Page 63 of Protected by the Alien Warrior Triad

The tendril of worry grows inside me.

What if they abandon me when they learn that portal opened by accident, and didn’t guide them to their so-called ‘fated mate’?

What if Forn, Hadone and Darok only protected me from the Scorp warriors because they thought that I was their destined woman? Will they abandon me to the creatures of this dangerous paradise as soon as they discover the truth?

Forn looks at me and says something in his language. It makes me so frustrated that I can’t speak back to him in a way he’ll understand.

At least this way I can’t tell him I’m not the girl he’s looking for. I won’t have to face the choice of explaining that their Orb-God didn’t send them to me.

Forn knows I don’t understand, so he points in the distance. A mountain looms above. Birds flutter from a thicket of tropical trees. It’s all so alien compared to the urban dystopia of Barl. It looks like paradise on the surface, but I know there are dangers my instincts haven’t prepared me for lurking all around.

We trudge forward. My shoes are worn at the bottom, and are past their prime by a year, but I’m doing better than Diana, who is is barefoot. She lost her highly-fashionable, yet barely-functional heels at some point during our desperate chase out of Lord Aeron’s manor.

After half an hour of walking, I start to tire. The sun is beating down on me and making me sweat through my clothes. It starts to hit me that I’m no longer in the modern world. I can’t use a washer and dryer to clean my pants and underwear. I can’t replace my shirt if it rips. In fact, if these Aurelians are any indication, the fashion of this planet is heavily skewed towards loincloths.

Forn turns and sees my weariness. For a second, he looks as if he’s about to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder, so I pick up the pace.

This is fucking insane. I’m on a jungle planet with three Aurelians. A week ago, I would have said I’d hated Aurelians…

I swallow hard, trying to get my head straight. I’m going to be joining a very primitive society. A primitive society that hopefully, if Lord Tenderfoot was correct, has a method of communication between these Aurelians and the likes of Diana and myself.

But what if that miracle reveals that this whole time, the three gorgeous Aurelians are just a trio of assholes? Maybe I was so attracted to thembecauseI couldn’t understand them.

My foot gets caught in a divot and I tumble forward. The soft earth makes a good cushion for my fall. Instantly, the three Aurelians are all around me. I blink, the sun blinding me, and accept Forn’s hand as he helps me back up to my feet.

He towers over me, his shadow blocking the hot sun for a merciful moment. I’m so close to his rippling muscles that I feel a hot shudder of lust through my body.

Gods! If he wanted to, he could lean down and kiss me right now, and I’d just melt in his embrace.

I pull my hand away from Forn’s a little too angrily. If there’s hurt in his green-flecked eyes, he doesn’t show it. I feel attached to these three warriors, and I worry that’s ridiculous. I haven’t understood a single word spoken by them yet, and still I foolishly feel like I already know them.

Forn is courageous, but cares deeply for the safety of his two friends. Hadone is reckless, willing to risk his life for glory. Darok is strong and silent, bordering on dour - although now he looks at me with trust instead of suspicion.

“Tammy,” says Forn, tasting my name on my lips. Hearing him say it makes me shudder.

Iwantthese men. I don’t just want one of them. I want all three.

“That boylikesyou,” whispers Diana from behind me. I can’t help but feel color coming to my face.

My face is red because of the hot sun and the long hike. I’mnotgoing to blush like some schoolgirl.

But Iamblushing. I’m blushing like a virgin… because Iamone. Back in the tent was the closest I’ve ever come to losing my innocence. When you spend your days barely eking out a meager existence, and protecting children with what little extra you have, it’s hard to trust men or even find time for them.

Poor Runner. Tod, Tyler and Stacy will all have beautiful lives, but he is going to be indoctrinated into further hatred by the Viceroy.

I can’t let myself think of that, not right now. While he’s young, Runner made his choice – and I made mine. I could have chosen to be an outlaw on my home planet. I could have run from the law, and been hounded by the Viceroy’s troops for the rest of my life.

Instead, I choose to follow three almost-strangers back to a distant, alien jungle somewhere lost beyond the edges of the universe.

And yet, I’d make the same decision in a heartbeat.

Two of those strangers have already tasted my lips.

I shudder, trying to push that thought out of my mind. We set off walking again. The edge of the jungle is deceptively far away, and my legs are already aching – but I’ve got too much pride to ask for help. I already feel too dependent on these Aurelians to survive on this jungle planet. I won’t let them pick me up.

Maybe the Aurelians could massage me tonight…

I shiver at the thought, then angrily snap myself out of it.

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