Chapter 27
Stop being a coward.
I’m not a coward.
Yes, you are. A silly, pathetic, coward.
Lacey pulled a pillow over her head as though it could silence her thoughts. But it barely even quieted the music that had been taunting her for hours, drifting to the den from the center of the village, where everyone was gathered for the evening meal.
Where Telok was now.
She groaned into the bedding, hating that the spiteful voice in her head was right. She was being a coward, hiding in here under the covers, away from curious eyes, away from…Telok.
Telok, who not very long ago had done his best to ignore and avoid her. Who had officially claimed her as his mate today.
What had been so wrong about what they’d shared? They’d had sex. Amazing, mind-numbing, animalistic sex. It was a natural part of life. There was no reason to be ashamed about it.
The concept of modesty was foreign to the vrix.
Of course, many vrix enjoyed the privacy of their own dens, but they were wholly unconcerned with nudity.
She’d even heard of times when vrix had been stumbled upon while mating out in the open—like Telok and Lacey had—only to continue unbothered.
None of them would have freaked out or been embarrassed.
Just as no one likely cared that she’d been knotted on Telok’s cock, bare-ass naked, orgasming repeatedly while he fought a bunch of beasties.
But she cared.
Lacey had despised what her body looked like for so long, and everything had been on display today.
She hated how exposed, raw, and vulnerable she’d felt.
How scared she’d been. Hated that their beautiful moment together had been interrupted by the kurghests, and that she’d been soaring with bliss…
while being terrified of getting clawed and gnawed to death.
I was stuck coming around his dick while our lives were in danger.
She’d already been trembling in the aftermath of their mating, but that whole situation had left her entirely shaken to her core.
Worse…Cole, Sophia, and all the vrix had been there to witness it. They’d stood only a few paces away while Telok had pulled her off him. They’d heard the suction of his knot being dislodged from her pussy, and the gush of fluids hitting the ground.
It had been humiliating.
And instead of being cuddled up in bed with your new mate, you drove him away.
Great thinking, Lacey!
Her chest constricted, and her heart ached with a deep hollowness.
Telok had wanted to stay with her, had wanted to hold and console her.
But she’d asked him for space. Stupid fucking space that Lacey now regretted.
Because she wanted to be wrapped in his embrace and lose herself in his scent, wanted to feel his claws soothingly stroking her hair, wanted his quiet, steady presence and strength.
But her mind had been such a chaotic, jumbled mess…
Now she was lonely, cursing herself for her cowardice, hating that it was her fault Telok wasn’t here with her.
You could go find him and apologize.
“Yes!” Lacey whipped the pillow and blanket off and sat up. “He’s probably waiting for me.”
He’d told her he would join the others, but she knew him well enough to doubt he would’ve followed through. He had probably found somewhere quiet where he could brood.
Alone. Rejected by his mate.
That made her heart ache more fiercely. Lacey had sent him away when she was the only person he wanted to be with.
“I have so much apologizing to do,” Lacey muttered as she got to her feet and stepped off the bedding—only to freeze as she felt something warm and viscous leak out of her.
She snapped her thighs together. “God damn it. More?”
There had been a stall with a makeshift toilet in the shower, obviously crafted with a human in mind.
Lacey had used it to pee when Telok brought here there earlier.
She hadn’t believed the pressure of how full she’d been, or the immense relief once she’d emptied her bladder.
She’d showered afterward, cleaning as much of his cum as she could from inside her.
But he’d apparently shot bucketloads into her, because it just kept coming!
With her shorts now sporting a large, dark spot, she undressed and tossed them in the corner to wash later.
Every sore muscle, scrape, and bruise made itself known to her as she moved.
She lightly ran her fingertips over the scratches on her hip, where there was a clear, bruised imprint of Telok’s hand.
Whatever pain she might’ve felt from his grip had been overridden by the immense pleasure she’d experienced, or it had simply added to it.
She touched the bite on her shoulder and hissed. The wound was quite tender.
But it was her pussy that she was most aware of. Her labia were swollen and sensitive, her clit still pulsed dully, and there was a distinct feeling of emptiness where Telok had once filled her.
Sighing, she crouched next to her bag and retrieved a small jar of salve she’d packed. She bit down on her bottom lip as she dabbed some of the green ointment over the bitemark.
After putting away the jar, she used a spare cloth to gingerly scrub between her thighs, hoping the worst of the leakage was over. Then she tossed the cloth atop her shorts before pulling on a clean dress and tugging on her boots.
As she was combing her fingers through her hair, working out the tangles to make herself somewhat presentable, there was rapping against the doorframe.
Telok!
With her lips stretching into a wide smile and her stomach aflutter with excitement and anticipation, she ran to the entrance, grasped the curtain, and tugged it aside.
Everything within her deflated.
Sophia stood before her, holding a clay cup and a pitcher, wearing a short, dark brown, one-shoulder dress and a gentle smile.
There was no big black and green vrix anywhere to be seen.
“Hey Lacey. I…hope it’s a good time? I just wanted to come by and see how you’re doing.”
Warmth spread over Lacey’s skin. “I’m… I, uh…” She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it back from her face. “Truthfully? I’m mortified, and I think I’m only starting to come out of shock.”
“I can imagine. And there’s no judgment here, I swear. I’m just glad you guys are okay. Everyone is.”
Some of the tension that had been building inside Lacey eased. “Thank you.”
The woman’s smile widened. “Are you up for a little chat?”
“Um, sure.” As much as Lacey would’ve preferred to go out and find Telok, she stepped aside and held the curtain open for Sophia to enter. “Do you…know where Telok is?”
“Last time I saw him, he was with Tas, but that was a while ago,” Sophia said as she walked to the table, filled the cup, and set the pitcher down. She turned, handing the cup to Lacey. “Here.”
“Thank you.” Lacey brought the cup to her lips and nearly moaned as water cooled her parched throat. Before she realized it, she’d drained the cup and was refilling it to take another deep drink.
Sophia chuckled. “I’m glad I brought the water.”
“Seriously, thank you,” Lacey breathed as she set the empty cup down.
“There’s food out there too, if you’re hungry.”
“I am, but I…I still need a moment.”
“I get it.”
Lacey gestured to the spare cushions on the floor that she and Telok hadn’t slept on. “Want to sit?”
“Sure!”
They lowered themselves onto the cushions, Lacey taking it a little slower and more delicately due to the delicious aches in her body and the soreness of her sex.
Sophia glanced toward the entrance. “I actually wasn’t the only one wanting to check up on you.”
Lacey arched a brow. “Who else?”
“Cole,” Sophia said with a smile. “He was trying to play it off, but he was worried about your mental state. When he saw that you weren’t with Telok, he asked if I could come check on you. He said he would have himself, but he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable after, well…you know.”
Heat flooded Lacey’s face and chest, but she was touched to know that Cole had been so thoughtful. “He can be a bit irritating sometimes, but he’s a good guy.”
Sophia looked down at her lap, where her fingers picked at the hem of her dress.
“I like him. Like, really, really like him. After all this time, I never thought I’d see another human being again, then you guys suddenly showed up.
And when I saw him… It was like butterflies spreading through my whole body. ”
Lacey smiled. “Cole’s a pretty good-looking guy.”
“Good looking?” Sophia scoffed playfully as she brought her gaze back up to Lacey. “That man is fucking fine. He also has magic fingers and a god-like tongue. God, the orgasms he gave me last night…”
Scrunching her face, Lacey poked a finger at the other woman. “That is way too much information.”
Sophia laughed. “Sorry. I went from being celibate for years to having one of the best nights of my life last night… It’s just nice being able to talk to someone like this again, you know?”
Whatever tension and anxiety had taken root in Lacey bled away.
Sophia was treating Lacey as though they’d been friends for years.
Since the moment the woman had arrived, there’d been no judgment in her eyes, no mockery, no disgust. She was simply a person desperate to make a connection with someone who’d shared her experiences, someone who would understand the references if she mentioned Earth things.
Someone who’d also awoken on an unfamiliar planet inhabited by aliens.
Though Lacey had been justified in her embarrassment, she shouldn’t have allowed herself to spiral. Shouldn’t have let her insecurities and shitty self-perception entrap her.
And Telok… The way he looked at her and touched her…
He makes me feel beautiful.
Things were different here. The world was different, the people were different.
Even Lacey was different.