by Luna Voss
“Now.” I say. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We’re locked in a cell. There’s nothing else for us to do. Let’s find some enjoyment where we can.”
He still looks hesitant. I take his hand and lead him into the bathroom. When I turn on the water, to my relief, it’s hot.
“Come on,” I say, stripping off my clothes.
Ragga does the same, and we climb into the shower together. He seems awkward at first, but soon, we’re snuggling and touching each other under the water, savoring the warmth, cleaning each other’s bodies affectionately. The whole experience is incredibly intimate, and by the end, I feel much closer to him. It’s like slowly, I’m unlocking a softer side of him, one that he usually keeps hidden under a tough exterior.
We’re both in a better mood after the shower. Ragga doesn’t even snarl when a Clan Drokal warrior approaches the window to our cell.
“What is it?” he grunts at the other Kyrzon.
“The woman,” says our jailer. “Chief Drokal doesn’t believe she’s a threat.” The Kyrzon addresses me: “You are free to go,” he says.
“What about Ragga?” I ask, frowning.
“He stays here,” says the Kyrzon.
“Then I’m staying here, too,” I tell him resolutely.
“Lily, you should go,” says Ragga. “Just because I’m locked up here doesn’t mean that you have to be.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I tell him fiercely. “That’s final, and we’re not going to argue about it.”
Ragga seems to swell with happiness at my words. He gestures me over to him, and I sit down in his lap.
“How did I get so lucky to have you?” he whispers, holding me.
The jailer taps on the glass. “You’re really staying here?”
“Really,” I tell him. “Tell Chief Drokal that if he wants to free me, he needs to free both of us.”
Chapter Twenty
We spend that night in the Drokal prison, and then the next. On the morning of the second day, the jailer comes once again to the door of our cell.
“You are being released,” he says, unlocking the door.
I spring to my feet. “What? Why?”
“Orders,” the jailer grunts, and I don’t get the impression that he’s interested in explaining further. He unlocks the door. “Come on out. I have your things here to return to you.”
Ragga and I allow two armed guards from Clan Drokal to lead us out of our cell and give us back our things. As we’re walking down the corridor, I see a familiar face. It’s the woman from the auction again. I catch her eye, and she walks next to us, matching our pace.
“How are you?” she asks, looking concerned.
“Better than last night,” I say, scowling. “I never thought I would see you again after our Auction Day.”
“Me, neither,” she says warmly. “My name is Cleo, by the way.”
“Lily,” I introduce myself, and then gesture to my mate. “And this is Ragga.”
Ragga nods at her tersely. He doesn’t seem like he’s in a good mood.
“Ragga purchased you at the auction?” Cleo asks as we approach the turbo-lift that leads us to the ground level.
“No,” I tell her. “It’s… a long story.”
“But you travel together?”
“Yes,” I say, nuzzling my head against Ragga’s chest. “We’re… well, it’s complicated. He saved my life.”
We all climb into the turbo-lift: me, Ragga, Cleo, and two serious-faced Clan Drokal guards.
“Will you be living here with us?” Cleo asks, looking excited at the idea. “I’m mated to the chief. I’m sure I could convince him to allow you to stay.”
Ragga breaks in with a contemptuous snort. “No, we will not be staying here in Drokal territory. We will be making our home elsewhere, where your mate will not be able to throw us into a cell whenever he pleases.”
I shoot Ragga a what-the-hell look. Here we are, being offered a home, just like we’ve been looking for, and he doesn’t even want to consider it?
Cleo looks at me as though hoping I’ll have another opinion, but I’m not about to contradict my mate right in front of her. Ragga and I can talk about this later.
Besides, it’s hard to blame him for not wanting to live with the people who just captured us and kept us imprisoned for two days.
“I’m glad to see that you’re safe and well,” I tell her. “And I hope we get to see each other again someday. But you have to understand why we don’t want to stay here.”
Cleo looks at me sadly, and nods. I nod back, a silent gesture of solidarity.
Ragga puts his arm around me, and together, we walk away from the settlement.
* * *
“You know, we could have at least heard her out,” I say to Ragga as we hike through the forest.
“And why would we bother to do that?” he growls. “You really want to live with those fucking people after they just took us prisoner?”
“I want to live with you, and you took me prisoner,” I shoot back.
Ragga opens his mouth, and then closes it. He must realize I have a point.
“And where do you want to go, anyway?” I ask, a little bit annoyed at him.
“I already told you,” he says. “I think we should go to Gurrak Territory and see if Clan Gurrak will take us in.”
“And why would you rather live with Clan Gurrak than Clan Drokal?”
Ragga stops in his tracks, his face hardening. “Lily, my tribe has been at war with Clan Drokal for the past two years. I’ve lost friends and brothers at the hands of their warriors.”
“You don’t belong to Clan Broga anymore,” I remind him. “And what do you think your former clan-mates would do to you if they caught us together? What do you think they would do to us? How can you still have loyalty to them?”
“It’s not loyalty,” Ragga grunts. “Fuck Clan Broga. There, is that good enough for you?”
“No, it’s not,” I say. “I don’t need you to disavow your former clan, but I do need to know that you’re making good decisions.”
“And what makes you so sure that wanting to live with Clan Drokal is a good decision?”
I sigh in frustration. “I’m not sure about anything! All I know is that we’ve been offered a home, and you just turned it down. Ragga, we need somewhere to live! We can’t just keep running around and camping in the woods for the rest of our lives. What about…” I hesitate, and then the words come spilling out: “What about when you get me pregnant? Are we still going to be searching for a home then? What about when we have a child?”
For the first time in this conversation, it seems like I’ve really gotten Ragga’s attention. His face softens, and he steps forward, putting his arms around me.
“Lily, my valued mate, you know I will do whatever it takes to secure your safety.”
“Unless it means making peace with your former enemies.”
It looks almost like my words wound him. He takes a step back, and for a moment, I feel slightly guilty. I was just trying to make a point. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“It is obvious that you do not relate to why this is difficult for me,” he says. “But I do understand your reluctance to leave a place of safety. Perhaps we should make camp here, in Clan Drokal’s territory, but away from the Capital. We can stay here a while before deciding our next move. That is, if you can secure Chief Drokal’s permission for us to camp on his land.”
I think about it. That seems fair.
Stepping forward, I get up on my tiptoes to kiss Ragga’s cheek. He bends down, allowing me to do it.
“That’s a good plan,” I say.
He puts his hands on my waist, right above my butt, and I feel a twinge of desire at the intimacy of his touch.
“Do you want to know what my favorite part of the plan is?” he asks me, his voice low in my ear.
“What?”
“The part where I get you pregnant,” Ragga growls, one of his hands sliding down to my
ass. “That’s not an if, Lily, it’s a when.”
Chapter Twenty-One
A couple of weeks later, Ragga and I have begun to put together a nice little homestead for ourselves, just a couple of miles away from the Drokal capital. We’re still sleeping in a tent, but it’s one of the big, nice Kyrzon tents, not the tiny one we were sleeping in before.
The day after after we were freed from our cell, Ragga and I went back to the Drokal capital to officially ask permission to live on their land. To my disappointment, Cleo was nowhere to be found, and neither was Chief Drokal. However, we were able to get permission from Drokal’s brother, Kalish, who was in charge while he was gone. Kalish also offered us supplies, including a bigger tent, which we accepted gratefully.
I’m not sure that this generosity has done much to change Ragga’s opinion of Clan Drokal, but it certainly hasn’t hurt. Personally, I’m impressed by the size and comfort level of this new tent. It might even be bigger than my tiny little apartment aboard the Ship in New Sutter. Eventually, I’d like to build a house, but for now, this tent is just fine. In fact, the whole project of setting up a homestead out here has been so involved, and so enjoyable, that it hasn’t even occurred to me to make another trip back to the Drokal capital. We have fresh water from a stream nearby, and we’ve been able to hunt everything we’ve needed to eat.
Ragga’s latest project has been putting up fencing around our area, to better protect us from wild animals. I have to say, I do love watching Ragga work: he does all his labor topless, his enormous muscles rippling in the sun, sweat glistening on his body. It’s all I can do not to jump on him constantly and distract him from his work.
Thankfully, I get my share of him when he’s done working. Ragga has taken to “seeding” me every night, making sure I never go to bed without at least one full load of his cum inside me. It’s a ritual I’ve come to crave. Feeling his sticky warmth makes me feel complete, as though I was meant to be filled by him. I savor the feeling, and the knowledge that any one of these nights could be the night his seed takes hold, and a little half-alien starts to grow inside me.
Whatever my disagreements with Ragga, I’m a very lucky woman to have him.
This morning, my mate and I have decided to visit the Capital again. We walk arm-in-arm through the wilderness, him with his sword in his belt, me clutching the bow.
I’ve gotten good at shooting since we settled down. I spend at least an hour or two every afternoon doing target practice, and Ragga has been teaching me how to make my own arrows. At this point, I’m pretty confident in my ability to hit a reasonably-sized target that isn’t moving, as long as it isn’t too far away. And my ability to hit moving targets while hunting has improved, too. I’ve actually been the one catching most of the meals that Ragga and I have been eating together.
“I don’t know what you’re expecting to find with Clan Drokal,” Ragga grunts as we walk. “They’re just a clan of Kyrzons, like any other.”
“Ragga, I don’t want to just live alone in the woods without any friends. It’s important to know people. To have community. We should have friends we can rely on if we ever need to.”
Ragga looks like he’s resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Clearly, he doesn’t think we could ever need anyone’s help with anything.
When we get to the Drokal settlement, it’s immediately apparent that something is wrong. Some of the buildings are destroyed, and scorch marks cover the ground. Ragga almost trips over the head of a broken spear as we walk, and I can see the snapped remains of arrows on the ground.
It’s obvious that there has been a great battle.
Ragga keeps his hand on the hilt of his sword as we walk forward, and I grip my bow, eyes searching for any sign of danger.
“What do you think happened?” I whisper.
“It looks like there was an attack,” Ragga whispers back.
As we cautiously near the part of the settlement where the the buildings become more dense, I can see Kyrzons. I relax as I notice that none of them seem to be armed or aggressive.
These are members of Clan Drokal.
A sense of relief washes over me as I see Cleo walking near the city center. I wave to her, and she comes over to us, beaming.
“I’m so glad to see you again!” she says as she approaches, and it’s obvious that she means it. “Have you changed your mind about staying with us?”
“Not yet,” Ragga growls, but he shuts up when I throw him a dirty look.
“We’re thinking about it,” I tell her. “Cleo, what happened here?”
“We were attacked by Clan Broga,” she says, her tone somber. “It was a couple of weeks ago. We’re still cleaning up.”
“And how did Clan Broga fare?” asks Ragga, suddenly interested.
“There is no more Clan Broga,” says Cleo forcefully. “What warriors remain now belong to Clan Drokal.”
Ragga looks shocked. “And Chief Broga?”
“Dead,” says Cleo, clear pride in her voice. “My husband left him headless after we invaded their fortress.”
My mate opens his mouth, and then closes it. It looks like he has no idea how to react to the news of his former clan being annihilated.
“And what of the warrior Lurkka?” I ask Cleo, wanting to know the whereabouts of my one-time owner. “Is he now part of your clan too?”
“Lurkka…” repeats Cleo, frowning. “I don’t know that name. I do not believe he is with us. Perhaps he perished in the fighting. Is he a friend of yours?”
“Not exactly,” I tell her. “He’s the one who originally bought me at the auction.”
Cleo’s eyes go wide with understanding. “And I suppose you’re worried he might try to take revenge on you for leaving him, and on Ragga for stealing his woman.”
“We’re not worried,” Ragga growls. “If he comes within 50 miles of here, I’ll rip his head from his shoulders.”
“I’m worried,” I admit. “Ragga and I are going to have a baby. I need to know that we’re safe.”
Cleo’s face lights up, and she hugs me. I hug her back, slightly bemused, but glad to have her affection. She’s the only human I’ve seen since I left New Sutter.
“Drokal and I are having a baby too,” she tells me happily. “We can be pregnant together.”
The idea of having a friend with whom to share the experience of bearing an alien’s child is incredibly comforting. Instantly, I understand her excitement. Cleo may be the queen of this tribe, but I can’t imagine she has a lot of human friends.
“That would make me really happy,” I tell her warmly. “It would be great to have another human to talk to about things.” I glance down at her belly. “Do you know how far along you are?”
Cleo’s cheeks tinge red. “Well… I guess technically, I don’t actually know that I’m pregnant yet. But, uh… the way things have been going with Chief Drokal… I’m definitely going to be pregnant soon, let’s put it that way,” she finishes, glancing at Ragga awkwardly.
I get the impression that were my mate not present, she might have been a little more explicit. I feel a twinge of disappointment. The opportunity to have some “girl talk” with another human actually sounds really nice. It’s the kind of friendship I never had growing up.
I raise my eyebrows at her suggestively. “I believe you,” I say with an amused chuckle. “These Kyrzon warriors have… quite the appetite.”
She giggles, and so do I. Ragga rolls his eyes, looking uncomfortable.
* * *
A little while later, Ragga has banished himself to the saloon, leaving Cleo and I alone to get to know each other. I’m glad to see it: if my mate and I are going to assimilate at all into Drokal society, we’re going to need to make friends. Maybe he’ll find himself some drinking buddies.
Cleo takes me onto the large spaceship in the center of the town that she refers to as “Castle Drok.” She leads me into a large area with a pair of chairs at the back, situated almost like thrones. I see what appear
to be guns and other weapons of war lining the walls, clear evidence of a violent culture. It amazes me to see Cleo, a woman who grew up the same way I did, looking so comfortable here.
“This is the Great Hall,” she tells me as we pass through.
“Do you and Drokal sit on these thrones?” I ask, intensely curious.
Cleo laughs. “No. Although technically, that’s what they’re for.”
We step into the turbo-lift, which is very similar to the ones on the Ship back home.
“Do you know where this ship came from?” I ask Cleo. “Ragga says that the Kyrzons traveled here from space.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s true,” she says as she punches a button and the door to the turbo-lift closes. “And as you’ve probably noticed, this ship seems to be made by the same people who made the Ship back in New Sutter.”
I shake my head in amazement. “I always thought the Kyrzons evolved here. Does that mean that Kyrzons and humans came from the same place?”
“I think it has to,” says Cleo. “I don’t have any other explanation. Not to mention, they speak our same language.”
“Ragga was telling me about how the word ‘Kyrzon’ originally referred to their species, but not the whole planet. He told me that humans were the ones who named the planet after them.”
Cleo frowns. “I didn’t know that. But it doesn’t surprise me.”
The turbo-lift door opens, and we walk down a corridor until Cleo stops at one of the doorways. She takes me inside, and I’m greeted by a cozy-looking bedroom with a huge bed and a skylight right above it.
Oh, and swords on the walls. And spears. And axes.
“This is quite a place,” I say to Cleo. “Take away the decorations,” I gesture to the weapons on the walls, “and it could almost be New Sutter.”
Cleo laughs. “Drokal’s taste, obviously. Although I’ll have to say, I do find them kind of cool.” She grabs one of the swords off the wall and shows it to me.
“That is kind of cool,” I say, looking at it. I can see my reflection in the shiny blade.