Cosmic Bounty (14 page)

Surely, two weeks wouldn’t be that bad. She’d be able to talk to her men, touch them, and fuck them, before the two weeks were up, wouldn’t she?

Chapter Twelve

Two days later, Kat felt the weight of being a pale-skinned alien among a mass of red, when every Demos citizen they passed stopped to stare.
Oul
and
Riv
escorted her through the city to the
Qyi
-building of civil authority. She understood it was similar to the chambers of births, deaths, and marriages. It seemed this council also handled other things, such as adoptions.

At the first office, officials barraged her with questions about her planet and the type of civilization she came from. She watched nervously, as they jotted everything down on glowing, transparent data pads. Once the four council quads were satisfied with her answers, they ordered her over to the medical building, because one of the quads on the council doubted her ability to breed healthy, Demos young, stating she appeared too pale and frail.

In the medical building, the quad team prodded and poked her, running strange laser beams over her body and taking samples of her blood with some needleless contraption.

“Your physiology is unique, only a few genetic differences from our own,” the quad doctors informed her, as they helped her down from the examination table.

“Is that a good thing or bad thing?”

The medical quads smiled. “We’ll send word of our findings after we’ve examined the data more thoroughly.”

In other words, they weren’t going to tell her a thing. Fear gripped her heart; what if they weren’t compatible species? Sure, sex was one thing, but having children was a whole other issue.

If she couldn’t have children, would
Hul
,
Gol
,
Ric
and Div still want her? She was a lone, human woman on a strange, alien world, drowning in strange
customs,
strange streets and the list went on.

Kat fought back tears and the urge to run, hide and curl into a ball and cry her heart out. She wanted her men. The urge to sob like a child became stronger, as the dreaded thought hit her. If she didn’t pass their medical exam, would they still want her?

“Daughter, you are paler than normal. Did the medical team hurt you?”

Kat startled at the sound of
Oul’s
voice, which brought her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, no, it’s okay, really.” She plastered a false smile on her lips.

Tev
offered his arm, and they walked back to the large lift they had arrived in, before heading out to the front of the building. A black, sleek, jellybean-shaped hover car waited.

“Are you well? Do you need to rest?”
Tev
helped her into the jellybean car.

Mentally, Kat felt tired, worrying over her future, but the last thing she wanted was to also worry her new parents.

“I am fine. Why?”

“
Sarrbeem
wishes to take you to the southern markets for new clothing. She and the others are already there waiting for our arrival.”

“Oh, okay then, best not to keep them waiting.”

Tev
commanded the car to take them to the south market. Kat sucked in a deep breath. Hopefully, the distraction of a market would help make her feel better; after all, what woman didn’t like shopping.

****

The market was a mass of red skin and black hair. It bustled with voices yelling, engines grinding and strange music coming from behind closed doors, as they passed. Delicious cooking scents wafted through the heated air. They passed what Kat guessed to be the Demos version of bars and restaurants. She saw Demos women gathered in clusters, at tables talking, laughing, and drinking, while men stood around them looking fierce and protective.

Kat had yet to see someone, other than the medical team, wearing any kind of sleeves. She wore her yellow summer dress, as the climate varied from warm at night to steaming hot during the day.

Kat couldn’t help but stare. In turn she was stared at, many quad
brothers turning
their full attention to her, some even going so far as to follow for a moment, to get a better look.

Thankfully, all four of her fathers came out with them, two in front of her and two behind them.

Kat was too caught up in the bustle of activity around her to really notice
Sarrbeem
tugging her along beside her, like some prized pet. They moved from stall to stall.
Sarrbeem
picked garment after garment, piling them into Kat’s arms. Kat gave a distressed look to
Yuv
and
Tev
.

Perceptively, they gave her an understanding nod and whispered to their brothers.
Oul
and
Riv
moved in behind
Sarrbeem
and whispered something into her ear, while
Riv
and
Tev
moved Kat out of the way. Whatever it was they whispered to their wife, it made her eyes light up greedily. She glanced once at Kat, before she let her men lead her away.

Bemused, Kat glanced up at
Riv
and
Tev
. “Where are they going?”

“We promised to treat her to a
Krindlic
. It is a rare and expensive delicacy on
Galafrax
.”

“Oh, I didn’t want you to go to any trouble on my account.” Kat placed the weighty pile of clothing back on the table.

The two brothers smiled warmly. “You are no trouble, Daughter. Choose what you need; the others will not be back for a while.
Krindlics
need to be caught and killed fresh.”

“Um, okay.” Kat as sure as hell didn’t want to know what a
Krindlic
was, if it needed to be caught and killed for them to feed on.

Kat moved deeper into the store they entered. Two of the sellers leered at her, as she picked through the clothing, making her feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. She tried on two of the garments hanging on the racks around them. Unfortunately, everything was made to fit the Demos-sized women. There was nothing to accommodate her large breast size.

Kat sighed. “Nothing is going to fit me. I may need a few custom made clothes.”

“You are a feast for the eye, pretty female.” The seller’s eyes were riveted to her chest. “I have never seen the likes of such a bountiful female. Are you an unmated female? For you I would create any clothing you desired.”

“She is not, and she is under our protection,”
Yuv
growled, steeping forward, glaring at the seller.

The man’s eyes widened and glanced at his brother, before respectfully nodding. Kat noticed the seller eyed the emblems on
Yuv
and
Tev’s
clothing. She made a mental note to ask them about it later.

“Apologies, we were merely curious.” He turned back to look at Kat, the hunger still evident in his gaze. Kat shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. “I can do a fitting and make clothing worthy of your loveliness.”

Unsure, Kat glanced at
Yuv
and
Tev
.
“If it is what you need, daughter.”
Her adopting fathers smiled with genuine warmth.

“Yes, it’s what I need. I feel like a sore thumb in this.” She motioned to her yellow dress.

Tev
frowned in concern. “You have injured your finger?”

Kat giggled. “No, it means I stand out—just a human expression. We have many silly sayings.”

The men relaxed. “Give her anything she wishes,”
Yuv
commanded the clothing merchants.

The men nodded.

With
Yuv
and
Tev
watching, the clothing merchants quickly measured her, proclaiming she would soon have new clothing, worthy of her beauty. The only clothing Kat took was a light cloak in a deep red color, to cover her yellow dress, wanting something to help her to blend in.
Yuv
escorted her back out into the market street, while
Tev
paid for the purchases.

“You will need suitable
moonush
to tread in.”

“
Moonush
?”

Yuv
pointed to her feet.

Kat grinned.
“Shoes.”

“Shoes,”
Tev
repeated in English, watching his lips match the word.

“Your language is musical. I shall enjoy learning it. Our family specializes in alien languages.”

“I’m more than happy to help. There is so much I still have to learn. But I’m still not sure what I am expected to do on your planet.”

“You will soon be declared
a Demos
female. You are not expected to do anything, other than provide sons and a daughter.”

Tev
rejoined them and they resumed a leisurely pace past other market stalls. She paid little attention to the strange wares, thinking about what her fathers told her.

“So, in other words, my men want to keep me barefoot and pregnant?” she asked, after a moment’s silence.

“You do not have to go without ‘shoes’,”
Yuv
said from her other side.

Kat huffed out an annoyed breath. “What if I wish to learn an occupation on
Galafrax
? Will I be allowed to work? I am not used to being idle.”

The brothers exchanged glances above her head. “I think it best you discuss it with your quads, once you are claimed.”

Before she could ask another question, a loud trumpeting sound suddenly blasted through the market, hurting Kat’s ears. She watched, amazed as the crowed parted, clearing the street. Her fathers pulled her back near the entrance of a bustling bar.

Yuv
bent down closer to her ear. “You will find this interesting, Kat. It is a formal procession to the right of claiming.”

Kat saw an open, hover jellybean coming down the street. Within it, a Demos woman sat with four males. The woman smiled smugly, as it cruised past. Behind, at a brisk pace, marched sixteen men, four sets of proud-looking quads, each one decked out like a gladiator in straps of leather.

“Behind the air cruiser are the quads who wish to lay claim to the female. They are heading for the Center
Qyi
,
Grand
Palace
of the High Lords and rulers of
Galafrax
. Inside the palace is the arena where they will battle, proving their worth to claiming the chosen female.”

Tev
pointed to the huge, central pyramid in the middle of the city. The massive building loomed over every other structure.

“Will that have to happen to me, too?”

“Every Demos female goes through this right. Yes, you will have to do this also; it is a great honor, and the more quads which follow to do battle, the higher the honor.”

Kat didn’t like the idea of being paraded through the street, but would endure anything to be with her set of quads. She missed them, wishing they were at the markets with her, helping and teaching her to learn about their world. Something odd struck her as she studied the men and women around her.

“
Yuv
, what happens if one brother dies and they are no longer a set of Quads?”