Arriving at the camp, Jack handed Morgan over to some of his men and they tied him up. He was still unconscious but seemed otherwise to be in good shape.
Jack's men congratulated him on capturing such an important enemy and Eva spent countless hours talking about her mission and the information she had uncovered. She was happy to observe that the men treated her with a lot more respect now that she had shown her mettle and helped their cause. Still she said little about what had happened after her cover had been blown, although she sensed they were anxious to hear more about it – especially the women.
Finally, one of the men blurted out what everyone else thought but did not dare ask.
"How did they torture you?"
Eva noticed Jack flinch at the question, before grabbing the curious man by the throat.
"I think the questions can wait. My sister needs her rest."
"No, Jack," Eva intervened. "I think I will answer the question." She breathed deeply before meeting the eyes of her curious listeners. "Yes, I was tortured." A collective gasp went through the assembly and Jack lowered his head as in shame of what he had sent her to do. "But, I think I got of a lot easier since I'm female." She continued to tell them about the truth serum they had given her and what she had discovered about it. "I realised that the serum can be fooled as long as you decide which truths to tell them."
"So what did you tell them?" one of the elder women asked. "How much their feet stank or something?" Laughter broke out and relieved the tension among the assembly and Eva joined the laughter. It was so good to be home again, she thought.
"Not exactly," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "But some of them blushed really nicely when I told them about the sexual prowess of my lover and giving them more details about his body that they preferred to know."
"Oh my," the women sighed as they wore dreamlike expressions.
"After that they didn't try the truth serum any more."
"What did they do instead?" a younger woman asked curiously.
"Sexual torture," Eva said slowly.
"What?" several voices blurted out at the same time.
"Yes, they choose a man that will pleasure you until you reveal all your secrets and some you never knew you had."
"Did
he
did that to you?" one of the women pointed at Morgan's still unconscious body, his large frame having been the object of a lot of interest since they had entered the camp.
"Yes, he made me crave him sexually and after that he mated with me."
"Doesn't sound much like torture to me, honey," one of the old women interrupted. "If someone like that handsome man wanted to mate me I wouldn't have left his bed at all." The laughter spread heartily among the women.
"He's still our enemy," one of the men interrupted in an angry voice.
"So what?" the old woman declared. "We still have eyes, don't we? And it's nice to have something besides Jack to look at since the rest of you are not so pleasing." The women laughed as the men scowled and their faces turned different degrees of red.
"Just stop this nonsense!" Jack blurted out and got on his feet. Starting to walk back and forth, he seemed to be pondering a difficult problem. "There is no way you can stay mated to this man, Eva," he finally growled out as he pointed a finger at Morgan.
"Well, the star seers on Alpha Centauri seemed to be convinced. Besides, the ceremony has already taken place."
"Damn it. I know that. It's just that…," he paused before taking a deep breath. "He's still our enemy," Jack growled out.
"Unfortunately, yes. However, he is also one of their superior officers and a good friend of the governor. I suggest you use that for what it's worth and give them some tough demands for his release."
"Perhaps." He seemed to ponder her advice. "I'll think about it."
"We can gain a lot more by keeping him alive than by killing him, Jack, and I think you know that," Eva prodded her brother.
"I've said I'll think about it. Now, go and get yourself some rest, sis. We'll talk in a few hours."
***
A few hours later Eva had slept and eaten a hearty meal. Still, Jack had not revealed any of his plans for Morgan and she could not bear to wait any longer. She saw him standing by himself at the end of the clearing and she welcomed the chance to talk to him in private.
"Have you decided yet, Jack?"
"About what?"
"About Morgan, of course."
"Ah, yes, that unfortunate mate of yours that practically waltzed into our camp yesterday. Yes, I've thought about him and even send out men to locate the rest of his soldiers before they attack us."
"Oh? You don't think he acted on his own?"
"Nope. Although my men have not been able to find any soldiers having entered the forests lately, so perhaps he was alone. What puzzles me is how he could have been that stupid in the first place? Anyway, my guess is that he followed you from the palace."
"No, it's not possible. I drugged his wine and he drank it while I was watching. He fell asleep in my arms."
"He must have fooled you somehow."
"Perhaps, but I just can't understand how? I thought I was so careful that no one would be able to track me, although I did hear some strange noises in the forest," she contemplated suddenly.
"What noises?"
"Like someone was following me. I thought it was you as first, but the noises stopped."
"Bloody hell. Why didn't you tell me? And why didn't you wait for me before entering the forest, like we agreed?"
"You weren't there at the time and I wanted to get away before the guards could catch me again. Besides, it all went well, didn't it?" she smiled at him.
"Thanks to pure luck, it did, yes. But please be more careful next time, sis. Your luck won't last forever."
"I'm always careful," Eva stated teasingly.
"Sure you are. Such as when you broke into the Captain's cabin to steal a few papers and he decided to take you for mate. Now that's not exactly being careful, as I see it."
"Speaking of which, what will you do about him, Jack?"
"I want to kill him for what he did to you," Jack answered heatedly.
