The Varkari

Ship

Finally, I regained the barest amount of control to open my eyelids, though I still felt tired enough to sleep for weeks. Instead of being curled up in a stinking recliner covered in stiff canvas clothes, I was lying in sheets that actually smelled clean. In fact, they smelled like detergent, cologne, and something spicy that made my mouth water, my mind struggling to place that familiar scent in its haze. I felt like I had run a marathon and I was sure I looked like I had too.

Slowly, I eased into a sitting position, realizing I was butt naked and pulled the covers up over my chest. With a wince, I touched my throbbing temple and then the spot on my neck that felt like it was being twisted around with a corkscrew. I felt something soft and squishy, which my fingers reflexively curled around and I ripped the thing off, staring at the bloody wound pad. Then I was touching the torn flesh of my neck and almost gagged at the sensation. My vision spiraled and my skin became clammy and hot at the same time. Sucking in deep breaths, I focused on a wrinkle in the bedding.

Do not touch bleeding hole in neck. Got it. Why had the Admiral chewed on me a bit, but not eaten me? Exer had never said anything about that, had he?

My eyes snapped up to the paneled wall in front of me. He said that Varkari were a carnivorous species that was sustained by blood. I just got alien-vampired.

"Humans take longer to adjust to the duthralia than female Varkari," a deep voice said from the corner of the room.

I nearly broke my neck looking his way. The Admiral was leaning against the door frame, yellow eyes too much like that of a hungry animal were trained on me. He was not dressed in his usual military armor, but a pair of silky-looking slacks and a common white Varkari shirt that had a deep V neckline. I swallowed down my heartbeat that was threatening to pop up my throat.

I was not sure if I wanted to talk to him, but he could clearly see the confusion all over my face. "The duthralia is the claiming bond. It is a venom we can only secrete when we take a mate. You will not be aroused by any other male, nor will you be fertile for any other while the duthralia exists. It changes your scent so others will know you are mine and will help me locate you easily."

My voice was hoarse and cracked, but I stared him down with all the confidence I could muster. "How do I get rid of it?" At the same time, turning my head so quickly had pulled at my wound and I could feel a drop of blood slowly trickling down to my collar bone which I angled away from him.

His eyes narrowed to slits, the yellow turning molten as spines lifted from his shoulders under his shirt and his canines lengthened, making him look bigger and more lethal as he pushed off the wall and took measured steps toward me. "Even if you managed to do it, I would reinstate it. You made the mistake of running from me. I would have never given up searching for you and now that you bear my mark, you can never hide."

"I won't stop running away from you until the day I die," I hissed at him. "When you get too lazy, I'll get out and I will go so far you won't even remember what the bond felt like in the first place."

The Admiral leaned over, palming the edge of the bed and digging his claws into the mattress, shoulders rounding my way as he started invading my space. I gripped the blankets tight and forced myself not to scoot away. The anger in his expression morphed fluidly into a handsome smirk. "And where do you think you are at this moment, fearsome little female of mine?"

I glanced around very quickly, not willing to take my eyes off the Admiral for long. It would be like looking away from a tiger and expecting it not to take advantage and pounce. The paneled walls gave me no clues and, except for being smaller than Exer and Konderick's guest bedroom, it looked very similar.

I shrugged. "Back in the city, trapped in your special towers?"

His satisfied smirk grew until his prominent canines made an appearance. I repressed a shiver as goosebumps trailed from my ravaged neck to my fingertips, remembering exactly what they could do. He was staring at me like a cat at a mouse's back. He tsked a few times, drawing so near I could smell that masculine pheromone rolling off of him and fogging my brain. My mind wanted me to flee, my heart starting to race in preparation while my muscles tensed. At the same time, I felt my nipples beading up against the soft blanket and slick sliding between my legs. "No, my little female. You are aboard Sheltratia, my starship, and we are headed back to Varkar where you are to be my mate."