Page 9 of Drengr
Steff looked around our circle. "If you have any questions for Njal, feel free to ask them now."
Silence fell. I had a lot of questions about Vikingar, but I felt it was better to ask Steff, not this huge, intimidating alien. When nobody spoke up, Steff waved goodbye at her mate before ending the transmission. Immediately, everyone started talking at once, but one question made me laugh hysterically: "What do they look like under their trousers?"
8
Errik
We spent all day watching our females. After lunch, we were finally given access to private feeds that we could watch in our bedrooms or on screens around the house. I retreated to my room, glad that Rune didn't have the same idea. I settled on the bed - I found it peculiar that the bed stayed in the same position all day and didn't transform into other furniture like on the Valkyr - and swiped through the camera feeds until I found the female I was looking for.
After they'd met Njal over a video call, the females had asked the most ridiculous questions. Steff had tried to answer every one of them, no matter how peculiar. A lot of them centred around our Vikingr habits, food, lifestyle - understandably, they wanted to know what life with a Vikingr would be like. A few asked about reproduction and what our bedrooms were like. That female had to be very interested in interior design to ask such a boring question. Steff only smiled and told them they'd find out for themselves and that they shouldn't be worried.
A knock on the door was followed by Njal invading my room. He glanced at my screen, which currently showed the silver-haired female talking to two other, less interesting Peritans.
"Did someone tell you?" Njal asked, a smirk on his lips.
"Tell me what?"
He pointed at the female. "You stormed out of the room last night before I could tell you about your mate. That's her. I assume someone told you?"
My heart beat so hard in my chest that it almost hurt. I stared at her, the female I'd been fascinated by from the moment I'd first seen her. Was it possible that I'd be drawn to her by our mate bond even though we'd not met in person? A deep ache above my cock made me wince. I clutched my crotch, ignoring Njal completely.
"Is it your mating axe?" my Captain asked sympathetically. "I know it's uncomfortable while it grows and settles into its future shape. Several of the other males have reported that the process has started for them as well. I always assumed it was necessary for mates to touch or at least meet, but this shows it's enough to see them on screen."
I suppressed a wince. "How long does it take?"
"For it to stop hurting? Until you mate with her. That's when it takes on its final shape. And if your cock isn't hard already, it will be from the moment you finally meet her. It was torture."
I didn't tell him that I'd been semi-erect all night. Instead, I stared at the screen again, at mymate. Had it been a coincidence that I'd found her the most interesting among all the females, or was this the universe pointing its starry finger?
"Her name is Holly Lancaster. She's a teacher. 38 Peritan years old. And-"
"What?" I growled.
"She's had a mate in the past. He died."
A hundred emotions burned through my shattered heart. Pain for her, the same pain I had felt for the past two rotations. And relief, because she'd know what it was like. Sadness, on her behalf. Nobody should ever have to mourn their mate. And then there was a tiny spark of something else, something I couldn't quite identify. It lit up the dark halls of my heart, flickering softly but steadily.
"Maybe I should have let her tell you that," Njal said. "But I thought it's important that you know. The two of you are similar in so many ways. Everything I read about her matches you."
"There is more? Tell me."
"Not yet. You can find out everything when you meet her. It's much more fun to get to know your mate that way. Trust me, I know. I still discover fascinating things about Steff every day. Most of them good."
"Most?"
Njal chuckled. "Don't tell her I said that. I'm needed back on the Valkyr. Will you be alright?"
I glared at him. "I'm a Vikingr warrior. I'm not weak."
"I never said you were. In fact, I consider you one of the strongest males I know."
With that, he left, leaving me to ponder his words. Despite my bluster, I didn't feel strong.
All my youth, I'd trained to be a drengr, a warrior. I worked my way up the ranks through skill, determination and brutality. Being assigned to the Valkyr had been an achievement I'd celebrated with an entire barrel of ale. I'd seen myself as an undefeatable warrior - until the day our planet was destroyed and I'd lost everything. That's when I'd realised that I'd not been strong. I'd only pretended to be. The realisation had been a small hurt compared to the loss of my kvenn, my family, but it had stung nonetheless. Just because I was able to beat almost any Vikingr in combat didn't mean that I was strong enough to deal with the universe's greatest weapon: the agony of love.
I chuckled darkly. Was I becoming a poet now? I'd fail at that as well.
A movement on the screen made me focus on the silver-haired female again. She'd walked over to Steff and was talking to her. I turned up the volume to listen to their conversation.
