I frowned, feeling a flicker of unease at the strange phrasing. "A... universal breeder? What does that mean?"
"It means," the technician replied in a carefully measured tone, "that your genetic code renders you physiologically compatible for... intermingling with a vast array of species across the galaxies."
The words hung in the air, heavy and obscene, as the full implications sank in. I felt my cheeks flush bright red, a combination of visceral horror and outrage roiling in the pit of my stomach.
"You... you can't be serious," I managed at last, bile burning at the back of my throat. "That's... that's not possible. I'm human, from Earth! We're not some kind of... of galaxy-wide sex slaves meant for your twisted amusement!"
I could feel the weight of the guards' stares growing heavier, more predatory. As if they suddenly saw me in an entirely new light—not just a curiosity to be studied, but an exotic prize to be hunted and claimed.
Raxon seemed to sense the shift in the atmosphere as well. He snarled something harsh and guttural, one paw dropping to the wicked blade hanging at his hip as he positioned himself between me and the rest of the room.
The technician lifted both hands in a placating gesture, features carefully neutral. "Peace, Raxon. I meant no insult or indecency, merely an objective assessment based on the genetic data. The fact that your... that Sutton is compatible with cross-species breeding is simply a natural consequence of her biology, nothing more."
Raxon's muzzle wrinkled in a feral snarl, but he made no move to draw his weapon just yet. "You'd better pray that's all it is. Because if I find out you or any of your ilk have more despicable intentions towards her..."
He left the threat hanging, raw menace dripping from every syllable. The technician swallowed hard, giving a shallow nod of understanding.
"Of course, Raxon."
Fury and shame burned through me. I wasn't some kind of twisted sex slave, damn them! Raxon seemed to sense myrising panic. With a snarl of rage, he placed himself between me and the others, one hand dropping to the blade at his hip.
"You'll not lay a hand on her," he growled in a tone that brooked no argument. "Sutton is under my protection now, by the ancient rights of the Kal'doren. Any who challenge that will taste my steel."
The technician shrank back, eyes widening as he took in the unmistakable threat. "O-of course, Commander. No insult was intended, I assure you."
But his platitudes fell on deaf ears. Raxon simply turned to face me, amber eyes blazing with an intensity that made me shiver.
"You'll remain at my side until this is sorted out, little one," he rumbled in a voice that wasn't quite an order, yet left no room for argument. "Unless you object?"
My throat worked soundlessly as I studied the fierce alien warrior looming over me. Part of me wanted to rail against his high-handedness, this archaic ritual of "claiming" me like a bloody possession.
But the greater part, the one ruled by cold pragmatism over foolish pride, knew the truth - Raxon was likely the only thing standing between me and worse violations at the hands of these depraved aliens. I was safer with the monster I knew.
So I swallowed my defiance and gave a tight nod. "No objections. Not for now, at least."
Raxon's eyes glittered at my assent, a fleeting look of male satisfaction passing over his leonine features. Then it was gone, buried beneath his usual inscrutable mask.
"Wise choice," he rumbled as he turned away. "Now come, we've lingered here too long already."
I fell into step beside him, the weight of a thousand unspoken questions pressing down with each stride we tookaway from the exam room. Just what had I gotten myself into by accepting this alien's protection?
Chapter Six
Raxon
The medical bay faded behind us, but the weight of that damning revelation still hung in the air like a sour miasma. I fought to keep my stride measured and controlled, but every instinct screamed at me to snatch up Sutton and race her to the nearest escape pod.
Get her off this ship, away from the prying eyes and twisted intentions of my so-called comrades before it was too late. Before one of them decided to test the scanners' findings about her "compatibility" and made a move to claim her for themselves.
The thought made my hackles bristle, a low rumble building in my chest. Over my dead body would any of those depraved vorks lay so much as a claw on the little human. She was under my protection now, bound to me by the most sacred traditions of my kind.
And if they thought to challenge that... well, it would be their funerals.
I risked a sidelong glance at Sutton, taking in the pallor of her features, the slight tremble still working its way through herdelicate frame. She looked shellshocked, her huge eyes slightly unfocused, as if she couldn't quite process the full implications of what had just transpired.
Not that I could blame her. That cold, clinical phrasing the technician had used, so blasé and matter-of-fact about her role as some kind of... of universal whore. It turned my stomach just remembering it. As if she were little more than a pleasure-slave to be bartered and sold to the highest bidder amongst our kind.
I felt the growl building again, echoing from the darkest recesses of my psyche. Rationality warred with a more primal side of me, one that recognized Sutton as something infinitely precious. Not just another curiosity or potential threat to be neutralized, but a rare flame of life and individuality that deserved to be sheltered and protected.
