Stolen: Warriors of Hir, Book 3 (3 page)

She might hate this world but it did have its beauty too. For a moment she was transfixed as the nuarans, their scarlet plumage glorious against the deep blue of Hir’s sky, flew over her head, weaving through the trees, their cries echoing through the forest.

Then her smile faded.

Oh my God . . .

Those birds were
fleeing
something. Something big and loud enough to startle a whole flock into flight.

Like a mounted hunting party of g’hir warriors.

The sound of the blaster shot would have carried and with the g’hir’s sense of smell and the creature’s charred flesh—

Summer broke into a run.

Her breath burned in her throat as she ran, branches scratching her face, pulling at her clothing, as she pushed her way through the trees.

I have to get home! I have to!

Suddenly—so suddenly she was shocked into a clumsy halt—she was out of the woods and in a clearing. It was a lovely spot, the azure sky breathtaking, the ground flat and grassy, the sunlight sparkling on the river beyond.

And she wasn’t alone.

More amazing still, she’d managed to startle him as much as he’d surprised her.

The warrior rose from his crouch beside the simple shelter to regard her in astonishment. He was very tall, like all the g’hir were, with the same alien rippled forehead and heavy brow. His blinking eyes glowed too but unlike the Betari clanbrothers’ amber color this warrior’s eyes were as blue as the sky above, his hair black instead of the Betari’s dark red-brown. His clothes were different too, softer in color and cut.

“By the All Mother—” His glowing gaze was wide. “You are
human
.”

He was g’hir but he wasn’t one of the Betari clan. He was just as alien as they but—

“Please!” Summer took a few stumbling steps toward the stranger. “Please help me!”

Two

The warrior took quick strides toward her. He was powerfully built, his vivid blue eyes predator sharp, but his hold was gentle as he caught her by the shoulders.

“How are you here, little one?” His rippled alien brow furrowed as he took in Summer’s muddied clothes, her matted hair. His quick sniff at her had his nose wrinkling instantly. “By the All Mother, what has happened to you?”

“I came through the forest, they’re—”

“How are you here?” he asked again, sharper this time. He glanced in the direction she had come. “That way lie the Betari lands.”

“Yes,” she gasped. “I came from their enclosure.”

He released her as if she burned him. “Then you belong to one of their warriors.” His lip curled and he stepped back. “A human female separated from your mate by the forest; simply lost and seeking him.”

“No!” Summer shook her head. “Please! I need your help!”

He gave a short huff. “You are not lost to him forever. If your mate is a warrior worth his name, he will find you swiftly.” The stranger gave her a gentle push toward the woods. “Go back that way. You will soon be reunited with your mate, little human.”

“He
kidnapped
me!” Summer cried, doggedly following the blue-eyed warrior as he stalked back to his campsite. “He kidnapped me and brought me here from my world!”

“Many of your kind are unsettled when you are first captured,” the warrior rumbled. “Soon you will accustom yourself to him happily.”

“Goddamn it, I don’t have time for this!” Summer’s hands clenched into fists. “Don’t you understand? The bastard’s right behind me!”

The warrior stopped short. “You are fleeing your mate?”

“I escaped the clanhall last night but he’s tracked me. You’ve got to help me get out of here!” 

“What do you mean—you escaped?” he demanded. “Why would you need to?” His glance went over her again. “Has your mate mistreated you?”

“You mean
other
than kidnapping me and taking me to an alien world?”

“To capture a female is our way,” he growled, turning away. “You have nothing to fear from your new mate.”

She grabbed his arm to stop him. “Goddamn it, I need your help! And I need it
now
!”

“If he has not mistreated you what reason have you to run away from him?”

Summer hesitated. He sighed and his expression softened a little, his hand covering hers where it rested on his arm.

“If he has been permitted to hunt a mate on your world then he is an honorable g’hir warrior,” the stranger soothed. “You are a human female and highly prized. He will never harm you. Your mate will care for you and protect you, always.” He gently removed her hand from his arm and indicated the forest. “Go. Return to your mate.”

Her eyes stung with tears. It was so unfair! After all she’d been through: the capture, the terror, the translator chip Ar’ar implanted in her brain without her permission so she could understand the g’hir’s snarling, growling language. The sickening, never-ending anxiety that Ar’ar might lose patience at any time and rape her, forcing her to breed a half-human, half-g’hir monstrosity. That she might never see home again, the desperate planning and sneaking and fear of what they would do to her if they caught her—

The warrior was frowning, his glowing blue eyes searching her face.

“Please . . .” Summer’s vision blurred. “Please . . . I am
begging
you . . .”

The warrior’s gaze cut toward the forest, past his own mount grazing contentedly near the treeline, and a moment later she could make it out too, a sound like distant thunder, the heavy beat of multari hooves coming this way.

His fangs suddenly flashed in a snarl and he shoved her toward his shelter. “Inside.”

“No! We have to run! They’ll—”

“Quiet!” he hissed, seizing her elbow to propel her toward the geodesic dome and shoving her inside.

The shelter was tall enough that she could stand comfortably but with his height the roof was only inches above his head. It was large enough to accommodate a wide pallet bed piled with furs and while things were neatly arrayed it looked as if he had occupied this camp for at least a few days.

“Whatever happens, stay here.” The warrior pulled the pack from her back and tossed it into the corner of the shelter then fixed her for an instant with his furious blue gaze, his voice a tight whisper. “And for the love of the All Mother be
quiet
.”

He ducked back out and yanked the fabric door shut behind him.

With only one entrance in or out there wasn’t going to be an escape through the back door this time. There were fabric “windows” but they were closed. It was unpleasantly stuffy in here, much warmer than it was outside. But in his hurry he hadn’t sealed the door completely; a tiny sliver was left open.

At the sound of the arriving riders, Summer knelt and eased herself down to lie flat, peering out through the tiny crack.

She had the answer to one of her questions immediately.

Ar’ar wasn’t hunting her alone.

She counted no fewer than five clanbrothers riding with him, though his father, Mirak, was not among them.

The blue-eyed warrior strolled to meet them as they reined in a few paces from the treeline, the multari shifting restlessly under them. The stranger’s pace was unhurried, the set of his shoulders showing him a man curious but not yet alarmed.

He inclined his head to the mounted warriors and when he spoke, his words carried to where Summer hid. “I greet you in peace, clanbrothers of the Betari enclosure.”

“I know you,” Ar’ar said shortly to the blue-eyed one. “You are Ke’lar, the Erah clanfather’s son. You are brother to Ra’kur.”

Ke’lar gave an agreeable shrug. “And I recall seeing you—and your father Council Member Mirak as well—at the wedding celebrations at the Yir enclosure this past midwinter, Ar’ar of the Betari.”

“What are you doing here?” Ar’ar demanded.

“I might ask the same of you and your clanbrothers,” Ke’lar replied, sounding surprised. “Since you come in such numbers and your multari show you have ridden hard.”

Ar’ar’s fangs bared. “We are hunting.”

“Ah, then I must caution you—” Ke’lar sent a wave at the surrounding area. “In the excitement of your hunt you have mistakenly crossed the border into our lands. This territory is part of the Erah enclosure.”

“Only the very farthest point of it!” Ar’ar snapped. “Why do you forest here, Ke’lar, son of the Erah?”

“I may forest within any of the Erah enclosure,” Ke’lar said, an edge creeping into his voice. “Even to the very border of
our
land . . . if I wish.”

There was a tense pause and Summer could see Ar’ar’s hard stare on Ke’lar even from here.

“What are you hunting?” Ke’lar asked, pleasant again. “It is the wrong season to find kartlet in this area. They will not be plentiful here until the summer suns are on the wane.”

Ar’ar’s gaze was hooded, his mouth tight as the multari shifted beneath him. “A fugitive. A warrior who has broken with clan directive and fled Betari justice.”

A fugitive?
Summer frowned. Why the hell didn’t Ar’ar just say his mate had run away? Was he embarrassed or something?

“A criminal?” Ke’lar asked, his tone turning grave. “The man must still be in your territory. I have been here many days and not seen another warrior—of my clan or yours—in all that time. In fact, I have not seen any clanbrother of the Betari—save yourselves—since the last winter gathering at the Yir enclosure.”

Ar’ar’s glance went to Ke’lar’s camp, to the shelter where she hid, and Summer had to control the urge to duck away lest even that slight movement drew his attention.

Ke’lar patted the neck of the multari Ar’ar rode. “A fine mount indeed. Did you purchase him? Or was he bred from stock in your enclosure?”

“May we hunt the one we seek in your land?” Ar’ar asked bluntly.

He doesn’t know I’m here!
Summer’s mouth parted
. He can’t smell me! If he could he’d be on me like a duck on a June bug!

“I cannot give permission for that.” Ke’lar sounded a little offended and dropped his hand. “Only our clanfather can allow you onto our lands in such a great number.”

“I could hardly invade your territory with only six warriors,” Ar’ar said sharply. “And we do not seek to break the treaty! It is not by my wish that our clans are enemies. I only wish to have returned to me that which is . . . our own responsibility.”

“I am sure my father will send a hundred warriors here”—Ke’lar spread his hands—“if a clanbrother of the Betari, a fugitive from justice, has dared breach our borders. I came here to offer the All Mother my reverence but I will return to our clanhall and relay your message to him, if you wish to wait.”

For a moment Ar’ar looked as if he would argue further, but then one of his clan brothers caught his eye.

“Thank you, no,” Ar’ar said but his brittle tone belied his polite words. “If we decide to ask for the Erah’s assistance we will apply for aid from your clanfather ourselves.”

Ke’lar took a step back. “Then may the All Mother bless your hunt and your clanbrother be brought swiftly to justice—as he deserves.”

Ar’ar didn’t reply, turning his mount and heading back into the forest and Betari territory, his clanbrothers following.

Summer put her face in her palm and closed her eyes, thanking God and the Buddha and Lakshmi and the g’hir’s All Mother and any other deities that happened to be plugged into this far-flung side of the galaxy.

The shelter’s flap opened and the blue-eyed warrior—Ke’lar—entered.

Summer scrambled to her knees. “Thank you so—”

His hand shot out, covering her mouth to silence her. Leaning very close he spoke in her ear, his whisper so low she could scarcely hear it.

“The Betari warriors have not gone far,” he murmured. “Even now they watch, but they do not dare break our treaty or offend a son of the Erah clanfather on mere suspicion. If they discover you on my family’s land, within my own shelter, they will take you. They will kill me and bring a clan war that will tear this part of our world apart.”

It was a good thing he had his hand over her mouth or Summer would have told him she didn’t give a damn about what these beasts did to each other—as long as she got back to Earth.

“Remain here,” he continued, still murmuring. “Be silent. I do not know how long they will watch. I will be nearby at all times and when they have gone, I will return. Do you understand?”

She gave a nod.

He held her gaze and slowly removed his hand. He regarded her for a moment then pulled a soft pouch down from the hook on the support above. Detaching a tube, he held it to her lips.

“Water,” he murmured.

Eagerly she drew on the straw, sighing silently in relief as the cold water hit the back of her parched throat.

He let her drink then opened another pouch and offered the contents to her.

It looked a bit like trail mix and she was ravenous but when she reached for it he looked utterly dismayed. 

Summer paused, unsure, her hand hovering over the pouch, embarrassed to see her fingers were still covered in muck, the dirt caked under her nails.

The warrior hesitated, then with slow, deliberate movements scooped some of the food out to feed her himself. He waited while she chewed, offering the water and food again by turns.

Finally she gave a nod. She could have eaten all of it and finished off the water too but she wasn’t sure how long he should stay in here with her if the Betari were still watching.

He directed her toward the bed, silently inviting her to lie down. He moved when she did and Summer realized he was probably doing it to help cover the sounds she made as she shifted about.

When she was lying down he motioned her to stillness. He adjusted the openings of the shelters air flaps. Fresh, cool air smelling sweetly of the nearby river washed away the stuffiness but he kept them low enough so that no one should be able to see inside.

He bent over her, his cheek nearly against hers, his long silky black hair spreading against the white furs beside her head.