Page 9 of Argurma Monster

Her lips quirked, but he could clearly see the disbelief in her expression. “Right. As you can see, you aren’t my first experience with Argurmas, buddy. I know what a purr means when I hear it, and while that worked out for the last girl and I’m sure Meg andKaylar are very happy, I’m not certain I want to hitch my wagon to either of you. But I do at least trust Talech.”

Kaylar? His vibrissae fanned out with interest. He did not entirely understand her words, though inferred her meaning well enough. He was not concerned. He would prove himself, and she would not have to worry about the other male—Talech—because he was the only male who made a suitable mate. Argurmas did not mate in groups. He would be the only one. But first, he would retrieve Kaylar and get off this backwater planet.

“Where is my cousin?”

An amused look crossed her face. “Your cousin? Are you talking about Kaylar?” At his nod, she chuckled in her distinctive humanlike way. “I’m afraid you’re a bit late. They left weeks ago thanks to Talech here driving them away like a possessive monster.” She gave the male an annoyed but unmistakably fond look that made Zoreth’s vibrissae rise in an instinctively territorial display that had the other male chuffing in brutal mockery, the long limbs fused to his spine wavering in the air with an unquestioning threat. “Don’t ask me how long exactly,” she continued. “There’s no point in keeping track of time when you aren’t going anywhere.”

She paused, her expression turning shrewd. “If you are here for Kaylar, I assume that means that your ship is still in working order. You didn’t crash here?”

Zoreth cut Talech a smug look before inclining his head to the female. “If Kaylar left—with a mate, I presume,” he paused and gave her a questioning look to which she nodded in the affirmative, “then there is nothing else keeping me here. My ship is whole and functioning, and ready to depart.”

“Excellent!” A smile spread across her odd but lovely human face, warming him until she patted the other male’s arm. “Hear that, Talech? We’re getting out of here.”

Zoreth frowned. He did not recall offering. He opened his mouth to object—he wanted to—but promptly reconsidered and snapped it shut. He did not wish to fight the female, but he calculated that it would be unpleasant if he attempted to sway her. Talech knew it too because the male chuffed again, this time with genuine amusement at his predicament. Zoreth glared at the other male, infuriated by the fact that he had no choice but to bring his rival.

An impatient feminine sigh pulled him from his thoughts, and his gaze turned toward the female who was now also regarding him with amusement. “We’re just waiting on you, unless you need to lie down a little longer. As you can see, we don’t exactly have to pack.”

He shook his head. “I am ready to proceed.”

Casting a suspicious glance to the monstrosity that had once been an Argurma, Zoreth solidified his resolve as he pushed himself to his feet. He would follow the female, win her from the creature, and send out a comm to locate Kaylar all at the same time. And he would accomplish it in mere zecs.

Despite having to deal with the unpleasantness of a rival, Zoreth smiled to himself as he watched her turn away and strike out for the beach. This was turning out to be a most fortuitous assignment. He was eager to boast to his mother house in recollecting his adventure upon his return with his mate and with word of his cousin-kin.

“Zoreth’monushava’shangla requests your name, female,” he called after her.

“Beverly Ryder,” she grumbled, ducking between the trees.

His smile widened but quickly fell as the other male pushed by him with a snarl as he followed behind her.

“Mine,” Talech hissed again, and the long, pointed limbs unfolded aggressively from his back as he passed.

Zoreth smirked and trailed after the pair. The male would discover that was still to be determined. The game of courtship was still open to all, and Zoreth would make sure that he came out the victor in this particular contest. Soon they would be off the planet, and he would have nothing but time to woo Beverly. The monster would have nothing to offer her out there.

He did enjoy winning.

Chapter 8

Talech followed the male into the ship, craning his head to peer at it as his mandibles clicked. His vibrissae remained alert and twisting erratically with threatening hisses from the rattles at the end. The other male—Zoreth—did not seem inclined to pay them any mind even if Beverly cast him uncertain looks. He tried to reassure her with soft purrs, but it was difficult when his systems were entirely focused on protecting her from any potential threat or attack.

This was not his ship,Vanesga—although much of his memory was offline and disconnected from his current existence, he felt a small amount of relief when the name whispered from the dark depths of his memory. He could recall little of his past and cared little about the minor details of kin and house, but he also understood that having access to what he knew would help him more effectively protect and care for Beverly. It was because he understood the difference betweenVanesgaand this ship that he knew to be wary and processed that he could not be certain as to this vessel’s operation or programming.

What if the idiot male tried to trick them and put Talech back in stasis? He did not believe the male would kill him. It teased the depths of his memory that he would not, or could not, but the exact reasoning eluded him. But he did not put it past the male to remove him as a rival so that he could win Beverly’s favor unopposed.

Talech gnashed his mandibles, the angry clatter finally drawing Zoreth’s attention. The male tensed warily, and Talech could not resist a smug smile. The warrior was uncomfortable with his presence. He could not scent or taste it along his mandibles—his rival had better control over himself than that—but it was still betrayed in the tiniest muscular movements as the male regarded him.

“This way,” Zoreth hissed from between his teeth. “Garangais of a standard model designed for traveling through deep space. The layout should be similar to the explorer vessel that you operated.”

An explorer? Was that what he was? Talech hummed quietly to himself as he considered it and probed into the seething mess of his mind. As usual, it did not yield any result, but it was probable. There was a vague sense that he had traveled far. Constantly engaged on a wearying trek. And the endless march of loneliness.

A shiver ran through him as the yawning bleakness within the depths of his mind rushed forward through his processors. Alone was pain. Alone and strapped to a table. Alone and left broken and wounded in a small room. The terrible memories crowded his head until he shoved them back with a snarl.

The male in front of him dropped his hand to his blaster, and Talech shook his head, his vibrissae snapping as he instinctively stepped back and closer to the warm comfort of his female. His Beverly had become familiar with the monster within him and immediately reached for him, her hands coming to rest on the spurs of his jaw. She dragged his head down so that he was forced to crouch—but eagerly so—as she hummed comfortingly to him and ran her hands along the bony structure of his jaw, cheekbone, and brow as she had the first time that he had awoken from a night terror.

“You don’t need that,” Beverly snapped at the warrior. “Talech is in pain, you dick. Something in here, or something you said or did, set him off. His memory is a mess, so he doesn’t even know why he’s suffering the way he is. You don’t need to make it worse.”

Talech breathed her in as her voice dropped and she continued to whisper to him, reminding him to focus on his breathing. He did as he instructed, drawing her further into his system’s memory with every breath, reminding himself that he was not alone now. He had Beverly. Zoreth would not trick him or separate him from her. He would not be alone again.

A disgruntled look crossed the other male’s face, but he relented with a sigh and dropped his hand from his weapon as he spun away. “It may be kinder to leave him,” he growled as he stalked down the corridor, leaving them to follow after him. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced back at them. “We cannot calculate the extent of the male’s damage or if he will even be able to adapt to the mental stress of being confined within a ship in space.”

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