7
Istared outside through the window of the library room, at the shadows spreading over the forest as the sun started to descend behind the mountains. Had Derrial been kidding about the alien wolf animals on loose in these woods? I didn’t know them well enough to understand when they were joking. But either way, the moment I got a chance to escape, I’d run out of here, ferocious alien animals or not. A little voice in my head reminded me of how easily they’d found me at the motel, but I shook the thought away. I wasn’t going to give up now or ever.
My stomach growled, and I made my way downstairs, tying up my long hair into a ponytail, thinking that on the bright side, I didn’t need to visit the gym today. I wasn’t quite sure what day it was, but I knew that I had work coming up. I thought again how not showing up made my heart ache since everyone there had been so kind to me. I hoped they wouldn’t hate me for not being there.
I sighed as I dragged myself down the stairs, remembering Thane’s words about me having to give my notice to my job soon. I clenched my hands. Ever since they’d entered our world, they pushed and pushed to control every aspect of our lives but kidnapping me and taking me to their remote home was a whole different level of control. Or was this the beginning of what their kind intended to do to all humans?
I opened the fridge and stared at the food, not in the mood for more fruit and veggies. I opened the freezer and was happy to find several containers of what looked like premade meals, one of them ending up being lasagna. Perfect. I threw it into the microwave and waited. The lights in the kitchen automatically switched on, and I squared my shoulders, listening closely, expecting the Vepar to return. The house remained quiet. I decided the lights must be automated based on the time of the day, so I swung back around to the microwave which had just beeped, signaling my dinner was ready. The aroma had my stomach growling. A little part of me wondered if Derrial had made the food.
By the time I devoured the entire container of food, I reclined back in my seat and sighed. Maybe I had it all wrong and the Vepar intended to kill me with boredom. No television or music, and my bag wasn’t anywhere in the bedroom upstairs. Did that mean they left it back in the motel, along with my house keys and cell phone? I hoped not.
An hour later, the front door unlocked, and voices reached me. I climbed to my feet and moved to stand with my back to the floor to ceiling window, waiting, my stomach twisting with the unexpected.
Thane strode into the kitchen first, his piercing blue eyes finding me in an instant. He smiled. “Missed us, pet?”
I didn’t respond, but watched as he sauntered closer, followed by Derrial and Corran who both surprised me by offering me warm smiles. They seemed to behave as if this were normal behavior to have a prisoner in their home.
“Where’s my handbag?” I blurted out.
“In a safe place,” Corran answered, running a hand through his deep brown hair. It brought attention to his strong facial features and the thought crossed my mind how easily he could grace the cover of any magazine and have women all over the world fawn over him. Crazy how I hadn’t thought he was as attractive as the others when I first saw him.
I shook my head in disgust at myself. I shouldn’t have had to keep reminding myself that these men weren’t human, that they might be wearing a disguise. Despite knowing that, I couldn’t stop from staring at them in awe, noticing the small things like how Corran had a dimple in his chin when he smiled, how his breathing picked up when he looked at me.
“When do I get to go home?” I glanced from one man to the next, but none of them said a word. They all just stared at me without expression, giving nothing away.
“That’s not how this works,” Derrial finally broke the silence. “First, you need to understand you are now ours, that you’ll never be free.” He glanced outside the window, and I followed his line of sight to the gray storm clouds rolling overhead. Something ominous was coming in… I was beginning to believe my grandma more and more about her superstitions on storms.
I gripped my hips as Thane and Corran headed into the kitchen. One began making coffee, the other pawed at something in the fridge. What exactly did Vepar eat anyway? Humans?
“Fine then,” I said. “I’m yours. Now, can I go home?”
Derrial burst into a laughter so powerful and loud, it could have been the thunder booming overhead. I guessed he was mocking me with his chortle once again.
Just sharing the room with these three had me burning up with rage, and I wanted to throw a chair at them. “Why the hell can’t you just speak straight and tell me what’s going on? Keeping me here is called kidnapping and it’s illegal on Earth.”
“We have always told you the truth, but you choose not to listen,” Corran said, just as he had back in the botanical gardens with his stupid riddles.
I huffed and clenched my teeth, then stormed across the kitchen, my footfalls punching the wooden floorboards. How could I be near these three a second longer when all I wanted was to attack them? I glanced around, needing alone time. I opted for the small library as that place had a similar calming effect on me as the Botanical Gardens. Right now, I needed a bucketload of tranquility to extinguish the inferno in my veins.
I paced back and forth in front of the window, unable to appreciate the gorgeous view outside, unsure if I wanted to cry or scream. What in the world did the Vepar mean by ‘understand I was theirs’? Like in a cult? Or was it as simple as starting to show them I accepted their kind in my life, smiled more often, complimented them on their looks and their ideas for the world… I sighed at myself. Clearly, not their looks, but other things. Though I wasn’t a fool to believe when they said ours it meant simply having them as my friends. I somehow suspected this was far deeper, something to do with the way they lived on their home planet, wherever that was considering they hadn’t told anyone, and it was evidently much farther than where humans had been able to travel.
The floorboard creaked behind me, and I spun around to find Derrial walking through the doorway, closing the distance between us in a few steps. Determination seared his features, his golden hair perfectly framing his face, all tanned skin and high cheekbones.
My heart catapulted to my throat, but I stood there, lifting my chin in defiance even if I trembled all over. I refused to show him any fear.
He was on me in seconds, his body pressed against mine, staring down at me, and his hands clasped my arms hard. I backed away, but he followed until my back hit the wall.
“Let me go,” I pleaded, my voice cracking.
He paused for a moment, studying me, and a blaze burned behind his green eyes. But with the bulge nestled against my stomach, I understood exactly his intention. He held me as he’d done downstairs, except now something else crossed his face as if he barely contained himself from attacking me, and that terrified me.
Was that what they meant by being theirs… offering myself to them without hesitation? With our bodies glued together, and the sheer size and strength of him, I stood no chance to push him away. He’d leave when he wanted to, when he was ready.
“Back on our planet,” he began, “when we select a female, it’s for life.”
I swallowed hard, processing his words. They chose me to be theirs for life? Fuck! So many questions circled my mind, but none of those fell from my lips. “Why me?”
He gripped my chin and lifted my head higher to face him. “You remind me of me, desperate for freedom, never giving up the fight, even when you know there’s no way out.”