made, my closet organized, and my toilet seat down. Just because I was on an alien planet didn’t mean I suddenly changed my mind about finding a life partner. I would be perfectly fine enjoying my freedom and being there for my girls.
“I don’t like knowing I can’t take care of myself,” I explained. “I want to learn things. And I can’t learn all I need to do if I stay within these walls.”
Gar growled low in his throat, turned, and stomped outside, his tail slapping the door as he went.
I grinned triumphantly at Reba, who snickered.
“See you soon, sweetheart,” I called over my shoulder.
“Love you, Miranda!” She hollered back. “Stay safe!”
“Always,” I shut the door behind me. I spun to see Gar already striding toward the gates. I had to sprint to catch up with him, the long-legged jerk. “So,” I chirped happily as I reached his side. “What’re we hunting today?”
This was the thing with Gar and me. He could “nit” at me all day and grump and give me the silent treatment, but I knew deep down he liked me. We had an easy-going brother-sister type relationship. Well, one where I talked at him, and he scowled back, but there were times I felt him relax in my presence. There was something about him I felt a connection to, and he must have felt it too, because I was the only female he tolerated for more than a few minutes.
“Antella,” he grunted back as his tail thumped the ground once.
I grinned. I’d won this small battle.
Antella were a deer-like antlered animal with a thin furred skin the Drixonians used for a variety of purposes. The meat tasted like chicken, and we’d had a lot of fun in the kitchen experimenting with sauces and native spices to spruce it up.
“Meet me at the gates in a yora,” he grumped and then stopped to narrow his eyes and assess me. I glanced down at my clothing, which was a loose shirt in the cotton-like material Anna made, along with a pair of leather shorts and sandals. “Wear long pants in the forest,” he grunted. “And proper foot covering.”
I grinned at his back as he walked away. Gar could frown all he wanted—deep down he had a big heart.
I lived in the end unit of a row of rooms that resembled a one-story motel. The guys had built it in a day for us because we weren’t keen to share the multi-story barracks with the rest of the warriors. So me, Tabitha, Justine, and Naomi each had our own space. I loved it. In the corner was my palette piled high with furs. Hap had made me a dresser where I stored my few items of clothing. The rest I filled with flowers and plants. The flora of this planet captivated me.
Back on Earth, I’d filled my office at the law firm with succulents and perennials. At my home, my balcony was practically a jungle and on weekends—when I wasn’t dealing with a crisis from one of my five siblings—I could be found elbow deep in dirt in my garden. I was so grateful this was a lush planet with colorful blooms and enough blue-leafed plants to fill my room and then some.
I opened my drawer and pulled out one of my three pairs of antella-leather pants. I closed the drawer, remembering when all of us women had explained to Hap what a dresser was. He’d been so eager to get started, and even carved decorative handles. He had been our favorite from the start when we arrived on this planet, confused and terrified. He had a gentleness about him we’d responded to immediately.
I missed him. Hap had been injured in an attack by a neighboring clavas, and he took it hard he had been struck down before he could defend us women. Luckily, the other Night Kings had arrived in time to save us, but Hap struggled with his injuries.
He refused to leave his room, no matter what we said. One of the eldest Drixonian males still alive—a healer named Shep—had arrived at the Night Kings a few days ago. He was the only one who’d been able to draw Hap out of his room. Under Daz’s orders, Hap and Shep had left the clavas yesterday on a two-alien getaway. Us females viewed it as a kind of intense therapy and rehabilitation. We were eager for them to return, but after talking with the kind Shep, we knew he