It was the sudden explosion of pain against Alex’s chest that almost caused him to lose consciousness. At one moment, he’d been listening to Ellie’s history of the Vestan city and now, he had a gigantic, furry killing machine on top of him, determined to remove his guts from his body.

“Alex!” screamed Jenna at the top of her lungs.

There was something about the way the bear now hovered over him that caused Alex to stop struggling to free himself for a brief moment. He could see the creature’s mighty jaws and cruel eyes, looking down on him and waiting to devour his flesh.

But then something happened that Alex didn’t expect.

“ . . . intruder . . . kill the intruders . . .”

At first, he didn’t think anything of the words until after he’d used the strength in his legs to catapult the bear off his chest and into the dirt a few meters away. And yet, it was as Alex pushed to his feet that he realized just what he heard.

Those words—they came from the bear’s mind. He could hear the bear’s thoughts!

Stunned by that revelation, Alex faced the bear and he wondered what else he might hear.

He didn’t have to wonder for long. The bear opened his jaws and let out an ear-piercing roar, louder than just about anything he’d ever heard. It caused all three of them to put their hands to their ears.

It also caused Jenna to scream again.

It was Jenna’s second scream that caused the bear to lose its focus on Alex. At that moment, the bear lunged at her, its jaws open wide and ready to shred her flesh.

Alex lowered his shoulder and charged at the same time. He intercepted the bear just before it made contact, and both he and the creature went tumbling to the ground. This time at least he was the one on top of the bear, and Alex pulled his fists back to pummel the beast’s face. The bear let out a loud groan as its face was battered by Alex’s sharp jabs, disorienting it enough to swing the balance back into Alex’s favor.

“. . . kill the intruders . . . kill now . . .”

After hearing it for a second time, and realizing the bear wasn’t going to stop just because the fight was going against it, Alex reached for his pistol. He brought it up to the bear’s skull and fired three times.

The bear’s head exploded with the plasma energy, showering both Alex and the nearby ground with a mixture of orangish blood and brains.

Just like that, the fight was over. All the tension left the bear’s body, allowing Alex to roll away from it and attempt to catch his breath. He had a pain in his side, right where the bear came crashing out of nowhere to barrel into him but as he looked over the rest of his body, he saw none of his own blood.

At least this time, he wouldn’t need to be patched up.

As Alex sat up in the dirt, he found that both Ellie and Jenna were watching him with astonished curiosity. Jenna had seen him kill a bear before but judging by the expression on her face, she wasn’t used to seeing such raw and gritty violence displayed in front of her.

Ellie’s reaction was definitely more pronounced than Jenna’s.

The Vestan woman practically ran over to the bear, looking from the splattered brains to Alex in near total disbelief. It was the first time Alex had seen her truly speechless.

“How did you . . .” she started before shaking her head and putting her hand against her jaw. She gave him an incredulous look. “You just killed a bear, Alex.”

Alex gave her an amused look. “My second bear, remember? I told you I killed one shortly after we landed on the planet. At least this bear wasn’t so hard to kill.”

Ellie looked even more stunned. “But . . . but . . . you actually killed a bear! No one’s done that before, not in close combat!”

“Alex has done it twice now,” said Jenna, a smile of pride forming on her face.

“I didn’t think you’d actually killed a bear when you told me you did it,” continued Ellie. “But you really did it! Don’t you know what this means, Alex?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

Ellie sank down to her knees to look at him. “You’re the only man on Vesta who’s ever killed a bear in close combat like this. Their biggest advantage is their speed and their agility. Once they close the distance between us, we’re dead. It’s already over. My people know that and they try to kill the bears before they can even get close to us. But if they miss, it’s already over. No one is fast enough to counter the bears’ incredible speed. That is, until you.”

Ellie was looking at him with a mixture of awe and a little fear. There was something else in that expression as well, something that Alex hadn’t seen since their bath in the river.

It looked like arousal.

Before anything further could develop, Jenna came closer and bent down, looking at Alex’s body.

“Did you get hurt?” she asked, her hands touching all over. “I don’t see any parts of your clothing that are ripped.”

Alex shook his head. “I’m fine, I really am. I was lucky this time. We all were.”

At that moment, Alex remembered what he’d heard. He looked at each woman.

“Did you both hear what the bear called us? It called us intruders.”

Confusion reigned on both of their faces.

“Alex, I didn’t hear the bear say anything,” said Ellie. “They can’t say anything. They just roar and growl and grunt. The only thing I heard was Jenna’s screams and the bear roaring. Are you saying you heard it say something?”

Alex nodded his head quickly. “I heard something. I don’t think it was spoken out loud though. Or maybe . . .”

“Or maybe what, Alex?” asked Jenna after a moment.

Alex started to rub his forehead. “I feel like I heard it in here. Like I could hear what the bear was saying. Are you sure you didn’t hear that? It felt like it was a loud thought, like it echoed through my mind. It wanted us dead because we were intruders.”

Jenna actually started to look a little worried. “Alex, I didn’t hear anything. What you’re describing almost sounds like you heard the bear’s thoughts—telepathically.”

Alex started to nod. “That’s it. That’s what I heard. It was like an imprint on my brain.” Alex stopped for a moment to think.

But why was he the only one that heard it?

“Are you sure that’s what you heard and not what you thought you might have heard?” asked Ellie. “From what we know of the bears, they don’t have a language. And they certainly don’t communicate with humans. Are you sure you’re not . . . imagining it?”

Alex growled at her. “I know what I heard, okay? It was plain as day. The bear wanted to kill us because we were intruders. There’s something about this place that it considers its home.”

Alex looked around the campsite at that moment, wondering just what made this place so special. They were a short distance from the river, but not quite in the foothills off to the west. This rocky grotto was an excellent defensive position because they’d be able to see trouble long before it developed.

Or so Alex had thought before the bear attacked them. He wondered if it had a cave or some kind of lair nearby. Perhaps this little grotto was its territory and that’s why the bear thought they were intruders?

“We’re not safe here,” said Alex, looking around. “If we’re intruding on the bear’s territory, we need to leave this space. What’s to say another bear couldn’t find us here and attack again in the night? We need to move.”

Ellie nearly balked at that. “But it’s already dark, Alex. We’d never find a good place to sleep for the night if we leave now.”

Alex was already moving. “It’s too late for that. This place is dangerous and we can’t sleep here. We need to find another spot for our own safety.”

“But you already killed that—”

“We’re moving,” interrupting Alex, looking at Ellie firmly. “You can stay here if you want but we’re going.”

Ellie opened her mouth to protest but she said nothing. She looked at Jenna, almost as if she might get her way if Jenna didn’t want to move either, outvoting him.

The only problem with that was Jenna was already packing up and preparing to move. If Alex didn’t think it was safe, that was all that Jenna needed to hear.

With a reluctant sigh, Ellie started to pack her things, getting ready to move out.

They trekked for almost two hours in the dark, putting some distance between them and their campsite. Navigation wasn’t that hard in the dark, as the gas giant planet close to the star shined like a glittering moon in the night sky, providing ample light. It wasn’t until Alex found another safe spot closer to the foothills that he thought to create another camp, but they would have to do without a lean-to tonight. There just wasn’t enough time to build one.

The two women unrolled their sleeping bags as Alex took the first watch. As Jenna prepared to lay down, Ellie came to sit next to Alex.

“I’m sorry for being combative with you earlier,” she said. “You’re right. That old campsite is probably unsafe. It was a wise decision to move.”

Alex gave her an encouraging smile. “The words didn’t taste so bad now that they’re out, right?”

Ellie actually laughed. “No, I guess they don’t. And thank you. You saved all of our lives tonight. I have to admit, I’ve never seen anyone move as fast as you do. You were almost as fast as that bear, do you know that?”

Alex did know that. It was the second time he’d heard it. Jenna had told him almost that exact same thing after he killed the first bear. For a brief moment, Alex thought about Doctor Barnes and his doubts about Alex’s species but he pushed them back down again.

“In any event, I think I have an obligation to make sure you get to Vesta now,” continued Ellie. “You’re the only person who’s taken down a bear like that. You’d be an incredible asset to the city and to our defense. I wasn’t sure whether I was just going to accompany you inside the city, but I think the council deserves to know what you did.”

Ellie let out a deep sigh. “Even if that means an extreme punishment for me for breaking my exile.”

Alex shook his head. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Ellie. Especially by the hands of your own in people.”

That was completely true. Though he hadn’t trusted her in the beginning, Ellie’s opening up to them had certainly helped the situation. Now that he knew her background, he was more inclined to trust her. And he even found, despite her aggressive sexual behavior, that he liked being around the Vestan woman.

“We’ll figure that out when we get closer,” said Ellie, giving him a smile. “For now, I’m going to get some sleep. Goodnight, Alex.”

She kissed his cheek before she walked away, settling down into her sleeping bag a moment later. Alex thought about tying her up to a tree or a rock like he did the previous night but something told him it wasn’t necessary anymore.

Ellie didn’t seem like a threat to them. So he let her go to sleep with just her hands bound, which was hardly that effective anyway. She’d earned some freedom for her honesty.

Ellie was asleep in a matter of minutes. Alex settled in to do the first watch of the night, but he was surprised when Jenna called out to him from her sleeping bag a moment later. He approached her quietly, kneeling down to look at her beautiful face from within the soft confines of the bag.

“Hey,” said Alex with a soft whisper as soon as he was close. “Did you need something?”

Jenna nodded her head. “I did need something actually.”

With those five words, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

The kiss took Alex completely by surprise. It was the last thing he expected on that grueling night but he quickly got over his shock as he tasted Jenna’s lips for the first time. The softness of her lips and the taste of her mouth were twin pleasures that he always wanted to remember. There was a passion in that kiss, a hunger that he couldn’t fail to notice. As far as first kisses went, Jenna’s mouth seemed to promise to him the notion that there would be many more of these to come, and that they would always be passionate.

Finally, the kiss broke, leaving Alex feeling like his pants were two sizes too tight. He couldn’t help the smile that developed on his lips as he looked down into Jenna’s green eyes.

“What was that for?” he whispered to her.

Jenna’s face was flushed and her eyelids were heavy but that smile was unmistakable.

“It was the least I could do for all you’ve done for me,” she replied softly. “And if we’re being honest, I’ve wanted to do that for some time now.”

“Me too,” said Alex, sparing a glance at her lips again.

Jenna’s smile grew wider and she kissed him again. This one was softer without the passion she’d displayed earlier. It was a kiss of love instead of a lover’s kiss, the distinction already quite fine in comparison.

When she pulled away, her face was even more flushed. “See you in the morning, Alex.”

“Goodnight, Jenna. Sweet dreams.”