by Lisa Lace
“You’re here.”
“I said I would be.”
“Where’s Carol?”
“In the tank. Listen, we don’t have much time. We’re about to put some icky stuff into your body. I’ve emptied the needles, but you need to act like I’m really putting these solutions into you. About five minutes after we give you the shots, start howling like you are in pain. When I give you a signal, pretend to lose consciousness. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
“I hope so. If you can’t act, we’re both going to be in big trouble.”
Tracy looked at the worried face of her alien boyfriend, and pulled him down for a kiss.
Rev didn’t remember what happened next.
Suddenly Rev was breaking away from Tracy. He felt drugged and consumed by something that was making him lose control. A feeling of dread washed over him. This couldn’t have happened and shouldn’t have happened.
All the ancient texts his father made him read as a child were starting to make sense. He’d let his emotions run away from him, and his life was going to change forever.
The room was dark. “Lights,” he called. He didn’t want to look, but he had to if he wanted to confirm what had happened. He stared at her breasts and the red blood that dripped there.
Rev licked his lips at the memory of that taste.
“Whoa, buddy,” said Tracy looking down. “Looks like you got into it.”
“I’m sorry,” he gasped.
“Oh,” said Tracy. “It’s just a little blood and I’ll probably be sore for a few days so don’t try that again anytime soon.”
She was very calm. She obviously did not know what the bite meant. Tracy wiped the blood away with her hand.
“And teeth marks,” she said with a smile. “Good job.”
“Those aren’t teeth marks,” he said. The distress must have shown in his voice because she looked at him with concern.
“Then…what are they?”
“Fang marks.”
“Fang marks? Like in a snake?”
“What is a snake?”
“Long slithery things; some of them have venom.”
“Oh,” groaned Rev. “No, no.”
“What is it? Did you inject me with some freaky alien shit. Am I going to die?”
“No, it’s not like that. Oh goddess, what did I do?”
“I don’t know,” said Tracy with exasperation. “Why don’t you tell me?”
“Maybe it’s not too late. I’ll just put you in the tank—”
Tracy grabbed his face with both hands and stared into his eyes.
“Tell me what is wrong!”
“This happens so rarely among my people. It’s an ancient thing, so old ,it’s more like a legend. My fangs descended. I bit you and took your blood.”
“Is that all?” She smiled and relaxed her shoulders. “You’re not an alien vampire, right? I’m not growing any fangs. And you’re still hot.”
A banging noise came from the door. “Who locked this thing? Everything okay in here?”
Rev moved away from Tracy and motioned for her to lay down. He covered her with a large towel. As Grenta’s footsteps moved toward them, he secured her hands and feet to the table.
“Yes, doctor. She said she was cold. I covered her.”
“Why was the door locked?”
“Bris was in here earlier, ogling the cargo. I thought he was going to sneak back in.”
Grenta snorted. “Yes, I have to watch him myself. Well, then, how is our patient doing?”
Grenta spoke as if he cared about her welfare. It made Rev’s blood boil.
“She’s fine. She’s ready,” he said.
“What’s going to happen?” said Tracy in a small, high voice.
“Nothing much, dear,” said Grenta. “I’m just going to give you some shots.”
“Immunizations?” she asked. “Look, I’ve had all my shots. You can just call my doctor’s office.”
Rev’s heart filled with pride at how his little human played along. She was smart as well as brave.
“They aren’t quite immunizations. You ready?”
Rev handed him the modified conversion injector. Grenta moved the towel on Tracy absentmindedly. He was not looking closely. In fact, he turned his head away.
“Gods, what is that smell,” said Grenta.
Rev stopped breathing as the scent of sex wafted to his nose. What if Grenta decided to do an examination?
The injector hissed.
“Ouch,” said Tracy.
“Just a pinch, dear. Cax, make sure she’s cleaned up before you put her in the tank.”
“Yes, doctor.” Rev relaxed. The doctor showed no inclination to look her over.
“Give me the other one,” said Grenta and Rev gave him the second injector.
Tracy yelped as he pushed it to her ear. Rev thought she was over-acting a bit, but she was still brave. Worthy.
Rev smiled at her as Grenta walked to the tank that held what was once Carol, now transforming into Grubba.
“Hmmm,” he said. “Progress is slow, but you never know what to expect with this process. Still, the quills are coming in nicely.”
Rev moved next to Grenta. He peered into the tank, and noticed that Grubba’s quills were actually longer than just a few minutes ago. He saw a longing expression came over Grenta’s face.
“Do you like quills?” asked Rev.
“Yes. My Loran was a Staukub.”
“What happened to her?”
“She died in prison,” he hissed. “A damned tracker caught scent of us in the Osluna sector, on Protra, you know?”
Rev nodded. Protra was a hub for wiver activity.
“Staukub are strong but slow. I got away. She didn’t. And I never saw her again.”
Grenta grew silent for a second, then stiffened. “That was a long time ago. But I tell you, if another tracker crosses my path, I’ll kill him myself.”
A painful wail rose up behind them.
“Ow! It hurts, it hurts! What did you do to me, you fuckers!” She screamed again and jerked her limbs against her restraints.
“Good,” said Grenta. “Well, this one looks likes she’s progressing. I’ll check on the other one later. Keep an eye on her.”
“Yes, doctor,” said Rev. But he wondered why Grenta left the red section so often. Rev was getting an uncomfortable feeling.
“Hey Cax,” the doctor said as his parting shot. “No more sex with the cargo. We want them nice and tight for their new husbands. We get a bonus for that, you know.”
Tracy let go a long piecing shriek, and Grenta hurried away.
*
Tracy heard the nasty doctors footsteps fade away and the sound of something sliding then closing. She sat up.
“Glad he’s gone,” she said.
“Sssh, Tracy,” said Cax. “Lay down.”
“Oh really,” she said arching her eyebrows, “So soon?”
Cax pushed her backward so her head hit the table.
“Ouch!” she said.
“Good. But louder.”
“Whatever for?”
He leaned over, his chest pressing against her breast.
“I think we are being watched.”
“Oh,” she said quietly.
“Scream, hard and long, and then act like you’ve passed out.”
“Got it.” she said with a wink.
Tracy did what Cax asked and even pulled at her restraints while he stood over her. Her fake cries filled the room. She gasped, then slumped, rolling her head to the side.
Cax lifted her gently and walked toward the tank.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Don’t talk. When we get the tank, I’ll keep my back to the view screen. That’s where I think the camera is. I’ll pretend to lower you into the tank, but I’ll put you behind it. Crawl to the convenience as fast as you can and I’ll be there in a minute. Be quiet!”
Cax lowered her to the floor, lett
ing his body hide Tracy. Tracy scooted on her hands and knees to the bathroom, taking care not to touch the machines on either side of her. Cax followed close behind her, and the door of the bathroom opened to admit them.
Once inside, Tracy stood up. Cax gathered her into her arms. He kissed the top of her head.
“I’m sorry for all this,” he said. “Your scent…”
“What about my scent?” she said.
“We have to talk.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“That narrows it down,” said Tracy. “How’s Carol?”
Cax turned his head away. “She’s alive.”
“And?” she said crossing her arms and arching her eyebrow.
“Grenta started the conversion process. Right now she’s in the middle of changing to a Staukub.”
“Staukub? What’s that?”
“A race from the Oneshan Sector.”
“You’re changing her to another species! How could you? What kind of monsters are you?”
He closed his eyes because her words hurt him. “I’m sorry, Tracy Walsh. If I interceded for her, I would not have been able to save you. But if we get to my people in time, we can fix it.”
“Your people? Who are you?”
“My name is Ar-Reven. I’m a tracker from the Enforcement Wing of the Aligned Words.”
“Tracker? What does a tracker do?”
“Law enforcement. Think of me as an interstellar cop.”
“And what? You are working undercover here?”
“Working under an assumed name? Yes. Jaal, Bris and Grenta are part of a ring of criminals that steal women from non-aligned worlds and sell them as wives.”
“Slavery.”
“In a sense. For the buyer, they are simply making a financial transaction to secure a wife. The illegal part is using women from non-aligned worlds.”
“And to make this sale, they convert women into different races?”
“Yes. They change them and implant memories that match their new lives.”
“I don’t understand. Why is so hard for these men to find a wife?”
“Most of my society lives in a high level of comfort. The women do not want a life where these men live. They have to do hard work like mining, farming, that sort of thing.”
“Abducting women from your own worlds-”
“Carries a death sentence.”
“But not women from non-aligned worlds. And why is that?”
“They are not part of our society.”
“That doesn’t make it right!”
“Of course it doesn’t. That is why there are people that track the criminals and put them in jail.”
“Why aren’t you doing that now? Where are your people? Where is your back-up?”
“Tracy, I have no back-up. And we are far from my people, though I can send them a signal to come get me.”
“Well, send the signal!”
“If I did that,” he said with anguish. “I wouldn’t be allowed to take you with me. My people wouldn’t let me.”
“Why on Earth not?”
“That’s the thing, Tracy. We aren’t on Earth. And even if we were, it wouldn’t make a difference. We shouldn’t be talking, let alone mating.”
“Oh, I get it now. Bang the little earthling and leave her behind. I’ll never fit in your world. Your great big Aligned Worlds society has no place for me.”
“No! Gods no!”
“That’s just what you said, isn’t it?”
He gave her a frustrated look, hoping that she would understand.
“We have laws so we are both protected.”
“Oh, so you are going to hide behind the law now!”
“Tracy, please. Things are incredibly complicated now.”
“Now you’re giving me the ‘it’s complicated’ excuse. Do they do this on every planet?”
She turned her back on him, pissed. This was ridiculous. Abducted an alien, fucked by an alien, and now given the brush-off by an alien. Men certainly seemed to be the same way across the galaxy.
His hands reached out and pulled her towards him.
“This is hard to explain, and we truly don’t have much time before Grenta returns, but understand this. I will never, never leave you behind. I can’t.”
“You just said—”
He pulled her hand to his chest where she felt a pulsating rhythm behind his rib cage. He placed in the middle, holding it in place just below his marvelous pecs. He was an alien, but he still had a heartbeat.
Cax then put her other hand over her own heart.
“Feel that?” he said.
It took her a second to realize what he meant, but then she felt it. His heart and hers were beating in the same rhythm.
“It is a thing extremely rare among my people. It only happens to one in a thousand mating couples. Once we got to the stars, we abandoned the old ways to fit in with galactic society. When I sunk my fangs into your flesh, and mingled our blood, I joined us, forever. I’m sorry. I did this without your permission, and among my people, that is considered very wrong. But it is done. You are mine, Tracy Walsh, and I can’t live without you.”
Tracy stared at Ar-Reven.
“What do you mean? Joined? Like in married?”
“Marriage is a civil contract.”
“I suppose. Two people agree to live with and love each other, and they make a family.”
“This is not a civil contract,” he said very seriously.
“Good. Because I’m not ready for marriage.”
“It is more than that. This bond can only be broken by death.”
“Death?” She stuck her finger in his chest, “I did not agree to ‘join’ or ‘bond’ with you or whatever you call it. In fact, I pretty much disagree with everything that has happened to me, except for the really hot sex, but still, I’m not yours.”
His face fell. “You do not feel it too? The need to be together? The need to touch and not stop touching?”
Tracy swallowed hard. Yes, he was very sexy. Who wouldn’t want to touch him, with muscles to bounce a quarter on, arms so strong he could lift her with ease, lips so—fuck that!
She broke out of her reverie, knowing she had to keep a clear head during this screwed up situation.
“What I feel is nauseous.”
“Oh. Oh?” He looked at her with new interest. “Nauseous?”
“Yeah, probably because I haven’t had anything to eat for a long time.”
He nodded his head. “Yes, that’s probably it. It would be too much to—”
“Too much to what?” she said looking at him with narrowed eyes.
“Nothing. Okay, we need to get you back in the tank.”
“Hell, no. I’m not going back in the tank.”
“That is the best way for me to protect you right now, to act like nothing wrong. If you don’t, they’ll know something is strange and space all of us.”
Reluctantly, Tracy agreed. He led her back to the tank, holding her hand, rubbing his thumb between her thumb and index finger. She didn’t know such a simple movement could be erotic, but it sent tingles down her back. As he led her, she watched the muscles of his posterior move as he walked. She loved a round ass on a man. Moisture gathered between her legs, and against her will, her clit tingled.
This is ridiculous, her mind told herself. But her body did not agree.
When they were nearly past the bank of machines that blocked the view screen, he motioned for her to get lower. She fell to her hands and knees, and crawled to the tank.
With his back to the camera, he put a breathing mask over her face. He helped her into the tank, lowering her reverently into the gel. She looked up him, a beautiful creature, who was gazing back at her.
“Sleep tight, Tracy Walsh,” he said. “I will watch over you.”
*
It was difficult for Rev to look away from the sight of Tracy floating in the tank. His hunger was a kind of madness. He was will
ing to give up everything for her.
He hadn’t understood this feeling when he read the ancient texts. They spoke of the madness of the heart that consumed bonded lovers.
They may not know much about each other now, but they would learn everything about each other. He’d do what he could to make things easier for her, even if things wouldn’t be easy for him.
He walked through the problems in his mind.
First was her declaration that she did not feel the same way about him. It was hard to imagine, but she was a different species and who knew how that worked? Her biology was different. How different, they would have to learn together.
Second, he bonded with her without her permission. This would definitely have repercussions at home among his people. They would punish him in some way, maybe even banish him. He wouldn’t like itt, but as long as he had Tracy things would be bearable.
Third, and most seriously, he broke the law by having sex with Tracy. The bond was proof of the action and there would be no denying it. Not that he would have. He was not a coward or a liar. But his career as a tracker was over.
Rev would lose his job with a criminal record. They may even imprison him! Serving time wouldn’t be terrible, but from being away from Tracy would be. He would have to hope that his record, his work and the testimony on the wivers ring would earn him mercy from the court.
The door slid open and Grenta entered.
“Everything OK in here?” he asked.
“They’re both fine.”
“Let me see,” he said walking to the space between the tanks. He peered into Grubba’s tank and made a noise of approval. “Very good! She should be ready in a few hours time.”
“A few hours?”
“You haven’t been paying attention, have you? We are in orbit over the miners’ planet already. Jaal is in contact with the miners now and they are anxious to inspect the shipment.”
Grenta looked into Tracy’s tank. He frowned.
“No physical changes at at. There should be SOMETHING.” He took a device out of his pocket and passed it over Tracy, shaking his head.
“Well, it happens at times, though not often, but not a single cellular change.” Grenta moved swiftly to the view screen and swiped at it. Jaal’s image came up.