Claimed (2 page)

Sorvar forced himself to keep walking and not to return to bite her again and again. There would be time for that after their transformations. He could wait the six months it would take to transform. He couldn’t wait to see how his Morgath genes fused with his mate’s human genes.

Males gathered outside the airlock to his ship, energy stifling the air. The heavy oppressiveness swamped him as he drew closer and told him few, if any of them had found a mate. It wasn’t uncommon for a ship to return with no males finding a mate.

Taking on the species they usually preyed on unawares was almost impossible now. It had helped sway the males’ decision to raid Deranti Station when he suggested it. He’d also argued that if they kept taking mates from the same species, the Coalition would never accept them. The species they currently took to mate had never produced the much-needed females that would gain them admittance into the Coalition. It was time for the Morgath to choose from a wider variety of species in an attempt to breed females.

His father would be furious with his choice of mate, though. Not much information was available on the humans, especially the females. All they knew was humans were a weak species that needed to rely on their weapons for protection. They stood no chance in a one-on-one fight with the majority of species who were members of the Coalition, and those in the Outer Rim as well.

But he didn’t care. The minute he’d caught her scent, he’d tracked her through the station, determined to find the source of the tantalising scent. Something about his little mate fascinated him. She smelled like heat and spice, like the air on Morgath right before a storm, and he couldn’t get enough.

Sorvar walked through the throng of males outside the airlock and into the warmer, moister air of his ship. His claws clicked on the plate flooring as he stalked towards Medical.

Every male knew of the requirement to submit to scans and testing once mated, so the medics could track their transformations. His father had carved the rule in stone, and it was even more important for him to do so. His mating with a human would be the first in Morgath history, and he would set the standard for every other male who chose a human as a mate.

Seklan looked up from the console he stood at when Sorvar walked through the double doors into Medical.

“My Prince, did you have need of me?” Seklan asked.

Of course he did. Why else would he be here? “I’m here for the scans, Seklan. I found a mate on the station, and she’s human. I thought you would want to complete the scans straight away,” Sorvar replied.

Seklan stared back at him, his eyes wide and his wings rustling. Was he nervous or scared? Sorvar tilted his head as he studied the medic.

“Is something wrong?” he asked when Seklan didn’t move.

“N-no, my Prince. It’s just, you are the first male to mate with a human. They are such a frail and inadequate species. Your father—”

Sorvar cut the medic off with the slash of his hand. “I will worry about my father. First, I have to make it through the transition. The differences between our peoples are great.”

Maybe they were too different. He rolled his head and loosened the tight muscles of his neck. The gathering warmth in his gut spread and built. The change couldn’t be starting so soon. Could it?

It took months for the change to complete, and most males didn’t feel anything until at least a week after they claimed their mates.

“Seklan, you should perform the scans and tests now. The change is already starting.” Sorvar walked towards one of the medical tables.

“But, my Prince, that’s impossible! Quickly, then—get up on the table and I will begin the scans. Perhaps you picked up an illness from the human.”

Sorvar clenched his teeth to stop himself from ripping into Seklan. His mate had
not
given him an illness. He’d talked to enough males to know how the change started.

He stalked the rest of the way to the medical table and settled down on the cold metal surface on his stomach, his wings folded tightly against his back. The air in the Medical bay started to become stifling as his body continued to heat.

The frame for the scanner lowered over him with a low whine, but all of Sorvar’s attention was taken by the rapidly building heat in his gut. No longer a gentle warmth, it had become a burning hot coal in a matter of minutes, and it was spreading through his body like the inexorable encroachment of the tides across the Derlika Flats near his home.

A low noise had come from Seklan before he said, “Prince Sorvar, I don’t understand. You are already entering Stage One transformation.”

He was right. His transformation was starting early, but how? The scanner frame whined again as it rose and Seklan rushed over with a blood extractor in his hand. A small prick between the scales on his neck that Sorvar barely noticed, and the medic had a blood sample.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position on the table, the heat spreading out to the ends of his fingers and toes and even the tips of his wings and tail. A sharp pain twisted his stomach, pulling a sharp gasp from him.
Holy Ninvah.
That hurt!

“Your transformation is progressing at an accelerated pace, Prince Sorvar. I would recommend we return home as quickly as possible. I do not have the equipment here on the ship to assist you,” Seklan said from the console.

What a marvellous fucking idea! Sorvar clenched his teeth to stop a growl from erupting. He had no problems with going home, and he would prefer to be in Bavric’s capable hands during his transformation than Seklan’s.

The ship’s medic had never hidden the fact that he didn’t agree with the Morgath taking alien mates. Like Sorvar’s father, Seklan believed the aliens tainted the Morgath bloodline. How that was even possible when every child born of a mated union bred true to the Morgath, he’d never quite understood.

He needed to round up the crew and get the ship started for home before he locked himself in his quarters. However, things didn’t work out quite the way Sorvar wanted. Pain ripped through him, making him feel like he’d been torn open, and it was all he could do not to scream as he toppled off the table.

Chapter Two

The pain had dragged Tina into the black depths of unconsciousness, and pain ripped her awake, screaming. Hands pushed against flesh that felt like it was boiling off her bones.

God, every inch of her felt like it was on fire, feeling like it was seared and burned. Tina thrashed against the hands that were trying to hold her down. Her back arched as a wave of excruciating pain washed over her, pulling another scream from her.

A tumble of voices, some deep and some softer, penetrated her pain until another wave sent her spinning into the void.

At some point, the pain stopped, and Tina rose through the layers of darkness. Light flared behind her eyes, and with a flutter, she opened them. Oh god, where was she? Why couldn’t she remember anything? Her eyes stung for a moment as bright light rushed in. A few blinks and she could see the panelled ceiling above her.

Faces appeared in her line of vision, faces she knew, her new colleagues, and her initial spurt of panic started to subside.

“Tina, can you understand me?” Doctor Tragesh asked.

“Yes.” She spoke into the mask that covered the lower half of her face. What a strange question.

“Good, good. You’ve had quite an adventure, and it’s not over yet. Your temperature is still elevated, and your lungs are not working at one hundred percent efficiency. The mask needs to stay on for a while longer.”

Tina nodded and flexed her arms, attempting to stretch some of the tightness out of her muscles only to find herself strapped down. Her heart skipped a beat, then started to pound. Why was she strapped down? Why couldn’t she remember? With the serious blank in her memories, she couldn’t remember how she had come to be in Medical.

And that was where she was. Normally, she would recognise her new workplace just by the scent, but with the mask over her mouth and nose, medicated air was all she could smell.

It was strange being on the other side of things. She hadn’t been sick in years. Usually she was the one treating a patient. Usually she was the one fiddling with equipment and running tests.

They’d put her in one of the intensive care capsules, and even though it was unlikely she was contagious, she must have been close to death. Each capsule had its own air supply and all the equipment a doctor could need to administer almost any test and even perform surgery if required.

The room hummed with the noise of all the monitors and machines, and with a jerk, Tina became aware of the slight discomforts of tubes, wires, and monitor pads attached to her naked body.

“What happened to me, Doctor Tragesh? How did I end up in here?” Tina strained against the bands keeping her immobile.

Doctor Tragesh placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Do you remember the raid, Tina?”

Oh god. The raid! Screams and smoke, flickering lights and fear filled Tina’s mind. All she could do was nod her head, quite the accomplishment with the mask holding her almost immobile.

“They found you unconscious when we returned to the station. It took eight hours for us to come back, and we aren’t sure how long you lay there injured. Something bit you, and it wasn’t until we were able to draw blood for analysis that we discovered it was a Morgath. It’s very exciting, Tina, as you are the first human ever to receive a bite from one. We’ve been monitoring your progress for the last three weeks. It’s the fastest transformation ever recorded. Usually, a Morgath transformation takes six months if the female doesn’t commit suicide.”

Tina’s mind whirled by the time the doctor had finished speaking. A Morgath.
Three weeks!
Memories started to assail her, and a deep shudder made her bonds creak. A deep ache started low in her belly, and heat spread through her limbs as she remembered the harsh growl of the male’s voice.

An alarm sounded from somewhere close, and Doctor Tragesh left, she assumed to check the monitors stuck to her body. Tina took a deep calming breath, and another. She honestly didn’t mind them studying her. She was also a medic, after all. If she had been the doctor in charge, she would want to study the patient as well, but she didn’t want them knowing that just the thought of the Morgath male made her pulse pound and an embarrassing slickness ready her sex.

Tina frowned. That shouldn’t be happening. She’d had the blocker before leaving Earth. She shouldn’t be having a sexual response to anything. Doctor Tragesh would be able to tell her what was going on. She’d have to remember to ask him.

It was embarrassing enough that doctors and medical students would be pouring over her transformation records—now her arousal would be documented for them all to see. Tina strained against the bonds holding her down, wanting nothing more than to get up and escape. The heat in her face compounded the heat building in her body. Damn traitorous body. How could it do this to her?

Doctor Tragesh returned with a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye. “You’re going to be here for a little bit longer, Tina. Can I get a learning pod sent up for you? If I were in your position, I would want to know everything I could find about the species that had changed me.”

“That would be great, Doctor Tragesh. I’m a little light on that particular species. The Coalition did not include the Morgath in my studies, and can you release me? Please?” Tina would beg if she had to. She was helpless and vulnerable strapped down to the medical bed, a situation she hated.

“No. The species of the Outer Rim aren’t included in the Coalition’s study regimen. They don’t come into Coalition space often, and we hardly ever have to treat one.” He looked at her for a long moment before reaching for her bindings. “If you try to leave, Tina. I will restrain you again.”

Tina nodded and waited, keeping her body relaxed while Doctor Tragesh released her, then waited with growing impatience for one of the techs to arrive with the learning pod. The male handed her the small device and raked his gaze down her barely covered body, a leer twisting his lips. Tina ignored him and the way her skin crawled. Instead, she powered up the tablet and waited for it to come online.

A marvel of educational learning to the humans, the pods imprinted the information straight into the brain. A quick scan from the machine read her brain’s signature and put the information into a format that her brain could assimilate. Every species was different, and the pod’s ability to adapt its information to suit the species using it was a technological marvel.

“Give me all the information available on the Morgath,” Tina instructed the pod when a welcome in Coalition Standard scrolled across the screen.

A moment later, a light stream emitted from the pod as it scanned her, reading her brain waves. A few seconds later, the pod emitted a series of flickers, and the data was rolling through her mind. Species specs, mating habits, a detailed description of the Morgath world and social structure, even an image of their royal family, and the history of the Morgath’s attempts to be accepted into the Coalition, and last but not least, all the medical details of the transformations of several species into mates. All of it there for her to sift through at her leisure.

A roaring started in Tina’s ears as she delved into the information. Oh, fuck! This couldn’t be happening to her. Why had he chosen her? Why couldn’t he have left her alone? Her chest tightened, and breathing became difficult. A panic attack. God, she was having a panic attack.

“Breathe deep, Tina. Everything will work out, just breathe through it,” Doctor Tragesh encouraged as he rushed over to her.

Tina’s heart raced as her body trembled, sending the monitor’s alarms blaring through the room. Her stomach churned, and she gasped into the mask. Everything became a blur as tears swam in her eyes and blinded her.

Oh god. Everything she’d worked so hard for was gone. Her dream.
Gone.
Every hour of study, the fight she’d put up to get accepted into the space program.
Gone
because of one male. One freaking bite, and her life had changed forever.