Page 6 of The Highseer's Mate

It’s a male. I don’t know how I know.

But I definitely do.

“Leave us!” I find my voice again, but even to myself, it doesn’t sound convincing.

My heart is pounding, roaring in my ears as the alien cocks his head as if trying to understand me.

He takes another step forward and my heart nearly stalls. He’s cut the distance between us in a single, graceful step. My fingers tighten around the pipe as I act like I’m going to swing it.

“Stop!”

He doesn’t.

“I said stop!”

He takes another step and he’s in my space. Too close.

He smells of light rain and upturned dirt. And something else with a little decadent spice.

Unconsciously, I take in a deep breath and my muscles ease. The scent is… intoxicating.

What the fuck?

All of a sudden, the thing grunts and groans—a sound so deep and guttural I swear it shakes the floor beneath our feet. Across its chest, a pattern appears. Bright, shining green circles tear through the gray skin across his pecs like scars. He sneers, showing his teeth as the patterns stretch and unfurl, lighting up the skin of his chest and down his biceps.

It’s luminescent and something about it calms me. Draws me in.

I watch as the patterns—almost like tattoos—grow and shine brighter as I take a hesitant step forward. They are… beautiful.

I’m so entranced that at some point, I dropped the metal pipe and am now reaching for this strange alien being. I want to touch him. I want to feel him.

He’s…

Like a switch flips, the alien throws his head back on a roar that sends chills down my spine. I curl back on myself as he dashes for me, wrapping a long, muscular arm around my midsection. I scream as he yanks me into the air and tosses me over his shoulder as if I weigh nothing.

“No! No! Oh my God! Let me go!” I scream and bash my fists into the thing’s back.

It doesn’t seem to mind.

I reach for something, anything to hold onto. My fingers slip past the hanging wires and broken wall panels as he turns and heads for the gaping hole where the door should be.

“Let me go!” I scream again, kicking and scratching at this thing’s back. His gray skin is soft and down the line of his spine is a build-up of fur standing on end like an angry dog. I shout like a banshee and fight against him but he doesn’t seem to mind. He ducks and walks us both out of the door frame and into the mystery planet our ship landed on.

The sky is gray. Cloudy—dreary. We’re surrounded by thick jungle underbrush, a deep green covering every surface. I look around and see a line of trees off to the right but the rest of the landscape is flat. Marshy. With no trees to protect us, the ship sticks out like a massive target.

I brace my hands on the alien’s back and look back at the ship through the tears brimming my eyes.

Suddenly, Ryan peeks around the corner of the open door, watching me with a horrified look on her face.

My stomach drops.

I shake my head.

Stay.

Her brows furrow and she peeks out a little further like she plans to come after me.

I shake my head again, my fingers digging into the alien’s skin so I don’t lose eye contact with her. I need her to see me..

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