Page 16 of Oh No, I Stole An Alien Furball And Kissed A Beastmaster

“Unlikely,” Sutek replies. “So far, the Yum-yums have not attacked anyone; they’ve just made a nuisance of themselves. Besides, I do not have enough weapons to give each and every one of you. Though now you bring it up…”

“No shooting the beasts with laser pistols, no poisoning them, and definitely no shooting ships from the sky!” Rist shouts, pointing directly at Sutek.

Everyone gapes at him, wide-eyed and with hanging mouths. Shooting ships from the sky? What the hell? Seriously, is that a normal thing out here in the middle of the universe?

“Don’t worry Rist, I’ll keep an eye on him,” Elana stifles a giggle. “But to answer your question, Maisy, I think we have to focus on rounding them up. Guests are indeed complaining, and we can’t afford this. We need all hands on deck, and I mean all.”

A chorus of groans echoes around the room. I absently rub at my chest, my heart hammering hard. Most of the women are just being lazy, giving excuses as to why they can’t work. It’s the terror-filled eyes of the women who are truly scared of aliens and this new universe we’ve found ourselves in—like Laura, who hides out in the kitchens all the time—that has sweat breaking out over my skin. I’ve done this to them.

“Split off into teams of at least two, and come to the workroom. Taruk’s got gear printing for us, nets and cages and stuff. And whatever you do, do not tell Rathdalia anything! He’s got a big mouth, you see, and we can’t afford to let this disaster get away from us. No, we are going to hunt these cuties down, dead or alive.”

“Elana, has anyone told you that you are way too bloodthirsty?” someone mutters. Giggles erupt around the room. Despite myself, I crack a smile. Rather than cower, she took out our abductors in a laser gunfight. She didn’t hesitate or anything, if the story she tells is true. And ever since, she’s had this carefree and confident attitude that I wish I could replicate. It’s like her life is perfect.

I wish mine was too.

When everyone starts to team up, I slide out of the door behind my back. I make my way to a stairwell, one that’s rarely used, glaring at a little clone of Tumeric that rolls past my feet as I pass. There’s so many of them! I wouldn’t be able to come up with a name for each even if I tried.

A bitter laugh springs forth. To think, I only wanted a friend!

“Excuse me, little female,” a Volscian alien steps up to my side. He’s wearing a long white jacket and pants and somehow has even managed to plop a wide-brimmed hat over his black horns. With his bright red skin, he obviously likes to make a statement.

“Mr. Rathdalia,” I force a customer-service smile that hides how dead I am inside. I don’t want him to see how miserable I feel. “How can I help?”

“Is this an event?” he asks. “You see, all the guests are asking. We know that you’ve been planning something, you see, and surely there’s no other reason for the Yums being everywhere.”

“Oh,” I reply. What do I tell him? Do I just casually say that I released a yum-yum infestation upon the hotel, risking everyone’s livelihoods? Or what about how I apparently fucked a male who wants nothing to do with me? Yeah, I’m not at all a screw-up.

“So, you see, this is why I’d like to know when the event starts?” he repeats.

“Soon,” I tell him. I run a hand through my hair, thinking. “Rist was just meeting with the staff to discuss everything. You know, getting prepared and all. Something’s going to happen really soon, I promise.”

Something like all the guests leaving, and our home falling to ruin. All because of me.

“Excuse me… I gotta be somewhere.”

I flee, searching for somewhere that I won’t be disturbed. I get why Taruk likes his stables so much now; he’s a bit of an introvert and doesn’t like to be constantly disturbed. I can’t go there, though. I can’t risk running into him. The only other place that I know of, though, is the pool yard.

With brisk steps, I rush through the hotel and past guests. I wave and shout excuses as I ignore guests trying to grab my attention. I practically run past everyone until I burst through the hotel doors and into the abandoned yard.

A yard is a bit of an understatement. It’s a freaking theme park of hot and cold pools, a miniature fake beach, and even a freaking lazy river. The tropical plants that have overgrown everything really give it an exotic vibe. It’s peaceful, and more importantly, I’m the only living soul present.

I sit down on the stone step and bury my head in my hands. My shoulders heave as tears well up, falling unchecked. I tried so hard. I kept telling myself to just keep going on, that life moves on whether you’re ready or not. If I kept smiling, everything would be fine eventually…right?

For the first time since the abduction, I feel something other than numbness—only it just had to be this overwhelming sense of despair, didn’t it?

I stiffen when I hear a door open and the sound of footsteps echoing. Can’t I even get a moment of peace to myself?

I hastily try to brush away my tears, but they keep falling. Panic wells inside my chest at being caught. I don’t want to be more of a burden than I already am. The last thing I need is to make others worry about me.

I try to scramble to my feet, ready to make a run for it, but the thing is that aliens are fast. Way faster than humans, apparently. One moment I’m undiscovered, and the next he’s standing in front of me.

Taruk.

Even with that dumbfounded expression upon his face, my body responds to him. It doesn’t help that he’s stripped himself out of his normal clothing. Across his chiseled chest is an array of straps, each dotted with pouches and metallic objects of unknown purposes. His chest heaves like he’s been running a marathon. He’s wearing leather pants that mold to his legs like a second skin. They leave so little to the imagination. I don’t know if it’s better or worse now that I know what they contain. Curiosity really did kill the cat named Zoe.

“Zoe?” he asks, kneeling before me. “Are you hurt?”

His unexpected reaction, the concern in his eyes, breaks me. A wail leaves my throat as I bury my head in my hands, doing all that I can to hide my shortcomings from him. Everyone else is being so strong, and here I am being so weak. I’m pathetic.

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