Fourteen living rooms, sixteen cleansing rooms, six kitchens, six servant quarters, nineteen stairways that led to the second floor, ten stairways that led underground, twelve relaxation rooms, eight sun rooms, six libraries—each were full of textbooks!—and four rooms that were made for pets, but the pets, I did not see. Thank Almighty. What I also didn’t see was the rest of the first floor because my feet began to ache so badly that the ‘mini tour’ had to be halted so my little legs could take a break.
Surkah commented that we had barely made a dent in exploring the palace, and that blew me away.
I didn’t think the palace would ever do anything other than wow me. It was huge. Like, fucking huge. If I ventured off on my own without food and water, I could easily die before I ever found my way to the outside. It seemed to be massively big just for the sake of it. Nearly all the rooms we entered were empty, except for servants who were dusting and cleaning with smiles on their face.
The servants were dressed better than any of the wealthiest people I had ever encountered on Earth, so that told me the Maji looked after their own, and I liked that. I liked that a whole lot. I didn’t get why the palace needed to be so big, but I wasn’t going to question it. I would roll with it and pray to Almighty that I never found myself wandering the hallways alone.
“Nova?”
I flinched and jerked my gaze to the Hailed Mother when she spoke my name.
“Yes, Hailed Mother?”
She smiled, dimples creasing her cheeks. “You may call me Mother.”
I knew better than to politely reject her because I would most likely end up offending her without meaning to, so I simply smiled in response.
“You are very beautiful,” she continued. “My son is very lucky.”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. “Thank you … Mother.”
The Hailed Mother, who had my hands in hers and was playing with my fingers, asked, “Do you think you’re pregnant yet?”
I felt my jaw drop at her question, and for once, I was at a loss for words.
“Mother,” Surkah quietly chided. “You cannot ask her questions like that. Humans are not as bold as we are when it comes to such topics.”
The Hailed Mother clicked her tongue. “There is no need to shy away from such topics. What is more natural to converse about than pregnancy?”
Surkah shot me a look that said Sorry, I tried then she shrugged her shoulders at her mother’s question.
“I, um …” I cleared my throat. Twice. “I do not think I am pregnant … Mother. Kol and I … well, we, um … we just had sex one time when we mated.”
“But you mated days ago!” the Hailed Mother exclaimed. “I mated with my mate over one hundred times by our fifth mated day. Why have you not mated my son more? Is the sex bad? Does he not bring you pleasure? I can have my mate talk with him if he needs tips to pleasure a female.”
Almighty.
“Mother!” Surkah scowled. “Look at how red her face is. She is embarrassed.”
The Hailed Mother rolled her orange and silver eyes heavenward. I had found myself staring at them more than a few times since I noticed them. The colour combination was so unlike anything I had ever seen. It was unusual but also absolutely gorgeous. A thick ring of shimmery silver wrapped around the blackened pupil and an ombré effect began as the silver blended into vibrant orange. They were captivating.
I shook myself out of my trance and focused on the Hailed Mother’s words.
“She will adjust and get used to our openness.”
I really doubted that.
“Kol needs no lessons on pleasuring me,” I choked out, the words difficult to speak. “He is very … skilled.”
I couldn’t believe I was telling Kol’s mother that he was a skilled lover. He would be so embarrassed if he ever found out. I never planned on telling him, and neither would Surkah if I had any say in the matter.
“Then why have you not shared sex more?” she asked me, a brow raised.
Even though I was extremely uncomfortable with the topic of choice, I could see that the Hailed Mother was not asking such personal questions because she was teasing me. It was, in fact, quite the opposite. She was genuinely interested in what she was asking. I didn’t know how to feel about that. I mean, it was her son’s sex life she was prying into.
“Well”—I gulped—“after the first time, I was very … tender. I was a virgin, a vilo, before Kol, and he has given me space because of that, but also to adjust to being mated. I have experienced things I never thought possible through our mating, and my body is sometimes overwhelmed since I am not used to the changes. I guess … I guess he is taking it easy on me.”
The Hailed Mother bunched her hands together and leaned them under her chin, smiling wide.
“He is such a caring male.”
“He truly is,” I agreed bashfully. “I am … I am blessed he picked me. I never ever dreamed of having a romantic relationship, but the one I have with your son, though it’s brand new and we have a lot to learn about one another, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the cosmos. I’m coming to love it.”
I’m falling in love with it.
With him.
“I am overjoyed for you both,” the Hailed Mother beamed. “I thought Surkah would be my first child to mate, since none of my sons paid me much attention when I spoke of mates, especially Kol, but his mating to you has given me hope.”
“Hope?” I questioned. “Hope for what?”
“Hope for grand-offspring!” She squealed and clapped her hands too excitedly.
Was this lady already thinking about grandchildren?
I swallowed. “I, uh, I don’t it will happen right away … We haven’t discussed it yet.”
Surkah raised a brow at me. “Humans discuss when they want to have offspring?”
Doesn’t everyone?
I nodded. “Yes.”
“If they don’t want to have offspring, do they avoid sex?” she then asked.
I shook my head. “On Earth, if you have enough credits, you can buy birth control. There are different kinds, but basically, it is a medicine that prevents pregnancy from happening.”
Both Surkah and the Hailed Mother sucked in a dramatically sharp breath. They even went as far as placing their hands on their chest and leaned back in their chairs with their eyes widened in shock. A glance around the room showed me the four servants cleaning inside the living room had also stopped what they were doing to turn and look at me like I had ten heads.
I cringed. “I take it that there is no such thing as birth control on Ealra?”
“Absolutely not!” the Hailed Mother stated. “Our population is under threat, so we would never provide medicine to stop pregnancies when what we need is more pregnancies.”
I shifted uncomfortably.
“What about Maji who engage in casual sex? Surely, they wouldn’t want to have a baby with someone who isn’t their mate?”
“Of course not,” Surkah agreed. “But those who engage in casual sexual activities have methods they practice which prevents pregnancy.”
That stumped me.
“Like what?” I quizzed.
It was Surkah’s turn to blush.
“I do not know,” she admitted. “My brothers will not tell me. They told me to ask Mikoh, and when I did, it just made him flustered and demand I discuss something other than sex.”
The Hailed Mother chuckled. “Before a male orgasms, he would most likely pull his cock out of the female he is sharing sex with and release his seed on her body instead of inside it. The seed is where life comes from, and it needs a female’s womb to take root. Nowhere else will work.”
That made sense.
“But,” the Hailed Mother continued, “accidents can happen. A male could misjudge his release and not remove his cock in time. I know a few females who have become pregnant that way.”
I gasped. “Are they single mothers now?”
The Hailed Mother reached over and patted my hand. “No, my daughter. The males who fathered the offspring mated the females. It would bring dishonour to a female to birth a child without being mated, so the males, being that they were involved in the offspring making process, did right by the females and mated them.”
I frowned. “Are they loveless matings?”
The Hailed Mother frowned. “No Maji mating is a loveless one.”
I blinked. “But you said they mated just because the females got pregnant.”
“Yes,” she agreed, “but once a male and female mate, they become the other’s world and fall deeply in love. No matter how you feel about a Maji male or female, once a mating takes place, love will follow.”
“So matings can happen on their own but can also be decided?”
“Yes.” The Hailed Mother nodded. “During sex, a male can decide whether he wants to bite a female and give her his essence. In some matings, the urge is so strong that a male cannot help but bite and mate a female. Those are the matings we call fated.”
I blushed. “Kol said he believes we were fated for one another.”
The Hailed Mother clapped her hands together. “This pleases me so.”
“What pleases you so, stardust?”
I looked at the entryway of the room and saw the Revered Father fill the space in the doorway. His very presence made me feel like I should get on my knees and bow to this powerful male, but instead, I did what the servants did. I stood, placed my fist on my chest, and then I bowed my head.
“She is so respectful. It makes me very happy,” the Hailed Mother gushed.
I didn’t look up until the Revered Father called my name. I saw he had crossed the room and stood behind the chair his mate was sat on, and he was smiling at me while he reached out and placed a hand on the Hailed Mother’s shoulder.
“You need not bow to me, daughter,” he said, his voice warm and inviting. “You’re my family, and I request that my family not bow to me.”
I swallowed but managed to nod my head in acknowledgment.
“So,” he said with a grin as he rounded the chair and sat down, tugging his mate onto his lap, “what pleases you so?”
He was speaking to the Hailed Mother, so I remained mute.
“Kol said he believes that he and Nova are fated mates”
The Revered Father widened his eyes as he looked from his mate to me.
“That is wonderful,” he said happily. “You have my congratulations.”
I had no idea why he was congratulating me, but I smiled and thanked him nonetheless.
“Father.” Surkah spoke. “Where is Mikoh?”
The Hailed Mother squealed, and it caused Surkah to roll her eyes.
“I’m only curious,” she informed her mother who was still giddy with delight.
“He is with Kol … calming him.”
I looked at the Revered Father and swallowed.
“Is he okay?” I asked, my voice low.
“He is.” He nodded. “He is just frustrated with Ezah. Their conversation did not go well, and they fought.”
I gasped and jumped to my feet.
“Is he hurt?” I asked, panicked.
Everyone smiled at me.
“She is so caring,” the Hailed Mother praised me to her mate.
“I see that, moonlight,” he murmured and kissed her cheek as she rested her back against his chest. “And to answer your question, Nova, he is fine. Fighting is normal amongst the people … Kol mentioned it scared you, though.”
I slowly retook my seat.
“It scares me.” I nodded in confirmation. “I guess I’d prefer every other option before fighting becomes a possibility.”
Running away and hiding to be exact.
“That is worrisome.” The Hailed Mother frowned. “Brawling is very common amongst our males.”
“I know.” I sighed. “I guess I just have to get used to it.”
Along with everything else.
“All will be well,” the Revered Father hummed before he nuzzled his mate’s neck.
The Hailed Mother grinned and made a rumbling sound that sounded similar to the one Kol made when he wanted to have sex.
Oh, shit.
“Nova,” Surkah suddenly said. “Let me escort you to your wing of the palace so you can rest up before the feast this eve.”
Surkah to the rescue!
I practically jumped to my feet. “I’d like that very much. Thank you.”
My parents-in…mate turned their attention back to me, and they smiled.
“We’re overjoyed to have you as a part of our family,” the Revered Father said. “We will take great pleasure in getting to know you.”
I bowed my head slightly. “And I you. I am very happy to be here.”
Surkah took that as our cue to leave, but her father calling her name halted our steps when we reached the doorway of the living room that the servants were not exiting, no doubt to leave the king and queen to their privacy.
“Yes, Father?” Surkah said, without turning around.
“I will discuss your punishment with Mikoh before the feast.”
I resisted the urge to laugh when Surkah stomped her foot on the ground and spun to face her parents.
“But Father!” she complained. “Mikoh already punished me. He swatted me five times … it hurt, and I cried. A lot.”
“Surkah,” her father said, his voice dropping an octave. “I have decided you will be punished for your actions. You put yourself in incredible danger, and I will not stand for it, nor will I stand for your disobedience.”
“But Father—”
“Surkah,” he cut her off, growling now.
I widened my eyes and dropped my gaze, feeling uneasy.
“Mother, please, aid me!” Surkah implored.
The Hailed Mother clicked her tongue, but other than that, she didn’t respond.
“Do not speak to me ever again, Father!” Surkah exclaimed before she grabbed my arm and all but dragged me from the living room.
I heard her father’s deep chuckle follow us into the hall, and just before the servants closed the double doors, a growl mixed with a moan sounded, and it left no doubt as to what the king and queen were up to.
“The servants left there in a hurry,” I joked.
“They have to,” Surkah grumbled. “Ealra is not the planet for such behaviour.”
I raised a brow. “For sex?”
“For public sex,” she explained. “You aren’t allowed to engage in such activities here without penalty. My parents rule our people, but they still abide by our laws. They have sex where they like, but they have the dignity to clear the room first.”
I nodded. “Understandable.”
“Females wouldn’t care if someone saw her share sex, but the males would. A male would fight any male who so much as looked at a female he was sharing sex with. Even if she wasn’t his mate, he would be as possessive as if she was during sex … dominance can be very annoying.”
I snorted. “A race where all males are alphas … What can possibly go wrong?”
“What does alpha mean?” Surkah questioned.
“The male in control, the boss.”
Surkah chuckled. “All our males are dominant to their females, but not all are, as you say, alpha by nature. The trade workers and farm goers are harmless, and they rarely fight but can be vicious when pushed. It’s the warriors, like Mikoh and Kol, who are the true alphas. They fight all the time just because they can.”
“Sounds dreamy,” I replied sarcastically.
Surkah grunted but didn’t speak further. I followed her up two flights of stairs and down four hallways to two large, white double doors.
“This is Kol’s wing and now your wing, too. It has two living quarters, twenty sleeping quarters, six cleansing rooms, multiple storage units, and one very large high-tech kitchen.”
I felt like I swallowed my tongue.
“Why so many rooms?” I quizzed.
“For your family,” Surkah replied, her tone relaying a hint of ‘duh’ to it.
“I really doubt I’ll be able to fill up all those bedrooms with children. Human women can’t pop out that many kids without physical problems.”
“These wings were built when all my brothers were infants, and they were expected to take Maji female as mates. You don’t have to fill all the rooms with offspring, but a few would be nice.”
“That’s a relief,” I muttered.
“Go,” Surkah said, nudging me forward. “Go freshen up and get fed. The kitchen is stocked with food for your use, but until you learn how to cook our meals, a servant will come to prepare any meal you desire when you call for them. The call system on the wall—there is one in every room—takes care of it. You hold your palm on it, and someone will come to aid you.”
I nodded. “I’m sure I can handle that.”
Surkah smiled weakly. “I see will you this eve at the feast.”
“Hey,” I said, stopping her before she turned away. “What’s wrong?”
“I am fine,” she said, forcing a smile that I could see through.
“Surkah,” I said, giving her a knowing look. “Talk to me.”
She sighed. “I dread my punishment from my father because he consults Mikoh on it, and I know that male will advise my father with a punishment that will displease me.”
I wickedly grinned. “Go talk to Mikoh before your father does. Sweeten him up a little, and maybe he will go easy on you with the punishment.”
Surkah’s brows raised. “That’s … a good idea.”
“I’m not just a pretty face,” I teased.
Surkah laughed and hugged me before she turned away to go in search of Mikoh with a spring in her step. I pulled open one of the large doors to Kol’s and my wing with a surprisingly amount of ease. It was wooden and heavy but easy to open and close, which I liked. When I closed it behind me and found myself in a new hallway, I couldn’t help but smile. The décor was plain and simple but beautiful. Plants and flowers filled stunning pots arranged in all the rooms around the wing, and there were lots of them, which excited me greatly.
The different colours made everything just pop.
I navigated around the wing, found out what was behind each door, and when I found what was obviously Kol’s and my room, I smiled. The last time he was in here, before he left on his mission on the Ebony, he was a single male and had no idea I was about to barrel into his life. It reminded me that it only took something small to make a huge impact on your life. With a spring in my step, I found the high-tech kitchen last, and just as I was about to call someone to come and show me how to prepare a simple meal, a growl from behind me brought me to an immediate halt.
I slowly, very fucking slowly, turned around, and when I saw nothing at my head height, I looked down and nearly shit myself as fear gripped me in its clutch.
“Nice li-little mo-monster,” I stammered, holding my hands in front of me.
On the floor before me was a blue little creature with its head tilted to the side as it watched me. When it blinked, I took in just how big its golden eyes were. They were huge, and the longer I stared, the longer they remained unblinking.
“You … you just stay away from me,” I whispered. “Okay?”
I began to back out of the kitchen carefully, but the little monster followed me with its feet pattering against the floor. I sucked in a breath when it opened its mouth and sharp, pointy teeth were revealed. Teeth that would shred my flesh to pieces with one bite. That was just about all I could take. I turned and fled from the kitchen, bolted down the hallway of our wing, flung open the double doors, and sprinted out while screaming fucking murder.
I looked over my shoulders and saw the little monster was chasing me, and it was fast.
“Get away!” I screeched.
I flew past servants who were waving at me and shouting for me to stop, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Not while the little blue monster of death was hot on my heels. I barely slowed down enough to turn a corner, and I unintentionally skidded into a wall, smacking my shoulder against it. I yelped with pain but didn’t stop to assess my arm because I could hear the laboured breathing and growling coming closer.
The little blue bastard was still coming after me.
“Kol!” I hollered. “Kol!”
Kol! I screamed for him in my mind. Help me!
Nova?! His voice sounded in my head. What is it? Where are you?
It was odd, but I assumed the reason his voice didn’t sound very clear was because I wasn’t close to him. The mental thing only worked when we were close to one another, and right now, Kol was farther away from me than I would have liked.
Hallway. Near our wing. It’s after me!
I’m coming, his voice shouted in my head, and he sounded louder now. What’s after you?
A monster!
I’m coming, Shiva. I’m coming.
I kept running and screaming until I came to a huge set of double doors. I flung myself at them, and they burst open and slammed against the walls with a resounding boom. I skidded into a hallway I had never seen before and cried with relief when I saw door fling open at the other end of the hallway, and Kol was sprinting through them towards me.
“Kol!” I roared. “Help me!”
He was already running towards me, but my roar made him run even faster. When he realised I wasn’t slowing down, he slowed down, opened his arms, and caught me with a grunt when I jumped on him.
“It’s going to eat me!”
“What is?” he panted, and I heard the worry in his tone.
“A monster!” I cried. “It was in the kitchen, and it chased me!”
Kol tried to calm me down, but when I looked over my shoulder and saw the very monster pattering up the hallway towards us, I nearly had a heart attack.
“There it is!” I screeched and clung to Kol for dear life.
His entire body tensed, and he turned in the direction of the monster. A whole five seconds passed by before I realised he wasn’t tense anymore but was vibrating instead. I pulled back from my death hold on him and found he was … laughing. I frowned at him when his laughter became audible. I noticed what I didn’t notice before. Other Maji were in the huge hallway/gigantic room, and they were laughing too, though they had the decency to try to conceal it. I struggled against Kol, who set me down on the ground when I realised I was the source of amusement.
I shoved his broad chest with both hands.
“You want to tell me what the hell you find so damn funny?”
“You’re … scared … of … Tosha.”
Kol was laughing so hard he could barely speak.
I glared at him. “What the hell is a Tosha?”
“This is Tosha.”
I turned in the direction of Surkah when she spoke, but when I saw she was holding the vicious monster in her arms like it was a baby, I screeched once more and sprung back onto Kol, who was laughing so hard I thought he would cease breathing altogether. I clung to him like a spider monkey, an extinct species on Earth, and squeezed my eyes shut. I held my breath and waited to feel some sort of agonising pain, but instead, I felt my bare shoulder being … licked.
“It’s tasting me first!” I cried into Kol’s chest.
The licking stopped after a moment, but the laughter filled the room did not. I swallowed when it dawned on me that if the monster was really a flesh eater, no one would be laughing their heads off.
“It’s not a flesh-eating monster, is it?” I whispered to Kol, keeping my face securely tucked under his chin.
He gave me a tight hug.
“No, shiva, she isn’t a flesh-eating monster.”
She.
I didn’t speak, thick embarrassment clogged up my throat and prevented me from doing so. Without a word, I turned and quickly began to walk away from Surkah, Kol, the still chuckling Maji, and the not really flesh-eating monster. I picked up my pace to a soft jog to get away from the laughter, but I was scooped up into the air instead.
“Did not be embarrassed, shiva.” Kol softly chuckled against my ear. “You were not aware that Tosha was harmless. I should have informed you that she is my pet.”
“Yes, you should have.” I wiggled in his arms.
He continued to chortle as he lowered me back to the ground. “You’re upset.”
“I’m mortified,” I corrected. “And I was scared. Everything is new to me, and I really thought it would kill me or at least bite a chunk out of me.”
“She won’t bite you; Tosha is a kit.”
“What the hell is a kit?”
“A species of small tamed animal. They are just little pets who sleep a lot, eat a lot, and can be a bit mean from time to time if you don’t scratch their underbelly.”
I eyed Tosha when Surkah steps closer with the pet still in her arms.
“I’ve never seen an animal like Tosha, but you just described a cat. That’s a feline pet on Earth.”
“Think of Tosha as one of your cats then,” Kol suggested.
I scoffed. “I can’t do that.”
“Why? Because of her teeth?”
Yes.
“Because she looks nothing like a cat,” I clarified. “She looks like an extremely tiny version of a fully grown bear.”
“She’s harmless.”
“Her teeth are off putting,” I said as I watched Tosha stare at me with her purple tongue hanging out. “Why are they so sharp? And why in Almighty’s name does she have so many of them?”
“I do not know.” Kol shrugged, the corners of his lips twitching. “Why do you look the way you do? Why do Maji look the way we do? Why do we exist at all? It is just another thing we cannot explain.”
I accepted that.
“I’m so embarrassed,” I whispered. “Everyone will laugh at me over this.”
Kol growled. “Trust me when I say no Maji will mention this to you.”
I glanced around the room and noticed that all the Maji who were laughing at me were back to tending to their chores and not paying me a lick of attention.
“I may mention it,” Surkah interjected.
Kol growled at her, and it made her laugh.
“Does it bother you that you can’t intimidate her?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he snarled, glaring at his sister who smiled sweetly at him.
The sibling quarrel brought a smile to my face.
I focused on Surkah. “You could have given me a heads-up to Tosha’s existence.”
She winced. “My mind was elsewhere. I am sorry.”
I eyed her. “Did you speak to Mikoh?”
“Yes,” she said, her smile fleeing her face. “He was his typical ornery self and refused to be on my side when my father requests his presence to discuss my punishment.”
I cringed. “How did you take it?”
Surkah lowered her gaze. “Not particularly well. I shouted and hit Mikoh, but he still refused to change his mind. I refused to ever have sex with him, even when we mate.”
“That is a lie.” Kol snorted. “You will not be able to resist once your uva comes into season.”
Surkah scowled at her older brother but didn’t correct him.
“Hey, if your mother holds out on your father for three weeks, Surkah can do it for longer when it comes to Mikoh.”
“Thank you, Nova,” Surkah said and raised her fist.
I laughed and bumped it with mine. “You’re welcome.”
“Did I do the bumping correctly?” she asked, lowering her hand to Tosha’s head so she could scratch it.
“Yeah.” I grinned. “You did.”
“What are you both talking about?” Kol asked, looking back and forth between us with a raised brow.
“Nothing,” Surkah and I said in unison then grinned.
“Thanas save me from females,” Kol murmured.
I hip checked him and said, “Come to our wing with me. I’m tired and want to nap before the feast later.”
A heated look passed over Kol’s face, and before I realised what was happening, I found myself flung over his shoulder while he took Tosha from Surkah then proceeded to jog out of the room with me flailing left, right, and centre.
“Have fun!” Surkah had shouted with a chuckle and a wave before she disappeared out of sight.
Kol had something planned for us, and somehow, I didn’t think it would be napping.