STOLEN

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED, BOOK 25

EVANGELINE ANDERSON

www.evangelineanderson.com

Stolen, 1st Edition,

A Brides of the Kindred Novel

Copyright © 2020 by Evangeline Anderson

All rights reserved.

Cover Art Design © 2020 by Reese Dante

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writers’ imagination or have been used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to a retailer of your choice or evangelineanderson.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

Cover content is for illustrative purposes only.

Any person depicted on the cover is a model.

CONTENTS

Stolen

Author’s Note

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapter 85

Chapter 86

Chapter 87

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Chapter 91

Chapter 92

Chapter 93

Chapter 94

Chapter 95

Chapter 96

Chapter 97

Chapter 98

Chapter 99

Chapter 100

Chapter 101

Chapter 102

Chapter 103

Chapter 104

Chapter 105

Chapter 106

Chapter 107

Chapter 108

Chapter 109

Chapter 110

Chapter 111

Chapter 112

Chapter 113

Chapter 114

Chapter 115

Chapter 116

Chapter 117

Chapter 118

Epilogue

The End?

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About the Author

STOLEN

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED, BOOK 25

Penny is an archeologist on the hunt for a dangerous artifact.

V'rex is the Hybrid space pirate she's been warned about.

When both of them are kidnapped by a fertility cult

And forced together as "Forever Mates,"

Can they find a way to survive and escape?

You'll have to read Stolen to find out...

Dr. Penelope Wainright is an archeologist on a serious mission for the Kindred. She must find the Eye of Tengu, an ancient stone artifact, before it awakens and causes horrible death and destruction. But before she goes to the Yown System, where the Eye has been hidden, she is given a warning—stay way from Hell's Gate Spaceport and the notorious pirate, V'rex, who makes it his home base. But through a series of mishaps, where does she end up? On Hell's Gate Station, alone and vulnerable, of course. And you can guess who she runs into...

V'rex is a Hybrid—half Beast Kindred and Half Kru'ell One. The minute he sees Penny lost and alone, he knows he has to have her. The curvy little female is exactly his type and he's about to go get her...when fate intervenes. After being drugged and kidnapped, he wakes up in the compound of  a fertility cult. By chance, Penny has been kidnapped as well, and soon they are forced together as "Forever Mates" by the fanatical cult leader.

Penny is frightened to death of the huge Hybrid, who is tasked by the cult to impregnate her. V'rex wants the little human, but he doesn't want to hurt her. Now they must work together to escape what seems to be an inescapable situation. But can Penny trust the male she has been warned against? And can V'rex keep her safe from the fanatical cult and their "Glorious Leader?" You'll have to read Stolen to find out...

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I have to apologize to my readers for not continuing the story of Commander Naught and the pretty young priestess. I tried for a long time to write their story, but my muse was blocked at every turn. Finally I realized it had been over a year since I wrote a Brides of the Kindred book—I had been writing only Kindred Tales for ages. I finally understood that I would either have to give up writing the original series for good, or write something completely different. Of course, I didn't want to give up on Brides—it's my baby. And then I got a crazy, weird, wonderful idea for a whole different plot line and a new Brides book.

That is the book you are holding now. In it, we begin a whole different adventure that I hope you'll love reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. I do someday hope to be able to get back to Commander Naught and the priestess, but in the meantime, I hope you can forgive me and enjoy the story of Penny and V'rex and their amazing, crazy, sexy adventures in the Yown System and all the weird situations they get into (and out of) together. And don't worry—you'll see your old friends from other books here as well. No Brides book is complete without some help and love from the Mother Ship and the Goddess.

Hugs and Happy Reading to you all,

Evangeline, October 2020

PROLOGUE

The Cruel Father looked down upon his creation…and was severely displeased.

His universe had been corrupted. His Kindred, the Kru’ell Ones, had been tainted by love…by compassion…by tenderness and mercy. All those womanly emotions he so despised and had taught his children to despise as well.

He had created the Kru’ell Ones to rule over females. To take them as concubines to feed their emotional appetites and then discard them, as easily as a man drops a used tissue. But now, what did he see when he looked down upon them?

“They have taken mates,” he growled to himself, glaring with his all-seeing eye upon the gray-green version of Earth which resided in his universe. The new Overlord, Kane, had taught the other Kru’ell Ones to revere females and treat them with respect. He had purged the hate from their hearts and fostered love instead. He had taught them to take females as mates instead of disposable concubines and to form a permanent bond with them.

It was unbearable! And the Cruel Father knew exactly who to blame.

“Mother of All Life,” he growled to himself, thinking of the Goddess who was his counterpart in the parallel universe which ran along side his own. She had done this thing. She had interfered in his territory and had brought her disgusting attributes of love and fidelity, spreading goodness and peace wherever she went like a pestilence.

The Cruel Father raged to himself. How dare she meddle in the affairs of his ‘verse? How dare she bring her sickening love and kindness into his territory?

And how could he repay her deed in kind?

Luckily, the Mother of All Life was not the only one who had a stronghold in the enemy’s territory. Long ago the Cruel Father had waged war across the dimensional divide with the female deity. He had been forced back, but not before he had left a small token—a scion of himself—within her domain.

Of course, the Goddess had instructed the ancient First Kindred to hide the relic—the Eye of Ten’gu they had called it. And so they had buried it deep, hiding it in the far recesses of their universe on a planet so icy and inhospitable they were certain no one would ever find and awaken it.

The Cruel Father reached across the divide, using just a tendril of his power— not enough to sound any alarms—and touched the Eye. For millennia it had lain dormant, his scion sleeping in endless, dreamless slumber.

“Awake,” the Cruel Father called to it. “Awake and claim your birthright. Decimate the Goddess’s ‘verse as she has ruined mine.”

He felt the Eye tremble…perceived that his scion was rising from the sleep which had claimed him when the First Kindred had buried the relic so long ago.

It would take some time for his scion to come fully awake—some time before the Eye opened and understood what he must do. But the Cruel Father could wait. After all, was revenge not sweetest when it took some time in coming?

“You will be sorry, Mother of All Life,” he growled to himself. “I will teach you not to meddle in my domain. You have turned my own Kindred into sniveling female-lovers like your own. We will see how well you like it when your own children are corrupted by my darkness. When the Eye of Ten’gu opens, your ‘verse will know pain and discord as it never has before.”

This he vowed. And then he sat back to watch as the events he had set in motion began, slowly but inexorably, to unfold…

Far from the Cruel Father’s universe, on First World, Nadiah woke from the dream with a gasp of fright.

“The Cruel Father…the Eye…the Eye must not open! It must not open!” she cried.

“What?” Rast, the Challa of First World, the home planet of the Kindred, sat up in bed beside his mate. In the dim light of their bedchamber, he saw that Nadiah’s blue-green eyes were wide with panic.

“The Eye…” She was nearly panting with fright. “The Eye is waking but it must not open!”

Another male might have shaken his mate to bring her out of what appeared to be hysteria but Rast had a better solution than that. He spread his great, feathery wings—the ones that had grown when he had proven that he was truly meant to be the Challa of the Kindred home world—and enfolded his wife in them.

Nadiah came to him at once and Rast could feel her trembling against his broad chest as he poured healing warmth into her through the enfolding feathers.

“What is it, sweetheart?” he murmured, stroking her golden hair and holding her close, trying to comfort her. “What’s wrong? You must have had a nightmare.”

“N-not a n-nightmare.” Nadiah’s teeth were still chattering in fright. Rast held her tighter, disturbed. He had never seen his mate so upset before.

“If it wasn’t a nightmare then what was it?” he asked gently.

“A vision.” She sat up and her eyes turned suddenly from blue-green to pure emerald—the color of the Goddess. When she spoke again, her voice was not her own.

“The Father of Cruelty with reach from Afar

To the Eye of his scion asleep in the Dark

Buried so deep ‘neath the mountain Ra’gar

It must not awake or the future is Stark

Do not let its lid rise, do not let it awake

For if it sees daylight, our ‘verse is at Stake!”

Though he and Nadiah had been joined for years now and had three children together and he knew she was the Mouthpiece of the Goddess, it still unnerved Rast when the Mother of all Life spoke through his wife.

“Goddess,” he said, addressing the deity who was speaking through Nadiah. “What must we do?”

“Warn Sylvan of the Mother Ship,” the Goddess said through Nadiah. “The Eye of Ten’gu must be unearthed and destroyed before it awakens.”

“The Eye of Ten’gu? What’s that? And how can we destroy it?” Rast asked, but the Goddess had gone. Only Nadiah was left, drooping in his arms, completely worn out from acting as a vessel to the Goddess.

“Oh, Rast,” she whispered, leaning heavily against him. “That was so scary—I don’t know when I’ve been so frightened!”

“Are you all right now?” Rast looked at her anxiously.

“Not scared anymore. Just…tired.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “The Goddess drove out the fear but hosting her is…taxing.”

“Of course it is, my Lyzel,” Rast murmured, stroking her hair tenderly.

“What did the Goddess say through me?” Nadiah asked. “What must we do to keep the Cruel Father at bay?”

“She said we must destroy the Eye of Ten’gu—whatever that is.” Rast frowned.

“The Eye of Ten’gu?” Nadiah sat up straight. “But that’s been hidden for millennia!”

“You know about it?” Rast asked in surprise.

She nodded, her long blonde hair swishing around her slender shoulders.

“Of course—it’s in some of our earliest scrolls and documents. It’s an ancient artifact, as old as the Kindred race itself.”

“Well, what does it do?” Rast asked, frowning.

“I don’t know,” Nadiah admitted. “But I do know that the very first thing the Kindred males who originally left First World did was to get rid of it. They buried it in the side of a mountain on Yown Beta where no one could ever find it.”

“Well it sounds like someone is on their way to find it now,” Rast said grimly. “The Goddess told me we must warn Sylvan and that someone has to go dig it up and destroy it before…” He hesitated, not wanting to scare his wife again.

“Before what?” Nadiah demanded. “Come on, Rast, tell me!”

Rast could see she wasn’t going to let up until he told her.

“She said the Eye of Ten’gu must be destroyed,” he repeated. “Before it awakens.”

Nadiah didn’t reply. She just buried her head in Rast’s chest and shivered.

A time of darkness was coming. The question was, would the Kindred be able to stand against it?

ONE

The first thing V’rex noticed about the little female, when she walked into the Hell’s Gate Spaceport Lounge, was her ass.

Gods! he couldn’t help thinking as his eyes followed her every movement. That ass…

It was so full and round and she had thick thighs and broad hips to match it. Her top was nice too—a little waist and full breasts but it was her ass his eyes kept going back to.

She was shaped like a fertility goddess from Quorset Three.

Everything else in the noisy, crowded bar seemed to fall away as he watched her move. The sharp smell of spilled Brantha gin, the shouts of the other bar patrons, demanding drinks, the low drumming of the hypnobeats playing over the sound system which was meant to keep fights to a minimum, the sweet-sour stench of tookla smoke, all faded into the background as he focused on her in the dim, crowded room.

V knew lots of males had a “type” they always went for, and then there were some dogs who would just bed anything they could get their hands on. But he had always been picky. Maybe it was his half Beast-Kindred heritage, but he wasn’t interested in just anyone. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time a female had drawn his attention this way.

He wondered if she was a working girl. She wasn’t really dressed like one. The tight-fitting bodysuit she wore didn’t show any skin and she wasn’t flashing her breasts the way most of the pros at the station were. They were all obvious—might as well have a flashing sign over their heads saying how much they cost by the hour. But this female was subtle—unlike the ones who were selling their wares.

V hadn’t come into the bar looking for company, but he decided right then and there if she was for sale, he was buying. And not just for an hour—he would need at least a whole night to explore those lush curves. His hands itched to cup that juicy ass and squeeze while he filled her with his shaft.

The little female must have felt his eyes on her because she turned for a moment and looked up. Their gazes met and locked and V saw she had a face to match the rest of her.

Heart-shaped and pale with skin that looked as soft and delicate as Telethian silk, she was lovely. Her big eyes were a warm, true brown almost the exact same shade as her thick, chestnut hair, which was pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. Little tendrils of it had escaped, however, to frame her pretty, softly rounded face. They made her look even more vulnerable and uncertain.

Her mouth was an innocent pink, unlike the dark purple and crimson red lip-stain favored by the pros, and she had a little button of a nose with a smattering of Goddess-kisses across the bridge of it. Fucking adorable.

V let the lust show in his eyes, knowing their pale gold, mirrored irises would reflect the girl’s own image back to her. That was the other part of his heritage—his Kru’ell One side. He wasn’t able to read her mind and know her deepest desires like a full-blooded Kru’ell One could have, but if he got close enough and concentrated, he would at least be able to feel her emotions.

But V didn’t have to use his special senses to know how the little female was feeling. After a moment of staring into his eyes like a wild creature caught in the headlamps of an onrushing vehicle, she turned even paler and dropped her gaze quickly.

Damn! V swore to himself. Now he’d gone and frightened her. Clearly she was an innocent, but what the hell was an innocent doing in a place like the Hell’s Gate Space Port?

He had the urge to go to her—to explain that he wouldn’t hurt her, he just wanted to spend some time with her. Not that he wanted to form any kind of permanent attachment, but maybe they could still work out some kind of arrangement. She looked like she was in trouble—like she needed help. There was a smudge of what looked like axle grease on one high cheekbone—maybe her vehicle had broken down.

V thought about offering to help her—for a price. He wasn’t the kind of male to pretend to be kind and gentlemanly and fix her vehicle and then insinuate afterwards that she owed him. No, he would be plain about what he wanted—a night with her in exchange for his assistance.

And he could be gentle—in fact, he enjoyed that. Taking his time with a female, giving her pleasure, making her feel like the only one in the universe as he looked into her eyes and made her come again and again… That was his Kindred side again. Of course, his Kru’ell One side would inevitably come into play as well. But not until she was ready to open up and let him sting her…

Just the thought of it made his tongue sharpen and the blood rush to his shaft. Gods, to explore those lush curves, to feel her tugging his hair and hear her moaning his name as he brought her to the brink…

He was about to get off his bar stool, which was hovering right by the long, sticky counter, and go to her, when a little male with a shiny bald head and bright orange skin inserted himself between V and his path to the luscious female.

“Excuse me,” he said in a high, androgynous voice and pointed a strange-looking instrument at V’s broad chest.

“Get out of my way,” V snarled, glaring down at the intruder.

“Forgive me, friend, but I must ask you a question first,” the little male said. Or was he female? It was difficult to tell by his facial features. Despite his bald head, he might be either male or female—not that V cared.

“What question? What do you want, anyway?” he demanded.

“Am I right in thinking that you are extremely fertile?” the little male asked. He was looking from the screen of his hand-held device, up to V, and then back down at the screen again.

“What?” V looked at him in disbelief. “What kind of a question is that?”

“One I must answer before I can know if you are prime breeding stock or not,” the little male—or whatever it was—replied. He scanned V with his instrument again. “According to my readouts, you have the ability to engender intense physical pleasure in females. Is that right?”

“What in the Seven Hells?” V growled, glaring down at the little male. Was he talking about V’s stinger? And if so, how would he know about that?

The Kru’ell Ones weren’t even from this universe—and nobody would know just by looking at V what his physical differences were. It wasn’t until he opened his mouth and allowed his tongue to elongate into the needle-sharp barb which delivered his lust-honey that it was obvious he was different from any other Hybrid Kindred.

“It’s clear you are reticent to speak of your special abilities,” the little bald male remarked. “But my readouts assure me that you can bring females vast amounts of pleasure, which will surely lead to greater fertility and the insemination of many wombs.”

“What? Get the fuck outta my face.” V wasn’t listening to any more of this. A glance around the room showed him that while he’d been distracted with this weird little bastard, the female he’d been so focused on was disappearing into the back of the bar. If this bald, babbling idiot had cost V his chance with her, he would wring his neck!

He started to push past the little male but as he did, he felt a sharp stinging sensation in his hip. Looking down, he saw a tiny needle poking out of the male’s sleeve. It retracted quickly, but not before V saw a drop of something that was deep, poisonous green glittering on its tip.

“Hey, what—?” he started to ask but then he suddenly felt dizzy. As the noisy bar started to spin around him, he felt himself falling.

V hit the floor like a sack of stones, bumping the back of his head and making him see everything in doubles. How else could he account for the fact that there were now two of the little bald males standing over him? They were soon joined by another two so that now four almost identical faces were staring down into V’s own.

He frowned. Wait—was he seeing double or were there more of these weird little fuckers?

“Stand back,” one of them said loudly to the other bar patrons who were looking in surprise at the way V was now flat on his back. “We are a medical unit. We will care for this fallen one.”

This seemed to satisfy everyone and they went back to drinking. V wanted to shout that this wasn’t right, that he hadn’t fallen down by accident—that it was the little bald male’s fault. But when he tried to speak, nothing came out of his mouth. Trying to move led to the same result—nothing.

“A prime specimen,” one of the little bald mutants said to another.

“He is indeed.” The other one nodded. “My instruments indicate he has special abilities in sexual pleasure. This will lead to many inseminations.”

“Our Glorious Leader will be so pleased,” another one of them said. “But I think he is still awake—see how he watches us. Another dose of sleeping juice perhaps?”

“That is an excellent plan,” the second one concurred. “I should have doubled the dose in the first place. This male’s immense size must make him resistant to the effects.”

He leaned down and the retractable needle shot out of the sleeve of his sliver jumpsuit again.

V wanted to jerk away, wanted to shout and flail and most of all punch the little mutant bastard, but he couldn’t move.

He couldn’t do anything but lie there as the needle stung him a second time and everything faded to black.

TWO

Oh my God, is that him? Is that the guy Kat was warning me about?

Penny stared in mute horror at the man with the mirrored golden eyes who was looking at her from across the crowded bar. He was huge—even bigger than a normal sized Kindred, and they were big enough already. He had long black hair which was wild around his shoulders—and what broad shoulders they were. Penny thought they had to be at least twice as wide as her own.

But it wasn’t just his size—or his eyes—that tipped her off to the strange Kindred’s identity. It was the black and gold tattoos she could see on the strong column of his neck and his muscular arms. The arms were obvious because he was wearing a black vest that showed them clearly, as well as tight black leather flight trousers and high black boots. The neck tattoo was a little more difficult to see, through the long, silky black strands of his hair.

He looked like a space pirate, Penny thought—a dangerous man who might do anything at all. And the intricate tattoos with golden ink that matched his strange, mirrored eyes marked him as V’rex—the Hybrid Kindred criminal who had been causing trouble in the Teklan sector.

At least, that was what Kat had warned her…

“Whatever you do, doll, stay away from the Hell’s Gate Spaceport,” she’d lectured as she got Penny ready for her mission. “I know it’s the biggest port in the sector and it might seem like the best place to refuel or get supplies, but they run a sex slave trade out of there that’s always on the lookout for pretty young girls. And lately it’s been getting worse.”

Penny privately had her doubts about anyone wanting her for a sex slave. Oh, she was pretty enough and relatively young, but her wide behind and childbearing hips made most guys think twice about asking her out once they saw her from the waist down. She’d tried posting on dating sites after she had broken up with Garret, her last serious boyfriend, but it just never worked out. It was easier and more rewarding, she had decided, to be married to her work—why else would she accept such a distant assignment where she wouldn’t even see another human for ages?

“I won’t be the only one there,” she reminded Kat. “Even if we were forced to go to the Hell’s Gate port, I’m sure Commander Rive would be with me.”

Commander Rive and his wife, Y’lla were the two lead Kindred archeologists on the dig they were going to. They were both Blood Kindred and very kind, if somewhat wrapped up in each other.

Penny was a little nervous about spending so much time working with a married couple—she was afraid she’d be a third wheel. But both Rive and Y’lla had assured her she was welcome and she didn’t want to pass up this assignment—after all, an archeological dig on an alien planet wasn’t something most people could put on their resume. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Not that this opportunity came without drawbacks. It was going to be a hazardous dig—mostly owing to the climate. They were going to the frozen world of Yown Beta, which was just barely inside the habitable zone of its yellow dwarf star sun. There were other planets in the system that were more temperate, but apparently Yown Beta had been chosen because it was a frozen waste land by the ancient Kindred ancestors who had hidden the artifact she and the other two archeologists were going to seek.

“Yes, I guess Commander Rive would be with you if you wound up at Hell’s Gate.” Kat had looked somewhat comforted at the thought. “It’s just that V’rex has been spotted in that area lately, which makes me nervous for you, doll. Because he showed up right at the time the number of abductions spiked. Coincidence?” She made a sour face. “I don’t think so.”

“V’rex? Who’s he?” Penny frowned.

“He’s a rogue Hybrid who’s been causing quite a lot of trouble in the Teklan sector,” a new voice said.

Looking up, Penny saw that Commander Sylvan, head of the Kindred High Council, was poking his head in the door of Kat’s home office. Since it was her job to get anyone going on a mission away from the Mother Ship ready to go, the curvy redhead needed her own space, as she had explained to Penny.

“Otherwise my two husbands and three sons would drive me crazy!” she’d said with a grin.

Penny had returned her smile, but she couldn’t imagine having three kids of her own. Not that she had anything against having babies, it was just that they were generally incompatible with a serious career in archeology—at least, if you wanted to do a lot of field work, which was what Penny lived for.

It was kind of hard to pick the kids up from school and help them with their homework if you were on a dig in Egypt—or in this case, on an alien planet light years from Earth.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” Commander Sylvan asked, looking from Penny to Kat. “I just wanted to be sure Penelope is almost ready to go. Commander Rive and Y’lla are headed for the long range shuttle and I offered to come fetch her.”

“We just have one more fitting and we’ll be done,” Kat promised. “I was just warning Penny to steer clear of Hell’s Gate Station, no matter what.”

“That’s excellent advice.” Sylvan’s pale blue eyes grew somber. “I’m sorry to say the slave trade there has grown exponentially in the last solar year, not to mention the smugglers and pirates that make that particular port their home base.”

“Like that, uh, V’rex person Kat was telling me about?” Penny asked.

Kat nodded. “He might be anywhere in the Teklan sector, so watch yourself.”

“But how can I watch out for him if I don’t know what he looks like?” Penny protested.

“Oh, you can’t miss him, doll,” Kat said dryly. “He’s got these black and gold tattoos all over his neck and arms and he’s even bigger than a regular Kindred—because he’s a Hybrid, you know. A mix of two separate Kindred races. He’s half Beast Kindred.”

“But it’s his other half that makes him so dangerous,” Sylvan said seriously. “We believe that V’rex is half Kru’ell One.”

“Kru’ell One?” Penny frowned. “I’ve never heard of that kind of Kindred before.”

“That’s because they don’t come from our universe,” Sylvan told her. “They come from a parallel universe where the Kindred were not created by the Goddess we all worship—the Mother of All Life. Instead, the Kru’ell Ones were brought into being by the Cruel Father—a being as powerful as our own Goddess. But the Cruel Father is as malevolent and evil as the Mother of All Life is good and kind.”

“And the beings he created take after him,” Kat added. “They’re the only Kindred we know of who don’t respect and revere women.”

“The only Kindred who could or would take a female by force against her will,” Sylvan added gravely. “Which, as you must know by now, is anathema to our kind.”

“But…if they come from a different universe, how do they even get over here? Into our universe?” Penny asked, frowning.

“They don’t very often,” Sylvan said. “But we believe a small number of them crossed through a dimensional rift about thirty solar years ago. Anyway, it was around that time that several unmated Kindred females were stolen away from their homes. One of them was a rare Beast Kindred female—whom we believe to be V’rex’s mother.”

“So his father basically kidnapped his mother and raped her?” Penny’s eyes widened. “That’s terrible.”

“No, that’s a Kru’ell One for you,” Kat said grimly. “I should say, though, that they aren’t all bad—we actually met one recently who wasn’t. But V’rex has proved he’s trouble.”

“He’s been harassing Kindred ships for the past five years,” Sylvan said, nodding. “It would be remiss of us to let you go on this mission without warning you about any kind of danger you might encounter. And in the Teklan system, he’s a big one.”

“Well, hopefully she’ll be able to steer clear of Hell’s Gate,” Kat remarked. “I mean, they’re going to have plenty of supplies and we’re sending extra fuel.” She sighed. “I just wish it was easier to get to them out there!”

“Unfortunately, the entire Yown solar system is surrounded by temporal anomalies and subspace distortion fields,” Sylvan said. “Which makes it almost impossible to fold space there. We believe our First World ancestors actually chose the Yown system because of these difficulties—they wanted the Eye of Ten’gu to be as inaccessible as possible.”

“What is the Eye anyway?” Penny asked. “I mean, I know it’s an ancient Kindred religious relic but other than that, you’ve told us hardly anything about it. What is its significance? What, if anything, does it do?”

She knew she probably should have asked all this when she’d gotten a call from the Mother Ship offering her the job. But the minute the words “interstellar archeological dig” had come out of Commander Sylvan’s mouth, she’d just about fallen over herself saying “yes!” She would have done anything to be on such a prestigious and exciting expedition—it had only occurred to her to ask what exactly they were looking for after the fact.

Sylvan shook his head.

“I wish I knew. I only know that my niece, Nadiah, who is the High Priestess of the Goddess on First World, which is the Kindred’s home planet, was given a vision about it. She was told where we could find it and that we must get to it before anyone else did.”

“So someone else is looking for it?” Penny asked. Was she getting herself in a hostile Indiana Jones-type situation here, where several different scientists were vying to be the first to find the same valuable artifact?

“We’re not sure,” Sylvan said honestly. “It could just be that the Fox’ens are about to move to the part of Yown Beta where the Eye is hidden and we don’t want them to discover it before we do.”

“They’re the people who are living on Yown Beta now, but they’re not indigenous to it, right?” Penny asked.

“Exactly. I don’t think anyone could be indigenous to Yown Beta—it’s a frozen waste land that makes my own home world of Tranq Prime look temperate,” Sylvan said dryly. “But the Fox’ens seem to be particularly well suited to cold-weather systems.”

“They have a natural fur coat and they’re uniquely suited to freezing temperatures,” Kat said. “I think they look kind of like those cute Artic foxes you always see on nature documentaries.” She shrugged. “Well, if Artic foxes were six and a half feet tall, anyway.”

“They’ve been living on the large Southern continent of Yown Beta for three centuries,” Sylvan explained. “But recently they’ve had a population explosion and now they’re starting to colonize the smaller, Northern continent, where the Eye of Ten’gu is hidden. Your goal will be to get to Yown Beta without being seen by the Fox’ens, take the Eye, and be gone before they even know you’re there.”

“I see.” Penny nodded thoughtfully. So it was an Indiana Jones kind of situation—which never happened in real life archeology. The reality of a modern dig was much less eventful than the movies. But their dig on Yown Beta would doubtless be more exciting than any Earthbound expedition. She couldn’t wait to get started!

“Whatever you do, once you get the Eye, you must keep it away from direct sunlight,” Sylvan said, frowning. “I have already told this to Commander Rive and his wife, Y’lla, but I must tell you as well. Nadiah said that the vision she received was very clear on that point—the Eye of Ten’gu must not be exposed to any kind of natural light. It must not be allowed to ‘awaken’.”

“Awaken?” Penny stared at him blankly. “I mean, it’s a stone artifact, right? How in the world could it awaken?”

Sylvan shook his head.

“There is much we don’t know. The Eye is so ancient it is only spoken of in our oldest scrolls in the temple on First World. We think that’s why the Goddess sent the vision to Nadiah—she’s one of the few people who have studied the ancient writings and would know what they meant.”

“I see.” Penny nodded. She didn’t say anything about the Goddess or Commander Sylvan’s belief that his niece had been given a vision or a prophecy or whatever. As a scientist, of course, Penny didn’t believe in such things. But she knew better than to trivialize anyone else’s religion.

She also didn’t believe that an ancient stone artifact could suddenly come to life. Again, that was the kind of thing that happened in the movies—not on a real-life archeological dig. But she would keep that opinion to herself, out of respect.

“All right, Sylvan, if you’re done with the briefing, I still have to get Penny fitted in her warm-skin,” Kat said. “After that, I’ll bring her to the Docking Bay myself. Lock is making dinner tonight and Deep is watching the boys so it’s not a problem.”

Sylvan nodded.

“Thank you, Kat. I’ll see the two of you later then.”

He shut the door and Kat turned to Penny.

“All right now, let’s get you into your warm-skin—you’re going to need it on Yown Beta.”

She sent Penny behind the folding screen in the corner of her office and handed her a black jumpsuit which seemed to be made of extremely thin, strong, stretchy silk.

Penny struggled into it and was aghast at how tightly it clung to her more-than-generous curves.

“Kat!” she protested, stepping out from behind the screen. “I can’t wear this! It’s skin-tight. I look like a plus-sized Cat Woman from the Batman movies.”

“You know, you kind of do.” Kat stood back with a finger tapping against her cheek, looking Penny over thoughtfully. “You want me to sew some cute little pointed ears on the top of the hood?”

“No!” Penny exclaimed. “I want you to give me something bigger to wear. Something that will cover my, er, obvious defects.”

“There’s nothing defective about you,” Kat said sternly. “You’re an Elite—a woman the Goddess has blessed with generous curves. And if you’d agree to go on a date with those two Twin Kindred I offered to set you up with, you’d see that being plus-sized is a good thing.”

She put a hand on her own ample hip and cocked an eyebrow at Penny, as though to drive home her point.

“Thanks, Kat, but you know I’m married to my work,” Penny protested. “And just because you feel comfortable flaunting your curves doesn’t mean I want to flaunt mine!”

“Look, doll, I didn’t make the suit tight to show you off—it has to be skin tight to keep you warm,” Kat explained. “This is a very special fabric, woven from gownglass spider silk—it holds in your natural body heat and multiplies it when conditions get colder. It’s going to keep you toasty warm even in the frozen waste lands of Yown Beta. Without it, you’ll be a Penny-sicle the minute you step foot outside your shuttle.”

“Oh…” Penny looked down at the shiny silk suit clinging to her curves. “I didn’t know that.”

“It’s okay,” Kat assured her. “You don’t have to put it on until you’re just about to land on Yown Beta, so the only people who will see you in it are Rive and Y’lla. And you know they don’t care—they only have eyes for each other.”

“Well…all right.” Peggy nodded grudgingly. “I guess if it’s the only way to stay warm…”

“It is,” Kat promised her. “Now take it off so I can pack it and we can get you going to the Docking Bay. Adventure awaits!”

THREE

“So the reason we had to fold space outside the Yown Solar System and fly in manually is because the whole area is riddled with temporal anomalies?” Penny asked Commander Rive, the lead archeologist on their dig just a few hours earlier.

Rive was a tall, blond Blood Kindred with pale blue eyes and his wife, Y’lla, was too. In fact, they looked more like twins than husband and wife, Penny privately thought. But though the two of them had exhibited a cool demeanor when she’d first met them on the Mother Ship, they had warmed up considerably on the week-long trip as they flew towards Yown Beta.

Now Penny was on friendly terms with the couple, which eased her mind. She’d been on several digs where the expedition crew didn’t get along and she knew from experience that could be a very uncomfortable situation.

But Rive and Y’lla were as passionate about archeology as she was. They had been exchanging stories of various expeditions as they got to know each other and they showed as much interest in her digs—even though they had been limited to Earth—as Penny had for their interstellar expeditions.

“Temporal anomalies. Exactly.” Commander Rive was sitting in the pilot’s chair, flying the shuttle with one eye on the instruments—one of which was an anomaly sensor. “You can’t detect them until you’re right up on them—which means that if you folded space too close to the system, you might end up in the middle of one.”

“How big are they?” Penny asked, fascinated. “And what would happen if you did? Landed in the middle of one, I mean?”

“They vary in size,” Rive said. “They can be as small as your fist or as big as a small moon. They drift in random patterns through the entire Yown system.”

“And if you landed in the middle of one, time would either speed up or slow down until the anomaly drifted past or rather through you,” Y’lla said, coming to sit beside her husband.

Their long-range shuttle had a specially modified pilot’s chair to make this possible. Penny herself was in the passenger’s seat. She watched as the tall, blonde Kindred woman wound an arm around her tall blond husband’s waist, snuggled close, and kissed him on the cheek.

At first Penny had thought these kinds of displays of public affection were to warn her away from Rive. But she had come to understand that it was just the Kindred way. Despite being married—or “joined” as the Kindred called it—for over ten years, Rive and Y’lla simply couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Which was why they always had to be near one another, even when one of them was piloting the ship.

“So time speeds up or slows down until the anomaly passes?” she asked the two of them. “How long does it take to pass?”

Y’lla shrugged her slim shoulders.

“Could be a few seconds…or a few years. There’s really no way of knowing since the anomalies move at different rates of speed and they seem to be completely random in their movements. There really is no way to track or map them.”

“But we’ve been traveling through the Yown System towards Yown Beta for a week and your anomaly proximity sensor hasn’t gone off once,” Penny pointed out.

It was actually rather disappointing, she thought. She’d been fascinated to learn that there was an entire solar system riddled with pockets of slowed down or sped up time, like holes in Swiss cheese. It was the whole reason they were piloting in manually instead of folding space to get directly to their target. It would have been nice to actually see or maybe even experience one of the strange temporal anomalies. Just for a minute or two, anyway.

“Well, even though there are a lot of anomalies, they’re spaced pretty widely apart,” Y’lla said. “So the chances of running into one are actually quite slim.”

“It’s like the fictional science movies you humans make on Earth,” Rive said.

“You mean science fiction?” Penny asked, grinning.

“Yes, that.” He nodded. “Anyway, I have seen many of them and one of their worst inaccuracies is the way they portray asteroid fields. All of the human filmmakers seem to assume that the asteroids in any given field are all clumped together—like burra berries in a good shungu pie.”

“Whereas actually, they can be spaced so far apart you could fly through the entire asteroid field and never even see one—let alone a big clump of them,” Y’lla said, continuing her husband’s thought.

“Exactly, my love.” Rive gave her an affectionate smile and nuzzled her neck. Y’lla nuzzled him back and it appeared they were in danger of heading into a full-blown snuggle session.

Penny cleared her throat, to remind them of her presence. It was something she had learned to do early because the pair of them seemed on the verge of having passionate sex at any given moment.

“Just remind us you’re there, dear,” Y’lla had told her, on the first day of their journey when she and Rive had started making out in the middle of a conversation the three of them had been having. “We’re just really close because of our soul-bond. Well that and the fact that we don’t have any children. We do want some—but we’re not finished exploring the universe yet.”

Penny couldn’t help being a little envious of such a close connection—she’d certainly never experienced anything like it in the few relationships she’d had. Her last serious boyfriend, Garret, certainly hadn’t been nearly as affectionate as Rive was with Y’lla.

But she had written it off as a Kindred thing—something that simply wasn’t attainable for her, even if she had found the right guy—which she certainly wasn’t going to be doing in the middle of an interstellar dig.

She cleared her throat again, louder this time, and Rive and Y’lla pulled apart.

“Sorry, Penelope,” Commander Rive said, clearing his throat. “Er…what were we talking about?”

“The way temporal anomalies are spaced so widely apart that we’ll probably never run into one,” Penny reminded him. “Which makes me wonder again why we didn’t just fold space to right outside the orbit of Yown Beta instead of taking a week to fly to it. Not that spending time with you guys isn’t great,” she added quickly. “But it just seems like if there’s hardly any chance of hitting a time pocket—”

“Actually, the odds of landing in or near an anomaly while folding space into the Yown System have been calculated at four million to one,” Y’lla said.

“But that’s less than the odds of getting struck by lightning back on Earth,” Penny protested. “It’s even less than the odds of winning the lottery! So why not risk it?”

“You wouldn’t ask that if you’d ever seen someone who was trapped in a temporal anomaly,” Rive said seriously. “Because even though the odds are against it, it does happen.” He looked at his wife. “Remember Duk’las?”

“Oh yes—the poor male!” She shook her head sadly and buried her head in Rive’s broad shoulder. He stroked her hair comfortingly and kissed her cheek.

“Who was Duk’las and what happened to him?” Penny asked quickly, before the two of them could start going at it again. Honestly, they were really nice people but it was kind of annoying how quickly they forgot someone else was in the room and went into love-making mode!

“Oh, he was a young man we met on our travels—one of our guides on a previous expedition,” Rivas explained.

“His people were humanoid,” Y’lla added. “In fact, he looked like he could have come from Earth—well, except for his bright yellow eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a human with yellow eyes. Have you, my darling?” she asked Rivas.

He shook his head.

“No. But other than that, he looked like a healthy young man when we first met him.”

“But then, when we saw him a year later, he had changed completely,” Y’lla said. “The poor dear had long gray hair and his lovely yellow eyes were nearly brown with age. His body was twisted and his hands were just arthritic claws. Oh, it’s almost too awful to talk about!” She buried her head in Rive’s shoulder again.

“He went through an anomaly?” Penny guessed.

“Yes—he went through a quick-time one.” Rive nodded, being careful not to dislodge his wife who was curled against him.

“It aged him eighty years in a second!” Y’lla said, looking up. “He was little more than a boy when we first met him and an old man, near death, the next time we met.”

“That’s awful.” Penny had to admit she felt shaken by the story. “But what happens if you end up in a, uh, slow-time anomaly?”

“Well, it depends on how slow it is. It might make your hour last a day or your day last a week or your week last a whole solar year,” Rive said thoughtfully. “I had heard of something like that happening to another traveler who was unfortunate enough to fly through a slow-time pocket. He said it felt like he was trapped in one spot for years and in fact, he was. When the anomaly finally passed through his ship—or his ship passed through it, whichever you like—he found out that twenty solar years had gone by on his home planet.”

“All his children were grown up and his mate had joined with someone else, thinking he was dead.” Y’lla shivered. “Just imagine—how awful!”

“Being stuck in one place for years or losing your entire family?” Penny asked. “Though I guess both would be pretty terrible.”

“Exactly. Which is why we’re so careful about our approach to Yown Beta,” Rive remarked. “No matter how low the odds are, we don’t want to risk flying through any anomalies.”

“I understand now.” Penny nodded. “Thank you for explaining it to me.”

“No problem, Penelope.” Rive and Y’lla both smiled at her. “We know how primitive Earth technology is and that your people haven’t had a chance to get much interstellar experience yet,” Y’lla said.

“Which is one reason I was so eager to go on this mission,” Penny said, smiling at them, though Y’lla’s words about Earth tech being “primitive” were a bit galling. Though she supposed it was true if you compared Earth tech to the Kindred’s advanced science.

“Well, we’re glad to have you,” Y’lla remarked. “Especially with your expertise in dealing with stone artifacts. Why, you know—”

“There it is—Yown Beta!” Rive interrupted his wife, pointing excitedly at a gray speck on the viewscreen.

“Really?” Penny squinted at the screen. “What’s that one, then?” she asked, pointing at another, greenish speck far from the gray one.

“Oh, that’s Yown Alpha,” Rive explained. “Yown Beta’s sister planet. They have almost the exact same mass and composition but they’re located at opposite ends of the habitable zone for this solar system.”

“While Yown Beta is a frozen waste land, Yown Alpha is supposed to be a tropical paradise,” Y’lla added. “But it’s pretty much uninhabited because a lot of the vegetation is poisonous—both to touch and to eat.”

“Oh, too bad,” Penny remarked. “It sounded like a nice place to visit until you said that.”

“It’s not our destination anyway,” Rive said, shrugging. “And speaking of Yown Beta, we’re not far from it now. We should be making orbit in less than an hour.”

“Oh! Penelope, you and I had better go put on our warm-skins,” Y’lla said. “We’re going to need them down there!”

They left the control area and went to the back of the ship. As she dressed, Penny felt an excited flock of butterflies taking off in her stomach. Finally, after crawling through space for a week to get to it, they had reached their destination. Now the real adventure could finally begin!

But she had just finished getting into her skin-tight suit and the big snow boots that went with it, when the entire ship jerked like a plane going through a pocket of turbulence. Except, there wasn’t supposed to be any turbulence in space—was there?

“Oh!” Penny gasped as she fell and nearly bumped her head on the bed in the small cabin she’d been assigned aboard the shuttle. She managed to get her hand up in time to save herself but it was still a scary moment. She stayed on her knees for a moment, waiting to see if everything was all right.

Just as she was starting to catch her breath, a blaring alarm sounded throughout the ship and the overhead lights started flashing.

“Oh my God, what now?”

Penny put a hand to her racing heart and struggled to her feet. She lurched out of her cabin as the ship bucked again, like a horse with a bee under its saddle, and found that Y’lla was already out in the main corridor.

“Y’lla!” she exclaimed. “What is it? What’s happening?”

“I don’t know!” Y’lla was already running up to the front of the ship. Penny followed her and found Rive fighting with the steering yoke.

“Something’s gone wrong with the propulsion system!” he yelled over the alarm, as Y’lla and Penny skidded to a halt. “We’re never going to reach Yown Beta like this. I’ll have to pull in to the nearest spaceport first for repairs.”

“But the only one near us is Hell’s Gate!” Y’lla protested. “That’s a dangerous station, Rive!”

“Can’t be helped,” he shouted, frowning at the instruments. “It’s either that or we go adrift.”

That didn’t sound good to Penny, though going to the one space station in the whole solar system she had been specifically warned against didn’t sound good either.

Still, what choice did they have? Like it or not, they were on their way to Hell’s Gate.

FOUR

They made it to the Hell’s Gate Station—a huge conglomeration of metal structures with many different designs—just in time.

The parts of the station looked like they had been welded together in a half-ass fashion as different people decided to add onto the weird structure. Penny thought the whole thing must be ten miles long—at least it looked that big as they approached it.

Like a weird, bulbous skyscraper made up of lots of different parts laid on its side, she thought.

But of course, there were no gravity constraints in space so if you wanted to build big, you could.

Rive fought the bucking ship all the way but finally managed a fairly smooth landing at the far end of the station in the docking area. Penny breathed a sigh of relief when he at last was able to turn off the thrusters and the alarm stopped blaring. The overhead lights stopped flashing too, thank goodness!

“Whew…” The big Kindred wiped a hand over his brow. “That was a close one.”

“I could feel how worried you were through our link.” Now that he was done fighting with the controls, Y’lla went to her husband and wrapped herself around him once more.

Rive comforted his wife and took comfort himself in her warm embrace. Maybe a little too much comfort.

“Mmm, you look amazing in that warm-skin, darling,” Penny heard him murmur to Y’lla, who was also wearing the skin-tight, black silk outfit—it looked sleek and sexy on her, due to her tall, slender build. “And you feel amazing too,” he added, his big hands starting to roam over his wife’s body.

“A-hem,” Penny cleared her throat loudly and pointedly. There was only so much of this canoodling she could stand—especially when they were in such a dire situation!

“Oh, sorry.” Rive and Y’lla pulled apart for a moment.

“What’s wrong with the ship?” Penny asked, before they could start up again.

Rive frowned thoughtfully.

“Well, I can’t be sure but it felt like the propulsion system threw a rod.”

“Is that bad?” Penny asked.

“It’s not good,” Rive admitted. “But I have a repair kit on board and a parts printer as well, in case we need to manufacture any spare parts.”

“So you think you can fix it yourself, darling?” Y’lla asked him anxiously.

“With a little help from you two,” Rive said. “It’s a big job but with three sets of hands, we should be able to handle it.”

“So we won’t have to go into the spaceport at all, then?” Penny asked uncertainly.

“I don’t think so,” Rive said cautiously. “Commander Sylvan was careful to make sure we had everything we’d need to survive in case of an emergency. That’s why he insisted we bring the parts printer with us.”

“And we’ve got plenty of food cubes, you know,” Y’lla added. “So we should be able to stay right here in the shuttle while we get everything fixed and then continue on our mission to Yown Beta.”

Penny felt a surge of relief mixed with possibly just the tiniest smidge of regret. She had never been off Earth before and she could tell just by looking at the Hell’s Gate structure that it must have been built by many different alien cultures over hundreds of years. It was an archeologist’s dream come true.

But of course, she reminded herself, it wouldn’t be safe to go explore the massive structure at all. Far better to stay safe aboard the shuttle until they could get it fixed and then go on with the mission as planned. Still, she couldn’t quite squelch the little voice in the back of her head that wished it could go exploring.

It was the same little voice that had led her to get lost in some underground caves she and her cousins wandered into in Kentucky when she was a kid. The same voice that had urged her to spend time in the Peace Corps in her gap year before college. The same voice that had led her into archeology in the first place and to jump at the chance for this interstellar mission before she even knew what it was about.

Penny supposed that little voice—that impulse she felt to see and try and do new things—was the thirst for adventure. It was the main reason she could never imagine settling down and having kids. Even if she had been tall and thin like Y’lla instead of on the short side with too much “junk in the trunk” and had a hundred guys after her, she still would have wanted to go exploring instead of having a “normal” life.

Penny had no idea that little voice inside her was about to be answered in a big way—a way that would change her life forever. If she had known, she probably would have done a lot of things differently.

But at that moment all she knew was that they had to get the ship fixed and try to get on with their expedition.

FIVE

Rive opened the service hatch to expose the engine and they got to work on the propulsion system.

It turned out the system had thrown a rod, which in this context seemed to mean that a long metal tube had buckled and broken. Rive announced he would need to print a new one in pieces and then put it together and replace it.

“It’s complicated but it can be done,” he said decisively. “It’s just going to take a few days.”

“Should we call the Mother Ship and let them know we’ve run into trouble?” Y’lla asked a bit anxiously.

Rive frowned.

“No need, darling. I don’t like to worry Commander Sylvan for nothing.”

Penny wished he would put in a call anyway—it would have made her feel better to know that the Mother Ship knew they’d been having some problems.

Unfortunately, though Kindred males were so much better than human men in so many respects, it seemed they shared the trait of not wanting to ask for help. Maybe it was just a male ego thing that couldn’t be bred out, no matter how nice or kind or civilized a race was, Penny thought dryly.

“Well, I’m going to take a shower,” she said decisively, looking down at her hands. “I’ve got this black grease from the engine all over me.” She raised an eyebrow. “Er…unless you two would like to take one first?”

Because of water restraints on board, only one shower could be taken at a time. In fact, Rive and Y’lla made it a practice to shower together, as Y’lla had confided to Penny, for just this reason.

She rather doubted that water limits were the only reason they showered together. Honestly, the two of them would take any opportunity to make love and from the thumping and groaning she’d heard coming from their cabin—which could clearly be heard over the sound of water rushing—they were definitely doing more than showering in there.

But Rive shook his head.

“No thank you, Penelope. I still have a few more things to do down in the engine compartment before I’m ready to get cleaned up and start printing the new rod.”

“And I’ll stay with Rive and make sure he doesn’t get lonely,” Y’lla smiled seductively at her husband and gave him what she no doubt thought was a sly wink.

“That will be fine, darling.” He returned her look with interest. “You’re a dirty girl, you know,” he murmured to her, clearly forgetting that Penny could hear him. “But I bet I can make you even dirtier before we go get cleaned up.”

Penny had to fight not to roll her eyes. Who talked like that outside an erotic romance novel? And could they really not keep their hands off each other even when the two of them were covered in engine grease?

She had an idea she was about to find out if she didn’t beat a hasty retreat. Turning tail, she fled down the main corridor, back to her room with its tiny bathroom—or “fresher” as the Kindred called it. She would doubtless have plenty of time to take a long, leisurely shower while her two shipmates screwed each other’s brains out.

They weren’t quiet about it either. As she washed her hands and started to get out of the tight black warm-skin, which she’d been wearing all this time, Penny heard the moaning begin.

The thing about Rive and Y’lla, she thought, was that Rive was every bit as vocal as his wife when they made love. Of course, Penny had had her share of roommates in college and grad school who were screamers, but all of them had been girls. She’d never heard a man shout and carry on every bit as much as his female lover when they went at it. But Rive and Y’lla were truly in a class by themselves.

“Gods!” Penny clearly heard Rive groan. “You’re so tight, my darling! Your sweet little pussy massages my shaft just right.”

“And you’re so big and hard!” Y’lla moaned right back. “Oh Goddess, Rive, I fall in love with you all over again every time you fill me!”

Good grief! This time Penny did roll her eyes. She knew full well that the Kindred formed a mental link with their mate once the two of them bonded. Couldn’t her shipmates have kept their lovemaking silent by thinking the pornographic things they were shouting at the top of their lungs?

Apparently not. Either the two of them had totally forgotten about her presence on the ship again, or they were complete exhibitionists—which was entirely possible, come to think of it.

Penny turned on the shower to try and drown them out, but it didn’t do any good.

“Pound me!” Y’lla was wailing. “Fuck me hard, Rive! Make me yours all over again! Fill me with your seed!”

“Not yet, my darling,” he growled back. “I’m not done pleasuring you yet. First I want to—”

And then the sound of their voices abruptly cut off.

Penny frowned in surprise. What was going on? After a solid week of making love out loud, had her two shipmates finally decided to keep it down? But why would Rive stop shouting in the middle of a sentence like that?

She turned off the shower, which had just begun to get steamy, in order to hear better. But there was no thumping or bumping or slapping or squelching or any of the other loud physical sounds she associated with being forced to overhear Rive and Y’lla’s lovemaking.

What was going on with them?

Whatever it is, it’s their business, Penny told herself firmly. I’m just going to take my shower and wait a little while to be sure they’re done before I go back out there.

But the sudden silence was unnerving. There was no sound at all coming from the front of the ship—not even the constant soft humming of the auxiliary motor which never stopped running.

What was going on?

Penny told herself she didn’t want to know—didn’t want to see. Despite being forced to overhear her shipmates’ lovemaking for the past week, she was not an eavesdropper or a voyeur.

But something was wrong—she just knew it. She felt it.

What could it be?

This is a dangerous station—Kat and Commander Sylvan both said so, she reminded herself. What if some evil person snuck in and killed them both and they’re in the ship with me right now?

But she hadn’t heard the shuttle’s side door open or the sound of any kind of weapon discharging. So what was going on?

At last Penny’s anxiety overcame her desperate urge not to catch her shipmates in flagrante delicto. Slipping back into her warm-skin and boots, she quietly opened her cabin door and peered cautiously out into the hallway.

She would just go a little way down the hallway, she promised herself. She would take a quick peek and try not to see too much—just to be sure that Rive and Y’lla were all right.

Walking as quietly as she could in her thick boots, Penny made her way towards the front of the ship. It was harder to be quiet than usual because every noise she made seemed to echo in the sudden silence. She couldn’t even hear any breathing sounds coming from her shipmates. What in the world was going on?

When she got to the front part of the ship, she edged her head around the corner to see into the cockpit. Rive and Y’lla were there, all right and just as Penny had feared, they were right in the middle of making love. But they weren’t moving—not even to breathe.

In fact, the two of them appeared to be frozen in time.

SIX

Penny put a hand to her mouth to stifle a scream—not that her shipmates would have heard it. Both of them were completely motionless and frozen in the middle of their intimate act.

She took a step forward and looked at them more closely. Rive was sitting in the pilot’s seat with his trousers down around his ankles but at least he was still dressed from the top up. Y’lla, on the other hand, had taken off her warm-skin completely and was buck-naked in her husband’s lap.

The tall blonde Kindred woman was facing her husband, straddling his hips. Clearly his shaft was buried inside her and she was riding him enthusiastically.

But the two of them had been frozen right in the middle of the act. Y’lla’s long blonde hair was flying out behind her in a wave that was suspended in mid-air and Rive’s mouth was open in a moan as he gripped his wife’s hips and thrust up into her. They appeared to be staring into each other’s eyes soulfully as they pounded away at each other—but neither one was moving an inch.

Penny stared at the shocking scene, trying to make heads or tails of it. What was happening to her shipmates? Why had they been frozen?

In fact, everything in the cockpit seemed frozen—all except for the digital chronometer furthest from the pilot’s chair. It was the main timekeeper of the ship, which all of their wrist chronometers were synchronized to. It was located on the wall, above Penny’s head and as she looked at it, she saw that it was still steadily ticking off the seconds and minutes and hours.

Except as she watched, the seconds stopped ticking by. The time had read 8:24:36. But as Penny watched, the 36 refused to turn into 37. She kept watching, glancing at the chronometer on her wrist and saw, after a minute had passed, that the 24 hadn’t turned to a 25 either.

It was as though time had suddenly stopped.

The thought froze Penny in her tracks and she remembered the conversation she’d had with Rive and Y’lla all about temporal anomalies. Could it be that her shipmates were stuck in a time pocket? Could an anomaly be passing through the ship like a giant, invisible bubble of slowed-down time?

At least, Penny assumed it was a slow-time bubble because neither Rive nor Y’lla appeared to have aged any. They both looked to be the exact same age as they had been just a few minutes before when she’d left them to go take a shower.

If her theory was true, she was in deep trouble. The controls to the ship and the communications system were both within the area affected by the time bubble. And if she tried to go into the cockpit to use either of those parts of the ship, Penny would probably be caught in the slow-time area too.

But how could she be sure her hypothesis about what was happening was correct?

To test her theory, Penny ran and got a fork from the food-prep area. Making sure she was standing at least two meters back from the cockpit, she threw the fork towards the front of the ship.

The fork flew the first meter and a half…and then stopped in mid-air, a good half meter shy of the cockpit entryway. Penny’s eyes widened as she saw where it was, frozen in mid-flight.

“But…I was just standing there,” she whispered to herself, looking at the position of the fork and measuring the distance from it to the cockpit. “Not even a minute ago!”

Then she remembered how the chronometer on the wall above her head had stopped while she was watching it. And then the fork she’d thrown had frozen even further down the corridor.

There was only one conclusion she could draw from these two events and it made Penny shiver.

The slow-time bubble was growing—expanding further into the ship—and she was right in its path.

Just as she had this thought, a strand of her long, chestnut hair, which had gotten loose from the bun at the nape of her neck, tickled her face. Penny reached up instinctively to swipe it away but as her hand moved upward from her waist to her face, it froze suddenly in the air right in front of her.

Penny stared in horror at her frozen hand. It didn’t feel any different but when she tried to move it, it refused to obey her. She couldn’t wiggle her fingers—couldn’t even twitch them. It was as though her hand had suddenly become disconnected from the rest of her body, even though it was still attached.

It is disconnected, whispered a little voice in her head. It’s in a different time than the rest of you. And if you don’t get out of here, Penny, you’re going to be stuck the same way Rive and Y’lla are. And who knows if anyone will ever find you, or even if they do, if they’ll be able to save you? After all, how do you save someone from a temporal anomaly?

You could be trapped here forever.

This last thought galvanized her into action. She yanked the arm of her affected hand backwards with all her might. To her relief, the hand began to work again at once but the fact that the invisible time bubble was so close to her freaked Penny out. It was expanding quickly, like poison gas she couldn’t see—she had to get away from it before it caught her!

Her eyes darted to the side door of the shuttle. It was on the corridor, aft of the cockpit, and it was located just a few feet behind her. Could she get to it before the time bubble enveloped and froze her?

Penny didn’t know but she was about to find out.

SEVEN

Normally Penny would have taken plenty of supplies and armed herself to the teeth before setting off into a strange spaceport which was known to be dangerous—especially for a woman alone. But there was no time to grab any of the food cubes in the well stocked cupboard or one of the blasters kept in the emergency locker. There wasn’t time to do anything but dive for the door and pray she would make it out in time…literally.

Penny raced for the door, threw the latch, and shoved the door open.

Only it wouldn’t open all the way. Halfway through its arc, the metal door froze in place and wouldn’t budge an inch further.

She knew what that meant—it was trapped in the slow-time bubble too!

Taking a deep breath, she squeezed out the narrow opening and jumped to the metal floor below from the high shuttle opening. The landing jarred her from head to foot—her teeth clicked together hard and the bones in her hips and knees protested the harsh landing.

But Penny knew she couldn’t waste time resting. She moved warily and quickly away from the long-range shuttle, backing away from the cockpit end of it, where she knew the temporal anomaly was.

Luckily, Rive had parked in the docking bay in such a way that the nose of the ship was towards the far end of the Hell’s Gate station. If he hadn’t, Penny would have been stuck in an ever-shrinking bubble of normal time, waiting for the slow-time bubble to engulf her.

But as it was, she was able to back away in the direction of the main part of the long station. After a moment, she turned and fled.

Penny wasn’t sure how far she ran. The docking bay they had landed in was almost empty, with only a few ships parked in the vast, open area and no people in sight. Her heavy boots, meant for the snowy climate of Yown Beta, echoed on the metal floor plates with a dull, empty sounding thud, thud, thud, and she met no one at all as she fled from the time bubble engulfing the long-range shuttle.

At last, though, she could run no more. Heart pounding and the breath tearing in her throat, Penny stopped and bent over, hands on her knees. She panted for a while, trying to get her breath back, and was finally able to straighten up and look around.

She found herself outside the docking bay in a long metal corridor that appeared to stretch on forever without a break. The long hallway was empty. No, not just empty, Penny saw as she looked around—it was deserted.

There were signs that the vast hallway had at one time been inhabited. Lining the walls on either side, were abandoned kiosks and stores. They were mostly just empty shelves now, but here and there she saw a few items—an abandoned scarf, an old boot, a dusty package of some kind of snack food in a vacu-sealed bag…

But there was no sign of any living people—no sign of anything living at all.

It reminded Penny of an empty airport terminal—one that had been abandoned for years.

She looked around, her heart pounding in her chest. What had happened here? Had the entire station been subject to some kind of cataclysmic event that killed everyone off? Or had everyone left at once, abandoning the huge spaceport to float empty and alone through space, like a silent ghost ship?

“Stop it!” she muttered aloud to herself but the echoes of her own voice spooked her almost as much as the empty corridors. In another minute she was going to take off running again, trying to get away from the silence that seemed to press like cotton on her ears.

Before she could completely lose it, Penny stopped and took a deep breath.

Penelope Amanda Wainright, she lectured herself sternly—and silently since her own voice sounded so spooky and hollow in the empty corridors. Get hold of yourself right now! You’ve been in scary situations before—remember the time you got lost in Cairo during your first dig in Egypt? That was a dangerous place too, but you got out of it alive and unharmed and you’ll get out of this too. Now, consider your options.

Well, option number one was to go back to the ship and hope the bubble passed through it and left silently the way it had come, allowing time inside the shuttle to go back to normal.

But that didn’t seem like a very good option to Penny. Y’lla had said the bubbles could pass in seconds or take years to move on. What would she live on if it took months or years for the anomaly to pass? And how could she be sure it wouldn’t engulf her while she waited?

She supposed she could try to gather enough stray objects to keep throwing ahead of her and see if any of them got frozen in mid-air, the way the fork had back in the corridor of the ship, but it just didn’t seem like a workable solution. After all, she couldn’t stand outside the shuttle tossing objects at it constantly for however long it took for the time-bubble to move on. If it took too long, she could starve to death waiting!

“Well, what’s the other option, then?” Penny murmured to herself, making sure to keep her voice low so it wouldn’t echo in that spooky way that had freaked her out before.

If she couldn’t go back, she would have to go on ahead. That meant walking down the long, empty metal corridor, lit only by the dull, flickering overhead glows and devoid of any life. Maybe somewhere she could find someone who would help her—or some way to make an interstellar call and contact the Mother Ship. At the very least she wouldn’t just be sitting there, waiting for the slow-time bubble to get her.

It was a grim and scary choice but Penny didn’t see any other option—she started walking.

EIGHT

Hours later Penny was still trudging along the same metal corridor with her boots making the dull thump, thump, thump with every step.

At first, the sound had bothered her, the way it echoed in the empty space. She’d taken the boots off and tied the strings together to hang them around her neck for a time as she shuffled down the corridor silently in her sock feet.

But she’d found that the boots got very heavy after awhile and her feet got cold. In fact, the entire corridor was cold—it felt like a winter’s day back on Earth and Penny could see her breath puffing out in front of her.

Luckily, the warm-skin kept her toasty, just as Kat had promised it would. Penny pulled her hands inside the long, tight sleeves and tugged the hood over her head, leaving only her face visible. So though the tip of her nose felt numb, the rest of her was pretty comfortable.

Well, except for her feet. She stopped and put the boots back on and kept plodding.

After a while, her stomach began to growl. It had been a long time since breakfast—a reconstituted food cube which had yielded scrambled eggs, hot buttered toast with jelly, and crisp bacon. The memory made her mouth water uselessly.

Penny didn’t know how long she’d been walking because the chronometer on her wrist seemed to have been affected by the slow-time bubble, when her hand had gotten engulfed by it. It had stopped and though she shook it and tapped it, the chronometer wouldn’t start again.

But though her watch was broken, her stomach wasn’t. It informed her that it was well past lunch time and almost time for dinner or “Last Meal” as the Kindred called it. She thought longingly of the dusty pack of snack food she’d seen at the start of her strange journey—why hadn’t she grabbed it when she had the chance?

Sure, it was old and doubtless way out of date, but it had been vacu-sealed which meant the contents—whatever they had been—were probably still good. Or at least edible. And there was nothing to eat here, in the empty corridor. Nothing but dust and a few discarded items here or there.

Penny was just beginning to wonder if she ought to go back for the dusty snack bag even though it was far behind her, when her eyes fell on a welcome sight.

Up ahead, in an abandoned storefront, she saw a full shelf—and the items it was filled with all appeared to be edible.

Putting on a burst of speed, Penny reached the empty store and stared eagerly at the shelf at the front. It was filled with colorful bags of the same kind of snack mix she’d seen earlier as well as some vacu-sealed packets of energy-jelly and even something that looked like either a candy bar or a jerky stick. Either one would be welcome to her empty stomach.

Best of all, none of the items looked compromised. None of them was even dusty. They sat there on the empty shelf, as colorful and bright as the day they’d been made, calling to her to come and try their delicious contents.

Penny looked around for a storekeeper—could it be that this one store in all the empty corridor was still open for business? But no—the rest of it was silent and deserted. There was nothing but a pile of old clothes lying in a heap in the corner. The items on the shelf appeared to be free for the taking.

Stomach growling, Penny reached for the candy bar or jerky stick. But just before her fingertips brushed it a screechy voice said in her ear,

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, dearie. Oh my, no—I certainly wouldn’t.”

NINE

“What?” Penny jerked her hand back and whirled around.

Standing right behind her was a little old woman. She had on a baggy brown dress that seemed to have a hundred pockets sewed all over the front and sides of it. From the pockets, various items protruded. Penny had no idea what any of the items were, but she didn’t take much time to study them because there was something much stranger than her dress about the little old woman.

She had a second head.

It was much smaller than normal and it perched like a wrinkled peach directly on top of her first head or main head in a nest of curly brownish-gray hair. At least, Penny assumed it was the old woman’s main head because when she spoke again, that was the head she used.

“I said I wouldn’t do that if I were you, dearie. Nobody steals from a Keeper and gets away with it, no they don’t,” the old woman said.

“No-no! No-no!” squeaked the top head, opening and shutting its bright little eyes rapidly.

“A…a Keeper?” Penny asked uncertainly. “What are you talking about? What’s that?”

“Looky here,” the old woman said and the wrinkled peach head on top said,

“Looky-looky! Looky-looky!”

Penny tried not to be distracted by the odd second head and instead watched what the old woman was doing.

She reached into one of her many pockets and pulled out something that looked like a bit of scrap metal. Leaning into the store, she threw the metal directly into the middle of the pile of discarded clothes Penny had noticed earlier when she was looking to see if there was a shopkeeper of some kind.

Immediately, the pile of clothes exploded outward and a huge, green, spider-like thing—as big as a Doberman pincher—came rushing at them. It scrambled up the shelf with horrible speed and came to rest at the top of it, balancing its fat, hairy body on several long, thick legs—each one of which was tipped with a chitinous claw.

Penny shrieked and stumbled backwards, landing on her behind in her haste to escape. She scrambled to her feet and started to run but the old woman was suddenly blocking her path.

“No, no, dearie,” she said calmly. “Don’t you worry—a Keeper won’t leave its store, no it won’t. Not unless you take from it. Of course,” she went on, going to stand not three feet from the menacing spider-thing which was still balancing on the top of the shelf and staring at Penny with eight bulbous eyes. “Of course, if you’d stolen one of the Keeper’s lures, then it would have chased you down and had you for its dinner, so it would.”

“It…it would?” Penny couldn’t believe the old woman was standing so close to the huge, hairy Keeper without being attacked. But the spider-thing just sat there on the top of the shelf, swaying from side to side, and hissing faintly through its jagged mandibles.

“Why, a‘course it would!” the old woman said.

“A’course! A’course!” squeaked her second head, opening and shutting its eyes.

“Hush, you.” The old woman swatted the little head gently, which only made it open and close its eyes more rapidly. “My twin,” she said to Penny, who was watching the display uncertainly. “She’s a pain in m’rump, so she is, but I’m stuck with her, ‘ent I?”

“Um…” Penny wasn’t sure if this was a rhetorical question or not.

“Yes, I am.” The old woman sighed. “Stuck with her is old Granny Two-two.”

“Granny Two-two?” Penny asked.

“Why sure, dearie—that’s what they call me. Granny Two-two. And what might your name be?”

“Oh, I’m Penelope Wainright,” Penny said. “Uh, but people call me Penny.”

“Penny it is then.” Granny Two-two nodded. “Well, Penny, it seems you don’t know much of what you’re doing around here. Either that or you thought you could outrun a Keeper.”

Penny glanced again at the hairy green spider as big as a large dog and shuddered.

“No.” She shook her head. “No, I never thought that. I’ve never seen a, uh, Keeper before.”

“Never seen a Keeper before? Why then, you must not have been aboard Hell’s Gate very long,” Granny Two-two remarked.

“No, I haven’t,” Penny confessed. “In fact, we just docked here a few hours ago to make repairs to our ship.”

“We? Our?” Granny Two-two squinted at her with both heads. “I don’t see but one of you, child. Unless you’ve got a twin hidden on you somewhere?” she asked.

“Twin! Twin!” the second head shouted at the top of its squeaky voice, staring at Penny with renewed interest.

“No, I don’t, honestly. I don’t have a, uh, twin,” Penny said hastily. “I was talking about my shipmates. But unfortunately they got caught in a temporal anomaly. I mean, I think they did, anyway. They seem frozen in time and they’re just stuck there.”

“I see.” Granny Two-two nodded, apparently unsurprised to hear this. “And where did you dock, child?”

“Back that way—at the end of the station.” Penny pointed down the long metal corridor, back the way she’d come.

Granny Two-two shook her head and clucked her tongue.

“Well, no wonder you got stuck in a time-suck if you docked down there! Why, nobody’s used that end of Hell’s Gate for the past thirty cycles at least, ‘cause the sucks are so bad.”

“Time-suck! Time-suck!” her second head crowed.

“Hush, you.” Granny Two-two swatted at it again. “The wonder of it is,” she went on, talking to Penny. “That you got out at all. Most folks get stuck in a suck the minute they try to dock and then that’s the end of them, don’t you know.”

“No, I didn’t know or we never would have docked there,” Penny said. “Please, can you help me? My, uh, friends got stuck in kind of an awkward position and the part of the ship they’re in is where the communications devices and viewscreen are. Is there any way to get them free from the, uh, time-suck?”

“’Fraid not, dearie.” Granny Two-two shook her head and the second head shouted,

“Not! Not!”

“Not unless you can move as fast as a quick-loris, anyway,” Granny Two-two went on, after swatting at the second head again.

“A quick-loris? What’s that?” Penny asked.

“Come with me, dearie, and I’ll show you.” Turning, the old woman stamped off down the corridor in the direction Penny had been heading in the first place.

There didn’t seem to be anything else she could do but go with the old lady. So, with a final sidelong glance at the Keeper, which was still faintly hissing, Penny followed Granny Two-two down the hall.

TEN

Penny had been wondering how the old woman had snuck up on her when the corridor was so completely empty, but she soon had her answer. Granny Two-two only walked a few steps up the vast hallway before scuttling behind an abandoned kiosk.

Following close behind, Penny saw her disappear into what appeared to be a large ventilation shaft. It was lit from within by a dull green glow that seemed to come from a kind of moss that grew along it walls.

The shaft just barely brushed the curly gray hair at the top of Granny two-two’s second head, but Penny had to duck to go into it. Though she was only 5’3, being around the little old lady made her feel positively tall.

Granny Two-two went at a quick pace, shuffling along the square ventilation shaft with surprising speed. After a moment the shaft branched and she took the right branch without hesitation and kept going. It branched again and she went left. And on and on they went until Penny was thoroughly lost.

It suddenly occurred to her that Granny Two-two might be leading her to her doom. But if that was so, why would she have saved Penny from the awful Keeper? Anyway, at this point she was committed to following the old lady—there was no possibility of finding her way back on her own. And there was nothing but the vast empty corridor, even if she could.

Reluctantly, Penny kept going.

She was just beginning to wonder when they were ever going to stop when Granny Two-two turned left again and popped suddenly out into the open.

“Careful now,” Granny Two-two said as Penny followed her out of the shaft. “This suck’s been stable for a long time but you never can tell with sucks—gotta take a caution with them.”

“Take a caution! Take a caution!” her second head agreed, blinking at Penny.

Looking around, Penny saw that they were standing on the perimeter of a huge room—as big as an airplane hangar. The room was filled with people and they seemed to be having some kind of a party—at least if the fancy clothing and the people caught in the act of what she assumed was dancing was any indication.

But everyone in the room was frozen—everyone except for her and Granny Two-two, that was.

“Oh my God,” Penny whispered, putting a hand to her chest. “What is this?”

“This, dearie, was the New Millennium party which happened nigh-on fifty cycles ago. Everybody who was anybody in Hell’s Gate was there. I would have gone myself, but I was too young. My Mam is here, so she is, and likewise my Pap.”

“Your parents are in this crowd?” Penny asked, aghast.

“Why, sure they are, dearie. Just there.”

Granny Two-two pointed at a couple in the crowd, both of which were extremely short, just like she was. Neither of them had a second head but Penny could still see the family resemblance to their daughter in their faces.

Except, the people the old lady had pointed out as her parents looked so young compared to her—they couldn’t be out of their thirties yet.

“I wasn’t but fourteen cycles myself when the two of them went.” Granny Two-two sighed. “I remember how hard I begged to be let to come. But no, my Mam said I wasn’t old enough yet. ‘Next year’ she said. But a’course, there weren’t no next year for they never did come home. And right after this almighty big suck moved in and froze the party, most people abandoned this end of the station and moved to the center and the other end—not so many sucks there, y’know.”

“Y’know! Y’know!” her second head exclaimed.

“I’m so sorry,” Penny said, really meaning it. “How awful for you to lose your parents that way!”

“Oh, I didn’t lose ‘em, did I? Right there, aren’t they?” Granny Two-two gestured again. “Hello Mam! Hello Pap!” she yelled, as though the two frozen figures could hear her. “I come an visit ‘em regular,” she said, turning to Penny. “It’s comforting-like, don’t you see. And also, a’course, I got to mine for treasures.”

“Mine for treasures?” Penny raised her eyebrows questioningly.

“Sure—treasures!” Granny Two-two patted her many pockets, making them click and clink. “I gets them from the suck, so I do.”

“So she do! So she do!” yelled her top head.

“Hush, you!” Granny swatted at it.

“You mean you’ve found a way to get things out of the temporal anomaly?” Penny asked in surprise. “But how? Wouldn’t you get stuck in there yourself?” She gestured at the large room, filled with frozen people.

“Well sure you would—if you was foolish enough to go into the suck yourself!” Granny Two-two exclaimed. “But that’s what I’ve got my quick-loris for.”

Reaching into one of her many pockets, she pulled out something which quivered and trembled in her cupped palms as she held them out to Penny.

Looking into her hands, Penny saw she was holding what looked like a furry little pet—about the size of a small squirrel. It was bright pink with fuzzy green stripes and it squeaked in a voice so high it was barely audible as it looked up at her with huge, dark, liquid eyes. After a moment she realized it wasn’t trembling at all—it was just twitching and moving so fast her eyes could barely follow its movements.

“Oh, he’s adorable!” Penny reached out to pet the little creature but it zipped away from her seeking fingers so fast she didn’t even see it move. The next thing she knew, the quick-loris was perched on top of Granny Two-two’s second head squeaking at her with all its might while the second head shouted,

“Bad-bad! Bad-bad!” over and over.

“Both of you quit it now!” Granny Two-two exclaimed, frowning.

Reaching up, she plucked the quick-loris off the top of her second head and cradled it in her arms. This seemed to settle both of them down since the quick-loris stopped squeaking and the second head stopped shouting, much to Penny’s relief.

“Now then, let’s go treasure-mining,” the old woman remarked. Still holding the fuzzy little animal in one arm, she searched through her other pockets until she found a round, flat disk.

Penny watched with interest as she pulled a length of thin wire out of the disk and clipped the end of it to a small collar around the quick-loris’s throat which had been hidden by its pink and green fur. Setting the little animal down, she held the disk and pushed a button on it which allowed more of the thin wire to be distributed. It was like a retractable leash, Penny saw.

“Find!” Granny Two-two commanded the little animal and her second head shouted, “Find! Find!” too.

The quick-loris took off like a shot. It ran right into the crowd of frozen people and started nosing around immediately, like a tiny squirrel-bloodhound sniffing for a scent, Penny thought.

“That’s amazing!” she exclaimed, as the loris scrambled through the crowd. “How does he do that? I mean, how can he go into the middle of a temporal anomaly and not be affected?”

Granny Two-two shrugged.

“That’s just how they are. Some say they’re so quick the suck only slows ‘em down a little. Others think they have a kind of natural field around their fur that wards it off. Either way, my little loris is a quick one, so he is!”

He certainly was, Penny thought as she watched the little animal at work. Occasionally he would climb someone like a tree and sniff through their pockets, but without finding anything he liked. He ran to the refreshment table, where a number of alien-looking snack foods were laid out, and nibbled a chunk of something purple and rubbery-looking before losing interest and scampering elsewhere in the room.

Occasionally the quick-loris found something that he seemed to think was valuable. He would hold the item over his head and squeak and chatter at Granny Two-two to get her attention. But every time she only shook her head.

“No, no—that’ll never do. Keep looking!” she called.

Finally the quick-loris pulled what appeared to be a toupee off the head of a tall man, exposing his shiny bald head. He looked towards Granny Two-two and chattered eagerly, around the mouthful of fake hair.

The old woman considered for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “That’ll do. It might fetch a pretty penny down at the Swap Hall.”

Chattering happily, the quick-loris came scampering back, dragging the toupee in his little mouth. Granny took it from him and unclipped his leash before feeding him a small nut-like treat she dug out of yet another pocket. Then the quick-loris climbed back into the pocket he’d come out of in the first place and settled down to eat his reward.

Happy crunching sounds came from his pocket while Granny Two-two rolled up his leash and stowed it in another pocket. Then she stuffed the toupee –which was jet black with a pure white stripe down the middle—in yet another pocket and smiled at Penny.

“You see? That’s how you mine for treasure.”

“You see? You see?” chattered her second head.

“That was really interesting to watch,” Penny said, trying to smile. “But honestly, what I need is a way to call my people for help.” Her stomach rumbled. “And maybe some food?” she asked hopefully. “I can’t pay you now but when my friends get here they can pay you anything you want.”

“Why, I don’t want for nothing, dearie,” Granny Two-two said.

“Want for nothin’! Want for nothin’!” shouted her second head in its squeaky voice.

“But I can give you a little something to eat,” the old lady continued. “And point you in the direction of someplace with an interstellar hook-up.”

“And interstellar hook-up?” Penny asked doubtfully as Granny Two-two started digging through her pockets again. It sounded like a bad match on a dating site, she couldn’t help thinking.

“Why sure, dearie—a place you can make a cross-galaxy call. Ah—here it is!”

The old woman pulled what looked like a half-eaten granola bar out of one of her many pockets and presented it to Penny.

“I was saving it for a snack for later, but you need it more than me,” she said generously as Penny took the half-eaten bar uncertainly. “It’s a protein-sweety, so it is,” she added. “Go on—eat up.”

Penny felt she had no choice but to take a bite, though she really disliked eating after anyone. Still, once she’d taken a mouthful, she was glad she had. The protein-sweety bar had a chewy-crunchy texture and an odd but appealing flavor—a little like peanut butter spread on roast beef with a spicy aftertaste, she thought.

It reminded her a tiny bit of a Thai food dish she liked in her favorite restaurant back on Earth called “Two Friends Amazing!!!” It was printed just like that, with three exclamation points on the menu, and Penny ordered it every time she went there.

In short order she had finished the whole protein-sweety and was feeling much better than she had before. The food seemed to expand in her stomach, making her feel full even though she’d only had a few bites.

“There now.” Granny Two-two nodded approvingly. “Feeling better, are you, dearie?”

“Yes.” Penny nodded. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.” Granny Two-two nodded and smiled. “Now, let’s you and I take the ducts back out of here and I’ll show you where to make your call. Just you mind you tell whoever comes for you to dock on t’other side of the station.”

“I will,” Penny said gratefully. “Thank you, Granny Two-two.”

“Eh, don’t thank me.” The old woman cocked her heads to one side and considered Penny skeptically. “You’re not out of here yet, dearie. No, not yet.”

And with those cryptic words, she led Penny back to the air ducts.

ELEVEN

After another long scramble through the moss-lined ducts, they came out in a different part of the Hell’s Gate station altogether. Then, after a walk down a short corridor, they turned the corner and for the first time Penny saw…

“People!” she exclaimed. “So there are people here, after all!”

She’d gone so long without seeing any signs of life other than Granny Two-two and the awful Keeper spider, she’d been beginning to wonder if maybe the whole place was deserted.

“A’course there’s people, so there is,” Granny Two-two nodded wisely. “And plenty of them you’ve got to take a caution on, dearie.”

“Take a caution! Take a caution!” her second head exclaimed in its squeaky voice.

“I did hear that there was a big sex slave ring based here and that there have been a lot of disappearances lately,” Penny said, eyeing the people passing to and fro. They appeared to be in a kind of marketplace—a much more lively one than the deserted hallway she’d first found herself in. The kiosks and storefronts here were filled with goods and there were customers of all types and descriptions looking at them.

Penny tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. Having lived on Earth all her life and having only had contact with one kind of alien—the Kindred, who looked very human themselves other than being bigger, taller, and stronger than regular people—she had never seen anything like what she was witnessing now.

A man with blue scales and a long, lizard-like tail protruding from under his robe was haggling about the price of fruit with a woman who had orange skin and slit-pupiled eyes like a cat. Beside them, a mother with two sets of large purple eyes—one set directly above the other—pushed a likewise four-eyed baby in a hover-stroller. The baby was fussing but only the bottom set of eyes was crying. The top pair were looking around the marketplace with interest.

A man with two noses was selling perfumes across from the fruit stand and the woman he was selling to literally had eyes in the back of her head. They stared at Penny briefly and then looked disdainfully away as the woman continued talking with the perfume merchant.

“This is amazing…” Penny looked around her in awe. “I had no idea there were so many humanoids in the universe!”

“Oh, this is just a small little bit of the kinds and types as come here to Hell’s Gate,” Granny Two-two informed her proudly. “We’re a very popular destination, so we are.”

“So we are! So we are!” squeaked the little head.

“What’s that one called?” Penny pointed curiously at a nine-foot-tall, three-headed creature that looked like a troll out of a fairytale.

“Hey now, mind who you point at!” Granny Two-two grabbed her finger and lowered it quickly. “That there is a Trollox. You don’t want to run afoul of his kind. No you don’t!”

“No-no! No-no!” sang the second head.

“Oh, sorry,” Penny said, immediately chastened. “I’ll be more careful. Um, you said you would tell me where to make an Interstellar, uh, hook-up?” she added hopefully.

“So I did.” Granny Two-two nodded and pointed down the bustling hallway. “Down yonder, just on the edge of the marketplace, you’ll find a bar called The Hell’s Gate Lounge. Or, as most folks call it, the “Lucky Lounge.”

“Why do they call it that?” Penny asked, frowning. “Is there gambling there?” It sounded like the name of someplace in Vegas, she thought.

But Granny Two-two shook her heads—both of them.

“’Fraid not, child. They call it that on account of that’s where men and women find each other for connections.”

“Connections? Do you mean dates?” Penny asked.

“What’s dates?” Granny Two-two frowned. “I mean connections in their nether regions.” She pointed at Penny’s crotch.

“Oh!” Penny nodded. So it was a kind of meat market bar—the kind where everyone was just looking for a quick hook-up. The kind she strictly avoided back home.

Well, it looks like you can’t avoid this one! whispered a little voice in her head.

“So you see now?” Granny Two-two asked her. “It’s not a nice place to send a young girl—I’ll admit that, a’course. But it’s the only place in this part of the station as has an interstellar hook-up.” She frowned. “A’course, they ain’t going to let you make such a long call for free.”

Penny’s heart sank down to her boots.

“But…I don’t have any money,” she protested. She didn’t even know what passed for money here in the Hell’s Gate Spaceport. Or if they used money at all. But even if they were on some kind of a barter system, she would be in deep trouble. She had nothing at all to trade. Well, maybe her boots, but that would mean her feet would be freezing until Commander Sylvan could send some help, would be at least a week…

“You’ll have to give tit for tat, if you want to make that call,” Granny Two-two informed her, matter-of-factly. “As I said, the males in The Lucky Lounge are always looking for connections. So if you ask for the cost of the call as your price—”

“What? I’m not going to prostitute myself to make a phone call!” Penny exclaimed. “I won’t!”

“Well…” Granny Two-two frowned up at her thoughtfully. “Look here, I have an idea, so I do,” she said at last. She pulled the black and white toupee her quick-loris had stolen from the frozen party and handed it to Penny who stared at it doubtfully. It looked like something only a bald skunk would want to wear.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked.

“The bartender at the Lucky Lounge is named Grunge,” Granny Two-two informed her. “He’s tall with silver skin and he’s bald as an ornbus egg. You give him that and tell him all you want for it is to make a quick call in return.”

“So…you think he’ll trade a used toupee for an interstellar call?” Penny asked. She wasn’t sure how much such a long-distance call ought to cost, but she wasn’t sure a fifty-year old toupee that had been stolen off a frozen man’s head would be enough to pay for it.

“Yes, I do.” Granny Two-two nodded stubbornly. “That’s genuine brantha hair, that is,” she said, pointing at the toupee Penny was still clutching. “That’s quality! They don’t make ‘em anymore on account of those greedy Gatlings hunting all the brantha to death. So even if Grunge doesn’t want to wear it, he can sell it—see?”

“See? See?” squeaked her second head, blinking rapidly.

“I see.” Penny nodded. “Thank you, Granny Two-two—for everything you’ve done for me,” she added. Trying to trade a used toupee for an interstellar call still seemed like a doubtful proposition, but it was a hell of a lot better than trying to sell her body to some alien man to earn the money. Clearly the old lady had done the best she could for her and Penny was truly grateful.

Impulsively, she leaned down and put her arms around the little old lady.

“Thank you,” she said again. “I don’t know where I’d be without you!”

“You’d be digesting in the belly of that Keeper, that’s where.” The old lady patted her on the back. “Go on with you now, dearie. Granny Two-two has more treasure mining to do.”

“Go on! Go on!” shrieked the second head and bit Penny on the earlobe—hard.

“Ouch!” Penny gasped and jerked away, her hand flying to her hurt ear.

“Ah, sorry, dearie. Shoulda warned you. My twin—she bites.” Granny Two-two swatted at the blinking second head, which still had a few strands of Penny’s hair caught in its sharp little teeth.

“I see.” Penny took her fingers away from her ear and saw a smear of blood on them. Great, now she was wounded and she had no idea if Granny Two-two’s second head had any kind of disease she ought to be worried about. What if she got some kind of space-rabies from that awful little thing?

She wondered if she ought to ask about it, but couldn’t think how to do it without being rude. What would she say? Excuse me, Granny Two-two, but has your second head had all her shots?

Before she could muster the nerve to ask if she ought to be worried, the old lady took her leave.

“Well, now, I’ve got to go, so I do.” Granny Two-two nodded at her. “Best of luck to you, dearie. I’m mortal ‘fraid you’ll need it.”

“Need it! Need it!” screeched her second head and then the two of them—three, Penny supposed, counting the quick-loris—disappeared into the crowded marketplace and were gone.

TWELVE

“Lucky Lounge…Lucky Lounge…” Penny muttered to herself as she made her way carefully through the crowd. She was keeping to the outskirts of the market, as much as possible, trying not to draw attention to herself.

Thanks to the translation bacteria she’d been given back on the Mother Ship, she could understand all the strange, alien languages being spoken around her and it reassured her that she didn’t hear anyone talking about humanoid trafficking or finding new girls to abduct.

Though of course, I doubt they’d talk about that right out in the open, Penny thought to herself. Probably they’d go someplace private to talk about illegal activities. Someplace like that.

Her eyes had fallen on a seedy-looking place on the right side of the market, just past the last stall. Red light was pulsing inside its low entrance and she could hear a soft, hypnotic drumming sound mixed with the shouts of bar patrons calling for drinks. A strong whiff of liquor and some kind of sour, skunky smoke drifted out to assault her nostrils.

Penny wrinkled her nose.

Glad I don’t have to go in th—

Her thought was cut off in the middle by the sight of a small sign posted beside the entrance.

Lucky Lounge…Come on in! the sign proclaimed.

Penny stared at it in disbelief.

Well, crap. It seemed she would have to go in after all.

It was definitely the kind of place she would have avoided at all costs back home on Earth. But here in the Hell’s Gate Spaceport, she had no choice—going into the Lucky Lounge was her only ticket home. So she’d better suck it up and get going.

Penny lifted her chin.

Well, here goes nothing!

Taking a deep breath and clutching the second-hand toupee tightly to her chest, she entered the dim bar.

THIRTEEN

She stopped just inside the doorway, trying to get used to the ambiance. Once her eyes got used to the reddish glow of the lights, she began to look around. The place was packed both with males of every possible alien variation, and also females, most of whom were dressed provocatively.

One woman, sitting on a hovering barstool pulled up to the long, curving bar, had large dark eyes as big as doorknobs. She was wearing a low-cut purple gown and flirting with a male who was sipping something that fizzed and smoked.

Another woman appeared to have three breasts—all of which were larger than Penny’s two put together. Her bulbous mounds were barely contained by a tiny pink tank-top that matched her hair. She was rubbing all three of them suggestively against the chest of a man with prominent brow ridges and tiny eyes. Penny thought he looked like a Neanderthal.

She picked her way through the crowd, trying to get a look behind the crowded bar. Where was the bartender Granny Two-two had told her to speak to? The bald, silver-skinned guy called Grunge? Where…

And that was when her eyes met the golden gaze of a man so big he could only be a Kindred…or in this case, a Kindred Hybrid.

Oh my God, is that him? Is that the guy Kat was warning me about? Penny asked herself as the Hybrid’s pale gold eyes roamed over her body. The gold and black tattoos seemed to answer her question—he must be V’rex, the pirate Kat and Sylvan had told her about—the one they suspected was responsible for the sudden rash of abductions and disappearances over the past six months.

And he was looking at her.

Oh my God! How had she ended up not only in the exact spaceport she’d been told to avoid, but also in the same room with the exact man she’d been told to stay away from at all costs?

How bad could her luck be?

As the man with the golden eyes stared straight at her, she had a bad feeling that she was about to find out.

Her heart started hammering and she clutched the black and white toupee so tightly her knuckles turned white. Kat’s words about girls being kidnapped and sold as sex slaves, so easily dismissed on the Mother Ship, now came back to haunt her.

She’d thought at the time, that nobody would want to add plus-size Penny to their sexy space harem. But despite the form-fitting warm-skin which clung to her overlarge hips and ass, V’rex—if he really was V’rex—was staring at her like she was a delicious dessert and he was starving to death. His golden eyes half-lidded with desire, he got off his stool, clearly meaning to head in her direction.

Penny felt her entire body clench with fear. She had to get out of here—get away from him before he came for her!

She ducked through the crowd, heading for the back of the bar. Maybe there would be a ladies room back there—or its alien equivalent—that she could hide out in until he left.

As she pushed past bar patrons and obvious prostitutes, Penny looked desperately for a door to duck into—any door would do! A broom closet, a bathroom—just someplace to hide where the huge, menacing V’rex couldn’t find her.

The first one she came to was a swinging silver door with some alien markings on it. Penny didn’t stop to try and puzzle them out, she pushed through the door and found herself in a huge, echoing room…

A room that seemed to be entirely filled with long, purple tentacles.

FOURTEEN

“What in the world?” Penny gasped, looking around in confusion. She started to back out the way she’d come, but she found a long, thick, purple tentacle was blocking her way. Quickly, she skittered to one side, trying to avoid it, only to find another one reaching for her.

With a little scream, she tried to back away but before she could do anything, the seeking tentacle was grabbing at her. It caught the black and white skunk-looking toupee and ripped it out of her hands.

“Hey, wait—I need that!” Penny blurted.

But it was too late—the tentacle which had taken the precious toupee had already handed it off to another set of tentacles on the other side of the room.

As Penny watched, one of the tentacles took a sharp cleaver and began to dice the toupee into tiny, hairy fragments. A third tentacle swept up some of the black and white hair and sprinkled it like a garnish over a steaming plate filled with black and purple lumps. Then a fourth tentacle pushed the plate through a low window and rang a bell.

Penny heard someone yell, “Order up!” and a set of hands appeared at the window and snatched the plate away.

It was exactly like a restaurant, Penny thought, feeling dazed. Looking around, she saw that the tentacles—there seemed to be about fifty of them in different sizes and lengths—were all engaged in some kind of chopping or cooking or stirring.

To one side of her a tentacle was stirring a huge bubbling pot of bright blue sludge while two other tentacles dumped ingredients into it. Another group of five or six tentacles were working on some kind of grill, turning chunks of green meat or vegetables—Penny really couldn’t tell which—over an open flame. Further on, two muscular tentacles were kneading what appeared to be a huge lump of pink dough.

As she stared at the scene around her, Penny at last began to understand what was going on in this room—it was a kitchen. And somehow the owner of the purple tentacles was the chef.

She looked to the center of the room and saw a purple lump, about as big as a large man. There were three tiny eyes in the middle of the lump, though she didn’t see any nose or mouth. The eyes looked sleepy and stupid, which surprised her, considering all the complicated tasks the purple octopus looking creature was doing at one time with its many tentacles.

Well, this was interesting, but definitely not the right place to hide, Penny decided. She needed to get out of here fast before the same tentacles that had ripped away the toupee and used it as a bizarre hairy garnish decided she was some kind of new ingredient too.

She had been standing there, frozen to the spot while the tentacles flowed all around her. Now, she began to back slowly away. The door was right behind her—all she had to do was push through it and—

But just at that moment, someone opened the door and rang a bell. Then they shoved in a large box of what looked like some kind of fruit or vegetable. Whichever it was, it was about a meter long and it had green and purple vertical stripes running the length of it. Penny almost tripped over the box since it was shoved almost into her calves.

“Oh!” she gasped, barely keeping herself from falling “ass over teakettle” as her mom would have said. Somehow, she managed to keep her balance.

But it might have been better if she had fallen to the floor. Because the next minute, one of the longer, thicker tentacles had curled around her waist and Penny found herself lifted into the air and swooping towards the chopping block where another long tentacle, which was curled around the sharpest, biggest cleaver she had ever seen, awaited her.

FIFTEEN

“No!” Penny shrieked, as the second tentacle raised the cleaver and the first one positioned her on the vast chopping block, which still had traces of the black and white toupee on it. “No, please—you’re making a mistake! I’m not food!”

“You will be in a minute if we don’t get you out of here,” a voice from the door said.

Looking around wildly, Penny saw the triple-breasted woman she’d seen when she had first entered the Lucky Lounge, standing just inside the kitchen door.

“Bubba!” the woman shouted, clearly talking to the bulbous octopus being in the center of the vast room. “Hey, Bubba—stop!”

But her words didn’t seem to have any effect. The cleaver was rising over Penny’s neck and in the next minute, she was going to be decapitated. As it came whistling down, Penny’s thoughts were a blur.

Oh God, don’t let it end this way! Please—I don’t want to die!

But the triple-breasted woman wasn’t giving up. She grabbed a huge frying pan from a rack on the wall and threw it with all her might at the purple octopus chef.

The three little eyes, which had been half-lidded in a sleepy stupor, suddenly popped open. Even better, all of the tentacles froze in mid-motion. Penny swallowed hard—the clever was bare inches from her throat.

That’s a girl you’ve got there, not a new ingredient,” the triple-breasted woman bawled at the octo-chef. “Put her down, you big idiot!”

She pointed at Penny, who was still frozen in place with the thick, muscular tentacle wrapped around her arms and waist and the cleaver hovering right above her throat.

The octo-chef stared stupidly at her for a moment, then the tentacle holding the cleaver retreated and the one wrapped around her waist lifted Penny and deposited her beside the triple-breasted woman with a thump.

“Oh thank God! Thank God!” Penny babbled, clutching at the woman. She felt weak with relief—so weak she thought she might faint. “Please, I have to get out of here!”

“Take it easy, little sister.” The woman looped an arm around her waist and helped Penny out of the kitchen. “Sorry about that,” she said, once they were in the hallway again. “Bubba’s actually really smart—well, for a multi-pod, anyway. But most of his smarts are in his arms.”

“They are?” Penny asked. She still felt dazed.

“Well, sure. Everybody knows seventy-five percent of a multi-pod’s intelligence is located in the arms,” the woman said. “They all have little brains of their own—located in the base of each arm, you know?”

“Uh, sure.” Penny nodded. “Sorry, I’ve never seen a, uh, multi-pod before,” she added.

“Well, now you have,” the woman smiled cheerfully. “Thank goodness I heard you screaming in there or it would have been the last thing you saw, too!” She shook her head, her long pink hair swishing against her bare shoulders. “You’d think that big dumb idiot would learn a lesson after he diced up our best pot boy last week and put him in the nardik stew.”

“He did? So I’m not the first one that happened to?” Penny was aghast.

“Honey, you’re not even the fifth person it’s happened to,” the woman confided. “Why do you think the sous chefs just ring the bell and push the ingredients into the kitchen instead of going in themselves? Nobody wants to be next to get made into varda pie or whatever the special of the day is. I’m Shurla, by the way,” she added.

“Oh, I’m Penelope. But my friends call me Penny,” Penny said automatically.

“Well, Penny, I’m glad I happened to come along when I did.” Shurla gave her a friendly smile. “Did you come in here looking for a job? ‘Cause I have to tell you, from one joy-girl to another, you’re doing it wrong. I mean, don’t mistake my meaning—that skin-tight suit you’ve got on is mighty sweet. But if you really want to tempt the males and get the most out of them, you’ve got to show a little skin—you know? She nodded down at her own ample, triple cleavage and winked broadly at Penny.

“I didn’t come looking for a…a job,” Penny protested, when she realized what Shurla meant.

“You didn’t?” Shurla frowned. “What possible other reason would you come in a dump like this, honey?”

“I…I just…” Penny’s throat worked and suddenly her whole story just came pouring out.

“I just wanted to trade a rare brantha hair toupee for an interstellar call back home. See, my ship got parked at the wrong end of the station and my shipmates got stuck in a time-suck—a temporal anomaly, I mean—and then an old lady with two heads led me here and gave me the toupee and told me to trade it for the call but the octo-chef—the multi-pod, I mean—grabbed it and chopped it up and now I don’t have any way to call home or ever get out of here,” she finished.

And burst into tears.

SIXTEEN

It wasn’t like Penny to cry in front of someone she’d just met—or in front of anyone, for that matter. She preferred to keep her emotional outbursts to herself.

But so much had happened to her that day, from nearly getting caught in the slow-time bubble to almost getting eaten by the Keeper to her strange encounter with Granny Two-two and then the menacing Hybrid V’rex coming after her, that she just felt overwhelmed.

Being grabbed by the purple tentacles of the multi-pod and nearly getting chopped up for stew meat was the final straw—that and realizing that she’d lost her one and only chance of ever getting home.

It was all just too much and Penny couldn’t help breaking down. Luckily, her new friend was understanding.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Shurla exclaimed, putting a comforting arm around Penny’s shaking shoulders. “Come on—let’s go into the ladies room for a minute.”

“Th-that’s what I was t-trying to find when I wound up in the k-k-kitchen,” Penny sobbed, trying to get hold of herself.

“It’s right down here,” Shurla told her. She led Penny past the kitchen, further down the hallway, and they went through another doorway to a room filled with sinks and stalls.

It looked a lot like a public restroom back on Earth, Penny thought. Well, except for the fact that the stall doors were all translucent so you could see right into them. She wondered why they bothered to have stalls at all if they were just going to make them see-through? Also, the toilets inside the stalls looked distinctly strange. They seemed to have spouts sticking out of them, which was weird…

But she was too upset to care much about the strange alien bathroom. She was still too devastated about losing her only way to call home.

“It’s okay—just let it out, honey. Just let it out.” Shurla rubbed her shoulders comfortingly and let Penny cry until at last she began to feel better. Well, if not exactly better, then at least all cried out.

“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffing and dabbing at her eyes with the thin, silky pink tissue Shurla handed her. “It’s just that I don’t know what I’m going to do now. The people back home don’t have any idea where I am and what’s happened to me and my shipmates, so I don’t see how I’ll ever get out of here!”

“And you just need to make a call?” Shurla asked, raising her eyebrows, which were a vivid pink that matched her hair.

Penny nodded.

“Only I don’t know how much it costs. But it really doesn’t matter because I don’t have any money or anything to trade to make the call.”

“Well, you just leave that to me.” Shurla patted her shoulder. “I’m good friends with the owner of the Lucky Lounge. I’m sure if we explain your story he’ll see his way clear to letting you make a quick call.”

“Really?” Penny looked at the other woman hopefully. “Oh, that would be wonderful.”

“I’ll just tell him you were nearly made into stew by Bubba,” Shurla said, grinning at her. “He’ll let you make a call rather than risk letting people know he almost had another kitchen casualty around here.”

“Thank you.” Penny nodded gratefully. “If you really think that would work…”

“Oh, I know it will.” Shurla arched an eyebrow at her. “Bubba’s the fasted cook on the station so of course old Tuber—that’s the owner’s name—doesn’t want to get rid of him. But folks have started complaining—especially the ones that have religious views on cannibalism, don’t you know. Several Beejan monks were here when our poor pot boy got made into stew.” She shook her head. “They were pretty upset when one of them found a finger in his lunch.”

“Oh, uh…I can see how that would be.” Penny nodded. “I’d be upset too.”

“Well, now that we’ve got that all settled, just excuse me a minute, hon,” Shurla said. She made a face. “I started down the hall in the first place ‘cause I had to use the ladies and now I’m just about to burst!”

“Of course.” Penny nodded and started to turn her head as the triple-breasted woman entered one of the stalls. She was prepared to look away and give Shurla privacy, but it turned out there was no need. The minute the stall door closed, it went from transparent to completely opaque.

Oh, so that was how it worked! It occurred to Penny that she really had to go too. It had been hours since she’d been to the bathroom and even though she hadn’t had anything to drink during her long, weary trek, she still had to pee.

Going into a stall a few doors down from Shurla’s, she closed the door firmly, waited until it became opaque, and then began trying to figure out how to use the alien toilet.

It had a square hole with no seat and there was no water or liquid of any kind inside it, Penny saw. There was just that weird spout sticking up out of it.

At first she thought the spout was a bidet of some kind. But instead of spraying water at her, the moment she got her bottom near the square-shaped hole in the toilet, the spout suddenly sprouted a round, hollow suction cup looking thing which inflated until it was about as big as her head.

“What in the world?” Penny backed away from the toilet and the suction cup—which had appeared to blow itself up like a balloon—suddenly deflated and was sucked back into the spout as though it had never been there in the first place.

Penny stared at the alien toilet in consternation. What was going on?

“Everything okay over there, honey?” Shurla called from the other stall. “You sound like you might be having problems.”

“Oh, uh…” Penny cleared her throat. “This is embarrassing, but I’ve never seen this kind of toilet before,” she admitted. “And I don’t exactly, er, know how to use it.”

“What? You’ve never used a suck-all before?” Shurla sounded amused. “Why, you just wait until the suction cup forms and stick your bottom right up against it. Whatever you have to do will be sucked clean away—no muss, no fuss.”

“Oh,” Penny said. “Um, thanks. But is it…I mean, is it sanitary? How many people use it every day—do you know?”

“Don’t worry about that, honey,” Shurla assured her. “Every time the cup goes back in, it gets bathed in sterilizer foam. So it’s clean and fresh for everybody, every time.”

“It is? That sounds great.”

Penny had to admit it was certainly better than public toilets back home. Although it was kind of awkward backing up and squatting down to get in contact with the suction cup. It took a little doing to get things lined up just right and when she finally did, she felt a sudden tightness in the area connected to the lip of the cup.

“Oh!” she gasped as what felt like a really strong suction began tugging at her. Penny’s inner muscles tightened up instinctively, but the suction was so strong, she couldn’t prevail—it felt like the pee was being pulled out of her. It was like relieving yourself into an industrial strength vacuum, she thought.

“You okay, honey?” Shurla asked again.

“I…I think so,” Penny gasped. “It’s just really strong. The suction, I mean.”

“Has to be,” Shurla sounded like she was shrugging. “Has to carry everything over to the waste field out on the underside of the station.”

“Waste field?” Penny asked. She was getting more used to having the pee pulled out of her now, but it was still an extremely strange experience.

“Sure. See, when Hell’s Gate was first designed, they meant for everybody’s leavings to get shot out into space. But then a giant slow-time suck formed around the exit waste port and it just stayed there. So now, instead of going every-which-way into space, it’s all collected in one area. None of it even freezes, either,” she went on. “Since the slow-time keeps it fresh, if you know what I mean.”

“So it’s just floating there, right outside the station? A big bubble of…of…”

“Of shit,” Shurla said matter-of-factly. “Yup, you bet. But it actually works really well. Hell’s Gate was originally built to be a temporary station so shooting the waste out into space was a temporary solution. But the station kept growing and folks kept adding and building onto it and look at us now! Just imagine the mess we’d all be in if there was a frozen shit cloud orbiting around and around us! It sure as hell would make docking a lot more difficult,” she added.

“I guess so,” Penny acknowledged. “Um, what do you do when you’re done? I mean, how do you get it to, uh, stop sucking?”

Her nether region was beginning to feel really tender by this point, due to the constant suction.

“Oh, just press the green button down on the floor.” Shurla had apparently finished her business because Penny heard her stall door open and shut and then the sound of rushing water as she washed her hands.

She was looking around for the green button—which, when she finally found it, appeared to be located inconveniently far away at the furthest corner of the stall—when she heard the bathroom door open again.

“Excuse me,” a high, androgynous voice said, apparently speaking to Shurla. “But am I correct in assuming that you are extremely fertile?”

“What?” Shurla demanded.

“I said, my instruments indicate that you would be extremely fertile. And the presence of three mammary glands rather than two, as most humanoid species exhibit, indicate that you would be able to bear and feed multiple young at once,” the high voice said.

“Look, honey, if this is a come-on, you need to wait until I’m at least out of the ladies room,” Shurla said firmly. “You can play with all three of my titties if you want, but there’s a price. And you can’t be coming on to me in the ladies! I mean—Ouch! What the hell, you little bastard? You stung me!” she exclaimed.

There was a scuffle outside the stall and Penny heard the door open and close again and more footsteps while Shurla continued to shout.

“That hurt!” she exclaimed. “What do you…do you think…” Her voice was slurring alarmingly. “Whadaya thinn yer doooooiiiinnng?”

The last word faded off into a slow-motion drone, as though Shurla was a toy with a run-down battery, Penny thought in alarm. Who was out there with her new friend and what had they done to her?

Struggling to reach it with her foot, she finally managed to press the green release button. The suction cup let her go and got sucked back into the spout but Penny hardly noticed. She was too busy pulling her warm-skin back on and barging out into the bathroom, intent on fighting for her new friend if she had to.

The sight she saw was surpassingly odd.

Shurla was down on the floor and she was surrounded by at least four little bald men, all of them wearing identical silver jumpsuits and white boots.

“Hey! What are you doing? Leave her alone!” she shouted, hoping to scare them away from Shurla. After all, even though there were four of them, they were all really short. With their bright orange skin and matching silver jumpsuits, they looked a little like demented Oompa-Loompas.

The little men turned as one and Penny was no longer sure they were men. Their features all had an androgynous cast and they didn’t appear to have any secondary sexual characteristics—there were no beards or breasts or any kind of facial hair to show which sex they were.

“Look, Joone,” one of the Oompa-Loompas said to another and pointed at Penny. “Another female who appears to be of prime breeding stock.”

“She has only two mammaries, Spoone,” the other replied, frowning at Penny.

“Yes, but observe the size of her hips and behind,” the first one protested. “Her pelvic opening is broad enough to bear many offspring with no complications at all, indicating extreme fertility.”

“Hey!” Penny said again, but rather uneasily this time. What were these weird little guys—if they were guys—talking about? She’d heard plenty of derogatory comments about her “childbearing” hips and big ass before, but she’d never been discussed like this. It sounded like they were evaluating her like she was some kind of broodmare.

After a moment, the Oompa-Loompa who was apparently called Joone nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “Let’s take her. Our Glorious Leader will be pleased when we bring home another of prime breeding stock.”

“Now, wait a minute,” Penny said as the four of them began to advance on her. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Do not fear, breeder,” one of them said. “We will take you away to a much better life. A life of luxury where you will want for nothing.”

“No thank you,” Penny said, still backing away. “I’m not going anywhere with you, no matter how ‘luxurious’ you claim it is!”

She saw with dismay that she had backed herself into the stall she had just come out of. If only she’d thought to dodge around them and run for the door! They might be small but there were so many of them!

She tried to slam the stall door shut but many orange fingers wormed their way between the door and the latch and the strange bald Oompa-Loompas forced the door back open.

“Leave me alone!” Penny shouted at the top of her lungs. “Get out of here and leave me alone! Help!”

But this time no one came to her screams. The four little men crowded into the stall with her and Penny suddenly felt a sharp jab in her upper thigh.

“Ouch! What was that? What did you do?” she cried but almost at once her limbs began to feel heavy. “What did you doooo?” she repeated but this time her voice sounded like Shurla’s had—draggy and slow, like a toy whose batteries are running low.

“Don’t worry,” either Joone or Spoone said softly as they lowered her to the ground. “Your new life as a breeder for the Glorious Cause will be magnificent. You’ll see.”

Penny opened her mouth to ask what the hell they were talking about, but this time no words came out at all. She realized she was frozen—as completely frozen as Rive and Y’lla were back in the shuttle at the other end of the station.

But at least they got frozen doing what they loved, she thought irrelevantly. There’s nothing fun about being attacked by rogue Oompa-Loompas in a strange alien bathroom…

She had a moment to realize that her thoughts weren’t making much sense and then she lost the ability to think anything at all, as everything went dark.

SEVENTEEN

V was in the box again. He spent most of his time there, since he refused to obey.

The box was a little shorter than he was tall—a rectangular prison so small he could neither stand up all the way, or sit down or even crouch—he was stuck in an almost-standing posture which made his muscles scream with fatigue after only a few minutes in the torturous position. When V was crammed into it, his broad shoulders touched the sides and his head touched the top, causing intense feelings of claustrophobia, which he fought off grimly.

It was completely dark inside, with just a few air holes near the top, by his face. V pressed his mouth and nose to the holes, trying to draw a few breaths of fresh air, though precious little filtered through. It seemed that all he could smell was his own scent, rank with a mixture of fear and fury, as he sweated out his time in the tiny, black prison.

He didn’t know how long he’d been here—wherever “here” was. He had woken up once in the middle of what looked like a Med Center unit. He’d been naked on a bed and surrounded by those fucking orange mutants. A bright light had been shining in his face and reflecting off their round, bald heads.

“Hey! What—” he’d started to say. But then someone had noticed he was awake and had stuck him with another needle, putting him out again.

The next time V had woken up, he’d been in a plain white room with no windows or doors—none that he could find, anyway. There had been a mattress on the floor and that was it for furnishings.

On the side of his neck was a flat square that felt like it was made of metal. V had explored it with his fingers—it seemed to be an implant of some kind, though what, if anything it was doing to him, he didn’t know. He wished he could get a look at the damn thing, but he couldn’t see his own neck and there were no mirrors or 3-D viewers in the blank white room to let him see himself.

But what the room had lacked in ambiance, it made up for in sound. There was a constant, steady, whispering going on which seemed to come from everywhere at once. V had tried to make out the words, but his brain didn’t want to decipher them, even though Kindred were normally excellent with languages. He only knew they annoyed the fuck out of him—made him feel like he was going crazy.

When the orange mutants came in, he attacked them. He took three of them down in one blow but they jabbed him with a needle and he was out again. The next time he woke up, was in the box. They kept him there for an hour and then let him out. He attacked them again. They jabbed him again. He woke up in the box again.

This cycle had been going on for what felt like days, though to be honest, V had lost all track of time. He was growing weary and he was damn near completely dehydrated from all the sweating in the box and the fact that he hadn’t had anything to drink in the Goddess alone knew how long, but he wasn’t one to give up a fight.

They’ll have to kill me, he thought to himself as he fought the wretched feeling that the walls of the box were closing in around him. I’ll never give up trying to escape! They’ll have to fucking kill me…

Suddenly the box opened, spilling him out onto the ground.

V blinked in the sudden, blinding light after the dank midnight of the box and then got gamely to his feet to fight. This time he would evade the needle and bash their little bald skulls together! They would all die! They—

“Well now, you’re a stubborn one my boy, so you are,” a hearty male voice spoke, surprising him.

V staggered to his feet, blinking as his eyes became accustomed to the light.

Standing in front of him was a figure dressed all in white. Even his facial hair was white, in fact. His suit seemed to be made of fine linen and he smelled of some expensive pomade, which kept his abundant white hair fixed in place. The only thing on him that was a color other than white, were the black oculars he wore. His pale blue eyes blinked behind their thick lenses as he studied V with obvious interest.

“Who the fuck’r you?” V growled hoarsely. His tongue was thick with thirst and dehydration, but he managed to get the words out.

“Well, some around here call me their Glorious Leader,” the male said. “And some even call me the Shining Star—for I am sent to lead them from the darkness.”

“The fuck are you talkin’ about?” V peered at him uncertainly.

The male frowned.

“I can see we have some work to do here. You, my boy, are quite a specimen. An exception to the rule, I would say.”

“I’m not your fucking boy,” V growled, glaring down at him. “Now let me the fuck out of here before I rip your fucking head off!”

“You do like to swear, don’t you?” the male remarked, but he didn’t seem at all afraid of V’s menacing growl. When V took a step towards him, he pulled a small device out of his pocket and pointed it at his chest.

“I don’t think so, my boy,” he remarked and pressed a button on it.

A bolt of pure agony shot through V’s entire body. It brought him to his knees, seizing his muscles and forcing the air from his lungs in a painful gasp.

After a moment, the agony ended as abruptly as it had begun.

V lunged to his feet and went after the bastard again. Again the horrible, all-encompassing pain took him down.

And again and again.

During the fourth bout of pain, the male spoke to him.

“We can do this all day, you know,” he said, in a pleasant tone of voice, as though discussing the weather. “You can’t win, my boy—not while I hold the Master Control to your Pain Square. So you might as well give up and listen to what I have to say.”

The pain stopped but this time V stayed down. He looked up at his tormentor with hate in his eyes.

“What,” he growled. “The fuck do you want with me?”

“Not much.” The white-haired male smiled pleasantly. “Maybe now we can finally talk like civilized males. Listen, my boy—I have a proposition for you.”

EIGHTEEN

“As I said before, you’re a unique specimen.” The male who had called himself the “Glorious Leader” was pacing back and forth in the bare white room as V leaned against the wall and watched.

He had decided to suspend his attacks, at least for now. He was still enraged by his forced captivity but he wasn’t stupid. The male held the remote to the strange metal square on his neck, which was capable of electrocuting him with agony. There was no point in fighting as long as he has his finger on the button, ready to press it and take V down at any minute.

“You’re unique,” the male said again, still pacing. “You’re not affected by the hypno-whispers for one, which at first I couldn’t understand.”

“Hypno-whispers? Is that the fucking whispering that’s going on all the damn time here?” V demanded, glaring at him.

“Yes.” The male nodded. “They’re meant to make you more docile—they help our new breeders feel comfortable and accept their new lot in life. But you…” He looked at V and shook his head. “Well, you’re anything but docile, my boy, though we’ve been amping up the whispers delivered to your room for days.”

V shook his head.

“Whatever you’re doing, it’s not working. I can’t even understand them and my kind are good with languages.”

“Yes, well, I’ve had Kindred here before,” the male who called himself the “Glorious Leader” said, frowning. “And none of them were immune to the whispers. But after I had my NeverBreeders run an analysis of your DNA, I understood. You, my boy, are not pure Kindred.”

“And?” V crossed his arms over his broad chest and raised an eyebrow.

“In fact,” the male continued. “Half of your DNA isn’t even from this universe, which I found positively fascinating.”

V just looked at him.

“I think that’s why you’re immune to the hypno-whispers,” the male continued after a pause. “But you have other special attributes as well. For instance, the substance secreted by your tongue…”

“You fucked around with my stinger?” V growled, his hands clenching into fists. Goddess damnit! His stinger and the mating fist at the base of his shaft were the two most private parts of his body—but he was betting those fucking orange mutants had seen and handled both while they had him drugged on their table. The thought made him feel helpless and vulnerable.

It also enraged him.

A low growl rumbled in his chest and he could barely hold himself back from lunging at the “Glorious Leader” again.

The male seemed to sense V’s fury because he held up the Master Control again and shook his head.

“No, no, my boy—that way lies only more pain. Whereas if you’ll just listen to me for a moment, I think we can come to an equitable arrangement.”

“The only arrangement we can make is you letting me out of here before I rip your fucking head off!” V growled.

“That’s not going to happen,” the “Glorious Leader” said pleasantly. “Not for a while, at least. I won’t try to keep you here for life,” he went on. “It’s too dangerous to have a male breeder who doesn’t respond to the whispers in the compound—especially a breeder as large and strong as yourself.”

“Stop calling me a fucking breeder,” V snarled. “What in the Seven Hells does that even mean?”

“Why, it means exactly what it sounds like—you’ve been brought here to contribute your superior genetic material to our gene pool,” the “Glorious Leader” said, still smiling pleasantly. “And of course, I’ll also want to synthesize that compound you make with your tongue,” he continued thoughtfully, beginning to pace again.

“I think it will be most helpful in arousing the female breeders. We give them the Mother’s Milk, of course, which ripens their bodies for breeding, the same way we give our male breeders the Spice, which enhances their effectiveness and eagerness to breed. But we have nothing to increase the female libido and this substance you produce—what do you call it?”

V remained silent. The lust-honey which came from his stinger—his tongue when it became long and needle-sharp—was his own business and he was damned if he’d tell this little fat fuck anything about it.

The “Glorious Leader” waited a moment, his eyebrows raised, and then shook his head and continued.

“Anyway, I’d like to have a compound to give our females to increase their eagerness to breed. After all, I want my breeders to really enjoy themselves, as they support our Glorious Cause. I am a benevolent leader and I want my people to be happy as they do their duties.”

Again, V had nothing to say. What the fuck was this asshole talking about? Glorious Cause? Breeders? He had no idea, though he was afraid he was going to find out.

“We already have enough of the substance you produce to synthesize it sometime in the future—after a little more analysis, you know,” the “Glorious Leader” went on. “So what I mostly need from you is your DNA.”

“Thought you already took some,” V growled.

“No, no, no.” The “Glorious Leader” frowned and shook his head impatiently. “Not just a sample to study in the lab. As I said, I want your genetic material in our gene pool, here at the Compound.”

“Meaning?” V raised an eyebrow.

“Meaning I want you to father a child for us, of course,” the “Glorious Leader said. “Once you’ve done that, we’ll let you go. And, to sweeten the deal…” He pointed his Master Control at the blank white wall of the room and pressed a button.

At once the solid wall became translucent and V was able to see into another room. It was also sterile and white but much larger than the room he was imprisoned in.

Lined up against the far wall of the room he was looking into, were eight females of all shapes, sizes, and colors. There were many humanoid species represented, V saw, including a Tenzuran with three breasts instead of two and a Chorkay—a species which was known to have two vaginas and two wombs.

One of the bald orange mutants, dressed in a silver lab coat, was going down the line and doing some kind of checkup on each of the females in turn. They all looked straight ahead and didn’t fight as V had—probably they had been terrorized into behaving, he thought angrily.

Or else maybe they were all hypnotized by those damn “whispers” the other male kept talking about. As he stared at them, V saw most of them had a glazed expression on their faces—like they didn’t really understand what was happening to them.

“This is our newest batch of breeder females,” the “Glorious Leader” said sweeping out a plump, dimpled hand decked in several expensive rings, as though displaying valuable merchandise. “Don’t worry—you can see them but they can’t see you,” he added. “They came in when you did, actually, but all of them have responded to the whispers, so now their conditioning is almost complete and we’re ready for the Unification Ceremony.”

None of what he was saying made any impression on V. It was all just bullshit as far as he was concerned.

“What the fuck does any of that have to do with me?” he growled, glaring down at the little male.

“Why, it has to do with my proposal,” the “Glorious Leader” said, as though it should be obvious. “You stay here with us at the Compound long enough to father a child, and I’ll let you have your pick of the females to father it with. You might as well agree, you know,” he added. “That pain square on your neck will effectively keep you here in the Compound until I decide to let you leave. If you try to go beyond the boundaries of our gate, it will put you down like a rabid Chinthian canine.”

V opened his mouth to say he’d be damned if he would father a child and leave it here for this bastard to fuck around with and that he didn’t give a flying fuck for any of the assembled females…

And then the orange mutant doctor moved down the line, revealing her. The little female with the long, chestnut brown hair and big brown eyes he’d been watching back at the bar what seemed like a million cycles ago. The one with the luscious ass.

But it wasn’t her ass V was looking at this time—it was her eyes. Unlike the glassy stare of the other females, her big brown eyes were wide and frightened.

She didn’t look brainwashed like the rest—she looked scared to death, though she was obviously trying to conceal it.

Poor little female!

V felt his heart squeeze when he looked at the fear in those big, brown eyes. She looked like a small helpless animal, caught in a trap.

“Well?” the “Glorious Leader” asked, a self-satisfied smile curving his lips. “You see one you like, don’t you? One you’d like to breed?”

I see a female caught in the same trap I am, V thought, glaring down at the other male. And I’m going to get both of us out or die trying!

NINETEEN

The daily inspections were the worst.

Every day Penny and the other women who had been captured around the same time by the orange Oompa-Loompas were herded into an exam room in the Breeding and Conception Center and forced to strip. Then they had to undergo a complete physical, including a bizarre gynecological exam which involved having a lighted wand shoved inside them, which was supposed to check for “womb health and fertility” according to the Oompa-Loompa scientist who performed the check.

Penny hated that part—it made her feel so helpless, so violated. Thank goodness the orange scientists who called themselves “NeverBreeders” didn’t try to touch her in a sexual way—the exam was done with a pure, clinical detachment every time.

But that didn’t matter—it was still an invasion of her privacy, a violation of her body that made her feel sick and scared and helpless every time it happened.

It also reminded her of every cheesy abduction story she’d ever heard—I was captured by aliens and probed! Except this was no pulp science fiction novel—this was her life and it was really happening to her.

It happened every morning and every day here was the same—they were all beginning to blur together. As she stared straight ahead, trying not to think of the coming exam, Penny tried to remember how long she had been here, tried to think back to the beginning, when she had first been brought into the Compound…

She had woken from her drugged slumber just in time to see a huge white marble statue of a man looming over her head like a vengeful god.

“Wha…What’s that?” she managed to get out, her tongue still numb from the aftereffects of the drugs the Oompa-Loompas had given her.

“Hell if I know, but he’s one ugly son of a bitch, whoever he is,” Shurla had murmured beside her.

Penny had been glad to see her new friend was awake and alert. She and Shurla and about six other alien women were crammed into a hover cart which was moving smoothly through what appeared to be a tropical jungle. Huge, fan-like leaves in shades of emerald and turquoise lined the road and the distant chattering and calls of wild animals could be heard as well. The air smelled green, if that made any sense, Penny thought to herself. Green and growing.

“Like a tropical paradise,” she muttered to herself.

Clearly they weren’t on Hell’s Gate Spaceport or on Yown Beta. So where else could they be? Then Penny remembered her last conversation with Rive and Y’lla.

“Yown Alpha,” she murmured. “This must be Yown Alpha!”

“Could be,” Shurla murmured beside her. “In which case we’re in a lot of trouble—there’s nobody here. At least, there’s not supposed to be on account of all the poisonous plants, you know?”

“That’s what I heard too,” Penny murmured back. “Do you remember coming here at all? Did they bring us in a ship?”

“Sorry.” Shurla shook her head. “Don’t remember a damn thing about how we got here, hon. I woke up myself a minute before you did. I just hope—”

“Silence!” shouted one of the orange Oompa-Loompas in his high, androgynous voice. “We have come to the statue of the Noble One—our Shining Star and Glorious Leader who has called us all to his Glorious Cause. All must gaze upon his visage and show respect.”

Penny didn’t want to show respect to whoever the statue was of, but she stared at it anyway, to avoid being drugged or attacked again. Her hands were tied behind her back and there was no way to get out of the cart, which was surrounded on all sides by the Oompa-Loompas in their silver jumpsuits.

As she studied the immense statue, which rose at least eighty feet in the air above her, she couldn’t help thinking that it looked familiar somehow. Which was crazy—there was no way she could know the man who had captured her out here so far from Earth—in a whole different solar system light years from her own. But she couldn’t shake the feeling she had seen the “Glorious Leader” before, though she couldn’t put her finger on why she thought that.

“And now that respect has been paid to our Glorious Leader, we may move on,” the head Oompa-Loompa said.

The hover-cart began to glide along again, carrying them smoothly through the lush blue, green, and turquoise jungle and Penny wondered where they were going. She was about to ask Shurla if there was anyone who might miss her and come looking for her—which was her only hope, since she had never gotten to make her interstellar call to the Mother Ship—when the cart stopped again.

Looking up, Penny saw why. There was a shimmering green barrier across the road, keeping the cart from going any further. On the other side of it, barely visible through the energy field, was yet another silver jump-suited Oompa-Loompa.

“Who goes there and why do you come to the Compound of the Glorious Cause?” he demanded, leveling a weapon at them.

“We have come to pay tribute and honor to our Glorious Leader,” the head Oompa-Loompa of their own group shouted back. “And we bring new breeders to further the Cause.”

“Welcome home then, faithful one. Welcome to the bosom of the Shining Star—he who leads all of us in the Paths of Greatness,” the guard behind the gate said. And then the barrier was deactivated, allowing the cart to have clear access forward.

The entire exchange had the feeling of a scripted call and response—as though the guards on both sides had said the same things about a thousand times. Clearly they were used to going out and capturing people and then bringing them back to their compound.

The question was, did the prisoners ever escape? Or were they stuck here for life…or death?

The thought sent a shiver down Penny’s spine.

Now, whispered a little voice in the back of her head. If you don’t get out now, there’s no getting out. Run, Penny! RUN!

She turned to look over the side of the cart. Yes, her hands were bound but if she could throw herself out of the open cart and head into the jungle, she might get away. The undergrowth was so dense she could lose herself in it and never be found. She—

“Do you see that pretty yellow flower over there, breeder?”

Penny’s head jerked up and she realized it was one of the Oompa-Loompas talking to her.

“Wh-what?” she quavered, uncertain what he meant.

“There—just there inside the boundary of the road.” He pointed one stubby orange finger and Penny saw the flower he was talking about. It really was beautiful, she thought. Like a Tiger Lily but with a bloom as big as her head.

“Yes.” She nodded. “What about it?”

“That’s a Death Touch bloom. Barely brushing against its petals would kill you in an instant.” The Oompa-Loompa smiled at her, as though he was just making friendly conversation. “And it is one of the least poisonous plants here in the Deadly Jungle. A jungle which covers all of Yown Alpha. It is beautiful but there is death at every turn—and no way to escape, since we here at the Compound of the Glorious Cause are the only ones on the entire planet.”

“What are you saying?” Penny asked. She tried to sound defiant, though inside her heart was sinking down to her feet.

“That to escape is to die,” the Oompa-Loompa told her. “And why would you wish to die when we can offer you eternal life? Many years after your mortal body has perished, your genetic material will live on among the NeverBreeders.”

“The who?” He was saying too much, she thought—throwing too many religious buzz-words at her. “Who are the NeverBreeders?” she asked.

“We are.” He nodded at himself and the other Oompa-Loompas who surrounded the cart. “Though we never bring forth life, we will never truly die. For we live all our lives in tribute to the Shining Star.”

“Um, okay…” Penny murmured, not knowing what else to say. Was this some kind of a cult? The way he was talking made her think it had to be.

The cart was past the barrier now. The green energy field sizzled back into place and she realized that she had lost her only chance to get away. But if the Oompa-Loompa who had called himself a “NeverBreeder” was telling the truth, she would have been dead the minute she hit the jungle.

Penny wondered if death might not be better than whatever awaited her and the next minute her fears seemed to come true. Because the cart rounded a curve and came to stop beside a long, low, white building.

“Attention!” the head Oompa-Loompa shouted, “Now all must strip!”

TWENTY

“What the hell are they talking about?” Shurla muttered to Penny. “I’m not taking off my clothes for nobody!”

But all around them, the other women were reluctantly removing their clothing. Even worse, the Oompa-Loompas were taking their silver jumpsuits off as well.

They probably want to rape us, Penny thought, feeling sick. They kidnapped us and brought us all this way and now they have us behind a barrier where nobody can help us and they can do whatever they want!

But the next minute, her assumptions were blown out of the water. As the NeverBreeder who had been telling her about the deadly yellow flower shucked down his silver jumpsuit and stepped out of it, Penny saw that the place between his legs was completely smooth.

He doesn’t even have a bulge like a Ken doll, she thought, unable to tear her eyes away from the smooth, hairless patch of orange skin between his legs. There’s nothing there at all—not a damn thing.

So maybe rape wasn’t on the menu after all. But then why were they being told to get naked?

“All must be cleansed of the dirt of the outside world,” the head NeverBreeder said, as though answering her question. “Come, we will go into the showers and rinse the sinful grime from our skin together.”

Though she didn’t like it at all, Penny was forced to take off her warm-skin and boots and leave them in a pile in the cart. They unfastened her hands to make this possible but the minute she was naked, her arms were cuffed behind her back again and she and Shurla and the other women were led into the long, low, white building which turned out to be a communal shower.

They could put way more people in here if they wanted to, Penny thought, looking down the long line of showerheads which stretched through the whole building. The eight women and the seven NeverBreeders who were guarding them only took up about a fourth of the room in the showers. How many people were in this “Compound of the Glorious Cause?” And for that matter, what was their “Glorious Cause?”

Penny had a bad feeling she was going to find out.

What came out of the shower nozzles wasn’t water. It was some thin, purple liquid with an astringent reek like an industrial cleaner. After smelling it, Penny expected it to sting her skin and it did.

As the other captives yelped and screamed, trying to get away from the purple spray, the guards pushed them into it. The NeverBreeders had all suddenly produced menacing-looking pain prods and they threatened to shock their prisoners unless they got thoroughly drenched in the showers.

“In, get in and be cleansed!” the head NeverBreeder kept shouting, brandishing his prod with its sizzling arch of electricity at the end. “You must be purged of all outside filth before you may enter the purity of the Compound!”

Penny squeezed her eyes shut to keep out the stinging purple cleanser and squeezed her bound hands into fists. She kept her head down, trying not to breath in the noxious fumes from the spray, trying to endure. It wasn’t until she was soaking wet with her hair hanging limp around her shoulders and dripping purple fluid down her back that she was allowed to finally get out of the showers.

After the prisoners had been thoroughly “cleansed” the guards got into the showers voluntarily. Either their orange skins were tougher than most people’s or they were all a bunch of masochists, but whichever the case, they didn’t seem to mind the stinging purple astringent at all.

When they came out, the guards dried off with towels they produced from a chest in the cart. The prisoners, however, were given nothing to dry or cover themselves with. Nor were they allowed to get dressed again. Their clothes were confiscated and they were forced onto the cart again, naked and shivering.

“This is ridiculous!” Shurla muttered to Penny but there was real fear in her eyes as she spoke. “Where do you think they’re taking us?”

“I d-don’t kn-know,” Penny wasn’t sure if her teeth were chattering from the chill of being soaked to the bone or from fright—she only knew she was in trouble here, and she couldn’t think of a single way to get out of it.

TWENTY-ONE

The cart hummed smoothly along, past the shower buildings and through another hundred yards of jungle before coming to a big stone arch which seemed to mark the entrance of the Compound. There was another, smaller statue standing beside the entryway and again Penny thought the man depicted looked somehow familiar.

Then they went through the archway and entered the Compound.

The first thing Penny thought was that it looked like an idyllic little village—almost too idyllic, in fact. It was too neat, too clean, too manicured. To her eyes it looked artificially cheerful, like Main Street in Disney World.

A vast swath of jungle had been cleared to make way for rows of snug white cottages trimmed in deep blue. There were pristine white paths leading to each door and not a speck of trash or litter to be seen anywhere.

Past the cottages, there was a kind of marketplace, with buyers and sellers manning rustic wooden stalls, all perfectly painted and trimmed with bright, crisp banners declaring things like, Bread Sold Here and, Fresh Produce Every Day.

Again Penny got the feeling of artificial perfection. The marketplace looked like it was just for show, even though people were actually buying and selling there. It reminded her of those frontier museums you went to sometimes where the General Store looked just like it had back in the old days, but when you went inside, all the items they used to sell were behind a big wall of Plexiglas.

Further on, past the marketplace, was a public park filled with lush trees, some bearing large pink flowers and others with clusters of pear-shaped fruit in blue, purple, and green. The trees and grass were trimmed to obsessive perfection without a single leaf or blade of grass out of place and the crushed white gravel pathways curved perfectly through the neatly landscaped area.

There was even a kind of arena which seemed to be an outdoor public meeting place, Penny saw, though it was deserted at the moment. It looked like someplace you might go to see Shakespeare in the Park or Theater in the Round, with tiered bleacher-like seats all carved from dark gray stone.

Despite the obsessive perfection of the place, there were lots of people in the Compound—humanoids of all different races all apparently living and working in harmony together. The crowd here was every bit as diverse as the marketplace in Hell’s Gate Station—except for the fact that everyone was dressed the same.

They all had on short, toga-like garments which ended at mid-thigh and made them look like extras in an old gladiator movie, Penny thought. The men wore dark crimson red and the women wore a soft, periwinkle blue and all of them wore sandals which laced around their ankles. It was like a little Roman villa but with aliens. Weird.

But even weirder than their clothes, were the people themselves—or rather, their expressions. Every single face that Penny studied was smiling and content. Nobody was frowning or looking angry or upset about anything at all. And when they saw the new captives in the cart, many of them waved.

“Welcome!” one man called. “Welcome to the Compound!”

The woman beside him took up the call and soon all of them were waving and smiling at the dripping, shivering women in the hover cart.

Of course they couldn’t wave back, because their hands were still cuffed behind their backs, so Penny and Shurla and the rest of the captives just stared. Again, Penny was reminded of someplace artificially friendly, like Disney World where all the cast members had to wave and smile and act like they were ecstatic to be there.

The happiest place on Earth, she thought to herself as the cart floated smoothly along. Or in this case, the happiest place on Yown Alpha, she supposed.

After studying the people who lived in the idyllic little village, her eyes were drawn once more to the architecture. Far to one side of the Compound, was a building unlike the cozy cottages—it was high-tech, made of gleaming metal and glass and it appeared to be several stories tall. This was the Breeding and Conception Center, as Penny would soon come to know, and she would dread having her “exam” every morning. But for now, she just looked around, trying to take it all in.

The only building bigger than the glass and metal structure was a huge mansion at the far end. It was built on a hill—possibly an artificial one, since the rest of the surrounding land was flat as a pancake, Penny thought.

It was a magnificent structure, as ostentatious as the little white cottages were simple and plain. Statues of huge alien beasts guarded the double front doors and gold leaf adorned its marble columns. The gold winked in the midday sun, sending bright darts of light into Penny’s eyes.

“Wonder who lives there?” Shurla muttered to Penny, who was wondering the same thing. “And have you noticed it’s not as hot in here?” she added.

“Hmm?” Penny shivered again. “I thought I was just cold from being drenched in that awful “shower,” she murmured. “But now that you mention it, it does seem cooler and less humid than it did out in the jungle.”

“Atmosphere dome,” Shurla murmured back. “Whoever owns this place must have gobs of credit to spare. Domes are crazy-expensive to build and maintain. Keeps the insects out too,” she added thoughtfully.

Penny had to agree with her. She’d been too miserable and scared to think much about it, but there had been the constant humming buzz and the occasional flying insect out on the jungle road. Here in the Compound, the noises of the jungle were conspicuously absent and she realized she hadn’t seen a single insect since they’d passed through the stone archway out front.

Looking up, she thought she saw a faint rainbow shimmer in the sky above them. It’s like we’re trapped in a giant soap bubble, she thought grimly. One that keeps the heat and humidity and insects out…and the prisoners in.

But she soon had other things to think about.

Suddenly a loud whistle blew. It seemed to echo from hidden loudspeakers all around them. It certainly got everyone’s attention because all the happy people in their pretty togas stopped what they were doing and looked up expectantly.

“My dear children,” a smooth, male voice spoke, filling the air. “We have some fresh breeders coming into our Compound today—they are new to our way of life. Let us show them the beauty of our Glorious Cause by celebrating the life we make here every day. I declare a Public Mandatory Breeding!”

At once, everyone in the compound stopped whatever they were doing and began to pair up, apparently at random. Penny would have thought that the alien species would have stayed together, but she saw men and women of all the different humanoid races suddenly having sex.

Some of the women got to their hands and knees while the males behind them flipped up their short toga-skirts and entered them. Some pairs settled on the rustic benches scattered around the park with the females straddling the males. A few women in the marketplace simply leaned over the brightly painted wooden counters of their stalls and spread their thighs for the males behind them. And of course, some simply lay down in the lush, perfectly manicured turquoise grass which covered much of the Compound. But however they did it, they were doing it, Penny saw.

The whole Compound had become a complete Fuck-fest.

She forgot that she was naked and wet and shivering and looked around in awe at the massive orgy going on all around them. It was a bizarre sight in the middle of the neat and orderly village where every bit of ground was meticulously landscaped and the houses and buildings were all scrupulously clean.

It was as though all the cast members in Disney World had suddenly decided to have sex with each other, Penny thought—it was that weird. The males grunted and groaned as the women they were plowing moaned and gasped and everyone appeared to be having an excellent time as, all around the Compound, everyone got their freak on.

Well, everyone except the Oompa-Loompa NeverBreeders, that was. They all simply watched with blank expressions on their faces as the humanoids around them grunted and groaned and screwed each other’s brains out.

“Oh my God,” Shurla whispered to Penny, her eyes wide. “I can’t believe this! Are they actually all fucking on command?”

“I guess so,” Penny whispered back. The question was, whose command?

They got the answer shortly when the cart passed through the idyllic village—filled with couples who were sexing it up—and came to the sterile glass and metal hospital-like building to one side of the Compound.

“Out of the cart,” one of the Oompa-Loompa guards commanded and they were all forced to scramble naked out of the back of the cart and stand in a trembling line in front of the entrance. Penny hated that her hands were still cuffed behind her and she couldn’t cover herself in any way.

The glass door at the front of the building—which reminded her very much of a hospital—slid smoothly open and out walked…

“Colonel Sanders!” Penny gasped, staring at the man who was holding out his arms to them like a father welcoming his long-lost children home. “Oh my God—it’s Colonel Sanders!”

TWENTY-TWO

“Who?” Shurla hissed at her.

Penny shook her head.

“Never mind. He just—he looks exactly like a guy who sells fried chicken on my home planet.”

“He sells fried what?” Shurla asked, frowning.

Penny shook her head again.

“It doesn’t matter—it’s just weird, that’s all.”

And it certainly was. The man standing in front of them was dressed all in white and had thick white hair and a luxuriant white goatee and mustache as well. He even had the black rimmed glasses she associated with the iconic fried chicken magnate. In fact, the only thing that was missing was a black string tie around his neck, which Sanders had always worn—other than that, he was the spitting image of the Colonel.

Penny blinked and wondered if there had been some kind of hallucinogenic drug in the purple antiseptic liquid of the showers. Was she seeing things? Going crazy? Of all the strange and bizarre things she’d seen since waking up in the hover cart in the middle of the jungle, this was somehow the weirdest and the wrongest of all.

“Welcome, my children!” the man who looked like Colonel Sanders said, spreading his arms as he addressed the naked captives. “Welcome to the Compound and to your new life, serving our Glorious Cause.”

“Who are you?” Shurla shouted, lifting her chin as she glared at the Colonel. “And what do you want with us? I already had a life I liked just fine back on Hell’s Gate Station and I want to go back!”

There were murmurs of agreement, although none of the other women were brave enough to shout their feelings out, like Shurla had done.

“Your old life is over now, my daughter.” The Colonel Sanders look-alike smiled at her benevolently. “You may be unhappy now but I promise you, soon your unhappiness will fade. In fact…” He raised his voice, addressing them all. “Just give us one night—spend a single evening with us here in the Compound—and I guarantee if you aren’t happy tomorrow morning, you can go home.”

This sounded like a lie to Penny, but she wasn’t about to say so. Something told her bad things happened to people who spoke truth to power here at the Compound. In fact, she was already worried about Shurla, who was still glaring defiantly at the man in white.

“As for your other question—who am I? Well, I am the Glorious Leader here,” the man who looked like Colonel Sanders continued. “I am also called the Shining Star, because I lead so many out of darkness. And I like to think of myself as a father to you all,” he added, smiling benevolently. “All my children who live in the Compound—both the breeders,” he nodded at the women, “And the NeverBreeders alike.” And here, he nodded at the Oompa-Loompa guards.

“We’re not your children and we want to go home!” Shurla insisted.

“As I said, just give us one night,” the “Glorious Leader” said, smiling at her. Clearly her defiance didn’t faze him a bit.

Because he’s used to it, Penny thought. He says the same thing to everyone he captures and brings in here. He hears the same complaints over and over again and dismisses them over and over again. There’s no getting out of here, no matter what he says—he’s lying through his nice white teeth.

“Now, then,” the Glorious Leader continued. “First things first. You’ve been purified, which is good. But now you must have your exams at the Breeding and Conception Center—which is this state-of-the art modern medical facility you see behind me here.” He nodded at the tall metal and glass building behind him. “After that, you’ll spend your first few nights in the dormitory wing until you’re ready for your Unification Ceremony. Now, I know you don’t know what any of that means right now,” he went on, holding up his hands, as though to stop their questions. “But you will learn. And then, I promise, you’ll be as happy living here as all the other breeders you saw on the way in.”

Penny wanted to ask why he kept calling them “breeders,” but she sensed she wouldn’t like the answer to that question. She saw the angry jut of Shurla’s jaw and knew her friend had questions to ask too. But the Glorious Leader was taking a bow and excusing himself. Before anyone could say anything else, he was leaving them, heading towards the huge mansion on the hill at the far end of the Compound.

“Well, I guess now we know who lives in the big house,” Shurla muttered. “That asshole who calls himself the ‘Glorious Leader.’ Gods, he’s so full of shit! He—ahhhhh!”

She stumbled and fell to her knees as one of the NeverBreeder guards shoved the end of a pain prod into the small of her back.

“Do not speak ill of the Shining Star!” he barked at Shurla. Such blasphemy is not permitted!”

Penny wanted to help her friend up, but her hands were still cuffed behind her back. Still, she did the best she could to protect Shurla by putting herself between the other woman and the pain prod.

“Leave her alone!” she snapped, glaring at the guard. “You nasty little Oompa-Loompa, you!”

“I do not know this name, but I assume it is insulting,” the NeverBreeder remarked, glaring at her. “You will move along into the Breeding and Conception Center or suffer the same fate as your friend.”

Shurla had gotten to her feet by that time. She shook her head at Penny and took a shaky step.

“Come on, there’s nothing we can do right now,” she muttered. “We’ll figure a way out of this later.”

Penny hoped she was right. With a last glance over her shoulder at the NeverBreeder guard, she allowed herself to be herded into the big glass and metal building, never dreaming what lay in store for her inside.

TWENTY-THREE

The group of women was herded into a long room with many metal exam tables, all lined up in a row. At first Penny wondered if this was supposed to be the dormitory the “Glorious Leader” had spoken of. But then several more Oompa-Loompa NeverBreeders came into the room. These had on silver lab jackets to go with their silver jumpsuits and they seemed to be doctors or scientists of some kind.

“Well? Why are they not up on the tables, Guard Spoone?” one of them demanded of the guards. “Hurry—we have work to do!”

Quickly, the guards un-cuffed each of the prisoner’s hands and prodded them up onto the tables.

Penny shivered helplessly as her damp skin made contact with the cold, bare metal. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so frightened—what were the alien doctors going to do to her? To all of them? Was this going to be some kind of horrible sci-fi horror vivisection scene where the aliens dissected them alive? Were they—

“All right, breeder, let us check the health of your mammaries,” the orange-skinned NeverBreeder doctor said in her ear.

“What?” Penny somehow managed to get out.

Instead of repeating his statement, the NeverBreeder doctor ran a long slender wand with a glowing tip over her breasts. The tip turned pink and he nodded, as though pleased.

“Very good, your mammary glands are in optimum health.”

Well, it was good to know she didn’t have breast cancer and this was certainly easier than a mammogram, Penny thought, relaxing some. Maybe the whole exam would just consist of the weird little NeverBreeder doctor running the lighted wand over her body without ever touching her with it. Maybe—

“Now spread your legs,” the alien doctor commanded. “I must test the health of your womb.”

“What?” Penny crossed her legs tight. “I don’t think so!”

“Guard Spoone,” the doctor’s voice was impassive—even bored. “Come here at once and shock this breeder until she spreads her legs for me.”

“Wait—what? Wait a minute!” Penny cried but before she could say anything else, the same guard who had shocked Shurla earlier jabbed the end of his pain prod against her side.

“Ahhhh!” A scream of agony ripped from Penny’s throat and she nearly jumped off the table. It was like being hit with a taser—every muscle in her body contracted at once as the current of electricity ran through her.

“Now will you spread your legs?” the alien doctor demanded. “Or must I have the guard shock you again?”

“No! No—please!” Penny babbled. Tears streaming from her eyes, she forced herself to spread her legs.

It’s just an exam, she told herself, and tried to choke back the sobs as the lighted wand probed inside her. Just an exam and it’ll be over soon…over soon…over soon…

A few moments and an eternity later, the NeverBreeder doctor withdrew the wand and studied the lighted tip, which was glowing the same warm pink it had been when he ran it over Penny’s breasts.

“Very good.” He nodded. “Your womb is healthy and ready for breeding. You are not currently at the correct stage of your cycle, but the Mother’s Milk will take care of that.”

“What…what are you talking about? What’s Mother’s Milk?” Penny whispered through her tears.

But the alien doctor didn’t answer. He simply made a few marks on the lighted clipboard thing he was carrying and moved on to the next prisoner—a woman with pale purple skin and what looked like gills at the sides of her throat.

The NeverBreeder doctor did the same exam he had on Penny—though he did, at least, change the tip of the wand, she saw. Her fellow prisoner’s breasts checked out fine and the wand glowed a pale, reassuring pink. But when the wand was inserted into her vagina, it came out glowing a dark purple.

“What’s this?” The NeverBreeder doctor seemed very upset. “Who brought this female into the Compound?” he demanded.

One of the guards came forward.

“I did, Dr. Loone. Is there a problem?”

“Of course there is a problem, Guard Spoone—look at this.” The alien doctor pointed to the dark purple tip of the wand. “This female is infertile! How could you bring her all this way to the Compound and waste our Glorious Leader’s valuable resources in this way?”

“My instruments in the field indicated that she was fertile,” the guard named Spoone protested. “I cannot be blamed if the instrument is at fault.”

“Most certainly you can be blamed for I am blaming you,” Dr. Loone raged. “Get rid of her at once! She cannot breed, so she must be recycled.”

Recycled? That didn’t sound good to Penny at all—or, apparently, to the woman they were talking about.

“Please!” she begged as two more guards came to drag her off the table. “Please, just take me home! I want to go back to the station—please!”

But the guards were already dragging her off the metal exam table and towards the exit door.

“If you can’t use her, you should take her home!” Penny heard herself shouting. She knew it was dangerous to speak out but she couldn’t help herself—she couldn’t stand to see the woman being dragged away to who-knew-what horrible fate like that!

“Silence, breeder!” One of the guards shook his pain prod at her menacingly. “And who said we can’t use her? There is a use for everyone here in the Compound,” he added ominously, as Penny shrank away from the crackling end of the prod.

She wished she was brave enough to protest, but what could she do? She was naked and unarmed and frightened to death with a pain prod right in her face. Feeling helpless, Penny subsided, not daring to protest again. The door closed, muffling the woman’s screams and then there was only silence.

It was quiet after that. Once everyone was examined, the seven remaining prisoners were herded off the exam tables and out of the room. They went down a long corridor and into another shower room.

Penny was braced for another stinging spray of astringent purple cleanser, but thankfully this shower was only warm water. She gratefully rinsed the purple stuff from earlier off her skin and out of her hair. This time they were given towels to dry off with and thick, warm robes to wrap up in afterwards. It was certainly an improvement, but they were still being held against their will, Penny thought grimly.

A new attendant came to take charge of them after the shower. This NeverBreeder was orange and bald and wearing a silver jumpsuit, just like all the rest of them, but he—or she, as Penny found herself thinking of the new NeverBreeder—had a distinctly maternal air.

“Now then, my sweeties,” their new attendant said, smiling at them, which made her look like a jack-o-lantern, due to her round orange face, Penny thought. “You can call me Mother Toone,” she told them. “I’m here to look after you while you’re in our dormitory wing. Come with me, now.”

Mother Toone led them down another long hallway and again Penny wondered if now was the time to try and escape. But there were still two guards with pain prods at the end of their ragged little line. Also, the Breeding and Conception Center was a maze—she was already lost and had no idea where she would go even if she did run. So she didn’t dare try an escape. Instead, she walked beside Shurla and shared a look with her friend that needed no words.

This place is a nightmare! We have to get out of here!

“Now then, here we are my sweeties,” their new attendant said, as she led them through another doorway and into a room with a long row of empty cots. “Here’s your dormitory. This will be your home for the next several days.”

“I thought the guy who called himself the Glorious Leader said we could leave after a single night if we didn’t like it here?” Shurla spoke up, glaring at Mother Toone defiantly.

“Well, of course you may, for our Glorious Leader never lies to us.” Mother Toone smiled gently, looking more like a Halloween decoration than ever, Penny thought. “It’s just that most breeders settle down and get more comfortable after their first night. But if you still want to go tomorrow morning, then you’re more than welcome. Of course,” she added. “Unless you have a spaceship waiting somewhere, you might have a bit of a problem surviving outside the Compound. But if you’re really determined, you can walk right out—that is our promise to you.”

Penny wanted to ask about the woman who had been deemed infertile—why hadn’t she been allowed to walk out? Instead she had been sent for “recycling” whatever that meant. But again, she had a very strong feeling that speaking up here would only make the situation worse. So she kept her mouth shut.

“Now, you must be tired after your big day,” Mother Toone remarked.

“You mean after a day of being abducted and drugged and brought here against our will?” Shurla demanded.

Mother Toone’s smile remained constant.

“You may dislike our methods, my dear, but I promise you that very soon you will thank us for rescuing you from your old life and bringing you to the Compound.”

“I didn’t need to be rescued!” Shurla snapped. “I was perfectly happy as a joy-girl back at Hell’s Gate! At least back there I got paid when somebody shoved something up my hoo-hah! Why do you even want us here, anyway? You keep calling us ‘breeders’ and you examined our wombs. But if you think I’m going to have a baby for you crazy assholes, you’ve got another think coming!”

“My, you’re a feisty one, aren’t you, my dear?” Mother Toone remarked, still smiling, though she appeared to be fingering something in her pocket. “That’s all right. You’ll see things differently in the morning, after a good night’s sleep. Once you’re well-rested, we’ll explain your true purpose in life and how you can serve the Glorious Cause.”

Shurla opened her mouth, doubtless to argue some more but Penny had caught a glimpse of what Mother Toone was holding in her pocket—it looked suspiciously like a miniature pain prod.

“What about something to eat?” she asked, quickly, hoping to keep her friend from getting shocked. Plus, she really was hungry. It had been a long, long time since the half protein bar Granny Two-two had given her back on the Hell’s Gate Station.

“You’ll get your nightly portion of Mother’s Milk very soon,” Mother Toole promised her. “That will fill you right up—I promise.”

“Mother’s Milk? What’s that?” Shurla demanded.

But their new attendant didn’t answer. She simply swept out the door and then the clicking sound of a lock being turned echoed in the long dormitory.

Shurla went to try the door anyway and Penny went with her.

“Hey! Hey, let us out of here!” Shurla yanked on the latch and pounded on the door uselessly. “Hey, you can’t keep us here!”

“I think they can,” Penny murmured to her friend. She put a hand on Shurla’s shoulder. “I’m sorry—I’m scared too.”

“I’m not just scared—I’m angry!” Shurla stopped pounding at last and they both went to sit on two of the cots, which were side-by-side. “Who the hell do these freaks think they are, swooping us up and taking us to this crazy place?”

“Do you think they’ll really let us go if we want to tomorrow morning?” Penny asked hesitantly.

Shurla made an incredulous sound in the back of her throat.

“I don’t think so—these bastards are playing for keeps.” She sighed and put her head in her hands. “This is all so crazy—it just feels like a bad dream, you know?”

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Penny said fervently.

She thought again of the Oompa-Loompa NeverBreeders and the public orgy they had witnessed out in the town and the way the “Glorious Leader” looked exactly like Colonel Sanders. Maybe she had fallen asleep somewhere and this was all just a really vivid dream.

In fact, maybe she had fallen asleep even before she was captured—possibly she was in her bed on the long-range shuttle with Rive and Y’lla and everything she’d gone through in the past two days was all just a nightmare…

It was such a seductive idea, Penny was really tempted to give in to it. Maybe once she went to sleep, she would wake up in the real world, back aboard the Kindred ship.

It was all she had to hope for, since at the moment, she saw no way to escape.

TWENTY-FOUR

About an hour later, when Penny was so hungry it felt like her stomach was gnawing on her backbone—as her very Southern mom would have said—the door to the dormitory/prison opened and a normal looking humanoid woman came in. She looked to Penny to be in her early to mid forties and she had short black hair and guarded eyes.

There was something different about her, though, Penny thought. She was the first humanoid person, other than her fellow prisoners, who wasn’t smiling like a loon.

She doesn’t look like a Disney cast member, like all the rest of them, Penny thought, watching as the woman brought in a hover-cart loaded with large, frosty glasses filled with some kind of thick white liquid. In fact, she doesn’t look happy at all.

“What is this?” Shurla asked as the woman attempted to hand her a glass.

“Is it some kind of milk shake?” Penny asked. That was what it looked like, anyway.

“It’s a protein shake,” the woman answered evasively. “What flavor would you like?” she added, addressing Penny.

“Uh—they all look the same to me. Is this that Mother’s Milk stuff everyone kept talking about?” she added.

“It’s a protein shake,” the woman insisted. “And you pick the flavor this way.” She reached for a small metal canister on the end of the cart and opened it. Inside were lots of little flat sticks that looked a little like tongue depressors to Penny.

“What are those?” Shurla asked, suspiciously.

“They’re flavor-sticks,” the woman said patiently. “Just think of what flavor you want—I recommend something sweet—press the stick to your tongue and then stir the protein shake with the stick. The flavor you thought of will be instantly transferred to the shake.”

“Do we have to use the sticks?” one of the other prisoners asked, frowning.

“Well, no.” The woman shrugged. “But I’d recommend it. The shake doesn’t taste like anything at all unless you flavor it. It’s like drinking a big glass of cold glue—not very nice.”

“I’ll try it,” Penny said. She knew she ought to refuse the stuff they were offering her, but by that time she was so hungry, she would have eaten or drunk almost anything.

She took the flavor stick the woman was offering and pressed the end of it against her tongue. Wondering if this could possibly work, she thought as hard as she could about a peanut butter-banana malt shake from Bo’s, her favorite ice cream shop back home. Then she dipped the stick into the frosty glass of what appeared to be vanilla milkshake the woman had handed her and stirred it around thoroughly.

The liquid in the glass remained the same color, which gave Penny serious doubts.

There’s no way this is going to work, she thought, as she took an experimental sip. No way it can—

Suddenly the flavors of peanut butter and banana and malt powder swirled across her tongue. The shake didn’t just taste similar to the one from Bo’s—it tasted identical.

“Wow!” Penny looked up at the woman in surprise. “It really worked!” She took another, bigger sip. “It tastes exactly like what I imagined!”

The woman offered her a wan smile.

“Told you. The flavor sticks make all the difference.”

“Let me try one,” Shurla said grudgingly and the other women asked for their shakes as well.

Penny felt guilty—she hoped she hadn’t inadvertently convinced all the other prisoners to drink something that was somehow bad for them. But she’d been so hungry. She just couldn’t resist.

She took another sip of her shake and the familiar flavors conjured up pictures of childhood. Walking to Bo’s on a Summer evening with her mom and dad and her little sister, Jenny… The four of them ordering their favorites and then sitting at one of the picnic tables under the spreading oak trees… Her parents asking about how school was going or planning the next family vacation—the next adventure, as her dad used to say. They hadn’t been rich but they’d had an old RV and every summer her parents would take off work for at least two weeks so they could drive to one of the national parks or…

“Honey, you’re crying. Are you okay?” Shurla was looking at her with concern on her face.

“Oh, uh…” Penny sniffed and wiped at her tears. “Sorry. It’s just that the taste of this, uh, stuff, really brought back some memories. I guess I just miss my planet and my family, that’s all.”

“I miss Hell’s Gate and the Lucky Lounge,” Shurla said and sighed. She lifted her chin. “But don’t get down in the mouth, honey—we’re gonna get out of here—you’ll see.”

“How?” Penny looked around to make sure no one was listening, but the woman who had passed out the protein shakes was gone and the prisoners were alone in the dormitory.

“I don’t know.” Shurla got a stubborn look on her pretty face. “But I know we’ve got to do it. There’s something wrong with this place—something really wrong. I mean, the way all the people are so happy all the time? That’s not natural.”

“No, it’s not,” Penny agreed fervently. “And what do you think happened to the poor girl they dragged out of the exam room? What do you think ‘recycling’ means around here?”

“I don’t know and I don’t want to find out,” Shurla said grimly. “We have to get out as fast as we can, Penny—before the same thing—or something worse happens to us.”

“I’m with you,” Penny murmured. “If we could just get out of this building I think we could find the way to the exit pretty easily. But what about the jungle and all the poisonous plants?”

“If we stay on the road they used to bring us here, we shouldn’t have to touch any of them,” Shurla pointed out. “We just have to hide and wait until they open that energy gate again and then slip out when nobody is looking.”

“Then what?” Penny asked. “Just follow the road?”

“As far as it leads us,” Shurla said, nodding. “And then stow away in one of their ships.” She frowned. “These freaking NeverBreeder bastards must go to Hell’s Gate pretty often. In fact, I’d bet my third titty they’re the reason there’s been so many abductions lately.”

“You’re probably right.” Penny remembered how Kat and Commander Sylvan had suspected the abductions were due to the pirate they’d warned her about—V’rex, the half Kindred/ half Kru’ell One Hybrid. To think she’d been so frightened of him when she saw him in the Lucky Lounge! If only she’d known where the real danger lay…

In a bunch of Oompa-Loompas, she thought and sighed. They certainly didn’t look as menacing as the big Hybrid, but they were apparently much more dangerous. Why, Penny bet if she met V’rex again now, she wouldn’t even bat an eye!

Not that there’s any chance of that, she told herself. He’s probably off pirating somewhere while I’m trapped in this crazy cult Compound. How in the hell am I going to get out of here?

Well, hopefully by following Shurla’s plan. The two of them spoke quietly for about an hour longer, plotting their escape. By the time the lights went out and they all climbed into their narrow cots, she was feeling much more hopeful than she had earlier.

TWENTY-FIVE

Penny had the oddest dreams, that night—she dreamed that her pillow was whispering to her. It whispered and whispered but she couldn’t understand half of what it said.

“Colonel Sanders,” whispered the pillow. “Colonel Sanders is the Shining Star—he brings us chicken from afar.”

Strange images began to grow in Penny’s dreams. She saw the man who had called himself the “Glorious Leader” standing in front of her. But he had a giant fried chicken drumstick for a torso. His head sat on top of the end of the drumstick and his arms and legs were growing out of it.

He began dancing and singing to Penny, telling her how wonderful he was as he bobbed his drumstick body all around. But all she could think about was how hungry she still was. The protein shake she’d had for supper hadn’t filled her up for very long.

Still he kept singing, but most of what the Glorious Leader said went in one ear and out the other. He seemed to be singing about how the Compound was a paradise and she was lucky to be living there. But Penny kept imagining what it would be like to go take a bite of his juicy fried chicken body. The giant drumstick appeared to be extra crispy—her favorite. If only she had some mashed potatoes and gravy and coleslaw to go with it, she would be perfectly happy.

The dream seemed to go on all night long and Penny got hungrier and hungrier. By the time she woke up, her mouth was watering and she was hoping that she and Shurla could get some breakfast before they made a break for it and tried to escape.

She sat up in bed and noticed that she was the only one awake. It was still dim in the dormitory but there was a slit of a window, high up on the far wall, and a thin sliver of pale dawn light had painted a single luminous stripe on the blank white floor. It must be early in the morning then—which explained why everyone else in the cots all around her was still asleep.

But was the early hour really the reason no one else was up? There seemed to be a hushed whispering sound coming from somewhere. Penny frowned, remembering her strange thought that her pillow was trying to tell her something. Something about the Glorious Leader and a giant chicken drumstick…

No, he was the chicken drumstick, Penny thought. And he was singing something but I couldn’t quite make it out…

She put her face back down to the pillow experimentally and the whispering sound got louder. But try as she might, Penny couldn’t make out more than one word in ten. Every once in awhile she caught, “Glorious Leader” or “Shining Star,” but nothing else made any sense.

Penny frowned. Was there something wrong with her translation bacteria? And why was her pillow whispering to her, anyway? Was she still asleep and only dreaming that she was awake?

As if in answer to her question, the overhead lights suddenly came on and the door opened.

“Rise and shine, my lovelies!” cooed the voice of Mother Toone. “It’s another beautiful day in the Compound.” She went to each of the beds and shook the women gently by the shoulder. Penny had quickly pretended to be asleep the moment the door opened, so the NeverBreeder attendant shook her too.

Penny yawned and stretched, pretending to wake up just like all the women around her.

“Wakey-wakey!” Mother Toone sang brightly. “Time to get up and have some tasty breakfast. Then off we pop for a quick exam and then some lovely activities and maybe even some time in the exercise yard if you’re all very good.”

She bustled out the door and Penny sent Shurla an excited look.

“Did you hear that?” she whispered, leaning close to her friend’s cot. “The exercise yard! That must be outside the building. And if we can get out of the building, we can escape!”

“Escape?” Shurla frowned at her as though she didn’t understand the meaning of the word. “Why ever would we want to escape from the Compound?” she asked Penny, looking confused.

“What?” Penny stared at her blankly. “We want to escape because we don’t want to stay here with this crazy cult! We want to get back to Hell’s Gate Station so you can go back to your life as a, uh, joy-girl and I can call my friends and have them come get me.”

Shurla looked shocked.

“I don’t want to go back to that awful place!” she exclaimed. “It was dark and dirty—not nice and clean like the Compound.” She smoothed the bright white pillowcase beside her lovingly, as though admiring the cleanliness all around her.

“What’s wrong with you?” Penny hissed. “Last night you couldn’t wait to escape! In fact, you were the one who came up with the plan!”

Shurla opened her eyes wide and stared at Penny as though she was crazy.

“Why would I make a plan to escape paradise?” she asked, sounding honestly bewildered. “I must stay here and fulfill the Glorious Leader’s will for my life. Soon I will be united with my Forever Mate and after that, I shall breed for his glory—for the glory of the Shining Star…”

She clasped her hands to her triple bosom, a beatific smile wreathing her face. She looked like a saint who had caught a glimpse of Heaven, Penny thought. There was nothing forced or fake about her expression—she seemed to honestly believe everything she had been saying.

“I don’t understand this.” Penny shook her head. “What happened to you, Shurla? Why are you acting like this?”

“She’s just responding to the hypno-whispers and if you don’t want to be recycled, you’ll pretend you are too,” murmured a voice behind Penny.

Penny gasped and jerked around to see the woman with the straight black hair who had brought their protein shakes yesterday. She had a hover-cart filled with trays and more frosty glasses of the same milk-shake-like liquid which she was handing out to the other prisoners.

“What do you mean?” Penny asked her. “What whispers?” Then she remembered the way her pillow had seemed to be whispering to her when she woke up, though she couldn’t understand very much of it.

“You must have heard them,” the woman murmured, as she served Penny a tray which had a covered plate, a glass of the frosty white stuff, and a flavor stick and a few utensils on a napkin.

“Well, yeah.” Penny nodded. “But I only understood about one word in ten.”

The woman looked at her shrewdly.

“Either you’ve got a language implant or some other kind of translation device on you. Standard isn’t your first language and you didn’t learn it naturally, did you?”

“Uh, no.” Penny shook her head. “English—English is my first language.”

“Never heard of English, but it’s a damn good thing for your sake that you don’t know Standard. Else you’d have been hypnotized too.” The woman shook her head.

“But—” Penny began.

The woman shook her head.

“Not here. Out in the exercise yard I’ll tell you more if I can. In the meantime, act like all the others and when Mother Toone asks if anyone wants to leave the Compound, don’t say a word. Understand?”

She gave Penny such an intense look that she felt her stomach fist in fear.

“All right,” she murmured. “I won’t.’

“Good.” The woman nodded. “Now here’s your breakfast. Whatever you do, don’t eat the flesh.”

“The flesh?” Penny asked, bewildered. But the woman had already passed on and was giving out breakfast trays to the other prisoners.

Penny looked down at her own tray and saw something that looked like blue scrambled eggs and a piece of pale purple toast. There was also a bowl full of pink chunks in some kind of white custard and a few strips of crispy brown meat.

The meat looked like the best of the lot but Penny remembered the woman’s words and didn’t touch it. The way she’d called it “flesh” instead of meat seemed significant—Penny was afraid to ask where it had come from.

Instead, she tasted the other things on her tray but found them all extremely bland. Her eye fell on the flavor stick, though, and she had an idea. Picking it up, she placed it against her tongue and thought about scrambled eggs. Then she swirled it through the fluffy blue chunks on her plate and tried them again. This time they tasted exactly like perfectly cooked scrambled eggs with just a hint of cheese and salt and pepper.

“Mmm, perfect!” Penny murmured to herself. She did the same thing to the purple bread—thinking of hot buttered toast with homemade strawberry preserves and then transformed her bland protein shake into a frozen mochaccino. The pink chunks in white custard was a little bit more difficult, but after a moment, Penny thought to transform them into pineapple in a kind of custard cream sauce. To be honest, this last transformed food wasn’t very good but she was still hungry, so she ate it anyway.

All around her, the other prisoners were cleaning their plates and drinking their shakes with no questions. Penny wondered if all of them were hypnotized as Shurla apparently was. The looks of quiet contentment and peaceful happiness on their formerly worried faces seemed to answer her question—every one of them had gone straight down the rabbit hole—presumably from listening to what the woman had called “hypno-whispers” the night before.

She also wondered if she ought to try and escape by herself. But she’d been depending on Shurla to go with her. And besides, the woman with short black hair who had served them breakfast had promised to tell her more during their time in the exercise yard—maybe she ought to wait and hear what she had to say before making a break for it…

“Now then, my lovelies.” Mother Toone was suddenly there, standing in the front of the dormitory. “Did everyone enjoy their yummy-yummy breakfasts?” she asked brightly.

“Oh, yes—it was delicious,” Shurla said, smiling at her. “I’ve never had anything so tasty in my life! They certainly don’t have anything nearly this good back at Hell’s Gate Station,” she added.

The other women nodded and murmured, agreeing with her. In order to avoid being found out, Penny nodded along with the rest.

“Good, good!” Mother Toone cooed. “Now…” She cocked her bald orange head to one side inquiringly. “I notice that you mentioned your old home, my dear,” she said to Shurla. “And I want you to know, you can go back there if you want. That is, you can get up and leave the Compound right this minute. In fact, everyone can.” She paused theatrically, her yellow eyes flickering over all of them. “This is your first, last, and only chance. Speak now if you want to leave our lovely Compound.”

It was on the tip of Penny’s tongue to shout that she wanted to go! That she wanted to get out of this crazy place right now. But she remembered the other woman’s words and the sharp look she’d given Penny when she told her not to say a word when she was asked if she wanted to leave. So she bit her tongue and waited, hoping she wasn’t blowing her only chance to get out of here.

After a moment, Mother Toone nodded in apparent satisfaction.

“That’s good,” she said, smiling widely. “Very good. So you’re all happy here?”

Shurla answered for everyone.

“The Compound is our true home,” she said, smiling beatifically. “Why would we ever want to leave it?”

All the women murmured agreement and Penny pasted a smile on her face and murmured right along with them. But inside her stomach was knotted into a fist. What in the hell was going on around here and how was she ever going to get away now that her only friend had deserted her?

Penny could only hope the woman—whose name she didn’t know—was telling her the truth and that she could give her some hints on how to escape.

Because there was no way she could stay in this creepy place—no way in hell.

TWENTY-SIX

There was another physical where they all stripped and lined up against the wall while a NeverBreeder doctor checked their vitals. After that came the horrible internal exam on the cold metal tables where Penny’s womb was pronounced “healthy and ripening, though not yet ready to conceive.”

After the exam, their robes were taken away and they were all given shapeless pajama-like clothing to wear which looked a little like white scrubs. Then, as promised, they were herded out to the exercise yard, which was just a big, walled-off area of neatly clipped turquoise grass with a few flowering bushes around the edges.

“Now then, my sweeties,” Mother Toone sang out as the prisoners wandered around the manicured lawn and looked at the sky, which could just be seen over the high wall. “You all have a lovely time exercising and then I’ll come get you for lunch. All righty?”

She left without waiting for an answer, locking them into the yard the same way she had locked them into the dorm the night before. Presumably, they were on their own for a while.

Penny thought about trying to speak to Shurla, but her friend had an expression of blank bliss on her face. She was wandering about the exercise yard with a vacant smile, staring up at the sunlight filtering down through the shimmering atmosphere bubble and humming contentedly to herself.

So talking to Shurla was out. Penny’s other thought was to wonder if now was a good time to try and escape. But the wall around the yard was at least thirty feet high and made of a solid block of some smooth, glassy gray stone like polished marble, which provided no hand or footholds at all.

She was just beginning to despair about ever getting out or finding out what was going on around here, when the single door to the yard opened again and the woman with short, straight black hair slipped out. Carefully, she locked the door behind her and then went to tend the flowers on the bushes that ringed the perimeter of the yard.

Penny watched her for a moment, and then wandered over as though curious about the bushes.

“Hi,” she murmured to the woman, trying to keep a happy smile on her face as she spoke.

“Hello.” The woman didn’t look up from her pruning. She had a tiny, blunt pair of scissors she was using to carefully shape the leaves and buds of each bush into perfectly symmetrical shapes. “It’s a beautiful day in the Compound,” she added loudly.

“Oh, uh, yes. Yes, it is,” Penny agreed quickly. Then she murmured, “You promised me some answers. What in the hell is going on around here, anyway?”

The woman sighed and nodded.

“Fine. I’ll tell you what I can but you’ve got to be careful. If you give me away, I’ll pretend I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked up, giving Penny that intense, hopeless gaze again. “I’ve been here fifteen cycles so I’m very good at pretending.”

Fifteen cycles? Does she mean fifteen years? Penny felt her breath catch in her throat.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “And I’m Penny, by the way. Penny from Earth.”

“Never heard of it,” the woman said dismissively. She clipped another bud. “My name is Claudette. I used to be from Tenga Four, but I’ll never get back there now.” She shook her head with a sad kind of resignation.

“What? Why do you say that? Haven’t you ever even thought about trying to escape?” Penny asked.

Claudette’s face hardened.

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d been here as long as I have and you knew how this place works. You know what happens to anyone who tries to escape or who loses their fertility? They get recycled.”

“What does that mean?” Penny shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

Claudette gave her a direct look.

“I heard that one of your number didn’t make the grade during her fertility inspection yesterday.”

Penny remembered the woman with purple skin and gills the guards had dragged screaming out of the exam room.

“Yes, they said they were taking her for recycling,” she said. “But I don’t understand what that is.”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like—no part of anyone or anything is ever allowed to go to waste here in the Compound. Remember how I told you not to eat the flesh on your breakfast tray this morning?” Claudette asked. “That was your friend—the one who failed her fertility test.”

“Oh! Oh, no,” Penny whispered, as the other woman’s words sank in. “That’s terrible,” she whispered, feeling sick.

“No, that’s the Compound,” Claudette said grimly. “It’s just the way things are here. So be careful what you eat.”

“What else is going on here?” Penny asked. “Why did they kidnap us in the first place?”

“Why do you think? They call us all breeders, don’t they?” Claudette’s voice was harsh. “You’re here to bear babies for the Glorious Cause. Only you’ll never get to see any of them—not as they ought to be, anyway.”

“What? Why not?” Penny demanded. “And if this is some kind of a…a breeding farm, how come none of the women I saw in the town was pregnant?”

“They take the baby out of you after the first trimester, that’s why,” Claudette told her. “That way you can keep bearing more and more babies—at least four a year is what they like. Or more if you’re fertile enough to have twins.”

“Four babies a year?” Penny was aghast. “But you never get to carry any of them to term? Why not?”

“They have to take them out so they can treat the fetuses in the chemical baths until it changes them into what they want,” Claudette said darkly.

“What they want?” Penny looked at her blankly. “What do you mean? What do they change the babies into?”

Claudette gave her a dark look.

“Where do you think the NeverBreeders come from?”

“What?” Penny shook her head. “No,” she said. “No, that can’t be right. I…I don’t believe you!”

“Believe what you want.” Claudette shrugged, as though it didn’t matter what Penny thought. “But ask yourself this—how else could they reproduce? Have you seen between their legs? They’re bare down there—completely smooth.”

Feeling sick, Penny remembered thinking how strange the smooth orange patch of skin between the NeverBreeder guards’ legs were when she’d seen them in the showers the day before.

“You’ve seen them.” Claudette nodded. “I can see it in your eyes—you know I’m telling the truth.”

“But…why?” Penny shook her head. “Why keep a whole Compound full of people who are fertile just to have babies and make them into people who are infertile and incapable of reproducing themselves?”

“For the ‘Glorious Cause,’ of course,” Claudette said sourly. “Someday our Glorious Leader will lead an army of NeverBreeders out into the universe and conquer the whole thing—starting with Hell’s Gate Station, of course—because it is the most sinful place in all creation. Of course, he doesn’t want to conquer it now because it’s his main resource for kidnapping breeders.”

“This is crazy…” Penny felt dizzy with the information being dumped on her. “I just…I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “So I’m stuck here and I’m going to be artificially inseminated for the rest of my life so I can keep having baby after baby that they’ll turn into those little orange monsters?”

“Oh no—not artificially inseminated.” Claudette shook her head. “No, the chemical conversion process won’t work on a baby unless it’s been made the old- fashioned way and incubated in a real womb the first three months. So as soon as your womb is ripe for conception, you’ll be paired with your Forever Mate in a Unification Ceremony.”

“My who in a what?” Penny’s head was spinning.

“Your Forever Mate—whoever the Glorious Leader chooses for you to be with. I’ve been with mine for fifteen cycles—the big idiot,” Claudette said bitterly. “Look.” She pulled down the front of her pale blue toga dress and showed Penny a looping scar just above her left breast. “That’s his mark.”

“He…he marked you? How?” Penny asked.

Claudette only shook her head.

“During the Unification Ceremony, of course. You’ll see. Targ is his name. He’s well and truly hypnotized—never stops talking about what a pleasure it is to ‘serve the Shining Star’ and ‘contribute to the Glorious Cause.’“ She made a face. “And he breeds me every night like clockwork during the Mandatory Breeding Hour. Gods, I hate him!”

“You can’t be serious,” Penny whispered. She felt so dizzy now she had to sit down and put her head in her hands. “This can’t be right. I can’t be stuck here—I’m not even supposed to be here! I’m supposed to be on Yown Beta on an interstellar archeological expedition! Not stuck in a cult compound about to be given away to some man I’ve never met in order to have babies the rest of my life!”

“Keep it down!” Claudette hissed. She gave Penny a swift kick that made her yelp. “Don’t you go having hysterics on me,” she snarled under her breath when Penny looked up with a wounded expression. “I haven’t had anyone to talk to since my friend, Kensey was recycled, but I’ll have you recycled too before I’ll let you get me killed with your damned blubbering!”

“S-sorry.” Penny gulped, trying to get the words out without bursting into tears. “It’s just…this is a lot to take in all at once. And you make it sound so…so hopeless.”

“It is hopeless.” Claudette’s hard gray eyes softened just a little. “But at least you know you’re not alone,” she added. “You’re not the only one immune to the whispers. Just be sure you don’t let any of those orange bastards know it, though, or it’s off to the recycler for you and the next day, you’re on the breakfast plate.”

And with those not at all encouraging words, she picked up the basket of leaf trimmings and left, locking the door to the exercise yard behind her and leaving Penny all alone with her dismal thoughts.

TWENTY-SEVEN

In the next few days, Penny’s body began to change and not, in her opinion, for the better.

First her pussy became sensitive and swollen. She always waxed before she went on a long expedition—it saved time and trouble in personal grooming in her opinion—so she was still smooth enough to see how obvious the problem was.

At first she was worried she might have gotten some kind of alien infection somehow, but she didn’t have any kind of itching or any other signs of disease. It was just that her outer pussy lips were swollen and her clit seemed bigger and much more sensitive when she examined herself surreptitiously in the shower.

This was uncomfortable enough, but at least it could be hidden. However, the other changes in her body most definitely could not.

Not long after she noticed the changes between her legs, her breasts began to grow. She’d been a respectable size C cup since high school, but now she was suddenly a double D! Or she estimated that she would be a double D if she was allowed to wear a bra. But she and the other prisoners were kept in the shapeless white scrubs with no undergarments at all.

Penny would have thought she was imagining her breast growth, but the scrub top told a different story. It kept getting tighter and tighter every time she put it on until, at last, she had to ask Mother Toone for a larger one because she couldn’t get it over her much-larger breasts one morning.

The NeverBreeder attendant looked pleased.

“Why, of course you can have a bigger top, my sweetie,” she cooed at Penny. “And don’t you worry about a thing—you’re just getting extra ripe and fertile for your first breeding.”

“I…I am?” Penny tried to smile but the idea of being “bred” by some man she didn’t even know was horrifying.

“Well, of course my sweet!” Mother Toone opened her yellow eyes wide. “Your Forever Mate, who you’ll be joined with during the Unification Ceremony.”

Penny was intensely glad that Claudette had already told her about this. She was pretty sure she couldn’t have kept the calm and happy look on her face if she had just been finding out she was soon to be married to a complete stranger that moment from the NeverBreeder attendant.

“Oh, of course,” she murmured. “That sounds…lovely.”

“And so it will be!” Mother Toone exclaimed. “All these lovely ladies lined up to wed with the males our Glorious Leader has picked for them! And you’ll be happy, my sweet! For the Shining Star is never wrong. Every couple he puts together is as happy as can be, all their lives long.”

“I…I’m sure they are,” Penny mumbled, still smiling as hard as she could.

“Here you go, my dear.”

Mother Toone got Penny a larger scrub top and nodded in approval as Penny pulled it on.

“Now then,” she told Penny. “You just let me know when your nectar comes in—it should start any day now.”

“My…nectar?” Penny asked in confusion—this was something Claudette hadn’t told her about. “What’s that?”

“Why, it’s a kind of sweet honey or dew that drips from your nipples,” Mother Toone informed her. “Once it comes in, you’re ripe to be bred by your Forever Mate. And you’ll be needing him to help you with it—which he will, of course, during your Mandatory Breeding hour each day.”

Penny felt like her smile was beginning to crack.

“Is…is that so?” she managed to get out.

“Oh yes, sweetie, it’s so.” Mother Toone smiled at her. “So as I said, let me know when it comes in. It’s sweet and sticky and it can make a real mess if it’s not drawn out at least once a day. So we’ll hook you up at the suction station if it comes in too much before the Unification Ceremony.”

“Suction station?” Penny asked faintly. “Uh, never mind,” she added, when Mother Toone started to explain. “I think I can figure that one out on my own. But what about…” She hesitated, not sure how put the other embarrassing question she wanted to ask.

“What about the swelling in your nethers?” Mother Toone asked brightly. “Why, that’s just another sign you’re getting ready to be bred. I know it’s a bit sensitive down there.” She nodded at the baggy crotch of Penny’s scrubs. “But never you fear—the minute you’re matched to your Forever Mate, his seed will ease the ache, I promise.”

“His seed? It will?” Penny asked faintly. “I mean, of course it will. Thank you, Mother Toone. Um, excuse me—I think I need to…to use the restroom.”

“Hurry back dear,” the NeverBreeder attendant advised her. “You don’t want your lovely breakfast to get cold. We have some tasty sausage links for you today—juicy and meaty and delicious!”

Wondering what—or who—was in the breakfast sausage, Penny nodded and fled before her smile could break completely.

She ran into the communal bathroom, which adjoined the dorm room, and shut herself into one of the stalls. Ripping up her scrub top, she examined her breasts and nipples anxiously and saw they had turned from pale pink to a dark maroon.

Were her breasts really going to swell with some kind of weird nectar? And what was causing this change in her body in the first place? Was it in the food they were feeding her?

She was scrupulously avoiding all meat, now that she knew what was in it. She used the flavor sticks on everything else though—could it be something in those? Or was it the ubiquitous protein shake she had every morning? It had actually become Penny’s favorite part of the day because she could make it into anything she wanted from a delicious frozen coffee drink to a sweet treat from her childhood. But maybe she ought to stop drinking it. Maybe—

She heard the bathroom door open and someone walked in and took the stall next to hers.

“It’s a glorious day in the Compound,” a familiar voice said loudly.

“Claudette?” Penny whispered back.

“It’s me. Saw you tear out of the dorm in a hurry. You’re not cracking, are you?” The other woman sounded concerned but Penny wasn’t sure if she was more worried about her mental health or anxious that Penny might give her away as someone else who wasn’t truly hypnotized and under the control of the Compound.

“I’m okay,” she said, trying to keep her voice low and steady. “It’s just…you could have warned me about the breast growth and the…the nectar I’m supposed to start producing any day now. Mother Toone told me about it and it kind of freaked me out.”

“That’s just a side-effect of the Mother’s Milk,” Claudette said complacently.

“The Mother’s Milk?” Penny asked. Nobody had mentioned the term again after her first day at the Compound and she’d almost forgotten about it.

“That’s the white liquid you drink every day,” Claudette told her. “The one you use the flavor sticks on.”

“What? But you told me that was just a protein shake!” Penny hissed. “How could you lie like that?”

“I have to do my job, don’t I?” Claudette demanded defensively. “You know what would happen to me if I started warning everyone what the Mother’s Milk does?”

“I’m not going to drink any more of it,” Penny vowed. I’ll find a way to hide it or flush it or pour it down the sink.”

“It wouldn’t matter by now if you stopped drinking it and never had any again,” Claudette told her. “After three days, the Mother’s Milk makes permanent changes in a woman’s body. They just keep giving it to you as long as you live in the dorms to be sure you get good and ripe for breeding.”

“So…these changes in my body are permanent?” Penny asked, looking down in horror at her new, much-larger breasts.

“They are.” She could almost hear Claudette shrugging. “Don’t worry—you’ll get used to it.”

“How can I get used to the idea that my breasts are going to start leaking some weird, honey-like substance and some man I’ve never met before will be sucking it out of me?” Penny demanded.

“Shhh! Keep your voice down!” Claudette hissed. “I don’t think the restrooms are bugged, but I can’t be sure. Gods know they bug every other damn place in the Compound—including the Love Huts where all us breeders live.”

“Love Huts? Is that what they call those little white cottages we saw on the way in here?” Penny asked.

“Uh-huh. Everything at the Compound has a pretty name attached to it,” Claudette said sourly. “The tiny fucking living quarters are ‘Love Huts.’ The sticky crap that comes from your breasts is ‘love nectar.’ The way your crotch gets all swollen and so sensitive you want to scream is the ‘breeding need.’ And of course, you get raped daily during the ‘Mandatory Breeding Hour.’ It’s all just Gods-damned glorious.”

She sounded so bitter and hopeless, Penny would have cried for her if she hadn’t been frightened half out of her mind.

“Claudette,” she said urgently. “We have to get away from here! Can’t we make some excuse to get near the gate and then hide until they open it again and slip out?”

“And then what?” Claudette demanded from the other stall. “Go hide in the Deadly Jungle and die a horrible, painful death by poisoning the first time a leaf brushes your skin?”

“We could stick to the road where there aren’t any plants,” Penny said stubbornly. “We could try to get to where the NeverBreeder scouting parties dock and sneak into one of their ships and get taken back to Hell’s Gate Station.”

“You’re dreaming,” Claudette said flatly. “You need to stop it now, Penny. These kinds of fantasies are only going to get you recycled and portioned out at the meat market or served up on the meal trays.”

“I can’t give up hope!” Penny protested. “I don’t want to be married off to some man I don’t know and be…be raped by him every day for the rest of my life!” She could barely get the words out, her throat was so tight.

“It’s not so bad after you get used to it.” Claudette’s voice sounded gray and colorless—hollow, Penny thought. “I used to wish I could talk my idiot mate out of breeding me all the time, but he’s too much of a zealot for the Glorious Cause to ever skip a Mandatory Breeding Hour. Besides, that’s when he sucks out my nectar. And if he didn’t impregnate me so regularly, I’d have been recycled ages ago. So there’s that, anyway.”

“What if you could talk him out of…of breeding you, though?” Penny asked. “I mean, do you think that’s possible? Would someone who’s under the influence of the hypno-whispers be able to listen to reason?”

Claudette barked an ugly laugh.

“Talk him out of it? When have you ever been able to talk any male, hypnotized or not, out of wanting sex? Besides, there’s the Spice to contend with.”

“The spice? What spice?” Penny asked.

“The kinds that drives even the mildest, kindest male to rape,” Claudette said dryly. “And believe me, the NeverBreeder scouts aren’t out there looking for the mildest and the kindest. They’re picking males who already have high testosterone levels and the Spice just drives their sexual desire through the roof.”

“What spice are you talking about?” Penny demanded again, irritated that the other woman wasn’t answering her question. “Is it the male equivalent of the Mother’s Milk?”

“You could say that,” Claudette muttered. “Only it’s airborne—constantly circulating through the air supply of the entire Compound. So it isn’t like a supplement or a food you can stop eating or drinking. Every breeder male inside the atmosphere dome that’s over this place is breathing it in every minute of the day and night and believe me—it makes them horny as a belrusian bear. So I’m warning you now—get ready to be plowed the minute you and your ‘Forever Mate’ get back to your ‘Love Hut’ after the Unification Ceremony. He’s going to need to breed and you’ll just have to take it.”

“That’s awful!” Penny put her head in her hands. She felt cold all over—a deep chill that had settled at her core and wouldn’t thaw. “Claudette, I can’t go through with this,” she whispered. “I have to find a way to escape—have to get out of here before the Unification Ceremony!”

“Good luck with that,” Claudette said unsympathetically. “Every door in and out of this place is locked to the retinal scans of the NeverBreeders who work here. Even I have to wait to get in and out until one of them comes to help me and the Breeding and Conception Center has been my job assignment for the past twelve cycles.”

“There must be some way!” Penny pleaded. “Some time when they’re taking a break or leaving for the night or some point when I could slip out when nobody is watching!”

“Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve been telling you?” Claudette’s voice from the other stall was harsh. “Somebody is always watching around here! Even in the Love Huts—if you don’t do your duty and breed in the bed chamber at the Mandatory Breeding Hour, they’ll know it. And you know how they’ll know it? Because they’re always watching!”

She took a deep breath and blew it out in a frustrated sound.

“Look, I don’t have any more time for this. This is life in the Compound and there’s absolutely no escape unless you want to end up in the sausage grinder. So get used to it or die—those are your only two choices, Penny. That’s it. I’m sorry.”

She got up and the stall door banged shut as she left. There was the sound of water running in the sink and then the door to the bathroom opened and shut, leaving Penny alone.

I can’t cry, she told herself, even as the tears leaked down her cheeks. I can’t. If I show any emotion other than happiness to be here, they’ll suspect I’m not hypnotized and I’ll end up in the sausage grinder, just like Claudette said. But oh God—what am I going to do?

It was at times like these when she wished she could pray—wished she could reach out to a higher power who had everything under control—who had a plan, even though she couldn’t see it—

“Courage, daughter,” a soft voice whispered in her ear and then the entire bathroom seemed to fill with a warm, comforting presence.

Penny took a deep, surprised breath. It was like someone had come to her when she was standing out in the cold and wrapped a warm, cozy quilt around her shoulders and given her a comforting hug.

“What…who?” She looked around but there was no one there—except there was. Penny could sill feel the presence wrapped around her like strong, loving arms.

“Courage,” whispered the voice again. “Things seem dark now but you will prevail.”

Then the presence and the voice that went with it were gone as quickly as they had appeared. But somehow, Penny still felt comforted.

She wasn’t sure what she had just experienced or who had been talking to her but she felt better—stronger and less hopeless. Maybe despite the scary situation she found herself in, things would still work out all right.

Penny sniffed and blotted her face with toilet paper. She would splash some water in her face and tell Mother Toone that she’d gotten something in her eyes and rubbing had made them red. No matter how hopeless things looked, she couldn’t let herself give up.

Even if there didn’t seem to be any point in doing anything else.

TWENTY-EIGHT

“Now, now, stop fussing with your Unification dress! It’s supposed to be worn this way.”

Mother Toone parted the long, feathery strands of the billux grass top that Penny was wearing so that it showed her breasts—now heavy and full with nectar—and the leaking tips of her nipples.

The billux grass plant was one of the few on Yown Alpha that wasn’t poisonous and since the long strands were soft and colorful—deep blue and turquoise and jade green—they were used to make special occasion clothing like the Unification dress Penny was wearing.

The “dress” was actually a sleeveless top worn in a band just above her jutting breasts and a long skirt worn low on the hips that went almost to her ankles. In the outfit, Penny thought she looked like a hula girl—an obscene one.

“And the bottom has to be worn like this,” the NeverBreeder attendant continued, reaching down to part the long feathery fronds so that they framed Penny’s swollen pussy.

“But…it’s so revealing,” Penny protested.

“It’s supposed to be, my sweet!” Mother Toone told her, parting the skirt even wider. “It’s all part of the ceremony—you’ll see.”

“I guess I will.” Penny was fighting to keep the happy smile on her face, which mirrored the smiles on the other women in her group. All of their breasts had begun making nectar by now and all their wombs had been pronounced “ripe and ready for conception” during their last exam. So today was the Unification Day Ceremony, when they would all be joined with their “Forever Mates” for life.

All the other women in her group seemed ecstatic that the big day was finally here—Shurla most of all. It was hard to reconcile the beaming bride arranging the fronds of her top to showcase all three of her breasts with the girl who had mouthed-off angrily on their first day at the Compound.

Rather than being angry and belligerent, Shurla was now all about meeting her Forever Mate and starting her new life serving the Glorious Cause. She couldn’t wait to get bred so she could start making babies for the Glorious Leader.

“Oh, isn’t this so exciting, Penny?” she asked, grinning from ear to ear as she talked. “Today we’ll meet the mates our Shining Star has chosen for us! And we’ll be marked as theirs forever and be bred by them! And then tomorrow, we get our job assignments and our real life in the Compound will begin. Oh, I just can’t wait!”

“Now, now, my sweetie, we’re almost ready to go. See how excited she is!” Mother Toone beamed at Penny and Shurla both. “Ah, sometimes I almost wish I could mate and breed myself. It’s all so romantic.”

Right—about as romantic as getting flattened by a truck! Penny thought sourly. But she kept the smile planted firmly on her face and made a noise of agreement.

“Yes, so romantic. Now stop that, dearie—I told you, the dress is meant to showcase your lovely assets to your Forever Mate!”

The NeverBreeder swatted at Penny’s hand—she had been surreptitiously trying to adjust the long grass strands to cover her nipples.

“Sorry.” Giving up, Penny clenched her fists at her sides. Going out in front of the entire village of strangers with her breasts and nipples—leaking the amber-colored nectar—and her swollen pussy on display was possibly one of the most embarrassing things she’d ever had to do. But since none of the other women seemed the least bit perturbed, she supposed she would just have to deal with it.

She wasn’t sure, but Penny thought all this eagerness to go get joined and bred might have something to do with a change in the hypno-whispers. She still couldn’t understand more than one word in ten, but at night when her pillow whispered to her, her dreams had changed—becoming stranger than ever.

She still dreamed of the Glorious Leader as Colonel Sanders, but this time Sanders was doing a sensuous bump and grind, telling Penny how hot and sexy it was to get bred for the Glorious Cause. But when he unzipped his immaculate white trousers and reached inside, he pulled out not a penis, but an extra-crispy chicken drumstick.

“Take a bite,” he told Penny, thrusting his hips to shove the drumstick in her face. “Just a nibble. Come on—you know you want to…”

At that point, Penny usually woke up, drenched in sweat and filled with a strange mixture of hungriness and horniness. It was a terribly odd combination which was disturbing on so many levels she could hardly name them all.

Clearly, though, the other women were getting the full impact of the hypno-whispers and they were excited to begin their new lives in the Compound. When all of them were lined up in a row, Mother Toone clapped her hands in excitement.

“Oh my dears, you all look so lovely! I’m so excited for you!”

“Thank you, Mother Toone!” they all chorused dutifully and Shurla added, “Can we go get bred now?”

The NeverBreeder attendant laughed indulgently.

“My, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an eager bunch! Yes, it’s finally time for the ceremony, my sweeties. Come on—let’s go.”

And she led them out of the dormitory and through the long, convoluted hallways to the exit of the Breeding and Conception Center at last.

This is my chance—my only chance! Penny thought grimly, as they walked through the door and out into the open. The sun was shining warmly through the glittering vault of the atmosphere dome and a warm, spicy breeze was rustling the tops of the well-manicured trees which lined the walkway to the Breeding and Conception Center.

Penny took a deep breath. It was the first time in days she’d been outside other than the daily trip to the exercise yard, which hardly counted.

She looked around herself surreptitiously. There were guards surrounding their group of brides-to-be, but surely they would fan out some when everyone started walking. Penny was determined that the minute she saw a time when no one was looking, she would slip away and head down to the gate of the Compound to hide.

And I’ll stay there, she told herself. Until they open the damn thing up and I can slip away! I’ll—

“Now, before we go to the Amphitheater and meet your Forever Mates for the Unification Ceremony, we must make a few little adjustments,” Mother Toone said, smiling at them brightly. “Guard Spoone? Can you help me?”

One of the NeverBreeder guards came forward. He holstered the pain-prod he’d been holding and pulled a fistful of something that looked like a bunch of colorful silk handkerchiefs out of his pocket.

“Who’s first?” he asked gruffly, glaring first at the assembled women and then at Mother Toone.

“I think Shurla is our most eager bride,” Mother Toone decided, smiling her Jack-o-Lantern smile. “Come forward, my dear,” she added, motioning to the triple-breasted woman.

Shurla came forward eagerly, flipping her bright pink hair with an excited little toss of her head as she stood in front of Mother Toone and Guard Spoone.

“Now, in order to show your obedience to your mate and your blind trust in the will of the Shining Star, you must be bound and blindfolded on the way to the ceremony,” Mother Toone explained, as Guard Spoone tied a bright red handkerchief around Shurla’s eyes and a bright blue one around her wrists. “Plus, it adds to the excitement—don’t you think?”

“I’m so, so, so excited!” Shurla gushed and giggled as she allowed herself to be bound and tied with no resistance at all. “But when do we get to see our Forever Mates, Mother Toone? When?”

“At the point in the ceremony when our Glorious Leader has given you formally to your Forever Mate, he will remove your blindfold and you will see him for the first time.” Mother Toone smiled indulgently. “All right now—who’s next?”

Penny felt her heart sink as she watched the other women go up and hold out their wrists eagerly to be bound. How could she possibly escape if she was blindfolded and had her hands tied? Her plan to run the minute no one was looking was impossible if she couldn’t see where she was going.

What was she going to do now?

I’ll tell you what you’re going to do now, whispered a cynical little voice in her head that sounded a lot like Claudette. You’re going to get married and bred and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.

Penny tried to push the little voice away, but she was terribly afraid it was right.

TWENTY-NINE

V didn’t like the fucking grass skirt thing they were making him wear but the pain square stuck to the side of his neck ensured that he didn’t complain. He and the rest of the males who were supposed to meet their “Forever Mates,” were waiting at the bottom of the Amphitheater for the Unification Ceremony to begin.

The Compound’s public meeting place was like a giant bowl someone had carved out of the ground. Rows of tiered, gray stone benches rose up all around them like round bleachers. They were already beginning to fill with the longtime residents of the Compound—both the breeders and NeverBreeders.

Down where V and the six other males were standing, there were several NeverBreeder guards with pain prods to make sure everyone stayed in order. Not a surprising precaution, V thought, since every last one of them was horny out of his fucking mind—V himself included.

It was something in the air here, he thought, as he caught another whiff of the warm, spicy breeze circulating down at the bottom of the Amphitheater. Maybe the Spice the “Glorious Leader” had mentioned during their first meeting. It made you fucking crazy. He hadn’t felt so constantly sexually needy since adolescence.

V, like the rest of the males who had been housed in his dormitory, had been beating off regularly to ease the tension. Then, about a week ago, they’d been moved out of the dorm and each of them had been given their own “Love Hut” which was the fucking stupid name given to the little white cottages that made up the breeder residences in the Compound. They’d also been assigned their jobs—(V’s was in the fucking hothouse, of all places, tending the fruit trees.)

The idea, he supposed, was for all of them to get used to the rhythm of everyday life here in the Compound by the time the Unification Ceremony finally rolled around. But there was one thing he couldn’t get used to—the non-con bracelets they’d all been fitted with before they left the dorm.

“These will keep you from touching yourselves in a sexual way while you live in the Compound,” the “Glorious Leader” had explained almost primly, when some of the males had complained. All of them but V might be under the sway of the hypno-whispers, but they were still red-blooded males who needed a release from time to time.

“If I can’t beat my meat, how’m I gonna get relief?” one male—a huge Karsian with a hunched back and a dick that unfurled almost down to the ground—demanded. His name was “Skrug” and he was nearly as stupid as he looked, in V’s opinion.

“Yeah—I need to get off! Somethin’ about this place makes me fuckin’ horny!” declared another male—a Jonquin with green skin and three horns sprouting from his forehead like a strange kind of crown.

“We’re asking you to keep mostly chaste for the solar week leading up to your Unification Ceremony so that your seed will be extra strong for breeding when you finally meet your beautiful Forever Mates,” the “Glorious Leader” explained.

“Does that mean you’ll take the non-cons off after our Joining Night?” V had asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well…no.” The “Glorious Leader” had cleared his throat and shot V a warning look.

You’re on thin ice, that look said—not that V gave a damn. He’d agreed to go along with the slimy bastard who ran this place in order to get close to the little female with the wide, frightened brown eyes and the luscious ass. But he wasn’t going to rape her, like the Compound’s fearless leader was advocating. He was going to grab her and run the hell away with her as soon as he got the chance.

Of course, exactly how he was going to get out of the Compound, he hadn’t quite worked out yet. But that would come once he had the girl and had convinced her to trust him. Which might be a tall order, considering what they were being told to do with their “Forever Mates” once they got them.

“You won’t need to give yourselves sexual relief, ever again,” the “Glorious Leader” had proclaimed, as the little orange mutant guards had come around and fitted them all for the non-contact bracelets. They were thick, copper bands filled with sensors that shocked the hell out of you if you attempted to “grease the pole” as they used to say back on his old ship.

“You won’t need to do that because from now on, you’ll always have a female at your sexual beck and call,” the “Shining Star” promised them. “Understand, gentlemen—I am giving these females to you—you will own them. From now on, if you want sex, you just take it at any time of the day or night. As your property, they cannot say no to you.”

“So we should just rape the girl you give us whenever we feel like it? Is that what you’re saying?” V asked flatly, glaring at the male in his pristine white suite.

“Rape? Of course not!” The “Glorious Leader” looked suitably shocked. “Why, these females I’m giving you will need sexual gratification as much as you do yourselves, gentlemen! Please understand, the fertility treatments they’ve been undergoing to make their wombs ready for your seed causes a lot of…shall we say side effects if they aren’t bred often and well.” He smirked. “I guarantee whoever your Forever Mate is, she’ll be as eager to mount your shaft as you are to put it in her.”

V had no doubt that might be true for the ones who were under the control of the hypno-whispers. He’d seen the glazed looks on all the other females’ faces when the “Glorious Leader” had shown them to him and told him to pick the one he wanted. But he couldn’t forget the fear in the big brown eyes of the little human female with the luscious ass. Somehow she was immune to the whispers just like he was himself and he was damned if he’d mistreat her or act like she was property he owned just because the bastard in the white suit said it was okay.

“You sure they’re gonna want it that bad?” the Karsian called Skrug asked, frowning.

“Yeah!” another male exclaimed. “Most times I try to breed a woman, she runs away from me. What makes these ones different?”

“All right, let me explain…” The “Glorious Leader” blew out a short breath of frustration. Clearly he was irritated with the stupider males in the bunch. Taking a deep breath, he renewed his bright, white smile and spoke slowly, making sure Skrug and the others understood.

“The Mother’s Milk that is given to your Forever Mates in the Breeding and Conception Center causes their breasts to swell with nectar, which they’ll need you to suck out at least once a day while you’re breeding them. It’s sweet, like honey—you’ll like it,” he added quickly before Skrug could object. “Also, they’ve become extremely sensitive between their legs—they’ll need your fluids to ease the ache.” He lifted his chin and smiled. “In short, they will become addicted to what only you can provide them in a very short amount of time, gentlemen. Now do you understand?”

There were looks of comprehension on the faces of even the dullest of the bunch and several of them laughed and congratulated each other.

“Won’t be able to say no!” V heard them saying. “She’s gonna beg me for it every day!”

He himself said nothing, but only stared with silent loathing at the “Glorious Leader.” What a total bastard he was! V had had his share of willing females in the past—he exuded a bad boy charm that ensured he was never without sex when he wanted it. But he’d never imagined drugging a female so that she had to give him what he wanted.

Other than his lust-honey, which caused intense pleasure and instant orgasms, he didn’t need any kind of substance to persuade females to sleep with him. And of course, he never stung them and injected the honey until after they had decided to go to bed with him.

But this bastard—the “Shining Star” of the NeverBreeder Compound—had found a way to force females to have sex regularly, whether they wanted it or not.

V supposed it wasn’t that surprising—this whole fucking place was built around the idea of breeding as many babies as fast as possible. Giving the “breeders,” who were responsible for producing those babies, drugs to make them more eager and willing to breed, would fit with the “Glorious Leader’s” master plan. But it was still a shitty thing to do.

There was worse to come, however.

“What about if we get tired of our ‘Forever Mates’ though?” a big male Frunken growled, narrowing his three purple eyes. “Me, I like a variety of pussy. Don’t like to fuck the same one twice!”

“Never fear, gentlemen…” The “Glorious Leader” smiled widely. “You’ll get a chance to try the other females in the Compound as well. Why do you think I announce Public Breedings from time to time? When you hear me call for one of those over the speakercoms, you stop whatever you’re doing and grab whichever female you want to try—or whichever one happens to be nearby.”

“Any one we want?” Rock asked. A dawning look of comprehension came over his thuggish face. “That means that eventually we could fuck every female in the Compound!”

“You could and you should,” the “Glorious Leader” told them earnestly. “We like genetic variety here—it all adds to the success of our Glorious Cause.” He shrugged, grinning at the assembled males. “So you see, gentlemen, the non-contact bracelets are completely irrelevant. You will never lack for any kind of sex again. In fact, you’ll have as much as you want for years to come!”

He had left the males cheering—all but V—and no one had complained about the non-con bracelets since. V noticed that there had been “Public Breedings” announced pretty much every day since, however, which allowed the as-yet unmated males to relieve their needs on the hapless females who happened to be out in the village marketplace or park or any other public place when the announcement was made.

V had abstained from these state-mandated orgies. He had needs as much as any of the males and it was damned inconvenient not to be able to jerk off when he was horny, but he refused to allow his urges to control him.

He had seen the strained and pained looks on the females’ faces when they were grabbed and roughly fucked in public at random times of the day. They might be under the spell of the hypno-whispers, but being raped by a stranger just because the “Glorious Leader” said it was all right, was a horrible experience for them, no matter how enthusiastically they were forced to react to the attack.

Also, V was stubbornly determined not to leave any of his genetic material here for these twisted bastards to play with. He’d be damned if he left a son or a daughter to the tender mercies of the NeverBreeders and their “Glorious Leader.” No way in all the Seven Hells would he do that…

Speaking of the “Glorious Leader,” here he was, striding towards V and the rest of the males who were waiting for the Unification Ceremony to start.

“Ah, good morning, gentlemen!” he exclaimed, smiling at them and waving a hand. His teeth were as white as his suit, V thought with disgust. He looked like a politician out to greet his voters. Clearly he knew that if the big, strong breeder males turned against him, he would have a difficult time, which was why he acted as though they were all here of their own volition. And thanks to the hypno-whispers, they thought they were.

“The Glorious Leader! It’s the Shining Star,” some of the males in the group began to murmur excitedly. Their fawning response to the bastard who had taken them all captive made V want to vomit.

“The day you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived,” the GL announced. “The day you get your very own Forever Mate to do with as you wish for the rest of your lives.”

There was a ragged cheer from the assembled males—all but V of course—who stood apart from the others with his arms crossed over his chest and a blank look on his face.

“Now, let me walk you through the ceremony so you know exactly what to do,” the GL continued. “We want everything to go smoothly so you can take your brides home and breed them as soon as possible, right?”

Another cheer greeted these words and the GL smiled his white, politician’s smile and nodded as if in agreement with the assembled males.

“All right now. Firstly, the females we are giving you will be led down into the Amphitheater blindfolded and bound—this shows them and everyone in the audience that they are your property—they can’t go anywhere or do anything without your knowledge and consent, right?”

You mean your knowledge and consent, you bastard, V thought, hating the “Glorious Leader” even more.

He was making these assholes feel like they had some kind of power over the people he was telling them it was all right to abuse. He was using their own hate and misogyny to control them and make them feel powerful, even though in reality, they were stuck in the same place forever while he was in command.

And these idiots were eating it up.

“The Glorious Leader!” one of them shouted. “All hail the Glorious Leader!”

“Thank you, thank you!” The GL smiled and bowed his head modestly. “Now, as you all know, this will be your Forever Mate, you’re getting today. And as such, you’ll need to mark her.”

“Mark her?” one of the males asked. “How?”

“With this…” The GL snapped his fingers and one of the NeverBreeder guards put something in his hand. It looked like some kind of writing instrument, V thought, but when the “Glorious Leader” uncapped it, the tip of this “pen” glowed white-hot and the faint smell of burning drifted through the air.

“I’ll go through the vows with all of you and your new mates,” the GL was saying as they all stared at the glowing tip of the branding pen—which was essentially what it was, V thought. “Then you’ll sign your names in the flesh of your new female—right over her left breast, to show that you own her heart as well as her body—and that will conclude the ceremony.”

“No,” V said flatly.

“Excuse me?” The “Glorious Leader” raised his pure white eyebrows politely and looked at V as though he hadn’t quite understood.

“I said no. I’m not going to fucking brand some poor female for life just because your fucking sadistic ceremony calls for it,” V growled, glaring at the other male.

“Now, V’rex, my friend…” The GL smiled at him gently. “Signing your name to prove your ownership of the female I have chosen for you is a time-honored tradition here at the Compound! Why, the ceremony wouldn’t be the same without it. Every female breeder here bears a mark of ownership.”

“Well mine won’t because I’m not fucking doing it.” V glared at the other male, daring him to try something.

Go ahead and activate my pain square, you asshole, he thought. Don’t care how many volts you run through my body, you can’t make me brand a helpless female just to fulfill your stupid fucking ceremony!

He saw the “Glorious Leader’s” hand go to the side pocket of his pure white suit, where he was probably keeping the Master Control. But then he took his hand away and simply smiled at V.

“Well, V’rex my friend, if that’s the way you feel, then maybe I should give the female I picked for you to one of these other males instead,” he remarked in a calm, genial tone of voice.

“What?” V glared at him.

The bastard! He hadn’t expected this. He could tolerate the pain from the square attached to the side of his neck, but the idea of the little human female with her big brown eyes being given to another male was…well, that was intolerable.

V didn’t know why he felt so protective of her when they hadn’t spoken a single word to each other, but he didn’t want her hurt or abused in any way.

“I’m afraid if you can’t man up and bring yourself to do what’s necessary to mark your mate as your own, maybe she would be better off with a male who can,” The GL continued. “Maybe your friend, Skrug, here could use two mates instead of one.”

“Yeah! Two for me and none for V!” The Karsian’s red eyes glowed and his long dick, which hung down past the hem of the short grass skirts they’d all been forced to wear, twitched eagerly.

“No!” V felt the stirrings of Rage blooming inside him—something he’d never felt for any female before. It was the berserker fury that came over any male of Kindred descent who felt his female was being threatened. But he knew if he lost it now and tried to kill Skrug and the “Glorious Leader” he would only be taken down by the pain square…and he would lose his only chance to get his little female safely away from the other males.

Have to wait, he told himself. Wait until I have her and we can get away together!

“Well, if you don’t like the idea of another male taking your female, then I guess you’d better agree to mark her when the time comes.” The GL was still speaking in that offhand voice, the one that said he really didn’t care which way V decided—it was all the same to him.

In that moment, V vowed to kill him—vowed the “Shining Star” was going to die by his hands if it was the last thing V did.

But there was no chance of getting him now. And no chance of saving the girl unless he hurt her.

Hands clenched into angry fists at his sides, V gave a short nod.

“I’ll do it,” he said, tight-lipped with fury. “And nobody else fucking touches her!” he added, glaring at Skrug and then the other assembled males.

Several of them blanched and backed away from him, but the GL simply smiled and nodded.

“I knew you’d see it my way, my friend,” he said to V. “Now—places everyone! The Unification Ceremony is about to begin!”

THIRTY

Somewhere between the Breeding and Conception Center and the public Amphitheater, a deep, steady drumbeat began.

BUM-ba-ba-ba-Bum-ba-ba-ba…

The sound freaked the blindfolded Penny out and she tripped over the unseen ground, causing the NeverBreeder guard who was walking beside her to drag her back up with a curse just before she fell.

“Now then, my sweetie, be careful,” Mother Toone said from her other side. “I know it’s difficult to know where you’re going with the blindfold on, but we’re leading you down a nice straight path, I promise.”

A nice straight path that leads directly to Hell! Penny thought grimly. Aloud she said,

“It was the, uh, drumming sound. It startled me—that’s all.”

“Oh, that’s just the Unification Music, my sweet,” Mother Toone reassured her. “For what’s a ceremony without music?”

The heavy drumbeats sounded like some kind of funeral march to Penny—much different from the light, lovely strains of Pachabell’s Canon she was used to hearing at the beginning of a wedding.

But then, this was no ordinary wedding. She was about to be given to a stranger for life—or at least until she could escape from this horrible Compound.

Because I’m still going to escape, Penny promised herself. I don’t care what he does to me—I won’t let him break me! I won’t let him stop me from getting out of here!

It was easy to say brave words to herself, but the reality of the drumbeat of doom, which echoed all around her from the Compound’s hidden loudspeaker system was undeniable. Before this day was over, she was going to be assaulted—probably more than once. And it was going to happen over and over until she could get away.

Penny thought of the gray, hopeless tone of Claudette’s voice when she’d talked about being raped daily during the Mandatory Breeding Hour and told Penny she would “get used to it.” The Compound had broken Claudette’s spirit. She had given up any hope of ever getting out of here.

But I won’t let that happen to me, Penny swore to herself. I won’t give in to despair—no matter what the bastard they give me to does to me, I won’t let him break my spirit. I won’t—I won’t!

She was still vowing this to herself when they came to the steps of the Amphitheater and she felt the hands of the NeverBreeders on either side of her, guiding her downwards into the huge stone bowl.

The drumbeats were even louder in here—BUM-ba-ba-ba-Bum-ba-ba-ba-Bum… They almost drowned out the noise of the crowd assembled on the stone bleachers to watch the Unification Ceremony. But they couldn’t drown out the sound of Penny’s own panicked heartbeat, drumming in her ears as she slowly and blindly descended the steps.

Who was waiting for her at the end of this blind journey? Would he be cruel? Would he delight in ‘doing his duty’ and breeding her? Would he be rough? How much was it going to hurt?

A thousand questions filled her mind but there were no answers, just the steady beat of the drums, the murmur of the crowd, and the frantic pounding of her heart.

At last the steps came to an end and they were on level ground again. Penny was horribly aware of the way her breasts and pussy were on full display as she walked. The soft, spicy breeze tightened her nipples, which were wet with the sticky, slowly leaking nectar and she could feel the long grass strands tickling her thighs with each step as they framed her bare crotch.

God, it all was so horribly embarrassing. But at least she wasn’t the only one in this position, she reminded herself. All the other women were dressed exactly the same way she was for the Unification Ceremony. They—

Suddenly, they came to a stop.

“Now, here we are,” Mother Toone whispered in her ear. “You’re standing directly across from your Forever Mate, my sweetie. And oh, he’s a handsome one. I’ll leave you now, for the ceremony is about to begin.”

There was a soft sound of retreating footsteps and then the NeverBreeders on either side of her were gone and she was alone with her husband-to-be.

Heart pounding in her throat, Penny stood there, feeling horribly exposed and uncertain. Like many women, she had imagined her wedding day since she was a little girl.

But all she could think, as she stood there waiting to be given to a complete stranger, was that this wasn’t how her wedding was supposed to go at all…

THIRTY-ONE

Penny couldn’t see the man across from her, but she swore that she could feel him. He seemed to radiate heat like a furnace because she could feel his warmth against the chilly, tight tips of her nipples, even though they weren’t touching.

That was about to change though.

“Brides, raise your hands,” someone called. It was the familiar voice of the “Glorious Leader.” Automatically, Penny obeyed, lifting her bound hands in front of her.

“Males, take your Forever Mate’s hands in yours,” the Glorious Leader instructed.

Warm, rough hands enfolded Penny’s. They were big—so big she felt like a child holding an adult’s hand at first. The size difference made her bite her lip. How huge was this male they were giving her to? Though all the breeders in the Compound were humanoid, they varied greatly in size and appearance. Was her “Forever Mate” some kind of alien giant?

“Now, brides,” the Glorious Leader continued. “Repeat after me—Forever Mate, I give you my hands, bound in submission, to show my obedience to you.”

Penny mumbled the words through numb lips, as the as-yet unseen man across from her continued to hold her hands lightly but firmly.

“I come to you blindfolded to show that I give my heart blindly, in perfect trust and perfect love,” the vows continued. Penny repeated them, her heart still beating in her throat.

“And now, males, if you will repeat after me,” the Glorious Leader continued. “Forever Mate, I accept your love, your trust, and your body as my own property to do with as I please.”

The man across from her rumbled the words in a voice so deep it seemed to vibrate Penny’s entire body. God, that voice had to be coming from a big chest, she thought and again she wondered,

How big is he?

“And now the first stage of the ceremony—the meeting—is complete,” the Glorious Leader said. “It is time for the second stage—the unveiling.” He raised his voice so that the assembled audience could hear him. “The male breeders will now remove the blindfolds from their female’s eyes so that they can look upon their Forever Mates for the first time!”

Oh my God, here it comes. I’m going to see him. I don’t want to see him—it will make it real if I see him!

Penny’s thoughts were a jumbled mess as one of the big hands holding hers drew away. She felt the warm brush of fingers at her temple, where the silk blindfold was tightest.

The man across from her tugged at the silk, lifting it away from her eyes but Penny didn’t want to look—didn’t want to see. She kept her own eyes tightly shut, refusing to face the reality in front of her.

All around her she heard gasps from the other girls as they finally caught sight of their Forever Mates. Shurla, who was apparently standing beside her, exclaimed,

“Well, aren’t you a big boy!” in obvious delight.

Still Penny wouldn’t open her eyes. To open her eyes and see the man who now “owned” her would make this whole nightmare situation—this sham of a wedding—real. And she didn’t want it to be real. She wanted to be back on the long-range shuttle with Rive and Y’lla, asleep in her own cabin on the way to Yown Beta where she belonged. She wanted to be back with Kat on the Mother Ship. She wanted to have never left Earth in the first place. She wanted—

The big warm hand cupped her chin and lifted her face gently but firmly.

“It’s all right, sweetheart,” his deep voice rumbled. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

The gentleness of his tone surprised Penny so much that she actually did as he said. She opened her eyes, blinking at first to get used to the light after being blindfolded so long.

But the moment she saw the male looming over her, her heart rate tripled and the cold hand of fear gripped her by the throat.

It was him.

Pale gold eyes that mirrored her face exactly looked down into hers. They were the same eyes she’d seen across the crowded Lucky Lounge bar back at Hell’s Gate Station, what seemed like a hundred years ago.

The eyes of a pirate—the eyes of an outlaw.

The eyes of the Hybrid Kindred/Kru’ell One she’d been warned about.

The eyes of V’rex—the man she’d been told to avoid at all costs. Somehow he was here, in the last place Penny had ever expected to see him.

And now he owned her.

THIRTY-TWO

V could feel her terror the moment she saw him. A full blooded Kru’ell One would have known exactly what she was thinking, but he only felt emotions when he was touching or very near a female he wanted. And Gods, how he wanted this little one! Though he didn’t even know her name, he wanted her.

But she clearly didn’t want him. As V stared into her big brown eyes, her terror spiked so sharply that it nearly overloaded her system. He felt her start to faint and had to act quickly to hold her up before she could drop to the hard stone of the Amphitheater floor.

Gathering her close, he held her small, curvy body to his, trying not to notice the full, firm weight of her large breasts—much larger than when he’d first seen her in the Lucky Lounge—pressing against his chest.

Gods, she smelled so sweet and ripe! V couldn’t help dropping his head to sniff at her long, chestnut hair. A devastatingly feminine scent rose from her silky tresses making him want her even more.

The full body contact seemed to revive the little female somewhat because she looked up at him, her eyes still filled with terror and whispered,

“You’re him!”

“Easy, sweetheart.” He looked down at her anxiously. She was so small—so frail—and the fear and anxiety she was feeling had her nearly hyperventilating as she pulled quickly away from him.

“You…you can’t…you don’t touch me!” she gasped, which drew some disapproving glances from both the “Glorious Leader” and the NeverBreeders who were still standing at a slight distance, watching the ceremony.

V wished he could tell her that she didn’t have to be afraid because he wouldn’t hurt her, but that was a lie, wasn’t it? Later in the ceremony he was going to be forced to burn his name into her chest with the damned branding pen.

Gods—just the thought of marring her smooth, creamy flesh made him cringe inside. But he couldn’t do anything about it—he could only continue with the ceremony and hope she would let him heal her afterwards, when they were finally alone.

In the meantime, the show must go on.

“I have to touch you,” he told her. “That’s part of it.”

He reached for her hands. She wouldn’t give them to him at first, crossing her arms tightly over her full breasts and shaking her head.

V frowned. Damn, had their single encounter back in the Lucky Lounge really spooked her that much? She was looking at him like he was the Cruel Father himself coming to take her soul to the Seven Hells!

Unfortunately, her refusal had drawn the attention and disapproval of the “Glorious Leader” himself.

“V’rex, my friend,” he said to V pleasantly, but with a look of warning in his pale blue eyes. “If you cannot control your female, it’s not too late for me to give her to another male.”

V felt the Rage rise inside him as Skrug looked from his own bride—the triple-breasted whore V remembered seeing sometimes at Hell’s Gate—and let his small, piggy eyes rove over the girl’s ripe body.

“No!” The word came out as more of a growl and he grabbed for the girl’s hands and held them firmly in his own, despite her struggles.

“Hey!” she protested but V wouldn’t let her hands go.

“Settle down,” he murmured to her, putting a touch of menace in his voice as he glared at her warningly. “Unless you’d rather be given to him.” He jerked his head at Skrug who was still ogling her like a horny adolescent.

“I’d rather be with anyone than you!” she shot back, narrowing her big brown eyes to glare right back at him.

V was taken aback by the vehement dislike he felt emanating from her—all of which was directed at himself. Why did she hate him so much? She didn’t even know him.

Well, there was no time to change her mind now, he thought warily. All they could do was continue with the ceremony. Hopefully they could work things out once they were alone together in their “Love Hut.”

For now, there was nothing else to do but go straight through to the end and hope like hell the little female would behave so she wouldn’t be given away to another male.

V didn’t think he could stand that. Even though she hated him, he still wanted her.

And he wasn’t going to give her up to anybody.

THIRTY-THREE

This is crazy! This can’t be right—it must be another one of those crazy dreams I have at night when my pillow whispers to me, Penny thought frantically as V’rex took her hands firmly in his and refused to let her go.

That was the only reason she stopped fighting him. Well, that and the fact that she had caught a glimpse of the male V’rex had nodded at when he asked if she’d rather be given to another guy—the male Shurla had ended up with.

Shurla’s new Forever Mate looked like some kind of a mutant. He was nearly seven feet tall with blue skin, a humped back, and long, crooked teeth that protruded outside his thin lipless mouth, reminding Penny of an alligator.

He also had the most insanely long dick she’d ever seen. It hung down past the hem of his short grass skirt, swinging like a thick blue snake somewhere around his knees.

Shurla seemed delighted by her new hubby’s extreme endowments but presumably she could handle it, since she was a former “joy-girl” as she’d called herself. Penny was positive she could not handle anything that large. It had been so long since her last sexual encounter she was practically a virgin all over again and she wasn’t eager to try fitting a dick as long as a garden hose and as thick as her wrist into her hoo-hah.

Also, she belatedly realized, she was walking a fine line here—if she continued to protest having V’rex as her Forever Mate, she might give away the fact that she wasn’t really hypnotized. Already all the NeverBreeder guards and the Glorious Leader himself were giving her inquiring frowns. Clearly, she had better settle down and tow the line if she didn’t want to end up recycled by the end of the ceremony.

Setting her face in a rigid mask of a smile, Penny took a deep breath and tried to center herself. She just had to get through this, she told herself. There was nothing else to do but just suck it up and take it to the end.

But God, how in the world had she ended up with V’rex, the dangerous space pirate, of all people as her Forever Mate?

Penny didn’t know, but she did know she was determined to survive. So she looked fearlessly—well almost fearlessly—up into her new husband’s eyes and waited for the next part of the ceremony.

“Well, now that we’re all settled down, we can continue.” the Glorious Leader smiled at the assembled crowd, who were watching intently. “Now we come to the next part of the Unification Ceremony—the saying of the vows.”

Penny waited impatiently, just wanting the stupid fake wedding to be over. Though considering what was going to happen to her at the end of it—her first Mandatory Breeding—maybe she ought to wish it would last forever, she thought uneasily.

She wondered what kind of vows they would be required to recite? More love, honor, and obey bullshit, probably. Or maybe “until death or recycling do us part.”

Yeah, right. Very funny, Penny—har-har.

“Brides,” the Glorious Leader who looked uncannily like the fried chicken magnate of “Eleven Herbs and Spices” fame, began. “Please repeat after me” ‘Forever Mate, I give myself to you. Please use my body as your own property. Thrust your shaft deep inside me and fill me daily with your seed.’”

What? Penny glanced in disbelief at the cult leader in his gleaming white suit. Did he really expect them to say that? In public?

Apparently, he did and the other brides were already repeating the vows dutifully.

Penny looked down at her hands—held captive in the huge Hybrid’s much larger hands—and mumbled the words, feeling like she was participating in some kind of porno.

“Brides,” the Glorious Leader said sharply, interrupting the vows before they got to the “fill me with your seed” part. “I notice that not everyone seems invested in this holy ceremony!”

Looking up, Penny realized he was glaring at her in apparent righteous indignation. The way the Glorious Leader—Colonel Sanders!—her mind insisted, was looking at her, made her feel like she’d accidentally swallowed a very large ice cube that didn’t want to go down her throat.

You’re one step from the sausage grinder, whispered a panicked little voice in her head. One step from being recycled. Careful, Penny—you’re on thin ice!

“S-sorry,” she stammered. “I just…it’s so…it’s embarrassing to…to say…”

“To ask your Forever Mate to breed you?” the Glorious Leader demanded, frowning like a thundercloud.

He looks like he found out somebody messed with his Original Recipe, whispered a little voice in Penny’s head and a hysterical giggle rose in her throat like a bubble. She swallowed it down hurriedly, aware that letting it out could mean her death.

Get hold of yourself, girl!

“How can you be embarrassed about your role in promoting the Glorious Cause?” the Glorious Leader demanded. “There is nothing wrong or immoral in what we do here! This is a holy breeding, you are asking your Forever Mate to perform on you! Do all of you understand that?” he asked, raising his voice and addressing the other brides.

“Yes, Glorious Leader! Oh, yes.” They were all nodding and staring at him with wide-eyed devotion—it was enough to make Penny sick to her stomach.

Her revulsion must have showed on her face because V’rex gave her a little shake. When she looked up at him, he had a stern look on his dark, sharp features and his pale gold eyes were filled with warning.

“Do it right,” he growled, so softly only Penny could hear him. “Unless you want to end up in deep shit.”

Penny looked at him in surprise and then narrowed her eyes.

“Are you threatening me?” she breathed, keeping her voice down too.

“No—warning you. This is no laughing matter, little girl.”

“I’m not—” Penny began but then the Glorious Leader raised his voice again.

“Let’s take it from the top, brides,” he said and glared directly at Penny. “And this time, I want you to all look up into your Forever Mate’s eyes and recite your vows like you mean them.”

The cold look in his icy blue gaze gave Penny the ice cube in her throat feeling again. Clearly this was her last chance.

Straightening her shoulders, she looked up…and up and up into V’rex’s pale gold eyes.

“Forever Mate, I give myself to you,” she recited along with all the other brides. “Please use my body as your own property. Thrust…” She swallowed hard, her heart pounding as she struggled to go on. V’rex was looking at her impassively, but she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as she spoke the ridiculous, embarrassing words.

“Go on, sweetheart,” he muttered to her. “He’s watching.”

“Thrust your shaft deep inside me and…and fill-me-daily-with-your-seed,” Penny finished in a rush, not daring to look at the cult leader for fear that what V’rex had said was true and he was staring at her in disapproval.

She breathed an inward sigh of relief. Well, at least she had gotten through the awful vows!

Not quite.

To her horror, the Glorious Leader continued.

“My breasts are filled with sweet nectar for you. Suckle them daily as you thrust inside me. Mark me and make me yours always, my Forever Mate.”

Oh my God, is he serious?

Penny didn’t know if she could do this. It was hard enough to look into the eyes of a perfect stranger and basically beg him to breed her in front of a large crowd, but this was going too far.

Still, she could feel the gaze of the Glorious Leader staring directly at her and she knew she had no choice.

I hope you choke on a chicken bone, you cult leading asshole! she thought at him fiercely. Then, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, she looked into V’rex’s eyes and recited the vows.

“My…my breasts are filled with sweet nectar for you. Suckle…”

Penny took a deep breath. God, if only the big Hybrid wouldn’t keep staring at her like this—though of course she was staring at him too. But looking into his eyes while she said these X-rated things was so shameful and intense. Still, she had to go on.

“Suckle them daily as you…as you thrust inside me. Mark me and make me yours always, my Forever Mate,” she finally got out.

Once again she felt hyperaware of her bare breasts, which were thrusting out of the long strands of colorful billix grass and her tight nipples, which were, indeed, leaking the sticky-sweet nectar.

But to V’rex’s credit, he didn’t even glance down at her naked breasts. He only gave her a tiny nod, as though she’d passed some kind of test.

“Very good!” This time the Glorious Leader looked pleased. “And now for the males. Please look into your new bride’s eyes and repeat after me, gentlemen: ‘You are my bride. You are mine.”

V’rex looked at her so intently Penny felt like his pale gold eyes were seeing into her soul.

“You are my bride, sweetheart,” he murmured, staring down at her. “You are mine.”

“To do with as I please, at any hour of the day or night,” the Glorious Leader continued.

V’rex repeated these lines as well, but it was the next vow that had Penny blushing all over again.

“I vow to thrust my shaft deep inside you and fill you with my seed, to suckle your nipples and give you relief from the nectar which swells them to fullness, and to breed you daily until your belly swells with life.”

His soft, deep voice rumbling the pornographic promises as he stared into her eyes made Penny’s heart skitter in her chest and her face felt so hot she was sure her cheeks must be glowing neon pink.

God, she’d read plenty of books where the hero was good at dirty talk and said this kind of thing—well, sort of—to the heroine while they were making love. But she’d never had a man talk directly to her and say anything close to the vows V’rex was reciting. Her last serious boyfriend, Garret, hadn’t been willing to say anything at all during sex—he’d just grunted a lot and then had gone right to sleep afterwards.

But the vows were continuing.

“I claim you as my bride to love, cherish, and protect. You will be mine forever—I will never let you go,” V’rex finished.

And then, to Penny’s surprise, he let go of one of her hands and reached up to cup her cheek. Weren’t the vows finished? What was he doing?

“Mine,” he murmured again, for her ears alone. “Mine forever, sweetheart.”

Penny didn’t know what to do or what to say. He wasn’t just reciting a vow this time—it was like he was adding to what had been said. And he was still looking directly into her eyes as he spoke. She wanted to drop her own gaze and blush with mortification, but she couldn’t look away. She was trapped in a pale golden sea that reflected her own flushed, uncertain face, as though V’rex could somehow see inside her…

“Very good!” The Glorious Leader clapped his hands loudly, breaking the spell Penny had fallen under. Finally she was able to tear her gaze away from the big Hybrid’s.

God, why was her heart drumming so hard against her ribs? Was it just with embarrassment and fear? But her pussy felt suddenly even more swollen and her breasts were heavy and full with the nectar, her nipples tight and aching for a warm, willing mouth to suck them deep and draw it out…

No! What was wrong with her?

This crazy situation is not turning me on, Penny told herself firmly. It’s just the effects of that damn Mother’s Milk I’ve been drinking for so long. V’rex is the enemy—I was warned against him! There’s no way I have any kind of attraction to him, no matter what kind of sexy things we were forced to say to each other! There’s no way—

“And now it’s time for the fourth and final part of our Unification Ceremony,” the Glorious Leader intoned, breaking her frantic train of thought. “The branding.”

“The what?” Penny exclaimed. Luckily, her words came out in the middle of a huge swell of applause from the audience. Clearly this was a popular part of the ceremony.

“The branding—or marking of the bride by her Forever Mate—is a time- honored tradition here at the Compound,” the Glorious Leader continued. “It shows not only his ownership of her body, but her devotion to her new mate—a devotion which should be exceeded only by her earnest devotion to our Glorious Cause and of course, to her Glorious Leader.” He pointed to himself and smiled modestly.

As he finished speaking, seven NeverBreeder guards came to stand beside each of the males. They each held identical writing instruments which looked like old-fashioned calligraphy pens to Penny. Only once they uncapped the “pens,” the nib of each one was glowing red-hot.

Penny felt faint as the smell of burning reached her nose. As she watched in horror, the NeverBreeder guard beside V’rex handed him one of the burning pens.

“Now take the branding instrument and make your mark upon your bride,” the Glorious Leader ordered. He appeared to be staring especially hard at V’rex, for some reason, as though getting ready for any signs of trouble. Not that Penny noticed much—she couldn’t take her eyes off the red-hot tip of the pen in the big Hybrid’s huge hand.

V’rex’s eyes were hard as he stared into hers and the hand that had been holding her own suddenly clamped down on both her wrists at once, holding them effortlessly in place in a bone-crushing grip.

“Ow!” Penny gasped involuntarily. “Please! I don’t…don’t want to be burned!” She tried to keep her voice low, for his ears alone and for a moment she thought she was getting through to him.

The impassive look in his pale gold eyes disappeared and she thought she saw a look of desperate unhappiness—maybe even self-loathing—in them instead. But then the cold blankness was back and he began to bring the glowing tip of the branding pen towards her.

Penny knew she ought to hold still but she couldn’t help herself—she didn’t like fire! Didn’t like the idea of being burned—branded—with this big asshole’s name!

As she started to struggle, V’rex caught the eye of the guard who had handed him the pen.

“Hold her,” he growled.

Hard little orange hands clamped over Penny’s bare shoulders, keeping her from struggling. V’rex leaned even closer.

“Hold still,” he rumbled, looking Penny in the eyes again. “I’ll make it quick.”

And then the burning tip of the pen bit into her flesh, just above her left breast.

The searing agony didn’t last for long—V’rex made a quick flip of his wrist—almost a check-mark motion—and then withdrew the pen as quickly as he had brought it down.

Biting her lip against the pain, Penny blinked tears out of her eyes and looked down to see a single V, about the size of her fingernail, emblazoned on her chest.

Some of the other males were still working, she saw, through her tear-blurred eyes. Shurla’s new Forever Mate was taking his time, the tip of his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he scrawled his name across the tops of all three of her plump breasts. Shurla appeared to be trying not to scream but she was biting her lip and clenching her hands into fists in obvious agony.

I guess it could be worse, Penny thought, feeling a stab of sympathy for her former friend. Poor thing. At least V’rex made it quick, like he promised.

She looked up at the big Hybrid and was surprised to see one corner of his sensuous mouth was pulled down in an expression of furious unhappiness. But when he caught her looking at him, his face went immediately blank, the previous, impassive calm replacing the moment of true emotion.

What was he thinking? Penny found herself wondering. Was he sorry that he’d marked her? Hurt her? Was he angry at her for resisting or at himself for going through with it?

Was he somehow immune to the hypno-whispers too?

He must be, she thought. At any rate, he certainly wasn’t acting like the rest of the hypnotized idiots, all fawning over the Glorious Leader and hanging on his every word.

“And now that the marking of the brides is over, we may continue to the end of the Unification Ceremony,” the Glorious Leader intoned, breaking her train of thought. “And after that, you’ll be allowed to take your brides to your Love Huts for your very first Mandatory Breeding, which I know you’re all looking forward to.”

There were full-throated cheers from all the males in the ceremony and slightly weaker ones from the brides. Clearly a lot of them were still in pain from the branding. It was pretty hard to get excited for sexy times when you’d just had someone’s name burned into your flesh, Penny thought wryly. Her own small brand still stung fiercely, but it was probably nothing compared to what poor Shurla was going through.

But this thought didn’t appear to occur to anyone else. The audience laughed and clapped at their Glorious Leader’s wit and the big man himself nodded comically at them and waggled his eyebrows.

Colonel Sanders as a stand-up comedian, Penny thought. No, I don’t like it.

“So if you’ll just return the marking pens to the guards, we can continue,” the Glorious leader said. And all of the males turned over the pens with their glowing-hot nibs to the guards.

All except V’rex.

“No,” he said, when the NeverBreeder guard tried to take his pen. He held it high over the guard’s head and then brought it down, presenting it to Penny instead.

“What…?” She shook her head and looked up at him. “I don’t understand.”

“Take it.” V’rex pressed it into her hand, being careful that she was only touching the cool part, not the glowing-hot writing tip.

“Why?” Penny asked, though she took the pen.

Apparently she wasn’t the only one with questions.

“Excuse me.” The Glorious Leader was glaring at them. “Excuse me,” he said again, speaking to V’rex. “What do you think you’re doing? The marking part of the Unification Ceremony is over.”

“No it’s fucking not,” V’rex growled. “I marked her, so I want her to mark me too.”

Though he was speaking to the cult leader, his eyes were fixed on Penny’s and once again she found she couldn’t look away.

“But that’s not part of the ceremony!” the Glorious Leader sputtered.

“It’s part of my ceremony,” V’rex growled. “You made me mark her to prove I own her. Well if that’s true, then she owns me too, and I want her mark on me.” He shot a menacing look at the Glorious Leader. “I want her name on my chest to prove I’m hers the same way she’s mine.”

Penny didn’t know what to say. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she found herself swallowing hard. Was the big Hybrid serious?

Apparently he was, because he wasn’t budging.

There was a moment of breathless silence which seemed to fill the entire Amphitheater as the onlookers, guards, and Penny herself all looked first at V’rex and then at the Glorious Leader to see what was going to happen.

At first the cult leader looked angry. But then he threw up his hands and shook is head

“Fine. But make it quick—we need to end this ceremony. There are people waiting to breed!”

“You heard the man, sweetheart.” V’rex leaned towards Penny, presenting the smooth, flat, muscular planes of his bare chest. “Make it quick.”

Penny blinked up at him, her own brief pain forgotten, though she could tell the place where he’d burned his initial into her was going to be throbbing for a while.

“Really?” she whispered, searching his eyes with her own. Why was he doing this? Because he felt guilty?

“Really.” He frowned at her. “Do it.”

“Just my initial or…”

“Your full name,” he insisted and nodded at his left pec. “Go on, sweetheart—sign there.”

Not knowing what else to do, Penny lifted the pen and placed the burning nib against his dark tan skin.

V’rex didn’t even flinch, though she knew it had to be hurting him. Mindful that he had made this quick for her, she signed quickly in the large, looping scrawl she used on legal documents.

Penelope.

The pen flowed with sickening ease over his flesh, leaving the glowing letters behind. She thought about writing her full name, but she didn’t want to be unnecessarily cruel. Penelope Amanda Wainright was a lot to burn into someone’s chest—even if he was standing there, bearing it stoically while she branded him.

She finished and held the pen out to the guard as V’rex looked down at her name and nodded approvingly.

“Good,” he rumbled and caught Penny’s eyes with his. “That’s good. It’s fair.”

Penny didn’t think it was fair that either of them had had to burn the other, but then, not much about the Compound was what could be considered exactly equitable or just. They were at the mercy of a crazy cult leader and almost everyone here was hypnotized.

She was seriously beginning to think that V’rex wasn’t one of their number. But if he wasn’t under the control of the hypno-beats, why had he been allowed to live? Maybe his impassive face was good enough to fool the Glorious Leader and the NeverBreeder guards.

“And now,” the Glorious Leader said, breaking into her train of confused thought. “The point in the ceremony you’ve all been waiting for—your first Mandatory Breeding!”

A cheer went up from the entire audience and the Glorious Leader beamed his bright, white, chicken-eating grin again.

“Now, you males already know the rules,” he continued. “You know that the Watchers will be watching you to make certain you do your best to impregnate your new brides. Please be sure you do your Mandatory Breeding in your bedchamber so we can be certain everything goes to plan and all our new couples are well-suited to each other.” He raised both arms high in a kind of salute. “Now, go, my new Forever Mates. Go with the blessing of your Glorious Leader—be fruitful and multiply!”

Penny couldn’t believe he was actually admitting he had bugged their houses! Of all the brass-balled nerve…she’d never seen anything like it. So the Glorious Leader and his NeverBreeder guards were actually going to be monitoring them to make sure the new Forever Mates actually did the deed?

They’ll be watching, she thought, her stomach clenching into a fist. Watching to be sure he rapes me right.

Looking up at the big Hybrid, taking in his strength and size, she couldn’t help the shadow of fear that passed over her face and settled in her heart like a black crow. Oh God, this was what she’d been dreading. And it was almost here.

Suddenly her nerve broke.

“I can’t,” she whispered, the words slipping from her mouth before she could stop them. “I can’t—I won’t!”

She started to run but she didn’t even get two steps before V’rex caught her and swung her up into his arms. Carrying her like a little girl, he strode over the stone floor and mounted the many steps leading up to the exit of the Amphitheater with ease.

“Oh yes you can, little girl,” he growled at Penny. “And you will—we both will. You’ll see.”

Then he carried her away from the cheering crowd toward the little white houses where he would take her for the first time…and every day after that for the rest of their lives.

THIRTY-FOUR

V hated that his curvy little bride feared him. Because of his half Kru’ell One heritage, he could feel every emotion she experienced as she experienced it. Partly because he was touching her through most of the ceremony and partly because he was just so damned attuned to her—like he’d never been with any other female.

He felt her anger and hate directed at him when she’d first realized he was to be her Forever Mate, but that had changed to deep embarrassment while the two of them recited their “vows.”

Her pink cheeks and stumbling words as she begged him to breed her were both adorable and arousing, as far as V was concerned. He could tell she wasn’t used to talking dirty. And he’d felt an unmistakable tendril of arousal from her as he had returned the favor with his own vows. She might not like him much, but her body undoubtedly reacted to his—there was no denying that, he thought.

But her desire hadn’t lasted. It had turned to fear and pain when he’d had to mark her with his initial. He could still see the red lines of the capital V he’d burned unwillingly into her flesh just above her left breast. He would heal it as soon as he could but Gods, he’d hated marking her!

You’re just like him, a little voice had whispered in his head when he saw the tears in her soft brown eyes and knew that he had been the one to put them there. Just like him when he hit her…when he made her cry…

Maybe those bad old memories, which he’d pushed away almost as soon as they surfaced in his mind, were the reason V had turned the branding pen over to his new bride and insisted that she mark him too.

He looked briefly down at his own left pec. Penelope. It was an unusual name but he liked it—liked seeing her handwriting on his body for some reason, though he couldn’t understand why.

Penelope hadn’t been able to understand his actions either. He had felt her confusion as he told her to mark him, to prove that if she was his, he was also hers.

But then confusion had turned to fear again and right now she was terrified.

She thinks I’m going to rape her, V thought, looking down at her soft face, which was pale with dread. Her eyes were so big they seemed to have taken over her entire face and he could feel her trembling against him as he carried her over the neatly manicured paths towards the Love Hut which had been designated as theirs.

He wanted to say something—wanted to let her know he wouldn’t hurt her, or reassure her some way. But he was grimly aware that the entire fucking Compound was bugged. The GL and his orange NeverBreeder mutants would be watching everything—probably listening too. They didn’t even try to hide it, either. The brazenness of their spying was somehow even more infuriating and it meant he didn’t dare to say anything out loud to the girl in his arms.

He could only carry her into their new bedchamber and hope she understood…

THIRTY-FIVE

Penny was trembling with fear as the big Hybrid carried her along like she weighed next to nothing—which she knew for a fact was not the case. He had carried her up all those steps at the Amphitheater without even losing his breath once and now he was striding along like it was nothing to carry a full-gown woman around in his arms for miles. She couldn’t get over how horribly strong he was.

He’s so big—there’s no way I can fight him off, she thought desperately as he strode through the public park towards the rows and rows of little white houses. Oh God, I wonder how much it’s going to hurt? How rough is he going to be?

She risked glancing up at him, but his face was impassive again—blank and emotionless. Was he really going to be able to do this to her with no shame at all? Was he going to enjoy hurting her? Raping her?

He glanced down for a moment and their eyes locked again. Those pale gold depths were almost like mirrors—Penny could see her own fear reflected back at her.

“Almost there, little girl,” he rumbled, as though she had asked him how much further they had to go.

Penny couldn’t say anything—her throat was too dry and her lips didn’t seem to want to form words. She couldn’t believe she was in this position—couldn’t believe all her dreams of space exploration had somehow turned into this nightmare scenario where she was being carried by her soon-to-be rapist to the house where they were supposed to live together for the rest of their lives…

V’rex came to the door of a white cottage with blue trim set at the very end of a long lane. Other, identical cottages, stretched out down the street but Penny wasn’t looking at any of them. She was wondering again if she could get free and run away if the huge Hybrid put her down to open the front door.

But her half-formed plans were dashed when V’rex simply kicked the door open and carried her over the threshold, just as though she really was his new bride.

The interior of the cottage was neat and cozy—Penny got a blurred impression of it as he carried her through it. But soon enough—too soon—they were in the bedroom.

The bed was a large, square mattress covered in a dark blue coverlet that seemed to be made of some kind of dense, silky fur.

V’rex put her down at last, in the middle of the mattress, and then immediately ripped off her top.

Penny gasped. It hadn’t been much of a top and her breasts had been showing between the long, colorful grasses. But still! The violence of the act surprised and terrified her. She felt her heart pounding in her throat as she tried to cover herself with her arms.

The big Hybrid paid no attention to her attempts at modesty. Instead, he ripped off her skirt as well, leaving her completely naked.

“Hey!” Penny cried and tried to cover her crotch as well. Oh God this was horrible—even worse than she’d feared!

The third thing V’rex did was to rip off his own Unification Ceremony clothing—the short grass skirt which had matched her own soon lay trampled on the floor.

Now Penny could see exactly how big his equipment was and it was a terrifying sight.

Oh my God, he’ll tear me apart with that thing! was her panicked thought as she eyed the long, thick shaft standing up rock-hard between his muscular thighs. There’s no way in hell it will all fit inside me!

She tried to back away from him, her knees slipping on the silky fur of the coverlet, but the big Hybrid grabbed her by the arm and pulled her roughly towards him.

Taking her in his arms, he pressed her down to the bed, covering her with his big, hard body. He spread her legs and she could feel the hot, hard length of his shaft branding her belly as he pressed full-length against her.

His muscular body was heavy on hers and his scent was strong in the room—a dark, masculine spice that smelled like sex and violence. It filled her senses when she tried to breathe under his weight, and set every nerve ending on fire with terror.

Penny opened her mouth to scream, and then she felt his hot breath against the side of her face. He growled one word in her ear.

“Pretend!”

And then he was thrusting against her.

THIRTY-SIX

V’rex hoped like the Seven Hells that she understood what he was trying to do. He didn’t want to hurt her—didn’t want to scare her—but this had to look real. If the fucking “Glorious Leader” watched the feed coming from their bedchamber and decided that V’rex wasn’t really breeding his new bride, there was going to be hell to pay and Penelope would probably get taken away from him and given to another male to be raped for real.

So instead of entering her, he thrust against the silky skin of her belly, keeping his body as close to hers as possible, so the camera—which was visible as a little red dot in the center of the ceiling, right over the bed—couldn’t capture the fact that he wasn’t really inside her.

But she wasn’t playing along. She was just lying there—frozen with fright. V frowned. This was no good—she had to move, had to moan, had to do something.

He knew some females were quiet during sex—well, they were until he stung them and injected his lust honey, anyway—but most of them didn’t just lie there and take it. At least, they didn’t with him. Sex with V was a full-contact sport and he played it to win—even when he was just pretending.

Besides, this had to look real.

Making a decision, he pressed his mouth to the side of her vulnerable throat and allowed his tongue to lengthen and sharpen until it had become his stinger. Then, with a quick thrust, he stung her, injecting his lust-honey.

The effects were immediate. Penelope, who had been frozen like a statue beneath him, suddenly stiffened and gasped. Then a moan was torn from her throat as the instant orgasm hit her. She began to thrash and buck her hips, exactly as though they were really fucking.

V was pleased—this was what they needed to make their performance look real. Well this and one more thing.

He was already close, from rubbing his shaft against the smooth top of her mound and the silky skin of her belly. Not to mention her sweet, feminine fragrance and the feel of her gorgeous, full curves against the hard planes of his own body. Being this close to the little human female after wanting her for so long was driving him crazy.

He normally could have gone on and on, but he thought it was better not to draw this out. Besides, he was fucking horny from not being able to touch himself for a whole week.

Pulling back a little, he aimed the head of his shaft at her open pussy and let himself come at last, letting jet after jet of his seed coat her inner folds and inner thighs. He groaned her name as he did it, just as though he was coming inside her—Claiming her as his own and bonding her to him.

Gods, he loved the thought of that! He’d never wanted to bond a female before but this little human beneath him had done something to him—she’d gotten into his heart before he even knew her though V didn’t know why.

Still, he couldn’t bond an unwilling mate. He would have to hold off—have to wait and gain her trust. If that was even possible, considering what he was doing to her right now.

When he was finally finished, he rolled off her and lay on his back beside her, making sure that her naked body was exposed to the camera above. He fucking hated the idea of the GL or his NeverBreeder guards looking at his female’s nude form, but it was necessary in this case.

Once they saw what appeared to be V’s cum leaking from her apparently freshly-fucked pussy, it would put their doubts to rest and maybe those in authority at the Compound would leave him and Penelope alone for a while.

After he rolled off her, Penelope lay there for a moment, looking stunned and shaken. Then she scrambled off the bed and ran for the door. Not the bedchamber door though—the fresher door, V saw with relief. Good, let her hide out in there for a little while and get herself together—then they could talk. V was pretty certain that the fresher was one of the few places in their little Love Hut that wasn’t bugged. At least, there was no glowing red light on the ceiling, which he was pretty sure was a camera or some other recording device.

He sighed and sat up in bed, rubbing his face. What a long fucking day and it wasn’t even over yet. He still had to get his new bride to trust him and from the way she’d reacted to him at the ceremony, that was going to take some doing.

THIRTY-SEVEN

Penny shut herself in the bathroom and looked for a way to lock the door. There was none. Okay, forget it—that wasn’t important right now. What was important was what had just happened.

But her mind was in a whirl. What had just happened?

She’d been so sure the big Hybrid was going to rape her. Kat and Commander Sylvan had warned her that V’rex’s Kru’ell One half ensured he was perfectly capable of taking a woman against her will.

So when V’rex had torn off her top and skirt and thrown her on the bed, she’d been certain she knew what was coming next. Even though he’d said, “Pretend” to her, the word hadn’t really penetrated her brain and she’d been sure she was going to get raped.

But then he had just…rubbed against her. Penny had been frozen with fear, uncertain of what to do, how to act. She’d been stiff as a board beneath him as he rubbed his big, hot, hard cock against the top of her pussy and her belly.

Apparently, though, that hadn’t been a good enough response for the big Hybrid. Because then he had…

“He bit me. Or something,” Penny whispered, putting a hand to her neck, where she’d felt a tiny sting and then a pleasure so overwhelming she didn’t even know how to deal with it.

She’d been completely unprepared for the orgasm. Her body had gone from a state of extreme terror to a state of mind-blowing pleasure instantly—from zero to sixty in a single second.

Penny shook her head, still trying to clear it from the aftereffects of the massive orgasm which had washed over her like a tidal wave, nearly drowning her with its intensity.

Despite the physical pleasure, it had been a confusing and not-at-all pleasant experience. Her body had been coming so hard she saw stars, while her brain was still trapped in terror mode. It was as though the big Hybrid had forced her to come, even though she didn’t want to.

Now she felt weak in the knees—so wobbly she wanted to sink to the ground and close her eyes. But she couldn’t—not yet. Because she wasn’t the only one who had come.

Can’t believe he shot his cum all over me—inside me, Penny thought, looking down at her pussy and inner thighs, which were absolutely coated with the big Hybrid’s seed. How the hell had he produced so much? She looked like she’d been in some kind of gang-bang porn vid with all this dripping out of her!

God, what if some of it got all the way inside me and it gets me pregnant?

The scary thought was enough to send her racing to the shower stall and fumbling with the unfamiliar controls. Finally she got a steady spray of warm water going and jumped in to wash herself off.

It took a long time to get all of his seed off her and out of her. It seemed to want to stick to her like glue and Penny scrubbed and scrubbed until she finally felt clean. When she was done, she sank down in the small stall and put her head on her knees for a moment as the steaming water rained down on her bowed shoulders.

She still didn’t understand V’rex. Why hadn’t he raped her? Not that she wanted him to, but God, this was just so freaking weird. This whole situation was breaking her brain and she didn’t know what to do next.

Do what you always planned to do, Penny, whispered a little voice in her head. Escape.

Yes, but how?

She was still pondering the problem when she opened the frosted glass door of the shower stall to look for a towel and saw the big Kindred standing there, looming over her just as though he had every right to be there!

THIRTY-EIGHT

“Oh!” Penny gasped and attempted to cover herself with her arms. “What…what are you doing here? How dare you?” she exclaimed, glaring up at him.

“I’m here because it’s one of the few places we can talk, sweetheart. Here.” He handed her a short white towel—he had one wrapped around his own waist too—and sat down on the closed lid of the toilet. It didn’t matter though— they were still nearly eye-to-eye, since he was so tall and Penny was on the short side. And even sitting down, he still seemed to take up almost all the available space in the room.

She wrapped the towel around herself hurriedly and leaned back against the frosted glass door of the shower stall to get a little space between them.

“What do you want to talk about?” she demanded. “And why…” She licked her lips nervously. “Why didn’t you rape me?”

He raised one black eyebrow at her.

“Did you want me to rape you?”

“Oh, no! No, of course not!” Penny couldn’t believe she’d asked such a stupid question—or maybe that she’d asked her question in a stupid way. But she really did want to know why he hadn’t done what was expected of him and tried to breed her.

“I just…I don’t understand,” she began again in a low voice. “I thought—”

“You thought I’d breed you because the fucking ‘Glorious Leader’ ordered me to?” His face went suddenly dark. “I didn’t rape you because I’m not an animal—not some asshole who thinks females are only good for fucking.”

“Okay…” He seemed really upset that she’d think he would rape her, even though that was exactly what all the males in the ceremony had been ordered to do. But it was clear he wasn’t like the other males, Penny thought to herself.

“You’re not hypnotized, like the others,” she said.

“Neither are you,” he growled, his pale gold eyes flashing. “And you need to do a better job of hiding it, sweetheart. Or you’re going to get into trouble.”

“You don’t hide it that well either,” Penny accused him. “Or why did you ask Colonel Sanders to let me sign my name on your chest after you signed mine?” She couldn’t help letting her eyes linger on the looping letters of her name, burned into his muscular left pec.

He shrugged, his broad, bare shoulders rolling with the gesture.

“It only seemed fair that if I had to hurt you, you oughta get some of your own back.” He frowned. “And who’s Colonel Sanders?”

“A man who sells fried chicken—which is a kind of bad-for-you-but-really-delicious comfort food back on my home planet,” Penny said. “The, uh, Glorious Leader looks exactly like him. It’s…confusing.”

“I’ll bet,” V’rex said dryly. “But the GL, as I call him, already knows I’m not susceptible to the hypno-whispers. You, on the other hand, need to be more careful, sweetheart.”

“Wait—he knows you can’t be hypnotized and he didn’t do anything to you?”

Penny couldn’t believe it. After the way Claudette had sworn that anyone who wasn’t hypnotized ended up in the recycling center she would have thought the big Hybrid would have wound up as sausage. But here he was, crowding her in the bathroom—the one place she ought to have been able to get privacy, damn it!

“Oh, I wouldn’t say he hasn’t done anything to me.” V’rex pointed to a small square of shiny silver metal affixed to the side of the strong column of his neck. “See that?” he asked. “It’s a pain square and only the GL has the Master Control to it. Works kind of like those pain collars the fucking sadistic Mistresses on Yonnie Six use on their bodyslaves. He presses the button and I feel like I’m being fucking electrocuted.”

“So…he decided to keep you around, even though you can’t be hypnotized,” Penny murmured. “He must want something from you.”

“Got it in one, sweetheart,” V’rex growled, frowning. “He wants some of my ‘genetic material for his gene pool,’ as he put it. Oh, and a sample of my lust-honey too—that’s the stuff that comes from my stinger.”

“Your…your stinger?” Penny asked faintly.

“Sure. Look.”

The big Hybrid opened his mouth and, right before her eyes, his tongue suddenly lengthened and sharpened until the tip of it looked like a hollow needle with some kind of thick fluid dripping from it.

“Oh!” Penny gasped. She was already backed up against the shower door but she edged further away, feeling the cool glass make contact with the sweating skin of her back.

“Take it easy, sweetheart.” How could he talk so normally with his tongue like that?

“You…that’s…that’s what you did to me!” Penny pointed a trembling finger at the needle-sharp tip of his elongated tongue. “I felt it! You stung me! That’s how you made me…made me…”

“Made you come?” He raised his eyebrows at her again, as though it was no big deal for him to give her an unwanted, Earth-shattering, mind-blowing orgasm.

“Yes!” Penny could feel her cheeks getting hot again. “Why did you do that?”

He frowned.

“You weren’t reacting right. I told you to pretend I was fucking you and instead you just laid there—no moaning, no moving—no nothing. I had to make it look real.”

“Lots of women just lay there,” Penny objected.

“Not with me.” He didn’t seem to be bragging, she thought, just stating a fact. But then, if he was injecting every woman he screwed with that crazy liquid he called “lust-honey” no wonder none of them were just lying there! She literally hadn’t been able to hold still after that stuff hit her system and the tsunami-like orgasm had crashed over her.

“So you thought I wasn’t acting like I was into it and you decided to force me to be into it?” she demanded.

He frowned.

“There are worse things I could have forced you to do. Do you really object so much to having an orgasm?”

“I object to being forced to have one, especially with no warning,” Penny shot back. “It was like my body was coming without my brain being involved. It was very…confusing.”

One corner of his sensuous mouth turned up into a smirk.

“How confused can you be when you’re coming your brains out, sweetheart?”

“Look…” Penny put a hand on her hip. “If you’re patting yourself on the back for how hard you made me orgasm, you can stop right now. I did not enjoy what you did to me one bit and I’m willing to bet lots of women you shot up with your…your lust-honey stuff felt the same way.”

“Oh, is that what you think? Well, I’ve never had any complaints,” he shot back, still smirking.

“You think you’re some kind of great lover because you can make a woman come on command?” Penny snapped. “Well I’ve got news for you, Romeo—my vibrator can do that. And it gets me off without crushing me into the mattress and scaring me to death at the same time, too!”

For a moment V’rex just sat there and she sensed she’d given him something to think about. No doubt he considered himself a total Casanova just because he had the ability to always give women orgasms on command. Well there was more to good sex than just “coming your brains out” as he’d so rudely put it.

Not that you would know, Penny, whispered a little voice in her head. When was the last time you had sex at all, let alone good sex? Wasn’t it back when you and Garret were together?

She did her best to push the thought away and raised her chin to look the big Hybrid in the eye. It seemed that her words had finally sunk in for him.

“So you didn’t enjoy the orgasm my lust-honey gave you?” he asked at last, sounding bewildered. “But how can you not enjoy pleasure?”

“Because I was scared to death at the time!” Penny told him. “And there was no build up—no foreplay. I mean, not that I wanted foreplay—I mainly just didn’t want to be raped. But still! It was just ‘wham, bam, thank-you, ma’am’ and I was coming so hard I felt like my brain was going to shoot out my ears!”

V’rex looked somewhat repentant.

“Sorry, about that, sweetheart,” he muttered. “But like I said, I had to make it look real and I couldn’t do that without making you come. After all, what kind of male makes love to his female without giving her an orgasm?”

Penny put a hand on her hip.

“Are you kidding me? Lots of men don’t! My last partner never did,” she blurted before she thought about it. “In fact, I don’t think he knew women could orgasm. He…” She trailed off, realizing she was revealing more than she wanted to.

She had avoided even thinking about Garret, let alone talking about him to anyone for ages. After they had broken up, she’d gone on a few disastrous dating-app meet-ups and then decided to hang up her dating hat for good and just throw herself into her work.

And now here she was, in the weirdest “dating” situation she’d ever been in. Well, if you could call a forced marriage by a cult leader to a total stranger who happened to be a space pirate Kindred Hybrid a “dating” situation. But she was pretty damn sure none of the apps she’d been using before she gave it up would have matched her to V’rex.

The big Hybid was way too tall and handsome and muscular to have been matched with a plus-sized girl on the short side with child-bearing hips. He belonged with a supermodel who had a fetish for bad boys—which Penny most definitely was not. They absolutely were not each other’s type at all—but try telling that to Colonel Sanders the cult leader.

She sighed.

But V’rex was still stuck on the information she’d let slip about her ex.

“What a fucking asshole! He never made you come? Not once?” he demanded.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Penny said quickly. “Anyway, I was warned about you,” she added, hoping to change the subject yet again.

“Warned about me?” He raised an eyebrow. “And who exactly warned you about me, sweetheart?”

“Commander Sylvan of the Kindred Mother Ship,” Penny said, frowning at him. “He said you were bad news and that you’d been harassing Kindred Ships. And he also thought you were responsible for the large up-tick in abductions going on in this quadrant lately.”

His face hardened.

“Well, I think we can both tell that’s not true. Not that I’d ever have anything to do with the flesh trade.” He scowled, as though the idea was repugnant to him. “I think it’s clear who’s really responsible for the abductions around here.” He made a sweeping gesture with one hand, indicating the Compound they were both presently stuck in. “The Glorious fucking Leader.”

“Colonel Sanders and his crazy cult of NeverBreeder Oompa-Loompas,” Penny said grimly.

“What the fuck are Oompa-Loompas?” V’rex asked, frowning.

Penny tried to think how to explain.

“It’s from an Earth vid about a man who owns a giant chocolate factory and he employs these workers who are short and have orange skin. They sing and dance all the time and there are five children taking a tour of the factory but they keep getting into trouble. Like, one falls into the chocolate waterfall and gets sucked up a pipe to be turned into fudge. And another turns into a giant blueberry after she chews the wrong gum and has to be juiced. And every time it happens, the Oompa-Loompas sing songs about how naughty the children are and how they’re getting what they deserve. And then they… Uh, never mind,” she finished abruptly, seeing the quizzical look on his sharp features.

V’rex shook his head.

“I usually try not to judge, but your culture sounds fucking strange as shit, little girl.”

“Well, it’s not any weirder than this awful cult stuff!” Penny exclaimed. “At least on my world you’re not kidnapped and forced to get married to a stranger and ‘breed’ for the rest of your life.” She shivered. “And all just to make babies they’re going to take out of your body and mutate into those horrible little NeverBreeders right after the first trimester!”

V’rex made a face.

“I wondered where those fuckers came from. So that’s the GL’s plan? To use breeders to make more of them?”

Penny nodded. “That’s what I was told. They remove the fetus after the first trimester and put it into some kind of chemical bath that turns it into those little orange monsters.” She shivered. “All so the Glorious Leader can build some kind of NeverBreeder army to someday take over the Universe and spread his sick breeding religion!”

“Where did you hear all that?” V’rex demanded. He frowned. “Though I guess it would make sense, considering all the ‘breeding’ that goes on around here—though you don’t see any pregnant females.”

“They are pregnant though—they just aren’t showing yet,” Penny told him earnestly. “There was a woman in the Breeding and Conception center who wasn’t susceptible to the hypno-whispers—she told me.”

“So she was hiding it too, huh?” V’rex raised an eyebrow at her. “But better than you, I’m guessing.”

“I’m usually very good at hiding it,” Penny said defensively. “I was just…surprised to get you as my, uh, Forever Mate at the ceremony. After I’d been warned about you and after—you know—that scene in the Lucky Lounge. That’s all.”

“Sweetheart, don’t take this the wrong way but you are piss-poor at hiding your emotions—they show all over your face,” V’rex said dryly. “Even if I wasn’t half Kru’ell One, I’d know exactly what you were feeling just by looking at you.”

“That’s not true!” Penny exclaimed, stung.

“Hell yes, it is! I could read you like a fucking book from the first minute I saw you back at the Lucky Lounge.” He frowned. “That was right before those little orange bastards grabbed me.”

“Me too!” Penny exclaimed. “I ran in the back to get away from you and they caught me and Shurla—the woman with the three, uh breasts…” She made a motion at her own chest. “In the bathroom.”

V’rex frowned.

“So they took us at the same time? I wondered about that. Do you know how they got us here and where we are? I’m figuring somewhere on Yown Alpha but I don’t know the details.”

“They flew us here and then took us through the jungle in some kind of hover-cart,” Penny said. “I don’t know how long the road is, but it’s clear of the poisonous plants and it leads straight from the landing spot to the Compound, I think.”

V’rex nodded thoughtfully.

“Good—that’s good to know. They shot me up with a fuck-load of knock-out drugs and I didn’t wake up until I was inside the Compound.”

“I’m going to get out of here.” Penny didn’t know if it was wise to admit her plan to the big Hybrid, but she found the words spilling out anyway. “I’m not staying the rest of my life in this horrible place! I’m going to escape and get back to the Hell’s Gate Station as soon as I can. And then I’m going to make a call and the Mother Ship will send someone to take me home.”

He gave her a look that was half admiring, half-skeptical.

“Oh yeah? And how are you gonna do that? Gotta plan, sweetheart?”

“I’ll slip away down to the main gate and wait until they bring in a new batch of, uh, breeders. Then I’ll slip out while the gate is open, run down the path until I get to their docking site,” Penny said rapidly. She had thought about the steps of her plan so often she could actually see herself running down the path, past the tall fronds of the Deadly Jungle, to a waiting ship. “I’ll stow away on one of the outgoing ships and they’ll take me right back up to Hell’s Gate Station without even knowing it!” she finished triumphantly.

“That’s a great plan if you can make yourself invisible,” V’rex said dryly. “You think you can get through the gate, down the road to their launch site, and into one of their ships with nobody seeing you?”

“I can do it—I’m small. Well, I’m short, anyway,” Penny amended, glaring at him. “I can do it!” she repeated.

“Not without help,” V’rex said firmly. “You need someone who can keep you safe in the Deadly Jungle if you have to dive off the road and you get poisoned. And someone who can pilot a shuttle if you do manage to get to the docking site. ”

“Are you saying you can do all that?” Penny put a hand on her hip.

“Oh yes, sweetheart, I can keep you safe. And heal you, if I have to.” He looked so confident that Penny couldn’t help asking,

“How?”

“Thanks to my Kru’ell One side, I’m immune to most poisons,” V’rex told her. “And I can transfer that immunity to you by stinging you.”

“You mean with your tongue?” Penny looked at him askance. His tongue had gone back to normal after the little display he’d put on, but she was still scared of the weird, needle-like appendage it could become.

“Yeah. With my stinger.” He shrugged his broad shoulders, as though this was no big deal.

“But if you, er, stung me again would you have to make me, you know…come?” Penny asked uneasily.

V’rex frowned.

“Afraid so, sweetheart. I can’t sting a female without giving her orgasms. What do you have against sexual pleasure, anyway?”

“I don’t have anything against it as long as I’m expecting it and I’ve given my consent for it,” Penny snapped. “You can’t just go around making people come without asking first! It’s as bad as rape. Well, maybe not quite,” she backpedaled quickly. “But it’s close.”

“Fine,” V’rex growled, looking irritated. “I give you my word as a Kindred and a warrior, I won’t sting you again—or make you come again—without your permission. But if we’re running for our lives and it’s a choice between dying an agonizing death by poison or enduring an unwanted orgasm from me, I hope you’d pick the orgasm over the poison.”

“Of course I would,” Penny said, frowning. “I think that goes without saying. I just don’t want you sneaking up on me and poking me with your tongue when I’m not expecting it and I didn’t ask for it.”

V’rex shook his head.

“Prickly little thing, aren’t you? Don’t worry, sweetheart—I gave you my word not to sting you again without your permission and I don’t break my word.” He stabbed a finger at her. “But you are going to have to get a whole hell of a lot better at pretending we’re really fucking during the Mandatory Breeding Hour every day.”

Penny frowned.

“You really think it’s that important for me to pretend to be, uh, into it?” she asked, feeling her cheeks heat as she remembered the extremely realistic simulation of sex the big Hybrid have given earlier.

“Hell yes, I do!” V’rex growled. “They already know that I’m not susceptible to their Goddess-damned hypno-whispers and after your little performance at the Unification Ceremony, I’m sure they have their doubts about you, too. So we need to act the part of a happy couple fucking each other’s brains out every night—can’t give them any reason to suspect we’re not being good little breeders and trying our best to get you pregnant.”

“I’ll try…” Penny bit her lip. “I’m mostly worried about what they’ll do to me when I don’t turn up pregnant. I know they suspend the awful womb exams for a little while after the Unification Ceremony but eventually I’m going to get called back into the Breeding and Conception Center and they’ll find out I don’t have a bun in the oven.”

“A bun in the oven?” He barked a laugh. “My people used to say a ‘chick in the egg.’”

“Your people?” Penny asked curiously. “The Kru’ell Ones?”

The amusement fell off his face at once to be replaced by a dark look.

“Hell, no. Those were my father’s people. I might have half his blood, but I don’t claim that bastard’s culture as my heritage. I was talking about my mother—she was a Beast Kindred.”

“Oh…okay.” Penny simply nodded, since this seemed to be a sore subject for him. “Anyway, I think we need to try and get away before I have to do another exam and they find out I’m not pregnant,” she said, steering the conversation back to more relevant—and hopefully calmer—waters.

“Agreed.” He frowned. “Which means I have to find some way of getting the Master Control away from the GL.” He tapped the shiny silver pain square at the side of his neck. “If I don’t, this little bastard will fell me like a fucking tree the minute I try to cross over the Compound’s perimeters.”

“But…how are we going to do that?” Penny objected.

“I don’t know—he keeps the damn thing on him all the fucking time.” V’rex shook his head. “I’d have to get close enough to him to pick his pocket—which I could do. I spent some time on the streets after my mother died and my father disowned me. But I don’t know if the ‘Glorious Leader’ would let me get close enough to snatch the Master Control.” He winked at Penny. “I’m not exactly the ragged little urchin I was back in the day when I could slip a diamond ring right off a female’s finger without her even noticing.”

He spoke so casually of his childhood trauma that Penny didn’t know what to say. Was he telling the truth? But then, why would he lie?

“You…grew up on the streets?” she asked uncertainly.

“The mean streets of Chulx on Tenebrian Four.” He shrugged. “But that was only for a few years, until I joined my first gang.” He pointed at the black and gold tattoos that covered both arms and ran up the side of his neck. “Death Snakes. We thought we were so badass. I still have a soft spot in my heart for those bastards, even though I left them years ago to do my own thing.”

Penny bit her lip. “It sounds like…you had kind of a rough childhood. And I thought I had it bad because my parents divorced when I was thirteen.”

“Divorced?” V’rex frowned in apparent confusion.

“Split up,” Penny clarified.

“I had heard that humans don’t bond for life like Kindred,” V’rex remarked. “But it still seems fucking strange to me that you can pledge your life to someone and then just change your mind and leave them for someone else.”

“Well, it wasn’t strange to my dad,” Penny said, frowning. “He decided to run off with his assistant at work—she was about fifteen years younger than my mom and a whole lot thinner and prettier.” She sighed. “That was when I developed an eating disorder. Of course most girls would go the route of anorexia or bulimia but not me—I went the other way.” She patted one thick thigh ruefully.

“An eating disorder?” V’rex looked mystified.

“Yeah. Rather than eating too little I ate, um, too much. Trying to drown my feelings with food, I guess. Of course, I haven’t been eating that much lately because of the way things are here, but I’ve still filled out a lot more than I like.” She gestured at her fuller breasts and hips. “I think it’s the effects of the stupid ‘Mother’s Milk’ they made us drink at the Breeding and Conception Center.”

Penny didn’t know why she was telling him this. Maybe because V’rex himself was in such amazing shape with his cut abs and muscular build, she felt the need to try and excuse herself for having gotten even curvier over the last few weeks. Leave it to her to get abducted by a cult and instead of losing weight from the stress of the awful situation she found herself in, she had somehow gained it instead.

V’rex still looked confused.

“Since when is having luscious full curves considered a disorder?” he asked, frowning at her. “You’re an Elite—that’s what the Twin Kindred call a female blessed with extra curves. What’s wrong with that, sweetheart?”

“A lot is wrong—at least according to my culture,” Penny said stiffly. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, sorry, I didn’t mean to equate my childhood to yours. Losing your mom and…uh, being disowned by your dad and living on the street and joining a gang is obviously way more traumatic than my dad leaving my mom and me being relentlessly teased in middle school for being, uh, overweight.”

“You’re not overweight,” V’rex insisted. “That’s fucking stupid. And so is letting your past define your future. Yeah, I had a rough time coming up, but I haven’t let it stop me from becoming the most ruthless bastard in this Sector.” He grinned at her, showing sharp white teeth. “Now, back to our escape plan.”

Penny raised an eyebrow.

“Our escape plan?”

He shrugged.

“Well, you can always try to escape without me. And if we can’t find a way to get the Master Control off the GL, I’ll want you to,” he continued. “But I think it would be safer together—especially for you. I’ll want to be able to heal you and give you immunity to poison in the jungle. And speaking of healing you…” He patted his knee and beckoned to her. “Come here.”

“What? Why?” Penny shrank back against the cold glass door of the shower stall uncertainly. “What do you want to do to me?”

“Nothing painful or sexual,” he growled impatiently. “I just want to heal you—heal the place where I branded you with my initial.”

He pointed to her upper left breast where the tiny V was still red and swollen and painful.

Penny looked at him suspiciously.

“Does this involve ‘stinging’ me again?”

“No—I told you I wouldn’t sting you without your consent, didn’t I?” He frowned at her. “Look, you’re gonna have to get used to being around me—touching me and letting me touch you, sweetheart. How the hell are we gonna play the happy couple together if you shy away from me every time I reach for you?”

He had a point, Penny supposed. But she was still reluctant to put herself in his power—he was so big and strong and unpredictable. Despite their long talk, she still didn’t really know him.

“I’ll come to you,” she said. “But first tell me how you’re going to heal me. I need to know before I let you do it.”

“I’m just going to lick you—just lick the place where I burned you,” he said simply. “My lust-honey is a little like a Blood Kindred’s essence—the blue liquid that flows from their fangs,” he explained. “It’s not just for pleasure—I’m also able to use it to heal the female I’ve Claimed for my own.”

“But you didn’t Claim me—not really,” Penny protested. “I mean that crazy ceremony—”

“Was when I swore to take care of you,” he finished for her.

Penny frowned.

“I’d like to establish one thing here—I can take care of myself.”

“Not in this situation,” V’rex insisted. “We’re in enemy territory here—we need to take care of each other. Which is what we vowed to do.”

“You also vowed to get me pregnant,” Penny pointed out. “But you’re not going to do that. Uh…right?” She suddenly wondered if she had pushed him too far. Just because he hadn’t raped her right away didn’t mean bad things couldn’t happen in the future. She thought of how Claudette had told her about the Spice which circulated through the air of the Compound and made all the males unbearably horny…

“No, I’m not going to rape you—I thought we already established that,” V’rex growled, cutting off her worried train of thought. “But I am going to look out for you—whether you want me to or not.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want you to get my back,” Penny objected. “I mean, I think it’s a good idea for us to look out for each other—at least, as long as we’re here and until we can get away. I just don’t need you to take care of me all the time. I am a grown woman you know. I—”

“Penelope…”

His deep voice was serious and the fact that he’d called her by her name rather than ‘sweetheart’ or ‘little girl’ made Penny shut up abruptly.

“Penelope,” he said again. “We might have been forced into that Unification Ceremony, but I take my vows to you very seriously. Now, I vowed to love, cherish, and protect,” V’rex went on quietly. “And part of cherishing is healing you when you get hurt—especially if I’m the one who hurt you.” His face twisted briefly in an expression of self-loathing as he spoke and Penny realized that it really bothered the big Hybrid a lot that he’d had to brand her.

“I hurt you, too,” she pointed out, nodding at her name, burned on his chest. “Probably a lot more than you hurt me. Penelope isn’t exactly the shortest name to, uh, brand somebody with.”

V’rex shrugged, as though his own pain didn’t matter.

“I’ll be fine—Kindred are fast healers. But I don’t like letting you suffer.”

“I’m not, honestly,” Penny said, touching her fingertips to the small V at the top of her chest to prove her point.

But this turned out to be a mistake, since touching the fresh brand really hurt.

“Ow!” She gave a little cry and yanked her fingers away as the dull throb turned into bright, burning agony all over again.

“See?” V’rex said grimly. “You’re in pain. Now come here and let me heal you, Penelope.” He sighed when she still hesitated. “Look, I promise, it will only take a minute.”

At last, Penny allowed herself to be lured over to the big Hybrid. She was still wary of him, but she let him pull her down to sit on one of his broad knees so that he could reach the spot where he’d branded her.

Then, he simply leaned over and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the small wound. Penny tensed to have even the gentlest contact hurt, but at the first touch of his tongue, instead of pain, she felt a soothing relief. It almost felt like the big Hybrid was putting some kind of warm, healing gel on the brand.

Ohhhh,” she whispered as he lapped gently at her burned flesh. Without knowing she was doing it, she lifted her hand and slipped her fingers into the long, silky hair at the nape of his neck. The strands were so black they were almost blue and they slid through her fingers like silk as the big Hybrid continued to heal her.

It was a very intimate position—more emotionally intimate than their previous encounter on the bed, Penny thought. And though he had sworn he wouldn’t be giving her pleasure, she couldn’t help feeling some anyway—a warm sensation as though a big, gentle hand was stroking all over her body.

Strangely, she didn’t mind it. Maybe because this time she had agreed to him touching her, and she had been ready for it. It did begin to get a little intense after a while, though. Her nipples began to throb and her breasts were aching while her pussy—which had been much better for a while after getting the big Hybrid’s seed all over it—was throbbing again.

But that could be the lingering effects of the Mother’s Milk, which she’d been forced to drink in the dormitories of the Breeding and Conception Center every single day, Penny told herself. And the fact that her breasts were still full of the sticky nectar.

Or maybe it was his warm, spicy scent that was making her feel so strange. It had frightened her before, when she’d thought he was going to rape her. But now that she felt safer with the big Hybrid, the dark spice that breathed from his warm skin seemed to have an erotic effect on her she was powerless to resist…

At last, just when she was getting uncomfortably aroused, V’rex pulled back. He looked at the place he’d been licking closely, examining it with a critical eye. At last, he straightened up and nodded at Penny.

“All right—you’re healed. I wanted to be careful to heal the burn but leave the scar in case anyone looked for it. But I think you’re okay, now.”

Penny looked down at the top of her left breast and gasped in surprise. The capital V burned into her flesh looked like a brand that had been done a year ago. It was nothing but a slightly pinkish line now—not at all disfiguring. In fact, owning to V’rex’s elegant handwriting, it almost looked like a fancy tattoo rather than the remains of a brand.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, tracing it with her finger. “Oh, you healed it! You healed me,” she added, looking at him. “Thank you, V’rex.”

“Glad to do it, sweetheart. Just part of my vow to cherish and protect you.” His deep voice had dropped to a soft growl and Penny suddenly realized she was still carding her fingers through his long, thick hair.

“Oh, uh…” She pulled her hand away rather reluctantly and started to rise. But V’rex’s arm around her waist tightened for a moment and he held her there.

“If you ever have need of healing again, let me know,” he rumbled, looking her in the eyes. “Like I said, I take my vows seriously.”

“I…” Penny licked her lips. “I believe you,” she said at last, her voice coming out much more breathy than she liked. “And thank you, for that. Let me know if…if there’s anything I can do to, uh, cherish you back. Not that I can heal you, or anything,” she went on quickly. “But if you’re in pain and there’s anything I can do to, you know, help you and…uh…uh…” She was getting lost in the pale golden depths of his eyes, she realized.

“Yes, sweetheart?” he prompted.

“I don’t know what I was going to say,” Penny admitted, feeling foolish.

“That’s okay.” He gave her a smile that centered more in his eyes than his mouth. “We don’t always have to talk.”

For a minute, Penny thought he was going to kiss her. And for a minute, she almost wanted him to.

Then she reminded herself of where she was and who she was with. She might have made a temporary alliance with the big Hybrid out of necessity, but he was still the dangerous space pirate she’d been warned about.

Also, he’s probably only interested in you because of that damn Spice in the air here, whispered a pessimistic little voice in her head. So cool your jets, Penny.

The little voice was right, Penny decided. She needed to keep a close check on her emotions here and not let them run away from her.

She stood up from his knee and this time V’rex let her.

“I…um…I should try to find something to wear,” she said, nodding down at the skimpy white towel which barely covered her. “I can’t go around dressed in a towel all day and you kind of tore my Unification dress all to pieces.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” V’rex rumbled, standing himself to loom over her. “Was tryin’ to put on a good show—that’s all.”

“Well, you certainly convinced me,” Penny told him. She blushed when she remembered exactly how convincing he’d been.

“You’ll have to learn to be more convincing yourself,” he growled. “But we can work on that later.”

And with those cryptic words, he left the bathroom at last, leaving Penny to wonder how in the world she had gotten into this strange new relationship and where it was going to lead.

THIRTY-NINE

Damn it, the little female was really getting under his skin! V glanced down at her name on his chest again. True to his word, his body was already healing the branding wound, leaving nothing but a permanent scar in the place where the burns had been. Well, that was going to be hard to explain the next time he was with a willing female.

Only, at the moment, he couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be with any other female than the curvy little human. She was the one for him—he’d been hit by a thunderbolt the minute he’d seen her in the Lucky Lounge and he just couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that she was his female to cherish and protect.

Not that he wanted to shake it. What he wanted now, was to get closer to her—if she would let him.

He hoped Penelope had enjoyed the healing he had given her. He’d tried to use his lust-honey sparingly and give her a much more gradual, building pleasure than the sudden, intense orgasm he’d forced from her earlier. The fact that she hadn’t liked the orgasm—that it had disturbed and upset her—was a revelation to V.

Before Penelope had put the idea in his head, he had never considered that a female might not want to come.

I mean, who doesn’t want to have an orgasm? he asked himself incredulously.

But he supposed he could see her side of it. She had been scared to death—he’d felt her terror as he lay on top of her. And just because he overwhelmed her body with pleasure hadn’t meant she was any less terrified. In fact, she’d probably been even more scared of the strange, unaccountable things happening to her body without any warning or consent given on her side.

V had never thought of it that way before. He’d told Penny that he hadn’t had any complaints from past lovers, but really, he hadn’t been with any one woman long enough to know what she thought of his technique. Most of his sex life had been a series of one-night stands, since he had always been damn determined not to get permanently involved with any one female. After the way he’d seen his father treat his mother, he didn’t want to risk getting too close and letting his Kru’ell One side out.

But that side of him had been put to the test—he had been practically ordered to rape the little female he wanted so badly and he hadn’t done it. He had passed the test.

I’m not my father, V’rex told himself, and it felt like a revelation. I don’t have to be him—don’t have to turn into him.

But it wasn’t enough just to not be a cruel, abusive asshole. He also wanted to get Penelope to trust him—and he wanted to bring her pleasure in the way she wanted it.

He had always considered himself an excellent lover because the females he bedded always came. But Penelope had seemed to think that the use of his stinger and his lust-honey was cheating in some way. Forcing an orgasm, as she put it.

Now V wondered, somewhat uneasily, if he wasn’t as good between the sheets as he had imagined himself to be. Had he relied too much on his lust-honey to bring a female pleasure? Maybe he needed to work on his technique.

Well, he would have to, he thought, since he had promised not to sting Penelope again until she asked him to. And since she still didn’t trust him as much as he wanted her to—(though allowing him to heal her brand was a good start)—he was going to get some practice honing his sexual skills as he brought her closer to him.

Close enough to bond, whispered a little voice in his head.

V frowned. Was that what he wanted? Did he want to tie the curvy little female to him for life? He had desired her before, when he had only seen her at the Lucky Lounge and then again in the lineup of breeder females when the GL had invited him to pick one. But now that he was actually getting to know her—to know her indomitable spirit and proud independence—well, now he was fucking hooked.

“Hooked through the sac! She’s got you by the balls,” he and his mates used to say, back during his time in the Death Snakes. They had laughed at any male stupid enough to get hooked on a female—and V had laughed the loudest, certain he would never be in that position himself.

But now it seemed that he was. Goddess-damnit, the little female had really gotten under his skin!

Which meant he was back where he had started from.

“Too much thinking,” V growled, squeezing his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t used to this much introspection. He was a male who was used to living life in the moment and acting without worrying about the consequences. Already Penelope was changing him.

The question was, would he be able to change her too? Would he be able to bring her to him?

V supposed only time would tell and in the meantime, he had other things than just wooing his female to think about. They had to get the hell out of this sick place and they needed to do it soon.

FORTY

To her relief, Penny found a blue toga hanging in the closet which fit her. It tied over her right shoulder, showing the brand of V’rex’s initial at the top of her left breast clearly, so it was a good thing he’d left the scar, she decided.

There were no panties to go with it, which was disconcerting, since the skirt of the toga ended at mid-thigh. It wasn’t really surprising, though, Penny thought. After all, the whole society here was built on easy-access sex and constant breeding. Why put panties in the way of penetration?

That made her think of V’rex, for some reason. She quickly pushed the thought out of her head as she looked at her new outfit in the 3-D viewer in the bathroom.

There was no bra to go with the blue toga, either, though Penny had almost gotten used to not wearing one. She wasn’t really comfortable without one, though, owing to the fact that her breasts had grown so much.

There was also the problem of her leaking nipples. Penny looked around and finally put some tissues between her nipples and the thin fabric of the toga, but she could tell it wasn’t going to be a workable solution for long. Plus, her breasts really hurt—they were full of the sticky stuff and it had been over twenty-four hours since she’d had it sucked out.

Back at the Breeding and Conception Center, she’d been drained at the suction center—a kind of room which had chairs with built in breast pumps—every evening before bed. That had been uncomfortable, but bearable.

She just sat in the padded armchair-like seat and a pair of clear suction cups on long, flexible stalks had curved around to fit over her nipples. Then they sucked away the nectar, draining her breasts and leaving her much more comfortable until it built up again and she had to go back for another suction session the next day.

The first time this had happened, Penny had been freaked out by the moving suction cups. But after she got over her shock, she was actually glad they seemed to have a mind of their own and were able to attach without involving anyone else. She didn’t like the idea of the NeverBreeder doctors and scientists handling her body any more than they already did during the awful womb exams.

But here in the village of “Love Huts” there was no suction center and no comfy chairs with self-directed suction cups to ease the pressure and—to be honest—the growing pain of her too-full breasts.

And there was no way to drain her breasts. Well…no way that wasn’t extremely embarrassing.

Because she most definitely was not going to ask the big Hybrid to help her with this particular problem, Penny promised herself. Just the thought of bringing it up made her want to cringe inside. It would be so horribly embarrassing—not to mention much more intimate than she wanted to get with V’rex. She was already in deeper with the dangerous space pirate than she wanted to be—she needed to be putting more distance between them, not less.

Well, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so she decided to try and ignore the pain in her breasts and see what else there was to do in the Love Hut.

Besides breeding, that is, whispered a little voice in her head.

Penny pushed it away and went to explore. The Love Hut was set up like a small cottage, built just for two, which made sense because nobody had any babies here. Well, not ones they would want to claim, anyway, after they’d gone through the chemical baths and become the horrible Oompa-Loompa NeverBreeders.

There was a living area decorated in blue and white with an overstuffed loveseat positioned in front of a wide TV-like screen. Penny wondered what kind of programs they played here—probably all Compound propaganda, she decided and moved on to the next room—which was pretty much the last room in the house.

It was a neatly set up kitchen decorated in yellow and white with a small refrigerator just about Penny’s height which only held a few items—some of which were meat, she saw with a shudder. But there were some odd-looking alien fruits and vegetables too, so at least there was something she could eat.

There were pots and pans and a stovetop filled with blue rocks which got hot when she flipped a switch. There were also several sets of very long tongs. Apparently she was supposed to grill everything on the rocks, Penny thought, frowning. Well, it was awkward but doable, she decided. Like having a barbeque every night.

The last part of the house was a dining area which was attached to the kitchen. It was really more of a breakfast nook with a tiny table set for two with only two chairs.

Playing the “little wife,” Penny made a dinner out of the ingredients stocked in the fridge—though she avoided the meat—and called the big Hybrid to the table. She was afraid he might remark on the absence of meat and object to having only grilled vegetables for dinner, but he only thanked her for cooking and then they ate in relative silence.

It occurred to Penny that, after talking so much in the bathroom, they both had a lot to think about. She didn’t try to make conversation, just finished the rather bland meal—wishing she had more of the flavor sticks from the Breeding and Conception Center—and then it was time for bed.

Sleeping arrangements, however, proved to be a problem.

“No, you can’t fucking sleep on the couch,” V’rex growled at her, after dragging her into the bathroom so they could talk privately after Penny made the suggestion. “We’re supposed to be playing the happy couple, remember? It won’t look right if we don’t both sleep in the same bed.”

“You really think they watch us while we’re sleeping, too?” Penny demanded.

“Not all the time—but they look in often enough. Look.” V’rex opened the bathroom door a crack and pointed up at the smooth white ceiling. Up there, centered directly over the bed, was a small red light, glowing like a lonely coal in the center of an empty fireplace.

“See how it’s lit?” V’rex leaned down to murmur in her ear. “I think that means they’re watching. Sometimes it flickers and goes out—that’s when we have privacy. But it’s not off very often.”

“Oh…” Penny stared in discomfort at the glowing red light. “I didn’t notice it all the way up there.”

“Well, you’re not as close to the ceiling as I am, little girl.” He flashed her a sarcastic grin. “And also, I’ve been in this domicile about a week already and it’s only your first day. But you should know that there are lights like that one in the dining area, the living area, and the food-prep area. Like I said, the only room in the house that doesn’t have one is here.” He nodded at the bathroom. “Presumably because while the ‘Glorious Leader’ gets off on watching people fucking, he’s thankfully not so turned on by seeing them shitting.”

Penny made a face and he shrugged.

“Sorry if that’s too crude for you, but those are the facts. This is the only room that’s not being watched. And since we know we’re being watched day and night, we need to do what’s expected of us.”

Penny sighed reluctantly.

“All right. It’s just…uncomfortable, that’s all.”

“What—sleeping with someone you don’t know very well?” V’rex raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s not particularly comfortable for me either, sweetheart. Especially considering we’re both going to be naked and you’re so damn luscious and curvy.”

“What?” Penny squeaked. “I am not sleeping naked with you! I have had enough nudity around strangers to last a lifetime and I’m not looking for any more!”

“First of all, I’m not a stranger—not anymore,” V’rex growled, frowning. “And second, did you notice any nightclothes in the closet? No,” he continued, when Penny reluctantly shook her head. “Because they don’t provide them. Because they expect the couples around here—especially the newly mated ones—to be breeding constantly and clothes only get in the way when you’re sole fucking aim is giving your female a big belly.”

Penny bit her lip uncertainly.

“It’s just…the bed is big but so are you. I mean, I’m not skinny either, but you’re almost seven feet tall and built like a pro wrestler! How are we going to get into bed together naked and not touch?”

“We won’t be able to,” V’rex said simply. “But that doesn’t mean we have to touch intimately. If it makes you so uncomfortable to be close to me, we can always lay back to back if you want.”

“All right,” Penny said reluctantly. “I guess…guess it’ll be okay if we’re back to back.”

“Fine.” V’rex yawned. “Now that we’ve got that settled, I need to get some sleep. It’s back to the fucking greenhouse and trimming the fruit trees for me tomorrow. And I guess you’re going to get your ‘work assignment’ too, right?”

Penny nodded.

“We’re supposed to meet in the park and they’ll tell us what we’re going to do for our job.”

“Well then, we both need to get some sleep,” V’rex said practically. “Do you want to get into bed first, or should I?” he asked.

Penny was touched that he would give her a choice. It would certainly be easier and less embarrassing for one of them to go out naked and get into bed and then for the other to follow, than for both of them to got out together.

“I’ll go,” she decided. “And, uh, thanks for being understanding, V’rex.”

“Just trying to make you comfortable, sweetheart,” he growled. “Go on—I’ll close the fresher door while you get into bed. When you’re ready for me to come out, just cough really loud.”

“Okay.” Penny nodded gratefully.

She slipped out the bathroom door and once she heard it click closed, she quickly slid out of her blue toga and slipped between the cool, surprisingly silky sheets

When she had a choice, Penny always slept on the right side of the bed so that was the one she took now. She cuddled down into the puffy mattress, shivering a little at the chill of the sheets, and pulled the furry blue bedspread up to her chin.

She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, eyeing the steady red light—it still amazed her how blatant the Compound was about spying on people—and then turned firmly on her right side and coughed.

The bathroom door opened again and V’rex came out completely nude, except for his tattoos and the broad pair of copper bracelets on his wrists, which all the males in the Compound wore.

Apparently he had no problem with walking around naked—probably because he had the most amazing body Penny had ever seen. From his broad shoulders, to the flat planes of his chest, to his washboard abs and long muscular legs, every part of him looked like it had been sculpted out of marble by some master artisan.

Inevitably, her eyes were drawn to the spot between his legs and Penny was discomforted to see that his long shaft was more than half-hard. What was that all about?

V’rex saw where she was looking and raised his eyebrows at her.

“You like what you see, sweetheart?” he rumbled, giving her a little grin.

Penny felt her cheeks get hot and she looked away at once, clamping her lips closed. But V’rex didn’t seem to really expect her to answer. He simply climbed into the left side of the large, square bed beside her and got under the covers.

This presented a whole new problem. Penny had gotten as close to the edge as she could, but the Hybrid was so big, he took up a lot of the covers and sheets—especially when he turned on his side. Penny suddenly found herself with much less to cover up with as the coverings slid up, exposing her.

“Hey!” She tugged at the covers. “Don’t be a cover-hog!”

“A what?” V’rex growled. “And stop yankin’ on the blankets.”

“I’m yanking on the blankets?” Penny demanded incredulously. “They were just fine until you got into bed! Now, look—I don’t have hardly any at all!”

She pointed to the way half of her was exposed.

“I don’t have any either,” V’rex frowned, shaking his head. “I’m afraid this isn’t going to work, sweetheart.”

“What isn’t going to work?” Penny demanded, her heart thumping. Was he going to insist they get closer? A lot closer?

But all V’rex said was,

“I don’t think we can both sleep on our sides. At least, I can’t—I take up more of the blankets when I’m like this.” He motioned down at himself and sighed. “Gonna have to sleep on my back, I guess.”

And then he turned over, which solved the cover deficit problem, but caused a new one in the form of a mattress shortage.

Try as she might to put some distance between them, Penny found that the Hybrid was just too big—especially laying on his back, for her not to touch him in some way while she was in bed with him. Unless she wanted to fall off onto the floor, that was.

“Look, could you settle down, sweetheart?” V’rex’s deep voice sounded irritated in the dim light coming from under the single window’s shade. “I’m tryin’ to relax here. Don’t need you thrashing all around when I’m trying to sleep.”

“I’m just…trying to make a little space,” Penny muttered, keeping her voice down in case they were being listened to as well as watched, which she thought was completely possible. “Can’t you scoot over a little more?”

“Not unless I want to fall out of the fucking bed.” V’rex sounded more irritated than ever. “Look, just relax, will you? Doesn’t matter if we touch a little bit—I promise I don’t have fuckin’ germies.”

“Germies?” Penny asked.

“You know…” He shifted around some. “Little invisible bugs that you get from touching somebody you don’t want touching you?”

“Oh!” Penny got what he was saying. “Back where I grew up, we called them ‘cooties.’”

“Fine. Don’t got cooties either,” was his grumbled, half-asleep reply. “So just settle down and got to sleep. I’d like to try and drop off before the fucking hypno-whispers start for the night, all right? They give me a fucking headache.”

Penny didn’t want to accept the situation, but it didn’t seem she had a choice. With a sigh, she settled on her side again with her back pressed to V’rex’s long flank. His skin was comfortingly warm against hers and she was reminded of her very first impression of him, when she had been blindfolded during the ceremony—that he put out heat like a furnace.

At first it felt strange and wrong to be sleeping without her clothes and with a man she still considered a stranger. But V’rex didn’t try anything and gradually, by degrees, she began to relax against the big body in bed beside her.

At last she drifted off and relaxed into sleep, just as her pillow began the familiar whispering in her ear.

FORTY-ONE

Penny’s dreams that night were the strangest she had since being brought to the Compound…and that was really saying something, considering the past content of her dreams. Still, this night’s nocturnal musings topped them all… much to her humiliation.

She was in bed naked with Colonel Sanders who was missing his immaculate white suit—he was naked, too. But instead of the soft, doughy body of an aging man, which she might have expected to find, the chicken magnate had the most amazing physique.

“Wow, he’s really cut!” Penny thought to herself as she allowed her eyes to rove over his broad chest and washboard abs. The Colonel’s hot, mouthwatering body reminded her of someone else, but in her dream she couldn’t think who it was. She only knew she wanted to be closer to him so she rolled over and pressed her bare body against his.

“Mmm, that’s right, darlin’—get a little closer,” Colonel Sanders murmured, winking at her from behind his black-framed glasses. This time he was wearing his black string tie and a pure white collar, though he had no other clothes on at all.

Penny bit her lip.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked, though she was already rubbing her bare breasts shamelessly against his muscular side.

“’Course I don’t mind, sweet thang,” he murmured, winking at her again. “Let’s you and me get friendly-like, shall we?”

“I guess that would be okay,” Penny said doubtfully, though she had an idea she really shouldn’t be doing this. Still, she couldn’t seem to stop. His big, hard body felt so good against hers! “Oh, Colonel Sanders,” she moaned.

“No need to be so formal, darlin’,” he murmured in her ear. “Call me Chicken Daddy.”

“Chicken Daddy?” Penny looked up at him. This didn’t seem right at all. But as is the way of dreams, she still couldn’t stop. She could feel her pussy getting hot and wet as she rubbed against his muscular thigh and her nipples were tight and achy, leaking the sticky nectar as she rubbed them against his chest.

“Yeah, Chicken Daddy,” the Colonel confirmed. “Now tell me, sweet thang—are you hungry?”

“Maybe a little…Chicken Daddy,” Penny confessed. “The food here isn’t very good without the flavor sticks. I don’t dare eat anything but vegetables and fruit but they’re all really bland.”

“I bet you’re craving some meat to put in your sweet little belly,” the Colonel—or “Chicken Daddy” as he had told her to call him—said, smiling down at her.

“Well—” Penny began doubtfully.

“Well, why don’t you take a nibble of this?” the Colonel asked.

He pointed down between his legs and Penny saw that, once again, he had an extra crispy drumstick in place of a penis. Only this time it was coated in some kind of delicious-looking BBQ sauce.

At the sight of it, her mouth began to water and her pussy got even wetter and more swollen for some reason.

“Mmm, you want it, don’t you, darlin’?” Colonel Sanders aka “Chicken Daddy” murmured. “Go ahead and grab hold of that fat, meaty drumstick, sweet thang and have a little taste.”

Somehow Penny found that she was doing just as he said, wrapping her hand around the thick bottom shaft of the plump, meaty drumstick even though part of her brain was still trying to warn her not to.

“That’s right, sweet thang,” the Colonel crooned. “But before you can take a bite, you have to lick and suck all that sauce off. Think you can do that for me?”

“I…I think so.” Penny looked up to see him watching her avidly, his bushy white goatee and mustache quivering in anticipation.

The sight disturbed her, so she looked back at the juicy drumstick between his legs.

“Lick it,” her Chicken Daddy told her. “Lick it real good and then suck it like a lollipop, darlin’.”

Penny found she was doing as he said. Bringing the drumstick coated in BBQ sauce to her mouth, she began to lick the sides and then she sucked the top of it all the way between her lips.

It tasted salty and hot and a deep, sensuous musk invaded her senses as she licked and sucked. God, he was delicious! She was just about to take a big bite of the meaty drumstick when a deep voice murmured,

“That feels fucking amazing, sweetheart, but are you sure you want to be doing it? You keep it up much longer and I’m gonna come in your hot little mouth.”

The voice was familiar and it did not belong to Colonel Sanders.

FORTY-TWO

Opening her eyes, Penny found that it was early morning and she was still naked in bed with V’rex. Not only that, but she was bent over the big Hybrid with his thick cock deep in her mouth. Well, as deep as it could go anyway, considering how big it was.

“Oh my God!” Penny exclaimed. But since she had her mouth full of the dream drumstick which had turned out to be an actual dick, her words came out sounding distinctly muffled. More like, “Ah mah Gah!”

She pulled back immediately and looked up to see V’rex watching her with an expression which was equal parts confused and aroused.

“Did you mean to suck me off, sweetheart, or do you give blowjobs in your sleep?” he inquired in a sleepy but amused tone.

But to Penny, the situation was anything but amusing. Without answering, she scrambled off the bed and ran to the bathroom because there was basically nowhere else to go.

Grabbing a towel to wrap around herself, Penny sank down on the closed lid of the toilet and put her head in her hands.

“Oh my God, what’s wrong with me? Why did I do that? What does he think of me now?” she muttered fiercely, so embarrassed that tears sprang to her eyes.

“I’ll tell you what ‘he’ thinks,” a deep voice rumbled from the doorway. “He thinks this is all some kind of big misunderstanding.”

“It was!” Penny looked up at the big Hybrid, blinking tears of humiliation out of her eyes. “I didn’t mean to do that to you—didn’t mean to, uh, molest you in your sleep—I swear I didn’t!”

“Take it easy, sweetheart.” V’rex came in and shut the door behind him.

He had already dressed for the day, Penny saw. He was wearing the crimson toga that all the males wore here in the Compound and it looked amazing with his dark tan skin tones and big, muscular body. He looked like a Greek god.

“You don’t have to be so upset,” he murmured.

“Yes, I do—to wake up doing that to you is…well, it’s mortifying. Especially since I didn’t mean to. I was just having such a weird dream…” Penny shook her head. “Ever since I got here, I’ve been having the strangest dreams every night. All about Colonel Sanders and fried chicken and sex. God, what is wrong with me?”

“It’s not you, it’s probably the hypno-whispers,” V’rex pointed out. “I can’t understand any of them—they just give me a fuckin’ headache. But they seem to be affecting you—at least some, anyway.”

“I only understand about one word in ten,” Penny admitted. “But that does seem to be enough to mess with my sleep—well, with my dreams, anyway. But I’ve never done anything like…like what I just did,” she added, feeling her cheeks get miserably hot with a mortified blush.

“If I had to guess, I’d bet that they ramped up the whispers last night,” V’rex said thoughtfully. “They probably want the new Forever Mate couples to do as much breeding as possible with as little resistance as possible.” He frowned. “Fuckin’ perverts.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Penny nodded eagerly, glad to have an explanation—any explanation—for her behavior. “But God, that dream was so weird. So vivid.” She looked up at V’rex, biting her lip. “It’s no excuse though. I’m really, really sorry.”

He gave an incredulous laugh.

“You think I’m gonna complain about waking up to getting my dick sucked? Hell no, sweetheart.” He reached down and cupped Penny’s hot cheek. Gently, he swiped away a tear with his thumb. “I’m just sorry it made you so upset,” he rumbled, looking at her anxiously. “I would’ve stopped you before, I swear, but I was half-asleep myself through most of it.”

“You were?” Penny blinked up at him, feeling a little better.

“Uh-huh. What woke me up at first wasn’t your mouth—it was your soft little hand on me. And you kept saying something like, ‘Oh Chicken Daddy…Oh, Chicken Daddy!’” He shrugged. “Whatever that means.”

“That was, uh, part of the dream.” Penny pulled away from his touch, feeling embarrassed all over again. “God, this place is so weird and awful! We have to get out of here!”

“As soon as we can, but keep your voice down, sweetheart,” V’rex growled, glancing at the closed door. “It’s not exactly soundproofed in here. I do have kind of a plan for getting out now, though—got it from the talk we had last night.”

“You do? What is it?” Penny looked at him hopefully.

But V’rex shook his head.

“I have to check some things first and work it out a little more. I promise we’ll discuss it tonight—okay?”

“Okay.” Penny nodded and sniffed. “So…you really aren’t upset with me? Because I have to be honest, I’d be really angry with you if I woke up and you were, uh…”

“Going down on you?” His pale gold eyes were suddenly half lidded. “Yeah, I guess it would be kind of shocking if you woke up with my tongue sliding between your sweet pussy lips, wouldn’t it?”

Penny found she was blushing all over again, but for a different reason this time. As his dirty words formed a picture in her head, a surge of sexual energy went through her. Suddenly her nipples were tight and achy while her pussy was throbbing. She pressed her thighs together tightly.

“I just…I would probably have a hard time believing you were just…just having a bad dream,” she admitted stiffly, trying to ignore the sudden wave of desire that threatened to swamp her. God, what was wrong with her, anyway?

“Well, I wouldn’t call it a bad dream, exactly.” V’rex grinned at her. “Hey, stop torturing yourself about it. I’m not upset and you shouldn’t be either—it’s just a side effect of this fucked up place, that’s all.”

Penny was relieved that he was willing to be so understanding about the whole thing. She really would have been upset if their positions had been reversed and she’d woken up with the big Hybrid between her thighs.

Or would you? asked a naughty little voice in the back of her head. But what if he was really good at it, Penny? And what if he actually liked it. What about that?

Penny tried to push the embarrassing thought away. She loved reading spicy romance books where the hero actually enjoyed going down on the heroine and was actually skilled at it. But alas, she had never found a guy in real life that lived up to the fantasy she had in her head—mainly because she was self-conscious about asking any guy to get between her overly-ample thighs and go to work with his tongue.

Garret had professed himself willing to try it, when she had finally confessed her fantasy, but that had been a disaster. He had given her a few swipes with his tongue and then made a face and came bobbing right back up.

“Is there a problem?” Penny had asked him anxiously, unsure what to think of his twisted expression.

“Well, I mean it’s not, uh…not the best taste, ya know, babe?” Garret had reached for a glass of water on the bedside table and taken a big swig, as though to rinse out his mouth. Then he’d smiled at her. “But hey, that’s okay. We still have the main event, right?”

The “main event” was sex of course—proper sex with the pole going into the hole as Garret said—which was, of course, the only real sex as far as he was concerned.

So they had had sex, while Penny felt like she was dying inside from embarrassment.

She had tried to put it out of her mind, but after that encounter, she’d never asked a guy to go down on her again. She couldn’t summon the courage, feeling that her thick thighs and her “bad taste” down there would disqualify her forever from having her favorite fantasy come true.

But now, looking up into those pale gold eyes, half-lidded with amused lust, Penny wondered if things might be different with V’rex. At the very least, she bet he would be considerably better at going down than her ex had been. But what if he didn’t like her taste either?

Yes, but what if he does? Whispered the little voice.

Not that she was ever going to find out, Penny told herself firmly.

“Grab a quick shower and get ready for First Meal,” V’rex told her, breaking her train of thought. “I’m cooking this morning.”

“That sounds good,” Penny said gratefully. “But no meat, okay?” she added quickly as he turned to leave.

V’rex frowned.

“I noticed you didn’t make any for Last Meal last night either. Any particular reason?”

“You don’t know, do you?” Penny had been pretty sure he didn’t know about the source of the meat here in the Compound, but it was still a relief to have it confirmed.

V’rex frowned.

“Know what?”

“I’ll tell you after breakfast,” Penny promised him. “Because if I tell you before, it’ll ruin your appetite. Right now, I’m going to get a shower.”

“Fine. No meat. And I’m not sure if I want to know what you have to tell me or not.” V’rex shook his head and let himself out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Penny stood up and swiped at her eyes again, trying to get control of herself. God, she was all over the place this morning! She hadn’t felt so hormonal in ages and it wasn’t like it was time for her period—that had stopped after she’d been on the Mother’s Milk for a while.

As to the reason why her cycle had stopped, well, Mother Toone had explained that a female’s monthly cycle was actually completely unnecessary—at least according to the Compound.

“Why, with the right hormones, my sweet, the female body doesn’t have to go through a cycle at all,” she’d told Penny, when she asked haltingly where her period had gone to. “All you need to do is balance things just right and her body can be in a constant state of readiness to get pregnant—do you see?”

“Like a constant state of ovulation,” Penny muttered now, to herself. She was always most sexually needy during that part of her cycle—most women were, she knew. And the damned weird hypno-whisper-induced dreams didn’t help anything either!

Thank goodness things hadn’t gone any farther than they had, she thought grimly, as she stepped into the steaming shower. She’d been one step away from either biting off the top of V’rex’s dick…or straddling him and sliding down onto it.

Another shiver of erotic energy ran through her and she turned the water setting to freezing cold.

“N-no!” she told herself, through chattering teeth as the frigid water pounded her body, raising goosebumps on her bare skin. “N-no, I c-can’t think of him like th-that!”

She had to get out of here before something worse than what had happened last night occurred. She had to escape the Compound while she was still sane enough to do it!

FORTY-THREE

Gods! V shifted uncomfortably as he reset the branch trimmers and tried to concentrate on his job in the greenhouse. But he had a hell of a lot on his mind this morning which made it pretty hard to care if he was trimming the branches of the long rows of trees as symmetrically as possible.

For one thing, he couldn’t stop thinking of how he’d woken up that morning with the head of his cock deep in Penelope’s sweet mouth. Gods, her little hands had been so soft and her mouth had been so hot… She’d been licking and sucking him with sensuous pleasure, as though she loved the taste of him.

Then, of course, she’d woken up and the whole thing had turned out to be just a crazy dream brought on by those fucking hypno-whispers. But for just a moment, V had thought that she was acting of her own volition—that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

Well, she did want him, he reminded himself, thinking of the surge of sexual desire he’d felt coming from her when they’d been talking. What had brought on that particular blast of lust? Oh right—she’d said she would be upset if their positions were reversed and V had said something about how she would have been shocked if she’d woken up with him licking her soft little pussy.

Hmm…Was that what had turned her on so much? His talk about going down on her? Sometimes V wished he could read a female’s thoughts, like a full-blooded Kru’ell One. But if he was able to do that, he would probably have the need to feed on a female’s emotions to survive too. No, far better to be only a half-blood and be able to feel her emotions without needing to feed on them.

But it was worth noting that what had turned her on was the idea of his tongue between her thighs. V’s shaft surged under the ridiculous red garment he had to wear here. Gods, how he wanted to taste her sweet pussy! Like all Kindred, he had a biological need to go down on a woman once he had chosen her as his future mate. And he was definitely feeling that need now.

But he sensed that even though the idea of him tasting her turned Penelope on, he would have to take this slowly with her. He frowned. The first thing he had to convince her to let him do was suck the nectar from her full breasts. She’d left sticky trails of the stuff on his side, where she’d been rubbing against him that morning and he’d had to wash off in the food-prep sink while she was in the shower.

The stuff was almost as viscous as honey and it had to be hurting her to have her breasts so full. But V was pretty sure she would rather die than ask him to help her with the problem. She was a stubborn little thing—it was one of her attributes he most admired, though it made earning her trust difficult.

But she couldn’t go around with the nectar leaking from her nipples all day where people could see—it would be like a public admission that he wasn’t breeding her properly, since sucking the nectar from a female’s breasts was part of breeding here in the Compound.

That thought, of course, inevitably led to the mental image of breeding her for real.

Just the thought of sucking her full tits while she rode his cock made his shaft surge again. He could just imagine her straddling him, her soft little pussy stretched to the limit as she took in not only his shaft but his mating fist as well.

All his life, V had been extra careful to withhold his mating fist any time he had sex with a female. He knew perfectly well that if he let his fist enter a female at the same time he was stinging her, he would form a permanent soul bond and he had never wanted that before.

Now he wanted it—wanted it badly, he admitted to himself. But it was clear that Penelope had no interest in such things. In fact, she’d barely agreed to work with him to get out of this sick place. He would have to win her over, have to woo her slowly, starting with getting her to let him suck her ripe nipples and ease the tension in her full breasts…

Gods! And his cock was surging again. Damn, how he wanted her!

V wished he could go to the fresher and jerk off to get rid of the intense sexual tension that plagued him, but of course that was impossible since he still wore the copper non-contact bracelets on his wrists. He could handle his shaft enough to take a piss at least—that was good. But the minute he started stroking it, he got a nasty jolt of pain which seemed to travel from his own fingertips to his cock.

It was like he was electrocuting his junk, every time he tried to jerk off which was, to say the least, no fucking fun. So he had to grin and bear the sexual tension and—

“Worker V’rex, your trimming of the fleezum trees today is not optimal!”

The high, androgynous voice belonged to Supervisor Poone, the NeverBreeder who ran the greenhouse where V had been assigned to work.

“What?” Irritated, he looked down at the little orange bastard and then up to the tree he’d been trimming as he thought about Penelope.

Sure enough, the previously perfectly round sphere of greenish-turquoise leaves was now markedly lopsided where V had been trimming it.

“Sorry,” V growled, glaring at the NeverBreeder supervisor. “Didn’t mean to do that.”

“Fix it!” the little orange NeverBreeder demanded. “Or I, Supervisor Poone, will be forced to put a black mark on your record! And may I remind you that three black marks equals automatic recycling?”

The threat made V angry—and also brought to mind the awful things Penelope had told him at First Meal. Over bowls of bland porridge made of blanched svetty grain, she’d told him that all the meat in the Compound was actually the flesh of recycled breeders.

V didn’t actually know if he believed it. Penelope had claimed she’d gotten the information second hand from her friend at the Breeding and Conception Center, who was also immune to the hypno-whispers. It seemed too evil, even for that bastard the “Glorious Leader,” to believe that he was actually feeding the dead bodies of recycled breeders to the living ones. But still, what if it was true?

The thought turned V’s stomach and the little orange bastard threatening to essentially turn V himself into steaks and chops pissed him off.

I’ll turn you into tomorrow’s Last Meal if you fuck with me, you little orange mutant! he thought, still glaring at Supervisor Poone. What an overbearing little asshole!

And while he was thinking these things, the NeverBreeder was still lecturing.

“Do you not know that the Glorious Leader himself comes to the greenhouse on a regular basis to inspect?” he was ranting in his high, androgynous voice. “What will he think if he sees a fleezum tree that is trimmed in such a lopsided manner?”

His words jogged V’s memory of what he’d been planning and he looked with interest at the little NeverBreeder.

“I’ve never seen him here and I’ve been working at the greenhouse a whole solar week,” he pointed out, frowning.

“Which only means he is overdue for an inspection!” the NeverBreeder supervisor exclaimed. “He will be here sometime this week—I can guarantee it! And if he sees what you have done to this fleezum tree—”

“Keep your tiny silver jumpsuit on,” V growled. “I’ll fix it—I’ll fix it!”

“See that you do!” Supervisor Poone shook a stubby orange finger in his face—or tried to, anyway. He was mostly shaking his finger at V’s abs. “Now, I am off to put a black mark on your record. You had better be careful, Worker V’rex or you will find yourself recycled.”

And with that, he flounced off, presumably to write a full-length report on how V had trimmed a tree the wrong way and ought to be made into hamburger for it.

“I’ll recycle you with my fist, you little asshole,” V muttered at the retreating supervisor. But he went to work, making the damn fleezum tree symmetrical again so that it matched the rows and rows of other fleezum trees with their perfectly round tops and long gray-green trunks disappearing into large, earthenware pots.

As he worked with his hands, his mind was forming and refining the plan which had first occurred to him the night before when he was speaking to Penelope.

So the GL was going to be here sometime this week, hmm? Well when he came, V would be ready for him.

FORTY-FOUR

“Good morning, ladies! How is everyone on this beautiful day in the Compound?” Mother Toone asked brightly as they all stood in the perfectly manicured public park.

Penny had been surprised to see their attendant from the Breeding and Conception Center waiting to greet her and the other women who had just been joined to their Forever Mates. But the NeverBreeder had explained that she was free to help out in other areas until a new batch of breeders showed up in the Compound for her to take care of.

“Which they will, very soon—I can promise you that, my sweetie,” she’d said, giving Penny her Jack-o-lantern grin. “But until then, old Mother Toone is still here to help her girls! And today I’ll be helping by handing out your job assignments!”

Mother Toone was, at least, a familiar face but Penny was much happier to see who she had brought with her. Claudette was standing quietly beside the NeverBreeder attendant with a clipboard in her hands and a neutral expression on her face.

Penny had tried to catch her eye but she had only shaken her head—a quick movement anyone else would have mistaken for a twitch. So Penny assumed she didn’t think it was safe to talk right now. Still, it was nice to see the other woman again.

“Now, I trust everyone had a lovely first Mandatory Breeding?” Mother Toone asked brightly, speaking to all the assembled women who were standing in a semi-circle around her.

A “lovely” Mandatory Breeding might have been overstating things, Penny thought dryly. She could look down the line and see who had had it the worst. Shurla could barely walk and one of the other women had two black eyes. Further down she could see a woman who looked like her nose had been broken. But nevertheless, every single one of them smiled at Mother Toone and agreed eagerly that yes, their first Mandatory Breeding had been just wonderful.

Penny echoed their sentiments, feeling glad that she’d been matched with V’rex. At least the big Hybrid hadn’t violently raped her, as had clearly happened to most of the other women in her breeder group. She wondered if the violence of their encounters had to do with the Spice Claudette had told her about. She had believed that it was affecting V’rex as well, but maybe the big Hybrid was immune to its effects the same way he was immune to the hypno-whispers?

“I’m so glad everyone is happy with the Forever Mate our Glorious Leader picked for you,” Mother Toone said brightly, interrupting Penny’s musings. “Didn’t I tell you it you would be so? The Shining Star is never wrong!” She beamed at all of them. “And now, to compound your happiness, I’m excited to be announcing your job listings. Today you are finally going to become full members of our lovely Compound!”

A ragged cheer went up and Penny joined in, trying to grin as excitedly as the other women. She wondered where she was going to end up and what she would be doing every day. Mother Toone had explained to her that when the Compound first started, all the work had been done by the NeverBreeders and the breeders had been left to live in idle luxury.

“But it wasn’t good for them, my sweet, oh my, no—it wasn’t!” she’d exclaimed. “They were bored and unhappy and that only leads to trouble. So the Glorious Leader decided to allow the breeders to help out—to earn their keep, as it was. And everyone has been so much happier ever since!”

Which probably had something to do with the hypno-whispers, Penny thought dryly, looking around as Mother Toone handed out the assignments. She’d never seen anyone thrilled at receiving garbage duty but Shurla was grinning widely as she hobbled forward to take the slip of paper the NeverBreeder attendant held out to her.

“And now, Penelope, my sweet—you get to work in the Marketplace!” Mother Toone exclaimed, turning to Penny. “My—aren’t you lucky?” she added, holding out a paper with Penny’s assignment on it. “You get to work in the bakery stall, smelling all that lovely fresh bread all day. So yummy!”

“Yummy,” Penny agreed, pasting on a smile as she took the slip of paper with her assignment. She supposed it could be worse. This was certainly better than if she’d been assigned to the butcher shop. Just the thought made her shudder. If she ever did get away from here, she might be a vegetarian for life—her sexy, confusing fried chicken dreams notwithstanding.

“Well, now that everyone has their assignments, it’s time for you to all go to work,” Mother Toone said briskly. “I’m going to take the half of you that are working at the west end of the Compound and our lovely friend, Claudette, will be taking those who are working on the East end. Be sure you all work hard and do a good job, Remember—this is the first day of the rest of your life in the Compound!”

The girls all clapped and cheered and the group who were going with Mother Toone gathered around the NeverBreeder attendant, chattering eagerly.

Penny was in the group led by Claudette along with a two of the other women, including Shurla.

“Well, Penelope, did you have a good first Mandatory Breeding?” Shurla asked her brightly as they gathered around the silent Claudette.

“Um, sure. It was great.” Penny smiled at her and thought again how sad it was that the strong-willed Shurla had been so completely taken in by the hypno-whispers.

“Mine was too. Why, Skrug didn’t stop breeding me all night!” Shurla was limping visibly as they started out through the park towards the east side of the Compound. “I swear he started the minute we got to our Love Hut and didn’t let up until this morning when it was time to go to work!” She yawned and smiled. “I barely got any sleep between the breedings!”

“That’s…something else,” Penny said, not sure what else she could say. “But, well…wasn’t it kind of hard on you?” she asked. “He, uh, seemed to have some pretty impressive equipment from what I could see yesterday at the ceremony,” she added, thinking of how Shurla’s huge blue husband with his lipless mouth and scraggly teeth had a dick that hung down between his knees.

“Oh, he does!” Shurla made an expressive motion with both hands, like she was a fisherman describing the size of the one that got away. “I mean, he’s huge. He could barely fit it in me at first, but he kept at it until he rammed it all home. And then it was off to the races!”

She laughed merrily as though being forced to take such a huge piece of equipment inside herself was somehow funny rather than horrifying.

Of course, V’rex had pretty huge equipment himself—which Penny had inadvertently found out that morning, she thought, blushing. But at least he hadn’t forced it inside her and kept on forcing her all night long like poor Shurla!

Just then, they finally reached their first stop.

“This is the garbage collection department,” Claudette said to them. “Shurla and Leelah—you two are here.”

“Oh yay—this is us!” Shurla enthused, turning to the other woman—who happened to be the one with two black eyes. “Let’s go introduce ourselves and do our part to help the Compound, Leelah!”

The other girl nodded and smiled painfully, showing that she had a split lip as well. Then the two of them limped eagerly down the small hill to the large building with a rotten odor emanating from it.

“All right now, come on,” Claudette said to Penny and the remaining woman in their group. “I’ll be dropping Chima off at the garment making factory and then I’ll bring Penelope to the Marketplace.”

The garment factory was a large, airy building where rows and rows of industrial-type machines were manned by numerous breeder women—all of them working on making the red and blue togas that all the breeders wore. Claudette introduced Chima to her new supervisor—a NeverBreeder by the name of Roone with sharp, beady little eyes—and then nodded at Penny to follow her towards the Marketplace.

But they seemed to be taking the long way around, Penny saw. Instead of heading straight down the manicured path, Claudette was leading her in a lingering circle over the neatly clipped grass.

“Penny,” she said in low voice as they walked slowly along. “I have to talk to you.”

“Yes?” Penny looked at her, not liking the foreboding sound of the other woman’s words. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is most certainly not okay,” Claudette snapped, giving her a sidelong glare “What was that performance you put on yesterday at the Unification Ceremony? Everybody was talking about it—and I don’t just mean the other breeders!”

“They…they were?” Penny felt like an icy hand had cupped her heart. “Are you sure?’

“Of course I’m sure,” Claudette said angrily. “I heard Mother Toone telling Director Loone, who supervises the Watchers, who spy on everybody’s Love Huts, to keep a close eye on you and to turn up the hypno-whispers. She also said if you don’t straighten up and act right you’ll have to be recycled.”

“What? Mother Toone said that?” Penny knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn’t help feeling hurt and betrayed. She’d had the idea that the NeverBreeder attendant liked her—that she was somehow on her side. And now to hear that she’d been talking about recycling her…

Claudette seemed to read her mind.

“You thought she liked you, didn’t you?” she asked with an ugly laugh. “Well let this be a lesson, Penny—you can’t trust the NeverBreeders—any of them. So you’ve got to straighten up and fly right!”

“I…I’ll try,” Penny faltered. “I was just…just surprised at who they picked as my Forever Mate, that’s all.”

“Well, he doesn’t seem to have treated you too badly.” Claudette looked her over critically. “You’re certainly doing better than most of the new breeder brides. Although…Penny—what the hell is that?”

“What?” Penny looked down to where her friend was pointing and saw, to her dismay, a growing dark spot on the front of her blue toga.

“Oh, crap!” she muttered, reaching into the fabric to rearrange the tissues she’d put there to soak up the nectar still leaking from her nipples. But to her dismay, the tissues were soaked, though she’d put them in her top barely an hour before.

She pulled out a wad of sticky tissues and looked at them in dismay. What was she going to do now?

“What’s going on with you?” Claudette demanded, frowning. “Why didn’t you get your breasts drained during your Mandatory Breeding last night?”

“I…um…” Penny wasn’t sure how to answer that question without giving away the fact that V’rex was immune to the hypno-whispers too. But Claudette guessed it.

“He didn’t breed you, did he?” she asked, looking at Penny with a mixture of awe and envy. “You still haven’t been bred!”

“He’s a nice guy, okay? Well, if not nice exactly, he’s at least not a rapist,” Penny said quickly. “He promised not to…do that to me if I didn’t want him to.”

“Listen, he may be nice but he’s not doing you any favors refusing to breed you,” Claudette lectured. “Sooner or later you’re going to get pulled into the Breeding and Conception Center for another womb check. And if they find that you’re not pregnant and that you don’t even have any signs of male seed inside you, you’re going to be in deep trouble!”

“Well excuse me for not wanting to get raped!” Penny cried.

“Shhh!” Claudette hissed angrily. She looked all around them, but there was no one in sight. “Look, I’m just trying to warn you. You’re already in trouble. I mean, you think you got the Marketplace as your job assignment by some random choice? This is a punishment assignment, Penny!”

“What? How can that be?” Penny frowned. “What’s so bad about baking and selling bread all day? I’ve always wanted to learn how to make sourdough.”

“Think about it—it’s not just about baking and selling—it’s about being out in the open where any man who wants to can grab you during a Public Mandatory Breeding!” Claudette exclaimed.

“They can?” Penny was horrified. “But I thought only your Forever Mate was supposed to do that!”

“Except during a Public Breeding,” Claudette emphasized. “The Glorious Leader likes to shake things up. Also, the Public Breedings are how he keeps the male breeders from getting bored with the Forever Mate he assigned them. Even if the relationship gets stale, they always know that pretty soon, they’ll have a chance to try some fresh meat. And—listen to me Penny—right now, you are on the chopping block!”

Penny felt cold all over. She crossed her arms over her leaking breasts and shivered.

“You don’t think they’ll have one today, do you? A Public Breeding, I mean?” she asked, barely forcing the words out.

“Who knows?” Claudette shrugged. “They did a lot of them in the week before the Unification Ceremony so they might hold off for a while. The only time you can be sure there’s going to be one is when they bring a fresh crop of breeders in they captured from Hell’s Gate. The Glorious Leader always likes to show off for the new breeders—let them know what’s in store for them.”

“But…I don’t want some stranger grabbing me and…and…” But Penny couldn’t go on.

“Then you’ve got to straighten up, like I said,” Claudette said, frowning. “Start acting like you belong here. Conform, Penny. And that means that tonight you go back to your Love Hut and get that big, scary-looking Forever Mate of yours to breed you properly and suck the nectar out of your breasts. If you start acting like a good little breeder, you might get transferred out of the Marketplace before the next Public Breeding.”

“But…what if I don’t get transferred?” Penny asked, her throat tight.

Claudette shrugged.

“Then you’ve got to just grin and bear it. I worked at the Marketplace for a time, when I first came here,” she added, a bitter look passing over her face. “I went through seventeen Public Breedings. Seventeen. And sometimes as soon as one male was finished with me another would take his place. And then another and another…” She shook her head and looked at Penny. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Nothing at all? What if you hide?” Penny protested.

Claudette shook her head.

“If they catch you hiding or running away when a male grabs you, you’re automatically recycled—resisting during a Public Breeding is the surest way to prove you’re not really hypnotized.”

“It is?” Penny whispered, putting a hand to her throat.

Claudette nodded.

“You’ll see what I mean if you see one—the minute the call goes out over the speakercons, all the female breeders come out of their shops and stalls specifically to make themselves available to the males. And believe me, the males come from all over, straight to the Marketplace the minute they hear the call,” she added grimly. “So if the Glorious Leader calls for a Public Breeding while you’re working in the bread stall, you’ve just got to take it.”

Penny honestly didn’t know if she could submit to letting some strange man—or men—rape her. Not even to save her own life.

“I might rather be recycled,” she whispered, not sure if she was talking to herself or to Claudette. “I might rather die than let…let that happen.”

“I thought that too, at first,” her friend said grimly. “But you’d be amazed how strong the will to survive is. You find you’ll do anything—endure anything—just to keep drawing your next breath.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I don’t understand it myself.”

“I still want to get out of here,” Penny told her in a low voice. “I think I might really have a chance. Do…do you want to try and come with me?”

She didn’t know what V’rex would say about having another person along on their escape but she couldn’t just leave Claudette here. The poor woman had been through so much trauma—she deserved a chance to get away.

But Claudette only sighed and shook her head.

“Always so hopeful. I wish I could share that hope with you, Penny, but I’m afraid you’ll just end up getting yourself recycled. Still, I wish the best for you. Here.”

She pulled something out of one of the pockets on the sides of her toga and pressed them into Penny’s hand. Penny looked down and saw two little squares of white, puffy material in her palm.

“Gauze?” she asked, looking up at Claudette.

“Super absorbent bandaging—we use it in the Breeding and Conception Center during surgical procedures,” Claudette corrected her. “You’re lucky I happened to have some with me. You can stick those squares to your nipples and they should be absorbent enough to soak up whatever nectar you leak today. But they’re only good for one use,” she added as Penny slipped the square white patches down the front of her toga and positioned them over her nipples—where they stuck to the sticky nectar. “So be sure you get your breasts drained tonight by your new husband.”

“Um…okay.” Penny nodded reluctantly. She still didn’t see how she could ask V’rex to suck the nectar out of her breasts. Just the idea made her cringe inside with mortification.

Claudette seemed to sense her hesitation.

“Do it!” she commanded, glaring fiercely at Penny. “Look—I don’t have any other friends here,” she added awkwardly. “I…I don’t want to lose you. So please, Penny—take care of yourself.”

Touched, Penny smiled at the other woman.

“I will,” she promised, though she still wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with V’rex.

“And have him breed you, too. It’s the only way to stay safe around here,” Claudette lectured. “You have to get pregnant regularly to avoid recycling.”

That was even less likely to happen, Penny thought, her cheeks getting hot with embarrassment. V’rex had promised not to rape her and she was glad he had.

“Here—I got you these.” Claudette reached in her other pocket and pulled out a handful of something Penny recognized.

“Oh—flavor sticks!” she exclaimed, taking them gladly from her friend. “Thank you, Claudette!”

“I know how much you like them.” The other woman shrugged stiffly. “And you can’t really get them outside the Breeding Center so…” She trailed off, shrugging again.

Impulsively, Penny leaned over and gave her a hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered into Claudette’s ear as the other woman hugged her back awkwardly. “You’re a wonderful friend. Thank you for warning me—I promise I’ll do a better job pretending to be hypnotized.”

“Well, you can start right now by being super excited to bake and sell bread,” Claudette lectured as they broke apart. “Remember you’re happy to get your job assignment and you can’t wait to start.”

“Right!” Penny pasted a bright smile on her face and nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Let’s go,” Claudette echoed and they headed for the Marketplace.

FORTY-FIVE

The Marketplace wasn’t very busy this time of day, Penny thought as they entered it. It consisted of about ten or twelve neat little storefronts lined up across from each other along the perfectly paved main road.

There was a garment stall where the red and blue togas were sold—well, not really sold, as Claudette explained. Every week each breeder couple was issued coupons which were good for spending at the Marketplace. Some were for clothes or household implements, but most were for food and other necessities.

Besides the garment stall, there was a store that sold pots and pans—all made at a factory here in the Compound, and further on, a store that sold dishes and bowls and cups. Apparently there was a pottery studio in the Compound too, so everything was hand-thrown and baked in a kiln. Penny wondered why she couldn’t have been assigned there—she had always wanted to take a pottery class and had just never gotten around to it.

On the other side of the neat main street were the food stalls and stores. There was one for the fruits and vegetables, which were all grown right here in the Compound, another for milk, butter, eggs, and cheese—all made in the dairy and collected from the hatching pens where domesticated tongus and chuckas were kept.

There was also a butcher stall, which made Penny shudder. Huge slabs of suspect-looking meat were stored in refrigerated cases right out front. Fat, shiny d’zeez flies buzzed over the offal to one side of the chopping block where a butcher was working on what looked an awful lot like a human thigh to Penny.

Then she saw who the butcher was—it was Skrug, Shurla’s new husband. He looked up at Penny and grinned his snaggle-toothed grin as he chopped the thigh in half with one blow of the giant cleaver he held in one clawed hand.

“Well, hello there, pretty little one!” he growled, waving the bloody cleaver at her by way of a greeting. “If it isn’t my ‘second bride’—the one V’rex almost gave up to me by refusing to brand her!”

“What are you talking about?” Penny demanded, stepping closer to the butcher’s stall. “He branded me at the Unification Ceremony—everybody saw it.”

“Yes he did, though not properly.” Skrug frowned. “But he didn’t want to—no he didn’t! Put up such a fuss about it when our Glorious Leader was explaining how things would go before we started that he nearly lost you as his bride. The Shining Star was actually going to give you to me, you know.” He leered meaningfully at Penny. “Until V’rex finally agreed to do the deed.”

“He was?” Penny remembered how upset the big Hybrid had been about having branded her and how insistent he’d been about healing her. Clearly Kat and Commander Sylvan had been at least partially wrong about him—he didn’t want to hurt women like a full-blooded Kru’ell One.

“Oh yes, the Glorious Leader was this close to giving you over to me.” Skrug poked a bloody thumb in his own aproned chest, which was already smeared with red and brown stains. “Pity he didn’t. Old Skrug would have treated you right, so I would! Just ask Shurla—I made her almost too sore to walk last night and I’ll do it again tonight!” He laughed uproariously, then leaned over the counter to stare at Penny lasciviously. “I can breed you too, pretty one, if V’rex isn’t doing you right. You just say the word and I’ll come around this counter and give it to you right proper!”

The thought of being bred by the huge, blue-skinned, hunchbacked, snaggletoothed alien made Penny want to vomit. Beneath his butcher’s apron she could see his massive equipment swinging, like one of the fat sausages dangling from the ceiling of his shop.

“No thank you,” she said, stepping away from him. “I…I have to get to my job.”

“Oh? And where’s that?” Skrug looked interested.

“None of your business,” Claudette, who had been standing silently by until now, snapped. “Come on, Penny.”

She grabbed Penny by the arm and dragged her down to the next stall, which happened to be the bakery.

“This is it?” Penny hissed in her ear. “Right beside the butcher’s shop?”

“Can’t be helped,” Claudette muttered back. “Now put on a smile, Penny and remember to act the part.”

Penny knew there was no other choice. Pasting a big grin on her face, she walked through the outside area of the bakery, where stacks of fresh loaves of a dusky pale purple color were on display, and into the back of the shop.

It was much darker in the inside of the shop and at least fifteen degrees hotter. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, Penny saw why. There were several huge brick ovens all ranged along the back wall and all of them appeared to be running simultaneously. Their glowing interiors looked like traditional pizza ovens to Penny and loaves of bread were being shoveled in and out of them constantly by the many workers.

Lined up along the other two walls were tables with plenty of busy women. Some were mixing huge vats of flour and water and yeast with vast wooden paddles while others were kneading and pounding the dough. The fresh dough and the baking bread perfumed the air with a delicious, yeasty scent that Penny inhaled deeply.

“There’s your supervisor,” Claudette said to her in a low voice. She nodded at a NeverBreeder who was whacking and yanking roughly at an enormous mound of bread dough, as though it had done something to personally displease her.

“It is?” Penny looked at the stern-looking NeverBreeder uncertainly.

“Uh-huh. That’s Head Baker Goone.” Claudette’s voice sounded grim. “You need to stay on the right side of her if you don’t want to be recycled, so be respectful. Come on.”

She led Penny down the rows of tables until they reached the little orange supervisor who had surprisingly big muscles in her short arms—probably from pounding the dough like she was. Her biceps bulged like someone had shoved two naval oranges into an orange sock.

It seemed strange to assign sexes to the NeverBreeders and it wasn’t exactly accurate, but some of them just seemed more female or more male. Maybe it was a manifestation of the sex they would have been if they hadn’t been taken as three-month-old fetuses and dunked in the chemical baths that robbed them of their sex and their reproductive ability and turned them into orange mutants, Penny thought.

At any rate, Head Baker Goone certainly put out an angry kind of female energy as she pounded the helpless dough. Penny hoped as they stepped up to her table that she could, as Claudette had put it, get on her “good side.”

If she even has one, she thought, studying the scowl on the NeverBreeder’s orange face.

“Ahem…” Claudette cleared her throat loudly to be heard over the sounds of the ovens and the clanging bowls and women pounding and mixing dough. “Head Baker Goone, this is your new worker. Her name is—”

“Don’t care what her name is,” the NeverBreeder announced, turning to face them, though she never stopped kneading the huge mound of dough. “I don’t need another worker. Send her to the butcher’s next door—they need another. Head Butcher Loone was just telling me so the other day.”

“Oh no!” Penny gasped, before she could stop herself. “No, please don’t send me there! I—”

She stopped speaking abruptly at a hard nudge in the back from Claudette.

“What did you say?” The NeverBreeder supervisor turned to glare at Penny more fully and this time she actually stopped kneading for an instant.

“I said, uh…” Penny cleared her throat, trying desperately to think how to salvage the situation. “I’ve always wanted to work in a bakery,” she said, trying to smile at the NeverBreeder appealingly. “It’s always been my dream. I loved baking back home. Why, my brownies were legendary and my sourdough bread starter was…well, all the girls in my circle asked me for some of it,” she went on, improvising as she went.

She was also lying her head off. Though she was a reasonably good cook, she’d never been much good at baked goods. Her brownies came out like miniature bricks and her one attempt at bread could have been used as a doorstop. Still, she couldn’t end up at the butcher’s shop with Skrug hovering over her all day—she simply couldn’t.

“So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out my job was to work here,” she went on, hoping like hell that the NeverBreeder supervisor was buying all this. “I mean, baking was only my hobby back home, but here at the Compound, I was going to get to do it for a living! I mean, I was just so filled with joy to find out—”

“You’re filled with shit, is what you’re filled with, Missy.” Head Baker Goone glared at her. “I don’t b’leieve you’ve ever baked a loaf in your life, no I don’t!”

She tore off a huge gob of dough and slapped it back down on the metal table with a hollow splat as though to prove her point.

“Nevertheless, the job assignments are handed down from our Glorious Leader himself,” Claudette said sternly, glaring down at the NeverBreeder. “And I don’t think he’d be very pleased if he heard you turned down one of the workers he chose especially for you, Head Baker Goone.”

“What do you know about our Glorious Leader?” the NeverBreeder scoffed, glaring at Claudette. “You don’t work at the Big House, Missy—I know you don’t! Still…” She glanced back at Penny dubiously. “I’ll give you a try. Make a mistake, though, and it’s off to the butcher’s shop you go. They’re just beside us and I can send you over there quick as a wink.”

“All right.” Penny bowed her head humbly, her heart banging against her ribs. At least she had a chance—if a very slim one—to stay in the bakery. “Thank you, Head Baker Goone,” she added, still hoping to get on the NeverBreeder’s good side—though she was seriously beginning to doubt she had one.

“You’re not welcome,” Head Baker Goone snapped. “May’bell!” she suddenly bawled at the top of her lungs. “Maaaay’beeeeell!”

She sounded like someone calling the cows to come home, Penny thought as she winced at the deafening shout. For a NeverBreeder, the little baker certainly had a deep voice. It echoed through the busy bakery and cut through the clanging and banging effortlessly.

A large, plump woman with smears of some kind of blue flour on her cheeks came rushing up, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Yes, Head Baker Goone?” she gasped, looking frightened. “What can I do for you?”

“Take this new girl and train her,” the head baker told her shortly. “She claims she’s got baking experience but I doubt it. If she’s no good, give her to Head Butcher Loone next door. Understand?”

“Yes, Head Baker.” May’bell gave Penny an unfriendly look and jerked her head. “C’mon, you. Let’s see what you’re made of.”

Feeling sick to her stomach, Penny turned her head once to wave goodbye to Claudette. She saw a look of sympathy pass over the other woman’s face, and then she had to rush to keep up with May’bell as she led her deeper into the industrial sized bakery.

FORTY-SIX

The minute Penny got back to the Love Hut she shared with V’rex that evening, she got directly into a hot shower.

“What a day!” she moaned, as she pressed her cheek to the cold tiles while the steaming water sprayed over her. “What a horrible, horrible day!”

Closing her eyes, she went back over her disastrous first day on the job…

It had become clear in the first few minutes that May’bell, who had been assigned to train her, didn’t like her any more than Head Baker Goone did. She had led Penny to a table heaped with thick sacks of flour and nodded her head.

“All right—make the dough,” she’d said, glaring at Penny. “And you better make it right.”

“Uh…what dough am I making?” Penny asked, staring helplessly at the enormous sacks of flour which looked like they weighed fifty pounds or more. “I mean is it for bread? Biscuits?”

“It’s for svetty bread, of course!” May’bell snapped at her. “Our main specialty around here. Ain’t you et any of it before? We got loads of it for sale outside the front door!”

“Not yet, I’m afraid,” Penny said humbly, thinking of the dusky purple loaves she’d seen as they entered the bakery. “I just had my Unification Ceremony yesterday and all I had before that was what they gave us in the Breeding and Conception Center.”

“Well, it’s true you don’t get none of the svetty bread there,” May’bell had acknowledged grudgingly. “All right, I’ll tell you how—just this once.” She held up one thick finger in front of Penny’s face. “And you’d better get it right the first time!”

“Okay.” Penny nodded. “Just tell me how to make it.”

“Ya need two and a half sacks of svetty flour, a bucket and three quarters of water, a half scoop of salt from the salt barrel over there. And two scoops of sugar from the sugar barrel, which is right beside it.” May’bell pointed vaguely to the far corner of the room. “Add a gob of butter from the cooler, a cake and a bit of yeast, and some tinga seeds for texture,” she went on, speaking rapidly. “Let the yeast proof with the sugar in one of the buckets whilst you mix the rest with the paddle—”

“The paddle?” Penny interrupted. She was already feeling overwhelmed, trying to keep the complicated list of ingredients and amounts in her head—what exactly was a “gob” of butter? And how much was a “cake and a bit” of yeast?

“The paddle there—in the mixin’ bowl o’ course.” May’bell pointed to one side of the table and Penny saw an absolutely enormous metal bowl—half as tall as she was herself—sitting on the floor. It did, indeed, have a huge wooden mixing paddle inside it—the thing looked as big as an oar to Penny. She literally could have crawled into the bowl and hidden—it was that big.

“Once you got it all mixed, come and get me so I can test it,” May’bell told her. “And don’t bother me until it’s ready—I got m’own dough to see to!”

Then she’d marched off to another metal table across the room, leaving Penny to stare helplessly at the giant bowl she was supposed to fill with dough. She felt like the princess in the fairy tale who had been left alone in a room full of straw and told she must spin it all to gold or lose her head.

Still, she hadn’t gotten where she was in her profession by being a quitter. Admittedly archeology was a far cry from baking, but Penny wasn’t one to lay down and let life steamroll over her.

Lifting her chin, she decided to try.

She ran into trouble immediately.

First of all, the bags of dark blue svetty flour, which apparently turned pale purple when baked, weighed even more than they appeared to. Penny grunted and strained as she struggled to get one to the edge of the table.

There was no way she was going to be able to lift the damn thing in her arms and pour it in, so she tried to just position it over the mixing bowl on the floor below, which she pushed until it was right under the bag. Then she grabbed the sharp knife, which was hanging from a hook over the table and sliced open the top of the bag, expecting the flour to pour out into the bowl.

The flour poured out, all right—all over the place. To Penny’s credit, most of it landed in the bowl, but a great deal of it went on the floor and into the air too. It coated her skin and hair and toga, making her look more than a little like a Smurf.

She could see the women on either side of her looking at her askance so she tried to watch what they were doing instead. Maybe there was a technique to this madness.

Unfortunately, Penny soon realized that everyone at the bakery was much stronger than she was. The women around her simply hoisted a bag of flour onto their shoulders and leaned over to make sure the flour poured directly into the bowl as they slit the bag open. They did this with the ease of long practice—almost all in one motion—making it look ridiculously easy.

But it wasn’t easy, Penny admitted as she tried this technique herself. The bag of svetty flour nearly crushed her and again, more of the flour went into the air and onto the floor than actually got into the bowl.

With the third bag, she went back to the technique of pouring the flour from the edge of the table down into the bowl. She did a little better this time by grabbing the ends of the sack and using it as a kind of funnel to aim the dark blue flour into the bowl. By the time she was done, she figured she’d gotten about two and a half sacks of flour into the bowl…and at least half a sack all over the ground, herself, and her work area.

What a mess! Penny would have liked to sweep things up, but she didn’t see any kind of cleaning implements like a broom or vacuum so she decided to just forge ahead. Now what was the rest of the recipe? Had it been two or three buckets of water? And wasn’t she supposed to do something with the salt and sugar with part of the water while she added the other ingredients? Well, she would figure it out.

She grabbed the wooden bucket off her table, which had been hidden behind the sacks of flour, and went in search of the water and salt and sugar and butter.

She found a huge industrial sized sink in the middle of the room where everyone could get to it and filled her bucket. Going back to her mixing bowl, she dumped it in and then went back for another. But she hesitated before pouring that one in too—she was certain that May’bell had said something about putting the salt and sugar in with the water before she added them. So, carrying the bucket, she went to look for the salt and sugar barrels.

They were sitting side by side in the far corner of the room, furthest from the ovens. There was also a cooler right beside them where butter was stored. At least, Penny assumed it was butter. Rather than being pale yellow, it was a vibrant green but it smelled kind of buttery when she opened the glass door and sniffed it.

Remembering that May’bell’s recipe called for a “gob” of butter, she stared helplessly at the huge cake of the stuff just sitting there in the cooler. It wasn’t portioned out at all. How much was a gob?

Penny decided to wait for someone else to come and get butter so she could see how much they took. In the meantime, she added two scoops of salt and half a scoop of sugar to her remaining bucket of water, which she was pretty sure was what May’bell had said.

Pretty soon, a woman came bustling up to the cooler and pulled open its glass door. She grabbed a paper from a stack of them located on top of the cooler and snatched up the flat cutting tool lying beside the butter. Then she attacked the huge, bright green square, cutting off a chunk as big as her own head with a few swift strokes of the cutter. Loading it onto the piece of paper, she lifted it out and took it away without sparing a glance at Penny as she left.

So that’s how much a gob is!

Penny copied the other woman’s actions—or tried to, anyway. But once again, it turned out that she didn’t really have the upper body strength to do what the job required.

The bright green butter was much harder to cut than she’d thought it would be. Rather than being soft, it had the consistency of ice cream that’d been in the deep freeze for years. Penny really had to hack at it with all her might, just to get any out at all.

In the end, she wound up cutting lots of little chunks instead of one big one which left the main slab of butter looking like cheese that had been attacked by huge, ravenous mice. But at last Penny had enough of the stuff piled on a paper. She held it carefully in one arm and took the bucket in her other hand as she went back to her workspace.

The part of the flour she’d poured the first bucket of water in had turned bright purple but the rest was still dry and blue.

Well, time to change that, Penny told herself.

She poured in the other bucket of water—the one with the salt and sugar—and then added the lumps of butter as well. Then she grabbed the huge wooden oar of a paddle and began mixing with all her might.

Dark blue flour flew out in a puff on her first attempt and she reminded herself to take it easy. The problem was, the svetty flour didn’t seem to want to combine with the water at first. But Penny kept at it until she had a dry, crumbly mixture that was pale purple at the bottom of the bowl.

This doesn’t seem right—I must not have added enough water, she thought, staring at the mess in dismay. Also, hadn’t she forgotten one of the ingredients? She thought hard and snapped her fingers.

“Tinga seeds—that’s what she said. I have to add them to the dough.”

She went back for another bucket of water and while she was at the sink, she asked another woman who was in line behind her where the seeds were kept.

The woman gave her a strange look but pointed to a small barrel located beside the sink. There were three wooden cups beside it—one the size of a thimble, one about the size of a teacup, and one as big as a huge forty-two ounce Slurpee cup from the 7-Eleven back home.

Penny chose the largest cup, since she was obviously making a giant batch of dough. The seeds were a brilliant, iridescent pink and shimmered prettily as she poured them into her mixture.

She poured the third bucket of water in as well and was glad to see that her flour was finally getting hydrated. However, it soon became apparent that it was too hydrated.

As Penny stirred with the wooden oar, she saw that, rather than a cohesive lump of dough, what she had was a purple soup, the consistency of Elmer’s glue. The purple glue-soup had fist-sized lumps of butter and the bright pink tinga seeds floating in it. It looked about as nasty and unappetizing and un-dough-like as it was possible for anything to look.

“Crap—I need more flour,” Penny muttered to herself. She was just positioning another heavy sack of the dark blue svetty flour over the bowl when someone shouted in her ear.

“Shining Star above, what have you done?”

Turning guiltily around, Penny saw May’bell and the woman she’d asked about the location of the seeds standing there.

“I told you she was making a mess, May’bell,” the woman said, frowning at Penny. “I saw her—she used enough tinga seeds for eight batches of dough! And here she’s only making one.”

“She ‘ent making anything but a mess as far as I can see,” May’bell seethed. She pointed to the gluey purple soup with the lumps of bright green butter and the many bright pink seeds floating in it. “This ain’t dough! What did you do to it?” she demanded, glaring at Penny.

“Just…just followed the recipe you told me,” Penny faltered, feeling her stomach fist into a knot. “I think I just need a little more flour—”

“Oh no! You ‘ent wasting any more ingredients!” May’bell declared. “How much water did you use, anyway?”

“Three buckets,” Penny admitted. “But I started with two and it wasn’t enough—the dough was all dry and crumbly!” she added hastily.

“Well, why didn’t you melt the butter afore putting it in to hydrate the flour? “ May’bell demanded. “And speaking of the flour, why is it all over the blessed place?”

“You didn’t say to melt it first,” Penny pointed out. “And I looked for something to clean up the spilled flour, but I didn’t see a broom or anything so I thought I’d finish making the dough first and then look for a way to clean up.”

“What a mess!” May’bell shook her head. “Well, maybe it can still be saved…” She dipped one finger into the purple soup and stuck it in her mouth. Then she spat into her palm and gave Penny a fresh glare. “What’s wrong with you? How much salt did you put into this glop you made?”

“Just…just two scoops, like you said,” Penny faltered. “And then half a scoop of sugar.”

“That ‘ent what I said!” May’bell bellowed, her face getting almost as purple as the dough. “I said half a scoop of salt and two scoops of sugar!”

“Well, it’s not like you wrote it down for me!” Penny flared back. There was only so much she could take and she felt she had reached her limit. “I was doing my best!”

“Well, your best is slop!” May’bell shouted.

“May’bell, maybe we could still save it if we divided it among some of the rest of us and waited for the butter to melt. We could add some more flour and work it up proper-like,” the woman who had told on Penny in the first place offered timidly. “I mean, I know Head Baker doesn’t like us to waste ingredients…”

“No, she don’t,” May’bell said shortly. She looked doubtfully at the dough again. “I s’pose it could work, as long as she’s added the right amount of yeast. But why isn’t it bubbling any if she did?” She looked at Penny. “You did add the yeast, didn’t you? Like I told you—a cake and a bit.”

Penny felt her heart sink. That had been the other ingredient—the one she’d forgotten.

How could I be so stupid as to forget the yeast of all things? she asked herself despairingly. It was, in fact, the same mistake she’d made back home when she’d attempted to make a loaf of homemade bread. Which was the reason it had come out like lead.

“Um…” She cleared her throat, not quite sure how to admit her latest transgression. “Possibly I didn’t add quite enough,” she said hesitantly.

“Well, how much did you add?” May’bell demanded, putting her fists on her meaty hips.

“Um…none?” Penny winced as she admitted it. “I’m really sorry, but I’ve never made this kind of bread before and I—”

“No more excuses!” May’bell held up a hand to shut Penny up. “Head Baker Goone said to give you one chance—which I did—and you made such a mess as I’ve never seen! I’m sending you over to the Head Butcher—let him deal with you.”

“Oh please don’t!” Penny clasped her hands under her chin in a pleading gesture. “There’s a butcher over there that has it in for me. I mean, he wants to hurt me. Please don’t send me over to him! There must be something I can do to help around here that doesn’t have anything to do with actually making the dough!”

May’bell pursed her lips.

“I’d put you on oven duty, ‘cept you’d probably burn the loaves. And it’s clear you ‘ent strong enough to deliver the flour bags to the tables.” She nodded at the spilled flour all over the floor.

“We don’t got a bread girl out front ever since Talula got recycled,” the other woman suggested. “Somebody’s always having to stop their duties to go out and serve whenever customers come by.”

“Well, that’s so.” May’bell nodded as though she was considering it.

“Oh please, please let me be the bread girl!” Penny begged. “I’m a great saleswoman! I can sell bread to anyone and everyone, I swear I can!”

May’bell gave her a funny look.

“It ‘ent like you have to convince folks to buy our bread, y’know,” she pointed out. “We’re the only bakery in the whole Compound. All you got to do is take their food coupons and hand them a loaf of bread.”

“I can do that!” Penny said eagerly. “And then none of you will ever be bothered with customers again—I’ll take care of all of them!” Her heart was beating against her ribs as she made her plea. If only the other woman would listen!

“Well…” May’bell nodded grudgingly at last. “I s’pose we can use another bread girl.” She shook her head. “Go on then. But you’d best stay out front and don’t come back in the bakery. Head Baker Goone ‘ent gonna be too happy when she sees what a mess you made.”

“Thank you! Thank you, thank you!” Penny gabbled. She left the bakery as fast as she could and ran back out into the open porch-like store front filled with the dusky purple loaves…

And ran headfirst into Skrug.

She bounced off the butcher’s broad chest and fell back on her rump on the flour-dusted floor.

“What…who…?” She looked up uncertainly and saw the lipless, snaggletoothed alien grinning down at her.

“Well, well, pretty girly,” he snarled. “I was just comin’ to get some bread to bring home. Didn’t expect to see you again so soon. Ain’t you supposed to be inside baking?”

“No, I’m the new bread girl,” Penny said stiffly, getting to her feet. She brushed herself off as well as she could and took a step back, putting some distance between herself and the huge alien.

“The new bread girl, eh? And what’s that like?” Skrug asked, still leering at her.

“I just stand here on the uh, front porch of the bakery and take people’s food coupons and give them loaves of bread,” Penny explained. “So how many loaves do you need?” she asked, trying to sound professional.

“Just two for now.” The butcher held out two blood stained coupons which had pictures of loaves of bread printed on them. Penny took them carefully from him, not wanting to touch either his bloody fingers, or the bloody parts of the vouchers he was holding.

“Let’s see now, which ones do I want?” Skrug started to paw through the purple loaves with his long, bloody fingers but Penny stopped him.

“No, wait—I’m the only one who’s supposed to touch the bread!” she exclaimed in alarm. “Also, I’m the only one allowed here in the, uh, the front porch area,” she added, thinking fast.

Skrug glared at her.

“Says who?”

“Says Head Baker Goone,” Penny said promptly, hoping she wouldn’t get in trouble for taking her new supervisor’s name in vain. “She says nobody who doesn’t work here can come in. You just give me your tickets, er, coupons, and I give you the loaves. That’s it. So please back up.”

She made a shooing gesture to the huge alien to edge him out of the storefront.

Skrug backed out of the small space, a scowl on his ugly, snaggletoothed face.

“All right, pretty girly, I’ll stay back for now,” he said as Penny handed him the two loves of bread he’d touched and left bloody handprints on. “But I won’t stay back forever. ‘Cause we’ll be seein’ a lot of each other, you and me.”

“What…what do you mean?” Penny felt her stomach drop. “What are you talking about?”

“Why, we’re neighbors, ain’t we?” Skrug leered at her. “Side-by-side like. Me choppin’ meat and you handin’ out bread? We’ll be seein’ each other every day—what with you being the ‘bread girl’ and me being the ‘meat man.’” He grinned and waggled his scaly eyebrows at her. “And let me tell you, girly—I got a lot of meat.”

He shook his hips, making the dangling head of his dark blue dick dance between his knees.

Penny’s heart sank as she realized that what he said was true. Hadn’t he been working at the outside chopping block when she and Claudette first approached the bakery? So it was reasonable to assume that was his regular station. And now, her own work placed her in the storefront right beside his—not two feet away.

She was going to spend all day, every day with the huge blue alien leering at her. Her new job was going to look like a PSA about sexual harassment in the workplace.

Great. Just great.

But things got worse.

“Yup, seein’ each other every day,” Skrug went on, grinning at her. “And just wait until the next Public Breeding, girly. Then we’ll be more than just neighbors—I can promise you that!”

Penny felt like someone had just dropped her entire body into a vat of freezing cold water.

“What did you say?” she couldn’t help asking.

“Oh, you heard me. I’m gonna breed you good, first chance I get, girly. You won’t be walking straight for a solar month once I get through with you.” Skrug licked his lipless mouth with a thick blue tongue and the dangling shaft between his knees twitched in anticipation.

“Do you know who my husband is?” Penny demanded, wishing her voice wouldn’t shake so much. “Do you know what V’rex will do to you if you dare to even touch me?”

Of course, she had no idea if the big Hybrid would care enough to protect her or not, but she had to say something. Make some kind of threat the huge ugly alien would understand.

But Skrug only shook his reptilian head and grinned.

“Ain’t nothing he can do about it, girly. Leastways, not if it’s a Public Breeding. All the girlies in the Marketplace is fair game then—everybody knows that. ‘Sides, he’ll probably be too busy breedin’ some other girly he’s had his eye on to bother with you. He can have you any time, same as I can have Shurla. But once a Public Breeding is announced, well…” He winked one slitted yellow eye at Penny. “Then it’s time for fun.”

And tucking the two blood-stained loaves under one muscular arm, he stumped off down the street whistling between his crooked teeth.

Penny stood and watched him go, feeling like she’d just been punched in the stomach. The message was clear—she was safe until the next Public Breeding was announced and that could happen at any time.

Oh God—what was she going to do?

FORTY-SEVEN

Now, as Penny stood in the shower, reliving her awful day, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Was there any way to ask for a transfer to another job, somewhere else on the Compound? Not from the way Claudette had talked about it, she thought bitterly. She remembered her friend’s words—“If there’s a Public Breeding, you’ll just have to stay there and take it.”

But Penny was damned if she’d just stand around and let herself be raped by the horrible Skrug or any of the other males who happened to be in the Market Place the next time a Public Breeding was announced. She had to find a way out of this—but how?

Only one answer presented itself—escape. She remembered that V’rex had hinted about having a plan to get out of the Compound this morning. Penny hoped that whatever it was, it could be hurried along. She resolved to ask him about it at dinner that night.

Isn’t there something else you ought to be asking him too? whispered a little voice in her head. A pressing problem no one else can help you with?

Penny winced, as she looked down at her swollen breasts. The little white bandages Claudette had given her to wear over her nipples had worked, but not by soaking up any leaking nectar. Instead, they had kept it from leaking out in the first place. Which meant that now she had two whole days worth of the sticky sweet liquid built up in her breasts and she was in serious pain.

But how can I ask him to help? Penny moaned to herself. How can you ask someone you’ve only known a day to suck your nipples to get the weird syrupy nectar out of them? That’s so embarrassing.

But embarrassing or not, she was going to have to find a way to broach the subject. It was, as Claudette had pointed out, a dead giveaway that V’rex hadn’t actually been breeding her. And the little white bandages were no longer useful—they wouldn’t stay in place anymore. In fact, they had barely lasted until she got home. So it was either ask the big Hybrid to help her or…

“Maybe I can take care of this myself,” Penny muttered, looking down at her breasts.

Experimentally, she took one swollen breast between her hands and squeezed. This resulted in a few viscous drops of nectar leaking out…and a bolt of pure agony rushing through the affected mammary.

Penny gasped and stopped at once, tears squeezing from the corners of her eyes.

“And m-maybe not,” she whispered in a trembling voice. Somehow she was going to have to work up the nerve to ask V’rex to help her.

Penny just didn’t know how she was going to manage that.

FORTY-EIGHT

By the time V got home—he’d had to stay late, trimming the other fucking trees to match the first one he’d messed up—Penelope had already put Last Meal on the table. It included an array of grilled vegetables, some kind of thin gruel-like soup, and a fresh loaf of the pale purple bread they baked here at the Compound.

The meat was conspicuously absent, but he didn’t blame her for that. Though he still wasn’t sure if the rumor she’d heard about where it came from was true, he would rather not risk cannibalism, just in case.

“This looks delicious, thank you,” V said, taking a seat across from her at the small, two-person table. “But you don’t have to cook every night if you don’t want to—we can trade off,” he offered. “Seems only fair since you have a job now too.”

“Thanks.” Penelope smiled briefly up at him and then went back to poking listlessly at the grilled vegetables on her plate. Her long chestnut hair was damp as though she’d recently showered and V thought she looked beautiful but miserable.

Her whole posture spoke of depression. She was hunched over in her seat, her elbows planted on the table and her chest low, almost as though she was trying to hide something. Also, she was keeping her eyes down, not looking at him.

V wanted to ask her what was wrong—since something clearly was—but he sensed he’d need to take things carefully and slowly. First, however, he looked up at the ceiling. To his relief, the little red light centered over the table was dark. At least they had privacy.

“So, speaking of work, how was your first day?” he asked, taking a bite of a grilled green tuber that had a fleshy texture and a bland taste, though Penelope had obviously done her best to add flavor with salt and powdered cheepa peppers—some of the few spices that were available at the Compound.

“Oh, you know…the usual,” she replied evasively.

“The usual? Sweetheart, nothing’s usual in this fucked-up place,” V told her. He raised his eyebrows. “So what happened?”

Penelope sighed.

“Well, first I met my new supervisor, who hated me on sight. She gave me to someone else to train and told her that if I messed up, she should send me over to the butcher shop because they needed someone and—”

“Wait—wait a minute. The butcher shop?” V interrupted. Fucking Skrug worked there—V had seen the big asshole chopping meat with a cleaver out in front of the shop every damn day.

“Don’t worry—I didn’t end up there,” Penelope told him. “I’m only right beside it, at the bakery. But not in the bakery itself, because I ruined a whole batch of bread dough by forgetting to put in the yeast and adding too much water and not melting the butter and mixing up the salt and the sugar and…and…and just generally screwing everything up.” She sniffed and V saw there were tears standing in her big brown eyes.

He wanted to comfort her, but he was so disturbed by her news that he had to stand up and pace.

“You’re in the bakery? As in the Marketplace?” V ran both hands through his hair. This was bad, bad news. He couldn’t count the number of rapes he’d seen during the “Public Breedings” the “Glorious Leader” periodically and randomly announced and almost all of them took place in the fucking Marketplace!

Of course, it wasn’t the only public place where females were considered free game during a Public Breeding—there was also the park and the Amphitheater. But neither of those was ever very busy. The Amphitheater was mostly deserted because it was only used for public gatherings and ceremonies and the park was sparsely populated because—V suspected—unaccompanied females stayed away from it on purpose, so they wouldn’t be targeted.

“This is bad,” he said out loud, still pacing. “This is really, really bad. The Marketplace is where every horny male in the whole Compound heads the minute the fucking ‘Glorious Leader’ announces a Public Breeding!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Penelope flared, glaring up at him. “I was told already that it’s a punishment assignment—probably for the way I acted during that stupid Unification Ceremony. Oh, and that’s also why they turned up the hypno-whispers—to keep me in line. So I can’t promise not to do anything stupid and embarrassing again tonight, all right?”

“Look, I never said…” V shook his head. “I’m just worried about you being at the Marketplace, that’s all, sweetheart! I especially don’t like you being so close to the butcher shop!”

“Why, because Skrug works there?” The flash of anger was over and V felt a wave of hopelessness coming from her. “Don’t worry,” she said dully. “He’s promised he won’t rape me until the next Public Breeding. Which could be any…any time.” Her words ended in a sob and she dropped her eating utensil with a clatter and buried her face in her hands.

“He what?” V was so angry he wanted to go find the big blue bastard and rip his head off. How dare the big fucker threaten his bride? How dare he threaten to rape Penelope and scare her and make her cry? How fucking dare he?

V could feel the Rage rising in him—it was a dark red haze that threatened to roll over his vision and erase his reason in the relentless need to maim and kill whatever or whoever had threatened his female.

With difficulty, he got hold of himself. Giving in to the Rage and going to kill Skrug now would only get him either killed himself, or at the very least incapacitated by the pain square imbedded in his neck. Though part of him felt it would be absolutely worth it to die as long as he could kill the big blue asshole who had threatened his female first, V forced himself to remember that Skrug wasn’t the only threat.

As long as she worked in the Marketplace, any male could be a threat to Penelope and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it except try to be on the alert until they could get out of this fucked up place.

V took a deep, calming breath, trying to force the overwhelming Rage away. He had never felt this strongly for a female before so it was an unfamiliar emotion. Slowly, he succeeded. He didn’t need to kill Skrug—at least not right now. Right now, he had to comfort Penelope.

He wanted badly to gather her into his arms and hold her, just as he had when he was carrying her home from their Unification Ceremony. But the tense set of her shoulders and the way she had drawn in on herself, let V know this would not be well received.

Instead, he knelt in front of her and tugged gently at her hands, which were still covering her face.

“Penelope? Sweetheart?” he murmured gently.

Finally, she let him pry her hands away from her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her big brown eyes were suspiciously bright but somehow she was keeping herself from completely breaking down, V saw.

He wished she wouldn’t try so hard to hold back her emotions. He knew some males who hated it when females cried, but he wasn’t one of them. If she’d actually started sobbing, he would have felt like he could gather her into his arms and hold her, as he so badly wanted to do. But he didn’t feel free to do that when she was holding herself in so tightly.

“I’ll be all right,” she whispered, her eyes flicking up to his and then down again. “I’ll manage somehow.”

“No, we’ll manage,” V said, frowning. “We’re in this together, little girl—or did you forget?”

She glanced at him and then up at the ceiling, where the red light was still dark.

“I know we decided to, uh, work together to try and get away from here,” she said in a low voice. “But I didn’t think our, um…partnership extended any further than that. I mean, you don’t have to feel like you have to protect me or—”

“Of course I’m gonna protect you!” V looked at her intensely. “I swear by the Goddess, if that fucker Skrug gets anywhere near you, I’ll fucking kill him—that’s my promise to you, okay?” He lifted her chin gently with one finger so that she would look in his eyes again.

“That’s very sweet of you, V’rex,” she murmured. “But you don’t have to do that—don’t have to put yourself on the line for me.”

“Of course I do! You’re my bride—my mate—remember?” he reminded her.

She sniffed again.

“Only because stupid Colonel Sanders put us together.” Which was the name of the human male she’d said the “Glorious Leader” looked like, V remembered. The one who sold some kind of fried food that tasted good but was bad for you.

“He didn’t put us together,” V told her softly. “I asked for you.”

“What?” Penelope’s eyes flew up to his again. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean what I said,” V said simply. “When they figured out I was immune to their fucking hypno-whispers, the GL came in to talk to me and offered me a deal. He told me that if I stayed in the Compound for a little while—just long enough to leave some of my ‘genetic material’ as he put it—he’d let me have my pick of females.” He shrugged. “And I chose you.”

“So you picked me so you could breed me?” she demanded, her eyes flashing.

“No, no!” V held up his hands quickly to stop her. “No, I picked you because I could tell by your eyes you weren’t hypnotized either. I thought that maybe between the two of us, we could figure out a way to get out of here.”

Which wasn’t exactly the whole truth, he had to admit to himself. He’d picked the little female because he wanted her—hell, he’d wanted her from the first time he’d seen her wearing that skintight black suit in the Lucky Lounge.

But after facing the threat of being raped or worse during the next Public Breeding, he didn’t think Penelope needed to hear about his sexual desire for her right now. He could feel pain and misery and shame rolling off her in waves—better to keep it to himself.

Luckily, his words seemed to have a positive effect on her.

“Yes—a way out.” Her gorgeous brown eyes were suddenly sparkling with hope. “You said something about a plan this morning—did you come up with anything more?”

“Maybe.” V cast a look at the red light in the ceiling again. It was still dark, but he still didn’t feel exactly comfortable discussing escape plans around it, even so. “C’mon,” he murmured, rising and holding out a hand to her. “Let’s go to the fresher to discuss it.”

“Okay,” she agreed and stood up to take his hand.

When she did, her chest—which she had been hiding by hunching over all this time—was suddenly revealed. V’s eyes widened as he took her in.

Holy Goddess—her breasts are almost twice as big as they were!

He could tell by the way the top of her over-the-shoulder dress thing was fitting her. The one she’d put on this morning had been a little tight across the front, but nothing unreasonable. This one, however—which he knew was the same size, since he had picked both of them out at the Marketplace in preparation for Penelope coming to live with him—was fitting her much differently.

Her breasts were crammed into the blue top which was bulging as it tried to support and cover her. The blue fabric was stretched so tightly across her front it looked like it might pop or tear at any minute. And on either side of the strained fabric, V could see the reason for the problem—two large wet spots right over the sharp points of her nipples.

Her nectar! he thought and felt a surge of anger at himself. In his eagerness to assure her he wasn’t going to rape her the night before, he’d forgotten all about the other problems the hormones she’d been given could cause her. Hadn’t the GL laid it out plainly, during his “pep talk” before the Unification Ceremony? Hadn’t he explained that the females who had been given the “Mother’s Milk” would need to have their breasts drained regularly?

He had also talked about how they would need male fluids in their pussies, but that didn’t appear to be the main problem right now. It was her breasts that were hurting her—so full and ripe they were spilling over with the sweet, sticky nectar.

And she’s too ashamed to ask me to help, V thought. Now the pain and shame he’d felt coming from her earlier made sense. Penelope was hurting but she was too embarrassed and stubborn to ask for help.

The question was, would she take help even if he offered it?

V doubted it. He had to find another way to help her—a way to get around the thorny shield she’d enclosed herself in. He would have to make her let him help.

He was aware this might not go over very well with the little female. In fact, he might lose what little of her trust he’d gained or make her so angry she’d never want to talk to him again.

Well, that’s too damn bad, he told himself. He was going to do whatever it took to help her, even if she didn’t like it

He had to—he couldn’t stand to see her in pain.

FORTY-NINE

Penny saw his expression change from conspiratorial secretiveness to pity the moment she stood up. Looking down to where his eyes had wandered, she could see why.

Two huge wet spots had formed on the top of her toga, right over the tight points of her nipples which were pressing hard against the strained fabric. It couldn’t have been more obvious what was going on with her—or more embarrassing, Penny thought as hot blood rushed to her cheeks. She’d thought she felt the nectar leaking earlier, but she was so upset by their conversation, she hadn’t paid any attention. Now she wished she would have.

“Oh, um…” She attempted to cover her swollen breasts with her arms, only to gasp and pull away again due to the pain even the slightest contact caused.

V’rex was frowning at her now.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded in a low voice, gesturing at her breasts.

“It’s embarrassing.” Penny’s face was flaming now, her hands clenched at her sides in mortification. “That stupid, awful Mother’s Milk they gave us! It was filled with so many hormones and now I can’t stop leaking.”

“You should have told me,” V’rex growled.

“Why? It’s my body so it’s my business,” Penny snapped. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she hated to be a burden to anyone—hated not to feel self-sufficient. So it was extra hard to admit she needed help with such an intimate problem.

“You are my business—all of you,” V’rex shot back. “You’re my mate, remember? You shoulda told me you needed help, little girl!”

“I’m not your little girl. Or your sweetheart!” Penny flared at him. “And I’m not really your mate!”

“The hell you aren’t.” V’rex’s pale gold eyes flashed dangerously and his voice had dropped to a low growl. “You are my mate—my bride and my wife— and I think it’s time for me to take what’s rightfully mine—right fucking now.”

Grabbing her by the arm, he dragged her out of the breakfast nook, through the kitchen, and out into the living area. Sitting down on the love seat, he pulled Penny down on top of him, forcing her to face him and straddle his hips.

“Now,” he said, planting his hands firmly on her thighs to keep her from getting away. “Pull down your fucking top, little girl. I’m gonna take what’s mine.”

FIFTY

Penny looked at him in stunned silence. Surely he couldn’t be serious! He’d promised he wouldn’t rape her or force her and he was a Kindred. Well, half-Kindred, anyway. But he’d acted like such a gentleman, telling her he would protect her and never hurt her.

Maybe the Spice is getting the better of him, she thought. Maybe it really does affect him like the other males after all…

Then she saw the look in his eyes. Glancing up towards the ceiling, he stared pointedly at the red light—which was on—and then back to her top. Then he mouthed the word, “Pretend.”

Suddenly, Penny understood. He wanted them to pretend they were doing their Mandatory Breeding for the night and he was going to help her with her breasts at the same time.

She supposed it made sense. Better than going through the sexual embarrassment both scenarios were going to entail twice. Rather than have him rub off against her like he had the night before and then suck her breasts later, they might as well get it all over with now.

The realization didn’t make her feel any less embarrassed, though. But since they were in full view of the camera and the light was on, she didn’t see what other choice she had.

With trembling hands, she reached up to untie the top of her toga. The fabric was sticking to her skin because of the leaking nectar and it was painful to pull away from her swollen breasts. Penny winced as she peeled it down, hoping he would be gentle. She had a feeling she’d waited too long to get her breasts drained and now it was going to be agony to get the sticky liquid out.

But V’rex seemed to understand her pain and trepidation. Gently—almost tenderly—he cupped both of her full breasts in his big, warm hands.

“Looks like you have a problem here, sweetheart,” he murmured softly, looking into Penny’s eyes. “Do you need me to help you with this while I breed you and fill you with my seed tonight?”

Penny’s breath seemed to catch in her throat. She knew that after the day she’d had and the pain she was in, she shouldn’t feel turned on by anything. But those soft, sexy words in his deep voice seemed to go straight to her pussy—which was also swollen and needy, though she refused to even think about it—and make her throb with desire.

“Yes,” she finally admitted, daring to look him in the eyes as he cupped her over-full breasts. “Yes, I…I do need help, V’rex. Can…can you help me?”

The admission that she needed help was a hard one—Penny had never liked to ask anyone for any kind of assistance. But in this case, she sensed that the big Hybrid was ready and willing to do what she needed. And besides—she really had no choice.

“All right,” he said, nodding. “Then lift up a little, baby—need to get inside your sweet little pussy so I can fuck you deep while I suck your sweet nipples.”

Penny felt her breath catch in her throat as his dirty words sent a surge of desire right through her. Her instant reaction irritated her—damn the stupid hormones she’d been given that made her want what he was offering! But again, there wasn’t much she could do about them now—not with the red light watching them.

She raised up on her knees at his urging and then bit her lip as V’rex flipped up the bottom of his crimson-red toga. His shaft was standing straight up against his flat belly, long and hard and throbbing. At the base of it was a swelling which must be a mating fist, since he was half Beast Kindred, she thought. She found Kindred physiology amazing and interesting—though she’d never thought she would have a chance to study it up close like this.

“Pull yours up too,” V’rex commanded in a low voice. “So I can get inside your tight little pussy, sweetheart.”

Heart pounding in her throat, Penny did as he said. She was mortified to see that her pussy was both swollen and wet, her honey glistening on her inner folds, which were clearly exposed by the way her outer lips were spread as she straddled him.

“Gods…” V’rex’s pale gold eyes went half-lidded as he looked between her legs. “Such a soft, sweet little pussy,” he murmured. “Come here, sweetheart. Raise up so I can get inside you.”

As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully up at the glowing red light again. Penny understood what he meant—they’re watching. So she scooted forward and pressed against him with her breasts thrusting in his face.

V’rex took himself in hand and for a moment, she felt the broad head of his cock nudging the entrance of her pussy. God, was he really going to enter her? And what could she do to stop him if he decided to do that—to fuck her for real? Penny didn’t know.

Biting her lip and hoping for the best, she dropped the hem of her toga back down so that it covered both of them. Taking this as his cue, V’rex gripped her hips firmly again, and brought her down, as though easing himself inside her.

Penny did her best to play her part, closing her eyes as though in ecstasy and moaning as she settled more fully in his lap. Actually, she didn’t have to act very much. She could feel the thick, hot shaft of his cock parting her wet pussy lips and rubbing against the sensitive little button of her clit. The intimate contact shot an unexpected wave of pleasure through her and she had to bite back another moan—this time a real one.

V’rex was still playing his part to the hilt.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he growled, looking into Penny’s eyes. “That’s right—just settle all the way down on me. Gods, your tight little pussy feels so good wrapped around my cock!”

Penny bit her lip in a mixture of embarrassment and desire. God, she couldn’t believe he was saying all this to her! Couldn’t believe she was half-naked in the big Hybrid’s lap with her pussy spread open by the long shaft of his cock, which was rubbing against her tingling clit! But here she was—pretending to fuck him and be fucked by him and as unbelievable as it was, this was actually happening.

Then V’rex cupped her breasts again and pulled her gently forward.

“Ride me, baby,” he murmured, looking into Penny’s eyes. “Ride me while I suck your sweet nipples.”

Then he drew her right peak into his hot mouth and began, very gently, to suck.

FIFTY-ONE

Penny had been tensed for the pain she was sure would accompany having the thick, sticky nectar drawn out of her breasts…but it never came. She wasn’t sure if it was because V’rex was using some of his lust-honey on her tight, sore nipples to heal them or if it was just that he was being so gentle, but there was no pain at all as he began to suck and swallow, emptying her breasts.

There was, however, considerable pleasure.

V’rex took as much of her nipple and breast into his mouth at one time as he could, enveloping her in a haze of sexual desire as he slowly sucked and ground against her. He was cupping her ass in his big hands and thrusting his hips just as though they were really fucking—as though he was actually buried root-deep in her pussy, stretching her wide with his thick shaft and Penny could feel every stroke.

In actuality, of course, she was just rubbing against him. But the hot friction between her wet, open pussy and his throbbing length was almost more than she could bear. Throwing back her head, she moaned restlessly, shifting her hips to meet his rhythm.

“Oh…” she gasped as he rubbed against her. “Oh, V’rex… That feels…feels so good.”

He released the nipple he was sucking for a moment and gave her a hot smile.

“Of course it does, little girl. It’s s’posed to feel good. Just relax and let yourself ride my cock. Ride me until you come for me—come all over me while I fuck you.”

His hot, dirty words were almost more than Penny could bear. As he captured her other nipple in his mouth and as the pressure in her breasts decreased, her pleasure grew and grew. Soon she found she was grinding helplessly—shamelessly—against his hot thickness while V’rex gripped her hips and rolled up against her, rubbing against her naked pussy until she thought she was going to go crazy with desire and need…

I shouldn’t really let myself come though, should I? Penny wondered dazedly. That wouldn’t be right, would it? I mean, we’re just pretending, after all. Just putting on a show so those awful Watchers don’t suspect…

And then her orgasm was rushing over her like a warm wave, filling her with pleasure and making her gasp his name like a prayer.

“V’rex! Oh God, V’rex.”

“Gods, little girl—love to hear you call my name when you come!” he growled and then she felt something hot and wet jetting against her belly and knew that the big Hybrid was coming too.

FIFTY-TWO

When both of them were finished coming, V rose with Penelope still wrapped around him and carried her into the fresher. They both needed to clean up and it was also the best place to discuss escape plans.

Penny was still panting with the aftermath of her orgasm as she leaned against him. It occurred to V that this was the first time he’d made a female come without stinging her and using his lust-honey. Which was nice, actually—satisfying. And damn if he didn’t love hearing her call his name when she lost control!

“I…I think you should put me down now.” Penelope’s voice was faint but it was clear she was serious.

V set her on her feet and watched her anxiously to make sure she didn’t fall over. He had felt the extreme pleasure coming from her during her orgasm and he wanted to make sure she wasn’t too weak in the aftermath to stand.

“You okay, sweetheart?” he murmured in a low voice.

“Uh-huh.” Penelope nodded. “Just…that was really intense, that’s all.”

“For me too,” V admitted. He looked at her intently. “Was it better than when I stung you?”

“It was…different.” Penelope looked up at him shyly and he could feel her uncertainty. “You had me scared at first. I thought that maybe you were being affected by the Spice? You know—the stuff that circulates through the air here and makes all the males…”

“Horny all the time?” V finished for her dryly. “Hell yes, the Spice affects me, sweetheart. But not so much that I’d ever hurt you.”

“I’m glad about that.” She bit her lip. “Thank you for…for helping me with my…” She gestured at her chest. “You know.”

“With draining the nectar from your breasts?” he asked, frowning. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I’m going to be helping you with that for as long as you need me to.”

“Really?” her eyes widened. “But…don’t you mind?”

“Do I mind sucking your nipples and handling your beautiful breasts? Hell no, sweetheart.” V couldn’t believe she would even ask him such a thing.

“But…but the nectar.” She seemed to stumble over the words. “Isn’t it…I mean don’t you find it distasteful to have to…have to suck it out?”

“Why should I mind? It’s kind of sweet, that’s all.” V shrugged. “And how is drinking your nectar any different from tasting your pussy juices would be?”

Her face went pink and he felt that same wave of embarrassed desire he’d felt from her the first time he mentioned going down on her.

“Oh, but…I never asked you to. I would never…” She shook her head, clearly too embarrassed to go on, and looked down at her hands.

“You wouldn’t have to ask me to, sweetheart,” V growled, lifting her chin to look into her eyes. “It would be my pleasure to lap your sweet little pussy. So if you ever need me to—or just want me to—let me know.”

He was thinking again about how the “Glorious Leader” had said that females who drank the Mother’s Milk would need male fluids in their pussies. He was hoping that Penelope would come to him and ask for help rather than letting herself be in pain, as she had with her breasts.

But from the confusion of mixed emotions—shame, desire, need—coming from her, V wasn’t at all sure she would. Clearly she wanted what he was offering but just as clearly she was ashamed to take it. What he couldn’t figure out was why. But since he didn’t feel any pain coming from her at the moment, he decided he could let it go—for now.

“Maybe we should take a shower,” he told her. “Clean up. We’re both kind of sticky.” He looked down in distaste at the red garment which was stuck to his skin with his seed. Penelope’s wasn’t much better, considering hers had both come and nectar soaking it. Good thing they had extras in the closet.

“That’s a good idea,” she said nodding. “Do you want to go first or should I?”

“Well, I thought we might take a shower together,” V told her, watching for her reaction. When she started to object he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “And I can tell you my plan to get out of here while the water is running.”

Of course, there was no watch-light in the fresher so he assumed they were safe. But just to be extra cautious, it couldn’t hurt to have the extra noise of the shower running to obscure their voices.

Plus, he wanted to see Penelope all wet and rub soap all over her naked, luscious body.

At last she nodded.

“I…I guess that would be okay.”

“Good.” V gave her a half-lidded smile and turned on the shower. “Then let’s get out of these sticky clothes.”

FIFTY-THREE

Penny couldn’t believe she’d agreed to take a shower with the big Hybrid. But then again, she also couldn’t believe that she’d let him suck her breasts and had rubbed off against him to one of the best orgasms of her life. She had been all set to resist him, despite knowing she needed her breasts drained—she had a stubborn streak a mile long, as her mom used to say. But then the big Hybrid had just…taken charge of the situation.

Which was actually pretty damn sexy.

She wondered again how much of his behavior had to do with the Spice circulating through the air here in the Compound. V’rex had admitted that it did, indeed, affect him. Was that why he wanted her so badly—was so protective and possessive of her?

It seemed a likely reason. It would have been nice to believe the big Hybrid was actually attracted to her the way she was, with no outside influences. But after the way Garret had treated her and the numerous rejections she’d gotten from dating sites and apps, Penny had a hard time believing that a big, muscular, handsome guy like V’rex would be attracted to a plus-sized girl like her without some kind of chemical catalyst to form the attraction

I suppose I should enjoy it while it lasts, she thought as he led her into the shower and began to shampoo her hair. God, his long fingers gave a wonderful scalp massage! But it felt dishonest, somehow. Like she was tricking him in some way. She knew that Twin Kindred liked plus-sized women, but V’rex wasn’t a Twin Kindred. What would he think of her if he could see her without the Spice in his system?

Penny supposed she would only find out if they could get out of here. And right now, that was her first priority, she decided, not what the big Hybrid would think of her once they escaped. He—

“Oh!” she gasped as two big, soapy hands reached around to wash and massage her breasts.

“Just getting you nice and squeaky clean, little girl,” V’rex rumbled in her ear. “You mind?”

“Um, no. No, I guess not,” Penny whispered rather breathlessly. Despite the intense orgasm she’d just had, she could still feel her body humming under the touch of his big hands.

“Good,” V’rex murmured. “Because I’m gonna pretend like I’m washing you while I tell you my plan. Okay?”

“O…Okay,” Penny agreed. She just hoped she could concentrate on his words while he tugged lightly on her tender nipples with those long fingers of his. This didn’t feel much like pretending to her, but she didn’t complain.

“Here’s what I’m gonna do,” V’rex rumbled softly in her ear. “Remember I told you I used to be a pretty fair pickpocket in my day?”

“Uh-huh,” Penny moaned, for one big hand had left her breasts and was sliding slowly down her abdomen and belly.

“Right, well I’m a little rusty, but it’s a skill you never really lose. Anyway, I’ve heard that the GL comes and does inspections of everywhere on the Compound every week or so and apparently he’s overdue for a look at the greenhouse.”

His fingers were between her thighs now, soaping each in turn and then urging her wordlessly to open up to him so he could slide his hand between them.

Penny did as he wanted, moaning as she felt him cup her pussy. Behind her, she could feel the long, hard length of his shaft branding her lower back while he touched her and kept talking at the same time.

“So I figure all I’ve got to do is wait for him to show up and then the minute our dear old GL is distracted, I pick the Master Control right out of his pocket,” V’rex went on. “I’m betting that not only will it release this damn pain square on my neck—it’ll probably open the front gate, too. So the minute we get it, we’re out of here.”

As he spoke, his long fingers parted her pussy lips and slipped inside.

Penny bit her lip—she really shouldn’t let him go so far! What they had done earlier was necessary but no one was watching now. She started to close her legs but V’rex whispered in her ear,

“No, baby—open up for me. Let me take care of you—let me make you feel good.”

“I…I shouldn’t,” Penny moaned uncertainly even as she opened up again.

“Oh yes, you should,” he countered, sliding his fingers into her pussy again. “Remember how you told me they turned up the hypno-whispers to our hut? Well maybe if you come again—nice and hard—right before bed, you won’t be as susceptible to them.”

“Do…do you really think so?” Penny whispered, her breath hitching in her throat as he circled her aching clit with one gentle fingertip.

“Uh-huh. Which means you might not wake up with my cock in your mouth,” he growled softly. “Unless you want to, that is. But I know it embarrassed you before.”

“It…it was awfully embarrassing,” Penny admitted and then moaned because two long, strong fingers had slipped down to enter her.

“We wouldn’t want you to be embarrassed again, now would we, sweetheart?” V’rex growled low in her ear. “Which is why you need to spread your pussy and let me fingerfuck your soft little cunt until you come for me—come really hard—so those awful fucking whispers won’t bother you tonight.”

As he spoke, his thumb continued to caress her aching clit while the two long fingers kept pace, thrusting deep inside her.

“Okay!” Penny gasped as her pleasure reached the peak. “Oh…oh…oh, V’rex!”

“That’s right, baby—say my name. Let me hear you say it while you come for me.” His voice was a low growl of desire as he held her close, riding out her orgasm while Penny clenched helplessly around his fingers.

“V’rex!” she moaned again. “Oh God, please!”

His rumbled laughter in her ear.

“You’re s’posed to say ‘thank you’ after that—not please, sweetheart.”

“I…I don’t know what to say.” Penny felt suddenly boneless. She sagged in his arms and might have fallen if V’rex hadn’t caught her and held her tight.

“Easy, little girl,” he murmured. “I think it’s time for bed now.”

“Think…” Penny yawned. “Think you’re right.”

“Mmm-hmm. Come on.”

With no apparent effort, V’rex lifted her in his arms and took her out of the shower stall. He spent some time drying her off and then drying himself off as well before he took her into the bedroom.

He tucked them both into bed, the two of them spooning comfortably with V’rex’s big body cupping her own. Penny found that when they were pressed together, there was no lack of blanket—only the delicious feeling of his big form surrounding her, making her feel protected and safe.

“Good night, little girl,” V’rex murmured in her ear.

“Night,” Penny whispered back. She might have protested at how thoroughly the big Hybrid had taken her over, but she was much too tired to protest. It had been a long, exhausting day and she felt too comfortable to want to be anywhere else.

With a sigh of contentment, she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

FIFTY-FOUR

The hypno-whispers gave her strange dreams again, but this time Penny didn’t act on them. Maybe V’rex was right about her having an orgasm before going to sleep, but the only effect they had on her was to make her turn over so that she was facing the big Hybrid instead of spooning with him.

When she woke, she was somewhat embarrassed to find that she was pressing against him, chest to chest and naked with nothing between them. But V’rex only gave her a sleepy smile and murmured,

“Morning, sweetheart. Have any good dreams?”

“None that I can remember,” Penny told him. She started to wiggle out of his arms but V’rex was too fast for her.

“Uh-uh, little girl,” he growled. “You’re not going anywhere before I have a look at your sweet breasts.”

Rolling over on his back, he had Penny straddling him in an instant. She could feel his long, hard shaft poking her in the back as the big Hybrid pulled her down and sucked one tight nipple into his mouth.

“V’rex…” she started to protest but he gave her a stern frown and released the nipple momentarily.

“Told you I was gonna take care of you from now on, didn’t I, little girl? Well this is part of it. Morning and night I’m going to suck your sweet nipples and take care of your nectar. Don’t want you in pain like you were last night, ever again.”

“You really don’t have to…ohhh,” Penny moaned as he sucked her nipple back into his mouth and continued to drain the sticky-sweet nectar from her breast. He didn’t let her go until he was finished with both breasts and by then her pussy was throbbing and swollen.

Penny hoped he wouldn’t notice how wet and hot she was getting but when at last V’rex let her nipple slip from between his lips, between her legs was the first place he looked.

“You’re looking awful hot and wet and achy down there, sweetheart,” he growled softly. “Is there something you want to ask me to do for you?”

Penny bit her lip. Despite the way the big Hybrid was now so intimate with her body, she was still shy about asking for that particular act. The memory of how badly it had gone with Garret was still fresh in her mind. So she only shook her head.

“I think we’d better get going,” she told him. “Don’t want to be late to work, right?”

“Right. Especially since I’m going in with you today,” V’rex remarked as they got out of bed.

“What? Why?” Penny asked. “The greenhouse is across the Compound from the Marketplace. You’ll be late for your own job if you come with me to mine.”

“It’s worth it,” V’rex growled, his eyes flashing. “I have some business there.”

And he refused to say anything else about it.

FIFTY-FIVE

After a bland breakfast of thin blue porridge which seemed to be made of the same grain as the svetty flour, they walked to the Marketplace together with V’rex’s arm protectively around Penny’s shoulders.

She couldn’t help feeling good with his arm around her. He was so big and strong and warm and he smelled so good. The same dark spice which had frightened her so badly their first night together now filled her with a sense of safety and security.

Don’t get too attached, Penny, she warned herself. Once the two of you get out of here, you can bet the mutual attraction going on between you and V’rex is going to get one-sided pretty quickly. Once the Spice is out of his system, he’s not going to be nearly so interested in you.

But since they were still stuck in the Compound—at least until V’rex could hopefully pick the Glorious Leader’s pocket and get the Master Control—she reasoned she might as well enjoy her time with the big Hybrid while she could.

The minute they got to the Marketplace—which was mostly deserted this time of day—Penny saw that Skrug was already at his spot in the front of the Butcher’s stall, chopping meat.

Just seeing the big, ugly blue alien with his humped back and snaggly teeth made her feel sick to her stomach. The good feeling she’d had on the walk in to work with V’rex by her side seemed to dry up and blow away as she felt herself getting ready for a day of uncertainty and sexual harassment.

But she hadn’t counted on V’rex’s reaction to the other male.

As the two of them approached the bakery, Skrug saw her and shot her a snaggletoothed leer. Then his slitted yellow eyes moved to V’rex and he frowned.

V’rex, however, smiled pleasantly enough as he walked Penny up to the front of the bakery.

“Stay here, will you, sweetheart? I have some business to take care of.” He hugged her and kissed her gently on the cheek and then turned and went around to the butcher’s stall.

He came right up to Skrug, until the two males were chest to chest and stared the other male in the eye.

“Do you see that female?” he asked in a low, pleasant voice, the smile never leaving his face as he pointed to Penny.

“Uh, yeah.” Skrug titled his head to one side, staring askance at the big Hybrid. “What about her?”

“She’s mine.” V’rex was still smiling but his gaze had intensified as he looked into Skrug’s yellow, slitted eyes. “And I understand you’ve been saying some pretty fucking nasty things to her.”

“So what if I did?” Skrug lifted his huge cleaver threateningly. “What are you gonna do about it?”

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do…” V’rex made a swift move, too fast for Penny’s eyes to follow, and suddenly he was the one holding the bloody cleaver.

“Hey!” Skrug made a snatch for the cleaver but instead of getting it back, he found his thick wrist held captive in V’rex’s other fist.

“What I’m going to do is this,” V’rex told him, still speaking in that low, frighteningly pleasant voice. “The next time you say anything to Penelope—fucking anything at all—you lose a finger.”

He slapped the other male’s hand down on the bloody butcher’s block, right in a pile of raw meat and raised the cleaver high.

“Want me to demonstrate?”

“What? Fuck no—get off me!” Skrug struggled but it was clear that though they were the same height, V’rex was the stronger of the two.

“As I said, you’ll lose a finger every time you say anything to my female,” V’rex continued congenially. “Now if you touch her, you’ll lose a lot more than that.” He eyed the other male’s swinging dick, which was trembling between his knees. “Your species takes great pride in the length of their equipment, I believe.”

“What…what are you saying?” Skrug demanded.

“I’m saying that if you lay a finger on my female, you’re going to be missing some of that length. All of it, in fact.”

At last the smile fell off V’rex’s face to be replaced by a cold rage like nothing Penny had ever seen before. It burned in his eyes, turning the pale gold to dancing crimson flames.

“Do you fucking understand what I’m saying to you?” he growled in a deep, terrifying voice, pushing his face into Skrug’s. “DO YOU?”

“Yes, yes! All right, I get it!” Skrug blathered. “I won’t touch her—she’s yours, okay? Not even during a Public Breeding—I promise!”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

Turning, V’rex sliced down with the blade of the huge cleaver, burying it in the wood of the butcher’s block with a loud thunk!

Skrug gasped and stiffened, yanking his hand away as V’rex finally let him go.

“My finger!” he howled, glaring at the big Hybrid and holding up the bloody stump of one long, clawed digit.

It was his pinky finger, Penny saw, feeling sick to her stomach. V’rex had cut it off at the second joint, leaving only a wiggling stump which was fountaining purplish blood everywhere.

“You chopped it off! You chopped off my finger!” Skrug whined, holding his hand to his bloody apron to try and stop the flow.

“Told you I would, didn’t I?” V’rex’s face was cold. “That was for what you said to Penelope yesterday. Better make sure you don’t repeat the same mistake today—or ever again. If you do, you won’t have enough fingers left to cut meat—or do anything else.”

He wiped his hands on the sides of his crimson toga, as though he’d touched something dirty and turned to come back around to where Penny was standing, staring with an open mouth, in the bakery storefront.

“Doing all right, sweetheart?” he inquired in a conversational tone.

“I…I guess so.” Penny wasn’t sure what to say. She had never seen anyone commit such casual violence before. It was like something out of a movie about the mob.

My God, Penny, whispered a little voice in her head. That was some serious Scarface shit!

Even though V’rex had been acting on her behalf, it was still scary and uncomfortable to witness. She’d been feeling so comfortable and safe with the big Hybrid only moments before…but how well did she really know him?

Kat had warned her that he had a reputation for savagery and he was a notorious space pirate. Penny supposed a guy didn’t get a rep like that for being kind to puppies and kittens…

“Let me know if he bothers you again,” V’rex said, interrupting her chaotic thoughts. Leaning forward, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead that belied his ferocious act. “Take care of yourself, sweetheart and have a good day. Oh, and it’s my turn to make Last Meal tonight since you cooked yesterday, okay?”

“O…okay,” Penny stumbled over the word, still not sure what to say.

“See you later then,” V’rex said.

Then he turned and headed for the other side of the Compound and the greenhouse, leaving Penny to stare after him uncertainly while Skrug whimpered and whined to himself in the butcher’s stall next door and tried to stop the bleeding from his severed stump of a finger.

FIFTY-SIX

After the hair-raising start, thanks to V’rex, the rest of Penny’s day passed uneventfully. Skrug didn’t say a word to her. In fact, he refused to even look in her direction—which was nice, since he wasn’t exactly the prettiest thing to stare at.

At first Penny had been worried that the big blue alien would tell on V’rex to some of the NeverBreeder guards or supervisors. But later in the morning, she heard him telling his boss, Head Butcher Loone, that he had accidentally severed his pinky finger himself.

She wasn’t sure if the big alien was lying to save face or for fear of retribution from the big Hybrid if he told the truth. But either way, she was glad V’rex wouldn’t get in trouble for defending her as he had.

All day, though, the swift silver swish of the blade through the air and the thunk of the cleaver as it buried itself in the wooden chopping block wouldn’t leave her mind. She kept seeing the way the friendly smile had fallen away from V’rex’s features, showing the true face below—the bloody flames dancing in his pale gold eyes and the deep, frightening growl of his voice…

No, stop it! she told herself. He wouldn’t hurt me that way. He was protecting me—warning Skrug off in the only way that big asshole would understand. That doesn’t make him a violent criminal…does it?

Considering that she hadn’t even known V’rex a week, Penny realized uncomfortably that she couldn’t actually answer that question. What if the big Hybrid was some kind of sociopath who was showing her one face while in fact he was cold and dead inside, ready to kill anyone who displeased him? Or what if he was just crazy-jealous and possessive?

She knew plenty of women who might like the idea of their man standing up for them or fighting for them but honestly, it was an awkward situation for her—and one she had little experience with. Her last serious relationship had been based on convenience—not any kind of burning passion or devotion. Penny was certain that her ex, Garret, wouldn’t have gone across the street to buy her a candy bar, let alone gone to her work and started chopping digits off a guy who insulted her.

By the time she had finished her day and was walking home with a loaf of purple bread and a pat of green butter carefully wrapped in paper (the daily allowance of everyone who worked in the bakery) she was almost as afraid to go home as she had been to go to work the day before.

Penny let herself into the house, not sure at all what she might find or how V’rex would act towards her. She also didn’t know how she ought to act around him. What if she did something to set him off? What if he was a ticking time bomb of rage inside and a vat of boiling hate was lurking under his handsome, roguish exterior? What if—?

“Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?”

V’rex was suddenly there in front of her, wearing a white apron which strained over his broad chest and a genial smile on his face.

“Oh, uh…” Penny wasn’t sure what to say. “Fine, I guess,” she said, smiling weakly.

“You don’t look fine.” V’rex’s face was suddenly serious. “Did that big asshole bother you anymore? Because if he did—”

“No—no!” Penny exclaimed hurriedly. ”Nobody bothered me at all—honestly they didn’t!”

The last thing she wanted was for V’rex to come back to her work and start chopping off any more fingers.

“Hey, take it easy, little girl.” He smiled at her again. “Just checking on you. Wanna make sure you’re okay, that’s all.”

“I’m okay—really I am,” Penny assured him, in a rather strained voice. “Uh, what are you cooking?” she added, gesturing to the apron he was wearing.

V’rex made a face.

“Vegetable stew, but I’m afraid it’s fucking bland. Sorry, baby—I’m not much of a cook when it comes to the green stuff. I’m great at anything to do with meat but I know after what you heard from your friend…”

“No meat, no thank you,” Penny said quickly. “I brought some bread and butter,” she added, holding up the loaf and the paper with the softened green butter in it. “So that should go well with the stew.”

“Can’t hurt.” V’rex motioned for her to come into the kitchen with him.

Penny followed him in, musing on the apron he was wearing—the strings of which were tied in a big, loopy bow at the small of his back. This domestic look was completely incongruous to the cold-blooded killer she’d been picturing all day. Could it be she had misjudged V’rex yet again?

She honestly didn’t know.

FIFTY-SEVEN

V could feel her confusion and worry and yes—Goddess damn it—her fear of him the minute she walked in the door.

I went too far at her work today. Shouldn’t have chopped off that fucker’s finger, he thought ruefully. I went overboard and now Skrug isn’t the only one who’s terrified of me—Penelope is too.

He hadn’t meant to scare her like that—he’d only wanted to make it crystal clear to Skrug that he’d better keep his hands off. But the Rage had gotten the better of him. In fact, for a moment he’d had a hard time not cutting the other male’s head off—let alone his finger.

And now Penelope is frightened of me all over again. I’ve lost all the trust I earned in the past two days, he thought in frustration.

As he stirred the pot of bland, minced-up vegetables he was calling “stew,” V considered what to do—how to mend the situation. He supposed he could come right out and tell her that he wouldn’t hurt her and he didn’t mean her any harm… But he sensed words weren’t going to be enough to assuage her new fear of him. What was it that Tarn, the captain of the first ship he’d served on used to say?

Speak with your actions, not your mouth. The tongue can lie but the hands tell the truth.

Something like that, anyway. V’rex sighed as he looked into the contents of the steaming pot. The best thing he could do was show Penelope she didn’t have to be frightened of him. That meant lots of patience and persistence, speaking softly and treating her gently.

Which honestly, wasn’t hard for him. His Kindred side was definitely dominant to his Kru’ell One half, which meant he was naturally respectful of women.

He just had to get Penelope to see that because he was going to have to gain her trust all over again.

FIFTY-EIGHT

“Sorry it’s so fucking bland,” V’rex muttered, stirring his own bowl of vegetable stew morosely. “I used as much sodium as I could without overdoing it, but it didn’t help much.”

“It’s fine,” Penny smiled at him woodenly and ate another bite of her own stew. “And please don’t blame yourself—it seems like everything here is bland. I remember at the Breeding and Conception Center, I used flavor sticks on everything they brought us. We were only supposed to use them in the Mother’s Milk but I…Oh!”

She stood up from the small table suddenly.

“Something wrong, sweetheart?” V’rex looked up, frowning.

“I almost forgot!” Penny exclaimed. “The last time I saw my friend, Claudette, she gave me a bunch of flavor sticks because she knew I liked them so much. Hang on.”

She ran to the bedroom and got two of the small wooden sticks from the stash Claudette had given her and came back into the dining area brandishing them triumphantly.

“Here,” she said, handing one of them to V’rex, who looked at it uncertainly.

“Uh, what is this?” he looked at the small, tongue-depressor-type stick and frowned.

“A flavor stick! Didn’t they give them to you when they were holding you in the male dorms?” Penny asked. When he shook his head she said, “Okay, well here’s how they work. You press the stick to your tongue and think about a flavor you really like. Then stick it into the food you want to taste like that and stir it around. The food will pick up the flavor you wanted. Like this—see?”

She pressed the end of her stick to her tongue and thought hard about a recipe her mom used to make when she was a kid. Then she stirred the bowl of vegetable stew thoroughly with the flavor stick before taking a big bite.

“Mmmm,” Penny moaned as the salty, cheesy, crunchy, meaty flavors rolled over her tongue. “So good.”

“Can I try it?” V’rex asked, holding up the spork-looking thing which was the closest thing to a spoon that they had in the Compound.

“Oh sure—help yourself.” Penny pushed her bowl towards him and he took a sporkful of her stew. He put it in his mouth and his eyebrows shot up as he chewed and swallowed.

“That tastes completely different! And completely fucking delicious,” he exclaimed. “What is it, anyway? What did you turn it into?”

“This crazy recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid called ‘cheeseburger soup,’” Penny explained. “She honestly put just about everything in it—the meat, the cheese, tomatoes and lettuce—even pickles. And she served it with a squirt of ketchup and mustard on top.” She grinned and took another spoonful herself. “Tastes just like she used to make—reminds me of home.”

“It’s really good,” V’rex said, smiling. “Your mother must be an excellent cook.”

“She is.” Penny sighed and looked down at her stew. “I wonder…wonder if I’ll ever see her again.”

V’rex reached across the table and squeezed her hand gently.

“You’ll see her, little girl,” he rumbled. “I promise you that.”

Penny cast a glance at the ceiling and was glad to see the red light over the table was dark.

“Thanks, V’rex,” she said, carefully removing her hand. “Um, what about you? What do you want to turn your veggie stew into?”

If he was offended by her tacit refusal of his touch, the big Hybrid didn’t show it.

“Hmmm.” He looked thoughtful as he twirled the flavor stick she’d given him between his long fingers. Finally he nodded to himself, closed his eyes, and pressed the tip of the stick against his tongue. Then he stirred it through his stew carefully and took a bite.

“Did it work?” Penny asked anxiously as he closed his eyes and chewed, a blissful expression on his face.

“It did.” V’rex opened his eyes and pushed his bowl towards her. “Try it.”

Penny took a bite and was surprised at the complex flavors swirling on her tongue.

“Hmm, Sweet and sour…salty with hints of umami, like really dark soy sauce…and the slightest hint of seaweed,” she murmured at last. “Tastes kind of like sweet and sour fish and chips sushi,” she decided and smiled at him. “Delicious! What is it?”

“Mandras pie. One of the better charity kitchens used to serve it when I was a slum kid,” V’rex told her. “It was really warm and filling, especially on a cold night. And sometimes, if there weren’t too many of us, they’d let us stay the night after we ate, and sleep in the ashes of the furnace.”

“In the ashes?” Penny asked doubtfully.

V’rex nodded.

“Sure. It was always good to have a warm, safe place to sleep where you didn’t have to worry about freezing or getting knifed in the middle of the night.” He shrugged. “I guess I associate Mandras pie with all that—with warmth and safety and comfort—the same things you associate with your mother’s cheesbrugger soup.”

“Cheeseburger,” Penny corrected him, smiling a little. But she couldn’t help thinking that the little slice of his childhood he’d revealed had sounded awfully sad. “It must have been hard for you to be on your own like that, after you lost your mom,” she remarked carefully, not sure how much he wanted to talk about it.

V’rex shrugged.

“I got by. That time on the streets toughened me up—taught me that life doesn’t owe you anything—it’s what you bring to it that counts.”

“And…that’s when you learned how to pick pockets?” Penny asked.

“Yup.” He nodded. “Believe it or not, I was a cute kid—and really small for my age until I was around sixteen cycles, when I shot up. But back then, I was so little and adorable, nobody suspected me.” He made a face. “It’s different now, of course, since I’m not little or cute, but I think I can still pull it off.”

“Show me,” Penny said. The blue toga she was wearing had three pockets—one on each hip and a third over her right breast, just below where the toga tied. She broke her used flavor stick in half and put half of it into the right hip pocket of her toga, leaving the other half by her bowl. Then she arched her eyebrows at V’rex. “Well? Can you get it?”

He gave her a lazy grin.

“Sure, sweetheart—I can get it. I’ll even show you how I do it. Come on—stand up.”

Penny stood up from the table and the big Hybrid did the same.

“Okay, now,” he said, his deep voice taking on a lecturing tone as they stepped to one side of the table. “There are several ways to pick a pocket. To start with, pretend we’re strangers, walking past each other on a crowded street.”

“Okay.” Penny took a few steps back and walked towards him as V’rex walked towards her as well.

I don’t see how he’s going to manage though, she thought. Since my left side is towards him and the stick is in my right pocket.

Nevertheless, she walked straight towards the big Hybrid, pretending she was on a busy street and minding her own business.

V’rex was looking away as they met, as though he was distracted by something. His broad shoulder hit her left arm and he muttered,

“Scuse me,” and walked on past.

Penny turned around, frowning at him.

“Was that it? I don’t think—” Then she put her hand in her right pocket and found that the half flavor stick she’d put there was gone. “Hey!” she exclaimed.

V’rex grinned at her and held up the half stick.

“Gotcha, sweetheart.”

“How did you do that?” Penny demanded. “I didn’t feel a thing!”

“It’s called the bump and distract,” V’rex told her. “Watch…”

He brought her back to stand facing him and then pushed his shoulder into hers. At the same time, he reached his long arm around her body and this time Penny felt him touching her pocket—but only for an instant and only because he wanted her to, she was sure.

“See, you’re so focused on the feeling of my shoulder bumping into yours that you don’t notice my hand in your pocket,” V’rex explained. “Any pick worth his salt can do it. It’s even easier from behind. Here, put this back in your pocket,” he told her.

Penny did as he said, putting the half stick in her left hip pocket this time.

“Good, now pretend we’re on a crowded tram together,” V’rex instructed her. “I’m just another passenger, standing right behind you.”

He turned Penny around, his big hands on her shoulders, and then positioned himself right behind her. He was close, but not touching her, though Penny could feel the heat from his big body against her back. It made her stomach flutter, despite the fact that she knew she shouldn’t let herself be so attracted to the big, dangerous Hybrid.

“Uh…” She glanced over her shoulder. “I know you’re supposed to be inconspicuous and just another passenger, but I think I’d notice a seven-foot tall warrior standing behind me.”

“You got me there, sweetheart.” V’rex gave her a rueful grin. “I was a much more successful pick when I was little. Once I got my full growth, it was a lot harder to move through a crowd doing finger-work.” His face darkened. “Of course, by that time, I was into other things.”

“Other things?” Penny asked faintly. She wondered how he had gotten his start in the gang he’d been in. Had there been some kind of initiation? Maybe killing someone? Maybe chopping off their fingers…?

V’rex seemed to sense where her mind was going because he shook his head.

“Nothing you need to know about. C’mon and turn back around, I’m not done with the demonstration.”

Penny reluctantly turned back to face front, though her stomach was still fluttering uncertainly.

“Now like I said, this is a busy tram at rush hour,” V’rex rumbled behind her. “All of a sudden, it makes a quick stop and we all lurch forward.”

He demonstrated by leaning into her, his broad chest pressing briefly against her back.

“Sorry,” he muttered in her ear. “Damn transports. Brakes are all shot to the Seven Hells.”

He sounded so much like a regular passenger she might have encountered on any public transportation that Penny knew she would have been tempted to think nothing of such an encounter.

“Is that it? You did it?” she asked, turning her head to look at him. Once again, she hadn’t felt anything but his chest briefly touching her back.

“Check your pockets.” V’rex gave her a confident grin.

Penny put her hand in her left pocket…and felt half of the flavor stick.

“Oh,” she said disappointed. “It’s still here.”

“Check all your pockets,” V’rex told her.

Penny put her hand in her right pocket…and pulled out the other half of the stick.

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “I left this on the table. And how did you put something into my pocket without me knowing it?”

“The same way I took something out without you knowing, sweetheart.” His grin widened. “But you haven’t checked all your pockets yet.”

“But there’s only one more and I know you didn’t—” Penny began as she looked down at the pocket over her right breast.

To her surprise she saw the flavor stick she’d given V’rex poking out of the small pocket as though it had always been there.

“Wow…” She plucked it out and looked at it and then looked at V’rex. “I’m impressed. I can’t believe I didn’t feel you putting the sticks in my pockets!”

He shrugged.

“It takes a light touch—and long fingers don’t hurt either.” He held up his hands and wiggled the fingers in question as he raised his eyebrows, making Penny giggle despite herself.

“Can you teach me to do it?” she asked, curiously. “Not that I’m interested in living a life of crime when we get out of here, but it might be a useful talent to have.”

“I can try—if you really want to learn.” He nodded and plucked one of the half-sticks out of her hand. He put it in his own right hip pocket and then made a “come on” gesture with his fingers.

Penny walked towards him, trying not to look at the pocket the stick was in. She was just minding her own business, she told herself. Just in a hurry to get from point A to point B.

As she passed V’rex, she bumped him on the shoulder and reached for his pocket at the same time, all while muttering, “Excuse me.” She had the stick in her fingers when a big hand caught her by the wrist.

“Hey, little lady,” V’rex growled down at her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He lifted her hand, displaying the half a flavor stick and glared at her until Penny felt like she really had been caught stealing.

“I…I don’t…” she began uncertainly.

“I felt your fingers,” V’rex said, abruptly dropping the menacing growl. “Or I wouldn’t have stopped you. Tell me—what do you do now?”

“Now?” Penny looked at him blankly. “You mean after you caught me?”

“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “What do you do now?”

“I…I’m not sure what you mean.” Penny shook her head.

“Think about it,” he said patiently. “You’re too small to fight me so what can you do?”

“Um…” Penny was still at a loss.

“Either make a scene—start screaming that I’m the one attacking you. Or start crying,” V’rex advised. “Anything that draws attention will make a regular guy feel uncomfortable. Chances are he’ll let you go and then you can make a break for it.”

Penny frowned.

“That seems like an awfully cynical way of thinking.”

V’rex shrugged.

“It’s a way of surviving, sweetheart. You use what you’ve got. Now try it again.”

They practiced until Penny could successfully get the flavor stick out of his pocket without V’rex feeling her fingers, both approaching from the front and standing behind him. The big Hybrid praised her skill and Penny had to admit, it wasn’t one she would have thought of acquiring before now. Not that she really had any use for it.

“Okay, you’ve got it,” V’rex said, when they’d been working on it for a while. “If you ever decide to ‘lead a life of crime,’ as you put it, you’re all set, sweetheart. Just remember, the two techniques I taught you mostly work in big, busy, crowded places. Tram stations are the best because there are always lots of tourists loaded down with luggage and not paying attention to their valuables. That’s the best kind of environment for a clean pick.”

“A clean pick?” Penny raised her eyebrows.

“Meaning your mark never suspects a thing and you can get away quickly into the crowd without them ever seeing your face,” V’rex clarified.

Penny nodded thoughtfully.

“Okay, but what if you wanted to steal something from somebody who wasn’t distracted?” she asked. “Could you do that? I mean, what if you were the only other person in the room and you had no reason to bump into them?”

“That’s doable.” V’rex nodded. “But you have to get a little more personal. Here…” He handed Penny one of the flavor sticks. “Put it in your pocket.”

Penny did and then stood there, staring at him, waiting…wondering what was coming next.

FIFTY-NINE

Suddenly, a change came over the big Hybrid’s demeanor. His pale gold eyes went half-lidded and he came to stand much nearer, so their bodies were almost but not-quite touching.

“Hey there,” he murmured, looking down and catching Penny’s eyes. “Been watchin’ you all night.”

“You…you have?” Despite knowing they were just playing-acting, Penny felt her heart begin to speed up as his eyes captured hers.

“Uh-huh…” V’rex leaned a little closer. “Couldn’t help myself. You’re fuckin’ gorgeous—you know that?”

“Oh, uh…” She felt her cheeks getting hot from the way he was looking at her and found she had to look away from his intense gold gaze.

“I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable,” V’rex continued. Lifting one big hand, he brushed her hot cheek with his knuckles, very gently. “You’re just so beautiful I can’t help myself.”

“V’rex…” Penny began uncertainly. “I don’t…”

“Okay, now where’s the stick?” he interrupted, grinning at her.

Penny felt in her pocket and found the stick was gone.

“But I only felt you touch my face,” she protested.

“Because that was all I wanted you to feel,” he emphasized. “When you use the flirt-pick, you keep the mark’s attention where you want it. In that case, I kept it on your face, where I was touching you—not on your pocket, which I was picking.”

He held up the half flavor stick to prove his point.

“I wasn’t kidding though, you know,” he added. “When I said you’re gorgeous.”

Penny bit her lip, uncertain of what to say. She was still half-frightened of the big Hybrid and more than half convinced that any attraction he felt to her must be coming from the ubiquitous Spice in the air. Yet the way he was looking at her made her pulse race. If only he didn’t smell so damn good, she couldn’t help thinking. His dark, spicy scent seemed to draw her to him like a magnet.

“V’rex…” she began, not sure what to say.

“Your turn,” he said. When Penny looked at him in surprise, he put the stick in his right hip pocket and made that “come on” gesture with his hand again. “Okay, sweetheart—I’m your mark. Pick me.”

Heart thumping, Penny came to stand in his space, just as he had come to stand in hers. She didn’t actually have a whole lot of practice flirting. She’d always been a serious academic—never a party girl. Still, she’d had friends who were party girls and she’d seen how they operated at a bar when they wanted a guy to buy them a drink.

“Hi,” she murmured, looking up at the big Hybrid. She caught his eyes and then looked quickly away, as though she was almost too shy to look at him.

“Well, hello there,” V’rex rumbled. “Having a good time?”

“It’s all right.” Penny glanced up at him again. “It could get better,” she added meaningfully.

“Could it, now?” V’rex took a step closer, his eyes catching hers and holding them. “And how would that happen, do you think?”

“You could buy me a drink,” Penny murmured. “Um…” She cleared her throat, breaking character. “I’m not quite sure where to go from here,” she admitted. “I’m, uh, not much of a flirt in real life.”

“You need a reason to touch me,” V’rex advised her. “Whatever I say, laugh and touch my chest. At the same time, you’re reaching for my pocket. Go.”

“Okay. Um…” Penny looked up at him again. “Like I said, you could buy me a drink.”

V’rex gazed at her intently. “I’ll be happy to buy you a drink, sweetheart,” he rumbled softly, looking into Penny’s eyes. “But you’ll have to pay me with a kiss.”

“Oh, you…” Penny laughed flirtatiously and put a hand on the big Hybrid’s broad chest. At the same time, she reached for the stick in his pocket and slipped it out with a twitch of her fingers.

“Did you get it?” V’rex asked her, breaking character himself, though he was still looking into her eyes.

“Sure did.” Penny held up the flavor stick triumphantly.

“Good. You know, I’ve never seen anyone catch on so fast,” V’rex remarked. “You sure you weren’t a thief in your past life? Because you just stole my heart.”

Penny groaned.

“Ugh—that’s a terrible line!”

V’rex grinned. “Yeah, what can I say. “I’m not as smooth with the ladies as I am with my fingers, I guess.”

“I have a hard time believing that,” Penny said skeptically. “Especially the way you were acting with me earlier.”

“That wasn’t acting.” V’rex was suddenly serious. “I was being completely honest—you’re fucking gorgeous, little girl. And you still owe me a kiss for the drink I bought you.”

“But you didn’t actually—” Penny began, but then she was in his arms and V’rex was leaning over her and tilting her chin up so that their mouths met.

Heart thumping, Penny gave in to the kiss. She couldn’t help herself—V’rex was so big and strong and he smelled so good. Even the fear she still felt of the big Hybrid only seemed to add to her excitement.

Despite their earlier intimacies, this was their first kiss and she found out quickly that V’rex was an excellent kisser. He didn’t ram his tongue down her throat like an overeager boy, as Garret used to when they were dating. Instead he kissed her gently—but with passion. Closed mouth at first but, when he lapped gently at Penny’s lips, she opened them eagerly to let him in.

His mouth was warm and slightly sweet, from the fruit juice they’d been having with dinner as he sucked teasingly on her tongue. Penny found herself thinking he tasted as good as he smelled as she pressed closer to the big Hybrid, wanting more…more…

God, I shouldn’t be doing this! she told herself even as she deepened the kiss. I’m getting in too deep! It’s one thing to let him suck the nectar out of my breasts and pretend to breed me. But kissing is too intimate. I can’t let myself fall in love with him—he’s dangerous!

The memory of the silver blade thunking into the bloody butcher’s block rose to her mind and she broke the kiss abruptly, pulling away from his seeking mouth.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” V’rex brushed her hot cheek gently, just as he had earlier when he was showing her how to do the “flirt-pick.” “God, I wish I knew what you were thinking,” he murmured, more to himself than to her.

“I’m thinking we shouldn’t be doing this,” Penny whispered, hoping she wouldn’t make him angry. “I mean I know there are…certain things we have to do here out of necessity,” she added, glancing up at him and then back down again. “But, well, we’re going to go our separate ways after…” She glanced up at the ceiling and was glad to see the red light was off. “After we get out of here, right?”

V’rex frowned. “I guess you’ll want to get back to your life on Earth, huh? And a big-ass Hybrid with a bad rep probably wouldn’t fit very well into your routine.” He grinned, one corner of his mouth quirking up. “Unless you’d rather hang around with me for a while and explore the universe.”

Penny bit her lip.

“V’rex, please. It’s not that I don’t find you attractive because I do. God, I really do—way more than I should,” she admitted, her heart thumping. “But, well, you’ve got your life and I’ve got mine. I’m working for the Kindred of the Mother Ship right now—”

“The same ones that declared me an outlaw. Right.” The smile turned into a frown.

“There is that,” Penny admitted. “But also, we’re in a really difficult situation here. The Compound is basically forcing us together. And I’m just not sure…” She cleared her throat. “Not sure you’ll still, uh, feel the same way about me once we get away. Also, we haven’t known each other very long so maybe we shouldn’t…”

“Shouldn’t kiss?” V’rex rumbled, raising his eyebrows. “So it’s okay for me to suck your sweet nipples and pretend to breed you but you don’t want us to kiss?

Penny shrugged helplessly, feeling her cheeks get hot again.

“It’s just…kissing is too intimate. It’s—”

“Too much like falling in love,” V’rex finished for her, softly.

“I…we hardly know each other,” Penny protested. “And both of us are under the influence of all kinds of hormones and chemicals. I mean, who knows what we’ll think if we ever manage to get out of this place?”

“Oh, we’re gonna manage,” V’rex promised her. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “But hormones and chemicals or not, I’m still going to want you, little girl. Still going to feel for you when we get out of here.”

Penny bit her lip. If only she could believe him! And if only she wasn’t still scared of him—of what he might do. Her ex, Garret, had been as bland as stale toast but he had also been predictable. With V’rex, Penny never knew what the big Hybrid might do from picking a pocket to kissing her to chopping off the finger of a man who had insulted her.

Well, isn’t that part of his charm? whispered a little voice in her head. The uncertainty? The not knowing?

Probably, but Penny had been a practical girl all her life and though she loved going on adventures for her work, she was a lot more conservative when it came to matters of the heart. She—

“You’re over thinking this, sweetheart.” V’rex’s deep, rumbling voice brought her out of her reverie.

“Huh?” Penny looked up at him. “Over thinking what?”

“Us,” V’rex said simply. “Sometimes what’s right is right. You feel it here.” He put a fist over his heart. “And you just know.”

“Are you saying…what are you saying?” Penny asked. Was he declaring his love for her? When they’d only known each other a few days?

“I’m saying that I know,” V’rex replied obliquely. “That I’ve known almost from the first minute I saw you. But it’s all right if it takes you a little while to catch up. I can wait.”

“I…” Penny shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t have to say anything, sweetheart,” he rumbled. “Just let me take care of you.”

“Take care of me?” Penny lifted her eyebrows. “How?”

Wordlessly, V’rex nodded down at her chest. Penny followed his eyes and saw that two wet spots had appeared on the blue fabric over her nipples.

“You’re starting to leak,” he murmured.

“Oh!” Penny brushed ineffectually at the spots on her toga. Damn it—she hated having this problem! It was crazy to have to worry about leaking everywhere like a water balloon with a pinhole in it.

“Also, it’s almost time for our Mandatory Breeding Hour,” V’rex pointed out. He looked into her eyes. “You wanna be on top again, sweetheart?”

Penny felt her whole body flush and her pulse was suddenly racing again. God, how could she keep back her heart from the big Hybrid when he affected her body so much?

“I…I guess so,” she murmured. “Should we…you know…on the couch or…?”

“The bed,” V’rex growled and swept her up suddenly into his arms. “Wanna have some room to stretch out,” he told Penny.

And then he carried her into the bedroom.

SIXTY

Penelope still wasn’t sure about him—about how much she could trust him. V didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that. She also wasn’t sure about giving him her heart—she was holding herself back. Maybe because of the fear, maybe because of his reputation—or a combination of the two. But for whatever reason or reasons, she was still reluctant.

Be patient, he reminded himself. She’s worth waiting for.

He carried her into the bedroom and set her down gently on the side of the bed.

She looked up at him, nibbling her lush lower lip in a way that made his cock surge. He could still taste her sweet mouth and he wanted to taste her some more. Again, he told himself to be patient.

As she sat there looking at him uncertainly, V had the urge to pull down her top and start sucking her sweet nipples at once. But he didn’t always want to be the one who took control. He wanted Penelope to come to him—to ask for what she needed and then take it eagerly and enjoy the pleasure that came with it.

So instead of going with his first inclination, he got on the bed himself and propped some pillows against the headboard. Then he leaned back against them so that he was in a half-sitting position and patted his thighs.

“C’mere, baby,” he murmured, catching Penny’s eyes. “Let’s get a little closer.”

She looked at him for a moment and he could feel the mixture of lust, need, and reluctance coming from her like a wave. Then she came over to him, walking on her knees on the bed, and stopped by his side.

V could easily have picked her up, but again, he wanted her to come to him.

“Closer, little girl,” he told her and patted his thighs again. “Can’t reach you all the way over there.”

“Okay.” Carefully, she threw a knee over his hips and straddled him, though V noticed she didn’t come all the way down. Well, that was all right—she would get there eventually. He remembered how eagerly she’d been grinding against him the night before and how hard she had come. He wanted to feel that again—feel her orgasm shooting through her like a rogue star and lighting her up while she called his name at the top of her lungs.

But slowly…slowly, V reminded himself.

“Lean over here, baby,” he murmured, beckoning to her. “Is there something you need me to do for you?”

“I…um…yes. Yes, I guess so,” Penelope said in a small voice.

“Let me hear you say it, then,” V urged her. “Tell me what you need…what you want, baby.”

“I…I need…” Her cheeks got rosy. “I need you to, um, suck my breasts because they’re full of nectar.”

V loved the mixture of embarrassment and desire he felt coming from her. She had changed, he thought—at least now she could admit what she needed.

“I would love to suck your sweet breasts, Penelope,” he murmured, running his hands up and down her sides. “Could you take your top down so I can reach them?”

She nodded shyly and then reached up to untie the knot on her right shoulder. As she did, V focused on the initial he had put on the top of her left breast. He hadn’t wanted to mark her—hadn’t wanted to hurt her. But now that he had healed her, he couldn’t help feeling a surge of possessiveness as he saw that small, elegant, capital V on her pale, creamy skin.

Mine, he thought as he looked at his mark on her. You’re mine, sweetheart and your heart is mine too—you just don’t know it yet.

At last Penelope managed to fumble the knot open and peel her top down to bare her full breasts.

V winced inwardly as he saw how full and swollen they were and felt her pain. Her nipples were dark and pouting, almost begging him to suck them and ease her suffering.

“Come here, baby,” he said softly. “Let me help you with that. Let me heal you and make you feel better.”

“O…okay.” Penelope looked ashamed, as though she wanted to cover her naked breasts but knew it would do no good. Slowly, she leaned forward, thrusting her full breasts and stiff, dark pink nipples into his face.

V cupped them gently, mindful of how tender they were, and sucked her right peak deep into his mouth. Penelope let out a long soft sound that was half sigh/half moan and he felt the surge of relief that ran through her as her sweet nectar at last began to flow across his tongue.

He swallowed, his eyes never leaving her face where every emotion played out as she felt it. Shame that she had to ask for his help in such an intimate way…desire for him to suck her harder and deeper…and sparks of pleasure that traveled from her tender tips straight down to the tender, needy little pussy between her thighs.

V sucked and swallowed some more, emptying her right breast. Then, before he started on the left, he pulled up the hem of his own “toga” as Penelope called them, revealing his thick shaft. Gods, how he wanted to thrust it deep in her tight little pussy and breed her for real—but of course he couldn’t. Penelope wasn’t ready to bond with him yet.

Still, the red light was on above their bed, so they had to make things look real.

“C’mon, baby,” V growled, looking up at her. “Come here and ride my cock. Wanna feel your soft little pussy all around me while I fill you up and breed you.”

Normally, when he used dirty talk with her, he felt an answering surge of desire from the curvy little female. But this time, to his surprise, the desire was mixed with fear and trepidation.

V frowned to himself. What was she afraid of? She didn’t think he’d actually try to enter her, did she? He absolutely wasn’t going there until she was ready for him to do so—ready to spread her pussy willingly and take his cock to the root inside her hot little cunt—including the mating fist. But she wasn’t there yet and V knew it.

But fearful or not, she lifted the hem of her own toga just enough for him to pretend he was entering her. Then she came down on top of him, her soft little pussy lips parting around the thickness of his shaft.

But no sooner had he felt her wetness bathing him, than V also felt a bolt of pain go through her. He had been in the act of rolling his hips up, pretending to thrust into her, as he rubbed against her clit, but he froze in mid-thrust.

Pain? How was he hurting her?

“Penelope?” he murmured aloud.

“Yes?” Her voice was tight.

V looked into her big brown eyes—which were suspiciously bright—and saw that her lush mouth was pursed as though to bear some intense agony.

“What is it, baby?” V pulled away, dropping his hips to sever their contact. “How am I hurting you?” he murmured in a voice meant for her ears alone.

“You…you’re not.” She shook her head, but her body told a different story. She had begun to relax and enjoy his touch when V was sucking her right breast and easing the pressure of the built-up nectar. But now she was tight again, drawn in on herself with her arms crossed under her breasts and her hands squeezed into fists.

“Bullshit, I’m not,” V growled. “You…” He stopped himself and glanced up at the red light over the bed. He was glad to see that it had gone dark. Maybe the “Watchers” had decided he and Penelope were doing their duty and flipped to another channel to observe another pair of breeders in a different hut.

“Okay, we can talk. Now, I can tell you’re in pain,” he told Penelope firmly. “Either you tell me why or I’ll find out myself.”

“I don’t…don’t understand how you could know that,” she whispered. “And anyway, I’m fine—honestly.”

V frowned at her.

“So I guess I’m finding out myself then. Okay, so since you didn’t seem to have a problem until we made contact down below…”

Reaching out, he flipped up the bottom hem of her toga to examine her pussy.

Penelope gave a little cry of shame and tried to cover herself but V was having none of it. In a single move, he switched their positions, flipping her over on her back and spreading her legs. He raised her skirt again and examined the area that seemed to be giving her pain.

“V’rex!” she exclaimed, writhing against his grip but V gave her a stern look.

“Hold still, Penelope. I won’t hurt you—just have to find out what’s wrong since you won’t tell me.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to know!” she flared in a sudden fit of temper.

“Too damn bad,” V growled. “I don’t like it when you lie to me, sweetheart. You’re clearly in pain and I’m gonna find out why. Now will you hold still on your own, or do I have to hold you down?”

She bit her lip and he felt the warring emotions inside her. Shame was uppermost—clearly she didn’t want him to see because she was embarrassed of her body for some reason.

V felt his heart melt a little at that. Penelope was so beautiful with her full, lush curves, but she couldn’t seem to see that about herself. He had never met a woman who was so gorgeous who didn’t seem to know it before.

“It’s all right, baby,” he murmured, stroking the top of her thigh and looking up to meet her eyes. “You don’t have to be nervous or ashamed. Just let me in—let me try to help you.”

Penelope was still nibbling her lower lip but his tone seemed to ease her uncertainty. At last she nodded and lay back to prop herself on her elbows. She watched him with an uncertain look in her big brown eyes but didn’t struggle anymore.

“All right, V’rex,” she whispered and V felt some of the tension leave her body. “You can…can look if you want to.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” V told her. Gently, he lifted the hem of her toga again, displaying her bare mound.

Well no wonder she’s having problems! he thought, his eyebrows lifting at what he saw.

Penelope’s bare little pussy mound was red and swollen, her outer lips puffy and almost twice their normal size. Peeking out from between them was her Goddess pearl, which looked the most inflamed of all. It was glistening with her juices and dark with need, almost as though it was begging to be touched and caressed.

But when V stroked it very lightly with just one fingertip, she gasped and jerked away, in a reflexive motion. She was too sensitive even to be touched—at least with his hands or fingers.

“Gods, baby…” He frowned down at her swollen pussy. “What’s happening here and how long has it been happening?” She’d looked a bit swollen and sensitive that morning, he thought, but this was much, much worse.

“Not long, honestly. I mean, I’ve been sensitive there for a little while, but it didn’t get this bad until earlier when you were…were sucking my nipple,” Penelope confessed. “But I didn’t want to say anything about it because, well…” She looked away. “Because it’s embarrassing.”

“It might be embarrassing, but it’s not your fault. I think I know what’s wrong,” V told her. He was remembering what the GL had said to his group of males before the Unification Ceremony.

“You know?” she looked uncomfortable. He had a feeling she knew what he was going to say—knew what was going on with her—but he said it anyway.

“Yes, I do.” He explained what the “Glorious Leader” had told his group of male breeders—about how the females who had been drinking Mother’s Milk would need male fluids deep in their pussies or they would have pain.

“So I think this is happening because I’m not actually breeding you,” he finished, checking to make sure the red light was still off.

“Oh, but…” Penelope’s face went white and he felt a sudden surge of fear from her. “But we can’t really…I mean you’re not going to…I can’t really get pregnant here!” she finally burst out. “I can’t bear the thought of having a baby taken out of me and turned into one of those horrible orange NeverBreeders!”

“I’m not about to let that happen,” V assured her. “There’s no way in the Seven Hells I want any son of mine turned into one of those little fuckers. But we can’t let you go around like this either.” He motioned to her swollen pussy. “So to my mind, we have two options. One, I can shoot my seed on your pussy mound like I did our first night together—”

“Oh, but that’s so risky,” Penelope protested. “I mean, because, well…” She bit her lip. “In order to heal me with your seed, you’d have to, uh, shoot inside me as well as on the outside. At least a little way. Because I have pain on…on the inside, too.”

“Let me see,” V commanded.

Her cheeks got pink and he felt another wave of shame coming from her but she allowed him to spread her legs wider and peer into the mouth of her soft little pussy.

Sure enough, the redness and swelling extended inside, V saw. The poor little female was really in a bad way.

“All right,” he said at last, nodding. “I could put just the head of my shaft near your entrance and come inside you, I guess—”

“But you might get me pregnant!” Penelope protested. “I’ve, uh, seen how hard you shoot and how much you, um, produce when you, uh, orgasm,” she went out, her cheeks getting pinker and pinker. “If you actually shoot inside me, it’ll probably go pretty far and I’ll get pregnant for sure.”

“Actually, you can’t get pregnant by a Kindred warrior unless you’re bonded to him,” V informed her.

“Bonded?” She frowned. “I know a little bit about Kindred mating habits, but I haven’t been working with them for long. Does it have to do with your, uh, mating fist?” She gestured at his crotch, her cheeks getting even redder.

“My mating fist and my stinger,” V told her and saw her blanch.

“What…what does it have to do with that?” she asked in a faint voice. It was clear she definitely still feared his stinger. Well, he had promised not to use it on her until she asked him to, he reminded himself. It seemed that time was still far in the future.

“In order to bond you to me—and get you pregnant—I’d have to have my mating fist all the way inside your pussy, filling you with my seed at the exact moment I was stinging you and injecting my lust-honey,” V explained. “So you see, just putting the head of my shaft inside your pussy and coming inside you can’t give you a big belly.”

“It still seems like an awful risk. What about all the crazy hormones in my system from the Mother’s Milk?” Penelope asked. “I think they’re supposed to make me extra fertile or something.”

V frowned, considering.

“You got me there,” he admitted at last. “I honestly don’t know if that changes things or makes you more likely to get pregnant or not.” He shrugged. “But since we don’t know, I guess that leaves us with option number two.”

“Option number two?” Penelope got a little crease between her eyebrows. “What’s that?”

“I’ll have to heal you,” V told her.

“Heal me?” Her eyebrows shot up. “You mean like you healed my burn scar?” She pointed down to his initial on her left breast, which was still full of nectar, V saw with a frown. He needed to tend to her. “Heal me with your mouth?”

“Sure.” He shrugged. “Why—is that a problem?”

“Well, I mean…” She looked vastly uncomfortable and once again V felt conflicting emotions coming from her. Shame and embarrassment mixed with an incredibly strong desire.

He remembered suddenly, how he had felt that same surge of desire from her when he’d talked about going down on her before. Penelope wanted to feel his tongue in her pussy—wanted to feel him lapping her tender little cunt—but for some reason she was also incredibly reluctant to let him do exactly that.

She craved something she thought she didn’t deserve or shouldn’t have.

“What is it, baby?” V looked at her intently. “What’s wrong? Why are you ashamed to let me lick your soft little pussy?”

“V’rex!” She looked away from his eyes, her chest rising and falling as her breath quickened.

“Well?” He waited patiently, wanting to understand her.

“I…I just…” She shook her head.

“I can tell you want it,” he murmured. Leaning down, he laid a gentle kiss on her inner thigh, making Penelope jump. “But you’re ashamed to want it. Why?”

“My…” She cleared her throat. “My thighs. They’re not exactly thin, you know?”

“Gods, I know it.” V dropped another kiss on her inner thigh. “So fucking thick and gorgeous,” he growled. “What male wouldn’t want to dive between such luscious thighs?”

Penelope gave him a surprised look, as though she didn’t quite believe what he said. But at least she answered him.

“My ex wouldn’t, for one.”

“He must have been an idiot,” V said, frowning. “Why not?”

“Well…” The shame was coming from her again. “He told me he didn’t like it because he didn’t like the, you know, the taste of me…of my, uh, juices. He said I tasted bad.” She looked down at her hands. “And I guess I’ve been self-conscious ever since.”

“He didn’t like your taste?” V looked at her incredulously. “But baby, you taste fucking amazing.”

Penelope frowned at him.

“How would you know that? You haven’t…haven’t tasted me.”

No, but he sure as hell wanted to! Like all Kindred, V loved to go down on a female and had the biological need to taste the one female he’d chosen to Claim. But he sensed he would have to convince Penelope of this before she would let him in.

“I know I haven’t tasted you—yet,” he growled softly. “But I can tell by your scent how good you’ll taste, sweetheart.” Leaning forward again, he rubbed his cheek against the top of her mound, inhaling the sweet, devastatingly feminine aroma of her soft little sex. “Gods, so fucking hot,” he groaned, feeling his shaft twitch and harden between his thighs.

“You’re just saying that,” Penelope murmured, but he could tell she wanted to be convinced.

“I don’t lie,” V told her, frowning. “Especially when there’s no need to. “You don’t just smell good, Penelope—you smell like a female in heat. A female who needs to get fucked. And there’s no sweeter scent to any male than that,” he told her.

Penelope’s face had gone pink with embarrassment again, but he could also feel her hoping he was telling the truth. She wanted to believe him—she just wasn’t quite there yet.

“Look,” V told her reasonably. “Why don’t you just let me heal the outside of your soft little pussy? If that makes you feel better, maybe we can move on and you can let me heal the inside. What do you say?”

Penelope nibbled her lower lip.

“But what if…what if you start to, uh, heal me and you find out you don’t like the taste after all?”

V wished he could reach through time and space and punch the bastard who had given her this complex. Clearly Penelope’s last partner had been a complete idiot and he had infected her with the idea that she wasn’t good enough—that she couldn’t possibly be worthy of the pussy worship she deserved.

But since he didn’t have the ability to reach through the space-time continuum and punch the asshole out retroactively, he would have to convince her a different way.

“Okay, let me try it,” he said to Penelope.

“What?” Her eyes got wide.

“I don’t want to touch you right now, because you’re so sensitive,” V told her reasonably. “So you do it—use your finger to gather some of your honey and then let me suck it off.”

“Oh, but—” she started to protest.

“It’s the only way you’ll believe me,” V’rex pointed out. “So go on—do it.” He motioned for her to touch herself.

After a moment she did so, very hesitantly, though she made a little wince when she touched her own sensitive flesh.

Poor little female—she really did need to be healed, V thought, watching her. Even if he hadn’t wanted so badly to taste her pussy, he still would have wanted to lap her thoroughly to ease her pain.

Penelope inserted one finger into her pussy and pulled it out, shining with her juices. She was extremely wet with need, which only made V hotter. Before she could offer her finger to him, he took it, sucking it deep in his mouth to clean away her pussy honey.

Gods! he groaned to himself, his eyes closing tightly for a moment, the same way they did when he tasted an especially fine vintage of wine or some exotic delicacy. She tasted like salt and heat and need and desire. She tasted like sex.

V wanted more.

When he opened his eyes and looked at her again, she was looking back with a surprised expression on her face.

“You…like it?” she asked.

“I fucking love it, little girl,” he growled hungrily. “Now will you let me heal you or not?”

She bit her lip.

“Just…just the outside to start?”

“Just the outside,” V promised, though he fully intended to spread her sweet pussy wide open with his tongue and dive in fully at some point. After all, her pain and redness extended into the mouth of her pussy—so she was going to need to open up and let him tongue-fuck her to heal it.

But he sensed she wasn’t ready for that yet.

Gently, he reminded himself. Patience. Let her open up to you in her own time.

Accordingly, he waited for Penelope’s short, uncertain nod before he started.

SIXTY-ONE

Penny couldn’t believe this was really happening—couldn’t believe she was letting herself try this again after the fiasco with Garret. But V’rex seemed so sincere in his desire to heal her—and to taste her—and besides, she really was in a lot of pain.

The swelling and redness had happened so suddenly, Penny had been taken by surprise. She’d been a little swollen that morning, but she’d forgotten all about it after seeing V’rex chop off Skrug’s finger. After that, her physical discomfort had taken a back seat to her mental confusion and fear.

And now here you are, with the same man you were so afraid of, between your thighs, she reminded herself. What’s wrong with you Penny?

She honestly didn’t know. She only knew that she was in pain and in need and V was promising to cure her of both. Feeling both uncertain and almost unbearably aroused, she leaned back on her elbows and watched the big Hybrid as he began to heal her.

SIXTY-TWO

Penelope’s outer mound was completely smooth and hairless, so it was easy to see how badly she needed him. Her outer pussy lips were swollen and red and wet with her juices—so tender looking that at first all V dared to do was bathe them gently with careful strokes of his tongue.

He heard her swift intake of breath—a little hiss between her teeth—but he didn’t sense any pain coming from her. Rather, V guessed she was still uncertain about how he would feel about her taste.

He lapped her again, running the tip of his tongue from the bottom of each outer lip, all the way to the top, and then looked up at her.

“Fucking delicious, sweetheart,” he assured her hoarsely. “Is it feeling any better?”

“Yes,” she admitted, nodding. “Some.”

“Good.” Then she was ready for more direct contact. Pressing closer, V sucked one soft little pussy lip into his mouth, tugging it gently to send sparks of pleasure through her body. When he felt no pain coming from her, he released it slowly and did the same to the other.

Over and over again he sucked and licked her outer lips until Penelope was shifting restlessly and panting softly. At last he looked up at her.

“Ready to let me heal inside you, baby?” he growled softly. “Are you ready to let me spread your soft little pussy open and lick your hot little clit?”

Penelope bit her lip and looked at him uncertainly.

“You won’t…won’t sting me with your tongue, will you? I mean, as tender as I am right now, I just don’t think—”

“Don’t worry,” V promised her. “I swore I wouldn’t inject you with my lust-honey again until you asked me to.”

Although the Goddess knew he longed to sting her plump little clit and give her an instant orgasm as he tasted her pussy, he would just have to make her come the old-fashioned way. Not that he minded. He could have stayed between her thighs all day, lapping her soft little cunt.

“Okay, then.” She nodded hesitantly. “I guess you can…can heal me inside, too.”

“Good.” Without another word, V spread her newly-healed outer lips open, exposing her wet, swollen inner folds. Carefully, he lapped at her with the flat of his tongue, spreading his healing lust-honey over as much surface area as possible.

He knew it was working when Penelope moaned softly and bucked her hips, just a little, as though mutely begging for more. Looking up, V caught her eyes with his and held her gaze as he lapped her again, more deeply this time. As he dragged his tongue over the swollen bump of her Goddess Pearl, her eyelids fluttered closed and she let out a little sound of pure pleasure that went straight to his cock.

Gods, how he loved going down! There was nothing like the taste of a hot, wet pussy and the moans of pleasure from a female while he lapped her. It was his favorite fucking thing in the universe.

But now that Penelope was responding well to his healing, V was determined to do more—to go deeper. Hooking his arms around her thighs, he split her even wider and thrust his tongue deep into the mouth of her pussy.

Once he was inside, he let his tongue lengthen and swell—though he did not allow it to sharpen. Still, he let Penny feel her inner walls stretch to take him as he lapped her honey more fully, tasting it straight from the source.

Looking up, he saw that her eyes were wide with surprise, even as her hips twitched in response to his intimate kisses.

“Oh, V’rex,” she whispered, her hips bucking again, to send his tongue a little deeper into her pussy. “I…I don’t know what you’re doing but it feels amazing.”

It’s gonna feel even better in a minute, sweetheart, V thought. Knowing that her clit was healed, he began to circle it lightly with one fingertip as he continued to thrust into her with his tongue. It wasn’t as big as his cock was—not nearly, especially considering his mating fist—but it was thick enough to satisfy her and cause her sweet honey to flow for him as he lapped it up.

Penelope had begun to moan and squeeze her thighs around his head. She was also bucking her hips regularly, in time with his tongue-thrusts inside her. After a moment, V felt her small, soft fingers slip into his hair and tug, as though she was trying to get him closer…deeper.

Her pleasure ignited his own as nothing else could have and V felt his cock throbbing between his legs, begging for a release. Of course, he couldn’t touch himself with the non-con bracelets on, but he sensed he wouldn’t have to. Being so close to the woman he wanted so desperately, feeling her thighs against the sides of his face, and spreading and fucking her pussy with his tongue was enough to send him over the edge, even without any kind of direct contact.

“V’rex!” she was moaning, bucking more strongly against his mouth now. “Oh V’rex, I don’t know what you’re doing but it feels…feels so good!”

Gods, he loved the sound of his name on her lips! V redoubled his efforts, circling her swollen clit steadily with one fingertip as he let his tongue swell even thicker inside her.

He just wished he had the kind of power in his tongue as he had in his cock. He wanted to do more than just fill Penelope’s sweet little pussy—he wanted to fuck her. Wanted to thrust deep inside her until he was all the way in—mating fist included—as she cried and moaned and gave herself to him completely, her body opening to receive his as he bonded her to him for the rest of their lives…

The thought of that—of bonding her—came to V just as Penelope’s orgasm finally hit her. She cried out, her thighs clenching hard around the sides of his head and her back arching strongly as the deep pleasure washed over her.

V felt her coming and it made him come too. Between his thighs his cock grew even harder and then, as she moaned his name, he shot jet after jet wishing all the while that he was inside her, bonding her to him as he injected his lust-honey into the side of her neck at the same time to tie them together always.

SIXTY-THREE

“Oh…Oh…” Penny made herself let go of the big Hybrid’s long black hair, which she had been gripping pretty tightly, and tried to relax. She had never come so hard in her life and it felt like parts of her were still twitching with pleasure, if that made any sense.

What had he done with his tongue? She’d been afraid when he first thrust it inside her and she felt it growing, that V’rex was going to sting her after all. But he had kept his promise. His tongue had never gotten any sharper—it just grew and swelled until she felt like a really thick cock was inside her, filling her up and stretching her out.

Not that you’d know what that feels like, since Garret was such a pencil-dick, whispered a little voice in her head.

Regardless of her unfamiliarity with the sensation, though, it felt amazing. Added to the way he had been teasing her clit at the same time, it had pushed her right over the edge into an absolutely incredible orgasm.

“V’rex?” she asked, looking down to where he was still buried between her thighs.

She felt his tongue shrink and then withdraw and then he was looking up at her.

“Hang on, sweetheart,” he said, his deep voice still thick with desire. “You came so hard it caused you to make even more honey. Need to clean you up.”

“Oh, you don’t…don’t have to…ohhhh.” Penny’s protests ended in a moan as he lapped tenderly over her slick inner folds once more, making sure to clean up every last trace of her juices, being careful not to spill a single drop.

“There.” V’rex looked up at last and licked his lips. “Gods, you taste so fucking good, baby. Love how you make so much honey.”

Penny felt her heart flutter.

“I…I guess you do really like it then,” she whispered. It was still hard to believe, after Garret had made such a fuss over how she tasted bad, but there was no faking the look of feral desire on the big Hybrid’s face or the eagerness with which he lapped her.

“Fucking love it,” he growled softly. Nuzzling between her outer pussy lips again, he gave her a soft, open-mouthed, sucking kiss which was centered over her sensitive clit.

“V’rex!” Penny moaned and bucked against him. Was he starting all over again? She honestly didn’t know if she could take it after the intense orgasm she’d just had.

But after a few more soft licks, the big Hybrid looked up at her again.

“Your past partner was an idiot. Your pussy honey is almost as sweet as your nectar. Speaking of which…” He frowned as he eyed her left breast, which he had neglected to drain earlier. “Looks like you need your nipples sucked some more, baby.”

Penny was in no mood to complain. She welcomed him eagerly when he crawled up to where she lay on the bed and took her left nipple into his hot mouth.

“How did you do that with your tongue?” she asked, as the big Hybrid sucked and swallowed, draining her left breast. “I mean, it felt like it got really big inside me.”

He let her nipple slip from between his lips.

“It did. I have excellent control of my tongue because it’s also my stinger. Of course, normally, if we were bonded, I would have been letting it swell inside you so I could sting you—sting the mouth of your womb and make you ready for my seed.”

Penny squirmed uncomfortably.

“You would sting me there? But that sounds so painful,” she protested.

V’rex shook his head.

“Not at all. A brief instant of pain followed by an instant, intense orgasm.”

“I can’t imagine having an orgasm more intense than the one you just gave me,” Penny told him shyly. “Seriously, V’rex, that was…amazing.”

He grinned at her lazily.

“Glad you enjoyed it, sweetheart. Because until we find a way to counteract that Mother’s Milk hormone cocktail you were given, I’m going to need to lick and suck your sweet little pussy a lot.” He frowned at her sternly. “Just don’t let yourself get into so much pain before you ask for my help,” he lectured.

“I…I’ll try not to.” Penny looked down, feeling shy. “I just…it’s still a hard thing to ask for, you know?”

“If you don’t promise to ask me, I’m just going to do it every chance I get,” V’rex promised her, frowning. “Seriously, every morning when you wake up, and every evening before you go to bed, and all the time in between. So you’d better let me know if you don’t want my tongue deep in your sweet little cunt every minute of the day.”

Penny felt her cheeks getting hot.

“V’rex,” she protested uneasily. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes I do.” He frowned. “I have to take care of you—to protect you and cherish you. And if that means keeping my tongue between your thighs because you won’t tell me when you’re hurting, then by the Goddess, I’ll fucking well keep it there.”

“All right, all right—I believe you,” Penny said hastily. “I’ll try to get up the nerve to let you know I’m hurting before it gets so bad next time.”

“Good. Because you taste fucking delicious and I’d want to lick your soft little cunt even if you didn’t need me to.” V’rex smiled and kissed her slowly and deliberately on the mouth, sharing her own secret flavor with her.

Penny moaned with surprised pleasure and found that she was kissing him back.

He’s right, she thought as she sucked eagerly at his tongue. I do taste good! Garret was lying. Or else he was just an asshole who didn’t want to go down and decided to make me feel bad to stop me from asking for it.

Whatever the case, she was once again getting way too intimate with the big Hybrid, she reminded herself. Reluctantly, she broke the kiss and pulled away.

“What about you?” she asked V’rex as he stared into her eyes, his own pale gold ones still half-lidded.

“What about me what, sweetheart?” he murmured.

“Well, you made sure that I, uh, came when you healed me,” Penny pointed out. “But what about you? Do you want me to…I mean, I can…”

She reached for his shaft and her hand came away sticky.

“Oops. Sorry about that,” V’rex growled apologetically. “Sorry, baby—it’s just that I went off like a rocket when I felt you coming on my tongue. So as you can see, I’m all good.”

Penny looked at him in surprise.

“You liked it that much? Tasting me?”

“Hell yes I fucking did.” His golden eyes flashed with sudden heat. “I’m Kindred, little girl. I fucking need to go down on my female. Didn’t you know that?”

Penny shook her head.

“No, like I said, I’ve studied some about Kindred anatomy but I’m still kind of in the dark on a lot of things. Especially about someone like you—since you’re two kinds of Kindred, uh, put together.”

“I don’t know if you can call the Kru’ell Ones Kindred.” V’rex’s face went dark, as it always did when he talked about his father’s people. “But most Hybrids carry the traits of both branches of the Kindred tree they come from. Of course, that’s also what makes most Hybrids unable to bond, but there, at least, my Kru’ell One half helps me.”

“Meaning that you could bond with a female. If…if you wanted to?” Penny asked, feeling her heart speed up a bit.

“Oh yes, little girl.” V’rex looked at her intently. “I could bond with you. I could make you mine forever.”

The possessive note in his deep voice scared her. What would she do if they wound up bonded for life? How could she go back to her normal life if she was suddenly bound to a seven-foot-tall space pirate who had been named an outlaw by the very people she was working for? Also, she still hadn’t known V’rex even one whole week yet—they needed to slow down here!

“I…I don’t…” she began, not sure what to say.

“It’s all right, sweetheart—I can tell you’re not ready for that,” V’rex told her. “C’mon—let’s take a shower and get to bed.”

“Okay,” Penny agreed and let him lead her into the bathroom.

She was relieved he hadn’t made her continue their conversation about bonding but she couldn’t help wondering if it was going to come up again, sometime in the future…

SIXTY-FOUR

For the next several days, they fell into a kind of routine—one that Penny never would have believed would be possible with any man, let alone a huge, dangerous space pirate like V’rex.

Every morning when they woke, the big Hybrid took a moment to suck her breasts and then insisted on examining her pussy. If he detected even the faintest signs of redness or swelling, he gave her a quick but thorough tongue bath that always made Penny squirm with embarrassed pleasure. However, he almost never gave her orgasms in the morning, saying that he preferred to keep her wanting and thinking of him all day and wondering what might happen that evening.

After V’rex tended to her, the two of them got dressed and had breakfast—usually a porridge made from the dark blue svetty grains and sweetened with some of the billux bee honey that V’rex had procured from the bee houses, located right next to the greenhouse where he worked.

Following breakfast, the big Hybrid walked her to work at the Marketplace almost every morning. He said he was just keeping Penny company, but she thought it was probably his way of making certain Skrug was staying in line. He never said anything to the other male, but he eyed the big blue alien balefully and she noticed that Skrug wouldn’t meet V’rex’s eyes.

Skrug had never said a single word to her since the finger-chopping incident, as Penny had labeled it in her mind, which certainly made working beside him much more bearable. However, she did occasionally catch him glancing at her with a look of pure malice in his yellow, slitted eyes, which made her distinctly uneasy. She thought about telling V’rex about it, but she was afraid it might cause another incident. So she kept her mouth closed and pretended not to notice.

Other than the occasional dirty look, however, her work was generally uneventful. Penny had to admit she got incredibly nervous every time the loudspeaker system clicked on, but so far there hadn’t been any more Public Breedings.

It was usually a propaganda-style announcement about how much food the Compound was producing or a new survey showing that everyone was happy and content. These announcements always prompted cheers from the brainwashed breeders around her and Penny pretended to cheer too, though inside she was counting the days until she could get out of the crazy cult.

Often Claudette came to see her during the lunch break and they were able to talk in private in the little grassy meadow beside the Marketplace. Penny was still trying to get her friend to consider the idea of escape and she thought that maybe Claudette might be coming around—mainly because she was worried that her time was running out.

“My last two womb exams I haven’t been pregnant,” she told Penny, with a strained look on her face as they sat in the short green grass. “I’m afraid if I have a third exam with no pregnancy, they’ll consider me infertile and you know what happens then.” She made a slicing gesture across her throat and rolled her eyes up in her head.

“Why would they automatically assume it’s your fault?” Penny asked indignantly. “What about your, uh, husband?”

“Him?” Claudette gave an ugly laugh. “Oh no, they never blame the man. Besides, he’s gotten me pregnant on a regular basis for years now, so there’s no reason to assume there’s any problem with his sperm. It’s me.” She shook her head. “I’m getting older and I’m just not as fertile as I used to be.”

“Just hang in there.” Penny grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “We might be getting out of here soon. You should come with us!”

“And what would your husband say to that?” Claudette raised her eyebrows challengingly. “Why would he want another female tagging along and possibly messing up his plan when he’s so clearly smitten with you?”

“He’s not smitten with me,” Penny said uncomfortably. “He’s just…protective. That’s all.”

“Oh, he’s smitten all right.” Claudette gave her a rueful smile. “Never thought I’d see genuine love in this place, but I see it in those golden eyes of his when he looks at you, Penny. The question is, how do you feel about him?”

Penny shook her head. The truth was, she didn’t know how to feel about V’rex lately. He was so big and handsome and intense…

And dangerous and scary and possessive, whispered a little voice in her head. Not to mention willing to chop off body parts with a cleaver if somebody gets on his bad side.

So far, Penny seemed to always be on his good side. V’rex was patient to a fault with her and extremely attentive. But she still wasn’t quite sure about him. And so, she was doing her level best not to let herself fall in love with the big Hybrid—she was holding back her heart as well as she could. But considering how well they got along and the mind-blowing orgasms he gave her every night, it was pretty difficult to do that.

“Anyway, lunch is almost over. I’ll walk you back to the Marketplace and then I have to get going,” Claudette said.

She and Penny had walked back to their separate work areas to finish the rest of the day, as they so often did.

After lunch, the rest of work was usually uneventful and then Penny walked home, often to find V’rex already cooking supper—or “Last Meal,” as he called it.

They pretty much stuck with the usual vegetable stew now, because it was easy to make and they could change the flavor and texture to anything they wanted with the flavor sticks Claudette kept Penny supplied with. They made a game out of it, each of them making flavored food from their home worlds for the other to try.

Penny made the big Hybrid pizza, Fettuccini Alfredo, pad thai, chicken curry, and just about anything else she could think of. She also made him ice cream, chocolate cake, and brownies, though he didn’t have much of a sweet tooth and preferred savory dishes.

In turn, V’rex made her exotic dishes from both his home world and from other planets he had visited. But the ones Penny liked best were the ones his mother had made him—comfort food that seemed to bring back warm feelings from his limited childhood, before he’d been cast out on the streets.

The different flavors brought back many memories for both of them and it became part of their nightly “dinner game” as Penny named it, to tell the story they most associated with the food they had created. Which was how she learned what had really happened to his mother and why V’rex hated the Kindred.

It was after he shared a sweet and savory dish called goslin stew that his mother used to make for him that the truth came out.

“It’s delicious,” Penny told him truthfully, after trying the dish. “So tell me the story.”

V’rex had sighed.

“My mother used to make it for me,” he told her. “It’s a traditional dish from her part of Rageron, the Beast Kindred home world. But she could only make it when my father wasn’t expected home for dinner because he hated it.”

“Hated it?” Penny had taken another bite and frowned at him. “Why would he hate it? It’s so tangy and fresh tasting!” It reminded her a little of Tom Yum soup from her favorite Thai restaurant.

V’rex’s face grew dark, as it always did when he spoke of his father.

“He hated it because she loved it. Because it reminded her of the home he stole her from.”

“He…kidnapped her?” Penny remembered Kat and Commander Sylvan saying as much when they had first warned her against the big Hybrid but she couldn’t help wondering if it was really true.

V’rex nodded.

“Kidnapped her, raped and defiled her,” he said shortly. “He got her pregnant with me, which was why her kin wouldn’t take her back.”

“They wouldn’t? How awful!” Penny exclaimed. “Why not?”

“A female Beast Kindred is extremely rare,” V’rex explained. “So rare they have a special place in the Kindred religion—the worship of the Goddess. So when one of them is defiled in some way, it’s almost as though the Goddess herself has been defiled. The Beast Kindred—at least the ones from my mother’s home tribe—don’t like to think about that. So when they finally found her and saw that my father had made her pregnant, they just left her there and went back to Rageron without her.” His face twisted. “That’s why I hate the fuckers and I fuck with their ships every chance I get!”

“That’s terrible!” Penny’s heart went out to the big Hybrid. Now she understood why he had become a pirate who preyed on his own kind. Though he claimed his Kindred heritage over his Kru’ell One half, he still felt no kinship with the people he felt had abandoned him and his mother, before he was even born.

“She lived a terrible life,” V’rex said, still speaking of his mother, with a faraway look in his pale gold eyes. “My father would be kind for a while—for months on end sometimes. But then he would erupt into fits of rage over tiny, minor things and beat her mercilessly. It was like once his temper was triggered, he couldn’t control himself. That was how he—”

He stopped abruptly, drawing aimless patterns in his bowl of stew.

“He what?” Penny urged softly. She didn’t want to cause the big Hybrid pain, but she got the very strong sense that he needed to talk about this—that he needed to get it off his chest.

“He beat her to death,” V’rex said at last, still looking at his stew. “I was only seven cycles at the time but I saw it all. I even tried to stop him, but I was too small.” He shook his head. “Too fucking small to save her.”

“Oh, V’rex…” Penny didn’t know what to say. Her heart was aching for him. She wanted to go to him and put her arms around his neck, to comfort him any way she could but the big Hybrid was wound so tightly she didn’t know if he would welcome her comfort or not.

“He dropped me off at the edge of the city the next day,” he went on in a toneless, emotionless voice. “He told me I and my mother had ‘served our purpose’ and he had no need of me anymore. Then he left me there, crying for her, wanting to die myself. I almost did,” he added, still looking at his stew, rather than Penny as he talked. “Several times. Until I was taken in by a gang of kids around my age who taught me how to pick pockets and beg. After that, I was okay but I never really stopped missing her…”

Penny couldn’t stand it anymore. Her heart was breaking for the big Hybrid and this awful tale from his childhood made her want to cry.

Getting out of her chair, she came around the table and put her arms around his neck.

V’rex looked up from his stew, clearly surprised.

“Hey, little girl—why are you crying?” He cupped her cheek and brushed a thumb gently over her cheek, wiping away a tear.

“How can I help it?” Penny sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “When you tell me…what you just told me. Oh, V’rex—I’m so, so sorry!”

“It’s all right, baby. It was a long time ago,” he assured her. But he put his arms around Penny and held her tight and though he didn’t cry himself, she felt sure the old pain was very close to the surface. She pressed his face against her breasts and stroked her fingers through his long black hair and tried to give him comfort as best she could, though she didn’t know how well she was succeeding…

Of course, not every night they spent together was fraught with such emotion. Most of the dinner stories they shared were lighthearted and funny. V’rex had a dry sense of humor and often left her laughing helplessly with his tales of the ‘jobs’ he’d pulled and the antics he had gotten up to. It made Penny glad to see that despite the tragedy in his past, the big Hybrid seemed to be an optimist.

After dinner, things got more steamy, especially when their Mandatory Breeding hour came around. They had pretend sex in every possible position and it never failed to make Penny so hot she often wished they were doing it for real.

But then she would remind herself of the consequences of unprotected sex with the big Kindred and the reasons they had to get out of the Compound. Still, it was getting harder to hold back her heart from the big Hybrid, especially considering what happened once the Watchers were convinced they were doing their duty and the red light over their bed went off.

It was then that V’rex insisted on examining her pussy again, and giving her a long, leisurely tongue-bath during which he made Penny come multiple times. He seemed to love going down on her and Penny certainly couldn’t complain. After all, the big Hybrid was fulfilling her wildest fantasies and doing it with a skill she wouldn’t have believed was possible.

Right before bed they had a shower—which was necessary since V’rex’s seed usually got all over her in some way or another. The big Hybrid insisted on bathing her himself, soaping her up with his big hands and often giving her yet another orgasm as he washed and stroked her.

After that, Penny felt exhausted and by the time V’rex had dried her off, she was almost falling asleep on her feet. He often carried her to bed and tucked the two of them in snugly. Penny would snuggle up to him, her naked breasts pressing against his chest and her bare pussy rubbing against his muscular thigh. His slow, steady heartbeat and the rumble of his deep voice saying, “Good night, sweetheart,” was the last thing she heard before drifting off to sleep every night.

And then they woke up and did it all again.

Despite the continued tension about a Public Breeding which might take place at any time, Penny found herself feeling more and more contented. Life was good with the big Hybrid and as long as they lived in the Compound together, being with him wasn’t actually her choice. They had been shoved into a relationship which, strangely, was turning out to be the best one of her life—though she didn’t actually admit that to herself.

Of course they were still working on their escape plan, but the “Glorious Leader” still hadn’t visited the greenhouse for an inspection. In fact, no one had seen him for a while and the rumor was he was sick with some kind of cold or flu in the “big house” and was recuperating.

As the days—and then the weeks—went by, Penny began to cherish the hope that maybe the stranger cult leader who looked so exactly like Colonel Sanders wasn’t just sick—maybe he was dying. Maybe he would just slip away, which ought to make escaping the Compound much easier. Without him, maybe the NeverBreeders would lose their sense of purpose and the breeders would get over their brainwashing?

But even if they didn’t escape, were things really so bad? Every morning she woke up with V’rex and every night she went to sleep in his arms. That wouldn’t be possible if they got away. They would have to split up—go their separate ways. Penny had a job to do and though she understood now why V’rex hated the Kindred, she still worked for them, which would make continuing the relationship they had now severely impractical, if not completely impossible.

Or maybe he wouldn’t want me at all, Penny told herself. She was still convinced that the ubiquitous Spice that was piped through the air in the Compound was responsible for the profound attraction V’rex had developed to her. If they got out of here, he would probably lose all interest in her, which would hurt—a lot. Whereas as long as they stayed here, his desire for her remained strong—which was really nice and extremely flattering.

So maybe things weren’t so bad, after all.

That was what Penny was thinking one day, about a month into her time at the Compound, when suddenly everything went straight to the Seven Hells…

SIXTY-FIVE

They had just finished breakfast when the red light came on over the tiny table in the breakfast nook and a cold, androgynous voice spoke Penny’s name.

“Penelope, Forever Mate of V’rex,” it said. “You are wanted for testing.”

“Huh?” Penny looked up at the light, one hand on her rapidly beating heart. Across the table from her, V’rex was staring at it too, a baleful gleam in his pale gold eyes.

“Please report to the Breeding and Conception Center before your work shift,” the voice continued. “You are wanted for testing.”

“What…what kind of testing?” Penny faltered.

But the voice didn’t speak again. The red light went off as abruptly as it had come on, leaving her with no more information and a cold lump of fear in the pit of her stomach.

“Fucking bastards!” V’rex ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want you to go,” he said to Penny.

“What choice do I have?” she protested. “Anyway, they probably just want to check my womb and see…” She swallowed hard. “See if I’m pregnant.”

Which of course she wasn’t, which was bound to cause trouble if it was found out.

I should have expected this, Penny told herself as she rose slowly to begin clearing the breakfast dishes. Shurla had told her just a day before that all the breeding she and Skrug had been doing had paid off.

“I’m pregnant!” she’d told Penny excitedly when she’d come to get her ration of bread for the day. “Soon I’ll finally be contributing to the Glorious Cause!” The light of brainwashed fanaticism had been shining in her eyes as she spoke—a look Penny simply couldn’t understand. How could anyone be excited about giving up their own child to become one of the sexless orange NeverBreeders?

But she had only smiled and congratulated her former friend as she handed Shurla her bread.

It should have occurred to her, Penny thought now, that if Shurla had been examined and found pregnant, she herself couldn’t be far behind. They were, after all, from the same group and all of them had been with their “Forever Mates” for almost a month now. It was only logical that she was being called in for a womb exam.

“I don’t think you should go,” V’rex repeated. “What happens when they find out you’re not pregnant?”

“They won’t…won’t recycle me right away,” Penny protested, hoping she was right. “I mean, from what Claudette has told me, they give you at least three chances before it comes to that. And anyway, maybe she can help me,” she added, brightening a little bit. “She told me once there’s a way to skew the test results so it looks like you’ve been pregnant but lost the pregnancy very early. That proves you’re fertile and just had a complication, you know?”

“I just don’t like it.” V’rex was up from the table, pacing and running a hand through his hair, as was his habit when he was worried. “I don’t like you going into that place where I can’t get to you to help you if things go wrong!”

“Things won’t go wrong,” Penny tried to reassure him. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’ve been telling ourselves all this time,” V’rex growled, frowning at her. “We’ve gotten fucking complacent, little girl—even happy—in this fucked-up place!”

“Happy?” Penny said uncertainly, though she supposed that was what she’d been thinking herself, right before the cold voice had spoken to her and ordered her to come for testing.

“Fuck yeah—happier than I’ve ever been,” V’rex said roughly. “I’ve finally found the female I want to Claim. And even though I can’t Claim you here, I can at least have you near. I can wake up beside you every morning and lick your sweet pussy every night. I can hold you in my arms while we sleep. I was willing to give up my freedom for that—and your freedom too. And now look at where our fucking complacency has gotten us. Trapped.”

“We’re not trapped,” Penny protested, keeping an eye on the red light. Thankfully, it was still dark. “We’re just waiting,” she reminded V’rex. “Waiting for the right opportunity to get away.”

“Well, I don’t think we should wait much longer,” V’rex growled. “This is a wakeup call, sweetheart. We need to get our heads back in the game and get ready to run.”

“Okay.” Penny went to him and put her hands on his arms, trying to soothe him. “It’s all right,” she told him firmly. “Everything is going to be all right—you’ll see. Claudette will help me through this first womb testing and by the time my second one rolls around, you and I will be gone.”

She kept her voice low, for his ears only, and her eyes locked with his. The last thing she needed was for him to be freaking out right now since she was already freaking out internally herself.

“Well…” He blew out a breath and shook his head. The look on his face was worried and unhappy. “I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it,” Penny told him calmly. “I don’t like it either. But we’re going to get through it—together.”

V’rex grabbed her unexpectedly and pulled her into a tight embrace. His big body seemed to surround hers with warmth and strength, as though he was trying to convey some kind of protection to her with his hug.

“Be safe, little girl,” he rumbled in her ear. “Be safe and come back to me.”

“You heard the voice—I won’t even miss much work. And I’ll see you tonight,” Penny promised him. “At dinner, honest I will.”

“You’d better.” V’rex pushed her out to arm’s length, keeping his big hands on her shoulders and pinning her with his eyes. “Because if you don’t, I’m gonna come looking for you and the Goddess help anybody who gets in my fucking way.”

SIXTY-SIX

It’ll be all right. Claudette can help me—I’m sure she can, Penny thought to herself as she walked, with a pounding heart, through the metal and glass doors of the Breeding and Conception center for the first time since right before her Unification Ceremony.

But though she looked for her friend, she didn’t see Claudette anywhere. In fact, she didn’t see any familiar faces—not even Mother Toone.

Well, they’re probably both taking care of a new batch of breeders, Penny thought. But then she remembered they couldn’t be because there had been no new batch of breeders since her own group had been brought to the Compound. So what were her friend and her old NeverBreeder attendant doing? Where were they?

“State your purpose,” a NeverBreeder guard in a silver jumpsuit said, coming towards her.

“I…I was ordered here for testing this morning. I think by the Watchers,” Penny told him. “My name is Penelope, Forever Mate to V’rex,” she added for clarification.

The NeverBreeder guard consulted a clipboard and nodded.

“You are expected, breeder. Follow me to the exam room.”

He led Penny back to the same exam room she remembered—the one she’d been examined in every day during her stay in the dorms—and told her to strip.

This is the same place that poor girl was dragged away for recycling on our first day when they discovered she was infertile! whispered a little voice in her head. Oh God, what if they stick that glowing wand in me and decide I’m infertile too? What if they decide to recycle me and I never see V’rex again? What if—

“Ah, there you are, breeder Penelope.” A NeverBreeder doctor that Penny recognized came into the exam room. “And I see you’re all ready for your womb exam. Very good. Now please lay on the table and part your legs for me.”

As she climbed onto the chilly metal table and spread her legs, Penny shivered with a mixture of cold and fear. What was going to happen to her?

The doctor ran the glowing wand over her breasts and nodded at the results.

“Your breast health is very good. Are you producing nectar?”

“Plenty of it,” Penny assured him, thinking of how much of the sticky-sweet stuff V’rex drew from her nipples every morning and every night. She wondered if she ever got out of here if the effects of the Mother’s Milk would fade. Or would she be stuck producing nectar and needing male fluids or healing to keep her pussy from swelling and becoming sensitive for the rest of her life?

If that was the case, what would she do? She and V’rex were parting ways after they managed to escape. Where else would she find a man who was willing to suck the nectar out of her breasts and wanted to either make love with her or go down on her every single night? Where—

“Let’s just check your womb health and see if you’re pregnant yet,” the doctor said. And then he inserted the glowing tip of the medical wand into the entrance of Penny’s pussy.

Penny had hated this exam back when she’d been in the female breeder dorm and she had an even greater reason to hate it now. It was very possibly going to expose her as a fraud and let the doctor know that she hadn’t been doing her duty and getting bred like a good little breeder should.

And that was going to spell trouble.

Sure enough, there was a frown on the doctor’s face when he withdrew the wand and examined the tip, which was glowing a perfectly ordinary dark pink.

“This is very strange,” he said, consulting his lighted clipboard. “According to the Watcher’s notes, you and your Forever Mate have been engaging in sexual activities during the Mandatory Breeding Hour every night. Your womb and vagina are healthy and your breasts are producing nectar normally, yet you are not pregnant.”

“I’m not?” Penny tried to sound disappointed. “Oh, that’s too bad! My Forever Mate, V’rex, and I have been trying so hard. We wanted so much to contribute to the Glorious Cause!”

“It’s all right—you have two more chances to conceive before you’re recycled,” the doctor said consolingly.

“B-before I’m recycled?” Penny squeaked, feeling like he’d just slipped an icicle between her ribs. She’d known this was a possibility but having it said out loud made her feel sick and scared “But…but I’m still relatively young and healthy!” she protested. “You wouldn’t really recycle me that quickly—would you?”

“I’m afraid rules are rules.” The NeverBreeder doctor shook his head sternly. But then he seemed to thaw a little and patted Penny on the knee. “Don’t worry, though—I’m sure this is just a fluke. According to your charts, your reproductive system responded extraordinarily well to the compounds in the Mother’s Milk. You should be extremely fertile and well capable of conceiving before your time runs out.”

“Uh…thank you,” Penny whispered faintly. She couldn’t help remembering her very first night with V’rex, when he’d pretended to breed her and had shot his seed all over the outside of her pussy. It was a wonder she hadn’t gotten pregnant then, she thought faintly, if she was so incredibly fertile right now.

“You can get dressed,” the doctor told her. “A nurse will be here in just a minute to show you out.”

“Thank you,” Penny said but he was already turning away, clearly intent on something else.

Penny slid off the metal exam table, shivering, and got back into her blue toga, which wasn’t nearly warm enough for the chilly interior of the Breeding and Conception Center. She was about to try to find her own way out when a NeverBreeder nurse bustled in and gave her a bright, Jack-o-lantern smile.

“Well, now, dearie—time for you to go,” she said briskly to Penny. “I’ve got a note here for you to give to your supervisor at work so you don’t get into trouble for being late.” She handed Penny a folded slip of paper and then nodded towards the door. “Come on then—let’s get a move on, shall we?”

Her smile reminded Penny so much of Mother Toone, that she couldn’t help asking the nurse as they traversed the long corridors where her old NeverBreeder attendant was.

“Oh, Nurse Toone?” the other nurse said. “Why, she was recycled just yesterday, I’m afraid, along with a few others who were due for recycling. She’d reached the end of her usefulness, so she had to go.” She shrugged as though it was no big deal but her words struck Penny like a hammer.

“So…you NeverBreeders get recycled too?” she asked. “I never thought—”

“Oh, certainly, dearie! Why, we only live about twenty-five standard cycles, you know. Which is much shorter than you breeders, I’m sure. But when you account for the fact that we come out of our grow-baths fully formed and don’t have to go through the nasty business of childhood or adolescence, it all evens out.”

“I…didn’t know that,” Penny said faintly. She was still stunned to hear that Mother Toone had been recycled—no killed, because that was what it actually amounted to. She had known that the NeverBreeder attendant wasn’t really on her side, but she had been kind while Penny was in the dorms and always very cheerful which had helped to make a bad situation somewhat bearable.

“Oh yes,” the NeverBreeder nurse said brightly, continuing their conversation. “And of course, we NeverBreeders are stronger and tougher than you humans. Also, we don’t need the whispers to keep us in line, either—we get them in our grow-baths as we develop, which means we never have cause to doubt the perfection of the Glorious Cause or the wisdom of our Glorious Leader.”

“I see,” Penny mumbled. She had often wondered why the Glorious Leader would go to the trouble of creating an army of NeverBreeders at all. With the use of the hypno-whispers, it seemed he could turn anyone to his will. So why not just cut out the middleman and make an army of hypnotized breeders?

But now it made sense. The NeverBreeders might be small but they were incredibly tough and unflinchingly loyal. They didn’t even seem to mind the idea of being recycled—it was just a part of their circle of life, apparently.

Just then, as they traversed the seemingly endless labyrinth of hallways, a voice spoke over the intercom.

“Nurse Zoone,” it said. “Please report to exam room seventeen at once.”

“Oh dear!” The NeverBreeder nurse who had been leading Penny stopped short. “That’s me, so it is! Look, dearie, can you just wait here for a moment? I’m sure whatever they want it won’t take long.”

“Oh, uh, sure.” Penny nodded. “I don’t mind waiting.”

“That’s sweet of you, dearie. I’ll be back in a flash.” And Nurse Zoone hurried off, leaving Penny standing there in the middle of the corridor.

After she had turned a corner and was out of sight, Penny sighed and looked around herself. Though she’d lived in the dormitories here at the Breeding and Conception Center for quite some time, she’d never been allowed to explore at all. Everywhere she went had been as part of a group with Mother Toone and a bunch of the NeverBreeder guards surrounding them.

Curiously, she looked down the deserted hallway. It was lined with doors with various labels on them. Thanks to the translation bacteria she’d been given on the Mother Ship, Penny was able to read the alien language.

Transcription, read one door. Neurotransmology, read another. Fibroscanning, said a third.

Huh, wonder what the hell that is? Penny thought, as she walked past the door. And what else do they have down here?

She decided it couldn’t hurt to explore a little, while she was here. If Nurse Zoone came back and asked what she was doing, she could always say she was looking for a bathroom.

She wandered further down the hallway and saw a door marked Baths. Putting her ear to the door, Penny heard a strange gurgling-whispering sound. Well that was weird.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, she tried the door’s latch and found that it was open. Slowly, keeping an eye on the empty corridor in case the NeverBreeder nurse came back, she pushed open the door.

The room was completely full of tanks—at least a hundred of them. The gurgling sound was coming from them. As for the whispers, she wasn’t sure where they were coming from, but they sounded suspiciously like the hypno-whispers she heard from her pillow each night.

But it was the tanks that drew and held her attention. There were so many of them and each of them was big enough to hold either a large child or…

“Or a NeverBreeder,” Penny whispered to herself. Because floating in the cloudy liquid in each of the hundred or so tanks was an orange body. And all of the bodies she saw were in various stages of growth.

In one tank she saw a naked, fully formed NeverBreeder who looked almost ready to come out and be a functioning member of the Compound. In others she saw smaller bodies, still obviously developing.

In the last tank she looked in, a baby, who appeared to be a newborn, was floating. The poor thing was just beginning to have an orange tinge to its delicate skin but already it was clear what it would become, because there were no genitals between its legs and no hair on its head.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Penny whispered to it. “I wonder who they took you from?”

What breeder woman here in the Compound had that little infant taken from her womb when it was only three months into its normal gestation? And would she even know her child when it emerged as a fully formed NeverBreeder and went to work in the Compound?

Penny was sure she wouldn’t.

That’s going to be me—that’s going to be my baby if V’rex and I don’t get out of here, she thought and shivered. Unless she got recycled first for not getting pregnant, that was.

The thought sent a cold shiver down Penny’s spine and she left the room with the gurgling tanks filled with cloudy liquid and orange bodies quickly.

That’s it for me—I’ve seen enough. Don’t want to see anymore! she told herself as she slipped out of the room marked Baths and quietly closed the door. I’m just going to stand here and wait for the nurse to come back and not look at anything else in this awful place!

But the very next sign she saw changed her mind. On the door opposite the room full of tanks was a sign that said, Recycling.

SIXTY-SEVEN

Recycling?

Penny stared at the door like a rabbit hypnotized by a snake. There was a dreadful mixture of horror and curiosity swirling inside her. It was the same feeling she got when she had to kill one of the huge flying roaches that were native to her home state of Florida. Squishing one was just the worst, but even more disgusting was checking to make sure it was really dead. But you had to check—the little bastards were built like miniature tanks and they were so hard to kill. They…

I’m stalling, Penny thought to herself. Either I’m going in or I’m staying out. Which is it?

She walked forward and tried the door latch. This room, too, was open. Filled with that same squirmy mixture of disgust and dread but unable to help herself, Penny pulled open the door and slipped inside.

Inside it was a good twenty degrees cooler and much darker than it had been out in the corridor. Penny shivered and rubbed her arms briskly as she looked around. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she felt her stomach drop.

The place was a morgue.

Rows of silver tables filled all available space except the far left corner, which was taken up with some kind of large, bulky machine. On every table was a body—naked and cold and—

“Oh, Mother Toone!” Penny gasped, as her eyes fell on the table closest to the door.

On it, lying stiff and cold, was the corpse of the NeverBreeder attendant. She was naked, which showed that she had nothing between her legs, like all the NeverBreeders. But even missing her silver jumpsuit, Penny still recognized her.

“Oh, you poor thing,” she whispered, taking a step towards the table. “I’m so sorry. I just…”

And then her eyes fell on the table beside her old attendant and her breath caught in her throat. The corpse on that cold silver table was human…a female.

It was Claudette.

Penny’s heart began hammering in her chest.

“No,” she whispered, as her eyes traced her friend’s cold, lifeless face. “Oh, no…oh, no!”

But there was no doubt about it—the corpse was Claudette. She was laid out like an accident victim on a slab, though there were no marks anywhere on her skin.

Hardly knowing what she was doing, Penny walked forward to stand beside her friend’s body.

“Claudette,” she whispered. “Oh God. Oh please, no…”

Her eyes blurred with tears as she looked down at her friend’s cold, still face. At least she didn’t look like she’d died in any kind of pain. Maybe they just gave a lethal injection to the people who were recycled.

But that was irrelevant as far as Penny was concerned. Her only friend in the Compound besides V’rex had been killed. Murdered because after years and years of producing fetus after fetus for the Glorious Leader, her body couldn’t produce any more. And so she was deemed no longer useful and had been “recycled.”

“It’s not recycling, it’s murder!” Penny whispered, feeling a mixture of rage and sorrow. “This place is sick—it’s sick!”

Reaching out, she stroked Claudette’s soft, black hair.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered to her friend. “So sorry we couldn’t get out of here together. I…I’ll never forget you.”

Just then a door opened right beside the huge machine that took up the far left corner of the room.

“Got a big job today,” one voice said and Penny saw that it belonged to a NeverBreeder worker, dressed in one of the ubiquitous silver jumpsuits.

“’Fraid so. They recycled an extra-large lot yesterday,” another NeverBreeder answered him.

“Yep—plenty of meat for the butcher shop. We’ll all be eating well tonight!” his coworker said and laughed.

Their conversation made Penny’s stomach clench. But she knew she had to act quickly. Moving by instinct, she crouched low, hoping to hide among the silver tables filled with bodies.

She was glad it was dim in the room, but what if the NeverBreeders had especially good eyesight? How could she explain being in here if they caught her? She was absolutely sure what she had seen wasn’t meant for her eyes—for the eyes of any breeder for that matter. If they caught her, she was going to be in so much trouble!

As she crept slowly backwards, through the maze of tables, she heard the workers continue their conversation.

“You want to roll the first one up here?” one worker was saying to another. “I’ll get the piecer turned on and warmed up.”

As he spoke, he flipped a switch on the side of the huge machine, which had a long silver chute at one end and a conveyer belt assembly at the other. In between, from the large metal body of the machine, protruded several clear tubes that ran down to a drain in the floor.

As soon as the first worker flipped the switch, the machine he had called “the piecer” started humming. As Penny watched, horrified, the other NeverBreeder worker rolled a table with a dead humanoid male up to the chute at the far end of the machine.

I knew him, Penny thought, looking at the corpse. He worked in the garment shop in the Marketplace, right across from me!

He was a nice looking, older gentleman who had always given her a kind nod when their eyes met as they both did their jobs. Penny had even bought a spare toga from him the day before last and though she didn’t know his name, he had struck her as a kind and courteous man, unlike a lot of the aggressive, younger male breeders.

Well apparently being kind and courteous isn’t enough to keep you alive around here, whispered a little voice in her head as she watched in fascinated horror.

Working together, the two workers lifted the male by his heels and shoulders and dumped him down the silver chute.

The humming of the machine turned into a grinding roar and the clear tubes began spouting crimson down the floor drain at once. A coppery, metallic scent drifted towards her and Penny’s eyes went wide as her nose wrinkled.

Blood, she thought, feeling sick. That’s his blood they’re pouring down the drain!

But even worse was what she saw when the conveyor belt began running at the far end of the machine. A long hairy thigh, neatly cut just above the knee and below the hip, came out from under the plastic flaps.

Like a piece of luggage on an airport conveyor belt, Penny thought faintly.

The thigh was followed by an upper arm and then a forearm and then…

But Penny couldn’t watch anymore. She knew if she saw the nice man’s head come rolling out from under the long plastic strips, she would go crazy and start screaming.

No, she thought. No, no, no, no, NO!

Turning away from the grizzly sight, she skuttled through the rows of tables and towards the door. Luckily, the loud roaring of the machine covered the sound of the door opening and closing behind her and then she was standing out in the corridor, heart pounding and stomach twisting.

“Oh God,” she whispered in a low, trembling voice. “Oh God, we have to get out of here!”

“Have to what, dearie?”

Looking up, Penny saw Nurse Zoone coming towards her.

“Sorry I took so long,” the NeverBreeder nurse said. “Those pesky—why dearie, are you all right?” She looked at Penny in concern and Penny realized she must still have a look of grief and horror on her face.

“Oh, uh, fine,” she said, straightening up and trying to paste on a smile. “Just, um, worried. I don’t want to be too late to work, you know.”

“No, of course not! That’s why we gave you a note. Come on then.” And Nurse Zoone set off at a fast pace, leaving Penny to trot after her.

As they went, Penny concentrated on having a normal look on her face though inside she wanted nothing more than to break down and cry. Poor Claudette!

“Well, here we are at the door, dearie,” the NeverBreeder nurse said at last, escorting Penny back to the entrance of the building. “I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to old Mother Toone. I know she was a real favorite with all the breeder girls she watched over and trained here in the dormitories.”

“Yes…she was.” Penny nodded distractedly. “She…she really was.”

“Well, you’d best get on to work now,” the nurse told her. “And go as fast as you can, for you don’t want to miss anything—I’m told there’s to be a bit of excitement today.”

“Excitement?” Penny asked faintly. “What kind of excitement?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” The nurse winked one yellow eye at her and gave her the jack-o-lantern grin that was so like Mother Toone’s again. “Get along with you, now. And next time you come see us, hopefully you’ll have a baby in your belly for the Glorious Cause!”

“Uh, hopefully,” Penny agreed, though the idea made her feel sick. The thought of sacrificing baby after baby to become NeverBreeders was still deeply repellent to her. Though it was somewhat eclipsed by the thought of being killed after years of producing and turned into so much chopped meat. How horrible!

“Goodbye then, dearie,” Nurse Zoone said brightly and closed the door behind her, leaving Penny to stand there in the sunshine filtering through the atmosphere dome as she tried to get a handle on her emotions.

“We have to get away,” she whispered to herself again, shivering helplessly. “We have to escape!”

SIXTY-EIGHT

“Excuse me, your attention please, workers!” The self-important voice of Head Gardener Poone rang through the greenhouse. V stopped trimming the fleezum tree he’d been working on and turned reluctantly to see what his supervisor wanted.

He’d been on edge all day, he admitted to himself. It was getting close to quitting time and he just wanted to go home and see Penelope and make sure she was all right. In fact, he’d wanted to go check on her during their lunch break but that little orange asshole Poone had gotten a hair up his ass about the placement of the partha roots, which were on the East side of the green house. He had demanded they replant all of them on the West side so they could get better light.

The replanting had taken all but ten minutes of V’s lunch break and he hadn’t had time to get to the Marketplace and back without being tardy and receiving another black mark on his permanent record. Normally, he wouldn’t give a fuck for black marks, of course, but he already had two of them and a third meant instant recycling.

Since he was trying to stay alive until he and Penelope could get out of the Compound, that meant he had to be careful and mind his Ps and Qs in a way he hadn’t had to worry about since his early gang days.

But black marks weren’t on his mind right now—Penelope was. What had they done to her at the Breeding Center, he wondered distractedly? Was she all right? Would she be there when he got home?

“Attention, workers!” Head Gardener Poone called again, cutting through V’s thoughts. “I have an important announcement to make!”

Swear to the Goddess, V thought, grinding his teeth as he stared at the NeverBreeder Supervisor. If this little fucker tries to make us stay late to work, I’m gonna pound him into the ground, black marks or not. I need to get home to Penelope!

“As many of you may know,” the Head Gardener began, once he had everyone’s attention. “Our Glorious Leader has been ill lately—a very sad event.” He bowed his head for a moment in reverence before continuing. “But I’m happy to say, that he has fully recovered now and will be recommencing his inspections of the various production sites around the Compound. And—this is so exciting—he has decided to make the greenhouse his first stop!”

A cheer went up from the hypnotized breeders—a cheer V did not join in on. But though he kept his face impassive, he couldn’t help feeling a thrill of excitement. Finally, that white-wearing fucker was coming to the greenhouse! Finally V would get a chance to pick his pocket and get the Master Control!

“When’s he coming?” someone shouted as the cheering died down.

“This very day! Right now, in fact—can you believe it?” Head Gardener Poone, bobbed his head excitedly. “Of course, this is why I have been so exacting lately—because I suspected we would be honored with our Glorious Leader’s presence. And now we will all be rewarded for our hard work for I am told that he is on his way this minute!”

Another cheer went up and then everyone scrambled to get into position, so they would be ready to greet the GL properly. V cracked his knuckles to limber up his fingers and made sure he was at the front of the group.

The minute the “Glorious Leader” was even a little bit distracted, he was going to make sure that the Master Control found its way out of his pocket and into V’s.

We’ll be out of here by tonight, he thought, feeling a surge of excitement. Can’t fucking wait!

At that moment, the doors to the greenhouse were opened by two NeverBreeder guards and the great man himself came in. He was, as usual, dressed completely in white from his gleaming white collar down to his shiny white shoes. V thought it was a piss-poor clothing choice for a place where dirt was one of the main components, but he kept that thought to himself and cheered along with the others as their “Glorious Leader” came up to greet them. It wouldn’t do to abstain from the general excitement now—he wanted to blend in.

“Well, well—my children!” The GL said, smiling brightly—his teeth were as white as his suit, of course. “I’m so honored to be here today, among all my hardworking breeder workers and our fine NeverBreeder supervisor.”

This was Head Gardener Poone’s cue, apparently. He came bustling up importantly and bowed low before the GL.

“It is we who are honored, oh Shining Star,” he said, looking up at the GL reverently. “Our humble greenhouse is blessed by your presence today.”

“Well, you and your crew are doing an excellent job!” the GL exclaimed. “Why, I understand production of partha roots is up thirty percent since our last quarter!”

They went on trading compliments that way, with the GL standing in the middle of a ring of admiring greenhouse workers. V had positioned himself just behind the great man on his right side. He was eyeing the right outer pocket of the GL’s jacket, where he had seen the cult leader put the Master Control before.

Everything had to be just right before he made the pick, but he could feel the moment coming. All eyes were on the “Glorious Leader” as he extolled the virtues of hard work and told all of them how proud he was of their productivity. The hypnotized breeders were eating it up, the light of fanaticism glowing in their eyes as they gazed adoringly at the GL.

The sight disgusted V. He was pretty sure the “Glorious Leader” could shoot any one of his loyal followers dead right in front of all the others and they would still love and adore him and make excuses for his violence. They were brainwashed—deaf and blind to the awful things their leader had done and was still doing to them and nothing he could do or say would change their minds at this point.

Disgusting, V thought. But actually, their fanaticism was working for his benefit. Since everyone was looking at their “Shining Star,” V had an opportunity for the perfect pick. He was just reaching his hand forward, about to slip his fingers into the GL’s right-hand pocket when the great man stopped talking and said,

“Oh, I almost forgot,” and slipped his own hand into his pocket.

V watched in frustration as the “Glorious Leader” pulled out the Master Control.

“If you’ll just excuse me for a moment, I need to make an announcement,” he said to the workers. “You see, there’s a brand-new batch of female breeders coming in this moment and so, of course, we have to let them see what our little community here in the Compound is all about.”

V had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach as the GL brought the Master Control to his lips. Pressing a button on the side of the control, he began to speak into it and his voice was amplified and sent out to all quarters of the Compound via the speaker system.

“Attention everyone,” he announced. “We have a new batch of breeders coming in today. Let’s welcome them properly—I declare a Public Breeding in the Marketplace!”

SIXTY-NINE

“But I always get a loaf with extra tinga seeds!” the woman in front of Penny was protesting angrily. “Do you even know who I am? I’m second in command at the Garment Factory. You’ll be in trouble if you don’t get me my loaf!”

Penny bit back a sharp retort. Even in an egalitarian commune where everyone was supposedly equal, there were still people like this woman—people who demanded special treatment because they thought they were more important than everyone else.

She hated people like her present customer, but it was too late in the day to deal with a fight or a complaint. After what she had seen in the Breeding and Conception Center, Penny didn’t have the emotional reserves for either.

She decided to grab a fresh baked loaf, hot from the ovens, and pretend it was exactly what the “VIP” woman was demanding. That ought to satisfy her—at least Penny hoped it would. She’d had a long, long day and she just wanted to go home and melt into V’rex’s arms. A warm hug from the big Hybrid would make everything better, she was sure.

“Fine,” she said, smiling politely at the woman. “I’ll just go check if we have any loaves with extra tinga seeds in them.”

“See that you do!” the woman huffed. “And hurry up about it! I don’t want to be late getting home.”

“Right away, Ma’am,” Penny assured her.

She turned to go into the bakery and happened to catch a glimpse of the butcher shop next door as she went. What she saw made her heart skip a beat.

Skrug was standing there glaring at her with hatred in his yellow, slitted eyes. There was so much malice emanating from the big blue alien that Penny could almost feel it on her skin—like the poisoned rays of some malevolent sun shining down on her alone.

Feeling uneasy by this open show of animosity, she slipped into the bakery, very glad to be getting out of the huge blue alien’s line of sight. She’d caught Skrug staring at her in the past, but only in passing. This was the first time she’d seen exactly how much he hated her and wished her harm.

She went to the back of the bakery where the ovens were, grabbed a hot loaf, fresh from the racks, and wrapped it in a piece of crackly brown paper. She was just turning to take it back to the storefront when an announcement came over the loudspeaker system.

“Attention everyone,” came the voice of the Glorious Leader. “We have a new batch of breeders coming in today. Let’s welcome them properly—I declare a Public Breeding in the Marketplace!”

Penny froze where she was, feeling like her stomach had just dropped through the floor. Oh God, the thing she’d feared and dreaded had finally come to pass! She gripped the hot bread to her chest, not caring that she was squashing it, and looked around herself wildly.

Everywhere, there was a flurry of commotion.

“All right, girls, all right,” Head Baker Goone was shouting as people ran here and there, trying to finish baking projects and cover their dough. “You know the drill—get all the loaves out of the oven so they don’t burn during the breeding, cover the dough with damp cloths, and then everyone outside. Let’s go, let’s go, come on!”

There was some grumbling among the bakery workers, but none of them was actually protesting, Penny saw. In fact, they all seemed being resigned to the Public Breeding, like being raped by strangers who came to their workplace for that exact purpose, was no big deal.

Well, it’s a big deal to me! she thought, feeling sick. But she knew if she was caught resisting or running, she would be automatically recycled. What was she going to do?

“Come on,” someone said and nudged her. “Let’s go—you heard Head Baker Goone.”

It was May’bell, the woman who had trained Penny on her first day. She pushed past her now with a frown on her face, filing out of the bakery along with everyone else.

Since Penny was at the back of the bakery, she was also at the end of the line which had formed. She followed along with the rest, feeling numb and terrified at the same time. What was she going to do? How could she get out of this?

As she shuffled along, her eyes caught on one of the huge silver mixing bowls sitting on the floor by one of the workstations. The bowl was empty except for about a sack’s worth of dark blue flower at the bottom. There were more stacks of flour bags on the table beside it and one had been partially opened. Clearly someone had been in the middle of mixing up a fresh batch of dough.

Penny stared at the huge bowl, remembered how she had thought on her first day that it was big enough to hide in.

She had nearly shuffled past the bowl but she stopped abruptly right beside it, the idea caught in her numb mind like a fishhook.

Big enough to hide in. It’s big enough to hide in! whispered a desperate little voice in her head. You have to hide!

Penny looked around carefully. She was at the very back of the line and nobody was looking at her. They were all facing forward, filing out into the Marketplace like good little brainwashed breeders, waiting to get bred.

But not me, Penny thought. Not this time! I’m not going anywhere!

Quickly and quietly, she slipped over to the bowl and climbed inside, trying not to cough as the blue svetty flour puffed up around her. Then she crouched low, turning herself into a ball. She would wait until the Public Breeding was over and then climb back out and mingle with the others when nobody was looking, she told herself. And nobody would know the difference—she hoped.

As she crouched in the mixing bowl, Penny felt at least partially safe. She had no idea that someone was looking for her—someone who wanted to hurt her and make her pay.

SEVENTY

The minute the GL made the announcement about a Public Breeding, V felt the blood in his veins turn to ice. He barely heard the “Glorious Leader” consoling the greenhouse workers and telling them that he knew this wasn’t a good time for them and that they couldn’t get to the Marketplace in time to join the Public Breeding themselves.

“But never fear,” he told them, slipping the Master Control back into his pocket. “We have a new bunch of male breeders coming into the Compound in a day or so and I promise I’ll let your supervisor know in time so that every one of you will be able to participate in the next Public Breeding.”

A cheer rose from the assembled group but V was silent. Blood rushing in his ears, he stepped forward as the others pushed around the GL and slipped his hand into the cult leader’s pocket. All the time, he was eyeing the door, hoping that he could slip away while the others were occupied. He had to get to the Marketplace and find Penelope!

“And now, Head Gardener Poone,” the GL was saying. “If you’d lead me on a little tour, I’d love to see what’s changed in the greenhouse since my last visit.”

“Oh, of course, Glorious Leader! I would be thrilled to give you a tour—right this way, please!” The NeverBreeder supervisor bowed obsequiously and led the way deeper into the greenhouse. The other workers followed, crowding around their idol as he nodded politely at the plants Head Gardener Poone was pointing out.

When all of them were headed away, V saw his chance and took it. He secured the Master Control in his right hip pocket and quietly slipped out of the front door of the greenhouse. Then he set off for the Marketplace at a dead run.

Hang on, sweetheart—I’m coming, he thought fiercely.

It was going to be a race to see if he got there in time. He just hoped Penelope had been able to hide herself away somewhere safe.

Because if anyone hurt her, V was going to fucking kill the bastard!

SEVENTY-ONE

As Penny crouched low in the huge silver mixing bowl, she listened to the confused noises from outside the bakery and tried not to breath in the flour that still floated around her head.

There were grunts and shouts and squeals, no doubt from some of the women being taken forcefully. She could also hear the sound of flesh slapping against flesh with loud enthusiasm—clearly the men out there were really enjoying themselves.

Then she heard another sound…a sound that made her stomach knot in terror…a sound that was coming from inside the bakery. Footsteps—heavy ones, as though from a very large person—were slowly making their way towards the back of the room.

Penny froze. Who could that be?

She wasn’t in the dark for long. Because the next thing she heard, was a deep, hoarse voice calling her name.

“Penelope? Oh, Penelopeeee,” the horribly familiar voice called. “I know you’re in here, girly! I saw you go in just before they called for the Public Breeding but you didn’t come out. So you have to be in here somewhere and I’m gonna find you!”

It’s Skrug, Penny thought, feeling sick. Her stomach was twisting into a knot and if she hadn’t been crouched down, her knees would have been knocking. He’s coming for me, she thought. Coming to rape me and hurt me and there’s nothing I can do about it!

She had the urge to jump out of the mixing bowl and run away—but where could she go? Even if she got out the door of the bakery, the whole Marketplace was just one big rape-fest. It would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

So she crouched lower, trying to make herself tiny and invisible, hoping and praying the huge blue alien would pass her by.

Oh please! she thought wildly. Oh please, oh please, oh please!

Skrug had stopped calling her name but there was a new sound now, to accompany his dull, thudding footsteps. It was a high, awful scraping—the sound of metal on metal, Penny realized with a shiver.

A horribly vivid image formed in her brain. The humpbacked alien, walking along, dragging the huge butcher’s cleaver along the surfaces of all the silver tables as he passed them. The blade would gleam dull red in the glow from the ovens and when Skrug found her he would use it on her while she screamed and screamed and screamed…

No—no, she had to stop thinking like that, Penny told herself. But the high whining shriek of metal against metal was driving her mad, stretching her nerves almost to the breaking point. It was so loud and awful and it echoed in the empty bakery so that she couldn’t tell where it was coming from or where Skrug was. How close was he? Was he on the other side of the bakery…or right beside her?

Suddenly the scraping sound stopped and there was complete silence for a long…long time.

Maybe he left! Maybe he’s gone! Maybe he decided I’m not worth the trouble. Maybe, maybe, maybe, chanted a little voice in her head.

After what felt like an eternity, Penny finally dared to look up…

Only to see Skrug’s yellow, slitted eyes glaring down into hers.

“Hello there, girly,” he said, grinning his snaggletoothed, lipless grin at her. “So this is where you’ve been hiding.”

SEVENTY-TWO

Penny’s heart felt like it was going to burst with fear.

Oh God! she thought, her brain working like a hamster on a wheel—running like crazy but going nowhere. Oh no! Oh God! OhGodohGodohGod!

“Get up and get out of there.” Skrug brandished his huge cleaver, the blade of which was still smeared with blood from whatever—or whoever—he’d been chopping up before the Public Breeding had begun. “Get out here, girly,” he snarled at Penny. “We got unfinished business to attend to.”

The words in Penny’s brain had changed. Have to get away! they insisted. Have to get away, have to get away, have to get away!

Yes, but how?

She had no weapons and she couldn’t reach anything but the crumpled loaf of bread she’d been carrying for her last customer—that was hardly going to be of any help. There was nothing in the mixing bowl with her but about six inches of the dark blue svetty flour which she was crouching in.

The flour! whispered the little voice in her brain. The flour, Penny—use it!

“Get out here now and give me what I want and I might not tell your supervisor that you was hiding and trying to avoid the Public Breeding,” Skrug commanded, giving her a cruel smile.

“What…what do you want me to do?” Penny remained crouched in the bowl but she gripped a handful of the coarse, grainy flour in each fist.

“Get out here and bend over this table.” Skrug clanged the blade of his cleaver against the metal worktable, drawing sparks. “I’m gonna breed you right proper, girly. Gonna shove my thick cock in that tight little snatch of yours and there’s not a damn thing your mate can do to stop me!”

His mention of V’rex made Penny wish for the big Hybrid with all her heart. But V’rex wasn’t here and even if he could get away from work, the greenhouse was across the Compound from the Marketplace. There was no way he could get to her in time.

She was on her own and she had two choices—submit or fight.

I won’t submit! She gripped her fistfuls of flour tighter. I’d rather die! If that big bastard is going to rape me, he’s going to have to work for it!

“Get out here, I said!” Skrug clanged the blade of his cleaver on the table again, impatiently. “Hurry up! I don’t got all day!”

“Put down the cleaver first,” Penny said and was surprised at how steady her voice sounded. “Put it down or I’m not coming out.”

“I could just cut you up right where you are,” Skrug pointed out, sending a chill through her. He frowned. “But it’s no fun fuckin’ a corpse.”

God, he sounds like he’s speaking from experience!

Penny felt sick, but she held her ground.

“Put it down and I’ll let you…let you breed me,” she said, her stomach fisting in revulsion at the thought. “But I’m not coming out while you’re holding that thing. It’s dangerous.”

For some reason this seemed to tickle Skrug’s funny bone, because he threw back his head and guffawed.

“Dangerous, right—so it is, girly!” he gasped, holding his stomach as he laughed. “All right then—scared of a little blade, are you? Well, then I’ll set it down as long as you behave.”

And he finally put the cleaver down on the table. Regrettably, he put it on the far end, where Penny couldn’t reach it, but at least the bloody blade was out of his hand.

“All right now…” He beckoned her with one clawed finger. “Come on out, just like you promised.”

“All right—don’t rush me.” Penny stood slowly, still gripping her handfuls of flour. She was waiting…waiting for the right moment…

It came when Skrug leaned over to shove his face into hers.

“Hurry up, girly!” he growled. “A Public Breeding don’t last all fuckin’ d—”

Penny raised her arms and flung both fistfuls of the dark blue flour in his face. She was aiming for his yellow, slitted eyes and judging from the howl he let out and the way he clawed at them, she had succeeded.

“Ow, you little bitch!” Skrug screamed as Penny scrambled out of the huge mixing bowl and started to run.

But a big, clawed hand caught the back of her toga and twisted in the fabric, stopping her forward momentum and yanking her up short.

“Oh no you don’t, you little cunt,” Skrug growled hoarsely. “You ain’t goin’ nowhere until I breed you!”

Penny tried to yank free, but to no avail. Using her toga, Skrug was pulling her in like she was a fish and he was an angler determined to have his prize. Looking over her shoulder, she saw he still had one meaty fist rubbing his reddened eyes, but the flour clearly hadn’t slowed him down much.

Desperately, she looked for a weapon. There was the cleaver but it was out of reach, on the other end of the table. There were sacks of flour, but they were too big and heavy to be used.

Then her eyes lit on the wooden mixing paddle that went with the bowl—the one as big as a boat oar. It was just within her reach.

Acting on instinct, Penny grabbed it with both hands and turned to swing it at Skrug’s head.

The big scaly hand tightened on her toga but for once Skrug’s strength worked against him. Penny leaned hard against the straining fabric and used the momentum of her whole body as she swung the wooden mixing paddle as hard as she could.

It connected with the side of Skrug’s head with a flat smack and she felt the shock of the blow reverberate up both of her arms.

“Ow! Cunt!” Skrug bellowed and finally let go of her toga. But he also reached out and grabbed the paddle with the hand that hadn’t gone to his head and Penny suddenly found herself in a tug-of-war over the wooden weapon with a much stronger opponent.

Part of her wanted to let the mixing paddle go, but if she did, she would be weaponless. And she still couldn’t go out into the Marketplace—though it felt like a hundred years had passed since Skrug had first entered the bakery looking for her, it had actually only been a few minutes and the Public Breeding was still going on.

So Penny tried to keep hold of the paddle…and that was her mistake.

For a moment, it almost seemed like she was winning. She gripped the handle with both hands, so tightly she could feel wooden splinters digging sharply into her palms. Then Skrug gave a tremendous yank that brought both the paddle and Penny flying into his arms.

With a snarl of triumph, he yanked the paddle out of her hands and threw it across the bakery, where it clanged against the butter chiller. Then he gripped her by the arm and spun her around so that she was facing the metal table.

He shoved Penny against the edge of the table so hard it knocked the wind out of her.

“Oof!” she gasped as the metal edge bit into the soft skin at her waist. But the next thing she felt was worse—much worse than the pain.

Because Skrug had lifted the skirt of her toga and something blunt and slimy was pressing against her inner thighs, trying to find its way inside her.

SEVENTY-THREE

The Marketplace was a fucking mess. Literally—there were people fucking everywhere.

V dodged around them, keeping his eyes open as he searched the crowd of writhing bodies, praying that none of them was Penelope. As far as he could tell, none of them was. But then, where was she?

The bakery! She must be hiding inside—at least V prayed she was. If not, he didn’t know where else to look.

Threading his way through the fucking couples—and several threesomes—he ran towards Penelope’s work. He felt a mounting sense of urgency now—a feeling that something bad was happening to his mate—a feeling that if he didn’t hurry it would be too late…too late…

As he burst through the bakery door, he saw that his intuition hadn’t played him false. Bent over a metal worktable with tears in her eyes was the woman he loved and behind her, attempting to shove his dick in, was that big blue bastard, Skrug.

V felt the Rage rise in him again and this time he didn’t even try to fight it. He let it come, like a red wave washing over him, filling him with fury, and he welcomed it in all its savage glory.

“SKRUG!” His voice echoed like a deep, tolling bell in the cavernous bakery. “Skrug, you fucker—you’re fucking DEAD!”

Skrug’s head yanked up as though pulled by a string and the leering, horny grin fell off his face to be replaced by an angry scowl.

“You!” he spat, not letting go of Penelope. “You think you can stop me now? I’m almost in—your mate is mine!”

V didn’t answer with his voice—he let his fists do the talking this time.

His first blow was an uppercut which caught the scaly blue alien under his lantern jaw and knocked him back, away from Penelope. Before he could recover, V rushed forward and grabbed him by the throat. Using the momentum of his charge, he took the fucker down to the ground, banging the back of his head as hard as he could against the stone floor.

And then he straddled the other male’s chest and began to pound.

SEVENTY-FOUR

Penny leaned back against the table, her breath tearing in her throat, her chest heaving with pent-up sobs. So many emotions she couldn’t even name them all were pouring through her. Pain, shame, relief, horror, disgust, fury…

Almost! He was almost in me! That son of a bitch! That son of a bitch!

It was fury that won. V’rex had that asshole, Skrug, down on the floor and seemed to be intent on beating him to death but Penny didn’t care. She was glad. Every meaty thump of the huge Hybrid’s fist against her would-be rapist’s skull, was music to her ears.

But it wasn’t enough—not nearly enough.

Looking around, her eyes fell on the bloody cleaver which was still at the other end of the long silver table. Penny grabbed for it.

Snatching it up, she ran to where V’rex had the other male down on the floor, flat on his back, and looked for a good target. She saw it when the big blue body jerked and Skrug’s long, snake-dick flopped between his knees.

That thing was almost in me! He almost got it in me!

Penny’s eyes narrowed in rage and she raised the cleaver high. With a shriek as high and angry as a war cry, she brought it down, chopping the “head” off the “snake” with a single blow.

Though Skrug had been in the process of trying to defend himself from V’rex’s merciless blows, he suddenly stiffened and let out a howl like a wounded dog.

“My dick!” he shrieked, fishtailing under V’rex like a man being electrocuted. “My dick, my dick, MY DICK!”

V’rex seemed to lose some of his all-encompassing fury for he turned in surprise to see Penny holding the bloody cleaver.

“Sweetheart?” he asked in a low, hoarse voice. “What—?”

“Hold him,” Penny commanded. She was looking at what remained of the blue alien’s equipment—it was still quite long, even as it flopped and sprayed purple blood across the stone floor. “Hold him, I’m not done yet.”

And then she chopped again. And again and again and again…

SEVENTY-FIVE

“Penelope, stop! Stop!” someone was urging her. “Stop it now, he’s dead—he’s gone. You got him!” the familiar voice exclaimed and then someone was carefully prying the bloody cleaver out of her hand.

“What?” Penny turned to see V’rex kneeling on the floor beside her—the floor which was thick with Skrug’s sticky purple blood.

“You got him,” the big Hybrid repeated. “He bled out a minute ago. Come on—we have to go!”

“Go?” Penny asked uncertainly, as he grabbed her hand and dragged her to her feet. “Where are we going?”

“Out of here.” V’rex’s face was grim. “There’s no way in all the Seven Hells they’ll let us live after they see this mess.” He nodded at Skrug’s dead body, lying stretched on the bakery floor.

It occurred to Penny that he wasn’t the first dead body she’d seen that day—he wasn’t even the second or the tenth.

But he is the first dead body that you actually killed yourself, a little voice in her head pointed out. You killed him, Penny—you killed him!

But she didn’t have time to wallow in guilt. V’rex was pulling her along, weaving through the crowd of breeders who were still fucking on every available surface in the Marketplace, including right over the fresh-baked loaves waiting to be taken home and eaten. Ugh!

V’rex guided her quickly and purposefully through the busy area. Thankfully everyone was so involved with the Public Breeding that they didn’t seem to notice she and the big Hybrid were defecting.

Penny’s head still felt muddled from the craziness in the bakery. She followed V’rex blindly, not even stopping to question where they were going until suddenly she saw they were standing to one side of the main gate.

“Okay, first things first,” V’rex muttered and Penny saw that he was studying a small white rectangle that appeared to have multiple buttons on it.

“What’s that?” she asked. “Is that it? Is that the Master Remote? You got it?”

“I got it,” V’rex confirmed. “Now let’s see if I can figure out how to use it. Maybe this is it.”

He pressed a button, seemingly at random, and gasped with pain. The remote fell in the dust beside him as he dropped to his knees, reaching for the white pain square attached to the side of his neck.

“Oh no!” Penny exclaimed. Reaching down, she snatched up the remote and pointed at him as she pressed a button. Nothing seemed to happen so she pressed another and another.

Suddenly, the atmosphere dome above their heads fizzled and went off. The temperature shot up twenty degrees at least and Penny began to sweat. But V’rex was still on the ground, clutching at the pain square on his neck.

“Stop it,” she muttered in frustration as she mashed the buttons and pointed the Master Remote at the big Hybrid. “Stop hurting him—leave him alone!”

The glowing green force field of the main gate suddenly flickered and went out and then, finally, V’rex stopped writhing in pain.

He lay panting in the dust for a moment, as though trying to catch his breath. At last his eyes rolled up to meet Penny’s.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” His deep voice was hoarse. “That was…pretty bad.”

Sitting up with an effort, he plucked the pain square from the side of his neck and flicked it away, into the bushes by the side of the road. Then he looked up at the clear sky and frowned.

“Hey—what happened to the atmosphere dome?”

“I…I think I might have turned it off,” Penny admitted “And, well, I don’t know which button to push to turn it back on.”

“Well, I was hoping to sneak out of here while everyone was busy fucking but I think they’re going to notice this,” V’rex remarked.

“I’m really sorry—” Penny began but he shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Here, let me see that for a minute.” He held out his hand and Penny handed him the Master Remote. “Let’s see if we can’t give them something else to think about,” V’rex muttered.

He cleared his throat and then pressed a button on the side of the Master Remote. Then he began speaking in a very passable imitation of the Glorious Leader.

“Ah, my children,” he said. “Perhaps you have noticed that our atmosphere dome has had a temporary malfunction which, unfortunately, raises the temperature somewhat in our lovely Compound. To combat the heat, I am hereby moving the Public Breeding from the Marketplace to my own mansion. And this includes not just those of you who are already breeding, but everyone in the Compound—I even want my NeverBreeders to come and watch. All of you please come directly into the house and make yourselves at home. Feel free to use any of my bedrooms, my couches, chairs and tables—just breed all over the place and have a lovely time, my children, by order of the Shining Star.”

Penny was giggling helplessly when V finished and shoved the Master Remote back into his pocket.

“There, that oughta keep ‘em busy for a while,” he said, grinning at her. “Hope the GL likes having an orgy in his house.”

“In every possible area and on every possible surface!” Penny added, giggling again. “What a mess! Oh, V’rex—you’re too much!”

“What I want to be right now is free of this place,” he growled, reaching for her hand again. “Come on—it’s time we got out of here.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Penny nodded. “Let’s go before somebody realizes what’s happening.”

“Hey, what are you breeders doing? Stay away from the gate!” a high, androgynous voice shouted.

Penny looked up to see two NeverBreeder guards headed towards them, weapons drawn.

“Looks like we’re too late for that,” V’rex said grimly. “Come on.”

And he took her hand and dragged her through the gate and down the road away from the Compound.

SEVENTY-SIX

V was wondering what kind of weapons the little bastards had when a bolt of red energy shot over his shoulder and let him know. Blasters, and they appeared to be set to kill. If only there had been some twists or turns, they might have dodged the blasts. But the road through the Deadly Jungle stretched straight ahead of them with no curves in sight.

Blasts of red light were shooting all around them and Penelope gasped as one of them grazed her shoulder. It was only a matter of time before the NeverBreeders scored a direct hit—they couldn’t stay on the road.

Though V would have preferred to sting Penny ahead of time and give her some immunity to the poisons of the jungle plants, there was no time now. He pulled her towards the side of the road and then they crashed through the thick underbrush and into the Deadly Jungle.

A few blasts of light followed them and then V heard what he’d hoped to avoid—crashing behind them that meant the NeverBreeders had followed them into the forest. Either they were immune to the poisons of the plants or they were so dedicated to keeping their “Glorious Leader” happy, they were willing to die for him. Either way, it was bad news.

“Son of a fucking bitch!” he growled. “They’re coming in too—we have to go faster.”

But when he looked over at Penelope, he saw something that made his heart fist in his chest. Her creamy skin had gone deathly pale except for two hectic red spots, high on her cheeks and she seemed to be struggling to breathe.

Oh Gods, did the poisons work that fast? Or was she just out of breath from fighting her way through the thick underbrush? Whatever the case, he had to get her out of the immediate danger of the NeverBreeders and their blasters so that he could sting her and treat the poison.

Quickly, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He would rather have carried her in his arms to minimize the risk that she would be hit, but he needed at least one hand free to push his way through the dense green and turquoise jungle growth.

He made his way through as fast as he could, but it was slow going with only one arm. Just behind them, he could hear the little orange bastards gaining ground.

Oh please! he thought, his heart pounding against his ribs. Please, I have to get her to safety! Don’t let her die—please!

“Turn here, Warrior,” said a rich, feminine voice, which seemed to be both in his head and all around him at the same time.

V didn’t question where it came from. He simply followed directions and turned where the presence that went with the voice seemed to lead him.

The ground dipped down sharply and for a moment he almost fell. But then he got his footing again and saw that he was in a kind of natural depression—a wide hollow in the ground. At the far end of the vast bowl was a huge tree. Growing at the base of it were the long, multicolored grasses he recognized as the same ones that had been used to make their Unification Ceremony costumes.

Billux grass, he thought. They use them because they’re not poisonous!

“Go to the base of the tree, Warrior,” the feminine voice told him. “There you will find refuge. Hurry!”

V did as she—the Goddess?—said and plunged deeper into the small valley. He struggled towards the tree, hearing the crashing behind him that meant the NeverBreeder guards were getting closer. What was he supposed to find at the base of the tree? How could it help him?

He didn’t know but he kept going until at last he reached it. Crouching down, he swept at the long, multicolored grasses growing there, thinking maybe someone had left a weapon for him.

Instead, he found a natural hollow in the vast tree’s trunk—one so large it made a kind of cave. So it wasn’t a weapon he was supposed to find but a hiding place!

Quickly, V ducked down and into the tiny natural cave, making certain not to bang Penelope’s head as he went. He pushed towards the back, finding the space under the tree was carpeted with soft, springy moss. Laying Penelope down carefully, he kept an eye on the dense screen of multicolored grass that blocked the entrance.

If the guards had seen them enter, they would be here soon, blasters blazing. If that happened, V intended to kill them both—or die trying. Though if he died here, he was certain Penelope would too. She needed someone to heal and protect her this deep in the jungle. His heart swelled with protective Rage at the idea of losing her, but he kept the emotion at bay and waited, trying to still his own breathing so as not to give them away.

He heard the sound of footsteps in the tall grasses just outside their small cave.

“Did you see where they went?” one of the NeverBreeder guards asked the other.

“No—I was following you, Foone!” the second guard exclaimed.

“They came this way, Doone—I know I saw them.” The first guard sounded frustrated. “How could they even get this far into the jungle without dying of the poisons? I saw them—they ran right through a patch of Breath-kill and the female brushed up against a Toxic-shock vine. They should be dead by now—both of them!”

“They probably are and we just missed their bodies,” the second guard, who was apparently named Doone, said. “We should go back to the Compound and report them dead.”

“But what if they aren’t?” Foone protested. “We’ll both be recycled!”

“We’ll also be recycled if we go back and report that they got away and we think they’re still alive somewhere,” Doone reasoned. “But if we say they’re dead, we’re in the clear. Nobody will even expect us to bring back the bodies—after being in the jungle their flesh will be too full of toxins to eat. No one will question us.”

“The Glorious Leader isn’t going to like it, Doone,” Foone warned. “We haven’t had a breeder escape from the Compound in over fifteen cycles.”

“That cannot be helped, Foone” Doone said. “Besides, they didn’t really escape if they died, right?”

“I guess so…” Foone still sounded reluctant but willing to be persuaded.

Good, V thought fiercely. Get the fuck out of here! He needed to tend to Penelope but the instant he stung her she would have an intense orgasm and he knew from experience that she was loud when she came. Which had never been a problem before, but it most certainly would be now.

The guards’ footsteps started to crunch off through the grass—it seemed the two NeverBreeders were finally leaving.

Just then, Penelope let out a weak moan.

“What was that?” The guards halted abruptly.

V cursed to himself and gathered her quickly into his arms. Her skin felt cool and clammy and in the dim light of their natural cave, he could see that she was paler than ever.

Penelope struggled weakly in his arms and seemed likely to moan again. Though he hated to do it, he put his hand over her mouth, careful to leave her nose free so she could still breathe.

“Hush, sweetheart,” he breathed in her ear. “I’ll heal you in just a minute but for now you have to be quiet.”

“I think I heard something,” Foone insisted again.

“It was nothing—a wild tassit in one of the trees,” Doone said. “Come on, Foone! I know we’re a lot tougher than the breeders when it comes to poisons, but this damn Tangle-berry vine we’re standing in still makes me itch!”

“All right, all right—I’m coming, Doone,” Foone growled. And then the footsteps started again. They got fainter and fainter until, at last, V couldn’t hear them anymore, even with his sensitive Kindred hearing.

Finally, he could heal his mate! And just in time—Penelope was barely breathing.

Bringing her close to his chest, he tilted her head to one side, exposing the pale column of her throat. Then he thrust out his tongue, allowing it to lengthen and sharpen until it formed his stinger…and struck.

SEVENTY-SEVEN

Penny was in a gray twilight world where everything was very still. At first she had been in pain and she’d been frightened because it was suddenly so hard to get air into her lungs. Then everything had gone numb and quiet and far away and it didn’t seem to matter if she could breathe or not. Slowly, she felt reality slipping away…

And then something sharp stung her, injecting her with fire!

Penny screamed hoarsely as her lungs suddenly came to life again, but there was something in the way of her mouth that wouldn’t let the scream come out.

She writhed against the restraining arms around her as the fire continued to spread through her veins. It was pain like nothing she had ever known. It made the agony of being poisoned seem like a stubbed toe or a paper cut in comparison.

“Stop!” she begged, though her words came out muffled. “Stop, it hurts! It hurts, oh God, it hurts!”

She was trying to say something—trying to tell him something, V thought, frowning. And she was writhing against him, which wasn’t unusual—the lust honey often caused such intense pleasure that the female he was injecting couldn’t hold still. But he felt instinctively that something was wrong. Though her emotions were muddled, they were definitely intense and he wasn’t completely sure what she was feeling was pleasure.

Carefully, he removed his hand from her mouth, since he was fairly certain that the NeverBreeder guards were long gone by now. As he did, he kept the flow of lust-honey going. Right now, he needed to overcome the poisons in her system. Later, after she was healed, he would sting her again to give her some immunity for when they had to venture into the jungle again. He—

But V’s thoughts cut off abruptly when Penelope’s words at last became clear.

“Please,” she begged. “Please, stop! Oh God, it hurts—it burns! Oh God, I’m on fire!”

SEVENTY-EIGHT

Horrified that he might be hurting her, V abruptly withdrew his stinger.

“Baby?” he asked hoarsely, stroking her flushed cheek. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“Hurts…” There were tears in her big brown eyes. Tears that he had put there, V realized with a rush of guilt. “Hurts so much,” she whispered. “Please…please don’t do it again. Feels like…on fire.”

“No, I won’t,” V promised, though he knew he would have to sting her again before they could go back out into the Deadly Jungle. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured, cuddling her to his chest. “I don’t understand. My lust-honey is only ever supposed to bring a female pleasure.”

“No pleasure…only pain.” Her eyes were drifting closed but at least her color was more normal and her breathing was no longer labored. “Only pain,” she whispered drowsily again, and then she drifted off completely, leaving V to wonder what in the Seven Hells had gone wrong with him.

How could he have hurt the woman he loved when he was only trying to heal her?

SEVENTY-NINE

Penny woke in cool darkness, feeling achy all over. At first she wondered if she was in the Love Hut with V’rex, but she didn’t hear the constant murmuring of the hypno-whispers coming from her pillow. And in fact, she didn’t seem to have a pillow. Whatever she was lying on was soft and springy and ever so slightly damp and it smelled like dirt and grass.

“Where…where am I?” she whispered, her voice coming out hoarse and uneven. “What is this?”

“Hey, you’re finally awake.” The deep voice was familiar and then Penny saw pale gold eyes glowing faintly in the dark beside her.

“V’rex!” she exclaimed. “What happened? Where are we?”

“Hidden in the jungle. Do you remember how we got here?”

“No…wait, yes.” Suddenly images rushed back to her. The rape attempt at the bakery and the subsequent fight between Skrug and V’rex. And then…

“Oh my God,” she whispered faintly. “I remember now—I chopped it off!”

There was a low rumble of laughter.

“If you’re talkin’ about Skrug’s dick, yes you did, sweetheart. You went full-on savage on his ass, not that I blame you.” His voice went suddenly serious. “Listen, I didn’t get a chance to ask you before but did he actually—”

“No, he didn’t…didn’t rape me.” Penny cleared her throat. “He tried but he couldn’t get it in. He—” She had to stop then, as emotions rolled over her. Anger, disgust, and also horror at what she had done. “I can’t believe I cut it off and killed him,” she whispered.

“Believe it,” V’rex said sharply. “And don’t be ashamed or upset about it. Any male that tries to take a female against her will deserves what he gets. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to you earlier.”

“You were all the way across the Compound—I’m amazed you got to me at all!” Penny exclaimed. “And you managed to get the Master Control too! That was amazing, V’rex.”

“Thanks.” In the dim light, she saw him nod. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t take your friend with us,” he added. “I know you wanted to, but everything happened so fucking fast…Hey…” He leaned towards her, a concerned look in his pale gold eyes. “What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying?”

“Am I?” Penny sniffed and swiped at her cheek. Her fingers came away wet. His words had brought back the horror and sorrow of her discovery in the recycling room.

“You are. Hey, come here.” V’rex put an arm around her and drew her close. “What’s wrong? Tell me all about it.”

Haltingly, Penny told him first about her exam, then about finding the room full of grow-baths and developing NeverBreeders, and finally about the huge machine cutting up bodies in the recycling room.

“So you were right about the meat,” he said, a note of revulsion in his voice. “Gods, and to think I ate some of it before you warned me…”

“It wasn’t just that,” Penny whispered. “It wasn’t just the fact that they were cutting up bodies, it was who the bodies were. I saw them cut up that nice man I bought a toga from last week. And Mother Toone, our attendant at the dorms was there. And…and…” Her throat worked but she found herself unable to say her friend’s name.

“Was Claudette there too?” V’rex guessed. “Was she, sweetheart?”

Wordlessly, Penny nodded. Then she buried her face in his broad chest and sobbed.

V’rex didn’t tell her everything would be all right or spout any kind of meaningless nonsense meant to comfort her. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. But he gathered Penny into his lap and held her close and let her cry. He stroked her hair and her trembling back until at last, she felt able to talk again.

“They killed her,” she whispered to V’rex in the darkness. “Killed her because she couldn’t have any more babies. They would have killed me too, if we had stayed.”

“I wouldn’t have let that happen, sweetheart.” His voice was a soft growl. “I made a vow to protect you, remember?”

Yes, but that was in the Compound, Penny thought. We’re out of there now. How much longer will he still wants to hang around with me once all the Spice is out of his system? He’s going to look at me and see that I’m not the type of girl he wants at all!

The thought made her sad and she climbed off the big Hybrid’s lap, though at first he didn’t want to let her go.

“You okay, sweetheart?” he murmured, when Penny was sitting beside him again, rather than on his lap.

“I think so.” She sniffed. “It’s just…a lot to process, you know? I mean, first I see my friend like that and then that awful scene at the bakery…” She sniffed again. “I was upset with you for chopping off Skrug’s finger and then I went and chopped off his, well, you know.”

“Yes, you did,” V’rex said firmly. “I’m fucking proud of you, sweetheart. You did the right thing.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Penny sighed. “I just…never thought I’d be in a position to do anything so…so savage.”

“Savage actions call out savagery,” V’rex murmured. “Sometimes you have to let the animal out.”

“I guess,” Penny said again, still not convinced. “I just…I’ve never killed anyone before.”

“Your first kill is always the hardest,” V’rex said grimly. “Did I ever tell you what happened to my father?”

“No.” She shook her head, looking up at him. “You mean you saw him again after…after he abandoned you?”

“Saw him?” V’rex barked an unhappy laugh. “I fucking tracked him down. And what you did to Skrug with that cleaver, well…” He shook his head. “Let’s just say it’s nothing compared to what I did to my Sire.”

“You…killed him?” Penny asked hesitantly.

“I avenged my mother,” V’rex growled. “His death paid for hers.”

Penny felt her stomach fist into a knot. He had killed his own father! But then she remembered she was in no position to point fingers. People who live in glass houses and all that.

“I…I guess I can understand that,” she said at last.

“My Sire got what he deserved,” V’rex said bluntly. “And so did Skrug. Don’t agonize over it, sweetheart. You did what you had to do.”

“Okay.” Penny took a deep breath and made an effort to push the awful memory away. It was over now—no sense dwelling on it. “Anyway, where are we hiding? Is this a cave?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“In a way. It’s a hollow in the side of a tree—down at the base. Nothing in here is poisonous but I’m afraid before we get going again, I’ll have to sting you to give you some immunity to the plants we’re going to be walking through.”

“You really have to?” Penny asked. She had a vague memory of something intensely painful that had to do with his sting, and though it might just be a dream, it still made her uneasy.

“I’ll try to make it good for you.” V’rex’s deep voice sounded unhappy. “I’m not sure what the problem was before. Maybe something to do with the plants you were exposed to. Could be their poisons reacted with my lust-honey somehow.”

“Okay.” Penny nodded. “Uh, do we have to go right now? And are we heading for the NeverBreeders’ launching pad?”

“That’s where we’re headed,” V’rex confirmed. “But not yet—it’s the middle of the night. I don’t know how many animals can survive in this kind of poisonous environment, but it stands to reason there have to be some and this is when the predators will be out. The safest time to get moving is probably at dawn.”

“All right.” Penny sighed and shifted on the spongy stuff she was sitting on, which seemed to be moss. “I guess I’ll try to get some more sleep then. I still ache all over.”

“Probably aftereffects of the poison,” V’rex told her. “Go on back to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll keep watch.”

“Okay.” Penny sighed and snuggled down in the darkness but the moss she was lying on felt damp and cold. She was grateful it wasn’t poisonous, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. She shivered convulsively and put her arms around herself.

“Problems?” V’rex asked in the darkness.

“I’m just so cold.” Penny shivered again. She wished she could ask the big Hybrid to put his arms around her and keep her warm, but she felt shy about asking.

There’s no Spice in the air here, a little voice in her head reminded her. Whatever attraction he had to you is probably going to dissipate pretty soon…if it’s not already gone.

Turning over on her other side, she tried again to get comfortable, wrapping her arms around herself and pulling her knees up to her chin.

“C’mere, sweetheart.” V’rex’s voice was a low rumble in her ear and then she was being pulled up close to his big body, so that his broad chest was pressed against her back.

“Thanks.” Gratefully, she snuggled against him. Maybe the Spice wasn’t completely out of his system yet or maybe he was just being nice but either way, it felt good to be close to him again. His big body put out heat like a furnace and despite a desperate day of running through the jungle, he smelled wonderful.

“Welcome,” he rumbled. “Better now, little girl?”

“Better,” Penny whispered and her eyes at last drifted closed as sleep took her.

EIGHTY

Penny awoke to a big hand shaking her and a voice murmuring in her ear that it was time to get up.

“Huh? What?” At first Penny thought they were still in the Compound and she was going to be late to her job in the bakery. Then she remembered the events of the day before and woke up more fully.

It was lighter in their little cave now—a gray, pre-dawn radiance filtered in through the tall grasses that blocked the entrance. And she didn’t ache so much either, though she was still pretty stiff.

Probably all that exertion you did yesterday, whispered a snarky little voice in her head. I wonder how many calories you burn chopping off a guy’s dick, huh? Bet there’s no listing for that on your Calorie Tracker app!

Penny pushed the thought away and sat up, looking around.

“Is there anything to drink?” Her mouth felt terribly dry.

“Afraid not, sweetheart,” V’rex said apologetically. “If we can find some water, I can purify it for you with my lust-honey, but there’s none around here—at least none that I can find.”

“Okay.” She sighed. “I guess the best thing we can do is get to the NeverBreeders’ launching pad and steal a ship as soon as possible, huh?”

“Got it in one.” The big Hybrid nodded. “And since we don’t know how far that is, we’d better get going.” He hesitated for a moment, staring at her intently. “You, uh, ready to let me sting you again?”

“I guess so.” Though she felt a deep sense of apprehension, Penny held out her arm to him. She had a memory of him stinging her the day before and in her head, his sting was associated with horrible, fiery pain.

But she told herself not to be silly—V’rex’s sting had been pleasurable in the past—if extremely intense. Probably she was just imagining the pain—it had only been a fever dream brought on by the toxins of the plants that had poisoned her.

V’rex himself seemed hesitant to sting her. But then he gripped her wrist, elongated his tongue, and struck, sinking his stinger into the underside of her forearm.

It was like being stabbed with a hot, blunt needle.

The very first time the big Hybrid had stung her, on the day of their Unification Ceremony, the pleasure had been so intense she had screamed. The pain she felt now was every bit as intense as that pleasure—it felt like he was pouring fire through her veins, setting every nerve ending alight with agony.

“Ow! Stop!” Penny gasped, attempting to jerk away from him. “Stop, please, stop!”

V’rex withdrew quickly, his tongue going back to its normal size and shape as it left her arm.

“I hurt you,” he said. “Gods, my lust-honey actually hurt you!”

“It burned.” Penny took in a deep, shaky breath and swiped at the tears that had come to her eyes. “It was kind of awful. I’m sorry,” she added, seeing the stricken look on his face. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.”

“I’ve never hurt a female with my sting before.” He sounded stricken. “It only brings pleasure.”

“It’s probably like you said—your, uh, lust-honey is reacting with the plant toxins or something. It’s not a big deal—honestly.”

But she could tell from his face that it was a big deal—a very big deal to the big Hybrid. He looked so upset that Penny had the urge to comfort him, only she wasn’t sure he would welcome comfort from her or not.

She couldn’t help remembering the night he’d told her about how his mother had been killed and his father had abandoned him. He’d taken comfort from her then, pressing his face to her breasts and holding her close.

But that was different—it was back in the Compound, she thought. And the Spice was everywhere, making him want me all the time. Making him think I was some kind of beauty queen.

And right now she looked anything but beautiful, she was sure. Parts of her toga were still stiff with dried blood and she hadn’t had a shower in two days.

“Um, if you think you gave me enough protection, maybe we should just get going,” she suggested.

“I think you should be okay.” V’rex squared his shoulders. “So yeah, let’s get out there. But if you feel sick or dizzy or faint or you can’t breathe, let me know and I’m afraid…” he sighed unhappily. “Afraid I’ll have to sting you again.”

“Okay.” Penny nodded and tried not to wince at the idea of another painful sting. “I’ll let you know.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

And V’rex led the way out of the hollow tree trunk and into the jungle.

EIGHTY-ONE

They trekked through the jungle until they came to the NeverBreeders’ road and followed it carefully, keeping a sharp eye out for the little orange bastards either coming or going. To V’s relief, they saw no one, though the road seemed to stretch on and on forever.

Of course, he had been knocked out on his earlier trip between the landing pad and the Compound, and Penelope had only been awake for part of her own journey, so they had no idea how far they had to travel. V just hoped they could get to their destination before they died of thirst. The steamy humidity and heat of the jungle was merciless, making them sweat freely, which meant they were losing a lot of moisture without being able to replace it.

At least the second sting he’d given Penelope seemed to have protected her from the poisons. V’rex was glad about that—he didn’t know if he could bring himself to sting her again. Watching her recoil from his sting and seeing the tears of pain in her big brown eyes—tears he had put there—had been fucking awful.

And this time her emotions hadn’t been muddled so the pain he had caused her had come through loud and clear. It had been horrible to feel her agony and know that he had caused it—fucking unbearable.

No Kindred ever wants to hurt his mate, even by accident—it’s unthinkable. The way V’rex felt about causing the woman he loved pain was the same way a mother would feel about accidentally slamming her child’s hand in a car door. Even though the pain was inflicted by accident, it still caused a flood of shame and horror and distress—so much so that he could hardly concentrate on anything else.

So much so that he almost missed the NeverBreeders guards coming towards them with a cartload of new breeder males for the Compound.

At the last minute, his eye picked it up, though and he grabbed Penny’s arm and dragged her off the road.

“What? What is it?” she gasped as they hid themselves in the undergrowth.

“NeverBreeders with a fresh load of males for the Compound,” V’rex growled softly. “Comin’ our way.”

“They are?” She leaned forward and squinted at the road. “You must have amazing eyesight—I don’t see anything.”

“Kindred vision,” V said shortly. “Now listen—here’s what we’re gonna do…”

EIGHTY-TWO

Drace struggled against the manacles that bound his wrists behind his back. They were made of some kind of unbreakable polymerized alloy he’d never encountered, but that didn’t stop him. He was a Havoc which meant he never gave up, no matter how hopeless the odds.

The little orange bastards who had kidnapped him were walking along beside the hover cart, which was winding its way through a jungle. It was fucking hot and Drace had a headache—a pounding in his skull which was probably the direct result of whatever knock-out drugs his kidnappers had used.

Nor was he their only prisoner. There were two other males in the cart with him—a huge two-headed Trollox who took up most of the available room in the cart on his own, and a squinty-eyed Turpine who had been trying to sell Drace on the idea of new ion thrusters for his ship before both of them had been drugged and abducted.

There were nine guards—nine little orange bastards walking around the cart—all of them with either blasters or pain-prods. Those actually wouldn’t have been bad odds if the three prisoners in the hover cart had been unbound, Drace speculated.

The Trollox alone could probably rip the heads off six of their abductors in a matter of seconds if given a chance. All four of his beady red eyes were glaring with anger at the little orange humanoids and red drool was running down his tusks. The side of the cart he sat on was listing downwards so that the bottom of the hover cart was nearly dragging in the dirt. He looked so menacing, that even their captors seemed to have doubts about him.

“I do not think that we should have captured the Trollox, Voone,” one of them was saying to another. “His potential for violence is vast and I do not know if he will be susceptible to the hypno-whispers.”

“But did you see the size of his maleness, Roone?” the other guard argued. “His fertility is extreme! He will be able to father many fetuses for our Glorious Leader.”

Drace wondered what in the Seven Hells they were going on about. Who was the Glorious Leader and what need did he have for a super-fertile Trollox? What kind of a fucked-up mess had he been dragged into, anyway?

Knew I shouldn’t have gone to Hell’s Gate Station, Drace berated himself for the hundredth time. All those rumors of abductions… But of course, he’d thought it was only females being abducted. He’d had no idea that males were also on the ticket. He—

Suddenly he felt the manacles on his wrists click open. Eyes wide with surprise, he pulled his hands out from behind his back and looked down—sure enough, he was free.

And he wasn’t the only one.

The shifty-eyed Turpine was also staring down at his bare wrists. And then, the Trollox suddenly pulled his arms free as well.

“Free,” one of his heads growled, looking down at his thick, gray wrists. “Grox is free!”

“Kill,” the second head snarled, looking at the little orange captors. “Kill all orange half-men!”

“Watch out!” one of the little orange captors shouted. “They’re free! Who opened their manacles?”

“It wasn’t me, Voone!” one of them shouted.

“You hold the remote, Roone!” another one yelled. “Did you press the lock-release mechanism?”

“Kill all!” roared the Trollox and half jumped, half-fell out of the cart.

As all of their little orange captors rushed forward to stop him, Drace jumped out of the cart himself and rushed one of the guards. He wrestled with the little humanoid—who was surprisingly strong—and finally managed to get his pain prod away from him.

He gave his former captor a nasty jolt with the business end of the prod that made him howl.

“No, breeder—you must not!” he gasped, as he staggered to his feet. “Do you not know that we are attempting to bring you to a paradise where you will live the rest of your days in peace and harmony?”

“Fuck your peace and harmony,” Drace snapped. “I’m going back to my ship and I hope I never see any of you little orange fuckers again!”

By this time, most of the rest of the little orange men were going after the Trollox, who was roaring with rage. Drace decided he’d had enough of this fight. If he’d had a blaster, he might have joined in, but the pain-prod was a short range weapon only and it wasn’t even lethal.

What was lethal were the Trollox’s tusks. The huge two-headed male was in a rage and Drace knew from experience that if you got in the way of an angry Trollox, you had only yourself to blame for the results.

Slowly, he started backing away. He was about to slip into the jungle and make his way back through the trees, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Not that way, friend,” a deep voice said. “Not unless you have immunity to poisons. Do you? Are you Kindred?”

Drace turned in surprise to see a male who looked a little like a Beast Kindred standing beside him, wearing a tattered red garment.

“No, but I’m Havoc,” he answered.

“Close enough. Help me kill the NeverBreeders—if any escape they’ll alert the Compound.”

“The who? And what did you call them?” Drace asked but the other male only shook his head. “Come on! Not a single one must escape!”

The fight was bloody, brutal, and short. The Trollox did most of the work for them, killing eight of the nine captors the Kindred male had called “NeverBreeders” himself. But before he killed them, they managed to force the two-headed giant into the jungle…the very place Drace had been heading for safety.

Then Drace saw what the other male meant about poisons. Even as the Trollox grabbed a NeverBreeder in each hand and bit off their bald heads with his tusks, he staggered and stumbled to his knees in the middle of the brilliant green and turquoise plants.

“Wha’s wrong?” one head demanded, looking around with bleary red eyes. “Don’ understan’. Feel dizzy…”

Then he toppled over with a thunderous crash like a huge tree falling. He flattened both the last NeverBreeder and the shifty-eyed Turpine merchant, who had been fighting in his shadow.

Abruptly, the fight was over.

Which left only Drace and the male who had warned him about the poisons in the jungle. Well, and also a lovely little full-figured female in a tattered blue garment, who came out from behind a tree on the far side of the road when the dust had settled. Drace wondered how she had immunity to the plant life—she didn’t look Kindred.

“V’rex!” she exclaimed, speaking to the male who looked like a Beast Kindred. “I can’t believe it worked! How did you know the Master Control would release their manacles too?”

“I didn’t.” He shrugged. “But I knew that I used it to remove the non-contact bracelets from my own arms so I figured it was worth a try.”

“That’s brilliant!” the female said, smiling up at him. “But how far are we from the NeverBreeders launching pad?”

“Just a few clicks down the road,” Drace told them, speaking up at last. “I’ll come with you and show you if you don’t mind.” He looked around the jungle, the corpse of the huge Trollox, and the many smaller, NeverBreeder corpses littered around it and shook his head. “Think I’d like to get the Seven Hells out of here.”

EIGHTY-THREE

V was sorry more of the prisoners hadn’t escaped with their lives after he’d used the Master Control to set them free. But he had to admit it was just as well in the case of the Trollox. They were a savage race and he wouldn’t have wanted to travel through the jungle with one, especially with Penelope and her luscious curves on display through the ragged, blue toga which was ripped in places.

In the end, the one who was left was a Havoc—an offshoot of the Kindred family tree with one main difference to the Kindred. They didn’t form a permanent soul-bond with a female and spend their life in a mated pair, preferring instead to roam the galaxy free of emotional encumbrances. But they were still honorable and fierce warriors—good to have at your back.

This one, a fellow named Drace, seemed like a solid ally. Once V’rex explained about the Compound and its practices, he thanked them profusely for setting him free.

“That sounds like a seriously fucked-up place, Brother,” he said to V. “Thank the Goddess you two came along before those little orange bastards could get me there.”

“The Goddess put you in our path as well,” V told him. “Can you lead us back to the NeverBreeder launching pad?”

“With pleasure.” Drace nodded eagerly. “I can also tell you that their ships are only lightly guarded—at least as far as I could tell.”

“Good man.” V nodded shortly. “We’ll take care of them, no problem.”

V had thought to take some of the blasters from the dead NeverBreeders, so he and Penelope and Drace were all armed when they at last came upon the landing pad. Drace was right—there were only two NeverBreeder guards standing by either of the two ships on the pad.

V dispatched two before they could even draw their blasters and Drace killed two as well. Penelope seemed reluctant to fire, which was understandable to V. She was still shaken by the actions she’d taken against Skrug and wasn’t, by nature, a violent person.

When the short battle was over, they stood on the landing pad—which was really just an extra-large clearing in the jungle—and V offered Drace a warrior’s clasp.

“I thank you for your help, Brother,” he said to the other male seriously.

“I owe you my life,” Drace replied. “If ever I can repay the debt, let me know.”

“Thank you for the offer,” V told him. “But now it’s time we part ways. Penelope and I will take one ship and you take the other. That way the NeverBreeders have no way to come after us and no way to go kidnap anyone else for their cult.”

“Agreed.” Drace nodded again, the sunlight catching the concentric rings of gold, brown, and copper in his eyes. They matched the highlights in his black hair. “This has been an interesting side adventure, but I need to get back to my ship.”

“Same,” V agreed, nodding. “Maybe we’ll meet again if the Goddess wills it.”

“If she wills it,” Drace agreed and then they each took separate ships with Penelope following V as they boarded the NeverBreeder crafts.

EIGHTY-FOUR

The minute they finally got aboard one of the NeverBreeder spaceships, Penny felt ready to collapse. But first she wanted a long drink of water and a shower to wash the jungle grime off herself.

“You go ahead, sweetheart,” V’rex said distractedly. He was busy in the pilot’s chair, apparently getting the hang of the new controls. “This is nothing like any ship I’ve ever seen—fucking NeverBreeders,” Penny heard him mutter to himself. “Now where in the Seven Hells did they put the Nav-com? Oh right—here it is, where nobody in their right mind would think to put it…”

Deciding to leave him to it, Penny left the blaster she’d been holding on the passenger’s side seat and walked through to the back of the ship, looking for the aforementioned drink and shower.

The NeverBreeders’ ship was extremely utilitarian with absolutely no extra frills. Clearly they only used it to grab unsuspecting “breeders” and bring them back to Yown Alpha. But they did have a rudimentary kitchen area which had a sink with a single faucet and a press button to make the water come out.

Penny washed her hands and face and drank thirstily from her cupped palms. As soon as her thirst was taken care of, her stomach growled—it had been almost a whole day since her last meal.

There was a small cupboard which held a few supplies. Penny saw a few jerky-like strips of dried meat which she avoided with a shudder. But there were also some compressed plant bars stacked there. They tasted sweet and bland and faintly grassy—like someone had mixed carrots, beets, and grass clippings and then dried them out and compressed them into hard little rectangles about the size of a granola bar.

They weren’t the best thing Penny had ever tasted, but she was so hungry she ate two of them before she made herself stop. There were still plenty left for V’rex—if he wanted to eat the plant bars, that was. Right now, Penny decided she wanted a shower more than anything else.

She went further back to explore the rest of the ship and hopefully find a bathroom—now that she had taken care of her thirst and hunger, she really had to pee. Although, to be perfectly honest, she wasn’t sure the NeverBreeders needed a bathroom. They were perfectly smooth between their legs—at least from the few glimpses she had caught. How did they eliminate wastes?

The very back of the ship was obviously a holding area for prisoners. It looked like it could hold ten or twelve comfortably—or two or three if one of them was as big as the two-headed Trollox that had died. Ugh!

Penny was just despairing of finding anyplace to relieve herself when she at last spied a tiny, recessed door that she’d missed on her way to look at the holding area. When she let herself in, she saw a strange kind of toilet that appeared to be nothing but a long tube coming out of the floor, attached to an oval head. There was also a round metal shower stall in one corner but Penny barely paid attention to it because by now she really had to go.

But how?

She plucked the hose-like device carefully from the hook it was hanging from and looked uncertainly at the oval attachment. Was it some kind of suction device? It looked a little bit like a vacuum cleaner attachment.

Experimentally, she pressed the blue button on the wall beside the hook and sure enough, a long slit opened in the oval head and it began to suck. So it was like the toilets in the bathrooms at Hell’s Gate Station, Penny thought.

But she didn’t see any of the sanitary arrangements that were on the other suction toilets. Did the NeverBreeders press this oval thing between their crotches or wherever their waste came out? Did they clean it between times? What if they didn’t? She didn’t see any cleaning materials. The awful thing was probably crawling with germs. Ugh! And she had touched it!

Suddenly Penny had the urge to wash her hands—her whole body, in fact. She eyed the tall metal shower cylinder in the corner and wondered if there was hot water available.

“Maybe I’ll just pee in the shower,” she muttered to herself, turning to place the hose and its attachment gingerly back on its hook on the wall. “Who knows how the NeverBreeders use that thing anyway?”

“We press it to our cloaca and allow it to suck the wastes from our body, of course,” a high, androgynous voice said from right behind her.

Penny screamed and whirled around to see the biggest NeverBreeder she’d ever seen standing in the now-open shower stall, glaring at her.

EIGHTY-FIVE

“Is that you, sweetheart?” V called when he heard the footsteps behind him. “I’ve got us on autopilot now, headed back to Hell’s Gate. My own ship is docked on the far end, so—”

“You will turn the ship around and go back to Yown Alpha at once,” an unfamiliar voice said behind him.

“What in the Seven Hells?” V spun around to see a NeverBreeder which was larger than most standing behind him. Worse, the bastard had one arm around Penelope’s waist and was holding a long, wickedly sharp knife at her throat.

“You heard me, breeder,” the orange humanoid said. He was taller than Penny, which gave him the advantage over her. As if the knife wasn’t advantage enough, V thought grimly.

“Let her go,” he growled, feeling the Rage rise in him again.

“No,” the NeverBreeder guard said coolly. “I will hold her hostage while you turn the ship around and set a course for Yown Alpha.”

“Never,” Penelope’s voice was low and trembling but her brown eyes were fierce. “V’rex will never do what you say!”

“He’d better…” The NeverBreeder guard slid the tip of the knife slowly up and down the side of her neck. “This blade has been dipped in the sap of the Toxic-shock vine. If I draw even a single drop of blood from your lovely flesh, you’ll be poisoned instantly, breeder. And I assure you it will not be a pleasant death.”

“You’re bluffing,” V growled though he was desperately afraid the NeverBreeder wasn’t. He was barely holding back the Rage which threatened to overcome him—it wanted to fall like a red curtain over his vision when he saw his female being threatened. But he had to think now, had to act rationally if he wanted to get Penelope out of this alive…

“I assure you, breeder, that I never bluff,” the NeverBreeder said sharply. “Now set the course and then the two of you will be locked safely in the hold while I pilot us back to the Compound. Once we are there, the Glorious Leader will know how to deal with both of you.”

“No!” Penelope’s voice rose to a sudden shout. “We’re never going back there—never!”

She twisted in the NeverBreeder’s arms suddenly and jammed her elbow into his midsection.

The guard made a sound like “Whoof!” and doubled over as her blow knocked the breath out of him. Before he could get it back again, V sprang at him, grabbing the long silver knife from his hand and punching the NeverBreeder square in the face. Then he pulled out his blaster and shot, vaporizing the bastard’s head.

The headless body fell backwards, the legs in their silver jumpsuit still twitching.

“Oh my God!” Penelope’s voice was low and shaky. “Oh my God, oh my God!”

“It’s all right, sweetheart!” V re-holstered his blaster in the belt holster he’d taken from one of the dead NeverBreeders in the jungle and went to her. “Everything is okay,” he told her, wanting to reassure her.

“I…I’m not sure that it is.” Penelope shook her head. “I…I feel so dizzy, V’rex.”

“It’s just shock. Here, let’s get you sitting down.” V started to reach for her and then realized he was still holding the NeverBreeder’s knife in his other hand. He started to toss it aside and then he took a closer look at it.

Running down the wickedly sharp blade was a single drop of crimson blood.

EIGHTY-SIX

“Fuck!” V’rex was looking with horror at the NeverBreeder’s knife. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Penny asked faintly. She was getting that breathless feeling again—the same one she’d had when they first entered the Deadly Jungle, before everything had gone gray and far away. “Why…why can’t I breathe?” she asked, her voice coming out as a gasp.

V’rex dropped the knife and lifted her chin to examine the side of her neck.

“The fucker wasn’t lying, I guess.” He sounded grim. He touched her neck carefully and his fingertips came away bloody. “He barely scratched you but the blade must have been poisoned, like he said.”

“Oh, no!” Penny exclaimed, but her voice came out in a breathless gasp. “Does that mean you’ll have to…to…sting me?”

“Afraid so, sweetheart.” He looked like a man who was about to make himself do something he really, really didn’t want to do. “Still, we’re out of the jungle now,” he muttered, sounding like he was talking to himself. “Maybe that will help.”

“Help what?” Penny tried to ask, but her throat had closed almost completely by now. She tried to suck in a breath but it was like breathing through a straw. Frantically, she clawed at her throat.

Can’t breathe—can’t breathe!

“Hang on, sweetheart—I’m hoping this won’t hurt you this time,” V’rex murmured.

And then he was pulling her into his arms and Penny felt the blunt, fiery probe of his stinger skewering the tender side of her neck.

At once, she was on fire! The pain she’d experience the past two times he’d stung her was nothing to this. This was a burning everywhere—her nerves, her flesh, even her very bones were being incinerated in the most horrific agony imaginable!

This is Hell—I’m in Hell, Penny thought. Her throat opened up at last and she sucked in a double lungful of air and expelled it in a shriek of pure torture. She couldn’t even form the words to ask the big Hybrid to stop stinging her. All she could do was writhe and shriek while she burned and burned and burned…

And then everything went dark as her body and brain overloaded from the pain and she fell down the blessed well of unconsciousness.

EIGHTY-SEVEN

V despised himself. As he held Penelope’s limp body in his arms, shame and self-hatred rose in him so strongly it made him physically ill. He had felt the unbearable pain his sting had caused her and it was as though he had stood by and watched himself carve her flesh with a knife while she screamed.

He wanted to throw back his head and howl, to tear out his hair or cut his own flesh or perform some other kind of self-flagellation to atone for the agony he had brought to his love.

Though he knew what he had done was necessary to save her, he still wanted to die. To cause such horrible pain to the female he loved was almost unbearable—the Kindred side of him wanted to end things.

It was the Kru’ell One half of him that kept him going—kept him from harming or killing himself after he had committed what felt like a physical assault on the woman he loved.

You did what you had to in order to save her, that half of him informed V. And if you kill yourself for it, who’s going to pilot her safely home? She still needs you, V—even if your sting is painful to her now. She still can’t get back to her home world without you.

The dry, practical voice in his skull saved him from doing something he would have regretted later—if he even lived to regret it. Carefully, he laid Penelope in the passenger’s seat, which was only a little too small for her, whereas the pilot’s chair was way too small for V, having been built for NeverBreeder dimensions.

He watched her carefully and saw that her breathing was no longer labored. Well, thank the Goddess for small favors! His sting might be agonizing to her now, but at least it still did its job. She was cured of the poison…though V was afraid she might have a permanent aversion to him personally when she finally woke up.

Not that I’d blame her, he thought grimly to himself. He had to find out what had happened—why her body was reacting so badly to his sting and his lust-honey.

Because if he couldn’t sting her without causing her pain, he couldn’t bond her to him. And now that they were finally free of the Compound and the cult that had held them both captive, that was all V wanted to do.

EIGHTY-EIGHT

Penny woke on a much different starship—a more luxurious one than the utilitarian craft of the NeverBreeders by far. She was strapped into a plush chair covered in some kind of black suede and the instruments blinking in neat orderly rows around her were sleek and silver and very high-tech.

“What…where?” She blinked, sitting up more fully in the plush chair. Someone had draped a warm blue blanket made of some ultra-soft material over her and she pushed it aside as she looked around.

“In my ship, in the dock at Hell’s Gate,” a familiar voice said.

Looking around, Penny saw V’rex sitting beside her in the pilot’s chair, which was also made of the same plush black suede. He was dressed as he had been when she had first seen him in the Lucky Lounge—in tight black leather trousers and a black leather vest that showed his massive arms and golden tattoos. He was sipping something steaming out of a large, thick mug but he set it carefully down in a holder beside him in order to lean over and look at her more closely.

Penny flinched away—she couldn’t help it. Her last memory was of the horrible, burning agony of his sting and she felt like she’d rather do anything than endure that again.

V’rex must have seen her flinch because he drew back, a grim expression on his face.

“I’m sorry I had to sting you again, sweetheart,” he said in a low, hoarse voice. “It’s just…you were poisoned by that fucking NeverBreeder’s blade and you couldn’t breathe—”

“I know,” Penny said quickly, drawing in on herself. “I understand. You…you did what you had to do and you saved my life…again.” She cleared her throat. “For which I am so, so grateful. But V’rex please—please promise me that you’ll never sting me again. I…I don’t think I could take it. It was so painful.”

She shivered as she remembered the awful burning agony—the feeling of being consumed by flames until the darkness had eaten her vision.

The big Hybrid went very still and she saw his eyes widen for a moment. He swallowed convulsively and she suddenly feared that she might have hurt his feelings.

I shouldn’t have said anything, Penny scolded herself. But the pain had been so bad. She’d heard of women fainting in childbirth, but she’d never experienced an agony so dreadful that it caused her to lose consciousness before.

It was like the intense pleasure the lust-honey was supposed to cause had been turned on its ear so that it forced the worst pain imaginable through her nerve endings instead. Just the thought of going through it again was more than she could bear.

Still, the look on his face…

“V’rex,” she said, reaching out a hand to him. “Look, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I know I sounded ungrateful just now. It’s just—”

“No.” He held up a hand to stop her. “No, you made a request of me and I will answer honestly and without malice.”

His words were so strangely formal that Penny wasn’t sure what to think. But his next action surprised her even more. He slid out of the captain’s seat and went down on one knee in front of her like a man about to propose marriage.

“V’rex—” she began, reaching for him but he captured her hand in both of his and looked earnestly into her eyes.

“Penelope,” he said. “From this day forward, I swear on my honor as a Warrior that I will not sting you or attempt to bind you to me in any way. I will respect the request you have made of me and let you walk your own path in life while I walk mine. And never shall our paths meet.”

“What?” Penny didn’t know what to make of this. Why was he being so formal and what did he mean about their paths never meeting? “Are you…are you breaking up with me?” she asked haltingly, and then wished immediately she could take the words back. “I mean, not that we were ever together,” she said quickly. “Not for real, anyway. Of course, we had to pretend in the Compound because if we hadn’t, they would have recycled us, but—”

“All pretense is over now.” The big Hybrid’s voice was low and hoarse and his words were still strangely formal. “You are not mine and I am no longer yours. I Forswear you, Penelope.”

For some reason, his somber words and the look on his face made Penny want to cry. Whatever had happened between them, it seemed like it was a kind of breaking-up ceremony. And even though she’d been telling herself from the beginning that the big Hybrid wouldn’t want her anymore after they got out of the Compound and he was no longer breathing the Spice, it still hurt dreadfully that he was basically casting her aside.

At least he did it in person, whispered a sad little voice in her head. Not like Garret who just texted you, “It’s over,” out of the blue one day…

Penny knew that she was about to cry and she didn’t want to do it in front of him.

“Could…could you point me towards the bathroom?” she asked, her voice thick as she tried to hold back her tears. “I, uh, still really need a shower.” She nodded down to the tattered blue toga which she was still wearing to excuse her sudden exit.

“Of course.” V’rex nodded. “It’s down the main corridor and on the right, past the food prep area. And the door right beside it is your room. You should find some clothes that will fit you on the bed. I have a replicator on board so I made some for you while you were out.”

“Th-thank you,” Penny somehow managed to get out. And then she was up and running blindly down the corridor towards the back of the ship as the tears stung her eyes.

EIGHTY-NINE

V’rex felt her pain as he Foreswore her—it echoed his own—a deep, aching emptiness in his heart that could never be filled by any other female.

But it couldn’t be helped.

In asking him never to sting her again, Penelope had been, in essence, asking for her freedom from the connection they had formed at the Compound. And though V’rex would have been more than happy to continue honoring the vows they had taken there, he couldn’t deny her request.

It wasn’t honorable or right to keep a female against her will—he might be a black hearted bastard who was half Kru’ell One, but he knew that, well enough.

If he couldn’t sting her, he couldn’t bond her to him. And without a soul-bond, there could be no long-term relationship. And so he had Foresworn her—it was the right thing to do and V’rex knew it.

He just wished it didn’t hurt so Goddess-damned much.

NINETY

The rest of V’rex’s ship was as luxurious as the front cabin. In fact, it was a lot like one of those opulent super yachts you see on shows about how the One Percent live. There was plush leather and gleaming fixtures everywhere, but Penny barely saw any of it as she rushed towards the back, hoping to find the bathroom before she broke down.

Thankfully, the door wasn’t hard to find. Penny threw herself inside and turned on the water full-force in the deep oval tub she found there. Only then, with the sound of rushing water to cover her sobs, did she feel free to let loose and cry as hard as she wanted to.

Gut-wrenching sobs shook her as she crouched on the floor, huddled in a ball with her knees drawn up to her chin. The emotional pain she felt now, after the big Hybrid had cut her loose, echoed the physical pain of his sting and caused an ache so deep it felt like a black hole had opened inside her chest.

“It’s over, it’s over,” she whispered to herself between sobs. “It’s over, it’s over.”

She didn’t come back to herself until she realized that the oval bathtub was dangerously close to overflowing. Hastily, she wiped her eyes and ran to turn off the water. It was steaming hot and it made Penny realize that she really did need a bath.

She used the restroom quickly—she also still had to pee and thank goodness the toilet was more normal in here—and then stripped off her stained and tattered toga.

As she sank into the steaming water, she tried to reason with herself—tried to reason with the deep unhappiness which had settled inside her, like a dark bird that had come to perch in her soul.

“It shouldn’t hurt this badly,” she told herself as she sank down, letting the hot water lap around her chin. It stung the place where the NeverBreeder’s knife had cut her, but Penny didn’t care about that.

“It shouldn’t hurt so much,” she told herself again. “We were only together a little under a month and we weren’t even really together. We were pretending so we didn’t get into trouble and get recycled. I was with Garret for almost a year and I got over that breakup just fine. So a month should be nothing!”

But it didn’t feel like nothing. It felt terrible—like V’rex had torn her heart out when he’d said, “I foreswear you.”

Even her breasts had dried up—they were no longer producing the nectar the big Hybrid had sucked out of them so often in the past weeks. Come to think of it, they hadn’t produced anything since she’d first entered the Deadly Jungle, Penny thought dully. Her pussy was fine too—no swelling or tenderness. It was as though her body had decided to follow her heart and end her need for V’rex entirely.

Except I still feel like I need him, she thought as the tears started again. Need him so much…

As she washed her hair, Penny tried to understand the source of her emotional agony. Maybe having V’rex break up with her was so much more painful because of everything they’d been through together. After all, they’d been fighting for their lives.

All she and Garret had ever done together was order take-out and watch shows on the various streaming services. They’d barely even ever gone out for dinner and a movie, let alone anything exciting or death-defying like what she’d been doing with V’rex.

The fact that there had been so much more on the line during her relationship with the big Hybrid had made it seem more intense, that was all. Or so Penny told herself. But it still hurt.

Oh God, how it hurt.

NINETY-ONE

Penny stayed in the tub until she was able to get her emotions under control—which meant she was in the bathroom for several hours. She hoped it wasn’t the only restroom and that V’rex wasn’t waiting to use it because she didn’t want to face him until she could look him in the eye without crying.

At last, after hours of self-analysis and talking sternly to herself about how she needed to act like a grown woman and not a teenager who had just been jilted right before the prom, she finally felt ready to get out. She splashed some cold water on her face and eyes to ease the swelling and redness from her prolonged bout of tears, and took some deep breaths.

Then she let the water out of the tub and looked for a towel. Rather than the fuzzy terrycloth rectangle she was used to, she found a long black piece of fabric hanging on the rack beside the deep oval tub.

Penny wrapped herself in it and found that it draped around her curves like silk but was twice as absorbent as any cotton towel she’d ever used. It fell to her ankles too and looked almost as elegant as an evening dress.

A glance in the 3-D viewer told her that she looked fine—if a little pale. Lifting her chin and telling herself everything was going to be all right, she left the bathroom.

There was a door right beside the one that led to the bathroom and she remembered vaguely that V’rex said it would be her bedroom and he had laid out some clothes for her. She was about to let herself in when she heard him calling her name from the front of the ship.

“Penelope? Can I talk to you?” his deep voice asked.

Penny felt her heart skip a beat. She told herself sternly that it was probably nothing but she couldn’t help the flutter in her stomach as she walked quickly towards the front of the ship.

“Yes?” she asked, coming to stand beside the captain’s chair.

V’rex had been staring down at the gleaming instrument panel but when he looked up, he sucked in his breath and she saw his pale gold eyes rake over her body, taking in the way the black towel-dress draped around her curves.

“Gods, you look…rested,” he said hesitantly, at last but Penny had an idea that “rested” wasn’t the word he’d been about to speak. Had he been going to tell her she was beautiful? Could it be that he still wanted her?

No, don’t be silly! she told herself, but she couldn’t help the little candle flame of hope that flickered to life in her heart.

“Thank you,” she said, giving him a small smile. “I’ve been, uh, enjoying your bathroom.” (Which was true, if by “enjoying” she meant “crying her eyes out.”) “Your ship is so luxurious,” she added.

“Won it from a minor lordling on Telex Five in a hand of Double-Blind Jowzer,” he said briefly. “He was a fucking lousy card player but he had good taste.”

“He, uh, certainly did.” Penny looked appreciatively around the plush cabin and nodded politely. “Um…was there a reason you wanted to see me?” she asked at last.

“Oh, right.” V’rex cleared his throat. “Actually, there was. I, uh…” He cleared his throat again. “I was thinking that it’s been a long time since…since your breasts were drained of nectar. And I thought…you might be in pain.”

“Oh…” Penny’s heart sank. She wished desperately that she did need his help. It would have given them an excuse to be together. But she didn’t have a single drop of nectar left in her breasts, so there was no excuse to ask him to suck them.

“Well?” V’rex raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

“I…I don’t know why, but the, uh, nectar dried up,” Penny said in a low voice. “I don’t have the, uh, other problem either. I haven’t had either one since we first went into the jungle, I don’t think. Maybe…” she cleared her throat. “Maybe being away from the air inside the atmosphere bubble has negated the effects of the Mother’s Milk.”

“Really? Not a drop of nectar left?” V’rex gave her a skeptical frown. “You wouldn’t just be saying that because you’re embarrassed, would you? I don’t want you to be in pain, just because we’re Foresworn, Penelope.”

“No, honestly—look.” Penny opened the front of her towel, baring her breasts for him as she had so often in the past few weeks. But this time she felt her heart thumping against her ribs as never before.

Maybe looking at her bare breasts would stir the big Hybrid. Maybe he would decide that he did want her after all and that they ought to be together. Maybe—

“Gods.” V’rex’s deep voice was hoarse and he looked away from her breasts quickly. “I see you’re telling the truth,” he said shortly. “Thank you for telling me so I don’t…don’t have to worry.” He cleared his throat again, still looking fixedly at the control panel instead of Penelope’s exposed chest. “As I told you before, I replicated you some clothes. Please let me know if they fit. If not, I can always make you something else.”

“Oh…” Penny felt crushed but she tried not to let it show in her voice. “Okay, thank you,” she said and tried to smile—not that he was looking at her. Quickly she wrapped the towel around herself again. “Thank you for…for offering to help,” she said in a low voice, and then ran back to her bedroom as quickly as she could.

NINETY-TWO

Gods! Both of V’s hands had tightened into fists as he fought with himself—fought to keep from cupping her full, naked breasts in his hands and sucking her ripe pink nipples as he so often had in the past solar month.

She’s not yours anymore—she doesn’t need you to do that anymore, whispered a stern voice in his head. And if you start, do you think you’ll be able to stop with just sucking her breasts?

V knew he wouldn’t. He wanted her too badly—wanted to bond her to him too desperately. But he had to remember that he had Foresworn her—had to remember that any attempt to bond her to him would only result in agonizing pain for the woman he still desperately loved.

And so he turned away, forcing himself not to look at her luscious curves, put on display just for him. Forcing himself to forget the many times he had sucked her ripe nipples and drained the sweet nectar—the many times he had spread her full thighs and lapped up her pussy honey as well…

He felt her confusion and hurt as she stood there but he couldn’t make himself look, couldn’t make himself explain. After a moment, Penelope covered herself once more and left.

It was then that V really began to wonder what he could do with the curvy little female. He couldn’t bond her to him and he wanted her so badly that being near her like this—breathing in her fresh, feminine fragrance and seeing her lush curves—was pure torture.

If he was going to keep his vow to Foreswear her, it was time they parted ways.

NINETY-THREE

Penny got dressed quickly, cursing herself for a desperate fool the entire time.

He doesn’t want you anymore. That’s why he broke up with you, she scolded herself. Don’t forget there’s no Spice in the air here to make him think you’re some gorgeous supermodel instead of a plus-sized girl who could stand to lose some weight!

But if he didn’t want her, why had he asked about her breasts in the first place? Why would he bring up the need to drain them of nectar if he didn’t want to suck them?

He was just being nice, that’s all, Penny told herself savagely. He didn’t want you to be in pain so he was offering to help until you could find some other solution. And when he realized he didn’t need to help you anymore, he was probably relieved…He—wait…what am I wearing?

Penny looked down at herself and frowned. She’d grabbed the first garment on the bed and put it on blindly, just wanting to cover herself and forget the embarrassing incident she’d just caused. But now, as she took time to examine it, she realized it looked exactly like the warm-skin suit that Kat had made her to wear on Yown Beta. It was tight and black and it hugged her curves every bit as provocatively as the suit she had lost to the NeverBreeders.

Crap! The last thing she wanted to do was put her body on display, especially when V’rex was so clearly no longer interested. But the other items of clothing he had made for her were all the same kind of body suit—just in different colors.

Giving up on finding something different, Penny simply went back to the bathroom and got another long, silky towel to wrap around herself as a kind of sweater. She would ask V’rex to make her something else to wear soon…

If she could ever bear to face him again, that was.

NINETY-FOUR

“You need to tell me where to take you,” V made himself say when they finally sat down to Last Meal together.

“Take me?” Penelope looked up from her steaming bowl of licklack stew which she had barely been picking at and frowned. “Why would you take me somewhere?”

“Because we are Foresworn,” V said patiently. “Which means we have to part ways. As much as I wish you could, you can’t stay here aboard my ship forever.”

“Who says I want to?” Penelope shot back, lifting her chin. “I mean, while I appreciate your hospitality, it’s really not necessary. We’re docked at Hell’s Gate, right? So I’ll just leave the ship and go back to the Lucky Lounge where…where I first saw you.” She cleared her throat. “And that’s that—we never have to see each other again.”

“You want me to just leave you here? In the most corrupt and dangerous station in the whole sector?” V growled. “I don’t think so. And why would you want to go back to the Lucky Lounge?”

“To make a long-distance call, of course,” Penelope said, frowning. “To let the Kindred of the Mother Ship know I’m stranded because my ship-mates got stuck and frozen in a slow time-suck.”

“You can’t fold space in the Yown System,” V pointed out. “It’ll take them at least a solar week if not more to come to you once they get the call.”

“I know that.” Her chin went even higher and he felt the stubbornness coming from her. “It doesn’t matter—I’ll just wait for them in Hell’s Gate. I’ll be fine.”

“The hell you will,” V growled. “If you really think I’ll let you walk out of here and hang around unprotected while you wait for help that might or might not come—”

“They’ll come!” Penelope flashed and he felt her anger. “Captain Sylvan is an honorable male. He won’t just leave me here.”

“Well, I won’t either,” V snapped. “Even if I’m not as honorable as your precious Commander Sylvan.”

He knew the leader of the Kindred Mother Ship by reputation, though he didn’t know any personal details about him. Was he bonded to someone? Did he want to bond with Penelope?

The thought made his jaw clench and his teeth grind. Mine, whispered a little voice in the back of his head.

Not anymore, V reminded himself grimly. You’re Foresworn, remember?

But still, even if he couldn’t Claim Penelope for his own, he wasn’t going to leave her here to fend for herself!

“Look,” he said, taking a deep breath to calm the possessive wave that tried to rise inside him. “Let’s not part on a bad note. You can make the call from my ship and avoid the Lucky Lounge altogether. Only lowlifes go there, anyway.”

“You were there,” she pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.

“My point exactly,” V said dryly. “Make the call from here and then wait here, where it’s safe, until they come pick you up.”

She frowned. “I thought you wanted to get rid of me? Thought you wanted me off your ship?”

“I never said that,” V protested. “I said that since we can’t be together, we have to part eventually. But I never said anything about kicking you off to wander around a dangerous hole like Hell’s Gate. What kind of male do you think I am?”

Penelope opened her mouth, clearly to voice a sharp retort, but then her anger died abruptly and she shook her head.

“I…I don’t know, anymore,” she said softly. “I thought I knew you—thought I was beginning to know you, anyway, back in the Compound. But now…I just don’t know.”

Her words felt like a dagger in V’s heart but he kept his face expressionless.

“You’ll make the call from here and wait until they come to pick you up,” he said again.

“But…do you want to be here when the Kindred come?” Penny protested. “You’re like Public Enemy Number One to them. You’re not afraid they’ll try to arrest you or take you in or something?”

V shook his head.

“Not if you ask them not to. They’re Kindred, after all, which means they’ll keep their word.”

“All right.” She nodded reluctantly. “Since I don’t really have anywhere to stay in Hell’s Gate, I’ll take you up on your offer. And…” She looked away from him. “I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

V wanted to tell her she didn’t have to do that—that she could never be in his way when he only wanted to hold her and touch her and love her. But he swallowed the words and kept his face blank.

“We’ll place the call right after Last Meal,” he said.

“Why wait?” Penelope put down her spoon. “I’m not hungry anymore. Let’s make the call now.”

“Fine.” V put down his own spoon as well and rose from the table. He made a sweeping gesture towards the front of the ship, where the communications array and viewscreen were located. “After you.”

“Thank you.” And she swept past him, leaving a feeling as cold as ice in her wake.

NINETY-FIVE

“Oh, Penny! We’re so glad to hear from you!” Kat exclaimed, the minute she appeared on the viewscreen. “Where are you? We were expecting some kind of communication from you and Commander Rive and Y’lla ages ago but there’s been nothing. Have you been trying and you just couldn’t get through because of all the subspace distortions and temporal anomalies?”

“Well…not exactly.”

Penny wasn’t exactly sure how to explain everything that had happened to her in the time since she’d last seen her friend. It was too much to go into—too overwhelming. But she could give Kat the basics.

“Commander Rive and Y’lla are stuck in a slow time-suck—I mean, a temporal anomaly,” she said. “I barely escaped from it myself.”

“Oh, no!” Kat looked stricken. “That’s terrible.”

“Well, they got stuck together at least,” Penny offered, trying to make her feel better. Literally, she thought, remembering how her shipmates had been in the middle of making loud and exuberant love right before they’d been caught in the time-suck. “But I’m afraid they’re probably not coming back any time soon,” she added. “So I’m kind of on my own out here.”

“I hate to ask, but did you guys recover the Eye of Ten’gu before they got stuck?” Kat asked. “I know that sounds insensitive but Nadiah just had another vision and the Goddess told her it was urgent that we recover it. Sylvan is afraid someone else is moving in on it.”

“I’m afraid not.” Penny felt awful, like she was falling down on the job. Here she had been specially hired for this particular mission that the Kindred considered extremely important and she had failed to even get to the planet where the dig was supposed to happen!

Also, she didn’t discount what Kat said about the Kindred Goddess as she had back at the beginning of her mission. After hearing the warm, comforting female voice that bolstered her spirits back at the Compound, Penny was no longer quite so agnostic as she had been before. So if the Goddess said something bad was about to happen if they didn’t get the artifact quickly, she believed it was so.

But what could she do?

“I’m afraid you’ll have to send another team to meet me here,” she said to Kat apologetically. “The whole ship is engulfed in the time bubble and from what I heard from the, uh, natives of Hell’s Gate, it’s probably not going to move out anytime soon. So I have no way to get to Yown Beta and find the Eye of Ten’gu.”

“Yes, you do.” V’rex was suddenly there, sliding into the captain’s chair beside her, though he had promised to give her privacy for the call.

“V’rex!” Penny exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“V’rex?” There was alarm in Kat’s blue eyes as she stared through the viewscreen at the huge Hybrid. “Penny, I warned you about him!”

“I know, I know,” Penny said quickly. “And I didn’t go looking for him—I promise. It’s just that the two of us both got captured by the same cult and then we were put together in the Unification Ceremony as Forever Mates and we had to pretend to be a couple until we escaped or we would have been recycled. We’re not together now—I’m just staying on V’rex’s ship until you can send another team to help me recover the Eye because I have nowhere else to stay in Hell’s Gate.”

“My goodness…” Kat blinked, clearly overcome by the rush of information. “It sounds like you’ve been having all kinds of adventures.”

“If being captured by a cult of NeverBreeders and their ‘Glorious Leader’ and then running for our lives through the fucking Deadly Jungle is your idea of an adventure, then yes. Yes we have,” growled V’rex. “But it was no fucking fun—I can tell you that.” He looked at Penny. “Well, most of it wasn’t, anyway.”

Penny felt her cheeks getting hot but she refused to acknowledge the big Hybrid’s allusion to the sexual relationship they’d had at the Compound.

“Anyway, as I said, we escaped and now I’m in V’rex’s ship at the far end of Hell’s Gate Station,” she said to Kat. “I’m sorry I can’t go get the artifact for you, but if you’ll send another team—”

“Or just send the two of us,” V’rex cut in again. “Hey,” he said, shrugging at Penny when she shot him a scowl. “I’ve got nothing better to do. We might as well get your work done as sit around here for a solar week waiting for the Kindred to show up.”

“I don’t know about this…” Kat looked indecisive. “Hang on, doll,” she said to Penny. “I need to talk to Sylvan before we go any further.”

The screen went blank for a moment and Penny turned on the big Hybrid furiously.

“Why are you doing this? Why are you embarrassing me in front of my boss? Now they’re going to think I lost my head and ran off and had a romantic fling instead of doing my job!”

“Being captured by the NeverBreeders was hardly a ‘fling,’” V’rex said dryly. “If they’re reasonable people, I’m sure they can see that.”

“Well, why are you offering to come with me?” Penny demanded. “What’s in it for you?”

The minute she said it, she wanted to call the words back. The look on V’rex’s face was beyond hurt. But a moment later the expression disappeared to be replaced by amused nonchalance.

“Maybe I’m afraid I’ll get bored sitting around here just waiting,” he drawled, shrugging one muscular shoulder at her. “Or maybe I just want one more ‘adventure’ with you before we never see each other again, sweetheart. Did you think of that?”

Penny wasn’t sure what to say. It was the first time he’d called her “sweetheart” since he had Forsworn her. What did it mean? Did he care after all? Or did he really just want to help her as a way of saying goodbye?

“I don’t—” she began but just then the viewscreen came back to life and this time it showed Commander Sylvan. The normally mild-mannered Head of the High Council was glaring at the big Hybrid fiercely. His fangs were out and showing and he looked more menacing than Penny had ever seen him.

“V’rex,” he said, addressing the other male directly. “What is your stake in this game? What are your intentions towards Penelope? She is in my employment and under my care. If you harm her, you will have me to answer to.”

V’rex’s face lost its mocking charm and became serious at once.

“Penelope and I have been through a lot together in the last solar month,” he said, meeting Sylvan’s pale blue eyes unflinchingly. “I do not wish her any harm and you should know that I have Foresworn myself of her.”

“Then why do you wish to help her recover the artifact we sent her to get?” Sylvan demanded. “I’ll tell you now that the Eye of Ten’gu has no monitory value. We only wish to recover it because of a prophecy sent by the Goddess. It’s a dangerous artifact that carries great risk and evil with it.”

“I’m not looking to steal it, if that’s what you’re thinking,” V’rex said, frowning. “I want to help Penelope because I owe her my life. I couldn’t have survived in the situation we were both in if I hadn’t had her to confide in. She helped me keep up my courage.” He shot a glance at Penny. “In fact, I’ve never met any female as brave and strong and beautiful as she is.”

Penny didn’t know what to say and apparently, neither did Commander Sylvan. He just looked at V’rex for a long moment.

“You speak like a male who wishes to bond a female to him,” he said at last. “But you tell me that you have Forsworn Penelope?”

“I have.” V’rex frowned. “Circumstances make our bonding…impossible. But that doesn’t mean I admire her any less. If she has a difficult or dangerous job to do, I want to be with her to protect her and see her safely back again.” He cleared his throat. “To tell the truth, Commander, I don’t think I would be able to rest, knowing she was in danger. I must be with her on this mission. My honor demands it.”

Sylvan frowned.

“There are some who would say you have no honor, V’rex.”

“Because of my status as a Hybrid with a Kru’ell One half, or my harassment of your ships?” V’rex growled. “Because let me tell you, Commander—I have good reason to doubt the honor of the Kindred as well.”

“What do you mean? Explain,” Sylvan demanded.

“My mother, Ellora of the tribe of Tar’quill was a rare Beast Kindred female—a Khalla as the Kindred call them,” V’rex growled. “She was kidnapped by my Sire and raped—impregnated with me. But when the Kindred came searching for her and found out one of their sacred Khallas had been defiled, they didn’t even bother to bring her back. She died by my Sire’s hand because they wouldn’t bear the shame of having a despoiled Khalla on their hands.”

Sylvan frowned.

“I know the sad story of your mother’s capture, V’rex,” he said seriously. “For my own Sire was married to a Beast Kindred female for a time—this was when I was only a child—and my half-brother, Baird, was born on Rageron. But as I heard it told, your mother’s brothers went searching for her but never found her, though they never gave up the search.”

“I don’t believe you,” V’rex sneered. “The Kindred abandoned my mother—and me—to the tender mercies of a Kru’ell One. You pretend to be so good and honest and yet you won’t even defend a female in need!”

“Again, that isn’t how I heard the story,” Sylvan said in a low voice. “May I ask who told it to you? Was it your mother?”

“No. My Sire,” V’rex snapped. “He loved to tell it because it made my mother cry.”

Penny’s heart ached for the big Hybrid all over again. What a terrible childhood he must have had! Was it any wonder he’d grown up to be on the wrong side of the law when he hated both sides of his heritage so much?

“Let me do some research into your story,” Sylvan said at last. “As Head of the High Council, I have plenty of contacts. I’ll send my half-brother Baird, who is a Beast Kindred himself, to investigate personally.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” V’rex waved a hand, as though shooing away an inconsequential fly. “What’s done is done. I’m just letting you know why I hold you all in contempt. But it doesn’t matter how I feel about you—I’m focused on Penelope now.” He glanced at her and then looked back at Sylvan, intently. “I want to protect her during this mission and I swear by the Goddess I will.”

Sylvan nodded reluctantly.

“You are willing to give me your oath as a Warrior?”

“I am.” V’rex nodded and lifted his chin. “I swear by The Mother of All Life that I will guard Penelope until the last breath leaves my body,” he said formally. “I will shield her from harm or danger. The first drop of her blood shall not spill unless the last drop of mine has been poured out upon the floor as I die defending her.”

“It’s a good oath.” Sylvan nodded in approval. “Strong. You may be called upon to live up to it. The more we learn about the Eye of Ten’gu, the deeper our unease grows. It is an evil artifact—filled with the malice of the Cruel Father himself.”

“I heard stories of the Cruel Father from my Sire,” V’rex said steadily. “I’m not afraid.”

“I can see that you’re not. Very well.” Sylvan nodded, clearly having made a decision. “We’ll send a new team to pick Penelope up, but in the meantime, you can accompany her on the mission. Just remember,” he said, turning to look at Penny. “The Eye must be handled with care and it must not awaken. Keep it away from direct sunlight—that’s very important.”

“I understand.” She nodded. “Will you send me all the coordinates and details again, please? I’m afraid everything we had is still locked away in the long-range shuttle with Riva and Y’lla, engulfed in the time bubble.”

Sylvan frowned.

“Of course, I will. I’d like to say we’re looking into a way to free Commander Riva and Y’lla from the temporal anomaly, but as far as I know, there’s no known way to get anyone in or out of an anomaly. You just have to wait for the time bubble to move on.”

“That’s what I’ve heard too,” Penny said. She thought of poor Granny Two-two, going to visit her perpetually young parents, trapped forever in a party that never ended.

“Please be careful, doll,” Kat said, sticking her head into the frame with Sylvan. “It would be awful if you got stuck in one of those anomalies too!”

“Don’t worry—my ship has the latest in temporal sensors,” V’rex said. “Nobody else is getting stuck in a time-suck.”

“That’s good to know.” Sylvan nodded at him formally.

“There’s something else,” V’rex said. “If you want to prove your honor and that the Kindred give a damn about other people, there are over a thousand poor bastards trapped on Yown Alpha in a Compound in the middle of the Deadly Jungle.”

Sylvan frowned. “Would that be the, uh, ‘cult’ that Penelope told Kat about? The one that captured you both?”

“Exactly.” Penny nodded eagerly. “They capture people and brainwash them using hypno-whispers. They…” She almost choked on the words. “They force them to breed until they can’t produce any more babies and then they recycle them.”

“Recycle?” Sylvan frowned questioningly.

“They fucking chop them up and eat them,” V’rex said bluntly.

“I lost a friend that way.” Penny struggled to keep the tears out of her voice when she thought of poor Claudette. “She was the only other one there immune to the hypno-whispers aside from V’rex and me. I wanted to bring her out with us but just before we escaped, the cult killed her.”

“Oh, hon—I’m sorry,” Kat said sadly.

“They’re just horrible,” Penny said fiercely.

“They turn fetuses into little orange humanoids called ‘NeverBreeders’,” V’rex offered. “Oh, and their leader just goes by the title, ‘Glorious Leader.’”

“You can’t miss him—he looks like Colonel Sanders from KFC,” Penny added quickly.

“The Colonel? Really?” Kat exclaimed. “Are you serious, doll? You were captured by the Colonel and forced to live in a cannibal cult? That must have been so weird!”

“You have no idea.” Penny thought of the strange dreams she’d had, of the Glorious Leader whispering, “Call me Chicken Daddy,” and shivered.

“The point is, all of these people have been kidnapped from their regular lives, hypnotized, and forced to live and work and serve the ‘Glorious Leader’,” V’rex growled. “If you Kindred of the Mother Ship have any honor at all, you’ll check it out. Nobody else is going to bother and people are dying there—and getting fed to the other cult members once they do.”

“That’s disgusting!” Kat exclaimed.

“It was scary and horrible but we got away,” Penny said in a low voice. “But I don’t think anyone else will without help.”

“I will bring this to the High Council,” Sylvan said. “Once I explain the circumstances, I’m sure they’ll support the idea of sending warriors to liberate the kidnapped victims.”

“Be careful,” V’rex told him. “They’re pretty well armed and those little orange NeverBreeder bastards are tougher than they look.”

“They look like Oompa-Loompas,” Penny put in helpfully. “Only bald.”

“Colonel Sanders and his cult of bald cannibal Oompa-Loompas?” Kat shook her head. “Doll, that is just crazy.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Penny said fervently. “I’ll give you more details when I finally get back to the Mother Ship.”

“You’d better!” Kat said and shook her head again, wonderingly.

“If you’ll send me your coordinates, I’ll send the details of Penelope’s mission,” Sylvan said. He leaned forward and looked at V’rex. “Despite your reputation, I’m trusting you, V’rex—mainly because of your oath to Penelope.”

“I won’t fail you,” V’rex replied. “Just this once, we’re on the same side.” He arched an eyebrow. “Though I can’t promise that trend will continue after Penelope and I part ways.”

“Understood.” Sylvan nodded again and looked at Penny. “May the Goddess grant you success. I’ll send the information at once because time is of the essence. Please hurry.”

“As fast as I can,” Penny promised. She waved goodbye to Kat and then the viewscreen went blank.

When the conversation with the Mother Ship was over, she wasn’t sure what to say to V’rex. The big Hybrid’s oath to protect her had taken her breath away with its seriousness and sincerity. Why would he still want to protect her so much if they had decided to go their separate ways? Could it be that he still had feelings for her somehow?

But when she looked at V’rex, the big Hybrid was smirking at her as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Well, sweetheart,” he remarked, giving her a wink. “Looks like we’re going on one last ‘adventure’ together.”

“I…I guess so,” Penny said.

And then found she didn’t know what else to say.

NINETY-SIX

“Well, this looks like the entrance to the secret city under the mountain,” V’rex remarked as he maneuvered his ship through the narrow gorge that led to the sacred mountain, Ra’gar.

The high, craggy walls of deep gray stone rose all around them—it was like flying through the Grand Canyon, only with a lot less color, Penny thought.

“Looks like it,” she agreed. She was studying the maps they had printed out from the information Commander Sylvan had sent.

“The Father of Cruelty with reach from Afar

To the Eye of his scion asleep in the Dark

Buried so deep ‘neath the mountain Ra’gar,” she murmured, reading the first half of the prophecy again.

“Father of Cruelty—guess that’s the Cruel Father. Or Kru’ell Father in my Sire’s native tongue,” V’rex growled. “He’s the son-of-a-bitch who created the Kru’ell Ones in the first place. They’re meant to look like the Kindred but to be their exact opposite in temperament. Instead of revering and protecting females they…well, you know what happened to my mother,” he finished grimly.

“A dark mirror image,” Penny murmured and shivered. To take her mind off the Cruel Father, she looked through the print-outs again. Aside from the map and the prophecy, they also had a drawing of the Eye of Ten’gu and some notes about the artifact which Nadiah, the priestess who’d had the vision in the first place, had found in the archives on First World.

The Eye itself wasn’t a very large artifact. There was a drawing of it and to Penny, it looked a little like a stylized Egyptian eye from some ancient set of Hieroglyphics.

“Is that what we’re lookin’ for?” V’rex nodded at the drawing in her lap.

“Yes—listen to this.” Penny read from the notes on the print-out, which were written in an ancient, flowing hand.

“The Eye twill fit in the palm of a female’s hand. Yet tis heavier than it would appear and seems to drag upon the one who wears it. It is very beautiful, being painted with gold and stained with all manner of precious lazuli oils. Yet it carries with it a feeling of dread and he who wears it will feel a shadow on his soul which may not be lifted until the Eye of Ten’gu is removed.”

“The one who wears it?” V’rex asked, frowning. “Is it a piece of jewelry or something?”

“I don’t know.” Penny shook her head. “It doesn’t say. Sounds like it could be. And all that talk about a feeling of dread and a shadow on your soul…” She shivered. “Let’s just get it and get out of here as fast as possible.”

“Uh, that may be a problem, sweetheart,” V’rex remarked.

“What? Why?” Penny looked up to see that they had come to the end of the long, twisty gorge they’d been flying through. There, on the side of a vast mountain rising like a monolith into the gray sky of the frozen planet, she saw an immense crack which had been carved into the shape of a doorway. But resting on the canyon floor was a small army of alien spaceships.

“It looks like we’ve got company,” V’rex growled. “I’m afraid somebody beat us here.”

NINETY-SEVEN

“Who do you think is here?” Penny asked, staring at the ships as V’rex found an empty spot to park his own ship in.

“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the Fox’ens,” V’rex remarked. “See the markings on the sides of the ships? They’re all the same—all from the same tribe.”

“Commander Sylvan and Kat did tell me that they were worried about them coming up here to the Northern continent now that they’re spreading across Yown Beta,” Penny said. She nibbled her bottom lip worriedly. “Do you think they’ll be a problem?”

“I don’t know,” V’rex admitted. “I’ve only dealt with them a few times. Never had problems before but then, the stakes were never so high. They’re a very proud people and they value barter and contests of will over any kind of currency.”

“Sounds like a fascinating culture,” Penny said. “I just wish I was here to study them instead of trying to get an artifact out of a mountain they have clearly already claimed.”

“Chances are they haven’t been here long,” V’rex said. “Probably don’t even know where the Eye is hidden. You have the clues on your map, right?”

Penny nodded.

“It’s supposed to be in the deepest, darkest place in the mountain. Although I’m not sure how we’ll tell which spot is the deepest and the darkest in there. Mount Ra’gar is huge.” She motioned at the vast gray peak in front of them. “Also, I’m not sure how well I’m going to survive the cold out there. Kat had made me a warm-suit to wear that was supposed to keep me insulated but I lost it when the NeverBreeders captured me.”

“You won’t need to worry about the cold—not unless we’re here for over a week or so,” V’rex told her.

“What? Why not?” Penny asked.

“Because my lust-honey is still in your system.” He looked away as he spoke, busying himself with the ship’s controls and not meeting her eyes. “It will keep you warm enough—it works as a kind of biological antifreeze. Of course if we end up staying here for an extended length of time…”

“Then…you’d have to sting me again?” Penny asked in a small voice. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings but the idea of going through that fiery agony again was too much.

“No.” V’rex’s face hardened. “Then we’d have to go before you froze. I cannot sting you again under any circumstances—we are Foresworn, remember?”

“How could I forget?” Penny tried not to let the bitterness slip into her tone but it was hard not to. She still felt blindsided by the sudden way the big Hybrid had broken things off with her.

Although at least he’s willing to come along and help me with my mission, she reminded herself. That’s something, at least.

“You should be fine,” V’rex said, ignoring her comment. “I’ve stung you three times in the past two days. That’s enough lust-honey in your system to keep you from freezing for quite a while.”

“Okay…thanks,” Penny said numbly, not sure what else to say.

“Of course, we’ll still replicate you a fur body suit,” V’rex said casually. “One for me too. It will help us keep warm and fit in with the Fox’ens.”

“A fur bodysuit?” Penny asked, raising her eyebrows.

“The Fox’ens have a natural fur coat,” V’rex explained. “And they tend to get along better with people who emulate them. They consider it a form of flattery when ‘hairless ones’ as they sometimes call us, dress to look like them.” He frowned. “Might have the replicator whip a couple of fur hats for us, too. Couldn’t hurt.”

Penny shook her head as he finished locking the controls and went to the back of the ship, where the replicator was located. A fur body suit and a fur hat? Was she going to an archeology dig or to a Furry convention?

“Guess I’ll find out,” she muttered to herself and followed the big Hybrid.

NINETY-EIGHT

“There—now we look like people the Fox’ens will want to barter with.” V nodded in approval as he looked at himself in the 3-D viewer. He was wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit made of sleek, white fur that went all the way to his wrists and ankles. He had on a pair of warm fur boots as well, in the same color, and a white fur hat with fake fur ears that pointed straight up to mimic polite attention in the Fox’en society.

“Are you sure about this?” Penelope looked down at herself uncertainly. She was wearing an exact duplicate of V’s outfit except hers was made of sleek black fur instead of white. V thought the perky little fur ears at the top of her hat made her look fucking adorable.

“Sure, I’m sure,” he said. “Told you, I’ve had dealings with them before.”

“But I feel like I’m going to a Furry Convention!” she protested.

“A what?” V frowned at her.

“Oh, it’s a thing on Earth. A bunch of people who like to dress up like animals and get together and hang out together.” Her voice dropped. “And sometimes have sex, I’m pretty sure.”

“They have sex while dressed as animals?” V shook his head. “Sometimes I think I’ll never understand humans.”

“Well, we’re not all into that,” Penelope protested. “But still, I just feel…weird in this getup.” She nodded at herself in the viewer.

“Better get used to it,” V advised. “Do you want to be able to get in there and get the Eye or not?”

“Of course, I do!” she said.

“Then you’ll wear the outfit.” V frowned. “Now what have I got I can bring with me to barter with?” He snapped his fingers. “Of course! I got some bars of rare Silka spice the last time I hit a slave ship.”

“A what?” Penelope frowned.

“I like to harass the Kindred but it’s the slavers who are my main targets,” V explained. “I set the poor bastards they kidnapped free, set the slavers themselves adrift, and take whatever pretty items they’ve collected along the way as payment for my good deed.”

Going to the safe in the wall of the room—which happened to be his home office—he pressed his hand to the print identifier. The door hummed as it read his print then clicked open to reveal a small fortune in precious gems, rare currency, and luxury items. He chose a few things to put into a furry black pouch, including the carved wooden box of Silka spice sticks.

Opening the box, he looked to make certain the six delicate sticks were unbroken. They lay in narrow grooves on a bright orange velvet cushion, which made their indigo blue coloring even more intense.

“What is that stuff?” Penelope asked, coming forward to look at the open box curiously. She sniffed cautiously. “Smells like a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, and curry powder.”

“Silka spice is one of the rarest substances in the known universe,” V told her. “It’s said to give true visions of future or accurate answers to any question you ask before you take it. Of course, some people complain that the answers they’ve received are obscure and hard to understand, but that hasn’t tarnished the Silka’s reputation any. Just one of these sticks could buy my entire ship,” he added, closing the lid of the box carefully.

“Wow—they’re that expensive?” Penelope’s big brown eyes opened wide. “Are you sure you want to use them to barter with the Fox’ens?”

“Oh, I expect the Kindred to pay me back,” V’rex said, frowning. “Your Commander Sylvan seems like an honorable male and I’m sure they have the means.”

“There doesn’t seem to be any lack of money on the Mother Ship,” Penelope admitted. “I know everyone there gets paid really well—Sylvan’s wife, Sophie, is a teacher and she makes as much as he does for being Head of the High Council.”

“So Commander Sylvan is already mated?” V liked the Kindred leader better immediately. Though he himself had Foresworn the curvy little female, he still didn’t enjoy the idea of her going back to the Mother Ship and getting Claimed by some other male.

Sylvan had seemed very protective of Penelope, but now V saw it was just because he was responsible for her wellbeing, not because he had any other designs on her—which was a relief.

“Oh yes—for years now. They have the most adorable twins—a girl and a boy,” Penelope assured him.

“They sound like a gorgeous little family,” V said dryly. “Here, you’ll need some things to barter with, too.”

He gave Penelope a white fur pouch that matched his black one which he had filled with a few expensive little trinkets.

“Oh, and wear this,” he added. Reaching into the safe, he brought out a truly magnificent necklace made of beaten gold disks and rare rainbow-hued konga shells. He fastened it around Penelope’s neck where it rested like a shimmering jewel against the black fur of her suit.

“It’s beautiful!” She touched it reverently. “Is this worth as much as your ship, too?”

“At least twice as much, I’d estimate,” V’rex said, eyeing the treasure, which he’d lifted off a slave ship bound for the Badras Sector.

“But why are you having me wear it?” Penelope looked at him with wide eyes. “You don’t expect me to trade it for something, do you?”

“Not unless it’s absolutely necessary,” V told her. “But it shows our status and importance. A Fox’en male decks his female in wealth to raise his standing in the community. When they see us coming with you wearing that, we should get in to see the Chieftain with no problem.”

“So you don’t think we can just slip in and slip out again?” she asked doubtfully.

V shook his head.

“Nope, afraid not, sweetheart. We’ll have to go in as a mated pair, pretending we want to barter and then hope we can sneak off to look for the Eye when nobody’s looking. That’s a much better bet than trying to slip in undetected. The Fox’ens have an excellent sense of smell—they’d know we were there before we got two steps.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “You said we’ll go in as a mated pair—so we’re pretending to be a couple again?”

“I’m afraid so,” V said dryly. “Does that bother you?”

“No,” She shook her head and looked up at him from under her long eyelashes in a way that made his heart pound. “I…I don’t mind. After all, we have plenty of practice, don’t we?”

“We certainly do,” V agreed. Their gazes locked and for a moment he had to fight with himself not to gather her into his arms and taste her sweet mouth.

No, I can’t—we are Foresworn, he reminded himself fiercely. But for a long moment, he struggled with himself.

At last V was able to tear his eyes away from her lush lips. He cleared his throat.

“Are you all ready to go, sweetheart?”

“I think so.” Penelope looked down at the white fur pouch he had given her to wear. “What’s in this, anyway?”

“Just a few little ornaments and trinkets you might find useful if you have to barter,” V told her. He patted his own black fur pouch and nodded at her. “C’mon—let’s go see if we can barter our way inside the secret city under Ra’gar.”

He just hoped they could get inside and get the Eye before the Fox’ens were any wiser.

NINETY-NINE

There were guards standing just inside the huge crack which led into the mountain. The crack only went about a fourth of the way up the vast, craggy rock face and yet it was still as tall as a skyscraper, Penny thought.

The two Fox’ens looked, as Kat had described them, a lot like Arctic Foxes—though they were considerably larger, both standing over two meters in height. Their huge, fluffy ears added an additional foot, which made them almost as tall as V’rex.

They wore no clothing but they really didn’t need it because they each had a thick, furry pelt. The guard on the right had gray fur and the one on the left was brown all over with small white patches. When they saw V’rex and Penny approaching, they both snapped to attention and looked down their long, furry muzzles with alert warning in their large, liquid eyes.

“Greetings, worthy guardsmen of the Fox’ens of the Kin’kee Tribe,” V’rex said, nodding his head at them in a genial way.

Penny glanced up at him sharply. Had he said the kinky tribe? Was that really their name? But the big Hybrid was still speaking.

“We are but simple travelers, here to barter with your chieftain for the right to look upon the hidden city within,” he was telling the guards. “Would you consent to let us through?”

“I do not know…” The guard with gray fur spoke in a barking/growling kind of voice. “Many have wished to see the hidden city beneath Ra’gar but it is our tribe, the Kin’kee Tribe, who have claimed it for a home.”

“True. Yes, very true.” V’rex nodded wisely.

He appeared to think for a moment and then pulled two small, round balls that smelled very strongly of some kind of meat out of his black fur pouch.

“Tell me,” he said, offering one of the balls to the gray guard. “Have you ever sucked upon the balls of the Pon’quill people? They are tender and succulent in the extreme—they’re flavor is said to be unequalled anywhere in the known universe.”

“No, I have not had the pleasure of sucking these balls,” the gray guard admitted and Penny had to stifle a giggle. He took the offered meat ball with a long-fingered hand tipped in black claws and popped it in his mouth. His large eyes opened wide. “But this is exquisite!”

“I thought that as a member of the Kin’kee Tribe, you would enjoy sucking these special balls. Perhaps the flavor is tasty enough to buy passage inside your marvelous city?” V’rex asked politely, offering the other ball to the guard with brown spotted fur.

“Yes—yes, I believe that is a fair trade,” the second guard agreed, after also putting a ball in his mouth. “In fact, I will take you to Chieftain Swift Tail myself.” He stepped to one side and made a bow. “Enter, visitors. How may I announce you?”

“Please say that the Merchant V’rex and his lovely lady Penelope are here to pay our deepest respects to your fine chieftain and his own beautiful lady,” V’rex said politely.

“With pleasure.” The brown-furred guard nodded and preceded them into the vast cavern carved in the rock.

“Thank you.” V’rex nodded again to the remaining guard as they passed. “Remember to suck slowly—the greatest pleasure can be found in the balls only when you roll them in your mouth in a leisurely way.”

“I thank you.” The guard nodded. “Enjoy your stay in our fair city.”

He nodded at Penny as well, who nodded back while still trying not to giggle. But her amusement over V’rex’s words was soon overcome by wonder as she looked around the vast cavern they were entering.

The crack which made up the doorway extended into the entryway which meant that a huge, craggy ceiling rose high above them. It was so immense Penny felt like an ant crawling beneath it.

Soon enough, though, the ceiling got lower so that it was only a few stories above them and they came to an inner entry into what must be the hidden city itself.

Penny wasn’t exactly sure if the ancient Kindred had lived here at one time or if it had already been abandoned when they chose it as a resting place for the Eye of Ten’gu, but it certainly wasn’t abandoned now.

As the guard let them in, they walked down a busy main street with crowds of Fox’en people going about their business. Their coats came in all colors and lengths but it was easy to tell the males from the females because all of the female Fox’ens were wearing jewelry.

Many had bright, ostentatious necklaces on while others had their tall, furry ears pierced with large gold and silver hoops. Some even wore sparkling golden chains tied to their furry tails.

The guard led them through what seemed to be a market district with rows of stalls on either side. All kinds of things were being sold from ropes of fat sausages tied with red string, to tail and ear jewelry, to little decorative pink and purple and yellow pots with blue puffs of smoke emanating from them.

“Scents! Get the finest mating scents here!” a Fox’en merchant was chanting as he waved a lovely little cut-glass bottle of what appeared to be perfume.

“Oh, what kinds of scents?” Penny asked, stopping short. “I love perfume!”

“I don’t know if you’ll like this kind.” V’rex had an amused look on his face but he signaled the guard and they stopped so Penny could talk to the scent merchant.

“What kinds of perfumes do you sell?” she asked him, eyeing the colorful little glass bottles which were lined up behind him on a table in rows.

“Ah, my lady!” The merchant, who had grizzled grayish black fur and a long muzzle, bowed low. “What kind do I not have? For I travel through all of Yown Beta, gathering only the finest anal gland seepage to add to my vast collection.”

“Anal gland seepage?” Penny tried to keep the disgust off her face but she wasn’t entirely sure she succeeded.

“Why, of a surety, my lady!” the merchant exclaimed. “For instance, do you want to spice your mating life up a bit? Simply rub some exotic anal scent from a different tribe all over your fur before your mate begins biting your neck. It will be as though you were a strange and lovely female come to tempt him. He won’t be able to resist mounting you!”

“Before he starts biting my neck?” Penny asked.

“Of course! Or maybe you’d like to switch things up a bit and you mount him instead?” the merchant asked, grinning slyly. “I sell male mating scents for females to wear and female mating scents for males to wear. It confuses the senses most delightfully.” He winked at Penny. “So if that’s your desire, you’ll find no judgment here.”

“Well, that’s…very nonjudgmental of you,” Penny said weakly. “But I just don’t know—”

“What have you got to barter?” the merchant asked, looking with interest at her white fur pouch. “I’m running a special right now—three anal seepages for the price of two—providing you have good items to trade, of course.”

“Um…” Penny began, not sure how to turn him down.

“Perhaps we’ll come back later, friend,” V’rex said, giving the scent merchant a genial nod. “At the moment, we’re going to be introduced to Chieftain Swift Tail and his lovely lady.”

The merchant’s eyes widened.

“Oh, why you must be very important persons indeed! Don’t let me keep you. Here…” He pressed a blue cut-glass bottle into Penny’s hands before she could protest. “The finest female anal scents—my most expensive blend—a mixture of three different Alpha tribes,” he explained. “No, no—I can’t take any payment—it’s on the house.” He winked. “Though of course, if you might happen to open the bottle and let the scent waft out past the estimable Chieftain’s sensitive nose, I would be forever grateful.”

“I’ll try,” Penny promised, tucking the blue bottle with its cut-glass stopper into her furry white pouch. “Uh, thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, lovely lady!” The merchant bowed low, his bushy tail wagging joyfully as they finally resumed their walk.

“Told you that wasn’t your kind of perfume,” V’rex murmured.

Looking up, Penny saw amusement dancing in his pale gold eyes.

“You could have warned me!” she hissed. “I mean anal gland scents?”

He shrugged.

“Hey, what can I say? I told you the Fox’ens have an incredibly strong sense of smell—scent is what turns them on more than just about anything else. Though they do like a female with a shiny coat, too,” he added, stroking the black fur over her shoulder.

“Oh, you!” Penny gave him an elbow to the ribs but the big Hybrid just laughed and she couldn’t help grinning herself.

At last, after winding their way completely through the busy marketplace, they came to a vast set of carved double doors that stood at least three stories high. There were two more guards in front of the doors and the guard who had brought them from the front entrance introduced them formally.

There was a polite bit of shuffling while the guards at these doors said they thought the Chieftain might be too busy to receive guests. However, when V’rex produced two more of the strong smelling meat balls, the new guards appeared to remember that this was actually the perfect time to introduce visitors to their Chieftain after all and the carved doors at last swung open.

Inside was a shining cavern with hundreds of gleaming stalactites hanging from the vaulted ceiling—some of them almost a hundred feet long. Seated in the center of the cavern, on thrones that appeared to be carved out of the same kind of stone as the stalactites, were two extremely well groomed Fox’ens.

“Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat,” the guard intoned and bowed low so that the furry tips of his ears brushed the stone floor.

Penny and V’rex bowed as well and when they came up, she was able to get a better look at the Fox’en ruler and his mate.

Chieftain Swift Tail had pitch black fur and brilliant blue eyes that reminded Penny of an Australian Shepherd. Lady Bright Coat certainly lived up to her name—her fur was a brilliant, spotless white, tipped all over with the barest hint of silver. The color combination made her fur appear to shimmer and flow like liquid when she moved even slightly.

But it wasn’t her gorgeous coat that caught and held Penny’s eyes. On a bright silver chain link necklace around her slender neck, Lady Bright Coat wore a pendant painted in gold and brilliant blue.

It was shaped like an eye.

CHAPTER 100

The Eye of Ten’gu! She’s wearing the Eye of Ten’gu!

Penny couldn’t take her eyes off the pendant around Lady Bright Coat’s neck. There was no doubt it was the artifact they had come to find. It looked exactly like the drawings from the ancient Kindred archives.

But it had already been claimed by the Fox’ens—now what were they going to do?

She glanced at V’rex and raised her eyebrows but the big Hybrid only gave her a small shake of his head.

“I’ve got this,” he murmured, for her ears alone. Then he lifted his head and smiled brightly at the royal Fox’ens on their stone thrones.

“Ah, Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat,” he said, stepping forward to address the Fox’en Chieftain and his mate directly. “Many light years have I traveled to see the wonders of the hidden city beneath Mount Ra’gar and many stories have I heard of the boldness of the Kin’kee Chieftain and the beauty of his lady.”

“You speak with a honeyed tongue, Merchant.” The Fox’en Chieftain sounded bored. “But you must have good barter or my guards would not have let you disturb my day.”

“A thousand pardons for any disturbance I might have caused, oh great Chieftain,” V’rex said, bowing again. “I have but a few humble tokens but I come not to barter but to give a gift, if I may be so bold?”

“Very well.” The black Fox’en sat up straighter in his stone throne. “Let us see this ‘gift’ you have brought from afar, Merchant.”

“Yes, of course. If your Excellency will just give me a moment to find it…” V’rex beckoned to Penny, who came forward to join him in front of the royal Fox’ens. She was completely bemused by his “humble merchant” routine and amazed at how easily he could get into character when he wanted to. This was a side of the big Hybrid she hadn’t seen before.

V’rex made a great show of opening his furry black pouch and looking through the contents.

“Hold this, will you please?” he said to Penny, handing her a delicate golden bracelet lined with diamonds and rubies as big as blueberries. “And this,” he added, giving her a black lacquered box.

As he gave her the box, V’rex casually let the lid pop open and Penny heard a faint whistling sound that was almost like a tune, though it was too high for her to hear very much.

“Oh, what is that lovely melody?” Lady Bright Coat had a soft, sweet voice. She stared curiously at the box in Penny’s hands.

“My apologies, your Loveliness,” V’rex said dismissively. “That is but a trinket I picked up on my travels in the Shola System. It is an Oberian music box which plays a different melody every hour. Though I must commend your fine taste—it is said that only those with the most refined interest in music can hear its lovely songs.” He shrugged. “I myself hear almost nothing—but of course, I am only a Merchant, not a musician or an expert on music.”

“Oh, I see.” Lady Bright Coat’s large, liquid eyes were bright with interest and she was leaning forward a little in her chair. Chieftain Swift Tail, however, still seemed unimpressed.

“Is that the gift?” he asked in a flat tone.

“By no means, your Excellency. Now, I know it’s in here somewhere…Please hold this as well, sweetheart,” V’rex said, handing Penny a tough leather braid that had knots as big as her fists on either end of it. It had a very strong, meaty smell.

Like beef jerky times ten, Penny thought, trying not to wrinkle her nose as she took the leather braid.

Clearly she wasn’t the only one who smelled it, though. Chieftain Swift Tail suddenly sat forward, the nostrils of his wet black nose flaring.

“Now, what might that be, Merchant?” he asked, nodding at the braid in Penny’s hand.

“Oh, that is but a Rostian fang sharpener,” V’rex said, shrugging. “It’s meant to last for a hundred cycles so that the owner’s fangs never grow dull as long as he or she chews on it at least once a day. Also, it makes some rather amusing noises.” He reached over and pinched one of the knots at the end of the braid and a squeaky sound came out.

A chew toy, Penny thought, trying not to smile. It’s nothing but an expensive chew toy!

But it seemed to be exactly the kind of thing the Fox’ens liked, for Chieftain Swift Tail’s brilliant blue eyes were trained on it avidly.

“Is that the gift you wished to give me, Merchant?” he asked, sounding hopeful, Penny thought.

“Ah, alas, I cannot insult your Excellency by offering so mean a present,” V’rex remarked. “Please bear with me just a moment more while I find what I’m looking for.”

He dug around in the bag some more and brought out the carved wooden box with the Silka spice inside.

“And what may that be?” Lady Bright Coat asked, leaning forward. “It has a most intriguing scent—I can smell it even through the box.”

“Ah, this is rare and expensive Silka spice.” V’rex opened the lid carefully to display the indigo sticks of compressed spice on their cushion of brilliant orange velvet. “It is said to give the one who imbibes it a vision of their future or an answer to the most pressing question on their mind.” He closed the lid again and went back to digging in his pouch. “Now where can that gift be?”

Penny understood what the big Hybrid was doing now. He was piquing the royal Fox’ens’ interest and showing them his wares as he supposedly hunted for just the right gift. She wondered if he would be able to find something that Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat wanted enough to trade the Eye of Ten’gu for.

“Ah, here it is at last!” V’rex held up a blackish-greenish-purplish oblong object encased in a clear crystal box edged in gold. It sat on a plump cushion of white velvet and looked like a large egg to Penny.

“And what might this gift be?” Chieftain Swift Tail asked, looking at the box and its contents with interest.

“Why, a Millennium Egg, laid by the now extinct jounga bird from the forests of Belsen Five,” V’rex explained. “This egg was preserved in liquid kamite over a thousand years ago and allowed to ripen in a bed of silken locan lard for many lifetimes as it absorbed the flavors of a hundred thousand different herbs and spices. It has been sealed in this vacuum box for over a century to preserve its flavor and aroma. And now I present it to your Excellency for your consumption.”

He bowed as he handed the delicate gold and crystal box with its large, discolored egg to Chieftain Swift Tail.

The Fox’en Chieftain took the box and broke the seal which released the most awful odor Penny had ever smelled. The reek of rotten eggs, hot garbage spoiling in the sun, dirty socks, and strong, stinky cheese filled the throne room like a cloud of poison gas.

Oh my God, she thought, trying not to gag. It’s gone over! They’re going to be so offended that he offered them a spoiled egg!

But though the fumes made her eyes water and her stomach turn, when she looked up at the Fox’ens, the royal pair were putting their long noses right in the box and sniffing avidly.

“What a heavenly aroma!” Lady Bright Coat exclaimed.

“It is, indeed, a princely gift,” Chieftain Swift Tail agreed. “Shall we share it, my love?”

“Oh yes—please! My mouth is watering to taste it!” Lady Bright Coat clapped her clawed hands together eagerly.

“You must have the first bite then.” Gallantly, Chieftain Swift Tail plucked the large egg out of its box and, holding it gingerly with the tips of his long black claws, presented it to his mate.

Lady Bright Coat took a bite that was just a little less than half of the egg and rolled it around in her mouth in what was obviously rapturous ecstasy.

“Mmm—mmm,” she moaned, her eyes rolling up in her head in pleasure. “How exquisite!”

Wow, she looks like me eating really good dark chocolate, Penny thought. She was getting a little more used to the fumes by now, but she was still sure that if someone had asked her to eat that rotten egg she would have puked.

“I must have some as well.”

Chieftain Swift Tail popped the last of the Millennium Egg into his mouth and closed his eyes to savor it.

“Ahh, that was delicious! I have never tasted or smelled anything like it,” he said at last, opening his eyes. “Merchant, you have won the favor of myself and my lady.”

V’rex made another low bow.

“I am gratified that my humble gift has been met with so much pleasure, your Excellency,” he said.

“I hope you and your mate will stay in our lovely city a while,” Lady Bright Coat said, smiling at them. “And perhaps you’d like to take dinner with Chieftain Swift Tail and myself tonight in our private residence?”

“We would be honored.” V’rex bowed again. “You are too kind, my lady! Too kind!”

“We will see you there at the dinner hour tonight,” Chieftain Swift Tail said. “And don’t be shy about bringing things to barter with after the meal,” he added, watching as V’rex carefully replaced the items he’d given Penny to hold in his furry black pouch. “It might be that we can reach some deals together that will be mutually beneficial to all involved.”

“I most certainly will bring my barter items,” V’rex said, smiling. “And now, my mate, Lady Penelope and I, will take our leave of your Excellency and your Loveliness. Until tonight…”

“Until tonight!” Lady Bright Coat repeated, nodding eagerly as V’rex and Penny bowed again and left the throne room.

“Well, that seemed to be a big success,” Penny murmured as the carved double doors banged shut behind them. “But I thought I was going to puke from the fumes that egg put out!”

“It’s definitely an acquired taste,” V’rex said dryly. “But I thought it might suit them. Fox’ens enjoy scents other species find, shall we say, less than delightful.”

“Less than delightful indeed!” Penny snorted. “So what now? You’re going to wait until after dinner and then see if they’ll barter for the Eye?”

“Oh no, sweetheart…” He gave her a serious look. “I’m not the one who’s going to be doing the bartering.”

“What?” Penny frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that it’s Lady Bright Coat who’s wearing the damn thing and she’s a royal Fox’en female. It would be an insult for me, as a male, to address her and ask her to barter.”

“Well then what are we going to do?” Penny asked, confused. “How are we going to get the Eye?”

“By bartering, of course,” V’rex said. “Only you’re the one who’s going to do it. As another female, you can address Lady Bright Coat without offense.”

“But I don’t know how to barter!” Penny protested.

“You didn’t know how to pick a pocket either before you met me, but you picked that up quick enough.” V’rex grinned at her. “We have a little time before the dinner hour. Come with me and I’ll give you some pointers…”

CHAPTER 101

The royal Fox’ens’ private residence was a cavern located far from the main part of the city. As they approached, walking through a twisty tunnel which was lighted with golden, glowing moss that grew on the walls and ceiling, Penny tried to remember everything V’rex had taught her about bartering…

The big Hybrid had given her one of the stinky meat balls he’d offered to the guards and told her to trade for something—anything that she thought was of equal or slightly higher value.

Penny had done her best, but she only ended up trading the meat ball for one of the sausage links tied with red string. Which, to be honest, smelled even less appetizing than the meat ball itself had.

“All right, not a bad start,” V’rex had said. “Now watch this.”

He took one of the meatballs himself and approached a merchant who was selling gold and silver jewelry.

“Excuse me,” he said to the merchant, cupping the meat ball in the palm of his hand as though it was something precious. “I’m new here and I’m looking for a good place to barter this rare Midlothian bullock testicle. Would you happen to know of any merchants who have wares worthy of such a trade?”

The merchant, who was a rather portly Fox’en with reddish fur, puffed himself up importantly.

“Actually, I have wares that are unparralled anywhere in the city!”

“Do you?” V’rex had eyed the display of jewelry with apparent distain. “I see nothing here that could equal the value of the sublime taste and meaty texture of my rare bullock ball. Why, I brought it all the way from the Poopoola System. The bull it came from was a holy animal—sacrificed on the altar of Genwa, She Who Devours.”

“She sounds like a most savage goddess,” the merchant remarked, eyeing the meat ball avariciously. “But I assure you, my wares are worthy, even of such splendor. Only observe the fine links of this tail chain—the gold so beautifully crafted that it runs like silk through the fingers…”

They haggled back and forth like that for some time as Penny watched with wide eyes. In the end, V’rex traded the single, stinky meat ball for a solid gold bracelet with a little fox face charm dangling from it.

As the merchant popped the meat ball in his mouth and savored its delicate flavor, V’rex and Penny walked off.

“And that’s how it’s done,” the big Hybrid said, grinning at her.

Penny shook her head.

“You amaze me, V’rex. Where did you learn to do that?”

“Same place I learned to pick a pocket, sweetheart—on the streets.” He shrugged. “It’s amazing the skills you pick up when you’re trying to survive.”

Penny didn’t know what to say. She felt bad, as always, when he talked about his rough childhood. It made her wish she could go back in time and rescue him somehow, though of course that was impossible.

“V’rex—” she began but he cut her off.

“Here, give me your hand.”

“Why?” Penny asked, holding it out.

“So you can wear this.” V’rex put it on her and smiled as she admired it. “There, sweetheart. That’ll give you something to remember me by after we part ways.”

Penny felt her heart sink at the idea of them splitting up, but she tried to smile and keep her voice light.

“Now I have to trade for something to give to you, so you can remember me too,” she’d said.

V’rex had stopped walking and turned to face her. Tilting her chin up, he looked into her eyes.

“Sweetheart,” he said softly. “I could never forget you. I’ve got your name carved over my heart—remember?”

In that moment, Penny had wished desperately to hug him, to feel those strong arms wrapped around her again.

“Oh, V’rex,” she’d whispered, looking up at him. “I…I just…”

But just as she was working up the nerve to say she wanted them to be together, the big Hybrid had changed the subject.

“Well, we’d better continue your lesson,” he said. “Come on, we’re going to the other end of the marketplace and I’m giving you another meat ball. And this time, you need to barter it for something better.”

Now, as they stood in front of the carved double doors, gilded with gold, that were the entrance to the Fox’en Chieftain’s private residence, Penny hoped she could barter as well with Lady Bright Coat as she had with her second meat ball.

She had wound up with one of the little colorful boxes which put out puffs of blue smoke when you lit the bright blue rocks inside. Apparently you were supposed to breathe in the smoke and happy visions would appear in your mind. Penny hadn’t tried it yet—and wasn’t sure if she would. But it was certainly worth more than a meat ball and V’rex had been proud of her.

The big Hybrid hadn’t repeated his show of emotion, but Penny couldn’t help thinking about it. He had looked so serious when he talked about never forgetting her and for a moment she’d almost thought he was going to kiss her…

“Welcome, to the residence of Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat,” a voice intoned, breaking into her train of thought.

Looking up, Penny saw that a servant Fox’en had opened the door and was bowing them inside. He wore a kind of collar around his neck—a thick black leather band. Hanging from it was a golden tag with the name, “Sure Paw” engraved in flowing script.

He must be the head butler or something, Penny thought as the servant ushered them through the house—which was carved entirely from the natural stone of the mountain. The walls glimmered with streaks of gold and silver and the moss with the natural luminescence covered the ceilings, shedding a soft golden glow over everything.

Penny could certainly see why the royal Fox’ens would have picked this particular house for themselves out of the whole city. It was lovely and so natural—like it had been grown rather than built.

The furniture was all low to the ground and when they walked into the dining room, she saw that instead of chairs, there were puffy red cushions arranged around the low table.

“Please wait for Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat to enter before you are seated,” the servant told them. Then he left the room at a dignified pace, his long tail swishing behind him.

Penny and V’rex stood by the table but they didn’t have to wait for long. Soon enough, Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat entered.

“Ah, Merchant V’rex and Lady Penelope,” Chieftain Swift Tail smiled at them.

“It’s so nice to have you in our home. Thank you for coming,” Lady Bright Coat added. She was still wearing the Eye of Ten’gu on a chain around her neck.

Penny wondered if the Chieftain and his lady were really as happy as they professed to see herself and V’rex. Both of their tails were wagging which seemed to be a clear sign of sincerity, so she decided they must be.

“Thank you so much for having us,” she replied, smiling at them both.

“We have been so looking forward to sharing a meal with you,” V’rex added.

They all sat down at the low table with Penny across from Lady Bright Coat and V’rex across from the Chieftain. As soon as everyone was settled, the servant came in again bearing a tray full of steaming bowls.

When the bowl was set in front of Penny, she examined it apprehensively. Knowing the kind of things the Fox’ens seemed to enjoy eating, it seemed certain that this was going to be an interesting dinner to say the least.

Filling the deep bowl was a kind of bone broth—with actual roasted bones floating in it. There was also a generous amount of blue and green herbs sprinkled over the rich-smelling broth, which was a pale amber color.

Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat immediately put their muzzles directly into their soup bowls and began to lap with their long tongues. Penny wasn’t sure if she and V’rex ought to do the same or not. She was just about to lean over and try to sip from the edge of the bowl when Lady Bright Coat looked up.

“Oh, I do apologize!” she exclaimed. “You’re dressed in such lovely fur outfits, I quite forgot you flat-faces don’t eat the same way we Fox’ens do.”

Flat-faces? Penny thought. But before she could ask any questions, Lady Bright Coat clapped her hands and the servant appeared at once.

“Sure Paw,” she said to him. “Pray, bring Merchant V’rex and Lady Penelope some suckspoons so they may enjoy this excellent bone stew.”

The servant bowed and returned at once with two long, silver straws that had tiny silver spoons at the ends of them. They looked a little like Slurpee straws to Penny, except they were considerably fancier, with delicate filigree carvings all up and down their lengths.

“You can suck up the broth with the hollow shaft and then use the spoon attachment to dig the marrow out of the bones,” Lady Bright Coat explained. “Well, go on—give it a try.”

She was watching intently so Penny was sure they had no choice in the matter. Hesitantly, she put the spoon end of the suckspoon into the broth and took a sip.

The steamy liquid was actually quite delicious. It was warm and salty and meaty and the blue and green herbs tasted like chives and garlic.

“Mmm!” Penny took another sip and looked up at Lady Bright Coat. “This is delicious! I especially like the herbs. They really add to the meaty notes of the broth.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you enjoy it!” Lady Bright Coat smiled, her tail thumping against the cushion she was sitting on. “And I’ll tell you something about those herbs, my dear Lady Penelope—they’re called ‘breedalot’ and they’re extra good for fertility.”

“They are?” Penny asked, unsure if this was a good thing or not.

“Oh, yes! I’ve been having my cook put them in simply everything,” Lady Bright Coat said. “You see, Chieftain Swift Tail and I are trying to have a litter. We so want four or five roly-poly little cubs to brighten up the house!” The look of longing on her face made Penny’s heart ache in sympathy.

“I hope you can have a, er, litter soon,” she said, smiling.

“Oh, I hope so too! Have you and your mate had a litter yet?” Lady Bright Coat asked.

“Well, er, not quite yet,” Penny admitted. “Though of course with us, uh, flat-faces, we usually just have one baby at a time.”

“That’s right—I do think I heard that somewhere.” The female Fox’en nodded. “That’s such an inefficient way to get things done, though. With us, we have all our children at once and then we never have to bother with it again.”

“That does sound really, uh, efficient,” Penny said though the idea of having four or five babies at once sounded overwhelming to her. Though maybe one wouldn’t be so bad, if it was with the right man…

Her eyes strayed to V’rex and then she made herself look away and take another sip of the delicious bone broth. She wasn’t sure at first, if she ought to drink it, considering it was sprinkled with fertility herbs. But it really was wonderful and she convinced herself it would be all right.

Probably the breedalot herb only works on Fox’ens, she thought, as she slurped down the last swallow. And whatever it is, it can’t possibly be as bad as the chemicals in the Mother’s Milk they made us drink in the Compound.

Speaking of the Mother’s Milk, as she finished the soup, she began to feel a strange tingling in the tips of her breasts, just as she had when her nectar had been coming in. Surreptitiously, she looked down, but all she could see was the black fur suit she was wearing. What was going on down there?

Before she could ask to be excused from the table to go check, the first course was whisked away and Sure Paw, the servant, brought them platters of what looked like spaghetti to Penny. At least, it was long strands of something covered in a rich brown sauce.

Chieftain Swift Tail and Lady Bright Coat put their long muzzles in their plates and began to slurp up the spaghetti-like substance at once. Penny was afraid she and V’rex would have to do the same but this time the servant had thought to bring utensils for the “flat-faces” so it wasn’t necessary to stick her face in her plate.

The utensils were like three-pronged forks with the tines set wide apart, which at first made it difficult to get the “spaghetti” on the fork. But Penny managed at last and twirled up a bite of it to put in her mouth.

The minute she did, she realized that what she was eating wasn’t pasta at all. It didn’t have a soft, giving texture—instead it was meaty and chewy. Taking a closer look, she saw that what she had taken for a strand of spaghetti was, in fact, a long, thin, tube of meat. And the brown sauce was like gravy, which gave the whole thing the texture and flavor of Salisbury Steak.

Though it wasn’t what she had expected, it was actually quite enjoyable. And she tasted the chive and garlic flavor of the breedalot herb in it too, which added a little zing to the dish.

Thinking of the herb made Penny realize her breasts had stopped tingling, though they felt heavier now than they had. Again she wished for a break in the meal to excuse herself and check things out, but again, before she could, the next course came out.

This course wasn’t nearly so nice as the first two, Penny thought. It was a wide bowl full of raw bones with a side of some kind of chewy brown nuggets basted in clear brown glaze. She picked politely at the bones and ate one or two of the nuggets—which tasted like really well-done steak—as she watched the two royal Fox’ens crack the bones with their powerful jaws and slurp out the raw marrow inside.

It occurred to Penny that this whole dinner menu was meat-based. After a month of being vegetarian, it was certainly a change of pace, but she wondered what dessert would be like— that was, if there was a dessert.

As it turned out, there was. After the raw bones and chewy nuggets, Sure Paw brought them each a crystal goblet filled with a light, airy mousse that tasted both sweet and meaty. There was a thin, stiff strip of some kind of candied meat stuck in each puff of mousse which was salty and sweet and better than the mousse itself. At least Penny thought so. And this time, at least, there was no hint of the breedalot herb. Which was good—Penny didn’t think the flavor of chives and garlic would pair very well with anything sweet.

“Well…” Chieftain Swift Tail sat back and patted his furry midsection after Sure Paw had cleared the table for the last time.

“That was a most delicious meal, your Excellency,” V’rex remarked, also patting his stomach. “And so filling!”

“Yes, very filling,” Penny agreed. “And extremely tasty.”

“I’m so glad you liked it!” Lady Bright Coat beamed at them, her tail thumping the cushion again. “You know,” she added, looking at Penny. “That’s a lovely necklace you’re wearing, Lady Penelope.”

Penny was relieved by her words. All evening she’d been trying to think of a way to bring up the Eye of Ten’gu without being too blatant about it. But now Lady Bright Coat had practically shoved the opportunity in her lap.

“Thank you. I love yours, too,” she said, leaning forward eagerly. “Wherever did you find such a beautiful pendant?”

“Ah, it was actually discovered here, when we first moved into the city,” Chieftain Swift Tail, answered for his mate. “Our explorers found it and brought it back to me. And of course, I knew at once that such a treasure could only grace the neck of my lovely mate.”

He smiled at Lady Bright Coat, who smiled back, though Penny thought her smile looked a little strained. Also, her tail didn’t even thump once.

Something’s wrong, she thought. And it has to do with the Eye of Ten’gu.

But she couldn’t think of how to ask what was the matter without sounding like she was insulting the Chieftain’s gift to his mate.

“Merchant V’rex,” the Fox’en Chieftain continued. “Let’s see your wares again. Now that dinner is over, I’ve a mind to barter.”

“With pleasure, your Excellency.” V’rex nodded and began pulling things out of his furry black pouch and placing them carefully on the table.

“What I’m really interested in is that Silka spice,” Lady Bright Coat remarked as the carved wooden box came out of V’rex’s bag. “How much would you barter for that?”

“Well…” V’rex pretended reluctance. “To tell you the truth, your Excellency, it’s really rather expensive. I was just telling my Lady Penelope, here, that a single stick of it could buy my entire ship.”

“Expensive stuff indeed!” The Fox’en Chieftain looked shocked. “Why would anyone pay so much just for some spice?”

“Perhaps because, as I believe I told you in your throne room, the Silka has many fine uses. It is said to impart great wisdom—visions of the future and answers to the most pressing questions in the mind of the one who takes it. I know many leaders who use it for mental clarity or guidance before making important decisions,” V’rex told him.

Chieftain Swift Tail frowned.

“But how could I be certain that it was really worth such an exorbitant price? And what would you ask for it in return?”

“I’ll tell you what—before I answer that question, let me give you a small sample of the Silka to prove its worth,” V’rex told him.

Carefully, he lifted the bright orange cushion holding the spice sticks out of the box and set it on the table. Under it was another cushion, this one plain white, Penny saw. It had a few broken sticks of spice on it, with none of the pieces being larger than the size of a Peanut M&M.

“Once the Silka sticks are broken, they lose some of their potency,” V’rex explained. “But they are still strong enough to grant visions and wisdom to those discerning enough to see them.”

Carefully, he chose a piece of the broken stick to give to the Foxen ruler. Then he offered a piece to Lady Bright Coat as well. She was about to pop it in her mouth when Swift Tail stopped her.

“How can we be certain this spice will not hurt us in any way?” he demanded, frowning. “It sounds like very potent stuff! Give some to your lady first, so that my mate and I can see the effects.”

“Me?” Penny asked, surprised.

But V’rex only nodded.

“Of course, if it will ease your mind, Lady Penelope will be happy to take some,” he said smoothly. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he murmured, when Penny looked at him with wide eyes. “It’s perfectly safe.”

Penny bit her lip. It seemed that this was her night for ingesting strange new substances. She wasn’t normally into experimental drugs, but the deal for the Eye of Ten’gu was hanging in the balance.

V’rex handed her a small piece of the broken Silka stick and Penny took it doubtfully. At a motion from him, she obediently put the small, chalky piece of indigo-colored spice on her tongue, though she wasn’t sure what the effects would be.

What else, she thought, could she do?

CHAPTER 102

At first, Penny didn’t feel any effects from the Silka spice at all, except that it took the meaty aftertaste of the meal she’d just eaten away and replaced it with a tingling heat and the intense flavor of cinnamon. It reminded Penny of some really strong cinnamon toothpicks she and her friends had liked in middle school—they burned your lips and tongue but tasted so good you couldn’t stop sucking them.

But then, gradually, she noticed some differences. The colors around her began to bleed and run, like chalk drawings in the rain and her body felt much, much lighter than it had. All except for her breasts, which felt extremely heavy and full.

What’s wrong with me? Penny wondered. What’s happening?

But to be honest, she felt too good for these musings to make her upset. In addition to making everything around her look weird, the Silka spice had also had an effect on her mood.

“I feel wonderful,” she told V’rex as he nodded at Chieftain and Lady Bright Coat, who had apparently decided the spice was safe and were popping the pieces he had given them into their mouths. “I love everyone. Especially you,” she told him.

As she said the words, she knew they were true. She had been holding herself back all this time, telling herself that V’rex couldn’t possibly be interested in her because she wasn’t skinny or because he’d been affected by the Spice in the air at the Compound. But now she saw that none of that was true. He’d been interested in her from the first—when he saw her in the Lucky Lounge—and there was no Spice there. So the only place her size was a problem was in her own head.

The realization felt like a true moment of clarity—an epiphany made possible because the Silka was allowing her to see past her worries and concerns to discern the truth.

“You know,” she said to V’rex. “I need to get over myself and own my curves.”

“Your curves are gorgeous, baby,” he agreed softly.

“And I meant what I said,” Penny went on, recklessly. “I really do love you! I wish you hadn’t Forsworn me because I want to be with you!”

The big Hybrid’s eyes widened and then he murmured, “I love you too, sweetheart. Love you will all my heart.”

“I wish we could be together,” Penny whispered and a tear rolled down her cheek, despite the happy feelings. “I wish I knew how we could stay together forever,” she told V’rex.

At that moment, a chorus started humming near her head.

“Huh?” Penny turned around, trying to see where the chorus was, but she couldn’t see anyone there. But just because no one was there, didn’t make the music stop. In fact the humming grew louder and then turned into words.

“When the nectar returns

The poison is clear.

Pleasure replaces

The pain that you fear,” sang the voices of the invisible chorus.

Penny looked around uncertainly.

“Did you hear that?” she asked V’rex.

He frowned.

“Hear what, sweetheart?”

“The voices,” Penny said impatiently. “They’re right beside us, singing. Oh, wait—here they go again!”

“When the nectar returns

Then ‘tis time to bond

With the male of your dreams

Of whom you are fond,” the invisible chorus sang.

“But I’m much more than fond of him—I love him,” Penny protested. Still, she guessed it wasn’t easy to find another rhyme for bond. Maybe something about how your love would fit like a glove? But no, that didn’t really work…

“Sweetheart, what are you talking about?” V’rex asked, looking at her intently.

“I’m talking to the chorus,” Penny said impatiently. “The people who are singing to me. I’m surprised you can’t hear them—they’re really loud.”

At that point, the chorus sang in her ear again.

“When the nectar returns

You may accept the sting

Have no fear

Only pleasure it brings.”

“Accept the sting?” Penny asked, feeling a little rush of fear run through her.

“What?” V’rex looked at her even more intently. “What are you talking about? My sting?”

“I…no. I…I’m not sure.” The memory of the awful fiery pain the last time the big Hybrid had stung her was still sharp in her mind. But the voices of the chorus seemed to be telling her…

“Excuse me!” Lady Bright Coat stood up from the table suddenly. If she had been human, Penny thought, she would have looked pale. “I…I must visit the necessary chamber,” the female Fox’en said in a trembling voice.

“Follow her!” sang the chorus in Penny’s ear.

“Go after her now.

“Give her the proof.

Follow her quickly,

And tell her the truth.”

“Um,” I need to use the, uh, necessary chamber too,” she said, rising a bit unsteadily to her feet. Everything still looked a little strange, like when she moved her hand in the air, it left a trail of rainbows swirls behind.

“Whoa—are you sure you’re okay, sweetheart?” V’rex asked her.

“Yes, fine,” Penny said distractedly. “Excuse me.”

And she followed the female Fox’en out of the dining room.

CHAPTER 103

“Oh dear…oh dear!” Lady Bright Coat was bent over a carved marble basin that looked like a sink. Only instead of a faucet, there was a little fountain in the very middle of the basin that pumped cold, clear water upwards continuously. The fountain rose three or four inches in the air and fall back down to be swallowed by the drain just below it.

The female Fox’en wet her long furry fingers in the water and pressed them to her face. She looked truly shaken to Penny, as though she would be crying if she was human.

“What is it, Lady Bright Coat?” she asked gently, daring to lay a hand on the other female’s shoulder. “If you don’t mind me asking,” she added.

The female Fox’en took a deep, shaky breath.

“When I took the Silka spice, I asked it why I haven’t had a litter yet,” she whispered. “We’ve been trying and trying and our physician has said there’s nothing wrong with either of us. I should be able to get pregnant! I should have had five litters by now, with the amount of breedalot I’ve been eating!”

“What’s wrong, then?” Penny asked sympathetically. “Did the Silka tell you?”

Lady Bright Coat nodded.

“It’s this thing.” She pointed to the Eye of Ten’gu which hung around her neck. “The Silka tells me it’s why I can’t conceive.”

“You think it’s hindering your fertility?” Penny asked carefully.

“So the Silka says.” Lady Bright coat made a face. “I’ve hated this damn thing from the moment Swift Tail first gave it to me, but I couldn’t refuse such an important gift from my husband who is also the Chieftain—it would have caused a terrible scandal.”

“So he gave it to you almost as soon as your tribe first moved in here and you’ve been wearing it ever since?” Penny asked.

Lady Bright Coat sighed and nodded her head.

“It feels so heavy around my neck and it makes my head ache all the time! And…and I feel like it clouds my mind with dark thoughts.” She looked up at Penny. “Does that make any sense? I feel like I sound crazy.”

“You’re not crazy,” Penny said firmly. “The artifact you’re wearing…” She paused for a moment, not sure how much to say. But then she remembered the words of the invisible chorus. Follow her now and tell her the truth, the chorus had sung to her.

And though the strange and surreal effects of the Silka seemed to be fading, Penny still remembered the words and had a very strong feeling that she ought to do as the chorus had told her.

“Yes?” Lady Bright Coat was looking at her eagerly.

“The artifact you’re wearing is called the ‘Eye of Ten’gu,’” Penny told her. “It was supposedly created by an evil deity from another universe.”

“An evil deity?” Lady Bright Coat exclaimed. “I have felt an evil presence emanating from it—I would swear it!”

“You haven’t exposed it to direct rays of sunlight, have you?” Penny asked anxiously. “Because that would be bad—really bad.”

“No—no!” Lady Bright Coat shook her head quickly. “It has remained inside the mountain with me because I have never taken it off. And I have never seen the sun since I put it on,” she added mournfully. “But how do you know about it?”

Penny took a deep breath. Tell her the truth, the chorus had said. It was time to take a chance.

“I know about the Eye of Ten’gu because I was sent here to get it by the Kindred High Council,” she said frankly. “It was buried here, under Mount Ra’gar millennia ago by the ancient Kindred in order to keep its evil hidden—in order to keep it asleep. But one of the Kindred priestesses—the Mouthpiece of the Goddess—had a prophecy that it had to be taken and destroyed before it could awaken and cause harm.”

“What will happen if it wakes up?” Lady Bright Coat’s eyes were wide.

Penny shook her head.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I just know I need to get it back to the Kindred High Council without exposing it to any rays of direct sunlight and waking it up so they can destroy it.”

“And to think I’ve been wearing it around my neck for so long!” Lady Bright Coat looked down at the necklace lying against her furry chest and shuddered with revulsion.

“It’s bad news,” Penny told her. “I’m sorry, I should have told you that at once, but we thought it would be better to pose as merchants so we could barter for it. In fact…here.”

She opened her black furry pouch and began pulling out items that V’rex had given her to barter with.

“I can trade you any of these things—or all of them—for the Eye if you want,” she said, spreading out the barter items on the marble counter beside the sink. “I have a golden pen that writes in rainbow ink…a ruby ring that changes colors according to your mood…a—”

But the Fox’en female was shaking her head.

“No, no—I’m sorry, Lady Penelope,” she said sadly. “But since the necklace was a gift from my husband—who is the Chieftain—it would be a serious offense against him for me to barter it away.”

“Really? Even though it’s affecting your fertility?” Penny raised her eyebrows.

“Even though I would gladly trade it to you for even the smallest, meanest item in your inventory.” Lady Bright Coat shook her head sadly and looked down at the items Penny had set out for display on the marble sink. “What’s this?” she asked, picking up the small blue, cut-glass bottle that the scent merchant had given Penny earlier.

“Oh, that?” Penny shook her head quickly. “That’s nothing—just a bottle of, uh, anal scents that a merchant gave me earlier when he heard V’rex and I were coming to meet you.”

She felt weird saying “anal scents” but Lady Bright Coat only nodded, as though this was perfectly normal. Which, for a Fox’en, apparent it was.

“Oh yes—I think I know who you mean. “My good friend, Lady Smooth Pelt, got some scents from him. She said it really spiced up her mating. May I?” she asked, looking at Penny.

“Yes, please—help yourself.” Penny made a motion for her to go ahead and open the bottle.

“Thank you.” The Fox’en female pulled out the cut-glass stopper and Penny tried not to wince as a rather strong, musky odor drifted out.

Lady Bright Coat sniffed the perfume bottle eagerly.

“Oh my—this is lovely!” she exclaimed. “Why, Swift Tail wouldn’t be able to keep his paws off me if I was wearing this!”

“By all means, please—take it,” Penny told her. “It should be yours anyway—the merchant who gave it to me specifically wanted me to open it around you and your mate.”

“That’s so kind of you!” Lady Bright Coat dabbed some of the scent at the base of both her ears and then put a generous amount under her tail as well. “You know—this gives me an idea.”

“What?” Penny asked. She hoped the idea had something to do with leaving the necessary chamber. The anal scent perfume was pretty strong.

“An idea about how I can give you this awful eye necklace without Swift Tail losing face.” Lady Bright Coat looked thoughtful. “Tell me, have you and your mate ever participated in a Hulu-rah?”

“A what?” Penny frowned.

“It’s a test of wills,” Lady Bright Coat explained. “It’s…well, before I tell you I had better ask—does your mate have good self-control”

“Self control?” Penny asked.

“I mean, can he keep himself from taking you sexually if he needs to?” the female Fox’en asked anxiously.

Penny thought of her first night with V’rex, after the Unification Ceremony. The Spice had been coursing through his system making him incredibly horny and yet he’d managed not to rape her.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “He can.”

“Oh good.” Lady Bright Coat looked relieved. “So as I said, a Hulu-rah is a contest of wills. And this is how it works…”

When she’d finished explaining, Penny looked at her with wide eyes.

“Wow, that sounds kind of…kinky,” she murmured at last.

“We are the Kin’kee tribe, but the Hulu-rah does not originate with us,” Lady Bright Coat said. “It is practiced by Fox’en tribes all over Yown Beta—it’s a known and respected contest. If you think your mate can win, perhaps we can both get what we want.”

“I know he can,” Penny said decisively.

The question was, would the big Hybrid be willing to enter the kinky little contest of wills Lady Bright Coat was proposing? He had, after all, Forsworn Penny, which seemed to mean they couldn’t have anything to do with each other anymore.

Well, he’s going to have to make an exception, Penny thought to herself. Because there’s no other way to complete this mission and get the Eye of Ten’gu!

CHAPTER 104

“Are you feeling all right, my darling mate?” Chieftain Swift Tail looked up anxiously as Lady Bright Coat came back to the table.

“I’m just fine, my husband,” she replied and gave him a flirtatious wink. Then she very deliberately turned for a moment, pretending to pick something up which put her tail right by his nose.

Penny, who was sitting back down beside V’rex, saw the Fox’en male’s eyes widened and the nostrils of his wet black nose flare. Apparently the stinky perfume the merchant in the marketplace had given her was working just as Lady Bright Coat had predicted. She thought of how V’rex had told her that Fox’ens were turned on by scents more than anything else and suddenly realized how the scent was affecting the male Fox’en.

It’s like she just flashed her boobs at him! she thought, trying not to grin.

“Well, you certainly smell as though you’re all right. Better than all right, I would say,” Chieftain Swift Tail murmured to his mate.

“I am.” Lady Bright Coat winked at him flirtatiously again. “My dear, did you know that Lady Penelope and I were talking in the necessary room and she tells me that she and her mate have never participated in a Hulu-rah before?”

“They haven’t?” the Chieftain raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise and looked at V’rex. “But what a shame! You haven’t lived until you’ve tested your will as a male in a Hulu-rah.”

“What’s a Hulu-rah, exactly?” V’rex asked, frowning.

“It’s a kind of sexual contest,” Penny explained, blushing a little. She felt embarrassed to be contemplating what Lady Bright Coat had proposed, but there didn’t seem to be any other way to get the Eye.

“A sexual contest?” The big Hybrid’s voice had dropped to a low, interested growl. “Explain.”

“Maybe I’d better let the Chieftain or Lady Bright Coat explain.” Penny felt her cheeks getting hotter and hotter and she bit her lip.

“Well, it’s simple, really,” Chieftain Swift Tail said to V’rex. “You enter your female and I’ll enter mine and we see which male can hold out and keep from filling his female with his seed the longest.”

“Is that so?” V’rex growled, looking at Penny again. “And what do you say to that, sweetheart?”

“I say it…it sounds fine to me,” Penny looked up at him uncertainly. “But, well, I wasn’t sure how you might feel about it.”

“I’d love to be inside you, you know I would,” V’rex murmured, stroking her hot cheek gently with one finger. “But you know, sweetheart…”

“I know what you’re going to say,” Penny said quickly. He was going to protest entering the contest on the bounds of their Foreswearing, she was sure. “But this really shouldn’t count—since it’s in the service of our, uh, mission,” she told him.

“I suppose you could make a case for that,” V’rex nodded thoughtfully. “Well, then…if you really don’t mind…”

“I don’t mind,” Penny said breathlessly. “I…I think it’s a good idea.”

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea, but if you want it, I can’t deny that I do too,” V’rex growled softly, stroking her cheek again.

“Well, then—it sounds like we have a Hulu-rah in the works,” Chieftain Swift Tail exclaimed. “Tell me though, Merchant—what is it you wish to play for?”

“They…they want to play for my necklace,” Lady Bright Coat said, looking at her husband apprehensively.

“What?” The Fox’en Chieftain frowned. “But I gave you that necklace in front of the entire tribe! If I should lose it—”

“You won’t lose it, my dear!” Lady Bright Coat exclaimed. “When have you ever lost a Hulu-rah?”

The Chieftain’s furry chest puffed out with pride and he nodded.

“Well, you’re right about that, my mate. Then if you’re certain you don’t mind wagering your necklace…?”

“I have perfect trust in you,” she assured him.

“Then, it’s agreed.” Chieftain Swift Tail nodded decisively. He looked at V’rex. “I challenge you to a Hulu-rah. If you win, you will go home with my mate’s valuable necklace.”

“And if we lose?” V’rex asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Then you shall give me the entire box of Silka spice.” Chieftain Swift Tail’s blue eyes flashed greedily.

“That’s a high price to wager.” V’rex frowned, pretending to hesitate. “But I can see that my mate really wants that necklace,” he added, casting a half-lidded glance at Penny that made her squirm.

“I do…I really do,” she murmured.

“Well, then—no price is too high to make my mate happy,” V’rex decided. He looked at the Fox’en Chieftain. “How do we start?”

CHAPTER 105

As it turned out, the royal Fox’ens had a whole room devoted to the Hulu-rah. Which surprised Penny until she remembered that V’rex had told her that the Fox’en people loved contests of will. She just hadn’t known they’d be participating in a contest quite like this one.

The Hulu-rah room was a kind of sunken grotto which had been carpeted in some kind of thick, spongy dark blue moss. There were several clusters of big, puffy blue and green and turquoise cushions as well, which seemed to delineate four different areas in the large room.

“You take one corner and we will take the opposite one,” Chieftain Swift Tail instructed V’rex. “There does need to be some privacy, at least in the beginning of the contest so that we can take our time exciting our ladies and getting them ready to be entered.”

His words made Penny breathe an inward sigh of relief. She really didn’t want to watch the Fox’ens make love—or almost make love—and she didn’t want to be watched herself, either. She’d had enough of being watched during intimate moments at the Compound to last her a lifetime, thank you very much.

But V’rex was frowning.

“How can we tell which of us wins the contest if we’re separated and can hardly see each other?” he demanded. “Not that I don’t trust your Excellency, but I’m wagering an awful fucking lot here,” he added.

“Of course, I understand.” The Fox’en Chieftain nodded. “Here are the rules—after a few minutes of private foreplay, a bell will ring that signals it’s time for penetration. You must then enter your mate—as I will enter mine—all the way to the root of your shaft. At that point, my servant will come and make certain both of us are fully thrust inside our mates.” He winked. “And then the timing begins.”

“And then we just see which male can hold out the longest?” V’rex raised an eyebrow.

Swift Tail nodded.

“Exactly so. The first to spend his seed inside his female is the loser. Agreed?”

V’rex nodded. “Agreed.”

“Very well, then—let us commence. Which corner do you prefer?” The Fox’en chieftain made a sweeping gesture, inviting them to choose a corner in the plush, sunken grotto.

“We’ll take the far one. Come on, sweetheart.” V’rex took Penny by the hand and led her to the farthest corner of the grotto where they stopped by a jumble of the big, round cushions that actually looked more like puffy, multicolored boulders to Penny.

“Well, sweetheart?” V’rex growled softly, looking down at her. “What have you gotten me into?”

“Me.” Penny winked at him just as Lady Bright Coat had winked at her mate but then she blushed. “I think,” she added.

“Let’s see, shall we?” the big Hybrid murmured. “But I think the first thing we need to do is take off these damn fur suits.”

Penny thought it was a good thing she’d gotten used to the big Hybrid seeing her naked during their time at the Compound or this would have made her blush. She also thought it was a good thing she had so much of his lust-honey in her system because otherwise she would have frozen to death, getting naked in the cold grotto.

But as it was, she felt pleasantly warm despite the temperature. Of course, pleasantly warm turned to burning up the minute V’rex took her by the shoulders and brought her in for a kiss.

Penny gave herself to the kiss wholeheartedly, melting against his big, muscular, naked frame with shameless eagerness. God, it felt so good to have his bare skin against hers! To taste his mouth again…to feel his big, warm hands rubbing up and down her back and exploring her body. To—

Her thoughts cut off as something truly massive pressed against her, branding her belly

Breaking the kiss, she looked down uncertainly.

“Problem, sweetheart?” V’rex inquired.

“Wow, I guess I kind of forgot how, uh, big you are,” Penny admitted. “And I guess I’m just wondering if you’re going to…going to fit.” She raised her eyebrows at him uncertainly.

“You forget, sweetheart—I’m half Beast Kindred,” V’rex reminded her. “I have compounds in both my saliva and my precum that will help you open up for me.”

“Even enough to take the, uh…your…” Penny gestured to the base of his shaft which was encircled by a thick swelling all the way around

“My mating fist?” He frowned. “Technically, yes, but I don’t know if I ought to put that in you, baby. If I do…”

He hesitated so long that Penny prompted him.

“If you do put…put your mating fist in me, then what?” she asked.

“Well, if I do that, I’m only one step from bonding you to me.” He looked into her eyes. “And that might be…dangerous.”

“You…you mean all you’d have to do is…is sting me, right?” Penny asked.

The memory of the fiery pain his last sting had caused her was still fresh in her mind, but for some reason she was no longer afraid. She kept thinking of the verses the invisible chorus had sung to her while she was under the influence of the Silka. Had they been right?

“Yes, I’d have to sting you.” V’rex frowned. “And I know how you feel about that.’

“Let’s just…get started and see where things lead us, all right?” Penny suggested. More than anything, she wanted his big, naked body against hers again.

The big Hybrid seemed to feel the same because he gathered her into his arms once more and leaned down to kiss her neck.

“Mmm, you’re so sweet and soft and you smell so damn good, baby” he growled softly. “How about if you lay down and lean back against one of those cushions and let me lick your soft little pussy?”

“V’rex!” Penny felt herself blushing at his blunt words but a warm, tingling feeling of pleasure was spreading over her whole body.

“C’mon, baby—you know you love it when I give your little pussy a tongue bath,” he growled softly. “Why don’t you lay down and get comfortable?”

Blushing, Penny did as he said. She laid down on the soft, spongy moss and propped her head on one of the smaller cushions.

Vaguely, in the other corner, she was aware of the two Fox’ens nipping playfully at each other, which was apparently their form of foreplay. But she didn’t look for long because before she knew it, V’rex was getting down between her thighs.

“Gods, never thought I’d get to do this again,” he murmured, eyeing her swollen pussy lips hungrily. “Such a soft, sweet little cunt. Just want to kiss you and lick you all over, baby.”

“Go…go ahead,” Penny panted. “I…I don’t mind. After all you have to, uh warm me up before the main event.”

“Very true,” V’rex growled. “I have to get this hot little pussy nice and wet…wet enough to take my cock deep inside so I can fill you up, baby.”

As always, his dirty talk made Penny blush and squirm with pleasure. God, how did he know exactly what to say to make her hot and bothered?

“V’rex…” she murmured, shifting her hips as she felt his hot breath against her sensitive flesh. He had her legs spread so wide. Looking down, she saw with a pleasurable kind of embarrassment that her outer pussy lips were opening like the petals of a flower to show her slippery pink inner folds which were wet with her juices. Surely the big Hybrid would see how wet she was and know he was affecting her.

Sure enough, V’rex commented on her state of readiness.

“Gods, little girl, look how hot and ready you already are! I haven’t even tasted you yet and you’re already making so much sweet honey for me,” he growled softly. “And you look so tender and needy between your legs—like you need me to lap your sweet little cunt and make you all better.”

“Well maybe…maybe you’d better taste me then,” Penny said breathlessly. “And…and make me better.”

“Maybe I should.” His pale gold eyes flashed with desire and he caught her gaze and held it as he dragged his tongue from the entrance of her pussy all the way up to the top of her slit.

“Oh! Oh, V’rex!” Penny moaned. Burying her fingers in his thick, dark hair, she thrust her hips up to him. “More,” she begged softly, helpless to stop herself. “Lick me more—lick me deeper.”

“My pleasure, sweetheart. Gods, I love to hear you beg for it,” V’rex growled. And then he licked her again, circling her aching clit for just a minute before sliding his tongue lower to enter her pussy.

“Oh…Oh!” Penny moaned, arching her back as she felt his tongue growing inside her. It felt so good the way he was stretching her inner walls but this time she knew she needed something bigger…something deeper…

His cock, she thought deliriously as the big Hybrid continued to lap and suck her inner folds and then thrust inside her to fill her channel with his tongue again. I need his cock in me…and his mating fist too!

She didn’t know why that was important, but she knew that it was. Despite V’rex’s promise not to put it in her, she needed his thick fist deep inside her.

But for now, it was pleasurable enough just to feel his tongue.

“V’rex!” she gasped, gripping his hair and bucking her hips in time to the rhythm of his licking “Oh God, yes…yes, please!”

She could feel her orgasm creeping up on her, as stealthy as a hunter who will soon pounce on his helpless prey. But just as she was about to come, a loud bell rang in the center of the room.

“Oh…what?” Penny looked up with eyes blurred by lust and saw that the Fox’en couple had stopped their foreplay. Instead, Lady Bright Coat was down on her hands and knees and her mate was on his knees behind her. As Penny watched, he leaned over and bit her on the scruff of her neck.

“Guess it’s time for the main event, sweetheart,” V’rex growled. Giving her a final sweet kiss on her open pussy, he reluctantly rose from his position between her thighs. “How do you wanna do this? Like they are?” He nodded his head at the Fox’en couple but Penny shook her head.

“No—I want to look into your eyes while you…while you…”

“While I fill you up?” V’rex’s voice was a low, lustful rumble.

Penny nodded.

“Yes,” she murmured, still blushing. “Yes, that’s what I want. I want us to be face to face.”

“How about this, then?” V’rex sat up and leaned back against one of the firmer cushions. “Come here, baby,” he told Penny. “Come climb in my lap and take a little ride.”

CHAPTER 106

Feeling like her heart might pound right out of her chest, Penny crawled over to do as he said.

She threw a leg over his thighs, positioning her open pussy over the thick, blunt head of his cock. But just before they made contact, V’rex gripped her by the shoulders, stopping her.

“Sweetheart,” he said, looking at her in concern. “Are your breasts swollen? They look a lot bigger than they were a little while ago.”

Penny remembered the feeling that her breasts were tingling and getting heavy during their dinner, after she’d eaten the food that had the breedalot herbs in it. But it was hard to tell now if they were bigger or not—or maybe she was just so turned-on she didn’t want to pay attention to anything but having the big Hybrid inside her.

“I don’t know,” she admitted softly. “All I know is that I want you in me, V’rex—in me deep.”

“Gods, baby!” he groaned, his gold eyes going half-lidded with lust. “Put me in you then—don’t wait any longer.”

With a trembling hand, Penny reached between them and grasped his thick shaft. It felt good in her hand and so thick she couldn’t wrap her fingers all the way around him. God, was this monster really going to fit inside her?

Only one way to find out, she told herself. She remembered that he’d told her he had compounds in his precum that would help her open up, so she rubbed the blunt head of his cock over her swollen folds, making sure to coat her tender pink interior thoroughly with his slippery warmth.

Then, biting her lip, she fit the flaring crown to the mouth of her pussy and began to take him inside.

“Easy, sweetheart…easy,” V’rex cautioned her. His deep voice was hoarse as they both watched Penny sliding slowly down onto him, taking his thickness inch by inch into her wet pussy.

Oh God, so thick! Penny thought. She could feel her inner walls stretching to accommodate him but somehow it didn’t hurt. It only felt amazingly good—amazingly right to be this open for the man she loved.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” V’rex growled encouragingly. “That’s right, you’re almost there. Just come down a little further…”

At last Penny did as he said and felt the blunt head of his cock kiss the mouth of her womb.

In me, she thought. Almost all the way inside me…

Well, except for his mating fist. She could feel it, rubbing against her swollen clit when she tilted her hips and rubbed against him. It felt so good but she wanted it inside her.

But when she started to lower herself even more, V’rex caught her by the hips and shook his head.

“Uh-uh, sweetheart,” he said, in a strained-sounding voice. “This is as far as you go.”

“I am afraid she will need to go lower if the two of you really wish to participate in the Hulu-rah,” a stiff voice informed them.

Looking up with a start, Penny saw that Sure Paw, the Fox’en servant was standing over them. She felt a sudden rush of shame at being caught like this, straddling her lover with his thick shaft so deeply thrust into her tight pussy.

But not deeply enough, apparently, whispered a little voice in her head, as she covered her breasts with one arm. What are we going to do now?

CHAPTER 107

“I beg your fucking pardon?” V’rex growled, looking up at the Fox’en servant. Clearly, he didn’t appreciate another male coming up to them when they were in the middle of such an intimate act.

“I said, Sir, that you must enter your female completely in order to participate legally in the Hulu-rah,” the servant repeated. “Including the knot at the base of your shaft.”

“That’s my mating fist—not that it’s any of your Goddess-damned business,” V’rex growled. “And if I put it in her, I might get my Lady Penelope here pregnant.”

The servant raised one grizzled eyebrow.

“And why should that be a problem since she is your mate?”

Penny couldn’t think of a good reason, to be honest. Of course she remembered that she and V’rex had talked about the possibility of the fertility drugs she’d taken giving her a better than average chance of getting pregnant. But of course, if he won the challenge and didn’t actually come inside her, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?

“V’rex,” she murmured, putting a hand on his cheek to get his eyes back to hers. “V’rex, it’s all right. You won’t be…won’t be coming in me if you win the Hulu-rah—right?”

“Guess you’re right,” he agreed grudgingly. “It’s just that you’re so damn tight and hot and wet all around me, baby. I can control myself while I’m outside you, but once I get all the way in, well…” He shook his head. “I just don’t know.”

Penny felt like her whole body was throbbing in time with her heart.

“I think it’s a risk we’re going to have to take,” she told him. “I mean, how else are we going to complete our mission?”

“The Eye, right.” He nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay, sweetheart—we’ll do it for the mission. All right…” His big hands tightened on her hips. “Are you ready then? Ready to open up and take my mating fist deep inside you?”

“Yes, V’rex.” Penny braced her hands on his broad shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Yes, do it—fill me up completely.”

“All right, sweetheart—you asked for it,” he growled.

And though she would have sworn a moment ago that she was as full as it was possible to be, her pussy completely stuffed with the big Hybrid’s cock, somehow Penny felt herself stretching even more to take his mating fist deep inside.

“Oh!” she whispered, looking down to see that the thick root of his cock was now piercing the mouth of her pussy. “Oh, V’rex—you’re in me now. All the way in!”

“I know it, baby,” he growled softly. “How does it feel? Doesn’t hurt at all, does it?”

“No,” Penny told him, which was really surprising. “No, it…it actually feels really good to have you so deep in me.”

“Feels good to me too, baby,” V’rex murmured. He looked up at the Fox’en servant who had been standing unobtrusively to one side all this time. “You can go now.”

“Very well.” The servant went over to the corner where the royal Fox’ens were. He examined their position for a moment and nodded to himself. “The Hulu-rah has begun!” he announced loudly. “May the best male win!”

Then he left the grotto and Penny was able to concentrate on what was going on with V’rex again.

“V’rex,” she started, but then she saw that he was staring at her chest and frowning.

“Penelope,” he said. “I think your nectar is coming back. Look.”

“What?”

Looking down at herself, Penny saw that he was right. The clear amber nectar that had filled her breasts so often at the Compound was back. Sticky-sweet drops of it were gathering on the tips of her nipples. She became suddenly aware that her breasts were now so full they ached.

“Oh!” she gasped. “What in the world…?”

“Need me to suck it out for you?” V’rex growled softly. “You look like you’re in pain, little girl. Want me to make it all better?”

Penny didn’t even have to think about it.

“Yes,” she moaned softly, thrusting her tight nipples out to give him better access. “Please, V’rex—I’m hurting. Please help me!”

“With pleasure, sweetheart,” he murmured.

And then he took her right peak into his hot mouth and began to suck in long, slow, deep draws that Penny could feel as a tingling pleasure that went straight from her nipple down to her tightly-stretched pussy.

“Oh…oh!” she moaned, wiggling in his lap as the sparks of pleasure continued to burn through her body. “Oh God, V’rex, that feels so good!”

It felt even better than it had back at the Compound, she thought. Probably because back in the Compound the two of them had only been pretending. This time, she actually had the big Hybrid’s thick cock piercing her pussy and filling her to the limit with his girth. For some reason the sensation of being penetrated and filled below while he sucked her breasts above was making her incredibly hot—so much so that she couldn’t hold still.

At last V’rex released her right nipple and frowned at her.

“Take it easy, sweetheart,” he growled. “It’s hard enough to hold still and not thrust inside you without you wiggling all around in my lap, working your soft little pussy on my cock!”

Penny bit her lip.

“Maybe…maybe we don’t have to hold completely still,” she offered, wiggling a little more. “I mean, it feels so good to have you inside me, V’rex. And then when you…when you suck my nipples it feels even better. Would it be so bad for you to thrust in me just a little bit?”

“You know damn well we shouldn’t,” he growled, frowning again. “We’re tempting fate here, little girl. I’ve got my cock all the way inside you—even my mating fist. The more we move, the more pre-cum I’ll make in your pussy and I’m right up against the mouth of your womb.” He made a shallow thrust to prove his point and Penny threw back her head and moaned at the delicious feeling of such deep penetration.

“Please, V’rex! It feels so good—so right. Can’t you just thrust inside me a little bit while you suck the nectar out of my other breast? Please?”

“Gods…” He shook his head, his golden eyes glowing with lust. “You shouldn’t ask me that, baby—you know it’s a risk. And you know I can’t deny you anything.”

“I know, but I’m asking anyway,” Penny told him as she wiggled on top of him appealingly. “Please, V’rex—just a little.”

“Can’t say no to you, little girl.” He gripped her hips harder. “Get ready, gonna thrust inside you—gonna fuck you now.”

Penny moaned at his dirty words and ground against him as he raised her partially up and then thrust up inside her at the same time he was bringing her back down.

It was a shallow thrust but forceful and it sent pleasure sparks showering through her entire body.

“Oh, yes!” Penny moaned, unable to help herself. “Oh yes, V’rex! Do it again—again!”

“Just a little,” he growled but after the second thrust he gave her another and then another. Soon the two of them had set up a rhythm together, working against each other eagerly, hungrily, as though they couldn’t help themselves.

As he thrust inside her, V’rex sucked the nectar from her left breast and Penny moaned as she rode his thickness which slipped easily in and out of her.

Fucking me now, she thought deliriously as she felt her orgasm beginning to build. He’s fucking me now—so deep! Oh God, feels so good, so right!

“V’rex!” she panted as she rode him. “V’rex, I’m going to come soon!”

He let her nipple slip from between his lips.

“Good, baby—wanna feel you coming—coming all over my cock.”

“But I want to feel you coming, too!” Penny protested. “I want to feel you coming and…” She took a deep breath. “And I want you to sting me when you do.”

V’rex frowned and slowed his pace, his eyes searching hers.

“I can’t do that, baby—it hurts you too much!”

“You won’t hurt me this time.” Penny spoke with perfect confidence. Though it had been hazy for a while, the words of the invisible chorus caused by the Silka spice had come back to her. She knew this was the right thing to do and she knew that letting the big Hybrid sting her would result only in pleasure and bonding for both of them.

“How do you know that? How can you be sure?” V’rex demanded.

“The Silka,” Penny told him. “Remember when I took it I said that I wished I knew how the two of us could be together forever? Well, it told me that when the nectar came back to my breasts, I would be cured of the poison from the jungle and that you could sting me again.”

“I don’t know…” V’rex looked torn. “I want to bond you to me more than anything in this whole fucking universe, but I don’t want to cause you pain.” His pale gold eyes grew deadly serious. “I’d rather die than hurt you like that again.”

“Oh, V’rex…” Penny cupped his face in her hands and leaned in for a long, sweet kiss. “I love that you feel that way,” she murmured, breaking the kiss at last. “But I want you to do this—it’s the only way we can be together. Together forever—is that what you want?”

“Hell yes,” he growled hoarsely. “I never want to let you go, sweetheart.”

“Then sting me.” Penny brushed her long, chestnut hair to one side and offered him the side of her neck. “Sting me and make love to me and come in me all at the same time, V’rex. Make me yours—bond me to you!”

He had almost stopped his thrusting as they spoke but now her words seemed to do something to the big Hybrid. Gripping Penny’s hips in his big hands once more, he began thrusting again, rolling upward to fill her pussy like the tide with a deep, inevitable force.

As he did, Penny felt her own pleasure cresting and then something hot and wet was spurting deep in her pussy. At the same time, V’rex’s mouth fastened on the side of her neck and she felt his tongue sharpen into a needle point and thrust into her flesh.

For a split second she felt a spark of pain and terror followed after it. What if she had been wrong? What if the chorus had been lying to her? What if—

And then the most intense pleasure she’d ever felt rolled through her and she was coming…coming so hard all around his thick, invading cock…giving herself completely as V’rex bonded the two of them together for life.

CHAPTER 108

“Well, I believe the Hulu-rah is over. Regrettably, Merchant V’rex and his Lady Penelope are the losers.”

The Fox’en servant’s words cut through the ecstasy Penny had been feeling and the realization washed over her like a bucket of cold water.

Lost—we lost! Oh my God, that wasn’t supposed to happen!

What she and Lady Bright Coat had planned was for Penny to hold perfectly still while Lady Bright Coat had promised she would “tease and tempt” her husband until he couldn’t help himself and came inside her.

“Oh, was that your plan?” a deep, growling voice said inside her head.

Penny looked at her new mate in surprise.

“V’rex, was that you?”

She’d heard that Kindred had a telepathic link to their mates but she hadn’t really considered the implications of it when she’d asked the big Hybrid to bond her to him. Now it came home to her all over again that they were joined—joined for ever.

At the thought, joy consumed her. But then she had another, more sobering realization.

But in order to join with V’rex, I had to lose the Eye of Ten’gu.

“Maybe not, sweetheart,” V’rex sent, having apparently heard her thoughts. “Look over there.”

Penny looked to where he was indicating and saw that Lady Bright coat had separated from her husband and was howling mournfully, which seemed to be the Fox’en way of crying.

“My darling? My mate? What is wrong?” Chieftain Swift Tail was looking anxiously at his wife. “Why are you upset? We have won the Hulu-rah and the Silka spice is ours!”

“I don’t care about any of that!” Lady Bright Coat sobbed and then howled mournfully again. “I didn’t want to win the Hulu-rah!”

“Didn’t want to win?” Her mate looked at her in bewilderment. “But my darling mate, why not?”

“Because!” Lady Bright Coat cried. “I wanted to be rid of this wretched necklace!” She pointed at the Eye, which still lay against her furry chest.

“But I gave you that in front of the whole tribe,” Chieftain Swift Tail protested.

“Yes, and I have had dark days and restless nights ever since,” Lady Bright Coat said. “And when I asked the Silka why I could not conceive a litter, it told me that this awful Eye was to blame. And then Lady Penelope told me that it is an evil artifact made by a twisted deity from another universe!”

The words were pouring out of her. To Penny it seemed as though all her pent-up worries and sorrows were coming out all at once.

“She told you what?” Chieftain Swift Tail was looking at his mate in amazement.

“You heard me!” Lady Bright Coat cried and howled again. “Penelope and V’rex are not merchants—they are agents of the Kindred—sent to find this horrible Eye so that it could be destroyed before the evil entity who lives inside it can awaken and kill us all!”

This was going a little further than anything Penny had said, but clearly the female Fox’en was upset.

Penny cast an apprehensive glance at Chieftain Swift Tail. She was worried that he would be angry with them, now that their cover was blown.

“Yeah, we’d better get ready to run if we have to,” V’rex growled in her mind. Clearly he had the same worry. Carefully, the two of them separated and Penny began getting back into her black fur suit while V’rex pulled on his white one.

But to Penny’s surprise, the Fox’en Chieftain didn’t growl or shout at her and V’rex. Instead, he cupped his mate’s face in his hands and looked at her earnestly.

“My darling,” he said softly. “If you wish to be rid of the necklace, you may barter it away.”

“Really?” Lady Bright Coat’s eyes were bright with tears. “But will it not cause you to lose face?”

“Not if you barter for something truly magnificent,” Chieftain Swift Tail pointed out.

Penny had a sudden idea.

“I know,” she said to Lady Bright Coat. “Why don’t we trade necklaces?”

She still had on the gorgeous gold and rainbow shell necklace V’rex had given her to wear, which he’d told her was so expensive it could buy two of his ships.

“This rare necklace—” she began, hoping to sell the royal Fox’ens on the idea. But she needn’t have bothered.

“Done!” Lady Bright Coat was already taking off the Eye of Ten’gu and handing it over to Penny eagerly.

“Your Commander Sylvan is going to owe me a lot of credit,” V’rex informed her, but when Penny looked up at him, he was smiling. “Not that I mind,” he added. “Even if he doesn’t pay me back, I got the best deal out of everyone.”

“You did?” Penny asked, trying out their new link for the first time.

“Sure, sweetheart—I got you. That’s worth more than anything else in the universe to me.”

“Oh, Vrex…” Penny said aloud, smiling up at the big Hybrid.

She felt like she had made a pretty good deal, too, getting V’rex for her mate. And she had the rest of her life to enjoy it.

CHAPTER 109

After the Hulu-rah and the successful barter session with the royal Fox’ens, Chieftain Swift Tail officially elevated Penny and V’rex’s status to “Esteemed Emissaries.” They were given their own little cave-house to live in, right down the road from the royal residence, and the Chief asked them to stay awhile to make their visit official.

Since they knew the Kindred ships that were coming wouldn’t reach them for at least a week, if not a little more, they accepted.

Penny enjoyed herself thoroughly, studying both the culture of the Fox’ens and also the artifacts of the ancient Kindred. When it became known that she was interested in such things, all the Fox’ens in the tribe began bringing her whatever they found. They were eager to curry favor with the “flat-faces” who had gained the royal ear by losing a Hulu-rah with the Chieftain and bartering so graciously with his mate.

“You’re gonna have enough of this stuff to open your own ancient Kindred museum pretty soon,” V’rex complained good-naturedly as Penny sorted through a new cache of artifacts one of the Fox’en miners had brought her.

“I know—isn’t it fantastic?” She picked up a perfectly preserved blue bowl made of some ancient metallic alloy. “The miner told me he found this not far from where they first found the Eye. Speaking of which…” She cleared her throat.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart—it’s safe,” V’rex assured her. “Got it locked up in my safe in the ship. We won’t bring it out until we go to meet with Commander Sylvan.”

“Good.” Penny shivered. “That thing gives me the creeps! I didn’t even like handling it when Lady Bright Coat gave it to me. It gave me the feeling of spiders crawling up and down my arms!” She shivered again. “I don’t know how she stood wearing it for so long.”

“Well, let’s hope that getting rid of it helps her fertility,” V’rex remarked. “I know she really wants a, uh, litter badly.”

“She’ll have one,” Penny said confidently. “And I bet she’s going to make a wonderful mother.”

“You’re going to make a wonderful mother too, sweetheart,” V’rex growled meaningfully. “Maybe sooner than you think, considering I’ve been breeding you every night—not to mention all hours of the day as well.”

Penny felt her cheeks getting hot.

“V’rex…” she murmured, not knowing what to say. They still hadn’t discussed what would happen if she ever did turn up pregnant—which seemed like a distinct possibility now that the effects of the Mother’s Milk she’d been given in the Compound seemed to be in play again. At least, her breasts continued to fill with nectar which V’rex delighted in sucking out every time they made love. Not only that, but she had been eating a lot of the Fox’en breedalot herb as well, mainly because it was delicious.

Penny was certain the combination had amped up her fertility considerably. And though the idea of having a baby had once turned her off, she found she kind of liked the prospect of having one with V’rex. The only question was, what would they do and where would they live afterwards?

If it was up to her, Penny would have gone back to the Mother Ship. First because Kat had told her how she planned the most beautiful Joining ceremonies in the Sacred Grove. And second because they had the best medical care possible for pregnant women and she would have liked to stay there through at least the second part of her pregnancy and the birth.

But she knew how V’rex still felt about the Kindred. Though he seemed to be on better terms with Commander Sylvan now, he still held the race as a whole in contempt. Penny doubted he would want to live with them in the Mother Ship for any amount of time, though he would probably put up with it at least until they had the baby…

Listen to you, making plans like you’re already pregnant, she scolded herself. You don’t know that you are, so until you’re sure, you might as well not worry about it.

“You don’t know that you aren’t either,” V’rex murmured through their link. “But if you like the idea of having a baby, we can try again right now…”

Penny felt a warm wave of lust rush over her as she looked up at her tall mate.

“V’rex,” she murmured, putting out her arms. “You read my mind.”

“Come on then, baby.”

And picking her up, he carried her into their bedroom.

CHAPTER 110

About a week and a half into their “Fox’en Honeymoon” as Penelope called it, V went out to his ship and found he had a message from Commander Sylvan asking him to call.

He punched in the subspace coordinates and a moment later, the viewscreen popped into life, showing the Head of the High Council himself. He looked tired, V thought, as though he’d been through a lot since the last time they had spoken.

“V’rex here, returning your call, Commander,” he said coolly. “What can I do for you?”

“Greetings, Warrior V’rex,” Sylvan began formally. “I wanted to let you know that we are now in the Yown System.” He sighed and ran a hand over his spiky, short blond hair. “Actually, we have been for some days.”

“Oh? What’s taking so long?” V asked. “My mate Penelope and I are waiting here on Yown Beta.”

“Your mate?” Sylvan’s eyebrows went up. “But I thought you had Foresworn Penelope?”

“Well, I did…” V shrugged. “But you know, sometimes circumstances take a turn of their own.”

He had been prepared for the Kindred Commander to be angry—maybe even enraged. So it was a big surprise when Sylvan’s face broke into a smile.

“Yes, they do, sometimes,” he agreed, nodding at V. “You know, I had a feeling about you two.”

“What? Even after I told you I had Forsworn her?” V asked, frowning.

Sylvan started laughing.

“Especially after you told me you had Forsworn her,” he emphasized. “You know, I Forswore my own mate, Sophia, before we were bonded, too. But it seems like no matter how many obstacles are in the way, if the Goddess wants a Warrior and a female together, well…” He shrugged. “There’s just no stopping them.”

“I guess you’re right.” V found himself grinning back reluctantly, though the stern Kindred Commander, who had been his foe for so long, was the last person he’d ever expected to share a joke with.

“So you asked me what’s taking so long.” Sylvan’s face went suddenly serious. “And the answer is, the cult down on Yown Alpha. Luckily, I decided to bring several squadrons of warriors with us, because those little orange humanoids put up quite a fight!”

“The NeverBreeders,” V said, nodding. “Did you beat them?”

“Finally.” Sylvan sighed and ran a hand over his hair again wearily. “They’re fanatically loyal to their ‘Glorious Leader’ though. So were the humanoids they’d captured—at first.”

“They just called everyone ‘breeders’,” V’rex growled. “So you said they were loyal at first?”

“Oh yes—we found a way to break their conditioning,” Sylvan told him. “A series of rhythmic sounds that penetrated the brainwashing they had received and brought back the memories of their past lives. We hovered over their atmosphere dome and played them until all the, uh, breeders stopped fighting the Warriors we had sent in and started fighting with them instead, to overthrow the NeverBreeders.”

“I hope not too many were killed,” V’rex said. “Some of them had been there for years and years.”

“Yes, so they told us,” Sylvan said grimly. “I had no idea that such a large cult was flourishing right under our noses! Anyway, we’re clearing everything out now. The kidnapped ‘breeders’ are being returned to their homes and the NeverBreeders finally surrendered when their leader escaped.”

“What? The GL got away?” V sat up straighter. “Damn it—that bastard is the one to blame for everything!”

“I know,” Sylvan said bleakly. “We almost had him. His entire mansion was surrounded.”

“Then what happened?” V demanded. “How did that bastard get away?”

“It appeared that he had a small, private ship hidden under a false lawn just inside the mansion’s outer limits,” Sylvan explained. “We tried to shoot him down but he was too fast, regrettably.” He frowned. “Though if we ever find him, I intend to make him pay for all the misery and grief he caused. When I think of all the lost years his prisoners endured working and living in that Compound…”

“You don’t know the half of it,” V said darkly. “Did you see the inside of the Breeding and Conception Center? Did you see the baths and the recycling room?” He hadn’t seen them himself, of course, but Penelope had described them in great detail, horror in her big brown eyes as she talked and V had to hold and comfort her for a long time afterwards.

“I did.” Sylvan’s face was serious. “The entire center and all its equipment has been razed to the ground now. The NeverBreeders—the ones who were left after the battle—begged to stay in the Compound rather than go back to the Mother Ship as prisoners.”

“And you let them?” V asked, raising his eyebrows.

Sylvan nodded.

“On the condition that they never try to make more NeverBreeders and that they stop the cannibalism.” He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under his pale blue uniform shirt. “And since we destroyed their facilities, they really don’t have a choice about keeping their end of our agreement.”

“Well…” V nodded reluctantly. “I guess that makes sense. What else were you gonna do with them? Though I hate like all the Seven Hells that the ‘Glorious Leader’ got away. That bastard is the one who started it all!”

“Yes, I know.” Sylvan nodded. “We are still looking for him, but he seems to have disappeared.”

“Well, we were more successful in our hunt down here on Yown Beta,” V informed him.

“The Eye of Ten’gu?” Sylvan sounded hopeful.

“It’s locked away in my safe right here aboard my ship,” V told him. “And we were careful to keep it out of direct sunlight when we brought it out of the mountain, so I guess it’s still ‘asleep,’ if that makes you feel better.”

“It does.” Sylvan nodded in relief. “Thank you, V’rex—you’ve done us a great service.

“You might not be so happy when you find out how much I paid for it,” V told him. “Penelope and I had to barter for it with the Chieftain of the local tribe and it was not cheap.”

“Whatever you paid, I will be happy to repay you,” Sylvan said gravely. “No price is too great to destroy the Eye before it awakens and causes the death and destruction that are foretold.”

“I don’t know about death and destruction, but whatever’s inside it, it’s an evil fucker,” V growled. “The local Chieftain’s wife was wearing it as a necklace and it was messing with her fertility.”

“The force that created the Eye hates all life,” Sylvan remarked. “Unless it is evil life he created himself.”

“Yeah, I know about the Cruel Father,” V said, nodding. “My Sire used to tell me stories about him to scare me right before bed.”

“Speaking of your heritage…” Sylvan began and then stopped.

“Yes? What about it?” V asked, frowning.

But the Kindred Commander was shaking his head.

“I’d rather speak to you about it in person, if you don’t mind. Can you and Penelope meet me in the Hell’s Gate VIP lounge?”

“Sure.” V shrugged. “Don’t much go there. It’s a lot of money to pay just to park your ship in a fancier part of the station.”

“It’s a secure area,” Sylvan pointed out. “Which I prefer for the transfer of the Eye of Ten’gu.”

“Oh, right.” V nodded. “I understand. Sure, we can meet you—just tell me when.”

“Tomorrow morning at o-eight hundred hours,” Sylvan told him. “We should be done mopping up the mess on Yown Alpha by then.”

“We’ll be there,” V told him. “Penelope is going to be so excited to see you again. She’s found about a thousand ancient Kindred artifacts she wants to show you.”

“Has she?” Sylvan’s face lightened. “That’s fascinating! We weren’t sure from the ancient scrolls if our ancestors lived under Mount Ra’gar or if it was simply the place where they chose to hide the Eye.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure they lived here,” V said. “Penelope has found all kinds of things. From pots and pans to…well, I’ll let her tell you about it—she’s the archeologist, after all,” he ended.

“And an excellent one at that. We will always be grateful to her—and to you—for your service in securing the Eye,” Sylvan said seriously.

“You’re welcome.” V smiled. “I ought to thank you for sending her. I didn’t even know I was looking for my mate until I saw her.”

“That’s how it goes sometimes.” Sylvan smiled. “The Goddess works in mysterious ways.”

“So she does.” V nodded. “Well, we’ll see you tomorrow morning. Now I’d better go help Penelope pack up her artifacts.”

“We’ll see you in the VIP lounge,” Sylvan said and the viewscreen went blank.

V sat there for a moment, staring at the dark viewscreen and musing that he never would have believed it was possible to have such a cordial conversation with an old foe. Sylvan sounded serious when he had offered to repay the price of the Eye. And he had actually brought in troops to clear out the cult on Yown Alpha.

Maybe it was time to rethink his position on the Kindred, V mused. But then he remembered how his mother had been abandoned and frowned. Sylvan might be decent enough, but that didn’t mean they all were.

He had wounds too deep to be healed with a few minutes of light chitchat.

Sighing, he got up and checked the safe, making certain the Eye was secure. He had put it in a black velvet bag, both to protect it and to keep it from looking at him. It was painted to appear like it was looking at you no matter where you stood which was fucking creepy. There was also a feeling about it—you felt like something dark was crouching in the back of your mind whenever you touched it.

Which was why V preferred not to touch the fucking thing.

V looked at it briefly and then put it back in the bag.

“Getting rid of you tomorrow and good fucking riddance,” he informed it and locked the safe. He checked the lock twice to be sure and then a third time because that stupid Eye made him paranoid, and then finally left, locking the ship behind him.

He would be damn glad not to have it anymore—fucking thing creeped him the hell out.

CHAPTER 111

“I didn’t even know that Hell’s Gate had a VIP lounge,” Penny remarked, yawning, as they docked in the elite section of the Spaceport.

“Yeah, not many people go there. It’s a ridiculous amount of credit for a few luxuries,” Vrex remarked as he finished the docking procedure.

“Well, I’m sure not everybody has a ship as luxurious as yours,” she pointed out, unbuckling her seat harness and standing up to stretch. “That minor lordling you won it from must have been really upset when he lost.”

“Nah—his Sire could buy him five more just like it.” V’rex got up as well. “C’mon, baby—I’m sure Commander Sylvan is already waiting.”

“Oh—don’t forget the Eye,” Penny said quickly. “I want to be sure to give it to him first thing—I hate that awful thing.”

“You and me both. Here.” V’rex pulled out the black velvet bag, which he had gotten out of the safe earlier. “You give it to him. It was your mission to get it in the first place, after all,” he added when Penny tried to give it back. “So you get to give it to him, sweetheart.”

Penny smiled and nodded, though even holding the bag with the Eye of Ten’gu in it made the short hairs on the backs of her arms stand up.

“Ugh, I hate this thing,” she said, holding it away from her body as they walked through the airlock and into the lounge. “It gives me such a bad feeling!”

“Same here. But we’ll be rid of it soon and Commander Sylvan can deal with it,” V’rex said. “Speaking of which—look, there he is now.”

He pointed at the far end of the luxurious VIP lounge which reminded Penny a little bit of a high-class airport terminal. The floors were a highly polished black marble and there was plush gray leather furniture scattered around as well as some food and entertainment kiosks that looked to be selling very high-end goods. And standing at the far end of the opulent space was the Head of the Kindred High Council along with several other Kindred Warriors.

“Commander Sylvan?” she called and the tall Blood Kindred turned to smile at them.

“Ah, Penelope!” he exclaimed, coming towards them with his hands held out. They met in the middle of the large oval lounge and he shook Penny warmly by the hand. “And Warrior, V’rex—it’s good to meet you as a friend instead of an adversary,” he added, turning to offer V’rex a warrior’s clasp.

After a moment, V’rex took the offered arm and nodded at him.

“It’s…good to see you too,” he said, sounding as though the words of friendship were foreign to him. For a male used to being at odds with the whole world, Penny could bet that they were.

“We brought you the Eye,” she said to Sylvan. She wanted to give it to him at once, but the Kindred Commander only nodded.

“Yes, thank you. But before any of that, I have someone who very much wants to meet V’rex.”

“Oh?” V’rex frowned. “And who might that be?”

“These are Braish and Tairn…” Sylvan ushered two older Beast Kindred warriors forward. Both had long dark hair with streaks of gray in it.

“I see.” V’rex nodded. “And they are…”

“These are the brothers of your mother, V’rex,” Sylvan said.

“Oh!” Penny put a hand to her mouth. “Honey, these are your uncles!”

“My…” V’rex shook his head and took a step back, his face like a thundercloud. “Why would you bring them here?” he demanded, glaring at Sylvan. “When they abandoned my mother and me when I was still in her belly?”

“But they didn’t,” Sylvan said earnestly. “They searched for your mother for years and never found her.”

“The Head of the High Council speaks the truth,” one of the older Beast Kindred said. “We searched for years for our little sister—but we never knew that she had a son.”

“That was privileged information that only the High Council knew,” Sylvan added. “And that has only been in the past several years since we’ve been researching you, V’rex, because of your, ah, activities in this Sector.”

“We searched and searched for her—we never stopped,” the second Beast Kindred said. “I will swear it by my honor as a warrior or by the Goddess herself.”

“You did?” V’rex’s pale gold eyes widened and he looked strangely vulnerable to Penny. “But my Sire said—”

“He lied to you, lad,” the first Beast Kindred said strongly. “We would never abandon our kin—never. Why, when Commander Sylvan here called and told us that you had been found, we both wept tears of joy!”

“We are so eager to welcome you into our clan,” the second Beast Kindred said. “Son of our sister. You will be an honored addition to our family.”

“Even though I’m a half-breed?” V’rex asked uncertainly. “Even though it was my Sire who killed your sister—my mother?”

“Even so. The son is not responsible for the sins of his father.” Both of the older Beast Kindred held out their arms.

“Will you not join our family?” one of them asked softly. “We would be so proud and happy to have you.”

“I…I’ve never had a family. Not since I was put out on the street as a young one.” V’rex’s voice was hoarse. Then he came forward and both of the older Beast Kindred hugged him.

Penny had tears in her eyes at the touching scene. She could feel V’rex’s tentative joy building through the link between them and she longed to hug him too, but she didn’t want to interrupt.

“Excuse me,” she murmured to Commander Sylvan, who was standing to one side smiling. “But do you know if there’s a restroom around here? I…I’m tearing up here.” She sniffed and swiped at her eyes.

“Oh, of course. It’s right there at the far end of the lounge.”

He pointed and Penny thanked him and headed for the plain gray door. She wanted to give her new mate time to reconnect with his family before she intruded and in the meantime she really needed to dry her eyes and blow her nose.

CHAPTER 112

She was so happy when she walked into the bathroom that she didn’t notice the far stall was opaque, meaning it was occupied. She found some tissue—which they had in abundance here in the VIP lounge, though it had been conspicuously lacking in the Lucky Lounge’s facilities—and dried her eyes. Then she decided she had to pee, too.

She went into the first stall, looping the rope ties of the black velvet bag with the Eye in it carefully over one wrist, and bent over to use the strange suction toilet. As before, the spout-looking attachment coming out of the square hole in the toilet inflated a large bubble for her to press against. And once again, Penny had the strange sensation of the pee getting pulled out of her—as though she was relieving herself into an industrial vacuum.

As she finished her business and pressed the button to release the suction, she remembered what Shurla, the three-breasted joy-girl, had told her about how all the waste in the entire station was sucked out into the floating waste field in space, in the back of Hell’s Gate. She’d said that because of the slow-time anomaly that had formed around the main waste chute, it was all just stuck there in a floating blob that never even froze because the time bubble wouldn’t let it.

Ugh—it’s so weird to think of, Penny thought as she exited the stall and went to wash her hands. Hell’s Gate Station and the two planets it orbited between were all fascinating places, but she’d had about enough of the Yown System for now. So glad we’re going to be out of here soon, Penny mused as she washed her hands. Not sure where we’re going next but as long as V’rex and I are together, we’ll be fine.

She was still looking down at the sink, so she didn’t notice when the far stall opened quietly and someone came out. The rushing water drowned out the footsteps behind her and she was lost in her thoughts—dreams of adventures she and her new mate could have together.

So she was caught completely unaware when someone pinned her arms to her sides and dragged her backwards.

CHAPTER 113

“Help! He—” Penny shouted—or started to shout until someone slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Well, well, my dear! Fancy meeting you here,” said a familiar voice in her ear. “And since I know that females who join with Kindred always form a telepathic link…” Something cold and hard about the size of a button was pressed against the side of Penny’s left temple.

Immediately the constant link with V’rex, which was now a part of her life, was abruptly and completely silenced.

“Mmmph! Mmmph!” Penny tried to scream as she fought and struggled. To be suddenly cut off from the big Hybrid was incredibly frightening—it was as though someone had suddenly chopped her in half and she was missing part of herself.

“Well, we mustn’t dally. Come along now.”

And Penny was dragged forcefully out of the far door in the restroom—the one marked “Service.”

“These old service tunnels are so useful,” her captor informed her as he marched her down the long corridor. “Now come along with me.”

Penny bit the hand over her mouth and struggled to be free.

With a hiss of pain, her captor withdrew the hand over her lips but not the one around her waist.

“Help!” she screamed again. “Somebody help me!”

“Scream all you want, you nasty little breeder,” hissed her captor. “No one can hear you—these service corridors were soundproofed in order to keep the VIPs from being bothered by any sounds the servers might make.”

Turning her head to the left, Penny finally saw who was holding her.

“Colonel Sanders!” she breathed.

“What?” The Glorious Leader frowned at her. “Are your brains addled? It is I—your Glorious Leader!”

“You’re no leader of mine!” Penny spat. “They said you had escaped during the raid on Yown Alpha, but what do you want with me?”

“What I want is my Compound back!” the Glorious Leader snarled as he forced her to start marching down the long tunnel-like hallway again. “And I think you might be the key to getting it for me.”

“Me?” Penny gasped. “You must be crazy. How can I get your Compound back?”

“I’ve been monitoring you, my dear,” the Glorious Leader told her. “I lost you for a little while after your escape—probably because the poisons of the jungle temporarily disabled the nanites in the Mother’s Milk.”

“Wait—nanites?” Penny exclaimed. “I thought it was just some kind of fertility chemicals in that stuff!”

“There are both—they work together,” the Glorious Leader said. “I give nanites to all my female breeders—they help with fertility but they’re also good for tracking a breeder if she happens to stray. Like you did.” He glared at Penny.

“I left because you kidnapped me!” Penny protested. “You stole me away from my life and my job and—”

“Yes, yes—well I gave you a higher purpose, didn’t I?” the Glorious Leader interrupted. “You should have been grateful I allowed you to participate in our Glorious Cause!”

“You—” Penny began but he just kept talking over her.

“Anyway, when you started producing nectar again, I was able to get a lock on your location and even overhear some very interesting information, once I turned the long-range sensors on. Of course those aren’t necessary in the Compound because we have the Watchers. But they do come in handy if a breeder slips away.”

“I didn’t ‘slip away’—I ran for my life after I found out you killed my friend and you were going to chop her up for food!” Penny snapped.

“Yes, well, that’s life in the Compound.” The Glorious Leader shrugged. “Waste not, want not—right? We must have protein to feed our workers in order to be self-sustaining.”

“You can justify it however you want,” Penny said coldly. “But the fact is, what you were doing down there was nothing but murder and cannibalism. Oh, and gang rape if you count the ‘Public Breedings’. And now I find out you were spying on me too—even after I got away!”

“I was keeping an eye on one of my breeders.” The Glorious Leader didn’t sound in the least guilty or perturbed by her accusations. “And I’m very glad I did because I learned some very interesting things. Such as the fact that you are working for the Kindred! The same Kindred who ruined my beautiful society.”

“What you had wasn’t a society—it was a cult!” Penny struggled against him again. “Let me go!

“I think not, my dear,” the Glorious Leader sneered. “Once we’re safely in my ship, about a thousand parsecs out, I’ll call the Kindred Commander and make my demands. And of course, if he doesn’t want to comply with them, well…” He shook his head and made a tsking sound. “What a shame that would be. Because they might have ruined my lovely equipment, but I’m still quite capable of recycling a breeder by hand.”

His words sent a cold chill down Penny’s spine.

“You wouldn’t,” she whispered.

“Oh, watch me, my dear. Now, march,” he barked and shoved Penny in the back so hard she fell to her knees.

She gasped and the velvet bag which was still tied to her wrist clunked on the metal floor as the Eye of Ten’gu bounced inside it.

“What’s this?” the Glorious Leader demanded, dragging her to her feet and snatching the bag off her wrist. He opened it one handed, while keeping the other hand firmly locked around her other wrist.

“Don’t!” Penny gasped as the gold and lapis painted Eye on its long gold chain spilled out into the Glorious Leader’s palm.

“Well, well…” He frowned at it with interest. “And what might this be?”

“Just a necklace—that’s all,” Penny said quickly.

“Or maybe it’s the ancient artifact you were sent to find?” The Glorious Leader raised his white, busy eyebrows at her as Penny gaped at him. “I told you I’ve been monitoring you, my dear! Well, if the Kindred don’t want you badly enough to make a bargain with me, maybe they’ll want this.”

And he put the gold chain over his own neck and adjusted the Eye over his chest.

“It’s mine now,” he said to Penny. He drew in a deep breath and straightened his shoulders as his grip on her wrist grew even tighter. “Ahhh! I can see why the Kindred Commander wants this so badly,” he remarked. “It gives me fresh strength! Why, I feel twenty cycles younger!”

Penny was confused at first—both she and V’rex had felt an evil presence that repulsed them when they touched the Eye. But it seemed to invigorate the Glorious Leader and give him fresh strength—how could that be?

“Because Evil calls to Evil, daughter,” whispered a warm, feminine voice in her head.

Goddess? Penny sent back, looking around wildly. Where are you? Can you help me?

“Help is coming, daughter! Do not despair,” the Goddess told her. “I have brought you here so this Evil one will get exactly what he deserves.”

And then she was gone and the Glorious Leader—resplendent with the Eye of Ten’gu resting on the breast of his snow-white suit—was marching her down the hallway again.

CHAPTER 114

V was so overwhelmed at meeting his kin for the first time, that at first he didn’t notice that Penelope was missing. But after a while, he missed her presence. They were rarely separated since they had been bonded and though he had spent almost his whole life on his own with no one to look out for or love, he found he couldn’t stand to be without his curvy little female for long.

“Did you happen to see where Penelope went?” he asked Commander Sylvan during a break in the conversation, when his new kin were describing the Beast Kindred home world of Rageron to him.

“I believe she went to the fresher.” Commander Sylvan nodded at a plain gray door at the end of the lounge. He frowned. “But that was some time ago.”

V started to reach out to his mate…and then stopped himself. He had learned early on that Penelope was what she called a “private bathroom person” and she disliked being bothered—even mentally—when she was “doing her business.”

I’ll give her a minute, he thought to himself She’ll be out soon.

But as the minutes ticked by and she still didn’t come out, he began to feel a tickling of unease in the back of his mind. Where was she? What was taking so long?

At last he sent a tentative call through their link, “Penelope?”

But he got no reply in return—not even an irritated demand to let her “finish.”

In fact, V realized, he felt nothing when he reached mentally for his new mate—nothing at all.

“Something is wrong!” he exclaimed. Ignoring the startled looks from his new kin, he ran for the fresher. “Penelope!” he roared at the top of his lungs, banging through the door. “Penelope, where are you?”

But though he could smell the sweet scent of her skin and hair, letting him know she had been there recently, the fresher was empty.

Penelope was gone.

CHAPTER 115

Drace walked quietly as he made his way down the old service tunnels that ran around the outside of the VIP area of Hell’s Gate Station. He had docked by a service entrance and let himself in using some codes he’d bought a long time ago off a mech droid who worked here. He liked the perks in the VIP Lounge—he just didn’t like paying for them.

This wasn’t something he did all the time—just once in a while when he wanted to treat himself. As a smuggler, he often lived in a gray area, just outside the law which was fine with him. He felt comfortable in that gray area. He—

Just then he heard a shuffling sound up ahead. He was coming to a T shaped intersection where he needed to take a right and go down the hall in order to slip into the VIP lounge via the service entrance of the fresher, but now he paused, frowning.

Usually, at this time in the morning, there was nobody in the service corridor. The service droids and mechs had already cleaned the lounge and the freshers and they wouldn’t be coming back for another sweep until almost time for Midday Meal. So it was generally safe to come and go this early in the morning.

Except this time someone was out there and there was nowhere for Drace to hide.

He started to turn and go back the way he’d come. If anyone asked what he was doing, he could always say he’d gotten lost looking for the fresher. After all, he wasn’t actually in the VIP lounge yet so nobody could rightfully accuse him—

“Go back.”

The voice in his ear was rich and feminine and very firm.

“What?” Drace hissed, looking around. Who was that? Who was speaking to him?

“Go back to the intersection, Warrior—there is one who needs your help!” the voice commanded.

For a moment Drace hesitated, wondering if he was going crazy. He had the impulse to run back to his ship but the presence in the corridor with him was so strong—so tangible—that he couldn’t ignore it.

Drawing his blaster, he stepped carefully towards the T-section and looked around the corner.

CHAPTER 116

“Stop where you are and let the girl go!” a deep, male voice shouted and a blaster shot fired over Penny’s head.

“What?” she gasped, ducking instinctively. Looking down the corridor, she saw that there was a junction coming up and a man who looked vaguely familiar had stepped out from around the corner.

“Let her go!” the tall male insisted, shouting at the Glorious Leader.

Finally, Penny recognized him—he was the Havoc warrior who had helped them get away on Yown Alpha. Drace, that was his name.

“Help!” she gasped and at the same time the Glorious Leader let her go and ran.

“Penelope, isn’t it?” the Havoc said, coming forward.

“Yes and you’re Drace but we can’t let him get away!” she exclaimed, gesturing at the fleeing Glorious Leader, who was running much faster than an older gentleman in a white suit had any right to move.

“What? Why?” Drace demanded.

“Because he’s got the Eye of Ten’gu and it has to be destroyed. And he’s also the one responsible for kidnapping you and taking you to Yown Alpha in the first place,” Penny babbled. “Look, just get him!”

Drace took off in hot pursuit of the fleeing Glorious Leader and Penny ran after them both. As she did, she pried at the silver button that was stuck to her left temple. She had to get it off and let V’rex know what had happened!

There was another T-junction coming up and the Glorious Leader dived into it. Drace followed him, still firing his blaster. But the other man always seemed to know how to duck or dodge.

The Eye is helping him! Penny thought, feeling a sense of despair. It’s giving him strength and speed and letting him know when to duck! How are we ever going to catch him and get it back?

The corridor curved suddenly and she lost sight of both men. When she finally skidded around the bend, she saw a sight that nearly stopped her heart.

It was Granny Two-two. The tiny old woman with the wizened peach of a second head growing out of the top of her main head was standing there and beckoning to the Glorious Leader.

“This way!” she was shouting in her cracked voice. “Come this way, so you should!”

“So you should! So you should!” shouted her second head and Penny saw that the old lady was pointing to a ventilation shaft, which was big enough to admit a grown man.

“No!” she shouted breathlessly, waving her arms at the old woman. “No, don’t help him get away! He’s a bad guy! Don’t do it, Granny Two-two!”

But the old woman continued to wave and point. She even pushed open the swinging metal flap which covered the tube, holding it wide for the Glorious Leader.

The GL, as V’rex called him, dived into the tube with surprising agility. He looked like a stuntman in a movie, he moved so smoothly, Penny thought with despair. Oh no—they would never catch him now!

Drace seemed prepared to try, though. He started to dive into the tunnel himself, but Granny Two-two stepped in front of it and held up a hand.

“Not you,” she said to him, frowning. “Not for you.”

“Not for you! Not for you!” the tiny second head shouted and made a face at the big Havoc.

“Get out of the way!” Drace shouted. “He’s getting away!”

But Granny Two-two refused to budge and Drace didn’t seem to be the kind of man who would push an old lady aside.

At this point, Penny caught up and came to a skidding halt in front of the old woman.

“Granny Two-two, why did you do that?” she gasped, trying to catch her breath. “That was a really bad man! He’s responsible for thousands of kidnappings and deaths! He—”

“Oh, Granny Two-two knows that, dearie,” the old woman interrupted.

“Knows it! Knows it!” the second head sang out.

“Hush, you!” Granny Two-two batted gently at her “twin” before continuing. “He’s the one as has been sending those nasty orange people to kidnap decent folks from the station,” she said to Penny.

“Well, if you knew all that, why did you help him escape?” Penny demanded.

“Oh, I didn’t.” Granny Two-two shook her head. “Look, dearie.”

She finally stepped to one side and let Penny read the lettering over the hatch which the Glorious Leader had dived into.

“Main Waste Chute,” Penny read aloud, her translation bacterial allowing her to make sense of the alien lettering. “Oh my!” She turned to Granny Two-two. “What does that mean?”

“Just what it says, dearie. Have a look.”

Granny Two-two pushed up the metal flap again, allowing a rank odor to seep out of the tunnel.

Holding her nose, Penny leaned forward and saw that the “ventilation tunnel” was actually a hatch. Instead of a straight path forward, there was a slippery silver ramp that tilted sharply down. It was like an old-fashioned laundry chute, Penny thought. One that led down to the room with the washer and dryer. Only in this case, it led…

“Where does it lead?” Drace demanded. “And shut it, will you? It stinks!”

“Come along, and I’ll show you, dearie,” Granny Two-two told him and then she winked at Penny. “You’ll like it, I’m sure.”

“Like it! Like it!” shrieked her second head.

Bemused and still prying at the silver button on her left temple, Penny followed the old woman down the corridor to a door marked, Station Surveillance.

The room was empty, but inside there was a bank of monitors that seemed to be showing the outside of Hell’s Gate Station from all angles.

“Look—see here?” Granny Two-two pointed to one of the monitors in the far corner, which looked mainly black to Penny.

“See what?” Drace demanded. He was staring over Penny’s shoulder—not hard to do since he was as tall as V’rex. “I don’t see anything but blackness,” he told Granny Two-two.

“Ah, that’s because it’s always in the shadow of the station,” she told him. “Never a bit of sun ever reaches the waste field. But we can turn on the lights, yes we can, dearie.”

“Turn them on! Turn them on!” shouted the second head.

“Hush, you!” Granny Two-two said, frowning. Then she reached over and pressed a button under the black monitor.

Immediately, the scene on the monitor was illuminated and Penny realized it was because a light located somewhere on the outside of the station had been turned on.

At first, all she could see was what looked like a big blob of brown and black things floating in a cloud of yellow liquid. Then, after a moment, she was able to make out a white shape in the middle of it all.

“There—that’s him.” Granny Two-two said, pointing at the white shape. “Magnify!” she shouted at the monitor and at once the view zoomed in.

Penny was able to see more easily now what was going on. The white object floating in the field of black and brown things and the yellow liquid cloud was actually the Glorious Leader. He still had the Eye of Ten’gu around his neck and his lips were wide open in a scream—which had allowed one of the brown lumps in the cloud to float into his open mouth.

“What’s he eating?” Drace asked, frowning. “I mean, what in the Seven Hells…”

“Look, boy!” Granny Two-two sounded impatient. She pointed at the lettering above the monitor which said, Waste Field. “That’s where all the business of the whole station goes,” she explained. “All the turds, see?”

“All the turds! All the turds!” screeched her second head gleefully.

“And now that bad man is floating in the middle of it.” Granny Two-two had a triumphant sparkle in her faded eyes. “Which is just right, seeing as he’s the biggest turd of all!”

“Oh my!” Penny stared in a disgusted kind of fascination at the brown object that was halfway inside the Glorious Leader’s mouth. Now that she knew what it was, she wasn’t sure if she ought to laugh or be sick!

“Well,” Drace said at last, shaking his head. “Guess he got what he deserved.”

“Yes,” Penny said. “But what about the Eye of Ten’gu?”

It was still just floating there, the chain around the GL’s neck, but the pendant was flying free and the gold and lapis eye was clearly visible on the zoomed-up image. Somehow, none of the excrement in the cloud around it had touched it—it was as though it had some kind of force field keeping it free of contamination, Penny thought.

“The what now, dearie?” Granny Two-two asked.

“That pendant he has around his neck.” Penny pointed to the monitor. “I need it back—he stole it and it’s very important I get it back.”

“Oh dear…” Granny Two-two shook her head sorrowfully. “I’m afraid you ‘ent gonna get it, dearie. Nothing can get into the waste field and get out again alive. See, it’s a super slow time-suck. Even my little quick-loris, as fast as he is, would be stuck like a fly in glue if I tried to send him out. Not that I would.”

She patted one of her many pockets and the little creature popped his head out and chattered for a moment before disappearing back down into the comfort of the worn fabric.

“Then I don’t know what to do…” Penny shook her head. “If only I could call my husband…”

Just then, the metal button she’d been working on getting off her temple finally popped free.

“V’rex?” she sent and was glad to hear her mate come back to her at once.

“Sweetheart! Where are you? I’m fucking worried to death! Did someone hurt you?”

“They tried but I’m okay,” Penny sent back quickly. “But I think we might have a problem. You and Commander Sylvan need to go down the service tunnels and meet me in the Surveillance Room. You need to see this.”

CHAPTER 117

“Well, I guess there’s not much we can do…” Commander Sylvan frowned at the picture on the monitor. He looked down at Granny Two-two. “You say that sunlight never reaches this spot?”

“Nope, never,” she said stoutly. “For the waste field is in the shadow of the station and nary a ray ever reaches there.”

“Nary a ray! Nary a ray!” shouted her second head.

“Yes, well…” Sylvan looked nonplussed by the second head’s interjection.

“Maybe it’s the Goddess’s will,” Penny offered and blushed when everyone looked at her. “I mean she…she talked to me. I heard her voice,” she said, feeling defensive. “When the Glorious Leader was dragging me along the service corridors and telling me he was going to use me as collateral to get his Compound back, she told me she was sending help.”

“That was me!” Drace exclaimed. “I heard her voice too, telling me that someone needed my help right before I ran into you,” he told Penny.

“I’m in your debt, Brother.” V’rex offered the Havoc a warrior’s clasp with the arm that wasn’t curled protectively around Penny’s shoulders.

“Not at all,” Drace protested, taking the offered arm. “If anything, we’re even. Remember the life-debt I owed you for saving my ass in the jungle on Yown Alpha?”

“The debt is more than paid,” V’rex agreed. “But still, when I think how that lowlife bastard tried to hurt Penelope…”

“The Goddess told me she was sending help and that the Glorious Leader would get exactly what he deserved,” Penny said quickly, since red flames were beginning to dance in V’rex’s pale gold eyes.

“Well, he certainly did.” Sylvan peered again at the monitor. “And you say he’ll be stuck like that forever?” he asked, Granny Two-two. “Frozen in time, as it were, because of the anomaly?”

“Yes, indeed.” She nodded vigorously which caused her second head to shout out a curse. “Time sucks come and go but this one ‘ent moving. It’s been here nigh on seventy cycles and hasn’t moved so much as a micron.”

“Well…then I guess we have no choice but to leave the Eye of Ten’gu here, though I wish we could have brought it back to the Mother Ship and destroyed it.” Sylvan sighed and shook his head.

“It’s safe enough,” Granny Two-two assured him. “Safe in the shadow of the ship—‘ent nothing going to get to it there.”

“I hope you’re right.” Sylvan had been bending over, examining the monitor. “Well, I guess we’d best be getting home.” He looked at Penny and V’rex. “Have the two of you decided if you’re coming with us back to the Mother Ship or not?”

“Oh, well…” Penny began, looking up at her new mate uncertainly.

“We’ll come,” he said. “But we might need to take a wormhole instead of folding space. If…” He cleared his throat and looked significantly at Sylvan. “If you know what I mean.”

“Ah, of course.” Sylvan nodded, and Penny suddenly remembered that pregnant women couldn’t safely fold space. She felt her cheeks heat with a blush. Of course, she didn’t know if she was pregnant or not, but it was probably better not to take a risk.

“We’ll see you at the Mother Ship soon,” V’rex promised. “Though we might take a side route and pass by Rageron on the way.” He smiled at his two uncles, who had accompanied him and Sylvan to the Service Room. “I seem to have a lot of catching up to do.”

Penny felt a warm glow in her heart as she watched her mate connect with his long-lost kin. True, her mission hadn’t exactly gone as planned, but everything had worked out in the end. She was ending her time in the Yown System without the distinction of bringing home the Eye of Ten’gu but with a new mate she would love and cherish forever.

And it was all because she had been Stolen out of her own life and put on a course she never would have picked for herself by the Goddess herself.

CHAPTER 118

“Okay, I’ve gotten all of the nanites out of your system,” Liv said, bustling into the Med Center room where Penny was sitting. After a lovely week-long trip to Rageron, she and V’rex were aboard the Mother Ship and she was getting a much-needed physical.

“See, doll? I told you she could do it.” Kat, who was there for moral support, squeezed Penny’s hand.

“Oh, thank you!” Penny breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the Glorious Leader was now floating in a puddle of space poo and couldn’t spy on her anymore, she still didn’t like the idea of his microscopic nanites infesting her system.

“So that’s the good news,” Liv said briskly. “But I’m afraid it still won’t stop you from producing the nectar.”

“It won’t? Why not?” Penny exclaimed. It wasn’t that the nectar was that bothersome, she supposed, and V’rex certainly had no problem sucking it out of her breasts whenever they made love—or anytime she asked for help, for that matter. But it was irritating to be dripping all the time and she’d thought that ridding her body of the nanites would certainly take care of the nectar problem.

Apparently not, though.

“I’m afraid that the fertility herbs and chemicals you were exposed to have convinced your body you’re lactating,” Liv explained. “They’ve kind of, uh, turned on a switch inside your breasts, if that makes any sense.”

“Well, isn’t there any way to turn it off again?” Penny asked desperately. Was she going to go through her whole life with her breasts repeatedly filling up with nectar?

“Actually, there is,” Liv said brightly. “You need to carry a baby to term and give birth. That will switch your body over from nectar production to milk production. And after you wean the baby, your breasts ought to go back to normal.”

“So I have to get pregnant in order to stop the nectar?” Penny exclaimed.

“No, I didn’t say that,” Liv said gently. “I said you have to carry a baby—or in your case babies—to term.”

“What?” Penny shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, remember the blood I drew from you?” Liv asked. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of running a few extra tests and, well…” She held out her hand, palm up, and opened her fingers. Lying there were three perfect little flowers—two blue and one pink.

“Twin boys!” Kat breathed. “Oh, Penny—you’re going to have twin boys and a little girl to go with them!”

“Oh my goodness!” Penny took the three little flowers carefully from Liv’s palm. “But…but multiple births don’t run in my family,” she protested, looking up at the doctor. “Nobody ever even has twins, let alone more.”

Liv fixed her with a stern look.

“Considering all the fertility hormones and drugs you have running around in your system, it’s a wonder you’re not carrying quintuplets! Thank the Goddess for small mercies.”

“Oh, my…” Penny shook her head. “I don’t…don’t know what to say. Three all at once!”

“Look, you’re in shock right now, doll, but everything is going to be fine.” Kat squeezed her hand again. “Trust me—I know all about having multiples. Sometimes you want to pull your hair out, but you’re going to make it—you’ll see.”

“Wait until I tell V’rex,” Penny murmured. She still couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening.

“Tell me what, sweetheart?” Just then the big Hybrid appeared in the exam room door. “Hope you don’t mind, ladies,” he said to Kat and Liv. “I felt like something was wrong with my mate so I came to see what it was.” He looked at Penny. “Are you all right?”

“Liv ran a pregnancy exam on me,” Penny blurted, not sure what else to say.

“And?” V’rex looked at her, his face hopeful. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

Mutely, Penny held out her hand with the three perfect flowers.

V’rex’s pale gold eyes went wide and he sank to his knees in front of Penny.

“Is this real?” he asked, his voice going hoarse. “Not a joke?”

“We never joke about babies,” Liv told him gently. “You’re going to be a father.”

“Times three!” Kat exclaimed.

“Goddess…” The big Hybrid’s voice was so hoarse now that Penny dragged her gaze from the three little flowers to his face. To her surprise, she saw tears in his eyes.

“Oh, honey!” she exclaimed. “Are you that upset?”

“Upset?” V’rex asked in a choked voice. “Penelope, we’re blessed! The Goddess must trust me after all.”

“Trust you? What do you mean?” Penny frowned in confusion.

“I just thought…” He shook his head. “You know the kind of childhood I had—the kind of Sire who raised me. And I was…was so afraid that with a father like that, I could never be a good father myself. I’ve been fearful all this time that even with the fertility drugs you were taking, the Goddess wouldn’t let you conceive because she wouldn’t trust me to do right by any children we might have.”

“Oh, honey…” Penny put a hand on his broad shoulder. “I didn’t even know you were feeling that way. Why did you hide it from me?”

“I was ashamed.” V’rex looked down. “All these years, I’ve been so fucking ashamed of the Kru’ell One part of my heritage and I felt like I didn’t deserve this.” He touched the small flowers reverently with the tips of his fingers. “But maybe the Goddess thinks otherwise.”

“Of course she does—you’re going to make a wonderful father!” Penny kissed him on the cheek. “Absolutely amazing.”

“And you’re going to make a wonderful mother.” He grinned at her suddenly. “Remember that conversation you had with Lady Bright Coat when we were having dinner with her and Chieftain Swift Tail and she said she couldn’t wait to have a litter?”

Penny giggled.

“How could I forget? And then she asked if you and I had had a litter yet! And I told her that wasn’t how it worked with us ‘flat-faces.’”

“I think it’s time we gave her and Swift Tail a call,” V’rex said gravely. “Let her know you’re having a litter after all.” He grinned. “Three babies! Two sons and a daughter—truly we are blessed!”

“The Goddess is good,” Liv murmured, smiling at them both. “Now, we’ll want to monitor you closely. The Kindred are used to multiple births but we always like to keep an eye on—”

“Doctor Liv! Doctor Liv!” a human nurse with her blue-streaked hair in a ponytail looked into the exam room excitedly. “I’m so sorry to bother you when you’re with a patient,” she exclaimed. “But you’re the only doctor on the floor and I have two new patients who can’t wait.”

“What? Who is it?” Liv frowned.

“Commander Rive and his wife, Y’lla,” the nurse said excitedly. “Apparently the anomaly they were stuck in finally let them go. They just got back from the Yown System and they both need looking over.”

“Oh my!” Liv put a hand to her heart. “Will you excuse me, please?” she said to Penny and V’rex. “I really need to see them.”

“Oh, I want to come see them too, as soon as you’re finished with them,” Penny exclaimed. “I’m so glad they got home safely! I was afraid they’d be stuck in that time-suck forever!”

“Those were the shipmates you traveled to the Yown System with in the first place?” V’rex guessed, raising his eyebrows.

Penny nodded. “They got stuck in a kind of, uh, awkward position. I’m just so glad they got free. But—oh!” She put a hand to her mouth, her eyes going wide.

“What? What is it, doll?” Kat asked, looking concerned.

“Yes, what’s wrong, sweetheart? Did you feel one of the babies move?” V’rex put a hand on her belly gently, a worried look on his face.

Penny shook her head.

“No, it’s too early for that yet—I only just found out I’m pregnant. I had an awful thought, though.”

“What is it?” Kat asked at the same time V’rex demanded,

“What?”

“Well, if the time bubble that had caught Commander Rive and Y’lla has moved on, you don’t suppose the anomaly that’s holding the Glorious Leader and the Eye of Ten’gu has moved too, do you?” Penny asked, looking at V’rex.

“No, I really doubt it.” He shook his head decisively. “It’s a super-slow bubble—remember? It’s not going anywhere for the next several millennia.”

“I hope you’re right.” Penny bit her lip. “I hated that we just had to leave the Eye there. It was so obviously evil. And what if it wakes up?”

“It can’t, sweetheart—it’s stuck in the shadow of the Hell’s Gate Station, remember?” V’rex reminded her. “Because of the way the station orbits around the Yown System’s sun, one side of it is always in light and the other is always in shadow. It’s tidally locked—there’s no way a single ray of sunshine can touch the Eye. Believe me, it’s safe.”

“Of course. Thank you, V’rex.” Penny nodded. “You’re right, of course. There’s no way it could wake up—not without any direct sunlight to wake it.”

“Stop thinking about the Eye, anyway,” V’rex told her. “It’s old news. Right now, we have a family to plan for. Two boys and a girl. And we’ll teach all of them to barter and pirate and pick pockets!”

He was grinning as he said it and Penny gave him a little shove.

“V’rex! You’ll make Kat think you’re serious and you want to raise our kids as criminals!”

“Your friend knows I’m joking.” V’rex gathered her into his arms and rose suddenly, lifting Penny into the air and cradling her close to his broad chest. “What I’m not joking about, little girl, is taking very good care of you,” he rumbled, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. “Come on now—let’s go home.”

Penny giggled and asked Kat to tell Commander Rive and Y’lla that she would check on them later. She had an idea of exactly how V’rex wanted to “take care” of her and she thought her old shipmates would understand.

But even as the big Hybrid carried her away in his arms, she had a tiny, niggling worry left in the back of her mind. Was the Eye of Ten’gu still safely hidden in the shadows of the Hell’s Gate station? Had the trouble and destruction it had been prophesied to bring truly been averted?

Surely it has, Penny told herself. Stop worrying about it now—don’t be silly.

And she did her best to put it out of her mind as she snuggled against V’rex and breathed in his warm scent, dreaming of their family-to-be.

EPILOGUE

Somewhere in the cold and distant space of the Yown System, an evil finger was reaching. The Cruel Father's plans had been disrupted…but not completely destroyed. Though the Eye of his Scion floated in the blackness beneath the space station where no sun shone, the Cruel Father knew how to proceed.

Searching through the space debris which always accumulate around any spaceport, he found a bright, shiny silver door, blown from a space craft a hundred cycles before. His long finger, reaching from another universe, curled around the door and maneuvered it into position to catch the rays of the Yown System's yellow dwarf sun.

As a ray of brilliant sunlight struck the shiny silver surface, the finger tilted it carefully until it reflected the ray into the shadows, gathered like bats beneath the Hell's Gate Station. And just as the Cruel Father had planned, the single ray of sun pierced the darkness and struck its target—the Eye of Ten'gu.

The Eye shivered and then the gold and blue facade cracked and split open. Beneath its beautiful surface, a new eye was now visible—a blood-red eye, filled with malice and wreathed in flames.

"Father," came a voice as cold as space itself. "Tell me your bidding."

Deep in the shadows of his universe, the Cruel Father smiled.

His Scion had awakened and there would be all Seven Hells to pay.

THE END?

Of course not!

There’s always more Kindred to come!

Look for new Kindred Tales books and Brides of the Kindred 26 coming soon. I write a new book every month so be sure you’re signed up to my mailing list to find out about new releases and also hear about the free book I give away to all my readers on a monthly basis.

Hugs and Happy Reading to you all!

Evangeline, October 2020

PS—VOTE!!!

GIVE A HOT KINDRED WARRIOR TO A FRIEND!

Do you love the Kindred? Do you want to talk about wishing you could go live on the Mother Ship without your friends thinking you're crazy? Well, now it's super easy to get them into the Kindred universe.

Just share this link, https://bookhip.com/HLNPTP, with them to download Claimed, the first book in my Brides of the Kindred series for FREE.

No strings attached—I don't even want to collect their email for my newsletter. I just want you to be able to share the Kindred world with your besties and have fun doing it.

Hugs and Happy Reading!

Evangeline

Sign up for my newsletter and you'll be the first to know when a new book comes out or I have some cool stuff to give away. Don't worry—I won't share your email with anyone else, I'll never spam you (way too busy writing books) and you can unsubscribe at any time.

As a thank-you gift you'll get a free copy of BONDING WITH THE BEAST delivered to your inbox right away. In the next days I'll also send you free copies of CLAIMED, book 1 in the Brides of Kindred series, and ABDUCTED, the first book in my Alien Mate Index series.

You've read the book, now listen to the audiobook.

My Kindred series is coming to audio one book at a time. Sign up for my audiobook newsletter. Besides notifications about new audio releases you may also get an email if I'm running a contest with an audio-book prize. Otherwise I will leave you alone. : ).

ALSO BY EVANGELINE ANDERSON

Below you'll find a list of available and upcoming titles. But depending on when you read this list, new books will have come out by then that are not listed here. Make sure to check my website for the latest releases and better yet, sign up for my newsletter to never miss a new book again.

Brides of the Kindred series

(Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

CLAIMED (Also Available in Audio)

HUNTED (Also Available in Audio)

SOUGHT (Also Available in Audio)

FOUND (Also Available in Audio)

REVEALED (Also Available in Audio)

PURSUED (Also Available in Audio)

EXILED (Also Available in Audio)

SHADOWED (Also Available in Audio)

CHAINED (Also Available in Audio)

DIVIDED (Also Available in Audio)

DEVOURED (Also Available in Audio)

ENHANCED (Also Available in Audio)

CURSED (Also Available in Audio)

ENSLAVED (Also Available in Audio)

TARGETED (Also Available in Audio)

FORGOTTEN (Also Available in Audio)

SWITCHED (Also Available in Audio)

UNCHARTED (Also Available in Audio)

UNBOUND

SURRENDERED

VANISHED

IMPRISONED

TWISTED

DECEIVED

STOLEN

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME ONE

Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME TWO

Contains Revealed, Pursued and Exiled

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME THREE

Contains Shadowed, Chained and Divided

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FOUR

Contains Devoured, Enhanced and Cursed

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FIVE

Contains Enslaved, Targeted and Forgotten

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SIX

Contains Switched, Uncharted and Unbound

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SEVEN

Contains Surrendered, Vanished, and Imprisoned

All Kindred novels are now available in PRINT.

Also, all Kindred novels are on their way to Audio, join my Audiobook Newsletter to be notified when they come out.

Kindred Tales

The Kindred Tales are side stories in the Brides of the Kindred series which stand alone outside the main story arc.

These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.

MASTERING THE MISTRESS (Also Available in Audio)

BONDING WITH THE BEAST (Also Available in Audio)

SEEING WITH THE HEART (Also Available in Audio)

FREEING THE PRISONER (Also Available in Audio)

HEALING THE BROKEN (a Kindred Christmas novel) (Also Available in Audio)

TAMING THE GIANT (Also Available in Audio)

BRIDGING THE DISTANCE (Also Available in Audio)

LOVING A STRANGER (Also Available in Audio)

FINDING THE JEWEL (Also Available in Audio)

BONDED BY ACCIDENT (Also Available in Audio)

RELEASING THE DRAGON (Also Available in Audio)

SHARING A MATE (Also Available in Audio)

INSTRUCTING THE NOVICE (Also Available in Audio)

AWAKENED BY THE GIANT (Also Available in Audio)

HITTING THE TARGET (Also Available in Audio)

HANDLING THE HYBRID (Also Available in Audio)

TRAPPED IN TIME (Also Available in Audio)

TIME TO HEAL (Also Available in Audio)

PAIRING WITH THE PROTECTOR (Also Available in Audio)

FALLING FOR KINDRED CLAUS (Also Available in Audio)

GUARDING THE GODDESS (Also Available in Audio)

STEALING HER HEART

TAMING TWO WARRIORS

THE KINDRED WARRIOR’S CAPTIVE BRIDE

DARK AND LIGHT

PROTECTING HIS MISTRESS

UNLEASHED BY THE DEFENDER

SUBMITTING TO THE SHADOW

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 1

Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast and Seeing with the Heart

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 2

Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken and Taming the Giant

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 3

Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger and Finding the Jewel

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 4

Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 5

Contains Instructing the Novice, Awakened by the Giant, and Hitting the Target

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 6

Contains Handling the Hybrid, Trapped in Time, and Time to Heal

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 7

Contains Pairing with the Protector, Falling for Kindred Claus, and Guarding the Goddess

Kindle Birthright series

(Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

The Children of the Kindred series

UNBONDABLE

Born to Darkness series

(Paranormal / Action-Adventure Romance)

CRIMSON DEBT (Also Available in Audio)

SCARLET HEAT (Also Available in Audio)

RUBY SHADOWS (Also Available in Audio)

CARDINAL SINS (coming soon)

DESSERT (short novella following Scarlet Heat)

(Also Available in Audio)

BORN TO DARKNESS BOX SET

Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows all in one volume

Alien Mate Index series

(Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

ABDUCTED (Also Available in Audio)

PROTECTED (Also Available in Audio)

DESCENDED (Also Available in Audio)

SEVERED (Also Available in Audio)

ALIEN MATE INDEX VOLUME ONE

Contains Abducted, Protected, Descended and Severed all in one volume

All Alien Mate novels are now available in PRINT.

The Cougarville series

(Paranormal / Action-Adventure Romance)

(Older Woman / Younger Man

BUCK NAKED (Also Available in Audio)

COUGAR BAIT (Also Available in Audio)

STONE COLD FOX (Also Available in Audio)

BIG BAD WOLF (coming soon)

The CyBRG Files with Mina Carter

(Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

UNIT 77: BROKEN (Also Available in Audio)

UNIT 78: RESCUED (Also Available in Audio)

The Institute series

(Daddy-Dom / Age Play Romance)

THE INSTITUTE: DADDY ISSUES

(Also Available in Audio)

THE INSTITUTE: MISHKA’S SPANKING

The Swann Sister Chronicles

(Contemporary Fairy / Funny / Fantasy Romance)

WISHFUL THINKING (Also Available in Audio)

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR (Also available in Audio)

Nocturne Academy

(Young Adult Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance)

LOCK AND KEY (Also Available in Audio)

FANG AND CLAW (Also Available in Audio)

STONE AND SECRET (coming coon)

Detectives Valenti and O’Brian

(1980s M/M Romance)

THE ASSIGNMENT

I’LL BE HOT FOR CHRISTMAS

FIREWORKS

THE ASSIGNMENT: HEART AND SOUL

Compendiums and Box Sets

ALIEN MATE INDEX VOLUME ONE

Contains Abducted, Protected, Descended and Severed all in one volume

BORN TO DARKNESS BOX SET

Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows all in one volume

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME ONE

Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME TWO

Contains Revealed, Pursued and Exiled

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME THREE

Contains Shadowed, Chained and Divided

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FOUR

Contains Devoured, Enhanced and Cursed

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FIVE

Contains Enslaved, Targeted and Forgotten

BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SIX

Contains Switched, Uncharted and Unbound

HAVE YOURSELF A SEXY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

Contains Kidnapped for Christmas, Cougar Christmas and Season’s Spankings

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 1

Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast and Seeing with the Heart

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 2

Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken and Taming the Giant

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 3

Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger and Finding the Jewel

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 4

Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 5

Contains Instructing the Novice, Awakened by the Giant, and Hitting the Target

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 6

Contains Handling the Hybrid, Trapped in Time, and Time to Heal

KINDRED TALES VOLUME 7

Contains Pairing with the Protector, Falling for Kindred Claus, and Guarding the Goddess

NAUGHTY TALES: THE COLLECTION— Volume One

Contains Putting on a Show, Willing Submission, The Institute: Daddy Issues, The Institute: Mishka's Spanking, Confessions of a Lingerie Model, Sin Eater, Speeding Ticket, Stress Relief and When Mr. Black Comes Home.

ONE HOT HALLOWEEN

Contains Red and the Wolf, Gypsy Moon and Taming the Beast

ONE HOT HALLOWEEN Vol.2

Contains The Covenant, Secret Thirst, and Kristen’s Addiction + BONUS: Madeline’s Mates

Stand Alone Titles

(Sci-Fi OR Paranormal Action-Adventure Romance)

ANYONE U WANT

BEST KEPT SECRETS (Step-Brother romance)

BLIND DATE WITH A VAMPIRE

BLOOD KISS

BROKEN BOUNDARIES (M/M romance)

CEREMONY OF THREE

DEAL WITH THE DEVIL (Also Available in Audio)

DEFILED

EYES LIKE A WOLF (Foster Brother romance)

FOREVER BROKEN (M/M romance)

GYPSY MOON

HUNGER MOON RISING

MADELINE’S MATES

MARKED

OUTCAST

PLANET X (Also Available in Audio)

PLEASURE PLANET

PLEDGE SLAVE (M/M romance)

PURITY (Also Available in Audio)

RED AND THE WOLF

SECRET THIRST

SEX WITH STRANGERS

SHADOW DREAMS

SLAVE BOY (M/M romance)

STRESS RELIEF

SWEET DREAMS

TAMING THE BEAST

TANDEM UNIT

THE BARGAIN

THE COVENANT

THE LAST BITE (M/M romance)

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

THE LOST BOOKS (M/M romance)

THE PLEASURE PALACE

THE SACRIFICE (Also Available in Audio)

’TIL KINGDOM COME (M/M romance)

Stand Alone Titles

(Contemporay Romance)

A SPANKING FOR VALENTINE (BDSM)

BOUND AND DETERMINED, anthology with Lena Matthews, includes The Punishment of Nicollett

COUGAR CHRISTMAS (Older Woman / Younger Man)

DANGEROUS CRAVINGS (BDSM)

DIRTY GIRL

FULL EXPOSURE (with Lena Matthews)

KIDNAPPED FOR CHRISTMAS (BDSM)

MASKS, contains The Man in the Leather Mask and Masks (BDSM)

MORE THAN FRIENDS (BDSM)

PICTURE PERFECT (Step-Brother romance) (Also Available in Audio)

STR8TE BOYS (M/M romance)

Naughty Tales

(Short Reads to Get You Hot and Bothered)

CONFESSIONS OF A LINGERIE MODEL

PUTTING ON A SHOW (Step-Brother romance)

SIN EATER

SPEEDING TICKET

THE SWITCH (An erotic interlude with the characters of DANGEROUS CRAVINGS)

SEASON’S SPANKINGS

WHEN MR. BLACK COMES HOME

WILLING SUBMISSION

NAUGHTY TALES: THE COLLECTION— Volume One

Contains Putting on a Show, Willing Submission, The Institute: Daddy Issues, The Institute: Mishka's Spanking, Confessions of a Lingerie Model, Sin Eater, Speeding Ticket, Stress Relief and When Mr. Black Comes Home.

YA Novels

THE ACADEMY (Also Available in Audio)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Evangeline Anderson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Brides of the Kindred, Alien Mate Index, Cougarville and Born to Darkness series. She is forty-something and lives in Florida with a husband, a son, and two cats. She had been writing erotic fiction for her own gratification for a number of years before it occurred to her to try and get paid for it. To her delight, she found that it was actually possible to get money for having a dirty mind and she has been writing paranormal and sci-fi erotica steadily ever since.

You can find her online at her website www.evangelineanderson.com

Come visit for some free reads.

Or, to be the first to find out about new books, join her newsletter.

She’s also got a mailing list for updates on audio books.