Page 23 of Owned By Two

“Drag him to the bed,” Tentacles said, gasping for oxygen.

As they shifted position, taking my arms and leading me toward the bed, I attempted to grasp at the floor with my toes — but I was not the same species as Upside Down and garnered no purchase.

They dragged me onto the bed. Although I struggled, there was little use, and they overcame me easily.

“Strip him,” Tentacles said.

With no way I could reach the door, I opted to yell for help. I barely managed to get out a noise before a robe was lashed through my mouth and wrapped tightly around my head.

They leaned me forward to pull my robe off over my head when suddenly the females stopped.

They pressed their fingers to the base of my spine and exchanged wary looks. One made a motion to ward off evil.

“What is that?” the smaller humanlike female said.

The other females backed away from me. They hadn’t yet lashed my limbs to the bed, and I rolled up onto the edge of the bed and pulled my robe back on over my head.

I looked from one (insane) female to another. “What’s wrong with you?” I growled. “Don’t you know no means no?”

They paid no attention to me. They were visibly shaken.

“What?” the humanlike female said, repeating her earlier unanswered question. “What is it?”

“It’s… It’s…” Tentacles said, eyes wide with wonder.

Suddenly concerned that something was wrong, I reached back and felt at the base of my spine where they had probed me earlier. “What?” I said. “What is it?”

Still, no answer was forthcoming.

I got to my feet and, in two minds about what to do next — either run for the door and get out of there as fast as my legs could carry me or find a mirror to see what was the cause of the shock — I decided to approach the bathroom.

I yanked up the robe and peered closer at the spot they had touched, fearing it would be some kind of scale-shredding parasite. Such horrors were common in the vastness of space.

I gasped. “It’s the Joisa!”

“The Joisa?” the confused humanlike female said. “What’s the Joisa?”

“It’s the sign of the fated mate to his species,” Tentacles said. Then she raised her eyes to me. “You weren’t kidding when you said you bonded with her, were you?”

I never thought I wasn’t kidding, but I couldn’t have been certain… until I saw the Joisa.

Tentacles sat back on her haunches. “This changes everything.”

Upside Down stamped her foot (hand?) on the floor aggressively. “This doesn’t change anything! We deserve Seed! And we should get it!”

“It’s written in the stars,” the other humanlike female said. “They were meant to be together. Fate has chosen.”

“So? His mate is out there! She chose to leave! I say we take what we want from him! What we werepromised!”

Tentacles placed her hands on the angry female and hugged her hard. The other female struggled but became weaker with each passing second until she finally stopped and just sobbed into her sister.

“I just want to beSeeded!”she cried.

Tentacles pulled back from her and ran her hands over her cheek. “And you will be. Weallwill be. When our time comes.”

I saw my chance to escape and slowly crept toward the door. But I wouldn’t leave without first turning to apologize again.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I thought I could go through with this, really I did. But I can’t. I never meant to upset you.”

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