15. Lily

FIVE YEARS EARLIER

I was sad to see Ohara go. I'd hoped he would turn around at the last minute and run toward me and sweep me up in his arms and—

What was I thinking?

Those things only happened in romance movies. This was the real world. Things like that didn'thappen. I was a Prize in a prison colony and that was all I would ever be.

No matter how nice Ohara treated me, no matter how much I liked him… I was a piece of meat. And I shouldn't ever forget that. In a place like this, my life depended on it.

No sooner was I through the door than a gaggle of squawking hens — that is, the other Prizes — rushed me.

"Here she is!" one crowed.

"Tell us all the juicy details!" another squealed.

"And leave no rhoac unturned!" yet another said, fists curled in the tentacles atop her head.

I'd been at Ikmal for two weeks and not once had any of the other females paid me much attention. Although I was happy to finally be "one of the gang" I was at a loss as to what they could be so ecstatic about.

I took a step back and waved my hands to calm them down. "Hold up, hold up. What's going on? Tell you all the details about what?"

I couldn't believe it was the excitement of what might have happened between me and Druin. Some of the other girls had the unfortunate situation of having been Claimed by him before and it wasn't an experience anyone wanted to hear about again.

"Everyone's talking about it!" a lemon yellow-skinned creature called Gpidod screamed.

"About what?" I said.

"About the inmates fighting over you!" Gpidod replied.

The females' eyes were wide with wonder, shock, and awe.

Frankly, I was amazed that the news of something like that had made it all the way to the Prize Pool. Of all the things the Prizes should be concerned about, gossip ought to be at the bottom of the list. And yet, despite the chance to make a few friends among the Prizes, I hesitated.

"I… I'm not sure," I said.

"Don't hold back on us now!" Gpidod said. "I've been awake half the night thinking about it!"

"You have?" I said, stunned by her revelation, and judging by the nods of agreement among the others, it didn't appear she was the only one.

"Challenges to the Champion and his Prize happen so rarely," Gpidod said. "It's always a big event when it does! So, go on! Tell us everything that happened!"

I looked out at the expectant faces, so hungry for a taste of true romance that they'd put the rest of their lives on hold. I supposed all females, no matter their species, loved to hear about romance. Who was I to deny them that?

"All right," I said. "Well, it began last night when Druin chose me—"

"Skip past that bit!" Gpidod ordered. "We know it already!"

"And the less said about him, the better," another Prize with scaly pink skin said with a disturbed frown. She still bore the marks he'd lashed across her skin when he'd Claimed her. "Except for when he got beaten. I want to hear all those details."

And so, I told them.

I told them about how Ohara had dropped off a package of something called Quet-Dreai — and the Prizes gibbered among themselves about how they all knew he'd been cheating. And how he beat me with his belt, which made several of the Prizes look away, shut their eyes, and attempt to block out the negative memories that swarmed their minds.

I quickly moved on to how Ohara knocked on the door and challenged the jjizzik. The females squealed with excitement and hurled a dozen questions at me:

"What was the expression on his face like?" and…

"How did Druin respond?" and…

"What were you thinking when he came to rescue you?"

I answered them each in turn, adding a few extra details to make the story extra romantic for them.

Each Prize shivered with excitement in their own special way — tentacles quivered, others stood on end, while yet others' scales formed waves like someone had tossed a pebble into a still pond.

Then I described the fight in detail, leaving nothing out, and made it clear that Ohara dominated Druin at every turn.

"Then I was taken to Ohara's room and they took care of my wounds," I said.

By the time I was done, I was exhausted, but it turned out that was merely the first act of the story as far as the females were concerned.

"What happened then?" Gpidod said, eyes wide with excitement.

"I think we know what happened then!" another Prize said with a bawdy laugh.

"Yes," Gpidod said, rolling her mauve eyes. "But we want details! Details, please!"

I laughed at her desperation and shook my head. "What happened after that is… between us."

"Oh no!" the females whined. "Tell us more! Tell us more!"

I shook my head and no matter how much they prodded me, I vowed not to tell them a thing. I let their imaginations fill in the details of what happened during the night. No doubt they would have been disappointed with the truth.

But I wasn't.

I loved that Ohara had been so gentle with me, that he had considered my feelings before his own. Even if he wasn't really interested in me, it was the kindness I needed right at that moment and I wouldn't have changed a thing about it…

Except maybe a little more touching and a few more kisses…

I shook my head and returned to the expectant eyes of the Prizes.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Gpidod cried, clutching her hands together in prayer and staring at me, dreamy-eyed. "Do you think he'll fight all the other Champions who come along and try to Claim you?"

It looked like I wasn't the only one who'd sipped a little too often at the romance Kool-Aid. I couldn't help but laugh. "No," I said. "I don't think so. It's one of those things that happen spur of the moment. I don't think it will happen again."

"Oh," Gpidod said, her sadness painted plainly on her face, but it was gone in an instant. "But you never know! He might fight the others over and over again until no one would dare Claim you! It reminds me of a story in my culture about a hero and his fated mate…"

She slid her arm through mine, her skin moist to the touch, as she regaled me with some ancient story that somehow sounded very familiar.

But I didn't really listen to her. I was still struck with the sadness that I would never see Ohara again, that my words of it being a one-time thing might turn out to be true.

I'd spent the past few weeks researching the alien species, their strengths, their weaknesses, the things they found attractive in a female, and most of all, the things that repelled them…

I did it not with the expectation of finding my fated mate but that my first experience would be with someone kind and gentle, that I would be treated as a living, breathing being rather than a piece of meat that I knew, eventually, I would regress to.

I realized that with Ohara, I had achieved that goal and that now, it was time to grow up, to accept my fate and whatever beasts were thrown my way.

And that thought made me sad.

Perhaps it would have been better to have never met Ohara, to have never experienced the kind of sweetness that could be found even in a place such as Ikmal. Now I would be spending my days and nights looking for that same experience, searching but never finding it or anyone who lived up to the lofty bar Ohara had set.

"…and they lived happily ever after!" Gpidod squealed, winding up the end of the story she'd been telling me.

"Thanks," I said. "That's… a nice story."

In truth, I hadn't heard a word of it.

Gpidod hugged my arm closer and rubbed her cheek against my arm in what I assumed was an expression of friendliness in her culture.

"One thing's for sure," she said.

"What's that?"

"With all the buzz you're generating, you're going to have a ton of interest tonight at the Choosing!"

"I am?"

"Sure!" Gpidod beamed happily. "All the Champions will want a piece of you now! You'll be the most sought-after Prize in the entire Pool!"

A piece of me…

That was all that would be left of me if these alien inmates each got their "turn" with me.

My heart sank. This whole time, I'd been trying to lay low, to not bring attention to myself. But now it looked as if I was about to get all the alien cock I would ever want…

Even if I wanted none of it…

Save one.