Page 8 of Argurma Monster

Even though they slept together every night to provide each other mutual comfort as they had since that first night of recovery when she woke screaming from her nightmares, there was something about taking care of him that made her feel even more connected to him—even when his attitude infuriated her. Perhaps that was why she had soothed him in turn when his confusion became too much to endure and his nightmares woke him from his sound sleep beside her.

What a pair they were. They clung to each other beyond instinct but by mutual need born from nightmares and pain.

But despite it all, they returned to the beach every day. At times Talech waded into the shallows to fish, his arachnid limbs plunging like numerous spears into the waves, and at other times the male had his most recent kill attached to his hip as they went. But they always ate at the beach. Even when he was unable to eat meat in order to heal properly, he still insisted on taking her down there and feeding her so that she could enjoy the fresh air and sun.

They had been going down daily for weeks when she suddenly noticed something new on the beach. Startled, she grabbed Talech’s arm as excitement rose rapidly within her breast.

“Talech... is... is that a ship?”

The hatch suddenly opened and a lean but powerfully built male roughly a head shorter than Kaylar had been, and even more so compared to Talech, strode out across the beach. Her eyes widened. They were rescued!

Then the beast beside her roared furiously before taking off at a full run toward the male. Beverly stared in horror after him, her mouth dropping open. He was going to tear their rescuer apart before they could even get off the damn island!

“Talech, no!” she shouted as she took off after him.

Chapter 7

Zoreth’s mission was a simple one. Arrive at the specified coordinates on Earth, retrieve Kaylar, and return to their house fleet. He recalled stepping out from his ship and walking across the sand as he made his way to the edge of a forest... and then nothing.

Odd.

Blinking, he squinted at the bright sunlight cutting through the trees above him. He did not know what hit him, but some of his systems were still malfunctioning. Frowning, he attempted to establish contact with Veral... and failed. He groaned and sat up, his hand going to his head as it spun. It would take his microsystems a while to repair whatever damage he suffered. In the meantime, he could not process what exactly had happened to him. The island seemed pleasant enough, but then—

A shadow fell over him and he froze, his sensors sending a rush of information through him that made his scales prickle. Swinging around, he rolled to his feet, keeping his body crouched low to the ground, only to see a monstrous creature looming over him, mandibles spread wide as eight skeletal, metallic limbs unfolded aggressively. Zoreth’s vibrissae rose in response. Whoever this was, although it had once been Argurma, it was not Kaylar or anyone else of the line. And the modified Argurma was registering as a threat across his systems as Zoreth prepared to defend himself and terminate the male if necessary.

If it is even possible, Zoreth recognized with a grimace.

To his hasty calculations, the odds were not in his favor. The male would know that as well, and he could see that knowledge in the dangerous gaze staring down at him. Those eyes unnerved him, as much as he detested to acknowledge it. There wassomething feral within that gaze—as if all the advances that had refined Argurma civilization had been stripped away from the male and replaced with a ferality and six deadly weapons attached to his spine. The long metal limbs arched aggressively with their metal claws poised over him. Curiously, the attack never came. Instead, the male vibrated with hostility—and warning.

“Mine!” the male snarled.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I keep telling you that I am not yours. And don’t go hitting him again, Talech,” an infuriated female voice belted out as a small, pleasantly rounded figure pushed by the monstrous Argurma.

The presence of the human was startling. Although Zoreth had prepared himself for possibly encountering humans, the moment Kaylar’s last known coordinates brought him to the island, any hopes he had were crushed into stardust. And yet here she was, standing in front of him with a delightfully adorable look of hostility on her face as she glowered up at the monster before turning to inspect him with a worried gaze.

Zoreth dragged in a deep breath, unable to help himself as her tantalizing pheromones hit the receptors on the inside of his mandibles. Shock rolled through his system with the awareness of the one thing he had lost hope of finding—standing in front of him was a compatible female. He had been unable to make any calculations for how finding a potential mate might affect him, but just breathing in her pheromones brought a certain pleasure that drew him and inspired a longing within him.

He now processed how it was that Veral, the first among their kind to find a human mate, had been lured by his instincts into keeping the human close and caring for her until the mating bond formed. Such a mating to an obviously weaker, dependent species had seemed illogical, and he had privately pitied the male—until now. There was something so decadent about thisfemale’s scent and flavor on his receptors that it was like sinking into the bliss of a sweet cup of yanili brew.

“You weren’t harmed, were you? Your head is undamaged, yes? I’m afraid you took quite a blow, but as long as everything is functioning right and you can get us the hell out of here, that’s all that matters.” Her frown returned when he failed to immediately respond, enraptured as he was with the first taste of her pheromones. Her brows lowered and her head whipped toward the other male at her side. “Look at what you did! He’s braindead now. What use is he to us if he can’t get us off this damn planet?”

She was truly magnificent. A soft purr stirred from him as his mandibles instinctively vibrated for her, drawing a menacing growl from the male hovering above him. The female, however, made a sound of disgust as she moved away from both of them.

“Oh, fuck, not you too!”

Zoreth blinked as he registered surprise and then understanding as what the female said sank into his processors. He narrowed his eyes on the other Argurma. The male dared to make a mating claim? He could overlook the attempt on his life as Argurma were naturally of a warlike disposition, but for the male to make a mating claim—such things were not permissible. On Argurumal, compatibility did not guarantee a mate. The choice belonged to the female, and he could not even adequately care for her if she was needing another male to intervene for her safety. And she was clearly in need given her confusing jumble of words.

This Talech had no rights here. Zoreth’s eyes narrowed on the male as he slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows. Unlike their distant ancestors, their society changed from the aggressive claiming of primitive male Argurmas to a society ruled by mothers and queens. Males could refuse a female’s desire to mate, but he otherwise had little power other thanto show his ability to protect and provide. Laws protected the female’s rights and were upheld by males of the line. Not one member of his mother house would protest if he terminated the male at the female’s behest. He just needed her permission recorded—or proof of immediate danger and a forced mating. Of which there were no signs of either.

Instead, all the male’s aggression and potential for violence were aimed directly at Zoreth and him alone as the male hissed and bared his teeth. The female, however, huffed loudly, promptly silencing the male who glanced over at her in confusion. To Zoreth’s surprise, Talech drew back with an unhappy grumble, though the male’s eyes never left him once.

Despite the male’s hostility, Zoreth felt the tension ease from him in trusting compliance to the female’s judgment. The male’s retreat at her implied command also indicated that the broken Argurma was actually cognitively yielding entirely to her whim. It seemed that despite exhibiting signs of primal Argurma claiming behavior, the male had instinctively fallen into ritualized courting behavior. As such, Zoreth could not justify termination, but it also meant that, since there were no immediate claims, the male was unlikely to react with deadly violence if he were to court the female, despite how much it infuriated the other male.

“A word of warning,” the female offered with a thin smile, “I wouldn’t push Talech here too far. Helikesme and isveryprotective of me. He won’t be happy if you try something.”

Try something? Ah, she refers to forced mating.

Zoreth inclined his head to her respectfully. “I have no intention of inflicting harm.”

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