by Belle Harper
This was also why the M’Mori rotated the prisoners that mined the aket. It would be unethical to let them die, I had heard a supervisor telling another. The truth was, every death they had to let the Universal Federation know of. They were criminals, but they were not sent to Aarzyn to their death, it was part of their agreement to the federation that they were not injured or harmed.
The Federation’s prison planet was overpopulated, and it made sense for them to lease out the prisoners cheaply to planets they were needed. Freed up space there, and made them money in return. It was a win-win for both parties.
The slaves that were mining there, though the M’Mori didn’t care, they were shipped in and no one said a word. More often than not, they were then shipped off to a terraformed planet called Theros Six. It was known for slave trading and its gladiator rings. It was not located within the Federation’s reach. That was also where they were getting the slaves. The Federation had no say over what went down outside their reach, only what went on inside.
And slaves, good fighting ones, were worth money. So, after they worked the mines here… growing stronger, they sold them off before the aket could affect them. This had been going on for a long time. Long before I was even born.
“I’m locating her for you now, brother. From what I can see, the females have started to all locate close to mine eighty-three. Now that I’m in the system, I have set your commands to report for duty at mine eighty-seven. They were the closest to where she will be and they are leaving this day, brother. They will be swapping shifts with the other soldiers and some prisoners. This is your best chance at finding her sooner. Hopefully, before she has taken on all her Aashi mates.”
I knew that was a possibility, that she had been given five males to mate with. This was something not told to the females of Earth. We were told never to tell them, and after so many conversations with her, telling her of all the bad things our people have done, I didn’t want to frighten her more with the Aashi people’s ways of life. They were good to their females, so I hoped she was safe and being taken care of. But I also hoped she wasn’t mated to them.
“You need to be prepared to share her. I know that is not the M’Mori way. But what is right and wrong now? Look what our own government can do to other peoples, other worlds.”
He was right, and if my Jessica had taken on other males to survive, I wouldn’t be upset with her choice. She needed to do what she needed to survive. I just hoped that she would still accept me. After all this time.
“Thank you, R’Nam. I will take everything I need with me. But if you do not hear from me, don’t come for me. I know this is crazy but I must find my mate, and if she chooses to stay, I shall stay with her, and any mates she may have I will accept. Please tell Mother and Father of my decision once I have left. And tell P’Tam, our baby sister, to stay safe.”
I felt sad that I would no longer see my family, but I could feel my hearts. They beat for my mate and without her I would surely die from broken hearts.
“Goodbye, my brother, and may the gods bless you with many children.”
I quickly packed everything I had brought with me, including the datapad. I hoped I would still be able to communicate with my brother, but I would do so sparingly. Not wanting to be found by any M’Mori while I was on Aarzyn. I made my way out of my quarters and down to the port hub. Our ships were all connected to one large main hub. It sent soldiers off to where they were needed and picked up humans from Earth. It was where we could rest while off duty.
It took me almost one hour to find where I needed to be to get to Aarzyn. I scanned my way into the restricted area. I had seen this place before, wondered what it was for. And now I knew it was for the mines. As I entered, a soldier looked up at me, and I could see the question in his eyes.
“Who are you?” he asked informally. Standing up from where he sat, he put his datapad down and looked me over.
“I’m K’Tem, I have been selected for mine eighty-seven.” My fingers twitched with nerves as he reached over to check his datapad. I watched as he saw my name, confusion in the sound he made. He looked up at me and nodded.
“I didn’t see any new soldiers added to the roster earlier. You’re late, they are all ready to take off. Get in there now, before they leave you behind.” I nodded and ran down to the porthole. I pressed my hand to the datapad at the entrance, the doors opened and all eyes were on me.
I could see them looking around at each other, noticing that I was an added extra. I wasn’t supposed to be here and they knew it.
“Are you training to be a mine guard? I didn’t have you on my list today.” An older M’Mori looked down at his datapad. I nodded.
“Yes, sir. I am to be trained.” I watched as he slowly nodded. He tapped his finger a few times on the datapad. Unsure what he was doing, I felt my chest start to flare up. I hoped my uniform would hide the glow; fated males were not soldiers. And if they found out now, I wouldn’t ever see my fated. My Jessica.
“Grab a seat, boy. We take off in five. I want to have a meal before I start back on shift.”
I took a spare seat to the back. My luggage placed in a hold beside me. As soon as I felt us disconnect from the Mori Mori fleet, I felt I could finally breathe.
I am coming, my Jessica.
Chapter Four
Jessica
Okay, officially, Bezen was the biggest dick. He was demanding the females of this clan come out and tell me to mate bond him. Like, what the fuck? No way would they do that. That wasn’t why I was here; I was here to get away from all of that shit.
There was a lot of yelling, and there was an Aashi without tails and long black hair who kept telling the guys to free me at once. That they were being disrespectful of a female and undeserving as males to be my mates. I liked him, an Aashi like him would have been nice from the start. Maybe he would understand my need to find the girls. And then in turn find K’Tem. That was if he would come here. He probably already forgot about me.
Finally, Bezen had said I could go and speak with the girls, but that I had to be returned. As if they owned me. I rolled my eyes at him. I knew the girls wouldn’t allow that. The Chosen assholes moved to the side and let me free. As soon as I saw Quinn, I made my way on shaky legs. I was so tired, mentally and physically. I hadn’t stopped walking for so many days; I was dehydrated, and to top it off, I was just so relieved to see them.
“Jessica,” Quinn called out, but there was now two of her. My eyes playing tricks on me. I dropped down and sobbed in relief. I sensed Luna now, she was talking to me as she stroked my hair. I could hear the other girls being greeted by Brooklyn—I liked her. She had her head in the clouds most of the trip to Aarzyn, but she was sweet… maybe a little annoying.
“We are all here,” I heard, and I cried more. I cried for the life I lost, the friendships I wasn’t able to form with them because I couldn’t tell them what Agent Booker was going to do, what the M’Mori were up to… In doing so I missed this. Friendships.
I just hoped they would all forgive me in time.
We were sitting around a table. Quinn was talking about making this area bigger, and all the improvements they would make in the clan. Once I had some water in me, the headache started to feel less like a stabbing pain and now was a dull throb.
The table was located in the middle of huts and a big watering hole. It was really lovely here. I almost crawled down into the water to drink it all, but that was before Luna mentioned it was only for bathing. I was handed cup after cup of water, and so much food. I felt sick after not eating for a few days. It was hard to get food on your own when it grew up the big trees. I lived off the mushrooms I could see at the base of trees. The Chosen were no help with food or water for me. They refused to help until I mate bonded them.
“Just take it slow; small bites until you're used to it. If you drink too fast you might make yourself sick,” Elle reminded me. I nodded, but it was hard. I felt empty, but one bite and I felt full and sick. It was g
oing to be a while before I was feeling myself.
I didn’t know how to bring up what had happened, all the bad shit I wanted to tell them. All I could think about was how terrible everything had been, and K’Tem. I was worried about him. If he was going to come here, he would probably meet me where we were dropped off. That big open space. I needed to go there to find him.
“I need us to go to the Goddess Arena. We need to go back there and wait for the M’Mori.” There was silence at the table now. They all stared at me like I grew two heads, and from the way my head was feeling, it wouldn't surprise me that I had.
“No way, I'm not going back there. If anything, I'm going to avoid anywhere the M’Mori are. They might take me away from my mates.” Luna cradled her stomach with her hands. Oh my god.
“You're pregnant?” We hadn't even been here that long. Two months and she was already knocked up. The rest of the table all looked at each other with smiles and placed their hands on their bellies. Was I the only one not expecting?
“Aren't you pregnant too?” Brooklyn asked when she saw I wasn’t cradling my belly. I shook my head and looked up at her.
“No, usually you have to have sex to get pregnant and I haven't done any of that. Hell, I haven’t had sex in about a year.”
They all looked at me again, their eyebrows raised. “Dang girl, you didn't even experiment at all with one of them?” Hadley asked as she leaned closer to me. I shook my head no. Why would I bother experimenting with them? They’re not the one I wanted. I wanted K’Tem.
“Don't worry, Jessica. We have only nice males here, most of them are single. But we can tell you which ones they are. I don’t think any would turn you down for a date. So, you have your pick,” Quinn suggested, her arms opening wide to all the Aashi males around. They were staring at us, and now we were staring at them, they all pretended to be working.
“Yeah, Jessica, I went on dates to get my mates. I know a few single guys that would make good mates to you.”
My mouth dropped open. “How many mates do you all have?”
Brooklyn, with her huge grin, held up her hand, all four fingers and her thumb wiggling at me. She had five mates. Holy shit, she actually took five. I didn't think anyone else would actually pick all of their chosen males.
“Oh, I didn't realize you were going to take all of the Chosen. Did you get nice ones at least?” Was I the only one to get chosen males that were complete assholes?
“Oh no, I didn’t pick all my chosen. Just one. I totally didn't know about the whole touching thing either. And I really like hugs so… I kind of, accidentally, hugged a lot of them to get here.” My eyes widened at that. How did she not know about the touching thing? That was pretty clear the first time I touched one of mine. To push past him, that was.
“Brooklyn’s translator broke on the first day, so she couldn't actually talk to any of them,” Quinn answered for her.
“Oh hell, that would really suck,” Elle exclaimed as she held Brooklyn's hand tightly in hers. Brooklyn just nodded. But when she caught me looking at her, she smiled.
“Tomlee would make a great mate.” I stared at Brooklyn. I just got here and she was already trying to set me up. But she must have read my face. She quickly added, “Like, when you're ready, they know how to all date. So, if you wanted to go on dates and meet nice potential mates—” She didn't finish as Luna quickly stopped her.
“Let's not talk about that right now. I bet you're all really tired and you want to sleep. We will get some beds made up for you all. Elle and Hadley, I know this might sound strange, but do you guys think you could shack up together just for tonight? We don't have a lot of room, we are working on that and building more huts.”
They both smiled. “Yeah, that’s not an issue. We've been together for about three weeks now. We kinda got lost on our way here, but our mates, well, they're used to us all sleeping together a huddled group. So, I don't think one more night will upset them.” Hadley looked over to the guys she had brought with her and Elle. They both told us they chose males that were rejected once they left their clans and chosen males. Their mates were watching them both from a distance.
I didn't know if I would like that. I noticed that all of the girls had someone watching. I didn’t know if I could handle someone staring at me, watching my every move.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I would sleep now, and tomorrow I would ask them to go back to the Goddess Arena with me. Where I knew my mate would be waiting for me. He had to be.
Chapter Five
Jessica
It had been two days, two long, tiring days, begging them all and sobbing at their rejections. They didn't want to go to the Goddess Arena. They were all happily pregnant; their mates not as creepy as I thought. They watched them and predicted things they needed, like food or water. They were loving and caring. I watched as Luna’s mate Axoh braided her hair after bathing.
“Just so you know, there is no fucking allowed in the bathing pool,” Luna told us all and then pointed at Quinn. All the girls laughed but me. I agreed with Luna; I did not want to be washing myself in their sex juices. Gross, Aashi cum.
“Wait up… Quinn, who did you fuck in here to make this a rule?” Elle teased Quinn, splashing water at her. But Quinn just gave a funny smile and gave a pointed look to Luna who had turned red in the face and held her hands up.
“It was me, okay. And, well, I wasn’t thinking. It was an “in the moment” thing. But it was one time that won’t happen again. Plus, Daku doesn’t come to the bathing pool anymore. Only Axoh.” Luna laughed and shook her head.
That was something I did have to get used to. The girls all bathed together, naked… in front of each others’ mates. The Aashi all sat around and watched their females. They didn’t look at the other females, though. Both of Elle and Hadley’s guys came to watch them. So that was four eyes from one side and three on the other. I didn’t think I would ever get used to it, but I guess I had to try if I wanted to bathe in the morning when the fog was around to hide me from all the other watching males. And there were a lot of them.
I was slowly starting to remember some of the mates’ names, the ones who followed the girls the most. These guys were mostly healers called takxe. There was one with me when the Chosen met me at the ship. But I left him behind at Clan Ariaan. He didn’t follow me.
Luna had Axoh. He was really cute the way they moved around each other, like they were in sync. Quinn had Tyee, he was also small but he was different. Not as relaxed but you could see how much he cared for her.
Brooklyn’s guy had to be the sweetest thing ever. Makee was mute and spoke through sign language that Brooklyn had taught him. She had shown us new girls how to say hello and different signs. He could understand us, but he couldn’t speak. Elle had really started to talk to him a lot. And just watching Brooklyn’s face light up every time she saw one of us going out of our way to talk to him made me cry. Hell, I was emotional and moody. Maybe I was getting my period. That had been fun already. I got it the first week I was here. It was kind of the way I had worked out days here.
“I need to talk to all of you,” I told them. The talking stopped, and they all watched me now. “It’s important and I think now… I’m ready.” I had to be.
“Let’s get dried up and meet at the table for some food. Is that okay, Jessica?” Quinn asked and I nodded. That gave me time to work out how to start this.
This was hard, I knew they didn’t really like me. Hell, they didn’t even know the real me. I did this, I caused this rift between us all and I couldn’t live another day with it here. I cleared my throat.
“I know I have been rude and unkind to you all at times, especially on our way here. That’s not who I am, and it's not who I want to be. I'm sorry I've been so emotional, but the truth is, I did it for everyone's safety. At first, it was to save myself and you all, and then to save K’Tem.”
They were all quiet, nodding, waiting for me to continue. I didn't think this would
be hard, but I really had treated them badly and I wanted to make sure they knew how ashamed I felt.
“When we were at the government facility on Earth, I wanted out. I didn't want to be here. I asked Agent Booker to let me leave.” I watched as their mouths dropped open. “He took me to a room where I assumed was the next step to being off the crazy ride, but what I didn't expect to see was eleven other women. The women that had left before me.” I choked back a sob. I didn't want to know what had happened to them after I left. Did they leave?
“What do you mean they were there, even Grace?” Luna asked. Grace was the woman who was last to leave, before I tried. Then they brought in Quinn to take her spot. I nodded and the other girls gasped.
“Do you think… No! I don’t even want to think about it, they’re okay. They're fine, right?” Hadley asked. I could see the tears in her eyes as she looked around to all of us. I didn't know the answer to that. I wanted to believe they were all alive, but if I had to be realistic, I didn’t think they were happy and back living their own lives.
“How come you didn't tell us until now?” Quinn seemed shocked, just like everyone else, but I could hear the anger in her tone directed at me.
“Agent Booker threatened me if I told you. I saw the women in there and they were begging me to go back with you all, to get on that ship and get married. I was scared, he showed me his gun, it didn't matter if we signed an NDA. We weren't getting out of this, it was either marry an alien or…” I started sobbing and I felt someone's hand stroking my back.
“It's okay, Jessica, you did what you were told to do. I don't know what I would have done in your position. And you have carried that for all this time, and here we are thinking everyone left and went home. But you knew all along that wasn't the case.”
