The Breed

by EL Anders

  I shoved at Lukas’s broad shoulders when he seemed reluctant to get up, urging him again. “Please,” I whispered. “Please, Lukas, get off me…out of me.”

  A pained expression came over his handsome face but then he simply nodded. “All right. I’m sorry.”

  I was sorry too, although for what I couldn’t say. My thoughts were too jumbled, too chaotic to make meaningful conversation about what had just happened between us.

  Lukas pulled out of me at last and I felt an immediate sense of loss. It was almost as if my body was calling him back, begging him to stay inside me, holding me and breeding me all night long. Not finished, whispered a little voice in my head. This isn’t finished yet.

  Yes, it is, I insisted to myself as Lukas got dressed. I knew I should get up and go wash his seed out of me but I just couldn’t make myself move. Instead I curled into a ball in the middle of the bed, so filled with confusing, conflicting emotions I could barely breathe.

  “I’ll go now,” Lukas said, his deep voice heavy with sadness. “Now that I’ve bred you, your heat should be over by tomorrow. You can start drinking the tea again then.”

  “What…what about you?” I whispered, looking up at him. “What are you going to do, Lukas?”

  “Don’t worry about me.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I think it’s safe to say I’ll never bother you again.”

  “Lukas—” I sat up and put out a hand to him but he wouldn’t take it. He only shook his head.

  “I have to go. Have a nice life, Lexie.”

  I sank back down on the bed, my eyes filling with tears. God, what was wrong with me? I used to be so cold, so logical. Now I felt like an emotional little girl who couldn’t stop crying…stop feeling…stop caring. It was just as well that Lukas had rejected my hand, I told myself. After all, what was I going to do? Pull him back down on the bed with me? Spread my legs for him and beg him to do it again?

  No, of course not! I told myself uneasily. But I couldn’t stop the nagging feeling of incompletion that was buzzing in my head like a persistent fly. Something wasn’t right—my body could feel it even if my mind didn’t know what it was.

  Lukas must have felt it too because he lingered for a moment, his face filled with longing. Then he sighed and turned to go.

  “Lukas,” I whispered one more time but he only shook his head. In the doorway to the bedroom, he stood for a long moment, his broad back to me.

  “I love you,” he said at last, still not looking. “Please always remember that, Lexie, no matter what happens. I love you.”

  And then he was gone.

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning I sat at the breakfast table and looked at the steaming cup of my mother’s special tea. The sharp herbal smell, once so evocative of good times and happy memories, now made me feel sick. I kept thinking of how Lukas said I had been robbed of my rightful emotions. If I drank the tea would I go back to not feeling again? To being a cold, logical business woman who had no interest in sex or emotion?

  I suspected that I would. But drinking the tea was the only was to keep my heat from coming back. My nipples were still tender, but not nearly as much as before. The golden, sticky honey still flowed from them, but now the flow was more like a slow drip. My pussy felt better too—I could even cross my legs again without wincing.

  And all that was due to Lukas. It was his cum inside me that had soothed the pain, the dreadful ache that consumed me before he came back into my life. But Lukas isn’t here anymore, whispered a little voice in my head. He’s gone and he’s not coming back. You drove him away so drink the tea, Lexie. Because there’s no way you can deal with another heat all by yourself. There’s no one to help you, no one and nothing but that damn tea. So go on, take a big swig of it and enjoy the rest of your life alone.

  I lifted the cup again and put its rim to my lips. The bitter scent of the herbs made my stomach ball into a knot but I told myself there was no other way. Even if it made me sick I had to drink…

  A soft chiming sound from my phone gave me a welcome distraction. Hastily I put down the steaming cup and grabbed for the phone. “Hello? Lukas?” I said hopefully.

  “Lexie? It’s just me.” Sylvia’s pragmatic voice in my ear brought me crashing back down to Earth. “Is your brother in town?” she asked. “That’s his name, isn’t it? Lukas?”

  “Uh, yes. That’s him.” Sylvia had never actually met my brother though she knew of his reputation as the black sheep of the family. “He’s uh…he’s been visiting,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat with shame. I was glad we always used audio calls instead of vid conferencing. If my friend could see me now she’d know something was wrong for sure.

  “I see.” She was quiet for a moment, as though thinking. Then she sighed. “Look Lexie, I called you because I have some more information about Breeders.”

  “There’s more?” I said dully. “I thought you already told me everything that was important. All about their reproductive cycles and how the female has two fertilized eggs and one becomes a male and one female and they’re a mated pair…” Just talking about it made me feel a sick sense of longing for my older brother. God, what was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I just get over him?

  “Yes, yes, but that last part bothered me,” Sylvia said, breaking into my train of thought. “I couldn’t help wondering why there weren’t more genetic anomalies. How could the Breeders constantly mate brother to sister and never have mutations or deformities?”

  “I don’t know. How?” I said, listlessly.

  “I called my colleague—the one who had done his doctorate in Breeder biology,” she explained. “And he told me something extraordinary. Once the female’s two eggs are fertilized, the DNA in the male egg actually mutates. You’re not going to believe this, Lexie, but the genes shift until the configuration is completely different from that of the female egg.”

  “Sylvia, please.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “You know I got a degree in business. I understand what you’re saying but I really don’t grasp the significance. What are you trying to tell me?”

  “I’m trying to say that even though the male and female Breeder are born from the same mother, they are not really related.”

  “Wait a minute.” My heart was suddenly pounding and my hands were trembling. “Are you saying that even though they’re born as brother and sister they’re not actually siblings?”

  “Not on a genetic level,” Sylvia said promptly. “Which, scientifically speaking, is the only level that counts.”

  “Oh my God!” I wanted to shout the words but they came out as more of a whisper. “How can this be?” I asked my friend. “How…I don’t…don’t understand.”

  “Apparently it’s a fairly standard reproductive mutation on Breedlow,” she said calmly. “Other plants and animals there employ the same kind of biology. It’s an evolutionary failsafe—designed to keep the species from dying off. That’s why they have no extinction on Breedlow. Actually, their biology is far superior to ours but we’ve set ourselves up as the superior species simply because our culture is more advanced.”

  “God…” I whispered. I felt weak in the knees and I was still having difficulty grasping the implications of her words. Lukas wasn’t my brother after all. Not genetically. Our DNA was completely different.

  “I’m your mate,” I heard his deep voice murmur softly in my head. “We were meant to be together.”

  “Lexie? Lexie?” Sylvia’s voice finally cut through my jumbled thoughts and I had a feeling she had been trying to get through for some time.

  “Yes?” I whispered, coming back to myself. “What is it, Sylvia?”

  “There’s one more thing you ought to know,” she said softly. “Once the male and female have, ah-hem, have bred, they are linked for life. There is no divorce or separation on Breedlow—the male and female pairs are biologically connected in ways that make them impossible to separate.”

  My stomach began to knot up again. “What happens if
they do get separated?”

  “That depends,” Sylvia said carefully. “The female might survive—if her first heat has passed. But the male…”

  “What about the male?” I asked, my heart thumping. “What about him, Sylvia? Tell me.”

  “The ramifications can be severe,” she said reluctantly. “Especially if the first breeding wasn’t long enough.”

  “How…” I could barely get the words out. “How long is long enough?”

  “In some cases it can take up to seventy-two hours,” Sylvia said. “During that time the couple breeds again and again, almost never separating. It’s a biological imperative to make certain the male’s seed is implanted in the female’s womb.”

  God! I put a hand to my head. No wonder I’d felt incomplete when Lukas had left me. That feeling that we weren’t finished—it was my body telling me that our breeding was only beginning. My own ache had been soothed but Lukas…his cycle was just starting. And I had cut him off, sent him away before his body had nearly enough of mine.

  “Sylvia,” I said, feeling sick. “You said the implications could be severe. What did you mean by that?”

  “The male needs to breed the female often and…and…” She cleared her throat. “And partake of her, uh, I think my colleague called it nectar or…” She took a deep breath. “Or he risks death.”

  “Death?” I was horrified. I kept seeing Lukas’s face in front of me. His sad eyes, so filled with longing. I kept hearing his deep voice saying he loved me… “He’s going to die,” I whispered, feeling like I might throw up or cry or both. “Lukas is going to die…”

  “Not if you go to him quickly,” Sylvia said.

  “What?” I stared at the phone as though I could see my friend if I looked hard enough. I had never meant to reveal my secret but Sylvia took it calmly, almost as though she’d expected it. “What did you say?” I asked.

  Suddenly the viewscreen flickered to life and Sylvia appeared—using the vid conferencing feature which was something she never had before. “Look at me, Lexie,” she demanded.

  Feeling numb, I pressed the vid conference button on my own phone. “Okay, I’m here,” I said.

  “That’s better.” She nodded briefly. “I’ve always known something was different about you, I just didn’t know what it was,” she said shortly. “You’re a Breeder, Lexie. And so is Lukas. You’re a matched set, aren’t you?”

  “That…that’s what he claims.” My mouth felt dry. “He said…he wanted to…” But I couldn’t finish. Couldn’t admit what I’d let him do to me.

  “Whatever you did, there’s no shame in it,” Sylvia assured me gently. “Remember, Lexie, he’s not really your brother—not on the most basic level. The only level that counts.”

  “I know—I realize that now,” I whispered. “But…he still feels like my brother, Sylvia.”

  “Well, you were raised as siblings so that’s understandable.” She nodded. “But you still don’t have to be ashamed of your feelings for him.” He gave me a level look. “And you do have feelings for him. Don’t you, Lexie?”

  “Yes,” I whispered and the truth of the words rushed over me as I spoke. “Yes, I can’t help myself. Oh God, Sylvia. I…I think I love him.”

  “Then go to him,” she said gently. “And hurry, Lexie. A male Breeder without his mate doesn’t last long.”

  “How long have I got?” I was already up, shoving back my chair and knocking into the table in my haste to be gone. The mug of tea I’d been toying with fell on the floor and burst like a bomb, the ceramic shattering into a million pieces and tea splattering everywhere. I didn’t give a damn.

  “Maybe less than twenty-four hours.” Sylvia sounded grim. “You have to hurry.”

  “Okay, all right. I’m on it,” I babbled. “Thank you so much, Sylvia. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  “Yes, I do,” she said quietly. “Or I wouldn’t have called. He’s not just your brother, Lexie—he’s your mate. Go save him.”

  “I will!” I was about to end the call when my friend’s voice called me back once more.

  “There’s just one more thing, Lexie,” she said. “He’s going to need to breed. It’s the only way to save him. Can you bring yourself to do that?”

  I swallowed hard. Could I give myself to Lukas? Could I make love to him again, even though I still felt like he was my big brother?

  I have to, I told myself grimly. If I don’t, he dies.

  “Yes,” I told Sylvia, my voice shaking. “Yes, I think I can.”

  Chapter Nine

  Lukas didn’t answer his phone. I called and called after I hung up with Sylvia but there was nothing but a monotonous recording instructing me to leave a message. I left several but he didn’t respond and he had never told me where he was staying.

  I walked in circles, my hands clenched in my hair, feeling desperate. Think, Lexie, where would he be?

  Finally I remembered that his favorite place to stay when he was on Earth was the Ritz, downtown in Old Tampa. I called their front desk and was relieved to hear that he was there.

  “Are you his doctor?” the front desk girl asked me just as I was going to hang up.

  “Why?” I said, feeling my heart freeze. “I mean, why would you ask me that?”

  “It’s just…he looked terrible when he came in—really sick. I wanted to call him someone but he said he would call his own doctor. So I thought…” She trailed off uncertainly. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry.”

  “Yes,” I said, deciding to go with it. “Yes, I’m his doctor and I’ll need to see him at once. What room is he in again?”

  She gave me the room number and two seconds later I was out the door and into my car. I drove like a maniac, the girl’s words echoing in my ears. Lukas looked terrible. He was sick. He needs me, I couldn’t help thinking. He needs me to help him the way he helped me. My nipples and pussy throbbed at the thought. Already my honey and nectar were flowing again. Looking down, I could see that the simple white blouse I’d thrown on before I left was already see-through. I was glad I had a long coat in the car—I would need it to cover myself.

  I parked on the curb, threw my keys to the startled valet, and ran up the steps to the Ritz, wrapping the heavy coat around me as I went. No time for questions or pleasantries, I ignored the front desk and made my way straight for the bank of elevators at the back of the lobby.

  When I got to Lukas’ room, I wished I would have stopped at the front desk and begged a key. No matter how much I knocked and shouted, he didn’t answer. I was getting desperately worried about him. Was he too sick to move? Had he already died? What would I do if I had to live my life without him?

  Please, big brother, I thought desperately as I pounded and shouted at the door. Please, Lukas, don’t be dead. Don’t be gone where I can’t follow.

  At last, just when I was about to give up in desperation and go back to the front desk to try and get a key, I saw the doorknob turn.

  “Lexie?” His deep voice sounded faint and tired. “Is that you?”

  “Of course, it’s me. Let me in!” I pushed my way into the room impatiently. Shutting the door behind me I turned to face him…and gasped.

  Lukas looked terrible. His face was drawn and his normally tan skin was ashen white. There were dark circles under his black eyes, as though he hadn’t slept a wink. I had never seen my big brother looking so ill, so frail. It scared the hell out of me.

  “Come on.” Taking him by the shoulders, I propelled him back into the bedroom. The bed was made up but I could tell he’d been lying on it. Had he been too weak to get under the covers? The thought of him lying there, curled on his side in a ball, shivering all night made me want to cry.

  Lukas shambled over to the bed and collapsed on it. He was wearing only a pair of black silk sleep pants and his bare, muscular chest heaved painfully when he breathed. “If you came to play nurse, it’s too late,” he said, his voice barely audible. “I’m sh
utting down, Lexie. You’re just in time to say goodbye.”

  “Nobody is saying goodbye to anyone,” I said sharply. “Come on, get up where I can look at you.” I forced him to move up until he was leaning against the headboard. Then I propped some pillows behind his back and sat on the bed beside him.

  “Thirsty,” he whispered. His eyes were hollow and I could almost see him deteriorating right in front of me.

  “All right. I’ll find you something to drink. Is there any water?” I started to look around, scanning the nightstand and dresser for anything to drink but Lukas stopped me by putting a hand on my arm.

  “Don’t need…water,” he whispered.

  I felt my stomach flutter as I understood what he meant. What was it Sylvia had said? That he would need to partake of my nectar? “I know what you need,” I whispered. Slowly I pulled off my heavy coat and dropped it on the floor.

  “Looks like…you need it too,” Lukas rasped.

  I followed his eyes to the front of my white shirt and saw what he was talking about. My nipples were tight and dark, pressing hard against the transparent silk and a steady flow of nectar was coming from them.

  “Yes,” I whispered, unbuttoning the blouse. “I…I guess I do.”

  “Come here, Sis,” Lukas murmurs, his eyes suddenly hot. “Let’s give each other what we need.”

  It wasn’t as hard to do as I had feared, though I couldn’t help having some reservations. Despite my realization that I had feelings for Lukas and the knowledge that he was not, on a genetic level, really related to me, he still felt like my big brother. It still felt wrong to straddle his thighs and give him access to my bare breasts. To present my nipples to be sucked. And yet, if I wanted to save him—as I so desperately did—I would have to do this and more…much more.

  Trying not to think about that, I climbed into Lukas’ lap and pressed one stiff nipple against his lips. “Drink,” I whispered. “Take what you need, Lukas. I…I don’t mind.”

  With a low groan, he took my tight nipple between his lips and began to suck. I moaned as well, feeling the fullness in my breast ease considerably as he nursed urgently at my engorged peak.