Page 28 of Her Alien Mercenaries
He was in front of her in an instant, his hand on her cheek. “We are. We must be because the ancestors made you for us, which means they also created us for you.”
She reached up to cover his hand with hers, rising on her toes to kiss him.
He bowed his head to meet her, his free arm curving around her waist and drawing her in close.
“I think we got out of bed too soon,ana-thi.” His lips brushed hers in a soft, questing kiss that fanned the flames of a fire she thought had to be quenched by now but weren’t.
As thesharhalflared to life again, she reached between them and untied the knot in her robe. “I think we did, too.”
By the time Zanyr left to help Torren at the farm, Jenna had almost run out of time. She left her overnight bag half packed on the bed. She’d have to finish later. If she didn’t leave soon, she’d be late for her meeting. Once she’d spoken to Shadow, she’d be able to tell hermahoyenthe truth. They wouldn’t like it. She already knew that. They wanted to protect her. Discovering she was taking risks to help the colony wasn’t going to make them happy. But she’d feel safer continuing her work now that they were in her life.
Zanyr didn’t even know yet, and he was already reluctant to leave her alone. When she’d told him she’d be running errands this afternoon, he’d offered to go with her. Any other time, she’d have welcomed his company, but not today. The simple lie she told about her plans ballooned into something bigger as she made excuses as to why she’d rather go on her own.
She wasn’t good at lying. She’d never done it before she’d agreed to help Haven this way. Thankfully, Zanyr accepted her reasons and didn’t push. She’d have to apologize to him later. Last night, she’d asked them to be honest with her. It didn’t sit right that she was still lying to them.
That wouldn’t last long, though. Once this meeting was done and she had clearance, she’d tell them everything. If they were as kind and understanding as she believed them to be, they’d forgive her.
12
Zanyr flew in ever-ascendingcircles over Jenna’s house but didn’t leave the area. Something wasn’t right with theirmahaya, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it.
He’d sensed it the moment she left the bed, and he rolled over so he could watch his mate go about her day. The fact she was naked was simply a side benefit.
Jenna’s behavior had been odd. She may have tried to be quiet so as not to wake him, but he felt it was more than that. She seemed to be sneaking around her room, even going into her closet to retrieve something that looked like a comm unit. Only her comm was on the dresser. When she’d returned, she didn’t have the item with her.
By itself, that incident hadn’t been more than a point of interest—something to address at a later time or if it happened again. Then she’d lied to him about what she planned to do today. She’d asked them for honesty, and this was how she behaved? It made no sense. Was she meeting a lover to tell them it was over? That didn’t feel like the right answer, but what else could it be? Unless she was another spy recruited by the Shadow Men.
No. She couldn’t be. Jenna was no more capable of betraying the colony than of sprouting wings and taking flight. Still considering everything, he decided it was time to let Torren know their mate was up to something.
He gave hisanrikthe details over their link, keeping everything as clinical and brief as he could.
“We need to follow her and find out what she’s doing. If she’s endangering herself, we’ll put a stop to it,”Torren replied after several seconds of increasingly creative cursing.
“And if she’s a danger to the colony?”
“I don’t believe she is. But if I’m wrong, we’ve got a problem. Do we turn in our mate? What would that do to us? We haven’t completed the claiming. If they imprison her somewhere off-world, do we go with her or risk staying here?”
“She’s our mate. We go where she goes.”This wasn’t up for debate as far as he was concerned.
“So where is she right now?”Torren asked.
“Still at home. I’m watching the house. No one in or out.”He hated how easy it was to fall back into the old ways. It felt too much like one of their missions. Observing, reporting, and then taking action.
“I’ll be there shortly. Keep me updated.”
Five minutes later, she left the house. Once again, she was dressed in muted colors with a cream-colored top and dark pants—simple, unadorned, and unremarkable. Now he wondered if her choices were due to personal preference or because she was deliberately trying to avoid notice.
He let Torren know she was on the move.
She didn’t move far. Only a few meters from her house, she met up with a Vardarian male. They were too far away to make out details, but he thought the male looked familiar. Maybe someone he’d seen at the tavern? No. The palace? Maybe. He couldn’t be sure.
Did Jenna know him? Was this who she was meeting? He got his answer quickly. After a few words of greeting, the male nodded, picked something from one of the fruit trees nearby and offered it to Jenna.
She took it, waved, and went on her way. Just an interaction between neighbors. Nothing of import. He continued to follow her, careful to stay high enough she wouldn’t be able to spot him.
After a few minutes, he had a good idea where she was headed, and once she crossed the bridge, he was certain. He let Torren know where to meet him and made his descent. The tree cover would make it impossible to follow her from the air, so they’d go overland from here.
Why thefraxxwas Jenna headed back to the human camp? No one was there now. The place would be empty until the next batch of colonists arrived. Nothing about this felt good.
