SIX

Rixavox woke early the next span.  It had been a restless sleep, tossing beneath the thin furs.  Stolen, disjointed images of Sessela had infiltrated his dreams and more than once, he’d reached out for her, half asleep, only to feel frustration and disappointment and eagerness fill him, knowing that she wasn’t resting safely beside him, but knowing that soon he would be near her again.  He’d dreamed of her voice and he swore that he’d been on the verge of cumming in his sleep more than once.

It was possibly the longest night he’d ever experienced.

He padded to the generous washroom off his sleeping quarters, completely nude, his cock erect and throbbing.  He had heard tales of newly awakened Instincts within Luxirian males.  From those accounts, he knew his cock would be in this state until matehood was consummated.  Briefly, he debated releasing some tension himself, but knew it would be no use.  He wouldn’t fill the aching void until he was joined with his mate, his luxiva.  Rixavox knew this with certainty.

Quickly, he bathed away the night and dressed in his leg coverings and a thin tunic.  His blood had thickened over the rotations in the northern lands.  The heat of the Golden City no longer soothed him, as it did most Luxirians.  Instead, he felt like he was being slowly suffocated.  He longed for the cold bite of Velraxa, her frigid, bracing winds, her silver frosted mountains.

Would Sessela like it there?  Or would it be too harsh for a human female?

He frowned, not liking that he didn’t know.  He would bring up all his extra furs from storage and purchase more for her, if needed.  Velraxa excelled in large game hunting, being so far north, so their furs were highly prized by all Luxirians.  But Rixavox would purchase the absolute best for his luxiva.

And he would line their sleeping platform with the warmest and softest of furs.

He grit his teeth as desire washed over him, anticipation making him antsy.  But then he felt ashamed in himself.  She was sickened with hellixaxava.  His only priority at the moment was to see her healed.  Only after she restored her health would he actively pursue courting her for matehood.

Of course, he might slip every now and again.  Even in that brief, stolen moment at the command center, she’d made him lose all reason.  Would he really be able to keep his hands to himself while she healed?

I must, he resolved, steeling his mind.  He’d been weak the last span, caught unaware by the power of his Instinct.  He would never dishonor her again by acting on his lusts without her encouragement.

Crossing over to a hidden drawer in his sleeping quarters, he popped it open and took out the only personal item he’d brought with him to the Golden City from Velraxa.  The small carving fit easily in his large palm and he curled his fist inward, feeling the smooth edges dig into his flesh.  It was a miniature privixi, carved from the stone of a facev.  Its ears were long and the carving somehow managed to capture its long, soft fur, and its elongated eyes.

His blood brother had given it to him when they’d been youths.  And he kept it to remember.  Grief and horror and longing and happiness swirled within him, as confusing as it was maddening.

He cursed and slowly unclenched his fist, seeing the stone animal carving lying in his palm, as innocent as his brother had been the day he’d given it to him.  Rixavox slipped the carving into the pocket in his leg coverings, tucking it out of sight.

He’d spent the majority of the past ten rotations trying to distance himself from his brother’s past sins, sins that had effected their entire family.  Yet, he still had the memory of his brother, always close.

Looking around his quiet sleeping quarters once more, Rixavox knew he hadn’t left anything else behind.  He would be back to the Golden City soon, to return his luxiva to Privanax for the next stage of her treatment.  He already felt changed, altered, since seeing her.  He wondered how different he would be the next time he stepped foot in his dwelling here.  He wondered if his dreams would come to fruition.  He wondered if when he reached out for her in the night, would she be there, next to him?

Fierce longing made him growl, knowing that he shouldn’t fantasize about things that might never come true.  It would only set him up for disappointment.

He couldn’t help it though.  Not many Luxirian males found their fated mates, the rarest of all mating partnerships.  The Fates had blessed him, for whatever reason.

Rixavox left his dwelling shortly after, boarding his hovercraft on the terrace outside, before shooting it up into the sky with a gentle hum.  He set his destination towards the research labs, knowing that he would need to meet with Privanax once more before he escorted Sessela to Velraxa.  From the compartment on his hovercraft, he pulled out his heavy fur coverings, readying them for his human female so that she would be warm enough for their journey.

Privanax was waiting near the entrance of the labs, as if expecting his arrival.  His face was grim, but then again, it almost always was, so Rixavox paid him no mind.  When he landed his hovercraft, black sand billowing out beneath it, covering the healer’s dark boots, Rixavox hopped down and nodded his head in greeting.

“Is she ready?” he asked, trying to keep his voice level.  The healer already suspected that Rixavox’s Instinct had awakened for her.  No need to give him full confirmation.

“Tev.  She is at the command center with the Prime Leader and Kat.  She wished to speak with the other females, to say her ‘goodbyes,’ whatever that means,” the healer said, eyeing him closely.

Rixavox immediately craned his head in the direction of the command center, not far from the research labs, as if he would be able to see her from there.  “I will go to her then.”

“Ambassador,” Privanax called, stopping him from returning to his hovercraft.  He held up a tool he recognized, one for scanning the body.  It had been used on him many times so that the healer could monitor his health, especially after a prolonged battle off planet.  “Once a span, you will use this on her and send me the findings through the Coms.  Remind me which healer is based at Velraxa.”

“Kirzalla,” Rixavox replied.

Privanax scowled and Rixavox almost smirked, wondering if the rumors were true about the two healers once being pleasure partners when they’d been younger.  If they had been, it seemed that their partnering had not ended well.

“Fine.  I will make contact with her after you depart with the human female.  I will tell her what to expect and send over my findings.  She can aid you if you need assistance.”

Rixavox took the scanner from Privanax and placed it safely in the hovercraft compartment, packing it in so it would not get damaged from their journey.

Rixavox boarded his hovercraft, revving the power.  Before he departed, however, Privanax caught his attention when he pulled a small bracelet from his tunic pocket.  The healer seemed slightly uncomfortable as he handed it up to Rixavox.

“What is this?” Rixavox asked him, peering down at the metal bracelet.

Privanax pressed his lips together, his jaw tightening, which only increased Rixavox’s curiosity.

“The lavrix’an asked for this before her and the Prime Leader departed for their mating ceremony.  She was concerned about becoming pregnant.”

“She did not want offspring?” Rixavox asked, surprise in his tone.

“Nix.  Not that soon.  This was supposed to help stop conception…but the Fates decided for her in the end.”

Rixavox’s breath went short when he understood why Privanax was giving this to him.

“Perhaps humans need more time in matters such as these,” Privanax continued slowly.  “Regardless, it would be best for her, and her health, that she does not become heavy with offspring at this time.”

Rixavox went still, looking down at the healer with a cold gaze before thrusting the metal band back at him with force.  Privanax took it with surprise.

“Despite what you may think of me, healer,” Rixavox said slowly, “I am an honorable Luxirian warrior.  I am not a beast, bent to the will of my Instinct.  And as the Ambassador of Velraxa and a war general of Luxiria, on my honor, her safety and well-being is my only priority until she is returned to your care.  I swear this on the Fates.”

Privanax shocked him with a glare.  “With all due respect, Ambassador, I know of your reputation.  Rumor has it that you’ve mated half of the remaining female population on Luxiria and only the Fates know how many more off planet.”

“You will watch your tongue, healer,” Rixavox said, his voice deadly quiet.

Privanax seemed to remember himself, to remember his rank, because he inclined his head down, although begrudgingly.  He remained silent.

Rixavox called on his warrior training to calm the quiet rage that was building, building.  Mostly, it was rage at himself because he knew that the healer had a right to be concerned, had a right to question.  Rixavox had dealt with his brother’s exile and his parents’ subsequent deaths with mating and pleasure drugs and war.  It was all he’d known for the past ten rotations.

But his life had literally changed in one span.  He would never be that warrior again.  Not even if Sessela rejected his courtship, not even if she chose to return to Earth.  Because he would know what he was missing.  He would know that nothing could ever replace a fated mate.

“Have you ever seen your mate, Privanax?” Rixavox asked, the hum of the hovercraft drowning his words.  “Your one mate that the Fates have gifted you above all else?”

“Nix,” Privanax admitted, raising his gaze slightly, his jaw still set in defiance.

“Then you understand nothing.  Words cannot and will not ever explain it,” Rixavox told him, holding his gaze.  “Think what you will of me.  You will not be the first to judge.  But know this: there is a reason why Vaxa’an chose me as an Ambassador, why he befriended me all those rotations ago during warrior training.  Tev, I have a reputation, but I am also loyal to those I trust and I keep my word, no matter what.  So take my word on this, Privanax, and trust it.  She will be cured of her hellixaxava before we ever consummate our matehood.  If we ever do,” he forced himself to add, even though it tasted like rancid brew on his tongue.

Privanax held his gaze and Rixavox had the stray thought that the older Luxirian should have continued with his warrior training instead of leaving to become a healer.  He would have made a damn good warrior.

Privanax finally jerked his head in a nod.  “I will trust that you keep your word, Ambassador.”

Rixavox didn’t know why the healer’s opinion mattered to him in that moment.  But it released a weight off his shoulders and he tilted his head down in acceptance.

Gruffly, he said, “I will contact you through the Coms when we arrive at Velraxa.”

Rixavox didn’t wait for the healer to reply.  Instead, he guided his hovercraft off the ground and shot off towards the command center, towards his mate, towards his future.