by Ella Maven
The large, scarred alien looked at me down his nose, and then gave me a small, almost imperceptible nod.
“I take it communications with the females did not improve?” Daz raised an eyebrow.
“That’s correct,” the alien said.
Daz clasped my neck. “This is Fra-kee, my mate. Fra-kee, this is Gar.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
He grunted at me in response.
Another alien flew out of the front door. He was shorter than both Daz and Gar, and he looked younger. His faced was unlined with scars or wrinkles, and his eyes shone a pretty light purple. He saw Daz and skidded to a halt as he bowed his head slightly. “Drexel.” He tongued the corner of his pierced lip nervously, and when his gaze landed on the group of women, his shoulders dropped with relief. “I was preparing their meal and went to deliver it and they were gone.”
“Yes,” Gar growled. “Because you insisted we didn’t lock them inside, so they saw Daz’s female and ran out to greet her.”
“Frankie,” I said.
His head whipped to me. “What?”
“I’m Frankie.”
“That’s what I said.”
“No, you called me Daz’s female.”
He threw up his hands. “I’m done.” He turned and stalked into the house, muttering under his breath.
I winced at Daz. “Uh, oops? Did I make him mad?”
“You said my default setting was aggressive?” Daz said with a raised eyebrow nub.
“Okay, I didn’t really mean that—”
“Well, Gar’s is hateful.”
“He kinda hates everything,” the young Drix muttered, shifting his weight from side to side.
I bit my lip. “Oh.”
Daz beckoned to the new alien. Daz updated his implant, and the other alien winced and itched his ear before shoving his hands behind his back.
“Fra-kee, this is Hap,” Daz said, pointing to the younger Drixonian. “Hap, this is my mate.”
“I heard!” Hap’s face lit up, and I now understood why the other women would only interact with him. He had a kind disposition. Everything about him exuded gentle and positive energy. He was like the opposite of Gar. He bowed at the waist awkwardly, and it was all extremely cute. “I’m so happy to meet you. I’m, uh, at your service.”
“Please, stand up straight.” I laughed as he jerked to his full height. “It’s nice to meet you, Hap. I heard you’ve been taking care of the women well.”
“I have tried my best,” he said, and his blue cheeks darkened. “I’ll be able to understand them now?”
“Yes, but they won’t understand you until we install their implants,” I said.
He nodded. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“Daz, I think I need time alone with the women,” I said. “I have a lot to explain to them, and it might take some time.
His gaze shifted over them. “Right. I’ll place the bag Enna packed in their room so you can distribute the supplies as you see fit. Hap, is their food waiting for them?”
He nodded. “Yep, it’s all there.”
Daz leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. The women began to chatter quietly, and Miranda whispered, “The fuck?”
“Let me know if you need anything,” Daz said, ignoring everyone around us and meeting my eyes.
“I will. Thank you.”
After observing the kiss, the other women gave me a wide berth as we made our way into the house. Miranda was giving me big eyes, the other two shot me curious glances, and Justine, the one with black bob, was openly distrustful. I understood. I really did. I’d worn a long-sleeved shirt on purpose, so they hadn’t seen my loks yet, and I wanted to pat myself on the back for that foresight, as I’m sure that would have caused a whole scene. I was starting to wonder how the hell I was going to explain everything that had happened since I last saw them.
Uh, yeah, so this guy? He’s my mate. He’s really, really good in the sack. Oh, and we’re stuck here. Forever. Get used to blue!
This wasn’t going to be easy.
Fifteen
Frankie
The building wasn’t large. We entered a common room, which had a table, chairs, and fire pit along the far wall. At the back was another room, and since the door was open, I could see it housed a cleanser and expeller. To the right was another open door, and on the floor, I could see bedding and blankets. I assumed that was where the women had been staying.
Other than Daz, Gar, and Hap, there were two other Drixonians. I vaguely remembered them from back at the spaceship landing site, but that had been a hectic time, obviously, and to me they’d all looked scary and non-distinguishable. Well, except for Daz. He’d stood out right away.
Daz introduced me to Xavy, who wore an ever-present smirk and his black hair in a mohawk. His nipples were pierced, and he wore a lot of gold rings on his thick fingers. Oh, and he winked at me, which earned him an ear-cuff from Daz.
Nero, who wore his hair short and had a gold ball pierced below his lower lip, gave me a polite nod as he sat and tinkered with the implant updater now that all the Drix had updated their implants to understand English.
The women didn’t linger or socialize, and I imagined that was how it’d been for days. No one could understand each other, but there seemed to be somewhat of a tentative truce among the two species. Miranda had clearly taken the lead, and Justine seemed to keep to herself.
The room where the women had been staying was primitive but considering the situation it could have been worse. They each had a bed—made from what appeared to be the male’s bedrolls. I was pleased to see they’d given up their own comfort for the women.
The food was plentiful. On the table was a massive tray of fruit and fresh meat and even a few round discs that looked to be a cookie or dessert. Of course, the women had no clothes other than what they’d arrived on this planet with, but some had fashioned togas from animal-pelt blankets.
In the women’s bedroom, I dug through the bag Anna had given me and began to pull out clothes. As soon as they saw what I was doing, it was like a Nordstrom Rack sale. Hands grabbed and voices squealed. Shortly after, try-ons began. For a moment, I could almost pretend we were all shopping together. A spunky woman with lots of curves and purple hair named Tabitha pretended she was on a runway and executed a nice twirl in her pants and top. We all clapped.
“It feels so good to wear clothes again!” said Tabitha, who didn’t look a day over twenty-one. She was one of the women who’d taken to wearing a blanket like a towel, knotted above her full breasts.
Miranda was still digging in the bag. “Any weapons?” She held up the cloth bag of implants and shook it next to her ear like it was a Christmas present. “What’s in here?”
I snatched the bag from her. “Okay, I have a lot to explain, so I’m going to need you all to sit down. Probably.”
Miranda sank down onto her mattress. Naomi, the short, quiet woman, and Tab sat next to her. Justine, who at first stood with her knees locked like a stubborn cat, eventually plopped down and blew her bangs out of her eyes.
“I promise to answer questions, but I’m going to ask all of you to keep an open mind.” I blew out a breath. “Here goes.”
I started from the beginning, explaining how the Kulks had tracked me and Daz and how Daz had protected me. I then talked to them about how we visited one of Daz’s friends—I left out Anna’s existence at this point—and how he installed an implant behind my ear so we could communicate. I gave them a brief run-down of the Drixonian history—how they lost all their females and recently gained their independence from the Uldani.
“I know they seem really intimidating.” I tried not to stumble over my words, but the women were all staring at me like I’d lost my mind. “I saw them fight just like you did, but they have very strict morals and ethics about how they treat females.”
“Yeah, but we aren’t their females,” Miranda said.
“We aren’t their species,
no, but it doesn’t matter to them,” I said. “We are females, so we must be protected. In their old society, women ran everything, from the government to the farms. All the men joined the military and protected the planet from invasions.” I sighed. “Tell me, did any of them hurt you?”
“They’ve been really nice,” Naomi said in her soft voice, fingers picking at the hem of her new shirt. “The one who’s been giving us food… I think his name is Hep?”
“Hap,” I said. “His name is Hap.”
Tab nodded. “He’s sweet! I told him he looks like an alien Tom Holland but of course he had no idea what I was saying and just nodded.”
Justine rolled her eyes.
“That’s what I mean,” I said. “They have a motto. She Is All. They repeat it to each other.” I dug my nails into my palms. “And that’s not all.”
I explained about Anna and how she’d come to this planet. I described her relationship with Tark, and then I mentioned they had a child. Even Justine was listening with rapt attention at this point.
“Wait, so they’re together? Like they fuck?” Justine asked.
“Well, yeah. They have a daughter. She’s extremely sweet. She made me this.” I plucked at my necklace. “And she made Daz a matching armband.”
“Frankie,” Miranda said. “Why did Daz kiss you?”
The room went silent. I held out my hands. “First, I need you to understand I’m on your side. I’m human. I’m still me.”
“Oh God, see? That implant brain-washed her,” Justine announced triumphantly, like she’d figured out a mystery.
I shook my head. “No, this happened before the implant.”
“What happened?” Tab looked very confused.
“Frankie,” Miranda said again, her eyes never leaving mine. “What’s going on?”
“We’re mates,” I blurted. I shoved up my sleeves to show my loks. “These appeared on our wrists a few days before we met Tark and Anna. Daz has matching bands.”
Justine went pale, and Miranda made a choking sound in her throat. “You let him tattoo you?”
“No, they appeared. On their own. I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it with my own eyes.”
They were skeptical. Of course, they were. I didn’t blame them. “Here—you can touch. Not a tattoo. It’s like… beneath my skin and glows through. Anna and Tark have them too. All patterns are unique to mates.”
All but Justine crept forward, and with feather-light touches, inspected the loks on my wrists. I tried to do my best to explain how they worked based on what Daz had told me. He had killed someone who drew my blood, and it confirmed our bond. I also explained how I can sense his emotions and he can sense mine.
“Can you communicate in your heads? Like tele… tele… What’s the word?” Tab asked.
“No, we can’t. I can feel him there all the time, but we can’t speak to each other.” I held up the pouch. “These are the implants. We have enough for all of you. They will translate the Drixonian language so you can understand them. And, heads up, their implants—they’ve all had them since they arrived on this planet—have already been updated. If you go out there and start calling them big blue bastards, they can understand you.”
“So, did you ask them how we can get home?” Justine said. “I’m not trying to build a life here. I had one on Earth, and I’d like to get back there.”
All the women turned to me with expectant, hopeful eyes. This was soul-crushing to have to tell them the truth.
“We can’t go back.”
“What?” Justine snapped.
“They don’t have spaceships. They can’t get to their home world which is the twin planet we see every day. They have no way to get us home to Earth.”
Tab’s nose wrinkled. “But we got here—”
“Yeah, we got here on a Rahgul ship, and they were paid to bring us here. They aren’t taking us back home.” My guts churned at the devastation on their faces. “I’m sorry. I had some time to process that I’ll never seen Earth again. And I’m sure I’ll be mourning that for a long time. Do any of you have kids? Husbands?”
Three voices murmured a “no” and Justine was a “hell no.”
I couldn’t imagine that was a coincidence. Did the Rahgul search out women with no attachments? Why would they care? We were all from different states, so it seemed we were targeted.
“I have a twin sister,” Naomi said softly, fingers brushing delicately over her pants. “We live together and have a business together.”
“I was up for a promotion at my firm,” Miranda said. “I’m a criminal defense attorney.”
“I’d just had my birthday party,” Tabitha said. “I turned twenty-three and drank a whole bunch of Long Island Iced Teas until I couldn’t feel my face.” She smiled dreamily. “It was great.”
Justine huffed. “I’d planned on smoking a whole bowl when I woke up and honestly it felt like Christmas Eve. Shit’ll go to waste now until my roommate sniffs it out.”
We sat in our memories and regrets until the air thickened with choking silence. I thought of Paris. And all the times I’d told myself I’d call my dad later. Now there’d never be a later.
Miranda slid to her knees in front of me, her expression serious. “I want an implant.”
“What?” Justine screeched. “Just like that? What if these things are just ways to control us?”
“I trust Frankie,” Miranda said. “I’m not doing it just like that. But I’m sick of not being able to understand these Drixonians. I’ll decide if I trust them on my own, but in order to do that, I need to be able to communicate with them.” She nodded. “Go on.”
I had to bring in Daz for the implant procedure. This wasn’t something to mess around with, and I didn’t want to scramble anyone’s brains, if that was possible. I called to him, and he came in immediately. Hap followed on his heels and puttered around the room, swiping imaginary dust off the window frames. He seemed nervous for the women, and even gave Tab a hug when it was her turn. Miranda took the implantation like a champ, barely flinching when I’d been rolling around on the ground like a child. Tabby screamed like her head was going to pop off. Naomi whimpered and sobbed.
Finally, Justine threw her hands in the air. “Ah fuck it. Go on and infect me or whatever.”
The first time I saw weakness in her was when the implant dug in. Her eyes filled with fear, and she gripped me, her lips trembling.
“It’s okay,” I said, stroking her arm. “I promise it only hurts for a little bit.”
She panted through the pain and eventually released her hold on me. She blinked, and in a flash, all traces of vulnerability left. Her expression went back to that snarky, distrustful mask. I didn’t judge her one bit for her attitude. This was scary as hell. We all had pasts that colored how we handled trauma. I was surprised when she gave me a short nod and a tight smile with a muttered, “Thanks.”
I smiled back. “Sure.”
After that, we ate. Hap stayed with us, sitting cross-legged on the floor while the rest of the males retreated to the main room.
“It’s good to finally be able to speak to you,” Hap said to us. “I guess we’re kind of scary to you.”
“Well, the other guys are,” Tab said, smacking her lips as she sucked on an orange-like fruit.
She was oblivious to the way Hap puffed out his chest. “I can be scary,” he muttered.
“You were so sweet to us,” Naomi said. “Even though we couldn’t understand you, we knew that you were doing your best to make us comfortable.”
He beamed at that and his cheeks darkened as he bowed his head. “I tried.”
“So, what’s next?” Miranda asked. She gestured around the room with a flicker of her fingers. “This isn’t their permanent home, is it?”
“Oh no,” Hap spoke up before I could say anything. “We live in a settlement with many more males. We’ll be traveling there soon.”
“Wait, more males?” Justine asked. “Like how many are we talking?”
“In our clavas? Probably about sixty.”
“How many other groups are there like yours?” Miranda asked.
“A lot,” Hap answered. “Over a hundred, maybe. It changes often because some split up or others merge.”
“What about Reba?” Naomi asked.
I frowned at her. “Who’s Reba?”
“She’s the one who ran away,” Justine said. “Big Grumpy Blue took off after her, and we haven’t seen them since.”
“Ward will find her,” Hap spoke firmly. “When he does, he’ll take her to our settlement.”
“I hope she’s okay.” Naomi bit her lip. “She was terrified. I mean, we all were. Daz took you away and we… We didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”
“I know,” I said. “I didn’t think I’d see you again either.”
“What happens when we get to the settlement? Are you going to auction us off?” Justine’s lip curled. “Have some weird claiming ritual?”
“I think you watch too many scary movies,” Tab muttered.
“Sorry, rom-coms aren’t really my thing,” Justine snapped.
Hap shook his hand frantically. “No, you’ll be our guests. We’ll protect you. We’d never force a mating. Ever. It goes against everything we believe—”
“You keep saying that,” Justine said. “But do all of you feel the same way? Is every male honorable? Because on Earth we surely don’t believe rape is right but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”
The venom in her voice lashed at me like a whip. “Justine.”
She didn’t look at me, and Hap’s eyes were huge. “Daz is our drexel. He believes in our values and anyone who doesn’t fall in line is exiled. He’s exiled warriors before.”
Justine eyes cut to me. “And you say Daz is a pure gentleman, right? Perfect and respectful.”
The scorn in her tone singed my nerves. Tension swirled in the room, thick, ugly, and choking. Miranda’s jaw was so tight, I thought she’d crack a molar, and Tabitha wrung her hands. I’d been patient with Justine, but I was a hair’s breadth away from the end of my rope. “Daz has proven to me he won’t harm me, and he never forced himself on me.” I couldn’t keep the caution out of my tone, a sign to her she was treading on thin ice.