5. Bruce

Chapter 5

Agrowl rumbles in my chest. Sometimes the primitive nature of this planet is charming, at other times simply annoying.

"Oh, hell, the power has gone out," Willow huffs. "Well, good thing I've already finished making dinner."

I open a nearby cabinet. "I do have some back up light sources."

"Oh good." She uses her small tablet to turn on a flashlight to see what we've got. "There's a few candles and one flashlight. It'll have to do."

We work together, readying the candles at the end of table in the large dining room. I start a fire in the fireplace. Willow places our dishes of "pasta," and place settings and declares that it "feels like we're at an intimate restaurant."

We sit down. I'm at the end of the table and she's on my right side.

I watch her carefully to see how she eats this odd, stringy food I purchased, only because I knew it was something she enjoyed. The tiny ropes of food, covered in a red sauce, twirls around my spiked utensil. After the first taste I am hooked. I was not exaggerating when I told her that human food was addictive. "The food is wonderful and I am enjoying eating with someone else instead of eating alone."

"You're like a changed person," she laughs. "This isn't the same Bruce who told me to leave my donuts on the porch and get the hell off his property."

I wince. "I was angered that the female I had learned was the reason for my blood frenzy was so close. I was doing my best to not drag a human into a relationship that she would find distasteful."

She wipes some red sauce off her mouth with a small piece of fabric. "Because you think you're unworthy?"

"I am unworthy. I've been deemed unbreedable. Blood frenzy is something I'm supposed to suffer through, alone, without finding my mate."

"Maybe we could just be boyfriend and girlfriend. We could have sex and not share blood."

I choke on my bite of food. "Pleasure mates? I don't know if I could refrain from sinking my teeth into your neck."

She winks at me.

I'm supposed to be the one losing my mind during blood frenzy, trying to entice this female into my bed, and I wonder if instead the roles are reversed. My body is warm, my cock seems to be continually semi hard and I want her naked. But the scent of her arousal continues to permeate the air. And she has her long hair off the shoulder nearest to me, baring the blue veins on her perfect neck.

We continue eating.

She pauses to ask another question. "Do you think you could live in this house always? Not just for this temporary work assignment?"

"Yes. I like this location."

"If you were able to really make me your mate and I decided I wanted that too and we for reals went through with this blood frenzy, then I'm hoping you'd stay here in this town because this is where my business is and I like working here. And most importantly my mom lives here and she'd lose her mind if I lived too far away. Just warning you that we are very attached. I promise she's not a scary mother-in-law type and I am good at creating boundaries, but she's also my best friend and I love her and I don't want to be separated from my mother. If for instance you needed me to ever go with you to visit Korn for reasons, then we'd have to invite her to come along too."

"I understand. My own mother is also very important to me. She's the only being who has never treated me less after what happened and she was sad that I had to leave the planet to find a new career. But my father, my brother and my cousins…they all let me know they were disappointed and never believed what they termed as my "excuse" for what happened. My mother hugged me and cried and let me know she thought I'd been treated unfairly. She always believed me. I wasn't less in her eyes."

"Mothers are pretty amazing. It's good to always have someone in your life who has your back."

"Yes."

"I'm going to get some of the wine." She stands up and uses the flashlight to move back into the dark kitchen. "Do you want some?"

"No. But this might also impair your decision making."

"I know, but it will also take away anxiety, considering my car broke down this afternoon, the power is out and I'm stranded here overnight with a Korn suffering from blood frenzy."

"A Korn who is forbidden from taking a mate. A Korn who legally cannot follow through with blood frenzy."

"Okay, I'm actually mixing a drink. Are you sure you don't want some?"

"No. Blood frenzy and alcohol do not mix."

"Ah, I see. I'll make you a non-alcoholic drink."

"Thank you."

We stay in the dining room for quite some time.

Then we decide to move into the library which is an intimate space. I bank the fire in the dining room. We take all our light sources and the candle into the library. I use the supply of logs and start a fire in the fireplace there. "This I enjoy because we also do this back on Korn. There are indeed many similarities between our two species which is why I feel comfortable on this planet. And in this exact setting it's mountainous but not to the extent as other parts on my own planet. It gets cold but not too cold and it does warm. Although I think it does become warmer than I'm used to in the summer."

Willow places two different pitchers and two cups of a refreshing, sweet drink for each of us on a small table.

I begin the tradition of Korn in mating blood frenzy, trying to get to know a mate better, by asking her many questions about her childhood. I learn that her father lives in a different city and is no longer mated to her mother and has instead taken on a different legal mate. And my female does not like this new "stepmother."

"This is exactly why I consider the fact that your species can divorce and have a new mate so disturbing."

"Sometimes it can be very harmful, but also since we often choose the wrong mate, it's good to have an out."

Humans are so very odd.

She tells me stories about how she started her business. And then she even questions me about myself.

I relax in front of the fire.

"Are you going to tell me about what happened? You said you wear more clothing than the typical Korn. Why do you cover yourself?"

I take another large sip of the surprisingly good drink she's made for me. I look down at my extra layer of clothing. For some reason I feel the need to tell her everything. "I'm wearing my pants, but I'm also wearing a second layer that I always wear. It covers the scars. There are a few on my chest. The deepest scars are on my back and there are some white scars on my arms that can only be seen in a certain light. I cover them because I cannot let any other Korn see my dishonor."

She doesn't seem to be bothered by my dishonor which is very unusual.

None of the humans have as a matter of fact. This is why I probably have befriended more humans since I arrived than I normally would have. "Steve Banks has always treated me with respect. Since the first moment he came to my house to fix my vehicle, so I did not have to bring it into town. He is also ex-military, a war veteran with a new career."

She snorts. "He's nicer to you than he ever has been to me."

"I haven't told anyone this story, mainly because they haven't asked. Everyone believes the story that is told by the Commander."

Willow turns and meets my gaze.

"I was a pilot in the elite royal force," I tell her. "It is expected that I will do whatever it takes to save the life of our King. I was honored to be chosen for such a highly coveted position and was ready to place my life before his. I thought we were on a simple mission to escort the King's ship, but I was engaged in battle by a rogue sect of Korn. I was the only one who was hit and my ship suddenly locked up and changed course. It looked like I ran away and left the King exposed, trying to save my own life. The rogue disappeared but my ship crash landed on the planet."

"That must've been scary, landing like that."

"I thought I was going to die and all I could think of was my mission, how I wasn't able to save the King."

"Was he okay?"

"Yes, the rest of our team tightened formation and fought off the intruder and saved our King."

"What happened later? Didn't they understand it wasn't pilot error but something wrong with your ship?"

I shake my head. "After the review, it was decided that I had left my position, trying to save myself. I told them that the ship had worked incorrectly and changed course, but the flight data said differently and no one believed me."

She reaches out and squeezes my hand.

"From the moment I arrived at that base they thought I was inappropriate because I came from a lower class. I was not part of the elite Korn bred for that position. Usually, sons and daughters are raised generation to generation to go into this force and I was someone from the outside. It worked out in their favor that I did not meet anyone's expectations. It was agreed that this outcome was expected because only the Korn that had been bred to this, could do this properly."

"I'm so sorry," she says.

"My case was high profile and all over the news organizations. All the Korn know the incorrect story that was told of my dishonor, that I was a royal guard who left the King exposed in order to protect his own life. The only thing that helped me carry on was that I was invited to come here to start an entirely new life. It is true that I am grateful that the humans do treat me with respect. But again, I need to make sure that you know the truth about how the Korn feel about me and that's why I've been taken off the database." I glance down at my cup, surprised I told her so much. "My head feels light."

"Mine does too," she laughs. "Wait I don't have anymore, which one of those did you just drink?"

"That one."

"No. That's the juice I mixed with wine and soda. I made it sort of a wine spritzer." She points to the other one. "That was your juice, nonalcoholic. I put in the entire bottle of wine in mine because I wasn't messing around. In fact, you drank from the container not even the cup."

"I drank all of your alcohol?"

"Well, I had some too, but you had most of it."

"This explains why I'm behaving differently. It's as if I'd never had the antidote and all my inhibitions are gone." I glance over at Willow, noting that her inhibitions are gone too, considering she's gazing again at my tented crotch.

Her eyes lift to meet my gaze and her cheeks flush again. "I can't help it, you're just so sexy. It's like you're turning more handsome before my eyes."

"It's true. I'm physically becoming more enticing because my body is trying to lure you into consent."

She sits very close to me and I watch her beautiful face and see her drifting off. Her eyes start to close and she's asleep next to me.

I take her hand in mine and think through what it would be like to mate with this female. For the first time I begin to contemplate breaking the law. She did say that sometimes amongst her own people if the law or government is completely unfair then it is meant to be broken or changed. There is a team of Korn litigators who consider what happened to me unfair and they are working to have the truth exposed, but I have little belief that anything will change.

The crackle of the fire is mesmerizing and the warmth of this female next to me is enticing. The humans have been welcoming and this female most of all. I enjoy her spark of life and the sound of her laughter. She is a hard worker and cares deeply for family and friends. Instead of just staying here for a short time on this planet, maybe I could live here forever. They don't judge me for what they deem is my past dishonor. I have a fresh start here. Maybe it was meant to be that I arrived on Earth and this is where I finally I'm in a blood frenzy. First, I thought it was wrong, but now it seems right.

Or is this the alcohol talking?

I want to take her with me to my bed, but a tiny bit of sanity remains. I also feel tired and it is best at this point if I separate myself from her. I put out the candles and keep the flashlight on the cleaning bot which is still half charged. It follows me with its own light shining the way.

She's very light and even though I have to favor my left knee, I'm able to carry her upstairs. I should put her at the very end of the hall, but I only remain strong enough to keep her next door.

She mumbles and shifts in my arms, moving her head closer to my chest.

I open the door to the bedroom next to mine. There is a bed in here ready for guests that I never have but I do have one suddenly. I place her onto the bed and order the bot to remain in her room nearby. It heats up and provides security and a light source if she needs one.

I go into my own room and do not start the fireplace because my body is hot from the frenzy. We haven't tried at all to stay apart or not touch bare skin to bare skin. I've held her hand for hours and let her snuggle her slight form in the crook of my arm while we sat before the fire in the library.

I lay out on my own bed, with my body enflamed, wanting to go back and sink my teeth and cock in her welcoming heat. My lips tingle and my fangs are elongated, ready to kiss and mate. The thought of tasting her blood and mingling it with mine is keeping me awake with need.

Heavy thoughts continue through my mind.

I cannot have her. It is illegal.

But somehow, I manage to fall asleep.