Page 28 of Fated to the Hunter (Xarc’n Warriors #13)

I held Kiera in my arms long after Connie left with the healer.

I didn’t want to let her go. Not even a little.

She was safe now, all tucked up against my chest, her scent in my lungs, her heartbeat slow and steady.

But the irrational part of me, the part that had begged every deity I knew, and even those I didn’t, to let me reach her in time, whispered that if I loosened my grip she’d disappear, sinking back into the Dead Zone and into the grip of that centicreep forever.

She shifted, her fingers curling into my forearm like she felt it too.

I held her tighter.

She was mine. And I wasn’t ready to stop touching her just yet.

Was Kiera my mate? Yes. That must be it. That explained everything.

I might not have started this mission wanting one, but now, I’d destroy worlds to have Kiera be mine. Brave, intelligent Kiera, without whom this quest wouldn’t have been possible at all.

My communicator, which was still somewhere in the mess on the floor, buzzed.

What now? I ignored it, but it buzzed again.

“I think you should go get that.” She carefully wiggled out of my arms and settled herself onto the sleeping nook mat.

I stared at the space she’d just occupied. It was empty. I’d let her go. And easily too. There was no mate bond. Disappointment flooded me.

“Bael’k? Your phone.”

“Ignore it. You’ve seen the healer. You’ve taken your pills. And now we are resting. Everyone else can wait,” I said.

She smiled. “You’re right.”

I squished into the sleeping nook with her, careful not to jostle her injured shoulder. She made a happy sound and tilted her head to look at me. She pouted.

“What’s wrong?” she said.

“Nothing.”

“Lies. Your brow’s doing that thing that tells me something is wrong.”

I grunted. “My brow does not do a thing.”

She smiled, and krux! It was unfair. That smile could undo me faster than any blade, but she wasn’t even mine.

“Would you tell me what’s on your mind if I give you a horn rub?” She winked at me coyly.

I looked down at her, at the way her curls spread out, practically claiming my pillow, at the curve of her lips, at the twinkle in her eyes.

“I could rub other things.” She must be feeling better from the pills.

I leaned in, letting my nose brush hers, our breaths mingling in the charged space between us. Her sweet scent wrapped around me like a cage I didn’t want to escape from.

“You’re injured,” I growled, voice low and rough. “You shouldn’t be teasing me.”

Her lips parted, eyes locked on mine. “I’m not teasing,” she whispered. “I’m inviting. That’s different.”

My blood roared through my veins. It didn’t matter if we were officially mates or not. She was mine. All mine. And nothing would change that.

I cupped her face with reverence, careful not to jostle her injuries. Her skin was soft beneath my palm, her gaze fierce and full of need. I kissed her, devouring her mouth. This human ritual of mouth mating was addictive, and I was already hooked.

She kissed me back, her good arm clawing into my bicep like she needed to anchor herself to me. Her moan was soft, but it hit me like a punch to the gut. My cock hardened instantly, straining against my pants, demanding I take her. Now.

The healing device slipped from her shoulder and smacked against the wall. I barely noticed until she gasped my name.

I forced myself to pull back, grabbing the device and gently placing it back where it belonged. My fingers lingered on her skin, reluctant to leave.

“Perhaps when you’re fully healed, Fire of my Heart,” I said, voice tight with restraint I barely had.

She raised her brow at the new name but didn’t let go. Her fingers curled around my arm, her eyes pleading. “But I want it now. I need it now. I need to touch you. I need to feel something real. I need to feel alive. Let’s celebrate surviving. Just you and me.”

I brushed a curl from her forehead, heart pounding. She was irresistible. Brave. Beautiful. Mine.

Perhaps that mate bond would form once I was buried to the hilt inside her. Yes. That must be it. I couldn’t wait.

“Then let me take care of you,” I murmured. “I’ll do all the work.”

She giggled, breath catching, her smile pure temptation. “Sounds perfect.”

***

The door to the vault containing our treasure stood in front of us, carved into the very rock of the mountain. Am’r, a hunter I’d worked with here in the mountains, had found it just off one of our regular patrol paths after I’d sent him a copy of Kiera’s map.

He’d been the one trying to contact me when we’d gotten out of the Dead Zone.

I couldn’t believe it had been there the whole time, right under our noses.

It was almost too easy after what we’d been through.

After celebrating our victory of finding the code and surviving, I’d held my beautiful female in my arms the entire day and night, right through to the next morning, only releasing her for natural functions and to feed us.

But nothing had changed. My arms had released her without hesitation each and every time.

We’d spent two days recovering with the Mountains group.

After a thorough investigation, the Tech Wizards had come to the conclusion that my shuttle hadn’t been a PIP model at all, but rather another iteration the Xarc’n military had tested and decommissioned. It was militant to a fault and followed its directive sometimes to the detriment of its pilot.

As long as I’d stayed on my path, fighting the scourge, I would’ve never had a problem. But meeting Kiera had changed everything.

The Tech Wizards weren’t able to ascertain whether it had been sentient, mostly because they hadn’t been able to agree on the exact definition of shuttle sentience.

Was it the drive for self-preservation? But even single-cell organisms moved away from danger. Was it self-awareness? All our shuttles were self-aware. Was it the presence of a soul? Or the ability to believe in souls?

They’d all agreed without a doubt that all the Pips and Pippas that had come out of the woodwork were sentient. But they were split when it came to my shuttle.

But I didn’t care either way. It had tried to hurt Kiera. It was dangerous, and it needed to be decommissioned.

They’d matched my shuttle up with a computer who’d lost its hunter and shuttle, and this one held no animosity toward humans at all. It was just happy to be able to fly and fight again.

The new protocol the humans had developed against scourge toxin was revolutionary. And while Kiera had lost some feeling in the tips of her fingers in that arm and at the site of the cut, it would return in time. And what would have taken months to heal would only take weeks now.

It required me to massage her arm twice a day, but I was more than happy to do that. The massage rarely stayed on her arm, however, and it usually ended with me inside her and her screaming my name. She claimed it was the best medicine.

But despite the joy I felt in my heart every time we touched, the mate bond never triggered.

Kiera was not my mate.

And Krux, that truth hurt more than any wound I’d ever taken on the battlefield.

We’d traveled here by shuttle last night, and spent the darkest hours before dawn in the hunting cabin I’d claimed as my own. Then, at first light, we’d made our way to the final set of coordinates.

The vault lock had required a power source, and after some searching, we found the solar panels attached to it and cleared out the dust and debris. Then all we had to do was wait. It was high noon now, and the keypad on the door glowed with a tiny green light.

The final part of the mission was going too fast. It felt too easy after what we’d been through. Victory was close enough to taste, but instead of triumph, I felt a gnawing emptiness in my chest. A hollow ache that only grew stronger with each step forward.

Soon, Kiera would have her prize. And I’d have my glory. The stories of my battles were already spreading, twisted into unbelievable legends that even I could not recognize. No amount of correction could stop the stories from ballooning out of control. They were calling me a hero.

None of that mattered anymore. The title of best fighter meant nothing without my Wildfire by my side.

Once the coveted hard drives were in her hands and we returned home, there would be no reason for her to stay with me. She’d told me that very first day that she wasn’t looking for a mate. I’d accepted it, because I hadn’t been either.

But now?

Now I didn’t want to let her go.

I wanted to claim her. Keep her.

My shuttle would be so lonely without her.

Kiera stepped up to the vault door, her fingers steady as she entered the code. The panel blinked green, and the heavy lock disengaged with a hiss. Inside, nestled in a clear protective case, were her treasures.

She hesitated, running a hand through her hair. “I’m almost afraid to pick it up.”

“Then I will be your hands.” I picked up the case. It was light, weighing almost nothing at all. This was the treasure we’d come so far to retrieve? I handed it to her.

She held the container up and stared at the contents for a few seconds before cradling the whole thing to her chest. It started as a soft huff, then grew until she was laughing… or was she crying? I couldn’t tell.

“We did it.” She turned to me. “We did it. We fucking did it!”

She put the box down, then threw herself at me, her arms wrapping around my neck. I pulled her close, instinct overriding thought. Her body pressed against mine, soft and warm, and I buried my face in her hair, breathing her in.

“Thank you, Bael’k. Thank you for everything.” She let out a sob.

“You are unhappy.”

“No, I’m happy,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “Just, not for the reasons I expected.” She sniffled, blinking fast. “The hard drives matter, sure. They could hold everything we need, or they could be junk. We won’t know until we crack them open.”

She looked up at me, eyes shining. “But even if they’re worthless, I’d still be happy, because we made it.

We survived. And we did this together. You showed me that I have the strength in me to do what has to be done.

To stand up and make a difference. And more importantly, you showed me that the world is still worth fighting for.

I don’t want to cling to and save a past that was lost anymore.

I want to build something better: a future. ”

I lifted a hand to wipe the tears that had spilled over and were tracking down the side of her face.

But my hands refused to move. My arms locked around her, muscles tensed as something inside me quietly but violently shifted. And I knew. I knew I couldn’t, wouldn’t, let her go.

“Kiera. My mate.”

Her fingers curled around the strap of my harness. “I feel it,” she said, voice trembling.

“You do?”

“Yes. This wasn’t what I was looking for, but it’s what I found. I think it’s what I need. I love you, Bael’k. You give me the courage to be everything I want to be.”

My heart leaped with joy. “I love you too, Kiera.” I’d never experienced love before, but I recognized it now without a single doubt. “You’re it for me. Stay with me, Fire of my Heart. Not just for this mission or the next, but forever.”

“I accept, brave warrior. I accept.”