Chapter 3

Sandy

He wasn’t coming, was he?

Nervously shifting her weight, trying not to draw too much attention to herself, Sandy waited in the concourse of the massive starship port on what was supposed to be her new planet. She was very close to panicking. It had been a full hour, and there was still no sign of her errant mate.

This was such a bad idea. She couldn’t believe she had agreed to this.

When True Mate called to inform her that they’d found her match, she’d been initially surprised, then excited. Her mate, it had been explained to her, had been scanned a long time ago, so her scan didn’t have to go far to reach his, that’s how they found him so fast.

Then, she’d been hit with the second punch that her mate was, actually, an alien.

Everyone who used True Match knew that was a possibility. Some nutso people even said that it was a conspiracy to harvest the best people from the planet to steal away. Most matches reported were human to human. But there were still a rare few, something like ten percent or less, that matched out into the universe.

And Sandy was one of those lucky few.

Space was definitely further than she had ever intended to travel. She had even been thinking about declining the match entirely. But then she heard her grandmother’s voice in her ear. Her giddy, excited voice, exclaiming that this was exactly what she meant by adventure.

So, Sandy had confirmed that she would go.

She sold off most of her possessions, keeping only clothes and the few knickknacks she had brought with her from her grandmother’s house, including her favorite blanket. She saved some of her grandmother’s ashes in a mini urn but spread the rest out to sea.

And she left Earth. Just like that. A small shuttle had taken her and one other person – a very feminine appearing man – up to one of the border ships that patrolled Earth. She went through an immigration process, got a new language imprinted into her brain, birth control, and was sent off with her tickets, instructions on how to get where she was going, and a ‘good luck’.

She had the contact number of her mate. She had exchanged some messages with him. By all accounts, he seemed excited. He had been encouraging her the entire way, promising that she’d have everything she needed and that he would take care of her.

Now, Sandy was wondering if maybe she had just fallen for the oldest trick in the book. Because she was standing, alone and confused, in an alien starship port, trying not to catch anyone’s eye as a bunch of unfamiliar species walked around her. Most looking at her in surprise, a few in concern. There was one guy standing off a ways that looked like he was in uniform who kept glancing her way, and she wondered if he was an authority here. Or if he was a kidnapper seeing if she would be missed. She had no way of knowing. That might not even be a uniform.

She didn’t have one of the fancy, floating computer things the other aliens did. A combot. She had seen them on the travel ships she’d ridden in, but she had used the ship’s communication to send messages to her soon-to-be-mate. And, again, they had all been encouraging and excited.

But she didn’t have access to them now. She had no way to contact anyone. She knew the language thanks to the imprint, but she didn’t know the culture or directions. She couldn’t exactly get back on a ship and fly home either. That required money – credz – which she did have, since her human money transferred, but she had no way of using it yet.

She was basically without a phone, an ID, or currency in a foreign country, relying on the promises of a guy who she had never met.

Yeah. She’d definitely just fallen for the oldest trick in the catfish playbook. She was probably going to get trafficked or eaten or something equally horrible. This was why she shouldn’t be going out on adventures! She’d never needed to worry about being trolled and abandoned and kidnapped while knitting and watching daytime gameshows!

There was a way back, of course. They hadn’t just sent her out with a wave and a ‘have a nice life’ that easily. Humans were a protected species, even when they left Earth. Her kind was just too small and weak to defend itself against the much larger, more powerful alien species out there. Which might have been offensive, if she didn’t feel the absolute truth of it just standing there, watching the other races pass her by – all of them towering over her.

Humans had two protector species – the domini and the ratchi. If she was in danger or she needed to get back home emergently, it had been explained to her that she could go to either of their embassies on any planet and request their aid. The embassy would be required to help her, by treaty, and she’d get to return home to her needle addiction again – crochet, knitting, sewing – with only the unpleasant memories of being abandoned to scar her.

But to do that, she had to be able to find the embassy. And then somehow get there, or at least be able to contact the embassy. None of which she could do with no money, no phone, and no valid ID.

This was such a bad idea.

Not for the first time, she checked the watch she had strapped to the inside of her wrist. Only three panicked minutes had passed since the last time she last looked. Which seemed ridiculous. How were the seconds passing so slowly?

And where was her mate?

‘ I can’t wait to meet you, ’ he had written.

‘ I know we’ll be happy together. ’

‘ You seem like such a great person. ’

‘ I’ll always be there for you .’

And now what?

At what point did she give up? When was the wait too long and she should just roll the dice on asking someone and hoping she didn’t commit some kind of egregious faux pa in the process? They really should include a cultural dump along with the language, because she had no idea what to do in this situation now and these huge, vastly different aliens were too intimidating to ask. The little pamphlet she’d been given during transport only detailed the broad strokes of the species she’d mated into – the telfay – but even the pamphlet said she could rely on her mate for the majority of her needs.

Ha!

This really seemed like a mess up in the service process. She wasn’t saying that she should be handheld the whole way, but maybe something more than just putting her on a starship and wishing her good luck.

She checked her watch again. Only two minutes this time.

She was hungry. She had to pee. She was scared. She was about two seconds away from throwing in the towel on this whole misadventure.

“Alexandra el Tollman?”

“Yes?!” She jumped, startled at being so suddenly spoken to. She hadn’t meant to shout, but her apology died on her tongue when she caught sight of who was here to get her.

Two absolutely enormous males with thick, scaley hides and intimidatingly long quills sticking up from their heads, going down their back, in an eerily poisonous yellow. One was a dark, emerald green; the other was a deep, ocean blue. Both of them towered over her, looking down at her over an elongated muzzle – sharp teeth poking out the side of the blue one’s lip.

“Er…” She hesitated, looking between them nervously. “Are you… my mate?”

“No,” the blue one growled, and she barely stopped herself from slumping over in relief.

She was trying hard to keep an open mind, but the thought of either of these intimidating males laying on top of her…

She shivered in fear. She didn’t even think it was so much a problem of the scales and size. It was the cold, emotionless look in their eyes. Neither of these males were the one who had sent her such happy, excited messages.

“We work for your mate,” the blue one continued.

“You do?” She blinked, surprised.

“Yes,” the green one answered. “We’re his bodyguards. We were sent to fetch you.”

Alarm bells were going off in her head. Sandy might not have ever explored far beyond the end of the yard, but that didn’t mean she was na?ve. She knew better than to just follow a pair of huge, unfamiliar males to a second location that easily.

“What is his name?” She asked, trying not to sound as skeptical as she felt.

“Who?” Blue asked, confused.

“My mate. You said you worked for him. So, what’s his name?” She did her best not to deflate under their nearly hostile looks.

“Rane,” Green answered. “We’re to take you to him.”

“Right,” she mumbled. That was correct. So, they knew his name and they knew her name. If nothing else, that proved that they had been given her information by someone.

What was it those conspiracy theorists had been saying? Was this her first part in being kidnapped and trafficked?

What are you waiting for, girlie? She could hear her grandmother laughing. This was her adventure right now. True Match was a trusted company. The match wasn’t something done based on some kind of personality quiz or even her personal choice. It was supposed to be based on the soul. And all the success stories from the human-to-human matches insisted that it was true.

She certainly wasn’t getting anywhere just standing here.

“Okay,” she said, taking her suitcase handle. It was a big one, bought especially for this trip, and it, combined with the travel bag over her shoulder, held all that was left of her life. “Thank you for picking me up. I’m ready to go.”

She didn’t get anything else from the glowering duo. Green turned and started leading, while Blue stayed behind her. Flanking her as they guided her from the concourse.

They didn’t tell her their names. They didn’t bother to explain where they were going. They seemed very unfriendly overall.

She supposed bodyguards would be hired for their protection potential, not really how nice they appeared, but as far as welcomes went, this was not one.

Of course, at this point, she was already going to have a conversation with her supposed mate. His taciturn bodyguards were the least of it. Her first question was going to be where he was when she landed. Not meeting her himself was one thing; being late to not meet her was another.

He might have a perfectly good reason, of course. Maybe there was an emergency. Maybe her ship actually landed early, and he was right on time in sending the two reptilian males. Maybe keeping your mate waiting like this was some kind of cultural thing – in which case, they’d need to have a conversation about her boundaries regarding his culture. There was definitely a middle ground there that wouldn’t leave her feeling abandoned or in danger.

Sandy would kept her irritation to herself until she knew for sure as the duo took her out of the port to what was unmistakably a pickup lane. They already had a vehicle there, waiting for them, guarded by what appeared to be a valet judging by the others in similar dress lingering around. And she knew she had just flown on spaceships to get here, but there was something about seeing a car just floating off the ground that finally made things seem real.

She was on an alien planet.

The sky overhead was bright, silvery blue, with only a few white clouds here and there. The city she could just see even standing here wasn’t the normal gray she was accustomed to from concrete. It was instead made of varying shades of green, like all the buildings were built from jade and trimmed in bronze.

The floating car was shiny blue-black, with dark, tinted windows, and a rounded body. Green opened the door and stepped aside for her to enter. The interior was just as dark and rather cozy. She expected leather seats from what she knew of luxury vehicles back home, but they were instead made of incredibly soft fabric – like a baby blanket.

She melted into the comfort of it before looking for a seatbelt of some kind as Blue easily lifted her suitcase and set it inside. But before she could ask the scaley twins about the seatbelt situation or where they were going, her door was shut, and she was alone inside the space. Movement from the front told her where the other two went, though she couldn’t see them through the privacy glass. Before she could move across the space – which was wide like the back of a limo – and tap the glass to get their attention, the vehicle was already moving.

Being in a car without a seatbelt felt so wrong. This went against everything she was taught. But she couldn’t see anything like one, and she was quickly distracted by all the sights that quickly flashed by outside the window.

The floating car didn’t stay on the road. It lifted up, hovering in the air, giving her an even better look at this alien city she had landed in.

The space port was isolated, probably for safety reasons or something. But there was plenty of traffic flying to and from the star shaped port, back towards the jade colored city. Sandy wished she knew how to operate the windows as she pressed her face against them, looking ahead at the huge, sprawling metropolis they were heading towards.

There were some white buildings, a few gray ones, but the majority were jade green, shining brightly in the sun.

She got an even better look when the flying car turned, circling around the city. She was able to stare with wide, amazed eyes as a sparse, golden forest flashed by beneath her. The leaves were bright golden brown and orange gold – like they were changing colors with the seasons. Were they? Or was that their color all the time?

She didn’t know, but finding out would be its own little adventure.

The car ride was long, but she didn’t get bored staring at the city. The beautiful, tall buildings with such unique architecture and the flying cars darting here and there and the alien landscape with distant, snowcapped mountains that seemed to sparkle like gold thanks to the color of all the plant life that shined in the sun were so stunning, she couldn’t look away.

Eventually, however, she felt the alien car slowing and they turned again. She didn’t get to see where they were until they came to a halt. The duo up front moved again and, moments later, her door was opened.

She gasped as she stepped out, looking up at the beautiful manor in front of her. It was like a mansion from a dream. It was white, unlike the jade buildings from the city, but she did see a hint of jade and gold in the details, especially in the slates of the sloped roof. Wide, sweeping steps led to a huge, jade door on a porch covered by roofing that was supported by large, smooth columns. Bright white flowers filled tiered beds that went up the middle of the steps, while sparkling water from twin curtains of water fell behind the columns.

“Wow,” she breathed, standing in awe. She hadn’t actually asked how well off her new mate was supposed to be. Seemed like a rude of question, and she figured he would be comfortable considering he had promised to pay the fees to get her here by himself. And certainly, only wealthy people had bodyguards, right? But, in the end, it hadn’t really mattered. Sandy would adjust herself to whatever lifestyle they were going to be living – rich or poor.

But she hadn’t been expecting all this .

“Up the steps,” Green suddenly barked, turning her attention back to him and Blue – who had grabbed her suitcase and had it resting on one shoulder instead of rolling it like a normal person. She clenched the strap of her shoulder bag but didn’t move. Gruff and outright impolite, he said, “Get going.”

Okay…

Sandy didn’t argue as she turned to follow directions. Being generous, maybe this was how bodyguards were supposed to behave on this planet. Maybe this was normal for them. And if it was, again, they’d need to discuss boundaries. She didn’t consider it entitled or demanding to expect basic politeness from people.

But she kept that thought to herself – for now – as she followed Green up the steps towards the massive doors. They rumbled as they approached, sliding open on their own into the walls instead of swinging out like she expected.

She wanted to stare in awe – at the doors, at the beautiful, glittering foyer that opened before her – but Green and Blue didn’t give her a chance. They walked her right through and up another sweeping set of stairs, shaped like a smooth ‘S’, to a balcony landing then down a hall, past simple, bright wooden doors that also parted down the middle into another long hall.

The rug under her feet was soft, and it was plain, beige and brown. So was a lot of the furniture, she realized as she looked around. All this wealth, but whoever had chosen the decorations clearly never heard of a color palette that wasn’t neutral.

It was beautiful though, in a plain kind of way, she thought to herself as Green stopped in front of a door and pressed a button on a console beside it. Immediately, it parted down the middle and slid open, and they led her into what was unmistakably an office.

There was a huge white desk in front of a massive, brown leather chair with large, dramatic wings at the top.

And waiting for her in that chair was a small person, giving her a smile that immediately made her uncomfortable.

“Hello,” Sandy greeted, trying to remain calm. Was this her mate?

“Take her things to their room,” the person said, speaking to one of the two guys behind her. “And get Rane. Bring him here; I don’t care what state he’s in.”

Neither ratchi male responded verbally, but when she looked back, they were leaving the room without a word, her suitcase still over Blue’s arm. They still hadn’t given her their names. And now they were just taking her belongings.

But the person in the chair mentioned Rane, so she had to be in the right spot. Right?

She turned forward again, and they were giving her a look.

The pamphlet, besides information about herself, also included some brief information about the species she had mated into. They were called the telfay and they were a feathered, but flightless, species on a planet with very mild temperatures year-round.

She read that the males would have golden skin, but brightly colored crest feathers. The females, by contrast, would be smaller, fully feathered, and brown in coloration. And judging by that, she’d have to assume that this person was a female.

She had no hair or crest feathers. Her head was smooth and softly rounded, while her skin looked blurred, like she had foundation everywhere. But no, that wasn’t blurring makeup, that was just her feathers. A very soft, downy layer covering her all over. Sandy could see where they ended around her sharply angled eyes that had irises of a deep, depthless black. Sandy couldn’t tell how tall she was, but her figure was very slim, with only a slightly exaggerated rounding at her bust. She couldn’t tell if it was fluffy feathers or actual breasts, but the creamy, satiny top she wore was draped delicately over them all the way up to her long, slender neck.

She was not a large female, even if she ended up being six feet tall when she stood. Her body type was just so slender and slim, it was very bird like. However, despite that, she dominated the huge desk and large chair she sat upon like they had been built for her.

As Sandy watched, she put her elbows on the desk and leaned her chin on her carefully folded hands, still smiling at her with an oddly malevolent gleam in her eyes. Her long, loose sleeves were tight at the wrists, keeping them from falling down, covering her very modestly – at least from the top as far as Sandy could see. It was the same kind of clothing that Sandy would wear – though her own was less fancy and silky.

Who was this? The malevolent tension suggested she wasn’t friendly, but the satisfaction in her eyes suggested that she was pleased to see Sandy in some weird way. She also hadn’t bothered to introduce herself. She just looked Sandy up and down like she was an unfeeling art piece in a museum for her to judge.

Sandy didn’t bother to try greeting her again. She met her softly hostile gaze with an unyielding one of her own. Maybe she didn’t inherit her grandmother’s sass, but she had definitely inherited her stubbornness. If this unknown woman wanted to play some kind of battle of wills staring game, then Sandy wasn’t going to be the first to break the silence.

“I was wondering what kind of human we would get,” the stranger finally said. “I didn’t really expect much from such a notoriously vulgar species, but you actually dress rather appropriately. I suppose someone must have coached you in the decorum of a proper telfay lady.”

Sandy had never resented her grandma wardrobe so much as she did in this moment. She had never worn a bikini in her life, but the smugness being directed at her made her wish she owned one. Which was petty and childish, but that absolutely dehumanizing, judging look in this female’s eyes stirred something in her that she knew her grandmother would find hilarious.

“And you’re quiet too,” the female continued. “Lovely. You’ll do fine.”

Sandy’s eye twitched. Why did it sound like she was someone being hired for a job but just barely met the minimum requirements for it?

“My name is Elffa,” the stranger finally said, sitting back in her large chair like a queen on her throne. “You may call my Tilla Elffa, or just tilla . It’s a way of formally addressing your betters. I suppose it would be alright for you to call me monna – which means ‘mother’. Though I’d rather you didn’t. That will only be acceptable if we’re in company.”

Oh, sweet cheese on a cracker, please don’t say that this was her monster-in-law.

Elffa’s brow pinched in annoyance. “Being quiet is a good trait, but you will respond when I’m speaking to you, do you understand?”

She hadn’t even bothered to ask her name. She probably knew it, of course, but it still spoke volumes as to what kind of person she was.

Sandy still said nothing, and Elffa glowered, opening her mouth to say something else, but before she got the chance the door opened again. Sandy turned as the two ratchi males threw – literally tossed, like a sack of garbage – someone inside.

Elffa made a sound of annoyance, but Sandy didn’t give her any further attention. She was focused on the golden skinned male stumbling to his feet like a drunkard picking himself off the sidewalk. Sandy made a face as his smell reached her – stale beer and spoiled wine. There was also something sweet there that might have been pleasant but was sickeningly sweet like cleaning fluid and filth mixed together.

“ Monna ,” he greeted Elffa with a smile, falling back, only being saved when Green put a hand on his shoulder and shoved him forward again. “I can always count on you to ruin a good time.”

He was… a mess.

For all that Elffa was dressed like a middle-aged woman steeped in wealth and power, this guy dressed more like a bodybuilder – one who just got last place in competition and wasn’t taking it well.

He was shirtless but for a single leather strap decoratively cinched under his impressive pecs. Broad shouldered with very defined musculature and big hands. Unlike Elffa, he didn’t have a soft layer of feathers all over. He was fully bare, allowing anyone to admire his gorgeous form. More leather bands decorated his arms, and he had golden caps over his fingers, covering what appeared to be claws, attached to chains that connected to his wrists. He had on shorts that were very low and small, showing off as much of his chest and thick thighs as he could. Leather sandals covered his feet and wrapped up his calves. He looked ready to join the male strip show – or like he might have just come off stage. Was he oily or was his golden skin just naturally shiny?

This male, that she had to imagine was Rane, turned from Elffa and looked at her. Their angled, black eyes were exactly the same, but aside from that singular feature, they couldn’t be more different. Where Elffa had a soft, rounded face and head, his features were all sharp and squared off. Like a marble statue from the ancient masters.

But there, on his head, were his feathers. Not the short, soft kind that covered Elffa, but an impressive, long crest of bright, baby sky blue feathers that were half raised in attention. And completely messy and in disarray.

There was something in his expression. Something soft and almost… pained.

But it was gone in an instant as he sneered, leaning back.

“Ew. I thought human females were supposed to be gorgeous. Why’d I get the ugly one?”

One of Sandy’s brows popped, but she maintained her silence. Not that she needed to bother, because Elffa was already speaking – though certainly not in her defense.

“This is my son, and your mate. As you can see, he’s a pathetic excuse for either, but then I hear you humans will fuck anything, so I’m sure you don’t care.”

Sandy half turned back, looking at Elffa, keeping Rane in her sights – mostly out of concern. He was swaying in a very concerning way. If he fell, Sandy wasn’t sure that she’d be able to help or stop him from hurting himself.

Rane scoffed, looking at his mother, pointing down at Sandy. “You really expect me to be able to get hard enough to fuck that ? Sorry to tell you, monna , but I think that mate match nonsense is a scam.”

“That’s fine,” Elffa shrugged. “I don’t rightfully care if you two don’t like each other. And there’s medication if you need some assistance.”

Rane looked thoughtful for a moment, crossing his arms over his large chest. “Maybe I can bring an actually sexy female into our bed and fuck her while looking at the pretty one. I was with this sweet , voluptuous little thing last night that-”

“Spare me,” Elffa said, thankfully cutting him off. “I know what you’re doing Rane, and it won’t work.”

What was he doing? If he was trying to speedrun the quickest breakup ever, she’d happily oblige him – but still, she held her tongue.

That brief look of pain on his face. Like he knew what was about to happen and hated it. Was she seeing too much in him? Maybe he just had a hangover.

Regardless, she maintained her silence as Elffa spoke.

“Orza, take the female to their room. Rane… ugh, go clean yourself up. You have practice this afternoon. You can fuck your new mate later.”

He was not touching her with a ten-foot pole, Sandy wanted to tell them. But again, she said nothing as Blue – she had to assume that was Orza – stepped forward and took her by the arm. He wasn’t precisely rough, but he wasn’t gentle either, as he pulled her from the room. Sandy didn’t fight, knowing better than to think she had a chance with someone that huge.

But she was thinking. Wondering how she was going to get out of here.

Because there was absolutely no way she was staying. She didn’t know what she had just inadvertently stumbled into, but she wasn’t going to have any part of it. These two could work through their issues on their own, she was bailing the second she figured out how to contact the embassy.