Kallore
He leapt from bed as the alarm on his phone went off, instantly awake even as he brushed his thumb against the screen to cease the noise. The lights were still off, which he was perfectly fine with. It allowed him to go through a routine of stretching and poses designed to invigorate his body without having him focus on anything else.
Not that the dark posed much of a problem to him. The light of his phone was enough for him to see with ease, if absolutely necessary. But the peacefulness of it, that was what he truly relished. Light made everything feel more quick and rushed, but in the dark? In the dark he could move slowly and without a sense of urgency.
As he stretched his body, his mind worked as well, the lessons of the past few days cascading back into his conscious. Language, technology, history. He’d been learning it all, understanding everything that he’d missed since putting himself into the deep sleep. He suspected that was going to be a long learning process. With Elin to teach him though, he knew he would master it all in time.
Elin. He grinned in the dark as he thought of her. The beautiful military officer with her beautiful butterscotch hair and softly rounded face. Oh how he adored her. She was an excellent teacher, and more than once he’d thought about asking if she’d ever thought of doing that, instead of joining the army. But she’d kept him at a very professional distance ever since their first meeting, and he suspected a question like that would be a little too personal.
Only twice had she let herself slip up, and he intended to respect that for as long as he could. Kallore knew his willpower was nothing when compared to the pull of his mate, and eventually he would do something in an attempt to break the ice between them. Hopefully it wouldn’t be disastrous when it came, but he was prepared for the worst.
The lights flicked on down the hallway, slowly turning on row by row until they reached his cell and then kept going.
“Good morning, sunshine!” he called to the guard down the hallway. “Thanks for keeping an eye on me all night. Hopefully you enjoyed the show.”
He’d slept naked the past two nights.
“I would have if it didn’t always end prematurely.”
Kallore raised his eyes. He’d thought the guard was male. Apparently he was wrong. Oops. He made a mental note to keep his clothes on from then on. Not that he minded, but Elin was his mate, and he didn’t want her hearing any stories from the other women on the base. He was hers, and only hers.
The door clanked as it unlocked. He pushed it open and strolled down the hallway to the guard post. The promised change of sleeping quarters hadn’t arrived yet, but he didn’t care. Elin was here, which meant he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Morning, Spencer,” he said calmly, inclining his head toward the regular dayshift guard.
The return greeting was just as uninterested. “Kal.”
“She waiting for me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks.”
He received a grunt as a reply as he continued past him. The second he was out of sight of the guard post he broke into a run, rushing through the corridors to the room where Elin and he had been spending their days. The door was still closed when he arrived and Kallore pumped his fist in exultation. He’d won! Finally he’d gotten here ahead of her.
It had become a little game between them. Now, five days into his training, he had finally managed to beat her here! He slowed to a regular pace, reached out and pushed the door open.
“Good morning, Kallore.”
He jumped as she greeted him from inside the room. Shit. Not only had she gotten the drop on him, but in his haste to get inside first, he hadn’t even noticed her scent in the hallway, and she’d caught him by surprise!
“I’ll bet you’re proud of yourself for that one,” he grumbled, moving inside and taking a seat opposite her.
“I just wish I had it on video,” she teased. “That shit would have gone viral!”
He grinned. His mate had an excellent sense of humor, and he deeply relished the few times she let it show. Their relationship was likely going to be filled with all sorts of pranks and jokes, he suspected.
First things first though, he needed to get her to drop her guard. Several attempts to get her to do so had failed, forcing a complete rethinking of his strategy. After thinking it over, and over, and over, he was positive he’d finally come to the realization of what was keeping her so rigid.
It was being on the base itself. He’d found out by accident that not only was Elin his mentor, but she was also the base commander. Now, there wasn’t exactly a major base to command, but it was still a full-time position. Something she couldn’t just put aside while they were surrounded by her responsibilities.
Which is why he’d decided that he needed to get her away from the base. Kallore figured the farther the distance there was from the base, the less distance there would be between them.
He hoped.
“I think we need to change things up,” he announced, not bothering to sit down.
Major Mara eyed him sidelong for several moments before finally indicating he should continue.
“I’ve had enough classroom. I think it’s time we do some real-world education.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
Skepticism and doubt were written plainly all across her face. She didn’t know what he had planned, but whatever it was, she wasn’t going to like it. Kallore smiled, hoping to disarm her suspicions. After all, they were going to have to let him out into the world eventually, especially if they hoped to have him fight for it against their mysterious enemies. That was another question for another day, however, and not one he was ready to tackle just yet. First things first, win over his mate, then focus on the external problem.
He glanced over at her now, pondering how she would take his suggestion.
“I think we should head to the city.” There, he’d said it. Now to just hope that she would be on board with the idea, and the two of them could—
Elin started laughing. Not a little thing either, but full-blown belly-busting howls of laughter. She tossed her head back, hands clamped around her sides as she broke down.
“That…is not the reaction I expected,” he admitted as she began to calm.
“You want to go out in the city? You can’t be serious! We’re staying right here where we are. You have lessons you need to finish.”
Kallore scoffed. “Really? You want me to study your military today. What more do I need to know about it? I get it. You people kill each other all the time for stupid reasons. Tens of thousands of you, hundreds of thousands. The oceans should run red with the blood that you’ve shed amongst each other. You’re butchers, and you’ve become damn good at it. Bigger guns. Bigger bombs. Tanks, airplanes. Nuclear weapons. It’s a shock you haven’t killed the entire planet with your arrogance.”
He paused for a breath. In preparation for his request he’d stayed up late researching things on his own, so that he could prove he knew the basis of military arms and tactics of the modern day.
“You’ve been doing your research.”
“The internet is a powerful tool. I believe in using every tool available.”
“Why?”
He frowned. “Why what?”
“Have you been doing this on your own? There are plenty of other things you could have been learning about.”
Looking skyward, Kallore rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious yet? So that I can spend more time doing non-boring stuff with you. You’re an excellent teacher, but be truthful, Elin. This is not what you want to be doing, is it?”
She reached up and pushed several strands of her hair back behind her ear. They fell forward almost immediately, too short to be kept tucked away, the harsh white light of the room reflecting off the light-brown locks tinged with blonde. Her upturned nose wrinkled in thought as she stared at him.
“No.”
“What do you want?”
Elin responded immediately this time. “To fight.”
It wasn’t an answer he’d expected. “To fight what?”
“Anyone that would harm the innocent. Especially them.”
Kallore rocked backward at the conviction in her voice, noting it was underpinned with notes of fear as well. She was terrified of whatever was out there, that much was clear, but her desire to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves shone through like a beacon in the dark. It was her armor, and he felt she wore it well, like a knight coming to the rescue of the princess. Except this knight was five foot seven of curves and delicate pale skin.
Conflicting emotions warred within him. Ever since he’d been little, protection of his mate had been something ingrained within him. When he found her, Kallore had sworn to all the gods and his ancestors that he would never let anyone harm a hair on her head. That they would go through his cold, dead body to reach her. To that end he’d trained hard, preparing himself for the day his mate appeared.
Now here she was, and his mate was a warrior like him. One who had been kept hidden and safe by her commanders, forced to stay out of danger, despite a yearning—no burning need—to do her part to protect her fellow humans. That, he thought silently, was what should be at the core of any warrior. The desire to protect those around them. Those who wanted to fight, to inflict harm, those were the problems. Major Elin Mara was the standard to which all others should compare themselves. It was a shame so many of them would fall short. The human race could achieve great things if they had more examples of her to lead the way.
How was he supposed to keep her safe with a heart like that? She obviously wanted to do her part, and Kallore feared he was going to have to let her. Elin wasn’t the type to take overprotectiveness well, and if he tried do to that, she would likely push him even farther away.
Unsure of what the answer was, Kallore did what any male would do. He pushed the problem to the side and decided to deal with it later.
“Who is this ‘them’ you speak of?” he asked, wondering if he was finally going to get more information about the mysterious enemies.
Elin hesitated, and he could see her sense of responsibility warring against the idea that telling him what he was up against was probably a smart thing. In the end, duty won out and she shook her head.
“Come on.” She headed from the room.
“Where are we going?”
“To play hooky.”
He frowned. “We’re going fishing? I suppose I am hungry.” This language was so confusing sometimes. They had a great many sayings that he just didn’t get, though he was getting better every day.
Elin laughed, and just kept walking, forcing him to follow her.