Page 45 of Her Alien Warrior
She took out a bead and leathers similar to the one I made for him, but much more ornate, and done with more skill than I could ever hope to achieve. It was beautiful with ivory-looking carvings dangling from it. Rokva continued, "This was made by our elder for Sou-el. He always knew one day he would have a mate to give it to and asked me to look after it for him. WhenSou-el is clear-headed enough to understand what you're wearing, he will know that he has the honored approval of his elder for the match, as well as his commander and sister."
That was too much, and my lip quivered. "I can't accept this…"
"You can, and you will." She said gruffly while her fingers were gentle and detangled my hair. "I told you, I have the blessing of matchmakers in my veins, and whatever is holding you back in that brain of yours is nothing more than a self-made barrier you must fight through to claim your mate. My own mate has these barriers, and I have given him my patience, but you do not have this luxury. You may spend more time courting after you've mated. For now, you must decide to take his mark or not."
"His mark? What exactly does that entail?"
"He will take your blood, and while his blood is in you, this will activate the bond. You will have his mark on your skin, and he will form yours on his. It is normal to sleep during that final marking process. There are bets among the warriors on if Sou-el will sense you in the room before you remove his sensory dampeners, so when you find him, give them a bit of a show by staying still for a few seconds before approaching."
"But he can't see, hear, or smell?" How was he supposed to know I was there?
She grinned mischievously and nodded. "That's the point. He shouldn't, but he will. Those few seconds won't just befor the tribe watching, but for you to know things are as they should be."
"I don't understand?"
"You will."
Rokva finished braiding my hair back, and in it was the offering Sou-el's elder made for him to give to his future mate. My fingers lifted to touch the carved beads dangling in my hair.
She flicked one of them and smiled. "Each one represents a blessing to your mating. Sou-el can explain them to you later. To your honor and my brother's." Rokva opened the door to another room and turned away. The room was small, like a mudroom in a house it had masks hanging from the wall, and various gloves, strange devices I wasn't sure what their function was, but as the door closed behind me, a blue light scanned me, beeped, and turned yellow. On Earth that would have meant something was wrong, but to aliens… blue was stop, and yellow was good.
"Welcome to the Blue District," my implant spoke. I assumed the facility connected with my implant when it scanned me. "We hold the largest selection of species for your pleasure, company, and research. Please utilize the wall to your right as you wish, masks are most common for sampling different scents with more precision, only filtering through when approaching a room. Any room with a golden glow are open, simply apply your biomarker to enter and it will change the room's glow to blue to signal occupied. There are a few species that preferto scan your metrics for compatibility before entering, these rooms are identified with a green glow."
I now understood why they called it the blue district beyond the obvious of blue being considered a warning color and representing a more risky district of pleasure. Blue was the color of an occupied room, and the corridors ahead were lit up in mostly blue. A scattering of yellow, golden as they called it, and some green could be seen in blips down the rooms, but the halls were in several shades of blue, both from the glow of lights, and the color of the doors, a blueish metal.
The voice returned to my implant as I stepped out into the hall, "Please enjoy your stay here and follow the laws of the Blue District. Damaging any species while on the premises is strictly forbidden. We understand there are varying degrees of what is considered damaging among species, please refer to the species chart for clarification, access through all implants during your stay. Your implant has been approved for a single room entry, no time limits. Several floors are currently under construction, please remain on floors 6 through 34."
They had several… floors? How was I supposed to find Sou-el with several floors as long as this one?
Chapter eighteen
Renee
The door slid open, and my implant informed me that my Blue District credit was consumed. Feet unmoving, I stared in shock as a blue glow from the light above the door and from the adjoining hallway filtered through the room.
How was this happening?
Across from me, in the center of the room, sat Sou-el restrained in a metal chair. He was here… I made it. I found him. How was this possible?
Runto him, I thought, but I couldn't move. I gasped, but he wouldn't hear me, given the sensory deprivation of the blindfold, and his implant being turned off.
Warmth pooled in my gut, and I watched in amazement as he lifted his head like he could see me through the blindfold, and I saw the metal strap across his neck. Another across his bare chest, his legs, and I couldn't see his hands as they were behind his back, but they must have been strapped down the same as the rest.
How would I get him out of that chair? Would they unlock it when the door closed behind me?
My hands were covering my mouth in shock, before I rubbed at my heated cheeks in disbelief.
"Pulsunne," he said with a strained grunt.
There was no way he should know I was there, and yet… he did. With no eyes, ears, or scent, he knew. His fangs lengthened as he panted against his bonds. The blood in my veins heated, and as I stared at his lips, my breathing matched his own, like our bodies were syncing. This shouldn't have been happening. He was behind a blue door, next to a room that had a foul scent that overpowered anything around it, and there was no way I should have found him given the circumstances. I wasn't a hound dog, sniffing out my mate. Humans didn't work that way, I insisted internally, still dumbfounded.
My heart thundered faster, and without realizing it, I had stepped forward with the door sliding closed behind me. Thepleasant voice in my implant told me to enjoy my stay at the Blue District before I heard the door suction shut. Not wanting to startle him, I went to him and leaned over to touch his cheek from the side. The rest of him was too risky that he might stab me with this epul. His shoulder epul were fully extended, as well as a few that peeked out around his forehead like a crown, those were new.
"I'm here," I said, even though he couldn't hear a word.
His chest rumbled and a low moan escaped his lips at my touch. It was all I could do not to tear at the blindfold and the straps keeping him locked down. I didn't have the strength to remove them like that, and after several strained moments, nor could I find a switch or latch to remove them. Was this another test? First find him then unbind him?
"How do these blasted things work?" I grunted in frustration and actually did yank at them with no progress or give.
