Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Zane did look like someone else. His brother. But his brother had vanished over five years before, was considered missing due to a conflict with an enemy planet. And not a word since. Zane had tossed and turned the night before with all that was on his mind and his brother was just one of those things.
The man at his door stood with a shiny pink rectangular case with a tall handle and black wheels.
“Mr. Zenith? Your bride’s belongings.” The messenger held out his communications screen and said, “Your sign-off and document acceptance?”
Zane touched the screen and then held out his own device to accept the exchange of the digital document. Zane saw the messenger stretching his neck, appearing to try to look inside Zane’s home. Zane cocked a brow but was on high alert.
The messenger, a young man, probably in his first year on the job judging by his youth, had the decency to look mildly embarrassed.
“It could be years before I get mine. I’m excited, though... training each and every day for the ranking games I’ll compete in, eighteen months from now.”
Zane leaned a shoulder against the door frame, feeling a sense of relief. This wasn’t someone scoping out his home, looking for a way to steal Tanya. He was a man simply excited for his own opportunity to earn a bride. Zane couldn’t blame the kid for trying to get a look. Seeing women was rare. Seeing a woman from another planet would be something anybody would be intrigued by.
“I heard you ranked in top five in round one,” the younger man said. “Any advice?
“Train hard. Work at your speed. Though, hopefully the options will soon be about more than physical strength.”
“I understand, though, why it’s there right now. We need the strongest to breed with the aliens to ensure the future of Phallyx.”
“A valid point,” Zane replied.
The young man grinned and waved, then headed to his service vehicle.
The street continued to have a police presence with two officers conversing several homes down, talking to an elderly neighbor who pointed off toward the mountains.
Zane went back in, shut the door and locked it, then immediately re-armed the house and returned the weapon to a locked drawer in the desk in his library.
He let go of the pink case and lifted his screen to look at the document. A record of his marriage taking place.
Zane Zenith (PHM) and Tanya Zenith (EAW), formerly Smithers. Married.
Consummation time was listed. EAW stood for Earth woman. PHM: Phallyxian male. It also had a certification mark of Zane’s company logo. Which should’ve been indicative of trust. Zane’s gut churned at the lie of it.
Zane got the Project D tablet from his pocket and sat down at his desk, scrolling into his tablet at the same time and comparing his own security records against the project tablet. It indicated the change in her gemstone at just minutes after he’d gotten into his car to go to the office. He scratched his head. That was before the attackers had breached the system.
The front door was drilled into well after her gemstone changed. The idiot that had been on his roof had come in from the ground floor.
Tanya had been truthful, not that he’d thought it was a lie… but he’d believed his software to be accurate. It had only been used on Elaina. She was the only other Earth woman he had access to in the testing phases. That wasn’t an extensive control group of course, but the Project D team were unwavering in their instructions to do his best with the tools and resources available. Everyone knew there may be the need for adjustments. Looking at his internal report, there were already thirty-one cases of consummation of the thirty-eight Earth women. He scrolled through the records, seeing the Project D team had been in and out of his records doing queries throughout the night.
He and Tanya were the fourth pair on the list to be listed as married. Closer to the bottom of the list, a name caught his attention.
Daxx Blackstar (PHM), Jetta Blackstar (EAW), formerly Michaels. Married.
Zane’s initial thought was What the fuck? Is this wrong, too?
And then he smiled at the notion it probably wasn’t. Damn, Daxx. He leaned back and smiled.
So, Daxx went after a bit of happy instead of doing what Spar wanted him to do.
He checked the details. He’d gotten the feisty brunette he’d been watching. That fetching, spunky girl would certainly keep Daxx on his toes.
Another set of names popped up to update the list. Another couple had just consummated a marriage.
Zane’s chest felt tight. His marriage was a lie. Were there others as well? His communications device sounded. It was Ollie’s face on the screen.
He accepted the transmission.
“Daddo! Hello, Daddo!” the little voice called out before he had a chance to greet.