Mate Abduction (Alien Abduction #9) - Eve Langlais Page 0,43
so long she’d had a certain fantasy about her perfect life. This colony should have fulfilled it. It was everything she’d dreamed of, with its humanized dwellings featuring chairs and beds, even utensils like she used to have at home. There were humans here, people who looked just like her.
The females had rights. Held power. But this wasn’t a warrior place. Most of them were soft, with only the guards going around armed and looking capable of not dying if dropped into the wild.
It wouldn’t be the worst thing to live in a place that didn’t require she be on guard at all times. She knew a few of her sisters would absolutely adore living inside a compound designed to keep them safe.
Sounded stifling to Clarabelle.
And it lacked something.
“Is it missing a certain warrior?” Once more Murphy spoke right to her as if reading her mind.
“I never got to say goodbye.”
“Would you have said goodbye?” Murphy asked.
“No.” An answer she’d learned too late.
“What will you do when you return?”
“Keep him confined to a bed until that damned bond snaps into place,” she grumbled.
“And if it doesn’t?”
“I don’t care. I love him.” Tail and all.
“Love who?” Murphy asked.
She huffed as she faced the colony leader. “As if you don’t know. I love Thyos. I want to be with him.”
“Who are you talking to?”
She whirled to see Thyos. Here. In the bronzed flesh.
She gaped. “Thyos?”
“Surprised to see me?”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn’t be. You left without saying goodbye.”
“You said I could leave if I wanted.”
“Did you want to leave?” he asked softly.
She shook her head.
“Yet you didn’t come back.”
She didn’t need a mind reader to know he was hurt. “Does it help if I say I was trying to? The moment I got here I knew it was a mistake. I tried to leave the very next day, but they keep screwing up the repairs. Ask Murphy. He’ll tell you what a bunch of incompetent morons the mechanics are.”
“Who?”
She turned to wave at the colony leader, only to blink. “Where did he go? He was right here.”
“Sure, he was.” Thyos tucked his hand behind his back.
“I was just talking to him. Chunky fellow, big mustache.”
“Calling himself Murphy?” he asked.
She nodded.
Whereas he laughed. “I do believe you’ve met your first god.”
“God? What are you talking about? Murphy is the leader of this colony.”
“No, he’s not, caw,” Ishtara announced, stomping into view. Amazing how quiet she could move when she wanted to sneak.
“What are you talking about? You’ve met him,” Belle insisted.
“I have, but he’s not a human leader. He’s a god. Demi-god to be exact.”
“Because there’s a difference.” Clarabelle rolled her eyes.
“You really don’t know how the gods work, do you?” Thyos said as if she were the crazy one for not believing in that shit.
“I don’t know what you’re both talking about, but I would think I’d know it if I met a god.”
“Do you believe it now?” A woman appeared, suddenly and without warning, in front of Clarabelle. A beautiful woman, wearing an almost see-through grown.
And what was her first impulse?
She slugged her.
Seventeen
Belle punched Karma in the face, and for a moment, Thyos was fairly certain they’d all die. Belle especially, which was why he threw himself in front of her.
“Don’t you kill my sykyrah!” he yelled.
His goddess, recovering from the fine blow, scowled at him. A terrible thing to see given it involved an actual storm cloud forming over her head, tossing out little lightning bolts. “She hit me!”
“Don’t blame me. You’re the one that appeared out of nowhere!” Clarabelle yelled right back.
“I’m a goddess; it’s what we do.” Karma appeared mightily peeved.
Which was when a chubby fellow with a mustache appeared. “Goodness, Karma, what happened to your face?”
“She did!” Karma pointed in accusation.
“The human did it?” The man who could only be Murphy, turned, his head pivoting more than halfway to glance at Belle. “Nice shot.”
“What is happening?” Belle’s expression showed a hint of fear, but courageous determination held her rigid.
“You are in the presence of gods,” Murphy offered with a flourished bow.
“Goddess, actually.” Karma grimaced, and the bruise disappeared.
Whereas Ishtara snorted. “Demi gods. Let’s keep things accurate.”
That turned a glare from two gods on the Zonian, who didn’t look disturbed one bit.
“We are powerful and deserve respect,” Karma snapped.
“Or what? You’ll give me bad luck?” Ishtara leaned forward. “Do it. I dare you.”
Murphy clapped his hands. “I say, accept the offer. Think of the fun we could have.”
“We? What’s this we? This is all me,” Karma said, swirling her finger at