She had no idea that the day was about to take a twist she never could have seen coming.
2
BRUX
Brux lay with his head on his paws, staring through the metal bars of his cage in abject misery. How long had he been here? He no longer knew. His ability to tell the passing of time was fading and blurring along with the rest of his sentient thought.
It was a problem that happened with Lykan Monstrum when they lost their mate…and Brux’s mate had been gone for over a year now. Or was it two years? Four? Five?
He no longer remembered. He only knew that his mate was gone, and he was alone. His spirit was no longer tethered to another’s and so he was devolving…losing the sentient part of his mind and becoming more and more animal every day.
He’d lost his bipedal form months ago—now he had no choice but to go on all fours. He had paws instead of hands…claws instead of fingers. He’d even sprouted a long, bushy tail, which he didn’t usually have in his bipedal humanoid form.
He was covered head to toe in gray fur, but that was normal—even in his more evolved state, he never lost his warm pelt. But it was thicker now—heavier. His kind were meant for living in high mountain forests and arctic landscapes, not being cooped up indoors. The creatures who had found him—who looked like giant insects—kept their floating hive building too warm for comfort—he was always panting and drinking water to try and cool down.
At least they gave him plenty of food—even if it wasn’t very tasty. Crunchy and hard—it tasted like protein dust, but it kept him alive. Not that he cared to live in this devolved state.
Though he could no longer think very well, one idea was floating around in his head and growing stronger every day he stayed here—this life wasn’t worth living.
He might as well fade away completely and allow himself to go to the Goddess. If he did, maybe he would find his mate again. But would he recognize her? Even though he still missed her badly, her face had faded from his mind. All he had left of her was the memory of her arms around his neck as she hugged and held him…
As these miserable thoughts floated through his head in a hazy way, his ultra sensitive ears caught the sound of a door opening somewhere. Visitors, no doubt, come to see the other inmates of this prison.
The sound didn’t interest him until his nose caught a whiff of something different floating through the air. Brux lifted his head off his paws…what could that be?
Tilting his head to one side, he stuck his nose through the bars and inhaled, trying to get a better smell of the new scent. It seemed to be coming towards him and it was feminine.
It had been an eternity since he’d smelled anything female—well, other than the other animals in the various cages around him. But their scents didn’t interest him—none of them were sentient. They couldn’t speak or think or understand. But this scent—he was sure it belonged to a sentient woman. Not of his own species, but close—very close.
A moment later, he heard voices floating down the long metal corridor. For the first time in hours, he got to his feet. He inhaled again, more deeply this time. The scent was getting stronger—it was such a good scent—so right and true!
The scent of a mate—or one who could be a mate. There were other scents too—another female, but she was clearly already mated, Brux could smell her male on her. And of course, the scent of the huge insect being who fed him and let him out of his cage sometimes to run in the open area at the center of the ship. It had a sharp, metallic tang to it that stung his sensitive nose.
But neither of those smells interested him. He only wanted to see the one who smelled like she could be his mate. Lykan Monstrum couldn’t mate with just anyone—in fact, there were very few females, even of their own kind, who were genetically compatible with them. He hadn’t smelled any in this universe at all until now.
O please—please let her come, he thought, his simplified thoughts turning into a kind of prayer. Send her to me. Let me scent her. Let me see her. Please…PLEASE!
But then the footsteps began to fade and the scent did too. Brux’s heart—which was beating so hard—sank. No…she was leaving! She wasn’t going to come where he could see her. If he had been in his bipedal form, he would have cried.
As it was, all he could do was howl.
Lifting his nose to the sky, he called out for her—for the woman with the good/right/perfect scent—crying for her to come to him. It was purely instinct—one he couldn’t control, and he howled with his whole heart—with all the sorrow and loss and longing inside him.
Please…please…please …come to me! Come to me—I need you!
It was the only thought in his head and he couldn’t stop howling for his mate. If only he could see her, just once. If only she would come…
3
KIERA
“Zzo if you’ll come thizz way, I’ll zzhow you the greenhousezz where we grow most of our exotic vegetation for our animalzz,” Dr. A’flerzz was saying when Kiera heard a long, liquid howl coming down the corridor.
It was a heartbreaking sound, and it froze her in her tracks. She literally stopped moving—right in the middle of the long metal hallway—her head cocked to one side, listening.
“Hey, what was that?” she asked the Ba’ltzian scientist, frowning.
“Zzmm…” Dr. A’flerzz seemed to consider for a moment, their antennae twitching. The overhead lighting winked off their shiny dark blue carapace.
