Nate's Fated Mate: Aliens In Kilts, Abduction 2

by Donna McDonald

  Nate’s Fated Mate

  Aliens In Kilts, Abduction 2

  Donna McDonald

  Visit Donna’s Website

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  Book Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Note From the Author

  Next Up In The Series

  More About The Aliens In Kilts Series

  Excerpt: Peyton 313

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Other Books By This Author

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 by Donna McDonald

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is coincidental.

  This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.

  Cover by Blackraven’s Designs

  Edited by MYST Partners

  ISBN: 978-1-939988-63-8

  Created with Vellum

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Robyn for playing content editor for me. I needed one this time and you were very helpful. I know this book is ten times better because of you.

  Dedication

  This story is for all the lonely aliens out there.

  Book Description

  After a hundred years and four other wives, he should have been over her.

  There are two things in life Admiral Nathaniel Tiberius knows how to do well. He knows how to fly his freaking airship and how to run the Alien Abduction Services. What he doesn’t know is how to get over Dr. Sheena MacNamara, the most contrary female he’d ever been married to.

  What is it going to take if a hundred years without seeing Sheena hasn’t changed anything between them? Dealing with her is enough to drive any man insane.

  And don’t get him started on Angus and Erin interfering in his life. The Universe 6 matchmakers have been nothing but trouble since they arrived. They want to change everything. As far as Nate is concerned, no changes are needed. The abduction program has existed for hundreds of years and it’s just fine like it is.

  And so was his life. Nate likes things calm… and peaceful. Predictable outcomes suit him. Or they had until he realizes Sheena MacNamara will soon be walking out of his life again.

  Letting her go didn’t work out last time he did it. This time… this time he has to stop her.

  Chapter One

  Universe 1, above Dargoona Castle located on a privately owned island…

  “Dr. McNamara?”

  “Yes,” Sheena answered, lifting her gaze from the useless staring she’d been doing at her hands to look at her pilot.

  She uncrossed her long legs, surprisingly long for a woman with her average height, and checked to make sure her long blonde hair was still caught up in its clip.

  “I greatly appreciate you coming to pick me up here. Please remember to remove the island’s exact location from your flight log. It’s a Level 1 priority to protect the residence of the existing AAS Matchmakers.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he answered. “My orders from central said as much.”

  Sheena sighed internally. She hated lying about her deceased parents, but her sister was still on that alien ship. She’d left several of her older, reprogrammed droids behind with Carleton and Elsa at her parent’s castle. She hoped they would be enough to keep them safe until Brianna’s future was more secure.

  “Are you sure you want to do this? People who visit the Alien Abduction Services airship tend not to return. There are few exceptions.”

  Her conscientious airship captain was used to flying her all kinds of questionable places, but it was not surprising that he’d been reluctant to make this particular flight with her. She completely understood his concern, shared some of it even, but worry over things out of her control would not change her decision. Nothing could lessen the burden of what she had to do to help Brianna, but they were all each other had now, regardless of what the damn planet thought.

  “Don’t worry about me, Captain Jordy. As a precaution, I’m taking a few of my special boys with me,” Sheena replied, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded. It wasn’t getting back off the airship she feared. She’d been to the ship many times and left when she wanted—or at least she had a hundred years ago when she’d been married to the man now its current admiral.

  The rumors most believed about the airship—and the ones about the danger were all true—tended to keep the airship safe from hostile takeovers. She accepted that her nervousness merely validated what might be the most propagated political ruse on New Earth. The real reason for her apprehension, which was having to deal with her ex-husband again, only made Sheena angry at herself. Such a personal issue wasn’t something she’d be sharing with her worried pilot though.

  “How will you recharge the SDDs on the floating airship? It’s not really equipped for the kind of power they require, is it?”

  Sheena was glad their discussion was moving to more comfortable ground. She could talk about her self-directed droids all day. “The boys are self-charging now. Their batteries are good for fifty years so long as they can shut down for a few hours a day to rest their processors. I intend to rotate them on guard duty to make sure that happens. That’s why I brought all four. I’m well prepared for whatever happens.”

  Sheena wanted to smile, but didn’t, when her pilot’s interested gaze went to the four walking weapons sitting behind her. All four were staring off into space, but instantly turned to smile and nod at the pilot in recognition of his gaze. She was still very proud about teaching them to respond normally when someone looked their way. And to think, it was nothing more than a simple face recognition program. In every case where they had tested self-directed droids interacting with humans, the responses of hers were so human-like no one knew the difference until an arm suddenly transformed into one of several dangerous weapons.

  “No offense, Dr. McNamara, but I’d feel much better if General Montgomery was accompanying you like he usually does. At the risk of sounding as sexist as my wife accuses me of being at times, I wish you had some supportive human company for your trip.”

  Sheena sighed again internally, fighting hard not to let it out.

  She’d inherited the sighing tendency from the woman she considered her mother who coincidentally was also her biological egg donor parent. She’d inherited her quick temper from her father, the man contributing the sperm that had no doubt eagerly invaded that donated egg.

  The woman scientist who’d actually carried her in her womb had contributed nothing genetic that managed to stick, or at least nothing Sheena had ever been able to identify under the best of electron microscopes. However, what she had gotten from that woman was an insatiable curi
osity about her beginnings that had led her to her current life’s work.

  “General Montgomery was too busy to come on this trip. Also, he has no involvement with its purpose or outcome. Unfortunately for me, this is more of a personal quest than an official mission,” Sheena said stiffly, her gaze dropping to her hands again. “If successful, we’ll be adding a person to our return trip, Captain Jordy. I’ll keep you posted about my progress to that end result. The identity of the passenger needs to be kept secret until I’ve secured her agreement to return with me.”

  “As you wish, Dr. MacNamara. Sorry if I’m overstepping with all my questions.”

  “I’m sure General Montgomery would appreciate your concern for my welfare. I know I do. It’s nice to have someone like you covering my back.”

  Because there wasn’t really anyone—at least not anymore. It was yet another truth she couldn’t share with her pilot.

  General Scott Montgomery, her latest intimate relationship, had been too busy to be involved in her life for several months now. She well knew the woman keeping him occupied had every right to do so. Though he had a legally open marriage, Scott was still ethically bound. He and his wife had produced their allowed two children together. There was nothing Sheena could say about Scott putting the welfare of his official family before her. It was both his moral duty and his obligation.

  From the beginning, she had known her relationship to him, even though intimate, was just a matter of convenience for Scott. It was even more of a convenience for her, when Sheena felt like being super honest with herself. Most of her relationships with men were just that kind—on the side and only a convenience. In fact, she’d been very careful in the last seventy years of her life not to ever date anyone who didn’t have a legal commitment to someone else.

  One of the most inconvenient things for her about this particular trip was being forced to visit a one hundred year old ex-husband she’d never quite gotten over. Her brat of a sister was the only idiot she loved enough to endure such torture for, and especially just to rescue Bri’s rebellious ass. She’d refused to visit her insane matchmaking parents while they had worked on that damn airship Nate had chosen to honor instead of their exclusive vows to each other.

  So Scott spending time with his legal wife and children? That was absolutely not a problem for her.

  She admired men who put their families first. More men should be that committed to the women in their lives. She had learned long ago that there were many, many ways a New Earth born man could manage to be unfaithful. Neglect was a very painful example that she’d felt the sting of more often than she could forget.

  “We’ll be docking in three minutes, Doctor.”

  Her gaze lifted so she could nod because Captain Jordy would not dock without knowing she was ready to debark.

  “Set our transport down whenever you’re ready, Captain. I’m anxious to get this over with. I’ll contact you when I need a ride home.”

  “Yes, ma’am, Dr. McNamara. Docking now.”

  A hundred years had passed since Nate had seen Sheena in person, but the math still surprised him every time he thought about how much time had gone by. He’d maintained near daily contact with her matchmaking parents during that entire time period, yet both the MacNamara’s legal born daughters had somehow managed to keep their distance from him.

  Well, they had until now.

  It was unfortunate he and Sheena hadn’t been able to remain friends after their divorce. Sheena McNamara had been his first in nearly everything concerning his love life and he’d not forgotten a single moment. His four other marriages hadn’t left any serious dents when they ended, but mostly that was because his time with all of them had never matched his time with Sheena.

  His body tightened when four men as big as most aliens on the ship walked down the ramp. Though not openly carrying weapons, he knew the infamous Dr. McNamara never traveled without serious protection. He doubted the men were human even though the airship’s sensors reported they were. He for damn sure knew they weren’t aliens. Sheena despised aliens on principle… an aversion she’d never worked through.

  Nate knew Sheena’s career had progressed beyond what he used to know about her skills. His mother had taken on the task of keeping him apprised of the now infamous geneticist’s many accomplishments. As he’d always suspected she would, Sheena had made quite the scientific name for herself. Words like genius and innovator were most typically attached to her profile.

  His body tightened more when the pilot captain of her shuttle stopped her at the door with a possessive hand on her arm. He saw Sheena pat the attractive male on his ample chest, obviously reassuring him about something. The captain tipped his hat to her as she exited and lost no time in pulling the ramp back in once she’d reached the bottom.

  Time fell away as Sheena, looking as good as she had at twenty, walked across the transport bay and back into his life. Her body displayed its absolute fitness in the red leggings and tunic, both pieces molding to her brightly colored curves.

  As he walked out to greet her, Nate found himself wishing it wasn’t only because she was here to see Brianna. He knew it was foolish to indulge such thoughts—knew it as sure as the ship would continue to float on its spinning electromagnetic crystals. But he was only human, a fact he’d grudgingly come to terms with about thirty years ago when his last and final marriage fell apart.

  Sheena glared when she finally spotted him, and that look blasted his sentimental wishful thinking all to hell. The similarity to the glares he often got from Erin struck him hard. It was all he could do not to laugh at the irony. Now he’d have two strong willed women chewing his ass at every opportunity.

  “Dr. McNamara,” Nate said softly, letting her title fall from his tongue for the first time in a century.

  “Admiral Tiberius,” Sheena replied. “You’re looking very well. I see the effects of the rejuvenation serum have lasted. Another fifty years and I can probably make it available to the masses.”

  Nate snorted softly and tried to hide his distaste of her hello. “I see it’s lasted on you as well. There are no visible signs that you’ve aged a day, much less a hundred years.”

  Sheena nodded. “That’s a good way to phrase it, but trust me, there have been changes. My hair has gone from light red to a variegated blonde in the interim. If you’d like, I’d be happy to send you my reports about what I’ve noticed.”

  Nate felt an eyebrow raise. “Well, I do have the clearance now to see the data, but why…” He paused, not sure how to ask what he wanted to know.

  “Why am I being so friendly to a man I still detest?” Sheena asked finally.

  Nate nodded, a little afraid to speak. She detested him? After all this time? “Yes. Detesting does not go well with that friendliness you were touting moments ago.”

  Sheena smirked. “It matches my honesty though, which is one of those changes I mentioned. You should know I came because I can fix Brianna’s tracker problem. As for the other—her being in danger—my organization can protect her once she comes to work for us.”

  “Ah yes… the infamous organization. Why don’t you just call it Novus Prime? I think we both know that’s who funds you.”

  Sheena lifted her chin. “I intend to take Bri with me when I leave, Nate. You can fight me if you want, but it will be a waste of energy—I promise you. The Guardians owe me several favors. I won’t hesitate to use one of them to remove her from this floating black hole of death.”

  Nate whistled. “Wow… black hole of death. As a scientist, I thought you’d be a little more original in your insults. Black holes were proven to be myth about a hundred and fifty years ago.”

  Sheena waved a hand. “That’s shit and we both know it. It’s a convenient lie so we don’t have to explain wormholes and portal travel to the masses. You’re not going to distract me by changing the subject. Now where’s Brianna? I need to see her and get this whole farce over with.”

  Nate snorted. “Why? Did you l
eave a bunch of mutant superheroes cooking back at the lab?”

  “Are you going to take me to Brianna, or should I have my guards find her? I can’t promise what will happen to your precious aliens while they look.”

  Sighing, Nate motioned with a hand. “Come with me, Dr. Bad Ass. Let me escort you to see your family.”

  “Don’t patronize me, Nathaniel. My parents are dead. The impostors, whatever vat they were cooked in, are not my family,” Sheena said tightly. She looked sideways and gave him a hard stare. “I came only for Brianna. I don’t want to see the Frankenstein monsters your gene hacking created out of whatever fallible McNamara DNA you’ve been hoarding.”

  “Sheena, stop,” Nate ordered. He physically halted their forward motion with his hand on her arm, which forced her to stop beside him. He met her glare. “The rejuvenated matchmakers are not monsters and I didn’t create them. They’re merely another version of your parents—one I’m unable to explain at the moment—but I swear this particular Angus and Erin are as individually unique as any other human on this planet. If you want to see their DNA profiles, I’ll share them so you can see they’re not clones, at least not in the typical sense. And when we find Brianna, chances are good that you’re going to have to deal with them. Your sister practically lives in their quarters.”

  “Using Bri’s grief to support your agenda is just another good reason for me to be angry with you,” Sheena declared. “Brianna was devastated when our parents both died… and yes, despite your wish for the entire world to believe otherwise, we both know they really did die. Now take me to my sister.”

  Nodding, Nate turned and started walking. He chastised himself for the knot of anguish in his gut. What had he expected? Their disagreements were a century old and yet not even a tiny bit lessened in intensity. All that passion once had a much healthier expression between them.