Assigned A Mate

Chapter 2-1

“The transfer must be wearing on the body, therefore she sleeps.”

I heard the voice, but didn’t stir. I was quite comfortable and I didn’t want to wake up.

“Yes, however, she has been like that for four hours.” This voice was deeper, more commanding, clearly frustrated by my state. “Goran, perhaps my mate was damaged in transport.”

.Damaged?

“There does not appear to be any damage.” A different voice. “She is small and perhaps needs additional time to recover.”

Small? I’d never been considered small. Short, maybe, but small? That was almost funny. I couldn’t will my body to move, to see who considered me to be anything but my usual curvy, very solid self. It was as if I’d woken up from a long nap and I was content to stay that way. I felt warm and safe and secure, not on the brink of… oh!

never My eyes fluttered open and I did not see the stark gray walls of the interior of the processing facility where I’d spent the past few days. Instead, I seemed to be in some sort of rustic structure, the ceiling and walls made out of sturdy canvas. I couldn’t see much of the space, for there were three men looming over me. My eyes widened at their size. They were formidably large and… large. I’d never seen a man so big, let alone three of them. Was their size normal?

largeEverything about them was dark. Black hair and eyes, black clothing over tanned skin. They reminded me of men from the Mediterranean region of Europe. But I had not been sent by the processing center to Europe, or even the mid-East, but off-planet. Trion? Where was that? How far was I from home? Warden Egara hadn’t said how far away this planet was before she’d swiped her finger across her display and had me transported. It had happened so fast, like falling asleep for a surgery and waking up afterward completely unaware of everything that had happened in between.

I was lying on my side, no longer in that uncomfortable chair in the processing room, but on a narrow bed. My wrists and ankles were no longer restrained and I reached up and threaded the fingertips of my right hand through the hair just behind my ear.

Yes. There it was. I released a pent-up breath. The small lump caused by the justice department’s implant, the device that they’d promised would bring me home someday. Until then, I had to survive as Evelyn Day, convicted murderer.

I blinked, confused, as I tried to get my bearings. I’d known about alternate planets my entire life, but images of them on the media were never provided. Transport off-planet was only allowed for military personnel or for women in the bride program. Because of this, I’d always imagined that aliens would be very different than humans, but I was most definitely wrong. These men, if they were examples of their planet’s race, were very handsome specimens and very human-like. Handsome perhaps wasn’t the correct word. Intense, virile, manly. Gorgeous.

Regardless, their power and harsh energy, their sheer size, and the very distinct possibility that they might hurt me had me scrambling backwards.

The wall was pliant against my back and I had to put my hand down to balance myself. I was on my hands and knees and the men’s gazes dropped from my face to my body. While the air was warm—wherever I was—I felt it against my bare skin. Looking down, I was definitely not in prison garb. I was n***d.

“Where are my clothes?” I squeaked, trying to cover myself and looking around. The space was Spartan, containing only the bed where I sat and a table in the center of the space. The room wasn’t overly large, or perhaps it was the sheer size of the three men before me taking up most of the space. Large black trunks lined a wall and metal gadgets, looking like medical machinery from the hospital and appliances from my kitchen, sat upon them.

“You have been transported and processed as custom demands,” one of the men said.

“But, I’m naked.” My hands froze and I looked down when I felt my n*****s. They had gold rings through them. If that weren’t enough, a gold chain ran from one ring to the other and hung down to just above my navel.

I… um, I had n****e piercings. I couldn’t turn my gaze from the strange sight. The hoops were smaller than a ring meant for a finger, the chain attached was thin like a cord and decorated with small gold discs.

“I see by your reaction that being adorned is not a custom on Earth.” I didn’t look up to see who spoke.

Adorned? Surprisingly, the n****e piercings didn’t hurt, even though they were brand new. Surely they would be sore. When I was ten I’d had my ears pierced and it had taken well over a month for the holes to heal. I felt no pain now, only a slight pulling on them because of the weight of the chain. It was slight, but constant… and arousing. My n*****s tightened and I gasped, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Welcome to Trion. I am Tark, your new master, and you are in the med unit at Outpost Nine. I brought you here to see the doctor after your transfer, for you did not wake.” The one on the right spoke, his voice deep and somehow familiar. His dark eyes met mine and held. I couldn’t look away, nor did I want to, for I felt… something. No man on Earth ever looked at me in such an intense way. It was as if he were claiming me solely with his eyes.

Why would his voice sound familiar? Odd, but I shook that thought away as impossible. He glanced at one of the other men, then looked at me again, clearly and intently. “This is Goran, my second-in-command.” The other man nodded to me. He appeared younger than Tark and an inch or two shorter, but no less powerful of build. “And this is Bron, the doctor stationed here at Outpost Nine.”

The third man offered a slight head tilt as well and remained silent. He didn’t keep his eyes on mine as Tark did, but let them rove over my body. I shifted my hands to cover myself better, but knew he could see everything.

everythingAll three wore black pants, but while the other two men wore black shirts, Tark’s was gray. The cut was similar to what Earth men wore, yet I’d never seen such broad shoulders or well-defined bodies. These were strong men and their clothing only accentuated that.

Tark was the only man who spoke to me. “Evelyn Day, you have been matched to me by the interplanetary treaty. While I have been assured of your wellness, the transfer could have harmed you. You were asleep for more time than anticipated. Bron will examine you for any damage. Up.”

He held out his large hand for me to take. I eyed it, then him, carefully. Warily.

“Examine me?” I asked, my eyes widening further. I could hear the rush of blood in my ears and I began to pant. “There’s… there’s no need. As you said, I’m just… small.”

He took a step closer, kept his hand out. “I disagree. I take care of what’s mine.”

Patiently, he waited, then sighed.

“I understand an Earth prison was your alternative. I am pleased with your choice, for out of all the possible mates in the Interplanetary Treaty, your subconscious needs were best matched to our way of life. It seems we are to give each other exactly what we both need.”

He paused and I let those words sink in. Would he give me what I needed? How could he, when what I needed was to go home, testify, and get my old life back?

He reached forward and ran his knuckles down my cheek. “Your past is unimportant, gara. You are mine now, and you must obey me in all things.” His voice dropped lower and his tone said that he would not be denied.

gara. I frowned, not pleased with his words, but the tender touch had me off-kilter.

I took his hand because I had no choice. It was so big, my palm engulfed by his. The touch was warm, the clasp gentle, but I doubted he’d let me tug away. I couldn’t get past the men if I wished to run, and if I did evade them, I still didn’t even know where I was. The only way to return to Earth was through the transporter, and they wouldn’t take me to a transport outpost, nor did I know how to operate one. I was well and truly stuck with him. At least until I was called back to testify. The prosecutor said that it could take months, however. Months with this man on a strange planet? I gulped.

him. Months He helped me to my feet and I swayed, the chain dangling from my breasts shifting as well. I stood on what felt like a sheet of thin gray flooring. It did not cover the entire space, for sand ringed it all the way to the walls. Sand? Were we in the desert? Was that why it was warm, why their skin was so nicely tanned? The sight of my bare feet next to three sets of boots looked odd.

The walls were opaque. Lights on stands around the room cast a soft glow.

I put my free hand up to stop the motion. He steadied me as I tilted my head back, way back, to meet his gaze. “What… what are you going to do with me?”

His dark eyes searched my face, then moved lower down my body. I flushed, knowing he—and the others—could see everything.

“You are the first we have seen from Earth and I must have a closer look.” The doctor’s gaze roved over my body just as Tark’s had, but he made me feel… exposed and dirty. I knew that look. Lecherous men, it seemed, were not limited to Earth.

I moved to stand slightly behind Tark, using him as a shield. His scent lifted from his shirt and it was intoxicating. Clean, sharp and with a hint of something mysterious. Whatever it was, I liked it. Was it because we’d been matched?

“I do not need to be examined and you most certainly won’t have a closer look. I am well, or they would not have sent me. I am also not a science experiment. I am a mate.” I tipped my chin up and firmed my voice, but I was at the mercy of these men. I had no idea if the term mate held any sort of status on Trion, but surely no man would allow another to examine his mate for enjoyment alone.

examine I didn’t look up, but I could see that Tark glanced from me to the two men before me.

“You allow her to speak to me in such a way?” Bron asked Tark, his expression venomous toward me.

Tark’s other hand clenched into a fist. “Shall I allow you to examine my mate with a c**k stand in your pants?”

myThe man shifted himself and had the decency to look embarrassed.

Tark lifted his hand in a dismissive wave and I felt more than heard a growl deep in his chest. “Goran, take him out of here. I will check my mate on my own.”