This was not what Tempest was expecting.

When they told her that she would need to stay with the Alpha at his home. She’d expected something like a shack. They called him cursed so she took that to mean that he would be living in squalor. Or a hoarder home. Something that she would see in a condemned location back on earth.

But what she walked into was as far from that as she could concieve.

It was rustic; there was no questioning that.

Nearly everything that wasn’t metal was made from wood. Still, the place was massive.

It would be considered a mansion back on earth. She didn’t know how many rooms there were or what other amenities he had in the space but just from what she could see from the door way she knew that this would be a place that she would be more than comfortable in.

She felt a wave of relief wash over her.

So far, the strongest emotion Tempest had felt since she’d been on this planet had seesawed between fear and confusion.

Hell, just moments before, she was sure that Dron would strike her. The noise that he made when she’d touched him sounded more like a predator than anything else she’d ever heard in her life. Instead of striking her, though, he calmed himself down and showed her how to open the door.

Just that little bit of added security, to know that she could leave if she wanted to, was the first step in relieving some of her stress.

"Holy crap, you’ve got a really nice house here." Tempest said out loud before she looked around the space to see where Dron had walked off to.

He was nowhere to be seen.

How strange.

He’d been right there in front of her a second ago. Why would he just leave? Was that normal here? Back on earth, when there was company, usually the host would stick around.

She shook her head and let out a slight groan. She had to keep reminding herself that she wasn’t back on earth. This was Ustea. She was on an alien planet, surrounded by alien objects and people. Just because she was starting to get used to it all doesn’t make it any less so.

Tempest slowly made her way from room to room. There were several with beds, most of them larger than her and Sam’s master bedroom back home. There were rooms that seemed very clean. With spouts and other openings along the walls. Tempest concluded that those were the bathrooms. She didn’t even know how to use them. She’d been allowed to relieve herself at the medical facility, but Mexyn had to explain to her what the process was.

Her main complaint about the bathrooms here was the fact that there was no toilet tissue. Instead, a bidet-like device sprang from inside the opening and cleaned her. She didn’t know if she would get used to that bit.

Tempest walked slowly from room to room trying to get the lay of the land. Everything was neat. Impressive. At least she thought she knew impressive until she made it to what she assumed was the great room.

The walls were all see through. As far as the eye could see, there were trees and other wilderness. On the horizon was a grouping of mountains. Animals scurried along, the smaller ones bravely getting closer to the house while she could see in the distance some very large ones. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

She felt safe behind the see-through walls, but she knew that she didn’t want to be caught outside with even the smallest of animals. It would be her luck that something that looked as harmless as a squirrel would have the power and strength to rip her face off.

Tempest had so many questions. So many concerns. Her biggest was the fact that her stomach had been growling for some time now. She was starving. The day was over, and it became the only pressing matter on her mind. That and the fact that she still had yet to find Dron.

"Where on earth is he?" Tempest chuckled to herself. Not Earth. Ustea.

Finally, after several minutes, Tempest pulled herself away from the sprawling landscape. She needed to eat, and she needed Dron to help her do so.

Tempest made her way down another hall. There was a change in atmosphere. It wasn’t intense, but instead very subtle. She couldn’t place why she was all of a sudden started to feel uneasy but the farther down the hall she walked the more she felt it.

There was a singular door all the way at the end, a wooden door with light strips crisscrossing the face of it. Beautiful but a clear sign that no one should enter. It had to be Dron’s room. It was separated from everything else.

Tempest wondered why he’d chosen a room so far away from everything. It was almost as if he were denying himself the pleasure of being comfortable.

It saddened Tempest. Why would anyone choose to live like this.

She walked up to the door, confused for a moment when she realized there were no doorknobs.

"That’s right. I can unlock doors in here." She nearly jumped in excitement. How could something so simple truly bring her this much joy? She didn’t bother to question if what she was doing was right; she simply pulled her hand up and placed it by the door. The locks didn’t make an audible sound like they did at the front, but the door popped open all the while.

Inside, it was dark. The same see-through walls wrapped around the room, and Tempest knew at that moment that this wasn’t a room made for deprivation but instead freedom. Just from standing at the door, she could see why Dron had chosen this room.

It was absolutely beautiful. It looked as if she were flying among the trees. Completely free.

She took a few more steps into the room and noticed Dron lying on the bed. He was under the covers, his face relaxed and his chest moving up and down in slumber.

He was gorgeous, even more so now that he wasn’t glaring at her.

A frog in her throat expanded. She didn’t know why, but she felt so bad for the man. He seemed as if he didn’t want anything more than to just be left alone. She was scared at first when the stones were being thrown into the carriage, but once Dron jumped to action and shielded her, she’d gotten angry. He did nothing to warrant that behavior.

The people around here were nothing but bullies. It was just so sad.

Tempest took another step forward, drawn to the man who lay in the bed. She wanted him to be happy. She didn’t know much about him besides what Mexyn had told her, but that was more than enough to know that he’d been dealt a shitty hand in life. Tempest wondered if his gruff demeanor would change if he simply had a friend.

Could she be that for him?

She didn’t have to go along with the finer points of the marriage. The sex and the baby-making, but she could be the man’s friend. What was so wrong with that.

She took another step closer to him.

Before the pad of her foot could completely land on the cradling floor beneath her, Dron’s eyes popped open. Completely aware and focused.

"If you plan to kill me, you may need to bring in a weapon." Dron seethed as he slowly sat up in the bed, not taking his eyes off her.

It took Tempest a second to understand what he was saying. The translator device in her ear was lagging just a bit.

"What, no. I wasn’t..."

"You think I don’t know why you’re here? They sent you to destroy me. Sent you here to do what the cowards in this town couldn’t do on their own." Dron continued, not understanding what she was saying nor even giving her the time to speak.

"What are you talking about?" Tempest put her hands up in surrender.

"It won’t be easy. I’ve been waiting for this battle. For the day they finally put their plans into play. I won’t just fall."

Tempest shook her head. Her mouth was wide as she listened to the man grow in anger and volume.

"You silly, pampered woman. You don’t even know the danger that you’ve put yourself in. I hoped they paid you well. I’ll admit it was a good plan. Just not good enough." He lunged off the bed and stalked close to Tempest, making her take steps back until her body was pressed hard against the door behind her.

This was a bad idea. She shouldn’t have come into his space. She only wanted something to eat. She only wanted to get to know the man that she would have to spend the next six months with. She thought that he was safe.

The way he held her in the marriage water made her think that he was safe. She should’ve known better. Should’ve known that it was too good to be true.

"Stay away from me. It’s the only way you’ll survive here. Then when it’s all over, you can tell whoever sent you here that you failed, and they can try again. It’ll be like a little game." Dron snarled, getting closer and closer to her face.

Instead of screaming for her life, which is what she truly should’ve been doing at that moment, Tempest whimpered at the nearness of him.

There was no denying the fact that he was a scary man. He was imposing and strong, but something about the way he smelled, and the closeness made her want to wrap her arms around him and pull him even closer. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to feel him.

It was that feeling alone that scared her.

"Get away from me!" She shouted and pushed him away. Just enough to turn and open the door behind her. She raced out of the room and down the hall.

She looked behind as she continued to run down the hall. There was no reason for her to want Dron to be following her but she was a little disappointed that he hadn’t.

How sick was that.

Here she was on an alien planet, and she actually wanted the monster to chase her.