by Octavia Kore
She’d given Brin the last of her dried fish, so she pulled out some eggs and sausage. With her diet so limited now, Jun wasn’t able to enjoy all of the comfort meals she had in the past.
She opened up the pantry and pulled out the hibiscus tea Amanda had bought for her after hearing that it helped to lower your blood pressure.
Gonna need all the help I can get with that, she mused. Between the smirks and fiery glances from Brin and the incident with Raou, her poor heart was working overtime. She had even found it necessary to take her emergency medicine before lying down.
When the food was finished, Jun divided it up, giving Brin a heaping helping of the eggs he had loved so much.
“Hungry?” she asked, holding the plate out to him as she stepped back into the room.
Without taking his eyes off of the Grutex, Brin reached out to take the food, but he sat it on the cushion next to him untouched.
Jun rolled her eyes, dropping down onto the couch and scooping a forkful of eggs into her mouth. Like Brin’s, Raou’s wounds were already almost completely healed.
She had looked over the holes Brin made in the exoskeleton, but she had no idea how to go about seeing to them. Creatures with hard shells seemed like they were more suited to Amanda’s area of expertise.
“You’ve been up most of the night,” Jun said, glancing at Brin as she finished her food. “Why don’t you lie down for a little bit?”
“Yes, bottom dweller, get some rest. I’ll keep the little female company,” Raou sneered.
Brin’s jaw clenched, and she knew he was trying to hold himself back. “I’ll take a look at the air system first. This can’t be comfortable for you.”
“The unit’s outside at the back of the house.” Jun glanced toward the window, worrying her bottom lip. She didn’t like the idea of him going out alone.
“It’s dark enough to provide cover. The repair shouldn’t take too much time as long as we don’t need to replace any components.” Brin stood and traced a finger along her braid. “Don’t go near him, Shayfia.”
She frowned as she watched him leave. He’d been so distant since she stormed out of the bedroom after his kiss. Jun may not have known him for long at all, but something told her this was out of the ordinary. She didn’t exactly hear wedding bells when she looked at him, but Jun wouldn’t deny there was something about him that drew her in.
You’ve known him less than twenty-four hours, she reminded herself. Brin distancing himself from you shouldn’t bother you at all.
It felt like she had known him for so long, but maybe that was due in part to all of the things that had occurred within the last few hours.
She’d always planned to marry a nice human man and have lots of babies, but now, with her health so bad and the fate of Earth unknown, Jun wasn’t sure she would ever have a chance to see those dreams become a reality.
“Did you let him touch you? Did the Venium fuck you?”
Jun turned to Raou with a sneer. “Do you have to be so vile every time you speak?”
The Grutex’s eyes roamed over her body, and she barely resisted the urge to cross her arms over herself.
“I was sent for the Venium, but you would be a fine trophy to bring back. I’ll take you as a mate.”
“I’ll pass. I don’t plan on being your anything.”
Raou’s laugh was cold and empty. “Haven’t you realized that it doesn’t matter what you want, little female? You all belong to the Grutex now. In the end, you will all scream the same.”
A shiver of fear worked up her spine, making the hair on her body stand on end. Her stomach twisted into knots as she watched him grin.
People had already begun to assume this. Rumors of a complete takeover by the aliens had been spreading like wildfire lately, and it made her wonder if the Grutex themselves had been the ones to start them.
“What do you do with the humans you take? What’s happened to the ones you’ve already taken?”
“Did you really think I would tell you so easily?” The male laughed. “Come over here, breeder. I’ll whisper the answer in your ear if you sit on my lap.”
Disgust swept through her, and she tucked herself into the corner of her couch, pulling the gun from its holster and laying it next to her on the cushion. Minutes passed in silence as he watched her and she wondered idly if she had a responsibility to feed him.
What are the rules for hospitality when you’ve got an alien tied up in your home? Should she offer him something to eat? Did she actually care if he was hungry? If he would have gotten a hold of her, he would have done horrible things to her. And here you are wondering if you should feed him.
“Is there something I can do for the wounds?” she asked. “Do I need to wash them out so they don’t get infected?”
Raou scoffed. “Infected? The Grutex are not as weak as humans. These small scrapes are nothing to me, but if you really want to tend to them…” A lecherous smile tugged at his mouth. “The offer to sit on my lap still stands.”
“Panget ka,” Jun mumbled, curling her lip as she got to her feet and marched into the kitchen.
He was ugly, not physically, although she couldn’t say she found him very attractive, but everything about his personality disgusted her. Jun propped herself against the side of the refrigerator so that she could still see Raou without having to hear his nasty comments.
There was a soft hum before the blessed sound of her AC kicking on reached her, and when Brin stepped back into the living room, Jun sighed in relief.
“Did he do something?” Brin asked as he stalked toward her.
“Just ran his mouth.” Jun shrugged.
“What did he say to you?” He glanced back at the Grutex and snarled.
“It was nothing. Listen,” she hissed, tugging him through the doorway into the kitchen. “He said he was sent for the Venium. Either he’s looking for Oshen and he’s lost, or he’s been tracking you.”
“Brax…” Brin murmured, scrubbing his hand over his face. “It’s not surprising, but we still don’t know how many more Grutex will be looking for him.” He jerked his head toward Raou, who watched them, a smirk on his lips. “Did he say anything else to you?”
Jun shook her head. “He said we all belonged to the Grutex now, but he wouldn’t explain what that meant or what they were planning to do with us once they had us.”
“Breeders,” Brin said.
“Right.” She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “He asked if I’d let you touch me; if we’d… if we’d had sex.” Jun crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, I want lots of babies in the future, but that doesn’t mean I want to be forced to breed with a Grutex.”
Brin’s face turned an ashen gray, and his long elf-like ears flattened against the sides of his head.
“I won’t let them have you, Shayfia. I promise you.” He moved back into the living room, taking up his previous position on the couch.
“I thought you were going to rest.”
Brin let his head fall back against the furniture. “I am resting.”
Jun rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue. If he wanted to spend the entire day staring at Raou, then she’d let him. She kept herself busy cleaning up the mess her alien guests had made during their fight.
Her ruined door stood against the wall in the hallway. If she tossed that out on garbage day, Bridget would be at her door asking questions and just being plain nosy.
The rest of the day passed in relative silence. Brin seemed lost in thought, barely eating any of the food she brought him. The only time he moved from his spot on the couch was when he took Raou into her bathroom to allow the Grutex to relieve himself.
Jun dumped the leftover rice and chicken from dinner onto a plate and walked out into the living room, stopping in front of Raou. “I brought you something to eat.”
The Grutex eyed the plate in her hands before curling his lip. “No.”
Jun frowned. “Excuse me?”
“I will not
degrade my body with whatever foul thing passes for nutrition on your planet.”
“You can’t be serious.” Jun rolled her eyes.
“Let him starve if he wishes to, Shayfia.” Brin growled from behind her.
Raou chuffed. “Perhaps you have something else to offer me?” He let his gaze slide down her body. “Come closer, Shayfia. Give me a taste.”
Brin was off the couch so fast that she barely had time to gasp in surprise as she was lifted off of her feet. One of his muscular arms was wrapped around her waist, his hand splayed across her ribs. With the other, he took the plate she still held, setting it down on the couch before he marched her through the hallway and into her bedroom.
“I don’t want you to speak to him anymore.”
“Are we really doing this again?” Jun pinched the skin of his arm until he set her on her feet. “You can’t just boss me around.” Not that she really wanted to interact with Raou any more than she already had, but being told she couldn’t? That wasn’t how she worked. “Use your words, Glowworm. Tell me what the problem is.”
“I don’t like when he speaks to you or when he looks at you like he’s already thinking of all the vile things he’s going to do to you if he ever got free.”
“Brin…”
“If he ever touched you, I would kill him. Do you understand?”
Jun looked up into his face. There was rage simmering in the bottomless blue depths of his eyes, and his fushori was pulsing in a way she had never seen before. It was like watching the chaser Christmas lights that her neighbors loved to use during the holidays.
“Yes,” she said through clenched teeth.
This controlling, demanding attitude was something she found incredibly infuriating. Brin didn’t own her. This simply wasn’t how it worked. Handsome alien or not, she wasn’t going to put up with this much longer.
Chapter 8
Brin
She wanted babies, lots of them.
Of course she wants them, you braxing fool.
Brin wanted to give his mate everything she wished for, wanted to fulfill all of her hopes and dreams, but this one… this one he could not––would not––ever be able to grant her.
The thought of watching Brega try to mold their pup into something as awful and heartless as she was made his stomach turn. His heart ached, but he knew now that he had no choice but to back off entirely.
Unlike other Venium who searched all their lives for their mates, hoping and praying to the goddess that they would find them, Brin would live out the rest of his life knowing his other half was on another planet, creating a family of her own with someone else.
If he shut her out now, looked at her as nothing more than a female who needed his protection, then maybe he could shield his heart from the pain leaving her behind would cause.
Liar.
He ignored the whisper that slid through his mind and turned his attention to the Grutex sitting in the middle of the room. The male hadn’t slept at all since he’d been captured and as a result, neither had Brin.
“Are you thinking about the little female, Venium?” Raou waited for a beat. “She is your mate, no?”
The male was trying to get a rise out of him, and if he were honest with himself, it was working. Every time he reacted to Raou’s taunts, it gave him exactly what he wanted.
“They will come for me, Venium, and when we are back on the ship, I think I will request to have you present for her claiming.” Raou’s eyes stayed locked on his.
You can’t kill him, Brin reminded himself. Vog will want to question the male himself. Do. Not. Kill him. He set the hex to follow and pushed himself to his feet.
“Where are we going now?”
“I’m taking you to relieve yourself.”
Raou snorted. “I’ve already done that more times since you trapped me in here than I can ever remember going in one day.”
“Well, it looks like we’re aiming to break records today.” Brin grumbled as he maneuvered the suspended male until he was sitting on top of the thing Jun had called the toilet.
Standing in the doorway, Brin expanded the outer boundaries of the hex to encompass the entire bathing chamber. If someone got into the room, they wouldn’t be able to leave without his approval.
Brin grinned at the disgust on the Grutex’s face as he realized he was being left in the chamber and quickly shut the door.
He lay back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before sitting up with a frustrated huff. Jun had asked him to rest, but having the male so close was wreaking havoc on the instincts he was trying so hard to ignore.
Brin turned on the viewscreen and the old gaming system like Jun had shown him and settled down onto the floor.
“Finish her!” the disembodied voice in the game demanded as he tapped the buttons to defeat his opponent.
It may have been simplistic and nowhere near the realism of Venium holos, but Brin found himself wrapped up in it. His gaze dropped down to roam over the wooden shelves and he laughed softly to himself.
His little female had been looking to distract him earlier, and just like a pup being given a new toy, Brin had happily let her keep him busy.
Now, with his Shayfia asleep in her bed and their Grutex captive locked away, Brin found himself alone with his thoughts, and that was never a good place for him to be.
Her scent clung to everything within her dwelling. It swirled around him, filling his lungs as he drew in a deep breath and let his head fall back. He swore he could still feel the softness of her lips against his, taste the sweetness of her mouth on his tongue, feel her bite.
His brow furrowed as he grimaced at the memory of her blunt teeth sinking into his tongue; of the pleasantly painful pressure. He couldn’t remember who had initiated the kiss, but truth be told, he’d wanted his lips on hers more than he’d wanted his next breath.
He felt his kokoras begin to swell again and moaned into the air of the empty room as it pressed against his uniform. If he kept this up, he was going to rub himself raw, and not in any way that was even remotely pleasant.
Jun’s angry eyes flashed behind his lids, sending a surge of lust through him that made his kokoras jerk painfully. The sound and feel of the unit’s controller cracking in his hand brought his attention back to his surroundings, and he winced as he watched the fragile material crumble onto the floor.
“Brax!” he hissed, clutching at the pieces, trying his best to keep them together as he moved toward the shelves. “Well, there goes the entertainment.”
Brin couldn’t have slept even if he wanted to. Although the hex holding the male in place was powerful, it wasn’t infallible, and he wouldn’t risk having Raou get out and get a hold of Jun. He would never risk her.
He got to his feet and walked around the space, eyeing the shark tooth necklace she had told him about before stepping into the room where Jun had prepared their meals.
This area had the most tech, and every single piece of it was outdated. If he gave it a bit of an update, it might help keep him occupied for a while, and she might appreciate being able to use more efficient tech.
“Nyissa, start my work playlist.”
“Oh, Master, not even a ‘please’?” she tutted. “You know I don’t care for being bossed around unless I’m naked.”
Brin grinned and shook his head in amusement. He honestly impressed himself at times with the amount of personality he managed to program into the AI systems.
Oshen’s had been his most recent update, and he couldn’t wait to see how well that had turned out. He was quite fond of sassy females.
“As much as I enjoy opening up your programing, it will have to wait for another time.” Brin spotted his first target and pulled out the small pouch that contained his tools. “Nyissa, please start my work playlist.”
“Of course, Master. Starting Brin is a Badass. Would you care for a light show while you work?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, and he sighed. �
�Why not?”
Brin slipped a small device from one of the zipper pockets on his pants and placed it on the counter. Light shot from the top and spread around the room, changing colors and morphing into a familiar calming scene. The okeanos of his homeworld splashed against Jun’s walls as creatures big and small drifted by.
The components humans used were less than ideal, but he’d make them work somehow. Aside from the room used for cooking, his female’s dwelling was simple. It lacked many of the things Venium dwellings did, like holos.
When he’d taken Raou to relieve himself the first time, Brin had noticed there wasn’t any sort of entertainment in the bathing chamber. Back home, holos were used to aid relaxation after long days. No wonder Jun seemed so stressed.
He kept himself busy, working his way around the room until he had finished everything that could be modified without needing additional parts. Several ure had passed by the time he started on her entertainment unit.
Brin’s skin tingled and itched as if there were insects just beneath the surface, and his mind urged him to check on Jun. It seemed like the harder he fought to stay away from her, the more his body and soul ached to shorten the distance.
His initial attraction to her made more sense now that he knew she was his mate, but this constant obsession, the need to be with her and keep his eyes on her at all times? Maybe it was the lack of sleep getting to him.
You know it isn’t that, his mind teased. You know what it is that’s making you feel this way.
Brin sighed, dropping his hand into his lap as he stared at the open unit with its wires hanging from it. Mating pheromones.
They had learned about them as pups, but most Venium never truly felt the brunt of them since hardly anyone fought the pull. He took a deep breath to clear his mind, but her scent was so entrenched in everything around him that he only managed to make the swelling at the base of his kokoras worse.
The pheromones raged through him, and the longer he resisted, the more persistent they would become. The whole purpose was to bring him and his female together, but it was the last thing either of them needed. He had to fight it, didn’t he? There was no other way, at least not one that he could see.
