Alien’s Claim

OUTLAW PLANET MATES

EDEN EMBER

Cover by Kasmit Covers

Edited by Perfectly Plotted Books

Copyright 2022 Eden Ember

All rights reserved.

This work of fiction is intended for mature audiences only. All characters represented within are eighteen years of age or older and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This work is property of Eden Ember & Starr Huntress, please do not reproduce illegally.

CHAPTER 1

MARIEL

There he stands, bigger than life, a being unlike any I had never seen before. His silvery skin and black stripes look nothing like the aliens I have seen from around here. Obviously, he is a newcomer. I smile at him, trying to be nice.

"Hello, I'm Mariel, is there anything you need help with?" I ask.

It's part of the community vibe to be kind to those who come in. That's what they do here, that's how Delaina and Carx were when I first got here. I have my own small one room hut in the middle of the community and I feel like since coming to this God-forsaken planet I have found my place. But this newcomer, he looks at me as if he's trying to figure me out as much as I am him. Reazus Prime has multiple alien species, each one unique in their own way. It's a melting pot, kind of like the United States was back on Earth at one time. The memory of Earth has begun to fade in my mind, though, as we have been here for so long now.

He shakes his head, and he speaks something that I can't understand. I point to the implant behind my ear to see if he also has one. He nods and points, but then shakes his head.

"I see you can't understand me. And I can't understand you. But these things can adjust because they hold many different languages. I can take you to the doctor that’s here, or maybe I could try to do it myself," I tell him.

His eyes shift from side to side. He beats his left fist on his chest right where his heart is. I look at his body, muscles ripped upon muscles. He wears a leather garment for pants, maybe more like a kilt. And yes, my mind goes there. I am curious as to what's underneath. My brow perks as I want to ask him what's underneath the garment. From what I've learned, these aliens have all sorts of different genitals compared to humans. I know Delaina is pretty satisfied with Carx.

The friendliness stops when he lunges forward, his eyes growing wide as if he's under some sort of a spell. He reaches for me, grabbing me.

"No, no this is not the way one acts here," I say as I try to wiggle out of his reach.

He grabs me still and pulls me into his arms, throwing me over his shoulder. Surely, someone is seeing this.

"Help!" I scream and yet no one hears. It is in the middle of the day and people are off working in the fields, or in streams catching fish, or out scouting for those who are lost. Or maybe they can see this and think it to be normal. I'm growing concerned by what this alien’s intentions happen to be.

"Put me down! I said, put me down!" I struggle, but I don't scream too much because I don't want to cause alarm with him. I feel like I’m being an idiot for letting him walk away with me. There is a point where I even begin to wonder if this is some kind of game with him.

He takes off running, and I scream once more. I struggle and I beat him with my fists. However, he holds me tighter, and we’re so close to the open gate. No one has heard me. I look back with tears beginning to pour from my eyes while no one is paying attention.

"Delaina! Carx!" I scream at the top of my lungs. They can't hear me from their home on the side of the hill. This being takes me outside the gates, and he runs, his large feet pounding along the ground. He must be at least seven feet tall from what I can tell. Though I have put up a hefty struggle, I eventually quit fighting as it wears me out. When he puts me down, maybe I can sprint for it. Maybe, but his legs are longer than mine and I'm certain he's faster than me.

He stomps away toward an opening where a zoomer sits inside a bush. A little two-seater, it is a hovercraft that can zoom fast and far as it uses tiny fuel cells. The fuel cells are made up of tiny little dark cubes that actually burn insanely long periods of time. I know those who have talked about using them and going halfway around the small planet without refueling.

The beast puts me inside and as he goes around the other side I try to open the door but I can’t understand how it works. He slides into his seat and before I can get it open his large hand moves and he puts his arm around me and pulls me to him. He shakes his head and utters something unintelligible to me. He starts the hovercraft with his other hand and we speed out of the bush and onto the road. He's going fast, too fast for me to jump out. My captor finally lets go of me and I slide as far away from him as I can get, which isn’t very far.

DAGRED

I can hardly believe I have found her. For so long my soulmate markings have been darkening. I look completely different now from when I had my white silvery markings that blended into my silver skin. But when the giant ship crashed to the planet’s surface and sent all the stasis pods careening to the surface, I knew my mate was here. Her presence activated the markings and now they have become very dark. The moment that I saw her, my heart strummed so hard there was no doubt.

For many months I have gone from village to village, to all the places closest to where the pods had landed. Only to find when I came in contact with the others that nothing happened. I was left with blank stares as I introduced myself to the other former slaves, my heart remaining slow and unmoved by their presence. Even so, I continued to follow my instincts, because fate calls loudly, and I ended up high in the mountains above Reazus Prime in the secret village where they take in those who are looking for a place to settle. While it's a pleasant place to live, I do not want all the distractions that come with a life there. I must be alone with her, so that I might tell her about everything I feel for her. She and I will bond and then we’ll mate and things will be wonderful for us.

The female doesn't seem too keen on my methods, and it's as if she doesn't fully realize that she has met her fated mate. When I walked into the borders of the village, the stripes of my body turned an even darker color. To my own kind, I appear as one who has already mated with his female. But these Terrans are different, as they come from a system far from here. I still can't understand why no one has been able to adjust my implant. It would make things so much easier if I could speak to her clearly. There is no doubt she is the one.

She sits beside me as I cross into the foothills of the mountains. I must take her to a place where we can hide and get to know one another. Perhaps she can help me with my implant because she seems to understand that I need help with it. Though we have met in such a way, I know she is the one for me.

The Terran has beautiful golden braids hanging down from her head that are long and down her back. She’s not at all like those I am most closely related to. She is too fragile to fight as I would fight. Of course, I'm a hybrid of two different species, kind of unique to myself. But Reazus Prime has become a large mix of beings anyway.

My mother is from Jedstron, and she spent her life in a difficult place. A Rizian, from Reazus Prime, came to our planet long ago before I was born. He saw my mother and liked her and took her against her will. I became the product of that time together, but she never did love my father. I am half-breed, half Jedstronian and half Rizian. It’s why I look so different from the others on this planet. I have the strong characteristics of the Jedstronians with the markings on my body.The Reazian part of me is represented with the horns on my head. I am a hybrid of two worlds, but I am happy to know that the most important parts of me are Jedstronian, and this fact has helped me find my mate.

I found myself imprisoned for a while when younger. It had all been a misunderstanding, as I was only trying to survive. The food rations were only given to those who had families. My mother had l perished before I grew up and I was living on the streets on my own. The aroma of food smelled so good as it came from the little restaurant, that I would wait out in the back for them to drop their rubbish so that I could rummage through it and grab the crumbs. They kept shooing me away, but the final time they caught me they sent me in a prison ship to Reazus Prime.

The prison time I served wasn't all that long, thankfully. The place was in anarchy by the time I arrived. The prisoners one day overtook the guards and the prisons all fell. The place became wild and scary and full of crime. After a while, more beings from other planets landed here and helped to settle the place. Some of them were pirates, and they are still here.

My mate looks at me with her beautiful, ice blue soulful eyes. I wish she would look at me with the same love that I have for her. I hope she will understand soon that I had to take her away. On this planet there is no time to get to know one another while others are nearby. One has to simply jump in and do what they must to make things work for them. I can't help but smile at her.

The night falls, the suns setting and making the place dark. Where the old prison is beneath us, the tunnels can be wild and unlit. We are away from the cities, out in what they call the Badlands and Nolands. It is a place where no man or woman would ever want to come. The rumble of the sky above indicates that rain is waiting to fall. It will be underwater before long if I don't get us into the shelter. Luckily, the runoff is fast and it doesn't leak into the prison below. At least the people who have stayed there have kept the vents clear and the rains out. If it doesn’t keep us dry, we will simply move on and find a way out. The prisons have outer doors everywhere, most of them hidden, some beneath rubble.

Blue lightning as blue as her beautiful eyes streaks across the sky. She jumps, her eyes growing wide as she moves closer to me. Yes, that's it, come close to me and feel the strumming of my heart. You will know that I am your mate.

I open the door and protectively put my around her as I motion for the hidden door which she can't see.

She speaks to me, and I can barely understand what she's saying. "Ere we crazy. Pouring othere."

I shrug and shake my head, because I do not completely understand. I reach for her, forcing her out of the vehicle. She clings to my side and goes along, not fighting too much.

The door leads to some steps that go down into the prison shaft. When I open it she gasps, for it is well hidden against the rocks of the desert. The old metal grinds against the rusted bolts that hold it together. I hold her close to my side and she steps right before me onto the steps, her hand clutching onto the leather strap of my coverings. We descend the steps and close the door behind us, the quiet of the dark prison greeting us as I pull out my globe and illuminate a path before us. Only as we reach the bottom does she look at me.

“Whawe dunow?”

CHAPTER 2

MARIEL

We walk down some steps into a dank, musky underground prison. I have never been to such a place on Reazus Prime. The dim lights barely flicker overhead as I look around. Our footprints echo as we walk over the blackened floors. Nothing about it seems friendly or cozy or warm. Around the corner is a medbay of some sort. I understand and nod, and he points to the instruments left out on the table.

"I'm sure these aren't sterilized. You want me to fix your implant?" I point to the implant behind my ear. He nods emphatically, and waves his hands over the instruments

My head shakes, but I would like to communicate with my captor. He sits down and turns his head, and I approach him to look at the area where the implant is located. Implants in this part of the galaxy must be a common thing. Earth has never seen such devices before, but it certainly has made living here much easier. With all the different species coming into Reazus Prime, these are a necessary part of life.

I turn to the instruments to see what I can use. Shrugging, I pull out the little magnetic pen I have. It needs to be sterilized first, since I used it for my own implant before. I don’t want nasty alien germs on it should I ever need to adjust mine again. A tub of wipes draws my attention. I take a sniff.  It certainly smells antiseptic. I hope that's what it is as I pull out my pen and wipe the end of it. Does the water actually work? The sinks here are shallow, and as I pull up on the lever, water begins to run out of the end of the tap. I put my pen underneath the stream of water and wash it. After doing so, I turn back to see that the alien is watching me intently.

I can’t help but notice his physique. His muscles ripple as he moves, and the little leather thing barely covers his manly parts. Shame on me! Shame on me for thinking such thoughts. I take a deep breath and approach him as I look at his horns. They jet out beautifully as if he’s grown them proudly all his life. So much about him is so interesting. My hand brushes against one of the black stripes going across his chest. He vibrates when I touch him, and he smiles and moans a bit. What is he all about?

The pen sticks to the implant behind his ear and I turn it. I speak while hoping to get a response.

"Can you understand me? Can you understand me now?" I say it over and over as I turn the little device and finally his eyes light up.

"Yes, I understand you now," he replies.

I smile, relieved, and pull the pen back before picking up another one of those antiseptic wipes and washing it. I then return it to my bag. Turning, I look into his eyes.

"Now, we can understand one another. My name is Mariel. I am a human from the planet known as Earth. Most of you people here on Reazus Prime call me a Terran. I have come here because I was kidnapped from Earth. I’m not here of my own choice. Now, what is your name?"

"I am Dagred. I'm here because I was arrested for stealing things to survive on Jedstron. My mother was Jedstronian and my father was Reazian, a native from Reazus Prime. I am a halfbreed, a product of rape. The people on my planet do not like me, but fortunately for me I retained the best features of both species so that I am what I am."

I smile. He speaks so plainly about his past. Finally, I ask the question that has been burning in my mind. "Why did you kidnap me?"

He beams a smile at me and grabs my hand and puts it between his two. Admittedly, his hands are big and strong and soft and warm. "Because I resonate with you. Because my heart strummed when I saw you. Because my body reacts when I’m around my fated mate. The moment your ship crashed into Reazus Prime I knew that my mate had arrived. You see these stripes? They were a white silver more blended into my skin at one time. Once in the presence of my fated mate they began to turn darker. They started turning the moment your ship crashed into the atmosphere of this planet. I've made it my life's work to follow after each one that has landed."

"What if I had died when I landed?" It's an honest question, though I’m ignoring the fated mate thing for a moment.

"I would not have resonated with a dead person. You see, I knew you were here and that you were alive. I have been searching for you all this time. There is a knowing, a sort of sense, that led me to you. And it led me all the way to the village where I found you. The moment I found you, my stripes darkened even more to this dark pattern you see before you. I resonate with you, Mariel. You are mine and that's why I had to take you. I had to make certain you knew you were to be mine. I have to show it. The only way I can show you this is for us to be alone so that we can bond."

I shake my head and back away. That's something that is too weird for me to fathom. Because as humans, we don't do any of these things. And yes, admittedly, I felt an attraction to him when I first laid eyes on him. But his way of kidnapping has not endeared him to me.

"If I really am your fated mate, you should take me back to the village. You should move into the village and perhaps we will see each other enough to know whether I can come to feel the same way about you. You see, what you’ve done to me has not helped me like you one bit. If it's true that I am your fated mate, then we need to go about this in a much different way. I refuse to be taken like this against my will," I declare to him.

He merely stares at me and smiles.

DAGRED

I have no doubt in my mind that Mariel is my fated mate. I’ve never seen my stripes grow as dark as they are now. Every part of my heart is strumming in harmony now that I have found her. She needs to understand, though. Why are humans not able to understand these things?

Now that we can communicate, I turn to her and tell her that I need to search for a place where we can stay. Staying in the medbay is not the best place to stay, and there are other more comfortable rooms in this prison.

"Stay here until I come back. I need to find us a room, and I need to make certain that no one else is down here. If someone else comes into this room, hide yourself. It's very important that we stay out of other’s way. This place could be crawling with those who might do us harm. It’s raining hard outside and we need to stay here for shelter until it passes." I turn and leave Mariel, trusting that she will do as I ask.

I go down the hallway and turn the corner a few times before I come up on a block of cells that have more comfortable bedding. The Terran appears very delicate, and she will need a soft place to lay for the night. I turn around and head back, and once I reach the medbay I find it empty.

"Mariel? Mariel?" I call and call for her, but it looks as if she's left. I should have known better than to trust her by herself. I wanted to show her that she is my mate, and that I trust her not to leave my side, but she has broken that trust and left. I follow my senses, which leads me back to the surface. The door is partially open, as she did not shut it correctly. I turn back and look squinting while squinting my eyes. I can see off in the distance those who wish to do us harm. Sometimes pirates come around, especially looking for Terrans to auction them off and sell as slaves. Poor Mariel has no idea what it is she could be up against. She's probably running toward the mountains as she seeks to escape me. That is the direction we came from earlier.

I get into the hovercraft and take off after her, the zoomer going as fast as it can. However, my senses soon guide me toward the trees as I enter the foothills. I have to ditch the zoomer so I can run after her on foot. Mariel is fragile and could get hurt out here if she is not careful. My biggest worry is the pirates that are lurking around. They can smell a human from way off, and they are likely following their own senses in their search for someone like my fated mate.

"Mariel? Mariel? Please, please come back to me. You are in danger out here away from me. There are pirates out here who mean you harm. Come on, Mariel, come back to me." I run through the trees as I see her going up a steep incline. She doesn't realize where she's going or that there's a bluff line not too far from here.

"Mariel! Be careful, there are drop-offs in front of you! You could fall to your death," I shout out to her.

I close in on the Terran woman, her small feet running as fast as she can. It hurts my heart to know that she's running away from me, that she's afraid of me, her fated mate. Doesn't she know that I would never hurt her? Doesn’t she understand that I would do everything in my power to protect her and keep her from harm? Mariel needs to get to know me better to know this about me. She's the one for me.

I run and I run and finally catch up to her. She turns around, her eyes are wide.

"No, get away from me. Let me go," her voice is shaky as she yells at me through the rain.

"Mariel, I won't hurt you, I promise. I just want you to get to know me so that you will see I'm your mate. I don't know how they do these things on Earth, but my people do it in exactly this way."

She laughs and throws her hands in the air. "I can assure you they don't do it this way on Earth. You don't kidnap someone and force them to spend time with you to find out if they're the one for you. You spend time with them of your own free will. I invited you back to the village, to get to know me better, yet you still want to hold me captive.”

I know better. My head shakes. "I can't go back there with you until you accept me. If you go back now you’ll tell them that I kidnapped you and they’ll banish me from the village. I am sorry that I frightened you, but I did not hurt you. I'm doing what’s natural to me. Please come back with me so we can get to know one another. If after three days you decide that you don't like me, I will take you back to your village and leave you there. But I ask that you give me three days. Please."

Mariel shakes her head as she runs backward.

"No!" She is moving dangerously close to the edge of the bluff line, I lunge forward, catching her in my giant hands just in time. Mariel nearly slips to her death off the edge of the bluff just behind her. Her arms snake around my neck, her breathing fast as her heart thumps inside her chest.

"Oh, my God, I can't believe I almost fell. How did you know this was here?" she asks.

I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly. I hold her tightly until her heart slows down and stops thumping so hard. "I know this place very well. Like I told you before, I was following my senses in searching for you. I didn't know where you were or what you looked like, but I combed this area very well. The village is up in the mountains up there.” Stopping for a moment, I turn my eyes to see something in the dark. “Look, there are lights coming our way now. We have to get back to the zoomer and hide.”

We run back to the zoomer, this time with Mariel willingly going with me. The lights of the pirates in their hover bus are coming down the road. There is no doubt they have sniffed her out. They’re moving along slowly, blocking the way up into the mountains. We have no choice but to turn back in the blinding rain and go back to the prison hideout. It's the safest place we can be, because there are many hiding places down below that they probably don't know about. Mariel nods her head as I make the suggestion and she willingly goes with me. Once back there, we descend the steps once again after securing the door above us. This time the Terran is willing to stay near me.

CHAPTER 3

MARIEL

The door slams behind us as we descend the stairs. When we come to the bottom, Dagred leads the way, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. We turn and twist so much that I don’t understand where we are going in the maze of the halls that make up the underground prison. The dim lights barely light our path and I have trouble seeing. We finally turn and head up a little flight of stairs against the mountain underneath. The large room we go into contains several prison cells and beds. Dagred turns to me and smiles.

"We're safe here. I have keen hearing and I will hear if anyone comes into the hall," he tells me.

My eyes are wide as I look back. "What were those things? The pirates that had me before were not like them. They look like giant bugs." My voice quakes as I speak.

"They are called Krataks. You will never understand a word they speak as their language is more like clicking of their exoskeleton jaws than actual vocalizations. They run one of the largest auction rings here on Reazus Prime. Their sole purpose is to hunt down, capture and sell what they consider exotics to whoever wants to buy them. You Terrans are the greatest prize that has ever landed on this planet. I can't believe that they haven't caught you by now. Honestly, the humans on the planet need to be protected. At least the Krataks are not everywhere, but they are onto you. They are seeking you out because you are like a wild animal and you pose a challenge for them. They enjoy a challenge."

I shiver, my arms folded around my body as I look at this being who is before me, the one who said the coloring on his body started to change when his ship crashed into mine and he came careening down to the surface along with me. I suppose it was then that he fell in love with me, that his heart strummed and he knew that I was the one. I have no clue about these things when it comes to his kind, but I am attracted to him, and I want to show my gratitude for his protection somehow.

"So you really came after me to save me? All this time I'd been captured by pirates elsewhere, and you didn’t find me, but you were trying to find me?" I think about it for a moment, and realize that had he found me before Delaina did, I’d have been ever so grateful and things would have been so different between us. But instead, he kidnaps me and takes me away after I’ve already established myself. I'm still trying to grasp how in his mind he thinks he was doing the right thing; he was following his instincts. To me I was kidnapped, and that's what bad guys do on earth.

"Yes. I had just acquired a small spaceship and was able to fly out to the satellite moons. It was then when I saw the ship that was carrying you Terrans that I began to feel something. I was right behind you when the ship splintered apart, casting out all of the stasis pods. I tried to slow my own ship down as I saw your pod coming my way and that is when things began to change for me. That is when the stripes on my skin began turning darker, the changes taking place because I was in close proximity to my mate. We literally collided into each other. You crashed somewhere far from me and I couldn’t find you when I came to. I knew you were alive because the stripes on my body began getting darker, although they didn't get this dark until I actually laid eyes on you face-to-face. I began my search then, the moment you landed on Reazus Prime."

It all seems so incredible that this being fixated on me, or resonated with me, I believe is what he called it. The moment I crashed through the atmosphere of Reazus Prime, Dagred knew I was his chosen one. I only wish I had known that as well. I wish that he had found me long before now and didn't have to kidnap me, but instead rescue me. It would have been so different.

"Well that sounds like an incredible tale. It would make an interesting book. You'll have to give me time, though, and that time should be given to me in my own village. If I give you my word that I won't turn you over to the authorities, will you please take me back to Delaina and Carx's village?”

"I will try to get you back there. But the Krataks know that we’re here already. They'll set a perimeter around this area and they will do everything in their power to capture you. You see, you are an exotic and you will bring in a huge price at an auction house. I wish we were back at the village where it was safer. I only took you because I wanted you to spend time with me away from everyone else. You may not have known me this entire time, but I have known about you. It has taken everything within my being to not grab you and kiss you; to show you affection. My heart beats so strong for you, I wish you could see and feel the things I do. I believe that someday you will and then I believe that you will understand.”

"I would really like to go back to the village to warn Delaina about the Krataks. She's already dealt with being captured, although I spent more time in captivity than she did," I tell him.

"That village is very safe. They know who the pirates are around here and they won't allow them to operate as easily while there.”

I chuckle. "I let you in and you kidnapped me.”

Dagred reaches for me, taking my hand and holding it while looking into my eyes. My heart flutters at the intensity of the moment. "I assure you, Mariel, I did not kidnap you to do you harm. It was my way to get to know you better. I realize that in your eyes it is different from the way humans do things, so please know that I am sorry that I've done this to you. I do hope you will give me a chance."

DAGRED

I’m happy Mariel is with me. I will take her back to the village and get to know her on her own terms. We soon surface to the sun shining brightly. The Krataks are nearby, their eyes constantly searching for us. I quickly push her back into the stairwell and close the door before they can see us.

"What did you see?" Mariel's eyes are wide and she’s on edge.

"I saw the Krataks off in the distance. I'm afraid they'll know where our hideout is if we walk right now. We need to move farther into the prison where we can find other ways to get out."

We walk back down into the prison halls. At least we have what we need here to take care of their basic needs. Mariel spent some time this morning in the water closet, and soon came out feeling refreshed. But now, her stomach is growling as is mine.

"We need to find food. There are dining halls all over this place."

"And you think there is actually food still in them? Why would they have left food behind? These places have been abandoned for over a year," she observes.

I smile. "Have faith in me. The prisons on this planet were once full of dehydrated food because most of us were left on our own to survive. I'm sure we can find food, as well as something to drink."

"I've already had water. I just need food."

I take her hand as we walk along through the prison halls. The lights barely illuminate our way. Other passages are dark, and no one would ever go in there. People who come down here tend to come to the well-lit areas and leave the darkened rooms alone. I pull out my light orb and lead the way as we walk down one of the unlit halls. From prior experience in one of the prisons, I know that the mess hall should be close to the administration offices. The first place we stop is where the guards had stations. They have long since been ransacked and the weapons are gone. But that's okay. I have my own weapons strapped to my legs underneath my leather wrap.

"Here, this looks like a cafeteria," Mariel says as she points toward a room. She runs along in front of me and goes inside. I step into the room and try the light switch and two very dim lights illuminate the area just enough for us to see. I keep the orb light out, trying to find what we are looking for.

"In here," I say as I motion for Mariel to come toward me. I open a cabinet and there are little boxes of dehydrated meals. They may not be the tastiest food items, but they’re packed full of protein and carbohydrates and all the nutrients that a being needs to survive on this forsaken planet. I hand Mariel a couple of boxes. Several cups sit on the counter and I grab two and wash them before using them to fill the dehydrated meal packs with water. One of the old ovens comes to life as I turn them on and place our meal boxes within.

The fragrance of savory meat and the root vegetables grown naturally on this planet reach my nose. Mariel frowns though, and waves her hand over her face.

“It stinks, but I suppose I have to eat it anyway. I've learned to eat a lot of things on this planet since being here just to keep up my energy. Would you believe that I have probably lost about thirty pounds since coming here? One of my goals on Earth was to lose about twenty pounds, but coming here and being introduced to new foods has forced me to lose even more weight. Now I eat whatever I need because I know that I have to survive.”

We sit at a small table in the corner where the shadows linger. I tune my ears to the halls to listen and I hear nothing. The doors are closed tightly and we’re deep inside, so no one should happen by. Should they, I'll hear them and we can hide quickly down here. I watch as the Terran female eats her meal. She nods at me and smiles.

"It's not that bad, actually,” Mariel observes.

"No, it's not that bad if you've had nothing to eat for quite a while," I reply. “The pain of my upbringing still stabs at me when I think about it. Oftentimes my mother and I were hungry, scrounging around in the backs of dumpsters before we were shooed away. It was why I was captured and sent here in the first place. My mother has been gone for such a long time. She let me go and then checked herself into some sort of a clinic where they take sick ones in. They often end up dying. I tried to go back to find her, but I found her grave in a pauper’s field. I'm not sure exactly what happened to her, I just know that she had gotten sick, and probably from being hungry.”

I share this information with Mariel, hoping she'll understand my plight as well as allowing myself to be more open to the one who is my fated mate. She listens to me, her hand soon reaching out and touching my cheek with the back of her soft fingers. I close my eyes, relishing in the attention that she gives me. Mariel and I are enjoying ourselves. This is a good start.

"You're not still afraid of me, are you?" I ask.

Mariel looks at me and shakes her head.

"If I were afraid of you, I would have run away from you and you would not have found me. I believed you when you said you've been searching for me this entire time. Something inside me just believes you. I don't know why. I'm happy to be here with you, and maybe my life at the village would've been boring otherwise. I would like to go back, because I still think of Delaina and Carx as my family. Also, the village is full of nice beings who aim to help one another and take in those like me and like you who are searching for a better place to live. I promise, Dagred, if we get back there I will make sure they treat you well. Perhaps you can live close to me, or maybe we can find a place and room together. I rather like your company, and you seem to be nice enough.”

CHAPTER 4

MARIEL

We're truly lost deep in the underground prison of Kroaay and we keep searching and searching for another way out. Even Dagred turns around and looks at me, shaking his head with his hands flayed to his side.

"I guess we are lost here. I thought by going down one of the dark halls we would be able to find an exit out of this place. But we have turned and twisted so many times that I have forgotten from where we have come. I am so sorry, Mariel, I have failed you," he laments.

My heart aches for him as Dagred is truly shaken and saddened by the fact that he can't get us out of this underground prison. I walk up to him and place my hand on his bicep smiling up at him. "It's okay, really. I know you didn't do it on purpose. We were only trying to find a way to keep me safe from those pirates out there. I can't believe this place is such a maze, though.”

"I believe all the underground prisons are connected by long passageways, and they probably go halfway around the globe. They spent many years building these prisons, thinking it would be an excellent way of keeping the criminals out of the public's eye. But the fact is, they didn't hire enough guards to keep us locked away. And I say this because I was down here among them. Many of the criminals weren’t really criminals at all, though. Take me, for example. I was here because I was stealing food on my planet just to survive." His head shakes sadly.

"It's okay, Dagred. We’re in here together, we have food and we have water, and we have semi-comfortable places to rest. We’ll figure a way out of this place eventually."

We walk on through the darkened halls far from the part of the prison we first came into. His zoomer has probably been stolen by the pirates or other criminal elements by now. This place is a maze, a labyrinth of halls, rooms, and more gathering places than I can count. We actually found an area where we walked upstairs, thinking that we would reach the top level and be able to surface. But alas, it only led to more halls and underground rooms.

"I believe we’re in the mountains, probably near the very village in which you lived," Dagred tells me.

I’m trying to make light of it, because at least I feel safe here with him. He actually isn't that bad of a guy, and I have come to understand why he took me. As strange as that may seem, my life as a human being on earth was quite boring and dull. I never felt this way about anyone else while there, either. However, the odd way that this all began certainly keeps me on edge. Being abducted from a camping trip in New Mexico is one thing. Landing in a stasis pod crashing to Reazus Prime is another. Immediately being picked up by the pirates and carried around for nearly a year from place to place took its toll on me. I guess I should be thankful that they never auctioned me off. I met Delaina and her boyfriend who rescued me. And then I met Dagred. I keep wishing that he was the one that had rescued me so that I might feel a little differently right now. I'm fighting with my feelings about what has happened. I have feelings for this strange looking alien who entices me in ways I never thought possible.

We drag along, barely keeping our eyes open. We've eaten several times in different little mess halls. The little meal packets are better than nothing and give us energy. Now we’re looking for a comfortable place to sleep, a place that has at least two cots in a room where we can be close to one another. We can't seem to find it and all the cots are very narrow and very uncomfortable. The mattresses are just thicker pads, and they don't really offer much of a cushion, but I'm so tired I don’t care.

"Let’s just get cells next to one another. I can't go another step," I tell him.

We find a couple of cells that are next to each other. The beds are actually only separated by the bars in between them. I lie down on one and he lies on the other. Dagred lies on his back, breathing deeply. I roll to him and my eyes close, my body finally going into a restless sleep. In my dream, I’m in a stasis pod as the ship is splintering apart. I actually woke up in the pod while that was happening, and it was the scariest thing I've ever faced in my life. The dream is a replay of the memory, and each time I'm careening through space and then through the atmosphere and heading towards the surface of Reazus Prime. I had no idea what was happening or why I was in that stasis pod or that I’d even been kidnapped, really. My memory of Earth has grown dim, and the feeling of falling freely terrifies me. I must have yelled out in my sleep, for I woke up with Dagred standing over me, his eyes wide as he looks down at me.

"Hey, Mariel, it’s okay. I'm right here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he promises.

I sigh, enjoying his presence near me.

"Why don’t you drag that cot in here? Maybe I won’t have nightmares like I do all the time with you right next to me," I suggest.

He eagerly drags the bed out of the cell down the hallway into my cell. Dagred pulls it up next to mine, and I roll towards him as his arm protectively wraps around me. My face is buried in his chest, the scent of his body woodsy, almost like evergreens, and something that makes me feel incredibly safe. My heart beats faster with his arm around me. Something stirs in my belly and I want more of him, but the fatigue is greater and stronger than any urge to try to kiss him. I snuggle in next to his side, my head on his arm and fall into a deep sleep. For the first time since landing on Reazus Prime, I actually fall asleep without the nightmares. I sleep all night until the next day to find that I have rolled over and he still has his arm around me.

"Good morning. At least, I'm assuming it’s morning," Dagred says to me.

I sit up and smile at him. He’s holding the light orb in one hand. We indeed have no sense of time down here.

"Thank you. That was the best sleep I’ve had in a very long time."

"I shall be by your side every night to help you sleep that way if that is what you wish," he replies.

DAGRED

My poor mate has nightmares and has had them ever since she landed on Reazus Prime. It gives me a wonderful opportunity to pull her close to me so that she can feel her heart beating in synchronicity with mine. Each night I pull her close to me, not minding each other’s presence at all. Mariel curls into my side each time. My entire body strums in unison with hers and every fiber of my being, every cell in my skin, longs to reach out and hold her to me. I long to remove the clothing from her, to feel her soft skin against mine. I long to show her pleasure and the pleasure I know I can give her. Pleasure my body can easily give her. Mariel is my fated mate, and she seems to know that now. I have to be patient, though, because she is a Terran. She shrinks back from me at times, but I love it when she doesn't.

We walk and walk the next day, these halls all looking the same to us. I begin marking the walls with my strong hands, leaving notches so as to make certain we do not circle around on ourselves. Sometimes we do so anyway, and I can immediately tell by the drawn look on my mate’s face that this upsets her terribly.

"Dagred, we’re going in circles. Maybe we should always go to the right and check every room and check every passage. That's how I would go about it." She looks at me with her doleful eyes, her beautiful lips turning up into a slight smile.

"Yes, that is a good strategy. We’ll try that. We’ll try at least until we’re hungry, and then we'll keep trying it. We’re bound to eventually come to an area where we can reach the outside or at least come back to the main entrance, although I have a feeling that the pirates have already infiltrated that part. You see, when I was imprisoned and the halls were darkened, we were told to stay out of them. Long ago, the guards would lurk in the shadows and grab those who would come down the halls. I suspect they have long since gone, because who wants to wait in the dark all the time?"

We continued walking the entire day. Once in a while we go in a circle before we move ahead, passing corridors on the right to go ahead and find more. Surely, we'll find a way out of this place eventually. They made it this way so that if we had escaped we wouldn’t be able to easily find the surface ever again. I tremble deep within me, hoping that's not our fate now. Somehow, our strategy has to make sense and we’ll find our way. For the moment, my mate is weary as she slows her steps, her eyes droopy. I reach out and take her hand.

"Mariel, let's find a place to rest. I suspect it's night again outside and you look pretty tired." My mate nods and does not argue with me.

She frowns as she eats while telling me that the food tastes like cardboard. I find that humorous, because I’ve never eaten cardboard, whatever it is, before. I have to take her word for the lack of fine flavor cardboard must have.

"Look here. These appear to be the same types of beds we slept in last night. Even though at this point I don't care." Mariel turns to me, her eyes looking up into mine. "Do you mind sleeping next to me again tonight? It really helps me to sleep better.”

Of course, I would do anything she asks me to do. I nod eagerly as I pull a small bed to her side.

I lie in bed, unable to sleep as I keep hearing slight knocks and shuffles deep inside the cavernous halls of the underground prison. I've been hearing them all along, but these sound a little closer, yet still far enough away that I don't have to worry. It's the burden of having keen hearing and it helps me keep my mate safe. I roll over, allowing my light orb to shine a dim light, casting just enough illumination so I can see her beautiful face. Her chest rises and falls as she sleeps, her lips turned up in a slight smile. Sometimes, Mariel flips over quickly and whimpers. That's when I put my arm around her and draw her closer. Sometimes she cries out while thrashing about.

"Mariel, wake up, it's okay. I'm here." I speak to her in a low voice so as not to startle her. She opens her eyes and blinks up at me. Then she smiles and hugs my arm to her while rolling over with her back to me, sighing contentedly while falling asleep again.

The next morning after I had finally fallen asleep late in the night we woke up together. She stretches and sniffs her armpit and scowls.

"I know I'm offensive. If we could find a shower, maybe even clothes to wear, that would be wonderful. I've been in these for too many days. Both of us can stand to have a shower," she points out.

"Together?" I can't help it, I smile as I say it.

"You wish." Mariel hops up and leads the way, picking up my orb light and looking until we find the showers. They are located at the far end of the hall where we slept. Water comes out of the taps, and it's cold, but neither of us mind. She shrieks as the water sprays over her, but she says she's happy to finally clean herself.

Mariel eventually emerges in nothing but a towel, and of course my eyes can't help but widen and take in the vast beauty of her body.

"There were some clean clothes in with the towels. Here," she says to me. She thrusts an outfit at me and I look at her while shaking my head.

"I wear what I wear. And I've always worn this. If it doesn't offend you, if I don't stink, I want to continue wearing this. It is a skilt, made of the leather of the hide of one of the animals that roams on the plains of this planet. I can clean it, and brush it off. If I am offensive to you, just tell me,"

Mariel smiles as she runs her hand over my arm, causing gooseflesh to flash up to my shoulder.

"You smell just fine to me," she replies.

The energy between us grows intense. I want to gather her into my arms so badly and I want to taste her lips. But I hold myself back so that she might come to know me better. I want Mariel to love me and to accept me as her fated mate.

CHAPTER 5

MARIEL

The underground prison continues to surprise me. At least Dagred has given me enough comfort and peace that I don't feel claustrophobic while underground. At least I still have my freedom from the creatures that are likely looking for me. It seems to be our lucky day today as we find a staircase that leads to the surface, the door in the ceiling of a room.

Dagred stomps upstairs and me behind him. He tries the door, but it's locked. I climb up behind him and we look for a way to unlock it. There were times during my captivity that I picked locks and snuck around and then I would come back to my holding cell. It was better to do that than to be caught for a second time outside and be tortured, or thrown out as game and killed.

"Why do we keep finding these locked doors? I wonder if there are keys somewhere down here nearby," I think out loud.

"The guards usually carried the keys with them. That's what we saw when we overtook the guards and surfaced ourselves as prisoners. We could look around for some, though. Come on, maybe we'll find another door that leads to the surface and maybe it will be unlocked," Dagred says to me.

I follow along behind him as he holds the orb light before him. There’s enough light for us to easily see the way. The place is spooky, the darkness seeming to constantly close in on us. The only sound as we make our way through the dark is the echo of our footsteps.

Up ahead there is another stairwell and we climb it.

"This is a dead end as well," he tells me.

"Why are these all locked?" I ask. Dagred simply shakes his head as we move on.

We descend the steps back into the prison below. "That is why these halls are darkened. They don't lead out. We need to find the lit halls, and perhaps we’ll find our way out. Many of these doors were locked by the guards long ago. There are many areas, as you can see by the myriad of labyrinths that make up the prison underground. I'm assuming they held different types of beings in the different areas judging by the looks of the beds and different food. Even in this last cafeteria we saw stuff I wouldn’t eat."

I chuckle. "If you wouldn’t eat it, you can imagine that I wouldn’t eat it, either," I tell him. We laugh together, making light of the situation, at least for now.

"Be of good heart, my sweet mate. We will find our way out eventually."

We march on, and the more we walk on the more frantic Dagred becomes. He's having flashbacks to his time in prison. He, like me, didn't deserve to be imprisoned.

"Remember, we’re going to find our way out. I trust you. You broke out of here once before, and you’ll do it again.”

"That's true, but I'm afraid we've gone so far from where we originally came in that we’re lost. I really have no idea where we are now. This is giving me cold sweats to realize we cannot yet reach the surface and feel the fresh air on our faces. If we ever find a way out of here, Mariel, I will let you go. I will not hold you hostage. I know you feel as if I have kidnapped you and I realize now that being in captivity is not for either one of us. So when we reach the surface if you wish to leave me and walk away I will let you. I will spend the rest of my life mourning the fact that I let my fated mate go, but I will not hold you against your will any longer,” Dagred promises.

For a moment, my heart aches for him. Does this mean he doesn't want to be around me? Maybe he's changed his mind about wanting me so badly. I force a smile.

"Listen, that's a two-way street. If we surface and you decide you want to go the opposite direction from me, then I’ll understand. I no longer feel like you've kidnapped me. I understand why you did it," I tell him. I reach out and tentatively touch him. A part of me wants to lean in, to feel his lips against mine, and I close my eyes for just a moment and imagine us making love, me sitting on top and grabbing those horns on top of his head while I grind into him. Very soon I open my eyes and realize that I was thinking such a thing with him right standing beside me. Dagred is staring at me.

"Does this mean you have feelings for me?" he asks.

"I think maybe I'm developing feelings, yes. But I didn't like being held against my will and I believe that maybe you’re seeing my point finally. Like I told you before, when we surface, if we can get back to the village, we could live a wonderful life getting to know one another and seeing where it leads us.”

He smiles, his whole body seeming to vibrate as the stripes on his body darken. I step in for a closer look and can’t believe what I'm seeing. My hand reaches out and rubs along the edge of the stripes. Dagred shudders greatly, and his hand comes up and holds my hand to his chest.

"You don't realize what you do to me when you touch me. My entire being awaits a touch from you. Don't think I ever want to walk away from you willingly, Mariel. I won't be the one to walk away if that ever happens. You won't catch me leaving you."

I smile and take his hand before I turn to walk. "Perhaps we need to find another room to stay in tonight."

We search through the underground floors. Not finding a way out there, we instead look in the interior for more comfortable rooms. We happen upon an area with much larger beds. There’s enough room for both of us on the beds even though he's trying to scoot another bed through the doors. He is having trouble because the doors are narrow and the bed's very wide.

"Why don’t you just lay here with me in the same bed. There's no sense in trying to bring another bed as it won’t fit through these doors anyway. Save your energy, because I'm hoping that tomorrow we’ll be able to find our way out. But for tonight, I think it would be nice just to have you close to me in the same bed. Besides, I trust you."

DAGRED

My mate curls into me on the bed. Her soft body breathing evenly, sweet sighs escaping her lips. I’m rigid, filled with desire, so ready for her, but I let her take the lead.

A sweet smile stretches across her face as her arms wrap around my neck. Lifting her chin provides the perfect opportunity as I lean in, closing the gap between us. Our lips meet, the strumming of my heart nearly beating out of my chest. Surely she hears it, too.

Soft, pliable, Mariel moves inside my arms, a soft moan escaping her lips. My body stiffens, and she notices. We part and she smiles at me, her eyes sparkling under the dim light of the orb.

Her hand reaches down, grasping for my phallus, and I groan. She draws back unexpectedly, her eyes wide with shock.

“Aliens are different,” she breathes.

I laugh. “Am I? I’m a cross-breed alien, you know.”

“I’m not sure how it will work with us, if you have resonated with me like you say.”

It’s enough for me to lift my skilt and show her. I don’t know human anatomy, either. My members include a long knobby one and a short one, both vibrating and growing long and stiff while I’m aroused.

“What’s this for?” she asks as her fingers run along the shorter one.

“Uh. That’s to stimulate ova release in a Jedstron. They have a little pocket that when stimulated it prompts ovulation. You don’t have that?” Now I’m as curious about her groin as Mariel is about what I have in mine.

Her face blushes heavily as she shimmies out of her clothes, her pants sliding off and landing on the floor beside the bed. “I have a place for this.” She tugs on my longer member, which elicits an immense amount of pleasure. “But this could rub up against my clit. That’s how female humans orgasm, by stimulating the clit.”

“Oh, does that prompt ovulation?”

“We don’t have sex just to procreate. We do it for pleasure, too. But I suppose if it’s the right time of the month, the one or two days we’re fertile, it can promote ovulation. But not usually.” She giggles. “I feel like I’m teaching a health class.”

“How about we let our bodies explore.” I reach for her, my hand brushing against her exposed nethers, the soft, warm folds enticing me, inviting me. Her scent reaches my nose, my members growing harder.

Mariel pulls off her shirt and her mammaries bound free. Beautiful, luscious, nipples and mounds. I can’t help but bend over her, exploring her with my mouth, careful not to prod her with my horns. She moans as I lick the nipples, enjoying her salty flavor. Her hands hold me to her as she pulls me on top of her, her legs wrapping around my waist.

“I want to feel you this way. I want to experience your wonderful body.”

My body vibrates, as every cell of me wants Mariel as I hover over her, careful not to crush her. She grabs my phallus and guides me to her wet slit, through the soft folds into her slick, tight tunnel. She moans when my smaller member touches her at the top of her slit.

“Yes, it’s on my clit.”

Her back arches as I slide in, stretching her around me. I must go slowly. I don't want to hurt her, but Mariel feels so good. I hold back as best I can. Her arms wrap around my back, fingernails clawing at me as she moves under me.

“Oh, yes!” Her moans intensify as I move faster, my manhood growing even harder, thumping now instead of vibrating.

“I love you, Mariel, and I claim you as my own.” I never thought I’d find the one who could bring about such pleasure, who could awaken my body in such a way as she has.

She holds me, nails clawing, her hips grinding into me. Both of us pant and moan as I slide in and out of her faster and faster.

Suddenly, Mariel thrashes about, her slick tunnel squeezing me more as she yelps out, the sheer pleasure taking hold. Another thrust within as my cocks shudder, the long one bursting forth, filling my mate with my seed. We moan and rock through the waves of unrelenting pleasure, as if there’s only two of us in the world. Finally, we finish and I pull out, rolling to her side and gathering her into my arms while we catch our breath.

CHAPTER 6

MARIEL

Waking up in Dagred’s arms even in the prison cell brings me a renewed hope for life. I hadn't even thought of being this happy on Reazus Prime until now. It seems fate has a way of springing on you happiness when you least expect it. Even as a being who has a lot to learn concerning how to treat a human with respect and dignity, I know Dagred is trying. And in that same vein, I'm trying to be kinder with him.

After we rise and shower and dress again, we go back to searching for a way to leave. We have found different halls, and I have finally discovered one that appears to lead to a lit hall.

“I think we’re making progress!" I squeal loudly as I throw my arms around him. Just the thought of going back to that quaint little village where Carx and Delaina is staying warms my heart. I want to forge a life with this lovely, sexy alien.

"Shhh, we must keep quiet. Remember, these lit halls could have more beings in them than we know.” I close my mouth as my hand goes over it, my eyes wide. We listen, and hearing nothing we take a left hand turn and go back up the hall. All these right hand turns have led us nowhere, and this time we’re going in a different direction in hopes of finding a way out of this hellhole.

We trek on and finally come to a staircase that leads to a metal door to the surface.

"Up here is an exit. However, I hear movement up there, including the hum of a heavy vehicle." Dagred certainly does have supernatural hearing and eyesight. He can sense things that I can't. So I trust his lead. We very quietly climb the stairs and he opens the door just a crack to see through it. I come up behind him, craning my neck to see as much as I can as well. We can't see anything, except for the rock that hides the door’s opening. That's a good sign as we prepare our escape.

Unfortunately, as soon as Dagred opens the door and we step forward to poke our heads above the surface, we see the Krataks standing nearby, their buggy eyes looking at us. Now we've been spotted. They make their loud clicking and cracking noises, alerting the others nearby. A swarm of them descends upon us, running towards the door.

"Oh no, now they’ve seen us. Get down!" Dagred tries to close the door to keep them from opening it so that he can attempt to secure it in place. We turn and launch ourselves down the stairs as quickly as we can.

His attempts at locking it were of no use. The Krataks open the door and they descend the stairway as we run ahead of them in the hall. We turn to the right down the darkened hall, hoping to find a better place to hide.

"We take all right turns and count them as we go so we can retrace our steps later. They won't watch the door forever, they are too restless to do such things," Dagred explains.

We rush through the halls, making these right turns. The halls are dark and the way is quiet. But behind us, we can hear the shuffle and the footfalls of the Krataks trying to find us.

"They have a keen sense of hearing, so they will send out their call to bounce back knowing that they've reached a soft target. We need to get into a room and hide."

I hold onto Dagred’s arm as he takes us down another hall and another right-hand turn. Finally, we come to double doors to the left and we turn to go within. It’s still dark, and he pulls at his light to barely light the way for us. The room is a cafeteria of some sort and there are double cabinets ahead of us. He pulls me toward them, and pushes me within one. And then he proceeds to close the door, stepping away.

"Oh, no you don’t, I will not be separated from you," I say as I step outside the door and try to follow him.

"It is just right for you. Get in there and pull the little boxes in front of you so that they can't see you. I'll go hideout elsewhere, there's plenty of places back there in the kitchen."

I don't listen to him as I get out of the cabinet and follow him into the kitchen. I smile at Dagred. "If it's big enough for you, I can squeeze in with you.”

We find a small freezer, barely cool with food still inside which rules it out as a place to hide. The prison has been long abandoned, yet the food is kept cool by the scant electrical supply that still exists. We round a corner nearby and hide behind a stack of boxes. We settle down on the floor where it's ice cold, but thankfully Dagred is very warm. He puts his arm around me and pulls me to him as we keep silent. We wait for a while and I begin to shiver. My teeth are chattering so loudly, but I can't stop them.

"I have to get out of here and warm up," I tell him. How he keeps from shivering and chattering his teeth like me, I will never know. Maybe he's warmer-blooded than I am and can handle it, but I can't.

We walk out quietly and go to the kitchen where it's much warmer. I'm still shivering and hugging my body with my arms. Dagred steps around the corner into the dining area and listens intently. He soon motions his hand for me to follow him and very quietly I tiptoe to him.

He then steps to the door and opens it just a little. We hear nothing in the hallway. The Krataks have gone on searching for us in another direction.

"If they catch you they will surely auction you off. They will not be like the others who carried you around. And whoever purchases you may keep you on Reazus Prime or they may take you off to another system. I'm not going to lose you now, Mariel. So I want to make certain the path is clear for us," Dagred tells me.

"I trust you, and I don't want to lose you either," I reply. My hand rests on the back of his arm as we exit the dining area and begin walking back up the hall.

We retrace our steps going back through the maze of halls, first going to the right and taking eight left hand turns until we come to the lit hall. Standing in the opening there, we wait and listen once again. Dagred even makes a small hoot sound with his mouth in an attempt to see if he has any clicky answers coming from the Krataks. Nothing comes back except the echo of his hoot.

We slowly make our way back to where we were, retracing our steps until we climb the stairs for a second time. By now, the Reazus Prime sun has set and it's dark and cold outside. In fact, there's a windstorm blowing when he opens the door.

DAGRED

The door blows back, the wind taking it from my hands. Mariel walks up beside me, and there are beings everywhere. It seems we’ve come up in the middle of a very busy thoroughfare. Perhaps they know about the prison entrance, and simply ignore it. But the Krataks are here, and one of them turns in our direction. I have a split second to decide whether to turn and go back to the prison or to take off running on foot, hoping to get away with Mariel by my side.

"Please, I can’t take another moment in that prison," she tells me.

Decision made. I grab her hand and we take off running. Mariel stumbles and nearly falls flat on her face. I take hold of her and throw her up on my back. She wraps her arms around my shoulders and her legs around my waist as I grab onto her knees by placing my hands under them. I run as fast as my feet will take me, which thankfully is faster than the Krataks even with the added weight of Mariel on my back. We run and run and dive into the woods which lead up into the mountains. It seems we’re on the backside of the mountain where the village is possibly at the top or on the next ridge over. We've come a long way around in the underground prison and my zoomer vehicle is nowhere in sight. We have to go by foot. There is no choice.

"Dagred, it's okay you can let me down now. I don't see anyone chasing us."

I gently set her down and we walk quickly to the foot of the mountain. It seems as if fate has stepped in and is helping us. Before us stretches a path that leads up into the mountain. I'm not even certain which mountain this is, but it's better than what’s behind us in the open fields. We take off walking, and I keep my ears tuned to what's going on behind us. Mariel keeps her eyes open, looking around in the dark. The suns have set, and we're now at the mercy of the moons that are rising. Soon the moons will light the area to help us to see better, but it will also help to make us seen as well.

"Do you know where we’re going?" Mariel asks.

"No, but I suspect these are the mountains where the village is. I think we’ll follow this trail until we reach the top and then from there we can see. I'm sure the village is either at the top of this mountain, or it’s on the top of the ridge next to us," I reply. Though I'm not convinced, because we moved around so much in the underground prison and got so lost that I really don't know where we are at the moment.

We keep walking, going farther and farther up into the hills, a steep incline making it difficult to walk. Mariel has on simple boots that are not built for the terrain we’re on right now.

"We need to keep pushing forward. We don't know if the Krataks are following us or not. I have to assume that they are, and that they’ll be sending scouts into the forest to look for us.”

We keep walking, but eventually she slows down and leans against a tree while trying to catch her breath.

"I don’t mean to slow us down, but I'm not used to this kind of running. Remember, I was locked away and unable to move much for so long. I'm sorry. Perhaps I could hide here while you go on for a zoomer or something to carry us away from here," Mariel suggests.

I take her hand and lead her back into the woods a little farther, away from the beaten path.

"No, I will not leave you alone. It's too dangerous out here. The beings that want to harm us can be very quiet, and they like to use the element of surprise. They're not everywhere, there are safe places like your village, and possibly even some of the cities where the Terrans can work alongside the other beings. It's probably a little safer there as well. But this is a volatile planet. If I had my way, I would get a ship and take us off this planet to find a safer place to live," I tell her.

A thought strikes me as we settle back on a cushiony moss-covered rock underneath a tree. What if Mariel doesn't want to come with me? What if she's only being kind to me until I get her back to her village where she can let me down? I would rather she let me down and be safe than to keep her against her will. I regret a lot that I've done in the past, and I hope I can make it up to her one day.

"What are you thinking? You look like you got a plan," Mariel says.

I can't help but laugh. "No, I'm thinking that you probably hate me for putting you in this situation.”

Her hand glides across my chiseled jaw. Looking up at my horns, she squeezes her fingers around them and follows them down to my head before she pulls me to her, closing the gap between us as our lips meet once again. Her mouth is supple and soft, opening to me. Mariel kisses and presses her sweet body into mine. The excitement on me grows, and I want to take her. I want to make her mine again.

She rears back and smiles into my face. "Does that tell you how I feel about you and the fact that I don't want to lose you? Dagred, I am happy to have found you and I want to go back to the village from where you originally took me. But getting back there is proving to be difficult and maybe we’re lost. Maybe we should find the next safest place we can and rest for a little while. I'm tired of being chased. I really want to relax and rest for a while. I want to be in your arms.”

I suck in my breath as she lands on me again, and we tumble to the forest floor. There, Mariel slowly removes her clothes and tugs at mine. I then roll over and once again take my sweet little Terran, claiming her all over again. Her moans are loud and her cries are sweet as we climb the mountain of ecstasy. Pleasure soars between the two of us as our bodies quake through the release. I’m claiming her and hoping she will stay mine forever.

Afterward, I sense footfalls coming up the path.

"Mariel, very quietly get dressed, we need to get away from here," I tell her.

She nods, and grabs her clothes, the two of us dressing as quickly and quietly as possible.

CHAPTER 7

MARIEL

We run high into the mountain, off the beaten path. Being on foot makes me very tired. I finally grab Dagred’s arm, slowing him down.

"Dagred, I can't go any farther. I’m very tired. Please, can we stop and rest?."

He wheels around on me, his ears tuned into the area around us listening. Above us the moons rise, giving off an eerie silvery light as is common during the nights on Reazus Prime. Unfortunately for tonight, it's clear and the moons give off plenty of light.

"Yes, we’ll rest. Come, follow me. Let's find a safer place where we can perhaps hide."

He holds my hand as we walk through the dense underbrush of the mountainside. There’s a small ravine that dips down, giving us a bit of cover. The low bushes provide a fan of branches. He crawls underneath and inspects it with his light orb to make certain there aren’t little creatures or bugs that could harm us. Dagred then smiles at me and motions for me to join him. I crawl underneath and rest myself into the crook of his arm.

It's easy to relax when I'm in his embrace. He doesn't sleep as much as I do, so he keeps his ears attuned to the sounds around us. We’re not quite hidden as low into our surroundings as we'd like to be, but it’s enough to maybe get a little rest.

"I don't understand how you can discern all the sounds we are hearing. This place is alive at night, and I keep hearing the sounds of stuff thumping through the woods," I tell him.

He smiles as his arm embraces me tighter. "Yes, creatures crawl around, but nothing that wants to get us. Close your eyes and relax to get some rest. As soon as you feel up to it, we’ll keep moving. We’re bound to reach the top of this mountain soon enough and we can see where we are then."

I hunker down beside him, but desire wells up inside me. I look up into his eyes, and we kiss. It's easy to give myself to him, for he brings out my desire and the urges within me. Dagred is a passionate lover, his arms enfolding around me.

I awaken in the night with the urge to pee. Dagred is sleeping and turned away, his arm barely resting around me. It's easy to get up, and I stumble away to try to find a place far enough away that he can't smell or hear me. The forest is alive with the sound of something thumping up ahead. I raise up quickly and pull up my pants. There before me are these beings coming toward me, walking as if they're walking on feathers.

"Dagred!” I yell, rousing him from his sleep. But the beings in front of me are too fast, and as they get closer I recognize them as Widians. They are also space pirates and God help me, they may be working with the Kratacks to find exotic beings to auction. They descend upon me quicker than Dagred can reach me, two of them grabbing me and carrying me off. We run off in the opposite direction as the others descend upon Dagred to keep him away. I hear him grunting as he's fighting them, but these Widians are fast and agile. Small eyes, dark and evil, peer my way. They pull me off even while I'm screaming and fighting.

"No! Let me go!" I struggle but their hands are large and they're much stronger than me. They carry me as if I weigh nothing more than a feather to them. When we reach the main road, they push me into their hover vehicle with two on either side of me holding me in place. The vehicle takes off, heading back down the mountain. All my fears are coming to fruition as Dagred is behind me and possibly being killed. If he is killed, I wish I would die, too. Or I  hope that I can escape and help him somehow. I close my eyes and will myself to find the strength to do so, but these two Widians on either side of me won’t let me go. When I look their way, I see the glint of moonlight in the golden rings that pierce through their snouts and ears. They snort at me as if I’m nothing more than a varmint that they caught on the trail. I know I'm doomed as we head into the city and they make a turn to drive towards the old warehouses. I don't know how long we have driven, but I do know this is not good.

DAGRED

All at once the Widians descend upon me, covering my eyes to keep me from seeing in which direction Mariel is being taken. She yells from my right, but not close enough for me to be certain. There are too many Widians to fight off. A couple of them grab her, and I can see them in the corner of my eye. But these snorting, nasty beings grab me, pulling me backward and in the opposite direction they're taking Mariel.

"Stop it! Let me go!" They don't listen as they carry me off in the opposite direction while I'm fighting them. One belts me square in the stomach and I double over. Using my horns, I headbutt another, tearing into his flesh. Four of them seize me, pulling me upright and pulling my hands up behind my back and binding them. They don't want me, they want Mariel. I'm merely in the way. They drag me far from her, pulling me down the hill into an old shuttle that's waiting. I’m shoved inside before it zooms toward the city. It takes an hour to reach the city from where we were in the woods.

"Let me know what you’ve done with my mate," I demand.

One of them looks at me, his eyes growing wide as he grins. Ugly teeth, crooked and brown, grins back at me. He snorts at me and spits, almost hitting my foot.

Of course they’re not going to tell me anything about where they've taken Mariel. The shuttle moves over the hills and turns until we enter the innermost part of the city where the poor stay. There are rows of homes and old businesses where people barely make it. It's also one of the roughest areas. We pull alongside one of the buildings and I begin to yell out.

"Help! Please, help!” I call out.

They snort, coming to me and cutting the binds from me as they yank me out of the hovercraft. They shove me onto the old stone sidewalk and hop back into the hovercraft and take off. Now I’m left alone in the roughest part of the city.

I stand upright and dust myself off while looking around. I go to the first being I find.

"Tell me, where do the Widians take their captives around here?"

She looks at me, her large brown eyes doleful as she shakes her head. "I'm sure I don't know the answer to that. I don't even leave my street here. The Widians are evil people, and they will do what they will. They often bring those who hinder them here, dumping them onto the sidewalks such as yourself. I'm surprised you couldn’t overtake them since you’re so much larger," she comments.

I nod my head. "Obviously I was outnumbered. They took my mate, she's one of the Terrans that landed on our planet a while back when that spaceship crashed. It's very important that I find her. Please, who can I go to to find out where around here one might have access to where they take their captives?" I plead with her.

She shakes her head and takes me around to the back of her little store. She opens the door and there sits a small zoomer.

"You may use this. It's not doing me much good, but it sounds like you're desperate. I would appreciate it if you bring it back, though I know that's probably not going to happen," she says as she shakes her head before walking back inside.

I follow her back into the store, her kindness more than I can bear.

“Why are you doing this for me? I appreciate it, but let me buy it from you.” I reach into my pocket and pull out my currency cards, at least I have plenty of them. I've learned how to gather all I can in any way that I can to be able to take care of myself. She looks at me with tears in her eyes as she pulls one of the cards from my hand.

"This is more than it's worth. But if you bring it back, I’ll give you the card back and I won’t use a penny of it," she promises.

I smile at her. "Why don’t you buy yourself a better one, then? Thank you, I will always remember your kindness. And my mate thanks you too.”

I hop on the zoomer and take off to go back to the mountain. It takes a while to get there, but I want to look around, making sure Mariel isn’t anywhere in the area. I drive up the road, the same path we took when running from the Krataks. She is somewhere not too far away, as my heart strums wildly. At least I know she's still alive. I search up and down the road, and off the beaten path to where we were staying. The area where we were staying appears to have been easily seen from the side of the road. That was my fault. I put us in danger by having us sleep there. They probably saw us from a ways off and it made it too easy to come and take her.

Mariel is nowhere around, and my heart strums fainter and fainter as she's moving away. I take off back down the road and head toward the city. My heartbeat strums stronger as I return to the city limits. Perhaps not in the same poor area where I had gotten this zoomer, but they have her somewhere nearby. I pull off to the first dive I see and walk inside before strolling up to the bar, and ordering a drink. I order something that is stout, something that makes it seem as if I'm accustomed to being in these parts. Then I take a seat at a table nearby. I notice there's a being that is sitting at another table who is watching everyone. I smile and nod as I turn to him.

"I hear there's a good auction house nearby that sells exotics. I'd very much like to find one, if I can figure out where it is."

He harrumphs. "Those who have deep pockets know where the auction houses are. You're not from around here, are you?"

I shake my head. "Isn't that obvious? I came in from up the road, on the promise that I’d find what I wanted here. Please, can you point me in the right direction?"

CHAPTER 8

MARIEL

Tears fall softly from my eyes. I can't understand how I keep getting myself into these types of situations. Dagred will never find me now, as I’ve been taken away from our trail, and into the city. I feel as if my life is in a constant flux of captivity.

The hover bus hops along as it occasionally bumps and drops. It's obviously old and unable to hover smoothly anymore. Looking around, I see other beings on the bus, but no Terrans like me. The luckiest thing in the world that ever happened to me since landing on Reazus Prime was running into Delaina. Seeing another human after all that I had been through was wonderful. She brought me to the beautiful village where life was settled for me, though for such a short time.

Dagred. I sigh heavily, realizing the saddest part of this whole thing is being away from him. I'm hoping with all I have that he can still track me the way he did for so long before finding me. He's my alien now, and I don't want to let him go.

We finally ride into the city and slowly move along the streets. I'm not even sure the name of this place, but it's different from where I was living before. It’s a city situated at the bottom of the same mountain range that holds the village where Carx and Delaina live.

We pull into a parking garage that goes ever downward. Great. This means we’re hidden underground, in a place extremely hard to find. I don't bother trying to speak to those around me as the bus stops and the engine shuts off. The hover bus soon settles on the hard rock floor beneath it.

The Widians come to the door, their weapons in their hands and their beady eyes sharp as they look at us.

"Come, move, move, move, move!"

I stand with the others and walk out the door. There is no fight left in me now. It would do me no good to fight at this point, anyway. Their weapons are sitting on the backs of their shoulders and it’s obvious they won’t hesitate to use them. I am a Terran, therefore I am an exotic. Why I wasn't auctioned off before is a great question. But I have a feeling this time things are going to be different.

They push us along a dimly lit hall. The hall is not much unlike the prison halls where Dagred and I stayed. I wonder if this is a part of the prison system? Perhaps another part we did not explore? I cannot be certain. We step into a giant elevator, and I honestly don't know if it's going up or down. I'm squished between so many others who are being held captive. Can the thing even hold us? When the car finally comes to rest, the big doors open and there are more Widians waiting for us. We are marched along a long hall, this one brighter than the one we have just come from.

My cell is small, so small that it's causing me to feel a bit claustrophobic. I bet I could barely lay down on the cot that is situated at one end. With great dismay, I notice a pot at the other corner. I'm probably supposed to do my business in that pot. You'd think they'd have facilities that would include an actual toilet and a sink.

There are other containers, including a pitcher and a bowl. I look inside the pitcher and indeed, there's water. It's meant to wash my hands like the days of old on Earth when people didn't have plumbing in their homes. This primitiveness goes to show how they regard us here.

After the guards leave us in our cells, they post themselves at the ends of the halls. I look over in the cells next to me and see females of other species. I turn to look at one of them. She's taller with big brown eyes and hair that grows down her back. She is a beautiful creature, no matter which species she happens to be.

"Can you understand me?" I ask.

She turns to me, her eyes darting from side to side. "Yes, but I don't want them to know I understand. I'm hoping to gather intel.”

I scoot over closer to the side of the cell and slide down next to the bars so I can talk to her in a lower voice.

"You’re gathering intel? Does that mean you're here by choice?" I look her in the eyes.

"Yes. My people will rescue me once I’m standing on the auction floor, but I'm to find out as much as I can about the auction house before that happens. The Widians are evil, their sole purpose to kidnap and sell their prisoners as slaves. They sell the females and that's the way they make most of their money. However, they pirate other things as well throughout the star system."

Hope surges within me as I lean forward. "I would dearly love to be a part of your operation. Let me know what I can do."

She laughs as she looks down. "You’re hoping to be saved along with me, huh?"

A thought occurs to me. "I have a mate out there. His name is Dagred. He’ll be searching for me, and he has a sense about him that helps him to track me. That’s how he found me in the first place. I'm his fated mate, and I definitely want him to be out there. But yes, if it would help to work with you so that I can get out of this, I would love that."

She nods thoughtfully. "I’ll see what I can do. You understand, I won’t see my people until we’re on the auction floor. I’ll see what I can do once there, to get them to rescue you as well. Your mate will owe my people, though, because they sent me in here knowing they’ll have to buy me. Perhaps if things look promising they will be able to seize some of the pirates as well.

"My mate will surely pay you back for it once you return me to him. And I will do everything I can to work it off as well. Thank you," I reply with a smile.

I settle onto my bed, hope welling inside my heart. Hang on, Dagred, I’m coming back to you. I close my eyes and try to block the thought that I am once again locked away by others.

DAGRED

I rush to the more dangerous part of the city where the auction will take place. Auctions are kept secret and only those who have deep pockets are told where they will be held. The Widians have come through this area many times in the past. In fact, they are on patrol outside the city, scouting for more Terrans and other exotics to sell at the auction house.

The door squeaks as I walk through it and the dusky light makes my eyes strain. It takes a few minutes to be able to see who’s in the bar. I look around while hoping that I can figure out who would be the best one to speak to. An old grouchy fat lump of an alien comes up to the bar. He could care less about what's going on outside his doors. In a rough voice he speaks to me.

"What’ll you have?"

"A tumbler of your best ale," I reply.

Grabbing the ale after it’s poured, I walk back to the place where the patrons are sitting at smaller tables. There are a few gambling, using their lots and their dice while trying to make some extra money. One of them gruffly looks over at me.

"Throw yourself in with a chance, win three times the pot," he says to me.

I smile as I sit down and throw one of my precious metal coins into the center of the table. I carry these things for such occasions, hoping to use them for my benefit.

He hands me the pieces, which I take in my hand and twirl. We both roll, and I lose.

"Too bad, try again?" His beady eyes peer at me.

"No, I'm afraid that's just about cleaned me out. I've actually come here with something else in mind, though. I need to save what I have so that I can purchase what I really want," I tell him as I lift my brow.

"You want to talk to the Widians?" he keenly asks.

I sit back while keeping a calm demeanor, though inside my chest my heart thumps wildly. I need to choose my words carefully. "Yes, if it will get me what I want. I have a passion for something different. A beautiful thing who can fill my nights and make me warm," I tell him while smiling wickedly.

The beady-eyed creature who took my money nods to the corner where a representative for the Widians sits. I smile again and nod as I leave the table and go to the Widian representative sits.

I sit down across from the being and he glares at me.

"What do you want?" His gravelly voice is barely audible.

"I'm looking for the auction house. I have in mind an exotic female, someone who is soft and petite, someone who can keep me warm at night," I tell him.

"It depends. How much in universal fund cards do you have?"

I reach into my pocket and pull out my money bag, opening it. Inside are several expired fund cards, but there are a few that are worth quite a lot of money as well. I show him, carefully flipping through them so he can see. He reaches for them and I yank them back, snapping the wallet shut and shoving it back into my pocket.

"I'm not a moron. I just lost one of my precious metal coins in a rigged game. These are to buy what I want. Now, are you convinced? Please tell me, where's the auction house?"

He leans forward and looks at me. "If you truly want to know, you need to go down to the other end of this village. There's a place behind the alley, a small little hovel of a house, but it's where those who want to buy from the auction go. If you dare to travel in that neighborhood, you better hold tight to your money cards. And you better be ready to fight. But that's where you can go if you're serious," he replies.

I sit up straight and nod at him. "Very much appreciated." I leave the bar, knowing that I will likely find myself in some sort of violent conflict once I go into that neighborhood. Most of the wealthy take along bodyguards when they need to go to such places in the city. Unfortunately, I have none.

I walk along the side of the road in an area of the city where there is not even a sidewalk. Other beings, roughly clad and aiming to steal and grab whatever they want, walk along behind me. I pay them no mind, because I am as big as they are and as strong. As I was told at the bar, behind the alley is an old home, a hovel of a place where the rafters are falling down and the paint is peeling off on the outside. Widians stand guard and some Krataks are there as well. Of course this is where it all goes down.

I walk up and open my pocket to show my money pouch, and open it slightly to show the universal fund cards. They nod and let me go inside once they are satisfied I have what it takes to be a part of such an auction.

A Widian sits behind a desk inside the doorway, peering at me. "State your business," he barks.

"I wish to attend the auction. I'm looking for a petite female, something soft and warm," I reply. Thoughts of my beautiful Terran flow into my mind. If she is in fact here, I will spend whatever money I have to buy her back.

He takes a money card from me.

"The auction takes place in two nights. Here is the address," he says as he scrawls something down on a rough piece of paper and slides it across the desk to me.

"Thank you," I say as I grab the paper and shove it into my money bag without even looking at it.

I walk out the door, knowing I have what I need to rescue Mariel if that is where she is. I'm hoping I'll be allowed to go inside and then leave should she not be there without making a purchase. It’ll be a shame for me to waste all my money on a being that I have no interest in buying. I will do everything in my power to make sure Mariel is safe once I find her. My heart tells me she is nearby, though I’m not really sure where exactly she is. I will attend the auction and find out.

CHAPTER 9

MARIEL

This time is very different from the other times. I can tell by the hustle and bustle of the guards coming in and grabbing the slaves and bringing them back dressed differently. By the time they come to my door, I'm ready for it. I'm sure this time I will actually end up on the auction floor. And it makes my heart ache while thinking about how I may never see Dagred again.

Many of the aliens at the auction house come in from other planets and other systems to buy the slaves. Somehow, though, my heart is calm. It's almost like I can sense Dagred's presence nearby. Maybe there is something to this whole fated mate thing. After all, he has claimed me, and I have to trust that he's doing everything he can to find me.

A guard pulls me out of the cell and takes me down a long hall. The Widians put me into a room with a female Widian who is wearing long dangling earrings from her ears. She has long skinny fingers and beady eyes. The room is filled with outfits and cosmetics that they use to doll up the slaves to be sold. I have not worn makeup since I landed on Reazus Prime, so this will be a completely different experience for me. But for some reason, I am at peace. Though I'm scared, I sense an adventure ahead.

I sit in the chair as they fuss over me. They bring out outfit after outfit and finally decide on one. It's dark blue with long flowing fabric, stars and moons embroidered in gold beadwork throughout the material. It's a beautiful dress, and one that I would be happy to wear on any other occasion. But not for this. They strip me of my clothes. Clothes meant for surviving on Reazus Prime. This dress, flimsy and very revealing, does little to ensure I would have an easy time of escaping. Perhaps that is the whole point. I have nothing underneath. The dress flows over my body, trailing a little behind me as the front wraps around and causes a slit to open as I walk. The plunging neckline reveals my breasts far too well. It accentuates all the feminine features I have.

As I sit in the chair, the lady paints my face. She's choosing bold colors. What the Reazus Prime people deem as beautiful makeup, I'm sure would look like a clown’s makeup on Earth. Chains dig into my wrist and my ankles, but they remove them from my ankles so that I can walk. I’m told to walk in a way that entices buyers to want me. I stifle a laugh when I think about walking out to the middle of the arena and farting really loud. Maybe even peeing myself. It would be funny if I could defecate as well. I'm being ridiculous, but I would do anything to keep this from happening.

Fear seizes me as I walk back to my cell without knowing what I look like. All I know is that my face is caked over with makeup and the dress I’m wearing leaves little to the imagination. Of course, keeping me barefoot is a great way of keeping me from running. Outside, the ground of Reazus Prime has sharp rocks, and the hard dirt doesn't feel too good on bare feet.

I wait with the others who are ready to walk out. Each one is dressed in a different manner, I suppose to accentuate their femininity. They are beautiful even with their faces painted.

After the last one receives her makeover, they lead us out of the cells.

They soon prod us along a long dark hall and then ascend steps before we walk along another long dark hall. I can hear the crowd talking loudly from beyond the walls. My heart pounds as we get closer, and the door opens the curtain to the side, sliding so that I can see in the crowd a vast number of aliens of all species. I see species that I've never seen before, and each one holds paddles, ready to bid for their own slave.

The first three are pushed out into the arena, their feet chains removed to give them ease of walking. The Widians stand all around the arena, with their spears and their guns ready for use should one try to escape. No one does, though, as the lights beam onto them. One of the slaves for aution yells back at the many beings who are calling out and cawing in the stands. I look around me, thinking maybe I could escape somehow. But there is no way that I possibly can. Tears flow from my eyes, and one escapes before I can bat it off. Makeup comes off onto my hand, and I merely wipe it with my other hand. It doesn't matter, I'm sure I look a mess. I'm sure I look like a clown.

I'm not even certain Dagred would be able to recognize me like this. I scan the crowd while searching for his telltale horns atop his head. I look for his handsome face and his rigid body which I wish was rescuing me right now. I don't see him, but that doesn't mean he's not here.

With horror, we all watch as one after the other is marched out to the center and the bidding begins. Some take longer than others as the bidding goes very high. I'm sure those are considered the more exotic creatures. Or perhaps we all are. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I am the only Terran here. So the others must look like gorgeous exotic beings to the ones in the stands. I honestly don't know. I wish I could somehow sink into the floor and escape.

"May I use the bathroom?" I ask the Widian guard next to me.

"No.”

I argue with him until he finally takes me to the bathroom. He stands right outside the door. The bathroom is a small closet with a hole in the floor and nothing else that could give me any means of escape. It seems I have no options available to me.

DAGRED

I walk into another filthy drinking establishment. Scantily clad female servers do nothing more than entice the males to want to pay them later for some fun. I walk up to the bar and order a glass of ale, something that will keep my senses calm. It’ll help me to blend in at the same time. I turn to search for a table where I can sit and listen and watch.

This female server sidles up to me, a tray in her hand. Her big doleful eyes peer over at me. She's pretty in her own right, her green skin and long hair helping show off her beautiful curves.

"Are you looking for someone in particular?" she asks.

"Not really. I’m new in town and I’d like to try my hand at gambling”

She nods. "If you’re looking for a good time, I'm available after work.” Her face stretches into a smile. Someone knocks by me, some of his drink sloshing out of his glass as he drunkenly saunters to a table near the back.

"While I'm sure you would prove to be a good time, that's not what I'm looking for. I need to make some extra money," I tell her.

“You may sit at the table here," she says curtly.

I sit down knowing that I have upset her. They probably see someone like me and welcome the change over the old ethane breathers, or the ones with spiky scales on their skin. I suppose in my own right I am handsome enough, at least Mariel thinks so. My heart drops at the thought of Mariel. I've got to find her.

A couple of larger aliens laugh at the table beside me. One turns to me and slaps me on the back.

"Join us," he invites.

I seize my opportunity and pick up my ale and join them at the table. They’re gambling, and I'm pretty good at gambling.. While imprisoned here on Reazus Prime, I learned how to gamble, being taught from some of the best. I pull out my universal card, the one that has quite a bit on it, and pitch it onto the table. After the cards are dealt, I begin asking questions.

I play as long as I can, pulling back the cards and stashing away some while throwing in the others. I lose once in a while, to make it look real, but I make certain I win more than I lose. By the end of the game I have collected quite a few universal cards. I hold them up and smile as I scoot back in my chair.

"Where’re you going so fast?" the gruff alien growls at me.

"I’ve been here for quite a while. It's been a good game, and I hope to run into you again. Perhaps we can do this again someday," I reply.

“You can keep playing with us, friend. That is, if you dare to continue trying your luck.”

"No thank you," I say as I bow out and turn away from the table.

I smile as I walk out the door, a bounce in my stride because now I believe I can rescue Mariel. Without sufficient funds, it would have been almost impossible to get her out. Now, though, I can seriously bid if I must.

CHAPTER 10

MARIEL

We stand in the back of the arena, the auctions taking place in the front. As the curtain opens and more of the females enter, I see the vast crowd before us. There are many different aliens in the crowd waiting for an exotic female to buy. Sorrow fills my heart as I think about losing Dagred. He must be out there looking for me, going crazy with worry. I hold out hope that he can actually find me, somehow.

The bidding continues, and the crowd goes wild as one by one the females are  marched before them, prodded and turned as if they’re a piece of property rather than an intelligent being.  I look around while trying to figure out if I can make a run for it. The guards are standing near us with spears, ready to prod us back into place should we stray too far. One prick with that tip would slice into our flesh and draw blood. It would anger the guards, because then we wouldn’t receive as large a bid with a flesh wound. Or perhaps they'd even go ahead and stab through us, rendering us dead and just cast us out in the back. I'm not sure how valuable a human is, but I'm different enough from most, and since the crash of the great ship a while back, many of the beings here look at us as very prized exotics.

I continue to look around while trying to figure out whether I can get out these chains. Since they have sold the others, I'm at the very end and one leg is loose. I actually step out of it very gingerly, very quietly. I then wiggle my other foot and cause bruising, but still yet perhaps it will work. I shake and shake to finally push my foot halfway through it. The female beside me looks at me with horror as she too tries to shake hers free. The action works as it loosens and I'm soon free of the chain. The guards walk by and I slide my feet up under the anklets to make it look as if I'm still chained.

There are too many of the pirates, though. It could be very dangerous to make a break for it. I look each way and it seems that if I duck and run perhaps I can get through without being poked with a spear. There is a door in the back where we came in.

I suck in a deep breath and make a run for it. The female slave beside me is still working on her other foot. She yells at me to wait, but I don’t. I'm taking my chance. I duck and run while trying to get through the myriad of females who are all watching me, with some cheering me on. Once I get outside, I will hopefully find a way to rescue as many as I can. But I need to be free of this place and have Dagred by my side to do that. I run until something takes hold of me. Sharp nails dig into my shoulders and yank me back hard. I look up to see a guard with a cross look on his face. He manages not to stab me with his spear, but his strong hand holds me in place.

"Trying to escape, are you?"

He doesn't expect me to answer as he yanks me back into place at the front of the line. Two guards then swoop in to hold onto me to make certain I don't leave. I'm to go out next, and they will probably be relieved to get rid of me. My feet are bruised, turning purple, and swelling, but I can still walk.

When the curtains open, I see in horror that my friend is being bought. I close my eyes and my only hope is that it is her people. Or maybe someone who would set her free eventually. It's soon my turn. I walk out with the two behind me, stumbling my way to the stage. The crowd goes wild. There’s three of us in the middle of the arena, and I am at the far left side. The one in the center is the one who goes first, the one who was trying to escape with me. She gives me a sharp look before they prod her forward to the center. She pivots this way and that, trying to figure out what they want her to do. The crowd yells as several of them hold up their bidding numbers.

Tears threaten to rush out from my eyes. I'm not sure if I'll be next or if the one on the far right will be. I have too many tears to see the crowd well, and that concerns me. Is Dagred here? Would he have enough money to bid for me if he is in the crowd? That would be the easiest way to gain my freedom. The one beside me is soon purchased and so she steps back while holding the number in her hands of the one who has just won her. Then the one at the far right is forced to the center of the arena and I'm left to be the last one in my group to go. My heart hammers within my chest as I think about all the things I've lost since being abducted from Earth. I bet my friends and family have long forgotten me by now, thinking that I have fallen off the face of the Earth. Or perhaps they think I was kidnapped and killed, my bones sitting at the bottom of the sea? By now they would've had a memorial service. Maybe some of them will never give up hope and I wonder if they’ll ever stop searching for me. It doesn't matter, because it looks as if the ones who landed on Reazus Prime are here to stay.

I think about Delaina and how she found Carx. They have a good relationship and she is quite happy to stay here. I'm hoping that I too can have a chance to stay here with Dagred. I'm happy if he is to be by my side, but it doesn't look as if that will happen. The crowd goes wild as the bidding intensifies for the female on the far right. I keep searching the crowd and all I see is a vast array of aliens, no humans, and no one that looks like Dagred. That doesn't mean he's not there, it just means that I haven't found him as of yet.

The end of the bidding comes for the one on the far right and I suck in a deep breath while knowing my fate is about to be sealed.

DAGRED

I run as fast as I can once I have obtained the final address of the auction. It is taking place right now and I only hope I'm not too late. Everything within me seizes as I think about Mariel being bought by some other being and taken off Reazus Prime. Being who I am, a crossbreed like I am, I doubt I will ever find another as perfect as Mariel. She is my everything. She is my mate and the one I want more than anything else in the universe. There’s a long line at the auction house, the stairs leading ever downward to the great arena below the surface. I stand in line and I can hear the crowd yelling and bidding already.

I hold onto my pass, which costs an entire currency card to receive. It was very expensive, but very worth it if I end up with Mariel. I would give away every one of my currency cards to have her back by my side. And then we will find a place that will be safe for her where she would never be captured again.

The line is very long and moving slowly. I wave my pass head and shout.

"There's one in particular I wish to bid for, can you make an exception and let me in since I already know what I want?" I ask.

The Widian guards laugh and shake their heads.

"Says every single one who comes through these gates. You'll have to wait your turn," one of them tells me.

The line moves forward, and finally I make it to the gate. The guard enjoys toying with  me, knowing how desperate I am to get inside. He lets the one in front of me in and then stops me.

"Why are you doing this? I've got a pass right here, and I paid dearly for it. Please let me inside," I plead with him.

"Not until I deem it’s the right moment for you to enter," he replies.

Everything within me wants to grab the sword at my side and thrust it into his throat to render him dead and useless. He's only playing with me, and that's all these beings like to do here. I take a step back and inhale deeply to keep calm so that they will let me inside quicker than if I burst out in anger. I feel it in my heart that Mariel’s here, though She's inside and I need to get to her.

Finally, he takes the pass and lets me inside. The stands are full, packed with beings that are bidding. To my horror, Mariel stands in the arena off to the side while one is being bid for. Everything within me lurches forward as I try to find a place where I can stand and make a bid for her. At least I got here in time and she's not with someone she shouldn't be. I watch in horror as the ones who have been won are led off in chains, taken to the back where the winning bidder will pick each of them up. Even if I don't have the right money to buy her, I will act like I do and then I’ll find a way to get her out of here.

The other female has several who are bidding for her. She keeps looking soulfully at Mariel, no doubt because they have come to know each other. My mate is just that way, becoming friendly with whoever she meets. She has a soft heart and all she wants is a peaceful life. Mariel is mine, and she has chosen me to be the one with her. I will never let her leave my sight again.

The poor female slave finally has a winner, three times the amount of currency cards that I have. My heart slows as I realize I may not have what it takes to purchase Mariel. No matter what, I will do everything I can to save her. Finally, they call Mariel to the center.

She walks out, her eyes wide with sorrow plastered on her face. She's wearing an outfit that barely covers her body, accentuating her beautiful curves. Her feet are bare, and deep purple bruises from chains are evident on her ankles. She doesn't deserve this. My heart sinks as I look at her and I wish I could call down the fires of the stars above to consume this entire place and to rescue my love.

The bidding begins. I step up and wave my paddle fast and hard. She finally sees me, her entire body flexing. Hope obviously fills my mate’s heart. “I will do my best," I say while hoping that she can read my lips. I know she can't, though, but yet I wish her to know my heart for her.

The bidding continues. She's an exotic, a Terran, someone from another star system far away that the bidders are interested in obtaining. Terrans are not often seen now, as many have found their way into the society of Reazus Prime and avoided being caught. I'm not the only one bidding for her, unfortunately. There are a few others on the other side and one, a particularly large being who also has horns and a hulking body that is much larger than mine, seems very interested in Mariel. He would kill her with one thrust.

The bids go higher and higher and I'm counting in my head how much I have in currency cards. At least they’re going up in small increments, but they're doing it in a way to make others want to bid for her as well. Those who have bottomless pockets will be the ones to win. The bidding keeps going and it goes outside of my range. Gall comes up in my throat as I realize I don't have enough funds to purchase her now.

Even so, I keep holding my paddle up, hoping that I will win and somehow we will figure our way out of this situation. Fear strikes me hard as I realize if I come up there to complete the purchase and don't have the funds, they will thrust a dagger inside my heart right there. Mariel would then be taken and cast back into the lot for re-bidding by those who actually have the funds to complete the purchase. I will figure out what to do, though. It takes them a while to ring up the cards, and perhaps we could somehow get away at that point. The big alien won’t back away, though. I lose hope as each time I raise my paddle he raises his, and the bid climbs higher. This is turning into an unfortunate mess.

CHAPTER 11

MARIEL

I step to the center of the arena, the lights blinding me. Hopelessness pours into me as the tears in my eyes keep me from smiling. The guards told us to smile in order to entice them to buy me.

A guard walks up and prods me with the blunt end of a long pole. "Smile," he says between his gritted teeth.

I do my best to smile,though I know it doesn't reach my eyes. I'm smiling with my mouth only as I search the crowd hoping to see the one I love.

The bidding begins and the crowd goes wild. I close my eyes and shudder as I see the nasty faces bidding for me. I can only imagine what they want to do to me. It's horrifying as they pause to give the beings time to count their currency cards.

"This one is Terran. She comes from the Terran solar system far from here. She's one of the few very special and unique exotics you will ever see. You won't find many like her. She is available, she's female, and she's fertile," they announce to the crowd.

I close my eyes and tremble. The fact that he said I’m fertile shows what they're wanting to do with me. They want to use me as a breeding machine. I've already been with Dagred, and if our union has made a baby, I'd be so thrilled. But the thought of being with these others, who are ugly, stink, and that I don't have a heart for, makes me cringe. Dark thoughts enter my head as the bidding continues, and I see those who are holding up their paddles. I'll kill myself if I must. I’ll cause them to throw away their money on me. I'd rather be dead than to be with any of them.

But then my thoughts go to Dagred, knowing that he is somewhere on this planet looking for me. I couldn’t kill myself because I wouldn’t want to leave him behind. No, I would do whatever I could to try to escape. I was held captive for an entire year and not able to escape until I had help. I now know that I will be able to find the strength within me to do so because I love Dagred.

The bidding goes higher and higher as each time someone holds up a paddle and the auctioneer points to the number. My heart jumps within my chest as I look to the right and suddenly see the one I love. Dagred! He smiles at me while holding his paddle high to receive the acknowledgement from the auctioneer that he is bidding. Everything within me settles. I feel at peace and relax, knowing that he's finally here. Knowing that he would do everything in his power to save me. I hold out hope that he will win me.

The bidding continues, and there’s soon another hulking alien on the other side of the arena who keeps bidding for me as well. I swallow hard as I look at him. He's horrible looking and would likely not be kind to me. The way he's going after Dagred makes me wonder if he doesn't have an ax to grind with him for some reason. But Dagred doesn't stop. He keeps lifting his paddle and stays with the bid. I don't know how much he has, or how many currency cards are in his possession, but I'm certain it's not as much as what the bid is at now. He keeps lifting his paddle, though, and the crowd keeps going wild.

The guard behind me prods me again with the blunt end of the pole telling me to turn.

I turn, slowly allowing the crowd to see every part of me. The thin dress stretches over my body and leaves very little to the imagination. That's the whole purpose. They want the audience to see exactly what they're getting. I’m very obviously female. I’ve noticed that most of the females here have breasts and curves in particular places. Males are usually larger and bulked up except for the occasionally slim beings. If Dagred can’t win me, maybe he could at least take me from whichever one wins the bid.

The auction continues on and I feel very lost and hopeless. Finally, the bidding is between Dagred and the huge alien on the other side of the arena. They pause between the bids, giving each one time to assess what they have. The big alien must have a lot. Dagred looks at me and shakes his head ever so slightly letting me know that he does not have the necessary funds.

I send him a look to let him know it's okay. I will be fine.

Finally, the last bid is placed and Dagred lowers his paddle in defeat. The large alien puffs out his chest. He has won. He smirks over at Dagred, and looks at me while lifting his brow. He has a thick, hairy brow and a big fat nose with huge nostrils. I don't want to feel the creature’s breath in my body. But he looks at me as if I am something for him to ravish. I lose a little hope, but I somehow believe Dagred will keep trying to free me, no matter what.

DAGRED

I watch in horror as they take Mariel away. I waste no time climbing down the stairs and onto the floor. I’m pushing against the other beings who are still waiting for their perfect exotic for which to bid. I don't care what they do as right now I intend to help Mariel. The huge alien who won looks as if he has ill intentions for her. It scares me greatly, so I move quickly to try to make my way around towards the back. As I’m going through other aliens ahead of me, they flash up their paddles to let the auctioneer know of their bids.

Once back behind the arena, I look around and see that the exchange room is heavily guarded. Those who have won their bids are taking their slaves and leaving out the back door to their waiting hovercraft.

It is a scary moment as I see the large being waiting for Mariel to come through. She must still be in the back, perhaps having shoes put on her. That would at least be better than keeping her barefoot. The large alien looks at me and realizes I was the one bidding against him. It's all I can do to keep from going to him and slashing his throat. He will not touch her. I will die protecting her.

There's a rush of females being led back into the room for processing. The ones ahead of us step forward to receive their purchased slaves. The poor females look flustered and scared, as if they’ve lost their will to live. My heart sinks as I look at them, wishing I had enough currency funds to purchase every one of them and set them free. But they would only be free to be caught again. It's so easy to be caught on this treacherous planet. At least there are places where they would be a little safer than Mariel and I have been. I wish I had never run off with her from the village. The village has some protection within its perimeter. It actually sounds like the perfect place to me after listening to my mate speak of it. If I can only get Mariel back, now.

Mariel steps out, her eyes turning to me as I shake my head ever so slightly. She doesn't need to let the winning bidder know who I am. Somehow I’ll have to figure out a way to take her from him. I suddenly have an idea and I leave to see if I can make it work.

I go to the small zoomer I've been riding and bring it around to the back. Deep within a satchel on the back of the hover scooter I find what I need. Explosives I have brought will help cause a diversion and possibly give me a chance to rescue her. Another alien steps toward me, his eyes wide.

"I see you have a similar plan to mine," he tells me.

I look at the green-skinned alien with wild hair that looks more like leaves that are pointing out in all directions.

He smiles. "My sister is in there and I plan to rescue her.”

I remember seeing such a beautiful green skinned female with her hair long like flowing leaves as ferns hanging down from her scalp.

He shows me a bag of party explosives. Each one when thrown causes dark smoke to spread through the air as well as a slight EMP charge that shuts off the electricity, but only temporarily. He leans close to me, elbowing me.

"This will be enough to cause confusion and we can grab our ladies and run. I'm assuming you have a lady you wish to rescue?" he asks.

"Yes, my mate, Mariel. She is Terran," I reply.

"No matter, come. We’ll rescue these ladies. And maybe in the process we can set others free, too. I also have a few more potent explosives we can pitch into the back of the arena, such as in the center of the guards. I don't wish to harm the females who are innocent in all this, but these explosives will do great harm to their captors.

I follow him into the arena. Many beings, males especially, push into the crowd. No one notices us as we slip inside. We've already given our passes and they’ve seen us before, so they let us go without saying much to us. We make our way back to the back of the room again to where they are still processing them. Mariel’s eyes widen as I walk through the door. I smile and nod while lifting my brow. Hopefully she understands I have figured a way out. I turn my eyes to my leafed friend beside me, and she turns her eyes to the other leafed female. Yes, she sees the connection. We step forward with our hand in the bag with the explosives ready to toss. We are ready to save our precious females.

CHAPTER 12

MARIEL

Something is about to happen. I move as close to the fern-haired female as I can, and she grabs my hand with her long, slender fingers.

“Sheina,” she whispers.

“Mariel,” I reply as I grip her hand tightly.

The big ox who bought me grunts as he pulls out his currency cards. As soon as they check it off, I’ll be out the door with him. But Dagred has something up his sleeve. My eyes widen at him as I hope that he will hurry up with whatever it is that he’s planned.

The plant-like alien beside him slides toward the back of the room, his hand inside his bag. Dagred coughs, and suddenly an explosion sends everyone screaming in all directions. A pop over the desk where the fat Widian counts the currency cards startles those closest. Another flash along with a loud boom, and a hand grabs me. Sheina and I part as someone drags me away.

Dagred runs as he lifts me into his arms. I grab hold of him. “I can run, really.”

He chuckles. “I can run faster.”

The four of us bound out the door. Others are around outside and looking at the confused faces running out of the building, but there are no guards. Two zoomers sit side by side. Sheina smiles.

“Thank you, Mariel. The best for you and yours.” She leaves quickly with the male being who rescued her.

I hold tightly to Dagred as we speed away as well, leaving the auction house far behind. We ride late into the night to get as far away from the horrible city and the pirates who are no doubt looking for us as we can.

“Where are we going?” I shout into the wind.

“Back to the village. We’re not stopping until we get much closer.

I settle in behind him, holding on as he steers us out of harm’s way. After a couple of hours on the back of the zoomer, I need a break. Besides, this thin dress barely covers me and I’m freezing. We start up the mountain.

“Can we please stop? I can’t do this much longer without a break.”

Dagred steers the zoomer into the woods where we can easily hide ourselves. I hop off, shaking my legs and wrapping my arms around my body.

“Here, I have something for you.” Dagred pulls a big jacket from the zoomer and hands it to me.

“Thank you. How did you know?”

He laughs. “This is what they do with those being auctioned. I wish I had shoes for you as well.”

I frown. “Yeah, my outfit and shoes are back there, unfortunately.”

He pulls out a pair of his own socks for me to put on. At least they will be much warmer than bare feet. I pull them over my knees. Having large socks on is much better than nothing at all.

After a drink of water and another stretch, we hop back onto the zoomer and take off.

“Next stop will be the village.”

I wrap my arms around him, hugging Dagred as we ride. Having him with me makes me happy, regardless of the thin dress I am still wearing beneath the jacket he has given me to wear.

Another hour and a half later, we arrive at the village. It’s in the middle of the night and there are few others out and about the streets. I wearily hop off and approach the guards at the entrance of the village, a smile on my face.

“We’ve had quite an adventure and been gone for a while. I hope my home is still available.”

The guard smiles at me, his large silvery skin covered with dark blotches all over, and whiskers growing out of his face like a big cat. “And you are?”

“Mariel. I am Delaina and Carx’s friend.”

“Oh, yes. You’ve caused quite a stir around here. They sent a search party out, but have come back empty. Yes, your hut is vacant. You may go back to it. Wait. Who are you?” he asks my escort.

“Dagred. Blood of both Jedstrom and Reazus combined. I was here earlier, but we left together and are only now getting back.”

I laugh and pull on Dagred’s arm. “Yes, it’s a long story. He’s mine and will stay in my hut with me.”

It never felt so good to be home. Dagred and I fall onto the bed, though it’s a tight fit for the two of us. We don’t care. We’ve been apart for a while, but right now, we’re tired. Sleep comes quickly as I snuggle into his embrace.

DAGRED

My mate stirs beside me. The sun rises, and still, she sleeps. Her beautiful eyes flutter open finally and I smile into her sweet face.

“Oh, Dagred. It’s not a dream. The nightmare is over and you’re actually here with me.” She wraps her arms around me.

My body awakens as I lean in and our lips meet in a passionate kiss. Mariel is still wearing the thin dress from the auction house. I reach for it and pull it over her head. She moves out of it before I toss it across the small hut. It hits a wall and slides onto the floor.

“I’m yours, claim me,” she says with a wicked grin.

My clothes come off quickly before I gather her into my arms. Mariel eases under me, our lips moving in unison. A moan escapes her lips as I kiss her neck and move down to her breasts. My fingers move lower to the valley between her legs. Soft, warm folds greet me, her body ready to receive me. I crave her flavor as I scoot down, my face between her legs. She enjoys it, her head rolling back and body trembling as my tongue swirls through her slick slit.

“Oh, Dagred. I thought I lost you.” She breathes as she recalls what happened.

My actions soon take away her thoughts from the past few days. Her little clit swells and she grinds into the bed. Each of my hands capture the flesh on her chest, massaging, bringing her delight while it causes my body to grow rigid.

“Oh, yes!” Mariel’s back arches, my tongue still swirling. Her body quakes, the pleasure taking hold.

I lift my body as my male member vibrates with desire and I move to the end of the bed. Taking my cock into my hand, I rub it through her wetness, her hole ready for me. I slide in, stretching my mate around me, pleasure crashing over me like waves on the sea.

My cock vibrates, her body responding with the squeezing in her tunnel. She gasps for air, leaning up as we climb together. I lose control as I stand and pump into her. Mariel yelps as ecstasy explodes within her pelvis again. My cock extends and the life seed within me pulsates through my loins and out of the tip, filling my mate’s womb. She moans, her body moving in unison with mine.

She soon lies back while catching her breath, and I lie down beside her, our hands clasping. We merely breathe, our hearts beating in tune with the powerful waves of pleasure leaving us.

“Oh, Dagred. You make me feel so glorious and loved all at the same time.”

I gather her into my arms as she rolls over toward me, her lips finding mine. “You are my mate. I will never let you out of my sight again.”

“I love you.” Mariel smiles. The human sentiment stirs emotions within me.

“I love you, too.” I hug her tightly. Her soft, warm, naked body stirs desire as my cock rises against her belly.

“Again?” Her eyes are bright.

Once more, we come together, mating, making love.

EPILOGUE

MARIEL

“It was the most shocking thing I saw when I came to your door,” Delaina says as we’re washing our garments in the river.

I laugh. “I’m sure. I disappear and come back mated to a beast. But he’s my beast,” I say dreamily.

Dagred and I chose a parcel of land next to Carx and Delaina where we are building our home. The huts in the village center are for the wayfarers coming in, and only for a while. Carx and Dagred work on the home as Mariel and I perform household tasks.

My eyes roll as I wring out the sheets. “You’d think in an advanced place like this we’d have all kinds of innovative appliances.”

“Not in the village. This is an out of the way place, with simple living, away from the cities. It’s much safer for all beings.”

“Not too safe. I mean, Dagred did kidnap me at first.” I grin.

“Not to sell you, but to mate with you.”

We laugh.

I turn serious. “You know, when I was at the auction house, I realized the slave industry is so alive here. The poor females don’t stand much of a chance out there. Reazus Prime may always have some level of anarchy, but I think we should do something to help some of the females being caught.”

“We should start a coalition. Get others involved in the cities around here anyway.” Delaina nods.

“We’ll need protection. I don’t want to go through that again.”

She shrugs. “Yeah, living here requires a lot of hard work, but we could venture out with our beefy aliens once a week and stir some interest in the city below. Maybe it will catch fire and spread and we can really help others who need it.”

EDEN EMBER

Eden Ember found her passion in writing sci-fi romance. She spends her days either pounding on the keyboard or dreaming up the next stories. Her active imagination never lets up and the perfect outlet comes through in her books.

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OUTLAW PLANET MATES

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Eden Ember

Outlaw Planet Mates