Hunter's Claim: The Alliance Book 1 (15 page)

“Go get cleaned up while we care for her,”
Bree said. “I’ll watch over her until you return.”

Hunter nodded. He needed time alone to come
to terms with his feelings. Leaning over Jesse, he brushed his nose
along her forehead before pressing his lips tenderly against hers.
Straightening, he nodded once more before he turned and left the
medical unit. There were times when a warrior needed to be alone
and discovering he was in love was one of those times.

Jesse woke slowly. She stretched her arms
over her head before blinking several times to clear her vision.
Sitting up, she was surprised to find herself in a clean tunic. She
didn’t remember anything after Hunter picked her up and carried her
off the bridge.

“Hunter?” Jesse called out.

She frowned and pushed the covers back.
Slipping from the bed, she looked in the bathroom and saw that it
was empty. She figured he must have gone to get something to eat.
She rubbed her stomach when it growled. She hoped he had because
she was starving.

Deciding she might as well get cleaned up
while he was gone, she pulled the soft tunic over her head and
stuffed it in the clothing refresher. She groaned as she stepped
into the shower. Adjusting the mist a little warmer, she leaned her
head forward and let the cleansing mist do its job. She poured a
small amount of Hunter’s soap into her hand and breathed deeply
before she began shampooing her hair and washing her body.

“I had planned on returning before you
woke,” Hunter’s deep voice echoed in the bathroom.

Jesse pushed her wet hair out of her eyes
and smiled at him. “I hope you brought food,” she said. “I’m
starving! How long was I asleep for?”

“Over twenty-four hours,” Hunter replied. “I
have brought you food. I noticed you were moving more in the last
hour and hoped that meant you would awaken soon. I was going to
have Bree come check you over again if you didn’t. How are you
feeling?”

“A million times better,” she said in
surprise. “Except for being hungry, I can’t believe I’m not
hurting. I know my face was a mess but it doesn’t hurt at all.”

Hunter’s eyes followed her hand as she
brushed her right cheek. The majority of the damage had been
repaired and only a light discoloration was still evident. That
would disappear within a few days according to Carp. He reached out
and touched her cheek.

“Carp was able to heal most of the damage,”
he said huskily. “Finish up in here. I will set the food out for
you.”

“Thank you, Hunter,” Jesse said softly.

Hunter frowned. “For what?” He asked
confused.

“For not dying. For not leaving us alone,”
Jesse said with a small smile. “For everything.”

Hunter scowled. “You do not have to thank
me,” he said gruffly. “Now finish up or I will come in there and
finish washing you.”

Jesse’s delighted laugh echoed in the small
room. Hunter felt the tightening in his chest again. This time he
welcomed the feeling. He wanted to hear her laugh a lot more. He
was slowly figuring out all the things he wanted to give Jesse. He
wanted to give her the universe. He would start by properly
courting her.

He had been watching a program one of the
other warriors had downloaded from Earth. It showed a man ‘dating’
a female. He fixed her dinner, took her places and bought her
gifts. He was limited while they were on the
Star Raider
but
once he got her to his home, he could do all of that and more.

It is time to show Jesse just how special
she is to me,
Hunter thought as he placed a small glowing torch
in the center of the small table.
How very, very
special.

*.*.*

“Jesse, I’m so excited!” Taylor said,
dancing around in the transport area. “What do you think their
world is going to be like? Do you think there are kids my age? Oh
God! Do you think they’ll like me? What am I going to do if they
don’t like me? I haven’t been to school in years. They are going to
think I’m such an idiot!” she moaned out, grabbing her head.

Jesse hid her smile when Saber stormed
across the floor and grabbed Taylor’s wrists in his hands. He had a
fierce, protective look on his face. Taylor blinked at him in
shock.

“If anyone even insinuates that you are
stupid, you will tell me!” Saber growled. “You are not stupid! You
are smart, brave and have an ingenuity that all those other
children can only dream of!”

Taylor scowled. “I’m not a child, Saber,”
she said. “I’m growing up. I’ll be sixteen in less than a
month.”

Saber flushed as he looked down at Taylor’s
face. “You are still a child,” he bit out, releasing her wrists and
stepping back. “But, don’t ever think you are stupid.”

Taylor’s eyes flashed with temper before a
mischievous grin curved her lips. Jesse knew her little sister was
about to go fishing. She had seen that look all too often when
Taylor was little and she wanted to get a rise out of someone.

“Okay,” Taylor said with a shrug. She
glanced over her shoulder, smiled and fluttered her eyelashes.
“It’s good to know that the others won’t think I’m stupid. I wonder
what the boys are like. I’m sure they won’t think of me as a
child.”

“You will not be going near any of the young
warriors!” Saber snarled. “Hunter! Tell her. She is under your
protection. You will forbid her from associating with any young
males.”

Hunter looked wide-eyed back and forth
between Saber and Taylor. It was obvious he had no idea how to
handle the situation. He opened his mouth but closed it again when
Jesse touched his arm.

“I’ll handle this,” she murmured.

Hunter nodded in relief. He looked back at
Saber and shrugged. He had no experience in dealing with the
interactions between young females and males. The only experience
he had was when he, Saber and Dagger were young warriors. His eyes
darkened as he glanced down at Taylor’s slender figure thinking of
what they would have done if confronted by a beautiful, intelligent
female that was so different from their own species.

“Taylor has the right to associate with
members of the opposite sex. She is…” Jesse began before Hunter
spoke up.

“Not going anywhere near them!” Hunter
interrupted. “I will not allow any males near her. I will find a
place where she can be educated away from them. I…”

“Will do no such thing,” Jesse said sternly.
“Taylor is going to have as normal a life as possible. She will go
to school, have boyfriends and attend parties. She has missed out
on enough things. She has a good head on her shoulders.”

Hunter growled. “School, yes. Parties, if we
are there. Boyfriends? I do not know this phrase but if it has the
words ‘boy’ and ‘friend’ together, then no. Absolutely not!”

Jordan giggled as she wrapped her arm around
Taylor. “Don’t worry, Taylor. We’ll just outnumber him. I need to
finish my education as well. I…”

“What do you mean? Your education?” Dagger
said. He had been quiet during this exchange. “What type of
education?”

Jordan flashed Dagger an annoyed glare. “I
missed out on over three years of high school. There is a lot I
need to catch up on. Taylor and I used the time we were restricted
to our living quarters to study some of your world’s history and
work on the language and a few other things but there is a lot we
need to learn. I figured if we worked together, we could help each
other out.”

“As long as that does not mean being around
males, that is fine,” Dagger agreed.

Jordan glared at him again. “What I do on my
own time is no one’s business but mine,” she said. “I am perfectly
capable of making my own decisions. I’ll be eighteen in a week.
According to Earth culture, that means I’m an adult.”

“You… will… not… be around young males,”
Dagger said menacing. “I’ll rip their throats out if they come near
you. You need to be protected.”

“Okay,” Jesse said, looking with wide eyes
at her sisters. “I think we’ve gone as far as we need to with this
conversation. When are we leaving?”

“Now,” Hunter said. “And this conversation
is not over. Jesse, as head of the house and you and your sisters
new protector, I will have final say.”

“Not in this lifetime or any other,” Jesse
said, crossing her arms. “This is a situation that we will work on
together but ‘we’ are the head of this house and ‘we’ are the
protectors of it. Do you understand that, Hunter?”

Hunter realized this was a battle he would
need to be very careful about entering when Jordan and Taylor came
up on each side of Jesse and crossed their arms as well. He was
definitely outnumbered. Releasing a deep sigh, he nodded.

“We will discuss this later,” he said. “Let
me show you my world.”

“We’d love that,” Jesse said, reaching up
and brushing a kiss across his lips. “Thank you.”

“I have much to learn about you, my
Amate
,” Hunter admitted.

“So do I, Hunter,” Jesse replied tenderly.
“So do Jordan and Taylor.”

They landed in the nearby city of Julumont.
It was the second largest city on the planet. From there they
transferred to a different transport that Hunter flew. It looked
like a sleek race car with small wings. There was a clear top on it
so they would see up as well as all around. Hunter kept the
transport at about five hundred feet off the ground and pointed out
different areas of interest as they flew over them.

Jesse’s breath caught in her throat as her
first view of the small city area near the ocean that Hunter lived
in. He took them a little further up the coast before circling back
around to land in the courtyard of a small compound. High walls
encircled the dome shaped home that glistened a brilliant white
against all the dark greens of the plant life surrounding it.

“It is necessary to build the walls around
the homes,” Hunter explained as he carefully lowered the transport
to the ground. “The vegetation here grows very fast and thick. If
the walls did not hold it out, the homes would be covered in a
matter of weeks. We use a special rock that the plants do not like
so it will not grow up and over the walls.”

“How do you keep the paths clear?” Jordan
asked as her mind worked at all the different characters she could
create a world around. “What about wildlife? Is there a lot?”

“Yes,” Hunter said. “You must never venture
off the paths. A force field helps keep them clear but every once
in a while a stray wild creature will break through. It is best to
remain alert and if possible travel with a companion.”

“That’s the way it was when we were at the
cabin,” Taylor said. “How big is the town we flew over? Do they
have a school there? Is that where I’ll be going?”

Hunter chuckled. “Why don’t you settle in
first? Give yourself time to adjust to your new world. There are
approximately ten thousand residents in the city of Trivas. There
are several schools. I will ask Charma, my house minder to assist
with finding out which one is best for you. She has been with my
family since before I was born. She will know what to do. She also
has several children who have children of their own about your
age.”

“Really?” Taylor asked excitedly.

“Yes, really,” Hunter responded as Jordan
and Jesse chuckled. “Now, let me show you our home.”

Jesse gripped Hunter’s hand as the door slid
open for her to step out. She felt him squeeze her fingers in
comfort when she trembled. This was it. This was their new home.
She gazed around the interior courtyard in awe. It was huge. White
stone pathways wove around small gardens. A fountain bubbled in the
far corner before emptying into a pond.

She turned and gazed up at the house. The
rounded dome roof disguised how large the home really was from the
air. Stepping up the stone path to the steps leading up to the
front door, she paused when it opened to reveal an elegant woman in
her early sixties. A smile lit up the woman’s face and she walked
forward to brush her nose along both of Hunter's cheeks.

“Hunter! It is good to have you back. How
long will you be staying this time?” Charma asked warmly. “Bronze
and I have missed you.”

“Only for a short time, I’m afraid. I still
have to finish my duty before I can be released,” Hunter responded.
“Charma, I’d like to introduce you to my
Amate
and her
sisters. This is Jesse, Jordan and Taylor.”

Charma gazed over at the three small alien
females who stood looking up at her with uncertainty. She studied
them carefully, amazed at how different they were from the
Trivator. They were cute in their own unique way.

“Welcome, Jesse,” Charma said, bowing in
respect. “Welcome, Jordan. Welcome, Taylor.”

“Hunter said you have grandkids my age,”
Taylor said, stepping forward in excitement. “Can I meet them?”

Charma laughed in delight. The youngest
female glowed and her eyes sparkled with an inner light of mischief
that she recognized from her own children. Charma couldn’t resist
giving Taylor a hug before stepping back and waving everyone to
enter the house.

“I would be honored to introduce you to my
children’s children,” Charma said. “But first, I think refreshments
should be served. Bronze will get your things and take them to your
rooms.”

“Thank you, Charma,” Jesse responded,
thinking she matched her name perfectly. “My sisters and I are
famished.”

Jesse’s eyes widened at the beauty of the
interior of the house. Curved ceilings leant a depth to the house.
A staircase was carved into the stone that made up the house and
ran along one wall curving up to the second level. Polished floors
gleamed with just a trace of blues, blacks and pinks running
through the stone. Spiral pillars held up the entrance way to
several different rooms.

They followed Charma through a set of
pillars and down a bright corridor which opened into a huge dining
area set in front of clear windows that overlooked a covered patio
area and the back gardens. Several women were setting food on the
table.