The other woman sitting on the bench glanced up at me before going back to her book—an actual paperback, I noticed, odd in these days of e-readers, reading apps, and internet-connected phones.
In some ways, the woman could have been my twin. We were both blond-haired and blue-eyed, though she was much thinner than I was.
Of course.
For that matter, she looked an awful lot like William’s ex-girlfriend.
The one I had just caught him with in the bathroom. On our wedding day.
“Are you okay?” the woman asked, sounding truly concerned—more concerned about me than anyone who actually knew me had sounded in a long time.
I opened my mouth to tell her I was fine.
Instead, I burst into tears.
Chapter Two
Dax
It had taken me considerably longer to get to the planet designated X-320—called Earth by the local inhabitants—than Jalek had told me it would.
Either his directions and coordinates were off, or the navigation computer had gone glitchy.
I hoped it was the former. A glitch in the nav system could prove a real problem.
But I was here now, so I needed to track down my mate.
I moved my ship into stealth mode right outside the planet’s immediate—and severely limited—sensor capabilities. As I moved closer, I fed the geographical coordinates into the computer, then the DNA information Jalek had sent in his report.
Setting the hull to translucent, I watched over the enormous city the ship headed toward. Tall buildings almost completely covered the island, and I wondered briefly why this species would cluster together so tightly when there were great swaths of unoccupied land in the interior of the continent.
Alien species have alien ways.
It was one of the Drovekzians’ oldest saying, supposedly dating from our first contact with other species. In some ways, the axiom seemed obvious. Of course alien species didn’t behave the same way we did. But it was also a reminder to the Drovekzian people that our customs were not inherently superior to other races’.
Not that everyone always remembered that.
It was easy, for example, to check this planet’s atmospheric readings and react with horror. These people were slowly suffocating themselves.
So many poisonous gases being thrown into their atmosphere.
I shook my head.
My mate was lucky she would be able to escape her dying planet with me.
And our DNA was such a perfect match that I knew she would absolutely feel the same way.
After all, biology was destiny.
The computer let out a series of trilling beeps, letting me know that it had acquired my target.
My heart fluttered in anticipation, and my inner beast purred in satisfaction. I was about to see the female whose life would become inextricably intertwined with mine.
Granted, she wasn’t the only female on this planet I could mate with.
But she was the one who would produce a perfect match.
I had imagined this day for countless seasons.
Our lives would be perfect together. Blissful. A shining example of marital harmony. We would never fight, rarely even disagree. And our offspring would be perfect.
I set the ship on autopilot and it sailed into the city, ending up hovering over a broad swath of undeveloped land.
I couldn’t decide whether I approved of these aliens for at least maintaining some natural landscape within their overdeveloped city or felt horrified by their willingness to live in stacked cubes rather than spreading out.
In either case, this was where my mate waited for me.
The computer beeped again, letting me know that it had homed in on her.
I made one sweep of the area, pinpointing her location. There, on a furniture piece that had, oddly, been plopped down in the midst of this nature preserve.
Two females sat together, and I tapped the console to narrow down which was mine.
“Visual confirmation requested,” the computer’s soothing voice sang out into the bridge of the ship.
“Computer,” I commanded, reverting to verbal orders, “Please conduct a second sweep to repeat the scan and determine which of the females in question is my DNA match.”
My ship turned in the air. “Conducting second scan,” it announced.
I tapped impatiently on the console.
“Unable to determine,” the computer announced.
“What the flark?” How could the computer not be able to tell which of these two females belonged to me? “Explain,” I ordered.
“Results verified. Unable to determine precise DNA match.”
“Computer, clarify: is either of these females a genetic reproductive match for Commander Lutro Dax?”
“Both females are within genetic match parameters,” the computer verified.
As we made a third pass over the outdoor seat, I stared at the two females in amazement, using the ship’s cam to zero in on each of them in turn.
This was amazing. Either of these females could be my mate? How could I possibly choose? Then I was struck with a brilliant idea.
I should take both of them.
It was not unheard of for the Drovekzian to take more than one mate, though it was slightly unusual.
Yes. Choosing both was definitely the better option. That way, the females would not feel required to do battle with one another for the honor of mating with me.
Pleased with my decision, I began the procedure for landing my transport.
The natural preserve was thickly wooded in this area, Earth’s strangely green plants springing up in an untamed tangle. However, a clearing had been created—perhaps some kind of walkway? It was barely wide enough to allow my ship enough room to land directly in front of my two new mates.
As the ship settled to the ground, I imagined their joy at discovering their new destiny. Smiling happily, I prepared to exit the ship. One last glance at the instrument panel, however, gave me pause.
A male of their species had just emerged from the thicket behind my two females. In his hand, he held some kind of artificial claw made of metal, and as I watched, he brandished it at my females.
This would not do.
With barely a thought, I allowed my beast to emerge, taking over my physical form.
I will save my mates from their attacker.
Certain that their gratitude would
