Callim's Challenge Read online

  Is she asking me? Before I can answer, Funjim speaks up. “No, Councilor Marquel Sune. Little news or entertainment reaches us.”

  “Is that true?” Her question is directed at me and I’m startled. This is the first time a female has addressed me. “Yes, Councilor.” I answer simply, impressed at my daring. I can’t wait to tell my brother Temkel I spoke to a female.

  “Well, perhaps we should sit. You need to be brought up to speed.” She takes a step back, sinking into the seating area with everyone following suit. I’m not sure where to sit. I stand waiting for direction from Coran with my hands locked behind me.

  Coran looks as undecided as I am until Funjim addresses him next to me. “Thank you for the escort, Coran. You may go and I’ll call for you if you’re needed again.” His eyes flick to mine and I could swear I see sympathy before he turns and leaves the room. The doors shut ominously behind him.

  Now I know this is serious. I’ve been left with the Sacred Mother’s Pod delegate along with an appointed Councilor for the planet. And a scientist? What is this about?

  I’m lowering myself into a plush chair when Councilor Sune addresses me again. “Well, I’m impressed.” She turns to Funjim as she raises her eyebrows. “No news of the recent mating test has been discussed in these walls? Really?”

  “Really. As emissaries for the planet, we represent the very best. Idle entertainment is unnecessary.” Nodding, the Councilor and Scientist look at each other knowingly.

  “Well, there will be lots of time to get all the details explained to you, Callim. But suffice it to say that you are one of a few males on the planet that has displayed mating marks to an Earthen female.”

  She pauses, I’m sure for effect. But it’s lost on me. Human? And mating marks?

  “I can see you are puzzled,” she continues. “Surely you remember mating marks from your studies?”

  Nodding, I remember. But we were told this was in our evolutionary past. Nano technology integration has made us all better and more self-sufficient. Mates can’t be apart for long periods of time. Their dependence on each other is a weakness that all Quasarians are happy to leave in the past. Add to that the fact that breeding could only happen between mates and if one died that was it…

  “Well, one of our ship captains ran across a Human female in space. They were both surprised when mating marks appeared. They’ve completed the mating test and bonding. Since then, we’ve had two others on the planet here and two others on the planet Six Two Four. This makes you the sixth male. Isn’t that exciting?”

  Her question takes me off guard. Exciting? Maybe. I’m not sure what this means for me.

  Everyone in my pod knows eventually we will be sent off planet as an emissary for Quasar to one of two societies. The Marel or the Sinth. Does this mean the Human’s planet is where I will go now? My mouth opens and then closes as soon as the question forms.

  “Yes.” I notice a smile stretching my face. Anything different is exciting. “What does this mean for me? Is Marel no longer where I’ll be sent?” Even though this morning was the first time I’d heard where I was destined to serve, I don’t miss it. The destination wasn’t even known to me.

  “Yes. As you can imagine, mating marks appearing on some of our males has made us all get excited.” She looks over at the doctor. “Mila is working with the council. We’re studying what is different in the matings of Humans with Quasarians. We want to see why this is happening and whether we can minimize the downside. We don’t want to take any evolutionary steps backward. I’m sure you won’t want to be trapped close to another for the rest of your life. You could not leave your mate for any length of time and have no other sexual options.”

  Sexual options? As if I’ve ever had any. With the ratio of males to females so high, the odds of any unclaimed, orphaned males joining with a female is unheard of. Why would she when she could have her pick of any males?

  “Don’t worry, Callim.” Mila speaks for the first time. Her voice is low and soothing. “I’ve picked a team of top scientists that will work with me. You, along with another male and two female Humans will be studied in our program. Your part in this study will go down in history. It’s even more important work than your emissary duties planned on Marel.”

  If she says so. I had no idea exactly what my duties on Marel would have been. Our pod studies the same as every other but we are divided in groups by where we end up assigned.

  Of course, I still am only about half through the program but sometimes males shuffle. Recently, one of the males in my pod had been transferred to a pod that left in the last rotation. No one can say what determines those decisions and the changes.

  “Are you ready to go then?” Councilor Marquel Sune stands and my legs have a hard time following. My brother Temkel will be devastated. It is unlikely we are brothers by breeding, but we’ve been together our entire lives.

  Bowing my head and dropping my eyes to the floor, I try to show respect. “Will I be able to say goodbye to the others in my pod?”

  “That’s not mandatory, is it?” It’s Funjim who answers from my left. “We need not get the pod involved in the planet’s local drama, do we?” I hadn’t thought of that.

  Our path is focused. We only dwell upon the teachings of the Sanctuary. Very little is discussed between us. Only in the evening as we are drifting off to sleep do we get the opportunity to talk. “No, Delegate. I understand.”

  “Excellent. Follow us then.” Marquel Sune leads the way out of the room. It’s a surprisingly short march to the doors that leave the Sanctuary. Stepping outside for the first time is surreal. As soon as I do, a drone hesitates, its facial recognition locking onto the Councilor.

  “Hurry.” They push me inside a shuttle waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. “They’ve spotted us. Well, Callim.” Marquel turns to me next to her. “How do you feel about starring on entertainment news?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  - Shelly

  After the shuttle ride from hell, I look out the windows around the craft we landed in. “That’s so freaky.” You can see the sky out the windows. But when I gaze out the door Barek opened for us to climb out of, I can only make out the small, dark area we settled in.

  We’ve landed in the Metro Amphitheater where the Quasarians are all watching us arrive. None of us have been to a Quasarian household. It’s hard to say what kind of entertainment they enjoy regularly.

  From the number of drones floating around, everyone wants to see us. Hannah told us they were all carrying cameras. This event must be high on the entertainment scale right now.

  That’s not something I can relate to. I never had a television growing up with my mom. That would’ve been the first thing pawned to support her drug habit.

  “Some kind of shield?” Susan whispers next to me as we stare out. It’s super weird, because it makes the inside of the shuttle so much lighter than outside the door. We’re here to meet the council members—and our mates.

  Marquel steps forward from the group huddled outside the shuttle door. Her light purple robe grazes the ground as she leans forward in greeting. “Welcome, Susan Mast, Shelly Suite and Beth Sanders from Earth. Are you all well?” I guess we look like idiots standing here in the doorway, gaping at the sky.

  All I notice is Callim. He’s standing next to four women, a few feet away from the shuttle. Just off to the side of them, he’s looking at the ground. It’s easy to forget how large the women are! The men seem so big compared to us, but he has to be at least six to nine inches shorter than them.

  What immediately catches my eyes are their pants. Fucking sheer pants. Callim is standing there in lilac pants and Forohn, Beth’s mate is in all his glory in sage. Light green. Totally see-through. Damn!

  “Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Susan answers for us and puts a fake smile on her face. She steps out gingerly and walks towards them. Beth and I follow slowly. Beth’s face is beet red, so I'm positive she’s spotted their pants too. And of course, what’s u
nder them…and what isn’t.

  “Again, I’m Marquel Sune. Let me introduce you formally to everyone and then we can be on our way.” She waves us towards the others with a flourish.

  It’s eerily quiet, but all the women are smiling. Fucking crazy ass bitches. Like they have something to smile about.

  “This is Vina Likana of the Likana line and Kirley Pelack of the Pelack line. We’ve also included our head scientist and doctor, Mila Fortane. She will head up the Mating Re-emergence study. She has personally picked the scientists and doctors that will be included in this study. She can answer any questions about who will have access to you and the information we will collect.”

  Marquel looks back and forth between me and Beth. Mila is close to seven feet tall and in a white robe. She bends at the waist briefly before standing. They all have flawless tan skin and dark hair.

  A whoosh of air behind us makes everyone turn. Barek’s hell ride shoots off behind us. I swing around to watch him go. He accelerates like a bat out of hell. Drones dash out of the way of the shuttle.

  Susan’s mouth drops open and Marquel chuckles before explaining. “It’s a shield. It’s set to a certain perimeter and we can’t see or hear anything beyond it. There are thousands of people watching. They are both here in the amphitheater and on our communication devices. It keeps us from being distracted, but many of our citizens are curious. This is a big event.”

  Susan smiles and nods in agreement. Marquel turns to Beth and me to add, “I’m sure you are both very interested in meeting your mates.”

  For a few seconds, Beth and I stare at her awkwardly. “Yeah, for sure.” My blatantly mocking response could be taken either way.

  I learned sarcasm as a self-preservation tool when I hit the foster care system. Kids can be cruel. Being the bastard child of a prostitute with no idea of who your father is made me the butt of many sick jokes.

  Marquel doesn’t miss a beat. Turning to Beth, she waves at display number one. “This is Forohn Kana. His picture was sent first, and you said this is Beth Sander’s mate?” Marquel looks at Beth with raised eyebrows.

  Poor Beth blinks like a deer in headlights a few times before answering. “Um, yes. Hello.” That must be Forohn’s cue he can look up, because his eyes shoot right to Beth’s. His gaze is intense. I politely stare at his mating marks as they deepen, trying not to peek down. The colors spin through them in vibrant, iridescent orange, yellow and blue.

  “Interesting…” I overhear Mila comment. What’s interesting? When I glance over at her, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out she’s watching Forohn below the belt.

  Like watching a train wreck, I can’t look away. Uh—bad move. I notice the wide belt they wear high on their waist. It’s a solid fabric, but all below is sheer and luckily—very stretchy.

  “Fuck me, Beth. I don’t need to see that on your man.” Throwing a hand up to block the sight, I try not to laugh.

  Beth moves forward in front of him, blocking our view of down below. Holding out her hand tentatively to shake, she greets him. “Nice to meet you.”

  If he wasn’t an alien guy, I’d think he was slow. Forohn takes her hand immediately, but just looks at it and then back up to her. “Why don’t you hold my bag? Just like that, yes.” Taking her backpack off, she strategically centers it over his midsection.

  “Shelly, this is your new mate, Callim Devesti.” When Callim looks up quickly, our eyes lock briefly before he rakes them down my body. Fuck me. It felt like he stroked me. My body lights up with excitement.

  He ignores my hand that comes up automatically. When his eyes return to my face and he smiles brightly, my breath hitches. He’s even more striking than I thought he would be from his picture.

  He’s much larger than me. And yes, even in person he looks like Dwayne Johnson. Dark, beautiful skin with muscles for miles. When he smiles, his white, even teeth shine and make him appear kind. His mating marks are darker than Forohn’s, with green and teal. Yellow shoots through some of them and they churn through the colors on his skin. My eyes follow them down where they dip below the waist of his sheer, purple pants.

  “Zero to sixty there, Shelly.” I don’t respond to Beth’s comment. Yes, I’ve seen it. Pretty hard to miss—pun intended.

  Shoving my backpack at him, I admit my face heats in embarrassment. His smile widens. Even as I turn away with clear disgust at the whole situation, he continues to smile.

  It takes a lot to embarrass me. One foster parent did his best to break me of that when I popped in and out of his home between eleven and twelve-years-old. His manipulations were what I now realize as an adult as molestation.

  “I’d say he figures he won the planet’s alien lottery.” Beth’s right. There’s something about him that is wholesome and honest and he looks honestly cheerful. It makes not liking him hard. Bastard.

  “Should we go then?” Marquel spins slowly in a circle making eye contact with each of us.

  I shrug, but don’t move. Marquel is leading everyone and everything around here. I’m paying more attention to Callim than where I’m going. Another shuttle seems to materialize out of the darkness ahead of us. That weird cloaking makes it so we only see so far into the darkness.

  Callim is staring at me as we wait our turn to climb on. I can sense his gaze on me. Beth is doing the same thing with Forohn staring at her. So fucking awkward.

  When I feel a hand travel down my arm, I'm aware it’s him. His touch sends jolts of awareness through me and I squint my eyes and look at him. What is he doing?

  But all he does is lift my arm straight up with his, turning his face to the darkness. When I tilt my head up, I catch sight of a huge grin again. What the hell? It takes a minute but I realize he’s playing to the crowd we can’t see or hear!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  - Shelly

  “Cut that out!” Yanking my hand from Callim’s, I step closer to the shuttle.

  “Everything okay over there?” Susan’s already inside but she must be watching. She’s like a mother hen.

  “Yes,” I grit back. “He acts like we won the fucking Amazing Race.” It’s flattering to think he feels that way, but I’m not looking my best. I’m pale and the circles under my eyes make me look like a skeleton. I can’t believe he even finds me attractive, but he’s a guy.

  Beth is laughing behind me with Forohn right behind her. “He was holding both their arms up like she was a boxing winner.” Beth wipes her eyes since she’s laughing so hard.

  I give Beth a playful shove that makes her stumble into Forohn’s arms. But instead of being grateful at the contact, he scowls at me. I hold up my hands innocently. Simmer down, dude.

  “Better watch your back, Shelly. Beth has a protector now, and he did not like that.” Susan totally disappears into the shuttle ahead of me.

  “I can’t believe he isn’t more grateful. It would have taken a week for you to touch him.” I tease Beth next to me, trying to lighten Forohn up.

  “That’s not true!” Beth laughs and peeks up at Forohn next to her.

  Our good mood vanishes as we get through the door on the shuttle. I don’t know about this. Beth will probably be fine but the last ride was terrible for me!

  This one has seats in a circle facing each other. And no windows. And what the hell? There’s no pilot area?

  I don’t have any choice, though as we follow the person in front of us around the circle. I have Beth following Forohn in front of me and Callim behind us.

  As I’m sitting, I observe Marquel demonstrating how to use the seat belt harness. This one is even worse than the last. Forohn takes over belting Beth and Callim tries to pull the same babying stunt with me.

  Even when I knock his hands away, he still smiles. And wouldn’t you know it, I have to watch him to figure out my own. Thankfully, he doesn’t smirk, and he does it slow for himself so I can follow.

  As soon as everyone completes buckling up, the door shuts and we take off. It feels like we shoot st
raight up. Like the Willy Wonka elevator shooting up and up. Beth’s smiling face has me clamping my eyes shut and praying for it to be over. How she can like this is beyond me.

  We jerk from side to side, and I catch Susan asking, “How long is this?”

  A large hand drops onto mine and instead of shaking it off, I flip my hand over and thread my fingers through his. I don’t even look. I don’t want to know. If he’s smug or smiling, I might hit him.

  “We are almost there. Are you well?” Marquel Sune and Mila Fortane are talking to Susan almost directly across from us.

  “It’s alright now,” Mila murmurs. I don’t make out anything else. Bracing my head against the seat behind me, I try not to let my neck jerk too much. We seem to be racing towards some invisible finish line.

  Then, it’s over. Just like that. I don’t even notice us touching down to the ground.

  “Did we actually travel through the air or did we teleport?” Susan’s wry comment cuts the silence as we all seem to be holding our breath. I was afraid to hope it was actually over.

  Beth laughs immediately at her joke, and I open my eyes to study her. I can hear and see the strain she feels. Forohn gazes at her from the other side and although they just met, I can tell he knows she’s nervous too.

  Marquel and Mila seem to think Susan is serious though, which is funny in its own way. Marquel launches into a lengthy explanation about where we are in the city. It means nothing to any of us.

  Luckily, I’m one of the first off since we are getting off in the opposite order we got on. Moving away from the door, we wait for everyone else to get out. Susan literally stumbles out. Ten feet from the shuttle she bends over and holds her knees.

  I move towards her. It looks like she may lose her lunch. When I reach her side, she drops onto her butt. Breathing heavily, she throws her head back to look around.