Page 9 of Kameer's Mate
“Very well. You may use morality officers to deliver her to my quarters tonight after curfew, however they must all be female morality officers, and no one is to harm her. If she resists and force is used… I will not be happy, Captain, and I will hold you personally responsible.”
“Fine, fine. Female morality officers. No harm. No force. Got it.”
He thrusts his hand out, and we shake.
Tonight.
Tonight, I will claim my human bride. My mate.
“I will deposit two hundred fifty thousand in your account immediately, Captain, and the rest upon delivery of the female.”
He tells me his banking details, and I use my wrist comm to complete the transaction. I also draft a quick contract—or rather, a bill of sale—and we sign our names. Then I depart the alcove, my blood humming with victory.
Anticipation tightens in my loins, and my ancestral markings tingle.
Tonight, I will take possession of Mandy and claim her as my mate.
Chapter 5
MANDY
Old-fashioned musicfrom Earth blares from the speakers as Tasha and I arrange balls of dough on the baking sheets. Despite the seriousness of our conversation earlier and our scary encounter with Chief Kameer, my mood is lighter. We sing along to the music as we work, and we both keep sneaking bites of the sweet dough.
Just a few weeks ago, we would’ve never had enough credits to purchase supplies to make cookies. But ever since Doctor Zahhn started helping Tasha, we’ve been able to spend our credits on things other than her medical care.
It’s a relief we’re no longer scrounging by, though I suppose once I marry Ned, I’ll never have to worry about money again. He's one of the wealthiest Founders on the worldship.
A thought comes to me, one that causes my stomach to sink. If my parents and sister find themselves struggling to survive on 58-Z, will he willingly help them? Will he offer them galactic credits, medication, or food if they need it? Or will I have to help them in secret?
I try not to think about how my job embarrasses him, though I still hope he’ll have a change of heart and allow me to continue working with my mother. Ugh.Allow me. I cringe at my own choice of words.
But at least Ned isn’t asavage, rutting Darrvason,to borrow a phrase my father used recently while discussing the aliens’ barbaric custom of physical copulation for the purposes of procreation.
Unlike my people, Darrvasons don’t use fertility labs to achieve pregnancy. Humankind started using the hormone suppression shots, outlawed the act of physical congress, and began using fertility labs decades ago, all in an effort to keep the population from growing too rapidly and to maintain a healthy environment. A worldship with limited resources isn’t exactly equipped to handle unsanctioned pregnancies, venereal diseases, and other issues that might arise due to antiquated procreation methods.
I try to convince myself that I only imagined Ned staring at my breasts earlier today. Surely he’s still receiving hormone suppression shots and he won’t try to instigate any dangerous, archaic bedroom activities.
The doorbell chimes, drawing me from my thoughts, and I share a look with Tasha. “I wonder who that might be,” she says with a sudden worried gleam in her blue eyes. The same eyes as our mother.
“I’m sure it’s just one of our friends stopping by for a visit.” I put on a happy face, though I can’t shake the abrupt sense of foreboding that descends. It’s been a weird fucking day. Selection Day. I don’t know who’s at the door, but I don’t believe they’re here for a good reason. Yet I must go see who it is.
I scurry to the entryway, glance in the peephole, and open the door. Ned’s grandsons, the same two who retrieved him from thesalon, are standing in the corridor. They look like they’ve been crying.
“Um, hello, George and Barret. Can I help you with something?” Maybe I’m imagining their dour expressions. Perhaps they’re only here to retrieve Ned’s cane.
Barret clears his throat. “We came to inform you that our grandfather is dead. He woke up and went for a walk, insisting he wanted to go alone, and a short while later he was discovered in a Deck Twenty-Two alcove. We’re not sure what happened yet, but it was probably a heart attack or a stroke.”
“Oh, my God. I-I’m so sorry for your loss. How… how shocking.” I don’t know what else to say. I’m stunned to my core. Especially after Ned’s pronouncement that the males in his family usually live past one hundred. It would seem he’d broken the mold.
When Tasha gasps behind me, I know she’s heard the news, but I don’t turn around. I stare awkwardly at Ned’s grandsons, uncertain if I ought to invite them in or perhaps offer them hugs.
I can’t claim to have harbored tender feelings for their grandfather, but I’d never wished the elderly man dead. He’d made me nervous on occasion and I hadn’t liked his apparent disdain for non-Founders, but I’d been grateful to him for agreeing to marry me, grateful to him for helping me escape marriage to a scary Darrvason male.
Tasha appears at my side, and I glance over to see she’s holding Ned’s cane. She passes it to George, who looks as though he’s about to burst into tears. My heart goes out to him. To both of them.
“There you go,” Tasha says. “God, I’m so sorry, guys. Your grandfather was a wonderful man who was much-loved on theJansonnaby all who knew him, and I know Mandy was looking forward to marrying him and joining your family.” My cleversister places a hand on my back, making a show of offering me comfort.
I lower my head, trying my best to appear in the throes of grief, then peek back up at George and Barret. “Would you like to come in and sit for a while? We’re making cookies and the first batch will be done any minute now.” I’m relieved when they politely decline, bid us goodbye, and head down the corridor.
