Chapter 25
Scarlet
Scarlet would not consider herself kinky.
Sure, she liked being held down and fucked hard every now and then, but who didn’t? The idea of being bound was neither exciting nor unnerving, and blood play itself as a real concept had certainly never appealed.
But she couldn’t deny her vampire phase in middle and high school. Moreover, now that she knew how Havali’s fangs felt, she wanted to feel them again. She wanted him to fulfill every teenage fantasy she’d ever had and bite on her neck while holding her down and fucking her hard.
She couldn’t bite him back, unfortunately. The iron content of domini blood was over twice as high as humans and it would be toxic to her.
Unless he got her pregnant.
She had to bite back a moan as she laid in bed, her hand gently massaging her breast as the other worked between her thighs. Leaving him with blue balls had punished her just as harshly and she was desperately trying to ease the edge of it.
Thinking about him impregnating her made her think about his knot – what it would feel like pumping her with the heavy load domini males made. Her hips jerked, plunging her fingers deeper as her clit rubbed against her palm.
It wasn’t enough because it wasn’t him.
Her thighs shook and strained as she chased her elusive orgasm.
It came with a whimper and a frustrated moan, the ripples of pleasure disappointing and leaving her hungry for more.
Her body dropped back onto her bed, and she sighed, pulling her hands away.
She didn’t doubt that she made the right decision leaving him tonight. He had a lot to think about and they needed to have a long conversation before things went further.
But, damn, it was a hard sell for her achingly empty pussy.
She sighed and turned over on her bed, cradling the thick but wonderfully soft cushion that was her pillow. An alien pillow on an alien bed while she fantasized about an alien male.
Her alien boyfriend.
She started chuckling, burying her head in her pillow as she resisted the urge to squeal like she was back in high school.
She was a grown woman with a degree in nursing and a healer ranking, and she wanted to squeal. It was ridiculous but the giddy bubbling in her belly demanded an outlet.
Giddy. She was actively working for the betterment of all mankind by speaking before a Coalition of aliens, and she was giddy because of a guy.
She let out a long sigh of contentment. Her body might be sexually frustrated, but her heart was oddly happy. A feeling that was able to soothe her orgasmic disappointment as the weight of the day began to pull her down into sleep.
If only he would tell her that she was his mate.
Her brow furrowed as that sobering reminder snuck up on her, almost yanking her completely out of her relaxing doze.
He still hadn’t said anything about that.
Was this just fun for him? Was she okay whiling away her time on a relationship that she knew had no future?
All it would take was Havali glancing at a female that his instincts would catch on and then, boom, her relationship would be done.
It wouldn’t be anyone’s fault, per se, and she didn’t think Havali would intentionally try to hurt her.
But how could she get invested in something that might end so abruptly?
How could she risk being left alone like that?
Maybe she could just enjoy it for what it was?
But that felt so strangely hollow…
…creak…
Her body and breath stilled.
The noise was so soft, if she hadn’t been quiet herself, she never would have heard it.
It was over so quickly, she couldn’t even place exactly where in the room it had come from.
Objectively, there was no reason it should be making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her body tense as adrenaline suddenly pumped hot through her veins.
She froze. Waiting. Not even breathing.
There. A whisper of movement. Soft and short, but deliberate, setting her nerves on shrieking alert as her heart began to pound in her chest.
It was nothing.
The immediate, reflexive dismissal was accompanied by a tight grip on her ankle.
Scarlet screamed as she was dragged from her bed.
Another hand slapped over her mouth, silencing her cry.
Her limbs flailed, randomly smacking and scratching at whoever had grabbed her.
To no avail. She was pulled against an unfamiliar, hard, weirdly plastic torso and dragged backwards.
When she tried to kick at the air, another person grabbed both her ankles and lifted her off the ground.
For a brief second, she was offered a glimpse of the oddest creature she had seen yet.
Fully black, shiny, like plastic, and with an odd body shape.
Cupped, with a completely flat face, like a bathtub that had been turned on its side and covered with a tarp.
Two arms stuck out of either side of the strange body that gave her no indication of what they even were.
But she did know they were dragging her to the window.
She screamed in her throat, struggling against the arms that held her. But the creature in front of her didn’t even seem bothered by her attempts to yank her ankles free, and the equally odd one behind her kept one hand over her mouth and their other arm across her torso, pinning her arms in place.
For the first time since first being abducted, she was acutely aware, in the worst way, of just how much bigger and stronger than humans everyone was. She might as well have been a sleepy toddler for how much effort it took them to hold her.
Weak and helpless.
Her door chimed, alerting her that someone was on the other side.
Her kidnappers stilled, surprised.
She shrieked louder, trying to be heard around the hand covering over half her face.
The door chimed again. Then, abruptly slid open at the same time as an alarm began blaring overhead and Havali – beautiful, wonderful Havali – burst into the room.
Her want-to-be-kidnappers didn’t even pretend to put up a fight. They dropped her like a hot potato, and she landed on her tailbone with a cry of pain. She didn’t even have time to gather herself before they were up and out through the window she definitely hadn’t left open.
“Stop them!” Havali roared into the dark night, halting at the window. He turned to her. “Scarlet, are you-”
“Just go!” She ordered, gesturing out the window.
He bared his fangs, not even hesitating to do as he was ordered.
Scarlet jumped to her feet and looked out into the darkness. He had been wearing plain sleeping pants, dark blue in color, and with the way his bare chest camouflaged to the darkness, she lost him very quickly as she peered out over the shaded garden.
He hadn’t yet returned when security rushed into her room, weapons at the ready.
***
“The High Imperium extends his deepest regrets for this,” Fellaseen declared, boring low at the waist as she looked over the crowded room.
It was chaos in here.
Peony, still in her pajamas, had come despite Atem growling at her not to leave their nest. But she couldn’t seem to help herself. She had put her nest blanket around Scarlet and herself, holding her close, as the two of them waited for news.
Atem was in full form, pacing and growling and snarling, claws at the ready as he barked orders to Tuvo’s security forces.
Tuvo was doing the exact same thing, doubling the rumbling sounds.
Alanna had appeared after taking the time to at least put on something casual, and she had been the one communicating with authorities as Atem was too busy protecting his sister.
The High Imperium had been informed of the attack and Fellaseen, as their representative, had come immediately to offer her apologies and to help figure out what happened.
Havali, who had returned sometime after security pulled Scarlet from her own room, had not found time to dress. He did, however, find out how the intruders got in.
“They stole genetic material from the two employees,” he informed them all after Alanna had accepted Fellaseen’s apology – Atem was too busy growling to do so.
“The security officer, Yurten, and the gardener, Jitii, are friends. They went out together tonight after work. They were drugged, their blood harvested, and then it was infused into the nanosuits worn by the intruders so that the genetic signature would be recognized by security and no alarms would go off.”
“Infused into nanosuits?” Tuvo repeated, surprised. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Neither have I,” Havali growled. “It’s very new. Barely researched. It uses the same principles of homeostasis for when the suits are used in inhospitable environments, but instead of an anti-toxin or an anti-freeze or what have you infusing the suits, they used blood.”
“That is a weakness in our security,” Atem growled, looking to Tuvo.
First Warrior saluted him. “I’ll work on figuring out how to detect it immediately.”
“Please,” Fellaseen interjected herself calmly. “Allow us to help you. As the High Imperium’s representative. They take their responsibilities seriously and are angered that such an attack occurred against their honored guests.”
Tuvo shared a look with Atem who must have granted silent permission because he looked back to Fellaseen and grunted in the affirmative.
“Havali,” Atem suddenly growled, turning his attention to him. “Why were you in Scarlet’s room?”
Scarlet frowned. “Atem. That’s our business.”
“It is a fair question,” Havali countered. “I was working late tonight and had the security trackers up when I noticed the two employees moving to Scarlet’s room, into her window. Naturally, I found this suspicious, so I immediately rushed to see if she needed assistance.”
Atem growled, though Scarlet didn’t know why. It was a reasonable explanation.
Switching to modern Domtri, he spoke to Havali so that Fellaseen couldn’t understand.
“You will find out who these males were and what they were doing going after my sister. You will do this to make amends for the way you have dishonored her.”
Scarlet wanted to interject that she and Havali had already talked about that, and he had nothing he needed to make amends for.
But Havali was already answering before she had the chance. “I will do this.”
“Good. The representative will work with Tuvo, but you will make your own inquiries and investigations. Be discreet.”
Havali saluted him. “Vas, vi Dominani.”
She and Peony shared a look under her blanket as Tuvo and Fellaseen discussed what they would be doing going forward. The High Imperium had a great deal of resources at their disposal and offered all of them through Fellaseen.
Peony bit her lip before asking softly, in English, “Scarlet, you don’t think this is about what Haviss said, do you? About us being breedable and mate material?”
“I really hope not,” Scarlet said, holding her hand tighter.
Her gaze caught on Havali, and he gave her a long look. Anger burned in his black eyes, and she felt a shiver go through her that wasn’t at all unpleasant.