Alright then, let's continue.

He broke down, hiccuping and whimpering, he, had to vent out all of his distress and discomfort. He was a disappointment, and he was ridiculing himself in front of her right now.

But after letting out all of his torment, he realized that she still hadn't moved away from him, and her scarlet orbs showed nothing but sympathy.

"You... would?" he tentatively asked, still trembling.

Mhei nodded her head at him. "I would Mark. It would be my wish." she let go of chin, and instead cupped the side of his head, te feeling stroking the scars that went over his empty eye socket. A pang of guilt echoed inside her at the memory of what she had done.

"If you do not wish to remain with me, you may always refuse; I won't stop you. The choice is yours, honored hunter." she whispered to him, trying to soothe his stress away.

The hybrid had closed his eye, thinking about what she had just told him, "Is... is it," he began to speak a little bit, "is it alright if I take some time to think about it?" he tentatively asked. "Of course it is, take as much time as you need."

He got up, the towering huntress hovering over him in case he needed help. Sighing, he realized how late it was. "You can always stay here for the night, should you wish it." she spoke as if she had read his thoughts.

"Yes, I will stay then with your permission." he then thought about something: "May I rest here, with you?" "Of course." Mhei answered back, her clawed hand briefly running over his armored gauntlet.

"I will change my clothes then, do you require anything else?" "No... the shorts that I am dressed in will do."

The primal huntress exited to room, and Mark began to remove his armor, until he was in his boxers. When Mhei returned, he could not help but stare: her body was toned and rippling with muscles, seemingly sculpted out of marble by the gods. Yet, that did not take away from the femininity of her shape, which teased him to touch. Her breasts and crotch were covered with a fur loincloth and bra. The scars that were present along her abdominal muscles only complimented the exotic complexion of her black and red striped skin more. She was perfect, beautiful.

But Mhei was all also hungrily staring at Mark, eyes going over his own muscles body. A human would have shied away from the abundance of scarred and mangled skin, but not the powerful female: she instead saw them as the proof of his resolve, and although it wasn't reptilian like hers, she knew that it was tough and hardened with muscle, even if his skin seemed soft in comparison.

Wordlessly, she approached him and took the tube of pills that he had in his hand, locking it in a drawer. "I need those... I won't sleep well without them." she regarded him with a warm look, "I shall help you then."

He was shy, almost scared to get into bed with her, but she patiently waited for him to lie down next to her, giving him an encouraging smile every once and a while, purring even to let him relax.

Once he was settled in the bed, she pulled the heavy fur covers over them and positioned herself so that she was resting on her left side, facing him as she did.

Mark looked at the female huntress, still a little unsure, "I hope this does not cause you annoyance." "It does not, sleep and rest as much as you would like to Mark." she instructed him, still keeping her red eyes locked on his form.

He nodded at her, and closed his eye, hoping, praying that he would be able to rest better.

The hybrid woke up with a strangled yell, tears streaming down his cheek. He could still feel the cold, clammy hands on the serpent digging into his skin, their wet drool coating his front.

He panted, on the verge of a panic attack. He had been there once more, in the hive. Sighing, he tried to move but found out that he couldn't. He realized that someone was holding him, and he then remembered everything that had occurred during the day.

Mhei r'ka-Guan brought her mouth close to his ear, the fangs on the tips of her mandibles lightly scratching his flesh as she spoke, "Do not worry Mark, it is only the two of us, I will keep you safe." she whispered, placing his head against her bosom and bringing him closer to her body.

She wrapped her long arms around him, securing him to her along with curling her right leg over his own, essentially trapping in place. She could sense his fear, anxiety and stress, and her body responded instinctively: the thrum of her purr gained strength as she held him, softly, like a pup.

Mark's ear was pressed against Mhei's skin, and he could feel the vibrations of her purr. It was calming him, lulling him to safety. He could not take it anymore, and he began to weep, decades worth of pain and torment finally being released. He cried because he was scared, because he was afraid and defenseless.

Her body was warm, so he nuzzled further into her and she gently tightened her hold on him, softly stroking his short hair with her mandibles. Yet she did not stop purring for one moment.

Slowly, the hissing faded away, replaced only by the sound of her comforting purr. They were gone, the fear of the presence of the serpents had left him momentarily, and this caused him to cry.

"Thank you..." he cried, sobbing quietly. The powerful huntress did not answer, but she merely aimed to comfort him and help him fight off the invisible enemy.

She felt this primal urge to protect him, for it called at her maternal instincts to take action, and it saddened her to see him and know that he had been hiding so much pain and suffering for far too long.

She would shower him with love and adoration, he deserved only the best. Mhei gently brought him even closer to her. The huntress vowed that he would be forever safe in her embrace. She would never allow anything to possibly harm him.

He was a special male, and she would do everything in her power to heal and comfort him. "Sleep Mark, sleep and rest. You do not have to fret, I will protect you..." the human had presented himself at his most vulnerable, at his absolute weakest state, but it did not matter to her if he was incapable of providing her with offspring. She would nurture him unlike any other.

Mhei prayed to Lilka to bless his soul and protect him. Eventually, his crying diminished in quantity and force, the quivering of his body began to leave, and his heartbeat lowered. She felt him breath more steadily, as his musk contained less and less fear, until there was none left anymore, and he returned to sleep.

"Rest, my mate."

He awoke, and for the first time in... a century, he did not feel scared, he could not hear the shrieking, he was alone.

Mark's senses quickly made him realized that he was with someone, as did the soft purring. It felt nice: the vibrations of her thrum filled him with a sense of calm.

Soon, he noted that his head was placed in the crook of the female's neck, her hand gingerly petting the back of his skull. "Good morning." the huntress spoke softly.

He did not initially answer, but he pulled out of her hold a little, so that he could look at her. "Mhei... about last night..." shame was evident in his tone, and he began to apologize, but she instead pulled him to her so that they were resting their foreheads against each other.

"You do not have to worry Mark." she spoke, gently rubbing his cheek with her open hand, and wiping away a tear that had formed from his eye with her talon.

He had let his guard down, during the entire night, she could have easily crushed or hurt him, for her strength was much better than his. But instead, her touches were gentle and soothing, and she had let him rest next to her throat, exposing the most vulnerable part of her body.

"What you did... you... helped me." he spoke carefully, almost unsure and frightened by the confession. "You had a nightmare, correct?" he nodded.

"It was the hive again... and the hissing and shrieking were there once more." "Can you still hear them?" "No... not at the moment." he did not know what to say, how was he even supposed to thank her?

"Mhei?" she purred in response, "Regarding what you said yesterday, I... would want to be your life mate." he confessed to her, his eye moving to look at her exposed stomach. "But I will never be able to give you any children." she chuckled, a beautiful sound echoing from her, delighting his ears.

"I am satisfied with the hunters that I have raised." "May I ask how many?" he was slightly curious, "Four." he sighed, nodding and looking away.

"Mark, I know that you view the subject of love differently, and to us yautja it is nearly an incomprehensible concept, but," he gazed back at her, "the males with which I have mated in the past I hold no emotional connection to. That is reserved exclusively to you."

He was touched by her honesty and appear to loyalty. "So it is confirmed then, we will be life mates?" "We only need to formalize the events, but that can be done on a later date." he nodded.

"May, may I do something?" he asked, a little unsure. "Could you... open your mandibles to the side?" Mhei still did not understand what it was that he intended to do, but obeyed regardless. She was not expecting him to press his soft lips against the fangs of her inner mouth, and quickly recognized the action as the one that humans called 'kissing' meant to express trust and affection to another. She was honored that he had done the same to her.

As best as the huntress could, she shifted her arm so that it held the back of his head, and gently gripped his face with her mandibles.

They shared the tender moment for a little bit, before pulling away, having the necessity to breathe. "We can still stay like this, it is still early." "Yes, I wouldn't mind at all." Mark replied as he settled back into her loving embrace, cuddling into her as Mhei resumed purring.

He felt at peace, he felt safe in her arms, and the thought that she genuinely cared for him, and that her interest went over the simple premise of coupling to procreating was one that filled his heart with warmth.

But for the moment, he would enjoy his rest in her company, her lulling purr caressing his emotions into a state of balance.

I know that this was a slightly shorter chapter, but I really wanted to get it out. The lemons will come soon, but for the moment I wanted to set the grounds of their relationship. Please comment your thoughts and feelings on the chapter, and let me know if I did a good enough job with writing the two primal hunter's newly formed bond.