Page 27 of Einar (The Brigands of Ruk #2)
Chapter Twenty-Seven
ROWAN
Fighting my way through the layers of oppressive darkness, the realization that I was sedated floats across my conscious mind. I’ve been drugged so many times in the past, I know the difference between emerging from the safe place in my mind versus waking from a drug induced stupor. The last conscious thing I remember was the giant green… thing reaching toward me before I checked completely out.
I woke up again. Yay me…not.
Wincing internally, I silently chastise myself for my selfish thoughts. I can’t leave Ruby alone, not now. Not after everything we’ve endured and all that’s happened to us.
Not after all she’s sacrificed for me.
“… Back to Slavic , are you saying bad things could and will happen to him if this bond thing doesn’t happen?”
Ruby’s boisterous, incredulous voice sounds from close by and her words catch me by surprise.
Who or what is Slavic , and why do we care if something happens to him?
“ Absolutely . It will start gradually after several rotations, but if his collar fades completely and he is not strong enough to survive one of his hearts stopping, he will perish.”
That voice… it sounds so familiar. Then it hits me. It’s the voice from the bug ship! She’s here with us too?! I don’t know whether to be glad or sad for her, since I’m not sure if here, wherever here is, is safe.
“ Hold your horses, did you say two hearts?”
“ Yes , most of the dominant males of our species have two hearts. It is one of the things that makes them so powerful but can also be their biggest weakness. Normally if one of us loses a mate, the other is not far behind, as our lives are linked through our mate bond.”
Our species? Mate bond? If one dies, so does the other?! What is this? A romance novel or something?
That means the voice isn’t human… but Ruby is talking to her like an old friend, so that must mean she’s safe. Right ?
“ You act like this is common knowledge and something I should already know.”
“ There are no secrets in the Void , but it can be a place of joy or heartache.”
If this “ Void ” is anything like Earth , or my experiences on Earth , then it’s mostly heartache. I’ve lived through a lot, and none of it was remotely joyous.
“ Isn’t that the truth of any world?”
Peeking through my lashes I see Ruby look over at me in concern. I should feel bad about laying here, pretending to be asleep and eavesdropping on their conversation, but I don’t. I need the information, but don’t have the energy to deal with any sort of interaction with another person. Not even Ruby . Because the pretty, soothing voice from the ship belongs to an extremely large, very green woman. It’s glaringly obvious she’s the same species that the angry giants belong to.
“ Before Ruarc notices my absence, I should probably return. I am glad that you nor any of the others had any adverse reactions to the translators. I have been talking to you in common tongue with no issues. Hopefully , this will help you and Slavic .”
Her casual statement catches me by surprise when I realize neither of them are speaking English . She mentioned translators so I can only surmise I was given one while I was asleep. A sense of violation creeps over me. Just because what they did to me was helpful doesn’t mean that I wanted it or gave my consent to have something permanent done to my body.
“ Kallen , just to make sure I understand exactly what you’re telling me…this collar thing around your neck marks you as a mate?”
The green lady’s name must be Kallen but after a second, I realize what Ruby just said. What the hell does she mean collar? The second the word “collar” registers to me, I feel nauseated. I’ve been collared many, many times and it never boded well for me. That poor woman… but my welling sympathy is cut short by her next words.
“ No , it tells the world that you are mated to another. I have no idea if once your bond is consummated that you will have a matching one or not. But if you take nothing else out of this conversation know this; he will weaken the longer the bond is not tethered together, and our world needs Slavic .”
I do not want to belong to anyone… ever again.
“ No pressure on a girl at all, huh? Don’t I have a say so in any of this? I mean, I’ve already lost everything, so am I just supposed to say, ‘ OK universe, here I am, do with me as you will?’ Just because some big ass guy decides he wants to get it on with a human chick half his size. I mean have you seen the size of these guys? If big noses, feet, and hands add up the way they’re supposed to, I’m literally fucked.”
The corners of my mouth twitch with as much amusement as I’m capable of. Leave it to Ruby to home in on how big these guys dicks are instead of the fact that we’ve been abducted by a completely different species of aliens that, allegedly, don’t want to harm us. Kallen must find Ruby’s words just as entertaining as I do because she bursts out in melodious laughter while replying to my sister’s snark. “ Little Ruby , I have no idea what those references mean, but I do believe if you remain open-minded, the horrors you have been put through may turn into an adventure and love you never dreamed of. The fact that two sisters were fated to be mates to two brothers is a wonder in and of itself.”
“ You mean my sister is also going to have this mate problem?”
No … nonononononono! NO !
“ Yes , Einar was the one who saved her, not only from that breeding nest, but from the lung disease plaguing her small form.”
Kallen’s revelations fill me with terror, and I have to fight to keep my breathing under control. Years of practice feigning sleep to escape Richards ’ attentions are coming in handy right now.
“ You mean the green giant and my little sister?”
“ Yes .”
I do not like the certainty in her voice. If what she’s saying it to be believed, Moss Man , Big Green , the Jolly Green Giant , now Einar , thinks I’m his mate.
“ Your gods must have one hell of a sense of humor.”
Ain’t that the fucking truth.
A soft whooshing sound is shortly followed by a voice so deep there is no way it could ever belong to a human man. “ Slavic is returning from plundering the other ship. The lot was substantial and now the fuel tanks are filled. Say goodbye to your new friend Kallen , you need your rest.”
“ I feel better than I have in forever Ruarc .” Kallen’s response to the deep voiced speaker is full of frustration, but he doesn’t say anything further. I hear the rustle of clothing before the soft swooshy sound again and then blessed silence.
Cracking my eyelids open, I peer through my lashes to see who or what is in the room with me.
To my surprise, I’m utterly alone for the first time since Ruby and I were taken by the sneaky snakes. Opening my eyes fully, I look around the room I’m in, paying close attention to where everything is. Especially , the doors, or what I think are the doors. My time spent with Robert has left a lasting impression, and the first rule of survival is to always have an exit plan. Even if it’s just being able to leave the room you’re in.
Easing myself into a sitting position, the warm, comfy blanket that was pulled up to my neck falls down, exposing my naked body. The cold air on my boobs makes my nipples bead but it feels… different. Looking down, I freeze.
The piercings!
They’re …they’re gone. Lifting the edge of the blanket, I check my navel and between my legs to see if all the horrible things are gone. When I find no trace of metal anywhere, the tears begin welling in my eyes and running down my face. I’ve hated looking at my body for years since Robert forced me to have my bits pierced and then put that awful lock and chain on them.
A sudden crash snaps my head up and in the direction of the commotion. To my dismay, Moss Man stands there. Truth be told, the room I’m in is not very big, so he’s only a couple of feet from me, standing in a doorway that connects to this medical center. This is the first time I’ve been calm and rational enough to really take in his physical appearance in detail. My first look at him was accurate and not a figment of my imagination or the drugs. He really does have two horns that emerge from his forehead and sweep back like the character Hellboy .
The horns add to his stature, making him look even bigger than he really is, and there’s no way he’s any shorter than seven or seven and a half feet tall. A pitch-black mark on his thick neck catches my attention, and I follow it down across his broad shoulders and shirtless torso to the waistline of his pants, where it disappears from sight. From a purely artistic point of view, it’s breathtaking. It’s not just a plain black mark that runs across his body, it’s a work of art. The swirling, whimsical lines remind me of some of the elvish artwork from J.R.R . Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, and it’s an extreme contrast to the brutish being wearing it.
That must be the collar thingie Kallen and Ruby were talking about.
The thing that shows the world he’s… mated. To me. And if my sister and her friend are to be believed, Moss Man will die if I don’t seal the mate bond with him. Ruby’s right. That is a lot of freaking pressure. I just escaped from my abusive husband and the sexual torture he forced me to endure for years. I have no desire, whatsoever, to have sex ever again.
But … can I really sentence an innocent man to death due to something out of his control?
Forcing myself to move on from that bit of information, I continue to catalogue this … person. His hair is an interesting combination of black and green that shines in the light. If I wasn’t freaking out, I would find it almost pretty to look at; similar to the sheen a raven feather has when the sunlight hits it just right, and in addition to that, I can see the tips of pointed green ears peeking out from under his lustrous hair. Between the large, arcing horns, crocodile looking yellow eyes that have a vertical pupil instead of a rounded one like my eyes have, and his overall massive stature, he makes an extremely intimidating figure of a male.
And there’s no doubt he’s male. I can see the terrifyingly massive bulge in the front of his pants to prove it. Skimming my eyes back up his body, I realize that his eyes are bouncing back and forth between my breasts and my face. Probably why he’s rocking a hard on. Realizing I’m just sitting there with my tits out in front of a being twice my size, that may or may not want things from me, I jerk the blanket back over my naked body and pull my knees up, curling my arms around them over the soft material of my covers. Staring at my lap, I remain quiet.
What am I supposed to say to him?
The nano-tic I know Slavic , Falon , and Murgul are safely back on board the Zenith , I leave Bikar and his sphere of chaos in the helm room to head back to my quarters. Entering my room, I sigh heavily. Life has been a bit of a whirlwind of activity recently and I cannot say that I am ungrateful for it. Not when it brought me her , but I cannot deny the fact that I would enjoy a little less excitement for a few risings.
Closing the door behind me, I go about taking my weapons off and safely storing them in the cabinet attached to the far wall. I step into my private lavatory to wash the stress from my body. Hot water full of cleanser rains down on me, easing my tired muscles, and inflaming my semi-hard pivy. The sensation of water sluicing across my sensitive member makes me groan in response to the light stimulation. Resting my horns against the wall, I look down at myself and try to see what my human mate might see when she looks at me.
To say that I am bigger than she is, is a vast understatement. I am much larger than all of my brothers and one of the biggest Rukuhks , if not the biggest one still in existence. The fracking Aynar delved deep into our ancestral genetics to augment me to be more primitive in appearance yet grafted my mind with a biotech to make me far more intelligent than most beings. For some reason, they seemed to enjoy the dichotomy that I have the manifestation of a brute but the superior intellect of a higher being.
But .
That’s not all they did.
Growling under my breath when my eyes land on the frackin scales that run the length of my forearms, I reflect on just how different I am. Fracking faeries also dabbled in gene splicing in their attempt to create the perfect warrior to serve them. I , and several of my brothers, were spliced with a now extinct reptilian species. These genetics presented in a variety of ways with all of us, but over the years, we have all somewhat, come to terms with what was done to us.
My scales run along the entire length of my body along my backside. Essentially , my back is protected by armor-plated scales that are extremely difficult to penetrate. The spines that cover my back and shoulders are longer with serrated edges on them, which makes them far more deadly than some of my other brothers. Flexing my fingers, I watch as talons sprout from their tips and click against the cleansing stall wall.
How is she ever going to see me past all of this…?
The gods of Ruk offer me no answer to my unspoken question.
Then there is my pivy, cock, prick, whatever one wants to call my member. I know what a human male sexual organ looks like… and mine is nothing like what she has seen before. My mating collar extends from my throat all the way down to the back of my pivy, where it spirals up the length of my hard flesh. Blatantly showcasing that my entire body belongs to my mate, but it also accentuates the fact that I am not only considerably larger in girth and length than a human male, my scales are also present along the length of my cock, making it textured. Unfortunately , the differences do not end there. I have never performed an in-depth medical examination on my brothers at the genetic level, but I did one on myself. The reptilian DNA that was forced into my body also modified my reproductive genes to a drastic degree.
I not only ejaculate seed, but I also possess an ovipositor that will lock with my mate’s womb to ensure she cannot escape implantation of my eggs. This means she will always carry multiple offspring, should we ever choose to have them. My body will force an egg upon her that will absorb her DNA to create our child, but my seed will not only fertilize her existing eggs to create another life, but will ensure my egg is also viable. This is a closely guarded secret; one I have never revealed to anyone… nor have I ever lain with a female. I could not risk the chance of leaving an egg in a station worker, even though I created a hormonal implant to null my fertility.
99.9% certainty was not enough when a possible youngling was at risk.
Reaching down, I grab hold of my turgid length with my calloused hand, groaning as I begin vigorously stroking myself up and down. It does not take long for me to bring myself to completion as I paint the wall with my spend and I watch the tip of my ovipositor emerges from my pivy as it tries to latch onto a mate that is not there. The orgasm is shallow and only offers a modicum amount of relief. My body knows that it is mated, and my rough fist will no longer suffice.
Forcing myself to focus, I finish washing myself and turn the water off before stepping under the dryer. The warm air feels good on my bare hide as it evaporates the water droplets clinging to me. Ignoring my reflection in the looking glass, I leave the cleansing room and snag a pair of my sleep pants, pulling them on as I grab my medical tablet. I have not checked my mate’s vitals in some time and the need to do so is an itch under my scales.
Eyes locked on the screen in front of me, I walk into the med bay and consequently drop my tablet at the sight that greets me.
My mate is sitting up in bed, fully awake, and her glorious breasts are out on display. Delicious looking peaks that make my mouth water to taste them tip both globes. They are even more alluring without metal ruining the perfection of her body. The sight before me engorges my pivy in nano-tics, as if I had not just pleasured myself to completion moments ago. Freezing in place, my eyes feast on her body before trailing up to her precious, little face. I allow her to look her fill as I belong to her just as much as she belongs to me. No matter that she will most assuredly not want to be my mate. The damage done to her body is indicative of many years’ worth of torture.
Eventually , she realizes her partial nudity because she pulls the warming sheet up while drawing her knees to her torso before wrapping her tiny arms around herself in a protective fashion. I must tread very, very carefully.
One wrong word and I will lose her. Gently clearing my throat, I take a small step toward her, only to stop when she tenses.
“ Greetings , little one. My name is Einar . May I ask what you are called?”