Page 72 of An Alien for the Future

I find my home.

20

TOVAN

My eyes snap open to darkness.

For a moment, I’m disoriented, my mind hazy and my body aching in ways I’ve never experienced before. Slowly, the fog begins to lift, and awareness seeps in.

I have akahl.

Deep in my chest is a new vibration. A song that sings only for her.

I blink, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light filtering through the curtains. As my senses sharpen, I become acutely aware of the warm body pressed against me. Donna. My mate. She’s tucked against my side, her breathing soft and even.

Carefully, I shift to look at her. Even in the low light, I can see the marks of our passion on her skin. A wave of tenderness washes over me, mixed with a hint of guilt. I know the rut is intense, but seeing the evidence of it on her delicate human form makes my core-beat stutter, makes my new core-rhythm falter.

I ease myself off the sleeping cushion, wincing at the protest of my muscles. As I stand, I survey the room, taking in the aftermath of my frenzy. The destruction is…substantial. Furniture overturned, drapes torn, personal items scatteredacross the floor. It’s as if a storm passed through, which, in a way, it did.

Me.

Glancing back at Donna, more guilt fills me. I have no idea how she will react to all this. Yes, she accepted my call. She accepted my bond…but she is human. Humans do not mate like this.

Her soft body accepted my every demand, but that doesn’t mean this was not a great sacrifice for her. For the rest of my days, I will make sure that she is taken care of. That she wants for nothing. That her happiness is profound.

It is a pledge I make as I stagger across the floor, taking a moment to brace against one wall.

I am weak. Need sustenance.

Something clenches within me as I cast my gaze back to the sleeping cushion. Vaguely, I remember pushing food and water into my mate’s mouth, but my memory is hazy. It could all have been a dream.

Leaving her to rest, I stagger into the front room, searching for food. There’s an open energy tab with one missing and I pray to the gods that Donna had been the one to take it before my rut claimed me. Taking the remaining tab, I lean against the wall, waiting for it to work.

Distantly, I hear a comm buzzing. Most likely Donna’s. I have no clue where mine is.

I stagger toward the sound, falling to my knees to retrieve the device from underneath a broken table.

My chest heaves with strained breaths as I accept the transmission.

A human female’s face is on the screen and I blink at it, recalling her visage. I met her once before. I remember now. I’d been in my nestkan, the sounds of her and her mate bondingechoing through the walls and making me yearn for something I thought I would never have.

Only, I have it now.

“Oh, hello Tovan. It’s good to see you. This means…this means it’s over?” Her piercing green eyes rival the color of my mane.

“It is finished,” I murmur, keeping my voice low as my gaze shifts to my mate. She’s still resting and I don’t want to disturb her. “We are one.”

“Fantastic!” The human screeches and I wince. “Oh, sorry. I remember how sensitive everything was after me and Varek…” She makes a sound in her throat. “I’m Catherine, by the way. Might as well introduce myself now, since you’re practically my brother-in-law.” She smiles, but it is hard for me to focus on anything except the fact all my muscles feel like string. I collapse on the floor, holding the comm up so I can see the screen. “Is…can I speak to Donna?”

“No.”

The human’s brow rises in, I suppose, surprise.

“She is still resting. It has been…hard on her.”

This Catherine nods. “That’s fine. I just wanted to check on you guys. Will it be alright if we stop by in a few days? We want to give you enough time to settle in together, but we also want to see her, if that’s okay.”

I want to growl. To tell them I don’t want to share my mate for the next few sols. That I want to tend to her in peace. But I am not barbaric. Donna needs these females. And…it is not only Arnak and me, anymore. She is right…I have new family now.

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