Chapter 20
A light tinkling noise startled Lena awake, like the ringing of a bell.
She groaned quietly as she shifted, still stretched out over a sleeping Screl, her cunt warming his cock just like it had been while she had fallen asleep.
It was a cozy feeling, her tight flesh clinging to him as he penetrated her depths, the upper cock still pressed against her clit in a way that tempted to ignite her need yet again.
He was fully aroused, and as she squirmed to get off him, his cocks twitched involuntarily as if they were refusing to let go. When she finally freed herself, her body immediately despaired of the absence, the comforting fullness it had experienced as they both had slept soundly.
After a moment, she realized the noise was coming from the door, and deftly slid off the bed, slipping her pants on quietly.
She glanced at her cum-stained shirt and donned her jacket as well, zipping it up to the collar.
Properly dressed, she padded over to the chrome wall and pressed her ear to the cool metal.
“Hello?” she whispered, unsure if whoever was on the other side could hear her.
“Hello. I would like to speak with you.”
The voice was distinctly feminine, and she wondered if it was Dronzal, but something told her it wasn’t. It certainly wasn’t the guard who had dropped them off here, and Lena felt a surge of anxiety, adrenaline pumping through her veins.
She turned to Screl, who was still fast asleep, but before she could call to him, the door whirred open, and she jerked back around to see one of the royals from the throne room.
The female bowed with an uncomfortable smile on her face.
“I am Vottol Screl, firstborn offspring of the Sovereign. How is my brother doing?”
Lena was dumbfounded, wondering why the crown royal had come to speak with her. Perhaps all the Sovereign’s offspring weren’t such hateful creatures?
“He’s sleeping,” she said, still suspicious, frightened of the harm they could do to Screl.
Vottol nodded seriously.
“Good. If he rests, he should make a full recovery. How are you doing?”
Lena shrugged.
“Fine, I guess. The visit with the Sovereign was… unexpected.”
Vottol shook her head, a somber look on her face. Her coloring was similar to Screl’s, though she was shorter in stature, with smaller tentacles. She had the same vivid blue eyes, scrutinizing Lena’s every move, though it seemed more like curiosity than the malice that the Sovereign had delivered.
“Unfortunately, it is very expected for us. Our father is not a kind parent. And he looks down on humans.”
That seemed like an understatement.
“But you’ll replace him, right? Won’t things be better for Screl—I mean Rohieth then?”
“They will. I will make certain of that. He has a lot of growing up to do, but he does not deserve the way our father treats him.”
Growing up?
“How old is he?”
Vottol cocked her head, reminding her of Screl, a wry smile on her face.
“He is the youngest of us. Two hundred and seventy, still a young adult amongst our people. The oldest Threns can reach a thousand years old.”
Lena stifled a snort of laughter, the absurdity that somehow she was the mature one in this arrangement—despite the fact that he was over two hundred years old—was almost too much to handle.
She supposed some of his brash decision-making could be attributed to the fact that he was apparently still a young adult.
There was an awkward silence, and Lena was unsure what to say.
“I am certain this has all been a lot for you, but I am so glad you are here,” Vottol said, and Lena quirked a brow.
“Why?”
None of the Threns really seemed interested in humans, at least not beyond Screl. What did her presence at the palace have to do with anything besides making the Sovereign angry?
“Rohieth has been looking for you for a very long time.”
A strange pit settled in her stomach, as if a black hole were opening and ready to swallow her whole.
“What do you mean?”
Now it was Vottol’s turn to look confused, her eyes narrowing slightly, though she maintained her composure.
“You are his fated. Surely he told you. He has been… understandably lost without you. I think I am the only one who believed him when he claimed his fated was a human. But I am so glad you have found each other.”
Lena nodded, letting the words sink in as her mind raced.
Vottol patted her shoulder, giving another gentle smile.
“Take care of him. And as soon as he is healed, make sure you both return to his ship and leave the planet. I can handle the Sovereign.” She paused, glancing down the hallway before eyeing Lena once more. “I hope to see you again someday.”
With that, Vottol was gone, and Lena stood at the open door, dumbfounded. It whirred shut in front of her face, and she turned to Screl, still asleep on the bed. A bevy of conflicted emotions coursed through her, and she sat down on the chair, dizziness overwhelming her.
What the hell did fated mean?
Screl had said they were compatible mates, but she’d assumed that just meant they were two species which could reproduce. But that was not at all what Vottol had said, and Lena scoffed at the idea of her and Screl ‘finding each other’.
The only reason he likes you is that he thinks you’re his fated. He doesn’t actually care about you. He will never love you. How could anyone ever love you? Look at you. So pathetic and desperate that you’d fall in love with a violent psychopath who thinks he has some claim over you.
He’d abducted her from her home, and no natural pheromones or compatible mates bullshit was an excuse for that. He’d cut a man’s hands off and attacked his own officer just for touching her.
Screl was a violent person, and she’d allowed herself to be lulled by the rough way he used her and the tender way he cared for her. None of which made up for his appalling behavior, or the fact that he had only pursued her because he thought it was fate.
It was all a mistake, another big fucking blunder in her life of errors. Always picking the wrong guy, always letting herself be used, always letting hope in even when she knew she was worthless.
Screl stirred, patting the bed erratically, looking for her.
“Are you feeling better?” Lena asked, her voice a low croak.
He turned to look at her, brow furrowed.
“Yes, I am healed, though not back to full strength yet. Threns can regenerate quickly, even after…” he trailed off, clearly still sensitive about what happened with the Sovereign.
Lena tried to shake off the sympathy, remembering her anger.
“What does fated mean?”
Screl’s eyes widened, and he sat up fully.
“Where did you hear that word?”
Lena crossed her arms over her chest, fury building as he played coy.
“Your sister stopped by to check on you, said something about how happy she was that we found each other. Since we’re fated. What the hell does that mean?”
She tried to keep her voice calm, but an air of panic surrounded her, threatening to suffocate her like a cloud of smog.
Screl eased out of the bed, clearly still sore from the violence of the previous day. He took a couple of steps toward her, but stopped short of reaching her.
“Please, Lena, I need you to listen and understand.”
She waited, her pulse quickening as he continued to prolong his answer. What the fuck had he done to her?
“I was not quite honest with you about what being compatible mates meant…”
Screl’s eyes were on the floor, his arms wrapped around himself as his tentacles swayed listlessly behind his back.
“Well?” Lena asked, her voice sharp as she waited for him to continue.
He finally looked at her, his face contorted into a grimace, which made her stomach turn.
“By compatible mates, I do not mean that it is merely physically possible for us to reproduce. It goes far beyond that. Every Thren has a fated, though not many are lucky to find theirs. The galaxy is vast, and our species has spread from Botune, traveled to the stars. Those who find their fated are considered blessed by the Gods.”
Lena was trembling, trying to stop the erratic shaking.
“I have known since I was a young hatchling that a human was my intended. I am not certain when the thought first came to my mind, but when it did, I felt sure that it was the truth, sure that I would find my fated one day despite the fact that she was a different species. I have waited so long for you.”
“So. If it’s true that there’s some cosmic reason we met, I still don’t understand what that all means. Did you really have to kidnap me? You couldn’t have just asked me on a date like a normal person?”
Screl chuckled awkwardly, pacing around the room.
“I admit I acted rashly. But after all this time, I could not wait any longer. Not when I saw what happened to you at the bar, the way that male put his hands all over you. You weren’t safe there.”
“That’s not an excuse,” Lena rasped, tears welling in her eyes.
She was overcome with emotions, and it was impossible to tell exactly what those emotions were. Fear seemed to supersede all, the thought of some celestial being forcing her hand, forcing her decision, making her feel ill.
But it didn’t seem so farfetched. She’d been enthralled by Screl from the moment she first met him, despite the anxiety and misgivings. She’d given herself to him readily even though he’d abducted her, taken her against her will, lied to her about the fact that they were fated to be together.
Screl watched her with a horrified expression, opening and shutting his mouth multiple times as if trying to find something to say.
“So, what’s going to happen when I go back to Henios?” she finally asked, sniffling hard.
The Sovereign clearly expected her to return, and though that had once been her primary goal, it now filled her with dread.
“I will have to return with you. Or you can stay on my ship with me.”
Lena furrowed her brows, ignoring his alternative plan.
“And the Sovereign would let you do that? Just stay on an Alliance space station?”
“There is no other way, amoreth. We are tethered now.”
“Tethered?”
“Permanently bonded. It will be… difficult for us to be parted.”
“Difficult how?”
Terror flowed freely now, thoughts coming and going before she had a chance to grasp them. What was he talking about?
“There will be physical withdrawals and emotional turmoil.”
“And when does that wear off?”
Screl eyed her with a sheepish look, his tongues flicking out of his mouth like a nervous tic.
“Never…”
The word hit her like a shuttlejet, the realization seeping into her bones with absolute certainty. There was no falsehood in his voice, in the frightened look on his face.
Lena took a step back, already sensing the pull of Screl’s presence, the need to be in his arms despite all that he was revealing to her.
“Please do not be upset. I will make things right. I will take care of you.”
“How?! You’re telling me you permanently altered me. Without my permission! You only like me because you think we’re fated to be together.”
It felt like the room was closing in, her vision narrowing so all she could see was Screl slinking toward her. She retreated further, her chest tightening as if a metal cage was constricting it, her breaths coming in shallow gasps.
“I don’t think we’re fated, I know it,” he said. “And I thought you knew it too. I thought this was what you wanted. You asked for my seed, for the joining. You wanted to be claimed.”
The audacity inflamed her, even as panic overwhelmed her. He was really trying to blame her for something he had done.
“I didn’t know what I was asking. You tricked me.”
“It was the bond telling you what you needed. What is done cannot be undone, amoreth. We are meant to be together, made for each other.”
Enough.
“Take me back to the station,” Lena commanded through gritted teeth.
Whatever this was, it was over. He wasn’t going to force her into some weird alien bond. She wasn’t going to be held hostage by someone who only cared about her because fate had told him to.
“I do not wish to do that. If you would just contact Henios and tell them you joined with me willingly, I am certain they would let you stay on my ship.”
Screl continued to approach her, stepping forward until her back pressed against the smooth wall, so reminiscent of all the times he’d cornered her, made her feel as small as a mouse. He put his hands on either side of her, though did not touch her.
Her heartbeat thumped in her ears, a frenzied drum that drowned out any other sounds. Tears glimmered in her eyes, desperation welling in more ways than one.
“Please take me back.”
“I cannot,” he repeated, though his voice wavered. “You are mine, Lena.”
“I am not yours, Commander Screl,” she hissed. “And I never will be.”
She pushed away any care for this monster, not wanting to let an urge overtake her like it had before. She could fight whatever he had infected her with, fight whatever need she felt to be with him.
Screl rumbled a low growl, shooting a hand to her neck and pressing her against the wall. She could still breathe, but only just.
“You’ll have to kill me. I won’t go back to your ship.”
The hand at her throat garbled her words, and she swore his gaze softened as he let up some pressure.
For a moment, she thought he’d release her, but then his tentacles shot forward, enveloping her neck and face.
She cried out, a wave of exhaustion already spreading through her, eyes heavy with fatigue as darkness crept at the edge of her vision.
Lena grabbed two tentacles and yanked them as hard as she could, but it was useless.
Sleep overwhelmed her as she fell into Screl’s waiting arms.