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"Impossible male." I rush to the cabinet and choose a fresh pair of pants and boots before following after him.
"Afraid I'll scare the Ziarians with my huge cock like I did the fish on Pryt?" Qhix raises a quizzical yet cocky brow at the clothes I drop at his feet.
"No." I purse my lips to keep from grinning. "But I don't need to introduce all of you to my lady friends."
"What does it matter?" Qhix shrugs and I get the feeling he's testing me. "Our mating is a ruse, remember? At least until you decide whether or not to claim me as yours."
It's on the tip of my tongue to call him mine, but that word equals a lifelong commitment to Qhix and his sivot. "I know, but I still don't want them to see." I hand him his pants. Not knowing how either of them will get along with the Ziarian males scares me.
"Very well." Qhix smirks, pulling the pants on then pointing to the viewscreen. "Take your seat and strap in.”
I turn and sit only to draw up short. There it is. Crao. Growing larger and larger until it fills the viewscreen. Reminiscent of the first time I saw it, the bluish-green marble is set against the velvety blackness of space, a striking contrast of beauty and isolation. Only this time, my chest clenches with fear instead of wonder as Qhix begins landing procedures, a reminder that he might not be accepted even if I vouch for him.
Then what? Do I say a final farewell to the makeshift family I’ve made since my abduction or to the male seated at my side who took me captive?
My heart races with excitement and uncertainty as we descend toward the familiar surface of Crao, the planet my friends and I had chosen to call home.
We're met with a rising sun streaking golds and pinks across a blue sky, crystal-clear lakes that glow a soft green, and forests of a vibrant purple. I catch a glimpse of the thatched rooftops of our simple homes scattered along the river; tendrils of dying fires from the night curl from the stone chimneys.
Drax warned we were on the tail end of warm weather and entering a colder season before I was snatched up by Qhix and flown away.
This was our little piece of paradise, a world where we could all start anew, away from lab-created monsters that wanted to kill us and meat markets where little troll creatures wanted to sell us to the highest bidder. This was our new Earth. A place of safety, where we could live in peace.
As we near the ground, I see the spot of our picnic from days ago. The last place where I was with the girls, stretched out on a blanket, pining for a love of my own while the Ziarians cooked meat over a fire nearby.
The Ziarian males emerge from their respective homes first. Blue-scaled bodies and tails flick uneasily as their horns shift forward in warning, readying for battle.
Drax, Mordox, Bruke, Rooke, and Slye are followed by the girls with whom I shared a harrowing escape from a red planet called Tirius and a nasty market that sold flesh, where we were sold to a piss-yellow alien who meant to make a harem out of us. If it weren't for Stacy knowing how to fly her former owner's vessel, I shudder to think what would have become of us.
We're so close to the ground now, I can see the fearful yet hopeful expressions on the girls’ upturned faces. Mordox corals the girls as we land, ushering them away from Qhix's craft. Stacy, Romy, Darcy, and Zoe, the youngest yet most fearsome of all of us, stand behind the Ziarian males, each armed with a weapon.
Even Tris is here, perched on Zoe's shoulder. The tiny, yellow-spotted plurshy, a squirrel-like creature native to Zune who Mordox befriended, anxiously waits to see who has arrived.
"Here we go," I unstrap from my seat and walk to the hatch. "The moment of truth."
"My sivot will keep his promise, as will I, Tasha," Qhix says, pulling me into his warm embrace for a tight hug.
I peer up into Qhix's glossy blue face as he stands at the hatch with me. That remains to be seen, I think but keep my doubts to myself. Though I want to trust Qhix completely, I've seen him morph into his sivot. The beast has a mind of his own with a hair trigger when he thinks I'm in danger or being threatened. I don't want to be responsible if someone is killed because I'm selfish in wanting a male with a beastly side.
"Ready?" Qhix's hand hovers over the controls to extend the ramp, his biometric signature the key to operating his spacecraft.
"Ready."
Each step down the cool, metallic ramp feels like a gallows march as I leave Qhix behind on the command deck. I pause when I near the end and look back where my male stands just inside the hatch. I swallow hard as I leave a piece of myself with him and pray he can control his alter ego so I don't have to choose between him and my life here.
"Easy with those blasters, boys," I call out, palms raised, as I'm met at the business end of weapons wielded by Slye, Rooke, Bruke, Mordox, and Drax. Each male a wall of muscle and suspicion, exhaling their relief at seeing me again.
"Where's the Kaul?" Rooke calls out, the vivid red streaking his glossy black locks gleams in the early morning light as his ruby gaze scans me for signs of distress. "Did he hurt you?"
With my hands still raised high, I walk closer, locking eyes with each one of the males. The girls want to rush forward to greet me, their eyes filled with joy and excitement to see me again, but Mordox holds them back, keeping both his emerald gaze and his weapon trained on Qhix's craft.
"Qhix and I are a mated pair." The words rolling off my tongue feel right, the declaration meant as a ruse ringing true. My heart expands with warmth and something equally as profound. When had I fallen for the Star Maverick? He did say he would tame me. Apparently, I was mistaken to think I could keep my heart locked away. "I awakened his sivot, so it'd be a good idea to stop pointing those guns at me."
"What?" Drax blinks, the gears in his head visibly grinding to make sense of the revelation.
"Kaul's haven't presented in sivot form in forever." Bruke shakes his purple-streaked head.
"They have now," I say and cast a guilty gaze at the male I first lusted after. "Sorry, Slye."
