Runner's Moon Trilogy Megabook Series (16 page)

"A man who said he was your brother called." Mrs.

Newburg hurried over to the truck to tell them before they could get out of the vehicle. "You got a brother named Simon?"

Jeb gave a quick nod. "Did he say why he was calling?"

"Yeah. He wants you to call him right back. Said it's an emergency. He's waiting for you. Said it had something to do with aura."

"Thanks, Mrs. Newburg." Jeb pivoted and ran for the pay phone with Hannah close behind.

"Arra? They're those people who captured you, aren't they?" she asked him as she watched him punch a series of numbers into the phone.

The burnt smell of fear drifted over to him. Reaching out, he gave her shoulder a squeeze but didn't answer. His own stomach knotted while he waited for Simon to answer.

"Jeb?"

"What's wrong?" he asked tersely.

"Arra. They know we're here. I got word less than half an hour ago they got Dorrsus," Simolif said.

"Is it a transport, or the mother ship, or just a scout?"

"I don't know," Simon admitted. "It was Prithoven who called me. Dorrsus didn't get to change before daylight—"

"So he was still Ruinos when they found him," Jeb concluded. "Where were they?"

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"Further west. In New Mexico." There was a pause over the line, then Simon commented, "We should be rejoicing, little brother. You've found your blood mate."

Already Jeb could hear defeat coloring his older sibling's voice. "Now is not the time to give up hope, Simolif. They may know we've landed here but they don't know where we all are. As long as we take greater care at night—"

"I'm coming to Tumbril Harbor."

Jeb remained stunned for all of three seconds. "No. If we gather, it'll only make it easier for them to find us."

Simon refused to listen. "You have a life partner to protect now. She is my family, too. And that makes her my responsibility as well. You know that. You would do the same if I was the one who had been blessed. Besides, it's only right she gets to see she made the wrong choice," he teased.

The small injection of humor managed to ease the tenseness of the situation for a moment. If truth be told, Jeb was relieved Simon had suggested they join forces. It had been nearly two years since they last saw each other. "When are you leaving?"

"Soon. Today. I should be in your neck of the woods by late tonight if I break a few speed limits."

"Take care, Simolif."

"Don't worry. What room are you in?"

"Eleven."

"See you soon. Bor thirn."

"Dia thirn." Hanging up the receiver, Jeb gave Hannah a small smile.

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"He's coming down here?" Jeb figured she had guessed this from what she had heard of his end of the conversation.

"Yeah. The Arra got one of us in New Mexico. Simon will be here by tonight."

"Why? Wouldn't it be easier to elude the Arra if you remained separated?"

"Yes, but there's a more important reason why he's coming," Jeb replied. "Ruinos instinct is to protect family above all. You're part of me and our family. A very important part. He's coming to help me protect you."

Her eyes studied him intently. She smelled of growing fear. "Am I in danger?"

"We hope not, but we can't take that chance."

"Do you think the Arra might start taking people from earth?"

"I honestly can't answer that," he admitted. "But I cannot see why they would. You're not a strong species. Don't get peeved at me, Hannah. It's the truth. Your outer skin is too fragile. There's no way your species would survive the atmospheres and different grades of gravity on the worlds and moons I've seen if you didn't have special equipment.

There are many planets where the Arra have chosen not to handle the dominant species. Especially those which would be more trouble to keep alive than they're worth."

"Well, if we're not worth the effort, why would they be interested in me?" she asked. A startled look suddenly overcame her when the answer slammed into her at almost the same time.

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Jeb looked at her tenderly. "Yes. Repopulation. The Arra have been trying to keep our race from dying out for years. If you manage to give birth to our child, t'korra, that would make any female on this world possible mates to all the Ruinos males left alive. What you and I have done has never before been achieved in the history of my kind."

"So you want me because I might become an incubator for your race?" she asked with a touch of bitterness. It wasn't the truth, and he understood that. Still, it didn't stop her from asking even though she knew he had risked everything for her. And the longer she was with him, the more she felt comfortable enough to challenge him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"I know you didn't. You're just as worried as I am. You know I didn't choose you simply to become an incubator.

There's every likelihood you'll never be able to have our child.

But in the end, that's not what matters most to me. Like I told you earlier, I never expected to find a life partner on this world. The fact I have is nothing short of a miracle."

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly as she mulled over this new development. "So what do we do now? New Mexico's over a thousand miles away."

"We don't know if the Arra are here in a transport, mother, or a scout ship."

"What difference does that make? Or does it?"

"It makes a lot of difference. If they're in a transport, all they have to do is set their tracking monitors and wait for night to fall. Then when the monitors locate us, they can swoop down to gather us up. But if they're in a scout, they'd 208

have to report back to a bigger ship first. Scout ships only have a two-man complement. They don't have room to take any extra cargo aboard." Taking her hand, he gave it a squeeze. He noticed how she stared down at it. "The Arra can't track us when we've shape-shifted. We have to be in our real forms for them to locate us."

"But you can't stay in your human disguise all the time, can you?"

"No. We have to let our true selves come forth every cycle.

Allow our skin to breathe. Even if I went to sleep as a human, at some point during the night my body would revert back to its normal form."

"You said the sun locks you into your shape during the day. But the moon reflects the sun's rays—"

He saw where she was leading with her question. "It reflects. By then the sun's rays are too weak to affect us."

"Even with a full moon like it'll be tonight?"

"Has to be direct sunlight. The Arra know this, so they usually don't try to track us until nightfall. Dorrsus took the risk of remaining Ruinos during the day ... or maybe he didn't have the choice. Either way, we'll never know how the Arra found him. But now they know we've landed here, they'll be out every night until they can account for every one of us."

Reaching out with his free hand, he tucked a loose lock of honey-colored hair behind her ear. "I have no idea if you will show up on their screen, but I can't take that chance."

She gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe it would be better for you if—"

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"Oh, no, no, no! Don't you dare suggest leaving me!"

Hannah angrily argued and gave him a little shove in the chest with her free hand.

"I'm not leaving you, Hannah. I could never leave you, even if it means saving my own skin. No. What I'm talking about is taking you where the population is denser. That's why Simolif chooses to stay in bigger cities. He thinks it improves his chances against being discovered."

"And you chose to remain in little one-horse burgs like Tumbril Harbor because you think a small town is the better choice?"

Jeb grinned. "He and I have argued about our choices for years. I think the farther apart we remain, the harder it will be for them to find us. The only thing we've agreed on so far is that by gathering, we're almost guaranteeing the Arra will locate us."

"Then it's dangerous for Simon to meet up with us, isn't it?"

"Yes. But he feels he has to."

"To protect me? Dammit, Jeb, how do you think that makes me feel?" Anger and hurt rolled off her skin. Jeb flinched at the scent. "How am I going to be able to live with myself if the Arra find and capture you, or the both of you, because of me?"

"Don't worry, t'korra. If they find me, they still won't be able to separate us."

"Oh, yeah? What makes you so sure?" She sniffed against the tears that threatened to fall.

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This time he drew her into his embrace and rested his cheek against her warm hair. "The Arra know a bonded pair cannot be separated. It would kill both of us."

Hannah drew back slightly to look up at him. "It would?

For real?"

"Yes, t'korra."

She stared up at him a moment longer, then cuddled back against his chest. "Good. Because I don't know if I could survive without you now."

"Should we pack and head for the big city?"

"No. I don't think it would make a difference. What we need to do is prepare in case they do show up here."

"And how do you propose we do that?" he asked curiously.

"Well ... seeing as how you got the money, I say let's go buy me a gun. That should be a good start."

"A gun?"

"Yeah. A shotgun for starters. Something with a little kick to it. And then I want you to tell me everything you know about the Arra so I'll know what I'm facing if and when they show up."

"Hannah, are you sure about this?"

"Hell, yeah. It's about time I showed you what the female of my species can do beside being baby makers. It's been a while since I've fired off a few rounds, but I think I can pick it back up pretty quickly."

He could feel her arms snake around his waist. Her hands dipped provocatively inside the waistband of his jeans until they found his butt cheeks and lightly ran her fingernails over their surface. "What are you doing, woman?"

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"It's not what I'm doing, but what I hope to be doing." She gave him a heated glance that immediately had his blood come to a rolling boil. "Do you really have to go back to the mill this afternoon? Or can we try blowing your theory out of the water again?"

"My theory?"

"That you can't make love to me while in your human form."

"You liked that, huh?" He grinned down at her. "Better than when I am Ruinos?"

Biting her lower lip, she appeared to be debating with herself. "I don't know. I'm undecided at this point. Guess we're going to have to do it a few more times both ways before I can come to any decision." She gave his rump another scrape with her nails. The muscles tensed at her touch. His hips bucked slightly, and a nice hardness bloomed in the front of his jeans.

"Hannah," he began to moan softly, rubbing himself into her belly.

"Shh. It's still daylight, which means you won't shift. And we're already here at the motel."

"I thought you said you wanted to buy a gun."

"After you screw my brains out," she whispered huskily.

"Well?"

As if he had any choice in the matter.

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The full moon rose like an enormous orange chrysanthemum in the eastern sky. Hannah watched the huge orb ascend above the treetops as dusk deepened into twilight.

Already the stars had begun peeping between the leaves.

After another quick but lusty session of lovemaking, they had gone to the courthouse so Hannah could finish filling out and signing the restraining order against Carl. Afterwards they went down to the sporting goods store on the square to purchase a rifle. She'd found a nice pump action she wanted, but it would take five days for her background check to clear before she could take it home. Both she and Jeb agreed it may be too late by then, but they had no other choice.

There was a sound behind her. A large green hand with wicked-looking talons rested on her shoulder. Smiling, she reached up to lift the hand to her lips and kissed it.

"I won't be long," he promised, dropping an equally gentle kiss to her temple.

"If you're not back in an hour, I'll start panicking."

He grinned, revealing two rows of sharp incisors. "Maybe I need to start wearing a watch when I go out," he teased.

"Oh, yeah. That would look real cute, Jebaral. I can just picture you now in your Ruinos self with a Mickey Mouse strapped on your arm." Giggling, she hugged him as he reached to turn off the lamp. In the darkness she could barely make out his shadowy form climbing out the window. She 213

waited until he was far enough away from the cabin before turning the light back on, slowly counting to ten as he had asked her to do.

It was a little after eight thirty. Around a quarter to ten would be a good time to turn the light off again so Jeb wouldn't accidentally be seen when he climbed back into the bungalow.

She discovered she liked watching him change. If she saw him go from human to Ruinos, it didn't bother her to see a tall, naked (and nicely hung) green alien walking around the cabin afterwards. But having him appear from out of nowhere already shifted into his true self still gave her system a jolt of fear. It would take a while longer for her to get accustomed to when he did that.

She caught sight of the clean laundry sitting on the writing table. Those clothes needed to be folded and put away, and there was no time like the present. Turning on the television, she flipped through the channels to find something of interest. Nothing. Not even one of those documentaries about penguins.

Mumbling a choice word under her breath, Hannah dumped the clothes on the bed. There wasn't even a radio to listen to. She made a mental note to ask Jeb to get one the next time he went by the hardware store. It didn't surprise her that he didn't have one of his own. If he wasn't watching television, he was off racing through the forest. Strengthening himself. Taking care of his emotional and mental health, as well as his physical self.

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Hannah folded a pair of his jeans. The way he had managed to adjust to her world still astounded her.

Sometimes she wondered if she would have been able to cope as well on a planet as hostile and strange.

And then to have found someone to love.

Her face flamed unexpectedly. Okay, she would have to make a slight correction to a previous thought. If he wasn't watching television or running, he was making out-of-this-world love to her.

* * * *

"There's something I'm curious about." Beside her Jeb lifted his face from her shoulder and gave her an incredulous look. "We've just made love twice in the last hour. Once human, and the second time when I was in my Ruinos form. What is left to be curious about?"

Smiling softly, she rolled over to face him. Jeb reached up to pull a sweat-soaked lock of hair off her forehead. "It was something you said the first time we ever made love."

"Which was..."

"You said, 'That was your first.' Did you mean..."

"You know exactly what I meant," he murmured. "You had never had an orgasm until then."

Hannah reared her head back slightly to get a better view of those beautiful eyes with their scattering of amber crystals.

"How'd you know?"

"I smelled it on you," he announced simply. "Or rather, I didn't smell it."

"Oh, yeah, right."

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"I could smell Carl's scent on you, but there was no scent of possession."

"Carl and I had sex. If that's not possession—"

She stopped when he shook his head. "Spurting his seed into you is not possession. It's when you orgasm that your body absorbs some of that essence. Then the scent never leaves you."

"If memory serves, my first orgasm didn't occur when you were inside me." She twirled a fingernail down the center of his sternum. The iron-hard muscles quivered at her touch. It hadn't taken her long to discover her Ruinos mate had ultra-sensitive skin. All over.

"No, but it prepared your body to accept me. So that the second time you came, you became part of me, just as I became part of you."

"And that's why I stink like you now?"

"And I stink like you."

Hannah paused with her finger just below his navel.

Pressing her cheek to his chest, she drew a deliberately noisy breath through her nose. "Umm. Sorry. You smell nothing like me. But I love the way you do smell."

"Which is..."

"Like the forest. Piney. Earthy. Very masculine. Rather sexy, too, if I might add." Her finger continued its downward quest until it reached the root of his manhood. At that point it moved south toward the tip. However she soon discovered the tip had started to change direction when she found her finger going north. "God, you're insatiable."

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"Is that a complaint? Remember, I've been celibate for ten years. Hannah?" He lifted her chin until she was looking directly at him. "Hannah, you were my first orgasm, too."

The shock on her face was precious to behold. "Now you're funnin' with me."

"I told you a Ruinos female could not conceive until she bonded. That's also true for a male. If I didn't ejaculate the first time I made love to you, then I would know our joining was not fated to be a blood bond. But after you had your first orgasm with me, I knew then a miracle was destined for us."

* * * *

A miracle? Sometimes it felt like more than a miracle. It felt like a dream. Hannah glanced around the tiny cabin. This was what she wanted. A cabin, or a bungalow just like this one. Well, maybe a bit bigger. It definitely needed a bigger kitchen. And a bigger bed. And maybe a fireplace. But it had to be next to the woods or in them. That was at the top of the list, so Jeb could always be near that part of her world which reminded him of his own planet.

For herself, she didn't need much to be happy. Jeb made her happy, and wherever they chose to live would be fine with her. Just as long as she was with him. He made the mornings worth getting up for. And he made the evenings worth waiting for.

She used to hate it whenever Carl came home after a drinking binge and wanted to have sex because he never satisfied her. He'd be sweaty and smelling of booze and 217

cigarette smoke, and the only thing on his mind would be getting his rocks off as quickly as possible. To hell with leaving her on the couch or floor or bed, despising the results, with her clothes only partway off. In the past six months that had been the state of her sex life. And until Jeb came along, it seemed destined to remain that way if she stayed with Carl.

Closing her eyes, Hannah thought back briefly on the way Jeb loved her. He didn't think any of her suggestions were improper or lewd. With his encouragement she felt free to experiment. To explore her sexuality and all the ways they could please each other. There was nothing forced or one-sided.

Jeb also told her he got more pleasure from their lovemaking if she had an orgasm before his. He tried to explain it to her in practical terms, but she had shushed him and shown him a better use for his mouth.

Quickly she put the clothes into the bureau and went to start the water for her bath. She was pinning her hair on top of her head when there came a knock on the door.

Hannah paused in the middle of the bedroom. "Who is it?"

She could tell there was movement on the front step, but no one answered her.

"Who is it?" she called again. Walking over to the door, she tried to look through the peephole but it was blocked. Crap.

She hated it when people did that. "Jeb? Are you trying to be funny?"

Deep down she didn't think it was Jeb. Still, she debated within herself whether she should open it. If it was Mrs.

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Newburg she was pretty sure the woman would have identified herself.

The knock came again. Hannah slipped the chain into the lock for safety's sake, then turned the deadbolt, opening the door half an inch.

The voice came to her before she saw him.

"Hannah, we gotta talk."

Fear clutched her heart with icy hands. She tried to slam the door shut but Carl shoved his good arm and a leg against the doorframe before she could close it. The chain held. A power struggle ensued.

"Dammit, Hannah! Come back here." He shoved again, threatening to pull the chain from the jamb. Digging in her feet, Hannah tried to push against his superior strength.

"Go away!" she cried. She put her whole body against the door and tried to keep him out. But she knew Carl would inevitably force his way inside. He was much too strong. And once he was in, he would make her pay for leaving him. "Get the hell out of my life!"

"God dammit, bitch! I just want to talk to you!" He shoved again, putting his shoulder against the wood. There was a cracking sound as the chain began to give.

"Go away!" Hannah screamed again. She continued to push, hoping to get the door closed enough to get the deadbolt turned. Carl rammed his shoulder into the wood.

There was a louder crack, followed by a splintering sound.

Suddenly the chain popped out of door as the lock ripped away from the doorjamb. The door went flying open, throwing 219

Hannah backwards. She shrieked and fell on the floor, to land on her bottom and lower back.

Carl stumbled into the cabin, tripping over the threshold to land heavily on his knees. He uttered a grunt of pain but managed to throw out a hand as he tried to grab one of her ankles. Hannah kicked back, hoping he wouldn't be able to get a firm grip as she began backing up to get away from him.

The cabin was small. There wasn't anywhere she could go to get away from him. Her eyes glanced at the open bathroom door where she could still hear the water running, but visions of Carl holding her head under the water in the tub like he had done before flashed back to her. This time though he wouldn't let her up. Not after what she had done to him.

That left her with only one other choice.

"Hannah, stop it, bitch!" He lunged for her with both hands. She kept striking out with her feet. One foot caught the hand with the cast and smashed it against the foot of the bed. There was a splintering noise. Carl reared back and screamed. "Fuck you, bitch! You're dead! You hear me?

Dead!"

Adrenalin pumped through her body. She was now fleeing for her life, and Hannah took the only exit she could see—the open window beside the bed. She started to shimmy over the casement when a hand caught the edge of her pants leg. A glance over her shoulder saw Carl slowly getting to his feet.

His eyes were glittering with rage. A thin line of spittle was 220

running down the side of his mouth. She tried to kick at him again, but this time he dodged her attempt.

"Going somewhere, cunt?"

He let go of her pants. Hannah jerked her leg free, but it upset her balance. She slammed her thigh against the sill so hard she knew there would be a bruise there before long.

Arching her body, she started to slide outside when he lunged for her. His thick fingers managed to latch onto a lock of hair.

Giving a yell, he pulled.

Pain sheared through her brain. Screaming at the top of her lungs, Hannah fell out the window to land face-first in the gravel below. Half-dazed, she frantically crawled several feet away on her hands and knees before she struggled to her feet.

Behind her she could hear Carl struggling to get through the window, but his bulk prevented him from taking the same route. Yelling at her once more, he disappeared back into the cabin.

He would be rounding the outside of the cabin at any second. Turning around, she pushed her way through the thick brush and headed directly into the forest, oblivious of the branches and thorns tearing at her clothes and skin. A warmth trickled down the back of her neck where her scalp continued to send little pinpoints of agony bursting in the back of her eyes like miniature fireworks. Jeb was somewhere out here. All she had to do was find him, and she would be safe. He would keep Carl away from her. He would protect her and make Carl leave them alone. All she had to do was find him. Out here. Out in the middle of this huge forest that 221

covered hundreds of square miles in this part of the state.

Out here where there were creatures like wolves and bears and God knew what else. Dangerous creatures, but none more so than the man who was determined to kill her if he ever managed to get his hands on her again.

Stumbling and sobbing, Hannah thrashed her way in the darkness, where even the light of the bright harvest moon couldn't penetrate the dense overhead canopy. She wanted to call out to Jeb but she feared luring Carl to where she was.

Terrified he would reach her before Jeb could.

Whimpering, she doggedly pushed through the underbrush and thick green growth, and prayed. Jeb! You knew the last time when I was this frightened. Somehow you knew because you called the office. Can you feel me now? Can you tell how much I need you right this minute?

Come to me, t'kor! Come find me!

Jeb? Jebaral!

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