Page 28

Simone

“ T he only ones left in the great hall are the human females and their mates,” Rallan says as I walk up to where he’s speaking with Vex. They’re going over a list that Vex has been checking things off of all day. “The unmated males are all outside, hopefully in their own homes.”

“They’ve been warned not to overstep?” Vex asks, his attention planted on Rallan even though he’s talking to about five others.

“I have warned them, Ralleth has warned them, and there are a few others who are unmated out there making sure they behave themselves,” Rallan answers, his eyes crinkling in the corners when he sees me step next to Vex and slide my hand in his.

“Good,” Vex tries to keep the conversation going over what else needs to be done, but I’ve thrown him off his game now.

Rallan shakes his head, giving me a knowing look. I act bashful, not wanting them to know that I know just how much I affect them both.

Vex clears his throat, trying to retain his composure. “I’ll be on Earth for approximately two hours to ensure all of the women come through. Is there anything you all need from me before I leave?”

“We can handle everything on this side of the portal,” Ralleth answers for all of the others.

“My brothers will be honorable males, and we will get all of the females situated in their rooms for the night. Tomorrow, we might have more issues, but that will just be getting everyone acquainted with the new rules and their new life.”

“Everything will be fine,” Rallan says, placing a hand on Vex’s shoulder before turning toward the other demons. “I think we should all go and double check to make sure there are enough tunics for the humans, yes?”

The others don’t seem very interested in checking tunics for probably the fifth time, but when Ralleth and Rallan both nudge them away from Vex and me, they leave with a flicker of understanding.

I wait until they’re far enough away that they won’t hear our conversation. Not that it’s a bad conversation, but I don’t want them to hear me tell Vex why he should come back on time.

“Is everything okay?” Vex asks, turning to face me. He wraps his free arm around me and pulls me into a soft hug. His lips find my temple and he presses a kiss to my forehead before pulling away.

“I just want to make sure you’re going to come back,” I say, feeling the needling anxiety that I get whenever I think of Vex leaving me. I know it’s leftover worries from when I first came to this planet. Still, every time he leaves, I worry it’ll be the time he doesn’t come back.

“I’ll always come back for you,” Vex says, his eyes hardening. He hates my anxiety about his devotion as much as I do.

“I know, I know,” I say, trying to calm him and my own nerves.

“But just to make sure you know how much I want you to come back.” I lean in close to his ear and suck his lobe into my mouth.

He groans softly as I drag my teeth across it and then pull back so I can whisper in his ear.

“If you make it back tonight, I’ve promised Rallan he can tie me up. ”

Vex’s eyes flash bright white, and his grip on me tightens. “Well, I better not let either of you down.”

“You better not.” I bite my lips and then press them to his. He growls low in his throat, holding me tight to him as he claims my mouth as his.

I can feel him breaking apart, his energy skating along my cheeks and up my arms. He groans into my mouth before pulling himself away from me.

“You’re going to get me in trouble,” Vex laughs as he shakes his head and presses his fingers to his temples, trying to get his mask back in place.

“Trouble with who?” I arch a brow at him. “I’m pretty sure the only one allowed to get you in trouble is me.”

“Yes, and if I’m late getting to Earth, I’ll be late getting back,” he tells me, squeezing me one last time before dropping his hand from me.

“You have promises to keep.” He doesn’t wait for me to say something else before turning from me and making his way toward the great hall doors.

“I’ll see you tonight!” he calls behind him loud enough that plenty of others are turning their attention to us.

“You told him,” Rallan asks, surprising me with how close he is when I just watched him go somewhere else with the other demons. He sees the confusion on my face and explains himself. “I came back over here when he was putting his tongue in your mouth. You know I enjoy watching that.”

“You’re an idiot,” I laugh and lean against him. “But yes, I did tell him.”

“Good, then you can stop worrying and come help me with getting the rest ready for your sisters.” Rallan tugs me close to him before dragging me toward the tables we’ve set up near where the portal will appear.

“We need to set out clothing for everyone and then make sure all of the rooms are ready. There should be plenty of work to keep your mind off Vex being gone.”

“Thank you.” I bump his hip with mine, smiling up at him. He gives me a confused look, probably not used to me saying nice things. “For trying to get my mind off of him being gone.”

Rallan shakes his head. “Thank me with your body tonight.”

I roll my eyes, but it doesn’t stop the butterflies from exploding in my abdomen every time he says something like that.

“Out, out!” Rallan herds the other males toward one of the tables in the dining hall that they’re allowed to be at.

It’s on the other side of the partitions that we have set up to separate the entirety of the dining hall from the great hall entrance.

Once all of the males make it to the table and sit down, Rallan moves the last partition so that the dining hall is blocked off.

“If you need anything, you only need to call for one of us!” Rallan yells from the other side of the partition. I wince at how loud he is like he thinks that the flimsy partitions also block sound somehow.

“Will do,” I call back to him, not daring to yell as loud as him even though it’d be funny.

“Oh, also, tell us when the portal opens!” he calls just as loud, and I think he must be trying to be funny. There’s no way he thinks he needs to be that loud. “We are all curious!”

“Yeah, you got it,” I respond before walking away from the partition and going to sit with the other women while we wait for the portal to appear.

“Do any of you guys know how to make a clock?” Kendra asks as she picks at the hem of her tunic.

“Like a whole ass clock? With gears and stuff?” Nia asks. I have to give her credit for not busting out laughing and Kendra credit for not taking the questions as insults.

“I’m just saying life would be a little easier if we had some clocks to tell the time.” Kendra smiles, her face staining a soft pink at the realization of how silly her question is now that she’s said it out loud.

“Ignore my sister. She’s a little stupid when she’s anxious,” Diane teases and wraps an arm around Kendra.

“I imagine the portal will open soon,” I say, rolling my shoulders and trying to drive away some of my anxieties.

We’re all nervous about the new humans coming.

We want them to love this place like we do because if they don’t, they’re still trapped here forever.

“Vex said he wanted everyone here before nightfall in case someone gets lost like I did.”

“Did you ever think this is what life was going to be like when the Hands made us all do that stupid vote on whether or not to send us here?” Olivia asks. She sits with her head resting on her hands, staring at where the portal will open.

“Fuck no,” Skylar throws her head back and laughs. “I was so scared when they told us we were going, and then you went and voted yes and made it so all of us had to vote yes, too.”

“Oh, I was so pissed at you for that,” Diane adds, turning her attention to Olivia. “You went and martyred yourself, and then I had to, too, or I’d look like I was being a baby about the whole thing.”

“Who was it that flipped the camera off?” Nia asks, looking around at all of us.

Skylar groans and tries to cover her smile with her hand. “I was mad, okay? It was not my finest moment.”

“I went back to my room and cried for hours,” Alice says. When none of us are surprised, she huffs. “You could at least pretend that’s out of the ordinary for me.”

“We could, but then we’d all be liars,” I say, giving her shoulder a soft shove.

Alice and I were not friends when I first arrived.

In fact, I was surprised when she didn’t hate me.

I guess a part of my tough love rubbed off on her in a good way and she was able to finally tell her alien man that she wanted to be with him.

I mean, she got kidnapped before she did, but still, I like to think I had a hand in getting them together.

“Oh, I think they’re coming!” Deja stands from her seat, her fingers wringing in front of her. We all jump to our feet and watch the air, hoping Deja is right because all of this waiting is exhausting.

As if on cue, the portal begins to glow a few feet away from where we’ve set up the closest table.

We all move at once, going to our designated duties.

Kendra and Diane are on tunic and short grabbing duty while Nia, Deja, Olivia, Skylar, Alice, and I are grabbing women as they come through the portal and getting them to a chair so they can sit while they wait for their eyesight to return.

I take a deep, shaky breath, my lips rolling between my teeth as I wait for the first new person to come through. One second, there’s no one, and then we have our newest member stumbling through and blindly reaching out for something to hold onto.

“I got you,” Olivia says as she takes the woman’s hand in hers. “You’re safe. Let me get you a chair. Just follow me.”

Kendra runs toward them with a tunic and shorts that should fit. She’s just setting them in the woman’s hands when a second woman comes through, and this time, Skylar is there to guide her to a chair.

Over and over we help new women get adjusted to being in their new home.

I forget about Vex not being here. I forget about the demons on the other side of the partition.

I forget about everything other than helping the new women find a home in this place.

Because there’s so much happiness to be found here.