Legacy

Smoky hot air burned my nostrils and irritated my throat. I narrowed my eyes in deference to the discomfort, shrugging it off. I’d felt worse. The mrrog academy and my rite of passage had beaten weakness out of me. Not to mention my father’s lessons. I reached the epicenter to find that nothing but rubble and blackened ground remained of the supply building in that quadrant of the moon. I recognized a couple of corpses in the mess as I picked my way through.

My growl loosened, and I resisted panting to save my throat and nose. I would personally slice the culprit apart. It could only be sabotage. A competitor, perhaps, angered I’d received the contract from the InterGalactic Council.

I straightened and stared in disbelief. Was my security so lax as to allow an enemy to saunter right in? I walked over to the top of a shallow rise to peer at the acres of crops set in quadrant EC-1. The fire was out of control all around me, the smoke and heat flaming my rage.

A wind rose and blew away much of the smoke. Movement caught my eye, and I looked down the incline. I froze, staring at the creature standing not far away, next to an old, unused shack. A strange land cruiser sat right next to him. It was a male; of that I was certain. And… could he be… a human?

Yes, he was a human. And a thief. Familiar rejlfei hung from his shoulders and arms, the straps straining against the weight. Had he come to steal from me?

Hair as black as the void veiled most of his pale face, and brilliant blue eyes reflected the distant sun’s light, reminding me of stars. He was tall for a human, with broad shoulders, and a lean body clothed in a black bodysuit. His face was sharply angled, and yet everything was well-placed, coming together in harmonious union. His expression was stony, and his posture spoke of confidence and strength. The aeunn in his hand never wavered as he kept it aimed at me.

Standing before me was no cowed human afraid of his own shadow. No. He was a predator, one made of grace and purpose and a formidable persistence. Why he was on my moon I couldn’t say, but he wasn’t leaving it. He wasn’t getting away.

I crouched slowly, not wanting to startle him. One good leap and I would be on him. Even as the human must have guessed my intent, because his eyes abruptly widened, the wind blew again, hurling his scent into my face. I took a deep breath. His aroma was dense and organic with metallic and synthetic undertones, along with a masculine musk that caused me to salivate. It made me think of thundery nights when electricity charged the air, where passion danced between lovers, a wild and furious battle of wills and the need to dominate. It was violent and edgy, tense and defiant. Alive. Real.

My vengeful rage morphed into a sharp, all-consuming need, and it almost knocked me on my ass. The wind brought his scent to me once more, and one word repeated again and again in my mind.

Mine.

My body responded in a way it hadn’t in years. Not since Nandeely. Every lover after her had been an itch to scratch. But this human? I had to possess him. I had to claim him now, before he got away. Before another dared touch him. Images of what I’d do once he was under my control caused my cock to slip out of its sheath. I growled at myself. It had been a long while since such control was beyond me. And I needed it now more than ever.

“Mastrodai! What did you find?”

I started at Wekladai’s voice as he joined me on the hill. Only then did I realize that the human was on his land cruiser and speeding away, determined to escape.

“What was—?”

“Come!” I charged after the human with Wekladai on my heels. My hesitation and the human’s distracting scent had cost me. I snarled and leapt, landing right where the human had stood. I raced after him but it was no use. I wouldn’t catch him. Despite my speed, his cruiser was just too damn fast. He tore up more crops on his reckless ride, and I took another deep breath, focusing on his vibrant aroma instead of the smoke and burnt metal. Unfortunately, he was soon out of sight, but I couldn’t stop running.

“Contact Jauntai!” I snarled at Wekladai. He stopped and I continued on. I followed the human’s trail, distinguishing his fragrance amid the acrid burning of the crops. It was a warmth in my blood, a song in my head. I couldn’t analyze the effect he had on me, not yet. I was hunting, and I needed to focus.

The fire swept across the land far too rapidly for me to compete with. The trail was gone in an instant, his scent taken away, only smoke and heat in its place. I stood and growled, frustrated and angry at myself. Surprise had slowed my reactions and now my prey was gone. Prey that should not have found his way onto my moon in the first place.

Unacceptable. All of it.

The obvious failure on all fronts burned my pride, and I dragged a hand over my hair. I turned  and huffed at the wreckage. Duty first. Always duty first.

I will find you, human.

I hurried back, wary of becoming trapped by the flames. Resigning myself to an unpleasant call to my emperor, I met Wekladai on the way back. From the look on his face, I rightly surmised the human had slipped through Jauntai’s fingers.

“Why did you hesitate?” Wekladai asked.

I growled. He wasn’t impressed. He was much older than me, about the age of my father, and had known me all my life. He used to be a compatriot of my father before I’d asked him to head my bodyguard team. He was the only one I allowed to be familiar with me. But right then I wanted to claw his face.

“Mastrodai?”

I turned away. “I must find him. Now. Immediately. Send probes. Look at the satellites and see if they caught anything. I want that blasted human!”

He blinked and tilted his head, ears straight and pointed forward. “Why do I sense more than anger in your urgency? Why do I smell your arousal?”

I spun around and gripped his throat, baring my teeth. He gripped my arm and bared his own, daring me to start something. Our claws slid out, and I was seconds away from brawling.

“Do not question me, Wekladai,” I said. “Not now. Not in this. Find. Him.”

Wekladai growled and covered his teeth. I let go and stalked back to the spot I’d first seen him. It didn’t take me long to find an aeunn that was not one of mine. I picked it up, trying not to handle it too much. I sniffed it. Oh, yes, that was him.

Why hadn’t he shot me? He wouldn’t have missed.

“Jauntai is looking over the recordings now.”

I nodded. Without a word, I walked away, holding the aeunn delicately.