by Celia Kyle
Hiren released an exasperated sigh. This meant he’d have to backtrack later and make sure this oversight was corrected. Leaving human workers without their proper compensation was unacceptable. “Yes, I am aware we haven’t eaten, but coming in and sitting down at a table and exiting before ordering is a breach of custom. Leaving currency on the table thanks the workers for their time, and it draws less negative attention to us.”
“If negative attention is something you are worried over,” Sevith growled, shooting a glare at a group of humans openly staring at them, “you are out of luck regardless of whether we visit any restaurants.”
This was true. The Drokten had a way of attracting attention—often negative, despite the fact that they’d freed Earth from the Zignills—whenever they walked freely on the planet. It wasn’t something they could help, and Hiren didn’t enjoy being treated like a novelty. All he wanted was his female.
“We need to find her,” Hiren stated.
Sevith’s jaw clenched as he issued his vow. “We will… we will.”
Last night they’d finally found their Oso, the female who would join them as their mate, bear their offspring, and make their triad complete. It was the most important moment of their lives. But before they could jointly meet their female and begin the mating process, they’d been interrupted by his least favorite politician from the human government and worst of all… they’d lost their female.
The most important moment of their lives had been ripped from them in an instant of inattention.
Secretary Wells, the annoying human in charge of negotiating relations between the Earth governments and the Drokten had claimed Jenna Perry had escaped and run away. Why would she do such a thing? Didn’t she understand that they were her mates? She was supposed to wait in that room until they could rid themselves of that human male and then they’d planned on taking her with them to their ship so she could get settled into her new home.
But they returned and she was gone. Just… gone. Secretary Wells said he’d find her and punish her for her transgression. Hiren let the ridiculous human know that wasn’t necessary. Hiren and Sevith would find her and bring her to the Battleship Avash themselves. The last thing they needed was this male’s continued interference.
It was painful having to return to their ship without her last night. Both of them had barely slept. They’d spent time in their quarters planning out the retrieval of their Oso, and today they were working that plan. It was all-consuming.
The human government wasn’t open with information concerning human history, customs and daily life and had turned very little intelligence over to the Drokten authorities. Everything was restricted, even if it was seemingly innocuous, and anything they found seemed to come at the cost of a favor or two. They often discussed how simple it would be to hack the humans’ databases to gain the information they needed, but for now they tried to give the humans their right to privacy.
Hiren was certain that one day soon the humans would come to understand that their two species were allies and upgrade their relations. After all, now that the commander and his Bahn had also found their Oso on Earth, this planet would soon become a popular destination among the males of his species.
But due to this lack of intelligence from the humans they were protecting from their mutual enemy, some Drokten had begun resorting to paying human informants they kept on retainer. Hiren didn’t know who Sevith had to pay or intimidate to get what information they’d acquired so far, but Hiren was grateful for even the little they knew.
They’d discovered that their Oso, Jenna, was something called a “waitress at a diner,” not only a server at Drokten Main. Naturally, he and Sevith had spent time last night researching what a waitress’s life and duties entailed. Sevith had been livid when he’d learned that a waitress was typically an underpaid, overworked servant, who was effectively a slave to a manager’s whims, and that it was considered very difficult and highly unstable work. But… Hiren felt differently. He now knew their female was a hard worker and this made her sound similar to his own species. The Drokten revered hard work and dedication.
But this was all they knew—her name and her occupation. They did not know the location of Jenna Perry’s domicile or her specific place of employment, which was very disconcerting. They couldn’t easily scan for her location, which meant their only option was to physically arrive in the streets of a large human urban center and walk into establishments, searching for her.
Sevith had insisted Jenna was most likely working within a five-nanco radius of Drokten Main. If the humans at Drokten Main had hired staff from the surrounding private businesses, they’d most likely recruited them from nearby, for the sake of simplicity and speed.
This made sense.
“Try not to intimidate the humans at the next establishment,” Hiren warned as they walked to the next diner on their route. Despite believing she would be close, Sevith had stayed up late to map out an ideal route to hit each diner in the city in a time-efficient path. “We don’t want any more of an interspecies ordeal than this has already become.”
“I’ll make it as much of an ordeal as it needs to be,” Sevith grunted as they neared the next diner, and then he paused not far from the door and bared his fangs.
“What?” Hiren stiffened at his Azi’s side.
“She is here,” Sevith growled.
Hiren inhaled a deep breath, and then he felt it, too. His whole body lit aflame, and his lungs filled with the addictive scent of their Oso.
“You sense it too,” Sevith pointed out, and Hiren nodded.
The feeling was like an energy burst before going into a battle. Her emotions hung in the air. Feeling her nearby gave him a quick high and then an almost soothing effect. He sensed the same thing from Sevith. She was a sedative to them. His senses were still on high alert, but his anger and frustration from the morning’s long search seemed to melt away beneath her nearness.
Sevith led the way inside, and they were greeted with what they’d seen all morning—many humans eating more of that strange food that was highly unappetizing. Hiren could hardly wait to return to his own quarters on the battleship and use their food dispenser to create his favorite Drokten meat sticks and drink a cup of hot traq. Human food was edible, but not at all preferred by his species.
“Oh my gosh, look at you. Gooooood morning!” An unfamiliar female dressed in a now-familiar waitress uniform stepped forward to greet them as soon as they entered the busy diner. “Two Drokten? How nice of you to join us.” Hiren glanced around at the crowd, seeing no sign of Jenna, and clenched his jaw. “Seat yourselves anywhere you’d like. I’ll be with you in just a second.”
“Thank you,” Hiren nodded, pleased at their welcome reception. This was unusual. The greeters at the last three establishments had looked scared at first and then quietly seated them.
They both walked to an empty table at the back of the diner, where two seats were backed against the wall. Many humans’ eyes were on them. Conversations stopped as they moved past and then started again as they were clear of the tables.
Hiren watched Sevith pointedly ignore the humans and take a seat while Hiren took the other. It was a good location. This gave them both a good view of the entire establishment.
Where is she? Sevith demanded through their link. Is she in the back cooking human food?
Probably not, Hiren responded. It’s a busy diner, she’s just—
As if in answer to Sevith’s question, Jenna appeared from the door leading to the kitchen, hurrying past with a large tray filled with plates of food carefully stacked in precise formation. Hiren sucked in a breath as a rush of intense gratitude consumed his body.
There she was. Finally.
His female’s work uniform and the placement of her colorless hair were different, but it was Jenna, nonetheless. The same luscious human he’d been eager to have underneath him—them. They could hardly wait to breed this female.
She does not see us, Sevith
pointed out. Let us retrieve our Oso and get off of this planet.
Sevith moved to stand, as domineering as ever, but Hiren put a hand on his arm, his grip firm. Sevith again bared his fangs. If anyone but Hiren had stopped him, there would have been blows.
“What now?” Sevith snarled aloud.
“We can’t carry her off directly from this establishment,” Hiren insisted in a steady, patient tone. “You wouldn’t like it if she burst in on a war meeting. Would you?”
“I would be certain she would have good reason,” Sevith snarled, but after looking back at Jenna, he slowly settled back down and seemed content to watch her with hungry eyes.
“We need to wait. We must talk to her first and let her know of our intentions.”
His Azi gave a curt nod.
A few moments later, the same pleasant, non-Jenna waitress who’d greeted them at their arrival came to take their orders, and since this was the diner they would actually be spending time at, Hiren ordered each of them a coffee. “Coffee” was one of the few human drinks Drokten found acceptable because of its similarities to traq.
Our female is tasked with serving humans in a different part of this establishment, Sevith groused. We should be sitting closer to her.
You are correct but it is too late. Hiren cursed their hasty judgment in choice of seats. Spending time in the other diners this morning had taught Hiren that the serving staff always worked different sections of a restaurant. His strategic mind picked up on that in a heartbeat. Jenna’s section was clearly at the opposite end of the diner, but neither he nor Sevith had been thinking about that when they stumbled in. They’d just been happy to locate their female.
Hiren watched as Jenna moved around the tables, her long legs serving her very well as she wove through the other servers coming and going while keeping her customers happy. She was all smiles and welcoming body language.
His chest warmed and his cock remained at attention. For the first time in his life his dormant shaft was finally readying to mate. He had no idea what this would feel like, but he’d been around his own parental triad and many mated males and females, especially in his youth, and he’d witnessed the love that flowed between them. He wanted that for himself—for them.
The human males in this eating establishment want our Oso for themselves, Sevith rasped, fury in his mental voice.
Hiren narrowed his eyes as he watched the interactions between their female and her customers. It was true that some of the males made exaggerated efforts to gain her attention. The way they talked to her, the playful smiles on their small, dull-toothed mouths and the movements of their bushy eyebrows as they spoke to her. It frustrated him to no end whenever he saw her force a smile in return. He sensed her emotions and knew the smiles were fake and appeasing.
Hiren realized Sevith stared at him. “What?” he said out loud.
“You want her out of here as badly as I do,” Sevith mused, taking a sip of his coffee and wrinkling his nose. “Ugh, this is bitter. And gritty.”
“You’re right. I do want her,” Hiren admitted, rolling his shoulders back and taking a deep breath. “Yes, waiting is ridiculous, but I worry if we act too quickly, we will anger her.”
“Again, let’s take her now and spare her this horrible work situation. Our female is obviously a hard worker who should be compensated more for her valuable time. We can give her a new highly paid job on the Avash or at Drokten Main.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea. And we might think this position is ridiculous,” Hiren answered, “but it’s her life, and she may not be ready to realize this workplace isn’t a part of it any longer. Our female is a hard worker and will most likely want to finish her daily labor commitment. We will wait until we gain her attention and ask her to leave with us when she’s free.”
Sevith turned to stare at him. Hiren did not back down and steadily held his Azi’s harsh gaze. Yes, it was unusual for a Bahn to boldly declare the rules of engagement, but this was an entirely new situation. They’d never before negotiated the acquisition of their Oso and Hiren knew that going forward, he would need to occasionally take the lead when it benefited their mate.
His Azi gave him another curt nod in reply. “And… what if she says no?”
“Why would she deny us? We both sensed her desire and her need to protect us, her future mates, even if she does not yet realize who we are to her. She is drawn to us as much as we are to her.”
“Well, she ran away…”
And right then the front door of the dining establishment banged open. A group of five large, rowdy human males charged through, all of them in the middle of an extremely loud conversation.
As soon as they entered, Hiren sensed a change in Jenna’s emotions.
“Do you feel that?” Sevith growled.
“Yes. Our female does not like these males. I sense her anxiety. A twinge of fear. And disgust.”
“Especially for that one in the front,” Sevith remarked. “She hates the largest one most of all.”
Hiren watched Jenna’s eyes as she forced a smile and waved to the men who seemed to know her.
“Hey, Roy!” she called with feigned enthusiasm.
“There she is,” the male called Roy said in a scratchy, boisterous voice. “Staying outta trouble, kid? Too bad, ’cause we’re here.”
The other males in the group laughed as they sat down in what Hiren recognized to be Jenna’s section. Jenna’s anxiety rose and Hiren’s fangs elongated in response to her emotions.
“Get on over here, girl. We know what we want,” Roy yelled out.
Jenna said something quickly to the table she served before bustling over to Roy’s space. Hiren watched with rapt attention as she took the orders of the men at the table with a forced smile. They were harder to hear now that they spoke at a normal tone so far away, but Hiren sensed everything. Jenna was desperate for an out, and she would be glad when this male and his friends finally left. Why she tolerated this human she clearly disliked, Hiren had no idea.
But when she got to Roy’s order, the male talked so low Jenna had to bend down to hear his words. Hiren watched as the male smirked wickedly and beckoned for her to… sit down with him? They were saying something, and Jenna looked like she was politely declining at first. Then Roy reached out and put his hands on her hips and pulled her down onto his lap as the rest of the table laughed.
Sevith bared his elongated fangs.
Hiren dug his claws into the table.
Jenna fake-laughed, with a pink face, but her thoughts and feelings were clear to both Hiren and Sevith. This was the most uncomfortable she’d been all day, and her instincts were bordering on fight-or-flight mode.
This human is touching our female against her wishes and making her unhappy, Hiren noted.
Their alpha is dead, Sevith remarked. I claim the kill shot.
Hiren grunted in agreement.
They stood in unison, their chairs scraping back at the same time, and the sound of metal grating on linoleum cut through the diner’s noise.
The entire diner grew quiet and all eyes were on Hiren and his Azi as they strode over to Jenna’s location. They’d trained and fought together for the last fifteen Drokten planetary cycles. This would be over in moments.
As they approached, Roy firmed his grip and Jenna was now squirming in the male’s lap, unable to escape.
Their Oso’s eyes turned toward the sound of their footsteps—the only sounds to break the diner’s silence. She looked up at their approach, her mouth dropping open in surprise as her face lost all color.
Hiren took her by the hand, lifting her out of the offensive male’s lap and pulling her into his own protective embrace.
“What the fuck?” the human male snapped, glaring up at them.
Sevith remained silent. Instead, he merely reached down with one muscular arm, grabbed the male by the throat, and lifted him from his seat and into the air until his feet dangled helplessly above the floor.
Six
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br /> “Wh-what are you doing?” Jenna snapped breathlessly.
Holy crap, the two aliens she’d ditched last night were standing in the diner. How had Hiren and Sevith even managed to find her? Because there was no way these two Drokten had just now accidentally run into her.
“This human male touched you in a way we deem inappropriate for a female of your value,” Hiren informed her.
“Her value?” Roy sputtered helplessly, his hands tugging against the claw at his throat. “Her value?” He struggled against Sevith’s hold but remained captured. “What about my value. Huh?” he rasped. “I’m a paying customer and I’ll treat the help however I damn well please.”
Sevith, the commander of the Drokten fleet, lowered the male until his tiptoes touched the linoleum, bringing the human’s face closer to his own. He growled, leaning in slowly, closer and closer until less than an inch separated them. “You have no value to me.”
For once, Roy looked truly terrified at someone bigger and badder than himself. And Jenna had to admit this was a nice change of pace. It was great to see Roy, the ultimate bully who’d made her life a living hell for the last year, finally get his comeuppance. But, on the other hand, she suspected she was also moments away from getting fired from the job she relied upon. Her boss wasn’t exactly known for his tact and decorum. Or his fair treatment of female staff. These two Drokten had already been the reason she’d lost one job. She couldn’t lose this one too.
She stepped out of Hiren’s embrace and lifted her chin. “Seriously, let him go. Let me go.”
“He touched you against your will,” Sevith snarled.
She sighed. This alien commander was trying to help her, which was lovely. Normally, no one ever stepped in and defended her like this. Ever. But he also didn’t know the fucked-up way things worked around here. “He’s a customer,” she was forced to declare. “I-I can’t get in trouble for this. Please, I need this job to pay my bills, all right? Just let him go.”
“Listen to the girl! She knows how all this works,” Roy grunted, as he tried to point at her.