Page 74 of An Alien for the Farm

And still, he doesn’t stop. His need is insatiable, his desire unending. He thrusts into me again and again, each stroke sending me higher, until I’m lost in a sea of pleasure, my mind and body completely consumed by him.

I’m not sure how much time passes, how many times I come, how many times I scream his name. All I know is the pleasure, the overwhelming, all-consuming pleasure that he gives me.

I was a fool. Why was I fighting this? Out of everything that has ever happened in my life, this is the only thing that feels undeniably right. From the moment I saw him, I should have known. This pull, I’ve never felt it with anyone else. And now, it feels like that all makes sense. I’ve never believed in soulmates. Not after my experiences. But…maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was just on the wrong planet all along.

Tears fill my eyes as I bury my face into our soaked sheets.

He…he’s mine, and I am his.

Days pass. Time feels warped and strange. Every section of my skin buzzes, my core swollen and yet still seeping. The energy brews Varek supplied are drained, and yet, my energy is non-existent. Zynar’s thrusts slow, the intensity ebbing away as the time passes. They become languid as he cradles me and still manages to bring me to climax, even though my body feels completely shattered. When he thrusts deep and gives one final groan, I know we’ve made it through.

Zynar barely manages to lift me onto the bed before collapsing. He pulls me into his grasp, tucking his body around mine as he trembles with the aftershocks of his release. I can feel his heartbeat, strong and steady, a comforting rhythm that grounds me more than I could have ever imagined it would. And beneath that, an almost silent hum, a rhythm I only hear because my ear is pressed against his chest.

I think we did it.

He’s still inside me and when his cock jerks, the last of his spend releasing, I wince. I’m sore. So very sore and still there’s a stupid smile on my face. I look up, my tired eyes meeting his. There’s a tenderness there, a vulnerability that takes my breath away.

“Eleanor,” he whispers, his eyes almost closed. “You are my…kahl…my mate.”

Tears fill my eyes as I reach up to cup his face. “And you are mine, Zynar.”

At this moment, it feels like I’ve actually found a new home.

23

ZYNAR

Iwake from what feels like a haze that lasted several moons.

There’s a buzz all over my frame, a sense of great accomplishment, and…something new.

My eyes flutter open, and I sense her presence immediately.

I freeze. Here in my arms, tucked against me, is my Liora. Eleanor. She’s here and… The fog of the last few sols lifts slowly and my core-beat quickens. That’s when I feel it. The new rhythm, settled and comforting underneath every single beat that keeps me alive. My core-rhythm is there. It is strong. I can breathe without effort. I feel better than I have ever felt in orbits and that can only be because…

My gaze shifts down to the Liora tucked in my arms. The scent of sweat, spend, and mating is thick in the room. My core-beat quickens even more.

I completed…I completed the rut?

Horror grips me at the same time that I catch the scent of something else. Lifeblood. My breath stills as I lift my claw to see the red fluid crusted at my claw tips. It’s with effort that I cast my eyes lower, too afraid of what I might see.

But Eleanor is alive. She’s breathing. I didn’t… I swallow hard. I can’t even think that thought. If I had taken her life in my state I would never forgive myself.

But there is still the scent of lifeblood. When my gaze shifts down further, I go still again. For I see it. The source. There are lines across her back where my claws no doubt trailed down her. Red lines where her lifeblood must have seeped from.

“Gods forgive me.”

I’m not sure if I should pull her toward me or force her away because of what I have done. I completed the rut. That is clear. My core-rhythm is settled. My awareness is back. It’s all cloudy but I’m remembering slowly. How I took her over and over till her soft body could take no more. How she relaxed in my grasp, even though I hurt her. How she let me sink into her over and over again.

I have a mate. A kahl that I always dreamed of.

Eleanor let me rut? Willingly? Or was she too afraid of doing otherwise?

Even though I wish to remain entangled in her arms for far longer, I shift, sliding my arms from around her. I only see more damage as our bodies part. Where I bit her on her shoulder has a deep red bruise. And her skin. Splotches of brown adorn her hips where I must have gripped her too hard. When I see the bandage on her head, it’s the last snowflake that sets off a massive avalanche.

My core-beat goes unsteady again. I cannot breathe as I rise from the bed.

Eleanor’s perfect sleeping space is destroyed. The room is in tatters; so is the bed. Some parts of the mattress are torn, ripped by my very claws and the bed itself is resting on a single leg.

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