Chapter 24

KAMEER

I jog down the corridors of the Haxxal , flanked by my security team. The more distance I put between myself and Mandy, the more my agitation grows. Perspiration runs down my temple, and I wipe it away, thinking that the corridors aren’t hot enough to induce sweating even if I am moving fast.

Then the truth hits me. I suspect I’m coming down with a fever.

Fluxx . I need to return to Mandy soon. I break into a sprint and barrel down the corridor that leads to engineering. The security officers accompanying me fall behind for a brief moment, but they soon catch up.

Once I reach engineering, I clear my mind and tackle the problem. I must focus. I must determine the issue that triggered the hyperdrive safety protocols and fix the problem before my fever becomes too high.

I experienced the mating fever many years ago when I claimed Xersonna, and though my memories of the experience are hazy, I recall having difficulty forming coherent thoughts when the fever reached its peak. During the mating frenzy. If I don’t fix the hyperdrive soon, the entire fleet might become stranded in open space until my fever abates.

Fluxx . I feel torn. Torn between my duties to the Darrvason Empire and my need to rut Mandy repeatedly until our fevers cool. As I study the hyperdrive’s recent logs, I consider abandoning my position as a chief engineer and absconding with Mandy in a private shuttlecraft.

I force in a few deep breaths and visualize the frozen lakes that cover Ulluris Prime. Reason soon returns, and I manage to focus on the task of locating the glitch that I believe caused the hyperdrive safety protocols to activate. It’s a relief to discover the issue is a false alarm. The fleet was never in any danger. Not this time.

I’m vaguely aware of engineers hovering in my periphery, watching me move between screens and control panels. When I shift to a new location, they scatter out of my way, giving me the room I need to work. If I weren’t in a rush to fix the issue, I would work more slowly and explain my process to my fellow engineers, but any educational sessions must be saved for another time. I must return to Mandy soon. Before the fever steals my ability to think straight.

At last, the main screen flashes green and dings as all the lines of data sync to perfection. The glitch, which was caused by a false radiation reading, is gone.

“It’s fixed.” My voice comes out deep and strained. I turn to face the crowd. “Repair the faulty sensors on probe 347-X and it shouldn’t happen again,” I say, referring to one of the many probes that travel in the hyperdrive bubble with the fleet.

My vision blurs as I exit engineering. Someone is speaking to me, congratulating me, I think, but their words don’t quite penetrate my consciousness. Fluxx . I must return to Mandy now.

How is she feeling?

Is she aware of the impending mating frenzy?

Mandy . I attempt to reach her through the bond, but it doesn’t work. I rush through the corridors, my feral growls echoing off the walls. The security team maintains pace with me, though on several occasions someone shouts for me to slow down. I don’t listen. Instead, I run faster. I run until my legs ache and I’m breathless from the exertion.

Finally, I reach the royal corridors, and I head for the wing where my temporary quarters are located. As I round a corner, I nearly smack into a body. I snarl and pause in my steps only long enough to make eye contact with Admiral Tornn. A knowing look crosses his face, perhaps a hint of a smirk, and he steps aside.

Six guards stand watch outside my quarters, the officers left behind to keep Mandy safe. I rush past them, ignoring their questions, and immediately lock the door behind me. I rip my wrist comm off and toss it to the floor. I don’t care if there’s another emergency. I will not stand for any further interruptions.

Mandy . I glance around my quarters, searching for my mate. Her sweet scent lingers in the air. I pause and listen, and the steady beat of her pulse reaches me like a beckoning call.

I draw in a long breath and release a ferocious growl. A mating roar. A signal to my mate that I’m about to fuck her harder and longer than ever before.

Her gasp reaches me from down the hallway that contains the bedrooms, and I stalk in that direction, my scrotum vibrating and my dual appendages swollen huge and hard.

She exits the main bedroom just as I reach the hallway. My gaze collides with hers, and her eyes widen. Fluxx , the scent of her arousal is so strong, it’s making me dizzy. I pause in my steps and stare at her, almost hoping she decides to run so I might chase her down.

She lifts a trembling hand to scratch her left upper arm, and through the bond I detect her extreme discomfort. Her upper arms are itching and tingling. Satisfaction brims within me as I approach her.

Kameer , she says down the bond. I feel strange . I sense her excitement but also her nervousness.

I brush her hand aside and peer at her inflamed flesh. Fluxx yes. A massive welt is rising where she was just scratching, and a glance at her other arm shows some discoloration as well. I touch my chest as my ancestral markings tingle more intensely.

It’s happening.

The heartbond.

My nostrils flare as I lean close and take deep inhales of my mate. Her natural floral scent combines with the slickness gathering in her core, and I growl as my shafts throb to be inside her.

I wrap a hand around her throat, though I don’t squeeze. Not really. I apply the faintest pressure, just enough to make her whimper. She softens to me, yields to my authority, and I release a pleased growl as her surrender reaches me through the bond.

I hold her gaze as the heated delirium of my mating fever threatens to burn me alive. You can’t stop the heartbond, pretty human. It’s happening, and I intend to do whatever I can to hasten the appearance of my ancestral markings on your arms. I intend to pound you over and over, until you’re sore and dripping with my seed and covered in my scent. Your body already belongs to me. Your heart, your mind, and your soul will soon follow.

She whimpers again. I squeeze a bit tighter, though not enough to cut off her air, and I’m rewarded with another wave of surrender that makes me ravenous to claim her.

I release her neck, then lift her and carry her to the large bed in the main bedroom. My fever mounts alongside my need for the pretty human female who’s trembling in my arms.

I set her down and eye the traditional Darrvason gown she’s wearing, the blue one that accentuates her dark eyes while contrasting with the lightness of her hair.

She’s a vision of loveliness. What a pity I must tear the dress from her body. I’m too impatient to take my time removing it.

As her excitement mounts and shivers rush through her, I grip the front of her gown and tear it to shreds as she stands trembling before me. She gasps and tries to back away, but I give a warning snarl and force her to remain in place while I finish ripping the last vestiges of the dress from her body. The flimsy panties she’s wearing come next.

Through the bond, I sense her fever rising, as well as the itching on her upper arms. A whimpering moan vibrates from her throat and her eyes dilate as she holds my gaze. She’s fallen into a state of desperate need.

Please, Kameer. Please. I am aching so terribly, and I’ve never felt so unsettled in my life. She glances down as she presses her thighs together, squirming in place in an attempt to alleviate the fervent pulsations affecting her nether area.

I growl. You know how much I like it when you beg, pretty human.

She blinks fast as tears glimmer in her eyes. She reaches for the waistband of my pants, but she struggles to unfasten them. Feeling merciful, I step back and remove my clothing as she watches. Once I’m fully naked, I kick my boots and clothing aside.

Then I pounce on my little mate. I bend her over the bed, force her to spread wide, and sink my lower appendage into her slick tightness.

She cries out, rises on her toes, and undulates her center against me. I grasp her hips and push deeper, allowing my scrotum to vibrate directly on her throbbing clit. Using the bond to sense her approaching climax, I withdraw from her center just before she manages to reach her peak. A frustrated groan leaves her, and her hair flails about her shoulders as she writhes beneath me, desperate for the release I just prevented.

I allow a dark chuckle to reverberate through the bond. Poor little human. Do you deserve an orgasm? You’ve been thinking of escaping me. Perhaps I ought to punish you by withholding your pleasure.

No no no. You can’t do that. I’m sorry. She clutches the covers and thrashes around, trying to press her clit to my scrotum. Though it pains me, I withdraw further from her wet mating orifice, allowing only the wide bulbous tip of my lower appendage to remain inside her. More perspiration trickles down my temples and waves of heat pummel me. Fluxx , perhaps I shouldn’t tease her. I feel as though I’m hovering on the verge of madness.

When she shudders and releases a pitiful, keening whimper, the last of my control falters, and I dig my fingers into her hips and plunge fast and deep. I commence pounding her hard, overwhelmed by the heated frenzy of the impending heartbond.

The longer I claim her, the more aware I become of her thoughts and feelings. Her submission. Her desperation. Her fervent need. Her… affection . I’m stunned when I discover the affection she’s been secretly harboring for me.

I open my heart and mind to her, wanting her to understand the intensity of my desire for her. The ferocity of my possession. The longing in my soul.

Her inner walls clamp down on my plunging shaft, and she cries out in the throes of a rolling climax that leaves her gasping for air. Her knuckles turn white as she grips the covers harder, and her hair once again flails around as she thrashes in place. My beautiful, responsive little mate.

My scrotum vibrates faster, and I erupt in her depths with a thunderous growl. I relish the act of coating her insides with my seed. I pump and pump, until I eject the final spurt.

Without giving her time to recover, I pull my spent appendage from her core and immediately drive inside with my ready upper shaft. She moans, and I sense her soreness through the bond. I’m fucking her more vigorously than usual, and her delicate human body is struggling to withstand the force of my thrusts.

I’m not delicate , she says through the bond. It’s simply that you’re a big, rabid beast.

I can’t restrain a chuckle. You’re in a vulnerable position, Mandy. I wouldn’t recommend name calling. Not unless you want to provoke my wrath. Not missing a beat as I pound her slick pussy, I wind my fingers through her hair and give a sharp tug, which causes her back to arch as her mating channel clenches down on my upper appendage.

I send a wave of dominance down the bond, a warning that if she doesn’t behave and accept her fucking like a good little female, I will mete out the firm consequences she deserves.

Fluxx , I adore the wave of surrender she sends me, just as I adore the way she tucks her chin down in a show of submission.

You’re mine, pretty human. You fucking belong to me.

I know. She whimpers and gyrates her center to meet my rapid thrusts. I know.

I peer at her arms, pleased to find that not only are the welts spreading, but they appear more inflamed than ever, covering the entire area between her elbows and shoulders. She hisses in pain and suddenly reaches for her left arm, scratching hard.

Just before I erupt in her depths again, I send her a wave of warm affection, hoping it’ll ease her discomfort while also hastening the appearance of the first ancestral marking.

My pretty human. I’m about to fill you up again. I’m about to drench you in my seed.