Page 24 of Vikingr
"Vikingar, I believe the Donail has already informed you how our arrangement works, but I'll recap just in case," the older Peritan female began. She was full of fire, yet another demonstration of how perfect this planet's females were for us. The way she'd faced me, without fear, was very promising. I'd have to ask Steff if her superior was still available for mating. I had some older males on the Valkyr who would love a female like that.
"Every woman who signs up at our agency submits a DNA sample. We then send those to the Albyans’ lab, who have the necessary technology to analyse what we call the matching sequence. They send us both the data of our human women as well as that of Albyan males who're looking for a potential mate. All the matching is done here, on Earth, for privacy reasons. We are the ones in charge of informing both women and men. While the Albyans prepare at home, the women are invited on a supposed luxury trip abroad. I mean, it's still luxury, but I'm not sure Albya counts as abroad. Our contracts make it very clear that should a woman change her mind when she finds out that she's about to board a spaceship, she'll have to cover all the costs of her matching and the travel reservations. So far, not a single one has opted to pay. And only a handful decided not to stay on Albya after meeting their mates. Our success rate really is astounding, thanks to the Albyans’ matching algorithms."
"We do not have scientists," I admitted when she stopped for a moment to breathe. Did all females talk this much? "Not anymore. Some of my crew members have acquired specialised knowledge as needed, but they are not trained scientists."
"We can do the DNA analysis," Donail offered. I wanted to punch his smiling, helpful face. "And if some of your people want to be trained, they're welcome to go to Albya and learn how to do everything themselves. Over time, we can then transition from us doing everything to giving you more and more control."
I had to admit, he was talking sense. I hated just how much assistance he was offering us. I didn't want to be indebted to anyone. But this was about the survival of all Vikingar. I would have to swallow my pride and accept their help.
"First, we will have to make certain that Vikingar and Peritans truly can be mates," Donail continued. "If you're willing to give us some samples right now, Clefft here can analyse them while we continue talking about the details of this arrangement." He pointed at a red-haired male next to him.
I gave him a court nod. "Agreed. The sooner we know for sure, the better."
By now, I was convinced that Steff was my mate, but it would be good to find out for sure. If she wasn't - no, I mustn't even contemplate that possibility. I'd dreamed of her all night. I'd woke up several times, my cock hard as stone, desperately wishing I was with her. I'd been so tempted to port down to the planet's surface and surprise her at her home. Not that I knew where she lived exactly, but Torsten had hacked their Peritan communications network - a very primitive version of the quantnet - and would surely have been able to find out.
In the end, I'd stroked myself back to sleep, unable to find relief through my own touch alone. Yet another symptom of the fýst. Now that we'd met, neither of us would be able to climax on our own or with other partners until we'd completed the mating.
I shot a glance at Steff. Had she noticed yet? Had she tried to touch herself and failed to reach completion? The thought drove me crazy. I already wore the loosest pair of breeches I'd found, but they felt tighter than should be possible.
"...just a small prick."
I looked up to find Clefft standing next to me. "Your finger," he said impatiently.
I held out my hand, and he pressed his device against it. I felt a sharp sting in my index finger as the machine drew blood, but I didn't even blink.
The scientist proceeded to do the same to the others, while the Albyans watched gleefully. Or so I interpreted their blank expressions.
Once he was done, he left the room, presumably to return to their ship and analyse our samples there. A tremor of trepidation ran through me. What if we weren't mates after all? Or worse, what if we were mates but not biologically compatible?
Creating a new generation of Vikingar was our biggest priority. Our species had to survive. Everything else was secondary, including my own happiness. If Steff couldn't be bred by me, I'd have to find another female, the mating bond be damned. It would be the worst thing I'd ever do in my life. A sacrifice to feel ashamed for until the end of my days. But no. I had to hope. Several Peritan-Albyan pairings had already resulted in offspring. There was no reason to suspect it would be different for us. All three species were Vikingoids, sharing similar traits. And even if natural conception wasn't possible, maybe the Albyan scientists could help with that as well. Hope was not lost. I clung to that thought as I looked at Steff again.
Compared to Pam, Steff had a much darker colouring. Was one of them not from this region? Not that it mattered. Steff was the most beautiful female in the universe to me. I'd be able to appreciate other females’ looks from now on, but would never find another attractive.
"Njal, what do you want?" Pam asked, and I realised I'd missed part of the conversation.
"I will have to think about it," I said to cover my lack of attentiveness.
"You will have to think about whether you want tea or coffee?" The female laughed.
"Maybe he doesn't know what they are," Steff came to my defence. "I'll make you a cup of each, and then you can decide what you prefer. For the future."
I almost cooed. She thought we had a future. Maybe she'd realised we were mates. Were her cheeks more flushed than the first time we'd met? My gaze fell onto her chest to check whether her nipples had hardened. Peritans had the same style of breasts as Vikingar females, so it stood to reason that she would experience the same symptom of the fýst. But if her nipples were indeed as hard as my cock, it wasn't noticeable.
"Oi, eyes up," she snapped. There she was again, the fiery female I'd abducted.
I grinned at her.
She glared back at me.
I only grinned harder. I loved her spunk, her energy. After this meeting, I'd take her to somewhere private and explain everything. She'd be delighted, of course, and then we could complete the mating. After, we'd set a date for our brullaup, the Vikingar ritual that would make our bond legally binding. There hadn't been a brullaup ever since the destruction of our planet. It would have to be special. Not just a small party on the Valkyr, no, we'd have to hire an impressive venue large enough for all Vikingar still alive. Steff would likely want to bring her family and friends as well, so maybe a small moon would do. Or one of the resort planets. After what I'd put my mate through, she deserved a holiday.
"Are you alright?" Rune asked sharply. I forced the silly grin off my face and turned to him.
"Of course. Why?"
"Because you were staring into blank space. And are you drooling?"
I wiped my mouth, but my hand was dry. Rune's lips quivered with amusement. The vitskertr was teasing me.
