Chapter 31
“Turochs throw wild parties,” I said, watching as a group of them poured at least ten different kinds of alcohol into a barrel.
“Don’t drink that,” Hope warned with a shudder. “It’s always vile, no matter what they combine.”
I scratched Sal’s fat belly as he snored in my arms. The celebration of the twins’ birth was in full swing within an hour of Kes announcing the mother and babies were well, and I felt a little bad about how loud things were getting when Amy was probably exhausted.
Tovis appeared at my side and handed me a cup of something that looked like a small child had been left alone with too many kinds of drinks. I took a hesitant sniff and jerked my head back when the boozy, beer and fruit smell hit me.
Hope snorted. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
It was going to taste disgusting, but I’d had a hell of a week, and the thought of letting go and just relaxing sounded too good to pass up. I took a long gulp and gagged. Whatever they’d mixed should have never been combined, but it was strong, so I wouldn’t have to drink much of it to get buzzed.
I came up for air, sucked in a breath, and downed the rest of it.
“Ugh,” I shoved the empty cup at Tovis. “No more.”
Hope wandered off to talk to someone and I took in the masses of laughing, drinking, and fighting aliens. Trapped in the spa, I hadn’t even fathomed so many people could be out in the world and thriving. Not humans, sure. But I couldn’t begrudge the turochs their happiness.
The invasion had wrecked my world, but it had opened up theirs.
It was a sea of red, the only variation was the slightly different hues of scarlet and crimson and the occasional patches of purple. I spotted a blue body in the distance and straightened.
“Jiith!” I said, slapping my face as I realized I’d never checked on him.
“He’s resting,” Tovis said.
I felt terrible. “He’s okay, though?”
He hesitated. “He’s very weak, he was in more pain than we realized. But he’s eating and sleeping, and he’s safe.”
My enjoyment of the party dimmed. Things were good here, babies were being born, and somewhere out there, the Kwin was scheming to breed humans and sytos and make more slaves for herself.
“Don’t worry, just for tonight,” Tovis murmured, looping an arm around my waist and tugging me closer. “It’s alright to be happy, Jessa. The problems will be solved tomorrow.”
I sighed. Dwelling on the Kwin wouldn’t change anything.
“I met Taz, Hope and Penny,” I said, reaching for that surge of joy I’d felt finally talking to humans again. “Is that everyone?”
He smiled down at me, clearly happy with the subject change.
“There’s Naomi, but she and her mate live a short distance away. I’m sure you’ll meet Amy once she’s rested. And Penny has two sisters here, as well.”
“Who are they mated to?” I asked, the booze and the dozens of names I’d been told swimming in my head. It would take weeks for me to keep everyone straight. Maybe longer, there were a lot of turochs here.
“Lena and Tamra aren’t mated yet.”
I froze. “Are they really young?” Penny looked roughly my age, I could see her having a couple of younger sisters in their early teens.
Tovis cocked his head to the side, a knowing smirk tugging at his full lips.
“They are young, but they’re adults.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned. “So, you know two women, who are friendly with turochs and single. And I accused you of claiming me because I was your only option.”
I slowly bumped my head against his chest a few times.
“I’m sorry again.”
Tovis chuckled, one big hand coming up to cradle the back of my neck and pin my face to his chest.
“I keep telling you, I chose the mate I wanted,” he teased. “Maybe now you’ll believe me?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I guess I have to.”
***
An hour later, the turochs’ nasty brew had gone straight to my head and Sal started to get squirmy in my arms, so Tovis and I skirted the edge of the celebration and found a spot near a patch of dirt.
I set Sal down, waiting long enough to be sure he wouldn’t bolt and then plopped down on what looked like a seat torn out of a school bus.
The baby percer snuffled around in the dirt, his chunky body and short legs making him look like a bald, deformed bulldog puppy. Tovis laid his arm over my shoulders and tugged me against his side.
On the horizon, the sun was lighting the clouds on fire as it set. Streaks of orange and red glowed in a vibrant bursts between the buildings. If you didn’t look too close, you barely noticed the crumbling state of the once bustling city.
“I don’t think I’ve sat down and just looked at things,” I realized. My face was hot, my head a little swimmy from the booze and I let myself sink into Tovis’ sturdy body.
“Your planet is beautiful,” Tovis said quietly, his eyes half closed against the bold sunset.
“It is.” Back before everything went sideways, I wasn’t an outdoorsy person.
I worked a lot, spent a lot of time at home, doom scrolling and watching shows to stave off the boredom.
After, I’d hidden away in the spa, keeping my life as close to normal as I could, which meant never ever looking outside.
I couldn’t risk my bubble breaking, seeing the proof that everything had changed. How many sunsets had I missed?
“What was your planet like?” I wondered.
Trying to picture a backdrop that would hit with his alien features.
I wasn’t much of a nature person, but his brilliant coloring didn’t fit with what I knew of predators or prey.
Everything was trying to blend into their surroundings, camouflage against grass or trees.
Except for the toxic animals. Turochs weren’t toxic as far as I could tell though. No fangs, or poison skin, and personality wise they seemed a little football/hockey player with a touch of good-natured frat boy thrown in.
“Dry, windy,” he said wistfully. “We lived on the plains, grass and hills for as far as you could travel. Bands of males hunted and searched for things to build our mate hoards, and we visited every mother band we found, trading meat and looking for females to claim.”
It sounded very different than Earth. Primitive, but he clearly missed it.
“You didn’t have cities?” I asked, painting a picture of a prairie-like world with bands of big red males roaming around.
He shook his head. “The mother bands rarely moved, but unmated males were nomads. We leave our mother bands when we mature and go out seeking mates.” Tovis gestured at the looming buildings in the distance. “We had nothing like this, we lived in tents, or on the backs of eskines.”
“Eskines?”
“Big grass eating animals, it was a right of passage to tame one. They were very loyal once you gained their trust.”
Something rumbled nearby, the foreign sound of a big engine shaking the seat beneath us and I turned to see a sleek metal ship drift past the strip mall and land behind the tents.
“What is that?” I knew the answer, it was a spaceship. I was looking at alien aircraft.
Tovis glanced over at it as a small ramp lowered from its flat belly. “Uriish has been scouting for more sytos, Adak sent him out this morning.”
I’d met Gigi earlier, but the cheerful blue male, who walked around dressed in a loincloth and a big sun hat looked nothing like the straight backed syto striding down the ramp.
He wore one of the grey uniforms I’d seen on the Kwin’s guards, and he was a darker shade of blue than any of the sytos I’d seen so far.
“You guys trust him that much?” I asked, feeling guilty for my suspicion. This Uriish had been with the turochs months longer than me. “You’re not worried he’ll go back to the Kwin?”
Tovis laughed. “He was a captain, a real captain. Jiith was a low level male who was promoted because they had no officers. Uriish had much more authority. The Kwin would make an even worse example of him if he tried to go back.”
A dark haired woman skipped through the tents and greeted Uriish with a jaunty wave, offering him a cup that he didn’t take.
“That’s Lena,” Tovis whispered, rubbing his nose against my head, his breath tickling at my ear. “One of Penny’s sisters. She’s been following the captain around since she arrived in hopes of winning his attention.”
“Really?” I watched as Uriish kept walking, leaving the pretty woman behind. She seemed undaunted as she tagged along after him, gesturing and talking while he ignored her. It didn’t look like he returned her interest, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she bothered.
If she was lonely, there were more than enough turochs for her to pick from, and after spending just a day in camp, it was obvious any of the males would jump at the chance for a mate.
Besides, the tentacles wigged me out.
“She’s very determined.”
He pressed a soft kiss to the side of my neck and I shivered, skin prickling as he trailed his hand up and down my arm.
“Seems like it,” I managed to squeak out. My eyes closed and I let my head fall back on his shoulder as he nibbled and kissed along my throat.
“Have you found a male you prefer, Jessa?” he asked teasingly. “Should I withdraw my claim? Or will you accept my gentling and be my female?”
There was something so smugly possessive in the way he spoke at it made my heart race.
“Not yet,” I murmured. “But keep trying.”
He laughed against my skin. “I will.”