THREE

“Vrax!” Vaxa’an cursed loudly as they watched the small human female begin to fall in the halls of the command center.

Rixavox, still in partial disbelief, still hearing his hot blood rushing in his ears at the sight of the female, rushed forward quickly, pushing past Privanax who turned to see what was happening, and snatched her up before she could fall to the unforgiving mountain floor.  The moment his arms clasped around her, he almost hissed as his Instinct awakened fully.

The feeling was shocking, alarming…right.  It was like a roar.  It was like roaring when he’d lived his entire life in silence.

Focus, he demanded of himself, trying to push back the new, strange feelings his Instinct evoked when all it was telling him was to protect her and to get her away from the males around her, even though he’d known them almost his entire life span.  Vrax, he trusted Vaxa’an with his life and knew that no threat would come from the Prime Leader to his female because he had a female mate of his own.

Rixavox gazed down at the soft human, cradled in his arms.  Her eyes were closed, but he knew they were the shade of the mountains of the northern lands, a sharp gray.  Her skin was alarmingly damp, her lips and cheeks flushed with blood, yet she seemed pale.  Fragile.  She weighed nothing and that concerned him.

Still, he’d never seen a female so mesmerizing in his entire life.  Without taking his gaze off her, he demanded of Privanax, “What is wrong with her?”

“Put her down, put her down,” the older healer commanded.  Even though his whole being rebelled at the thought, he knew that he couldn’t get in the way of his female’s health.  He did as Privanax requested, reluctantly, but stayed close as the healer knelt by her side.  The tunic she’d been given rode up her thighs and Rixavox jerked it back down, even though the sight of her smooth thighs made him grit his teeth as desire rode him hard.

He hadn’t expected his body to react that much, that soon.  He’d heard stories of Luxirians’ Instincts awakening to their mates, but to experience it was something completely different.  His body went rigid with lust so intense it made his head spin, his cock growing rock hard beneath his leg coverings, his ridges swelling, preparing.  He hoped that the lighting in the hall shielded his desire from view, especially from Vaxa’an, who had just made it clear at the council meeting that the human females were not to be interacted with unless absolutely necessary, in case an Instinct would be awakened.

This was exactly what his Prime Leader hadn’t wanted.

Vrax, he thought again.  Fates, have mercy on me.

But he had more pressing problems than the wrath of his leader and close friend.

“Is this the female you spoke to me about?” Vaxa’an asked Privanax, also kneeling down by her side, next to Rixavox.  “The sick one?”

“Tev,” Privanax said, running his hand over her slick forehead.

Rixavox’s gut clenched at the sight of another male touching her.  To distract himself, he bit out sharply, “Sick?  With what?”

“Hellixaxava,” Privanax replied.  “A human variation.”

Rixavox relaxed, but only slightly.  She didn’t look well.  And humans were more fragile than Luxirians, weren’t they?  Would her body be able to fight off the disease, even with the help of their advanced medicines?

Panic clawed at his chest.  No, he couldn’t lose her.  Not when he’d just found her.

“You will treat her?”

“Tev,” Privanax replied, glancing up at Vaxa’an.  “I was coming to speak with you about it.”

“Help her first,” Vaxa’an said, waving his hand down at the female’s limp form.

“It is nothing too serious,” Privanax finally concluded.  “She needs rest.  She is already weak from the disease.  I fear I kept her too long at the labs and the heat did not help on the journey back here.  She will awaken shortly.”

“She should stay in one of the empty quarters,” Rixavox said, “so she can rest without the other females interfering.”

“I agree,” Vaxa’an said, jerking his head in a nod.

Rixavox scooped her up from the cold floor before either of them could.  In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to tread carefully.  If Vaxa’an suspected that his Instinct had awakened to the female in his arms, there was no telling what the Prime Leader would do.

It was best to keep it to himself, at least for the moment.

Rixavox started back down the main hall that led to the council room, the war room, and the section of the command center with spare quarters, where they sometimes slept if they were in the middle of war plans or negotiations with the Uranian Federation.  The large room where the rest of the human females were kept was also near there.

Rixavox couldn’t help but bring her to his own quarters.  If Vaxa’an noticed, he didn’t comment on it.  As Rixavox lowered the female to his sleeping platform, he felt his Instinct surge within him.  He almost shut his eyes at the simple pleasure of it, of seeing his female laid out on his furs.

“How would you like to proceed, Privanax?” Vaxa’an asked, briefly glancing down at the female.  He looked back towards the door, probably anxious to return to his own mate, Kat…a human female that he had won during his fight in the Pit and the first human to step foot on their planet.  She was heavy with their offspring and Vaxa’an stuck to her side every moment of every span, constantly worrying.  Their offspring would be the first Luxirian and human hybrid born.  Needless to say, her health was monitored closely and Vaxa’an seemed even more anxious than the mother at times.

Privanax cast a glance at Rixavox and he straightened.  He couldn’t help but wonder if the older healer picked up on his sudden intensity.  Or perhaps he was just being paranoid.

“I recommend that treatment should be started immediately,” Privanax said, returning his blue eyes to their Prime Leader.  “I suggest that she begins the cleansing at the Rillirax for a quarter of a lunar cycle.  At least.”

“The Rillirax?  Near Rixavox’s outpost?” Vaxa’an repeated, his brow furrowing down.  His friend cast him a speculative look, but all Rixavox could feel was his heart thundering in his chest.  Would he have the chance to accompany her there?  To know her, speak with her away from the watchful eyes of his people?  “There are closer sacred pools than that.”

“Tev, but you see what the heat does to her body.  It depletes her energy force,” Privanax replied.  “I believe a cooler climate will help her heal more efficiently.”

“Tev, very well,” Vaxa’an said, jerking his head.  The Prime Leader glanced at Rixavox and he straightened his spine.  “You will take her there with you this next span.  I do not believe I need to tell you that you must keep her safe.  Hidden.  I do not want males gathering foolish ideas in their heads.”

The thought of other males coveting his female made his fists clench at his side.  “I will allow no harm to come to her.”

“You will update me frequently through the Coms, Ambassador?” Privanax asked.  “I will send you with some instruments to use on her.  I will need the results every span, to monitor her progress.”

“Tev, I will,” Rixavox said, jerking his head.  His gaze was once again drawn down to the female and he had the strongest urge to hold her in his arms, but knew that he shouldn’t.

“Prime Leader,” Privanax said, his voice slightly hesitant, “it is not my place, but I feel like I should tell you that the human females are scared.  That is what she told me.  They wish to know their fate and the longer we keep them without news, the more they fear.”

Vaxa’an went quiet, mulling it over, and then said, “I fear I have left this matter too long.  Perhaps I will have Kat come and speak with them this span.  It may help to see one of their own.”  He looked down at the female lying on the bed.  “I will have her come here as well.  To explain.”

Rixavox said, “I will guard her until the lavrix’an comes, Prime Leader.”

“Tev.  I will depart then,” Vaxa’an said, before striding out of the quarters and disappearing from view.

Rixavox’s gaze flickered to Privanax, who was, in turn, studying him.  Silence stretched between them before the healer said, “You seem on edge, Ambassador.  Even…unhinged, I would say.”

Rixavox’s jaw ticked.  He knew.  But why hadn’t he said anything to Vaxa’an?

“You forget your place, healer,” Rixavox said, ice infusing into his tone.

“My apologies,” Privanax murmured, inclining his head in a show of slight submission.  Rixavox relaxed, but barely.  Privanax met his eyes once more.  “It would seem that there will be no one better to protect her than you.”

Rixavox remained silent, never breaking the healer’s stare, his body moving to shield his female from view, an instinctive move.

Privanax turned to leave the quarters but before he left, he murmured softly, “Though I cannot help but wonder who will protect her from you.”

With that, the older Luxirian left.

Immediately, Rixavox’s gaze returned to his female and he cursed to himself, tugging on one of his horns in frustration.  Never had he thought he’d find his fated mate.  Ever.  He had never envisioned that life for himself.  And the Fates had never given him an indication that his mate had been born into their world…except now he knew why.  She was a human.  She was from Earth, a planet in the Fourth Quadrant, a long, long distance away from Luxiria.

Rixavox sank to his knees beside his sleeping platform, his eyes running over the form of his mate.  The first human he’d ever seen had been Vaxa’an’s female, Kat.  He thought she’d looked slightly strange, but strangely pleasing to look at.  His female?  Even more so.  He never wanted to take his eyes from her.

Gently, he ran the backs of his fingers down the side of her face.  She was soft…vulnerable.  He frowned, knowing that she could be so easily harmed.  If he wasn’t careful, even he could accidentally scratch her with his sharp claws.

Slight movement caught his eye, a fluttering beneath her lids.  In a flash, they shot open and gray eyes met his own.

His female gasped, startled by his nearness.  She jerked her body to move away but Rixavox reacted purely on Instinct.  He snagged her against his chest, needing to keep her close.  He almost groaned, the feeling of her soft skin on his hard, scaled flesh was…indescribable.  For some reason, the Fates had blessed him.  Perhaps they had finally forgiven his family for their past sins.

His female struggled against him, but he refused to let her go, perhaps an error on his part, considering he was a strange male to his mate.  She did not understand the ways of the Luxirians, how possessive they could be.

“Ta rix l’an,” he told her in his language.  He remembered she didn’t know Luxirian and translated, “Do not fear me, female.”

He had not had the opportunity to practice his English very much.  He’d had a handful of conversations with Kat, mostly about what his outpost was like, since it was the opposite of the Golden City.  But it didn’t matter.  He would master her language, so that he could better communicate with her.  The words felt strange in his mouth, but soon, they would fall as naturally from his tongue as Luxirian.

“W-who are you?” his female said and Rixavox’s heart actually stuttered in his chest.

Fates, her voice…

It was like a pleasure drug.  Her voice was soft, sensual, and unbelievably erotic.  It swept over him like the red smoke of tevvax, fogging his mind and thickening his cock in his leg coverings.

He’d been in her presence mere moments and already he was the most aroused he’d ever been in his life span.

“I will not harm you, female,” he said, his voice coming out roughened from lust.  He swallowed past the knot in his throat, telling himself not to frighten her, and continued, “You fell.  We brought you here to rest.”

Even though his Instinct fought him, Rixavox slowly unwrapped his arms from around her, hoping that she wouldn’t dart away at the first opportunity.  Courting a Luxirian female was simple enough, at least before the Plague.  They were a carnal, warrior race.  They worshipped two things above all else: fighting and fucking.  It hadn’t been uncommon for couplings to happen within the first few moments of meeting, if the two Luxirians were attracted to one another.

With human females, however…Rixavox didn’t know.  They were an alien race, a newly discovered species from a Quadrant that very few even had the resources to reach.  What were their mating customs?  How could Rixavox court her?

His female remained where she was on the sleeping platform, but slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position, her legs tucked underneath the lush swells of her behind.  Even though Rixavox had removed his arms, he had no intention of moving away.  Perhaps she felt he was crowding her, but at the very least, his Instinct demanded his nearness.  He could feel the warmth of her this close and this soothed him.

“Where…” she started, in that voice that made his gut clench, “where are the others?”

“The other females?” Rixavox questioned.  “They remain in their quarters.  You will recover your strength here.”

She was looking at him warily, with gray eyes that he felt deep in the center of his chest.  He felt his spine straighten as she studied him.  Rixavox had never had trouble courting females…he was a strong warrior, a war general, and an Ambassador to his outpost, Velraxa.

Her gaze dropped down to his bare chest, her eyes flickering over the scars he wore proudly, before stopping on the metal bar that pierced through both his nipples, a rite of passage for any male that completed warrior training.

His female’s lips parted and a strange color bloomed over her cheeks.  When Rixavox drew in a breath to question what that meant, he froze, every single muscle in his body tensing.  A heady, yet delicate scent began to permeate the air, rendering him incapable of thought.  His Instinct recognized it for what it was.

His female was aroused.  She was aroused from looking at his body.

A purring growl thrummed through him and he leaned even closer.  He heard a slight hitch in her breath and her voice came out as a soft rasp, “What are you doing?”

“Your cunt aches for your male,” he murmured in a daze, clasping his hand around her waist.  His female gasped, stilling under his touch, her widened eyes flickering back and forth between his.  The room filled with more of her scent, confirming his thoughts.  Perhaps humans were like Luxirians in their mating customs.  “You wish to mate here?”

Sweet Fates, he would take her right there, right then if she wished it of him.  Even though in the back of his mind he knew that Vaxa’an would bring Kat back any moment…even though he knew what he was doing was foolish and going against the explicit orders of his Prime Leader, Rixavox didn’t care.  Nothing mattered anymore except for her.

How odd it was…to have his life span completely altered in the space of moments.

Already, he was reaching down to loosen his leg coverings, his cock so swollen and hard that he feared it might rip through the material.

His female made an odd squeaking noise and shuffled back on the sleeping platform, even more color flooding her skin.  “What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice high-pitched.  What did that mean?  Was she frightened?  Surprised?

Had he misread her interest?

Vrax, Rixavox thought, his hand stilling immediately.

Vrax, vrax, vrax!