Raine tilted her head back to stare at the moon.

Her body ached. Her limbs weighed more than she could bear to carry. She must be tired. She swallowed back a wad of guilt.

If she hadn’t dug the well, Beck wouldn’t be sick, and she wouldn’t be leaving the only safe place she’d ever found.

Why hadn’t she spotted the energy source before digging?

She could have dug anywhere. Why there?

“Stop your fretting.” Lacey emerged from one of the long rows of corn and threw a wrap over her shoulders. “And lock down your shields before everyone starts sobbing. You didn’t know about the ancient energy source. None of us did. However, I’m surprised the UFO fanatics and alien theorists didn’t sniff them out before now.”

“Plus, ancient astronaut theorists have been poking around here for years.” Raine wrung her hands while she studied the alien ship. “Look at the pyramids and Stonehenge and the Easter Island statues. They’re all made from rock. What are the odds they have energy pods inside?”

“We can’t worry about saving the planet right now. We need to get you aboard that space station.”

“You’re right.” Raine crossed her arms against the chill in the night air. “I get the feeling we don’t have much time.”

“I told the sheriff about the energy grid.”

“Do you think it’s wise to involve others when we're not sure how to detect infrastructure lines? I wouldn’t want anyone else getting sick.”

“If there are more pods out there, the sheriff should know about them.”

Theo was very protective of Magic, especially since he found out he was a dragon, and fit in better than he ever imagined. With his newly found abilities, he added additional protection spells to the town to make sure unwanted visitors didn’t see any unusual activities.

Raine balled her hands into fists. “I brought Beck here to build a home, a place where he could be safe. When I stepped off that bus, I thought nothing could touch us here.”

Lacey dropped an arm around Raine’s shoulders. “Beck’s father will never find you. Boston is far away, and you were careful to cover your tracks.”

“He would have tipped off the government officials. We would have been imprisoned, or worse, if we hadn’t run.” She hugged Lacey closer. “Thank you for sheltering us and giving Beck and me a home. You’re like family.” She sniffed back the turmoil brewing in her heart. “Please watch Jonah and Joseph and the gnomes for signs of infection.”

“Myka has already checked them and says they’re clear.” Lacey glanced at the ship’s back hatch, then approached the ramp to see what the cussing was about. “Are you okay, Waterman?”

Waterman popped his head out of the engine hatch. “The engine’s working.” The whir of the motors was proof the startup sequence had begun. He came to a stop in front of her, still rubbing a silver substance off his hands.

The tingle crossing Raine’s skin and the vibration under her feet told her Lacey was right. A change was coming. Something big. The idea of change scared her. She preferred stable and predictable. She’d had enough drama in her twenty-eight years, and was more than happy to live a quiet, completely mundane existence.

Waterman walked down the ramp and stopped in front of her. “Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then if you are sure, I will protect you by claiming you as my beloved. You will need my protection once we are aboard the space station.”

She stumbled a few steps back. “I can protect myself and my son. I don’t need your protection.”

He hung his head, his reaction telling her something she refused to believe. He wasn’t going to take her and Beck with him.

“Then you will have to—”

“Okay.” She reached for his arm. “I’ll be your beloved—anything—as long as you get me onboard that ship.”

He studied her expression for too many seconds, until she’d almost lost hope, and then his strong hand rested against her waist. His other hand tipped up her chin. His liquid blue eyes held hers. His warm breath skipped across her skin. He hesitated only a moment before pressing his palm against her forehead and mumbling a whole lot of words she couldn’t understand before ending with, “you’re mine.”

You’re mine? The words made her shrink from his grasp.

Her mind whirled, trying to grasp what just happened. The translator spell didn’t seem to work. Very odd. Even odder, the words sounded like the rumble of waves crashing over rocks.

He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers.

Her body went wonky. Her pulse sped up, then slowed down, then sped up again. Her arms and legs and chest tingled, then her cheeks heated. A raindrop hit her nose. Then another. And another. Then a thundercloud hovering just above Waterman’s head let loose and soaked them both.

He stepped out from under the little cloud.

“What the hell?” Waterman glowered at the small fluffball that had stopped dumping water. When he grasped her arm and stepped forward again, the cloud-water-tap turned back on. “What is this?”

She snatched her arm from his grasp. “You may protect me and my son, but I will not be owned by any man.”

Her fury quickly disintegrated when he squeegeed the water off his face. Her small chuckle scattered the burning desire his kiss triggered.

She hadn’t kissed a man in more years than she could remember. A handsome, incredibly yummy man at that. She had no doubt he would try kissing her again. Maybe she’d let him next time. The first was seriously scrumptious—minus the claiming bit—that “you’re mine” donkey dung had to go. Claim her? She wasn't a prize to be handed out for good behavior or...or...marksmanship.

Lacey appeared at her side. “Are you two finished making puddles? Frost says he needs help loading Beck into the medical pod.”

Beck. What was she thinking, to be standing in a field with this alien when her son was so sick?

“We are not finished with this conversation,” Waterman warned. “We’ll talk again once we’re on our way.”

Her mind cautioned run, but her heart shouted Beck. She had no choice but to go into outer space—to boldly go where she never imagined going before.

She’d never been a Star Trek fan. Beck was. Too bad he was comatose and wouldn’t be able to enjoy the trip.

Raine combed her fingers through her hair and twisted the long strands into a knot at the back of her head. She needed to be brave. Strong. Why was it she just wanted to sit on the ground and cry?

She didn’t have time to fret.

Not now.

She needed to save Beck. Poor little Beck. He had his whole life ahead of him until she made a catastrophic mistake. Well, she wouldn’t make another one by getting twisted up about her claustrophobia, or getting involved with a handsome alien whose kiss made her feel like she was sitting in a meadow on a sunny spring day counting flower petals.

No. She wouldn’t be distracted.

Her broom floated into her hand. “Lacey, would you park my broom and watch Mandy for me?”

“Sure.” Lacey gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Just remember, if we don’t hear from you in a week—that’s enough time to get up there and back and a few days to do whatever you need to do—we’ll use you and Beck as an anchor to open a doorway. We’re coming to get you, signal or not.”

“Please stop worrying. I’m doing enough for everyone.” She tried to sound strong, but the words came out more like a whimper.

She fisted her hands and stalked up the ramp behind Frost as he and Waterman loaded Beck into the medical unit.

“Momma?” Beck called.

Raine squeezed between the two large men. “I’m here. You’re safe.”

“Are we going somewhere?”

She straightened his bangs and ran her knuckles down his cheek. “Waterman is giving us a ride in his spacecraft.”

“Cool.” Beck’s eyes flickered with interest for only a second before shutting again. She could tell he tried to smile, but his lips were so dry and cracked he couldn’t.

She stepped back to allow Waterman to activate the medical pod. The lid slowly descended. After the glass shield locked into place, the pod began filling with a white mist.

“What are you doing?” Raine flattened her palms against the top of the glass, then tried to open the lid.

Frost rested his palm on her shaking hands. “It’s liquid oxygen. Your son will be safer this way. The liquid will fill his lungs and lower his metabolism to a state of unconscious sleep.”

She released a fretful breath. “So he’ll sleep the whole trip.”

Frost nodded. “And he won’t need fuel for his body. The mist contains nutrients to keep his internal systems stable.” She turned to Waterman. “Do you have one of those for me?”

“Sorry. Just the one.”

Frost leaned to look out the front of the ship. “You need to take off. It will be daylight soon. My wife can only maintain an illusion until you reach the upper atmosphere. After that, avoid those satellites, or we will see you sooner rather than later.” Frost extended a hand to Waterman. “Keep them safe. Otherwise you will have to deal with my wife, and I promise you it’s more humbling than anything you can imagine.”

Waterman nodded. “Raine and Beck are under my protection.”

A nonverbal exchange happened between the men that Raine didn’t understand. “Okay, you two. Enough with this macho BS.” Raine pulled in a breath of hope. “We have a kid to heal.”

“Right.” Waterman closed the protective metal covering of the medical pod, then handed Raine a bag.

“What’s this for?”

“Vomit.” He gave her a pointed stare. “During my first few flights, I lost the meal I’d just eaten. Cleaning stomach contents off electrical panels is not as easy as it looks. Trust me.”

The word vomit triggered a sting in the back of her throat. “Great. Good to know.”

Trust him? Funnily enough, she did.

He pointed to a chair to the left of the control panel. “Strap in.”

She did as he asked because she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her up, and sitting was a welcome relief.

“All set?”

Her heart pounded against her rib cage, and she couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen.

Other than that, she was f-i-n-e, as in freaked out, nervous, insecure, and an emotional wreck.

She wrapped her hands around the straps crisscrossing her chest. “Ready.” Not.