Hunter's Claim: The Alliance Book 1 (19 page)

“I love you, Jordan,” Jesse said fiercely.
“I love Taylor. You are my family. Without you, there would be no
me. I don’t ever want you to feel that either of you were ever a
sacrifice, burden, chore or any other name you can think of. We are
and will always be a team, a family. No matter what happens. Do you
understand that?”

Jordan stared back at her for several long
seconds before a ghost of a smile curved her lips. It wasn’t much
but there was a spark of life in it. She hugged Jordan to her.

“Please believe me,” Jesse whispered. “I
couldn’t have survived without you and Taylor.”

Jesse felt Jordan’s arms wrap tightly around
her. “I love you too, Jesse. Be careful. I… it hurts to lose so
many of those that we have loved. I don’t think I could survive
losing you or Taylor.”

“I’m coming back and I’m bringing Hunter and
if possible, Saber. I promise,” Jesse vowed. “Now, let’s get out of
here before I get left behind.”

Jesse was back downstairs within minutes,
the small bag gripped tightly in her hand. Jordan was right behind
her. She smiled at Shana and Scout who stood to the side of the
staircase.

“I’ll take that,” the warrior said. He
turned and bowed to Scout. “I’ll keep you informed of any new
developments.”

“Protect her,” Scout ordered, his eyes
flashing in warning. “She carries my son’s heir.”

The warrior looked startled at Jesse before
he bowed again. “I will protect her with my life, Lord Scout.”

“Give Saber hell for me, Jesse,” Taylor
called out as Jesse got in the transport.

“Taylor!” Jesse admonished but ruined her
rebuke by rolling her eyes. “I will.”

“Bye!” Taylor yelled again, waving. “Love
you, Jesse!”

Jesse smiled as she watched her small family
disappear. She turned to look over the darkened skies as they flew.
Stars twinkled above while the lights from the city twinkled below.
All she knew was the light in her heart was about ready to burst
with relief and love. Hunter had kept his promise. He had come back
to her.

*.*.*

Jesse tiredly nodded to the warrior as she
disembarked off of yet another transport. It was the fifth one in
four days. She had spent the first two days on a warship before
being transferred to a different warship, only to find out that
Hunter was still another two days out.

The second warship was carrying additional
troops and would only take her part of the way. She was transferred
to a smaller supply transport that would meet up with the warship
Hunter was on. There was a delay as the supply ship was rerouted at
the last minute so she was transferred to yet another supply ship
before this one finally dispatched her to the transport that met up
with the
Star Raider
.

By the time it did, Jesse was exhausted,
sick to her stomach and desperately wanted a hot shower and
somewhere to rest her head for a few minutes. Instead, the first
person she saw was the commanding officer, Jag, whom she had
knocked out.

Well,
technically Jordan did the
knocking out,
Jesse thought tiredly.
I just told her to do
it.

“You again,” Jag grunted. “I was hoping the
orders I received had been wrong. Where are the other two?”

Jesse’s eyebrow rose. “They didn’t come.
Where’s Hunter?” She asked bluntly.

The left corner of Jag’s lips tugged upward.
Jesse wouldn’t call it a smile but it was probably as close to one
as the man got. She was glad he thought the situation was humorous.
Personally, she was tired and crabby and just wanted a shower,
sleep and Hunter and not in that order.

“This way,” Jag said, waving a hand to
dismiss one of the warriors who had stepped forward to escort
Jesse. “I’ll take her.”

“Yes sir,” the warrior said with a bow.

“How is he?” Jesse asked in a husky voice.
“I haven’t been given much information.”

Jag glanced down at Jesse’s pale face with a
frown. “When is the last time you had food and sleep?” He asked
instead of answering her.

Jesse tiredly pushed her hair back from her
face and scowled up at Jag as he stepped into one of the lifts. She
honestly didn’t know the answer to either of those questions. It
had been so long and so many different transfers that she had lost
count.

“I just want to see Hunter,” she replied
stubbornly. “Now. Not later.”

“Are you always so stubborn?” Jag asked
before he gave the command for medical. “Or am I the only one who
gets to enjoy that part of you?”

“Yes, I am and no, you are not… the only one
who gets to enjoy it. But, if you don’t get me to Hunter as soon as
physically possible, I’m going to show you just how stubborn I can
be,” Jesse snapped back.

Jag’s eyebrow rose this time. “Still
threatening the commanding officer, I see,” he grunted. “You’ll be
with Hunter in less than one minute. I have to warn you, the healer
is keeping him under sedation until he has more time to heal. His
wounds were much worse than they first suspected.”

“What do you mean? Much worse,” Jesse
asked.

“He received a blow to his back that was
already damaged. It caused bone fragments to pierce his spinal
column. The fragments have been removed but there is some concern
that it may have caused some damage to his lower extremities.”

Jesse paled and swayed but remained calm.
They would deal with whatever happened. All she cared about was
that he was alive.

“When will they know?” She asked.

Jag stepped out of the lift when the doors
opened. He waited for Jesse. Staring down at her, he continued to
be impressed by her quiet resolve.

“In a few days, hopefully. I’ll have the
healer discuss it thoroughly with you,” Jag responded quietly.

“Thank you.”

“He is a good warrior,” Jag said with a
shrug.

“He is more than that,” Jessed replied,
tilting her head up to stare at the huge male. “He is my
Amate
.”

Hunter woke in stages. He knew he was on
board the
Star Raider
. He recognized Carp's deep voice
speaking to someone before he faded out again. The next time he
woke he could have sworn he could feel Jesse’s sweet hands
caressing him. He wanted to reach out and grasp her but the
darkness took him again. When he woke again, he could sense Carp
bending over him.

“Don’t,” he whispered hoarsely. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Carp’s deep voice asked.

“Don’t… sleep,” Hunter forced out. “Don’t
put sleep.”

Carp’s low chuckle echoed in the dim room.
“No more sleep for you, my friend. We need you to wake up so we can
see what kind of damage you’ve done,” he responded.

Hunter’s eyes opened and he blinked.
“Jesse,” he murmured.

“I’m here,” Jesse responded.

He slowly turned his head toward her voice.
He blinked several times before she became clearer. He drank in her
beautiful face.

“Love you,” he forced out.

Jesse’s face softened and a sweet smile
curved her lips. She raised her hand to brush his hair back along
his brow before tracing her fingers along the hard lines of his
face. She continued caressing him with her thumb as she leaned over
and brushed a kiss along his lips before rubbing her nose along
his.

“I love you too, Hunter,” she said
softly.

“Tired,” Hunter murmured as his eyes began
to close again. “Don’t… go.”

“I’ll be right here,” Jesse whispered
tenderly. “I’ll always be here for you.”

Jesse glanced up at Carp with concerned
eyes. She watched as he lowered the blanket around Hunter’s feet.
The grim look in his eyes caused her to worriedly bite her lip
before her eyes moved back to Hunter’s peaceful face.

*.*.*

A week later, Jesse was ready to kill
Hunter. If she heard him growl at the poor physical therapist
working with him one more time, she was going to stuff a sock in
his mouth. He had been a bear with a sore tooth since Carp informed
him that he would need more time to heal.

“I don’t give a damn. I don’t need your
fucking holding on to me like a babe,” Hunter snarled.

“Sir, you’ve had extensive damage to your
spine,” the therapist was saying. “It takes time for the implants
to learn what you are telling them.”

“I said…” Hunter began when Jesse finally
stepped forward.

“Why don’t you take a break?” Jesse
suggested. “I’d like to spend some time with my
Amate
.”

The therapist looked like he wanted to argue
but decided a break would probably be better when he glanced back
at Hunter’s dark face. He nodded and slid the mobile chair behind
Hunter. With a quick bow, he turned and left them alone.

Jesse watched as Hunter grimaced as he
lowered himself back into the chair with a look of distaste. He
pressed the control on the side of the chair and moved it to the
large windows that looked out over dark space. She knew he was
trying to block her out. He had been doing it ever since he woke
fully only to discover that he had limited feeling in his legs.

“You can’t ignore me forever,” she said
softly. “I won’t let you.”

“You need to leave,” Hunter replied harshly.
“I don’t want you here.”

“Bull shit!” Jesse ground out. “You need me
now more than ever.”

*.*.*

Hunter swiveled around in the chair he was
sitting in. His eyes glittered with fury. When he had first woken,
he had thought the difficulty he was having moving his legs was due
to the medication they had him on. It took him two days to realize
that things were much, much graver.

He hated Jesse seeing him weak. He was
gaining more feeling every day in his legs but it was proving to
take longer than Carp had expected. Carp had explained that several
small pieces of bone from a cracked vertebra had pierced his spinal
column and damaged some of the nerves. He was able to repair the
damage but several nerves had required nano implants until the
damaged nerves healed themselves.

He refused to admit he was afraid the damage
was permanent even though Carp assured him that he was confident no
lasting damage had been done. It would just take time for the
nerves to reconnect and understand what he was telling them. Until
then, the nano implants would do it. They just had to learn what
the signals he was sending meant.

“Jesse,” Hunter began before his voice faded
at the look of distress on her face. “Come here.”

He opened his arms as she rushed forward,
his arms wrapp
ing
around her as she curled
up on his lap. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he turned
the chair back around until they were facing the large window
again. They sat in silence for several minutes before he drew in a
deep breath.

“I don’t like you seeing me like this,” he
admitted roughly. “I should be protecting you. Right now, I feel as
weak as a newborn babe.”

He felt Jesse thread her fingers through his
and draw his hand down until it lay over her stomach. He frowned in
confusion when he felt a slight swell to it. His fingers spread out
over her stomach at the same time as it dawned on him what she was
silently telling him.

“Gods, Jesse!” Hunter whispered in shock.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You have stayed by my side when you should
be resting.”

“I needed to be with you,” she admitted,
huskily. “I’ve been resting when you do.”

“I haven’t been a very good
Amate
this past week,” he said in a voice filled with shame. “You should
not have had to deal with my moods.”

Jesse leaned back so she could look him in
the eye. A mischievous twinkle glittered in her eyes for the first
time in months. She leaned forward and rubbed the end of her nose
to his.

“I thought it was great practice for
learning to deal with a toddler’s temper tantrum. You did a great
impersonation of one,” she reflected with a giggle.

Hunter scowled before he began chuckling. “I
did, didn’t I?” He commented before sobering. “This changes
everything. Carp believes I will regain full use of my lower body
over time. I must if I am to protect you, the babe and your
sisters.”

“Then trust in him,” Jesse said, pressing a
kiss to his lips. “He knows what he is talking about.”

Hunter groaned as he felt a part of his
lower body responding to having Jesse on his lap. He didn’t want to
admit he had been afraid at first that he had lost all sensation
below his waist.

That fear had disappeared the first time she
kissed him after he woke fully without the medication dampening his
senses. He had scented something different about her the moment she
had leaned over him. Her scent was richer with just a wisp of
flavor that he didn’t understand until now. A shudder went through
him and he cursed his inability to sweep her off her feet and take
her back to their living quarters as his body reacted to the
thought of seeing her without her clothing covering their
creation.

“But you can,” Jesse said, pressing a kiss
along his jaw. “I’m off my feet right now.”

It took a moment for Hunter to realize he
had spoken his frustration out loud. It took another moment for
Jesse’s words to sink in. He pulled back and stared down into her
eyes.

“Jesse,” he murmured. “What if I…?”

He stopped when Jesse laid her fingers over
his lips. “We’ll deal with the ‘What if’s’ when they come. This is
about forever, Hunter. I love you. We’ll get through the ups and
downs as they come. That is what families do.”

Hunter rested his hand over her stomach
again. She was right. He had a family now. He just needed to be
patient as his body healed.

“Now, about me needing more rest,” she said
with a sexy smile. “I think I could use a little company to help
relax me a little.”

“As you wish, my
Amate
,” Hunter
chuckled. “Anything to make you happy.”