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“No fucking way,” Ravat hissed.
“That’s what I thought you’d say. You don’t have a choice, gentlemen. If you find your mates quickly, then return home. The sooner the better so the additional games can begin. Your mother is right. Heirs must be produced.”
“Which will allow the other species to have additional spawn as well.” I’d made the connection easily. Given he and Mother couldn’t have additional children, the entire universe was suffering.
He lifted his head, nodding once.
Then Ravat and I looked at each other again. For some reason, I was angrier than I should be. Maybe it was because I’d thought our father omnipotent in every way, enjoying being one of the princes more than I should have.
“This is blasphemous,” I told him. Additional games meant we’d endure other more brutal tests upon our return, the judging process continuing. “How long does the selection process take?”
Our father exhaled. “As long as it takes.”
“Zatan is right. This is beneath us,” Ravat declared.
“This is not a request.” Our father’s voice boomed in the cavern, almost everything inside shaking. He fisted his hand, and only when our mother wrapped her long, bony fingers around his arm did he calm down.
“Don’t frighten them, dear. They have enough to deal with.”
“So, I can just grab some female from one of the planets?” Ravat pushed.
Our father rubbed his eyes. “This is about securing your mate, the single individual who is meant to be with you. You’ll know it. I’ll know it. Your people will know it. You must be open to every possibility. If you can’t find the single mate destined for you, then you will not be able to produce children. We must continue on as a species. It’s vital that we do. There are battles to fight in the future, wars to end, diseases to cure. If not, everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve will be vanquished. Gone.”
I, along with all three of my brothers knew that our true mates didn’t exist within the Vektorian females. We were not compatible, which made using them to fulfill our carnal needs perfectly acceptable, something Ravat did with flair.
I didn’t give a shit about playing with females. They bored me. I craved the power brutality afforded, the influence my position held. A female would be considered a weakness. However, there were things our father wasn’t telling us.
“That’s why you have the length of time you do. However, if you do not return with a mate within that time frame, one of your other brothers will be gifted your corner of our world. Then they will use the galaxies as they wish.” Father glanced from Ravat to me. The bastard had a grin on his face.
He adored tossing that in our faces and had since we were children.
I wondered how long it was going to take before our father allowed the other jab to hit. And still, I could tell by the look in our father’s eyes that something was off. I swaggered closer, still stroking the small vermin. “What’s the catch?”
“Catch?”
Suddenly, my father didn’t know a coined phrase from his beloved humans. “There isn’t a single female we aren’t allowed to mate with?”
“It’s not about being allowed, Zatan. It’s about compatibility. At this point, the only creatures who our bodies seem incompatible with are humans. Besides, you wouldn’t want to do so anyway. They are reprehensible creatures but entertaining nonetheless.”
Why was it that he was looking me in the eyes? Did he anticipate I’d break the rules as I usually did? He’d encouraged me to explore the dark fantasies of the dream world. I hadn’t lied to him that I’d tasted a human, even if only inside the fantasy realm. Why did I feel as if this challenge was being made for me alone?
Our mother nodded, used to hearing the many stories regarding how dangerous human females could be. I knew our father had told her.
There was a distinct twinkle in his eyes.
“What is the real reason for this sudden demand for the quest, Father? You make the rules just like you created our world. Both Ravat and I are very busy creating additional wealth for our people.” If he wouldn’t tell me the truth directly, perhaps I could glean more from his answers.
“Because I am honoring your mother in her request for grandchildren.” His quick answer was followed by a nudge from our mother. “And because our people are getting antsy. They need heirs. They need celebrations. They need a change. Because the various intergalactic politicians have expressed concern for their dying populations.”
Well, there was that. There was also more.
“Wow. Now, we carry the burden of whether or not they can all procreate,” Ravat snorted.
“We control their destiny as much as we do our own, son. That is something you both need to keep in mind.” Our father reached for our mother, which was a gesture that usually didn’t happen in front of us.
“What else?” The demand in my tone wasn’t unusual. If I was to leave everything I knew and had built simply to find a female to impregnate, which was a dangerous operation, then I deserved to know the truth. “What aren’t you telling us, Father?”
He took a deep breath, finally looking toward our mother.
