Chapter 5
GISELLE SIGHED DEEPLY, LICKING across her lips as the lingering taste of honey coated her mouth.
Honey…
Why did her mouth taste like honey?
Her eyes jolted open, scanning the room quickly before spotting one of them in a corner.
Vrix.
“You are awake,” he said, smiling as he stood and ambled over to her.
She was in the bed again, in the room he’d claimed was hers. Giselle tensed as he stepped up to her, her body aching and her mind racing.
“Don’t hurt me,” she said, holding her hands up as if she could fend him off somehow.
It was useless, of course, as Vrix slid into the bed and pulled her into his arms.
“Are you alright, Giselle?”
His voice wavered, his brow furrowed as he scrutinized her.
“Just don’t hurt me again.”
“Did we… hurt you? I thought we were careful this time. I am sorry if we harmed you.”
She was shaking, but something in the softness of his words soothed her, the firmness of his grasp quieting her racing thoughts. She slid her arm over his broad chest, nuzzling into the crook of his neck so she didn’t have to look at his face.
Vrix brushed his claws through her hair.
“Would you like me to examine you? I can give you something for the pain if you are hurting.”
Giselle took in a deep breath, taking stock of her body, assessing each part one by one. Yes, she was sore, her stomach aching and her core throbbing with pain. There was a burning from the slash at her side, hurt dotting across her ass where Thase had gripped her.
She turned to face him, trying to understand his intention.
“You won’t hurt me, will you? I… I can’t take anymore.”
It was true. Despite the thrill of being fucked like that and the powerful orgasm that Thase had forced upon her, her body was weak, her muscles spent.
“I will not hurt you, sweet human. I will be good.”
She wasn’t sure whether it was the lilt of humor in his voice or the smirk on his face, but everything in her told her not to believe him.
Still, she really had no choice. She was at his mercy, and maybe he could relieve her pain—at least a bit—before taking her again.
“Okay,” she acceded, trying to still her trembling body.
Vrix was gentle, pushing her onto her back and crouching over her like a predator lying in wait.
“Where do you hurt, precious one?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he gazed into her eyes.
“Here,” Giselle said, gesturing to her stomach.
She pointed out every aching part—her thighs, her back, the mark on her side, the bruises on her ass—pausing for just a moment before brushing her fingers across her entrance.
He nodded, moving to her lower body and straddling her legs. Anticipation crept through her like a vining plant, wrapping its tendrils around her as she awaited his move. Was he going to go get some medicine? Some sort of balm to soothe her pain?
Without a word, tentacles extended from Vrix’s body, coiling out of his arms and chest and stomach.
They slithered across her like rubbery snakes, one even squeezing underneath her so it could brush along her ass.
Another penetrated her gently, while still more latched onto her stomach and thighs like lampreys, suckers appearing on what had once been smooth appendages.
Giselle blanched at the sight, purple tentacles hooked up to her body like some sort of absurd IV, but before she could protest, there was the sweet sensation of relief.
The ache in her stomach and back subsided, the red slash on her side disappearing before her eyes.
Even the throbbing pain in her tender interior faded, the muscles in her thighs relaxing.
In less than a minute, Vrix was done, unlatching from her body and retreating his tentacles back into his own skin. She let out a small gasp, and he smiled down at her.
“Feel better?”
“Y-Yes,” she stammered, eyes still wide with confusion. “How did you do that?”
“Our sensory appendages are for more than just reproduction. I helped you sleep when you were upset and can heal minor injuries.”
“If you can heal people, why didn’t you help the other humans?”
He shook his head.
“Unfortunately, they were beyond repair. But we have learned our lesson since then.”
Beyond repair? The words turned her stomach. He kept saying they’d learned their lesson, but had they really?
“What’s going to happen now?” Giselle asked, not taking her eyes off of him.
Even as tension coiled in her stomach, she was not ready for another round, not ready to be hurt again, no matter how much pleasure mixed with the pain.
“I will give you a bath,” Vrix stated with a cock of his head, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Vrix had let Giselle stay in bed while he filled the tub with warm water, before scooping her into his arms and bringing her to the bathroom.
“It’s not too hot?” she asked, steam rising from the still water.
He chuckled, setting her into the tub before answering. The water was pleasantly warm, soothing her skin without burning her.
“I told you, sweet one, we have learned our lesson.”
She tried not to give in to the nausea bubbling at her throat, images of scalded humans playing through her mind.
God, she wanted to weep for them, but she let Vrix’s fingers soothe her, brushing through her hair.
She closed her eyes, surrendering to the gentle touches as his hands explored her body.
He hummed quietly, caressing her breasts and neck, lithe claws dancing across her shoulders and down her back.
Giselle was strangely calm in his presence, though she wasn’t sure if it was the warmth of the water or the gentleness of his touches, the soft noises he made as he scrubbed her body clean.
Even as peace tried to enshroud her, her mind couldn’t stop turning back to her predicament, flashes of anxious thoughts passing through her head.
She was in danger, and no amount of soothing touches and sweet words could make her forget that.
When she opened her eyes, Vrix greeted her with a smile.
“Are you certain we can’t go back to Earth?” she asked.
He narrowed his gaze, stiffening almost imperceptibly.
“Occaro X7 is very beautiful. You will enjoy it there.”
“Please, just let me go. I… I don’t belong here.”
He shook his head.
“Of course you do. You belong with us. And I have discussed it with Thase. There is a possibility we can still utilize you as our incubator. We may know someone who can… perform the appropriate surgery.”
A chill of fear snaked through her veins, and she tried to focus, tried to be strong even though she wanted to cry, wanted to give up, give in. She cleared her throat as her mind raced, trying to figure out how to stop this.
“Please. I don’t want to be your… incubator. I just want to go home.”
Vrix chuckled again.
“Your home is with us now. And if the surgery is successful, then we will fill you with many broods.”
Anxiety constricted her throat, her eyes wide as he nuzzled his maw against her neck, as if they were chatting about what to eat for dinner.
Both paths were cloaked with utter terror; forced to be a brood mare for these psychopaths or what?
A painful death as some alien surgeon tried to reconstruct her womb?
“I thought you had artificial incubators?”
He pulled away, a wicked smile on his face.
“They are useful, yes, but not pleasurable. They do not writhe and scream while we give them our clutches. They do not look as beautiful as you would, your belly swollen with our eggs. It is cold, clinical, not the splendor that is created when we use a living womb.”
It was a horror beyond recognition and Giselle trembled, tears burning at her eyes. She couldn’t breathe, gasping for air that refused to reach her lungs.
Vrix cocked his head, then placed a hand on her cheek. A tentacle extended from the arm, her eyes glued to it as it came for her, wrapping around her neck with gentle pressure.
“No,” she whimpered, not wanting to be unconscious around them again, but a moment later, exhaustion took over.
Her muscles went slack, her eyes closed, and her mind forgot.