Chapter 7 - The First Night
806 Words
Mira lay stiffly on the far edge of the enormous bed, the soft silver silk garment brushing lightly against her skin as she pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.
The mattress was unbelievably comfortable.
Which only made the situation stranger.
Across the room, the five aliens continued finishing their routines. The quiet hum of the ship filled the space between them, steady and constant.
Mira watched them cautiously.
Drokan was the first to finish, dimming one of the wall lights before crossing the room. The large warrior moved with surprising quiet for someone his size. Without a word, he settled onto the bed on the far side, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight.
Rethan followed soon after, setting aside a small glowing device before climbing onto the bed near the opposite edge. He nodded briefly toward Mira, his expression calm and unreadable.
Vael stretched his arms once before joining them, reclining comfortably against the pillows as though this arrangement was the most natural thing in the world.
Seyrin was the next to approach, pausing briefly near the bedside controls to lower the lighting until the room was filled with a soft blue glow.
Finally, Kaelor crossed the room.
The captain stopped beside the bed, looking down at Mira for a moment.
She immediately tensed.
“I’m already as far over as I can go,” she said quickly.
“I see that.”
Kaelor climbed onto the bed beside her, the mattress shifting slightly again beneath his weight. Even lying down, he seemed enormous compared to her.
Mira stared straight up at the ceiling, trying not to think about the fact that five alien warriors now surrounded her in the bed.
This was fine.
Totally fine.
Completely normal.
Then Kaelor’s arm moved.
Before she could react, his large hand settled gently around her waist.
Mira froze.
“Hey—”
With a smooth motion, he pulled her a short distance across the mattress, guiding her toward the center of the bed beneath the covers.
Her heart immediately started racing.
“I thought we talked about space,” she said nervously.
“You will be more comfortable here,” Kaelor replied calmly.
“That’s debatable.”
But the bed was so large that even in the center there was still space between everyone.
Still…
Being surrounded like this was strange.
Very strange.
Mira pulled the blanket closer around herself and tried to relax.
The room grew quieter as the lights dimmed further.
One by one, the aliens settled into stillness.
Minutes passed.
Mira remained wide awake.
Her thoughts refused to slow down.
She stared up at the ceiling, listening to the steady breathing around her and the distant hum of the ship’s engines.
Her mind raced through everything that had happened.
Earth.
The abduction.
The auction.
The ship.
Five aliens who had bought her.
She shifted slightly under the blanket, trying to get comfortable.
It didn’t work.
Her body felt tense, her shoulders tight.
Sleep felt impossibly far away.
Next to her, Kaelor noticed.
“You are still awake,” he said quietly.
Mira sighed.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
“Well, yeah. Hard to sleep when your life turned into a science fiction nightmare.”
Kaelor was silent for a moment.
Then she felt a subtle vibration beneath her cheek.
At first she thought it was the ship.
But the rhythm was too steady.
Too close.
Kaelor was humming.
The sound was low and deep in his chest, barely audible—but the gentle vibration carried through the bed and into the blanket around them.
Mira frowned slightly.
“…What are you doing?”
“Humming.”
“I noticed.”
“It may help you sleep.”
She was about to argue.
But the vibration was strangely soothing.
The low rhythm pulsed softly beneath her head, like a distant engine or a quiet heartbeat.
Without meaning to, Mira’s body began to relax.
Her tense shoulders loosened.
Her breathing slowed.
The constant racing thoughts in her mind began to drift apart.
“That’s… weirdly calming,” she murmured sleepily.
“It is a common method used with younger members of our species.”
“You’re saying you’re… lulling me to sleep?”
“If it works.”
Mira let out a quiet huff of laughter.
“This galaxy is weird.”
The gentle humming continued.
The vibrations rolled softly through Kaelor’s chest and into the mattress.
Mira’s eyelids began to grow heavy.
Her thoughts blurred.
For the first time since leaving Earth, the tight knot of fear in her chest eased slightly.
The last thing she felt before sleep finally claimed her was the steady warmth around her and the soft, calming vibration beneath her cheek.
Then the stars outside the ship drifted quietly past as Mira finally fell asleep.
- Writer
