Pheromone, page 27
part #1 of For the Love of Aliens Series
“Look,” I start, feeling anger prick my skin. “I can deal with a lot of shit, but how stupid do you think I am? You’ve been living with the guy for years. You should know that he’s pretty much the opposite of everything you’ve just said.”
“He’s infected you! I bet you’re even thinking about staying here. It happens to all of them. I’ve met too many human females to count at this point.”
I smirk.
“You said I was the first person you’d been able to talk to in years. Nice try, Zero. I’ll take you to the market at some point because I promised that I would, but don’t talk shit about my mate. It’s really starting to piss me off.”
I turn away from her in time to see Abraxas prowling out of the woods—with a female Aspis trailing behind him. My mouth drops open. I feel suddenly exposed, looking around for a fur and grabbing one of the ones I left in the nook. I drape it over my shoulders as he hops up into the ship, dropping a dead … erm, thing on the floor. Looks a bit like a giant purple toad.
As I watch, several more females come out of the bushes to stare at us.
“What the … what the fuck?” I turn to Abraxas, but he looks so absurdly pleased with himself, the cat who fucked the cream. Or however that phrase goes. “Zero was insulting you, and I stood up for you, and what the hell is all of this?” I’m gritting my teeth so hard that my jaw aches, tears of frustration budding at the corners of my eyes.
Abraxas turns to me like he’s confused, and then he smirks. He retreats to the nest for the other translator and then comes back to stand on two legs beside me, staring out at the gathering of female Aspis with their glowing crimson stripes and their long tails.
“Female, you are upset.” He stands there as I turn and punch him in the stomach. It’s not abuse. It does literally nothing to him. He just looks down and then redirects his attention to my face. “Why? This is a glorious day.”
I look back at the gathered females, all of whom are staring at me curiously. Some of them are scratching at their horns with their back feet. Some are licking themselves like cats. Others snort and take off, pausing to piss on bushes as they pass. That last thing, that annoys the shit out of Abraxas.
“What is this? Your goddamn harem?” I gesture at the females, the fur falling around my shoulders. I clutch at it to keep it up. My cheeks are blazing, and I hate that Zero is listening in on this conversation.
“Harem?” he repeats the word, dropping to a crouch in front of me. His mouth ripples in a growl. “There is no harem. You are my mate. My female. It is customary for unmated Aspis in the area to visit and acknowledge a new mating. They are here to see you.” He picks me up in his tail, fur covering and all, and then hops down to the ground, setting me in front of him.
I notice that he keeps his body more or less wrapped around mine.
“An alien female. Interesting choice.” One of the larger females sounds disappointed. She leans in like she might sniff me, and Abraxas’ scales rise in warning. He snarls at her and she retreats a few steps. “I hear they are prime breeding.”
I just stand there, confused as all get out. I’ve only ever seen one other Aspis, and she was as wild as they come. This is a hair more civilized.
“They are always aroused and willing,” another agrees, yawning with that massive mouth and giving me the chills. I have to turn away. The memory of being swallowed is still too fresh. Between that and the brothel chains, I might actually suffer nightmares at some point. “Never did I believe a day would come when you were mated, male.” She snorts and moves to leave. “May your mate bond carry you far.”
There’s some buzzing interest at that. I look up at Abraxas, crouched back on his haunches, looking bored. But when he sees me staring at him, he smirks again, and I want to slap him so bad that my hand itches. He thinks this is funny.
“I take it you were an eligible bachelor?” I query, knowing only he can understand me. From what I can see, he had his pick of the litter. There are a dozen females in the vicinity. None are looking at me as a meal just now which is a nice change of pace.
“I am a mature, powerful male, highly prized,” Abraxas responds easily, and while I can understand him through the translator, they can all understand him as well. Several of the females rumble with growling laughter.
“May it carry you far,” another adds. “This favored breeder of the market traders.” She makes a displeased snort and stands up, shaking herself out so that her scales ruffle like feathers.
Abraxas gives me a triumphant look in response, and my stomach gurgles.
Slowly, the other females disperse. Abraxas waits until they’re long gone, and then he goes about urinating on every bush and rock and tree that they touched. I just stand there, mind whirring wildly.
“That was, um.” I scratch at my temple and squinch my eyes. “So basically everyone gathers together to gawk at the new mates? Do they do that for everyone or just weird pairs like us?”
“Weird?” he queries, coming over to stand beside me on all fours. His tail sways behind him in amusement. I pretend not to notice the smug look on his face. I don’t think about last night, and our silly discussion about fertility, or the way he whispered seeded into my ear. “What about our mating is abnormal? Because you are an alien? Do not think I am the only Aspis with a foreign mate. We are fertile and quick to adapt.”
Right.
“We’re not having a child,” I repeat, and he gets right up in my face, grinning at me like a wild thing.
“No? You are seeded even now. Make no mistake.” He sits back on his haunches and stares up at the ship. “We may need to move dens. This one is quite small.”
My head spins, but surely, his words are mere conjecture. He can’t know anything. Even if … we were compatible like that, he wouldn’t know now. We had sex last night. That’s ridiculous.
“I like this den.” I cross my arms and look back at it, thinking about Zero. “By the way, the computer hates you.” I point up in her general direction, waving my hand around. The fur slips down my shoulders again, and I hike it up. Some clothes would be fantastic right about now. “Do you know what I mean when I say that?”
He stares at me and then snatches me up with his tail, hopping back into the ship. I might need to come up with some sort of rope ladder or something so I can get down, but also something I can pull up easily when I’m inside. Abraxas sets me down and then stares at Zero’s screen. She’s cleared it completely. Even her cursor is gone.
“The alien tech,” he replies belatedly, looking the screen over. “It does not concern me.” He looks back at me, and his face is as serious as I’ve ever seen it. “You were brought here against your will. Others who come here freely do not have good intentions. They round my people up, kill and capture, harvest our tongues. They cut trees and burn forests, crush mountains for minerals, and they do not care about any of it. The ones who crash, the ones who die, they have earned their fates.”
He trots past me into the nest, and I follow.
“Have you ever … have you ever seen a half-breed Aspis?” I ask, desperate to change the subject. What he’s telling me, I could’ve guessed based on the market and the Tusk Men and all that. But damn, it makes me feel sad. Abraxas is the most emotionally complex creature I have ever met—myself included.
“I have.” He looks so unbelievably smug when he passes me that cloth bag from yesterday that I almost forget to care what’s inside of it. “A human and Aspis bred child. I have seen that.”
My eyes widen, and my hands tremble, but there are no words.
Eve, really? Why do you think you know best here? You’re a caterer!
If we’re talking amuse-bouche, I’m the GOAT. Alien sex? Not exactly.
“You might’ve told me that last night,” I breathe, clutching the sack close. Trying not to think about his sack. Big and plump and heavy and— Oh shit. I am in huge trouble. Why do I always have to be contrary for contrary’s sake?! “What did it look like? Was it creepy?”
He lounges in the nest, relaxed and happy and fulfilled, and drums the fingers of his left hand on his right forearm. Those bejeweled eyes of his sweep me like I’m a queen in need of worship. My knees tremble and I sit down, pulling the bag closer and cuddling it for support.
“She was lovely, human in shape like her mother with the black scales of her father. A tail. Wings. Horns. Do not fear, my mate. Our child will have no problem surviving nor finding a mate.” He tilts his head, waiting for a response.
I don’t know what to say to any of that, so I open the bag instead and turn it over, spilling its contents into the nest.
Clothes. Lots and lots of clothes. My mouth drops open as I study the pile of fabric on the floor of the nest.
“How did you …” I start, and then my voice trails off as I pick up a shirt.
It’s Jane’s shirt.
It’s Jane’s fucking shirt.
My breath catches as I clutch it against my chest, heart pounding. She always, always, always wears her lucky t-shirt under the ugly suits she wears to work. This one has Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it. Used to belong to her mom before she got arrested. Shit, fuck. Tears sting my eyes as I bring it to my nose and smell it like a crazy person. No. No, no, no! It smells like Jane’s Chanel No. 5 perfume that she wears because—and I quote—”it’s just bourgeois enough to please my clients, but not so bourgeois that I hate myself for wearing it.”
I turn to Abraxas, seeing that he’s stiffened up, ready to fight for me. He’s concerned, but he doesn’t know why I’m upset.
“Where did this come from?” I ask, choking on the words. I can’t breathe. I feel sick. I’m over here cuddling up to an alien guy and my friend is … what? … searching for me? She could still be in the market, looking for my ungrateful ass. Cop Guy still hasn’t shown up. It’s been eight days since I saw him.
“A cart run by Tusks,” Abraxas replies, grabbing me with his wing-hands and tugging me into the circle of his arms. “There were no human females on it. I promise you that, my sweet mate.”
I’m trembling now, and I hate that. I strive never to show weakness or vulnerability. Something about Abraxas makes me want to strip my soul bare so he can see down to the bones of my humanity.
“I have to find Jane, Abraxas.” I’ve told him this before, but it’s possible that with the translator issues, he didn’t quite get it. “She’s my friend—closer to me than my own sisters—and she was abducted with me. I heard her calling my name in the market just before I got grabbed by that tusk dude.” I look down at the shirt before lifting my gaze back to his.
He isn’t happy about it, that’s for damn sure.
“You are going to leave me,” he says, and his voice, that guttural growl of his true words, breaks my heart. “You will return to your planet with the other humans.” He closes his eyes, but instead of turning away from me or running off, he tucks me closer. I’m enveloped in his heat, his presence, his scent. I cling to him with Jane’s shirt trapped between us, and I don’t know what to say.
“Maybe I could figure out a way to fly home for a bit, and then come back here?” I’m talking with my cheek crushed to his neck, fingers digging into his smooth skin. “That’s possible, isn’t it? Other aliens do it. They come and go.”
“The only ones who would be willing to do what you have asked …” he rumbles, his words shaking my entire body. “Are the ones who would as soon violate you as they would comply. They will not listen to me, and I cannot make them.” He releases me suddenly and stands up on all fours, backing away from me with his wings raised and his tail thrashing. He’s agitated, the spikes along his spine and tail standing on end, oozing venom. I snatch his tail when he swings it near me, pricking my hand on one of the spikes.
I stare at the venom on my open palm as he crouches down to lick my skin, adding his healing saliva to the mix. Um. Isn’t this sort of a big deal?
“Am I going to die?” I ask, thinking of the state he was in when he was envenomated.
“Mated pairs are immune to venom,” he tells me, but there’s a deep level of unease in his voice that I haven’t heard before. He’s upset. Rightfully so. “Eve, I do not wish to keep you prisoner here, but you must understand that you cannot leave.” He turns to me with an expression of complete and utter sympathy. “I have tried to make it so you understand, but I do not know how this alien tech interprets my words. If we are separated, we will both die. I have seen it happen as quickly as seven sunrises, but never longer than sixty.”
I have no idea what to say to that.
“Stay put,” he snarls at me, stalking past and disappearing past the curtain. I can feel his presence as he moves away, the musky smell of him clinging to the air.
I put the shirt up to my face and close my eyes, falling back into the furs. Since there’s nobody around, I just scream. I let out all my frustration in one horrible pterodactyl shriek.
The sound of claws on metal precedes Abraxas’ return. He’s in the nest and nearly on top of me before I can register his presence. He brackets my face with his wing-hands and leans in with a rippling snarl.
“Female, what is the matter?” he asks, searching me all over with such tenderness that I hate myself all over again for ruining his life. I’ve ruined it. I came here and distracted him and took away any chance he had of mating one of those beautiful females we saw this morning. I took his … whatever his penis spirals are called, and I still can’t just let myself enjoy it because I know he’s right. How delusional am I? I can’t get rides to and from Earth with cuddly Trevor the Asshole Green Giant. I can’t hitch a ride from the sex trafficking tusk men. If the phrase gas or ass ever meant anything, these aliens would embody it. Oh no.
I have to make a choice: my family or … my mate. Earth … or my mate. Pizza … or my mate. Music … or my mate. But I don’t have to make a choice between my mate and Jane.
“We need to find Jane,” I repeat, and I say it hoping that the ‘we’ comes across as strongly as I meant it.
Abraxas draws away from me, but he pauses, looking back and then licking a spot on my temple. I take it like a kiss, curling Jane’s shirt in my hands as he leaves the nest without another word.
I’ve recovered some of my emotional faculties by the time Abraxas returns, my body leaned casually against the wall. I’m propped by a single shoulder, eyes closed, fully dressed. I’ve chosen to wear Jane’s t-shirt, no bra (because I’m in space, duh, why the fuck would I ever wear a bra again?), and a pair of up-the-ass jean shorts.
I’m looking cool until I go to adjust myself, slip, and nearly slam the back of my head against the floor. Abraxas catches me like it’s nothing, yanking me to him to dangle off the floor as he looks into my eyes.
“We will go to the market,” he says, and then he releases me suddenly, handing out a massive … uhh, thing. It’s a metal thing, like a ring of some kind. It’s all techy and weird with lights on it and some really fucking disturbing spikes on the inside. “Here.” Abraxas offers this device to me easily, and I take it, grunting a bit at the weight. He tilts his head to the side using his wing-hand to point at his neck. “Capture me.”
“Capture …” I trail off and then look down at the item in my hands. My nose wrinkles, and I scowl automatically. I chuck the thing onto the floor the way Abraxas does, breaking it. He looks absolutely stunned as he drops down to all fours in front of me, sniffing my hair vigorously, like he might be able to figure out what’s wrong with me. “No.”
“No?” he repeats, and then he narrows his eyes, curling his lip at me. “You like this word much, don’t you?”
“You want me to put that hideous collar on you? With the spikes inside it? Why?” I wait, but he just stares at me again, like he thinks he can glean something from my expression. “I heard you mention pets and jeweled leashes.” I point past him to the coil of bejeweled chain near the doorway. “You want me to walk you into the market.”
“You will not be bothered, and I will not be attacked on sight. Many traders keep Aspis as pets.” He says this matter-of-factly. I don’t happen to find it a very matter-of-fact thing at all. It’s sick. It’s absolute fucking insanity.
“That’s not okay,” I say, and he drops his head to look at me.
“You are strange,” he says, standing up in front of me. “I do not regret picking you.”
He turns away from me and moves back over to the doorway, looking out and into the woods. I do my best to pretend like I didn’t hear his last statement, trotting after him to stand at his side.
“Well, it’s not okay. Isn’t that moth thing a prince? Why doesn’t he do something about this shit?”
Abraxas blinks at me and then leans in, sniffing the side of my face again. When he talks, his breath heats my skin and makes me squirm.
“The Vestalis are scum. They play at being righteous while sucking the universe dry. Parasitic liars. World eaters.” He turns away from me, crouching and gripping the edge of the ship with a clawed hand. He’s frustrated with me right now, and I don’t blame him. I’d be frustrated with me, too.
“Finding Jane doesn’t mean I’m leaving,” I tell him softly, unsure exactly what it is that I’m actually trying to say. “It just means finding Jane. For all I know, she’s probably mated to an alien, too.” I’d laugh, but it’s not even a joke. I’m serious. If one of these fuckers got me, she’s a goner, too. That bitch never could say no to a pretty face. She dates like it’s an Olympic sport.
Abraxas rumbles a growl that’s definitely his version of a laugh.
“We will fly over the market then; you can take a look.”
“I can’t do this to you,” I reaffirm, crossing my arms. “I can’t take you to the market and risk you. Those nets, those guns … I just can’t. Not even for myself.” I swallow hard. “Not even for Jane.”
