Baaul: A Change of Heart

Chapter 16: Bloodlust

He was seeing red. The rage that consumed him was nothing other than bloodlust. After slaughtering the pathetic ooman’s, he had made his way over to the facility. There, Baaul found the Bad Blood stealing away Renee. Her screams of terror triggered the fever that now consumed his body.

He charged the Bad Blood, his bloodlust making him forget his weapons. The desire to feel his blood covered in his hands was a primal desire that could be the only thing to calm his bloodlust. The Bad Blood swiped his claws down at Baaul, but due to the injury in his thigh, the movement was sloppy and Baaul evaded it. He rammed his shoulder into the Bad Blood’s chest, knocking him into the tree next to Renee.

She screamed as she rolled her small body into a protective curl, attempting to protect herself from the raining splinters. The Bad Blood snarled and kicked Baaul’s thigh, forcing him to stumble back a step, but not before his claws racked down the Bad Blood’s chest. The Bad Blood slashed at his face, but his mask protected him from any damage.

The Bad Blood roared at him again, this time speaking to him. “Why does an Elite care what happens to an ooman?!”

Baaul roared again, unable to speak past his rage. His mind, however, could only scream ‘MINE! MINE! MINE! MIN-’ over and over again. Renee was his. HIS! He must destroy the threat!

The Bad Blood seemed to understand that there would be no talking to him and ran toward him. Baaul dunked under the swipe of his claws. This time, when the Bad Blood kicked at him, he was prepared. He braced for the blow to his side and wrapped his arm around his thigh. Using the Bad Blood’s own momentum, he twirled, slamming the Bad Blood into various trees before tossing him, roaring his superiority as the Bad Blood tumbled to the ground.

Baul didn’t give him a chance to get to his feet. He lept into the air and slammed his fist down squarely down into the Bad Blood’s sternum. The snapping of bone was glorious and the spray of blood that came from his mouth was beautiful. Baaul slashed down over the Bad Blood’s chest, his satisfaction of feeling the blood on his hands propelled him into a frenzy of slashes.

“BAAUL!”

The one word snapped him completely out of the bloodlust. He turned to see Renee, her small hand holding herself up weakly against the tree he had slammed the Bad Blood into. Her pale, thin legs were visibly shaking, threatening to give out support of her tiny weight.

Forgetting the Bad Blood, he went to her and realized the wide eyes she held for him was one of relief. He had been fully prepared for her to be mortified by his loss of control, but she smiled up at him with that clear liquid in her eyes that ooman’s secreted with feeling an overwhelming emotion.

When he was close enough to touch, Renee threw her arms around him and hugged him with as much strength as her little ooman muscles would allow. It genuinely surprised him. He froze as her soft ooman cheek rubbed into his abdominals.

He was at a loss for words, but Renee spoke before he could think to say anything. “Holy shit, I'm so glad to see you! You even smell amazing!”

If Yautja’s had been capable of blushing, he would have been right then, because he knew that he was emitting mating pheromones.

Something snapped behind him. It was the only thing that saved him because he had turned just in time for the wooden spear to pierce through his shoulder instead of his heart.

Baaul roared in pain but still had enough sense to turn and slam his fist into the Bad Blood’s face as Renee screamed her concern for him. He wrapped one arm around her, securing her to his frame and activated his plasma cannon.

The Bad Blood ran to escape the blast but it still caught his arm. The Bad Blood roared in agony as his left arm separated from his elbow. Still, the Bad Blood was not dead. He leapt into the trees, fleeing for his life. Baaul moved to follow him, but the pain in his shoulder nearly buckled his knees.