Rogue Warriors of Lorr
Captured By the Alien Chapter 16

Even though the sun was warm and bright, and the gentle breeze tangled comfortingly in her hair, Scarlett began to feel uneasy. The light had started to sink down below the tree line, and she realized the day was turning toward evening. And she had no idea where she was.

She had thought by staying on castle grounds meant she wouldn't get lost, but she'd severely underestimated how far out they went. She had wanted to get away from the palace itself, but now, she could barely see the tall spires. She hadn't necessarily been trying to run away. She just wanted some actual freedom. It felt nice to walk wherever she wanted at whatever pace she wanted without Nyla breathing down her neck.

Except now, she couldn't figure out how to get back. She was growing tired and hungry, and she was merely guessing at the path back to the palace. She had started out striding through neatly cut paths between massive trees that bloomed with fruit blossoms and had ended up in a wild, overgrown meadow.

Am I even on castle grounds now?

Scarlett cursed herself for not paying attention. Surely, she must have passed a gateway or fence that sectioned the palace off from the native forest unless all of it was castle grounds. That did very little to help her because there were no landmarks to guide her back to the pristinely kept gardens.

She'd been so involved in her thoughts that she'd simply stopped looking around her, and now it seemed as if she'd blundered into a dense forest, and she had no idea how far behind her the palace was located. I'll simply retrace my steps.

Scarlett turned around and marched determinedly along the forest trail. The long grass between the trees was lower right in the center, and she assumed it must be some kind of path. She had only been walking a short way when she realized that the afternoon light was now angling sideways, not from right behind her.

She stopped, turning toward the horizon. The sun on Lorr was mostly the same color as Earth's, but it shimmered with points of light, dancing hints of glitter that twirled in the air like a haze of prisms. Instead of being beautiful, it hurt her eyes. Which way was the sun when I first started walking?

Scarlett knew the sun angling from behind her had alerted her to the fact it was sinking toward the horizon, so she had turned toward it. She felt her anxiety rising as she realized that when she had set out earlier, the sun had been right overhead.

She turned slowly to her left, watching the sun through a break in the trees. Scarlett stood very still as if a large predator was tracking her. Her fear rose as she watched the sun sink. In seconds, it would be behind the trees, hard to see, and the light would begin to fade from the path.

I have no idea where I am or which way to go!

Any skills she had from living on Earth were useless here. It was a completely different sky, with unfamiliar stars, not that she knew much about navigation. The forest itself was unlike anything she had ever seen.

She wouldn't have the faintest clue about where to find shelter or how to forage for food, and she had no idea how to predict or prepare for bad weather. For all she knew, Lorr unleashed mighty storms without warning. Scarlett wrapped one hand around her belly, trying to keep herself calm.

I'm so sorry I got you into this!

She was so tired now that her joints ached, and her muscles were beginning to scream with exhaustion. Tears threatened her, but she held them at bay. With a shuddering breath, she headed toward the slowly sinking sun, hoping to at least get an idea of where she

was.

I don't even know if this direction is west. Where does the Lorr sun set and rise?

As she reached the break in the trees, she looked around, but all she could see was more forest. Her anxiety grew. The palace was huge, and if she couldn't see it, she had to be very far away from its location.

Scarlett watched as the sun set and the shimmering gold began to fade from the purple hills. The sky was a beautiful, deep, dark blue, and stars flickered through it like chips of diamonds catching alight in candle flame. Tears pricked at her eyes again. I can't even enjoy how beautiful it is because I'm stuck out here! Why did I do something so insanely stupid?

Her stomach rumbled, and Scarlett pulled herself together, sitting down among the high roots of a massive tree. It seemed to curve comfortingly around her as she settled in with her back against the trunk and the giant roots rising by her sides like solid walls. Scarlett only had a little water left. Since she had to keep her fluids up, she carried water with her at all times. She took small sips, not just to conserve her resources but to center herself. Above all, she wanted to keep herself calm.

Her resolve didn't last long. As the light finally bled from the sky, she heard noises in the forest. Ground cover rustled, and branches in the trees sighed and rattled. Strange cries rang through the night, animal noises like nothing she had ever heard. Even though the tree's roots seemed to cradle her against the trunk, she still felt exposed and vulnerable. Scarlett was certain that Lorr must have apex predators, just like Earth, and that she wouldn't be safe in her tree-shelter forever.

As the night deepened, the air became very cold. Scarlett curled up miserably, trying to control her fear. She knew that too much stress was bad for the baby, and she made every effort to stay calm.

How the hell do I stay calm in this situation?

Even through her rising fear, she was terribly tired from her long walk. Scarlett slipped in and out of a fitful doze, waking to every new sound that echoed through the forest.

Then she heard a determined and purposeful rustling in the surrounding bushes. This sound could not be mistaken. Something very big was moving swiftly through the forest. And it was coming right at her.

Grux strode away from the gardeners in a panic. He couldn't believe Scarlett had wandered away into the wilderness of Lorr. At first, he ran around the main grounds looking for some sign of her, but soon, he had to admit she was no longer in the palace gardens or anywhere inside its walls. Grux jogged along the main paths, hoping Scarlett would have taken the most obvious routes. He kept his ears perked, and his eyes searched for footprints anywhere.

When he left the orchard behind, the sun was getting very low. He'd been wondering why Scarlett would leave the well-tended gardens to wander into the savage forest, but as he reached the boundary, his heart sank in dismay.

The rock walls that separated the orchards from the forest had fallen into disrepair. They didn't look like walls anymore but were piles of loose rubble. No one looking at it would think it was a barrier of any kind. The meadow just beyond was fairly neat with short grass and pretty flowers. It looked like an extension of the gardens.

Grux groaned softly and jogged across the meadow. The sun was almost below the horizon now, and he had little hope of finding Scarlett before the sun disappeared entirely.

As he moved into the forest itself, Grux tried to push away his worst fears. Some of the more vicious creatures probably wouldn't be in this section of forest, but he couldn't be sure. Guaranteed, some dangerous animals would be in this part of the woods. He was especially worried about the boarst-a thick beast with short legs. They were very fast and agile and could maul a full-grown Lorr warrior to death with their tusks or claws. They were adaptable and lived in almost every section of forest on Lorr. Grux kept jogging even as the sun sank behind him. Eventually, even his quick eyes began to fail as the sun's rays were blocked out by trees. The faintest, dusky glow was left, only suitable for silvering the purple leaves of the trees with beauty-no good at all to see by.

After running for some time, Grux hit a wide river. Its current was too fast, and it was too wide for Scarlett to have crossed. He would have to turn back, knowing she wasn't on the main path.

Fear rose in his heart as he thought about his beloved mate passed out and helpless somewhere on the trail, or worse, dead at the claws of some creature.

As he turned around, Grux tried to keep the terror from rising in his chest. He wanted to call out to her, but he knew it would only draw unwanted attention to himself. Instead of running straight down the main paths, Grux began to sweep from side to side, checking all the undergrowth in case Scarlett was unconscious in the thick cover.

When the sky began to shimmer with the first stars, Grux's heart seemed to stop in his chest. He felt like his blood had turned to ice, and his heart was so hard and cold it would never beat again.

The harsh change in temperature had barely affected him. The chill inside him was fear, not a reaction to the air. His skin had grown cold, though, even while he ran, and now he was afraid of his mate spending a full night exposed to the elements.

Grux was becoming desperate as the moon peeked above the horizon, lighting the trees with an incredibly beautiful amethyst glow. He paused for a moment, orienting himself on the horizon to make sure he was going the right way.

Then, he caught a hint of Scarlett's scent. Grux didn't dare call out in case he brought predators to them, but he ran toward the warm smell of her as quickly as he could. The stronger it became, the faster he ran until he was crashing through branches like an out-of- control, raging beast.

As he forced his way through the branches, he saw a very large tree up ahead. When Scarlett's head popped up above one of the massive roots, relief flooded through his bones, and his legs felt weak. "Scarlett!" he cried.

She stood up and held out her hands to him. "Grux! Oh, thank God it's you!"

He crossed the last few steps between them at a flat-out run and threw his arms around her, holding her close to his chest. She was crying with relief, clinging to him with every inch of her body.

Grux closed his eyes and buried his nose in her hair. He immersed himself in her scent, the warm rush of her breath, and the steady beat of her heart. He held her like that until he began to calm down, quieting all of his fears.

I found her. She's safe.

Grux knew how she felt about being confined, but right now, he didn't care. He never wanted to let her out of his sight ever again.