“Um, I’m not sure. Not really. I don’t know.” It came out in a squeak of alarm.
Nervous, she hurried off. She reached out and grabbed a crystalline glass off a drinks tray as it floated by. She took a huge gulp before it occurred to her that maybe it wouldn’t be compatible with Earth metabolism.
It tasted sweet and delicious, and she looked around and saw that some of the other women were sipping drinks, and they didn’t appear to be keeling over and dying. Yet.
“Have you decided if you are alone?” the big man’s voice boomed in her ear. She started, spilling some of her drink.
“Leave her alone. She’s going to dance with me,” another man-wolf growled at him, and now they were starting to crowd around her. She took several steps back, alarmed.
“Enough!” a furious voice bellowed from right behind her. Lukan! “She is with me, and any man who touches her dies.”
All the man-wolves surrounding her turned and hurried off, ducking their heads in a submissive fashion.
Mar-ee glided up to Talia, hovering beside her. “I found Lukan for you, as you commanded,” she told her.
“Yes, you sure did,” Talia murmured, staring at him in shock.
Lukan had changed. His ears were now pointy and had tufts of dark fur, just like the rest of the men here. He was one of them. An alien wolf-man. Werewolf from the stars. She swallowed hard, trying to take that in. Of course. It all made sense now. That strange aura of power and grace that clung to him. She’d never felt anything like it before. Never seen anyone move like him, like an enormous predator stalking through a herd of gazelles.
“What are you doing here?” he growled, and she felt just the teeniest bit afraid, which instantly put her back up. Her mother’s voice rang in her ears. “Don’t get scared – get angry at whoever is trying to scare you.”
“What do you mean?” she bluffed. “Why shouldn’t I be here?”
“Alexandra did not tell me that you had signed up to use the off-planet services.” His voice came out in a loud, furious rumble.
Talia felt a flare of anger and hurt. “And why the hell shouldn’t I be here?” she demanded. “Because you think I’m not pretty enough? I know you don’t think so, but other men seem to find me attractive.”
“What?” Lukan demanded, eyes blazing with fury. As she watched, his eyes darkened in color until they were almost black. “Who has approached you? Those men who were just trying to talk to you? They had no right! They—” He choked off whatever it was he’d been going to say.
She put her hands on her hips. “I know you just send the skinny girls here, but you did send Cora Lee, and she found someone.”
“Are you telling me that you are actually looking to form a bond with someone on this planet?” Lukan barked, and fur covered his face and then vanished again.
“I will repeat, why not?” Talia snapped. It wasn’t that she wanted to meet one of the men here. It just really hurt that Lukan didn’t think she even stood a chance.
“Because you would be abandoning your three small children on Earth, and if you have signed up for our services, then Alexandra must have explained to you that we only allow women with no family ties to use our off-world services. I cannot believe that you would be willing to abandon your young.” And he turned and stormed off, leaving Talia with her mouth hanging open in shock.
Chapter Five
As Lukan marched off, Mar-ee called after him. “You should not speak to her that way!” Then she quickly ducked behind Talia. “Don’t let him reprogram me!” she squeaked.
Lukan whirled around with a growl. “Watch yourself. I made you,” he snapped at Mar-ee.
Mar-ee slid out from behind Talia. “Yes, you made me to place Talia’s interests above all else, to always obey her, and to be loyal to her,” Mar-ee said. Then she quickly ducked behind Talia again.
He had? Why would he have done that?
Talia stared at him in astonishment as he turned and stalked off, stiff-backed and angry. People fell away from him on either side, glancing at him fearfully.
“That sonofabitch,” she said angrily.
She was almost ready to let it go. Then she saw a skinny woman who had frequently given her dirty looks back on Earth during client meet-and-greets. The woman slithered over to Lukan and stroked his arm. He shook her off angrily, but the woman stepped in front of him and leaned up to murmur something in his ear.
Talia felt a swell of completely irrational rage, and clenched her hands into fists. Lukan wasn’t hers, but still, if that bitch laid her paws on him again, Talia was going to chew her face off. Also, Lukan wasn’t getting away without giving her some answers.
She stormed over and punched him on the arm, hard. Everyone around them gasped. She didn’t care. A year’s worth of pent-up feelings were welling up inside her, ready to explode like a volcano.
The skinny woman shot a fearful glance at Talia and scampered off.
