Page 17 of Drengr
I didn't have the same revelation as my mate. I was still confused.
Until - "You're pregnant," Njal blurted. Ignoring the rest of us, he hugged his female, cradling her in his embrace. Instinctively, I tightened my hold on my own mate.
"I think they need a moment," Holly muttered to me. "Shall we go to wherever the shuttle picks us up?"
Instead of an answer, I stood, but didn't let go of my mate. I lifted her to my chest, carrying her in my arms. I ignored the snickers from my fellow Vikingar. I also ignored Holly's protests. Once we were halfway to the shuttle bay, she calmed down and nuzzled her face against my chest. I smiled down at her. She made a weird tsking sound, but then returned my smile.
"This is a one-off," she chuckled. "I won't have you carrying me around like some caveman. The only exception is after our wedding. You can carry me over the threshold. Wait, did I just propose to you? Ignore everything I just said."
"I will not ignore it," I boomed. "And there will be a Brullaup-wedding. If you will have me."
"You'd think this is all moving very fast, but yes, I do. We only just had our first date. Is it normal for Vikingar to have a date and then marry?"
I laughed at her random babbling. She was adorable when she got flustered.
"When a Vikingr meets his mate, he will claim her without a date," I explained, my cock hardening again at the thought. "Brullaups are for later, only to make things official. The date was the agency’s idea, to help you feel at ease."
"What about getting to know each other? That's what dates are for. Finding out if the other person is a good match."
I chuckled again. I seemed to do a lot of laughing in Holly's company. I liked it. Hadn't realised just how much I missed laughing at random, trivial things.
"The other person will be a good match if they're your mate," I explained. "We trust in the mating bond. And... it's not easy to resist the urge to mate. Thefýst is strong in Vikingar, both for males and females. You Peritans don't seem to have the same forceful physical desire, but for us, it's almost impossible to fight it for long."
"Are you fighting it now?" she asked softly.
I wanted to show her my aching mating axe, my permanently hard cock, but instead, I simply nodded.
"Is it difficult?"
"Yes," I admitted. "If I could, I'd set you down, bend you over and take you against the wall right here."
I looked down to observe her reaction. Her pink cheeks turned darker while her lips parted slightly. I wanted to kiss her so badly.
"I almost wish you'd do that," she whispered, but then shook her head. "But we can't. We have a job to do."
Sadly, she was right. So, I increased my pace, hurrying towards the shuttle bay, wishing all the while that I could turn my desires into reality and fuck her like I needed to.
13
Holly
Asleek, ovoid vehicle was parked in the same huge hangar where we'd arrived last night. Had it really only been yesterday? It felt like I'd known Errik for months, years even. I didn't doubt that we were mates. It felt right to be in his arms. I never wanted to be anywhere else ever again. He grounded me, filled a part of me I hadn't realised was missing. And for the first time since I'd lost Brian, I was in love again. I wasn't some young girl who couldn't identify the buzz in my stomach, the pounding in my heart. I'd loved in the past. I knew exactly what it felt like. And now it was back. I was in love with Errik. How was that even possible? It was all happening so fast. With Brian, we'd met many, many times, before either of us ever admitted our feelings. Or maybe they'd simply developed very slowly. We'd been together for over a year before we moved in together. Another year until we married. That had been the perfect pace for my life with Brian.
But Errik was different.
I was different.
I was older, more experienced. I knew what I wanted.WhoI wanted. The mating bond helped, but I didn't think it was the only thing that was helping me fall in love so quickly. Errik and I were two drifters, we'd loved and lost, and we'd suffered. We'd taken our time to put ourselves back together and now we were finally ready to start a new life. Together. All the things that had happened had only made us stronger. Had only brought us on this path that had led to this very moment.
"Everything will be fine," I said without thinking. It had to be. The universe wouldn't have let us meet if it intended to tear us apart again. I couldn't believe that. It wouldn't be fair.
With that boost of confidence, I slid out of Errik's arms and stood on my own two feet again. He took my hand, as if not touching me wasn't possible for him. I squeezed it, marvelling at the callouses on his palms.
"Take off your weapons," a male voice came from the shuttle. The very alien-looking spaceship had no obvious doors or windows. It was just a sleek, shiny grey egg-shaped body of metal that hovered two feet above the hangar's floor.
Errik pulled the two knives from the sheaths at his hips and carefully placed them on the floor. He handled the blades with such care that I made a mental note to ask him later what they meant to him. He was clearly attached to them.
Footsteps echoed behind us. Njal came hurrying, followed by the huge Vikingr he'd called Rune. Steff was absent; her mate must have convinced her that being pregnant was a good enough reason to stay behind. Not that it mattered where Steff was if the IGA decided to attack. Steff had made it sound like we didn’t stand a chance against their ships.
