Kantenans.
“Those of you in group one, I need you to come this way. The rest of you, please gather in your groups for each presentation.” Graecey gestured to one of the other staff members, a guy that Adryel couldn't remember his name.
As they started to group up, one of the staff kept staring at her.
Janae went off in the other direction toward group one while Adryel moved to her group. She could still feel the staff member's eyes on her. She glanced back, and immediately wished she hadn’t. He had a hard look on his face. Like a scary one.
She wasn't a fan of it.
But maybe she was just paranoid.
She made eye contact with the staffer.
He'd looked away.
Maybe she really had been imagining it.
Her paranoia was going to make her crazy.
But was it paranoia, or the fact she’d done this same song and dance a few times now. She knew what was coming.
They were looking for her.
She just hoped they hadn't figured out where she'd gone. Not yet, anyway.
Deep breath.
In and out.
Focus on the moment. On Janae and the first group. She opened her eyes and watched them walk away and down the ramp.
As soon as they'd cleared the ship, external cameras popped up over the walls. There was a soft murmur in the ship as everyone watched what was happening.
The first group clustered into rough lines, with space between each girl. Not quite a grid of them, but enough that one could walk between them easily.
A Kantenan came into view, stepping towards the grid of women. He stopped before them, and started to make a speech about how Kantenans honored their mates, and that he was glad that they were there, and ready to make this journey and be a part of it. All that kind of formal, cheesy stuff. He sounded pompous, as far as Adryel was concerned.
His horns stuck out and branched in several directions. Some of the gals darted around, and others leaned in. Some tried to touch him, but he stayed well out of contact, darting in between the lines of women. Despite how he moved through them, something was distracting him. He kept shifting and pausing as he looked over to one spot.
From the camera angle, Adryel couldn't tell what kept jarring his attention, but something certainly had him.
Had he already selected his mate? He headed through the crowd, weaving between the females. More tried to touch him, to say hello or whatever, but he glided past them like he didn't even notice them. He kept moving through the crowds and reached the back of the group.
The cameras shifted.
Adryel gasped.
He stopped right in front of Janae. They spoke to each other, in hushed whispers.
Roemary, of course, opened her damn mouth. But the Kantenan didn’t even give her the time of day.
He turned to Janae.
He claimed her for his.
Janae’s slight head nod said she agreed.
Just like that, it was done.
