Zandian Series

NIGHT OF THE ZANDIANS

The Zandians have taken back their planet. Now they need brides.

All human females have been assigned to mates. Yes, mates, multiple.

I've been given to three handsome males-cousins. Huge, purple, and horned, they act like they want to eat me for breakfast.

After what I've been through with previous slave masters, I don't know how I'll survive this. But I have to. It's adapt or be sent off-planet, which would mean my death, considering I'm wanted for murder.

My mates cannot find out I'm not able to reproduce. I need to keep my secret, figure out a way to survive, stay focused. But when the Zandian warriors claim me, they make me forget my past and scream with pleasure.

I can't let myself fall for them.

If they learn my secret, I'll lose more than my life.

I'll lose my heart.

1

Riya

The Zandians require brides.

Prince Zander-no, King Zander now that he's taken back his planet-stands in front of all of us, human and Zandians alike, and makes his intentions for repopulation clear.

I gaze around at the throng gathered in front of what used to be the palace. Everything seems so vast and empty under a bright sky, devoid of any cloud cover. The Zandian sun reflects off the white marble stone that makes up the rubble, nearly blinding me.

How can such a small group possibly ever rebuild this planet, dedicated as they-we- are?

The devastation in Zandia's capital is so absolute that it makes me sick to my stomach. The crumbled ruins of once-majestic buildings, now heaps of marble rubble and twisted metal, look as gruesome as any bloody wound I tended during the battle.

I shouldn't care-it's not my planet. My planet was raped and ruined a thousand years ago by the Ocretions, but Zandia's been dangled in front of us humans like Shangri-La. A place we'll be able to be free.

Supposedly.

But what Zander's saying now puts ice cold fear into me.

A shiver runs down my spine and I can't stop my gaze from flicking to the giant Zandian warrior across the plaza.

Tarren.

The one whose firm thigh I straddled when I sewed up the gash splitting the side of his face. He's standing with two other Zandians and-sweet Mother Earth-they're all looking at me.

A lock of my thick black hair blows into my face on a hot, dry wind that smells of nothing except ash. I brush it back with impatience, then wipe more dust from my strong thighs, bare beneath my short tunic. I haven't had a chance to wash or change since the battle-I've been tending the wounded non-stop. The warrior beside Tarren lets his gaze slide to my bare legs and heat crawls up my neck. I should've found a pair of leggings before this meeting.

"If you wish to receive a land and homestead grant, I suggest you form a group, find a female, and ready yourselves to petition," King Zander declares.

My stomach knots. Find a female.

I'm not an idiot. I know what that means for me. For the other human females of breeding age. We've just become breeders. We're probably no better off than any breeding slave in the galaxy.

My mouth goes dry and I have to will myself not to look across the plaza at the warrior again. Will he and his friends come for me? Claim me? How will it work? Do I have to be willing, or can they just carry me off?

King Zander has said we're no longer slaves, yet there's nowhere else we can go in the galaxy where our freedom will be recognized. In other words, we have no choice but to accept whatever the Zandians offer.

And it sounds to me like my only option is to become a Zandian bride.

I scrunch up my hands at my sides, not because I'm making fists to defend myself, but to stop my fingers from shaking.

I don't want to be claimed by one alien warrior, much less two or three. Or-stars forbid-more.

I barely hear the rest of the announcement, and when the gathering breaks up, I seek out Lily. She's a human mated to a Zandian and sister to the king's mate. She might know more about what I can expect.

Already the air in the plaza crackles with sexual tension, as if the king's proclamation has every warrior ready to fight to claim a female.

There are no more Zandian females-at least none who are unmated-so the females King Zander referred to are human. Former slaves, like me.

Oh hell. I tug my tunic down as if I can make it grow to cover my bare thighs.

Several Zandian warriors eye me from across the cracked plaza. I really should have changed my clothes before I came out. I suddenly realize how provocative my boots must look below bare legs.

On the training pod, we females were protected by warriors like Lundric, who has a human mate. I was able to dress for pure comfort and ignore any interest my bare skin garnered. After what I've endured at the hands of the Ocretians, I preferred to keep myself apart.

I find Lily, but she's talking with her mate. I sense warriors closing in on me from all sides.

Fuck.

Like a coward, I run.

I head straight for the makeshift medbay where I've been working all night. It's a stupid place to go, but I haven't been assigned a new room yet, and I don't know where else to hide.

As soon as I'm there, though, the memory of treating Tarren's wounds comes rushing back.

The way my core heated standing so close to him. The way he gripped my buttocks when I stitched his cheek with the needle.

I lean against the metal wall of the crashed ship which became my headquarters, to steady my breath.

I'm not interested in the male. I'm not interested in any male.

Of course, it may not matter what I'm interested in.

King Zander wants the planet repopulated.

As soon as possible.

T

arren

L

ooks like you've already picked out our mate." My cousin Jax follows my gaze to the dark-haired beauty streaking across the plaza. It's all I can do not to chase her down, toss her over my shoulder, and carry her back to our quarters right now.

Without saying it out loud, Jax and I both know we'll apply as a team with our other cousin, Ronan. We're family and we stick together.

Jax wears a bemused expression. He glances around the desolate wasteland of rubble, so different from the planet we left as children just before the invasion. "She's a good choice. With the boots she's sexy as hell, but she looks sturdy enough for-"

He stops when my fist wraps in his tunic. "She's more than a vecking breeder," I growl.

Jax holds up his hands. "All right, all right. She's way more. Looks smart. She's the medic, right?"

"Riya."

She looked at me earlier and blushed, just as she had when she treated my wounds last night. When I had my hand under that short tunic cupping her tight little ass. Veck. I'm hard just thinking about it. "Her name is Riya." Her name sounds exotic and delicious, like she looks.

"We need to claim her," I tell Jax, and scowl. I don't even know why I'm saying this-I don't want a female. But I'm sure as veck not letting this one slip through my fingers, either. "Before another warrior does." My fists close at the thought of some other Zandian with Riya.

"I think she's already yours, cousin."

I want to throat-punch Jax for his characteristic light-hearted and positive outlook.

"No. You need to charm her. You and Ronan. She'll be afraid of me."

Jax eyes me, not missing that I'm holding something back. "What did you do to her?"

"What did I miss?" Ronan comes up in a hurry, panting as he jogs. "I was on guard duty onboard the palatial pod and just got relieved."

"What did you miss?" Jax rolls his eyes. "Just about the most life-altering thing you can ever imagine. Great planet rotation to be lazy."

"Go veck yourself." Ronan punches him in the arm. "Tell me," he demands, more seriously this time, picking up on the tension in the courtyard.

"It appears," Jax says, his voice collected, "the three of us are going to share one mate. A human. From what the king just announced, it sounds like Zandians can apply as a team, which must include a female, to receive a homestead here."

"Hot Zandian star!" The thrill in Ronan's voice is evident. "It's about time. I've been dreaming of a nice little Zandian homestead my whole life. And a female to share? That just sweetens it all the more. This is the best news I could imagine." He throws his arms around our shoulders. He laughs out loud. "This is the best planet rotation, cousins!"

"You don't care that we all have to share one mate?" My voice comes out more forcefully than I intend. Yes, we've shared females, the three of us, in random encounters, and we all enjoyed it that way. But long-term, a mate with whom we are expected to bond and protect? It seems complex and troublesome. What if I want to kill them both every time they touch Riya?

There's no doubt in my mind now that she'll be our female. I've been dying to claim her lush little body from the moment I saw her out on the battlefield trying to drag the wounded in by herself.

She's fierce. And the way she lifted her chin when I threatened to warm her ass for leaving the safety of the downed ship was adorable. A little warrior exists behind that alluring peachy flesh of hers.

And then there's those vecking thighs...

Stars, if I don't get to be the one to pry them open and taste her honey first, I might throttle both my cousins.

Ronan smiles, and I scowl again. Ronan is always so... excited about things. It irritates the veck out of me. "I never thought I'd be lucky enough to get a mate." Ronan shrugs. "I don't mind. I share everything with you two, anyway. Why not our future?"

Easy for him to say. With his ever-present smile and jokes, Ronan has a way of making friends with any and every being in the galaxy. Naturally Ronan wouldn't mind anything.

"Which female do we get? Is it the one with the bare thighs?" Ronan leans to look in the direction of the medbay. "Is she... ours?"

I'm simultaneously relieved and pissed that Ronan's already picked the same female Jax and I agreed on. At least we won't argue, but I hate that he's been drooling over her. But it is interesting that all three of us have zeroed in on her. What does it mean? Probably nothing, other than we share the same taste in women.

"We don't know yet," I snap. "We don't know how the females will be distributed. I assume we have to make her willing, but who knows? They may use Daneth's gene matching technology like they did when they bought the king's mate."

All three of us bare our teeth at the thought of not getting to make this choice on our own.

"She smells... good." Ronan smiles.

"When have you smelled her?" I growl, jealousy flooding my veins.

"Calm down, cousin." Ronan elbows me. "I've never seen you act so possessive before. Don't worry, I've not mated her in secret. I happened to pass her just now and I noticed her scent."

I grunt, ignoring the relief that courses through me. Not that it matters. If I have to share a female, I'll have to accept the fact that she is all of ours.

"Her name is Riya," I force myself to say. "And I think you two should go and talk to her."

Ronan shoots a quizzical glance at Jax.

"Something happened between them," Jax fills in, although I've told him nothing yet.

"She's the one who stitched my wound," I say, as if that explains things, touching the jagged line that crosses my cheek from neck to eye.

How will our future mate feel about the ugly scar it will leave? It must make me appear hideous. The king's infant son burst into tears this morning when he saw it.

"And?" Jax prompts.

My cock starts to swell at the memory of her sweet human scent, her breasts dancing in front of my mouth as her slender fingers moved deftly with the primitive needle and thread. I wanted her then, and still do, now. "I may have... touched her inappropriately."

Ronan barks out a laugh and Jax rolls his eyes. "What the veck does that mean?" Jax demands.

I stare in the direction of the medbay, my feet demanding I march down there right now and carry her back to our shared chamber so we can start the process of claiming her. All vecking night.

"She was standing so vecking close-straddling my leg. When she stuck me with the needle I grabbed a handful of her ass." Then she rubbed her hot little pussy on my thigh. I don't share that part with them. I'd rather keep the memory to myself for now.

"Over the tunic, right?" Jax asks doubtfully, like he's trying to make this right in his mind so we can get past it.

I shake my head.

"Vecking excrement, Tarren! What in the stars were you thinking?"

I shrug. "I was thinking about her juicy ass. I'd already threatened to warm it for her if she left the shelter again. If you'd seen the way she blushed, you would've been fixated on that particularly glorious part of her anatomy too."

Jax's lips tug up. "I'm sure I would've been."

"So what'd she do?" Ronan asks.

My own lips lift. "She apologized to me."

Jax groans and adjusts his cock.

"And then I let her rub her little clitty all over my thigh while she stitched me up."

"Oh please," Ronan laughs, giving me a shove.

I grin back. I'm not about to tell them that it's actually true. It's too impossible to believe.

"So let's go claim her," Jax says, heading for the medbay.

Ronan follows without question.

I stare for a moment, but then I jog after them. I know that look in Jax's eye. He's the thinker in our group and when he's made a decision, it's usually a good one.

Riya

There's really nothing to do in the medbay. All the injured have been moved out to one of the pop-up domes the warriors set up this morning. It seems King Zander came to Zandia well-prepared for post-battle occupation of his planet.

I walk around the empty space, spraying sterilization mist on surfaces.

I'm hiding.

If I'm honest with myself, I'll admit that's what I'm doing. I'm afraid to go anywhere near a male Zandian right now because as far as I can tell, King Zander just declared it open season on human females.

I stop and stare at the cot where the giant warrior, Tarren, sat. I don't usually think about males, but this one has dominated my thoughts from our first interaction.

He's all height and muscles, and stars, the way they ripple as he moves. He ran out into the laser fire and dragged the injured in for me to treat all planet rotation. Scolded me when I went out myself.

I will bring them in. Leave again and I'll warm your ass.

A strange tingling had flushed through my body at the threat.

I hear a step at the door, and I know immediately it's him.

I turn, my lungs jamming up in my throat.

He's not alone. With him stands two other warriors. There might be a resemblance, but I'm not sure. Zandians all look the same to me.

He clears his throat. "Riya."

I try to swallow and fail. "Tarren."

One of the warriors beside him steps forward, lifting his fist at a ninety-degree angle in the traditional Zandian greeting. "I am Jax, and this is my cousin Ronan." He indicates the younger warrior on Tarren's other side. "We are all three cousins," he amends. "But you've already met Tarren."

I take a step back but I'm already at the wall. "You're here for me." It comes out as a statement, not a question.

The males don't advance, which I appreciate.

Jax tilts his head. "Does that frighten you, Riya?" There's something both soft and threatening in his voice. Not scary, though. More like thrilling. A dark promise that these males can be threatening, even if they're not showing me the whip yet.

I curse the tears that spear my eyes. "I-I don't want to be claimed."

Tarren gives a soft expletive in Zandian, his look turning deadly. "You've been forced." It's not a question.

I can scarcely breathe but the question relieves me. I bob my head in the affirmative.

"By some being here?" Tarren barely keeps the question below a roar.

I'm trembling, but I'm not afraid. Not of him, anyway. Just of my past. And of the future Zander just outlined. I shake my head.

Not here. It was Ocretion slave masters on the agrifarm. More times than I can count. They tortured me so many times with the shock sticks that I'm forever infertile now.

And I don't know what will happen if King Zander finds out I'm useless as a breeder. Or when these males find out.

Tarren's hands open and close in fists like he wants to make my past tormentors pay.

"You're safe with us, Riya," Jax says. He's as good-looking as Tarren is big. His eyes hold a calculating intelligence and his voice carries such assurance it's hard for me not to believe him. "Better to be claimed by us, males you can trust, than by another group."

My brows shoot to my forehead and a shocked laugh tumbles from my lips. "What makes you think I trust you?"

His lips curl with a smile that probably makes most females fall to their knees and worship him. If they had any females around here, that is. "You trust Tarren. And Tarren trusts us. So by extension, we all trust each other."

This time I actually do laugh and all three of them move forward like it was an invitation. "That's the most ridiculous-" I sputter but stop when they are just inches from me. So close I can feel the heat from their powerful chests warming me.

Tarren puts a finger under my chin and lifts until I meet his brown-purple eyes. "No being will hurt you again," he promises.

And just like that, I believe him. Because who would argue with a seven foot tall horned giant of a male? I've seen the male in action. He's a fearsome warrior.

Ronan picks up my hand and rubs his thumb over the pulse at my wrist. "You definitely want to be claimed by us, Riya," he says.

I want to laugh again, but I can't. The thrum between my legs is becoming too insistent. The tightening of my nipples too distracting.

As one, the three males inhale, nostrils flaring.

"She's ripe for us," Ronan observes.

I squeeze my inner thighs. "N-no I'm not."

Tarren wraps a meaty hand around my nape, stroking it. "It's all right to be aroused, Riya," he murmurs. "We're your mates."

I give a shove to the closest chest, which belongs to Jax, but the males don't fall back. They don't fall back, nor do they advance. Three pairs of eyes watch me intently.

"Y-you're not my mates."

Not yet.

Already my body seems to know it's an inevitability. Moisture gathers between my legs.

"Do you prefer another warrior?" Jax asks smoothly, like he already knows the answer will be no.

I shake my head.

He brings the pad of his thumb to the crease between my brows and rubs it away. "Then you're ours." He leans forward and kisses the place he's just rubbed. "Don't fight it. We'll take good care of you, Riya, I promise."

My mind tumbles forward and I remember the way my two human friends Lily and Cambry are treated by their Zandian mates. Like princesses.

There's a great deal of dominance, no doubt about that. The Zandians are a fierce, protective species. But my friends are quite happy with their mates.

Of course, they each only have one mate. And apparently, I'm getting three.

And I never signed up for any relationship.

And there's the problem of my infertility. But I'm loathe to confess it. Because I'm not sure what happens to human females who aren't claimed for breeding. What use will King Zander have for us?

"Riya?" Lily calls through the doorway and all four of us spring apart. "Oh." My human friend takes in the scene, seeming to understand immediately what's going on. She clears her throat. "Ah, Dr. Daneth said he could use our help in the new clinic now."

"Coming." I bolt for the door, relieved when the warriors let me pass. Never in my life have I been more relieved at an interruption.

No, that's a lie.

One small part of me is disappointed. What would've happened if I'd let those three warriors continue their over-the-top persuasion?

A shiver runs through my body as I jog across the marble toward the new dome. It doesn't matter, because I can't mate them.

As soon as they see my paperwork, they'll know I'm not able to breed, and therefore, not eligible for the Zandian repopulation project.

And damn, why is that idea so devastating?

2

Jax

D

id you hear me?" Ronan's voice is eager, as always.

"No," I snap. Sweat drips down my brow. I might be more irritable than usual from the incredible case of blue balls Riya left us all with. That, and the fact that we didn't lock her into place as our mate. But instead, I give the excuse, "I'm busy fighting this vecking beam into place."

The three of us are assisting the engineering crew-human males and Zandians-with the DomePod builds. I can't deny the satisfaction I get every time I maneuver the beam into place and hear the soft snick as the metal mates perfectly with the linking piece.

Mates. Mating. Even thinking the word has my heart tripping with anticipation for our female... if we get her. No, when we get her.

I saw the way she responded to us in that medbay. Her attraction to Tarren is undeniable, and Ronan seemed to put her at ease. I don't know what the veck I bring to the mating, except my sheer determination to make it all work.

I wipe my forearm across my forehead. Even my horns are full of sweat. It's incredible to be able to work outside under the Zandian sun, or what our species calls the one true Zandian star. After spending most of our lives cooped up on a pod docked above Ocretian airspace, being outdoors on Zandian soil makes me feel truly alive.

"What is it?" I respond to Ronan.

"I merely asked if you are eager to bed our mate." Ronan grins at me and flicks his brows.

I roll my eyes. Of course I've been thinking about getting those creamy thighs open every moment since we parted from our future mate.

Tarren makes a low growling sound.

I have to say, I've never seen him so territorial before. Sharing Riya may be sticky. But I'm not vecking giving up until we figure it out.

"I know I can't vecking wait." Ronan grips his cock and squeezes it in his pants. In his other hand, he's holding a shimmery silver bolt that will be used to attach part of the dome roof here at the southernmost section. "She's the most beautiful human on the planet. I have a good feeling about mating her."

"You have a good feeling about everything," Tarren grumbles. "Including your own eliminations."

I laugh, and Ronan puts down his bolt, somewhat carelessly-I hear it zing onto a rock-and leaps onto Tarren, roaring with delight.

They tussle for a minute until Tarren pins him, both of them panting, and then we all start laughing. Tarren lets Ronan up and gives him a hand to pull him back to his feet.

"I'm uncertain." It's an unusual admission from Tarren. He rarely shares his emotions, even with us. He rubs his forehead, brows down low. "It will be something new for all of us. And we don't even know if she'll mate us. Or if Zander will even allow us to pick our own mates. I heard from Jaso that they'll be assigning females based on DNA testing. Matching them to the best Zandian gene donors for repopulation. So it is not certain we will be granted her as our female. Perhaps some other team requests her as well." Tarren's jaw clenches and I hoist a beam with far more effort than necessary, sending it careening toward Ronan's head.

Ronan ducks and curses.

I rub my jaw, mind racing over the possibilities. All of that sounds like a bunch of excrement being thrown around by males who really have no clue. I could go and ask my superior, Master Seke for more information. Or should we wait for King Zander's next announcement on how this will go?

No.

No vecking way.

I'm not going to wait for permission to mate or until they give away all the best females. And it's not about the best females-it's about Riya. I'm not going to let her slip through our fingers. She's perfect for us. There's chemistry. Attraction. We all felt it back there.

"We'll have to mate her before that happens, then." I declare.

"I want to mate her first." Ronan says, as if it will make it so.

I give him a look. "We will have to discuss it."

"Maybe we should let her choose," Tarren suggests, although the grumble in his voice makes it sound like he hates the idea.

"Choose what? Whether to mate us or which one claims her first?"

"Which one claims her," Tarren says.

Oh for veck's sake. Are we seriously arguing over who gets to dip his cock in her first? We need to get her pierced and firmly bound to us first. "We will go in order of age," I say with the same calm, decisive tone I employ every time the two of them butt heads. "As Tarren is the eldest, he will be first. Then me, then you, Ronan." I'm honestly not sure how this will work, but it seems like we need a plan.

Ronan rolls his eyes. "No, cousin. We will take her together." He says it simply, as if it were an accepted fact.

I nod. The idea is just as appealing to me or more so than taking her alone.

"But we will make her first time with us so incredible that she will beg for us, over and over." Ronan is all confidence. "Like the little pet we vecked at Prium's Sex Emporium. Remember how she liked having three Zandians at one time?"

My lips tug at the memory. Veck, that was incredible. Having three cocks at once made the little pet so insane with need that she more than satisfied all of us, over and over.

"We don't know if humans react the same way," I caution Ronan, although I have to turn away, so my arousal isn't evident.

Ronan picks up the bolt, his smile restored. "She will, once she experiences all of us."

It's not a bad plan. Satisfy the little human, pierce her, maybe even put a young in her womb by the week's end. By the time Zander makes his announcement, she'll be so thoroughly ours there can be no denying us our claim.

"It is too bad that the human males will not get to enjoy their own females." Ronan looks across the dome at a pair of humans laboring in the dry heat. They appear to be struggling.

I have personally never given them much thought. I shrug. "We need to concern ourselves with the survival of Zandia. Human DNA will live on here as well, so they may enjoy knowing that."

Ronan raises an eyebrow. "I hardly think it makes them rejoice."

I look again at the human men. They are much weaker than we are, unable to work as hard or as long, although they are certainly clever and have assisted well on the training pod.

"They will not be treated unfairly." To me, just allowing them to stay is a generous concession on Zander's part considering if the Ocretions ever find out we're harboring fugitives from one of their death pods, it could mean war. "And who knows. Perhaps they will find another species with which to mate, in the future." It's not my concern, in any case.

"Perhaps they will choose to relocate? Zander agreed to find them safe harbor on Jesel, where other human rebels are hiding out. That may be a place where they find mates some cycle in the future. Certainly, they will never get that here." Ronan begins to affix the bolt. "But enough of them. Let's take bets on how quickly we can get our female pregnant."

The thought of putting a young in that taut body of Riya's has me hard again. But taking on a mate will be more than sex. I'd better start researching how to manage a human female. Hasn't every Zandian who has one mentioned at some point how emotional they are? How they evoke long dormant emotions in our species? Already I see it in Tarren. She's under his skin.

Hell, she might already be under mine.

I'd better find out how to bond, discipline, and condition our female if we're going to make this bid for our future successful.

My cock surges against my uniform pants as I picture disciplining her. Stars knows I could find a million reasons to strip off her clothes, tie her up, and smack that gorgeous ass red. But will she like it? Rumor has it that they actually can get aroused by their discipline. Is it wrong that I hope Riya does?

But I'm getting way ahead of myself. The first task is to secure her as our mate.

Riya

Lily and I walk to the docked training pod after assisting in the new med dome, passing Zandian warriors and humans laboring all around the ruined capital. Some teams clean up rubble, while others erect more of the domes. Already the city appears nearly inhabitable, which is stunning, considering we were in battle just a planet rotation before.

I try to pretend I'm not looking for my three warriors.

Lily glances over my shoulder and lifts her chin. "Over there."

"What?"

"Your suitors-admirers. Whatever."

I can't stop myself from following her gaze and... damn. My breath catches. There they are. All three have removed their tunics, working bare chested, every row of hard muscle clearly defined under peachy-purple skin.

She bumps my shoulder and smiles. "It looked like they were giving you the hard sell in there earlier."

My face grows warm. "Hard sell. Yeah. You could say that. They just want a female for King Zander's rehabitation project."

"Well, yes. But I would say they want you, in particular, to be their female."

I make a non-committal sound.

"So?"

"So what?"

"What do you think of them?" Lily prods.

My throat quivers. "Um... I'm not sure."

"They're cousins, I think. Rok says they're some of the best warriors Master Seke has trained. They're good-looking, don't you think?"

"I'm not interested," I lie. I refuse to look in their direction again, but my cheeks warm at my body's response to being cornered by them. Or-stars-the feel of Tarren's large hand on my ass. The way I ground my female parts shamelessly over his big thigh the previous planet rotation.

"I know you think they're handsome," Lily challenges me. "It's okay to look. You're in the pilot's seat, as far as I can tell."

We've walked past the place where the males are working, and it takes all my concentration not to slow my steps or turn back. "Oh really? How do you figure?"

"There aren't any available Zandian females. You're one of what? Maybe twenty-five females on the planet and they've determined we're compatible with their species. You're in high demand."

"Right, and they're in charge. Humans don't make demands in this galaxy or any other. Or have you forgotten?"

Lily shrugs. "I'm saying I think you have options. If you don't like those three, just show a little interest to another warrior and they'll be fighting over you."

"But either way, the story ends with me becoming a Zandian breeder. Getting claimed by not one, but multiple warriors for the purpose of continuing their species. Right?"

Lily puts a hand on my arm. "Zandians are honorable beings. They may be dominant and high-handed, but they're reasonable. This generation has been without females for years now and they're not used to humans. But believe me when I say that once the adjustment period is over, we're very compatible."

"And what if I don't want to mate at all? With any of them?"

Lily nibbles her lip, regret swimming in her green eyes. "I don't know. Humans aren't slaves here, but we are their guests. I think it will be fall in line or leave."

That's what I was afraid of.

Considering I was sentenced to death by my former slave masters and the barcode on the back of my neck would give that information to any being in the galaxy who scanned me, leaving isn't an option. Even if it was, I'd rather die now than go back to the agrifarm with the brutal slave masters. Which means spreading my legs for not one, but three huge horned aliens.

And I'd better hope to Mother Earth it takes them a long time to figure out there won't be any Zandian babies coming out of this womb.

Because I don't know what they'll do to me then.

R

onan

I

'm first in the washtube," I holler the moment we finish our work, sprinting for the palatial pod.

"Ass," Jax mutters. I hear his feet pounding behind me, but I have the advantage of a head start. Besides, I'm definitely the fastest.

I make it to our shared chamber and bolt straight for the washtube, not stopping to take off my clothes until I'm standing in the middle of it and the door is closing.

I laugh as Jax pulls off a boot and hurls it at the closed door.

I made it into a game, but my sense of urgency is real. We have to get cleaned up and find our female.

I saw all the vecking gazes on Riya when she and Lily walked by and I wanted to beat each and every warrior to a pulp for even thinking about taking our female.

You might say I have a competitive streak. Good thing my cousins share it. I heard Tarren growling beside me and Jax wore that cool, calculating look that means trouble for anyone who gets in our way.

The way I see it, we need to get Riya in our hoverdisk-sleeping quarters-whatever by the end of this planet rotation.

The trouble is, the dark-haired beauty with a knockout body has guarded eyes. She's been damaged by males, so I'm sure as veck not going to force myself on her. I know Tarren and Jax wouldn't either. Tarren sounded like he wanted to find and rip the heads off whichever beings forced themselves on her.

But there isn't time to tread lightly, either. Teams need to be formed before King Zander makes his announcement. And the three of us know exactly nothing about winning over a female.

The washtube empties and I skip the drying phase, hitting the button to open the doors. "Your turn, beautiful." I grin at Jax as he passes me to step in. "Be quick, we have a female to court."

"You don't even know what court means," Tarren grumbles from his hoverdisk where he's sat down to remove his boots.

"Neither do you." I pad past him and pull on a fresh uniform in the crisp white of Zandia.

"So what's your plan, Master Romance?"

"I say we go find Riya and offer her a tour of the palatial pod. She's never been in it, right? She's probably curious. It's far more luxurious than the training pod she's used to. Maybe she'd prefer to stay here."

Tarren snorts. "You think it's going to be that easy? She'll just come to our chamber and stay?"

I grin. "I figure you and Jax will fill in the gaps of my plan."

Jax also cuts his shower short and emerges from the washtube. Tarren takes his place.

"That sums up your strategy on most everything," Jax observes drily, clearly having heard the entire conversation.

I shrug. "Good thing we get to share this experience, then, right?"

Jax gets dressed in his uniform. I recognize the thoughtful creases of his face and keep my mouth shut so he can think. I truly am grateful we're in this together, because I doubt I'd tempt a female on my own. I'm not as big as Tarren or as smart as Jax. I'm the one who makes beings laugh. But the way I see it, with my two cousins, we offer the full package. And I'm grateful for the chance to share a female with them.

Tarren emerges from the washtube.

"It's about vecking time. Let's go find our female," I say.

Tarren stalks naked through the chamber and grabs his uniform. "We should leave her alone. We're coming on too strong."

Jax folds his arms over his chest but doesn't answer. Experience tells me he's weighing our options.

"Veck that," I say. "Some other warrior is probably trying to stick his tongue in her ear right now." I pick my words carefully, guessing at what will get my cousin moving quickly.

I guess correctly.

Tarren growls and yanks on his pants.

"Or is that what you want?"

"That's probably enough goading," Jax warns me.

The three of us are out the door before I can count to ten. Tarren leads the way, hands curled into fists at his sides. Jax and I stalk behind him, sharing glances every time Tarren nearly knocks some being over.

We pass Master Rok and his mate Lily on the way out of the palatial pod and the three of us skid to a stop. There's a moment of awkward bows and formal greeting before Lily jerks her thumb toward the training pod. "Riya is in her chamber."

Jax straightens. Tarren's nostrils flare.

"Where do we find it?"

"It's a prison cell she shares with several other humans. Number 11 or 12, if I remember right," Lily explains.

We all drop at the waist for another round of bows. "Thank you, Lily, esteemed mate of Master Rok," I murmur.

Lily pulls a dagger from her sword belt and points at each of us in turn. "You force that girl into anything she's not willing to do and I'll personally cut your balls off. Understand?"

Rok's lips twitch, but he does nothing to subdue his female.

A muscle in Tarren's jaw jumps and his fists tighten. "No being will be forcing Riya," he growls.

"Especially not us," I add.

Lily gives a crisp nod and stows her dagger back in its scabbard. "Then good luck to you."

Rok chuckles as he leads her away.

The three of us exchange a glance as we exit the palatial pod and hike across the rubble to the training pod.

Jax curses under his breath when we walk through the training pod. It was once an Ocretion death pod, sent out to exterminate all the beings on it, so it's designed like a prison. Even though the cells have been made more comfortable with mats and blankets, it's still a vecking hell-hole.

To make matters far, far worse, the pod is packed with males. As we walk down the row of cells, we pass cluster after cluster of males crowding around females. Deep voices boast and taunt.

Ugh. If this is my species' form of courting, I'm a little less proud to be a Zandian this planet rotation.

When we reach cell eleven, it's no different. Five males are crowded in the cell with Riya and three other human females. She's backed in a corner, and the guarded mask she wore earlier has been multiplied by one hundred.

Her eyes lift to meet Tarren's when he shoulders his way through, making room for Jax and I to follow him in. He holds out his hand. "Come."

I want to elbow him for saying it like an order rather than a request, but our female doesn't hesitate. She wants to be rescued. She stretches out her hand to grasp Tarren's, picking her way through the bodies to get to us. The moment she's close enough, Tarren swings her up into his arms.

Surprise brightens her face, but she doesn't protest, doesn't look back at the scene we leave. When we get down the corridor, and away from the oppression of male hormones and aggressive posturing, she kicks her feet.

"I can walk, you know."

"You will never walk when I can carry you," Tarren growls. "Not when there are other males sniffing around you like beasts."

"And I suppose you think you three are different?" There's a dryness to her tone that's particular to humans. I haven't learned all the nuances of their communication yet, but I think it's called sarcasm.

"You left with us, didn't you?" Jax challenges.

Her long-lashed golden eyes slide left to take in Jax. She purses her lips, but they've started to curve up. "Lesser of two evils," she mutters. "Will you please put me down?" She starts to struggle against Tarren again when we leave the pod. "Where are we going?"

"How would you like a tour of the palatial pod?" I offer, trying to make it sound like a real treat. "Have you seen the Great Hall?"

She stops squirming, relaxing into Tarren's hold. "No."

"Would you like to? It's quite beautiful."

"Only if I get to walk."

Jax smiles at our little small victory. Tarren stops and drops her to her feet without a word or smile, still in gruff protector mode. I shudder to think what would've happened if we'd found another male touching Riya when we arrived. My cousin is not to be challenged when he's serious about a fight.

Jax claims one of her hands, and I sweep in to grab the other, figuring Tarren already had his turn carrying her.

Jax and I start a running commentary on the finer points of the palatial pod as we enter, explaining some of the history of our species' survival after we escaped the Finnian invasion of our planet.

She walks along beside us, but I don't think she's listening.

She looks... worried. Which makes me want to pull her into my arms and soothe away her fears.

Does she think we're trying to get her into our chamber so we can take our turns with her?

Veck, that exact scenario is probably on all of our minds. Which means I need to come up with another tactic. Fast.