Ramliel: The Teague Bride Experiment: Intergalactic Dating Agency

by A. M. Griffin

  “I’m trying to win back my mate,” Ram said through gritted teeth.

  Hinduru backed away and the door shut. Ram settled his eyes on Varona. “Why are you here? I sent you home.”

  “Is that anyway to speak with your new mate.” She dropped into an empty chair and crossed one leg over the other.

  “You are not my mate. You knew going into this that I’m already mated.”

  She waved slender fingers in the air. “Inconsequential. The whole reason your species agreed to mate with human women was because of your declining birthrate.” The same hand she’d flicked through the air now caressed her abdomen. “Problem solved. I carry your child. I’m your mate now.”

  The air cleared his lungs and he couldn’t catch his breath. Varona was pregnant? Ram wanted to roar in anguish. He’d assumed she used birth control. Had he asked her? He couldn’t remember. Their relationship was causal, nothing permanent. She’d needed a benefactor and he’d needed companionship since no other Yatra would take him due to his mating status.

  “Are you sure?”

  She eyed him with contempt. “Our arrangement was while I’m with you, I’m with you and no one else. I upheld my end of the bargain. You, on the other hand…”

  This was the worst timing for something like this to happen to him. Mia was talking to him. They’d had sex. “I sent you home.”

  Varona straightened and leaned forward. “I had planned to surprise you with the happy news before you so callously discarded me.”

  Ram stood and went around the desk. His chest filled with parts regret and part reluctant happiness. Yatur dreamed of children. It was a gift. He’d connected with his mate and hoped to have those children with her. He’d let himself dream about it finally with Mia and now here he was. About to be a father. The child Varona carried was most likely a male but there was no way Ram could ever refuse or deny a child of his.

  He dropped to his knees in front of Varona. She opened her legs and he wedged himself between them while wrapping his arms around her waist and placing the side of his face against her abdomen.

  “I’m going to be a father,” he whispered to his unborn baby inside.

  Varona’s fingernails scraped across his scalp. “Yes, you are. So, act right.”

  * * *

  Mia watched the door anxiously. What time did Ram usually get off of work? She peered out the window, watching the waning sunlight. If she were back on Earth, waiting for a boyfriend to get home from work she wouldn’t be this nervous. With it only being the afternoon, she wouldn’t expect him to get off until sometime after five, but on Teague, working late into the night was unheard of.

  People got off early to allow for family time, communing with friends and to partake in hobbies. All reasons why she was falling in love with this winter wonderland.

  But the reason for her nervousness? She wasn’t waiting for a boyfriend. She was waiting for her mate.

  Ram was hers. The connection was real. It’d been there when she’d first met him and only strengthened after she’d given him a chance. Being together was right. Cosmic. Earth shattering. And she loved it.

  Mia rubbed his mark that he’d left on her shoulder. His teeth marks were deep and the skin was angry and red, but there was pride when she looked at it and she felt a connection to him when she touched it.

  “Hinduru?” she said into her comlink.

  “Yes, Mia.”

  “What time shall I expect Ram to come home?” She chewed on her fingernail. Should she be asking his assistant to check up on him? Was that the same as going through his phone? She didn’t think so.

  “He is arriving now. I should…”

  Mia stood and glanced out the window. Sure enough, his hovercar was pulling up. “You should what?”

  “Nothing,” Hinduru sighed. “Please let me know if there is anything you need from me tonight.”

  She frowned a little. Hinduru was always available. To have him confirm it was a little weird since he’d been at her beck and call since she’d landed. “Okay. He’s here. Bye.”

  She disconnected the line. When Ram came in, Mia ran to him, jumping to straddle his middle, squeezing her legs around his waist and arms around his neck. She went to kiss him but he pulled away. Her lips brushed the side of his face.

  Maybe this type of affection wasn’t acceptable? After their love making she didn’t see what the problem was. “Is everything okay? Rough day at work?”

  “Mia.” Dread filled her. It was the way he said her name. It was filled with shame and regret. Then she noticed his arms hung at his sides, not holding or pulling her in close.

  Heat flashed across her face. “Oh my God! I did something wrong, didn’t I? I’m not supposed to greet you this way?”

  She slid down his front, searching her memory for anything relating to social gaffs and couldn’t find anything regarding greeting mates that was on par with what she’d just done.

  She stepped back, giving him space. Everything about him was off. She knew the look he now gave her. The way he held his body. Her chest constricted because she knew what was coming next. This time she wouldn’t wait for him to say it. “You don’t want me.”

  He blinked a few times, confusion darkening his gaze. “What did you say?”

  She took another step back. Her body vibrated with the pain flowing through her veins. She knew this feeling. Felt it for weeks when he’d left her here alone. “You don’t want me. That’s what you said the last time you had that look on your face.”

  He frowned. “When did I say that?”

  Wait. He didn’t even remember telling her that when it was all she’d thought about for the past four months? “Your last video message to me while I was on the transport. That’s what you told me.”

  She wanted to ask him what she’d done this time. How could she make this right? She wanted him to give her a chance to make it up to him.

  “Mia…I…Varona is pregnant with my child. I need to build my family with her.”

  Inside her heart cracked and a wail of agony built. But all she did was hold up a hand. “Leave.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I can’t believe this is happening.” Mia sat at her desk at work, trying to keep it together. She’d already cried longer than she should’ve but despite only wanting to lend three minutes to this pain, it’d been hours, many hours.

  After sending Ram on his way, she’d spent the night curled into a ball, crying, ignoring all incoming calls from Hinduru, then Lina and Diana.

  “Fuck him,” Lina said from the holo. “Fuck him to this side of the galaxy and back.”

  Mia wiped a lone tear from the side of her eye and sniffed. “Fuck him to Earth and back.”

  “Like seriously?” Diana said from the other side of the screen. “They didn’t do psychological evals on these people before they made us come half-way across the galaxy to meet with them?”

  “Well, to be fair, our mates weren’t born yet and they didn’t decide who would mate with us until thirty years ago,” Mia said.

  “Don’t make excuses for them!” Lina yelled.

  “Sorry. Just thought I would add that. But yeah, fuck Ram to Earth and back!” Mia said with a wet chuckle.

  Although she hadn’t known either one for very long, she felt connected to her girls. They’d been the first people she’d met on the transport ship and she’d been connected to them ever since. She knew the other humans but none of them had clicked like Lina and Diana had.

  But how would their friendship continue? Lina and Diana did things with their mates. They didn’t tell Mia about it, but she knew they double dated. She’d hoped that with her and Ram together they could triple date and she could be a part of the activities Lina and Diana tried to hide from her. That hope had been short lived.

  Mia wiped another tear and sighed. She’d resigned herself to the fact that she was going to be on an alien planet and alone. Then Ram had turned on the charm and just like that, she knew she wanted him and d
idn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone. Now, that dream had been snatched away from her.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  She quickly wiped her tears away and glanced up. Hamir one of the doctors stood in the doorway. “Yes, can I help you?”

  “I…um…wanted to see how you were doing.”

  She stared at Hamir, trying to comprehend why he would be asking her that. He was handsome. Not as handsome as Ram. But he was nice. They spoke in passing. She didn’t work with his team. He did genetics and was mainly focused on solving the reproduction problem while her team worked on humans and emotional support.

  Then it hit her.

  “Oh, God. Does everyone know I was dumped?”

  “It wasn’t mentioned but it’s being assumed since there are whisperings that Varona is pregnant with his child.”

  Mia let out a sob and buried her face in her hands.

  “That’s it,” Lina said. “Leave work and go home. I’ll meet you there and we can have a girl’s night.”

  “I’ll meet you there too,” Diana added.

  “I don’t need a pity party,” Mia sniffled into her hands.

  “I didn’t come here to pity you,” Hamir said. “I came to ask you out.”

  Mia shook her head. Although he said it wasn’t pity, it definitely was.

  “I do think you should leave for the day. But if you let me, I’d like to take you to where I go when I have a bad day.”

  Mia stared at Hamir through tear-soaked eyes. “Where is that?”

  “The observatory. We can lay there and look at the star system and the distant galaxies.”

  Mia wiped the tears from her eyes. She could stay here and endure the pitying looks she was sure would come her way. She could also go home and have Lina and Diana come over but she would be taking them away from their mates. Or, she could let Hamir do something nice for her.

  “Okay, let me grab my bag.”

  She said bye to her girls and disconnected the call.

  * * *

  Ram. Hated. Everything.

  He was going to be a father. Shouldn’t he be happy? Wasn’t that what he’d wanted all his life? It had been ingrained in him since he was born. Have a baby. Continue the family line. Not all was given this opportunity.

  He’d been told all his life that he would have a baby with one person. Mia.

  He took another swing of his alcoholic beverage. He’d gotten into the stash he’d been saving for a good occasion. His father had collected beverages and still had bottles that had been passed down for generations. Now, Ram ran through it like water.

  “Drinking. Again?”

  The sound of Varona’s voice grated his nerves. “Is there a problem with it?”

  His words slurred but he didn’t care.

  Varona sneered. “Useless.”

  “Useless enough to give you a baby.”

  “Yes, it seems you are good for one thing.”

  He glanced at her. There were two of her now. He picked one image and focused on it. “We need to go to the medical facility.”

  One side of her mouth lifted into a snarl. “Why? So your mate can do something to sabotage the pregnancy?”

  Ram shook his head. “Mia would never do anything like that.”

  He slipped his hand into his pocket. He’d torn off a piece of Mia’s shirt that he’d taken from the house and kept under his pillow. Smelling her scent was the only thing that helped him to sleep at night. Now, he needed a piece of her to help him get through the day. His fingers found the soft fabric and he rubbed it, immediately calmer than he had been a few minutes ago.

  Varona let out a laugh that wasn’t jovial sounding at all. “Mia would never do that,” she mocked. “And how exactly would you know that? You spent a few nights with her and now you know everything you need to know? You spent months with me. I’m the one you know intimately. She’s just a passing fancy.”

  He wanted to tell Varona that he’d known Mia since he was born. His parents had signed him up for the mating program when he was an infant and to get him used to her, they’d talked about her constantly in hopes that when she finally arrived, he would feel a connection toward her.

  It was a connection he’d tried to hide and bury deep, but it was still there. He knew her favorite color was red, her likes and dislikes. He knew her mother had died while giving birth to her and her father had been loving and doting until he’d died. Then she’d had to go live with her father’s brother and his wife. She’d worked herself through her educational program and had done well for herself. And one fateful day, she’d been chosen for the Teague Bride Program.

  He’d been waiting for her his entire life.

  But he’d failed her. Twice. And it didn’t feel good knowing that.

  “If we don’t go to the facility on Teague, we need to go somewhere to make sure the baby is alright.”

  Varona balled her fists and shook them at him. Her face twisted in rage. “Of course, the baby is alright! I would know otherwise.”

  “I’m just saying.”

  Shouldn’t there be doctor appointments and testing to make sure the baby she carried was alright? He didn’t have much experience with these things, but the pregnancy would be high-risk for the mere fact that his species had trouble conceiving.

  She snarled. “You’re just saying what? That you want me to put our baby in harm’s way?”

  “No harm will come to you—”

  She raised her hands in the air. “You don’t know that! She’s still your mate and until you complete the paperwork releasing her, she’s a threat to me and our child!”

  Ram’s head was on fire. He took another drink to numb the pain in his head and his heart. It didn’t work.

  “Alright, Varona.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mia clutched her hands together, hiding them under the table. It was the only way to keep them still. When was the last time she’d been on a date? Over two hundred years ago, that’s for sure.

  She chuckled to herself.

  Hamir glanced from his plate to stare at her. He nodded toward her own plate that went untouched. “Is everything alright? Your food?”

  Not really trusting her hands but with no other option, she unlaced her fingers and picked up an eating utensil. Her stomach knotted and just the idea of eating made her sick. “Why did you ask me out?”

  “Honestly?” Hamir said. Mia nodded. “It’s because Ramliel is releasing you from your mating contract. I wouldn’t have asked you out otherwise. Many males would love to have a fertile female.”

  She didn’t quite know what to say about that. It made sense though. She was technically married, even though there hadn’t been a ceremony and her husband didn’t care for her. And now she was back on the market she could become an incubator for someone else’s baby.

  Her chest deflated. None of the suitors wanted her for her, but for what she could give them. A baby.

  Mia heard an animalistic growl coming from across the room. She glanced up and found a Yatur male, bigger and taller than Ram. He wore an official looking uniform and stood with arms crossed and feet wide apart behind a human. She seemed blissfully unaware of the look the male behind her was giving to the one sitting at the table in front of her.

  The male eating with her was well aware of the stare that looked as though it could launch a weapon of mass destruction. He glanced up then quickly put his head down to avert his gaze. The woman turned around and looked at her guard and the guard smoothed his face over and shrugged as if he didn’t know what was going on with her date.

  “I would love to be a fly on the wall over there,” Mia told Hamir.

  “A fly on the wall? What does that mean?”

  “It’s an Earth saying that means I want to know what’s going on over there.” She nodded her head in that direction.

  Hamir glanced at the table where the three in the oddly fascinating triangle were. “Her mate passed away and she’s looking for another one. Since humans are i
n high demand, there are a lot of suitors who want the opportunity to be with her.”

  “Because of our baby making abilities,” Mia grumbled.

  “We understand how difficult it is to come to a new planet to mate and have children with someone you don’t know, but we’re trying our best to make it as painless as possible. I hope that one day we will grow to love each other.”

  Love? Could she have loved Ram if given a chance? Yes. The hurt she tried to suppress came rushing forward.

  Mia picked up a fork full of food and her stomach clenched. She couldn’t get anything down if she tried. She set the fork down. “What do you do for fun?”

  Hamir stared at her with wide eyes. “I work at the facility.”

  “That’s your job. What do you do for fun?”

  Ram cooked. He enjoyed reading.

  Hamir stared at her with a blank look on his face. “That is fun.”

  Mia gave him a smile. “My apologies. Back on Earth people rarely thought of their job as fun. They usually had other past times such as reading, traveling, whatever.”

  “Oh, I like those things too, but what I do at the facility is invigorating and—”

  A big, furry hand gripped Hamir’s shoulder, cutting him off. “Hamir, what are you doing here with my mate?”

  Ram.

  Although, he was dressed immaculately and his hair was slicked back, he didn’t look right. His words slurred and Mia was sure his blinks were too long.

  Hamir glanced from Ram to Mia, then back to Ram. His dark eyes were wide like he’d been caught in headlights. “I-I was under the impression that you were dissolving the contract.”

  “It’s not a done deal.” Ram’s vision laser focused on Mia. “So quick to move on?”

  “She should be. You no longer require her,” this came from the woman who’d been with Ram the first night she’d med him.

  “I don’t want you.”

  Mia closed her eyes briefly. Although he didn’t say the words again, Mia heard them clear as day in her head. The room was too hot. Her nostrils seemed too small for her to get in enough air. Her face flushed.

  She opened her eyes and locked gazes with Hamir who appeared more embarrassed than she was--if that were possible because right now she wanted to sink into the floor. “I’m ready to go now.”