Michaela Read Online Free

be salacious at all. It started as a form of child birthing exercises.”
    Korkla snickered. “Really? I can imagine it often led to the occurrence of child birth itself.”
    Michaela now had to look at the clan leader as she laughed. Once again she was struck by how the warmth of the Dramok’s smile made his angular face so entrancing, almost as much as Govi’s.
    She enjoyed ribald humor. The unexpected suggestiveness of Korkla’s remark delighted her. “Yeah, well you can see why it got outlawed on Earth. Heaven forbid sex be something anyone would want to do.”
    Michaela was even getting used to Raxstad’s more primitive physicality. She had no trouble turning her smile in his direction as he joined in her laughter. The Nobek told her, “You do not appear to be so repressed. I was concerned we would never get you to even speak to us.”
    They seemed nice. Perhaps it was the leshella still in Michaela’s system that made her dare to be blunt. More likely it was the need to get the worst of this meeting done and over with. If these three men were going to reject her, it needed to happen now before she could entertain any thoughts that would lead her to liking them too much.
    Michaela told the clan, “As a man, I got away with being crass on board our ship in ways that no woman could. Swearing, telling crude jokes, acting like I thought with my cock ... Earth turns a blind eye to some things that men do. I could be a foul-mouthed asshole and even make some sexual jokes. As long as I didn’t act too outrageous in front of my superiors, there was no problem.”
    Korkla studied her closely. “But you prefer presenting yourself as a female. That is correct?”
    None of them had reacted to her profane language or overt references to having masculine qualities. They didn’t even exhibit morbid fascination, which had been the best Michaela thought she could hope for. She checked the three faces surrounding her, searching for a hint of disgust. She saw only kindness and patience.
    She said, “I feel more female than male, even though I’m both.”
    Govi reached up to stroke a curl. “It must have been hard for you to pretend otherwise, to have lived your entire life in fear of discovery.”
    Raxstad touched her knee, a finger tracing a crease in her skirt. “Would they really have killed you for being born a – I’m sorry, Michaela. I’ve forgotten the word.”
    “Intersex. Some would call me a hermaphrodite, but I like intersex better.” She barely contained a shiver to feel them touching her. It made her feel warm inside. Her attitude felt lighter ... was that hope? Did she dare to anticipate they would actually consider her a viable mate? “Yes, they would have euthanized me at birth if the truth had gotten out. If they had found out later, I would have been executed as demon spawn.”
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    Korkla felt a pulse of anger in his skull at Michaela’s words. What kind of madness possessed the Earther government? How could they judge someone unworthy of life over something as inconsequential as how she’d been made? How could any religion declare such a person as damned because of an accident of birth? How could a court sentence someone to die over something she had no control over? The idea was unfathomable.
    The Dramok saw a tremor run through Raxstad’s body. The Nobek breed was made for protecting others, particularly those who could not defend themselves. Little Michaela looked so damned vulnerable, too. No doubt her story upset the fiercest member of Korkla’s clan.
    As one of the warrior breed of the Kalquorian people, Raxstad did not shy away from violence. He had been an officer for Global Security for decades now, determined to protect those who needed it most. Feeling upset over Michaela’s story as Korkla did, he knew Raxstad must be absolutely livid that she’d lived in such fear. The amount of control it took for the Nobek to not show it had to be phenomenal.
    Govi’s voice