And back at it with another chapter!

Your name- (Y/N)

Your favorite/eye color- (F/E)

Your hair color- (H/C)

Your Hair length- (H/L)

You stood there in silence as Ryker walked forward and knelt down before the leaders.

"I am ready for my punishment, leader." Ryker said in shame with his head down. "I only ask that (Y/N) to not be here when it happens."

"We will respect your request Ryker. Kaden!" The leader summoned another hunter from behind you. "Take (Y/N) away from the camp. She is forbidden from seeing Ryker punishment."

"Yes leader." The hunter said while he grabbed your arm.

You didn't turn to him, but flung your arm away from his grasp.

"You were given an order (Y/N)." The leader said looking to you. "Leave!"

You didn't move, feeling every fiber in your being rise up in anger as looked at the only yaujta hunter you considered a friend, now being on trial for violating clan law b touching you without your consent.

"You fucker!" You lashed at Ryker and started striking him with all your strength. "You said it wasn't you, you goddamn liar!"

Ryker did not move nor look at you while you struck him, keeping his head down the entire time.

"Kaden, Cronus!" The leader yelled. "Take her away and put her in isolation!"

You felt Kaden and Cronus grab both of your arms and drag you away from Ryker while you were still yelling at him. It got to the point where they had to grab both of your arms and legs to keep you from running back.

"Put me down!" You yelled, thrashing at the both of them wildly. "Put me the fuck down!"

"Settle down (Y/N)!" Cronus yelled at you, but you kept at it. "The leader gave you an order! Stop defying him!"

You didn't listen to him, you just kept yelling profanities at Ryker despite the distance between you two.

"I fucking trusted you, you goddamn bastard!" You were panting and eventually gave up fighting the two hunters. "I trusted you..."

You went quiet as they took you to a secluded cave thirteen yards outside the camp. Once inside, they set you down on the cold ground and gave you some space. You got up and walked to the dark corner of the cave, and sat down with your knees to chest.

"Once his punishment is over, I'll take you to your hut." Cronus says. "I'll be outside the cave so you can't try to go back there."

"Did you know?" You asked, not looking at him. "Did you know it was Ryker?"

"No." Cronus replied. "I found out at the same time you did."

You looked up and saw him standing in front of you.

"What are they going to do to him?" Cronus stayed silent when you asked. You became angry at this and stood up. "What are they going to do to him?!"

"I don't know. They discussed it when you and him were with the prisoners. He came forward when you were unconscious." He said. "He is no longer to be with you when you complete missions."

"So I'll be working with a new clan mate now?" You asked. "Who?"

"Me. Since you and I fought together in the base on Earth, we have experience in fighting together." Cronus replied. "That won't be problem I trust?"

"No... There's one thing that's bothering me though." You said. "Ryker said he and the leader were going to explain what the smell I'm giving off is suppose to mean, but it looks like I'm not going to get my answer from him now."

Cronus stiffened, but did not refuse to tell you. He sat down next to you and laid his back against the wall of the cave.

"The smell of certain bloods female yautja give off are normally a sign of womanhood." Ryker simply said. "When a female bleeds three times in a clan, they are ready to breed, and are free to select a mate for themselves to have children with. Some fight over females to prove themselves worthy of their fertility."

"So...Ryker was...?"

"The smells tend to make males more predatory. It frees any pent-up aggression and makes them think irrationally." Cronus said, straightened his back. "Ryker wasn't thinking clearly when he did what he did. He stretched his strength too much to the point where he couldn't remember clearly what he did. He only recollected the event after you told him what happened. But it is against clan law to go after a female is such a manner as he did, and Crevus didn't know that human females give off the same scent."

You stay quiet, and bring your legs closer to your chest. Now that the truth was finally revealed, you felt a sense of relief wash over you, but at the same time, you felt dread for Ryker. You didn't know that the scent of your blood could do such a thing to him, but you also knew that he could've told you what could've happened if he was exposed to it for too long.

"They're not going to kill him, are they?" You asked, looking over to the entrance. "Do you have any idea of what they could be doing to him?"

"We had a hunter who did the same as Ryker." He said, looking at you. "The punishment isn't death, but he won't be getting off easy."

"What was his?"

"They bound and confined him to one of the pillars by the leaders throne. He wasn't allowed to eat or speak for three days until the female found her mate." Cronus said. "This case is different as you didn't know all this information, but if they do the same to him, he won't be free until you chose your mate."

"Do all of the females do this?" You said, stretching your legs out. "This sounds a little like marriage."

"Marriage?"

"Yeah, it's a binding thing on Earth. When a couple decide to marry one another, they sign a certificate that legally binds them to one another." You sighed as you relaxed your back against the wall. "It's existed for centuries on Earth, and some go against their vows and do things differently."

"Your human customs are strange." Cronus remarked. "That sounds like too much work."

"It is. You guys seem to make it easier." You replied. "Are the females forced to stay with the same male if they don't want to anymore?"

"No, they always have a choice, but if makes the decision, her new mate and her current mate have to battle each other for her, and whoever wins gets the female." He said simply. "But when the male wants a new mate, he has to get the attention of another female to make it possible."

"Hmmm." You hummed while thinking about Ryker. "Are they going to allow him to work with me again?"

"That is up to the leaders. They may change their mind if you make it clear to them that you're not going to do anything to hurt him on a mission." Cronus said. "They respect the numbers of the clan mates. They sometimes fear that those who have difficulties working together will cause unnecessary violence which could result in possible casualties."

"How long do I need to stay here?" You asked. "I need to get some sleep before we head out to Leader Helics clan."

"Kaden!" He yelled, making you slightly jump in the process. "Check to see if Rykers punishment is finished."

He nodded and left.

"If they are finished, then it will be possible to take you back." He said relaxing against the wall again. "Until then, you have to remain here."

You stayed quiet until Kaden returned.

"The leader said it is over and she can return to her hut. But she must remain there until dawn."

"Thanks." You said before standing and offering Cronus your hand to hoist him up. "When can I see him?"

"That is up to the leader. He will probably want you to be more focused on your mission rather than Ryker."

With that said, the two escorted you back to your hut. Once there, you thanked both of them as they went back to the camp. You go inside and light a fire to warm yourself. You set your weapons and mask on the table next to the door before you strip yourself down to your underwear and you then realize your chest is still bandaged from your injuries in the trial.

Finding an edge to the bandage on your left shoulder, you start to unravel the mess of cloth wrappings from your chest. You examine your wounds and found that they're still in the process of healing, but felt sore when you moved it in a certain way. Stretching out your arms, fold your armor suit and place your boots neatly next to the door.

After you're left in only your underwear, you put on the your now cut up over-sized shirt and gathered your towels to go bathe in the pond. You check the area to make sure that no one was around. Once you were sure the coast was clear, you silently walked the path to the pond. As soon as you're there, you remove your underwear and shirt before slowly making your way into the cold water.

Once your body became accustomed to the coldness of the water, you dove under and found your old spot on the rocks under the water. You get as comfortable as you could in the slick rocks but soon find your mind becoming more clearer now that you had some privacy and a space to think by yourself.

You jump up to the surface to get a deep breath diving back down to repeat the same actions. You thoughts about the truth about Ryker ate away at you. You weren't sure if you should still be angry anymore. What he did do was wrong but all accounts, but Cronus did say that he was not in control of himself, and that he did do the courageous thing and came forward, not afraid of whatever punishment that he could be facing right about now.

But it wasn't just the talk you had with Cronus that had you stuck, it was the fact that you might have to decide on mate if you're truly going to be one with this clan. You still feel that painful thought at the back of your head that they'll leave you out in the middle of nowhere after you help them destroy the bases on Earth, but that feeling is slowly going away the more you spend time here with your clan mates.

Especially Ryker.

When you helped free him and the other prisoners in Atlas, you didn't ever expect them to come rescue you from the base. Ryker could've just forgotten about you, but he, Cronus, and the other hunters came back. Maybe it wasn't for you, but they could've just left you there and let you die. Instead of doing what you were taught in training camp, they took you in and helped you heal your wounds and offered you a place among them.

You went back to thinking about Ryker, and if there was anything you could do to stop his punishment. But dread slowly crept up your spine as you replay the events that landed him into being punished in the first place.

Then Cronus's talk about Yautja customs and anatomy comes back, and leaves you feeling unsettled on what to do. You know that you're more than pissed at Ryker, but if he wasn't trying to keep you safe, maybe he wouldn't have been exposed to your scent for as long as he was.

Your mind goes back and forth continually for what seemed like hours, but in reality, only a few seconds as you dove back up to breath again. Instead of going back down, you cross your arms on one of the rocks and rest your head on them while letting your thoughts run wild.

You felt as if Rykers life was depending on you to forgive him, but deep down, you knew that you wouldn't because it wasn't the fact that he touched that hurt you the most, it was the fact that he lied instead of telling you the truth.

Groaning, you grab a towel that you cut up into smaller pieces and used it to scrub your body clean before getting out and drying yourself off. You dress yourself and make your way back to your hut.

But off in the distance, you hear someone talking. Taking a risk you set your items down and silently walk toward the voices to see what they were talking about. Crouching down behind a fallen log, you see two Yautja hunters, one of them being Cronus and the other Rexas.

"Why is Ryker the one taking the fall?!" Rexas asked, clearly angry about something. "We three know that it's not him."

"He stepped in before I could even say anything!" He roared in his face. "And on top of it, he had already lied to (Y/N) and said I was still suffering from the flora on our last hunt."

"What are they talking about?" You thought to yourself.

"You're a coward Cronus! It should be you in Rykers place right now! Not him!" He shoved Cronus to the ground. "She's the only reason why you, Ryker, and the others even escaped Atlas! And we may have lost her trust now!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" He yelled back, standing back up. "I was going to tell her, but Ryker made me promise to keep quiet until after her mission."

"If you don't speak now, he may not have a chance to find a mate when it's time again." Rexas shoved Cronus back. "We both seen how (Y/N) and Ryker were after her trials! He was one of the closest ones to her, and now that trust they had is now diminished! All because you couldn't control yourself when you both saved her!"

"I didn't ask for any of this to happen!" Cronus yelled back.

"Now the only way for the leader to allow him near her now is if she wants to become his mate!" He yelled in complete anger before shoving him into the ground. "She still doesn't understand our clan laws!"

"You're fucking right I don't!"You yelled before coming out from behind the fallen log. Cronus quickly got up and the both of them stood shocked.

"(Y/N).." Rexas said, stepping forward but keeping his hands out to keep you from attacking Cronus. "Don't do anything rash.."

Completely ignoring him, you started grabbing rocks and broken tree branches and proceeded to throw them at Cronus.

"Fucking liar!" You screamed and continued throwing things at him. "You both lied to me!"

"Cronus stay back!" Rexas yelled. "(Y/N), stop!"

"This is all your fucking fault Cronus!" You screamed at him before Rexas seized your wrists to stop you from trying to hurt him. "Ryker could be killed because he took the fall for you!"

Ripping your wrists from Rexas, you ran back to your hut to gather your armor. You hear Rexas yell at Cronus to stay back, and start chasing you. You manage to get to your hut before Rexas and shut your door before he caught up to you. He starts banging on the door, trying to get you to come out, but you ignore him as you dress yourself in your armor and mask.

You go out and run past Rexas, but not fast enough as he grabbed your arm.

"What are you doing?!" He asked. "You have orders to stay here before your mission."

"I'm going back to the camp to talk to the leader." You say before yanking your arm back. "I'm not going to tell them that it was Cronus because Ryker made him promise, but I'm going to get him out of there!"

"And how are you going to do that?!" He yelled. "The only way that they're going to allow him to be with you on missions if you-!"

"Become his mate! I know!" You yell back. "If that's what it takes to get him out of there, then so fucking be it!"

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back!