by Viola Grace
“You were a melting pot that slowly dwindled to a small and select group who decided to open the planet to tourism in an effort to bring fresh blood in in controlled doses.”
Jarkatis sighed in relief. “So you know that there are shapeshifters in our history.”
“Yes. Three or four different races that offered their ability to bring out a more savage shape are in your blood.” Teeny nodded.
“During the hunt, those shapes run free and seek mates for their daily bodies.”
“Wait. That is happening during my stay?” She was suddenly very nervous.
“It is happening this week. On the first night of the full moons, the men will hunt their mates and attempt to find one that suits them. The following day, they will come here and court their chosen. That night, they transform again, and if she is willing, they take her off for some privacy.”
Teeny swallowed. “And if I have no interest in that sort of silliness?”
“Keep your door locked and stay away from the balcony. You are on the third floor, so most of the younger males will take the hint that you are not here for a partner.” Jarkatis smiled hopefully.
Teeny sighed. “I am getting the feeling that I have been setup and that I paid for the privilege.”
Her escort chuckled. “That is a grim view before you have even seen the place. Come on, let’s get you settled and into something a little more comfortable before the heat comes. We have cool mornings, but the afternoons can be scorching.”
Teeny nodded and smiled. “Right. First thing’s first. First, I relax and have dinner with a friend, and then, I worry about fending off shapeshifters. What do they take the shape of?”
“Some are large and canine, some feline, even a few lizards.”
They were standing in front of one of the apartments, and Jarkatis introduced her to the doorman, and as Arthu smiled at her, Teeny took in the breadth of his shoulders and the streaks of grey in his hair. “Pleased to meet you, Arthu.”
“And you, Miss Montague.”
“Please, call me Teeny.”
His eyes crinkled at the edges as he looked her up and down. “Teeny then. Enjoy your stay.”
There was an elevator that took them up to the third floor where Jarkatis helped her put her bio signature into her door lock before they entered her wide and spacious guest accommodation.
“Wow. This is nice, much nicer than I anticipated. Did I get an upgrade?”
Jarkatis checked her data pad. “No. This is the room reserved for you by Sela Thakasis.”
Teeny snorted. “It figures.” She walked over and opened the louvered doors. The balcony was ten feet deep and twenty feet wide. It ran the entire length of her room with a privacy screen between her balcony and the one next to it.
With light and warming air streaming into her room, she watched as her concierge showed her how to run all the appliances and explained the housekeeping routine.
“I will just be a moment. I need to change.” Teeny took her bag and walked into the huge bathroom, changing quickly into a loose shirt and drawstring trousers. She grabbed her sandals and slipped them on. Ready for the new environment, she returned to complete her tour.
They passed Arthu, and he nodded politely.
Jarkatis showed her the path to the beach. They walked past the pool with its chairs and huge parasols. “There are staff on duty day and night with the exception of the full-moon nights.”
“How many full moons are there per year?”
“Only two per season.” Jarkatis smiled. “Now, we arrive at the spa. The restaurant you will be meeting Sela Thakasis at adjoins the spa and overlooks the sea.”
Teeny was getting the hint that Selik and Sela were more than family names. They were honorifics that were relating to the place in Gakkada society.
The spa staff were delighted to see her and immediately whisked her into the spa for her first treatment.
The attendants in white bustled around her, taking her clothing and giving her a soft blue robe and matching slippers. She was tucked into a sauna for half an hour, and she meditated on the pattern of wood until they came and got her for a mud wrap, a body scrub, a full waxing from the nose down and a mani-pedi.
She lost track of time and was lying on a bed overlooking a wide black sand beach with pounding surf, with a strong pair of hands working out the knots in her body.
Her masseuse was chatty. “So, are you here for the hunt?”
Teeny chuckled. “No. I am here to relax and visit friends.”
“How is that going so far?”
“Great, but I tense up every time someone asks me if I am here for the hunt.”
He chuckled. “I can see that.”
He stilled his questions until she was back in the robe and facing him. She blinked and grew wary at the interest in his expression. “Um. I believe I have to find something to wear for dinner.”
He smiled. “There is an excellent shop near the check-in desk.”
Teeny nodded and edged around him. “Thank you.”
He watched her as she left, and she fought the shudder of distaste as she returned to collect her clothing. His hands had been a little more than professional for the last half of the massage, and she wasn’t sure if he was engaging in foreplay or trying to find the most tender bits. Either way, it was creepy.
She pushed that thought aside and headed to the shop in search of something suitable for a dinner overlooking the ocean.
Chapter Three
Thakasis had grown since Teeny last saw her, but it was still the same bright brown eyes and shy smile.
“Retriever Montague! You look wonderful.”
Teeny smiled and held out the flowing gauzy panels that made up the skirt. The woman at the shop had been correct, a light shawl was definitely required though the afternoon had been exceptionally warm.
“Thakasis, you have grown.” She hugged the younger woman and couldn’t stop the happy grin on her face. “And call me Teeny.”
“Yes, Teeny. Call me Thaka.”
“You seem smaller.”
“You got taller.” Teeny laughed.
The staff were hovering respectfully in the background, and they came forward the moment the women finished their greeting. They were led to a table out on the wide-open air seating area and menus appeared on the table screens.
“So, Thaka, it seems you have invited me here during the hunt. What are the odds of that happening?”
Thaka blushed slightly and looked up from the menu. “Really? How odd. I mean, it is a coincidence of the highest order. I guess that he just finally gave in to all the nagging, and it happened to run right across the hunt. Don’t worry. You can just lock your doors.”
Teeny shook her head. “Right. That is what everyone is saying, but why do I think that it is not the easiest course of action to be taken. If they are shifters, can’t they just pop through the doors?”
Thaka shrugged. “They could, but they won’t. It would damage their courtship prospects.”
“Oh. Good to know.” Teeny made her selections from the menu and folded her hands together, resting her chin on her knuckles. “So, how have you been keeping?”
Thaka chuckled. “I have completed my schooling and am now looking to take on a position at the family concern. Zhom has been eager to have me help him organizing events to bring the tourists here out of mating season.”
“Do all the women stay after the hunt?”
Thaka wrinkled her nose. “No. It is about a ten-percent retention rate, but the hunt night leads to a lot of pregnancies, and those children are returned to their fathers.”
Teeny shrugged and smiled as a nice glass of water and a pitcher of wine showed up at the table. The server nodded politely and disappeared as quickly as she came.
“Interesting. All the women are willing to hand over their offspring?”
Thaka smiled, “Children of Gakkada are best raised in a wilder surrounding than most planets can offer. After the second year of life, the mothers
are only too happy to drop the children off for a trip to their fathers.”
The standard meal starter of meats and cheeses came next, causing a shift in conversation.
Teeny allowed herself to be distracted, and the conversation turned to Thaka’s proficiency in hand-to-hand combat training. She had been caught once. She was not going to let it happen again.
When their second course arrived and a third place was set at the table, Teeny smelled a setup.
She looked around and noticed that local men were joining several women who were sitting alone. “What is going on, Thaka?”
“Ah, well, the locals need to eat too, and this is the best place for twenty miles. Plus, the view is very striking.” Thaka looked out over the ocean, and below them, a man swam in, shifted from a fishtailed figure and walked up the beach toward the entrance.
“He just had a tail.”
Thaka gave her an innocent look. “Did he?”
Teeny forked up a few pieces of the appetizer and put them on her plate. “I am fairly sure he did. That is not a shape that was mentioned.”
“Oh, well, they can shift on an individual basis, and frankly, if you could breathe water, wouldn’t you?” Thaka blinked her wide eyes.
Teeny nodded and narrowed her gaze. “I suppose I would. What are you not telling me?”
Thaka squirmed in her seat and was about to answer when Zhomos arrived at their table. “Ladies, may I join you?”
Teeny leaned back in her chair and inclined her head. “Please. It seems that your sister is still the master of the curved answer.”
He was wearing a loose dark blue shirt and matching trousers. The column of his neck showed small beads of water, giving Teeny the idea that it had been Zhomos walking out of the waves.
He took a seat between them, and the server immediately appeared with a glass of wine for him.
“My sister has been learning to be a little more politic with her answers.” He sipped at his glass and grinned. “How was your first day at the spa?”
Teeny groaned, ignoring the sudden attentive light in his eyes. “It was lovely, an excellent if tiring start to my time here.”
She lifted her glass and took a sip of the light wine. Though it seemed mildly alcoholic, she knew that the stuff would steal her legs if she let it. She had run into it the first time she had been here, when she brought Thakasis home.
Thaka smiled, “Tiring? I thought spa days were supposed to be rejuvenating.”
Teeny flexed her back and felt the light bruising beneath her skin. “Not if you do it right.”
Zhomos smiled slowly. “As it is with many things, to enjoy the pleasure, a little discomfort must fall.”
Teeny felt her cheeks flush hotly. “Yes, something like that.” She slugged back a little more wine and welcomed the appearance of the server with her starter.
The wind tugged at her gown and the wrap she was wearing as their conversation turned to different foods that she had eaten on the worlds she had visited.
The air cooled just enough to keep her alert. Course after course of food came and was destroyed in turn. “The chef here is wonderful. Everything is perfect.”
Thaka smiled brightly. “Food is my department. I run auditions regularly for new staff.”
Teeny chuckled. “So, you weren’t just making idle threats on the shuttle then?”
Zhomos raised his brows, “What is this?”
“When I was stuck feeding your sister ration bars while we had to run powerless to the pickup point, she swore to me that she would never suffer sub-standard meals again.”
Thakasis raised a morsel on the end of her fork in a salute. “And I never have from that day to this.”
Zhomos chuckled. “I thought your sudden interest in all things culinary was rather all-consuming.”
“It was. Between the food in the slave pens and the rations I had to gnaw down, I was obsessed with good flavour from that moment on.”
Teeny watched the siblings as they discussed family recipes and quietly continued to eat her meal. They had similar mannerisms and tilted their heads to one side while they were listening. It was cute to see them side by side. Christiena had left her siblings behind, and she missed them at moments like this.
Her expression must have showed her emotion, because Thaka was immediately concerned. “Teeny, what is wrong?”
Zhomos was staring as well, so Teeny checked and sighed to realize she was crying.
She got to her feet. “I apologize. I get a little emotional when I am tired. I should call it a night.”
Zhomos got to his feet. “I will walk you back to your accommodations.”
Teeny shook her head. “That isn’t necessary. I can find my way home.”
“I insist. It is your first day on a new world, and you are a little out of sorts. It will do me good to see you safe.” He got to his feet and inclined his head toward his sister.
“What about Thaka’s safety?”
Thakasis grinned, “I will get Tomori to walk me home. He is eager to get on my good side.”
Zhomos nodded shortly. “It is settled. Come with me.”
He offered her his arm, and she took it with deliberate distance between them. He kept his pace slow, and she kept up with him while ignoring the stares of the folks around them.
Instead of walking directly across the green, he took them down a path that would lead them along the beach before returning them to the walk that headed up to the accommodations.
“We are taking the scenic route?”
He smiled down at her. “We are. Why were you upset?”
“I wasn’t upset. I was simply remembering a time when I was speaking with my siblings just like you were talking with Thaka. From time to time, I wallow in my own memories. They will pass, I am sure.” She used her free hand to blot at more tears.
“Why don’t you visit them?”
“It isn’t allowed. When the Terrans left, it had to be one way. We had to leave, to live our lives out here so far from home. Our ties to our families were sliced, and we became part of the Alliance with no opportunity to return home. Ever.”
“I see. That must be rather lonely.”
“It is. It comes and goes. My job lets me deal with my loss in a way that few can experience. I can reunite other families even if I am kept from mine.” She shrugged and inhaled deeply. “You must love living here if you rarely leave home.”
He chuckled. “And so I am redirected. Fine. Yes, I love being on Gakkada. The freedom of the unspoiled environment is something that few worlds can boast.”
Teeny paused and looked out over the pounding waves, the thick forest pressing to the edge of the shore before the beach spilled out. The air was clear, scrubbed by the greenery, the salt in the air added a brightness to the night and the sand glittered under the swelling moons above.
“I can understand your attraction. The beauty here is something that few planets can boast.” She looked out over the water again and turned to see him staring down at her.
“Few can boast that much beauty, that is certain. Now, would you like an aerial tour tomorrow? I can pick you up midmorning and return you in the afternoon.”
She blushed and hoped that the darkness held her secret. “Do you spend all this time with the average tourist?”
He chuckled and continued along the winding path. “You are far from average, Christiena. I am fairly certain of that.”
Chapter Four
Dawn struck Gakkada with a vengeance. The forest came alive, the waves crashed just beyond view and support staff made their way to their duty stations across the compound.
Teeny wore her wrap from the night before and nothing else as she watched the bustle from her balcony. A few of the staff members looked up and saw her, but no one paused in their tracks.
She didn’t wave, merely closed her eyes and let the light skate across them, the breezes tugging at her hair. When her nostrils brought her the scent of breakfast starting, she smiled and retu
rned inside for a shower and a change of clothing.
Teeny was going to need some more clothes suitable for the environment if she was going to remain comfortable, and from what she saw in the shop she was in yesterday, that wouldn’t be a problem.
Dressed in more loose trousers and a wrap-tie shirt, she smiled at the silence in the hall as she walked toward the lift. On the main floor, she smiled at the doorman and waved good morning before heading for the main building and the dining area. As nice as the spa had been the day before, her clothing choice today required a more casual environment.
The smells wafting from the kitchen were enthralling as she walked in, and when she settled down, a server was at her side with a pot of caf and a pitcher of water.
Teeny looked up in surprise. “How did you know what I drink every morning?”
The server grinned. “Your preferences are on file, miss. Your breakfast order varies, so I will return in a moment to take your order.”
The personal touch was nice. It was much friendlier than dealing with a computer system before she was awake enough to read. She activated the view screen and flicked through the options. The equivalent of bacon and eggs was tantalizing, but she also wanted the flat cakes that resembled a pancake-waffle hybrid.
When the server returned, she looked up hopefully. “Can I get the eggs and grilled cured meat and a morning cake?”
The server smiled. “Do you want fruit with that?”
“Please. Something in the berry family if you have it.”
The server nodded and left with her order.
Teeny looked at the sparsely populated dining room and smiled at her triumphant ability to stake out her territory even while on vacation. She was settling in to her second cup of caf when a familiar presence entered her personal space.
For most folks, personal space was three feet or less. Teeny had a personal reach of over twenty feet. Zhomos was in the dining hall.
Her senses were proved correct when he took the chair across from her and settled his napkin across his knees. “Good morning, Teeny.”
“Good morning, Zhomos, or should I call you Selik Zhomos?”
