Broken

The Fallen World Series Book 2

C.R. Jane

Mila Young

Contents

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Broken

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

Authors’ Note

School of Broken Souls

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17. Chapter 1

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Broken by C. R. Jane and Mila Young

Copyright © 2019 by C. R. Jane and Mila Young

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review, and except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

For all the girls who looked up at the stars...and dreamed.

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Broken

Their obsession will destroy her...

Ella Monroe is broken and betrayed. After the discovery of the Vepar's secret, Ella would like nothing better than to get away from her three Vepar lovers and hide from them forever. Unfortunately, the Vepar have other ideas for Ella. Imprisoned and taken away to a place that defies imagination, Ella must fight for her life and discover the truth about the Vepar's agenda. One thing is for sure though...the Vepar are never going to let her go.

Book 2 of the Fallen World Series.

Chapter 1

I woke up with a gasp, my body drenched in sweat, and I looked around trying to get my bearings. As soon as I did, I wished to return to sleep. Thane had put me in what resembled a metal room with no visible entry point anywhere. Only smooth, metal-looking walls.

My heart raced, and glancing down at myself, I found myself sitting in nothing but my bra and underwear. Cold fury rushed over me. That bastard stripped me.

Everything had been a lie. The closeness I’d been feeling with them wasn’t real. They manufactured it to gain my trust. All so I could become their little test subject.

Impregnating humans. It was almost hard to fathom. From what I had seen, they carried little respect for humans. Why in the world would they want them to carry their babies?

I thought about what Corran had said, about the issues with their Vepar women struggling to fall pregnant. Despite that, I couldn’t believe that the Vepar would lower themselves to such depths as to have humans be their incubators.

A sense of hopelessness rushed over me. I had imagined at various points in my life what it would be like to be a mother. Having a family similar to the one I had grown up with. A loving husband who adored my child and I.

Instead, I was facing motherhood as a surrogate for an alien species.

It was a disappointment to say the least.

The hours dragged, and I needed to pee. And a glass of water would be nice.

Maybe they had given up their plan to make me their baby incubator. Maybe they were now just gonna starve me to death in punishment for discovering their secret. I was sure it would have been easy if they just kept me their little sex toy until they were ready to perform the experiment. I ruined everything for them.

I looked around the tiny room once more for anything I could use as a weapon for when they finally came to visit. But it was useless as there was nothing. The guys were too smart for that. I tried to remember how long a human could go without water. Was it three days? Or was it longer than that? I couldn't remember. I hadn't really had to think about something like that in my life.

I wouldn't admit to myself that I’d been falling in love. I wouldn't admit to myself that I had imagined a future with them. I wouldn't admit anything to myself.

The hours continued to tick by. Sickness stirred in my stomach, an ache that I was all too aware wasn't due to being dehydrated or needing to pee. I recognized the pain… my body craved for the exchange of blood with them. It seemed melodramatic. But in that moment I wanted to die rather than depend on them for the rest of my life. They’d told me so many lies, what if the whole blood exchange was a lie too? And like a fool I’d gone along with it. I guess some girls just never learned.

A scraping noise sounded from the wall in front of me, and a barrier seemed to dissolve before my eyes. Thane came into form and he strutted inside.

I seethed, hating my treacherous body in that moment. Heck, he looked delicious. A part of me craved him, desired him to want me. Stupid, stupid girl, I mumbled to myself.

"What was that, pet?" Thane asked cockily, leaning against the wall that had once again regained its shape.

Stubbornly, I said nothing. Instead I stared off at a spot just to his right, so I wouldn't be forced to look at him. His eyes called to me, made me want him, but I had to remember who he was… who he’d been this whole time I let my defenses down.

A Vepar.

The outsiders.

And I was their captive.

"You know we didn't want to do this," Thane murmured as he walked towards me and crouched down so we were at eye level. I kept my gaze averted.

"Are you starting to feel sick? Starting to need anything? Do you need to pee, a drink?" he asked insidiously.

My body trembled as I sat there. I couldn't believe he was mocking me.

"You should have just trusted us," he said before standing and walking back to the wall. He waved his hand and to my surprise a toilet slid out, complete with a toilet paper roll. I sighed in relief, even as I tried to keep my face blank. He looked back at me.

"No thank you?" he mocked.

My hands curled, and how I’d love to punch him in the face. Thank you. Thank him for the mess I was in? I may not have been happy before I met them. I may have been a scared girl that let her friends walk all over her. But at least I had been free.

He looked at me for another long pause before sighing. The door once again dissolved in front of him and he walked out. I wondered where we were. There had been nothing but a grey hallway when the door opened, giving me no clue where we were. It was obvious that I had just seen a small taste of all the technology that the Vepar had.

As soon as the door closed behind him, I was up, practically running to the bathroom to pee. I emptied my full bladder hastily. After finishing, I stood a little bit too quickly and the room tilted under me. I leaned against the wall for a second before returning to the floor. I leaned my back against the wall, groaning softly as my sickness heightened. All of a sudden, a glass of water slid out from a compartment that opened in the wall. I salivated, suddenly parched, my mouth dry. I could drink about five glasses of water.

But I wasn't sure if I could trust it. What if they were drugging me? Drugs that either put me in a deep sleep, or got me ready for the procedure? I picked up the water glass and sniffed it. It smelled like water. Bile rose up inside of me, and I decided that in this case I just needed to take the risk. I gulped down the water, not caring that I was pretty sure that I was supposed to sip the water slow since I hadn't had it for a while.

It helped the sickness slightly, but it didn't stop the shaking and the feeling like I was suddenly catching the flu. There had to be something they could give me to prevent these kind of symptoms.

I was just about to slide down to the floor to lay down when a cot appeared through another compartment in the wall, making me jump. Damn aliens and their technology. I wanted to avoid sleeping on the thing just on the principle. But as the coldness of the floor seeped into my bones, I reluctantly shuffled over to the cot and laid down. Its softness cocooned me, and already my eyelids felt heavy.

A yawn pressed through me, but it was hard to sleep knowing that at any moment they could come in.

I stared up at the ceiling, going through everything that I’d seen in that room, obsessing over it. A part of me was still trying to find a way to make it better, to try and remember anything I had seen that would point to a different motive.

But I came up blank. And I was beginning to feel so sick at this point that it was impossible to think coherently in the first place. Sweat dripped down my forehead and pooled around my chest, collecting under my breasts. I was afraid that I was going to start hallucinating or something at any minute. Even if I had been given a chance to escape at that minute, I couldn’t have gone anywhere.

My eyes were growing heavy when a sudden, blaring alarm broke the stillness inside the room. It screeched and moaned and a flickering red light accompanied it from the ceiling. My pulse was on fire, and I scrambled upright despite my muscles screaming in agony at the effort. What’s going on? Was there a fire? Was I going to be burned alive because I was trapped in this room?

An opening appeared in the wall and there stood Derrial in all of his glory. I chewed on my lower lip when I saw him, my body betraying me and burning up with a wanton desire, I suppose knowing that the remedy to my pain was just a few steps away.

He wore a wrinkled suit with his black tie loosened around his neck. His hair sat shaggy around his face and a part of me couldn’t help but clench up in jealousy at the fact that it had a “just fucked” look about it.

There was something really wrong with me, obviously.

“What’s the alarm for?” I croaked in a weak voice, as he began to stride towards me.

‘We’ve been compromised,” he snapped as he scooped me up off the cot and carried me out the entrance.

I was too weak to put up a fight, not that I wanted to battle. “What do you mean we’ve been compromised?” I mumbled as he carried me through hallways that I didn’t recognize.

“Our enemies have found the house,” he said. “We have to get you out of here, before they arrive.”

Panic crawled through my chest, and I struggled in his arms at that pronouncement. If by “enemies” he meant the Khonsu, I wanted out of there as fast as possible. A shiver skitted down my arms as I remembered the torture session that I had been apart of the last time I had some alone time with the Khonsu.

“Calm down, kitten,” he murmured to me distractedly as he sprinted through the hallway, and I bounced in his arms.

My heart clenched at his sweet endearment, while my brain raged against him.

How dare he call me that. How dare he pretend to care after all the lies that he’s told. I struggled further, but it was a half-hearted effort at best since I was so sick and getting sicker by the second.

“What about everyone else on Earth? Will they be safe from the Khonsu? They attacked your race.” I gasped for air, my pulse on fire.

“They’re looking for special women like you, not a home as they have those already around the universe.”

A strange rattling sound came out of my chest as I breathed and Derrial looked down at me worriedly.

“What is that?” My words shook.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. “When was the last time you had blood?”

I struggled to remember, my will to fight him almost completely zapped as it was taking everything inside of me to keep breathing.

“We’ve been trying to hold off as long as possible in hopes that whatever happened to your body to make you basically a homing beacon for everyone on the planet would fade some. Obviously that’s not going to work,” he said with a curse as another shaky rattle came out of me.

He bit into his wrist and pressed the wound to my mouth. “Take some,” he insisted.

I moaned in response, the blood trickling into my mouth with the movement.

I hated that it was the best thing I’d ever tasted. I hated that I had become an addict, needing their blood to survive. Piece by piece they were slowly chipping away at my humanity and I wasn’t sure that I would ever be able to get it back.

If only my parents could see me now, I thought darkly.

I could feel myself rejuvenating as the blood slid down my throat. After a minute, Derrial ripped his wrist away from my mouth with a small moan that sounded way too sexual for the situation. I’d been sucking on the wound like a freaking vampire.

But I was feeling much better, as twisted as that sounded. I craved his blood like a lifeline. God, what had they done to me?

We reached a metal door and Derrial stood in front of it as a purple light started streaming out of the door and scanning him.

“Access granted,” came a robotic voice and a second later I found myself in a room that looked straight out of a scene from Independence Day.

I had no idea where we were, but now… my mouth dropped open… now, we stood inside a room the size of an airplane hanger. And in front of me...was a freaking real-life spaceship.

It was a marvel of design. Utterly seamless, smooth matte charcoal colored metal with no visible means of propulsion or weaponry. No windows or doors. And no wings either. The vessel just sat there like an oversized crouched wolf, waiting for instructions to leap. A sense of claustrophobia started rushing over me, tightening around my chest at the idea of getting inside that thing. Unlike the vessel that Corran had used to take us to Hawaii where you could see through the walls to the outside, this ship was different. Sleaker. Powerful. Intimidating.

The alarm heightened, and Derrial sped up as we headed towards the spacecraft.

I squirmed against him, not ready to go in there.

An opening appeared in the side of the ship, pulling sideways into itself. Thane waited for us there, grasping a menacing black gun… or maybe a laser. “What took you so long?” he barked at us as we took a step inside.

“You apparently were trying to starve her,” Derrial replied back in an accusing voice.

“It was what we agreed,” Thane growled, running his gaze over my body as if he was checking to make sure everything was intact. But it wasn’t… my mind was haywire with fear.

“I don’t want to go in here,” I mumbled but no one heard me.

“How close are they?” Derrial demanded as we rushed down a hallway inside the ship. It was the same licorice color inside as the ship Corran had created. We moved through passages with sharp corners at the vertexes, and there was minimal light, shadows in every corner.

“What are we doing?” My words quaked, and I hated showing my fear, but right now, the two Vepar were on high alert, stiff and focused on anything but listening to me.

We hurried through another opening wall, and I found myself in some sort of control center room. Gadgets and darkened windows lay across the front of the ship. I had either stepped into the set of Star Trek or I was hallucinating because I had never seen anything like it.

There were gadgets and screens all over it, but what caught my eye the most was Corran, standing in front of a screen, pushing his hand on various buttons frantically.

He turned when he heard us, his eyes widening a fraction. He looked frazzled, his hair all over the place, his sexy glasses askew.

“Took you long enough,” he barked in a very un-Corran like tone.

Derrial rolled his eyes, evidently not feeling like sharing again that he had to stop and give me his blood.

“How close are they?” Thane strode to the screen and peered closely at it.

“Five miles out.” Corran tapped his fingers anxiously on the side of the screen. “They’re locked in on her.”

“Why don’t you just let them have me?” I said petulantly.

Thane just shot me an amused smirk at my outburst.

“Want a repeat of last time, pet?” he warned, and I recoiled back against Derrial.

“That’s what I thought,” Thane said.

“Three miles,” Corran added, scrolling through another screen that showed an incoming convoy of trucks going down a road.

“It’s time to go to sleep now,” Derrial said to me as he stroked the side of my face almost lovingly. I stared up at him, trying to read his eyes until I spotted Corran approaching with a silver device in his hands. It was one that I knew would make me pass out.

“No,” I begged as I began to thrash. Derrial just made a shhhing sound and held me tight. Only a second passed before I felt the small sting on the side of my neck signaling that Corran’s device had arrived.

“I hate you,” I whispered as my eyes immediately started to droop.

The last thing I saw were Derrial’s piercing blue eyes, full of what looked strangely like regret.

Chapter 2

I woke with a scream on my lips and I jolted upright. Squinting against the bright yellow light, a strange room with four barren walls came into view. No furniture, no windows, no door. Panic clawed at my chest as I shoved off the floor and recoiled until I hit a wall. I didn’t recognize this room. Breaths didn’t come quick enough. Left and right, I scanned for a way out, for anything that looked familiar, for lines in the walls for a door.

The last thing I remembered was being carried into the black spacecraft, enemies closing in, and Corran jabbing me with something, then I passed out. So where was I now?

My stomach tightened, and all I could think was that the Vepar had played me, and I foolishly believed them after everyone had warned me about catching their attention. Well, I’d done that royally. And now look at me? I was stuck in hell.

“Hello!” My voice seemed to echo, but it went nowhere. “Thane, Corran, Derrial, where am I? Can I come out now?”

The scream in my lungs rushed past my lips, a desperate call for them to hear me, to come for me.

Still nothing.

You're special, Ella. Thane’s earlier words circled in my mind. They hounded me.

Being special in the eyes of the Vepar came with consequences, and I could see them now, clearer than I had before. They were monsters who tricked me.

I frantically checked the walls, running my hands over their smooth surface for a way out. But I knew the truth. They’d covered all potential escape routes, perfected the art of capture and like before, they had no plans on letting me escape. The reality crashed through me… I was trapped. Locked somewhere.

Under their control.

And I hated them for it…

Stumbling away, dread ripped across my chest. My knees hit the ground, and I dropped my face into my hands. A heady blackness swallowed me, and fear choked me. I cried, letting the despair rip through me. I cried for losing my home, for being lied to, for the past I could never take back.

I couldn’t remember how long I wept or waited in that room, but when a mechanical beep chimed, I tilted my head up and wiped my eyes.

The wall in front of me shimmered, and with a small popping sound, two doors slid open in the middle of the wall with a swooshing sound.

Corran strode inside, dressed in black pants and a matching long-sleeve top.

My gaze swept to my escape, to the dark room behind him which vanished in seconds as the doors shut. How long had I been closed up for?

“Is this your spaceship?” I asked, hating the pleading in my voice. Dread spiked in my chest, and I fought against every instinct to run to him and beg him to release me.

The lead scientist studied me, his eyes always reminding me of warm caramel. His thick hair, the color of mahogany, was tucked behind his ears. The black-framed glasses he wore gave him a sexy teacher look, and I shouldn’t have admired him, but I had already stepped forward like his very presence controlled me.

I tried to shake those feelings away because I couldn’t… wouldn’t keep falling for them while they had just stolen my life from me. So I stood my ground and tilted my head up to meet his deep, captivating gaze.

“Tell me where I am,” I demanded, my voice stronger this time.

“You’re safe,” he murmured, stepping closer, studying me like he always did... Me as the experiment that intrigued him.

“I doubt that. Since you three came into my life, I’ve been anything but safe. The Khonsu never would have tortured me or put me on their radar if it wasn’t for you. I would still have my new job at--”

“They would have found you eventually. We saved you.” He moved closer, and I recoiled from his reach.

“Huh, you call it saving, I call it kidnapping.”

“On our planet, Veon, you’d be honored to have us claim you because there are many females who’d kill to take your place.” He said arrogantly, his voice darkened like I should be thanking him… On Earth, Corran would be runway-model material, the hunk on the cover of magazines, and the man every woman fantasized about. Except, many people said their beauty came from the disguises they used to conceal their real appearances, and it intrigued me what they hid behind their masks.

“Well, we’re not on your planet, we’re on Earth,” I snapped. “Without your interference, I could have had a normal, simple, safe life.”

He closed the distance between us in three long steps, shadows dancing under his eyes, the wrinkle across his nose having nothing to do with an oncoming sneeze.

I moved backward, and my spine pressed against the wall.

“You don’t listen,” he growled, hard muscles flexing with his every move.

I should have been terrified, screamed for help, except my body was alive and on fire around him.

“I’m special, I get it. The Khonsu aliens want me so they can continue draining me for themselves, rather than you and your friends doing it, right?” I held my chin high, trying to show him I wouldn’t be pushed around, finding confidence I never knew I had.

He braced a hand on the wall over my shoulder, his body pinning me in place, not saying a word but staring at me.

Something about their presence affected me when I stood too close to them. I loathed that their dominance and controlling ways turned me on when it never should.

“I...is t...that all I am to you,” I asked, lowering my voice, remembering the times I’d spent with him and enjoyed, believing he cared for me… truly cared. But I’d been mistaken. “Someone to please you?”

He leaned down and his lips brushed the skin beneath my earlobe. Soft and tender, the opposite of the way he held me in place. “I’ll never hurt you.”

His words left me shaking, a moan pushing on the back of my throat, and all I could focus on was his body against mine, the swell of his chest, the inferno raging inside me.

“You need to trust me,” he murmured and leaned closer, his lips grazing mine. His mouth pressed harder against mine, kissing me with a fever I never imagined. A light pinch pierced my lower lip, and I pulled back.

“Ouch.”

Corran was licking the drop of red blood… the blood he’d drawn from my lips.

His kiss had been electric, and I almost believed him… almost fell for his hypnotizing words… almost let myself feel something other than fear. But he wanted me to lower my defenses.

When darkness curled behind his eyes, alarm bells blared in my head. I pulled away from him, jerking free from his grasp, and recoiled.

He turned on me so fast, I didn’t see him take the syringe from his pocket until it was too late.

A firm hand caught my wrist in a flash, and I was wrenched toward him. I dug my heels as I twisted to pull away. Intensity rippled over my flesh, and I screamed, struggling against him...but it was useless. I shot a leg out to strike him but missed him.

“Corran, please don’t do this. Please,” I cried, fighting to wrench my arm from his grip, but I might as well have been trying to break free from a mountain.

My heart was pounding and dread was closing in. “Don’t do this. I don’t want to be a baby incubator. Please.” My voice quivered, and I drove my fist into his chest, over and over. Hitting with all my might.

“Ella, please trust me. I don’t want to hurt you,” he kept saying those damn words but I couldn’t think of anything else but escape, my eyes gliding up to the syringe in his left hand.

My breaths grew ragged and rash, and I kicked him again, this time in the shin. His grip softened, and I ripped free before running to the wall where the doors had been earlier.

A cry fell from my lips, and my hands searched for the door, hitting the wall for an escape.

Come on, come on, damn you.

A sudden gush of pain pierced the side of my neck and agony shuddered through me. It hit me so fast, I didn’t remember falling back or landing in Corran’s arms.

“W-what d-did y-you do?” I whimpered.

Heaviness darkened his eyes… but I saw something else behind his gaze… sorrow. “I’m sorry, little bird. We can’t lose you.”

Shadows crowded the corners of my eyes, and the next thing I knew, I was falling into an endless pit of darkness, my world vanishing.

Chapter 3

This seemed to be a habit, waking up in an unfamiliar place. I groggily came out of whatever Corran had done to me, whatever he’d jabbed into me. I stretched, and I was pleasantly surprised I could move freely. They hadn’t chained me up. But instead of the floor, I lay in bed. The only piece of furniture in the room.

I stood up on shaky legs, my head swimming from whatever ran through my body. Looking around the room, I was shocked to see that there was an opening in the wall, unattended.

It felt like a trick. But I was done being stuck in small rooms and needed air and open space to shake this claustrophobic feeling gripping me.

I clung to that thread of hope I’d find a way out of this mess and pressed forward in hurried steps out of the room. Light illuminated my passage along a long hallway, walls made of black like the previous ship I’d been in with Corran. But this was different. Loftier and wider, and I had no doubt I was in over my head because this had to be their main vessel they’d used to come to Earth. But why were we hiding in here?

My steps quickened as panic clawed across my chest with the notion that we weren’t hiding in here at all, and I couldn’t… wouldn’t even think about that possibility.

No windows graced the walls, and at the end of the corridor, two doors slid open upon my approach.

I flinched in response, but when my gaze swept inside, I shuddered on the spot, my mouth dropping open.

A long room spread out before me… the room that I had seen when I was first brought on. Now that I was lucid, I could see that it was a Bridge room on a spaceship to be precise. A darkened window stretched over the far wall with two seats facing the window, reminding me of the captain’s chair in science fiction movies. A four seater bench lined the long side of the area, while monitors and numerous controls covered the opposite wall.

Corran stepped out from the shadowy corner, holding some kind of tool that resembled a wrench and looked up to find me. He smiled.

“How are you feeling?” He set the metal tool on a seat and strode toward me. Dressed in black pants and a V-neck shirt with long sleeves, I noted the golden insignia over his heart of two golden circles overlapping… the middle section was black and reminded me of an eclipse.

“What did you inject in me? Where are we?”

A corner of his mouth curled upward as he pushed his glasses to sit on top of his head. His caramel eyes smiled at me with a cheekiness I wasn’t expecting. “A little something to help you breathe outside of The Brig. Our environmental systems are down, and oxygen was only available in the holding room.”

“That’s why you locked me in there?” I raised my voice. “Then why the hell didn’t you just tell me, and why did you jam a needle in my neck?”

“Because you would have panicked.” He remained so calm, still smirking, while I burned up on the inside, tangled in a mix of anger and frustration.

“I did panic! You came at me with a syringe.”

“Oxygen levels were running low and I needed more time to fix up the regulators. Plus it gave me the perfect chance to trial the throat ring.” He studied me like a specimen. “How are you feeling?”

My hand instinctively reached for my neck, half expecting to find a collar. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s a small device that looks like a ring and sits in your throat esophagus. The ring gives you oxygen and eliminates other gases you inhale. Now, you can walk around the ship freely.”

I blinked hard, and my brain stuttered for a while. “Y-you operated on me?”

He took a gulp of his coffee before setting it aside like it tasted bad. “It’s a non intrusive quick implant. Either that or you would have died.”

He reached out and took my hand in his, his face softening, but I pulled free from his grasp. I kept swallowing, convinced I felt the ring in my throat now. My lungs seemed to close up and I couldn’t take enough air into them.

“I don’t want your alien technology inside me.”

His lips pursed. “Come with me.” He marched past me and down the short hallway, then turned right through a set of doors that slid open at his approach.

I stood in the doorway, scanning the white room, the long table and chairs located in the middle, and eyed the panel of buttons on the rear wall. Everything looked pristine and almost too clinical.

“Take a seat,” he commanded.

“No thanks. I don’t want another injection.”

“Sit!” he boomed and crossed the room before jabbing the control panel.

Seconds later, the whole wall seemed to vibrate, and I held my breath, unsure what was going on. But in a heartbeat the bottom half jutted out of the wall and a whole kitchen counter with cabinets and appliances appeared.

Corran pressed a button on the coffee machine and reached for the ground beans.

“This is a kitchen? And why do you have human stuff in here?” I stepped into the room and slid into a chair, watching him make two cups of coffee.

When he returned and placed a cup in front of me, he sat across from me. “I ordered them and set up this whole kitchen for you with foods you enjoy.”

“Why would you think I’d ever come into your spaceship?” I picked up my mug and inhaled the nutty aroma before sipping it.

“You ask a lot of questions. And Reaver SC is a space cruiser.”

I didn’t know where to begin because my head spun with everything of late.

“You’re safe now,” he murmured. “That’s what matters.”

“Stop saying that.”

Something behind his eyes shifted. Gone was the smile and patience.

But I’d had enough of being shoved here and there without explanation.

“Our compound on Earth was compromised and the Khonsu found you. They were coming to take you as theirs, so we left in our ship.”

“And where are we now? I want to see my friends.”

He was on his feet, shaking his head. “You know that’s not possible.”

Just hearing the words left me shaking, and my throat thickened, but then I fingered my neck, wondering if I’d choke on the ring inside me.

“Let me show you something that might answer your questions.”

I climbed to my feet and took my cup of coffee with me, cradling it in my hands because each time I inhaled it’s aroma, it reminded me of home.

In the narrow hallway, we passed several doors, and he stopped outside one. He tapped something into the keypad and the door zipped upward, vanishing into the wall.

“This is your cabin.”

I peered inside to find a bed that looked like mine back home along with a bedside table, lamp, and even a bookshelf filled with books.

“The Mess Hall is stocked with all kinds of food for you, but come, I need to show you something in the Bridge.”

I tracked after him into the main control room, closer to the enormous black window. Corran pointed to it. “What do you see?”

“Blackness,” I retorted.

“Look again and closer,” he insisted.

So I turned and stared into the eerie darkness, when I caught something blinking in the distance… tiny and far, but I leaned closer, squinting.

“This might help.” Corran suggested and hit a button, the lights in the room fading.

The view outside of me changed, came to life, became so much more than I first thought. Outside the window, a pitch-black curtain draped over the sky all around us. No, not the sky… couldn’t be when the blinking stars around us made shapes against the dark backdrop.

“Are…” Oh, shit. “Are we…” I glanced at him as he nodded, a tight smile pulling at his lips.

I should have known better than to think I could trust them in any way, but this… Fuck. “We’re in space!”

Even before Corran answered, my knees wobbled and I collapsed into one of the seats looking out at the endless world ahead of us.

“It’s beautiful isn't it?”

Words left me, and all I could do was gape at the expanse of the universe, caught up in the breadth of it, the sheer explosion of… space. I couldn’t move my mouth to speak, instead I felt trapped as if I was frozen underwater, my world moving in slow motion.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Space. I’m in freaking space in a spaceship.”

“Cruiser,” he corrected me.

“Reaver SC is small and only has energy shields if we encounter enemy ships, but since we’re on an exploration mission, we don’t have weapons. We’re also lacking entertainment on board such as a biosphere to replicate your botanical gardens, or a bar, but we’re fast.”

“What?” I couldn’t comprehend what he was saying and I rubbed my eyes but it was useless. “Where are we going?”

“Veon. We have to return home.”

I jerked toward him, a shiver slithering down my flesh. “Are you kidding me? You just kidnapped me from Earth and now you are taking me to your home planet?”

“We told you before. You’re already ours.”

I was on my feet pacing and didn’t recall getting off the chair, but I wrapped my arms around my middle, barely able to breath. I kept prodding my throat with my tongue to feel for the ring. How could they have done this?

“You didn’t even ask me,” I mumbled.

“We had no time,” he explained.

Fury raged through my veins that these three Vepar pushed and pulled me in every direction at their own accord, never what I wanted. “So what now?” I began. “You put me to sleep for years until we arrive there, and I’ll wake up an old woman because I wasted my life here. I might as well have died at the hands of the enemies.” I gasped for air, and the walls seemed to close in around me.

“It’ll take us just under a month to reach home. We use a rift in spacetime,” Corran explained as if I ought to understand what he was talking about.

I blinked fast and glanced back outside the window. “I don’t know much about science, but I’m pretty sure no one can move faster than the speed of light.”

“Our technology might challenge that theory. Long ago we discovered two entangled black holes. Our scientists found an anomaly and…” He tapped his chin as if finding the easiest way to explain what I already didn’t quite understand. “They found a way to separate these two black holes, and that space in between turned out to be a wormhole, which allows anyone with the right vessel to take a shortcut through the universe.”

“Shortcut?”

“Space and time can be bent. One of Earth’s great geniuses, Albert Einstein was correct,” Corran’s words sped up in his excitement to tell me this explanation. “A wormhole is a tunnel that joins distant locations in space or even two universes through space time curvature. And one of our scientists discovered one that goes from our world to your universe.”

“So, that’s how you’ve watched us for so long before you invaded.”

“Invaded is a very harsh word.” He picked up his black framed glasses and slipped them back on his face.

“Where’s Thane and Derrial?”

“Sleeping. We’ve been traveling nonstop for the past two weeks and are nearing the wormhole. If you’d like, I could put you to sleep for the next two weeks?”

I slumped back into the seat, my head hurting from the influx of information, and yet I couldn’t stop staring out into space, both terrified and lost.

At least this time he asked me if I wanted something done to me. Maybe sleeping wasn’t such a bad idea as it would stop me from stressing constantly, but what if I woke up with something else operated on me?

“No sleep. I prefer to experience the next two weeks on the ship.”

No matter what Corran said, him and the other two had indeed kidnapped me and now I was about to be taken to an alien planet, so I needed my eyes wide and to be alert.

Terror washed over me, sending another chill down my back. I looked outside once more into the endless universe.

Would I ever see Earth again?

Chapter 4

Today was the day, we would finally be getting to Veon. I stood in front of the window Corran had designed for me after I had complained a million times about feeling like I was locked in a metal box. From space it looked completely different than Earth. It had a smoky red complexion that seemed to swirl before my eyes. Corran had explained that it was part of their defense system to look as inhabitable as possible and it was nothing but a complicated hologram that Corran had designed himself. Underneath the hologram lay a world that looked very similar to Earth. There were oceans, purple in color instead of blue because of an algae that provided unique nutrients, and land masses with forests, jungles, and mountains.

The similarities between the two planets had been almost too good to be true when Corran had first stumbled upon Earth and it had been months of performing positive tests before he had alerted leadership. Leadership that included Derrial. Corran had told me that Derrial had been furious that Corran hadn’t told the Vepar leadership about Earth and it had actually taken them a few years for Derrial to forgive him and trust him again.

It was a crack in the trio’s friendship that I had filed away for later, to be used if I needed it.

Looking at the red swirling mists, it was almost incomprehensible to think that a planet similar to Earth was waiting beneath its depths. I watched as we drew closer and closer, a sense of apprehension filling me at the thought of entering them. I suddenly regretted having asked for a seat as close as possible to the huge window. It would be much easier to go through the mists blindly.

“We need to go over a few things before we land,” came Derrial’s voice from seemingly nowhere. I hadn’t gotten used to the invisible technology on the ship and every time one of their voices spoke to me through the soundsystem I either jumped or I looked around, expecting one of them to be standing right behind me.

“Yes master,” I said sarcastically, heading to the Bridge to talk to my three captors. We had entered an uneasy truce over the past couple of weeks. I still hated them, but I also didn’t particularly relish the idea of being captured by the Khonsu so I was being their good little pet for the moment, just until I could figure out a way to escape them forever and somehow keep myself safe from the Khonsu.

“You only need to call me “Master” in bed,” came Derrial’s voice from the sound system.

“You wish,” I muttered back, but my mind couldn’t help but fill with images of the time when I had been in his bed, how good his body had felt against me, in me...like we were a perfect match. The images were distorted in my head now that I knew their true motives, but I couldn’t help but crave that feeling again. That feeling of finding what I had always been looking for.

I mentally berated myself all the way to the Bridge. I couldn't afford to let my lust get my guard down around them. Nothing but pain and misery...and possibly little alien babies that I would fall in love with but wouldn’t get to keep lay in a future that involved them.

Despite my mental admonitions, the sight of all three of them in one room still threatened to leave me a quivering mess. I hated my body’s reaction to them, how they had made me crave both their bodies and their blood. Corran had promised that he was working on some kind of antidote to help with the blood cravings but I trusted he’d come through with something about as little as I trusted myself to navigate this ship back to Earth on my own.

“Glad you made it, pet.” Thane smirked my way as he leaned against one of the chairs in the center of the room that seemed to be suspended in the air.

I rolled my eyes. Thane in particular had loved to antagonize me over the last couple of weeks and I was trying my best to ignore him in hopes that he would get tired of his games and go away.

“Well? You called?” I asked sharply, venom in my voice. I saw something flash in Derrial’s eyes. Out of the three of them, he seemed to be the most affected by the fact that I wanted nothing to do with them and regarded them as Public Enemy No. 1. I’m sure there was a story out there to explain his reaction but I couldn’t find it in myself enough to care.

“We need to talk about what Veon will be like,” Corran explained, fixing me with those intense, caramel colored eyes. “The culture is quite different from Earth and there will be a lot of things that don’t make sense to your earthly sensibilities.”

I opened my mouth to offer a retort but Corran cut me off. “Could you just get off your fucking high horse for one minute, Ella. I’m not trying to be offensive for fuck’s sake. These are just things you need to know.”

My mouth opened in shock. In all the time that I had seen Corran, he had never appeared so angry, not even when he thought that I was running away after he fought the Khonsu (which I was by the way). The heat in his voice burned through my body and I found myself strangely turned on.

“Okay,” I said meekly, thinking that I should probably listen if he deemed it important enough to crack his usually emotionless shield.

Corran took a deep breath and his expression morphed into his usual stoic one, where he revealed no emotions. A moment later he was back to the cool and collected Vepar that I was used to. “First things first, the Vepar don’t like the humans. They think that they are a lesser culture and I don’t see that changing any time soon,” Corran added, matter of factly.

Once again I got the urge to say something sarcastic, like how he’d just made an obvious statement. But I held back the words.

Thane was watching me, an amused twinkle in his eyes because he knew how hard it was to keep my mouth in check. I shot him a look and then turned my attention back to Corran who was waiting impatiently for me to pay attention to him again.

“As I was saying,” he said. “The only way that a human would be accepted onto Veon is if the leadership thinks that we need you to continue with the fertility experiments. The way that the program has been explained to them, our human subjects will be nothing more than vessels and prisoners of Veon during their time here.”

I couldn’t stop myself this time. “Isn’t that the truth though. It’s not that the leadership has to think that, it’s how it is. As far as all of you are concerned I’m nothing but livestock for you to do whatever you want with.” Frustrated tears filled my eyes as the realization of what I was facing once again rolled over me.

Derrial was in my face suddenly, his hands gripping my arms so hard that I was sure he was going to leave a bruise.

“Stupid girl. If you would just let us have a second to explain it, it wouldn’t need to be like this. Why do you have to be so fucking prideful? We’ve been trying to get you to let us have a second to explain what you saw for the past few weeks.”

“There’s nothing you could say that could make this better,” I snapped at him childishly.

Derrial let me go with a growl, throwing up his hands in frustration. “I can’t deal with this right now,” he practically screamed as he angrily strode out of the room.

I trembled in the aftermath of his rage. There was a piece of me that did want to listen to what they had to say about their secret basement room and their planned fertility experiments, but he was right, my pride wouldn’t allow me to give them the chance to explain. I was still too hurt by everything that had happened.

“You’ll have to listen to us eventually,” said Corran, watching me as if I was a particularly vexing science problem.

“Can you please continue with what you were saying?” I responded stiffly, keeping my eyes glued to the floor.

“Yes, as I was saying...because of the Vepar attitude, we will have to walk you off the ship in cuffs...as our prisoner.”

“How perfect. I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I said in a dull voice. This time I saw Thane flinch at my tone out of the corner of my eye.

“You’ll be kept in a prison until we can talk to the rest of the counsel and convince them of your suitability in the project,” Corran continued.

Their words were like punches to my gut, and they kept coming, kept taking and taking from me. A tear slid down my face as I watched my life disintegrate into ruins.

Silence, but I felt both Thane and Corran’s piercing stares as they watched my tears continue to fall.

“We’re just here to keep you safe. The experiment is a front,” came Derrial’s voice from behind me.

I freeze and then slowly turn around to look at him. We stared at each other. There was a muscle twitching in Derrial’s cheek and his eyes seemed glossier than usual. “That’s all we want to do is to keep you safe. This might have started out as something else. But it’s not that way anymore. It hasn’t been that way since the first time I held you in my arms...since I tasted you.”

His voice was choked with emotion, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. There was a part of me, the stupid girl who wanted to believe in fairy tales...even if they were the science fiction version, that wanted to believe him. But I promised myself I wouldn’t be that girl anymore. I refused to be sucked in again. It hurt too much.

My heart couldn’t handle it again.

“I know you don’t believe us, pet. But we have so much to tell you. You’ll see. We’ll gain back your trust,” Thane murmured from behind me. He walked towards me and I sensed the heat emanating from his body against mine at my back.

I took a step away from him and walked to a nearby chair, settling in so I could control the trembling in my body.

“It’s very important that you don’t talk back in front of others. The Vepar are looking for any chance to cut you down, to punish you, to take you from us. Please don’t make our jobs any harder than they will be already.”

I nodded stiffly, feeling like there really wasn’t another option but for me to cooperate.

“The air on Veon has a higher concentration of nitrogen than what you are used to and that’s why I implanted that ring in your throat. But now I need to inject you with a chip that will allow your body to adapt quicker in these conditions compared to the ship,” Corran explained, his voice softening.

“Is that all the chip does? Not sure I want all these things inside me.” I stared him straight in the eyes, daring him to lie to me. He gulped.

“It also has a tracking device in it,” he replied hesitantly. “It’s important just in case anyone tries to take you.”

“Tries to take me?” I asked, my voice quivering. “Why would they want to take me?”

Corran opened his mouth to answer but Derrial replied instead. “We aren’t sure that our reaction to you and your blood isn’t something that other males on the planet will be attracted to as well. The Vepar are an extremely competitive and territorial race and there’s a chance that some of the males will be tempted to steal you for themselves.”

I tried to comprehend a whole planet full of overbearing, chauvinist pigs like the three of them. It sounded like a nightmare.

“And what about the Vepar women? Are you worried about them?” I finally asked, my mind filled with images of packs of men running after me with spears. I wasn’t sure why they were all dressed in loincloths, but it was still an intimidating sight.

The three of them looked at each other grimly and suddenly I was afraid of what they were going to say next.

“Our females don’t take kindly to competition for the attention of their males,” Thane added grimly. “There’s a chance that they will try to take you out if they find out about fertility experiments and calculations that Corran has come up with. As of right now they don’t know that one of the main reasons that we were sent to Earth was to try and find a solution to our planet’s fertility problems using humans. If they do find out...well we don’t think they will take it well.”

I gulped, the images in my mind changing to women in loincloths chasing after me with spears.

“So you’re saying I’m not going to be welcomed with open arms,” I finally retorted, and Thane let out a snort.

“She’s a lunatic,” he said to Derrial and Corran, waving his arms at me. “She’s going to get herself killed.”

“I do have some kind of self preservation mechanism,” I retorted. “I’ll do what I’m told, because I don’t feel like dying on this trip. But I need answers.”

Derrial gazed at me, an almost proud look in his eyes. “A worthy mate indeed,” he muttered as he walked out of the room.

I blushed, not believing what I had just heard. A mate? Please say that wasn’t what he just said.

I ignored the part of me that swelled up with happiness at the thought of being his...of being all of theirs.

I turned back to Corran, the intensity in Derrial’s voice too much to take.

Corran brought over a pair of silver handcuffs. He looked genuinely contrite as he put my hands behind my back and fastened them. “I just wanted you to get a feel for them so you don’t panic when they’re on your wrists for a long period of time. Hopefully Derrial will be able to convince the council to release you quickly.”

He unhooked them, and I shook my wrists out. It was going to be torture to have those on for a long period of time.

“It’s very important that you don’t struggle while you’re in the cuffs. I was feeling particularly malicious the day that I designed them, and they are programmed to release spikes into your wrists if it believes you are trying to get them off without the key,” Corran said nonchalantly.

I gaped at him. "We can’t use a friendlier version of the cuffs?" Indignation burned inside of me.

He shook his head. "The Council would notice something was amiss if we tried to do that. We use them for all of our prisoners and they would expect them to be used especially for a human prisoner. No one has ever been able to escape them. They’re basically foolproof," he said, almost sounding proud.

I glared at him. "You don't have to sound so happy about the fact that I’m going to be stuck in something that could impale me at any minute!” I said dramatically.

“I don’t know...I for one like you in cuffs,” Thane pipped in, a hungry glimmer in his eyes.

Despite my anger at the both of them, tears started dripping down my face. I guess I was becoming a crier in all situations. When I was afraid, when I was angry, when I was sad. It wasn’t ideal.

Just like before when I had cried, Corran and Thane seemed to be enthralled at the tear streaks on my face. After a moment, Corran shook his head as if he was trying to shake himself out of something.

“When we get off the ship, you need to keep your head down. Don't look anyone in the eye. I don't trust that you're going to play the complacent human very well so it’s best if you don’t even look up,” said Corran.

I snorted. He was right about that. Although if complacent and meek was going to save my life, I could probably try it.

“I put your language translator in you already obviously, but I want you to pretend that you don't understand anything that they're saying. I'll tell them that I haven’t done it yet. It might raise suspicion with the Council if they know we did it early."

“Language translator?" I ask.

“Yes,” said Corran, looking at me as if I was an idiot. “We speak a different language on Veon. I’m speaking Veon right now," he explains. “We’ve been using our language since we got on the ship.”

I stiffened.

"How long have I had the translator in?" I said, feeling a coldness start to creep over me. “What else have you implanted in me?”

Corran had the sense to look a little ashamed at my question.

"Since you came to us," he said quietly.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"Behind your right ear," Corran murmured, clearing his throat.

I brushed my fingers along the skin behind my ear, but I couldn't feel anything laying underneath the surface. I was afraid to ask my next question.

"Has anything else been put into my body without my permission?" I finally asked.

Corran’s face fell blank. “Just something that allows me to track your body’s vitals better. It was put in when we were going to use you as the main specimen in my experiments. But now it just helps us to make sure that you’re healthy."

I felt my annoying tears dripping again because with everything they did, I was losing control more and more. I was so sick of crying. "And where's that one?" I asked in a quivering voice.

"That one is in your left arm," Corran said in a nonchalant voice.

I brushed my hand over my arm, all the while knowing that I wouldn't be able to feel anything.

“Anything else?" I asked coldly.

Corran shook his head. "That's it.”

"Is it even worth me asking that you get permission before you put things into my body from now on?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Corran sighed. "I can't promise you that. If you refuse to do something that we feel can help you, I can't say that we won't do it anyway. You belong to us. That means that we’re responsible for your health, your safety, and everything else that comes with that."

In this moment, I truly felt exhausted. I had always assumed that they felt like I was their property. But the thought of them putting whatever they wanted into my body, it left me feeling desperate, and out of control. I took a few deep breaths, trying to tamp down my emotions that were threatening to spiral. That’s all I needed was to have a panic attack right before I met an entire alien race that hated me on principle.

Derrial returned to the room at that moment. "I have to go meet with the Council and prepare them for you," he said.

I couldn’t find the words to respond, so I just stared at the floor.

Derrial sighed. "What's wrong with you now?” he muttered in an annoyed tone.

"She's not very happy with some of the devices that I have been using on her," Corran said calmly.

Derrial barked out a laugh. "Unbelievable." He stalked back out of the room without another word.

"You’re going to need to pull yourself together for this," Thane spoke sternly. "The Council would love to see you lose control and confirm all their thoughts about humans.”

I wanted to respond that they were the reason I was feeling out of control in the first place, but it didn't even seem worth it.

As we waited, Thane began to explain further what would happen when we walked off the ship. "As Corran said, you’re going to be marched through a line of Vepar. They’re going to say things, things to make you angry. You need to ignore them. Once we get through the line, you'll be taken to a new building where prisoners are kept. Derrial will have arranged for you to be in your own cell thanks to your status as part of Corran’s fertility experiments. The prisoners that will be in the cells next to you are very dangerous. Don't engage them, don't look at them, don't even acknowledge their presence." Thane pulled up my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You understand me?" he said in a serious voice.

I nodded, fear churning in my gut at what I was about to face.

"Hopefully Derrial will succeed in having you in different quarters quickly under the guise that Corran needs to start performing tests. It should only be a few hours that you have to stay there, but if you do have to spend the night, the same rules apply. One of us will try to be stationed in the jail if that happens." He tapped his ear, seeming to be listening to something, almost as if he had a phone hidden in there.

"Derrial is ready for us." He looked at me, his penetrating green eyes seeming to see right through me. "You can't mess up with this," he said seriously. "If there ever was a time for you to listen to us, it’s now.”

I just nodded, unable to utter actual words as I tried to pump myself up for what I was about to experience.

"We need to change first," Thane suggested.

I watched as he walked to a plastic tube that stretched from floor to ceiling on the side of the room. He stepped inside and pressed a button. I watched in amazement as his clothes changed right before my eyes without him even moving a muscle, fabric vacuumed off him, and new ones wrapped around him, seeming to sew shut right before my eyes. Thane’s usual outfit of jeans and a V-neck were gone. He now stood in what looked like a cross between an outfit you would see in a Star Wars film, and an outfit from a Victorian byopic. The entire outfit was made up of different shades of brown. He wore a tan silk blouse I’d seen on the cover of a Harlequin novel. The front was cut low, showing a great deal of his ridiculously perfect chest. On top of that was a darker brown fitted jacket and matching pants, so tight it had me gawking. Every muscle on his legs showed. I had never thought that breeches could look good on anyone, but like with a baseball uniform on a major leaguer, the pants managed to make his lower half look very tantalizing. Tall brown boots that resembled riding boots completed the look.

Thane came to stand by me as Corran took his turn in the device. He pressed the button and his usual all-black outfit that looked similar to nursing scrubs, changed into a grey version of what Thane was wearing.

I looked down at what I was dressed in. The guys had continued with their habit of wanting me in dresses. My current skater style dress was sure to stand out.

"Am I going out in this?" I asked, finally finding my voice again. They scrutinized my outfit, Corran rubbing his chin. My body heated up as their eyes lazily made their way down my body. Thane looked over at Corran.

“Do you think it's better for her to stand out or look like she's trying to assimilate into the culture?" he asked.

Corran thought for a moment. "Maybe she should change," he said. “It might help to make the differences less obvious."

I wondered about his use of the word differences. From what I could tell, the Vepar looked just like humans, albeit perfectly formed godlike humans. What would make me stand out so much? The fact that I looked as plain as could be next to them? I didn't know that clothes were going to fix that.

Thane walked me over to the cylinder. I experienced a brief moment of panic when I stepped in, my newly developed claustrophobia surfacing. Thane pressed a button and without me feeling anything, my clothes were replaced by a completely different outfit, down to my underthings. I was going to have to get Corran to explain how this device worked.

I looked down at myself. My dress definitely looked old-fashioned. The gown fell down to the floor and was made of a beautiful cerulean blue fabric. A torture-like corset constricted my breathing, threatening to make me pass out from lack of oxygen. The front of the dress was cut low, displaying my ample cleavage. I didn't have a bra on anymore, but the top of the dress fit so tightly that my breasts couldn’t move even if they wanted to. The sleeves were long and form fitting. I lifted up the dress to examine my footwear. They looked like simple ballet slippers, slightly lighter blue than my dress.

Although it felt like there was a lot of fabric to the dress, it was dreamily lightweight. All in all, I didn't hate the look.

I lifted my head up and caught Corran and Thane gaping at me. It set my cheeks on fire the way they were studying me. My other dress had been much shorter than this one, but it had covered a lot more of my chest. Evidently they liked that about this one.

"We should've kept her in the other outfit," Thane moaned.

Corran nodded in agreement.

Whatever communication device Thane had in his ear must have alerted him, because he put his hand to it, seeming to be listening to something.

"We're coming,” Thane said in an annoyed voice. He listened to whoever was on the other line, saying nothing in response. Thane then grabbed my arm, and we started walking out of the bridge, and through the never ending hallways.

Chapter 5

We stopped in front of a wall and Corran fastened my handcuffs again. I winced as the metal dug into my skin. I was scared to even walk for fear that it would trigger the spikes that Corran had mentioned. Hopefully they weren’t that sensitive.

"Remember what we said," Thane said softly, a hint of trepidation in his voice for the first time. I looked up at him worried. He always seemed so confident. It didn’t seem like a good sign that he was beginning to freak out now.

The wall dissolved in front of us, and I felt a cool breeze across my face for the first time in a month. Corran had explained earlier that scientists had been able to manipulate the environment to keep the temperature ideal for Veon’s citizens year-round. In places that they needed crops to grow the atoms in the atmosphere had been altered to produce wetter conditions, similar to the tropics. For the Vepar who worked in those types of climates, a sort of force field had been created that allowed personal ozones to be created keeping them cool and comfortable while they worked. I was amazed at how advanced the Vepar were compared to humans. The ability to manipulate nature had seemed impossible to me before Corran had explained it.

Despite their admonition that I needed to keep my head down, I couldn’t help but try to get a look at the new world I found myself in before I was locked away, perhaps permanently.

It was so colorful, and not what I expected.

A simple observation, but I had never seen such a lush looking place before, especially considering the air felt perfectly cool, somewhere in the upper 60s or lower 70s Fahrenheit.

We were in a large grassy clearing that looked like it could fit a few dozen spacecrafts. Large mountains surrounded the clearing. There was a variety of tree species spanning the mountains in all different colors. I had never seen a purple tree before but here I was seeing hundreds of them. Flowers bloomed all over the clearing in every color imaginable. I felt like I had walked onto the set of Wizard of Oz. Everything was so bright and beautiful that it hurt my eyes. I couldn’t imagine the guys wanting to stay on Earth over this.

Overhead, two suns hung in the sky, and Corran leaned close, whispering, “We have a binary star system. The suns revolve around each other as our planet circles them.”

I’d never heard of a solar system having two suns before.

As soon as I had that thought I spotted two lines of Vepar standing in front of a brown structure that had a roof that curled into the sky. My mouth dropped. I had never seen so many beautiful creatures in one place. I said creatures because they were human-like with legs and arms, but at the same time...they were distinctly alien.

Once I got past their first flash of beauty, I noticed what set them apart. Some of them had horns... horns of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some were short and pointy reminding me of ears, while others were curled like those of mountain goats, the colors varying from creams to blues and blacks. Others had thin tails coming out of their rear ends that seemed to have pincers at the very end. I watched in amazement as a particularly attractive male picked something up off the ground that he had dropped with his tail. Others looked normal with the exception of their eye colors. I had never seen orange eyes before, let alone some of the other colors that caught my attention. All I could do was gape at them, the very opposite thing that Corran and Thane had told me to do.

“What are you doing?” Thane growled.

“It’s all so amazing,” I exclaimed, finally averting my eyes to the ground where they were supposed to be.

Suddenly something struck me. If the Vepar here had all of these different characteristics, why didn’t my Vepar?

Everyone on Earth said they used disguises to cover their real appearances…. And they were right.

“Do you have horns or a tail?” I asked. I’d never imagined that such features and strange eyes were something that I’d be attracted to. But seeing them on all of these beautiful Vepar had me thinking differently. It was so exotic...so exciting.

Thane stared at me for a moment, seeming to be thinking over his answer before he spoke. “We’ll talk about it later,” he finally said gruffly. “Now keep your head down before we look even more suspicious.”

Well that wasn’t a no, I thought somewhat excitedly. Then I finally remembered that I was supposed to be hating them, and I was about to walk through a line of Vepar that thought I was lower than the dirt at their feet.

Fear started to stamp its way up my spine as we began to walk, tramping the wildflowers under our feet. I watched as they sprung up as we moved, none the worse for wear. Even their flowers were superior to the ones on Earth…

The air thickened with hostility as we got closer and I shivered. The line consisted of all men, their glares skating all over my body, and I felt wrong and uncomfortable. I had never encountered such hatred before. Thane and Corran must have felt it too because they both inched imperceptibly closer. Thane gave a small nod to Corran, who took over holding my arm tightly. Thane fidgeted with his belt where he was keeping the silver stun gun that I had seen him use before. Did they think we were going to be attacked?

I made the mistake of lifting my head when a large neon purple bug landed on my face. I put my head down again quickly, and blew a breath up my face to get it off my nose. A quick shake of my head and it flew away. But the damage had been done. I’d looked them in the face and seen them up close. The Vepar no longer looked beautiful. Their faces were scrinched in hatred and twisted with disgust. I couldn’t help but wonder what they had heard about humans to give them so many strong emotions.

From what I understood, I was one of the first humans to ever be brought to Veon. At least on Earth we had reason to hate the Vepar. After all they had come over and taken control of everything. As far as I knew, the humans hadn’t done anything to Veon. In fact, the Vepar needed humans to keep their population going. It seemed a little ungrateful to me.

“Vadiah,” one of the Vepar hissed at me. I didn’t need my language translator to understand that whatever he had said was not a good thing.

Corran and Thane both stiffened next to me and I heard Thane give a growl that made the Vepar step back. I had been under the impression that all three of my Vepar were higher ups in the Veon society.

My Vepar...why did I say that.

More angry voices spat out hatred and curses as we walked through the line. Thane stiffened, his hands curled into fists, like he itched to shoot them all. I expected Thane and Corran to stand up for me, but I guess that would go against the impression they were trying to present me as their prisoner. I wondered what the Vepar would think if they knew that I had slept and made blood bonds with all three of them.

The thought made me absurdly want to laugh. And then I wanted to cry again.

Maybe I was going crazy.

We finally made it through the line and were about to enter the building when I was hit in the back of my head with something sticky and horrible smelling. It slid through my hair, down my neck, and into the back of my pretty dress.

It took a second and then my skin started to burn. I let out a small scream and started to claw at my neck and hair, which then made the skin on my hands start to burn as well.

“It hurts,” I moaned, fear sticking to my ribs like tar.

Corran cursed and started to drag me inside. I suddenly heard Thane’s gun go off.

Bang. Bang.

Despite the pain, I looked back and was shocked to see one of the Vepar lying dead on the ground, Thane standing over him with a ferocious look on his face.

I couldn't worry about any repercussions for Thane at that moment because the burning started to increase until I felt like I was being burned alive. Was I going to die?

“What’s happening to me?” I cried out as I stopped in my tracks, unable to move any longer due to the immense agony I was feeling. Corran picked me up in his arms, murmuring softly in my ear about how I was going to be alright, how they would never let anything hurt me again.

He hauled me into a room that looked like Corran’s secret basement lab. Or at least I think it did. The pain was making everything seem distorted.

Corran laid me face down on a table that was much softer than the other medical exam tables I’d encountered in my life. I sobbed as the burning continued to spread throughout my body. He picked up a knife and quickly slit the back of my dress open so that the fabric slid off of me.

I stiffened when Corran sprinkled something wet all over my skin. Immediately my pain faded, replaced by a cooling sensation. Corran continued with the liquid for a few more minutes before stopping. His footsteps quickened around me, drawers shutting and closing. I was so exhausted from the pain that I didn’t even bother to open my eyes to look where he was going.

A second later, his footsteps approached and he applied a soft gel all over my neck and shoulders under my dress. I moaned with how good the coolness felt.

Corran stiffened at the noise, then cleared his throat. “How are you feeling?” he asked hoarsely.

“Better,” I croaked, my voice faint from screaming so much. “What was that?”

“A creature most similar to the barnacles you have in your oceans. Except ours contain one of the most toxic poisons on the planet.”

“So I could have died?” I asked, starting to cry again at the memory of how much it had hurt.

He was silent for a moment. “I never would have let that happen,” he said, rubbing in some more of the gel. "I'm so sorry this happened to you," Corran whispered softly, gently continuing to stroke my skin. There was such remorse in his voice, the kind that I rarely got from them after everything they had done to me. It did something to my insides.

His gentle hand trailed down my skin almost sensually even though this wasn’t the place for any of that to happen.

Thane walked into the room, rage still written across his face. "How is she doing?" he asked, his hands trembling with adrenaline.

"I applied the antidote. She should be completely back to normal in a few more minutes," Corran explained. "Did you take care of him?"

Thane nodded, his cheek twitching as he tried to control himself. "Evidently we're going to have to remind everyone just who we are. I guess we’ve been gone a little too long."

Corran nodded. “If we're going to keep her safe, we’ll have to do that fast."

Once again I felt conflicting emotions. They were so protective of me. Yet they didn't respect anything in regards to my free agency. I didn't know how those two things worked together.

After a couple more minutes I did indeed feel back to normal, better than normal in fact. Corran helped me off the table and led me over to a cylinder clothes changer that was also in this room. I was immediately changed into a new dress, this one a crimson color. The cylinder even somehow took care of my dirty hair and skin, leaving my hair looking more shiny than it did after I went to a hair appointment. I was kind of bummed that they didn't introduce me to this technology earlier. It would've saved me a lot of time.

"How come you didn't use this at your house on earth?" I asked, thinking that if I had this at my disposal I would have never chosen to go without it.

Thane smirked. “There’s something to be said for the shower," he stated, giving me a wink. It took me a second, and then I was blushing furiously.

Thane’s communicator device must have sent him an alert, because his hand went to his ear. After listening for a moment, he looked at me regretfully. "I'm sorry, but we need to get the cuffs back on you and get you to the prison. You already drew enough attention just walking through the line. It will get even worse if they sense that we’re giving you special treatment.”

“You mean like killing someone who hurt me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Thane growled. “That’s expected in our society. That Vepar disrespected us by harming something that belonged to us. It would have looked stranger if I hadn’t done anything.”

I filed that away for later. The Vepar were obviously a very aggressive society, but I had already known that, hadn’t I?

Sighing, I obediently put my arms behind my back. I grimaced as the cold metal once again clicked around my wrists.

Thane and Corran walked me out of the lab and down another long hallway. I looked around with interest. Like the space cruiser, the Vepar seemed to like simplicity. The walls were a stark gray gunmetal color. There were no pictures or ornamentation decorating any of them. I guess when you lived on a planet as beautiful as Veon, you didn't need elaborate decorations.

We turned right, arriving at what I assumed was my new home for the time being. We were in a large, long room, with doorways on either side.

As we began to walk, I realized that Thane hadn’t been lying when he said that the prisoners who were about to be my neighbors were dangerous. The prisoners were all beautiful, yes, but they were all distorted in a way that sent fear spiraling down my spine. Some of the prisoners we walked by had fangs that they flashed at me when I looked at them. There was another prisoner that had shiny black scales that flickered across his skin before disappearing. Another cell held a dark figure in the center of the room with black mist swirling all around it.

I gasped. It was all I could do to suppress the urge to try and run away.

"You didn't tell me that there were Khonsu imprisoned here," I said coldly to Thane and Corran, my voice quivering with fear.

"We told you that our most dangerous prisoners were kept here. Khonsu would be included in that of course,” Corran said mildly.

I trembled, thinking about having to be near them. What if that thing escaped and came after me? I didn’t think I could take that kind of torture again.

I felt the tip of Thane’s finger brush against my arm soothingly. When I looked up at him, his face looked as blank as ever, and he continued to stare straight ahead as we walked. My heart couldn't help but warm at the thought that he was attempting to offer comfort despite the fact that he needed to keep up appearances that I was his prisoner.

Just as soon as I had that thought, I shut it down. They were the reason I was here to begin with. They were the reason the Khonsu came after me. They were the reason for everything bad that had happened in my life.

We stopped in front of an empty cell that was right across from a Vepar that looked to be missing half of his appendages. There was another unidentifiable creature in the cell next to the empty one that looked to be gnawing on some kind of bird carcass. He leered at me manically, and I jumped back as his smile revealed rows and rows of sharp teeth that resembled the mouth of a shark.

Corran waved a small device over the glass of the empty cell and it disappeared. They then led me inside. The room was practically bare. There was a small cot against the back wall that held a threadbare blanket, no pillow. Corran showed me how to press a button on the wall to get the toilet and a small sink to appear. Other than that there was nothing in the room. Nothing to pass the time with either.

Suddenly, I couldn't stand the thought of being trapped in this room.

"Please don't leave me here," I begged. Coren looked at Thane anxiously. Thane reached out and brushed my hair softly.

“It should only be for a few hours," he said. "We’ll be back for you soon."

Looking around to see if anyone was watching us, which all of the prisoners on the opposite wall were, Corran stood closely next to me and pulled out what looked like a small tablet.

"This will have things on it to keep you busy. I downloaded some Earth movies and books for you to use on the ship. But obviously you never used it. I'll turn off the cameras on half of your room. As long as you’re laying on your cot when you look at it, the cameras won’t pick up that you have the device.

I nodded gratefully, even as tears continued to humiliatingly stream down my face at the thought of being left alone surrounded by all of these dangerous creatures.

Thane’s communication device must have popped on because he started to talk to someone. "We’re just loading her into the cell right now," he instructed. “We'll be there in a minute to talk to the Council.” He rolled his eyes before tapping his ear again, assumedly to shut off the device. "We have to go," Thane said.

I couldn’t seem to control my body as it continued to shake. Corran unhooked the handcuffs, and I gratefully shook my wrists out. At least I hadn’t managed to engage the spikes. That would have been the cherry on top of a craptastic day.

Thane and Corran stared at me. “I really want to kiss you,” Thane murmured in a growly, worried voice.

I wanted that too. But I wasn’t going to tell them that. “I’ll be fine,” I said, wiping away my tears.

Corran took my hand. “It won’t be long. I promise.” I nodded, not really believing that would be the case. Something told me the Council wasn’t going to love the idea of me wandering around Veon.

They finally turned to go. Stepping out of the cell, Corran once again waved a device in front of where the glass was supposed to be and it instantly reappeared.

I wanted to run and beat on the glass wall, but I knew that it wouldn’t make a difference. I collapsed face down on the cot, listening to the screams and moans of the prisoners around me.

How did I get here?

Chapter 6

Time inched along. After laying there feeling sorry for myself for what seemed like hours, I finally picked up the tablet that Corran had given me and started to search through it. “Some” was not an accurate description for the amount of movies and books Corran had uploaded. There were literally millions of movies and books on here. I could read and watch movies every day for the rest of my life and still not even come close to making a dent in the content. It must be nice to be practically immortal like the Vepar, they could actually take advantage of everything that life offered.

Tired of the pity party I was throwing myself, I finally settled on Sweet Home Alabama, a movie guaranteed to make me feel better. There was nothing like a little Patrick Dempsey to soothe the soul.

It was impossible to get comfortable on the cot so I ended up just sitting on it and leaning against the wall. It seemed a bit inhumane that they didn’t provide pillows for the prisoners. I’m sure most of the prisoners here were lifers.

Of course I glanced over to my cellmate across the aisle who was currently flicking pieces of what looked like ash off his burned body...maybe the least of my concerns were pillows.

I clicked start on the movie, but there was something offsetting about trying to watch a romantic comedy with all of the terrifying noises that surrounded me. The cells were definitely not soundproof. I jumped when a scream that sounded more dinosaur-like than intelligent creature sounded from my next door neighbor.

Please hurry back to me, I thought to myself, wondering how the guys were faring in front of the Council.

My stomach gurgled just then. I wondered what they fed the prisoners. Hopefully it was something humans could eat. Thane and Corran probably should have mentioned something about that.

I tried to concentrate on the movie but my mind was just too full. Full of them, full of what had happened, full of my fear for the future.

I had to get out of here. I had to get off this planet. And I had to get away from them.

There had to be a place where they couldn’t find me.

I thought about my recent bloodlust and felt a momentary flash of panic. That was a problem I would have to deal with before I escaped. Hopefully Corran would give me some sort of solution sooner rather than later. I didn’t want to return to Earth as some kind of vampire.

Maybe I could somehow take some of their blood with me to hold me over?

As soon as I had that thought I felt sick. Just a little bit ago I was a normal girl, poor...but normal. Now I was thinking about blood.

They really had ruined me.

I was lost in my musings so I didn’t hear the footsteps walking down the hall until there was someone staring at me through my cell glass.

I almost peed myself when I heard the throaty peal of laughter come out of her.

It was my first sighting of what had to be a Vepar female. And just by looking at her, I knew she would bring me nothing but trouble.

She was stunning, so gorgeous that I didn’t think I had ever seen another female so beautiful before. Deep, auburn hair tumbled to her waist. A perfect, petite nose, doe-like emerald eyes, and bow-shaped lips made up her face. Her skin was a perfect creamy color that looked like it had been airbrushed. Her waist tapped in, and her boobs were big. Essentially she was everything I was not. Not even the two small ivory horns sticking out of her head could detract from her beauty. Not when they had silver threads curled around them in a decorative manner.

She stared at me, a small smirk stretching on her face.

It broke me to admit. But this was the kind of girl that fit with the guys. I couldn’t believe that Thane, Derrial, and Corran could actually deign to sleep with humans when they had females walking around who looked like that. They must really want to procreate.

I remembered some of the details of the plan I had seen in the guys’ basement lab. From what I'd seen, I would just be an incubator for an embryo made up of all Vepar DNA.

Something burned inside of me at the thought of Thane, Derrial, and Corran’s DNA being combined with this beautiful creature. I felt dark just thinking about it.

I wasn’t sure what to say to her. From what I had been told, Vepar women held an even greater distaste for humans than their male counterparts did. And a male counterpart had already tried to kill me.

What was this one going to try and do to me?

“Hello little human,” she said in a voice that literally sounded like music to my ears. I had never heard a voice so melodic before.

I remained silent, watching her carefully.

“I just had to see what all the fuss was about. What would make my mates leave Veon. I can’t say that I’m impressed.”

I tried to understand what she was saying. Mates? Please don’t be talking about the guys…

“I’m sure you know all about me. But I must say, I know very little about you,” she said, her gaze shrewd and cold.

I wasn’t sure what the right move was here. I had a million questions, but I was deeply afraid of the danger that was emanating from this Vepar. There was a cruel glint in her eyes that terrified me. All I could pray was that she wasn’t able to open this cell. I didn’t think I would survive, and I knew that the Vepar women were close to as strong as the males. And we all know how well I’d fared against them...

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid that there’s been a mistake. Who are you?” I finally asked, feeling like I was antagonizing her more by not saying anything.

Obviously I should have stayed silent. The smirk she had been sporting transformed into a look of unadulterated rage.

“Don’t lie,” she seethed. My eyes widened as she hit the glass crazily.

I guess the old adage that the craziest things came in the prettiest packages was correct.

I tried to sink into the wall behind me, my eyes flickering into the hallway behind her, hoping that someone would appear soon to help me.

“I’m going to make sure that your time here is an absolute nightmare. No one touches what’s mine,” she spat the threat, finally stalking away.

I couldn’t relax until the sound of her footsteps disappeared.

What did she mean about someone touching what was hers? And the whole mates’ thing? As much as I wanted to tell myself it wasn’t about my three Vepar, who else could she be talking about? And my stomach dropped through me… what else hadn’t the men told me?

I shouldn’t care though. If she had been talking about Thane, Derrial, and Corran, than that was a good thing that they had someone like her to take their interest away. Right…?

It didn’t bode well though as far as the fertility experiments went. If they didn’t care about me than there didn’t seem to be anything that would stop them from using me in them.

It was all such a clusterfuck.

I turned on the movie again, desperate to quiet my mind and calm my shaking.

Thirty minutes passed and more footsteps headed down the hall. I climbed to my feet and moved to the front of my cell, not wanting to be surprised again. There was a Vepar male in a grey outfit similar to the one that Corran had changed into, pushing a cart down the hallway. He stopped in front of every cell and somehow passed a bowl full of something that was steaming to the prisoner waiting behind the glass.

I was in awe of the Vepar technology. My stomach was growling.

The Vepar handed food to the prisoner in the cell to my right and rolled his cart towards me. I waited anxiously by the glass, afraid that I was going to drop the bowl during the handoff.

Apparently I didn’t need to worry, because he didn’t even look at me as he passed right by my cell before stopping in front of the prisoner to my left.

I stared at him, not understanding what had just happened. Maybe I couldn’t eat the food as a human? So, I banged on the glass, trying to get his attention. But it was like he didn’t hear me.

Several prisoners laughed at me around me, and I realized that it wasn’t that he hadn’t heard me, it was that he was ignoring me.

Just another way to torture the unwelcome human apparently.

Chapter 7

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. I watched at least four movies and the meal cart had passed by three times, so it had been at least a whole day. I guessed the Vepar running the meal cart decided he better not kill me and on his last pass through he reluctantly pushed a small pitcher of water through the glass. I gratefully accepted it and gulped down the whole thing immediately. I was glad not to have to resort to the sink water since I wasn’t sure if it was normal water or not. I had seen Derrial, Thane, and Corran drink water before, but there was so much I didn’t know about the Vepar that I didn’t want to run the risk.

My thirst quenched, I settled back onto the cot, picking up the tablet to figure out another movie to watch. Just then the lights in the hallway outside the cells dimmed. I looked around, wondering what was going on. I gave a small scream when a blurred figure suddenly appeared in my cell. Was it a Khonsu?

I shrunk against my wall, convinced this was the end. Suddenly, Derrial’s face briefly appeared. He held up a finger to signal for me to be quiet. His face disappeared after a moment, returning to the near invisible blurred form.

What was going on? That Khonsu had impersonated Derrial the first time I had met him. Was this something like that? Could the Khonsu infiltrate the prison? When Derrial’s face appeared again, looking frustrated, I decided to just go for it. Maybe he was breaking me out?

I held out my hand and the blurred form seemed to absorb it. I all of a sudden felt like I was weightless. I tried to look at my body and it was like I had disappeared. Something flickered out of the corner of my eye and I looked in amazement at an image that looked like me, that was lounging on the cot I had just abandoned. The fake me laid down on the pillowless cot and pulled the blanket up to her neck.

I felt arms wrap around my waist just then and all of a sudden I was moving, carried along by the blurred figure that I hoped was Derrial. I watched in amazement as we floated through the cell glass, down the hallway, and out of the room holding the cells.

We continued to move down more and more hallways until we left the building all together through what I assumed was the back entrance. I gaped in amazement as we passed through another large field of gorgeous flowers, this time all of them purple in color. They seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and I was only able to take my eyes away from them when we entered a forest. A forest that looked far different from the forests I was used to on Earth.

For one thing, all of the trees were different colors like I had seen when I exited the ship. I gasped when some of the trees started changing color right before my eyes. What was once a patch of bright, yellow-colored trees, there stood trees in a vibrant red color.

We continued blurring through the forest. I had lost all sense of fear as there were so many things to see. Small animals skittered around the forest floor. While some of them had resemblances to animals on Earth, they all had something different that set them apart. What looked like a squirrel from the back, actually only had one giant eyeball on its head. Somehow it made it even cuter.

We suddenly came to a stop in what looked like just another portion of the forest. I felt gravity again and found myself leaning over to throw up from the sensation. Hands held back my hair and softly rubbed my back until I was done. Looking up at my travel companion, I was pleased to see that it did still look like Derrial standing in front of me.

Nevertheless I took a step back from him. “What did you cook for me the morning I woke up at your house?” I asked, wanting to make sure that it really was him.

He grinned. “Pancakes with strawberries. I would have made you blueberries but I believe there was a little accident,” he said with a wink.

I gave a sigh of relief, convinced it was him. “You got me out!” I exclaimed, spinning around and enjoying the feel of fresh air after spending the last day surrounded by the stale air of my cell.

“We told you we would,” he said softly, staring at me rather intensely.

“What are we doing out here?” I asked, looking around. “It’s amazing by the way,” I couldn’t help but add.

Derrial gave me a smirk and reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked like a tiny black disk the size of a silver dollar. He threw it on the ground and stepped back, pulling me with him. We both stared at the disk for a second until I started to feel foolish.

I turned my head to ask Derrial what exactly we were waiting for when I heard a small popping sound. Turning my head to see what had happened, I stumbled backwards in shock. Right where the disk has been sitting, now stood a black, dome like structure.

I was speechless, and didn’t even say anything when Derrial pulled me with him to the front of the structure. Just like with the Vepar spacecraft, an opening appeared in front of us and Derrial guided me inside.

I looked around in wonder. We were in a room the size of a hotel room. There was a king size bed directly in front of us. On another wall was a table with two stools in front of it. Next to the table was a machine that resembled a refrigerator with the exception there was a touchpad in the front of it. There was an opaque glass wall to the left of us set up in front of the other wall. Through the glass I could see a toilet and a sink.

Vepar technology was amazing.

I twirled around, taking it all in. “I can’t believe everything you’ve been holding out on me,” I finally said to Derrial.

He was leaning against the now doorless wall we had just come through, staring at me in that amused way of his, like he was watching a child discover something new. “It does all seem pretty amazing through your eyes,” he finally said.

I stopped gaping and looked at him closely for the first time. He looked...exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was paler than normal. “Is everything okay?” I finally asked.

He pushed away from the wall and started to prowl towards me until he was standing right in front of me. I backed away until my legs ran into the bed.

“What are we doing here? Why did we have to sneak out?” I asked, feeling heat start to spread all over my body.

“Are you feeling hungry?” he asked. At first I thought he meant food, but then I realized he was talking about my unfortunate newfound bloodlust. I realized that I was starting to experience the initial signs of that; the shakiness, the feeling that I was going to faint.

But I didn’t want to admit that. I was still so angry at the three of them, still so confused about what was going on, what their plans for me were.

“I’m fine,” I said in a breathier voice than I would have liked.

“Are you sure?” he said, getting even closer. His lips hovered right above mine, and it was taking all of my self-control to prevent myself from making up the distance.

“Tell me what’s going on,” I said, my voice a whisper now.

“I don’t think I feel like talking,” he said.

Reaching for my neck, he pulled me up to his lips in a forceful kiss, his tongue taking ownership of my desire. My body lost all sense of control as I gave in to him, my tongue dueling his in mimicked want. Grabbing my torso in a sexy, dominant motion, he pulled me swiftly under him. My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, pulling and clawing at his shoulders in wanton need. I scratched down his back, making my way to his perfect ass. His sheer size prevented my reach and I struggled to adjust our position, squirming for a better vantage point beneath his large form. My attempts to maneuver were fruitless though as he pinned my arms down at my sides. Pulling his lips from mine, they brushed along my jaw and neck, his tongue leaving a tingling wetness on my overheated skin. My body arched at the sensual feel of him devouring my neck, his licks catching my skin on fire.

The wet burning trail continued along my chest, stopping suddenly at my neckline. Pushing me back on the bed, he pondered the obstruction for a second before reaching for the front of my dress, tearing it off in one strong fluid motion, before absently tossing it to the floor. My heated skin perked against the sudden cool air, my breathless gasp turning his lustful, burning gaze molten as his lips quirked back into a sexy smirk. With a deftness I’d become quite familiar with, he undressed quickly, standing in front of me and letting me admire the view.

Holy shit. I felt the blush staining my burning cheeks as I got the view of him I had been obsessed with since the last time I had seen it.

He seemed to be in a hurry, but all of a sudden I wanted to take my time. I promised myself right before I reached out for him that this would be the last time, a goodbye of sorts. After this brief moment of comfort I could go back to being furious at them. I just needed one last break from it right now.

I sat up and took his face in my hands, pulling him up towards me for a soft kiss. Nuzzling his nose against mine, we stared at each other for a long moment in silence. I could see his eyes asking me questions about what I was doing. With a gentle squeeze at my waist, he shifted me back onto the bed before coming over top of me, resting his weight on his arms to stare deep into my eyes.

“Is this okay?” he asked. There was a depth of genuine concern in his question that was so different from how he normally was. This was the first time that I actually felt like I had a choice in the matter.

I could read his unease clearly as he awaited my reply. I couldn’t seem to make my voice work, so I just nodded.

“Make me forget everything,” I finally whispered after a long moment. I didn’t want to think about the world waiting outside of our little room. I just wanted the here and now. I didn’t want to think about my cell and the gorgeous, perfect Vepar female who seemed to want them. I just wanted him...right now.

I found myself feeling rather possessive at that moment. Perhaps territorial was the most apt description, the words he’s mine floating through my head. A sudden uncontrollable urge to imprint myself on this Vepar flowed through my body like a tidal wave. To remind him exactly why I should be satisfying his needs. Not that beautiful Vepar. Not anyone else.

If this was going to be the last time, I wanted to make it a lasting one.

I pulled him down to my lips, needing to express my passionate insight through touch, putting every ounce of myself into my kiss. Sliding my tongue along his, I nipped his bottom lip, eliciting his released moan. It ignited my ardor and I tugged hard on the hair at his nape. He growled in response to my aggressiveness, rolling onto his back as if sensing my unspoken need for control, pulling me to lay atop his lean body.

Bracing myself on his chest, I pushed up to straddle him. Staring down into his stunning face, my mouth curled into an enticing smile, taking in his wet, swollen lips as a result of my fueled kiss. “This is different,” he said with an awestruck look.

“Don’t misunderstand this,” I said, biting my lip seductively, brushing my palm across his glorious pecs.

“Oh?” The feel of him under my fingertips was intoxicating. My hands devoured his chest, thumbing his hardened nipples before feeling my way down along his happy trail. His intensified exhale of breath exhilarated my senses all the more.

“I’m simply hungry....”

“Hungry?” he questioned, his eyebrow tantalizing me, testing my restraint for control.

“Mmhmm,” I nodded as I teasingly licked my lips.

“Is that right?” he managed, as he glided his fingers up my thighs, resting his hands on my hips, his palms scorching my skin. The feel of his hardness between my legs enticed me. Rolling my hips, my head fell back in a moan at the feel of him sliding along my sensitive skin, assailing me with shooting darts of pleasure.

I steeled myself above him, desperate to maintain some level of equanimity. His eyes were molten, beginning to glow in that telling way, fueling my desire to take charge. Placing my hands over his on my hips, I proceeded to move, a slow, measured gyration over him.

“Yes, that’s right. I want you buried so deep inside me you’ll never forget how it feels. I want you to crave it as much as I’m craving you.”

His lust-filled expression at my declaration, combined with the image my words evoked, shot my arousal sky high. I throbbed in time with my accelerated heartbeat as my need to feel him overtook me. I shifted backwards until I could touch him, the solid feel of him in my palm sent tingles through me as I stroked up and down. His eyes closed on a guttural moan.

“Crave you? I’m already there, kitten. I’m already there.” Witnessing my effect on him was empowering. Thrilling. I wanted more.

Pushing myself up, I surprised him with my instant drop, taking him all the way in. The fullness was overwhelming, exquisite. The pleasure escaped from my lips in a breathless cry, echoed by his husky groan. I lifted without hesitation, eager to feel him, rising slowly to savor the sensation. Pausing, I was lost in exhilaration, the tip tantalizing my entrance. He gripped my thighs, tempting my teasing power. I felt brazen with command.

Reaching down between us, I grabbed him, and stroked him with gentle dominance before taking him to the hilt once more.

“Fuck, Ella,” his throaty release filled me with sexual authority. I created a rhythm above him, sliding up once more before dropping back down.

“Ella . . . ” his emission urged my increase in speed, wanting to continue pleasing him, needing to elicit such reactions. Every moan, every delicious squeeze of his fingers at my hips spiked my fervor as I rode him relentlessly, spurring my body to an exploding peak.

I fell over the edge, screaming his name, right as he lifted his head up and sank his teeth in my neck.

“Fuck . . . ” the delightful edge of pain brought me back to earth. Wrapping his hands firmly around my waist, he swiftly flipped me onto my back, still savoring the blood dripping from my neck. He moved with an almost out of control enthusiasm.

I wrapped my legs tightly around him. My control was gone, stolen in his dominant display as he thrust into me over and over again.

“Yes!” I screamed, eagerly relenting to him. I pulled his head from my neck and bit his lip hard until I could taste the salty sweetness of his blood.

My body immediately began to feel stronger, more alive. My bite was his undoing. He buried his face in my neck, groaning as he came. Minutes passed before he stirred, lifting his gaze to mine. I moaned in contentment.

“I’m not done with you yet,” he offered with the seductive smirk I realized I was beginning to crave. He gave me another soul-deep kiss, my toes curling in renewed lust as we began to move again.

* * *

I knew that hours had passed when he finally collapsed to the bed next to me, both of us sated beyond belief.

I was already regretting my vow that this would be the last time as his fingers traced my skin as we both laid their contentedly.

I wanted to stay in this little room forever. I had never felt so pacified or safe.

Right as I had that thought, the wall in front of us opened and Thane and Corran stepped through. I sat upright in the bed, pulling the covers up to my chin, surprised by their sudden appearance.

Derrial was slower to get up. He was like a cat who had just drank his fill of cream...he even had the same satisfied look.

“Really?” said Corran, lifting an eyebrow that displayed his obvious annoyance.

“What, mad you couldn’t watch?” said Derrial smugly.

A sudden heat filled Corran’s eyes, igniting my skin again. Evidently my little scientist was a voyeur.

Who would have thought?

“We need to get her back. I figured you would have lost track of time,” said Thane in a bored voice that didn’t match the way his eyes were dancing all over me possessively. “I didn’t think when you said that you were going to give her a break that it was going to include playtime.”

Derrial just shrugged, not looking apologetic in the least bit.

“I have to go back?” I asked, a hint of panic in my voice.

Corran looked at me apologetically. “Things are...complicated.”

I looked at Derrial now, feeling like I had every right to demand answers after what had just happened. “What’s complicated? Do they not believe you about me being the right subject for the tests?”

Derrial looked guilty all of a sudden.

“The Council hasn’t been as accepting as we hoped,” said Derrial reluctantly.

“Were we expecting them to be accepting?”

“We were hoping that they would let Corran do his experiments on his timetable so that we could figure out a plan,” said Thane.

“What kind of timetable do they want?” I asked, feeling a sense of dread washing away all the endorphins Derrial and I had just created.

“Their insistent that the experiments start immediately. While we were gone, there were no Vepar children born,” said Corran, sounding like he was almost trying to make excuses for the Council who didn’t seem to care if I was willing to be a surrogate or not.

“By experiments, you mean implanting me with a Vepar embryo,” I said softly, a knot forming in my chest.

Everyone in the room was silent. “How soon is “immediately,” I asked, wanting to gauge how much time I had to make my escape.

“Next week,” said Corran.

I sunk lower in the bed.

I felt Thane come and sit next to me.

“We’re going to figure it out,” he said. “No one is going to make you do something you don’t want to do.”

His statement had the opposite effect in comforting me. Instead, I just felt angry.

“You’re going to figure it out. Just like you figured out how to make me not need your blood. Just like how you took me from Earth because you couldn't figure out how to keep me safe from the Khonsu when you were the ones who brought me to their attention in the first place. You figured out that I must have been unhappy in my life on Earth, and that I needed to be in your life. Just like you figured out the fact that I was the special human who could birth Vepar humans in the first place. You guys have really done a good job of figuring things out…,” I was almost screaming by the end, and the guys all looked shell shocked. It was the most emotion that I had shown to them.

Corran sank to his knees in front of the bed, crossing an arm across his heart. “I swear to you Ella, we will make this right. We’ll protect you even if it costs us everything.”

Thane and Derrial slid off the bed and sank down to their knees next to Corran, making the same arm motion.

I refused to let their vow mean anything to me. They had already let me down. They had already ruined my life. There was nothing they could do to make up for it.

“I’d like to go back now,” I said, even as my stomach sunk at the thought of being back in the cell. It said a lot for how upset I was that I would rather be back in a cell surrounded by monsters, starving, than be around the three of them.

The guys exchanged looks after they got off their knees. I was handed a new dress to put on. I guess the hut didn’t include the nifty changing cylinder. Corran and Thane left the room. Derrial and I were quiet as we both got dressed. There was no trace of the affection and ease that had been present between us earlier.

We walked out to where Thane and Corran were waiting solemnly. Derrial swiped his hand across the wall of the structure and it shrank before my eyes, disappearing into the black disk once again. Derrial pocketed the disk and turned back to us.

I felt a touch on my shoulder. “Talk to us,” said Thane, his voice sounding almost desperate.

“I have nothing to say. There’s nothing you can do to make this better.”

Thane sighed and ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. He looked at Derrial. “Did anyone see you getting her out of there?”

Derrial scoffed, his arrogance showing itself. “Is that even a real question?” he asked.

Thane rolled his eyes. “Let’s go,” he said to Corran. They both looked at me. “I guess it’s too much to ask for a goodbye?” Thane said.

I turned my attention to the ground resolutely, my emotions feeling ravaged at the moment.

“Just let her be,” said Corran. There was a faint buzzing sound that made me look up. To my surprise Corran and Thane were gone.

More cool Vepar technology.

“Let’s get you back,” said Derrial stiffly. I knew his feelings were probably feeling a bit hurt at my cold shoulder, but what did he expect?

“I’m going to have to touch you to get you back without anyone noticing. Try not to bite my head off,” he said sarcastically.

I humphed and reluctantly moved closer to him. I watched as Derrial turned into nothing but a blur. He wrapped his arms around me like he had before and I felt that sense of weightlessness.

We set off the way we had come. Nothing held quite the same wonder as it had before. All I could think was that this was probably the end. This would be the last time that I felt real air, the last time that I would see daylight.

I wondered how many times I would have to get pregnant if the fertility procedures worked. Enough that my body would probably be too tired and worn out to have my own kids.

Not that I would even have that opportunity. Even if somehow I was let go eventually, I was confident I would be so used and abused that I wouldn’t even be like a human anymore.

I literally had nothing to look forward to in life. It was all over.

We were back to my cell before I knew it. Derrial disabled the fake me who had still been on the cot, pretending to sleep, and then he let me go. I sank down gratefully on my cot, the nausea hitting me hard. I leaned over, trying to stop myself from throwing up again. After a minute, the nausea passed. I looked up wearily and saw that the blurred Derrial was still floating in front of me.

“You can leave now,” I hissed, keeping my voice down so I didn’t attract attention. His face appeared. “I promise we’ll make this right,” he said. I just shook my head, a tear escaping from my eye. I laid down on the cot. I felt Derrial’s hand stroke my cheek briefly, but when my eyes opened, he was gone.

I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the screams and moans of the prisoners around me. Their noises were the perfect soundtrack to my shitty life.

I closed my eyes. It was time to await my fate.

Chapter 8

The thud of footsteps approaching me tore me from my broken sleep. I opened my eyes to see a Vepar with completely black eyes staring down at me. I widened my stare, my heart suddenly pounding against my ribcage. In a flash, I scrambled backwards in my cot, dragging the blanket with me as I hit the wall with my back.

”W-what do you want?” Had a prisoner broken into my cell?

“You’ve been summoned,” he snarled as if being in my presence disgusted him.

“Summoned?” Was this the day that I was to be taken in for Corran’s procedure? Could the guys not even face me?

“I think you’re mistaken. I’m meant to stay here.”

One of his bushy eyebrows climbed up his forehead, while the tip of his horns seemed to shimmer. “You think you have rights?” He broke into laughter, sounding more like someone screeching for help, and I cringed, reminding myself to never make this guy laugh again.

He reached over and grabbed my arm, then hauled me off the bed and across the room. I stumbled after him, barely catching my balance, the smooth floor cold under my bare feet. “Please can I get my shoes?”

“You don’t need them.” With a wave of his hand, the glass wall dissolved and we were in the corridor.

Other prisoners glared at me, their faces and hands pressed up against the glass, twisted faces judging me.

“Where are we going?”

But the guard didn’t answer, only dragged me by my arm, his fingers like an iron grip around my wrist.

“Does Derrial know about this?” I demanded and as much as my mind screamed with a warning that I shouldn’t have said that, I was on a freaking foreign planet. It was hard to be reasonable.

“He’s waiting for you.”

His words were a blade to my chest. Derrial allowed this guard to man-handle me this way, to collect me in the middle of the night? Or was this part of the plan to make my capture appear authentic?

With the latter in mind, I hurried along beside the guard to show my compliance and not appear like I had been dragged in like a prisoner. It was all about confidence, my mom used to tell me. So I lifted my chin and power walked to keep up with the Vepar. The door at the end of the corridor swung open of its own accord and we entered another hallway, then another, followed by stepping into an elevator where the doors shut and opened within a heartbeat and we were on a different ground. I’d stopped asking questions and accepted it might take me years before I’d comprehend this planet’s technology.

We raced toward two enormous doors, colored like the brightest sky, engraved with swirls. My stomach was locked up tight, but I kept moving. The doors opened on their own and we strolled into a circular room.

Bright lights flooded the tiny arena-like center with a raised platform of circular seatings. At one end stood four Vepars, each inside a circular cylinder, and only when the guard ushered me close did I see their bodies were slightly transparent. They were only projections and not physically present. Each of them were older men, wrinkles, and silvering hair, but their horns had me gaping. They were long and curled, falling over their shoulders.

So they grew longer with age....interesting.

With their deep blue uniforms and the double moon insignia on their jackets, I could only assume these were the Council.

With a shove at my back, I stumbled forward toward the Vepar. I glanced up to the first row and found Thane, Corran, and Derrial sitting there, staring down at me with blank expressions. But their eyes gave them away… the worry slithering behind them.

I swallowed hard and turned to the four who’d summoned me.

“Human,” the tallest began. His white hair was parted down the middle and one of his horns curled over the top of his head like a halo. “In Veon, mating is a life or death situation and is not entered lightly which is why we have rituals to find the perfect life partners. Something I’m sure humans wouldn’t understand. Three of our most respectable Vepar have approached us, asking to be granted a waiver. Do you know what that means, child?”

I shook my head, though my mind was whirling like a spinning top with what my Vepar could have asked the Council. My words refused to come.

The Vepar with bright golden eyes tilted his head high. “Derrial and his team have requested to bypass the mating ritual and for the human, Ella, to be deemed their mate for life.”

Their words sliced through me, but I knew… at least I thought I knew, why Derrial had put that request through. The social rules to finding the one you loved differed on Veon and they intended to bypass it to simply get approval to choose me as their mate. And I couldn’t deny the joy blooming inside me at hearing this. This was their way to save me.

I fought to hold back my smile.

It seemed romantic. But I wasn’t a fool. They did it to save me… except if they had to get approval for who to mate with for life, this wasn’t a light decision to make.

“What is your decision?” Derrial and the men stood from their seats, their fists tapping their chests twice before lowering them.

I wobbled on my bare feet, praying this worked as it would mean freedom from prison and avoiding the need to juggle social protocols.

“Denied!” All four announced in unison.

My legs weakened beneath me. A quick glance showed that my three Vepar showed no emotions or reactions.

“This is new territory for us,” the man with a devil’s tail spoke up, his voice gravelly and harsh. “You brought a human to our home under the pretense that she could be the key to our fertility issues, then you announce she’s your mate and want to disregard rituals in our race since the beginning of time. This isn’t going to work.”

Words pressed to the front of my mind about how I’d be their perfect mate… anything to convince them to approve this.

The first Council member stole my moment. “We cannot let you disregard our ceremonial customs. So, we decree this human will join the other suitors to win you three over during the mating ritual.”

I stood there, unsure what exactly they were saying. What in the world was a mating ritual? But when I glanced up at Derrial, he smiled and nodded. “Agree.”

The fourth Council member with only one horn the color of mahogany cleared his throat. “This isn’t your decision to make,” he snapped, and the harshness of his voice had me trembling.

“Procreation is an uncharted area with a human, but…” He sighed heavily. “With the current state of our race, maybe this is something we need to explore. So, Ella, you will join the other suitable females, undergo compatibility tests, and then the right female will be selected to bond with the three Vepar.”

Dread washed over me. “Tests,” I mumbled, my mind conjuring up me having to fight someone to win the hand of these Vepar, or maybe they meant laboratory tests? If that was the case, I’d run and take my chance in space as I’d had enough of being poked and prodded and things inserted into me.

“Thank you,” Derrial stated, his voice loud. The three of them now had grins on their faces. I guessed this was a favorable outcome.

“Not so fast,” One-horn retorted. “As these are unusual circumstances, there are three new conditions you must adhere to. You will complete all mating ritual tests within two weeks. The final decision of compatible female will no longer rest with the males, but us as the Council.”

Thane groaned loudly, while Corran shifted on his feet, both disagreeing with the decision. Derrial just stood silent, but if his gaze could hurl daggers at the Council Vepar, he’d have stabbed them several times over.

“Is that--”

“Silence,” the Vepar snarled. “You have not been permitted to speak.” He turned to the three men. “And thirdly, should this human fail in the compatibility tests, she will no longer be under your guard, but fall under our command. And we will do with her as we find most suitable.” Their stares lingered over my body, and I felt them studying me for purposes other than someone willing to help me. I shivered under their gazes.

“You can’t change the rules,” Thane barked, but Derrial stuck his hand out in front of his friend to prevent him from taking another step forward.

“Boy, we are the Council and what isn’t right is you trying to circumvent the rules we’d put into place.”

“My sincerest apology.” Derrial gave a slight deferential nod of his head.

“The new rules will be applied,” One horn declared and turned his attention to the guard. “Put her back into prison until Derrial arranges the commencement of their mating ritual.” All four council members clapped at once, and their projected images faded.

“Fuck! That went shit,” Thane thundered.

I reached out to them, worry biting along my flesh, needing them to really explain this to me in layman's terms, but the guard snatched my arm and yanked me toward the door. “Hey stop,” I yelled, pulling against his hold, crying out and driving my fist into his arm.

“You heard the Council,” he barked.

Corran jumped into the make-shift arena, landing with a thud, and stormed after us. His gaze drilling into the guard who shoved me behind him.

The two Vepar faced off, both staring, neither backing down.

“Nothing you can say or do will change what’s about to happen. I’m following the Council’s directions. Obstruct me and you’ll be the one locked up.”

“All I ask is a few minutes with Ella. And then she’ll go with you.”

I stared at Corran, pleading with my eyes that he whisk me away that very moment, away from the cell, from Veon, from everything.

The guard’s eyes narrowed, having no intention of relenting.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Derrial and Thane strolling toward us, also in the middle of the room.

“I can make your life very easy,” Derrial addressed him. “A new job with double the pay, for you to leave us alone with Ella for a few moments.”

That got the guard’s interest and he scratched his chin, releasing his hold on me. Corran scooped me toward him, folding me into his arms, his lips on my brow. I let myself melt against him, yearning for more than anything to have them by my side.

The guard finally nodded and he and Derrial walked to the door, lost in whispers I couldn’t decipher.

When he returned, Derrial and Thane closed in on me while I remained in Corran’s arms.

“Plan has changed.” Derrial’s voice sounded deflated. He ran a hand through his golden hair, worry etched on his face. “I assumed the Council would approve our request but that was foolish on my part. So, now we need to make sure you win them over in the mating ritual.”

“And what exactly are these mating rituals?”

Thane took my hand and placed it on his chest. “On our planet, the only way to select your true mate is for several females who accept the call of mating to undergo three compatibility tests. Then the Vepar chooses the one who made the biggest impact on them, who survived the three tests.”

I blinked hard and stared at him with bewilderment. “Survive? Why can’t it just be something easy like I don’t know… falling in love with someone.”

“Because our race has always believed finding the most compatible mate will produce the strongest offspring and ensure a lifetime of mating bliss.”

“So, I am fucked then. The Council will select your best mate, so how in the world am I meant to survive something that is foreign to me? And if I fail, I become their property?” My voice sounded hysterical.

Derrial nodded, his expression grim. He looked away like he couldn’t hold my gaze.

How did I end up in this mess? “You’ve got to end this. Tell the Council you’ve changed your mind and all three of you aren’t ready to settle down yet.”

Corran hugged me tighter. “Once the Council makes a decree, it must be completed or it comes with a punishment of death.”

I rubbed a hand down my face. “So, what am I meant to do?”

Just then, the guard re-entered the room. “Time’s up.” He stood there, hands crossing his broad chest.

Panic curled in my chest, and I grasped onto Corran’s arm. He kissed my head and whispered, “Go. We’ll be in contact shortly as we have a mating ritual to prepare.”

My gaze swept each of the Vepar who each offered me a confident smile, a promise all would be all right. I prayed they were right.

Chapter 9

Day three and still stuck in the cell with no sign of any of my Vepar. The Council had said we had two weeks to complete this and while I didn’t want to rush into some survival test on an alien planet, I also didn’t want to belong to the Council.

I had been passing my days by sleeping as much as possible, my dreams filled with images of Corran, Derrial, and Thane. I wondered what they were thinking, why they had done this?

Did they really want me as a mate? It didn’t seem possible. Was this some kind of misguided attempt to make amends with me after everything they had done?

I somehow felt angrier at their efforts than before when I thought I was going to become a Vepar surrogate. First I was being forced to be a mother, and now I was being forced to be a wife.

My anger was mostly directed at the fact that over the past few years, when the loneliness felt like it was going to overwhelm me, I had dreamed about meeting the love of my life. Someone who would sweep me off my feet and save me. My dreams had been dashed into a million pieces and my dream guys had ended up being the villains in my story.

I guess I should have dreamed about saving myself.

I was dozing off again when suddenly I was startled awake by the Vepar who ran the food cart. It made me uneasy about how silent the Vepar all were. I never noticed they were coming until they were practically standing on top of me. Who knows who else was going to come into my cell.

“Let’s go,” the Vepar said without any explanation.

My stomach erupted in butterflies. Was this finally it? Were we starting the mating trials today?

I was tempted to ask, but I knew it would be a fruitless endeavor. This guy hated my guts. Over the past three days he had given me lukewarm water and something that resembled stale bread.

At least I was hoping it was something related to bread.

To be honest, I wasn’t feeling ready for any kind of trial. I wasn’t even feeling ready to get out of bed. I could also sense that a withdrawal was coming on.

I thought it cruel that Derrial, Thane, and Corran had left me to fend for myself and get progressively weaker when I was supposed to be getting ready for tests that were supposed to help me to save my life.

Or maybe that was their plan all along, make sure that I didn’t have a chance so they didn’t have to follow through with something they didn’t want to do.

“Why would you come here?” asked the Vepar walking beside me in a gruff voice. I looked at him, surprised that he was even deigning to speak with me. He was beyond good looking as all the Vepar were, with ashy blonde hair and grey eyes flecked with gold, but there was a sort of melancholy air around him, like he had been beat down by his life.

“I didn’t have a choice,” I said, too tired to not tell the truth.

“What do you mean?” he asked, sounding confused about my answer.

“You’ve heard of the Khonsu right?”

He nodded, his grey eyes darkening at my mention of them.

“The Khonsu were after me. Apparently the only way that I could come here was to be saved.”

“And they saved you from the Khonsu?” he asked incredulously.

“They as in Derrial, Corran, and Thane?” I clarified.

“It’s very strange,” he said, instead of answering me.

“What’s strange?”

“How casually you can say their name. Their practically celebrities on Veon. Each of them celebrated in their fields almost above all others. No one can figure out how they got tied up with you.” He scanned his eyes over me, like he was trying to figure out what they could possibly see in me.

It was the same question that had been plaguing me since I met them.

“They’re threatening everything about Veon by whatever game their playing with you pretending to do the mating ritual. There’s rumors that their using the games as a front before they stage a coup and take over the Counsel.” He laughed, as if that was the craziest thing he had ever heard. “We’ve long known that the Vepar on Earth had dalliances with the human females. But bringing them back here...It’s the craziest thing that I’ve ever heard of.”

I didn’t feel the need to answer him. It seemed like he was more talking to himself than me. His observations were very interesting though. I wondered about the coup idea. With how displeased Derrial, Thane, and Corran had been lately with how the Council was handling my situation, I could see them trying to take over. I didn’t think I should probably say that to this Vepar though.

We walked down a hallway that seemed dimmer than the rest. The Vepar furtively looked around, and I started to get a bad feeling. What was he doing? Where were we going?

Suddenly, he pushed me against the wall. I could feel every ridge of his body and my stomach lurched when I realized that he was aroused.

“What are you doing?” I whimpered, struggling to get away. It was no use though. The Vepar were genetically superior in their strength and my struggling only seemed to amuse him.

“I want to see what all the fuss is about. If you somehow have managed to spark their interest, there has to be something more to you. Are you a good fuck? Because I think I need to try human out. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me,” he said with a sick smile.

I tried to knee him in the balls, but he easily avoided me. He forced his lips on mine, sticking a long tongue down my throat that seemed twice as long as normal. It went so far back that it awakened my gag reflex and a rush of bile came up and went straight into his mouth.

He broke away from me coughing bitterly. “You skitch,” he said, and I could only assume it was some alien insult. He raised his hand to strike me. I flinched and prepared myself for the impact. But before his hand could touch me, it was caught in a crushing grip. The grip of a furious looking Thane.

“Arrrgghhh,” the Vepar screamed as Thane’s hand tightened. I heard the bone crunching together and I knew that the Vepar wouldn’t be using that hand for a long time, if ever without some serious help.

“How dare you touch what you knew was mine, Simeon,” Thane growled.

He looked at me. “Where did he touch you?” he snarled.

I stared at him, shaking in fear from his wrath.

“Where?” Thane roared. I finally managed to move. I touched my mouth and began to drag my hand down my body where the Vepar had pushed against me.

“Your mouth. We’ll start there,” he said. Faster than I could blink, he reached inside the whimpering Vepar’s mouth and ripped out his tongue with such swiftness and strength that I shuddered. It flopped to the ground like a slug, turning black with decay immediately. I wanted to throw up again. I had been right about the Vepar’s tongue seeming long. The tongue laying on the ground looked as long as a snake. It was terrifyingly disgusting.

The Vepar was gagging and shooting a deep blackish red blood everywhere. All I could do was stare as Thane next grabbed a knife from around his belt and proceeded to carve a deep line from the Vepar’s mouth all the way down his stomach. He didn’t sink the knife in enough to cut him open, but it was enough for blood to seep out and make the Vepar’s garbled screams even louder.

If I thought the Vepar’s screams were bad before, it was nothing to how it sounded now. I pitied him for half a second before a sense of dark satisfaction passed over me. For one of the first times in my life, someone had avenged me. If Thane hadn’t shown up, the Vepar would have raped me. He would have raped me after days of trying to starve me. He had deserved this and I was glad that I had seen it.

“You liked that, didn’t you pet?” Thane asked with a smirk, wiping off the blood on his knife on the Vepar’s pants as he huddled on the ground, an intermix of moaning and screaming coming out of his mouth.

My eyes must have shown just how much I had liked it because Thane suddenly swept me off my feet and began to carry me bridal style down the hallway.

“What are you doing?” I said in an annoyed voice. I was getting tired of Vepar men deciding they could do whatever they wanted with me.

“Giving us something that we both need,” he said in a rough, gravelly voice that sent sparks along my synapses.

He stopped at a door and after waving his hand in front of it to open it, walked us both in.

“What is this place?” I asked, looking around. It reminded me of the hospital rooms in Grey’s Anatomy where the doctors’ slept when they were on call, except instead of bunks there were rows of full size beds along the long wall.

“Just a room for staff to get some rest during their shift,” Thane answered. “Workers on Veon usually work for fifty hours straight before getting a day off. This allows them to sleep.”

“Won’t someone come in?” I asked.

Thane took a step towards me. “Not if they know what’s good for them.”

I rolled my eyes at his arrogance. “I thought I was supposed to be starting the trials today. At least that’s what I assumed I was being taken to before that Vepar decided to take a detour.”

“We have enough time for this.” Thane took another step towards me.

I summoned as much bravery as I could, despite the fact that all I wanted to do was weep, and I glared at him. I glared at him, trying to channel all the hatred and betrayal rattling through me.

“If you think for one fucking second that you can touch me you’ve got another---”

He cut me off before I could say another word by lunging towards me from several feet away. His hand snaked out, fingers grasping my neck. He shoved me up against a wall, towering over me. The bastard just stared down at me, breathing heavily, his lips an inch from my temple, his hand still against my throat, not squeezing but possessive, making a point.

“I like it when you get fiery,” he murmured slowly in a low and terrifying voice, his eyes burning into me. His body pressed flush against mine, and his hardness nestled against my stomach. “I’ve been dreaming about how good you tasted...how perfect you felt.”

I forgot how to breathe for a second. I finally gulped against his hand and tried to regain my bearings. I was breathless, totally surprised, pretty much petrified, and unfortunately very turned on. When I tried to slink away from him, he tightened the grip on my throat just a little. My hands came up and I tried to pull on his wrist to get him to let go. He wasn’t cutting off my air supply, but it was firm and scary. His jaw tightened. My nails dug into his wrist.

“I would be careful if I were you,” he growled. “I wouldn’t want you to draw blood.”

But it was too late. My nails sunk into his hand until droplets of blood started to roll.

The smell got to me almost immediately. It smelled...like the most delicious thing I had ever come across.

He watched as a drop of blood trailed down his arm. Then he looked at me triumphantly. “Hungry?” he asked in a sing-song voice. I started trembling, my mouth watering. Evidently the guys had no problem taking advantage of my new blood lust to get what they wanted from me.

He let go of my throat and in a flash he tossed me toward the bed and I laid out on my back on his bed like a buffet. He climbed onto me and pinned my arms above my head. I tried to struggle but all it succeeded in doing was rubbing me against him, which immediately set my body on fire. I was starving, and I didn’t know which one I wanted more. His body...or his blood.

He caught both of my wrists in one hand, re-pinning them to the bed over my head. His free hand ripped my dress off my body until I was bare to him except for my bra and my miniscule thong.

“Look at this…” He palmed the side of my rear end and snapped the thong quickly against my hip.

“Don’t touch me!” I ordered halfheartedly, letting out a soft moan at the heat of his hand as it traveled softly across my skin.

“You’re a very naughty girl,” he said, wedging a hand under my hips as he cupped me between the legs. I gasped. I felt a finger dip under the elastic of the panties and sliding toward my heat, his greedy finger sliding over my silkiness, teasing me. I let out another groan. His hands were magic.

“Hmmm...seems like you’re enjoying this,” he teased as he let out a sexy laugh that only turned me on further. “Could it be? Do you enjoy playing games?”

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and held my breath. His finger circled leisurely and then I felt him gyrate ever so slightly against my behind. “You do. Fuck. You’re perfect.”

His tongue traced from my earlobe down to the crook of my shoulder. “How did I get this lucky?”

“Not by your personality, that’s for sure,” I muttered as I found myself moving against him.

Why did I say that? Why was I provoking him? There had to be something wrong with me because Thane had lied to me. They all lied to me. And here I was practically begging to be under his body.

I was so screwed up. I hated that it felt good. Was I just as sick and twisted as him? He kept going and then he started to rub circles around my clit, eliciting an “ah” from me. He leaned into my ear and announced, “Guess you don’t hate me as much as you thought.”

I guessed I didn’t hate him. Or at least I didn’t hate what he could do for my body. He wasn’t pinning my arms any longer and yet I was obeying him.

“Please, Thane,” I begged, not even sure what I was begging for, and I opened my legs for him.

His weight fell between my thighs, and without ceremony, he slid into me. A groan of relief sounded out of both of us. He started pounding into me, grunting a myriad of nonsensical words as he did so. I did catch one sentence. “Your body was fucking made for me.”

I wholeheartedly agreed.

Goose bumps popped up all over me. Thane laughed low in his throat, a knowing laugh, knowing that he owned me, reveling in the fact that my body was doing just what he wanted it to do. He leaned back, rotated his hips, and smacked me across the top of my ass with his hand, as he drove in. My eyes rolled back into my head and I let out a loud “ah.” He hit again with his hand, making me scream out not only in pain, but also in pleasure because inside, he was hitting that spot. He touched me then, forcing my body to explode.

He leaned forward and grabbed my throat, mid-climax and lifted me back up to my knees, grinding out a husky, “Perfect, baby.” He kept going, hand covering my throat possessively, as he used me like a ragdoll. He went on for what felt like forever. Just when I thought that it was going to last forever, his mouth moved to my neck. He glided over sensitive places inside of me, making me feel so good that I didn’t even realize it was happening until his teeth had sunk into my shoulder. I let out a scream that was a mix of pain and pleasure.

A husky groan fell from his mouth as he licked the blood that trickled down my shoulder. I knew I should hate it, but I didn’t. I just wanted his in return.

I didn’t even have a frame of mind to judge myself.

I flipped suddenly, surprising him with the movement and allowing me to be on top. I kissed him, biting his lip hard as I did so until drops of blood started to fall onto my tongue. We both let out low groans of pleasure.

Time seemed to stop after that as we kept going and going until I couldn’t even remember my name, or why I was mad. There was only Thane. There was only this moment.

When it was all over, I was limp on top of him, totally spent. I could do nothing but just lie there. I wasn’t sure what to think about what I had just discovered about myself. I had never thought I would get turned on by being dominated.

But I had been more than turned on. I had fucking loved it.

Something was so wrong with me. I didn’t know if it had always been lurking there, or if I had been conditioned to act like this by them.

I rolled off of him and lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Stop it,” Thane said, pulling me back onto him.

“Stop what?” I asked in a frustrated voice.

“Thinking.”

I barked out a laugh. “You don’t even know what I’m thinking.”

“I do know what you’re thinking. This is what you always do. We fuck up, then we fuck, then you hate yourself because we fucked.”

I looked over at him, hating that he was right. “That’s not what I was thinking,” I said halfheartedly.

He snorted and ran his hand gently down my naked back. “It was what you were thinking, pet. And you need to stop it. How can we ever move forward when you are always forcing us back?”

“I don’t trust you,” I whispered softly, staring into his eyes.

“We get that. And we’re going to keep proving ourselves to you. But you have to help us out. Hell, I’ve killed five Vepar since we’ve been here, all because they dared to look at you wrong.”

“Five?” I squeaked.

He grinned. “Don’t get squeamish on me now. You barely even flinched when I almost gutted Simeon like a fish earlier.”

“Something is wrong with you,” I replied.

His smile grew even wider at my words.

“Probably. But I know it does something for you when you see me go all crazy on anyone who is giving you a hard time.”

“Why did you three set me up for these tests?” I asked, ignoring his last statement because it was the truth.

“Because it’s what we want.”

“You want me to be your mate?” I asked.

Suddenly all the earlier levity disappeared.

“You can’t even comprehend how much. You think we made you our prisoner but it’s been the opposite all along. You’ve captured us. And the funny thing is...none of us want you to let us go.”

I couldn’t say anything in response. His words did something to me, they gave me hope that I’d been trying desperately to get rid of.

I laid back, unwilling to look at him anymore. I was too afraid of what he would see in my eyes.

“So how will this all work?” I asked, thinking about the trials and how a part of me actually wanted to win now.

“You mean being the mate of three Vepar?” Thane asked slyly.

I ignored him. “You know what I mean.”

“The trials used to be the opposite. It was the men who would compete for the woman’s attention that they were interested in mating with. When most Vepar women lost the ability to conceive the Council changed it. The thinking was that the strongest and most cunning women might have the best ability to have a child. It became a sort of culling strategy as the Council tried to fix the fertility issues.”

“How did they know that it wasn’t the men who were having the issues?” I said, feeling defensive for some reason for all the Vepar women.

Thane gave me a look. “Do you really think Corran wouldn’t have ruled out everything before going to drastic measures like thinking about mating with a human?”

I reluctantly couldn’t argue with that. I had never met anyone as brilliant as Corran, as obsessed with detail, and determined to get everything right. It still bit my insides however at the thought of the female Vepar having to prove their worth.

“You’re thinking about this the wrong way,” he said with a wry grin. “This goes back to our beginnings when both males and females did everything they could to show their ability to provide and complete the other person. This is no different.”

“I don’t see you and the others having to go through anything to show me you’re the best,” I remarked saucily, sparking hunger in Thane’s eyes. “Maybe there are other Vepar more suitable for me, more likely to produce strong offspring,” I taunted him.

Thane growled, his eyes began doing that glowing thing and suddenly I was a little bit afraid. When he spoke, it was like he had been possessed, like there were other voices mixing in with his own.

I couldn’t help but shiver.

“You’re never going to know any other male’s touch again, human or Vepar. Do we understand each other?” he insisted.

I nodded, breathless at what I was seeing and hearing.

“And if any other male does decide to touch you...well you’ve seen what will happen to them,” he said, referencing the now tongueless cart Vepar.

I opened my mouth to say something stupid like ask what would happen if I actually wanted another’s touch, but Thane quickly cut me off.

“You can lie to yourself all you want but we’ve ruined you. We’ve made sure that there won’t be another who could satisfy you the way we do, could make you burn the way we do. Oh..” he said, a sly smile on his face. “There’s also the matter of our little blood bond. You wouldn’t be able to find pleasure with another now that we’ve done that.”

“So you’ve ruined me,” I said woodenly. “Meaning if I lose these trials than I’ll never find someone to be with that could make me happy. You’ve literally ensured that I will be miserable for the rest of my life.” I could feel tears gathering in my eyes at the prospect.

Thane’s eyes stopped glowing and I could feel the intensity lessen.

“You’re going to be happy, pet,” he said, taking my hand in his and putting it over his heart. “And you’re going to win.”

I looked up at him forlornly. “Have you seen the other Vepar women?” I asked. “It’s not even a contest.”

“The tests aren’t just for physical strength, they’re also about someone’s mental toughness...their inner strength. And you Ella, have more of that than anyone I know.”

I looked at him gratefully. Everything he had been saying was shocking to me. It added a whole new depth to this thing going on between us, and I didn’t know how to handle it.

But one thing was for sure...I actually wanted to win the trials now.

Chapter 10

“I can’t do the mating ritual,” I murmured, staring outside into a manicured garden that belonged to a castle. It resembled an oversized courtyard with statues of various miniature spaceships. If it wasn’t for the tree canopies shaped into strange looking birds, or the hundreds of Vepar mingling out there, drinking from silver goblets, dressed in gowns, or their horns glimmering in the sunlight (not to mention the two suns in the heavens), I might have said this was Earth. Maybe.

“You only need to cross the woods and reach the destination on the map in two days. You said you’ve gone hiking back on your planet, so this is the same.”

I turned to face Thane, barely able to breath as fear shook me from the inside out. He wore a black uniform with the double sun emblem on his chest, and looked strong and so damn sexy, but my heart was pounding too hard with dread. “Then why are all those people out there? And what are those drone-like things flying outside? Cameras?”

He sighed a heavy exhale. “Mating rituals that receive applications from more than fifty potential females end up being broadcast to the public.”

“Fifty?” I breathed, a surge of jealousy swirling in my chest that so many wanted to be with these three Vepar. Not that I could blame them because if these three bachelors were seeking a mate, I’d be inclined to put up my hand too if I wasn’t being forced to.

I gaped at him. “So, fifty women are going to be traipsing through the woods? That tells me it’s gotta be a process of elimination so this hike you mentioned is more than a hike, isn’t it? How am I going to win against that many?”

“Your only competitor in this challenge is yourself. The council has selected nine females from the submission, plus you.” He stretched a hand toward me and cupped the side of my face. I softened against his touch, except his comfort did little to chase away the worry drumming on my mind.

I saw the resolve in his gaze, the admittance that his hands were tied, all of ours were, and he was trying to soften the blow of the upcoming test.

“We never meant for this to happen,” he added as if he could read my mind. “Or for everything to get out of hand so fast. We are doing everything we can to help you. Follow our lead, and trust us.”

I wanted to protest, wanted to yell with frustration, wanted to beg him to just sneak me into a ship and take me back home. Except then what? I prayed the enemies roaming on earth didn’t find me and make me their personal snack machine? And I’d grow weaker without taking the Vepar’s blood because I’d become a vampire now apparently. Or whatever the bond exchange between me and these Vepar had done to me.

“I don’t have much of an option,” I muttered. “Looks like I have to succeed.”

He dragged me into his arms, and I pressed myself against him, inhaling his timber and musky scent that drove me crazy. Except now, it gave me the confidence to keep going, to know I wasn’t alone. It was more than I had on Earth.

Someone cleared their throats and Thane broke away from me. Derrial and Corran stood at the entrance to the waiting room, both dressed the same, and between the three of them, I let myself fall under their trance.

“They’re about to start.”

The Councilmen appeared in the hallway and Thane’s posture stiffened.

Offering me a smile, he mouthed, good luck, and strode out of the room. Derrial winked at me while Corran blew me a kiss, and within seconds they were all gone. I returned to the window to watch them emerge from the Council’s building, and the crowd broke into a cheer as if they were celebrities.

I kept running my hands over the simple, straight dress that hung off my shoulders and fell to my feet like a sack. Nothing like the gowns the women outside wore. A requirement for the challenge apparently.

I turned to the empty room and paced to an oversized TV screen and back, unable to quiet my brain as I waited to be called. Half an hour later, the shrill sound of a siren shattered through the room, and I flinched. It blew three times in short sequences. After which the mass of Vepar outside broke into a cheer.

A man appeared at my door, his hair white and tumbling to his waist. With small horns the color of snow, he reminded me of an elf. He had a softness in his eyes.

“This way, little one.” He waved me to leave the room, and I quickened my steps, my stomach doing somersaults.

In the hallway nine women lined up in front of the rear door, all dressed in similar clothing to me, their hair plaited, or tied up, and I hurried to collect mine into a ponytail, before curling it in on itself. I joined the end of the line, so nervous that perspiration dripped down my spine.

Each of the women were stunningly beautiful, and I didn’t belong here, not with them. A few of them looked my way, their noses wrinkled at the sight of me. They wore wry smirks as if I were nothing but a bug they stepped on.

I held their stares, refusing to look away as a sense of wanting to prove them wrong collided into me. Show weakness and they’d treat me that way, but when the girl standing in front of me turned a bit to face me. I lost my breath as I recognized her. Her auburn hair was plaited and wrapped around her horns,

Hell, just great. She’d visited me in the cell the other night, sprouting threats.

Her bow-shaped lips thinned, and the same cruel glint passed behind her eyes… I remembered her earlier warning about making my life here an absolute nightmare. Well fuck… I was spending two days in the woods with her, and if I said I wasn’t afraid, I’d be lying.

“Do you remember me now?” she whispered, her tone mocking, clearly still upset I didn’t know who she was.

“Face the front,” the elf man called out, and she sneered before snapping back around.

Wonderful, so not only was I having to carry out a challenge on an alien planet, but a jealous psycho was joining me. Why did nothing ever go easy for me?

At once, the doors to the outside opened wide, and a fluttering of cool air rushed inside, grabbing for my dress.

And we were moving, one at a time. We emerged from the house, receiving applause. The Vepar females waved, strolling with a swing in their hips, while me… I just wanted this over with.

I stepped outside, the clapping subsiding with my presence, and my breath caught in my lungs. It was one thing to walk out in a line on parade, but to be singled out and stared at like a freak was terrible. Following the others, I stood on the lawn facing the four Councilman. My three Vepar joined them. I did a double take, my eyes widening.

Derrial sported blood red horns like traditional devil one’s, a contrast against his light golden hair, and a tail that curled around his leg. Thane’s horns were black but merely stubs like they’d been snapped off, while iridescent looking scales ran down the sides of his face and neck. Black, cork-screw horns adorned Corran’s head, his caramel eyes glowing. Several months ago I might have been repelled by their Vepar appearances, now… there was something so sexy and masculine about their true forms. Unlike what everyone thought, the beauty of Vepar were their own but they simply concealed their additional features.

All three studied me, watched for my reaction, and my gaze swept from one to the other, with a smile stretching my lips. In response, Derrial’s tale unfurled from his leg, and slithered on the ground in my direction.. only a couple of feet forward.

“Welcome,” the one-horned Council Vepar announced, rising to his feet from his seat, tearing me away from Derrial’s stare.

“Today, we are blessed with a mating ritual to leave the heavenly gods envious. Three highly outstanding Vepar have come together and requested a mate to share. For the first time ever, we’ve received over eight-hundred entries.” Everyone broke out into oohs and ahhs while the crazy brunette next to me groaned under her breath.

But I was still stuck on the number of applicants. Holy crap! I thought Thane had said 50.

“Let’s give Derrial, Thane, and Corran recognition.”

The cheers rose into a deafening boom of applause and a weird clucking of their tongues.

I caught Derrial’s gaze, and his wink softened the nerves racing up my spine. No denying, he was hypnotizingly handsome... as were the other two.

“As is customary, the selected will now undergo three compatibility tests,” the Council Vepar stated. “First up is the Endurance challenge. Over two days, each participant must cross difficult terrain. This will reveal the strong from the weak, those who persevere when times grow hard, and we can evaluate their decision making skills.”

His words ran through my mind, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes because they were deciding who was good enough for mating based on being a freaking warrior, which I wasn’t.

“We live in a hostile world, and three powerful Vepar deserve only the best woman by their side.” He looked upward and I followed suit, spotting a small space vessel, not too different to the one Corran had used to fly us to Hawaii.

Everyone parted and the ship descended before landing on the lawn so gracefully and smoothly, no one batted an eye.

The side door opened and a set of steps slid out.

“Aery from house of Teaxer, do you accept this challenge?” The first in the line stepped closer to the Council member and stretched out her hand to him. He clasped her wrist, and she offered my Vepar her pearly whites. Then she spun and strolled toward the ship before climbing inside.

The rest were called in the same manner.

“Zeni from house of Julthorn, do you accept this challenge?”

The crazy one next to me sauntered over, her eyes glued to Derrial, even as she offered her arm to the Councilman. She blew him a kiss and twirled on the spot before lightly running to the ship.

“Ella from house of Monroe, will you accept this challenge?”

My legs wouldn’t move at first, but I pushed myself, to stop everyone from staring, to get out of the limelight. I lacked the enthusiasm the others carried.

“This will help us track your vitals,” the Councilman whispered.

He snapped my bracelet, and I turned away from him.

A quick look at my Vepar and their grins were filled with encouragement, I needed every inch of it. Without a word, I tracked my way to the vessel, keeping my head down to avoid the glares. Their snide remarks still found me though.

“She’s a human. Such a primitive race.”

"Disgraceful to be allowed in this ritual.”

I sped up and scrambled onto the plane to find a line of seats lining both sides of the ship. I slid into the last one available toward the rear. On a bright note, Zeni sat across from me and closer to the front.

The door shut and we lifted with barely a shudder or sound. I curled in on my seat.

Just two days of hiking. I’d keep to myself and get this done fast. How hard could it be to trek through the woods?

The brunette next to me with the whitest eyes I’d ever seen smiled at me and leaned closer. “So you came from your planet with Derrial, Thane and Corran. What are they like?”

A few of the others looked my way, interested in me for the first time.

“You don’t know them?”

She shook her head. “We’ve only read about them, seen them on our monitors. And I barely held it together at seeing them in the flesh and up close. It would be a dream to be selected by them.” Her eyes smiled with so much excitement, except she’d never get that chance. I’d make sure of that.

“Why would a human know anything about them?” Zeni spat. “I dated them, you should be asking me questions.”

The women all gushed and turned to Zeni, asking her dozens of questions, which was fine. Most days I toggled between hate and lust and a growing attraction for them.

It wasn’t long before we landed, the ship giving a slight jump, and I glanced outside the front window to find greenery everywhere, mountains in the distance.

This was happening.

Once the door opened, we all filed out into a small clearing. Lofty trees with enormous umbrella style branches surrounded us. The trunks were patterned as if carved by a rainbow. They streaked the bark in random strokes, the colors muted but so varied and beautiful.

The elf Vepar stood there, hands on hips, his horns glistening beneath the sunlight.

“Please drop your clothing where you are, then come and collect your survival bag.”

“Wait, what?” I rocked on my heels, convinced I’d heard wrong. Except the females around me were pulling their dresses up and over their heads. Boobs everywhere I looked, their nipples glistened different colors to match their horns. Then they dragged down their underwear and each went to collect their bag. I shouldn’t have stared, but I’d never seen female aliens and curiosity got the better of me. The hair between their legs was a thin line only, and each of them was the same. Maybe it was a trend of styling? And they were colored in all kinds of shades from gold to white to vibrant blues. I didn’t know where to look but one thing was certain, Vepar females had all the same bits I did.

“Hurry up, Ella,” he said.

“No one said anything about doing this naked.”

Zeni glanced at me, smirking, proud of herself. “Why would anyone have told you? You’re not one of us. Drop out now, head back.” She turned and hurried into the woods, vanishing like the rest of the females.

“You can do just as well as the rest of them,” the elf Vepar stated. “Don’t let clothing come in the way of those you love.”

I met his pale eyes. “Thank you for being nice to me. It’s hard to find many here who are.” I pulled up my dress and tugged it over my head, finding myself in just my underwear. The coldness brushed past my skin, rippling it. I cupped my breasts at first, but then dropped my hands, remembering his words. I pushed down my underwear, feeling vulnerable and fought the urge to cover myself back up. Stepping out of my shoes, I hurried forward and collected the white bag with a long strap, clutching it against me like a lifeline.

“Inside you’ll find a map of where you need to go.” He glanced over his shoulder at two mountains at his back, to the valley and back at me, a brow raised. No words, but I understood that was where I had to go. “As well as a blade, firestarter, and pot.” He leaned closer, and up close I saw tiny white scales running across the tops of his eyelids. “I checked with Corran and you can drink the water and eat the vegetation out here.”

I nodded, memorizing everything.”Now go show them what you can do.”

“Thank you.” I slid the strap over my head and lay it diagonally across my body before making my way into the woods. Foliage and dead twigs stabbed my soles, but I kept going, needing to catch up with everyone. A quick look behind and the ship was in the air, zipping out of sight. In its place several of the drones lingered in the air. Right, we’d be watched.

I stopped in a small clearing and opened my bag to find my supplies, then pulled out the map, showing a great expanse of woodland, rivers, and mountains. Start was marked where we were and a big cross sat over the mountains for my target. Except, it lay further to my right, compared to where the elf Vepar pointed. The mountains ahead offered three valleys.

So which way would I go? What if the Vepar lied to me so I’d lose since everyone else seemed to hate me? I swallowed the rock in my throat, knowing I’d have to make a decision soon as I didn’t have much time, plus I’d have to find somewhere safe to hide for the night.

I stuffed the map into the bag and headed off, part of me wanting to believe that there were nice Vepar on this planet amid the hatred. Plus Corran had mentioned that the water was safe for me to drink as well, so I raised my head and steered right, away from the direction of the target and to where he’d guided me. I prayed I wasn’t making a horrible mistake.

Chapter 11

Most of the day had passed by uneventfully, my shoulders were sun kissed, and I hadn’t crossed paths with anyone. The farther I traveled through the woods, the more I doubted my decision to follow the elf Vepar’s suggestion. The only sign of life were the insects that kept chewing on my skin, and I swatted another one on my arm.

Jitters lingered in my gut as I contemplated backtracking, taking the other path, except I’d come too far and going back meant I’d never reach the destination in time. So, I had to believe this was the right direction. Please let it be the case.

Mountains soared overhead like giants. Shadows already stretched over the landscape from the two suns dropping behind the hills. My stomach growled, but I checked my map for the tenth time for a river that should be around here. Finally, I emerged from the woods to an open cleared land, overshadowed by a sheer cliff where the most stunning crystal waterfall tumbled into a river.

A brilliant tranquility fell over the place despite the roar of the water.

Dying of thirst, I rushed forward, dumped my bag on the bank, and quickly scanned the crystalline purplish water for any creatures, finding it all clear.

Maybe I underestimated how easy this test might be. I stepped into the cool water, the pebbles under my feet were slippery. I dove in at once, the water crisp against my skin, a refreshing sharpness awakening me.

I swam toward the edge of the fall, water splashing everywhere and I found my footing soon enough. I cupped my hands to collect the chilled drink and sipped it at first, then gulped it feverously. I’d watched enough survival shows to know a waterfall was safe to drink.

A sudden explosive cry came from behind me, and I jerked around, choking down the mouthful of water.

Out of instinct, I dipped under the water, just my eyes and top part of my head visible, and I stared at a massive boar trotting toward the river’s edge. The animal had three eyes, the center on the bridge of the nose. And he was purple. If it wasn’t for the four inch tusks and razor teeth, I might have found it cute.

High pitched battle cries burst out from the forest. Four of the female Vepars charged into the area, brandishing blades, targeting the pig.

The animal unleashed a sound that sounded more like someone plucking the strings on a guitar on the same note, over and over, merging together into a weird sound that confused me. The boar spun and scratched the ground, the back of its neck frizzing.

I watched in horror as the animal charged after them, kicking dirt in his wake.

The women, suddenly realizing this may not work out so well, yelped and darted in three different directions, the boar chasing after them.

I laughed quietly to myself.

But this meant I wasn’t so alone in this area after all, and maybe this was the right direction in the first place. When no one returned after a long wait, I rushed out of the water and grabbed my stuff, noting a dead red fish on the shore. I ran past it. As much as I’d love to eat something, I wouldn’t starve for a couple of days and refused to make myself sick by eating something that had been rotting for who knows how long.

The cold settled in fast, and being wet, the chill had me shivering.

Another snarl came from up ahead, and I skidded to a stop, clutching my bag to my chest. I gasped for air, glancing left and right. I jolted sideways, deeper in the woods, the ground stabbing my feet with each step.

Another growl came from that direction too.

Panic strangled my chest, and with instinct taking charge, I rushed to a nearby tree with a low hanging branch. Threading the bag’s strap over my head, I threw myself upward and snatched the branch. I climbed the tree with my feet, then drew myself up and swung onto the branch, my heart pounding. But I was too close to the ground, so I scaled higher, finally taking a seat fifteen or so feet off the ground and trying to catch my breath.

I scanned the grounds only to see the purple boar dart past the tree, making his musical notes, which seemed so wrong. No signs of the other females.

Another growl sliced through the afternoon, and I shuffled closer to the trunk, clutching it, convinced whatever made that sound wasn’t the boar.

Night crawled over the sky, and howls continued along with numerous other animal cries and noises. I made the decision to spend the night in the tree, even if I had to stay awake to avoid falling out. Better to take my chances up here then down below.

Settled with my back to the trunk, I shifted until I found the most comfortable position and slouched back, my legs straddling a thick branch. The bark pinched my ass and here I was spread and naked out in the open. I ought to be mortified, but my only worry was that no bugs found me.

Staring up through the canopy, I found three moons, two of them so close, it felt like I could reach up and touch them.

Despite the beauty of this place, a sense of emptiness swept through me. Here I was on an alien planet, so far from my home, but the irony was that I never felt at home on Earth either. Not since losing my parents. With the Vepar’s reaction to my presence on their planet, it told me all the missing people from Earth couldn’t have been brought here, so where were they? Were Mom and Dad still alive somewhere?

Please be alive.

* * *

A half snort, half musical sound shuddered me awake, and the first thing I saw was the ground swinging toward me as I was falling out of the tree.

Panic gripped my heart as I frantically grasped for the branch, my body lurching sideways. Adrenaline soared through my veins and I let my legs swing outward while I gripped the tree, dangling there, my body swinging back and forth.

I stretched my legs down to find leverage on the next branch down. I shuffled toward the trunk, and quickly let go of the branch to wrap my arms around the tree. In slow motion, I climbed down, my breaths rushing in and out of my lungs so hard, I must have sounded like a grunting beast.

Morning streaked the sky in purples and oranges. I dropped to the forest ground. With my back pressed to the trunk, I checked my surroundings when the terrified cry came again and from my right. I flinched, not daring to move, except the cries weren’t of an attacking animal, but despair.

Without hesitation, I went to investigate because to hear any animal in distress killed me on the inside. Or what if it was one of the other women in trouble? Around an oversized shrub with golden berries, I spotted a tiny purple piglet with the tiniest tusks tangled up in vines and tree roots. All three eyes were wide and the little thing was thrashing for escape, shaking with terror.

“How did you get caught up in there?” I bent at the waist and leaned down to help him.

He pulled from me, his back legs wrapped up on the vines, so I made busy work of tearing them off him, one bit at a time.

“Is this a trap?” I asked, but he just made small crying sounds that broke my heart. With him free, I picked him up, his little belly round like he’d just eaten. Thrashing in my hands, I set him down away from the shrubs and freed him. He stood there and squeaked once more.

“You’re welcome. Now you better get out of here.”

I took my own advice, needing to reach the target by the end of today, and marched toward the mountains. My stomach growled but I could live without food for one more day.

Twigs snapped under my feet, stabbing my soles, and if I could have anything right now, it was shoes.

The snap of foliage came from behind, and I jerked around, my heart hitting the back of my throat. My gaze fell on the small piggy tracking after me.

“You can’t come with me. Go back and find your family.”

He halted and stared at me, all three eyes blinking, so I turned and kept going. Looking over my shoulder frequently, I saw that he kept following me.

I kept wondering if his mom was alright after being chased by the women yesterday.

From beyond the fluttering of the wind and rustling leaves came another sound. Heavy and guttural, it was distinct and I couldn’t place it to anything I’d recognize. I froze on the spot, the piglet rushing to my feet and hiding behind me, and I listened, willing the sound to fade and vanish.

But it grew louder, closer from the direction we came. The piglet cried, and I backed away because whatever made the terrifying sound wasn’t a boar and it was coming this way.

The shrubs and trees swayed wildly ahead. The crunch of gravel suggested it might be a deer or even a rabbit, except I wasn’t on earth. And when the snarling growl came again, I doubted with every inch of my being that it belonged to anything cute and fluffy.

Fear cut through me, so I swung around, swiped the piglet off the ground and ran. I couldn’t leave him behind. My sights set on the mountains close now, and I kept running, not stopping. Distance was all that mattered.

Someone screamed behind me, high pitched and terrifying. I flinched, fear choking me. I looked back, but a shadow flitted through the woods, and I couldn’t stop now.

Not when my own scream rose through me. My feet ached and pinched, the woodland jabbing me, snagging on my hair, scratching my body.

But no stopping.

Glancing behind me, I saw it and my scream rushed out.

Running on two feet, a monster the same color as a muddied lawn with yellow eyes was hunched forward, sprinting towards me. What sort of animal was this?

Eyes glued on me, it unleashed a wailing screech, and I stumbled over a tree root almost losing my footing, but I caught myself.

I set the piglet on the ground and jammed my hand into my bag, grabbing my blade. I spun to face the oncoming fiend. I couldn’t outrun him and I’d rather face an enemy than let him jump me from behind.

A sign of desperation had him coming for me, arms stiff by his body, leaping over dead logs, his mouth open like a ravenous tiger. The string of gravelly snarls that fell from his mouth escalated, and with every rushed step he took, the muscles shifted beneath his skin.

I trembled, barely able to grasp the knife because I’d never fought before, but I had no choice. So, I stood my ground.

Four other figures flanked the monster in the woods, but I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t deal with more of these things coming for me. Each movement of theirs was fluid and rapid.

Suddenly I felt foolish for thinking I could take this thing on.

He lunged at me, clawed hands first, mouth gaping open, and all I saw were eyes like sallow lamplight, yet they looked familiar...

Adrenaline pumped and beat through me.

Legs apart, knees bent, I grasped the blade, trembling. He was too fast, too strong.

Within striking range, I swung out my blade to strike his heart, but he dodged my attack.

He slammed into me, his hand snatching my wrist with the weapon before I could swing it at him again. Feet tangled under me, I cried out as I fell backward, hitting the dirt.

He leaped onto me, his weight pressing down on my body, hissing, his words inaudible. Teeth dug into my shoulder, nails digging into my sides.

I thrashed and screamed, kicked and convulsed against him. My yells rang in my ears as a piercing pain sliced my flesh. I pressed my spine into the dirt, the heat from the scorching bite marks across my collarbone rising, and my heart pounded to a climbing temp.

I couldn’t die here.

Wouldn’t.

My legs and arms exploded in violent motion, and I fought with everything I had for my life.

The monster suddenly arched backward, barking a cry of agony.

He rolled off me, wailing, his arms reaching for something in his back.

I scrambled backward and rushed to my feet, barely able to breath and my eyes pricked with tears. I stared at him, frozen and terrified. Four knives were jammed into his back, and black goo slid out from the wounds. He kept convulsing, but his jerky movements slowed until he slumped on the ground, his bright eyes fading to black coals and the wisp of mist around his body disappeared with the breeze.

A pungent stench like rotten eggs struck my senses, and I groaned, placing a hand over my nose and mouth.

Four of the women from the challenge stood around the monster, including Zeni who eyed me with curiosity. Their chests rose and fell, hands fisted. Blood smeared across their faces and chests, three of them were the same women who’d hunted down the boar. Warrior women, they were the opposite of who they portrayed themselves to be back in the city.

“They always stink when they die,” the one with bull-like green horns said. She had matching tiny scales running along her temples...also matching her nipples.

I could barely find my voice, let alone speak.

The monster’s body seemed to morph into a dark fog, wisping away from his body, and that was when the truth hit me and I knew exactly who this was.

Khonsu,” I hissed.

“You got that right,” the brunette added.

“Thank you.” I looked up at them, my teeth chattering, and I clenched my jaw to stop.

“He attacked our camp this morning,” the blue haired female with round hips added. “There aren’t supposed to be any Khonsu in these woods. It’s a protected sanctuary.”

I nodded, remembering the stories from the Vepar about the Khonsu hunting females on their planet, how a large portion of their world was now uninhabitable.

“We better move,” the woman who sat next to me in the ship instructed. “There could be more.”

I turned and reached down for my bag, when my shoulder screamed with pain. Deep teeth marks, puffy and bloody sat over my shoulder, more peppered toward my collarbone under my mouth. Searing pain tore over my skin like someone marked me with a branding iron. The urge to fall to my knees and curl in on myself grew as something primeval settled inside me. All I felt was the scolding ache. I used my hand to wipe the blood dripping down my arm, but it was useless. What I needed were stitches and a bandage.

In slow motion, I crouched down and reached for my bag, only to find the little pig curled underneath, so I snatched him up as well and stuffed him in my bag before turning to the women.

They stared at me expectantly, no one moving.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, praying they wouldn’t have an issue with my little hitchhiker.

“Which direction do we need to go?” the Brunette asked, while her two friends collected their blades from the creature.

“Don’t you know?” I shifted the strap to my uninjured shoulder.

“We’ve been following you,” Zeni spoke up. “You’re close to the three Vepar and they gave you the answer, didn’t they?” Sarcasm lined her accusation.

I shook my head. “They’ve told me nothing. But I’ve been following the valley, figuring it would be a faster walk than the other.” I didn’t dare tell them the elf Vepar’s hint and swallowed hard as they all started marching past me, deeper into the woods. I had no idea if they believed me or not.

When Zeni strolled past me, she halted and sniffed the air. “Come, let’s go. There’s a plant I can find to help cleanse your injuries.”

Stumped, I wasn’t sure whether to trust her or not, but I joined her on our fast walk through the woods, and I cringed on the inside each time I stepped on something sharp. She never made a sound. No one did, they just all kept moving.

Zeni fell behind me, but I kept moving. It wasn’t long before she caught up with me. “Let me put this on your wounds.”

I nodded, needing anything to stop the sting from the bite, and I sure didn’t want to catch any alien virus from his saliva. There was also the matter of whether he had infected me with his poison. The last thing I needed was to start hallucinating out here in the middle of nowhere.

Zeni had several small leaves she’d crunched in her fist and small droplets of green juice rolled over their surface. She reached over and placed it over the bite mark.

The sting felt like she’d dabbed vinegar on my open wound. I bit down on my lower lip until that hurt and shut my eyes as she rubbed the leaves across my lesions.

When she finished, I opened my eyes to see she had hers shut, almost swaying on the spot and licking her lower lip.

“Are you alright?” I asked, and her eyes snapped open, something dark swirling behind them.

Her mouth pulled into a grin so wide, it scared me a bit. “Absolutely.” Her voice dripped with honey, and my breath hitched all the way down to my lungs because I shouldn’t have trusted her or believed she wanted to help me.

“What did you put on my injuries?”

“Healing potion and you’re welcome. More than you deserve for stealing my Vepar.” She strolled through the woods to catch up with the other women.

Goosebumps slid over my flesh, and a chaotic onslaught of panic crawled through me. I made a mistake and let down my guard. The wounds burned but was that the leaves doing their job or was she just being a bitch?

I had to believe I’d be okay or I wouldn't take another step, and I hurried after the women, ready to reach the destination and get out of this forsaken forest.

The rest of the day dragged by. My feet ached, but the pain across my bite marks had subsided. The bleeding had stopped and I couldn’t feel the skin around the wounds, but I kept going, holding my bag and the little pig close to me. I checked the bag again and he’d fallen asleep with his head inside the pot. At least someone was content.

With the sun starting to lower, our pace picked up as we now traveled along the valley, where pebbles covered the forest floor and few trees grew. The wind grew cold, and I crossed my arms for warmth.

“Do you think the other women have made it to the final target?” I asked, breaking the silence we’d shared for the last few hours.

“Maybe,” the brunette spoke with her back to me, everyone just breathing hard and marching onward.

Hours later with night starting to creep over the sky, my body burning with exhaustion, and fear pricking my chest that we’d miss our target, we emerged into an open field, past the mountains. And up ahead, a circular set of lights beamed, bringing our attention to the ship parked a couple of yards away.

I small whimper of relief fell from my lips, and I suddenly breathed easier and moved faster. All five of us ran toward it, laughing, and I never thought I’d be so happy to see a spaceship. Holding my bag with the little piggy, I smiled and laughed for the first time since arriving on Veon.

The elf Vepar was waiting for us, and he handed clothes and water to each of us as we passed him, congratulating each woman. When I reached him, he winked and pressed clean clothes into my hands and water. “Knew you could do it.” He leaned closer. “But you weren’t supposed to bring any of the girls with you.”

I realized then that he must have been working with Derrial and the men to ensure only I won, but Zeni and the others were too suspicious. It never occured to me, and I felt foolish for being so blindsighted.

“What about the other women?”

He shook his head. “They’re trackers show them still heading to the other valley. They won’t make it. Get in the ship, we’re about to take off.”

Only five women passed the first test, so better than ten. I set my bag down and got dressed rapidly, before collecting my little stowaway and crading him inside the bag in my arms. He squirmed and let out a small musical note. When I looked inside, he yawned. “Almost there.”

I hurried on the ship and took a seat as far from the others as possible. If I intended to survive, I’d have to be savvier in my approach.

When we landed back in the city, each girl was escorted out to a holding place until the next mission. No outside influencers.

When I entered my room, they shut the door behind me and the familiar sound of a lock clicked in place. Yep, it wasn’t a prison but it might as well be.

The lights flicked on, and I flinched to find three figures in my room. My back hit the door, only to find friendly, sexy smiles and my three Vepar waiting for me.

“Are you allowed to be here?” I stepped deeper into a large room, and I figured most other things were tucked into the walls.

“We can’t stay long.” Derrial reached out for my hand and pressed my knuckles to his mouth. “But we had to check on you after we heard you arrived in time.”

The piglet’s head popped out of my bag and made a singsong sound, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Why do you have a Raxu in your bag?” Derrial asked, sounding amused. “Those things are super territorial and aggressive.”

I glanced down and scratched his head as he made a cute chirping sound. “Thane Junior won’t hurt anyone. I’m calling him TJ.”

Corran burst out laughing and clapped a hand to Thane’s back. “She named a Raxu after you.”

Derrial couldn’t stop chuckling, while Thane eyed me and the piglet with narrowed eyes.

“He’s cute just like you, and super persistent,” I added.

He strolled closer, those emerald green eyes calling to me, framed by the darkest lashes and thickest eyebrows. My attention fell to his lips, slightly parted. Would he kiss me?

Instead, he reached down and lifted the little piglet into his arms, holding him against his chest. “I’ll take TJ with me. Pets aren’t allowed here.” He leaned over, his lips grazing mine, and I should have pushed him aside but I craved his touch, all of their touches. My mind filled with images of him taking me the other day, and I’d been craving those moments, desperately holding onto the memories. Our mouths merged and his tongue danced with me, while TJ sang his tune between us.

“Is that the new thing?” Corran asked. “Whoever holds the Raxu gets to kiss Ella?”

“We need to leave,” Derrial’s words ruined the moment, and I broke free from Thane.

I’d spent the last two days alone and now I wanted company. “Don’t go, please.”

“If we’re caught here,” Corran explained, “You could be disqualified from the trials.”

I breathed heavy until Corran cupped my face with both hands, and he kissed me gently. I softened against him, picturing myself in all their arms and naked. Yep, I had no control around these Vepar, but the more time I spent with them, the more I questioned why it couldn’t be.

Corran pulled back, smiling and joined Thane, both of them stroking TJ. I looked up at Derrial who stood in front of me now, and for those few moments, I didn’t expect him to kiss me, but in a swift move, he grabbed my arms and drew me to him. His touch fell to my waist, and without missing a beat, he lifted me off my feet and walked me to the wall.

Pinned beneath him, he guided my legs around his waist as his mouth sank against mine. Fire soared through me like a volcano. He set his hands on the wall over my head, his body pressed against mine, and he kissed with a fever I’d never experienced from him before.

His hips gyrated against me, the erection in his pants rubbing the sensitive spot between my legs. Only a few layers of fabric lay between us. His mouth fell to my neck, his tongue stroking and licking me. His breath on my ear was hot and delicious. “I’ve missed your smile, your taste, your pussy squeezing my dick.”

I shuddered at the words, and already I grew hot and wet. He lowered me to my feet and I stood there, letting the wall hold me up as I breathed hard. When I squeezed my thighs together, a euphoria of tingles spread over me.

The three Vepar just stared at me with hungry eyes, desire locked on their faces. If they asked me to strip for them at that moment, I know I’d be naked in a heartbeat.

Derrial cleared his throat and knocked on the door.

“Pet, we’ll see you soon.” Thane blew me a kiss and when the door opened, the three stalked out before I was locked up in the room alone. Just me and a spiking storm of heat that needed releasing before I exploded.

Chapter 12

The next two few days passed in a blur of waking up, breakfast, exercise, lunch and dinner with more activities like training to fight. Each meal consisted of vegetables, grains and fruit with small portions of protein. No dessert or breads, and most of the dishes were minimally cooked, so raw foods evidently were a thing here. I understood now why the Vepar insisted on healthy eating back on Earth. They believed in clean living.

The second test had commenced and a different girl went out each night, dressed gloriously for a date with the Vepar. I’d watched a few of them get ready, waiting for my turn, making themselves perfect, revealing a lot of skin, and even practicing their dainty laugh. It made me want to hurl. Thank god they weren’t going to win… or I hoped they wouldn’t, and then I could put all this crap behind me. If I attended this mating ritual as a real contender, unsure who the men would pick, I’d be so high strung and stressed.

To clear the constant thoughts hammering into me, I sat crossed legged on the lawn in the small yard filled with benches and gorgeous flower laden trees with the dual suns burning brightly overhead. There was a tranquility and peacefulness to Veon. Unlike Earth, most here rarely complained about their jobs and loved whatever it was they did. This place felt safe, though I also heard the maids talking about more attacks outside the city. How guards patrolling the perimeter were becoming more effective against the Khonsu.

A shadow fell over me, and I flinched, glancing up, squinting to see Zeni staring down at me, her hands gripping the loose orange dress she wore. It flowed to her ankles and with her hair loose and dangling over her shoulder, she was beautiful. Then again, who wasn’t gorgeous on Veon?

“I have something to show you,” she murmured and offered me her hand to stand up. I shouldn’t have accepted, but if I did end up becoming the Vepars’ mate, I didn’t want enemies but friends.

I accepted her offer and stood. The wind brushed past, pushing the hair out of her face. Her smile was bright today, and she almost bounced on her toes as we walked as if she was excited.

She looped her arm around mine like we were BFFs and strolled across the lawn, around the side of the house and through an opening in the gate.

“I’ve been thinking about you lately,” she began, while I glanced back remembering being told we weren’t to leave the house or grounds. But I was also curious what she had to show me. In reality, I was bored on my own. No books were written in english and the big monitor TV inside the communal room only showed news. The room was empty for a reason.

“It must be so hard being away from home, from those you love, and your family. I bet you had a boy or two who was interested in you too.”

I cut her a hard stare, and I saw right through her words. She played on my emotions, and sure, it worked a little because I missed things from Earth, mostly my freedom and mocha vanilla coffee, but what was she going to show me?

“Where are we going?”

“It won’t be long.” We strolled down a back alley flanked by towering fences backing onto numerous mansions. No one was around and Zeni sped up her walk.

“When I was young, my parents sent me to Journey, our nearest moon, to the best boarding school in our universe. While there, I missed them everyday and hated how everything seemed so foreign. So I understand what you’re going through.”

“Not sure you do.” Ever since losing my parents, I struggled to feel comfortable on Earth again and always felt like an outsider.

When she looked at me, something shifted behind her expression… doubt, but that was quickly chased away by her fake smile.

“What happened between you and Derrial, Corran, and Thane?” I asked. Yeah a low blow, but I wasn’t liking the way she mocked me as if she understood my life. I’d lost so much and barely kept it together most days.

She didn’t even warrant looking my way or responding, but pointed to something in the distance to a warehouse. “That’s where we’re going.” There was no heat in her voice, and her heart thumped steadily, but her smile sat crooked on her face.

Guilt skated over my mind because maybe here she was trying to do something nice in her own way and I brought up a hurtful past. Though she also threatened me in the cell… But she healed my bite marks in the first test and she didn’t need to. My arm didn’t drop off.

“I once read a quote that said, yesterday is gone. It’s a little something I try to tell myself everyday when I think of everything I’ve lost.”

“So, you’re happy to move on from the past because you can’t do anything about it? That’s very defeatist,” she retorted.

“Not really. I don’t want to live with regret and always wishing I did something differently. I can only change my future.” As the words fell from my mouth, I wondered how much I truly followed this path since my parents were always on my mind, and I still drowned in the sorrow of what my supposed best friend, Cherry, did to me.

Zeni shrugged, not saying anything but hurrying her steps until we reached the side door of the steel gray building. She punched in a code into the security system on the wall, and the door slid open.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me inside, laughing. “You’re going to love this.”

We ran through an open space, our shoes thumping on the hard floor like gunshots, and we headed straight for a small spaceship. Black and slick, it was about the size of Corran’s first ship back on Earth.

Once we arrived, Zeni hit the controllers near the door and it slid upward before a set of stairs unfurled before us. She rushed inside and looked back at me, her face beaming with joy.

“Come on in.”

“What’s going on?” Nerves danced over my skin.

“Get in here, stop being so scared. I’m not going to kidnap you.” She laughed hysterically, except I wouldn’t put it past her.

Reluctantly I stepped inside, curious and needing to know what made her so excited and if I’d feel the same way once I found out.

Black interiors and the lights across the front dash threw light across the small ship that contained a small bed and table in the back but loads of buttons which I assumed were all about revealing stored items.

Zeni was in the driver’s seat, swiveling around to face me, her horns throwing shadows on the walls that looked demonic. “What do you think?”

I shrugged, unsure what she referred to. “It’s a nice spaceship.”

She jumped to her feet. “Well this small cruiser is yours. I called in a lot of favors to make it happen. Isn’t that exciting?”

“What? How can this be mine?”

She snatched my hand and dragged me to the front, pushing me into the driver’s seat, and I flopped down.

“It’s all programmed and it practically flies itself.”

I stared at her blankly, trying to work out what was really going on? Was this a friendly thing to do in Veon? Give people spaceships?

“You have no clue, do you?”

I shook my head.

“Ella, you’re so slow sometimes. This ship can take you back home to your planet, Earth. You can leave right now and no one will stop you as I’ve got a few guards ready to turn a blind eye.”

Her words swirled in my mind, over and over, still not sinking in. “I can leave now?”

“Yes!” she boomed and danced over to me, taking my hand. “Isn’t that exciting? You can be home in under one human month, and put everything here behind you.”

My brain numbed for a moment, and my heart should have leapt at the chance, yet something in my chest sank through me. A sorrow for leaving behind what I’d found.

“What do you think?” she was jumping up and down in front of me like an excited child.

“I...I need to think about it.”

“Well, you only have a short window to make that decision. And you don’t want to miss this one time opportunity.” She paced toward the rear and back again, letting me think.

Thoughts shot through my head like a ping pong ball. How I’d dreamed of nothing more than going home, how it might give me a chance to put distance and hide from the Vepar once and for all… but did I really want that? We had the blood bond, but maybe such distance between us would break it. I could find another job.

But they wouldn’t let me go. They’d return and hunt me down… and what about the Khonsu roaming on Earth? What if they found me.. Who would come to my rescue?

Trying to organize the chaos of my life seemed useless because every time I thought of never seeing Corran’s smile again, feeling Thane against me, smelling Derrial’s sexy scent, I felt sick to my stomach and tears pricked my eyes. Uncertainty spreads across my mind like running ink.

The feelings roaming inside me told me everything, even if my brain screamed the opposite, telling me to accept the offer, to head home. But then what?

Freaking hell. This should be an easy decision, yet I slumped in my seat, my chest aching. Had I really fallen this deep for the Vepar? And if I left now, they’d be forced to select one of those five females as their mate. Then they’d hate me, and my heart would be ripped to shreds to imagine them with another woman.

Struggling to breath from the sheer stress pressing down on my chest, I got to my feet, needing to follow my instinct. Right now, it was yelling at me to get out of the ship as fast as possible.

“Zeni, thank you for the chance, but I’ll pass.”

Her mouth gaped open. “Are you crazy? I’m giving you a free ride home and you want to stay here where most people want to see you imprisoned and everyone else would love to see you experimented on so we understand why you don’t have horns or a tail.”

I shuddered at either of those options, noting that she didn’t seem to know about the fertility procedures yet. “You don’t need to understand why, but I am doing this for me.” Without waiting for her response, I climbed out of the cruiser and walked away, my knees knocking together, my throat choking with tears falling down my face.

I just walked away from returning to Earth.

Hell!

What was I thinking?

Chapter 13

I was officially going crazy. That was the only explanation for the reason why I wanted to throw all of the beautiful Vepar women vying for the guys’ attention off a cliff. I had chosen to stay, to try and fight for the Vepar that I had come to care for. But the current trial was making me second guess my decision.

After the first trial we had all been put into a huge structure that I assumed was considered a mansion on Veon. I thought at first it would be better than the cell I had called home, but it was infinitely worse.

It was like I was in high school again, except all the girls I went to school with were a million times prettier and a million times bitchier than the ones I was used to.

I had been put in my own room, while the four remaining participants shared rooms. I quickly realized that this was for my own protection when I hadn’t been able to figure out how to make sure no one else could get in the room and I had made the mistake of exploring the house. When I had made it back to my room, all of my meager belongings were in shreds like someone had dragged sharp knives through everything. That night I had been accosted in the hall by a gorgeous blonde Vepar whose nails I found out could transform into claws. She had been about to impale me when a Vepar guard happened to pass by and stop her.

One of the few girls who didn’t seem like her goal in life was to kill me, the girl I had first sat next to during Trial 1, happened to see me shaking in the hallways afterwards and showed me how to successfully lock my room. She claimed that she was only involved in the trials because of the pressure her family had put on her to apply due to the prestige having Derrial, Thane, and Corran for mates would bring.

She seemed nice enough, but I had learned not to trust anyone on Vepar with the exception of the guys. After that incident, and the whole Zeni trying to get me to leave the planet one, I had decided to spend all of my time in my room when I wasn’t training or being forced to participate in group meals with the other females.

I hadn’t anticipated how much it would affect me though. Each of the girls was getting alone time with the guys for this trial. I had never been a jealous person, but just imagining what was happening on the dates had me going crazy.

I had been tempted to leave the safety of my room to find out how the dates had been going, but I hadn’t had the nerve. It was enough seeing them getting ready for them. Plus, I was sure that the girls would exaggerate anything that did happen.

Still a part of me worried. What if one of these girls caught their eye and they decided that I wasn’t worth the hassle?

I hated how these trials and my time with the guys had reduced me into such an insecure woman. I wished I was in a place where I felt more confident about my place with them.

They had been saying all the right things, and my heart wanted to believe them. My head just couldn’t get on board.

Tonight was my turn to spend time with the guys. While some of the girls had been on activities with them, I was going on a dinner date with them. I didn’t have a dress or any makeup or hair tools to get ready in my room however, so I needed to venture out into one of the common rooms to use one of the cylinders.

I headed out of my room when I couldn’t delay any longer, sealing the door shut behind me. I tiptoed down the hallway, a useless endeavor since I knew the Vepar had extremely good hearing. I had just about made it to the common room with the cylinder when I overheard some of the contestants having a conversation in the room next door.

“It’s only a matter of time before we’re back together,” Zeni was saying to someone else. “It was like no time had passed when I saw them. There was always something between us, something that defied logic. We’ve loved each other since we were young, that wasn’t going to change because of a little time on Earth.”

“But what about their relationship with the human?” another girl asked. I recognized her voice as Aery, another of the contestants.

Zeni scoffed. “They needed something to do while they were on Earth. Granted, I didn’t expect them to bring the little brat with them back home but Thane told me all about how she threatened to kill herself if they didn’t bring her with them. You know how Corran is, such a bleeding heart. He reluctantly convinced the others to bring her along. That’s why we’re doing this stupid thing in the first place, to get rid of her.”

“So, you’re saying that the rest of us have no chance at all?” Aery asked, her voice growing angrier.

“I don’t recall you coming home two nights ago and telling me that you fucked them,” Zeni gloated in an amused voice.

“You didn’t...last night?” Aery said in an astonished voice.

“Of course we did. They couldn’t keep their hands off of me. I’m telling you, this will be all over soon and things will be back to how they were always supposed to be,” bragged Zeni, making my heart burn with her confident attitude.

“I may be wasting my time, but I intend to see this through to the end,” said Aery, her voice low and broken. I heard her getting up and walking towards the entrance so I hurried into the other common room where the wardrobe cylinder was waiting.

I leaned against the wall, rubbing at my chest. It hurt, kind of like I was having a heart attack.

She couldn’t be telling the truth. There was no way. She’d been trying so hard to get rid of me. It had to be because she was jealous. Just the thought of the guys wrapped around her gorgeous body made me want to scream. In that moment, I could understand how territorial they sometimes got. I felt like I was capable of murder.

I had to talk to them about Zeni tonight. I had to know what their relationship and their history was with her.

After taking another moment to recover, I dashed into the cylinder, desperate to get back to the safety of my room before the date. I pressed a button and couldn’t help but smile when my clothes changed right before my eyes. I was now wearing a gorgeous sapphire colored dress that reminded me of Derrial’s eyes. This one was short sleeved and more form fitting in the bodice area, something that my lungs hadn’t thought was possible based on how tight the corsets usually felt. The fabric also seemed to have sparkles built into it. This must be one of the outfits they used to dress up. It was beautiful, but I couldn’t help but wish I had a dress with a little less fabric to wear on a date tonight. I wanted to look so good they couldn’t help but want me.

My hair had been done in soft waves down my back and the machine had even managed to apply a light dusting of makeup across my face.

I decided this was my favorite Vepar technology. Nothing could beat it.

I rushed back to my room, wanting to make sure that I didn’t run across any of the other contestants and risk them messing up my look. Making it back without interference, I paced my room, anxious for the date to start and anxious for answers.

It was start time and an intercom in my room alerted me that I needed to head to the front to meet the guys as they weren’t supposed to enter the mansion...apparently whoever was watching the place had missed the guys sneaking in after the first trial.

I felt sick to my stomach as I headed to meet them. My mind had gone crazy after I had gotten back to my room, continuing to dissect everything that Zeni had said.

It had affected me enough that I had to pause before leaving the house to try and get myself under control.

“Something wrong?” came a voice from down the hall. It was Zeni of course.

“Nope, everything’s great,” I said, knowing that she could see right through me.

“Tell Thane I liked his new tattoo,” she said with a wink, disappearing from sight.

Now I really felt like I was about to fall apart. I definitely hadn’t seen a new tattoo the last time I had seen Thane undressed, meaning it had to be new this week. I really needed to take classes in how to psych out my enemies. Because Zeni was a professional at it.

My worries were dampened when I caught sight of the guys. They were standing in front of the mansion, one of Corran’s small planes behind them. They were back to their usual human forms and I made a mental note to ask them to go back to their natural forms. I didn’t want them to hide anything from me. If I was really going to make this relationship work I would need to love all of them. Horns and all.

It wasn’t like it was hard. The three of them were enough to set the mansion on fire. They were dressed in traditional Vepar clothing, but the clothing had some kind of silvery threading this time that made it seem dressier than their usual clothes. They looked perfect.

“Fuck pet, you look stunning,” said Thane. “I had always pictured you in Veon clothing and it looks better every time I see you in it.”

I blushed.

“Hi,” I said softly, feeling shy all of a sudden.

I realized we had never really gone on a date. Hawaii was the closest that I had come to a date with one of them, and I had only been brought along because they needed me to be watched at all times and Corran needed to do his experiments.

This felt different. And it was making me feel nervous.

“Ready to go?” asked Derrial as he slowly took me in. I nodded.

Corran came up beside me and put his arm around my waist, pulling me in close to him. He buried his face in my neck. “You smell delicious. I just might take a bite.”

They were being so playful. I wasn’t used to it. The thought hit me that maybe they had been like this with the others. It made me see red.

I shrugged Corran’s arm off of me.

“Tell me what the other dates were like,” I told them, looking at each of them in the eyes.

“What do you mean?” asked Thane, taking a step towards me. I held up my hand to stop him. I couldn’t seem to think when they touched me and I wanted a clear head for this.

“Some of the other girls…” I started to say before my voice broke. I cleared my throat and started again. “Some of the other girls mentioned that their dates had gone rather well,” I finally was able to get out.

Derrial looked at me with something that resembled pity. I hated it. “They went fine,” he said slowly as if I was a feral animal that he was trying to calm down.

I kind of felt like one.

“What does fine mean?” I spit out.

“It almost sounds like you’re jealous,” said Thane in an amused tone.

I was silent for a moment and all three of their eyes started to do that glowing thing. “You are jealous,” said Corran delightedly. “I didn’t think it was possible. Does that mean…?”

“That I care about you?” I asked exasperatedly. “Yes asshole, it does.”

Their grins were the widest that I had seen.

Suddenly I found myself being shuttled towards the plane. “Time to go, green eyed monster. That’s a human saying, right?” Thane laughed at his own joke since we knew the only green eyed monster in the area was him.

Derrial scooped me up and began carrying me before I could put up much of a fight.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” I screeched, trying to get loose.

“Kitten, don’t you know by now that there’s no one that compares to you? I don’t even see anyone else,” he said, before licking the side of my face.

I looked at him, my anger rapidly dwindling in the face of his sweet words. “Why exactly did you just lick me?” I asked. Derrial shot me a grin.

“I thought that was the thing on Earth, if you lick it, it’s yours,” he said innocently. I rolled my eyes, not so secretly loving his playfulness.

We stepped onto the plane where Corran and Thane were impatiently waiting for us. Corran immediately scooped me up and sat down, placing me in his lap. They were all acting like they couldn’t keep their hands off of me. I kind of loved it.

Derrial and Thane took the controls since it was obvious that Corran wasn’t going to let me go.

“So where are we going?” I asked as the ship took flight. They had made the walls around us completely opaque so that you could see everything as we flew. Once again, Veon took my breath away with its beauty.

“It’s a surprise,” said Corran, placing a gentle kiss on my neck that gave me goosebumps. He gently caressed my arm, continuing to place soft kisses from the nape of my neck down my shoulder as we watched the landscape pass by.

I gave a little gasp when the plane went over a mountain and a sparkling lavender sea was laid out before us.

“It’s gorgeous,” I gushed as we began to fly over it. The suns were just setting on the horizon and the water seemed like it was sparkling as it reflected its fading light.

“Not as beautiful as you,” whispered Corran. I rolled my eyes at the corniness of the line even as I blushed. What could I say...I liked a good corny line.

Evidently this was just a lake as we reached the opposite shore rather quickly. There were more mountains on the other side and as we scaled them, I couldn’t help but gasp.

There was a city, right out of a fairytale, laid out in front of us. There were white dome like structures all over the valley, going up the mountains. They had brightly colored flowers all over them. Explosions of color were everywhere you looked. Planes similar to the one we were in were flying all around. Lanterns were hovering in the air. I couldn’t see anything keeping them afloat so it resembled the floating lantern festivals that I had been to a few times before. The effect was stunning.

“What is this place?” I gushed, my eyes going everywhere as more amazing things caught my attention.

“This is the capital of Veon. It’s called Valin,” said Derrial in an almost reverent voice. This city is a millennia old. It’s where all of our history is. It’s where Thane and I were born.”

“It’s the most beautiful city that I’ve ever seen,” I said, not knowing how to adequately describe the splendor of what I was seeing.

“Yes, it is,” Thane said as we began to make our descent.

Derrial and Thane landed us expertly beside one of the white structures.

Instead of letting me walk off the plane, Corran carried me.

“Is this the way that it’s going to be all night?” I asked, enjoying being carried around much more than I should.

“Yep,” said Corran. “And it’s probably going to be me doing it. The other two have gotten your attention too much lately,” he said it matter of fact but I wondered if Corran was feeling a little left out. I had formed a bond with him after the other two, but it didn’t mean that what I felt for him wasn’t as strong as the others. There were so many things special about him, so many things that set him apart from the other two. If I ended up winning these trials I vowed that I would make sure he never felt left out again and always knew where he stood with me.

I placed a kiss on his lips and he looked down at me, a storm of emotions in his golden eyes. “You can carry me all you want,” I said softly and he rewarded me with one of those rare Corran grins that never failed to light up my world.

The four of us stopped outside the structure. Derrial waved his arm in front of the door and like with most of the other Vepar structures I had been to, an entrance opened up to allow us inside.

“We thought we would do a little meet the parents night before we got to the next portion of the evening,” Thane threw out casually over his shoulder as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on me. Corran set me down and I wobbled on my feet as anxiety threatened to overtake me.

“Meet the parents? Why didn’t you warn me? I would have brought a gift or something,” I started blubbering, even though I didn’t have access to a gift.

“You didn’t need to bring a gift,” said Derrial, suddenly pulling me towards him and gifting me with a mind-blowing kiss. He pulled away from me and looked at me with satisfaction. “Perfect. You’ve got color in your cheeks again. I was afraid you were going to faint on us you were so pale,” he said as he brushed a piece of his hair out of his face.

I tried to punch him but Thane caught my hands and put them behind me. With Thane behind me, Derrial in front of me, and Corran watching aptly beside me...I felt like I was going to combust.

“Get your paws off the poor girl,” came a sweet voice from the hallway. The guys reluctantly stepped away, but I knew my face was as red as a tomato. Of course their moms had to catch us in a compromising position. What a way to make a first impression.

Once they stepped far enough away, I was able to see a gorgeous blonde headed Vepar that I knew right away had to be Derrial’s mom. She had the same color of hair as him and the same sapphire eyes stared back at me that I had started to love so much.

“Hi darling,” she said, looking me over not in the disdainful way that I had grown used to, but in a curious, friendly way. She had two small ivory horns that barely peaked out of her hair. She was shorter than the other Vepar women that I had seen, closer to my height, but no less beautiful than any of them. There was an intrinsic goodness about her that I could sense already that made her even more beautiful in my eyes.

“I can see why my boys are taken with you,” she said, stepping towards us and pulling me in for a tight hug. “You’re absolutely stunning.”

“Your boys?” I asked, looking at the guys confused. I had been under the impression that they weren’t related.

She laughed, and I immediately fell in love with the sound of it. It sounded almost like a bell chiming.

“They’re not all my sons, but they might as well be,” she said lovingly. “They’ve been apart of my life for so long I can’t remember what life was like before them.”

“So you can give me all the dirt on them,” I joked even as Thane let out a half hearted growl next to me. She must have liked that joke because she laughed again, throwing her head back as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

I loved her already.

“I’m Koria,” she said, beginning to lead me deeper into the home. “And I’m so happy that you’re here.”

I could hear other voices as we walked down a white wall, devoid of any decorations as the other Veon structures had been. The room we walked into however, was very different from what I had seen.

It felt like home.

There were five Vepar in the room, lounging in various cozy looking pieces of furniture. The flowers that had adorned the outside of the structure had also somehow blossomed on the inside of the indoor walls as well, making it feel like I had stepped into paradise.

“You’re home is beautiful,” I told Koria, who to my surprise blushed.

“I’ve been working for the past month to make it perfect for you,” she said, surprising me.

“A month?” I asked, perplexed.

“Oh yes, as soon as I knew my boys were coming home, I knew that it had to be for a special reason, that they had met someone. And I was right!” she said, practically jumping in excitement.

“Don’t hog the girl, Koria,” said a deep voice affectionately.

Koria led me to one of the male Vepar who I immediately guessed was Derrial’s father. While Derrial had Koria’s eyes and hair, the rest of his features were all this Vepar. “Welcome to our home lovely girl, my name is Canton,” he said, surprising me when he hugged me too.

“Okay Dad, that’s long enough,” joked Derrial. Canton gave me a wink as he let me go and I immediately liked him too.

The other three Vepar stepped forward, friendly welcoming looks on their faces as well. All of them looked the same age as my Vepar, once again reminding me how different their life cycles were from humans.

I met Corran’s parents next. They both had golden eyes and chestnut colored hair, resembling siblings they looked so much alike. Corran must have seen the questions in my face because he explained that he and his family were from a different province of Veon where most of the population carried the same signature golden eye color.

“None of them are as handsome as our son though,” bragged Tenly, Corran’s mother. I was amused when the tips of his ears turned pink at the praise. Corran’s father was named Kenroe, and while the two of them were much more reserved than Derrial’s parents, I liked them both immediately as well.

The last parent I met was Thane’s father, Lanton. He was alone, making me wonder why Thane’s mother wasn’t around. He was built like a truck, the biggest Vepar in the room and he reminded me of a bodybuilder. Contrary to his intimidating form however, his voice and personality were tranquil. More Buddah than The Rock. I felt more calm just hearing his voice.

“We’re so glad you’re here,” he said, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.

“Thank you,” I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. I had never really thought about meeting the guys’ parents. Our lives had been too chaotic to even think about doing something normal like that. But if I had thought about it, I would have feared it, convinced that they would hate me on sight the way the rest of the Vepar did that I had met.

I was so glad to seemingly be wrong about that.

We sat down, and just like he had warned me, Corran immediately scooted me onto his lap while the other two sat on either side of us holding my hands. It felt awkward to be showing so much affection in front of their parents that I had just met, but none of them even batted an eye. Derrial’s parents even looked proud about it.

Koria brought us a liquid that tasted a bit like green tea as we all chatted. Corran’s father wanted to know all about Earth, asking me question after question until Corran let out an exasperated sigh.

Corran’s father blushed the exact same way that Corran had earlier at his mother’s compliment, making the family resemblance even more obvious.

“Oops,” said Corran’s dad self deprecatingly. “I get carried away whenever your planet is involved. I’ve been obsessed with learning all about it since Corran left to stay there. It made me feel close to him I guess.”

My heart melted. I would never have guessed that my three guys came from such loving families. I was pleasantly surprised and it made me like them even more. It also made me realize that I had so much I still needed to learn about them and that they needed to learn about me.

Hopefully we would have the chance.

“We’re all so happy to have them back home,” said Koria softly, looking like she was about to cry. “Thank you for getting our boys back to us.”

Hmmm, wonder what she would say if she knew that her “boys” had forced me to come here…

Thane pinched my side, seemingly reading my mind as usual. I shot him a grin.

“Would you like anything to eat?” asked Lanton, gesturing to a tray next to the tea that was laden with food that I couldn’t identify.

“Thanks dad, but we’ve got a full night planned for her,” said Thane, standing up. “We’d actually better get going.”

All of their parents looked so disappointed. “We’ll visit again soon,” I promised. “There’s so much I need to learn about the three of them that they won’t be able to keep me away.”

Derrial groaned in jest, but it seemed to do the trick of raising all of their spirits.

More hugs were exchanged and we exited the dwelling, all of their parents walking out after us to wave goodbye as we took off again.

“I loved them,” I said, cuddling into Corran’s lap.

“They loved you too, kitten,” said Derrial happily.

“Where was your mom Thane? I would have loved to meet her,” I said.

Silence descended on the ship. I knew immediately that I had said something wrong.

Thane cleared his throat as if he was trying to give himself more time to figure out what to say. “My mother is in a special facility,” he said quietly.

“A special facility?” I asked hesitantly, feeling terrible for bringing it up.

“She was captured by the Khonsu when I was nine. They tortured her until she lost her mind. She’s been in the facility ever since we rescued her.”

I sat there shocked, not knowing what to say.

“I should have brought it up before we got there,” said Thane. “But as I’m sure you can imagine, it’s hard to talk about. Dad brought me up with Corran and Derrial’s parents helping out.”

“I’m so sorry, honey,” I said, tapping Corran to let me down. He reluctantly did so and I walked over to Thane, wrapping my arms around him.

“It happened a long time ago,” Thane said gruffly, but he pulled me towards him tighter and buried his head in my neck.

I had a million questions but I didn’t want to pressure him to tell me anything he didn’t want to. He would tell me eventually, and I could accept that.

Corran walked over and grabbed me after a few minutes, bringing me back to his chair to sit in his lap again. Derrial and Thane both snorted, and it lifted the somber mood that had descended on the ship.

“Where are we off to now?” I asked as Corran started kissing down my neck again. I laughed and snuggled in deeper to him.

“Dinner,” said Derrial. “We figured that it was time to show you Vepar food. So far you’ve gotten trial food and cell food. Not the greatest stuff.”

I had always been an adventurous eater so I was excited about the prospect of trying something new.

“Can I eat everything that you eat?” I asked, thinking that their altered forms hid how different they actually were to humans.

Corran frowned. “You should be able to eat most things, but I haven’t tested everything so we’ll just have you try things that I know for sure are alright.”

Thane snorted again. “I think she’ll be okay no matter what, lover boy.”

Corran pulled me in closer to him. “We’re not taking that chance.”

“Um guys,” I asked Thane and Derrial. “What is going on with Corran?”

Thane and Derrial both looked at each other with amused looks on their faces.

“Have you ever heard of blue balls, kitten?” Derrial asked.

“Um...yes?” I asked, confused.

“He has the equivalent of Vepar blue balls, right now,” Derrial said with a smirk as Corran growled into my neck.

“What does that mean?”

“You’ve just fed on the two of us recently, right?” asked Thane. I nodded.

“Well he’s starting to feel a blood craving. His body is pushing him to be with his mate. You.”

“Oh,” I said, startled. I craned my neck so Corran had access to it more. “Go ahead,” I asked.

Corran growled again, but this one sounded more like a moan.

“I think you better wait until you can do everything,” said Derrial with a chuckle.

“Everything?”

“Sex, pet,” said Thane. “Exchanging blood with your mate is practically a sacred act. You don’t just go biting each other. It’s almost always shared with sex unless the circumstances demand otherwise.”

“Like when we escaped from the house on Earth,” I said, shivering just remembering how terrible it was.

“Exactly.”

“You said mate,” I said slowly to the guys. “You’ve said that before, that we have a bond. What will happen if I don’t win?”

All three of the guys growled. “That won’t happen,” said Derrial darkly.

I said nothing, just continued to look out at Veon through the window.

* * *

The mood had lightened a little bit by the time we landed by the lavender sea that I had seen earlier. Thane and Corran both held my hands while Derrial walked behind me as we headed towards a glittering gold structure that was right on the shore.

“This is gorgeous,” I said, letting go of Thane’s hand and reaching my hand out to touch the outside of the structure. It literally looked like it was built out of gold.

“This is one of our nicest restaurants,” said Derrial, letting out a laugh when an entrance opened right where I had been reaching out to touch and I almost fell through.

“Welcome to Lankardia,” said a as usual, beautiful Vepar woman dressed all in black. “We’re delighted to have you here this evening,” she said, beckoning us forward. I walked inside, gaping like a fish, and wishing that I had worn a more glamorous outfit.

While all the other Vepar structures I had been too had been relatively the same with the exception of the flower colored ones in the capital city, this one could only be described as opulent.

The walls inside were the same sparkling gold material as the outside. There were crystal orbs hanging from the ceiling. Tables seemed to be floating in the air covered by glittering white tablecloths. It was incredible.

“You can close your mouth now,” whispered Corran, nuzzling against me as he had been doing all evening.

“It’s just all so incredible,” I said in an awed voice. I noticed that the other Vepar in the room were staring at us as we walked by. “I wish they would stop staring,” I muttered.

“I don’t,” said Derrial in a proud voice. “We purposely picked this place. It’s where all the elite of Veon dine. We wanted to show off our mate.”

My heart fluttered at that word again...mate. And at the fact that they were proud to be seen with me.

We were led to a different room that only had one table and privacy from the rest of the patrons. The back wall of the room was made up of a glass balcony that overlooked the lavender sea. It was perfection.

The hostess sat us at our table and left, leaving one last longing glance at the three guys who hadn’t paid her any attention. The jealous bitch inside of me was glad about that.

We talked for a little while about little facts about Veon until a male Vepar with black hair and black horns came into the room. “Good evening everyone. Welcome to Lankardia. My name is Rodolphus and I’ll be your server for the evening. The chef has arranged a special tasting menu for you tonight if that is agreeable to you.”

The men nodded, all of them looking pleased.

“Can I start you out with drinks? We have anything you could want available.”

“We’d like four of the house wines,” said Derrial.

“Of course. I’ll have that right out,” said Rodolphus, leaving the room.

“If he gives her one more look I’m going to cut his head off,” said Corran mildly, scooting his chair so close to me that our sides were practically glued together.

“He didn’t do anything!” I scoffed, shooting him a glare.

“He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you,” said Thane with a menacing glare.

“It was probably because I’m the token human in the restaurant. I’m sure that he hasn’t seen very much of my kind.”

“Doubtful,” growled Derrial.

Rodolphus returned to the room with four glasses filled with a smoky blue drink. “Our house wine,” he said, looking right at me and this time giving me a wink. I held onto Corran’s hand for dear life as he was twitching like he was going to jump across the table and gut him.

There was a deadly silence in the room and Rodolphus finally caught on. He looked at the three angry Vepar warily and left without saying another word.

I took a sip of the wine before they could say anything. To my surprise, it was sweet. More like fruit juice than any wine I had ever tasted. I took another big sip.

“I’d be careful with that if I were you,” Corran said with a smile on his face. “That has five times the alcohol content as Earth wines.”

I gulped the sip I had in my mouth and then set the drink down carefully. I could barely handle a glass of Earth wine without starting to feel tipsy. I would need to be very slow in enjoying this.

Rodolphus seemed to have learned his lesson because the next time he came in carrying our first course, he didn’t even look at me.

After he left, I eyed the dish he had set down. It was a dish covered in flowers. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to eat that.

“Here, like this,” said Derrial, scooping up a handful of the flowers and beginning to squeeze them into the bowl that was in front of him. To my surprise a honey colored liquid began to fall from the flowers until the flowers completely disappeared in Derrial’s hands.

I gasped and then quickly scooped up some flowers and started to squeeze just like Derrial had. To my delight, I was able to get the same liquid to appear. I tentatively took a sip and moaned as the flavors exploded across my tongue. The liquid had a nutty, rich flavor like nothing I had tasted before. It was officially my favorite food.

“What did he call this? Lankardia’s specialty?” I said with a mouth full of the dish.

Corran snickered next to me. “It’s actually the Veon national flower. It’s called a Vetri. It’s delicious properties were discovered by a group of Vepar who got lost while camping and had to try and eat plants to survive.”

“I could eat fifteen bowls of this!”

“I wouldn’t do that, kitten. The flower has certain properties if consumed too much. Certain hallucinogenic properties.”

I put my spoon down immediately remembering how awful it had been after the Khonsu had injected me with its venom.

“There’s no problem eating the bowl,” said Corran gently, pushing the bowl towards me. “It takes several bowls to even start the effect.”

I nodded, but took small sips after that. Evidently Vepar food packed a punch in all of its forms.

Speaking of dangerous things. I needed to ask about Zeni. I had to know or I was going to go crazy. I took a deep breath, trying to draw in some courage.

“So…about Zeni,” I began.

The men all immediately set down their spoons and looked at me tensely. Rodolphus chose that moment to come in. He was immediately sent away with curses. Poor thing. He probably was going to quit after tonight.

“What do you want to know?” asked Derrial tersely.

“So it’s been pretty clear that she at one point was someone important to you...what happened to stop that?”

Corran sighed next to me, clutching my hand even tighter that he had been holding all evening as if he needed comfort for what was about to come.

“We grew up with Zeni. She was younger than us and had a crush on us for years and we never noticed her. Zeni would tag along with us whenever we went out with friends but we never thought of her as anything more. We all dated a lot back then. Zeni would always bother everyone to find out how our dates went. She was our little stalker. We went on a five year mission to explore nearby planets when the fertility issues started to become a problem. When we came back, Zeni was all grown up and she caught our eye.”

I looked down at that comment. The inferiority over how beautiful Zeni was compared to me hitting me all over again.

“Hey,” said Derrial, reaching over to grab my chin. “Stop that. You’re the most gorgeous woman that we’ve ever seen,” he said. I scoffed as I looked into his eyes. But I couldn’t see any sign that he didn’t believe that. They were delusional.

“Keep going,” I said with a sigh.

Corran eyed me before he continued talking. “Zeni wanted all of us and for a time we were fine with that. But pieces of her personality that we hadn’t seen before started to come out. There were strange things that happened to some of our exes and our female colleagues began to be changed to different departments. She was always checking up on us randomly as if she thought she would catch us with another female at any moment. It finally became too much and we all decided this wasn’t going to work for us…” Corran’s voice trailed off.

“And that’s when she told us she was pregnant,” said Thane.

I gasped. They had a child with her?

“Oh don’t worry,” Thane said sarcastically. “That viper was lying. She had fake tests and everything since she knew that we would be doubtful because of the issues going on. She fooled us for months, even going so far as to gain weight so it looked like she was getting a bump. We decided to try and stick it out for the sake of the child, thinking that we would get a paternity test and only the real father would have to be stuck to her. She finally faked one thing too many and Corran began to get suspicious, going to visit the doctor she said she was going to. Imagine our surprise when it turned out that the doctor was in on the plan and had been giving her special pills so that her labs made it look like she was pregnant whenever Corran made her run tests. The doctor was quick to tell us everything when the three of us confronted her. We broke up with Zeni immediately. She’s been on the warpath ever since trying to get us back.”

We were all quiet. That was a lot to take in. I was tempted to tell them about her offering me her ship to leave the planet but I was afraid they would go off the handle after everything they had just told me. I decided to tell them later, when they were calmer.

“Can we please not talk about her anymore,” said Corran in a frustrated voice, pulling me into his lap. “This is supposed to be a date...not to mention your second trial. I think we should start the festivities now.”

“Festivities?” I asked in a breathless voice as Corran’s hands started to stroke farther down my body.

“Yes,” he said, his voice almost a whisper as he picked me up and laid me down on the table. “And festivities usually start with dessert first.”

I looked at Thane and Derrial to see how they were reacting, but they seemed content to let Corran take the lead.

Cupping my jaw, he angled me for his kiss. I was immediately consumed by him. His intoxicating taste seeped into my mouth, his tongue dueling with mine. Sliding my fingers through his hair, I luxuriated in the soft feel of it, painfully aware of the other two’s heated gazes on me.

Corran’s body devoured me. I felt wholly protected in his arms. Cherished. I moaned into his kiss as the sparks of lust fueled through me, scratching my nails along his skin. As if sensing my complete desperation, he pulled back slightly, flashing me a sexy, knowing smile. His eyes glazed over with desire, staring down at my chest, my hardened nipples clearly visible through my dress. His smirk transformed into deep wanting, his eyes turning a darker shade of gold, more like caramel than anything else, his lips parted on a needy breath.

His need for me was thrilling. To see him standing before me, wanting me like this. I lost my breath. Staring up into his face, watching him take in my highlighted form, I quivered in need.

“Corran . . . touch me . . . ” I gasped out.

Gripping the bottom of my dress, he lifted it, surprising me. I tensed, waiting to be touched. “Please,” I begged.

Just as Corran was about to touch me, a speaker came on. “A reminder to the contestant that erotic touching is not allowed in Trial 2. Further action will result in disqualification.”

Corran immediately stopped touching me and bowed his head. “I’m going to die,” he said dramatically. Thane stood up and slapped him on the back.

“Better luck next time, buddy,” he teased, sounding so human at the moment that it made me giggle.

“Laugh now. But when I finally get my hands on you...” said Corran threateningly.

I laughed, excited for the prospect of a pent up Corran being unleashed.

As I sat back down I noticed all three Vepar adjusting themselves. Maybe they would all get a case of “Vepar blue balls,” I thought smugly, loving how much they wanted me.

There was a knock on the door and a timid looking Rodolphus popped his head in. “Are you ready for the next course?” he asked.

“Come in,” Corran confirmed, in a very unwelcoming voice.

Corran was a bit sullen and touchy the rest of the night, but it was still the most fun I had experienced with them.

Plate after plate was brought to the table, filled with the most exotic looking food that I had ever seen. I was passed from lap to lap as they all wanted to feed me. I had never thought that I would like that but it was kind of fun to feed each other. It also helped me be brave with some of the more interesting looking items like a plate full of sauteed Danter eyes. It wasn’t one of my favorite dishes.

When we were finally done eating, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to walk out of the restaurant I was so full.

“We need to get you back,” Derrial admitted, regretfully. “We’ve already kept you out hours longer than the others.”

“Don’t mention the others,” I said, a bit drunkenly.

“There’s my jealous girl again.” Thane wrapped his arms around my waist and walked out on the balcony.

“We should have a house here,” I said sleepily, too tipsy to monitor my words.

“You can have whatever you want,” he replied.

Corran and Derrial strolled out just as our ship landed on the shore below us. Thane helped me down the stairs since I wasn’t moving very steadily and we climbed on the ship.

I stayed cuddled up in Thane’s arms for the trip back to the mansion, feeling better about our relationship than I ever had before.

* * *

“Tonight was perfect,” I whispered as I hugged each of them in front of the mansion. “One of the best nights of my life.”

Corran pulled me in for a kiss that left me breathless. The tension was bubbling at the surface for us. I wanted him badly and I didn’t know how much longer we could hold out. I was just contemplating how we could possibly sneak him in when lights all of a sudden shone down on us. They were bright, like spotlights, and they blinded me for a minute.

“What the hell is going on?” Thane looked like he was going to break the neck of whoever was responsible for this. To my surprise, three members of the Council appeared.

“Say your goodbye’s boys, this one is disqualified,” one of them said, grinning.

The three of them stood in front of me protectively. “On what grounds? Corran stopped before anything happened tonight,” Derrial said.

“One of the Councilmembers stepped forward with a device that started projecting a holographic image. I gasped in horror, feeling very sober all of a sudden. It was a picture of me sitting in Zeni’s ship.

“She tried to escape earlier and was stopped by one of the other contestants. Her attempt counts as a forfeiture.”

I could see the guys’ bodies stiffen upon seeing the picture. I could only imagine how disappointed they were in me thinking that I had tried to leave. I should have just told them what happened at dinner.

I guess this was it.

“And I suppose the other contestant who stopped her was Zeni, was it? Doesn’t it seem suspicious that Zeni bothered to take a photograph of an escape attempt instead of letting Ella go and immediately reporting it. We know for a fact that Zeni was the one who offered Ella the ship and she refused it,” said Derrial, shocking me with his defense of me and the fact that they seemed to already know exactly what had happened.

Thane stepped forward and pressed a band on his wrist, his own holographic image popping up, but this one a video. I watched in a mixture of amazement and horror as the exact scene that had transpired with Zeni played out on the video.

After it was done there was a grim silence. “There’s obviously been a mistake,” one of the Councilmen said stiffly before all three of them walked away.

I watched numbly as the ship the Councilmen had flown in on disappeared into the sky.

All three of them turned to look at me. There was an awkward silence.

“I should have told you what happened, but how did you get that video?” I asked, not knowing whether I should feel angry or grateful they had been spying on me.

Corran shifted guiltily. “I had a tracker activated in you after what happened with that prison worker who attacked you. We wanted to be able to check in on you in case something happened.”

“You put something else in me without my permission?” I asked, my voice climbing. I reached up to brush against the skin where I knew at least one of the devices resided.

“No,” Corran responded fast. “It was just a feature that hadn’t been activated yet in the sensor that monitors your health.”

“Does that make it any better?” I snapped. “You never told me it had that capability. What else have you recorded of me?”

“Calm down,” barked Derrial. “You’re not being rational. We obviously needed that video to prevent you from getting kicked out. It’s not like you bothered to tell us about that happening.”

I immediately backed down, feeling chagrined. “You sounded so mad earlier that I didn’t want to upset you any more,” I explained lamely.

“How about we all just forgive each other. I told you that I would never let someone mess with you,” said Thane. “That applies to women as well.”

I was suddenly very tired. “I’d better go inside now,” I said wearily. They nodded grimly, each of them hugging me in turn.

“I hate this,” Derrial whispered in my ear. “Someday soon there won’t be goodbyes.”

I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heart. “I hope that day comes,” I said, reluctantly pulling away.

I could feel their eyes on me as I walked inside.

What a night.

Chapter 14

“You’re still not ready?” Giny exclaimed from my doorway, dressed in a black gown that fell to her ankles, her fabric glimmering from the lights overhead. The thin belt around her waist matched her tiny pink horns, while glitter sparkled from her trimmed black hair.

She was one of a couple of women from the house who smiled at me, said hello, and even sat next to me during meals. Her family, I learned, lived on a nearby moon and were both scientists, and she admitted to have a major fangirl moment over Corran, but like me, she was alone on the planet.

“Is everyone going fancy for dinner tonight?” I slipped out of my tennis shoes and rushed toward the cylindrical wardrobe as I’d spend most of the day training, while my mind had been floating on clouds from my date with the Vepar last night. If that was an indication of what my future with them would bring, I was ready and had no doubts about my decision to not take Zeni up on her offer to fly back to Earth. Though part of me kept hoping I hadn’t made the wrong decision.

“Yeah, it’s a big feast and Corran, Thane, and Derrial will be attending. Everyone’s getting dressed up.”

“Really?” The idea of seeing my men again so soon had me rushing into the wardrobe cylinder, needing to look perfect for them.

“Oh, one of the girls dropped out of the ritual last night. Did you hear about it?”

“Who? Why?”

“Jexie. Her father insisted he found another mate for her and ordered her to return home.”

“That’s horrible. Do females not get to choose their own partners here?”

“It’s more of a family event.” She lifted her wrist and stabbed something on the screen, making the monitor in the common room switch on.

Three columns of print appeared on the screen, and it was slowly scrolling down to show more and more and more.

I stepped close and read a few of the titles.

Xeorian Estate Heir Searching for Mates.

Galaxy Engineer Seeks Union with Three Vepar.

Underneath were a list of traits like this were a job interview with details on education and wealth and even a description of her appearance and size of horns. Apparently the smaller the better on a female.

“Are these ads for husbands?”

“If by husbands you mean mates for life, yes. It’s all orchestrated by families to find the best mate for the best possible chances of conception.”

“Wow. It’s very different on Earth. We select who we want… well maybe not in all cultures.”

“The mate selection process means we’re united with the best possible suitor. Makes sense to me.”

I could see the benefit of both sides, and with the way my Vepar selected me, I didn’t quite get a choice either.

“Alright, hurry up, Ella. We’re going to be late.”

I turned to the small panel and selected the type of gown I was after, down to the color, and even a hairstyle. Several minutes later, I emerged.

Giny’s mouth gaped open. “What style did you just select? I need to change my dress.”

I laughed and glanced down at myself, but my eyes widened. “Whoa!” A white dress studded with miniature diamonds dropped to my feet with a split racing up the side all the way to my bikini line. The dress cinched in at my waist with the corset lifting my breasts. I twirled on the spot, revealing stilettos that were clear as glass.

“I look like freaking Cinderella.” My dark hair fell in curls past my shoulders and when I glanced in the mirror, I wore a simple diamond tiara.

“Cinderella?” she asked. “Is that a really famous celebrity on Earth?”

“Yeah, sort of I guess.” I spun in the mirror, still in awe. “You think this might be a bit too much.”

“No. You want to look the best you can. Anyway, I’ll see you in the dining room.” She whisked away, unable to leave quick enough.

With another quick look in the mirror, I couldn’t believe I had an hourglass figure this insane. Sure, the corset made it a bit hard to breath, but… my three Vepar were going to die when they saw me.

“Dinner,” Luren, the elf Vepar called out as he rushed past, herding all the girls.

I pouted my ruby lips at the mirror and strolled out, struggling to remain steady on such high heels.

“Ella, you look gorgeous tonight.” Luren joined me. “Just watch the other girls tonight because this dress will take everyone’s breath away.”

I looked over to his brilliant smile. “Why do all these beautiful clothes resemble the ones we have on Earth? It’s like I am back home but on steroids.”

“Our scientists have been studying your planet for centuries, along with the culture and history and fashion. Some of the elements it seems have slipped into our world. Some Vepar embrace it, while others resist and stick to the old ways.”

He smirked and nodded. “Now, let’s move fast, you don’t want to be late.”

We moved through the corridor and stepped into a lift. Seconds later the doors slid open, and we walked out into a ballroom. We no longer were in the plain rooms they were keeping us in. This clearly was where all the opulence was.

Floors of marble, floor to ceiling windows, and golden pillars lined the walls along with mahogany framed paintings of the galaxy. They reminded me of the ones in Cherry’s home. My life had changed so much since we were friends. The last I saw her was in the streets when I begged her for help and she refused to lift a finger. I’d come a long way to realize the only reason I was her friend was fear. I didn’t want to be alone, so I excused her using me. But those times felt like a lifetime away.

I walked into the grand room with at least six chandeliers dripping in crystals. To the right lay a dressed table with gold cutlery and goblets and so many flowers of every possible color. There were even balloons in the corners. Things didn’t quite match in this room, looking like a mash of various styles.

Everyone was gathered on one side of the room, chatting. I scanned the small crowd and found no sign of the men.

I spotted Giny and strolled over to her. She no longer wore her black dress, but was in a golden, strapless dress, straight and body hugging.

“You look gorgeous,” I mentioned to her.

She turned and shrugged. “Couldn’t let you be the only one to steal the limelight.” She broke into a laugh, while the two women she spoke to earlier sneered my way and walked away.

“What’s up with them?” I asked, swallowing hard as I noticed everyone’s eyes on me.

Giny shrugged, but avoided looking at me. “What would you like to drink?” She walked off before I could respond.

I tried to smile when all I wanted was to run out of there. I shouldn’t have worn this dress, and hated how everyone glared at me, judged me. Except I had to remind myself this was a competition to them, and despite their jealousy, I also knew my three Vepar wanted me over them.

Luren was at my side, taking my elbow and guiding me to the table. He wore a steel gray outfit with a red crevet. “Do you like the room?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Derrial insisted we dress it up to resemble a human party.”

I turned to him, unable to stop smiling so widely. “Really? It looks gorgeous. I’ve never been to a ball this fancy before, but always wanted to.”

His smile brightened my evening and he walked me to a seat at the table, others joining too. He pulled the chair out and I sat down, but before he left, he leaned down and whispered, “Don’t drink or eat anything one of the other contestants give you.”

He pulled back and broke into laughter with someone else, all fake of course.

Giny sat down next to me and set down a flute glass with blue bubbly inside. “We call it, Shooting Star.”

“Thank you.”

“Try it.”

I swallowed hard. “Maybe a bit later. I can’t drink on an empty stomach without it going straight to my head.”

She studied me with a strange look. “Not sure what that means, but okay.” Wth her own drink in hand, she sipped the blue beverage.

Everyone else joined us at the table, most chatting to each other, and I felt left out. I fiddled with the golden cutlery that had tiny engravings at the end of the dual sun emblem. I sat tense amid bubbly conversation and smiles, my gaze kept shifting to the door. Listening to the conversations, everyone was fake, complimenting each other, but you could see in their eyes, they tossed daggers at their enemy. The first round of food came out, and still no sign of my Vepar. A jelly-like sausage was placed in front of me, the color of a cucumber. Was this a sea cucumber...or a slug? Did they even have those here?

Everyone around me cut into their dish, slurping the pieces into their mouth, and I gagged. I poked mine with a fork and it wobbled.

“Our food isn't good enough for you?” Zeni blurted out, grabbing everyone’s attention and turning it towards me.

“Umm it’s fine.”

“Then eat the sea sausage.”

I almost vomited in my mouth at the sound of that. Eyes… so many on me, expectant. What if it’s a major faux pas to not try something at a Vepar party?

I sliced a tiny bit off the end, and stabbed it with my fork. Swallowing hard, I slid it into my mouth.

They watched me, studied me, ready to judge me.

I smiled while I chewed the most disgusting thing in the world. It tasted like I had just eaten a dirty sock.

“Announcing Derrial, Corran, and Thane,” Luren called out from the doorway.

The women all cheered and turned their attention away. Swiftly I grabbed the napkin and put it into my mouth, spitting out the sea sausage. I reached for the blue drink, anything to get the bitter taste out of my mouth, but stopped, remembering the warning. I pushed the glass away from my section of the table.

The three Vepar took seats at the table, several spots away from me, but I caught Corran’s attention from further across the table.

They were served the starter, and all three didn’t touch the sea sausage. Smart idea.

Music played overhead, a high beat, and at once I almost burst out laughing. It was the Macarena, and everyone was bopping away at the table to a song that was a fad back on Earth so long ago. I wondered what exact history they referenced for their ball information.

Two of the females moved to sit closer to the men, chatting their ears off, and I’d be a nun if I said I wasn’t jealous to see them laughing and placing their hands on their arms and touching their hair. They were even sticking their chests out when they spoke with them.

The second meal came, a round dish with what looked like lasagne. I poked the top and pulled out a forkful. There were layers of what looked like vegetables amid something green. Seaweed sheets? I tasted it, rolling it over my tongue. It tasted like an explosion of sweet and savory flavors, much better than the sea sausage. I dug in, trying to ignore the giggles or the men’s voices, sounding honestly interested. Fire raged in my veins, but I sat quietly, pretending to smile and remain calm when I wanted to scream for them to stop touching my men. Yep, clearly I was the green eyed monster today.

Zeni slid into the empty seat next to me, staring at me, touching my cutlery. “Are you having fun?” she mocked.

“Absolutely,” I responded, my voice dripping with honey.

“Good. The party’s just getting started so be ready.” She reached out and grabbed my drink before guzzling it down in one go, then left.

I should have stopped her, but then again, it might be interesting to see if Giny had indeed spiked the drink.

When the waiter came around, I ordered myself water, catching Zeni practically sitting on Corran’s lap. I clenched my jaw. When Giny returned to her seat, she leaned in closer to me. “She’d do anything to win them over. It must be burning you up to see her all over them.”

I nodded, unable to pull my attention from them. Zeni caught me looking and broke into a fake laugh. “Oh Corran, I have something you’ll want to see,” she cooed and slid her fingers down the front of her heart-shaped dress, pulling the fabric purposefully down to show lots of boob.

I dropped my gaze, crossed and recrossed my legs, and tapped my fingernails on the table. Derrial and Thane were hard to see from the heads between us. And it scorched me alive to sit at a table with three men who captured my heart, who drove me insane, and ignore all the women who were pouring themselves all over them.

My mind filled with revenge. Tampering with their wardrobe cylinder, having Zeni wake up and find fifty sea sausages in bed with her, a threat. They sounded reasonable to me.

A gasp caught my attention and I looked for the source. Zeni and Corran were so close their heads touched, both of them staring at something that looked like a photo. Did they have old fashioned cameras here?

Corran shot to his feet, his chair scraping across the marble floor, Zeni flailing as she almost fell face first to the ground before she caught herself. He rounded the table to show Derrial and Thane the photo or whatever it was.

I swept my gaze back to Zeni who reclined in her seat smiling like a Cheshire cat, staring at me, proud of herself. What did she do?

The desserts came around as Corran took his seat, and none of them looked my way, seeing to be ignoring me on purpose. I felt sick to my stomach, and despite the fact that the pyramid green desert intrigued me, I couldn’t stomach a thing. My knees bounced under the table, and I had to know what was going on.

Fire scorched my insides. I needed water, fresh air, something before I combusted.

When Zeni made her way to the bathroom, I excused myself, climbed on my feet, and marched after her.

I didn’t remember ever feeling so furious, but I left the room and saw her slipping into the bathroom.

Quickening my pace, my fists clenched, I was about to shove myself into the bathroom when someone looped an arm around my waist and swooped me backward and off the ground.

I kicked and wrestled, looking back to find Corran. “Put me down,” I roared.

“Not until you calm down.” He said, as he carried me farther down the hallway and into a lift. We stepped out into what looked like a hotel room. No people were around.

“What did she show you? What lies is she spreading now?”

He grabbed my wrist and hauled me into a bedroom, my legs wobbling on my too tall heels. Once inside an empty room, he released me and locked the door.

“Are you going to talk to me?” I demanded, the fiery anger still surging through my veins.

He pulled out the paper from his pocket and held it by his side. “It’s nothing, seriously.”

He lifted the photo and flipped it over. I blinked hard at seeing a photo of me completely naked in a full frontal straddling a tree branch while I slept.

“I don’t get it?” Sure, it wasn’t my best side and hell, I could do with a brazillian, but what was I missing?

“Zeni is very competitive, and everything to her must be perfect.”

I glanced down at myself in the photo. “And I’m not perfect?”

He smiled and tucked the photo into his back pocket. “You’re more than perfect, which is why I took the photo so I always have you with me.”

I stared at him bewildered.

“On Veon, women never let their hair grow too long.” And it took me several seconds to realize exactly what hair he was referring to.

My mouth dropped open, and I felt violated to have Zeni laugh at my private area and show it to the Vepar like I was a monkey on display. “She’s sick. And besides, when was I supposed to get waxed? When I was locked in my prison cell?”

“Told you. Nothing to worry about.”

“I doubt that. So with all your technology, why do you still have printed photographs.”

“Nostalgia mostly.”

Walking predatorily in my direction, he stopped in front of me, lowering his head in a flash to capture my mouth, stopping any further discussion of Zeni. I moaned as our lips connected. His kiss was remarkably soft as he cupped my jaw in his hands, tilting my head slightly to deepen it. I wasn’t sure how he was managing to control himself so well when I felt like I was about to combust.

As was always my reaction to him, I was lost, completely swept up in him and his ability to render me speechless. I absolutely loved that he made me lose all thought with his kisses, all my insecurities of being here completely obliterated once more, every kiss feeling like the first.

He walked me backwards towards the bed, through the embrace of our lips and tongues. Pulling away, he lifted me gently, searching my eyes before laying me down softly on the bed. I reached for him in unspoken need, his body molding over me as he searched my lips for another passionate kiss.

I needed him to show me how much he wanted me after days of watching other Vepar females do everything they could to get his attention. I needed to know that he needed me as much as I craved him.

A visceral feeling passed over me. Our eyes met and I saw enthrallment in his gaze, in the sensations of our kisses as our coming together imparted. Feeling his hardened erection pushing against me, I moaned into his kiss, sliding my legs along his length. My desire and need clear in my pursuit to speed things up. It was all for naught, as he took his sweet time, gently nipping along my jaw and down my neck. I remained still, taking my cue from him as he proceeded to undress me in slow measures. Unzipping my dress, he peeled it up and over my head, then rained gentle kisses along my stomach before worshipping my breasts through the thin layer of my strapless lace bra that I had finally figured out how to get the dressing cylinder to give me.

“I don’t want any barriers between us,” he whispered, slowly removing every layer of my clothing, my overheated skin relishing the coolness of the room. Leaning forward, I dragged up his shirt, pulling it over his tight stomach, across his strong arms, like unwrapping the most cherished and wanted present. Lost in our silent fantasy, he stared lovingly into my eyes as we unfastened and removed his pants, dropping them and his briefs to the floor. Completely naked, no barriers between us, as he’d wanted.

The anticipation of feeling him on me, in me, overtook my body, and I shuddered in his arms. He lowered himself over me. His strength and weight felt absolutely delicious, warming my blood with desire. In unspoken understanding, our undeniable mutual need declared the undressing experience as foreplay enough. I thrummed with so much kindled desire, that I already floated on the edge of an orgasm from his touch. My silent pleas signaled I was more than ready to welcome him inside me. He spread my legs with a gentle push of his knee. With slow, measured movements, he slid into me before leisurely thrusting deeper. I moaned, my back arching, captured by his unwavering stare.

“Yes, that’s it, baby. So perfect,” he whispered, pulling himself all the way out, before pushing back in slowly, forcing me to open. I pulled his face down to mine to devour his mouth, gently nipping his lower lip. I was lost to the sensations of his steady rhythm, the slow sensual gliding in and out, as though he had all the time in the world.

I wished we had that kind of time. This was a stolen moment. We’d escaped from the party and everyone would ask questions soon, then it was back to the games. I memorized this moment inside of me for when it got too hard...for when it felt impossible to keep going.

But I realized at that moment that I want a lifetime of this. Of these Vepar men.

“I want you to fight for me...fight for us, because I’ll never stop fighting for you,” he whispered, not breaking eye contact for one moment.

Maintaining his languid strokes, he brushed his hand down my body, pushing it between us to gently stroke me, skating his thumb along the bundle of nerves in succession with his thrusts. Euphoria soared within me, growing, escalating. He drove me wild, pushing me over the edge.

I writhed uncontrollably in his grip as he dangled me closer to the plunge of ecstasy. My body trembled in desire, achingly empty in the need for more, begging for release.

“Corran . . . please . . . ”

“Shhh, baby,” he whispered.

Fisting his hand roughly in my hair, he held my hip securely in place, refusing to let me speed up our movements.

“It’s too much,” I pleaded in desperation.

I quaked in his arms, screaming in pleasure, my body pulsating and tightening around him. Pulling my lips from his, I screamed, “Corran!” Slowing the gentle glides of his fingers on my sensitized clit, he pulled his hand away, entwining his fingers in mine, our hands held firmly as he drove into me with final thrusts. He’d taken his time until I exploded, and now this was for him to take me, to bring himself to the edge with me. He hissed as he slammed into me harder. Our mesmerized gazes locked and he whispered my name, before coming deep inside me.

Chapter 15

Close to a week had passed without any news from the council on the third test or my Vepar, and I missed them terribly. Worry bubbled in my gut at the delay. Everyone gossiped about what it meant, along with talking about me. Most now completely ignored me, well except out in public. There they pretended to be my friend, and I played the game. Maybe too well because they squirmed when I hugged them, and I made sure to do it every time. Ever since the team dinner where I vanished with Corran, they accused me of cheating and treated me even worse than before at the mansion.

A bitter breeze washed past, and the trees in the backyard swayed, their fruit swung back and forth like globes on a Christmas tree. This was the only place that the others left me alone most days and it gave me time to think--if I made the right decision to stay here.

Someone rushed across the yard, and I perked up.

“Luren,” I called out as I caught the elf Vepar crossing the mansion yard, waving to him.

He glanced over, squinting beneath the glare of the two suns.

I stood from the bench near the mansion and ran toward him.

“Haven't seen you in days. Or the others. What’s going on?” Nerves danced down my spine as I watched Luren’s brow furrowed. He glanced back and forth before leaning in closer.

“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but the council is selecting the mate today.”

“What? But we haven’t done the third test.”

He turned away and continued his march across the yard, leaving me alone, not looking back. Dread sank through me.

Something happened…something bad. Why else had the Vepar disappeared and now suddenly there’s a selection without the completion of the last ritual test.

My heart beat like it intended to stop, and sickness churned in my stomach. I rushed back to my room and shut the door, then paced when a message popped up on the monitor.

“Ella. Council have called you to the front yard.”

I paced some more, not sure I wanted to find out who they selected. I couldn’t stand it if it wasn’t me. Except the Council picked their mate, not my men. My focus was scattered and I hurried into the common room’s cylinder wardrobe, changing into a simple yellow, summer dress with short sleeves.

Despite the new clothes, I sweated, and couldn’t bring myself to move. I hadn’t expected the selection to happen this fast and had kept telling myself there was one more test and then I’d worry about the outcome. And now that it was here, panic strangled me because all I could think about were the what ifs.

What if they picked another girl?

What if I had to live with the Council?

What if my Vepar couldn’t do anything about it?

What if I became a slave or they experimented on me?

But I had to finally get this done. I hurried my steps out of the room and toward the front entrance where the remaining women joined me. They all wore pale faces and worry crammed behind their eyes. They knew… We all knew something wasn’t right.

Four of us lined up in front of the three Council members. At the side near a bubbling fountain of purple water, my three Vepar stood stoic, their emotions barren.

Terror consumed me. I remembered the Council’s threat. If I didn’t win, they would take me as their own.

A few staff were present, including Luren, but where were the media crew needing to publicize the event?

The one-horned Council member stepped forward, the blue cape he wore fluttered in the wind around his legs. “Thank you for your patience while we deliberated. This was a hard decision. The four of you who remain showed exceptional strength and bravery during the first test. The devotion and dedication were extraordinary in the social dates and confirmed you’re each well suited to our matches.” He paused for a moment, his gaze skimming over all of us, pausing on me a bit too long. “The third test… is complete.”

Everyone murmured, and my mind was on fire. Had I missed a test?

“What third test?” Zeni called out.

“The dinner you were all called to was a test of keeping your emotions in check.”

My mouth dropped open because I spent the whole time keeping to myself, never showing interest in the men, then I disappeared with Corran. Crap.

Everyone else cooed like birds… their fakeness made me sick.

The Council member raised his chin.“We’ve made our decision on who we believe is best suited for these three Vepar and our decision is final. The winner is Ella Monroe from Earth.”

I rocked on my heels, convinced I hadn’t heard right. I won?

The females around me gasped and cried out in protest. But the Council members didn’t even congratulate me. They looked away and spun on their heels, then were ushered toward a small spacecraft sitting on the front lawn that took off almost instantly after they boarded.

“What just happened? This is a joke,” Zeni cried.

My three Vepar watched everyone until they finally moved forward. Derrial collected my hands in his and drew me closer. Corran and Thane stood at my back, my protectors.

“This isn’t fair!” Zeni wailed, and she glared at me, so much hatred projecting from her stare. She spun and rushed back into the mansion, while the other women stood there, lost and confused.

Derrial drew me with him into the house and the four of us marched to my bedroom. He shut the door behind us and stated, “Pack your belongings, we need to leave now. We’re going home.”

I turned to face my three men. “What just happened? I mean, it’s my first mating ritual, but that seemed rather sorrowful.”

Thane stepped alongside me. “You weren’t going to be selected by the Council, so we had to… what do you say on Earth? Pull some strings.”

“And we need to leave quickly,” Corran murmured.

Worry rattled me. “Am I safe?”

“Of course, pet,” Thane added. “It’s just not safe here anymore.”

I had so many questions, and I wanted to celebrate the win, knowing that I’d just gained myself three mates, which in itself was scary and exciting, but something felt wrong about today.

I glanced around to what had been my home for the past couple of weeks. “I don’t have anything to pack.”

“Good, you’ll have everything you need at your new home.” Derrial hauled me outside, and their speediness, their dread leeched into me. What were they so afraid of?

“What strings exactly did you have to pull?”

But no one answered as we rushed into the space vessel parked in the backyard. We climbed on, and without looking back, the door shut. We lifted into the air.

Suddenly, I felt like I’d somehow landed in the wolf’s den. Thane sidled up next to me on the seats and drew me into his arms. His lips were on my cheek, my neck, my ear. “Don’t worry, pet. We’ll never let anything happen. But most importantly, you are officially ours by Veon law.”

Then why did my instinct scream that something worse was waiting for me around the next corner?

Chapter 16

(Derrial)

We were called to meet with the Council the next morning. We left Ella sleeping soundly in bed in the secure room we had created secretly in our home. We didn’t know who to trust when it came to Ella, so we took all precautions. I fucking hated to leave her, but the Council would only get suspicious if we didn’t show up.

As soon as we arrived it was clear that something was wrong. Zeni was standing next to one of the Councilmen, a triumphant grin on her face as we walked in.

“Why the hell is she here?” Thane snarled. He had wanted to break up with Zeni before any of us and had been the most resentful when we found out that she had lied. His feelings had obviously gotten stronger with time.

“Why were we not informed that Ella Monroe had a blood type almost guaranteed to be a success in Corran’s trials?” asked one of the old fuckers.

I froze. How in the world did they find out? We had been holding them off claiming we had more tests to do.

“Zeni was able to procure some of the human’s blood during the first Trial. She brought it to us and the test results just came back. She’s a perfect match for genetic suitability.”

None of us seemed to be able to speak. After everything we had done to try and protect Ella, we were watching it all crumble before our eyes.

“What tests did you run?” Corran demanded, trying to make it sound like they’d made a mistake.

“All the ones we needed,” said Chloped, my least favorite of the Councilmen. “With the data we had already received from the first team about her parents, you should have known we would look into her,” he continued happily.

“She belongs to us,” Thane growled, looking like he was ready to destroy them all.

Vepar guards began to file into the room. The Council had clearly been expecting us to be angry, to retaliate and not take this lightly.

“The human is currently being escorted to a secure lab where we will begin the procedures,” said Chloped. He pulled up a holographic image of a shell-shocked Ella being led out of our supposedly iron clad hiding place.

How the fuck did they find her?

“You surrendered your hold on her once you had her enter the Trials under false pretenses. She is now the property of Veon.” Gunter smirked, pleased with himself.

I trembled with rage, not sure who I hated more, the Council or Zeni.

“You can leave now,” Chloped ordered. “You are all currently suspended from your duties as we investigate your deception further.”

Thane took a step forward and Corran and I both grabbed his arms before he could do anything to make matters worse.

It would take all three of us to save Ella.

Discover what happens next in the Fallen World Series in Betrayed...coming Fall 2019.

Pre-order your copy at books2read.com/fallenworld3

Authors’ Note

We love the idea of exploring the universe, what lays beyond it. Mila recently attended a lecture by Brian Cox about the exploration and understanding of wormholes and black holes, and this has spurred us on to dive deeper and share what life out in the great expanse of the universe could offer. We hope you're enjoying the journey with us. This is a departure from what we normally write, but it has been so much fun to dive deeper into the Vepar world.

School of Broken Souls

Have you discovered School of Broken Souls yet? Here’s a sneak peek at the first chapter…

School of Broken Souls

Adeline Jones is perfectly average. Or at least she thinks she is until she receives an invite to attend Raven Academy, complete with a full scholarship. Raven Academy is the mysterious school that only the elite of the elite go and despite Adeline's misgivings about giving up her whole life to attend, there's no way her parents are going to let her give up such an opportunity.

But things at Raven Academy aren't what they seem. Everyone is a little too perfect, a little too rich, and a little too powerful for any normal student population. Things only complicate further when Adeline catches the eyes of Raven Academy's group of elite boys.

Can Adeline figure out what secrets Raven Academy is hiding before it’s too late? Or will the price of admission to the elite academy be more than she can pay...like perhaps her soul.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

-Edgar Allen Poe

Chapter 1

I grip the gun under my coat, and my hand shakes. All of me trembles.

What the hell am I doing here?

A drop of sweat slides down my back. It must be a hundred degrees in this store. Or maybe my nerves are just making me feel like I’m in the living embodiment of hell.

A sudden shriek has me jumping in my boots, and I flinch around to see a child stomping his feet when his mom takes away a bag of fruit snacks that’s he’s poached from one of the shelves. Listen to your mother, I want to say, but I can’t find my voice. Not now.

Not when I’m ready to run and hide.

But I have to see this through. People are counting on me. And I can’t let them down.

I won’t let them down.

I glance around at who else is in the store. There’s a teenage couple making eyes at each other in the row over, and a grizzly old man looking over the beer aisle, but other than that the store’s empty. I need everyone to leave before I do this though. This stupid, crazy, impossible thing.

I go through my plan again in my mind for the hundredth time. The gun is filled with water... a toy gun. But it will do the trick. Please God let it work.

The first time my friend Cody pointed it at me, I screamed. It sure as hell looks like a real handgun. The toy mirrors a Glock G43. I have no idea what the number means, but it’s black and looks real. That’s what matters.

Hopefully the store clerk will think the same. And then when inevitably the police pick me up, maybe they will take it easier on me since it isn’t a real gun. At least that’s my hope, but I know I’m just fooling myself. I have to lie to myself, or I’ll never go through with this.

I need the money.

I need it despite the fact that I’ve always been a good girl, the type of girl who never walks outside the lines or does anything unexpected.

Until now.

Robbing a 7-11 is definitely going to yank that title from me fast. And if that is the worse it does, I’ll take it.

Sweat is rolling down my back now. It slides under the waistband of my jeans and beneath the elastic of my underwear. Why is it so hot in here?

I think again of the other night when I walked into the kitchen at midnight and found mom crying over a stack of bills. Dad withers away in their dark bedroom, too weak to come out, and too proud to ask for help from anyone.

There’s a surgery that can help him, a surgery that can fix my family. But we need money for it.

I hated the word.

Need.

Just as much as I loathe the cancer slowly taking my dad from me.

My throat chokes, and I struggle to breath. I glance around, finding the sliding door as the young couple leave.

Escape.

It’s there for me. But it won’t help my family.

I work two jobs after school and save every penny. But $8.00 an hour doesn’t add up fast. I often talk to mom about maybe dropping out of school for a little bit, but she won’t listen to me, and threatens to make me quit my other jobs if I even mention it again. My mother and I both work as much as possible, but it’s never going to be enough. Or at least it’s never going to be enough in time to actually save my dad.

Another review of the store reveals three people wandering around the aisles, and this will be the best I can hope for. I swallow past a dry throat, my finger twitching on the gun handle, and I meander toward the only working cash register. The guard is at lunch, and I see no cameras. This is the right time, but hesitation slows me.

Dad. I have to think of him. Losing him isn’t an option, and the doctors say with the right amount of money, he stands a damn good chance to heal.

I want that chance, so with squared shoulders, I march closer to the young girl picking at her nails behind the register. She’s wearing her blue hair in a high ponytail and she has a small piercing in her nose.

My thoughts tangle into a web while fear squeezes my chest. What if I get caught? Mom and Dad will be horrified.

Shaking my head, I push that thought out of my mind. I can’t let those thoughts creep in, or they’ll cripple me. It took me three weeks to work up the courage to finally take action.

So, I have to do this.

I need this.

Fuck.

I lick my dry lips and approach the young girl. She looks up at me, disinterested, and my attention falls to her name tag.

Mary Sue.

I almost laugh out loud at the simpleness of her name, the cliché of it, but she distracts me.

“What do you have?” She eyes me up and down, seeing no groceries in my hand.

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out, and I will my hand to move. To pull out that damn gun. Sweat rolls down my neck.

“If you’re gonna order cigarettes, I need to see an ID.” She folds her arms across her chest.

My free hand juts out and I grab a handful of gum from a rack of candy, then dump them on the counter. Six packets. She starts scanning them, and I inch the gun out from under my coat, the words of what I‘ll say roll through my mind.

Stick’em up.

Stupid. So stupid. She won’t take me seriously. What am I thinking?

I hold the gun low between me and the counter. I’m inches from showing her the weapon. I can do this; I keep repeating in my mind.

“Want a bag with these?” she barks, and I flinch so hard, I hit the gun’s trigger and it squirts water across the bottom section of the counter near my feet. A light hiss sounds.

Shit!

“Yes, yes,” I say, hoping she didn’t hear the noise.

She cocks an eyebrow. “Really? You want a whole bag for six packets of gum. What about saving the environment?”

I flick my gaze up. “Then why did you ask? And yes, I want the bag.”

She rolls her eyes and sighs as she leans over to grab one.

I lift the gun, placing it just over the counter, pointing it at Mary Sue, my body concealing the weapon should anyone behind me come to the register.

I can barely breathe when the front doorbell chimes. From the corner of my eye, I spot the navy uniform, the hulking form of the guard.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I shove the gun back into my coat and retreat from the counter, lowering my head.

“Hey, ma’am,” Mary Sue calls out. “You forgot your six gums in a bag?” she says sarcastically.

The guard stands in my way in front of the glass door, and I freeze, about to fall apart. When I glance up, he studies me.

“You okay, Miss?”

“Y...yeah, of course.” My voice trembles, and I sidestep him, sliding through the door. The bell gives another ring as I pass, startling me. The cool air does nothing to cool me down, not when my heart pounds inside me, and my mind screams the word run in my head.

A quick look behind me shows that the guard and girl are staring at me through the window. I’m sure they think I stole something. I turn away and walk fast down the sidewalk. The moment I take the corner, I run, still holding the gun under my coat. Over my shoulder, no one follows. I did nothing wrong, but still I can’t stop sprinting past people meandering on the sidewalk. A man in a suit bumps into me, but I keep going without apology.

I berate myself as I run for chickening out, for failing. I won’t be able to return to that 7-11 again, they’ll remember me next time for sure because of my odd behavior.

I made a mess of everything today. I’ll have to start again, find another location with no guard. I can’t stop, not until I find a way to get money for Dad’s surgery.

Finally, I slip into a quiet alley and press my back to a brick wall, gasping for air.

“Idiot,” I mumble under my breath. If I moved faster, I’d now have a bag of cash. I rack my brain for the best store to steal from. Maybe I should have come up with a backup plan before this like in the movies. On those shows, they make it seem so easy, their plans go off without a hitch. In real life, I just suck and fail at everything.

I contemplate the locations I can try next, which ones would be potential hot spots. The bakery is quiet after the morning rush, except the owner stays in the back, so he might easily see me. The bookstore is always empty, there are rumors that its going out of business which means they won’t have a lot of cash on hand. I need one big hit, not small ones.

Then I remember the new pawn store. I shove the gun into the big pocket of my coat and take a deep inhale before stepping out of the alley.

Several blocks later, I stand outside the pawn store, studying the window filled with men’s wrist watches and used cell phones.

Someone walks into me, hitting me so hard that I fall against the window, and spin around. “Hey!”

“Watch out,” a young kid snipes at me as he rushes by.

“I was standing still,” I call out, annoyed.

I really must be invisible as this type of thing happens more often than not.

I head inside the store. The walls are full of merchandise, and it smells like worn socks. An L-shaped glass counter sits against the back wall, and there are three assistants present, but no registers. I observe a customer paying for her merchandise by handing over money to a sales clerk who heads out past a shut door. He uses a card around his neck to open the door. This is a lot more complicated than the register at the convenience store.

A sales guy strolls toward me with a smile. I turn and head outside, putting quick distance between me and the store. That place is not going to work, so I keep walking, not ready to return home and face my parents. Not that they’ll know what I’m doing but the hurt in their eyes, the hope to keep fighting will eat me up because I failed my mission.

It’s not long before I find myself in front of Nico’s Cafe, the local chain coffee shop, and the aroma of coffee draws me inside. I pluck out a freebie card from my wallet in my back pocket. They handed these out a few weeks ago.

I order myself a skim latte with vanilla syrup. With it in hand, I slide into a small booth and enjoy the small luxury of a hot brew in my hands and the tranquil sound of a soft song overhead.

A loud, sharp laugh shatters the peace, and I turn towards the sound.

I spot them and cringe. Two girls in miniskirts followed by three guys mock punching each other, strolling in my direction.

My stomach drops, and I slide in my seat, keeping my head low. Last time I bumped into Alexia, the blonde with legs for miles, she shoved me aside muttering about someone daring to be in her way.

I don’t need snobby shitheads like them making this day even worse.

Their laughter makes me groan on the inside.

“Alexia is such a bae. I love her,” Talia, the other girl says, and they both giggle, while I sip my coffee, wondering how I can slip past them without being seen. I’m so low in the social hierarchy at school, you would think they wouldn’t even notice me. Too bad that hasn’t stopped them from being assholes towards me when they get the chance.

Swallowing my last mouthful of sweet coffee, I grow tired of listening to their drivel.

“Did you see what that bitch, Olivia posted about you online?” Alexa asks, venom lining her voice. “We’ll make her regret it tomorrow.”

Talia snorts and the guys laugh in response. “She’s pissed because she didn’t get accepted in to Raven Academy. They rejected her fat ass.” Talia breaks out in an unattractive, high pitched laugh, her friends joining her like baying hyenas, laughing at someone else’s misery.

Raven Academy.

That sounds like something familiar… maybe it’s a school for Edgar Allan Poe lovers? Or it could be a morgue. I type it into the search bar on my phone but find nothing. Was it a new term kind of like the “mile high club”?

“Heard the place’s a hole,” one of the guys says. “The school is run down and only weirdos go there. My Dad knows someone that sent his kid there.”

“I heard it’s a cult,” Alexia replies. “Pretty sure they pray to Satan or something else creepy like that.”

“No, they don’t,” Talia giggles. “Or it would be in the news for sure.”

“Unless they control the media,” she whispers, in a menacing voice. “Haven’t you seen those conspiracy shows I told you to watch about those organizations like the Illuminati? All kinds of shit is real.”

I roll my eyes but remain glued to their conversation. I ought to make my way out of the cafe, but I can’t. Something about the name “Raven Academy” intrigues me. Not much happens in our town, well unless you count Mr. Chamberlain’s death. He drank straight vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar for a new diet craze, and it burned his insides.

“Bet it’s just a snooty Academy for the rich. And Olivia wasn’t rich enough,” another guy adds.

That definitely sounds more realistic, and I suspect that’s why I haven’t heard of the school. Out of my league.

My phone pings with a message.

Your dad isn’t doing too well. You coming home soon? LOL

I type a response hastily to Mom.

Do you know what LOL means?

Two seconds later, her message flashes on my screen.

Love you lots.

I sigh and start typing when a shadow falls over me.

“Ghost girl.” Alexia snaps. “Stop eavesdropping. Don’t you have some other corner to lurk in?”

I jerk my head up, gritting my teeth, meeting her wry smirk. She glares down at me over the booth wall between us.

Breathing through my nostrils loudly, I grip my phone, refusing to engage, to give them fuel, to do anything with them.

Talia’s head pops up alongside Alexia, her tight short curls bouncing around her head, making her look like a doll with a head too big for her body.

“What are you typing?” she asks.

“Shopping list,” I lie and lower my head, unwilling to meet their eyes. Maybe they’ll leave me alone. I tuck my phone into my pocket, already shuffling out of the booth in the opposite direction.

Alexia climbs to her feet and rounds my booth, standing there with her hands on her hips, staring at me. She hates me. Detests me. It’s on her face. And I know why… three months ago one of her exes was stupid enough to ask me to the school dance. I put it down to him mocking me, and I turned him down. But that gave her enough ammunition to make me her enemy for life.

“He never liked you,” she snarls, her upper lip curling. Her words are wicked and vicious.

“Told you before. He’s not my type.”

I stand from the booth and start toward the exit, ready to escape. It’s what I’m good at, running, just like my failed robbery at the 7-11. The thought sinks through me, dampening my spirits even more. I brush my hands down my coat.

“What the hell are you wearing?” she curses at me, eyeing me up and down, scrunching her perfectly sculpted eyebrows as if my outfit offends her.

I lower my gaze and take a wide berth around her, but she snatches my arm, squeezing, her bony fingers feel like an iron grip.

“No one would ever be interested in a loser like you.” Her fingernails press into the fabric, into my flesh, but I don’t show the pain. I bite my lip so I can’t make a sound.

I’ve mastered masking agony from when I keep Mom company as she cries, when I sit by Dad’s bed when he’s too tired to speak, when Alexia and the other girls attack me for no reason other than I exist. But after my day today, a fiery rage surges through me, and I find my voice.

Meeting her gaze, I spit the words and wrench my arm free, “Haven’t you grown tired of this game yet? It’s starting to bore me.”

“Oh, so ghost girl has a backbone,” Talia laughs the words, drawing attention from a few bystanders in the café.

Alexia takes another step closer, her face reddening.

I stand my ground, no matter how much my mind screams to turn and run. To leave because nothing good can come of this. My time is better spent elsewhere, and Mom is waiting for me. Dad isn’t well.

Everyone’s silent. I turn away when she grabs my hair and yanks me backward. Ow! I wince and reach for my head while others in the store gasp.

Someone is marching toward us.

Alexia is in my ear. “Do you think someone like you can threaten me?” She shoves her hand in to my shoulder, and I stumble, rubbing the soreness spreading across my scalp, my heart racing. I’m pretty sure she pulled out a chunk of my hair.

The store manager is there all of a sudden, shoulders squared, towering over us. “Take it outside before I call the police.”

I glare at Alexia, my cheeks on fire, tears in my eyes, and I fist my hands.

Nico, the owner appears next, stepping in front of me. “Go home, Adeline.” He knows me, knows my parents, knows we’re struggling. And I hate that because I don’t want pity now or ever.

“I’ll see you at school,” Alexia snarls before whirling around and rejoining her friends.

So many eyes are on me, and I feel the weight of their stares pinning me down. Their stares mix with the feeling of failure, the feeling of dread that is always with me.

I turn around and run out of the store. Only the sound of laughter follows me.

Read on at books2read.com/schoolofbrokensouls

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Other Books by C.R. Jane

The Fated Wings Series

First Impressions

Forgotten Specters

The Fallen One (a Fated Wings Novella)

Forbidden Queens

Frightful Beginnings (a Fated Wings Short Story)

Faded Realms

Faithless Dreams

The Rock God (a Fated Wings Novella)

The Timeless Affection Series

Lamented Pasts

Lost Passions

The Pack Queen Series

Queen of the Thieves

Queen of the Alphas (2019)

Broken Souls Series

School of Broken Souls

School of Broken Hearts

The Rise Again Series

The Day After Nothing (2019)

The Sounds of Us Contemporary Series

Remember Us This Way

Remember You This Way

Remember Me This Way (2019)

Fallen World Series Co-write with Mila Young

Bound

Broken

Betrayed

Join Mila Young’s Wicked Readers

Mila Young tackles everything with the zeal and bravado of the fairytale heroes she grew up reading about. She slays monsters, real and imaginary, like there's no tomorrow. By day she rocks a keyboard as a marketing extraordinaire. At night she battles with her might pen-sword, creating fairytale retellings, and sexy ever after tales. In her spare time, she loves pretending she's a mighty warrior, walks on the beach with her dogs, cuddling up with her cats, and devouring every fantasy tale she can get her pinkies on.

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Other Books by Mila Young

Gods and Monsters

Apollo Is Mine

Poseidon Is Mine

Ares Is Mine

Hades Is Mine

Haven Realm Series

Hunted (Little Red Riding Hood Retelling)

Cursed (Beauty and the Beast Retelling)

Entangled (Rapunzel Retelling)

Wicked Heat Series

Wicked Heat #1

Wicked Heat #2

Wicked Heat #3

Elemental Series

Taking Breath #1

Taking Breath #2

Fallen World Series Co-write with C.R. Jane

Bound

Broken

Betrayed

Broken Souls Series Co-write with C.R. Jane

School of Broken Souls

School of Broken Hearts