Page 19 of Alien Jeopardy
Everything is going very nicely, I think.
My female is tucked under my wing after asking for a second dose of my mating venom. The scent of her heat is driving me out of my mind with lust, the sweet, spicy scent of her cunt calling to me.
I am being very patient, though.
I will not mate with her until she asks me to.
From the way she’s currently rubbing her damp heat against my thigh, though, I think perhaps she will ask me to soon.
My cock jumps at the idea, beginning to skith again.
The drone that’s frightened my human mate buzzes in front of us, and I hold out a hand. A second later, the metal box drops into my palm, and I open the lid with a flick of my claw.
My little mate is making words in her strange language, and I mentally curse the Roth organizers of this game for not allowing us translator technology.
A few moments go by and I frown, staring into the empty box—then nearly drop it as a voice booms out of it, an image projecting in the interior, some sort of hologram.
“Welcome toMated and Afraid,” the hologram in the box says, a wide grin on his face. I squint at the image.
It’s odd, the hologram—it looks human sometimes, Roth or even Suevan next, the image flickering between forms as I watch.
We watch, I correct myself, because the beautiful female at my side is gazing up at the image open-mouthed. I tear my gaze away from those petal-pink lips and force myself to listen to the machine.
“The concept is simple, but the contest will not be.” The hologram smiles even wider, and something about it makes me want to growl. “Five challenges, all along different routes on this Suevan-system moon. Travel by air is not allowed, so you’ll be taking your mate through the wilderness while you adapt to the environment… and to each other.”
I sneak another glance at the perfect female by my side, and she’s looking between the hologram and me with an angry, wrinkled forehead.
Seeing the lines and furious pout on her mouth makes me want to laugh and smooth her forehead out all at once.
I do not know if she’d like that, though, so I focus on the hologram and settle for rubbing the hard bone plate under the horns on my own forehead.
“Each challenge will have a reward, but the first is probably the most important—a translator for you and your mate, as well as two packs of supplies that will greatly ease the rest of your journey.” The hologram pauses dramatically, making a great show of looking down at a large apparatus strapped to its wrist. “The first challenge begins at nightfall. You have three hours to make it to the first waypoint. If you aren’t there before nightfall, you will forfeit the challenge—and the chance to have a translator by the end of the day.” The hologram fizzles out.
A translation device, within our grasp.
Happiness makes my wings curl up tight, and I smile down at my little human female just as the voice starts again, this time in the strange tones of her language.
She slides her gaze from my face to the box in my hand, watching the hologram with a rapt expression. I find myself lost in the minutiae of her face.
It’s so expressive compared to the Draegon I’ve spent my life around. I can practically see the thoughts flit across her face, her eyebrows and forehead moving with every new piece of information the hologram reveals.
Finally, she slumps against me as the hologram finishes the speech in her strange language. The humans brought to my planet centuries ago speak Draegon, as does everyone there, so the communicator they’ve promised as a prize for our first challenge will be useful indeed.
Something is wrong with this place.
I cannot quite puzzle out what is so off—there’s no wildlife, no noise at all, but it’s more than that.
This place is just wrong.
A drone buzzes around us, interrupting my thoughts, and I fight the urge to snarl at it and bring it down. It would be so easy; a pump of my wings, a swipe of my talons, and the threat would be dealt with. I do not want anyone seeing my perfect mate but me.
Already, the urge to rut her has begun, made worse by the delicious, spiced scent of her heat. It grows stronger by the second, tantalizing and mouthwatering and teasing me beyond all hope of rational thought.
I must be calm.
I take a deep breath, but it only makes it worse, her delectable scent bombarding my senses.
Every attempt I’ve made to calm myself has not worked, though, and the only thing somewhat settling me is the feel of my female against my skin.
