The Alien's Liberator: Alien Warrior Mates II, #10

By Grace Kensington

The Klimnu. With those two words, the world around the Denynso shatters and suddenly nothing is what it seemed. Now that Maxim has revealed the change of his skin and Ciyrs has administered his own vicious test, the warriors are convinced that they are witnessing the second coming of these grotesque enemies, and Pyra knows that he has to take control.

His methods, however, prove destructive and soon Maxim and Ivy have to make decisions that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. The devolved military state that the settlement has become is in chaos, but Ivy quickly discovers that there is more to fear than Pyra declaring himself unquestioned leader and declaring that the threat of the Klimnu needs to be destroyed once and for all.

With lives hanging in the balance every moment, every choice, and every revelation matters.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timothy Allen
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393285434

Book preview

1

The Klimnu. Ivy shuddered at the sound of the word. She had heard it before during her short time on the compound though she hadn't ever gotten the full story about them. She only knew that it was these creatures who the Denynso had fought against in their biggest and most intense war, the creatures who they had been fighting against when they climbed beneath the ground for the first time and discovered the mirrored realm that was home to Loralia and who were the cause of the death of Jem, one of their most treasured warriors. The rest of the details about them were shaky at best, but from the fire in Pyra's eyes and the growl in his voice, she knew that these were not creatures that should be taken lightly.

She looked down at Maxim who she still cradled in her arms, his head rested back on her shoulder as he gripped the arm that Ciyrs had just so brutally injured. The respect that she had initially held for Ciyrs had faded as soon as she watched his hand touch Maxim's arm and his scream of agony filled the air around them. Elianna had spoken of her mate as such a great and powerful healer, compassionate and nurturing in a way that was truly astonishing. He was the man who all of the warriors depended on to help them when they were injured or ill, the reason Elianna herself as well as Eden and Leia were still alive. Without him they would have succumbed to the injuries inflicted by the vicious Klimnu, and the men would have torn each other apart after being poisoned by the Covra and forced to fight against each other. He had seemed to be such an incredible person, yet now she had seen him coldly and without cause inflict horrific pain on the man who she loved.

What is wrong with you? she asked through gritted teeth, the tears still pouring down her cheeks as she looked up at Ciyrs.

He stared down at her, his orange eyes chilling in their lack of emotion. He didn't have the aggressive, searing anger in them that Pyra had in his own round, almost neon eyes. The color in them was unique to the Denynso, something that she had learned soon after her arrival among them. Not all of them had the rich orange color, a shade that was reminiscent of the last light of the sunset at night or the first rays of the sunrise in the morning. That glow was reserved only for the Denynso who had found their lifelong mates and completed their bond with them. It was an important distinction that showed that these men and women were set apart from the others and given the tremendous responsibility that came along with the bond.

When Ivy had first learned the significance of the orange colorations she thought that it was endearing, a sweet testament to the union of the two mates, but now that she was seeing it through the veil of cold emptiness in Ciyrs' expression, the color was a frightening, chilling reminder that the Denynso were not human, and were not like her. They were creatures that the humans were just beginning to really understand even after decades of contact. The thought hadn't mattered to her when she first began to plan for her visit to Uoria, or when she arrived and met the king and queen. Even though they had not been welcoming when she first encountered them, she knew that it was her fault. She hadn't followed the proper protocol in giving them notice about her arrival, and that is something that had been clearly and explicitly explained to her before she ever made arrangements to be a part of the exchange program. The Denynso were an extraordinarily regimented and structured society that lived their entire lives by the sense of responsibility and duty that was born into them. Their fate would be decided for them at birth and it was that role that they would spend their entire lives working to fulfill. By not telling them that she was coming she was putting this order and control at risk, something that could have resulted in her immediate expulsion from the planet. They only allowed her to stay because George had stood up for her and she agreed to their stringent regulations.

Answer me, she said, the tension in her jaw causing pain to radiate down the sides of her neck.

Without acknowledging her any further, Ciyrs turned sharply and walked out of the house, letting the door slam behind him.

Get up, Pyra said down to Maxim.

As soon as Maxim was out of her lap Ivy jumped to her feet and stepped up to Pyra.

What is going on? she demanded.

Pyra turned away from her and Ivy reached out to grab his arm. Pyra thrashed his arm out of her grip, turning and pulling his hand back as if he was going to strike her, but then lowered it to his side. Ivy stared up at him unwaveringly. Even his tremendous size and aggression weren't frightening her. She didn't care about the reputation he had built as the most forceful and violent of all of the Denynso warriors, or the fact that he was leader of the group of men. He wasn't going to force her back.

He is expected at the meeting hall with the others.

He has a name.

I don't care what his name is, Pyra said, glaring over her shoulder at Maxim. That creature will go to the meeting hall with the others of his kind.

And who are you to demand I, or any of my kind, do anything? Maxim demanded, stepping up behind Ivy close enough that she could feel his chest touch her back.

His hand rested protectively on her hip and Ivy found comfort in the touch.

I am the lead warrior of the Denynso. I am who brought them here and I am who came to your kingdom and brought you here. Where there is no control, I am that control. You will do as I say or I will eliminate you now.

Ivy felt her spine straighten and her chest swell angrily toward Pyra. She knew that she was tiny compared to him, but at that moment she felt like anything that he had was little compared to the anger that was swelling inside her. She no longer felt compelled to follow him, to assimilate to the ways of the compound or to even follow through with her part in the university program. This was not what she had intended when she agreed to come along to help George with his research. She thought that she would be coming to the beautiful and mysterious planet of Uoria to learn more about the Denynso and the planet itself. She thought that perhaps they would do experiments that would teach them more about the environment, the plant life, and how the Denynso and another creatures they encountered lived and be able to record enough information that they could write up reports that would finally get her name in the scientific publications at home. She had not anticipated the turmoil that she would walk into or the tumultuous journey that she would have to go on to go to the settlement to help the lost humans locked there. She had not anticipated meeting another species, one that was so like her own and yet still different, and falling so deeply in love with one of those people. She had especially not anticipated listening to the rage in Pyra's voice or standing in the middle of what was becoming an impending war.

Ivy felt Maxim's hand tighten on her hip and apply pressure so that he guided her back toward him rather than allowing her to advance toward Pyra like she wanted to. She could hear him making soothing, quieting sounds into her ear as if attempting to quell the words that hadn't even started out of her mouth yet. She wanted to lash out at Pyra, to tell him that this was not the way that the world worked, but she realized that when she was on Uoria, this was the way the world worked. She was at the mercy of other species who lived a life so incredibly different from hers it was nearly impossible to reconcile them from many angles. As much as she had dreamed of coming to Uoria and had been so looking forward to the time that she would get to spend on the planet, now all she wanted was to bring Maxim back to Earth with her and pretend that, other than him, the time on the strange planet hadn't happened.

You aren't going to threaten him, Ivy hissed.

It's alright, Ivy, Maxim said, tightening his grip even more. I have nothing to hide and neither does any other member of my kind. We are a peaceful kind. We will go to the meeting hall like he asks and hear what he has to say. We can decide then what we will do from there.

2

P yra, how can you know what you are saying is true?

Pyra looked