Someone took off her comlink and put a newer, sleeker, shinier one in its place.
“For someone like you, who has never received any, it will take more doses to get you at an optimal level in your blood.”
Bradliix waved someone over, and they came with a tray in hand. The five metal tubes didn’t look bigger than a toothbrush. Payton eyed the medic as she picked up one.
“What about Jack? Does he get nanomites too?”
“He’s getting his now,” Themba said.
Payton wrung her hands in her lap. All these aliens walking around, touching her and Jack made her antsy and put her on edge. She didn’t know if she should run, fight or hide.
“Payton?”
She glanced at Themba.
“I’m here,” he told her.
Why should that matter? He was just someone who’d caught her in a game. But hearing his words made the growing knots in her chest loosen. She nodded.
“Now, there is one thing you must be aware of before you leave,” Bradliix said. The medic pressed the tube against her arm, and there was a small prick. “There is a strict rule in place that state you cannot end up on the slave market.”
Payton swiveled her head from watching the medic ready the second syringe and gaped at Bradliix. “Say what? Slave market?”
“You don’t have to worry. We have ways of tracking. It will not happen, but I wanted to make you aware of the fact.”
Prick.
“Well, um, that’s nice to know.” She eyed Themba warily. She hadn’t thought about him taking her anywhere nefarious as a slave market.
“I have a nice home picked out for you. Domestic life is in your future. No slave markets.”
Prick.
“I know.”
Prick.
“Now, we’ll see to cleaning your dog while he’s still asleep,” Bradliix said. “We’ll need to remove all the bugs from his fur. He’ll be awake after you get cleaned up.”
Prick.
Bradliix helped her down. “Follow our medic to the shower room. You’ll also find a change of clothes there.”
Payton glanced at Themba. Everyone was so nice, but these were the same people who’d stolen her from Earth and made her participate in The Hunt. She was sure of it.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Themba asked.
It wasn’t that she was a scaredy cat. She could handle herself. If there was one thing she learned from this experience, it was that she didn’t need anyone to survive. But she wanted his strength and protection. “Yes.”
CLEAPREA.
Payton typed the name on her new tablet. It was a small rectangular piece of glass that worked in the same way as her sleeping bag had. Once she was done with it, one touch on her fancy new comlink and it would fold to a size no bigger than an SD card and store into a slot in her comlink.
“What are you doing?” Themba asked.
He sat across from her. He hadn’t said much after they’d boarded the shuttle at the space station. Space station. Shuttle. She couldn’t believe those words were actually in her regular vocabulary now.
She tapped the tablet screen with the stylus. “It’s a to-do list of everything I’ll need to do when we get there.” So many things.
Learn the culture of Cleaprea.
Buy new clothes.
Is there a grocery store?
Photography.
She glanced at him. “Do you think they have photography classes on Cleaprea? I’ve always wanted to go to school to learn it but just never.” She stopped mid-sentence and bit her lip. If they had photography classes, it would probably be filled with children. She was too old to go back to school and start from ground zero anyway.
He leaned over and placed his hands on her knees. She welcomed his warm touch. It didn’t calm all her nerves, but it helped.
“My treasure,” he said softly.
With the upgraded translator, she didn’t have a problem understanding any of his words. The clicks in his speech were all gone. Which was a little sad since she loved that sound and missed it.
God. She could get used to Themba staring at her the way he did now.
“You’re my true lifemate.”
Those words, once settled in her brain, meant so much to her. He loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. A warm feeling filled her chest as it did every time that thought occurred to her.
“You don’t have to do everything at once. There will be plenty of time for you to adjust to your new life on Cleaprea.”
Plenty of time. She smiled to herself. Although there was apprehension of what was to come and what their future would hold, she wasn’t nervous about facing anything as long as he was by her side. She gave him a short nod.
“Secure harnesses for landing,” the pilot’s voice came over the speakers.
Payton stored her tablet and did as instructed. The landing was smooth aside from her stomach dropping. She stepped out into what could’ve been any warm climate city in the United States. A warm breeze blew. It was bright, sunny and noisy. One look and she saw where all the sound came from. White boxy looking cars zipped in the air above them.
“Hovercars,” Themba said as he took her hand and led her away from the shuttle.
Payton glanced over her shoulder at the shuttle. There weren’t any other ones parked where theirs was. “Can we park the shuttle there? Is he going to move it?”
Themba pulled her along, and Jack followed. “It’s a landing pad. The shuttle won’t stay there long. But don’t worry about that. Come see your new house.”
Her eyes opened wide. “House? You got us a house?”
The tendons in Themba’s jaws jumped under his skin. “I hope you like it.”
She didn’t like the sound of his voice but as he led her a short distance away to a doorstep, she couldn’t focus on much else but the thrumming of her heart against her chest. Her breathing strained. This was it. This was officially her happily ever after. A day she didn’t think would ever come. Her mind was a flurry of incoherent thoughts as he placed her hand on something, pushed buttons, and the door opened.
Themba led her inside, and her chest tightened and eyes watered. Jack tore down the hallway and through the rooms, excited to be in a house again. Air caught in her throat. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her.
The inside was modest but looked too sterile. She could easily see the pictures she’d taken blown up and hung on the walls. She would personalize the living room with knick-knacks. Knick-knacks. She wanted a ton of them. Oh! And she wanted a throw blanket for the couch and some rugs. Did aliens make rugs?
She couldn’t help it. The tears spilled.
“Payton.” Themba turned her toward him and held onto her arms, his face too serious for the situation. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it? I can find another.”
“Themba, I love it.” She threw her arms over his shoulders and crushed her body against his, burying her face on his chest. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Payton,” his voice sounded strained.
“I don’t know anything about your culture, but I’ll study it. I want this to work so badly, Themba. I wasn’t sure before. But now. Now I know I can do this and I don’t want to be afraid of how I feel about you anymore.”
He unhooked her hands and put them soundly at her sides and stepped back. The look on his face was...wrong.
She opened her mouth wide and covered it with her hands. “Did I say something...” She’d already said or done something to screw this up.
“This is your house. The shuttle is...it’s waiting to take me back home. To my home.”
Your house? My house? “I-I don’t understand.”
“I have to bond with Chikondi. I must leave. My brother is expecting me soon.”
The world tilted abruptly to one side. To stop herself from falling, she reached for the couch arm and held on for dear life. “You’re leaving me here. Alone?” She couldn’t believe it. She did
n’t want to believe it. “But you said I was your true lifemate. You...you lied?” She could barely see him through all the tears flowing from her eyes.
Themba stood ramrod straight. His arms held stiffly at his side, his face stern. “I wouldn’t lie about something like that. You’re my true lifemate. But...I have a duty to my people and my planet. I have to bond with her, Payton. My brother is counting on me. I have a life to get back to.”
“My species mate for life. What about that?” she choked out the words on a cry.
“My mate will be Chikondi. And when I mate with her, I can’t include you in my life. We’re monogamous.”
Her skull got tighter and tighter. Her brain felt like it was being crushed under her skulls weight. “Then why did you claim me? Why did you bring me here? When a guy dumps a girl back on Earth, they don’t rescue her and buy her a house.” She gripped her head. Nothing made sense. “I’m so fucking confused right now.”
“I couldn’t leave you there. It would tear me up thinking about what could’ve happened to you. I wouldn’t have been able to lead a happy life, not knowing anything.”
She laughed, a high and screeching laugh. “Happy? So this is about your happiness? You’ve brought me to an alien planet, and you’re dumping me off because it made you happy.”
“I couldn’t—”
He’d convinced her she was his true lifemate. That she was special. He’d said he wanted to take care of her.
Such a fool. That’s what I am.
Payton growled. She was tired of men telling her whatever the hell they wanted and treating her like she didn’t matter.
No more.
She straightened. “Just go, Themba.” The happy tears now flowed in anger. “Get the hell out.”
“You’ll be safe. The locals are very welcoming to off-worlders of different species. There’s a university not far from here. There’ll be plenty for you and Jack to do. You’ll make new friends. You’ll see.”
Jack whined and pressed his head under Themba’s hand.
“No. You do not get to schmooze my guard dog anymore. Jack! Attention!” Jack bounded to her side and stood ready.
“Payton,” he said in a soft voice. He had the nerve to look hurt.
She pointed to the door. “Get. Out.” Themba opened his mouth, and Payton thrust her hand at the door again. “I don’t ever want to see or hear from you again. Go.”
Themba left. No look backs. Nothing. He just walked out of her life for good.
Payton stared at the empty doorway, wondering how she was ever going to mend her broken heart.
Chapter Twenty-One
He left me here by myself.
I’ve been on my own before.
He doesn’t want me in his life.
Fine.
No. It wasn’t fine.
It was devastating.
I will not pine for a man, correction, man or alien ever again.
Well. Maybe she would pine a little bit. An hour tops.
Payton turned from the closed door and made her way down the hall to the bedroom then fell face first on the mattress and cried.
PAYTON COCKED OPEN an eye. She was met with blurry darkness and a headache.
Ugh.
Crying for...
Wait, what time was it anyway? She maneuvered to view her new comlink. Great. She couldn’t read the time icon. Just another thing she had to learn on her own. She didn’t know how many hours in the day there was on Cleaprea. She’d been in such a state of shock that she hadn’t thought to ask.
Sunlight streamed through the window. A tell-tale sign it was still daytime. She groaned and closed her eyes again. She was alone and hadn’t a clue what to do next.
She made the executive decision to pine for a few hours more. She curled into a ball and cried again.
PAYTON WOKE TO A SOFT humming. She pried open swollen eyelids. The room was dark and eerie. She reached out blindly and found Jack. With a firm hand on his collar, she pulled him close. He grumbled in his sleep at being jostled. She wrapped her arm around him and spooned his back. Tears flowed again.
THEMBA STAGGERED DOWN the hallway. He’d left the infirmary against the advice of the medics. They’d wanted to run more tests to figure out what ailed him, but he couldn’t take the questions or poking and prodding any longer. He’d been there ever since returning from Cleaprea.
As the distance between him and Payton increased, he’d gotten sicker and sicker. His skull felt like it was squeezing the blood from his brain. His eyeballs throbbed. His vision was blurry. His stomach was a mess. And he had to keep swallowing to stop from throwing up.
The sick feeling had originally started after he’d claimed her. He thought it would feel good to rescue his mate from The Hunt. And it did. But with that rescue came the realization he would leave her to live her new life, while he fulfilled his duties on Ipakethe.
Payton had been so afraid while the game warden’s assistant took care of her. But true to her courage, she had taken the treatments in stride. There’d been one moment when he’d thought she would crumble under the strain of the events, but she’d taken one look at him and he’d known right then that she felt the same way about him that he did about her.
Payton not only loved him. She trusted him.
He should’ve told her then of his plans, but he’d been too afraid she would refuse to leave Turolois with him.
He’d also kept quiet about what needed to be done while on they travelled from Turolois to Cleaprea. She’d been so full of hope and joy that he hadn’t wanted to ruin the moment for her. She’d expected them to start a new life together. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words. Instead, he’d talked himself into believing Payton would be fine without him. In time she would forget about him.
But could he forget about her?
Never.
The moment he’d stepped into the house he’d bought her, he’d known that he would spend the rest of his life thinking about her. There wouldn’t be any relief for him.
Then she’d poured out her heart and he hadn’t been prepared to hear those words.
“Now I know I can do this and I don’t want to be afraid of how I feel about you anymore.”
Everything he’d prepared to do before he left was forgotten about. He’d meant to tell her about the years’ worth of food he’d stocked up on. He’d wanted to show her how to order more. He’d intended to program the date, time and location of the universal language and writing classes he’d signed her up for in her calendar. He’d also wanted to show her how to shop for the things she would need such as clothing, personal items and additional furniture using the credit account he would keep balanced.
But at hearing her words, he couldn’t do any of that. He’d taken one look around the structure and wasn’t prepared for the hurt that burned his chest. In his heart, he knew that instead of it being her home, it should’ve been their home.
He had to leave immediately. He couldn’t bear witness to her planning a life of domestication that didn’t include him.
The ride to Ipakethe had been one of numbing silence. If the pilot spoke to him, he hadn’t heard a word. He’d done the hardest thing that he’d ever had to do in his life.
When the shuttle had touched down and the pilot saw just how sick Themba had become, he’d called for help, immediately. Themba had tried to convince the pilots he would be fine in time, but they’d insisted he visit the infirmary anyway.
Now, hours later, he still didn’t feel any better and the medics hadn’t been able to determine the cause.
But Themba knew all too well what ailed him and it was nothing the medics could fix.
He’d left Payton behind.
He’d been a fool to think fleeing would provide some relief. It had only made it worse.
Much worse.
Themba stumbled on his own footing and crashed against the wall. He rolled to his back and closed his eyes. Why had he thought leaving her was the right thing to do?
&nb
sp; Because I want to see Melisizwe’s plan to fruition.
But at what cost?
Themba slammed the fleshy part of his fist against the wall.
At the cost of being separated from my mate.
“Themba, the Kgosi is requesting your presence in his office,” Maynara, his personal assistant’s voice came across his comlink. “Once you finish there I’ll escort you back to the infirmary. The medic just informed me that you’re sick but refused to stay for a full work-up.” Maynara tsked. “I guess I’ll give you a rundown of the day’s itinerary there. We might as well skip the additional tests and just have them give you a dose of nanomites. There’s no telling what you picked up on that planet. I’ll have to move some things around. You’re completely off schedule.”
Nanomites can’t cure me.
Themba pushed from the wall and staggered toward his brother’s office. I have to pull myself together. “I’m on my way.”
By the time he reached Melisizwe’s office he was sweaty and swayed on his feet. Each step had been a drain. All he’d really wanted to do was find a spot on the floor and curl into a ball to sleep some of the hurt away.
A hologram displayed over Melisizwe’s desk. Even with his back toward him Themba recognized Chikondi’s father. His broad shoulders were slightly rounded with age and he had a thick grey braid hanging down his back.
Anxiety flashed through Themba. His stomach knotted. He would be expected to talk about the bonding ceremony. He wasn’t ready yet. He needed more time before he could move on.
Melisizwe took one look at Themba and put up a finger, indicating for him to wait. Then Melisizwe did a double take. His eyebrows pulled together in concern.
Themba dropped into a chair opposite of Melisizwe’s desk. He couldn’t sit upright. He slumped uncomfortably in the chair. He wanted to sleep. He was so very tired.
“My daughter is anxious to proceed with the bonding ceremony. It’s all she talks about,” Chikondi’s father said.
How can I push all thoughts of Payton from my mind and go through with this?
It would be impossible.
Hunted by the Alien Prince Page 20