Rescued by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (literature books to read TXT) 📖

roll. Then the baby is placed on Nevada’s chest, and Rakiz is beaming, eyes lit in pure joy as he presses kisses to both their heads.

Zoey rinses her hands. “You did great. Just the placenta to go. Not long now and we can get the hell out of here.”

Nevada laughs, and it seems as if she’s glowing from within as she gently strokes her daughter’s head. “Thank you, Aunty Zoey.”

Now that the worst seems to be over, I join Jozet outside, and we both watch as warriors bring mishua to the cave entrance, one of them with a cart attached for Nevada and the baby.

Hewex approaches from where he has been stalking through the trees, looking for any Dokhalls who dare approach.

The sun is beginning to go down when Nevada is finally loaded into the cart. Rakiz is still beaming at his family, and I attempt to ignore the way my chest tightens as I shift my attention from him to Zoey.

She’s striding toward us, and she doesn’t look happy.

“Uh-oh,” Jozet says.

Zoey scowls at him as she reaches us. “What the fuck was that?”

He stares at the ground. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be. In what world do you live in where it could possibly be a good idea to suggest a pregnant woman is going to die while that woman is in labor and without the father of her baby?”

He’s silent, and she shakes her head, obviously exasperated.

“Where did you get this idea?”

I clear my throat. “He heard it from my father.”

She snorts. “And what would Calix know?”

“Braxians have large babies. Human women are small.”

“Small and tough,” she snaps.

Jozet and I both nod, and Zoey throws up her hands. “We’ll talk about this later,” she promises, stalking away.

Something about watching my little healer order around warriors twice her size makes me hard as stone.

But it has always been this way. From the moment I saw her curled up in that cage, it was like recognizing the other half of my soul. Her eyes were slits as she glared at me as if daring me to approach, exhaustion and pain clear on her face. I knew, looking at the tiny female who was so close to breaking but still fighting…I knew she was mine.

I push the thought away for now and focus on getting ready to guard Nevada and the baby.

Nevada is sitting in the cart, while Rakiz orders everyone into position. He’s now tense, his brow creased as he glowers around him, and it’s easy to understand why.

If the Dokhalls are planning another attack, now would be the perfect time to do it.

Zoey

We’re all on edge, wondering if there will be another attack, but thankfully, the trip back to camp is uneventful.

The ground is littered with burned Dokhall bodies in one clearing as we pass, and smoke drifts toward us on the wind. At one point, a ground-shuddering roar sounds from deep within the forest, and Nevada smiles down at her daughter.

“Uncle Dragix is unhappy,” she murmurs.

I laugh.

I will forever remember the terror of the walk from our camp to that cave, but it feels like it only takes us moments to travel back as I sit in the cart with Nevada.

Her daughter is still lying against her skin on her chest, a heap of warriors’ shirts wrapped around them both to keep them warm.

As soon as we arrive back at camp, it erupts in celebration, cheers sounding from all directions as the cart rolls through the kradis.

Nevada smiles, and Rakiz’s chest puffs up with pride. He gently lifts Nevada into his arms before carrying her and the baby into the tashiv. Moni follows them in to give Nevada one last checkup and to make sure the baby latches, and I jolt as Tagiz takes my elbow.

I blink. I’m still standing outside, staring at the tashiv, my mind a hundred miles away.

Tagiz releases me for a moment and speaks to one of the servants, who glances at me and nods, rushing away. He returns to my side, stroking some of my hair back off my face.

“You need to rest,” he says gruffly.

I nod. I’m so tired I feel like I’m practically sleepwalking, the adrenaline crash hitting me hard.

“Let me just check in on Nevada. I want to make sure she doesn’t need anything.”

He nods and waits by the door. Nevada smiles at me from her bed. Arana is standing near the bathing room, overseeing the filling of the bath as she beams at Nevada.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Completely in love,” she murmurs.

The baby lets out a tiny squeak, and I lean over.

“She latched okay?”

“Yes, thank God. And Moni said I didn’t even need any stitches. As far as cave births go, I’m calling this one a success.”

I sigh. “Let’s never do that again.”

She laughs. “Thank you, Zoey. I know I’ve said it before, but I couldn’t have gotten through it without you.”

“Yes, you could’ve.” I smile. “You probably would’ve killed all those Dokhalls while birthing that beautiful baby.”

She grins at me, and I lean over, stroking her daughter’s soft, little head.

In the other room, Rakiz is throwing out orders, pacing as he speaks to a group of warriors.

“Do you want to hold her?” Nevada offers.

I hold out my arms. “Gimme.”

Now that she’s all cleaned up, and I’m not responsible for bringing her into the world, I can simply enjoy a snuggle.

“God, she’s so small.”

Nevada smirks. “She didn’t feel all that small coming out. My coochie will never be the same.”

“Your poor mommy,” I murmur to the baby. “That’s the price we women pay.” I return my attention to Nevada. “Do you know what you’re going to call her?”

Nevada’s gaze is full of love as I stroke her daughter’s soft cheek, inhaling that newborn baby smell.

“We’re still thinking about it.”

Rakiz steps into the room, his gaze immediately flying to Nevada’s face before shifting to his daughter.

“I’m going to let you guys rest,” I say. “Let me know if you need anything. I’m sure the whole camp will be begging