by R. E. Butler
Paoli believed his hair had changed on its own, without the aid of the serum, because he and Kate were truly soulmates. Sloan might believe that, because she’d seen the love between the two, except that Kate had originally been chosen for another through a soul-walk. She’d been abducted from Earth because of a soldier named Dex, who had gone on the soul-walk and seen her in his vision. She had only met Paoli after she had refused Dex and been sent to the Bordelayz.
She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of her desk chair. She just didn’t understand what it all meant. If Kate was really Paoli’s soul mate, the one female in the whole universe meant to be his, then why had Dex seen her on his soul-walk? If Dex and Kate had been intimate while he was under the influence of the serum, his hair would have turned brown. The way Paoli’s hair had turned brown without the serum made her wonder if the soul-walk was really accurate. Were there males and females who were together because the soul-walk said they were soulmates, when in reality they were meant for others?
She rubbed her thumb in the space between her eyes where a headache was forming. Removing the private drive from the computer, she tucked it into her bag and decided that, at least for now, it didn’t matter why Paoli’s hair had changed color. He and Kate were happy, and that’s all she really wanted for her brother’s best friend.
She glanced at the clock and realized she’d been staring at the screen for long enough that she’d worked right through evening meal. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled and she stood, picking up her bag and turning off the computer. She’d worked at the medical center in the capital city of Kyvern City since she graduated from medical school. She loved helping people, and had known since she was a child that she wanted to do something important with her life. One thing she hoped to someday figure out was why their females had become sterile. It had begun to happen several decades earlier. Females who had already had children were suddenly unable to conceive again. And then the girls who were born were either completely sterile, like Sloan, or able to have only male children. True Norlanian children hadn’t been born in many years, and now, as a result, females who weren’t capable of having children were seen as useless within their society. Instead of finding their soulmates, females were on their own. In the before times, females lived with their parents until they were chosen as a soulmate. But now, males abandoned their mates in favor of finding a new soulmate, which once more made her question the entire soul-walk process.
The medical center was quiet as she walked through the reception area. There was an emergency area that was always staffed, and at one time Sloan had enjoyed working there because it was a busy place and it had given her time to ogle the secret object of her desire: Captain Warrick Riya. He was a huge male, with dark brown eyes and rich navy hair. He kept it short in military fashion, shaved close on the sides and short on the top. He had a square jaw, which made him seem ultra-masculine, but he also had perfect, lush lips that she imagined were made for kissing and other wicked things. When he smiled – which wasn’t often – she thought he was the most beautiful male she’d ever seen.
She didn’t know why he’d never gone on the soul-walk, and a part of her, however small and stupid that part was, hoped it was because he actually had feelings for her. But she knew that was idiotic. Even if he did like her, it wouldn’t amount to more than friendship because Norlanian males simply didn’t mate with Norlanian females anymore. Case in point: her ex-fiancé Nalek, who had promised to be a good husband to her, but had split the moment her test results came back stating she was completely sterile. She knew they hadn’t loved each other, but she’d enjoyed his company and hoped that one day their feelings would deepen. It hurt to be cast aside so easily, as if the only value she had to a male was her womb’s ability to make life.
After that devastation, she’d chosen to put the idea of romance out of her life. Romance was for females from other planets. She’d be alone for the rest of her life. Sure, she had friends and family, but she had an empty home and no one to share it with, and she didn’t want to think about how lonely she felt as she climbed into her hover-machen and started off to her house.
Ashleigh’s face appeared on the screen of her vehicle’s convo-system, and Sloan smiled and pressed the button to answer. “Hello, sister,” she said.
“Hi Sloan! Paoli wanted me to tell you that he finished the clothes for you. He dropped them off here, and I was hoping you’d stop by and have fruit salad with me. Unless you’re busy?”
“I’m never too busy. I just left work, I’ll be there shortly.”
She ended the call and altered her vehicle’s course to her brother’s home instead. Within minutes, she was inside Ashleigh and Eden’s kitchen, slicing fruit for a salad and listening to Ashleigh talk about her day. Sloan and Ashleigh had gotten to know each other during Ashleigh’s abduction from Earth. Sloan had never gone on an abduction trip before, but she’d been worried about Eden and wanted to be there to support him and meet his soul mate.
As they sat at the kitchen table, Sloan told Ashleigh about a soldier who had come into the medical center for an injury to his hand.
“It wasn’t Captain Riya, was it?” Ashleigh asked, hiding her smile behind a wedge of ronii.
Sloan felt her cheeks heat with blush. “Of course not.”
Ashleigh hummed. “I was just curious. You see a lot of soldiers, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “They train hard and the inexperienced males are often injured.”
Ashleigh sighed sadly. “Do you hate me?”
“Why would I hate you?” Sloan was shocked at the abrupt change of topic.
“Because women like me take away the Norlanian males.”
Shaking her head, Sloan said, “Of course not. First, you never asked to be abducted and to become a bride to a Norlanian. And second, because without you, Eden might have tried to kill himself again to escape his life. I don’t hate you, I love you very much. We’re family.”
Ashleigh’s eyes glistened with unshed tears and she reached her hand out and clasped Sloan’s. “I love you, too, and I wish you and Warrick could be together, so you could be happy, too.”
Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, Sloan forced a smile onto her face. “He wouldn’t want me anyway, since I can’t have children. He deserves a female who can give him all the young he wants.” It would probably kill her if he went on a soul-walk. To know that someone out in the universe was suitable for him and could give him what Sloan was unable to.
Ashleigh opened her mouth and Sloan shook her head. “It’s best not to dwell on what will never be, dear sister. Now tell me about the names you’re thinking of for my niece or nephew.”
Sloan had been the first to hear that Ashleigh and Eden were carrying a child. She was thrilled to be an aunt, and so happy for her brother and his wife that it made her ache. But her heart hurt in another, different way, too – longing for a child she’d never be able to give a male, and the truth of her lonely future that stretched ahead of her like a gaping maw.
When it was time to leave, Sloan looked at the clothing that Paoli had made for her. She’d wanted to help out Paoli and Kate, and he was a talented designer. He had made her a tank and slacks outfit in burgundy, which looked very nice, but what was supposed to be a navy tunic and skirt outfit looked somehow wrong.
“This skirt is far too short,” Sloan said as she held it up to her waist. She was not petite like her sister-in-law. Like most Norlanian females, she was almost six feet tall and very curvy. The skirt, meant for work at the medical center, was supposed to reach mid-calf, but seemed to have been cut to end mid-thigh.
Ashleigh smiled. “I asked him to cut it short and make the top more fitted. You have a great figure. You should show it off.”
“Ashleigh, this is hardly appropriate for work!” Sloan admonished.
“Oh, lighten up! You wear that tomorrow and I bet a certain captain won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”
Sloan’s heart
skipped a beat and she tried to calm it, but the thought of Warrick seeing her in such a short skirt with a form fitting tank in a navy blue that would perfectly match his hair color made her heart pound out of control.
The logical part of her brain said that it wouldn’t matter if he thought she was beautiful, because males simply didn’t mate Norlanian females any longer. But she could admit, at least to herself, that she liked the idea of him lusting after her, even if nothing would ever come of it.
Chuckling at the thought of seeing his eyes widen as he looked her over, she tucked the outfits back into the bag and withdrew the deenars for Paoli. “Thank you both,” she said, leaning over and kissing Ashleigh’s cheek. “Tell Eden I’m sorry I missed him, and take care.”
“Drive safely,” Ashleigh said after walking Sloan to her car.
The garments taunted her as she drove home. She carried them into her home and put them in her closet. She tried to talk herself out of wearing such a short skirt and form-fitting top, but in the end she decided that she’d played the straight and narrow for long enough and she could have some fun. Maybe she’d even call her friend Pilar and ask if she’d like to go out to get a drink after work. She hadn’t had a girls’ night out in ages and it was time for her to get her head out of her rear and look to the future. There were males out there who might be happy to have her as a mate even if she couldn’t bear children, such as older males who’d had a soul mate and lost her through illness or injury. And there were soldiers who, in spite of the government discounts, couldn’t afford the soul-walk, or who chose not to go on one. No one would replace Warrick, who she’d cared for since she was young. If he’d only wanted her, if he’d only asked her to be his mate instead of Nalek…but it hadn’t happened. He hadn’t wanted her and he still didn’t, and that meant she could either spend her life pining for a male she’d never have, or go out and have some fun.
Stripping and dropping her clothes in the bin, she showered and climbed into bed, smiling as she thought of the looks she’d get when she showed up in her new outfit. Tomorrow would be a very good day.
Chapter 3
Sloan tugged self-consciously on the hem of the skirt. It hit mid-thigh and really showed off her legs. When she’d looked at herself in the mirror before leaving for work, she’d thought she actually looked pretty. She’d never considered herself beautiful, but she knew she turned heads when she actually took the time to dress well. She didn’t wear much in the way of flashy clothes because they often became stained with blood or other bodily fluids while she worked, so she generally chose the standard medical officer dress: loose-fitting trousers and a matching tunic with a jacket.
She walked through the reception area of the medical center and felt the eyes on her as she walked. She slowed her steps and considered turning around and going back home for more normal clothes when Tarihn at the reception desk exclaimed, “Sloan, that’s gorgeous! Where did you get it?”
Sloan turned slowly and smiled tentatively at the female. “My brother’s friend, Paoli, made them for me. My sister-in-law told him to shorten the skirt.” She lowered her voice. “Is it too much?”
Tarihn peered around the area and giggled. “Only if you don’t like soldiers ogling you.”
Sloan blushed. “They’re not.”
“Oh, sure, they’re looking at me with their mouths open. I’m wearing trousers and a tunic but you’re a knock out. I didn’t know you had such a great figure. I guess I’m so used to seeing alien females that I don’t really pay much attention to our own people,” she said, looking thoughtful.
Sloan snuck what she hoped was a nonchalant look around the reception area and was surprised to see that males were openly staring at her. She felt the heat in her cheeks from her blush deepening. Tarihn laughed quietly and Sloan groaned.
“I haven’t been ogled since I was in school.” Before the testing, she added silently, thinking back on how hopeful she’d been that she might be one of the lucky females who was able to have male children. The looks had stopped once Nalek ended their relationship and spread the word that she was sterile. She had become almost invisible, except for her medical expertise.
And Warrick.
He looked at her. And he saw her, too. Too bad he was a dead end. A male like him deserved a female who could give him babies. He’d make a good father.
Tarihn said, “Don’t look so surprised. You’re a hottie.”
Sloan blinked. “What’s a hottie?”
“I heard one of the Earth brides say her mate was a hottie. It means attractive. I think.”
“You’re very sweet, thank you.”
She smiled at Tarihn and turned, walking toward her office. She could feel eyes on her, and although part of her still wanted to rush home and change into something more suitable, the larger part of her decided that she could dress sexy for once. It would be nice to not feel invisible for a little while.
* * *
Sloan’s day passed quickly, and she found herself feeling more self-confidant than she had in a long time. She couldn’t believe that just wearing a short skirt had changed her outlook, but there was something very powerful about knowing that males were looking at her. It made her feel different. She was still herself. Still the same, sensible Sloan she’d always been, but several security officers had flirted with her, and she’d even had a patient ask if she was mated. She didn’t expect anything more than flirting – the males were most likely looking for a female to have relations with and nothing more – but she liked the attention all the same.
The reception area was empty when she closed her office door, calling Pilar on her communicator as she strode toward the door.
“You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had,” she told her friend.
“Oh? Do tell!”
“I’ll fill you in when I pick you up. I’m on my way.” The front doors opened silently and she stepped out. Footsteps rushed toward her and she froze, spinning to face whoever was coming.
A young soldier with blood on his hands raced down the walkway. “Doctor! One of the captains has been injured badly! Help, please!”
At the word captain, Sloan immediately thought of Warrick. “Take him into the emergency area,” she urged, still holding onto her communicator.
“Please! I don’t want to move him and I’m scared!”
“All right,” she said. “Pilar, there’s been an emergency. I’m going to check it out and then I’ll call you when I’m on the way to pick you up.”
“Of course, be careful!”
Shoving the communicator into her bag, Sloan followed the young male as he rushed ahead of her past the front of the medical center, disappearing around the corner. She couldn’t run in her heels, but she hurried as much as she could.
The first thing she saw was three young males hovering over a bigger male lying in a pool of blood. The bigger male was just outside the spill of overhead light, leaving him mostly in shadows, and she couldn’t see who he was from a distance. The amount of blood made her heart race. There was just so much.
Shoving her hand into her bag, she pulled out the medical kit she always kept with her and said sternly, “Out of the way.”
She dropped to her knees next to the male, feeling the chilled blood against her bare knees. Now she recognized Sayjan, a captain in the military and one of Warrick’s friends. She’d known Sayjan since school. She was grateful the injured male wasn’t Warrick, but she was upset that Sayjan had been hurt.
“What happened?” she demanded as she put her fingertips on his throat to feel for his pulse.
She had just leaned forward to listen to his heart when a cloud of blue smoke drifted in front of her. She blinked and tried to clear her suddenly swimming vision. “Sayjan?” she asked quietly.
“Sorry, Sloan. You’ll thank me later.”
Her heart pounded and her vision darkened as she lost the feeling in her arms, making her fall to his chest as she slipped quickly away into the darkness.
* * *
Sayjan waved his hand to disperse the blue smoke. The sleeping drug only worked on females, otherwise he’d be taking a nap himself. He directed the young soldiers to lift Sloan so he could get up, and then he took her from them and carried her swiftly to his hover-machen.
“She was talking to a friend, Sir,” Tolis said, as he handed Sayjan her bag. “Something about picking her up later.”
Sayjan laid Sloan in the back seat of his vehicle and closed the door, then opened her bag and found her communicator. He’d been told that her abduction was a secret aside from those who were helping with the ruse, but he wasn’t supposed to make anyone worry. Opening the menu, he found the last person she called, a single female named Pilar who taught at the culinary academy.
“Hello, Pilar, this is Captain Sayjan.”
“Oh, is Sloan okay? She said someone was injured.”
“She’s fine. I just wanted to let you know that she’ll be gone for fifteen dins.”
There was a pause and then she said, “Excuse me?”
“She’s been mate abducted.”
