A choked noise erupts from her. “What? Oh my Jesus.” She buries her face in her hands.

“My name is Draz, not Jesus,” I say. There’s no translation that makes sense for that word, and it offers up a name and an image of a human with long facial hair. “I cannot grow much hair on my chin. It only grows on the top of my head. Is that the problem?”

Her eyes are huge in her face now, and a musical laugh trickles out of her. My eyes close at the noise. What a wondrous sound.

“No,” she manages. “No, you are fine. You are nice looking. Very muscled.” She shakes her head, as though she can’t quite believe she’s said that. “Draz, I need to know something right now.”

“Anything.” My name is like nectar from her lips. I want her to say it again.

“Will the other Suevans… the other warlords—” She bites her lip, clearly unwilling or too uncomfortable to continue speaking. I want to tug it from her little teeth. Blunt though they are, her pink lip turns white under the sustained pressure. “Will they force them?”

“What?”

“My crew. Will the other warlords—” She releases her lips, pinning me with an angry stare. “Will they force them to have sex?”

I recoil physically, her implication bringing shame to me and my people. “That is not done. That is a death sentence. Females are treasured. Valued.” Horror spreads through me, bile rising in my throat. “What you suggest is the gravest of offenses.”

She sags, relief turning her limbs loose.

My female truly believes Suevans would force her crew… Force her. No Suevan woman would ever even consider this, which means—

“This is done on Earth? Your males hurt your women?”

“It isn’t sanctioned. It’s illegal there, too,” she spits out, crossing her arms. Defensively, I realize. She still thinks to defend the males of her species, even if they act abominably?

What a strange, proud creature. I blink slowly, my third eyelid closing and opening, as I ponder her.

As I ponder what to say, a steady patter of rain begins. Sueva herself is angry at my mate’s people, and lightning streaks, turning the world brilliant for one second, followed immediately by a deafening roar of thunder.

The rain intensifies, cold and sluicing in great sheets across the jungle.

I turn my face to the sky, savoring the sensation of water on my hide. The rains will make it harder for us to track. A blessing from the spirits on our marriage; a sign that perhaps I can change my mate’s mind.

When I turn my attention back to my mate, her knees are drawn up to her chest. Small shakes spread through her body, her tiny teeth clicking together.

“You are cold.”

“N-n-n-no.”

“You are lying?”

She glares at me, shuddering, as the icy rain continues to pour. “Yes.”

“Come, my mate.” I ignore her look of distress. “I will find us shelter and we will warm your fragile human skin.”

I should not be as excited as I am at the prospect.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER SEVEN

OceanofPDF.com

NIKI

It’s pouring rain. Because of fucking course it is. Just the shit cherry on top of this fucked up fudge sundae.

I’m so angry, I can’t tell if I’m shaking from it or the cold. Except, my teeth are clacking together like a possessed skeleton on Halloween, and that usually doesn’t happen unless hypothermia is imminent.

Perfect!

I stand slowly. The ground turns slippery under my boots, the lime-green moss that seems to cover everything proving ridiculously hard to get a foothold on.

My thoughts are a whirlwind, as dark as the midnight sky. Lightning flashes again, so near that the resulting thunder nearly deafens me. I scrub a hand down my face, but it does absolutely nothing to clear my vision. At least if I cry again, he won’t be any the wiser.

I remember the last time I was this angry. The day I got news that my parents’ unit had been take out during the Roth attack. I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t, even with the proof right in front of my face.

I let the rain slick across my skin, like it will wash the painful memory away.

The Federation betrayed us. All of us. I gave my entire life to their cause of protecting Earth, and they couldn’t even give us the option to say no, tossing us into space like fertile chattel. My stomach churns, and I press a palm against my mouth.

No wonder they kept the binary comms from the Suevans classified so highly that all we got were tiny unredacted snippets.

No wonder they made us swear and sign an oath that we would do what it took to secure the tech for Earth’s safety and future.

Motherfuckers.

“I can’t see,” I shout above the rain, and take a step forward, towards the Suevan shape in front of me, and promptly lose my footing, slipping hard onto my ass.

“Little mate,” that harsh voice sounds right at my ear, and before I can wrap my head around the idea, he’s hauling me off my feet, cradling me against his chest.

“My name’s Niki,” I say, crossing my arms, trying not to touch any part of him I don’t have to. I want to tell him I can walk, but clearly, I am not made for this terrain.

Whereas the giant alien lizard man sinks his taloned feet deep into the mossy soil, rain glancing off his scaled hide as he bows over me, taking the brunt of it.

“Ni-Kee,” he says, and his tone is so reverent it surprises me, cutting through my inner maelstrom of anger at the Federation.

Lightning burns across the sky, branching off into a million different directions, briefly illuminating the angles of his face. His scales are smaller there, closer together and not as harsh seeming. His diamond pupils widen as he realizes he has my attention, and a soft smile curves his mouth. I swallow hard, forcing myself to look away. Anywhere else. Even the white, flesh-eating monster flower.

“Tell me about what Federation command said. I want to know everything.” Yes. Concentrating on their betrayal, on figuring out what their calculus was—that will be a good distraction. From the cold, pelting rain… and from the heat of the male who holds me in his arms like I’m fragile as spun glass.

“We reached out to your government about a possible alliance.” He picks up the pace, darting through the woods at a speed that is inhuman and graceful. My jaw twitches. This species would decimate our planet. I should be grateful they chose Earth to ally with, but I’m still steeping in my anger. My teeth are still chattering, but they slow as his warmth seeps into my soaked clothes.

Wait. Something clicks in my brain.

“Why would you want to ally with Earth?”

His pace slows as he zig zags around a tree, smoking from a recent lightning strike. Fire burns in the core of it, the moss shriveling where it makes contact.

“Don’t avoid the question,” I snap.

“I am not, sweet Ni-Kee,” he says. “I am simply trying to form the proper words. A great tragedy that has befallen our people. It is not easy for me.”

I wrinkle my nose, a pang of empathy darting through me, followed by guilt. Here I am, only thinking about my own predicament, and he’s literally carrying me through an alien jungle during a torrential downpour as I interrogate him about things that might emotionally compromise him.

If I were Gen or Michelle, I could probably figure out a way to exploit that weakness. The thought just makes me tired, though.

Oh God. Gen. Gen’s going to be murderous when she finds out she’s been married off to a Suevan. I cover my face with my hand. I did this. I told them they had to take part in the ceremony.

And now my whole crew is married in the eyes of the Suevans.

Gen is going to kill me.

Draz sighs heavily, and I refocus on him. “Our people are declining. Our scientists have determined the cause is a virus from a planet not too far from here, brought back from a settler there. The virus interacts with our reproductive chromosomes, causing only males to be born. It started six decades ago.”