Page 8

AXXOL

( I f you missed the bonus scene after Monstrous Hunt with Axxol, you can grab it here .)

I fucking hated this in-between bullshit.

She’d forgiven me enough to let me back into the squad. She’d even let me fuck her.

But I wanted so much more.

I wanted it all. Everything Red had with her. Even the others had more of her than me.

Not her luscious body, that’s not what I meant. I’d tasted every inch of her and would never get enough in a trillion years. But I wanted more of her emotion. Her trust.

Her heart.

Having her mind on the grid should have helped with the access and inclusion, but she managed to keep a large part of her thoughts secret and quiet, withdrawn behind a snarled, barbed firewall I wasn’t sure I wanted to invade.

I could, certainly, given enough time. So could Rizan.

She might forgive him for breaking through to her private mind palace.

I couldn’t count on her forgiving me again.

Silently, I watched her go through the now familiar motions of feeding, bathing, and diapering the youngling, though everything was more challenging now because she was so mobile.

Red was her sire, but her grabby little hands were just as quick as the medic’s implements.

In another few days, she’d go from an amusing little terror to a fucking menace.

I couldn’t fucking wait. Just thinking about watching Red and Natalie attempt to corral a feral young dynos made me smile so wide my fucking face hurt.

“What’s so fucking funny?” Kroktl asked—even while the youngling scaled his back stark naked and bit his ear so hard he growled.

“I didn’t realize parenting was going to be so much fun for you.”

Rolling his eyes, he snagged the biting infant and tickled her, holding her in place long enough for Natalie to get a diaper on her.

“That’s a fucking waste of time,” I said, though when her head snapped up, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, I wished Sn had stapled my fucking lips shut.

:That can be arranged,: he said on the grid.

“She’ll just take it off,” I amended.

“She needs to be clean and dry for sleep,” Natalie replied.

No way was the youngling going to sleep anytime soon but I bit my own damned tongue and kept my opinion to myself.

My gut churned. She won’t readily take advice from me because she doesn’t fucking trust me, and I’ve got no one to blame but myself.

Red rolled around on the floor, letting Akylla climb and bite to wear her out before bedtime.

Natalie sat on the floor, sort of huddled in on herself despite the smile occasionally tugging on the corners of her mouth.

Lohr lumbered into the room with a tall glass of something green and slick that made me shudder, but evidently it was one of her favorite concoctions.

She gave him a smile and thanked him—but sadness still weighed heavily on her, slowly oozing onto the grid despite the privacy fence guarding her thoughts.

I wanted to ask why she was sad on the grid—but she’d hear it if she was listening at all.

Snryx stood behind her, close enough his hovering implements could touch her if he needed to for any reason. :She had devastating news about women of her planet being killed and eaten. Of course she’s sad.:

Huh. Interesting. :She cares that much about humans she doesn’t even know?:

:She does, : Sn replied in a dry tone just shy of being condescending enough to make me snap his head off. :It’s called empathy.:

:We won’t let anyone take and eat her.:

He mentally sighed like I was the fucking youngling. :She’s not afraid for herself, only the youngling and the helpless females on this planet who don’t know what’s happening.: He paused, probing at my cybernetic grid. :Like her friend. She wouldn’t want the same thing to happen to her.:

:I’m fine,: I retorted, giving him a mental shove. :Mind your own damn business. Who gives a shit about humans anyway?:

:She does. So we do too.: Then his medic tone took over. :Evidently BGR+ aren’t equipped with emotional sensitivity sensors. See if you can do something about that. Our mate deserves an alpha who understands more emotions than just rage and jealousy.:

My lips curled in a silent snarl, but I couldn’t deny the truth. Rage and jealousy warred inside me like two alphas fighting to the death.

:Study the youngling’s emotional development,: Lohr suggested. :Watch how she makes the connections and pathways and then mimic the programming.:

:You want me to learn from a week-old youngling?: I huffed out an irritated laugh that grated down my spine like claws. :Fucking waste of time.:

Lohr laid on the floor beside Natalie, curling around her to put his head in her lap. :Maybe you wouldn’t have to ask why our mate is sad then.:

Smiling down at him, Natalie, stroked her fingers over his skull and face.

Casual, gentle touches. Not sexual but intimate.

He had the confidence to approach and touch her, inviting her touch in return.

They talked softly, words I didn’t hear.

I was too busy watching the way the pads of her fingers floated over his skull and imagining what it would feel like.

I could feel his response on the grid but it wasn’t the same as feeling the same gentle heat and sensation on my own hide.

“Ride!” The youngling squealed, throwing her small body on top of Lohr’s thick chest. “Nodo time.”

“How do you know…” Natalie’s voice fell off, her eyes wide with awe. “Do you know how amazing you are, little one?”

If the youngling had feathers, she would’ve been preening and fluffed up with pride.

She reached up both hands and grasped her mother’s face, pulling her down so they could rub noses.

Another ritualistic thing they did each time the youngling went to lie down in the nursery.

Lohr obligingly shifted to his Nodo form, but the youngling stared up into Natalie’s eyes, her head cocked slightly.

Her eyes flashed, as if she were able to scan deep inside her mother’s mind.

“We save.” She grimaced, shaking her head with frustration. “Grow fast.”

A soft, broken sound escaped Natalie’s lips, but her eyes gleamed almost as brightly as her youngling’s.

She pressed a kiss to the top of her head, evidently understanding perfectly what the youngling couldn’t communicate with her limited vocabulary.

“We’ll save everyone after you grow a little more.

Oh!” Gasping, she rubbed her mouth lightly over the top of the youngling’s head.

“I feel your hair coming in. You’ll have hair like me! ”

Akylla screeched and hopped up and down, accidentally cracking Natalie in the jaw with her skull. “Hair! Hair! Hair!”

We all felt the jarring pain on the grid, her teeth slamming together too hard. She didn’t react negatively to her exuberant offspring, though she did put her hands on Akylla’s shoulders to hold her down from any more jumping. “I bet it’ll grow faster if you get some sleep.”

I barely suppressed a snort of derision. Good fucking luck trying to trick?—

“Okay, Mama. Night night. Hair tomorrow.”

Natalie kissed her again and lifted her up onto Lohr’s shell. “Mama loves you, baby girl. Sleep tight and grow big and strong!”

Fucking hell.

As Lohr lumbered past, I touched the youngling’s back long enough to drop a small learning bot on her. Guess I’ll be paying attention to her development after all.

NATALIE

Fondly, I watched Lohr carry my baby riding on his back next door to the beautiful nursery they’d set up for her complete with a mini mall of every possible baby product on Earth. Though I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

She wasn’t even two weeks old yet—and I already missed the tiny infant I’d held in my arms just days ago.

Axxol had been right. The diaper—and all her clothes—were a waste of time.

She absolutely preferred to be stark naked just like her father.

She hadn’t nursed very much today, either.

Not that I was complaining after her teeth came in, but I missed doing something for her that only I could provide.

The connection. The soft glow in her eyes as she looked up at me, her little rosebud mouth and throat working as she swallowed.

My precious little baby was already gone.

“Hey,” Kroktl whispered, pulling me close. “She’s growing as she should.”

Tears spilled from my eyes, making me feel foolish and worse at the same time. “I know.”

He scooped me up and carried me toward the new mattress Rizan had scored.

I’d never seen such a monstrosity of a bed before.

I loved it. I loved the house by the ocean, the taste of salt on the breeze, gorgeous views from every window.

Perfect, balmy days and lush gardens. Not a soul around to notice a squad of massive alien super-soldiers next door.

So why am I still crying?

“It’s hormonal,” Snryx said. “Your system is resetting after carrying the youngling. According to my research, it can be a rocky transition. Some synthetic hormones might help make the adjustment less of a rollercoaster.”

“No, thanks,” I replied, sniffling. “I’m just being a baby. It’s sad to see her growing up so quickly.”

Lying on his back, Kroktl settled me on his chest, his big hands stroking up and down my back soothingly. “Well, you’re my baby, and I say cry if you want to.”

I laughed a little, though still weepy. “That reminds me of a song.”

“This one?” Rizan asked. “It’s My Party” started playing.

Lifting my head to see him, I was surprised he wasn’t carrying anything electronic, not even my old phone. “That’s one, yeah, but I was actually thinking of ‘Cry Baby’ by Janis Joplin.”

Her distinctive voice filled the air, husky and powerful, almost screaming at times with such emotion and heart. “Yeah, that’s it. How are you doing that?”

Clicking his beak, he ruffled up the feathers running across his shoulders. “Shifting echolocation to play musical frequencies. Piece of pie.”