Feral Series V: Feral Foretaste Read online

  Great. The Goddess gets buried deep inside the planet she's supposed to cleanse. I walked right into this one. How am I going to avoid going blind when everywhere I turn I'm surrounded by the very dirt I need to heal?

  The black-haired !Dakos halted at a silver door.

  Tvrist placed his hand on a small black vid screen.

  The door whisked open.

  So high-tech and sci-fi. Why didn't I just stay on Earth? Oh, that's right. I thought I could help somebody in the universe. And here I am. Helping them.

  Tvrist stepped aside, allowing our entry.

  The spacious room beyond the guard had to be as large as a football field. Someone worked overtime decorating it in purple and silver. So damned beautifully. The purple looked as lush as velvet on the walls and draping the massive dark wooden four-poster bed. The silver fabric hanging from the tall windows only made the space seem surreal. Like I walked into a daydream.

  And God knows this lab rat doesn't need to get caught up in a fantasy. Where's the freaking exercise wheel? No sense pretending this planet differs from the space station. “Okay,” I turned to my blond mate's black armor.

  He sighed, stepping away from the closing door.

  At last, we are alone. “The twins aren't staying?"

  "Sok and Tvrist?” He walked past me, nudging my elbow with a gentle touch, and guided me toward the closest window.

  Window? We're underground. But this wasn't the time to change the subject. “Yes. They look exactly alike."

  "They should. They both have the same mother and father. Yet, three hundred years separate their births."

  Wow. Why didn't the extended lifespan sink in already? “!Dako longevity sure can make a girl's mind reel."

  "What's reel?"

  He lead me right into a set of wispy curtains and pushed them open with his wide shoulders, revealing what looked like a faux window somehow sunlit with tree limbs leafed out, fluttering in wind.

  Illusion. Just what I needed to stare at down here underground. Is my mate a man or machine? Are !Dako mates sex slaves or happy wives? Should I cleanse the planet or not? Where's the bar in this rat cage so I can electrocute myself? Suicide had its perks.

  The smoky scent of bacon whirled more than my mind.

  And then there was the distraction of his glorious form. Muscles. That long almost white hair. And his narrow waist. Damn his sexy body. Everything was freaking insane. “Spin! And stand still.” Well, he wasn't moving. Just my brain couldn't find a resting point with all this madness. “Can't you turn those pheromones off?"

  He locked his silver gaze on mine. “Why would I do that?” A grin tugged at the corner of his perfectly-fashioned mouth.

  He knew. “So, I can manage a rational thought. Besides, you were explaining how all of the twins can have such a huge age difference. Stop trying to change the subject."

  "Was I?"

  Maybe not. But now he is. “Yes."

  His blond eyebrows arched for a moment, then he turned to the the view.

  A swath of purple grass under the lemonade sky. We weren't overlooking the compound, or whatever they called this fortification, in our simulated view of distant gray peaks and green water. A sea or ocean by the way it hugged most of the distant horizon. “Where is the place in this scene?"

  "On the other side of the continent. I can take you to see it if you like."

  Oh, there he goes, trying to change the subject again. “What about the brothers?"

  "I wasn't planning on discussing them. They are the best warriors among the !Dakos on Treusch. I brought them with us to protect you if I'm called away. Sok is outside the door. Tvrist is away on his rest cycle. Each knows his duty is to guard you. Each realizes the greatest dishonor lies in failing to protect the Goddess. If I'm away and you wish to venture out among the city, both will accompany you."

  "I have that much freedom?” Good to know.

  "Of course you do.” He tipped my chin up with a gloved fingertip and stared into my eyes. “You are my mate. Not a captive. Huv'rias are quite happy among the !Dakos."

  Easy to say when I'm standing here drooling at the smoky scent of my mate. Pheromones had to affect every female thought on the planet. “What do you think they'd do if you all turned off your pheromones?"

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  Chapter Nine

  Why would !Dakos even think of changing such a luxury of pheromones, Vult wondered. And confessing we could do so would be foolish. I gazed into my huv'ria's brown wells of her eyes and sighed. “All things aren't as easy as they would seem to be.” That wasn't truly a lie. I could have the nanites reprogrammed. But what would that do for the warriors setting out on Mate Quests? Their mate acquisition would lead to unnecessary death and destruction. Taking unmated females with a lure such as pheromones was always the easy solution.

  She studied me with the same intelligent stare typical of my thoughtful soul. “And you need me to cleanse this planet because you boys don't want to give up the bait? I'm trying to work with you here, Vult. After all, I left my planet to aid in a group of people out to make a difference in the universe. I could really use some deep reasoning right now."

  Maybe she'd be more convinced of our plight now. Of the problems with Mate Quests. Of the simplicity in bearing viable female offspring. She had to understand. And now I have her in a place where she can observe for herself the truth of !Dako problems. “I'd rather help you see than be the cause of your blindness."

  Her dark eyebrows hitched a fraction. “What does that mean?"

  Thinking. My huv'ria was always thinking. “I will show you !Dako ways. And we will find a way to change our future for the better. That is the Goddess’ purpose. The change. And you appear to desperately wish to understand to affect the change."

  Her features softened, her gaze scanning my face, her fingers curling around my wrist. “I'm not going to forget you hid this transecting-space thing from me. From the rest of the universe. I'm a Marshal, you know. But I think you can make it up to me now.” She pushed her curves into my armor and ran her palms around my chest, down the length of my back to squeeze my ass and ground her hips into my awakening arousal.

  Females are worse than pheromones. They leave a warrior burning with desire. For the promise of heat and pressure from a molding vise. Some things a warrior never forgot. Would never forget.

  "I know just how you can make it up to me,” she cooed.

  Didn't she want to learn about the home world? How could she with my pheromones shifting her attention? Maybe she was right. Maybe we should deactivate the pheromones.

  She wriggled her fingertips beneath my chest armor at the waistband of my pants. “Let's get more comfortable.” Her conspiratorial gaze slid to the purple bedding. “Like you take these off.” She yanked on my pants. “And lie down. I want to have my way with you."

  Such opportunity. Before I could manage another rational thought, her nude curves straddled my thighs and she grabbed my fully-extended phallus with a death grip.

  So tight. So promising.

  "This is what I want. Inside me,” she hissed.

  Yes. Hot. Wet. Clenching. “I have no qualms with that plan."

  She raised onto her knees and glided the sensitive tip of the head into the mouth of her slick constricting sex and threw her chin up at the dark ceiling, moaning, slowly lowering, slipping along my hard aching shaft.

  Molding the length into a form reflective of her inner body.

  There was no stopping my hiss. Like a pressure leak on a space station. I fizzled like gas squeezed through a pinhole. Until her soft ass rubbed against my tight balls.

  She ground her groin against my bucking hips. “That's it, baby,” she groaned and met my gaze with one so hot I thought my seed would erupt in a firestorm.

  I wanted her on her back. Clawing at my back. Wrapping her legs around my waist. I grabbed her arms, yanked her beaded nipples down to my chest, and rolled her sinuous curves over.

  "V
ult,” she chastised. “I wasn't finished."

  Since I was about to be... I rammed and thrust, initiated my erection's ridges, and shivered as her inner channel trembled around my thickness.

  "Vult!” She raked her nails into my skin as if she would be sucked out of an open airlock.

  Like I'd allow that to happen. No. I'd ensure she couldn't go anywhere. With the knobs.

  The shift in my erection's shape as the protrusions emerged made if feel denser.

  Her eyes squared with heightened awareness. “Dear, God.” She threw her chin back and slid her ankles down to pull my ass deeper into her hot moist sex.

  But she began tossing her head side to side in the swath of her warm brown hair swirling around her head like a dark cloud.

  Too wildly. I yanked her hands from my shoulders and held them at her side.

  She anchored a wild gaze on mine. “Vult,” she shrieked.

  In quivering orgasm. My huv'ria would calm soon enough. After the strain in my groin dissipated. And even though it was impossible to withdraw my engorged phallus, I managed to shift it just enough to keep her screaming.

  Begging.

  Gasping for breath.

  The universe exploded.

  Again and again.

  Wide-eyed, her head came off the bed, her mouth gaping, her hips rocking into mine. Over and over. I dropped my forehead against the damp skin of hers, and we rode out the orgasm until neither of us could move a fraction of a micron. I managed to roll off of her quaking breasts. Onto the shifting bedding. And pulled her sacred curves along my side.

  Our hearts rattled as we panted for breath.

  Such a blessed expression of a warrior joining with his soul.

  "Oh, Vult, let's do that again.” She chuckled and nipped at the mound of my breast. Her palm skimmed across my ribcage to snake her arm over my chest.

  This is how a man should live. Having a home. With a soft bed. A soft mate's curves pressed against his side. Laughing. Smiling. Making babies. Yes. My nanites would have initiated a pregnancy by now. And we'd grow closer as the child grew. Talking like we had back on Anwa. Learning about each other. Well, until the traders had attacked. Changing things between us. Had she lost her trust in me? Would she even want to be with me without the pheromones drawing her to me?

  She hummed a little sound of pleasure and burrowed a warm cheek against my shoulder. “Seriously, why didn't you tell me about the Rift?” her voice soft and soothing.

  My huv'ria finally seemed calm enough to unravel the day's confusion. Her anxiety burned off with our mating. Surely, she'd discuss the Rift maturely. I carefully rolled onto my side, pressing her round breasts against mine, and trapped her gaze with a serious stare. “The Colony is one place !Dakos can go and not be hunted."

  She sighed ever so gently. “I want to understand."

  Bless the stars.

  "But I don't see how !Dakos fear other sentient species. It's like you're the species Voldon couldn't even control through mind control. The !Dakos seem the invincible immortal warriors. Why would you need to hide?"

  Does she realize she's immortal? I slid my fingers into the edge of her silken hair at her brow and cupped her downy cheek with my palm. “They don't understand us. They want us dead. Vengeance is a powerful force, Cassie."

  "But you aren't evil.” She mirrored my hand's position by rubbing the warmth of her own over my knuckles. “Look how sweet you are with me."

  I'll always be this way with her. Time will prove as much.

  She brushed her palm up my arm and down to the bend in my lower back.

  "You're no longer angry with me?” What would she say?

  She rolled her eyes a little. “No. But I want to know what else you've hidden from me. If the !Dakos are going to work with the Marshals, you're going to have to come clean.” She shot me a demanding stare.

  "What is come clean?"

  The warmth of her palm slid away from my back until she could poke my chest with one sharp fingernail. “Nothing else is hidden. I've got to find a way to make all of this work for the !Dakos and the Marshals. Everything is about universal peace and happiness.” She sighed a little and cuddled her cheek into my chest.

  Probably the pheromones again. She'd have to learn to accept them. Accept her place among the !Dakos. Her people. After all, she's becoming more and more a !Dako with every passing day. The changes instigated by the nanites were irreversible.

  "I realize it sounds ridiculously utopian. But there's got to be some way to make everyone happy."

  "Don't worry, huv'ria. That's always been my duty. Keeping the ranks content.” And by all that proved sacred, it was the toughest accursed job. Now, though, making things easy for my mate would definitely be the most difficult aspect of my vow to my race.

  Wrapped tightly in Vult's iron embrace had to be the highlight of my crazy day. Okay. Yes. Highlight. It's not every day you see men walk through walls. But mind-numbing sex beat ghostly occurrences. Would Vult be as forthcoming with !Dako secrets as he was with holding and nurturing me in his bed though? And could I buy into anything he claimed to reveal? The fact I'd spent two happy days back on Anwa with him only to find his warriors stepping through the vacuum of space and solid objects had to be a sign.

  Forget truth.

  Acknowledge the secrecy.

  !Dakos couldn't be trusted.

  Hell. I had to be wrong. My enormous blond was so gorgeous and lickably Key Lime. So huggable and doting. I couldn't believe anything other than !Dako warriors did treasure their huv'rias. That's all I boiled down to, to him. His mate. Captured with the perfect trap laced with smoky bacon.

  Rat bait. God. I was so weak being caught with such ridiculous bait.

  He pressed his soft lips against my forehead.

  What a gut-flopping kiss.

  What could I do? Run away? Stay and burn out my vision? But Vult was so damned amazing. All his muscles. And what he did to me. Deep inside me. Damn. Incredible. I didn't even want to escape. Not now.

  "Would you prefer to sleep, or shall I show you the city?” His rumbling voice seemed to set off another wave of smoky bacon aroma.

  What was another afternoon? We'd just arrived. I settled down in his steely arms. At peace. Everything could wait until tomorrow. I hooked an arm beneath his, around his shoulder and tucked my nose against his pulsing jugular. “I'm comfortable. It can wait."

  He wove a hand into my hair and inhaled deeply. “I want you to be happy here, Cassie. I'll prove to you that the !Dako way of life is honorable. Just give me time."

  Like I had a choice in the matter. The Marshals pushed me from one side. And the !Dakos countered from the other. Then Vult's enormous comforting body wrapped around me like a cozy sleeping bag.

  Cassie awoke in a cocoon of warmth, craving a big stack of pancakes with a side order of smoky bacon. Maybe a little warmer than warm. Hot enough to get bacon fat melting... Probably because of the enormous male propped up against my backside. And it wasn't like I could wriggle free with his arm tucked beneath my ribs.

  My gut twisted.

  Maybe it was hungry? Not quite though. More like sour. Or gasy. One or the other. Maybe I just need a little cool air. I shoved up against the iron arm pinning me against the bedding.

  "Going someplace?” he chuckled.

  Not if I turned over and stared into his beautiful face. I'd spread my legs and welcome him home. That's me. His home. Not a bad point to ponder. Really. Just I have to get up and learn what the !Dakos are doing. “I need to go relieve my bladder."

  He made a faint grunt and relinquished his grip on me. “The door to your left. Hurry back, Cassie."

  Men.

  My stomach flopped a little.

  Maybe more than a little.

  Sweat beaded on my brow.

  Night sweats always did this to me. Even if sunshine shafted across the room as it did now. I just needed a shower. I managed to stare my reflection down without screeching at the horrible pale color o
f my skin in the bathroom's oval mirror. Maybe the nanites were busy altering me. Hopefully not. Shower. Fresh water. Oh yes. I turned to the stall at the end of the rectangular space.

  Well, it better be a shower. The shadowy space lacked a door but contained something along the line of a shower head. Next to the shower, a hole in a slab of rock that appeared to be a seat had to be the equivalent of a toilet. On closer inspection, the silence from the black hole beneath the seat resonated adios to anything one could void. So, I claimed a moment for posterity and christened my new rat cage.

  Vult strode through the doorway in all his nude glory.

  Um. Weapon ready to fight back the extinction of his species. Yes. He was ready to do his duty. But I didn't feel up to sex.

  He halted, studying me with a furrowed brow.

  "Why are you staring?” Then again, did I really want to know?

  "You look pale."

  "More like pallid. My stomach is woozy."

  He moved so quickly all I could do was latch onto his shoulders while he commanded the shower's water to spray and stood me under the stream.

  The warm water literally washed my queasiness away. “I feel better, Vult.” I managed a sincere smile.

  He ran a finger along my jaw line, water running along the convoluted musculature of his arms. “We'll dress and visit the infirmary before doing anything else."

  "I'm not sick."

  "We have different microbes here.” He snatched a long bar of white soap and worked up a later between his broad palms. “I want to know if your nanites need special programming to deal with your foreign genome."

  When he summed up my condition that way, I felt inferior. Or maybe I should be worried. “You mean your nanites don't fix me from the moment they enter my body?"

  He shook his head slightly. “We learn as we go. Different species require nanite adaptation. It's best to have your health verified. Monitored. We will deal with issues as they occur."

  Why didn't I feel better? It's not like I could contrive malaria. Is it? Not out here.

  Vult quickly scrubbed me down with the interest of a dog owner, towel-dried my body with equal enthusiasm, and dressed as I did before leading me into the empty corridor's pale stone masonry. Maybe I should have been offended that he didn't try to kiss me while tending to my needs? But much more required my focus. “Who lives here?” I wondered aloud.