“We do not enjoy being connected to SLAVERS!" they had roared when they'd met Damien and his Brothers in the transport storage area.

Aiden's male breeder and his Brothers had loudly bemoaned that they had to be Linked through their boy to such dishonor. These men wanted their extended family to be honorable and noble. They would have to spend time with us and be close to us, because of our boys. Slavers were not what they would have chosen at all.

I stood and made up my mind to greet the new men. The best way to dispel their anger was to prove to them I was not a slave. They were obviously confused about this ongoing relationship.

“I am Ciara, from Earth," I said pleasantly to the man that appeared to be the lead Brother, he was holding Niah. "My mates are Damien and his Brothers. It is good to meet you all. Aiden has been asking for Rynal for ages."

Before the man had a chance to speak I rose on my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his cheek with a smile. I also hugged him Lightly before backing away.

“It is how humans greet family," I explained as he looked quizzically down at me.

I explained hugging and kissing and then waited for the man to respond to me.

“Iam Hodlen, born in the T'sparian Mountains," he said sounding surprised.

I moved from man to man and introduced myself. Each of the men got a kiss and a hug. I made eye contact and smiled congenially. I made sure my mannerisms were of anything but that of a slave. These new men Hodlen, Rynal, Spartian, Tos, and Kee seemed genuinely taken aback by the greeting.

I looked at their bags and noted the sleeping pads wrapped on top. These men had no place to stay and the camp was really crowded.

“Our bed is small," I offered politely, “but we would share with family. Would you stay with us?"

Damien had never felt more pride. I was acting exactly as I should. Our bed was mine to share and offering it to these men would be the honorable thing to do. They would have refused my husbands, but Damien had a feeling they would not refuse me.

“You must have been traveling a long time. I'm sure a bed would be a nice change. We would all fit and you would be more comfortable,” Damien interjected politely.

Hodlen looked from Damien to me and I saw the first hint of a smile as he responded.

“We Left our mountain with a group of twenty families coming this way as soon as the fighting in our area decreased. That was five day cycles ago," he said.

“The fighting ended sooner there?" I asked curiously.

The isolated mountain camp Hodlen and his Brothers had lived their life in had almost no ore. The dry barren area surrounding it had none at all. It was the perfect place to hide a camp because of that. The minimal aliens that had attacked that area had been quickly destroyed.

“We had never felt safe to travel far from there,” Rynal said as he held Aiden. "Our mates feared for us to travel here, because we had to pass a mountain full of ore. With things as they are, no one even noticed us as we moved past it."

"four mates?" I asked curiously. "They did not come with you?"

“Of course they came," Holden answered, “still, there used to be much danger from the slaving women in the past. Travel was dangerous. Our mates would do anything to protect us, but they could easily be outnumbered..."

“Halil," I said softly, “she was your mate?"

The men all smiled lightly and touched one another.