Chapter Four
Suki hated being trapped on the ship while they traveled to Xpashta. Not that theWayfarerwas a terrible place to be, but floating around in space reminded her too much of the life she’d been living since aliens had captured her on Earth. It would be nice to have solid ground beneath her feet, and to see her new home.
Excitement bubbled inside her when she thought about getting to live with Tark. Even though he’d claimed her, and let his friends know that she belonged to him, she felt like her newfound happiness could come crashing down at any moment. His crewmates seemed happy that Tark had claimed her, except for the angry-looking one he’d called Haftyr. What if the cyborgs on his world weren’t happy with his choice of mate? He’d assured Suki that her past meant nothing to him, but would the leaders of his planet feel the same?
“We’ll be landing any moment,” Tark said, a broad smile on his face. “My home is rather plain, but there are rooms filled with items from your planet. You can add whatever you’d like to the house. Some of the human mates have chosen things like pictures and vases.”
“You have things from my world, but you don’t know how to return us to Earth?” Suki asked.
His expression fell. “I’m sorry you can’t return to your home. We obtained those items through trading, or from taking over pirated vessels. If you truly wish to return, perhaps I can find a way to make it happen.”
Suki reached for him, her hand curled around his bicep. “No, Tark. I don’t want to go back to Earth. I was thinking of the others. Did you know that Navya is related to one of the royal families of her country?”
“Navya said that her family would not welcome her after what she’s been through,” Tark said. “While she misses her home, she said she was willing to travel to Xpashta. The same is true for Fenella.”
“What if…” She swallowed hard. “What if the leaders of your world don’t think I’m good enough for you? What if they say we can’t be together?”
“Suki, no one will take you from me,” he said. “The Commanders will be glad that I’ve found a mate. And the fact we’re bringing home three females will be a blessing. It will also prove that perhaps Maggie and Shaylee were correct.”
“What do you mean?” Suki asked.
“They are the human mates to two cyborgs, and they suggested that we could purchase human slaves and free them on Xpashta, give them another chance at life and at having a family. I never thought…” He looked away. “I never thought about the females at brothels being unwilling until it was brought to our attention by the other humans on our world. We’d always believed those females were willing. Perhaps instead of just searching the slave markets, we should also search the brothels for more human females.”
“Why can’t you get them through the Bride program?” she asked.
“What’s a Bride program?”
Her mouth opened and shut as she stared at him in shock. “I just thought, since you look so much like the Terrans, that maybe you were related somehow. They’re a race of aliens who have opened stations across Earth. They offer monetary compensation for females to go to their world and mate with their males.”
He frowned. “Maggie mentioned something about that. I’m not familiar with a race called Terrans, though. We’ve tried to search for information on them, and only get led back to archived information on your planet.”
“Maybe they were called something else before,” she mused. “If you don’t know how to get to Earth, then maybe you’re right to search the trading posts for females. Not all of them would be happy to go to your world though. Some will want to go home, and since you can’t offer that to them…”
He nodded. “It could be a potential issue. We want the females on our world to be happy. We already have one human who wants to return home. I’m not sure how well it would be received to have several more as angry as Jillian is.”
“Why is she angry?”
“She was unconscious when we found her, and badly damaged. One of the medics healed her, but a cyborg claimed her before she woke. She’s been very angry and bitter.”
“She was given no choice?” Suki asked.
“No.” Tark grimaced. “I’ve suggested that perhaps Jillian would prefer a different cyborg, but Rorwick is adamant that she belongs to him.”
“That’s rather sad. Maybe if you bring more females to your world, he’ll bond with one of them. Then Jillian will be free to choose someone else.”
“Perhaps,” he said.
The ship shuddered and pitched, making Suki gasp. Tark reached out to steady her, smiling once more.
“We’re home,” he said.
Her stomach clenched and she gripped his hand tight as he led her from the room they’d shared the past few days. Suki didn’t know what to expect as they disembarked from the shuttle. There was a large wall that seemed to stretch for miles. There was grass and trees, a pretty sky, but none of it looked even a little bit like Earth. The colors and textures were all wrong, and yet they worked well together. It was beautiful.
“Welcome to your new home,” Tark said as large gates opened.
A gathering of cyborgs greeted them, and Suki pressed closer to Tark. She didn’t think they would cause her any harm, but they were an unknown. Until Tark, she hadn’t had good experiences with aliens. They’d used and abused her, and hadn’t shown her even the slightest bit of kindness. Maybe these cyborgs were like her sweet Tark, but with the way Haftyr acted, she doubted even on this world there were many males like her new mate.
Three imposing cyborgs came toward them. They weren’t as tall or as broad as Tark, but they had a commanding air about them. Their gazes scanned over her and Suki shivered, feeling as if icy fingers had raked down her spine. The middle one smiled, but it didn’t set her at ease even a little bit.
