Her tears bothered Arkis more than her anger and shouting. “Oh, no, pretty one, don’t cry. Meomee is a good thing… Zeke will be a kind and loving mate… never hurt you.
“Our kind pays greatly for meomee matching from Earth…”
“How do they do that,” Susan asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Ancestor DNA testing. Two others of you have feline matches on Narova,” Arkis admitted.
Just then, there was a shift in velocity they all felt as the Zephyr shifted to interstellar speed.
“Who?” Dana asked, hopefully. “I did one of those ancestor tests.”
“I don’t have the names. Did you all do testing?”
“I never did,” Jenna sniffed wiping away her tears with a corner of her poncho.
“I did,” Dana repeated.”
“So, did I,” Susan said. “Did yours come up with a small amount of unknown origin DNA.”
“Yeah,” Dana admitted.
“Mine too.” Susan frowned and looked at Arkis, “How do you people get this information?”
“Your internet,” he said simply. “Covertly. Just share if paid. Your meomee paid or we would not have the information.”
“Does that mean we’ll get like Jenna?”
“No, you have to be near him.”
“So, I will be safe if I don’t go to Narova?” Susan asked.
“Maybe,” Arkis replied. “He paid greatly for the test. He can come to Earth to find you.”
“Oh, God,” she murmured.
“No honor to find meomee who not wants. Then you have no choice. Our kind feels no honor for choice with meomee. Meomee best mating feline or sapien can get.”
“What about love? How can we love someone we don’t even know?” Jenna cried.
“Bond with sex and love comes,” Arkis said and frowned as some of the women giggled at his inadvertent pun. He grimaced as he saw tears filling Jenna’s eyes again.
“Please, is there some place I can be alone? I need to be---alone!” she whimpered.
“Yes. Yes, of course.” Arkis stood. “Come with me; I will lead you to your cabins, little but calm. Food and drink. I show.” He was glad to be done with explanations to the women. He felt bad for Jenna and Zeke that they were unhappy with their fate. He partly wished he could take his brother’s place. Jenna was a beautiful female. Zeke should be proud and happy that she was meomee. He knew the meaning of this bond even if she didn’t. They would have three days to think about it. He doubted they could hold out that long.
Because of limited space on the freighter, some of the women had to double up, but Arkis made sure Jenna had her own cabin. At the first cabin that he assigned to Jenna, he showed the women how to use the lavatory and shower and the food processors. Then he took the other women and spread them among the other three cabins. He explained that they should stay in the passenger area while in route to rendezvous with Raptor Three.
Jenna had broken down sobbing when they left her. Marcie mad a move to comfort her, but Jenna waved her away and closed the door to her cabin.
Heading up to bridge level, he tapped his com to check in with Zeke.
“What?” Zeke growled, gripping his stiff cock. Pleasuring himself for the last half hour had done nothing to alleviate his persistent erection.
“Sorry, Zeke,” Arkis said gently, “you know it’s not going to work. She is as uncomfortable as you are. You need each other.
“She doesn’t want me,” Zeke grated.
“Just go to her. She will take you. I told her the choices. She will see it’s the only way,” Arkis urged.
“It’s not that I don’t want her. I just don’t want a mate now. I have so many places I want to go before I settle down to raise a family.”
“You’ll figure it all out together.”
“I know,” Zeke sighed. “Could you go see if she will come to my cabin? I am not in a condition to be walking around the ship with women aboard.”
Arkis turned and headed back to the lift to the passenger section. He was not surprised to find Jenna pacing the corridor when he got there.
“I give up,” she uttered grimly. “Please take me to him. I need him NOW!”
Arkis nodded. “Come with me.” He turned on his heel and strode back to the lift. At least that was settled.
As Jenna followed Arkis, she told herself it was just sex. Even if it seemed crazy, the throbbing ache in her female parts was getting worse. She was having second and third thoughts. She was not the kind of girl that had one-night stands. Sex had never been that great for her, but she had done it for love. She hoped Arkis was right. If she was bound to Zeke for life, she hoped that they would grow to love each other. She hoped the sex wouldn’t be too unpleasant.