Ariel has been a lover of animals since an early age. She claimed that they all needed her to take care of them, even skunks and snakes. So when she got taken by the Valdier and found out that they had animals on board that were going to be eaten, she stole them all and put them in her cabin on board the ship.
Mandra  has been craving a mate. When the humans were transported onto the planet and he saw Ariel he knew she was his. Even when she hurt him repeatedly by breaking his nose and even knocking him on conscious.
The book was okay but wasn’t as good as the others. The narrator did an awesome job though.