Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Regan

W hen I heard the voices coming toward me, I immediately veered left on the garden path and broke into a jog until the voices faded. All I could hear was the buzz of insects and the birds in the trees above me. I had no desire to speak with any of the Draax in the western province.

As I slowed to a normal walk, I took a deep breath of the warm air. I had to admit that the massive indoor garden was definitely a plus to being in the western castle. Eastolf’s castle was cold and dreary and all but Eastolf’s quarters showed the ravages of time. Repairs needed to be made, and most of us who lived in the castle spent the cold season trying desperately to stay warm, but Eastolf’s obsession with power meant he cared little for the Draax who lived in his castle and his province.

Quillan’s castle was well taken care of, and his people neither suffered from the cold nor the heat. My envy at the ease with which they lived felt like a rugenroach burrowing into my stomach lining.

Ahead of me on the path was a stone bench beneath a jeanda tree. The broad purple leaves fanned out from the branches, hiding the fruit that hung in clusters from each branch. Like most fruit trees in the garden, the tree was ripe with fruit despite the cold season, thanks to the artificial light and warmth of the indoor garden.

I sat on the bench, stretching my legs out before me. It’d been two days since Madison had returned to my quarters and, to my shock, informed me that I was free to explore the castle.

My suspicions about why they granted me such freedom didn’t stop me from taking advantage of it. I would go mad if I stayed cooped up in my quarters for the entire moon. I had spent the last two days walking the entire castle and the garden, learning both layouts until I knew them as well as if I had grown up here. I avoided the Draax in the castle as much as possible, preparing my meals in my quarters and using my size and a scowl to discourage others from speaking to me.

The number of little females in the castle was staggering, and every time I caught a glimpse of one or a group of them wandering the hallways or the garden, I could barely stop staring at them like I was a mannerless pike bull. There were less than a dozen human females in Eastolf’s castle, and their mates tended to keep them hidden away as much as possible. Eastolf’s behaviour had turned so erratic in recent years that those who worked for him did everything they could to avoid his direct attention.

To see so many females in the castle, laughing and unafraid, filled me with a weird combination of envy and happiness. It also meant I spent a great deal of time with a half-hard dick. They were all so beautiful with soft skin and perfect bodies, and Krono, did they smell good.

Not as good as Lomax.

My pants grew tight, and I had to adjust my dick to relieve the pressure. Even just thinking about that particular female made me hard. I hadn’t seen her once since I’d been rude to her in my quarters. Even if I had, my behaviour toward her guaranteed she hated me now, but it hadn’t stopped me from masturbating every night to the memory of her looks and her scent.

I released my breath in a harsh sigh. I needed to -

The snap of a branch in the tree above me had me reaching for a sword that no longer hung at my waist. I stood and walked to the tree's base, staring upward, my breath escaping in a surprised huff.

The very female I had just been thinking of peered down at me from high in the tree. She was standing on a branch and clinging to one above her, and even from the ground, I could see the anxiety on her face.

“Why are you spying on me?” I asked and cringed inwardly at my tone.

“I wasn’t,” she said, giving me a defiant look. “I was here first.”

“Why are you in the tree?” I asked.

She sighed, her curvy body slumping against the tree’s thick trunk. “So, I was taking a walk in the garden, right? And I saw this tree, and I thought to myself - Self, that looks like the perfect tree to climb. Then I thought - I should climb it because I’ve never climbed a tree before, not even when I was a little kid, and I’ve been sick for so long that I could barely walk, let alone do something like climb a tree. So, I climbed it.”

“Come down from the tree,” I said. “It is not safe for you.” Although I didn’t understand it, my desire to protect the little female was stronger now than in the alley.

“Yeah, here’s the thing - apparently, climbing up the tree is the easy part.”

I frowned. “Just climb down the way you climbed up.”

“I can’t,” she said. “I tried, but it makes me very woozy.”

I had no idea what woozy meant, but I said, “You cannot stay up there forever, so just climb down slowly.”

“It’s too late,” she said. “I live here now. Thank God I climbed a fruit tree, right?” She poked at one of the fruit hanging off a branch. “At least I won’t starve to death. Between you and me, jeandas aren’t my favourite, though. I wish I had climbed a warracot tree.”

“Warracot does not grow on trees,” I said.

“Right,” she said. She shifted her weight, grimacing when the branch creaked under her. “Okay, well, this has been nice, but you should probably go because I’m pretty sure this branch will break any minute now, and I’ll fall to my death, and you definitely don’t want to be found standing over my dead body.”

I sighed in irritation before grabbing one of the lower branches. I pulled myself up onto it as the little female’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

“Coming up to get you,” I said.

“What? No, don’t do that. Then we’ll both be stuck in the tree,” she said.

I ignored her and climbed steadily upward. It took me less than a minute to reach the branch below her, and I tested its ability to hold my weight before standing on it. It brought me breast level with the little human, and I gritted my teeth and willed my cock to behave as she stared in shock at me.

“Holy crap, for a big guy, you move fast,” she said. “Also, you’re like a tree climbing expert. You climbed a lot of trees as a kid, huh?”

Ignoring her babbling, I said, “Sit down on the branch.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. My balance is terrible, and if I try to sit, I’ll fall off the branch.”

She watched wide-eyed when I wrapped my tail around the branch I stood on to help balance and gripped her waist. “I will help you. Bend your knees.”

She bent her knees, her breath puffing out in soft pants and her hands gripping my shoulders tightly as I helped her to sit on the branch. It broke with a sudden snap, and I quickly yanked her onto the branch with me, holding her tight against my chest as she flung her arms around me. The branch tumbled to the ground, snapping some smaller branches off on its trip.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” the little female chanted, her breath hot against my neck. “I can’t believe I survived my heart stopping twice only to die in a stupid tree with fruit that tastes terrible.”

“You are not dying in a tree,” I said. I wished she would step back a little. Her lush body against mine made it difficult to concentrate.

Still clutching at me, she leaned back enough to stare into my face. Her cheeks were bright red, and I could see real fear in her pretty brown eyes as the branch we stood on creaked. “You should leave me. Save yourself. Don’t be a hero, man.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Are you always this dramatic, human?”

“Yes,” she said. She glanced down, and I immediately tightened my grip when her curvy body swayed alarmingly. “Ooh, that makes me feel so dizzy.”

“Do not look down then,” I said.

“Good tip, Captain Obvious,” she said with just enough attitude to make my grin widen. “So, regretting climbing up here now? You can still leave me. I won’t judge you.”

With how quickly she got dizzy, I had to scrap my plan of helping her climb down branch by branch. Instead, I said, “Climb onto my back, and I will carry you down.”

She shook her head. “Oh God, no. One, I’m way too heavy, and I’ll crush your spine, and two, even if I don’t crush your spine, I’ll probably slip off your back and fall to my death. Then you really will be blamed for my death and probably go to prison, and I’ll feel terrible.”

“You will be dead,” I said. “How could you feel terrible?”

“My particles floating in the universe will feel terrible, I’m sure of it,” she said.

She still clung to me like a kadamel, and I awkwardly patted her back. “You are not too heavy for me to carry, human.”

“I think I might be,” she said. She made a cute little ‘eep’ when I wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted her.

“You see,” I said, “you are as easy to carry as a maluken.”

“What’s a maluken?” she asked.

“Small furry creature. Very fast. Delicious in stew.” I set her back down on the branch. “I will turn around and help you climb onto my back, all right?”

Fear made her lips tremble, and she lost her lightheartedness. “Regan, I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m too afraid.”

I cupped her face and ran my thumb across her trembling bottom lip. “Find your courage, small one.”

Her cheeks were now a soft pink, and she studied my mouth with an intensity that did little to discourage my cock from hardening. When she reached out and traced the scar that ran from my eyebrow to my lip, I released my breath in a harsh hiss.

“You’re so handsome,” she whispered as she studied my face, her fingers lingering at the base of my scar.

Krono, I was holding on to my control by a single thread. I absolutely could not fuck the small human in this tree.

I shook off her touch. “We cannot stay in the tree, little human.”

She tore her gaze from my mouth before taking a deep breath and nodding. “Okay, I can do this.”

“You can,” I said. “I promise I will not let you fall.”

I turned around and braced my hands against the tree trunk before squatting. “Climb on.”

I expected her to protest again, but she carefully climbed onto my back, slinging her arms around my neck and clasping her hands together as her thighs gripped my waist. I kept one hand against the trunk and cupped her ass with the other, lifting her a bit higher as I straightened. Krono, her ass was both soft and firm, and I had a sudden image of me gripping her naked ass as I bent her over my bed and slid my cock into her pussy.

My cock turned to stone, and I muttered an Earth curse as I wrapped my tail around the human’s waist and dropped my hand from her ass.

“What’s wrong?” she asked anxiously. “Am I too heavy?”

“No,” I said. “Hang on, small one.”

Her thighs tightened around my waist, and I nearly groaned out loud. Ignoring my throbbing cock and moving slowly, I climbed down the tree, using my tail to keep the little female lashed firmly to my back.

When my feet were on the ground, the human heaved a sigh of relief and dropped her legs. My tail kept her against my body. I was enjoying the feel of her breasts against my back too much to let her go, and she cleared her throat after a few seconds. “Um, Regan?”

My face flushing, I released my tail and she slid down my back to land on her feet with a soft thump. I quickly adjusted my dick before turning around. She grinned at me, her fear gone and raw enthusiasm in its place. “Oh my God, we survived! I could kiss you right now!”

I immediately stepped back. I was so worked up by the feel of her soft body that if the pretty little human kissed me, I would push her up against the tree and rub her pussy until she was wet enough to take my cock.

Her face fell, and she gave me an embarrassed look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have -”

“Well, hello there.”

I turned around at the unfamiliar voice, ignoring my urge to bare my teeth at the female who had interrupted us. A second female was with her, and she gave me a nervous glance. The first female boldly looked me up and down, her gaze lingering on the scar on my face. “You’re from the eastern province, right?”

I nodded, and she stuck her hand out. She was very pretty with long dark hair, but I found Lomax infinitely more appealing. I shook her hand briefly in the traditional Earth greeting as she said, “I’m Lori, and this is Stephanie.”

“Hi,” the second female said, keeping a safe distance from me.

“Hello,” I said. “I am Regan.”

“What are you doing out here all by yourself?” Lori asked, even though she could see Lomax.

“He’s not by himself.” Lomax joined us. “Hey, I’m Lomax.”

“What an odd name,” Lori said. “Very masculine, don’t you think?”

Lomax didn’t reply, and Lori smiled at her. “You’re the one who fucks the Draax for juice, right?”

Lomax stiffened beside me, her face turning red. “That’s right.”

“I heard you were at the bar every night. That’s a lot of sex with a lot of different Draax. You’re the talk of the castle.” Lori gave Lomax a pitying look. “And not in a good way.”

I blinked in surprise at the judgment in her tone. Were all human females this cruel to each other?

Lomax stayed silent, but her curvy body vibrated, and her hands were fists at her side.

“You fucked Sigan for juice, huh?” Lori said. “That must have been rough. His face is… oof.”

Lomax’s face went an even darker red. “One, I didn’t fuck Sigan, and two, there’s nothing wrong with how he looks.”

Lori just shrugged before dismissing Lomax completely and turning back to me. “How are you enjoying the garden, Regan? Or do you have one in your castle in the east?”

“No,” I said shortly.

“What a shame. So, I heard you were the head of the king’s guard for the eastern province. Is that true?” Lori stepped closer and I stared at her hand when she rested it on my arm.

“Yes,” I said.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Lori said. “Would you like to have dinner with me, Regan?”

I stared blankly at her. “I do not eat in the dining hall.”

“Oh, I meant at my apartment or yours. A date,” she said.

“You wish to fuck me?” I asked.

She smiled as the other little human made a high-pitched giggle that hurt my ears. “Well, let’s start with dinner and go from there. But,” Lori traced her fingers along my skin, “I am definitely open to the idea of seeing you naked, handsome, so sex isn’t off the table or anything.”

The little female was pretty enough and would most likely fuck me. It had been months since I’d felt the slick grip of a pussy so why did her touch and her offer do nothing for me?

Because she was cruel to Lomax and because Lori’s not nearly as beautiful as she is.

Krono! I yanked my arm out of Lori’s grip and turned to Lomax, a weird urge to apologize for allowing the female to touch me ready to spill from my lips.

I stared at the empty garden behind me. Lomax was gone.

“Regan?” Lori gripped my arm again. “What do you say? Dinner at my apartment tonight?”

“No,” I said, tearing free of her grip again. “Leave me alone, human. I do not wish to fuck you.”

I stomped down the pathway, leaving the two little females standing alone.