Page 26 of Hainn

“Next time we get permission to come out here,” Hainn promised. “We can practice the lifts on dry land though, if you want.”

Since this was the last run of the day, Jezari and Hainn stayed aboard the flyer while Stonor monitored the last few Badari who waited to surf and then picked them up. Then it was off to the beach to pick up the earlier surfers and back to the campsite to pack up and depart.

Jezari changed into utilities and a tee shirt like the others, grabbed a quick dinner from the nearly empty stasis containers and battled monumental sadness because her time at the sea mount was over and she had to return to Sanctuary Valley.

Hainn sat with her on the long flyer ride home and eventually she rested her head on his shoulder and napped, to dream of riding the monster waves with him, escorted by the large sea mammals doing their acrobatics and her immense friend leaping out of the water at the end to say farewell. She was a bit disoriented when they landed but Hainn shepherded her from the flyer. They stood on the landing field for a few minutes saying goodbye to the other Badari who’d been on the trip and thanking Vindy and Stonor. Then Jezari headed for the Daughters’ residence cave.

Hainn kept her company until they reached the parting in the path where he’d go right to the South Seas unmated soldiers’ barracks and she’d be on her way to her own residence.

“It was a lot of fun,” Jezari said. The moment felt awkward and she had a hard time accepting the fact he wasn’t going to be close at hand any more, as he’d been on the trip. Their lives ran on separate paths in the valley, especially since she wasn’t involved in anything to do with combat.

Hainn stepped closer and her pulse accelerated as his delicious scent of musk and ocean breeze and a hint of exotic spices came to her. “I’ll be seeing you soon, pretty girl. I don’t plan to let any grass grow under my feet when it comes to persuading you I’m the right mate to Claim. How about dinner tomorrow night? I can ask Sandara to make up a special picnic basket and I know a private, scenic lookout where we could be alone. The lake is nothing to compare to the ocean but it’s a romantic backdrop, yes?”

Pleased by his intensity, she rose to her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I say yes, to the invitation and the sentiment about the lake.”

“I’ll telepath you the time when I have it all set with the chef,” he said, gathering her close and giving her a hard kiss on the lips which left her aching for more.

Why exactly was she hesitating again?Jezari had a hard time remembering her qualms as Hainn stepped away onto his portion of the path. He checked over his shoulder for one last sight of her and waved, after which she made herself go toward her own residence. Deciding to see how the ordinary date unfolded the next night she thought she might become a claimed mate sooner than later. The reality of being parted from Hainn was setting in and neither she nor her inner beast liked it.

A few of her sisters were in residence when she arrived, greeting her with warmth and asking about the trip. She set her backpack on the rug and pulled her handheld out of her pants’ pocket to show them the holos Vindy had made of the various surfing runs. Everyone oohed and aahed appropriately but finally Palinna said with a chuckle, “I expected you to come back either mated or heart broken—you’ve become so impulsive since we were rescued—but you seem to be neither. Tell us the real juicy stuff— how was it was that sexy South Seas healer? Is he as good as the human women claim?”

Flushing red, Jezari tamped down anger. Acutely conscious of her unexpected pregnancy, she was glad she’d chosen to hide it for now. Her sisters’ opinion of her was certainly influenced by the things she’d said and done while recovering. What would her pack say if they knew she was pregnant? “I don’t kiss and tell,” she said with dignity. “Unlike some people.” Remembering Vindy’s catty remarks made her unhappy.

“Well, we’re glad you’re home,” Palinna said, patting her arm. “We’re going to dinner—are you coming?”

“I’m tired,” she said with truth. “I think I’ll turn in. See you in the morning.”

Her sisters wished her sweet dreams and departed in a noisy group. She picked up her backpack and headed to her set of rooms in the cave, vaguely disgruntled to be re-immersed in her mundane life. How had she managed not to perish from boredom?

Well, she’d gone exploring the lake, that was how, and look at the way the choice made things worse for her state of mind. The poor alien woman who’d died so long ago was constantly in her thoughts. After she took a shower and got into nightclothes, she lay down and closed her eyes. A decision was present fully formed in her mind.

Tomorrow I’m going to let Hainn claim me and we’ll embark on our new life together. And then I’ll tell him about the baby. He might be able to scent it once we’re mated.

Rolling over, she was at peace with her decision and a little irritated with herself for delaying. If people, even her sisters who loved her, were going to judge her as impulsive no matter what she did, then why wait to take the next giant step in her life?

CHAPTER TEN

Awaking with a start Jezari realized the power was off in the valley. She rolled over to check the time on her handheld and saw it was early, pre-dawn. Every Badari had an assignment in case of this exact emergency and she grabbed her subaural com, stuck it in her ear and got dressed hurriedly. Running into the main chamber she found her sisters also scrambling to get to their stations and they ran outside in a group, splitting off to their posts. Most Badari were assigned a group of humans to shepherd deep into the caves for safety and she collected her wards at the edge of the agro fields as expected. After waiting five minutes for stragglers, she got them moving toward the shelter of the far caves.

“I guess this isn’t a drill,” Peters said, coming to her side as they jogged. He was the human lead for all the agriculture teams. “Do we know any more about the situation?”

She shook her head. Information was streaming into her ear via the com. MARL the alien AI had gone blank this morning and when he was deactivated so was all the power in the valley. More importantly, so was the shield he maintained to protect them from Khagrish detection. If the enemy was doing any long range surveillance they might pick up on the sudden appearanceof an entire forest, valley and lake where their sensors had never shown anything before. But there’d been no public release of this information about MARL so she kept it to herself. “We have to get undercover and wait like we practiced in all the drills.”

Once she’d gotten the humans to their spot in the deep caves, Jezari relaxed. These outages had become more frequent but previously were fairly brief in duration. She sat on a well shaped boulder and waited. At first the humans were high on the adrenaline of the unexpected event and then they were cheerful because it was a break in the workday. She knew Peters was worrying about the lack of productivity and how he’d make up the time. It was a massive chore growing enough food for all the people now living in the valley.

As the hours wore on, however, her human charges became restless and muttered complaints about being cooped up in the dank cave could be heard. Jezari changed position, moving to a spot where she could prevent anyone from trying to leave the cave. If they all decided to rush her, however, there’d be nothing she could do without seriously injuring a few. She was grateful for Peters, who circulated among his people calming the increasingly angry talk and urging patience.

Hainn telepathed to her once, checking to be sure she was all right, which warmed her heart.I’m patrolling the valley,he told her,along with every soldier and cadet not cooped up in the caves watching over the humans. No sign of the enemy yet, thank the goddess.The flyers are aloft on watch but Gabe reports nothing coming our way for now.

Do they know what’s wrong with MARL?she asked.

Hainn’s reply was profane.Other than the fact we shouldn’t be relying on an ancient alien piece of tech? he added. No. Jill is really upset. I’ve got to go but if anything changes I’ll let you know.

Stay safe!She told him quickly. She spread her hand over her stomach and prayed to the goddess to keep Hainn out of harm’s way.My cub is going to need his father and so do I.She chided herself harshly for not agreeing to claim Hainn when she had the chance.If anything happens to him—she broke off angrily, not wanting to invite disaster by expressing the words.

Stonor and another soldier came by, patrolling the caves. He and Jezari chatted briefly before he addressed the humans, raising his voice to be heard. “Sorry for the inconvenience today, folks,” he said. “We’re trying to get the power back online, Shouldn’t be too much longer now.” Lowering his voice to the subaural range, he told Jezari the Alphas were contemplating having the humans evacuate through the caves to relatively safe sites beyond the valley.Word will come down one way or the other soon but prepare yourself.

As he and his partner walked away to continue their rounds, Jezari debated briefing Peters. He’d be her best ally if they did have to evacuate. The humans wouldn’t want to go, would want to go to their residences and gather up their meager possessions, or find their friends. Most of them didn’t take orders as well as the Badari pack members. She picked the agro lead out of the crowd and leisurely made her way over to him. “We might have to move further away from the valley,” she said in a low voice. “I’ll need your help.”

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