by Octavia Kore
“What’s this?” she asked, pointing to the object. Heat rolled over her, rushing up her spine as the Grutex stepped up beside her, his chest brushing her arm.
“I don’t understand,” he muttered. “I’ve seen fluids used to supply nutrients, but I thought this was meant to preserve her body, to help them understand what had gone wrong, but these…” He moved around her, brushing his fingers over the small tube and wires that ran through a metal plate and into Laurie’s body. “I’m a warrior, not a scientist, but I’ve seen these used in the rebirthing process to keep the offspring alive while they grow.”
“How do you think she got pregnant?”
The Grutex shook his head. “I don’t know. There was no mating after our last loss.” He looked back toward the open room where Ky still stood, and the slits on his face she assumed were his nostrils flared. “There must be something here.”
The Tachin, whoever the hell they were, seemed to be no better than the Grutex back in the lab. They’d used her as an incubator, just like the Grutex had used Esme and all the other women they bred.
At least you made it out alive…
Ky’s fushori glowed softly as the large male passed her on his way to the wall on the far side of the room. He pressed his hand against a spot she hadn’t noticed during her inspection. She moved around the fluid-filled tube again, watching intently as the male swiped through the images that projected onto the wall. File after file flashed in front of them in a language she didn’t recognize.
Esme hadn’t even realized she’d moved away from the tube or that she’d stopped next to Ky until she felt the female’s hand encompass her own, squeezing gently as if to reassure and remind her that she wasn’t alone.
“What are you looking for?” Ky asked.
“I want answers, and I know he left something behind. It’s just a matter of finding it…” Red flashed across the projection and Esme stumbled backward a few paces when the Grutex growled and pounded his fist against the wall. “Locked.” He seethed, glaring at the wall.
He stood there for a moment, his tail thrashing back and forth before he glanced up. Red eyes darted around the room before the male grabbed the nearest table and flipped it, tossing it carelessly to the side. Ky stepped forward, shielding Esme with her body as they watched him tear through the debris. When he finally worked his way to the table where they’d hidden the dead body, Ky’s hand tightened around hers.
The alien’s lip pulled up into a snarl, revealing deadly pointed teeth, as he bent down, taking hold of the corpse and dragging it into the middle of the room. The arm made a sickening pop, twisting at an angle that made Esme’s stomach churn.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked.
His gaze fell on her, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled the dead alien over to the panel, grunting as he lifted the body just enough to press the stiff hand against it. The file on the projection flashed green and opened just as the body landed with a thud on the metal floor.
“Got it,” he whispered, a triumphant grin tugging at his mouth.
In the corner of the unlocked file was a small picture of a fly-like alien. Was this what the dried-up corpse had looked like before death? The first document within the file opened when the Grutex tapped on the icon, and more alien text scrolled across the screen.
“Well,” Esme huffed impatiently when he made no attempt to translate. “What does it say?”
“Test Subject T01: breeding was successful. As soon as fetal life was detected, Tachin DNA insertion was initiated. Round one was given with no adverse reaction, but within a day of receiving the second round, the living incubator rejected the fetus, terminating the experiment. Testing will resume upon the next successful breeding cycle.”
Esme’s gut twisted upon hearing the words. Living incubator. That was what he had called her on more than one occasion. Memories of their exchange in that hospital room, of the emotionless look on his face, flashed through her mind. She bit back a whimper as she squeezed Ky’s hand, pressing herself to the larger female’s side.
Ten… nine… eight… seven… Esme counted, trying her best to quell the rising panic.
“What is DNA insertion?” Ky asked, squinting at the projection.
“Essentially, taking the DNA of one thing and placing it into another,” he answered.
“Is that not how breeding normally works?” Ky’s voice was curious and uncertain. “I know I only worked with the healers within the dome for a short time, but that was my understanding of it all.”
“Normally,” the male said. “But Laurie was already carrying our offspring. There was no reason for them to insert any other DNA, especially Tachin.” The vine-like tendrils hanging from his head writhed with his annoyance.
Each file he read only seemed to add to his agitation. Without warning, the large alien male twisted and slammed his fist into the metal wall, his roar echoed through the room so loud that Esme ripped her hand from Ky’s to slam them over her ears.
“Enough,” Ky said, her voice gentle but firm as she moved forward to lay a hand on the Grutex’s shoulder. “That’s enough.”
“I’m sorry,” he muttered after a moment. “It’s difficult to read his recounting of the mutilation.”
“Did he explain her… condition?”
The Grutex hesitated before nodding. “There were samples taken after the loss of the second… I was under the impression this was to help the Tachin better understand the issues we were facing, but it seems that they found a use for it after her passing.”
Even in death, humans weren’t safe from these aliens. Esme looked back at Laurie, her eyes stinging with unshed tears as she stepped up to the tube to press her hand to the outside. She knew what it was like to be used, to be seen as nothing more than a warm vessel fit to carry an alien child.
I’m so sorry for what they did to you, for what they’ve done to so many of us.
“I should have removed the body from the room…”
Esme heard Ky speaking behind her, but the female’s words faded as she closed her eyes. Someone or something was there, just at the edge of her mind. She’d struggled to separate her own thoughts and feelings from those of the other humans during those long weeks after their escape from the lab, but here, with only Ky and now the Grutex, it was much easier to distinguish them. This probe, though… this wasn’t from either of the aliens behind her.
It was familiar yet somehow distinct, different than anything she’d ever felt in her entire life. Just as Esme was trying to reach out, a wall of incontrollable emotion slammed into her. She stumbled backward with a gasp, her eyes flying open as she struggled to catch her breath.
Fear. Panic. Desperation.
It assaulted her mind, clawing against the feeble barriers she’d been teaching herself to erect. Esme took an unconscious step toward the tube and watched in horror as the baby inside began to kick and thrash. The skin over Laurie’s already protruding belly stretched farther with each movement.
Something’s wrong. This isn’t right.
Terror rushed through her when she realized the one who’d been reaching out to her was the baby, and she was in trouble. Esme wasn’t sure how, but she just knew that the baby was a girl. Some would call it a sixth sense, but it was so much more than that.
“No, no, no,” Esme whispered as her head whipped around, her eyes searching for something to break the glass with. One of the chairs the Grutex had tossed around earlier rested on its side nearby, and Esme grabbed it, slamming the bent metal legs into the side of the tube as hard as she could. The sound of her heart beating in her ears drowned out everything else in the room except for the desperate clawing in her mind. Esme’s breath caught in her chest as pain sliced through her lower abdomen, but it didn’t stop her. She swung again and again, completely unaware of the blood dripping from her palms.
Fear.
She had to help—had to get her out.
Panic.
She couldn’t leave
her in there to die.
Desperation.
God, please, not again. Let me get her out!
A small crack formed along the outside, growing steadily with each blow. Don’t give up! I’m almost there!
“Stop!” a deep voice shouted from somewhere behind her. “What are you doing?”
The baby was crying out, her calls for help as frantic as Esme’s actions. She wasn’t going to let this baby die the way hers had. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
“You’ll break it!” The Grutex growled a second before massive, hard arms wrapped around her middle, lifting her off of her feet as he yanked the chair from her hands.
“No! She needs me!” Esme struggled, kicking and beating at the plating on his arms as he turned her away.
He hitched her farther up his chest until she could feel the warmth of his breath against her neck. “You told me yourself she is dead. How can she need you if she is gone, Esme?” he asked gently as one of his hands moved up to her cheek, turning her face toward his. “You cannot help her now.”
“You can’t hear her! You can’t––” Esme screamed, thrashing around in his grip as another wave of panic assaulted her mind.
“You’ve hurt yourself,” the Grutex chided, but she didn’t care.
“The baby!” she managed to gasp. “She’s dying! Help her!”
Chapter 6
Kythea
Moments earlier…
“I should have removed the body from the room,” Ky said, looking down at the corpse near the male’s feet. “I believe it bothers Esme, but I did not want to leave her alone again.”
The male nodded, bending down to take the arm he’d popped out of place when he pulled it across the room. “I’ve got it.”
“No,” she said with a frown, reaching out to place a hand on his. “You stay here. You have already done too much as it is. If you keep putting strain on your body, you might reopen your wounds.”
His chuckle sent a shiver through her body and a jolt of pain through her abdomen, an indication that her body was already changing, preparing itself. Soon she would have her first bleed and her body would be fertile, ready to create and carry their own young. Was this what her mitera felt the first time she met Ky’s sire? It was terrifying and thrilling at once.
“I will help you.”
With a huff of frustration, Ky narrowed her eyes. “I am capable of disposing of this creature on my own.”
“I believe you,” he told her, moving closer so that she had to stare up into his face. “But I wish to help you, Ky.”
The sound of her name on his tongue stole the breath from her lungs, but it also highlighted the fact that she had no idea what to call him other than “male.” “I-I did not ask what we should call you.”
“Mate works just fine for me…” His eyes lit with what could only be amusement as his fingers grazed her cheek before trailing along the underside of her jaw. “But I find Master to be an acceptable substitute.”
“You are so very funny,” Ky muttered. “What is your name?”
The corners of his mouth tipped up as he brushed his fingers over the point of her ear before tangling his black claw in the strands of her hair. It was like he couldn’t help but touch her, and Ky understood that feeling all too well. She ached to touch her mates, to feel them against her, to know they were safe together. There had been too many lonely days and nights in her life, but now she had not just one but two mates. Una had given her a blessing beyond measure, and she wanted nothing more than to luxuriate in the comfort their closeness brought her.
“Xuvri is the name I was given,” he said, releasing her just as she turned her head into his palm. “No more arguing. Take his feet.” Xuvri bent down, sliding his hands beneath the alien’s shoulders as he waited for her to grab his ankles.
The creature was heavier than he looked, but she gritted her teeth and shuffled through the door. They hadn’t even made it halfway down the first hall before the sound of metal slamming into something solid reached them.
“Esme!” Ky gasped as her eyes found Xuvri’s. They dropped the body, not caring where it landed, and raced back to the room, back to their mate.
Ky stopped in her tracks the moment they got through the doorway. Esme was swinging a chair at the tube, her hands bloodied and her face a mask of horror as she stared wild-eyed at the female inside.
“Stop!” Xuvri shouted, rushing inside. “What are you doing? You’ll break it!” He lifted her up, ripping the chair from her grip and tossing it across the room.
“No! She needs me!” Esme screamed, her brown eyes desperately seeking out the female within the fluid.
“You told me yourself that she is dead. How can she need you if she is gone, Esme? You cannot help her now.”
“You can’t hear her! You can’t––” Her words ended on a scream that turned Ky’s lifeblood to ice.
You can’t hear her.
Ky had suspected Esme’s gift from the beginning, but hearing those words piqued her interest. Who was she hearing?
“The baby!” she gasped. “She’s dying! Help her!”
Without thinking, Ky dropped her mental walls, rushing forward as wave after wave of fear and panic moved over her, nearly pushing her off balance. She could feel the desperation of the offspring as it clawed at her, fighting for its life, but the dam’s mind was so silent that it sent a cold shiver down her spine. “Xuvri!” she shouted. “Listen to her! Something is wrong.”
“There’s a scanner somewhere,” Xuvri said, lowering Esme to the floor. “We can use it to check––”
“There’s no time! She’s dying!” Esme growled as she pushed away from their mate. “Get her out! Open the fucking tube!”
Ky ran her hands over the outside along the metal casing at the back, searching for a switch of some kind. She may have been new to this sort of tech, but there had to be something here that would make this open.
“I do not know how this works,” she huffed, flinching as the young one cried out again. Una, help her. “Where is the release?”
“Here,” Xuvri growled, squeezing past her to press one of the glowing buttons she hadn’t yet tried.
The liquid within the chamber began to drain, and she watched as Esme paced back and forth impatiently, glancing at the chair as if she meant to renew her efforts to break it open. Ky pulled Esme against her chest, wrapping her arms around the human’s shoulders as she fought to push her own fear aside long enough to calm her mate.
“Patience, Esme. We will protect her.”
“It’s taking too long.” The words had barely left Esme’s mouth before a loud hiss filled the air as the tube split along its seam.
Xuvri wrenched it open, reaching up to take the limp female into his arms. He placed her on the ground at their feet before crouching down and running a small metal sphere over her stomach. On the wall where they’d watched the projection, a moving picture appeared of the offspring. Ky was present for many of Amanda’s ultrasounds so that she might also learn to perform these one day, but nothing had prepared her for this.
She is beautiful, Ky thought, staring in awe as the shrill sound of alarms filled the air. Xuvri snarled, his eyes darting between the projection and the object in his hand. “What is it?”
“The vitals,” he growled. “They’re dropping.”
Ky turned to Esme. “Find me something sharp. We will need to cut her open if we want to save the youngling.”
Her hand trembled just a little as she reached out to place it on Laurie’s stomach, feeling her offspring kick against her palm. Ky knew their anatomy was similar, but she feared her methods could endanger the little one. If they’d had time, Ky would have pushed to bring them to the dome, to allow the Venium healers to safely deliver her, but the youngling was in distress, that much was apparent. They needed to act fast.
She grimaced, realizing she had none of her herbs, but did that matter in this situation? Esme said Laurie was brain dead, but that
was something she didn’t completely understand. The fact that this female had nurtured and carried this youngling even in death baffled her. Maybe, once her offspring was safe, Ky could try her best to save her.
Was this what Mitera felt when Zenah began to decline during Gulzar’s birth?
“Found something!” Esme called, racing back with the sharp metal instrument held out in front of her. “Oh, God,” her mate murmured as she stared down at the other female.
Ky took the tool, following Esme’s gaze to a growing pool of bright red lifeblood beneath Laurie’s hips. It was already happening, and the longer they waited, the less likely it was they would get to the youngling in time.
“Back up some,” Ky told them, rolling her shoulders. “Xuvri, get a clean blanket ready if you have one.”
Not only had the female been his friend, but she’d carried his offspring… many of them. Having someone so close to the person she was about to cut open put her on edge. What would happen if he tried to stop her, if he became too emotional? Better to keep him busy. Esme’s face paled as she stared down at the lifeblood, her eyes unfocused as if she were somewhere else, in some other time.
Her mind raced as she tried to decide her course of action. Should she cut the female vertically? Was there a greater risk of harm to the youngling this way? Would she bleed out? She’s already bleeding out, Kythea! Una, help her, she hadn’t ever doubted herself so much, but she was still learning about humans. They were so much softer than her people, so fragile.
What if I lose her? What if I can’t save her?
Panic rose up within Ky, and even though she knew it was irrational, a single terrifying thought froze her. Zar lost both of his parents the day he was born because Rydel and Zenah were fated, and being bound to another soul in that way meant that once one passed, the other would follow soon after. Xuvri and Laurie were not fated, this was made obvious by the glow that pulsed beneath her or Esme’s hands when they touched him, but that did nothing to lessen her fear in that moment.
“Do your people do this?” Ky asked, searching for a distraction to clear her mind.