Page 7 of Hunter’s Harvest

“Thank you for fishing me out of the crash,” I said, yawning.

“Fish?” he repeated in English. “Fish. Hungry.”

He started to move.

“No! No hungry.” I really did not want any of that fish.

He relaxed again and I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling like I’d run a marathon. That must mean the device was working. I’d had to use one once when I sliced my leg open, and I’d slept like a baby. Healing was hard work.

And there, surrounded by the sound his rumbling chest, I slept.

Chapter 4: Var’n

I regretted not getting my translator updated. I also regretted losing my communicator. For a long time, I’d survived on this planet the natives called Earth without these items just fine. I hadn’t been using it anyway because, like the rest of my contingent, I was trying to hide from the others.

But now, either of those devices would help me communicate better with my female. She understood what I was saying, so she must have one of our translators installed in her ear. But I only caught a single word here and there, and I had to supplement that with my limited English knowledge. I’d watched humans long enough to pick up some of their language.

I understood enough to know that she wanted to find her friends. But I didn’t know how to tell her that they may not be alive. I’d watched the shuttle break apart; I was surprised to find her alive and the back end so intact. She’d had a lucky landing. That might not have happened with her friends.

The medical unit flashed, and I turned it off before it could beep and wake her. I reached over and placed it on the table.

I stayed on the sleeping platform with her, holding her in my arms as she slept. Her scent filled my lungs, so warm, sweet, and foreign, making my chest vibrate constantly. I knew that meant we were compatible, and that she could be my mate.

Could she be mine?

Mine.

The word settled heavily in my chest. In my time here on Earth, I’d met and interacted with a few females. Most had been terrified of me and would’ve never fallen asleep in my arms. But here she was completely at ease with me. The only reason she’d tried to leave was that she wanted to find her friends, not because she feared me.

The human female murmured in her sleep, her brow furrowing. I stilled, my rumbling deepening as I tried to soothe her. She relaxed again, her breath evening out. She was so soft and fragile, and the urge to protect her was strong. I’d never wanted anything the way I wanted her. And not just to protect either. I wanted to claim her and keep her.

A noise outside shattered the silence of the woods. It was too big to be a wild animal and too deliberate to be a scourge. The sound of scuttler feet were easily distinguishable even in the leaf litter.

I extracted myself from the soft and delectable female, careful not to wake her. She murmured something unintelligible, and she reached over to the empty space where I had been. I hesitated, but the noise came again, louder this time. Whoever was outside wasn’t leaving.

I cracked the portal open and inhaled. Hess’n. My lips curled back in a silent snarl. Of all the times for him to show up, it had to be now.

Hess’n had been part of my contingent. He lived in a nearby cave and we checked up on each other often, especially since Kan’n, another hunter from our contingent, had gone missing a few seasons ago. What the hell was he doing here now?

Had he seen the shuttle being shot down and come to investigate? Had he scented the delectable female and followed her back to my abode?

Hess’n stood there, his golden eyes gleaming in the dim light of the moon. His nostrils flared.

“You reek of human,” he said. “And not just any human. A female.”

I bared my teeth. “She is none of your concern.”

Hess’n tilted his head, and the movement emphasized his horns. Even amongst our kind, he had a big set. “What’s so special about this one?”

My claws extended from the tips of my fingers, and the wood groaned under my grip. “She is mine.”

“You found her at the crash site. She is injured.” The words were statements, not questions. “Surely there are others. Did you sense signs of another female?”

I thought of Nellie’s demand to go find her friends. Hess’n’s appearance could come in handy. I stepped out of my cabin home, closing the door firmly behind me. Taking a few steps away, I lowered my voice.

“I scented another female. But she was not in the back end of the shuttle when I found it.”

“Another female?” Hess’n’s eyes widened.