Page 6 of K'Vella

At his words, another male steps up with an unconscious Varon in his arms. Her white hair spills down from the top of her head, adorned with beads and small braids that remind me of the styles some females wore in my clan. Two of her pale lavender arms are tucked up against her side, and two hang limply toward the floor as the male brings her further into the ship.

It's my turn to snap my teeth. I grab the female and hoist her into my arms before a low purr rumbles in my chest.

"Sloane." I give her a worried expression. "I think your friend might've misled you."

Ixor might not like his sister being called a liar, but there's not much I can do about that.

Varons and Rytharians are not compatible. I can't think of a species that could be less compatible with me. Not only does her anatomy cause her only to conceive after climaxing, but she'll seal up tight to keep her partner's seed deep inside her. There's no way she can help me out with a rut if she's only able to have intercourse once every five or so days. Not to mention, if I knot her, I'll be causing her immeasurable pain as her body tries to seal up after we finish.

"Essa," I call after her and don't wait for her response as I head out of the navigation pit toward our small med bay.

Essa's quick to out-pace me and get everything set up in her little medical alcove. I lay the female on the bed and sit on my heels while I wait for Essa to check on her. Whatever else the males want, they can deal with Sloane and her mates for it. Even if I wanted to move away from K'Vella, I don't know if I could.

Something inside me, something I haven't felt before, is telling me that right here is where I'm meant to be. The purring never ceases, and for once, I'm not embarrassed by the sound rumbling in my chest.

three

K'Vella

"She should wake in a few seconds." A feminine voice pulls me out of my slumber.

I groan and reach for my head, which feels like it's spinning. I don't know where I am, just that I'm lying on my back and there's a pleasant, rumbling sound surrounding me. It's not a sound I've ever heard before, but it's comforting. It's almost like it's making me feel warm and protected. Strange feelings to have from a sound, but I'm not going to question it. Not when it feels so nice.

"Oh, right on time. Welcome back, my name's Essa and—"

"Where?" My voice is rough as I cut her off.

I don't mean to be rude, and I hope she doesn't take offense. But I'm confused and definitely not in my bed. The confusion is short-lived, as the events right before I passed out come back in full blast: receiving a comm message from Via, meeting her brothers, and jumping far too close to another ship.

"Never warp jumped before?" Essa asks me.

I blink a few times, trying to open my eyes against the bright lights in the room around me. She comes to stand in front of one of the lights, and I make out her features.

Her skin's a shimmering golden color, and her black hair is pulled up in a messy bun between two dark horns spiraling out of her forehead. Her eyes—all two of them—are a bright yellow with large, overblown pupils. It's hard to tell from the angle, but she looks to be a tall female. I'm sure she'll be taller than me, and I'm already tall, even by Varon standards.

Essa gives me a bright smile, flashing slightly too pointed canines, and repeats the question. "Was that the first time you've ever warp jumped?"

"Yes." I nod, and the world spins again. I blink a few times and try to gather my thoughts. Of course, in my confusion, I say the embarrassing part of this whole situation. Well, one of them. Really, everything that's happened so far has been humiliating. "Via told me she found a male willing to help me with my problem?"

The soft rumbling sound intensifies, and I relax back against the bed, not caring too much that I maybe shouldn't have started by admitting to needing a male to help me conceive. A soft moan escapes my lips as my body relaxes. "That's nice."

"Holoth, enough," Essa says to someone next to me.

Next to me?

I look to the side and am met with a male who looks so vastly different from a Varon male that I'm not sure if I find him attractive or ugly.

This male, Holoth, is wearing nothing but a pair of dark leather pants. His light hair is pulled back into a braid down over his shoulder. The beige coloring of his skin is much less vibrant than the soft shades of purple on Varons. His frame is much smaller than that of a male of my species, but that's to be expected due to missing two arms. The black lines of his geneticmarkings swirl and decorate his exposed skin. My eyes fall down his chest and abdomen, wanting to know how far the markings go.

Holoth sits completely still and allows me to assess him. When I bring my gaze back to his face, I realize why he looks so startling. He only has two eyes and those furry things above them. Oh, I'm not sure if I can do this.

Then the vibrations fill me again, and I think maybe it won't be so bad. They fill me at the perfect moment. Just as I'm starting to panic, they calm me. I sigh as my muscles all seem to loosen at once.

"K'Vella," Essa says my name again, but it's so hard for me to answer her when the temptation to fall back asleep is right there as the soft rumblings lull me into a calmness that I don't think I've ever felt before.

There's movement in the room, and then a low growl replaces the soft rumbling. It doesn't last long, but it startles me enough to open my eyes again. Holoth is standing now. The muscles on his back tense and flex. His shoulders heave as he takes deep breaths, and again, the low rumble of a growl fills the air.

Oh, the growl, the calming sound—they all come from Holoth.

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