Protected by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (books that read to you .txt) 📖

“I am someone who does things that others either can’t or don’t want to do,” I say.

The humor leaves her face, and I feel my brows draw together as it’s replaced by pity.

“Okay, then,” she says gently. “So for some reason, you’d like to collect some karma and help me?”

I do not know what karma is, but I do want to help her. “Yes.”

“You feel like being my hero?”

Her tone is light, but the hope in her eyes… I find myself unwilling to tell her that I was sent by another to help her. For once, I would like to be someone’s hero. Even if it is just temporary.

I nod.

“Okay, then. In that case, we can start by going back to where my friend Zoey is being kept.”

“Why don’t you tell me how you escaped first?”

Ivy complies, turning to pace as she describes being separated from her friend and attacking the Voildi before jumping out of a window. I drop my gaze to her small white feet, which are covered in scratches and bruises amongst the dirt.

“So you see, I need to go back and find Zoey.”

“Do you know where she was kept?”

Her face turns blank, frustration in her eyes. “It was a small village. The houses were tiny and looked like they’d blow over with the first wind.”

“This could be many places in this area. I can help you find her, but we will need more warriors to join us.”

I gesture to my collarbone, and her eyes darken with sympathy.

“After your escape, the Voildi will have increased the number of guards on your friend. It will be difficult for me to kill all of them and carry your friend with only one fighting arm.”

“I can help.”

I keep my face blank. Females do not fight.

She narrows her eyes at me, seemingly reading my mind. “What do you suggest?” she bites out. “I can’t just leave her there.”

“You can tell me everything you remember about the area where you and your friend were kept before you were separated. We will travel back to my tashiv, and I will send a message to an acquaintance, asking him to send some warriors to help us.”

She thinks on this for a moment, a tiny line appearing between her brows as she seems to think this over. “I know it makes sense,” she mutters finally. “But I don’t want to leave her.”

“You have already left her,” I say, and she flinches. I silently curse. I have never had the correct words to say to females, and this female is no different.

“It’s not just Zoey,” she says. “Our friend Beth managed to escape and never returned with help. I know she would’ve come back if she could have. I need to find her as well.”

“The territory surrounding this area is home to a tribe that is not an ally to the tribes I am allied to. If we are found here, we will be in severe danger. You cannot help your friends if you are dead.”

She stares at me for a long moment, her gaze lingering on my collarbone. I grit my teeth against the pain as I wait for her to make a decision. Truthfully, there is only one choice for her to make, and if I need to tie her to my mishua to force her cooperation, that is what I will do.

I have done worse.

The female seems to see the resolve on my face because she narrows her eyes at me.

“Fine,” she finally says. “Let’s go get some more help.”

Ivy

I work with a lot of big guys. You have to be strong to be a firefighter.

But this alien makes them look like prepubescent boys.

Vrex lifts his good hand, letting out a loud whistle. Then his dark eyes examine me as he waits for God only knows what.

He’s a good-looking man. Even with the long, winding scar that trails across his forehead.

He’s probably got at least a foot on me, and from the look of his bulging muscles, he could likely bench-press my body without any effort. His hair is dark, hanging slightly past his shoulders and braided back from his face. He has a smudge of dirt on his chin, and I have the weirdest urge to wipe it away.

His eyes are a dark brown, shuttered and inscrutable.

He’s hiding something from me. For sure. After everything I’ve been through since I was taken from Earth, I’m in no hurry to trust an enigmatic stranger who says he’s here to help me.

But at the same time, there’s no doubt that he really did save my bacon back in those prexas. And I don’t really have all that many options available to me.

Choices, choices.

Vrex shifts on his feet, glancing over his shoulder, and I don’t miss the slight wince on his face. I broke my collarbone a few years ago when a wooden beam collapsed in a warehouse as we searched for anyone who could be trapped.

It was pure agony. There’s no way to wrap a cast around a collarbone, so the pain was excruciating as the broken bone shifted with even the tiniest movement.

This guy is handling it like a champ. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was in more pain with my twisted ankle.

Something moves between the trees, and I tense, but Vrex doesn’t look at all concerned. He shifts impatiently, and my mouth drops open as a four-legged lizard creature appears.

It’s covered in dark-green scales, although if I just looked at its furry legs, I’d think it was an oversize wolf. Its head is covered in huge white horns, and it stares at me through dark-red eyes.

“What the fuck is that?”

Vrex tilts his head. “This is my mishua.”

“Mishua?”

He nods and gently strokes the beast as it moves forward, nuzzling at him.

“I’ll walk.”

His eyes lighten with amusement. “We don’t have time. We must be gone from this territory before dark.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

He raises one eyebrow, smoothly sidestepping to protect his bad arm as the mishua nuzzles