by Erin Raegan
Fihk
I gnashed my teeth as the battleship entered Earth’s atmosphere. Fear, a fear so great I felt enraged by it, gripped me.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” the human male, Fohrrd, muttered beside me.
I snarled at him. He backed away with his hands raised.
The emissary had arrived earlier in the day as I prepared to return to my mate. They came with Ignyt and his warrior crew. Prepared to interrogate and imprison Tahk’s council. Fohrrd and Cohlt traveled with them.
But I had no time for the humans and the human mule, Booboo.
The council had been aware of the king’s enforcer arriving.
Someone had betrayed King Uthyf and informed the council of their fate.
They were prepared for Ignyt’s arrival and gave order of a plan that had been in place long before King Aryx met his death.
A plan erected in secret. Without Tahk’s or my knowledge.
Enemy Dahk, embedded in our own militia, were ordered to initiate the attack on the humans before Ignyt and the emissary could dock on Dahk One.
So many under my command, dozens and dozens of them, boarded their flyers and targeted the humans’ army camps. There was no warning, not enough time to evacuate them. I had comm’d Olynth just as the compound housing my mate was attacked by my own Dahk.
I did not know what had become of them. The comm was cut after he shouted her name in pure terror. No communication had come in from the camps on Earth as I boarded a flight. Urgency and terror for my mate fueled my every action.
I ordered Ignyt to imprison the council as planned and to get any information possible, any way possible. I knew several Dahk boarded the flight at my back, as well as the human Fohrrd, but I did not spare them a glance. All over Dahk One, ships were abandoning their fight against the Vitat and shooting for Earth, an attempt to save the Dahk falling at their brethren’s hands.
The Kilbus were left to fight the Vitat on their own, the Kilbus Lord ordering them from somewhere on Earth.
My pilot guided the battleship to Earth with urgency, the ship shaking from the reckless descent. My crazed eyes searched the ground as we flew over the location of the human camp. It was burning. The walls destroyed.
A small Dahk flyer on the far side was firing its cannons at the Dahk flying and snapping up injured humans. Saving them.
“Destroy them,” I snarled, and my pilot looked back in alarm. “Now!”
He did not wait. He fired on the small flyer, blowing it back and engaging it as it fired and attempted to flee.
“Shit,” Fohrrd shouted and held on as we tilted to avoid a blast.
The ship shook as it absorbed the blow into its shield. The Dahk flying outside ducked for cover as the fight ensued. It took three more blasts from my battleship to cripple the flyer’s shield and send it crashing into the ground.
I flew from the bay, not waiting for the ship to land, and dived for the burning camp. Olynth was past a burning dwelling, ordering a group of Dahk shielding a small cluster of humans with their wings while he dug frantically through a pile of rubble.
“Where is she?” I snarled as I landed.
He looked back at the dwelling burning and billowing smoke into the skies. I looked at the fiery pit in terror.
He clasped my shoulder and pointed below it. “She is below ground.”
“Alive?” I asked, guttural, shuddering in fear.
Olynth met my eyes with a bleak look of his own. “When I left, yes.”
“And now?” I barely recognized my own words.
“The ground is volatile. We must dig them out.” He looked away in shame. “I left her.”
I clutched his shoulder. “You were needed up here. Our Dahk needed your leadership.”
He went back to heaving the hot stones from the crumbled dwelling. Together, we worked with our Dahk, digging out the passage below, revealing a stairwell. It was impeded by debris, broken and dark. I held my fear in check, leading Olynth and the others below. Humans joined us, aiding our efforts. Fohrrd worked beside me, shouting below for survivors.
I did not allow myself to think of my mate as I slowly made my way down. I did not allow myself to think of her sparkling eyes, her expressive face, or her wicked grin. Thinking of nothing but the path before me, I fought the earth as it trapped my mate.
It was spins that felt like dimtides, but at last a passage was cleared and Olynth and I forced our way through. Shouts could be heard from below. But Vylbor and the Xixin met us at the bottom. Vylbor fought the Xixin, snarling as he tried to reach the door. They were both bloodied and panting as Olynth shoved them aside.
Together, Olynth and I tore the door from its hinges and searched the dark room. Our ability to see in the night allowed us to see the tangles of humans attacking our mate. Olynth and I snarled as one and lunged for her.
I tossed the humans aside, uncaring of their safety as I pulled her free. She was trembling against me, a blade in her hand, held in front of her protectively.
“Why?” I thundered, freezing the wild humans.
They dropped their weapons and backed away from me. Their eyes flared on Olynth as he roared in rage.
The human male, Nihk, gasped as he pushed a human male off him and stood on unsteady feet. “They think it was you guys.”
“Why her?” Olynth roared at the humans.
None answered. I searched my mate for injuries. Her plush lip was split, seeping her lifeblood. A bruise formed on her temple. She held her hand protectively over her abdomen. I grazed the wound on her side with my fingertips, feeling wet.
“They stabbed me,” she growled against my chest, wincing as I prodded the injury.
Olynth roared again, and the humans scattered.
“They’re scared,” she said as I bared my fangs at them.
I turned to the Dahk behind me. “Take them. They are to be confined.” The humans shouted until I thundered over them, “Silence!”
The Dahk filed in, corralling the humans as I left with my mate. Tohn came then, locating her companions and brother and urging them to leave.
“Nate,” my mate shouted.
Her brother reached her side as I lifted her in my arms. She clutched his hand and kissed it. I climbed through the broken stairwell and out into the sunlight. Olynth and the others followed as I carried her to the battleship.
“Healer,” I snarled to my Dahk as we boarded.
A novice met us as I laid her on the healer's table. Vylbor worked with him to seal the shallow wound in my mate's side and her numerous other injuries. I watched in silence, alongside Olynth, and seethed.
“What happened?” Olynth growled, his voice coated in rage. He kept his eyes firmly on our mate, tracking her every movement.
“We are divided,” I said hoarsely. “Our brethren have aligned with those who seek to enslave the humans.”
“Then they will die.”
Chapter 23
Bailey
So much for getting away with minor injuries. The assholes below ground stabbed me in my side. With a pen of all things. Not to mention the burn on my arm and side and the fist-sized bruise on my face. I was in pain. There was no ignoring it.
I tried to keep it hidden, for Nate’s sake, as Vylbor and the other Dahk sealed the stab wound and doctored all my cuts and scrapes. But he knew. His bleak eyes said he saw it.
“Star!” Nate shouted.
She and Nick walked into the room, holding each other. Oren was right behind them. Linda choked on a sob and rushed to them. I hadn’t even realized Nick hadn’t followed us into the ship.
“Oren saved her,” Nick said into his daughter's temple, his eyes red and shining.
Nick trembled as he hugged Star. I watched them from the table, trying hard to ignore the two pairs of eyes boring into the side of my face. I hadn’t ever seen either of them so angry, practically frothing at the mouth.
With the exception of Fihk that day at Peyton’s when he found out I was his mate.
&
nbsp; I reluctantly glanced at Fihk, meeting his wrathful gaze. His hand trembled as he traced a clawed finger down the bridge of my nose.
“Hey, boss,” I said weakly.
“Sweets,” he murmured and bent over me. He nuzzled my neck and placed a light kiss there.
I sighed and let him inhale my scent. I sat up with his help and held onto his arm as my head spun. Olynth walked around the other side of the cot and held me from behind, nuzzling my other side.
I tripped in and out of consciousness as Fihk filled us in on what had happened. Vylbor patched everyone up as Fihk told us how the council had panicked when the Dahk’s interrogator showed up. Fihk thought they had been planning to wait to make their move until the Vitat were eliminated and the Dahk were distracted by restoring order, but they’d had to change their plans fast when it was clear they were going to get locked up.
I wondered what the plan was. Kill their own and the human army, gather us all up, and what? Ship us off somewhere? Keep us trapped here? What was the point of it all? If they weren’t going to flee Dahk One themselves how did they think it would work? Thay had to have known Fihk and the other Dahk would stop them. Fihk said Ignyt would get those answers and they would pay for their actions.
I tried to stay awake as Fihk ordered Tohn to set a perimeter around what was left of the camp. He ordered the Dahk to patrol the sky for any other enemy Dahk or Vitat, then he comm’d his ship as he held me.
Olynth watched me doze and spoke with the healer in low voices. Then I felt myself being lifted into Olynth’s arms. He walked through the ship and into a room larger than the one I had stayed in before. Nate followed and climbed on the bed with me as Olynth laid me down.
“Rest,” Olynth said in my ear then kissed my lips before backing away and sitting on a soft stool.
Fihk walked into the room, speaking into the device in his ear, and leaned against the wall, watching me. Nathan held my hand in his little one as I fell asleep.
✽✽✽
When I woke, Nathan was gone and Fihk had taken his place. He was awake and watching.
“Nate?” I asked groggily.
“He is with Olynth.”
I nodded and relaxed against his chest. “Don’t you have a council to torture, boss?”
“It has been dealt with.”
“How many?” I asked, my voice catching. I didn’t have to clarify.
“Many from both sides. The surviving humans are being transported to safer camps, and the dead are being buried.”
“Yours?”
“We do not bury our dead,” he murmured and ran his hand down my back. “Our dead will be taken back to Home World and the Rite will be performed for them. Their life returned to the ancestors.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. So many had died and for what?
“You have no fault in this,” he said, sounding surprised. “We were betrayed by our own.”
“I’m still sorry you lost so many.” I rubbed my eyes, wincing at the pain in my cheekbone. “They died protecting us.”
“An honorable death,” he whispered and rolled me over, coming down on top of me, his weight held up by his forearms. “The Vitat warship has surrendered.”
“What?” I shouted and slapped my hands against his chest.
He grinned. “They have left your planet, retreating to their queen. Their warship will be boarded, and they will be escorted back to their home planet. Their queen will pay for their crimes against you and others.”
“Are you serious?” I choked back the sob in my throat.
He held me as I cried in his chest. He murmured words I couldn’t hear over my relief, shushing me and cooing comfort. I held him tightly and purged weeks and weeks of bleak feelings, terror, and hopelessness.
“We fly to your human city, a New Yohrkh, after we return to Dahk One and prepare a team to escort the Vitat,” he said into my neck.
“Why?” I sniffled.
“Your human leaders wish us to sign a treaty. Hush, sweets, I do not like to hear you so upset.”
“I’m relieved,” I gasped and shut my eyes to get ahold of my emotions.
“Then I am glad.” He grinned. “But perhaps you may express this in another way?”
I looked at him in confusion.
“Olynth has told me of your mating,” he murmured and watched my lips. “I wish to experience your kyss as he has.”
“You want me to kiss you, boss?” I grinned shakily.
He growled and nipped at my chin. I licked my lips as he watched hungrily.
“Come here,” I whispered and pulled his head down by his horns.
His eyes flicked from mine to my lips, back and forth. I leaned up and feathered them over his. He made a low, growly sound and pressed back to mine more firmly. I kissed him slow and soft for long moments, teasing him. He kept his hands on the bed as mine roamed his bare chest and sides. He was softer in his approach then Olynth, more sensual. He took his time, savoring me.
He backed away on a curse. “You are injured.”
I shifted and sighed. “I need a shower.”
He lifted me from the bed and carried me to the bathroom. I leaned against him as he turned on the water. I hissed when he pulled off my shirt, but I let him remove the rest of my clothes. Everything stung. My side was killing me, but it wasn’t as bad as when that asshole had shoved the pen into me. The Dahk’s healing cream was amazing. Just one more way they could help us advance.
I stepped into the water, pulling him with me as he half-heartedly protested. I was being selfish. I could barely stand on my own, and he was warm. He held me as the water washed the blood and soot from my skin. Eventually, my hands roamed his body as he stood stiff, glaring at the wall. I laughed softly.
“I missed you,” I confessed, smiling at the hard pole in his pants.
His head shot down, and his wide eyes roamed my face.
“Did you miss me?” I asked.
He growled and pressed his lips to mine, a little too hard, a little too awkwardly. I grinned and slowed him down, showing him how a man kisses a woman. He patiently let me teach him before taking over like a pro. I let my hand roam lightly over his lap, grabbing him.
He groaned and cursed, gently removing my hand. “I am pleased you are so eager for me, sweets, but you are injured. Perhaps when you have healed.”
“So considerate, boss.” I licked my lips and bit his pec, hard.
He groaned again and cradled my face.
“I missed you,” I said again and grabbed his hand, pulling it between my legs boldly. “I missed you here too.”
He cursed and gnashed his teeth. His fingers twitched, and my breath caught. His eyes watched my reaction in fascination, and he moved his fingers more purposefully. My mouth moved across his chest, licking and biting everywhere I could reach. His head bent down, and he nuzzled my face aside so he could capture my lips with his.
I tugged at his pants impatiently. I was injured and sore, but I had missed him. And I was so grateful and relieved. My emotions were all over the place with nowhere to go.
His thickness filled my hand, and I pumped him impatiently. He snarled and fell back against the side of the shower, his head thrown back, his neck straining. I advanced on him, pressing my slick skin to his, and sucked on his collarbone while on the tips of my toes. He mumbled another half-hearted protest and held his hands away from me, but his groans gave him away.
It didn’t matter. I was committed. I dropped to my knees and took him in my mouth to the back of my throat, enjoying his shocked shout. I cupped his balls and sucked him, my teeth catching on the small ridges. He growled and snatched me up, stomping from the shower. I grinned into the skin of his neck, lathing it with my tongue.
He was trembling as he laid me on the bed before chucking his pants and falling down beside me. His wings barely hit the bed before I was up and straddling him.
There was something insanely hot about him being underneath me. I loved Olynth dominating me, but I
totally got off on dominating Fihk. All his leadership and bossiness trapped under me. His hand gently cradled my wound and his brows furrowed in worry, but I barely felt any pain. I was too warm, too excited.
“You just lie there, boss. I’ll do all the work,” I teased and played between my legs.
He watched me with a dark twist of his lips and panted. “You will tear open your wound.”
“You better stay still then.” I sighed and took him in my hand, laying him flat against his stomach, and moved back and forth over him.
His hands fisted in the bed beside him as I soaked him with my excitement. My stomach was pulling at my wound, so I sat on my knees and took him inside. I tossed my head back as he filled me, loving the way he shuddered and groaned my name. Panting as my hips hit his, I was so full I almost lost myself right then. But his body was tensed and vibrating, so I rocked my hips.
But it really did start to hurt, and he cursed and sat up, holding my hips still.
“I want you,” I moaned in frustration. I wanted this with him. We hadn’t had the time to be together like Olynth and I had, and it showed. Our relationship wasn’t as strong. It made me feel guilty.
He wrapped a hand around my jaw and kissed my lips. “We will have our time.” He hugged me to him, but I pushed back.
“No, I need you,” I whined. If I could go back and kill that asshole, I would. I hadn’t wanted to hurt any of those people in the moment—because they were scared and confused—but now I wanted to jam that pen in his dick hole.
“Hush,” he murmured and wedged a hand between our bellies. His fingers explored between my legs. He growled low when he felt how wet I was. How much I was aching. And he circled my nub with a knuckle. “Here?”
I jerked against him. I nodded rapidly and dug my nails into his arms. He hummed and pressed me tightly against his chest, holding me still. I relaxed against him, laying my head on his shoulder, and let him touch me. Play with me.
His hips circled below me, thrusting lightly up and into me. I bit his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck, crying out into his shoulder. He purred my name and hushed me, rapidly rubbing my clit. I tried to rock against him, but he pressed an arm under my ass and held me still.
