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Chapter 2: Krxare
I paced the command center floor as I waited for this year’s human females to arrive from the colony. Their leaders had greedily accepted our payment for the females, and the shuttle was on its way. I hated dealing with the officials from Nova Vita; they always stank of lies and deceit, but it was a necessary evil.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a kukee peeking out from her hiding hole. The creatures had lived in these mountains long before us and we now shared our living space with them.
The fluffy grey animal chittered at me. I knew what bothered it. The kukees didn’t like the vibrations from the human aircrafts, and most had already hidden away in their borrows in our walls. This one was particularly brave. Brave enough to make her complaint known.
“I know,” I said. “They’re here. I promise I’ll make them leave as fast as I can.” I reached down to pet her tiny head with the fleshy pad of my finger.
It chittered at me once more before disappearing into the walls.
I’d go into my rut soon, and so would all the males under my command. It’d be our third rut shared with human females. We’d been lucky to find a compatible species so far from home and on the very same planet we’d chosen to rebuild on: Vokira.
Home. I’d never see home again. Exiled from our own solar system, my warriors and I’d thought we were done for. We’d survived one bout of heat on our own with no females at all. Without females, my males had gone mad fighting each other. We’d lost many good warriors to the rut that first year.
When the heat hit, there were only two things on a male Kadrixan’s mind: fuck or fight. Without females, our tempers flared and we fought. Friends turned against friends as madness took our minds.
After we’d buried our comrades, I promised my warriors I’d never let it happen again. It had been pure luck that we’d found this colony of humans so far from their home planet. The stars smiled kindly on us.
We knew humans were compatible with Kadrixans. This was not the first time our species had met.
Several millennia ago, a Kadrixan ship stranded in this quadrant had landed on the barely-civilized planet and raided their villages for females, claiming them for their rut. Legend had it the warriors on the ship had returned to Kadri with their human mates and lived happy lives among our people. It was rumored that inside many Kadrixans were genetic markers of these past unions.
Rumors had it that Kadrixan had made it into human art and texts too, which was why they thought of us as demons. Now, here humans were again, at the right time and place to save us from ourselves.
I rubbed absentmindedly at my temples just under where my horns sprouted from my head, wondering if I’d be lucky enough to find my mate this year. The first year of our treaty, the human colony had sent only four dozen scared, crying females. The females had called us demons and devils, and they were sure they’d been sent to their deaths.
And at first, it had seemed as if they were correct. Four dozen females spread among my contingent of males meant a ratio of one female for every six Kadrixan warriors. Then add the fact that nine of my warriors had immediately fallen to their knees upon seeing the females—their mating bond triggered—which meant eight fewer females to go around. Two of the warriors were close friends and had formed a triad with a female; Kadrixan warriors did not share their mates unless it was with their mate brother.
At first glance, human females bore many similarities to our own. Kadrixan females were smaller and weaker than us; they did not grow wings and could not fly. They had small horns, and their claws were short and dull.
More importantly, female Kadrixans did not get stricken by the mating bond; only the males suffered that delightful curse. Males had to convince females to stay with them by providing a good life or risk being bonded to a female who did not love them back.
The first year, we found human females differed from our own in one crucial way. Kadrixan females could only climax once a day. Their channels tightened after receiving our seed. They needed a cool down before they could share sex again. Human females did not have this limitation.
Once the human females had found out how rewarding it was to have Kadrixan males between their thighs, some were willing to take several partners. Others were less enthused but learned to enjoy our touch.
At the end of our heat, we offered the women the chance to stay with us, mated or unmated. Only a few chose to return to Nova Vita. With us, they were well-fed and cared for.
“The shuttle from Nova Vita has arrived.” Vostak stood by the door. He was like a brother to me, and we’d fought at each other’s side for decades, just as our fathers had once fought side-by-side.
“Should we scare the representative and make him shit his pants again?” I asked.
Vostak chuckled. “That was pretty funny. He really thought we were going to eat him. I don’t think he’ll fall for it twice though. They sent the same one.”
I followed Vostak as he led the way out to the landing pad in front of our fortress. Our base was built into the side of the largest mountain on the continent, just like our ancestors’ homes back on Kadri. Vokira was beautiful and wild and would have been the perfect place to settle, even without the human colony across the ocean.
There were other intelligent species on the planet—tribes who’d been watching both the new human settlement and ours for years. Vokira was their native word for this planet, meaning Life-Giver. We did not plan on encroaching on their territories. We’d simply needed a place to settle.
The human leaders, however, were greedy, and it wouldn't be long before they started a war with the native tribes living in the forest. Or perhaps the tentacled beings of the ocean would attack first, rising up from the depths in protest against the pollution streaming down into the waters from the new human settlement they called Utopia.
As I walked through the stronghold we’d built into the mountains, the lights brightened as I passed. Many of the caverns had already been in place when we’d arrived; we’d simply had to finish them and add lighting and climate control. This planet was perfect, and many warriors had already claimed various peaks in this mountain range for their nests.
Too busy finding a solution for our yearly rut, I had yet to start building mine, though I’d claimed a small, protected cave at the side of a cliff near the top of the largest peak. When and if I found my mate, it would be there that I’d claim her as my own and convince her to stay with me and join together for life.
Traditionally, our mating nests had been set high in the cliffs of Kadri and lined with all the lavish items we could afford. Sumptuous fabrics, ornaments of gold, faceted gems; all were the life-long bounty of wealth we planned to bestow on our mates. There were no such things here on this planet, except for the precious gemstones we’d excavated out of the mountainside as we built our stronghold.
I’d had an impressive nest once; one I would not hesitate to fly a mate to and convince her to be mine. It had been on one of the more beautiful peaks in Kadri, and I’d fought many battles to win it.
