When she looked in the mirror she saw that her straight, black, shoulder-length hair ended up shiny like a Xylan’s, but still smooth, without the curls. It was nice. It took her forever to get her hair like that at home and it never seemed to stay all that smooth. She touched her hair, loving this new look, and especially loving the fact that it took no time at all to accomplish.
He left her in the bathroom alone so she could use the fancy toilet again. This time she chose a waft of air freshener and a round of Xylan war chants.
She walked out of the bathroom, still laughing over what Xylans considered to be “music.” It was hilarious.
Kayzon handed her another blue tunic, like the one she’d worn in the holo deck, and a pair of soft pull-on pants. The clothes were again softer and lighter and more vibrant than anything she’d ever seen on New Earth.
“I have a very simple clothing fabrication unit here on the ship. This is all it is programmed to make.”
She smiled at him. “No worries. This is nice. Thank you.” Because really, it was. It was really, really baggy, and the pants were crazy long. She had to roll the waist a few times and the legs many times, but it worked okay. Then she tugged on the boots that had also been provided and she felt like a person again.
He pulled out a similar outfit for himself from a drawer and started dressing. It was sad to see that amazing physique covered.
“You are very thin,” he observed as he dressed.
She sighed, disappointed to hear this from him, too. All her life she’d been that thin, tiny girl with all the hair and that gap between her two front teeth.
“You are strong, fit,” he explained. “But I can see your bones too easily through your fragile human skin. I saw many other humans who were not this thin. I know this is not normal for humans. Why are you this way?”
“I’ve always been like this,” she shrugged. “And, well, I’m busy. I work hard, there’s not much time to eat.” And it was true that she often snuck her portion at morning and evening meals to Harmony. “And lately there’s a limited amount of currency and four mouths to feed at home,” she admitted. Kia knew her mother often did the same for her youngest daughter. Between the two of them, Kia and her mother had a silent system worked out where Janet and Harmony received extra. It was true she was probably smaller than normal.
Her new husband looked deep into her eyes and frowned. Suddenly he was up. He strode over to a sleek, square machine mounted in the wall.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“The food dispenser,” he answered absently as he started tapping on the controls.
“A what?” she gasped. No way. He didn’t just say—
“Food dispenser,” he repeated as he touched the screen at the side, inputting information. “You need nourishment. I will feed you.”
She bit her lip, and her eyes watered. She kept quiet, trying not to cry. She’d heard of food dispensers, seen them on vid shows on the black-market channels everyone watched, but she’d never seen one in real life.
He glanced over at her. “What is wrong? Why are you upset?”
She swallowed. “You can just make food with that? Just by touching that screen? And anything you want is created for you to eat? As much as you want? Enough for everyone?”
“Yes,” he nodded. His brow furrowed. “You do not have food replicators on New Earth?”
“No,” she answered. “I’ve never seen one before.”
His nostrils flared. “You haven’t seen something as simple as a food dispenser before?” he asked carefully. “Something that is on every ship, in every dwelling across the four sectors? This is not a possession for the wealthy, Kia. It is easily obtainable.”
She shook her head. “No, the Hurlians do not let any trade in. We can only use what they choose to give us and what we can make. Sometimes we can get something through the black market, but it is costly. There are a few small portable transporters used for smuggling supplies, but they are small and dangerous to use. The Hurlians have detectors, and eventually they discover the source of the transporter signal and destroy it. So there isn’t much that’s off-world on New Earth.”
"How do you feed your people?”
She shrugged. “The old-fashioned way, we grow it, we harvest it, hunt it and cook it.”
He looked horrified. “But what if the weather does not cooperate?”
“I’ve lived through famine. We all have. Luckily the weather has been holding for several years. I can’t remember the last time there was a shortage. It happened when I was younger, but it was a long time ago.”
“And medical supplies?”
“What medical supplies?”
“What medical equipment and support do the Hurlians provide you with?”
“None, of course.”
He groaned. “Well, that explains your lack of inoculations. When the computer scanned you when I first brought you on board I was surprised at the old scars and breaks in your body. I had the computer fix those things.”
“Oh thanks,” she answered. “That must be why I feel so good.”
He brought over two trays. A small booth with a table was built into the same wall as the food dispenser. He lifted his chin toward the table, and she followed him over as he sat down and slid a tray for her to eat from.
“What is this?” she asked. It all looked like chunks of unidentifiable meat.
“The food dispenser is programmed with only Xylan food.”
“Oh.”
“Your teeth are small, but you can still eat it. Take many bites. You will enjoy it.”
“Well, okay.”
She bit into a piece of meat like he’d said to do, and darn if it wasn’t the best thing ever. Like, literally the best meat she’d ever tasted. She ended up greedily eating everything on her plate and what was on his, too. Kayzon had to go back and get seconds. And for once she didn’t feel guilty. There was plenty more where that came from. Gods, if only they had these dispensers on New Earth. No one would go hungry ever again.
Kayzon tapped his claws on the table. “There needs to be more technology available on New Earth,” he suddenly remarked. He’d been quiet, watching her eat with a satisfied smile on his face, but obviously he’d still been thinking about the problems on her planet. She didn’t blame him. There were lots of problems on her planet.
“We have things,” she said. “It’s not as bad as you think. We have stuff. Not as much as you, but when I watch shows on the vid feed I can see that on New Earth we have some things.”
“How is that accomplished?”
“The black market.”
He nodded.
“I like to watch vids on the black-market channels.” She grinned. “My favorite show was The Creekan Bounty Hunters.”
A smile played at the edges of his lips.
“I want to be a Bounty Hunter.”
He leaned back into his seat. “You do?”
“Yes. I figured it was a way for me to be me. You know, I could use my strength instead of constantly hiding it. I’d be able to test the limits of it and see what I could do. Also, I’d be allowed to take my family with me off-planet.”
His ridges went up an inch. “That was a good plan.”
Happiness lit up her face, pleased at his approval. “It’s everyone’s dream to be able to one day leave New Earth to go live somewhere else. New Earth is a shit pile. We all know it and no one is exactly proud of it. But no one has been able to escape to try and create a better life for themselves elsewhere. And it’s really hard to make the planet we live on better, because the Hurlians won’t let us trade or work with other species or planets, so we’re stuck there with what we can get from that planet, which isn’t much. And the snatchings…the snatchings are really what makes living there so hard. If we were no longer under Hurlian rule, well, life would probably be a thousand times better.”
“My retrieval of THX690 was recorded and the vid sent to the Bounty Hunter Guild for review,” he said. “They
will note the existence of the Hurlians’ shameful Earth refugee planet. It will immediately be reported to the Xylan High Command. This situation is unacceptable. I am certain that the conditions on your planet will change shortly. You have no need to stay with me just to get yourself off that planet. Do not use that as a deciding factor when the time for review is up.”
“Oh.” That was terrific news. The best news ever. But she couldn’t get herself to feel an ounce of joy. She looked at his newly shuttered face. He’d already retreated into himself. She saw his eyes move and linger on the countdown clock on the wall. He was thinking of the review, probably reminding himself that this was some sort of temporary honeymoon and convincing himself all over again that she was going to drop him the moment she could. Because he didn’t think he was worthy, which was the worst kind of bullshit.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. How was she going to change his mind?
She had no idea.
You’d think the hot sex would do the trick. But her warrior had a battle-hardened layer of self-sacrificing honor built around his heart; it would take her forever to chisel it away. And she only had—she glanced at the clock—twenty hours left.
“Your family is very important to you?” he asked suddenly.
She blinked. “Yes, isn’t your family important to you?”
He swallowed and looked away. “My family was Banished ten years ago. I haven’t seen my parents or my brother in all that time. We are not allowed to communicate or live near each other.”
She was dumbfounded, completely amazed he was opening up to her. Maybe the sex was working. She bit her lip to keep from smiling.
She leaned forward. “Why were you Banished?”
“My father, Kroga of Seventy-Five, was a traitor. He committed treason, selling secrets to the Hurlians. This sparked the Cordovian Wars, which killed thousands of Xylan. My line was Banished from my home world, Chronos, for two generations.”
“Oh no, so you’re literally paying for the sins of your father?”
“Yes.”
“You can never go back to Chronos?”
“I can’t, but my offspring will be welcomed back, if they so choose.”
“Wait. The Xylans fought against the Hurlians?”
“Yes.” He smiled grimly. “We lost thousands, but they lost hundreds of thousands. Ultimately, we won the war. The Hurlians have learned to give the Xylan race wide berth. We will not be subjugated.”
She couldn’t help the enormous smile that spread across her face. “I like you more.”
Oh fuck. She liked him?
Why was he doing this? Why did he continue to talk with her and to breed with her? He needed to tell her the truth. Immediately. The more time he spent alone with her, mating with her, the more painful the eventual separation would be. And she was so innocent, unknowing of his true nature. It was not fair to her that she was making decisions without all the facts. His honor needed satisfaction.
He tried again to convince his female of the fallacy of her logic. “I am not a fit mate. Not only am I Banished, but I was also taken off the mating database. I am considered unworthy of a Bride. No unmated Xylan would ever have chosen to test mating compatibility with me. Your choice was taken from you. I grabbed you, unthinking, not knowing that it was possible for a human to mate with a Xylan. I was simply reaching for you to protect you from the Hurlians. My intention was not to force mating compatibility. On Chronos, forcing of mating compatibility is a serious offense. I want to stress to you that this was not my intention.”
“I know this, you said it before. You were simply trying to rescue me from the Hurlians. It’s all right—”
“No, no, you are not understanding the severity. That is what is wrong. You are not hearing me. If you choose to remain with me, you will have to live your life with a Banished warrior. We will never be accepted back to Chronos. And still, whenever we see other Xylan they will consider you a Margol, a half-color. Other Xylan of royal pigment will attempt to treat you like a second-class citizen simply for your lack of pigment.”
“And you’re okay with that?” she whispered.
“If anyone dares insult you to my face they will die.”
She smirked. “Well then, that’s okay. I can live with that. Plus, we just won’t ever go to Chronos.” She shrugged. “Like I care.”
His chest tightened. A hefty weight settled in his stomach. How could she not see?
How. Could. She. Not. See?
“I was taken off the mating database!” he roared.
She crossed her arms. “Okay, tell me the whole story. Tell me why you were taken off the database.”
Kia’s jaw clenched. He stared at her, not saying a single freaking word. Well, two could play at this game. She stared back, quiet as well. This went on for a good ten minutes before he stood up and paced around the small quarters.
“You are carrying the offspring of a warrior whose line is Banished for two generations,” he finally said. “I have a cybernetic eye from an honor battle where I was accused of cheating to take unfair advantage. I was also charged with scheming to force mating compatibility upon a female of royal pigment.”
“But all of these charges are untrue, right?” She stood up, her hands trembling. “And wait, I’m pregnant?”
“Of course they are untrue, but their judgments still stand. I must live with the consequences of each, and as my Bride, so must you.”
“Hold on. You said I was pregnant?”
He stared at her. “Yes,” he answered solemnly. “You carry my seed in your womb. I tried to tell you earlier, before we mated again, but you interrupted me.”
“You did? When? Oh, whatever.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. Then she looked up and met his gaze with pleading eyes. “Please take me to the medical bay. Now. Show me.”
He gave her a curt nod, took her hand in his giant claw and walked with her out of his quarters and down the hall.
Within minutes Kia stepped into the medical bay, stunned at the glory before her. Everything gleamed. It was so high tech, like nothing she’d ever seen. This whole ship was a box of wonders. She had no idea if Kayzon’s ship was considered top of the line or not, if it was big or small. To Kia, it was the best of everything. Never would she take anything here for granted. Kayzon had told her that he’d taken her to the medical bay after he’d tranqed her in order to heal any wounds left over from her encounter with the Hurlians. The computer had fixed all of her childhood bumps, bruises and breaks, even providing something he’d called inoculation, which was supposed to make it so she almost never got sick. She sighed, thinking of her family and wishing such a gift could be bestowed upon them, too.
And, dear gods…she was pregnant? Already?
Her life was spinning out of control—too much happening too fast.
“Sit,” he ordered, pointing at a white reclining seat. It was long enough to hold a seven-foot tall Xylan, so when she scooted onto the chair she felt she barely covered it. Her head only brushed the slight pillow contour at the top, and there was plenty of room left at the end.
“Computer, run diagnostic, is Kia of One pregnant?” Kayzon asked.
A thin metal wand appeared from the side of the chair and ran up and down her body. She sucked in a breath and watched it with wide eyes.
Kayzon took her hand. “It is quick and painless,” he explained.
She turned her head and met his gaze. “I’m just surprised you knew I was pregnant so quickly. How did you know that?”
“When I checked your physical arousal with my Hunter suit when we were in the marketplace on New Earth, I saw then that you were in your Breeding Cycle. When a female is in her Cycle, mating is allowed to happen immediately because both the male and female are in desperate need for culmination.
“Oh.”
“Examination complete,” the computer announced. “Confirmed, Kia of One is pregnant.”
She sucked in a breath. Her nose started to sting. She squeezed Kayzon’s hand. Then she
remembered that she’d once seen a vid show of a couple who saw their baby on a screen. “Computer, can we see a visual of the baby?”
Kayzon tensed. His claws held her hand in an almost painful grip. “No,” he said. “I do not want to see.”
“But…why wouldn’t you want to see your child?”
He let go of her hand and stepped away from her. “Why would I want to see the very thing that will be taken from me?”
“Who is taking your baby away from you?”
“You are…” His voice softened. “When you choose rejection.”
“Me?” she squeaked.
He pointed at the countdown clock on the wall. “When the review ends and you choose disavowal at the time of judgment, the offspring will be terminated.”
She sat up, anger coursing through her veins. This was un-freaking-believable. “I am not leaving. You are stuck with me. We are a family now. I would never let this baby be terminated. That is crazy talk. This is your offspring. We are going to watch our baby together for the first time.” She put her hand out. “Come here,” she ordered.
He stared at her.
“Please,” she said softly. “Please come here and look at our baby with me, together.”
His jaw clenched, and she watched the indecision flicker across his harsh features. Finally he stepped forward and clasped her hand.
She glanced at their joined hands then back up at his face. “I am not leaving,” she repeated firmly.
He shook his head and sighed, obviously not convinced. “Computer,” he said. “Show vid of the offspring of Kia of One.”
“The offspring of Kia of One and Kayzon of Twenty-Six,” she corrected.
He grunted.
A holo vid screen immediately appeared before them. And there was her baby. Tears welled in her eyes. Her free hand went to rest on her lower stomach. It was unbelievable. Yesterday, when she’d left the house with Harmony, never in her wildest dreams had she thought she’d end up on a Xylan warrior’s ship, his Bride and pregnant with his offspring. Her life was flipped upside down, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Well, one thing was certain. She was going to be a mother. Kayzon was her mate. They were family. And Kayzon might not understand, because he still didn’t know her that well, they’d just met. But to Kia, family was everything.
The Alien Bounty Hunters Complete Series: Books 1-8 Page 31
