Page 3 of Argurma Monster

Beverly, his mind hissed, supplying the name through the turmoil rioting through him. He latched onto it and purred happily. Beverly. His Beverly. His female. And soon, his mate. It was only a matter of time. Now that they were alone, he could win her trust and affection. They would have serenity while they began to communicate again. She would enjoy it. She seemed to take pleasure talking to him before. Furthermore, he was certain that he could prove himself a worthy mate without the distraction of a rival.

Warmth curled through him at the thought of his female, and Talech purred softly with the rapid vibration of his mandibles. Although he knew that technically she was not his mate yet, this was only a minor setback to his calculations. She was not Argurma.

Argurma was what he was and what the stranger had been... he processed that much. Nor was this his home. His chosen mate was not one his mother house would have approved of on Argurumal, but he was pleased with his choice. She was soft and vulnerable. He was certain that she would value his protection even more than a female of his own species. She did not yet understand his devotion nor how fiercely he would protect her. She was afraid. That was fine. He was patient. He could wait. He would prove himself until her fear receded and she came to him of her own choice. There was no other option.

He had to win her agreement to mate. He knew this from the flood of awareness from his processors that sent a quiet warning through him. It reminded him that males who attempted to force a claim upon a female were exterminated and removedfrom the gene pool. Even in his current state, his mind cast in shadows of instinct and need and his memory fragmented, he processed that.

He processed that, on his homeworld, his impulse would have been enough to see to his detainment if his mating drive triggered the primal output sensors in his internal systems. Even now he was aware there was a risk of being discovered. Uneasy, he cautiously tried to tap into his system’s mainframe, cognizant of the fact that somehow his systems were tracked through it, but found nothing. Was it destroyed? He did not recall, and the thought momentarily sent a current of apprehension through him as he struggled to remember. When was the last time he had even received an upload from his homeworld? It was before the experiments became a blur of pain and rage. He tested his connection again by another method and once again it failed. There was nothing but silence.

Silence within the system links was one of the worst fears of many Argurma, but for him it was a blessed peace that was followed shortly by a shocking sense of relief. If he could not access them, then both ends of the link were destroyed. He was safe. His mandibles stretched wide with the feeling of triumph that rushed through him. The Argurma intruder was gone and the council’s uplink no longer existed. There was nothing to pose a danger to him and his mate. The council could do nothing now. They had no power over him.

His vibrissae rattled and twisted around him in a reflection of his mood as he whirled around, his eyes falling on the dead predator collapsed nearby in the sand. There was much to be done to prove himself to his mate, but he was certain that he at least proved to some significant degree his ability to protect. He had slain the creature, though it had not been easy to kill, and had chased off the warrior who had seemed determined to take her despite already being mated. He protected his femalefrom both threats, and Talech hissed softly in triumph before spinning toward his female with an eager click of his mandibles. He quickly fell silent, surprise registering through the murk of his thoughts, as he noted that she was lying sprawled out on the sand exactly where he left her.

That surprise, however, shifted to concern as he calculated her position and noted that she was not only lying there but had not moved at all. He gave a staccato series of clicks, and his vibrissae rattled with worry as he strode past the bloody remains of the monster that had attacked her. Had she been harmed after all? He scanned her inert form as he came within range, his optical sensors promptly taking rudimentary life form readings. He had not processed that she would have sustained any life-endangering injury from her attack, but it was possible that her species was even more delicate than he calculated. He grimaced as he acknowledged that the males he had killed prior to his nightmarish sleep had been ridiculously easy to dispatch. That they had managed to trap him at all within the stasis unit, much less capture him, spoke more of their ingenuity and determination as a species rather than any particular speed or strength.

A pained moan ripped from his chest as Talech dropped his knees, his insectoid spinal limbs folding back to scrape in the sand on either side of him. A sense of futility filled him as he was faced with the reality of his situation. His female had been harmed despite his best efforts. He had failed in his protection, but not entirely—she was not dead yet, though her body was covered in blood. He knew there was still a chance, even if a slim one, the moment his sensors picked up her weak pulse.

His hands skimmed urgently over her. The numerous slashes from the creature’s claws were ugly not life threatening, but he had missed the deep puncture in her back. Alarm grew within him as he examined them. At the time he had felt nothing butpanic and frenzy when he watched the creature slash into her, but he had been certain that he intervened in time. Now he wanted to kill it all over again as he saw the true extent of the injuries done.

Grief racked his large frame as he bent down and pulled her limp body into his arms. Throwing his head back, he bellowed out his agony though there was none now to hear. None to offer help. His triumph turned dust as his sorrow consumed him. Within that sorrow his buried mind was somehow still operating and presented him with a solution... one that he recoiled from.

The lab.

Every part of him protested at the idea of returning, his instincts connecting the white halls with pain, but his eyes fell on his female’s blood-splattered face and one of his spinal limbs came forward and brushed its long claw gently along her cheek.

For her, he would.

Holding Dr. Beverly Ryder’s body close to his, Talech stood, her name humming through his systems with his resolve as he turned back to the forest. He was not a medic, but he would see to her repairs. He would care for his mate.

Chapter 3

Beverly groaned loudly and the sound echoed around her. That was odd. Her last memory was of the beach and sand and the horrible pain that had consumed her when E302 attacked. Fucking alien monsters. The memory of being stabbed by something, followed by the sharp rake of its claws and the foul scent of its fetid breath surrounding her, was one that she would take to her grave.

But she wasn’t dead yet. Somehow she was still alive. And, unfortunately, in excruciating pain. Why the hell wasn’t she drifting within a medicated euphoria? There wasn’t even dullness to the ache that was a residual effect of coming down from pain medication. Instead, she felt raw, as if every nerve ending around her wounds were screaming with hot white agony as if freshly sewn back together. She was also certain that, aside from the gashes carved into her body, half of her body would also soon be covered in a massive bruise. Pain pulsed through her side and back as she moved with the familiar pull of stitches. Her stomach pitched with nausea in response, and she was sure that her skin felt feverish—perhaps due to an infection setting in. She would need antibodies administered quickly.

Someone had sewn her up. That realization rose above the frantic chaos of her thoughts, and she focused on it through the haze of pain filling her. How was that even possible? She had been left behind at her insistence, alone on the island as far as she knew. Unless Kaylar and Meg had ignored her and stayed behind to care for her? Her jaw clenched furiously—anger at her orders being ignored, and at herself for the sense of relief that swept through her that she hadn’t been abandoned to die alone. All the same, she was going to cuss them out for stupidly risking themselves when she’d told them not to. She wasn’t entirely sureif she otherwise wanted to punch them or kiss them for saving her and subjecting her to her current misery.

Especially since the stitches didn’t feel as seamless as the repairs conducted by a medical bed. Did Kaylar dig up a needle somewhere and just go at it? She was for sure going to thank him with a fist to the face...from Meg, naturally. There was no way she was going to punch an Argurma alien. Even if she had the ability to deliver that kind of punch, she didn’t want to be murdered for her effort. She would just have to appeal to Meg’s sense of fairness with the hope that she might humor her request.

Blinking the grit out of her eyes, Beverly peered groggily at the domed light above her as she became aware of the smell of antiseptic spray. Was she in the lab or the adjacent medical station? And why were the lights on? The power grid had failed... unless this was a backup generator that she hadn’t been aware of. Although she had familiarized herself with the primary systems, she was not one of the technicians running the facility. If so, it didn’t mean that the facility was fully, or even partially, operational. It only meant that it would only run minimal systems. Security wouldn’t be functioning, nor would most of the terminals within the labs. She whispered a frantic prayer that she wasn’t in one of the old labs.

Her gaze shifted to the side and slid along a pale green wall before coming to rest on the bed railing directly parallel with her face. Below the railing, she could see the control panel. A soft sigh of relief escaped her. She was in medical. Excellent. One of them had the sense to bring her here rather than elsewhere within the lab. That meant everything she needed was nearby even if her rescuer was not. And surely the med bed would be supported by a backup generator in case of an emergency. She squinted at the med bed’s code printed above the panel.

“MB-720,” she croaked and promptly winced at the dry ache in her throat. It felt as if she had gargled with glass. Despite the pain, she nearly shouted with relief when she heard the bed respond with a ping. “Scan and administer required doses of morphine and antibiotics.”

The bed pinged again, and a metallic arm promptly unfolded above her head. A blue light lit the bottom side of the arm, and it proceeded to run down her body, followed by two abrupt jabs as the medicine was distributed.

“Fuck!” she shouted and then whimpered, tears springing to her eyes and slipping free as a fresh lance of pain ran through her throat. Wiping away the tears with one shaky hand, she glanced uncertainly around what little of the room she could see. “Meg? Kaylar? Is anyone there? I could really use some water.”

Her words were greeted by the sound of someone shifting and standing at her other side. Her eyes fluttered closed with relief. Someone was there after all. Beverly turned her head toward it as a familiar rattling sound filled the room. Strange. She didn’t recall Kaylar being so expressive except when he was truly pissed off, but she was glad to hear it. She wasn’t alone in medical after all. Where Kaylar was, Meg wouldn’t be far away. Despite their differences, the other woman wouldn’t leave her to suffer. Kaylar she was not sure about—she didn’t imagine that they processed the pain the same way. Meg would know what to do, however. And once she had something to drink and a bit of bone broth from the kitchen, she was certain she would feel better. Already she could feel the pain meds flooding through her, distancing her from the pain ravaging her. Food would help settle her stomach.

“Kaylar, thank the gods. Where is Me—” Her words died on her lips and her eyes rounded with horror at the sight of the large male moving toward her bed.

Fear rose sharply from her gut, souring with a bitter, acrid taste that filled her mouth as she stared up at the large male looming over the medical bed, his blue eyes burning with their cold cybernetic light as he focused on her.

“Y... you aren’t Kaylar,” she whispered in a choked voice.

Taller and broader than Kaylar, and possessing a rougher, hardened appearance, this was a male that she couldn’t possibly confuse for anyone else. Especially not with the experimental additions that were a product of the lab. And he haunted her for it. His image had been burned into her mind for the decades she slept in stasis.

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