Chapter 1
“Are you certain this is the way?” her sister for the fifth time asked her. They were on their way back from hiking and were heading towards their campsite. Every year they came to the Citizen’s Nature Trail Park, for the last ten years and Leola had still only managed to remember one route from the park entrance to their usual camping site. It had been a mission to teach her how to get anywhere without using weird signature markings – that she only understood. She loved to swim and after she was chased by a swarm of bees and got lost for nearly three hours - they had made a decision - well forceable for her to learn basics geography but in true Leola fashion nothing would be easy. Her sister preferred to use trees and weird plants as directions instead of north or south. It was tiring.
“I’d be more worried if you were leading us back,” she grumbled annoyed. “We will be at the campsite in no time. Now carry on telling us about the boy who asked you on a date.” She edged, they had spent the last three hours hiking and the conversation had been centred around us being possibly lost and being eaten by vultures she could use a change in conversation and she liked hearing about her sister’s dating life.
“I’m still deciding. He wanted us to hang out today but when I let him know that I was going camping for the weekend with my sisters. He seemed less than impressed.” She sounded disappointed.
“By what?” Mirelle asked.
“I don’t know.” her sister shrugged swatting the fly away. “Maybe he thinks I’m an outdoorsy gal.” Her comment made her and Mirelle laugh.
“I don’t think your outdoorsy gal is the reason. It seems like he didn’t like the fact that you are a busy gal.” she corrected. If this guy thought her sister was a survivalist - he had another thing coming for him. Although her sister attended this mandatory camping weekend it didn’t mean she didn’t grumble the whole weekend. It was her turn to drive this year and when she had picked her up at seven yesterday morning, she had complained the moment she had opened her front door.
“Guys like that need to be avoided. I think he doesn’t like the fact that you aren’t easily accessible. Men like that ruin the dating experience.” Mirelle said.
“Preach sister! I am surrounded by geeks every day I have no interest in dating no man.” She stressed; that everyone knew how she felt about dating. She hated it, her therapist would say it seemed from her daddy issues but she was certain no amount of daddy trauma could convince her otherwise.
Dating now was another full-time job. There were too many incels, raging bastards and 50/50 demanders. It was scary. Her job as a cyber-analytic engineer put a dampener on her dating life. The boys’ club industry she worked in made her repel men more now. She worked with a dozen plus incels - who she knew wasted their money on the latest AI sex doll it was disgusting.
“I see so many men in the ER. Some are cheats, caught up in wholes deeper than a minefield and I mean that literally.” Mirelle grimaced, she looked like she was stuck on a memory not so pleasant.
“Men just get older to revert to being toddlers.” Leola expressed. “Some of the dads I see every day at school are a short cry away from me reprimanding them into the naughty corner.”
“It reminds me of a tweet I saw. The girl said all men should start in prison and work their way out. I’d like to see that.” she smiled at the thought. She’d love to live in a world where she didn’t fear every man she came across - talking a jog at night, wearing a mini skirt without catcallers and there would be no wars. No one could convince her that men were the embarrassment of the human race.
“Could you imagine?” Mirelle asked giggling. “Our sperm donor locked up and having to prove himself worthy to come out.”
“He would have never come out,” Leola spoke in confidence. “He wouldn’t pass any qualifying test.”
“Then we wouldn’t be here.”
“And I wouldn’t be able to tell Leola we’ve made it back safely.” She pointed at the tents ahead cooking up her brow.
“Wise ass.” Leola softly pushed her hurriedly walking in the direction of their camping site.
“Why thank you for the compliment.” She giggled in her best English accent. “By the virtue of being the eldest I will always be a wise ass.” she smiled at her sisters.
“We don’t know of that for all we know our sperm-populating father could have kids out there - we might have an older brother.” Leola sassed. Unlike her and Mirelle they were only children from their respective mothers while Leola had a younger brother a few years younger than Mirelle. Although they weren’t related, they treated him like a brother.
It wasn’t hard, Leola’s brother Samuel was on the spectrum and lived in a care home full-time due to the severity of his illness. She knew Leola had battled with the decision but it was hard for her to maintain work and Samuel and when her mother was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimers - sending him to group care was the best decision for everyone and from what she could tell from her visits he was thriving.
“I’m okay with the siblings I have. We don’t need another addition, to get to know and explain our shared father’s demise.” Mirelle spoke, her current feelings about our father weren’t like those years ago when they had met. Unlike her and Leola, their father had partly raised her until she was ten, a year later they had met. She and Leola were teenagers by then and knew who their father was. Her mother had encouraged their relationship but she felt sour about the fact that her father had raised Mirelle - she knew about him and spent father-daughter days with him. Up until sixth grade, her teachers knew who he was. He had somewhat been dependable and loving but that all changed around the time she turned ten, he started to act the same way he did towards her mother and Leola.
Mirelle’s mother had called her mother, after not being able to reach him for two weeks. She had reported him missing, but the police had no idea where he had vanished. Her mother’s number had been in the system after a domestic dispute years prior and she had hoped her mother would have a clue. Her mother working in the military at that time used her resources to try and find him and came up short. Leola’s mother wasn’t bothered, Sam was five and she was engaged at that time. Rehashing her past with her ex wasn’t her priority. She had no interest in looking back.
Two weeks turned to three years when a police officer knocked on her mother’s door to inform her that he was dead. Found on some old farm. It seemed like he had been dead for six months until a land developer and his team found his body during a land survey test. He had been living under another false name. The DNA sample Mirelle’s mother had submitted had identified his body and since Mirelle’s mother lived in Namibia at that time her mother had picked the short straw.
They had all attended the funeral. Her father’s former co-workers, exes and friends were in attendance and it had been weird. Her father had been liked and loved by some people. They had shared stories about him. It felt like night and day. What she and her sisters experienced was the exact opposite. They had been weeping for him. The man who spent his lifetime using and hurting people but he was mourned for. She had to bite her cheek when people tried to console her giving her words of condolences. She didn’t care for the man lying on the ground but the constant questions she had asked herself “Where is my father?”. Had finally been answered. She now knew where he was and he was done ruining people’s life. Her life.
“Akinyi?” Leola snapped her fingers calling for her.
“I’m sorry what were you saying?” she asked. She had been lost in her thoughts she had released them and was standing in front of the tent.
“Are you okay?” Leola asked worriedly.
“I am. I was just lost in my thoughts. Shower and dinner?” she asked her sisters changing the subject.
“Yes…” Mirelle dragged. “Lunga told me since they’ve installed the solar system, showers are forever warm. Unlike what we had been experiencing for the last ten years. My legs ache from that walk.”
“You aren’t one to talk you insisted on twenty kilometres all because you want a hot girl’s summer body.” Leola furrowed. They were in their tent now. They could all fit in comfortably and it had room for all their stuff. “Tell me why it’s hard to lose a basic five kilograms?” she asked them.
“A nurse asking a teacher and an IT tech about the animosity.” she giggled.
“You would think with all the miracles the human body can do, I can just target one body part and lose the weight there only. I just want a six pack.” she whizzed.
“If you find a way, let me know. I’m tired of my thighs eating my pants.” She was unfortunately not blessed with her mother’s genetics. Her maternal side was tall, lean and athletic and she was the opposite. She had breasts, ass and thighs and was five feet five if anyone asked her. She wasn’t the most confident about her body but she knew people paid thousands just to get ten per cent of what she had.
“Don’t forget, if fat transfers become safe to transfer from one human to another, I am first in line.” Leola pressed. Her sister was built like a ballerina. She was tall, and lean and her curves added a subtle femineity all the girls in the early 2000s would die for. She never understood why her sister wanted a tad bit more but she knew if fat transfer were possible, she would be unstoppable.
Mirelle on the other hand was the perfect combination of them. If she and Leola ran for their genetics Mirelle walked, slower than a tortoise. She was a few inches taller than her but still close enough to touch Leola’s shoulders – she was perfectly proportions. The right amount of ass, thighs and breasts. Nothing stood out more than the other.
“The sun is about to set, let’s have a quick shower and cook dinner. The pizza batter is ready and I’ve been dreaming on sitting on the hilltop with a bottle of wine. A perfect to end the weekend?” she suggested to her sisters.
“I heard wine. I’m in.” Leola chirped.
“I just want to eat,” Mirelle commented. She smiled at them.
“We are set,” Zuri spoke holding the mission tablet in his hands. They were currently hovering in Earth’s atmosphere, waiting for the right moment. The sun was currently setting and with what they knew of Earth, it would be dark in around two hours. They had opted to hover close enough to Earth, by far enough to avoid detection – which was unlikely. Their technology was too advanced for Earth, it would take them another three hundred years to discover they had ever set foot on their land. Their mission was simple, retrieve the human females without incident.
They had patiently waited for months for this – with the research they had done and ALYX’s calculations, failure was least likely today. He would have done this months ago, each one of his Zehra’s picking up the females individually but it would have been too suspicious and task. There were rules of engagement whenever they set foot in colonies that didn’t know their existence.
Leave no trace and ensure that no one knew of their existence. It was his and Zehra’s first time on earth. They knew well enough about this planet and it left nothing to be desired. Humans in his opinion focused way too much on their differences and oppressing one another.
“We will beam down in approximately two hours. The campgrounds are vast but with the DNA signature tracers, we’ve managed to isolate their location within a hundred meters. ALYX is working on tracking the last one but we haven’t managed to isolate her DNA markers yet.” Kato explained.
“The plan is set we are to retrieve our mate’s induvial. They are human females, judging by their anatomy it doesn’t seem like it would be a task.” He spoke.
“Are they all this small?” Zuri asked uncertainly.
“Unfortunately. An average human female is around 154 cm and weighs at least 70 kilograms. In Ivorian, that would be a batum who is around 10 past moons.” Niev spoke.
“Are you certain about the compatibility for them to carry bating?” Sanaa asked hesitantly. It had been the collective fear amongst their respective colonies. They came from royal lines and procreation was important.
“There shouldn’t be problems, Sanaa. We ran the test; they have Ivorian blood. I will be running more tests once they are aboard.” Niev assured. He had devoted himself to learning about their mates and their physiology.
“We all have to embed the linguistic translators, it would make it easier for all of us to speak with them. Unfortunately, the Alogians didn’t want to borrow their cloaking system. I still don’t think showing up in our true forms will be well received.” Sanna said.
He was right, with what they knew about humans they weren’t receptive to change or new things. Sanna had explained that they called them aliens a word to describe lifeforms out of space. They weren’t able to arrange an agreement with the Alvorians in time, to borrow their cloaking device, which would have enabled them to look more like the humans but with the time they had they would have to make do.
“Ready already?” Niev asked Zuri who walked into the command room wearing he’s gear. With the difficulty of locating his mate, he was tasked with retrieving the treasonous Ivorian.
“Ready as I’ll ever be to dig up a treasonist.” He sighed. He hadn’t been pleased with the task but it was paramount, the only way they would be able to mate with the late Ivorian’s batums is through a cleansing ceremony.
“Just don’t make a mess.” Sanaa joked.
“That was one time,” Zuri rebutted. “It wasn’t my fault – someone forgot to signal the go sign.”
“I spent hours washing that Circous goo off my hair.” Sanna tsked. “At times I catch the smell in the air and I can’t help de-cleanse myself.”
“I assure you your precious hair will be spared from today. AYIX beam me out.” Zuri instructed the ship’s monitor saluting his fellow Zehras.
“Is he okay?” He asked Niev. Zuri hadn’t taken the news well that his mate was still untraceable.
“He has chosen to take solace in the fact that we have found ours – once he retrieves the Ivorian and we trace his memories we will find his mate,” Niev assured.
“If there is nothing more Niev, I’ll be in my ready room. I promised Father I’d update him once we were close to Earth. We will convene again.” He said leaving Sanaa and Niev in the command room. Besides the call to his father, he needed time alone before retrieving his mate. He hadn’t been pleased about being paired to a bating of a disgraced Ivorian but he had a duty. He was his father’s next successor and was bound by duty.
There hadn’t been an Ivorian Warrior who had rejected his fated mate in history and he didn’t want to be first. He knew what power having a mate gave to an Ivorian warrior. It was deemed long before he was born – life was supposed to be better once mated. He had witnessed it plenty of times, he had seen the toughest warriors become weaklings in the presence of their mates. It was a trait frowned upon in their training as warriors, show no weakness and take no mercy but he witnessed his father fall putty around his mother.
He walked the halls of his ship, walking into his ready room and sighing at the changes. His mother had insisted on ‘fixing it up’ for his mate. The usually grey room had been decorated with frills he didn’t need. His life had already changed and he hadn’t met his mate. He had seen pictures of her from the docket Sanaa had sent him. Her striking dark eyes had immediately captured him, they were black a genetic curse she received from her father, they paired beautifully with her dark hair.
He had never seen hair like hers before, it stood strong like an unwavering cloud perfectly shaping her round face. He couldn’t deny her beauty, he had been dreaming of her face for days since he had seen her image. He knew he couldn’t deny the growing desire he felt, he had woken up every morning needing to relieve himself. She had been taking up his thoughts, resulting in him needing to kill or punch something. With the discovery of his mating with the human his and Zehra’s missions had been suspended. They had been urged and demanded to focus on their mating.
He did not doubt that this was what he and his Zehra’s should be focusing on but he had worries, mating with humans even I they were half Ivorian was unheard of. Despite Armani’s assurances he was worried, he’s clan would be expecting a batum soon. They knew they couldn’t rush that; they weren’t accustomed to Ivorian traditions. He pressed the telecommuter, imputing the direct code to his father.
“Father,” he greeted.
“I take it you’ve reached Earth.” His father asked. He nodded his head.
“We will be beaming down in a matter of an hour; Zuri has gone to retrieve Iro’s body. If all goes well, he will be back shortly after we retrieve the females.” He assured.
“Good. The council is expecting immediate communications after retrieval. I gathered you would be staying not too far since you and your Zehra’s haven’t been able to locate Zuri’s mate.”
“Yes. We need a direct DNA analysis from the females for us to be able to use Earth’s systems to find her. It seems as though they don’t know of each other.”
“Is it true, Iro speared his unworthy seedlings to more than one female?” his father asked in disgust. Ivorians were monogamous they mated for life, it was heavily frowned upon to mate with anyone besides your mate but to having bating with them was unheard of. Ivorians thrived on family structures something they released Earth had not too.
“It is, father. Sanaa suspects that the females were raised around each other for some time. He also suspects that Iro hadn’t had any in raising his batums.”
“The council had banished him years ago, thinking he would repent for his sins it seems he the opposite. Do you think the females will be willing to leave or that they have an inkling of their family history?”
“We don’t plan on asking them, father.” He deadpanned.
“Kato are you planning on abducting these females?” his father asked.
“We found no better solution. We weren’t able to negotiate the cloaking system from Alvarins in time. From the information I’ve read, humans don’t take likely to aliens.” He informed.
“Alieens?” His father asked.
“Aliens,” he corrected. “It’s the human word to describe all life sources out of earth. We’ve been learning more about the humans and their norms. I understand why the council banished Iro to Earth. It’s a land filled with self-lives.” His father nodded in agreement.
“I’ll leave you and your Zehra. Remember this ’has become more about finding your mates, our clans lives depend on it.” He bowed his head and his father’s holograph disappeared leaving him with his thoughts. He closed his eyes needing a few moments to gather himself for the mission ahead his life was about to change. All their lives were about to change. ere…
