Claimed by the Warrior (2 page)

Well, yeah, since it was snowing, she figured that.

Leilani looked away from the window and smiled at him, not sure how to respond to his obvious statement. She fell in step with the two males again. As they walked farther down the long corridor, concern swelled inside her as Daan looked down at her again. When she tried to make eye contact with him, he jerked his gaze away. Again.

Okay, this was ridiculous. She came to a complete halt. “Is something wrong?” she finally asked, looking between the two of them.

“No,” Brandt bit out. He crossed his arms over his chest. Even his forearms were massive.

“Yes,” Daan said at the same time. “We have to walk through an uncovered walkway to reach the other mountain and it is snowing. You are not dressed properly.”

“Is that why you’ve been acting so weird?” she blurted before she could rein in her big mouth.

Daan frowned. “We are acting weird?”

“Just you are,” Brandt said to his brother.

“No, neither of you are. I don’t know why I said that.” She let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m just nervous to be here, I think. Is that what you didn’t want to talk about earlier?” she asked Brandt.

He shifted uncomfortably, his blue eyes seeming to darken as he looked to his brother. The way he looked at Daan for support surprised Leilani given the way he’d reprimanded his brother more than once. Not to mention the age difference.

“My brother thought talking about your choice of clothing would upset you,” Daan said. “We know humans are delicate creatures and he did not wish to make you cry. Especially since you are traveling without your mates.”

She blinked, digesting his words. Laughter bubbled up but she managed to keep it locked down. Mostly. A giggle escaped before she caught it. These males must have truly never met any humans. She wasn’t certain why they assumed she was mated either. “You thought I’d start crying if you told me it’s cold outside and I might get chilled?”

He just shifted again, his jaw tightening as he looked at Daan once again. Brandt looked almost panicked now. Oh, sweet goddess, did he think she was going to lay on the waterworks?

Before either of them could respond, she continued. “Who told you that humans are ‘delicate creatures’?” She’d like to show them just how delicate she was. Sure, their bone density was different from those on Lumineta and they were more susceptible to some diseases, but she’d survived the insanity of her dying planet and traveled millions of miles to a new solar system—with aliens—without freaking crying or breaking down. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Daan cleared his throat, possibly picking up on her annoyance. “No one, exactly. It’s just…a rumor.”

“What other rumors have you heard?”

“That human females are irrational, do not understand battle logic—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Brandt snapped, watching her warily.

Okay now she was just getting pissed off. “Basically you think I’m a beautiful, delicate creature with no common sense and I can’t think my way out of a paper bag.” She didn’t give either of them a chance to respond as she continued. “Well
this
silly human female helped design a good portion of your new refuge’s lodging defense—with my irrational human mind!”

Daan’s face paled and he took a step back. Actually, retreated from her. The male had to be about six feet five inches and she was a foot shorter. What did he think she was going to do to him? Cry on him until he submitted to her irrational human demands?

Brandt glared at his brother. “This is why you shouldn’t open your mouth.” His expression softened with what almost looked like apology as he turned to her again. “We only have a few more corridors to walk through. When we reach the overpass I will…carry you, if this is acceptable?”

Her first instinct was to say she’d be fine, but she’d seen the snow coming down outside. “If the snow is too thick then that will be acceptable. Thank you,” she tacked on. Still annoyed, she turned away from them, only walking when they did. The walk down the corridor was now truly awkward. She felt a little bad for snapping at Daan but she hated being called irrational. It was such a male thing to say.
If a female doesn’t agree with you she must be irrational or a bitch or whatever.

They turned along another corridor, this one with a similar outlay of windows but at the end of it she saw glass doors. Sure enough there was snow covering the outdoor walkway. Though she couldn’t actually tell from just looking, something told her the wind was biting this high up.

“How cold is it out there?” she asked Brandt. She’d seen snow on the vid screen before but never actually in person.

His gaze flicked down to her shift, pausing briefly at the V-dip between her breasts before he hurriedly faced forward again. “Very. Someone should have informed you how to dress. This is unacceptable.”

“Well, it’s not really her fault. I don’t think she knew either. My coworker Brianna was supposed to come here with one of her mates but she’s pregnant and wasn’t feeling well so I volunteered.” Leilani knew this project inside and out, so giving a presentation would be simple.

“It does not matter. Con should have informed her and she should have informed you.” His frown deepened as they reached the doors. “And your mates should have accompanied you.” The last part was said with pure derision.

Daan murmured his agreement but she ignored him.

She snorted in response since she wasn’t mated. She’d been looking after herself for a very long time and didn’t need a mate—or mates. Not that she wasn’t sometimes envious of her two best friends and the happiness they’d found, but…she wasn’t certain she was wired to be with two males anyway. Her friend Saroya was mated to one male but that wasn’t the norm.

At the glass doors, Brandt stripped off his tunic, revealing a ripped physique that almost had her mouth falling open. The only time she’d seen half-naked Luminet warriors was on the ship ride here and that was only during a sparring session she’d stumbled on. The male was pure muscle. It took a moment for her to realize that he was holding the tunic out for her to take.

“Wrap it around yourself. It will be thicker that way.”

The tunic was heavy in her hands. Heavier than it looked. They must use a thicker fabric in the mountains. She didn’t want to freeze, but…she glanced out the door and winced. “Are you certain you won’t be too cold?”

He looked surprised by her question, but nodded. “I’m a warrior.”

Apparently that was supposed to be answer enough. Instead of putting it over her head, she did as he said and wrapped it around her shoulders like a cloak. She was instantly warmed. “Thank you,” she said, smiling at him.

He made a grunting sound in response and scooped her up into his arms before she realized his intent. She yelped and grabbed his shoulders as he stepped closer to the doors. A blast of frigid air rolled over them as the doors slid open.

She tucked in closer to him, not caring that she was practically burrowing against him as he stepped out onto the walkway. She barely had time to glance around the overpass and actually look at the snow before he sprinted to the other side. Drifts of fluffy white snow teased her cheeks and nose before the opposite doors slid open just as soundlessly as the first.

“You weren’t kidding about it being cold.” She laughed lightly as he put her down, holding his tunic around her just a little longer. Her exposed feet tingled from that blast of winter. She might as well not even be wearing sandals. If she ever visited here again at least she knew how to dress now. Not wanting him to be cold any longer, she slipped the tunic off her shoulders and went to hand it to him, but neither he nor his brother were looking at her.

Turning around, she discovered what had their attention. A dozen males all stood in what looked like a common area used for social gatherings. The cubed-style, cushioned seating area was big enough to fit a warriors’ frame. None of them sat though. They all stood staring at her as if she was a rare, exotic animal.

The look in some of their eyes was more than unnerving. Because of the high male to female ratio, she’d gotten so used to fending off males’ advances where she lived down on the mainland that she didn’t think about it anymore.

Now, however, she was suddenly aware that she was in a new place with males she didn’t know and there were no other females in sight. For the first time since arriving, a frisson of fear slid down her spine.

Chapter 2

Leilani smoothed a hand down her shift as another male entered the presentation room. There were about twenty-five males crammed into here. Pretty soon there wouldn’t be enough room for all of them.

“That’s it,” Brandt snapped. He stood beside her like a sentry on duty. “Daan, you stand by the door, no one else is allowed to enter.”

“Who put you in charge?” a male from the front grumbled.

“I’ll kick you all out and Leilani won’t answer any more questions,” Brandt threatened.

The male popped up and at first she thought he meant to challenge Brandt, but he headed for the back. “I’ll help Daan stand guard.”

She barely stifled a laugh. When Brandt and Daan had first escorted her into the presentation room she was supposed to meet their leader in, he’d informed her that Con was running late. Since males had started gathering outside the glass walls of the room, clearly curious, she’d agreed to answer questions about humans. Especially since it was obvious she was the first one they’d seen. It did make sense, she supposed. There weren’t many humans on the planet, though she knew that the warriors had sent another ship back to her former planet in search of more survivors.

A male from the back raised his hand and when Brandt nodded at him, he stood. “Is it true that some human females will only mate with one male?” he asked her.

“Yes. My best friend is mated to one warrior.” That happened because Saroya’s mate’s brother had died. She didn’t want to get into that, however. “Now it’s my turn to ask questions.” She’d answered almost thirty, some incredibly ridiculous, so turnabout was fair play. “Why aren’t there as many, or any, females here?” Because she hadn’t seen any.

Silence stretched for a long moment until Brandt cleared his throat. “Some of our males have mates, but Luminet females prefer to live where it’s warmer. There is no climate change up here.”

That wasn’t exactly an answer but she let it slide. “Okay… Is it strange for females to touch males, even on the arm or something equally innocuous?”

“If a Luminet female touches a male it is usually during the mating dance,” one of the males in the front said. He had red hair, a sweet smile and broad shoulders.

A frown pulled at her brow. She’d heard a lot of terms but never that one. “Mating dance?”

“Like…courting,” Daan said from the back. “I know this human word.”

The word was outdated, but she understood it.

“Why did your mates let you come here unaccompanied? Have things changed down the mountain?” the same redhead asked. She thought his name was Ruari, but it was impossible to remember everyone.

The question rankled her. “Are Luminet females accompanied everywhere they go?”

“They are to the mountain sectors,” Brandt answered quietly.

“Why? Can someone explain it to me?” She looked around, truly curious.

Brandt lifted a broad shoulder. “Because females are to be looked after.”

Oh, this was like one of those barbaric ideas she was still getting used to. Maybe she hadn’t broken any rules. Still, they all seemed to think it odd that she was here alone and it wasn’t the first comment someone had made about her mates. Maybe she should have waited to speak to her supervisor before coming here. She’d just left a message that she was making the last minute trip for Brianna because of her friend’s cramping. “Look, I’m not mated so that’s the only reason I’m not accompanied,” she said quietly to Brandt. “Is this going to cause a problem with your leader?”

His entire body went still as he looked down at her. He started to respond when the door swooshed open and Aeron strode in.

She blinked to see him in full-on warrior mode. What the heck was he doing here? He had a blade in one hand and a pulse gun in another. He looked around the room, his green eyes flashing.

The others jumped up, all of them going for their weapons. Their huge bodies blocked her view.

Oh, goddess, something must have happened for him to show up. “Is Brianna okay? Is it the baby?” Her voice was drowned out by the growing rumble of male voices. She surged forward but Brandt stepped in front of her in a completely protective gesture.

“Identify yourself, warrior,” he demanded of Aeron. She belatedly realized Brandt had two short swords in his hands.

Whoa, he moved fast. Despite the apparently no-touching rule, she grabbed onto his forearm. “He’s mated to my friend.” She squeezed tight, but Brandt didn’t move or look at her.

“My name is Aeron. Leilani, are you okay?” he shouted.

She could hear him, but not see him. “Please tell your warriors to move so I can speak to my friend.”

Brandt uttered a few harsh growls and like magic, the males parted to the side and the voices died down. Aeron glared at all of them before striding forward, his weapons still out. “Are you unharmed?”

She tried to move past Brandt but the male held out an arm. Okay, seriously? She ducked under it. “I’m fine. Why are you here? Is the baby—”