by Maia Starr
More importantly, would I be able to forgive myself for this unprecedented weakness toward the enemies of the human race? Zaine and his people would stop at nothing to make humankind grovel before them and beg for mercy. If they had their way, the only people left would be the Verian race. What good did it do me to allow myself to be drawn into these small moments of warmth between myself and Zaine when they were clearly meaningless in the grand scheme of things?
We were, quite literally, from two different worlds. We would never really understand each other. Neither of us would bend to the ways of the other. Didn’t that mean that the whole relationship was doomed from the start? Why had I been so weak?
That weakness was going to be inexplicably damning. Once Zaine lost interest, I would probably be the first to go. Who knew what they would do to me? And what would happen to the child that might be growing inside of me as a result of our ill-planned tryst? Just because I liked the guy didn’t mean I was willing to be killed to safely birth his spawn into the world. And what would they do with my child even if it survived? It would be used to colonize and control its own people. I just couldn’t fathom it. It seemed so horribly wrong.
All I really knew was that I had betrayed my kind for a fling with a man who was likely to lose interest with me. A man who, although powerful and commanding, refused to use his advantage to give me the one thing I truly needed: an escape.
It would be too much of a sacrifice for him to risk his own hide to let me be free again. There really wasn’t a point in asking someone like Zaine, whose entire life was dedicated to imprisoning women and creating some kind of weird Verian servants out of them, to help aid in my freedom. Freedom just wasn’t the kind of thing captured women from Earth were fated for, and I was just going to have to allow myself to accept that.
Frankly, after Daniel had died, I could bring myself to accept the idea of becoming a slave to the people who had killed him. After all, it had been all my fault that he’d been on that shuttle to begin with. It had been doomed from the start. I deserved whatever horrible things I had coming to me.
What I was having a hard time wrapping my head around was the fate of my potential child. Sure, I couldn’t know for sure that I was pregnant. Not yet. But if I was, and I could rely on my intuition to be truthful, then there was something in me that was already fiercely protective of the baby growing within me. I wanted to make sure it had a loving home to grow up in; I didn’t want it to be raised with hundreds of other Verian-human hybrids who may or may not be loved. I had gathered enough evidence by now to believe that most of the humans were captive for breeding purposes. It was a thought that had been on my mind from day one.
Now, I had to wonder. Had Zaine slept with me because it was what he wanted to do out of his own feelings for me, or was he simply hoping to breed?
I had far more questions than answers, and the future was looking bleak. I couldn’t simply lie down and take the horrible fate that was being dished out to me. Not if there was an innocent child involved in all of this. My child. I would just have to find a way to figure out up from down so that, no matter what happened, my baby would have the best chance at life possible.
Whether that meant leaving Zaine and the planet Helna or not.
Chapter 8
Zaine Volaire
I walked away from Regan’s cell, hoping not to betray how badly I was shaking. I had done something unpardonably stupid. I had emptied my seed inside of this human at the risk of impregnating her. Not only that, but I had broken one of the sternest rules of them all: do not develop feelings for the enemy. What kind of a man was I? I was nothing but a hypocrite and a traitor.
“Yul Volaire, do you think Gretchai and I can take our breaks early today?”
I was torn out of my thoughts by the young Narei, who had been the only man I had entrusted with feeding Regan while she was in the infirmary. Now the sight of him made me sick to my stomach. I was a traitor. What right did I have to issue him commands of any kind?
In fact, I had scoffed at his relationship with Gretchai, a sweet, simple, and, more importantly, legal relationship. They had blossomed over the course of the week and had become fast friends. It looked as if they had found a mate in each other immediately. Only their union would never be biologically blessed. Narei’s seed would be used to further the Verian agenda, and they would soon have children being born and bred to take over Earth. That was the harsh reality.
“Of course, Yul Yokan, take your time,” I said dismissively, walking briskly toward the safety of my office. It would be nice to be alone for a few moments without either Narei or Gretchai to interrupt my thought process.
“Really? Thank you!”
I didn’t acknowledge Narei after the exchange, and he jogged down the hall calling for Yul Rebof. It felt nice being able to do something kind for a change. It wasn’t underhanded and secret, like my dealings with Regan. Regan, whom I knew might be carrying my child right that moment.
Before I reached the door to my office though, something strange happened. My arm became frozen. I cried out in anguish as I attempted to move my body forward, but pain filled every inch of me.
“Yul Volaire!”
Suddenly Narei was by my side, holding me up and yelling for help. I growled in pain as I tried to stand myself up, but every attempt was futile and sent jolts of agony throughout my body.
Suddenly, about twelve little Pelin men were beneath me, lifting me above their heads with the same ease and poise that they carried the plates during the prison meal times. I tried to shout out in protest, beg to be left to my own devices, but before the words could escape my lips, the pain became too much for me, and I blacked out.
***
“Yul Volaire, can you hear me?”
I struggled to open my eyes, and they focused blearily on the visage of Doyan Vera.
“Can you speak?”
I attempted to do as she wished and grunted in pain. My body was paralyzed, and Vera turned to face Karan, whose scientific curiosity far overrode his concern for my safety.
“I am of the opinion that Yul Volaire is suffering acute symptoms of the mystery disease,” Karan said. “Have you been noticing more weakness in your limbs as of late, Yul?”
I glared at Karan but managed to nod through the pain. Karan’s eyes lit up.
“It’s just as I thought,” he said to the Doyan. To me, “Would you say that you have been under an excessive amount of stress lately?”
Well, I would say so, I thought bitterly. Ever since Regan had come into my life, every day had been a new test in stress.
I nodded simply, thoughts of Regan causing my entire body to tense up in another painful spasm.
“Ah, see! Even the mention of stress exacerbates the symptoms!”
The Doyan nodded. “Intriguing. How long does it usually last? We need him back on the grounds. The females are getting ready for breeding.”
“Well, it doesn’t happen often on Helna. Usually just to troops on the grounds. The more stress they are under, the worse the symptoms get. But they go back to the typicals – weakness, dizziness, shortness of breath – once their bodies have been rid of the source of stress. That, or…”
“Or?” Doyan Vera asked impatiently.
“Well, they would have to have spawned a child to regain their strength. The connection with the child is a unique bond, as you well know. He would be in much better shape than he had been before the illness struck the planet.”
“But Zaine hasn’t bred,” the Doyan said Or they simply don’t,” Karan said, his gleeful eyes glittering upon me as if my disease was somehow a gift to the scientific community. It made me want to sit up and strangle him. And I would have, if I’d had the strength.
“What do you mean, they don’t?” Vera asked, narrowing her eyes at Karan. “We need Zaine to keep the breeding grounds safe. You know how important it is for the females to be under constant guard by a capable man. We are running low! All the hybrids are still infants
at this point!”
“Yes,” Karan said, delight dripping from his voice. “Very strong infants too, I might add. You’d be amazed at how-”
“I’m sure,” Vera said, cutting him off coldly. “But Zaine is the only man capable of running the prison. If we lose him, then…”
“No fear, Doyan. There was a breakthrough recently. We can treat Yul Volaire for the stressful symptoms he has been dealing with, of course, but the breakthrough really involves a more in-depth observation of his life. Personal details and such. By eradicating the source of stress for good, we can be sure to help him recover much more quickly.”
A grunt of rage escaped my lips as my body experienced another excruciating contraction, and the Doyan exchanged worried looks with Karan, who seemed more bothered by the fact that he had been interrupted. I knew what he wanted. He wanted to get his hands on Regan. To find out where she had been stashed and take her in as one of his off-the-books human test subjects. I couldn’t let that happen. I needed my strength to return to me.
But the only way that would happen was if, as Regan had suspected, she truly was pregnant with my child. And it would be far too long before I found out whether that was the case or not.
Doyan Vera and Karan stayed in the room a little longer before they were ushered out by an elderly Verian nurse. I was relieved to be rid of their voices, and did my best to move to greet the woman who had been sent to care for me.
“Peace to you, Yul Volaire. You will only injure yourself further by being rash. Please, don’t think it a crime to take the time you need to heal. We all need it sometimes.”
I wished I could answer her, but my voice was caught in my throat. Every muscle in my body was tense. This was beyond nightmarish. I wanted out. I needed to see Regan.
But the harder I tried to move, the worse the pain became, until I finally had no choice but to surrender to the healer’s words and lay back against the bed. For now, I was useless. Motionless. Alone. And I had no idea how much longer this would last.
***
The days passed by slowly until I was nearly ready to scream in boredom. The nurses did their best to keep me comfortable, and injected sedatives and muscle relaxers to ease the pain of my body.
But no matter what they did, it didn’t ease the burden of my mind. Regan had asked me for help. She had bared her soul to me, made me vulnerable, and shared her body with mine. And yet, I had refused her. I wouldn’t even try.
What kind of a horrible person was I to use her like that and then deny her the basic protections any real mate would want to offer the person they’d bonded with? Had I bonded with Regan? I knew that I wanted her safety above all else. I knew I wanted nothing to happen to her, and the idea of her beautiful body being defiled and her incredible spirit broken made me want to retch. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I had caused her harm and done nothing to fix it, but I was stuck. Wasn’t I?
With another week at least left to lie in my bed, I began to consider the details of Regan’s plan of escape. She had wanted me to whisk her away by the dead of night and simply live with her on Earth, outside the Zones where I surely would be crucified at once upon sight. It seemed very risky.
However, there were many troops who came back from Earth with rumors of camps that were full of pacifists; they were people who wanted nothing more than peace to be settled between the races. Humans and Verians lived life side by side, and advocated an end to the violence.
It seemed unlikely that there was any substance to these rumors, but if they were true then it was, I had to admit, possible that I would be able to find one of these settlements and live there, peacefully, with Regan and our child for the rest of my days.
But wouldn’t that mean becoming a traitor against my own people? If I wasn’t actively working to fight the humans and make the planet our own, wasn’t I destroying our cause with my inactivity? Would the Verian race be doomed to die out because of the horrific war tactics of the humans, and would I be condoning that by standing side by side with them on their planet?
Then again, wasn’t living life on the planet Earth our end goal anyway? Why not just skip ahead a few steps? It would be nice to live on a planet where I could put my knowledge of botany to use and protect the woman I…
I couldn’t bring myself to finish the thought. If it was truly feasible for us to live together on Earth, even if we couldn’t live on Helna. That was the easy part. The hardest part would be finding a way to abandon my post, regain the strength in my body, sneak Regan out of the prison, and commandeer a ship heading to Earth for my mate and child.
The whole thought of it was giving me a headache.
“Meal time, Yul!” my main nurse said lovingly. I couldn’t help but smile at her, at least on the inside, as my muscles were still giving me trouble. I was being fed as part of my physical therapy, and every bite was a laborious process. Every time my body felt a new pain, I couldn’t help but curse all humans for the state they’d allowed myself, and countless other Verian men, to come to. I was sure it was their fault, whether science proved the same or not, I had a feeling that it would come to light eventually. Perhaps when it did, a cure would be found, and full-bred Verian people would finally be able to populate the Earth.
Still, it was the human-Verian hybrids that were the most impressive species of all. Part of me secretly wondered if this was a part of evolution’s plan: creating a perfect species. The hybrids were said to be highly intelligent, level-headed, and stronger than human and Verian combined. We only had knowledge of the hybrids up to toddler-age; however, but they were growing fast. My prison was solely responsible for the creation of the hybrid army getting ready to take over the planet Earth.
And as proud as that made me, I still couldn’t reconcile the idea of banishing Regan to the breeding program. If it was true, and she was carrying my child, I would just have to rescue her. We would make a life together on Earth, for better or for worse. I would claim her as mine, and say goodbye to my planet once and for all.
***
I had been in my miserable state for about seven long days, and still no sign of improvement. I sighed, furious with myself for believing that it would all be okay in a week, that Regan truly had become impregnated with my child and that the bond I shared with the child would empower me enough to break through the disease.
Nobody could tell why I had become so glum that I refused meals, and soon there were specialists at my side, doctors for all kinds of purposes, both mental and physical. But still, I could not speak. Even if I could, I wouldn’t feel prone to tell them of my disappointments. If I was going to be stuck on Helna and suffer the thought of Regan being forced into the breeding program, then at the very least I would stay on my planet with my dignity intact. As much of it as I could muster in the current state, at any rate.
I fell asleep in a dark funk once all of the poking and prodding had been finished, and woke up late in the night, thirstier than I had felt for months.
I got up from the bed and walked through the hallways in a half-sleeping daze before I realized that I was walking. I could move.
I rush of joy electrified me, and I ran from the hospital, still in my gown, all the way to the prison. It was sleeping time, and I ignored all of the Pelin guards who wanted to stop me for the latest gossip about my condition. I didn’t stop running until I reached the solitary units where I had last seen Regan.
“I’m back! I’ll do it!” I exclaimed, just as I reached her cell. But when I looked inside, I had the distinct sensation of my lungs being crushed and all of the breath rushing out from within me. Regan was gone.
My mind raced in fear as I considered all of the possibilities. She could have been taken back to Ward B. Without hesitating, I ran down the long corridors until I reached the quiet ward, and peered deep inside of Cell 3, where Regan had been placed originally. Nobody was inside. They had apparently all been assigned to their breeding partners.
I grunted in dismay, doing my best to maint
ain my composure. If I let my emotions get carried away, then I would be able to do nothing to help Regan.
“Yul! Should you be out of bed?”
Narei approached me cautiously, and I stared at him wildly, searching my brain for the proper response. All I could think about was Regan.
“I’m fine, Narei, I’m fine. Thank you.”
Narei narrowed his eyes at me. It was rare that I called anybody by their first name without the proper suffix.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “The Pelin came into my quarters and woke me up. Said you were in the prison running around like a crazy person. I thought the disease was going to take you…”
“Well, it didn’t. You should know me better than that by now,” I said, trying my best to smile at the young man. He nodded, relief on his face. “Do you know what happened to the females? Where have they gone?”
“Well, most of them have been assigned. Today is…well, it’s mating day. The females down the hall are in the nursing ward. They’re all with child now. The rest are attempting to be fertilized as we speak.”
“Most of them?” I asked. I knew Regan was the exception to the rule, but I wasn’t sure if I should let it be known that she was my primary concern. It might be better to simply allow the information to come to me naturally without inquiring as to her specific whereabouts. At least not until I was desperate.
“Well, the girl in solitary has been gone for a few days already. There was interest in her from the lab. You know Karan…”
That krocha! I knew that he would go after her the second he had the chance. Who knew what kind of horrific things he was doing to her?
“Of course,” I said with a good-natured laugh, though on the inside I was seething.
“It’s good to see you up and walking around, Yul Volaire,” Narei said smiling at me. “I’m going to go back to bed now. Those Pelin just can’t seem to mind their own business.”
