17 comments/ 18002 views/ 40 favorites Minute by Minute Ch. 01 By: Rosenkrantz All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. ****** The fields overlooking our tiny greens farm were blooming. The rhubarb leaves were flowering open, the lettuce was rising, and the carrots were starting to peek through. The peace in the early morning light was nearly overwhelming. I wanted to let it overtake me, swallow me up in its ice blue blanket before I had to turn around and return to the shambles that was my life. 

 Sighing, I placed my hand on the wet earth I was kneeling in and pushed myself up. After brushing my knees off and double-checking the irrigation system, I started the short walk back to the house. My peaceful morning solitude was over. 
 
Surrounded by green shallow hills and tall oak trees, the house stood out like a sore thumb. Prefab, I think they called it. The trend started right after the millennium, quick, cheap, easy to build houses made out of whatever material they could use. Ours is made out of those shipping containers that they used to use on trains or cargo ships. It looks like a bunch of big metal boxes that they cut and glued together. They started bringing the trend back when they were running out of resources to build houses for all of us Lower and Bottom born families. 

 "Noah!" 
 Fuck. That was my father. Officially jarred out of my thoughts, I ran the rest of the way to the house. Slipping inside the door, I immediately made my way to the kitchen. I could hear my father's steps lumbering down the stairs. As quietly as I could, I darted through the kitchen door to the stove. The holo-clock on the wall caught my eye. Oh no. 

No no no. 

 It was almost eight thirty. I had spent way too much time outside thinking. I lunged for the cabinet and started yanking out pans. I punched in directions on the stove and rushed to grab milk and eggs from the fridge. I didn't quite make it. The kitchen door crashed open. My mind took in the wobbling picture frames while my eyes trained on the figure before me. My father was still dressed in what he'd worn last night, a pair of ill-fitting pajama pants, a food stained undershirt, and a shabby old robe that reeked of alcohol. Desperately I hoped that he wasn't hung over. But as his red rimmed eyes locked onto me, I knew I was in trouble. 

 "Where the fuck is breakfast?" He ground out around his yellowed teeth. They fascinated me. I always wondered how he didn't get sick of the grimy feeling in his mouth. I knew he had a toothbrush. 

 SMACK! My head whipped to side. My ears rung from the force of the blow. Blood exploded into my mouth as my teeth sunk into my tongue. I really needed to start paying better attention. Lolling my head forward, I tried to focus on what he was saying. 

 "-breakfast! What the fuck are you doing? You stupid useless fucking whore!" 

 His leg lashed out and I barely had time to tighten my abs before his foot caught me under the ribs and a scream forced its way past my teeth. I fell to the ground and hunched in on myself. I could feel the cold tracks of tears as they ran down my face. He wouldn't like that. Men weren't supposed to cry. None too soon I felt his sweaty hand curl around the collar of my shirt and yank me up. He grunted in disgust before throwing me at the stove. 

 "You have ten minutes. Breakfast damn well be on the fucking table when I get back down." 

 Still in the position I had caught myself in, I slowly straightened myself out. He called me a whore. Yet he was the one who used me. Forced me. He was the one who -- Deep breath. 

 Ouch. Fuck, bad idea. No deep breathing. Breakfast. Taking a shatteringly painful breath, I started scrambling the eggs. I knew my brothers and sisters were probably right outside the door. Their breakfast was late too, after all. I heard the door open again, softly this time. 
 
"Noah." Sam. 

 "Yeah, Sam." The door clicked shut and I heard his footsteps quietly cross the floor until he was nearly against my back. Tears sparked in my eyes again so I shut them tight. I felt Sam's hand on mine, unclenching my fingers from around the pan's handle. Suddenly all the pain I had blocked out came rushing in. I whimpered. 

My head shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. I collapsed backwards into Sam as the pain from my fractured ribs exploded into my system. I felt his hands holding me up, running a damp cloth over my face to clean the blood and salty tears away. I let my head fall back against his shoulder. Through the gray haze that was my vision I could see that his own face was wet. Why was he crying? I didn't deserve his tears. I tried to reach up to brush the offending tears away but my side flared with fresh pain. 

 "Ah!" 

 Sam grimaced and shifted me so that he could hold me better. He spoke quietly, "Shh, Noah. Don't move. God, I wish I could take you away from him. Shh. I got you. Let me help take the pain away." A hand brushed over my swollen ribs and pain spiked briefly before I felt the familiar warmth encompass me. My head buzzed pleasantly and I could hear a faint cracking as my ribs knit themselves back together. I was floating in a golden ocean, anchored by his arms as he slowly healed me. Sometimes I wondered if he would allow me to float here in this lambent silence forever. Maybe if I killed myself. Where else would I go? Even pitch-black nothingness for the rest of eternity would be preferable to the desolation I lived in now. Then maybe I could sleep. Dimly I heard my name being called. I tried to swim my way through my thoughts and emerge into consciousness. 

 "Noah. Noah come on, we don't have much time left. Wake up buddy." 

 I opened my eyes slowly, not quite wanting to leave my golden comfort yet. I blinked up at Sam, realizing he was directly above me. Sometime during the process he must have slipped down the wall, cradling me in his arms. I was happy to see that an amused smile now replaced the sadness I had seen before. 

 "Come on kid, you gotta finish up breakfast.' A groan escaped my chest before I could check myself, but instead of reprimanding me, he chuckled and hefted me up. 

 "I know, but if you finish that up, I'll set the plates out." With one last affectionate ruffle of my hair, he grabbed the tableware and headed out the door. I turned back to the stove. The eggs were done and I had just enough time to throw some bread into the toaster and get out the juice. When everything was ready, I juggled everything into my arms and tried open the kitchen door without breaking anything. 

 Lucas and Ally were already sitting down, chatting with Sam. As I walked in, Lucas jumped up and grabbed the egg pan. 

 "Let me get that, little bro." He grinned at me, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. I just nodded and finished setting everything out. I heard what sounded like a heard of horses thundering down the stairs, and I barely managed to back out of the way before Paul came bursting in with our littlest brother, Beckett, over his shoulder. Sounds of laughter saturated the room. 

 "Paul! Lemme' down! Paul! No!" Beckett screamed and erupted into fits of laughter as Paul began tickling him mercilessly. I couldn't help but smile a little bit, but as soon as I did, Paul's slate grey eyes caught mine. The smile vanished and he stood slowly. I skittered my eyes away, but I could still feel his glare boring into my forehead. 

 "Beck, sit down. Ally, go make sure Chloe's up." Ally jumped up and shot me an apologetic glance before running out the door and up the stairs. "Breakfast was late." 

 I swallowed nervously and looked away before nodding. He took a step towards me. I stumbled backwards, nearly falling over a chair until Sam caught my arm. He steadied me and sent me a hard look that told me to stay quiet, like I didn't know that already. "Leave him alone Paul. It's out now, everything's fine. Just let it go." 

Paul huffed irritably, then glanced up at the clock. 

 "Whatever. Keep him out of the way today. We have important people coming over, and I don't want his stupid fairy ass fucking things up." 

 A breath I hadn't realized I was holding rushed out of me, but got sucked right back in as the door slammed open and our father came stomping in. He'd showered by now, his eyes considerably less red and his clothing much nicer than usual. Gone were the stained pajamas, replaced by brown cotton slacks that looked like they hadn't made it out of the closet since mom's funeral. The top was now a slightly wrinkled dingy white work shirt. My eyes widened at his appearance, but I kept my mouth shut. Whoever was coming today must be pretty important. He didn't say anything, just sat down at the head of the table and started scooping food onto his plate. I waited tensely for Ally and Chloe to come in and sit down, then slowly lowered myself into a chair. 

 I'd gotten through the morning. I could make it through the rest of the day. I didn't even want to think about tonight. Minute by minute. 

 
****** 

 I was working outside when they came. I heard the loud rumbling of the EFV-Heli long before its blocky metal form dropped into the front yard. I always thought they were so ugly. Government gray, it was shaped with a squarish front pod and two horizontal wings coming out of the top. The side door opened and a few officials jumped out, straightening their suits. Behind them a few URNA Marines popped out, guns at the ready. 

 What the fuck? When gov people came out, they usually just brought some of the section police, not fucking URNA killing machines. 

 Shit. Had they found out about Chloe and Beckett? Jerking my head towards the house, I tried to still my rapidly disintegrating nerves. They were hidden. We'd made extra sure of that hours ago. 

 It didn't make sense anyways. A few Unbarred didn't warrant a whole squadron of marines, or explain why father had gotten dressed up. What else was going on? I looked back towards the heli, and promptly dropped my shovel. The three figures now standing beside the gov officials were huge. Well over a foot taller than my five foot ten frame, they were distinctly feline in appearance. Two of them had what looked like long messy mohawks, whereas the third's hair was closely shorn. Their skin was a tawny golden color, all over. I could tell because they weren't hardly wearing any clothing. Leather straps crossed their heavily muscled chests, and each was wearing a differently colored skirt thing. 

 They walked towards the house, the two with hair walking ahead of the third. Their strides were graceful, long and loping. The gov men walked beside them, introducing my father as he walked out to meet them. 

 One separated himself from the group, walking over to the kale crops and crouching down. He scooped up some dirt in his large paw and lifted it to his nose. After taking a deep whiff, he pulled out a small metal canister a dropped the dirt into it. He wiped his hands on his legs and made to stand up. His head snapped up and suddenly his gaze was locked with mine. 

 His eyes were stunning. The pupil was vertical like a cats, and I could see the golden iris even from here. They drew me in, demanded me to fall back and declare my subservience. My cock jerked in my pants. 

 The reaction was like a splash of ice-cold water. I launched to my feet and stole one last glance at the beautiful alien. His eyes were still trained on me, his body still crouched. His forehead was scrunched, as if in confusion. He made to stand and lifted a hand towards me, his eyes now entreatingly cautious. Blood rushed to my face and I took off through the fields. 

 What the fuck was I thinking? Those weren't just any aliens. They were Caoch, one of the most revered races in all of space. Their war prowess was well known throughout our galaxy, and in several beyond. And I had just been staring one down! Like I was an equal! Oh damn, I was utterly fucked. If the officials didn't throw me in prison for disrespecting a Kohar, my father was sure to punish me tonight. 
 I almost preferred prison. 
****** The boy was beautiful. When I had caught a whiff of fresh jasmine, I'd jerked up and caught sight of the most intriguing specimen of human breeding that I'd ever seen. A single glance had my breechclout tightening, and as I looked longer, the more I wanted to pounce. His eyes were startlingly green under a flop of dark brown hair. They were wide and held a hint of desire, which didn't help my own problem. I took in the lavender bags under his eyes, the gauntness of his cheeks. His top lip was slightly fuller than the lower, giving him a tenacious air. The shirt he was wearing hung off him, and through the ragged neckline I could see starkly visible collarbones that were made for nibbling on. My musing was abruptly interrupted when jumped to his feet. He started to turn away, then whipped around and stared at me one last time, as if he was committing my image to memory. I slowly stood, not wanting to startle him more, and held out my hand. I wanted to feel his skin on mine. I could see the fear in his eyes, but I hoped that he would – No. Nope, he was running. He was taller than I'd expected, and his fleeing form gave me glances of skin so smooth and pale that it reminded me of that old Earth tale, snow something or other. He fled through the rows of green and quickly disappeared behind a tall oak. A sigh escaped me. I could chase after him, but that would accomplish nothing other than scaring him and alarming my father and the Earth guards. I would have to settle for finding out about him from his family. I could see a few young men and women walking around, but they gave our entourage fearful glances and I highly doubted they'd offer up any information. The father, then. Looking back at my father and the humans, I groaned. Though I knew that we desperately needed this land deal, it still frustrated me. Our race wasn't exactly used to asking others for anything. Especially not humans. They were small, insignificant, exasperatingly arrogant, and all around just annoying. Which made the little discovery I had found earlier even more fascinating. I had never met any one, no race, gender, or species, who had sponsored such an instantaneous reaction. I wanted -- I needed to know more. My skin tingled, as if I could still feel those emerald eyes burning into me. Remembering the short encounter brought my cock back out of its sheath. Kahl be damned, it had been too long since my last rut. Shaking myself, I made my way over to father. He put his fist on my arm, letting his knuckle claws rest on me for a moment. I knew he could sense my agitation, and I felt bad for distracting him. "Kohar, I-" "That's all right Adrai, we're about finished up here." He turned to the officials and lifted his chin. "I trust you can go over the rest of the terms without me?" When they nodded, he turned and walked away. I followed, knowing that he was offering me time to talk with him in private. "Now, son. What is it that has got you stinking like a housecat in heat?" He flashed his fangs briefly, letting me know that he was joking, partly. I got right to the point, "There was a boy in the fields. I think I scared him, as he ran off before I got a chance to speak with him, but I would like your permission to inquire the older human about him." He raised his brow at me then asked, "A human boy? What made you so incensed if you did not even speak with him? Was he that pretty?" "He was the most stunning human that I have ever seen, Father. You can smell me; he reduced me to this after just staring at me across the length of a field. And he wanted me as well, I'm sure of it." My father sighed and ran a hand over his face. This was an incredibly delicate situation, but I had to know. "You have my permission to ask. But if the man refuses information, do NOT make a scene. We need this land more than you need to get your cock wet. And if he wanted you as much as you say, why did he run? "I don't know. But I want to find out. The officials are done with the human. I will go now, if that's alright?" He nodded, and turned to come with me. As we reached the older male, he looked at me with an ugly sneer that he quickly corrected as he watched my father approach as well. He walked forward and held his hand out, a human gesture of greeting. When I ignored it and lifted my chin to him, he huffed and spoke, "Adrai, is it?" "No. You will address me as K' loemach. First names are used only be spouses and close family members on our planet. I have an inquiry to make about a family member of yours, if you would answer it." His face turned red and his chest puffed out. I wondered about the reaction, but put it down to familial protection instincts. "My family? What's this about, did one of them do something?" That made me frown. Maybe not instinct. Something seemed off here, but I couldn't figure it out. I answered carefully, "No, nothing happened. I saw one of your sons in the field. Dark hair, green eyes, rather thin. I didn't speak with him, but I would like to if I could." The mans face continued to get considerably redder as I spoke, to the point where I was slightly nervous that he would have a stroke. He grit his teeth and glared at me before spitting on the ground beside him and speaking again. "That's Noah you're talking about. He's simple. Don't hardly talk at all, so it'd be a waste to bother. Why'd you wanna? He's pretty. Lotsa people wanna know where he got those eyes of his. You want him, or something?" His eyes took on a gleam that sent chills running down my spine. I couldn't believe that he was talking about his own offspring that way, as if he would sell him to the highest bidder if the price were good enough. Something he had said was also bugging me. "What do you mean by simple?" He laughed, a cruel, grating sound that had me straightening away from him in disgust. "The boy's stupid. He ain't got no sense. He just sticks in his room with those stupid papers that have gibberish scrabbled all over 'em. He's crazy or somethin'. Here I got one in my pocket. See, he's nuts. You don't want somethin' broken do ya?" He snickered again, laughing at his own hilarity. I took the paper in his hand and turned it over. The material was aged yellow and the writing barely legible, but vaguely familiar. I held it up to the light and gasped. It was Caochi. The language was my own. Most of the characters were worn, as if the paper had been handled often, but it was unmistakable. I thrust it at my father, watching him repeat the same movements I had, with the same reaction. He jerked his head toward the human and sharply asked, "Does the boy, Noah, understand this?" The stupid man looked confused now. His small beady eyes were shifting between us, like he could figure out what he had missed by glaring at us. "I don't fucking know. He mutters a lot, somethin' like 'Rokey ya coll chikeenoye rokey' or somethin', why, it mean somethin' to ya?" Rokhiya Kahl, chikenowe, Rokhi. Please Kahl, save me, please. Alarm shot through my veins. I turned my shocked gaze to my father, who was just as surprised. There were no humans that we knew of who could understand our language. None of them really tried. They didn't even have translators for us when we came to Intergalactic meetings. They didn't try at all, even with the other alien species. The humans looked down on us, as most of us also thought of them with contempt. That a mere boy had found transcripts from our planet and managed to learn from them, even speaking our language, was... it was amazing. These thoughts rolling through my head, I turned again to the ignorant human. "You said he keeps these papers in his room? May we see them?" Minute by Minute Ch. 01 He immediately took offense. "Fuck no! You can't come into my house! I've already let you take most my land, you can't fucking come into my house. I suggest you leave." He joined this last comment with a menacing step towards me, but with our height differences, it was more amusing than intimidating. There was nothing more I could do right now though, if he refused us entry. "Fine. We will be returning though. I suggest you rethink your answer, soon." With that, I turned to father and waited until he was walking slightly ahead of me to follow him back to the aircraft they had brought us here with. "Father, this Noah obviously has knowledge of our culture. He even managed to learn our language. He's clearly not the simpleton his father made him out to be. And I don't know if you felt something off, but there is something not right with that family. I have the urge to grab the boy and take him home with me, away from this Kahl be damned planet. He asked Kahl to save him. I do not feel good about leaving him there, alone, with that man." Finished with my rant, I looked at Father. His face was tired, the wrinkles in face becoming suddenly more distinct. If we did not handle this situation carefully, we would lose the land deal, which was vital for our planet's continuing prosperity. Suddenly, I felt sorry for even laying my eyes on the boy. I was not the one who would have to go to our Kirahl and explain the situation. My father was Kohar, leader of our tribe, so it was his duty to go to Kirahl and beg forgiveness if this went bad. Our race was a fighting people, and if Kirahl decided that he could not forgive my father, he would be executed and our family exiled. The pressure for me to be careful in my actions was heavy. But since I had met those wide green eyes with my own, that there would be no other choice for me. The need to protect what was mine was vibrating restlessly through my body. Noah might not know it yet, but I was coming for him. I would protect him, and he would become mine. My father hissed slightly through his teeth, a sound of exasperation. "I understand, son. There's no way that we can leave this alone. I'll contact the government officials here and see if we can come up with a warrant, for the papers, and for the boy. I agree, something is going on in that house. But you will have to be patient, no rash moves, alright?" "Yes Father, I understand. Thank you." Now all I had to do was wait. This mystery would unravel itself, and soon the boy would be in my grasp. Minute by Minute Ch. 02 Warning, this chapter contains graphic descriptions of rape and abuse. If you'd like to skip over that, scroll down to the first set of asterisks. All characters engaged in sexual relations in this story are 18+. ~~~~~~ The house didn't look so silly now. It loomed over me, grey metal and sharp angles. The trees behind it were dark shadows with intimidating sharp limbs. Rain poured down around me. My pants were filthy; my hair was plastered to my face. My reflection in the glass door looked pathetic. A pale boy with dead eyes stared back at me. Slowly, the reflection morphed into an older visage. Yellow teeth and a stubbled chin now grimaced through the pane. Oh. The door slammed open, smacking my face and throwing me to the ground. My jaw hurt. I reached up to hold it, but a rough hand on my arm arrested me. He stood over me, his skin so sallow he looked black and white in the moonlight. His lip was pulled back over his teeth in disgust. I watched his fist come towards me. It hit my cheek, sending dull waves of pain through my head. It seemed to happen in slow motion. From somewhere else, somewhere not in my body, I watched his fists repeatedly crash down into my still form. I watched my bones break. I watched blood fly from my lips. I watched my eyes slowly close. Still he kept on, the rain washing my blood away. Finally he stopped and yanked me up. A cry of pain escaped my lips, but he ignored me. He dragged me into the house and up the stairs. I tried to struggle when I realized where he was taking me, but my body wouldn't obey. He threw me onto the bed. I felt something crack inside my rib cage His hands slammed down on either side of my head. Something loud and keening was grating against my burning ears. It didn't stop until he jammed a dirty cloth into my mouth. I guess it had been me. A hand planted down on my back, keeping me sprawled face down while he roughly yanked my pants down my legs. I heard him spit and felt the wet globule slide down my ass. His body came down over mine, the roughness of his hair stinging my bruised skin. Then, there was pain. Searing. Tearing. Ripping its way into my body. Worse than my bones breaking, my mind slowly slipped away. Darkness took pity on me, encompassing me in its faithful embrace. ****** The damned government on this metal planet was so slow. The warrants we had applied for were taking forever. I had gone to the section officials as soon as we had gotten back to the embassy, but there was still no word on their progress. A sick feeling was twisting around my gut, and pacing the floor of the embassy wasn't helping. Father was back at the hotel suite, resting. I had tried to sleep, but the rain, which we so rarely had on Acaoch, kept me from managing to. Now, I waited in this glass and steel architectural contraption. I was turning into my fifteen hundredth pace across the floor when I heard a crash. I walked towards it; investigating the noise was far better than pacing myself to death. When another crash sounded and yelling ensued, I broke into a run towards the lobby. There, two officers were dragging a young man away from the counter and out the door. The man looked vaguely familiar. I turned towards the receptionist to ask what had happened when the man started yelling again. "Hey! Please, I need your help. It's my brother, he's needs your help!" An officer snarled at him and turned to me, "'S a'right mister Loemach, 'e just a lower born. I don' know how 'e got inta the division, but I'll have 'im picked up and gone in a few." He turned around and made to keep dragging the poor figure away, but the man broke free of his hold and lunged towards me. Bedraggled and desperate, tears running down his face, he grabbed my forearms. "Noah! My brother, Noah, you have to help him. You were at the farm earlier! Please, he needs your help." The farm, my Noah. My boy. Something had happened. Fear wrenched my gut. When the policemen made to grab the man again, I knocked their hands away. I leaned forward and pulled the man up and growled around my fangs, "What. Happened." He sniffled and gasped out, "I'm his brother, Sam. He didn't come home after you left. He didn't come back for dinner either, which means Ally had to make dinner, and Dad wasn't too happy about that, then he still didn't come home and Dad kept ranting about you and papers and Noah being too pretty or something and then when Noah finally came back, Dad... He hurt him. Worse than I've ever seen. I couldn't help him. I tried, and I got most of his bones healed, but I'm not strong enough! And he won't come out. He's sleeping, dead-like. Lucas said it was a coma. After he was done, dad just started drinking again, so I stole the Toyota and got out here as fast as I could. I figured you could help him. Please, you gotta!" My breath clogged in my throat, I turned to receptionist and barely managed to tell her to ready me a vehicle. I shouldn't have left him there. I told the officers to accompany me in their own vehicles, and then left a message with my father informing him of what had happened. I dragged the young man with me down to the garage and shoved him into the hover vehicle. We shot out into the rain and onto the freeway. The lights from the city behind us, we drove into the dark. The nav-system kept us on track, but as we left the division, light was almost completely absent. Noah's brother rocked back and forth in his seat, tears still streaming down his face. As we got closer he started to bounce nervously, his face paling more and more. I caught snippets of phrases that he muttered, but I was too focused on getting to Noah to care about his brothers fears. We whipped into the driveway, the police sirens loud behind us. Three figures spilled out of the front door, a man and two girls. The man looked desolate, the girls strained and worried. The littlest one grabbed my hand and led me through the doorway. I saw their father asleep on the tattered couch, a bottle of alcohol drooping in his hand. I ducked my head and followed the girl up the stairs. She stopped and stared up at me for a moment, then shoved a door open with her tiny hand. My eyes adjusting to the light, I stepped carefully inside the musty room. Dust permeated the air and covered every surface. On the bed, a small mound covered in blankets breathed slowly. I stumbled to his bedside, dropping to my knees. Noah. His face was even more gaunt than this morning, new bruises on his cheekbone standing out in relief. I pulled the blankets back, and couldn't stifle a pained moan. Almost every inch of his skin was mottled purple and blue. I didn't know what his brother had meant by healing him, but he obviously didn't have any medical experience. Many of his bones were set wrong, knots of bone pushing at the skin. I continued my inspection, running my fingers softly over Noah's side. I reached his thighs, and was suddenly happy that he was in a coma. Happy that he did not have to live through this pain, happy that he would not see me kill his father. There was semen on his legs. Semen and blood. The fear that he had looked at me with this morning flashed through my mind. With a roar, I catapulted myself downstairs. I kept roaring as I flexed my knuckle claws out. I launched myself towards the still sleeping abuser and swung my hand down. I had barely managed to sink my claws into his chest when he came screaming awake and arms locked around my torso, dragging me away. My mind faintly registered that I was still roaring, and the faces around me were fearful. Noah's own fear tortured me again, and I clamped my jaw shut. I leapt for the stairs, taking them three at a time. I gathered Noah, still wrapped in blankets, into my arms. His head lolled backwards, exposing his thin neck. Slowly, carefully, I made my way down the stairs. On the bottom floor, his father was being handcuffed and yanked outside into the rain. He was screaming at me, spittle flying everywhere, but I couldn't hear a word he said. I could see the policeman's lips moving as he read the older man his rights, then shoved his head down and forward into the still bright and flashing vehicle. My ears were ringing. Noah was limp in my arms, and he needed help. I carefully laid him in my backseat, and jumped in. Still in a haze, I started the vehicle and sped towards the hospital. ****** I sat in the sterile white waiting room, hands clasped tightly. Father was beside me, quiet and unmoving. Two of Noah's siblings sat across the room, the eldest male and the younger female. The girl was crying silently into her brother's shoulder, his arm folded comfortingly around hers. His face looked like what mine felt; strained, worried, and regretful. For me, the regret was for leaving Noah on the damned farm. I should have claimed him as mine as soon as I had seen him. Now knowing the reason for the fear on his beautiful face, I doubt that he would have resisted. I could have taken him away from here. Just snatched him up and carried him away over my shoulder, as my instincts demanded. It would have been primitive, yes, but the result would have been much preferred. As for the brother, I would think that the regret was for not stopping this. Not putting a halt to Noah's pain long ago. Even I had been able to tell that not all of his wounds were from this night. He had multiple burn scars around his ankles and wrists, and a plethora of others all over his body. My heart ached for this boy I had just met, but had caused such an impact upon me. I had wanted him with an explosive lust, and still did, but now I didn't just want to take him. Something about him called out to me. Part of me wanted to rebel against the new feeling, but my protective instincts were in full gear and demanded that I get proper retribution for his pain. No matter what happened, I would not walk away from him now. Across the room, Noah's siblings suddenly shot to their feet. I followed them and glanced towards the emergency room doors as they opened. A doctor walked through, looking grim. He paused between us; "You are all here for Noah Drummond Lower-Born?" When we nodded, he continued. "Well, I don't know how it happened but many of his broken bones are already set. Unfortunately, most of them are done incorrectly. In order for me to amend this, we would need to re-break them and allow them to set properly. This would cause him immense pain. I would suggest, if at all possible, taking him to a facility with more advanced equipment." When he said this, he turned to my father and me, nodding his head imperceptibly. "Apart from that, he is not brain-dead, and he's breathing on his own. His body's just taken too much trauma, and he'll wake up at his own pace. He does need more care than we can give, though. I highly suggest looking into other facilities. In the meantime, ask the receptionist for his room number and you may go visit him. It is essential for coma patients to have outside stimulation, especially from the people they love." With that, he smiled softly down at the girl and turned back through the doors. Love. The concept was foreign to me, and felt thick on my tongue. My father did not love my mother, nor had I loved any of my previous partners. But somehow, being included into the group that Noah might care for made me... Wistful. I shook my head at the feeling, and concentrated on the humans who were looking at me apprehensively. The male spoke first, "We can't afford to take Noah to a different facility. We can't even afford this one." His fists clenched on the girls shoulders, and he stared at the ground as he spoke. "I don't know why you came tonight, but we're all extremely thankful. If you can, I would ask you to please, please take him away from here." He looked up, staring straight at me. His face was still pained, but there was a new hope in his eyes. I wondered if it was for Noah, or for himself. "Get him off the planet if you can. Noah needs to never have to see this place ever again. He's taken the brunt of all our pain for years, and we haven't given him hardly anything in return. But I can do this. Take him, please. I know you're the people that he's always talked about. He's obsessed with your culture, your language, your everything. Take him home with you and show him something beautiful." His words made my heart race. I imagined showing Noah my homeland, all the creatures and our people, who were so different from his own. I wondered how much he knew about us and what he might expect. I thought of coming home to him every day. My throat tight, I turned to my father briefly. He stared hard at me for a moment, then touched his knuckles to mine. A smile of relief flashed across my face, and he returned it with a small grin. Turning to the humans, I asked, "What are your names?" The girl answered quickly, bouncing slightly on her toes, "I'm Chloe. This is Lucas, he's my older brother. Noah's my brother too. You look like the pictures he draws. I'm glad that you're taking him. Dad won't ever be able to hurt him again." Water filled her eyes and she looked down at her hands, twisting them nervously into the folds of her shirt. I kneeled down before her and took her small fingers into my own. "I won't let anyone hurt Noah ever again. I promise by the blood of Kahl. Now, why don't we go see him? I bet he'd love to hear your voice." She nodded and smiled brightly at me before running off for the elevator. I felt Fathers hand on my shoulder, squeezing briefly as he turned to go. I stood and faced Lucas. He still looked wary, but relief was now the dominant expression on his face. He smiled at me and reached out his hand. This time, I took it. "Thank you," he said. I replied, "I meant everything I said to your sister. I will do everything in my power to keep him safe and happy." He took his hand back and sighed softly. "What if he doesn't accept you? I know that this is more than just a platonic deal for you. He might never get over what our father put him through. What will you do then? You guys just saw each other this morning, and so much has happened. He doesn't even know that you were the one who saved him. He doesn't know your name, even. What happens when he wakes up, scared and alone on some alien planet? Tell me that you won't throw him aside." I understood his concerns, but our race did not swear by the blood of Kahl in jest. Noah was my responsibility now; I would not abandon him for any reason. "It would not matter to me if he chose not to become my mate. I would still protect him. I will be his friend, if that is what he desires. No matter what though, I promise I will keep him safe. That is what's most important to me." He smiled widely and gestured to the elevator door, "Shall we go then?" ****** Everything was golden. It was just like when Sam healed me. Maybe he had finally taken pity on me and snatched up my soul. Part of me was sad that I would never see the beautiful alien again; just seeing him had yanked at something inside me. I had felt alive for the first time in nearly ten years when he looked at me. It was like my heart had lifted up, briefly dragging itself out of the gunk it was drowning in, just so that it could catch a glimpse of him. It was stupid of me, to look at him like that. I was just a human, male at that. And scrawny. Disgusting compared to him. It didn't matter anyways, I guess. No sense in whining about it. Now I was here, comfortable in my golden ocean. No more pain, humiliation, or worrying. For the first time in my life, I could just relax. ****** Noah was deathly pale. His eyes were swollen shut; his skin so deeply bruised it no longer looked human. But even through all the injuries and pain he must be in, there was a faint smile on his face. I hoped that soon he would be smiling at me, eyes bright with happiness as he discovered my home. But first, there was much to be done. I had already contacted a friend on Oalas, the most technologically advanced planet in our entire galaxy. Isir had been more than willing to help, and was already corresponding with the medical center here to gather Noah's reports and prepare a room for him in the Ceri'Ooana. My father had left soon after checking in on Noah, traveling back to Acaoch to bring news of the deal and of Noah to Kirahl. Kirahl would decide how to proceed, and how to receive Noah. I tried not to think too hard about the implications of that. He could decide any way he wanted. It was very possible that he would want to keep Noah in his own courts, far away from me. It was also possible that he would force Noah and me to fast immediately, so that Noah would become my complete responsibility. I had no idea how Noah would react to the latter, and if he didn't wake up soon, he might not have any choice in the matter. Taking Noah to Oalas would buy us a few weeks at least, as Noah healed. I wanted him to wake up while there, so that could see the wonders of the shining water planet. The people of Oalas were amphibious, but the vast majority of them lived deep under the waves. They were a spectacular race. Before they had even been discovered by any other species, they had built a whole network of buildings and tunnels under the water. They spanned nearly the whole planet, surrounded by water and creatures ranging from silly to terrifying. I couldn't wait to sit Noah down on one of the Cross-Trams and watch his face as he looked out into the endless ocean. We would be moving him tomorrow, taking one of the fancy medical bay ships that they used for the rich people transporting over to Oalas. The trip would take several days, but the hospital assured me that the personnel on board were well equipped to handle coma patients. I sincerely hoped so. If Noah was subjected to any more pain, accidental or not, my claws would be soon due for a cleaning. Minute by Minute Ch. 03 Hey guys, Thank you for waiting so patiently. Also , thank you for all the wonderful comments and encouraging emails(: This chapter's extra long, so have fun. ****** The trip had gone without a hitch. Noah had stayed asleep the whole time, barely even twitching when we moved him. The ship was wide, with several floors for patients with different needs. We had been put into a large, long room, with the far facing wall completely made out of glass. For the duration of the trip, I sat in a chair beside Noah's bed, staring out at the endless amounts of stars. I thought about Noah, and what I had gotten myself into. I wondered about his life back home, and how he had come to be in possession of Caochian documents. His family life also caused me to think; when I had invaded their house, the little girl had grabbed my hand and led me straight upstairs. It hadn't crossed my mind at the time, but as I thought about it, I realized that she had stayed upstairs, out of sight. Even when her father was being dragged away and I was carrying Noah out, I hadn't seen her with her siblings. And when she and Lucas had come to the hospital, he had kept a close hold on her at all times. Whenever a doctor came too close, or a nurse came into Noah's room, he had moved discreetly in front of her. What was he protecting her from? So many questions, the answer to all of them lying next to me, peacefully unconscious; dead to the rest of our problems, and to what he had gone through. For that, I was thankful. For now though, we were bunked up in a windowless metal box. It made sense, as coma patients didn't need windows, but I was feeling claustrophobic. The doctors and healers at the Ceri'Ooana who had received us were friendly, but sometimes all too technical. I was used to the wide open plains and earthy smells of my home, but here, all I could smell was disinfectant and fish. The healers had encouraged me to stay with Noah in the room and talk to him as much as possible. I had taken to telling him stories of my land. I told him of the Skorki, large amphibious creatures that we trained and rode. I warned him of the dangers of the ground outside of Adennan, the port that my father was Kohar of. The whole area was fenced to keep out fierce predators, but mostly to discourage the Horgin. The Horgin were huge worms who preyed underneath the earth, launching themselves out of the ground and snatching up unsuspecting animals in their large maw before dragging them back underground. The fence kept Adennan safe, but wandering outside was extremely dangerous. But all the stories I could come up with couldn't distract me from the time. It had been a week. A week since I had seen him across a field and was floored by his beauty. A week since his father had nearly killed him. I was tired of telling him stories and laughing at my own jokes. I wanted to hear what his laugh sounded like. Would it be quiet and sweet like I expected? Maybe he would surprise me and burst out into loud rumbling shouts. Not to mention that I hadn't even heard his voice yet. I wanted to hear him speak my language, to know how the short clipped words would roll off his tongue. "K'loemach?" I jumped up, my heart beating wildly. On the other side of the room, still standing next to the door, was an old friend. "Isir, it is good to see you. When did you arrive? Did you call for me?" I checked the computer on the wall, but no messages had been left. "No, Loemach, I wanted to see you and your human boy that all the healers have been talking about. They say he is the most delicate pale beauty that they've ever seen." He smirked, "Will you let me look if I promise not to steal him from you?" I laughed and gestured to the bed. "The doctors say that they've managed to heal his internal bleeding, and that they'd like to start on his bones soon." I watched as Isir pulled the covers back and placed a hand on Noah's pale chest. The bruises were gone, but he still looked so fragile. Isir hummed lightly and bent his forehead down to Noah's, his eyes closed. As he focused, I sat on the edge of the bed. Isir was a highly renowned healer of the Ceri'Ooana, and my best friend. Right now he was feeling through Noah's wounds and deciding what needed to be addressed next. Finally, he sighed and stood. Passing a webbed hand over his face, he sunk gracefully to the floor. Still looking at the floor, he spoke, "Adrai," Fear spiked through me. Isir only used my first name when the situation was dire. I had given it to him at a vulnerable time, and he knew that I preferred him not to use it. "He's been through so much. So much unnecessary pain." He said weakly, "It will take a long time for him to fully heal. We can heal his bones and his damaged organs, but his mind... Adrai, it might never come back. I can feel him in there, he's not brain dead, but he is adamantly reluctant to wake up." "So he's just being stubborn?" I said incredulously. "No. All he's ever known is pain, Adrai. He probably expects more pain when he wakes up." "But I've been talking to him, telling him stories. They said that it was possible for him to hear me even though he was asleep. Shouldn't he know that I'm here?" Isir huffed in exasperation and grabbed my hand roughly. "It is possible, yes. But depending on how far down in the far recesses of his mind he is, he might not be able to hear you. But do not stop. If by chance that he comes forward and can hear you, he will need that contact." He leaned his face into mine, glaring, "Do not give up on him. You took responsibility. You will be here for him." I stood abruptly, dragging Isir with me. I flexed my claws out and pressed them against his chest, hissing, "I did not say that I was giving up. I am frustrated, but he is mine. Now tell me what you will have your healers do next, and get out." With that I turned my back on him and went to sit by Noah. "Adrai," I hissed. "Fine. K'loemach. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you would leave him. His pain got to me, you know how it does." When I didn't turn around, he sighed and I heard the clank of metal against metal. "I'll set an appointment for tomorrow in the Ceri'Oorla. You may watch, if you wish. I hope to see you again while you're here, Loemach. Goodbye." I listened to his soft footsteps walk through the door, and the soft hiss and click as it closed behind him. ****** The nurses came the next day to lift Noah onto a large stretcher and roll him through the hallways. I walked alongside, my hand never leaving his arm. The halls were wide enough to fit three stretchers comfortably, and most were sided by large windows staring out into the sea. We had walked for a ways when we came to a double set of doors. A nurse placed her webbed hand onto a nearly invisible screen on the wall, and the doors whispered open. Another nurse just inside the door took the medical reader form where it was hanging on Noah's stretcher. She read aloud, "Noah Drummond Lower Born, URNAS12D8AG07032187NDLB." She looked up at me, nodding when I did and writing something down on the tablet. "All right, come in. We're almost ready." The room inside was huge. A pool in the center of the floor dominated most of it, with steps on all sides leading down into the water. A pleasant smell was wafting from it, making me feel relaxed. I saw Isir working on a large computer console that was facing the water. Wandering over to him, I placed a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened before turning to look at me, tense until he looked into my eyes and the wariness was replaced by warmth and a loud chuckle. He laughed and tilted his head back to look at me better. "It's gotten to you, I see." I was confused, "What d'ya mean? I jus' wanted to say hello." I smiled at him, liking the feeling of my cheeks stretching. I tried to smile wider, but my fangs cut into my lower lip. "Ow! Isi, my fangs are too big." I pulled my lip into my mouth, sucking the blood from the cut. Isir was staring at me in astonishment, but I couldn't figure out what I'd done. "Loe, you haven't called me Isi since we were little boys. And your fangs aren't too big, and stop looking at me like a cub that just got his first kill taken away from him. I didn't realize that the herbs in the water would have such an effect on your species." He laughed and dragged me over to the counters lining the right side of the room. He dabbed a bit of salve on my lip, and I could feel it tingling as it knit itself back together. It felt nice. I didn't realize I was giggling until Isir shoved a cup of foul smelling brownish liquid under my nose. "For god's sake, Loe, drink this before I have to haul you out of here. It smells awful and tastes just as bad, but it'll clear your mind. You want to watch the ritual, don't you? They're about ready to bring Noah into the water." Noah. I liked Noah. I turned around, swaying a bit on my feet, and saw the nurses stripping Noah of his garments. Why were they getting him naked? A protective growl rose out of my throat, and I tried to lumber my way towards the stretcher, cup still in hand. "Loe, where'd you—Loe! K'loemach, stop!" I heard Isir running towards me, his feet slapping on the cold metal floor. The other nurses who were touching Noah had stopped and were staring at me now, horrified looks on their faces. I felt my foot submerge in something wet, and I looked down. Suddenly blue ground was rushing up at me as I tipped forward. I jerked to a stop right before I hit the water, a reflection of myself staring wide-eyed up at me. Two strong webbed hands were wrapped around my biceps. "Goddamnit, Loe." Isir grunted behind me and hefted me onto my feet. "If you wanted to see Noah, you have to go around the pool, dumbass. Now let's get you another cup of the stuff you spilled all over my floor, and then you can go growl at the nurses." I nodded and slowly followed him back to the counters, this time keeping a careful watch on the floor. He smiled at me as I obediently gulped down the gross drink, but my mind immediately cleared. "What the fuck just happened?" He burst out laughing and shook his head. "You got high off the healing herbs, that's what. Now come on, we've held up the ritual long enough." I walked with him to his post at the computer, and sat down on the solid bench next to it. He pressed a few buttons on the transparent screen and looked towards the nurses, nodding. "Shola oa'hei." I watched as the healers separated themselves from the group. They stripped off their robes and waded into the water. Their skin was all different shades of green, shimmering in the bright light. They formed a circle in the water and joined hands. No, on closer inspection, they were just resting their hands on top of the water, with just their fingers interlaced. They all bowed their heads and began to sway. Moving in complete synchronization, their hips beat a rhythm into the water, throwing waves up around them. I could hear their musical voices chanting softly, never opening their eyes or losing touch with one another. The water moved faster and faster, swirling around and between each healer. Waves crashed up the steps, brushing my ankles. I gasped as it did. Even in the small touch, I could feel the healing strength seep into me. The group broke apart slowly, opening their eyes. Their bodies still moved to a silent beat that only they could hear, but now they were forming a line up the steps towards Noah. The nurses on the steps carefully passed him down into their arms, singing along with the others. My chest tightened as I watched them lower him into the water, all laying their hands on a part of his body. He seemed so small. I wanted to leap into the water and grab him into my arms. I dug my fingers into the bench instead. I felt Isir's hand on my shoulder, squeezing tightly as if he too, was restraining me from interrupting the healing ritual. The chanting got louder, filling my eardrums. They were all bent tightly over Noah, but I could see parts of his limbs. I winced the first time I saw a bone straighten out. I winced again when his ankle jerked and cracked before popping into correct place. "Isir, he can't feel anything can he? That looks... incredibly painful." Isir squeezed my shoulder again before sitting next to me. He gave me a sympathetic look, but shook his head. "No. He's so far under already, and they can block his mind from feeling the pain. You've felt it before, when I've healed your broken bones. It's much more intense than that, though. Whatever place you went to when I healed you, imagine it ten times brighter, a hundred times softer. He feels no pain, I promise." I smiled, glad that I hadn't broken my own promises to Chloe and Lucas. The chanting went on. Every so often, a healer would step back and submerge himself into the water. Isir said it was to rejuvenate the senses and ready them for another round of healing. My legs were getting stiff as I sat there, watching them chant softly to Noah. Eventually, things seemed to be calming down. The voices got quieter and the healers started to move away, one by one. Each looked exhausted, their faces drawn and their previously shining skin was a dull gray. A nurse received each one as they ascended the steps out of the pool, wrapping a robe around them and leading them out of the room. Noah was left floating in the water. His skin glowed with life, all of his injuries gone. I felt a hand grab mine. "Let's go get him, Adrai. Think you can lift him out of the water?" The voice seemed amused. I turned my eyes towards the speaker. Isir. I couldn't seem to process anything that was going on. I shook my head fiercely, trying to throw myself out of the fog the ritual had put me under. "Say that again?" I squinted up at Isir. "Noah, Adrai. I was asking if you thought you could lift him up out of the water. He no longer needs physical healing, just patience and compassion." He stepped down into the pool, holding out a hand to me. "Oh, yes. Of course," I slowly stood, cracking my stiff knees. I waded down into the still warm water to Noah's floating body. He was so beautiful. I ran my fingers over his skin, searching for any of the hard bumps that had riddled his bones before. All I found was damp silky skin. Carefully, I pulled him into my arms, nestling his head into my neck. He fit to me so perfectly. I pressed a kiss to his forehead. His name tumbled unwittingly out of my mouth, over and over. I kissed him again, this time on his unresponsive lips. I rose out of the water, absently noticing as Isir wrapped us both in a large robe. We somehow made it back to our room, though I don't remember looking up form Noah's face even once. I laid him gently on the bed, following him down. Still unable to look away, I pulled the covers up around us and drew Noah into my arms. His faint breath fluttered against my chest. Wrapped tightly around him, I managed to drift to sleep. ****** Warmth. It surrounded me. I slowly opened my eyes and discovered that I really was dead. My golden ocean was still there. I swore I had felt myself coming out of it, but all I could see was golden skin. Skin. Okay so, not my ocean. I tried to turn my head and see who my personal heater was, but the arms just tightened around me and a soft growl ruffled my hair. No moving allowed. At least I could tell that he was male. Biceps that huge were not given to women. I felt them, appreciating the firm skin. I slowly moved my hands over him, discovering the furred sides and ridged abdomen. Part of me was tempted to explore further, but embarrassment held me back. I could tell that he was naked though. Oh god. Was I...? I managed to tilt my head down enough to see where his beefy leg was wrapped around my much more slender one. And... Yup, I was naked. And unfortunately very aroused. So was he, to my viewing pleasure. His shaft seemed to be expanding out of a furry sheath, glistening and very, very large. Oh Jesus! I can't believe I was just staring at his cock! What if he woke up? That would be mortifying. Plus, I had no idea who he was. Obviously he wasn't human, considering the fur covering his sides and genitals. He wasn't green or scaly in any way, so Oalian was out. Xyghainians were grey, Burbandi weren't bi-pedal, the Frek were tiny, Ederians were white, and the Caoch were... Shit. My memories came flooding in, the morning beating, hiding Chloe and Beckett and waiting for the gov's to show up. Seeing them show up with URNA Marines and three enormously tall, enormously beautiful aliens. One in particular, who had seen me from across a field and had stared at me like he wanted to eat me for dessert. Running away from him and hiding out for the rest of the day. Staring at my reflection in the door. After that, I couldn't recall a thing. Nothing came to mind that might give me a hint as to how I ended up horizontal with a Caochian male. Not that I really minded. Laying here, ensconced in his arms, I felt safe. Even though I knew that once he woke up, he'd probably throw me across the room, I felt the safest I had ever felt. I would enjoy it while it lasted. I snuggled down deeper into his muscled chest, breathing in his earthy scent. His arms tightened around me again and a calloused hand rubbed across my back. Then, as surely as they had secured me, they were gone. I braced myself for a hit, but instead the body next to me arched gracefully against the bed. He was stretching. I watched raptly as tawny muscles flexed and tightened, a strained yawn growl hiss type thing coming from his mouth. My eyes followed the musculature of his arms all the way to the claws flexing to and from his knuckles. They were wicked looking, black and razor sharp. They slowly receded back under the skin, barely registering a bump. I waited for them to flex back out, not realizing that the gorgeous alien that I was checking out had stopped moving. Completely. "Noah? You're awake?" The voice was quiet and reverent, and I allowed myself to look into the eyes of my fantasy. Slanted like a lions, they were the same golden color as my ocean. Also the same color that I had looked into across the field. I tried to back up, but his arms whipped down from above his head and locked around me as he rolled, bringing me underneath him. Now the muscles I had admired were a cage. My breath froze in my chest before bursting out in short frantic rhythm. I needed to get away. No matter how hot this guy was, I was not, I repeat not, letting another arrogant bastard do this to me. But no matter how angry it made me, I couldn't stop the welling panic. The rest of that terrible night came back in a rush, overwhelming me. I whimpered and pushed frantically against the rock hard chest. Wet tears were leaking down my cheeks, but I couldn't pause to wipe them away. I felt a scream building inside me. He was too strong. I couldn't... I couldn't do this! "Let me go! Please, I promise I'll do whatever you want, just let me go. Rokhi rokhi, please!" I stopped pushing and just sobbed, waiting for what I knew would happen. Instead I felt a hand brush my forehead, followed by a gentle pressure. "Shh, Mekikira." The arms softened and the weight on top of me moved away, but the warmth stayed. I opened my eyes and looked to where he was leaning on his side, staring at me. He reached up a hand and wiped under my eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, Noah. I know you're extremely confused, but the last thing I want is to hurt you. Is there anything that you want to ask me? I'll answer whatever you want to know." He laid his hand on my cheek for a second before pulling back. Minute by Minute Ch. 03 I scooted away from him, immediately missing the furnace-like heat. I wrapped myself tightly in the bedcovers before asking quietly, "What did you call me before?" He looked confused, so I specified. "You called me mekikira. I haven't read that in any of the papers I have." "Ah. We need to talk about those papers, by the way. But it can wait. Mekikira means... It means... Why did you have to start with that?" He growled and stuffed his face into the mattress, peeking at me out of the corner of his eye. I giggled and scooted a little bit closer to him. "So what does it mean?" "It means 'My only desired one'. You've been in a coma for nearly a month, Noah. When I first saw you, I knew I wanted you. When I found out what had been happening in your home, I felt extremely protective. Now, after bringing you here and watching you heal, talking to you and telling you stories of my home, I feel much more." I couldn't breathe. A month? I'd been asleep for that long? "I... What's your name?" He laughed, a low rumbling sound that washed over me. "Adrai K'loemach. Just Adrai is all right, for you." Sitting up, I wrapped my arms around my knees. This was a shit ton of information, and I could feel a whole lot more coming. "Okay, Adrai, I'm sorry, but I don't remember you talking to me, or telling me any stories. I do remember seeing you across the field and feeling something, and I admit I'm very attracted to you, but the last thing I remember is my father hurting me. I have no idea what happened after that. You'll have to be patient with me and wait for me to catch up. Before you say anything else about feelings, can you tell me where we are, and everything else that's happened?" He nodded and reached for my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. The gesture was surprisingly comfortable. I let him keep my hand, and even returned a squeeze. "We're on Oalas. After your father finished beating you, your siblings tried to wake you up and couldn't so your brother Sam drove to the embassy and found me, upsetting a few police officers in the process. I came and took you to the hospital..." ****** I woke up the next morning still exhausted. We had stayed in bed all day, Adrai only leaving to get me food when my stomach suddenly burst into angry grumbles. He explained everything that had happened, and retold me some of the stories that he'd told while I was asleep. By the time we had fallen asleep, the holo-clock had read four a.m. Now though, I really needed to pee. I carefully extracted myself from the arms that had wound around me again as we slept and brought my legs over the side of the bed. I pushed to my feet, and promptly fell on my ass. My legs had given out. I poked and examined them, making a face at how skinny they'd gotten, even in comparison to my previous near skeletal physique. I groaned and leaned back against the bed, considering crawling to the door. A chuckle sounded behind me and two thick, very tan legs set foot next to me. Adrai crouched down and smirked at me, " You've been bed ridden for a month, Noah. Your muscles are atrophied. Do you need the restroom?" When I pouted and nodded, he laughed again and made to pick me up, princess style. 'No! Turn around; you can give me a piggy-back ride. Just no threshold-crossing-damsel-saving stuff, okay?" He just stared at me. "Piggy-back ride?" "Oh, uhm, it's where you carry me on your back, with my arms around your neck, and my legs around your waist." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but he came over and lifted me back onto the bed before crouching down in front of me, his forehead scrunching as if asking if he was doing it right. I was too distracted to assure him. Adrai's muscles seemed to be in constant motion, flexing and squeezing across the wide expanse of his back. I ran a hand over the two thick cords shielding his spine. I kept at it, feeling all of his beautiful contours, until he growled hotly and jerked forward onto his hands. "Noah, get on my back now, before I do something you're not ready for." Blood rushed to my face and I hurriedly jumped on his back, wrapping my weakened limbs around him. He moaned and his breathing turned unsteady. When he finally stood, we were both extremely aroused. I could smell the pheromones practically dripping off him, and it didn't help the fact that I was desperately trying not to dry hump his back. Luckily, my urge to pee was much more prevalent at the moment, and I managed to keep my hormones under control as he carried me into the bathroom and set me on the toilet. He turned towards the shower and stripped off his sleeping shorts. "Eh, what are you doing?" "Getting clean. I haven't showered in three days." He turned the water on and started to step in. "Wait! I have to pee!" Looking at me like I was ridiculous, Adrai nodded slowly. "You can't be in here! And- And you're naked. I can't pee if you're standing there like that!" I swallowed convulsively and tried to keep my eyes on his face. He was still very obviously aroused. Instead of doing what I wanted and leaving, he stood in front of me, not trying to cover up in the least. "Do you need help?" He squatted down and looked up at me, "I can help." His eyes seemed to burn brighter, his mouth opening slightly, giving me a glimpse of fang. He was so terrifyingly beautiful. A hand squeezed my leg lightly and traveled upwards. I couldn't do this. I wasn't ready. No way in hell. My heart started a thundering beat, so loud it rang in my ears. My breath came and left in short, shuddering gasps. With every inch that his hand traveled up my leg, I became more frantic. His fingers brushed my shorts. "No!" I shoved his shoulders as hard as I could and threw myself backwards. I crashed against the shelves on the wall and fell with them. I curled around my weak legs, sobbing. ****** Stupid, stupid stupid stupid. How could I have done that? I knew that it was way too fast. He had just woken up from being raped by his father, for Kahl's sake. I watched Noah cry into his knees, feeling sick with myself. He was lying in a pile of towels and lotions, looking broken. I had caused this. I had hurt him. Forcing bile back down my throat, I crawled towards him. "Noah?" He whimpered and cringed away from my voice. "Oh Kahl, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Feeling tears prick my eyes, I bent forward and pressed my forehead to the floor by his trembling legs. "I'm so sorry, Mekikira. I wasn't thinking, you just looked so beautiful and I couldn't help but want you, and I'm so, so sorry. I'll never touch you again, if that's what you want, just please, rokhi, don't be scared. Mekikira, maska geerkad. Maska geerkad. Kahl tritima." I stayed there, head pressed to the floor, condemning myself to every religious perdition that I could think of. I was too caught up in berating myself to notice when Noah stopped crying and sat up. When a hesitant hand touched my hair, I jerked up, flinching when I saw his red eyes and tear stained face. I opened my mouth to apologize again, but he shook his head. To my astonishment, he crawled towards me and laid his head on my shoulder, sniffling a little. "I still need to pee." His voice was almost too quiet for me to hear. The words forced a choked laugh out of me, and I carefully wrapped my arms around him and hefted us both to our feet. I situated him in front of the toilet and made to move away, but his hands locked around my forearms, holding them in place around his waist. "Stay, please. I really don't think my legs will hold me up. Just, please don't look, okay?" His voice was still quiet, but his eyes held something that hadn't been there before. I did as he asked and supported him as he peed, burrowing my head into his neck. He still smelled like lavender. I sniffed heavily and he giggled. "Are you sniffing me?" He leaned his head back against my chest and looked up at me. I swallowed the lump in my throat before replying. "You smell like lavender. I was trying to figure out how, as you haven't had a real shower for a month and should stink to high heaven." Instead of answering me, he just smiled and turned back to the toilet and finished up. "Will you help me shower? You didn't get to take yours, so want to take it with me? I'll need help anyways." His face flushed red as he said it, and he refused to look at me, but I didn't care. I smiled into his neck and nodded. I sat him securely on the toilet and turned to the still running shower, making sure it wouldn't freeze our man parts off if we stepped in. I adjusted the temperature a bit, and turned back to Noah, who flinched and stared up at me with wide eyes, cheeks bright red. He'd been checking me out. Triumphant lust rushed through me, but I tamped it down before the evidence got a little too visible. Now was the worst possible time to go all primitive lusty alien on him. Instead, I held my hand out to him, not commenting on the way his fingers trembled as they folded into mine. We slowly walked to the shower, my arm around his thin waist. Once inside, I gently shampooed his hair. He stared up at me through the suds with those viciously green eyes. I made my way down his pale body, ignoring the scars that the ritual hadn't been able to heal and scrubbing over his skin with the soapcloth. I skipped over his genitals and soaped up his lightly haired legs. He giggled when I scrubbed behind his knees. When I finished with his toes, I handed the cloth to him silently, letting him finish with the rest. Before I could reach for the shampoo to do my own hair, Noah dropped the cloth and stuck his hand under the pump. "Let me do it." I nodded and bowed my head so that he could reach. I held him lightly around the waist, supporting him so that he wouldn't tip over. Noah's nimble fingers massaged my scalp, making me shiver. I forced myself to keep still, determined not to do anything stupid again. He explored the shape of my hairline, rubbing the bald strips on each side of my head. "Why is your hair like that?" I shrugged, "That's just the way it grows." "There were two other Caochians with you when you came to the farm. The older one had hair longer than yours, and the others was cut really short." "That a question or a statement?" I stood up straight and tipped my head into the water, rinsing off. When he didn't answer and just looked at me expectantly, I sighed. "Okay, ah, hair length is a sign of class in our culture. Servants and military personnel all keep their hair shorn, while people with more money can afford the soaps and styling stuff that hair requires. My father, the older man you saw, is Kohar of Adannen. The other man was a servant of ours, Dermaiach." After a few moments of silence, I stopped soaping myself up and glanced at him. He was standing there, just staring at me. His mouth moved but no sound came out. "What? Are you okay?" I touched a hand to his forehead and it seemed to shock him out of it. "Ad- Adannen? That's Acaoch's largest port! I thought that one of you was a Kohar, but I wasn't sure. Adannen, wow. Will I get to see it? And the creatures you told me about? What about your father, will I have to meet him too? Will you be with me? Wait, I'm human. Your father'll hate me. Oh my god you're practically a prince!" He hardly took a breath, waving his hands around and steadily growing redder. Finally he slapped a hand over his mouth and stared up at me. "Sorry," He whispered around his fingers. I laughed and grabbed it away from his mouth, placing it on my chest, over my heart. "Yes, Adannen. That's why we were chosen to make the deals with your people. Not many of our race speaks your language, and even fewer of yours speaks ours. You are the only one that we know of who can speak or understand more than a few words." I gave him a look that told him we'd be talking more about that particular subject later. "I have spent quite a bit of time on Earth, exploring and learning your culture. Father has to deal with all sorts of languages and people on the port, and together, we were the best choice that Kirahl could make, when he was trying to find ambassadors to go to Earth." Noah nodded and leaned his head into my chest. I shut the water off and pulled him out of the shower. As I dried him off, I answered the rest of his questions. "You will be coming with me to Adannen once you're fully healed, so yes you will see everything." I smiled at the look of boyish excitement on his face. "Technically you've already met my father, but you will again. He's coming here in a few days to talk to me, and to see how you're doing. He doesn't hate you, I promise. And I'm not a prince. Kirahl is like our king, while my father is much like a duke, or something, if I have your terminology right." Noah took the towel from me and started to dry everything he could reach. I had to stoop when he reached for my hair, and he giggled. "You're so big. Does everyone on Acaoch look like you?" He asked. I thought for a moment. "Everyone is taller, yes, but we have all different shades of hair, and our skin is usually around the same shade. Some people, depending on the area where they live, have patterns in their fur. There is one tribe whose skin and fur is all black, like the black panthers of your planet." When I mentioned fur, he smiled shyly at me and rubbed his hand through the short fur surrounding my hips. The movement surprised me, considering what had happened previous to the shower. I stilled his hand and looked down at him. As if knowing what I was thinking, he looked away. He murmured, "No one's ever apologized to me before." "What do you mean? For what?" He took a deep breath and grasped my hand in both of his, turning it over and studying the lines in my palm. He traced his fingers over my calluses. "No one's ever apologized for hurting me." He looked up and took a step closer, pulling my arms around his waist and nestling against my chest. I rested my chin on his head, holding him securely. I waited for Noah to pull away once he realized what his closeness was doing to me, but he just snuggled in closer until I could feel his own hardness against my thigh. He whispered something against my chest, but I was too distracted to hear. "What did you say?" His face flushed, "Nothing." "Tell me, what was it?" I gripped his chin and tilted his chin up, forcing those green eyes to meet mine. "Nothing! I just... Nothing, really." He tried to look down, but I held him firm. Instead he glared defiantly at me through his long eyelashes. "Would you let me go?" He jerked against me, so I tilted us back so Noah was against the wall. I lifted him by the waist so that he was the same height as me. He squeaked cutely, his eyes wide. He clutched at my shoulders frantically and instinctively lifted his legs, wrapping them tightly around my waist. "Wh-what are you doing!" I grinned, "Holding you hostage until you tell me what you said." "That's not fair!" He said indignantly. "Oh, it's what it is. You're staying right here until you say it. Come on, out with it." Noah scowled at me and took his hands from my shoulders, leaning as far back against the wall as he could and crossing him arms with a huff. I noticed, though, that he kept his legs wrapped around my waist. We stared at each other for several minutes until he finally rolled his eyes and looked away. He grumbled something and scrunched his nose at me in distaste. "You are going to be extremely frustrating." His voice lowered, "I said that no one's ever given me a boner before, either." I almost dropped him. "What? Never?" He laughed softly and nodded, "Yeah. I've looked at my brother's porn stash, but he's straight, and that's kinda how I figured I wasn't into women. I got a stiffy from the guys in the pictures, but no actual breathing person has ever turned me on like you do. I see you, and it's just like, 'Pop! Goes the weasel!" I had no idea what he had just said. "What's a stiffy?" Noah threw his head back and burst into loud laughter. He shook in my arms and fell forward onto my shoulder, still cackling. When he calmed down, he wrapped a hand around my neck and wiped his eyes with the other. "It means the same thing as boner. Just another juvenile term for hard on." He smiled at me, the happiest I had seen him since he'd woken up. His eyes turned thoughtful, and he searched my face, then looked down at how I was holding him. "What?" I asked. "Nothing," He said playfully, practically daring me to throw him back up against the wall. Instead I dropped him to his feet and leaned away, smiling in a way that set my fangs off to their best advantage. I withdrew my hands from him and sat, leaving him wobbly and unsure. He pouted at me and wavered for second before hobbling over. I took pity on him once was in reaching distance and pulled him into my lap. He snuggled close and wrapped his arms tightly around my neck. I rubbed his slender back, feeling the protruding vertebrae. "Are you going to tell me?" I asked into his hair. He burrowed further into me before saying, "I've never been this comfortable with anybody before. Not even Sam. At home I was quiet all the time, and never talked back. Now here I am with you, making fun and joking around. It feels so strange. I've only really known you for one night, and yet I never want to stop touching you." He leaned back and looked up at me with big, sad eyes. "I mean, look at us, we're still naked from the shower, just sitting in the bathroom. With anyone else, I would still be crying in the corner, waiting for them to hurt me." I stroked over a particularly thick scar on his chest. "I'm sorry for earlier, Noah. I never should have moved so fast. He shook his head and pulled my hand to his lips, "I said its fine. You did something no one's ever done for me before, and showed me that not all people are horrid evil fathers who rape their sons." "Still, I won't push you for anything sexual. And I don't know why we have this connection, or why you feel different around me, but I'm not complaining. I like how you are with me. Do you?" Noah bobbed his head, grinning. "Of course I do. I like being able to talk and speak my mind. I like knowing that you're listening, no matter what I say. I even like cuddling with you, obviously. I think you are right though, I'm not ready to do anything more. I don't know when I will be. Are you okay with that?" I just smiled and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "We should get some food in you, fatten you up. Also, I want to show you around the center, maybe take you on the cross-trams, if you feel up to it." "Yeah, that sounds great." ****** We were sitting on a cushy bench in the cross-tram, eating the sandwiches we had picked up at the communal eating center. Adrai was relaxed next to me, sitting close enough that our sides were brushing. He initiated no other contact, hadn't really since the day in the bathroom. He piggy-backed me wherever I needed to go, helped out with my physical therapy, and even slept in the same bed. But there had been no more naked cuddling, for which I was thankful. The comfortableness I had exhibited in the bathroom had been brought on by needing him and the way he had reacted when I freaked out on him. He'd knelt there, apologizing over and over, damning himself to hell. No one had ever been sorry for hurting me before. It struck something within me, making me realize what he had been talking about when I first woke up. He felt some kind of connection to me that he couldn't describe. And he caused me to be someone I couldn't begin to recognize, but liked very much. I was smiling all the time now, joking around, hell, I even made fun of him. Minute by Minute Ch. 03 I was relaxed with him. Well, as relaxed as I could get with a nearly eight foot tall Caochian warrior sleeping next to me every night. I was starting to think that that part of me was permanently stuck 'guns at the ready'. I knew he noticed, but he never said anything. Other than a few surreptitious glances, Adrai was perfectly behaved. Which, again, I'm glad for. Our rides on the cross-trams were usually fairly silent. We'd watch the ocean, sitting comfortably in our silence until I saw a creature I hadn't seen before and would point it out to him. Sometimes his friend Isir would join us, asking me questions about the vegetation on Earth or talking with Adrai about some machine that the Oalans were building. We would be staying on Oalas for another week, then departing for Adennan. Part of me was scared shitless. Okay, so I was going abso-fucking-out of my brain with terror, but whatever. It was nice here. We had our room that they'd switched us to after I woke up, complete with windows and all the amenities we might need, to Adrai's immense pleasure. He'd been irrationally happy when he saw the window. I mean seriously, it was a window. He didn't need to kiss the freaking nurses hand a thousand times. Again, whatever. As I was saying, I knew where I stood here. The Oalans liked me; most of them called me Bone Boy. They joked with me and were just generally nice. It was safe. Going to Adennan meant that would all change. The Caochians weren't a peaceful people. They were also extremely isolated. I'd be an invader, a target. Adrai promised that he'd keep me out of harm, but that wasn't really what I was worrying about. What would happen when we were back on his home planet? With his family, his friends, people he knew? If they didn't like me, he probably wouldn't want to keep me around. Also, his planet sounded dangerous. They erected a ginormous fucking wall just to keep worms out. Scary! I shifted on the bench so that I could look at him. His profile was relaxed, his long arms draped across the back of the seat. He looked so majestic, sitting there all golden and primal looking. If Prince Charming mated with a lion; that's what he looked like. He tilted his head slightly to look down at me, piercing me with those golden eyes. For some reason though, they weren't being piercing so much as... soft. He wasn't smiling, wasn't saying anything, just looking at me with this weird stare. Finally, after a while of playing the blinking game, he spoke. "What's on your mind?" His hand came off the couch and drifted through my hair, sending chills down my spine. I blushed and stuttered a bit before I could respond properly. "Uhm, I was just thinking that you... you look kinda sorta like a prince. You know?" The corners of his mouth twitched, and he pulled me to him. This was the most contact he'd initiated since the day in the bathroom, and I couldn't help nuzzling into his chest a bit. We sat like that for a bit longer, me listening to his drumming heartbeat, his breath ruffling my hair. Eventually he drew in a deep sigh and collected me into his lap completely. "It's been hard for me to keep my hands to myself. Let me know if it gets too much, okay?" All I could do was blush and nod emphatically. He smiled softly and continued, "Would you like to contact your family? I think your sisters would like to speak with you, as well as your brother Sam." "Can I? Can we do it soon? How? Do you have a Com?" I gasped out, twisting to face him completely. I need to make sure Chloe and Beckett were all right. "We'll do it as soon as we get back to our room. You have their call number, yes?" He grinned down at me, obviously happy that he'd made me happy. A feeling of intense gratitude washed over me, and I huddled into his chest. His strong arms wrapped comfortingly around me, and I'd never felt so safe. "Thank you, Adrai." Minute by Minute Ch. 04 I settled down on the stool Adrai had set up. A few feet in front of me, he was pressing buttons on the HoloCom. I squirmed around on my seat. Shit I was nervous. "Is it done yet?" Adrai gave me a long suffering glare for my impatience and stood. "Yeah it's just about there. Now settle down so it can scan you properly." He pressed another button and a blue light shot out of the Com. "Eek!" "Stay still, Noah!" I grabbed the sides of the stool and held myself rigid. I watched the light in the corner of my eyes as it fanned over me, up and down, up and down. Finally the Com beeped and the light disappeared. "Okay, it's calling. You don't have to stay completely still for the call, but try not to move too much." He smiled at me and leaned back against the desk. I wish he'd agreed to do this with me. He just kept going on about how I was the one they wanted to talk to. It didn't matter that doing this alone made me nervous as hell. He thought they'd be more comfortable if he wasn't there, even if I would be much happier if he was doing it with me. The Com beeped and whirred, and the blue light shot out again. It widened and fanned over the area in front of me. Slowly, my family started to materialize. Hoo boy. I watched as Chloe appeared, smiling brightly and bouncing on her toes, then Ally, Sam, and Lucas. As soon as their eyes focused on to me, Chloe screamed. "Noah! Noah dad's gone! I was watching from my window and when Ad-ad-" "Adrai, sweetie." Ally smiled softly at me. "Yeah! When Adrai took you, these big guys in police uniforms took dad too! Then Lucas and Ally and Paul all went to...." She tugged on Ally's hand and whispered something up to her. Ally laughed and replied, "Court." "Yeah! Lucas and Ally and Paul went to court and when they came back Paul was really mad but Lucas was happy and Ally said that dad wouldn't be coming back ever. Like ever ever ever. So you can come back!" Adrai visibly tensed, and his afore smiling face turned to stone. I turned my attention back to my family. Lucas was wearing a slight grimace, and Ally just looked sad. Sam looked slightly hopeful, his hands clenched at his sides. Chloe was still looking up at me expectantly. "I'm sorry Chloe, I can't go back, not for a while at least." She pouted fiercely and crossed her arms with a "Humph!" She glared at me, but I could see stubborn tears forming in her eyes. I wanted to reach out and pull into her a hug. When she spoke again, her voice was wavering and pitiful, "Why not? I want you to come back home." "I'm sorry sweetie, but I can't. I'm still recovering from what happened. And..." I glanced over at Adrai again, who had relaxed once I'd stated my resolve to stay. I waved at him to come over, but he shook his head. I waved again, but he still said no. "Oh come over here! Please?" I asked plaintively. He glared, but walked over until he was behind me, pausing to let the scanner add in his image. He placed his hands lightly on the stool on either side of me, forever possessive. I couldn't help a small smile. "I'm happy here, Chloe. I don't want to leave. I miss you guys, but I don't think that I could survive being in that house, even if Dad's gone. Paul still hates me, and Beckett doesn't like me much either. I won't go back to being the maid, cook, punching bag, whatever I was in that house. Not after being here," I grabbed Adrai's hand and pulled it around so it obvious I was holding it. "Not after being with him. I'm happy." Adrai growled softly and nuzzled into my neck, making me giggle. Sam gasped and blushed, but didn't say anything. Lucas did, "I'm glad that we made the right decision then. I'm sorry that I never stood up for you, Noah. I'm glad that you have this chance to be happy." He nodded at me approvingly. I felt a lightness in my chest that I hadn't noticed holding me down. I beamed at him, then remembered that I had other things I wanted to ask before he left. "So Chloe and Beckett are still safe?" Chloe perked up, "I've been good, Noah! I'm a super good hider! The police people never find me. I hide Beckett too, 'cause he's not as good as me." "Good girl, I'm proud of you." I said. Lucas chuckled and gave me the answer I'd been wanting. "So far no inquiries have come up, and we made sure not to slip up in court. We passed off the extra expenses as Dad's booze money. I think we're in the clear." A sigh of relief slipped out of me, and Adrai looked at me inquiringly. I knew he'd have questions, but I'd answer them later. "What about the farm, how's it doing?" I asked. "Pretty good, we're getting it ready for your... uhm," He paused and glanced nervously over my shoulder, "friends' people to come and start planting. They had all sorts of weird requirements for the fertilizer and how they wanted the irrigation set up. It's fine though, we're getting paid big bucks for it." I nodded, "That's good. We're about to head out to Acaoch in a few days, so it might be a while before we can talk again. How's everything at home going?" Ally spoke up, "Paul's worse than ever. He's so much like Dad. He's drinking again, and he blames you for everything that goes wrong. He doesn't even play with Beckett anymore. So of course Beckett's moody all the time." She heaved a big sigh and rolled her eyes. "I hope he calms down soon. I love you guys, I-" "Wait, before you all leave, I'd like to have a word with Sam please." Adrai butted in. Sam looked scared, but he nodded at Lucas and Ally, who waved at me and promised to talk again soon before gathering up Chloe and stepping out of the image. I looked up at Adrai, confused. "What are you doing, why would you need to talk with Sam?" Instead of answering, he walked over to the wall and typed something into the tablet. He came back and picked me up off the stool before sitting down himself and setting me on his lap. "Sam, when you came to me at the embassy, you told me that you had 'got most his bones healed' and when we brought Noah here, we found many bones that had been broken, but all were healed, though badly. What did you do?" Sam looked down at his twisting fingers, his knuckles were white and his whole body was trembling. He looked up at me, his eyes pleading. "Noah, you remember, right? Whenever you're hurt I try...." He went silent and looked down again, tears slipping down his cheeks. Oh. My ocean. I twisted around so that I was facing Adrai. Putting my hands on his broad shoulders, I said, "I know what you're talking about. Whenever Dad would hurt me, Sam would help me. He made me feel better. If I had cuts or something felt broken, he'd fix me so that I could keep going." Adrai's hand lifted up to stroke my cheek and I leaned into it. His eyes were soft as they looked at me. The moment was interrupted by the door to our room opening. Isir walked in, looking fairly upset. "This is Sam?" Without waiting for an answer, he walked over so that he was standing in front of us. "How did you learn to heal like that? You obviously haven't had any training. Do you have any idea how much danger you put both yourself and Noah in? You could have seriously injured Noah, possibly even killed him." Sam was shaking, staring up at Isir with obvious fear. "I-I-I'm so-sorry..." Adrai spoke up, "Isir, stop yelling at the boy. He was just trying to help Noah, he didn't know about the dangers of it." "You don't understand." Isir looked back at us, frustration written all over his face. "This power is usually born into us. Rarely, it is purposely passed on to a member of the Ooana who has been meticulously trained and ordained by the council." The color under his skin swirled and shifted and the scales across his shoulders bristled in agitation. He paced across the room, passing in and out of the scanners light. "Even those of us lucky enough to be born with it go through years of training and tests and every little thing we do is scrutinized before we are accepted as members of the Oorla. The fact that a human has this power... I don't see any situation where it could have been passed to him, nor do I see how he could have been born with it." "I-I wasn't born with it." Sam whispered. Isir abruptly stopped his pacing, staring intently at Sam. "Then how did you manage to get it?" "My mom..." His eyes flickered over to me. "Our mom gave me something before she died. She gave Noah some papers, but she gave me a necklace. She told me to keep it safe, and that if I ever needed to help someone, the necklace would show me how." Adrai's hands clenched around my stomach, and I knew he was thinking about the papers. They relaxed after a second, and I turned my attention back to Sam and Isir. Isir was pacing again, muttering to himself. Suddenly he seemed think of something and stalked over to stand in front of Sam. "Are you wearing the necklace?" "Y-yeah..." Sam replied. "Show it to me." I'd seen Sam wearing the chain before, but he always wore it underneath his clothing. He slowly pulled it out from underneath his shirt, carefully placing the jewel at the end in his palm and presenting it to Isir. Isir gasped, "No..." Adrai slid me off his lap and walked over to him "What is it?" "K'Loemach, if --if I'm right, this is the Seiloa Ceri'nuana. The Stone of Great Healing. It's been missing ever since the Ederian War. That was over a hundred years ago! How did you mother come to have it, Sam?" Sam's eyes were wide and he shook his frantically, "I don't know! I swear I didn't know it was special or anything. I'm sorry!" "It's okay Sam, just think back. Do you remember anything else that your mother told you about the stone?" Sam took a deep breath and looked down, thinking hard. After a few minutes, his head shot up and he looked excited. "Oh! Her dad was a collector! We never met him because he kicked her out or something when she married our dad, but she used to tell us stories about all the amazing stuff he had in his house. That's where Noah's papers came from too!" Adrai looked back at me sharply, but didn't say anything. Crap, we were definitely having that talk soon. "K'Loemach, we need to bring Sam and that necklace here right away. If anyone else gets wind of this Sam could be in great danger." Adrai nodded and walked over to desk, pulling his tele-cuff out and snapping it on. He tapped a few buttons, then started murmuring into it. I walked over to Sam and smiled, "Hey, at least we'll get to hang out again. How are you feeling?" "Terrified. I honestly had no idea this thing was so important. I just figured that it was some kind of cool tech that allowed me to help you. But I guess you won't really be needing it anymore, so it doesn't matter if I give it up." He smiled sadly at me and reached out as if to touch my hand. "I'm gonna miss you, Noah." I grinned at him, "I'll miss you too, maybe you could come to Adannen with us for a while after you come here." Both Adrai's and Isir's heads snapped around. "No!" "I highly doubt that." And they turned back to their own conversations. "Okay, maybe not. But we'll still be able to talk to each other. And don't worry about me, Adrai wouldn't let anything happen to me." Sam glanced wryly over at the big warrior and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he seems pretty protective." I couldn't help blushing a bit. "I like him that way. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't feel nearly as safe here. I wouldn't even be here." I looked at Adrai's expansive back, silently thanking him again for everything he'd saved me from. Isir finished up his conversation and turned towards us. "I called a friend of mine who's on the Council, and he'll be here tomorrow to help find out if that's the actual stone." Adrai turned his tele-cuff off and walked over, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me snuggly into his side. "Sam, I've given orders to the soldiers already on your farm to fly you out tomorrow. Because of the hurry, you'll be riding in a Caoch warship, so it won't be very comfortable. Bring as little as possible and just do what they say. They'll give you a com system that you can use to contact me or Isir if anything seems out of place. Be very careful, Sam. You should arrive in three days." Sam nodded hesitantly and glanced behind him before asking, "What should I tell Lucas and everyone?" "Just tell them that I've agreed to allow you a few days visitation with Noah. We'll be here for a bit to greet you before we have to leave so it won't be an outright lie." "Okay. I guess I'll see you guys in a few days." He gave a small wave and turned to shut off his Com. I stepped forward, "Be careful, Sam." He gave me a shaky smile and then his image disappeared. I stood staring at the empty space for a moment, then felt Adrai's warm hand on my shoulder. "Noah, we need to have our own talk now. Let's go back to the room." ****** Back in the room, we were sitting across from each other on our bed. Adrai was leaning against the wall with his long legs stretched out. I sat near his feet, cross-legged and nervous. He reached over to the bedside table and pulled out an envelope form the drawer. He reached inside and carefully pulled out a sheaf of yellowed papers. I lunged across the bed and grabbed them from his hand, "My stories! How did you get them?" "Your brother brought them to me while you were at the Earth hospital. I've wanted to ask for a while how you came to understand and speak my language, and where you got these. Now, thanks to Sam, I know the where, but still not the how. Care to explain?" He arched an eyebrow at me and kept his facial features schooled. This wasn't my cuddly lion prince; this was Adrai K'Loemach, son of the Kohar of Adannen, Ambassador to Earth for the planet Acaoch, home of the fiercest warriors in our galaxy. I fidgeted, looking anywhere but at him. "Noah! This is important, tell me now!" His voice erupted, a heavy growl accompanying the words. I flinched and scooted a bit further away from him. I could hear him sigh, but kept my head stubbornly down. After a few more minutes of him growling under his breath and me playing with a loose string on my shorts, I decided to tell him. Even if he was being a big jerk about it. "I've always had a way with languages." I started out, whispering. He jerked and sat up straighter, listening intently. "My mom was a High Born, before she met my dad. But then she fell in love with him and her father threatened to disown her if she went through with the marriage. She did it anyway and had to move out of the city and to Dad's Division. When she had us, she taught us everything she knew, how to speak properly and about Earth's history and about all the galactic species that she had met. She told me about your species, the Caochians, and how regal and beautiful you were." I glanced shyly up at Adrai and he smiled, reaching out to me with his palm up. I placed my hand in his and allowed him to pull me towards him. He lifted and turned me slightly so that I was sitting in his lap. "Go on, Noah." "Those were my favorite stories. I was always asking her about the 'Lion people". She had already taught me some other languages, so she thought together we might be able to decipher those papers." Adrai's fingers traced a scar on my leg thoughtfully. "What other languages?" "Mom taught me French, Spanish, Italian, Old Russian, Dutch, German, and Arabic. And some Mandarin, but she died halfway through. I taught myself Afrikaans and Zulu when I was trying to get closer to understanding Caochian." "Kahl... How old were you?" He looked down at me curiously. "We started when I was really young, three, I think. Mom would sometimes lapse into different languages, and I started copying her. "What about your other siblings?" "Ally knows French, and Italian I think, and Sam liked to sit with us while Mom was teaching me, so he probably knows something, but after mom died, Dad didn't like to hear any of us speaking them, it reminded him too much of her." "So how did you learn my language, as far as I know, it doesn't follow any of the same rules that Earth languages do." "You'd think that, but there are some similarities in you can find in Zulu. Not a whole lot, but some of your words are very close, like ikhanda and kandh." "Head. Wow. So from just a few similar words you learned our whole language?" He looked down at me incredulously. I snickered a little, "No, dope. It did allow me to make some contextual assumptions, like I and me, you, they, them, up, down. But no, once I hit a wall, I snuck out of the house to the Division center and read everything I possibly could about you. There are more people than you think who are fascinated by your species, you know. I found all sorts of forums on the database about everything little thing that had to do with Acaoch. Of course, most of it was just speculation, but every once in a while I managed to talk to somebody who actually knew something. That's how I learned about your caste system." "Ah!" I squeaked when Adrai suddenly rolled us over so that I lay prone beneath him. He draped himself over me, covering my whole body with his much bigger form. He buried his head in my neck and nuzzled my ear. "Noah, the more I learn about you, the more amazed and confounded I am. I knew when I rescued you that you were mysterious, I had so many questions. I didn't think much beyond your beauty and the fact that you knew Caochian." I glared at him, "I'm not a girl, you know." He grinned down at me lecherously, "Yes, I'm very aware of that." Still smirking, he ground his hips against mine, making it very obvious just what he thought about my lack of female genitalia. "Ad- Adrai..." I gasped out, grabbing onto his shoulders. He growled and hitched his hips again. He stared down at me, slit pupils wide with desire. His mouth dropped open and his fangs slid down, glinting. I could hear him pant with each thrust against me. I cried out and tried to meet him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pushing my hips hard against his. He pressed me down into the bed and forced my head up, crushing his lips to mine. His tongue thrust into my mouth, matching the motions of his hips. He coaxed my tongue to explore into his mouth and I did, running it over his fangs. He growled and pressed harder against me, nearly making me come. I moaned into his mouth. One of his fangs pricked my lip. He sucked it into his mouth, turning the slight pain into heady pleasure. Suddenly he wrenched himself away from me, throwing himself across the room and punching his fist, claws out, into the wall. "Adrai! What... what happened, are you okay?" I got up to walk over to him but he threw a hand out. "Stop! Don't come near me yet. I'm sorry Noah, I shouldn't have done that." He turned his back to me. What? Shouldn't have done what? Humped me? Kissed me? If he was worried that he scared me, he hadn't. "Adrai, I wasn't scared. You've been taking care of me for weeks now, I want this. I want to be with you. Even if I had gotten scared, I would know it was you. Your fangs kinda make that obvious." Instead of the snicker I was expecting, he growled and punched the wall again. "Adrai stop! What's wrong?" I tried to reach out again and he threw himself away from me. Literally threw himself back. Oh. He hadn't liked it. Tears welled into my eyes so I jerked my head down. This was my fault. I had done something to make him do that to me and now he was mad. My dad used to tell me that all the time. That I made him do it. Maybe whatever I had done to make him, I had done to Adrai. Minute by Minute Ch. 04 But Adrai wasn't like my dad, so he stopped. But I hadn't wanted him to stop. I wanted him to love me. But he didn't. He didn't want me at all. I felt a tear drip down my cheek. I gasped and quickly dashed it away, but Adrai was already looking at me. My heart thundered in my chest. The tears kept dropping. "Noah?" Adrai looked confused. He took a step towards me. I bolted around him, dodging the grab he made for me and throwing myself out the door and into the hall. "Noah! Noah wait!" He yelled. I could hear his footsteps beating the floor behind me. I swerved around a corner and saw a nurse coming with a service cart. I sped up and grabbed it, ignoring the woman's startled shriek. I shoved it behind me. I glanced back quickly when I heard the crash, seeing Adrai sprawled across the fallen cart and spilled linens. "Noah!" I kept running. Minute by Minute Ch. 05 Thanks everyone, for all the nice comments, I really love hearing from you. If you want to check GA, I have an anthology story up on there That I'll be posting to my blog in a week or so as well. It's called The Strength of Love. ****** Fuck. Where was he? I'd been searching for hours. Up and down the long metal encased hallways. I asked the tram-valets if they had seen him, but no one knew. I swear I had half the Ceri'Ooana looking for Noah, and no one could find him. I guess he was probably good at hiding after living with his father, but fuck I just wanted to explain. After the drastic end to our kiss, I realized what he probably thought. I had jumped off of him without thinking, trying to control myself before I went into full Caochian rut. Sharing blood is a sign of bonding; you only do it with the person you have chosen as your mate, and only after the fasting ritual. I had chosen him, but Kirahl had not honored our coupling with the feast of Mekhigroka. And no matter how Noah had responded to me during our kiss, I had yet to explain to him what fasting to me fully meant. The water was dark outside, the bright Oalas sun finally dipping over the horizon of the vast ocean. I sighed and ran a hand across my face, trying not to slam my knuckle claws into the nearest wall. Isir had yelled at me for the deep punctures I had left in our bedroom. I leaned my head against the cool glass, thinking desperately of where Noah might have gone. He'd only been gone for a few hours, and yet my body ached for his. My nerves grated, taught with the worry of not knowing where he was. Since he had woken up, we had not left each other's side for more than the need to go to the bathroom, and we still often did that together. My protective instincts would not allow me more than a few feet away from him, and screamed whenever I couldn't see him. The soft footsteps of an Oalian neared, and I turned toward the noise. "We've found him, Loe." I caught my breath. "He's in the communal eating center." I grabbed Isir up in a quick, fierce hug, then took off for the center. It seemed like I ran for miles, but I finally approached the center doors. I yanked one open and practically vaulted myself through. I searched the tables quickly for Noah's dark hair, finally finding him in a circle of Oalians. One of them reached up and touched Noah's cheek, and I couldn't stop the roar that ripped out of my chest. Mine. Heads whipped towards me. I saw Noah flinch, and my inner animal growled. The Oalians surrounding him slowly backed away, not wanting to mess with an enraged Caochian. I stalked towards Noah, never blinking as I watched him tense the closer I got. I came to a halt when my bare feet were touching the tips of his soft shoes. He didn't look at me. The anger inside my chest was building up, burning my throat. "Where were you?" I managed to growl out. He shrugged and fiddled with the edge of his shorts. I watched him for a few moments more, then made a quick decision. I grabbed him under his armpits and hefted him over my shoulder, ignoring his shriek. I clamped a hand down on his cute butt and took off for our bedroom. "Adrai! Let me down!" I ignored him. I made sure to keep my stride low and long. No matter how angry I was, I didn't want him bouncing around uncomfortably on my shoulder. I started slowing down as our door came in sight, and I pulled Noah from my shoulder to my chest, arranging him so that I was hugging him to me tightly in what he called the 'Princess carry'. I didn't look at him as I opened our door and walked inside. I carefully set him down on the bed. I sat down on the end of the bed and laid a hand over one of his small feet. He abruptly yanked it away and rolled over, away from me. There's an Earth expression that I heard quite a bit around the bars a lot in the southern sections of the URNA. Fuck me sideways. My knuckle claws flexed in and out. I reached a hand out towards his back, but pulled back. "Where were you, Noah?" He lay still for a few moments, and I was about to repeat the question when he flipped over and sat up, fists clenched. "What the fuck do you care? You couldn't get away from me fast enough! Was I that disgusting? Did you realize who you were kissing? I'm just a used up fucktoy and you're practically a fucking prince! Why the fuck would you ever want me!" Oh, Noah. His breaths rasped out raggedly, his chest heaving up and down. I spoke softly, wanting him to listen. "No, Noah, that's not what I thought at all." His face twisted and he looked like he wanted to throw something at me. "Then why?" He stretched the last word out on a cry, and tears started to fall from his eyes. "I'm sorry, Noah. I had no intention of hurting you." My chest ached as I watched the tears leak out of his gorgeous green eyes. I crept forward, slowly lifting a hand towards him, approaching him as I would a scared animal. He flinched, but didn't brush away my hand from his cheek. I wiped away his tears and cradled his face in my hands. "Blood is a very strong aphrodisiac to my species. When ingested, it sets us into rut. Because of the nearly violent nature of Caochian rut, blood-bonding are only allowed between fasted couples. When I..." Just thinking about the taste of his blood sprang my shaft from its sheath, and I tilted my face away from Noah, trying to calm myself. I took his hands in my larger ones, and continued. "When I sucked on your lip, I took the first start in blood-bonding us. If I had let myself continue further, I would not have been able to stop myself." Noah sniffled and pulled one his hands from mine. I looked up to see him wiping at his eyes. "Then why didn't you say anything? I could have gone and grabbed some salve or something." "I honestly didn't realize that I'd cut you until your blood had filled my mouth. It was so hard to stop myself, Noah, I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't." I shuddered and bent forward, resting my head on his knees. One of his hands tentatively rested on my neck, and I smiled at the small victory. "Would it have really been so bad?" He asked. I snorted. He had no idea. "Noah, have you ever wondered what my knuckle claws are for?" His eyes widened, and I could see him think. "They're weapons... right? And you use them as a sign of respect." I couldn't help a small flash of pride that he knew that, but I shook my head. "That's not all. In Agaghnoki, do you know what that means?" He stilled and racked his brain. "That's... like old... old times? Noki, that's old. Aga is time." He looked to me for reassurance, and I nodded. "Almost. The Ancient Times. In Agaghnoki, knuckle claws were used to literally pin a mate down. The dominant partner would pierce through the submissive partners hands, keeping them trapped on the ground while the dominant rutted." Noah gasped and rubbed his hands, looking at me fearfully. "Isn't that rape?" I chuckled a bit and stretched up to kiss his cheek. "Sometimes, yes it was. But most of the time the partners were mated. It was mostly a safety measure for the dominant, so the sub's claws wouldn't do any serious damage while in rut. It's hardly practiced anymore, save for a few subcultures who choose to keep the tradition alive. Nowadays, binding techniques are used instead." I saw Noah pale at that, his fingers clenching. I thought back to what he had said about being a fucktoy, and scowled. "I won't ever bind you, Noah. Not unless you want me to. You have no claws to harm me with." I grabbed up his hands and placed a kiss on each of his knuckles. "I don't think I'd ever want you to." He said shakily. "Noah, bondage can be very exciting. It's a huge part of my culture. Half of the reason I came to Earth was to learn more about your 'leather scene', as you Earthers call it. If you never want to explore that side of Acaoch, I understand completely. But eventually, I want you to just learn about it, if that isn't too much." "Why would you want to learn about... about that?" "When Adannen opened up to the rest of the galaxy, we got lots of travelers from all over. A few who had been to earth carried stories of your BD..." I thought, trying to remember the rest of the acronym. Noah spoke up quietly, "BDSM." I nodded. "Yes, BDSM. Caochians were of course very intrigued by this, considering our past, and a few started making journeys to Earth. They came back with tales of the bars and dungeons, exclaiming about the techniques and all the different sorts of play that you Earthers explored. When I became of age, I asked Father permission to make my own journey, and traveled to Earth. That was before your URNA was formed, and it was a bit less regulated. I had my fun for many years, learning knots and how to use all the different tools." Noah's forehead scrunched, and he was opening and closing his mouth like a fish. I waited while he thought whatever he was thinking over. Finally he whispered, "Before URNA? That was over a hundred years ago. How old are you?" He said it reverently, with a look I couldn't explain in his eye. "Caochian males come of age at about forty, in your years. Women usually take a bit longer, between forty-five and fifty years. Right now I'm just under two hundred years old. My father is over five hundred. Developmentally, I'm in my mid-twenties in comparison to your life-cycle." Noah let out a huge breath and flopped back onto the bed. I crawled up to lie next to him, my head on my hand. He ran a hand through his hair and tugged at it, as if making sure he was real. He turned towards me and sighed again. "I have so many questions, Adrai. I can't even think. I'm so confused. First the BDSM thing, and your scary stories about sex, and now you're two hundred fucking years old." "Can I hold you, Noah? You can ask me more when I'm touching you. My poor lion is raging." He laughed and shifted towards me, allowing me to wrap him up tight against me. We were quiet for a while, as I breathed in his scent, so happy that he had been found. Which, speaking of, reminded me. "Noah, where were you hiding? You still have yet to tell me." He snickered and waved a hand. "Just in the center kitchen. I crawled into one of the big cabinets they have in there. One of the cooks opened it up looking for some oosa or something and nearly had a heart attack." I laughed quietly then clenched him tightly, burying my face in his hair. "Noah, don't ever run off like that again. I can't stand it." He wriggled around so that he could face me and absently played with one of my hands. "I won't. I thought you didn't want me. One moment you were kissing me and it was so good, and the next you all the way across the room punching a wall. I was terrified." I groaned and tilted his chin up, planting a soft kiss on his lips. I gently took his hand and dragged it down my chest, towards my breechclout. He gasped as he came into contact with my turgid flesh, which leapt towards his palm. I pressed him against me briefly, before pulling his hand away and bringing it up to my lips. "Believe me, Noah. I want you. I want you so much every night next to you is torture on my self control. I don't think that you are used," His cheeks heated and he looked away, "I think that you were abused, and that you are healing. The kiss showed that. I was so happy that you didn't run from the bed screaming. I was sure you would." He frowned at me and poked my chest. "I'm not a coward. Yeah, what happened to me was shit, but I've had eight goddamn years to deal with it. I'm just happy that it's over. That last night was probably one of the worst times that he'd ever hurt me, but you were there for me the whole time afterwards. I woke up with you protecting me. I'm not scared of you, Adrai." I beamed at him, showing full fang. Fuck that made me happy. I rolled away from him and stood up, grabbing his hand on the way and yanking him against me. I snagged a quick kiss and held him tight. "I haven't eaten in hours, Noah. It's late, but do you want to go grab something to eat? He nodded enthusiastically and laughed as my belly let out a loud growl, right on cue. ****** Over the next day or so, we got ready to leave. Noah packed what little his family had given to me at the Earth hospital, and what we had acquired for him on Oalas. I made sure that all of our preparations for the trip to Adannen were still sound, and that Sam's ship was still on keel for Oalas. Everything looked good, so mostly I just watched Noah as he fretted about. He kept asking me to do this or that, making sure that Sam would be comfortable here. Isir dropped by a few times, also checking up on Sam, and seeing how we were doing. About three hours before Sam's ship was supposed to port, I got a call from one of the captains. "Sir! There's ships.... Us... shot... make it... them down..." And then it crackled out. Noah, who was at my side, stared up me, his eyes wide. I frantically pushed the callback button on my tele-com, but the call never went through. "Noah, get on my back. We'll make it to the cross-trams faster." Noah nodded, his face tight with worry. I grabbed his legs tight and shot off towards the trams and the port. Isir was already there, waiting, also tense. "I got word from our defense administrators. Apparently there's a small battle going on just outside our atmosphere. They're sending out troops now to defend Sam, but we can't tell what's happening yet." We got on the tram and sat, Noah's hand clenched tightly around mine, and Isir getting up ever moment or so to pace and check in with the administrators. Finally we reached the port. We rode the elevator to the top and stepped out into the first real sunlight that I had seen since we got here. It relaxed me, allowing me to breathe a little easier. I ran a hand down Noah's stiff back, praying for him that Sam was okay. We walked towards across the expansive deck towards the large gate and the Oalian security guards set up against the doors. They nodded at Isir and let us through. Noah gasped at what he saw on the other side. When we'd come through before, He'd still been in a coma, unable to see the wonder of the Oalian port. The floor was a beautifully tiled mosaic of waves and creatures, the pattern obscured from where we stood, the sunlight glinting off in shots of color. It stretched on for miles above the water, docks expanding out onto the water on one side with numerous guards posted at each one. On the other side of the walkway, hundreds of people milled through the vendor stores and rushed past us, hurrying to get on their next ship or to get down to the cross-trams. A huge canopy blew in the wind above us, held up by massive curved posts that looked like the bones of one of the many massive creatures that swam below us. Suddenly, a scream rang out, pulling me from my observations. I followed where people were pointing and looked up, three smoking ships were falling out of the sky. Noah gave a small cry and dug his nails into my arm. I wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. Guards were rushing around, getting several rescue ships ready and launching out towards the still hurtling ships. One of them was careening wildly, still spinning as it dropped. It crashed into the water, sending up a massive splash. Everyone on the deck was waiting in scared silence, crowded against the portside. The second ship crashed, a little bit closer, and I could see that the design was of my home's. The last ship crashed further out, but I barely noticed as I watched the guards pull up to my ship and start to search. After an agonizing ten minutes, Noah's fingernails surely have causing me to bleed by now, the guards pulled a small form out of the ship. Noah gasp and made to run forward, nearly toppling himself into the water. I grabbed him up and shoved past one of the guards still on deck, walking out onto the closest dock. I held Noah tight as we waited for the rescue ship to gradually make its way back to us. As soon as they touched dock and one of the guards leapt out, Noah broke free of my arms and ran to the ship. I followed behind, slower. I was terrified of what Noah would find in the ship. A charred and very dead Sam? One of my soldiers? I watched Noah's back as they brought the body out, laying on the dock. Noah crumpled, sliding to floor. One of the guards pulled him away and the others surrounded the body. I caught up and shoved the guards hand off of Noah's arm. He looked up at me, tears streaming down his cheeks. "It's him, Adrai. It's Sam."