Chapter 144: Coming Out of the Woodwork
I woke up slowly, not wanting to open my eyes just in case this was all a dream and I was still outside in the winter wastelands of the ice planet. Right now, I was warm, comfortable, and with the steady heartbeat of someone under my ear.
I was much too happy right now to want to wake up.
"If you don’t wake up, how can we feed you?" The voice was low and deep, vibrating the chest I was clearly using as a pillow. I groaned and rolled over, taking all of the blankets with me so that I could wrap myself up in my cocoon again.
The growling voice chuckled, and I could feel the body it belonged to roll over with me, bringing me into its arms.
Letting out a giant yawn that caused my jaw to crack, I snuggled into the embrace. "It’s too early to eat, Midnight. Let me sleep for a while longer."
"It has been almost a full day since you first fell asleep. The other males have gone and come back with the herbs you need in the time you have spent sleeping. Are you planning on staying in bed for the rest of your life?" he chuckled.
"Is that an option?" I asked, more intrigued about the idea of being able to stay in bed forever than worried about any males he was talking about. They probably belonged to his original ship.
"Shut up and let her sleep," came a second voice, and it took me a minute to know where I had heard it from before.
"The fur trader?" I asked, confused about how he came to be on my ship. Maybe he was out hunting furs on this planet and happened to come across me and Midnight.
"He prefers to be called Ye’tab," laughed Midnight, "But yes, the fur trader. Apparently, we were a bit late with your warning system."
"Ah fuck," I growled, wiggling my way out of the cocoon just enough for my face to be exposed. Mates seemed to be coming out of the woodwork, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing.
Crouched in front of me was the same Saalistaja from before, but his armor appeared to be a bit different. "I don’t suppose you happened to have gotten new armor since I last saw you?" I asked, hoping that I didn’t pull this male to me without his consent.
"My armor is made from Nanos that are controlled by my genetic makeup," said Ye’tab, not actually answering my question but still letting me know that I fucked him up on a genetic level too. "I happen to like and appreciate the changes. I no longer have most of the weaknesses that my species is susceptible to... and I found a mate. I don’t see a downside."
Fuck. These aliens were taking this a lot better than any human man would have.
I could picture it now... some guy walking down the street minding his own business, and all of a sudden, thanks to a gust of wind, his life was completely changed, and he was essentially married. Yeah, I didn’t see that going over too well. Or at least not with a long period of resentment and lectures on consent.
But here, these males seemed to think that this was the best thing to ever happen to them.
Oh well, when in Rome...
I stared at Ye’tab, where he remained unmoving in front of me. The red lights of his eyes were not as creepy as I initially thought they would be. They were almost reassuring, but that couldn’t be possible. I must need more sleep.
However, if he were claiming to be my new mate, maybe he would be willing to take off his armor so I could see what he actually looked like.
I was about to open my mouth to ask him when a third voice came out from the back of the ship, and a gust of cold air washed over me. I shivered and pulled the fur up over top of me until only my eyes and forehead were exposed. I had more than enough of the cold, thank you very much.
"Shut the hatch!" growled both Midnight and Ye’tab at the same time. Quickly the wind stopped, and I brought the blanket down so that my nose and mouth were exposed, testing the air to make sure it was no longer colder than a witch’s tit.
"Is she awake?" came a new voice, and I recognized the same clicking language as Ye’tab. Another Saalistaja? Who...
"GA?" I called out, my face scrunched in confusion. "You were on this planet too?"
I could feel Midnight bury his nose in the back of my neck, his body shaking as he tried to suppress his laughter. "More like they came here on your ship then just randomly managed to find themselves on the same planet."
"I would like to point out that I did randomly find her on a planet after she fell into my trap," said GA, and I took the time to study him. His armor was matte silver color with purple dreadlocks coming out of his helmet. Speaking of his helmet, it seemed to have two horns coming out each side, but instead of pointing up, they pointed back.
Unlike Ye’tab’s helmet, there were no glowing eyes drawing me in and never letting go. Instead, there was pure darkness that reminded me of the vastness of space. I wanted to be sucked in and learn all of its secrets, no matter what dangers that posed.
"GA?" I asked again, this time more sure about my guess. There was only one planet where I fell into a trap, and an invisible Saalistaja showed up to take care of me.
"GA?" asked Midnight.
"Guardian Angel. He fed me and killed one of your snakes," I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. I probably would have been able to survive just fine on my own, but he definitely made my life easier.
My Guardian Angel just grunted and walked toward me, carrying something that looked and smelled like meat on a stick.
I chuckled as I untangled my covers and emerged from my cocoon. At least I could always rely on this male to feed me. He was definitely worth keeping around.
"I assume that you are one of my mates, too?"
