by Terri Lane
“Please, just tell him to call me in about a week or so. I should be home by then. That’s all. If I don’t hear from him, then,” she paused to stifle her tears, “then I’ll know that his father’s word trumps his own. Thank you again Guarin. It has been an honor to work with you.”
Raven didn’t wait for him to respond. She didn't wait for him to agree to relay her message. She simply boarded the shuttle and strapped in for a long ride home.
Even with a week of travelling through space, Raven’s thoughts about Eoch made that time seem like an eternity. She also wanted to check on Queen Ozhenia. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach telling her all of her work would go down the drain if she wasn’t there to monitor her health. But that was no longer her concern. There was nothing left for her to do but to get back into her regular life back on Earth.
Her mood was dismal; her bedside manor deplorable; and her own physical presence was different as Raven sat around her office waiting for her appointments to begin filling up once again. She found herself to be irritable and nauseous more days out of the week than not. It was noticed by everyone around her as well.
It was Tracy who pointed it out first as she bopped into her office, with a bubbly attitude, a couple of weeks after Raven had returned. Her smile wasn’t contagious, and Raven found it to be quite annoying. “What do you want, Doctor Monroe?”
“Rae,” she wiped the grin off her face, “I only came in to check on you. I’m sorry if I bothered you. But your attitude stinks and I’m worried about you.”
Raven nodded but she couldn’t find the words to speak as the room began to spin, her stomach did somersaults and she flung her face into the nearest trashcan to empty out the contents of her breakfast.
“Yikes,” Tracy scrunched up her face as she moved to Raven’s side, holding her hair back while she vomited into the pail. “Maybe you should go home.”
“I’m fine,” Raven spat and then took a sip of some water. “I’m sure it’s just something to do with the adjustment after travelling.”
“That’s possible,” Tracy sighed. “Maybe you should still go home and get some rest until your body adjusts to being here again. I can run some tests on you just to be sure it isn’t anything contagious.”
“FINE!” Raven snapped. “Just run your stupid tests so I can get the hell out of here.”
“It’s going to be okay Rae. Whatever happened on Xulara, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m sure that it’s all going to be okay,” she told her softly before exiting the room.
Losing her temper with Tracy was unacceptable to Raven and she knew she’d have to apologize to her friend and partner when she returned. But there was something wrong, and she wasn’t sure it was all going to be okay. She was angry and sick all of the time, and she’d been back on Earth for a few weeks already. The space lag should have passed.
Tracy knocked tenderly before stepping into the office with her face frozen in an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry Tracy,” Raven sighed. “I’ve been unbearable these past few weeks and I guess I just miss Xulara, and I left in such a rush that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. No one’s contacted me with updates in regard to the queen’s health. I had a thing with the prince, but even he hasn’t reached out to me. I guess I’m feeling like I wasn’t even there. The only proof I have is the money I was paid but that just doesn’t seem like… I don’t know what I want.”
“It’s okay, Rae,” Tracy moved around her to take some blood and mouth swabs. “Like I said before, I’m sure it’s all going to be okay. Let me take this stuff to my lab and I’ll have your results back in a few minutes. Then you can go home and get some rest. Maybe you should have taken that vacation like you wanted.”
“Maybe you’re right about that,” Raven attempted a smile. She just didn’t feel like herself. A vacation sounded just right, but when Tracy came back into the room she wasn’t sure if a vacation was what she needed. “What’s wrong?!”
“Um,” Tracey hemmed and hawed, dancing around whatever her analysis sheets showed her. “Um, when you said you and the prince had a thing, did you two happen to sleep together?”
“Why?”
“Rae, you’re pregnant.”
***
Raven did the math over and over again as she sat in the den of her parents’ house waiting for the dinner of all dinners. She would have to tell them that she was pregnant. Pregnant with an alien prince’s baby, who she was no longer allowed to see. It wasn’t such a rare occurrence, but Raven had never thought that it would happen to her. She forced Tracy to run her tests over and over again, but blood doesn’t lie. She was pregnant and it explained her mood and her queasiness. She couldn’t believe that she allowed herself to forget about her own birth control while on Xulara. Blinded by lust…that’s the excuse she was going to give her parents. That was going to be her excuse and she was sticking to it.
The dining room felt claustrophobic as Raven spoke to her parents. She’d told them just about everything from her trip to Xulara, except the most important part. Her brother kept eyeing her suspiciously, but she hoped that he wouldn’t blurt out something crazy. Or perhaps he should to distract them from the truth.
“What’s going on with you?” Bryce whispered to her. His hair was blonde, but they shared the same cool grey eyes.
“Nothing!” she hissed at him.
“Whatever it is, you need to tell them before you get called off the planet again,” he joked.
Raven knew he was right, so she blurted it out, “I’m pregnant with Prince Eoch of Xulara’s baby.”
Silence fell upon the room as Bryce’s jaw dropped and her parents stared at her waiting for further explanation.
“I’m sorry if this is a disappointment to you, but it’s happened. I don’t want to get rid of it. I’m curious as to what’s going to happen, but I wanted you to know before I just showed up here waddling or whatever.”
It took a moment for the news to register before they began pelting her with questions. She answered all of them to the best of her knowledge but many of those answers ended up being a solid, “I don’t know.”
Dinner felt like a disaster, but by the time Raven made her way home, her family was on board to support her no matter what her decision was. Although, her mother made her opinion blatantly clear that she thought Eoch did it purposely as some sort of Conquer the Human Conquest. She was disgusted by the idea of an alien grandchild, but Raven promised her it was going to be okay. She wasn’t sure how true that statement was, but she pushed so hard on them she believed it herself. And in reality, things were going to be fine. Her finances were in order. She had enough support, and above all else, a baby conceived out of what she felt was love was off to a much better start than one conceived under different circumstances.
Sitting at home, alone in her bedroom, Raven thought of the possibility of telling Eoch about their child together. She looked at her phone wondering if she should send the message. She’d picked it up and put it down several times before she actually scrolled through her contacts only to see Guarin’s face.
There wasn’t a direct line to Eoch, or any of the royal family. She’d relied on Guarin once, but she wasn’t sure if the alien relayed her message, or if he did and Eoch chose not to respond. Either way, she didn't want to be the one forcing this relationship. So she put her phone down and tried to get some sleep.
It was nearly two in the morning when Raven was woken up by the vibrations of her phone on the nightstand beside her bed. Groggy, cranky, and nauseous, she answered the call without looking to see who it was, “What do you want? And why are you calling me at this godforsaken hour?”
“Why haven’t you returned any of my calls?” Eoch snarled back at her.
Raven sat up immediately, looking to the face on the screen, she pushed the projector button to allow the call to expand. Eoch’s face enlarged to the size of a television screen. She became angry, “What calls?! I’ve h
eard nothing from you since I’ve been home!”
“When Guarin told me you left, I went to stop the shuttle immediately but it was too late. I’ve been leaving you video messages at your office whenever possible. It’s taken Guarin weeks just to get this number. Where are you? You must come back to Xulara at once!”
“I’m home, on Earth, what’s wrong?” she asked him.
“My mother, she’s sick again. The physicians are having problems following your notes and we need you to come back. I need you too. I know there’s something else going on with you. I can just feel it. You don’t have to tell me right now, but I’ve sent a shuttle for you. You must come immediately.”
“Your father is the one who forced me to leave in the first place. I don’t think I want to start an intergalactic war by disobeying the King of Xulara. Just let me talk to one of the doctors there and I’ll explain everything they need to do.”
“That’s not enough!” he shouted. “I don’t care what my father said. I need and want you here. You shouldn’t have left the way you did. You’d better be on that shuttle by tomorrow morning or you will have the entire Xularese army at your door to escort you back to this palace. Do not make me breach international peace treaties to retrieve you, Raven.”
“Fine,” she sighed getting out of bed. “I’ll get on the shuttle. But don’t think that you can just call me at the drop of a dime and have me uproot everything to come to Xulara whenever you see fit. I am not one of your subjects!”
“The shuttle will be there by morning. And I do not treat you like one of my subjects, I’m treating you like the woman I love who disappeared without warning and hasn’t returned my calls. Who almost had me start a war with my father, and a battle with Earth to have her safely returned to me. That was not your time to go, and the next time you have a meeting with my father, you will do so with me by your side. This shall not happen again. You only have a few hours to get things in order. Do so and hurry back to me. We have much to discuss if this is going to work.”
Raven swallowed hard as she hung up the call and began to figure out exactly what she needed to pack. There was nothing special that came to mind, but she knew she had calls to make. Calls she would dread so she sent messages instead. First to Tracy and then to her family. They’d have to understand seeing how they all knew what she had to tell Eoch once she was in front of him.
There was no telling how the Prince of Xulara was going to react when he found out she was pregnant with his child. She imagined that he’d be thrilled, but the wrath of his father, the king, could be deadly. Fear gripped her as she wondered what his reaction would be and if Eoch would be able to stand up to him.
The trip back to Xulara would be long indeed as the unanswered questions plagued her every waking thought. She tried her best to fall asleep, but once she was aboard that shuttle, once again, it was fleeting. Having to put the nodes back in wasn’t helping either. Everything had her worried as she journeyed through the stars back to the planet where she found love.
Love…it was such a funny feeling. And to hear it spoken from the prince’s own mouth was a surprise that nearly went over her head. She was the woman he loved. He wanted to be with her, but a part of Raven imagined that when he found out she was pregnant he wouldn’t be so quick to pronounce his affections.
She didn’t think it was possible, but her mother’s own doubts stood out in her mind. Perhaps because they were what she feared the most. There was nothing that could prepare Raven if she discovered her relationship with Prince Eoch was one of novelty. She wasn’t his Earthling to show off. But it was something she’d have to find out face to face. So she waited patiently as the shuttle continued to push through the blackness of space. Eventually, she’d shut her eyes and get some rest. For when she awoke, she was closer to the palace than she imagined.
Once the ship docked, she expected Guarin to be there to greet her, but he was not. Instead, there was only one Xularese inhabitant in front of those shuttle doors.
***
Feeling the girth of Eoch’s cock moving in and out of her body was a welcome one as Raven let her stress melt away into their passionate reunion. His room was far more comfortable than the palace garden as the electric current of love flowed between them. Every dip and roll of his pelvis into hers only made her swoon as the orgasms crashed over her one after another. He was making up for lost time as their bodies moved together for hours.
By the time they finished, they were both famished.
“I’ll be right back,” he told her as he got out of bed. “I’ll bring us something to eat.”
She nodded but even as he left the room, she couldn’t help but wonder about the queen. How sick was she? Have her treatments really been substandard since she’d left? The questions were mounting and so was her worry.
Raven wondered what would happen if she wandered around the palace and stumbled into King Vohdar. How upset would he be? Would his wrath be lenient and merciful? So many unanswered questions, but the most important to her was what Eoch’s reaction was going to be when she told him she was pregnant.
When Eoch returned with food in hand, she refused to let her nerves get the best of her. Gazing into his eyes, she took a deep breath and told him, “How would you feel if an heir to the throne was going to be here in a few months?”
“What are you talking about?” he looked at her inquisitively.
“I mean,” she paced herself and tried again. “What if there was a new member to the royal family that was going to be here in a few months?”
“I don’t know. How did they come to be a part of the royal family? If there is someone out there claiming the king has fathered a child out of his royal lineage then that person shall be put to death for treason against the throne. It is a lie. My father’s heart and his body are bound to my mother by oath, honor, and love. It shall not be tested!”
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” she was surprised at how fast that went left. “What if it was you who fathered a child outside of your royal lineage?”
She sat quietly waiting for the information to sink in. It only took a moment before his eyes lit up with pride and joy. “You’re…? Are you sure?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. That night in the garden. My mind was on everything else but my birth control. I wanted to tell you the night you called, but I figured it would be best face to face. And then I know your mother isn’t doing well either. I don’t want this to be a hindrance in my treating her.”
“She’ll be delighted. It’s my father we have to worry about. Let’s go see her now.” He stood up and gripped Raven’s hand. She barely had time to grab a robe before he was pulling her through the palace halls toward Queen Ozhenia’s chambers.
The queen wasn’t as sick as Eoch led her to believe, and her doctors were following her notes just fine. Raven shot him a look when she saw how much progress they’d made and even the queen was surprised to see her.
Eoch bent low to whisper to her, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t completely honest with you. I was unsure if you would come if it were just for me and my desires alone.”
Raven clenched her jaw tightly, “I am very upset that you lied to me. We shall have a long discussion about what to do and what not to do to a pregnant Earth woman! But for now, I will be polite with you as your mother is present.”
“Oh my dear, Raven,” the queen exclaimed when she turned to see who was entering her suite. “I am beyond happy that you’ve come back. You left in such a hurry I barely had time to prep the replacement staff. I do hope you’ll stay and perhaps if you have to leave for Earth you will let me know before you do.”
Raven wanted to throw the king under the bus, but she chose not to. She didn’t know why she’d want to spare him from his wife’s disappointment, but a piece of her didn’t want to add any stress to the ill queen. So she simply nodded and went to her. “I will surely tell you the next time I am to leave the palace. However, there is something we’ve come to tell you.
”
“Why don’t you tell us both?!” King Vohdar entered the room with a domineering presence that struck fear in the hearts of all those in the room, except for Eoch and the queen.
“Leave us!” he commanded the doctors and servants, all who fled instantly.
Once the four of them were alone, Eoch made his way to Raven’s side. He purposefully put himself between her and his father. It was a gesture of protection that didn’t go unnoticed.
“I see you have defied my order, Eoch,” Vohdar grumbled.
“What order?” Ozhenia looked at the two of them and then to Raven who simply kept her mouth shut waiting for her prince to defend her presence in the palace.
“It was your husband who ordered that Raven be sent home after he found out that we wanted to be more than a doctor and family member of the patient.”
“Vohdar,” the queen turned to her husband with anguish in her eyes, “is this true? Did you send away the one who helped me gain my health back? Did you send away the one who’s given me far more time on this planet than we all anticipated? Why would you send away the one who your son loves and will raise a family with?”
“A family?!” Vohdar’s anger exploded. “There will be no such family here! He is to wed royalty! Our bloodlines will not be blurred by that of an Earthling!”
“Do not take that attitude with me,” the queen objected. “He will do as he pleases. He will be happy with whomever he pleases, just as we were happy with each other. We do not both descend from the Xularese royal family! I think you would be proud of the mate he has chosen. She is strong. She is brilliant. You will welcome her and their child into this family with open arms! You will do it even after I am long gone! You hear me Vohdar! You will not push our son and our grandchild out of this family! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”
Raven’s breath was quiet. Silence hung in the room like a weighted anchor as she watched the King of Xulara fall to his knees before his wife. She took his head into her arms and they simply watched a special moment between them. The king caved in, “I do not wish to upset you. I know the illness is with you forever and I do not wish to aggravate it.”
