Page 57 of Beauty and the Alien Beast
“I’m so sorry, Ella, but that is correct. But it won’t be long before my people find a way to make that happen. We are working every day to advance our technology.” He touched my cheek. “Until then, I will make you happy and comfortable within my pack,” he promised, and I felt another surge of warmth toward him.
I put on a brave face, refusing to cry over something that could not be fixed easily. Teken said he was working on a solution to getting in contact with Mom, and I believed him. And if I could lend any of my Earth knowledge toward the resolution, then the Gladiators could sign me up for service. Because I would never give up on at least being able to communicate with her again.
“Teken, I love my mom too much to let her worry about me for the rest of her life. So I’ll do anything I can to help you and your people find the technology to make contact with Earth. My mom needs to know I’m alive and safe.”
“Your happiness is my happiness, sheleki.” He ran a finger across my cheek. “So I pledge to never stop working to make sure that happens.”
And just like that, he cemented his place within my heart.
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat as emotions for my alien choked me. “So… back to my alien experience. I got picked up by these gray aliens, little big-headed guys—the Reticulans. They messed up placing my translator. Something about the wrong battery—um, crystal.”
He nodded slowly, frowning. “Reticulans are normally well-known for their technical expertise and for being greedy.”
“Well, that explains their lowest-bidder performance.” I smiled tightly, and he squeezed my shoulder gently. “Anyway, after that, I went through hell with the Omers—most specifically, an alien I called the overseer.”
I shrugged. “You know the rest. They drugged me and stuck me in front of you like a bauble you were considering buying. And then, well, you surprised the shit out of me by helping me escape—and I don’t really understand why.” I bit my bottom lip. “From what I heard from the Reticulans and the other women at the facility, your race—the Gladiators—made a deal to buy earthlings for sex and to get us pregnant to solve your fertility problem. Is that true?” I stared at him.
“Yes.” He confirmed.
I stiffened at his response.
“And no,” he said. “Yes. It is true that my race no longer has females to breed with. All of our females died due to being sexually violated and brutalized by the Omers.” Steel laced his tone.
I gasped.
He continued. “Before I was born, the Gladiators were once the Omers’s slaves. That is until we fought them and won our freedom. During the time of our enslavement, they treated us like animals. The Omers forced our males to remain in their Wulfaen form to fight for sport and coins. And our females were raped by the Omers, who ripped them apart with their incompatible cocks. Those who survived became sick and died. Now, without females, our race will go extinct.” He paused. “So when the Omers approached us with a solution—abducted earthling females that were sexually compatible with our race—my people listened…”
All of the pieces to the puzzle were now fitting together.
“Gladiators are desperate to survive,” I whispered.
“Yes. Very. But it is more complicated than that. All Gladiators wait their whole life to find their one true mate.”
“Their sheleki,” I interjected.
“Yes. Our sheleki. A female who is our other half and is picked only by our inner beast—the Wulfaen.” He cupped my cheek. “Without finding our mate, most Gladiators will eventually go feral, shifting into their beast form forever. We call it mating sickness. And when the sickness takes hold, the only thing an alpha can do is hunt down and kill his Gladiator.” He shook his head. “The act is hard on the alpha’s soul, but it must be done to protect others from the roving, bloodthirsty beast the Gladiator eventually becomes.”
Mating sickness? Going feral? Killing their own? So their need to find mates isn’t just about a quick fuck. Without their sheleki, these men are doomed for a fatal ending.
“So if they don’t find their mate, they will go crazy?” I queried.
“Yes,” he muttered.
“Everyone?” I stared at him with my lips pursed in disbelief.
“For some reason, the sickness hasn’t touched most of the elders. It’s the younger Gladiators who are going feral. We don’t understand why. But we know if we don’t find a solution, in a few moons, there will be no Wulfaen Gladiators alive.”
“Jesus. This is a really bad situation.” I bit my bottom lip. “With no females, you’ll be decimated, but still… condoning slavery?”
He shook his head. “I don’t condone or approve of slavery. Most of us have rejected the solution of buying slaves from the Omers.”
“Most?” I arched a brow. “So some of you believe in trafficking females?” I didn’t like this ugly truth about the Gladiators.Do I have to watch my back around the members of his pack?
“Not anyone in my pack. But unfortunately, even with the Council of Five voting against the plan to buy earthlings, there are some who believe it is the only solution.”
“And who or what is the Council of Five?”
“According to Gladiator law, all matters that concern the welfare of the entire Gladiator race have to be voted on by the Council of Five. One alpha from each sector. I am the alpha of sector three. I voted against buying females. So did sectors four and five.”
