Page 15 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)

Freya

“ H it me,” T’Rak says, and I arch a brow.

“Hit you?”

“Yes, hit me. I need to know what you are already capable of.”

That is easier said than done. I know what I’m capable of when fighting for my life, but I don’t think he means that. So, I ball my fists and raise them in a boxer’s stance. I step forward with one foot and hit him in the chest as hard as I can.

Agony explodes through my hand. “AUW! Mother FUCKER!” I try to wave the pain away, but that fucking hurts!

“Is that all you got? “ T’Rak looks down at me, smirking, and anger rises. He wants to see what I’ve got? I will show him.

I stalk forward and push at his chest. He doesn’t move an inch, and I begin pummeling him with my fists. My best efforts do not even make him flinch a little bit, and desperation makes me start yelling at him. “I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT I GOT! YOU DO NOT GET TO TREAT ME LIKE THIS!”

Just when I think all is hopeless and I am going to give up, he grabs me by the shoulders, spins me around, and pulls me towards him. “That is enough, Fr’Ya.”

I huff, puff, and stomp my feet, but he holds on tight. “If I let you go, do you promise to stop exhausting yourself?”

“Yes.”

He lets go, and I pivot, anger and shame coloring my face. “Why do you let me embarrass myself like that?!”

“To see what I have to teach you,” he shrugs. “Which is a lot, but we are certainly not going to focus on how you need to start a fight.”

I blink, feeling stunned. I open my mouth to speak, but he raises his eyebrows, and I snap it shut, crossing my arms.

“We will focus on self-defense and target practice. Can you tell me how you killed the Sternotheri that held you?”

Sighing, I yield. The asshole has a point after all. So I tell him the entire story of how we killed our captors. I leave out the abuse, not feeling ready to go there yet. I can tell by the way he looks that he has questions, but he lets it slide.

“So, what do you think of my expert enemies-killing skills?”

He gives me a rare smile. “I was already impressed by what I saw yesterday, but I think what you did on the ship defied all odds, and that is fucking amazing. You are strong, and I can see why the other humans made you captain.”

My cheeks heat, and I feel the blush creep up through my neck.

“However, we will work on some techniques so your body will hopefully snap into action the next time you are in a dangerous situation.” He pauses for a heartbeat. “Although running away from dangerous situations will always have to be your first instinct.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Yeah, yeah. What else can you teach me?”

“Target practice,” he grunts.

Target practice turns out to be quite fun. Apparently, it’s something I have a natural talent for. Who would have thought that? We train until my muscles ache and I flop down on the mat. Exhausted. “I can’t go on anymore.”

T’Rak gives me one of his disapproving grunts, and I push myself up on my elbows to glare at him. “I’m only human, I have been imprisoned for the longest time, so I’m sorry my physique isn’t up to your standards.”

He sighs. “I know, I apologize, we will rest for today, but continue tomorrow.”

“That sounds like a plan!” I agree, then I pat the mat next to me. “Sit, I have questions.”

Grumbling, he arches an eyebrow. “Questions?”

“What’s a Zarra?” He pales at the question. The question that’s been playing through my mind all day. He called me that this morning and I think I heard one of his crew call his mate the same name. On top of that, he did call me mate when we first met so a conversation is long overdue.

This is not my topic of choice, but now that I am growing to like and respect him, we need to have this conversation. My voice is soft. “T’Rak. We have to talk about this.”

He sighs and folds his big body down to the mat. His hand brushes a lock of his hair away from his eyes as he looks at me.

“The Arracate are a race of warriors. We are strong, our tech is exceptional, and we believe that we are meant to be protectors of the Universe. As a reward for those services, the Universe rewards us with a Fated Mate in return. There is only one out there for us.” He puts his hand on his heart .

“We feel a pull towards that female, which will eventually become an unbreakable bond. The stars decide, and we can only hope to meet that special person during our lifetime.”

Guilt floods my system. Me being his mate means he will never experience that bond, because there is no way I can bond with him. “How does the bonding happen?”

My questions silence the big warrior, making him look almost shy.

“By mating,” he says gruffly.

“Mating?”

“Yes. Sex.”

I arch my eyebrows. “Sex?”

“Well, being near your mate and caring for her will make the bond grow, but it can only be taken to the next level after sex. When a warrior's sperm enters a female's body, they become one; body and mind will follow.”

“Wow… That’s–something.” Stunned, I push myself off the mat and get to my feet. “But thank you for the talk. I will be going now.”

I leave without looking back. I have the answer to my question, even though it was not the answer I was hoping for. Either way, I am going back to Earth, so no mating bond for me. Period.

The following days continue along the same path.

We work on hand-to-hand combat in the morning and target practice in the afternoon.

I especially enjoy knife throwing, a skill that actually comes rather easily to me, and I live for the grunts T’Rak gives me when I hit the mark.

I never considered myself to have a praise kink, but my chest flutters every time he makes the approving noise .

He doesn’t speak much, but I feel myself being drawn to his silent presence more and more every day. My hormones are all over the place with his fierce protectiveness, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes as well. The scar gives him a fierce look, proving how great a warrior he is.

Each day makes it harder to keep my distance, each day makes it harder to fight this pull I feel towards him. It’s the mating bond, he told me. He also told me to ignore it, which suits me just fine.

Today, however, is not helping me ignore the bond at all. T’Rak is trying to teach me to get out of someone's hold if they grab me from behind. Basic self-defense, which I even suggested, thinking of my recent experiences.

The problem is, every time he takes hold of me, something happens inside of me, and I forget where I am for just a second. That second is the exact moment when I need to start my move, which results in me always being too late and unable to retract myself from his hold.

“Again,” he grumbles after yet another failed attempt. “You need to react immediately when you feel my arm around you. Pull my arm down with both hands, crouch deep, and twist your shoulder so you can throw me over your head.”

I snort. “You know I can’t do that, that is ridiculous.”

His mouth thins, forming a disapproving line. “I have trained many warriors, but none have been as stubborn as you are right now, or as distracted. If you execute the move correctly, you can throw someone twice your size.”

I huff again for good measure before I turn my back to him to indicate I am ready to try again. This time, my anger keeps me from getting distracted, and I manage to pull on his arm immediately, while crouching down. I yank on his arm to fall, but he does not budge .

“Now what. Think Fr’Ya,” he grunts in my ear. But I can’t think while he is this close. Involuntarily, I sigh and melt into him a little bit, that strange flutter in my chest again.

I whisper. “You’re too strong.”

“Then break that strength,” he whispers back.

Okay, I can do this. How do you make a strong man weak…

An idea shoots through me, and I grin, despite my current predicament and the burning in my thigh muscles.

I relax my body even more, then push my ass against his groin.

He stiffens and relaxes his hold for the tiniest bit.

I use the moment to stomp on his foot–hard, before I twist my body forward and yank on his arm.

Suddenly, everything speeds up, and before I even know what’s happening, I hear a thud and T’Rak’s lying on my side.

“I DID IT!” I howl out in victory, but my yell was a bit too soon, because with a feral grin, his tail lashes out, grabs me by my waist, and hoists me atop him.

“You did it,” he confirms. “But then you forgot to run away, or shoot the gun. Because you do not stop until you are either somewhere safe or your attacker is dead.”

Grumbling, I put my hands on his chest to push myself off him, but I hesitate when our eyes lock.

His eyes, he is so close now, I can see those tiny specks of light in them, like stars swirling.

T’Rak pushes himself up to a seated position, pulling me onto his lap.

Where something big and hard is poking me.

If the Arracate could blush, that is what T’Rak is doing right now.

He stiffens, his demeanor changes, and he starts shoving me off his lap.

“That is enough for now. I will go to bed. You can take the watch tonight.”

Leaving me flat on my ass, he hurries out of the room as if I’ve burned him.

I lie down on the mat and think about what’s happening here, without his nearness clouding my judgment, and come to a shocking conclusion.

I promised myself I would never let another alien touch me in my life, but when T’Rak is close, I yearn for the feeling of his body close to mine and his hands on me…