The Varkari

Effect

When I turned around, I saw that the tables had filled up except for one or two empty seats where a human woman might sit some day and there was a soldier standing on the raised area for speakers. This male had dark yellow eyes like pirate's gold, but it could also have a touch of orange and I was just not close enough to see.

"That is the Speaker," Exer informed me in the barest of whispers. "He organizes the data and presents problems, progress, and solutions. We deliberate and he will have live feed from absentee participants or those who are not high enough to come."

I bobbed my head, watching as he touched the wall behind him and observed the immediate whitish blue projection.

"We will begin with the resolution of last session's major sector concern. The largest remaining human colony did resist dispersal and submission with an unexpected amount of uranium. I am pleased to report that Lord Hissryth's team successfully surrounded and neutralized the bombs before they could detonate and the energy has been absorbed. The team also believes that this can be converted into almost enough power for the entire return trip to Varkar..."

The room erupted in loud snarls and roars of triumph as fists pounded on the tables and feet hit the floors. It was terrifying and I pressed my hands against my ears to drown it out only to find that I could feel their snarls in my chest and the sounds made me shiver all over.

It was good, yes. No nuclear bombs had gone off. That was incredible actually, but fuel? That meant they might be going back, which was also incredible. I wanted to smile ear-to-ear and cheer, too. I automatically turned to Exer to ask, but then thought better of it. I could ask later.

"Our Admiral will fill you in on the next voyage and has data from the Controller," though he continued to flick through images of not just one, but several nuclear missiles like fat green and silver bullets sitting in some underground bunker, rigged with wires and a timer. I shuddered to think of that going off and I didn't even know where it would have been or when. Was I in the church? Would I have been blinked out by a bright wave of scalding fire while I slept on that dusty pew?

"Thank you, Speaker," said a new voice, pulling my gaze from the screen to the new Varkari that stepped up from the side of the stage where he had been leaning against the wall.

The hairs on the back of my neck slowly crept into a standing position as I took him in. He was the largest Varkari I had ever seen, at least taller than all of the soldiers. Muscles covered his limbs and torso, void of any fat so that their shape was apparent and accentuated further by the armored suit he wore. Where Exer's horns curled around like a ram and accentuated his cherubic cheeks, the Admiral's curved smoothly back over his head and were capped with the purplish alien metal at the tips that also highlighted the stripes of bared flesh along his forearms and shoulders.

His eyes were eerie, a shade of canary yellow that I rarely saw among his kind and made me want to stare at just how feline they seemed. Or maybe wolfish. They scanned over the crowd and met mine, a shockwave of goosebumps flying down my arms and back. If I could ever consider a monster as handsome, it would look like him with a straight nose that ran parallel with the line of his ears and lips that looked remarkably soft. He was all hard angles and sharpness, a weapon.

New data appeared on the screen with a tap. Finally, he looked away to gesture up at the graphs with a clawed finger. "Fuel resources are complete with reserves short only eight percent. This will be quick to fill, but as always, report any rumors of human explosives so that teams can be dispatched to neutralize the supply and collect-"

His voice was deep and rolling, calling to something buried under layers of conscious control that rose up to the surface, telling me that he was dangerous, a predator. I needed to get away from him or else.

The Admiral continued to speak about the main ship and preparations, but I barely heard him. I couldn't look away. Run.

"The Controller has reported that we are at ninety percent of capacity for the first fleet to return to Varkar. Once those have safely landed and females distributed, we will send them back for the final fleet, after which, only five will return to and remain on Earth for the following years to be filled if possible," he continued, calm and official.

Females distributed? Fleets? How many women did they have?

Run. Run. Do it now!

"Exer," I tapped his arm lightly, leaning in to whisper as softly as I could, though I felt like I needed to scream. "I need to go to the bathroom." I gulped and wiped my forehead just to see if I was sweating. I wasn't yet, thankfully, but any more stress and I would have a full blown panic attack; I could feel it prickling along my skin.

"I'm not sure-"

"I can go with her," Maria whispered across the table. "If that is okay?"

Reluctantly, Exer nodded his consent, grabbing my wrist as I shakily stood up. "Try to calm down," he advised, expression worried and knowing. We both knew that blowing our cover would end badly for both of us. "And I know you are afraid, but just...don't make any sudden movements, alright? Don't run here."

How did he know? Had I said something out loud?

"Tell me," he said, squeezing my arm, trying to snap me out of my rising panic. "They'll chase, Ellie. Don't do it."

"I won't. I won't."

Maria gave me a nervous smile that she must have thought was reassuring. I did not care about anything at that moment but getting away from the aliens that could smell my fear and panic. I swallowed hard as she led me out of the room and past the guards at the door. Though she did not seem to care that they were there, I did and saw their heads turn to watch us as we went by.

I didn't look back one time. I was too worried that if I did and all the Varkari in the room were staring at me that I would definitely run. Then they would surely descend on me like slavering hounds and rip me apart.

Two more soldiers were at the other end of the hall, but luckily the restrooms were almost directly across from the event room and we did not have to pass anybody else. I pulled up short when I saw the inside. The left wall had four odd objects that looked like drums with no lids or coke cans with a tiny edge for perching on. Was it just like a bucket? I was not going to look inside to find out.

"No cubicles?"

Maria giggled, then kept her voice hushed. "No. The toilets are weird, too. They created them specifically for mates...oh..uh, humans. I think we only got our own restrooms because there were too many crying girls in the one they used to have and it started fights. At least that is what Margaux said."

I moved over to the counter where there was a row of normal sinks and turned on the tap so that I could splash my face. "Fights?"

She followed me over and fussed over a piece of hair that had fallen out of her bun in the mirror. "Yeah. The males didn't want other males around their 'distressed females' but there was not enough space."

"I understand how they felt...the girls," I quickly amended, rubbing the water into my face. "I don't know how you have done this before. I don't know if I can go back in there."

Maria sighed and picked at the edge of her ugly uniform dress. "You will have to or they will send someone in to get it. Maybe your mate. It is very overwhelming, but they don't care about you in there. You have a mate. The unmated males only care about available women."

"Isn't it just really f****d up though? I mean, Margaux's neck..."

She shrugged. "I have a mark, too," she said, showing me the pink scars on her neck. "Tultan is very careful. Margaux told me she likes it rough, but I think she's just addicted to venom."

I felt my eyebrows lowering in confusion and opened my mouth to speak when the blonde interrupted from the doorway.

"I don't give a s**t what you think, Maria. Tultan may like your timid and fragile act, but Zanthur likes that I'm confident. I love the s*x, I love his venom, I love the bond, and I love his dick." She turned to me and gave me a squinty-eyed up-down. "You look like a prude, too. Pro tip? Don't wait."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I hunched in on myself. I needed to play this like I was scared of mating, to buy as much time as possible before we were forced to make a decision. "I just met him. I never dated anyone before this so I asked to go slow."

Margaux scrutinized me for a minute and then huffed, somewhat defeated. "You can go slow, but you don't need to," she advised. "With guys, we had to date to test them out as boyfriend material. Once Exer bites you, it's over. You will never need or see another male again and the s*x is out-of-this-world, right Maria?"

"I mean..." she looked away with a small smile.

"That's why Tultan growls at her all the time, because it makes her wet. The Varkari are kinky, girl. Get used to it."

I didn't plan on it.

"Females," a masculine voice growled from behind Margaux. "Return, now."

Margaux lifted her chin and spun around, her hair almost flipping him in the face while Maria dipped her head and followed suit. I did not want to go back in there and briefly contemplated attempting to rush the guard, but since he was staring directly at me, I doubted that I would do anything except cause a scene.

I kept my eyes on the floor, trudging after Maria back into the hall filled with heat and stares and...scent. It smelled of male, but laced with something musky and spicy that forced my body to react with need. I couldn't be the only one.

"Better?" Exer said, relaxing once I sat next to him and scooted my chair closer as if he could keep the eyes away.

Nodding, I finished the contents of my glass and reached for another. Alcohol could keep the jitters away. That and some other male on the stage that did not make me so nervous. Before I realized, I was scanning the crowd, needing to know where the predator had gone so that he could not surprise me. Spook me.

Standing next to the wall, halfway between our table and the stage, the Admiral listened to the Speaker discussing transmissions from their home world and I let out a slow breath. He was not watching me, but others were, orange and golden eyes flickering from the stage to me in interest. I was the new meat. Shiny. Soon, there would be someone else and I would be left alone.