by Rebecca Pond
Her stomach became queasy, and she almost vomited right there on the spot. The room went completely silent when they entered, and all the men’s eyes turned to her as she was led to a stool that was placed in the middle of a platform. She was instructed to sit, which she did reluctantly. Knowing how hard she fought them on the journey here, she knew they would not leave her side. She felt the pressure of their grip on both of her shoulders to keep her in place. This couldn’t be good, she thought to herself, as she looked out into the crowd of alien men that were watching her as if she was a piece a meat. Her song came to her just then, “I can only imagine…”
****
After scouting on the planet for two days, Brylon was exhausted. Sixteen women had been taken and were now waiting to be auctioned off. Zeb, the commander, had decided to go ahead with the auction even though they had only managed to find sixteen of the women they were looking for. They couldn’t keep the women they brought on board waiting much longer. It wouldn’t be fair to them to stay in that room any longer than they already had. The women needed a chance to get settled into their new lives with their new mates.
Brylon had gotten back to the ship and had gone immediately to take a shower and a quick nap. He wanted to be fresh and ready for the auction because he was determined to win the first female they captured in the rain storm. The whole time he was out scouting other earth females, his thoughts had continuously ventured back to her. He wanted to run his fingers through her long black hair and he wanted to see it falling down around her face instead of pulled back. He also wanted to explore the curves that he saw when her wet clothes were clinging to her body. Yes, he had to win her!
He went to the bar where the auction was to be held. Zeb was already there and finishing off a drink when he walked up with Zane. They talked about what female each of them planned to bid on. Eventually, the topic of their conversation had turned to Lars. Lars was the warrior that one of females had injured badly during one of the scouting missions. Zeb had it in his mind that he was going to win this woman, and as a result, would have his hands full with keeping tabs on Lars. Zeb would have to take extra measures to ensure for her safety. In Brylon’s opinion, Lars should be shown to his cell in the ship’s prison. Zeb was explaining to them how the council was making his every attempt to deal with Lars impossible. They were interrupted when the first earth female was brought into the bar.
Brylon turned to face the platform when the bar became silent. The first female was being carried out to the stool on the center of the stage. She looked totally petrified and, not to mention, a little green. His heart tugged at the sight of her and how pitiful she looked. Hopefully he could get this auction over with quickly and take her back to his quarters where he could put her at ease.
“Warriors, may I have your attention. May I present to you all the first Earth female. Do I have an opening bid?”
No one said anything at first, and then, out from the front of the bar came a bid, “I bid twenty kryins.” Brylon instantly stiffened when he heard the bid. He was going to have some competition. He stood and moved closer to the platform so that he could see her closely. He wanted her to know that he would try to win her.
“I bid thirty kryins!” He countered back and looked to the other bidding warrior with a smile. His competition shifted his eyes to him then back to the platform.
“I bid fifty kryins.”
Brylon stiffened again at the jump in the bid so he thought he might as well make it jump too, “How about one hundred kryins!” It was funny to see the warrior’s eyes grow wide with disbelief. Hopefully that would deter him from bidding anymore.
“I bid…one hundred and fifty!” Shit, Brylon thought, this guy wasn’t going to back down.
Brylon glanced at the female on the platform and saw the tears that were running down her face. That did it for him; he was going to end this now.
“Five hundred kryins,” Brylon shouted. Whistles came from the crowd. The announcer and the other bidding warrior just stared at him. The sweat was dripping down his temples with the fear that he would to lose her so he decided to have a bit of fun with the warrior with the hopes of scaring him off permanently. He would try to psych him out, “We can do this all night if you would like. I got the time, and the money, do you?” He raised his right eyebrow, mocking the other man.
“Do you wish to place another bid?” The announcer directed his question to the opposing bidder and waited. “Going once.” All eyes were now on the warrior waiting to bid or withdraw. Even Emma was watching closely, though she had no idea what was going on.
Seconds ticked by with no response. The crowd was growing impatient with the standoff and wanted a reply. “Come on man!” was heard in the room, then another call “Bid already or back down.” The calls were coming one after the other and the bidding warrior could feel the pressure building in the room. “Going twice.” Finally, he shook his head then sat down, defeated.
The announcer shouted, “Sold to Brylon, for five hundred kryins!”
Brylon smiled, “Thanks.” Then walked up to the announcer and handed him a handful of kryins. “I believe I owe you five hundred kryins.”
The announcer took the money from his outstretched hand then said, “The Earth female is yours. Have a happy life!” Brylon could see the female trying to look around to the announcer to see what was going on. It was the only time she had actually moved her body since coming up to the platform. Her eyes were big and wide with uncertainty as she watched Brylon move to stand in front of her. He knew that she would not understand a word that he said to her so he just smiled at her and reached out to her for her hand.
She looked at the strong tanned hand that was being held out to her. What choice did she have, but to take it? She put her much smaller hand into his then jumped down off the stool. This was the same strange man who stole her from her home and now she had just been bought by him. What the heck was going to happen to her? Was she going to be a sex slave or something? That thought scared the crap out her since she had never been with a man before, much less a man that stood close to seven feet tall and was built like a freight train. So she could only imagine how big his equipment was.
Once he had hold of her hand, he pulled her behind him, leading the way out of the bar area. When they went through the crowd of all males, she could see that all eyes were still on her. She saw heads lean together in whispers as she went by, but no one tried to speak to her directly.
Out in the corridor were a few warriors who lingered around talking, but other than that it was quiet. Brylon still had hold of her hand as they made their way down the corridor and he would glance down at her every few feet. She was so tiny compared to him. The top of her head only came about midway up his chest and her hand felt so small in his. The skin on her hand was so soft and smooth that he rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand as they continued to walk to his quarters. He couldn’t understand why this tiny Earth female was having such an effect on him. An effect he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Approaching the transportation tubes, he became a bit nervous on how he was going to get her into one. The tubes themselves were designed for one warrior at a time, but there was no way in hell that he was going to put her in one alone. He pressed his palm on the panel that called for a tube. Within seconds a tube came into view behind the glass door which slid open with a hiss.
He stepped into the tube and tugged on the female’s hand to let her know that he wanted her to step in also. There was some resistance from her, but nothing that he wouldn’t be able to handle if it came down to it. He watched amused by her reaction as she cautiously stepped into the tube while looking around in it. He gave a chuckle as he looked down into the face that he would be looking at for the rest of his life. Her green eyes were wide with fear as they came to rest upon his face. He was smiling at her when she happened to look up him.
“Do not be afraid little female,” he smiled knowing that she couldn’t understand him yet. H
e would have to give her one of the translation devices he had in his quarters until he could get her fitted with a permanent one. She would have to go to the infirmary and the disks would have to be implanted by Zane or one of his staff.
Emma nodded her head as if she could understand what the big guy was saying. She swallowed hard as the door to the tube slid shut. Her stranger said something again in the unknown language and seconds later the tube shot off without warning. Her head felt as if it were being shoved down to her feet, as her hands clenched onto his shirt as he stood in front of her. Never in her life had she felt a force like that on her body and she never wanted to again. His strong hands held her close to him as the tube traveled so very fast along its path, and then began to slow as it reached its destination. By this time, she was shaking uncontrollably as the door slid open. It didn’t take a second thought for her to get herself the hell out of the tube.
“I never, EVER want to go in that thing again. Do you hear me?” Her face had lost some its color and her hands were shaking as she brushed back a piece of hair that had fallen over her face during the ride.
Brylon couldn’t help but let out a deep laugh as he watched his mate’s reaction to the transportation tubes. He had had the same reaction years ago when he had first been assigned to a star ship. Shooting through the tubes took some getting used to, but they were the fastest way to travel aboard a ship of this size.
The alien man took hold of her hand again as they moved away from the tubes. He led her down a corridor. They passed a few doors then came to a stop in front of a green door. Next to the door was a panel that was lit up with the image of a green hand print. Once he placed his right hand on the panel, the door slid open with a soft swish. Immediately lights began to flicker on in the room, as Brylon guided her inside. When the door swished closed behind her, she felt like a trapped animal.
Emma was feeling extremely nervous watching the alien move further into the room. What did he intend for her to do in here? Was this her new home forever? She scanned the room and took in everything. The walls were painted a light grey and had lights that lined the walls along the bottom near the baseboards. Off to the left, she could see a kitchen of some sort that had a table with four chairs nestled into it. Across from the kitchen was what she would have called a living room area. Two huge green sofas sat in the middle of the room facing each other and in the center dividing them was a long dark brown wood grained coffee table. One of the walls was covered up with curtains that were touching the floor. The wall on the opposite side of the room had one door that was shut at the moment. She turned around to see what was behind her and found another door that was open a crack. Inside she could make out a very large bed with big fluffy pillows piled up on top of it. That room caused her heart to flutter at the thought of what he might be expecting from her in there, but for now, she would make it her goal to remain out that room as much as possible.
Distracted by the sights in the room, Emma finally heard his voice calling her. She looked over to where he was sitting on one of the sofas motioning her over with his hand. She took her steps hesitantly as she moved to sit across from him on the opposite sofa. While he sat there on the sofa, it looked like he was molding something with his fingers. She had no idea what it was, but watched with curiosity. It wasn’t long before he had it in the shape that he wanted. He looked up at her and beckoned her over to where he was. She sat on the edge of the table, just in front of him and waited to see what he would do. He slid forward on the sofa and reached out to touch her face as she drew her body back away from him.
She heard him sigh, probably realizing that he had moved to fast. She did not know what he was up to. This time, instead of reaching towards her face, she watched as he demonstrated what he was going to do with the molded plastic by putting it up to his ear then pointing to her ear.
She finally caught on to what he was doing and nodded, positioning herself closer to the edge of the table. He reached out to her slowly this time, and turned her face with his hand so that her right ear was to him. He pressed the molded material into her ear until he was satisfied that it was in correctly. He pushed himself back from her and leaned against the cushions looking at her.
They stared at each other for a few moments before he said something in a voice that scared the crap out of her, “Can you understand what I am saying, little one?”
He looked amused by her reaction to his voice. Her mouth slowly formed an O and her eyes widened in surprise. She could feel that her lips were moving but no sound passed through her lips.
“Can I take that as a yes?” he leaned forward again placing his forearms on his thighs. “What’s your name?”
Her eyebrows drew together, “How…How can I understand you now?”
“First, please tell me your name, and then I will tell you whatever you want to know.”
She bit the inside of her cheek before she decided to answer his question. Should she lie about her name or about who she was? No, that wouldn’t get her anywhere. Maybe if she was truthful with him, he might be willing to let her go.
“My name is Emma, Emma Caron.”
“I am Brylon, and I am from the planet Theron”
She swallowed nervously when she heard him say he was from another planet, “Where is that?”
“Theron is about one hundred thousand light years away from your planet Earth in the galaxy called X-tran. We came upon your planet while on our search for compatible mates. Your planet is the first one we have come across so far that does.” She began to move away from him as she kept hearing the word mate. What exactly did that mean for her? Was her only function here to carry his babies?
“No,” was the only word the she could get out.
“No? What do you mean no?” he looked hurt by her response.
She stood up in front of him with her hands on her hips, “I mean, no, I will not be forced to carry your babies for you. I want you to bring me back home and leave me alone.” She watched as he stood up to his full height, towering over her.
“You were brought here to be mated with the Theron race. I have bought you, and you are to be my mate. There is no going back to your home. This is your home now, here with me. The sooner you accept that, the better off you will be.” The tears started to well up in her eyes as the tone of his voice got louder and tougher as he looked a bit angry.
“I will never give in to you! I was fine on my own. Who do you think you are to decide what happens with the rest of MY life?” She backed away from him, putting more distance between them. “If you do not return me to my world, I will find my own way back.”
“I did not want our first night to start off like this Emma, but you have forced my hand. I will make this entirely clear to you so that you understand. This ship is your home for now. That is until we reach the planet Theron. You are my mate now, and I will not let you go. You are not the only female that has been brought here to be mated with the Theron warriors, as you obviously know from being in the holding room. So with that said, you are not the only one to find yourself in this situation. If you allow yourself to accept this, you could have a good life here with me, and I promise to take very good care of you. So, it will be easier for the both of us if you just accept your new life here, with me.”
“No,” she whispered back at him.
He stood there with his arms folded over his chest. How was he going to be able to get this little Earth female to understand that her former life was over and that her new life was just beginning, right here in this room with him. He didn’t want to continue to argue with her for fear that he might say something that he would later regret. Maybe a change of subject might help, “Are you hungry? I can fix us something to eat.”
She turned away from him and said, “I do not want anything from you now or ever.” She moved to return to the sofa, but this time it was on the opposite side of the room near the curtained wall. She was trying to get as far away as she could from him.
“Fine,
but if you change your mind and find that you are hungry, I will be in my office.” He walked to the closed door in the room. When he opened the door, the lights switched on automatically. He shut the door with more force than what he should have, but he needed something to vent his anger on. What had he gotten himself into? He never would have believed an hour ago that the evening would have turned out so bad, so quickly. He knew that she would need time in order to adjust, but she was flat out refusing to make a life with him. She refused to accept a life that he had paid a lot of money to secure. No, this was not good at all.
Chapter 4
Emma was furious beyond words. How dare these aliens just think they can come to Earth and snatch women to have babies with? Her life was going really good for once, and now they came along and screwed it all up. She might not have a lot to call her own, but everything she had was all hers, every last bit. She worked hard for what little she owned, and now it was all gone. The only things she had with her were the clothes that were on her back. This situation was even worse than being transferred from foster home to foster home. At least then, she had been able to take her things with her.
Now there was nowhere for her to go. No one she knew except for Laura and she didn’t know what happened to her. She was at a total loss, and just didn’t know what to do or how to act. The anger and resentment that she had locked away for so long was trying to creep back into her veins and consume her again, and she didn’t want that. It had taken her so long to conquer those feelings and protect herself from them so that no one could hurt her or take advantage of her again. But, now it seemed that the tables had turned yet again. She felt as if she were back in the foster care system, where she didn’t know what was going to happen to her from day to day or week to week. What did Brylon expect from her? Would Brylon sell her to someone else? She didn’t know what to think, and frankly didn’t want to think about anything else for the time being.