Skhye Moncrief - [Feral 01]

by Feral Fascinations (lit)

  Sex.

  The salty smell rooted deep inside his nostrils.

  Why? Could every person on this ship smell it too? Here I am, walking through some fortress butt naked, and I don’t mind. Something was seriously wrong here.

  Or I am losing my mind.

  The large man’s black cape swung to the left.

  A door whisked open.

  The man turned his stoic orange gaze to meet Jake’s and nodded toward the space beyond.

  One look into the barren chamber cast with a sunset glow didn’t calm his body’s lust. Oh well. He headed toward the single plain bench anchored before a large window and the view beyond of stars in deep space.

  The sound of clipping footfalls followed at his heels.

  She stood there. Ready. Waiting.

  His loin lurched.

  What kind of shit was going down causing his body to react this way? Had she shot him up with some sort of drug?

  “Be seated, Mr. Straightarrow,” the man timbered.

  Why sit? He pivoted to the quiet man.

  She watched him where she stood at her boss’s side.

  Not one fraction of a sign of distress even danced upon her features. Didn’t he cause the same unsettling sex-crazed reaction in her? Maybe she was some sort of sexual mercenary. Her game was to unravel opponents. Seduce them. Why? Forget winning, honey.

  “Please sit, Mr. Straightarrow,” the man said again.

  “I prefer to stand.”

  The man nodded. “Always the warrior. Perhaps Red Kindrist’s choice wasn’t as rash as so many predicted.”

  So, I’m toilet paper stuck on his black boot? “Do you mind elaborating, or do you insult all of your prisoners?” Of course he did. Right before painful down-and-dirty interrogation.

  A faint smile twisted into one of the man’s cheeks. His gaze scanned him from head to toe and anchored back on Jake’s. “You are every bit the mercenary, Mr. Straightarrow.”

  The perfect lead into here’s-my-hot-poker or disembowelment? “So, what’s your game?” Probably send in the whore to do a man’s job.

  “You’re from a special generation of earth children. We need your help.”

  Jesus. Like in those movies where people are abducted to fight wars in outer space because they play video games so well. I don't play video games much. “So what can I do for you?”

  “You have powers beyond your earthling peers. Psychic abilities. Things maybe you wish not to admit. But you’ve built a life upon those powers and find yourself fighting the greater good. Always fighting.” The man’s black eyebrows arched slightly as if he could read Jake’s mind and delve through the history of memories tucked therein.

  Was the commander Asian? Maybe not. Something. Definitely different with those eerie orange eyes. But the man’s piercing gaze and long nose reminded him of his people back on the reservation. The commander could hold his own with his unnerving quiet demeanor. Not today. Time to sniff out some life-saving information. “Tell me about my secret power. Tell me who you’d like me to be.”

  “I need you to travel into a compound on a planet of telepaths.” The commander concluded with a defy-me blanket stare.

  Red Trekaar shifted one of her black boots, her stoic stare never wavering.

  Those blue eyes weren’t eerie and luminous like her boss’s eyes. No. Anything but magical. She was just the spy slut. Was the commander using her to distract him? To keep him from realizing that he never got an answer to his question? “Just tell me what this secret power is that I have.”

  The man inhaled sharply. “You have heightened intuition. You’re able to read people. You may disagree with my assessment. But you wouldn’t be as skilled a mercenary if you didn’t use this power to your advantage. Mr. Straightarrow, none of my people, none of the rest of the universe’s psychics can read your mind. With your training and your intuition, you are more valuable to the free-thinking universe than even I am. You may even be the free universe’s savior.”

  Then why do I feel like a horny manacled shit? “You expect me to believe this?”

  The man’s gaze slid to the shadows across the room. “You must in time. Because there is no turning back for you.”

  Red Kindrist blinked.

  What for? Was she to blame? Or weak in this battle of who could remain in control? “I’d like to think over this deal. Decide if it’s something worth fighting for. You know, I just don’t kill people without a reason these days. Been there. Done that. I’m nobody’s patsy now. Don’t take this personal. But I don’t know if I believe your little story.”

  * * * *

  “He is stronger than you thought, Kindrist ,” Goro said to her in mindspeak.

  “No, commander. His will is the only one strong enough to enter Gameddaron. The only will strong enough to destroy this quadrant’s neural network. Believe me.” She knew Jake for what he was, a man of honor. Why else would a mercenary quit his day job to live in hiding for the rest of his life as a homeless person? Jake couldn’t kill without thinking his target deserved death. He was a mercenary with a conscience.

  “He just doesn’t trust us,” Kindrist told Goro.

  “I hate to be blunt, Red Kindrist, but I don’t need a mind reader to tell me that much.”

  Goro didn’t look at her when sending his facetious reply telepathically. Talk about a day in the Blood Wars.

  “Take him to The Chamber. He’ll feel more comfortable among his kindred until he grasps our truth.” Goro pivoted and strode toward the door.

  Camaraderie for her newly inducted soul mate was good medicine. As long as he steered clear of Darla’s rants in The Chamber.

  Jake clenched his fists as Goro turned to depart.

  Probably a sign of his internal battle to stand alert instead of pouncing her to mate. “I will take you to the other earthlings, Straightarrow.”

  “Others?” he barely growled. “What do you want with us?”

  The accusation only reiterated he had values. He was a grand protector. Perfect. “I’ve already explained the war and your psychic powers. Now, I will help you understand by sending you in among your brothers and sisters.” Holy Devros, if he didn’t find some understanding soon, the consequences would worsen exponentially. Especially since the clock ticked onward toward shape-shifting time.

  * * * *

  “I could care less about the rest of your prisoners.” Jake watched as the commander left him standing in the empty room with that woman. Her scent wafted around him, crawling under his skin, until he couldn’t think about anything but her. What was going on? She was temptation.

  She exhaled loudly.

  Almost like a sigh. Or sound of content you hear a woman make after climax. God, to lay her down and make her come. To get over this damned woody.

  “I was ordered to take you to the recreation chamber,” she said.

  A little recreation was just what she needed with those bulging breasts and tight pants.

  “I hope we can learn to work together.” She stepped toward him, sauntering, swinging those damned hips.

  His cock throbbed so hard his knees were about to buckle.

  What would she do if I collapsed to the floor? This was all her idea anyway. Why would she care if I relieved myself? And wouldn’t she go along?

  “What’s wrong, Straightarrow?” she asked, her head tilting her inviting mouth.

  * * * *

  Kindrist studied her mate. Straightarrow looked deep in the blood lust. Rigid and totally nude, he couldn’t hide his condition. The least I could do is release the tension for him. She reached out to stroke the length of his long hard shaft.

  He didn’t budge.

  Fully engorged, his manhood was. The veins begged to burst free along its length. If only he would look into her eyes. Show her that he needed her. To have a mate who wanted me.

  His eyes stared across the room. Slowly, ever so slowly, his gaze slid to hers.

  Hunger burned in those chocolate eyes.

&
nbsp; Would he fight me? Or was he so lost in the blood lust that he could only submit to his carnal needs? Humans easily succumbed to the demands of were-mate marriage. But that never bothered mates. A mate would help release her partner’s tension through sex. Would he allow me to assist him? She slid her other palm across his cheek.

  His nostrils flared.

  Was he drawing breath to squelch the desire he couldn’t fight? I could help him. I can. He just needs to realize. She brushed her lips against his soft mouth and nibbled the lower edge.

  He grabbed her, pinning her against his solid body, right against his shaft, and thrust his tongue inside her mouth.

  Gods, to have him devour her. She thrust her hands into his long hair and begged him to take her with his tongue.

  He shoved her down to the cold metal floor, climbing on top of her, his hands everywhere pulling her clothes off. And then nothing stood between them.

  His mouth kissed scorching life across her skin.

  Why wasn’t he inside her? Didn’t he know Destiny wanted them together? She grabbed his back and pulled his shoulders to block the overhead lighting.

  He shoved her knee aside and rammed his manhood inside her, all the way to her soul, burying the amazing root.

  Blessed penetration. Now to get him moving.

  He watched her for a moment.

  As if he didn’t know whether or not he wanted to lie with her.

  His hardness lurched inside her.

  Take pity on me, universe. I need my mate to finish my mission. She wrapped her legs around his narrow waist and rocked her hips.

  His eyes clamped tight. He leaned his head back and began the sacred dance of life.

  They melded their movements into one synchronized motion until she couldn’t help but cry out and moan at the delicious way her body twisted. With each of her gasps, he plunged harder and faster, touching her so intimately that the world ceased to exist. It didn’t matter how the air seemed to no longer fill her longs. But she had Jake inside her.

  His arms stiffened, and he pumped so hard she almost came off the floor with the bliss racking her womb. She dug her nails into his back and matched his moves until they both stretched to their body’s limits and laid still gasping for air.

  Jake heaved left, rolling while bending an arm, landing on his back.

  Would he talk to me? She waited.

  A long time. He probably just needed more time to warm up to Destiny’s call to duty. Since he wasn’t up to discussing life, she yanked on her leather pants, shirt, and boots.

  * * * *

  The door whisked open leading from the sterile corridor into a chamber so full of plants, rocks, and running water that Jake felt like he was in a garden. Good thing if the water was icy cold. His hard-on needed some down time.

  “Welcome to The Chamber.” Red Kindrist poked his back.

  She couldn’t be a spy used for seduction with her irritating jab.

  “Earthlings spend countless hours here, Straightarrow. However, I’m unaware of who is present because we can’t probe the minds of earthlings. And, if you’d like to depart, you will be monitored by the earring in your ear.”

  So they had tagged him. What else had they done to him while he was unconscious? At least, this chamber wasn’t a barren cell.

  A bird twittered off in song.

  Birds too? What a strange detention area.

  “Please, Mr. Straightarrow, make yourself at home here.” Her fingertip nudged him again. “You’ll find some earthlings enjoying nature. And I will bring you some clothes.”

  Anything to get a breather from the need to throw her down and kill the adrenaline coursing through his loins. Time away from her might help him think up an escape plan. He stepped into the cavernous chamber.

  The door whisked shut at his heels.

  Was she there? His body hadn’t relaxed. She had to be in the room. He shot a glance over his shoulder.

  Only the silver door stood in his shadow.

  Fine. Time to think up Plan A.

  A chilly draft taunted his bare ass.

  How strange was it that a man in survival mode didn’t give a damn about clothes? My gutter thoughts are probably overriding my sanity.

  Movement among the drooping fronds caught his eye to the left.

  A woman. Brunette. Peering out from behind a wide green leaf. Great. As if one woman wasn’t enough.

  “Who are you?” she blurted.

  So much for her exhibiting a bit of caution. “Tell me who you are first. Maybe I’ll answer.”

  She scanned the area around them and anchored a gaze upon his. “You must be just in from earth.” She waved a hand at him. “Waiting for clothing.”

  And we’re psychic? So much for the claim of winning this war. At least this woman had normal brown eyes. He planted a palm on his hip. “I take it that you don’t read minds.”

  Her gaze pinched a moment as if she caught the invisible side of his verbal slap. “Not at all. My power is levitating objects.”

  On second hand, Eve in the Garden of Evil just might be useful in affecting an escape. “Where are the others?”

  “Others?” She shook her head, keeping her gaze anchored on his.

  “The rest of us captured earthlings.”

  “The fools come and go.” She stepped out from behind the protective foliage. “Like I’m that stupid.” She chuckled. “To believe they are fighting a war for the greater good. I know what they are. What they want me to become.” She pointed a finger at him. “And you’d be wise to be wary.” She turned and disappeared into the wall of vegetation.

  Well, he could head the Club of Wary given his knack for survival and his intuitive gut. He followed the vanishing woman into the trees.

  Why was she leaving? Especially after dropping all those clues. And what exactly did he need to be wary of? “What do they want me to become?” he called at the bobbing branches.

  The limbs slapped his arms and legs.

  Apparently, the trees didn’t care for him. But plants weren’t the culprits in this round of mind games.

  “A creature,” she yelled. “An abomination. God spoke little of these things. But it’s what he did say that meant the world.”

  Great. He had unknowingly jumped aboard the Sunday-school wagon. One would expect to find different modes of thought out in space. Some things are just too damned hard to shake. “What are you talking about?”

  “They claim I am Goro’s mate. Can you believe it? Like I would hop in the sack with someone I never met.”

  Was she taken against her will, too? “Wait. Are you saying you’ve been raped by the man?”

  “No.” Her voice droned into an ephemeral sound. “He says if I choose to be his mate, I can save the free universe from oppression.”

  That’s pretty much the fool’s standard debriefing. He shoved another foot through the soft undergrowth.

  But other earthlings didn’t buy the story either. Just why was this woman talking given the choice? “They told me after the fact. I’m supposedly mated to the whore spy. What do you know about this?”

  The fronds of another enormous tree parted before him. The woman’s brown stare almost pitied him. “They’re hypocrites. They take all of your freedom of choice in order to fight this war for freedom. And then expect you to buckle under the pressure. To give in. But you can be stronger. Find peace in the knowledge you are a son of God.” She turned back.

  The fronds fell together blocking the back of her head.

  If she’d just stop babbling about God, he could get a grip on this situation. He took another step in the crunching leaf litter and followed her deeper into the forest. “Can you elaborate here? Just what will I become?”

  The sound of the branches slapping against one another lead him to fall into her invisible footsteps.

  “In the earliest of Christian history, it began with umbilical cords. People feared what would become of the blood and burned them in ritual offerings to God. The act preven
ted any binding of their children to extraterrestrials before the child’s first day had passed. And then the cross appeared. Little did the ancients try to point out its true symbolism was to remember the blood sacrifices of earlier times.”

  Maybe now was a good time to start praying to God for this demented woman to suddenly have the power of communication. Talk about miracles.

  “But I have seen the light,” she called from wherever she hid inside the foliage. “I understand that these extraterrestrials have been harvesting humans for millennia to fight this war. I know the blood lust is real. And I will never fall to the level of a blood fucker.”

  Chapter Four

  Yep, Jake thought. This version of Eve is nuts in this twisted Garden of Eden. But she’s probably full of useful information. He shoved a tree’s frond into a shaded area after her.

  The space was topped with some natural dome made from living branches. Maybe just a screen. But something about it looked living. A creek ran through the tranquil space. The woman stood beside the trickling water, peering over her shoulder at him. She wore black leather. The same attire of the seductress claiming to need his help.

  Could she be trusted?

  “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like,” she announced.

  A bell rang through the dense foliage.

  She turned back to the silver water running through her space. Or home. Or whatever she fancied it. “Your clothes are waiting at The Chamber’s entrance.”

  Pants would be nice. But finding his way back and forth might be trickier than worth the trouble.

  “I know you think I’m insane. Everyone does. But when your bones twist and you grow fur, you’ll remember my words.”

  What? “Is that the punishment the Bible states for whatever I’ve been inducted into?”

  She pivoted, anchoring a stoic poker face at him unlike anything he’d seen before and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re going to shape shift into a were-wolf.”

  Okay. “Now, I’ve heard everything.” Maybe boots and pants were better friends than psycho earth woman.

  “Legends serve a purpose, my friend. You are about to learn what legends are made of.” She shot him a smile.