by Becca Van
Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and she could hear the men shouting in their strange language and just as the agony began to recede the words they spoke began to make sense.
“Do something, Damk. She is in so much pain.”
“If I thought it would hurt her I never would have ordered you to inject the translator,” another of the men said in an angry and concerned tone.
“Fix her!” another bellowed.
Finally the pain waned and she dropped her elbows to the table and looked to each of her sides and at the four men yelling at someone behind her. When she heard a soft beeping sound she turned and looked over her shoulder.
“Are you all right now, little female?” the man holding a small rod in his hand asked.
When she saw he wasn’t looking at her she followed the direction of his gaze and to her awed surprise found he was looking at some sort of writing or symbols that were displayed in midair. It looked like a hologram or something from a futuristic movie and she gasped.
River nodded her head and the met the man’s amazing eyes. His irises were blue and his pupils were the same purple color as the brown-eyed man. He smiled at her and then looked to the man seated on her right.
“She is fine, sir. The translator is working.” He bowed and walked away.
“What is your name, little female?”
River turned to face the man on her right. He was so good looking it almost hurt to look at him. His hair was just a tad longer than shoulder length, and it was a dark blonde color which gleamed under the glow of the light crystals hanging from the ceiling above their head. His eyes were a mixed color of green and brown and he also had purple pupils.
She drew in a breath as he tilted his head before smiling down at her. Her heart flipped and her breathing picked up pace as tingles of awareness shot through her nervous system.
“River Caisson,” she finally answered his question.
“I am called Stryk Mag and these are my brothers, Palk, Hakk, and Toak.”
She nodded to each of the men as they smiled at her before meeting Stryk’s gaze again. “Where am I? How did I get here?”
“You are at our holding on Safura. How you got here…we’re not quite sure ourselves. One minute you weren’t here and the next…you were.”
“Stryk, may I have a word?” Sharm Tammock one of the leaders of Planet Cardinal approached the raised dais.
“You may,” Stryk beckoned him forward.
River noticed that this new man was gazing at her, or more like her arm. She looked at the bracelet wrapped around her bicep and back up at him. He bowed to her and Stryk and as he straightened his gaze met hers.
“May I speak to the female?”
When Stryk frowned she thought he was going to refuse but he nodded and moved his seat a bit closer to hers.
“You have nothing to worry about Stryk. I am already mated and have no interest in the female other than curiosity.” He turned his gaze back to her. “My name is Sharm Tammock and my mate is human like you. She had that same gold bracelet or one that looked exactly like that one does when we met.”
“I have no idea how it got on my arm. I’d never seen anything like it until a few hours ago.”
“Where did you find it?” Sharm asked.
“Well, I didn’t. A woman bumped into me as I was about to enter my apartment building. I think she somehow placed it on my arm before she hurried away.”
“Do you know what it is?” Sharm asked.
River bit her lip and shook her head. She wanted to know because knowledge was power, but she also didn’t want to know because she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like the explanation. Everything was so strange. Including the men and the building she was in. All she wanted to do was get up and leave, but something held her back.
“If I have your permission, Stryk, I would like to bring my mate and my brothers. The female is going to have so many questions and I think it would help to have another of her species present.” Sharm glanced at her and then back at Stryk.
When River comprehended what he’d just said her breathing and heartrate escalated once more. She gripped her hands in her lap and began to wring them together. She didn’t realize she was panting until she heard her own gasping breaths and when she tried to push her chair back so she could leave, her limbs felt heavy and uncoordinated. She should have realized as soon as she’d seen the purple pupils that something weird was going on. She was breathing so fast and hard which caused little spots to appear before her eyes and in the next moment felt her legs go out from underneath her.
A strong arm wrapped around her waist and in the next instant she was being lifted up against a warm brawny body.
“Damk!” Palk yelled, hurting her ears with his loud panicked bellow.
River tried to calm her breathing and racing heartbeat down, and even though her panting started to slow, her head still felt like it was swimming. She felt herself lowered down onto something soft and a cool cloth was placed over her forehead and eyes. Although she hated to feel and look so weak in front of strange men there was nothing she could do about it. She was in shock because she had just realized she was amongst aliens and no longer on Earth.
What the hell is going on? How the fuck did I get here? Did that woman do something to me? Shit! Does the bracelet have magical powers? Am I losing my damned mind?
A large hand gripped hers and she clung to the only lifeline she had in a world gone ass up, or maybe down. Although her breathing wasn’t as calm as normal, it had slowed down sufficiently for her tumultuous thoughts to quiet down a little. She reached up and pulled the damp cloth from her face and stared up into Hakk’s worried gaze.
How she had the wherewithal to notice he was just as handsome as his brothers she didn’t know, but she couldn’t seem to drag her eyes away from his gorgeous face. His hair was a mixture of black and brown. His eyes were also a light brown color which made the light purple pupils in the center of his orbs stand out. When he shifted she realized that he was kneeling beside the sofa she was laying on and he was so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body.
She caught movement down on his chest and watched in trance like enthrallment as the mark at the top of his muscular left pec began to glow a brighter purple color and the swirls looked like they were moving around and around in an hypnotic motion. She could see the muscles beneath his tan skin rippling and jumping as he shifted again and was finally able to pull her gaze from the moving swirls.
When she felt heat and tingles racing over and through her body, she tugged her hand from his and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She wanted to cross her arms over her chest to hide the fact that her nipples were hard and hoped that whatever these alien men were, that they didn’t have a strong sense of smell. If they did they would surely be able to smell how turned on she was right now.
Her pussy was so wet her undies were soaked. Her clit was throbbing and her cunt was spasmodically clenching sending more cream onto her already uncomfortable panties.
She glanced at the other man as he moved toward her holding the small thin wand like instrument in his hand and presumed he was the one named Damk that Palk had just yelled for.
“What are your symptoms, little female?”
“Shock,” River answered honestly and eyed him warily as he ran the wand over her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She was glad that he didn’t touch her and kept the wand a respectful few inches above her frame.
“I understand. You must be very overwhelmed.”
“You have no idea,” River said facetiously.
Damk didn’t respond, just hummed and then looked at the read out from his scanner thingy which had once more appeared in midair. When he looked up he met first Hakk’s and then the other men’s eyes before saying. “The female is well, just as she said, overwhelmed.”
“My name is River,” she said through clenched teeth. “Use it.”
“My apologies, Rive
r. I am Damk, chief medic of Safura. If you have any concerns at all please don’t hesitate to come and see me.” He bowed to her and the men and left without a backward glance.
River was about to ask some of the questions tumbling about in her mind, but didn’t get the chance when a knock sounded on the door. Stryk hurried over to answer and she took the reprieve of being the main attraction when the other three guys turned to face the door.
The room she was in was beautiful, light and airy with large comfortable furniture but it was the gauze like fabric framing a wide opening that caught her attention. She quietly rose to her feet and hurried out onto the big balcony.
The sight that met her eyes had her heart pounding once more, and although she was shocked, she was also astonished by the beauty of the scene. The grass was so green and vibrant it almost hurt her eyes to gaze upon it. She could see a big waterfall in the distance and the moisture in the air formed a slew of colors giving it a magical appearance. The air was warm, yet crisp and sweet, and there wasn’t an ounce of smog to be seen.
When she saw the flowers basking in the bright sunshine, she gasped. It wasn’t because they were strange, although they were that too, yet they were similar to blooms back on Earth only on a much bigger scale. She was tempted to walk down the stairs leading to the garden and pathways but wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea. Off to the far left she could see a lot of big men training in what looked like hand to hand combat.
She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of another woman and wondered if this place was backward and stuck in the dark ages. Did they keep their women locked up in their homes, expecting food to be placed on the table the moment they walked inside?
She had so many questions and although she was tempted to blurt each and every one of them out, she didn’t want to anger the large men and end up getting hurt. Yet as soon as that thought occurred, she pushed it aside. From their actions so far the guys had been very concerned and caring over her well-being and she believed that none of these men would ever intentionally hurt her.
If she hadn’t heard her name being called, she would have taken the first step down to the gardens and continued her exploration, but she reluctantly turned around and headed back into the large room.
She nearly sagged with relief when she saw another woman entering with four large men behind her. River hurried across the room and her breath left her lungs in a relieved gust when she realized the woman was indeed a human.
“Hi,” the woman said with a smile and held her hand out in greeting. “I’m Annie Tammock, originally from Earth.”
“Oh, thank God,” River said, ignoring Annie’s hand and instead pulling her into a hug.
“Are you okay?” Annie asked.
“Define okay,” River said in a slightly higher pitched voice than normal.
Annie drew back and her gaze immediately went to the bracelet on her upper arm.
“Oh, did you meet Branwen too?”
“Who?”
“I’ll take that as a no,” Annie said before clasping River’s hand and leading her back to the large sofa. “Let’s sit. This may take a while.”
“How did you get here?” River asked.
“The same way you did, I suspect.”
“What do you mean?” She glanced over at the men talking quietly among themselves on the other side of the room and sighed with relief. It didn’t matter that they were all hot eye candy. She felt a lot more comfortable talking to another woman and she was from Earth. Having Annie here with her made her feel less alone and more in control of her tumultuous emotions. She had no idea how she’d held it together this long, but inside she felt like she was falling apart.
River had become good at hiding what she was feeling from others. She learnt that skill at a young age since she’d gone from foster home to foster home. Some kids and adults could be so cruel and more so when there was a new kid on the block. She was just thankful she had survived but the moment she’d turned eighteen she’d left that cruel life behind.
“Did you find that bracelet?” Annie asked.
River shook her head and Annie looked shocked.
“Then how did you get it?”
“I’m not really sure. I was about to enter my apartment building and a woman with long black hair bumped into me. I think she may have somehow put the bracelet on my arm.”
“Did you see what she looked like?”
“No.” River sighed. “I only saw the back of her head, but she did apologize for nearly knocking me over.”
“Okay.” Annie nibbled on her lip as she sat thinking for a few moments. “Did you hear the chanting?”
“Yeah. At first I didn’t know what the voices were saying but as they became clearer one female voice rose over the others and I was able to make out the words of some sort of poem or something. I can’t remember all of it but I knew it was weird that I understood it, because they weren’t even speaking English.”
Annie nodded as if in agreement. “Have you ever heard of Branwen?”
“Other than from you a couple of minutes ago, no.”
“Okay, I’ll try and explain. Branwen, the daughter to Lir was, is the goddess of love and beauty. She died very young of a broken heart when her brother, her best friend died. Before she fell to her demise, she be-spelled a slave gold bracelet and flung it from the heavens to Earth.” Annie paused and raised an eyebrow at her.
River nodded that she was with her so far.
“This spell is to help men and women find their soul mates and from what I remember of the words, it didn’t matter if the people meant to be together were on the same world, in the same time or not.”
“So what you’re trying to say...” River paused as she looked down at the gold bracelet around her arm and touched it with the tip of a finger. The gold was warm under her fingertip and seemed to send sparks of heat through her body, just like when Stryk, Palk, Hakk, and Toak touched her. She drew in a ragged breath and met Annie’s eyes again as she licked her dry lips. “What you’re saying is that this piece of jewelry has the power to send whoever wears it to wherever the man of her dreams is?”
“Yes, but in our case it would be men of our dreams.”
“What?” she whispered and glanced over at all the men. When she saw them looking at her with hungry lust she quickly looked away.
“Do you really need me to repeat that?” Annie asked softly.
“No.”
“What happens if I don’t like them or they don’t like me? How do I get back home?”
“I don’t think a goddess would make that sort of mistake, River.”
“This is all so…”
“Unbelievable?” Annie asked.
River nodded. “Surreal.” She wanted to stand up and pace but with the men watching her she remained seated. Everywhere their eyes touched her body tingled and it was difficult not to look over at them again and again, but she won in the end.
“At least I won’t be alone since you’re here.”
A knot of anxiety formed in her gut when Annie shook her head.
“We don’t live on this planet. My guys and I live on Cardinal.”
“What’s this planet called?”
“Safura.”
“How far away is the planet you live on?”
“It took us about three hours to get here but we didn’t travel by conventional means.”
“What do you mean by conventional?” River asked and shifted nervously in her seat.
“We did the Star Trek thing,” Annie replied.
“As in ‘beam me up Scottie’. Are you serious?” River asked a little hysterically. She looked over and saw all the men frowning at her but ignored them as she turned back to Annie.
“As a heart attack.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“Yeah, but that’s not what I said,” Annie glared daggers over at the four men smiling at her. “I had no idea my men had been hiding shit from me. I always knew they had advanced technology but I never i
magined they were hiding stuff. They are so in the doghouse right now.”
River nodded.
“When they told me we were going to teleport over to Safura I took that term literally, ya know. Poof.” Annie waved her hands in the air. “Although it felt like we were here quickly because time seemed to sort of standstill, but it took three fricking hours for us to traverse this wormhole thing with a body that felt as insubstantial as air.”
“Then how did you get here so fast. I thought one of your guys called not long ago?”
“Oh. As soon as you appeared Sharm commed his brothers. He thought you might feel better about your…situation if you had help to deal with everything. As soon as he saw the gold bracelet he knew what was going on.”
“Well, I’m grateful. I don’t think I would have kept my sanity intact much longer. I felt like I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
“You hid it well, honey. The moment I saw your face I thought you were really calm and must have a strong constitution.”
River snorted. “I’m just really good at hiding how I feel. Growing up in foster care will do that to a girl.”
“It was bad?”
River nodded and then shook her head. “Not as bad as it could have been.”
“Yeah.” Annie sighed.
“So what the hell do I do now?” River asked.
Annie glanced across the room before meeting her gaze again, and then snickered. “Get to know those handsome hunks of alien men.”
“Shit.” River couldn’t stop herself from peeking at them again and when her gaze connected with Stryk’s and she couldn’t make herself look away, she knew she was doomed.
“Just remember Branwen wouldn’t have sent you here for nothing. Those four guys are eating you up with their eyes and you’re doing the same thing.”
“I don’t know anything about them,” River finally managed to whisper.
“So ask,” Annie replied.
Chapter Three
Although the alliance with the other planets was new and he liked Sharm, Baro, Mott, and Riek Tammock and their mate, Annie, Stryk was pleased to see them leave. He hadn’t had a chance to really speak with his mate and although he wanted to know everything about her, he just needed to be close to her. From the way his brothers were shifting from foot to foot they were just as restless and feeling as needy as he was.
