Chapter 6
SIX
SHERLOCK
My entire body ached with a bone-deep exhaustion.
I twitched as my mate let out a soft cry and clamped down on me, wringing the seed from me as I gave her what her body demanded, the madness of my rut fading, even if the memories remained sharp and present in my mind.
I was lying next to her on the bed, one of her legs wrapped over my hip as I clutched at her.
Damage report available, my internal system offered.
"Noelle," I gasped out, her name a lifeline.
"You can talk again," she cried out, her hands cupping my face. "There you are."
"Are you… are you alright?" I asked.
"Am I alright? Are you alright?" she asked.
"I was able to drink water, but you wouldn't let me leave the room.
I know you said that would happen, but it's been two days.
I didn't have any snacks in the room, so it's a good thing the others checked on me and brought us some stuff.
I couldn't get you to eat or drink anything; all you did was me, over and over again.
I was able to sleep, but you just kept going through it… You must be badly dehydrated."
"I am," I said. "I will recover."
None of the damage in the report was serious. It was all easily repairable.
"Sherlock… I'm not sure I can do that regularly," she said, a worried tone in her voice. "That rut was fun and all, but that isn't something I want to do every night."
"Now that you carry our young, I will be able to mate with you without going into a rut," I said.
"Sherlock," she said, her voice soft and sad. "I'm not pregnant. Sara said that there was no way we would be able to have kids with aliens. She's a doctor. She should know."
"If that was the case, then I would be dead," I said. "My seed has found anchor."
"What do you mean you'd be dead?" Noelle said.
"My origin species: males will rut until their mate carries their young or they die," I said. "I would not have come out of the rut unless my seed had found its purpose."
"Are you serious?" Noelle said.
"Yes," I said, putting my hand on her belly. "We have started our family."