CHAINS (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 18)

by Samantha Leal

  As soon as the Codans knew what the Driads were up to, they would unleash a torrent of attacks unlike any other. It was almost fortunate that their planet had already been destroyed, because that meant that he couldn’t fear a concentrated attack on his people. However, if the Codans waged war against the Driads, it would mean that no Driad ship would be safe. That was something they were already worried about after Kane defeated one of the most lethal groups of Codans in the galaxy. It might only get worse from there.

  But he couldn’t worry about that. Not right now. What he needed to do was focus on the task at hand. He needed to try convincing Pria that it would be worthwhile to volunteer her body to science. If they were able to create genetic hybrids, part-Driad and part-human with the ability to carry the virus rather than suffer from it, they may be able to create a new race of people who could survive whatever form of warfare the Codans might be planning. There would still be hope for the people of the universe to keep going. That was something he would risk his life to do.

  ***

  Pria got up from her bed and paced around the large room after Zander left. She couldn’t believe her situation. Zander seemed so sweet and kind, and he was so unbelievably handsome. But he was asking the impossible of her. And even if he wasn’t requesting her to stay in space and somehow contribute her body to creating a new alien race, how was she supposed to believe that she was anything special?

  She studied the machines that surrounded her bed. They were flashing different colors and strange symbols were engraved in the metal. She traced one of them with her finger and shuddered before turning away and heading toward the giant window of the room.

  She gazed out at the billions of stars as the ship soared silently through the empty space. It was beautiful; she had to admit that. Peaceful in a way. She had always loved the feeling of surrendering control, and knowing that she had no way of helping the fact that she couldn’t go to work or deal with her crappy relationship problems was pretty gratifying. Although she knew she should be stressed out about losing her job, it didn’t feel that important anymore. Not when the Dryads were telling her that everyone on Earth could be wiped out by an evil race bent on universal domination. Small beans.

  And what about her strange attraction to the alien leader? He looked so different from other men. He was vaguely humanoid, sure, but wasn’t it a little bit odd that she found herself holding her breath every time he entered the room and doing everything she could not to let her eyes wander just below his belt, to where the forbidden and generous curve of his groin was?

  What was she supposed to do? Something in her felt impossibly drawn to Zander in a way she had never felt for another being before. But was that because she had been drugged up and vulnerable? Had they somehow manipulated her mind? It was impossible to say.

  But she couldn’t shake the feeling that her attraction to him was real and Zander was being sincere. He didn’t want to hold her against her will. But apparently his people had been compromised and they didn’t appear to have much of a choice. Should she help them? Or should she demand to go back home to Earth? More to the point, if she didn’t help, how much longer would Earth even exist?

  Chapter Five

  Zander paced around his small quarters. The captain of the ship was lucky enough to have private accommodations, but because theirs was a stealth mission, it wasn’t much to brag about. That was all right though. Zander had always been a modest man. He didn’t need a hundred billion people from every alien race in the universe knowing who he was or how he was going to help them, or a giant bedroom on his ship to make him feel better about being the boss. It was an intimidating thought, really.

  His mother had always called him sensitive, and his soulful eyes had gripped many a female in their clutches. But Zander wanted more than just the gratification of copulation. He wanted something deeper, that would transcend time and space. He wasn’t really concerned about it anyway. There was no time for love when you were busy trying to save the universe. It seemed selfish.

  But he couldn’t deny his animalistic temptations. It was just the way that his body would react. And right now it had been reacting in a raw, physical way to Pria. He had even entered the realm of dreams and found her there, as eager for his body as he was for hers. He had woken up with the hard-on from hell as he thought about her exotic, human body entwined around his. It took all of his self-control to avoid going into her room right that moment and seeing if his dream had led him astray. Or if, perhaps, she might be willing to push the boundaries with him.

  Zander sighed. He’d only had a few sexual encounters before, and found women of his own species baffling, let alone a woman from another planet. He didn’t consider himself to be very close-minded, but he did feel concerned that maybe he wouldn’t live up to the expectations of an Earth woman. They all had a different idea of what was good in a man of their own species, and if he was lacking any of those qualities, didn’t that mean that Pria would reject him?

  Truth be told, he was terrified about the way she might react to his body, even if she did turn out to be attracted to him. They were so different. He had seen human anatomy before. There were some marked differences, especially in the reproduction department.

  It was basically the same, but his race had larger sex organs and he knew that might be intimidating for someone as slight as she was. She was a fighter, and a survivor, he could tell it from the way she carried herself, but she was still a human. Her physical limitations were just that. What if he hurt her? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself, and he couldn’t risk damaging one of the most important women in the universe just to fulfill his base and carnal needs.

  That wasn’t why Kane had assigned him to be captain of the Legend. He had been promoted because he was sensitive and highly attuned to his environment. He was the ideal candidate for stealth missions and supposedly an expert on humans. He didn’t feel that way though, not anymore. Meeting an actual human was a great reminder of just how much he didn’t know. But what he was good at was moving sneakily through space in a ship so small that nobody would ever suspect he was carrying the most precious cargo in the universe on board, tucked safely away.

  ***

  Pria’s heart thudded when the door to her room opened. She thought it would be Zander, but she was disappointed to find that it was a Driad she had never seen before. He approached her cautiously, hunched over as if he were afraid she might attack at any moment.

  “What’s wrong?” Pria asked, a small grin creasing her face.

  “I – nothing. It’s just that I’ve read that humans are one of the more, uh, aggressive races on the planet…”

  “Aggressive?” Pria laughed. “More aggressive than a guy who wants to wipe out the universe for domination?”

  “I…”

  “It’s all right,” she said, softening her voice as much as she could. He seemed older and it made her feel kind of bad to see him cowering like that. “I won’t hurt anybody. In fact, the opposite might be true.”

  “Might it?” he asked, shakily pushing a tray of food toward her.

  “I don’t know. This whole thing is so confusing. Like how am I even talking to you right now when there are a billion different languages on Earth that have all come to be in different ways? None of this is making sense to me. You shouldn’t make sense to me. I feel like I’m trapped in a really weird dream that’s been going on too long.”

  “Um. Well I don’t think it’s a dream, but I can’t really be sure. The nature of the universe is very mysterious. But I can answer your question about language. We have implanted a device in your body that allows you to understand and translate everything that we say. And not just the Driads. All the peoples of the universe whose languages and dialects are known. We sometimes have glitches when we encounter a new race, but after a while the technology adapts. Everybody who has one contributes to the pool of known language, and eventually it figures itself out.”

  “You implanted something i
n me? Does that mean I can go back home and understand French overnight?”

  “Oh yes, we have had many scholars stationed on Earth for a long time, studying the evolution of language and the different dialects. Everything they know goes straight to these devices.”

  “Does everybody have them?”

  “No, many races are not very bright and haven’t developed much of their own technology. If they’re not interested in a trade, they can’t access it. But there is a downside to that. Often times we will allow them access to the technology if they allow one of our linguists to study their language and add it to the device. It tends to be mutually beneficial, but there will always be those who refuse to have anything to do with races that are not of their kind.”

  “Did people on Earth agree to this trade?” Pria asked, surprised at the thought that anyone on Earth would know of the alien races and their agendas.

  “Oh, absolutely. We’ve gathered many types of intelligence. Your government is highly aware of our existence. They don’t always agree with our methods but they are terrified of all unknown races.”

  “You can say that again,” Pria laughed. “They’re even afraid of other humans with different skin colors.”

  “Yes,” he said with a small exhale of a laugh. “This is odd. But collectively, your world has agreed to have its languages studied.”

  “Does that mean our leaders have these devices?”

  “Oh no, they can’t be trusted with them…as I mentioned, they are far too violent. Instead, we offered peace.”

  “Peace or what?” Pria said, raising her eyebrows. “Did you threaten them?”

  “Erm. Only because they want to believe the worst in everybody. If they assume we have the upper hand, being a fearsome race with superior technology, it is easier to play into these expectations. We don’t need to leave our technology in the hands of an inferior race that could ultimately turn into another batch of Codans.”

  “I see,” Pria said, her mind spinning.

  “Anyway, please enjoy your breakfast. Captain Zander insists on giving you the widest selection available on the ship.”

  And with that, the little man bowed and backed away slowly, not turning his back on Pria. He reached behind himself, patting the wall in an attempt to find the switch for the door.

  “What’s your name?” Pria asked him, keeping her eyes on his. He was watching her fretfully, and she hoped that maybe she would be able to ease his mind and help him stop feeling so fearful about her.

  “My name is Shef,” he said, glancing nervously to the ground. He finally found the button and visibly relaxed as the door whirred open. “Captain Zander will be in to see you later. He is hoping for an answer. We can’t make you do something against your will, but there will be further tests done either way, if you agree, to help our kind fight an evil you can only imagine.”

  And with that, Shef found his way out the door and scrambled away as quickly as he could, leaving Pria alone as the doors hissed closed behind him.

  Chapter Six

  Zander quietly entered Pria’s room that night, half hoping that she was asleep. He was battling complex feelings toward her, and wasn’t sure she would be able to accept him. He wasn’t the same as human men, and he knew that the tests he had been asked to administer to her would put him to the test if she allowed him to perform them.

  He was almost hoping that she would refuse so that the matter would be taken out of his hands. Captain Kane would take over and she would have no choice but to listen to his reasoning. He was one of the most persuasive men in the Driad community, and if anybody could explain the importance of their mission to her, it would be him.

  Pria was sitting up on the thin grey couch they had set up in her room to make it more comfortable. She was holding a very outdated magazine that had been placed on the end table. It was flipped open, but her eyes were staring out into the room.

  “Are you all right?” Zander asked softly, approaching her as the doors hummed closed behind him. She registered the care in his voice, the concern on his face, and shifted over to make room for him on the couch beside her. He understood the cue and sat down close to her, his leg pressed against hers. He was hot to the touch, she realized, not just warm like she was. Feeling his body pressing against hers seemed to carry that heat straight into her loins, and she felt a hot red flush creep across her cheeks.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said softly. “I’ve just been thinking, that’s all.”

  “What about?” he asked, his magnetic and unique eyes boring into hers. She let herself get lost in them for a moment before answering.

  “About what you said.”

  “Which thing?” he asked with a small smile.

  “The…I’ll do it.”

  “What?” he asked, genuinely surprised.

  “I don’t see how I could say no. Most people aren’t just handed a chance to help to play a part in saving the entire universe. What kind of jerk would I be to say no?”

  “I…do you understand what this would entail?”

  “I think so…”

  “You would have to trust us completely. Put your life in our hands. Be willing to fall under the scalpel at any time of day or night. You would be surrendering control to us. Is that what you want?”

  “Well…”

  “And that’s just for the vaccination. What about…”

  “I’ll do that too.”

  “Are you absolutely sure?” Zander asked, his eyes wide.

  Pria smiled, putting his face in her hands and pulling him close to her. Zander’s hearts both began to quicken and he tried to speak but he faltered. He had been so nervous about this moment, but now with her hands on his skin, nothing could have felt more right.

  “I’m sure,” she said, her long-lashed eyes speaking volumes that she couldn’t dare to say out loud. She couldn’t possibly explain to him how he lingered in her mind long after he left. How she longed to let herself explore the entirety of his body. What other little differences would she find?

  Zander ran his strong hands through her soft auburn hair, exhaling quietly as he did so. She melted under his touch and leaned her hand against his cheek. He pulled her face close to his, and waited for a brief pause as he gazed at her face. She was the most captivating person he had ever seen. He loved the way her blue eyes glowed when she looked at him, and the way her body looked in the clothes she had arrived in from Earth. They hadn’t changed them yet since the procedures hadn’t been very invasive, but he came to her now with a new change of clothes. And something else.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, not wanting to get his own hopes up if she would back out. He felt a stiffening of his groin as the reality washed over him. Her hands on his skin, cool and sensual. Her body offered up to him on a silver platter to unlock secrets that could save the galaxy.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  She wanted something. Her voice seemed high pitched. Her full lips were so close to his own. He was tempted to draw her close to him, to feel the tender mouth against his own. But Able and Krill would be there, watching from the observation room. He had only come to get an answer.

  Zander stood up abruptly, looking down with pained eyes at Pria.

  “I’m so glad you decided to help us. Please put this gown on. The testing will begin tomorrow.”

  “All right, Zander,” Pria said, her voice disappointed.

  He could feel her eyes watching him as he handed her the gown and headed out of her room. He couldn’t give in to his temptations. Especially not when Able and Krill were watching. It just wouldn’t be ethical. It might even stir dissent upon the ship and get him demoted. Worse, he would be labeled unworthy and sent back to population control on the mother ship, where the ordinary Driad citizens tried to carve out a life for themselves as much as they possibly could.

  He couldn’t allow that. And he couldn’t love Pria. Not when their lives were so different. Even their bodies, their hearts. And that was what love really b
oiled down to. He would just have to hold back.

  * **

  Pria watched Zander go, feeling dissatisfied. She felt sure they’d had a connection, and even opened the door for him to feel her attraction to him. But he didn’t quite seem to get it. In fact, he looked confused, or pained in some way. Did he find her repulsive? Of course he did. Men on Earth could be shallow enough. What would a man from another planet think of a woman who was nothing like the women on his own world?

  Pria sighed. She shouldn’t have bothered to get her hopes up. And yet, she hadn’t done so consciously. Every time she saw Zander, it was like her body couldn’t help but react to him in one way or another. She was craving his touch, more of that hot skin on her own. How could she help herself? It was a physical reaction she was having, nothing more and nothing less. She would just have to accept that and let it go. He wasn’t going to be attracted to her. She had been wasting time even considering it.

  She would just have to do what they wanted her to do and hope that the process was fast and easy. Anything short of that would be difficult and she hoped they would let her revoke her permission. But somehow she doubted it. If what they were saying was true, then their tests on her would be too important. She had agreed. Of course, Zander would probably let her out of it. He seemed kind and compassionate enough. But was he really? He had just left her hanging there. What did she really know about these people anyway?

  What if they were lying to her? But the doubt seemed weak. She had already felt in her intuition, and Pria’s intuition was rarely wrong, that Zander was telling the truth.

  She leaned back against the couch and sighed, wondering what in the world she had gotten herself into.

  Chapter Seven

  Pria moaned. Her body was on fire. She had never been more aroused in her life. It felt like every inch of her was begging for release. Any touch would do for her. She just wanted to feel something. She tried moving, hoping to let her hands roam her throbbing body, but she realized that she couldn’t move.