Page 26 of Invasion of Sorority Z

As soon as she leads me into her fortress of food, my breath halts in my lungs. But hers does not. She jumps into a long explanation of each section, showing me close looks of the unique methods she has crafted to assure successful plantings. She has some hanging from loose metal rope wire, some in the ground, some in pots and others deep underneath the soil.

“So yeah, this is the garden,” she tells me, catching her lip between her dull, white teeth. “I didn’t have much to work with at first, but I figured out how to rig the water supply over here and filter it. From there, I built some hydroponic planters and used old pipe equipment to distribute water to the regular plants.” Stee-vee toys nervously with her fingers while showing me her garden. Her food sources that she must care a great deal for.

Stee-vee tells me that while most plants came from Anna’s family, more than six of them were a result of her clever thinking. She saved plantable foods left from before theiroutbreakof the undying disease, and used them as seeds. By properly preparing them, she was able to grow more from only bits of uneaten food.

When I comment on her intellect in this method, she shrugs. “Lots of humans do it. Potatoes are like the easiest thing in the world to plant. All you need is a couple of old ones and you can make so many more. Carrots and onions were easy too.”

“Did any of your sisters think of this?”

She snorts. “Well, no. We all have different areas we take care of, I guess.”

“If many hu-nims do this, but none of your companions thought to, that makes you clever. It does not matter what others have done, it matters what you do.”

She smiles. “You make it sound like I’m some sort of special genius or something.”

I look directly into her lovely eyes. “There is not a soul more special or genius than yours, little blossom.”

Her chest rises with the intake of air. “Little blossom?”

“It is, how you say, anickname. B’rook calls youhun.I call you little blossom.”Mylittle blossom.

“Who told you about nicknames?”

I chuckle. “I needed to learn the word that your people called it, but Aprixians name one another often. Drak calls An-nanamean one,after all.”

“Right,” she says. “So, you like it then?” Gesturing to the garden, I understand her question.

Likefeels like quite a small word to describe what I feel when I see her work. I am… undone by her. The way she sees the life inside of what she has created. The way she cherishes and nurtures it. I feel her soul dancing with mine, even if hers does not glow for mine. We are the same, this hu-nim and me. Very much different, and yet the same also.

I don’t recognize myself as I take her hand, using it to guide her. She makes a small noise in her throat as I back her against the garden fence. She is mine, this creature. Stee-vee is Marrec’s. As much as Marrec is Stee-vee’s.

I will bring her with me whenever I must go in this universe, but first, I will bring her home. We will explore the hanging gardens, and plant seeds of our own.Iwill plant myseedin her. She will swell with my children as many times as she allows. I cannot see my life without hers alongside it.

“Marrec?” Her voice is soft and unsure.

Staring down at her lovely face, I am overcome with many feelings. She is so precious and sweet that it is hard to believe she is destined to be mine. I should be slow with her—declare my intentions and give her time to digest them, but I cannot.

Images of my mouth on hers, and my hands deep in the softness of her hair flood my mind, and I wish for them to be real. I long to hold her close, and never let her go. All thoughts of patience dwindle, and my control is lost in the heat of our stare. My Stee-vee is too perfect to resist in this moment, and I must show her. I must taste my name from her lips so that she knows it is meant to be there.

“I must have you now, little blossom,” I say gently, cupping her face. “I long to taste your mouth on mine.”

“Oh,” she squeaks, face turning pink. “Okay, all right—”

She desires me as well. It is a sensation like no other, tasting those words in the air.

Without knowing precisely what I am doing, I swoop down, hungrily covering her lips with my own. The first contact sizzles between us, skin scorching hot. My Stee-vee does not shy away from our connection, but presses closer to me, sealing it tighter. Her hands find my abdomen and latch around its sides. I close the small gap between our bodies and everything inside of me lights up even brighter.

She makes a small gasp, her lips parting. Our tongues touch, and I nearly come inside of my trousers. She tastes like fresh water and the ap-pull fruits she enjoys very much. I decide they taste much better coming from inside of my mate’s mouth. I will feed them to her more now.

“Marrec,” she says, voice laced with a plea. “Why does this feel so good?”

“Because you are mine,” I growl. “Because I am yours.”

“What does that even mean?”

Our mouths are hovering inches apart, and I want nothing more than to seal them together once more. I want to twist tongues with my mate. My beautiful, sweet-tasting mate.

“Ho-lee shit! Are you guys making out?”

---