Hayley crossed her fingers, hoping that the large male would object, but he sighed and stepped out of the way. “Very well. On your word, then.”
The male bobbed a hasty nod as he hurried out of the room. He did not offer to set her on her feet or give any manner of explanation as he rushed through the busy space station. The whole world spun around her, and she hoped that he would stop soon before she puked down his back. Breathing in and out to steady her stomach, she didn’t realize for several minutes that he was speaking to her in a low, hushed tone.
“…I really do apologize for all this unpleasantness. You seem to be a decent female so I am sure you will be very happy. Don’t worry. Everything has been taken care of. I hope you can forgive me for this unpleasant shock.”
She drew in a breath to demand to know what he was talking about when the male suddenly rounded a corner and her eyes fastened on four very large obsidian black males. They were nearly identical, their scales shining subtly in the lighting, except that one stood larger than the others. He looked brutish; his dark purple hair bound in braids at the front to frame a wide jaw while the rest was caught up in a messy ponytail. The male on his right with white-tipped ears watched her with narrowed eyes. His mouth was drawn into an unforgiving slant. He looked like something of a hardass, his hair bound entirely in braids that were tied back together to hang down his back. They were the two most imposing. Just behind them, a leaner male with a single sleek braid and a curious open stare stood beside a slightly shorter male, ripped with hard muscle, a cocky smile on his face. This last male seemed flashier than the others, his hair paler, a vibrant purple, and arranged in a well-groomed topknot. It was most disconcerting to see something so human adorning heads that resembled a mix of something caught between humanoid and jackal.
They were wholly predators in every other way, and their burning red eyes were focused on her!
The Edoka lowered her feet and spun her around to face the males. They were even larger now that she was standing on her own feet. She swallowed nervously. Perhaps this was the guard? If so, she was going to have a hell of a time escaping Ka’sumar.
“Entanga Pack, allow me to introduce you to Hayley Benito, your mate.”
Hayley’s mouth dropped open, her eyes widening as the large males, their nostrils flaring, stepped closer to her, emitting low growls from deep within their chests. A shiver ran through her as she attempted to back away from them.
Oh no. This was not what she bargained for. If the Edoka had purchased her for these males and she was really their mate and not his… she was well and truly fucked!
Chapter 4
The Edoka had his hand on their female. Exeri couldn’t tear his attention from that one fact. Ka’sumar’s scales contrasted sharply with the human’s delicate skin. The male was getting his scent all over her. A low warning growl erupted from Exeri’s chest, and the Edoka stiffened before snatching his hand away. Relaxing marginally, he turned his attention back to their mate. She was fascinating.
Her complexion was not as dark as the human he’d chased over Vora, but not as pale as Frahnkee. It was a golden-kissed cream that he wanted to taste every inch of. The female’s eyes were fastened on them, her body frozen except for where she absently rubbed her now released arm. Dark brown eyes peered at him from beneath even darker eyebrows lowered in confusion. Even her mane was of the deepest hue that reminded him of the exotic intimbar drink enjoyed on Antari Minor which he heard was comparable in many ways to human coffee in taste and hue. Its color was exotic to him. His hands itched with the need to touch and explore it as much as the rest of her.
Ka’sumar made a noise in his throat, drawing his attention back to the male. The Edoka met his gaze, only the slightest tremor of spines indicating his discomfort.
“My credits?”
With a sharp nod, Exeri withdrew the credit chip from the pouch at his hip and tossed it to the male. His pack behind him didn’t so much as flinch as a significant portion of their remaining wealth was handed over. No one would know by looking at them that the entire pack had dissolved into a fight within minutes of arriving at their rooms after their first meeting with Ka’sumar. The bruises had faded, claw marks healed since then. True to their nature, once they had it out, the males soon fell into agreement and came to terms with the necessity of what needed to be done long before the two weeks concluded.
The female’s mouth dropped in the first bit of animation he had seen from her. Her eyes shifted from them to the Edoka as color darkened her cheeks. “Really? You’re selling me?”
The male’s eyes widened, and Exeri almost chuckled at the extreme look of discomfort that came over the normally unruffled Edoka. “Not so much selling,” Ka’sumar objected. “More acting as an intermediary for a fee.”
“You charged them credits to buy me for them?” she hissed with increasing outrage. Her voice rapidly increased in volume with each word that followed. “That’s fraud! The head of security could lock you up. You deserve to be, you vile, underhanded…”
The Edoka’s hand shot out to cover her mouth once more, his eyes shifting around the docking bay. Several males were watching the exchange, but there was no way of knowing how much they heard. Exeri didn’t care—once again, the male was touching his pack’s mate!
“If you do not remove your claws from our female, I will rip your limb from your body and beat you unconscious with it,” he snarled.
The blue hand snapped back so fast that its owner took a stumbling step back. The Edoka huffed, his spines rising and flattening anxiously as he glanced around again. “Then keep her silent before she gets us all in trouble!”
“Ha! I knew it!” the female laughed with a vicious glee that felt reminiscent of an Arobi female. “You’re all going to be so fucked!” She took a deep breath and Exeri had no doubt what she was going to attempt.
He closed the short space between them in a flash, his hand closing over her mouth as his other arm roped around her body, drawing her flush against him. Despite the lingering taint of the Edoka’s smell, the sweet, musky perfume of her flesh flowed over him. He took a deep breath and shuddered. His grip relaxed for an instant before he pulled her tight against him once more. He dropped his mouth to her ear, his muzzle brushing the delicate shell.
“You may be our mate, but make no mistake: you will not draw further attention to yourself,” he hissed quietly. “I would think very carefully about any and all repercussions you might bring about through your actions. Even if you were taken from us… what would your fate be? And what would the fate be of all the males we will slaughter to get our female back?”
He felt her lush body tense in his arms. She remained rigid in his embrace for a while before finally relaxing by degrees until she was once again warm and soft in his arms. Her head jerked against his grip in an impatient, affirmative gesture.
“Okay,” she grumbled, her voice muffled by his hand. She brought her own hand up and poked at one of his knuckles, her fingertip tiny and rather cute in comparison to the thick, scaled flesh of his single digit. “Want to let me breathe now?”
Slowly he dropped his hand, his ears tipped toward her, alert for any change in her demeanor. He watched as she worked her jaw, opening and closing her mouth as she shot him an annoyed glance over her shoulder. It was nothing, however, compared to the venomous look she directed toward the Edoka. Tanji chuckled at the male’s dismayed expression, but their female’s head snapped toward him and her lip curled. Her attention distracted, Ka’sumar wisely used the opportunity to hasten out of there with his credits, leaving the pack to deal with their female.
“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you. You bunch are no better, paying a male to purchase a female for you.”
“But that is the way the Mate Index works,” Tanji protested in bewilderment.
“Doesn’t make it right,” she said. “Just legal.” She scrutinized them individually, one by one, meeting the confused stares that Exeri was certain that he was wea
ring as well, and sighed. “Never mind. Why did you have to have another male buy me for you, anyway? Why not do it yourselves?”
Simah shrugged. “We would have liked to—though Ka’sumar did a wonderful job selecting the mate we would most desire.” He flashed a flirtatious smile, but judging by the way their female winced, Exeri suspected they may need to reconsider how to woo their mate. Simah apparently had the same thought because he continued, “Arobi are not a registered species with the Intergalactic Union. We are a protected species. Even the planet we live on is not an official member of the Union, so we would have no opportunity to even try to put in an application as citizens of the planet either. It left us with few options… even if it meant getting robbed by an Edoka.” The last part he grumbled, and the rest of the pack nodded in commiseration.
“So you bribed the Edoka to use his status as a citizen to find a bride for you.” She sounded almost calm as she made the observation.
“It worked quite well,” Tanji leered. Their female snorted a restrained laugh and rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
“So, now what?” she looked at them questioningly as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her dark skirt, printed with bold colorful flowers. She raised her eyebrows expectantly. Exeri was thankful that they had experience among humans. As familiar as they were with human body language, they would be able to anticipate problems and needs without issue.
Exeri smiled smugly to himself. Obviously, their little mate needed to be coddled and reassured about her place in their life. He could do this. He was already feeling comfortable with the situation. Having a human mate was going to work to their advantage.
“Now,” he rumbled, “we take you home with us to Antari Minor. We have a comfortable home on our own territory not far from town. It is a long flight that will take many days… It will give our pack time to bond.”
“Bonding… uh-huh,” she said slowly. “Just so you know: I don’t get down with doing anything freaky with anyone I just met. I know I’m bought and paid for, but you’re going to have to… uh, wait for any bonding. If you get what I mean,” she informed him, her nose scrunching as if she wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted.
He stared at their mate. No bonding? His head turned as he exchanged a confused look with his pack before directing his question to her. “We are to have a mate that we cannot touch?”
Their female’s lips pinched together. “I guess that does sound a little strange when you put it like that,” she said. “This is all too strange. I’m sure you can appreciate that this is not what I was expecting.”
Exeri nodded, discomforted by a twinge of sympathy. “Perhaps while we are traveling, we can use this time to… familiarize ourselves, and worry about bonding when we return home?”
He could feel the weight of his pack’s collective shock. This was definitely not in line with what they had expected. Exeri could not blame them; he had planned on being balls deep in their mate within minutes of departure, but he did not see that happening now. He sighed and ran one hand through his mane. At least she was allowing contact. It was possible they could move things along with their mate, if she permitted it.
Despite their aggressive tendencies, Arobi valued their queens. The entire family dynamic revolved around an Arobi’s queen—seeing to her comfort, bonding with her, and rearing pups. The females even controlled the terms of the mating for the perpetuation of her line. While he did not have to defer wholly to all their female’s wishes, as her protector and male by contracted agreement, he refused to disrespect her and treat her less than an Arobi queen. Although disappointment weighed heavily on the males, they eased forward with soft rumbles in agreement.
Their queen stood watching them, attempting to track them all at the same time as she reacted instinctively to the large predators surrounding her. Exeri felt a rush of pride as his pack reacted instantly in sympathy to that reaction, ducking their heads to make themselves appear smaller as they approached her. Their female flinched but held her ground as the pack filled in the space around her.
Hesitantly, she lifted her hand and set it on Tanji’s chest. The male puffed up with pleasure, a pleased smile on his face as he looked at her with fondness in his eyes. Simah slid up to one side while Bilax came up behind her other shoulder and nuzzled the side of her head with his muzzle. An uncertain smile pulled at her mouth, and she tucked one hand up to scratch along his jawline. Her smile seemed more genuine as the male rumbled contently.
Exeri flicked an amused ear. How anyone could enjoy that male growling in their ear like that he could not understand, but their queen seemed to be a tolerant sort. She watched them with obvious amusement. Simah nudged her gently in a silent request that she pet him as well. Their female complied with a soft laugh.
“You all look the same,” she whispered to herself. “How in the world am I going to tell you apart?”
“It is not difficult once you have become accustomed to being around us,” Exeri said at her side. She glanced up and cocked an eyebrow at him. He motioned his head toward Simah. “Simah there has a gray stripe that runs horizontally across his muzzle from a nutritional deficiency in his youth. Tanji has a mane that is two shades paler than the rest of us, something he tends to be vain about.” The male in question chuckled good naturedly as Exeri turned to introduce the last. “And Bilax, who is currently trying to make you deaf in one ear, has white-tipped ears. And I am Exeri. I am the alpha.”
“You will know who he is because he will be the one ordering the rest of us around,” Tanji filled in with a playful grin. Exeri whacked him with his tail, and the mischievous male let out a bark of laughter that startled their queen. It was only for a moment, however. Before he could express any concern over it, she was already laughing.
“What is your name?” Tanji murmured softly, his eyes half-closed in bliss as she continued to stroke the scales of his chest.
Exeri swallowed back a small amount of jealousy. He should be stroked and inquiring as to her name. He was the alpha. It was an absurd thing to start a conflict over, however, so he remained silent and turned his attention to their female.
“Hayley Benito,” she said at last.
“Hahlee,” he rumbled.
“Uh, no. Hay-ley,” she enunciated slowly.
He scowled as he repeated her name back to her along with the rest of the pack until she smiled with pleasure.
“Hayley of Entanga Pack,” Exeri said, rolling the sound of it off his tongue. He liked it. Their queen was unique, and her name slipped beautifully from his tongue as if it belonged paired with their pack. “Come, Hayley. The starship taking us home is not far away. We should get settled before the docking bay becomes crowded.”
“You mean before you risk getting caught out in the open on the space station with an illegal mate?” she queried, her lips quirking in amusement.
Exeri chuffed. Their queen was clever and saw through his attempt effortlessly. “Perhaps,” he agreed.
He tucked his arm around Hayley, careful to not startle her. She glanced at him warily but allowed the touch. With the slightest pressure, he led her deeper into the docking bay to where the starship awaited them, the pack following close behind.
Although her head craned curiously from side to side to catch sight of everything going on around her, he bit back a smile when, after a few minutes, Hayley began to relax into his embrace. He caught the eye of each of his pack brothers, noting that they all wore expressions of infatuation and desire as they followed.
Things were going very well with their little queen. He could not wait to get her home.
Chapter 5
There was only one mid-sized cabin reserved for all of them. Hayley stared at it in horror. There was barely enough room for all of them. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been sharing a tiny room with four males. And she thought the conditions on the starship that brought the brides to the space station had been cramped! No wonder the captain had given Hayley a sta
rtled glance as they boarded the starship. The male must have thought they were all crazy to share such a small space.
The starship wasn’t even a passenger transporter like the luxury cruisers she had heard of. That wasn’t surprising, since they said their destination was essentially a frontier world, but if she wasn’t mistaken, it seemed like they had reserved a spare cabin in what appeared to be a supply ship. Her mouth dropped open as she examined the sparse interior of their room. There wasn’t even a bed—just bedding tangled around a large mat that stretched from one side of the room to the other and several pillows.
This was where they were going to be confined for the next week?
The alpha, Exeri, shifted closer, his own eyes raking over the room. If she wasn’t mistaken, his face drew into a wince as if just noticing the conditions of their cabin.
“So, this is it, huh?” she said, forcing a cheerfulness she didn’t feel into her tone.
There wasn’t much to be happy about.
She didn’t blame the Arobi. Not really. They were trying to be accommodating. Even holding off on mating with her was more than she expected. It was almost sweet, in a way. Not that it changed anything. If anything, the situation had only become more complicated. Securing her freedom was going to be a lot more difficult. The only thing that worked in her favor was that if the planet was as lawless as she presumed it was, she probably wouldn’t have any problem finding passage off it.
That meant she was going to have to steal some seed money from the males—but she wasn’t going to feel guilty about that. They obviously didn’t think anything about spending an obscene amount of credits to buy a human bride. At some point, she would make sure that it found its way back to them—somehow.
Getting away from her mates was going to be another matter. Right now, they seemed to have bought her cooperative routine hook, line, and sinker, but she worried about any one of them becoming suspicious. Fooling one male would have been one thing… keeping four males unaware of her plans was going to be a lot more difficult. However, it seemed that some things were universal. Being sweet and agreeable seemed to work on them, at least for the time being.
Arobi's Queen: A Mate Index Romance (The Mate Index Book 11) Page 3
