by Regine Abel
Vahl had promised not to harm me, but he never said anything about it not hurting.
Minh ran out of the kitchen, saying he’d be right back. I barely heard him, watching with morbid fascination the toxin gushing out of me at an accelerated pace.
“Gharah’s teeth!” Lhor exclaimed, “Look at his hand!”
Pulling my gaze away from the pooling toxin, I looked at my left hand. My breath caught in my throat. We could literally see the Taint draining away as the obsidian color of my skin gave way to my natural light-grey coloration. It had been over a decade since I’d last seen it. Within seconds, the darkness had receded from my fingers, my hand, and now my wrist.
“Goddess almighty!” Amalia whispered.
I looked at the boy in complete awe. His face, looking far too mature for his young age, was a mask of pure concentration. Having lived with pain for years, I welcomed the searing agony of the cut in my arm through which the poison that had plagued me exited my body.
Minh returned with a portable scanner that he ran over me. The wonder on his features echoed mine.
“That’s insane. Miraculously insane!” he muttered.
He grabbed my hand, turning it this way and that, unable to believe his eyes.
“How do you feel, son?” he asked.
“Lightheaded.”
I formed the word with difficulty, the muscles of my face pulled taunt by Vahl’s ability. In truth, I could barely sense the rest of my body. It seemed to float and tingle, yet I didn’t feel like I had any control over it. My slashed arm was a giant ball of searing pain, but the rest of me had gone numb.
Minh lifted my shirt and the same phenomenon witnessed earlier occurred again with the dark toxin on my stomach retreating like a tide, leaving unblemished silvery skin behind.
The pull suddenly stopped. My gaze flicked to Vahl who wavered on his feet. Zharina placed her hand on her brother’s cheek. He closed his eyes with a sigh of relief. Opening them back up, he cast a look of gratitude at his sister before resuming his work on me. Zhara didn’t remove her hand from her brother. Her yellow eyes turned a burnished gold color.
She’s healing whatever damage this is doing to him.
I remembered how the boy had put himself into a coma after overextending himself trying to protect his parents and the Dervhens while in Varrek’s secret lab.
Ten, maybe fifteen minutes had gone by since Vahl had slashed my arm when the last drop fell from the gash. I shuddered looking at the large container, three-quarters full of the dark toxin and averted my eyes. Zhara removed her hand from her brother’s cheek and placed a soft kiss there before turning toward me. Her tiny hand touched my wound, which closed, then faded out of existence.
“Your light is bright and pretty again,” she said before hugging me.
My arms were sluggish as they wrapped around her. As the tingling sensation faded, life came back to my limbs, as if they had awakened from a long slumber.
Khel picked up Vahl, who suddenly looked tired to the point of exhaustion.
“I’m so proud of you! Thank you, my son.”
Vahl circled his father’s neck with his arms.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, my son.”
Lhor came to take Zhara from my arms while Minh ran the scanner over me once more. Behind him, Maheva looked at me with overly bright eyes. I didn’t need to ask what thoughts were crossing her mind.
Minh lowered the scanner and stared at me with a powerful emotion. His hand came to rest on my shoulder, and he gave it a squeeze. I waited for his verdict with bated breath.
“How do you feel?” he asked again.
I took stock of myself. The numbness had waned and instead I felt… Nothing. My eyes widened at the realization…
“I feel no pain. Goddess, I had forgotten what it felt like to exist without an endless, throbbing ache.”
“And you never will again,” Minh said. “There is no Taint left in your body, but you aren’t cured. So, while technically you would be deemed Prime right this minute, you are a Norm now. Drink regularly, and this is how you will remain for the next ninety to one hundred years left before you.”
A Norm… I am now a Norm with a real future.
I rose to my feet, the strength in my body almost overwhelming. Walking over to Khel, I caressed Vahl’s head, half dozing on his father’s shoulder.
“Thank you, little warrior. I owe you my life.”
He smiled, then his eyes drooped.
I looked Khel in the eyes. “I know what sacrifice you were willing to make for me. I’m glad it won’t be needed after all, but this, too, I won’t forget, my friend… My brother.”
Khel nodded and smiled. “Go to your mate. She’ll want to know the news.”
Aleina…
My blood heated at the thought of my mate, then rushed to my groin. The long-forgotten feeling between my thighs, almost foreign, made me want to growl like an animal.
Turning on my heels I headed out of the dining room.
“So much for the foul oxytocin,” Lhor said behind me.
I didn’t know what that meant, and I didn’t care. One thought dominated me: I needed to find my mate.
* * *
The Veredians gasped when I barged into the conference hall where they were still gathered on board the Tempest. They gaped at me, shocked by my new appearance. An almost feral growl rumbled out of me as I caught the scent of my female. I stormed down the aisle toward the podium where she sat with the rest of the Council.
When she saw me, her hand flew to her chest. Aleina rose to her feet, her jaw working wordlessly. I climbed the podium and towered before her.
“Wh… what…? How?” she stuttered
“My mate,” I said, my voice deep and gravelly with need.
I picked her up and Aleina instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck and legs around my waist.
“Ghan?”
Eyes locked with hers, I marched us out of the hall under the giggles and whispers of the Sisters. Blood roared in my ears and my nerve endings felt raw. The fabric of my clothes rubbing against me, Aleina’s breath fanning my face, the caress of her hair on my arm, every sensation was multiplied. She examined my face, free of Taint, in shock and disbelief. Releasing my neck with one hand, her fingertips traced a path down my cheek.
I growled again as a bolt of lust made my cock jerk in my pants. Any rational thought drowned in a sea of animalistic hunger. It took all my willpower not to hold her against the wall and ram myself home. I wanted to devour her, ravage her, and lose myself in her.
Ignoring the shocked expletives of my warriors and the random Veredians we encountered in the hallway, I made a beeline for Aleina’s quarters. As soon as the door closed behind us, I pressed her against the wall, still holding her up in my arms, and claimed her lips with almost savage fury.
Hesitant at first, Aleina tried to speak, but my tongue invaded her mouth. She moaned, then lost all resistance, responding to my fervor in kind. My groin throbbed and I rubbed the stiffness against her core. She gasped against my lips, pulling back to look at me, confused and overwhelmed.
“I need you,” I said, my voice so deep and gravelly my words came out more like a drawn-out grunt.
Pressing my pelvis harder against hers, I accelerated my movements. Aleina’s eyes darkened and she moaned, her head leaning back against the wall.
“Yes,” she whispered.
My fangs descended while searing bursts of pleasure exploded in my belly and trickled down my legs. Sinking my teeth into the tender flesh of her neck, I injected my mate with my Thylin venom. Aleina cried out as it coursed through her, arms and limbs trembling. On top of the high it would procure her, every touch, every sensation she felt would be enhanced tenfold.
Carrying her to the bed, I all but tossed her on top before tearing off her tank top. It unraveled beneath my hands like paper. My mouth dove for one of her hard nipples. She arched her back, pressing her breast to my hu
ngry lips. I sucked hard and nipped at it while my hand slipped under her shorts and straight to her core. Finding her soaking wet made my cock ache and drew another bestial rumble from my chest. My fingers zeroed in on her nub, plump and engorged with arousal.
“GHAN!” she screamed, her nails digging into my scalp.
I laved her breast with my tongue while rubbing her feverishly, until her body seized and an almost painful shout tore out of her. Pursuing my ministrations while she rode out her climax, I released the magnetic clasp of my pants to release the near unbearable pressure on my confined shaft.
When Aleina’s spasms receded, I pulled off her shorts and underwear. Tossing off my own shirt, I knelt between my female’s thighs. Unable to resist her glistening opening and swollen nub, I buried my face between her legs and devoured her.
She emitted a strangled cry, her hand rubbing my short hair and her hips gyrating in response to my relentless tongue and ravenous mouth. I feasted on her divine nectar, her moans stirring the blazing fire of my desire. I brought her to completion once more before my own need overwhelmed me.
Shedding my remaining clothes, I climbed on top of my mate who awaited me, skin flushed, and lips swollen from my kisses. Aleina opened her arms to welcome me and spread her legs wide. Despite the lustful haze fogging my brain, I hadn’t missed the wary glance she had cast toward my shaft.
I was big. Bigger than I recalled. It had been far too many years since I’d managed to become fully erect, if at all.
Rubbing my length against her core, I coated it with some of her juices. The need to come burned in my belly. Only years of military discipline allowed me to stay in control.
“Do you accept me, my love?” I asked, my muscles trembling with desire.
“Yes. A million times yes.”
I pushed into her, grinding my teeth not to ram myself in. She wasn’t a virgin but with my size, it proved a very tight fit. Rocking in and out of her at an agonizingly controlled pace, I buried myself deeper and deeper inside her scorching, wet sheath. The way she gripped me within, her walls squeezing me from all sides, stroking me in a blissful caress with each stroke, I thought I’d die with pleasure.
Our gazes met and my soul was swept away by a sea of gold speckled with green.
My goddess. My heart. My love…
For a minute or an eternity, the world ceased to exist around us. We were one, body and mind. The same fire consumed us, engulfed us as we rocked in a frenzied dance older than time. Aleina threw her head back, her nails clawing my back as her inner walls clenched around me. Lighting struck inside me, and my back arched so violently I believed my spine would snap. My deafening roar tore my throat to shreds while I erupted inside my mate in a powerful and blissful flow.
Rolling us over, still buried deep within my mate, I held her tight. The room spun around me. My heart hammered against hers, our labored breathing barely audible above the blood raging in my ears.
Skin damp with sweat, Aleina trembled slightly against me, her inner walls still convulsing around my length.
When the room settled around us, Aleina lifted her head and peered into my eyes.
“I love you, Ghan Delphin.”
“I love you, Aleina Fein.”
CHAPTER 11
Aleina
Sitting on Ghan’s lap at the breakfast table, my head resting on his shoulder, I traced the bulging veins along his muscular arms with my fingertips. He caressed my hair, and I snuggled deeper against him, addressing yet another prayer of gratitude to the Goddess. As my hand explored his silvery skin, I still couldn’t come to terms with the miracle little Vahleryon had performed and the blessing that represented for us.
To spare Ghan unnecessary pressure, I had planned on regularly drinking Rehmannia tea to dampen my sexual appetite. With the Taint, my mate had held only a slight interest in sex, but a major longing for cuddling, just like we were now, naked. Ghan, it seemed, had a bit of a nudist streak. We often danced or cuddled without any clothes on. I didn’t mind, not with that god-like body of his wrapped around me.
That now untainted god-like body.
I silenced the uneasy voice of doubt rising within. Now, more than ever, I felt inadequate. Before, despite my inability to cure Ghan, my hormone gave him a chance to survive while we worked on a cure. Amalia’s contribution for this one season wouldn’t have diminished my value. But now, although he couldn’t officially be labelled Prime, Ghan could pass as one. A Prime female wouldn’t pick him, but any other Xelixian female would throw herself at him should he attend the Fastening Ceremony.
With his Taint essentially gone, and with it the side effects, Ghan could have offspring of his own should he choose a Xelixian female or one of my second-generation Sisters instead of me. I loved him, and he loved me, but could I deny him this? He would make a wonderful father. True to his word, he’d been spending time regularly with little Lenora. She was a smart, delightful child, and she adored him.
We could adopt her.
I stilled. Her father had been killed during the raid. Her mother had died during childbirth. A healer, like my own mother, she had survived the damage Lenora’s horns inflicted to her during the pregnancy. But at the time of delivery, she’d been unable to heal herself fast enough as her daughter’s horns tore her to shreds from within. Guldans being born fully horned was the reason no hybrids existed, until Lenora. Alien mothers weren’t built to withstand the damage, contrary to Guldan females.
She desperately wanted to belong. We could offer her the family she wanted, and Lenora could complete ours. I chewed my bottom lip, my mind racing.
Ghan took a sip of his flexina tea before putting his cup back down on the table by the leftovers of our breakfast. I reached for one of the two remaining pieces of sliced ryspak and munched absentmindedly on it. As all Xelixians, my mate became grumpy if his meals didn’t include some of the red fruit in some fashion. To his delight, it had grown on me over the three weeks of our trip to and from Jeruna.
“I can feel you thinking,” Ghan said with that deep, rumbling voice of his that made my skin tingle. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
“I’m thinking about us, our future,” I said, kissing his nipple before looking up at him.
Technically, that was true.
“Oh?” he asked.
“I want to claim you in the Fastening Hall and for us to have a Veredian wedding ceremony. Soon.”
He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose.
“The Fastening Hall might be tricky unless you’re ready to reveal the existence of Maheva’s daughter. It will also fan again the discontent about Xelixians not having access to the Veredian females.”
I nodded. “That’s exactly what we were discussing during the Council meeting before you so rudely pulled me out of there.”
My efforts to sound severe and displeased failed miserably. Ghan gave me so many orgasms last night, my throat still felt raw. And I wouldn’t mention the delectable soreness between my legs. Everything about my mate was massive. Everything.
It also didn’t hurt that he got to gorge himself on my oxytocin with the number of times I climaxed. I couldn’t cure him or give him children, but I would make sure to keep him healthy for the next century.
“I promise never to drag you away from your duty to pleasure you, ever again.”
“Don’t you dare keep that promise,” I said, glaring at him.
He chuckled and kissed me.
“But seriously, we are putting a proposal together that we’ll want to discuss with you and Khel before we proceed in any way. You know Xelixians better than we do.”
My stomach knotted with the familiar anxiety every time I thought of releasing my Sisters from my protection.
“I’m failing them, Ghan. They need my protection, but it’s suffocating them. There are so many of them now. How do I keep them safe while also keeping them happy? I need to let go, but I’m scared.”
Even as the words tumbled out of my mou
th unbidden, I berated myself for showing such weakness. Yet, wasn’t it one of the purposes of a mate? To be the shoulder to lean on for support?
“Keeping them safe isn’t your sole responsibility, my love,” Ghan said. “Your duty was to free them from slavery, which you have done and continue to do. Your other responsibility was to provide them with a safe place to live. Which you have also done.”
He cupped my face between his hands and caressed my cheeks with his thumbs.
“What they do after that is their choice. They are grown adults and if they wish to spread their wings, that is their prerogative.”
“But what if something happens to them? What if they face danger while I’m too far away to help them?”
“Then we go and rescue them like we rescued Amalia, Lhor, and little Vahl. Every single parent whose child has left the family home to start their own life has gone through the anxiety you are facing now. The Sisters aren’t reckless fools. Trust them.”
I heaved a sigh. Trust in my Sisters wasn’t the issue. It was the rest of the world that raised my suspicions.
“Most of them want to live in Haven, not Xelix Prime. For security reasons, any male who goes there will not be able to travel in and out whenever he pleases. Will Xelixians accept that?”
“Sameha, a Tainted blessed enough to be chosen by a Veredian would follow her even into the deepest pit of Gharah’s lair.”
I licked my lips, suddenly as dry as my throat from the question burning my tongue.
“And what of you, Ghan? You’re the First Officer of the Xelixian army, and I’m the Admiral of the Tuurean army. While we share a common mission right now, soon our duties to our respective armies will keep us apart.”
Ghan raised his hand and, with his fingertips, he slowly traced my marking from the side of my neck down my right arm.
“On Xelix Prime, very few females actually have a profession. Most have hobbies or assist their mates in the family business. There is never a question that the female will follow her mate.”