Page 11 of Argurma Monster

He did not understand, but this was a conversation that they had many times, and he never comprehended why her position at the lab hindered their mating. She was his light in the darkness of his mind and the most terrible of his memories that haunted him at night. And she had been a good companion on the island. Fun, patient, and understanding. She processed his needs just as he processed what she needed even when she did not give voice to it.

“I have to admit that this isn’t uncomfortable, though,” she sighed as she settled more fully against him.

Talech hummed in agreement as he stroked her arms and sides. “Rest,” he purred as he folded himself around her, sinking into her comfort even asGaranga’sengines roared, and the ship vibrated with impending takeoff.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” she mumbled sleepily. “Just so you know. I’m not your mate.”

He grunted, acknowledging her words, and continued purring. It was enough.

Chapter 9

Zoreth returned to the cabin, exhaustion hounding his steps, and came to a stop just inside as he caught sight of the sleeping pair strapped to the chair. Circumventing the gravitational pull of decaying planet had been enough of a chore, but he had the misfortune of running into some other issues in exiting the solar system that can kept him tied up for much longer than he had anticipated. It left him feeling depleted. But now that feeling was completely replaced with unreasonable envy.

His mandibles clicking rapidly with his annoyance, he strode into the room, pausing only briefly when Talech opened his eyes. He took a moment to study the male as he approached. The glowing cybernetics along his cheeks were badly damaged, and he wondered what affect it had on his ocular systems. It was a wonder that the male was blind if not worse. The grafted metal horns were attached to some reconstructed systems implanted where they were never intended that formed a picture of complete chaos.

“Do they ever pain you?” he asked, nodding toward the horns.

Talech regarded him for a long moment in consideration before answering. “At first. They have fused with the nanos reinforcing my skeletal system now.”

“You have retained this data?” he asked, surprised.

The other male’s eyes narrowed for a moment, and Zoreth could see the flicker of confusion within them as the male tried to access his memory banks. His muscles jumped slightly in reaction to the strain and Beverly responded in her sleep, her hands stroking the arms curled around her in her sleep. Immediately the male soothed and shrugged in a very humanlike gesture. With his fractured systems, it seemed thathe was adopting Beverly’s mannerisms. Even the way he often smiled was not in a manner of an Argurma. He was dependent on her a lot more than Zoreth expected.

“The data comes at times,” Talech replied. “It is unpredictable.”

“I process this,” Zoreth rumbled and drew up to the side of the flight seat. “I am preparing to release you,” he warned.

“Do not provoke me and I will not attack,” his rival replied in kind.

Zoreth huffed but bent to initiate the release. His eyes never left Talech as he did so, however. He did not entirely trust the male to not attack if he believed it to be advantageous given his current state. Remarkably, the male kept his word and merely stood with the female in his arms. He barely glanced Zoreth’s way as he strode directly to the bed and gently laid Beverly in the center of it.

“She is tired,” Talech needless explained.

“Are you going to be stable with this sleeping arrangement?” Zoreth asked. “I will not relinquish my place as long as you are here.”

Talech chuffed as he slid into bed at her left side, his long metallic spinal limbs folding in against his back as he closed his eyes. “You are no threat to me.”

Zoreth bristled, his vibrissae puffing out around him as his mandibles splayed aggressively. “Are you saying that I am unworthy of Beverly?”

The male briefly opened one eye to direct a dismissive look in his direction before letting it slide shut as he rested his jaw against the top of her head, his mandibles stroking through her hair. “No. I am telling you that you cannot get rid of me.”

Zoreth stared at him, infuriated, his mandibles expanding and closing in anger. Unfortunately, his fury was lost upon his rival because the male fell asleep quickly, leaving him withoutan audience to witness his challenge. He stared down at the sleeping pair, his vibrissae rattling as they twitched. Still no reaction. He stepped away to the other side of the bed, his head snapping around to cast a suspicious glare in Talech’s direction. The male began to purr in his sleep. Shaking his head, Zoreth huffed quietly to himself as he dropped into bed at Beverly’s other side.

This was strange beyond even his most extreme calculations. Grunting, he closed his eyes and curled into the female at his side. He would find a way to deal with Talech later.

Chapter 10

Beverly didn’t know what time of the day it was when she awoke since there was no sun or clocks in the room to tell her, but when she did it was with the sense of being fully rested. Of course, the takeoff from Earth was completely different than what she had imagined it would be like, and not just because she spent it strapped to a big alien. She couldn’t believe that he’d thought to simply leave Talech in one of the rooms while he showed Beverly to her own room across the hall. If she’d had any idea that was what he was planning, she could have warned him that it wouldn’t work and saved themselves all the headache and Talech additional trauma. The male was infuriating at times with his tendency to hover, but she also understood that he needed her even if she’d barely been able to pee in peace without the alien hovering nearby. Talech had been... displeased... at being separated from her.

Beverly grimaced. Displeased was an understatement. Especially when it came on the heels of Zoreth suggestion to leave him. How could she explain that she was just as much of a monster as Talech, even if she didn’t show it on the outside? She was responsible for him. Even though the majority of what was done to him happened before her time or without her knowledge, she still felt the weight of that responsibility that only grew when the male patiently and tenderly cared for her when she was wounded and the sickness that followed as she fought off infection, and then when she cared for him in turn.

It was therefore within the confines of her room, with no outward facing windows, that Beverly experienced her first and only departure from Earth’s atmosphere. As a scientist she had heard through the grapevine of certain secret colonization projects. Despite the details on the data being classified, it didn’tstop her from dreaming of being chosen to go to one of those colonies.

It was those dreams that had made her jump on the chance of experiencing life among aliens. Other lifeforms certainly hadn’t been part of those rumors, but since being awakened from stasis, she was now eager to see and embrace it all. Finding out that Earth had been rapidly dying while she slept for so many years certainly didn’t make her want to stay, and the island didn’t offer much for anyone stranded there. Especially not once supplies ran out. The ocean still had its fish, but how long would it have lasted? Overfishing and rapid climate change had done considerable damage to the marine life on the planet. In any case, she couldn’t swim, and from observing Talech, she knew he had his limits as to how submerged he allowed himself to become. Perhaps it was due to his cybernetics. That seemed a plausible reason.

In any case, she was glad to leave Earth behind. From what Meg said, it was no paradise and on a fast track to death. She didn’t regret the lack of a view too much, especially when it turned out that being strapped to a chair with Talech ended up being a very comfortable place to sleep. Truthfully, it felt like her first really peaceful sleep since she arrived on the island.

Granted, waking up between two alien males had been a little weird. But it wasn’t the sort of weird that she objected to, strangely enough. That it might have contributed to her peaceful sleep was laughable, but she couldn’t immediately reject it either.

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