Nova: A Scifi Alien Romance (Rebel Lords) (10 page)

I
had
to keep telling myself I was doing the right thing, no matter how much it hurt me. After fighting and making love to Nova so many times, I watched him sleep and at first my heart was elated by newfound emotions for him. It was like I knew he felt the same, even if neither of us had the words to express it. His actions showed he cared, and that had been enough for me. But as time passed and I thought more and more about everything and what it would mean if we actually became a couple, my thoughts soured a bit. His village hated humans, and I didn’t think they would care about how we felt for one another, but they would just judge and prosecute us. And Nova cared so very deeply for his people… I couldn’t put him in a situation where they would disown him or perhaps even banish him. That village was his whole world, he treated it like a child he needed to nourish and protect. I couldn’t be the cause of that being taken away from him.

I had expected a fight and some resistance, but he just folded. And I really hadn’t expected him to throw me in
jail
. As I sat on the cot in the cell, hurt and overwhelmed, I realized that him placing me in there was his way of showing he was hurting. Every part of my body wanted to cry out to him and take it all back, but I couldn’t. I had already made the decision, and I kept telling myself that it was for the best. Once I left, surely the hurt would fade and we would both return to our normal lives. Nova would one day just be a distant memory, something to think back on and wonder ‘what if.’

I curled up on that lumpy, hard cot and tried to close out my thoughts. I needed to cleanse my brain of Nova. I kept trying to tell myself that he was just using me, and the feelings I felt weren’t real, but based in infatuation. Home, all I needed to think about was getting home. Finally, I could go to Ryan’s wife and explain what happened, so that she could have closure; and I could begin to actually grieve. In order to keep myself sane and not a crying mess, I had forced Ryan and his death from my thoughts. Being alone in that jail made the wound open, and tears immediately blurred my vision. Ryan had been my best friend ever since he was hired. I had no idea how going back to work would feel with him not being there; that’s to say if I even still had a job. And Ryan’s wife and daughter had basically been family to me for years… my heart ached for them.

Tears cascaded from my eyes as I hugged my knees to my chest, feeling completely emotionally destroyed. I couldn’t be with the man I wanted to, my best friend was dead, I was in jail, and I was returning to a life where I didn’t even know if I had a job. My life was in shambles and it felt as though I had nothing to look forward to. I shut my eyes tightly as I cried, not even trying to stop the tears as they came. I spent hours crying on that cot, unable to move from my spot from the depression which had struck me.

* * *

I
could hear
the chirping insects outside as I began to stir from the sensation of someone tugging on me. My puffy, tired eyes opened to see a strange Navani man hovering above me, placing traditional ropes around my torso and tying my arms behind my back. He aggressively pulled me to my feet, and then there was a hood placed over my eyes. I was so tired and disoriented that I didn’t understand what was going on at first. I was pulled from the jail cell and then I stumbled as he dragged me out of the hut. It wasn’t long until I could hear voices, men all speaking in Navanian. In the midst of all the voices and the strange language, I could place Nova’s voice. I wanted so badly to call out to him, but didn’t find the courage. Most Navani people knew English, and I didn’t want to get him in trouble by saying anything that may be deemed as out of line. There was silence, then Nova yelling a couple of words, then the men replying in a chant. Then, we began moving; a hand held each side of me.

I didn’t have to be able to see to know that we were in the jungle, the air around us shifting into a sticky haze. Luckily it wasn’t entirely too hot since it was early morning, but the humidity on top of a cloth being over my face made it nearly impossible to breathe. Without being able to see, I was overly aware of my other senses. I could feel the softness of the ground, the crunch of the debris. And all I could hear was the loud buzzing and chirping insects that seemed to come out only late at night until the early morning. The men were silent as we trekked through the terrain, it felt like we were traveling for hours. Then, there was the sound of running water, making my brow crease. Where were we? Before I had time to even try and think back to my travel from Harp to the drill site, I walked into cold water. The current was strong, nearly knocking me off balance but the two men held me steady. The water level was up to my hip, but I was sure it was probably only a little above their knees.

Finally, we came to a stop. There were some mutterings in Navanian until there was the sound of footsteps nearby. “Well, it looks like you kept your end of the deal,” I heard Lyle Grain’s voice say. The grips on my arms got tighter just from the man talking. Honestly, I didn’t blame them for hating Lyle. He was raging the war a little too intensely for it to just be about Dremalite, I could see that after learning more about the war and the Navani.

The hood was then pulled from my head and I blinked rapidly as I looked around. I stood with five Navani men, Nova standing at the front. And just a few yards away was Lyle Grain, Mason Burn, three men I didn’t know, and then two bound Navani warriors. They looked a little strange compared to the rest of the Navani, the parts of their heads which were shaved had grown out, and their bodies slimmer from what looked like malnutrition. Burns and ligament marks were littered over their bodies, my eyes widening at the sight. They had been tortured while kept in captivity. Even right then, there were electric collars around their necks. “Release the men, and then we will release her,” Nova spoke sternly. Not once did he look back to me, his eyes glued to Lyle and Mason.

Lyle gave a smirk, seeming to size Nova up before turning his head a bit, “Alright, release the beasts.” The men with Lyle and Mason then turned to the warriors and took the collars from their necks. Nova called to them in Navanian, I had no idea what he said. The warriors glared hard at the humans who had them, hatred kindling in their eyes. Once they were unbound, the men next to me removed my ropes. I was then pushed forward. At the same time, the warriors and I walked forward. As I approached the humans, I looked back to Nova. Nova was staring straight forward, his gaze never falling on me. My heart pounded painfully, my head turning to look forward. As I passed the warriors, their silver eyes glared down at me before finally returning to their men.

When I approached the humans, Mason put an arm around me. “Glad to have you back. The IMC is awaiting your safe return,” he grinned. But I didn’t care about that, my eyes went to the Navani group. The men hugged their returned brothers, rejoicing in their return.

“It was… nice doing business with you,” Lyle called to Nova before the Navani men all turned around and headed home. As I watched, I let out a quiet sigh. At least I wouldn’t complicate things further for them, I knew Nova already had so much on his plate. Mason then tugged on me, having me follow them before he dropped his arm around me. “As soon as we get back to town, we can start on that paperwork to approve that drilling,” Lyle spoke to me as he walked forward. I glared at the back of his head. No offering for me to see a doctor, no hot meal, no bath or change of clothes? I realized then that these humans genuinely didn’t care for my wellbeing, they just cared about my ability to sign some forms. It sickened me really, and I truly noticed for the first time just how selfish humans were. All my life I had heard things just like that, but summed it up to people just needing things to get done for the better of the colonies. But it wasn’t about that. Lyle Grain was just greedy and looking to get rich. I couldn’t wait to leave that planet and get as much distance between us as possible.

We walked for a while, the men mumbling about how disgusting the jungle was. Mason gave a chuckle though as we headed through the trees, “Do you think they even see it coming?” he asked.

Lyle snorted, “Those savages? They have a brain the size of a nut. No way they are smart enough to figure it out. They were stupid enough not to bring any additional men,” he laughed. He shook his head before continuing, “I’m just ready to be rid of that tribe, they’ve always been one of the biggest nuisances. Taking out the leader and some of their higher-ups will certainly leave them vulnerable to be overthrown.”

Mason gave a chuckle, “I guess they’ll finally pay for destroying my equipment. No way they’ll live through the brigade.”

My heart felt like it stopped beating. They were ambushing Nova and his men? My skin felt like it was on fire from rage and fear for Nova. It didn’t take a genius to understand that there had been an agreement between Lyle, Mason, and Nova that there wouldn’t be any attacks or additional men. These human men were disgusting to even be able to consider going back on their word, let alone actually do it. And I couldn’t just sit by and let Nova and his men walk into slaughter. I had to warn them somehow.

I slowed my pace, letting Lyle and Mason lead with their three men behind them. As they continued walking, I slowly began to inch backwards. They were all so enveloped in their conversation, they didn’t even glance back in my direction. Then when they were several yards away, I dashed into the trees. I ran as fast as I could, needing to get away from Lyle and Mason, and to Nova before they were attacked. I waded through the river, fighting against the strong current as I kept my mission in mind. Finally, being able to cross, I headed over the riverbank and tried as hard as I could to catch up to them. It was hard to retrace my steps since there had been a hood over my head, but I could remember most of the way being straight, only turning right to cross the river.

Once I made it down a hill, I spotted Nova and his men.

I
t felt
like I couldn’t breathe, and it wasn’t because of the thick air in the jungle. My entire chest cavity ached from having to trade Julia, but I couldn’t show my pain because no one but Bru and I knew about my feelings for Julia. If my men saw anything resembling mourning, they would know something was up. I tried my damnedest to push it down, but the pain was consuming. My fated mate was gone forever, now in the hands of those wretched humans from Harp. And in my heart, I knew I wouldn’t be able to attack the humans anymore. I would be in fear of Julia being in the mix, and one of my men attacking her before I could get to her. I would defend our village, but never again would I order attacks on convoys or stations. Even if I couldn’t have her, I didn’t want harm to come to Julia.

My heart was heavy as we made our way through the jungle, my mind tortured by thoughts of the future. Surely she would find another lover; another man would know her body just as I had. The thought alone made my stomach churn and bile rise in my throat. I couldn’t imagine another’s hands on her. And what would it mean for me? Bru has already said the hurt would never leave. Would I be able to find another, even just to keep me company? Perhaps even have a few children to carry on the family bloodline. Then I wondered if she would even feel a loss. Never did we talk about our feelings for one another; so while I could swear up and down that I sensed she felt the same, I would never know if she did. But I was certain I would feel the hurt enough for the both of us. That stubborn human had worked her way under my skin and bore into my flesh—never would I be able to shake the memory of her, of that I was certain.

Soon after we crossed the river and began to near the end of our journey, I felt a heat prickle at the back of my neck. Just before I could turn, a yell sounded from behind us, “Hey! Watch out!” a
very
familiar voice sounded.

For a split second, I wondered if I was dreaming, but as I turned and actually saw her, I knew it was real. Julia was running at us full speed, waving her arms in the air with panic over her face. Relief and confusion struck me at the same time. While I was happy to see her, I didn’t understand what was going on. We all stopped, watching her as she came towards us. When she was within feet of me, she spoke again, “Lyle and Mason…” she began, panting, trying to catch her breath, “They didn’t… They didn’t listen to your agreement. They said they had an ambush waiting for you. To wipe out the leaders so they could overthrow the village…” she managed to get out.

My eyes were wide. They
what?
I knew we couldn’t trust those wretched men; my only wish was that I would have gone back on my word as well and brought extra men with us. I turned to my warriors, “Get in the trees! Wait for them to approach before attacking, so they don’t know we are here,” I called to them in hasty Navanian. They nodded before skillfully climbing trees in the nearby area, completely hidden by the large leaves.

I turned my back to Julia, grabbing her arms by reaching behind me. Standing with her on my back, she wrapped her legs around my waist. Then following my men, I climbed a nearby tree, taking Julia to safety with me. I hoisted us up the twisted bark until we entered the leaves, staying low in the branches to watch for the humans. Just mere seconds after we were in the safety of the tree, a militia of twelve humans marched through the trees with guns in hands. Julia had been right. In the back of my mind, I was beyond appreciative that Julia had escaped to come warn us and wanted to rejoice in the fact she clearly cared for me and my people—but my main thought was getting myself, Julia, and my men back to safety. And if meant killing that entire militia, then so be it.

As the humans marched between the trees, my men swooped down from the branches with weapons in hands. With all of them fighting, it was five against twelve, but with my men being able to surprise attack, nearly half of the humans were killed in one blow when they first jumped from the trees. Naturally my instinct was to jump down from the trees and help fight them as well, but I didn’t want to risk Julia being spotted and hurt in the crossfire. I stayed in the trees, watching the fight from above. Once I felt confident that my men would win and wouldn’t need my help, I began climbing across the branch until I reached another tree and made the small leap to the next. I climbed tree to tree with Julia securely on my back. I didn’t stop either, propelling myself forward until we reached the end of the trees. Finally, I leaped down from the last tree and kneeled down to let her off my back.