Chapter 164: Leaving
Looking at Ye’tab, I made a slashing gesture across my neck, hoping that he understood what I was getting at. When there was once again silence, I let out a sigh of relief.
"Do what you need to do," I said, addressing Da’kea. "Then we are leaving."
The Elder nodded and quickly left the X96 craft. Ye’tab turned his attention back to his command console while Midnight and GA stayed with me in what I was calling the ’nest area’. Hey, if you can’t beat them, join them.
"What is your actual name?" I asked, turning my attention to GA. I had just climbed into my bed and pulled the white fur he had given me up higher on my lap. "I don’t think I can call you my Guardian Angel for the rest of your life. Not to mention, I have never actually seen your face."
Since my mind wanted to go off in a hundred different directions, I would force it to concentrate on what was in front of me.
I saw GA stiffen at my words, and I couldn’t help the brief stabbing bit of pain at that idea. "So, I can only assume by your reaction that I am going to go the rest of your lives without actually seeing your face? I mean, that might end up making things a bit awkward in the future," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.
"It isn’t that," said GA hesitantly, and I could see the hesitation as he reached up his hand and left it to hover over the left side of his neck. "It’s more that I am worried you will take one look and never want anything to do with me or the Saalistaja again."
"As far as I am concerned, we have been matched genetically for a reason," I answered with a shrug. I knew that they had mandibles, and there was a large part of me that was absolutely intrigued about how it would look... and feel.
"Being a genetic match is vastly different from finding someone... attractive," said Ye’tab, coming over from what he was doing to stand beside the other male. "I have been trying to do as much research as possible on your species based on the findings of the Sisalik, and it appears that you do not seem to react to pheromones as much as we do."
"What does that mean?" growled Midnight from where he lounged beside me.
"It means that as much as for us, there is none other for the rest of our lives... it is not the same for her," reported the Saalistaja. "We have been changed on every level, bonded to a species that everyone assumed was long dead, and yet... it means nothing to her."
"Which would explain why the other mates went crazy," nodded Midnight. I looked over at the towering werewolf beside me and held my breath. This felt like one of those moments that would define the rest of my life. Would I need to kill all the males here? Could I do that before they killed me?
My brain ran through all of the different scenarios and possible outcomes as I waited for the other shoe to drop.
"Then there is only one way to deal with this," growled GA as he took a few steps toward me. Dropping to his knees, his hand slapped down on his neck, and the nanos surrounding him dissolved. "If you do not think me a suitable mate, kill me now. Otherwise, I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that your essence did not make a mistake choosing me as a mate."
I studied the male before me on his knees. Even in my wildest dreams, I never saw someone like him coming. My eyes were first drawn to his mouth and the mandibles I had heard clicking sometimes when he spoke to me.
His two bottom tusks rose up, covering his inner mouth. There were two much smaller tusks coming out of his chin just below his larger ones. The two upper tusks seemed to come out from each side instead of up and down like the lower ones, almost encasing them.
I raised my hand and gently ran my fingers over the skin of his jawline. He flinched for a second before holding still. His skin was somewhat bumpy, with smaller horns or spikes coming out up his upper cheek and surrounding his eyes, but it was dry and smooth, almost like the finest leather.
His yellow eyes were set back quite far into his skull to the point where his eye sockets looked almost like holes, with the eyes glowing in the darkness. He didn’t have a nose, but there was a large indentation between his eyebrows and forehead that made it seem like he didn’t have a frontal bone. Instead, it looked like his two parietal bones connected together in the front.
I slowly ran my hand down, feeling the sagittal suture that connected the two bones. Another set of three rows of spiked horns adorned each side of the suture, extending upward into the frill.
A low, purring sound erupted from him as I continued to explore his face with both my hands and eyes. I reached out to touch one of his locs, but he quickly caught my wrist, forcing me to pause. Looking at him, I raised an eyebrow.
"We are highly sensitive there," reminded Ye’tab, still firmly encased in his armor.
GA grunted but then slowly lowered my hand until I was touching his ’hair’. With the utmost care, I traced the rough surface. It might look soft and inviting, but in this case, appearances were definitely deceiving.
His locs felt like a cat’s whisker, but each strand was as thick as the circumference of a quarter. It was stiff but pliable and somewhat tactile. His hand let go of my wrist, and I took that as unspoken permission to keep going. I gently circled where the upper locs were fused to his skull, and his purring started again louder this time.
A large part of me wanted to ask if I could see his inner mandibles, but even I was aware that that would be borderline rude.
"You are incredible," I sighed, completely serious as I stared at the male.
He grunted, and I could have sworn that I saw a tinge of green in his cheeks.
"I have to admit, I didn’t see that coming," said Midnight as he leaned against the furs acting as my pillows. "This is the first time I have even seen a Saalistaja without a helmet on."
"That is more of a comfort thing than anything else," said Ye’tab, removing his armor. Leaving my hand on GA, I turned to look at the other male. Just as impressive as the first, but with a more olive complexion. "We are more vulnerable like this than with our armor on, and we generally prefer an atmosphere with more nitrogen than most other species."
Midnight nodded his head in understanding. "We’ll try to figure out something. No one should have to wear armor all the time," he said sagely, and I raised my eyebrow at him. "Is this the royal we? Or are you making decisions about my ship without consulting me first?"
"Well, I was a prince of sorts," he said with a chagrinned smile. "But you are right. I am sorry."
"Oh, don’t be sorry. You were correct," I answered, looking at the other males. Ye’tab already had his armor back in place, but GA was still bare. "I hate being in my suit for any length of time, so I will discuss it with you guys and Jun Li to find a level of nitrogen and oxygen that we could all find comfortable."
"Don’t worry about us," said GA, and I realized that I was still touching his face. "Even on our home planet and ships, we prefer to wear our armor."
"Still," I said as I lightly ran my fingers down from his forehead to his chin before letting go. "You should be comfortable enough to do what you want."
GA was about to open his mouth when there was a knock on the outer hatch. Quickly activating his armor, GA strolled to the door. Before he opened it, he turned around to look at me. "And my name is Au’dtair. But feel free to call me your GA whenever you want."
Without waiting for a reply, he opened the hatch.
"The males understand what is going on. They are also aware that if I have to hunt them down for my ship, their heads will be placed in a corner of my kill room as a warning to others," growled Da’kea as he brushed past Au’dtar and strolled into my ship.
"If you would prefer to stay here and have us come back for you later, that could be arranged," I pointed out.
"I would not prefer to stay here. I want to be beside you at all times," sighed the Elder. "It will be fine," he continued, visibly shaking his body. "When are we leaving?"
"Now," said Ye’tab as he strolled over to the command chair. "Strap in."
