Nebula Book 1: His Breeder
9

Days dragged on, and with every passing hour, Nebula became more desperate for a shower. Other than shoving a hand down her pants and shirt to scrub herself when Ak wasn’t looking, she hadn’t properly bathed in weeks. She was starting to smell like a corpse.

Other than being smelly, she found that her days weren’t too terrible. At every twist and turn, she found exotic plants and rocks that distracted her. Ak seemed to notice her interest in their surroundings. Every morning, he made sure that she woke up to piles of flowers or rocks. In the afternoons, he would kneel for hours, just staring at her as she did her best to ignore him. His newfound warmth was stirring confusing emotions. Forgetting about him became easier in the nights when she got lost within the stars. She had no paper to take notes of her observations, so she had to memorize what she saw.

She noticed that Ak was waking her up earlier than usual. It was almost as if he was in a rush. Whenever they came across an animal, however, he took his sweet time to kill it. It didn’t take her long to realize that his exaggerated displays of strength were an attempt to impress her.

Unfortunately for him, instead of feeling flattered, she only felt more frustrated.

A few days ago, he had been screaming at her and pinning her to the ground with dark intent. Were his pretty muscles supposed to make her forget about their rocky meeting? She was only human. She needed time to get over her resentment.

Spotting a lake, she dropped the rock whose stripes she had been examining. The water was beautifully clear, practically calling her name.

Ak was working on lighting their campfire. When he saw her interest in the direction, he dropped his logs and extended his hand.

Nebula stood up but was unable to take his offering. Used to her rejection, Ak started leading her to the lake. He knew that she wanted to go for a dip. He saw her scrubbing under her shirt and pants a few times.

When they reached the lake, he checked the water to make sure it was clear of vermins. Then, he plucked the leafy flowers she could use for lather. He dipped one in the water and then scrubbed it on his hand to show how it dissolved. After giving her a handful, he walked away from the shore and turned around.

A blissful sigh followed the sound of splashing. He wondered if she was naked, displaying her mysterious flesh. Despite the temptation, he knew better than peeking to satisfy his curiosity.

Nebula took her time. The water was warm, but at that point, she was desperate enough to bathe in lava. When she was done, she walked to the shore and stared at his back. He had respected her privacy the entire time. It wasn’t enough to make him a saint, but it sure earned him brownie points.

Ak waited a few moments to make sure that she was covered before turning around. The sight before him made his jaw drop. Nebula stood before him with her clothes drenched. She had walked into the lake fully clothed, not daring to bathe naked.

Pursing his lips, he led her back to their camp and started the fire so she could dry herself. That night, they laid on opposite sides of the fire as usual. Ak was just drifting off to sleep when Nebula began to shuffle, seemingly uncomfortable. The low fire gave him a view of her hands, which were clutching her stomach. The sight made him frown. For days, she hadn’t shown pain. He had been sure that her discomfort had been healed.

Over the next few minutes, he watched her intently. She twitched and turned with increasing urgency. Groans of pain provided the music for her jerky dance.

“Damn it. No.”

Recognizing what no word meant, he crawled to her side.

“Wait,” Nebula urged, holding one hand up to demand his distance while clutching her stomach with the other. She had been hoping that the stress she had endured during the past few weeks allowed her to skip her menstrual cycle. Sadly for her, it seemed like her luck ran dry.

She sniffed, trying to ward off a sneeze, only to fail. She groaned when she felt warmth gush out.

“Stop,” she ordered when Ak tried to get closer. “Stay there.”

Did women on this planet menstruate? What if they didn’t? Would he try to help her? Surely, when he noticed that the bleeding wouldn’t stop, he would panic and do god-knows-what. The thought of his hands getting so close to her vagina terrified her.

To hide her secret, she shut her legs. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to keep Ak ignorant for long. Her jeans were light blue, and the blood spot on the crotch had been expanding for some time now.

Ak watched her, torn between wanting to respect their distance and inspecting her stomach. Ultimately, he chose to give her what she wanted. As he returned to his spot across the fire, his limbs weighed him down. He considered his options. Collecting medicinal plants in the night was close to impossible. He needed daylight to properly explore the jungle.

Nebula’s shuffling and whimpering challenged the soft crackle of the fire. Ak glared at the stars, demanding that they retired and allowed the sun to take over.

Sleep became impossible for both of them. Ak was desperately waiting for the day, and Nebula was busy cringing with pain. When it finally got clear enough, he dashed into the nearby wilderness in search of medicine. When he returned, Nebula was lying on her side, giving him a clear view of the back of her thighs. Although the daylight was faint, he had no trouble identifying the color red.

She was bleeding– suffering a slow, excruciating death.

Tossing his plants aside, he ran to her.

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