Alien Mate by Juno Wells

Author:Juno Wells [Wells, Juno]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-21T04:00:00+00:00

14 Radek

Radek gathered more men than he knew he was probably supposed to go on the recovery mission to the spaceship. The words were new on his tongue, but he was determined to remember them. They sounded so attractive in Gabby's exotic accent that they stuck straight into his brain. He could conjure her soft pink lips saying them without effort.

"Why are we going?" Evzen asked as he stood glaring over the parapet at the dead bodies of Kozar and Holub alike. "Why are we wasting our energy on this?"

Evzen was a relatively new soldier, and he was still adjusting to taking instruction. He'd been drafted into the ranks of active soldiers far earlier than normal. Training had been accelerated in the face of the new Holub offensive. They needed bodies, even if that meant they weren't the hardened men and women the Kozars normally put into battle.

"There are things in that metal box, that spaceship—" he said to the word so that it would start to enter the general language people used, "—that we might need to win this war."

"What, and we're trusting these newcomers when they say that?" Evzen didn't tear his glance away from the battlefield for even a second. "I can see my brother from here. That's the only thing I care about. That's the only thing anyone cares about."

"So you care about winning the war," Radek said, knowing he should pull himself away from this argument and address the gathering troops to explain their mission to them, but feeling it was important to make Evzen understand. It would be a common sentiment among the tribe. Distrust. Doubt. Feeling like nothing mattered except keeping the Holubs off their land.

"Of course I care about winning the fucking war," Evzen steamed, finally glaring head on at Radek.

Radek stared straight back, looking down slightly on the younger man. "Don't speak to your superiors like that," he said, with no warmth in his voice. Evzen needed to learn how the hierarchy worked. Radek wasn't cruel, but he wasn't someone who was going to stand for insubordination when it came to fighting. Too much was on the line.

Of course he realized how hypocritical that was when he'd just argued with Vaclav against a direct order about the same fight.

But it was different when it came to his mate. Of course it was different.

It didn't matter that Gabby didn't even know what a mate was, that she could probably never feel anything as intense as his feelings already were for her. He would still do whatever he could to keep her safe.

But Vaclav was the chief, and obeying the chief came above all else. It was a fact of life. The way the tribe had functioned since its inception.

He would have to settle for doing everything he could to protect Gabby outside the safety of the mountain.

Evzen didn't soften his jaw, but he looked away deferentially. "Sorry," he bit out.

"That ship contains things that, if the Holubs get hold of them, might be the end of the war.

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