Page 73 of Saved By the Alien Hybrid

Haerune bowed his head in deference, capitulating to Ven’s anger.

Xeth stepped around Rentir, moving to lean against the wall with all his hands crossed over his chest. His tail was still flicking, moving without cease as it had since Noa, Xeth’s partner, had passed. He was a ball of rage and anger at the best of times, yet even so, he was more agitated than normal.

“You can have this argument later,” he drawled. “We have more pressing matters, don’t we, Haerune?”

The men’s attention all turned to Haerune. He hesitated.

“Tell him,” Xeth said.

Sighing, Haerune scrubbed a hand over his face. “Perhaps you should sit down.” He gestured to one of the clear plastic chairs beside him.

Rentir widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring Xeth. “Whatever it is, spit it out.”

Haerune paced a few more steps before he took a deep breath to begin. “It is as I feared. The females… it seems they have some kind of physiological effect on us. I haven’t determined the method of transmutation, nor the full scope of the consequences, but Xeth has allowed me to confirm that there are changes taking place on a biological level as well as psychological. I fear that you are already compromised.”

“Compromised?” Rentir and Ven echoed the word at the same time.

“You want to crawl inside that female?” Xeth drawled. “Lick her boots? Throw yourself at her mercy every moment of the day?”

Rentir said nothing, guarding his fragile connection with Cordelia.

Xeth laughed darkly. “Oh yeah, you feel it. She’s already wormed her way inside.” He dug a finger into his temple in demonstration. “Can’t even think straight, can you? If she asked you to throw yourself out of a moving hovercraft, you’d do it with a smile.”

“You are describing affection,” Rentir said stiffly.

Xeth peeled away from the wall, baring his fangs. “No, I am describingobsession.” He spat the word with disgust. “Mindless, desperate obsession! Perhaps you are naïve enough to mistake it for love, but I know better.”

“Do not presume to tell me what I am feeling! We are not all embittered as you are.”

Xeth laughed, a dark sound that promised violence. He stepped forward, crowding Rentir. “Say that again.”

Rentir’s nostrils flared. His shoulders tensed for battle—and then he blew out a long sigh, shaking his head. “I will not. It was in poor taste. Forgive me for belittling your loss.”

Xeth’s anger sputtered in his eyes, revealing the pain he kept hidden beneath. He huffed, shrinking back from his aggressive posture.

“Is he right?” Ven asked, setting his hands on his hips. “Are you compelled to do whatever the human bids you?”

Rentir swallowed hard. Was he? He thought of the way the corners of her eyes crinkled when she smiled, the husky sound of her laugh, the way her lips tasted. His cock twitched in his pants, remembering the musk of her arousal perfuming the air. Would he jump out of a hovercraft if she asked him to?

Headfirst, and with pleasure.

Xeth cursed, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Cordelia is… she is special to me,” Rentir offered haltingly. “If shehaschanged me, I do not feel worse for it.”

“That’s all very well and good for you, but what of those who do not wish to be bound to a female?” Xeth demanded. “What if the others become bound to a female that they do not admire as you do this Cordelia?”

Rentir rubbed the back of his neck, having no argument against the point Xeth was making. Ven looked down at his brother with alarm, no doubt wondering if Thalen had been ‘compromised’ as well.

“Worse,” Haerune interjected. “What will happen if more than one male is influenced by the same female? You have been pushed to the precipice of violence by my mere presence, and I am your brother, your oldest and closest friend.”

Rentir’s blood ran cold at the thought. It would be bloodshed, undoubtedly.

“What are we meant to do? Quarantine them all?” Rentir bristled at the notion. “We did not fight for our liberation to imprison others, surely.”

“We?” Xeth muttered.

Haerune glared a warning at Xeth, tendrils twisting angrily.