She’d seen General Nox’s videos and still dismissed him as a hoax. What more could she do to prove that this was real?
The device suddenly beeped, warning that the memory card was full.
Shit! She quickly powered down the camera, but the damage was done. The handsome soldier whipped his head around and narrowed his eyes, clearly spotting her. She shoved the camera back in her pack, then scooted it out of the way with her foot. The soldier was twice her size. She couldn’t hope to overpower him, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.
He threw open the door, then just stood there glaring at her. The silver rings in his eyes not only gleamed, they glowed, leaving no doubt that his planet of origin was far from Earth.
“Who sent you and how did you get on this ship?” His English was distinctly accented, but at least they could communicate.
“No one sent me. I’m…” Which of her reasons was less damning? “I’m looking for my sister.” He hadn’t threatened to shove her out into space. Hopefully, he’d find a desperate sibling more sympathetic than a snoopy reporter.
“Obviously, she’s not here.” He motioned to the ship surrounding them, his movements agitated. He took a deep breath, but continued to block the doorway. “What made you think she was?”
Confiding in him would make her vulnerable. Who was she kidding? She’d been at his mercy ever since they left the ground. This was definitely not the smartest impulse she’d ever indulged, but Libby’s life was on the line. “It’s a long story.”
He started to say something, then pivoted to the side and motioned her forward. “Have a seat and buckle up. It was either speed or smooth navigation. I opted for speed.”
She paused long enough to grab her backpack then joined him in the cabin. He was being remarkably cordial, but she knew she was still in deep shit. Even if he had nothing to do with Libby’s abduction, he’d caught her spying on him.
He returned to his seat and said something in the language he’d used earlier. Was he communicating with his ship or with someone on the ground? Or on the dark side of the moon? The possibility sent another shiver down her spine. Being stranded in a secluded section of the mountains was dangerous enough. How in the hell was she going to return from the moon?
“Where are we going?” She wasn’t sure why she asked. He had no reason to indulge her.
He glanced over his shoulder, disbelief clearly written on his face. “You sneaked aboard a ship without knowing its destination? That doesn’t seem very smart.”
Heat spread across her face. He had a valid point. She’d been rash and reckless ever since she learned about Libby’s kidnapping. Of course, finding out aliens were real and hiding out in Boulder hadn’t made her any more cautious. “You were getting away,” she said simply. “I had no choice but to follow.”
“I was ‘getting away’?” He didn’t even bother to look at her as he reacted to her statement. “Getting away from what?”
“I told you. I’m looking for my sister. You’re the only lead I have and you were about to fly away.”
“I know nothing about your sister, so you risked your life for nothing.” He sounded annoyed and it wasn’t hard to figure out why. He kept looking at the knight, clearly worried about his condition.
“Is he going to be all right?” It seemed rude not to ask, even if she was powerless to help.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s wrong with him.” After entering another command into the holographic controls, he turned his seat around and faced her. “I’m Zilor.”
“Lexie.” He was even better looking up close. Those silver-ringed eyes were so exotic, and his tall, muscular body didn’t make him any harder on the eyes.
“If searching for your sister is what brought you to Stargazer Ranch, what’s with the camera?” She started to answer, but he raised his hand. “You know. You’re not my problem. Save it for Raylon.”
He made the name sound ominous enough to knot the pit of her stomach. Still, she gained nothing by remaining silent. She was speaking with an alien, a real live alien. “You’re one of them, aren’t you? You’re a Rodyte?”
“I am.”
His easy admission surprised her, but maybe it shouldn’t have. The Rodyte general had stepped out of the shadows and appealed directly to the public because the governments of Earth insisted on secrecy. “Do you know General Nox?”
Zilor chuckled then crossed his long legs. Even seated, he looked massive. “I might. Were you hoping to meet him? Is that what this is really about?”
“No. My sister is missing and my investigation led me to you.”
Before he could respond, another voice came across the ship’s communication system. Zilor turned his seat back around and replied in the same language. After a short pause, he switched back to English. “Raylon is unavailable. We’re headed to the Intrepid, so it looks like Commander Lux gets to figure out what to do with you.”
“Is that better or worse for me?”
He thought for a second then shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. Raylon takes his job very seriously, but Kaden can be downright prickly when he’s provoked.”
“Then I’ll try not to provoke him.”
They lapsed into silence as he maneuvered the shuttle around the moon. The images scrolling across the main display confirmed his claim to be a Rodyte, but none of it felt real. She’d ridden too many thrill rides and watched too many 3-D movies to be impressed by what she was seeing. Her brain simply interpreted the stimuli as more special effects.
Darkness gradually swallowed the shuttle as the moon blocked out the sun. Even with external lights activated and the glow from the control panel illuminating the cockpit, it felt as if they were floating through a sea of ink toward some random destination.
Tension gripped her belly, making her restless and unsure. “How do you find the outpost?” Her voice was hushed and hesitant. She’d never realized the dark side of the moon would be so, well, dark.
He made a sharp movement with his hand, likely triggering a silent signal and a large rectangle on the surface of the moon was suddenly outlined in light. “Like that,” he offered with an indulgent smile.
They flew toward the rectangle at breakneck speed. Lexie clutched her armrests until her knuckles ached as she prayed that he knew what he was doing. She glimpsed two heavily armed ships flanking the entrance as they zipped through. Then her eyes widened and she whispered, “Holy Mother of God.” This wasn’t a temporary military outpost; it was a mid-sized city, complete with its own spaceport.
“Welcome to Lunar Nine,” Zilor greeted with wry humor. “Even if you were uninvited.”
She looked from side to side, then up and down, still unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Did the world’s governments realize how many aliens were up here? Even in her brain the question sounded ridiculous, but little by little her mind began to absorb the scene surrounding her.
This is real. The phrase echoed through her mind, part announcement, part warning. Earth’s moon was infested with beings from another planet.
Two wide docking strips extended from the outpost, one on top of the other. Ships of every shape and size were secured to either side of the wide walkways. The journalist in Lexie surged to the surface, ordering her thoughts and calming her nerves. She needed pictures of all of this desperately. There were spare memory cards in her backpack, but there was no way she was going to draw Zilor’s attention to her camera. Without pictures and video, she was just another crazy reporter pandering to public hysteria.
People milled about without spacesuits or even oxygen, so there had to be an artificial atmosphere and some sort of gravity generator. The outpost had been built in layers, each one curving around the spaceport like sheltering arms. The outer walls were roughhewn rock. This outpost wasn’t on the moon; it was inside the moon, likely utilizing an enormous cave.
Apparently, she needed to pay more attention to conspiracy theories. A hollow moon with a secret military base had
been theorized for years, but no one took the stories seriously. In fact, the people who had predicted the developments had been mocked and ridiculed.
Rather than approach one of the docking strips, Zilor flew toward a smallish ship tucked in between two larger ships. A door in the back of the smaller ship opened, revealing a landing bay. He’d barely set down inside the bay when a luminous beam enfolded the knight and then both the beam and the knight disappeared.
“‘Beam me up, Scotty,’” she whispered under her breath, then louder, “You have ‘transporters’?” She hated sounding like a Trekkie, but the situation made it unavoidable.
“We call it bio-streaming, but the concept is much the same as your entertainment program depicts.” He tossed the comment over his shoulder as he powered down the shuttle. How had he known about Star Trek? How long had the Rodytes been spying on Earth? Before she could decide whether or not the question was worth asking, he announced, “Commander Lux is on his way.”
Commander Kaden Lux hurried down the corridor leading to the aft of his ship. The day had been uneventful so far. He should have realized calamity was just around the corner. He’d honestly thought he’d be bored when General Nox assigned him to the Intrepid. She was a hospital ship after all. How hard could it be to supervise researchers and physicians? Well, fate must have heard his grumbling because the past three weeks had been one crisis after another.
The message from Zilor had been vague, asking for assistance without explaining the nature of the problem. He’d also been notified that Vox, the Bilarrian prince who’d been helping the battle born, had been bio-streamed directly to one of the clinics. If it weren’t for Zilor’s message, Vox would have been Kaden’s top priority. Not only was Vox royalty, he was an integral part of the transformation program that had just gotten underway.
Guards now flanked the door to docking bay 3. Kaden didn’t think too much of their presence. Securing the bay was standard procedure with any unscheduled arrival. The guards acknowledged him with a nod then moved aside so he could enter. Zilor was still inside the Phantom. That was odd. Was he also suffering from whatever was wrong with Vox?
As Kaden approached the open hatchway, Zilor poked his head out and waved him inside. “She’s in here.”
She? Kaden hurried, more than curious now. The shuttle had just come from Earth and General Nox had forbidden interaction with human females until the transformation program officially launched. Zilor Nox might ignore the preference of his older brother, but he would never disobey the command of a superior officer, not even when the two were one and the same.
Zilor moved out of Kaden’s way as he climbed into the shuttle. “What’s going on?” he asked his friend, though his gaze immediately gravitated toward the female seated across from the hatchway. She was young, late twenties or early thirties, and looked rather disheveled. There were grass stains on her jeans and part of a leaf clung to her brown hair. The sun-streaked mass had been pulled back into a messy ponytail. Still, her gold-flecked green eyes and smooth ivory skin, revealed her true beauty.
“I was dealing with Vox when Lexie here managed to sneak past me. She hid in the lavatory until after I’d left the ground.” Zilor spoke in English, clearly wanting the human to understand the exchange. “I didn’t realize she was aboard until it was too late to turn back. I couldn’t risk the delay with Vox so unstable.”
Kaden nodded. “Do you know what’s wrong with Vox?”
“No clue.”
The medical staff would update him as soon as they knew what was happening to the prince, so Kaden focused on the stowaway. “I’m Commander Kaden Lux.” He held out his hand, greeting her in the way of Americans.
“Lexie Ward.” She stood and shook his hand, her gaze slightly narrowed.
Her forward motion brought her scent to his nose. Instinctively, he inhaled, then leaned even closer as if drawn by a magnetic force. Fresh, slightly sweet, and infinitely pleasing, her scent was like nothing he’d ever smelled before. She immediately pulled her hand free and took a step back, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. He wanted to yank her into his arms and bury his face in her hair. He wanted more of that amazing scent and more of the female emanating it.
Desire washed over him, heating his blood and stirring his body. He felt nearly drunk with his need to touch her, taste her, explore every millimeter of her warm flesh.
He glanced at Zilor and found him grinning from ear to ear. “Did you know this would happen? Is that why you brought her here?” he asked in hushed Rodyte.
Most Rodyte males could recognize a potential mate by her scent. The encounter triggered a rush of endorphins and hormones known as the pull. Kaden had heard about the phenomenon, but this was the first time he’d experienced it.
Zilor shook his head. “I’m here because of Vox. She’s just along for the ride.”
“Then why were you smiling?”
“I know that expression.” Zilor paused for another grin. “Saw it in the mirror a few weeks ago.”
Kaden was too keyed up to be amused by the similarity. “How many times has this happened? Five? Six? Why do we keep running into compatible females? This can’t be a coincidence.” On Rodymia many searched their entire lives for a compatible mate and never found one. The battle born rebels hadn’t even begun the official search for genetically compatible females and yet they kept turning up, seemingly out of nowhere.
“Ask one of your geneticists,” Zilor suggested. “Or thank fate for her generosity and take the human to your cabin so you can court her properly.”
The intoxicating rush slowly ebbed, but Kaden still felt warm and hyper-aware of everything around him. “Garin has forbidden anyone else from claiming a mate until the transformation program is fully implemented. Everyone is convinced he’s handing out females to his closest friends.”
“Then I better take Lexie somewhere else.” Zilor took a step toward her and Kaden immediately blocked his path.
“She stays with me.” Possessive aggression blasted through his other feelings, instantaneously preparing him to fight for his mate.
Zilor chuckled and raised both hands. “I’m already mated. Remember? I have no interest in your female.”
Kaden tried to shake off the lingering emotions. He was being irrational and he knew it, but he couldn’t suppress the need to protect his female. His female? He took a deep breath and forced the impulses under control. He was thrilled that he’d found a potential mate, but the timing couldn’t be worse. He was a pivotal player in the battle born fight for independence. The last thing he needed was a female questioning each of his decisions and complicating his life. And clearly Lexie was bold and self-reliant.
“Hello.” She moved to their side, so she could see them both. “If you’re debating what to do with me, can you please switch back to English? I have a vested interest in the outcome.”
Kaden looked at her and sucked in his breath. Her appearance hadn’t changed. He’d found her attractive even before her scent unleashed the mating pull. But the rest of the universe dimmed as he looked into her eyes. “I apologize. Your presence here is problematic on several levels. General Nox has forbidden any interaction with human females until safeguards can be put in place to protect you.”
“Protect me?” For some reason she found that funny. “According to General Nox’s messages, human females are the missing ingredient in your recipe for unleashing battle born magic. Wouldn’t it be self-defeating to harm me?”
Her lips trembled slightly as she manufactured a smile. Despite her brave words, she was clearly afraid. Still, he wasn’t quite ready to reassure her. Sneaking aboard the Phantom had been incredibly dangerous. She needed to understand that such recklessness was no longer allowed.
“Let’s digress, shall we?” He swept his arm toward the center-facing seats as he asked, “Why did you sneak aboard Zilor’s shuttle?”
Zilor nudged his arm, drawing his attention. Rather than speak aloud in Rodyte, he acce
ssed their internal comlink and spoke mind to mind. Raylon’s free now and wanting me for an update. Are you calm enough to be alone with her?
The question annoyed Kaden. It was insulting that Zilor would even ask. She’s perfectly safe with me. I would never harm a female, nor would I disobey my general.
Zilor nodded. Then I’ll update Raylon. Make sure you confiscate her camera. She was using it on the shuttle. Then Zilor left Kaden alone with his potential mate.
“Where’s he going?” Lexie looked decidedly uncomfortable with the development.
Kaden motioned again to the seat she’d occupied when he arrived. “Sit down. Start at the beginning and tell me why you’re here.”
She hesitated, clearly deciding whether to cooperate or rebel. Her spirit intrigued him, even if it was rather foolish to disobey. The fact that she’d made it all the way to Lunar Nine was remarkable. To his knowledge, she was the first human to have done so without assistance from the battle born. She looked at the open hatchway, green eyes luminous. Her lips compressed and then she reluctantly returned to the seat he’d indicated.
“My sister was kidnapped from a concert eleven days ago,” she began. “My investigation led me to Stargazer Ranch and the rest just sort of happened.”
Taking one of the seats facing her, he crossed his legs and studied her lovely features. It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying when all he could think about was kissing her. Rodyte males might recognize their mates by scent, but females generally required touch and taste before they felt the pull. He was eager to provide them for her. “What specifically led you to Stargazer Ranch?”
“Do you want the entire sequence of events or just the highlights?”
The subtle challenge threaded through her words urged him back into action. She might not even realize it, but she was testing his strength, ensuring that he was worthy before she considered him as a potential mate. But he hadn’t kissed her yet, so why was she testing him?
Spy (Battle Born Book 8) Page 2
