Page 4 of Vikingr
"I'm working as fast as I can," the male said calmly. "If you're too impatient, you can always abduct a random female and see where that leads."
"You know what? I might do just that. Not because I think the first female I'll take is my mate. It'll give us a practice run to discover how they behave and if they really are suited to mate with a Vikingr."
Rune snickered, although there was little happiness in the sound. In the past rotation, we'd begun to laugh again, but it was hollow laughter without the joy of the past. "You're thinking with your dick," the berserkr said with a smirk that I would have loved to wipe off his face. If only I hadn't been so glad to finally see the male smile again.
I made a vulgar gesture unbefitting a captain and left the bridge in their mostly-capable hands. I would find myself a Peritan female to practise with so that I'd be better prepared to meet my mate. I was sure my mate would appreciate it if I wasn't a complete beginner in interacting with her species.
Yes, this was a good plan.
3
Steff
Iwoke to a pounding headache. I rubbed my temples, hoping this wasn't the start of another migraine. It was dark around me, pitch black. Had my nightlight's batteries run out? I hated sleeping in the dark, so I always had a small cat-shaped light on my bedside table. I sometimes forgot to turn it off in the morning, so the batteries failed regularly, but my room usually wasn't thisdark. As if someone had sucked away all light.
I reached for my phone, but it wasn't in its usual place. Nor did my sheets feel like they should. I sat up straight as the memories came flooding back.
I'd been abducted.
Fuck.
Should I make some noise in case a good samaritan was passing, or should I keep quiet so as not to enrage my abductors?
"Hello?" I whispered, a compromise between the two options. "Can anyone hear me?"
Only thick silence met my words. I was alone.
Unable to see, I patted down my body. I was still wearing my linen jumpsuit, thank goodness, but both my coat and my handbag had disappeared. The jumpsuit had no pockets, which meant my phone was in my bag. Fuck. I didn’t even wear a watch to tell me how much time had passed since I’d been taken from that street.
I explored the room with my hands, feeling my way around the walls until I had a better understanding of my cell. The room was tiny, barely big enough for the mattress I'd been lying on. It covered almost the entire floor, with only about a foot-wide gap around it. The walls were smooth metal, with not a door or window in sight. How had I got into this metal box if there was no door?
I stepped onto the mattress which was so soft that it was hard to keep my balance. I reached up as high as I could, but my fingers only met air. If there was a hatch in the ceiling, I couldn't get to it.
Deflated, I sat down again, wrapping my arms around my legs for comfort. Why had they taken me? Extortion? My family wasn't rich, on the contrary. I'd paid my parents' heating bills last winter, thanks to a generous Christmas bonus from Hot Tatties. There was nobody who could pay a large ransom for me. So that left human traffickers or someone who'd abducted me because they wanted to make me suffer. Some incel who had to abduct a woman to make himself feel strong.
I tried to push the horrible thoughts from my mind, but it was too late. Images of what might be done to me flashed through my head. A cold shiver ran down my back and I hugged my knees tighter to my body.
If I didn't turn up to work on Monday morning, Pam would be worried. Would she go to my house that day to check on me, or wait until Tuesday? Would she go to the police? Or would she ask the Albyans for help, who had secret satellites in orbit around Earth that might help track me down?
Even in the best-case scenario, I had at least three days until anyone would come looking for me.
Not good.
But if there was one thing I'd learned from working at the Hot Tatties dating agency, it was that women were strong. I'd seen women who'd gone through hell, who'd been in abusive relationships, who'd watched their partners die, who'd had the worst of times. But they all got through it. And sometimes, they grew stronger because of it. We'd found mates for these women, kind, loving, protective mates who would help them in their recovery.
Women were strong.
I was strong.
I'd get through this and then I'd make whoever had kidnapped me pay.
Something banged against the metal ceiling above me, making me jump. Friend or foe?
I decided to risk it.
"Help!"
A flash of light burst into my cell as a hatch opened high above me. I blinked into the light, too used to the dark to recognise more than fuzzy shapes. Someone was there, the silhouette of a person.
