by Luna Hunter
I retrieve the small black pebble, and hold it in the palm of my hand for her to grab. Instead, she just looks at like I’ve stared too long into the sun.
“Is this a joke?” Emma says. “Because I don’t think it’s funny.”
“No, this is my spare set of dun armor,” I say slowly. “Is the translator not functioning properly?”
“I don’t know, you’re saying a lot of words that don’t make sense to me. Xeerdom, Nyrr, dun, you’re throwing around a lot of big, weird words here.”
“I see. I must explain then. Xeerdom is… our way of life. It is how we live as a people. When I find my xeer, I will become Xeer Malak. Does that make it clearer?”
Emma shakes her head so hard her barely covered breasts shake along with her. It is a sight I can get used to.
Only the blood rushing down to my nether regions is making it hard to explain the intricacies of Aegir society to the beautiful female.
“No, if anything, I am more confused now.”
“How do I make this clear? I am… Malak.”
“Yes, that’s your name. I am Emma. But what’s your species called? I am human, by the way.”
“Aegir.”
“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere, Malak. You’re an Aegir. What’s your planet called?”
“…Aegon.”
“Fair enough. Okay, another important question: Do you eat humans on Aegon? Just something I want to know.”
“What? No.”
Emma does look good enough to sink my teeth into, though. Her hard nipples poke through that thin white shirt that hangs on her frame all too perfectly, and her thick thighs try to hide that sweetest place of all, the fragrance already making my mouth water…
“Cool. Just checking. Moving on. You said you were a something something of Nyrr, right? What’s Nyrr?”
“High Prince of the Xeerdom of Nyrr,” I correct her.
“I think that’s what I said.”
“Nyrr is our territory on Aegon. The place we call home. Named after House Nyrr.”
“Your country, I take it. Go on. What’s this Xeerdom business?”
I do not know where to start. How do you explain water to a fish? Air to a bird? Xeerdom is… life.
“The ruler of Nyrr is the Xeer. Nyrr is a Xeerdom. Does that help?”
“Oh, so it’s like a kingdom,” Emma says. “Right. I think I got it. Not sure why the translator didn’t pick up on that… but then again, I’m perplexed it’s even working, to be honest.”
“You will have to better your vocabulary if you are to become Xeer Emma, little human.”
“Xeer Emma? But you just said the Xeer is the… and you are to be Xeer Malak…”
“Correct.”
“But that means…”
Her nose is scrunched up, lost in deep thought, as if she’s doing an impossible calculation. “You can’t mean…”
“You are my yali, Emma Fairheart of Earth. My foretold bride, my fated mate, my future wife. I will breed you, and you will carry my child. You will be my Xeer, and together we will rule Nyrr.”
To say Emma’s is shocked would be the understatement of the millennium. Her mouth hangs open, and only meek protests come out.
“B-but… th-that can’t be, I’m just… and you are…”
“You are the most exquisite being I’ve ever laid my eyes on, Emma, and you will be mine. Now, here is the dun armor you requested. This pebble is the height of Nyrr technology. There is one caveat: You have to be naked for it to work properly. If you are not, the results will be… uncomfortable.”
“Okay, now you’re joking, right? Please? Just tell me this is a mean joke already. There is no way any of this is true. You are.. big and strong and royalty, and I’m just…”
“If I wanted you to be naked, Emma Fairheart of Earth, you would already be naked! I would have your panties dangling around your ankles, and your round ass on my lap if I wanted it so! If you want the dun armor, you better lose all your clothes right now, understood?”
The human female exasperates and exhilarates me at the same time. Too long have I been surrounded by royal yes-men, who will nod at everything I say or do.
Not Emma Fairheart of Earth. She tests me. She challenges me.
“What happens if I don’t?”
“Then you will give my entire royal staff a perfect view of your succulent, pink arealos. Your undergarments are practically see-through, human.”
“Your entire royal staff? Is that another Aegir euphemism?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Do you want a perfect view of my royal staff, human?”
“No, what I want is for this nightmare to end. I have a mission, and… you know what, forget it. Am I your prisoner?”
“You, Emma Fairheart of Earth, are my yali, my fate—“
“Yeah, yeah, you said that already. But what does that mean? With regards to my autonomy as, you know, a freaking person?”
“I do not understand.”
“I figured you wouldn’t. You’re the first alien male, excuse me, Aegir male I’ve ever met, but I can already tell you’re not that different. Just because you’re as tall as a mountain and as broad as a barn door, just because you’ve got a physique that would give Hercules an inferiority complex and a voice as deep as the ocean and as smooth as butter, that doesn’t mean that I am yours simply because you want it to be so. Even though I don’t quite understand what it is you see in me, but that’s a topic for a different day.”
A smile forms on my lips as the feisty human female rants on and on. Oh yes, making her mine will prove quite the task. I’ve never been one to walk away from a challenge, though.
“Get to the point, human, or we will be here until the suns die out.”
She places her hands on her hips and puffs out hot breaths angrily, glaring at me with a look that could melt glaciers.
“Forget it. I think I’ve got my answer.”
“Good. Now lose the clothes, human, because you’re testing my patience.”
“No way.”
“Do not play games with me, human,” I growl. “You wanted the dun armor. I got it for you. Refusing such a valuable gift would be a grave insult.”
“Yeah, well, kidnapping and stripping women naked is also kinda frowned upon where I’m from.”
“Enough.”
I reach forward and rip her flimsy top in half easily. Her round breasts spill out as she gasps. Her panties are snapped in half a second later. I stuff the ripped garment into a pocket as I hold up the dun pebble.
My fingers itch to spank her bare ass right here and now for her recalcitrant attitude, but I wrestle control of my instincts back with a deep, low growl. I’m not one to lose control. Something about Emma drives me absolutely mad, feral even. It’s her exquisite scent, her stunning looks, her powerful energy.
My cock responds to the sight of the naked female, gallons of blood rushing down so quick I feel light-headed. My dun armor hugs my naked physique tightly, but even those robust alloys are helpless against the power of my throbbing erection.
I have to adjust my bulge or my armor will break in half.
My thumb only brushes ever so slightly against her naked skin as I press the tiny pebble against her, but it’s more than enough to jolt my entire system.
“Wh-what’s happening?!” Emma cries frantically.
The moment the tiny black pebble touches her naked skin it turns into a liquid, spreading across her gorgeous body like an oil spill spreading on water. The liquid dun slides between the cracks of her round ass, it hugs her full thighs, her strong calves, and her pretty feet, enveloping her completely.
“Get it off, get it off!” She screams, her fingers clawing at the dun, but rather than stopping the spread, it now travels up her fingers and arms and shoulders and breasts, only stopping at her neck.
“Calm down, Emma Fairheart of Earth,” I say. “Give the dun a moment to harden.”
“Screw that, I want this creepy stuff off of me! Is it… i
s it inside of me? Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick!”
“Don’t be silly. Your insides don’t need protection.”
“You’d think that, yes.”
“The dun forms an outer layer, right on top of your skin, providing you with state-of-the-art protection and maximum flexibility. It has and will not enter you, that I promise.”
Now, I cannot make that same promise.
The body-hugging armor accentuates Emma’s every curve, both hiding and showing everything. Her hard nipples jut out like two tiny pebbles, and between those two luscious, perfectly formed thighs of hers, I can just about make out the lips of her pussy.
The swelling in my nether regions hasn’t gone down an inch. On the contrary, I am so hard that I’m sure she can see every vein of my spear right through my armor.
I close my eyes and let her pheromones surround me. Any moment now, my royal responsibilities will be bestowed upon me once more. I savor this moment while it lasts…
My ship lurches forward violently.
And there it is. A rough docking. I’ll have to talk to Akil Pay about that. A man of his age and experience should be able to pilot the Black Arc with more precision, as cumbersome as it is.
Metal boots echo in the distance. Strange, they sound heavier than expected…
Ah. By Ran’s beard! I’ve let the human female distract me so completely I’ve forgotten where we are.
Pirate controlled space.
A massive explosion rocks the room, and Emma is knocked right off her feet. I catch her mid-fall, and gently lower her down to the floor.
My door has been blown off its hinges, and half a dozen Zeila types storm into the room, shooting, rifles raised, rounds fired randomly into the ceiling.
The moment one of them points a rifle at my future mate, something inside of me snaps.
Mistake.
3
Emma
My nightmare is only beginning, it seems, for a man with translucent skin and tentacles for a mouth points a rifle right at me.
“What do we have here?!” He bellows, the translator device Malak gave me turning his weird, squishy sounds into words in an instant. “A succulent alien female?! Hand her over, Aegir bastard!”
“Over my dead body,” Malak growls. He shields my body from his view, looking even taller and imposing than usual. He looks like a literal mountain, his horns topping off his massive physique.
Good luck getting through him.
“That can be arranged,” the squid-man cackles as he pulls the trigger.
A hellish noise envelops the room as he sprays bullets everywhere. I hit the deck, my arms covering my head. I just pray Malak’s alright.
Even though he’s my kidnapper.
I ought to hate him, but there’s also something strangely… comforting about him. His voice is so smooth, yet authoritative at the same time. When he barks orders at me, I have to force myself to disobey him.
Because simply doing what that horned mountain commands me to do would be the easy thing. I don’t do the easy thing. I forge my own path. And the last thing I’m going to do is play wifey to some alien prince.
Even if he’s as gorgeous as Malak.
When the sounds die down I glance up, my heart racing at a thousand miles per minute. Malak hasn’t moved an inch. The ceiling, however, is riddled with bullet holes.
“Dun armor,” Malak growls as he pounds his chest. “The scrap-metal you make your bullets out off won’t put a scratch on me.”
That’s the same stuff I’m wearing! And to think I almost refused Malak’s offer… okay, I did refuse, and he just didn’t listen, ripped my clothes right off and forced the armor on me.
Something I’ll have to thank him for later. Perhaps. If we make it out of this alive. Somehow I don’t doubt that, because Malak just exudes power. I wonder if all Aegir are like him; so tall, so strong, so domineering.
I don’t intend to find out. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to get the hell out of here! I don’t want to be Malak’s wife, or yali, or xeer, or whatever he wants to call it. It’s my mission to find a suitable home for Earth, and that mission just became ten times harder.
Not only do I have to worry about mechanical failures, meteor showers and black holes, but now I can add alien pirates and kidnappers to that long list of anxieties.
As if my mission wasn’t hard enough already.
I crawl on my belly to the other side of the room, as Malak faces the intruders.
“You’ve made a terrible mistake coming here,” Malak bellows. “I’m giving you one chance to undo that mistake. Turn around now and leave, and your transgression will be forgiven.”
“Or else what?” A long-limbed raider snorts. His appearance is insectoid, like a praying mantis wielding a machine gun.
“Or else I’m going to tear your limbs off and beat your comrades to death with them, Zeila,” Malak growls threateningly.
“Big words for an unarmed man,” the squid shouts. “How about you give us that pretty girl and we’ll be on our way, eh?”
I crawl around the corner and pull my knees up to my chest, hyperventilating. I should run now, back to my ship, back to safety, but…
But I’m torn, my reptilian brain intent on self preservation duking it out with my pre-frontal cortex that wants to do the right thing.
We can’t leave Malak behind, my pre-frontal cortex chides. He’s saving your life, bravely facing a whole gang of pirates alone, and you just want to run away? Shame on you! Go back there!
We can leave Malak behind. We totally can! my reptilian brain retorts. Haven’t you been paying attention? This is not the time to get emotionally attached. May I remind you that this brute KIDNAPPED us, STRIPPED US NAKED and was very intent on doing a certain something something with us? May I remind you of the words he used: BREED. That mountain of a man wants to breed us. You’ve seen his bulge, I know you have, it’s impossible not to. The size of that thing is burned into our collective memory.
Yeah, I noticed. But from what I heard through the grapevine, that same bulge had you interested, didn’t it? Aren’t you all about sex sex sex, reptile?
Don’t get all high and mighty with me now, cortex. Just because you sit on the front row doesn’t mean you’re any better than me, okay? Sure, I’m tucked away all the way in the back, but it’s nice and safe and snug here, so shut it. Now yes, that bulge did have my engines firing a little bit, not going to lie. It’s not everyday you sit across a bulge the size of Mount Rushmore, alright? But my instinct for survival? Yeah, that’s bigger than my sex drive.
Really? That’s news to me!
What did I say about getting snippy with me?! Yeah, you’re in charge of executive functions, big fucking whoop. You know what I do? I control primitive drives; thirst, hunger, sex. Yeah, all the things people REALLY care about, that give them ACTUAL joy. Or did you really thing people got genuine joy from remembering to do their taxes on time? How do you think that compares to eating a scrumptious cupcake, or downing a cup of ice cold water when you’re parched? That’s what I thought! I’m the one that makes people happy!
Guys. Guys. You know what would make me really happy? If we could come to an agreement, because the sounds of guns rattling and bones snapping is making it kinda hard for me to be chill at this moment? So if you two could come to some type of arrangement? That would be great? Guys? Because I kinda feel like I’m losing my mind here, as I’m talking to myself?
Oh, look, now you did it, you reptile. You upset the boss. Way to go. Now I have to plan a bunch of stress relieving activities, just to get her back to functioning again. Let’s see, should we go for yoga… or some breathing exercises… it’s not really the moment to think about puppies, but I think that would help her…
What?! Are you freaking kidding me, cor? None of this would be happening if you did your actual job and listened to your basal ganglia when it said it’s time to hightail it the f u c k out of h e r e. You know why we haven’t heard f
rom the amygdala yet, right? The little fear-center that’s tucked in here with me, in the VIP section of the brain? It’s because she’s so scared she flipping fainted. Let’s get a move on. Now. NOW. NOWNOWOWOW
“Going somewhere, smooth skin?”
I look up to see an actual reptilian stand over me, eyes red, teeth small and plentiful. Ah fuck.
“Didn’t think you could escape your fate, could you? Nah, not even a smooth skin like yourself can be that stupid. I can’t wait to taste that pinky flesh of yours,” he growls, his long and thin tongue licking his scaly face.
He kneels down next to me, and traces one cold finger across my cheek. He brings it to his thin, freaky mouth.
“Mmhm. Salty. Moist. Nice.”
“Get away from me, creep!”
I kick the reptile between the legs as hard as I can, but all he does is laugh and lick his long row of menacing teeth. “I’m not some silly primate, smooth skin. But if you want my cock, you can get it!”
My pre-frontal cortex and basal ganglia are finally in agreement — we’re not waiting around on this. I scramble to my feet and run as fast as I can, my lungs working overtime, the hallway getting closer and closer, my eyes focused on that sweet, sweet escape, ignoring the bodies and the blood and the—
AH!!!
A pain greater than anything I’ve ever experienced stops me dead in my tracks. I drop to my knees and scream my lungs out, as I claw at the cord that’s snaked its way around my neck.
That cord, that thing is wrapped tightly around my neck, squeezing the life out of me, and sending wave after wave of mind-numbing pain through my system. I can’t get my fingers around it either; it’s wrapped so tight I can barely breathe.
I open my eyes long enough to see that Malak’s got the same shock-collar around his broad neck — only it’s not stopping him.
Malak’s walking towards the raiders, slowly but surely, each step heavy and full of purpose. His massive body trembles but he marches on, fists balled up tightly.
The squid pirate throws his head back and laughs. “How do you like them volts, you royal prick? Not so tough now, are ya?”
