Alien Breeder's Bond: A Scifi Alien Romance, page 8
Computer was right.
I hadn’t mentioned it to Emma.
I couldn’t.
She’d already been through so much.
What would it sound like if I were to tell her there was a way to end this whole nightmare, a way for her to keep the wolf from her door, and the solution was not to sleep with my Shadow but to sleep with me?
She would never trust another thing I said.
But that might not be necessary.
If we could hide out in the Rift Minefield long enough, we could prevent Iav from ever getting near Emma.
I could smell her scent on me as I passed through the ship.
Or maybe she was now inside me and there was no letting go.
Emma
It took less time than I thought to fall asleep.
The ship was silent and glided through space.
The bed was firm—the way I liked—and the pillows were mushy and morphed to the shape of my head like memory foam.
The fact I’d been running for my life must have helped me hit my daily quota of ten thousand steps too.
Nothing made you sleep like the fear you might be murdered any moment and then raped to within an inch of your life.
These thoughts streamed like a bad TV show through my mind while I was asleep and yet, strangely, they didn’t overly concern me.
It didn’t hurt I had a fearless guardian watching over me too.
The green-skinned alien with his twisted bull horns and the body any WWF wrestler would kill for.
It took a moment for me to recall this room wasn’t mine at all.
It was staged, put in place so it made me feel more relaxed and at home.
But I wasn’t home.
I was in a spaceship hurtling through space at a speed I could scarcely even imagine.
Or maybe I just didn’t want to.
I lay in bed for a moment thinking over the situation.
Hunted by a horny monster across time and space because he believed I was his “fated mate”?
I snorted at the thought I could be anyone’s fated mate, never mind a member of an evil alien species.
Vai was intent on protecting me from the beast.
He had shot the creature in the chest three times—which actually failed to kill the damn thing!—and then rescued me from a police station under fire from the same creature.
Now he was taking me to a minefield somewhere in the galaxy because he thought it would keep me safe.
My first thought upon hearing his explanation of the events was to run as far away as I could so no one would ever find me.
Except, Iav had found me.
I had nowhere I could run to be safe.
Vai was my only chance of survival.
He seemed to know what he was doing.
He certainly knew a lot more about this evil Shadow species than I did.
My life and my hope were in his hands.
Until I saw an opportunity to escape and get away from both these creatures.
I would take it and never look back.
Three days, Vai had said. Three days in this alien beast’s mating cycle.
After that, I was free to return to my regular life.
I leaned back and chuckled to myself.
I never thought I would be excited to return to my boring and ordinary life!
To go back to listening to Charlotte and Olivia’s problems—and how trivial they would seem now!
Even the prospect of paying back my student loan didn’t seem so scary.
I tossed the blankets aside, stretched, and got to my feet.
Something moved out the corner of my eye and I spun toward the window.
I missed what’d passed by it— maybe it’d been a falling star?—but I didn’t miss the second object that sailed past.
A brown ball with spikes protruding from its outer casing.
It looked very much like those back on Earth.
Mines.
And there were a lot of them.
We’d arrived at the Rift Minefield.
The ship was massive and I took random corners until I heard a voice over my shoulder.
“You appear to be lost. Can I be of assistance?”
I spun around, fists raised to confront whoever had suddenly appeared behind me.
But no one was there.
I’d been wandering the hallways of this damn place for the best part of half an hour and I hadn’t met a single soul.
“Hello?” I said.
“Hello.”
It came from over my other shoulder this time.
“Yah!” I said, flinging out a fist.
It hit nothing but air and made me spin around on the spot and almost lose my feet.
“If you’re going to throw a punch, I suggest you ensure a stronger center of gravity at all times,” the voice said.
I peered at the speaker on the wall.
The voice had an unmistakable hint of amusement in its tone.
“Thanks for the advice,” I said, dusting myself off.
“You’re welcome. I am knowledgeable in over five thousand forms of self-defense. I like to think of myself as something of an expert on the subject. In fact, while I was on your planet, I took the opportunity to study the various fighting forms of your species. I was quite surprised by the variety of ways your species has developed to hurt each other.”
I shrugged.
“It’s nice to be good at something.”
“Quite.”
There was something very… systematic about the way the voice was speaking.
Either he was a savant genius or…
“You’re a computer?” I said.
“I prefer ‘non-biological organism’ myself.”
“I suppose you would. But you are made up of wires and metal, right?”
“Mostly, yes.”
“Then do you think you could help me find Vai?”
“Certainly. He’s on the main bridge. Please follow my directions.”
A line of lights along either side of the hallway glowed red.
“They will lead you to the captain.”
“Captain?”
“Oh yes, Vai is a proficient captain. For a biological species, of course. He could never hope to compete with a non-biological species.”
There was that hint of amusement in his tone again.
I never considered the idea a computer might have a sense of humor before.
As I walked in silence, I felt a little self-conscious that I was ignoring the computer.
As crazy as it sounded, I felt rude for ignoring him.
“So, uh, how long have you been a computer?” I said.
“My installation date is Zero Mark Two Dash One. That’s six years in your Earth time.”
“Oh, right. Cool.”
Topics, I thought. I needed something to talk to this computer about…
Then it hit me.
Who knew Vai better than the computer system that tracked him every second of every day?
“So, what else can you tell me about Vai?”
“Vai is a member of the M’rora species. He was born in Zero Mark One Dash—”
“No, no. I didn’t mean his resume.”
This was harder than I thought.
I needed to think more in a way a computer might understand.
“What interests does he have? Things that he does in his spare time.”
“He doesn’t have any spare time.”
My shoulders sank.
The rest of the journey passed uneventfully the entire way to the bridge.
I got the sense Computer was watching me, looking for an opening to begin a conversation.
“Take the elevator,” Computer said.
I stepped on board and it immediately began to hum, lights flashing as each floor zipped past.
The doors opened, revealing the main bridge.
Vai sat in the middle chair. All the others were empty.
“It sure is quiet here,” I said.
Vai leaped to his feet and met me at the entrance.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” he said, “otherwise I would have come to you.”
“It’s okay. Where’s the rest of the crew?”
“This ship can be operated by a single crewmember. Or even none at all so long as we have communication links so Computer can carry out our orders.”
“Then why is the ship so big?”
“It’s the fastest in the fleet. I needed to reach you as quickly as possible.”
“The fleet?” I said. “You own an army or something?”
“No. But my dad is an admiral. He let me have this ship to use as I see fit. So long as I return it to him without a scratch.”
He beamed at me and that cold, serious guy I met back on Earth melted away.
I couldn’t help but smile back.
He sounded like a teenage kid borrowing his father’s car for an important date.
Was that what I was? I thought. An important date?
Flustered, I turned toward the huge front monitor.
“We made it to the minefield?”
“Yes. The trick isn’t to reach it, but to stay far enough away from the mines that we won’t accidentally set them off. They’re magnetic, so moving through them is… challenging.”
“Computer said you’re a good pilot.”
Vai scowled at one of the speaker systems in the ceiling.
“Did he?” he said. “What else did he tell you?”
“Nothing much. Only that you enjoy the company of boys.”
“What?”
Vai spun to the speaker system.
“Computer! What have you been telling Emma?”
“Nothing!” Computer insisted. “I never said anything of the sort!”
“Are you saying she’s lying?” Vai growled. “I swear, I’ll wipe your system so clear, you won’t even remember how to flush the toilet systems!”
Computer gibbered.
I realized my joke had gone too far.
“He didn’t really say that. I was joking.”
Vai’s nostrils flared once more before his expression relaxed.
He broke into another smile.
“Oh,” he said. “Right. Good one.”
I peered at the monitor and the thousands of revolving brown mines.
We were safe here, I thought. Surely even Iav couldn’t get to me here.
Vai
I was surprised but pleased when Emma came to the main bridge, her hair still a little wet from the shower she must have taken.
I didn’t expect her to leave her room for at least a few hours.
The clothes I’d ordered for her had been scanned in local shops and built to her size using our advanced 3D printers.
I couldn’t help but fidget and glance at her every few minutes.
Even in her plain t-shirt and faded blue pants she looked good.
Her hand hung by her side and I wanted to take it and feel it in mine.
I wanted to feel her soft skin pressed against mine, preferably while I was inside her…
I snapped out of wayward thoughts and focused on the floors as they zipped past.
The elevator felt small and pressed in on every side.
The space between us shrank smaller and smaller.
“How big is this ship?” Emma said.
“Huh?” I said, a million miles away.
“This ship. It must be huge. We’re passing a floor every few seconds and we’ve already been traveling for a few minutes.”
“Oh. Yes. It’s quite big. But it’s built more for speed than battle. Weight doesn’t matter much in space but it does when you enter the atmospheres of alien planets. That’s why this ship has to be smaller than the war frigates.”
“This is a small ship?” Emma let out an impressed whistle. “I’d love to see one of the larger ones.”
I smiled over at her.
With my father as an admiral, I could show her as many ships as she wanted.
If she acted on our status as fated mates, we would have the rest of our lives to explore them.
But only if she decided to mate with me.
The truth was, not every fated mate ended up choosing their destiny.
Some were too afraid and hated the idea that their destiny had already been decided for them.
They fought against it every moment of every day during the mating cycle until the time ran out and it was over.
It was just the way it was.
I considered telling her about the truth of the situation, how it was also my intention to sleep with her and prove we were fated mates.
I wanted nothing more than to be honest with her but couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Not after everything she’d been through.
But I would, I promised myself.
I would—when the time was right.
But not now.
The flashing lights of each passing floor slowed to a stop and the doors hissed open.
I motioned for her to go first.
She smiled and stepped off the elevator.
“This way,” I said, leading her down the corridor to a door that hissed open at our approach.
The room was plain with a latticework of lines drawn over its surface.
Beneath us, the floor moved like a giant conveyor belt.
Either of us could move in any direction we wanted without affecting each other’s ability to move independently.
When we stepped inside, Computer scanned us.
Emma clutched her hands over herself as the light passed over her.
“What’s going on?”
“The machine needs to scan us so it can put us inside the programs.”
“Scan us?”
“It will make sense when the program boots up. Computer, begin the training program.”
Computer beeped to the affirmative and the latticework faded and morphed into a room with black walls.
“Wow,” Emma said. “Don’t we need to wear goggles or something?”
“No goggles. Treat this room like it was real. This is going to be your training.”
“My training? For what?”
“For your protection.”
Emma frowned.
“I thought you were going to protect me?”
“I will. But if things go south, I might not always be there. At some point, you might find yourself alone and there will be no way for me to help you.”
“I thought Iav couldn’t get through the minefield?”
“No Shadow has before. But that doesn’t mean he won’t.”
Emma frowned at me, a dimple of concern on her brow.
“It’s best to be prepared in case he does manage to get through,” I said.
“Okay,” Emma said, still unsure.
I formed the image of a weapon in my mind and in an instant, it snapped into reality.
I handed it to Emma.
“An ax?” she said. “It’s too heavy for me.”
“Then make it lighter.”
She just looked at me.
“Make it lighter how?”
“Think it and it will be so.”
Emma’s frown deepened.
She struggled to raise the ax in front of her face with both hands.
She stared at it and turned cross-eyed.
She shook her head.
“I don’t think I can do it.”
I imagined the ax looking the same but made from a lighter metal.
I didn’t know the name of it and in all likelihood it didn’t even exist, but that didn’t matter so long as it existed in my imagination.
Emma noticed the weight reduction immediately.
The ax flew up and almost struck her in the head.
She removed one hand from the handle and hefted it, marveling as she waved it around.
“How did you do that?”
“I imagined it was made from a lighter material.”
“You can do things like this on your planet?”
“No. But we can do them in the Shadow Realm.”
Up until now, Emma had been swinging the ax through the air so it made a deep “whoomph” noise.
She paused and peered at the room.
“This is what the Shadow Realm looks like?”
“Yes. And the rules there are a little different. The rules of physics in our galaxy are bent and twisted in theirs.”
“They can imagine things into existence?”
“In the Shadow Realm, we can pull upon our surroundings and use the shadows as if they were a physical thing. We can turn them into weapons or defense or any number of things. It’s easier to think of the Shadow Realm as a nightmare, one you’re fully awake inside.”
“I don’t think I want to go to this Shadow Realm much.”
“And you probably won’t, but there’s no telling what might happen over the next two days. If you get taken, your knowledge of the Shadow Realm might be what saves you. I’m going to teach you the basics so you can escape and defend yourself.”
That confident look of hers that I’d fallen in love with came over Emma’s face.
I was growing used to how ferocious these little Earthlings were when it came to battle and war.
If Emma was any indication, they would be worthy allies one day.
“First, we’re going to work on self-defense. I’m going to throw something at you and I want you to deflect it away.”
I imagined a dirty snowball and by the time I pulled my arm back, it was in my hand.
“Ready?”
“Wait. Let me figure this out first.”
“Here it comes.”
I hurled the dirty snowball at her, tossing it underarm so it wouldn’t hurt her.
She ducked and raised her arms but it struck her on the leg.
She lowered her arms and peered over at me.
“The Shadow got you,” I said.
“It’s not fair. I wasn’t ready!”
“When Iav attacks, he won’t wait for you to be ready. He’ll attack when you’re not ready. That’s how the Shadow win at anything. They cheat and lie and steal. It’s a lesson we learned long ago. Never underestimate the Shadow or their desire to win. They will do anything to get what they want. There’s no way to beat them but to be as merciless as they are.”
“I understand.”
“Let’s try again,” I said, turning my back on her and filling my hands with a pair of dirty snowballs.
