by Lisa Lace
When I returned home, Priya had already fallen asleep. I watched her rest peacefully before taking a shower, crawling into bed next to her, and going to sleep.
PRIYA
When Allex was asleep, all the problems were gone. The worry lines were smoothed out. He looked like an absolute angel.
But I still had to leave.
Gwen had told me Elle threatened to divorce Ayrie. It was the only way they wound up staying together. She needed to make him realize he loved her. When we discussed my situation yesterday, we had decided Allex needed a good old-fashioned kick in the ass. I was leaving, but I didn’t want to.
Gwen was going to fly me to a planet where I could hide for a while. She gave me the funds for a couple of nights in a hotel, again under an assumed name, but still using Madellan credits.
I didn’t want to use the joint account Allex had set up for us. I was worried he would be able to track my location. Now that I had a criminal record, my Earth accounts were probably frozen.
After a few days, I would gauge his reaction. If he spoke with his father or Gwen, showing he truly cared about me, I would return.
I hadn’t given any thought to what I would do if anything else happened. It wouldn’t end well for either one of us. I understood where Allex was coming from and why he was behaving the way he was, but he couldn’t use it as an excuse. He needed to stand up to his father and tell the truth to his brothers. He was his own man and could make his own choices.
I also wanted to know if he thought I was important enough to do something he didn’t want to do. Otherwise, what kind of relationship would we have? It was one thing to start off in hiding due to unusual circumstances. It was another thing entirely to skulk around in the shadows indefinitely because he had family issues.
I stopped staring at my bond mate and quietly grabbed my packed bag, letting myself out of the apartment without a sound. I kept to the back corridors out of habit as I made my way to the docking bay. Gwen hadn’t told anyone about our scheme, and I hoped she hadn’t had trouble sneaking out while Anders was sleeping.
The bay was practically empty. Only one ship was active today. It must be ours. I didn’t see any sign of her and the door wasn’t locked. My streak of good luck was holding. As soon as Gwen arrived, we could fly out of here.
I opened the door and climbed into the shuttle. Carefully closing the door behind, I turned around and froze with a sharp intake of breath.
Sitting in the pilot seat was the King of Auxem — Crindol Madellan, Allex’s father.
I stared at the king without making a sound. To my surprise, his expression changed first. A smile broke out on his face, catching me off guard and completely changing his appearance.
“We have to stop meeting this way, Miss...”
“Bhatt.” I could barely think, but at least I could remember my last name.
“Miss Bhatt. I suppose you weren’t expecting to see me here.”
“Not at all.”
He nodded, then steepled his fingers together. “You’re an interesting person, you know.”
I wondered if I was interesting enough to keep out of prison.
“You should count yourself fortunate. If I didn’t think you were interesting, I wouldn’t be talking to you. I could snap my fingers and have you taken away.”
I felt myself start to sweat. The king seemed to be waiting for me to say something. I tried to pull together a sentence. “I’m pretty confused...” How should I address him? I decided to try for Earth royalty. “Your Majesty.”
He eyed me speculatively. “Mr. Madellan will do, for now. You survived hiding on my ship for months. When we finally discovered you, we sentenced you to prison, where you should be right now.” His eyes flashed in anger. “Before we could transfer you, someone rescued you in a ship that looked remarkably similar to the fighters I recently purchased. And the person flying the ship looked like my youngest son.”
I didn’t say anything. He knew everything about me, and I didn’t think opening my mouth would improve the situation.
“My son is fighting for you. He believes you deserve a pardon. I don’t understand why he thinks you’re so important — something doesn’t add up.”
I swallowed hard. Where was he going with this? I had been staring down at the floor, but I raised my eyes to meet his. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. “What do you mean, sir?”
“Mr. Madellan, remember?”
“What do you mean, Mr. Madellan?”
“It wasn’t only Allex. Anders and Avren were defending you as well. What have you done to work your way into their hearts?” He gazed at me in confusion, as if I were a puzzle he could solve if he stared at me long enough. He shook his head. “But this isn’t about the others, is it? The critical relationship is between you and Allex.”
“Is it?” I wouldn’t betray him. I hadn’t before, and I wasn’t willing to now.
The door of the docking bay opened. Allex ran in shouting, followed closely by Gwen. I stared at them through the window. Could they see his father in here?
“Priya, you can’t leave me.” Allex’s loud voice echoed through the empty landing bay. I glanced nervously at his father. “You know I love you. I’ll face them and explain everything. Stay here.” His voice sounded anguished.
I don’t know what sort of apology I had expected from him, but a few sentences were enough for me. His only option was revealing everything. In an instant, I had forgiven him completely.
The door burst open, and Allex charged in. He stopped immediately after seeing his father and me in the middle of our intimate conversation.
“Hello, Father.”
“Allex, I believe you have some explaining to do.”
ALLEX
What was Priya doing with my father?
I wasn’t mentally prepared for this. When I realized Priya had left, I contacted Gwen immediately. She had been talking with Priya last night and had some idea of where she was.
Gwen had caved immediately, telling me everything about the plan they concocted. She felt that if I was prepared to tell everyone the truth it was better than Priya leaving me.
The mere thought left me shaking in a cold sweat. I had run all the way to the docking bay, hoping I could stop her. I couldn’t lose her again. We were supposed to be together, and if I had to confess things to my family, I was ready.
I tried to catch my breath and figure out what was going on, but there were too many things to think about. Sometimes the simplest approaches were best. “What are you doing here, Father?”
He tilted his head to the side and watched me. “I wanted to talk to your stowaway.”
I was still out of breath from my run. I preferred to avoid confrontation, but not if it meant losing Priya.
“She’s not my stowaway.” I moved beside her and took her hand. I closed my eyes for a second, gathering my courage, then looked my father straight in the eye as I spoke. “She’s my bond mate, and we’re getting married.”
Priya’s head shot around. The marriage was news to her. I held up a titanium armband which I hoped to clasp around Priya’s bicep.
Father’s eyes darted to the band I held. “I didn’t think my son could be so irresponsible.”
I didn’t know what I had expected for being honest with him. I was prepared to shout back at him, but before I could speak, Priya had stepped forward and started defending me.
“Excuse me?” Her dark eyes flashed. “Who do you think you are to talk to him this way? From what I know of Allex, he’s the most responsible of your sons, next to Arnon.”
“That’s true,” Gwen murmured behind us. I had forgotten she was here.
“He’s always done what you asked without making waves. Now he’s done exactly one thing for himself, and you can’t handle it.” She poked him in the chest. “It’s bullshit, and you know it.”
My father looked like he was going to explode, but unexpectedly started laughing and couldn’t stop. I had never seen him li
ke this before. When he regained his composure, he spoke. “Miss Bhatt, I realize why Allex likes you.”
Priya wasn’t going to be deterred by his sudden charm. “I think you owe someone an apology.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
My father smiled as if she were joking before realizing she wasn’t. I thought I saw his eyes getting misty. Was he about to cry?
“It has been so long, I’d almost forgotten how wonderful women could be.” He straightened and looked me in the eye. “Allex, I’m sorry for insulting you and your fiancée. Please accept my apology.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was my father doing something just because Priya told him to?
“If I could, I would right every wrong I’ve committed since your mother died.” His voice choked up. “Especially to you, Allex, the baby.” He looked me in the eyes, his face filled with sorrow. “Your mother made me a better man. I have missed her every day. The pain ruined me, but you boys banded together and refused to be knocked down.” His eyes were empty and lonely. “You left me out of your little circle, but maybe that was for the best.”
“I never knew my mother.” The old pain was returning, and it felt worse than ever. “I never knew my father, either. I think losing you was harder. You were right there, and I couldn’t have you in my life.”
There were tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Allex,” he whispered.
What was I supposed to do? I glanced at Priya, and she nodded her head at my father. I looked at the old man, worn out from the pain. We had left him out of the family because he had hurt us so much. It seemed cruel in retrospect.
I knew how hard it was to be without Priya and I had a window into his pain. Could I leave him hanging and keep fighting old battles?
I couldn’t. “I forgive you, Father.”
I imagined I could see a weight lift off of him. He looked lighter, happier, and younger. A sense of relief came over me.
“Bless you, Allex.” My father came to me and hugged me. I couldn’t believe he had realized his mistakes and apologized. I felt as though I had been waiting my whole life for this moment. I had no illusions that all the years of neglecting me could vanish in a second, but it was a start. After a move in the right direction, we might someday be a proper family again.
“Priya, I apologize for the pain you suffered at the hands of the prison authorities. Bless you for your honesty and sharp tongue. Call me Crindol. All my other daughters-in-law do.”
I snorted, and she grinned.
He climbed out of the ship. “I believe a shotgun wedding is in order.”
Chapter Twenty
ALLEX
Avren sat across the table from me. I didn’t know if I could believe what he was saying.
I had one hand on Priya’s flat stomach. She still didn’t show any sign of the child we both knew was there. We had been married for two weeks, and the baby was two months along.
Priya had healed completely after the debacle on Grayndelle. It hadn’t been as hard as I imagined to tell everyone about our bond. Arnon hadn’t been disappointed in me at all. There had been an ocean of difference between how I thought they would react and how they had actually reacted.
Instead of going to Father’s usual planned gathering, we had invited him to Sunday dinner instead. It was awkward and would take us a while to adjust, but I felt it was a step in the right direction to get our family back on track.
At the dinner, I came clean about everything and told everyone to stop bossing me around. After a few laughs, they said they would try and hadn’t realized what they were doing to me.
My thoughts were drawn back to the conversation as Arnon spoke again.
“Long story short, I think we can do some genetic engineering which will be active within one generation.” Avren nodded his head.
Arnon glanced at Jayne. The twins played quietly on the floor nearby, mumbling something to each other in their private language. “And after you make the changes, we won’t feel anything when we take our wings out?” He looked skeptical.
I didn’t say anything. If Avren could perform such a miracle, why didn’t he ever talk about it before?
Avren looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve been mulling over the idea over for a while, but when I saw Allex on Grayndelle, I became extremely motivated.” He launched into a complicated explanation that made my head hurt. Our eyes started to glaze over. He finished by saying something we could all understand. “I believe I can make it work for adults, but the most important thing is to alter the genetic code in all the fathers.”
Anders’ eyebrows flew up. “That way our children will never experience the pain we’ve had to go through.” He took Gwen’s hand, and she smiled broadly at him.
“Exactly.”
“Do you think you could start now?” Arnon frowned. “You could have said something about this a long time ago.”
Avren shook his head. “I don’t know how to do it. But I think I know someone who does.”
I had a question. “Would it be possible to modify the genes in the womb?”
“I don’t know about in utero, but once the babies are born, we can treat them before their wings emerge.”
Avren looked from Priya to Gwen to Elle and finally glanced at Jayne. They were all pregnant, three of them for the first time and Jayne for the second. The women were but a microcosm of the ship’s inhabitants, and Auxem was well on its way to repopulation.
Even so, Avren’s proposal created unbelievable possibilities. We loved flying, but it came at a cost and had been a very hard sell when we wanted women to have our children.
“What’s the guy’s name?” Ayrie had an innocent look on his face. Avren looked mildly uncomfortable. It seemed like he was blushing.
“Well, she’s a woman. She’s from Earth, but she’s been teaching at the University of Susohn.”
“Do you know her?” A suspicious look crept over Ayrie’s face.
“Who cares if he knows her or not? I hope he does. The real question is, will she come work with you?” Arnon exchanged a look with Ayrie.
“Hang on, you guys. Avren, what’s her name?” Anders sounded curious.
Avren hesitated for a moment. “It’s Vanessa Dwyer.”
There were groans from around the table. Avren must have expected a reaction like this from us.
“Anyone but her. She’s never going to help us.” Anders looked dismayed. “Do you think she has the answer to all our problems?”
“She’s the best molecular geneticist in the galaxy.” Avren shrugged.
“Who’s Vanessa Dwyer? She seems to be more than a geneticist to you guys.” Priya looked confused.
“Avren used to date her, but he dumped her when they were both still in school.” Ayrie glanced at Avren while trying to stop himself from laughing.
Avren shook his head. “You’re oversimplifying things. It wasn’t like that at all.”
“Maybe I am. But do you really think Vanessa’s going to leave a life on Susohn to help you? I mean, help us?”
“If she resists, I’ll have to change her mind. I can convince her, don’t worry.” I could tell from the tremor in his voice he wasn’t overly confident in his powers of persuasion.
Identical looks of disbelief passed around the table. I noticed Priya was giggling as she traded glances with the other women.
“I’m leaving soon to talk with her.”
“You’re going to Susohn in person?” Ayrie couldn’t hide his longing to go there. Ayrie had always wanted to finish his degree in oceanography on Susohn but never had the chance.
“Face-to-face communication is still the best. Vanessa will never agree over a video call or hologram.”
Anders grinned. “Is your plan to work your charm on her in person?”
Avren pushed his hair off his forehead. “I wouldn’t put it that way.” He was trying to keep his face expressionless. “I’m going to give her the facts. She won’t be able to resist the glory of discovering a cure to
a crippling genetic problem.”
I heard some bitterness in his voice and wondered how badly things had ended between the two of them.
More groans came from both the men and women.
“Don’t mention the facts.”
“Call it charm. Charm her!”
“Maybe it would be best if you groveled.”
“Try getting down on your knees.”
Avren ignored the teasing. “You don’t know her like I do. She wants her name in the history books, and I have the perfect way to get it there. I’ll convince her.”
“If you manage to succeed, you’ll be even more responsible for saving our race than these lovely ladies.” Ayrie gestured at the women. “That’s saying something.”
“You’d be my personal savior,” I whispered, staring at my brother.
Avren nodded and looked back at me. “That’s the point.”
Jayne sniffled, tears falling from her eyes.
The silence which followed was broken when Gwen asked if anybody wanted to play a game of cards. We all joined in, but everyone was thinking about Avren’s proposal and what it would mean for our race.
PRIYA
Allex and I lay next to each other in bed, cuddling in the dark. I felt happy, safe and content. We married soon after we explained everything to his father while we were in the shuttle. We were going to have a baby. His father seemed to be realizing the mistakes he had made with his sons and was working to repair their relationships.
I wanted my child to grow up with a grandfather who was present, active, and enthusiastic. It didn’t look like we would be returning to Earth terribly often, but our baby needed to meet my parents. There were always holograms, but that wasn’t the same thing as seeing someone face-to-face. We would need to resolve the issue at some point.
Avren’s plan sounded fantastic. It wasn’t a certainty by any stretch, but if our child could avoid the kind of pain the Madellan brothers had endured, a terrible burden would lift from my shoulders.
“Allex, what do you think about Avren’s proposal?” I kept my voice to a whisper. I knew he wasn’t asleep.
“I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I can imagine what it would mean for our people. I don’t like hyperbole, but this would truly be something that changed our lives forever.”
