by Octavia Kore
Esme looked up at her with wide eyes. “Cut babies out of their mothers? Yes.”
“How?”
Her mate pointed at the center of Laurie’s swollen stomach, drawing a line down to the point just above the juncture of her legs with her bloodied fingers. “Just like this.”
“You are certain?”
Cutting her eyes to Xuvri for only a second, Esme murmured, “Suit down.” Within a second, her female crouched across from her, completely nude, and pointed to a scar that ran along the same path she’d shown her. “I lived through it. I know most of them aren’t done this way, but it’s what they did to me in the lab.”
She had younglings? Ky wanted to ask, wanted to know where they were and if they were being cared for, but time was running out. Esme commanded her suit back up as Ky pressed the blade to Laurie’s skin and made the first incision, wincing a little at the thought that she might be feeling it, but the human female gave no reaction.
She made firm, clean cuts, moving through the different layers as quickly as she could, until she was able to stretch the two halves aside and look down into Laurie’s body. The sight didn’t bode well. The female’s abdomen was filled with blood, and her uterus was torn completely down one side.
“Hold her open for me,” Ky commanded, sliding her hands inside the shredded organ when Esme clutched the skin. The moment the youngling was free of her dam, she let out a strong, fierce cry. It echoed through the room, filling her mind as she stared down at the little one’s scrunched up face.
Ky turned to Xuvri. “Bring me the blanket.”
He stared down at Laurie’s open body for a moment longer before doing as she asked. Ky wiped away the blood from the youngling’s nose, mouth, and eyes. “A little female,” she said with a smile before reaching down to slide her free hand along the inside of Laurie’s uterus, finding that the placenta had released on its own. “Come.” She gestured for Xuvri to move closer. “Bite the cord.”
All six of his red eyes jumped to her face, his lip pulling up over his teeth. “Do what?”
“The sire is normally the one to bite the cord, to sever it,” she looked up at him expectantly. “You are the sire, so you do it.”
“No,” her mate said, shaking his head. “I won’t do that.”
“So much blood,” Esme murmured, staring down at the floor as the red stain moved closer and closer to her knees.
With a growl of frustration, Ky wrapped the youngling in the blanket, gently placing her on the floor as she tore off a strip of her already short skirt to tie off a section of the cord close to the little one’s stomach before biting through the tissue. She heard Esme gag as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand, but ignored it. There were many differences in their customs that she hoped to explore, but they didn’t matter right now.
“There,” Ky murmured. “A little better.” She looked up to see Esme still holding Laurie open and frowned. “You can let her go now. We will see how she heals.”
“How she heals?” Esme asked. “What are you talking about?”
“If you lay the two halves together, she can begin the healing process––”
“She’s human, Ky. That isn’t how we work.”
Flashing red lights drew her gaze to Xuvri who stood staring at the wall. She didn’t understand the text that scrolled across the projection. “What does it say?” she asked.
Xuvri turned to look at her, his face and voice devoid of emotion as he spoke. “She’s gone.”
Ky reared back as if she’d been struck. “No! There’s still time.” She set the swaddled youngling in Esme’s shaky arms.
“Laurie was gone before we ever even got to the ship, Ky. There’s nothing you can do for her.”
Ignoring Esme’s words, Ky leaned over Laurie’s open body, staring down at the mess that was once a human female. She could remove the uterus, try to stop her bleeding that way. Was that what her dam had tried during Gulzar’s birth? Would it even make a difference? Maybe if she closed the incision… but how? She had nothing here, and most of the medical instruments were scattered all over the place.
There has to be a way. Ky couldn’t let this youngling be subjected to the same curse, the same ridicule as Gulzar had been. She refused to allow it.
Large, warm hands clutched the sides of her arms, pulling her back. “Ky,” she heard Xuvri whisper near her ear. “It’s too late. Let her go.”
“No! I will not accept this. I cannot—”
“She was already gone, Ky,” Esme said, clutching the youngling to her chest, her poor hands bruised and torn.
A sorrowful sob tore from her throat as she stared down at her own stained hands. None of this made sense. How could she bring life into the world, while at the same time ushering another out? The youngling whimpered in Esme’s arms, and Ky squeezed her eyes closed, resting her head against Xuvri’s chest. She knew in her heart she would have done it over and over again just to save the little one, but that didn’t mean she didn’t regret losing Laurie. For the first time in her life, Ky wished she had the tech and the knowledge that the Venium possessed, that there had been time to bring them to the dome where the healers could have worked on her.
Esme’s hand moved over Laurie’s face, her fingers brushing away the tangled hair that stuck to wet skin. “What should we do with her?”
Behind Ky, Xuvri tensed, but said nothing. “We will give her a proper burial, something to honor the memory of her sacrifice.”
“What about the baby?” Esme asked. “She needs to eat.”
“In the village where I am from, there are wet nurses, but only a female who has given birth to a youngling is capable of producing milk. It is not possible for me.” She looked at Esme pointedly.
“I…” Their female swallowed, glancing down at the bundle in her arms. “When I was… I produced some, but it wasn’t much at all and I don’t know if I’m able to do that again.” The youngling cried softly and Esme rocked her. “I’ll try, though. I had a friend who did it after she adopted her son. I think she used a really small tube to feed him while he was latched. Is there anything here we can use for that?”
Behind Ky, Xuvri shifted, pushing himself to his feet. “I’ll look in the storage drawers. There must be something here if the Tachin was planning for this outcome all along.”
“We should go back to the dome,” Ky said. “The Venium will have something—”
“No!” Esme said, the tone of her voice making Ky’s brow ridge arch.
“No? Why not?”
“They’ll want to take her from us.” Esme’s eyes sought Xuvri, but he turned away from them.
Thinking back on the struggle Amanda, Oshen, and Zar were already having with the council, Ky wondered if maybe this fear was not unfounded. This little one was the offspring of two alien species. What would those in power do if they managed to separate them?
Their mate, the sire of the offspring Esme cradled in her arms, hadn’t even spared a glance for his daughter. Ky frowned as she watched him root through drawers, wondering if this was all just too much for him to process and wishing she knew how to make this easier for all of them.
“There is an herb our new dams use to help increase the production of milk or when they are called on to wet nurse. I will bring you some to see if it will help you.”
“But the storm…”
“It has been quiet for some time now. I believe it has passed.” Ky stood, grimacing at the stains on her skin and what remained of her skirt. “Stay here with the youngling and see what you can do. If your milk does not return and Xuvri cannot find anything for her to eat, we will need to go back, Esme.”
The female nodded slowly. “I know. I won’t let her starve just because I don’t want to go.”
Ky stepped around Laurie to crouch down next to them, running her hand over her female’s tangled hair. “You did so well. I will return as soon as I can.” She detached the wiring and tubes before lifting Laurie into her arms, cradling her again
st her chest in the same way Esme held their youngling.
When she moved out into the hallway, Ky pressed her lips together. Her people sent their dead to Una through the purification of fire, but the wood in the forest would be too wet for that right now, and she couldn’t just leave the female outside for the creatures to pick at her. There were rooms inside the ship, the ones she and Esme found when they searched for the waste chamber.
Ky made her way down the dark halls with only the light of her fushori to guide her. She slipped into the room across from the one Esme used to relieve herself and padded over to the bed before laying her out on top of the blanket.
Once the wood dried, Ky would send her into Una’s arms. A proper tribute for a female who had given Ky and her mates the most precious gift imaginable. There was so much to be done here, and so very little time in which to do it. The days of only having herself to worry about were gone. Three people were counting on her to be strong, to know what to do next.
Ky was in way over her head.
Chapter 7
Xuvri
“Don’t you worry. I’ll uphold my end of the deal.”
The memory of Laurie’s words pulled at something deep within him. She had, he thought. Even in death, his friend had given him one of the most sought-after gifts among his people. His offspring rested in the arms of one of his mates, surrounded by the females who cared for her and would love her for the rest of her life. It should be a moment of joy, of accomplishment and pride.
So why am I so numb?
Xuvri wanted to bring the Tachin back to life solely to tear him apart again and again. Slowly. Painfully. He imagined it was how Amanda’s mate felt. The male thought he was dead. If it were him in the Venium’s place, he would dream of killing him over and over as well. Yet here he stood on this ship, getting a second chance he wasn't at all convinced he deserved… A new life, a new family.
Many of the compartments he pulled open were filled with Tachin tech he didn’t understand, but others contained soft blankets and other items his mates might find useful. These things he set aside before moving down the line to search for something, anything, that could be used to feed his crying offspring. Esme made gentle comforting sounds, trying to quiet the little one, but hunger didn’t know patience.
Many of the spaces along the far side of the wall turned up empty or compromised. Xuvri growled, turning toward the back wall to continue his search as the memory of his first meeting with his mates surfaced. Why had he shared so much? What had come over him? Was he being too soft, bending too far?
They were his mates. They were everything to a male.
Xuvri reached into the first compartment, grimacing when his hand closed over something smooth and cylindrical. His eyes traced over the syringe he pulled out, watching the black liquid within it move as he held it up to the dim light. The warrior injection.
How much time had passed since his last dose? Perhaps this was causing his odd behavior? Xuvri bit the cap off, spitting it onto the floor as he slid the tip of the needle between the two larger plates on his thigh, piercing the softer flesh beneath. As the liquid slowly drained from the tube, Xuvri sighed, feeling it move through him. He’d been receiving these since he was old enough to be selected for warrior training, but each time it flowed through him, it brought the same heady sense of power, of strength. He growled as his xines writhed. It was a glorious sensation, but it was fleeting.
He took a deep breath, discarding the needle in the empty compartment as he moved on to the next. The scientists and females who cared for the younglings on the Grutex ships taught them the importance of the injections. They made them stronger, more lethal than they’d been in their previous lives. Harder to kill and easier to heal. It was likely the only reason he hadn’t died that day. Xuvri pressed his hand against the cloth on his chest before ripping it away. His hybrid female had little faith in healing abilities.
“Did you find anything yet? I think she’s really hungry.” Esme’s voice wormed its way through his mind and body, wrapping around him in a way he hadn’t ever felt.
Consume, his mind hissed. He wanted to devour her, to claim every part of her. Xuvri’s wanted to feel her caged beneath him, to mount her until she was filled with his seed and writhing in the blood of the female who had given her life to bring his offspring into the world.
The thought gave him pause.
What in the name of the goddess was wrong with him? You would risk her life as well? Have you not caused enough deaths already?
More. More offspring… came the voice.
Yes, he had two females now. He could breed them both once Ky was fertile. The need to start, the pulsing, nearly angry desire to begin the process barreled through him, and he gritted his teeth against it. No. His offspring, the only living youngling he had, was in need of nutrition. Focus your mind, he chided, renewing his search.
Take her… the voice whispered. Break her… fuck her… claim.
Xuvri tore through the next compartment, agitation filling him as he tried to distract himself. He came up short when his eyes fell on the contents within it. Nutrition packets were scattered, most of them melted together and compromised.
The wiring in this one must have malfunctioned during the crash. Xuvri lifted a few packets, frowning at the red lines on the labels that told him they were no longer any good, but a hint of green caught his eye as he threw the melted pile down. Just beneath them, barely visible, was an uncompromised packet. His fingers ran over the green line before checking to make sure the tiny feeding tube looped around the top was still intact.
The voice quieted as he rushed over to his mate, feeling the fog that had settled over him clear as she turned to look up at him expectantly. “This is the only one. The others were too damaged, and I’m certain they’ve spoiled.” He held out the nutrition packet, glancing down at his offspring in her arms.
Esme’s battered hand shook as she reached out to take it, her eyes cast down. He hoped this would work, that Esme’s body would be able to produce milk. If not, he risked losing another one of his offspring, and the thought of watching this one perish was unbearable.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Esme whispered so softly that he almost didn’t catch it.
Xuvri sat on the hard metal floor behind her before reaching out to grasp her waist, lifting her up and settling her into his lap. She fit against him as if she belonged, but as his mate, he supposed that was true. Taking a deep breath, Xuvri forced the air through the crest on his body, emitting a rattling sound. He’d tried to make it for Amanda, but it was as if his body knew that wasn’t right. Xuvri felt his female relax against his chest and smiled.
“I know you can do this, little female,” he told her, trailing the back of his hand down the side of her arm.
“Right,” she said with a sigh. “I can do this. She has to eat.” Esme wriggled against him, jostling the youngling as she moved. After a moment, she huffed in frustration before turning to look up at him. “Can you hold her for a second? I just need to get myself into a good position.”
The thought of touching the little one, of having to hold her, made his hands shake, but Esme gave him no time to respond. She tugged his arms around her, laying the fussing bundle in his hands.
“One under her bottom and one supporting her head,” she said as she slowly lowered her own hands.
Xuvri clenched his jaw as he sat there, awkwardly holding his offspring for the first time. He imagined he looked like he was offering her up as a sacrifice to the gods with his arms stretched out in front of them as they were, his fingers not even curling around her tiny body.
“Suit down,” Esme said.
The black material of the tight-fitting suit she wore began to recede, peeling away to expose the smooth, pale skin on her shoulders and arms. This was a Grutex suit. How had she come by one of those? These were newer tech, something that many of the warriors hadn’t even been given yet. It seemed there were many things he had ove
rlooked or neglected to ask about.
You were too busy sharing your life story, his mind supplied helpfully.
A pink flush washed over her body as she shifted in his lap. He stared down at her exposed chest, his breath hitching at the raw beauty of her form. His mates were exquisite, each one in her own unique way. They were like two halves of a whole. Where Ky’s body was firm and slender, Esme’s was soft and rounded.
Xuvri looked away, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the wall across from them, but that didn’t stop his inkei from hardening within his pouch and pressing painfully against the plates. Without warning, the length extruded, sliding up against her ass with only the thin barrier of his clothing to separate them. Esme gasped, going rigid as it pulsed and throbbed against her. If it weren’t for the youngling perched in his hands, he suspected she might have launched herself out of his lap.
“Don’t,” he said through gritted teeth as she tried to shift away. “I cannot control the reaction, but I promise I won’t do anything to you.” The goddess knew he wanted to, but this was neither the time nor the place for a rut. “Just… ignore it.”
“It’s a little hard,” she murmured, slowly leaning back against him.
A little? He nearly laughed out loud.
Esme looked over the packet in her hands. “How does this open?”
“Twist the top that connects to the tube once. Make sure to move it back into place or hold it upright so the contents don’t leak out until you’re ready.”
The female shifted again, and tiny points of light danced across his vision. He would not think about the naked female in his lap. He would not. But the more he tried to tell himself not to, the more his mind fought him.
There must be something to distract him, something that would keep his mind busy. The youngling in his hands wriggled, making an awful, angry sound. His eyes fell on her, and for the first time since Ky pulled her from Laurie’s body, Xuvri gazed down into the face of his daughter. Pain sliced through his chest, momentarily stealing his breath.
