by Renee Rose
“Thank you. Now get back out there and spend time with your mate before the young comes. I promise you that there will be few, ahem, moments”—he smiles—“for intimacy, when the young first arrives.”
I smile, knowing he’s right.
“I will. Thank you.”
Benn
“Come on,” I urge Danica. “The light is fading, and I want you to see it before the sun sets.”
“I just need a few things.” She giggles at my eye roll; she likes it when I tease her.
“If I knew humans were so slow…” I throw up my hands.
“You’d have gotten down on the ground to beg me to show you how to properly savor each moment?” She raises an eyebrow and puts a fluid packet into her satchel. “If I knew Zandians were so intent on racing around all the time…”
I snatch her up in my arms and bury my face in her hair. That vecking glorious pale blonde hair, soft and fly-away, like moss. Like spray from a waterfall. Fragrant, delicate—like her. I speak into her neck. “Savoring how long it takes to prepare your snacks? Veck, baby, do you need the entire cupboard?”
“And then some.” She squeals as I bite her neck. “You know how hungry I get these days.” Before the visit to Dr. Daneth, she was tense. Afterwards, she eased up. I think she’s getting acclimated to life here with us.
“That we do.” Gorde steps back into the open doorway. “I think you eat the equivalent of an entire solar cycle’s worth of produce.” He strides forward and touches her belly, an affectionate smile on his face. “Not that we mind, of course.” He points to the craft outside our home. “I have our ground transport ready. If you two can possibly force yourselves to leave for a few minutes, we may just make our destination in time.”
“It’s not my fault.” Danica gives Gorde the sweetest smile, and bats her lashes. “Benn was being affectionate, and how can I say no to that?”
I slap her ass once, not hard, and she squeals. “Beast.”
“That’s right.” I do it again, kiss her, then reluctantly put her down, trailing my hands over her arms, squeezing her palm, before letting her stand alone. “Your beast. And you love it.”
“That I do.” She reaches up on tiptoe to kiss me, her belly brushing my abdomen. A spark of passion and protective pride flows through me. My mate. My young.
She takes my hand then, and Gorde’s, and the moment is complete. Her face is so vibrant and healthy, her eyes bright and shining—she’s never been prettier. It’s true what they say, other Zandians: There’s something unmistakably beautiful about a pregnant human who’s yours.
“So where are we going?” Danica steps into the craft and sits in her console chair, peering out the window as we set off, gliding quickly a few feet off the ground.
“You’ll love it,” I promise, and shoot a glance at Gorde. He looks back and smiles, but there’s a guarded expression on his face, like there’s something he’s not telling me. Things have been a little off-kilter with him since our visit to Dr. Daneth. Danica is more relaxed; he’s not. I wonder if he’s concerned about whether the young is his or mine? After all, he was the one who liked Danica first…and fell for her hardest.
“We’re here,” he announces, when we arrive. The look on Danica’s face tells me this was a great idea, because her eyes—so wide, and that smile? It’s everything.
“I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous,” she breathes. “What is this place?”
“It’s called the Zandal Highlands.” Gorde takes her hand to help her off the craft. “Upcountry that was untouched by the Finn. King Zander recently approved mated couples to request plots of land here.”
“For a new home?” Danica reaches down to touch the grass, knee high and soft, waving in the breeze.
“No,” I laugh, and touch her back. “For vacation spots. For pleasure.”
“A place just for pleasure,” she repeats, putting both hands on her belly. “Extraordinary.”
“A place to come to relax.” Gorde strides forward and points at the graceful trees. “Hear that?”
We all stop and listen, and he continues, “It’s a stream. Crystal clear. You can drink from it. Swim in it.”
“I never learned how to swim.” Danica walks forward to examine the water, her eyes glowing. “It’s not something that my old master…” She stops and presses her lips together.
“We’ll teach you. And the young.” I’m uncharacteristically excited. “I can just see his horns now, dipping into the water for the first time.”
“She,” Danica corrects me automatically.
“I know, you keep saying that, but Dr. Daneth says that most Zandian-human babies have been boys so far,” I remind her. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
Danica’s smile wavers, then strengthens. “Let’s worry about that later.” She touches my face, almost hesitant. “Right now I’d like to enjoy time with the two of you.”
“That can be arranged.” I slide my hand under her shirt and cup her breast. “Who are we to say no to our mate?”
I lower my lips to claim her mouth, but I can’t push away the nagging thought. It’s a pattern I should’ve noticed sooner.
Danica’s distracting us from whatever’s bothering her with sex.
On the drive back, we’re quiet, a comfortable silence. Danica hums to herself, a tune I don’t recognize, not that I’m musically inclined.
“What is that melody?” I ask.
She stops abruptly. “I…don’t know.”
Gorde glances over. “Something you heard from other, ah, slaves, maybe?”
Danica shakes her head. “No, I-I can’t recall where I heard it.”
Our craft beeps and slows, and an automated chime rings out.
“Veck.” Gorde growls. “Looks like we’re having an issue with the GPS controller module. I knew the mechanical team was putting the upgrades in before they were ready.”
“Well, let’s take a look.” I sigh. “With all the work you and I do on our fighter craft, I’m sure we can figure out a simple transport problem.”
“We don’t need to rely on the GPS,” Danica points out. “We can just self-drive.”
I fake a sigh of horror. “Don’t say such a thing! We’re on a relaxing day, Danica. Not a working trip. Please be sure to honor the difference.”
“Oh, Master, my abject apologies.” She giggles and pretends to bow to me. “Forgive me for insinuating that you should use a single brain cell on this pleasure outing.”
“Apology accepted.” I narrow my eyes, “If you agree to suck my hard cock later.”
She purses her lips. “Hmmmm…agreed. If you, in return, lick me until I scream with pleasure.”
I can’t resist a smile from spreading across my face at the idea of her delicious pussy. “Definitely agreed.”
Gorde already has the panel snapped open and extracts the module, a small device of silver and wires. “Here’s the culprit.” He turns it over. “I think.”
Danica’s at his side in an instant. “This isn’t too different from the way we control charge capacitance on the phaser.” Her voice is thoughtful, and she taps her cheek with her index finger.
“Oh?” Gorde raises his eyebrows and smiles.
She crosses her arms over her swelling belly. “Oh indeed.” She scowls, then bursts into laughter. “Hand me a robotool and I’ll show you how to fix it.”
“Oh, you will?” I can’t resist this, but at the same time, part of me is rooting for her to be right. I certainly don’t know how to fix this on the fly—I’m sure I could figure it out, given enough time, but I’m curious to see if Danica really knows what she’s talking about.
Gorde gives her the device and she bends over, her silky hair falling all over her shoulders.
“Let’s see…” She frowns. “Oh, look. This wire has come loose.” She points with the tip of the tool, and Gorde leans in, casually placing his hand on her ass as he does it.
She laughs and smacks his arms. “Pay attention. The lead isn’
t making consistent contact with the connection, which is why the control screen was cutting out intermittently. See?”
“I do see.” But Gorde’s looking at her face, not at the device. He’s impressed, and so am I.
“I’ll do it. You shouldn’t be working with the solder material. There’s lead in it, and that can’t be good for developing young.” I extract the tools I need from the cabinet. “Danica, you’re—that’s incredible.” My heart is full.
She smiles and waves her hand, but a flush comes over her face and the smile that comes is a happy one. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” Gorde puts his arms around her. “A mate who’s as beautiful as the Tellurian constellations, who bears our young, and who’s also a genius? How did we get so lucky?” He touches her face. “We’re the best team ever. The three happiest beings on this planet.”
And as I reconnect the loose wire, fixing the connection so that the current flows through it the way it was meant to go, what I think to myself is that he’s right. The three of us are inextricably linked, and when we’re in sync—like in this moment—the energy that flows among us is the most remarkable thing I’ve ever felt.
Chapter 13
Danica
“So the other night?” Janette, a young human who lives in the dome beside ours, lowers her voice and puts her hand on my arm, leaning in. “My two mates tried this new…thing. And Mother Earth, was it fantastic!” Her whole face glows. I have to say—all the human females I’ve met on Zandia so far seem happy with their situations.
“Oh, have more strawberries. I grow them using a proprietary mix of fertilizer that I made myself.” She points out back to her ecodome greenhouse, then pushes the basket over to me.
“These are so good.” I cram another red berry into my mouth and it bursts into a symphony of flavor on my tongue. “Don’t leave me hanging. What thing do you speak of?” I raise my eyebrows and give her a stern look. “Now I’m dying of curiosity.”
She laughs and looks toward her sleepdisk. “So they got this device from Dr. Daneth that goes into my ass, like a plug, and it vibrates. With a cock in my pussy and that in my ass? Oh, the orgasm was phenomenal. You should get one for you and your mates.” She nods, and glances across the room at her small twins, little human boys who are giggling and chattering together, planning mischief.
“Watch out for those two,” I say, with a grin, before I think it through. “They’re planning to climb the trellis outside the dome during their nap time, the one for the hibiscus vines. They think they can make a clubhouse up there out of discarded trans boxes.”
“What?” She tilts her head. “How do you know that?”
My heart twists in my chest and I touch my belly. “Ah…I guess I heard them before?”
“When?” She leans forward. “They were across the room the whole time.”
“Um.” I think fast. “When you were on your comm, I think? They came a little closer. They didn’t know I was listening, I guess.”
“Oh. Well, it’s not unexpected. They’re such rascals.” She laughs, but her face shows pride and joy. “I bet you can’t wait for your own to be born. May I?” She hovers her hand over my stomach, and I nod. “Oh, the young is moving. I remember those moments.” She sighs.
“I bet yours were pretty aggressive, though.” I look over at the two boys, who are eyeing us with the look of children who are figuring out just how much they can get away with.
“They kicked my ribs so hard they almost dislocated one.” She shakes her head. “But it was worth it. Dr. Daneth had to cut open my belly to take them out, but apparently it’s not a complicated procedure, considering. And I healed just fine.”
I shudder, thinking of Akron’s claws, his cold eyes. Sweat breaks out on my brow and I wipe it away, taking a deep breath.
“They give you a medication so you feel nothing, Danica. I promise it. No pain at all, just pressure. And it’s over in a blink—so fast! They stitch you up so effortlessly and the wound seals up, as if it was never there. If they need to do that, I’ll come be by your side, all right?”
I grab her hand and nod, trying to compose myself. “Thank you.”
When I forget about my past, everything and every being are so perfect, and I can trick myself into thinking this is mine forever. I feel such overwhelming love for this life: My mates. New friends. My freedom. Learning to cipher, allowing my brain to expand. Making love by the stream. The ability to eat a red berry bursting with sun and flavor, with a friend. Simple pleasures I could never have dreamed of, back serving Akron.
But I don’t deserve these friends, my mates, this whole life. Everything is a lie. I thought coming here would buy me time, but all it’s done is make me fall in love with everything…that I’ll eventually have to give up.
“So I hear that you’re doing great things with electronics. Do you want to join a math class I’ll be teaching? I’m ready to start the calculus classes now, and I’m trying to get all of us human women enrolled.” She pops another berry into her mouth.
“I’d like that.” I smile at her, and pretend the future is secure. “That sounds perfect. Oh! Oh.” I grab my belly. “That’s…hmmm.”
“Everything okay?” Janette cocks her head. “You’re not due for a few months, right?”
“Yes.” This wasn’t a kick, it was more of a squeeze, a tight pressure. Like my body was clenching up. I take a deep breath and hold it, relieved when it doesn't happen a second time. “Just a momentary thing. I’m fine.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” She squeezes my hand. “This life is so much more than I ever expected. And it keeps getting better.”
Gorde
“You wanted to see me?” I knock on the half-open door, peering into Dr. Daneth’s lab.
He turns and beckons. “Gorde. Come in.” He frowns as I approach. “I need to talk to you about Danica’s pregnancy.”
“What is it?” My voice comes out rough from anxiety.
“Close the door.” The doctor blinks his amethyst eyes and waits until I do so before he speaks again. “Gorde, I don’t think the young is yours.”
“It’s Benn’s?” I break out into laughter. “We talked about it, and that’s not a problem. Whichever one of us is the father will make sure that—”
“No. I mean it’s neither of yours. Not Zandian at all.” His voice is cool and even but I think I see a flicker of compassion cross his face.
“No, that can’t be right.” My blood boils. “Upon what grounds would you suggest that?” I step forward, growling.
“Stand back,” he snaps, putting up a hand, and I immediately stop in my tracks. “I examined the sono in detail and used info mapping to create detailed 3-D images. This is what I found.” He holds up his holo device and flashes up pictures in color.
“I don’t know what I’m looking at.” My voice rises with frustration. “Explain what you mean.”
“This is the heart.” He points. “Here are two legs and two arms, which is good. The head. No horns.” He swipes to a new picture, this one clearer, and by the stars, I swear the little creature looks intelligent, and pretty, almost like Danica. But my heart sticks in my throat because the young has delicate green scales up and down its arms. Pointy ears. That’s not human or Zandian.
“What?” I shake my head, dizzy for a moment.
“It’s a species called Akronicans.”
I shake my head. “Haven’t heard of them. What are they like?” I flick through images on the screen.
“Well, it’s reported that males are extremely violent. Females are nearly non-existent.”
“That doesn’t make sense. How can that be?” Another image; in this one, the young has its mouth open, yawning. I’m horrified and entranced at the same time. It’s like watching at a gory battle—I don’t like it, but I can’t avert my eyes.
“They’re reputed to kill their mates after they successfully breed a male young. They kill female young 100 percent of the time. Usually ki
ll the mate if she breeds a female just as a punishment for wasting their time.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.” I shudder.
The doctor coughs. “When I say mate, it’s not really a mate. They take slaves and keep them captive for breeding, and kill them after the young is delivered.”
I can’t comprehend what I’m hearing. “What? Why?”
“It’s to do with their genetics.” He clears his throat and his voice gains fluency, like he’s excited to teach me about this. “When Akronian males breed a male offspring, it doesn’t matter what host they use, the resultant DNA will be only Akronian. But if the breeding results in a female young, that one will pick up a significant portion of the DNA from the mother. Their females can use and adopt multiple DNA sources, apparently. Akronicans want to keep their line pure, warlike. They don’t want to breed in new characteristics. And they don’t bond with mates—they just want male offspring.”
“That’s repugnant. But Danica, how?”
“Probably conceived the child before you rescued her.” His voice is dry. “That’s why I thought the fetus was too big at first. She was already pregnant by the time she met you.” He answers my next question before I can even ask. “And I guarantee she knew it.”
“How can you be sure?”
“She would have been already five lunar cycles along, Gorde. Her menses would have stopped and there are significant changes in a female’s body that let them know they are carrying young. I suppose I can’t say with 100 percent certainty, but I’m fairly confident she knew.”
“And she didn’t tell us.” I’m confused, and angry. “That she was carrying a young. From a violent, aggressive species!”
The doctor holds up a hand. “We don’t—”
I burst out with, “She held it like a sick virus inside her, tricked us into mating her so she could carry the thing here, on Zandia. We told her.” I push one fist into my other palm. “We explained how the only beings welcome on this planet are Zandians, and human females.”
