Bird of Prey: A SciFi Alien Romance (Project: F5 Book 1)

by Jade Waltz

  Zirene had always been searching for her—his Nova—all while managing his star system and cleansing the galaxy of the scattered Yaarkins. Just as he had found her and their clan had settled together as a unit, someone stole her away once more.

  I sighed, dreading my next task.

  Why did it have to be him and not someone else?

  < LUO. CONNECT TO K AND ASK FOR A STATUS REPORT. >

  < REQUEST SENT. >

  < THANK YOU. >

  Even though LUO never responded, I still felt the need to thank him. He was a part of me I could never abandon.

  Unlike a certain male in my life, LUO would never betray me.

  The door slid open, welcoming me inside. Two Aldawi guards stood on either side of the interrogation room, eyeing me as I stepped forward.

  "Is my subject already prepared inside?" I asked, looking from one male to the other. "Or do I have to wait for you two to gather him?"

  "He's all yours, Agent Bryeca," one of the males replied. "We’re here to assist you in any way."

  "Do you think I’m incapable of my job?" Tilting my head, I whipped out one of my hidden mini blasters. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

  "Of course not, Agent Bryeca," the other swiftly answered. "We were only offering—"

  "To assist me, a lonely female, in questioning a chained-up male all by myself?” Returning my weapon safely to its holster, I glared at the two males. “I get that your species tend to believe other species are weaker, especially females, but there’s a reason why I am the leader of the Fab Five, your Sovereign's personal squad. Remember that.”

  “We meant no offense, Agent Bryeca,” the first guard insisted, glancing away, unable to meet my gaze. “It’s just . . . we know the traitor inside is a dangerous male, not to be trusted.”

  Leaning forward on the tips of my toes to force his gaze to mine, I grinned mischievously.

  “Believe me when I tell you this: There are few worse ways to die than at my hand,” I purred, stepping away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, boys, I have a duty to perform.”

  Two

  Bryeca

  I tried to mentally prepare myself for what was to come, to no avail.

  As soon as my eyes fell upon the male who had betrayed us all, my heart shattered.

  Sitting with his clawed feet and taloned hands bound together, head slumped over in shame, was the male who had stolen my heart long ago like an Aldawi in the night.

  Instead of the elegant, vibrant feathers, he had always proudly displayed, a faint layer of blue down covered his bare skin. Gone were the brightly colored accessories, replaced by a simple black loincloth lined in pink to display his crime—a traitor to the Aldawi.

  “You sure know how to pick your employers, Qraniebi,” I scoffed as I stood behind my chair, studying him. “I didn’t think I would ever see you so low.”

  He flinched as if I had smacked him and muttered, “Neither did I.”

  “Then tell me how we got here—how you got into this mess.” I gripped the back of the chair tightly, afraid to sit down. If I did, I might not be strong enough to carry out this interrogation. “No need to play dumb. We both know you understand how this goes, so don’t waste our time. Just tell me everything.”

  “I didn’t do it, B,” Q muttered, curling further into himself, if that was possible. “I was set up. I already paid the price for trusting my crew. Now I’ve lost my ship, my feathers, and worst of all, my dignity.”

  “I don’t think you have the right to call me ‘B’ anymore.”

  His pale green eyes flicked to mine. “Have I lost you, too?”

  Those five words gutted me.

  Oh, how I would’ve loved to wake up in his arms every day, knowing he was my equal in every way. But the male before me now was not the one I had always known. Instead of his usual cavalier self, this male was someone who had lost everything.

  “You never had me.”

  The light in his eyes dimmed. “I thought—”

  “What we shared means nothing, Qraniebi,” I snapped. “Not anymore. Your crew kidnapped Selena, and now my brother is missing. I have evidence that both were on your ship, so explain to me where they are now.”

  “B-Bryeca, you have to believe me,” he begged. “You know I would never betray Zir—”

  “It’s Sovereign Zirene Darcaw now,” I interjected, cutting the air with my hand to silence him. “Things have changed since my master last employed you.”

  “He’s become the Aldawi ruler?” He straightened in his seat. “What happened?”

  Tightening my grip on the back of the chair, I snarled. “You forget that you aren’t in any position to ask me questions. Now answer me so I can go about the rest of my business.”

  “I will tell you everything, Bryeca,” he swore. “But please, stop this . . .This isn’t you. You know me. So please, sit down. I will give you what you want.”

  Eyeing his shackled wrists resting on the table, I sighed and relented.

  I didn’t want to be here any more than he did.

  Yesterday’s disaster shouldn’t have happened, but it did, and now I had to face the consequences. We’d both made mistakes, but I had to come to terms with seeing Qraniebi as my enemy until he provided me proof that he was indeed as innocent as he insisted.

  I was surprised Z had allowed him to live this long.

  Sitting across from him, I leaned as far back as possible, afraid that if I came within arm’s reach, I would attempt something I would regret later.

  “Answers, Qraniebi," I said, crossing my arms.

  “Before Z—Sovereign Zirene left the space station, he told me that he wouldn’t need us for some time, but that he would remain in touch,” Qraniebi explained, leaning onto his arms as his eyes met mine. “My crew grew tired of waiting and petitioned to pick up some trade runs on the side until our next mission. I refused, knowing that the hostilities on the rise within the CEG meant that Sovereign Zirene might call on us at any time without warning. They rejected my decision and quit on me. Right as I was about to leave, to come to Destima and see if I could talk to Z . . .” He sighed, closing his eyes as he shook his head. “Stars, it will be hard to call him anything else. I knew Sovereign Zirene was residing on Destima with Selena for the time being, so I wanted to take the chance to ask him if I could train some demi-humans interested in joining my missions. My idea was to replace the crew I had with soldiers more dedicated to the Sovereign than the credits and make the empire our only client.”

  “I am sure there are a few citizens who would jump at the opportunity, but you never met with the Sovereign.” I kicked my feet onto the table, crossing my ankles. Qraniebi wasn’t a threat, and as long as he continued talking, I had nothing to fear from him. “So how did you end up in the Aldawi Capital instead?”

  “My crew tracked me down and begged for forgiveness, asking if they could rejoin,” he muttered, clasping his hands together. “And I was foolish enough to trust them. As soon as we left the space station, their attitude quickly changed, and they jumped me while I slept.” He flinched, his hands jerking, and his battered face appeared haunted. “Those monsters bound me and plucked my gorgeous feathers one by one, laughing at every painful cry that escaped my lips.”

  Sorrow, anger, and hatred passed through his pale green eyes, which remained locked onto mine, filling me with empathy.

  Qraniebi preened himself diligently to be the best-looking Quaww this side of the galaxy. He spent most of his free time pruning and using his credits to buy the finest new beauty treatments. Now all his hard work is ruined, leaving him looking like an overgrown hatchling.

  “Why?” I asked, my voice breaking.

  A flicker of life passed through his eyes, dying as quickly as it had appeared.

  “One of them mentioned how many credits they could fetch for my feathers. Others spoke about selling Selena’s eggs for a hefty profit.”

  He glanced away. I didn’t know if he was ashamed or unsure of how to word his
next revelation, but his hesitation made me nervous.

  “The plan was to take Selena’s clan and sell them to the Quaww. The late Sovereign was willing to pay my crew to kidnap her clan from the palace, while my crew’s secret client offered to pay five times our usual rate to deliver Selena. Her clan was a bonus since Circuli venom is invaluable. The buyer also planned to test their newly designed weapons against the Aldawi on Selena’s cubs.”

  “Z mentioned what his sire had said during their challenge; his evil plans triggered him to kill that corrupt leader,” I muttered, satisfied that Qraniebi’s story lined up with what I already knew. “But how did you come across this information? And more importantly, what happened to Selena and my brother?”

  “They bound me up and covered my face, leaving me to rot in a corner while they wreaked havoc upon my ship. Unfortunately for me, while I lay unmoving and in pain, they brazenly spoke of their plans as if I was unconscious. If they had thought I was awake, I’m sure they would’ve made me watch them mutilate Selena in horror, unable to move or look away,” he spat, facing me. “I hope you killed them all when you reached my ship because none of them deserve to breathe after what they did.”

  “You are the only member of your crew that remains alive,” I smirked, remembering the sight of their corpses when I had boarded his ship. He must be dying to get revenge against the crew who had betrayed him. “At least for now. Z isn’t sure what to do with you yet, so he’s left your fate in my hands for the time being.”

  “I’m innocent!” he pleaded. “I know you have access to my vidcorders—”

  “They were all destroyed,” I sighed. “Along with any other evidence which would prove your innocence. So, for the last time, tell me what happened to my sibling.”

  “It was bad, B—Agent Bryeca.” He winced, raising his bound hands to his neck and attempting to scratch it. He sighed as disappointment crossed his face, proving he had failed to tame his itch.

  Clenching the side of the table tightly, I forced myself not to get out of my seat to aid him. We were no longer friends who had spent time in each other’s arms between missions. At the moment, I was Zirene’s voice of reason. I couldn’t allow our past relationship to interfere with my mission, blurring the lines of past and present in Qraniebi’s favor.

  “They sliced Selena’s hair off and debated whether to keep it as a trophy or sell it as a stylish rope.” Returning his wrists to the table, he stared at them as if they offended him. Perhaps he simply didn’t know how to explain the rest. “Those . . . Those ishing fraxs sliced her torso straight down the middle. Their goal was to harvest Selena’s ovaries and anything else of value before stitching her up and passing her over to the Quaww as if untouched. They thought that someone as unique as her could be sold in parts to the highest bidder. Imagine what would happen if someone wanted to continue the Yaarkins’ work?”

  “That would be illegal,” I hissed, knocking my feet off the table as I sat up. “The Yaarkins’ artificial insemination experiments went against CEG law. That’s why the Assembly fears what Selena and the rest of us demi-humans could represent if allowed to roam freely as citizens. We are products of a procedure they oppose in fear of the consequences if scientists were allowed to experiment and create hybrid super-soldiers. The politicians don’t care if species are dying out due to the fertility problems many face. Their priority lies in preventing a powerful species like the Quaww from mass-producing genetically enhanced soldiers to take over the galaxy.”

  “Like they accused Sovereign Zirene of doing,” Qraniebi muttered. “The problem is with her eggs. They are highly desirable because they can create hybrid species offspring without needing to splice a zygote together artificially, which would be illegal in the CEG. Technically, all they need to do replicate her ability, and no one could stop them.”

  “How do you know so much about this?” I asked, stunned by his knowledge. “There aren’t many who can connect the dots. We falsified Selena’s citizenship documents to claim she’d been rendered infertile due to complications during her cubs’ delivery. Other demi-humans on Destima haven’t reproduced, so the Assembly accepted our report without question.”

  “I have my ways.” He smirked, but the cocky expression didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll tell you what they are since I’m not in the position to bargain. While Kaede and I may not see eye-to-eye when it comes to completing missions, I do respect the male. Even though his fashion sense is questionable.”

  Crossing my arms, I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not here to discuss whether my brother needs a change of style. A mercenary like you shouldn't be interested in technical breeding mechanics unless—”

  “I’m fully capable of producing young; I have no worries regarding that," Qraniebi chuckled. Instantly, he lost his smirk as his gaze flicked to my pressed lips. "I wasn't hitting on you!" He tried to raise his hands in surrender, forgetting that his wrists were bound. "Look, all I was saying is that I overhear things. A few members of the Assembly’s crowd were speculating about possible outcomes in Selena's future, including Zirene using Kaede's essence to inseminate her eggs, producing a super race. The Assembly fears what could come of that combination, while some are interested in making more of her kind, even if that’s illegal within CEG."

  The rumors about Selena and her clan were nothing new. I had heard it all, from rumors that she was some powerful psychic like Mwe, controlling her mates as puppets to do her bidding, to stories that Zirene had funded the Yaarkins experiments and they had created Selena as a gift, only for him to betray them and steal the rest of the experiments away.

  The CEG’s citizens were dim stars in that regard. Even during peaceful times, someone seemed to be itching for a battle—perhaps even an all-out war—sowing misfortune for their personal gain. The warrior species tended to create skirmishes with neighboring territories on purpose to tame that itch.

  The Quaww’s attacks on the Aldawi along their shared border were more aggressive, however. I suspected that Zirene would declare war once he gathered proof of his allegations against the Quaww, especially after they had placed a price on Selena’s head.

  "Are you willing to testify to the Quaww's involvement in Selena's kidnapping to the Assembly?"

  I needed to know where his allegiances lay.

  Would he support our cause? If he wasn’t willing to make an official indictment of the Quaww, he would no longer be useful to me or Z. My job here would be done, and as difficult as it may be for me to recover from his betrayal, I wouldn’t defend him against Zirene’s wrath.

  Yet deep down, a glimmer of hope simmered that he would stand by the Aldawi and speak the truth about what had happened. He had sworn himself to Z a long time ago, wanting nothing to do with his own kind.

  Had he experienced a change of heart?

  I had denied his advances for so long, believing he wanted me as a trophy mate to add to his flock like other males of his species did. My oath to Z prevented me from entertaining the idea of being with Q, and my hatred of the idea of living as a prize—being treated like a sexual object for a male—made me want to stab him for even suggesting a mating between us.

  Was everything he had told me the truth? Or had he taken part in this scheme as revenge for my rejection?

  It was hard not to believe him—we’d been so close for all these years—but the betrayal of Zirene’s sire was proof that close ties didn’t matter to some.

  Anyone could backstab their family to come out on top.

  His mouth gaped open as he stared at me in shock like he couldn’t believe I had asked him such a question.

  “It hurts that you would question my loyalty,” he muttered solemnly as hurt flooded his eyes. “Ever since I denounced the Quaww and swore myself to the Aldawi Empire, I have been nothing but loyal to Sovereign Zirene. It was my crew that betrayed us all. Not only am I paying their price, but Selena is too. I would do anything to show my support to the new Aldawi leader.”

  “You never told me
what happened to her—or my brother, for that matter.”

  “As hard as it is for me to say: if I ever become half of the male your brother is, I would die happy. I wouldn’t want to stand between him and his female, because there is nothing he won’t do for Selena,” he sighed, letting those words hang between us. I refused to believe there was hidden meaning to them. “The fact that he allowed me to live should be enough proof that I wasn’t involved. He was the one who untied me and gave me his blaster to stand guard as he freed Selena from the medical table.”

  What he had said rang true.

  Kaede would never have let him continue breathing if he was a threat . . . Unless Qraniebi had betrayed them while my brother had turned his back.

  "Then, where are they?" I asked, gesturing to the room around us. "I know both Kaede and Selena were on your ship—and injured, judging by the blood samples left there. Did you have them ejected, hoping that you could get away with your crime?"

  "No, Bryeca. How dare you accuse me of such a thing? After all the years we’ve known each other, you would think so badly of me?" he snapped as his eyes hardened. "Yes, Kaede was injured, but only because I missed when I didn’t anticipate my target would dodge my shot. Sadly, he was able to take a shot at Selena, and Kaede blocked the lethal blow with his cape, absorbing most of the damage. That was why you found his blood.

  “Taking full responsibility for the situation, I escorted them to my Cryopods and stood guard as Kaede assisted Selena into one. Right before he sent Selena off, he swore he would search for her until his last breath.” His eyes softened, searching mine. “Your brother declared his undying love and begged for forgiveness for wasting their time together by hiding his feelings.”

  “He did?” I whispered, my heart clenching at the story. “My brother finally admitted his feelings?”

  “And then some.” Qraniebi nodded, glancing down at his bound wrists. “He’s more determined than ever to return her to her rightful place. I just hope she makes it.”