“That was not my intention,” she sighed, although she couldn’t help a small flare of vanity. And it did feel much better to be clean. “He didn’t give me much choice.”
“What did that fucking asshole do?”
“Lizabet, is it really necessary to swear in every sentence?” Sarah asked.
“Fucking A.”
Rachel laughed. “Have you been around many teenagers, Sarah?”
Sadness crossed Sarah’s face. “No. My husband and I wanted children, but it never happened.”
Rachel surprised them both by reaching out for the other woman’s hand. “What happened to your husband?”
“He died in a car accident two years ago.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Stupid really. He was trying to avoid a dog and the road was wet. He lost control and hit a tree.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Me too,” Lizabet added and squeezed Sarah’s other hand.
The moment was interrupted when the big guard appeared.
“You will eat,” he ordered Rachel.
“What is it with you guys and my eating habits? I’m not hungry.” It wasn’t true. Her stomach felt so hollow she could swear her belly was touching her backbone, but now that T’chok had left, her defiance had returned in full force.
“Commander T’chok has ordered you to eat.”
“I don’t care what he’s ordered. I’ll eat when I want to.”
They glared at each other, but he finally let out a frustrated roar and turned away. At least T’chok seemed to be the only one who would man-handle, or rather alien-handle, her into submission.
“How sweet. Our new commander is all concerned about the poor little Indian girl.” Bambi oozed her way over with a fake smile on her face. “Just what were you doing in there for so long?” Her eyes scanned Rachel’s new attire. “Getting a little dirty on the way to getting clean?”
Rachel gave her a disgusted look and turned her back. Lizabet wasn’t so forbearing.
“What’s the matter, you old slut? Jealous?”
Bambi stepped forward, a furious expression on her face, but Sarah and Rachel immediately stepped up beside the younger girl and she stopped.
“I wouldn’t fuck one of those disgusting things for a million dollars,” she sneered. “I guess everyone’s not so discriminating.”
“You should watch what you’re saying, Bambi.” Sarah’s quiet voice interrupted. “Some of us know what happens when the lights go out.”
Bambi paled but she gave a disparaging sniff. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She turned her back on the three and walked away but Rachel noticed that she didn’t have quite her usual confidence.
“What are you talking about, Sarah?” Rachel asked.
“I shouldn’t have said anything.” Sarah bit her lip. “I’m not sure if anything was going on or not.”
“But?”
“Well. You know how the bunk room doors are locked once the lights go out?”
Rachel nodded. She had tried sneaking out to the main room after lights out on several occasions, and the door was always locked.
“A couple of times I saw Bambi leave after everyone was asleep.” Sarah looked troubled. “I’m not sure she was the only one, either.”
“T’chok… Commander T’chok, said that the Yehrin aren’t allowed to touch any of us now.”
“Now?”
“We’re in something called the Forbidden Cycle,” Lizabet piped up. Rachel shot her an exasperated glance and she hunched her shoulders. “Sorry, I thought it was okay since you mentioned it.”
“What are you two talking about?” Sarah demanded.
Rachel sighed and looked at the other woman, surprised that she was beginning to consider her a friend. She had tried very hard to avoid getting close to any of her fellow prisoners. “T’chok, I mean Commander T’chok—”
“I think you can just call him T’chok. We all know he’s taken an interest in you. Apparently, it’s not entirely one-sided,” Sarah said dryly.
Rachel blushed, but ignored the implied question. “Anyway, he told us a little bit more about why we’re here, but he asked us not to discuss it.” She frowned at Lizabet and the girl gave an apologetic shrug. Turning back to Sarah, she asked, “Can you keep a secret?”
“I didn’t tell anyone about Bambi, did I?” The older woman sighed. “Is it going to hurt the other women if they don’t know?”
“I don’t think so. They’ll be told eventually, and I doubt it would help them to know right now. Are you sure you want to know?”
Sarah gave a decided nod. Rachel drew the other two back into the bunk room and quickly brought Sarah up to speed.
“Two years?” Sarah’s face was ghost white and she collapsed onto the nearest bunk.
“Yes. How long have you been here?” Rachel asked quietly.
“Almost four months. It seems like an eternity. To be here for another twenty…” She shuddered and put her face in her hands. Lizabet and Rachel sat down on either side of her and patted her back.
“Why were you taken?” Lizabet asked.
Sarah raised her head and a watery smile crossed her face. “More stupidity. I had been visiting my former mother-in-law. It was right after that first terrible week, do you remember?”
They both nodded. Once the military Yehrin had taken control, the world had exploded in violence. Nuclear weapons vanished overnight, along with any military personnel in the vicinity. Planes attempting to attack the alien spaceships met a similar fate. Violence had erupted in the cities and was quelled with swift, brutal efficiency. All of it had been televised by the Yehrin controlled media. By the end of that week, there was no doubt that the aliens were in complete control. Even though most world leaders retained their positions, they were nothing more than figureheads.
“She was terrified, and I stayed with her far longer than I had intended. She wanted me to spend the night, but I just couldn’t.” Sarah winced. “Her whole house is a shrine to Jeff—my husband—and the guest bedroom is the worst. It used to be his bedroom and she’s kept it perfectly intact. Anyway, I thought I had time to get home. I didn’t.” She looked down at her fingers. “I might... I might consider taking the offer.”
“Really?” Rachel couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice.
“I want out of here.” Her impassioned cry surprised Rachel. Sarah always seemed so calm and in control. “If that’s the price I have to pay… Some of them aren’t so bad, you know.”
Rachel nodded reluctantly. She had spent a lot of time watching the guards in her quest to escape. All of them watched the women, but most of them were at least discreet about it. Despite their stern appearance, some of them were quite kind. One always brought extra berries when he served the meals because he noticed how much the prisoners enjoyed them. Another had arranged for cushions on the uncomfortable chairs. Even as angry as Rachel could make them, they never did anything but roar at her.
Unfortunately, there were also some notable exceptions. One of the guards liked to try and catch naked females in the showers. Another seemed to enjoy terrorizing the women, even though he never actually did anything other than loom over them unexpectedly. Her personal worst was Officer T’judin. He frequently accompanied Commander T’ngorzul and echoed his superior’s contempt for the prisoners. When he was on guard alone, he leered at the women, and stood much too close, his hand rubbing his crotch suggestively.
“It might be worth it,” Sarah continued. “Especially if I ended up with a baby.”
“You want an alien baby?” Lizabet’s eyes were wide with shock.
“It would be my baby, too.” Sarah laughed, but her eyes were sad. “I’m not getting any younger and I really want a child.”
“But they’re fucking huge. What if their—” Lizabet’s usual vulgarity deserted her and she simply waved a hand in the direction of her lap. Rachel shivered a little in remembrance. If T’chok was anything to go by, they were definitely huge all over.
“Ew.” Lizabet shook her head. “I don’t even want to think about it. I won’t have to do that, will I, Rachel?”
“No. T’chok said he would get you out of here and I believe him.” Her words weren’t just to reassure the younger girl. She trusted T’chok to tell her the truth—and wasn’t that a shock.
The rest of the day passed quietly. She didn’t participate in the evening meal, either, but did sneak a few crackers when no one was looking. After the lights went out, she devoured them under her covers. Then she tossed and turned for hours, trying to shake the memories of T’chok’s hands on her body. Even the slight weight of the cover irritated her nipples and her clit throbbed with every beat of her heart. Long after the others were asleep, she crept quietly out of her bunk and tried the door. It was locked.
Chapter Six
When T’chok entered Breeder Pod Eleven the next morning, he was not in a good mood. Acting on his suspicions of the previous day, he had reviewed the monitor recordings. All of the breeder pods had at least one timeframe missing and some of them had multiple missing sections. They always occurred during the overnight period and did not seem to follow any particular pattern. He had taken his concerns to his friend and commanding officer, Commander T’lan.
“Do you think he was abusing the human females?” T’lan asked, keeping his voice low. They were in T’lan’s quarters and his L’chka—his mate—M’lee was resting in the sleeping area.
“I am not sure. I do not think he was forcing them, but I suspect that he was bribing them.”
“Bribing them with what?”
“One of the females in Breeder Pod Eleven said he promised her a reduced sentence.”
T’lan scowled, the big male taking on a more than usually menacing air. “He had no authority to do so.”
“He had no authority to kidnap your L’chka, either, but it did not stop him,” T’chok pointed out.
“I know. I wish I had not killed the borag so quickly. I wonder how much damage he has done, and how many others were involved.”
“I have found that not all of the guards have the correct… attitude.”
“I assume you are rectifying that issue?”
“Of course, but it will take time.”
T’lan nodded, and the males sat in silence. T’chok’s eyes went to the doorway into the sleeping quarters. “Could you have done it, T’lan? Could you have waited until the Forbidden Cycle had ended before you claimed your L’chka?”
The other warrior rubbed his chin. “I do not know. I have asked myself that question many times. In the end, I decided to praise the Ancestors that I did not have to wait.” His gaze sharpened on T’chok. “Why do you ask? Have you found a female that you wish to claim?”
He hesitated, but he would not deny his female. “Yes.”
“She is in one of the breeder pods?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Do you wish to be removed from the assignment?”
“No,” he growled. To never have the opportunity to see R’chel, the chance to feel her soft body against his, to make sure that she ate and slept and kept herself clean—it was unthinkable. But to refrain from claiming her for another six months… He sighed.
“Perhaps. It might be best to remove myself from temptation, but I will not do that until I am sure that T’ngorzul’s rot has been eradicated.”
“I can not counsel you on this, my friend. Once I met M’lee, I could never have left her.” The silence resumed.
“There is the holding facility that is being developed on Earth,” T’lan suggested at last. “If we move the females planet-side, she would no longer be in your direct path although you would still have oversight over her care.”
“Are you going to order me to do that?”
“No. I will leave it to you as an honorable warrior.” T’lan hesitated. “T’chok, it is not you that I doubt. If you choose to claim this female, I have no doubt that you will approach her with care and that you will respect her wishes. But if you do not honor the Forbidden Cycle, it encourages others, perhaps less honorable, to do the same. I am troubled enough that my relationship with my L’chka presents the appearance that I have performed a dishonorable act.”
“I understand. Thank you for your advice.”
Now, as he stood outside the door, he wrestled with the decision. Could he send the females to the Earth facility? It was part of the standard protocol and they would simply be advancing it by a few months. But to give up the chance to see R’chel on a daily basis? His very reluctance argued that it should be done.
Conclusion still uncertain, T’chok entered the pod. T’berdai was once again stationed inside the door.
“The formerly smelly one did not eat,” he informed T’chok immediately. “I ordered her to do so but she refused. The evening guard said the same.”
T’chok glanced around the room but R’chel was not in sight.
“Very well. I will take care of it. You will conduct the daily inspection.”
“Yes, sir.” T’berdai gave him a curious glance. “What are you going to do?”
“Teach a certain little human that when I give an order, I expect to be obeyed.” His tone was harsh enough that even T’berdai paled. Ignoring everyone else in the room, T’chok stalked over to the table where the food was offered. He assembled a plate of small delicacies before heading for the rear sleeping space.
R’chel and L’zabet were sitting on a bunk talking when he entered. They both looked up and he almost smiled at the identical expressions of apprehension that crossed their faces.
“L’zabet, you will leave.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” The girl climbed slowly to her feet. “You okay, Rach?”
“I’m fine.” R’chel’s voice trembled slightly and he knew that L’zabet heard it too because she glared at him as she walked by.
Once again, he closed the door, although this time, he did not shut off the cameras. Perhaps that would help him refrain from inappropriate behavior.
“You did not follow my orders, little girl.” He used the term deliberately and was gratified when her eyes widened.
“I don’t have to eat just because you tell me to.” She crossed her arms. “If you want someone to follow your orders, go find one of the other women.”
“I am not interested in the other females. Those females have the sense to eat.”
He advanced to the bunk and sat down beside her. She immediately tried to stand up. He sighed and pulled her onto his lap. “Why do you insist on fighting me?”
“I told you. I’m not accommodating. And anyway, I’m getting—” She clamped her mouth shut.
“Getting what? Away? Are you considering trying to escape?”
“No.” She didn’t look at him.
“It would be a mistake, R’chel. Even assuming you were successful, you are on a ship full of warriors. There is nowhere for you to go.”
“I’ve got to get home. I keep trying to tell you that my brother needs me.” Tears sparkled on her lashes, but she didn’t let them fall. He studied her face, noting the dark circles under her eyes, and the hollows beneath her high cheekbones. Until he had restored her to health, he couldn’t allow her to leave the spaceship. He pulled her closer and after a brief resistance, she settled against his chest. Her concerns about her brother worried him. Perhaps he could check on the child and make sure that he was safe. But first, he had to ensure the safety of his little human.
“Now, you must eat.”
“I don’t want to.” Her bottom lip stuck out and he had the curious impulse to suck it into his own mouth. He had seen T’lan perform that same action with M’lee and found it merely odd. Now he longed to try it for himself, but he pushed the thought aside.
“I don’t trust alien food,” she added.
“It is perfectly safe. Be a good girl and try some.” Keeping her cradled a
gainst his chest, he brought a morsel of jima to her mouth. She still looked sulky, but she opened reluctantly, and he placed it on her tongue. The feel of her soft lips closing around his fingers, followed by her soft moan, went straight to his cock.
“Mm. That’s amazing. What is it?”
“Jima. It is from a vine that grows on Ihana.”
Ignoring his arousal, he praised her and reached for another bite of food. She continued to eat eagerly, even licking at his fingers when she particularly enjoyed a tidbit. His erection throbbed in a constant nagging ache, but he paid no attention to it. Instead, he found an unexpected satisfaction in the simple act of feeding her.
“No more, T’chok. That was so good, but I can’t eat anymore.”
“Is your little tummy full?” He patted the soft flesh, resisting the temptation to slide his hand under the fabric of her upper garment so that he could feel her skin.
“Mm.” She nodded sleepily and nestled closer. The movement caused her plump little ass to brush over his hardened flesh, but she didn’t react. He couldn’t decide if he was pleased at her acceptance or annoyed at her lack of interest. Her breathing deepened and he realized that she had fallen asleep. Lifting her carefully, he placed her in her bunk and drew a covering over her.
“Sleep well, little one.”
“‘Night, Daddy,” she murmured, half asleep, and snuggled into her pillow. He liked the sound of it on her lips.
When he returned to the main room, he beckoned to S'rah.
“She ate and now she sleeps. See that she is undisturbed.” The female nodded. “Tell her that she is to eat her remaining meals without argument.”
S'rah raised an eyebrow. “I can tell her, but I certainly can’t guarantee that she’ll obey.”
“I doubt anyone can guarantee that,” he agreed ruefully. S'rah looked startled but then nodded.
“Did you wear the little princess out?” B’mbi’s annoying voice interrupted. “You need someone who knows how to handle a warrior’s… needs.” She started to put a hand on his arm, but he moved away before she got a chance.
“I told you not to approach any of my warriors. I presumed you had the intelligence to realize that I was included in that group. If you make this mistake again, you will be punished.”
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