Chale

Chapter 1

ONE

“Leah, please report to the medical bay.”

Everyone stares at me as I stand from my seat. So much for eating breakfast in peace. What could they possibly want with me? Will I see any of them again?

Luna and Adryn left over two weeks ago, and no one has seen them since. Everyone has been wondering where they are and what has happened to them. Is the same thing going to happen to me?

“Leah, everything is going to be okay,” Ella gently touches my hand.

“I bet Headmistress Helena just wants to talk.” Rava gives me a weak smile. “You’ll come back to finish breakfast and be just fine.”

We all know that’s not true. Luna and Adryn haven’t returned, so why do they think I’m going to return?

“It could be because you were ill last week,” Ella suggests.

I sigh and nod. “The unknown sickness,” I mumble.

“Everything is going to be fine. Maybe they’ve found a cure for you or know what’s wrong.” Ella smiles.

“Leah, please report to the medical bay.” Headmistress Helena’s voice comes over the intercom again.

“I’d better get going before I get a ruler to the hands,” I tell Ella and Rava. “Hopefully, I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”

But as I say those words, I know it’s not true. In my gut, I know I’m never coming back to this cafeteria. I walk out and head straight toward the medical bay, where the armed, dangerous, and massive men are standing guard.

It’s been over two weeks since they came onto our space station. To say they scared us is an understatement. None of us has ever seen a male, and yet here they are. What do they want with us?

Luna was going to tell me what they were doing here, but before she could, her name got called, and I haven’t seen her since.

I walk down the hallway, toward the medical bay. My heart beats faster the closer I get to my destination.

“Leah, hurry up and get in here.” Headmistress Helena comes out of the room. “They are waiting for you.”

Waiting for me?

I step into the room, and before I can focus on anything, a sharp prick hits my neck, and everything goes black.

***

“Do you think Leah is okay?” someone whispers. “She has been out for a while, and I’m worried that something is wrong with her. Should someone tell the guards?”

“How are we going to tell them about anything?” another person asks. “We aren’t able to communicate with them.”

What is wrong with me? My body feels heavy and cold, like I’ve been frozen to death and left outside.

I moan as my head aches along with my body. Am I really dying? The only thing I remember is feeling a sharp scratch in my neck and everything going black. Does Headmistress Helena know they are killing us and not taking us back to their world?

“Leah!” someone else yells. “Open your eyes and show us that you are okay.”

“Give her some time. We all know it’s hard to adjust when you first wake up.

Whatever they gave us is really strong, and something feels different on their planet,” another person tries to reason.

“Take your time trying to open your eyes. You will be sensitive to the light at first, but it will get better after a while.”

“C-cold,” I mutter.

“All of us are. They haven’t come back in a while, but they didn’t seem to care that we were freezing,” the same person explains.

I crack my eyes open and hiss as the light stings my eyes.

“Open your eyes slowly,” the same person reminds me. “Don’t rush it so you don’t hurt yourself.”

I take a deep breath and blink open my eyes once again, hissing as the light hurts, but I force myself not to shut them. Where am I? Why are there metal bars in front of me?

My eyes go wide as I look around and realize I’m in a cage.

“You’re okay,” she whispers. “You’re on Venkoria. They drugged us and brought us here before we woke up. They have come at least once since I woke up and put this collar around my neck and injected me with something.”

“In-injected?” My voice is full of fear as I stare at her.

She nods. “I don’t know what it is, but they did something. For a brief moment, I could understand them, but they pressed something on my collar, and then I couldn’t anymore.”

“Who are you?” I whisper, my eyebrows furrowing as I try to remember her name.

She looks familiar, but there are so many girls on the space station, and I haven’t met all of them.

“Nora.” She smiles. “We’ve passed each other a couple of times on the space station, but never got to talk to each other.”

That’s why she looks so familiar.

“Why does my body feel so heavy?” I ask, keeping my head close to the ground.

I’m worried that if I try to sit up like the other girls, I will end up hurting myself with how I feel right now.

“We don’t know the reason for that. It doesn’t get better since we’ve been here, but we’ve managed to sit up and be able to look around,” Nora explains.

“But as I told the other girls, when they come in, don’t fight when the collar or whatever the injection is.

It won’t do you any favors since they are so much stronger than we are.

You will end up getting hurt, and I don’t want that. ”

I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, the door opens and two huge men walk in, their broad shoulders taking up so much space. They are wearing all black and have weapons attached to their sides. One of the right has red hair while the other is blond.

“Remember what I said, everyone, don’t fight them,” Nora speaks up.

My eyes stay focused on them as they head right in my direction. I’m still lying down in the cage, not daring to move and gain their attention even more. Maybe if I’m still enough, they will go to the person behind me… if there is someone there.

Unfortunately for me, they open my cage and grab my arm, yanking me out of the cage. My foot snags on the bars, and I scream in pain as I feel the metal digging into my foot.

“Leah!” Nora yells. “What’s wrong?”

I look down and notice my foot bleeding, and tears pool in my eyes. The blond man doesn’t seem to care and pulls me all the way out of the cage and starts walking, dragging my feet on the ground. A sharp pain shoots up my foot as they continue to walk out of the room.

The men start talking, but I can’t understand a word they are saying. Fear builds inside of me as they stop, and the blond man holds my body still. Before I can react to anything, a cold and heavy collar is placed around my neck, and something is injected into my arm.

I moan in pain as my head dangles from the weight of the collar. More tears pool in my eyes, and I let them freely fall to the ground.

“Chale is not going to be happy when he sees you’ve hurt her,” the redhead says.

I can understand them, and my eyebrows furrow together. It must be the collar, like Nora told me.

“Please,” I mumble.

“Chale will get over it. I want to finish work and go home,” the blond replies. “I don’t want to be around them anymore.”

“You will get your turn soon.” The redhead sighs. “Let me carry her so she doesn’t get injured further.”

“Do what you want.” The blond lets go of my body, and I hit the ground.

Groaning, I sob as my whole body aches from everything they are putting me through. How much more am I going to have to endure before they give me a break? Is this what the rest of my life is going to be like?

“You’re okay,” the redhead whispers as he gently picks me up and holds me against his body. “Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to take you to your master now.”

Master?

“You can go now,” the redhead tells the blond. “I will deliver her to Chale.”

“Good,” he replies.

As the redhead starts walking away, my eyes move around, trying to memorize everything, so when I have the chance to run away, I can.

“You were already supposed to be with your new master, but you wouldn’t wake up,” he gently tells me as he takes a right into a different hallway.

“But that’s okay. Your body didn’t like the sedative we gave you to transport you here.

That’s something we’ll have to mention to him so he knows that your body might not be able to handle big dosages of medicine. ”

“Wh-what?” I whisper.

My body shivers as I take a deep breath, trying to warm myself up. Why am I so cold? The man runs his hands up and down my back, but it does nothing for me.

“You’ll be warm soon enough,” he says.

He walks into another room, and standing in the middle of it is an even more muscular man with brown hair and a clean-shaven face. Who is he?

“Chale, here she is.” The redhead holds me out like I weigh nothing.

Chale stares at my body, looking up and down before his eyes narrow on my cheeks and then my foot.

“Why is she hurt? Has she been crying?” he barks out.

The man carrying me flinches, and I suck in a breath, my whole body shaking.

“She was dragged out of the cage by my coworker, and her foot got caught,” the redhead explains.

Chale takes two steps forward and grabs me from the other man, pulling me close. Immediately, I snuggle into his chest and relax.

What’s happening to me? Why do I feel so at peace with him?

“I’ve got you,” he whispers, placing a hand on my back. “I’ll keep you warm and safe.”

“I told him not to do it,” the redhead mumbles. “It was a mistake. I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“You better,” Chale growls. “This is unacceptable and grounds for me to get a refund on my purchase.”

“Are you not satisfied with her?” he asks.

My eyes go wide, and I grip onto Chale’s shirt. Are they going to send me back and leave me in one of the cages?

“Please,” I beg. “I’ll do anything.”

“Shhh, you’re okay.” Chale places his hand on the back of my neck. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

I take a deep breath and nuzzle my face into him.

“Good girl,” he purrs.

“I can take her back, and we can inject another girl. I don’t know what will happen to this one, though. She’ll probably stay in the cage for the rest of her life,” the other man rambles.

My heart drops, and I grip onto his shirt even tighter. Stay in the cage for the rest of my life?

“You will not take her away,” Chale growls and steps away.

“Sorry, Chale.”

Chale runs his hand up and down my back, and I let out the breath I was holding.

“She is mine, and no one else’s. If you dare to take her from me, there will be hell to pay.” Chale’s voice is so cold. “If I find out that this happens to another female, there will be consequences. She is not an animal but someone with feelings.”

“I will make sure he knows that,” the redheaded guard replies.

“That is all. You may go.”

I hear footsteps leaving, and my body relaxes even further into his. I’m not getting taken away to be put back in the cage and left to die.

“Let’s get you home.” Chale holds me close.