by Octavia Kore
A grunt of surprise left Raou’s mouth, and his hands instinctively clutched at Nuzal’s as he increased the pressure. The shock of the attack lasted only a moment before the warrior began to struggle, fighting against his hold. Raou slammed his forearm down onto Nuzal’s inner elbow, loosening his grip just enough for the warrior to drop down and slip free.
Nuzal’s body, though noticeably out of practice, instinctively blocked each blow from the younger male, and he even managed to land a few sloppy jabs of his own.
The loud clearing of a throat brought them both to a halt, and Nuzal turned to see an amused Erusha standing next to a decidedly less than amused Kaia. He righted himself immediately, straightening his clothing and stepping away from Raou.
“What kind of warrior allows himself to be overtaken by an imperfect specimen?” The Kaia’s voice was low and cold as he fixed his gaze on Raou. “Perhaps I should have you sent back to training to refresh your skills?” The cruel smile that tugged at his mouth caused the plates that covered his cheeks to creak eerily.
“There is no need for that, sir. I was merely refraining from injuring the scientist. I would hate to delay any of our advancements by taking one of these… genetic failures out of the rotation.”
The verbal swipe hit its mark, and Nuzal balled his fists and gritted his teeth against the urge to crack the male’s skull open against the wall. He knew Raou was pushing him, trying his best to get under his plates.
The male was deferring, trying to hide his own shame at being bested in front of their leader. Nuzal had spent countless lifetimes as a warrior, and this little scuffle had shown him that this body could respond just as easily as every other form he had taken.
“It is a shame this rebirth cycle saw you unfit for warrior training,” the Kaia said as he glanced toward Nuzal. “We lost a great male, a decorated and honored warrior. You could have taught this embarrassment a thing or two about a true warrior’s character.”
Raou bristled beside him, but Erusha, perhaps sensing the rising tension, spoke up. “If I might, Kaia.” He gestured toward the cell where the dark females sat huddled together in the back corner. “This one, with the long hair, is the human female I spoke of earlier.”
“The one bonded to the Venium?”
Erusha nodded. “Yes, sir. We will be drawing a lifeblood sample from her so we can start the process of isolating the gene that has allowed the bond to form.”
One of the lab assistants, a young male still in training, stepped forward with a tray. The Venium took one look at the instruments and threw himself against the forcefield, growling and snarling. His body shuddered as the electricity pulsed through him, and he stumbled backward, only to throw himself against it once more.
Had the injuries he received from the human weapons caused him to lose his mind? The shock wasn’t enough to kill him, but repeated exposure to it would eventually cause damage.
Like the Grutex, the Venium were equipped with translators as very young offspring, so while the male knew what they planned to do to his bonded female, the cell assured that he was helpless to stop them.
“Will this help us to breed them?” The Kaia’s eyes lit up in fascination as his gaze bounced between the angry male and the little human female.
“That is our hope,” Erusha told him. “At the very least, we should be able to isolate the breeding hormone. We’ve noted in the past that the Venium who have delayed their bonding have become irrational and restless. If we can pinpoint it, we may be able to weaponize it—increase it in those who have yet to mate and watch as their forces fall into unrest.”
“Seems like there will be no downside to this project then. I’m pleased, Erusha.”
Nuzal watched the male carefully, noting the strange way his eyes narrowed before he grinned.
“Yes, we are very eager to start.” He swept his hand out toward the long row of cells. “In the meantime, I’m sure you’d like to find a replacement for the human female we collected from you.”
The Kaia grunted as he turned his back on them.
“I looked forward to the report.” His voice boomed through the hall. “And I expect it to be on time… unlike the delivery of the female I’ve been waiting for. I don’t want to have to come down here again. And Erusha?” He looked back at them over his broad shoulders. “Don’t be afraid to use a little force if his female needs a little coaxing. Humans are weak creatures, easily manipulated by the suffering of others.”
“Of course, sir.” Erusha dipped his head as their leader turned his attention toward the cells.
Nuzal watched as the Venium stood from where he’d fallen, his legs and arms shaking from the current he was subjecting himself to. He didn’t want to have to injure the male, but he knew without a doubt that Erusha wouldn’t hesitate if the female put up a fight.
It seemed unfair to him. She had no idea what they wanted from her, and yet she was still expected to cooperate completely.
“Retrieve the female,” Erusha told Raou, waving his hand toward the cell as he motioned for the assistant to bring the tray.
“Gently,” Nuzal growled, hating the idea of the warrior being given permission to touch her. “We don’t want her damaged.”
He watched as the male input the code so he could pass through the forcefield.
“Against the back wall,” Raou hissed in the humans’ native tongue. “Don’t cause any trouble and you may come out of this alive.”
With a look Nuzal could only describe as pure and utter hatred, the females stayed where they were, their arms folded over their chests in defiance. The bonded human stepped in front of her companion, narrowing her dark eyes on the much larger warrior.
“Fuck off,” she spat. “We aren’t going anywhere with you.”
The Venium in the other cell threw his head back and laughed, finding his mate’s refusal amusing. If it weren’t for his concern over Raou’s reaction, Nuzal might have laughed as well. He made note of the interaction in his log as he stepped forward, hoping to calm her.
“Test Subject Z2062, we only need you for a moment.”
She spun toward him, dark brows drawing together as she sneered. For something so small, she was fierce.
Nuzal was rarely surprised by the things he experienced, but this little female intrigued him. So many of the humans they received were terrified, quivering messes, and for good reason. The Grutex as a whole were not a soft race.
This human, however, refused to cower or let herself be intimidated. She looked their warrior in the eye and defied him. She was brave… and incredibly stupid.
“My name is Jun, not Test Subject Z blah, blah, blah.”
He couldn't help the way his eyes lingered on her long dark hair, and he found himself wondering what it might feel like sliding between his fingers. It would be soft, he decided as he watched it fall over her shoulder. Not only did the humans come with a variety of skin colors, they also had different hair colors and textures.
He knew from previous experiments that the alterations they made could change these features. In a few of the subjects, the human hair had fallen out, replacing the strands with xine-like tendrils.
The thought that she might be changed in such a way repulsed him. Rage curled in his belly, lashing at his insides as he tried to beat back his reaction.
You can’t let them! They will change her! the voice inside his mind shouted. Not her. Not Jun. Her name echoed through his head. It was so soft. Nothing like the brutal, hard names they had been given.
“Jun,” he amended. “We just need samples of your lifeblood. If you cooperate, this can be over quickly.”
She looked at him for a moment, her eyes boring into his. “Wow.” She sighed softly. “I must look so stupid to you. Do you think I haven’t seen what the other humans who come from that lab of yours look like? I know a simple blood test isn’t all you have planned for me.”
Raou snarled, his hand shooting out to grasp her chin as he jerked her forward. “You,” he
whispered, nuzzling his face against her cheek, “are going to be my greatest conquest.” His black tongue slipped out to caress her skin, and she shuddered, visibly repulsed. “Our offspring will be the embodiment of perfection.”
Before Nuzal had a chance to react to the ridiculousness of the statement, Jun had reared back and brought her leg up, connecting with the plating between the male’s legs.
Unlike human males, the Grutex didn’t walk around with their genitals hanging out and vulnerable. The blow she delivered hadn’t hurt him, but the fact that she had dared to try seemed to anger Raou.
With little warning, the male lashed out. The back of his hand connected with her cheek, and the force of the blow sent her backward. She was sprawled on the floor at the feet of the other female, red lifeblood dripping from her mouth onto the metal beneath her.
Nuzal leaped forward, intending to shield the female, but to his utter amazement, Jun jumped up and launched herself at the warrior’s face with what could only be described as a battle cry.
Her fingers plucked at his eyes as the other female rushed to assist, grabbing the warrior’s arm and dropping to the floor to throw him off balance. At his back, the Venium was throwing himself against the barrier and roaring.
“I will not be your toy! I will die before I let you touch me!” she screamed, jabbing a finger into the lower right eye socket.
Guards rushed into the cell, tearing the females away and freeing Raou. The males, all trained warriors, eyed the two small humans warily as they retreated. Jun seemed proud of herself as she stood, breathing heavily as she looked them all up and down.
Her whole demeanor changed when the Kaia appeared in front of her cell. There was no missing the cruel intentions that swirled with his eyes as he stared her down.
“Whip the male,” he said in her tongue.
“If I could just be allowed to speak with her for a moment, I could get her to agree––” Nuzal began.
“I will see to it, sir,” Raou said, wiping the lifeblood from his injured eye as he stepped forward. “Let a warrior see to his punishment.”
The Kaia watched Nuzal’s face, and he prayed to every god in existence that his features didn’t give his anger away. While Nuzal could barely recall most of his earlier lives, many of the details of his warrior past seemed to haunt his dreams. He told himself he only imagined the red haze of rage and the uncontrollable urge to conquer… everything.
Had he really been like this once? Had he also been this eager and willing to inflict pain and suffering on others simply because he could? Nuzal wondered, as he watched the glee in Raou’s eyes, if the loss of so many memories was intentional. What more had he done that he couldn’t remember?
Perhaps this realization was something their leaders feared. Warriors who questioned leadership, who looked at the things they were told to do and decided it was wrong, were a danger to their authority. Was this the driving force behind the sudden interest in breeding new Grutex? What role did these rumored injections for the warriors play in it?
Raou pulled an electric whip from his belt as the guards reactivated the bindings and removed the forcefield. Nuzal wanted to turn away, but the Venium caught his gaze and held it, and something strange passed between them in that moment.
The first strike of the whip broke the dark skin on the male’s back, and Nuzal steeled himself as Raou readied for another blow. This was only one punishment that awaited him should the Kaia learn of his weakness toward the humans.
“Again!” the Kaia growled.
Jun gasped, stumbling forward as the whip lashed against the open wound. She slapped her hand over her mouth, muffling the scream.
“Brin! Brin…”
The tail of the whip tore the smooth skin, and tears fell down her cheeks as she reached out to him.
Brin. Was this the male’s name? No sound escaped him as Raou took his anger out on his body. He spoke cruel things, words meant to incite anger in the Venium, but Nuzal felt himself bristle with rage at them instead.
“I will take her from you, Venium. I will bind her in body and in mind.” The whip landed against him again and again. “I will breed her while you watch. I will break her until all she can do is beg for more.”
The red haze he experienced in his dreams slid down over his eyes, and he knew without the shadow of a doubt that he could kill this warrior. His hands itched to tear him limb from limb, to make him suffer as he watched the fear swim in his eyes as he faced his death.
The sight of Jun’s tears broke his heart, and her sobs echoed in his mind so strongly he wasn’t sure they would ever go away. Something moved within him, a force he’d never experienced before.
Nuzal would risk his life, and every life after this one, to protect her.
Chapter 15
Brin
Crack!
The sting of the electric whip cutting through his flesh made his stomach fly into his throat. The sounds and pain brought back those long-buried memories, and he swallowed down the bile and the guttural noises that threatened to spill from his mouth.
The only outward sign of the agony he was feeling was the flashing of his fushori as he struggled to remain in control. How many times had his father done this to him? How many times had he strapped his own pup down and whipped him until his lifeblood was dripping down his back so that he would be able to withstand the torture?
“You won’t be like him,” his father had whispered as he poured water over the wounds. “You’ll be better.”
The sound of Jun calling his name over and over reached him through the haze of his agony and he turned to see her on her knees, reaching for him, but stopping before the barrier of the forcefield.
He wanted to tell her everything was all right, that he would take this lashing and so many more if it meant they left her alone, but his jaw was clenched so tight he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to open it again. He didn’t want her to give in for him.
“Stop!” she cried, pounding her fists on the floor. “Enough!”
“No!” he ground out. “Don’t.”
The whip dug into his back and shoulders again, stealing his breath. Tiny pulses of electricity raced up his spine, making his muscles tense.
“I’ll do it! Leave him alone! I’ll give you the blood samples!”
No, no, no!
Darkness was creeping into his vision, blurring the edges. He fought against it, not wanting to lose sight of his mate; afraid of what they would do to her.
“Just let me help him, please. I’m a nurse. I’ll do whatever you need me to if I can just make sure he’s okay.”
Don’t trust them, Shayfia! You can’t trust them! He tried to tell her, but his tongue felt as if it were stuck to the top of his mouth, and his jaw was locked tight. His entire body throbbed with each labored breath he took, and his heart pounded within his chest as he listened to the heavy footsteps enter her cell.
He wished he had told her she was his mate before Oshen and Amanda left Earth. He wished to the goddess that he had begged her to leave with her friend, to come to Venora with him so that he could protect her from everyone who would want to destroy her.
Instead, he’d let his past poison his future, and now he was going to lose the only being in this galaxy that meant more to him than life itself.
Goddess, forgive my failure. Protect her.
Jun
Open wounds crisscrossed Brin’s back and shoulders. Jun struggled to draw air into her lungs as she watched him collapse against the hard, cold floor when they released his binds.
She wanted to break through the barrier and wrap him in her arms, to soothe his pain and let him know she wasn’t going to let him suffer alone, but the logical part of her knew these monsters would not allow that.
A hard, clawed hand grabbed her upper arm, yanking her to her feet and pulling her from the cell. She tripped, wincing as the hand tightened around her to keep her from falling.
“Wait! I said I’d go if I could help h
im!” she protested, trying and failing to dig her heels in. She was like a doll in this alien’s grasp.
“He will live. You may see to him after the tests,” someone told her, but she couldn’t twist herself around to see who was speaking.
Had she really expected them to let her go in right away? No, but that didn’t make the ache in her chest hurt any less. Everything inside of her called for him, screamed with the need to put her hands on him so that she knew he was all right. She caught a glimpse of him as she was pulled away, and the soft glow of his fushori eased some of her worry.
If she just cooperated and let them get their samples, she could return to Brin. The sooner, the better.
Jun tried to run alongside the Grutex who held her, but she simply couldn’t keep up with the long strides, and ended up being half-dragged, half-carried down the hall.
Everything here looked the same, and she doubted she would be able to remember the route in the event they actually succeeded in escaping from the cells.
They passed through a set of doors into a brightly lit room. There was a metal table against the far wall, and in the middle was a white recliner, similar to the chairs you sat in at the doctor’s office during a blood draw.
Guess some things are oddly universal.
Jun’s heart was hammering in her chest, like the frantic fluttering of a caged bird as it struggles to break free. She tried her best to push back her anxiety, but the moment she was placed in the chair and felt the pressure of the invisible bonds clamp down on her wrists, Jun began to panic.
All she had to go off of was their word that this was all they wanted from her. She was helpless to stop them from doing anything they pleased, but Brin’s life depended on her continued cooperation.
There were machines against every wall, and it made her wonder exactly how far behind the Grutex the humans were when it came to their technology.
“Out,” the Grutex who had attempted to speak calmly to her demanded. “I don’t need the assistance of five males to draw lifeblood from the female.” When Raou lingered in the doorway, the male growled low in his chest. “That includes you, warrior.”
