Page 18 of Guardian’s Destiny (Space Guardian’s Mate #3)

SLOANE

The gall of this man. I shook my head but couldn't stop smiling. There was something to his boyish charms that was getting to me, more than I liked to admit. The bed was just like we had left it when we entered our quarters, but instead of going over there, Vraax mumbled something about a cleansing cycle and moved into the bathroom.

We had both showered separately earlier after the latest training session, so I knew he didn't need the shower because he felt sweaty or dirty. I grinned at the thought that he was probably working off some other kind of steam, and honestly, the idea of it got me all hot, too. I tried to imagine his face if I were to suddenly join him in the cleansing unit, but decided against it. It would complicate things too much. Right now, we needed to focus on the mission. Maybe after we captured our Ohrur prey… I wasn't about to rule it out.

I grabbed a pair of pajamas that had been generously donated by Lady Silla and which made me actually feel human and put them on while Vraax was busy in the bathroom. Then I hopped into bed and fiddled with Vraax's comm. A couple of days ago, I watched one of Nock's podcasts , if that's what they were called here, and liked it. I tuned into another one and waited for Vraax to come out of the bathroom, knowing I couldn't get any rest until he was fully settled. That wasn't how my demons worked.

Vraax came out wearing his alien version of pajamas, which consisted of comfy looking pants, while shunning a shirt, which I was sure must have come with it. With a dramatic sigh, he walked over to the beanbag chair and threw himself on it with another huff.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, you can sleep in the bed with me, as long as you stay on your side and don't do…" I didn't get to finish my sentence before he threw himself on the bed.

"I'll behave." He said as I was catapulted into the air.

"Right," I snarked, rearranging my pillows, averting my eyes, and grinning.

We both lay down, and soon my demons arrived. This time, they brought me back to North Carolina during the Cryon invasion. It had all happened so fast that none of the so-called superpowers had been able to react much. Large ships arrived in orbit, deploying smaller ones that landed in all major cities, kidnapping people left and right. Firefights broke out, armies were deployed, and jets tried to shoot the enemy out of the sky. Nothing worked. It was our jets who were shot out of the sky, not theirs, and even during firefights, the aliens were way ahead of us. We did manage to make some of them bleed, but not enough. I was lucky to have been in a government underground bunker at the time, which soon became one of the last command stations sending troops to cities to try and evacuate as many civilians as possible. The bigger cities like New York, Berlin, LA, Paris, and London fell first, without us being able to stop it, but other cities, like Portland, Houston, and New Orleans, we still hoped to save as many civilians as possible.

The problem was nobody knew where to take them other than into the forests, mountains, and so on, hoping and praying that once the aliens got what they wanted—whatever it was—they would leave again, so we could try and rebuild our civilization. The other option was that they would stay—as they did—and we were certain it would mean the end of humanity.

I don't know how many soldiers I sent to their deaths, and their screams still haunt me. I listened to the firefights, curses, and cries of agony and watched them being taken or killed, and there was not a single thing I could do about it. I had to deploy who I could to wherever they were needed, and they were required everywhere at once. Civilians were fighting for their lives, waiting for the US military to come and save them.

So many died.

And not a single second went by where I didn't wish it was me out there instead of in this underground bunker. The bunker survived. I survived. And some civilians and some soldiers survived. One of those groups was based in San Antonio, led by Cornel Martinez, who was in charge of a ragtag group of soldiers and civilians. His group was the first to make contact with Ash and the Pandraxian Commander Xandros.

"Would you stop throwing yourself around?" Vraax complained about twenty minutes later.

"If you don't like it, you're welcome to go back to your beanbag chair." I invited.

"My what? Beanbag… never mind. Come here," he laid down on his back and stretched out his arm in invitation.

"No, thank you," I declined.

"Nothing funny, you have my word. Come on, let's give this a try." He grinned that irresistible grin at me and added, "What do you have to lose?"

Grumbling, I moved over. "I'm not comfortable with this," I muttered as I put my head on his shoulder. His arm moved around me.

"There, now, is that so bad?"

It was, and it wasn't. It was nice laying with him like this; on the other hand, his torso was naked, and I was very aware of my cheek resting on his rock-hard pecs, same as my hand, but hell, it was comfortable. And nice.

I closed my eyes and felt myself relax. I waited for my earlier demons to return, but they never did. Not only that, I felt myself drifting off only minutes after snuggling into his side. The damn alien better not try anything , I remembered thinking, but that was about all of it, until…

His thrashing was the first thing that woke me, followed by soft moans. His foot kicked me as it seemed like he was running while lying in the bed.

"Vraax," I called softly, putting my hand on his arm.

"Non'toktu…."

I wrinkled my brows. His voice sounded deeper with the words he was saying in a language even my translator wasn't able to pick up.

"Vratok… meh sobtek."

"Vraax," I tried again louder. Then I thought better of it.

"Where are you?"

He fell silent; even his body stopped moving, and I thought he must have finally woken up. But then he said, "Darlam."

"You are on Darlam?" I checked.

"Sonaken, gorran."

"What are you doing?" His words or sounds still didn't make any sense to me.

"Running," he answered, surprising me. I moved my body up on my elbows, trying hard now not to wake him. Sleep hypnosis ran through my mind. I had never done anything like this before. You can do this , I assured myself. I swallowed. If I screw this up …

You won't.

Perplexed, I looked around. The words had come from my mind, but it felt as if someone else was present. Goosebumps spread over my skin. I had never before second guessed myself, had always forged forward, consequences be damned, had always dealt with the fallout later, but this? This could go bad. Really, really bad.

"Non'toktu…" he repeated. "Non'toktu Solaana."

There was no way I could have known it, none. And yet I did. Solaana was a name. A woman's name. One that felt strangely comforting and familiar.

"I'm here," I said as guilt crept through me.

"Solaana?" He made sure.

"I'm here, Vraax, I'm here."

"We must leave. It's too dangerous." He said, in English this time as if part of his brain realized I didn't understand him

"Why? What is happening?"

"The Ohrurs, they betrayed us," he said, making the fine hairs at the back of my neck stand up. I was convinced that he wasn't dreaming.

"What did they do?"

"They're coming." He started thrashing again. "Solaana, gorok."

"It's okay, Vraax. They can't hurt us." My hand moved up and down his arm reassuringly, and I felt a tremor go through his. The Soulweb Glyphs, of course.

I still don't know what made me do it, but I twisted my arm so our Soulweb Glyphs touched each other.

The shock nearly jolted me. It was like an electrical current running from his arm through mine, up the dazzling, swirled glyphs. I could feel the current turn as if it stayed right on the glyphs, not straying an iota from the dark lines.

Vraax's body went rigid. He shuddered from head to toe. His eyes ripped open, confused. he stared at me. "Sloane? What's happening? What are you…"

He stared at our intertwined arms, the glyphs touching.

"You were dreaming," I tried to explain and licked my lips. You tried to manipulate his mind , I accused myself. I only tried to get answers , I defended.

"I don't remember anything," he still looked utterly confused.

"Does the name Solaana mean anything to you?"

He shook his head. "No, should it?"

"I don't know; you were calling for her."

"Her?"

I shrugged. "It sounds like a her name," I added lamely.

"Unless you want to take this farther," he bumped my arm that was still entwined with his, "I think we better disentangle ourselves."

I had no idea when I had last blushed, or if ever, but one crept over my face right then as I pulled my arm back.

"It sounded like a good idea at the time," I defended my actions.

"I don't mind," he grinned, "it feels good."

I didn't know if it felt the same to him, but for me, now that he was awake, it was very sexually stimulating, like him brushing against my stiff nipple or rubbing me between my legs with my pants still on. I pulled my arm back and felt the loss instantly. My entire body protested against it.

"Do you remember anything of your dream?" I asked, scooting back to the farthest side of the bed.

"Nothing," his hand moved through his hair.

"Any headaches?"

He stilled, listened to his body before he shook his head, "Nothing."

After beating it down a few times, I put my head back on the pillow. "Alright, let's get back to sleep."

My back was turned, but I felt the mattress shift as he must have been lying back down too, and an ache spread through me, like a loss, when he didn't offer me his chest again.