Camille's Capture Read Online Free

big, very big, and even fiercer than she’d imagined.
    Her courage faltered, but she stiffened her spine again. She was a Bon Sorority breeder and matched with two of the fierce males.
    The w arriors had tested positive for viable seed. Nothing, especially not a case of foolish nerves, would keep her from fulfilling her destiny to reproduce. She longed for a babe of her own to love, but there was far more at stake. The sorority needed male offspring to ensure the survival of their race.
    Every few minutes the lines surged forward as another couple met, made their vows, and received their sanctioned mating marks. With each step closer to the mating ritual, her courage failed and her knees dissolved a little more until they felt like water. And with each step closer, her plan to return to Earth once securely pregnant seemed more foolishly optimistic.
    Every man in the chamber looked ready and able to defend what was his. The little she’d learned of warriors from the local news had taught her they were prone to violence and fanatically protective of their mates and babes.
    She knew nothing specific about either of the warriors she’d been matched with, but she wasn’t enough of an optimist to believe they’d be radically different from the rest of New Eden’s men.
    Younglings were adored on this alien world, especially by their fierce fathers. She couldn’t imagine one of the m agreeing to her leaving for Earth with his child. How could she break a man’s heart by stealing his son? Even if the youngling was half hers, abducting a babe didn’t seem right.
    With a start she realized the line had ended. She stood alone.
    Around her, happy couples neared and retreated in a dance of anticipation. Feminine voices blended with deeper male tones. Dozens of different fragrances, including her own clammy perspiration, added to her queasiness.
    All the pairings were one man with one woman. Why then was she matched to two warriors? Was her mating notice a tragic mistake? Gathering her ebbing courage, she crossed to the dais on shaky legs, grateful for the stiff skirts and the heavy veil masking her terror.
    A New Eden elder, distinguished by the elaborate gold braid decorating his white tunic and over-robe, beamed a politician’s practiced smile while his attention wandered the vast chamber. Two warriors stood slightly behind him. Both had neat goatees and dark hair streaked with silver. They wore matching black garments trimmed in red. Neither cast so much as a glance in her direction.
    Her stomach knotted as if she’d just slipped into subspace, and she felt as cold as the syn-marble floor under her fragile slippers.
    The elder turned and whispered something to one of the distinguished warriors behind him. The other man nodded, crossed the room, and then disappeared through a door on the far side of the chamber.
    Camille took slow, deep breaths, silently counting by tapping her fingers against her leg to soothe herself while she waited for the mating rite s to begin. She’d reached three hundred and twenty-four when the warrior returned. He conferred with the elder in a discreet whisper.
    “What do you mean they are not here?” the official croaked, cutting his gaze to Camille for the first time.
    “Who’s not here?” she asked, pleased nothing in her voice betrayed her weak knees and clenched stomach.
    “Your matches. Neither one of them.” He shook his head in irritated disbelief. Then he smoothed his thinning hair. “I don’t understand how such a thing could happen. I can assure you this occurrence is unprecedented in the entire history of New Eden.”
    Silence fell behind her.
    Camille refused to turn and look. She didn’t need to. Stares from the newly mated couples bored into her stiff back. The elder might as well have yelled, Live news flash! Pathetic barren breeder rejected by not one but two of New Eden’s finest warriors!
    “I’m sure there’s a simple explanation.” The official’s harried