Page 14 of Alien Protector's Mate

The commotion grew closer. Louder. A voice barked orders, the sound of footsteps outside her hiding place.

Her heart raced so loudly she was sure they could hear it. The metallic taste of fear flooded her mouth. This was it. If they caught her, she’d be dragged back, maybe to the Morgans, maybe worse. Probably worse.

But then the sounds of pursuit swept past her hiding place. She held her breath, straining to listen as the voices faded into the distance. Then relief washed over her in a shuddering wave, leaving her weak.

They hadn’t seen her.

She leaned her head back against the cold metal for a moment, her breath escaping her in a shuddering sigh. She was safe—at least for now.

She slumped against the curved metal of the maintenance tunnel. Pulling the jacket tighter around herself, she reveled in its warmth. Something hard poked against her ribs, so shereached into the pockets. Her fingers closed around something small and rectangular. Pulling it free, she found a small nutri-bar, the kind workers used to replace an entire day’s worth of food while they worked.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou,” she whispered. Someone was obviously looking out for her.

Tearing the wrapper open with trembling fingers, she crammed it into her mouth. The bar was dense and had an off flavor, but it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

It was gone too soon, and she sighed as the day’s events caught up with her. Exhaustion settled over her like a heavy blanket, and her eyelids grew heavy. She knew she couldn’t stay here for long, but for now, hidden with a full stomach and a warm jacket, she allowed herself to relax a little.

“One step at a time,” she murmured, her words slurring as sleep began to claim her. “Just… one step… at a time…”

The corridors werequiet as S’aad made his way to the station’s main training hall. That wasn’t a surprise; most people aboard were still asleep at this early hour. As he walked through the double doors of the training hall, the familiar scents of leather and sweat greeted him. Three warriors were already there, sparring in one of the circles farthest from the door.

He smiled as he headed over to them. “I should have known you three would already be here.”

Vaan grinned as he broke away from his opponent. “Oh, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence. We were beginning to think you’d forgotten about us, buried in all those human files.”

S’aad chuckled, clasping forearms with each of his friends in the traditional warrior’s greeting. Vaan wasn’t wrong; he’d missed training a couple of days this week, which was an unforgivable lapse for a warrior. “And miss the chance to remind you lot how it’s done? Never.”

K’rat arched his eyebrow, the multitude of honor beads in his hair clicking together when he tilted his head. “You’ve been missed. These younglings are getting a bit too big for their boots.”

“Youngling?” Zell snorted. Though the youngest of the group, he was still well over eight decades old with an impressive combat record. “Who are you calling youngling, old man?”

They all moved into place and began their warm-up exercises, going through the familiar forms of thediraaneshwith the ease of long experience.

“So, S’aad…” K’rat looked over at him. “What’s the gossip? You had any interesting matches this week?”

S’aad rolled from one stretch into another to stretch out the back of his legs. “I’ve told you before. I can’t give you specifics before the official announcements. But yes.” He smiled as he relented. “We’ve had some good ones recently, actually. The new compatibility algorithms are kicking it. Totally a breakthrough.”

Zell leaned in with interest, stretching his muscular arms above his head. “What about us? Will they help you figure out who our matches are?”

“We know who your match is.” Vaan snorted. “A geatorian slugworm.”

Zell snarled and, grabbing his towel, threw it at Vaan’s face. The bigger warrior quickly ducked, grinning.

S’aad’s expression softened as he watched them. He knew what it was like to be unmated and watch the lucky warriors with their new mates. The longing. How unfair it felt when he knew it was anything but. “I promise, as soon as there’s a match forany of you, you’ll be the first to know. The system is thorough. It won’t miss a compatible pairing.”

“But couldn’t you, you know…” Zell leaned in and lowered his voice so that only they could hear. “Like take a look? Maybe give things a little…nudgein the right direction?”

S’aad froze, his voice low and dangerous when he answered, “Never suggest that again. Not even as a joke. I take my job and duty to the human females who trust me very seriously.”

Zell winced as he straightened, not meeting S’aad’s gaze as he spread his hands. “My apologies. I meant no offense. Just a joke, honest.”

S’aad stared at him and then nodded, allowing the tension to dissipate. “A bad one, so don’t do it again. The mate program is too important. Any hint of favoritism, and every clan in the empire will be breathing down our necks, or worse, landing on the planet below to take what they want. Can you imagine what would happen then? The human females would become nothing more than a commodity to be fought over.”

Vaan whistled between his teeth. “It would be a draanthing bloodbath, which is why…” He clapped a big hand where Zell’s neck met his shoulder. “It’s a good job this lug was joking. Okay, enough talk. Did we come here to train or not?”

He pushed Zell away, right into K’rat, and grinned. “Let’s see if our esteemed healer here remembers which end of a blade to hold.”

S’aad’s lips quirked upward at the corners. “Oh, I remember. The real question is whether you lot can keep up.”

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