Chapter 6: Getting Over a Dancing Tail

Laurel pointed to the man flanking on the left of the emperor. His hair was grey instead of yellow with golden eyes. Through the tight suit that the men wore, she could see that they were muscular. 

"That one is my mate, Dorian. He's cute, isn't he?" she exclaimed. Ellis gave the man a glance and wondered which part of him was cute. He looked like a cat, a terribly scarred and abused cat. Well, she thought. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. 

"And the one on the other side is Leo, Logan's younger brother."

Seeing her distracted, Logan inched closer. Ellis saw the movement and her eyes snapped towards him. Behind him, something moved and she stared to make sense of it. The shock hit her like a punch to her gut. 

A very long tail danced behind his head, the visible bits showing the color of his hair and the golden spots on his skin on it. A tail... the man she was supposed to marry had a tail. 

This was definitely not a small difference! 

She tried to breathe but it felt like she was weightless. As tunnel vision set in, she heard Laurel cry in surprise. Within a second, her consciousness extinguished. 

For the second time that day.

- - - - -

Logan, the Emperor of EN-4396, lurched forward as he saw his small bride sank. He had been warned by other females he spoke to that this was a very possible outcome but his pride took a hit. He was considered a very handsome Zothean with features women swooned over. But the only one that he wanted to sweep off her feet had fainted at the sight of him.

Well, in a way, he did sweep her off her feet. He carried her body over to the seating area and laid her head down on one of the pillows. 

It must have been shocking, seeing someone so different from her. His features were not familiar to her. 

Laurel was frantically patting Ellis's cheeks. Clearly, from the sound echoing in the room, they were not pats that Logan perceived, they were very well placed slaps to snap Ellis back to consciousness. 

When Logan saw her cheeks turn pink, he couldn't help but command, "Stop. She'll regain consciousness herself." 

Dorian caught Laurel by the shoulder and guided her away. Logan noticed that Laurel looked as worried as he felt. So, it was a normal reaction, he noted. Zotheans were considered cold and aloof, rarely showing emotion on their face, so he trained himself to understand human emotions because he knew that the possibility his mate would be human was very high.

Without the hindrance of Ellis's fear, he studied her closely. He picked up her dainty hands and inspected it from front to back, turning it and pressing on the insides to see if the claws would appear. He was in awe of how useless her paws were. He placed them on her stomach and reached out to her face. Pulling her lips down, he found her teeth flat and dull-edged. Just like Laurel's. Good thing his little mate had a protector and him to keep her safe. She was practically defenseless against nature in her natural state. 

How did their race survive for so many years with such soft features?

He inhaled her scent and shuddered. His heart hammered against his chest in response. There was no doubt she was the one meant for him. He stroked her shiny hair out of her face, feeling her smooth skin. 

He would have to coax her and give her time so that she could come to terms... or even love their differences. He had seen how happy Dorian and Laurel were, so he hoped that she would love him just as much as he was going to love her. 

He couldn't wait. 

The emotions caught him off guard. They were so intense that he couldn't differentiate the myriads that went through his mind. The feeling of lust, protectiveness, and gentle adoration were most prominent. The others, he couldn't quite put a finger on. 

The world had been in black and white before he saw her and in a split second, they seemed to come rushing to him. Now that he could see everything in vivid detail, he felt like the composition of his body had changed somehow. He wanted to hunch over her and not let anyone look at her.

He wanted to growl and shoo away Dorian and Leo, his closest people. Only then could he keep her safe. Something so beautiful shouldn't be seen by others. They would only want to covet her. 

After years of waiting, he had finally found her. The person who was meant just for him. He had been jealous of those blissful couples for all his adult life. Now, he knew that it was possible for him too. 

Ellis began to stir, her eyeballs flitting under the lids. He backed away hastily, not wanting to frighten her when she woke up. He glanced over to his brother and frowned. He forced the growl down. 

Leo was staring at her with the same expression he had seen others have before. He believed, he looked the same way when he inspected Ellis. 

No, he can't fall in love with her. 

And then he felt rage. 

Mine.

And he growled. 

- - - - -

When she finally opened her eyes, she wanted to close them immediately. A tail wasn't possible. She was definitely insane. Her eyes sought out Laurel for a sense of normalcy. The other crouched down beside her. 

"Are you feeling better?" the woman asked. 

Ellis found herself laughing. The sound was choppy and no trace of humor could be found. Logan jumped, startled by the strange noise escaping his bride. 

Laurel turned to look at him with a soothing expression. "This is called a laugh, remember? It's a sound of amusement." Logan nodded, utterly confused about what was funny about the situation.

Ellis sat up and pressed her hand to her forehead. At least the wretched headache was gone. "This is the second time I fainted today. Did they botch the surgery or something?" she mumbled. 

Logan panicked in the corner. 

"When did you last eat?" Laurel enquired. 

Ellis thought about it. 

"I ate breakfast the day I was abducted. I don't know how much time has passed. I was taken shortly after the sunset." So, it had been some time. 

"Oh my. You've not had food for over two days. That's why you're feeling so bad," Laurel reassured. In front of the Zothean men, she couldn't open up about everything, but she could hint at other things. "Let's get you some food." She held her hand out and helped Ellis up to her feet. 

Ellis sighed in her heart. She had fainted twice. She was certainly not faint of heart, so the excuse of having no food in her was better than thinking that her brain was fried from all the information.

"Your people are waiting to see you," she whispered, giving Ellis a sense of privacy. Much needed sense of privacy, Ellis added mentally. 

Ellis clutched at Laurel's hand. "My people?" she squeaked. Throwing her in front of people and introducing her as the future Empress meant that she wouldn't be able to refuse at any cost. Moreover, if she did refuse, everyone would know. God knows how she would be treated then.

"Don't be scared. Just be yourself," Laurel soothed. 

Honey, that's not what I am scared about. 

Ellis was scared that people would see her actual personality. She had been a headstrong girl, never backing down from an argument. Moreover, she didn't know how to lead people. While people had always been polite to her and liked her, they often considered her too proud and standoffish. 

She was never loud, but she stood up for what she believed in. Apparently, that was not a fetching quality to have. 

With no other choice, Ellis let Laurel lead her back out into the hallway. Nin joined the company shortly, trailing behind them with the three Zothean men in tow.

Finally, they reached another door and Laurel pushed it open. Ellis's heart leaped to her throat. There were hundreds of... creatures in the room.

They sat on cushions around low tables and turned to look when the door opened.