Bonded Telepaths: Sci-Fi Reverse Harem Romance

By Enid Titan

She should have never opened the door...
Upon Poppy’s return to the terrifying ice planet,
Her three alien mates succumb to their need for her.
They promise that nothing will ever come between them again...
An older student threatens that plan.
He’s dark, demented, and determined that Penelope doesn’t belong.
An incident on the deadly Devoran tundra pushes the harem bonds to their limit.
They face nature, a cult, and a new bully, and learn that...
True love defies space, time, and even death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamila Jasper
• Release date: Jan 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463530009

Enid Titan

Enid Titan is a Central New York based author of debut novel Devor of The Alpha Quadrant Series, Book #2, Tau as well as the short story Virgin Earthling. When not hiking around Ithaca’s Gorges, binging on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine re-runs and doing yoga, Enid is plotting out more juicy science fiction romance stories. You can learn more about Enid on her website: www.enidtitan.com

Book preview

1

At The Door

The rattling door handle haunted Poppy for weeks. She hadn’t seen the three Devoran boys since then except in her twisted dreams. The door to sickbay cracked open and a gnarled grey face covered by a black hood stared right at her. She blanched. The boys couldn’t see the hooded figure’s face — only a shadow. Penelope saw her -- all her terrifying features and the promise of later misfortune. 

Child of Fengar… I have come for you, the shadow woman hissed.

Poppy had no time to say goodbye, not a moment to protest. She grabbed Castor’s hand one last time, pleading with him silently not to let her go so soon. Then Penelope vanished from my bed and reappeared in the darkness. She sensed there were others in the dark, other grey-skinned Fengari in the hold of a large spaceship. She didn’t recall how long the darkness lasted.

A hand stretched through to her in the darkness and pulled her forward.

You have arrived, Penelope. 

Without her sight to guide her, Poppy used her hands to feel the cavern walls. A crumbling dust came off onto her fingers as she struggled to stand upright. One wrong move and she’d float off the cavern floor and have to claw her way back down. More hooded figures around her and in front of her quietly processed through the dark hallways.

Is anyone going to tell me where I’m going?

Nobody answered. Unlike the Devorans, the Fengari didn’t possess the constant telepathic buzz that followed Poppy everywhere on the ice planet. So far away from Castor, Ajax, Jason, and Uncle Monty, Poppy had to rely on her senses to figure out what to do next. She’d promised herself to the Fengari for six months. She could only trust that they’d let her go of their own accord.

The procession stopped in front of a low, curved doorway.

Earth child, you mussssssst enter alone.

One of the hooded figures pushed the door open and they scuttled away like ants. Poppy entered a relatively large room. A large, gilded throne sat in the center of the room with another hooded figure perched upon it.

Welcome to the Lunar Kingdom of Fengar, Penelope.

Hello, Poppy whispered.

There was no specific reason for her whispering other than her terror. The figure on the throne saw clearly through her attempts to hide it. Even lying in the snow in Vortha as The Order attacked her, she'd never felt such fear. There she'd known that she wasn't completely alone.

There is no reason to be afraid. You are amongsssssst your people now.

I wish I’d been giving a choice about when to arrive, Poppy huffed.

You are young. You are not aware of the limitsssss of time, and why you mussssst not wassssste it. 

I’m here. So let’s not waste any more time then.

Inssssssolent, like your grandmother.

Right. And who are you?

I am Sibyl, the Queen of the Fengari Hive, ruler of the Lunar Kingdom.

You’re the one who saved Earth, then?

Yesssss.

Thank you.

The hood bowed. Poppy still couldn’t make out the alien’s face.

How come I can’t see you?

You will… in time. Your powers are still juvenile and muted from so much time amongst the Earthlings. So much time that must be accounted for.

Right. If I’m allowed to return to school, they’ll help me.

The queen hissed and Poppy felt a glob of spit land on her cheek. She wiped it off but thought it best not to say anything too inflammatory in response.

The vile Devorans will have our child amongsssst them, yesss. It is the way things musssst be. But you mussssst not trussssst them. 

Why shouldn’t I? They’ve never lied to me.

The queen leaned forward and Poppy gasped as she caught her first glimpse of the Fengari queen’s face. Grey skin and eight lilac eyes spread across her forehead and face stared back at her. Two hairy antennae protruded from the queen's head, wriggling back and forth. Poppy’s stomach dropped.

Be careful with the Devorans, child. Allow them to teach you, but do not allow them to ruin you.

Poppy had grown acclimated to the dragging s and she no longer heard them as a distinct, insectoid sound. 

She froze, unable to respond to the queen's criticism of the Devorans. If this were Uncle Monty giving her a lecture, she would have found a window to stare out of and she would have dived into a fabulous daydream. Here, the queen demanded rapt attention that Poppy feared withholding. 

The queen continued, sensing Poppy’s tenuous focus.

My mind holds all the minds of Fengar. I remain here in this room and serve my empire. I give life to all Fengari and Earth. I take life away. Penelope Darden, you have the power to take life and to give it, but you have trials to come that you must be ready for. This is why I have brought you here. I see your future… one of many futures and if you do not listen to me, you will lose the ones you love.

A chill ran down Poppy’s spine.

So what, this is some kind of prophecy?

A possibility. Each one of my eyes sees a posssssssibility. There is one that rages louder than the others.

Thanks. I’ve managed this far without a prophecy.

Insssssolent, Sibyl hissed.

Poppy stepped back to avoid another spray of spit.

You have my mother. I want to see her.

Yesssss. Your mother is ill. We saved her, but some parts were losssst.

Poppy’s heart raced. They had her mother here. After all those years, she’d finally see the woman who sacrificed everything to save Earth.

I will answer all of your questions, child. Firsssssst, you musssst make me a promise.

Another deal? 

Yesssss.

That depends on what promise you want me to make.

Come clossssser, child.

Poppy hesitated to get closer to the eight eyes, the writhing antennae, or the ashen skin, but saw no choice. She stepped forward and gazed closer at Sibyl’s face. Her jaw was rounded and an excess of teeth emerged from her maw. She reached into the pocket of her hood and pulled out a blade.

Learn to use this blade before you leave or I cannot let you go. Learn to use thisssss blade, Penelope, or you will die.

I thought I came here to learn about telepathy.

You will learn many ssssecretssss while you’re here. Now go. I will have Chanal take you to your mother.

Thank you, for the blade.

Sibyl nodded and waved Penelope off. No more questions, that was it. Learn to use the blade, learn to become a Fengari telepath. No word on when she'd return to Devor here or how she'd know how much time passed without the sun.

Poppy missed them. She couldn't see Ajax's face, or Castor's or Jason's clearly while she was awake. The numbing telepathic field on Fengar struggled against her limited human perceptions. 

I don't belong here, Poppy thought to herself. Yet Sibyl, the grey queen, insisted that she did. 

2

Are You My Mother?

Chanal took Penelope through the low gravity caverns for around a mile. She didn’t speak at all until Penelope spoke to her.

Where are we going?

To see your mother.

She emphasized her ’s’ sounds like all Fengari.

Where is she?

In the home inherited from your father.

My father didn’t live here.

His family possessed great wealth.

Yeah. On Earth.

And here, Chanal replied, sounding defensive.

Where’s my aunt? I met her before. She didn’t look like…

Penelope suddenly thought it rude to mention Sibyl’s bizarre insect-like appearance. Chanal shrugged.

You see what you wish to see. That’s the problem with seeing.

Everyone here blabbered in riddles.

She gave me a blade and said I’m to learn how to use it.

Yes. You will learn. We’ll send a teacher. Talak specializes in telepathic blades.

What do you mean a telepathic blade?

Tsk tsk tsk, you ask a lot of questions.

Yes. I do.

For once, Poppy managed to sound unapologetic. She still wasn’t too thrilled about coming here, ripped away from the three people she needed the most. Chanal bristled.

What?

Your mates. You think about them very loudly.

I was concealing my thoughts! Penelope protested.

Devoran techniques have their limitations. But you aren’t ready to awaken yet, not until you’ve finished school.

Does everyone here know everything about me?

Only in the present. Sibyl is the only one who knows the future.

Oh. Great.

We’re here.

This is a wall, Penelope mumbled.

Look closely.

Poppy stared at the wall, feeling quite foolish. She stuck her hand out and for a moment, a doorway flashed before her eyes.

Do you see it?

Sort of.

«Look closer.»

Her companion’s hypnotic voice lulled Poppy into a calm state. Yes… She could see the room, past a low rounded doorway. An old cot in the corner, a stone nightstand with chiseled etchings in the side, and a woman curled up on the bed all flashed before her, then disappeared.

«I can’t hold the image.»

«Look closer.»

Poppy’s cheeks flushed with frustration. Focusing like this was incredibly difficult and Chanal only repeated the same suggestions like a stuck record.

«Empty your mind, child.»

Poppy pushed thoughts of Chanal out of her head. Getting rid of her thoughts about Ajax, Castor and Jason proved much harder. The doorway and the room appeared again. The woman curled up on the bed shifted and Poppy held the image steady. She relaxed her shoulders. Chanal’s hand rested on hers.

«Very good. Now enter.»

Poppy hadn’t worked so hard at the Academy telepathic practice. Her head ached as she entered the room. She leaned up against the wall, her fingers unconsciously massaging her temple. The sharp and sudden onset of pain distracted her momentarily from the reason she’d come until her mother sat up in bed.

Poppy? Is that really you?

Poppy’s chest tightened. So many years had passed since she’d last seen her mother. She was a little girl then. She hadn’t met CJ, hadn’t moved in with Uncle Monty. Daddy was still alive back then.

Yes.

Poppy willed herself to move forward, to reach out and touch the frail, sickly woman on the bed, but she couldn’t do it. Her mother’s patchy hair which was once black and thick like her daughter's lay against her skull in dappled clumps. She must have been well cared for. Poppy noticed the healing bruises on her arms and legs as she swung them off the bed and creaked into an unbalanced position on her feet.

She looked twice her age. Prison could do that to a woman.

I know you’re a ghost, she said to Poppy, But come here. Give mama a hug.

Poppy looked to Chanal for permission, or perhaps an escape. Chanal offered neither with her glance. Poppy inched a single step forward, her stomach threatening to evacuate its minimal contents already. Her mother limped toward her and wrapped her in a hug.

Princess of darkness wrapped in a night shroud, she whispered and then pulled away.

She’s gone, isn’t she, Poppy whispered.

Chanal pressed her hand to Poppy’s shoulder.

She’s in and out. It’s a neurological condition from a prison accident.

Sure. An accident.

Can’t you fix her? You fixed an entire goddamn planet, Poppy snapped.

She was so angry. What did she expect? Did she expect to meet her mother and then everything would be fine? How utterly stupid and unrealistic. Poppy sniffled and fought back tears.

It’s nice to see you, mom.

Yes. Yes. Tell Poppy not to trust the greys or the blues or the man on the moon.

Can I sit with her? Poppy asked, Alone?

Yes, ChaCha, let me sit with her ghost and bring us some bread and honey… and grass. Lots of grass.

Chanal bowed awkwardly and vanished through the door. Her mother sat on her cot and patted a lumpy spot next to her.

The greys saved Earth. The greys took your dad. Oh, sweetheart, how you’ve grown. I know you're only a dream, but at least you're a nice one. The queen with eight eyes lies and lies.

Her mother rested her head in the crook of Poppy’s neck. She smelled damp and camphorous. Poppy reluctantly put her arm around her. This was her mother now. This woman. Not the mother she remembered. She’d have to accept that.

You wrote to Uncle Monty, mom. You saved Earth.

Poppy knew attempting to ground her was futile.

For now. There are worse threats.

I don’t want to talk about threats, Poppy whispered, I want to be here. Safe. With you.

Her mother sat up sharply and grabbed Poppy’s hand, squeezing it and digging her dirty fingernails into Poppy’s flesh until her palm reddened.

Mom!

You are not safe here. The Fengari queen knows it. She knows what’s coming. She wants to prepare you.

Mom, you’re hurting me!

The Fengari will die.

Mom!

Sweet little Poppy can’t know… the darkness crouches in the rock and ice and waits for food.

Poppy snatched her hand away and jolted to her feet.

I can’t do this!

Little Poppy can’t know about the spider’s fangs, she said.

I’m going to leave, Mom, Penelope said stiffly.

The walls of the room towered over Poppy. Her mother’s unsettling, distant eyes bored into her, looking through her not at her.

An old enemy must become an ally when the cyborgs rise from the asteroid dust.

Right, Poppy said, I’ll be back. I’ll be here for the entire summer. We’ll talk about it later.

She rushed out of the room, the wall shutting behind her as her mother emitted a shrill scream.

3

Prophecies

W hat the fuck happened to her?

Her condition worsened.

What was that she said, did any of it make sense?

She’s become like Sibyl, only her human brain can’t handle it.

What the fuck does that mean?

Language, child.

I don’t give a fuck what you think about my language! I want to know what happened to her and I want to go back to Devor!

Chanal leaned in, lavender eyes sparkling from the dim torchlight in the cave.

You will fulfill your promise. Then you will return to the ice planet.

Chanal turned her back on Penelope and led her back to her room. Poppy flopped down in bed, so angry she could scream or smash something. After a few minutes, another Fengari arrived. Her blade teacher. Poppy dragged herself out of bed for her first lesson. There was no sense in resisting her teacher, especially since she didn’t have much else to do. She hadn’t even prepared for her arrival on the moon. By the end of her lesson, Poppy’s mood soured.

Her teacher was kind enough, but his patience and soft-spoken demeanor irritated her more than if he’d been tough and brusque. They repeated the same motions for four hours. Even when Poppy thought she’d perfectly mirrored his smooth motions, he’d calmly say, You didn’t get it, Penelope. Again.

Towards the end of the lesson, Poppy convinced herself she was stuck in purgatory, and she’d never get to leave. When she’d been about to turn the blade on herself and make a dramatic proclamation, her teacher said, The lesson is finished. I’ll take you to see Sibyl and then your mother.

Poppy didn’t expect a chance to see the queen again so soon. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to the unnerving experience of standing exposed before those eyes. In Sibyl’s throne room, Poppy greeted her with a bow that felt appropriate. Sibyl clucked her teeth.

We do not engage in such formalities here, child. Rise.

Sorry, Poppy mumbled.

You saw your mother, I take it.

Yes.

Have a seat, child. We’ll have tea.

Poppy would have maintained her disobedience if her legs weren’t wobbling precariously and sore to the bone after her blade lesson. 

You have a good teacher. A bit of patience and the lessons will come easily to you.

I mean no disrespect, Poppy ventured cautiously, "But I don’t know if I wish to have any more lessons. My mother isn’t well. She hardly recognizes me. My time would be much better spent on Devor, honing my telepathic