Otherworldly

Chapter 13

A/N- Sorry for the late update. I kept forgetting to post the chapter all weekend and then after watching the super bowl I finally remembered. The formatting is probably a little off because I'm posting from my phone. I just don't feel like going to my desk from my comfy bed right now. I'll fix it in the future.

I'm a little bummed about the Bengals not winning. They're a local team for me so I was really excited to finally see them in the super bowl. So sad they lost 😢.

Enjoy the chapter and please vote! Thank you!

-T.N. Jewell

The Leften continued to make it seem like I didn't exist and I was totally fine with it. It gave me the chance to inspect him up close without any attention to me.

His horns were still pretty big, not as big as I've seen before, but big. His ears were like a mixture between a horse and an elf and occasionally would flick or twitch. It was kinda cute, but I would never tell him that.

He kept his tail hidden under his ass for a bit, then readjusted it to where it constantly lazily swished back and forth. It was actually kind of annoying. His tail was long. As long as his legs from what I could guess. He had a little tuft of gray fur on the end of it like a lion would.

I had the urge to grab it and snap it like a spaghetti noodle just to get a little payback for what his kind did to me, but I wasn't stupid. If I wasn't murdered on the spot for that one I would definitely hate whatever "punishment" they come up with.

He must've sensed my imagined intentions with his tail because after a few more moments of swishing, he curled it around his leg.

I stopped scrutinizing his tail to look at everything else I could see. I couldn't see the front of his body from sitting behind him, but the back was impressive.

His size did not deter him from working out. Muscles engulfed his shoulders and lined his back. His legs were huge and his butt... was pretty nice too. He was proportionate and actually more on the lean side than buff.

I stopped admiring him with a shake of my head. What the fuck is wrong with me. I should not be checking this guy out. He's a fucking Leften.

Embarrassment and shame filled me and I turned my attention to the wall of the shuttle. Just don't look at him.

I didn't look at him the rest of the trip.

It didn't take long before the shuttle made a sudden jerk and then settled. The Leften was out of his seat and quickly turned towards me. He had something poking out of his hand, but I couldn't see what it was. He stared for a few seconds with his red eyes, like he was trying to figure out a math equation.

He must've solved it pretty quickly because I flinched and jerked back in my seat as he descended on me fast.

He slapped the object he was holding to my mouth. I cried out from the impact and tried to scratch out at him, but he stepped away quickly as the object spread across the entire lower half of my face.

I panicked as it covered my nose and tried to rip it off the smooth device, but it wouldn't budge. I didn't give up though.

I was scratching my own face more than the mask and when he saw that he released the bands around my chest and hauled me out. His hands grabbed mine and wrenched them behind my back where a band secured them.

I whimpered from the position. It was tight and I thought maybe the manhandling was over, but I guess not.

I was hyperventilating, trying to get air in. It took me a moment to realize I should still breathe through the mask, but it smelled like a hospital room. It was like a filter.

I tried to open my mouth to say something, but found that I couldn't. My jaw was forced closed by the mask.

My breaths started to come in shorter pants and it felt like I couldn't get a deep breath in. My body was striving for oxygen.

I flinched when hands grasped my shoulders and I was violently shaken. My head bounced like a bobble head and vertigo washed over me from the force of it.

Wildly, I looked at the Leften in front of me. His words slowly registered. "You're okay. It's just to help your body settle to the oxygen level on the planet. You can breathe."

I didn't believe him. It felt like I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. My eyes must've shown my panic because he took a deep breath and squished me into his chest.

The shock of him hugging me quickly overtook the panic from the mask. My head barely reached his armpits. He was also surprisingly warm. It felt like a heated blanket wrapped around me. I was even more surprised to find that he smelled good. Like cedar wood and smoke. I was ashamed to admit that I liked the smell of him- a Leften.

I mentally shook that thought out of my head. You do not like anything about these people.

His chest vibrated as he spoke and my eyes unconsciously closed from the sensation. "Deep breaths. Just match mine. Deep breath in."

I found myself following his instructions. I took a deep breath and bathed in the comfort I felt from his body against mine.

"Deep breath out."

We simultaneously released a deep breath. He repeated the process and I followed suit.

So I am able to freaking breathe. It was a relief but the feeling of claustrophobia remained. I didn't think it would bother me if it wasn't so tight and basically suctioned to my face, but I didn't have the power to take it off. I had to just deal with it.

With sudden clarity, I realized what I was doing. I jerked away from him quickly and my cheeks burned from embarrassment. Luckily, he let me go.

Rule number one. Don't fucking hug the Leften. They are not your friends. You don't freaking hug them.

I looked up at him and watched as he gave my body a once over. With a sudden nod he grabbed my arm and hauled me behind him to the door of the shuttle.

As the door opened, I hunched my shoulders and dropped my head to escape the bright glare that filtered into the shuttle from outside. I barely had time to adjust before the Leften spoke again.

"Welcome to Latiqeunia, Scarlett."