The Council member raised his chin.“We’ve made our decision on who we believe is best suited for these three Vepar and our decision is final. The winner is Ella Monroe from Earth.”
I rocked on my heels, convinced I hadn’t heard right. I won?
The females around me gasped and cried out in protest. But the Council members didn’t even congratulate me. They looked away and spun on their heels, then were ushered toward a small spacecraft sitting on the front lawn that took off almost instantly after they boarded.
“What just happened? This is a joke,” Zeni cried.
My three Vepar watched everyone until they finally moved forward. Derrial collected my hands in his and drew me closer. Corran and Thane stood at my back, my protectors.
“This isn’t fair!” Zeni wailed, and she glared at me, so much hatred projecting from her stare. She spun and rushed back into the mansion, while the other women stood there, lost and confused.
Derrial drew me with him into the house and the four of us marched to my bedroom. He shut the door behind us and stated, “Pack your belongings, we need to leave now. We’re going home.”
I turned to face my three men. “What just happened? I mean, it’s my first mating ritual, but that seemed rather sorrowful.”
Thane stepped alongside me. “You weren’t going to be selected by the Council, so we had to… what do you say on Earth? Pull some strings.”
“And we need to leave quickly,” Corran murmured.
Worry rattled me. “Am I safe?”
“Of course, pet,” Thane added. “It’s just not safe here anymore.”
I had so many questions, and I wanted to celebrate the win, knowing that I’d just gained myself three mates, which in itself was scary and exciting, but something felt wrong about today.
I glanced around to what had been my home for the past couple of weeks. “I don’t have anything to pack.”
“Good, you’ll have everything you need at your new home.” Derrial hauled me outside, and their speediness, their dread leeched into me. What were they so afraid of?
“What strings exactly did you have to pull?”
But no one answered as we rushed into the space vessel parked in the backyard. We climbed on, and without looking back, the door shut. We lifted into the air.
Suddenly, I felt like I’d somehow landed in the wolf’s den. Thane sidled up next to me on the seats and drew me into his arms. His lips were on my cheek, my neck, my ear. “Don’t worry, pet. We’ll never let anything happen. But most importantly, you are officially ours by Veon law.”
Then why did my instinct scream that something worse was waiting for me around the next corner?