Page 6 of Kameer's Mate
“Where is Ned?” Dad scans the salon as though expecting my fiancé to be seated in one of the client chairs receiving a beauty treatment.
“Not long after the fighting started, he took some medication and fell asleep on the floor.” I shrug one shoulder. “I wasn’t sure what to do with him, so I contacted his family and two of his grandsons came to retrieve him.” It’s then that I notice the canethat was left behind. My father follows my gaze and bends down to pick it up.
A deep frown mars his face. “How could you allow them to leave this behind, Mandy?” His voice is gruff, and I instinctively shrink back. “You ought to pay better attention, you stupid girl. This is his favorite cane.”
“I’m sorry, I-I was frazzled from the fighting.” I’m not going to tell him, or anyone, about the Darrvason male who entered the salon and announced he wanted to claim me as his mate. Instead, I’ll let Dad think my fear of getting caught in the crossfire between rebels and security officers is what caused me to make such a blunder.
“You should return the cane to Ned’s quarters, sweetheart,” Mom says in an overly soothing tone. As if she would ever call my father out for behaving like a dick. She steps between Dad and me, clearly anxious to keep the peace. “Maybe make some of those cookies he likes and bring them along too. We have enough extra rations for the ingredients.”
Frustration builds in my chest. The last thing I want to do is visit Ned’s quarters. Especially when we’re set to get married much sooner than I anticipated. Especially when he thinks my job as a beautician is an embarrassment. I still can’t believe he expects me to quit the profession I love. I accept the cane from Dad and quickly face the viewscreen to peer at the Darrvason ships, not wanting my family to notice how stricken I feel. I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions.
“Mandy, darling,” Mom says. “Are you okay?”
“Yep, I’m fine. I’ll return to our quarters and make those cookies for Ned now. Pretty sure we already have the ingredients on hand, so I won’t need to visit the commissary. See you guys later.” I’m fast to depart the salon, and the second I reach the corridor, I find myself blinking back tears.
“Hey, sis, wait up!”
I glance over my shoulder to see Tasha following me. Crap. I don’t want to burden her with my problems. She’s suffered enough in her short life. I’m glad she’s better. Glad she’s walking and talking again and is the picture of perfect health, though Doctor Zahhn says she needs at least two more treatments. I’ve always tried to shield her from the darkness in the universe. Even though she’s made a miraculous recovery from the rare alien virus that once afflicted her, I’m still in the habit of protecting her. She catches up and takes the cane from my hand.
“I’ll help you make those cookies.” She winds an arm through mine, and we continue toward the elevator. “Sorry Dad is making such a fuss about being nice to Ned. Now that the final list was released and your name wasn’t on it, I don’t get why he’s still in ass-kissing mode.”
“Well, Ned’s not only a wealthy Founder, but he’s friends with Captain Warren. Though he’s not on the command team, Ned still wields a lot of power on this ship. I guess that’s what has Dad so worried. Hopefully he’ll calm down once Ned and I are finally hitched, which, by the way, is going to happen a lot sooner than I expected.”
“What do you mean?”
I give Tasha a long look, then we board the elevator. Thankfully, we’re the only occupants. Once the door slides shut, I face my sister and try to think of a gentle way to break the news. Not just the news about my wedding date getting moved up, but also the news that Ned says I must quit my job. I draw in a deep breath, dreaming of a day when I can finally make my own decisions about my own life.
“Apparently, Ned wants to move the wedding up. It’s going to happen next week. Ned says Dad already agreed. Captain Warren will officiate, and it’s going to be a small and quick ceremony. Just an exchange of vows. Ned says he’s eager for me tolive with him.” I watch as sadness flickers across Tasha’s face.
She reaches for my hand. “Oh, Mandy, I’m so sorry.”
“There’s more.”
“What is it?” Tasha goes pale as she regards me with deepening worry, and I hate that I’m the cause of her disquiet.
“Ned says I must quit working at the salon. He says my job serving Founders is embarrassing and that today is my last day.” I sigh, retract my hand from Tasha’s, and lean against the wall with a sense of defeat. “Mom’s going to be devastated. We love working together. As you already know, we planned to open our own salon on planet 58-Zallnanis.”
“Oh God, Mandy, that’s awful. Ned’s such a hoity-toity dick. How dare he put you down like that and try to control your life? Are you going to listen to him? I mean, surely he can’t force you to quit your job, can he?”
“I don’t know.” I tap a finger to my chin. “Though we’re engaged, I can’t claim I know Ned very well. It’s possible I might succeed in changing his mind. But he definitely looks down on non-Founders like us.” A horrid thought enters my mind, though I don’t voice it aloud.
What if Ned doesn’t want me to see my family very often because they’re non-Founders? I’d hoped to convince him to live with my parents and sister on 58-Z, but I’m starting to doubt he’ll agree to that. True, we haven’t discussed our living arrangements on 58-Z quite yet, but that’s because everyone will live on the landedJansonnauntil the first stable shelters are constructed. The more I think about it, however, the more I realize he’ll probably want to build a grand house for himself and his descendants on 58-Z, and lucky me will have to live there too, isolated from the people I care about most.
Again, I recall the unsettling way he gazed at my bosom. Does he want me around to help take care of him, or is he more interested in… other things? Forbidden things?
What if being married to Ned is worse than being married to a Darrvason?
The brutish alien who’d accosted me in the salon earlier comes to mind, and I dash this particular worry aside.
Marriage to Ned probably won’t be filled with happiness, but it won’t be anything like the terror of being mated to a domineering alien male who wants to breed me.
I suppress a shiver and tell myself Ned is the better option. The only option. I’ll simply have to make the best of it.
“I can’t believe Mom suggested you bake cookies for that jerk,” Tasha finally says. “I won’t tell if you sneeze in the batter.”
I chuckle. “Don’t tempt me.” I push off the wall as the elevator comes to a stop and the door slides open.
I gasp at the sight of Chief Kameer.
