Page 2 of Loaned to the Leonid Knight

“Let’s get you some water. We gave you an electrolyte patch about twenty minutes ago, and you’re coming out of hypersleep beautifully. Do you remember why you’re here? Where you are?”

“Surrogacy program.Comet Stalker?”

“We have a winner. A groggy winner, but that’ll wear off soon. You just rest and know you’re in good hands. I’m Abi, and this is Nessa.” The blonde woman waved.

Sasha’s eyes focused more, and she noticed that the blonde was wearing what looked like two giant sacks on either side of her chest. She began to sit up, and Nessa waved her back.

“Abi. I think she noticed your passengers.”

“Ohhh! This is Mara, and this is Valiant. Val, for short.” Abi lifted something from her chest, a tiny golden bundle.

A baby. “Leonid?” Sasha whispered.

“Mmhmm.”

“There are four Leonid cubs on board, one Tigerite, and a Servali one on the way.” Nessa laughed and patted her middle. “We had a cute little Leopardine, but he and his parents are on Lynx-Nineteen now. Whole bunch of Lynxian cubs on that planet, too. Whole bunch of human-Felid couples,” Nessa spoke in a kind, reassuring voice. “So if you're worried, or you have any questions, you just ask.”

“You’re surrogates?”

“No, our husbands are Felids,” Abi explained, nuzzling her cub’s cheeks. The baby nuzzled her back. “When you are a littlestronger, you can hold them. And we’ll move you out of the med bay into your own quarters.”

“You guys are so nice.” Sasha smiled, but her insides twitched. In her old neighborhood on Sapien-Three, nice people were hiding something.

“You’re going to be here at least six cycles, probably longer—until the baby is born. It’s a small crew for a large ship. We’ve kind of become like a family,” Abi explained.

“Kind of?” Nessa snorted. “Totally like a family.” Once you’re here, you’ll at least earn the rank of distant cousin,” she chuckled.

Sasha nodded. At least, she hoped she was nodding. Her body and brain felt disconnected, but she was feeling warm, and... safe? What an odd feeling, especially in a strange place surrounded by Felids. There were still rumors about them. The women who went to Felix Orbus never came back. Some said they were eaten. What if these two women were just playing the game, sparing their own skins by feeding the beasts unsuspecting victims? Sasha made a desperate gasping sound as the feeling of safety vanished.

“Are you okay?” Nessa demanded as Sasha made a flailing motion.

“Do... Do Felids eat people? The women don’t come back!” she gasped out the fears she had firmly squashed and ignored all through the extensive screening process.

“Eating their women?” Abi blushed bright pink.

Nassa let out a low laugh, her sinful smirk making it obvious that she was thinking about something sensual, not gory. “Once you’ve had a Felid ‘eat’ you, you never want to go back. Tongues with little bumps, special c—”

“Nessa!”

“Male equipment! Special, extra-large equipment, tails that tickle or help out with your wildest desires... No one’s eaten upin the sense of being killed and cooked, Sasha. But since there’s no way to get Felid sperm to fertilize a female without actual him-in-her sexual activities, you might as well enjoy them, right? I imagine that the person you’re matched with is going to treat you like a queen in every sense of the word.”

Abi nodded, patting both of her babies as they snuggled on her chest. “Queen is the term for a female Felid, and it’s incredibly accurate. Females are almost worshipped. Bastet and Durga are two of the most culturally significant gods, and they are both female. Females are the life-givers, and in a galaxy stricken by a plague that took away almost all the adult Queens, females are even more precious. I’m sure this is a lot to take in, but I know somewhere in that groggy mind, you remember all the hours of questionnaires, interviews, and discussions. You’re not only safe here, but you might actually love this job and the people so much that you don’t want to leave. I know I didn’t want to go back.”

“Hell, no, I wouldn’t go back! My husband is here. My friends are here.” Nessa hugged Abi with one arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on the nearest cub’s head. “Sorry to remind you of all the carnal stuff when you were panicking. I have pregnancy hormones happening. If you don’t know about those—”

Sasha shook her head, eyebrows lifting.

“There are parts of pregnancy that you’ll love and parts you won’t like too much. The constant craving for husbandly attention is a big perk, one that he’s only too happy to help with. I’m pretty sure that Marcus—he’s the doctor running this show, you’ve met him—”

Sasha nodded, picturing the kindly, graying Leonid who had counseled her and interviewed her for hours on comm calls.

“Well, I’m pretty sure Marcus expects the male clients of the surrogate service to stay on board, for several reasons. Taking care of their expectant Queens is probably one of them.”

“It sounds like he thinks we’ll be more than just ‘business associates.’”

“Well, in this job, it’d be easier to combine business with pleasure. I’m sure it is possible to just keep things friendly,” Abi assured. “It depends on your mutual mindset.”

“Friends with very big benefits,” Nessa sighed. “Hey, I’m going to send Skyla and Kaylee in to keep an eye on our patient. I’m off to get my afternoon snack.”