“Miss Smith.”
The voice came again. It was a woman’s voice and one that was stern.
“Jessica Smith!”
I startled then, my mind being pulled from the two men that surrounded me to… no, no men surrounded me. I was in the processing room. I didn’t have a cock in my ass or my pussy. I didn’t have two hard bodies surrounding me. I couldn’t feel their heat or breathe in their potent scents. The weight of their collar was not about my neck.
I opened my eyes and blinked. Once, twice. Oh, yeah. Warden Egara. The stiff and formal woman loomed over me.
“Your testing is complete and your match has been made.”
I licked my dry lips and tried to settle my racing heart. I could feel the men still, but it was quickly slipping away. I wanted to reach out and grab them, hang on for dear life. It was the first time I had ever felt safe and protected, cherished and desired. They weren’t even my men.
I laughed dryly then and the warden raised a dark brow.
The only time I felt safe was in a dream. Reality, yeah. Reality was a bitch.
“It’s over?” I asked. My voice was a little rough, as if I’d cried out in pleasure as I dreamed. God, I hoped I hadn’t. It was like snoring with a new lover, but only worse. So much worse.
She must have been satisfied with whatever she saw on my face, for she nodded once and went around the simple table to sit. While she settled into a plain metal chair, I was still strapped to the processing chair, wearing just a simple hospital-style gown with the Interstellar Bride Program logo repeated across the gray fabric in a pattern. Glancing down, I could see my nipples, hard and erect, through the thin fabric. There was no question the warden saw them as well, but she said nothing.
“For the record, state your name, please.”
“Jessica Smith.” I squirmed in the chair, realizing that my gown was damp beneath me.
“Miss Smith, are you now, or have you ever been married?”
“No.”
“Do you have any biological offspring?”
“You already know these answers.”
“I do, but a verbal recording is required prior to transport. Please answer the question.”
“No, I do not have any children.”
She tapped her screen a few times without looking at me. “I am required to inform you, Miss Smith, that you will have thirty days to accept or reject the mate chosen for you by our matching protocols.” She glanced at me. “You are the third woman from Earth to be matched to this planet. Hmm.”
I had my doubts about the testing and being truly matched. I hadn’t found a man on Earth who was interested in me, so it was a little depressing that I needed to search the entire universe for him.
But why then, did my testing dream have two men? What was wrong with me if I dreamed of that? Surely my mate would not be thrilled to know I had pervy dreams with more than just him.
“There will be no return to Earth if you are not satisfied. You may request a new primary mate after thirty days… on Prillon Prime. You may continue this process until you find a mate who is acceptable.”
“Prillon Prime?”
I hadn’t heard of it, but that didn’t mean much. I hadn’t heard of many of the other planets or anything about the races that inhabited them. I had been too busy with my job, with my life on Earth to even consider space. But that changed pretty fucking quickly.
“I feel like a prisoner. Is there a reason that I’m still restrained?” I flexed my wrists and bunched my hands into fists.
“Many of our volunteers, as you know, are prisoners.”
“So they really aren’t volunteers,” I countered.
She pursed her lips. “I won’t argue semantics with you, Miss Smith, but with your prior military experience you must be aware that sometimes a person is restrained for their own good. During your testing, women often become… restless. We have to ensure your safety.”
“And now?” I asked.
She looked at my fists. “Now, now it is to keep you still for any preparation or body modifications that might be required prior to transfer.”
“Body modifications? Warden, let me out of these restraints right now.” I heard the hard edge to my voice and hoped she’d know I wasn’t fucking around.
She didn’t flinch. “Do not worry, you will be unconscious when they are made. You have already signed the documents and the match has been made, Miss Smith. Because of this, you are no longer a citizen of Earth, but a warrior bride of Prillon Prime, and, as such, you shall be bound by the laws and customs of your new world.”
“Including being restrained?”
She cocked her head to the side. “If that is what your mate desires.”