by Regine Abel
When our pulses settled down a bit, he pulled out of me and gave us another quick rinse before drying us off. I was floored to find him still hard as he removed my shower cap then carried me to bed.
As soon as he laid down next to me, I climbed on top of him and peppered his face with kisses. His fingers slipped into my hair as he gave himself over to me. I explored his sculpted body with my hands and mouth; the broad shoulders and hard bone spikes, the ropy muscles of his arms, the hard yet smooth texture of the scales on his chest, and his chiseled abs. Legion tensed, the muscles of his abdomen contracting as I licked and kissed my way past his navel to his groin.
The subtle scent of cinnamon that always swirled around him whenever he was excited grew stronger. Wrapping my fingers around his length, I brought it to my mouth and circled the silky head with my tongue. Legion’s body shuddered, and a throaty moan rose from him. My moan echoed his when the taste of cinnamon bun exploded on my taste buds. I drew him into my mouth, savoring him.
“Yes! Yes, my mate!” Legion hissed, his grip tightening in my hair, enough to give it a nice sting but not true pain.
I bobbed over him, one hand stroking the base of his shaft at the same time. Looking up, the sight of him leaning on his elbow, watching me, his face contorted with pleasure, had me soaking wet again. I slipped my hand between my thighs, rubbing myself to appease some of the needy ache while working him over with greater speed. When I took him all the way to the back of my throat and hummed, Legion roared and this time forced me off him.
Before I knew what hit me, he had me lying on my back and had buried himself to the hilt. I cried out at the sudden fullness and he swallowed my scream in a passionate kiss. Legion took me hard and fast. Instead of mercy, I begged for more.
“Yes! Harder! Harder! Like that! Right there!”
Legion growled in response and pounded into me so hard I thought my spine would break, and yet I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“Legion…”
It was my first time initiating the mind-meld. I couldn’t seem to get close enough to him. Even now, I needed more. When his mind touched mine, a wave of pleasure too intense to put into words swept through me. Although sensual, it wasn’t sexual in nature. Peace, joy, love, and hope all blended together.
“Let me in, my mate.”
Every single time Legion had made that request over the past month, a wall had systematically erected itself between us. Not this time. Like a flower under the rays of the sun, the gold sphere shielding the innermost part of myself unfolded its petals, giving him full access. The world fell around me as a blinding light exploded deep within. Just like our bodies, our souls danced together as one. I was Legion and he was me, no beginning, no end, just us.
“Bond with me.”
“Yes.”
As my body crested towards another climax, Legion’s essence filled every fiber of my being. He was in my veins, in my bones, down to the fine hairs on my arms. My own senses spread through him, allowing me to feel the strain in his arms holding me, the shift of the scales on his back as I clawed at them in the throes of passion, and the thunderous beating of his hearts.
The sharp sting of his double fangs sinking into the tender flesh of my shoulder, right above my collar bone, sent me over the edge. I screamed as pure bliss spread like wildfire through my veins. Legion roared, his seed shooting out in a burning flow against my battered insides, but he didn’t stop. An odd fire raged inside me, spreading outward. Twice more he orgasmed, his seed searing me from the inside out with the most exquisite pain.
By the time he rolled us over and retreated from my mind, I was a total wreck both physically and mentally. I’d never been so savagely and thoroughly taken by anyone, and it had been glorious.
“I am yours Ayana, until my last breath,” Legion whispered against my hair.
“And I, yours,” I slurred against his chest before sleep claimed me.
* * *
I woke up tangled in Legion’s dark grey comforter, and clutching a pillow in my arms. An odd sound behind me drew my attention. Rolling over to investigate, I cracked my eyes open and found my very sexy, bare chested man laying down breakfast on the work table on the left side of the room. He looked at me over his shoulder. The tenderness in his eyes had my stomach in knots and my skin tingling.
Untangling myself from the blanket, I winced my way into sitting at the edge of the bed. As delicious as my mate looked right now—and all the time—there would be no playing naughty this morning. After last night’s excesses, I probably wouldn’t be able to walk for a week. Legion looked both amused and guilty at my discomfort.
He crouched in front of me, his hands resting on the back of my calves. “Sore?” he asked in a commiserating tone.
“Beyond sore,” I whimpered.
“Sorry?”
I chuckled. “Don’t be. I asked for it, and I have no regrets.” Leaning forward, I rubbed my nose against his before softly kissing his lips.
“My beautiful mate,” he whispered as we rested our foreheads against each other’s.
We savored the moment for a short while, then Legion straightened, his gaze dropping to my right shoulder. With two fingers, he brushed over the scar of the mating bite he’d given me. It wasn’t painful but still felt raw. The rejuvenating essence he’d injected me with as part of our bonding accelerated the scarification. Hopefully, it would take care of my soreness as well.
“So we’re bond-mated now?” I asked.
Legion’s eyes snapped back to mine, his back stiffening almost imperceptibly. He stared at me intently, as if attempting to read my thoughts.
“Yes. For eternity,” he said with a slow nod.
I slipped my fingers through his jet-black hair and smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
He beamed at me, tension bleeding out of his shoulders.
“That looks good,” I said, looking over his shoulder at the food spread on the table. “Let me go freshen up real quick, and then you can feed me.”
“Sounds good.”
With one last kiss, I rose to my feet, trying not to feel overly self-conscious about my nudity. Forcing myself to ignore the weight of his hungry gaze on me, I made my way to the bathroom, took a quick shower—the hot water soothing my aches and pains—brushed my teeth, and fixed my hair. Feeling refreshed but still raw, I returned to the room. I groaned inwardly at the inevitable embarrassment of explaining the cause of my stiff walk to the others.
I settled at the table and my stomach growled in anticipation. Being largely human, Xian Warriors ate a lot of Earth food, or at least the equivalent version produced on Khepri. Although I didn’t suffer from any allergies, eating eggs made me nauseous and thus eliminated them as an option for breakfast. I therefore rejoiced at finding toasted bagels, cream cheese, the Xian version of smoked salmon, hash browns, and a mountain of fruits with English cream.
“Dig in,” Legion said while pouring me some coffee.
I didn’t argue. My mate chuckled, watching me devour my meal like I hadn’t seen food in days. I was famished. That crazy romp last night had no doubt drained me. In turn, I stared in awe as he chowed down a mountain of what looked like a ham, mushroom, asparagus omelet, with a triple serving of hash browns. Xian Warriors ate ridiculous amounts of food; I guess such wondrous bodies needed to be properly fueled. My gaze roamed over his broad shoulders, their shiny scales, and the bone spikes protruding from them. The way they had jutted out further, growing and expanding while we made love came back to mind.
“It just dawned on me that I really don’t know all that much about Xian Warriors,” I said, my wheels turning. “I know you’re spliced with Gomenzi Dragons, which explains the golden scales and the bone spikes. It’s even more obvious when your beast takes over when we make love, but I found nothing about a mating song or double fangs in relation to them.”
Legion shifted on his seat, an uneasy look descending on his face. My curiosity soared.
“I don
’t have a beast,” he said, slightly frowning. “There’s only me. The partial shift is required for my seed to be fertile. You’re the only woman to have ever seen me in that form.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, stunned by the unexpected answer. “And what of the mating song?” I insisted when he looked like he wouldn’t speak further.
The same unease came back on his features, making me even more intrigued.
“We are spliced with many things,” Legion said, carefully, “various deadly creatures to make us the ultimate weapons of destruction.”
“Okay, but like what?” I persisted, confused by his obvious reluctance. He sighed, clearly wanting to drop the subject. I almost did, hating to cause him any discomfort, but my gut told me we needed to get this out of the way. “We’re bonded, Legion. You can tell me anything.”
That struck a nerve. Legion flinched, clenched his jaw, and then sharply nodded in surrender.
“Contrary to popular belief, the Gomenzi Dragons aren’t our principal splice. They represent barely more than fifteen percent of our DNA. We mainly speak of them because they are great for public relations. They’re beautiful, proud, powerful beasts, known to sacrifice themselves without hesitation for the good of their clan. It’s perfect to rally the population behind us. The reality is that besides the fifteen percent dragon, we’re forty percent human, thirty-five percent Kryptid, and the rest, traces of other lethal creatures for one of their specific traits.”
I gaped at him, too stunned for words.
“But you don’t look like a Kryptid,” I blurted out, utterly floored.
“I do in my battle form. Kryptid Warriors are killing machines. Using their most powerful traits against them makes sense; battle fire with fire.”
For a beat, I stared, dumbstruck. “When you said partial shift, I didn’t realize you could literally shift fully into something else. Can I see it?”
“No.”
I recoiled at the curt, finality of his tone. “Why not?”
“That’s not the image I want you to have of me. It is a monstrous creature, meant to inspire terror and to annihilate anything in its path. Such a nightmarish vision isn’t meant for your beautiful eyes.”
“You saw me with a shower cap,” I said with a pout. My instincts told me he wouldn’t relent on this so I settled for defusing the tension.
He snorted. “That doesn’t compare. You looked incredibly cute.”
“Says you,” I mumbled, my ears heating at the thought of him seeing me that way.
Legion rose to his feet and pulled me into his embrace.
“Pray that you never see me in my battle form, Ayana. Because the day you do, we’ll likely both be about to die.”
* * *
The next forty-eight hours flew by. While I enjoyed the quality time spent with Legion without the guilt that had gnawed at me before, our trip’s focus wasn’t leisure. The Warriors had been in regular communications with Jaylon’s governing body to de-escalate the local tensions fueled by misunderstandings over missing people. While Linette piloted the ship, Myriam analyzed the satellite and camera feeds from Jaylon. Thanks to her degree in computer engineering, she had a hand in a lot of the technology used by the Vanguard.
Although strong ESP constituted the main requirement to qualify as an Operator or Soulcatcher, we were also expected to have other skills to contribute to the war effort when our psychic abilities weren’t required. My own master’s degree in Xeno-Politics and Culture was compulsory to aspire for an ambassador role on one of the planets that were part of the Coalition. That had been my career plan had I not qualified for the Vanguard. Now that I had, Legion had dumped extensive files in my lap regarding the various groups, whether religious and other, that lived on Jaylon.
In light of recent events, my job was to come up with proposals that would allow us to increase the use of technology on their planet to better track new threats of invasion, while still respecting their anti-technological beliefs and thus their way of life. Having Myriam nearby proved invaluable, thanks to her in-depth knowledge of various devices that could be used discretely in the environment, keeping the pilgrims unaware of their presence.
The third morning, we docked at Jaylon’s Capital City. While our Warriors deemed the city safe, we women were under strict instructions not to leave the ship under any circumstances. I understood their reasoning, but it didn’t suck any less. I’d heard wonders about the flora and fauna of Jaylon, terraformed to accommodate the exotic wildlife present in the various homeworlds of the cults and groups that had relocated here.
Saying goodbye to Legion as the Warriors set off on their mission proved the most difficult thing I’d ever done.
“See you soon, Sweetling.” He kissed me and caressed my cheek before heading out, the other three Warriors following in his wake.
Ghostly hands choked me as the door of the docking bay closed behind them. Trying to remain dignified, I lifted my chin and blinked back the prickling in my eyes, refusing to let tears gather. A soft hand grabbing my shoulder had me jerking my head left. Myriam smiled, encouragingly and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“Don’t worry. It takes a lot to take down these guys. Even if they fall, between the three of us, they’re guaranteed to make it back safely.”
I smiled back, once again impressed with what a classy woman she’d turned out to be.
“Come on, rookies,” Myriam said. “Help me prepare the Shells in case things get hairy.”
Linette scrunched her face. “I’m not a rookie,” she mumbled.
“You graduated less than a year ago. That still makes you a rookie,” Myriam said over her shoulder.
I chuckled while Linette stuck her tongue out behind Myriam’s back. With so many different personalities, the Veterans obviously didn’t all get along, but overall, a true sisterhood existed between the women.
We made quick work of laying down the four, heavy Shells. Myriam connected the inanimate bodies to a life support system embedded in the rebirth tables. An awakened Shell without a soul would only last an hour before going into a chain reaction of organ failures. Therefore, we would wait until the last minute to jump start them.
With that task out of the way, we all returned to our respective duties. Linette, the only one with a limited permission to exit the ship, disembarked to refuel and inspect it so we’d be ready for departure when the men returned.
Three hours later, over regular psychic communications, Legion and Chaos—each leading their own two-man team—confirmed having cleaned up five Breeding Swamps, with Chaos and Wrath on their way to the sixth. To my relief, they’d met little resistance thanks to most of the drones still being in the larval stage. Despite their numbers and sharp teeth, they lacked offensive abilities against Xian Warriors. Individually, the few almost mature drones represented little threat to a seasoned Warrior, although they would rip a regular human to pieces in a blink. Their real strength resided in the Swarm.
Another hour had gone by with three more Swamps exterminated. The good news this time was the number of survivors found. Myriam had communicated their coordinates to Blujek so that he could organize appropriate transport to retrieve those people. Based on the intelligence gathered previously and with the satellite analyses, Legion believed only five more Swamps remained. At this rate, they would be done within the next couple of hours.
While my heart soared at the news, the absence of any clue as to the location of the three missing Soulcatchers dampened that happiness. They’d all received a bio-implant which escaped detection on most scanning devices, but they didn’t show on the Warriors’ radar. We feared they might have already been taken off planet, which dropped our chances of rescuing them from slim to none.
After working a bit longer on the discrete technological proposal for Jaylon, my stomach growled. Rising to my feet, I welcomed the excuse to stretch my legs and headed for the mess hall. As soon as I entered the room, something struck me as odd, an intense wave of unease knotti
ng my insides. It took me a moment to understand what it was: instead of the beige building covered with greenery of Jaylon’s Capital City, the endless void of space greeted me through the large windows.
We’ve lifted off!
What the fuck was going on? Why would Linette leave the planet with our men still stranded there? I tried to reach her through mind-speak but immediately hit a wall. Cold dread ran down my spine at this unnatural interference. I reached out to Myriam and the Warriors, same result each time; someone had erected a psychic dampening field onboard the ship.
Cursing myself for not having brought my personal com system, I dashed to the intercom panel on the wall near the entrance only to be thwarted again. I’d been locked out of the system. My mind raced as a million scenarios flashed before me, each one more dreadful than the next. I ran towards the deck, stopping by the armory to grab a stun gun on my way there.
Heart pounding, I hurried down the hallway as quietly as possible, carefully checking each intersecting corridor before entering them. I couldn’t be sure if we had been infiltrated by a single enemy or an army of them. Worse still, I didn’t know if Myriam or Linette had turned on us. While I refused to believe either of them would do such a thing, Legion had mentioned that we had a traitor among us.
The leaks started right around the time of my arrival.
That thought made me shudder. The timing coincided too perfectly with the moment Legion would have ended his relationship with Myriam. As his Soulcatcher, she had access to all the top secret information. Would a woman scorned act as nice and classy as she had, or had Myriam been lulling us into complacency while she stabbed us in the back? It all added up. In fact, it all added up too well.