The Alien's Revenge - Ella Maven Page 0,34

hour, the silence was broken by the sound of feet slapping the ground outside before the hut was filled with a gaggle of women. Reba, Tabitha, Justine, a pregnant Frankie, and last but not least Naomi. With Drak safe and resting, I relished in my homecoming and threw myself at them. All the pregnant ladies were crying, along with Tabitha. Justine was yelling about never allowing me to leave the walls again. Meanwhile Naomi clung to me, her face buried into my side like she wanted to live in my skin.

“I missed you all,” I said. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“What happened?” Justine was still on a rant. Her emotions almost always manifested themselves in anger. “Why the hell did you run away from Gar and Crius?”

“I didn’t run away…” I sighed. “I’ll explain tomorrow. Right now, I just wanted to hug you all and hear how my baby mommas are doing.”

“Terrible!” Frankie wailed. “Aunt Miranda was off gallivanting in the forest finding a mate while I’m growing a baby with horns!”

I rolled my eyes. “I was not gallivanting.”

“You’re like the solid rock we all pivot around,” Naomi said in her soft voice at my side. “Without you, we flailed in orbit.”

“That’s pretty poetic,” Justine said with a sniffle. “But accurate.”

“They’re not lying.” Frankie poked me in the side. “The guys here might love me, but they don’t listen to me like they do when you crack the whip.”

I laughed, remembering all the shenanigans some of the warriors got into, like when a bunch tricked a younger warrior into sticking his head between two wooden slats of fencing and then scattered when he’d gotten stuck.

We hugged and talked some more. But eventually the girls grew tired as it was the middle of the night. They left after I promised to explain what had happened while I was gone. Frankie remained behind with Val.

“And now,” she reached for my hand and examined my loks. “You’re mated, Miss I Don’t Need a Man.”

I yanked my hand back. “I still don’t need one.” I glanced back at Drak as he twitched in his sleep. “But I do want this one.”

“Miranda,” Frankie whispered.

“He’s good, Frank,” I pleaded to her and Val, ignoring the piercing looks of the warriors in the room. “When he’s himself again, he’ll show you. He’s kind and gentle. I don’t know what happened all those cycles ago, but he’s a good warrior. Strong and resourceful.”

Frankie looked me right in the eye and said the three words I hadn’t realized I’d wanted to hear. “I believe you.”

I held back the tears that threatened and whispered a broken, “Thank you.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Frankie said. “Get some rest. Don’t worry about anything. Daz has the last word, but I’m his mate and I’m carrying his child. If anyone has his ear, it’s me.”

“I love you, Frankie.”

She pressed a kiss to my cheek and smiled. “I love you, too.” With a flourish, she tightened her wrap around her bulging belly and walked out.

“Come on, Val,” Sax said. “Time to get some rest.”

Val gave me one long look and turned to leave.

“Val,” I called out.

She looked at me over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

She smiled. “No need to apologize. I know what it’s like to desperately want to protect your mate.” With a nod, she left.

Ward gave me one final long look and walked out. He shut the door, and I heard him slide a bolt across, locking us in.

I glared at the door for a while until I swayed on my feet. I needed to sleep too, so I curled up next to Drak’s big body and finally let myself drift off.

Drak

My mind churned with images, sounds, and visions. I didn’t know what was a dream and what was memory. I felt my pulse pounding in my ears and opened my eyes on a gasp to stare not at the stars but at an unfamiliar ceiling. The sun’s first rays of the rotation beamed through a barred window in the room, and I frowned at it.

Merr-anda!

I jolted to a sitting position, ready to slay the world to find her, only to realize she was curled in a ball with her back to me, asleep.

I winced, kneading my temples as I sought to remember what happened last night, and where I was. Spotting a jug of qua near the door, I stumbled from the bed to retrieve it. I chugged the cool liquid as the memories returned. Fighting the Kulks. My injuries. Remembering the