Page 21 of Vikingr
I had to get a medical scan. Maybe Klav could find out what was wrong with me.
After we’d seta time and location for our meeting, I hurried from the bridge, evading the questions and doubtful comments my crew members threw at me. They didn’t feel the same urgency as me. They had no idea what it was like to run around with an erection that wouldn’t go away and an aching mating axe.
Klav was watching a soap opera. He turned it off as soon as I entered the medbay, an impish expression on his face at being caught. I didn’t comment on his choice of entertainment.
“Scan me for illnesses,” I ordered without preamble.
He gave me a curious look. “Are you feeling unwell?”
“Would I come here if I wasn’t?”
With a shrug, he pulled out his scanner and directed it at me. A slight tingle spread over my skin as he scanned me from top to toe. He frowned at the scanner, then repeated the procedure.
“You didn’t tell me that you’ve found your mate,” he said eventually. “How? Where?”
“I have not. My body is wrong.”
Klav tapped away on the scanner, scrolling through the results. “You show all the signs of the fýst. Elevated mating hormones, increased blood flow, augmented pheromone expression. Has your mating axe activated?”
“Yes,” I grunted. This was not something I wanted to talk about.
“I’ve never heard of a Vikingr male presenting like this without having encountered his mate. Are you sure it wasn’t the Peritan female? You spent a lot of time with her, enough to trigger the process.”
“She can’t be my mate. What are the chances? I abducted her at random. I used my date of birth as the porting coordinates; there was no plan, no informed selection. It’s impossible. Unless the hamingja herself manipulated the porting beam….”
I faltered, turning away from Klav. Could it be? Could the hamingja be this generous? To not only give me a way to find mates for all Vikingar, but also lead me tomymate?
I swirled around, my expression wild enough that Klav took a step back.
“How sure are you that this is the real thing? That I’ve found my mate?”
Klav didn’t hesitate. “No doubt whatsoever.”
13
Steff
It was strange to be back home. It had been after noon by the time the Albyans had dropped me off at my home, and I’d staggered into bed, reassured by two of them remaining in my living room as guards. I’d wanted to send Pam a text to inform her of what was going on, but my phone was still missing, and anyway, I was too tired.
Yet I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned while hot flushes raced through my body. It was at least a decade too early for the menopause, so had I caught some kind of space bug? I did a mental scan of my body, looking for other symptoms. My nipples were hard, painfully so, and had been for hours. My core throbbed with need. Maybe I was getting my period. It wasn’t time yet, but it wasn’t unusual for them to be a little irregular.
I slipped a hand into my panties, rubbing my clit, but it didn’t give me the satisfaction I craved. I couldn’t bring myself over the edge, no matter how hard I tried. Strange, I’d never had that problem before.
Eventually, after a lot more frustrated tossing, I must have finally fallen asleep.
* * *
I woke to darkness.For a moment, I panicked, worried I’d been abducted yet again, but luckily, my little cat nightlight was in its usual place, flickering reassuringly. I was home.
After a quick shower, I re-joined my Albyan guards. They'd figured out how to turn on my television and were enjoying a trashy dating show. One where the contestants were semi-naked and clearly more interested in sex than romance. With a chuckle, I left them to it and ordered some pizza. They'd get the full human experience today.
I wanted to go and search for my phone - maybe I'd dropped my bag during the abduction and there was a chance it was still somewhere on Laggard Road. Twenty-four hours had passed since I'd been taken by aliens. It was crazy to think that the rest of humanity had lived their lives as usual, while I'd been interrogated by alien Vikings. At least there hadn't been any probing. As alien abductions went, it hadn't been all that bad. Now that I was safely back home, I could laugh at how ridiculous everything had been. Especially the knee-in-balls incident.
Without my phone, I had to look up Pam's number from her email signature and use my ancient, rarely used landline to call her. She picked up on the first ring.
"Steff, it's bloody time! I've been trying to call you. If the Albyans hadn't reassured me that you were safe, I would have already turned up at your house."
Warmth spread through me. She'd been worried for me. Good to know I had people who'd have noticed my abduction eventually. People who would have missed me.
