by Aubrey Cara
Kein’s arm is outstretched, and I see another blast, like an energy wave, leave his hand.
We enter the clearing just as the ground begins to shake. The gremlin’s angry grunts become squeals of distress as they scatter.
A piercing whistle splits the air. Everything slows down. An explosions blast in front of us. A fireball of destruction. The earth shakes. Kein throws me to the ground, and covers me with his body. Heat sweeps over us in a tidal wave of fury. I’m mostly covered, but it singes my toes. My calves. Ringing screams in my ears, muting all sound. Everything is distorted. Blurred.
Part of our shuttle drops in front of us, creaking as it rocks in place. The rest of the smoldering remains lie in fragmented shards all across the clearing.
A furry blue gremlin runs towards us, now in terror instead of malevolence. Two feet from us, he’s flung back, flying through the air like hit by an invisible force.
Kein’s body is getting heavy on mine. It’s hard to breathe. I press on his shoulder. “Kein?” There is no answer. Not even a twitch. It’s hard to shift around, but I manage to wedge my shoulder up under his chest enough to see his face.
His body is still tensed, but his face is slack, eyes closed. Panicked now I wheeze for breath. I refuse to believe he’s dead. He cannot be dead. “Kein?!” I try to reach up to slap his face, by my arms are trapped under his heavy weight. “Oh god, Kein please wake up. Please.”
A sleek small shuttle lands behind the remains of ours and my heart speeds triple time.
Cal? Oh god, please let it be him. “Cal, we’re over here!” I call, but the sound bounces back at me like we’re in an invisible bubble.
The front of the craft opens like a pod. At first all I see is black boots. Black pants. Relief courses through me, and tears fill my eyes. It is Cal.
But then the man comes into view. He’s a Monrok, but not Cal. His blond Mohawk and tattoos are all too familiar. He’s the man who was pissed at Cal for refusing to share me. He stalks towards us, and I doubt he’s here for some kind of rescue.
He stops just feet from us his hand on his hips. Dropping to his haunches, he tilts his head and our gazes meet. His crystal-blue eyes, so much like Kein and Cal’s, sparkle with sadistic glee. It’s like the bastard’s spotted the prize at the bottom of the cereal box.
I grip tightly onto Kein’s chest, trying to shrink under him. Willing him to wake up. Praying the force field thing surrounding us doesn’t disappear.
A twisted smile curls his lips. Terror clenches my throat tight. He stands, backing up a few paces. I watch, on edge and confused. He raises his hand, palm out, and I brace myself. Even braced, I scream when a loud blast buffets our shield. The sound echoes around us in ripples, like we’re in a tunnel.
He blasts us again, and I curl myself farther under Kein, my only protection.
Something skitters over my leg, and I jerk, wanting to shake it off, but get pricked by a stinging sensation like I’ve been bitten. Head turned, I can see the iridescent shine of beetle-like bugs. The more I move, the more prickles flit over my legs, arms, abs.
They’re all over me, their creepy little legs scratching over my skin. Moving up and over my neck and face. Pinned under Kein, I can’t push them off. I can’t even open my mouth to scream.
Tears streaming from my eyes, I shake with horrified sobs.
Please wake up, Kein. Please wake up.
Chapter Nine
CAL
She is projecting again. And in danger. The first image in my mind was a blurred vision of Kein. I thought I was hallucinating. I did not know what was happening. Once I received snippets of emotions with the fragmented projections, I knew they were from her. Our mate.
I speed over Yhasphr, the mad rush of colors a blur beneath me. Something must have happened for them to end up here. And I know they are here, somewhere. The images have been getting clearer. The closer I get, the more they come to me. Her emotions. Her distress.
Going on instinct, I circle around towards a mountain range. I call out to Kein but get nothing in reply. Having our connection severed has been a hollow ache I never want to experience again.
Nor do I ever want to experience his feeling of betrayal and doubt ever again. He did not anticipate my need to stay and fight Kaihan, and knew I may not survive. I had expected his anger, but not the sense of abandonment that washed over me. I used his misery to fuel my rage. We had many Zapex on board, but their greatest powers lie not in their bodies. Monrok were built to fight. To survive. We are the Zapex’s greatest weapons and their best defense. It proved to be their fatal downfall.
Kaihan was not a fighter, he was more scientist, but his brother Keel is said to be a warrior. A true believer of the old ways when Zapex warred against the Ko’sars. It’s well known he despises us Monrok, his brother’s creation.
I am sure we will all be made to pay for his brother’s destruction. As will all humankind.
Their father, the king, supported our creation, and has a strange fascination with humans. Though he is entering his ancient years, he may see to our extinction himself, and a mindlessly obedient new line of defense put in our place.
No matter our fates, Kein was right. It is better to die fighting than serving the Zapex.
The remains of a Zapex shuttle come up on my sensors before I see them. And one life form. That does not mean Kein is not there. Monrok have no thermal reading.
I nose my craft down, skimming over treetops. Allyson’s screaming pleas are sharp and vivid, ringing in my mind. Her stark terror eats at me. Rips open my chest and tears out my still-beating heart. I would rather know a lifetime of agony with the Zapex than have her suffering. She is both my weakness and my strength.
Spotting the smoldering remains of a shuttle and three lifeforms, I circle back around, my internal sensor assessing the situation. Schematics show me Kein’s full shield is up, his mortality state critical. I do not need my sensors to tell me who stands over him, blasting at his shield. Trying to get to our mate.
Teik.
Fury burns through me like a living thing.
The duplicitous imbecile must have followed them. The majority of the Monrok onboard had stayed to fight. Though he had no female, the self-serving aheh ran. Now I see he had his own duplicity in mind.
Taking aim, I fire a missile. Teik’s shield is up, so it does not kill him, but it is no less satisfying to see him blasted away from Kein. He sends a blast back at my ship, and I scoff. His shield will not last long against my vessel’s weapons. We both know this. He now fights for his life. But his life was over the moment he tried to destroy my brother and take what belongs to us.
With a press of my thumb, rapid-fire lasers rain down on him. I can see his shield losing power. He was toying with my brother, blasting away at him. Trying to get to our female. My attack will not be drawn out.
I aim my cannon and press.
The boom rocks the land and blows the trees back. Only spatters of Teik remain
Landing, I have the hatch open. I waste no time in running over to my brother and Allyson. Her terror it mingles with my own. Kein’s life force is slipping away. I merely have to touch his shield, and it drops. His vest is singed at his back. I curse. Teik must have caught him unaware.
I scoop my brother’s limp form up in my arms. Allyson blindly scrambles back.
“Be still,” It is I, Cal, I then say in her mind, wondering if she has been damaged and cannot see or hear.
Comprehension and disbelief blossom over her face. Then she covers her mouth on a sob of relief. “Cal?”
“Come, we must go.”
Shakily, she scrambles up from the ground, weaving where she stands. I move my brother over my shoulder to wrap a steadying arm around her. She clings to me as we trot back to the shuttle.
Once on board, I quickly close the hatch pulling out a medical pad and scanner. I strip Kein of his vest and shirt, lying him down.
The scanner I run over him shows he has head trauma but no i
nternal hemorrhaging, nor does he show outward signs of exsanguination. Auscultation shows his weakening heartbeat and compromised respiratory system.
“Is he going to be alright?” Allyson is clutching Kein’s hand. I have to block out all the unraveling emotions pouring off her.
“There is something wrong with his cybernetics,” I say, flipping him onto his stomach. “They should be helping to restore him.”
His system analysis is not coming up on the scanner. Meaning his signal processor and integrated circuit are down, transferring all his functionality to his human receptors.
Clearing my mind, I link to the shuttle. I set it to stealth mode and activate our shields in case anyone else thinks to look for us here.
Carefully, I pull away the charred remains of his vest and shirt. I laser cut along Kein’s spine with a steady hand. Allyson makes a sound of distress and gasps as I pull back his skin revealing a tangle of whisper-thin veins. His cybernetics should be glowing blue but show a steely grey instead.
Hooking up to a respirator, I begin work on repairing and decompressing his crushed inner workings. Allyson weaves on her feet and I nod in the direction of the mat. “Take your rest. You are going into shock.”
Trembling she lies down, curling into a ball on her side. My instincts call to comfort her and see to her care, but I ignore them to focus on Kein. All I can do for her is raise the temperature of the mat and shuttle. In moments, she is in a deep sleep.
Night falls long in the sky before his cybernetics pick up a faint glow, his life force awakening. Growing. Relief twists sickly through me, carrying the worry I had not allowed myself to experience while operating. I burn his skin shut then search through my supplies for an IV. All I have on hand are nutrient shots. I compress one on his arm and stand hovering over him. His skin is still pallid, but there is nothing else I can do.
When I move to rest next to Allyson, I notice her injuries. Blood and soot cover her legs. I take out a sterilizing cloth and begin wiping her down. She has scratches up and down her arms and legs. Bruises everywhere, and some nasty teeth marks.
Picking up the scanner, I run it over her, hoping she does not have any diseases. She stirs in her sleep and pushes the scanner away, but I already have the readout. She is well, as is the life still growing inside her.
She blinks up at me then her gaze is pulled to the medical pad. “Kein?”
“He lives.” And, for the moment, all is well. I stretch out next to her, and she immediately curls into me.
“We were worried about you…I was worried about you.” A conglomeration of frayed emotions, some I do not fully recognize, radiate from her. Her arms tighten around me, and I realize she is crying.
Sadness. Relief. Gratitude. Worry. They mix together, an odd combination. I know not why this should bring her to tears.
Tilting up her chin, I wipe her wet cheek with my thumb. “Why are you doing this?” I hold my wet thumb up for her inspection. “We are safe now.”
“Are we?” she asks in a small voice.
The question is valid, but one I do not care to answer. Our safety is a fleeting commodity of the moment. I do not want to tell her we are safe, because that can change in an instant. We will be hunted. Our lives, our children’s lives, could be torn from us.
Turning onto my side, I rest my forehead against hers, pulling her form closer to mine.
A strange emotion rolls off her and confuses me. For a moment, I do not know what the comforting sweet sensation is. Affection. Could she be feeling it for me?
She cups my cheek and the sensation is even stronger.
“You saved us,” she says, stroking her soft fingertips over my jaw, nose, and lips.
Kein has always been the other half of me. Without him, I would cease to exist, but I realized when I sent them away she is a part of me, too. One it would destroy me to lose. “You both are my life.”
Her pulse quickens at my words, and I place my hand over her heart. I can feel it beating. Her scent fills my head and I know she is aroused. Was it brought on by our close proximity or my words?
She pulls my face down. Her lips meet mine in a gentle caress. And then another, more sure kiss. Her taste, her sumptuous form, her warmth and affection careen through me, stirring my cock to aching.
She eases her thigh over my hip, moving closer to me. I push her onto her back, covering her. She grinds her hot cunt on my stomach. I pull back just to tear my shirt over my head. I want her wetness on my skin. I want her to rub her cunt all over me.
I slide down her body, but she stops me. “Cal, no. What about Kein?”
“He is too weak yet to join us.” I bite and suck at her peaks, reveling in every hitched breath and throaty whimper I draw from her.
“Cal, no,” she breaths yanking at my hair.
Pushing up, I hover over her, growling in her face like the animal Zapex would have me be. That’s how she makes me feel. Her breaths are warm puffs against my lips. She tries to shrink back, frightened, but the scent of her new arousal gives her away.
She enjoys my visceral display.
“You do not get to tell me no, my little mate.” I reach down between our bodies, rubbing her lubricant along her folds, and watch as her eyelids droop. “You do not get to tell me no after teasing me for days.”
Her brow pulls into a frown. “I did not.” She gasps as I push two fingers into her tight heat.
“You have been projecting for cycles. I was alone in this shuttle when you started sending me your emotions.” I circle her clit with my thumb. “I felt every time your little body quaked in orgasm for my brother.”
“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know,” she pants, her body drawing tight.
“Your projections were so clear, I could practically smell you. Taste you.”
“Please, Cal.” She strains against me, yearning for more, and I ease back.
“Are you going to quake for me, little one? Will you make up for the cycles I endured my hand while I heard you cry your pleasures in my mind?”
“Yess, please.”
“Good,” I breathe the word at her lips as I leave her wanting.
Her eyes widen in alarm as I push back. “N-n-n-no.” A shiver of need goes through her at being denied completion.
My lips pull up in a grin against her belly. “That is a start.” When I get to her apex, I breathe in her musky sweet scent until she’s squirming, tilting her hips at me in invitation.
“Please, Cal.”
Her pouty sex begs for attention. I give in gladly, feasting on her core, coating my tongue with her taste. She pulls my hair, riding my face, and I growl into her sex, lapping up the hot rush of warmth she spills.
Her legs begin to quiver, and I smile against her sex. “Almost.”
I kiss my way up her body. She cups my face and groans into my mouth. I slide my tongue deep, letting her taste herself on me.
Not breaking away, I reach up and over to the paneled wall and pull out the electromagnetic restraints.
I have one of her hands down, her wrist fastened to her knee before she realizes my intentions.
Pouting, she pulls in frustration, but new arousal leaks from her cunt.
“Cal, let me go.”
“You are in no position to make demands of me, my Allyson.” I spread her knees wide and skim a hand down her thigh.
She trembles. She is so beautiful like this. Flushed, her breasts and sex swollen and needy.
My lifebringer pulses for attention. I give it a hard squeeze, tamping down my urges. I will not take her until her need for me to fill her is almost painful.
Until she is mindless with want.
Tugging her by the waist, I gently turn her over onto her knees. With her wrists secured to her legs, her ass is tilted up in becoming display.
“Cal?”
“Do you want me to let you go now?” Not that I will release her. I enjoy this play that seems to stimulate her so effectively.
Closing her eyes tight, she s
hakes her head. She clenches her fingers nervously, and bites her lip, but remains silent.
“Not going to answer?” I trail my hands up her flanks, grabbing her lush ass. “Do you anticipate what is to come with favor, little mate?” I ask, cracking down on her fleshy globe. She gasps, her feet kicking up. Her little toes curl.
My palm tingles, and my handprint is boldly outlined on her upturned cheek. Primitive satisfaction swells my chest at the sight of my mark. I strike down on the other side in a loud crack.
Silky nectar leaks out and over her clit. She whimpers, her muscles clenching and relaxing.
“Do you enjoy being branded by my hand?” I give her rump a warning smack. “Answer me, Allyson.”
“Y-yes.” Her eyes are luminous with need.
“What is your name?” Crack. “Who do you belong to?”
My hand is poised in the air as I await her replay.
She swallows heavily. “I-I’m Al-Allyson of Cal and Kein.” Her voice goes soft as she peers back at me. “I belong to you.” Tears leak from her eyes, but I do not scent distress. Only submission.
It is a potent sensation, her surrender. It courses through my being as I smack down in quick bursts, until her ass glows red and radiates heat and her panting breath turns to moans and cries.
Standing, I quickly strip my pants and boots, my cock already leaking.
Her thighs quiver as I paint her slit with her nectar. Her core is hot and slick and just where I ache to be.
I grab her hips. “Now I will fuck you.”
Leaning over her, I hold my cock as I push between her folds. She whimpers and squirms as her slick heat gives way, stretching around me until I am flush against her.
“Now I will make you quake,” I say roughly at her ear. I hold myself, throbbing inside her softness, aching to move. “I will never let you go.” My fingers dig into the flesh of her ass, holding her in place as I thrust into her cunt hard. “Never ask me to let you go.”
Her internal muscles clench as she tries to grind against me, but I don’t let her move. “Please, Cal. Please.”