Page 29 of Fathom

"Eun," my uncle said. "That's prey guarding talk. That isn't you. That is the addiction."

I rubbed the back of my neck, rotating my head as if I could release the pressure of my need for her by cracking my neck. I knew he was right.

"I'm not going to hurt her," I said. "I have myself under control."

The memory of her teeth closing around my neck whispered through my mind.

"I need to go make sure she is okay," I told him, feeling the intense urge to go to her.

"I'm going to call in someone else for the dinner shift," he said. "Listen, Eun, if you can't let her go you then there is something else you should try. The prey guarding urge, if you redirect it, then it can work for you, to achieve your goal of keeping her safe from you."

"Redirect it?" I asked, already knowing what he was going to say. There was one well-known method for predators to redirect their hunting drive, but it usually only worked for those who weren't already fighting off the addiction.

"Fuck her," he said. "She appears to be willing. Plus the way she bit you... She's likely been with a predator before."

Heat rose to my cheeks as my embarrassment rose in equal portions to my excitement at the idea.

"That... I..." I stammered.

"You were ready to fight me for her," he said. "You need to get this out one way or another, and mating can help change the urge from one thing to another. It is only deviant if you hurt her, and you handled her gently out there. There is nothing wrong with two consenting adults working out their instincts in other ways."

The thought of sinking my teeth into her neck caused my cock to twitch. She had tilted her head up, baring her throat like she wanted it.

"I'm going to go check on her," I said as I turned to go towards the door, that excitement winning as my mind swirled with the possibilities. The way she had taken me in her handbefore, the way she had clung to me, the way her body felt against mine, and how her rump felt in my grip... it was so similar to the hunger that they were almost indistinguishable. The truth of the matter flared through my body, igniting my nerves with the memories of the feel of her, the soft touch of her skin.

Did she feel the same?

Would she want that?

How would I even ask?

The thought of bringing up the subject was intimidating. I'd never been with anyone before, but at the same time, she was the one who had grabbed me the other night. Maybe she was more experienced. Maybe she had even been with a predator species before, and it was the danger that attracted her. Maybe she was just as deviant as me. She could be waiting back at the apartment, the same thought in her mind, ready to consummate the intensity between us.

"You need that energy to go somewhere," my uncle said as I headed towards the door. "Put it in a direction that is better for both of you."

I rushed back to the apartment, running up the stairs.

I paused at the door, hesitating as I smoothed my hair back, straightening my shirt. I'd run all the way over here in my uniform, but I couldn't fix that now.

I took a deep breath and went into the apartment.

It was silent, dark.

I flipped on the light.

"Leija?" I called out, surveying the empty room. The door to her bedroom was open, and I walked over to see that it was empty as well. My heart began to race as I rushed over to her bathroom, pushing open the already ajar door to see that the room held no Leija.

She wasn't in the apartment.

I shoved my hand into my pocket, feeling only emptiness where a crumpled piece of paper should be.

The map to the spaceport. She had taken it.

If she got there and someone noticed she couldn't speak the language fluently, she would be flagged.

"No," I gasped, and I ran after her.

ELEVEN