Drelix

Already, Crystal is recognized as being my mate, and my rut is ramping up a notch. I'd have preferred to spend the rest of the nova-day in our suite with my cock buried deep within her slick, tight cunt, but I can't ignore the other things I need to do.

Once I have the information from the Uhatx, the chances are we'll need to get off Trefa in a hurry. I'm struggling to imagine a scenario where I will be allowed to go free.

And I'm not ending up in the dome like the Gryn. At least they remain uncollared. I've heard tales from Sarkarnii who ended up indentured in the past. Many still bear the scars around their necks. Gryn do not thrive if caged.

Along with my fellow Golden Orion warriors, I have had enough of control collars to last me the rest of my life. I do not intend experiencing such a thing again.

Plus, with my mate to protect, I can't risk myself being incapacitated.

A mate who has…disappeared into the Tatatunga crowd. With a snarl, I shift out my wings and tail, stomping into the melée, inhaling the air until I capture her distinctive scent.

And there, right in front of me, is Crystal. She's waiting for me, arms folded.

"Took your time there, champ," she says, falling into step beside me as we finally reach Retah's emporium, a nondescript doorway which leads into a dark corridor.

"I will find you anywhere in the galaxy, little morsel, of that you should have no doubt," I reply, taking advantage of the proximity to pin my mate up against the wall.

"I'm pretty certain I could find you," she retorts, but doesn't move as I slide my hands over her body, making her release her delicious perfume of arousal. "I'd just have to follow the screaming."

"There was no screaming." I dip my head into her neck. "Everyone knows to get out of the way of a Sarkarnii." I nibble at her skin and feel her body go deliciously limp.

"If you don't put the female down, Sarkarnii, I will shoot." Retah's voice rings out in the narrow passage.

"For nev's sake, Retah!" I snarl, looking down at him. He's holding a top of the range pulsar rifle which will make a mess not only of us but half of his shop. "It's Drelix and this is my mate."

"I know who you are," Retah says. "I just don't want my premises covered in Sarkarnii seed."

"What the actual fuck!" Crystal wriggles free from me as I'm otherwise engaged. "Is everyone on this damn planet obsessed with us?"

She stalks past Retah and into his premises. The big horned Remek watches her as she passes and inhales her scent.

The noise I make is like the end of the universe.

"Mine."

He lifts up the pulsar rifle and his other hand instantly.

"If you think I'd ever get between a Sarkarnii and his mate, you are sorely mistaken, Drelix."

I try to move, but I cannot. I'm bigger than ever, my wings and tail shifted in the confined space, so I'm wedged into the passage. Retah shakes his horned head and tuts.

"And this is the reason why." He shoulders the rifle, steps forward, and grabs hold of my arm, tugging me free from where my wing tips are buried in the wall. "Come protect your mate, Sarkarnii warrior."

He turns into his shop, but I shove him to one side in order to enter first.

My Crystal is sat on a stool next to the counter in the small, packed space. She's turning a psi-grenade over in her hands. Both Retah and I stop instantly.

"Interesting place you have here," she says to Retah. "And for the record, whatever Drelix thinks was going to happen, your doorway would have remained pristine."

"That, I didn't need to know," Retah says as he reaches out and plucks the psi-grenade from Crystal's hand to a peal of growls from me. "Although I very much doubt it, not from what I know of Sarkarnii mating habits."

"Fuck!" Crystal grinds her teeth and glares at me.

Retah huffs out a laugh.

"You are in trouble unless you can supply me with a new cannon for my gyik flyer," I snarl.

"I'm always in trouble, Drelix, as are you, although with a mate, I'm guessing trouble has doubled." He continues to laugh at his joke as he squeezes his horned bulk behind his counter and works his way through a thousand menus on a holo screen.

"Seriously?" Crystal looks up at me. "What is it with Sarkarnii and their mates? Why is everyone so bloody obsessed with them?"

"Everyone is obsessed with a Sarkarnii. They're rare enough to gain attention and their mating habits are legendary," Retah says.

I want to kill him.

"Legendary?" Crystal queries.

"Why did you think I didn't want to get between Drelix and his mate?" Retah continues to work his holo console. "I prefer my head on my shoulders. A Sarkarnii in rut is not a creature anyone wants to tackle. Not if they value staying intact."

Crystal hums as she studies me.

"Good news, Sarkarnii. I have an upgraded pulsar cannon in stock. Where are you docked?"

"Level three," I reply. "I also need my usual order loaded."

"Done," he says.

"In which case, I will be removing my mate from your filthy presence," I state as Retah scratches his ass with a claw. "And taking her to be thoroughly pleasured."

"I'm down for the pleasuring, provided it means you're taking me for lunch which doesn't involve Meo milk," Crystal says, hopping off the stool.

"Good for fertility," Retah says.

Crystal drops her head back and makes a noise which sounds like gah.

"I'm not supposed to mention Meo milk," I whisper loudly to him, pointing at Crystal who stomps to the doorway. "Thank you, old friend, for all your assistance. Draco will be grateful."

"His gratitude is welcome, as always, but it is the cause I work for," Retah says. "We all lost much when Kaeh-Leks was taken. The Liderc may be no more, but I am with you, always, brother." He grasps my arm and thumps one hand over his chest in the way all Imperial Remek used to do.

"One nova-day, we will be together, my friend. The ancestors will insist," I say as he releases me and I follow Crystal out into the bustling streets of Tatatunga.

But somehow the thought of revenge is a sour taste in my mouth, whereas the thought of being with her makes my stomach dip and my heart beat again.

I must do what needs to be done. I have to ensure the fate which befell my species never happens to any others. I must ensure my family joins my ancestors. I must make amends.

If only the desire, the rut, the need for Crystal didn't threaten to overwhelm every part of me.

She turns to look over her shoulder, her flaming hair flying around her gorgeous face, and I instantly understand what I should die for.

My mate, my szkira, my heartsfire. She is worth all the jewels in the galaxy and beyond. She is worth every atom of my being.

She is mine.