The unmated males’ area—Oh my God! What am I doing here? And speaking of unmated males, there was one standing right in front of her. He was eyeing her the way a starving man might look at a steak. Only you don’t want to do the nasty with your steak. My God, what am I going to do?
“I…uh…” Liv didn’t know what to say. The warrior standing in front of her was obviously a Beast Kindred like Baird. But unlike Baird there was no patience to temper the hunger burning in his golden eyes. The Take-me had stopped obligingly and was standing there stupidly as though waiting for further instructions. “Why did you bring me here? Bad Take-me!” Liv thought at it fiercely but it only shifted from one set of legs to the other and made a braying sigh from both of its mouths. She remembered the fleeting thought she’d had of Earth women being transported to the unmated males’ area and sniffing out prospective husbands. Could it be that the stupid Take-me had heard her and decided she wanted to go here? “You stupid thing, I wasn’t thinking literally”, she told it but her anger seemed to have no more effect on the shaggy green animal than her scolding had.
“Are you here looking for a mate?” a second, warrior, who looked like he might be a Twin Kindred asked.
“Why else would she be here?” replied a third who appeared to be the second one’s twin. At least, their facial features were very alike although they had different colored hair and eyes.
Liv’s head was spinning. How could this be happening? She’d only let her attention wander for a few minutes and now, here she was, in the most forbidden area of the ship surrounded by unmated warriors. All three males were wearing the tight black uniform pants and jewel-toned shirts of the Kindred military but it wasn’t their clothing that worried her. It was the lust in their eyes.
“Back off,” snarled the first one—the Beast Kindred. “I saw her first.”
“You’re staking a claim?” the first Twin Kindred said, his voice a low, menacing growl.
“Well, are you?” The second Twin Kindred came to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother. One of them had light brown hair and blue eyes while the other had black hair and green eyes but the look on their faces was identical—lust.
“What if I am?” the Beast Kindred growled, his yellow eyes glowing with hostility.
Things were rapidly getting out of hand. Hoping to stop a fight, Liv raised her hands and spoke in what she hoped was an authoritative tone. “Look, there’s been a mistake. I didn’t come here looking for a mate. In fact, I’ve already got one waiting for me back on the other side of the ship.”
“Is that right?” The Beast Kindred stepped closer—a lot closer than Liv liked. Starting at the side of her neck and moving down to her crotch he took a deep sniff.
“Hey!” She shied away from the intimate contact but the Beast Kindred was smiling.
“I don’t smell another male on you, pretty one,” he growled, his eyes glowing a hot yellow. “All I smell is a female in heat. A female that needs to be bred and bonded to the right male.”
“I don’t care what you think you smell, I am not available. I have a mate—a really big angry one so you’d better leave me alone.” Liv nudged the Take-me with her knees, wishing the damn thing would take a hint. “Go home—now!” she thought at it desperately but it seemed unwilling to move as long as the Beast Kindred was blocking its path. Maybe he smelled like Baird and that confused it but for whatever reason, it looked like she was going nowhere fast.
“You wouldn’t be here smelling the way you do if you weren’t searching for a mate,” one of the Twin Kindred—the one with black hair—said, frowning. “It is known that no unbonded female would enter this area unless she wished to provoke a Tis’Dane.”
“A what?” Liv stared at him confused.
“A fight between rival males for the right to a fertile female,” growled the brown haired twin. He looked at the Beast Kindred. “A fight my brother and I will surely win so I suggest you leave now, friend.”
“I’m not your friend and I will not leave until both of you are bloody and broken on the ground,” the Beast warrior snarled.
Liv thought about protesting that she wasn’t interested in any of them again but it didn’t seem to have any effect. And since the Take-me refused to go anywhere, her only option was to get down and try to run away on foot. Wonder how far I’ll get? she thought dismally, eyeing the fight that was building before her eyes. The smell of male aggression hung heavy in the air, like some kind of musk. It made her feel dizzy, but not in the good way Baird’s mating scent did. As she watched the Beast warrior began stalking toward the Twins who were standing shoulder to shoulder. She had to get out of here fast while they were still focused on each other.