A couple of days after his visit to the agency, Kahm finally received the notification he had been waiting for. The woman had signed the marriage papers, and she would be arriving in fifteen rotations.
He wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about it, but he guessed he had time to figure it out. Looking around his house, he mentally compared it with his friend Raye’s home and decided he needed to make a few changes around the place if he wanted his bride to feel welcome.
Pulling out his communication device, he called Melanie, Raye’s wife, looking for advice.
“Oh, yes, my friend, you need to change your house a bit,” the woman agreed with him. “Your place is the typical bachelor’s den. You need to make it cozier, make it look more like a home and not only the place you sleep in.”
“And how am I supposed to do that?” he grumbled.
“In other circumstances, I would be more than happy to help you with redecorating your place, but Raye is overprotective with my pregnancy,” she said, obviously not too pleased with the situation. “But there’s a firm on Carpethera I hired to help me here in the house. I’m sure they would do a fine job at your place,” she suggested, smiling.
“Can you send me their information? I would like to get to it as soon as possible.”
“Sure, sending it as we speak,” she replied, smiling. “You should consider getting some domestic help. She’ll be pleased, and she’ll have company when you’re away working.”
“And where the hell will I find someone willing to work here?” other than the androids he had to help him with the cattle, there were only half a dozen men on his farm. Not all people enjoyed the idea of working in a place so far from everything.
“There’s a new android on the market that will be perfect for you. It’s quite helpful, and it can be a good company as well. I’m considering getting one for myself,” Melanie explained. “I’m sending you the information on them as well.”
“Thank you, that will be quite helpful.”
“Have you considered having a wedding ceremony?” she asked, in a serious tone. “The marriage the agency put us through is the coldest event I’ve been to. It’s impossible to feel married after something like that,” she assured Kahm.
“You mean something like the one you and Raye had?” he asked, remembering the festivity that had taken place a couple of weeks after Melanie had arrived at Sumirion.
“Yes, exactly. Just think about it and when she gets here, talk to her. I’m sure she will appreciate the gesture.” There was a small silence on the line before she added. “I know it’s not my place to say this, but take it from someone who’s been there─ take it slow with your new wife. There’s a whole load of new things in her life: a new husband, a new planet and a new home. That can be quite overwhelming.”
Kahm hadn't thought of that. After all, the woman had accepted his proposal freely. She had to know what was expected of her. Melanie was certainly exaggerating. “I’ll take that into consideration,” he said, in slightly colder tone. “Thank you very much for your help, Melanie.”
The woman let out a deep sigh. “Sure, Kahm, whenever you need me.”
They ended the call, and he immediately contacted the agencies she had recommended him.
For the next two weeks, his place was maddening chaos, with workers all over the place, making the changes he had requested. When they finally finished, he had to admit his house looked a lot better than it had. It seemed a lot more like a home, something he had never had before.
His parents had died in a bloody battle on a forgotten planet when he was only four solar cycles old. Since he had no other family members, he had been sent to a government institution, so home was an unfamiliar concept for him. But, he had to admit he liked the results. His house looked a lot better than it did before and he hoped his new wife enjoyed the changes.
The day of her arrival finally came, and he headed to the nearest landing dock, where she was supposed to arrive.
Selena’s long trip finally came to an end. Unsure of what would be waiting for her once she left the vessel, she wished for a moment, that they had never arrived. It was a childish wish, but she was too nervous to think straight.
Wringing her sweating hands, she looked around the room she had used during the trip, to make sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind before she finally headed to the main lounge. She was the only human still on board the ship. All of the other women had been taken to their new planets and into the arms of their new husbands.
“Miss Martinez, are you ready?” a male’s voice sounded right next to her. It was one of the crew members.
“Yes, of course,” she assured him, with a tremulous voice that denied her words.
She wasn’t ready. She would never be prepared to meet her husband, a perfect stranger she had never seen, not even in a picture. But, she wasn’t going to admit that.
“Very well. I believe you haven’t seen your husband yet. Am I right?” the Cetian asked.
“Yes, you are. He didn’t send a picture along with his proposal.”
“Given the fee you’ve paid, he wasn’t required to,” the man pointed out in a cold tone. “Since you have no idea what you will be facing once you leave this ship, perhaps it would be a good idea if you allow us to give you something to keep you calm, no matter what,” he suggested.
She looked at him with a deep frown. “You mean like some sort of a drug? To numb my reactions?”
“Yes. Believe me, you don’t want to start your marriage screaming hysterically because your husband isn’t what you expected,” he advised her, in an even colder tone.
She gulped and shook her head. “I don’t want anything. I’m sure I’ll be more than capable of controlling my reactions, no matter what.” The man snorted at her words but didn’t insist. “Do you have any idea what my new husband looks like?” she asked, trying to prepare herself as best as possible for the encounter.
“No, I don’t. All the information regarding him has been kept private, so, I have no idea,” he replied, letting out a deep sigh. “Usually, that’s not very promising.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, rubbing her neck, trying to get rid of the huge lump in her throat.
“Sumirion has a few inhabitants, but most of them come from all over the universe. This place is very inhospitable, and it has been kept as this part of the quadrant’s farmland. Here, people grow all sorts of vegetables and raise the cattle sold all over the quadrant,” the man explained.
“So, he could be from anywhere? Even from your planet?” she asked, trying to control the shudder of disgust. She wasn’t sure she would be able to accept a Cetian for a husband. They were too creepy, too disgusting.
The man shook his head. “As far as I know, there aren’t any Cetian males on Sumirion.”
She almost let out a sigh of relief. “I promise I won’t start screaming at the sight of my new husband.”
“You better. The agency’s reputation is at stake here, so we expect your best behavior,” the man warned her.
She nodded and took a few deep breaths, trying to control her nerves. The ship finally hovered over the city, and she boarded the small ship that would take her to the planet.
Once there, she was guided by the same man to the small office, just outside the docking bay. Her husband was expected to be there, waiting for her.
Trembling a bit, she followed the man inside, looking around and trying to guess who her husband was. There weren’t many people inside the room, just a couple of females of a species she didn’t recognize behind the counter and a few men scattered around the room.
One of them called her attention immediately. It was impossible not to notice him. The man was way over six feet tall, probably even seven feet, with a massive body, a long golden mane down his back and a couple of horns adorning his forehead, black and shiny as obsidian. His strong fingers had the most lethal claws she had seen ever since she had left her planet.
He was impressive, to say the least. He was looking at her as well, but she doubted he was the man she was married to. A man like him wouldn’t need to use the Mail Order Bride agency to find a wife.
And yet, he was the only one looking at her. With her heart thundering in her chest, she looked at the man next to her, but he wasn’t paying attention to her. He was checking the small electronic tablet he had in his hand, looking for information on the man they were due to meet.
“Citizen Kahm Murowit,” he called out.
To Selena’s surprise, the man she had been staring at took a step forward. “That would be me,” he announced.
Selena’s heart was now beating at a deafening rhythm as if trying to come out her chest. She was married to that man?
The man next to her seemed to have the same doubts, judging the frown on his reptilian forehead. “May I see your identification, sir?” he asked, in a cold tone.
With an ironic grin, the man handed him a small card, as he closed the distance between them.
“Welcome to Sumirion, Selena. I hope you’ll love this planet as much as I do,” he said, in a low, husky voice, as he stretched his arm forward to greet her.
The translator the Cetians had implanted on her worked perfectly, and she was able to understand him clearly.
Clearing her throat, she put her hand in his. “Thank you, I'm sure I will.” She had no other choice. But the minute her hand touched his, a jolt of energy rushed through her, startling her. She had never felt anything like it.
He pulled her closer to him and embraced her for a few seconds. The top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulders.
The Cetian male cleared his throat, calling their attention. “Well, all seems to be in order, so if you would please sign here, I’ll be able to leave you two get to know each other.
Kahm nodded and signed the tablet. “Thank you for your services.”
“It was our pleasure.” The Cetian nodded and disappeared, leaving Selena all alone with her new husband.
She watched the Cetian walk away from them with a slight frown, not sure she wanted to be all alone with the man standing next to her. The Cetian male was a familiar face in a bizarre place, and now she was watching him leave. With a faint smile, she turned to look at her husband, trying to keep her hands still at her sides.
“Shall we go? I’m sure you’re eager to see your new home,” the man said, with a broad smile lighting his handsome face. Though she had never seen a man with horns, she had to admit, they didn’t do a thing to diminish his good looks. In fact, they seemed to emphasize them.
But he was still a very imposing male with an overwhelming presence, and despite doing all she could calm her fear, it was very hard. The man was lethal, and not even the smile on his face was able to disguise that. She was sure he would be able to kill her with a simple squeeze from one of his claws.
“Yes, of course,” she accepted, struggling to keep the smile on her face.
He grabbed the small trolley with her luggage from her hands and guided her out of the docking bay area.
“Is this everything you brought with you?” he asked, as they stopped in front of a strange vehicle.
It looked a bit like a car, though this one had no visible tires and it was all made of some sort of glass. It was big enough to transport five people in it, and it looked quite comfortable.
“Yes, that’s all. We lost a lot during the wars,” she explained, wriggling her hands, unconsciously.
“It must have been very hard for you,” he said, with a nod of understanding, as he loaded her luggage into the vehicle’s spacious trunk.
She let out a sigh. “Yes, it was, the planet ended up devastated and three-quarters of our population was killed during the attacks. They were very dark times, indeed.”
“You’re safe here now,” he said, as he shut the trunk’s door and opened the passenger’s door for her.
She entered the vehicle, looking around curiously while he took the driver’s seat next to her.
“My farm is twelve hours away from here. This was the closest docking bay. Otherwise, I would have chosen a closer one,” he explained, as he touched a small screen in front of him. “I usually go straight home, when I’m forced to visit the city, but since I’m sure you’re feeling a bit tired and off balance after such a long journey, I decided to make a stop for the night in an inn,” he explained.