Somehow it was just perfect–she was perfect. His mate. His goddess.
Mine, his instincts insisted, loud and simple. She’s mine now–I know she is.
But as his mind returned, another part of him—older, aching, and still haunted—whispered that he did not deserve this. That he had already had his mate. That the Goddess only granted one.
And yet…being with Kiera felt so incredibly right. And she smelled like his mate–or like one who could be his mate if only she would Bond with him.
How could that be wrong?
Brux didn’t know–he only knew he wanted to stay near her and never let her out of his sight.
“C’mon, boy–let’s get some of this goop off before we go home.”
Kiera led him toward a low structure—something like an outdoor wash station built into the side of a utility shed.
Brux recognized it instinctively for what it was–a place to clean animals. A place to rinse away dirt and blood and whatever this purple horror was.
The work—bots had already set up hoses and sprayers, neatly coiled, with attachments that clicked and whirred when Kiera touched the controls. A warm mist puffed into the air, carrying the scent of something clean—sharp and herbal, like crushed leaves.
Brux hesitated on the threshold, suddenly wary. Water wasn’t his enemy, but being sprayed and scrubbed by strange devices was not something his pride welcomed. He glanced back toward the reeds where the “poofer” still sat, wobbling and inflated, as if offended by the entire situation.
It was harmless, he now realized–it had only been afraid. But he had run headlong into its trap like a brainless pup.
Shame prickled again, but Kiera’s hand on his ruff steadied him. Her voice was gentle—teasing and affectionate.
“Come on, big guy,” she murmured, and the words wrapped around him like a command and a caress all at once. “Let’s get you cleaned up before you track purple slime all over my home. And if you’re very, very good, I’ll let you come into the bathing pool with me.”
Brux stepped forward, resigned. Anything for her, even if it meant enduring the indignity of a bath.
And as the first warm spray hit his algae—matted fur, he closed his eyes—because her hands were in his coat again, and the pleasure of that made his returning mind flare brighter with every touch.
8
KIERA
Kiera worked on the wolf until the sun started going down. His fur was so dense it was hard to get all of the slimy algae out of it. By the time she was finished, both of them were absolutely soaked to the bone and shivering because nights on Plo’nix got cold.
“C—c’mon, b—boy,” she said, her teeth chattering as she shut off the spray and recoiled the hose. “Let’s get inside before we f—f—freeze!”
She took him out of the washing shed–which she often used on the larger animals if they got dirty or needed flea or tick treatments–and brought him around to the side of her house–her “home-dome” as she called it.
Her home-dome was a large, rounded, half—spherical structure that reminded her a little bit of an igloo–if an igloo was big enough to stand in and sectioned into several rooms inside. It had a sliding door that was activated by her handprint alone–no one else could come in or out, which was why she felt safe at night, even as a woman alone on a strange planet.
Kiera pressed her hand to the door and watched as her palm and fingers were outlined in green light. A soft, sexless voice murmured,
“Entry granted. Welcome home, Kiera.”
And then the silver panel of the door whooshed open, allowing them inside.
Kiera stepped in quickly and the wolf was right on her heels. The minute she got past the narrow entryway and into the main living area, she said,
“Firewall high!”
At once, the crystalline wall opposite the large, overstuffed couch flared to life, and blue, gold, green, and purple flames began dancing. The wolf, standing beside her gave a startled, “Whuff!” and jumped back.
“It’s all right, boy,” Kiera told him quickly, putting a hand on his still—wet head. “This is just to warm us up a little bit. It gets really cold here at night and the flames are behind the wall. See? They can’t hurt you.”
She waved her hand in front of the flame wall, showing that she wasn’t getting burned or injured.
