by S. E. Smith
My hands caressed and clawed his back. My mouth kissed and sucked the tender flesh above the scales of his neck then bit the crook of his neck. His blissful growls every time I did that resonated straight to my core. It also spurred him into increasing the pace to almost punishing levels as passion overtook him. My legs trembled as I began again to crest.
As if sensing my impending climax, Doom lifted his head to look at me with an almost feral expression. His lips parted, and a vicious pair of double fangs descended from his gums. His body seemed to grow bigger, and the bone spikes on his shoulders and along his spine expanded. A bolt of fear exploded in the pit of my stomach, quickly replaced by a burst of lust and the thrill of anticipation. His dragon was taking over to complete the bonding.
Moving at the speed of a cobra’s strike, Doom buried his fangs in the fleshy part of my right shoulder. My scream of pain almost immediately turned into shouts of ecstasy as pure, concentrated bliss poured into me, coursing through my veins. My body shook from the violence of the orgasm. My inner walls clamped down on his cock, contracting spasmodically. Doom roared, and his searing hot seed shot into me.
But my man didn’t relent.
Three more times he brought me over the edge and filled me with his essence before he gave in to his final climax. Bodies slick with sweat, hearts pounding, breaths labored, we lay blissfully destroyed in each other’s arms, Doom’s soul tightly wrapped around mine. I fell asleep to my man whispering sweet nothings in my psychic mind.
As we had feared, the war did not end quickly. Living aboard the mothership made me realize how little we humans knew of the Xian Warriors and the entire Vanguard organization. Discovering that Doom no longer had an assigned Soulcatcher—his having burned out from rescuing too many other Warriors—majorly freaked me out. Granted, my mate was of the—mostly—unkillable type, but it only took once. It would take months before Shoyesh would be able to Soulcatch again. It was a problem shared by many of the Soulcatchers.
I discovered that turning humans into psychics hadn't really been about adding more Operators—telepathic messengers to safely relay sensitive war information between members of the Vanguard—but to create new Soulcatchers.
One month after my arrival on The Avenger, and exactly three months after the start of the enzyme tests, the first group of human females in their mid-twenties began to display the soulcatching ability. Even at this early stage of their psychic development, the women were already proving capable of rescuing a soul from a greater distance, faster, and with more accuracy than the Hulanians. The best part was that, with them, the duration of the Warriors’ rebirth sickness dropped from seven to three days, with the bonus of much milder side effects.
The Hulanian didn’t take offense at being thus upstaged. Quite the opposite. Many of them were exhausted from years of traipsing around the galaxy from war to war. But duty and their fraternal love for the Warriors had kept them going until they became burned out and were unable, either temporarily or permanently, to soulcatch. Still, it would be another six months before those Hulanians wishing to return to their homeworld were released from duty.
To my dismay, Doom’s new human Soulcatcher turned out to be a stunning blonde with legs for days, lips that could put Angelina Jolie’s to shame, and a body to die for. I’d never been the jealous or insecure type, but then I’d never had the living embodiment of male perfection as my mate before. How could any hot-blooded woman not be drawn to him?
I’d never been so mortified as the day Doom called me out on it. Apparently, my tattle tale aura acted up whenever I was in her presence. It shamed me even more that Tina was a sweetheart and never acted improperly towards Doom. While she hadn’t needed to capture his soul yet, with my man being the king of survival and all, they had to make frequent psychic contact to reinforce the connection between them, which would increase the chances of successful soulcatching.
Not every female psychic who developed the soulcatching ability was allowed into the Vanguard. An aura didn’t just spill the beans about a person’s current state of mind. The Xian Warriors could tell a lot about one’s personality, including whether a person was trustworthy, a troublemaker, a liar, or a potential traitor. Tina would have never qualified had she been of questionable morals. In the end, Doom’s unwavering love for me helped me gain the confidence I’d never realized I lacked.
Despite my inability to soulcatch, my telepathic abilities grew enough to allow us to remain in contact no matter how far Doom traveled within North America. I couldn’t put my feelings for him into words during our first reunion. But now, there was no question he had swept me off my feet.
I was madly in love with my male. He showered me with countless little attentions that spoke volumes about how much he thought of me. Whenever he battled at the front, Doom frequently gave me psychic caresses at random times of the day. Every night he mind-spoke words of love and said how much he missed me before I went to sleep.
Two months after our bonding, he secretly organized a human wedding onboard The Avenger and got Wrath to fly my family in. My father walked me down the aisle with my sister as my matron of honor, and Legion was Doom’s best man.
But things were far from all rainbows and unicorns. The Warriors were facing extinction with their numbers dwindling. The human Soulcatchers had helped stop the hemorrhage, and the replenishing of the Shell supply meant fewer Warriors were permanently lost. But General Khutu had no consideration for his troops. Whenever we least expected it, he would launch a suicide attack on the vessels they suspected contained the Soulcatchers before releasing the Swarm on the Warriors on the ground. Although the Vanguard got better at thwarting such attacks, every loss severely hurt us.
Dr. Xi’s death wasn’t made public. The Vanguard also made sure to keep their dire situation secret. It didn’t take a genius to realize that many Warriors hoped Doom and I would conceive. We needed to know whether more Xian Warriors could enter the world through natural conception and birth. But nine months had lapsed since our bonding with no bun in my oven, despite us going at it like rabbits. I personally supervised the fertility tests performed on both of us. The results stated we were good to go. Stress and pressure surely affected our ability to conceive. Whatever the case, Doom and I both agreed not to let it get to us. All would come in due time.
Other Warriors also found their soulmates among humans, which increased our chances. Between this and the effectiveness of our Soulcatchers, the lukewarm attitude of the Intergalactic Coalition towards humans became, instead, quite protective. Although Doom never delved into any detail, I got a strong sense that the Coalition had wanted to abandon us after the attack on Khepri. Humans were turning out to be the saving hope of the Vanguard, just as they were our only hope of survival.
My role within the Vanguard also shifted. I’d come in as a medical doctor. While I still occasionally practiced when required, genetics and medical research became my new passion. Many of the most brilliant medical minds of the galaxy were available to me. I absorbed all that I could from them and joined their efforts to recreate Dr. Xi’s work.
If nothing else, the Battle for Earth had united the human race in a way one would have only believed possible in a utopian world. Race, religions, gender, geographic divisions, and political alignment lost all relevance. Ensuring the survival of our species, in all its shades and nuances, became our common goal.
Epilogue
Doom
“How did it go?” I asked Legion as I stepped into the meeting room aboard The Avenger.
“Fine,” he said, glaring at me. “Not as good as if you’d led the discussion.”
I waved a dismissive hand. “I’m a Warrior, not a politician. I crack heads and squash bugs. I have no patience for pretty talk.”
“And yet, you have a way of selling your ideas that gets things done,” Legion argued. “You’re also nearly unkillable, which makes people feel safe.”
He cast a look at Chaos and Wrath, sitting around the oval
conference table.
“The Coalition is running out of steam,” Chaos said. “This war has been going on for two years now. Every time we think the end is near, we discover a hundred new Breeding Swamps. Coalition troops do not have our stamina to maintain the fight on four hours of sleep for months on end.”
“Not to mention the General has been active again on the other side of the galaxy,” Wrath said.
I shrugged while settling into a chair across from Legion. “You haven’t said anything new. Am I to understand the discussion went around in circles with no resolution?” I asked, feeling slightly annoyed.
“There are three proposals on the table. We agreed to give the Coalition an answer within the next five days,” Legion said, leaning back against his seat. “Option one, the greater part of our forces returns to Khepri to resume our war efforts in Coalition space. A small contingent of Xian Warriors remains to help keep the Drone population under control.”
“Option two, we move all the humans to Khepri since the reconstruction is almost completed. We nuke Earth, thereby eliminating any remaining bugs. With the humans on our homeworld, it will be easy to train new Soulcatchers, and the rest of us will have more opportunities to mingle and find our soulmates among them.”
“And option three, we make Earth our new homeworld. All of the planet members of the Coalition who chose to sit out this war will be forced to send us troops or be expelled.”
“The humans will never give up on their homeworld as long as there is a chance to save it,” I countered. All three of my brothers nodded, confirming they’d already reached the same conclusion. “Earth is poorly situated in relation to the other allied planets. Our response time would be adversely affected in most cases if we launched our rescue missions from here. Khepri is centrally located. But most importantly, Earth belongs to the humans. If we settle here, we will have to operate according to their rules or become invaders ourselves. The Vanguard must preserve its sovereignty.”
“Agreed,” Wrath said. “Going forward, the only way we will eradicate the threat of the bugs is if everyone pulls their weight. The planets who held back will face consequences. Heavy fines will be levied on those who can’t provide a solid reason for not contributing to the battle on Earth.”
“This has already been conveyed to the Intergalactic Coalition,” Chaos confirmed.
“Good. That leaves us with the first option,” I said pensively. “The battle has become guerrilla warfare. We don’t need large battalions as much as better surveillance and faster response times. Although human technology still mostly qualifies as primitive, they are now part of the Coalition. We’ve already shared some of our technology with them. With more advanced transport and detection systems, humans could handle most of the scouting.”
“You know how reluctant the Coalition is in that regard,” Wrath cautioned.
“Fuck the Coalition,” I snarled. “If not for our loyalty to humans, the Coalition would have abandoned them to their fate a long time ago. These are our people, our mates, and our Soulcatchers. Humans are the future of the Vanguard.”
Legion nodded. “My sentiments exactly. I’m fine with sharing transport and detection tech with the humans, but we cannot completely dismiss the Prime Directive; no weapons and no warp capacity. They will need to develop those in their own time.”
“Agreed,” I said. Chaos and Wrath nodded. “It will take about another year that way to clean up this mess. Assuming General Khutu doesn’t start another wave.”
“Unlikely,” Legion replied. “The intensity of his attacks started diminishing the minute we spread the word about humans being Soulcatchers. Without them, he would have exterminated us. With them, he knows it’s a losing battle. He kept on with the attacks to diminish our numbers as much as possible while we were incubating new Shells. We’ve already won this war. We just have to deal with cleanup.”
He gave me an assessing look that put all my senses on alert.
“What?” I asked, suspicious.
“The Coalition and the human governments are asking us for a new leader since the Vanguard’s central command has been wiped out,” Legion explained. “Your name has come up many times among our brothers.”
“As have yours and Chaos’s,” I retorted with a defensive tone. “I told you, I squash bugs. Politics isn’t for me. You’re both prettier anyway while I keep collecting scars.”
My brothers chuckled.
“You are a formidable leader,” Legion argued, sobering.
“Then let me be a formidable leader on the field. We need your level-headedness, and Chaos’s OCD nagging to lead us in the right direction.”
“Bite me,” Chaos mumbled.
“I wouldn’t—”
“DOOM! Come to the medbay!” Rage telepathically shouted. “I’m taking Victoria there now. She collapsed in the hallway.”
I shot to my feet and stormed out of the boardroom under the startled looks of my brothers. I raced towards the medical facility, the three of them hot on my trail. Bursting into the room, I found Victoria trying to get up from the examination table she’d been lying upon.
Maria, The Avenger’s human doctor, was giving my mate a stern talking to.
“Hey!” Maria exclaimed at our violent entrance. “This is a private consultation!”
Ignoring her, I rushed to my woman’s side, my hearts pounding frantically.
“My Red, what’s wrong?” I asked, examining her for any sign of injury.
“It’s nothing sweetie,” Victoria said, caressing my cheek. “I skipped breakfast this morning because I had an upset stomach. Then I got up too fast to go check on something and immediately faceplanted. So, it’s probably just low sugar and a dip in blood pressure. Maria is already giving me an earful about it.”
“We’re going to feed you right now,” I said sternly, still freaked out. “And none of those grasses and grains you enjoy so much. You’re getting a huge steak … or two.”
She made a face and squirmed. “My stomach is still a little queasy. Maybe just some soup?”
“How long has this been going on?” Maria asked Victoria, pushing me aside to prick her finger with a stylus.
“Just this morning. I had some tea, and it soothed it a bit. Some clear broth should go down well,” Victoria said.
I muttered that salty, hot liquid did not qualifyi as food, then I glanced at Maria, hoping she’d agree with me. But she had no time for me. Lips parted in shock, she stared at the display of the stylus.
“What?” I asked, worry coming back at me with a vengeance.
She didn’t respond but removed the head of the stylus, replacing it with another stinger before taking a second blood sample from my mate. I was about to lose my shit as Maria stared at the results of the analysis with the same stunned expression. Then, without a word, she presented the display to my woman. Victoria covered her mouth with her palm, her eyes widening before misting.
She looked at me with an expression I couldn’t define. Shifting my vision, I looked at her aura. It burst into a mesmerizing rainbow of joy.
“My Red?” I asked, not daring to hope.
“Congratulations to us,” she whispered through tears of joy.
The news of Victoria’s pregnancy spread like wildfire. After two long years, we’d given up hope. The announcement was celebrated throughout the allied planets. Even more excitement erupted when, in the third month of her pregnancy, our son made his first psychic contact with his mother and then with me.
Going to the front became sheer agony. I hated being away from my mate and unborn child. So many what ifs ran through my head that it got to the point where I was psychically poking her at all hours of the day. Victoria finally had to set times for us to mind-speak.
My brothers were just as rabid in their need to protect Victoria and our child. He wasn’t only the hope of our future, but for many of them, he might be the closest thing to a son they would ever have. With all of them fighting for a chance to touch my Red�
�s belly and to connect minds with our son, my woman threatened to chop off their hands and even murder a few if they didn’t give her some peace. Eventually, she also set up schedules for when they could pat her bump so she could be left alone the rest of the time.
In the end, it was a textbook pregnancy. Our little Raven entered the world through natural birth with a powerful cry. With both his hearts beating strong, his oversized black eyes shining with curiosity, and his golden scales gleaming with health, my son was the perfect Xian Warrior.
Less than four months after Raven’s birth, the Battle for Earth officially ended with the eradication of the last Drone. Decades of reconstruction and healing awaited the humans. But they would embark upon this journey more unified as a species than ever before in their history.
While most of us decided to return home to Khepri, a few of my brothers remained on Earth, mainly to help set up and supervise the Psychic Training Program. It not only included extrasensory perception development, but also mandatory combat and weapons training, galactic politics and history, xenobiology and culture, and learning Universal—the common galactic language—to facilitate communication between species.
With her family’s blessing, Victoria settled with me and our child on Khepri where she became one of our most talented doctors and medical researchers.
Sitting on the beach on Khepri, a short distance from the Vanguard HQ, Victoria and I watched our three-year-old boy play with Stran.
“Do you realize, by the time he’s my current age, nobody will believe I’m his mom,” Victoria reflected.
“Actually, do you realize that by the time his children’s children are your current age, people will think you are your great-grandson’s girlfriend?” I retorted teasingly.
