Page 20 of The Dalgur’s Pet

She tried not to give in to the nausea bubbling at her throat, images of scalded humans playing through her mind. God, she wanted to weep for them, but she let Vrix’s fingers soothe her, brushing through her hair. She closed her eyes, surrendering to the gentle touches as his hands explored her body.

He hummed quietly, caressing her breasts and neck, lithe claws dancing across her shoulders and down her back.

Giselle was strangely calm in his presence, though she wasn’t sure if it was the warmth of the water or the gentleness of his touches, the soft noises he made as he scrubbed her body clean.

Even as peace tried to enshroud her, her mind couldn’t stop turning back to her predicament, flashes of anxious thoughts passing through her head.

She was in danger, and no amount of soothing touches and sweet words could make her forget that.

When she opened her eyes, Vrix greeted her with a smile.

“Are you certain we can’t go back to Earth?” she asked.

He narrowed his gaze, stiffening almost imperceptibly.

“Occaro X7 is very beautiful. You will enjoy it there.”

“Please, just let me go. I… I don’t belong here.”

He shook his head.

“Of course you do. You belong with us. And I have discussed it with Thase. There is a possibility we can still utilize you as our incubator. We may know someone who can… perform the appropriate surgery.”

A chill of fear snaked through her veins, and she tried to focus, tried to be strong even though she wanted to cry, wanted to give up, give in. She cleared her throat as her mind raced, trying to figure out how to stop this.

“Please. I don’t want to be your… incubator. I just want to go home.”

Vrix chuckled again.

“Your home is with us now. And if the surgery is successful, then we will fill you with many broods.”

Anxiety constricted her throat, her eyes wide as he nuzzled his maw against her neck, as if they were chatting about what to eat for dinner. Both paths were cloaked with utter terror; forced to be a brood mare for these psychopaths or what? A painful death as some alien surgeon tried to reconstruct her womb?

“I thought you had artificial incubators?”

He pulled away, a wicked smile on his face.

“They are useful, yes, but not pleasurable. They do not writhe and scream while we give them our clutches. They do not look as beautiful as you would, your belly swollen with our eggs. It is cold, clinical, not the splendor that is created when we use a living womb.”

It was a horror beyond recognition and Giselle trembled, tears burning at her eyes. She couldn’t breathe, gasping for air that refused to reach her lungs.

Vrix cocked his head, then placed a hand on her cheek. A tentacle extended from the arm, her eyes glued to it as it came for her, wrapping around her neck with gentle pressure.

“No,” she whimpered, not wanting to be unconscious around them again, but a moment later, exhaustion took over.

Her muscles went slack, her eyes closed, and her mind forgot.

CHAPTER 6

GISELLE AWOKE WITH A start, something she’d grown accustomed to, trying to flush the fog from Vrix’s sedation. Her eyes darted around the room, her breath only calming when she realized she was alone.

Calming, but only slightly.

She curled into a ball, pulling the sheets up to her chin as she lay on the bed. Her body was healed, but her mind was broken, torn between horror and relief, responsibility and surrender.

Could she forgive herself if she gave up? Despite the pain, the fear, it was a reprieve to give in to Vrix and Thase, her racing mind numbing as they used her, took pleasure from her and gave it back to her in return. It would be so easy to let it all happen, so easy to yield to desire, yield to respite.

She had never been used like that, not by Anthony or any of her past lovers. Complete and utter domination, it somehow calmed her, taking her out of her body and putting her in a place of bliss.