In this society, humans live a thousand years and biologically mate through an unexplained chemical reaction.
When Petr Markenson's uncle figures out exactly how to mate two people, he finds himself deep inside the process...and on live television waiting to meet his mate.
Chapter 4b
Petr did not respond, but he had the sinking feeling he knew exactly what Wry had done and that the evening was not going to be pretty.
Twenty-four candidates were ushered into the screen room where Wry stood surrounded by two guards. He looked mutinous. Petr knew that expression well. He had seen it on one too many prey’s faces.
As soon as they were assembled, the screen came on. Victr did not look pleased. “Wry, do you know why you are here?” he demanded in a cold voice.
Wry glared at the screen. “I didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve been keeping us from our mates while others get to enjoy theirs! I went to find mine.”
A few candidates gasped while Petr and Tenro’s eyes met. Tenro mouthed thank you and Petr nodded. No doubt Tenro would be in this same position if Petr hadn’t talked him out of it numerous times already.
“You were told you were not to go into any of the restricted areas and yet you did so. Your mate was nowhere near where you went. In fact, you damaged a highly sensitive experiment we had underway. As the result of your selfishness, that experiment will have to be restarted, which loses us five years of work.”
Wry winced, but kept up his mutinous expression.
“You were warned of the consequences of your actions and now you will pay for it. Wry Preddinglo. You are hereby kicked from the program. You will be taken to a secure area and sequestered there for the duration when you will be released to your home. And,” Victr sat up straight, his expression going from firm to sad, “I am afraid you have lost the ability to meet your mate.”
“NO!” Wry yelled, his legs giving out. He would have fallen if the guards weren’t holding him up.
“I am sorry, Wry. More for your mate than for you, I am afraid. Good day, sir.”
Without another word, his guards picked him up and carried him out of the room. All eyes followed them until the door shut and then turned back to the screen.
Victr placed his face in his hands and rubbed a couple times. When he dropped his hands, he looked all of his seven hundred years. “My friends. I do not want to deny any of you your chance at a mate. Please, I beg you. Do not break our rules.”
Everyone shook their head adamantly.
“As it is, he was supposed to meet his mate tonight. Idiot,” he muttered under his breath. “As such, another mate has been summoned. Due to the time issue, the mating will take place an hour later tonight than normal. Please try and relax during the delay.”
The screen went black.
“What an idiot,” someone muttered.
“I don’t think I’m going to leave the house,” Clari sighed. “I can understand Wry’s frustration. I have been feeling it too. But to throw it all away like that.” She shook her head and left the room.
It was a somber crowd that met later that night. There were now twenty-four of them. Petr wondered if anyone else thought it suddenly felt as though they had elbow-room now. He did not bring it up as nobody seemed in the mood for a joke. Neither was he to be honest, but as angry as he was at Wry for being so stupid, he also felt sorry for the poor bastard. Maybe he could talk his uncle into finding a way to introduce Wry to his mate. It seemed criminal to keep them apart.
Two guards walked into the room. One stood by the portal, the other stood where Victr usually would stand. “Good evening. My name is Durl. I know today was a bit of a downer, but he was warned. For two of you, though, tonight is about to look up.”
“Two of us?” Clari’s voice sounded incredibly loud. “I thought it was going to be one per mating evening.”
The guard nodded and chuckled. “The boss thought you guys needed a pick-me-up, so he instructed us to bring two of your mates.”
The good news seemed to lift the dark cloud that hovered over them somewhat. Durl walked over and through the portal.
Almost immediately, he called out, “Tenro, please join me.”
The first twice in a row, Tenro frowned but went through the portal. A few soft whispers travelled through the group, but nobody spoke loud enough for Petr to hear what they said.
“Grod, please join me.”
Of course Petr hoped for all those he had met to meet their mates, but at the same time, he knew they would some time in the three months so he wanted it to be him.
“Petr, please join me.”
Gulping, Petr walkup to and through the portal, feeling it close behind him. Standing next to Durl were two men. One looked to be in his fifth or sixth century with silver tingeing his temples. He wore a suit and had short black hair and green eyes. The other was younger, maybe in his fourth or fifth decade, with shaggy blonde hair, bright blue eyes and laugh lines that curved away from plump lips
“Petr, this is Denb. He is from Brafen where he works as an attorney.” The older gentleman held out his hand palm down. Immediately Petr froze. Frowning, he placed his hand out right next to Denb’s, palm down. Amused, Durl looked at Denb. “I am afraid that as one of the candidates, Petr has the right to control the meeting.”
Growling under his breath, Denb turned his hand over and placed it lightly on Petr’s. Thankfully, there was no connection. Both men sighed in relief which just made Durl laugh.
Moving him aside, Durl pointed at the younger man. “This is Kai. He is an artist and lives at Denabui Artist Colony. Originally he is from Quadrant Qui.”
Raising an eyebrow, Petr looked Kai over. He did not know much about Quadrant Qui except it was said to be housed with humans so wild they could not speak. “Hello,” he said in a deep voice as he held his hand out.
Without seeming to think about it, Kai reached his arm out and turned it palm side up, slowly lowering it over Petr’s hand. Just before it touched, Kai winked at him. As it touched, Petr’s hand felt as though it was lit on fire. The fire flashed up his arm lighting every one of his nerve endings aflame. Before he even knew what was happening, he had Kai down on the ground, grinding his cock against him and plunging his tongue into the boy’s mouth.
“Petr!” He heard the voice but ignored it. The only thing that mattered right now was securing his mate. Two sets of arms grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. He turned to glare at one then froze as he recognized him.
“Durl?”
Laughing, the guard nodded. “Yes, Petr. Now, I know you wish to solidify this mating, but there are a couple things we need to do first.” He pointed at Kai and the moment Petr’s eyes alighted on his mate, he tried to get out of the guard’s grasp. “No, no. We will let you go soon. But first, you need to lock and secure the mating bands and get your stuff packed!” Durl shook him and slapped his face, making him jerk. “You with us?”
Chuckling, Petr nodded. “Yeah, I’m with you. Shit but that stuff jumps at you, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it does.”
The voice that spoke was unknown to him, but he loved the sound of it. Turning, he looked into the bright blue eyes of his mate and immediately felt that overwhelming need to claim him. Taking a deep breath, he muttered, “We had better get this done soon or I won’t be able to control myself.”
“Why don’t you look at his arm,” Durl suggested, “as that is where the band is. Does that help?”
Breaking the eye contact with Kai, Petr looked down. He still wanted to jump his mate, but he was in charge of that impulse now. “Yes, I can do this.” The guard released his arms and he quickly reached out and turned the lock on his mate’s band, pulling the key out and tossing it into a small vessel Durl held out. At the same time Kai reached out and with long, nimble fingers that Petr was trying not to imagine drifting along his body, he turned the lock on Petr’s band and tossed the key into the vessel. Almost immediately, Durl tossed a match onto it and the keys burst into flame. They watched them as they shriveled up and turned to dust.
“Now, go pack. Ghen here will go with you to make sure you get to your cabin before you solidify your relationship.” Durl guffawed quietly. “Congratulations.”
Grasping Kai’s hand, Petr pulled him out of the room and up the stairs to get his stuff. Petr pulled his clothes out of the closet and smiled when Kai folded everything and put it in the suitcase Petr pulled from under the bed. When everything was packed, Kai stood up and their eyes met.
“Oh no!” Ghen yelled, putting his hands over their eyes. “No eye contact, gentlemen. Not until it’s safe. Now, face forward and let’s go.”
Chuckling, Kai grabbed a box while Petr grabbed his suitcase and the two of them walked down the stairs hip to hip trying their hardest to not look at one another. As they reached the bottom, a shriek rang from the room. Petr looked over toward it as it sounded like Taci. Knowing her desire for a female mate, he hoped the dry boring attorney was not hers. Taci needed a more vibrant companion.
Unfortunately, some hopes were not answered. The door opened and the attorney walked out carrying Taci over his shoulder. She was crying and Petr stepped forward. “Taci, are you all right?”
She hiccupped but nodded. “This… is my mate,” she sobbed as he carried her upstairs.
“Is she all right?” Kai asked leaning in toward him.
Petr shook his head. “She's a lesbian. That her mate is male must be overwhelming for her.”
Kai chuckled and Petr shivered as a strong hand landed on his shoulder. “I’m glad you did not react that way.”
Grinning, Petr nodded. “I might have if he had been my mate.”
Laughing, Kai placed a hand around his upper arm and pulled gently. Nodding, Petr followed Kai and the guard out the door where a small ultra-vehicle was waiting for them.
It was almost impossible to sit next to his mate and not look at him. “How far to our cabin?” he asked the driver impatiently.
Ghen chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you there as soon as possible. Your cabin is at the north part of the property, though. So it will take about an hour to reach it. Just take a few deep breaths.”
“Fuck you,” he growled under his breath, making the driver laugh louder.
To make matters worse, a soft pair of lips touched his jaw. “Kai,” he groaned in warning.
His mate chuckled softly. “I like my name on your lips. Say it again.”
Petr moaned as his mate’s lips moved up his jaw to right below his ear. “Kai.”
“Mmm, again.”
“You're a bad influence,” he chuckled as Kai placed a hand on his abdomen and started unbuttoning his shirt.
“Definitely,” he murmured in a husky voice. “Do you know what Quadrant Qui is known for?” He slid his fingers under Petr’s shirt as he got enough buttons undone.
“No,” Petr answered, his breath coming faster than he would like considering the driver kept glancing back at them in amusement.
Kai chuckled. “A lie and we have only known one another a short while.” He pinched Petr’s stomach.
“Ouch!”
He chuckled. “Now come, I am sure that you along with everyone else thinks of my quadrant as the degrading one. I have heard all the rumors,” he murmured trailing his tongue along Petr’s collar bone. “That we are monsters, animals, that we aren’t even human.” He chuckled again and lightly nipped Petr’s throat. “But the fact is… the reason people are afraid of Quadrant Qui, the reason all the lies were created in the first place, is because Quadrant Qui is free-thinking. We are taught to be sexual very young in life. We know how to please both males and females and-” he groaned deeply as he nipped Petr on the chin, “-we are known to be the most passionate, most sexual mates on the planet.” With a lithe movement, he moved and straddled Petr’s lap.
Leaning in and yet not looking into his mate’s eyes, he kissed him softly. “People from my quadrant have active sex lives until the day they pass away. So,” he hummed, kissing him deeper while undoing the last two buttons of Petr’s shirt and pulling it open, “you are going to be one happy man, my mate.” He pulled away slightly and grinned. “If I do my job right, one very exhausted man as well.”
(Chapter 5a coming soon)
