Favored by Felix Read Free

make sure nothing has broken
through.” Anything to take his mind off the way he’d hurt Eva. She’d have
bruises, and she’d hurt her head. Fuck, he hadn’t meant to injure her. He would
tear off his left nut before intentionally wounding a woman.
    The camp was a small clearing with two
rough huts to one side. After they’d sighted several zylon in the region, he
and his brothers had constructed a sturdy fence covered with fine mesh to keep
the tiny furry beasties away from their captives. The last thing they needed
was for their prospective mates to die of zylon poisoning. Bad publicity for
the resort, for one; rumors of a horrid death would scare away prospective
customers. These things had a way of getting out.
    Felix paced the compound, taking his time, checking
the fence for signs of zylon or any other nasties. The island of Ione reminded
him of Singapore and Indonesia, although the land mass was much bigger than the
two Earth tourist destinations.
    When he found nothing out of the ordinary,
he wandered back to where his brothers remained talking by the shuttles before
abruptly changing direction. He’d better check on Eva. When he poked his head
into the hut, she was still asleep and looked small and defenseless. He’d
untied her upon arrival, after he was certain the drugs had taken effect.
    “Felix!” Saber must’ve returned.
    He strode out of the hut. “Yeah?”
    “I know why there aren’t many zylon at this
end of the island. I watched a bird catch one. A shit-ass big bird.”
    Felix chuckled, Saber’s words reminding him
of the vintage television shows they’d all watched as kids. “Was it yellow?”
    “No, it was— Very amusing,” Saber said. “How
is the woman?”
    Felix sobered. “I hurt her. I didn’t mean
to, but I hurt her. Saber, this is a stupid idea. Why don’t we take the women
back to the resort and forget the whole plan?”
    “Fuck.” Saber rubbed his hands over his
face then stared at him. “We need mates to stop the fighting between our males.
Damn it, Felix. We’re sitting on a testosterone powder keg, and it’s going to
blow if I don’t find a way to keep women here permanently. We need the
stability that women provide. You know that.”
    “Things have already been calmer since the
first guests have arrived,” Felix said.
    “But they’re not going to stay. We need
mates, children. Strong family bonds. We’ve found a place to settle but we have
to make it into a home. And we have to do so while ensuring the resort’s a
success because we’re running low on money.”
    Shock kicked Felix in the gut. He’d never
seen his older brother looking this worried before. Almost desperate. “Why the
hell didn’t you say something?”
    “I didn’t want to worry you all. We can’t
stop now or we’ll lose everything. I had to borrow money on Dalcon, the money
we needed to get the resort running. I can’t default on those loans. The
trad-bankers weren’t interested in financing me. I had to go to the market
bankers. If the resort fails, if the males start fighting, our community will
splinter. I have to keep us safe.”
    “Fuck,” Felix said. “Those market guys don’t
muck around.”
    “Which is why we have to stick with the
plan now that we’ve committed our resources.”
    “You still should have told us how
bad our situation was.”
    “Everyone has been working so hard. I
wanted to encourage them.” Saber caught a flash of movement from the corner of
his eye. An odd rueful grin curved his lips. “Did you tie up your woman like I
suggested?”
    “No need. She was still unconscious,” Felix
said.
    “She isn’t now.”
    Felix turned in the direction Saber
indicated. “Bloody hell. Where does she think she’s going? We’re in the middle
of nowhere.”
    “She’s a feisty one.”
    A shadow blotted out the sun-star. Felix
scanned the sky. Saber cursed and started sprinting toward the woman. Without
warning, a big-ass bird swooped, talons extended, and