Book 3. Samantha - Matched

Book 3. Samantha - Matched
I should have protested. I should have voiced that it wasn’t what I wanted, but given that I was a non-confrontational person, I remained silent, even when she guided me to a chair in front of her desk and had me sit down. Then, she sat in the chair facing me and grabbed her tablet.
“Samantha,” she murmured. “Your full name is Samantha Deborah Rue?”
“Yes,” I replied while shifting in my seat, trying to get a grip on myself.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-five,” I replied.
Overseer Walsh tapped something on her tablet before asking, “Have you ever been married?”
“No.”
“Any biological children?”
Even if they were just routine questions, they still made me uncomfortable.
Then she said something that made my stomach drop. “From the information in your personal data, I see that you suffered a miscarriage a few weeks before your sentence.”
“Yes,” I said, not elaborating.
She put the tablet away for a moment. “I’m sorry you had to go through that pain.” Her voice was soft, but there was a hint of sadness in it.
Only a couple of people had known about my pregnancy, but not becoming a mother had been a blessing, not a tragedy.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice hoarse, but not for the reason she might have thought.
She started typing on her tablet once more as she murmured, “Future Bride is healthy and can get pregnant naturally.”
Can get pregnant naturally.
This was one of the reasons why I avoided Overseer Walsh and wanted nothing to do with the Intergalactic Bride Program—because the Confederation expected that each woman paired with an alien would have as many children as possible and somehow restore the female population of all races.
It was madness, and to be frank, I doubted anything could be done to save the Confederation from collapse. Between the ongoing war with the So’oks and the deadly virus, it was only a matter of time before, race by race, every civilization across the Universe went extinct.
But I kept those thoughts to myself, as the last time I tried to voice them, I was accused of being narrow-minded and told that ‘There were enough women on Earth to repopulate entire planets without affecting the human race, given that more girls were born each year.’
I knew for a fact that the birth rate was in decline since, given how things were on Earth, very few women were willing to become single mothers. But that was not my problem to solve, but the United Governments'.
She went on with her next question. “Why were you sent here?”
“Because I killed someone.”
And I didn’t regret it. Not for one second.
Overseer Walsh tapped on her tablet for a couple of seconds more before placing it on her desk.
“Let’s find you a match then,” she said as she stood.
I did the same, and when she moved to the bed, I followed.
“Please, lie down,” she instructed me.
Once I complied with her request, she placed two small, oval disks on my temples.
“Take a deep breath,” she told me as she activated the disks, and the room faded away as the virtual reality program kicked in, and based on my likes, needs, desires, personality, and personal experiences, I was going to be matched with the type of alien that suited me best.
My stomach plummeted as I was transported to a strange room, and I found myself lying on a round bed, my naked body covered by a satin sheet.
The room was dimly lit, so I gripped the sheet around my chest as I looked around.
And then, I felt his presence. The hair at the back of my neck stood up, while goosebumps erupted all over my body. I didn’t want to be there, trapped in a room with a stranger, simulation or not.
He stepped away from the dark corner where he had been standing and moved toward me.
“Don’t come any closer,” I warned him, but he didn’t listen.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. “Are you ready to be claimed, to be flecked until you are pregnant with our young?”
I tried to get out of the bed, but I got tangled in the sheet, and then I was falling. I braced myself for the impact that never came as he caught me. He moved faster than I thought.
He lifted me into his arms and cradled me against his strong chest. “You need to be more careful,” he chided as he placed me back on the bed and hovered over me.
I finally took a good look at him—golden eyes stared back at me—and at his features, and I knew what race he was.
A Raxian.
“Priyå,” he said, “do you have any idea what you do to me when you look at me like that?”
Before I could say anything else, his head dipped, and his lips brushed against mine.
I gripped his arms, and before I could push him away from me, I was back in the examination room, with Overseer Walsh next to me. I felt as if I could breathe normally again.
After she removed the disks from my temples, she returned to her desk and grabbed her tablet, while I got down from the bed.
“You have been matched with a Raaxian,” she said, stating what I already knew. “Your perfect match will be found shortly, and then you will be leaving for Azuron.”
When I said nothing, she glanced at me.
“You don’t seem very content that you are most compatible with Raxians,” she mused. “Would you have preferred another type of alien?”
“It’s not that,” I said. Taking a deep breath, I added, “I have to go. Doctor Ryland is waiting for me, and if I’m leaving, she’ll need to find someone else to take my place. So much to do in a very short time.”
Overseer Walsh nodded. “I will let you know when the program has found your perfect match.”
As I opened the door and stepped outside, I prayed—a thing that I rarely, if ever, did—that I’d have enough time to mentally prepare myself for becoming an Intergalactic Bride.
But as it happens in life, things never go as we expect, and only two days later, Overseer Walsh called me into the examination room that she also used as an office.
“Congratulations, your perfect match has been found. You are leaving for Azuron in a couple of hours.”