Brida Pact (27 page)

“Where is ‘here’ exactly?” Poppy asked while continuing to
walk, this time at a slower pace.

“The intake floor. We received orders from the Council that
you were to have a meeting here and they sent us to escort you. During the
meeting, you will be briefed on life on Phaeton Prime and how to adjust.”
Nodding behind him at his friend and Val, he added, “We will escort Val to her
quarters once you have been dropped off.”

For some reason, Poppy’s Spidey-senses started tingling. The
warriors seemed nice enough but not knowing where she was going was triggering
something inside her. That combined with not having heard from Wheaton all
morning didn’t sit well. Trying to remember where they were walking and how to
get back if needed, she started paying attention to the symbols on the doors
she passed. This was one of those times she wished she could pull out the cheat
sheet Dathrow had drawn for her.

Reaching the door to their apparent destination, Poppy hoped
to see Wheaton on the other side of it, but was disappointed when she was shown
into an empty room.

“We were told to have you wait here, Poppy,” said Cannon. He
turned to Val, who had followed Poppy into the room, and held out his arm for
her to take. “We can now take you to your apartments, Valerie.”

Seeming uncomfortable with the situation, Val looked from
warrior to warrior and then back at the empty meeting room. “Actually, I think
I’ll wait here with Poppy and keep her company. After all, I’ll be going to
Phaeton Prime too, so any information she needs then I’ll need as well. I’ll
have the next escort take me back to my rooms when they walk Poppy back.”

Both of the warriors seemed fine with her request. Bowing quickly
in unison, they nodded at each of the women.

“It was nice to meet you, Poppy,” Cannon said.

“And you too, Valerie,” Leo added, then turning as if he had
forgotten something, he paused. “We were told that there is an antibiotic that
you need to take. It’s there on the table. It’s just a precaution. You should
find a pill inside the small cup.”

Walking to the table at the back of the room, he picked up
two medicine cups from a long row of them sitting on the table. He handed both
women one. They both had a purple pill inside.

Valerie glanced at Poppy before asking the men, “What
exactly is this for?”

“We were instructed that it is an antibiotic that humans
need to take prior to arriving on Phaeton Prime. Something to do with a disease
that you may catch that we are immune to. Since you will be accompanying us to
our home planet then you should take it as well, Valerie.” Cannon walked back
to the table and found two water bottles in a cooler beside the table. He
handed each woman a bottle and the warriors excused themselves and left the
room.

Alone in the empty space, Poppy and Val stared at each
other.

“This is totally weirding me out… Do you think this is safe
to take while pregnant?” Poppy asked, staring into her cup.

“Something doesn’t seem right,” Val agreed. She shook hers
around. The pill made a small tinging noise in the little plastic container.
“Let’s wait to ask Rodin or Tamin before we take any meds.”

She reached for the pill Poppy hadn’t taken and shook it and
hers into a tissue she pulled from her pocket, which she then put into her
messenger bag. “I’ll hold on to them until we get the okay from the docs.”
Dropping the empty cups onto the table, she opened her water bottle and took a
swig. Valerie walked to the table in the corner of the room and picked up a
file folder.

Poppy nodded at the papers Val was leafing through. “What is
that?”

“These are consent forms for something―”

Both women stopped their snooping when the door beeped.
Without either them opening it, it swished open, revealing Demascus with four
warriors.

The bad tingles that Poppy’d had in her stomach earlier
moved to full-on earthquake mode when she saw him smile.

“Oh great,” she let out on a soft breath.

Val was standing so close to Poppy that when she gripped her
arm, Poppy could feel her whole body tense.

“I don’t like this,” whispered Val out of the corner of her
mouth.

Nodding in agreement, she was about to ask Demascus what the
hell was going on, when he spoke in the nasally voice she’d come to hear in her
nightmares.

“Well hello, ladies.” Giving Poppy a toothy grin, he walked
far enough in for the other men to follow and the door quickly closed behind
him.

“What are we doing here, Councilor Demascus?” Val asked in
an authoritative voice.

“Valerie, so nice to see you.” Nodding to the men at his
side got them flanking the women, which caused Val and Poppy to move even
closer together, like sheep being herded by dogs.

“This is actually a bonus. I had just summoned Poppy but
here you are… How do you refer to it, two birds with one stone, I believe?” He
walked forward to take the folder out of Val’s hands. He cast a brief glance at
the table, from where a warrior had retrieved their cups, which were now
missing their pills.

“And you have already picked up the consent forms too? How
nice of you to get started without me.” He walked to the table and took a seat,
flipping through the papers.

“I don’t get it. Why are we here?” Poppy asked nervously.
Anything that had to do with Demascus could only be bad and his warrior thugs
were definitely making her uncomfortable.

Demascus leaned back in the chair and arched his eyebrow.
“Poppy, you know I do not like you.” At her surprise, he paused and smiled.
“What? You think I am not going to be blunt now?” When she was silent, he
continued, “I think you and your human species are going to spoil everything
that the Phaeton race has strived to be.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think, does it?” Poppy shot
back. She wasn’t going to just stand there and be bullied—especially by a
dickhead like Demascus.

Standing quickly, he walked toward the women. “No, it
doesn’t. However, now that Wheaton has a new bride you are no longer needed.”
Nodding at the men who were standing at their sides, he went on, “These
warriors are here to transport you to Squadron Two.” Pausing when Poppy let out
a gasp, he smiled again then glanced at Valerie. “And you are a bonus. We will
be able to let Earth know you will be back in orbit for transport to home
within days. This is in fact a most wonderful bonus,” he said, clapping his
hands.

Strong hands gripped her arms and Poppy struggled against
the hold.

“You can’t do this, Demascus. I’m mated to Wheaton and Val
is mated to Thorne.” Hoping to get through to the warriors who were apparently
doing his bidding, she sent a beseeching glance to the one nearest to her.

Demascus grinned toothily. “Oh yes I can. And don’t worry, I
explained to these men that you have been acting out of character since Hannah
arrived and Wheaton showed her favor over you.” He whispered, “Who are they
going to listen to…an emotional human or a senior Council member?”

Then he turned to Val.

“Unfortunately, I never received a bridal agreement from
Thorne since I have been out of the meetings all day. If that is the case, then
we will have no problem with Thorne going through the proper channels to
retrieve you in a few short weeks.”

Valerie began to struggle with all her strength against the
warrior at her side who was gripping her arm to pull her forward. Poppy fought
the arms holding her still, kicking her legs at any body part they could reach.
She was almost loose when one of the warriors reached forward with a silver
cylinder and pressed it to Val’s arm. As Val went limp, Poppy cried out in
concern.

“What the fuck was that?” she yelled, still battling to get
to Val who was now being whisked away.

“That is something to make the transport a little easier for
you ladies. Don’t worry, we have one for you as well.”

Demascus gave a nod, and Poppy didn’t have time to fight
before she felt a small prick on her arm—and then darkness.

Feeling as if she were waking from a hardcore nap, Poppy
could just about make out Val saying her name over and over again. Shaking her
head to clear it, she immediately felt woozy and regretted the action.

“Fuuuuuuuck. What the hell happened?” Poppy asked.

Opening her eyes, she saw Val leaning over her. The bright
lights peeking behind Val’s head caused Poppy to squint. She risked moving her
hand up to rub her eyes and forehead, hoping to alleviate some of the pain
centered there. But her wrist was too light, something was off.

“Where did my band go?” Poppy rubbed her wrist. It was red
in one area, as if she’d been pinched.

“Here, drink this.” Handing Poppy some water, Val gestured
to the room. “All of us are missing our bands. I think they must have been cut
off.”

Val helped her to sit up on what Poppy now realized was a
cot. She noticed six other women contained with them in what resembled a jail
cell. One side of the room consisted of plain metal walls with cots in a row
against it, and a toilet. The other was lined with bars that ran the length of
the room. Past the door to the cell, Poppy saw the standard entry door and
message panel on the wall. Looking at the women, she tried to figure out how
they’d all gotten there. A few of them were huddled into balls on their cots,
moaning and crying. At least she hadn’t reacted that badly to whatever it was
that Demascus had injected her with.

“Where the fuck are we and what the fuck happened?” Poppy
asked, trying to make sense of the scene around her.

Val took the glass back once Poppy had drained the water,
and nodded to the other women.

“That is Melanie and she helped me wake up about twenty
minutes ago.” Letting out a huff of air, Val seemed as if she were seconds away
from crying. “It seems that only two of them were able to avoid Demascus
knocking them out.”

Poppy nodded to the women in acknowledgment, figuring that
now was not the time for handshakes.

“Poppy, while we were unconscious, we were shuttled to Squadron
Two. I think we’re on our way back to Earth.” Barely giving Poppy time to let
that sink in, Val blinked and tears fell down her cheeks.

“Valerie, it’s okay… They’ll come for us.” Moving closer to
the women around the room, she saw most of them were crying or had been, if
their puffy eyes were anything to go by. “Everyone needs to stay calm. Our
husbands will come for us.”

When one of the women on the cots cried out, Poppy jumped
and went to see to her. “It’s okay. Your husband won’t let you be taken away.
I’m sure they’re searching for us right now.” Brushing the hair back from the
woman’s forehead, she noticed the pretty redhead was sweating. Her cheeks void
of any color, she had taken on almost a gray tone.

“What’s wrong with her? Did the shot do this? Could she be
having an allergic reaction?” Poppy demanded of Val.

“No, Poppy. The shot didn’t do that.” Valerie swallowed hard
and motioned at the woman with pity. “She’s losing her baby.” It came out as a
whisper, but Poppy heard it clearly.

“What?” Poppy asked softly in horror. What had happened
while she’d been knocked out? She winced over the woman crying on the cot and
her stomach tried to revolt again. Holding back her nausea, she struggled again
to figure out what was happening.

Valerie walked toward the cot and tried to calm down the
bride, smoothing her hair back from her damp face.

“The pill…that fucking pill they gave us… The women who were
pregnant started bleeding almost immediately after they were brought here,” Val
said, both anger and sadness making her voice husky.

Melanie was a pretty blonde who was so small a stiff wind
could knock her over. She stood with her arms across her chest. “I was the
first to wake up and it was to those three crying out in their sleep,” she
said. “I couldn’t help but notice the blood. Their pants are completely soaked
through. At first I thought maybe they might have been…raped. It wasn’t until
she started crying for her baby that I realized what was happening.” Swallowing
hard, she was unable to keep talking and simply bit her lip.

“These three have been bleeding heavily and holding their
stomachs,” another woman added. “The rest of us just felt sick to our stomachs
and hungover. I can only assume it’s because we weren’t pregnant.”

Another woman got up from a cot on the far side of the room
and made her way over to Melanie. Rubbing her shoulder to bring her out of the
haunting memory, she smiled sadly at Poppy and Val. “My name’s Andrea. I didn’t
fight when they told me that I was being transferred…I guess I didn’t even
think to. My groom and I decided to part ways since we didn’t seem compatible.
Once I saw the rest of these women carried in unconscious, I realized that not
everyone was leaving on their own.”

She raised her voice so everyone could hear her better. “We
are definitely on a different ship now though. We were all transferred to
shuttles and then brought here once that docked. There were four warriors who
took turns carrying you guys in while a smaller guy gave orders.”

After Andrea finished speaking, everyone introduced
themselves and included whether they were happily mated or not. So far Melanie
and Brandy were both happily matched; Andrea was attached and then there were
the three women who were on the cots. From what they could gather, the women
who had taken the “antibiotic” and were pregnant were also happily mated, but
other information wasn’t easy to gather. They just kept asking for their
husbands between bouts of tears.

Witnessing what could have happened to herself, Poppy felt
her body go numb and cold. Val, who had obviously seen her face, helped her
stand and walk to the toilet in the corner of the room. “Go ahead, Poppy.
Between the shot and seeing how close we were to this, I got sick too.”

After retching a few times with nothing coming up, Poppy
felt dizzy, but no longer as if her guts would come out of her mouth.

Leaning into Val, she took a look at the other women. “Val,
what the fuck are we going to do?”

“I don’t know, Poppy…I don’t know. But I do know that they
will come for us.”

“I know that. I mean, how are we going to help those poor
women?” Nodding to the women in obvious pain, she couldn’t help the stray tear
that rolled down her cheek. She felt completely helpless.

“Well, if Tamin and Rodin were here, they would probably say
to keep them calm and still. That’s the only thing we can do until we get
medical help. Maybe it’s not too late?” Val said in a hopeful voice.

“Well, if you’re the praying type, now’s the time to do it,”
Poppy murmured. Where the hell was Wheaton when she needed him?

* * *
* *

Back on Squadron One, Wheaton and Hannah were leaving for
the medical unit after an afternoon of meetings with the Council. Thorne had
arrived at the midday Council meeting after his morning in the medical unit to
share his baby news with Wheaton. He took great pleasure in relaying the
message that Wheaton might be “up a shit creek”, according to Poppy, if he did
not get in touch with his bride. Hannah was also told that Behyr was looking
for her, which caused her to blush in front of both the men.

Leaving Thorne behind at the Council meetings, they headed
to the medical unit. Wheaton was surprised to find that an escort had already
arrived for Poppy. Confusion showing on his face, Wheaton waited for Tamin to
explain further.

“An escort arrived earlier for her. I was busy in one of the
exam rooms but she shouted that she was leaving and Val would be accompanying
her as well,” Tamin ended.

“I wonder where they went,” Hannah said, wondering out loud
to Wheaton. “Did she leave you a message?” The question prompted Wheaton to
check his band yet again.

“I have not received one. I had a message from Behyr saying
that Poppy was still in the medical unit and he was searching for you but that
was earlier.” Wheaton was stumped as to where Poppy might be.

Moving down the hallways, they halted when they heard Rodin
yelling Wheaton’s name.

“Thank goodness, I caught you!” Almost completely out of
breath, Rodin took a moment before he was able to speak again. “I am missing
meds from today’s shipment.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Wheaton asked,
confused.

“There were at least a dozen doses missing of Hefnon 12.”
When Wheaton showed he was not catching on, Rodin bit out, “It’s the med that
we were supposed to deliver the next time we went to the Pleasure Sector.”
Still not getting the reaction that he needed, he yelled, “It terminates
pregnancy!”

Everything inside Wheaton stilled. “Tell me everything you
know,” he said quickly.

“I became suspicious shortly after Poppy had left with the
escorts you sent.”

“I never sent any escorts!” Wheaton argued.

“We did not know that, Wheaton.” Rodin said defensively.

“Continue.” The word came out as an order.

Rodin nodded. “I received a message from a warrior
questioning why his bride was not back yet. When I explained that I had never
even
seen
his bride, he said that she had been escorted here earlier for
her exam. Then I received another call and then another until I got six calls,
all to do with the brides who had missed their appointments today. Thorne just
messaged saying that he is unable to find Valerie in their apartments. When she
left she was with Poppy and the escorts who had arrived.”

Staring at a now terrified Wheaton and a stunned Hannah, he
said, “Six brides missing plus Poppy and Val…Hefnon 12 doses that were
cataloged but are now missing. I am not liking the way this is adding up.”

Wheaton gripped the front of Rodin’s lab coat and lifted him
onto his toes. “What does the medicine do exactly?” he hissed through gritted
teeth.

“It causes cramping, bleeding and then the body will abort
the fetus if left untreated. Usually within a few hours. It’s extremely
efficient, which is why the pleasure workers ordered it on our last visit.”

Hannah reached up, trying to calm Wheaton enough to let
Rodin down. “Wheaton, now is not the time to fight. We need to find Poppy and
Val.”

Nodding his head and trying to breathe, Wheaton let Rodin
down and unclenched his fingers. “Grab whatever you need to help the women and
come with me. If I find them and they have taken the doses, we will need
medical there to help.” Pushing the doctor to hurry him along, he added, “Have
Tamin message Thorne and let him know the situation.”

Rodin ran back to the med center, and Wheaton started
furiously tapping his band.

“What are you doing?” Hannah asked.

“I am sending out a protection code. It is a protocol that
we put into place when the women were brought onto the ship. It alerts the warriors
that there may be a human in danger, to stay aware and if needed to step in and
protect.”

When she frowned at him in confusion, he explained, “We have
not had access to women before, Hannah. Bringing females aboard a ship with a
starved male population was recognized as a risk. The Council established a
system to alert warriors on the ship of a possible threat to a bride, even from
one of our own.” Nodding back to where Rodin had disappeared, he continued,
“According to him, we have eight humans missing and in possible danger so we
need all the eyes we can get.”

An orange light began blinking along the hallway walls.

“Is that part of your protection code?” Hannah asked.

Following Hannah’s gaze, he nodded stiffly. “Yes, it will
continue until everyone is accounted for.”

Some warriors had come out when the alarm went off, checking
up and down the corridor. When they noticed Wheaton with Hannah, they nodded to
him.

“Who is missing, Councilor Wheaton?” the warrior closest to
them asked.

“We have eight brides who are unable to be located. They
were escorted by warriors to an unknown location and we need to find them
immediately. If a bride is spotted, message me immediately.” Wheaton spoke loud
enough for all the men to hear him. Hannah could see Rodin pushing his way
through the gathering of men with his medical bag.

Not waiting for Rodin to catch up with them, Wheaton started
running down the hallway to the lift. They had wasted enough time as it was.
Hannah paused for a moment to kick off her heels to run barefoot behind him,
trying to keep up.

“We will check floor by floor until we find Poppy,” Wheaton
declared in a determined voice.

“And Val,” Rodin panted as he jogged beside them. “Val was
with her.”

“And Val,” Wheaton agreed with a grim nod.