by Tempest Luna
Would the Supreme Ruler be so cruel as to drug the Balrovian people under the guise of keeping them alive? Ro snorted. Of course he would. He cursed himself for his stupidity. His mind felt clearer than it had in a very long time.
How had he not noticed the change? The dulling of his passion? The resignation to his fate?
“Ro?”
Tessa slid her arms around him from behind. She wore no clothing, and the hard points of her nipples pressed to his back. The scent of her arousal wafted over him, and he stifled a growl. His cock hardened, rising proudly, and her palm skated lower, her fingers closing around his shaft and her thumb circling the tip.
“I need you, Ro. I feel like I can’t breathe without you.” Kisses feathered down his arm along the ridges of muscles, and everywhere she touched him, his skin was on fire. “Will it always be like this?”
“No. The first few cycles are the most intense. Or so I have heard. Ja’la—my sister—was mated. When they sealed their bond, we did not see either of them for at least six cycles.” Sadness threatened to drown him until Tessa snuggled closer.
“What happened to her mate?” Tessa asked, though the wariness in her tone told him she already knew the answer.
“The Supreme Ruler killed him. Severed their bond in front of the collared slaves, then killed him slowly. A way to prove his…superiority and power.” Ro pulled away and snatched up a rock from the ground. With all of his strength, he hurled it past his fence, a war cry bursting from his lips.
In the next breath, he hauled Tessa against him and carried her back inside. Burying his cock deep inside his mate was the only way to assuage his guilt, anger, and pain, and when they lay spent once more, she linked their fingers.
“Ro? I don’t care how dangerous it is. We need to find a way to destroy this Supreme Ruler and take our planet back.”
* * *
Tessa
The scents of Ro’s cooking woke her, along with an intense need to have him buried deep inside her once more. But when she got to her feet, she winced.
Ro was at her side in a single breath. “What is it, sonara?”
“Nothing. I’m just…sore.” She smiled up at him, letting his warmth seep into her and relax her tense muscles. “Back on Earth, no one has that much sex in a day. Or hell, even a week.”
He growled, a possessive, deep rumbling in his chest, and the bitter taste of his jealousy flooded her. “Hey,” she said with her hand against his cheek. “I’m with you. Here. I never had anyone on Earth I felt this way about. Not even close.”
“I do not know what I would do if I lost you, Tessa.” He released her and stalked back out into the main room, his shoulders tense and frustration radiating off of him in waves. “You are my heart. My life.”
She heard him, even though she was slow to follow. “You won’t lose me. You bought me, remember? Everyone knows I’m yours.”
Though she intended the words as a joke, the sting of being purchased still brought a lump to her throat, and Ro cursed under his breath. “That may not be enough.”
“Why not?” A seed of doubt and fear took root in her heart, and she pressed her naked body to his back, then shivered.
“You know nothing of Balrov’s dangers, little one.” With a sigh, Ro led her back to the bedroom, grabbed her shirt, and draped it over her shoulders. “Today, I must teach you.”
Panic lanced through her, the memory of Ro slapping her ass and letting the monitors leer at her still too fresh in her mind.
“Not like that,” he said sharply. “Never again.”
The fact that he could read her emotions, even her memories, seemed almost normal now, and she peered up at him. “Oh. Then…how?”
“Come sit. You need to eat.”
Though she followed him to the cushions, she wasn’t going to let him deflect longer than it took to dish out breakfast. Despite how sweet it was that he wanted to protect her, keeping things from her could get her killed.
“What do I need to learn?” Tessa asked as he handed her a bowl with what looked like grains and berries.
“How to survive. The animals and plants we hunt. How to harvest Foxfire crystals, where to hide if you find yourself outside in the middle of a windstorm.” Ro ran a hand through his indigo locks, tugging on the strands as a low, frustrated sound rumbled in his chest. “You must learn the land. Be able to find your way back here in darkness. I do not ever wish to be apart from you. And I do not even know if we can be apart. I always heard mated couples felt intense pain over long distances. But it would be irresponsible of me not to teach you how to survive.”
Pausing with a spoonful of the grains halfway to her mouth, she offered him a small smile. “So…we’re going for a walk?”
“A very long one.”
* * *
Ro
Tucking a pickaxe into his belt, Ro tried to stifle his worry. He and Tessa would be exposed for half the sun cycle. Monitors would see them, see Tessa wearing clothes, boots, and walking at his side. But he would not subject her to the humiliation of being leered at, naked, on her knees, ever again.
He shouldered his rucksack. He’d tucked two flasks of koa fruit juice and water in each side pocket, along with some dried twallo meat. “Remember, sonara. If we are approached by monitors, stand behind me, keep your eyes down, and—”
“Pretend I don’t understand anything being said. I know.” She huffed out a breath and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. “I hate this.”
“If there were any other way…”
Tessa grabbed the second rucksack and slipped her arms through the straps. “Let’s go.”
Her frustration echoed his own, but he did not know if she understood just how bad things could be. Today, he had to do more than teach her about Balrov. He had to share his worst memories. His shame and humiliation. His darkest fears.
“Tessa. Wait.” Catching up with her, he linked their fingers. “Stay by my side.”
The contact seemed to steady her, and she blew out a deep breath. “Sorry. I just…I’m not a piece of property. I’m a person. A human being. Just as important as anyone else on this planet.”
“To me, you are the most important being on Balrov.” Ro squeezed her hand. “But you need to understand how much we have suffered these past revolutions. How much the others still suffer.”
“Tell me.”
They reached the edge of Ro’s fence line, and he gestured to the ground, to a group of wires barely hidden by the dirt. “This is part of my perimeter alarm. Any being who crosses the gate will set off a series of bells inside the house. If you hear them and I am not there, hide under the bed.”
Tessa nodded. “You’re stalling again.”
“Perhaps.” Taking her hand again, he pulled her closer as they set off towards the rising suns. “When the Supreme Ruler arrived, the battles raged for perhaps fifteen cycles. My people were massacred in droves. Whole families. Small settlements.”
Only having Tessa at his side made his memories bearable.
“The females and those Balrovian males who fought back were taken the first few cycles. Those slaves were forced to rebuild the Citadel. They worked through the light and dark for a dozen sun cycles. Many died. Not long after, the monitors started rounding up the rest of the free males. Each one of us was brought before the Supreme Ruler, beaten, and then given a choice.”
“What choice?” Tessa asked.
Ro guided her towards a tall Malthrop tree. The crimson bark and bright pink leaves were beautiful, but very deadly. A short distance away, Ro stopped and touched his forehead to hers. “Pledge fealty to him and agree to work the land, barely surviving, alone, or never breathe free air again.”
When she started to apologize, Ro cut her off. She owed him no such words. He gestured to the tree. “This bark is poisonous. The leaves have some medicinal qualities and can treat fevers and infections, but you can only pick them wearing thick gloves.”
“Poison. Gloves. Got it.” She walk
ed all around the tree, peering up at its leaves, studying the bark. “It’s gorgeous. Your walls are made of this wood, aren’t they?”
“They are. When treated, it is safe for building. But the curing process takes an entire revolution.” He pulled one of the flasks of water from his pack, took a few sips, and offered it to Tessa. He had more to tell her. More of his failures to admit, and he did not wish to. Would she think less of him?
Linking their fingers, Tessa gave his hand a tug. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Every day, until I found you, I regretted my choice to pledge my loyalty to the Supreme Ruler. This is…not a life. Always fearing the monitors. Working every day for his gain. Able to keep nothing for ourselves but what we hide.”
“Hide?”
Ro was about to tell his mate about his small, underground storage bunker, but the whine of a Sypian speedster pierced the silence of the late morning. “Get behind me, Tessa. Now.”
She ducked under his arm, pressing her body to his. He felt her tremble, and rage had him clenching his hands into fists. The single speedster rounded a large outcropping and headed for them.
The Sypian eased the vehicle to a stop a short distance away. Removing his helmet, he ran bony fingers through his spiked green hair. “Ro. Son of Soren?”
“Yes.” Ro kept his gaze on the monitor’s boots. “How can I serve you, sir?”
“And this is your human?” The monitor took two steps to the side to peer at Tessa. “You have clothed her.”
“If she is to help me work the land, she needs protection. The rocks are sharp and her skin is delicate.”
“You are wise to do so. I am Monitor Byjuk.”
Ro risked a quick glance at the monitor. His tone held a hint of regret. Or perhaps shame. The Sypian in front of him placed his hands on his hips, drawing Ro’s gaze to his belt where a braided red piece of rope wound around the standard black. Could this Sypian be…a friend?
“It is an honor, Monitor Byjuk. Human.” He turned to Tessa and gestured to the ground. “Greet the monitor.” Ro slid his palm to the back of Tessa’s neck and gently guided her into a small bow. She held her tongue, but he felt her frustration.
“Have you seen anything out of the ordinary, Ro, son of Soren? Any unauthorized travel?”
“No, monitor.”
Byjuk’s gaze slid between Ro and Tessa, and then he nodded. “Very well. I came with a gift for you. Or rather, for your human.” The monitor stepped forward with his hand held out, palm up. “I was told the Supreme Ruler took her neural chip. I found a spare. But…I suspect you do not need this.”
Fear stabbed through Ro, and he guided Tessa behind him. But her foot landed on an errant rock, and she teetered, then crashed to the ground before Ro could catch her.
“Tessa!” Ro scooped her up and held her against him. “I am sorry,” he whispered in her ear.
Byjuk’s lips curled away from his sharp teeth, and he came closer, making Ro’s skin bristle at the proximity of another male to his mate. Holding up his hands, Byjuk glanced around. “I will keep your secret,” he said. “But take care when you see other monitors. Your eyes betray your bonding.”
“Wait,” Ro said when Byjuk turned back toward his speedster. “Was it you? The boots?”
With a shake of his head, Byjuk started the craft’s motor. “No. But there are more of us than you would think. Do not give up, Ro, son of Soren, and Tessa, mate of Ro. Never give up.”
* * *
As Ro and Tessa explored the land, he taught her of the various plants she could harvest, showed her how to extract small Foxfire crystals from the thin crevasses in the foothills, and explained where to find fresh water. Though he would not bet his life that the monitor, Byjuk, would keep their secret, a quiet hope had taken hold. And Tessa’s laughter and pure joy at being outside in the sun was infectious. In the late afternoon, he laid her down by a small watering hole, exploring her body with languid kisses and slow, sensual touches.
Despite the danger—another monitor could easily come upon them, Ro found a peace in his mate’s arms he had never experienced before. And for the first time since the Sypians had come, he looked out at the land and did not see despair. Instead, he saw only the beauty of Balrov through Tessa’s eyes.
As he spilled his seed into her, he nuzzled her ear. “I love you, sonara.”
Chapter Twelve
Tessa
The suns had not yet crept over the horizon the next morning when Ro woke her with a searing kiss that curled her toes. “We need to leave soon, sonara. The Supreme Ruler’s drones patrol once the winds die down, and we must be to the base of the mountain by then.”
“Do we have time…?” She wanted him again. How she could be this needy this often, she had no idea.
“Perhaps…we could try in the bathing tube?” He grinned, his silvery eyes now streaked with a deep blue. A part of the bonding, he’d told her when she’d panicked at Byjuk’s warning. The two of them were now linked, both physically and emotionally.
“Come with me, Tessa.” Ro drew her into the bathing tube and pressed her back against the wall. “I want you with every breath.” He scored his teeth over the curve of her neck, and she shuddered. “You are so very delicate. So light in my arms. I worry I will break you.”
“I’m stronger than I look.” Tessa wrapped her arms around Ro’s neck. “I can feel you. All around me. Like…we’re connected in a way I never thought possible.”
When Ro kissed her, Tessa wrapped her legs around his waist. His cock nudged between the globes of her ass, and she ground her hips against him.
“I love you, Ro.” She bit his neck, right over the slight discoloration from the mating bite, and he roared as he entered her in a single, deep thrust.
His long, thick cock bore half a dozen ridges of muscle, each one scraping over her clit in the most delicious way. Digging her short nails into his back, she started to move her hips in time with his.
“Hold on tightly, sonara. I cannot be gentle with you.”
As he claimed her, body and soul, she screamed her alien’s name.
* * *
Tessa tightened the rope around the waist of her pants, closed her eyes, and took a brief mental inventory. She felt steady. No lingering dizziness. No headache. Either she’d been right about the nutritional supplement, or her body had finally adjusted to the planet’s gravity. But given how much more…possessive Ro seemed, and how he’d started to talk of finding a way to contact the Sypian resistance, she’d bet her Earth boots she’d been right.
Ro shouldered a large pack with a grunt, and Tessa frowned. “I can carry some of our supplies,” she said. “Put some in my bag.” At his raised brow, she stalked over to him and jabbed him in the chest. “I’m not weak, Ro. Or helpless. Back on Earth, the harvester training program was brutal. We had to be able to lift half our body weight, run ten miles at a stretch, and crawl through the tightest passages you can imagine. Barely wider than my shoulders. For hours.”
“I do not know…’miles.’”
“It’s distance. Ten miles is…maybe twice the distance we walked yesterday.” She straightened her shoulders and held his gaze. “I can help, Ro. On Earth, people who…mate…are partners. They share things. Equally.”
Ro ran a hand through his hair and turned away from her. But before she could protest, he strode across the room, hauled her rucksack onto the counter, and started filling it with small containers and a spare shirt. “You can carry our food for the journey.”
* * *
Ro
His mate kept pace with him as they headed into the hills. He’d wrapped her in his long, hill-beast hide coat to protect her from the frigid winds, and her blond hair whipped around her head.
“What I wouldn’t give for a hair band,” she muttered as she accepted Ro’s hand and let him pull her up over a large pile of rocks. “Back on Earth, we had these things called scrunchies.”
The word was so ridiculous, he chuckled. “W
hat did this ‘scrunchie’ do?”
“Kept my hair from flying into my face.”
Ro helped her onto the narrow path. “The winds will calm when we reach the other side of the cliffs.”
“And we’ll find what we need there? More crystals and…food?” She linked their fingers as they kept close to the sheer rock face.
“Nissal leaves. Yes. The most nutrient-dense plant on Balrov. A handful can sustain a male for two days if need be. They grow in small holes on the leeward side of the mountain. We will harvest several dozen bunches. That should give us enough to last through the ice storms. At the next trade, I will purchase an additional storage pod so we can preserve more food at one time.”
“Ro? All this…me…can we afford it? The trade’s expensive, right?” Her uncertainty turned her blue eyes pale, and Ro’s anger flared, bright and hot once more. He hated what the Supreme Ruler had done to their planet, and by the ancient gods, he was going to find a way to take it back.
“I do not know how we will survive, sonara. But we will. I will not accept any other option.”
* * *
As they crested the mountain, the winds calmed, and the suns warmed the rocks. “Sit here,” Ro said, patting a flat boulder. He passed her the canteen of koa juice, then rummaged in his rucksack for two small, curved pickaxes, each the length of Tessa’s forearm. “These will help loosen the nissal from the rocks. It is best if you can harvest the roots as well as the leaves. Any intact roots we can preserve until we return to our home, we will plant.”
