Page 38 of Alien Knight Teddy Bear Troubles

He pulled the activation chip from the weapon, moved to the co-pilot seat and secured the Black Star between his legs. The last thing they needed was a literal cannon of some sort flying around unsecure in the ship. He had just strapped in when the ship’s alarm sound changed again.

“Collision imminent. Course correction override.” The ship’s monitoring systems notified him of the change in direction less than a second before he was slammed against the straps that held him in his seat.

Hands moving frantically over the controls, his jaw dropped as he pulled up the visuals.

There, floating in space, explosion after explosion moving along the ship’s entire perimeter, was the Dark Ones’ fleet command vessel. And it was close.

The autopilot dove their ship straight under the burning wreckage, narrowly avoiding direct impact.

The Dark Ones’ smaller fighter craft, which drew power from the main command ship, began to spiral out of control toward Mora Five’s atmosphere. They would burn up like cinder on the way down.

The main ship would follow. The burned wreckage would make a crater on the planet. He had no control over where it might fall, but the survivors on Mora Five would not waste the opportunity to rip the ship to pieces for salvage.

He would have to notify Falden and King Dagan on Earth. Perhaps they could learn something from the wreckage. Before Ion had been taken, he had not seen a Dark Ones’ ship in centuries.

He believed that Ion’s capture had been a curse, a failure. But he’d survived the suicide mission that had rescued Prince Ion. And he’d met Cassie.

His incredible, sassy, passionate, courageous, warrior mate.

His small ship moved with incredible speed. He laid in a course to follow Greig and the others to Earth. Once he was sure they were not being followed, he turned to find Cassie still slumped in the pilot’s seat. Unconscious. Gray. Weak.

Barely breathing.

His heart nearly stopped. “Cassie. No. You lied to me, you beautiful, stubborn female.”

Her lips quirked up in what was almost a smile as he pulled her from her seat and into his arms. He sat on the floor and cradled her, holding her to his chest.

“Did you get ‘em?” she asked.

“Yes. We destroyed their command ship.”

She smiled weakly, the warrior in her content. At peace.

He placed a hand over her heart. Felt for the beat. Sighed in relief at the slight pulse beneath his palm. Held his breath when it stopped. Started.

Her head lolled back on the bend of his elbow, her eyes barely open. Her gaze blank, as if she was having trouble focusing as she looked up into his face.

“Because I love you, you idiot,” she whispered.

“What?” he gathered her closer, his heart shattering in a million pieces. He was losing her. She was slipping away. Saying goodbye. He roared in pain. Denial. Agony.

“Came back.” She sighed and turned her head so her face pressed into his shoulder. “Love you.”

She wasn’t sparkling now, the rainbow sheen of her skin faded to leave delicate swirls along her hairline and down her neck. The markings disappeared under her uniform but he didn’t need to see them to know what was happening. She had used maju paste. Kept it secret. And now she was dying.

Her heart skipped another beat. She shuddered in his arms.

Chapter Fourteen

Taeger’s heart plummeted into a dark, deep despair. Bleak, all consuming terror gripped his soul as Cassie slipped farther away. He bellowed and raged like the beast she once called him. He couldn’t lose her. Not Cassie. Centuries of planning. A millennia of sacrifice. None of that mattered now. Only Cassie.

She had been lying to him, keeping a deadly secret. The crystal formations now visible in soft swirls on her skin told him everything he needed to know; she’d been exposed to maju paste and been transformed, just like Sasha and the other human women. And like them, if she had no anchor, no outlet for the forces growing stronger in her body, the overload of power would consume her.

There was only one way to save her now. He could try to bind their life energies together in an ancient ceremony that predated even the Lumerians. A yielding. It was dangerous. Even most Lumerians chose not to attempt a yielding. Both parties had to give, yield everything they were to the other. Yield to become something more together. Fail and both would die. Once started, there would be no turning back. For either of them.

Taeger had no doubt about his feelings for Cassie. He would give his life to save her. Give her everything. Could she do the same? It didn’t matter. He had to try.

Gathering her closer one more time, he stroked his fingers down her cheek. Tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Tenderly placed a kiss on her brow. He would be content to hold her forever, but in order to complete the ceremony he needed to prepare for the yielding. Taeger gently lowered her to the floor, reluctant to let her go, even for a moment. Her breathing was shallow. Irregular. They were out of time.

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