by Fiona Roarke
Astrid followed the young woman into her little stone house and accepted a drink of delightfully flavored tea, followed by small sweet cookies.
“Are you from Nocturne Falls?” Holli asked.
“No. What’s that?” Astrid tried to read her mind, but couldn’t get a single thought. Was she an Alpha? Were they near an Alpha colony? Astrid didn’t exactly know where she was and didn’t want to ask or sound crazy.
“Oh, Nocturne Falls is the nearest town around here. My aunt and cousins live there.”
“You don’t live with your family?”
“No. I like living in the woods, closer to nature. I stay out of trouble better that way.”
“Trouble?”
Holli slumped in her seat. “You know, like getting caught in a trap of your own making and being unable to free yourself for hours.” She gestured to the barn and shook her head. “Unfortunately, I excel at problems just like that. And I’m truly lucky you came along when you did.”
Astrid smiled, but didn’t say anything. She tried to peek into Holli’s mind again and got nothing. Perhaps she was an Alpha living alone out here.
Holli straightened in her chair. “In fact, since I owe you one, is there anything that I can do to return the favor?”
“Not unless you can change me into someone else.” Astrid knew the authorities from either this planet or Alpha-Prime would be sent for her eventually. They didn’t like Alphas straying on planets that were protected from knowledge of aliens in the universe.
“Why do you want to be someone else?” Holli asked.
Astrid didn’t want to say too much. The rules on Alpha colony planets were very strict if the planet’s natives didn’t know about aliens. “Let’s just say that I escaped a difficult situation and don’t want to be found by anyone on the lookout for me.”
“You didn’t commit a crime, did you?”
“No. Not at all. I was about to report one, but I think the criminal I was about to tattle on found out what I was up to and sent someone to silence me.”
“That’s horrible.”
Astrid shrugged. That was her life. Filled with problems she never created, but was unable to resolve without calling down a whole space potato farm of trouble on her head for trying to do what was right. “I can’t seem to ever do the right thing without getting into trouble. Maybe we have more in common than you think.”
Holli smiled and then looked like she was thinking through the problem for a few minutes. “Well, I promise that I won’t tell anyone about you.”
“Thanks. That will help quite a lot.”
She perked up. “I know. We’ll do a magic makeover on you so no one will ever find you, okay?”
“A magic makeover? What’s that?” Astrid was intrigued. If there was a way, magic or not, to change her appearance drastically enough that any lawman after her wouldn’t find her, she’d be eternally grateful.
Holli stared at her for a long time. “Let’s just say that I can do wonders to make you look different than you do now.”
“That would be amazing.”
“Do you have a job?”
Astrid shook her head. She needed employment, especially if she was going to stay on this strange new world. “No. Do you have any ideas about that? I’d love to find a job.” She looked around Holli’s little cabin. “I think you have the perfect place. I’m not a fan of being around lots of people. A little place in the woods away from folks who don’t understand me sounds perfect.”
Holli stood up. “I’ll tell you what. I will change your appearance and then I’ll train you to find herbs, rare flowers and other needed plants from the forest. We’ll take them to my cousin in town to sell.”
“Your cousin?”
“Yes. Her name is Marigold. She has a florist shop in Nocturne Falls called Enchanted Garden. I bring her stuff a couple times a week to help make ends meet. Know what I mean?”
Astrid didn’t understand at all what making ends meet meant, but she smiled and nodded. “I’d be grateful to help you out. Maybe I can help you make ends meet somehow.”
Holli beamed. “That would be great. You know what?” She looked at a small staircase leading to an upper level. “You could move into my upstairs guest loft—I’ll move all my wreath-making stuff out of there, of course—and then we can share expenses. What do you think?”
Holli was offering her a place to live, a new friendship, help with a magical makeover and employment that included training? How could she turn her down?
“I’d love to. Thank you very much for helping me.”
“No. Thank you for helping me. I think this will be the start of a great partnership.”
Had Astrid finally found a safe place to reside in the galaxy? She hoped so, even as doubt crept inside. The magic makeover better turn her into an entirely different person, because if a Royal Magistrate Guard or, worse, an Alpha mercenary sought her out, she’d be languishing in a disgusting gulag before she could say the words space potatoes.
Chapter Six
<^> <^> <^>
Victoria didn’t sense any resistance from Holden during the passionate kiss she delivered. She put her mouth on his like they’d done it a thousand times before, just like any other couple married for almost three years. Her fake husband fully participated in the robust kiss now consuming her heart and soul. What a rush.
Her lips soon slanted across his for a deeper connection and he obliged, moaning a bit as if he certainly enjoyed kissing a complete stranger. His hands moved to either side of her rib cage, tickling her as his fingers dug lightly into her sides. If he kept it up, she’d be forced to break the kiss and giggle like a loon. Maybe she’d add that to their completely happy fake life together. Maybe she’d tell the nurses Holden always tickled her when they kissed.
“Mrs. Gregg,” the unfamiliar nurse said in an elevated voice, likely to get them to stop slobbering on each other. Victoria waited a few seconds before she finally ended the kiss, hating to stop, hoping Holden wouldn’t out her for being his impostor wife.
She turned toward the voice, her lips feeling moist and swollen from the kiss she’d just participated in. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize anyone had come in.”
The nurse smiled as if she thought true love was playing a part in the kiss.
“Hilda sent me. She wanted to let you know that the doctor is tied up with an emergency right now, but he’ll come in just as soon as he can.”
“Thank you,” Victoria said, smiling with sincere relief.
“Did he wake up?” Great, another question she didn’t want to answer.
Victoria held the smile in place and turned back to Holden only to see his eyes closed as if they’d never been open.
“He opened his eyes for a minute, but I’m afraid I’ve kissed him back to sleep.”
The nurse said, “I’m sure now that you’re here, he’ll try harder to stay awake next time.”
“I hope so.” No, I don’t. Not until we get our stories straight.
“I’ll let you know as soon as the doctor is available, but it probably won’t be for a while yet.”
“Thank you.”
The nurse nodded and walked out, closing the door behind her.
“Holden,” she said, squeezing his shoulder gently. His eyes remained shut.
“She’s gone. Wake up.” He was asleep again. She considered sending a message to Alienn, to let them know he’d woken, but decided to wait until he stayed awake longer than two minutes before making her report.
Victoria tried to rouse Holden for almost half an hour with no luck. Of course, the moment the doctor showed up with another unfamiliar nurse, Holden opened his eyes and spoke. Unfortunately, this was not the doctor who had diagnosed him. Dr. Duncan was at some medical convention, and had temporarily handed Holden’s case to his replacement.
Why is everyone at the hospital new today?
“Where am I?” Holden asked. His delicious voice rendered Victoria nearly stupid for several seconds. He
sounded like a radio announcer. His voice was deep, hypnotic and sexy in the extreme. She tried not to drool.
The new doctor said, “It appears that you were in an accident. You’re in the hospital. How are you feeling?”
Holden’s attention was on the doctor, not her. She kept hold of his hand, unable to let go without everyone in the room noticing, including Holden.
“I’m still a little groggy. What happened? I’m afraid that I don’t remember anything.” He trailed off and didn’t say any more. Good answer.
Victoria had to force herself not to giggle yet again at the perfect and brilliant idea of him pretending not to know who he was. It was so clever of him to remember that strategy. Although, given what she’d read about him in his official file, it shouldn’t be a shock. That he’d recalled it after almost a whole month in a coma was amazing. Luckily, he’d understood the ruse about her being his wife. If they could just get a few undisturbed minutes alone, she could brief him on the loose plan she’d come up with to get him out of here.
Both the new doctor and new nurse looked in her direction, as if she’d be the one to supply the information. She swallowed hard and sent her gaze downward as if the truth were too difficult to discuss right now and shook her head. Holden squeezed her hand, likely to spur her to speak.
Hilda entered the room carrying an electronic tablet, but paused to let Victoria repeat her tale of woe for this new audience.
“Well, we were staying alone at a friend’s place in the woods on a much-needed vacation.” She turned to Holden and a sensuous smile shaped his lips. Relieved that he apparently approved of her story, she continued, “You left to go pick up some food for us, but then never returned. Unfortunately, I fell asleep waiting for you and the next morning when I woke up, you hadn’t come back. I was so worried. It turned out my cell phone was still in the car on the charger. So I had to walk to town to search for you and found you here in the hospital.”
Victoria squeezed his fingers gently and stared deeply into Holden’s eyes. “You really don’t remember anything about what happened to you, honey?”
His hypnotic gaze drilled in all the way to her soul. “I don’t. I just remember you. I think it’s a good thing.”
She squeezed his hand again. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers. Her heart sped up like a schoolgirl with a crush on the most popular boy. She did have a crush on this man. Everything she’d learned about him in the past few weeks said he was perfect in every way. A good person. A good friend. An all-around good Alpha. He was also apparently very good at his job as an interstellar pilot.
Victoria had read the report from Alienn about the crash. In it, both Riker and Draeken Phoenix, the other two on the ill-fated flight, said Holden had saved them all from a fiery crash when their spaceship went out of control as it came out of the express wormhole near Earth’s outer atmosphere.
The powers in authority back in Alienn and on Alpha-Prime were anxious for him to come back and give a statement as to how he kept them all alive. She hoped he could remember. The true takeaway, though: Holden was a hero. There was no doubt in her mind about that.
Holden shook his head and repeated, “No. I don’t remember anything else, but I remember you,” he said to Victoria. “I remember you’re my wife from the last time I woke up here.”
The new doctor—what was his name?—frowned. “And you don’t know what happened to cause his injuries?” he asked Victoria.
“I don’t,” she lied. The truth—“Well, he’s an alien who fell to Earth after crash-landing a spaceship bound for a horrible gulag in another galaxy”—was completely out of the question, even in this special town where the supernatural leaders had come to an arrangement with the Grey family in Alienn. Her instructions remained the same. Get the pilot back to Alienn as soon as she was able, with the least amount of contact, explanation or information distribution.
Hilda smiled at Victoria and Holden and handed the doctor the electronic tablet. “Dr. Duncan diagnosed him when he first arrived,” Hilda said. The new doctor studied it for a few moments.
“I’m sorry for forgetting. What was your name again, Doctor?” Victoria asked.
“My name is Dr. Painter.” He was young. He was blond. He looked like he had the world by the tail. She liked Dr. Painter, but he was new. She didn’t want to have to fool yet another medical professional.
Victoria chanced a glance in Holden’s direction, figuring he was looking at the doctor, waiting for the man’s assessment. He wasn’t. Holden stared directly at her. His intensity distracted her in the moment. Her brain went numb.
The corner of his luscious mouth lifted in a heart-stopping half-smile as she watched him, further disarming her emotions and the professional attitude she was trying to adopt. The laser-focused sky-blue gaze was difficult to ignore, but she managed to break the spell when the doctor started talking.
“Based on the notes from Dr. Duncan, I suspect you may have been hit by a car, given your injuries and the general state of your clothing.”
Holden shrugged. “I don’t remember anything before stumbling into a bar called Howlers, talking briefly to someone named Kevin and someone else named Bridget.” He paused, frowned, shook his head and looked up again. “The next thing I remember was waking up here in the hospital later that day.” He smiled at Victoria. “And by then my beautiful wife was at my side.”
“And then you fell into a coma for nearly a month,” Dr. Painter said.
Holden frowned. “Wait. What? I was out for a whole month?”
Hilda said, “And your wife has been here every single day.”
Victoria slapped a shy smile on her face. “What else could I do? He’s my whole world.”
“When can I leave?” Holden asked as he eyed Victoria up and down. “I’d like to get back to my regular life as soon as possible.”
“You can’t leave yet,” Dr. Painter said in a tone that brooked no refusal.
“Why not? I’m awake. I feel great.” Holden lifted from his reclining position to a seated one, stretched his arms into the air and tilted his head from one side to another. “See? I feel good. I feel very healthy.”
He flung the top sheet off and stepped out of bed right next to Victoria. When he turned, she noted the back of his hospital gown was undone and gaping open, showcasing the entire length of his beautiful, muscularly sculpted, naked body. Her fake husband had the best bare butt she’d ever seen. As her attention remained on his derrière, Victoria remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Memorizing her fake husband’s incredible nude body was not exactly in her standard operating procedures for this mission. Her whole face went hot. She grabbed the sides of his open gown and snapped them closed before he could get too far. “You need clothing first, my darling.”
Holden reached around, brushing his fingers across her hands, lifted his hospital gown and discovered what she’d just seen with her own eyes. “Oh. Guess I can’t go running around the place buck naked, now can I?”
Dr. Painter’s expression was panicked. “No. You can’t go anywhere. You need to get back in bed.”
“I disagree. I can leave if I want to. Right, honey?” He glanced down at her with a wicked grin.
Victoria swallowed hard and nodded. “That’s right, baby. Our doctor at home is anxiously waiting to see you the moment we arrive back in town.”
“Excellent.”
“But you had a head injury, a concussion. You were in a coma for almost a month. You can’t leave until we ensure you’re healed,” Dr. Painter said. His panic registered loud and clear.
“Sorry, Doctor. I appreciate your thoughts on this matter, but I’ve been here long enough. It’s time to get back to my regular life.”
Victoria hesitated for only a second. His regular life didn’t include her. She wasn’t really his wife. She didn’t get to keep him once they got back to Alienn.
“Mrs. Gregg, please reconsider.” Dr. Painter’s pleading tone snap
ped her from her disheartening reverie.
“I’d like to run further tests on the patient,” the doctor said. He turned to Hilda. “This file doesn’t even have an initial blood test or CT scan information.”
Victoria piped up, “That’s because our beliefs don’t allow for blood to be drawn or CT scans and the like to be taken by anyone except for our doctors back home. Dr. Duncan was apprised early on. He understood and honored our wishes.”
The doctor’s brows went to his hairline. “I see. Well, I didn’t realize that when I ordered a basic panel and the CT scan earlier today when your husband woke up.”
Hilda looked stricken. “But there’s a note in their file,” she said at the same time Victoria said, “What?”
Victoria felt the blood drain out of her face. She cleared her throat. “What’s a basic panel?”
“Oh, it’s just a simple blood test and screening. I had blood drawn for a routine test to check for any infections. Also a portable CT machine was brought in for a quick picture of his head to ensure his concussion has been resolved.”
Hilda was swiping and pushing buttons on the tablet Dr. Painter held. “There is the note about no blood tests or X-rays and that includes CT scans, too. I know because I put it into his file myself.” She tapped the screen, looking sideways at Victoria with apology written all over her face.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know about your beliefs when I ordered the tests.” Dr. Painter went back to studying the tablet as if he hadn’t just upended Victoria’s world. “We’ll have the blood tests and resulting reports destroyed obviously.” He didn’t look happy to be thwarted from making a further diagnosis.
“Thank you.” Victoria knew they’d do what they said even if only to avoid a possible lawsuit. But Cam would never allow her to simply trust this human hospital. She’d have to break in tonight when it was quiet and ensure everything was destroyed. Tests. Reports. Scans. All information.
Holden watched her closely with a vaguely puzzled expression. Perhaps he didn’t understand that Earth hospitals would discover subtle differences in any blood tests, CT images or X-rays, and show not only his remarkable Alpha healing abilities, but also subtle differences in his bone structure. Super spuds!
