Page 10 of The Hunter's Mate

“It always does,” I say. “Politics are complicated in all places where governments and alliances are formed; it’s why I am not a politician.”

“Me either,” she snorts. “That’s why I prefer it out here where it’s simple. Kill or be killed, predator or prey.”

“Is it so simple, though?” I ask. I gesture back at the enclosure where I’ve kept the zimya. “Tomorrow’s game will be one of predators alone. We do not know who will hunt who…and who will survive.”

“I have this feeling you’re not going to let me die,” she says.

“There’s only so much I can control when it comes to your destiny.”

“But it’s more than you’re letting on,” she says. “You could have killed me when you stalked me out here; you didn’t. You could have let me die; you nursed me back to health, using your own resources instead. And now you want to play a game.”

I meet her eyes, but say nothing.

“Do you play games with all your prey?” she asks.

An alien sensation stirs in the pit of my stomach. “Just the ones who intrigue me.”

A pretty pink color paints her cheeks in the dark, her gaze faltering. Her clothes are finally dry, but she’s refused to bathe. She doesn’t trust that I’ll be modest with her…and perhaps she isn’t wrong.

She makes me feel something I haven’t often felt.

Raw, aching desire.

“So I had another question,” she says. “If you just let me go, can you assure me that no one else will come looking?”

I toss my head in the way she does to indicate uncertainty. “I will tell my people and my superiors that I lost your trail,” I say, “but I cannot promise no one else will come looking for you.”

“It’s just a temporary fix, then,” she says. “And I guess…the angels aren’t going anywhere, huh?”

I toss my head again. “I cannot imagine they will.”

Her pink tongue flicks out over her lips, the plump flesh glistening in the moonlight. I want to sink my teeth into her that same way, to taste her. Perhaps I’ve been in space too long.

“I’ll survive,” she says with a steely glare. “I always have. Even after this is over, I’ll find a way.”

“You seem confident you’ll best me in our game,” I say.

Her expression grows wily once again.

“I think I already have.”

8

Fawn

I wish we could just get this hunt up and running so I have a better idea what my fate will be, but I have to admit I’m exhausted. After I’ve eaten and talked to Nyrik about his expectations for our little game, my body sags with the exertions of the day, and I let out a big yawn.

Nyrik watches me closely from where he sits beside me on the hatch.

“You’re tired,” he says.

“I need to sleep,” I agree. “Any chance you’ll take me home?”

His frill flares out in dazzling emerald—a reptilian grin. “More clever games,” he says. “You think you might escape me now that we’ve made an agreement?”

The thought may have crossed my mind, sure—but I didn’t really think I would try to escape tonight. In fact, I’m thinking more and more that there’s no point in trying to get away at all, when my planet is in the clutches of a hostile alien force.

“I didn’t see a bed in there, and I need a comfy place to get a good night’s rest,” I say. “You got any other suggestions?”