Chapter 169
Tempest was finally starting to feel her energy bottom out.
They had been walking for hours and at a much slower pace than before. Rynax wanted to check every area before they walked through just in case there were any other animals around that they had to be worried about.
Tempest couldn’t complain too much about that.
The last thing she wanted was to be sucked back into the dirt and nearly eaten again.
While Rynax walked ahead, Gerax and Aliq stood on either side of her. They weren’t talking as much as before, and she wondered if it was just because they were both tired or if they’d finally run out of things to talk about. She suspected it was just exhaustion.
"You know, I never asked you why you wanted to go to the human settlement. Is there a reason?" Aliq questioned.
Tempest readjusted the pelt she was wearing so she could turn her head and look at him.
It seemed like a silly question for him to ask. But she knew it was valid.
"I want to find them because they could be the answers I’ve been searching for. Can you imagine being on a planet where someone tells you that there is no one else like you? That you are essentially an endangered species only to find out that it’s not the case. I just need to make sure for myself. It’ll, I don’t know, put me at ease." Tempest shrugged her shoulder. It was the best answer that she could give.
"Ah, well, I guess that does make sense." Aliq tapped his leg as he walked. Tempest could tell that he had more questions. He looked like Gerax anytime he wanted to say something he didn’t think Tempest would take well.
"There’s more. What else do you want to know?" Tempest questioned.
Aliq huffed slightly before a slew of questions came tumbling out of his mouth. "What will you do when you get there? Will you stay? Try to bring them back with you? Maybe take them to Thraqe? Do you think there can be other fated mates within that group?"
Tempest blinked a few times, trying to process his questions as they all but flew at her. "I don’t know what I’ll do when I get there. Like you said, the people in there aren’t very trusting. They may not even let me in. As for staying, no. At least I don’t think I will. I can’t. I have Dron." Her answer was all over the place, but she hadn’t even thought about staying at the human settlement. Now that Aliq brought it up, though, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Would it be different? Could she find a way of life there? Would it be worth it? Would they let Dron stay with her? If anything, she knew wherever she was she wanted Dron to be with her. That much hadn’t changed.
"As for bringing them back, I’m sure most of these humans have been hurt or slighted by the people of Ustea, and they won’t want to come back with me no matter what I say."
Finally her mind settled on his last question. Could there be other mates there in the settlement? Finding a soulmate was supposed to be a one-in-a-billion chance. The fact that Tempest had found Dron and they were connected in this way seemed unique to her, but what if it were possible? What if there were other humans who were fated with an alpha here in Ustea? "As for the fated mates, I guess it’s possible, but that’s not something I can say with certainty that there is."
Aliq chewed on his lip, it was clear he was so deep in thought.
It wasn’t until Tempest looked back up that she saw Rynax had slowed down. Almost as if he were trying to stay within earshot. She wondered if he heard what she just told Aliq. Was he thinking about the possibility of finding a mate in the human settlement? Tempest sped up, leaving Gerax and Aliq walking together.
"Hey, how’s it looking?" Tempest asked Rynax.
"No dangers that I can see or sense. I think this next patch of land is safe for us to walk across."
Tempest nodded. "That’s good." There was an awkward pause. She didn’t know how to bring up what she’d just talked to Aliq about.
"I’m not worried about finding a mate." Rynax started the conversation for her.
"That’s good to hear because if the humans there are anything like me, the last thing they are going to want is someone coming into their space just to look for a wife. If anything, they may find it offensive."
"Offensive? How? Isn’t finding a mate a blessing?" Rynax glanced at Tempest for a second before looking back toward the large path in front of them.
"It can be a blessing, but it can also be somewhat of a form of oppression. Right now, these people are used to living life on their own terms. Doing things how they want to do it. We both know the rules and procedures here in Thraqe are more geared toward the alpha. If you found a wife, she might feel like she would have to give up some of her freedoms just to be with you. They may not take too kindly to that."
Rynax scoffed again and shook his head. "I’d never take away my mate’s freedoms. She’d be free to do whatever she pleased. It’s only my intention to keep whoever I’m to be with happy and safe."
"Happy and safe. Tell me the truth, if I were your mate, would you have allowed me to take this journey?"
Rynax’s mouth dropped open slightly as if he were going to instantly answer. It closed after a second, and he looked away. "It’s not safe. I’d have found another way."
"That’s what I mean. These women are here surviving on their own. They go where they please, assess the risk on their own. They don’t need a man to tell them what to do. On earth, a good relationship means each person is treated equally and is part of a team."
"Yes, but even on a team, there are those that are better than others at certain skills. I just happen to be a better protector." Rynax smirked at her.
"And how do you know that? What if your mate is stronger and more trained than you? Would you really be able to give up control?" Tempest questioned.
Rynax was at a loss. He shook his head, and his mouth opened a few times as he attempted to answer, but nothing came out.
Tempest giggled, loving the sight of him so flustered.
"Just think about it. Things could be very different in this settlement than what you are used to." Tempest felt Gerax and Aliq walk up beside her. They were all walking together again.
"We should find another den to rest for the night. We don’t really want to be out here when it gets too dark." Aliq spoke up.
Tempest looked up and realized that the sun had indeed moved far across the sky. The night came quickly, and Aliq was right that she wouldn’t want to be out in the wilderness if she didn’t have to.
Aliq had already told her that it would take at least a day and a half before she made it to the settlement, but there was a small hope inside of her that maybe they could get there faster. It didn’t look like that was going to happen.
"Fine, let’s find a hidey hole." Tempest groaned.
Searching for someplace for them to stay the night took longer than Tempest would have liked. Aliq managed to locate not one but two dens but rejected both of them. The first one he said didn’t truly protect against any outside elements, and the second he said looked like other animals had made it their home.
Though Tempest didn’t want to stay anywhere an animal might be coming back to, it was starting to feel like more of Rynax just wanting to go against what Aliq was saying.
"I don’t care what the next one looks like. We are going to stay there." Tempest huffed out as she struggled to lift her feet to take another step. Her whole body felt heavy. She didn’t know how many miles she’d walked, as Aliq didn’t know how to convert the distance to miles, but it felt as if she’d walked at least fifty.
She found herself wishing for one of the transports she took advantage of back on Thraqe.
"If it’s not safe, we can’t stay there." Rynax replied.
"Being out here any longer isn’t safe. We need to get Tempest inside. She needs a rest." Gerax said, and when Tempest turned to look at him, she realized that he had his wrist device active and was looking at a long list of things.
She narrowed her eyes on the holographic screen, and though she had to read backward, she focused on what she could understand.
Gerax was checking her vitals. She wanted to be annoyed at the man, but she was honestly just too tired to care.
"I’m beat, Rynax. I’m not going to be able to walk much further before my body gives out. In case you forgot, I’m not built like the rest of you. I’m much more fragile." Tempest tried to make light of the situation.
"You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. There’s nothing fragile about you besides the skin surrounding the fire that burns within you."
Tempest jerked back at the intensity of his words. It was clearly meant as a compliment, but it still made her a little uneasy. She had been hoping that Rynax had gotten over his little infatuation with her. Based on what he’d just said, it didn’t seem like he had.
"Thank you for that. But the next one, okay. We’ll make the next den work." Tempest nodded slowly, almost willing Rynax to go along with what she was saying.
"Fine. Aliq, where’s the next one?" Rynax questioned.
Aliq stopped walking for a second to scan his surroundings. "The next one is a bit harder to get to." He grimaced slightly.
Tempest groaned. She didn’t want difficult. She wanted instantaneous. Wanted easy.
"Why?" Gerax asked.
Aliq pointed off into the distance. Everyone followed his finger with their eyes until they were peering in the direction.
"Oh, I see." Gerax grumbled.
"See what? I don’t see anything." Tempest searched the base of all the rocks, but she didn’t see an opening.
"Up." Rynax spat out, clearly annoyed.
Tempest raised her eyes slightly. And then a little more. Then a little more.
Finally, about twenty feet off the ground, she saw the large painting of the sundrizen on the wall. There were similar paintings near all the hunters dens. Different ones meant they were created by other settlements and were not welcoming to people of the stronghold.
"What the hell is it doing up there?" Tempest threw her hands up in exasperation.
"We don’t create the spaces, Tempest. We use what the moon goddess has given us. It seems this cliff only had an opening wide enough for a den in that location. I see a lot of good footholds, though. It shouldn’t be that challenging to get up there." Aliq shrugged his shoulders and adjusted his bag before he walked ahead of her.
The four of them walked over to the base of the cliff below where the hunters den was. Tempest looked up in disappointment. Rest was right there. She just would have to push herself to get up the side of this cliff. She had been doing much more climbing than she was used to.
She swore by the end of all this she would be in tip-top shape.
"Just one foot in front of the other." Rynax said from behind her.
"Yeah, I know. Or I fall to my death. Quite the motivation." Tempest mumbled. She wasn’t trying to be a brat, but she really didn’t want to do this.
"I could always carry you again." Rynax reached forward as if he were about to pull her into his arms. Tempest backed away quickly.
"No, that’s okay. I can make it. It’s not like there’s an army of bad guys trying to kill us this time. It’s just a little bit of exercise. I can do it." Tempest briefly explained. She hoped that he wouldn’t take offense to her not letting him touch her. But she didn’t want to be any closer to him than she had to be.
Rynax folded his arms over his chest and stood back, waiting for Tempest to do exactly what she said she was going to do.
With that, Tempest turned and lifted her leg. Just the small movement was enough to send a pulse of pain through her body. She hoped she didn’t make a fool out of herself because she was being stubborn. She placed her foot on the piece of rock jutting out and lifted herself up. There was another in the perfect spot for her next step.
The process was slow, and midway up she was sure she would start crying at any minute. She was just so tired. Tempest refused to quit, though. She looked over her shoulder once and could see Rynax right below her. He was waiting. It relieved her a bit to know that if she did happen to fall, he would be there to catch her. It hadn’t really occurred to her just how much she was truly trusting him with her life.
The entire journey might have been due to Tempest, but it was really Rynax who was keeping it from falling off the rails.
By the time Tempest is three quarters of the way up, she can feel her arms starting to shake violently, she’s just about out of strength.
"I’m right here. If you need me, I’m here." Rynax said from underneath her, and she could feel him pulling himself up closer to her.
Those words gave her another slight burst of energy. She grunted and groaned, but she finally pulled herself all the way up to the ledge and over.
Instead of just getting straight up, all Tempest could manage to do was roll over so she wasn’t in the way so the others could make their way up.
She watched as Rynax, then Gerax, and finally Aliq all made their way up onto the ledge with her. All three of them stood over her. Not one of them was out of breath.
Damn aliens. So much better than her at nearly everything.
All Tempest wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep, but she knew that wasn’t the best option. She needed to get inside, set up correctly, maybe get something to eat, and then she could go to sleep.
"I’m good, guys. I promise. I’m coming. Rynax, go check it out, make sure we don’t have any unwanted guests." Tempest huffed between deep breaths.
Rynax nodded once and walked away to go check the den out.
"You know, Rynax was right, though his delivery was a little different from what I would have said." Aliq continued looking down at her.
Tempest tilted her head slightly. "Right about what?"
"You are truly one of the strongest people I’ve ever met." He reached his hand down to help her up. Tempest took it willingly.
She was smiling when she stood.
Aliq said she was strong. Not for a woman. Not for an omega. Just as a person.
She’d spent so long feeling like a hindrance, that now that she knew they saw her as strong, it meant everything to her.
She would do her best to prove them right.
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⏸ PAUSE■ STOP