I was officially going crazy. That was the only explanation for the reason why I wanted to throw all of the beautiful Vepar women vying for the guys’ attention off a cliff. I had chosen to stay, to try and fight for the Vepar that I had come to care for. But the current trial was making me second guess my decision.
After the first trial we had all been put into a huge structure that I assumed was considered a mansion on Veon. I thought at first it would be better than the cell I had called home, but it was infinitely worse.
It was like I was in high school again, except all the girls I went to school with were a million times prettier and a million times bitchier than the ones I was used to.
I had been put in my own room, while the four remaining participants shared rooms. I quickly realized that this was for my own protection when I hadn’t been able to figure out how to make sure no one else could get in the room and I had made the mistake of exploring the house. When I had made it back to my room, all of my meager belongings were in shreds like someone had dragged sharp knives through everything. That night I had been accosted in the hall by a gorgeous blonde Vepar whose nails I found out could transform into claws. She had been about to impale me when a Vepar guard happened to pass by and stop her.
One of the few girls who didn’t seem like her goal in life was to kill me, the girl I had first sat next to during Trial 1, happened to see me shaking in the hallways afterwards and showed me how to successfully lock my room. She claimed that she was only involved in the trials because of the pressure her family had put on her to apply due to the prestige having Derrial, Thane, and Corran for mates would bring.
She seemed nice enough, but I had learned not to trust anyone on Vepar with the exception of the guys. After that incident, and the whole Zeni trying to get me to leave the planet one, I had decided to spend all of my time in my room when I wasn’t training or being forced to participate in group meals with the other females.
I hadn’t anticipated how much it would affect me though. Each of the girls was getting alone time with the guys for this trial. I had never been a jealous person, but just imagining what was happening on the dates had me going crazy.
I had been tempted to leave the safety of my room to find out how the dates had been going, but I hadn’t had the nerve. It was enough seeing them getting ready for them. Plus, I was sure that the girls would exaggerate anything that did happen.
Still a part of me worried. What if one of these girls caught their eye and they decided that I wasn’t worth the hassle?
I hated how these trials and my time with the guys had reduced me into such an insecure woman. I wished I was in a place where I felt more confident about my place with them.
They had been saying all the right things, and my heart wanted to believe them. My head just couldn’t get on board.
Tonight was my turn to spend time with the guys. While some of the girls had been on activities with them, I was going on a dinner date with them. I didn’t have a dress or any makeup or hair tools to get ready in my room however, so I needed to venture out into one of the common rooms to use one of the cylinders.
I headed out of my room when I couldn’t delay any longer, sealing the door shut behind me. I tiptoed down the hallway, a useless endeavor since I knew the Vepar had extremely good hearing. I had just about made it to the common room with the cylinder when I overheard some of the contestants having a conversation in the room next door.
“It’s only a matter of time before we’re back together,” Zeni was saying to someone else. “It was like no time had passed when I saw them. There was always something between us, something that defied logic. We’ve loved each other since we were young, that wasn’t going to change because of a little time on Earth.”
“But what about their relationship with the human?” another girl asked. I recognized her voice as Aery, another of the contestants.
Zeni scoffed. “They needed something to do while they were on Earth. Granted, I didn’t expect them to bring the little brat with them back home but Thane told me all about how she threatened to kill herself if they didn’t bring her with them. You know how Corran is, such a bleeding heart. He reluctantly convinced the others to bring her along. That’s why we’re doing this stupid thing in the first place, to get rid of her.”
“So, you’re saying that the rest of us have no chance at all?” Aery asked, her voice growing angrier.
“I don’t recall you coming home two nights ago and telling me that you fucked them,” Zeni gloated in an amused voice.
“You didn’t...last night?” Aery said in an astonished voice.
“Of course we did. They couldn’t keep their hands off of me. I’m telling you, this will be all over soon and things will be back to how they were always supposed to be,” bragged Zeni, making my heart burn with her confident attitude.
“I may be wasting my time, but I intend to see this through to the end,” said Aery, her voice low and broken. I heard her getting up and walking towards the entrance so I hurried into the other common room where the wardrobe cylinder was waiting.
I leaned against the wall, rubbing at my chest. It hurt, kind of like I was having a heart attack.
She couldn’t be telling the truth. There was no way. She’d been trying so hard to get rid of me. It had to be because she was jealous. Just the thought of the guys wrapped around her gorgeous body made me want to scream. In that moment, I could understand how territorial they sometimes got. I felt like I was capable of murder.
I had to talk to them about Zeni tonight. I had to know what their relationship and their history was with her.
After taking another moment to recover, I dashed into the cylinder, desperate to get back to the safety of my room before the date. I pressed a button and couldn’t help but smile when my clothes changed right before my eyes. I was now wearing a gorgeous sapphire colored dress that reminded me of Derrial’s eyes. This one was short sleeved and more form fitting in the bodice area, something that my lungs hadn’t thought was possible based on how tight the corsets usually felt. The fabric also seemed to have sparkles built into it. This must be one of the outfits they used to dress up. It was beautiful, but I couldn’t help but wish I had a dress with a little less fabric to wear on a date tonight. I wanted to look so good they couldn’t help but want me.
My hair had been done in soft waves down my back and the machine had even managed to apply a light dusting of makeup across my face.
I decided this was my favorite Vepar technology. Nothing could beat it.
I rushed back to my room, wanting to make sure that I didn’t run across any of the other contestants and risk them messing up my look. Making it back without interference, I paced my room, anxious for the date to start and anxious for answers.
It was start time and an intercom in my room alerted me that I needed to head to the front to meet the guys as they weren’t supposed to enter the mansion...apparently whoever was watching the place had missed the guys sneaking in after the first trial.
I felt sick to my stomach as I headed to meet them. My mind had gone crazy after I had gotten back to my room, continuing to dissect everything that Zeni had said.
It had affected me enough that I had to pause before leaving the house to try and get myself under control.
“Something wrong?” came a voice from down the hall. It was Zeni of course.
“Nope, everything’s great,” I said, knowing that she could see right through me.
“Tell Thane I liked his new tattoo,” she said with a wink, disappearing from sight.
Now I really felt like I was about to fall apart. I definitely hadn’t seen a new tattoo the last time I had seen Thane undressed, meaning it had to be new this week. I really needed to take classes in how to psych out my enemies. Because Zeni was a professional at it.
My worries were dampened when I caught sight of the guys. They were standing in front of the mansion, one of Corran’s small planes behind them. They were back to their usual human forms and I made a mental note to ask them to go back to their natural forms. I didn’t want them to hide anything from me. If I was really going to make this relationship work I would need to love all of them. Horns and all.
It wasn’t like it was hard. The three of them were enough to set the mansion on fire. They were dressed in traditional Vepar clothing, but the clothing had some kind of silvery threading this time that made it seem dressier than their usual clothes. They looked perfect.
“Fuck pet, you look stunning,” said Thane. “I had always pictured you in Veon clothing and it looks better every time I see you in it.”
I blushed.
“Hi,” I said softly, feeling shy all of a sudden.
I realized we had never really gone on a date. Hawaii was the closest that I had come to a date with one of them, and I had only been brought along because they needed me to be watched at all times and Corran needed to do his experiments.
This felt different. And it was making me feel nervous.
“Ready to go?” asked Derrial as he slowly took me in. I nodded.
Corran came up beside me and put his arm around my waist, pulling me in close to him. He buried his face in my neck. “You smell delicious. I just might take a bite.”
They were being so playful. I wasn’t used to it. The thought hit me that maybe they had been like this with the others. It made me see red.
I shrugged Corran’s arm off of me.
“Tell me what the other dates were like,” I told them, looking at each of them in the eyes.
“What do you mean?” asked Thane, taking a step towards me. I held up my hand to stop him. I couldn’t seem to think when they touched me and I wanted a clear head for this.
“Some of the other girls…” I started to say before my voice broke. I cleared my throat and started again. “Some of the other girls mentioned that their dates had gone rather well,” I finally was able to get out.
Derrial looked at me with something that resembled pity. I hated it. “They went fine,” he said slowly as if I was a feral animal that he was trying to calm down.
I kind of felt like one.
“What does fine mean?” I spit out.
“It almost sounds like you’re jealous,” said Thane in an amused tone.
I was silent for a moment and all three of their eyes started to do that glowing thing. “You are jealous,” said Corran delightedly. “I didn’t think it was possible. Does that mean…?”
“That I care about you?” I asked exasperatedly. “Yes asshole, it does.”
Their grins were the widest that I had seen.
Suddenly I found myself being shuttled towards the plane. “Time to go, green eyed monster. That’s a human saying, right?” Thane laughed at his own joke since we knew the only green eyed monster in the area was him.
Derrial scooped me up and began carrying me before I could put up much of a fight.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” I screeched, trying to get loose.
“Kitten, don’t you know by now that there’s no one that compares to you? I don’t even see anyone else,” he said, before licking the side of my face.
I looked at him, my anger rapidly dwindling in the face of his sweet words. “Why exactly did you just lick me?” I asked. Derrial shot me a grin.
“I thought that was the thing on Earth, if you lick it, it’s yours,” he said innocently. I rolled my eyes, not so secretly loving his playfulness.
We stepped onto the plane where Corran and Thane were impatiently waiting for us. Corran immediately scooped me up and sat down, placing me in his lap. They were all acting like they couldn’t keep their hands off of me. I kind of loved it.
Derrial and Thane took the controls since it was obvious that Corran wasn’t going to let me go.
“So where are we going?” I asked as the ship took flight. They had made the walls around us completely opaque so that you could see everything as we flew. Once again, Veon took my breath away with its beauty.
“It’s a surprise,” said Corran, placing a gentle kiss on my neck that gave me goosebumps. He gently caressed my arm, continuing to place soft kisses from the nape of my neck down my shoulder as we watched the landscape pass by.
I gave a little gasp when the plane went over a mountain and a sparkling lavender sea was laid out before us.
“It’s gorgeous,” I gushed as we began to fly over it. The suns were just setting on the horizon and the water seemed like it was sparkling as it reflected its fading light.
“Not as beautiful as you,” whispered Corran. I rolled my eyes at the corniness of the line even as I blushed. What could I say...I liked a good corny line.
Evidently this was just a lake as we reached the opposite shore rather quickly. There were more mountains on the other side and as we scaled them, I couldn’t help but gasp.
There was a city, right out of a fairytale, laid out in front of us. There were white dome like structures all over the valley, going up the mountains. They had brightly colored flowers all over them. Explosions of color were everywhere you looked. Planes similar to the one we were in were flying all around. Lanterns were hovering in the air. I couldn’t see anything keeping them afloat so it resembled the floating lantern festivals that I had been to a few times before. The effect was stunning.
“What is this place?” I gushed, my eyes going everywhere as more amazing things caught my attention.
“This is the capital of Veon. It’s called Valin,” said Derrial in an almost reverent voice. This city is a millennia old. It’s where all of our history is. It’s where Thane and I were born.”
“It’s the most beautiful city that I’ve ever seen,” I said, not knowing how to adequately describe the splendor of what I was seeing.
“Yes, it is,” Thane said as we began to make our descent.
Derrial and Thane landed us expertly beside one of the white structures.
Instead of letting me walk off the plane, Corran carried me.
“Is this the way that it’s going to be all night?” I asked, enjoying being carried around much more than I should.
“Yep,” said Corran. “And it’s probably going to be me doing it. The other two have gotten your attention too much lately,” he said it matter of fact but I wondered if Corran was feeling a little left out. I had formed a bond with him after the other two, but it didn’t mean that what I felt for him wasn’t as strong as the others. There were so many things special about him, so many things that set him apart from the other two. If I ended up winning these trials I vowed that I would make sure he never felt left out again and always knew where he stood with me.
I placed a kiss on his lips and he looked down at me, a storm of emotions in his golden eyes. “You can carry me all you want,” I said softly and he rewarded me with one of those rare Corran grins that never failed to light up my world.
The four of us stopped outside the structure. Derrial waved his arm in front of the door and like with most of the other Vepar structures I had been to, an entrance opened up to allow us inside.
“We thought we would do a little meet the parents night before we got to the next portion of the evening,” Thane threw out casually over his shoulder as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on me. Corran set me down and I wobbled on my feet as anxiety threatened to overtake me.
“Meet the parents? Why didn’t you warn me? I would have brought a gift or something,” I started blubbering, even though I didn’t have access to a gift.
“You didn’t need to bring a gift,” said Derrial, suddenly pulling me towards him and gifting me with a mind-blowing kiss. He pulled away from me and looked at me with satisfaction. “Perfect. You’ve got color in your cheeks again. I was afraid you were going to faint on us you were so pale,” he said as he brushed a piece of his hair out of his face.
I tried to punch him but Thane caught my hands and put them behind me. With Thane behind me, Derrial in front of me, and Corran watching aptly beside me...I felt like I was going to combust.
“Get your paws off the poor girl,” came a sweet voice from the hallway. The guys reluctantly stepped away, but I knew my face was as red as a tomato. Of course their moms had to catch us in a compromising position. What a way to make a first impression.
Once they stepped far enough away, I was able to see a gorgeous blonde headed Vepar that I knew right away had to be Derrial’s mom. She had the same color of hair as him and the same sapphire eyes stared back at me that I had started to love so much.
“Hi darling,” she said, looking me over not in the disdainful way that I had grown used to, but in a curious, friendly way. She had two small ivory horns that barely peaked out of her hair. She was shorter than the other Vepar women that I had seen, closer to my height, but no less beautiful than any of them. There was an intrinsic goodness about her that I could sense already that made her even more beautiful in my eyes.
“I can see why my boys are taken with you,” she said, stepping towards us and pulling me in for a tight hug. “You’re absolutely stunning.”
“Your boys?” I asked, looking at the guys confused. I had been under the impression that they weren’t related.
She laughed, and I immediately fell in love with the sound of it. It sounded almost like a bell chiming.
“They’re not all my sons, but they might as well be,” she said lovingly. “They’ve been apart of my life for so long I can’t remember what life was like before them.”
“So you can give me all the dirt on them,” I joked even as Thane let out a half hearted growl next to me. She must have liked that joke because she laughed again, throwing her head back as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
I loved her already.
“I’m Koria,” she said, beginning to lead me deeper into the home. “And I’m so happy that you’re here.”
I could hear other voices as we walked down a white wall, devoid of any decorations as the other Veon structures had been. The room we walked into however, was very different from what I had seen.
It felt like home.
There were five Vepar in the room, lounging in various cozy looking pieces of furniture. The flowers that had adorned the outside of the structure had also somehow blossomed on the inside of the indoor walls as well, making it feel like I had stepped into paradise.
“You’re home is beautiful,” I told Koria, who to my surprise blushed.
“I’ve been working for the past month to make it perfect for you,” she said, surprising me.
“A month?” I asked, perplexed.
“Oh yes, as soon as I knew my boys were coming home, I knew that it had to be for a special reason, that they had met someone. And I was right!” she said, practically jumping in excitement.
“Don’t hog the girl, Koria,” said a deep voice affectionately.
Koria led me to one of the male Vepar who I immediately guessed was Derrial’s father. While Derrial had Koria’s eyes and hair, the rest of his features were all this Vepar. “Welcome to our home lovely girl, my name is Canton,” he said, surprising me when he hugged me too.
“Okay Dad, that’s long enough,” joked Derrial. Canton gave me a wink as he let me go and I immediately liked him too.
The other three Vepar stepped forward, friendly welcoming looks on their faces as well. All of them looked the same age as my Vepar, once again reminding me how different their life cycles were from humans.
I met Corran’s parents next. They both had golden eyes and chestnut colored hair, resembling siblings they looked so much alike. Corran must have seen the questions in my face because he explained that he and his family were from a different province of Veon where most of the population carried the same signature golden eye color.
“None of them are as handsome as our son though,” bragged Tenly, Corran’s mother. I was amused when the tips of his ears turned pink at the praise. Corran’s father was named Kenroe, and while the two of them were much more reserved than Derrial’s parents, I liked them both immediately as well.
The last parent I met was Thane’s father, Lanton. He was alone, making me wonder why Thane’s mother wasn’t around. He was built like a truck, the biggest Vepar in the room and he reminded me of a bodybuilder. Contrary to his intimidating form however, his voice and personality were tranquil. More Buddah than The Rock. I felt more calm just hearing his voice.
“We’re so glad you’re here,” he said, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you,” I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. I had never really thought about meeting the guys’ parents. Our lives had been too chaotic to even think about doing something normal like that. But if I had thought about it, I would have feared it, convinced that they would hate me on sight the way the rest of the Vepar did that I had met.
I was so glad to seemingly be wrong about that.
We sat down, and just like he had warned me, Corran immediately scooted me onto his lap while the other two sat on either side of us holding my hands. It felt awkward to be showing so much affection in front of their parents that I had just met, but none of them even batted an eye. Derrial’s parents even looked proud about it.
Koria brought us a liquid that tasted a bit like green tea as we all chatted. Corran’s father wanted to know all about Earth, asking me question after question until Corran let out an exasperated sigh.
Corran’s father blushed the exact same way that Corran had earlier at his mother’s compliment, making the family resemblance even more obvious.
“Oops,” said Corran’s dad self deprecatingly. “I get carried away whenever your planet is involved. I’ve been obsessed with learning all about it since Corran left to stay there. It made me feel close to him I guess.”
My heart melted. I would never have guessed that my three guys came from such loving families. I was pleasantly surprised and it made me like them even more. It also made me realize that I had so much I still needed to learn about them and that they needed to learn about me.
Hopefully we would have the chance.
“We’re all so happy to have them back home,” said Koria softly, looking like she was about to cry. “Thank you for getting our boys back to us.”
Hmmm, wonder what she would say if she knew that her “boys” had forced me to come here…
Thane pinched my side, seemingly reading my mind as usual. I shot him a grin.
“Would you like anything to eat?” asked Lanton, gesturing to a tray next to the tea that was laden with food that I couldn’t identify.
“Thanks dad, but we’ve got a full night planned for her,” said Thane, standing up. “We’d actually better get going.”
All of their parents looked so disappointed. “We’ll visit again soon,” I promised. “There’s so much I need to learn about the three of them that they won’t be able to keep me away.”
Derrial groaned in jest, but it seemed to do the trick of raising all of their spirits.
More hugs were exchanged and we exited the dwelling, all of their parents walking out after us to wave goodbye as we took off again.
“I loved them,” I said, cuddling into Corran’s lap.
“They loved you too, kitten,” said Derrial happily.
“Where was your mom Thane? I would have loved to meet her,” I said.
Silence descended on the ship. I knew immediately that I had said something wrong.
Thane cleared his throat as if he was trying to give himself more time to figure out what to say. “My mother is in a special facility,” he said quietly.
“A special facility?” I asked hesitantly, feeling terrible for bringing it up.
“She was captured by the Khonsu when I was nine. They tortured her until she lost her mind. She’s been in the facility ever since we rescued her.”
I sat there shocked, not knowing what to say.
“I should have brought it up before we got there,” said Thane. “But as I’m sure you can imagine, it’s hard to talk about. Dad brought me up with Corran and Derrial’s parents helping out.”
“I’m so sorry, honey,” I said, tapping Corran to let me down. He reluctantly did so and I walked over to Thane, wrapping my arms around him.
“It happened a long time ago,” Thane said gruffly, but he pulled me towards him tighter and buried his head in my neck.
I had a million questions but I didn’t want to pressure him to tell me anything he didn’t want to. He would tell me eventually, and I could accept that.
Corran walked over and grabbed me after a few minutes, bringing me back to his chair to sit in his lap again. Derrial and Thane both snorted, and it lifted the somber mood that had descended on the ship.
“Where are we off to now?” I asked as Corran started kissing down my neck again. I laughed and snuggled in deeper to him.
“Dinner,” said Derrial. “We figured that it was time to show you Vepar food. So far you’ve gotten trial food and cell food. Not the greatest stuff.”
I had always been an adventurous eater so I was excited about the prospect of trying something new.
“Can I eat everything that you eat?” I asked, thinking that their altered forms hid how different they actually were to humans.
Corran frowned. “You should be able to eat most things, but I haven’t tested everything so we’ll just have you try things that I know for sure are alright.”
Thane snorted again. “I think she’ll be okay no matter what, lover boy.”
Corran pulled me in closer to him. “We’re not taking that chance.”
“Um guys,” I asked Thane and Derrial. “What is going on with Corran?”
Thane and Derrial both looked at each other with amused looks on their faces.
“Have you ever heard of blue balls, kitten?” Derrial asked.
“Um...yes?” I asked, confused.
“He has the equivalent of Vepar blue balls, right now,” Derrial said with a smirk as Corran growled into my neck.
“What does that mean?”
“You’ve just fed on the two of us recently, right?” asked Thane. I nodded.
“Well he’s starting to feel a blood craving. His body is pushing him to be with his mate. You.”
“Oh,” I said, startled. I craned my neck so Corran had access to it more. “Go ahead,” I asked.
Corran growled again, but this one sounded more like a moan.
“I think you better wait until you can do everything,” said Derrial with a chuckle.
“Everything?”
“Sex, pet,” said Thane. “Exchanging blood with your mate is practically a sacred act. You don’t just go biting each other. It’s almost always shared with sex unless the circumstances demand otherwise.”
“Like when we escaped from the house on Earth,” I said, shivering just remembering how terrible it was.
“Exactly.”
“You said mate,” I said slowly to the guys. “You’ve said that before, that we have a bond. What will happen if I don’t win?”
All three of the guys growled. “That won’t happen,” said Derrial darkly.
I said nothing, just continued to look out at Veon through the window.
The mood had lightened a little bit by the time we landed by the lavender sea that I had seen earlier. Thane and Corran both held my hands while Derrial walked behind me as we headed towards a glittering gold structure that was right on the shore.
“This is gorgeous,” I said, letting go of Thane’s hand and reaching my hand out to touch the outside of the structure. It literally looked like it was built out of gold.
“This is one of our nicest restaurants,” said Derrial, letting out a laugh when an entrance opened right where I had been reaching out to touch and I almost fell through.
“Welcome to Lankardia,” said a as usual, beautiful Vepar woman dressed all in black. “We’re delighted to have you here this evening,” she said, beckoning us forward. I walked inside, gaping like a fish, and wishing that I had worn a more glamorous outfit.
While all the other Vepar structures I had been too had been relatively the same with the exception of the flower colored ones in the capital city, this one could only be described as opulent.
The walls inside were the same sparkling gold material as the outside. There were crystal orbs hanging from the ceiling. Tables seemed to be floating in the air covered by glittering white tablecloths. It was incredible.
“You can close your mouth now,” whispered Corran, nuzzling against me as he had been doing all evening.
“It’s just all so incredible,” I said in an awed voice. I noticed that the other Vepar in the room were staring at us as we walked by. “I wish they would stop staring,” I muttered.
“I don’t,” said Derrial in a proud voice. “We purposely picked this place. It’s where all the elite of Veon dine. We wanted to show off our mate.”
My heart fluttered at that word again...mate. And at the fact that they were proud to be seen with me.
We were led to a different room that only had one table and privacy from the rest of the patrons. The back wall of the room was made up of a glass balcony that overlooked the lavender sea. It was perfection.
The hostess sat us at our table and left, leaving one last longing glance at the three guys who hadn’t paid her any attention. The jealous bitch inside of me was glad about that.
We talked for a little while about little facts about Veon until a male Vepar with black hair and black horns came into the room. “Good evening everyone. Welcome to Lankardia. My name is Rodolphus and I’ll be your server for the evening. The chef has arranged a special tasting menu for you tonight if that is agreeable to you.”
The men nodded, all of them looking pleased.
“Can I start you out with drinks? We have anything you could want available.”
“We’d like four of the house wines,” said Derrial.
“Of course. I’ll have that right out,” said Rodolphus, leaving the room.
“If he gives her one more look I’m going to cut his head off,” said Corran mildly, scooting his chair so close to me that our sides were practically glued together.
“He didn’t do anything!” I scoffed, shooting him a glare.
“He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you,” said Thane with a menacing glare.
“It was probably because I’m the token human in the restaurant. I’m sure that he hasn’t seen very much of my kind.”
“Doubtful,” growled Derrial.
Rodolphus returned to the room with four glasses filled with a smoky blue drink. “Our house wine,” he said, looking right at me and this time giving me a wink. I held onto Corran’s hand for dear life as he was twitching like he was going to jump across the table and gut him.
There was a deadly silence in the room and Rodolphus finally caught on. He looked at the three angry Vepar warily and left without saying another word.
I took a sip of the wine before they could say anything. To my surprise, it was sweet. More like fruit juice than any wine I had ever tasted. I took another big sip.
“I’d be careful with that if I were you,” Corran said with a smile on his face. “That has five times the alcohol content as Earth wines.”
I gulped the sip I had in my mouth and then set the drink down carefully. I could barely handle a glass of Earth wine without starting to feel tipsy. I would need to be very slow in enjoying this.
Rodolphus seemed to have learned his lesson because the next time he came in carrying our first course, he didn’t even look at me.
After he left, I eyed the dish he had set down. It was a dish covered in flowers. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to eat that.
“Here, like this,” said Derrial, scooping up a handful of the flowers and beginning to squeeze them into the bowl that was in front of him. To my surprise a honey colored liquid began to fall from the flowers until the flowers completely disappeared in Derrial’s hands.
I gasped and then quickly scooped up some flowers and started to squeeze just like Derrial had. To my delight, I was able to get the same liquid to appear. I tentatively took a sip and moaned as the flavors exploded across my tongue. The liquid had a nutty, rich flavor like nothing I had tasted before. It was officially my favorite food.
“What did he call this? Lankardia’s specialty?” I said with a mouth full of the dish.
Corran snickered next to me. “It’s actually the Veon national flower. It’s called a Vetri. It’s delicious properties were discovered by a group of Vepar who got lost while camping and had to try and eat plants to survive.”
“I could eat fifteen bowls of this!”
“I wouldn’t do that, kitten. The flower has certain properties if consumed too much. Certain hallucinogenic properties.”
I put my spoon down immediately remembering how awful it had been after the Khonsu had injected me with its venom.
“There’s no problem eating the bowl,” said Corran gently, pushing the bowl towards me. “It takes several bowls to even start the effect.”
I nodded, but took small sips after that. Evidently Vepar food packed a punch in all of its forms.
Speaking of dangerous things. I needed to ask about Zeni. I had to know or I was going to go crazy. I took a deep breath, trying to draw in some courage.
“So…about Zeni,” I began.
The men all immediately set down their spoons and looked at me tensely. Rodolphus chose that moment to come in. He was immediately sent away with curses. Poor thing. He probably was going to quit after tonight.
“What do you want to know?” asked Derrial tersely.
“So it’s been pretty clear that she at one point was someone important to you...what happened to stop that?”
Corran sighed next to me, clutching my hand even tighter that he had been holding all evening as if he needed comfort for what was about to come.
“We grew up with Zeni. She was younger than us and had a crush on us for years and we never noticed her. Zeni would tag along with us whenever we went out with friends but we never thought of her as anything more. We all dated a lot back then. Zeni would always bother everyone to find out how our dates went. She was our little stalker. We went on a five year mission to explore nearby planets when the fertility issues started to become a problem. When we came back, Zeni was all grown up and she caught our eye.”
I looked down at that comment. The inferiority over how beautiful Zeni was compared to me hitting me all over again.
“Hey,” said Derrial, reaching over to grab my chin. “Stop that. You’re the most gorgeous woman that we’ve ever seen,” he said. I scoffed as I looked into his eyes. But I couldn’t see any sign that he didn’t believe that. They were delusional.
“Keep going,” I said with a sigh.
Corran eyed me before he continued talking. “Zeni wanted all of us and for a time we were fine with that. But pieces of her personality that we hadn’t seen before started to come out. There were strange things that happened to some of our exes and our female colleagues began to be changed to different departments. She was always checking up on us randomly as if she thought she would catch us with another female at any moment. It finally became too much and we all decided this wasn’t going to work for us…” Corran’s voice trailed off.
“And that’s when she told us she was pregnant,” said Thane.
I gasped. They had a child with her?
“Oh don’t worry,” Thane said sarcastically. “That viper was lying. She had fake tests and everything since she knew that we would be doubtful because of the issues going on. She fooled us for months, even going so far as to gain weight so it looked like she was getting a bump. We decided to try and stick it out for the sake of the child, thinking that we would get a paternity test and only the real father would have to be stuck to her. She finally faked one thing too many and Corran began to get suspicious, going to visit the doctor she said she was going to. Imagine our surprise when it turned out that the doctor was in on the plan and had been giving her special pills so that her labs made it look like she was pregnant whenever Corran made her run tests. The doctor was quick to tell us everything when the three of us confronted her. We broke up with Zeni immediately. She’s been on the warpath ever since trying to get us back.”
We were all quiet. That was a lot to take in. I was tempted to tell them about her offering me her ship to leave the planet but I was afraid they would go off the handle after everything they had just told me. I decided to tell them later, when they were calmer.
“Can we please not talk about her anymore,” said Corran in a frustrated voice, pulling me into his lap. “This is supposed to be a date...not to mention your second trial. I think we should start the festivities now.”
“Festivities?” I asked in a breathless voice as Corran’s hands started to stroke farther down my body.
“Yes,” he said, his voice almost a whisper as he picked me up and laid me down on the table. “And festivities usually start with dessert first.”
I looked at Thane and Derrial to see how they were reacting, but they seemed content to let Corran take the lead.
Cupping my jaw, he angled me for his kiss. I was immediately consumed by him. His intoxicating taste seeped into my mouth, his tongue dueling with mine. Sliding my fingers through his hair, I luxuriated in the soft feel of it, painfully aware of the other two’s heated gazes on me.
Corran’s body devoured me. I felt wholly protected in his arms. Cherished. I moaned into his kiss as the sparks of lust fueled through me, scratching my nails along his skin. As if sensing my complete desperation, he pulled back slightly, flashing me a sexy, knowing smile. His eyes glazed over with desire, staring down at my chest, my hardened nipples clearly visible through my dress. His smirk transformed into deep wanting, his eyes turning a darker shade of gold, more like caramel than anything else, his lips parted on a needy breath.
His need for me was thrilling. To see him standing before me, wanting me like this. I lost my breath. Staring up into his face, watching him take in my highlighted form, I quivered in need.
“Corran . . . touch me . . . ” I gasped out.
Gripping the bottom of my dress, he lifted it, surprising me. I tensed, waiting to be touched. “Please,” I begged.
Just as Corran was about to touch me, a speaker came on. “A reminder to the contestant that erotic touching is not allowed in Trial 2. Further action will result in disqualification.”
Corran immediately stopped touching me and bowed his head. “I’m going to die,” he said dramatically. Thane stood up and slapped him on the back.
“Better luck next time, buddy,” he teased, sounding so human at the moment that it made me giggle.
“Laugh now. But when I finally get my hands on you...” said Corran threateningly.
I laughed, excited for the prospect of a pent up Corran being unleashed.
As I sat back down I noticed all three Vepar adjusting themselves. Maybe they would all get a case of “Vepar blue balls,” I thought smugly, loving how much they wanted me.
There was a knock on the door and a timid looking Rodolphus popped his head in. “Are you ready for the next course?” he asked.
“Come in,” Corran confirmed, in a very unwelcoming voice.
Corran was a bit sullen and touchy the rest of the night, but it was still the most fun I had experienced with them.
Plate after plate was brought to the table, filled with the most exotic looking food that I had ever seen. I was passed from lap to lap as they all wanted to feed me. I had never thought that I would like that but it was kind of fun to feed each other. It also helped me be brave with some of the more interesting looking items like a plate full of sauteed Danter eyes. It wasn’t one of my favorite dishes.
When we were finally done eating, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to walk out of the restaurant I was so full.
“We need to get you back,” Derrial admitted, regretfully. “We’ve already kept you out hours longer than the others.”
“Don’t mention the others,” I said, a bit drunkenly.
“There’s my jealous girl again.” Thane wrapped his arms around my waist and walked out on the balcony.
“We should have a house here,” I said sleepily, too tipsy to monitor my words.
“You can have whatever you want,” he replied.
Corran and Derrial strolled out just as our ship landed on the shore below us. Thane helped me down the stairs since I wasn’t moving very steadily and we climbed on the ship.
I stayed cuddled up in Thane’s arms for the trip back to the mansion, feeling better about our relationship than I ever had before.
“Tonight was perfect,” I whispered as I hugged each of them in front of the mansion. “One of the best nights of my life.”
Corran pulled me in for a kiss that left me breathless. The tension was bubbling at the surface for us. I wanted him badly and I didn’t know how much longer we could hold out. I was just contemplating how we could possibly sneak him in when lights all of a sudden shone down on us. They were bright, like spotlights, and they blinded me for a minute.
“What the hell is going on?” Thane looked like he was going to break the neck of whoever was responsible for this. To my surprise, three members of the Council appeared.
“Say your goodbye’s boys, this one is disqualified,” one of them said, grinning.
The three of them stood in front of me protectively. “On what grounds? Corran stopped before anything happened tonight,” Derrial said.
“One of the Councilmembers stepped forward with a device that started projecting a holographic image. I gasped in horror, feeling very sober all of a sudden. It was a picture of me sitting in Zeni’s ship.
“She tried to escape earlier and was stopped by one of the other contestants. Her attempt counts as a forfeiture.”
I could see the guys’ bodies stiffen upon seeing the picture. I could only imagine how disappointed they were in me thinking that I had tried to leave. I should have just told them what happened at dinner.
I guess this was it.
“And I suppose the other contestant who stopped her was Zeni, was it? Doesn’t it seem suspicious that Zeni bothered to take a photograph of an escape attempt instead of letting Ella go and immediately reporting it. We know for a fact that Zeni was the one who offered Ella the ship and she refused it,” said Derrial, shocking me with his defense of me and the fact that they seemed to already know exactly what had happened.
Thane stepped forward and pressed a band on his wrist, his own holographic image popping up, but this one a video. I watched in a mixture of amazement and horror as the exact scene that had transpired with Zeni played out on the video.
After it was done there was a grim silence. “There’s obviously been a mistake,” one of the Councilmen said stiffly before all three of them walked away.
I watched numbly as the ship the Councilmen had flown in on disappeared into the sky.
All three of them turned to look at me. There was an awkward silence.
“I should have told you what happened, but how did you get that video?” I asked, not knowing whether I should feel angry or grateful they had been spying on me.
Corran shifted guiltily. “I had a tracker activated in you after what happened with that prison worker who attacked you. We wanted to be able to check in on you in case something happened.”
“You put something else in me without my permission?” I asked, my voice climbing. I reached up to brush against the skin where I knew at least one of the devices resided.
“No,” Corran responded fast. “It was just a feature that hadn’t been activated yet in the sensor that monitors your health.”
“Does that make it any better?” I snapped. “You never told me it had that capability. What else have you recorded of me?”
“Calm down,” barked Derrial. “You’re not being rational. We obviously needed that video to prevent you from getting kicked out. It’s not like you bothered to tell us about that happening.”
I immediately backed down, feeling chagrined. “You sounded so mad earlier that I didn’t want to upset you any more,” I explained lamely.
“How about we all just forgive each other. I told you that I would never let someone mess with you,” said Thane. “That applies to women as well.”
I was suddenly very tired. “I’d better go inside now,” I said wearily. They nodded grimly, each of them hugging me in turn.
“I hate this,” Derrial whispered in my ear. “Someday soon there won’t be goodbyes.”
I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heart. “I hope that day comes,” I said, reluctantly pulling away.
I could feel their eyes on me as I walked inside.
What a night.