Broken

by C. R. Jane

  We set off the way we had come. Nothing held quite the same wonder as it had before. All I could think was that this was probably the end. This would be the last time that I felt real air, the last time that I would see daylight.

  I wondered how many times I would have to get pregnant if the fertility procedures worked. Enough that my body would probably be too tired and worn out to have my own kids.

  Not that I would even have that opportunity. Even if somehow I was let go eventually, I was confident I would be so used and abused that I wouldn’t even be like a human anymore.

  I literally had nothing to look forward to in life. It was all over.

  We were back to my cell before I knew it. Derrial disabled the fake me who had still been on the cot, pretending to sleep, and then he let me go. I sank down gratefully on my cot, the nausea hitting me hard. I leaned over, trying to stop myself from throwing up again. After a minute, the nausea passed. I looked up wearily and saw that the blurred Derrial was still floating in front of me.

  “You can leave now,” I hissed, keeping my voice down so I didn’t attract attention. His face appeared. “I promise we’ll make this right,” he said. I just shook my head, a tear escaping from my eye. I laid down on the cot. I felt Derrial’s hand stroke my cheek briefly, but when my eyes opened, he was gone.

  I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the screams and moans of the prisoners around me. Their noses were the perfect soundtrack to my shitty life.

  I closed my eyes. It was time to await my fate.

  Chapter 8

  The thud of footsteps approaching me tore me from my broken sleep. I opened my eyes to see a Vepar with completely black eyes staring down at me. I widened my stare, my heart suddenly pounding against my ribcage. In a flash, I scrambled backwards in my cot, dragging the blanket with me as I hit the wall with my back.

  ”W-what do you want?” Had a prisoner broken into my cell?

  “You’ve been summoned,” he snarled as if being in my presence disgusted him.

  “Summoned?” Was this the day that I was to be taken in for Corran’s procedure? Could the guys not even face me?

  “I think you’re mistaken. I’m meant to stay here.”

  One of his bushy eyebrows climbed up his forehead, while the tip of his horns seemed to shimmer. “You think you have rights?” He broke into laughter, sounding more like someone screeching for help, and I cringed, reminding myself to never make this guy laugh again.

  He reached over and grabbed my arm, then hauled me off the bed and across the room. I stumbled after him, barely catching my balance, the smooth floor cold under my bare feet. “Please can I get my shoes?”

  “You don’t need them.” With a wave of his hand, the glass wall dissolved and we were in the corridor.

  Other prisoners glared at me, their faces and hands pressed up against the glass, twisted faces judging me.

  “Where are we going?”

  But the guard didn’t answer, only dragged me by my arm, his fingers like an iron grip around my wrist.

  “Does Derrial know about this?” I demanded and as much as my mind screamed with a warning that I shouldn’t have said that, I was on a freaking foreign planet. It was hard to be reasonable.

  “He’s waiting for you.”

  His words were a blade to my chest. Derrial allowed this guard to man-handle me this way, to collect me in the middle of the night? Or was this part of the plan to make my capture appear authentic?

  With the latter in mind, I hurried along beside the guard to show my compliance and not appear like I had been dragged in like a prisoner. It was all about confidence, my mom used to tell me. So I lifted my chin and power walked to keep up with the Vepar. The door at the end of the corridor swung open of its own accord and we entered another hallway, then another, followed by stepping into an elevator where the doors shut and opened within a heartbeat and we were on a different ground. I’d stopped asking questions and accepted it might take me years before I’d comprehend this planet’s technology.

  We raced toward two enormous doors, colored like the brightest sky, engraved with swirls. My stomach was locked up tight, but I kept moving. The doors opened on their own and we strolled into a circular room.

  Bright lights flooded the tiny arena-like center with a raised platform of circular seatings. At one end stood four Vepars, each inside a circular cylinder, and only when the guard ushered me close did I see their bodies were slightly transparent. They were only projections and not physically present. Each of them were older men, wrinkles, and silvering hair, but their horns had me gaping. They were long and curled, falling over their shoulders.

  So they grew longer with age....interesting.

  With their deep blue uniforms and the double moon insignia on their jackets, I could only assume these were the Council.

  With a shove at my back, I stumbled forward toward the Vepar. I glanced up to the first row and found Thane, Corran, and Derrial sitting there, staring down at me with blank expressions. But their eyes gave them away… the worry slithering behind them.

  I swallowed hard and turned to the four who’d summoned me.

  “Human,” the tallest began. His white hair was parted down the middle and one of his horns curled over the top of his head like a halo. “In Veon, mating is a life or death situation and is not entered lightly which is why we have rituals to find the perfect life partners. Something I’m sure humans wouldn’t understand. Three of our most respectable Vepar have approached us, asking to be granted a waiver. Do you know what that means, child?”

  I shook my head, though my mind was whirling like a spinning top with what my Vepar could have asked the Council. My words refused to come.

  The Vepar with bright golden eyes tilted his head high. “Derrial and his team have requested to bypass the mating ritual and for the human, Ella, to be deemed their mate for life.”

  Their words sliced through me, but I knew… at least I thought I knew, why Derrial had put that request through. The social rules to finding the one you loved differed on Veon and they intended to bypass it to simply get approval to choose me as their mate. And I couldn’t deny the joy blooming inside me at hearing this. This was their way to save me.

  I fought to hold back my smile.

  It seemed romantic. But I wasn’t a fool. They did it to save me… except if they had to get approval for who to mate with for life, this wasn’t a light decision to make.

  “What is your decision?” Derrial and the men stood from their seats, their fists tapping their chests twice before lowering them.

  I wobbled on my bare feet, praying this worked as it would mean freedom from prison and avoiding the need to juggle social protocols.

  “Denied!” All four announced in unison.

  My legs weakened beneath me. A quick glance showed that my three Vepar showed no emotions or reactions.

  “This is new territory for us,” the man with a devil’s tail spoke up, his voice gravelly and harsh. “You brought a human to our home under the pretense that she could be the key to our fertility issues, then you announce she’s your mate and want to disregard rituals in our race since the beginning of time. This isn’t going to work.”

  Words pressed to the front of my mind about how I’d be their perfect mate… anything to convince them to approve this.

  The first Council member stole my moment. “We cannot let you disregard our ceremonial customs. So, we decree this human will join the other suitors to win you three over during the mating ritual.”

  I stood there, unsure what exactly they were saying. What in the world was a mating ritual? But when I glanced up at Derrial, he smiled and nodded. “Agree.”

  The fourth Council member with only one horn the color of mahogany cleared his throat. “This isn’t your decision to make,” he snapped, and the harshness of his voice had me trembling.

  “Procreation is an uncharted area with a human, but…” He sighed heavily. “With the current state of our race, maybe this
is something we need to explore. So, Ella, you will join the other suitable females, undergo compatibility tests, and then the right female will be selected to bond with the three Vepar.”

  Dread washed over me. “Tests,” I mumbled, my mind conjuring up me having to fight someone to win the hand of these Vepar, or maybe they meant laboratory tests? If that was the case, I’d run and take my chance in space as I’d had enough of being poked and prodded and things inserted into me.

  “Thank you,” Derrial stated, his voice loud. The three of them now had grins on their faces. I guessed this was a favorable outcome.

  “Not so fast,” One-horn retorted. “As these are unusual circumstances, there are three new conditions you must adhere to. You will complete all mating ritual tests within two weeks. The final decision of compatible female will no longer rest with the males, but us as the Council.”

  Thane groaned loudly, while Corran shifted on his feet, both disagreeing with the decision. Derrial just stood silent, but if his gaze could hurl daggers at the Council Vepar, he’d have stabbed them several times over.

  “Is that--”

  “Silence,” the Vepar snarled. “You have not been permitted to speak.” He turned to the three men. “And thirdly, should this human fail in the compatibility tests, she will no longer be under your guard, but fall under our command. And we will do with her as we find most suitable.” Their stares lingered over my body, and I felt them studying me for purposes other than someone willing to help me. I shivered under their gazes.

  “You can’t change the rules,” Thane barked, but Derrial stuck a hand out in front of his friend from taking another step forward.

  “Boy, we are the Council and what isn’t right is you trying to circumvent the rules we’d put into place.”

  “My sincerest apology.” Derrial gave a slight deferential nod of his head.

  “The new rules will be applied,” One horn declared and turned his attention to the guard. “Put her back into prison until Derrial arranges the commencement of their mating ritual.” All four council members clapped at once, and their projected images faded.

  “Fuck! That went shit,” Thane thundered.

  I reached out to them, worry biting along my flesh, needing them to really explain this to me in layman's terms, but the guard snatched my arm and yanked me toward the door. “Hey stop,” I yelled, pulling against his hold, crying out and driving my fist into his arm.

  “You heard the Council,” he barked.

  Corran jumped into the make-shift arena, landing with a thud, and stormed after us. His gaze drilling into the guard who shoved me behind him.

  The two Vepar faced off, both staring, neither backing down.

  “Nothing you can say or do will change what’s about to happen. I’m following the Council’s directions. Obstruct me and you’ll be the one locked up.”

  “All I ask is a few minutes with Ella. And then she’ll go with you.”

  I stared at Corran, pleading with my eyes that he whisk me away that very moment, away from the cell, from Veon, from everything.

  The guard’s eyes narrowed, having no intention of relenting.

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see Derrial and Thane strolling toward us, also in the middle of the room.

  “I can make your life very easy,” Derrial addressed him. “A new job with double the pay, for you to leave us alone with Ella for a few moments.”

  That got the guard’s interest and he scratched his chin, releasing his hold on me. Corran scooped me toward him, folding me into his arms, his lips on my brow. I let myself melt against him, yearning for more than anything to have them by my side.

  The guard finally nodded and he and Derrial walked to the door, lost in whispers I couldn’t decipher.

  When he returned, Derrial and Thane closed in on me while I remained in Corran’s arms.

  “Plan has changed.” Derrial’s voice sounded deflated. He ran a hand through his golden hair, worry etched on his face. “I assumed the Council would approve our request but that was foolish on my part. So, now we need to make sure you win them over in the mating ritual.”

  “And what exactly are these mating rituals?”

  Thane took my hand and placed it on his chest. “On our planet, the only way to select your true mate is for several females who accept the call of mating to undergo three compatibility tests. Then the Vepar chooses the one who made the biggest impact on them, who survived the three tests.”

  I blinked hard and stared at him with bewilderment. “Survive? Why can’t it just be something easy like I don’t know… falling in love with someone.”

  “Because our race has always believed finding the most compatible mate will produce the strongest offspring and ensure a lifetime of mating bliss.”

  “So I am fucked then. The Council will select your best mate, so how in the world am I meant to survive something that is foreign to me? And if fail, I become their property?” My voice sounded hysterical.

  Derrial nodded, his expression grim. He looked away like he couldn’t hold my gaze.

  How did I end up in this mess? “You’ve got to end this. Tell the Council you’ve changed your mind and all three of you aren’t ready to settle down yet.”

  Corran hugged me tighter. “Once the Council makes a decree, it must be completed or it comes with a punishment of death.”

  I rubbed a hand down my face. “So, what am I meant to do?”

  Just then, the guard re-entered the room. “Time’s up.” He stood there, hands crossing his broad chest.

  Panic curled in my chest, and I grasped onto Corran’s arm. He kissed my head and whispered, “Go. We’ll be in contact shortly as we have a mating ritual to prepare.”

  My gaze swept each of the Vepar who each offered me a confident smile, a promise all would be all right. I prayed they were right.

  Chapter 9

  Day three and still stuck in the cell with no sign of any of my Vepar. The Council had said we had two weeks to complete this and while I didn’t want to rush into some survival test on an alien planet, I also didn’t want to belong to the Council.

  I had been passing my days by sleeping as much as possible, my dreams filled with images of Corran, Derrial, and Thane. I wondered what they were thinking, why they had done this?

  Did they really want me as a mate? It didn’t seem possible. Was this some kind of misguided attempt to make amends with me after everything they had done?

  I somehow felt angrier at their efforts than before when I thought I was going to become a Vepar surrogate. First I was being forced to be a mother, and now I was being forced to be a wife.

  My anger was mostly directed at the fact that over the past few years, when the loneliness felt like it was going to overwhelm me, I had dreamed about meeting the love of my life. Someone who would sweep me off my feet and save me. My dreams had been dashed into a million pieces and my dream guys had ended up being the villains in my story.

  I guess I should have dreamed about saving myself.

  I was dozing off again when suddenly I was startled awake by the Vepar who ran the food cart. It made me uneasy about how silent the Vepar all were. I never noticed they were coming until they were practically standing on top of me. Who knows who else was going to come into my cell.

  “Let’s go,” the Vepar said without any explanation.

  My stomach erupted in butterflies. Was this finally it? Were we starting the mating trials today?

  I was tempted to ask, but I knew it would be a fruitless endeavor. This guy hated my guts. Over the past three days he had given me lukewarm water and something that resembled stale bread.

  At least I was hoping it was something related to bread.

  To be honest, I wasn’t feeling ready for any kind of trial. I wasn’t even feeling ready to get out of bed. I could also sense that a withdrawal was coming on.

  I thought it cruel that Derrial, Thane, and Corran had left me to fend for myself and ge
t progressively weaker when I was supposed to be getting ready for tests that were supposed to help me to save my life.

  Or maybe that was their plan all along, make sure that I didn’t have a chance so they didn’t have to follow through with something they didn’t want to do.

  “Why would you come here?” asked the Vepar walking beside me in a gruff voice. I looked at him, surprised that he was even deigning to speak with me. He was beyond good looking as all the Vepar were, with ashy blonde hair and grey eyes flecked with gold, but there was a sort of melancholy air around him, like he had been beat down by his life.

  “I didn’t have a choice,” I said, too tired to not tell the truth.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, sounding confused about my answer.

  “You’ve heard of the Khonsu right?”

  He nodded, his grey eyes darkening at my mention of them.

  “The Khonsu were after me. Apparently the only way that I could come here was to be saved.”

  “And they saved you from the Khonsu?” he asked incredulously.

  “They as in Derrial, Corran, and Thane?” I clarified.

  “It’s very strange,” he said, instead of answering me.

  “What’s strange?”

  “How casually you can say their name. Their practically celebrities on Veon. Each of them celebrated in their fields almost above all others. No one can figure out how they got tied up with you.” He scanned his eyes over me, like he was trying to figure out what they could possibly see in me.

  It was the same question that had been plaguing me since I met them.

  “They’re threatening everything about Veon by whatever game their playing with you pretending to do the mating ritual. There’s rumors that their using the games as a front before they stage a coup and take over the Counsel.” He laughed, as if that was the craziest thing he had ever heard. “We’ve long known that the Vepar on Earth had dalliances with the human females. But bringing them back here...It’s the craziest thing that I’ve ever heard of.”