Fate's Encounter

Chapter 13: Time To Hunt

Xai'an ran his hands over the large marks in the rich soil, chittering softly as he examined them. The Queen had come this way and from the look of things, she had a fairly small number of drones with her. As long as they reached her before she matured and nested, they'd be able to contain her.

"You reek of Ooman." Baaul snarled from behind him. He had heard them approaching him, but he hadn't bothered to acknowledge them.

"What of it?" Xai'an responded cooly as he stood with his back to the trio. He felt the smaller male's anger but he didn't bother commenting on it. He had made it known he planned to take a human mate and that was that.

"A warrior of your rank shouldn't lower himself-" Baaul's words were choked out of him when Xai'an whirled around to slam his hand around his throat, lifting him off the ground with a challenging snarl.

"I, alone, have hunted a Queen successfully not once but three times! So please tell me again how I 'lower' myself, Baaul! Who I decide to take on as a mate is not your place! Not even Anak can deny me my choice!" He was undeterred as the smaller Yautja scratched at his arms. 

Daruum chittered in annoyance behind him. "We don't have time for this! The more you argue, the further away she gets!"

Warark kept sinfully quiet about the subject which told Xai'an that he actually hadn't come forward about who his mate was. It was probably why he was still so respected. How he managed to hide his female’s scent was beyond him. Why he would even want to was even further. Xai'an was thrilled his female’s arousal clung to his skin like an invisible force field. He would not hide her like some dirty secret either. No. Everyone would know of her, and risk his wrath if they disrespected her.

Xai'an cocked his head to the side as he watched his brother struggle in his grasp just before he dropped him like a doll. "Insult me again, Baaul and I'll rip your spine from your back and mount your skull on my wall."

All of them, very smartly, kept their words to themselves. They filed in line as they pushed forward. The trail of the new Queen led them almost fifty miles northwest of his mate's crumbling city. He hoped that she was safe with her ooman friends. He had felt the tremors in the ground even this far. 

Ooman air ships had passed by them, he assumed to give aid to the city, but that had been some time ago. It was eerily quiet, a sign that Kiande Amedha were likely close by. Earth's animals were very intuitive when it came to danger.

"She seems to be heading toward the mountains." Warark said, his dreads brushing over his shoulders.

They perched in the thickening trees while they stopped to get their bearings. Xai'an knew from his mask that they were in what the ooman's called a national forest preserve, though it was hardly a forest in his eyes. It just wasn't big enough.

A sound caught their attention. 

Xai'an's thermals showed a fast moving vehicle about 100 yards to their right. Three of them. He could see as they moved that they had about half a dozen ooman's in the back. His mask zoomed in to make out various weapons and it made him growl. What were oomans doing this far away from their own kind? Were they also tracking the Queen?

"They seem to be headed toward the Queen." Daruum growled, echoing Xai'an's own thoughts. 

"If they reach her, they will only be offering her more suitable hosts. Stupid oomans." This from Baaul. He had been quiet since Xai'an put him in his place. Just as well. The Yautja spoke too much for his liking anyway. 

"Should we deal with them first?" Warark tapped his claws over the rough bark of the tree.

His question was valid. Ooman's no matter what were going to be a problem and they would have to be dealt with. Though right now the important thing would be to secure the Queen before she could reproduce.