Page 8 of Fated to the Hunter (Xarc’n Warriors #13)

“Ahh, I’m so excited for you!” Connie squealed as she handed me a bundle of goodies my friends had collected over the last day and a half to help make my impromptu mission a success. “A quest! How romantic!”

“Of course you would think it’s romantic, Connie.” I unzipped my backpack and shoved the bundle in. “You’re happily married to a hunter. But this isn’t anything like you and Jorg’k. We’re going on a treasure hunt, that’s it.”

“Uh-huh, sure. This is more like Siobhan and Zec’k.”

I rolled my eyes. I’d known she was going to mention Siobhan and her hunter. “That’s not the same!”

“But it is! Siobhan needed to find her sister. No one would take her because it was too dangerous. Then Zec’k showed up, offering to be her protector. And now they are mated!”

I knew it would be impossible to argue with her, so I changed the topic instead. “I’m like the worst person to be going on a quest. I have, like, all of three foraging trips under my belt. And for two of them, you and Jorg’k did most of the work. Dottie and I just chose which books to bring back.”

“That’s why Bael’k is going along. Jorg’k said he’s a really good fighter. Almost as good as him. Did you know they used to compete on how many scourge they could kill in a day?”

Apparently, the two hunters were like brothers, having been created by their mothership at roughly the same time, though Jorg’k kept insisting he was older. The two were currently together, preparing for this “most honorable of missions.”

The way they were talking about it, you’d think we were saving the world or something. But nope, just a treasure hunt for hard drives that might not even exist.

“Jorg’k better not be putting mating thoughts into Bael’k’s head,” I said sternly.

Connie laughed. “He doesn’t need to. Bael’k was on his knees for you like some medieval knight,” she gushed. “I wish I’d been there to see it.”

“Okay, so that was kind of cute,” I admitted. The swoonworthy move was all anybody was talking about since, though some of the stories floating around were heavily embellished.

I grumbled as I failed yet again to zip my bag back up. “What the hell is in this bundle? It’s huge.”

“Oh, this and that. Mostly gadgets and tech from the Tech Wizards.”

And that reminded me of last night’s off-the-cuff meeting with the Tech Wizards before many of them left with their groups.

They’d mentioned all sorts of tech they thought I needed: micro drones, audio bug deterrents, Eye-Spies, basically everything but the kitchen sink.

Though considering how big the package was, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a kitchen sink in there.

“I might need a bigger bag. But then I won’t be able to run.”

“Nah. It’ll fit. Let me help.”

She put her weight on the package, shoving it down as I worked the zipper. Eventually, we got it closed, but the knapsack was now humorously overstuffed. Oh well. There wasn’t any time for me to find another one. This baby had been with me since the very beginning.

“Do you have your phone?” Connie asked.

I patted my jacket pocket. “Yup!”

I’d gotten the cell phone just yesterday, right after that meeting. I had all the Tech Wizards’ numbers on speed dial, as well as Roger’s and Mo’s, and of course, Connie’s.

Up until this point, all I’d had was my work laptop, which would be kept locked up in the library’s office while I was gone.

It was too big and unwieldy to bring on a mission like this.

And besides, the whole point of putting everything online was so that people could access it anywhere they wanted.

“Wait! One more thing.” Connie produced a tiny stuffed animal version of Tooth, balls and all, attached to a keyring, and clipped it onto my pack. “There! For good luck.”

I grinned. “That’s freaking adorable! Who made it?”

“Believe it or not, Rajiv’k did. You know how he likes to tinker with things. Apparently, that extends to crafty stuff. Jorg’k and I have one hanging in our shuttle.”

Aww! The thought of a big, bad hunter meticulously sewing up a mini toy rodent had me smiling so hard that my cheeks started to hurt.

I hefted the much-too-heavy backpack onto my shoulders.

“Emergency food. Water canteen. First aid kit. My good boots. A mini tool kit. Super strong flashlight. Multiple ways to set things on fire. Perfume to mask my scent. Some cordage. My new phone. Knife. Massive bag of who knows what from the Tech Wizards. What else am I missing?”

“Nothing,” Connie said. “And if you are, you can always give one of us a call. It’s not like the early days anymore. You’ll be fine.”

“What if those hard drives don’t exist?”

She shrugged. “Then you and Bael’k went on a wonderful adventure. Didn’t you say you were getting bored with the same thing day in and day out?”

I had. It was in one of the mental health threads on the forum. That was the thing about living in the apocalypse. It was either too much excitement and near-death experiences, or a whole lot of boring nothing hiding in relative safety.

We made our way to the front of the building where Jorg’k and Bael’k were waiting. I was relieved to see that there wasn’t a crowd to send me off, and instead, just Roger and Melissa, plus the group that had fractioned off from us and moved to the Great Plains.

We were all traveling together for the first leg of the trip, along with Connie and Jorg’k, who’d decided last minute to come along. I suspected my friend wanted to keep an eye out on me, and I appreciated it.

The moment Bael’k saw me, he slapped his fist to his chest and bowed low.

“It is an honor to be selected to travel with The Keeper of Knowledge.”

Several people tittered. I glared over at Connie, but she looked just as confused.

Bael’k must’ve been on the forum. Had he been cyberstalking me? The ongoing inside joke on the forum was that I was the keeper of old knowledge, so I’d changed my nickname to The Keeper of Knowledge in the forum and on my website. It was a joke. But clearly Bael’k thought it was a formal title.

I’d have to clear things up once we were alone. After several long hugs and a promise that they’d call if they figured out anything—the Tech Wizards all had a copy of the map—I said goodbye and stepped into Bael’k’s shuttle.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of secondary seating aside from the pilot seat. I tried to recall the trip out to the libraries on Jorg’k’s shuttle. Did Dottie and I have a seat? Yes, I remember now.

It was a big leather seat from the back of an Escalade. In addition to that, there was even a little basket attached to keep Tooth safe during liftoff and landing, though they’d removed the cat tree that had once been in the shuttle, and it now sat in their living quarters at the hunters’ compound.

Many of the hunters living in New Franklin had installed comfortable seats behind their pilot’s chair for their mates, but Bael’k’s shuttle had nowhere for me to sit.

Whatever, I’d just sit in the sleeping nook during takeoff, and we’d figure it out as we went.

I slapped my palm on the control panel of the sleeping nook. Nothing happened.

“Oh, right. I don’t have access.”

I turned sheepishly to Bael’k and was hit by the sudden look of need in his eyes. They were practically glowing. Then I realized it looked like I was inviting myself into his bed. Talk about a misunderstanding!

The image of him in his sleeping nook, his loincloth abandoned on the shuttle floor, suddenly filled my head and my body roared to life.

Welp, so much for keeping things casual.

Xarc’n warriors had an impeccable sense of smell; they put sharks to shame. And I was a hundred and ten percent certain he could smell the gush of arousal that dampened my underwear just now. I squeezed my legs together even as the shuttle filled with the sound of his purring.

Oh yeah, he knew.

Thick, tree branch arms wrapped around me, pulling me to his rumbling chest.

“Um, I thought it would be safer to be in there for liftoff.” Man, that sounded like an excuse even to me.

“Yes, that was what you were thinking. But that is not what you are thinking now,” he said, calling me out. Damn these aliens and their blunt honesty.

“What… what do you mean?”

“You smell of desire, female with the flame hair.” He nudged the shell of my ear with his nose. “Your friend at the ko-feee booth said you were not interested in Xarc’n males. She says you do not like our horns and claws. Was she mistaken? You smell of lust and desire for me.”

My mouth hung open for a second. Ah, Holly, bless her heart. She was probably trying to help me while making herself seem like the better option. I didn’t blame her.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be blunt. Holly is right in that I’m not interested in starting a relationship with a Xarc’n warrior.

And it’s not that I don’t like your horns and claws.

Yes, they remind me that the world I love is gone.

But I don’t have anything against them. Not really.

I actually think the horns are kind of cute. ”

He made an annoyed sound. “Hunters are not cute. Tooth is cute. Waffles is cute. Moose is cute. Hunters are not cute.”

Tooth and Waffles, I knew. But I did not know of any animal named Moose. He must be from the Great Plains camp.

“I mean it in a good way,” I said. “They are majestic.”

“I will accept that,” he said, mollified.

I twisted to face him, suddenly needing him to understand.

“I’m not interested in starting a relationship with anyone, human or Xarc’n.

But you are also correct. I’m attracted to you.

Very attracted to you. And I might regret saying this, but you only live once, and well, maybe we can… what I mean is… I won’t be opposed to…”

Damn it! Why was this so hard?

“I believe I understand,” he said. “I, too, am not looking for a mate. But I find you infinitely appealing and wish to touch you in ways I have not touched anyone else.” The last few words were spoken in a low growl that went straight to my belly.

Oh!

He moved suddenly, lifting me up so we were face-to-face, our bodies pressed together so tightly there was no way to hide just how he reacted to me. I gasped at the hard press of his cock against my belly.

The need to touch more of him, to feel a sense of connection, was impossible to ignore.

It pulsed through me, urgent and raw, like a tide I couldn’t hold back.

I leaned in, heart racing, barely breathing.

Then his fingers were caressing my jaw, so rough and warm, yet completely tender and without a hint of his claws.

My mouth was already seeking his when he leaned in. That first touch surprised us both, and I pulled back. But something seemed to crack, and Bael’k growled into my mouth. The sound was honest and feral, and it went straight between my legs.

His mouth crashed against mine, hot and hungry, like he’d been waiting forever, starving, and this kiss was the only thing that could satisfy him.

His fingers threaded through my hair, tugging just enough to make my breath hitch, holding me in place as his tongue swept into my mouth.

Heat pooled in my center, and I moaned into his mouth.

Oh god, I was melting. My knees had turned to jelly, and the butterflies in my stomach were so shocked they’d actually stopped fluttering.

My pussy was demanding to know why it had been ignored for so many years, and why I didn’t just ride this sexy beast of an alien warrior to pound town right the fuck now.

I’d spent less than five minutes in Bael’k’s shuttle and I was ready to jump his bones. I knew right then and there that I was in big, big trouble.