by Ruby Ryan
"And your normal Karak form is... those beams of light?"
"Our primary form is a condensed mass of stationary photons, yes."
Jesus. I felt like I needed a degree in physics to understand this. "Show me."
I'd seen them do it already, both when they first arrived and when the Wolvae attacked, but my brain was still trying to understand it all at the time. Now, I actually watched him do it while having a general understanding, with no other distractions, and the transformation was incredible. All the atoms of his body just... fell apart, like blowing on a dandelion. And then the color was washed out by the brightness of each speck, photons of light that formed the thick bar of light I'd seen before. It hovered in front of me, giving off far more illumination than the glowing orbs on the ceiling.
"Wow," I whispered.
I am glad you are able to accept such a thing without going mad, he said into my brain.
"Honestly, the jury's still out on that," I muttered. "And you talking straight into my head isn't helping."
His body fell apart again as he shifted back into his human form, all hard lines of muscle and popping veins and then finally clothes over top.
"Sorry. I shall remain in this form as much as possible for your comfort."
"That does help," I said. "So... could you shift into a Wolvae if you wanted to?"
"Of course." Kerix hesitated. "But I would not wish to do so. They are beasts driven by fury and malice. Many Karak can withstand such primal urges, especially the great fighters in the Sunken Pit on Karak, but I suspect I would fail."
"Yeah, those guys were insane." I remembered the jaws of that enormous beast flying toward me, large enough to practically swallow me whole, and I shivered underneath my blankets. "Hey, can you, uhh..."
Kerix grabbed my clothes and handed them to me. Ignoring the embarrassment of a guy handling my bra and panties, I got dressed underneath the blanket.
"You said those guys were insane," Kerix said while I got dressed. "They are actually female."
I yanked my shirt over my head, then let the blanket fall away. "Oh?"
"Yes. Female Wolvae are more brutal and violent than their male counterparts, though only by a small degree."
"Bitches be crazy," I muttered.
"However, the primary difference is that the male Wolvae can shapeshift in a manner similar to us Karak. It is significantly more difficult for them, and expends a great amount of energy, but it is an ability they possess."
"Huh." My stomach rumbled loudly. "So if you can shift anything into existence, how about you rustle us up some food? I'm always famished after fighting crazy alien wolves."
He smiled. "I think I can do that." He didn't do anything that I could see: no muttering spells or waving his hands like an orchestra conductor. But a white bowl shimmered into existence on the ground next to us, and the contents were like a thick soup. The aroma hit my nose like a battering ram, and I grabbed it and lifted a tentative spoonful.
"Is this..." I took a small sip, then nodded. "This is beef stroganoff."
"Correct."
I stirred it with the spoon, pulling up thick bits of roast and egg noodles underneath. "That's awfully fancy for an alien who's only been on earth a few hours."
"It is the only recipe uploaded tot he database of knowledge we received," he explained.
I spooned two helpings into my mouth, ignoring the scalding heat on my tongue. I was hungrier than I'd ever been in my life.
Kerix created another bowl, and tested a spoonful himself. "I am an excellent chef," I he said around a mouthful.
We ate in silence for several minutes.
Now that I was feeling a little more normal, I began to feel other parts of my body. My ribs ached like I'd gotten into a boxing match, but it was faint. Almost a memory more than an immediate pain.
"So," I began, blushing anew. "Why did you guys... do what you did?"
Kerix's eyes widened slightly, and then he blushed too. It was a small thing, an unconscious human reaction, but it made me feel less embarrassed about the whole thing. That I wasn't alone in all of this.
"You were gravely wounded," he said. "Broken ribs. A head fracture. Internal bleeding. We began by healing you."
I put the empty bowl down and touched my head. I could sense the ghost of an injury there, just above my temple. But when I rubbed along the skin underneath my hair I felt nothing out of the ordinary.
"You can heal broken bones?" I marveled.
"Yes."
Huh. I guess that wasn't too crazy, compared to their ability to shift into any form they wanted.
I made my face a blank mask. "And then you two decided to take advantage of me in my vulnerable state."
Kerix's dark eyebrows shooting toward his hairline like rockets was enough to make me almost burst into laughter. "We thought..." he began, but I put a hand on his leg.
"I was making a joke. Humans joke a lot. Especially in traumatic events. It's a defense mechanism."
"Defense mechanism," Kerix repeated. "We were guided by your pleasure. We could feel it coming off you, the way you needed to be touched."
"You did exactly what I wanted," I said with an embarrassed smile.
Well, that wasn't technically true. I'd wanted to do more with them, but what had happened was wonderful by itself. Before I could go down that line of thinking too much, I cleared my throat and touched the pockets of my running shorts.
"My phone must have fallen out during all the chaos," I muttered. "I know Tyrix is scouting right now, but can you take me back to my base? Like, shift-transport us straight there? It will probably blow their minds, but I should be able to scramble together a fighting force to take back your ship from the Wolvae."
Kerix narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't work that way."
"But last night, in my house, the other Karak suddenly appeared," I insisted. "He and the woman. POOF, right into my living room."
"We can move our bodies a short distance," he explained. "Along with other matter, if we wish. But we cannot move any farther than we can see with our Karak consciousness. About a hundred feet, depending on the terrain and the situation."
I chewed that over. "We're 20 or so miles from my base. Probably only a few miles to the nearest road, where we can flag someone down."
"The nearest human consciousness is six miles to the north-west," Kerix said. "Tyrix and I have determined that we cannot wait that long; the Wolvae may have full control of our ship within hours. Once he returns from scouting, we must attempt to attack it at once."
"Well then," I said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I guess we'll just have to capture it ourselves."
12
TYRIX
I could still taste Brandi on my tongue as I jogged through the forest.
It was more than just that sense: I could remember what she felt like underneath my fingers, thighs thick and warm with muscle. And her smell: lingering soap, with the deeper scent of her human pheromones. And I could see her body laid out before me, and hear her pleasured moans...
All five of my human senses were focused on her still.
I did my best to brush it away, but it was difficult. These human bodies were so intense! Conscious thought was powerless before the baser human instincts.
Yet I could not return to my Karak form yet. The Wolvae would be able to sense me more easily that way, so utilizing this human body was my best opportunity to remain concealed. And so I jogged through the forest, shoes crunching over leaves and twigs and dirt.
But still, I enjoyed this form. Truly enjoyed it with the excitement of something new and unfamiliar. My heart rate was elevated from the exercise, which almost accentuated my vision through the forest. The wind blew my hair back, cooling my face and neck. And the sensation of my lungs pumping for oxygen, a steady ache in my chest, was comforting all its own. I felt truly alive in a way I'd not experienced in many of the other forms of creatures within the Dominion.
I wondered if this was similar to
the Wolvae.
Most Karak did not shift into violent beasts. Like the great Sunken Pit warrior Dyonarix, it was easy to surrender to the primal forms, losing your consciousness in the process. Forever entombed in that body, never to return to the Karak photons again.
But the temptation was always there. Feeling this human form enticed me to attempt other transformations. I knew it consciously, and knew that I would need to be careful.
Do not lose who you are, Tyrix.
Yet try as I might, my thoughts lingered on Brandi. I felt a strange pang of jealousy at leaving her back at the cave with Kerix. I trusted by Karak brother completely, with my life and my duty and with the honor of the Dominion, but in this form all I could think about was returning to Brandi. Exploring her body while I explored my own, learning along with her. I did not mind sharing her with Kerix--there was an intimacy in that too--but I wished to be there now.
Touching her.
Kissing her.
Spreading her legs again, and thrusting my own throbbing sex into hers until our hearts beat together, hearing her scream in ecstasy--
I came to an immediate stop in the forest, and froze.
I was still a quarter mile from our craft, with the trees thick in all directions and the clearing still out of sight. The flicker of light had showed only for an instant, but it was there. I'd seen it.
Slowly, I lowered myself into a crouch, and the angle of the light made me see it again. Just out of reach ahead: a strand of wire no thicker than a human hair, connected between two trees. Glistening from the morning sun.
Taking care not to disturb anything, I leaned forward and placed my finger against it. As I expected, it was fully taut. I turned my gaze upward to look for the trap, and once I knew what to look for it was obvious.
Ignoring the human heartbeat that sounded like a drum in my chest, I moved around the other side of the tree for shielding, raised my arm, and snapped it down.
The moment the wire was struck, the payload in the trees released. The massive tree trunk swung down and through the air with deadly force, in the place I would have been standing had I accidentally tripped it. The tree branches above creaked and groaned with the weight as the payload swung backwards, then forwards again, each arc slower than before.
I approached the trunk and examined it carefully: spikes of wood had been hammered into the sides, and a green liquid coated the pointed ends. The Wolvae were a primal species, but they worked swiftly.
I made the rest of the journey with far more care, each step chosen carefully while I examined the forest all around. I came across two more trip-wire traps, disarming each in passing. Then I discovered an unusual arrangement of leaves, and when I approached and prodded it with my foot the false-floor fell away to reveal a six foot deep pit covered in vertical spikes with the same green poison.
While Kerix and Brandi and I had been playing, the Wolvae had been busy indeed.
I eventually reached the edge of the clearing with my body fully intact. Crouching low, I moved from tree to tree for cover. The Wolvae had incredible senses of smell and hearing, but their sight was slightly worse than a human's, so I was able to reach the edge of the clearing without fear. I crouched low behind a fallen log and set my eyes upon our ship.
The Wolvae had torn away the door to our ship, a jagged outline marring the otherwise perfect exterior. One Wolvae sat on her haunches outside the ship, staring out across the clearing. A second Wolvae circled the ship in what looked like a patrol.
But those were the only two I saw. The other pair must have been inside the ship, working to gain control of the flight system.
I remained in my place and watched the patrolling Wolvae. She indeed made a full circle around the ship, pausing only for a few moments to speak quietly to her comrade before continuing.
From here, they were out of range of our beam weapons, even fully-charged. We could shift forward and attempt to fire once closer, but they would be alerted to our presence by then. Attacking from the sides was impossible due to the steep terrain, but the other side might be ideal: the trees were closer on that side, giving us an opportunity to get closer before being spotted. If we could quickly eliminate one, or even two, of the Wolvae then we would have a far greater chance of succeeding.
Lazily, the Wolvae that remained on her haunches rose and circled around to the other side of the aircraft. Changing her position. Smart.
Before I could decide whether or not to circle around to check the other side to see how much room it would give us, I spotted the third Wolvae.
She was at the edge of the clearing to my left, a hundred yards away, patrolling in a wide circle around the clearing perimeter. She had not yet discovered me, but her path was taking her straight toward my location.
Thoughts raced through my head.
If I ran, she would notice me immediately. I could not outrun a swift Wolvae female, whether in human or Karak form, and within seconds she would have me pinned beneath her enormous paws and would be tearing out my spine.
I could attempt to shift into my Karak form. The moment I did she would feel it, and charge. And although I could probably get one shot off with my Karak beam weapon, I still was not fully charged from this planet's sun. At best, it would stun the beast the way it had in our earlier battle. At worst, I would miss and her photon-ring fangs would tear my Karak form apart. Or her comrades would come down from the ship and kill me while I was alone.
There was a third option, but it wasn't much better.
I laid myself flat behind the fallen log, taking care to make as little noise as possible. Those weren't the Wolvae senses that were most dangerous, however, so I extended my arms and pulled forest detritus over my body until I was covered in dirt and leaves. I hoped it would mask my scent enough, but if the Wolvae stalked right past my position I doubted it would be enough. Hopefully she would turn away before then.
Relaxing was difficult. So was slowing my breathing enough not to move the debris covering me.
Slowly, like a nearing storm, I heard the Wolvae approach. Her huge paws crunched leaves and snapped twigs, crushing them with her weight easily. I could feel the vibration of her steps in the ground, trembling the dirt across my chest.
All of my human instincts demanded that I flee. Bolt from my position and run into the forest. It was difficult overruling them with common sense, even though I logically knew that would mean my death.
The Wolvae came into view.
A mass of black fur passing over top of the fallen log, hulking and strong. She moved her head back and forth, searching but not alarmed, her yellow eyes filled with boredom. And then she was moving away, her slow patrol continuing on, and I allowed myself to feel a moment of hope.
She stopped.
For several heartbeats she did not move--she only stared straight ahead, as if she had been frozen in place. I held my breath as she raised her pointed snout and sniffed the air.
I was dead. There was no chance for me to survive, now.
Beyond running, there was one other option available to me. And although it was not a very good option, it was my only true chance.
Dirt and leaves flew in all directions as I leaped from the ground. I planted one foot on the fallen log and launched myself into the air, shift-creating a small human sword into my hand, praying such a small shift would not alert the other Wolvae from this distance.
The Wolvae turned toward me as I soared through the air, her surprise giving me a tiny window of opportunity. I gripped the blade with both hands and raised it high.
She opened her jaws, but it was too late.
Paired with the momentum of my leap, I brought the sword down with all my strength. I felt it pierce fur and skull and brain, knocking the animal down with the blow. The blade pushed her head down into the ground sprayed blood in all directions, and the rest of her body suddenly went limp.
I stood there panting, my grip on the blade still tight.
She was dead; the blow had kil
led her instantly. I almost couldn't believe it.
But there was no time to enjoy the moment; soon the other Wolvae would discover her death. I tried yanking the sword out but it was stuck, then realized it didn't matter, and finally let go. My hands trembled from adrenaline.
I turned and sprinted back through the woods, aware that I may not have disarmed all of the traps but not caring, as the thick Wolvae blood cooled on my skin.
13
BRANDI
Kerix and I were relaxing when he returned.
He strode into the cave like a beautiful warrior, splatters of blood across his shirt and jeans, hands held in fists at his side which made the muscles of his arms bulge. We leaped to our feet, and Kerix strode forward and embraced him in a human hug.
"He's killed one of the Wolvae," Kerix explained.
"That's amazing!" I said. "So, what... now we've only got three to deal with?"
"Yes," Tyrix finally said, taking a deep breath. His green eyes were wide and intense. "It was not my intention, but it was a great victory."
He moved toward me slowly but purposefully, never pulling his eyes from mine. I held my breath as he took my head in his hands, stared deep into my eyes, and kissed me.
His arms wrapped around mine, holding me against his body forcefully. He was like a brick wall against my breasts, rock solid with muscle, and his tongue danced with mine in a way that made me moan.
I need you, he said into my mind, and it made me moan even harder.
He broke away the kiss and tore away my clothes like a wild animal, literally ripping the shirt off my chest, and breaking the bra underneath in his desperate need to have me, and I didn't care because I was pulling his shirt over his head too, and my pants and panties fell to the floor before I could get his jeans off, and then he spun me around.
Kerix was there, and then it was his turn to kiss me while Tyrix grinded his crotch against my bare ass. Being wedged between these two men made me instantly wet, eager for more than what I'd had earlier. I felt Tyrix's jeans fall down behind me, and I unzipped Kerix's at the same time because I needed him too, both of them at the same time. I reached inside Kerix's boxers to grab his cock, gripping it tightly and stroking fast, and he kissed me harder and pulled his underwear down all the way.
