Page 10 of Tempted By the Alien Warrior

Vrok owes me nothing. He has every reason to refuse me outright. But if there’s even a chance he’ll help me, I have to take it.

An image of my cousin flashes in my mind. Her wide smile, those laughing brown eyes, the way she’d call me a scaredy-cat with a grin, and then pull me into a hug. She’d give me a pep talk, tell me I could do this. If the roles were reversed, she wouldn’t even hesitate. She’d have been out of this village the second she knew I was missing, and she wouldn’t look back.

“You can do this,” I whisper to myself before taking a deep breath and trying to force my nerves to settle.

With practiced ease, I slip my knife into the lock, the metal clinking as I work. After only a few seconds, the lock clicks softly indicating it’s unlocked. It’s a skill I picked up from a past boyfriend who didn’t always walk a straight and narrow path. I never thought I’d use it like this.

I grit my teeth and push the door open. Light from the Sister Moons spills inside, illuminating the interior of the hut.

Inside, the air in the hut is thick with dampness. The musty scent of aged wood fills my nose, layered with the faint, metallic tang of rust and a musky, spicy fragrance that I can’t quite identify.

Vrok sits against the far wall, his broad shoulders hunched against the rough-hewn stone. Thick chains hang around his wrists and his ankles, and they rattle as he shifts. My gaze involuntarily traces over the defined ridges of his abdomen, the way his biceps tense as he leans forward. I hate myself for noticing, but I do. His sharp silver eyes snap up to meet mine, and I go still, like a deer caught in the headlights.

“What are you doing here?” His voice is low and rough.

I step inside and pull the door closed behind me. My heart is pounding so loudly I’m sure he has to be able to hear it.

Swallowing down the trepidation that makes me want to turn around and head back to my safe bed in the medic hut, I blurt out, “I need your help.”

His expression darkens, and for a moment, I think he’s going to laugh or cuss me out. But he doesn’t. Instead, he leans forward, the dim light spilling through the small window casting jagged shadows across his face, accentuating the harsh angles of his sharp cheekbones and the hard set of his jaw. His piercing silver eyes lock onto mine, pinning me in place.

I want to look away, but I don’t.

“And why would I help you?” he drawls, suspicion thick in his voice.

I swallow past the sudden dryness in my throat. “Because I’m offering you a way out of here. And because, right now, I’m the only person in this entire village willing to trust you,” I say, forcing a thread of confidence into my voice. Confidence I don’t actually feel.

In reality, it feels like my knees are going to give way at any moment, but I lock them into place, refusing to let him see how nervous I am and how badly I want to run.

The chains clink again as he tilts his head, considering me. “You’d better explain yourself quickly, little female.” His voice is a deep growl that sends a shiver down my spine. “Before I decide you’re more trouble than I want to deal with.”

“My name is Emily, not little female. Lily…” I pause and clear the lump that has formed in my throat. “The missing human—the one that was taken by the anuroi—is my cousin, Lily.”

His expression doesn’t change, but there’s a noticeable shift in the air between us. “And you think I care about your cousin?” he asks, unimpressed.

I clench my fists and force myself to hold his gaze. “No. I don’t think you care about her, but I think you care about yourself. If you agree to help me find her, I’ll let you out of here. No more chains. You’ll be free.”

Vrok leans back against the wall and watches me in silence. “I might have freedom, but I’d be an outcast, exiled from the tribe. No home, no tribe. What kind of life is that?”

I hesitate, then say quietly, “Back on Earth, we’ve fought entire wars for freedom. A lot of people have died for it. We think it’s worth something.”

Vrok exhales roughly. He shakes his head, like he’s not sure whether to scoff or agree with me. Then, he tilts his head. “Andwhat’s to stop me from leaving you behind the moment you release me?”

I swallow hard. My pulse is hammering in my ears. If I can’t convince him, then I’ll have to go into the jungle alone. And the chances of me surviving the jungle on this planet by myself are not good.

I take a steadying breath and meet his gaze head-on. “Because you’re not like your father.”

The words drop between us like a stone into still water. His jaw tightens. Something flickers across his face too fast for me to figure out what it is.

“I know what the rest of the village thinks about you,” I continue, my voice softer now. Vrok’s detainment and the accusations were a hot topic around the fire tonight. “They think you’re just like him. That you betrayed your people to the Pugj, but I don’t think you would.”

Vrok snorts. It’s a sharp, bitter sound that makes me flinch. “You don’t even know me.”

“You’re right,” I admit, taking a step closer to him despite every warning in my head telling me not to. “I don’t know you, but I know what it’s like to be underestimated. To have people assume the worst about you without even giving you a chance to prove them wrong.”

His gaze snaps to mine, and the intensity of it makes my chest tighten. He looks at me like he’s trying to see through every layer of me at once, like he’s searching for the catch. The lie. But I hold his stare, even though my knees want to buckle under the weight of it. I won’t look away. I want him to know I mean it.

Finally, Vrok exhales and shakes his head. “So, what’s your plan, then?” he asks, voice dripping with skepticism. “You’re just a fragile little human. What makes you think you’ll survive out there?”

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