Page 165 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Fierce

I pulled a corner of the blanket over Hina’s rapidly cooling back so she’d stay warm while I contemplated our next options.

This planet was nice, and this spot brought back memories of a place my father used to take me after a hunt when I was just a small boy.

We’d wash the blood from our skin and clothes—the sweat too—then we’d share the most tender bits and pieces from our kill before heading home to our tribe.

Those moments I had always treasured during my days as a gladiator.

I had no frame of reference for much of anything out in this technologically advanced world, but I knew what happiness was, and this was definitely it.

It was extremely tempting to take the com strapped to Hina’s slender wrist and toss it away, just find a spot to make our home on this planet somewhere.

Despite the hostile creatures we’d encountered so far, I knew I could do it, make a life for us here.

Snarl and Fluffy wouldn’t mind; they’d have plenty of space to stretch their legs, to hunt.

Then I felt a pang of guilt as I watched Snarl nudge Fluffy away from a high rock she’d climbed on.

He’d never find his own mate if we stayed here, not that he’d complain.

And Hina deserved to make her own choice, to be able to understand what I said and make up her own mind.

Not to mention that my brothers up on the Vagabond would always worry and wonder.

I knew Ziame would forever feel responsible for my disappearance.

Shit—gruff and sullen though he often was—I was willing to bet that Thorin would take it hard too if I didn’t come back.

I felt a pang at how I’d purposely misled him by keeping Fluffy a secret.

He’d trusted me to find the Riho, and I hadn’t told him that I had, just hid her.

Clouds were rolling in from the open plains.

They’d hit up against those mountains cradling our tiny little valley and pour their load of rain on our heads.

I didn’t want to, but I carefully stroked a hand over the gentle curve of Hina’s spine, cupping her head and tilting it a little. “Hina, wake up.”

Her lashes fluttered up slowly, her dark eyes slumberous as she looked at me.

“What? Five more minutes…” she mumbled adorably.

I petted her shoulders, shifting my body to gently slide her off.

“Sorry, mate, it’s going to rain soon,” I told her, though I knew she wouldn’t understand my words; to clarify what I meant, I gestured at the approaching clouds.

She rolled onto her back, her soft breasts with their beautiful brown nipples eagerly pointing at the sky.

I watched avidly as she stretched before getting up and tucking the blanket around herself, hiding her glorious body from my greedy eyes.

When I looked back at her face, she was laughing at me, pink decorating her cheeks.

“Like what you see, don’t you?” In answer, I rumbled a purr at her that made her laugh more.

We gathered our clothes and pulled them on; they’d mostly dried in the warm sun, though our boots were still a bit damp. After our mating, and after my cock had released us, I’d gotten up and spread everything out on the warm rocks surrounding the pool.

I fed Fluffy some of the pilfered rations, and Hina and I shared one of the last ration bars I had left over from the Vagabond.

While we ate, she was fiddling with the com until it suddenly burst to life in her hands, static crackling over the line.

Then I heard Ziame’s deep growl: “Fierce, is that you? Come on, Fierce, answer me, damn it. Where are you?”

I leaped forward and snatched the device from Hina’s hands, eagerly lifting it to my mouth before I remembered that wasn’t necessary.

“Ziame! It’s me—I'm here.” The line crackled ominously, but I vaguely recalled Camila and our pilot, Kitan, talking about the weird atmosphere around this planet and how it was interfering with the sensors.

Maybe it was interfering with the com, too.

“Fierce! Where are you? Are you hurt?” That wasn’t Ziame, but his mate Abby, and she spoke in the same language that Hina spoke.

I saw how her eyes went wide in surprise as she heard it.

She gestured excitedly at the com in my hand, mouthing words at me I couldn’t even begin to understand, though her joy was obvious.

That, more than anything, cemented the decision to make sure we all got back on the Vagabond.

Hina would be much happier if she had human females to be friends with.

“Not hurt. I did find the female from the stasis pod. We fell into a cave system together and ran into some of the locals. Can you pick us up? Does the com tell you where we are?” I asked the last question hopefully.

I had no clue how else to explain to them where on this planet we were.

If it was the only way, I was certain I could lead us back to the original landing spot the shuttle had made, but that would take a couple of days, and we’d risk running into more hostiles.

There was more crackling on the line, and then I heard the voice of the ship’s AI: “This is Akri. I will endeavor to trace your coordinates through your com. One moment, please.” I waited with bated breath, my eyes flicking up to the sky as if I could already see the shape of a shuttle approaching through the lavender clouds.

“Got it,” the ship spoke calmly. “Kitan is getting the shuttle ready to pick you up. Does the female require medical assistance?” As the AI spoke to me in the traders’ common—the language most of the other gladiators used, and the most spoken in this part of the universe, I knew that Hina hadn’t understood.

I shook my head before recalling this was voice only. “No, she is unharmed, and so is Snarl.”

I eyed the Ferai beast, who was a few feet away, sprawled on his side as he napped.

The tiny Riho was curled up on top of him, having made a nest in the dense black fur.

She stood out against him in bright contrast, with her mishmash of sable, orange, and red streaks.

There’d be no hiding Fluffy when we came back to the ship; I’d have to come clean to Thorin and hope he’d forgive me.

Come clean about Fluffy’s presence, that is.

Now more than ever, I wasn’t risking my position—or that of Snarl and Hina—aboard the Vagabond by admitting my involvement in the death of that filthy smuggler.

“We’ll be down in a few. Hang tight,” Ziame said, and the static-filled line abruptly cut off.

I was tackled by Hina in a hug; she caught me by surprise and actually managed to bowl us over until I was sprawled in the thick grasses with her slight weight on top of me.

My head was immediately filled with all kinds of naughty ideas about what I wanted to do with her, having her on top of me seemed like a great thing to try.

I’d get to look my fill of her perky breasts bouncing and swaying that way.

“You had a woman speaking my language on your ship! No wonder you can understand what I say!” she said, her hands balancing on top of my shoulders as she beamed a huge smile.

Then I watched it falter. “Does that mean you are in contact with the UAR?” Concerned about the rapid shift in the mood, I adamantly shook my head.

I might not have entirely understood what kind of conflict Camila had been embroiled in with the UAR—or who exactly they even were—but I knew they weren’t our friends.

That made her smile again, so I drew in a relieved breath. Good, she didn’t like the UAR either; that would help her fit in with us. Then a thought crossed my mind that would definitely make her happy, but how was I going to take care of that without her noticing? I wanted it to be a surprise.

Maybe I could sneak off for a moment on the pretense of checking our surroundings.

We were pretty loud earlier, it wasn’t a bad idea.

I eyed Snarl. “Keep an eye on things, our ride will be here soon. I need to do something.” The hound rolled open one eye and sent me a baleful glare, though he didn’t reply otherwise.

I knew he was telling me just what a stupid request that was; he was always alert when he needed to be.

I disentangled myself from Hina and got to my feet.

“Hina safe.” Then I pointed around us in a circle, before pointing at the animals, at her, and back at the ground, hoping she understood I wanted her to stay put.

She tilted her head in question, appraising me for a moment.

“Fine, I’ll stay here while you check things out.

But you better be back in time to get on that shuttle with me. I’m not leaving you behind.”

My heart lurched happily at the words. Did she feel the mate bond the way I did? I tried not to get my hopes up too much, because she had only me to rely on down here. Maybe she’d just been grateful. It didn’t feel like that to me, but what would happen when she met my brothers aboard the Vagabond?

I picked up my bag along the way and jogged into the woods the way we’d come.

My skin adjusted to the surroundings, camouflaging me instinctively.

It was the only reason I didn’t end up like minced meat when, only a few steps into the thicket, I nearly ran into what had to be one of this planet’s apex predators.

It had a smaller, young animal cornered against the huge tree trunk that Hina’s vine was crawling all over.

The predator was six-legged, adapted to the rocky terrain for excellent climbing.

With purple skin and a row of tough scales over its spine, its blunt snout was dominated by a mouth full of fangs and topped with a set of small purple eyes.

I tended to like all animals, but like the amphibian creature Fluffy had killed, this one was ugly as fuck.

In contrast, the young animal pinned to the tree, whimpering in mournful tones, was snow-white with silver and black streaks and speckles.

It was some kind of rodent with big cheeks and a short tail; its rounded ears were small and pinned all the way back.

It was no longer than my forearm and probably younger than the juvenile Riho, though they were about the same size.

For this predator, the small creature would be little more than a snack.

It was stupid; I shouldn’t take the risk, and I didn’t really want to kill this predator, who was just doing what was natural.

But my heart went out to the little fellow.

I was once that tiny thing, locked in a cage, forced to fight for survival.

With a roar, I leaped, my axe already in hand.