He glanced behind Obsidian and waved. “Hello!”

Obsidian turned to discover that Alli had crept up behind him. She was getting better at walking softly to surprise him. She didn’t wince when he growled, not liking her so close to the other male, despite Moon being someone he semi-trusted.

“Don’t talk to my female.”

Moon dropped his hand to his side. “Let’s go, Mr. Friendly.”

“Is this a ploy to lure me away from Alli? I won’t allow anyone to take her from me.”

“You’re being paranoid. There’re no plans to take her away from you. I saw the orders myself.

Both of you are going to be living at the dorm together. I actually suggested that you two could stay at my house in my guestroom until one of the other houses becomes vacant but Fury said that was a bad idea. He seems to think you’ll try to kill me while I sleep just for being too close to the doctor.”

Obsidian glowered at him.

“Brass has a place at Homeland and Reservation but he likes it better there. He’ll be giving up his house here after his next rotation shift back there.”

“Who is Brass?”

“He’s a friend of mine. What I’m trying to say is, he doesn’t like being here and prefers Reservation. Every few months he’s on duty here for a few weeks but that’s about to end. He’ll just stay there all the time.” Moon smiled. “It means you and the doctor can have his house. You won’t be stuck living at the dorm for long. Houses are tough to come by and we haven’t built more here.

There’s limited space and property is really expensive in this area. We’re expanding Reservation all the time though.”

“What is Reservation?”

“Reservation is a highly wooded area to the north of here with vast amounts of land. Tell your female you will be back in a few hours and I’ll show you Homeland. We own and live in both places. Homeland was built as a human military base but given to us instead when it was completed. We call them NSO lands. That stands for New Species Organization, our official title.”

“Go,” Alli said. “I still have some packing to do. Have fun. I’ll be here when you get back.”

She touched his chest. “No worries.”

He debated, still not sure she’d be safe without him to protect her. Moon stepped back, drawing his attention.

“Let’s go. There’s an officer at the street to make sure she’s fine. You have my word of honor she’ll still be here when we return.”

“Fine.” He gripped Alli’s small hand, still over his heart, while he stared down into her upturned face. “I won’t be gone long. Do not leave your space.”

“I won’t.”

He released her and followed the other male outside. “What is military base?”

“It’s kind of tough to explain. We’ll get you some history books to read.” A questioning glance was directed his way. “Did they teach you how to read? You weren’t raised the way we were. They taught all of us to read books at an early age. It helped them when they conducted some of the drug-testing trials on us so they could judge if we were impaired and how badly. They needed to see if it affected our memory. Book information was a good way to do it. They also wanted us to be able to read eye charts to be certain there was no visual loss from the side effects.”

“I can read words.”

“Good.” Moon paused by a strange vehicle.

“This is a golf cart. Have you ever ridden in one before?”

“No. Not while I was awake at least. I’m not sure how I arrived at Homeland.” He was wary.

“What is golf?”

“The humans call it a sport but mostly it’s closer to chasing a small white ball and using straight sticks with a clubbed end to hit it far away to chase it again. The goal is to learn better aim than your opponent. They use these carts to go after it.”

“Why?”

The male sat inside it. “I’m not sure but I suspect they hate walking or running for long distances. Carts are fun. Get inside and you’ll see.

I’ll teach you how to drive one soon.”

The seat was softer than it appeared when he sat but there wasn’t a lot of room for his long legs. Moon grinned. “Hang on. It moves fast and I don’t want you to fall out.”

Moon twisted a key and the thing vibrated under his ass. The male gripped the rounded thing sticking out in front of his chest while his hand lowered to a small rounded metal thing below it.

It jerked slightly before rolling forward, gaining momentum.

A grin plastered across his face at the feel of wind blowing his hair while he held on. “It’s fast.”

“Jeeps are faster. I knew there’d be something you’d like. At the very least you could get a job driving one of these and delivering things around Homeland to different departments.”

The anxiety faded somewhat about his future.

“I want to fit in.”

“You will.” Moon turned a corner, slowing slightly. “See that building up there to the right?

That’s the men’s dorm. It’s three floors high and there’s a basement hidden under the foundation.”

“Why?”

Shoulders shrugged. “I have no idea but it’s fun. We set up training rooms down there when we first moved into it to avoid anyone discovering we were keeping our fighting skills keen.

We had a human who was the dorm father but he drank alcohol a lot. He was fired. We no longer need someone to help us learn.”

“What’s a dorm father? We have no parents.”

He suddenly experienced an uneasy sensation. “I didn’t. Did you?”

“It’s an honorary term used in this case for someone who teaches you life lessons you need in order to survive outside of Mercile—someone who’s there to look out for your well-being.

You’re full of questions. None of us had parents.

We were raised the way you were but had more interaction since they brought females to our cells. We could smell other males on them sometimes. It’s how we knew there were more of us.

You were only given one female.”

They parked and entered the building. Obsidian followed the male inside and stared openly at the large room. Other males sat on couches in front of a big television but their gazes left it to stare back at him. His body grew rigid at seeing dozens of them, instincts warning him of danger and a possible fight.

Moon gently gripped his shoulder. “Hey, don’t glower at them. They are your brothers, sort of.

We’re all family here.”

One of the males slowly stood and approached, his stance nonthreatening. “Hello. I am Darkness.

You must be Obsidian. We’ve all been expecting you. This is your home now and there’s no reason to be defensive. Welcome to the men’s dorm.”

The male had very short black hair and piercing dark eyes that were shaped similar to Justice’s.

His skin was darker than all the other males.

“You took the name because of your skin?”

“No.” The male smiled, revealing white, straight teeth, including two long fangs that were bigger than the ones Obsidian had. “I have suffered much in my life and wished my name to reflect that. I’m a little different than most, the way you are.”

“How are you different?”

The male paused five feet away. “You were singled out for a mating project while I was assigned to do something else.” He paused. “I am trying to put myself in your mind, to think the way you do. I am good at it.” His gaze drifted up and down Obsidian’s body before stopping to stare into his eyes again. “Your mate will be safe from other males when you leave her in your apartment. We will never harm her and will protect her if there’s danger as if she were one of us.

You will find friendship here and no hostility.”

“Speak for yourself,” a familiar male voice grumbled.

Obsidian’s spine stiffened as he turned his head, finding the source quickly. He growled at the male who wanted Alli.

“Damn it, Destiny.” Moon shook his head.

“We already had this talk today. Back off and go do something besides irritate Obsidian.”

“He’s too wild and unstable to be safe around Dr. Allison. She’s delicate and innocent of our ways.” The male’s chest expanded, shoulders pushed back, and anger gleamed in his hardened stare. “You’d take her like an animal, wouldn’t you?” He stepped closer and snarled. “Her scent is all over you. What did you do?”