Page 85 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

“Ren!” Zoey yelled. “Oh my God, Ren, are you okay?”

He turned to see her hurrying toward him. She stopped, eyes roving over him, likely searching for wounds, but there was no time for that. Due to her limited field of vision, he doubted she could see the other vehicles while her eyes were focused on him.

The door of one of the newly arrived vehicles swung open, and another uniformed enforcer climbed out with blaster in hand.

Ren wrapped his arms around Zoey and poured as much strength into his legs as was possible, filling them with searing heat. Her startled cry — along with the shouts of the other humans — was lost in a rush of wind when he leapt high into the air, directing them toward the snowy hill behind the black stone lot. Zoey clung to him with startling strength.

The impact of his landing jolted his legs, but it wasn’t nearly as jarring as it had been the night he escaped. He leapt over tall trees and landed on more black stone at the end of a road lined with dwellings. Zoey began to speak, but her words were cut off when he jumped again, and again, and again, putting increasing distance between them and the enforcers.

When they reached the cover of the thicker trees in the hills behind the clustered human dwellings, Ren decided it was better to remain on the ground. Holding Zoey firmly against his chest, he ran between the trunks, crunching snow beneath his boots and forging a wide, deep trail in the unbroken white.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he finally slowed, only that his instinct shifted his priorities to the conservation of energy and allowing Zoey to catch her breath. Down the hill, barely visible through the trees, lay more human dwellings, but he was confident that they had adequate cover to avoid detection — at least for now.

The trail he’d left behind was obvious, and it wouldn’t take the enforcers long to locate it.

“Are you all right, Zoey?” he asked as he set her on her feet. The snow came up to her thighs. Her legs gave out, and she grasped his arms to remain upright. He accepted her weight easily. “Just breathe,kun’ia.”

Panting, Zoey looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. Her entire body shivered, and she clutched at him with desperation-fueled strength. “W-what are we going to do?”

“We need to get as far away from here as we can, as quickly as we can,” he said, smoothing a hand over her hair.

Her eyes locked with his. “Why didn’t you go? Why didn’t you leave me? You could’ve gotten away!”

“Every time you had a chance to betray me, to leave me, you chose to stay with me. How could I abandon you, after everything?”

“Because the worst they’d do to me is toss me in jail! They weren’t going to hurt me. But you? They would’vekilledyou!” She twisted to look behind her. “God, he was shooting at you! And all those people, Ren… They had their phones, recording the whole thing.”

Ren cupped her cheek and guided her to face him. Despite the danger to herself, her only concern was for him. The way that made him feel was indescribable; how could he ever have considered leaving Earth without her at his side?

Tears ran down her cheeks, which were red from the cold. “They’ll know you’re here. They’ll find you. Youhaveto leave me.”

“It is not for you to decide what I must or must not do, little human,” he replied gently. “This journey isoursto make, together. I cannot proceed without you, and I gave you my word to keep you safe. The price paid is more than worth it, knowing that you are here now, that you are safe and in my arms.”

Zoey sniffled and threw her arms around him, holding him close. “I thought they shot you.”

“My connection to mynyroshas recovered. They’ll have to do far better than that, if they mean to kill me.” He turned his head and glanced down the hill, toward the human dwellings in the distance. “Come. We need to obtain a new vehicle.”

“Oh, no,” Zoey cried quietly, drawing her head back. “My purse, my clothes, everything! Everything is gone. Now they know who I am, that I’m with you. Even if we get another car, how are we supposed to keep it running? I have no money!”

Her face suddenly fell, and her cheeks drained of color. “My photo album. My photo album is in that truck, and that’s all I have of my father. That’s all I had left from him, and now it’s gone, too. I lost him again. He’s gone.”

Eyes glistening with another wave of tears, she pulled away from Rendash. She turned and stumbled in the direction from which they’d come. The snow was too deep; Zoey fell forward, catching herself on her hands, and clawed at the snow to drag herself forward. “I have to get it. I have to get him. Ren, please, it’s all I have of him!”

His heart ached as he stepped to her. He bent down, slipping his arms around her middle to pull her out of the snow. She strained against his hold, moving her legs in a futile attempt to continue forward.

“Be still,kun’ia,” he whispered.

“I need to go back,” she rasped. Her struggles ceased abruptly, and she sagged in his arms. Her body shook with heart-wrenching sobs. “I need to go back…”

Rendash turned her to face him, supporting her with his hands, and kneeled to put himself at eye level with her. The whites of her eyes were pink from crying, moisture coated her blotchy cheeks, and the skin beneath her eyelids was puffy; she was still beautiful to him, more so now, seeing the depths of her caring.

“Your father is with you forever,” he said, touching the tip of a finger to her temple, “here. And because you shared him with me, he is here, as well.” He touched his own temple. “We will carry him, together.”

She nodded, sniffled, and closed her eyes, forcing out the last of her tears. “What are we going to do, Ren? No money, no car, the cops after us, you’re going to be all over the internet. What do we do?”

He stood up and dipped his head to place a soft kiss atop Zoey’s hair. “Do not worry,kun’ia. We will solve all those problems, one at a time.”

“Okay.” Zoey sniffled again, and her trembling lips shifted into a small smile. “That sounds like something my dad would say.One day at a time.”

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