Axxeon King's Captive

by Liz Paffel

  “I would like to have you in my bed with me.”

  “I’m… not sure what to say to that.”

  “Do you enjoy having me in this bed with you?”

  She shifted a bit. “Yes, actually.”

  “Axxeon mates have separate chambers and only both reside in the same dwelling when it’s time to mate. I enjoy this feeling of having you next to me.”

  “I’m sure you say that to all your captives.” Her voice was light and completely free of deception. He mulled that over a second.

  “Was that a joke?”

  Alora laughed softly, as if it took great effort. “Yes, that was a joke.”

  He grinned and looked up to the ceiling. “I have been on earth for several years now and there is still so much I do not know about human nuances.”

  “We are a complicated species.”

  Her soft breasts pressed against his ribs and his solarderm began to heat. She moaned as if enjoying the warmth and snuggled up tighter against him.

  “There is so much that I won’t do because of fear.”

  The soft admission cut straight to his heart. He looked down at her and smoothed tendrils of curls from her brow. “What do you mean?”

  “My city is burning. My lab has been destroyed. Countless humans have died. And you… your people have been through major trauma. The Nozing? Look at what’s been done to them. I bet they don’t choose to become so mutilated. That choice was enacted by someone else.” Her small hand splayed over his chest. Tryllin hitched a breath.

  “I have had a privileged life. Two parents who loved me in their own way. More education than most people. Access to stable finances. A good job and a safe apartment. A successful career. Yet, I’ve been too afraid to get close to people, to make real friends over fear of not being accepted because I’m… awkward, I guess. I’ve been too afraid of venturing into my own neighborhood because I’m afraid of what’s out there. I’ve been too damn afraid to take chances of any kind. And yet, here I am in bed, with an alien, feeling completely unafraid for the very first time in my whole life.”

  He searched her eyes, sinking so deeply into them. He’d never in his life imagined the feeling going through him right now.

  He must protect her.

  No matter what.

  Taking her face between his hands, he kissed her softly, tenderly.

  “You are my mate,” he growled before sliding his tongue along hers. She breathed a moan and shifted into him.

  “Is that allowed?”

  “I am King. I need no one’s permission.”

  Alora pulled away and sat, smoothed a hand over her forehead and smiled. “You really think I’m good enough to be your mate?”

  He mirrored her sitting position. Frowning, he considered her question. “Of course. Why would you not be?”

  She tugged at the blanket with two fingers. “I wasn’t among the Summoned. I figured it was because I’m flawed in some way.”

  “Never! You are not flawed in any way.”

  His eyes drew to the scanned image of her chest hanging on the view screen. Immediately realizing his mistake, he turned back to her, but it was too late.

  Her brows pulled together as she stared at the image, then half slid off the bed and pointed. “Is that me?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she padded to the image and touched it with her finger. It rippled, then went back to normal.

  She turned slowly, eyes sad and disbelieving. Crossing her arms tightly over her chest, she ran a hand at the base of her neck.

  “No more lies, Tryllin. What the hell did you do to me?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  He was going to avoid the question even though the evidence was right there before her eyes.

  Tryllin stood and had the grace to look sheepish. But only for a moment before his expression hardened. The glow of his solarderm began to recede, and she missed his warmth.

  “I am the Axxeon you first came into contact with three years ago at the farm. You know this.”

  Restless and needing something to do with her hands, she stood and made her way to her pile of clothing. Back to him, she began to dress.

  “I know.”

  “You cut your hand right before I used my paraempaths and forced you to sleep. Our bio scans indicated you were young and healthy. Tapping into human databases revealed you were also highly intelligent. A scientist. You made the perfect host. I repaired your hand and implanted the pod, along with a bio tracker.

  She tossed the dress over her head, shoved her arms in the arm holes and spun to meet his gaze. “Host for what?”

  God, her heart was beating so fast and hard again. Taking a slow, deep breath, she willed herself to calm down.

  “You are pale. Please sit.”

  He moved toward her, but she sidestepped him. “Don’t touch me. Just tell me what you did.”

  The connection they’d shared just moments ago fell apart like broken glass.

  “This pod was implanted near your heart. Inside it, is a potent virus that will kill the Nozing. You cannot see this pod with any human scanning device; however, it’s placed so that if it ever was found, it could not be removed without killing you. A deterrent, so to speak, from trying to remove it.”

  She blinked slowly. Then again. “You put a deadly virus next to my heart?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which can’t be removed?”

  “No.”

  Her knees weakened and she nearly fell onto the side of the bed. Using her hands to steady herself, Alora sat, tears blurring her vision. “Quixx called me a weapon. I didn’t know what he meant by that, but now I assume since you can’t get it out of me, that… that…” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Am I like a human sacrifice or something?”

  “You are the delivery system for the virus to enter the Nozing ship. I can detonate the pod inside you, releasing the virus into your system. You will become immediately contagious and the virus will spread rapidly throughout the enemy.”

  Tears dripped down her chin and onto her lap. Tryllin moved to come to her but she held out a hand and threw him a fierce look. “I imagine I don’t survive this scenario.”

  His lips pressed into a white line, silence hanging between them. Finally, he cocked his head. “No, you do not.”

  She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands. He hurried to her side and she didn’t have the strength to deter him. He took her wrists, urging her to look at him. She couldn’t bring herself to. What a fool she was, to think she was special in some way to him. Her entire life had revolved around making people happy because of how she could help them. Her big brain was the reason people spared her any time. She was their tutor, their project assistant, the one who figured out complex problems. The one who wrote articles and papers that made entire departments look good.

  She was the Axxeon King’s captive. A tool for his use, and his disposal. Her body had been a means for his pleasure. And now, it was a mode for revenge.

  “Alora, little human, I do not want this. I meant what I said when I called you my mate. I will find another way.”

  “Stop talking. Every word you say is deceitful.”

  He gave her wrists a small shake. “Alora--”

  His comlet buzzed. Tryllin ignored it. It buzzed louder.

  He tapped the device angrily. “What?”

  “My King, the captives have been confirmed as the missing human firemen.”

  A screen populated into the air from the comlet, a hazy green image showing what looked like a live feed from a darkened room. People sat huddled together, packed inside shoulder to shoulder.

  Alora scrambled from the bed. “Brandon? Do you see him?”

  There was a staticky pause. “We have found entry into each building containing humans. Once the enemy is overcome, we can get them out.”

  “Standby.”

  Tryllin took her hand. She tried to pull back, but it was a weak effort. They’d found the missing firefighters! She could only hope Brando
n was among them. He cupped her chin and lifted her face. She wanted to fight him, to run from him. Her clock was ticking, and she didn’t want to spend it with the one person who had sealed her fate. Yet, she couldn’t find the strength to pull away.

  “I will retrieve him for you myself. I promise you.”

  Her chest tightened with a sudden squeeze. Putting a hand over her heart, she sank back to the bed.

  “Alora!”

  She blinked to a series of stars swirling through her vision. “Something’s not right. Something’s wrong.”

  Concern and fury lined his face as he positioned her on the bed. Suddenly, her breath wouldn’t come. In and out, she thought. In and out. So… hard.

  Pursing her lips, she exhaled and struggled to sit. Tryllin held her down, but she needed to get up.

  “Can’t… breathe.”

  The physician was back, looking down over her, injecting something into her arm. The spikes of his blue hair went every which way as if he’d been tugging it.

  They were talking about her. Take it out. Leave it. She’s dying either way.

  Let her say goodbye to her friend. Preserve the body until it’s time.

  There was a smacking sound, like fist hitting flesh and the physician flew backwards beside her.

  No corpse! It was Tryllin’s voice.

  An elephant was sitting on her chest, but she couldn’t move to do a damn thing about it. She blinked and saw the physician looking down at her, a mask over his mouth, strange goggles over his eyes.

  “You will sleep now. Let us hope it is not for eternity.”

  A plastic mask lowered to cover her nose and mouth and as she inhaled a bitter tasting gas, she remembered.

  She hadn’t said goodbye to Priya.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tryllin changed into his tactical gear and donned his weapons. Pulling on black gloves, he steered his mind away from Alora on the medical table.

  Yawndit likely had her chest splayed open right now as he worked to retrieve the pod.

  He should be there.

  He wanted to be there.

  But his place as King was to be alongside his people at the beginning of a war. That’s what this would turn into, now that plans had changed. Besides, he’d promised his mate that he’d hand-deliver her brother to her. And that’s what he would do.

  Even if Brandon was delivered to view a corpse.

  Quixx met him in the hall and they strode wordlessly to the Comm center. His warriors were cloaked and staged at the Nozing compound. He’d had them withdraw to safety and wait for his instructions.

  Another team was monitoring the enemy spacecraft. So far, no one had gone in or out. They had to assume that the Nozing had populated inside the craft, with some on the ground to guard the human captives. That was good. He wanted them central to the craft. The more they could target at once, the better.

  Quixx bowed his head and lightly touched his shoulder before they entered the Comm room.

  “How is the female?”

  It was unlike Quixx to care about humans. “If you are worried about the virus, don’t be. We will still take the Nozing down.”

  “I was simply wondering about her health. Her friend is quite worried. I follow your lead, my King. Always.” He bowed his head again and they entered.

  He made a sweep of all their surveillance of the city. Remarkably, the fires were mostly out, a few on the way to burning themselves out. The streets were still quiet, and he wondered just how much longer the humans would lie low until they began to crack under pressure?

  He thought about what U-5 had said. The human leaders were in the process of culling the population, quietly, masking their actions with alien devices. It wouldn’t be much longer before mankind began to turn against the aliens on the planet. Soon, Earth would not be a safe place to collect resources.

  And now that he knew the human leaders were playing both sides, he no longer had incentive to try and protect them. Not even from themselves.

  Alora needed to live so he could take her away from this planet and the unstable humanity inhabiting it. Axxeon 9 was fully functional now, simply waiting for enough females to arrive to ensure species preservation. Once this was over, he’d start sending his warriors to their new home so they could begin a new life with the human mates they had chosen.

  It was time to leave this section of their lives behind and start anew. And he wanted Alora beside him as he fully stepped into his role as ruler of Axxeon 9.

  His Queen.

  Snapping his focus back to the screens, he crossed his arms and looked down at the man on controls. “Any sign of the degarzee?”

  “No, my King. They seem to have left as quietly as they arrived.”

  “They don’t just leave. They are somewhere. Waiting.”

  How the human leaders and Nozing had commanded and contained the degarzee was still a mystery. One he intended to revisit with U-5. The man had been helpful and Tryllin had a difficult time thinking it was from the goodness of his heart. He had pleaded for the life of his prince. He’d given up information that could be more than used against the Nozing. He’d asked for his death in return. Instead, Alora had used him as a test subject and he’d pulled through fine. The xerron-G had rendered him unconscious for over one hour.

  That was more than enough time to do what needed to be done.

  “The fires are, for now, under control. Let’s retrieve the men and women trained to fight them in case the tide changes again. The Nozing removed them to prevent them from doing their jobs. It leads me to believe something much bigger is in play here. It stops, now.”

  Turning to Quixx. “Putting them to sleep and then simply letting them wake up to realize their captives are gone will only start a war. We will detonate their ship.” He tapped the man on controls. “What lies within a twenty-mile radius of the Nozing ship?”

  “Farmland, my King. And here, a small housing development centered around this very small town. Intel shows the complex holds one hundred residents.”

  Quixx worked his jaw. “My King, the resounding blast would kill anyone in this area. Perhaps beyond.”

  “I am aware.” He cleared the map with a swipe of his hand. “Are a few lives a worthy sacrifice for the lives of millions?”

  “I believe the humans have struggled with that very thought throughout their history, my King.”

  Hadn’t he, not long ago, thought the life of one woman was worth sacrificing? He pulled in a tight breath.

  “Either way,” he said quietly to Quixx. “Leave me now and go below to have munitions prepared in event I give the orders.”

  His man bowed his head and hurried from the room. Tryllin crossed his hands behind his lower back and watched the screens, fighting for the control to focus on the task at hand and not wonder what was going on in the medical bay.

  Recalling what Quixx had said about Alora’s friend, he went to the lab where he found her sitting at the long metal worktable, hands folded. Staring into nothingness.

  She looked up as the doors whooshed open and burst from her stool so fast it kicked backwards.

  “Where is she?”

  Tryllin took a few steps inside, the stopped. He didn’t want to intimidate this woman. She’d been nothing but skittish since arriving here. “In surgery as we speak.”

  “Quixx wouldn’t tell me anything. Why surgery?”

  He lifted his chin. “To attempt to remove a pod I implanted in her upon our first contact on earth. It contains a virus. She was… intended to be a bioweapon, but plans have changed.”

  Priya’s nostrils flared and for the first time, he saw a spark in her that suggested a hint of her true personality. “Plans… or feelings?”

  Tryllin splayed the fingers on one hand. “Both.”

  She assessed him with sharp intelligence. “You were going to sacrifice her.”

  “Yes. I will have you informed as soon as we know the outcome of surgery.” He turned to leave but paused and tapped his fing
ers on the side of the door. Making a half turn back to Priya, he gave a tight grin. “I did not know when I first met her that people could have such strong feelings of connection between them. I know that now.”

  His comlet buzzed. It was the medical bay.

  “My King, the pod is out and intact; however, the human will require intensive repair.”

  He gulped a breath. “She is alive?”

  “She is on full system bypass. My King, her heart is damaged beyond repair. I… can only think to find an alternate way.”

  Tryllin’s fingers clenched into fists. He felt Priya behind him, her warm body heat mildly comforting. He wasn’t alone in worrying over the woman.

  “Do what needs to be done.”

  Fearing he’d crumble under the stress of his emotions, Tryllin closed the comm, and swallowed hard.

  The pod was out! It could still be used… if he had another host.

  “Quixx,” he called through his comlet. “Meet me in the prison. We will be removing a prisoner to act as a host.”

  “My King,” a voice called.

  Tryllin spun, searching for the voice, his eyes landing on U-5 huddled in the containment box. The Nozing looked weaker than he had only a day before, as if his body were deteriorating by the second. He groaned as he stood and put his calloused palms to the glass.

  “My King, I will do it.” U-5 coughed, spraying bluish blood against the container wall. “I cannot return to my people with any hopes of living. But I promise to hold out long enough to be an effective host.”

  Tryllin arched one brow and the man smiled. “I heard everything spoken in this room. I know about the virus, figured it needed a host to deliver it. I am willing.”

  “You will sacrifice yourself for the revenge of the Axxeon?”

  “I will. It will be the most honorable thing I’ve done in my life.”

  “I will protect your prince.” Tryllin put a hand on the container. He regarded the prisoner for a few moments, then looked away. “You will be collected shortly.”

  U-5 dipped his head and turned his back as coughs racked his thin body.

  Tryllin gave Priya a long look as he lost himself in what had just happened. The pieces were falling into place. He was going to defeat the Nozing and use one of their own to do it. His people would sing praises of his leadership for eons. Maybe, finally, he could begin to erase the stain of incompetence his father had left and prove himself a worthy King.