Xai'an looked down at his female curiously. She was bolder than he thought. Her outright refusal to mate him wasn't unexpected, but he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He would find what attracts her and he'd use it.

He was surprised by her anger. She was like a tiny female Yautja with that fury and he suspected that she was holding back. He liked that. He also respected the fact she took the new information with grace. Well, everything except the fact that she seemed frightened of the act of mating. He knew his anatomy was not much different from the male ooman. True, he would have to be careful with her small frame so as to not hurt her, but he was prepared to be gentle with her. He'd tell her that later after she opened up to him a bit more.

When he heard her deep breathing go even, he thought about the Kiande Amedha and how they had reproduced far more than he anticipated. There had been more ooman bodies in the sewers on the other side of the town and now it was a matter of time before the city caved in. He had to get his mate out of here.

She shuddered against her box, her flesh prickling up, a symptom when oomans were cold. He decided to risk her wrath by gently pulling her to nuzzle against his side. She didn't wake, but she did curl arm around his middle. He purred at the contact which seemed to ease her even more. He rather liked the feeling of her at his side and he ached for it to be in his bed, but he'd wait. All in due time.

Once his brothers got here, he'd make sure nothing was left of this town. No witnesses. Then he'd proclaim his mate before Anak so she would be safe from death or any advancements from other males. Ooman females were not as high status as female Yuatja, which meant that they could still be fought over and claimed by other males, where female Yautja chose whom they mated. No one has ever bested him in a challenge though and since no one ever survived either, he didn’t get many challenges to begin with. No one would fight him for his female.

He'd also have to ask Anak for a larger dwelling. If he was going to provide offspring for the clan, he'd need more room for them and his mate. One of the reasons female ooman's were tolerated as mates were because they could breed every year and if not pregnant, were fertile 12 times out of the ooman calender year. Female Yautja could only breed once every five to ten years.

He went to a cousin clan many years ago with his father. Before he was a blooded Elite. There he met a small Yautja who had mated an ooman. She was different than his female. Her skin was much darker, lips much fuller and her hair was a coarse texture. He actually learned quite a bit about ooman's from the Yautja. Why they laugh, smile and how they show displeasure. The Yautja even went as far to tell him the females mated for the pleasure of it. That had been shocking to him. Though the mating act was pleasurable at times, there were many who were too focused at not dying at the hands of their female Yautja to really enjoy it. The idea that a mate would come to him for the sure pleasure of it was foreign.

This female ooman had birthed the Yautja warrior 72 offspring. When Xai'an had asked how that was possible, the Yautja told him that their blood, once ingested or mixed with ooman blood provided not only healing properties, but extended the ooman lifespan to near Yautja like times. He did warn not to inform any potential ooman mate of this until it could not be denied. They did not handle the loss of their short lives very well. Something about mourning family members they outlived. Again, a foreign concept to him since he had many brothers who had fallen before him.

He wasn't sure if the amount of blood he used was enough to give his female a longer lifespan, but that was something he would take care of later.

A noise pulled him out of his thoughts. It sounded like something walking on the rooftops. His retinal scan couldn't detect any heat signatures, but he figured that could be because the ooman's used so many materials that got in the way of his scan. How they managed to survive for so long was beyond him.

He growled at the interruption with his female, but he was going to have to check it out. Kiande Amedha were stealthy and quick hunters. Though he had not seen another Queen yet, he could not rule that option out. With the old Queen dead, if another was produced she would generally stick to familiar hunting grounds when prey was plenty. According to his data, this town had about eight thousand oomans.

As gently as he could, he shifted her back to her box, taking care to sweep the curls out of her face. With her sleeping so heavily he figured his blood must have been doing something to her body. Again, he'd make sure she consumed more later to be sure.

Activating his cloaking again, he got up and exited the cramped room, making sure the feeble door was closed behind him. Chittering as he scanned for any access to the roof. Oomans would need to repair the roof to keep the structure in shape.

There, across the open pit with gleaming floors was a door labeled, 'EMPLOYEE ENTRY ONLY'. Xai'an thought about jumping the distance to save time, but he was sure it would make too much noise and wake his female. She was safer sleeping when away from him. If danger happened to get near her, her slumber would protect her from subtly alerting them.

The door was locked, but a simple twist broke it and there he could make out a ladder that went up. He growled with annoyance because the oomans encased the ladder in a small circular metal cage. Most likely to prevent them from falling to their deaths, but there was no way he would fit.

'Pauking weak oomans!' He mentally cursed.

Xai'an closed the door again, this time crushing the handle until it was stuck in the locked position. Then he saw the windows. They were narrow, but they were wide enough for his shoulders and they opened. Oomans did not likely use these seeing as they were too high for most to reach, but it was a simple matter for him to open it and crawl out quietly.

A quick scan of the ground level showed him no large heat sources were around. Though he could make out small mammals, which was a good sign there were no Kiande Amedha around. Mammals fled from the serpents because their lives depended on it. Kiande Amedha spared no life.

He heard the noise again and he looked up, his dreads whipping around his shoulders. There was movement up there, but he already knew who it was. His mask alerting him to his kind. There were three of them. He jumped up to meet them and uncloaked.

They were Warark, Daruum, and Baaul. Warark was the eldest of the four of them, but ranking wise, Xai'an was the highest.

Baaul spotted him first and nodded at him with a soft growl. He was of attractive coloring, being of green and yellow hues, but Xai'an towered over the smaller male by almost a foot. It did not surprise him that he spoke in their language. "Xai'an. We received your distress. We have killed four Kiande Amedha on the way here."

Warark turned to look at him. He was a brownish color, but his amber eyes were circled with fire. "Have you secured the Queen?"

He shook his head. "Bad Bloods made poor containments for her and she managed to produce too many eggs that risked exposure. Had to terminate her. I killed at least a dozen Kiande Amedha and I know there are more." He was not boasting. Just stating simple facts.

Baaul growled in irritation. "Bad Bloods...we should kill them all. The whole lot of them!"

Xai'an held back a snarl. He and Baaul never got along because of his hatred for Bad Bloods and Xai'an being half meant that included him. But the clever bastard never made a direct insult to him which meant that if Xai'an were to attack him, he'd get reprimanded and his honor would tarnish. He wouldn't give the smaller Yautja the satisfaction.

"I killed the ones headed here. Their ship was north of here. I already made sure the ship self-destructed so now the top priority is to make sure another Queen wasn't spawned. They are growing in numbers which means it's possible. Fan out and hunt them down. If there is another Queen, we shall obtain her and relocate her. If it is not possible, terminate her. It should not need to be said that if you are infected, the only option is self termination." Xai'an crossed his arms, flexing his size to deter any of them from questioning his authority. They may dislike him because of his blood but they respected, if not feared, the warrior that he was.

Only Baaul seemed to be sour with the direction. The other two simply nodded. Warark motioned to his wrist device. "I thought it had been damaged. Here."

He handed Xai'an another, though the gauntlet was too small for his size, so he simply popped out the device and attached it to his wrist gauntlet. "Thank you. Keep me updated with your progress. Hunt well my brothers."

"Die with honor, brother." They all responded and they cloaked to do as he asked. Though they were nowhere near as skilled as he was, he knew they would get the job done. After they departed, he realized he failed to notify them of Z. Oh well, they'd see her with him soon enough and he would explain then.