by Regine Abel
“Why would you care what happens to the General?” Zhul asked.
“Who gives a shit about the General?” Whil interrupted. “I want what was promised to me. You have no other females.” He pointed a finger towards me. “I want a Veredian.”
He crowded me and one of the two Guldan guards gave Whil a warning look. My pulse raced, wondering what Varrek would do. He didn’t take too kindly to people trying to dictate his actions. But he also honored his word.
“Make me repeat myself again,” Varrek said, “and you won’t like how I go about it. You want a Veredian? Get the embargo lifted. You are not what I need.” He pointed at Zhul with his chin. “He is.”
“She can cure me!” Whil insisted.
“Maybe, but it’s unlikely. The Xelixian-Veredian matings in the breeding compounds have all failed to reproduce what Amalia has done for her mates.”
Varrek’s gaze slowly roamed over Zhul, an appreciative spark in his eyes. My master exclusively liked males, and I didn’t like his personal interest in Zhul one bit.
“Like Amalia’s mates, Zhul has the one thing you and all the other males we tested are lacking – he’s a Geminate. This might be the key to the mystery.”
“But…”
“Enough.” Varrek leveled Whil with a bone-chilling stare. “Valena isn’t for you. Return to your home and prepare for your new Council duties. The President of the Council and the Capital District Police Department have conveniently received incriminating evidence about your cousin. With Zhul ‘missing’ and soon to be under investigation for treason, mass murder, and sexual slavery, the Dervhen seat will require a new Councilor. Once you are, see that you get that embargo lifted.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Zhul breathed out.
Varrek’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“You’re welcome to try. Just be ready to deal with your punishment once you fail.”
Without sparing Whil another glance, Varrek gestured with his head for the guards to follow and headed down the hallway. They herded Zhul and me in his wake. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Whil glaring at us, bitter resentment etched on his face. With a huff, he spun on his heel and marched towards the exit corridor.
My suspicions proved right as we passed a series of laboratories. They were set on both sides of the hallway, sandwiched between high security doors. The door swished open after Varrek stood before the facial scanner. It revealed the expected common area. Unlike the compound, this area was much smaller and contained no recreation area for children.
On the right, a series of dark-grey couches covered in fabric I didn’t recognize surrounded a giant, wall-mounted vidscreen. Beyond the sitting area, a set of large tables and benches sprawled in front of a small kitchen equipped with a couple of food replicators, water cooler, and hot beverage distributor. On the left side, a reading area with pre-loaded, closed-circuit datapads. It faced the play area with small tables for two or four people and various board games.
Lining the left and right sides of the room, five cells with occluding glass walls made no mystery as to the purpose of this facility. Instead of the usual individual bunk beds, each cell contained one large bed and a small fresher.
“As you can see,” Varrek said, waving at the empty area, “we’ve got plenty of room thanks to that wretched embargo.” He gave us a mocking smile. “Lucky for you, that means you get to pick your love nest.”
“I’m not sharing a room with her or touching her,” Zhul said.
The constant rejection hurt, but it also angered me. Yeah, I knew I’d fucked up but he should at least give me a chance to explain before he condemned me. Even if our vows weren’t made official at the Hall of Records, that didn’t make them any less valid to me. In my heart, Zhul was my mate and I wanted him to fight for us, not give up at the first hurdle.
“Oh but you will,” Varrek said. “Twice every day, as a matter-of-fact. And you will submit blood samples to the analyzer right after you’re done. Failure to comply will prove quite unpleasant for you.”
Zhul crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin. “You can beat me, but you can’t force me.”
Varrek gave Zhul an indulgent smile as if looking at a petulant child. “No need for violence. A little bit of Dalyria will set you straight in no time.”
Zhul’s nostrils flared as he pierced Varrek with a venomous glare. Dalyria was a powerful aphrodisiac. It could be administered by injection, with a pill, in your drink, or even in the air you breathed. While under its effect, you’d be driven by an irresistible urge to fuck anything in range for an hour or so. It was commonly used in the breeding compounds when either the female or the Korlethean refused the mating. The powder, obtained by grinding the seeds of the plant of the same name, was a natural product with no negative side effects, no matter how frequently used.
“All this because you hope we will conceive a male Veredian?” Zhul asked, his voice bitter.
“That’s only half your purpose. You will also drink from her.”
Zhul recoiled and my stomach knotted at the thought of being drunk from.
“Why the fuck would I do that?” he asked. “I’m Prime. I don’t need to drink.”
“You don’t, but it will enhance your venom. There is an increasingly high demand for Thylin,” Varrek gloated. “Despite the mediocre results we’ve been getting on the breeding compounds from the Tainted males, their venom has become slightly more concentrated. It’s nothing like the amazing results achieved by Lhor and Khel. Yet, as far as recreational drugs go, it’s now becoming more popular than Maze. I intend to supply the purest, most potent Thylin there is. And you will help me achieve that.”
“You’re insane,” Zhul breathed.
“Far from it. I would rather call myself a savvy service provider. When I see a need with strong lucrative potential, I cater to it.”
Zhul looked at our guards, as if evaluating his chances of taking them down. It would be foolish. Even if he succeeded, which was unlikely, he wouldn’t be able to get us past the sealed doors. As if reaching the same conclusion I did, Varrek shook his head at Zhul, a warning in his eyes.
“Don’t try anything stupid, Zhul. I would hate to punish you on your first day with us.”
Spine stiff, lips pinched, Zhul didn’t respond.
“Nurse Rosthan will come by shortly to give you both a basic examination… and mend your wounds,” Varrek said, waving at Zhul’s face. “Afterwards, you can pick the room you will sleep in. You get a free pass today, if you want to sleep in separate rooms. Tomorrow, I will expect the first blood samples by 10 A.M. and the second ones by 10 P.M. Do not force me to use Dalyria. Because I will and after you’re done, I’ll punish you.”
He turned to face me.
“You will explain to him the protocols. I trust you still remember them?”
I nodded, my eyes lowered.
“Good girl.”
Varrek walked out followed by his Guldan guards. As I watched their retreating backs, I briefly wondered where his Xelixian guards were. When Sheb had ushered me out of the Blood House, the other guards had also made a swift exit, not that I particularly cared about their welfare.
As soon as the door closed and the red light above the door indicated the locking mechanism was activated, Zhul walked away from me towards the sitting area.
“Zhul, we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” he said, reaching for the remote.
“Sure, if that’s what you want. But I still need to tell you about the security protocols.”
“Fine. Get on with it.”
The coldness in his eyes and the sharpness of his tone were like daggers in my heart. I tried to control the quivering of my lips. His eyes hardened, telling me I was doing a poor job of it. What I wouldn’t give to know his thoughts right now. The need to touch him tortured me. This must be how an addict going through withdrawal felt. It wasn’t just the need to know his thoughts, but I ached for the warmth and wonder
of the emotions that coursed through him whenever we were together. I couldn’t accept that things between us were broken beyond repair.
I ran him through the basic rules, similar to the ones in the compound. The gist: be inside your bedroom – translate that as ‘your cell’ – by 10 p.m. for lockdown, and when the chime rings indicating the guards or medical personal were coming inside, stand behind the safety line, hands where they can see them. For the rest, we were pretty much free to do whatever we pleased with our time, except when given specific tasks – in our case, to fuck twice a day. Had there been other captives here, we would have been allowed to mingle with them. Any attempt to escape, harm the guards and personnel, or disobedience resulted in swift punishment to be determined by Varrek.
The additional rule, which I didn’t mention, was that in the case of a Veredian, we had to put our gloves back on the minute the bell rang.
Right now, although the locking mechanism on my gloves was disabled, I kept them on. Antagonizing Zhul further struck me as a bad idea.
No sooner did I finish relaying this information than Zhul gave me a sharp nod and turned his back to me. He turned on the vidscreen and Nikha Drubhen appeared on screen, replaying footage of the lined up corpses of my former captive companions.
Ghostly hands tightened around my throat. This isn’t how today should have gone down. I should be free right now. The other females should be alive and in the process of being reunited with their families. Zhul should be hailed a hero for helping rescue us. We should be planning our future together.
In the space of a few hours, I had lost everything.
Shoulders drooping, I dragged my feet to the furthest cell in the back. I closed the door behind me and set the occlusion to maximum opacity. Curling up on the spacious bed, I gave free rein to my tears.
CHAPTER 17
Zhul
I woke up in the morning hoping that the day before had been nothing but a horrible nightmare. The sterile, reinforced glass cell shattered that illusion. The worst part was that I couldn’t even take comfort knowing Khel, and therefore Lhor, still lived. From the news reports last night, it was clear that any survivors from the military raid had sustained grievous injuries from the fire and toxins. Death might have been a mercy.
Rising from the surprisingly comfortable bed, I turned off the occlusion of my cell. Through the clear glass, Valena’s voluptuous form drew my attention. She sat on the couch in the sitting area, holding her knees to her chest. Eyes glued to the vidscreen, she watched the replay of last night’s news.
A serrated blade raked at my chest as my gaze lingered on the female I had made the center of my world. The first female I had wanted to spend the rest of my days with. The first to have made me believe I could be happy, could have a family of my own. I had put everything on the line for her. Her betrayal left a gaping wound that would likely never heal. That she kept silent about her abilities the first day we met, I could understand; after all, she didn’t know whether or not she could trust me. But in the nearly two weeks since then, she should have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was devoted to her
Or was I?
The wall-mounted analyzer in my cell beeped.
A lifeless synthetic voice resonated in the room. “You have one hour remaining to submit your blood samples. Please proceed immediately.”
Valena’s head jerked up and looked around the room. Her eyes rested on the intercom in the upper corner of the wall. She bit her bottom lip then turned to face my room. Our eyes met. It hit me like a punch in the gut. Then she lowered hers.
I didn’t want any part of this, but V, like all Guldans, didn’t make idle threats. If we didn’t comply, there would be a brutal price to pay. I also knew from both my conversations with Valena and an interview Amalia had given months ago that in vitro fertilization didn’t work on Veredian females. They had a difficult time conceiving naturally, but the failure rate reached one hundred percent when any non-natural method was used.
It suddenly dawned on me that Amalia, too, had kept her abilities a secret from the public. In her case, that didn’t surprise me. But I also realized that her mates knew and so did the military. It had struck me as strange that after she fought off the police officers that tried to prevent her from running to the Convention Center, the soldiers cleared a path for her to reach the door. They had known she could unlock it when they couldn’t.
What else has she kept secret from us?
However, dwelling on the Praghans needed to wait for another time. Time was ticking and no imminent rescue would allow me to avoid the ‘task’ that awaited me. Steeling myself, I opened the door to my cell. Valena gave me a worried look. I gestured with my head for her to come. She swallowed and rose to her feet.
Like me, she wore the short-sleeved, knee-length tunic Nurse Rosthan had given us after our medical examination. The white fabric contrasted with her copper skin, making her beautiful markings stand out even more. Barefoot, as usual, she padded quietly towards me, her steps uncertain. She looked so vulnerable, I wanted to pull her into my arms and tell her everything would be okay.
But that was a lie.
The sight of her gloved hands made my stomach churn. The tender feelings that had crept in faded, replaced by a painful knot at the base of my neck and between my shoulder blades. She brushed past me into the room, her eyes still lowered. I walked to the small shelf by the bed, which served as a nightstand, and picked up the plastic bottle sitting on it.
After Nurse Rosthan performed my medical exam and mended my wounds, I had requested a bottle of lube. I wanted as little contact with Valena as possible. This would allow me to expedite the process without physically hurting her.
I gestured towards the bed. “Get on your hands and knees.”
She nodded.
“No. Keep it on,” I said, when she began lifting the hem of her tunic to remove it. “Just get on your hands and knees.”
I ignored the hurt look she didn’t try to hide. Nevertheless, she complied and got into position at the edge of the bed. I lifted the tunic, exposing her beautiful, perfectly rounded behind. As with me, the nurse hadn’t given her any underwear.
Despite the hurt and anger I felt at Valena’s betrayal, the sight of her naked flesh sent my blood rushing to my groin. To my shame, I had known getting hard for her wouldn’t be a challenge in spite of the circumstances.
Flicking the lid of the bottle open, I poured a generous amount of the clear liquid. It was unscented, which suited me fine. Valena jerked as the cold gel touched the sensitive skin around her opening. She tensed but otherwise remained still. I gently applied the lubricant slipping a couple of fingers inside her. The sound of her breath accelerating made me grow even harder. Pulling my fingers out of her, I poured a bit more lubricant and rubbed it over my length. It stood proudly, eager to bury itself within Valena’s welcoming warmth.
I didn’t resist the urge.
I placed one hand on her hip – over her tunic – and with the other guided my cock into her slit. Despite her tension and the tightness of her sheath, I slipped in with relative ease, thanks to the lubricant.
Goddess, she feels good!
Rocking in and out of her, I ground my teeth to keep from moaning with pleasure. My hands tightened on her hips, fighting the burning desire to slip them under her tunic, and caress her silky skin. The sound of her breathing grew louder, interspersed with soft gasps. I knew that, like me, she was trying to hide her pleasure. The darkening of her markings made no mystery of her state of arousal.
I picked up the pace, wanting to finish this quickly before I lost control and gave in to her allure. She threw her head back, a whispered moan slipping out of her parted lips. Moving in counterpoint to me, she met each of my thrusts. My balls drew up. For a moment, I considered finding my release and leaving her hanging. There was no ‘us’ anymore. Not after her betrayal. She deserved no pleasure from me. But I had to drink from her, and without climax, she wouldn’t produce oxytocin
for me to drink.
I shifted my angle until she emitted a strangled moan. Slipping a hand around her front, I rubbed her little nub without slowing the pace. She gave up all pretense and her sighs of pleasure filled the room. After a few more vigorous strokes, she climaxed with a keening shout. At last, the blissful fire of release surged through me. I hissed through my teeth, swallowing the urge to roar in ecstasy.
The contractions of her inner walls drained the last of my seed. I pulled out and lowered her tunic to cover her. She looked at me over her shoulder. The delicate flush on her cheeks, the lingering fire in her eyes, made me want to kiss her and take her again. I stepped away. She lowered her eyes but I didn’t miss the flicker of sadness. She got back to her feet and ran her hands down her tunic.
I cleared my throat. “I must drink from you.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. A haunted look crossed her beautiful face. She swallowed hard and, with a trembling hand brushed her hair aside to expose her neck. The dark color of her delicate markings was quickly fading, her lingering arousal severely doused. I had not intended to drink from her neck – it felt too intimate. But drinking from her wrist with those damn gloves taunting me was more than I could bear.
Bracing myself, I approached her and leaned towards her neck.
She placed a hand on my waist. I flicked it off.
“Don’t touch me.”
Her lips quivered and she looked away. I sank my teeth into the tender flesh at the crook of her neck and drank.
Goddess almighty!
Her hormone invaded my system. I nearly spilled my seed again at the intense wave of pleasure that washed over me – through me.
Is this what the Tainted feel?
I had never drunk from a female before. But this…. Fuck. This could become addictive.
As per V’s instructions, I then injected some of my Thylin venom into Valena. She cried out and her knees buckled. I caught her in my arms. She clung to me, shuddering. Her eyes glazed over as she rode the high my venom gave her.