I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “My future is where you will be happiest. And that’s on Khepri.”
I didn’t miss the glimmer of joy that crossed his dark eyes, quickly suppressed. Reaper studied my features, as if he was trying to assess the sincerity of my words.
“Is that what you want or what you feel you have to do?” Reaper insisted.
“I will be happy here on Dreija or on Khepri, as long as I am with you,” I replied with sincerity. “I am a little anxious about living among so many humans, but they are my people. There’s so much I missed out on, spending my whole life trapped in that base. Now that I am free, I don’t want to squander my freedom hiding behind something safe. It will get overwhelming and scary at times, but I’m not afraid because I won’t face it alone. You’ll be there, with me, to catch me when I fall.”
“Always, my mate. Always,” Reaper said with fervor. “But, what of Brees and the others?”
I swallowed hard and tried to silence the sharp pain that clawed at my heart. “I hope she will choose to come to Khepri as well, but she must follow her own heart. She is very tempted to stay here. The Matriarch has certainly been trying to sway them. But whatever she decides will not impact my decision. I love her dearly. She’s been a sister and sometimes a mother to me. However, just like children eventually leave the nest, sisters also go their separate ways to make their own lives,” I said, my eyes flicking between his. “And my life is with you. I will always choose you. If Brees stays on Dreija, you’ll just have to bring me here for a few days from time to time so that I can visit with her.”
“That, I can definitely do,” Reaper said.
The slight trembling of his voice reflected the powerful emotion that descended on his beautiful features. I realized at that point how important it had been for him to know that he was the most important person in my life. It boggled my mind that such a perfect male could be so insecure.
“I love you, Reaper. You are my life, now and always.”
“I love you, too, Janelle,” Reaper said before capturing my lips in a searing kiss.
Breakfast in the Creckel camp was lively, and quite funny with our hosts crinkling their noses at our cooked meats. But where Reaper’s mood was upbeat and even more playful than usual, Doom’s grew increasingly withdrawn as the hour of our departure approached, echoing the one that gnawed at me. My heart bled for him. Stran had become more than a friend to him, more like a brother.
This morning, my companions still hadn’t decided what they wanted to do, Brees included. I didn’t think they were playing hard to get but were simply genuinely torn. It hurt me more than I was willing to admit, but sleeping on our situation after the first day on Dreija had confirmed I was making the right choice. This place wasn’t adapted for humans. Unless other humans settled here too, what kind of life would my future children have? What if they got injured and needed medical assistance? What of Reaper who had been used to certain comforts?
After some emotional goodbyes to our hosts, I froze when Brees and Grol walked up to the Matriarch to also say farewell. When she strutted her way towards me, I threw my arms around her neck, nearly stabbing my hands on the sharp horns on her head and nape. To my shame, I ended up making quite a spectacle of myself, bawling with happiness. Until this instant, I hadn’t realized how crushed I had felt about parting with my childhood friend. Since my birth, we had never been separated.
Reaper’s obvious joy at the news only made me love him more. Although he had formed a bond with Brees, his happiness was mostly on my behalf. Reaper suddenly burst out laughing, while Brees playfully bumped her snout against his leg.
“That is certainly true,” my mate said to her. “Your assistance will be much appreciated.” His grin broadened when he noticed me staring at him questioningly. “Brees just said she had no choice but to come babysit us until we learn how to communicate properly.”
I glared at the Creckel with false anger, and she tauntingly lolled her tongue on the side of her jaw. I was opening my mouth to make some smart remark when a sad keening sound drew my attention. I gaped, disbelieving, at the Matriarch rubbing her face in a heartbroken farewell against her daughter Leyi’s face. Stran, looking guilty, was standing next to them, head down, his sons pressed against his front paws. Despite her sorrow, there was no anger from the Matriarch when she embraced Stran and then her grand-children, only resignation.
The emotion on Doom’s face as his long-time friend and war companion came towards him, followed by his family, turned me upside down. Although he tried to play it cool, Doom didn’t fool anyone.
“You realized you’d miss me too much, huh?” Doom said in a rough voice that betrayed his feelings.
Stran snorted and disdainfully shook his head. He cast a glance at Brees before looking smugly at Doom.
“I’ll accept that,” Doom said with a shrug. “But you still would have missed me too much.”
Stran scoffed then strutted his way onboard the ship, his young sons hopping excitedly around him under the amused gaze of his mate.
Intrigued, I looked questioningly at Brees. She puffed out her chest before bombarding me with images. Stran was coming to Khepri to help train her and the others to become members of the Vanguard. Initially, he’d planned on coming back to Dreija to start a new family. But now that he had found his, he could show them what he had been up to over the years, while also training the next generation. After that, they would decide where they wanted to live for the long haul.
A part of me suspected that Khepri would become Stran’s permanent home and that, like Brees and I—maybe even some of the other Horned Creckels—we would frequently come back to Dreija to visit their homeworld.
Although Stran chose to travel with us aboard our chaser, the rest of my companions decided to journey to our new home in the frigate that had more space to accommodate them. Brees hesitated, even when Reaper tried to convince her to travel with us. But the brat told me she didn’t want to interfere with our baby-making, and that it would be safer for her to keep an eye on her own, especially Trug who was always up to no good.
In the end, there was indeed a lot of baby-making happening on the six-day trip to Khepri.
The day of our arrival, all my fears and uncertainties were swept away by a tornado of love, joy, and warm welcomes. There were too many faces and names to remember. I only knew that the Xian Warriors were breathtaking in their golden splendor, and the Dragons—Reaper’s countless blood brothers—were just as stunning with their dark scales and half-moon horns. The Scelks, every last one as intimidating as Reklig, proved just as genuinely happy to see my mate and his team return.
The hero’s welcome I received left me baffled. All I had done was survive a terrible ordeal with the psychological support and loving presence of my companions. The rest I entirely owed to Doom’s team rescuing us and nursing us back to health.
But it felt wonderful to be accepted despite my defects. Moreover, Reaper’s brother Rogue—who was the medical doctor of the Dragons—all but fought Doom’s wife, Victoria—who was the human female’s medical doctor on Khepri—for the right to look after me. Victoria only conceded as far as him upgrading my optical implant, but she put her foot down about anything else. I thought it was hilarious and couldn’t deny loving having people fight over me. But as Reaper and Rogue shared both a mother and a father—unlike his other brothers with whom he only shared a father—it was understandable that Rogue would want to take extra care of his closest brother’s mate.