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As the aliens ignored her in favor of ransacking her ship, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A broad-shouldered humanoid watched the scene from atop a nearby ridge.
Awesome. Another alien who saw her ship fall out of the sky and raced over here to pick over its carcass. Or, dare she hope, it was someone here to aid the survivors?
Please let it be the latter, she thought, her situation rapidly devolving from “holy shit, I’m on an alien planet” to “holy shit, I’m going to die on this stupid alien planet” and she wasn’t okay with that.
She locked eyes with the alien. An odd thread of connection touched her soul, linking her to him. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced.
Hey there, she thought in his direction — not that she believed he had telepathy but, hey, alien planet so anything was possible — I’m not usually one to ask, but… a little help here?
3
NOX
Fucking trolls, Nox thought, absently tracing the deep scar marring his cheek as he watched the group settle around the fire. If he didn’t do half his business with people on this planet, he’d avoid it like the plague so he wouldn’t have to deal with another troll in his lifetime.
When he first spotted three lower mountain trolls circling the wreckage, he almost got back into his skimmer and left, promise to Feriq be damned. But then he saw her, and his entire body froze.
Dressed in an odd, skin-tight suit of dark blue that emphasized her athletic form, her unusual yellow hair curling around her round face, the little female put her hands on her hips and bravely faced three giant trolls surrounding her with no weapons and no backup. It even looked like she was trying to bargain with them.
Nox shook his head. When the males gathered together and formed a gang, there was no negotiating with them, no peace to be had. But, considering the unusual design of her ship and her peculiar clothing, logic said she wasn’t from around here. She must not know about trolls.
Her attempt at a peaceful solution was cut short when a troll bound her up in a constriction net, a cruel device that would squeeze the life out of the victim if they continued to struggle. Anger flared, the desire to rip those trolls apart with his bare hands for daring to hurt her nearly pushing him to break cover. Common sense kicked in. After all, now he had a survivor to rescue. More, if there were captives in those metal trailer boxes the trolls were hauling.
But they could wait. The woman was his priority. He settled into position next to Navi, behind some scraggly bushes.
Navi gave him a chin tip in greeting. “Brave woman.”
He grunted in agreement, fitting the scope of his rifle to his eye. Braver than most soldiers he knew.
Her odd ship dug a deep furrow through the desert, scattering pieces of debris in its wake. The engine section still smoked, tiny flames flickering to life before spluttering out. It was unlike any engine he’d ever seen.
“Unusual tech,” Nox said, panning over the ripped boxes and open crates covered in lettering he didn’t recognize.
“Is that writing or a design on those boxes?” Navi asked.
“Whatever it is, I’m guessing she’s not from around here.”
“Huh. Interesting.”
Interesting indeed. A visitor from outside the system wasn’t an impossibility, just improbable. As people traveled farther from the central system, they’d come across a variety of new-to-them species and cultures. But rarely were there visitors from another galaxy.
He turned his scope back to her, a sense of connection building as he studied her. She hung limp in the net now, no longer struggling enough to trigger the device’s constriction response.
But she was far from defeated. The deep crease between her arched brows and the muscle jumping in her cheek spelled trouble for the trolls. She’s got an intrepid heart, he thought.
His nascent connection to the little female tightened, twisting around his heart in an unpickable knot. His instincts screamed at him to rush down there and sweep her into his arms, and carry her off to the safety of his ship. She belonged with him, and he’d protect her from any who sought to harm her.
Nox frowned at the direction of his thoughts. He’d never had such a visceral response to someone in his life. It was the type of reaction one might see with a mate match.
There were many races and species with strong mating instincts, though instant bonds between partners were uncommon. However, that kind of soul bonding usually only happened to those with a deep connection to their ancestry. Nox’s lineage was as cross-pollinated as they came. Still, the idea of having a mate was more appealing than he expected.
Even if this woman wasn’t his mate, she didn’t deserve what the trolls had planned for her. No one did.
His hand tightened on the rifle’s scope as he watched the gang settle in for the night. A thrill of excitement shot through him. Time to step up and be a big damned hero.
4
LIS
