Ramliel: The Teague Bride Experiment: Intergalactic Dating Agency

by A. M. Griffin

  * * *

  “Why does she continue to ignore me?” Ram grumbled under his breath.

  “I wouldn’t answer you either,” Zephon said.

  Ram glanced up, having forgotten about Zephon, the meeting, the contract proposal—everything. Nothing mattered but Mia. How he’d made it to the meeting was also a mystery to him. Ram vaguely remembered Hinduru directing him to dress and stuffing him in the hovercar, but he couldn’t remember anything else besides leaving Mia message after message.

  “By that distraught look on your face, I take it there’s trouble in paradise?”

  Ram blinked a few times, orientating himself to the present. He seemed to have lost track of time and not only that, but things he used to hold dear, didn’t matter anymore. The transport company his dad worked so hard for? Ram couldn’t care less. All that mattered was getting Mia back.

  Ram shook his head, trying to clear his brain. He ran a hand behind his neck. “My apologies. I should’ve rescheduled this meeting. It’s been…trying.”

  Zephon leaned back in his seat and clicked his nails together. They were meeting in Zephon’s personal office with Ram, Zephon and a few of Zephon’s advisors in attendance. Zephon flicked a hand toward his advisors. “Leave us.”

  Ram waited patiently as the advisors left, certain that Zephon had dismissed them only because he didn’t want Ram to be embarrassed when he cut him down about the contract that Ram clearly was unprepared to present.

  After the last person left and the door closed behind him, Zephon focused on Ram. “Human females are…unpredictable.”

  Ram let out a deep sigh and nodded. “That they are. I’m not sure if you heard…”

  Zephon put up a hand and one side of his mouth rose. “Everyone has heard about the mess you’ve made of things.”

  Ram groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I messed things up.”

  Zephon chuckled. “You did but this can be fixed. While humans are unpredictable and difficult at times, they are also forgiving and resilient. Don’t give up on your mate.”

  Ram leaned back in his chair. “I haven’t given up on her. She’s the one who’s given up on me and I don’t blame her.”

  Zephon lifted a shoulder. “Is she worth fighting for?”

  Ram straightened. “Yes.”

  “Then fight.”

  That was the best advice Ram had ever received.

  He loved Mia with all his heart and would do anything to get her back.

  “What of your mate? How are things?” He didn’t know why he’d asked. Zephon hadn’t offered the information. It didn’t looked as though he wanted to respond so Ram added, “My apologies. I shouldn’t have asked. Your business is your business.”

  “Mates are a delicate subject. We’ve all—those fortunate to have been chosen for this journey—spent our lives learning about our new mates and how to best please them and keep them happy, but nothing prepared me for actually living with a human female.”

  Ram blew out a deep breath. “I only spent a few days with my mate before…well, before I let things go to shit, but they were the best few days of my life. I agree, no amount of training prepared me for this. I have so much to learn. I’ve been reviewing the file that I have on her and it’s left me with more questions than answers.”

  “Our situations aren’t the same but there are similarities. I made a mess of my relationship with my mate and I’m working to get things back on track.”

  “Do you mind me asking what you did?”

  Zephon gave Ram a thoughtful look. “What I’m about to say stays between us and well, your mate.”

  “As long as what you say doesn’t put my mate in any danger, your secret is safe with me.”

  “My mate isn’t who she claims to be. She had a twin sister. Her sister was the one chosen for the program. My mate wasn’t eligible because she was married.”

  Ram’s mouth dropped open. “Then how did she get here?”

  “Her sister gave up her spot for her. Since they were twins it was easy to deceive the human government.”

  “Why did you tell me this? Would there be repercussions?”

  “Your mate works in the medical facility in the human emotional development division. My mate wants to book an appointment with her to discuss her mental health issues. There’s past trauma she would like to work through.”

  “I’m sure Mia will help out in any way she can.”

  “I would like for Mia to come to our house though. I don’t want my mate at the medical facility.”

  Ram frowned. “Why can’t your mate go to the medical facility? If she’s a twin and could deceive the humans to board the transport on Earth, surely she could remain undetected.”

  “She’s pregnant.”

  Ram beamed. The happiness for his old friend was genuine. “Congratulations. I hope Mia will carry my child soon as well.”

  Zephon put up a hand and Ram stilled. “My mate doesn’t carry my child. She carries her human ex-husband’s child. That’s why she had to flee Earth. The father had threatened her and the unborn child’s life.”

  “Mia isn’t speaking to me so I can’t relay this to her. If you’ll trust me to convey this to my assistant, Hinduru, he will be able to help set up a meeting between your mate and mine.”

  Zephon nodded. “Thank you. Now about this contract,” Zephon said, changing the subject. “I have no real concerns. I’ll sign.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ping.

  The noise pulled Mia from her sleep. She didn’t try to hold on to the dream she was having or force herself back into a slumber. She just laid there. Existing. Or semi-existing.

  It’d been a week since Ram had last tried to contact her. This was what she wanted right? To be left alone and to figure things out for herself?

  Ping.

  She hadn’t gone on another date with Hamir. After running into a very drunk Ram, he’d stopped calling and hadn’t been by her office since. She didn’t blame Hamir for distancing himself from her. Who in their right mind would want to be involved with a woman with a crazed ex-husband?

  Correction: Who would want to deal with a woman with a crazed husband.

  Because that’s what he still was, like it or not. Ram hadn’t completed the paperwork releasing her from their bond. She was sure that was the only reason government officials hadn’t beat at her door yet, demanding she find a new mate.

  Mia had heard of a woman whose mate had died unexpectantly and she was on the clock to find a new mate or they would find one for her. At least Mia didn’t have to go through that. For the time being.

  But that didn’t stop her from being anxious of the day when she would receive the notification that she was a single lady. While she knew that day was coming, she wasn’t happy or excited about it. She was hurt. Sad. Angry. Pissed. But not happy.

  Ping.

  She blinked open her eyes. Whoever was trying to reach her wasn’t going to stop apparently.

  She rolled over and hit the lights and instantly regretted it when brightness burned her retinas.

  She shielded her eyes. “For the love of all things holy!”

  Ping.

  “Okay. Okay,” she grumbled as she used her free hand to blindly reach for her comlink on her nightstand.

  She lifted her arm only enough to peer under it and open the incoming message on her comlink.

  Message Twenty-Four

  Mia frowned. Message Twenty-Four? What does that even mean? She accepted the holovid and a young Ram projected over her comlink. He was in the room across from hers and in the chair that he’d been in when he’d recorded the other messages. He had on a shirt and his hair was slicked to one side. He didn’t seem happy at all. A scowl was on his little face and his lips were pouty. The date on this message was a few months from the date of the last one that she’d received.

  “Father says that I must continue to message you because we are to be mated.” He crossed his arms. “I just want you to know th
at I like someone else who’s prettier than you. I want her to be my mate and I can’t because you’re coming all the way from your horrible, little planet.”

  Ah. So that was it. He had a girlfriend.

  Ram glanced away from the camera. “I’ll continue but I want you to know that I love Nadi and always will.”

  The message blinked off.

  Message complete. Do you wish to receive the next?

  Did she want to see the rest? Would it just get worse and worse? She chewed her bottom lip as she re-read the words over and over again. Then she selected “Yes.”

  * * *

  “Cohn is getting bigger than me and I don’t like it at all,” Ram said. “He pushes me, but I don’t fall down. I always stand my ground.”

  Mia chuckled as she made dinner. She’d gone from telling herself that the next message would be the last she would look at today, to selecting, “Yes” every time she was asked if she wanted to continue. Watching the holovids was addictive.

  She’d learned his passing fancy with Nadi had ended. She’d started liking Cohn then went on to like someone else. He’d been heartbroken but had quickly recovered. He’d stopped pining over her. He was still upset that Mia was coming to mate with him. He’d said that he was only mating with her because of his duty to his father. He’d also told her that he hadn’t planned to send her any of the holovids. He was only recording because his father was making him.

  Mia didn’t know why he’d decided to send them now and she didn’t care.

  Well, maybe she did care. Just a little bit.

  “I told Cohn that as soon as I get bigger than him I’m going to knock him down and see how he likes that!”

  * * *

  Ram was bigger now. The date on the top right corner put him at somewhere around thirteen years old. “I think when I grow up that I will have four children.” He stared directly at the camera. “But not by you.”

  Mia burst out into a laugh. Someone passing her open office door gave her a confused glance and she waved them off. “Sorry! I was looking at something.”

  They continued to walk by quickly. She’d spent the past few days being tickled to no end. Since he’d decided at that time that he wasn’t going to push send on the messages he was being open and candid about everything.

  Most of the messages were the ramblings of a child, but they were cute ramblings. He talked about wanting to learn how to cook but his father never bought any fresh foods to do so. He talked about how he wanted to travel to different planets and meet new people. He also talked about Cohn and various girls he was enamored with. None of the girls would date him because he was already mated. He didn’t find that fair and he was rightly upset about that.

  Mia didn’t know when it happened but she wasn’t upset with him for telling her that he didn’t want her. She was still upset about the whole Varona thing. Kind of. Maybe? But not about the holovid she’d received on the transport ship on the way to Teague.

  Ram had been a little boy who’d wanted to mate with a girl that he liked and had just realized that the woman he thought was a friend coming to stay with him was actually his mate.

  A mostly hairless woman at that! As he’d proudly exclaimed in one of his videos.

  His fit had nothing to do with her directly. She understood that now. He just didn’t want to be told that a grown woman was on her way to him. He didn’t get to date girls as his friends did and didn’t get to experience any of the kissing and handholding that he’d wanted to.

  In essence, his childhood had been robbed from him. If the roles had been reversed and she’d been told something like when she was just a kid, she might’ve had the same reaction. She couldn’t imagine being told that an alien was coming to mate with her at such a young age then having to live her childhood acting like a married woman.

  All the things she might’ve done and the ways she would’ve rebelled ran through her head and in the end of the fictional reality she realized she wouldn’t come out looking so rosy. Hell, she’d only been given one day’s notice and her reaction hadn’t been good. Who knows what would’ve happened if she’d been given thirty years to plan.

  She would’ve found a way to escape and never looked back, that’s what. Thirty years is a long time and within that time she would’ve been prepared to live in the wilds of the Amazon by herself.

  She was torn between knowing exactly how Ram had felt and agreeing with his point of view and being hurt because she’d had to bear the brunt of his rejection. Mia sighed and buried her face in her hands.

  Knock, Knock.

  Mia glanced up to find Ivo standing in her doorway. “I’m headed to lunch. Do you want to join me?”

  Mia glanced at the holovid. There were only five more videos left. She looked at Ivo. “No, thank you. I’ll eat at my desk. I have an appointment with a new client.” She’d received a message from Hinduru about the meeting which was odd because all of her appointments came through the scheduling system at the facility. She didn’t press him about it. She would find out soon enough what all the secrecy was about.

  Ivo glanced at the holovid and at noticing Ram, asked, “What year is that?”

  She squinted at the screen. Her eyes were tired and dry from watching the holovids day and night, almost non-stop. “He’s fifteen years old.”

  Sadness passed across Ivo’s eyes. “Tomorrow then?”

  After a moment’s confusion, Mia nodded. “Tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Mia yawned as she unlocked her door and entered her house. It hadn’t been a long day at work, but it’d been a taxing one. She’d found out what the secrecy was about regarding her new client and the reason for it. Also, staying up all night and watching holovids was getting to her. She only had two more left then she was done. She could go on about her days and live the rest of her life without Ram in it.

  A pang spread across her chest. No more holovids and no more Ram. She found that she looked forward to watching them and watching him. It was like he was right here with her. What would she do with her time now? Maybe she would travel to all the places that he’d mentioned going to in his holovids? Maybe she could learn how to cook some of the dishes that he’d raved about?

  But what good would come of doing those things without Ram by her side?

  The pain deepened.

  She missed him. She missed him so much that she didn’t know how she would ever get over him.

  Maybe she shouldn’t view the last two? Maybe she should stop where she was, knowing that she’d been strong enough to sever ties completely.

  She glanced at her comlink.

  Message complete. Do you wish to receive the next?

  She kicked off her shoes and selected, “Yes.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The video started with Ram’s head hanging low. He didn’t say anything. He just sat there in silence. Mia made her way to the kitchen and to the food processor. There was a dish Ram had mentioned and she wanted to see if it had been programmed in the processor.

  Ram’s chest rose and fell sporadically and his shoulders jerked. Mia paused.

  Is he crying?

  She paused and frowned, giving the video her full attention. Ram raised his head. His eyes were red and swollen and tears fell from them in heavy drops. “Father died.” His voice broke as he spoke. “Now I have no one.”

  Mia gasped and staggered to lean against the kitchen counter. She’d already known his father was dead. Why was the news affecting her like this?

  Ram. It was because she felt the emotion radiating off him through the video. These past days she’d watched him talk about his father and had forgotten about his death. The pain was real, for both of them.

  Mia covered her sob with her hand. Her eyes flooded with tears as she watched him cry. She wanted to reach through the video and hug him. She wanted nothing other than to ease and take away all the hurt he was experiencing. She knew what it felt like to lose a dad, be an orphan and to be alone and she wouldn�
�t wish that feeling on her worst enemy.

  “I can’t stay here anymore,” he continued between sobs. “I just can’t. Maybe Cohn will let me live with him until I’m old enough to live on my own.” He wiped away his tears. “My father wanted me to have many female children with you. He talked about having grandchildren to bounce on his knee. That’s never going to happen now, so what’s the point in mating with you? This was all for him and he won’t be here to experience it.”

  The video seemed to go on forever with Ram sitting there and crying and Mia crying with him. Then it clicked off.

  Message complete. Do you wish to receive the next?

  Yes.

  Ram’s image displayed. Not the kid Ram, but the adult Ram. His clothes and hair was disheveled. He looked like he hadn’t slept or ate in days. His eyes were red, whether from lack of sleep or because he’d been crying, she didn’t know. But she cared to know.

  He took a deep breath and thrust his claws through his hair. In one hand he clutched a piece of fabric to his chest. He stared away from the camera then back at it again as if meeting her gaze straight on. “I am sorry for everything. I know this apology doesn’t mean anything, but I needed for you to know. Nothing that happened was your fault. You are perfect the way you are. I was the spoiled child who threw a tantrum because I didn’t get my way. I was the stubborn one who thought to have a battle of wills with my father by not continuing to send you the messages. I’m the one who was so broken after my father’s death that I couldn’t conceive of living out his dream of having a family of my own because of my own grief. And. I. Am. Sorry.”

  He wiped his nose and Mia’s eyes spilled with even more tears.

  He took a deep breath and let his head fall back, exposing his throat. There was an audible gulp and sniffle. He brought the fabric up to his nose and inhaled deep. “Mia. Mia. Mia,” he said to the ceiling. “You’re all I think about and your shirt is the only thing that I have to remember your beautiful scent by. You’re the only person that I want. I’ve known you my entire life and I feel like I need to learn so much more about you. I crave for your touch even though I’ve only felt it a few times. Your voice is in my head. Your laughter still rings in my ears. My heart calls out for you.”