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“Most of the time,” Tasha answered as she handed out more of the soft bundles, “the mated ones stay with their mates. Anyone who doesn’t want to help out hides in their room. But trust me, it’s worth it to help out. These warriors are amazing in bed. It’s not just about them. They needyouto orgasm to get their moment of sanity.”
“Oh, and their tails.” Penelope waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “You’ll never forget their tails.”
I gawked at them. They were talking about sleeping with these giants as if it was nothing.
“Note to self, check out their tails,” Julie said with a laugh.
“What about after the rut? What do the women here do?” I asked. I knew our job here was to help them survive the rut, but just sleeping with alien men for a living kind of felt like prostitution.
“I know that look. I thought the same thing when I first got here. ‘This is sex work.’” Penelope rolled her eyes. “Maybe it is to some, but these warriors; they really need us. You’ll realize how much when the rut starts. They know our worth and treat us accordingly. They don’t treat us like common whores, but like valuable members of their community.”
Tasha collected our dresses and stuffed them into a bin markedlaundry.“We all have one assignment for the rest of the year. Be happy.”
“What?” Had I heard her wrong?
“Be happy,” she repeated. “We’re not expected to work, but we can if it makes us happy. If we have a hobby that requires tools or materials, we let them know, and they’ll try to acquire it.”
“Some of us find odd jobs around the stronghold. Others join the Kadrixans when they go out hunting or when they farm the valley.” Penelope headed out the door, and we followed her.
The idea of these terrifying warriors farming had been funny until I remembered they were cut off from their planet. Every human colonist knew the Kadrixans living here had been exiled from their home planet. They’d stolen the ships to get here. The colony’s media made sure everyone knew these monsters were disgraced and untrustworthy.
“Guess what I do?” Penelope asked with a mischievous grin.
I took the bait. “What?”
“I write erotic short stories about human women with their Kadrixan lovers. If I run out of material, I just ask around for ideas.” She waggled her eyebrows again. “And the best part is that their communication expert, Trsak, hacked the colony’s system, then we put them up as a free download on EshopU.”
EshopU was the colony-owned e-commerce one-stop shop.
“No! You did not!” Julie exclaimed.
“I did. And it sells. A lot. And the authorities can’t take it down because my account doesn’t actually exist. I don’t make anything from it, but it tickles me pink that people are reading about twisted ridges and hypermobile tails.” The smile on her face said it all. “I wonder how many women I can convince to join us.”
That had me remembering Krxare’s erection from this morning. His cock wasn’t like any I’d ever seen. It had a flared head, but the shaft twisted around with hard ridges along its length. I hadn’t noticed any balls at the base either.
That gave me some food for thought. Now that I was actually here, it wasn’t anything like I’d expected. Penelope’s stories were doing double duty: educating and titillating at the same time.
We headed back to the Great Hall. It was set up completely differently than yesterday. Today, instead of large groupings for mingling, there were small eating platforms with two cushions side by side, like the way Krxare and mine had been.
“They are starting early this year,” Tasha said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“They're encouraging the women folk to pair up and spend time with the Kadrixan warriors. Think of it as speed dating for those who haven't found their mates. They serve several courses throughout the night. The warriors sit down at their stations, then the women walk around and choose who they want to eat each course with.”
“So, Kadrixan old-world speed-dating musical chairs?” I looked around the room at all the paired place settings.
“Yup,” said Tasha. “We're the lucky ones. We don't have to participate. We get to eat the entire meal in peace with our mates. You don’t want to join in. It’s stressful. It's more fun to watch.”
“How is it stressful?”
“You know those videos you see of people playing musical chairs, and there's like one chair left, and both people go for it, and things get dicey? It's like that, except there are more chairs than players, and no warrior wants to eat alone.
“Last year, this lady sat down at her chosen warrior's station, and another warrior next to them immediately started a fight. Turns out she was his mate, and she'd completely bypassed him, not being able to feel the bond. They’re happily mated now, though. So no harm done.”
“Let's head to the platforms. That's where the mated couples sit and watch these poor fools play the game.”
Mated couples. I guess that would be me. It felt strange, because I’d just met him yesterday, and I wasn't sure if I'd be staying once all this was over. I might not have a life back at the colony, but I had a brother.
