Captured by the Alien Warrior by Hope Hart (best pdf ebook reader for android TXT) 📕

feeling protective of your huge, lethal dragon, but you need to take it down a notch. This is a giant predator. One that you have brought to our home. These men are simply reacting to the threat.”

“He’s not a threat.”

“And how would we know that?” Nevada smiles at me, but her eyes are serious. “Let’s all take a moment here. The dragon—Dragix,” she says as my eyes narrow, “is obviously chill. So let’s all relax and put up our swords, hmm?”

My eyebrows shoot up as the warriors all obey her. Dragix moves behind me, raising his head, and I stroke a hand down his snout.

“I’m…sorry,” I apologize to everyone, my cheeks heating. “It’s just…Dragix has kept me safe. He’s not some ravaging monster who’s going to kill you all. You’re right. I was feeling overprotective.”

Zoey smiles at me, but it’s Nevada that steps closer.

“Men can make even the most logical women lose their damn minds,” she says. “I get it. Now that we’ve all cooled down a little, welcome home.” She hugs me, and I finally relax, hugging her back.

Chapter Twelve

Charlie

Dragix follows me into the tent that Nevada refers to as a kradi. It’s large and welcoming, and I slump down on one of the many huge pillows on the floor. Dragix lounges next to me. His pants tore into shreds when he shifted, and I reach for a pillow, placing it in his lap.

He gives me a look but allows it.

Ellie walks in, smiling at me. “Are you guys hungry?”

I shake my head, but she gestures to a long table against one of the kradi’s “walls.”

“Help yourself if you feel peckish.”

She sits down and examines me, and I examine her back.

“So,” I say, curious as hell. “You’re pregnant, huh?”

Ellie bursts out laughing. “I sure am.” She holds out her arms, displaying gorgeous bracelets that look like woven gold threads. “These are mating bands. They mean that I’m basically married to Terex.”

“Congratulations. So you’re not planning to leave?”

She shakes her head, and I examine the women who have arrived while we were talking. Ellie isn’t the only one with the gold bands—I can see some on Nevada’s wrists as well, and I saw gold glinting on Ivy’s arms when she was cuddled up with a grim-faced warrior earlier. He looked like he wanted to kill something until he gazed at Ivy, and his face softened into something like adoration.

“I am,” one of the woman says, and I glance at her. “I’m Vivian. I’m planning to get off this planet. So is Zoey.”

I raise my eyebrow at Zoey, and she stares back at me. She’s the one who the huge warrior was hovering around earlier. She nods silently, and I glance at the others.

“Anyone else?”

Nevada shifts, drawing my attention to her. “Alexis is mated to Dexar, another tribe king. They were supposed to be here earlier, but they’re obviously running late. Beth is coming with them, along with Zarix. We’ve been planning this meeting for a while, so it’s great that you happened to arrive today.” Her eyes shift to Dragix, and I reach for his hand. She smiles faintly, and then we all turn as someone steps into the kradi.

“Hello, hello!” Alexis looks like she was born to wear the gauzy mint-colored dress that clings to her body, swirling around her ankles. Behind her, a woman I don’t recognize steps gracefully into the tent, her movements like she’s floating on air. By process of elimination, I’m guessing that this is Beth.

“Charlie!” Alexis says. “It’s so good to see you. And who is this?”

I open my mouth, but it’s my dragon who speaks. “Dragix,” he says, and Alexis blinks.

She stares at him. “I recognize your eyes,” she says softly. “From when we saw you by the river.”

He nods, and she gives him a wide grin.

“If you’re on our side, we could really use some help moving that ship in the river.”

I frown at that. “How come?”

“There’s a chance that the fluid leaking from it may be responsible for the low birth rates of female babies amongst the Braxians.”

Dragix is tense and quiet next to me, and I can practically hear him thinking that it would be a good thing if the Braxians were to die out naturally.

The silence stretches, turning to awkwardness, and I sigh. “How about we figure out what do with those purple aliens if they really are returning?”

Alexis nods. “That’s why we’re late,” she says. “We decided to check out the ship on the way here.”

“And?” Nevada asks, her eyes sharp.

Alexis blows out a shaky breath. “And it’s no longer flashing at all. The light is just continually red.”

I pull another pillow close and hug it to me. “What does that mean?”

“I think it means that they’re almost here. I’d bet money that it’s some kind of beacon, and I think that their ship is so close that they could be here any day.”

We’re all silent at that. I glance at Dragix, and he’s staring at the kradi entrance, his mind obviously elsewhere.

If they really are returning, we need to be prepared. “Okay,” I say. “What are we going to do about it?”

Nevada sits up. “Rakiz and Dexar are working with some of the other tribes, attempting to convince them to help us fight. The problem is that they don’t have any real reason to put everything on the line for us. There aren’t any human women at risk in their tribes.”

Beth clears her throat. “A few of the other tribes have agreed to fight as part of their alliance, but they’re not happy about it.”

I frown. “We need to convince the other tribes that they’d be at risk too. If these aliens are returning, it’s likely that they’re going to take a look around and grab anything they find interesting, right? Who’s to say they wouldn’t take the Braxian women?”

Ellie nods. “That’s what we’re trying to tell them.”

Ivy speaks up. “I think we need to go across the water and talk to the king on the