AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because it’s the woman who dies, but only if she produces a bastard. It’s not illegal for a male to sleep with any woman he chooses, but a woman who sleeps with anyone other than her legal mate will be executed. So the only way for a woman like Matise to have a baby would be to be given one, but there are no unwanted babies because nobody dares have them to anybody who isn’t their husband.”
Altas, Emrys and Kronos all look at one another with inscrutable expressions. The inequality of numahn law is not unheard of. Almost all species and cultures have shitty customs associated with being female.
“Anyway, she was nice to me. She took me and she raised me as her own. I didn’t really see Sheriff much when I was growing up. He usually came over when I was already asleep. As I got older, he stopped coming around because Matise got older and he moved on to a younger mistress. But then, about six months ago…”
Iam standing outside on a cool numahn night. I can only go out at night when people can’t see me. I’m not supposed to be on this planet. When I was younger, I looked like a numahn child, but the older I got, the more apparent it was that I wasn’t numahn. First rumors started swirling, and then Matise told me I had to stay indoors now. She told everybody else I’d gone away. So, for the past year, or maybe more, I have only seen moonlight. If I want sun, I have to open a window and lie on the floor like a cat in the sunbeam. It is a depressing way to live, but as I have been told many times before, I am lucky to be alive at all.
“Well, well, well…”
I jump, gasp, and try to run, but the numahn enforcement officer who has me by the scruff of my neck is holding me firm.
“Don’t you remember me?”
He swings me around to look at him. At first, I am so afraid I don’t remember him at all. Then some very old memory comes rising up through me, a deep old knowing that comes from when I was so small I couldn’t do anything but form picture impressions of things. This is a very, very bad man. This is the one who found me in the human wreckage. This is…
“I’m Sheriff,” he says. “And you’re little Emily, aren’t you?”
I nod, wordlessly.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he promises me. “I’m even going to let you go. But when I do, don’t you dare run, and don’t you go making a lot of noise either now. Last thing we want to do is attract attention to the fact there’s an illegal alien in our midst.”
He releases me, and I freeze, just as he intended me to. I know I am in a lot of danger. Sheriff could kill me right where I stand, and not only would he not get in trouble for it, others would praise him for eradicating me. I am a human, and to these creatures, I may as well be a cockroach.
“You’re a very pretty girl for a human,” he says. “You know you won’t find a mate among the men here. You’re going to be burdened with virginity for a very long time. That’s going to be frustrating, isn’t it?”
I smile shyly, surprised by the compliment. “Maybe.”
In the moonlight, Sheriff has a certain rough charm. He’s handsome, I guess. The fear that spikes through me at the sight of him is not very far from excitement in some ways. He makes adrenaline flow through me. He makes my breath come faster, my pulse race. There is something in the way he is looking at me now, in the light nightgown I am wearing, that makes me feel like something important is about to happen.
I remember how excited Matise used to be when he would come around. In the wake of his visits, our food would be better, and sometimes we’d get new clothes. Once or twice, he even brought me toys that his children had grown out of or become tired of. He never wanted to see me. He demanded I stay out of his sight, but there were those small acknowledgements of my existence.
Now he seems to enjoy looking at me. I am fully grown, an adult in my own right. I am not as tall as Matise or any of the other numahn women, and I don’t have colorful hair or eyes. I am small and dark-haired and dark-eyed. I am simple and I am plain, but he is looking at me as if he wants to devour me.
“On your knees,” he says.
I crouch down, not having any idea what he wants from me. Matise has kept me sheltered from everything, and numahns do not talk about their mating rituals. Sex is a shameful thing on this world.
“Do you know the only reason you are not dead is because I protect you?”
I know that I am isolated, lonely, and hated by the entire population. I also know that this numahn knowing I exist is a threat to my continued existence. I do owe my life to him. I owe it several times over. I used to wonder if he was going to come and kill me, but I think Matise’s attachment to me, and whatever lingering fondness he has for her means that he’s allowing me to live.
I know I am supposed to be grateful to him. Matise always tells me that I am very lucky, so I know that I am. My gratitude has been waning of late, though. My existence has become one long experience of looking out the window and occasionally sneaking out late at night just to feel what it is like to be out of the house. My life was saved when I was small, but it feels as though it is over now. Whatever he wants from me, I have to hope that it means more freedom.
“You are under my protection,” he reminds me.
“I know. Thank you.”
I have been well trained to be polite. It helps to stay underneath the radar.
He looks down at me, his eyes hooded with dark intention. He’s handsome in this moment, in the way that any man is handsome when you are isolated and afraid of the world.
“Open your mouth.”
He growls the words in a lusty tone.
I do as I am told, still confused. I watch as he lowers the fastener on his pants and an appendage I have never seen before emerges. It is a thick rod of male flesh with a flared head at the end, and it is pointed at me with great intention.
“Keep it open. Don’t bite down.”
