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Elias grunted and sank back in his seat. That meant death. They were sanctioning the deaths of all the males who’d decided a Retar mating was not for them. If he came forward, he’d be able to redeem himself, but he would die. If he didn’t, Elias would remain on the run for the rest of his life, living under the threat of being reported and arrested.

He thumped his hand against his thigh. This was a cruel twist. His life was over just as he’d begun to fantasize about the possibility of non-lethal sex with someone he cared about.

He wanted a life with intimacy. He’d made one screw-up and was not being allowed to forget it.

Anger burned inside Elias. It would only be a matter of time before he was arrested and forced to fuck to his death.

Chapter 7

“They claim it’s our fault.” Diadora Hardwick paced the office, her eyes blazing and hands fisted. “The Retars blame us for their males’ inability to get the job done. This has nothing to do with us.”

Hayley sat at the table in the My Single Alien office, along with the rest of the staff. Diadora had called an emergency meeting after the Retar government announced an investigation into the rise in males abandoning their females.

They’d all watched the broadcast as Diadora had muttered under her breath, growing angrier by the second.

“This ridiculous inquiry will damage our business,” Diadora raged. “The Retars are looking for someone to blame and consider us an easy target. They’ve made a huge mistake. If male Retars choose to use our service, that’s their business. We don’t tell them how they should mate, and the Retar government cannot tell us how to operate things.”

Hayley caught Vegas’s worried expression as Diadora continued to rant and stamp around the office.

Ivy leaned back in her seat. “This isn’t a surprise. The only surprising thing is that we haven’t been accused of doing something like this earlier. After all, the goodies we serve up are far too tempting.”

“The goodies?” Hayley asked.

“Sure, the human females we offer aliens. We’re all shacked up with hot aliens, which is evidence enough that they make great mates. I’d pick a sexy alien over a wimpy human guy every time, not that I’m looking anymore.”

“Karn wouldn’t let you look,” Vegas said.

“It doesn’t matter who any of you are shacked up with,” Diadora snapped. “We need to stop this committee from interfering. I will talk to the Council and see what they have to say. For now, everyone here is on radio silence. Nobody talks about this outside of these walls. If anybody asks you for an opinion about what the Retar government has planned, act like you don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“That’s not exactly a lie,” Vegas said. “We don’t know what this committee will entail. They might interview a few males as a show of solidarity and encourage them to toe the line. It must be frustrating for the females when this happens. I understand why they want justice.”

“I wouldn’t call being given the right to eat someone you’ve just slept with justice,” Hayley muttered.

Vegas held up her hands. “You’re not wrong. But Retars are a traditional race. They take a long time to enable change.”

“It doesn’t even need to happen,” Nell said. “The females eat the males because it’s a cultural thing. That doesn’t make it right.”

Hayley nodded in agreement as her thoughts drifted to Elias. She was certain he wouldn’t do anything like this. He would never abandon a mate. He seemed like an honorable Retar. Perhaps he’d had mates who weren’t interested in eating him. Hayley’s eyes widened. What if he’d never had a mate?

How could she raise that subject without sounding like a lecherous bitch in heat? She could hardly blunder in with ‘so, you’ve never been with a female?’ and see how Elias reacted. He’d most likely run as fast as he could in the opposite direction again.

Hayley shook her head, dismissing the possibility that Elias had never been intimate with anyone. He most likely chose progressive, forward thinking Retar females, who weren’t interested in eating their mates. Or he could have been with other aliens. It was ridiculous to think she could be his first. She wasn’t planning on sleeping with him, anyway. Well, no active plan, but the dirty thought had crossed her mind a couple of dozen times.

“Is everybody clear?” Diadora glared at each one of them in turn. “Not a word to anybody. Once I’ve spoken to the Council, I’ll make a decision as to our next steps. Ivy, we’re making no public comments at this stage. It’s a media blackout.”

“Not a problem,” Ivy said. “I can push our next campaign forward to divert peoples’ attention from the Retar accusations. It will show them we’re not concerned about their lies.”

“Do it,” Diadora said. “And so you all know how serious I am, if I get word any of you have been talking about this, you will be instantly dismissed.”

Hayley shrank back in her seat. She’d keep her head down and her mouth shut. She was not losing this job.

Diadora gave a curt nod before stamping out of the room, still muttering to herself.

“She still terrifies me,” Nell said, “after all this time.”

“You’re not the only one.” Vegas stood slowly. “Time for a bathroom break. Everybody keep quiet, and you’ll be fine. This will blow over, and in a couple of weeks, Diadora will have something else to complain about.”

Hayley nodded as she watched Vegas leave the room with Ivy, Sinead, and Kendra. The others stayed behind, gathering around the food replicator.