy to music, maths, and sciences; he had books on everything.

He even had a section on how to repair vacuum cleaners and sewing machines, and any appliance you could think of. I pulled out a bunch of booklets, their spines too narrow for titles. They were user manuals for all sorts of equipment.

The clue probably wasn’t in there.

I was putting them back when one of the manuals caught my eye. For a second, I forgot how to breathe, or blink, or anything. Just stared at the black and blue booklet, my heart kicking against my ribs as realization hit.

Another clue!

The words William Optics Pleiades 111 Manual stared back at me from the cover. I picked up the manual, hands shaking. One of the pages was dog-eared, and I flipped to it. There was a note written in ink.

Let this be your passport to the universe. May it bring you closer to the galaxies you’ve always dreamed of.

Your friend

P.S. While you’re lost in the stars, don’t forget to search deep inside for your heart’s desire.

Instead of a name it was signed with an ornate symbol.

With shaking hands, I brought out my phone and opened the digital copy of the treasure map. There it was. The same symbol.

I clutched the booklet to my chest. One thing had been bothering me through all of this.

If the information in the hard drives were stolen international secrets, then surely the owner of this home wouldn’t allow his home to be part of a riddle leading to them.

That would paint a target on him and his family.

But if he’d received the telescope as a gift…

“Bael’k?”

“Hmm?” He sounded distant, and when I turned to look, he was standing stock-still in front of the window, his muscles bunched tight.

“Bael’k, what’s wrong?” I whispered, the joy of finding another clue dampened by the sudden knowledge that something was very wrong.

After a long moment, he backed away from the window. “They know we are here. They don’t know where exactly, but they are looking. We must leave.”

“Wait. We can’t. Not yet. I found another clue.” I held the booklet in front of me. “I think I figured it out. I just have to get up to the observatory one more time.”

“We can’t wait until nightfall.”

“So, we won’t. We’ll do it now. It doesn’t need to be nighttime.

I don’t need to see the stars; I just need one of the telescopes.

Pleiades. It’s not the stars. It’s the telescope itself!

” I didn’t know exactly how a key would fit inside a telescope, but I was sure of it.

I wasn’t going to ignore my intuition, not when it was screaming at me with such certainty.

“Alright. We go. But we must hurry.”