Page 25 of Ragnar

“She is out of my reach.” He mutters, his opal eyes watching my movements with thinly veiled amusement.

“Mine is not. If you have a mate, unclaimed yet, then you should know not to interfere with mine.” I switch to our native tongue, letting the warning be known. He dips his head in acknowledgement.

“That is why I am here.” He shifts so that he can see Regreee once more. To her credit she hasn’t moved an inch, trusting me to keep her safe. Guilt hits me again. Had I been doing my duty, I would have stopped him from getting so close to begin with.

“Speak plainly.” I growl out, just barely containing the vibration that threatens to escape. It might inadvertently hurt Regreee.

“This is freaky.” She mutters under her breath but we both hear her. I can’t fault her; it is disconcerting to see another of my kind as well. Especially one that I recognize from the ship that brought us here. Talnag. The name is new to me, but it feels good to have a name for the face.

“I bring warnings. The humans are hunting you.” Fear causes my sails to stiffen once more. Elijah. My rage from earlier comes roaring back. Talnag shifts nervously, sensing my beast rising.

“Let them come. I have a message to give them.” I grit out, letting Regreee’s gasp of alarm fuel my internal fire. Justice will be served for my mate.

“You do not understand. I took up permanent residence outside their walls. They have contact with the Gilgamites. It is…wrong.” Talnag says, his voice betraying his worry.

“They tried to shoot me with their weapons the last time. They failed.” He is shaking his head before I finish speaking.

“You are not listening. They are not only hunting you. I’ve heard them speaking about it. They do not just want you. Now that they know she travels with you, they want your mate.” A snarl is ripped from me at his words. They will not touch her. I would rather die than let that happen.

“The humans will meet their ends if they try to take her.” My beast lends his voice to mine, each word dripping with a promise of pain.

“You are not listening! The humans do not want your mate. THEY want your mate.” He snarls, his own anger clashing with mine. For a moment I am taken aback, trying to process what he is saying. Regreee figures it out first.

“Oh my god. No.” She gasps out, falling into the doorjamb with her shock. My brain switches gears instantly and I am at her side in an instant.

“What is wrong?” I ask her, sniffing for an unseen injury. Her breathing is elevated, and her pupils are dilated with her fear. “Speak to me Regreee.” I demand, needing to fix what is wrong.

“The aliens.” Her fear makes the words almost imperceptible. Understanding hits me like a lightning bolt. I whirl around to face Talnag, disbelief warring with my anger.

“You lie! What do they want with us?” I demand, switching languages once more. He doesn’t do the same, answering me in English.

“My own mate lives among the humans. I have snuck into their holding many times. Among those times, I have heard disturbing conversations. The Gilgamites are using us as an experiment. A breeding experiment.” His words send a shiver down my spine. A niggling of knowledge makes me gasp, hoping that I am wrong.

“How can it be a breeding experiment with no females of our own kind?” I ask, hating that I can already guess the answer. It makes too much sense and yet none.

“Humans, as it turns out, are universal breeders.” He lets the statement hang between us. The ramifications of it are like a bomb having gone off.

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Regreee demands, ignoring my earlier command as she storms towards us, her anger overriding her fear.

“It means, little human, that your species is a coveted resource in the vast universe. Especially to dying species such as ours.” My ears feel hot as the truth of his words threaten to crush me. Mentally I log each species that was on the damned ship with us. I run through my limited knowledge of each of them. We all have one thing in common. Due to our natures, we are going extinct. Even the Memnar. Males outnumbered females 50 to 1.

“So, you are saying they destroyed Earth so that you guys could fuck us?” She demands, placing her little hands on her hips in a show of attitude that brings a smile to my face. Talnag tilts his head curiously, as if not expecting this show of bravery from her.

“Essentially. Even the little creatures were brought in case another species on Earth showed the same trait.” He nods his head a little off to the side of her and I turn to see Floofy crawling towards us. Her ever-present shadow.

“That doesn’t explain how we are being hunted.” She snaps, bringing us back to the issue at hand.

“In one of my many secret missions to the human compound, I overheard a few of the guards talking about their latest missive from the Gilgamites. They were to log any human that was seen forming a bond with one of the alien species. When they came back the other night, they reported that they had found their first bonded pair. You two. I started tracking you that night so that I might warn you.” A new fear to add to my growing list and most of them involve losing Regreee.

“What the hell! I bet those psychos are enjoying this! Fucking Sam and his hoard of bastards.” Regreee shouts, her hands flying to her hair to tug on it in agitation.

“I will deal with the humans.” I say, trying to comfort her. Talnag crushes that attempt with his next bomb.

“You have more to worry about than the humans.” His tone turns regretful, as if this might be worse than a sentient alien species wanting to take my mate from me in the name of science.

“What?” Regreee and I ask at the same time.

“While tracking you, I came across a group of Nagas. They were following your scent as well. Thankfully their sense of smell is terrible, and they weren’t following closely. I overheard them talking of revenge.” His opal eyes crinkle with regret. My beast wants to pummel him to the ground and rip out his throat for bringing this bad news, but the logical side knows I owe him for saving our lives. The mistrust of my beast can’t be completely ignored though.

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