Page 2 of Monstrous Baby
They found sentient hosts to ultimately annihilate entire planets. No lifeform would be safe once they started to spread. Even the nano-particle-sized mrion stage must be eliminated at all cost. Before they could transform into a huge breeder capable of hatching pupae into drones and more breeders.
An achingly soft whimper escaped Natalie’s lips. “Am I going to turn into a giant space bug?”
NATALIE
Oh my god.
I hadn’t really had time to absorb the implications.
A bug-like creature, a Mrym drone, had come to the cave and helped me understand what was happening. It had a weirdly scratchy leg and huge beetle wings.
The breeders—or Mothers—were even bigger. Lohr said they were bigger than a blue whale. One breeder was enough to destroy everything on this planet.
The drone had called meMother.
My hands shook, my heart racing. Was I already starting to transform? How would I know? How long would it take? I’d gotten pregnant within days of meeting Kroktl despite my birth control shot and then delivered our baby not even two months later.
If I’m going to transform into a huge breeder monster, it’ll be just as fast.
My newborn baby let out another mewling cry, shaking me out of the spiraling thoughts. I looked down at her, watching for a moment as Snryx gently wiped the goop off her head and face. At first glance, she looked like a regular human baby. Her skin had a grayish red tinge—but that could be the stuff that coated her. Two eyes, squeezed shut as she cried. A cute little button nose. A perfect rosebud mouth, open and crying. Blindly searching, her face bumping against me. I shifted her slightly and her hungry little mouth found my breast.
Ah. Instinct. For both of us.
I’m a mother.
Her tiny little fingers opened and closed, pressing against my skin. Searching for connection, even though she was only minutes old. As soon as I touched her delicate palm with my index finger, she immediately wrapped her fingers around mine, clutching tightly. Instinct, again. The analytical side of my head fully understood how important it was for the baby to imprint on her mother. Especially now.
She opened her eyes and they glowed with a red ring. Just like her very alien father.
“Wow,” Holly breathed out. “That’s so cool. What does it mean?”
Kroktl dropped his chin against my shoulder. I didn’t have to see his face to know he was beaming with pride. On the grid, his emotions brimmed like an overflowing cup. Plus his arms cradled me so gently, like we were the most precious things in the universe. “She’s a Tri-R just like her sire.”
“Tri-R?” Holly asked. “What’s that?”
“Red Raptor Rex.”
:I don’t know how trustworthy she is,:I warned on the grid.:I mean, we got along fine in class, but I really don’t know her that well.:
Axxol blew out a rude snort.:If she’s not trustworthy, we get a nice snack.:
I didn’t remind him of my rule about not eating humans. If anyone tried to betray us... Yeah. Snack time.
:That’s my baby,:Kroktl purred.
:Noooooo,:Lohr drew the word out, startling me.
I dragged my gaze up to his amber eyes. “What?”
:You won’t turn into a bug.:
“But?”
His giant shell shifted back and forth for a moment as he weighed his words—or ran the calculation. Either could be a possibility for the xenobiologist of the squad.
:You are changing,:he finally admitted.
My heart fluttered with anxiety, my mind immediately leaping from nightmare to nightmare. Beetle wings popping out of my back. Another set of weird stick legs poking out of my abdomen. Me turning into a giant space whale flying over Earth, gulping down dozens of people at a time.
