"Nope!"I almost shouted it before I realized I'd be giving myself away to the other turochs."Just stop talking, Dargo.It's not happening."
He leaned back in the truck, kicking his hooves like a kid on a bench.
"I can be patient, little Firebrand."
Damn that fucking pet name.It lit up a warmth in my middle I couldn't ignore and I had to fight the urge to smile at him.Even when I wanted to smack him, he somehow turned into this silly charmer and made me forget he was a fucking alien gladiator.
I yawned and slouched deeper into my chair.The sun had moved enough that I was in the shade of the scrubby bushes and I felt relaxed for the first time in days.It was a stupid feeling.I was parked outside an alien camp, I should be on high alert, but Dargo's endless teasing made me feel like the world wasn't completely fucked.
My eyes felt so damn heavy, but I knew I needed to stay awake.I didn't trust Dargo, even if I was starting to like him.And one mistake would ruin my only chance to save my friends.My head nodded forward and I forced my eyes open, only to feel them drooping shut again.
I wasn't going to sleep, but one really slow blink would feel great right about now.I could blink without falling asleep.I just had to open my eyes before I passed out.My eyelids dropped, and it felt so good I let myself enjoy the sensation for one more second.
I'd open my eyes on three.One...two...
12 Dargo
My female had fallenasleep.I stared at her, hating how uncomfortable she looked with her head resting on her chest.The bands around my wrist seemed tighter all of the sudden and all I wanted to do was snap them and scoop her out of her strange cloth chair and cradle her against me.Surely she'd be more comfortable resting against my chest, stretched out in the back of this truck.
But I knew she wouldn't be pleased if she woke up in my arms, so I stayed where I was, keeping watch over her as she slept.The sounds of the camp over the hill were a slight comfort.I could imagine the bustle of settling a new camp, the clash of personalities as the pecking order of our new band was established.
Turochs were a social species, as soon as a young male left his mother band, he sought out other males.Before I'd been captured by the sytos, my own band had been one of the largest on Oska, nearly fifty unmated males had roamed the plains together, hunting and fighting for sport.
I missed the sense of belonging that came with spilling blood next to them and sharing kills.It had been years since I'd seen a male from my old band, and their names and faces were hazy in my memory.But I could remember the contentment of leaning against my hoard of belongings, watching the newest males challenging each other and basking in the heat of the communal fire.
As soon as the cruiser had crashed to this planet, a new band had been formed.Far larger than any one group of males on Oska and none of us together by choice.No doubt tensions would be high while we found our place in this new world.
There wasn't just the matter of hierarchy and order to deal with, but the fact that there were over a hundred unmated males trapped on a planet with no turoch females.I'd found my mate, and I wasn't going to give her up.But I knew the odds were high I'd be fielding a long line of challengers when I finally made my claim on Taz.
Staring down at my sleeping female, I was filled with hope for our future on this planet.When the sytos finally left the atmosphere, there would be human survivors to deal with.No species would enjoy an invasion of strangers on a planet already reeling from a syto harvest.If Taz was an example of the people here, we may have a long road of territory disputes ahead of us.
A band of well-trained turochs, commanded by a strong chief, could stand against many foes, but no matter how many humans had been taken or perished in the invasion, they'd still outnumber us.We'd need to tread carefully to avoid war with our new neighbors.
Thankfully that was a task that would fall to whichever unfortunate male asserted his dominance over the new band and claimed the title of Chief.
Taz moaned in her sleep, her head falling to the side as she shifted in her chair.I smiled and wondered if all my offers to lick her cunt had invaded her dreams.I hoped so.I'd dozed during the night, and thoughts of having her slim form writhing under me had haunted those stolen moments of sleep.
