CHAPTER 4 #2
I crawled down, pointing my face between her thighs at her entrance so I could see my seed drip from her.
I inhaled our scents mingled together and felt my cock stirring again.
Would she let me have her once more? Perhaps I should let her rest first. With two digits, I pushed my seed back into her channel and smeared some onto her plump hindquarters.
As I let my gaze drift up, I spotted red liquid on her back.
The mating mark was leaking lifeblood! I looked down and saw it spread across my chest from where I had covered her.
This was unexpected. The mating mark was meant to leave a visible scratch on the hide, but it rarely drew blood.
But as I gently touched her shoulder, I realized her soft, smooth skin must not be as thick as the hide of one of my people.
My claws had sliced through and damaged my mate!
My eyes widened as I witnessed dark pink spots blooming across her tender skin.
“Are you well, my love? I’m so sorry if I hurt you,” I said to my new mate, but she did not answer.
I gently rolled her over and found her completely unresponsive.
I felt a moment of terror so stark I saw white spots behind my eyes.
Had I killed her? I shook her, but she made no sound or movement.
I studied her and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her chest slowly rise and fall.
She made no other sound or movement as I tried to wake her. Something was clearly wrong.
As much as my instincts screamed for me to seclude her away at my estate, I knew my father’s medics had more experience with alien life forms than my own. I would take her to my father’s estate and demand they attend her. From this day forward, she was mine to care for and protect.
I carried her to my vehicle and placed her as gently as I could inside and drove at lighting speed to my father’s estate.
Guards hailed me as I rushed past them to the medwing with my ailing mate in my arms. By the time I reached the medwing, my clothes were drenched in her lifeblood, and her once-smooth skin was completely covered by the red spots.
Lanicar, my father’s chief medic, visibly startled when he saw my mate. “What species is it?” he asked as he ushered me into one of the medical bays.
“I do not know,” I replied. “She is my mate, but she is leaking lifeblood from the mating mark, and her skin has erupted in these spots. She did not have those before.”
“Your mate?!” he responded. “Never mind,” he said, shaking off the news as he prioritized the emergency before him. “Let us hook her up to the medscan to see if it recognizes her species and her ailment.”
I placed her on the cold medical table while he and an assistant busied themselves with various equipment, attaching machines to my mate while I nervously paced the room. I wanted to hold her hand, but I knew I would be in the way.
The doctor stayed glued to the screen of the medscanner while his assistant cleaned my mate’s mating mark and sprayed it with a sealant. “She looks like one of the Lumanela from the stories,” said the assistant. “They say their voices contain magic.”
“Well, the medscan says she is a hyooman,” said Lanicar.
“They are very rare, from a planet that does not even have interstellar travel, so I do not know how she ended up here. According to the data entry, they are vulnerable to traffickers because they are prized for their, um, highly sexual nature.” He looked away and coughed.
I refused to be embarrassed or shamed for coupling with my mate. “What is wrong with her?” I demanded.
“According to the medscan, she has had an allergic reaction, most likely to your venom,” he cautiously replied.
“And her skin is much more fragile than ours. In addition to shredding the skin, your claws tore through some of her muscles, which is likely why she is unconscious. Her body shut down from the pain.”
I sank into a chair, unable to process his words.
“I injured my mate!” I shook my head in disbelief.
“She believed me to be a male who would protect her on this planet, and instead, I am the one who has caused her harm.” I did not deserve such a lovely creature for a mate.
And yet, now she was tied to me. Would she ever forgive me?
After a brief moment of self-pity, I resolved myself.
Wallowing in guilt would not help my mate.
From the moment she had claimed me as hers, my duty was to ensure her well-being.
“I will never harm her again. I will dedicate myself to learning to care for her and the needs of her species. Tell me, Lanicar, what can I do?”
The medic looked at me for a long time. His silence was heavy and judgmental.
Eventually he sighed. “I believe you did not mean her harm, Prince Dakleth.
However, be aware that my first concern and obligation is my patient.
If I discover that any of this harm was intentional, I will not hesitate to report it.
But I will leave it for now until we hear what she has to say.
For now, our priority is to treat her wound and her allergy. We have delivered a medication that will counteract her current symptoms, but to prevent this from happening again, we need to develop a serum that blocks future response to your venom. We will need a sample from you.”
Nodding in the direction of his assistant, he said, “Please follow Trunar down the hall to the laboratory. They will take a sample of your venom and develop the serum for your mate.”
I did not wish to leave my mate, but I knew she would be well cared for by Lanicar and his team. I lamented that I did not even yet know her name. Nodding my acquiescence, I grudgingly followed Trunar to the lab.
Andie
I woke lying on an unfamiliar bed in an equally unfamiliar room.
I was face-down, naked, with a scratchy sheet covering the lower half of my body.
I flinched at the winged alien that came into view, but upon closer inspection, I realized he was not my attacker.
Although he, too, was gray and possessed four arms, he was smaller and observed me with quiet concern.
The alien said something unintelligible to me as I stirred and took in my surroundings. I quickly sat upright, wrapping the sheet around me. “Where am I? Who are you?” I practically screamed.
The alien seemed calm, although curious. He put all four hands up, in a clearly placating gesture. He stepped back to give me some room and spoke to me again.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand you,” I said.
He approached and gingerly handed me a device with a screen. It had a red square on it. I looked at it blankly, then back at him. He said something as he pointed to the tablet. I looked and the screen now displayed a yellow square. He looked at me expectantly.
I paused as I studied it. I wasn’t sure what he wanted. I touched the screen, but nothing happened.
“Is there something special about this yellow square?” I asked.
The picture changed to a green circle. He nodded at me.
“Ok, I see the green circle,” I said, and he nodded again, encouragingly.
picking up that he seemed to want me to describe the shapes I saw, I looked back at the tablet.
The picture changed. “Blue triangle,” I said.
He chirruped and smiled. The screen flashed again, and then I heard a sound from the device, then “Language: Terra: American English.” I was so startled I dropped the tablet.
The alien moved slowly, keeping his eyes on me as he picked up the tablet. I scooted back further on the bed. We eyed each other warily as he tapped a few things into the tablet. As he spoke, the device translated.
“Hello, female, my name is Lanicar,” the tablet said. I was still in shock, and it took me a moment to respond. “Um. My name is Andie,” I said.
“Welcome, Andie,” he said. “Do you know where you are?”
I stammered as I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I was having an actual conversation with an alien. “Um, well, I know I’m not on Earth anymore, but I don’t know what planet this is. This looks like a hospital. Is that right?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s correct. This planet is called Ptekennan. And we are the Ptexari people. I understand that you are a human from Earth. There are not many of your people in this galaxy. Can you explain how you got here?” he asked.
I felt like I was still in the dark myself.
“It’s a long story, but the short version is that I was kidnapped by a really thin gray alien, then I think I was sold to some insect-looking alien.
It took me on a spaceship that crashed here.
It died, and then I was found and raped by one of your people.
And then I woke up here.” I started trembling.
“You were raped? Violated against your will?” Lanicar asked.
Nodding, I started to cry. Everything caught up with me at once. I brought my knees up under my chin and let the tears stream down my face as my body shook uncontrollably.
Just then, the door at the far end of the room opened, and two more of the Ptexari entered. One of them was the male who raped me, and I screamed.
I scrambled off the table, taking the sheet with me to cover myself and fled to a corner.
My hindbrain had taken over. Some small, rational part of me noted that the only exit from the room was blocked, and escape was impossible.
Still, I put as much space between myself and the alien who violated me.
I looked around for a weapon and grabbed a sharp metal stake-like object off a table and held it in front of me as I yelled, “Stay away from me!”
Lanicar and the rapist looked at me and then at each other.
The one who assaulted me rounded the bed to come closer, and I yelled, “No!!” Lanicar placed a hand on his arm, indicating that he should stay on his side of the room.
They were both agitated, and they began arguing in loud voices and hisses.
The translator app was translating, but between the growing noise from the argument and the added volume of the tablet, I couldn’t understand much.
“Keep him away from me!” I begged Lanicar. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand the two of you when you’re arguing,” I said. “But that big one pushed me in the dirt and raped me, and I don’t want to be anywhere near him. Please make him go away.”
My assailant started talking quickly, and the tinny voice translated. “My love, are you well? What are you saying? I brought you here for medical attention. I know I injured your back during our mating. I beg your forgiveness for my clumsiness. Are you healed?”
I looked at Lanicar. “I don’t know what your laws are, and I don’t know what this monster has told you, but he raped me.
Please keep him away from me.” I didn’t want to cry anymore, but I could feel the tears well up again, and I started shaking in my corner, determined not to drop the knife or this sheet, like my life depended on it.
It took a few seconds for the translator to work, and then the demeanor of both aliens changed dramatically.
“Security! Medical bay three! Immediately,” called Lanicar.
Lanicar and the third alien, who had seemed frozen at the door during this exchange, positioned themselves with me at their backs, facing the rapist, their posture protective of me.
At the same time, his expression fell. “What?! No, Lanicar, you know I would never… My dearest, how can you say this when you initiated the mating ritual? I would…”
Whatever he was saying was lost as a wall melted and two new aliens grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out the door, and I crumpled to the floor.