Artemis rocked Orion in her arms, singing a lullaby while the infant slept. He had finally calmed down after an hour of nonstop crying. The little guy had barely slept since being separated from her a week ago. That supposed instinct babies seemed to have about their mother's stress had been real; Orion hadn't slept a wink for his babysitter.

Now that he was finally calm, Artemis breathed a sigh of relief as she finished the song.

Ever since she had fully recovered Orion wanted to be cuddled all hours of the day. She was frankly exhausted.

Tired. Spent.

Overwhelmed.

Rhage had been busy making time to enforce loyalty. Those who proclaimed loyalty to Valam were dealt with, their lives ended with death. His recovery had been almost non-existent per usual to Yautja, so her mate had went to work weeding out any potential threats to her and himself. Even Dhare had been on edge, his presence near constant since they returned to the ship.

She still couldn't believe it. He had finally called her his step-bearer. The beefy male hadn't admitted it, but she could tell he had been fearful of her possible death at Valam's hands.

Thinking of Dhare...

The door to her and Rhage's quarters slid open to reveal Dhare standing on the other side. In he walked carrying a box full of familiar looking produce. She noted a couple of apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, carrots, and various others from Earth. Her interest piqued as he loaded them into the cooling unit next to the meat locker in the kitchen area.

Ever since they had returned, Dhare had been around frequently. Whether it was to help in her recovery or when she needed help with Orion...he was there.

He turned his golden gaze to her once he finished and came to sit across from her. Leaning forward he plucked Orion from her arms and purred softly. The little guy was tiny in the arms of this shredded alien where nothing was small about him.

"I am glad you have recovered, step-bearer. We have reached the hunting planet to blood the Unblooded. You will be able to watch." He cocked his head to the side as he gazed at her.

"Oh, good! I'm sure it will be exciting!" Whispered Artemis, "Without all of your help it wouldn't been harder to get back to my normal self." She patted his arm lightly, pulling away when he tensed up at the touch.

He clicked his tusks together softly and turned his attention back to Orion. "Sei'i."

Dhare was quiet for the longest while as they sat together in quiet companionship. Her mate's son wasn't one for conversation, but she didn't mind.

"Dhare, did you have any leads on the woman you're going to look for?"

The shake of his mane was answer enough, "Mo."

"Will you really kill her if you do? You could always...I don't know..." Artemis swept her hands in the air, wracking her brain to come up with another solution. "You could always take her as a prisoner in your custody...kind of like a cop?"

Him taking her alive was a better solution than killing her. To think that he could kill someone he had so obviously had a connection to would be...heartbreaking. There was a potential coming together! A romance, perhaps!

She had seen him romp with Khaj, but this was different.

When she had watched the footage with Rhage and he, she could feel the potential for Dhare and this mystery woman. She was a romantic, yeah, and maybe she was projecting, but damn she really wanted to see Dhare happy. To truly be happy with someone who understood him. To find someone who would give him what he needed.

It certainly had happened with her.

Rhage was the perfect partner. Their relationship had been so much more than sex. She wanted the same for Dhare.

He was a good male and deserved it.

Dhare shrugged, the muscles in his shoulders bulging with the movement.

"I...will think upon it. If it is decided that I...let her live...I will need your help. I know nothing of human females. Your...expertise may be of use." He purred as the infant stirred in his sleep, his tiny hands clenching into fists.

She really hoped the baby would keep sleeping. She was already tired enough. Him waking up to cry some more would've really been all she could take for now. Luckily, he settled back down and slept on in his half-brother's arms.

Dhare rose to his feet and set Orion in his crib with the utmost care before turning to her, his locs flying about with the sudden turn of his heel. He stood there awkwardly before giving her a small smile, his top mandibles pulling up slightly.

"Call me should you need me. Thank you for your counsel." The bone jewelry in his locs clinked together as he made a hasty retreat through the door.

He was an odd Yautja but very much like his father, Artemis noted. He was gentle and kind though he would never admit it. Unlike most Yautja, he had the privilege of having Rhage, an Elder, as his sire. He was one of few male Yautja who would keep up with his pups to help lead them in the right direction, at least that's what Rhage had told her once.

This resulted in ensuring his bloodline was strong and capable. That his offspring would be the strongest.

The ones females would fight to mate with.

For Dhare's sake, she hoped he found her and chose not to kill her. Maybe he would take her advice. Maybe he wouldn't. Hopefully he would.

Padding across the room, after checking on Orion, Artemis stood in front of the massive window to gaze at the planet outside. It was a white planet that looked like it was covered in snow. Floating in space a good distance away was the Black Blade clanship, the ship that carried her newfound friends — ones she hoped she would have forever.

Polaris.

That was the name she wanted to give the planet. It seemed to fit the icy wasteland. She didn't doubt that it was covered in nothing but snow and ice, maybe even mountains with pearly icecaps.

Winter had always been her favorite season. It was until she had been kidnapped however.

The cold brought back memories of the cold sterile environment she had been trapped in. Maybe in due time she would grow to like the cold again. With her extended lifespan, she could potentially had many years to work on overcoming the dark parts that still lingered, reaching from the past with their icy claws.

Only time and hard work on her part would help melt the ice grip of the past.

• • •

The last threat had been delivered when Rhage retired for the night cycle. He entered his quarters and crossed the room, striding through the dark room with purpose. Before he reached the nest where Artemis peacefully slumbered, he checked on Orion, finding the little pup doing the same. Orion slept on his front where he slightly curled in a ball beneath a fur pelt.

His gaze swept from Orion to Artemis. Seeing his family safe and alive melted the stress that had been building in his shoulders.

There had been so much pain. All of it for nothing. A dumb betrayal that was basically for nothing! Valam had pulled the metaphorical rug from under his feet. The male had thrown away his honor for something so...he couldn't even find the right word.

It was that pointless.

Never in all his years had he seen such a thing, nor experienced it.

He wished to never experience it again nor see it.

He carefully placed his cape in its compartment along with his armor before climbing into the nest next to Artemis. She didn't stir when he drew back the covering she favored so much, the dark fabric material soft but warm beneath his touch. Yautja typically slept beneath furs but he had come to like this material instead. It molded itself over his body as he settled in and pulled his mate gently against his chest, one arm wrapped around her.

Much to his surprise, she awoke.

"I fell asleep waiting up for you." She murmured, sleep still evident in her voice. His mate nuzzled his chest affectionately.

Rhage purred, "You do not need to wait on me, pa'ya-te. I have told you that your recovery is important."

"You're important, too..."

The Elder Yautja exhaled loudly, "Not as important as you. I nearly lost you, mate. I wish to never feel like that again."

Artemis trailed soft kisses across his chest and snuggled closer, wrapping her leg around one of his so that they were tangled together under the blankets. She fit in his arms perfectly, her small body soft against his rough one. A contrast he loved.

"I'm still here thanks to you. I love you, Rhage."

"I love you as well, Artemis. The stars will never burn as bright as my love for you does. Even through the trials we have faced, we have emerged victorious. Our love strengthened. We will endure." He nuzzled his forehead against hers like a cat, purring in his chest softly.

Her soft laughter shook her body against him, "You always have a way with words, my love. You're a true poet." In the dark of the room he could see pink blotching her cheeks.

He swept a thumb gently across her heated cheek feeling the warmth beneath. Humans were an interesting species, one he greatly admired. This particular one he had killed for and wouldn't hesitate to do again.

"Slumber. Tomorrow brings new promises and new adventures."

Artemis settled down and quickly went to sleep, safe and secure in Rhage's arms. He soon followed suit, letting sleep take him under.

• • •

The clanship created the horizon of the planet Polaris. A long dark sleek ship that easily housed thousands of Yautja and smaller ships within; dropships, personal ships, and scouting vessels, in the hundreds of each.

Polaris seemed to gleam in the faint light that reached the surface, the white almost sparkling to those who viewed its icy surface from space. It rotated on its axis at a leisurely pace that brought on short days and long nights measuring up to a long four hundred days in a year. Some thousand years ago it had been inhabited by a sentient species but it had long gone extinct, their civilization buried beneath the ice and snow. It now lay a barren wasteland where only the animals had endured.

When the biggest species was implanted with the embryo of a kiande amedha they proved to be mighty adversaries; almost more so than humans, the mightiest foe. The creatures had a cunning that allowed them to play with their prey. Such a quality tested the Unblooded to their limit and the harsh environment did little to help.

Yautja thrived in the heat. Cold environs proved a worthy challenge. They must be able to adapt in any hunting grounds. Adaption made a great hunter, among other things, but it was the strongest attribute. If they couldn't survive a frozen desolate wasteland then they couldn't survive a planet with almost sun-like temperatures. Becoming complacent was impossible in these situations.

The Unblooded would have to prove their might or die.

Such was the way of Yautja.

There wasn't room for a hunter that couldn't.

"You are a go to release the Queen." Rhage flicked his hand towards the Yautja seated in front of a screen at his left.

A few taps across the floating keys released the Serpent Queen into the wilderness of Polaris, the mighty beast screeching in relief to be free at last. Rhage, Rakar, and the others watched as she was followed by a drone from above. Their scanners belted out readings in the screen of the weather to come as the drone flew through the air at a safe distance from the giant sleek black creature racing through the frozen tundra. She seemed to be heading to a series of caverns in a forested area across the way.

Kiande Amedha Queens favored cave systems where they felt safe and protected from the outside. Their hives would grow undetected.

"This is looking to be the most interesting joint hunt in all of my years..."

Rhage turned his head at Rakar's words. The fellow Clan Leader had been silent since Rhage and a few others had returned with Artemis from the surface of a backwater forest moon. He grunted in agreement, "Indeed it has. It had been delayed by traitorous acts committed by someone I trusted with my life. Such a pointless betrayal."

Rakar shifted his yellow eyes to Rhage, "Indeed. Your ooman mate survived longer than I thought she would. For that, she deserves some credit. She has similarities to Leoni, Drogaxe's mate."

"Do not compare my mate to his. His is crass and behaves like a Young Blood." Growled Rhage.

He didn't appreciate the comparison. Artemis had a grace that Leoni did not. She was soft and sweet whereas Leoni was hard and sour.

The Black Blade Clan Leader chuckled, his greying locs shaking about, "I meant that she is a survivor, old friend. She overcame the odds. With training...perhaps your mate would do well as a hunter if she wished."

When the time came, he would train her, but not to hunt. He would teach her how to fight and defend herself. Should anything ever happen to her again, it would be his fault for not stepping in to give her the tools she needed to handle it on her own in the case he wouldn't be able to assist.

She was human. She wasn't born Yautja.

She would need all the help he could give her and more. She clearly wasn't helpless, the blood she managed to draw from Valam impressive enough, but she didn't know proper defense maneuvers against someone thrice her size.

"I will train her in defense. I may not always be there should something else befall us." He remembered the time he had come upon her in the kehrite, Dhare calling him there to watch as she showed some former training. She hadn't known she was being watched. Channeling that hurt and anger within her would help her move past the trauma ingrained in her. "She has had minimal training as a youth, but nothing compared to what Yautja learn."

His golden eyes slid to the screen before him where he watched the Serpent Queen begin to construct her nest. Perhaps one day Artemis would kill a Queen with him.

Such a possibility was thrilling. Hunting side by side with the light of his life. Not many Yautja had that kind of opportunity. Hunting alongside one's lifemate was rare.

A pinging from Rakar's gauntlet pulled his attention away from Rhage. He read a message that projected from his gauntlet before pushing buttons on the device. Grumbling under his breath, he sighed. Rhage chittered in question as he watched his old ally turn on his heel.

"Is everything alright, Rakar?" He called, turning to watch Rakar head to the door, hands fisted at his sides.

The door slid open and he stopped, turning enough to scoff, "Young Bloods. You know how it is." He waved a hand in the air as he turned the corner and left.

Indeed he understood how hot blooded Young Bloods were. Always fighting amongst each other to prove their strength and attempt to gain some honor. They hadn't yet learned humility and restraint. In a way they were still pups, despite their official adulthood status once they were blooded.

He was turning his attention back to the screens when Artemis came through the door. She wore a brown wrap around her upper chest with Orion tucked safely in it while she walked, making her way to Rhage with a smile on her face. Unlike her usual flowy dresses that she typically wore, she wore a dark green bandeau and a skirt that female Yautja typically wore. The fabric consisted of two simple rectangles in the front and back but showed the sides of their legs down to their knees.

Seeing her wear such clothing allowed her stretch marks to be seen. The pale lavender stripes zigzagging across her hips and various other places on her body.

He couldn't help the purr of interest as his eyes roamed her soft little body. She was all his eyes could see as she strode towards him. Clenching his hands helped to reign in his need for her. This female would surely be the death of him.

"Hi." Artemis wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which he promptly returned while he knelt down for her.

"Artemis, you look...enticing." His voice was a guttural growl.

Her arms wrapped around Rhage's thick neck as she giggled. Softly she rained kisses on his face, being careful to not squish Orion between them. She pulled back when he licked her cheek.

"I could feast on your plush little body. Trace the lightning that decorates your little body and make you sing my name." The tiny hairs on her legs rose as her skin pimpled beneath the light touch of his claws trailing down her legs.

The smell of Artemis's desire hit him in the face. Others around them noticed, the male deck crew shifting in their seats. Rhage noticed and promptly swept Artemis into his arms. She squealed with the quick action and giggled when she saw the smirk on his face.

"What about Orion, babe? The baby!"

Rhage chittered in thought as he carried her through the busy hall, Yautja stopping to give respectful nods towards them. "He shall sleep in his crib. The pup will sleep in a special pod I had made so we may be as loud as we want."

In the case of something wrong with the clanship, he had special pods made for both Artemis and Orion. The pup would sleep peacefully and allow them to hear him should he wake. Little listening devices built inside along with speakers on the outside acted as some sort of monitor. It was the perfect thing they needed to have some intimate time.

"It has been too long, anyways, now that I'm better. I'm going to ride you like a horse, baby." A finger wrapped around one of his locs and tugged, causing him to hiss. He felt his cock harden in want with the shiver that went through his body.

"I wish for you to climb me like a tree, also." He recalled her human flirting all those weeks ago.

"Fuck yeah I will!"

😭😁