another pair of boots walking along with us.
“She’s not your female,” the other male with him says.
“She is tonight.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Not really.”
The male curses. “Yes, you do, Nar. What’s gotten into you?”
“I won the first night, and we didn’t shed a single tooth or claw. Be happy.”
“I’m homicidal.”
“That works too.”
I remain quiet, thinking about where he’s taking me because it’s not to my hole. My hole is in the opposite direction. After a while, the males stop, and he puts me down and pats my head. “Good puppy. You did well.” He nods as if affirming calling me a puppy is just the thing I needed to hear.
We stand at a single large secluded tent at the edge of a sparsely treed forest. Beyond the forest is a clearing, a river, then a hill. I want to remove my makeshift hat so I can take in more of my surroundings, but can’t because my hands are tied.
“Don’t even think about it,” the other male says to Nar, the one who bundled me up.
Nar’s staring past the trees, a wishful look on his face.
“Stop looking at the border and get in,” the other male adds and pushes past the tent’s flap inside. Nar follows his friend, leaving me outside and instantly dread forms in my belly. He’s going to leave me out here bound and unable to move. Shit. What have I done? I can only move an inch at a time so I inch toward the flap, trying to make my way inside.
“Nar, the female?” the other male says from the tent.
Clawed hands spring out of the tent, and I yelp as Nar grabs me and pulls me inside. He bends and starts untying my feet.
“I tied them too tightly,” he says.
“Hence she cannot walk inside the tent,” the other explains.
“Thank you, Mas. You can fuck off now. I’m good.”
“Oh no.” The male named Mas, the one with lighter hair, sits on a…a round wooden log, then props his elbows on his knees, eyes on me. “I’m intent on babysitting you.”
Babysitting me or his friend? He’s looking at me, and the way he licks his lips makes me glance away. Gur looks at me that way. As if he wants to eat me, and not in a sexy way, but in a real creepy way.
Once he loosened my feet, Nar rises and starts untying the top.
“This is Nar,” Mas says, introducing us. “I’m Mas. Nar has gone crazy, and we’re all gonna die.”
“Don’t be dramatic,” Nar says as he releases the upper ties. I grab the pelt and tuck it around me, eyeing a firepit with logs in front of Mas’s feet.
“You still cold?” Nar asks.
I nod.
From the moment that Gur and Feli touched me, I noticed their feverish skin. This alien species runs hot, hotter than humans. In more ways than just one. I’d never seen men built like this or spoken to males as forward and commanding as these. While I acknowledge their masculine appeal, I’m also uncomfortable with it. Thoughts about how attractive another alien species is are taboo on Earth. We don’t have those thoughts, and I don’t like that I’m having a hard time not watching Nar’s upper body, especially the muscles that almost make his tattoos move over his skin as he fires up the pit at Mas’s feet.
I approach almost immediately and stick my hands out, seeking warmth. I stare at the crackling fire while they both stare at me. I rub my hands as they thaw out. I’d love a shower and a cup of chicken soup, maybe a box of ice cream and an old romance movie. I’d love a week of that so I don’t have to deal with my reality. But I want to live, and in order to live, I need to know who’s my enemy and who’s a friend. Are these two my friends?
I look up to see they’re still staring.
“My name is Michelle,” I say. “I come from Earth. It’s illegal to treat me like a prisoner or to…to sell me to the highest bidder.”
“You’re a prize in our games,” Mas says. “Neither of those things apply.”
“Gur can’t give me away. I’m not his to give away is what I mean. He will pay for this.”
Nar moves to sit beside Mas. “How?” he asks.
“My brother will come for me.”
“And then?”
“He’ll take me back home. We have technology you don’t have. If you keep me alive until he comes, he’ll reward you.”
Nar tilts his head.