Page 7 of Koha’vek (Cyborg Guardians Spinoff)

Ava

The trail to the stream had grown familiar, now that I could walk again. It was my favorite place to go now that the weather was growing warmer, at least during the days. There were still mornings when we were greeted by snow on the ground, no matter how warm the day before had been.

Warm beams of sunlight shone through the pine canopy, turning the forest floor into a shimmering mosaic as a soft breeze whispered through the branches. Wildflowers had started to bloom in the clearing, tiny white stars and vivid purple bursts that I didn’t know the names of.

Koha’vek offered to go instead, but I needed to get out and about. It wasn’t that long to walk, and I liked getting out to do what I could to contribute. A mild ache in my muscles felt normal.

I filled the water skin with cool, fresh water from the stream. Although we could pump water into the cabin, it was not as palatable for drinking as the water from the stream. I was just closing the water skin's opening when a voice behind me made my spine tingle.

“Well, well. Look who finally crawled out of her hole.”

I turn slowly, my heart pounding.

Two men stood at the edge of the clearing, dressed in patched, dust-stained clothes that screamed Jenkins’s gang. The one on the left carried a rifle slung casually over his shoulder. The other had a grin too wide for his thin face and something dangerous in his eyes.

I recognize them immediately with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I took a step back, gripping the waterskin in both hands.

“Don’t scream,” the thin one said just as I was about to. “It won’t help you. Ain’t nobody gonna hear you up here.”

“Why are you here? This land is not yours.”

“It ain’t yours either,” the other one said. “Just like that ranch where you used to live.”

The grin on the first one’s face widened, and he looked so smug that I wanted to slap him.

“Mayor Jenkins is really worried about you, sweetheart. He says he forgives you for running off like you did if you come home like a good girl. He might even let you keep a bedroom yourself—after he’s done with you.”

The very thought made my stomach lurch again. He took a step forward, but before I could respond, everything shifted.

I heard a rustle, and then I saw a blur of motion in the trees. And Koha’vek appeared. He came out of the woods like a marauder, silent but impossible to miss, seven feet of scaled fury with a blade already in his hand.

The first man’s grin vanished. The second one managed to unsling his rifle, but Koha’vek was faster.

He struck low, ripping the weapon away and slamming the man into a tree hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

Then he turned on the other, growling—a low, guttural sound that chilled me more than the men’s threats had.

The second man stumbled back, hands raised. “What the hell is that—?!”

I stepped between them before Koha’vek could strike again, not that I would’ve minded had he killed them both, but it would bring more trouble to us. Koha’vek froze, the blade still in his hand. I’d never seen him look so fierce.

I turned to Jenkins’s thug, jaw clenched. “Tell Jenkins he’s got my ranch, but I don’t come with it. If he sends anyone else after me, they won’t walk away. Leave now.”

“Lady,” the man said, looking at Koha’vek then at me, “you’re out of your mind.”

“Maybe I was, but I’m better now.”

Koha’vek took a step toward the man. He turned and ran.

The one crumpled against the tree groaned, blood trickling from his temple. Koha’vek bent, grabbed him by the collar, and tossed him down the hill like a sack of kindling.

When the forest fell quiet again, I let out my breath, my legs trembling. Koha’vek was beside me in an instant.

“You are not hurt?” He asked, scanning my body.

“I’m OK, just a little rattled. They’ve got my damn ranch. That should be enough. I don’t come with it.”

“I should have gone with you,” he said tightly.

“I just needed to get out on my own for a little while, and walk.”

“You needed protection.”

“And I had it,” I said, resting a hand on his chest. “You came.”

He didn’t answer. His fists were still clenched, eyes still burning.

I reached up, cupping his face with my hand. “I’m all right.”

He leaned into my touch just a little. “He’ll send more.”

“I know.”

He put his arms around me protectively, and I lay my cheek against his chest, wishing they could’ve just left us alone.

Koha’vek

I took Ava back to the cabin and spent the rest of the daylight hours building perimeter traps, adding two more near the stream. When I returned to the cabin, Ava and I didn’t talk much.

She sat at the table, sharpening the bone-handled knife I had found in the forest with steady, even movements. She moved it across the stone repeatedly.

She was clearly not afraid. She was angry, something I understood well. In her need to keep busy, she had built up the fire and set a pot of stew to simmer over the fire.

After dinner, I stood by the window, staring out at the darkened forest.

“Would you leave?” she asked from behind me.

I turned .

“If they came in force, would you run? Or fight?”

I thought about it. “I would not leave you.”

She set the knife down and stood, crossing the room to join me. “We can’t live like this forever. Hiding. Waiting.”

“No.” I agreed, contemplating the worry in her blue eyes.

“He has his own little army. What chance do we have against all of them?”

I cupped my hand against her smooth cheek. More than they realize,” I assured her. “We will not live in fear. I will find a way.”

“Do you really believe there’s a future for us?”

“I do—if I have to build it myself.”

She smiled then, looking a little broken and a little stubborn. “Then, I’ll help.”

I gently tilted her face up and bent to cover her mouth with mine. We had been dancing around for days, pretending to ignore the sexual tension growing between us.

I’d never had sex with a human before, never wanted to until Ava. Although my anatomy was slightly different from that of a human male, I knew it was entirely possible.

As I kissed her, Ava leaned into me and put her arms around me, moving her lips against mine. She opened her mouth readily when I probed her lips with my tongue to deepen the kiss, pressing her belly against my bulging cock pouch. The scent of her arousal was intoxicating.

I knew the time had come to make her mine, or let her go. There was still a nagging doubt in the back of my mind that a beautiful human woman would not want to belong to a Mesaarkan monster. But I had to know that it was entirely her choice.

Reluctantly, I lifted my lips from hers, and she looked up at me with an unspoken question in her eyes. I gave her a slight nod and blinked slowly.

Ava

At first, I didn’t understand why Koha’vek pulled back. I knew he wanted me from the hardness pressing against my stomach and the passion smoldering in his golden eyes. Then, when he gave me that little nod, I understood. He would only take what I offered freely.

I smiled faintly and took his hand, leading the way into his room, where he had made his nest with a pile of furs on the floor.

Nowhere else in the small cabin could we comfortably accommodate both of us.

I turned to face him, let go of his hand, pulled my hand-sewn tunic off over my head, and dropped it on the floor .

The room was dimly lit from the fireplace in the other room, but I knew that Koha’vek could see just fine.

Slipping off my shoes, I untied the drawstring on my pants and pushed them to the floor.

All I had for panties was a strip of cloth between my legs tied over my hips with a cloth string.

Lastly, I untied my halter bra and dropped it on top of the rest of my clothes.

When I finished, I looked up at him, holding my arms away from my body so he could see me in my full naked glory. “Koha’vek, will you mate with me?”

Koha’vek took my hand and went down on one knee in front of me. Kissing my palm, he looked up at me with a tender smile and said, “It will be my honor, my sweet Ava.”