Page 11 of Nyanine's Divide

I growl as my teeth sink into her neck over my mark as if I can mark her a second time, but my cock releases all it has as if by her command. My hips slap into hers, pressing flush as she pants a chorus of yeses, holding me close. I don’t pull my teeth from her until my cock stops spasming, my body relaxing as I lie atop her, unable to comprehend exactly just what happened. Her words play on repeat in my mind until I can no longer keep my mouth shut.

“I’ll give you a baby one day, I promise. We’ll know when the time is right.”

Her body jerks beneath mine, and when I lift up, her eyes are wide. “Baby? Did I say that?” Panic races through our bond for a moment, twirling with some other conflicting emotions: joy, anxiety, fear, excitement.

I nod slowly, shifting my knees to lift them beside her hips. Her thighs close around my waist, keeping us connected, as I pull her up with me, holding her close as she straddles me. “You did, and something about that thought sent me into a feral mode, giving you what you wanted. But I know the time isn’t right. I can’t impregnate you now, but I’ll be able to someday. When we’re ready.”

“What do you mean? Is this about what your dad said, that we would know when the time was right?” Her brows crinkle in confusion, and I nod my head. I don’t know the specifics, all he ever taught me was that when mates were meant to have a child,they would know. Something would be different, obviously so. Ironically, despite my access to the knowledge, I never went searching for the answers. I preferred to wait until I mated and learned it first hand, choosing to believe that I’ll instinctively know how to properly care for my mate.

“It’s not something to worry about now. For now, me filling you is just practice.” I wink at her, making her huff a laugh, causing her core to tighten around me. Pulling her closer, I press into her, stopping her laugh with a bite of her lip. “How about we clean up and get to bed?”

“Can we go to the city tomorrow? I think it would be good to try and speak with a city official, see if there’s anything they can do to help us, maybe?” She shrugs, her blonde curls shifting and falling around her shoulders. I tuck a stray curl behind her ear and give her a tense smile.

“I suppose we can, but we’re not going around sightseeing or anything like that. In and out. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

I growl, nipping the air between us, and she laughs, grabbing my horns as I rise to my feet with her, carrying her into the cool river.

In the morning, we dress after a quick breakfast and take Kosiiba with us to the city. I don’t feel confident about this idea, I don’t like taking her to the city unless it’s to the lab, but I won’t stop her from accomplishing her mission. This is part of that. She’s doing what she thinks is right to make this mission a success, to find the answers to her questions, and the best thing I can do is help her, protect her.

Finding the city hall, we park and head inside the tall building. The receptionist greets us curtly and tells us that we’ll have to talk to the chancellor’s assistant about an appointment. She sends us to the elevator and up several floors near the top. Kari seems at ease in the elevator, not bothered at all by the heights from the windows around it as we watch the city shrink below us. Kosiiba blows out a breath, his hand tight on the railing.

My stomach drops a bit, and I watch the numbers climb instead, feeling his struggle. The lab is one level, no elevators. This is more difficult than flying off in a spaceship, and I don’t understand how that is, but it affects my stomach very differently.

Disembarking the elevator, we come out into a cozy reception area with plenty of flowers, making it smell enchanting and sweet. There are bowls and plates of snacks, bottles of water, and other amenities. The young woman behind the desk has straight black hair halfway down her back, a pretty blue dress hanging from her shoulders. She looks up as we approach, her smile wide and genuine as her green-blue eyes dart between each of us.

As she straightens, I can see that she’s a bit shorter than me, more Willa’s height, and a bit thicker in stature than Kari. Her voice is sweet as she asks how she can help us.

“Hi, we’re here to see the chancellor, if that’s okay? I’m Kari Hanley, the space captain from Earth who will be taking over the Kahbilla tribe in the future. The Guardians of the forest have sent me to seek help in fixing the divide between the cities and villages, to bring peace to this planet. I think that’s the gist of it.” She chuckles, and the girl behind the counter smiles brighter. I didn't think that was possible.

“Kari, it’s so good to meet you! That sounds like a big mission, I’m sure our chancellor would be interested in helping. Let me see if I can get a meeting with her, okay?” She drops into her seat and picks up the phone. We step back to give her some privacy.

Kari blows out a long breath as we wait, and I can feel her nerves through our bond. Kosiiba must as well because he stays close, his eyes always on alert. I pull her into my side. “All will be fine. We’ll figure this out one step at a time, no matter what her answer is, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” She nods, her eyes on the receptionist. We watch as her face goes blank, her head nodding, before she slowly hangs up the phone and stands.

We step back up to the counter as she clears her throat. “I’m sorry, but the chancellor isn’t taking any meetings today. Or this week.” Her eyes drop to the counter, and I get the sense that she’s lying, but I won’t call her out when I have no proof. For all I know, her job could be on the line if she doesn’t do as told, so I won’t be the one to make this hard on her.

“Look, I think what you’re trying to do is a good thing, and I’d like to help how I can. Let me take your information so I can reach out, maybe I can convince her to take a meeting later on, yeah?”

Kari nods and takes the paper and pen she offers, writing down our village, her comm information, and name. As she hands it back, the girl holds out her hand. “I’m Kristiella, by the way. My friends call me Krissie.”

“It was really nice to meet you, Krissie. I hope we can get in touch soon. Thank you so much for your help.” Kari smiles at her and shakes her hand. Krissie smiles back and clings to the paper with our information. As we head back to the elevator, Kari looks back, catching Krissie’s eye before the doors close. Krissie waves as the doors slide closed, and Kari’s hand lifts just before the doors meet.

“I hope she can convince her to meet us. I really need all the help I can get.” She sighs, defeated, as she turns and looks out the windows, watching the city. Her mood stays in that dourstate the entire drive home, and I wish there was someone I could call to help her find the answers she seeks.

Chapter 8

Kari

Sitting out on the back porch with Vahru, we stare at the forest around us as we munch on breakfast and sip our tea to wake up. The woods are quiet, just the wind and occasional rustle of leaves by a small critter. My comm rings, breaking the calming quiet, and I fish it out of the pocket on my astronaut pants. Every now and then, I wear them again, reminding me of the day I came and the world I left behind. It’s a bittersweet feeling.

Flipping the comm open, I see Charlie’s smiling face. “Hey, Captain! I got that laptop you asked for you. Care if I drop by?” He looks older somehow, despite having seen him just a few days ago, his features turning from boyish to rugged. It’s so odd that he seems to age so quickly.

“Sure, we’re at home, so I’ll drop you our coordinates.” Closing the comm, I quickly message him our location, and the portalopens just in front of the porch, depositing him at my feet. He’s wearing a black t-shirt with some logo I’ve never seen and greasy jeans. His sandy hair is shaggy as if he’s been running his hands through it. He’s disheveled but in a good way.

He pulls some things out of the bag across his chest, handing me the laptop with a small notebook. “Those are instructions on how to use some of the advanced stealth features programmed into the laptop. Kij is better than anyone I’ve met when it comes to tech, so he’ll have protected this thing better than anyone in the universe. It’s safer than safe.”

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