Chapter 26
Lila
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” I ask Brannock when I reenter the house. Tirrian must see the determination in my eyes, because he herds the others outside, leaving me alone with the Aaz’axian.
“Of course, Lila. What do you need?”
“Will you allow me to mimic your form, please?”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and my stomach drops.
“Tirrian thinks it would be the safest form for me to take with the Madovian threat hanging over us,” I explain in a rush. “He thinks that going berserker if I need to will be effective against them.”
Brannock slowly nods his head. “Yes, I have fought the Madovians before, though they were on our side during the war, but unlike the Aaz’axians who were forced to be there, Madovians reveled in the slaughter and used their victims for breeding. They are vile creatures, and there were constant fights between our troops because they kept trying to seduce the Aaz’axian forces. It worked for a little while, especially once our females got sick and died off. A lot of our males took them up on the offer because they were desperate, and Madovian females seemed to enjoy our barbed cocks, but then we realized what they were doing—implanting their eggs to use us as incubators.”
I shudder at the thought, remembering what the one on the ship did to one of the crew.
“Our thorns will penetrate their skin, and the poison eats away at their flesh.”
“Your thorns have poison in them?” I don’t remember him saying that before.
He nods. “Yes, it’s what makes us so lethal in that form.”
“Do the females have the berserker form?” I ask.
“Yes, our females were just as lethal as the males until they started to get sick. I would very much like it if you mimicked my form, Lila,” Brannock says carefully, his eyes on mine, and I feel his excitement, though he’s trying desperately to lock it down.
“Alright, well, I have to get naked to do this so I don’t destroy Zeydan’s robe,” I warn him, and his eyes sparkle with amusement as one corner of his mouth kicks up, but he manages to keep a straight face. “I wonder if Xavier can create a spell that will allow clothes to shift with my mimic forms like he did with the kids.”
“It’s really no hardship for you to get naked in front of us,” Brannock says calmly.
“I know, but my mates aren’t the only people I’ll ever shift in front of,” I say as I drop the robes, and his eyes go from amused to hooded and heated with desire.
“Are you saying you would like to mate with me?” he asks slowly, and I think about what I just said. Oh, I guess it could be taken that way.
I don’t answer him immediately, instead studying him so his form will sink into my mind. I feel my mimic powers take over, and lavender mist surrounds me. Unlike my dragon shift, this one doesn’t hurt as I feel my body start to change. I get taller and broader, and spikes burst out of my skin, down my spine, and over my shoulder blades. Ridges and bumps appear on my arms, and I feel more spikes push out of my skull, creating a crest on my head. I reach up and touch my skull. My hair is still there, but the spikes have pushed out through the middle. I’ll need to braid it out of the way.
The mist clears, and I look down at myself. I’m the same opal blue color as Brannock, unlike the white opalescent color of Shiny or my dragon. I’m completely hairless apart from my head, my breasts are slightly smaller in this form, and my arms have spikes on them. My pubic mound is fleshy and a little more rounded than it is in human form, like there’s a little more padding down there. I reach up and touch the spikes on my head. Like Brannock’s, they are flexible to my touch, but if someone else were to touch them, they would find them razor sharp.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, and I drop my hands and meet his gaze. There’s a sheen of wonder in his eyes, and he walks around me, getting a good look. I should feel embarrassed and exposed, but instead I feel like preening at the way he looks at me, like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him. I feel my spines bristle, and the membranes between the ones on my back shimmer.
“You need to stop that, Lila.” When he steps in front of me, I see him gritting his teeth and clenching his hands. “Females would shimmer their spines to attract a mate. It releases a scent to bring eligible males to her side to fight for the right to mate with her. It’s all I can do to hold myself back.”
I freeze. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. It just started to happen without any help from me.” I slap my hands over my face, completely mortified. Yes, I’m attracted to this man, and I would like to ride him like a pony as Xavier suggested, but now is not the time.
“It’s okay.” I see him heave out a breath and step backward. “Maybe just use the robe to cover up until Xavier can find you something to wear.” I see him adjust himself behind his combat pants. His armor is slightly different from everyone else’s, allowing all his spikes and ridges to be free.
I bend down and grab the robe, pulling it up and over myself, glad it’s large enough for Zeydan’s tails and now my spikes. I can’t even look at him as I hide myself within the hood, but I feel him step in front of me, and he lifts my chin with a finger when I won’t look at him.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I have never in all my life smelled anything as intoxicating as you. My mouth waters to get a taste, but we have a few pressing matters to take care of first. I assure you, Lila, when we return to the ship, I would like our Aaz’axian forms to become very well acquainted. I promised you something earlier, and I fully intend to keep my promise.”
He walks away, leaving me confused. What did he promise me? Oh. Oh! He promised to shred my pussy. Yes please.
Brannock must send Xavier inside, because he appears in my line of sight, smirking. “Are you thinking naughty things, phoeall?”
“No,” is my swift response, and I can see he doesn’t believe me. Damn warlock and his emotion feeling powers.
“Let’s outfit you so we can get this show on the road.” He pushes the robes off me, and I watch him scan me from head to toe. “Well, I guess I understand the raging lust coming from Brannock now.” He reaches out and runs a finger down between my breasts and my stomach to just above my clit. “You are a fucking feast for him. I’m not sure if this is the best idea you’ve had or the cruelest.”
“It was Tirrian’s idea. He thought this form would be the safest since we can’t land in dragon form in the clearing, and while I’m okay with warlock powers, I’m not as fast, and they drain my energy quickly.” I bite my lip as he waves his hand, and the same outfit that Brannock wore covers me from head to toe, leaving my arms exposed.
“This should let you change into your berserker form, and yes, I agree. While I would like to see you use your warlock powers, this is a safer option.”
“But how do we launch our thorns? Brannock was able to launch them from all parts of his body.”
“I think it would be safer for you and all of us if you just launch them from your arms and hands, keeping the rest of your body protected so there isn’t a chance of a stray one hitting one of us.”
“That seems fair, but how am I supposed to fire my guns and shoot thorns out of my hands?”
“Start with your weapons. Once they run out of juice, go with the thorns,” he suggests, sounding unconcerned.
“They run out of juice?” I feel a moment of panic. “We didn’t get that far in my lesson because the smell of my blood triggered Saxon. To be honest, I’m probably more of a liability with them than without.”
“Pfft,” he scoffs. “It’s point and shoot. Just make sure you’re not pointing at any of us when you pull the trigger. It has a hundred shots, and then the laser will need to be repowered. Just move to your second weapon, and then once that’s empty, use your thorns. Hopefully by then we will have taken care of all of the Madovians. I can conjure more weapons, but they need to be calibrated to your blood, which will take precious time we won’t have.”
“How are you so calm?” I ask him, beginning to freak out now that this is becoming more real. My palms are sweaty, and there’s a funny taste in my mouth.
“I’ve been in battle before. Don’t forget I have a few years on you, Lila. I couldn’t remember how old I was when I first met you because my parents stole that memory, but now I know I was ten. It wasn’t long after that when my dad first took me into a firefight. It was against a group of warlocks who were trying to overthrow the crown. He thought it would be a good experience for people to see how ruthless the warlock crown prince was even at a young age. It’s how I ended up with the reputation I have. It also helps that I have the power to back that reputation up,” he explains as he takes my arm and leads me outside.
“If you touch my spikes, does it hurt?” I ask him, and he reaches to run his hand over one of them. Instead of stabbing him like I thought they would, they bend just like they do for me.
“They only become rigid if you feel fear,” Brannock explains, overhearing me talking to Xavier.
“Whoa.” Saxon scans me from head to toe, nodding with approval. “That was a good idea.”
Tirrian nods, looking smug. “I thought it would be best, considering we don’t know what we are walking into.”
“Surely the great warlock will be able to protect you from anything, but just in case, we are here as backup.” Silac speaks up for the first time, being sassy and giving me a wink. I’m kind of happy to see it, even as Xavier flips him off, because he’s been so worried about his family. At least this provides a distraction.
“But how are we going to find our way to the center of the death forest if the god has already gone ahead?” Maxsim asks, and he sparks with impatience. I’m so happy he’s here, but I’m worried too. Echo will never forgive me if something happens to him.
“Why is it called the death forest?” I ask, looking into the lush green foliage stretched out in front of us.
“That’s not the death forest,” Ghosie says, shaking his head. “The death forest is on the opposite side of the planet. We need to teleport there, just like the god did.”
“Oh, so that’s where he went. I’m glad one of us knows what we’re doing. How do you know that?” I ask him, and I see him blush, his furry multicolored cheeks darkening.
“Because the carevasta bears are space pirates. Raping and hoarding women is the least of our bad habits. Murder for hire is another thing that some of the bears would contract out for. It’s easy to slit someone’s throat when they are trying to rub their body all over you. The death forest is a good place to dispose of any bodies you don’t want to be found. It’s even better than letting them float through space, because no one is game enough to go searching there. I can assure you, I did not take part in these practices, but all bears know of it.”
“Right then, gather close. It will be easy for me to teleport everyone together if we’re all touching one another.” Xavier waves at us.
Saxon hands me my guns, and I stick them into the holsters in my leathers and put my arm on his to link us.
“You’ve got this. Just point and shoot. Headshots if you can, because that will kill them, but body shots will slow them down,” he tells me, patting my hand before reaching out to touch Silac who is next to him. He gives me a wink, and I watch as he changes to his half form. His body rises higher so Saxon has to stretch to reach his arm. Maxsim strides through the half circle and kisses me.
“Take care of yourself. Our omega will be upset if we get hurt,” he growls at me.
“Same goes for you.” I’m kind of shocked that he kissed me in this form, but I’m just rolling with it.
He steps back, and his body blurs, changing into his cat form. It isn’t quite as large as Zeydan’s fox form. Where he’s the size of a small elephant, Max is probably the height of a rhino. Between the two of them, they are intimidating creatures and could probably skull stomp the Madovians. I don’t know how big they are in their shifted form. If they are like Silac, then they are considerably bigger than their humanoid form.
Ghosie steps up on my other side and holds up his arm. His fur is covered by protective leathers, so I can put my hand on his arm without worrying about becoming infatuated. “Are you going to be okay?” I ask him. I’m not sure what abilities he holds apart from the mesmerizing fur and matter disrupter.
He gives me a small smile. “I’ll be fine. This isn’t my first raid. In fact, I probably have the most experience in stealing something from under the nose of others, and I’m fairly handy with a laser gun.”
Tirrian and Xavier complete the circle—Xavier on Ghosie’s other side, with Maxsim between them, both of them shoving a hand onto his fur.
“Let’s make this quick, Maxsim is freezing my balls off.” Tirrian’s teeth start to chatter, and Xavier chuckles as we dissipate, reappearing a few seconds later. I cough and stumble, but Ghosie and Saxon hold me upright. I look around to get my bearings, and I notice the green magic circling us.
“Don’t go beyond the green barrier. We are only protected inside it,” I warn the others as I get my first look at the death forest.
“Holy fuck.” Fear washes over me, and I shiver. “This is going to suck.”