Chapter 24
Draggar
Haley’s forehead is wrinkled in confusion, and I wonder if her translator chip is malfunctioning.
I try again, choosing different words this time. “Laediriian females no longer exist. They are extinct.”
Her blue eyes grow big and her mouth falls open, before she closes it with an audible snap and sputters, “What? Why? How? I don’t understand.”
We are both propped up on the bed, now, and Haley pulls one of the lightweight furs over her, covering her body from my view. For a moment, I mourn the hiding of her luscious beauty, then I soberly remember what we are discussing.
“Generations ago, our females were killed by a plague.” I explain, my voice thick with sadness. “This all happened on our home planet Laedir, and the virus invaded it like a marauding enemy set out to destroy us. It killed many of our males, but our females suffered the worst from it. They were nearly all eradicated by the disease. Young and old – it did not matter their age or station in life. Since then, there have been no Laediriian females born.”
My heart aches at the thought of the many lives that were taken by the Great Plague. But it took not only lives, but our future, too. It doomed our species to a slow, depressing slide into extinction. And with the extinction of our females, the amoris bonds disappeared, too.
Haley sits upright, her eyes soft with sympathy. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. That sounds horrible.” She reaches out and lays her hand on my arm, rubbing my skin in a circular motion that manages to instantly calm me and inflame me at the same time.
I can feel the thread of pain at my expense that my words have caused her, and the small tingle of curiosity indicating she wishes to know more.
Haley grows still before tentatively asking, “But wait. . . If it happened that long ago, then how were you born? You can’t be that old. How does your tribe have children?”
“In some ways, our society was quite advanced even then. We already had technology for artificial wombs to assist mates who could not reproduce traditionally. As soon as the leaders of Laedir realized females were at risk of extinction. the artificial wombs were enlisted to save us and the Laediriian females who were still alive were asked to donate their biological material. But even then, no female kitlings were born.”
I pause for a moment. Haley’s small hand on my arm squeezes giving me strength to go on. I take a deep breath and continue to recount the history that has been passed down from the Ancestors. “Our queen grew sick from the virus not long after it appeared on Laedir. She fought hard to survive, but the virus prevailed. When the queen perished, her council of advisors used her death to seize control and rule the planet. The council grew desperate, and they decreed all females were to be rounded up and locked up in isolation away from their families. They would have their reproductive material harvested and inserted into the wombs whether they consented or not.” Haley listens with rapt attention to my story.
“A small group of Laediriians disagreed with the plan to essentially imprison our females. They gathered together their families and as many supplies as they could transport, and they escaped on a large ship. They traveled through the universe until they found an unclaimed planet uninhabited by sentient lifeforms with an environment similar to Laedir. They decided to settle on this planet. They named it Laedirissae in honor of the home they left behind. It means Little Laedir in our language.”
“That’s just. . . Wow.” She pauses for a moment, thinking, and then asks, “So, do you mean their eggs were harvested?”
I nod. “Before the Ancestors fled, the council decreed that all females, no matter their age, would be required to submit to harvesting procedures.”
“How did the virus come to be on your home planet?”
“The council insisted the queen brought it back during one of her diplomatic missions, but there were many who did not believe them. There was a theory that an enemy species introduced the virus to weaken us, but I do not know.” I shrug my shoulders. “So much time has passed, and none of that really matters, now.”
Haley nods, then, as if she already knows the answer, she asks in a small voice, “What happened to the females who settled on this planet? And how does a species without females have children?”
“The females who came to this planet were already infected with the virus, and they eventually died with their families at their side. There were a few medics who did not agree with the council’s plans to lock away the females, and they joined us in our exile. They brought along a small number of the preloaded artificial wombs with them, and that is how we have been able to reproduce.”
My mouth twists in sadness. “But as time has passed, the stored eggs have deteriorated in quality and there are less kitlings born to us each year. One day soon, there will be no kitlings and our species will cease to exist entirely. Just like our females.” There is a thread of grief in my voice that I cannot hide. Grief for the future of my species that for so long has looked bleak.
Haley’s eyes are sad and glistening with moisture and her lips are drawn tight with tension. She crawls into my lap and embraces me with her arms wrapped tightly around me as if she cannot get close enough. I press my face against her hair and breath in her light, sweet scent.
A faint trace of her arousal lingers in the air, and I feel myself grow hard again. I want to press her back to the bed and repeat our mating, but I push down the urge. The desire that was between us earlier is still there, simmering below the surface and ready to erupt as soon as either of us makes a move towards it, but there will be time to indulge it later.
After a few moments, Haley pulls back and tilts her head up to me, a question on her face, “Wait a minute. . . why don’t Laediriians just reproduce with other species? I mean, if you and I are spirit mates, then I assume that means Laediriians can mate with others.” Haley bites her bottom lip and I tamp down the urge to lick the spot her small teeth nibble on. I settle for running my thumb across her lips.
“The council on Laedir always maintained we were not biologically compatible with other species, and that mating with aliens was not an option. That information has been passed down for generations. The amoris bond died with our females, and until I met you, I did not know it was even possible to experience the bond with someone who was not Laediriian. Everything I have been taught about our species and our history says that the bond can only be experienced between two Laediriian mates.”
I take her soft hands in mine and give them a gentle squeeze. “But I am pleased to find that it is not true.”
There is a faint upturn of her lips at my words and the skin on her face flushes a vibrant pink color that sends a thrum of hunger through my veins.
I am still amazed that I was able to bond with Haley, and that the connection between us appears to be so strong. Since she is an alien, I had expected it to be weaker than what I have heard of occurring between Laediriian mates, but I don’t think it is. Even now, I can feel her sadness about my species’ circumstances, along with a lingering frisson of arousal burning inside her.
As we lock gazes, that arousal heats up and arcs between us. My second heart quickens, sending mateblood flowing through my veins.
The quiet moment grows between us until it takes on a life of its own, and before I know it, Haley is urgently pulling my head down to meet her lips in a kiss that causes my breath to shudder. Our mouths fuse together in a passionate embrace that sends an arrow of blazing heat sweeping through me.
My cock, already half-hard, swells further and throbs out a steady tempo in time with my second heart’s pulse in a need to claim my mate again, and I know with a certainty that I will never be able to get enough of Haley.
Haley shifts until she is straddling my lap with her thighs on either side of me. My rigid length presses hard against her wet heat, seeking her out, and she gasps in surprise before leaning back to look at me. “Already?”
I smile in response and fleetingly wonder at the stamina of human males before pulling her lips back to mine. I groan as I sweep my tongue into Haley’s soft, hot mouth and her sweet taste overwhelms me.
Her hands, which have been gripping my face and rubbing soft circles against the defensive ridges on my cheeks, steadily drift downwards to linger on my chest. Her blunt nails scrape lightly against my thick skin grazing the sensitive small beads that are my nipples and I hiss in response as a tingle shoots down my spine.
I lean back and look at Haley in amazement. I never knew so much pleasure and bliss could be found with a mate. She grins wickedly at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, and I tense wondering what my mate is planning to do. I do not have long to wonder as she braces her hands firmly against my chest and quickly pushes me backwards.
I land against the soft pillow with an oof and Haley shifts her body until the warmth of her cunt is right above my cock.
A shudder ripples through me as I feel the wetness between her thighs slide against my skin, coating my hardened cock. Her fragrant scent reaches me, strong and rich, and a frantic need like I have never known flows through my body. I need Haley like I need oxygen to breath and food for nourishment. It is a need and hunger that is seated deep within my spirit.
My mate. My amoris.
Haley arches her back and grinds her hips down against mine, while her hands cup the mounds on her chest that fascinate me so much. I groan as her slender fingers pluck at her reddened nipples. Her body is on full display for me to enjoy, and I rake my eyes over her magnificent curves. She is more beautiful than anything I have ever seen – like one of the goddesses from the old Laediriian beliefs.
A sensual curve graces her lips, and my cock responds to it by jerking against my abdomen in eagerness. “How about we try something a little different this time?” Haley’s words send a mixture of confusion and hunger through me. I do not know what my clever mate has planned, but I look forward to finding out.
****
After Haley and I claim each other again, we nestle together on the softness of the bed and talk of meaningless things for a short while.
She tells me of Earth and its many large cities and different people and animals, her friends on the ship, and her work for something called a charity. She explains that it is an organization that gives food to humans who have none.
By the time she begins to speak of her family who have been gone so long, her voice begins to waver. I put my arms around Haley and she leans against my side with a sigh.
My mate is kinder and more selfless than I realized, and shame makes my chest tight. I was a fool to have thought she could be involved in any plot to hurt my people. Haley is innocent of any wrongdoing, as are the other humans. I vow to myself that I will help them in any way that I possibly can.
After a while, Haley’s mouth opens wide in deep yawn and her voice trails off. She cuddles closer against me with her head resting on my shoulder in what she has declared her favorite spot. Her beautiful eyes that I could never tire of gazing into flutter closed and I think she has drifted off to sleep.
A satisfied sense of pride fills me as I recognize the peaceful glow of repletion and the lingering desire emanating from my chest is Haley, and that I have made her feel that way. Claiming my mate was an experience more wonderous than I could have ever imagined.
I smile to myself as I rub a hand down her bare back, marveling at her soft skin so different from my own.
She is so unlike me and unlike what I know about my species’ females. Her skin is smooth, unlike my own thick hide, and she has no defensive ridges on her body to protect her most vulnerable organs. And yet, she is a brave female, willing to stand up to a tiniio for me. I am humbled by her courageous spirit. I think of all the things she has survived so far, and firm resolve settles in my gut. I will let nothing harm Haley ever again. I will protect her no matter what.
I remember the promise I made to her, to return with her to the crashed ship and help her friends. I do not know how many humans there are on the ship, but it sounds as if they are all female.
My thoughts flicker to the unmated males in my tribe like my cousin, and I wonder if any of them might find their spirit mates among the other humans.
Pressing my lips against Haley’s forehead, I inhale her sweet scent. It is so hard to part from her for even a short time, but if we are to leave to travel to her friends, then I must meet with Chief Daggir before he discovers I have returned. There are many things I need to discuss with him.
I try to quietly slide out of bed without waking Haley – the dark circles that are still under my mate’s eyes are proof that she needs her rest and I do not wish for anything to disturb her, not even me – but she stirs as soon as I leave her side.
“Are you leaving me?” Haley mumbles. Her voice is thick with sleepiness and the brown waves of her hair fall around her face in tangles. My fingers itch to glide through her soft mane.
“I must speak with the chief of our tribe before we leave in the morning.” Her eyes widen at my words, and she quickly jumps out of bed. Her naked body is on display, and I drink in the view, mesmerized by her soft curves.
She is beautiful, even as she grabs the clothing she discarded earlier in our rush to claim each other. Haley says something, but her words are muffled by the material of her dress as she pulls it over her head, and I chuckle at her haste.
I reach out and help her tug the dress down, a lightness and joy in my heart that I have not felt in some time. I suspect my lips are turned up in a carefree, silly grin, but I do not care.
“Can I go with you to meet with the chief?” Haley asks again, once her clothing is on and to her liking and I quickly consider her request.
I had planned to tell Chief Daggir about Haley and the humans’ existence in private before introducing her to him, but I can deny my mate nothing. If she wishes to meet the leader of our tribe, then so be it. Truth be told, I have no wish to be parted from Haley, even for such a short time.
When the amoris bond is newly formed, mates have a difficult time being apart from each other, even for short times. We call it the claiming period, and it is a time when our mateblood is at an all-time high, as is our urge to connect with our mates and fully unite our spirits to each other. The claiming lust has me well and truly in its grasp. I rake my eyes over my mate as she bends over to put her shoes on, her soft backside catching my attention and making my semi-hard cock jerk in eagerness.
I wonder if we could . . . I shake my head to dispel it of the fantasy already taking hold. The sooner we meet with Chief Daggir, then the sooner we can return to our hut and turn my fantasy into a reality.
I quickly agree to Haley’s request and we both finish dressing before leaving.
We manage to make our way through the village, past the rows of huts without encountering any of the other males in the tribe. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Haley gazing around in curiosity at the many hollow dwellings that make up my tribe’s village. Many years ago, each one of the huts was occupied by a warrior, and our village was a hub of activity. But now, so many of the huts lie quiet and abandoned with a desolate air that makes my chest pang each time I pass them.
I hope that the many empty huts do not leave my mate with an unfavorable opinion of the Anuriix tribe. We are the most prolific and fierce tribe on Laedirissae, with more tribe members than any other, but even we have not been able to fight off the deterioration of the stored eggs from our long-dead females. Our tribe had so many more members at one point, but as time has passed, the elders have died off and we have had less and less younger members to replace them.
We have existed day to day with the knowledge that one day, all too soon, our tribe – no, our entire species – will become extinct. But I feel a sense of hope now that Haley is here, and now that the amorisbond has returned to us. The future does not seem so bleak with my mate by my side. It seems bright with many possibilities on our horizon.
In the distance ahead of us, I can make out the flames of the main fire pit where most of the tribe’s meals are cooked. The sun is setting in a colorful display that lights up the horizon and the two sister moons have just begun to appear in the sky. It is nearing time for the last meal of the day and most of the tribe will be gathered around waiting to eat. They will have finished their duties and will be busy enjoying the comradery we revel in as we sit together near the fire at night.
I imagine Haley seated beside me at the many meals we will share together in the future. I will choose only the best morsels of food for my mate and make sure she eats her fill each time. And later, when she is satisfied, we will return to our hut and I will make sure she is satisfied in a different way. Then, we will fall asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
I feel an eager grin grace my face as I contemplate our future. I look down at the magnificent female striding along beside me, her hair burnished with gold from the setting sun, and I’m struck again how fortunate I am to have met her and that she is my mate.
As we draw closer to the fire, the sound of conversation among the males tapers off and comes to a stop as they notice first me, then Haley. Everyone’s gazes are trained on her, and I notice more than one member of my tribe with wide, rounded eyes and mouths open in shock.
A flutter of nervous energy rumbles in my gut, but I push it down and smile reassuringly at Haley. Her hands are twisted together in front of her and a tense smile tilts the corners of her lips as if she is both fearful and excited about this meeting. I place my arm around her waist and draw her against my side, hoping that she can absorb some of my confidence and knowing that my action has been a clear statement to my tribe that she is under my protection.
In the center of the group is Chief Daggir. He is an imposing male even at his age with hard muscles that have yet to grow soft. Instead of the shimmering bright metallic hue of a younger male, his skin is the silver of an elder. His faded gray hair is pulled back from his face in an intricate set of braids and deep lines fan out from his steely eyes.
Eyes that I always believed saw everything when I was a kitling. Eyes that are now pinned to me. I resist the urge to fidget just as I would have as a kitling when he would gaze at me in such a manner.
Even in the heart of our village, a sword is strapped to Chief Daggir’s back. At least two daggers are visible in the belt attached to his loincloth, and there are probably more weapons that I cannot see. Our tribe’s chief believes in always being prepared to fight a battle at any time.
His gaze, so alert and knowing, studies Haley before moving back to me. His eyes narrow and his brow ridge rises in an unvoiced question. I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, the seer, Jaran, steps in front of me. He blocks my view with his broad body swathed in a blue tunic made of the sumptuous fabric produced by the insectoid we call verm.
A faint whiff of kifir reaches me when he opens his mouth. “It is nice of you to finally join us, warrior.” His voice drips with barely disguised contempt.
I bristle at Jaran’s words, but I clench my teeth and push down any irritation I feel. It is not the time to engage in a verbal sparring match with the older male.
Jaran turns his head and I realize his gaze has landed on my mate. His fleshy hand lifts and one finger points straight at her and with a sneer, he asks, “What is that?”
I square my shoulders and look past Jaran to meet the chief’s gaze. “She is a human female named Haley.”
My words trigger murmurs to rush through the small crowd of gathered males. Their eyes are fixed on us as they whisper to each other, but at my next words, the males gathered in front of us grow still and silent.
“She is my amoris.”