Alien Prince's Mermaid

by Zara Zenia

  So far, Gardax had been the only one of us who had found his match. That was probably why he was such an advocate for the genetic scanners in the first place, but he had to remain open to the possibility that they were still hackable.

  “What exactly did Davon say to you in this letter?” Gardax narrowed his eyes as he studied me.

  “The letter didn’t say much.” I shrugged. “I got the feeling he wasn’t willing to discuss the matter in great detail over open communication. We talked on the phone and then I had a briefing with him yesterday.”

  “Without us?” Manzar cried in disapproval.

  “Davon was already in my area, and he wasn’t willing to delay the meeting,” I mentioned casually as if there was no foul play up for debate here.

  “Well, what happened?” Akrawn raised his hands and gave me an impatient stare.

  “Davon gave me a name,” I admitted. “A woman.”

  I presented my brothers with a digital photograph of Julia Morse, the woman in question.

  “This is her?” Rawklix raised a cynical eyebrow as he pointed to the picture. “She’s hot.” He winked at me and playfully nudged Manzar, who was sitting beside him.

  Manzar grumbled and plucked the photo from Rawklix’s grasp.

  “Who is she? She looks young,” he observed.

  “According to Davon, she’s a thirty-year-old electronics engineer. Her name is Julia Morse.”

  “Okay,” Gardax said. “So, what does that mean? What exactly has she done wrong?”

  I glanced around the room of disbelieving brothers. “Well, I, uh . . .” I stammered. I wasn’t exactly going to be crowned Mr. Popularity by this tough crew.

  “Get on with it, brother,” Manzar groaned in a grumpy tone.

  “There isn’t a foundation of solid evidence yet to convict her of anything,” I mentioned.

  “Nobody was asking you that,” Akrawn reflected. “What evidence does Davon have to suspect her of something?”

  “He’s just a silly, lanky nerd,” Rawklix chastised with a bellow of a laugh, returned mainly by Lortnam, twin brother to Jinurak and co-ruler of Norna. Norna was the most resource-rich continent on our entire planet.

  “His opinion is still valued,” Gardax admitted, then glanced at me. “Continue with your elaboration, Darbnix.” He gestured with a roll of his wrist in my direction.

  “As you all know,” I continued as I cleared my throat and sat down so that I would be at eye level with the rest of my brothers, “Davon is first in command when it comes to addressing any computer crimes that might pop up.”

  “Right,” Gardax said and shifted his weight, fully engaged in the conversation.

  “Anyway,” I continued, “he has reason to believe that this Julia Morse woman has unfortunately discovered the flaws in the genetic scanners.”

  Gardax wrinkled his nose. “How on earth could she possibly do that? And more importantly, who is she?”

  “Please,” Jinurak roared with frustration. “Let the man finish.” He pointed at me.

  “I hope it’s not a copycat situation.” Lortnam frowned.

  “Me too,” Jinurak agreed. He and his twin almost always operated on the same level. It must have been a twin thing.

  “Darla used the device in order to manipulate it into reading her as the false-positive match,” I reminded the group with an apologetic glance in Gardax’s direction. It didn’t matter. We’d discovered the error in the device and had the creator make sure something like this would never happen again. Gardax was eventually matched with his true love, Amy Allen, and the pair had been enjoying a blissful life as a married couple ever since.

  I didn’t know whether my brothers and I would be lucky enough to find true love like that in our matches, but I did my best to dream. My mind would occasionally drift to Rose and her charismatic smile and her carroty braid that gave her features even more flair and personality.

  Her company was enjoyable, and I had yet to use the device on her for fear about its reliability. My doubts were further heightened by this new information from Davon. I hated the fact that we couldn’t just find our match based on true love or chemical attraction, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Due to the substantial factors involved, it was nearly impossible to mate with any random human. They had to be a perfect biological match in order for mating to be something that was plausible.

  “Darla can’t be behind this incident,” Gardax professed. “She’s still in prison for her crimes.”

  I nodded. “Davon didn’t have enough evidence to pinpoint any direct relation of Darla’s crimes to those presumed of this new Julia Morse person.”

  “Then why are we sitting here?” Rawklix threw his arms up over his shoulders, clearly exasperated. “It sounds to me like this meeting was a waste of time until we have something to charge this cute blonde woman with.” He ended his little speech with a dashing smile with an open-mouthed set of pearly-white teeth.

  I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Will the lot of you just let me finish? There is a lot at stake here, and I’m afraid that none of you are taking this seriously.”

  “Fine.” Rawklix pursed his lips sourly. “What else do you know about this Julia woman, and how do you and Davon plan on taking her down?”

  I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “No one is taking anyone down right now,” I explained.

  There were snorts and scoffs heard around the room. “Then what are we doing here, wasting time?” Rawklix proclaimed.

  “We need the scanners . . .” Manzar trailed off in an argumentative tone.

  “Yes, I know we still need the scanners in order to create the necessary relationships with these earthen women who will make us capable of producing children . . .” I trailed off, now thoroughly understanding that I didn’t have a single chance at convincing all of my brothers that we might have a problem on our hands to deal with.

  “What about Davon?” Akrawn exclaimed.

  “What about him?” I narrowed my eyes and focused on him.

  Akrawn shrugged and chuckled, glancing around the room. “What I mean is, can we even fully trust him?”

  “Of course we can trust him,” Gardax interjected. “Why wouldn’t we be able to trust our computer resources officer?”

  “I don’t know,” Akrawn argued. “Can we trust anyone? Can we even trust each other?”

  There was bickering around the room. I finally had to put an end to it. “All right!’ I roared across the table.

  I finally received the silence and the attention I had been yearning for since this meeting started.

  “We can trust Davon,” I said. “We need him. If there is an infiltration into our computer system, then the best way to stifle or stop it altogether would be Davon.”

  Gardax looked at me with a skeptical expression which floored me, especially after the ordeal he’d had to endure with his own genetic scanner being compromised.

  Rawklix was still scowling at the end of the table. He had a look of sheer boredom upon his face as if this meeting didn’t interest him in the slightest.

  Akrawn’s features softened. “I suppose we need to take every cautious measure and follow every lead to ensure that the same issues with the scanners don’t happen again like they happened to Gardax.”

  He pointed to our oldest brother, who glanced around the room as if he were surprised to be in the spotlight.

  “No.” Gardax shook his head. “We need the scanners. I found my match, and all of you will too.” He gave me a stern look as if he didn’t want to debate the subject any further.

  I heaved a deep sigh. I was ambitious about this problem, and I would just have to obtain leads from Davon myself until the threat could be neutralized.

  “Fine,” I finally relented. “We will table the discussion for another day. We will continue to utilize the genetic scanners until each of us has found our one true scientific match.”

  Gardax looked pleased. “Great.” He stood up, clapping his hands toge
ther. “I must be off, my brothers. Until we meet again?”

  The rest of them followed suit, mumbling their goodbyes to me along the way. After they left, I remained in the room, mulling over how poorly the meeting had gone. It seemed as if we’d reached an impasse for now. I had the support of about half of my brothers, while the other half remained adamant that we must continue to use the scanners to find our genetic matches.

  I understood the importance of the devices. Our biological welfare was on the line here, and we had a lot at stake if this didn’t work out. I was distrusting of engineers who had the means and capabilities to hack into our system, though, and now Julia Morse was at the top of that suspect list.

  Innocent until proven guilty, yes, but something was unsettling about the situation. She didn’t sit well with me, and Davon wouldn’t have approached me unless he really thought that the threat was imminent.

  I vowed to research into Julia’s background as deeply as possible, digging until I found the root of the problem or any solid evidence to back up Davon’s claims. I sighed again and stood up, walking somberly around the room.

  I missed Rose and her appealing smile. She was the one I really wanted, but I was afraid to turn on my scanner for fear that she might not be my match. The whole concept had been diligently worked on and brought to life by our most astute and intelligent Trilyn scientists, but were they poorly executed and flawed?

  One might wonder if the answer to that question was yes, but I didn’t have enough to go on right now to completely ban them from use by my brothers, or even myself, for that matter. There were engineers out there who were fully capable of hacking our system and compromising a wealth of vulnerable information.

  I was worried, but I couldn’t do anything about it until I had concrete evidence. I left the conference room and walked back toward my private quarters. I needed to sleep. Maybe after that, the light of a fresh new day would breathe new life into the situation.

  Perhaps Davon would hit a dead end and maybe he would realize that his suspicions had no weight or merit in the end. Then why was I hoping and praying that he would discover a hacker?

  Was I so cynical about the devices as a whole that I was compellingly drawn to the idea of finding any solid way to back up my reasoning that the devices are flawed and unnatural? Why couldn’t I just go out there in the world and find my one soulmate, my one true love?

  I squeezed my eyes shut. Unfortunately, it was never going to be that simple. The DNA had to be a perfect biological match in order to discover a woman who was even capable of providing a child to myself or my brothers.

  I was stuck, for now. But as I closed my eyes, I visualized Rose and her perfect strawberry lips and delicate, genuine smile. Her long braid flowed naturally down her back like silky ginger perfection.

  I imagined her creamy hips on top of me, straddling me as she pressed herself into me. My insides throbbed and craved to kiss her again. My heart raced, and I jolted awake. It was only a dream, much to my disappointment. The sensations and the yearning were real and natural.

  I wanted to see her again. It was my new mission, to get to know Dr. Rose Rand as much as possible. I trembled inside at the vivid imagination of her hand grazing over the tip of my manhood.

  I pulsed with desire as I pictured her with a mischievous grin, opening her mouth between my legs. I groaned and cringed, needing a way to cool off from my wild imagination. For now, there was nothing I could do but wait and see where the tide brought me. In the meantime, I would keep my scanner turned off, where it remained locked away in a drawer until I could muster up the bravery to bring it out.

  I may have my doubts about the device, but my passion and longing for Rose were as real as the breath in my lungs.

  Chapter 8

  Rose

  “Dr. Rand? You have a call on line two.” My receptionist’s voice chimed through the intercom system in my office.

  I was buried in paperwork at the office. I sighed and rubbed my tired temples. “Thank you,” I mumbled as I picked up the receiver.

  “This is Dr. Rose Rand,” I declared.

  “Hello, Dr. Rand.”

  I recognized the cool, handsome voice immediately. I glanced up and toward the currently cracked door of my office as if I was somehow subconsciously expecting him to walk through the entrance or something.

  “Prince Darbnix. To what do I owe this pleasure?” I giggled delightedly into the phone. My cheeks flushed a profound rosy color as a grin cracked across my lips.

  “I missed your voice.”

  “Is that so?” I was dreamy already, intoxicated by the sound of his voice and the dramatic attention he peppered me with.

  “I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner at the palace?” His voice rang with hopeful expectancy.

  I leaned back in my office chair and began pushing my back against it, making a squeaking sound as the tired old chair began to protest.

  “You should start considering what you call dinner to be lavish five-course meals,” I teased.

  His voice was playful. “We can call it anything you like as long as you are willing to appease me with an invitation acceptance.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I didn’t skip a beat in my response.

  “Great.” I could hear the enthusiasm in his voice, but also something else that I hadn’t spotted before. It was worry, fatigue.

  “Is everything all right with Slith?” I asked, curious about the beloved watch-lizard.

  “He is as fit as a fiddle,” Darbnix chimed, now peppier. “He bounced right back with resiliency.”

  “Good.” I nodded, thankful that I didn’t have to have that kind of worry on my conscience and that he was on a solid road to recovery. “What time should I be ready?”

  Darbnix expelled a confident laugh. “Well, if you look outside your office, you’ll notice that my guards are waiting for you, ready when you are to bring you to the shuttle.”

  I erupted into laughter. I had not been expecting that one. “Are you stalking me?” I asked. “How did you know where to find me, or that I would even say yes? What if I had plans tonight?”

  I was only teasing him, of course. I had no plans other than most likely falling asleep on my couch to an old black and white movie in the same clothes I was wearing.

  “I took a guess,” he stated with feigned sheepishness.

  “How very presumptuous of you.” I laughed. “Let me just finish up here and I’ll be outside in a moment.”

  “I can’t wait.” I could almost see him grinning through the phone.

  We hung up, but my heart was racing. I couldn’t wait to be in Prince Darbnix’s gracious company once again. I loved the way he looked at me, as if he was undressing me with his eyes. The attraction I felt for him was undeniable.

  His dark skin reminded me of being somewhere tropical. His eyes were stunning and pierced right through my soul.

  “It looks like you’ve got company.”

  I had been wandering up to the front lobby of my animal hospital, distracted in my own thoughts, when I glanced up and noticed that my receptionist with a normally sleepy and bored demeanor was staring at me with a wickedly curious expression.

  My cheeks flushed a revealing shade of crimson. “Oh, right. I, uh . . .” I stammered, trailing off as I pointed vaguely at the very recognizable guards wearing Darbnix’s house crest on their armor.

  “Going somewhere special?” she squeaked.

  “I’ve been summoned back to the palace to do a follow-up checkup on the prince’s watch-lizard,” I lied. I didn’t feel dishonorable about anything. It wasn’t a far stretch from the truth.

  “Okay, well, have a good time.” She grinned at me as if she didn’t believe a single word I said.

  “Well, bye.” I waved with embarrassment and shuffled through the door as quickly as possible.

  “See ya later!” she called out with playful humor ringing in her voice.

  In the shuffle of the
moment, I distractedly barreled into one of the guards, bumping into his chest.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “No problem, ma’am,” the guard grunted in a civil voice, still staring straight ahead, not out of sheer rudeness but because that was simply his job.

  They helped me board the shuttle, and into the sky we rose, whisked into the atmosphere. It wasn’t a long journey, but my fingertips and toes were numb with ample excitement. I wanted to absorb every moment of this reality, pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

  Prince Darbnix could have any woman in the world, yet he chose to entertain his options with me. I still had the faint pulsing of dread in the back of my mind, of course, every time I remembered the specific problem of the genetic scanners. It was certainly a hindrance, but as long as I pushed it to the back of my mind, I wouldn’t go into sheer panic mode about my romantic life.

  Besides Prince Darbnix, I really didn’t have any other prospects. Other men either didn’t interest me because they weren’t on my same intellectual level, or they seemed superficial. I couldn’t stand either one of those traits in a man and had no interest in entertaining a fling just to keep myself from becoming too lonely.

  As soon as the shuttle arrived in front of the palace, the walls disappeared in front of me and I stepped out into the breezeway entering the palace walls. It was starting to get familiar and comfortable, coming back and forth here.

  “There you are.” I heard the recognizable and gleeful voice of Darbnix behind me.

  I spun around, noticing the flicker of excitement as it flashed in his eyes as he approached me.

  “Hi.” I gave him a wave. “Thanks again for having me.”

  “The pleasure is all mine.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and leaned down to give me soft kiss on the cheek.

  The touch of his lips on my skin gave me a tingly sensation that washed over me and captured my breath. I wasn’t even hungry anymore. A wavy feeling began brewing in my belly and a desire I’d never felt before for any other person faded my appetite, but there was another kind of hunger stirring in my belly.