by Catty Diva
Did the fact she didn’t try to catch his eye mean she wasn’t interested or merely that she chose not to go overboard to chase a man? Once he spoke to her, he would know. She stood as he came closer, he was nearly to her when another female stepped in his way almost making him run into her.
Skillfully, he stepped around her to get close to Sharon. “Hello, Sharon.” He said grinning at her stupidly. Where had his brain gone? He’d meant to say something witty or charming but all thoughts fled from his head. At least he’d greeted her.
“Hello, Duggin.”
They sat there for a while enjoying a companionable silence as he studied her. Sharon looked so much better, as far as healthy went, than the last time he’d seen her. Her cheeks were no longer hollow, her skin had a healthy glow, and her hair was shiny with good health. Her body had also filled out to look more in keeping with what one might expect of someone her age or height. The effect was an attractive, desirable woman.
She smiled back at him, it gave him a warm feeling inside. He wanted to reach out to pull her into his arms holding her close to his heart. Shit! What was wrong with him? Duggin had always kept the romantic poet inside him tightly leashed. Now that side of him was struggling to get out so it could pay homage to his female.
His fellow hunters would have a field day with him if they knew. They would tease him until he punched someone, then the fight would be on. Drawing in a deep breath, he meant to calm himself but the sweet scent of this woman filled his nose. It looked like he was a goner.
“You look great.” His words rushed out.
“Thanks. You look good too.” Her face was pink which looked sweet and sexy on her.
“I won’t be here long, at least I’m not supposed to be here long, but I hope we can spend some time together.” Thank the gods, he’d gotten that out without sounding goofy.
“I’d like that too,” Sharon replied.
“What’s going on right now?” He asked. Looking around at all the craziness.
“This is supposed to be a party for your arrival. We don’t get many visitors because of the security issues.”
“I know that’s hard, but I hope we can catch these bastards. I mean bad guys.” He stuttered around like an untried youth. Sharon brought that out in him. Excitement swirled over him at just the sight of her. It had, even when she’d first been freed, dirty, in awful clothing, and half-starved to death.
Duggin didn’t know her personal story, but none of these women had been treated kindly. At best, she was starved, beaten, and denied the common things most people took for granted. They received just what was required to keep them alive, no more, no less. Every once in a while less, because one of them would die from neglect. Most of those that had died had been killed by massive trauma.
They sat down together to continue small talk. Duggin knew they needed to get more comfortable with each other before more serious matters were discussed. These mercenaries that kept attacking would be a matter to discuss, but not until tomorrow. Their relationship would also have to discussed, but that was a matter for the future.
Women were bringing out platters of food and setting them down on the tables. It was party food. That was why it wasn’t being served in the cafeteria line like meals were. Duggin realized he was hungry. Sharon’s stomach growled, telling him he wasn’t the only one.
“What would you like to eat?” He asked grabbing a plate off the stack at the end of the table.
“Just some chips and cheese dip,” Sharon answered. He filled her plate handing it to her.
He filled his more generously, grabbing a little of everything to try. Duggin sat back down next to her so they could eat while they talked. It was hard not to notice the watchful eyes of the other women. A few even looked unhappy, glaring in their direction. Lista was out among them approaching those with the most outrageous dress or makeup. Hopefully, she’d give them some guidance.
It was unlikely most of the women would have expectations of him dating them now that they’d realized where his affections lay. If things got settled here, they should be able to get out into the world more. That’s when they would meet potential friends or mates. Right now, they needed to take this time to learn to socialize so when they were free to do so, they wouldn’t be awkward.
These women were attractive and strong, they would make the right male a good mate. He wanted them to find worthy males that would treat them right. Mazlans in particular were known for treating their females well. Their females had equal standing, if he was honest, the females had better standing because of their rarity. Even with the mating program, there was a large percentage of the males here unmated. Mazlans males all wanted a mate and children. It was a cultural thing.
Chapter 3
Gaining Freedoms
Sharon still had her own personal reservations, which she’d not expressed. The other females had begged, pleaded, and bargained for more freedom. Duggin had been with them for three weeks now without any incidents occurring. They also had not gotten any closer to finding the mercenaries that they suspected hid nearby.
Gayle had argued the hardest. She wanted to find a mate rather than learn a trade or skill she could use. Until males were allowed here or the females were allowed to leave, that just wasn’t happening. Sharon felt bad for herm even though she wasn’t a friend. That woman probably never would be a friend because she wasn’t nice, plus she was selfish. In fact, she was one of the women that had put on some garish makeup then pranced around nearly naked in an attempt to catch Duggin’s eye.
The one that had given up last, trying to intercept him even after his goal was clear, had been Gayle. The woman wasn’t bad looking, it was her personality that was flawed. That was something it might take a male a while to notice. By then, he might be mated for life. She was on the hunt, more so than any of the others. Gayle was the driving force behind the push to let males in or go out into the world to see them, regardless of the risks.
Now, the Mazlans had relented. Their males would be allowed in to socialize in small groups. All the females interested in mating had been asked to fill out a form. The priests, or whatever their religious leaders were called, selected the males based on who they believed was likely to find a mate among the refugees.
The same choices to gain mates had not been given to the males among them. Instead, they had been offered a chance to train to fight. Once trained, they would be allowed to join the military or live outside the refugee housing independently as they searched for a job. Only two of the eight males had chosen to do so. Both of those had asked to live with the other trainees. Maybe they just wanted to escape the constant whining of some of the females looking for mates.
There were times Sharon wished she could escape. Clancy would soon be enrolled in college and her and Duke were already living in their own home. Eventually the Mazlans hoped to disperse all the refugees among their population. Some of the males, Ralph in particular, might not be so easy to disperse. He had no intention of finding a job. It was his belief he should be cared for the rest of his life because of what he’d been through.
Sharon didn’t know much about him except that he’d come to Zero about a month ago. He refused to discuss his past saying it was too painful. His eyes were shifty, he never looked anyone straight in the eyes when he could avoid it. She tried to avoid the man, but he constantly sought her out whenever she was alone. It made her feel uneasy.
Right now seemed to be one of those times. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as goosebumps broke out on her skin. She was sitting in the library alone since it was late at night. Sharon hadn’t been able to sleep. Looking up, she saw Ralph sneaking up on her. He was looking around as if he worried someone might see him. His walk was slow as if he struggled to be quiet.
Standing, she was posed for a quick retreat if needed. “What brings you here so late at night?”
“Couldn’t sleep. You?” Ralph asked.
“Same, but I was about to go. Good night.”<
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“Don’t you want to stay to talk?”
“School is early in the morning.”
“You’re always here way before class starts.”
“I need to study. I also have to keep up on my reading.”
Sharon walked away. She had no desire to be drawn into a long conversation. One thing that struck her was the way he’d said she was always early as if he’d been watching her. Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling his words gave her, she went to her room. Once she got in there, she was able to get ready then get to sleep quickly.
In the morning, she pushed the whole scene with Ralph from her mind. She showered, dressed, then headed to breakfast where she found Duggin looking for her. They ate almost every meal together. It gave them time to learn about each other. Since he’d arrived, she felt like they’d become well acquainted. In the space station, she’d never known anyone well.
That had changed since they’d been freed. Now, they could make friends with whoever they wanted. Sharon found she was cautious about who that was. Only a handful of people had earned her trust, Clancy being the closest one. Both of them had decided on their choice of careers with Sharon choosing nursing, maybe even becoming a doctor later, while Clancy would be a biologist. Both were good solid career choices.
They had studied together more before Clancy had moved out. Now Sharon was alone in the library more often. For some reason, being alone made her nervous. With Duke and Duggin here to protect them, she shouldn’t worry. Still, any security plan could fail. She’d been abducted before so that proved it.
She finished her breakfast, saying goodbye to Duggin as she prepared to enter the classroom to start her day. Ralph stood outside the classroom but she wondered why. He’d refused offers of education or skill training. The man was lazy, looking for a free ride. It might sound mean, but having a rough time was no excuse to rely on others to take care of you if you were capable of doing for yourself. Most of the women refused to be permanent dependents. They had skills they would learn to use.
Another week passed quickly. Sharon and Duggin were in the cafeteria when Gayle made her announcement. “I’ve heard they will be letting us have visitors. Six males at a time will come to a meet and greet twice a week.” Gayle told everyone.
“Have you heard anything about it?” Sharon whispered to Duggin.
“No, but that doesn’t mean it might not be true.”
Sharon found out later that it was. In two days, the first group of males would be visiting. It seemed strange Gayle had known before their security males, Duggin and Duke, had. Duggin had explained that she might know because she had been the one to present the argument that had swayed the Mazlans. Gayle had pointed out that several of the women would find mates which would give them their own households. Their mates would be responsible for them, giving the Mazlans more resources for those left in refugee status.
Personally, the males might be the larger problem. Those unwilling to find a job were also unlikely to find a mate. Ralph, so far, was the only one who wasn’t even trying. All the other males were at least taking training to try to find something they wanted to do. Larry had figured it out, he would be a farmer. It was surprising that he would take almost as much training as Clancy did. A lot of it was the same too.
Clancy visited for a while every few days. Sharon missed her terribly, but having Duggin here helped ease her. She knew that as they moved on with their lives they would have many changes. It was a certainty on her part that they would always be friends, but how much they saw each other would change. Both of them had picked exciting and challenging fields. They were also both finding relationships they were pursuing. Actually, Clancy’s was already a done deal. Hers was a matter yet to be decided.
She and Duggin were at breakfast talking as they ate. “Today is the day. Be careful, this is a security nightmare. A band is coming in as well as the six Mazlan males.”
“I’ll stay back from the partiers. I have no interest in it. My schoolwork is more important.” Duggin seemed happy that she had no interest in visiting males. It surprised her he would think she might. Maybe they needed to have a talk or do something different. He’d not even kissed her yet. Could it be she was misreading their whole situation?
Sharon wasn’t an aggressive female, she wouldn’t make the first move. What if he never made one? They’d become good friends, but maybe she’d imagined that there was anything more. He might be using her to keep the other women away. It might not be a conscious choice, maybe he thought she wasn’t interested either.
Once class began, her day moved fast. Soon, it was lunch with the meet and greet beginning now. She headed to the cafeteria to eat which put her in the middle of the whole thing. Gayle had left class early to be the first in line to meet the guests. The woman probably wanted first choice. The six males were big strapping gents. They had dark good looks to go with their muscular bodies. They all seemed a bit shy when presented with so many females.
Gayle checked them out looking for all the world like a she was wanting to buy the choicest specimen. Sharon didn’t like the way it looked. These guys weren’t slaves being sold, they were males looking for a life mate.
The damned woman walked up to one of the guys. “Is there a sheet with information on you guys so I can learn more about you?”
“What do you need to know?” The guy asked. He seemed to be the one the others deferred to.
“Your position, can you support a mate well, and what do you do for a living?”
“What is position?” He asked.
“Razar is your leader. His brothers are each in charge of something,” Gayle explained.
“Leading is what Razar does for a living, but his father is our ruler. Razar is a prince.”
“So what do you do?”
“I’m a night manager at the mines,” he said.
“Does that pay well?”
“Yes. Are you sure you don’t want to know our names?” He asked looking confused.
“I’m not sure I’ll need to know.”
Sandy walked closer. “I’d like to know your name.” She smiled shyly. “I’m Sandy.”
The man smiled at her. “I’m Golir. These are my brother Nodir, Jodir, Lodir, Kodir, and Bodir.”
“You’re parents liked rhyming names?” She asked.
“It is a family thing. The dir ending denotes my father’s bloodline. He was a noble, but not a royal.”
Gayle stepped up to Sandy pushing her out of the way. “You’re part of the nobility?”
“We don’t have that here, but yes. Excuse me,” Golir said. He moved off to find Sandy. They went to a quiet corner to sit.
Golir’s brothers looked at Gayle in horrified fascination. They stepped away one at a time looking for other women to speak to. Gayle shrugged. “They weren’t suitable. I hope they send better prospects next time.”
Sharon had a sinking suspicion these were well connected, well off males that could support a wife in the manner Gayle would like. Her way of questioning them had left a lot to be desired. It was time to head back to the library to get some work done. The others were out of school for the day due to the meet and greet. Anything she wanted to get done this afternoon would be on her own. That was alright. She worked on her own well getting much accomplished most of the time.
Once she was in the library, she got down to work. Her subjects were set up in sections with assigned reading, then a question portion. Once she worked through six sections, she would have a test. When she worked through twelve, she would have a final.
Chapter 4
Security Breach
Duggin kept all the strangers in sight. Duke had a newbie monitoring cameras because unfortunately, he was off today with his mate. They were going to see a healer, they were probably about to be parents. Duke hadn’t said so, but Duggin was pretty sure that’s what this was all about. These guys were upstanding Mazlans. They were from a noble line that had pissed off the emperor. It wasn’t hard to do fro
m what he’d heard.
He’d looked at the files which told him any woman would do well to nab one of these guys. Gayle had started to circle them, putting them off right away with her mercenary questions. Duggin hoped Sandy got the guy because she was a sweetie as well as being one of Sharon’s friends. Sandy was shy, so she’d not gotten close to anyone yet, but given time she’d have many friends.
It had surprised him the way she’d managed to talk to Golir, the oldest brother. He was second in the mine only to Razar’s brother. There were so many, Duggin couldn’t keep them all straight. Razar also used him occasionally for minor ambassadorial events or negotiations. His position was exactly what Gayle was looking for, which was ironic since she’d chased him off after dismissing his value. The only way she could get someone with more power or wealth was one of Razar’s family. Problem was, they were all already taken. Bonded Mazlans never strayed. They simply weren’t able to do it.
The bond was so strong, many female mates had followed their husbands to their banishment on Oison. Sometimes if one died, the other lost the will to live. If they managed to survive, it was rare that they ever mated again. Duggin wanted to know more about this bond because it was so strong. It was the kind of mating he wanted, but wasn’t sure anyone outside of the Mazlans could ever have.
Sharon had slipped away to the library would be his guess. In a few minutes, he would check on her. It wasn’t just because he liked her, it was also because she’d been a target before. They had no way of knowing if or when the mercenaries might strike again. He was about to go see about her when he saw Duke.
“So, how did the checkup go?” Duggin asked. Duke flushed both embarrassed and happy.
“We’re expecting a baby.” Duke grinned.
“Congratulations! Where is Clancy?”
“She went to tell Sharon.”