Page 43 of Keeping Freya (Warriors of Arracate #3)

O’Rec

My heart still skips when I see the ship with my former crew arrive at the Ring. They have been gone a while, and as always, I feel like I lose a piece of myself every time they go. M’Ran is still talking to me, but I have lost focus and turn away from the windows to face him.

“I must go, M’Ran. T’Rak’s crew is back, and I need to greet them.”

M’Ran sighs, but I just grin and walk past him. “Marra, my star, the crew is back, let us go greet them. It needs to be done. Take our sons with you as well.”

“Are you alright, honey? You sound tense?” she replies through our bond.

“I have this feeling we need to be there, we all need to be there.”

My amazing mate, my Queen, does not reply anymore, but I feel determination and haste set in. She will meet me at the docking station. I make my way to the place at the Ring that has always been my favorite before I met my mate and settled down with her .

My citizens stop me, but I bristle at them with kind words—I need to be there before they arrive.

Marra and our sons meet me at the docking station, and my eldest boys run towards me. Laughing, I scoop them up, one in each arm. A’Zak starts talking right away. He is three years old and only knows one speed: max. His brother U’Rec is more thoughtful and puts his tiny hand on my cheek.

“Are you alright, papa?” His voice is soft and serious.

I nod. “I am my boy, something is coming. Something good, I just know it.”

Lauren

“Easy, baby, you can’t climb mommy anymore now that your little brother is coming.”

“But I want to see! I want to see the pretty clouds?”

“The nebula,” D’Var corrects our son. “Do you feel excited?”

He nods and pushes his nose up against the glass. I roll my eyes and wink at Freya. “Guess we need to add window cleaning to the bot program permanently.”

“Guess so,” she winks and leans back against her mate.

A’Rok strolls forward and crouches next to my son. He murmurs something in his ears and points out different things. I caress my nearly there belly. We have been waiting for the stars to bless us with this second child, and I cannot wait to come home and share the news with Mara.

D’Var comes to stand behind me and places his hand over mine. “O’Rec will be beside himself with the news.”

I grin. “In more ways than one.”

D’Var kisses my head, and we watch the nebula appear.

This time, and every time we get home since K’Var was born, we watch the magic through his eyes.

I cannot believe how much my life has changed in the past years, the joy and love I have found ever since I first saw that crowd part for this big and scary male.

He showed me I was right to give him a second chance, and I have cherished every minute of it.

T’Rak

My mate is in my arms, my crew is happy, and we have some news to share with our King. I sense his presence when I am docking the ship. The connection faded over time, making room for A’Rok—as a functioning crew should do—but some things keep lingering.

Once the ship is fully docked, we make our way to the airlock. Fr’Ya is securing the cats in their designated area in Cargo Bay. Their bond to my mate was strong, and their separation was so depressing for them that I built them a play area, and we now take them with us on missions.

The ship has had many alterations, with L’Ren and D’Var’s kid and the presence of the females. In the end, it is all for the best, though we are somewhat of a unique crew. That is fine by me. I get to do what I was destined to do while keeping my mate with me.

The airlock opens, and I grin when I see O’Rec, Marra, and their family waiting for us. With three sons and one growing, the stars have blessed him and the way he chose for the Arracate.

Mara

Lauren’s smiling face is the first thing I see when the ship’s doors open, and I smile right back at her. We are enveloped in hugs and welcomes, and our kids are passed around and cuddled.

When I can finally wrap my arms around my friend, I immediately feel her the changes in her body. “You’re pregnant again?”

She glows. “Yes!”

“I am so happy for you!”

“Thank you, but wait till you hear what we found.”

I give her a quizzical look, but my youngest starts fussing, reaching out for Lauren; he’s quite the charmer, the little guy. Laughing she lifts him and blows a raspberry in his neck.

My eyes lock with my mate’s, and I arch a brow. “What did they find?”

“We will go back to our home and let them tell. We should be patient.”

“Come, join us for refreshments,” I order, and when the Queen orders something, they all follow. I still can’t believe I’m their queen now, but I love to help our people and bring guidance. O’Rec keeps growing as a leader, and his people love him for his heart and wit.

There is still talk about the time he relocated an entire Sternotheri colony to build a lasting peace.

Not everybody agreed with him, but in the end, it turned out to be one of the better decisions.

We now have diplomatic relations with them and are no longer hunted.

That sense of peace is what led us to this last mission.

D’Var

The years have been kind to us, and gratitude fills my heart when I look around us. The children are playing, happy to be reunited, and we sit at O’Rec and Marra’s dining table.

I look at T’Rak, he is our captain, he should be the one to tell them.

“Well?” O’Rec asks us. “Tell us, what did you find?”

“Do you know how we have talked about the force of the spark? About how it always felt more on Arracate?” T’Rak starts.

O’Rec nods and waves at T’Rak to continue.

“We encountered a small planet similar in size to Novarron. It is only a two-day travel away from them. The planet is green, and the atmosphere is healthy for all of us.

Some indigenous people told us about a strange asteroid hitting their planet years ago.

The planet was a desert planet on the verge of extinction until that asteroid hit.

Over the months, the planet began to thrive, flora began to grow, and populations of animals began to prosper.

The theory was that the asteroid had changed their planet’s orbit, but we suspected there was more to that story. ”

My heartbeat rises, and I grab my mate’s hand for comfort. My Zarra, my everything.

“Are you absolutely certain?” O’Rec whispers, and I see Marra’s eyes are wet with unshed tears.

“Yes,” T’Rak confirms. “It is the spark, it lives inside of Ivaria.”

Frey a

The entire room falls quiet after my mate speaks those words, and I send him a mental nudge; he reciprocates by circling his tail around my waist.

“The people are friendly and peaceful. They had been through a lot of sickness and hunger before the spark arrived. We talked with their leaders, who talked with their elders, and so on. Their numbers are small, and they are inviting us to move there.”

Mara starts sobbing when T’Rak says those last words, and I feel so proud of my mate for finding that special place when nobody even knew we were looking.

“We can have a place for the children to grow up, run around, and interact with nature.”

I grin. “There are so many possibilities. The Ivarian people are warm and welcoming, and they also have a couple of small children. They were also going extinct with the planet, so most of their children are 10 years old or younger.”

I think back to what we witnessed on Ivaria. Begul and Trjegul loved it there, and I believe Trjegul might be getting a litter of her own once we’re back planetside.

O’Rec stands and raises his cup. “This is the best news you could have brought me, my friend. This crew has given me more than I could have ever dreamed of. First, my mate and my future. And now we have found a way to seal our race’s future further. To the Arracate!”

We all join him in our toast. “To the Arracate!”

Thank you for reading reading Keeping Freya, the final book in the Warriors of Arracate series .