A Christmas Most Alien Read online

  “Yes,” she said simply.

  “I have heard that he is giving them trouble.”

  Laylla stopped, alarmed. “Is he well? What is wrong?”

  “He didn’t want to be bathed, and he seemed to protest rather vehemently to being clothed.” Amira looked confused. “Did he want to go naked? Considering that he cannot speak or understand our language he does seem to have a way of getting his thoughts across.”

  She bit back a smile. “Yes, he does. They have not harmed him?”

  Amira’s eyes widened. “Of course not. He will be abed soon.”

  Yes, and somebody else would be easing him before he slept. Jealousy swept through her, shocking her with its intensity. It was not normal to become jealous over a male, not even a claimed male. Yes, it should be her responsibility to take care of his needs, but there would be times she couldn’t be around to do that. When she would have to entrust others to take care of his needs.

  That thought made her uneasy. She shouldn’t feel this possessive over a male. It was not the way of her people. Yet, Rich was different. And sometimes she didn’t always believe their ways were best.

  “Laylla, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Really? Because you look angry.”

  Laylla glanced down at her clenched fists and forced herself to relax them. “It is nothing. He does not understand what is happening.”

  “You sound like you…care about him.”

  Laylla forced himself to laugh. “Of course not. Only as much as one should care about their claimed male. He is mine to protect. I merely want to ensure his health and well-being.”

  Amira looked skeptical but nodded.

  “I must bathe. I will see you in the morning.”

  “Sure.”

  ***

  Rich lay back on the furs and stared up at the ceiling. After his bath and being forced to wear this ridiculous skirt-like thing, he’d been marched back into the main area and plonked down on some furs. Plates of food had appeared soon after, and despite his wish to fight the good fight and rebel against these evil bitches, he was starving.

  He was going to need to keep his strength up if he was going to escape, anyway.

  His gut clenched at the thought of leaving Laylla. Of not saying goodbye. But there was nothing else he could do. There were less than four days until his team arrived. It could take him that long to get back to his crashed ship.

  If he could even find it.

  He looked around the large room. Most of the men were engaged in conversation or eating. Surely, it wouldn’t be too hard to escape once night fell. There were a few females around, but most of their attention was occupied in catering to the men’s needs. He spotted one male getting a blow job from the female who’d tried to bathe him earlier. All their needs it seemed.

  “No privacy around here, I’m afraid.” The male from earlier sat next to him with a groan. “Sorry, old bones.”

  Rich turned to him, grateful to have someone who understood him. And who might have an idea of the best way out of here. Although if that were possible wouldn’t this male have left already? He didn’t look like the other males, his skin didn’t have that deep bronzed look, and he was taller, a bit rounder in the middle as well.

  “I’m Nate.”

  Rich took the hand he offered. “Rich. You’re not from here.”

  Nate chuckled. “What gave it away? No, I’m from Linida. I was part of an expedition that landed here about thirty years ago. When I heard you yelling in a strange language I figured you might speak Standard.”

  “What happened to the rest of your crew?” he asked.

  “They left after discovering this planet is matriarchal. I decided to stay.”

  Rich gaped at him. “Why?”

  Nate laughed. “Why not? The males here are pampered and cherished, our every need seen to. You might think me a selfish old fool, but I quite enjoy being taken care of. Back on my home planet, it was a competition for who could have the biggest dwelling, the most credits in their accounts. Here, it is a gentler way of life. Well, more violent in some ways. The females are fierce and strong. They’re the fighters, the protectors, the hunters.”

  “Do the men have that same weird hair?” he asked, thinking about how he could possibly bribe someone to help him escape. But although many of the men had long hair, it didn’t move like the womens did.

  “No, just women have that hair,” Nate told him. “Crazy, huh?

  “And what do all of you do?” Rich asked, a bit disgusted by the other man’s laziness. It was obvious by his and the other males’ soft bodies that they didn’t do any hunting or fighting. Did they have no pride? Rich knew women could do anything and everything, but that didn’t always mean they had to. He believed in playing to a person’s strengths. Surely, the males should be contributing in some way.

  Nate nodded. “I can see you’re disgusted by us. I don’t blame you. When I first arrived, I thought it was heaven here. My needs were all taken care of. If I wanted sex, I got it. If I wanted food, it was provided. I never wanted for anything. But I think if I’d realized how soft and lazy I would grow, I may have thought twice. The Trinan females rule around here. They are warriors. They take care of our needs, but they don’t truly care about us. I think they believe it would make them soft to care about us too much.”

  Not care about them? Did he mean love? Rich nearly scoffed then he thought of the way Laylla abandoned him and how hurt he still felt. Had he hoped she might love him?

  Of course not. But the way his stomach clenched made him feel uneasy.

  “So, you just stay here, in this building, being waited on and fucked whenever you want?”

  Nate’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment Rich thought he wasn’t going to answer. “Yeah, guess so.”

  Rich took a deep breath, trying to calm his temper. It wouldn’t do to piss off the only person who he could speak to. “So how do I get out of here?”

  Nate looked surprised. “You want to leave?”

  “Of course, I want to leave. Unlike you, I don’t want to sit around here, wasting my life. I have things to do. I have a task to fulfil, and I have people coming to rescue me. I need to get back to my ship or they won’t find me.”

  Nate tapped his chin. “Oh, they’ll probably find you. This isn’t a big planet, and there aren’t many settlements like this one. Yeah, they’ll find you eventually.”

  He gritted his teeth. Did this man do nothing himself? Rich wasn’t going to just sit around and wait to be rescued.

  “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not take my chances.” He forced himself to speak civilly. But from the other man’s grin, he thought he hadn’t covered up his annoyance that well.

  “You sure you want to leave here? You’ve been claimed by Laylla. Every male wants to be claimed by her. Of course, we all thought she would claim Eion, especially after the ceremony.”

  “What are you talking about? Laylla has not claimed me.”

  “Of course, she has. I heard she did it in front of everyone before she’d even spoken to the elders.”

  “She stood by while they carried me here. She hasn’t claimed me.”

  “I forgot you can’t understand their language. You’re here because she’s being punished for missing the ceremony. The elders are angry at her and trying to save face since she essentially disobeyed them. So, they set her to work on the wall for three days. It’s an insult to someone of Laylla’s standing.”

  His mind reeled. She’d claimed him? She was being punished? He didn’t like that at all.

  “What did you mean by standing?”

  “She’s Elder Torin’s granddaughter. One day, she’ll to rule this village. That’s probably another reason why they’re annoyed with her and why you’ve been sent here. You’re an unknown. They wanted Eion to father her babies. They thought he would produce strong female offspring for some reason. But she disrupted their plans. She’s not taking part in the ceremony,
and she claimed you.”

  “What ceremony?”

  “Each month a female is called up to take part in the ceremony. A male is chosen for her. If she has not participated in a ceremony before, she will be prepared by the elders about how to fuck a male. They fuck for three days straight in the hope of producing a child. There aren’t many children being born around here.”

  “And they wanted Laylla to fuck this Eion so she’d get pregnant with his baby. And then what? He’d claim her?”

  Nate shook his head. “Claiming is a whole different process. The elders choose who takes part in the ceremony. But a female can claim any male she wishes, not the other way around. A claiming is serious. It’s for life. Once you’re claimed, you belong to that female. They decide everything for you. And you don’t take part in anymore ceremonies.”

  “Then why am I here? Did Laylla want me to come here?”

  “I think you’re here as part of her punishment. Plus, the elders want to watch you. Make certain you’re not a risk. Many claimed males are left here during the day while their females work.”

  “Like a freaking male day care. This is ridiculous. I cannot stay here.”

  She wanted him.

  His insides did a little dance before he squashed the feeling. He wasn’t staying. Even if he wanted to stay with Laylla, he couldn’t live like this. He would go insane.

  “Wait, did you say the females are prepared by the elders for the ceremony? But they’ve had sex before then, right?”

  Because Laylla hadn’t been a virgin, he would have known. Wouldn’t he? Maybe not, she wasn’t human after all. But she certainly didn’t act like a virgin did.

  “Not unless they have participated in the ceremony before. The women around here don’t engage in casual sex. They have sex during the ceremony or with their claimed male. Of course, they certainly engage in a lot of oral sex.” Nate looked over with a grin as another male yelled his satisfaction as a female sucked him into orgasm.

  It had been her first time? And he hadn’t even known?

  “Has Laylla taken part before?”

  “No.”

  Rich shook his head. “I can’t live like this. I have things to do. I come from Earth. I was returning there to overthrow the current ruler when my ship crash-landed here, so I really don’t have time to sit around and get my cock sucked.” Rich looked over in disgust at that same male as the female rose and walked away. Jesus, did they have no self-respect?

  Nate chuckled. “You certainly sound like you have things to do. But this place is closely guarded, my friend. You try to escape, and you’re going to land yourself in a world of trouble. If I was you, I’d sit back and treat this like a mini-vacation until your friends find you. You’ll see, this place isn’t so bad.”

  Chapter Seven

  This place was hell.

  Twice, he’d attempted to sneak off last night and twice, he’d been caught. The females who’d caught him had just dragged him back to his furs, growling something at him that he figured was a warning, then left.

  He was stuck here.

  And he was going slowly mad. How did these men do this day after day without losing their minds? He couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. He could feel his brain cells dying from boredom. Was that possible?

  He guessed Nate could be right, and if he just hung tight, Logan and his team would find him. He hoped that Alice or Annabel hadn’t tried to contact him already. They’d get worried, then they’d convince their mates to start searching for him, and the last thing he needed was the Zerconians finding him like this.

  He would never hear the end of it.

  A group of females entered the room, calling out something. The men around him all rose and followed some of the women towards the door. Nate appeared beside him.

  “Come on, time for our daily walk.”

  “A walk? Are you serious?”

  Nate laughed. “Exercise is good. Stops us from going soft.”

  Rich stood and walked beside him. “Hate to tell you this, old man. But you’ve already gone soft.”

  “That I have. That I have.” They walked out into the village in rows of two. Now, this held possibilities of escape. He surveyed the area, noticing at least eight females watching the thirty-odd males. Not great odds of escape when they were equipped with that freaky hair.

  Shit. He didn't like his chances.

  They were walked slowly through the village, and he took in as much as he could, knowing he might need to figure his way out of here quickly, and in the dark. But all too soon they were back in the building that housed them.

  Fantastic.

  “Come, sit and talk with an old man about your plans to overthrow a government. Not often I hear that.”

  He might as well. He had nothing else to do. As he followed Nate through the large room, someone called out something. He ignored it, guessing someone was getting a bit excited during their blow job. These guys really seemed to enjoy them, but who could blame them there was nothing else around here to break up the day.

  But when Nate stopped and turned, Rich turned as well.

  A blond-haired man stood a few feet away, two other men stood behind him. He looked younger than most of the men around here. He pointed at Rich and barked out something.

  “That’s Eion,” Nate explained. “He wants to speak to you.”

  Rich snorted. “I’ve got nothing to say to him.” He turned his back and walked away.

  Nate whistled. “Brave move. He’s got a lot of power around here.”

  “I thought the females had all the power,” he commented.

  “They do. But Eion is the grandson of Elder Maren. He is very doted on, I guess you might say.”

  “So, he’s a spoiled brat?”

  Nate’s lips twitched. “Something like that.”

  Rich wasn’t worried. The male yelled out something again, and he ignored him.

  “He just said that you stole his female and he is going to ensure that the elders break your claiming.”

  Rich sighed. “Tell him to go fuck himself.”

  Nate said something back and then the room went quiet. Hmm, probably not good. As he was turning, he saw Nate stiffen, his eyes widening. Then someone slammed into him, sending him hurtling towards the ground. Rich rolled, throwing off Eion who slammed against the ground. Rich ignored the shouting around him as he jumped to his feet. Eion did the same, watching Rich with a snarl. He threw a punch. It was slow and clumsy. Rich easily ducked. He might not be a fighter, but he had a few moves. He swung back, slamming his fist into the other man’s stomach then followed up with a punch to his nose.

  Fuck! That hurt!

  Rich danced backwards, fighting the urge to cradle his hand. He waited for Eion to follow up, but the other man just fell to the floor, crying.

  Jesus, that was embarrassing.

  Females raced forward, pulling him back. His hands were secured by his back as other females hovered over Eion, seeing to his care. Rich turned away in disgust as he continued to sob.

  Seriously. This place was fucked up.

  ***

  “Laylla! Laylla!”

  Laylla stood up and wiped the sweat off her face as Amira half-ran, half-walked towards her.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s Rich. There has been some trouble.”

  Laylla raced over to her, alarm filling her. Trouble? What sort of trouble? “What happened?”

  “Apparently, Eion attacked him.”

  “Is he all right?” Eion was a bit bigger than Rich. Had he hurt Rich? What would she do if he had?

  “I do not know. All I heard was that Eion attacked Rich and they had to be separated. They have both been brought before the elders.”

  Laylla raced towards the building where the elders lived. There was a crowd outside, but everyone moved aside when they saw her coming. She moved past the guards posted and ran inside. The three elders stood on the small platform at one end of the building. Kneeling before them
were Eion and Rich. She moved forward, her gaze fixated on Rich. He stared up at her, his gaze angry and confrontational but there was no blood or bruises that she could see. He wore the clothing all males wore, so his arms, chest, and legs were bare.

  “Rich. You are well?” she asked, even knowing she didn’t understand.

  He continued to glare at her but then turned his gaze to Eion. She followed his gaze, gasping as she took in the sight of the other male. His eye was swollen shut and there was blood under his nose.

  “What happened?” Laylla turned to the elders.

  “That is what we are determining,” Elder Maren said. “My grandson has been gravely injured by your male.”

  Laylla straightened her shoulders. “I had heard that Eion attacked my male. If this is the case, then I shall demand restitution.”

  “Call forth the witnesses,” Elder Torin commanded

  Two of the female guards, Asta and Nastan, came in, along with three males, Roick, Masan, and Nate. The two guards spoke first, but they had not seen who instigated the fight, so they could only speak of how they separated the males.

  Roick came next. “The foreign male started the fight,” he stated. “Eion defended himself.”

  Eion smiled briefly, and Laylla’s suspicions were raised. Elder Maren gasped and glared at Rich. If he was found guilty, he could face punishment. One she would have to administer.

  Nate stepped forward to testify next. “I am afraid that I have to call Roick a liar.” The small crowd that had been allowed inside erupted into murmurs.

  Elder Torin tapped her stick. “Quiet or you will all be forced to leave.”

  Silence fell.

  Nate looked around with a small smile. “I was talking to Rich as we walked across the sleeping hall when Eion called out to Rich. He stated that Laylla was to be his female and accused Rich of stealing her.”

  What? Laylla glowered at Eion. If she had returned in time for the ceremony, he would have taken part with her. But that did not mean she was going to claim him. Personally, she had little liking for the entitled male. He seemed to be under the impression that he was more important than everyone else because his grandmother was an Elder. Well, so was her grandmother and she was treated the same as everyone else. Who your family was did not matter. What you did mattered.