Olivia:

That was educational.

For the moment, I ignore the fact that four of these guys leveled up because of me. With great difficulty, I also ignore my urge to strangle Felicity. Double-D claims her next victim. Catty bitch.

The situation is dire.

What none of the guys have said—but is perfectly obvious if you read between the lines—is that their protection comes at a price. This Dariux guy’s offer for a safe place to sleep tonight? Not without strings.

It doesn’t take Mensa-level IQ to figure out what the currency is. They want pussy. I don’t blame them. After sixty-five years, they must be pretty damn sick of their left hands.

Plus, there’s the shapeshifting thing. If they have mates, they get to be full-fledged dragons.

To be fair, Liorax and Zunix did warn us. You will be wooed, Zunix had said.

Do the other women realize what’s going on? Paige does, I think, as does Bryce. I can’t read May. Felicity is too busy being a twatwaffle to have any time to think. I have to figure out how to bring the conversation around to the topic.

The unpleasant reality is that if we’re really stuck on this prison planet, then mating with them might indeed be our best option.

Dariux disappears with the other women. Zunix finally sets me down on the ground. “Dariux will show the women to their quarters and will return with the med-kit,” he says, his voice gentle. “It’ll heal the break.”

“Thank you.” I wonder if I can risk a question without weakening my cover story. Because one thing is certain. Until I figure out who I can trust and who I cannot in this dog-eat-dog camp, I’m going to cling wholeheartedly to my ditzy, big-boobed, not-a-thought-in-my-head persona. “Is Dariux a doctor?” I open my eyes very wide. “I don’t have any money to pay him.”

Zunix’s eyes narrow. “So you heard that comment, did you?” A smile curves at his lips. “Liorax and I requested the med-kit. The debt is ours, and we will pay the price.”

“Which puts me in your debt,” I reply automatically. Shit. Ditz-Olivia isn’t capable of such analysis. I shouldn’t have said that out loud.  What’s in the painkiller juice that Liorax gave me anyway?

Zunix tilts his head and surveys me. “Indeed,” he replies. “You’re quite right. It does put you in our debt.” His eyes crinkle with amusement. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to settle it.”

Of course you will. More boob magic.

Dariux returns before Zunix can ogle the girls too much. He holds a small rectangular box in his hands. It looks like my TV’s remote control, but it’s silver in color and has no buttons or screens of any sort.

The clearing has emptied. The sun’s waning rays filter through the trees, and the Draekons have vanished into their treehouses. Probably because of the detsena. Even my other suitors—Belfox and Herrix, if I remember their names correctly—have melted away for the moment, though I have a strong feeling I’m going to be seeing a lot more of them in the coming days.

Only Zunix and Liorax remain at my side. If they’re bothered by the prospect of being eaten by the detsena, they’re not showing it.

“What’s the price, Dariux?” Liorax demands.

“It’s simple. I want both your support in a matter of my choosing.”

Judging by Zunix’s reaction, that’s a steep price, and an unexpected one. “What sort of matter?” he asks warily.

Dariux’s lips curl in distaste. “Your mate’s life is at stake, and you haggle like a market vendor?”

Smug bastard. I want to punch him. It makes perfect sense for Zunix to get clarification. I’d do the same thing myself.

Zunix gives no sign of backing down. “I will not support you blindly in matters of capital punishment,” he says. “I will not harm Liorax, Olivia, or the other human women.”

Dariux’s smile grows, and I’m convinced my two rescuers have walked into a trap. “Those are reasonable limits. Do I have your word?”

“Yes,” Liorax says shortly. Zunix hesitates, then he too inclines his head in agreement.

“Good.” Dariux kneels next to me and unwraps the blood-soaked bandage. I avert my head from the wound before I catch a glimpse of the bone, and notice Liorax and Zunix staring at me with respect. “That’s quite a break,” Dariux says, his voice sharp. “You’ve been very brave, human.”

Years of training, buddy. Years and years of training.

“You must not move,” Dariux warns me. “If you jerk away, the med-kit will malfunction and heal the break badly. Brace yourself. This will hurt.”

No shit. The med-kit lights up, glowing an eerie blue, and as it hovers over my leg, it feels like someone’s holding a blowtorch to my skin. I grip the nearest hand—Liorax—and do my best to hold still. This is my gom jabbar.

Zunix’s fingers stroke my forehead, the touch strangely comforting. How long has it been since I allowed a man to get close to me? Too long. For far too many years, my first duty has been to the agency.

Now I’m on an alien planet, and two pairs of Draekons both want to mate with me. When it rains, it pours.

“Only another minute, Olivia.” Liorax’s voice is soothing. Funny guy, Liorax. Earlier, he gave Dariux a translator without demanding something in return. He definitely doesn’t like me, but he’s still doing the decent thing.

I can’t quite understand these men. They’re full of maddening contradictions. Whenever I think I’ve pigeonholed them, they do something that throws me.

It’s been less than a day, Liv. What do you expect?

The burning sensation abates. “It’s done,” Dariux announces.

“And not a moment too soon.” Liorax helps me to my feet. “Put some weight on your leg,” he encourages. “Can you walk? It’s almost time for the detsena to make an appearance.”

I know the Zorahn have superior medical technology. After all, they came to Earth with a cure for leukemia. But knowing something and believing it are different things. I put my broken leg tentatively on the ground, bracing for a shockwave of pain. It doesn’t come. My skin is smooth; all signs of my wound have disappeared.

Relief floods through me as I place a mental checkmark against ‘Step 1: Fix my broken leg.’

Gotta be honest. Liorax and Zunix could ask me to blow them right now, and I’ll get on my knees gladly. I’m that grateful.

It’s almost dark. There’s nothing more I can do tonight. Tomorrow morning, on the other hand? Time to focus on Step 2.

Viola, Ryanna, Harper, and Sofia are out there. Hopefully, they’re still alive. I’ve got to figure out a way to find them.

Everyone’s still awake when I get to Dariux’s treehouse. Not a shocker, I guess. It’s only been ten or fifteen minutes, though it feels a lot longer. “Your leg,” May exclaims. “It’s fixed.”

“Zorahn magic,” I reply. There’s some residual tenderness when I walk, and I’m not going to run a marathon anytime soon, but this is still miracle territory. “Wow, this is snug.”

Dariux’s treehouse has been built for one person, not five. There’s barely enough room for all of us to stretch out on the floor. There’s only two sleeping bags, and surprise, surprise, Felicity has managed to commandeer one of them. “They don’t live in the height of luxury,” Bryce agrees, making room for me. I sit next to her, leaning against the wall. As soon as I’m settled, the women resume their conversation.

“Do you think they’re lying?” Paige asks. “About there being no way out?”

Bryce shakes her head. “I don’t think so,” she says soberly. “When the two aliens got to our ship, they didn’t even see if it was salvageable. They just stripped everything off it. And remember what Raiht’vi said when they tried to get her out?”

I’d rather drown.

Good for Bryce. She certainly knows how to keep her head in a crisis. More than the other women, she’s paying attention to what’s going on.

“What does that mean?” Felicity’s voice is shrill. “We can’t live here for the rest of our lives. We can’t. Look at this place. There’s nothing here. Do you know there are no flush toilets? I asked one of the aliens, and he pointed me toward the woods.”

“Well, it is a prison,” I interject dryly. “I doubt you’re going to see Club Med style amenities. Think of it as camping.”

“I hate camping,” she says flatly.

I don’t have time to deal with her BS. “I’m going to sleep,” I announce, unbuttoning my NASA-issued shirt so I can roll it up and use it as a pillow on the hard wooden floor. “I’m sure we’ll find out more tomorrow.”

* * *

At the crack of dawn, there’s a knock on the door. Bryce, who’s closest to it, looks around to make sure we’re all clothed before she cracks it open. “We have a gift for our mate,” a voice announces.

Let the wooing begin.

“Umm, okay.” She blinks in confusion. “And which one of us would that be?”

It’s Paige. The two Draekons at the door smile broadly when she steps outside onto the narrow platform that surrounds the treehouse. “We went hunting at dawn,” one of them says, offering her a leaf-wrapped parcel.

“Thank you,” Paige says, her voice faint. “I’m Paige Watkins, by the way.”

The Draekons are Rezzix and Magnux. I’m good at names, but even I’m going to need a notebook of some kind to keep all the Draekons straight. They linger for a little bit, and every time their eyes fall on Paige, she blushes a little. I don’t blame her. Every Draekon I’ve seen so far is hot, and these two are no exception. Plus, when they speak to her, there’s a kind of smoldering intensity in their eyes.

I give the computer programmer from Dallas a month, tops, before she succumbs to their charm.

Paige’s suitors are followed by another pair, this time for May, who also arrive with a gift of food. Before Felicity pouts too much, her own duo shows up, carrying three portions of breakfast. They offer her one and give me the other two. “Courtesy Liorax and Zunix, and Belfox and Herrix,” they explain. “Dariux has decided that until we come to an agreement about you, neither pair will be allowed to contact you directly.”

“Okay.” Is there a small part of me that’s disappointed that Zunix and Liorax aren’t here? A little bit, I have to admit.

Felicity is already digging into her food, completely missing the fact that Bryce, who does not have a set of Draekons wooing her, doesn’t have any breakfast. I pass her one of my packages silently, and she smiles at me in gratitude. “I can’t decide if being left alone is a good thing or a bad thing,” she mutters under her breath.

Me neither.

Like most of the others, my breakfast is a large slab of grilled meat. The package I handed Bryce is more interesting. For starters, it’s larger than the others. There’s enough food for at least two meals. There’s meat, but there’s also what appears to be some kind of salted fish. There’s a small handful of berries that have a creamy texture and a sweet, juicy taste, and there’s an assortment of fresh greens. “You should pick these guys,” Bryce says, chewing on a berry. “Everyone else just assumed we’d want meat. But whoever assembled this package put some thought into it. They gave you choices.”

Felicity makes a sound of disgust. “That’s all we need,” she snaps. “Every guy in the place fighting over Olivia.”

May looks up with a frown. “It’s not her fault that four guys became dragons,” she points out.

No, it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take full advantage of the situation. For example, it’s completely intolerable that Bryce doesn’t get to eat because no one wants to jump her. I don’t care how messed up these Draekons are—the five of us have to appear united.

Ten minutes later, there’s another knock on the door. This time, it’s Dariux, and his expression is serious. “If you’re done eating,” he says. “We have some important matters to discuss.”

Time for the other shoe to drop.