Interlude

Chapter 28

Lila

Awave of pure fury batters at my body unlike anything I have ever felt before. I rush toward my cat and that bitch who better enjoy her last few breaths. A red haze washes over my sight, my emotions lock down, and the need to kill rides me hard. I feel my body change, but I don’t stop my forward movement. Nobody touches my mate and gets away with it, especially not a parasitic whore.

I race forward knowing I can’t fire my guns or use my thorns until Maxsim is clear, so I tackle the two beasts, joining the rolling ball of fury, then I grab Maxsim by the scruff and hurl him to the side where he lands on his feet, but he falls to the ground, one of his legs unable to hold him up. I curl my arm back and launch my fist into the Madovian’s mouth, and before she can react, I fire thorns from my palm. They fly out and rip her insides to shreds, killing her in an instant. She sags, and I quickly remove my hand from her mouth so she doesn’t drag me down with her.

I turn my attention to the next one, our attempts to lure them away from our injured and trapped working as Tirrian takes the lead, and we move farther into the forest. I have a brief moment of worry about the circle of protection staying with us, but Zeydan will be able to protect those we left behind. Hopefully Ghosie gets him out of those webs quickly, and he can rejoin the fight. My attention turns back to the fight in front of me, and out of the corner of my eye, I see that Brannock has turned berserker too. A smile crosses my lips, and I let myself fall into the slaughter. I kill over and over, ripping off limbs with my bare hands and filling their bodies full of thorns, smiling when they scream in agony as the poison eats away at their flesh like acid.

I feel another berserker at my back, and I take a moment to admire his form. He’s fast and decimates the Madovian forces. His muscles bulge and ripple, and the strength in his thighs is mesmerizing as he takes on each bitch and makes a mess of them. Between the two of us, we have led them far away from the others, leaving them behind to mop up any we left injured but still alive. A slice across my arm drags my attention from the gorgeous man beside me and back to my target. I lift a hand and fire more thorns. They rip through the Madovian’s body, shredding her like Brannock wants to shred the inner walls of my pussy.

There’s a somewhat detached thought in my mind that I hope they get Max to the ship to heal before I turn my attention back to the last few remaining Madovians. None of them are leaving this planet alive, but we could get a few answers out of them. I think about stopping, maybe saving one for questioning, but then I quickly throw that idea away. I like how it feels when I watch the life leave their eyes, and their cries and screams are music to my ears.

I watch as the one I’m approaching turns to flee, but I don’t let her get far, filling her retreating back with my thorns. I smile when the poison eats away at her flesh, melting it like she’s a candle. The tables have turned, and instead of trying to attack, they are fleeing like the ragged bitches they are. They should have known better than to run away from us. I look around, trying to find my next target, and feel sad when there is no one left but my fellow berserker. We’re both breathing heavily and are covered from head to toe in thick, black Madovian blood. My tongue flicks out, and I taste the blood smeared across my lips. It tastes like tar and ash, and I grimace.

My adrenaline is still pumping, and the urge to kill is riding me hard. A noise back the way we came has my ears perking up, and I turn my focus in that direction—something else to kill. I growl and head back the way we came, ready to continue our killing spree, but then I’m tackled.

“No, Lila. They are our family,” the other berserker shouts, and my attention turns to him. I punch him in the jaw and buck my body, trying to get him off me. How dare he stop me from going after my target?

I shove him off me, and he goes flying backward, his back smashing against one of the trees. I jump to my feet and continue back the way we came, but once again, I’m tackled to the ground and pinned.

“Lila, stop.” I shake my head and growl at the being stopping me from reaching my target. “If you want to kill, kill me. That’s if you think you can,” he taunts, jumping to his feet. I hurry after him, holding up my hands and readying my thorns, but before I can fire them, he takes off, triggering my instincts to chase. I follow him, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I can, the thrill of the chase rushing through my veins. I finally have a challenge, unlike those Madovians who we cut through like butter.

He ducks and weaves around the trees, always just out of reach. The air rushes past me, but I don’t feel any of the branches scrape my face as I fire a few half-hearted thorns from my hands. They don’t hit their target, running making it harder to aim. I’m not too worried, though, because I want this kill to be hands on. I want to see the life drain from his eyes as he takes his final breath.

The forest opens up ever so slightly, a craggy outcrop of rocks interspersed throughout the large trees. I watch as he ducks behind a particularly large boulder and smirk, slowing slightly as I try to get my breathing under control. As I get to the rock, I pounce, expecting my target to be behind it, but he isn’t. There’s just a rock face and nothing else. I look around in confusion, disappointed at allowing my prey to escape.

A pebble rolls down the face of the rock, and I look up, but it’s too late. A figure drops down from the top of the stone structure. Damn it, why didn’t I think to look up or use my senses to sniff him out? I was so focused on what I was going to do to him, I didn’t pay attention to those things, and I’m going to pay for it. A large rush of air escapes my lungs as he lands on me, driving my body into the ground and pinning me below him. His weight anchors me in a way I can’t escape, and my hands are trapped by his larger ones, a menacing growl rumbling from his chest.

“Now we can either fight or fuck to bring you out of your killing rage, and I know which one I would prefer,” the berserker on top of me says, proud of getting the drop on me, but it only makes me madder. I scream my frustration and thrust up with my hips, trying to dislodge him, but instead of moving him, I rub myself against his hardened length, and my pussy throbs. Some of the red haze fades, and I return to my senses a little.

“Brannock?” I look around, slightly confused. “Where is everyone?”

“I thought it would be a bad idea to let you kill them in your berserker rage, so I led you away from them. You seemed to be on a killing spree, my little psycho.” He smirks at me. “Berserker rage is hard to control the first few times, and we practice with our teams to be able to turn it off, or we could turn on one another.”

I hear what he’s saying, but there’s still a part of me that wants to do damage, and the male in front of me just became the target for my excess rage. I snap my teeth at him and struggle to get free, but he just chuckles, which makes me even fucking madder.

“I see we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”

He hauls me up and spins me around, pinning me between his body and the solid rock at my back, my spines lying flat with the movement. Without saying anything, he strikes, his fangs sinking into my neck. I scream in anger and thrash about, but I can’t move. I hear him swallow mouthfuls of my blood, but I can’t push him away because he has my hands in his, and his strength far exceeds my own. I feel my anger start to fade, almost like he’s sucking it out of me.

My body sags against his, feeling a little lightheaded from the amount of blood he took, and I feel my berserker form ease away as I return to the mundane Aaz’axian form.

My body shrinks, so I am left dangling in Brannock’s grasp with his fangs still lodged in my neck. “Brannock,” I gasp, trying to push him off me. He hears me and removes his mouth, blinking owlishly at me before a goofy smile crosses his face.

“Huh, that worked. I’ve never tried that before.” He lowers me to the ground and stumbles back, his own berserker form receding, although he’s still slightly taller than me. He reaches out and pushes a stray tendril of hair back from my face. “You’re so pretty, and you smell and taste so good.” He leans in and sniffs me, his spines and membranes shimmering. A scent fills the air, sort of like wildflowers after rain, and my core throbs again as my nipples tighten.

“Are you drunk?” I feel my shoulder spines ripple in response to seeing Brannock’s do it, and he groans and crowds against me, placing kisses on my neck and grinding his hard cock against my center.

“Drinking blood makes us drunk, but I couldn’t think of any other way to stop you short of fighting or fucking you, and I didn’t want to hurt you or fuck you when you weren’t in your right mind.”

My mouth drops open at his admission, shocked that he was coherent enough to reason. I was like an unthinking killing machine. I wanted his death, and nothing was going to stop me. “I’m so sorry,” I apologize, feeling ashamed, but he just shakes his head, weaving slightly before putting a finger against my lips.

“Shh. It’s okay. Everyone is like that the first few times. What matters is that we defeated the enemy, and you didn’t hurt me. I will look after you.” He slurs his words and wobbles before leaning against me. “Ugh, you feel so good.” He rubs against me like a cat, and I feel a smile start to stretch across my lips. Brannock is adorable when he’s hammered. “I want to touch you so badly, but I don’t want you to think it’s for the wrong reason. I wanted you before I even knew you were a mimic, from the moment I saw you fucking Xavier on Earth, even though I knew we wouldn’t be compatible. At least I didn’t have to hide myself from you.”

Oh dear, I don’t think he knows his inner thoughts are outer words, but it reminds me how sweet he is, and I wonder why I’m fighting this connection. I know now isn’t the time, but fuck, I want this man, so I haul him against me and kiss the hell out of him. My fangs graze his lips, and my mouth fills with his blood. It has a spicy but sweet flavor, like sriracha peanut butter cookies, and it fizzes on my tongue. I sip it as I explore his mouth, my tongue caressing his as his hands wrap around me, pulling me tighter against him. I lift my legs and wrap them around his waist to give me better access to the hard length pressing against me.

He groans, and I feel him lift my top, peeling it up and over my head. Our mouths separate only long enough for him to do the same before his body presses against mine, a hand snaking between us to cup one of my breasts while the other slides into the waistband of my pants.

I probably shouldn’t be taking advantage of him, but I’m trying to grab every precious moment when I can. I know I should be worried about the others, especially Maxsim, but I’m sure if anything was serious, they would have found us by now. My mates are giving us this brief moment to just be before we continue with whatever is to come.

His hand is rough against the delicate skin of my breast, but it feels amazing, and when his fingertip brushes my clit, I jump, surprised by the sensations it invokes. I feel liquid drip out of my center, way more than normal, almost like the slick of my lightning cat form. He inhales deeply, pulls back from our kiss, and looks me dead in the eye. Gone is the goofy, slightly drunk man, and in his place is a focused male, hot with desire.

“Your pussy is getting ready to take my cock. It’s getting nice and wet so I can stuff you full and rip it to shreds.” His words are low and growly and do things to me, but then I realize what he said, and I freeze.

Rip my pussy to shreds. Holy fuck, his cock is lined with barbs, and not the fun one that vibrates like Tirrian’s. Brannock’s is like a fucking cactus.

“Easy,” he croons, reaching out to stroke my spines on my head before touching the ones on my shoulders. It feels like he’s stroking my clit, and my pants get even wetter. “I promise it will feel amazing. It’s designed to take those barbs, and when they lock into your pussy walls, they will inject you with a pleasure toxin that will have you flying high. Every drag of them against your walls will send you higher as I thrust in and out.”

He pauses like he’s waiting for me to give him permission. Fuck it. Yolo, right? I give him a little nod, and he strokes his hands over my spines once more, a pleased smile stretching across his mouth.

“Good girl,” he murmurs, and my eyes roll back in my head as I shudder. I do like to be called a good girl. It just hits in a sexy sort of way. He drops my legs from around his waist and strips off my pants before doing the same to his own. His cock sticks out, and I watch as he takes it in his hand, stroking it up and down. I can see the little barbs lying flat, rippling with the motion. “They will stay flat until just before I fill your pussy with my seed. The barbs will activate, slicing through your pussy walls and injecting you with the toxin. Then, when we come together, your eggs, which lie within those walls, will release, and my seed will flood them, fertilizing them to create a baby.”

My eyes widen, and I shake my head to apologize that this baby factory is closed, but before I can, he presses his finger against my lips again.

“I know you are protected. It’s okay, I won’t be sad. It is all I can do to control myself now. Just the thought of filling you with my seed is enough to send me over the edge,” he admits as he lifts me and pins me against the wall again. The rocks are rough against my naked skin, but his body is a soothing contrast pressed against my front.

“Babies can be discussed later down the track—way later. We have enough to keep us busy for now, and I want to focus on getting my Chloe back.” My heart aches at the thought of his child back on Earth with no one to care for her, and I vow to get her back, come hell or high water.

He kisses me and eases his cock in a little, and I groan at the feeling. Like all of my mates, he is large, and it takes a little bit of working it back and forth to get it in. Don’t get me wrong, it fucking feels amazing, but every time he slides out, there’s a small scrape of pain as those barbs rough up the walls they slide against. It’s a push and pull of pleasure and pain, one never dulling the other. I beg for him to go harder and faster and deeper.

“Ugh…” I grasp his shoulder before running my hands over his spikes. They shimmer under my touch, and he groans, thrusting harder.

“You feel so good, so tight and wet and spongy, ready for me to burrow in and implant myself.” He thrusts, each one punctuated by a grunt of pleasure. “Not going to last. Need to fuck you harder.” He picks up his pace, and I hang on, my body tight with the anticipation of the impending pain and the intense pleasure burning deep inside me.

I seem to plateau. Just when I thought I was going to tip over the edge, I ride the crest with nothing to push me over, and I become needy and desperate.

“God, Brannock, I need more. I want to come, but I can’t,” I whine as I feel tears well in my eyes, the unreached pleasure causing me to ache.

His thrusts speed up, becoming harder and more demanding, somewhat animalistic. “Going to fucking breed you,” he growls, and his eyes turn pitch black while his features become sharper.

“Yes, yes, breed me,” I plead, desperate for something, anything, that’s going to push me over, my body caught on that fine line of pain and pleasure, tipping over to uncomfortable now.

“Are you ready?” He comes back to his senses and checks, and I nod, not even caring that this is about to hurt. I already ache something fierce.

“Come, Brannock. Come inside me now,” I beg, and he roars. I stiffen as his barbs activate, and the minute they pierce the walls of my channel, fire rips through my body. I scream, the pain like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I push him away, desperate to do anything to stop this, but he wraps his arms around me and pins me against the rock, thrusting in and out and tearing my pussy to shreds. Just as I think I’m going to pass out, that fiery pain turns to a pleasant burn, and it’s like I’m injected with a hit of ecstasy and my body starts to roll. Mind-numbing pain turns to intense pleasure, and my screams become moans.

“Oh yes, oh my god, yes!” My mind and body become weightless, and I fly to the sky with the most intense sensations I’ve ever felt. This isn’t an orgasm, this is like an acid trip to heaven. Every long stroke of his cock seems to inject more toxin, and my pussy eats it up like it’s crack before he stills, and I feel his cum flood my inner walls, coating them. I can almost feel it seeping into the long channels his barbs have torn into the flesh lining my pussy.

“Oh my god,” I mutter as I close my eyes and just float. I hear him muttering words of praise, but they sound far off and warped. I tried ecstasy once, and this is nothing like that. It’s better, and I don’t think I ever want to come down.