The Varkari

Example

At the fourth meeting, that was exactly what happened. I was getting used to coming, sitting, eating a variety of barely cooked meats and random, packaged human food, listening to them talk about us as if we were not among them, and sometimes watch them shout and snarl at one another.

Margaux, Maria, and I were in the middle of a new game we had invented, which we called Smugglebuzz because the Varkari had not determined what it meant. The jist was that we would drink as much alcohol as possible without being too obvious, but as we became progressively more intoxicated, we pretended that we were incredibly sober. The first to slip up or have their male point out that they were drinking too much, lost. The last to be discovered won the game.

That night, Tultan, Zanthar, and Exer were mingling with other males, leaving us at the table. When I was sure that nobody was looking our way, I stuffed my hand into the bag Exer brought and pulled out a flask that I had hidden inside.

"Give me your cups, quick," I whispered, craning my neck from side to side, keeping a look out.

"What are you up to?" Maria asked.

"It's Varkari alcohol. They don't know I found it, but it is extremely strong," I said, pouring about a shot's worth in each of their glasses and slid them back.

Margaux looked absolutely delighted. "Thank you, babe. Ugh, I'm so glad that they don't have fetal alcohol poisoning."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, it's not a thing for the hybrids and their tech would fix anything anyway. We're both pregnant," she laughed like it was obvious. "Do you think we would be drinking if it could hurt the babies?"

Flabbergasted, my mouth opened and closed. I was not sure if I was shocked at the information or the fact that they were both pregnant. "Uh, congrats?"

Maria giggled. "When you stop holding out, you will get pregnant right away," she assured me.

"I'm not ready for any of that," I shook my head and took a tiny sip of the papaya–and-bacon-flavored liquor.

"Oh my god, this tastes like shit," Margaux said, covering her mouth.

"Don't make a face," I warned her. "It counts."

"Get your fucking hands off me!" Some girl was shouting from the hallway.

The three of us turned toward the doorway in unison, most of the males clustered around the banquet hall also quieting to see what the ruckus was about. A male that I had seen before strode in proudly, dragging a kicking brunette that was berating him with colorful words.

"Ooh, a wild one," Margaux commented. "That's going to cause a ruckus."

I did not want to see a ruckus, but the seated unmated males began to rise and the ones that were standing very still with pupils slowly eating up the golds and oranges. Goosebumps started on my arms and spine again and the need to flee returned.

We all watched as a few more new faces came in with more Varkari, a group of previously unmated males that always sat together. It looked like they had attended the same auction by the way the girls leaned together, but they could also be terrified. I scanned their necks quickly one after another, noting that three of the six were already bitten. The brunette was not.

Throwing all of her weight backwards, she dug her heels in with a shriek of rage and several males twitched, muscles bunching, ready to surge forward. Her "owner" snapped his jaw at her, something I was learning was a warning, then gave a bristling snarl to the rest of the room. Spines flew up along his shoulders as he observed the other predators looking at what was his. The tension in the air was growing by the second and I squirmed in my seat.