Beauty and the Alien Beast: Naxer (E-Book)

The forest was quieter than
usual, but I could hear some rustling out there in the dark now, coming from
one direction. I lifted my head from staring into the fire, peered in that
direction, but the firelight fouled my night vision. I unholstered my blaster
and settled it on my thigh, staying calm but keeping focused just in case.

Chaser lifted his head and
pricked his ears, whining curiously as he looked in that direction. To my
surprise, his tail wagged slightly.

Is it another riding dog, maybe gotten loose from the slavers and gone wandering?

Or one of my packmates, come to say a last goodbye?

I sniffed, but the wind was
blowing the wrong way for me to catch the newcomer’s scent.

As the intruder drew nearer, my
experience as a tracker kicked in. I listened to the sounds, narrowing my eyes
in focus. Smaller than my riding dog. Only two legs. Moving erratically, as if
wounded, or drunk, or exhausted beyond the ability to do more than stagger but
also carefully, as if worried they would blunder into something dangerous in
the dark.

That didn’t sound like a threat to me. As a silhouette appeared between the trees, Chaser’s tail started
thumping. I kept my blaster lowered.

My eyes widened as the figure moved close enough for me to make out a definite shape. Two arms, a curvy
figure, long curly hair. A female Earthling.

My eyes widened, and I stood slowly, blaster still hanging at my side. An
unaccompanied Earthling? She must have escaped.

Then she staggered into my
circle of firelight, and my suspicion became certainty.

Yes, a female Earthling.

A beautiful one.

Her hair was blue-black, her
smooth skin was deep brown, and her large, dark eyes were like bottomless
pools. She was the perfect mix of muscular and curvy, and even battered and
dull-eyed from exhaustion she was still beautiful. The female moved with
purpose and took my breath away.

My Wulfaen dwells within my species—and mine had gone still at the sight of her.

Chaser squirmed with excitement, and I grabbed his harness to keep him from running up to our visitor. “Calm down, old boy.” Then I moved past him, toward the woman, who was leaning heavily on a cloakleaf tree. “Are you all right?”

Her eyes widened as she took me in, and I hastily holstered the blaster and snapped the holster’s peace-strap across it. I moved closer to her, concern overriding my curiosity. Her legs were shaking. Blood stained the thin material of her shoes.

She hesitated but then set her jaw and took a step toward me. It was the last one she managed. Her knees buckled and she toppled, looking startled by her exhausted body’s betrayal. I lunged forward and caught her in my arms.

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