Caution: adult content
Chapter 25
It was easy to get rid of Brann. Khan showed him how to disarm the collars and sent him across the Yard to take care of Chase. Brann didn't mind being dispatched on his own, he seemed embarrassed by his close encounter with Beth, and grateful for the excuse to leave Khan's bristling presence.
Matthew, on the other hand, was more comfortable with Khan's contempt. He didn't hide the way he stared at Beth as Khan carried her from the room, nor did he conceal his enduring erection after Khan returned, followed by Lucy.
"It should go down in a few minutes," he said lazily, stretching back on the mattress and eating one of the protein bars from Beth's backpack. He laughed when he saw Khan's disapproving face. "Oh, don't look so offended. We all bunked together on the old ship; it's nothing Lucy hasn't seen before."
"More times than I care to remember," she said wryly and bent over to retrieve a gel pack. "It's rather lost its power now."
"And I imagine it's no different to yours." Matthew raised his head, running a hand over his bare chest as he watched Khan's face. "Unless it is another one of my enhancements?"
Khan judged Matthew's erection to be identical to his own, but he would not dignify such adolescent baiting with an answer. "Brann told me you won a guardhouse from the Klingons last night."
Matthew nodded, sitting up. "It's small, but reinforced concrete, and built into part of the wall."
"Good," Khan said. "We'll go there next, and I'll tell you about the old tunnels. They run under this yard and another five miles north where we should find an entrance we can use. I don't think there's time yet to get there tonight. We'll all stay in the guardhouse today. It will be more secure."
"That it is." Matthew looked around, raising an eyebrow at the hole in the snow wall where Beth had almost gone through it after Brann had kicked her. He smirked. "But I'm sure you did your best."
Khan picked up one of the collars laying in the snow. It wasn't too late to put it back on Matthew. Perhaps there was some semblance of an excuse for the way he'd been holding Beth earlier, but he was wrong if he thought Khan would tolerate more insults.
"It was late, and his back was badly injured," Lucy suddenly said, and Khan was surprised by her defensive tone. "He helped us escape and he killed half a dozen men. He saved my life, and he just saved yours, in case you didn't realize."
"Yes, well he would, wouldn't he?" Matthew sounded resentful of the fact, but might have been genuinely concerned when he turned back to Khan. "If your vertebrae healed out of alignment you'll keep on suffering. Let me take a look at your spine."
"So you can snap it in half?" Khan asked savagely, squeezing the collar and accidentally crushing it as a demonstration.
It made Lucy jump but Matthew just rolled his eyes. "And why do you think I'd do that?"
"Because it's what I would do if I were you," Khan said. "Because if Beth belonged to any other man, he would not be safe while I was breathing."
Matthew's laugh was hollow, he knew Khan was not joking. He lowered his eyes and threw the rest of his protein bar in the fire.
"Who is Simon?" he asked, watching it smoke and smolder.
Khan felt a strange combination of resentment and fraternity when he saw jealousy on Matthew's face. "Why?"
"When we were laying together just now, Beth started moving in the most… erotic way."
"She was just dreaming," Khan said quickly, making his voice dismissive.
"She called out his name."
"It was a dream, it means nothing." He didn't know who he was trying to convince.
"But who is he?"
"Commissioner Graves ," Lucy said when Khan didn't answer. "You must have met him."
"Met him?" Matthew rubbed his neck and nodded. "I've had the pleasure."
There was a sudden loud moan from the adjoining room.
"Apparently Beth has too."
Khan could see Matthew trying to look amused, but he could tell that Matthew didn't like Beth dreaming about another man any more than Khan.
Khan dropped the collar and started to head back to Beth. He'd left her with Leo, both of them sleeping by the fire. If she was having another nightmare he had to wake her up.
"Khan's right," Lucy was telling Matthew. "It's just a dream; I have them when I ovulate too."
There was a quiet intake of breath and Khan looked back, just in time to see Matthew slouch back casually on one hand, struggling to keep his tone indifferent. "Beth is ovulating?"
"That's none of your business," Khan warned him, glaring at Lucy, but also curious about what she had said. "Tell me about your dreams."
She suddenly looked embarrassed, her cheeks turning pink as she sucked on her gel pack. "Dreams about sex," she mumbled. "Really vivid, I guess, like Beth's."
Matthew shook his head. "I slept two beds away from you for months, I'd remember if you'd had a dream like that."
"Maybe I don't have them every month," she said, shrugging. "But I know when I do I moan just like that because sometimes I wake Simon up."
"Simon," Matthew repeated, making the connection. He frowned, looking over at Khan, no doubt wondering why Lucy was on intimate, first name terms with the man who had captured his crew.
But she was oblivious as she smiled at the memory. "When I'm like that I can't keep my hands off him. He has to lock me out of his room just to get some rest."
Khan shuddered as he was plagued by images of Beth, his innocent, sexy wife, crawling all over Graves, rubbing herself against him, begging him to fuck her.
Lucy's smile faded slowly. "Or maybe he just did that because he doesn't want children. We've had a few…"
"Accidents?" Khan suggested, remembering what Beth had told him about Graves forcing Lucy to have an abortion.
Lucy nodded and threw the last of her gel pack into the fire. The plastic curled and charred and made an acrid smell to match her bitter face. "He doesn't want to be a father. It's what stopped him sleeping with Beth. He says other women have tried to trick him in the past, but he doesn't let the babies come to term."
"Abortion is not birth control," Matthew lectured, sounding like a doctor again instead of a taunting teenager. "There's a contraceptive hormonal injection…"
Lucy turned on him. "Do you think I'm an idiot? Do you think I'd rather him give me an abortion than get an injection once a month? The injection doesn't work on me."
"Graves performed your abortions?" Khan asked, horrified at the thought of Graves violating Lucy in that especially cruel way, and killing his own unborn child in the process. If Graves got Beth pregnant, would he do the same to her? Khan imagined her strapped to a table with Graves at work between her legs.
He didn't know what medical equipment was used in the twenty-third century to terminate a pregnancy - maybe they could just beam the unwanted fetus out of a woman's womb. Whatever merciful methods technology had created, Khan knew that Graves would not use them. There would be blood and there would be pain, and scars of all kinds that would never properly heal.
"It was just a dream," he growled through his teeth.
He went through to the other room and stood over Beth's sleeping form. Her mouth was slightly open, her lips wet and she was panting softly. She was the epitome of sex, but the honey-blond hair fanned out on her pillow was like the halo of an angel in a medieval painting. She was an angel, a perfect creation, because she was perfect for him. She was his salvation and Khan had to protect her above everything else. He wanted to take Beth inside his very skin so nothing could touch her again.
He heard Matthew's voice getting closer. He would not let another man see her like this. He picked up a clean blanket and carefully wrapped it around her shoulders as he bent over to pick her up. Covering her face, he hid her from view as he took her outside in the snow.
It was coming down gently, white flakes against the black sky, making soft scratching sounds only an Augment could hear. Khan carried Beth behind the igloo, to a hidden corner where no one could surprise them. There was a pile of firewood covered in a clear plastic sheet and he sat on it, settling Beth on his lap.
He fixed the blanket around her, making sure she was warm. Large intricate snowflakes fell on her cheeks and he kissed them, holding his lips against her skin. "Wake up, Beth," he whispered.
Leaning over her like that, he felt the hunger again, the ache to put another baby inside her. Khan closed his eyes, swallowing hard. How had Matthew and Brann been able to resist? Was it the pain of their collars, or if Khan had been gone just a few minutes longer, would he have returned to a very different scene?
And Commissioner Graves… Khan's arms tightened instinctively around Beth. He could feel Graves searching for her in the darkness, obsessing over that perfect, missed opportunity when she could have been his, bleeding and crying on the wet bathroom floor. Graves might have an aversion to being a father, but if he was close to Beth right now, if he was holding her like this, feeling her warmth and her weight pressed down on his arousal, he would not hesitate again to fill her with his perverted seed.
Khan shook his head. He could not let Graves impregnate her, especially knowing how he liked to punish the mothers of his children. The only way to prevent it, to be one hundred percent sure that she was safe, was to get her pregnant first.
The thought took hold in Khan's mind like a cancer, contorting itself until it resembled logic. It was just a matter of time before Beth was pregnant anyway, Khan could feel it in her skin, and whether it was Graves or Matthew or Brann or some lurking monster in this white labyrinth, Khan's greatest fear in that moment was that she would get pregnant by someone else.
He slipped his hand inside her blanket, placing it protectively between her legs. It was a mistake, he instantly realized, if his goal really was to protect her, because who would protect her from him?
"I'm sorry," he mouthed silently, no longer trying to wake her. He moved his hand slowly, touching her, feeling her through the material of her pants… her soft, supple sex and its seductive heat. She was not wearing underwear – in her rush to get dressed she had left them off. Matthew had probably pocketed them by now.
But Khan didn't care, he was going to have her, and underwear would just be one more thing in the way. He'd just been with her, less than an hour before, but he had never needed anything so much in his life. He knew she didn't want to get pregnant, but she didn't understand; between her dreams and her behavior and her heightened anomaly, it was going to happen with somebody, and that somebody was going to be him.
"I need you to stand now," he whispered, close to her ear, turning her slightly to put her boots in the snow. She whined as he started to raise her up and Khan hesitated, rocking her and making soothing sounds in his throat. "I know, aşkım, I know," he crooned. She sighed and relaxed and did not wake.
Similar to the twins when they were exhausted and being dressed for bed, Beth kept whatever position Khan put her in. She stood in front of him, her chin hanging down on her chest, and he held her with one hand to stop her swaying.
His other hand reached down to extract his swollen penis, and then he tugged at Beth's pants, pulling them halfway down her thighs.
Her bottom was naked, just inches from his face, and Khan could not resist leaning forward to plant a warm kiss on each buttock. He would like to do more, often thought about kissing and licking between her cheeks, but this was not the right time to indulge that fantasy.
"Slowly now," he said, placing his hands underneath her. He carefully lowered her down and his long fingers delved between her closed legs, touching her silky wetness and spreading her lips.
He groaned loudly, unable to control himself, when the head of his cock pushed against the heat of her entrance. He fought every urge to just let her drop.
Instead, he inched her down slowly, feeling her stretch around his girth. She was soaking wet, but not as dilated as usual in her slumbering state, and while Khan thrilled at the extra snugness, he knew any discomfort might wake her up. She moaned and shifted in his hands, trying to relieve the pressure.
"Just a bit more," he whispered, going even slower. His voice and hands trembled with arousal. Or maybe it was fear that she would open her eyes.
How would she react if she woke right then? Would she be furious or frightened or eager for more? Khan pondered this just briefly, very very briefly, because once he was all the way inside her and her weight settled on his thighs, the tip of his cock pressed against her soft, spongy cervix, and it was suddenly all he could think about.
He hissed through his teeth as he slid his hands out from under her. He raised them to his lips to taste her juices.
If there was such a thing as heaven, it might be like this, but there was nothing more likely to send him to hell.
Khan pushed the thought aside; she would have to forgive him. When they were free and she was herself again, he knew she'd understand.
He buried his face in her hair at the nape of her neck and wrapped his arms and the blanket around her.
Even if neither of them moved he knew he could cum, but then Beth shifted again and pushed back in his embrace and the tremors in Khan's cock spread the length of his body.
"Oh, good girl," he whispered hoarsely, loosening his arms and giving her room to move. She began to rock against him and her pussy started to twitch.
Khan clenched his fists in response, and bit hard on the back of her shirt.
He was desperate to touch her. He wanted to hold Beth's breasts and stroke her clitoris and dig his fingers into the soft, firm flesh of her thighs. Normally when they made love her pleasure was his priority. Making her lose control, finding ways to surprise her, it was what he enjoyed the most… up until the very end at least, a few moments before his own climax, when he felt like he could literally die of ecstasy if he didn't get his release.
But Khan knew that pleasuring Beth would wake her faster than anything, and he was starting to think he might actually get away with this, that he could finish inside her without her waking up.
If he did, would he tell her what he'd done? Would she know anyway, from the stretch of her muscles and the slickness of his sperm? Or would it be a happy surprise in another month's time when they'd escaped and settled on Wellhaven? All Khan knew was any man trying to take his place would find Beth's womb occupied.
"S… Simon," she suddenly moaned with a jerk of her hips, trying to spread her legs that were trapped by her clothes.
"No, Beth," Khan said, both afraid that she'd wake up and afraid she wouldn't want to.
"Simo…"
He turned her face to him and kissed her quickly, before she could finish the word. He would not create a child with her while that demon possessed her mind. He would rather suffer her anger and risk her refusal than let Graves be part of this moment.
Khan squeezed Beth's jaw and pushed his tongue inside her mouth, muffling her moans and bringing her back to him.
The snowflakes that had collected on her long eyelashes shook themselves free as she opened her eyes.
She began to return his kiss, out of instinct and habit, and Khan let himself hope that she would just relax in his arms. He crossed them in front of her, unzipping her top and cupping her breast, sliding a hand down her stomach to caress her sex. Now that she was awake he didn't hold back, and he milked her pleasure with deft, efficient fingers.
"Khan?" she asked breathlessly, trying to see in the dark.
"It's alright, Beth," he said. "Everything's alright."
"What… where are we?" she asked, still sounding confused. Her hips began to move in time to his touch. "I was having another dream."
"Don't think about that," he said, going a little faster. He wanted to finish quickly, before she knew what was going on.
"But Brann and Matthew?"
"They're fine," he said, resting his forehead on her shoulder. "Hush now, Beth. They're all fine."
She was so caring, such a good mother to everyone, she would take such good care of their new unborn child. "Everyone's fine, everything's fine, just relax and let me take care of you."
"But…"
He kissed her again, but she was beginning to stiffen and Khan went even faster, knowing he was almost out of time. Sure enough, she turned her face out of the kiss. "Wait," he begged before she could complain. He was pushing hard into her now and she felt so amazing, he was so close to cumming, why couldn't he get there? He thought about bending her over the woodpile.
"What are you doing?" she asked him, now fully awake.
"Please," he said, but she began to resist. "Beth, don't."
Khan closed his eyes as he held her in his lap, impaled on his throbbing cock. He told himself to let her go, but he wasn't in charge of his hands anymore. Her struggles spoke directly to the animal inside him that was always near the surface when she was close by. "Relax," it growled, but that was the last thing it wanted. It loosened its grip on her, giving her a few inches of freedom. She didn't disappoint it and raised herself up, twisting violently, pulling and straining against it.
"You're going to cum in me," she cried, sounding more scared than angry as she tried to pry Khan's paws off her stomach and hips.
Her pussy was still hot, but constricted around him, trying to reject him though it had the opposite effect. She couldn't imagine how good she felt thrashing around, how sexy she sounded whining in fear. No matter how much it made him hate himself, it was exactly what he needed. Khan felt a tremendous orgasm building in the darkness.
"I told you I don't want to get pregnant!"
"I'll keep you safe," he panted, wishing she would just accept it. "It's the only way to keep you safe."
"But Graves…"
"If he got you pregnant, he'd cut it out of you, but you know this is what he wants."
"That doesn't make it safe," Beth said, her voice losing its fight and her struggles starting to fade. As she slumped forward in despair Khan felt his orgasm subside. "He loves to cause pain, Khan. That's why he wants Taren and Allister, and that's why he'd want this baby. Because nothing would hurt me more than losing your child." She turned her head to look back at him. "Not even losing you."
Khan frowned at her. "What does that mean?"
She held his gaze, her eyes so dilated they were black in the darkness. "It means I can't trust you right now."
"Beth," Khan began.
"It means let me go." She tried again to pry his fingers off her body.
He looked down at his hands, but they were still someone else's. He told them to release her but they tightened instead.
"I can't."
It was physically impossible.
"Then I'll scream for Matthew," Beth threatened. "He'll fight you if I ask him and…"
"Alright." Khan didn't want to hear the rest of the sentence, didn't want to know how far she'd thought it through. He forced himself to lift her up and off his penis, the cold night air a painful reminder of how warm it had been inside her, how beautiful it had been just to hold her in his arms.
He meant to deposit her safely on her feet, but in his effort to actually let go Khan gave her an accidental shove, sending her onto her knees in the snow. She cried out in surprise and humiliation.
"I'm sorry," he said, going to help her.
"Don't touch me!" she seethed, standing on her own.
She reached out and hit him, over and over, slapping his face and punching his chin. If she'd wanted to hurt him she could have, he'd taught her how to make him bleed, but that wasn't what she needed. She needed to touch him, she needed that contact, but she couldn't be loving after what he'd done. So Khan let her hit him, he even stepped into it, until she was exhausted and pushed him away.
"I'm sorry," he said again, realizing how much his betrayal had cost her. Who else did she have now, who else could she turn to for kindness in this dismal place? Lucy the traitor? Matthew the interloper? Neither prospect thrilled him.
"Stay out here," she told him, throwing the blanket at his feet. Even when she was furious she couldn't help being kind.
He didn't need the blanket, but it meant everything in that moment, so Khan picked it up and held it to his chest. "Thank you."
She watched him over her shoulder as she walked back around the igloo. He held his breath until he heard her voice again, shouting at Matthew to shut up.
There was a sound behind Khan like the shadow of a whisper, and then a voice that was becoming increasingly familiar.
"Bahog yelp."
Khan looked back to see the young Klingon girl behind him. He was impressed that she'd managed to sneak up on him again. He looked at the dead end behind her and wondered where she came from. Had she been there the whole time? Had she seen everything, hiding behind a mound of snow or even the pile of fire wood?
"Bahog yelp," she said again, repeating the same familiar but nonsensical phrase she'd said to him before.
She came forward, more bold than last time, reaching her hands out like an urchin begging in the street. Khan supposed in a way that was exactly what she was, and he suddenly realized she was on her own. Whoever she had been with when she came to this prison, they were dead, or they'd abandoned her or she'd decided she was better off without them.
For some reason, she made Khan think of Beth and he imagined what would she do if she was still out here with him. He smiled, knowing that Beth would want to adopt the girl.
He reached into a pocket where he'd stashed a protein bar and he threw it to the girl who caught it easily with one hand. She looked at it curiously and smelled it for a second, but then she shoved it into her shirt and held her hands out again.
"Bahog yelp."
"I don't know what that means," Khan told her, and he tried to repeat himself in his stilted, limited Klingon. He considered fetching Matthew, who had spent time treating Klingon combatants on Wellhaven, but he didn't want to leave Beth and the others with no protection at all.
The girl shook her head in frustration and came forward to take Khan's hand. She wanted to take him somewhere, and again Khan thought of Beth. She would want to go with the girl. She would want to help if she could.
"Okay," Khan said, putting the blanket around the young Klingon's shoulders. "I'll follow you if it isn't too far." He felt for the phaser in his other pocket, making sure he was armed before letting the girl lead him away.
It was a twelve minute walk, though it could have been shorter; the girl was adept at avoiding other prisoners in the Yard. Finally, after walking Khan through a series of underground tunnels she stopped by a small hole someone had burrowed in the snow. It was crammed full of blankets and old, smelling clothes. The girl knelt beside it and added Khan's blanket to the pile. She stroked it fondly as she looked up at him.
"Bahog yelp," she said, smiling, revealing a row of pointed white teeth.
It was then that Khan noticed the light beneath the blankets. There was someone under there and their collar was glowing red.
Khan realized immediately what had happened - whoever it was had been electrocuted, and this girl was still attached to their frozen corpse, hoping that the man who could remove the collars could also perform a miracle.
"I'm sorry," he said sadly, shaking his head. "It's too late for them."
He bent down to help the girl stand. He could take her back to the igloo and then Matthew could explain.
She looked confused as Khan tried to raise her to her feet. She grabbed hold of her collar, then pointed back in the hole. "Bahog..."
"Bahog yelp, I know," Khan said. "It doesn't..."
But saying the words himself suddenly gave them new meaning.
"Do you mean behage hjelpe?"
It was Norwegian for "please help" and Khan's mind started reeling. Was it possible everything Lucy had told them had been a lie? He fell to his knees and dug through the blankets and grabbed the body beneath. God, but it was still warm!
He flipped it roughly over, drawing a protective grunt from the Klingon girl.
"It's okay," Khan told her. "I couldn't hurt him if I tried." He laughed as he looked down at Dyret's young face. He was the only one among them who could have survived.
Khan pulled out his tools and quickly removed the collar. He threw it away, completely out of his sight. He lifted Dyret and hugged him as hard as he could, as only one Augment could hug another.
Dyret was not dead and Khan cried with happiness, wishing the others were there to share his joy. They had lost so many, but now Dyret was found. He was a ray of light stolen back from the darkness.
Happy Easter, to those who celebrate this chocolatey holiday - I did not plan it, but it's kind of appropriate that Dyret is being resurrected now :)
After all of the loss and trauma, I hope this moment can buoy their spirits and heal some injuries, but will it be enough to help Beth forgive Khan? Let me know your thoughts on how he treated her - does he have a point or did he just lose control?
Another new cover from the amazing Finland photos - a happier scene with Khan playing with his dogs ;) I had to remove the red car and replace it with a spaceship, and I took the chains off the dogs because I don't think Khan would use them (though he might fantasize about using them on Beth lol ;)
Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks to these spring chickens for their feedback since last time:
Sassiebone, Bilbo Baggins Is My Hobbit, WhitneyG, tavingtonsbeauty, Sinister Bunny, CLTex, Destiny Evans, FecklessFemale, StarlitStar (love the new name!), April, TheJewellersHand, Cordelia123456 and the Guests!