Page 75 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

This was how he wanted to remember her — content and beautiful, alien but familiar. Everything he’d never known he wanted.His, if only for a short while.

He gently brushed rogue locks of hair from her face. He’d grown accustomed to the oddly full, relatively soft facial features of humans during his captivity, but Zoey’s was the first and only such face in which he saw beauty — beauty as deep in her as hisnyroswere in him, beauty that permeated all of her, inside and out.

Why should he only have her for a brief time? Why should he leave her behind to become little more than a bright, fleeting highlight in an otherwise troubled life?

As far as Ren was concerned, he’d already earned his peace, had already earned his choice. All that remained was the formality of returning to Algar to declare his intent. Tradition did not dictate that he was required to take a mate. Nor did it dictate that his mate had to be aligarii. The only thing stopping him from bringing Zoey along was his adherence to the nature of the traditions, his devotion to the unspoken duty that lay beneath them — to carry on the aligarii race, to continue to keep the Khorzar strong with his bloodline.

What did all that matter now? His Umen’rak was gone, his life was in danger, and he’d made a connection with another being beyond anything he could’ve imagined possible. His relationship with Zoey was precious. Too precious to throw away if there were any chance to maintain it — or even better, any chance to let it grow.

I can take her with me.

The thought crackled through him like a bolt of lightning, arcing across his every cell. He’d dismissed the notion when it had presented itself before, had been unable to view it beyond the lens of his experience and the culture that had raised him.

It was a thing that had not been done. But that didn’t mean itcould notbe done.

So few aekhora survived to the point of earning their freedom; would the Halvari truly deny him, when he wouldn’t, in truth, be violating the traditions?

He could take her with him, and thus bring his happiness home rather than return alone and seek happiness blindly, knowing that any life he might make on Algar without Zoey would never compare to what he shared with her now. He could take her with him and hold on to this contentment. He could take her with him and growmorecontent.

Ren trailed the pads of his fingers over her cheek. Zoey smiled and nuzzled her face against his hand.

Would shewantto go? Would she want to leave her world, leave her people, leave everything she knew behind?

He understood how it felt to be on an alien world. Understood the sense of loss, loneliness,wrongness. Even with all his training and experience, it affected him. How would she cope? Ren’s presence had already disrupted so much of her life, but she’d told him she had nothing left, nooneleft. Did she have any reason to remain on Earth?

“When the time comes,kun’ia, I hope you choose to accompany me,” he whispered.

Until that time, he would not trouble her with worrying over it, would not burden her with the weight of the unknown. Zoey deserved nothing but happiness. He hoped that, one day soon, he’d be able to make that happiness something lasting. He hoped he could grant her the comfort, stability, and love for which she’d always longed.

Wasn’t that what she’d truly meant when she spoke of wanting a home?

Drawing in another deep breath to appreciate their mingled scents, Ren finally closed his eyes and allowed sleep to claim him, keeping his kun’ia — hismate— secure in his arms.

Chapter Fifteen

Stantz stepped out of the SUV and straightened his coat. He walked directly to his agents, not bothering to glance at the state troopers gathered fifty feet away around their white vehicles. He’d seen the displeasure and confusion on their faces as he pulled up. He felt their glares on his back even now. During his career, he’d dealt with their type often enough to know what they were thinking —fuck these feds for coming onto our turf, for taking over our investigation, for forcing us out.

National Securitywas a great catchall justification for seizing investigations, but it never set anyone at ease.

Stantz didn’t have time to set anyone at ease.

The agent in charge of the scene, Calder, led Stantz along a well-trodden path through snow and scrub to the taped-off area with the body.

Crouching, Stantz examined the remains. His stomach clenched and churned.

“Wounds are consistent with those inflicted on our agents during the incident,” Calder said. “All cauterized.”

Stantz rose. His hands were already cold, and it felt like his dry skin would split along his knuckles any second, but he didn’t slip them into his pockets or reach for his gloves. The discomfort gave him a good reason to focus on the task at hand. On the mutilated corpse.

“What about the other injuries?”

“Animals. Been out here for a few days, at least.”

Thiswas what Stantz had unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. This savagery, this hatred, this…splendor.

Only the narrow-minded and shortsighted would view the Fox’s escape as a setback. Stantz understood what the director could not — this wasn’t a failure, but an unexpected, unprecedented opportunity. Specimen Ten had finally shown them its capabilities. Now they knew those tiny machines could do so much more than accelerate healing.

Now they knew the alien’s nanotechnology could be used as a weapon.

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