Chapter Sixteen

“Goddess knows this is neither the time nor place for this.” Ceno pulled her to a stop and sighed. “The last thing I want to do is scare you away.” He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Your grandfather was right. The men in my family do have certain... let’s call them abilities. One of them is that we know the woman we should marry on sight.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs lightly caressing her collarbones.

Ceno sighed. It wasn’t the time to tell her about their bond. Yet he’d stuck his foot in it by admitting to his feelings, no matter how new and unbelievable they might be to her.

“Perhaps it’s their scent, more than anything else.”

“Scent?” Her brow creased. “I’m not sure I follow. What could my smell have to do with anything?”

“We don’t have time for explanations now.” He stared down into her unusual eyes for a moment before pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Ask me when we know we’re safe, and I’ll explain it to you.”

“I have news for you.” She gave him a wry grin. “I don’t think anyone in my family has been safe for a long, long time. I’m not sure I can wait that long.”

Ceno decided Sela’s enemies would no longer be a threat to her, whether she accepted him and his beast or not. That was one gift within his power to give her.

“Maybe it won’t be so long. My family should be here soon if they drove, and they might be here already if they flew in.” He gave her a sideways glance when it appeared as though she would say something. “Myself and all of my brothers are experienced pilots.”

“Oh. That’s nice.”

“It’s a necessity when you live as far out of the nearest city as we do. Sometimes, there are things we need that can’t wait more than a few hours for.” He didn’t tell her his father’s shuttle could deliver them all in less than an hour from his phone call to Reno.

Provided his brother could find their wayward dad. One of the reasons he’d kept her and her grandfather out all day was to avoid having to explain a shuttle craft. He had no idea someone would run them off the road after dark.

“You’re mechanics. What could you possibly need so quickly?”

“That, too, is a question best left for another time.” He pressed a quick kiss to the center of her forehead and took her hand. “I think I can lead the way from here. I can smell my way to your ranch.”

“How—”

“Smoke,” he added, keeping his voice grim. When would he stop making such stupid mistakes? “I can smell the smoke.”

“You must have a wonderful sense of smell because I—”

“This way,” he interrupted, tugging her hand. “Let’s hurry, so we’ll know exactly where we stand.”

When would he learn to keep his mouth shut about things better left unsaid? Ceno led the way up the side of the mountain with a sigh. At least he could see the path and take point. His eyesight had improved in the short time it took for her to lead them through the fissure she called the stone gate.

He could see as well in the dark as he could in the daylight. The things he saw were different though. Everything had an orange haze over it, and the night creatures cowering in the brush appeared to him as small, red, and quivering spots of light. The strangest thing was he could see and hear their little hearts racing as he passed. Perhaps they sensed the predator in him and hid in the darkness trembling with fear.

“This way.” He turned right, leading her up and up, closer and closer to the acrid smell of stale smoke and the small valley that protected her cattle. The light of the flames had disappeared, and he hoped that someone had managed to douse the raging fire they’d seen earlier with fire retardant.

Papan, please be there with the others. Tell me you managed to save her home. He repeated the odd prayer as they made their ascent, no idea what to expect when they finally reached the large plot of level ground surrounding the house and barn.

“I can’t see your home.” He knew he sounded disappointed. He’d hoped they would climb to the top to see the lights of her ranch house or even the silhouette of it in the distance.

Instead, he saw nothing but the sparse dotting of trees over the landscape. Had there been any way to go but up, he might have believed he’d led her in the wrong direction.

“You can’t see the house or the barn from here.” She wiped her hands on her jeans, before glancing up to meet his gaze. “The land levels out about a mile from the house. It was why my dad bought this property. He saw the level ground when others didn’t.”

“You’ve been injured much worse than you let on.” He grasped her shoulders and stared down into her upturned face.

Her right eye was nearly swollen shut, her cheek was bruised and also swelled to twice the size, and blood still oozed down the side of her face. Blood and dirt streaked across her face where she’d dragged her arm through the mixture in an attempt to clear her vision.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were still bleeding? Had I known how badly you were injured, I would have carried you up here.”

Bending, he scooped her up in his arms and started walking toward the ranch.

“Put me down!” She wriggled, trying to get free. “I’m too heavy. You’ll hurt yourself, and I need you strong right now. What if Johnson’s men are still there?”

The orange haze over his vision grew darker, nearly red, as his beast’s instinctive need to protect its mate took over. His gums ached, and he clenched his jaw. He struggled to hold the animal back. How could he change in front of Sela without explaining what he was—what he could do when someone endangered her life?

His body itched, and his bones seemed too big beneath his skin. He did everything in his power to hold his beast at bay. The only thing keeping the animal from taking over completely was knowing she could hurt herself if he showed her exactly who—or what—she’d invited into her home.

“I am perfectly capable of carrying you without incident if you would just stop wriggling.”

Why was his body reacting to her struggles in such an inappropriate way? His beast was raging, wanting—needing—to protect its mate, yet his human body reacted as though they were safe and in need of a bed, not a doctor.

It’s your beast. It wants to claim its mate. She is stronger, harder to injure and more easily healed when tied to you.

Ceno nearly stumbled at the sound of his father’s voice in his head. He’d often wondered how he could do that, until his brother Reno had displayed the same ability after mating with Birgit. Would he, too, gain the power to speak to his unmated brothers when, and if, Sela consented to be his bride?

Yes. Now stop asking yourself stupid questions. We’re at the coordinates you gave Reno, and no one was here, save a group of men setting fire to the buildings.

Is her house still intact? Ceno prayed it was. He didn’t know how to deal with a mate yet. He was positive he wouldn’t know how to comfort a woman who not only had lost her last living relative, but also her childhood home and all the memories stored within it.

A familiar shimmering in his mind brought the illusion of comfort and safety.

It’s still intact. We hurried here when your brother saw the flames in the distance. Otherwise, we would have transported you up to the ship on our way past the explosion. We scanned you both as we flew over. You seemed fine at the time. That was a bad accident, son. Are you in need of medical assistance?

I’m not, but Sela is. She’s got a nasty cut on her head, and the side of her face is swollen. She could do with about ten minutes in the med bay if you have one on board your shuttle.

I do. His father was silent for a moment. I would come pick you two up, but Birgit insists your human woman needs this time alone with you to build trust. Is she correct, or shall I come get you?

Since Birgit is human and knows how they think, she’s probably correct, Ceno replied after a moment of thought. We should be there soon enough, and my beast has stopped raging at me for the moment. The danger to her must have passed, or it would still be clawing at my insides trying to escape my control.

You’re correct. Your beast would sense it if your mate needed lifesaving medical care. His father was silent for a moment before adding, We’ll see you soon, son... and congratulations.

Thank you, Papan.

Ceno glanced down at Sela. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and even. Had she fallen asleep or lost consciousness from blood loss?

His beast stretched within him at the thought before relaxing and curling into a smaller sensation within his psyche. If he could trust the opinion of his other half, she was merely sleeping. He couldn’t blame her. She’d had a stress-filled day.

Even injured, Sela looked beautiful. Ceno realized it was most likely because she was his mate, but he didn’t care. If being his mate meant she would always stir his emotions in such a way, he welcomed it.

Perhaps it was a safety mechanism nature had given them to keep them interested in each other for the duration of their long lives.

His kind and their mates enjoyed longevity under normal circumstances. However, for some reason, the survival rate of a child whose mother spent her gestation period on his home world of Zolon was not good.

It was doubly so for a female child. If the female survived birth and childhood, she expired before her twenty-fifth birthday. Finding a mate on Earth only cemented his decision to remain on Earth, backward planet or not.

Ceno cursed himself for not paying attention to everything around them at the restaurant. He should have noticed someone watching them. He should have scented danger. Reno could scent it now that he had a mate. Was it because he hadn’t claimed Sela yet?

Clyde had felt the danger to them. Yet, he had not. He cursed himself again for underestimating his enemy. Sela had warned him, the man had murdered the rest of her family. Why hadn’t he taken better care?

“Where... where are we?” Sela’s voice sounded thready and weak. Was it because she’d just awakened, or had she gotten weaker, still?

“I think we’re near your home now. The scent of stale smoke and accelerant has grown stronger. There’s no doubt that someone set the blaze we saw glowing in the sky. I can smell kerosene from here.”

“Kerosene?” She sobbed. “It’s gone then. It’s all gone.”

“No, it isn’t, baby.” He kissed the top of her head. “I have a feeling my family got there in time to get it put out before the fire did too much damage.”

“So you think they flew here then?”

“I’m sure of it.” He hugged her to him. “In fact, I know they did. Ask me later how I know. Right now, just rest. We’ll be there in about ten minutes if I pick up the pace.”

“Pick up the pace? How could you possibly move any faster while you’re carrying me? I’m not a little girl though Gramps always said I was.” She pressed her face against his shoulder and cried. “It’s all my fault. I should have sold out to Johnson when he asked, but I couldn’t. How could I sell the home my dad left to me?”

“Sh, baby. I’m here.” Ceno felt useless—more than useless. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything would be all right. Unfortunately, he couldn’t since she’d lost her grandfather to such madness.

The longer she cried, the more the feeling of helplessness grew, and the angrier Ceno got. Who the hell did Cal Johnson think he was, dictating who lived and died in his town? What kind of animal killed old men and women for his own gain?

At that moment, Cal Johnson became an animal in his mind. No one killed someone under his protection and lived to tell the tale.

He might have been born a Zolon raider, but circumstances had turned him into a warrior. Before he met Sela, he hadn’t understood the difference in Reno since he’d mated Birgit and protected her from the Argarians. The reptilian aliens had sought her out in an attempt to locate her employer.

His brother’s attitude had changed overnight. Everything he did, he did for his woman, even becoming a first-class warrior to protect her.

“There you are!”

“Gramps!” Sela stiffened in Ceno’s embrace. “You’re alive!” she wiggled until he gently set her on her feet, holding her until he knew she wouldn’t topple over when he released her.

“I sure am. You don’t think that bastard Johnson can get rid of a stubborn old codger like me so easily, do you?”

They ran into each other’s arms. Both elated to see the other was alive.

“How did you—”

“It’s these aliens.” Clyde jerked his thumb toward Ceno’s family. “They somehow snatched me right outta that truck just before it exploded.” He leaned forward, cupping his hand around his mouth. “I had ’em snatch up the food, too. It wouldn’t do to have all that bacon and beef go to waste.”

“Oh, Gramps,” Sela shook her head and threw her arms around his neck for the third or fourth time since their reunion. “You and your bacon. I swear.”

“They put me in something they called a med bay. I don’t know what it was, but I feel right as rain. I don’t have any cuts or bruises, and they say my bad ticker and diabetes are a thing of the past.” He grinned. “Now, I can have all the bacon and pancakes I want.”

“Nice try, Gramps. I might be overjoyed to see you alive and well, but I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck, you know.” Laughing, she hugged him again. “And the house!” She examined it for a moment, obviously eyeing the black soot and burn scars on the old, wood siding. “It was on fire. How did you put it out if they used kerosene?”

“Like I said, girly, they’re aliens!” Clyde’s excited cry wasn’t lost on Sela.

“What kind of fairy tales have you been telling my grandfather?” Turning, she scowled at Ceno’s father. “I realize you somehow put the fire out, and we’re grateful for that. However, that aside, I think it’s in poor taste to tease a gullible old man.”

“Sela, you aren’t listening to me.”

“Come on, Gramps.” She grabbed Clyde’s arm and tried pulling him toward the house. “We’re going inside, and they are leaving.” She gave Ceno a narrow-eyed glare.

“I will not.” Clyde planted his feet and refused to let her drag him into the house. “Don’t you care how I got out of that truck? Don’t you want to know how Ceno there risked his life trying to get to me, even though your truck exploded in his face? I saw it all when they played the shuttle’s record back for me. Do you think I believed it at first? I know you think I’m strange, but I had no idea you thought I was stupid.” He glared at Sela and waved toward Ceno. “I told you he was different. I told you his accent wasn’t real, but you didn’t listen.”

A much older version of Ceno stepped forward. “If you don’t believe anything else we tell you, at least believe we want to help you and your grandfather. If Johnson is right and there’s gold on your land, we can help each other, even if you decide to have nothing else to do with us.”