by Ella Maven
“So now you know.” Justine glared at all the males. “We bleed from our vaginas once a month. It’s normal. The only reason we don’t bleed is if we get pregnant.” She crossed her chest with an X. “And I’m closed for business, so don’t even think about it.”
I laughed but felt the hair on the back of my neck lift. I raised my head to find Daz watched me carefully. He ignored the chatter around us, and I realized he hadn’t participated much at all. For Gar that was normal, but not for Daz.
I stood up and walked over to where he sat. Perching in his lap, I fingered his hair. “Hi,” I said softly.
He smiled at me, but his aura bled a thick and cloying sadness.
“You’re worried,” I said.
“Of course,” he whispered. “Aren’t you?”
“I am.”
His hand slipped up my thigh to rest on my stomach. “Until this last conversation, I hadn’t even imagined you could be carrying my chit, but you could be. Right?”
My heart lurched. I hadn’t let myself think of that. There’d been too much going on. I swallowed. “Yes, I guess I could be.”
“Tomorrow, I’m supposed to meet my enemies with my cora-eternal at my side.” The muscle in his jaw ticked, and the tendons in his neck pulsed. “I don’t even want them to look at you.”
“But it’ll work out,” I said. “We’ll get your brother and return and be happy.”
“Your optimism is encouraging but also naive.”
I frowned. “That’s not nice.
“No, it’s not, but you told me not to hide things from you.”
“There’s something called a white lie,” I said under my breath.
“What?”
I held his face, watching the flickering flames reflecting in the dark pool of his irises. “They won’t lay a hand on me.”
“If they do, I’ll battle every fleck in the Alazar. You know that, right?” His aura shifted, burning a bright red, but the feeling was different than the white heat of his anger. This was something else, all-consuming, and explosive.
“I know you will,” I pressed a kiss to his lips. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”
Daz
I entered my mate on a smooth glide, and her wet heat gripped my cock, pulling me in. Her mouth opened, her eyes fell closed, and she arched her back, so her full breasts drew closer to my mouth. I didn’t miss a chance to lean down and latch onto a nipple.
“Daz,” she whispered, and her hands slipped through my hair. I let my name—spoken in a husky rasp—wash over me. I’d done that to her, made her breathless enough that she spoke my name with such reverence. I committed it to memory and let it soak in my bones.
Everyone else was asleep, but I wouldn’t let either of us rest until we came together one more time.
I swirled my tongue, flicking the hard bud with my piercings. She squirmed beneath me, and her inner walls clamped down on my cock as her body shuddered. Her body jolted with each thrust. She tossed her head, and her dark hair fanned around her. Every time she gifted me with her cunt, I felt reborn. Her aura glowed in my mind, lightening until it shone golden like the sun, like the loks on our wrists.
Suddenly, her eyes popped open. She blinked a few times and undulated her hips, moving in time with my strokes. Her hands clasped my wrists which were planted near her head.
She didn’t speak, and neither did I. I wasn’t sure I could. Because her aura was changing. No longer content to remain in place, tendrils shot from it like sun flares, forming vine-like threads that braided themselves into my thoughts and emotions. I shook my head, unsure of this warmth in my chest and the blooming sense of union with another soul.
“You—” Her eyes went wide. She clung to my wrists, her nails digging into my skin. I bared my teeth and slammed into her harder, forcing a moan from her lips. “Your aura,” she gasped. “It’s… it’s changing.”
“Yours…” I panted on a broken syllable. “Yours too.”
Her body shook, and I knew she was closer. The smooth walls of her cunt contracted around me, and she cried out. She bucked against me, and I gritted my teeth, determined to watch her find her pleasure before I let myself take mine. Tears streamed out of her eyes, and the tendons in her neck strained against her pale throat.
“That’s it,” I said. “Come for me. Come on my cock, cora-eternal. Squeeze me with that perfect cunt.”
“Oh fuck,” she whimpered. Her body bucked one last time before her limbs went loose.
My balls drew tight, and my cock swelled in her channel. I threw my head back on a roar and released inside of her. My vision swam with pretty golden threads shining into the darkest recesses of my mind where the guilt and sadness lurked.
I pulsed inside of her repeatedly while she whispered my name, her small hands stroking my chest and my neck. When I’d emptied myself and my muscles let me know they were through, I dropped to the bedding beside her and drew her into my arms.
Her gold was so bright in my mind I wondered if she could see it shining through my eyes. I lay there, blinking at her, unable to put into words what was happening. She stroked my face and my hair, humming to herself with a soft smile on her face. “Your aura is always red, but tonight it changed, and I couldn’t figure out what why. It was expanding, but not angry.” She shifted closer, so our noses were nearly touching. “It’s bright and bold. Like a protective crimson army in my head.”
I finally found my words. “Yours is a bright golden vine weaving around my mind, refusing to let my guilt and anger fester in the dark.”
While her aura had always been strong, its place in my mind had been separate. No longer. Now she was everywhere, her golden threads weaving through my anger and my pain, dulling them. My happiness had been a tiny nugget amongst my thoughts, but her golden threads wrapped around it, feeding it, nurturing it. I cupped her face and gazed into her eyes.
Her lower lip shook, and she tucked it between her white teeth. “Tomorrow…” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed thickly. “Your Fatas… She wouldn’t take this away from us, would she?”
“Do you want me to tell you one of your white lies?” I whispered.
Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she bit her lip savagely before nodding her head.
I focused on her bright golden light and said, “She wouldn’t dare.”
Fra-kee hiccuped a sob. She tucked her tear-streaked face into my neck, and we fell asleep like that, so intertwined that for a moment I could pretend nothing would ever separate us again.
I hated this idea. I hated it with every bone in my body. My bike vibrated between my legs while Fra-kee’s ass was snugged tight against my groin. Nero and Xavy flanked us. We’d left Gar and Hap back at the hideout to guard the remaining females.
I’d woken up this morning feeling like my muscles were water-logged. Every step was a struggle, dread weighing heavily on me. Fra-kee tried to be brave for the other women, but her short answers and strained voice told of her nerves. Several times, I considered turning around and driving back to our settlement despite what would be her vehement protestations. I’d tie her to my bed and never let her go. But she’d never forgive me, and I’d never forgive myself for leaving my brother to rot.
I wrapped an arm around Fra-kee and smelled her hair as it whipped around us. She slipped her fingers through mine and squeezed. We were traveling through the mountainous range separating the western and eastern halves of the Jasper continent on Torin. We had some more rough terrain to cover and then we came close to the flatlands where the Uldani made their home.
We stopped once for a meal and just as the sun began to dip past its highest point in the sky, signaling the end of midday, we reached the agreed upon meeting area. If we’d continued further, to the bottom of the mountainous range, we’d have reached the Uldani fortress. The position made it easy to defend. There was only one clear path to get down the mountain, and at the bottom was an open stretch of land with zero cover for protection or hiding.
Thro
ugh the trees, I could just make out the tall buildings of Alazar. The Uldani kept their entire remaining population secure behind fortified walls. Below ground were the slums—the poor, homeless, and neglected who dug for fuel and mined for garmin. After the Uldani mined all the quazal, they’d resorted to using the lesser-valued garmin for all their building supplies.
The ground level was the working class. They farmed the land and worked the livestock that provided food for the Uldani. In the high-rise buildings were the elite, living luxuriously on the backs of the poor and working class. The royalty lived in airpods that floated above the skyscrapers, casting shadows on the people below.
Nero hung back out of sight and in the best vantage position he could, and Xavy was with him to guard him. So much depended on Nero’s ability to kill as many Uldani guards and Kulks as he could, because I would have a tough time fighting while protecting Fra-kee and a most likely injured Sax.
For now, the clearing was quiet. The Uldani hadn’t arrived yet. I gripped Fra-kee’s face and turned it toward me. She was trying to be brave. Her shoulders were tense, her aura swirled with anxiety, and fear swam in her pretty brown eyes. “I’m sorry if I made you think this wasn’t brave,” I said. “I do. I have seen what you’ve done since you’ve arrived here, and I’m in awe of you, my cora-eternal.”
Her eyes watered, and she tried to shake her head out of my grip, but I wouldn’t let her. “I’m not sure if I’m brave or insane, but I do know this is something we have to do.”
“And you’ll do it, my brave mate.”
The sound of approaching footsteps reached my ears. With a last kiss to her forehead, I gripped her arm and hardened my face. Fra-kee was under strict instructions to look terrified of me. We both wore bands on our wrists to hide our loks, and we’d updated her implant with the Uldani language. Luckily, her hair covered the device, so hopefully the Uldani wouldn’t see it. I hadn’t bothered to tie her up, because the Uldani were aware a human wasn’t a threat to me.
Finally, an Uldani entered the clearing, flanked by a dozen soldiers. I didn’t bother to hide my sneer at who they’d chosen to meet me. Trupa Cornic, the head commander of the Uldani army. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet braced apart.
I hated his guts as much as he hated mine. He was the very being responsible for blowing my brother Rex to bits. The thought of Trupa laying a hand on Sax nearly had me blind with rage. It was his voice I’d heard in the video. I should have prepared myself to see him. I should have known they’d use him to try to get a rise out of me. I breathed through my nostrils, controlling the urge to slice his head from his shoulders.
Sensing my need for calm, Fra-kee shifted her weight ever so slightly and bumped me with her hip. Her golden threads glowed, and I focused on them despite the white-hot anger threatening to take over.
“Dazeem Bakut,” Trupa said, taking a step forward. “I’m surprised to see you here. Don’t you have males beneath you for an errand like this?”
“I don’t consider retrieving my brother a simple errand,” I said. “And unlike you, I don’t live on top of warriors I think are less than me.”
He laughed, and Fra-kee shivered next to me. “Right, right. Well, that was the downfall of your species, wasn’t it? This all is equal mess? Now you’re living like pivers, in bombed-out buildings.”
Fra-kee’s anger simmered, the golden thread sizzling. I hadn’t come here to be goaded. “I have your cargo. Now where’s my brother?”
Trupa’s light eyes shifted to the human at my side. “I see… some of my cargo. Where are the rest?”
“They didn’t make it. This planet’s air does not agree with many humans.”
“The Rahgul reported them all delivered and healthy.”
“Delivered yes. Healthy, no. They didn’t make it two rotations.”
“But this one happens to be special?” he mocked.
I gritted my teeth. “Where is my brother?”
Trupa tapped his two fingers on the hilt of his solar gun. “We have also lost contact with two Kulk squads who were sent to guard these women. Do you know anything about that?”
“Nope. Like you said, it’s rough out west.” I grinned with my teeth bared. “Anything could have happened. We live like pivars, remember?”
Despite his desire to obtain the females, Trupa had barely glanced at her. His gaze took me in from head to toe in a way that made my machets itch beneath my skin. Something wasn’t right. I kept my hand on Fra-kee’s arm and tried to calculate how long it would take me to sprint with her back to the mountain. And where was Sax?
“See, here’s the thing,” Trupa said. “You Bakuts fascinate me. Sax has been quite the entertainment.” He glanced back at his soldiers and grinned. I wanted to rip out the tongues of the few Uldani soldiers who laughed. “I hadn’t expected the great Dazeem to deliver the females yourself, but here you are. My plan has worked better than I could have imagined. Why do you think I wanted you to deliver the females instead of the Kulks?” He grinned again, and Fra-kee sucked in a breath. “We’ll keep Sax. And we’ll take you too.”
I didn’t even get a chance to lift my machets. A whistling pierced the air and a sharp prick pierced the skin of my neck. I reached for Fra-kee, but my limbs wouldn’t work. Why couldn’t I lift them?
Fra-kee screamed, Trupa shouted an order, and the entire world went black.
Eighteen
Frankie
This was bad. This was really, really fucking bad.
From the moment I’d met Daz, he’d been larger than life. Invincible. And now he sat slumped and unconscious in the corner of the cell next to mine, his wrists bound to the wall with shackles and chains. Floor-to-ceiling bars separated our cells, so while I had a view of him, I couldn’t get near him.
Also bad? I’d given away how much he’d meant to me. When his big body had crashed to the ground with that dart in his neck, I’d lost my shit. I’d screamed his name and shook his shoulders. An Uldani asshole tried to tear me off him and had received a solar bullet to the forehead for his trouble. Nero had taken out as many Uldani as he could, but the remaining used Daz’s big body as a shield, the cowards. Nero couldn’t get a shot off without injuring his leader.
As they carried us away, I’d flailed and kicked and punched, anything to get back to Daz. I was surprised they hadn’t drugged me too. I should have been agreeable like a good little scared human, but instead I’d gone hog wild. They’d taken us inside the gates in a sort of hover car, through a marketplace and small shack houses, until we reached a massive military like structure near the back wall of the fortress. We’d descended so many steps into this dungeon I lost count and felt like we’d reached the center of his hell hole planet.
This was all my fault. All my stupid fucking idea. I was responsible for bringing Daz to his knees in chains. I’d known all along I was an imposter acting all brave at his side. I’d led him right into a trap. I hung my head.
They hadn’t bothered to chain me in my cell. They’d stripped me bare, my precious clothes given to me by Anna ripped from my body. I’d been sure they would violate me, and I’d gone into a crocodile death roll, but instead they’d given me a gray, shapeless dress to put on. One thing they hadn’t bothered with was my necklace. The wishbone remained between my breasts; the wire warm from my heated skin.
I had free rein of the ten-by-ten foot area but I stayed huddled in the back corner because I didn’t want to get anywhere near the Uldani who stood outside my cell, watching me like creepers. There wasn’t anything in the cell but a metal bucket in the corner. I knew what it was for, but I’d burst my bladder before I lifted my dress in front of these fuckers. I sat against the back wall with my knees pulled up to my chest, trying to look as small as possible. Outside my cell was a narrow hallway, and on the other side of me a stone wall.
The head Uldani—the one who’d taunted Daz—stood outside the bars to my cell, looking at me with a knowing smile. “I see the Drixonians ha
ven’t lost their ways with females,” he said to the Uldani standing next to him. They hadn’t discovered my implant yet, so they didn’t know I could understand them. “I’m honestly surprised Daz had it in him to charm his way between her legs.”
I’d expected the Uldani to be ugly, because… Well, just because. But the Uldani, while not humanoid, didn’t strike me as unattractive. They weren’t covered in slime, toothless, or anything like that. They walked upright on what looked like a horse’s rear legs, except instead of hooves, they had three toes covered in a thick skin, almost like an elephant. I knew this because they didn’t wear shoes. Their arms were long and muscled. On their hands were two fingers and an opposable-thumb-like digit. Their faces were flat, and instead of ears or nostrils, they had small slits. Their eyes were round, and their high cheekbones cut a sharp shadow on the lower half of their face.
“You think they’re bonded, Trupa?” the other Uldani asked.
“If they’re not bonded, she’s at least attached to him. Not sure she understands he sold her out for his brother, but then I don’t think human females are that bright.”
Oh, I wanted to hit this Trupa. So badly.
“But if Daz, with his terrible personality, worked that fast, imagine how many females Sax could impregnate.”
I wanted to defend Daz, but there was no point. So, I sat and stewed.
Trupa’s golden eyes shifted to Daz, and he jerked his chin toward the cell door. “Wake him up. I want him to enjoy the entertainment.”
The Uldani picked up a bucket and tossed the contents through the front bars of Daz’s cell. Qua splashed over Daz and his head jerked up. He sputtered, his eyes immediately seeking me out. He surged forward on a lunge, but the chains yanked him back, his feet flying out from under him, so he crashed to the hard ground. He roared and tried again, straining against the chains as his machets unleashed from his skin. His muscles bulged and quivered, and his face grew ruddy and dark with effort. His aura flashed like a strobe light, frantic and manic, and my head ached from it.
