by M. A. Church
"Here I'm just Duran. Let me introduce you to my mate, Jolak." King Duran released me and held his hand to his mate.
Jolak stepped forward and took King Duran's hand. Jolak had human characteristics, though he wasn't human. His hair had the same texture and the same white streak as mine, but it was lavender and ended at his chin. His irises were purple, and the whites of his eyes weren't white but a lightly tinted lavender. "It's nice to meet you, Dale. I was so excited to hear Keyno took a mate, and one that is close to my age. I... I hope you'll visit the palace often."
"I'd like that." He seemed really nice.
I spent the next thirty minutes trying to remember names of all the males I met. Many of Keyno's family members seemed happy that he'd finally mated, although my meetings with a few males left me with a funny feeling. I didn't get why Keyno taking a mate was such a big deal. After I was introduced to everyone, King Duran motioned to us to help ourselves to the drinks on a table close by.
Once everyone had a flute, King Duran raised his glass. "To the end of another successful Harvest. May the ones that took mates find happiness, and may my own nephew be blessed in his union. Hopefully, this process won't be needed much longer."
Drinks were lifted and downed. I did have to make an effort to keep my face bland when he offered the toast. The subject of Harvesting was still a sticky topic with me, but I did find his words interesting. While this celebration was held in honor of the last Harvest from Earth, I knew another would take place at some point in the future, though Keyno had privately expressed real concern over that because of Colt's revolt. However, several of the rebels who'd received counseling after the revolt had been claimed, and there had been no complaints from their new mates about their behavior. Keyno had told me that three-fourths of the Tah'Narian population now had mates, and that many mates had given birth successfully.
"And I have more good news, my family. My mate, Jolak, is expecting our first young after three long cycles of infertility."
Shouts rose in the air, and Jolak blushed as he was hauled into King Duran's arms and kissed soundly. After the congratulations were over, I pulled Keyno off to the side. "Tell me about Jolak, please."
"Let's go back here where it's quiet." Keyno led me to a floor-to-ceiling window that was set back in a little alcove. "Jolak was harvested from a planet that has an orange sun in the Mironx galaxy. The energy from their sun affects the inhabitants of their planet, giving them the ability to run up to seventy miles per hour in sudden bursts. Because of their ability to move so fast, they had a much higher metabolism. He has had some problems readjusting to our planetary conditions. Because of this, he's had trouble getting pregnant."
"Oh. No wonder King Duran seems especially happy."
"Three cycles is a long time to go without a pregnancy. Duran is happy, but he's also worried now about Jolak's ability to carry young."
"Double-edged sword," I mumbled as I watched King Duran and his mate. It was obvious that they cared for each other deeply. King Duran touched Jolak constantly: little pats to his back, or a caress to his arm. Jolak responded to each touch with a soft smile or a touch of his own. From the looks of it, they were in love.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the whole point of the Harvest is to ensure that your race doesn't go extinct, right?" I saw the frown that crossed his face and raised my hand to halt whatever Keyno was going to say to me. "I know this isn't just about reproduction. You guys were looking for mates, too. King Duran harvested his mate, fell in love, and now he's worried about what kind of repercussions this will all have. He wants young to carry on his name, but at what cost? That's all I meant when I made that comment."
"You are right. But I can safely say that Duran would rather have Jolak than possibly lose him to miscarriage or childbirth." Keyno kissed the top of my head. "We love our mates, Dale. They are the most important thing to us. And you just can't call my uncle Duran, can you?"
"Sorry. The whole 'this is the most powerful male on the planet' thing is still tripping me out some. I'm not comfortable calling him anything less right now."
"Well, maybe one day."
King Duran and the rest of us made our way to the gathering. We joined the party, and I met several more people that knew Keyno. With no hope of remembering all their names, I greeted the males and smiled inanely. Several males wanted to speak to Keyno about the Harvest on Earth—not my favorite subject, to say the least.
Keyno was speaking to a fellow starship captain when an itch hit me between my shoulder blades. I ignored the feeling of being watched, but it wouldn't go away. Discreetly, I scanned the area until I found the source: a Tah'Narian undressing me with his eyes. Whenever I happened to glance his way, he stared at me with a hungry, possessive look that spooked me. I was uncomfortable enough that, even though the subject of the Harvest bothered me, I stayed by Keyno. Finally my stomach growled, and Keyno heard it.
"I see Chad by the serving table. Why don't you go on and get something to eat? I'll join you in a few minutes."
I didn't want to say anything about that Tah'Narian because really, there wasn't a law against him looking at me. So what if he wigged me out? Again, no law against that. "Okay. Join us soon, though."
"I will." Keyno kissed me gently on the lips, and I hurried over to where Chad was standing.
"Hey," I stepped up next to Chad at the table. "What's good here?"
"That black-and-white gooey stuff is pretty tasty." Chad piled some of said goo on a plate. "It reminds me of that Oreo and ice cream cake Mom used to make for Christmas. Try that for dessert."
"Leave it to you to try the sweets first." I picked a few things out and loaded my plate down. Dammit, why did Chad have to mention Christmas? I'd managed to bury a lot of my feelings about never seeing my parents again, and he had just managed to rip the scab right off that wound.
"So how was meeting the king? Did he act all... kingly?" Chad bit into something that resembled a frog leg, except the legs were teal.
"Your vocabulary leaves a lot to be desired. And what the hell is that you just bit into?"
"Manglo legs. Tastes like chicken. Here, try some." Chad shoved a couple of the legs on my plate. "And you can bite me and my vocabulary, dude."
I was tempted to take one of those legs and beat Chad over the head with it. "You said frogs' legs tasted like chicken, too, and they didn't. King Duran was very nice, actually. Never met a king before, so I have no idea if he acted all kingly or not. I'd have to say not, though. He and Keyno seem to be close. You ever met him?"
"A time or two, but remember, I'm not part of the royal family." Chad poked me in the rib with his elbow.
"Don't remind me. That still freaks me out." I added some more things to my plate. There was a big lump of brown meat that actually looked like roast, so I added that. "His mate, Jolak, seems nice. I don't know if I'm supposed to say anything or not, but Jolak is pregnant."
"That meat you just chose is spicy, so be careful." Chad nodded at what I was calling roast. "It's from the Raymand'dar, which is kinda like an Earth cow. So Jolak is pregnant, huh? Cool. He's been trying for a while now. They'll probably make an announcement later."
"How the hell do you know all these names?" I followed Chad to his table.
"Been here longer than you, and I know what I like. You'll catch on." Chad sat down. John was across the table from us. "Hey, John, look what the cat dragged in."
"Hey, Dale." John rolled his eyes at me. "Now that you're here, maybe he'll pick on you for a little while."
Chad snorted as he lifted that teal leg thing up. "You gave as good as you got."
"You have to, John. It's the only way to keep Chad in line." I set my plate down. "Is there a bathroom around here?"
"Yeah, go out of here, turn left, and then go down the hall. Take the first right. It won't be far from there." Chad looked at me. "Are you okay? You look kind of... funny."
"I'm fine," I said. "Tell Keyno where I went if he asks. I'll
be right back."
I hurried away from the table. I didn't want to rain on the parade, but Chad's comment about Christmas bothered me, and I needed a minute. I followed the directions Chad had given me and found the bathroom.
"Could they've put this any farther from the main room? Jesus, is this Chad's idea of not far off?" I griped as I pushed open the restroom door.
I used the restroom, and then stood at the sink, washing my hands. Memories of past holidays ran through my head. I let myself wallow in those for a moment and then started the process of burying the memories again. I didn't know why Chad's comment affected me like it did, but there was no sense in letting my emotions get the better of me. It wasn't like I could do a whole hell of a lot about it, anyway.
I looked at my reflection and commenced giving myself a little pep talk. "Okay, enough already. Time to pack it away and focus on the things that are positive. You have a mate that's nuts about you, good friends that care, and the chance to explore space. Space, for God's sake! How cool is that? You can do this." I pointed a finger at my reflection and watched it point back at me. "Now, buck up and get back out there."
Okay, yeah, if anyone had come in while I stood conversing with my reflection I'd have looked like an idiot, but I felt better. I straightened my shoulders and walked to the door. A tiny spot in my heart still ached, but I couldn't change that. The best I could hope for was learning to live with it.
I started the long walk back to the main room where the party was being held. Halfway there, I saw another Tah'Narian coming toward me. As he drew closer, I noticed he had long white hair like Keyno. Must be one of his family members.
The closer he drew to me, the more uncomfortable I became. When he was ten feet away from me, the hair on my neck stood up. That's the Tah'Narian who was staring a hole through me earlier. I dropped my eyes in the hopes he would just pass by. As he drew even with me, he held out his hand like he was going to grab my arm. I stopped walking so he wouldn't have a reason to touch me.
"You're Keyno's new mate. Dale is your name, I believe."
"I am, yes. And you are?"
He brushed his long white hair over his shoulder. "Obviously, I am a royal family member. My name is Yar. I had hoped to meet you earlier, but this will do." Yar's gaze trailed over my body, stripping me naked. He licked his lips and stepped closer to me. "Keyno has done well in his choice of a mate."
Cocky bastard. "Thank you." I dropped my eyes again. I could nearly taste the aggression coming off him.
Yar tugged the white strip in my hair, and my head snapped up. "Interesting. Your eyes are like ours. I didn't think the DNA mutations extended that far."
As far as I was concerned, grabbing my hair was crossing the line. I stepped back and, thankfully, he let my hair go. "I was double-dosed. I need to get going. Keyno will be wondering where I am."
Yar smirked. "He has you well trained, too. I like that."
Trained? Yeah, fuck you, asshole. I kept my face blank. "I have to go."
"Yes, do hurry back to your mate, Dale. Hopefully I will see you again... soon."
Seeing that I was all alone with this testosterone-filled jerk, I figured trying to knock his teeth down his throat wasn't the best option. There was the whole "striking a royal" thing to consider. I also didn't want to cause a family uproar. But oh, I'd love to wipe that smirk off his face.
"Um... yes. Well, goodbye."
I edged past him and walked down the hall. The sooner I returned to populated areas, the better. Being alone with him made me nervous. Plus Keyno wouldn't be happy if he knew Yar had touched my hair. It didn't seem like much, but that white strip in my hair signified I was his. And if I told him how Yar looked at me? I didn't want to think about how he'd respond. The thing was, he really couldn't do anything about Yar leering at me. But that didn't mean he wouldn't threaten Yar. Every fiber of my body shouted that this male was trouble.
My steps picked up, and I swore I heard a soft laugh which annoyed me, but I refused to turn around. Who the hell did Yar think he was, trying to intimidate me that way? By the time I returned to the party, I was close to being in a whole new realm of pissed-offedness. I found our table and sat down, fighting to control my breathing.
Moments later, Keyno leaned over. "What's wrong?"
So much for that. "I just had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Yar. How is he related to you?"
"By the gods, what did he do?" Keyno growled. "He's a cousin, and a worthless one at that. Did he—"
"He didn't do anything. He stopped and talked to me on the way back from the bathroom. But he intended to make me uncomfortable, and he succeeded. And that pisses me off. He was staring at me earlier like he was hungry, and I was on the fucking menu. Then he happened to show up while I was on my way back here, and all alone. I don't like him."
"All he can do is look, Dale. You are claimed, and our king would banish him for any misdeeds toward you."
I picked up my drink. All the huffing and puffing I'd done while returning to our table had made my throat dry. "Still, he makes my skin crawl."
"Unless he does something more than look, I cannot challenge him."
"Well, I vote we just ignore him." I stayed close to Keyno for the rest of the evening, and didn't mention that Yar had touched my hair. I knew that Keyno wouldn't like it, but hair-touching wasn't reason enough for Keyno to challenge him. Not that I wanted him to.
Whenever Keyno wasn't looking, I could feel Yar's hot, lustful gaze on me, and it upset me. The arrogant look in his eyes made my skin prickle. Keyno had said that he couldn't do anything about Yar just looking at me, but the promise that I clearly saw in Yar's eyes made me a nervous, angry wreck. He was trying to bully me, and with guys like that... you just never knew what they'd do, given the chance. I avoided him as much as possible for the rest of the party.
I had little doubt that if Yar could get his hands on me, I'd disappear in a heartbeat. People vanished on Earth all the time, never to be seen again. The idea of something like that happening on the other side of the galaxy was frightening, almost maddening, but at the same time, humorous in an awful way. Sickos would be sickos, no matter where they were, I guessed.
I understood and appreciated now, though, those papers Keyno had locked away. I was more than grateful that I had real identification here and that there was a way for Keyno to search for me, for my unique DNA. No matter what Yar or anybody else might do or where they might take me, I knew Keyno wouldn't rest until he found me, and, thanks to my being double-dosed—which had resulted in some genetic changes that no one had expected—I was one of a kind.
I was greatly relieved when Keyno said that it was time to leave.
A couple of days after the celebration, Keyno surprised me with the news of a trip to Aploi. Using a small private cruiser, the journey would only take a single Earth day to travel to the planet's surface from Tah'Nar. I expected security officers to accompany us and was surprised when nobody else arrived to fly along with us.
"We're going alone?"
"Yes. We're fulfilling an Earth tradition." He set the controls of the cruiser, locking the hatch.
I frowned, running through various customs. "Which one?"
"Honeymoon." Keyno shot the cruiser into the sky.
I so wish I could've seen his face when he said it because his voice was the gentlest purr. It cut right through me, straight through my heart and deep into my gut. I was buckled into my seat, though, so all I could do was sit there and sigh happily.
We arrived at the planet with no problem, and Keyno set up our camp site. I watched as he worked, becoming more and more concerned by what I was not seeing.
"You did bring a tent, right? I hope you did, unless you're planning to sleep out-of-doors."
Keyno removed what looked like nothing more than a plain white cube about the size of a nice Christmas present from the rear hatch of the cruiser. "Ready to rough it?" He set the cube down and pressed a button on the side.
I he
ard a strange hissing as the cube hummed and then exploded open. For about five minutes, I just stood there and stared, my mouth hanging open. The cube was a portable four-room house, complete with bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and relaxation quarters.
"Dale, if you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to be tempted to put something in it," Keyno teased.
My lips snapped shut, and I turned to him. "You really know how to pack."
He held out my botany kit. "Go, chosen. Go get your precious plant samples before I demand that we complete more Earth rituals associated with this tradition of yours."
I took the kit, but frowned at him. "What rituals?"
He growled at me. "I believe that I'm supposed to make love to you until you can neither see nor hear—and, when those two senses are gone, I'm supposed to continue until you cannot walk, either."
My knees nearly gave out. I tripped over the edge of the portable house, barely catching myself before I landed face first in the rich Aploian soil. I stared at him with my own huge, rounded Tah'Narian eyes. "What have you been reading?"
Keyno's tail flicked lazily, his amusement and lust apparent. "Plants. Now. Hurry."
I hurried.
Our second day was more peaceful. I'd managed to collect and place a few plant specimens around the portable house. One plant was bright orange with pointed, prickly leaves. It produced small, mud-brown flowers that were spiny and ugly, but its pollen created a scent that was reputed to be an aphrodisiac. I wanted to gather more, but Keyno's patience had run out the day before, and he'd come to find me, throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me back to the portable home as I laughed like a lunatic.
We made slow, leisurely love several times throughout our second day on Aploi—at least when Keyno wasn't trying to feed me or rub me with scented oil, which, he insisted, were also "rituals of the traditional Terran honeymoon." I had a sneaking suspicion he'd gathered this "information" by reading romance novels.
