Chapter 13

Tears fell from Irina's eyes, streaking across her cheeks and onto the nest.

"Of course I want you, Yelzin. I want all of you. I want to stay here with you, if I can."

The words flowed out of her as fast as her fingers on a console.

She cared for him, more than she had ever cared for anyone else. It was pleasant, giving her full heart to someone, knowing that she deserved the love he gave her in return. A warmth ignited in her heart and extended out to her extremities, as if a glowing ball of light was enveloping her with affection.

"You are so precious to me," Yelzin murmured, licking a kiss across her forehead.

A memory flitted by of the Strinee doing the very same thing, before they knew each other, before they could communicate. She smiled up at him.

"Are you ready?"

Irina nodded. Yelzin gently unzipped her jumpsuit and slid it off, folding it into a neat pile. With that same now expected tenderness, he cupped her cheek with a clawed hand and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I will begin."

Without ceremony, Yelzin took a claw and made a slit across her shoulder. The pain was immediate, burning and spreading across her collarbone and arm. Irina winced when he extended his tongue, rooting around the fleshy wound as blood flowed down her chest, filling the air with its metallic scent.

Nausea bubbled, and she had to look away from the gash, trying to focus on Yelzin's glowing eyes instead of the disturbing sensation of his tongue prodding around her tissue. Concentration etched his face, but every single muscle in his body tensed with control.

Her arm was going numb, a strange tingling sensation starting at her shoulder and extending to her fingertips.

She gritted her teeth, dizziness overcoming her and the pain becoming unbearable. Gray was dotting her eyes when Yelzin grunted, withdrawing his tongue. He dropped a miniscule object into his palm and Irina's heart skipped.

The transmitter. The fucking transmitter.

Yelzin trembled, but crushed the tiny homing beacon between his claws. He pulverized it into dust and dropped the remains before looking back at Irina.

Weakness was threatening to overtake her, the concussion from earlier mixing with the pain from spontaneous surgery, though that didn't stop a smile from curling her lips.

"You did it," she breathed, tears dotting her blurry vision.

If she was going to die, then it would be with the one she loved. The Coalition would never control her again.

Irina was slipping away, her eyes shutting when she felt a gentle shake.

Warm liquid at her lips, Yelzin pressing his torn wrist to her mouth.

His words were fuzzy in her ears, but she could just make them out.

"You must drink, little one."

And drink she did.

As every time before, the effect was instant. Irina could feel her heart beating, racing, as the blood pulsed past her lips and down her throat. Her body quivered with need as she sucked in deep gulps of sticky liquid. Euphoria replaced dizziness; ecstasy replaced pain.

The blur of the past hours retreated to the crystal clarity of the present.

Yelzin was at her shoulder, lapping at the pooling blood with his wide tongue. He drank from her as desperately as she drank from him, the dual sensation of giving and receiving creating a perfect cycle.

Everything was right with the universe.

Irina gasped a breath as she pushed his wrist away, dripping more blood across her bare chest. Yelzin wiped his wound over hers, letting their life forces mix, and the sharp bite of pain faded. She swore she could feel her tendons and muscles repairing, the cut closing before her very eyes. There was still a tingling in her fingers, but it was nothing compared to the previous pain.

Utter brilliance.

Yelzin gripped her breast with his clawed hand, smashing his mouth against hers, their blood mixing as their tongues danced. His body pressed down on her and she writhed against him, flames jolting from her core and swirling between her thighs.

"Yelzin, I need you," she breathed, her mouth still on his.

There was a flick of his fang against her lip, and he pulled away.

"I know, beloved. And you will have me."

With one swift motion, Yelzin flipped them so that Irina now straddled him. She gazed down at him with rapturous delight, his tawny fur glowing in the moonlight peeking through the hut's opening.

If her craving wasn't so strong, she could have spent all night watching him, taking in every single detail of his beautiful face and form.

Yelzin was hers, and she was his.

Energy surged through her body, her newfound strength pushing away any lingering hurt and vertigo. A clawed hand grasped Irina's breasts, the other gripping her ass with a pleasant pressure, eliciting a moan from her pink lips. Yelzin's dick protruded from its opening, throbbing with need. She leaned over, placing a delicate kiss on the heart-shaped head as he groaned.

Control was difficult to maintain as she took him into her mouth, barely reaching halfway before he hit the back of her throat.

Yelzin bucked up into her and she gagged, before gripping his base with both hands and controlling his manic thrusts. Claws gripped into the nest as he strained against her tongue, the coiling in her stomach close to overwhelming.

"Irina," he whimpered, and she loved the way he cried her name.

The perfect sound as it rolled off his fangs and into the cosmos above. Irina moaned onto his cock, bobbing her head in rhythmic bursts, the heat becoming unbearable.

With a pop of her lips, she released his throbbing length, and he growled, the deep resonance reverberating through the small hut.

Yelzin grasped her waist, his eyes foggy with that familiar glaze of lust. With a grunt, he lifted her in the air, aiming his tip at her entrance as she rested on her shins.

He held her in place for a long while and Irina squirmed against his snare, struggling to press down, needing to feel that perfect pressure of him filling her to the point of overwhelming abundance. Her legs trembled with anticipation, and his entire body stiffened as if trying to maintain control.

"Are you ready for me, little one?" Yelzin growled, and she nodded, grasping for the warm fur of his chest.

"Please," she cried, desperation etched in the low whimper of her voice.

With a slight curl of his fanged mouth, Yelzin pressed her down, slowly, too slowly, shuddering violently as he held himself halfway inside of her. Irina cried, trying to slide herself onto him, though he restrained her.

It wasn't enough; she needed all of him, every last inch to satisfy her carnal lust, her rapture, her ecstasy. Her adoration, affection.

Irina needed to be one with Yelzin, to be connected to him, just as he connected her to the cosmos. Their blood flowed through each other, the visual reminder still sticky and warm as it coated their bare bodies.

"Yelzin," she begged, unable to keep the whine out of her voice.

"My beautiful mate," Yelzin murmured, and he finally plunged into her, filling her to capacity with a roll of his hips.

Irina cried out, the bite of pain worth every moment of ecstasy, worth the coherence, becoming one with her mate.

Claws stung at her ass and waist as Yelzin heaved her up and down on top of him, thrusting his hips up to meet her with each delicious stroke. Irina's head fell back, eyes rolling as she gave him everything, all of her, every bit of control in his clawed hands. Loud moans filled the hut, drowning out the tranquil sounds of the quiet night.

There was no more pain, only pleasure as they connected, one with the universe. Irina knew where she belonged, and it was right here with Yelzin. Monstrous growls vibrated between them, the noises from her mouth shocking her.

Rhapsody ignited as he slammed into her, her body in rampant coupling with his cock. Irina leaned forward, her lips on Yelzin's as their groans intertwined, desperate to quell the unbearable heat. She never wanted to part from him, never wanted to leave him again, and with her tracker gone, she would obey that desire.

Without warning, Irina's muscles contracted around Yelzin and she moaned into his mouth as she orgasmed, riding the waves of his thrusts as aftershocks pulsed through her.

A moment later, he let out a vicious growl, his fangs brushing her lips as he spilled his seed into her.

The warmth inside her felt right, starting at her core, but spreading through her entire body. Irina wrapped her arms around his neck, their bodies flush as they gasped for air. Yelzin slung his arms around her back as he held her steady, her legs shaking from exhaustion.

As their breaths slowed, he ran a clawed hand through her hair.

"Dear Irina, I will never let you go again."

"And I will never leave you," Irina whispered, closing her eyes and pressing her cheek to his chest .

Yelzin grasped her tightly as he spasmed, another spurt of warm seed coating her insides as his barbs held them in place.

Irina was almost asleep on his chest when he finally nudged her many minutes later.

"I can remove myself now, beloved."

He lifted her with ease and laid her next to him, Irina immediately tangling herself in his arms once more. A clawed hand grazed her cheek as those ruby eyes penetrated her.

"You really will stay?"

Oh, God, the way his voice cracked almost broke Irina's heart. How could he still be so unsure after everything?

"Of course I'm staying! I don't think you'll ever be able to get rid of me," Irina said, and Yelzin let out a bark of laughter.

He squeezed her tighter, and she drifted off into a blissful, dreamless sleep, exactly where she wanted to be.

Yelzin was happy.

Happier than he had been in his entire life.

He held Irina's hand as they meandered through the forest, in no rush at all. They had been making daily trips to the shuttlejet, stripping the ship of any useful material and supplies .

Irina had cried when she found a stash of sturdy clothing, her original jumpsuit quickly becoming ragged after daily use, never mind the tears from Yelzin's overeagerness to remove it on more than one occasion.

Though she often went nude, as was the way of the Strinee, Irina lacked the fur necessary for the cool nights.

The shuttlejet provided more than enough for her, and though Yelzin himself needed little to survive, he was pleased that her needs could be met. There were even space rations, enough for two Coalition standard years according to Irina, which had made her cheeks flush that beautiful pink that he loved. Just like the Strinee sunset.

Not that she didn't enjoy Yelzin's blood, this is what she told him, but other options for sustenance were always welcome.

And when they did mate, he knew it was not just because of the blood lust. Yelzin never grew tired of tangling with Irina every night, then curling up in their nest together until morning.

The sun rose and the sun set. The moons cycled and the season for plasma storms was on the horizon. Yelzin flew Irina through the sky and they built earthworks together. She taught him to swim, though he hated how long it took for his fur to dry afterward.

Irina loved Yelzin and Yelzin loved Irina, a new phrase that he never tired of saying.

For a long while, she was still certain the Coalition was coming for her, but as the days went by, the certainty faded. Her arm bothered her at times, a tingling in her fingers that refused to abate, but she assured him any discomfort was worth the freedom.

He took her to Dalim, the nearest city, and they bartered for a console, one that she used to keep up to date on the Coalition's actions.

By now, the shuttlejet bore no connection to the corrupt galactic government. It would carry them to the stars soon, to Astrenius Space Station and Bora S9. Maybe further, once they accomplished their goals.

No, they would never part, not even when Irina made her way off Strine.

Yelzin would go with her, no matter how much it frightened him. Irina was his mate, his one true mate, and he would never leave her again. She had unfinished business with the Coalition and a planned meetup with Ruby—something they had promised each other while they were both still on Oblivion—though she admitted she had little hope that her friend would be there.

Still, they had to try, and Yelzin was more than happy to do what he could to help. A vile government who killed its own citizens had to be punished.

They would see to that if it was the last thing they did.

That ever present pain in her eyes lifted as the days went by, until it was no more than a speck. Just as Strinee blood healed physical wounds, Strine healed the emotional ones.

Yelzin and Irina were together, and together, they could get through anything.