Page 49 of The Alien Warrior's Heart

Horror. Pain. Hope.

Hope that someone would save him.

Hope that he would make his own escape.

And yet, Zar was choosing his own heras over that of his comrade.

He lifted his other hand and tugged on his hair in frustration. What would his father have done? Would he choose the female or his tribas? Would he follow his heras or his duty?

Zar turned the comms off and slipped it back into his pocket. The storm raging outside would scramble the comms’s frequency anyway. Even if he wanted to, he would not be able to speak to Lans clearly.

Just then, he heard footsteps. Turning, Zar found Si-Moon stepping into the cave. The purple torchlight flickered over her brown skin and dark eyes.

She clutched her hands in front of her, moving with shy, uncertain steps. Zar blinked in surprise. He was used to his female charging into any space and taking it over. She had been fearless and assured even when strapped to a cot and faced with unfathomable circumstances. But now, she seemed delicate.

He strode to her and took her into his arms. “Si-Moon.”

“Iz okah.” She patted his arm as if to reassure him. “Zar, okah.”

Eyes narrowing in the direction of the cavern entrance, he seethed. The Heronas had done something to her. Had he threatened her? Spun lies?

Zar hated that the Heronas brood was the only one who could understand Si-Moon’s language. He longed to speak to her. To understand and be understood in return.Withouthis mortal enemy translating the message.

He did not trust Chozo with one bone in his body. It was strange that a Heronas knew how to speak the earthen tongue. Why would he even download such a language onto his translator chip? Most species did not bother because humans were so rare on this planet.

Si-Moon gripped his chin and forced his head in her direction. A smile tugged on her plump lips. “Iz nod Chozo.”

“You trust him when you barely know him?” He growled.

He saw the brightness return to Si-Moon’s eyes. His heras relaxed a little. Whatever mood she had been in seemed to have passed.

“Chozo slepen,” Si-Moon said.

He arched an eyebrow nub, confused.

Si-Moon pressed her fingers flat against her cheek and tilted her head. Thick lashes fluttered closed and she parted her mouth, mimicking one in the deepest sleep.

Zar nodded. The Heronas was resting. How the brood felt comfortable enough to do so knowing Zar wanted him dead was a testament to how much Chozo trusted Si-Moon. And how much confidence he had in Zar’s obsession with his female’s happiness.

As long as Si-Moon stood in his way, Chozo would be safe.

But there would come a time when Si-Moon would not be around…

Si-Moon stroked his cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. She said nothing, but her eyes were glassy. The torchlight highlighted a wild emotion that Zar could not name.

“Abut Chozo…” She smiled softly. “Denk yu.”

Was she pleased with him for not popping the Heronas’s head off?

Her approval made his heras jump for joy.

Zar sighed heavily. “You have me under your spell, Si-Moon.”

She batted her thick eyelashes.

“What am I going to do with you, hm?” He glanced at the entrance again as his body throbbed with need. His female seemed in a good mood and he wanted to taste her sweet places again, but they had no privacy. And she could not be quiet.

Zar thought of the way Si-Moon had whimpered and screamed as he tasted her in the foliage. She had moaned his name over and over, the sound of which had probably drawn the Heronas to their location.

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