Baaul: A Change of Heart

Chapter 25: Shedding Humanity

Renee never thought that she would ever be found in such a mortifyingly vulnerable state in her life. Baaul was still buried deep inside of her, his hands were the only thing keeping her upright because her body was so weak from the pummeling it took just moments before.

She hadn't even the strength to speak when Baaul lifted his arm, aimed directly at Steve and shot something out of his gauntlet at him. It hit Steve and lifted him off his feet, nailing him to the wall out in the hallway. His agonized screams could have been heard across the city.

Renee whimpered as Baaul removed himself from her. He gently picked her up, using his body to shield her from Steve's glaring view as he tried to claw at the thing pinning him in place. Once he lied her down on the mattress, Baaul took his time redressing his armor. She lifted a shaking hand to him in one last attempt to stop what she knew was coming.

Baaul caressed her cheek, his thumb brushing the apple of it. He purred, urging her racing heart to slow. Then he straightened and turned to face Steve. He reached over his shoulder and jerked the metal pole off his armor, taking solid steps toward the door. His weight made the floor creak as he moved as most places were not equipped to handle creatures as large as he was. He flexed his arm as he squeezed the pole and Renee watched as needle like spears shot out of both ends.

Renee struggled with her body to move, but she might as well have been a newborn fawn. She watched as Baaul ducked his head under the frame of the door and pull it shut behind him so she wouldn't have to watch.

She knew that he was going to kill Steve, but that didn't make it any easier for her. The moron had just been doing what he thought was right. What was moral. Now he was going to die for it.

Tears seeped from her eyes as her body screamed in protest at her movements. She didn't want him to die. Moron or not, she didn't want him to die.

Renee groaned as she forced herself up with extreme difficulty. Pain nearly buckled her to the floor when she tried to stand straight. That position did not mix well for her back with him being so rough. No matter how wonderful it felt in the moment, they would not be doing that again without some restraint on his part.

It had felt like a lifetime by the time she made it to the door, but Baaul was holding Steve by his throat, his mask abandoned on the floor. Steve's face was turning purple from the lack of oxygen and his eyes were wide and blood shot as he slammed his fist onto Baaul's forearm.

"Let him go!" Renee shouted as she allowed herself to lean on the frame. Baaul turned to roar at her and she just glared back at him. "Did I fucking stutter, Baaul?"

Baaul growled again, flaring his mandibles at her. "He dies! He is a thief!"

"He thought you were trying to kill me Baaul! He was trying to save me! Shit!" Renee gasped as her knees buckled and she fell to the floor.

Instinctively, Baaul abandoned Steve to help Renee up. Steve's gasps of air were impossible to miss as they echoed in the small hallway. Renee suddenly wondered why the hell no one was checking out what all the noise was about, because they hadn't exactly been quiet.

Baaul hissed at Steve who was looking at Renee with a level of disgust she had never seen on his face before. It hurt her heart because she needed no words to understand that look. She knew it well, as did many other women. It was the look a man had when he went from lusting after a woman to deciding she had no worth. Though the look was not something she hadn't experienced before, she just had never expected to see it on Steve's face... and it hurt. Bad. It was never a fun experience to realize that a man a woman had considered a friend... had never been one to begin with, because they just wanted to have sex with her. They had only been nice, because they had wanted to see the woman naked. The utter betrayal hurt.

"Baaul. Take me home." Renee whispered. Though her voice had been low, her despair is what made Baaul look down at her. She couldn't mask the ache in her heart even if she tried and she was too tired to try.

The shift inside Renee was instant, visceral, and cold. The desperate, protective fire she had been holding onto for Steve extinguished in a split second, replaced by a hollow, bleeding exhaustion. She was done shielding him. Whatever nostalgia or obligation she felt toward her old life died the moment she saw that look in his eyes. He truly had only ever wanted to sleep with her.

Baaul felt the change in her. Renee could see it in the way his eyes flickered from her face back to Steve. Her big alien caressed her face once before moving back to clamp his hand back around Steve's neck, lifting his bloodied, battered body back up against the wall.

Steve gasped, his knuckles white as he clutched at Baaul's iron forearm, but his gaze remained glued to Renee with that sour, venomous judgment. That look would likely haunt her dreams. The look that said he no longer even saw her as human, all because of who she loved. The look that said his disgust with her was more powerful than his fear of death...

A low, vibrating snarl rattled deep in Baaul's chest, making the floorboards beneath them hum.

Steve didn't even have time to register the shift in the air.

Baaul didn't reach for his spear, because he would not honor Steve with a weapon. With one sudden, casual jerk of his wrist, Baaul twisted Steve's head past its natural limit.

A sickening crack echoed through the narrow hallway... and Renee felt nothing.

Steve's eyes went instantly vacant. The disgust melted into nothingness as his body went limp, dangling like a discarded ragdoll in Baaul's grip. Without a second glance, Baaul dropped him, letting Steve's lifeless weight crumple onto the stained hallway runner in a heavy heap.

Renee numbingly recognized the insult for what it was. Baaul had just treated Steve in the worst possible way a Yautja could an opponent. Like trash. A nuisance. Not even worthy of becoming a trophy. Steve had insulted her, and so Baaul returned the favor for her honor.

It was almost funny that Renee felt more seen, understood and appreciated by an alien than her own kind after seeing that look on Steve's face. The look that said she was a monster. The irony wasn't lost on her at all.

Renee couldn't even bring herself to look at the body as Baaul turned back to her. The terrifying monster that had just snapped a man's neck vanished the second his eyes landed on her, replaced entirely by a attentive, fiercely devoted male.

He dropped to one knee in front of her, his massive hands surprisingly gentle as he scooped her up against his broad chest. Renee let out a breathy gasp at the sudden lift, her body aching in places she didn't even know existed, but her head instinctively fell into the crook of his neck. The heat radiating off his skin was a welcome contrast to the suddenly cold air of the hallway.

He rumbled something soft in his native tongue, his mandibles brushing against her hairline as a deep, rhythmic purr vibrated through his chest, clearly trying to soothe her frayed nerves.

Renee didn't look back at the mess on the floor. She just closed her eyes and clutched tightly at the armor straps on his shoulder as Baaul picked up his mask from the floor, pulled it over his face, and engaged his cloak.

The air around them shimmered as light bent around their bodies. Renee buried her face deeper into his neck, letting the heavy hum of his camouflage wash over her as he carried her out into the cool night air, leaving the human world behind for good.

And she was glad.

***AUTHOR'S NOTE***

😅 Soooooooooorryyyyyyyyyyyy for the years long unintentional hiatus. I'm hoping I can get this finished before the end of the year as we are really close to finishing. I appreciate your dedication and thank you to everyone reading The Heir. I hope it'll deliver the same sort of love for you.