Free Runner's Moon Trilogy Megabook Series by Linda Mooney

armor.
    There was nothing on this world, outside of their most fearsome weapons, that could hurt him. He had taken some of the worst torture the Arra could devise and he had survived. Now he was free from the horrors he and the others had faced when the Arra had landed on his world and 85

    captured them. To force them into a life of servitude with whatever race paid the greatest price.
    Servitude. Or perhaps worse. There were many races out there for whom the Arra provided flesh for the banquet tables. It was a well-known fact Ruinos had some of the tenderest meat beneath their tough, protective hides, which was why Barandat Vor had been plundered with gusto for the past ten or so generations.
    Jebaral shook his head, hoping to clear away the worst of the memories. His people's history was vague now. As a race, they were nearly extinct. He would not be surprised to learn the thirty-one escapees to this planet were the last of their species.
    The land dipped drastically, opening up to a small valley.
    He stopped to survey the beauty spread before him. He loved the way the moon bathed its milky glow over the land. The Earth gave up its secrets to him in ways the inhabitants of this world couldn't begin to understand or appreciate. A big lungful of the night air told him many things. It spoke of creatures large and small scurrying among the foliage and above the trees. There were other humans in the aromatic stream, but they were far away, most of them tucked inside their homes.
    Other humans.
    Hannah.
    He turned to glance over his shoulder. Several miles separated them, but he could still feel her. Hear her breathing slow. Smell her sorrow. Sense her worry and unhappiness.
    She wanted him with her in that bed. It would mean his 86

    downfall if he gave in to his urges. To this need flooding every cell in his body. Bowing his head, Jebaral groaned at the impact she had on him.
    Of the thirty-one Ruinos who had escaped, eleven were female. They were the sum of a civilization that had once numbered over twenty million.
    Of the eleven females, three had been mated and were past child-bearing ages. Four were children, not yet old enough to seek, much less take, a life partner.
    That left four females. Four, on whom the fate of an entire race rested. And their future looked even more bleak. A Ruinos female would not be able to conceive until she found her true life partner, and their blood had merged.
    On the ship he and all the other males had approached the four females, wondering if they were bonded to one of them.
    To everyone's disappointment, nothing had developed. And now with the survivors scattered all over the continent—
    perhaps all over the world by now—it would be a miracle if any of his race managed to reproduce.
    Jebaral sniffed as a large, warm-blooded creature ambled by. It also paused and tested the air to see if the strange creature was worth getting alarmed over. A silent war waged.
    Tensing, Jebaral prepared himself to run again, when the animal huffed irritably and went on its way.
    A smile came over his lips. The lesser intelligent creatures of this world were of no danger to him. Only the natives who walked on two legs would ever prove to be worthy opponents.
    Soft rain began to fall. Jebaral lifted his face and reveled in the cold mist. It felt good on his true skin.
    87

    His thoughts went back to Hannah and of the moment he realized he was bonding to her. His fork had been dirty, and she had reached over to pluck it from his hand so she could get him a clean one. Their fingers had brushed, and he had nearly fallen onto the floor when the emotion slammed into him with the force of a runaway truck. It had been the first time they had touched. The shock had lasted all day and all night, leaving him stupefied and in denial until he had gone back to the diner the next morning to see if those same feelings came back. They did, and they were stronger.
    There was no way he could deny that Hannah was attracted