Chapter 14—Claim
(Sena)
I went back into the dining hall and got food and water for La’el. Everything I’d just talked to Rhy about was filtering through my mind. Was I asking too much of him? Anytime I’d had a problem in the past, it was him that I would go to for help, and it hadn’t changed now. If this task led into some deep vendors, then it could mean making enemies. The thought of endangering everyone who lived in the tower made my stomach clench. I’d lived here since I was a teenager and all the people here had become my family; I wouldn’t risk their lives for something I didn’t know would work.
Growling, I punched the elevator button for the gardens. La’el would be hungry after everything he’d been through, so hopefully he could eat a majority of the food. When we’d been with Edik, he’d eaten raw meat the same way he would in his other form, but here, I was afraid to give him uncooked meat so cooked would have to do. The elevator dinged and the door slid open, revealing the beautiful oasis that made the gardens so amazing in the wrecked city. There was nothing left like what we had at the tower.
As I walked, the sweet smell of okhar permeated the entire greenhouse, making it obvious what was grown in our gardens. Okhar was a very potent drug, especially to humans, but anyone who tried it for the first time was more susceptible to its effects. The leafy purple plants weren’t native to the planet, brought in from the neighboring system called Solin about fifty years ago. Boone—the tower’s leader—had become the leading dealer in both New and Old City, making a huge profit for his gang. Drugs always pulled a profit no matter who you sold to or where you were selling it.
La’el stood in front of the large glass window, his tail wrapped around his leg as he took in the view of the city. My eyes traveled over the round curve of his plump ass, the base of his spine leading to the long tail that constricted his left thigh. I remembered sinking into his tight hole as his natural juices coated my cock, each thrust sinking into the tightest heat I’ve ever experienced. Groaning, I felt my dick start to swell against my leg, rubbing roughly against thick denim. Fuck, if I didn’t stop getting hard, I was going to get a permanent zipper impression.
“La’el, I brought you food.” I approached the makeshift bed of pillows and blankets.
He jolted around to look at me with puffy blue eyes and damp cheeks. There was a wariness to his gaze as he approached, keeping his distance. He sat without a word and grabbed the plate of food I’d set down. Seeing the tear tracks staining his blue cheeks made a heavy weight settle in my gut. I’d never wanted to cause him pain, not physically and not mentally. Even after everything that he had put me through, I couldn’t help the way he made my body heat and my chest ache.
“La’el, you never told me how many of my memories you actually saw.”
His hand paused mid-lift, a piece of spiced meat barely touching his full lips. Setting the food down, he furrowed his brow, apparently perplexed by my question. “Not many. Mostly, I felt your emotions in moments, sometimes there were glimpses of this place and faces, but it wasn’t as clear as I thought it would be.”
“Ever since we’ve met, it’s been about Tao Oliris and survival, but I need you to try something different. The human way of mating takes time and learning about the other. We don’t know who the love of our life is just by meeting them.”
La’el’s blue lips twisted into a hard line and his eyes remained downcast. “You’re saying that we aren’t mates?”
“No, I’m not. I felt our connection when you transferred with me, and I wanted to…exchange with you—in your zanzi form.” Swallowing down my anxiety, I revealed what I hadn’t had the balls to tell him before. “And I still want you, in this body…and your other one.”
A tear trailed down his already wet face. “You didn’t want me as a zanzi.”
I shook my head. “To be fucking honest, La’el, I wanted you a lot and that’s not exactly normal.”
A smirk broke through his sad expression. “It wasn’t normal for me either, Tao.”
That brought on a realization I hadn’t taken into consideration before. La’el feeling sexually attracted to me was just as unexpected for him. He would have dealt with the same warring emotions I had battled since the beginning. I’d let everything cloud my perspective.
“It never mattered to me. You are destined to be my mate and I yours. Although I have to admit that human culture is very different from zanzi’s.” He sighed deeply, wiping at his damp cheeks. “I wish you were zanzi, if only to change your acceptance of our mating.”
Looking down at his uneaten food, I moved closer, sliding up beside him so our bodies were fully connected from hip to shoulder. There was a tension between us that had never been there before. Stiff, La’el didn’t move away from me, but neither did he sink into my side. “I told you earlier that I have a mate here on Earth,” I said slowly, possibly feeling more tension raise into the zanzi’s lean body. “It’s because of him that I know what Tao Oliris means to you.” Reaching out, I grabbed La’el’s slender hand, his fingers entwining with my own as I drew his palm up and laid it over my chest, right over my heart. “I love him, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you. Regardless of what it means to a zanzi. As a human, I will do anything to protect you, and keep you safe.”
Blue lips parted as a soft whoosh of air escaped through him. The tension in his body came rushing out with the escaped breath. “I don’t know how to be human.” He leaned his head on my shoulder, his hand clenching mine.
“I don’t want you to be human.” I wrapped my free arm around his waist, pulling him closer, his naked body almost in my lap. “You have always been perfect.” I turned his head to brush a kiss across his soft blue lips. A chuffing noise ensued as he returned the gesture. His tongue battled with mine, while I pushed back, groaning and asking for entrance into his mouth. A desperate mewl escaped him, his cock thick and swollen between us.
“You need to eat.”
He made a weak protest, whining when our lips separated.
I pushed him back into the mass of soft pillows and sheet, smiling when he snuggled into the material. Grabbing the tray of food, I picked up a small piece of meat, the juices rolling down my fingers as I brought it to his kiss-swollen lips.
“You need to eat.”
Opening his mouth, he let me place the small morsel inside, his lips closing around my fingers to suck the oils in with the meat. Swallowing, La’el grabbed for another piece before I could offer him another one. We sat in silence as he ate. I watched each bite slip into his lush mouth, the oils sliding down his chin to drip onto his semi-erect cock.
“I could taste him on you,” La’el murmured between bites.
“I won’t change my relationship with him, La’el,” I said.
“You are my Tao!” La’el growled, his teeth bared.
“You never gave me a choice! He’s not the one who took me against my will!”
Silence fell between us. La’el’s eyes were on anything but me as he receded into himself, the tension between us even bigger than before. Regardless of what happened, I didn’t regret meeting him, or being here with him despite our current circumstances. It was his fault he took me, but it was my fault that I was starting to love him.
(La’el)
I felt my claws extend, digging into the soft flesh of my palms. The spicy scent of the other man clung to my Tao’s skin, my jaw clenching tight as I ground my teeth. It wasn’t supposed to be this way; he wasn’t supposed to have another mate. I needed to show him, prove that I was the best choice. I would make my Tao understand that he was mine and only mine.
“La’el—”
Grabbing Sena, I pushed him down, causing us to become a tangled mess of limbs as we rolled across the mossy ground.
“Fuck, La’el!”
“Sau Tao Oliris!” I shouted. My hands closed around his wrists, pinning them to the ground. Leaning down, I trailed my fangs over the pulse point on his neck, the blood pounding against my searching tongue. My mouth watered just thinking about sinking my fangs into his flesh. It would leave a scar, one only I could give him. Scraping a little harder, my teeth sank into the flesh, pinching the skin just enough that a burst of sweet flavor spilled over my tongue.
“Holy shit!” Sena gasped.
I mewled in discontent when so little of his blood brandished my tongue. My control faded as I let my jaw clamp down sinking into his flesh, letting the blood flow more freely, some spilling a little from my mouth. He tasted good, like cinnamon and burning wood—a part of me.
“La’el,” Sena groaned, gripping my bare flanks in a tight hold as I lavished his throat. “Fuck, what are you doing?” He bared his neck more, allowing me even more access to my spot.
With one last swipe of my tongue, I disengaged and leaned back to stare into his dark brown eyes. “Se su si nitch onia. Neske Tao Oliris.”
“La’el, I don’t understand,” Sena gasped, grinding his denim-covered shaft against my holes. The friction causes me to pant and search for more. This was what I wanted him to crave. Looking down, I saw his own cock was straining against his pants, looking for the same relief that I couldn’t seem to find. Scooting up his body, I released his wrist to pull at the button.
“Wait—” Sena pushed my hand away to release his shaft from his pants. Once his dick was free, I moved back up his body, my hands on his chest to steady myself. I was wet for him, my body ready to prove how perfect it was for him. Digging my claws into his chest, I leaned forward, my tail wrapping around his shaft, lining it up with my entrance. Staring into Sena’s lust-filled eyes, I let the tip of his dick kiss my hole, coating it with my fluids.
“Se’ra sa Na!” My stomach burned with my claiming words. I needed him to know my claim. He was mine; nothing would change that. Leaning back, I let my body swallow his cock, letting it stretch me with a painful thrust. Clenching around his length, a haze of pure pleasure greyed my vision. I couldn’t think past the feeling of him in me, around me. This was not like before on Indiku; this was a fast coupling with no control.
“Fuck!” Sena grunted with my quick sheathing. Wrapping his arms around me in a quick move, he flipped me onto my back and rose above, pulling out of my body—not even my clenching muscles could hold him in.
“What the hell are you trying to prove—that could have hurt you!” he growled, biting my jaw sharply. I growled in return, a deep wild sound. I couldn’t understand him, didn’t care about his words. I only wanted him, wanted him to exchange with me, fill me and let me fill him. I wanted to be the only mate he needed.
Grabbing a handful of his short hair, I yanked his head down and bit his jaw in return and using his surprise to force him back on his back, sinking myself back onto his dick, letting it slide all the way home ‘til it could go no deeper. Throwing my head back, I rumbled with a feral happiness as I clenched around his stiff flesh that belonged to me.
“Fuck! Blue…fuck,” Sena moaned and grabbed my hips, lifting me and slamming me back down with a quick thrust. Hissing, I ground my hips in return.
“La’el, you’re so tight, I can barely move. You’re clenching me too tight!” he gasped out. Hooking his legs with mine, he rolled us again. Pulling out, he lifted my legs up and looked down at my holes below, both pulsing and grasping for his return. Breathing hard, Sena just looked down at my sex and back up at my face. He hummed a pleased noise before passing a finger over my co’va. The teasing digit wasn’t what I wanted and I growled in frustration, arching to get more, only for him to draw the finger away. He looked up at me, warmth filling his handsome face as he traced my asshole with his now lubed finger.
“Neske Tao Oliris.” I bucked into those light touches.
Sena leaned over me and placed his lips to mine, coaxing my tongue into his own mouth. He positioned himself before sinking back into my body. Thrusting together, we both moaned in feral pleasure, his movements becoming as erratic as mine. My sharp nails dug into his ass as he thrust in hard. I wanted more, needed to feel everything.
My tail lifted behind him, trailing over Sena’s ass as he thrust more forcefully into my body. He moaned into my mouth as my hands pulled his ass cheeks apart, allowing my tail to trail over his hole, teasing it with small circles as he thrust harder and faster into my body.
“La’el, what are you…ugh!” he growled as I clenched down hard on his cock, my body building up and feeling that edge coming closer with each hard stroke he took.
“Tao ni attec pi’ta sir’ec!” I moaned as the tip of my tail dipped into his small opening. Sena’s breath escaped him as he tried to push into my tail and forward into my body at the same time, his body a tight line. I pushed in a little deeper as he thrust with a shallow downstroke. Crying out, I arched off the ground, nails digging into his butt cheeks. My cock strained before erupting with large spurts across our lower bellies.
“La’el, gonna come!” His body tensed, cock spilling deep inside me. Hot seed was soon coating every inch of my inner walls, filling me to the brim. His ass clamped down on the end of my tail. Gasping, I arched with prolonged ecstasy, the hot seed cooling my inner channel, making me moan with satisfaction and my cock jump with renewed interest. Another spurt of seed landed on my belly, cooling on my hot skin.
We both panted as we came down, our bodies still convulsing from the pleasure. I felt my Tao soften slightly and pull out of my body gently, my tail slipping limply from his hole. Rolling over to face him, I smiled, my eyes heavy. Sena smiled in return, his brown gaze warm as he looked at me.
“You know, I can’t understand half of what you say most the time. You’re always reverting back to your native language,” he pointed out while fiddling with my tail.
I nodded and watched his hand crease the skin at the tip of my tail. “I can’t help it sometimes. After our first exchange, you should have been able to understand me.” I looked at his neck where the angry bite mark was and his sides with scratch marks rising. I hadn’t meant to hurt Sena; even with another mate in his life, I didn’t want to hurt my Tao.
“I can sometimes, and sometimes I can’t.” He let go of my tail to rub my belly in soft soothing circles. “That’s part of what makes human relationships so intimate. Not everything is just known up front.”
“Neske omira,” I murmured.
“What does that mean?” he asked, stopping his ministrations to gain my attention.
Chuffing, I watched his handsome face staring down at me with a soft smile. I realized how little he truly understood me, and how little I had tried to help him understand. With our first encounter back in the leeri fields, I had been able to bond with him and see glimpses of his soul, but Sena hadn’t seen any of mine. My mate knew almost nothing about me.
“Neske means ‘want’ and omira means ‘you,’” I said, interlacing our hands, the stark contrast of his tan skin against my blue shocking but beautiful. “Senana, I’m sorry that I have been forcing things on you. I realize that in the leeri fields, when we first met, you did not feel…”
I bit my lip to keep the pain from overwhelming me. “You’ve never felt about me what I feel about you,” I continued, looking up into his handsome face, not knowing the words in his language to convey everything I felt…everything he meant to me.
Sena pulled me into a tight embrace, wrapping his larger body around my own. “I understand,” he whispered into my blue hair. “Some things just don’t translate.” He kissed the top of my head. Pulling back, our eyes locked, his brown gaze searching.
“La’el, I may not have felt the same as you in the leeri fields when we met, but I’m sure we feel the same now.”
Holding onto him, I let those words quench the burning anxiety. He was my Tao and he would not leave me. I had to believe that.