Page 25 of Hunter's Valentine

In the fall, we’d bumped into a man from my bunker while hunting around my old stomping grounds. He’d reacted to Mur’k much better than I’d expected. He hadn’t known about them wanting to kick me out until Mrs. Willis said that my disappearing saved her the hassle of forcing me to leave. He’d been part of the group that had gone out looking for me that day, not because of any missing supplies but because they wanted to make sure I was okay. They’d seen the swarm of scourge and assumed the worst.

Bunker politics had never been the same again. It was good to know not everyone hated me.

I’d let him know that I was practicing in New Franklin now, and that if he wanted to jump ship, we were always looking for good people who were willing to help out—though I made it clear that the Willises and anyone who’d talked about kicking me out weren’t welcome unless I got a very public, groveling apology.He’d showed up with his wife just after the new year with the bunker’s stolen SUV and a bunch of flyers chasing them.

There was a single sharp beep followed by a set of blinking lights at the edge of the roof top patio. I quickly moved over to give whoever was landing his shuttle more space. It landed and uncloaked, and I recognized our shuttle. I hurried toward it, eager to see Mur’k after almost twenty-four hours.

All I wanted to do was snuggle and watch cat videos.

I found him still inside the decontamination unit. I’d learned after I got to New Franklin that the unit worked over thin layers of clothing, and technically one didn’t need to be completely naked, but many hunters and humans preferred to use them in the nude. Mur’k did as well, as evidenced by the gorgeous expanse of purple muscles on display.

I’d stripped down too and was trying to sneak into the decontaminator when he turned around, catching me mid-sneak.

With a wide grin that showed off his sexy fangs, he pulled me into the tiny space. “You’ve got to be quieter than that to surprise me, my heart.”

“What? Not your little hunter today?” He’d started calling me “my heart” after our first Valentine’s Day, switching between the two nicknames.

“You can be both, since today is a special day.”

I knew he meant that it was Valentine’s Day again, and so technically, our anniversary. The decontamination cycle ended, and he ushered me into the sleeping nook.

“I didn’t go hunting today,” he confessed quietly. “I flew up to the mothership.”

That could only mean one thing. “You got the block on your fertility removed?”

“I did.”

When they said that we were compatible, they meant biologically compatible inallthe ways. There were several mixed Xarc’n-human babies born already, and every time I saw them, my ovaries would start reminding me that I wouldn’t stay young forever. We’d started talking about having kids during the Christmas celebrations, and he’d said he’d fly up to the mothership and get the procedure done.

But then there was the raider attack, and then the big snowstorms, and it had kind of fallen by the wayside.

“So you’re fertile now?”

“Affirmative. No more blank shooting.”

I laughed at the wrong order of the words. He’d been spending more time with the human men and had picked up some slang, though he never got it quite right. I thought it was cute though, so I never corrected him.

“Best present ever!”

“I was told it could take many tries.” He pushed me down onto the bed and crawled over me, the intent clear in his eyes. “I am very excited for that part.”

Cuddling and cat videos could wait. I reached up to grab my big, powerful, protective hunter by the horns, and his purring filled the shuttle.

“Then we’d better get started.”

THE END

New to the Xarc’n Warriors and looking for more? Here’s an excerpt from Claimed by the Hunter, the book that started it all!

A sound at the door alerted me of the presence of an intruder. I peeked over the counter and froze. At the door stood a Xarc’n hunter. The alien warrior was huge, with giant shoulders and a broad, muscular chest. He had to duck to get through the door. Even when he stood up fully in the convenience store, he looked almost hunched over from the masses of muscles on his neck and back. And he was staring straight at me as if he’d come in looking for me.

Yellow-green eyes met mine. They glowed slightly in the darkened store, standing out against the purplish mauve of his leathery skin. I noticed his horns next. The black horns curved from his temples, reminding me of a ram. They looked heavy, and I was sure they were used often as a weapon from the wear marks on them. No wonder he had such a thick neck; only a tree trunk could hold up those horns.

He took a step toward me, and I gawked at the inhuman-looking legs. Each muscular limb ended in giant feet with three toes in the front and one opposable digit at the back, and each toe was capped in sharp claws. Those were the feet of a monster. He took another step toward me, and the claws gleamed as they passed through a beam of sunlight shining in from the broken window.

Panicked, I backed away and grabbed the metal bar strapped to my thigh. Though how the metal crowbar would help me, I did not know. It looked like a toothpick next to his monstrous form. His dark skin looked tough and leathery. I’d bet he was very well armored naturally. Even if I put all my weight behind the swing, it would bounce off him like nothing.

He didn’t wear anything except what looked like a loincloth, a belt, and a harness. Pieces of armor were strapped strategically to the harness to protect him. He wore a long axe on his back and a blaster on his belt as if his claws, fangs, and horns weren’t weapons enough. He also had a few pouches and devices strapped to his harness.

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