Page 52 of Reaper

I didn’t miss the glimmer of joy that crossed his dark eyes, quickly suppressed. Reaper studied my features, as if he was trying to assess the sincerity of my words.

“Is that what youwantor what you feel youhave to do?” Reaper insisted.

“I will be happy here on Dreija or on Khepri, as long as I am with you,” I replied with sincerity. “I am a little anxious about living among so many humans, especially after that incident with Martin’s team. But humans are my people. There’s so much I missed out on, spending my whole life trapped in that base. Now that I am free, I don’t want to squander my freedom hiding behind something safe. It will get overwhelming and scary at times, but I’m not afraid because I won’t face it alone. You’ll be there, with me, to catch me when I fall.”

“Always, my mate. Always,” Reaper said with fervor. “But, what of Brees and the others?”

I swallowed hard and tried to silence the sharp pain that clawed at my heart. “I hope she will choose to come to Khepri as well, but she must follow her own heart. She is very tempted to stay here. The Matriarch has been trying hard to sway them. But whatever Brees decides will not impact my decision. I love her dearly. She’s been a sister and sometimes a mother to me. However, just like children eventually leave the nest, sisters also go their separate ways to make their own lives,” I said, my eyes flicking between his. “And my life is with you. I will always choose you. If Brees stays on Dreija, you’ll just have to bring me here for a few days from time to time so that I can visit with her.”

“That, I can definitely do,” Reaper said.

The slight trembling of his voice reflected the powerful emotion that descended on his beautiful features. I realized at that point how important it had been for him to know that he was the dearest person in my life. It boggled my mind that such a perfect male could be so insecure.

“I love you, Reaper. You are my life, now and always.”

“I love you, too, Janelle,” Reaper said before capturing my lips in a searing kiss.

Breakfast in the Creckel village was lively, and quite funny with our hosts wrinkling their noses at our cooked meats. But where Reaper’s mood was upbeat and even more playful than usual, Doom’s grew increasingly withdrawn as the hour of our departure approached, echoing the sadness that gnawed at me. My heart bled for him. Stran had become more than a friend to him, more like a brother.

This morning, my companions still hadn’t decided what they wanted to do, Brees included. I didn’t think they were playing hard to get but were simply genuinely torn. It hurt me more than I was willing to admit. However, sleeping on our situation after the first day on Dreija had confirmed I was making the right choice. This place wasn’t adapted for humans. Unless other humans settled here too, what kind of life would my future children have? What if they got injured and needed medical assistance? What of Reaper who had been used to certain comforts?

After some emotional goodbyes to our hosts, I froze when Brees and Grol walked up to the Matriarch to also say farewell. When she strutted her way towards me, I threw my arms around her neck, nearly stabbing my hands on the sharp horns on her head and nape. To my shame, I ended up making quite a spectacle of myself, bawling with happiness. Until this instant, I hadn’t realized how crushed I had felt about parting with my childhood friend. Since my birth, we had never been separated.

Reaper’s obvious joy at the news only made me love him more. Although he had formed a bond with Brees, his happiness was mostly on my behalf. Reaper suddenly burst out laughing, while Brees playfully bumped her snout against his leg.

“That is certainly true,” my mate said to her. “Your assistance will be much appreciated.” His grin broadened when he noticed me staring at him questioningly. “Brees just said she had no choice but to come babysit us until we learn how to communicate properly.”

I glared at the Creckel with false anger, and she tauntingly lolled her tongue out of the side of her jaw. I opened my mouth to make some smart remark when a sad keening sound drew my attention. I gaped disbelievingly at the Matriarch rubbing her face against her daughter Leyi’s face in a heartbroken farewell. Stran, looking guilty, stood next to them, head down, his sons pressed against his front paws. Despite her sorrow, there was no anger from Meery when she embraced Stran and then her grand-children, only resignation.

The emotion on Doom’s face as his long-time friend and war companion came towards him, followed by his family, turned me upside down. Although he tried to play it cool, Doom didn’t fool anyone.

“You realized you’d miss me too much, huh?” Doom said in a rough voice that betrayed his feelings.

Stran snorted and disdainfully shook his head. He cast a glance at Brees before looking smugly at Doom.

“I’ll accept that,” Doom said with a shrug. “But you still would have missed me too much.”

Stran scoffed then strutted his way onboard the ship, his young sons hopping excitedly around him under the amused gaze of his mate.

Intrigued, I looked questioningly at Brees. She puffed out her chest before bombarding me with images. Stran was coming to Khepri to help train her and the others to become members of the Vanguard. Initially, he’d planned on coming back to Dreija to start a new family. But now that he had found his, he could show them what he had been up to over the years, while also training the next generation. After that, they would decide where they wanted to live for the long haul.

A part of me suspected that Khepri would become Stran’s permanent home and that, like Brees and me—maybe even some of the other Horned Creckels—we would frequently come back to Dreija to visit their homeworld.

Although Stran chose to travel with us aboard our chaser, the rest of my companions decided to journey to our new home in the frigate that had more space to accommodate them. Brees hesitated, even when Reaper tried to convince her to travel with us. But the brat told me she didn’t want to interfere with our baby-making, and that it would be safer for her to keep an eye on her own, especially Trug who was always up to no good.

In the end, there was indeed a lot of baby-making happening on the six-day trip to Khepri.

The day of our arrival, all my fears and uncertainties were swept away by a tornado of love, joy, and warm welcomes. There were too many faces and names to remember. I only knew that the Xian Warriors were breathtaking in their golden splendor, and the Dragons—Reaper’s countless blood brothers—were just as stunning with their dark scales and half-moon horns. The Scelks, every last one as intimidating as Reklig, proved just as genuinely happy to see my mate and his team return.

The hero’s welcome I received confused me. All I had done was survive a terrible ordeal with the psychological support and loving presence of my companions. The rest, I entirely owed to Doom’s team rescuing us and nursing us back to health.

Nevertheless, it felt wonderful to be accepted despite my defects. Moreover, Reaper’s brother Rogue—who was the medical doctor of the Dragons—all but fought Doom’s wife, Victoria—who was the human female’s medical doctor on Khepri—for the right to look after me. Victoria only conceded as far as him upgrading my optical implant, but she put her foot down about anything else. I found it hilarious and couldn’t deny loving having people fighting over me. However, as Reaper and Rogue shared both their mother and father—unlike his other brothers with whom he only shared a father—it made sense that Rogue would want to take extra care of his closest brother’s mate.

Although I would never see normally again, Rogue did a phenomenal job with the implant. As long as I wore my optical aid, my vision range was quadrupled compared to before, just like its precision at close range. I had been blind for so long that to me, what I saw appeared normal. It was only when Reaper took me on dream walks—a virtual world psychically created—that I would see the difference with reality. How odd that an illusion would be more precise than the real world. My vision was still quite blurry in comparison, as if I was seeing things through a dream or underwater. But it allowed me to function normally, and without pain; something I had never thought possible.

Reaper had been right about people seeking my knowledge about the Creckels. In the months following our arrival on Khepri, I was appointed as the Creckel Ambassador. I would serve as liaison between Dreija and other species of the Coalition, many of whom expressed the desire to resume earlier talks before the war about potential tourism opportunities and trades with them. Dreija overflowed with resources coveted by many not foolish enough to try and trespass, seeing how fiercely territorial the Creckels were. But beyond that, I would also help create a proper program to teach the Creckel language as well as put together the Creckel Cultural Center that would give Coalition members an insight into their culture and history.

At the same time, Reaper got his wish. It took him quite a bit of time before confessing he wished to be in charge of something where he could prove that he was more than just a badass Warrior. With Stran going all out training the Horned Creckels in combat techniques and the most effective ways to use their different assets, we’d all assumed Doom would be in charge of the Creckel Division and of giving them tactical training. But that honor fell to my mate instead.

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