Chapter 34
Havali
She hadn’t used her word.
Havali had been waiting for it. Anticipating it. Ready to stop in an instant the moment he pushed her too far.
But it never came.
He stared at his blood haired female, marveling at her, as he cleaned her body in the shower.
She was resting on the chair built into the wall, her eyes closed.
Blood was still gently trickling from the bite wounds to her neck.
The ones from last night hadn’t even fully healed yet, but it looked like the healing cream had them nearly there.
Despite the old wounds, despite the new wounds, despite filling her with his cock and his tail, she hadn’t made a single sound of complaint. She took it all, she begged for more, she found pleasure in the things he did to her.
And now, she sat there, eyes closed, resting as he cleaned her off, as though she had found a measure of inner peace he couldn’t even imagine in her submission to his desires.
He couldn’t stop himself from kissing her. She hummed, a smile turning up her lips, as she returned the kiss with a lazy sort of slowness. Like she couldn’t gather the energy to do anything more than that.
He didn’t mind. He found that he loved doing this just as much as he did giving her that quick shot of pain. He didn’t want to actually hurt her though, so cleaning off the marks he left was somehow cleansing. Not an apology, but gratitude and appreciation for what she did for him.
He broke free of her lips and kissed her cheeks, then her closed eyes, then her forehead.
“Scarlet, you are a wonder to me.”
She hummed again, resting her hands on his hips. Her eyes still closed. Lost to whatever headspace she had fallen into.
He didn’t try to pry her out before she was ready. Instead, he finished cleaning her off, then tended to her wounds, before running a drying cloth over her body. Once she was ready, he picked her up and took her back to the closet where he set her back in that chair.
The outfit he had picked was still sitting out, waiting for her.
He ignored it for now as he ran his claws through her hair. Brushing it back. There weren’t many tangles. The soap he used had left the strands silken and smooth, it required little effort to straighten them out.
As he did that, she slowly emerged from her daze and finally focused her eyes on him, offering a bright smile that made his heart clench with painful adoration.
Even after everything he had done to her, she still smiled at him like that.
There couldn’t have been a more perfect female for him in all the universe.
“We should get dressed,” she said, her voice still a little slurred and sleepy, but she was finally back with him in the present. “We’re going to be late.”
“You’re the guest of honor, they won’t leave without you.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Let’s get you dressed. Then, I’ll go change myself.”
She hummed her agreement before taking his hands to help herself stand. He let himself be used in that way, smiling, proud of the way she depended upon him. It was a trust he couldn’t imagine breaking or abusing.
After helping her dress, he offered to walk her to the landing platform of the compound where the others would be gathering, but she insisted he go change and meet her there instead.
So, he did, choosing to contrast rather than compliment her darker colors by wearing pale gold.
A soft outfit, simple, without adornment.
He was merely a backdrop for the true beauty of their pairing.
And he offered her so many hard edges during their love making, he thought that he should give her something comforting to lean against the rest of the time.
When he finally met her out by the landing platform, the shuttle was already there and idling, waiting for them to climb aboard. Alanna was inside with Tuvo, who had secured the shuttle. Scarlet was waiting outside for Havali to appear.
“Atem and Peony?” He asked, offering her his hand.
Which she took without hesitation. “They’re waiting until we’re ready to go so Peony can stay in her nest as long as possible.”
Though Scarlet spoke confidently, there was a worry on her face she couldn’t disguise.
“Do you truly wish her to stay behind?”
“I do, but she was getting so stressed about not coming, it seemed like there was no way to win. This will be the last outing for her though. I’ll put my foot down after this. Once we get back, she’s allowed to walk around the compound and no further.”
Havali hummed in agreement and led Scarlet into the open door of the shuttle.
It was a small craft. Inside, there were only ten seats – more than they needed.
Though Fellaseen had organized the entire trip, she was not on board.
Instead, there was only a pilot who remained in his chair, checking systems as they got comfortable.
His job would be to take them to the viewing platform – an orbiting station around the power pole.
He would then leave with the shuttle, letting them remain there, enjoying the lights, until they were ready to leave.
Scarlet picked a seat and Havali sat beside her.
They talked about various topics – the upcoming vote, what Scarlet had been doing while Havali had worked, the lights they were about to witness – until Tuvo declared that everything was ready to go.
Food and drink would be provided, courtesy of the High Imperium, on the orbital platform.
They only needed to bring themselves, so it hadn’t been difficult to pack.
Alanna took her seat as Tuvo sent a message on his combot to alert Atem.
A few moments later, Dominani appeared, his mate in tow. Both of them were carrying carefully folded blankets. Atem had a large cushion. All from Peony’s nest. Her face was flushed with excitement, and she beamed at everyone as the items were placed inside and the two took a seat.
Then, they were off.
The females never seemed to tire of flying. They spoke in eager voices while looking through the windows of the shuttle as it took off from the ground and raced towards the sky. Havali and the other males were content to let them chatter as they waited.
The orbital platform was not strictly for viewing purposes.
Technically, it’s primary purpose was for engineers and scientists to keep watch on the lights and the power poles.
Havali’s education included some rudimentary study on the topics – so he knew that they could watch the pattern of the lights to help track the health of the pole, but not the specifics of such things.
However, for today, it had been cleared of technical crews and readied for their pleasure voyage.
It was a small station, as orbitals went, with two basic structures to it.
The engine room was in the back half and provided power for the machines on board while maintaining orbit around the pole.
The front half was surrounded on three sides, in a half-circle fashion, by large, reinforced windows specially treated so that the sun and lights of the power plant could not damage the eyes or bodies of the people inside.
For their visit, the normally utilitarian furniture had been replaced with comfortable lounging cushions and tables – smaller ones for privacy and a large one if they all wished to eat together.
A buffet style table laden with delicious food waited along the side.
Sitting next to it was a machine for mixing drinks.
The lights inside were naturally dim, and the station was moving so that the sun would be at their back, letting them enjoy the lights fully.
The females, upon stepping off the shuttle and into the room, gasped and rushed towards the windows, awe on their faces.
The lights weren’t at their peak yet, but they were already present. Swirling in the atmosphere of the ring, shifting in color from yellow to purple and back again. They seemed to sparkle and shine as they moved, giving them an unworldly quality.
They really were quite beautiful. But Havali couldn’t take his eyes away from Scarlet and the joy on her face as she stared down with the others.
Atem came off the shuttle last, carrying Peony’s nesting material. He asked her where she wanted it, distracting Adassani from the lights as she instead investigated which of the lounging cushions was worthy to serve as her temporary nest.
Tuvo had turned back to thank the shuttle pilot when a soft whirring caught Havali’s ear. He turned to look just as the pilot threw something into the orbital.
Before he could call alert, the doors sealed shut and the system warned of shuttle detachment.
“What is that?” He asked, drawing the attention of the others.
But even as he asked, the little drone flew briefly under a light, illuminating its dull, metal casing, deliberately designed to be unnoticed.
Tuvo cursed, growling at the thing. The pilot had managed to sneak one of the camera drones onto their shuttle and had thrown it inside before leaving.
“Catch it,” Atem ordered, setting Peony’s nesting material down where she indicated. She had chosen the largest, plushest cushion.
Havali and Tuvo both targeted the little bot. However, it was smaller than Havali’s palm, darted quickly, blended into the dim shadows, and stayed close to the high ceiling where they couldn’t reach it without help.
Jumping and climbing were domini specialties, but there was nothing to climb on, only smooth glass or metal walls. The ceiling was simply too high for them to reach.
Havali resorted to trying to throw things at it to get it down – mostly pillows from the lounging cushions – but the quick device always darted just out of their path. Tuvo was determined to get it down with his own hands, but it remained unscathed despite their best efforts.
Eventually, Havali and Tuvo had to just stand there, growling at the infuriating device as it hovered overhead.
Peony had finished setting up her temporary nest and was seated in the center of it, apparently quite content, buddled up in a soft, fur blanket. Alanna was watching the two of them struggle, obviously trying not to be amused, but failing.
Scarlet had pulled up the display on her combot and it took her almost no time at all to find the news channel who owned the little device.
They were being streamed, live, and the hosts of the show were eagerly talking about what was happening.
Not the lights – they didn’t care about that.
They were excited about Peony’s nesting habits and if Havali and Scarlet were going to do anything romantic, or if maybe there was something between Alanna and Tuvo.
A question that made both of them grimace as Scarlet sighed.
“Really?” She frowned up at the bot.
“Ignore it,” Atem said, growling his own displeasure. “I will put in a formal complaint, but if we can’t catch it, there’s nothing we can do.”
Scarlet sighed, forcefully closing out the stream. Havali came to sit beside her on the cushion she had chosen, putting his arm around her shoulders. He didn’t need the stream to still be active to know that their many fans would enjoy the move.
Though, that’s not why he did it.
“Don’t let them ruin this for you,” he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “All they want to do is gawk and stare.”
“Why can’t they just leave us alone?” She sighed.
Havali grinned, whispering in her ear with a low growl, “You don’t want them all to witness as I make you squirm?”
Just as he hoped, her face heated and her pulse raced as his suggestion tickled her. His little female enjoyed her embarrassment. And if he couldn’t destroy the drone for her, he could at least make it so that it served her somehow.
“The timing is a bit too coincidental,” Tuvo said, glaring at the device as Alanna got drinks for everyone. “That damn pilot. I searched that entire shuttle. The only way something could have evaded me was if he had it somewhere on his person. Did the High Imperium not vet him?”
“Worry about it later,” Atem said, relaxing next to Peony as she pulled a blanket over her head and wrapped herself up in it before leaning into Atem’s side.
Alanna served drinks then went to get some food for Peony and Atem. He had offered to get it himself, but Alanna declined, stating that Peony was comfortable, and it was important that they keep her from stressing herself.
“Actually, this really isn’t so bad,” Peony assured them, smiling from under her blanket hood. “The view is nice. The room is dim. And aside from our little flying pest – hello! – it’s nice and private with only you guys. It’s pretty close to my nest.”
Havali got up to get food for himself and Scarlet as she and Peony got into a conversation about how the pregnant female was feeling.
Tuvo was still stalking the drone, intent on bringing it down, but whoever was controlling it was a master and it never stayed in one place long enough to become a target.
“Tuvo, forget it,” Peony chuckled. “Come watch the lights with us.”
“I don’t like that they’ve taken away our privacy,” he growled. He pointed a claw, addressing the bot, “I will hunt you down when we’re out of here, and you will be punished for this transgression. Filthy ecters, can’t leave us in peace.”
Havali chuckled at the insult – it essentially meant ‘dishonorable one’ in ancient Domtri, though the direct translation did leave out a great deal of the derogatory connotation. Since the females were ignoring it, however, he did the same.