Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Skarg
I reach my mate in two long strides, squatting down next to her and catching her right before she falls to the side. Her face is unnaturally white. I’m sure her skin is pale in general, but I doubt it’s as white as what I’m currently seeing.
Her eyes widen as I prop her up with one hand against her waist. Big brown orbs that I could get lost in. And I intend to.
Kafran drops to his knees at her other side, wrapping his hand around her bicep. “Are you okay, Little one?”
She shifts her attention back and forth between us. I’m sure she’s confused. Finally, she licks her full pink lips. “What are you doing?” Her voice is so sweet that my cock jumps in my suit pants.
I offer her what I hope is a winning smile. “You’re ours, Little one,” I inform her. There’s no sense beating around the bush.
Her jaw drops. “Yours?” Her head shifts back and forth again. “As in both of you?”
Kafran nods. “Yes. Apparently. What’s your name, Little one?”
She covers her lips and giggles. That sound is even sweeter than her voice. I want to hear it every day for the rest of my life. In fact, I already dread the six months she’ll be in stasis while we travel to Eleadia. I just met her two seconds ago, and I already miss her fiercely.
“Mercy,” she says between what I now believe is hysterical laughter.
Kafran grins. “Mercy… That’s a pretty name. I’m Kafran, and this is Skarg.” He glances at her odd clothing. “What are you wearing? And why were you cutting the front of it?”
She sits taller. “Are you going to take me off this godforsaken planet?” Her eyes widen again as though she’s hopeful.
I’ve never heard of a female being grateful or relieved to be claimed this soon after arriving at Club Zoom. “Yes, Mercy,” I inform her because it’s the truth.
The sound of shouting behind me makes me jump to my feet.
I keep a hand on my Little girl’s shoulder as I turn to face the door that leads to the front entrance of the club.
My heart rate picks up. One of the voices belongs to John, the bouncer.
The other isn’t a voice I recognize, but it’s male, loud, and angry.
“Shit,” Mercy mutters. “He found me.” She tries to stand but immediately trips over the front of her mangled dress.
Before I can react, Kafran lifts her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. The strange layers of material poof out all around her, nearly covering his face. “You know that voice, Little one?”
“Yes.” She wraps her arms around Kafran’s neck. “Please. I’ll do anything you say if you’ll take me with you.”
I step closer, sandwiching her between us, setting a palm on her cheek. “Relax, Little one. You’re ours.”
The voices on the other side of the door grow louder, followed by banging around, probably from furniture being thrown.
She squirms, trying to look over my shoulder. “Please… Oh God. Please don’t let him take me,” she cries out. She has a death grip on Kafran’s neck.
I’m jealous of the contact, but I’ll get my turn to hold her soon. “No one is going to get to you, Baby girl,” I promise her as I pull my phone from my pocket.
I send a text to Riand, asking him to come pick us up in the pod.
The trip down to Earth from the mothership takes twenty minutes.
It will be at least a half an hour before Riand can get to us, but it’s obvious that we need to move Mercy off this planet as soon as possible.
Our mate is very distressed. That isn’t going to ease until we have her far away from whomever is on the other side of the door.
Loud banging on the door makes my hackles rise. I nod toward the other side of the room that leads into the main club. “Let’s go.” Whatever is happening, John will handle it. We need to move our mate upstairs.
After rushing to the door, I open it and step back so Kafran can move through with our mate in tow. The club is packed, and many females turn to look at us as we hurry past them.
Skirting the edge of the crowd, Kafran comes to another door, and seconds later, we’re once again mercifully surrounded by silence as the sound of loud music and screaming females is cut off.
I rush around Kafran to call the elevator. I hate the stress wafting from our mate. It’s palpable. She’s in a total panic, her death grip still around Kafran’s neck, her face buried against his shoulder. “Please…please…please…” she keeps repeating.
As we step into the elevator, I set my hand on her foot.
It’s the only exposed part of her I can get to, and I note she isn’t wearing shoes.
In fact, I’d say she arrived here barefoot since the bottoms of her feet are dirty.
They aren’t just dirty, I note when I lift one.
There are little cuts on her soles. She’s bleeding.
The elevator stops on Kafran’s floor. It doesn’t matter. All the apartments above the club are the same. We arrived together, and we’ve been here a week. There has only been one previous claiming that involved two men finding themselves fated to the same female, and that was only a few weeks ago.
Kafran and I have been friends for years.
We live next door to each other on Eleadia, and we both work for the department of agriculture.
Frankly, neither of us was shocked when Zack opened the door to his office a few minutes ago, letting the scent of our mate escape into the main room.
We glanced at each other, chuckled, and took off to claim her.
It’s odd realizing that I’ll share my mate with another man for centuries, but if it has to happen, I’m grateful it’s with a man I know and enjoy. I don’t feel angry or disappointed. All I feel is relieved to have found her. She has already burrowed under my skin, and I can’t wait to hold her.
As we step out of the elevator into Kafran’s apartment, I meet his gaze and nod toward the foot I’m holding. “She’s injured,” I murmur.
His brow furrows as he follows my line of sight. Without stopping, he heads directly for the bedroom. I don’t blame him. Whatever the hell our mate is wearing needs to go, and she needs medical attention.
I don’t think her injuries are serious. Minor nicks. But I don’t want her to get an infection.
Kafran gently sets her on the bed.
Her gaze is wild and scanning the room. I can feel her elevated heart rate and scent her anxiety. Instinct tells me to grab her hand and bring it to my lips. Holding her fingers firmly, I flick my tongue over the middle one and prick her skin with my quill.
“Ouch.” She tries to jerk her hand out of my grip, but I don’t release her.
Kafran does the same to her other hand.
“What are you doing? Stop,” she whimpers, but her anxiety eases a bit at the same time.
I kiss her fingertips. “We have a tiny quill behind our front teeth, Little one. We can use it to pierce your skin. Our serum will help you relax.”
Her nostrils flare with every breath. Her brow furrows deeply. “Don’t do that.” She pouts adorably.
I smile at her as I release her hand and cup her face, tipping her head back. “We’ll do whatever is necessary to calm you, Baby girl.”
Kafran is still holding her hand. “Tell us who that man was and why he was shouting, Mercy.”
She winces as I release her cheek. “My husband.”
All the air leaves my lungs. “Husband?” My voice comes out high-pitched.
She plucks at the front of the odd dress she’s wearing. “I’ve been married five hours.”
I run a hand down my face. Married females are not permitted into the club, but this one most certainly belongs to me and Kafran, married or otherwise. I don’t care about her marital status, but the government might, if her husband puts up a fight, which was already evident.
“Ah, so this is a wedding dress?” Kafran clarifies.
She winces. “The ugliest one on Earth. Yes.”
I’m baffled. “Why did you come to the club tonight? And why are you barefoot?” I ask.
“It’s a long story.”
I smile. “We have hundreds of years together to hear it, Baby girl. But give us the short version for now. Riand will be here with the pod to move us to the mothership shortly.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “Are you really going to take me to your planet?”
“Yes,” we both say at once. No matter what the consequences might be or what red tape we have caused on Earth, she is ours. We won’t let her go. It’s not an option.
She takes a deep breath. “Fredrick Angelo is not a good man. I don’t like him.
I was forced to marry him against my will, but I knew I couldn’t go through with what he was going to expect from me tonight, so the first chance I got, I kicked off my shoes in the limo, jumped out, and started running. ”
I stare at her, absorbing her story. “How far?” At least now I understand why her feet are cut.
She rolls her eyes and sits taller, pointing down at her body with both hands.
“Do I look like I could run a marathon? It was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.
I didn’t plan it. The idea came to me, and I leaped out of the car at a stoplight a few blocks from here.
How far do you think a fat girl like me could possibly have run? ”
I flinch. My eyes bug out. “Excuse me?” I grab her face again.
“Did you just refer to yourself as anything less than perfect?” My voice rises.
I don’t like her tone or the insinuation.
If she has body image issues, she’s going to have to get over them in a hurry or spend the next decade in the corner with a sore bottom.
Kafran must agree with me because he growls, “Little girl, do not ever put yourself down again.”
She gasps, blinking. “But, I’m just stating a fact.”
I lean in closer, holding her gaze firmly. “I speak for the both of us when I say that you may not speak ill of yourself ever. The next time you do, one of us will spank your bottom until it’s too hot to sit on for a week. Do I make myself clear?”
Her breath hitches as her eyes widen in shock.
“Say ‘yes, Papi,’” Kafran orders.
She swallows hard, eyes on mine. “I thought you said your name is Skarg.”
I lean in even closer. Our faces are inches apart. “It is, but you will call me Papi. You will call both of us Papi. It’s what Little girls call their mates on Eleadia. It’s a term of endearment.”
She lifts a hand to grab my forearm. “But…”
I shake my head. “No buts. Answer me. Do you understand our rule, naughty girl?”
She searches my gaze. “This ugly dress is doing a poor job of hiding my rolls, but trust me, they’re there. And I’d love to take this stupid wedding gown off, even though that will mean revealing the truth. Do you have something I could borrow to put on? I could go into the bathroom and change.”
She’s feisty. I’ll give her that.
“Mercy…” Kafran says in a warning tone.
I release her chin so he can take over. I’m fuming that my girl thinks so poorly of herself. Whoever told her she wasn’t perfect needs to be hanged. And even worse, I suspect the man she just married played a role in her poor self-esteem.
Tears start to fall down her cheeks, and she crosses her arms and lowers her face.
My heart can’t take this. I do not like seeing my girl cry. It hurts my soul. I make a vow to myself that no one will ever make my Little girl cry again. Not as long as I’m alive.
Kafran squats in front of where she’s sitting on the edge of the bed. He sets his hands on her thighs, which isn’t easy considering the amount of gaudy material piled on her lap. “Look at me, Little one.”
She sniffles, but she obeys him.
His voice is calm as he speaks. “You are our fated mate. Every inch of you is exactly perfect just the way you are. Skarg and I are humbled to have found you. There are no words to express how excited we are to start the next chapter in our lives with you. There are a million things we need to tell you about what your life will be like on Eleadia, but let’s start by making sure you understand we will have rules.
The first one is that you may not speak ill of yourself. We forbid it. Do I make myself clear?”
She slowly nods. “Yes, Papi.”
It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.