by May Sage
That chip sounded…
Definitely clever.
You’re a piece of Artificial Intelligence. You can think.
Now we’ve worked out the obvious, I need you to shut it and let me design you a badass suit.
On that note, he felt considerably heavier, slower; looking down at his hands, he saw they were covered by a dark, metallic suit. Next, something covered his entire head, leaving only a narrow gap for him to see through.
Wait! I can’t leave my guard.
Someone had jumped him and hit him with a syringe from the back, so he was still out of it.
Seriously?
Please. We don’t know what they’ll do to him.
The Chip muttered all the way, but it asked him to hold on to the guard; then, progressively, a suit formed around his huge frame. Alek hoped his was as cool.
Ok, now hold your hand towards the far wall. No, not that one. That’s it, good.
A luminous jet came out of his palm, completely disintegrating the entire wall.
His suit was keeping his feet on the ground, although he’d obviously disturbed the ship’s inner gravity system; everything in his cell flew out of the gap, his guard included.
Now what?
Jump. Don’t forget to catch the big guy, or he’s going to drift through space until he wakes up. Then, aim for the round glob below. I’ll direct you.
It seemed plain crazy, but Alek smirked. He jumped out of the enemy vessel, shouting out as his heart seemed to drop to his stomach. Wow. The adrenaline rush was like no other. He’d visited theme parks all over the galaxy, and that leap into space totally beat any ride he’d ever taken.
Oh dear. I’ve just created an adrenalin junkie.
Yes. Yes, you have.
That day ended up in a lot of books; newsfeeds played the recordings saved by Magneo’s security system for weeks.
The heir to the throne, Alek, had always been viewed with a certain degree of apprehension, suspicion; he was a wildcard, an unknown entity, something strange. A half-human.
There were a few, and they’d all turned up alright, but Alek was expected to be more than alright: someday, he would become their Emperor.
Before that day, popularity pools weren’t exactly in his favor. People wondered whether he’d ever have the guts a full-fledged Klint had, or if he’d end up being weaker.
Then, Lena Smith, their new Empress, showed them just how weak humans were: about as much as wild Derjan beasts with mouthful of poisonous fangs.
And the same day, within a few hours, seven-year-old Adelei Leyn Eljun Klauss landed from the skies at the entrance of the imperial palace, carrying a fully grown, heavy, muscular, sleeping guard on his back.
There were rumors surrounding the incidents. Some said it had all been a publicity stunts, others whispered about an abduction, venturing that Alek had managed to escape from it by himself.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter.
He’d just become what he was to remain for most of his life: the Wild Prince, little darling of the Empire.
His mother met him just as he walked in the palace, capturing him in a bear hug that had him grinning from ear to ear.
“Never frighten me like that again.”
“Never,” he lied, already planning another excursion in his suit.
Giving her heart attacks had just become an occupational hazard.
“So, you won?” he hazarded, pointing to the fine band on her hair.
“I won.”
Alek wasn’t familiar with the concept of Christmas, but that didn’t stop him from feeling exactly like it had come early.
“That means you’re my mama. You’re going to stay with us from now on.”
No more weeks wondering if she ever thought of him. No more days when he got good grades and wanted to tell her, but couldn’t. He was going to have his entire family.
Thankfully, no one made fun of him for crying a little bit.
Nineteen
Threat
Tania
“That’s so cool.”
So what, she was a die-hard sci-fi fan; just about everything around her impressed her, but she just couldn’t get over the doors. How the hell did they open so quickly? One second, they were there, the next, they were sucked inside the walls.
She pushed the buttons of every room they passed, and while Xian rolled her eyes, she left her to it, until Tania pushed the button of a room where an actual orgy was taking place.
Like, seriously. There were a dozen people there, and all of them were at it. Tania blushed from head to toes.
“That’s a recreational room,” Xian informed her indifferently. “Most ships have at least one.”
Oh, goody. Now she knew for a fact she’d never play with any other alien ship’s doors, entertaining as it was.
“That’s your room,” Xian said, when they’d reached a bedroom designed for anyone but her.
It was at least as large as the recreational room, and the bed would have fit six of its occupants, easy. Everything in there seemed priceless, fragile and subtly feminine; no pink, no frill, but the angles were soft, refined, with elegant filigrees.
“No.”
She was shaking her head as she spoke. This couldn’t be her room. Someone would come to claim it and kick her butt out if she tried to get settled in there.
“Let me assure you, it is. I’m just next door,” Xian added, pointing towards the left.
Of course she belonged somewhere like that; she could tell by the way she held herself – not to mention the fact that she’d said the freaking Emperor was her cousin.
But she was just Tania Webber, daughter of a drunk, orphan, and waitress – in that order.
“My data has informed me of various possible causes to your anxiety,” Xian said, tapping to the blue jewel on her right temple. “I understand you may be overwhelmed. However, one thing should be clear from now on.”
She hesitated, probably weighing whether what she’d planned to say fell into the confidential bracket.
Tania didn’t really understand, but frankly? It was quite exciting. She was living a little fantasy, a reprieve from her mundane life and it wouldn’t have been the same without a big mystery.
“I’m trying to find a way to say this without sounding arrogant. I will fail,” she warned, before starting: “Since the beginning of the Empire, we have been ruled by the strongest. That either was the line of Adelei, or the line of Asther. Our Emperor, my brother, and I descend from both. There is no force more powerful than us in the universe. And we treasure you. So yes, this is your room. Get used to it.”
After sleeping in the most comfortable bed she’d ever seen, read about or heard of, Tania decided that while nothing made sense, she might as well suck it up while it lasted. Wasn’t it what holidays were made for?
She got up, took a shower and tried to make it to the canteen Xian had indicated earlier. Instead, she found her way to a rec room – the real kind, this time. Big TV screen – or something three dimensional and fancy that was quite close to it.
And there were girls there. Human girls.
They turned to her and she was greeted with huge smiles.
“Hi! I thought it was just six of us,” a stunning blonde said, tapping to the gigantesque, round sofa where they’d bunked together. “Come watch this, it’s freaking incredible.”
Shyly, she tiptoed to the sofa, not sure what to do with their friendliness. She wasn’t really used to people being that nice to her – weird aliens notwithstanding.
“That’s Pipper, Jane, Maggie, Laura, Tyler and I’m Willow.”
“Tania,” she introduced herself. “So, you’re here because…”
“Same sob story all around. Life sucks on Earth, so we’ve tried and we got in the program. These three are going to Payn, Tyler and Laura are off to Dragnar and I’m headed to Ramerin. My Klint is hotter than theirs,” Willow winked.
They were breeders. Tania felt a pang of envy deep in her stomach,
but she forced a smile.
“And you?”
“I’m going to Magneo.”
That was followed by a unanimous gasp and volleys of “you’re so lucky!” She wanted to tell them that actually, they were, but she didn’t find the heart to explain that she wasn’t one of them. She couldn’t really have answered any of the questions that would have followed, so she kept her mouth shut.
“What are you watching?”
“That’s a mixture between Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, only, it really feels like we’re in the movie. It’s pretty damn good.”
It was. After a few minutes of silence, Tania was completely immersed in the story; someone had turned the lights off and it really looked like the characters were right in front of them.
Everyone shuddered and flinched during the action, and when one of the main characters died, Tania felt like she wanted to attend the funeral.
They were nearing the end of the story when the holograms completely vanished.
Used to the darkness by now, the girls glanced at each other.
“Lights,” Willow said; it was a hesitant murmur.
The lights stayed off.
Then, suddenly, a dim red light flickered at the corner of the room. In this world or the next, that struck her as a silent emergency system.
“We need to go,” Tania said.
“Where?”
Good question, but anywhere was better than where they were expected to be.
“Something is wrong. I…”
Think, Tania, think.
Everyone had turned to her, for some reason, as though the decision should be hers because she was the one who’d suggested moving.
“I think we should go separate ways. If someone is looking for all of us…”
“She’s right. It’s probably just some malfunction, but if one of you run into a threat? Scream.”
There were nods all around. Good call. Then, the rest of them would know they needed to hide.
Calden
He couldn’t stop nibbling. It was as though there was nothing as tasty in the world as his mate’s earlobe.
“Guys, please, please get a room,” Jaycn begged.
Oh, they would, and soon. But while he only paid it the bare minimum attention required, they had work to do, first.
The Gunivian girl had gone tight lipped, but they had enough proof to send her away for the next century in any case. The issue was that she was obviously not very bright; and she seemed frightened, too. It meant she was just part of the puzzle. There had been someone else behind Alek’s kidnapping.
“How about sending Xian?” Jaycn hazarded, explaining to Lena, “That’s my sister. She’s pretty good at investigating, and most people don’t really know who she is.”
Calden sighed. Xian would have been the best spy – the political scene bored her to tears, so despite the fact that she was one of the highest ranking Klint out there, rare were those who recognized her.
However…
“She’s on a sensitive mission right now. She should be back tomorrow, though.”
Calden returned to his nibbling, and sat out the rest of the meeting. Then, it finally ended. Throwing Jaycn and his three advisors out of the control room, he laid out his mate on his desk and ripped her clothes open at the crotch.
Much later, laying next to her on their bed, he found himself frowning, wondering why he felt so uncomfortable despite three exceptional, passionate rounds of lovemaking.
He turned to her and his heart stopped beating. His eyes saw well enough in the dark, so he didn’t miss the tear.
Twenty
Family
Lena
She didn’t know why she was so disappointed. It wasn’t like she’d actually believed that anything about the way they felt towards each other would change just because she’d won a race. She was still just Lena Smith, the mate he’d claimed reluctantly.
She ought to be delighted; Alek grinned and called her mama everyday. She got more than her fair share of love from her little boy. She also had friends now. The twins had left for their home, but they sent the occasional email – and Celma had remained. They met up almost everyday.
Calden didn’t matter; or so she told herself.
The pep talk didn’t work.
You’re being dramatic. And hormonal. Calden cares.
What did a computer know about these things?
More than you, apparently.
She dismissed it.
Calden didn’t pay attention to her unless his balls wanted release and weak as she was, she just melted to his touch each time he felt like fucking. He was preoccupied, worried, and regardless of the fact that she couldn’t help asking, he didn’t say a word about it.
He’d been hiding something.
And there was also the fact that everyone, absolutely everyone she met was constantly asking her when her bonding ceremony was taking place.
She’d become proficient in faking smiles and giving vague, noncommittal answers; anything rather than saying “well, considering the fact that he hasn’t asked me to be bonded, contracted, married, or whatever you’d call it, how about never?”
Lena was tired; more so everyday. She spent as much time as possible around people who made her feel better – Alek, Jaycn, as well as Celma, who was a pretty great drinking buddy.
But every night, she had to return to that damn bed they shared and loneliness claimed her back.
Xian
It had all gone horribly wrong the moment they’d entered the wrap. She’d travel through enough wormholes to know this one felt off beam. Tampered with.
She’d ignored the anxiety and taken the commands, to direct them as well as she could, so she’d felt it, the minute the ship had stopped listening to her directions.
First, the communicators were disabled, and next they were losing control of their navigator; it felt like a gravitational force sucking them in… which was impossible.
Theoretically.
She was less than a hundred year old – the baby of the family – but she’d seen enough to know that impossible, in term of technology, just meant not yet invented.
She got up. The entire crew was important, of course; but just not as much as one particular individual.
It was stupid to think that everyone was equal. In the grand scheme of the universe, they might be, but to a person, each life had a defined worth.
Tania Webber was worth more than anyone else on this ship, to her.
Xian hadn’t always gotten along with her brother, or her cousin, for that matter. To be entirely frank, they hadn’t really made up, yet.
The guys believed her place was on Essa, Narjen, Payn – any quiet, safe planet out there… Yeah, right. Xian was fierce, and she loved nothing more than a challenge.
They’d never accepted her decision to join the forces and they’d also done their best to ensure she didn’t make it. Thankfully, none of their interference had worked, because Xian was that good.
When she found out that they’d tried to kick her out of the army, she’d said a few colorful things she’d regretted since. They’d barely spoken for the last two decades; she loved them, but the resentment and regrets made her keep her distance.
That was one of the reasons why she’d immediately volunteered when she’d caught the assignment.
Individual: Tania Webber. Class: Elite, house of Essa. Assignment: Close Protection.
Calden hadn’t spelt it out, but she’d read between the lines and realized whom Tania was: Essa was the system Jaycn ruled. If Calden claimed she was part of that house, it made her Jaycn’s mate.
Making up with her family was only one of the reasons. The other ones had been curiosity, and a ferocious sense of protectiveness. For the first time, she understood Calden and Jayden: Xian wanted Tania safe and happy, and she suspected her relatives had the same inclination to keep her out of harm's way. The difference was that Xian could take care of herself.
All of that as
ide, she’d always dreamt of having a sweet sister, rather than controlling alpha-male relatives. Now she had one. A woman, shaped by nature to be her only brother’s mate was as good as a blood relation, as far as she was concerned.
So as their ship got annexed, nothing mattered as much as keeping Tania out of danger. She was going to ensure that the girl stayed in one piece if it was the last thing she did.
A scream cut through the eerie silence, making her jump out of her skin.
Voice recognition. Match to Tania.
Negative. Matched to Willow Allen.
Xian’s anger didn’t relent, but she had to admit feeling a reluctant reassurance.
Scan the ship for Tania Webber.
It took a full minute, but eventually, her microchip found her inside a warm maintenance shuttle. Clever girl.
She headed right to it, running as fast as possible without making a sound. Her breathing only resumed an acceptable pace when she found her still in her hiding place.
The girl looked terrified until she saw her face.
“Oh my god. What is…”
She put her finger on her lips, gesturing her to stay silent. Questions could wait.
When it became obvious that Tania wasn’t able to walk without making as much racket as a herd of elephants, they traded stealth for speed and hurried the fuck up.
They’d made it to the emergency capsules when Tania pulled her sleeve.
“We can’t go! There’s Willow and Laura and…”
Hot damn hell. Her future sister in law was a nice girl. Brilliant, but pretty inconvenient right now. She could have used a selfish bitch instead.
