Page 23 of Fated to the Alien Chieftain

“He said the priestesses lead him and his Mortakin-Kis to stand beside Machsin and Dagdorix beneath the spiral, and that they embraced.” I scratch my head, trying to remember the exact wording. “Then he said they experienced a vision, which he refused to elaborate on.”

“Embraced?” Pebbles repeats, her eyes examining one of the shadow images cast onto the ground. “If these window projections are any clue, those priestesses would have got quite the eye full,” she says, laughing.

I chuckle, looking at the surprisingly detailed lude shadow image of two Klendathians having sex once again. “Harkus would never mate with so many eyes on him. He’s not the type.”

Pebbles smiles, walking toward me in a sultry way, her beautiful hips swaying visibly even though she’s wearing her golden armor. “There areotherways to embrace,” she teases, her cute pink tongue flashes out to lick her lips.

Gods, she’s beautiful!I close the distance between us in an instant. Pebbles gasps in shock at my speed as I place one arm around her waist and a hand gently on her face. I look down into her large hazel eyes, sparking and reflecting the same need I feel for her. I gently lower my head to rub my nose against hers. The dainty feel of her soft skin produces a sharp inhale from me, causing her to giggle at my reaction.

I interrupt her giggles by moving my lips to massage hers, enjoying the soft, full feeling of them. Greedily, I press for more by probing with my tongue, seeking entry into her, while squeezing her tightly against me. She releases a muffled moan, opening her mouth in gorgeous surrender. I take advantage, seeking the moistness within her. When our tongues meet and caress, I feel the familiar stirring of my cock demanding to be released.

Pebbles pulls away, panting. “I think that qualifies,” she says, fanning her face.

“Qualifies? Oh yes, the trigger.” I smile like a lost fool before remembering what we were doing. Frustration soon replaces my lustful excitement as I look around the area to see nothing has changed. “No signs, no whispers, nothing.”Surely the Gods haven’t forsaken us now?

Pebbles looks down at her hands, her face uncertain.She doesn’t believe it will work.“Krogoth...” she begins, before pausing. She looks up at me, her face full of pity and worry.

“I know what you would say, that the Mortakin-Tok won’t work, that the Gods will not bless our union?” I ask, my voice steady and firm.

Pebbles nods weakly before she glances away, unable to withstand my glare. “I’m sorry, but everyone said it wouldn’t work.” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know much about all these rituals. But Krogoth, it’s never been done before and they said it was extremely rare, even with your own people.”She meets my eyes again, a small smile on her lips. “It doesn’t mean anything, just the way it’s set up to be.”

Anger and disappointment rage within me. “How can you say ‘it doesn’t mean anything?’ After everything we’ve been through?” I turn my back on her, my mind racing.

“Krogoth, I didn’t mean–” she pleads.

“It means everything to me! You mean everything to me!” I shout, turning to face her. A pang of sadness creeps within me, seeing the hurt and worry on her face, but the torrent within me refuses to stop.

“What was the point of all this then? Some cruel joke? That Astraxius died to some voiding scum ridden Glaseroids for nothing? His research, all lies?” A bitter laugh escapes me. “And the visions, tormenting me of your death, who sent them? Just my descent into madness? They came to you also, remember? Madness must be very contagious.”

I pace back and forth, my raw thoughts spilling from me unfiltered. “Why do I feel such overwhelming love for you, yet felt nothing for the thousands of others? From the very first moment I laid eyes on you, it was different. This makes no sense.”

I slump to the ground with my back against the statue of Dagdorix. For the first time in my life, a sense of total loss and hopelessness consumes me. “This was supposed to be a way out, a new future for my people. I betrayed the War Chieftain, led my warriors to their deaths, nearly got you killed, only to lead us here… a temple of broken dreams.” I stare at my trembling hands, the earlier fervor replaced with anguish.

A long moment of silence passes as my stomach twists in knots, grappling with the aftermath of my rare outburst.What will we do now? Will Pebbles want to stay after witnessing such weakness?The sound of her approaching snaps me back to reality.

“Look at me,” she says. I gaze into her moist, glistening eyes. She wears a soft smile behind a sorrowful face, offering me her hand.

I stand, peering down at her before she takes my hand. “I don’t need you, the Gods or anybody to tell me how I feel.” She smiles sweetly, as beautiful as ever. “Because I love you, Krogoth, and I know you love me too.”

My heart fills with affection for her. This is enough for me. To be with her forever, whatever comes our way. “I’ll always love you, Pebbles.” Suddenly the ground shakes and rumbles beneath our feet. We both look around in a panic. That’s when I notice Pebbles and I are both in the exact same pose as the statues of Dagdorix and Machsin. “The trigger was the pose!” I shout excitedly, struggling to be heard over the rumbling of stone.

Realization dawns on Pebbles’ face as her eyes dart between us and the statues. Our circular stone platform shoots upward into the spiraling tower above at unbelievable speed. She clutches onto me as we both glance around, seeing only total darkness. “I don’t like this. I feel like I’m going to vomit,” she says, squeezing me tighter.

I stroke the back of Pebbles’ head gently. “Be brave. The vision comes next,” I say, but when I move to stroke her soft hair again, I feel nothing. In shock, I look down to discover she is gone, and I’m floating suspended in utter, total darkness.

“Where is she?!” I demand. But no sound emerges from my lips. There’s no sound at all.Am I even breathing?Then I feel myself being pulled through the void, hurtling towards some new destination. I can see lights of many colors and hues streaking across the blackness, filling the void with ever-increasing detail and awareness. It builds and builds until I’m somewhere new, a place I’ve never seen before.

My breath is being filtered by a warvisor, my warvisor? My senses are flooded with awareness from the mask. The airhere is extremely toxic, poisonous even, not fit for any living creature. This room is like a huge cavernous tunnel, but instead of rock and stone, it’s constructed from dark gray metal. With an overwhelming number of grooves, holes, wires, tubes, it resembles the guts of some enormous monster, but that cannot be.

The tunnel is also completely dark, with not a single source of illumination. If not for my warvisor, I wouldn’t see an inch in front of me.What is this place?There’re others with me, twenty or so Klendathians, by the looks of them. Although, they appear sickly, hunched over, with thin and weak limbs. But it’s hard to be certain underneath their strange garb, triangle shaped suits in garish colors with comically wide shoulders that end in points.

They all carry weapons, ballistic rifles and primitive looking rockets. The sight is strange to my eyes. My war brothers would make quick work of them, maybe even my Prospects could handle them with ease! It’s only when I glance down do I notice, to my chagrin, I’m carrying the same equipment as them, and my body is not my own but is as thin and stooped as they are.Gods give me strength.

They nervously glance around them, mumbling, clearly not used to this strange environment, either. “Where is Pebbles?” I demand, wondering if she is among the group.

“Pebbles, Patriarch?” a red-haired Klendathian asks, his accent strange. There’s a haughty, arrogant tone to it. Each syllable is drawn out as if to deliberately waste time.

“A female, Rocks or Roxy?” I ask, looking around the masked faces, hoping she can hear me. “Pebbles, are you here?”

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