“You can’t help the way you feel. I only ask that you talk to me when something upsets you, especially if it’s something I’ve said or done. Hurting you is the last thing I’d ever want to do.”
“I love you, K-Tan.”
“I love you too, my precious mate.”
Chapter Six
K-Tan
Getting my mate on board the Provo-6 hadn’t been as easy as I’d hoped. Since she’d never left the surface of X-2, she’d had a mild panic attack when I’d led her to the skiff. It was more than large enough for two people. There were two sleeping chambers on board, a small galley, command center, cargo hold and air lock, as well as a med bay that contained one med pod and the basics needed for an emergency situation.
We would be comfortable on board for the short journey to Elora, but my sweet Marcy had taken one look at the vessel and started breathing so rapidly she’d nearly passed out. I didn’t think it was so much the idea of being on the vessel, but more the thought of leaving the planet’s surface. She’d done well enough on board the larger ship, but it had been grounded the entire time.
K-Vik had given her an injection that calmed her immediately, and had the unfortunate side effect of putting my mate to sleep. I’d placed her in the sleeping chamber nearest the command center, ensured J-Ril had everything he needed to complete the mission to save the Human females, and then I’d entered the coordinates for Elora.
The skiff would mostly steer itself once a destination was programmed into the system, but if we entered an asteroid field or neared a black hole, I might have to take over for a short while. The vessel was lightweight compared to my larger ship and I couldn’t be certain if it would stay on course in such an event.
Mostly, I would get to spend time with my mate. I couldn’t think of anything I’d like more, other than showing her my home world and our home. Even though I hadn’t been certain I would locate a mate for myself, I still had nice living quarters. I’d wanted to ensure if I ever did meet my mate, that I would have everything she would need. I hadn’t counted on mating a female who knew nothing of my world, or technology. Even though the other viable females weren’t necessarily near my home world, they at least knew of it. Being such a primitive race, my Human mate was at a disadvantage. It would be an adjustment for her, but I hoped that Marcy would come to love Elora as much as I did.
After the skiff had lifted from X-2 and we’d broken through the atmosphere, I left the command center to check on my Marcy. She still lay in the center of the bed where I’d left her, sleeping peacefully. K-Vik had done one more scan in the pod before letting us leave. The fetuses were doing well, even though he said they were extremely small this early into her pregnancy.
The pod readout said that Marcy was strong, but a little low on vitamins and nutrients. He’d given her some injections to help keep her body robust until we could reach Elora. She’d see the grand physician when we reached my home world, as well as meet the elders and various other important people.
There might be five leaders on my planet, but there were also only four Elite Commanders. I hadn’t told Marcy, for fear she wouldn’t handle it well. While I hadn’t kept it a secret that I was in charge on board my vessel and the males answered to me, she hadn’t understood the extent of my ranking.
I knew the men in power at the settlement had abused her, and I never wanted her to group me in with them. If she knew I was a high-ranking male on my planet, it might cause her stress, and that was the last thing she needed right now.
K-Vik had told me to keep her as calm as possible, and give her anything she asked for, within reason. I’d brought my communicator, not only to keep in touch with the males left behind on X-2, but to have contact with the leaders on Elora as well. It had also occurred to me that my Human might enjoy seeing other planets on the device, much as she’d watched Earth rotate on the screen. There was a vast amount of space out there, and she hadn’t seen any of it. I wanted to rectify that, but safely.
I removed my boots and got on the bed, pulling her close against my chest. She murmured something and snuggled closer, her hand fisting my hair, almost as if she were afraid to let go. I loved it when she curled against me like this, so trusting. I knew it wasn’t easy for her, letting a male into her bed and into her heart. I would be grateful every day for the rest of my life that she was mine. I now had something only the elder generation of Elorians had ever known. Love. A mate. And a chance at a family.
“I will protect you with my life,” I whispered against her temple.
“I don’t know who you are, or what you are, but that’s my woman,” said a male voice from the doorway.
I tensed and looked over at four Human males. I didn’t know how they’d managed to get on board undetected, or where they’d managed to hide. The skiff was plenty big enough for two people, but it wasn’t overly spacious. The cargo area perhaps? They had primitive weapons in their hands, but it didn’t make them any less deadly. It wouldn’t be wise to underestimate them. Just because they hadn’t had the intense training an Elorian warrior underwent didn’t mean they would go down easy.
“Marcy isn’t yours. She was never yours,” I said, extricating myself from my sleeping mate. I rose to my full height, towering over the puny Humans.
I didn’t have a weapon on me since I’d thought I was alone with Marcy on board the skiff. I wouldn’t make that mistake again in the future. But first, I had to find a way to draw them away from my mate. I wouldn’t risk her or our children, no matter how badly I wanted to teach the males a lesson, right before I killed them.
“That girl has the sweetest pussy,” the larger male said, licking his lips. “Isn’t that right?”
His companions snickered and nodded their agreement. My hands fisted at my sides as it became clear these four had abused my female in the worst way, and seemed to have found pleasure in it. No amount of torture would ever be enough to repay them. I wanted them to suffer greatly, for a long time. Wanted them to lose all hope before I finally allowed them to perish. And yet, I didn’t want them on board the skiff with my mate.
I held still, watching their movements. When the larger one came closer, his gaze on my Marcy, I gave a low growl in warning. He leered at her and grabbed his crotch. To my horror, he was getting hard just looking at her.
“Can’t wait to have another taste,” he said. “I’m going to fuck her so good she won’t be able to walk for days. And when I’m done, these guys will get a turn. Yeah, we’re going to keep little Marcy extra busy. She always was real nice. That virgin pussy of hers had been a treat, even if she hadn’t been as young as I’d have liked.”
One of the men nudged him. “Bruce, that bed looks awful nice. Maybe we can use it when we have our fun with her. Lots of space in this room too. Maybe we can get creative.”
The one called Bruce laughed, and he looked away just long enough for me to make a move. I lunged for the blades I’d placed on the table in the corner, then launched an attack. I hated starting a fight with my mate nearby, but I wasn’t about to let them harm her ever again.
I embedded the blades deep into the gut of the one closest to me, his screams giving me a moment of satisfaction. I jerked them free and went after another Human. The one called Bruce shot at me, but I moved quick enough the blasts went wide. I attacked the nearest male while trying to keep the others away from Marcy, especially the big one.
I heard my mate scream and I realized she’d woken. I wanted to soothe her, to assure her that all would be well, but first I had to take care of the monsters who had hidden on board. They were weak-willed, lacked honor, and I would make sure they all died before they ever laid another hand on my mate.
The large one managed to get off another shot with the old blaster in his hand. It burned into my side and made me hiss in pain, but I kept going. I couldn’t fall, or my mate would suffer horribly.
I attacked again, but Bruce shot the blaster once more. I was slowing enough I couldn’t dodge the shot. Pa
in blazed through my shoulder and down my arm. My grip loosened on the blade in that hand, and it clattered to the floor. I could feel the blood soaking into my shirt from both wounds.
Marcy was sobbing and screaming, begging them to stop, to not hurt me. My heart ached that she was trying to protect me. It was my job to ensure her safety, and I’d failed. I should have scoured the skiff, made sure that there weren’t any surprises waiting. I’d failed. I’d gotten cocky, thinking the Humans weren’t a threat against our technology. I’d been incorrect, and now Marcy would suffer for my arrogance.
While Bruce shot at me a third time, and thankfully missed, I heard my mate scream again, this one different from the others. I looked her way and saw one of the males had slipped past me and had her pinned to the bed, his hand gripping her hair.
It felt like fire was flickering through me, from deep inside, as I saw him hit my sweet mate across her delicate face. A roar poured from my throat and rage blinded me as I attacked the remaining males, not even feeling any more hits from their weapons, decimating them with my remaining weapon, until only the one holding Marcy remained.
I snarled as I approached and saw a wet spot appear on the front of his pants. Even though his hand trembled, he hadn’t released my female. The dark spot spreading across her cheek made me flash my fangs at him. Marcy whimpered and tears tracked down her cheeks, her gaze locked on me. I had to focus on the male holding her, or risk her coming to even greater harm.
“Release my mate,” I demanded.
“I -- if you promise to let me go, I -- I’ll…”
I roared again and launched myself at him. He gave a squeak like a small animal and scrambled away from Marcy. I stalked closer, then reached out with one hand and wrapped my fingers around his throat. I gave it a squeeze and lifted him from the floor, his feet dangling.
I dropped my weapon, no longer needing it. He kicked at the air as his skin turned purple, but I didn’t care. Let him suffer. I stalked through the skiff and stopped at the airlock. I tossed him inside, let the door shut, then opened the outer doors on the skiff. He screamed as he was sucked out into space and I gave a smirk of satisfaction as I watched the life drain from his useless body.
Before I could comfort my mate, I retrieved the dead bodies and tossed them out as well.
When I entered our sleeping chambers again, Marcy was sobbing and paler than usual. She ran to me, then skidded to a halt as she stared at my torso and shoulder. Her fingers shook as she reached out and gently removed my shirt. The blaster had not only scorched my skin, but it had taken out a chunk of my side, put a deep hole in my shoulder, and the third shot had hit my chest but missed my hearts by a small margin.
As I stared down at the damage and saw the fear in my mate’s eyes, I knew I would have to tell her how to use the pod so it could heal me. My wounds were too severe for me to make it to Elora in my current condition.
“Med bay,” I said.
She nodded and followed, carefully taking my hand. I entered the med bay and showed her which sequence of buttons to press before I climbed into the pod. Her fearful gaze met mine and I reached up to stroke her cheek.
“I’ll be fine, my sweet female. It will take a few cycles for my body to completely heal. Don’t be scared. If you’re hungry or thirsty, enter the galley. You’ll see a panel of buttons. Press the blue button twice and the red once, and a drink will dispense. For food, use any combination of the other buttons, at least four of them, and you’ll receive food. Experiment until you find something you like.”
“You promise you’ll be all right?” she asked, her voice catching as a tear slid down her battered cheek.
“You should heal first,” I said, starting to climb out of the med pod, but she stopped me.
“I’m fine. It’s just a bruise, K-Tan. I’ve had far worse in my life. Just… get better and come back to me. I can’t do this on my own.”
I tugged her down for a soft kiss, then I lay back in the pod. The lid shut and Marcy pressed the buttons just like I’d instructed.
It wasn’t long before the pod put me to sleep so it could heal my body, but the last sight I had was of my mate, leaning over the pod, looking scared and vulnerable. I wanted to hold her, kiss her, and tell her it would all be fine. Even as I drifted into sleep, I worried that she wouldn’t be all right on her own.
Chapter Seven
Marcy
K-Tan had been inside the med pod for three cycles, and it seemed like it was taking forever to heal him. I’d managed to figure out how keep myself from starving, even if the food did taste strange.
Whatever combinations I was pushing were different from what K-Tan had pressed, and the food was different from what he’d fed me previously. I had nothing to do except clean our bedroom and stare at the pod where my mate lay sleeping. I had gone into the command center once, but the sight of all that space stretching out before me had been a bit unsettling.
I spent most of my time staring at the pod, hoping it would open and K-Tan would be fine. It still scared me that he could die and I’d be left alone, having no way to control the skiff, and not knowing anyone on Elora.
I was eating the strange purple goo that had come out of the dispenser, which didn’t taste nearly as bad as it looked, when I heard booted steps coming toward me. I tensed and turned toward the doorway.
K-Tan stepped inside the galley and I let out a cry of relief as I ran toward him. I hesitated a moment, my gaze scanning him, and I noticed he looked completely healed. Throwing my arms around him, I held him tight and buried my face against his chest, just breathing him in.
“I was so scared,” I admitted.
“I’m fine, my sweet female. The blasters were old and not nearly as dangerous as the newer ones. They weren’t enough to take me down. If I had the hide of a Dryker, then it wouldn’t have penetrated at all.”
“Dryker?” I asked.
He waved a hand, clearly not ready to explain another alien race just yet. Tears blurred my vision as I clung to him. I felt his hand slide up and down my back before his fingers gripped my hair and pulled my face to look up at him.
“I’m sorry you had to see me kill those males,” he said. “I failed in protecting you, and if you would prefer another mate when we reach Elora, I would understand. It’s never been done before, but perhaps the elders would make an exception. I love you, Marcy, but I wasn’t diligent in keeping you safe. I should have checked the skiff before bringing you on board. I was arrogant and so sure the Human males were inferior, that I didn’t adequately protect you against them.”
“K-Tan, those men were evil, have always been evil. You couldn’t have known they would sneak on board, or that they even knew you were on X-2. I hadn’t realized your ship had landed near the settlement. I hadn’t heard so much as a murmur from anyone about it. What happened isn’t your fault, and you did protect me. You nearly died trying to keep them from taking me.”
“We weren’t near the settlement. Not close enough they should have been able to reach our ship undetected, much less get on board. We’d also cloaked our vessel when we landed, but it seems they found us anyway. With the skiff kept in the bowels of the ship, I’d thought it was safe. Perhaps they hid there, waiting for a chance to strike. I’m not certain if they knew you were on board the skiff, or it was a coincidence.”
He reached out and touched my cheek. I knew it had started to change color, but it didn’t hurt as much anymore, which meant it was mostly healed. I covered his hand with mine and smiled up at him.
For such a giant guy, and one who seemed to know more than a little about fighting, he was so gentle with me. It hadn’t occurred to me that he might lose the battle with the four men, until he’d been shot repeatedly. I’d never been so scared as I was in that moment, but I hadn’t been worried about me at the time.
I’d feared for K-Tan, and knew that if he died, a part of me would die also. Had it not been for the babies I carried, I wouldn’t have cared what happened to me if tho
se men had managed to kill my mate.
“I would have done anything to keep you safe,” he said. “If I didn’t think I could win the battle with them, I’d have done whatever they asked in order to spare you.”
“I wouldn’t have let you,” I said.
He smiled a little then pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Who said I would have asked your permission?”
“You’re really fully healed?” I asked.
“Yes, which means I want you to lie in the med pod and let it scan you. I know that you don’t like them, but I won’t rest easy until I’m certain you’re healthy and so are our babies.”
I sighed and let him lead me to the med bay. When I approached the pod, I stiffened and felt my heart rate pick up. I really was terrified of the stupid thing and I didn’t understand why. It hadn’t hurt me, but I when I was inside it, I felt like I was going to suffocate, like the walls of the pod were closing in on me.
I’d tried not to let my fear show the last time, but my nerves were still raw from K-Tan being wounded. I knew if it could hold K-Tan’s large frame that it wasn’t anywhere near as small as it felt, but that didn’t stop my irrational fear of getting inside of it. I’d only felt that way once before.
The first time I’d disobeyed Bruce, he’d locked me in a small, dark hole in the ground. It was only used for discipline and it smelled horrible, but that wasn’t what had terrified me. It was not being able to see anything, and realizing the walls were barely far enough apart for someone the size of Bruce to lie on the floor between them.
Fear had clawed at my throat and made me tremble while I’d been locked in there, and to make matters worse, Bruce’s friends had whispered to me through the wooden door, letting me know what would be in store for me when I was released. Ever since then, I’d avoided small spaces.
“Easy, love,” he crooned in my ear. “Nothing will happen to you. A quick scan is all I’m asking.”
Loved by the Elite Commander Page 7