Cavas tried to imagine a world like that. He couldn’t. It sounded horrible for the females. “What?”
“That she should feel lucky—because he managed to get her pregnant during the attack. She didn’t have to pay some guy a huge fee to birth a baby. She ended up having to give her daughter up for adoption to a rich woman, since she could barely support herself. How in the hell was that lucky? It broke her heart.”
“That’s tragic.” He couldn’t imagine having to give a child to someone else. “Would you like to communicate with your family on Earth? I’m sure the crew would be happy to do it.”
The human turned, peering around the room. “I don’t have anyone left…but thank you for the offer. You said something about a shower? Is it here? I’ve never been on a spaceship before. The cage in the cargo hold didn’t really count.”
He moved around her, leading her to the bathroom and showing her how to use everything. She kept her distance, seeming almost fearful. Cavas felt a bit sorry for her. After all she’d been through, he could understand her mistrust. He exited the bathroom but paused at the door.
“I’ll send a female to you with clothing. Is it permissible if she enters your cabin while you get clean? That way, you’ll have an Earth face and female to speak to when you’re done.”
She nodded.
“I’ll leave now. She’ll make sure you’re fed, too.”
He’d barely left her cabin before he’d touched the ship’s communication device, activating it for the entire crew to hear. “I need one of the life-locks in our guest’s quarters. The female needs clothing and food. Whoever comes can just enter while she’s showering. Her name is Jill. I’m going to be on the bridge searching the planet’s surface for the fighting arena.”
Cathian answered immediately. “An arena?”
Cavas’s fury returned. “It seems our youngest littermate might be fighting for his life to amuse those bastards. Yorlian Trevis hosts death matches somewhere in the desert for the entertainment of his wealthy residents.”
His older brother snarled. “I’ll meet you on the bridge. Nara will take the new female clothing. I’ll have Midgel prepare her a favorite Earth dish and drop it off.”
Cavas didn’t need to hear more. The rescued female would be tended to. Crath needed to be found and rescued before he was murdered.
Then they could deal with their father.
Chapter Three
Jill finally felt clean, and whatever the robot had done to her was appreciated. All her injuries were healing at an accelerated rate. The bruises had already faded completely. She wrapped a towel around her body and hesitantly opened the door to peer into the large cabin.
The sight of two human women waiting about eight feet away was a relief. The lion man alien hadn’t lied to her. She stepped out, studying them. She couldn’t help but look for signs of abuse, but she found none. They weren’t even wearing collars, or one of the wristbands that could cause pain—something else Cia had warned her about.
“I’m Nara,” the blonde greeted. “This is Sara. Welcome to The Vorge. It’s a big ambassador vessel from the planet Tryleskian. My husband—otherwise known as a life-lock—is Cathian, the captain and ambassador of this space love boat.” She grinned.
The brunette with big green eyes smiled, as well. “We call it that now as a joke. Earth sold me, too. Cavas said they did the same to you. Our home world sucks.” She held a folded pile of clothing in her arms. “These are for you. My mate York overbuys for me, so I donated my clothes until we can get you some of your own. Keep them if you want.”
“I’m Jillian Yates. Call me Jill.” She glanced between them. “Are we really safe here?”
Sara set the clothing down—then surprised her with a hug. “Yes.”
Jill felt the rounded bump of her stomach, and she gasped, looking between them when Sara backed up. The woman touched her slightly extended belly and grinned. “I’m carrying a blue baby in there. At least I hope this kid looks like York. He’s a Parri. Think big and blue.”
Sara was pregnant with an alien! Jill had heard it was possible, been warned her womb might be rented out, but to actually know it was true came as a shock. “You’re happy about it?”
“Yep! We tried hard to get pregnant.” Sara winked. “I love York. I take it you haven’t been in space long?”
Jill shook her head. “About a month. I think. Time is hard to keep track of.”
Nara came closer. “I read your medical scans. I hope that doesn’t offend you. I wanted to know what we were dealing with. I’m kind of in charge of the humans onboard. We don’t have a counselor for therapy, but we’re here if you want to talk to someone about whatever horrors you were exposed to. The scans done on you showed no signs of sexual abuse, but you were beaten. Is that correct?” she asked gently.
Jill nodded. She just hoped they didn’t ask for details. She shared enough with Cavas. She didn’t want to go over them again, or even think about the alien bug jerk who’d died. It still made her shudder.
Sara looked relieved. “We’re glad the scans were right. I mean, a beating is bad enough, but it could have been much worse. I was lucky enough to be rescued before the sicko alien who bought me was able to pick me up. He owned a harem of sex slaves. I had to stay in a shelter for a bit with other alien women who’d been forced into slavery. Let’s just say that people from Earth aren’t well-liked by aliens. That’s how I met York. He was nice to me, and not prejudiced like so many others.”
“I met Cathian after getting arrested for smuggling medicine for sick people. It was bullshit. They gave me a choice of going to prison, where I’d have become food for the inmates, or becoming a sex slave for a year. This crew bought my contract for their captain, and…we fell in love!”
Nara chuckled. “The point is, nothing you’ve been through will shock us. The other two humans on this ship are Mari and Lilly. Mari’s parents sold her into slavery as a kid, which was just shitty. Luckily, the aliens who bought her put her to work as a mechanic. She wasn’t severely abused but they did a number on her head. She had the whole slave mentality down pat. Then she was freed and got a job on our ship, and Dovis fell in love with her. Lilly was kidnapped off a ship while working on a research vessel and sold to a whorehouse. She broke free before her first customer could hurt her and ran straight into Raff, and they’re together now. He’s my husband’s cousin.”
Sara nodded. “Dovis is like an alien werewolf shifter. Don’t freak out when you see him. He looks scary but he won’t hurt you. Also, don’t flip out if you see a stranger who almost looks human, but not quite. That’s Dovis when he’s not in werewolf form. But since he and Mari got together, he sticks to being in skin more.”
Jill glanced between them, her mind spinning. “Okay.”
“We’re dumping too much information on you, aren’t we? Sorry.” Nara motioned to the table. “Are you hungry? We brought you clothing and food.”
“Let me put something on.” Jill moved around them to grab a shirt and pants from the pile before rushing back into the bathroom, where she dressed fast. The clothing was a little baggy but it was clean. She took a few deep breaths before returning to the women again. They were nice, if not a little overwhelming, and so far, she liked them.
She felt a little self-conscious taking a seat at the table, but hunger drove her to dig into the food. It was a blue rice with purple veggies, and cooked meat that tasted like beef. It was pretty good. The women hesitated before sitting at the table, too. Sara poured her a drink of water from a pitcher on the table.
“Thank you. Sorry if I’m being rude. I can’t remember the last time I ate.”
“Don’t worry about it. Do you have any questions?”
Jill looked up and held Nara’s gaze. “So many. I just don’t want to be ungrateful.”