Alien Morsels: Short Tales from Zerconian Warrior Series (6 page)

She threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. “Thank you.” The knot in her stomach half-unravelled. She leaned back, wiping her face. “I’m sorry I'm so needy.”

He studied her. “You should know how much you mean to me, Mila.”

She nodded. “I do. Really, I do. I think it’s been the worry over this meeting. So much rides on it. I’ve been overthinking everything.”

“We will see Thor when we return and have him examine you.”

Mila nodded. It was the logical thing to do and Koran was a very logical person.

“Until then I have an idea of what we can do.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” His cock nudged against her mound.

Koran rolled them so she was on her back with him looming over her. “Keep trying. Over and over and over again.”

Now that sounded like a plan.

***

Mila rolled over, reaching for Koran. Disappointment filled her as she found she was alone. With a sigh, she shrugged. He probably had duties, and she couldn’t demand all of his time. Three days had passed since they left Newsdale.

Between sleeping and making love to Koran, these first few days of their journey home had flown by. This might be her last chance for a bit of a holiday. She was going to be busy when they returned to Zerconia. Plus, if she left this room, she ran the risk of running into the Empress, and she’d really had enough of listening to that woman on the trip to Newsdale.

Poor Zoey. At least Mila didn’t have to live with her. Zoey had just given birth to her only grandchild. Mila bet once they got home, Zoey would be seeing a whole lot more of her mother-in-law.

Mila rose from the bed as a loud siren filled the air. What the hell?

“Oh, that can’t be good.” She scrambled for some clothes, hastily pulling them on. A loud bang made her scream, and the ship jolted. Thrown against the wall, she shoved her arm out to break her fall. There was a snapping noise then sharp, searing pain engulfed her. Her breath caught in her throat, nausea bubbling in her stomach as flames of agony lashed her arm.

Mila groaned as she landed on her back, struggling to keep herself from losing consciousness.
Get up. Get up, Mila.
She attempted to sit, whimpering with each movement. The ship moved again and she screamed in agony as her jolted her right arm. Rolling over onto her good side, she vomited.

“Oh God. Oh God.” Moving slowly, inch by inch, she managed to sit.

“Is anyone going to turn that bloody noise off?” The screaming siren was not helping her pain levels.

“Mila! Mila!” Koran screamed as the door to their room opened.

“Here.” She waved her left hand at him. One moment he was by the door the next he was kneeling in front of her. “Wow, you can move quickly.”

“Mila, are you all right?”

“Sure.” She attempted to smile, knowing it had to be a pretty pathetic attempt when his eyes widened further. “My right arm kind of hurts.”

His face paled. “Are you hurt Koran?”

“It is not me. It is you. Your arm is broken.”

“Oh, that’s good then.” She didn’t want him hurt.

“No. Not good. Not good at all. I cannot get you to a regen chamber, that part of the ship sustained heavy damage.”

“How bad is it?”

He grasped hold of her left hand as she tried to reach across to her injured arm. “Do not touch it.” He moved across the room and despite the searing pain in her arm and her light-headedness, she couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles rippled beneath his skin as he moved.

“Now is not the time,” he told her grimly as he returned with a red metal box.

“Did you read my mind?”

“You are speaking out loud. This will hurt. I am sorry.” He opened the box.

“What is it?”

“A first aid kit.” He pulled out an auto-injector. “I am going to give you a pain inhibitor before I put your arm in a brace. Can you lean on one hip?”

She eyed the auto-injector. “Can’t I have an oral painkiller?”

“This is all we have.” He helped her roll over then tugged down her pants and gave her the injection in the ass.

“Ow,” she complained. But she soon felt woozy as the inhibitor moved through her system. She barely even noticed Koran placing a brace around her lower arm. “That’s good shit.”

“Good shit?” he queried.

“Uh-huh. I can’t feel a thing.” Everything had taken on a hazy appearance, like she was in a dream. So relaxing.

The ship moved again, and Koran’s face tightened. “Are you sure you’re all right, Koran?”

“I am fine. We must go. I will have Rylex examine you.”

“I don’t want to leave. Can’t I just rest here? I know it’s a mean thing to say, but I don’t think I’m up to dealing with the Empress right now.”

“Shh, Mila. Relax against me. I will look after you.”

“Of course, you will.” Like she ever doubted him.

The ship rocked again, but this time, Koran held her. He hit the wall with his shoulder, taking the brunt of the impact.

“What’s happening? Is the pilot drunk?”

“No. We are under attack.”

“Oh.” It was getting harder and harder to think. Her eyes drooped. “I don’t think that’s good. Do you think you could make the siren stop?”

“Soon.”

She closed her eyes, drifting despite the noise. She opened her eyes as Koran placed her down and took in her surroundings. They were in a small shuttle. Thankfully, the noise from the siren was muted in here. “Where are we?”

“Put me down! I am the Empress!”

Mila’s eyes widened as she saw Empress Liula being physically carried into the small space.

“Where are we?”

“In one of the escape shuttles,” Koran explained. “Stay here. I will find Rylex.”

“Koran.” Mila grabbed hold of his arm, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head. “Do not leave me here.”

She now understood how Liula brought out such murderous urges in Zoey. The other woman was demanding, exacting, and just a pain in the ass. She could not be trapped in a small space with her. Mila was very patient.

But she was no saint.

Koran kissed the top of her head. “There may be no need to evacuate, but I want you here. Safe. Please. Wait here.”

He used the word please, but she knew it was a command.

She nodded. He quickly left.

“How dare the Coizils attack this ship. They will not be allowed to get away with this.”

“Coizils? Coizils are attacking us?”

Liula turned to give her an incredulous look. “Of course. Who else would dare? If you wish to be our Ambassador, you must bring yourself up to date with our history.”

“I know about the feud with the Coizils.”

Liula just sniffed.

The ship tipped again. Mila cried out as she flew across the shuttle, smashing into the side. Her head slammed into the wall. Darkness engulfed her.

***

Something prodded her head and she cried out. She reached up, attempting to shove away whoever was attacking her.

“Is she well?” Koran demanded.

“Her head is bleeding. But it is not serious,” a calm voice replied.

She opened her eyes to see Rylex, the ship’s healer, standing over her. She lay in Koran’s arms, resting on his lap. She whimpered as Rylex prodded her head again, causing sparks of pain to shoot through her head. Rylex grabbed her arm, moving it. She screamed in agony, closing her eyes and swallowing frantically to stop herself from vomiting again. The inhibitor Koran had given her earlier had worn off.

“You are hurting her. Give her something for the pain.”

The stress she heard in Koran’s voice pulled at her. He needed her.

“It is not advisable yet. Not with her head injury,” Rylex replied. “I will leave her arm in the brace. There is nothing more to be done for it until we can get her into a regen chamber.”

“Koran,” she croaked.

“Shh, Mila. Just lie back and relax.” Koran’s voice was like a soothing balm on a sunburn, and she settled in against his chest, letting the scent of him surround her.

A loud wail made her jolt then she groaned. She opened her eyes. “What is that?”

“The Empress.” Koran stared down at her. His eyes were red. He looked ferocious. Enraged.

“What happened?” She reached up to cup his cheek, wanting to soothe him.

“We had to abandon ship. It sustained too much damage with that last hit.”

Suddenly, the wailing noise stopped. The silence that filled the shuttle was almost worse. Mila caught her breath.

“They drugged her,” Koran explained. “We had to leave the Emperor behind.”

“Behind?” Why would they leave him behind?

“He died. The part of the ship he was in sustained heavy damage. The Coizils killed our Emperor. There will be retribution. We will avenge the death of our Emperor.”

Around her, warriors yelled out in agreement. The sound was frightening. Chilling.

Jesus. No wonder Koran appeared so enraged. And the Empress…she felt guilty over all her negative thoughts earlier. The Empress had just lost her mate.

“Will she survive?” Mila whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear. When one mate died, usually the other mate would follow them.

“I don’t know.” He ran his hand up and down her arm.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom and the shuttle spun. Mila screamed as Koran dove to the floor, covering her with his body.

“Koran!” she yelled as they plummeted.

Oh God, was this it? The end?

Were they all about to die?

“Duke? Duke, you in here?” Willa pressed on the communicator outside his house again. Where the hell was he? She hadn’t seen him in days.

Even Kyle, who shared a house with him, had barely seen him lately. Of course, Kyle spent most of his time in the lab the Zerconians had set up for him so that wasn’t a surprise.

“Duke, damn it. If you don’t open up, I’m going to get Darac to break this door down.” That probably wasn’t possible given how solid the door was, but there had to be some way to break in.

Norman growled from beside her, and she patted his head soothingly. He’d quickly become very loyal and protective. Which was a good thing. Most of the time. Five nights ago, she’d been seconds away from orgasm, with Darac between her legs, licking her with a skill that she’d thought only existed in her dreams. Norman must have heard her cries and thought Darac was hurting her. He’d jumped on Darac’s back, biting his shoulder with a ferocious roar.

That had been the end of Norman’s bedroom privileges.

Really, he was a big marshmallow. He let the kids climb all over him without growling. In fact, he got on well with everyone. It was only when he thought she was threatened that he grew all growly.

Well, and whenever Darac was around. She was starting to worry that Norman was a bit jealous of her mate.

She gave up pushing on the communicator and banged on the door.

Where the hell was he? Visions of him lying on the floor, hurt, swam through her mind. What if he’d fallen and couldn’t get up? What if he’d hit his head? What if—

The door swung open and there stood her brother.

“You look like shit,” she told him bluntly. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin a pasty gray, and the dark patches under his eyes indicated he hadn’t been sleeping.

He poked his head out, staring back and forth, obviously searching for something. “Are you on your own?”

“Yeah, well, except for Norman.” She patted his head again.

“Get in here, quick.” Duke grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. Norman snarled at him, jumping through the door just as Duke slammed it shut.

“Duke! What the hell? Down, Norman. Good boy. Good dog.”

“That is not a dog.” He glared down at Norman, who continued to snarl at him, his whole body vibrating.

“Ahh, it might be a good idea for you to let me go. Norman’s pretty protective.”

Duke snorted. “I’m not scared of a shaggy unicorn.”

“He’s not a unicorn. He has two horns. They’re just kind of twirled together so they look like one. And he has a pretty nasty bite. Just ask Darac.”

Duke shook his head and moved down the passage. At least he wasn’t lying on the floor, unconscious. Still, this snarling, ill-tempered, odorous man wasn’t her brother. He grabbed a bottle of Sola and took a swig.

“Umm, Duke, it’s ten in the morning.”

“You want one?”

“No. I’ll pass. What’s going on? I haven’t seen you in days. No one has. You look like you’re not sleeping or eating.” Or bathing.

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah? You sure look it. When’s the last time you had a shower or brushed your hair?”

“I’m not a child, Willa. Butt out.”

Norman growled, and Duke growled back.

“Did you just growl at my dog?” She gaped at him.

“He started it.”

“Mature. Real mature.” She looked around. The place was a mess. Clothes and shoes were strewn everywhere. She nudged aside some dirty socks and took a step towards her brother.

“You guys ever hear of putting your clothes away?”

“Kyle’s a pig.”

Yeah, he was. He was absent-minded and tended to drop his stuff then leave it there. For months. But Duke was usually meticulously neat.

“What are you doing here, Willa?”

“Checking to make sure you’re not dead.”

“I’m not. So you can leave.”

“Thank you, Willa, for caring,” she mocked him in a deep voice. “I’m fine. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m good, Duke. And what have you been up to?” she said in her normal voice.

“Nothing, just moping around like a baby,” she said in her Duke-voice

“You’re acting crazy,” he told her.

“Must run in our family. Better tell me what’s going on, because I’m not leaving until you do, and you know how stubborn I can be. And if I’m not home before the suns go down, then you can bet your ass Darac will come looking for me. He’ll end up on your doorstep. He’ll probably com Rye on the way, and he’ll bring Zuma. Next thing you know; we’ll be having an intervention. That what you want?”

“Just go.”

Stepping forward, she brushed his shoulder with her hand.

He shrugged her off. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to brush that chip off your shoulder. It seems to be stuck. Maybe we should talk to Thor about that.”

“I’m not going anywhere near that quack.”

She frowned. “You don’t like Thor?” Out of all the Zerconians she’d met, Thor was one of her favorites. She’d started to think they were all growly and intense, but Thor actually knew how to smile.

If anyone could get through to Lucy, perhaps he could.

She shook off that thought. She didn’t have time to worry about Lucy right now. She needed to concentrate on Duke.

“He’s been hassling me.”

Okay, things were starting to become clearer. She pushed a pile of clothes off a stool and sat. Norman sat and leaned back against her legs.

“About what?”

“Wants to give me some fancy bionic leg.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” She’d hoped that the Zerconians advanced technology could help Duke. She thought he would welcome Thor’s help, not fight it.

He was silent, staring down at the bottle of Sola he held.

“Duke, what is going on? Why wouldn’t you want this leg? I mean, it’s gotta be better than what you have, right? Is it a painful operation?”

He let out a low laugh filled with zero amusement. “I’m not afraid of pain. Between the prosthetic rubbing my skin raw to the phantom limb pain, I’ve become pretty acquainted with pain.”

“Then what?”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then you’ll just go back…oh.” It hit her. “You’re afraid to hope. Because what if you hope and then it doesn’t work.”

“And I’m straight back where I started.”

“But at least you would have tried,” she told him. “How exactly would this new leg work?”

“The leg will move with my thoughts. Something about sensors in the muscle connecting the brain to the leg, I don’t know, I don’t talk doctor-speak.”

“It is risky?” She hadn’t thought of that.

He shook his head. “Thor said that risk is minimal. But right now, I have nothing. The track is gone. I don’t have a job. Do you know how many women want to fuck a man with one leg? Zero. Oh, I get the odd one here or there. But that’s it. All they see is what’s missing.”

“Then they’re silly bitches who don’t deserve you.” And if she ever met any of those cows she’d rip 'em limb from limb.

He snorted. “No, they’re not. They just want a whole man.”

“You are a whole man.”

“And you’re my baby sister who loves me,” he pointed out. “You’re not exactly impartial.”

“Duke—”

“No, I don’t need some sort of damn pep talk. I’m not twelve. Besides, I’ve heard it all from Rye, I certainly don’t need it from you. Don’t even know why I’m telling you all this, must have had too much of this stuff.” He shook the empty bottle.

“I have nothing, Willa. And if I start hoping, it’s going to be damn hard to go back to having nothing again.”

“First of all, you don’t have
nothing
. You have me, and Rye, Zuma, and Kyle, when he gets his head out of the clouds. We need you.”

“You have Darac. The others are fine. There’s nothing for me here.”

Panic curled in her gut. “Bullshit. You saw what it nearly did to Rye when we lost L
1
ochlan. We can’t lose another brother, Duke. We can’t. And I won’t let it happen. If you don’t want the operation, that’s fine. But at least let us all sit down and talk to Thor about it.”

He shook his head.

A tear slipped down her cheek, and she moved off the stool towards him. Ignoring how he tried to back away, and the odor emanating from him, she wrapped her arms around him.

“I can’t lose anyone else, Duke. I can’t lose you. Please. Please.” A sob shook her body.

“Oh shit. Are you crying? Darac is going to kill me for making you cry.” He ran a hand over her head. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m not letting you go.”

“Willa.”

“I’m not letting you die.”

“Whoa. Whoa.” Picking her up, he placed her on the counter. He held her by the arms and stared into her face. “Nobody said anything about dying.”

“You said we’d be all right without you. You want to leave.”

“Leave, yes. But not die. Jesus, Willa, I’m not that bad.”

“Really?” She sniffed. How embarrassing. She hated crying.

“Really. I just think I need to leave. I feel useless here.”

“Okay. Okay, I can deal with that. I don’t like it, and I don’t want you to go, but I kind of get it.”

He frowned. “You like it here, don’t you? Is someone being mean to you?”

She grinned. “I’m not five anymore you know. I can deal with the bullies on my own.”

“There’s a bully?” He stood straight and for the first time looked like his old self.

“No, silly, there’s no bully. You probably haven’t noticed since you’ve turned into a hermit, but there’s not a lot of jobs for women around here. Well, that don’t involve cooking and cleaning, and we both know I’m useless at that.”

He rubbed his stomach. “I’ll never forget the pancakes you made for my birthday last year.”

She rolled her eyes. “You were fine the next day.”

“I spewed until I passed out!”

They grinned at each other, and she finally let the panic go. He wasn’t going to kill himself. He wanted to leave, and that sucked. But if he was okay, she could deal.

Maybe.

“I’m going to talk to Darac about going on the next job with the crew. Rye hasn’t replaced me yet.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Think Darac is really going to let you go off without him?”

“No. But I don’t want to go without him. I want him to come with me.”

“Do you think Darac will want to do that?”

“He was willing to live on Joyadan and work with the crew before the Coizils attacked and we moved here. I think he’ll agree.” Maybe. He wouldn’t be happy about it. He didn’t like her being in danger. But she had to have a purpose or she was going to go insane. Her people were settling into Zerconian life. Soon they wouldn’t need her, then what would she do?

“Uh-huh.”

“You could come with us. Rye is always asking you to crew with us.” Duke had an amazing knack for getting people to talk. He could read people. Could tell if they were hiding something or being honest.

“I’d be a hindrance.”

“The only reason you never crewed in the past is because of your leg, but if Thor can fix that…”

He scowled. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re stubborn?”

She grinned. “Just once or twice.”

“Fine. I’ll talk to Thor. But that’s all I’m promising.”

“Really? Cause I kind of had one other favor to ask.”

He sighed. “You want me to speak to Darac? All right, but—”

“No. No, I can speak to Darac. It’s just, umm, well—”

“Spit it out.”

“Could you possibly shower, because you really stin—eek,” she squealed as he grabbed her, tickling her.

“Stink, do I?”

“Duke, stop! Stop!”

Norman snarled. Duke stilled, looking down before letting out a huge laugh. “Well, at least my leg is good for something.”

She glanced down, bursting into giggles.

“Norman, let go.”

Norman snarled again as he bit down on Duke’s leg.

Duke sighed. “The wheel’s spinning but I think the hamster is dead.”

“Don’t be mean. Norman’s lovely.” She pulled the dog off. “How was he meant to know you’ve got an artificial leg?”