Amari's Adored

by Tate, Pearl

  After they finish eating, Mahku ordered the server guy to make up another bowl. When he hands it to him, he comes towards me with it and a drink. Finally. I was afraid I wouldn’t be offered anything again. After seeing how it came out of the machine, I feel more confident about eating it.

  Instead of trying to get him to release me, when he pulls another chair up, I just open my mouth. He laughs, “So eager.”

  All the aliens are watching closely. They trickle away from the table towards us and settle around to watch.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  - Rachel

  “If only she was as eager for my cock.” If my mouth wasn’t chewing the food, I might have blown my cover. It’s the shuttle driver from earlier that’s throwing in his perverted two cents.

  “Give it time,” Mahku murmur's back as he gives me another bite. “The hand that feeds her will be her master.”

  As if. In their dreams…

  “I’ll take a turn.”

  Mahku ignores him and offers me a drink. He stares at me thoughtfully as he leans in closer while I drink. I’m relieved that it’s water and try not to drool it down my front with the way he is tilting the wide lipped mug.

  He isn’t totally disgusting. That’s one aspect of this whole thing that just feels wrong. It’s kind of how serial killers are good looking. I haven’t seen any ugly aliens.

  They all have darker skin, not necessarily brown, the range is tan to gray. Their hair is a complementary darker color and they all have it to their waist and styled up like Amari’s was.

  Their bodies are built nicely too. Everyone is lean and looks in shape. They don’t have the buff muscles my Amari does but maybe that’s because he’s working outside most the time?

  “Once we have negotiated for Jenwin, we can use tracenda and travel to plamalemn. They will never know it was us. When the council follows up, they will assume everyone died. We will be gone.” I don't understand everything. Where are they planning on disappearing to around here? Does that mean I’m going?

  I just keep opening my mouth and taking spoonful after spoonful of what seems to be a stew. It’s good. I’m not keeling over from it yet.

  Unfortunately, it makes me realize I’ll have to relieve my bladder soon rather than later. They are still discussing the fine points of their plan. As they talk more, it almost sounds like “tracenda” is what they plan to kill everyone with. They are talking about where it will be placed and the extent of the damage. It’s scary.

  They are planning to put it under the carmeda and trannee, whatever those are? There's a part of me that wonders if I’m imagining I understand them? Could I be losing it? It’s just so odd. But I’ve never been prone to hallucinations.

  When Mahku hands the empty bowl to the server alien, and he practically runs it back to the kitchen. Everyone else sits quietly. I know something is up. Why are they all looking at me like that?

  “Just relax everyone. You are making her nervous, see?” I ignore him and pretend to still not understand him as he gently tugs on my hand. “Up. Up.” He’s commanding me like a dog?

  Standing slowly, I realize my feet sink into foam. Hm. Must be their version of carpet. It’s plush and feels nice. He keeps pulling my hands up until they are taunt in the length between my ankles and wrists.

  Before I realize what they intend, my shirt is cut from me down the back. I scream, thrashing and trying to hang onto my shirt where they are still in the sleeves but it’s useless. Tears stream down my face as I curse them. They cut my jeans off just as easily and I’m naked and shaking in front of them. Assholes!

  I’m fucking pissed too. Those were my only clothes! One of them laughs but Mahku tells him to shut up. “She may not understand us yet but she knows when she’s being laughed at so be calm and firm.” I can’t even kick at him properly until he lowers me back into the chair. He steps out of the way before I can get at him.

  Curling in on myself, I shiver in fear. It’s amazing how not having just the thin barrier of clothes makes you feel exposed and dominated. “Let’s let her sit for a few minutes. Quit looking at her. We can talk about her but don’t stare.”

  “She’s tiny. How can you be sure she can take us?”

  “Haven’t you been listening? The captain of the Discovery has mated with one. He’s fucking it—or her. This one can take us too.”

  “Get a load of the mating marks though. Amari has them too. We all figured he was dead. He’ll be coming.”

  “Yes, he’ll be coming and there are how many of us? Just remember that this place is alarmed and set with traps. He won’t get her here. No one can get through that force field. Once he’s dead, the marks will fade.”

  “Do you think she will mate with someone new when he dies?”

  “How the hell would I know…?”

  My heart throbs as I listen. Mating marks. That’s why I match Amari. Even they know he’ll be coming. Thank fucking god!

  I start to tune them out as my internal dialog picks up. I think I’m going into shock because it’s easy to ignore them and my tears dry up. They can’t hurt Amari. They just can’t.

  The aching in my chest as I consider losing Amari is enlightening. I like him a lot more than I realized. He’s so perfect and kind. Not to mention fabulous looking.

  My shaking gets worse as I think about the traps they have set. I’ll have to get out of here first. I don’t want him hurt!

  A few minutes later, Makhu snags my hands and tug me to my feet. Play nice. They want me alive and it’s up to me to escape. I will too. There’s not a chance I will stick around and end up a fuck buddy for a group of crazy aliens.

  We don’t go far before he slides open a panel in the wall and I see it’s a small bathroom. Thank fucking god. He doesn’t leave, but he turns around to give me a semblance of privacy. I can see the others watching me between his legs when I sit down to pee. This is the second time in two days with two different alien men I’ve peed in front of. I can’t stop the snicker and he turns to look at me strangely.

  This is just such a strange situation. He flushes the “toilet” after me and turns on the water, so I can wash my hands before tugging me out behind him. We don’t go back to the chair, he leads me into a bedroom. The bed looks inviting, but that isn’t where he takes me. Just inside the door, behind it actually, is a small cage with a pillow bed in it. It looks just like a dog kennel!

  Fucking hell! It’s only three to four feet tall, and he opens the side before pushing me gently but firmly inside and locks it behind me. I drop to my butt, pulling my legs up and hugging them. Dropping my head on my knees, I don’t watch him leave. Once he’s gone, I’ll inspect where he’s put me. I try to look demure, but inside I’m seething.

  Somehow, I’m going to get these motherfuckers back.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  - Amari

  The looks we get following Canpar through the prison are surprising. Alert and wary. I’m not sure if they are because of my features or because they are shocked by my mating marks. In the past, people stared at my eyes before quickly averting their gaze. So worried that whatever perceived defect could be transferred to them. Now, I see envy.

  When Canpar takes us inside, no one stops us. It’s clear we are not from the prison. Everyone wears a bright yellow uniform. Whik is naked while I’m only wearing my covering. No one tries to hinder our progress or question our motives.

  As we walk up to the door, one guard there drops inside and by the time we are addressing the other, the door swings wide. A male in a dark gray uniform steps out. His eyes roam over my exposed chest before meeting my eyes. “I’m Selas with the Discovery. I’ve been appointed by the council to lead the investigation here. First, into the shuttle craft carrying the human females. And now, into Warden Benard’s corrupt governing and subjugation of the human species. Step inside and we can discuss how this pertains to you.”

  He turns and waves us inside, expecting us to follow him. Canpar and Whik follow him in and we are
directed to the chairs just inside the door. “How long have you had the mating marks?” He directs the question to me before I even sit.

  “At least ten rotations. I had visions she was coming. On the shuttle.” I settle into the chair closest to the door.

  He nods as if this is normal and what he expected. “We will check in with the Discovery and get your mate sent back down just like we did Jenny over there.” I’m startled to realize that there’s a female similar to my Rachel in the kitchen with Devlin. Even I recognize who Devlin the Devil is. He’s been here forever and when I lived in the prison dome, he was feared. He set his perimeter a long time ago and most of the other prisoners avoid him. I thought he was slow.

  The female is smiling at Devlin though. They appear to be making something together. Even though she has a similar hair color to my Rachel, she is entirely different. Her hair is as long as mine, almost to her waist. The brown color has a lighter streak of color coming from the front near her temples. She has pulled it back and pinned out of her face. She also has a strange metal covering over her eyes.

  “His female isn’t on the Discovery. That’s why we’re here. She was taken by Mahku’s people earlier today.” Selas’s gaze goes to Whik and everyone around us stops talking to listen.

  “My female is Rachel. She is smaller than this one…” I’m cut off by a female voice screeching.

  Jenny runs over to me with Devlin right behind her. Her eyes round saucers in her head.

  “You have Rachel?” Selas is shocked.

  “I did, but she was taken. Canpar said you would give her back. That you aren’t taking mates away…” I look at Selas, pleading for his honesty.

  “No, no. We will work with you to get her back. Who is Mahku?” He swings around to glare at the others in the room. “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about him?”

  Jenny grabs my arm before Devlin growls, and she lets go of me to pat him. After chattering in her language to Devlin, he turns. “What happened? How did Rachel end up with you?”

  “I knew she was coming. I’ve been seeing the shuttle for many rotations in my daily reflections. I traveled to the spot I was seeing it arrive and waited for it every day.” All eyes are on me. “When it came from the sky, I pried the side open and took my Rachel with me back to my dwelling.”

  Whik cuts in to elaborate on our story. “I found out about the shuttle and went to tell Amari. I knew he had regular visions and thought he might want to help me rescue the females from the Warden. But he already had Rachel and the mating marks. It would be too dangerous for him to leave her. But they had followed me and used me as bait to separate him from Rachel before they took her.”

  “How is it you understand her language?” I direct my question to Devlin. His arms are around Jenny and she cuddles into him as she pats him on the tummy. I’m jealous of their easy communication.

  “The Discovery has their language in a download. They can give it to your nanos.” My eyes widen as my heart speeds up in excitement. To communicate with Rachel, expressing myself... I’ve never been a big talker, but she is so important to me. I want to tell her how much.

  “We will give it to you tonight. By tomorrow, you will understand everything.” Selas’s words catch me off guard. If nothing else, this trip to him is worth it for that.

  “I have to get her. They have her now!” My agitation must show. “Canpar was sure you would help me.”

  “Can you detect her? It's clear from your marks that you haven't completed the mating. How accurately can you pinpoint her location right now?” Selas is interrupted by one of the others walking out of the sleeping room in the back.

  “The rooms communication device for this dwelling had an incoming request. It appeared to be from one of the other men working with Warden Benard. They asked for Jenny.” His attention is fixed on Jenny who is facing the living space with the display facing her.

  “What? Was it one of the females from the ship?” He's already walking towards her and we can both hear the tension in her voice.

  “Are you okay though?” Her whole body turns to us both as we race up to see who she is speaking to. Tears are streaming down her face and her grip on the tablet, holding it right up to her face, she looks at us pleadingly.

  Even though I don’t understand her words and she’s cut off, I would recognize my mate’s voice anywhere. The roar that builds in my throat as another male’s voice comes on the display makes Selas turn towards me.

  “Oh, fucking hell! Hold it together.” He’s right. I have to listen and learn what I need to kill these males. “Someone get him the nano language nanup at once.” Devlin takes the tablet from Jenny and passes it to Selas with one hand as his other grips my arm. “Breathe.”

  He switches on the camera and my knees weaken as I see Rachel in an isolation cage, naked. My vision tints red and I breathe deeply, trying to hold myself together.

  “Well, hello. I’m happy to see you both made it. I’m Mahku.” His leer at Rachel makes my skin crawl. She ignores him and keeps chattering away in her language.

  “What do you want for her?” Selas’s words are forced out of his clenched jaw. No one ever likes to see the isolation cages. They are the worst nightmare. If you displease your Ermada you may end up in one for the night.

  There have been stories of males living in them for large portions of their lives. The females always pleaded this was an agreed upon arrangement and the males enjoyed it. This was always collaborated. and the males agreed but it’s hard to say if they were coerced.

  Mahku laughs. “We want the other one. We have been informed another female is there. We know where you are. If you all don’t give us the other female, we will kill all of you. And her and this one here.” He waves back towards Rachel as he angles the camera down past him to the floor. “We already have the bombs in place. So, this is what we will do.” He turns the camera back to himself. so his entire face fills the display. “Tomorrow, I’ll contact you again to tell you where to send her.”

  The communications ends abruptly and I stare at it lost for a moment.

  “Drink that right now.” Selas points at the nanup being held out to me by someone. “What do we know about this guy?”

  Taking the nanup, I drink it. I hand it back, listening closely.

  “Looking in the com files, he’s been working with the Warden for three rotations. I’m sure he’s as corrupt as the rest were. His specialty was perimeter recon. He would have been sent out to start looking for Rachel immediately. As soon as they collected the shuttle, they would realize it had been opened before they arrived. He’s familiar with all the exterior geography. He ran a team that supervised the perimeter defense of the dome.”

  Selas glances at me then turns completely to direct all his attention to m, grabbing my shoulders. “You are going work with us here. I’m sure you are starting to notice you are more relaxed?” He pauses.

  I think about it. He’s right. What did they give me?

  “There was a relaxer in the nanup, but I know it won’t stop you. You could rip through us easily, but you need to hold it together. We will get them but we need a plan. If you sink into a mating rage, you could get her killed. If he’s telling the truth about the bombs, we need to get those disabled first. We have to beat them at their own game.”

  He nudges me towards a chair and I sink into it gratefully. My legs are weak and I’m having trouble focusing my eyes. My mind is in such turmoil, but my body is lagging behind in it's reactions.

  Jenny chatters away to Selas and Devlin, even as tears stream down her face.

  “What is she saying? What did Rachel say?” I stand again and Selas realizes I won’t be ignored.

  “She says Rachel told her she is beginning to figure out the language. They have been discussing how the tracenda is set up under the carmeda and trannee. She didn’t realize they were talking about bombs under the community kitchen and water treatment facility. She kept repeating that over and over saying she’s f
ine. But they are planning on killing everyone and leaving to plamalemn. She thinks they have a place set up to go to outside the dome?” He pulls me back towards the chair. “Does anyone else know anything about this?”

  Swinging in a circle, I realize everyone is busy. I can tell they are not taking this as an idle threat. They will help me. But can I wait? Do I have a choice?

  "Wait... how is she starting to understand the language?" This is confusing since we haven't had that much time together to work on learning it.

  Selas looks a bit uncomfortable. But he answers, dropping his voice. "You would have given her nanos another way? Bodily fluids exchanged?"

  My head is spinning as I consider this. I will never forget Rachel drinking my release. Could that have done it?

  Whik moves side to side in front of me. “Hey! What did you give him?” He grabs Selas’s shoulder and swings him towards me. My vision is dimming but I can still hear. The air around me suffocates like heavy water surrounding me.

  “We sedated him. I had to do it. He would have torn us apart…” My mind roars as it shuts down and everything goes dark.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  - Rachel

  My bladder wakes me from a sound sleep. The pressure makes me uncomfortable but not as much as the dog crate I got put into for the night. I never received a blanket and my skin is chilly. Another reason I have to pee so bad.

  There isn’t anything I can do, so I lay down and curl into a ball. Discretely, I put my hand between my legs. Why does that work?

  The home we are staying in is the quietest I’ve ever heard it. I don’t bother to try to break out of this cage. Last night, before I fell asleep, they left me alone for hours while they plotted. I could still overhear them, but I could assess its strength and the way it's put together.