Chapter Seventeen

"I will not return until I claim that bad blood Ooman's skull"

Cetanu snarled at the holographic image of his sire. He slammed his fist down on the wall on his side, seething with rage. He will not rest until he destroyed that facility. Until he annihilated each and every hybrid the Oomans created.

Elder Bakuub remained silent, observing his pup carefully with his unwavering yellow gaze. He noticed how Cetanu got angered to the point his pale eyes darkened when he mentioned how Reed tried to mate with the Ooman female without her consent.

He clicked his mandibles together in irritation. Has he made a mistake in asking Za'hkar's aid?

"How long is it going to take, Cetanu?" Elder Bakuub growled. "High Elder Mar'cte is not a Yautja you should play with. He want the female dead"

Cetanu's enraged roar shook the entire ship. For a moment, he forgot about the tired Ooman female sleeping inside his chamber.

"Elder Mar'cte is wrong!" he snarled. "If you want, I will bring the hulij-bpe ooman alive in High Elder's presence to show him the ooman female's innocence"

"And why is she innocent?!" Bakuub roared. "She still aided in creating the hybrids. She still murdered her mate and pup for that!What makes you think she is all innocent?"

Cetanu grinded his teeth together.

He still knew nothing about the female. It slipped his mind that she still served years in human prison for the murders she committed.

A loud beep interrupted Elder Bakuub. He jabbed a finger on his wrist gauntlet after reading who asked for his presence and gave one last look at his pup.

He was not an affectionate father but Cetanu was his youngest offspring and he gave his word to his bearer that he will keep an eye on his no matter how mature he became.

And it looks like his pup is digging his own grave.

"Don't forget about the agreement you made with Mar'cte"

With that, the hologram disappeared into Cetanu's wrist gauntlet, leaving the warrior heaving with anger.

The agreement.

How could he forget about something like that?

Serena stared up at the curved dull grey ceiling. She woke up just minutes ago, sweating and clutching at her chest.

She was now used to her nightmares but this...

The familiar loud beep filled the room and Serena sat up watching the yellow light form a large rectangle before the door slip open with a hiss.

Cetanu walked in, his heavy footsteps resonating through the walls. Serena frowned at the Hunter's tense shoulders and clenched fists. She could literally feel the anger rolling off of him in waves.

It was unintentional, but her heart froze witnessing the rage boiling in his eyes.

Cetanu paused by the bed, mandibles spreading wide as he inhaled sharply. His large head whipped to the side, taking in her form with wide eyes.

"M-di h'dlak"He purred, sitting down on the enormous round bed. Serena sat still when he reached out to wound his fingers through her hair. "No fear Luar-ke"

Serena bit her lips, fingers playing with the black fur tangled around her legs. Her heart resumed its normal pulse and his purring sure did calmed her down. She looked up at him through her lashes curiously when she realized he used that term again.

"What does that mean?"

Cetanu tilts his head as if asking what? Serena rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth, trying hard to pronounce the foreign word.

"Lur-Luar-Laur-" a soft trilling from the hunter made her pause and Serena glared at the black hunter, his chest heaving and shoulders shaking.

He was laughing.

The idiot was laughing at her!

"What's so funny?" Serena huffed, crossing her arms on her chest. "I'm sorry I lacked certain things like this" she reached out to flick his mandibles and Cetanu sobered, leaning away from her fingers with his mandibles tucked in tight. Serena giggled.

"Tell me Cetanu" she smiled. "What does that mean? Is it some sort of nickname?"

Serena had no idea why her heart skipped a beat at her own words. Only people close to each other usually gave nicknames and Serena had no idea what she is to the hunter.

Are they friends now?

Cetanu pulled her hair to get her attention, an action he enjoys very much since he sort of adores her hair now.

He tapped on the device attached on his left wrist and looked up at her to confirm she was looking at him. He then proceeded to press various buttons, small beeps sounding from the device. Serena moved closer to watch it, her knees pressing against his thigh. Cetanu rumbled when his device produced a 3-D image. Serena's eyes went wide when she recognized the solar system. He then zoomed in on Earth and Moon, then pointed his finger to the white surface of Earth's moon.

"Luar-ke" He rumbled, then placed his heavy hand on her shoulder. "Serena"

"Oh" Serena mumbled, color spreading on her cheeks. "It means moon then?" he nodded, then tapped on his wrist gauntlet and the image disappeared.

Cetanu climbed himself fully on the bed, facing Serena with his head cocked to the side. He touched her cheeks, then trailed one dangerous claw on her lips.

"Pyodhe"

He clicked, then raked his claws on his chest armor. "Kiande"

Serena grinned up at him, realizing that he is trying to teach her his language, the action making her abnormally giddy.

She touched her own lips. " Pyode means soft?" he nodded. She reached out to touch his armor, accidentally brushing her fingers on his warm chest. Cetanu purred while Serena snatched her hand back.

"Kiande means rough then?"

"Hard" he corrected. Serena nodded eagerly, expecting him to teach her more about his language. The curious college girl inside her came out, eager to learn about the unknown but before Cetanu could say something else, a shrill screaming and a loud booming roar from somewhere pierced through the air. Cetanu springs into action and Serena followed him, struggling to keep up with his pace.

The screaming got louder and closer when they reached the open end of the ship. Serena willed herself not to press her hands on her ears to keep out the paifully loud noise. It almost sounded like a xeno, but something was not right about the sound.

Cetanu snarled at something outside, legs and arms spread to defend himself and Serena from whatever threat it was. Serena peeked out from behind the hunter, watching wide eyed as Scar circled a short creature. Lex was on the ground, leaning her back against a tress as she clutched her side. Serena's heart leaped into her throat at the amount of blood seeping through Lex's fingers.

She returned her gaze to Scar and the short creature. It looked like a six or seven year old naked human child with the eerily familiar black hide that covered its sides and legs like a cover. Its feet and hands resembled the claws of a xeno. Serena gulped, realizing what it was.

She looked over at Lex to see her already staring at her. She mouthed something and Serena unintentionally moved forth to clutch Cetanu's arms.

Reed.

Reed was behind this.

A loud roar from Scar had her whip her head towards the two beings. He had his twin blades raised in the air, ready to strike down at the man made hybrid. The creature looked up at the blade, limp black hair parting to the side to reveal a face that had Serena's heart stop beating.

Celeste.

Luar-ke The Hunter's Moon