Page 16 of Kiss of Fury

“Yes.” She smiled. He would hate being called little, but he would always be her little boy even after he became a grown-up man. “Do you have a family or a…spouse?” She’d started to say wife, having assumed Dr. Twygg was male, but given Willa and George’s asexual biology, she shouldn’t assume.

“I am alone. I will never mate,” he said with an odd vehemence.

“I’m sorry.” She sensed the usual platitudes,don’t give uporI’m sure you’ll meet someone special,were not appropriate. Nor had he asked for her advice. Not everyone wished to couple up.

“I chose life over mating,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I am a phasmid. My species mates by instinct. It is a biological drive that cannot be denied by either sex. It is the only way we can reproduce and propagate our species. It is not a choice but an imperative. When the female goes into heat, she exudes an irresistible pheromone. The male is compelled to impregnate her. Immediately after mating, the much larger and stronger female kills the male by biting his head off.”

“Oh my god!” She clapped a hand over her mouth.

“I had become a physician. I wished to continue to practice medicine andlive.”

“How do they get men to sign up for that?” she asked, aghast.

He smiled wryly. “As I said, it is not a choice. After a man reaches maturity, if he encounters a female in heat, he cannot avoid mating no matter how much he tries. It is like the Earth moth to the flame. We are taught it is a great honor to give one’s life for the preservation of the species—and a dishonor punishable by death to avoid it.”

“Either way, you die.”

“Exactly.”

“How did you avoid it, then?”

“As I got close to the mating age, before I became susceptible to the pheromones, my mother helped meescape. Despite killing my father, she loved me, and she wished for her son to live. She got me off Phasma. I wandered the galaxy until Refuge opened up. I was one of the first refugees to come here, and one of the first residents of Haven Ranch. My home world considers me a coward, and I would be executed if I returned.”

She was still reeling. “That’s…heavy. Thank you for sharing your story with me.”

“Doc? Hey, Doc! I need help!” someone called from the waiting area, and they rushed out to deal with the next patient.

Chapter Eight

Outside the perimeter fence, a small herd of escapees grazed.

Fury braked the conveyance, and he and Steel jumped out to survey the damage. Flattened, shattered rails lay in the grass, leaving a gaping hole in the barrier through which the animals had gotten out. “They trampled the hell out of the fence. It’s like they did it on purpose. Like they knocked it down and stomped on it.”

“With all six legs,” Steel agreed. “This is no quick fix. We’re going to have to rebuild.”

“That’s why we brought the plasticene.”

“I’d hate for you to miss your wedding this afternoon.”

That would make one of them. If he could, he’d postpone his fate. “Let’s clean up the mess and herd the hornigers inside. Hopefully, they won’t sneak out before we close the gap.” He picked up a broken rail and tossed it into the open wagon bed. When transporting passengers, the rear of the conveyancewas enclosed with a transparency. Work vehicles were left open.

Steel hauled an armload to the wagon. “We got the answer to your question.”

“What question is that?”

“Whether hornigers have tits.” He motioned with his head at a cow nursing a newborn calf.

Fury chuckled. “Teats anyway. Mama’s not going to be happy with us. Baby looks brand new. Couple of hours old.”

“Let’s hope they run in the right direction, and we don’t lose any,” Steel commented.

“Yeah, we could have used two vehicles for this.”

Fury tossed the last of the broken fencing into the bed. “You want to ride shotgun? I’ll drive. I’ll give them a wide berth, get them used to the vehicle, gradually close in, and with any luck, they’ll shift this way and won’t scatter.” Hornigers were unpredictable.

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