Episode Five Consent

A zael

Although the silver streaking through the darker fur on my back marks me as a silverback, an older male, I'm still in my prime. It's no strain to carry her gently in my arms as I leap from the medic's to my hut in the treetops high above the earth.

Setting my precious cargo into my hammock, I don't leave her side as I nod to the medic to wake her. His noxious herb does its job, and the female shakes her head with a moan.

As she works to open her eyes, I tell Reese to leave. I don't want a witness to what comes next because whether she agrees to my proposition or not, I'm going to do whatever is necessary to keep her alive.

By the time she forces her eyes open, it's just me and her in my small round hut made of thin limbs tied together.

Kneeling next to her, I cup her head and croon as if I were talking to a babe. "You're safe, little female. Safe."

Instead of calming her, her blue eyes flash wider and she registers what she's seeing. She greets me with a strangled scream that ends in an agonized whimper.

When she tries to scramble away, wincing in pain, I spring backward until I'm pressed against the wall of my hut.

"You're safe. I mean you no harm."

"Ape."

Why this word pierces me like the sharpest arrow, I'm not sure. We monks have a long oral tradition. Information has been passed down from generation to generation. Apes are what humans used to call animals that looked like us. We are not animals. It's called a mutation. We are simply people deserving of respect, like all people Down Below, no matter what they look like.

"Monk," I correct her.

"Don't kill me," she pleads, her eyes full of pain.

I need to go forward with my plan. Before she slips into unconsciousness or dies, I must explain her choices.

"I'm Azael. What is your name?" I use my softest voice, the one I use when talking to our troop's babies. I've slid down the wall so I'm sitting on my haunches, trying to appear less of a threat.

"Nadira."

Of course she has a beautiful name. I should have expected nothing less.

"Nadira, you were badly hurt. Do you remember who did this?" I want her to recall it wasn't a monk, but a man who all but killed her.

"Armstrong."

I'm not sure if that's a name or a description.

"A human?"

"Yes, barely."

My female has a sense of humor, even through all her torment. This is good.

"We killed him and brought you here. My medic examined you. You are dying."

I give her a moment to absorb my horrifying statement.

"For the best…" Her eyelids flicker. I'm afraid she's going to pass out again, but I need her consent so I can mate her.

"Nadira, stay awake. We can heal you."

Even through her pain, she spears me with a skeptical look. She doesn't say anything, but I imagine she's wondering what the cost will be.

"My healer can do an Energy Transfer. It allows me to give you my strength, so your body can heal."

"Catch?" she asks, as if saying an entire sentence would cost her too much.

"It can only be performed between bondmates." Since I still have her attention, I continue, "I would have to… bite you while having sex." Those last words come out in a rush.

Her lids flutter closed and I think she's succumbed to unconsciousness, but her muscles aren't slack. She's thinking.

"Truth?"

"Absolute truth, Nadira. I've watched this procedure before. It will save your life, but I won't proceed without your consent."

She's quiet for the longest time, then opens her eyes and makes no secret that she's taking my measure. I close the distance between us, kneel next to her, and stroke her head as gently as I can, not knowing if she's been injured under her flaming red hair.

"I'll be gentle, Nadira. As gentle as I can be. We'll get through this together. I won't leave your side."

Every muscle in her body quivers. I'm not sure if this is a human thing or something individual to her.

"It would be nice…" she gasps a shallow breath, wincing in obvious pain, "for a male to be gentle… once in my life."

Those words, combined with her shiver, reach in, clasp my heart, and crack it open.

"I'm big. You're tiny. I'm going to go slow and take my time with you. This can't be about your pleasure, little one. Just about getting the job done."

She gives the smallest, saddest nod.

I pull out the whyler leaves and put them into my mouth. After chewing quickly to release the pain-relieving properties of the leaves as it mixes with my saliva, I take the slightly pulpy mass and hold it to her lips.

She is watching me with surprisingly little fear.

"This will ease your pain. Chew it, then hold it in your cheek. Don't swallow the pulp, just the juice." She hesitates, then opens her cut and swollen lips for me to slip it into her mouth.

She chews slowly, grimacing at the bitter taste. It's obvious when the pain slowly diminishes. Her face relaxes. I continue to stroke her head until she shifts the wad into her cheek, opens her brilliant blue eyes, and again gives me a small nod.

"And Nadira? Even with the whyler leaves, the bite will hurt. No way around it."