Luna Touched: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Brides of the Aashi Book 1) Page 3

  I quickly relieved myself, and while I was half-naked as such, I grabbed my bag and pulled out a T-shirt and some shorts to sleep in. The air was still warm, a little humid, but not too bad. I took my bra off and almost sighed with relief. No better feeling. I quickly slipped the T-shirt over my head. I was glad I brought loose-fitting ones. I quickly took my underwear off and put my shorts on. They were loose also, so I would just have to be careful not to flash these guys my lady bits.

  “Do you wish to rest, female Luna?” Axoh asked in a whisper the translator struggled to understand. I rolled my eyes. I had told him I was just Luna. But he kept calling me female. I hated the way he seemed to tip toe around me like I wasn’t capable of doing things.

  “Axoh, stop calling me ‘female.’ I want to be called ‘Luna’ only,” I snapped back. I was a little tired and overwhelmed from this first day. Well, a lot overwhelmed. But that sure got him paying attention.

  He quickly hurried to a pile of what looked like blankets in the corner. I felt bad, since he had been nothing but nice to me. It wasn’t his fault I’d had no idea about this whole “multiple mates” thing. I quickly added, “Sorry, I’m just a little tired.”

  “Luna… I have prepared you a nest for the night. Do you need anything else?”

  I smiled. I guessed “nest” was bed, and I was really exhausted. I replied thank you and made my way to the nest.

  The blankets were kind of rough feeling, not soft, but I knew I had to get used to this way of life and couldn’t complain. No luxuries when you went camping. This was just like that… but forever.

  I curled myself into a ball and closed my eyes. I could feel Axoh watching me—it was hard not to, as he seemed to always be following me with his eyes—so I pulled the blanket over my head. It was too hot, but I ignored it for long enough that I drifted off to sleep.

  I awoke to darkness. I almost forgot where I was. The moon’s light was not strong enough to see the room clearly, but it looked like Axoh had fallen asleep on the stool, his head now lying against the table, his arms—all four of them—just hanging by his side. Either he was exhausted from staying up, or he was the strangest sleeper ever.

  I needed to pee again, but I didn’t want to wake him by using the clay pot. It was loud. I would just save time if I go pop a squat outside. I was not some princess that couldn’t pee in the woods. I could rough it.

  I pulled my flip flops from my backpack and put them on, trying to be as quiet as I could as I crept past Axoh and opened the hut door. It made a sound, but he didn’t stir.

  I saw Vallyn slumped against the hut, right next to the doorframe. I was surprised he hadn’t woken up either. Wasn’t he supposed to be like a guard? These guys seemed to sleep like the dead.

  I took a tentative step outside as I watched his face for signs of wakefulness, but he just took in a deep breath and exhaled.

  I hadn’t gotten much of a chance to really study Vallyn earlier, so I took the opportunity now. He was built differently than Axoh. He was stronger, and you could see that in his broad shoulders. He had one of his upper arms behind his head, the other holding what looked like a wooden spear, which laid against the hut. His lower arms were crossed over his chest. His skin, in the moonlight, almost looked like a dream with the way it almost sparkled as he breathed. He had no facial hair, but the hair on his head was long and done up in an intricate braid like Axoh’s.

  I wondered if they did their own hair or if they did each other’s. I almost giggled at that thought. It would be kind of hot to watch them sitting around braiding each other’s hair. My fingers itched to touch the strands that had fallen loose, to see if it was as soft and smooth as a human’s.

  As my hand neared his face, his dark eyes flashed open.

  Chapter Six

  Vallyn

  How had I not sensed her until her hand was so close to my face? Why would she touch me now, while I slept? Why like this? I had been preparing for her to banish me since this evening’s meal, but I was not ready to go out as a rejected male. If she touched me, it would start my mating hormones, and I did not want to live the rest of my days with the torture of yearning for a female but being denied one.

  “I’m sorry, your hair is just really….”

  Her translation stopped there. Really what?

  I quickly stood and glanced into the hut to see Axoh. He was now alert and quickly coming to the female. I hoped she did not touch me. I prayed to the goddess she spared me this in my life.

  She quickly looked to Axoh and then to me, her face scrunched with concern. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, Vallyn. I was just curious. I wanted to touch and feel your hair.”

  My body wanted to sag in relief. Touch my hair. She only wished to touch it. Not to send me off as a rejected male. But if she touched my hair, would that set off my mating hormones? I did not want to find out. I took a step away from her.

  “You may touch your Chosen’s hair, female Luna, when they arrive many hours from now,” Axoh quickly told her. Her head nodded as the translator finished repeating him.

  “I’m going to pee out here. In the woods. I will just go over there. Is that okay?” she asked. I nodded in agreement and followed her when she started walking. She spun around fast and pointed her finger at my stomach area, then raised it higher so it was pointed at my face.

  “No, big guy. You stay there.” And she pointed behind me to the clan hut.

  “She does not wish to be watched while she urinates, Vallyn,” Axoh said from beside me. Her translator repeated what he said, and her eyes went wide just before she turned and stomped off farther than I liked.

  “I did not sense her, Axoh. It is as if my warrior senses don’t work on her. Her scent distracts me. She was so close. If it wasn’t for the air moving by my lips, I would not have woken to her almost-touch. Does she not understand that I am not her Chosen? We have told her many times, yet she wanted to touch my hair.”

  Suddenly, I could sense males approaching and ran to where Luna was urinating, Axoh not far behind. “Quickly, female Luna. Warriors approach.”

  She made a squeak as she quickly got to her feet and pulled her small coverings up her legs. I heard them stop nearby. They knew I was here.

  “I am Vallyn of Clan Zaali. Who goes there?” I called out to the Aashi males hiding among the tree canopy. “This female has been Chosen. You must not come near unless you mean to challenge me.”

  I could sense there were two males, but no more. These males were definitely outcasts, as they did not respond as males from a clan would. I stood with my body blocking that of female Luna until I felt them retreat.

  This was not a good sign. Outcast males did not approach clan men unless they wanted something. And then they took it by force. We needed to get moving. We could not wait for her Chosen to arrive.

  I turned down to see female Luna, so small and wide-eyed. “You are safe with me, female Luna. I will let no harm come to you.”

  I did not care that I spoke out of turn. I wished to comfort her with my words. If I was honest with myself, I wished to comfort her in ways that only mated males did. Her scent called to me unlike any other. Our females did not smell so… intoxicating. I quickly shook that thought from my mind. That will not happen. I will never be Chosen.

  After many hours of walking, the fog of the morning air had cleared. It made it easier to see clearly and sense better. Fog could sometimes make my senses dull.

  Female Luna had not complained or spoken badly of the long travel. I carried her belongings in what she called a “backpack.” It was very clever of her to house all her travel supplies in it. It made it easy to carry over long distances.

  “We shall stop for a short break. Female Luna, would you like to urinate?” I asked her directly. Axoh said it was best I spoke to her, as she seemed to like it and we didn’t want her to be upset when we finally arrived back on clan land.

  “I have told you, it’s ‘Luna.’ You don’t have to call me ‘female.’ I
know I am, you know I am, so ‘Luna’ is all you need to say, Vallyn.”

  I knew this, and I did not know why, but I liked to keep calling her female. I liked the way she stomped her feet and said my name. It made me almost laugh each time. We had been learning her language, and she had been most impressed by my remembering of her human words. I enjoyed the challenge of learning them.

  I also hoped that maybe she would want to keep me as Axoh’s protector. If I learned enough of her language, I could be useful to her.

  “And I told you not to call it ‘urinate.’” She laughed then, and it made my heart beat faster in my chest, as if I had been running for many hours. How did her speech do this to me?

  “I am sorry, Luna. Do you wish to pee?”

  She smiled and nodded, then moved her pointer finger in a circle—her way of telling us to look away. Not to look at her while she urinated.

  She didn’t like for us to see her skin. She liked to wear cloth all over her body. I did not understand why she did this, except it must have been a tradition from her clan. She called it “clothing,” but it was so hot. I did not even like wearing my small cloth that covered my private male area, yet she wore this all over her body.

  A few moments later, she bounced up to us and started asking questions again and teaching Axoh and me more words.

  When we arrived at the second clan hut it was after her Chosen had already arrived there. I was unhappy instantly. I did not wish to stop talking to Luna. I’d had this privilege for only one day, and it would be sad to have it ripped away. I had never in all my years experienced anything so wondrous as speaking to a female.

  “Axoh and protector. You have brought our female to us. How very thoughtful,” Nezyn said in greeting.

  I did not like this male. He was not pleasant to any lower-born males, and he did not like that his mother, Queen Fraryn, had selected a low-born takxe for his female. But Axoh was the best takxe our clan had.

  “Outcasts came to us. We traveled though morning fog to arrive here before more came,” I spoke and saluted him, as he was my elder and second-in-command of our clan’s warriors.

  He gave me a disgruntled look and came over to us, his hands opened wide to Luna. Ready for her touch. Not even waiting for the Chosen ceremony. This went against Aashi laws, but he was privileged and ignored many rules that would have other males banished.

  “You may come to me, my female. I am your Chosen male.” Then he turned to me. “You may leave now, small warrior. You are no longer needed here.”

  Chapter Seven

  Luna

  “Chosen male Nezyn. Luna. Chosen,” Axoh said in English.

  But this Nezyn guy seemed like a straight-up asshole. But when I heard him tell Vallyn to leave in a rude way I instantly had my back up.

  Fuck that. He was not leaving. He was staying with me. He was my protector and I had made friends with him.

  “Vallyn is my protector. He is not going,” I told Nezyn, then turned to Vallyn and pointed to him. “You are not leaving, Vallyn. This warrior is… pee.” The look on Vallyn’s face when I spoke told me he was in shock, but that twinkle in his dark eyes told me he understood that I had just called this dude urine. I really should have started with teaching them some swear words.

  “My female. I am your Chosen male, Nezyn. I will protect you. Vallyn is no longer needed, as you have five of the best warriors of Clan Zaali here. Vallyn may be released from his duties as protector of Axoh. Unless you wish to choose a new takxe. Then he may remain with Axoh, and we can find you a much better takxe. One that is high-born, not this one which is an insult to you.”

  Okay, wow…my body was tense as I clenched my hands into fists. I didn’t know who this guy thought he was, but what the fuck was his problem? I was screaming “fuck you” in my head while smiling on the outside, something I had perfected over the years in customer service.

  He kept his arms open wide, but I didn’t want to go to him. I didn’t want to touch his hair, which he and the four behind him wore down. There were hints of black in his hair—or maybe that was the light playing tricks on me—and he was huge, just like the Aashi that had taken the other girls.

  He was also the darkest shade of purple, the ones behind maybe a shade or two lighter. If warrior status went by colors, then Vallyn was much lower down the totem pole than I realized, as he was many shades lighter than them all and much shorter.

  Axoh looked so sad beside me. He had been nothing but the best takxe a woman could ask for, and I hadn’t even known I ever needed one.

  Okay, so I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what he did, but why would I want anyone but him as my healer? He seemed very caring, and capable.

  “I wish to keep Axoh and Vallyn.” The four males behind Nezyn looked at one another as they nodded, but this Nezyn guy didn’t seem to get the idea.

  “You may not understand, female. Vallyn is to leave. He is not permitted to stay.”

  Okay, if I had a bitch button, he’d just pushed it. I was seeing red.

  “You, behind this Chosen male,” I said, pointing to one on the left. He stepped forward, two of his left hands moved over his chest and he lowered his head in a small bow.

  “I am your Chosen mate, Nvaa,” he said. Nezyn lowered his open arms and stood tall.

  “Is this true? That he is not permitted to stay? I don’t understand why.”

  The other three Chosen were restless now as Nvaa spoke. “No, you are female. If you wish him here with you, then he may stay. What Nezyn means is we will protect you.”

  That was what I thought.

  “Perfect then. Vallyn stays. Let’s have lunch, then I will rest,” I suggested to Axoh and walked into the clan hut, trying to look like I knew what I was doing. On the inside, though, I was freaking out that I’d taken on that Nezyn guy, who was like the hugest dude ever. He could crush me with just one of his arms.

  “Please do not be upset, Luna,” Axoh whispered to me softly. I smiled and told him I was fine.

  This was going to be a long day of being “fine.” I’d hoped that we would arrive at the clan today, but Vallyn said earlier we must stay the night here and then trek the rest tomorrow. I’d been fine with that at first, but now that there was a douche here, I kind of wanted to leave so I could get to the clan sooner and speak to the queen about these guys. Or at least if I could get rid of the first guy, Nezyn. ’Cause no way did I sign on for a power-hungry douche canoe.

  When I woke, it was foggy outside. Maybe it happened every morning. I sat up from my bed-nest thing that Axoh prepared for me last night and rubbed my eyes. I hadn’t left the hut after lunch yesterday, keeping myself safely tucked away in here, away from the Chosen guys.

  At some point, Vallyn had come into the hut and took a seat on the floor, far from me. He didn’t look at me or speak at all, and it made me sad that he couldn’t act the same as he had been before now that we were in front of others.

  My translator was flashing orange. I needed to charge it, and soon. Luckily, I had taught Axoh a lot of words, so if I needed something, he would understand some basic needs, even without the help of my translator.

  I got up and walked to the door, opening it as quietly as I could. I felt something shift behind me and turned and almost screamed in fright.

  “Vallyn,” I hissed out my hand flying to my chest. God, he fucking scared me! I almost peed myself.

  “Luna pee?” he asked in English. I nodded. Yep, he was lucky I hadn’t peed here on the floor. Man, he was swift on his feet. And deadly silent.

  We walked outside, and I saw two of the Chosen guys watching me. They stood taller as I walked past them, and they quickly asked Vallyn what I was doing. My translator picked up many extra conversations, but they all blended together into one and made no sense. But the translations were also slowing down. Obviously this thing did not hold its charge long. Thank you, asshole Agents, for that also.

  I quickly relieved myself and made my way over to where Vallyn had hi
s back turned. “Rahhh,” I yelled at him. He jumped and swung his wooden spear in my direction. When he saw me, his eyes almost bugged out of his head.

  “I apologize, Luna. I didn’t mean to point my spear at you. Please forgive me.”

  I rolled my eyes. I was starting to get that Vallyn and Axoh were worried I would be upset with them a lot. They were so serious.

  “Vallyn, I was playing. That was the point. For me to scare you. I won’t forgive you, as you did nothing wrong.” And that was met with wide eyes. But this time they held that spark that I had seen yesterday.

  Oh, Vallyn. I was going to have so much fun with him. If anything, I wished he was one of my Chosen. He was a million times better than Nezyn, and even though Vallyn was serious, I could tell deep inside was a little fun Vallyn, just waiting to come out.

  When I made my way back to the hut, Nezyn was awake and watching my every move.

  “Female Luna, I wish for you to walk beside me as we journey back to clan land. As your high-born Chosen, I would be happy to accept being your favorite Chosen. I will wear your mate marks proudly.”

  Eeewwww. This guy was so gross. Mate marks. What the hell did that even mean? I almost threw up in my mouth at that.

  Plus, favorite? Nope, no way. Hell no.

  “Nezyn, no offense, but you will not be my favorite. I will have a word with the queen when we arrive. I will choose my own guys, thank you very much.” And with that I stomped back to the hut to see a very frightened Axoh.

  “Luna, he is the queen’s own son. She will not allow you to choose others. We spoke of this, and you said you understood,” he whispered, I assumed so that Mr. High-Born Favorite Wannabe didn’t hear him.

  I shook my head and didn’t say anything. There was a strange beep, and I saw the light was now red on the watch. Great. I tried to explain to Axoh that it needed sun to charge. He replied in English. “Lunch.”