Confused, I opened my eyes. I glanced over my shoulder to see the krokutta stumbling away, whimpering and yelping loudly.

  I stared at Paz, who beamed with pride.

  “What did you do?” I demanded.

  A wild grin stretched over his face. His eyes shined as he lifted a small branch. “Hey, this walking stick came in handy after all! A quick poke in the eye and that big guy turned into a wuss.”

  Adrenaline pounded through my system. I took a few breaths as the dizzying terror melted away.

  I couldn’t rip my gaze from Paz. It felt like he’d disappear if I looked away—and in the last few minutes, that reality had been dangerously close to fruition.

  Overwhelmed by a surge of emotion, I snatched Paz into a tight embrace. My feelers smoldered with saturated bursts of color: fear, relief, love.

  I felt Paz’s racing heartbeat against my chest. My pace rivalled his own. My nostrils flared as I buried my nose in his head-fur, sucking in the warm scent of it.

  Paz let out a breathy laugh. “Hey, Kur’tok? This is nice, but you’re kinda crushing me.”

  I eased my hold on him, but I still wasn’t willing to release him. I wouldn’t ever be.

  “You fool,” I muttered. “Why did you come here? You could’ve gotten killed.”

  “I’m a fool? I was looking for you!” Paz argued. “You’re the one who threw a big baby tantrum and ran away. Do you know how insanely worried I was?”

  My chest tightened. He was that concerned?

  I growled. “Still, you didn’t need to—”

  “Oh, cut it out,” Paz said. “Are you a red-flag possessive alpha male or not?”

  His words made no sense. “What?”

  Paz sighed in exasperation. “Never mind. Just... get it through your head that I’m here for you, okay? I’m not about to run away when you’re in danger.”

  I snorted. “Well, you should. It was stupid to stay.”

  “Then I’m stupid.” Paz grinned. “But so are you.”

  “How?” I grumbled.

  “Let’s see... you ran off like a baby man instead of actually talking to me, then got yourself bloodied and bruised saving a human who was supposed to be your dinner. Sounds pretty dumb to me.”

  I scowled at him and muttered, “My feelings about you being a meal have changed.”

  Paz’s expression softened. He reached up and brushed his fingers gently across my face. “My feelings about you haven’t,” he murmured.

  A shiver ran down my spine. What did that mean? The way he said it sounded so rich and meaningful, but I must’ve read too far into it.

  Paz pulled his hand away, frowning at the blood. “We can have that conversation later. You’re really hurt, Kur’tok.”

  “I’m fine,” I insisted.

  Paz put his hands on his hips. “Well, I’m friends with a doctor, and if he saw your injuries, he’d flip. So yeah, you are not fine.”

  I grumbled but didn’t argue. After I’d almost lost him, I was done arguing with Paz. From now on, he could have whatever he wanted as long as he stayed by my side.

  I rose with a heavy grunt. Now that the adrenaline left my system, I felt the aftermath of that battle. Stinging pain prickled on my face and back, and my muscles screamed from exertion. But it was all worth it knowing Paz was alive and well.

  “Hey, Haz’rull, you okay?” Paz called.

  I’d forgotten about them. As Paz caught up with my underling, I slowly approached the two.

  “I’m all right,” Haz’rull said, giving Paz a grateful nod. “The krokutta ignored me because you were an easier target.”

  Paz grinned and held out his branch. “Aha! Except I wasn’t, thanks to my handy-dandy walking stick.”

  How could he be so easily amused moments after nearly dying? I sighed, wondering how the flesh-bag had stayed alive this long.

  “Wait, is that a fruit tree?” Paz asked, pointing to a tree a few tail-lengths away. “Lemme grab a snack for the way home.”

  Home...?

  My heart twinged. He’d said that unprompted. Did he really mean it?

  As I supervised Paz from where I stood, Haz’rull sidled next to me. Their expression was guarded but hopeful. Neither of us spoke for a few long seconds. Out of nowhere, shame settled beneath my skin like silt. Haz’rull had brought Paz to me. They both could’ve stayed at my domain and been safe. They could have left and escaped to freedom. Instead, they followed me into the dangerous wilds just to make sure I was safe.

  I suppressed the hesitation in my throat, then muttered, “Thanks.”

  Haz’rull’s feelers blinked with yellow surprise. “I’m sorry?”

  “You didn’t need to come,” I said under my breath. “I appreciate... that you watched over Paz.”

  Haz’rull stared at me in amazement. “You’re welcome, Kur’tok.”

  A drop of cool relief dispersed the hot guilt simmering in my chest. I couldn’t recall the last time the two of us spoke without animosity. It felt good.

  As we watched Paz stand on the tips of his toes to reach the lowest fruit, silence hung in the air. Then Haz’rull asked, “What do you think about him?”

  “Paz?” I snorted. “I think he’s too short to reach that fruit.”

  Haz’rull let out a slight huff of mirth, but their tone was pointed. “What do you really think?”

  I shut up. I understood Haz’rull’s true question. Fear constricted my throat. They couldn’t possibly understand how I felt about Paz. Would they ridicule me? If I was in their position, I would have.

  My conflicted silence went on long enough that Haz’rull spoke again. “I’ll ask a different way. Do you believe Paz is your filum?”

  A frustrated growl rumbled in my throat. “He can’t be.”

  Haz’rull’s tail drifted back and forth thoughtfully. “You are not somebody who lives by can’t. If you want something, you take it.”

  Their tone was edged with barbs, but the meaning was clear. Here was something—somebody—I wanted more than anything, and now I hesitated to truly make him mine. I bluffed and commanded, but in the end, Paz made the choice to stay or leave.

  To be with me, or to abandon me.

  “For what it’s worth,” Haz’rull said, “that human is wild about you.”

  My heart skipped a beat. Before I could interrogate them further, they strode up to Paz and helped him grab fruit from the tree.

  Could Haz’rull be right?

  I’d lived as an outcast, doing un-Maeleon-like things. But this, I knew instinctively how to do.

  I took a breath to steady my anxious heartbeat, then focused hard on Paz. My nictitating membrane curved across my eyes.

  A soft, golden glow engulfed him, shining as bright as the sun, and tiny sparkling particles danced around him like stars.

  Against my every fear, there was the proof.

  Paz was my filum.

  13 / Paz

  I grumbled, huffing as I wiped the dried blood from Kur’tok’s face. “You’re really stubborn, y’know that?”

  Kur’tok pouted like a sour-faced komodo dragon, but he didn’t move as I cleaned up his injuries. Ever since the krokutta attack, he’d been less argumentative. Hell, he hadn’t even snapped at Haz’rull or Arr’tow since we returned.

  I traced the claw marks on his cheek with a sympathetic grimace. “These are pretty deep. They might leave scars.”

  He grunted proudly. “Good. Battle scars from saving my—”

  He cut short like he’d bit his tongue.

  I raised a brow and asked, “Your what?”

  “Nothing,” he grumbled, although he clearly wanted to say something. No doubt it was about his arch-nemesis: feelings.

  I stifled a grin. He was one step closer to admitting something, but I’d let him figure it out on his own. He was so close to an emotional breakthrough, I could almost taste it.

  And then, like a miracle, it happened.

  “Paz.”

  His deep voice sent a shiver down my spine.

  “About last night,” Kur’tok muttered, averting his red gaze. “I... I should not have abandoned you.” He hesitated, as if struggling to speak past a lump in his throat, then said, “I am sorry.”

  A huge smile spread over my face. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and draw unnecessary attention to Kur’tok, but inside, I was squealing and waving congratulatory banners.

  “It’s all right,” I reassured him. “You’re here now, and that’s what I care about.”

  His eyes snapped to mine. “I won’t abandon you again. Ever.”

  My heart fluttered faster and faster, stumbling over itself. The blazing intensity of his gaze pinned me to the spot, and his words were a comforting embrace. He intoxicated me.

  I swallowed past my racing pulse. “Good, ‘cause I want to be near you.”

  Kur’tok placed his large palm against my cheek. My skin hummed as his claw gently grazed my skin.

  Kur’tok huffed through his nostrils. “I have to tell you something.”

  My heart flipped like a gymnast. I sat upright, my heart hammering in my chest. “Yeah?”

  Staring into my eyes, he took a long breath and said, “You’re my filum.”

  Holy crap.

  Fucking finally.

  I was so relieved and ecstatic that a laugh bubbled out of me.

  Kur’tok’s feelers flared out like a puffed-up cat. “Stop laughing,” he blurted.

  “No, no, it’s okay, I’m really happy,” I assured him, throwing in a hug for good measure.

  His feelers settled down. “You... are?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to say that this entire time!”

  His jaw fell agape like someone had hit him in the face with a frying pan. I stopped myself from bursting out laughing again at his hilarious expression. With a flustered growl, he demanded, “Why didn’t you say so sooner, flesh-bag?”

  I hugged him harder, careful not to touch the dressed wounds on his back. “It doesn’t work if I tell you. Gotta figure it out on your own, with your Maeleon skills or whatever.”

  Kur’tok grumbled deeply in his chest, which vibrated against my cheek. That weirdly warmed my heart. He was like my own personal giant vibrator.

  And speaking of vibrators...

  “Hey,” I began. “Do you believe me now?”

  Kur’tok grunt-sighed as he stroked my hair. “About what?”

  “That my friends have Maeleon mates? And that they got pregnant?”

  Kur’tok made a grumpy noise that conveyed both doubt and cautious optimism. “It doesn’t make sense. But you’re not lying. I can tell.”

  I shrugged. “All I’m saying is, it’s been proven twice that humans can take Maeleon cock... just so you know.”

  He snorted derisively, but I caught the subtle glint of hunger in his eyes. “You couldn’t,” he insisted. “You’re too small.”

  “Try me,” I countered. “If I’m really your filum—and you said I was, so no take-backs—then it should fit.” I wriggled my fingers. “Don’t try to deny it. I know all about the magical Maeleon DNA-altering cum.”

  Even while Kur’tok stared at me like I was nuts, his expression was still fond. He grumbled in exasperation. “If we try and you understand it won’t fit, will you finally drop it?”

  A bolt of happiness—and horniness—shot through me.

  “Yes,” I promised.

  Rich pink splashed across Kur’tok’s feelers. “Hmph. Then come with me.”

  Scooping me up like I weighed nothing, Kur’tok carried me in his arms to the side of the pool. He sat in a small grassy alcove beside the shimmering water. It was out in the open, but I was past the point of caring. Living among sex-positive Maeleons mellowed out my shame, and also, I was too aroused to give a shit.

  He placed me in his lap and ran his smoldering gaze down my body. Desire radiated from Kur’tok like a lit fireplace. My cock twitched to life.

  He narrowed his eyes hungrily at my erection. His gaze was a pair of pinprick flames as he reached a languid tentacle towards my shaft. I hissed through my teeth as the silky alien flesh grazed it, shooting pleasure up my spine.

  “That feels so good,” I murmured.

  My praise made his eyes sparkle. He wrapped his tentacle around my entire cock, making me moan softly as the squishy yet firm feeling engulfed me. I couldn’t help bucking my hips into it. Kur’tok chuffed in amusement and tightened his grip, sending another wave of pleasure cascading over my skin.

  I bit my lip. I didn’t want to be so close to the edge already, but Kur’tok’s sexy tentacle was doing me in, dammit.

  “I want you in me,” I breathed.

  Kur’tok grunted, but for once, he didn’t argue. He placed a large hand on my chest and laid me across his thighs. Our size difference was so immense that I could use his legs comfortably as a bed. Sneaking a second tentacle between my thighs, he pried them apart. I whimpered as the cool air brushed against my twitching hole. He hadn’t even touched it yet and I was already buzzing with need.

  Kur’tok squinted at my entrance. “It’s so... small.”

  “It’s bigger inside,” I promised.

  “I doubt that.”

  I snorted. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

  “Fine, flesh-bag, I will.”

  My heart skipped a beat as Kur’tok’s tentacle floated closer to my entrance. I couldn’t be more excited that this was finally happening. As the buttery-soft pad of his tentacle touched my hole, I sucked in a gulp of air.

  “Did that hurt you?” Kur’tok demanded, going stiff. He looked angry at himself, like he’d kick his own ass if he injured me by accident.

  “No, it felt incredible,” I said.

  His shoulders relaxed. “Hmph. You have... vivid reactions to things.”

  As if to illicit stronger reactions, Kur’tok probed my sensitive ring of flesh. I yelped and squirmed against his touch, pushing my body closer.

  The tentacle pad wriggled until it pushed past the tight entrance and into the channel within. The sudden burst of pleasure wrung a moan out of me. I writhed against Kur’tok’s thighs, mumbling and whimpering about how good it felt.

  “Hmph.” Kur’tok grinned. “You were right, human. There is more space inside.”

  “I told y—”

  I didn’t get a chance to say I told you so, because Kur’tok’s tentacle delved deeper, cutting off my brain cells. Stars danced in my vision. All I knew was the flood of pleasure crashing over me. My toes curled and I tossed my head back, crying out at the sudden influx of ecstasy. With one of Kur’tok’s tentacles wrapped around my cock and the other buried in my ass, I felt boneless with gratification.

  “Fuck,” I whispered. I was too horny to be eloquent.

  That didn’t matter to Kur’tok. He growled through his fangs and his feelers flashed with starbursts of magenta. Even though his cock was still sheathed, it didn’t take a genius to know he was deeply aroused.

  “You look delicious splayed out like this,” he huffed, drawing his toothy maw closer. “It almost makes me want to eat you.”

  A shudder ricocheted down my back. Why was that so hot?

  Kur’tok’s long tongue spilled from his mouth and ran across my chest, licking at my now-hard nipples. I whined as the hot, wet sensation flicked at my sensitive spots. I swear, every second with Kur’tok unlocked a new kink. But maybe that was because he was my filum, and we were bound to be insanely romantically and sexually compatible.

  As Kur’tok continued lapping at my nipples, his tentacles worked their magic. One swallowed up my cock, providing zaps of pleasure with every minuscule motion, and the other wriggled inside my ass, rubbing against my inner channel with velvety softness.

  But it still wasn’t enough. I wouldn’t be satisfied until Kur’tok’s alien cock rocked my world.

  Mustering the last of my vocabulary, I whispered, “Need you... in me.”

  Kur’tok paused. His burning-hot gaze held mine for a long moment. Then in a slow movement, he withdrew his tentacle from within me. I shuddered at the sudden loss of fullness. It felt weirdly empty now, but not for long.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, little human,” Kur’tok muttered.

  His voice was a taut bundle of nerves. I could tell he was anxious about hurting me.

  “It’s okay,” I soothed. “If it’s too much, I’ll tell you.”

  “You’d better.”

  Kur’tok leaned back. He needed space to unleash his monstrous cock. I watched closely, riveted as his hidden slit opened. He grunted as the tip unfurled, followed by the rest of the colossal dick. I craned my neck back to see the beast at its full height.

  And then I remembered that thing was about to go inside me.

  I shuddered in anticipation. Would it really fit? I talked a big game about my friends getting knocked up by Maeleons, but now that I was actually faced with the Maeleon cock at hand, I wondered if Kur’tok’s concerns were valid after all.

  He lowered the tip towards my ass, leaving a few inches of space between us. I stared at the alien cock in amazement. Ridges lined either side, and a thick vein pulsed on the underside. It was long and hefty with a slight curve—it didn’t resemble a human penis at all. Honestly, I liked it better that way.

  The tip bumped against my hole. I swallowed hard. It wasn’t even inside yet, but I felt its power and girth. This was going to be a wild experience.

  “I’m ready,” I said with a nod.

  Kur’tok didn’t look so certain, but he obliged my wishes. With great gentleness, he eased the tip of his cock into my eager hole. Thank fuck he’d stretched me earlier. But even his tentacle couldn’t compare to the beast that was his cock.

  I took steady breaths as the tip wedged inside—although the tip felt more like a monster truck. My eyes clenched shut as I breathed and focused on the sensation of Kur’tok filling me. Sweat pricked at my forehead as my body adjusted to the strain. It wasn’t comfortable, but it wasn’t terrible, either. I willed myself to get used to it.

  Then I felt a warm, comforting hand on my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Kur’tok stroking my face. I smiled at him.

  “I’m good,” I said.