Page 20 of 3013: SAVIOR
“She has giant lions as pets?” Travis gasped, dragging Lina back a few steps.
“They are companions, not pets,” Jecca corrected, beckoning her mate closer. “This is Roko, And that is Aki. She seems to like you already.”
Zack swallowed hard before he reached down and ran shaking fingers over Aki’s large head. The argos’ soft, thick fur felt amazing against his hand. He grinned as the big beast purred and pushed against his hand pleading for more pets, then he let out a delighted laugh when Roko sidled over and licked his other wrist with his coarse tongue. He smiled over at Jecca, silently thanking her for the experience.
“No need to thank me, mate. You are very brave to interact with them like this,” she said, sounding pleased. “They are part of our family, so it warms my heart to see you getting along. Your friends seem a little more anxious.”
“They are terrified,” he said cheerfully. He still wasn’t used to using their bond to communicate, but it did come in handy. The argos looked like giant lion-like beasts, but it was hard for him to fear them when he felt how much Jecca loved them. “But I am confident you won’t let them tear my face off.”
“Do not worry. I will keep you safe,” she promised with a chuckle. “I like your face too much to see it damaged, even temporarily.”
The sound of a boat drawing closer had them turning to watch as the new arrivals approached the dock. As soon as the boat stopped, Magnus, Razar, and Brielle Artane jumped off and rushed over to Nico.
While they had their reunion, Jecca’s sister and Xian Renn suddenly appeared a few feet away. Even though Zack knew she was Jecca’s twin, it was still jarring to see another female with his mate’s face. While that was true enough, he had no problem telling Jecca and Jaya apart. That wasn’t just because of the color of their hair, either.
Jaya hurried over to wrap her arms around Jecca in a bone-crushing hug, then she pulled back and pinched her arm hard.
“Ow!” Jecca hissed, rubbing away the sting. “What in the worlds is wrong with you?”
“You are never allowed to forget me again.” Jaya punctuated each word with a playful slap to Jecca’s arm. “Do you understand?”
Jecca rolled her eyes as she hugged her sister, probably to stop her from hitting her again. “It is not like I did it on purpose.”
While they continued to bicker, Zack walked over to stand next to Xian. The former Krytos-D’Aire hybrid was normally a pretty laid-back guy, but he was looking a little frazzled at the moment.
“Being mated to my sister will do that,” Jecca said dryly.
Zack sent her back a chuckle before he elbowed Xian in the side to get his attention. Xian shot him a quick glance, then did a double take. “Your head…ah, the conversion. So, you’re all fixed up now?”
“I am. Glad to see you survived the zombie apocalypse.”
“Seriously, this has been a shit show of epic proportions. But it was all worth it to meet her,” Xian said, lifting his chin to gesture toward where the twins were engaged in a heated debate. “I guess that makes us brothers now.”
“Guess so.” Since Zack had been friends with Xian for years, that didn’t bother him.
“It’s good to see you got the power cell fixed. Jaya was really freaking out when she couldn’t reach her sister. And to think, all of this started because of a creature we didn’t know was living in the water.”
“Unfortunately, we’re going to have a lot more of this happening soon.”
Alarmed, Xian asked, “What do you mean?”
“The creatures usually sleep underwater, but all the noise is disturbing their sleep pattern and they are waking early,” Jecca announced, drawing everyone’s attention.
“There are more of these things? Are they going to wake up and start attacking all of the islands?” Travis asked. “Fucking hell, this is bad.”
“It would be their right.” Jaya sent him a fierce frown. “You did not research this planetoid properly before you moved here.”
Magnus held his hands up in defense. “You’re right. We didn’t know, but we can’t have people being killed all over the place.”
“Yeah, I’ve already seen a vid of that happening, and it’s not good,” Nico commented.
“Try visiting the south side of the island,” Xian said dryly. “You can experience it for yourself.”
“Pass,” Nico, Brielle, Travis, and Lina said as one.
“Okay, let’s go hunting for—” Razar began, but Jecca cut him off.
“You will not. It is not the creatures’ fault you have invaded their natural habitat and disrupted their sleep cycle. Normally, they remain sleeping for approximately seven years, but the noise of construction and the energy surges coming from the power cells have started to wake them before it is time. They are simply reacting to a perceived threat.”