Chapter 4

Yanna

This dream was incredible. I floated naked on a cloud with the sun shining on my skin. I was moisturized, my belly full of food, and well-rested. I moaned, wishing I never had to leave the comfort of this softness.

And then I felt it—a broad tongue lapping at my pussy, tickling my clit and probing at my entrance with a skill that I'd never felt before. This cloud came with a pussy-eating tongue? Amazing. I was never leaving. I'd die here. I moaned, my fingers digging into a softness between my legs. A subtle vibration teased my delicate flesh, and I arched my neck. "Yes," I murmured into the pink sky. "Oh my God, yes."

The tongue kept going, and I tugged it closer to me. I needed more. I was so close. My thighs closed around plush softness, and the tongue sped up while the vibration increased. "Right there," I groaned as my vision blurred. My body didn't have to chase the orgasm, because it was right there. The tongue swirled, plunged inside of me, and I came with a cry that slid up my throat like honey. Sugary sweet. Soft. Perfect.

My eyelids fluttered, and I realized my eyes had been closed. But how? I'd seen the sky. The cloud. The?—

While the sun shone on my face, above me was a ceiling. And I wasn't on a cloud. I was laying on a bed, blankets tangled all around me. And between my legs wasn't a dream cloud-tongue.

The lion alien's fiery gaze met mine. He panted with an open mouth, fangs dripping, as his tongue dropped to lick between my thighs.

Oh my God, I'd just received lion alien oral in my sleep. And clutched in my white-knuckled fists was his mane.

With a scream, I kicked out, and my heel connected with his nose. He roared as he fell backward, and then I was scrambling off the bed. I hit the ground hard on my ass, and managed to make it past him as he cradled his nose to all but slide down the ladder fireman-style.

I made a break for the door, realized belatedly I had no pants on, but I should have known I wouldn't get far. The lion alien didn't even need the damn ladder. With a running leap, he jumped off the loft with an inhuman strength and landed in front of the door on a crouch. Blood trickled from his nose. I skidded to a stop, chest heaving, panic firing into every nerve in my body. My head spun with the aftershocks of the best orgasm of my life, and the very real terror of my captivity.

He was going to kill me now, I was sure. Or at least hurt me. My God, I'd made him bleed. Again. He wouldn't give me another chance.

But he only rose to his feet slowly, gazing at me in what I could only describe as confusion. Yeah, well, join the club Lion-Man. He made no movement of aggression, and he didn't even look angry.

So in totality, I'd stabbed him twice, glared at him nonstop, and bloodied his nose.

He'd give me food, a bed, and an orgasm.

I wasn't sure what to make of these extremely unbalanced scales.

And God, my legs still trembled from my orgasm. My head felt fuzzy, although it was clearing more and more as every second passed. For the first time in a long time, I had a full belly and REM sleep behind me. I was like a whole new woman. And I still wasn't sure what to make of this lion man. Why wasn't he punishing me? Why was he being nice?

He braced his paws on his hips and looked down, shaking his head slightly before scratching at the dried blood on his nose with a claw. I winced. I almost said sorry until I remembered he'd sexually assaulted me. Although, maybe that was what his species did. How was I supposed to know? And if that was the case, why wasn't he happily ensconced with some pretty female lion alien who welcomed his oral skills? Why was he so invested in me?

I wished we could talk. Even if it was just so I could say, "Hey Lion Man, leave me alone, okay? Although before you go, could you get me another noodle takeout?"

I groaned as a headache began to form behind my eyes. And then suddenly, all that fur, claw, and fang was in my business, standing right in front of me, cradling my chin as he peered into my eyes with a furrowed, furry brow.

I stepped back, and his paw dropped, but that concerned look lingered in his purple eyes. He cared that I was in pain, starving, and sleep deprived. Add another pro to his column.

He thrust his paw out to hand me my pants which I hadn't realized he'd brought down from the loft with him. Which was another…nice gesture.

I pulled them on, eyeing him the whole time as his gaze strayed between my legs and locked there unashamedly. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. I was about to snap out a warning when a loud clamoring came from outside. Shouting. A metallic banging. Lion Man's body went tight, which meant mine went tight. Because if he was worried about what that was, then I was most definitely worried. I had one glimpse of what these pink aliens in this village were capable of. I'd seen their weapons and their anger at me for stealing two bites of bread. I would not be treated kindly here.

Which meant I probably should be nicer to Lion Man. He hadn't brought out mace-like weapons to beat me with. Maybe letting him lick between my legs was a good trade. It wasn't like Dream Me didn't enjoy it. That line of thought would have horrified Earth me, but this was Alien Planet Me, and I was in survival mode.

The door to our hut rattled with what felt like a dozen fists, and I nearly leapt out of my skin like a scared cat.

"What's going on?" I rapped out in Spanish.

Lion Man looked miserable. From a pocket in his pants, he produced a thick length of rope and took a step toward me.

"Oh no," I said stepping backward, eyeing the rope like it was barbed wire. "Don't come near me with that."

But I'd already learned when Lion Man wanted to do something, I was no match. He gripped my wrist, tugged me against him, and in two seconds had my wrists bound in front of me, and he held one end of the rope with about five feet slack between us. Like I was a dog.

Every hair on my body bristled. Angry goosebumps rose on my arms, and I had to swallow down the panic that rose in my throat that urged me to thrash around like a feral cat. Was this in retaliation for my violence? Lion Man could only gaze at me with sympathy before he turned toward the door and tugged on the lead. I balked like a stubborn pony, pulling back on my heels, but there was no use. One tug from the giant Lion Man, and I was forced to stumble forward or be dragged.

He opened the door into a scene of chaos.

Pink aliens were everywhere. Some were beating canisters with little mallets which was the source of the metallic drumming. Everyone was shouting. While the faces were alien, I was still very much aware that they were twisted into anger. Lion Man strode forward into the crowd, pulling me behind him, and terror squeezed my lungs. I gasped for breath as I strode forward.

Was this it? Was I being led to some sort of public stoning? The crowd parted ways as the Lion Man led me down the street, but just barely. I felt the heat of the alien's bodies as they crowded around me. I could smell their breath. The angry, bitter energy rolling off them made me dizzy.

I couldn't cry. I couldn't make a sound. I was frozen in a state of shock and terror unlike anything I'd felt before. I stared straight at the back of the Lion Man in front of me. His broad shoulders were tight with tension, and he strode with a stiff gait that was so fast, I had to jog every few steps to keep up.

A whistling cut through the shouting and a hard object slammed into the side of my head. The blow caught me off guard, and I stumbled before crashing to the ground on my hands and knees. The world spun. Pain blinded me for a moment. I blinked my eyes, trying to focus. Crimson drops stained the dirt between my hands.

A thundering roar shook the ground. I glanced up, my eyes barely focusing on a blurry streak of blue and black leaping to my side. My vision narrowed. Centered. Focused. Lion Man stood, his feet braced apart, holding a pink alien in the air by the neck. The alien's feet flailed uselessly as Lion Man rumbled a low, terrifying growl in his face.

The shouting had shifted to murmurs. Scared whimpers. The crowd no longer pressed in on us, but had stepped back to watch the Lion Man. A pink alien I recognized—some sort of police leader—marched forward with his guard and stood in a circle around me, Lion Man, and the pink alien he held in his grip. The police guards held their weapons at the ready, and shouted orders at Lion Man that sounded a lot like warnings, but Lion Man only turned on them, baring his teeth and flexing his massive claws.

After all I'd done to Lion Man, he'd never once growled at me threateningly. Had someone thrown an object at him like they had me? But he didn't seem to be injured anywhere, and I could have sworn his weight shifted to stand over me protectively. The pink alien in his grip rolled his round eyes, glancing at me with both regret and anger. What the hell did I do?

Lion Man's grip tightened. The pink alien clawed at his furred arm, gasping for breaths and the police guards took a step forward, shouting again.

I didn't know what to do. My limbs trembled with fear, and my only instinct was to get closer to Lion Man. He was the only thing on this entire planet who hadn't hurt me yet. I reached out with my bound hands and tugged on his pant leg. I didn't want him to be hurt, because if these aliens took him down, I was fucked. If a war broke out right here in this village, I was good as dead. The Lion Man was huge and strong and terrifying, but the pink aliens outnumbered him hundreds to one.

His attention dropped to me, and I stared up at him. I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know what I wanted other than for this all to end. And not to end with my bloody stoning in a town square.

Lion Man's shoulders heaved, and then he shuddered as his eyes closed briefly. With a growl, he tossed the pink alien into the crowd. Pinkie hit the ground before sliding ten feet and coming to a rest. He immediately clutched his throat and began to shake and cough.

Lion Man reached down, slashed the bonds holding my hands and hauled me over his shoulder. He ignored the pink alien police and strode right past them into the crowd. They parted like the Red Sea to let us past, and there was no more shouting. No one threw a thing. They watched us go, whispering and cowering away from Lion Man.

The pink alien police leader yelled something at the Lion Man's back, but his voice broke on a syllable. He flushed a bright red. Lion Man didn't respond. He didn't look back. He only kept walking.

Lynix

Fleckers. All of them. I needed to put as much distance between myself and Nomoria as soon as possible. They had powerful friends and allies, and while we might be able to repair the relationship eventually, Fyak had made it pretty clear I was not welcome back anytime soon.

Fleck it. Queen would understand. They'd made the human bleed.

I could smell her blood in the air, and it drove me crazy. Every time my mouth opened, I felt the iron tang on my tongue like poison. She hadn't made a sound when she'd been hit. But I'd seen the can fly in the air. And I'd felt the tug on the rope and then turned to find her fallen, her red blood dripping from her chin to pool in the dirt.

I hadn't taken the time to think. I knew who'd thrown it as soon as I turned around, because the Graysa's around the offender had distanced themselves from him once they saw my anger.

I'd been ready to snap his neck. I hadn't cared about Fyak and his guards threatening me. I hadn't thought about any consequences beyond punishing the Graysa who'd made her bleed.

But then she'd tugged my pant leg. She'd looked up at me like I was the only thing standing between her and death. So I'd kept my cool before I started a riot.

She was silent now as I carried her outside of the village to where my bike was stored. Her weight was still too light on my shoulder. She needed more food. I'd thought I could grab some on the way out of Nomoria, but that hadn't happened. I'd have to hunt and gather for her.

Nomoria enclosed its village in a dome during the dark, so the entire village was surrounded by a gated wall. The gates were open, and as soon as I walked out of the village, the pressure in my chest eased. Fyak and his guards wouldn't follow me out of the gates. Here, I could breathe. I could tend to my human.

My bike rested in a hiding spot I'd never used before. The flecking Graysa were little sneaks, and if I didn't change the spot of my bike every time I'd visited, they'd steal my supplies and sometimes the parts from my bike. So I had to get creative. I knew as soon as any of us Beasts were spotted in their village, a few Graysa would start hunting for our bikes.

When I uncovered it from its hiding spot this time, I was pleased to find it had been undisturbed. I patted myself on the back for that. I'd hidden it in a wimple burrow, where Greysa wouldn't dare to look because they were allergic. I was allergic too, but a bite only caused slight discomfort, not death. It was the worth the risk.

I placed the human on the ground a safe distance away from the burrow. With one eye on her, and another eye on the lookout for wimples, I retrieved my bike and pushed it toward her.

She remained where I'd left her, sitting on the ground with a dazed expression and trembling limbs. She was almost docile, and even though she'd made me bleed three times, I found I didn't like her docile. I liked when she had fire in her eyes. I liked when she spit rapid words at me that I was sure consisted of mostly curses.

And my preference surprised me. I'd spent so long imagining an agreeable, grateful mate. One who worshipped my cock and fed me by hand with a smile and flutter of her eyelashes.

But that was not this female. I didn't think that would ever be this female. And maybe…maybe I didn't want that after all.

I pulled a med kit out of my saddle bags on my bike and crouched at the female's side. Her eyes were a bit wild, like cornered prey. Rapid pants left her lips. Fleck, she was terrified and injured. I eyed the wound on her head. The can had hit her temple, slashing the skin with a deep cut. Blood oozed down the side of her face, mixing with the dirt on her skin.

But still, she remained where she was and didn't flee, even though she was no longer bound. Although—I glanced around—where would she go? All I could see were swaths of mountainous terrain. My bike could traverse this easily. But not the female on foot. I cursed as I realized she didn't have shoes. I'd been in such a hurry to leave before Fyak acted that I hadn't thought about that. Her feet were filthy. One toenail bled at the bed.

I was flecking this up. All of it. I'd been so focused on thinking with my cock that I hadn't been careful with her. Now she was injured. Scared. Wary.

I remembered when Queen hit her head one time, and while she hadn't bled, she'd told us she that she had a… what was it called? Conpussion? Something like that. She said it made her dizzy and that her head throbbed. She'd also been grumpy for a while, all of which she blamed on the conpussion. Was that what this female had?

I cleaned her wound, applied appointment, and then bandaged her. The whole time, she sat as still as stone, but her eyes followed my every move.

Next I cleaned her feet, and then wrapped her soles in bandages to protect them. Although, until I got her shoes, she was either riding on my bike or in my arms. No more walking until I could ensure her feet would be protected.

I cleaned every inch of skin I dared, but I didn't touch her clothes. The memory of what I'd done to her in the loft filled me with mixed feelings. The taste of her on my tongue, the sounds she'd made, all made me want her even more. But the memory of the way she'd reacted when she'd fully woken up filled me with shame. She'd been scared, furious. I had thought she'd been inviting me. I'd been too focused on my own wants and needs. Not on this scared female in a new place.

"Stupid, Lynix," I muttered to myself as I wiped her hands clean. "What the fleck is wrong with you?" Queen would have my hide when she found out. And I'd take every cutting word she spat at me. I deserved it.

Even now I wanted to fall to my knees in front of this female an apologize, but she wouldn't understand me. All I could now was make up for my earlier mistakes.

Her hair, while still clean, stuck to her damp cheeks and neck. I pulled a comb from my bag that I often used on my mane—Bastian liked to call me vain—and brushed her hair off her face. With a small tie, I bound it at the nape of her neck to keep it out of her eyes.

By the time I was finished, she no longer panted. In fact she looked the most relaxed I'd seen her other than in her sleep. She still watched everything I did, but she no longer looked like cornered prey. Her eyes had sharpened again somewhat, but she shied away from the sun, and her forehead creased with a wince.

I searched my med kit for the small bottle of draught that Eleric had developed. It was a pain reliever and spirit in one. Something to ease the aches and improve the mood. I held it out to her, and while she eyed it and took it from me with two fingers. She sniffed the liquid and made a face. I lifted the bottom of the draught, encouraging her to drink it. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and tossed back the bottle of draught in one swallow.

Impressed, I watched as she made a face, a small gasp, and then swiped her mouth with the back of her hand. As she let out one cough, she handed the empty bottle back to me. I tucked it back into my med kit and let my gaze take in her condition. Her head and feet were bandaged, and she bled nowhere else. Her breathing was more normal.

I squinted at the sun. We had to get moving. I'd need to feed her soon. She'd need sleep. And all that had to be done before we even drew close to another town. Which meant we'd be alone in the mountains for a while without the ability to communicate with each other.

This would test all my patience. All my willpower. But this was what Queen raised us for. Not to lust over possible mates. Not to think of ourselves. My only goal now was the safety of this human. No more flecking around.

I'd get her home no matter what it took. I'd cut off my mane. I'd chop off my tail. No more vanity. The female was all that mattered. She is all.