by Zara Zenia
“Just stay strong, Mel. You’ve got this,” she told herself again, the lump in her throat growing tighter.
A knock on the door made her practically jump out of her skin with surprise, her heart in her throat.
“It’s just me!” came the familiar voice of their neighbor, Sina. Melody had met the Selithi female a few times when her mate, Gaddis, came to talk to Devron, and the woman always seemed friendly enough, but Melody didn’t know what she’d be doing at their door. Without Devron home, she didn’t know if she should answer, but ignoring the knock would be unimaginably rude to the creatures who’d been so hospitable.
“Shit,” Melody cursed under her breath, moving to open the door.
Sina was smaller than her mate, Gaddis, but still larger than Melody by a head, especially since she preferred to be bipedal at all times. Her reptilian head was more snake than lizard, and her scales were a delicate pattern of brown and cream which complimented her brown eyes. She was brooding, currently, and her offspring were all clinging to her back, her sides, and her front. There were sixteen of them in all, Gaddis had told Devron one day, to Melody’s horror. Most of them were sleeping, some of them blinking slowly at the stranger.
“I brought you this,” Sina said, holding up a covered dish with two of her four arms. The other two were cradling children. Melody couldn’t imagine being able to do so many things at once. Would it be a blessing or a curse?
“Oh . . . thank you?” Melody said, taking the dish, her brow furrowed.
Sina nodded, looking pleased with herself. “I’m not normally one for cooking, but the motherly instincts . . . They’re going off to the care-bots this week, so we won’t need all this food,” she explained, though it didn’t do much to help Melody understand. Nevertheless, she nodded, eying all the little lizard-babies clinging to her neighbor. Space was stranger than she’d ever imagined.
“I’ll be so thankful to get back to work,” Sina said with an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know how you do it all day, sitting at home with nothing to do.”
Melody’s fingers tightened on the dish, and she bit back a smart response. “I don’t exactly have a choice,” she said, unable to let the comment go entirely. Sina blinked, as if she didn’t fully understand what Melody was trying to say.
“I suppose not,” she said, nodding slowly, though Melody was sure she still didn’t get it.
“Anyway, thanks for the . . .”
“Baroshi,” Sina supplied.
“Yeah, that, thanks,” Melody said, closing the door quickly, not caring if it was seen to be rude or not. If she talked to the Selithi woman much longer, there was no doubt she’d cross that line, so better to back out before irreparable damage was done. She dropped the dish down on the counter, then stormed over to the couch, flopping down in a petulant huff.
The Selithi didn’t suffer from the Frenzy, so they had no need for all this Alpha and Omega nonsense. The Canians had trouble finding viable females—fewer than ten percent of their own females could bear offspring—and that clearly wasn’t a problem the Selithi had. While one race was in decline, the other was on the rise. Sina had no frame of reference for what Melody was going through, and frankly, Melody didn’t have the energy to try and put it all into context for her.
She could still see the dish out of the corner of her eye and glared at it, not sure why it was annoying her so much. Sina hadn’t meant anything by it. She hadn’t meant anything by bringing the food over or her comments. Yet both were irritating the shit out of Melody.
She didn’t want to sit at home with ‘nothing to do all day’ any more than Sina did. She was used to doing things. She’d been working since she was a kid, never really taking days off. All this lounging about in solitude was wearing her nerves thin. Not that she’d ever admit as much to Devron. She’d never tell him anything was wrong beyond what he already knew. She wanted her freedom, and that was all she had to say to him on the matter. She wasn’t going to give him pointers on how to make her imprisonment more palatable.
The door opened, and it caught Melody off-guard, Devron’s sudden presence slamming into her like a shot of adrenaline to the heart.
It was enough to take her breath away for a moment, her body awash with the prickling awareness of his presence.
She hated when he sneaked up on her like that. It wasn’t that he was trying to sneak up on her, but she’d wanted to prepare herself for him, and Sina had thrown her off.
As he did every day, Devron walked right over to her with a smile on his handsome face, bent down so she got a lungful of his intoxicating alien scent, and let his lips hover just above hers until her entire body was quivering with the urge to close the distance.
“Did you miss me?” he asked, his breath warm enough to send shivers down her spine, heat pooling between her legs as she fought not to squirm.
“No,” she lied, her voice a breathy whisper. They both knew it was a lie. And she knew if she told him the truth, it all might go very differently, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to admit it. That would be handing him a victory, and she wouldn’t do that. Not just couldn’t. Wouldn’t. He didn’t get to win after all of this. That wasn’t how things worked in Melody’s world.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his hand sliding around the side of her neck, stroking the sensitive skin at her throat. “Because I missed you.”
“Sucks to be you,” she said, voice trembling as his eyes held hers firmly. Stay strong, Mel, she told herself. Those eyes always broke her. That look of his. The intense longing deep down inside.
It wasn’t real. She knew it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. But it was close enough to nearly fool her. Close enough that she could nearly fool herself.
But she couldn’t. Giving in to him was just adding another link to the chain that bound her to him. Another link she’d have to break through to get away from him.
Devron sighed, pulling away from her, his eyes shimmering with hurt in that way that always made her feel guilty and made her wonder if she was the asshole—which was preposterous. Of course she wasn’t.
Right?
“What’s this?” he asked, looking over to the kitchen counter where the food from the neighbor sat.
“Sina brought it over. Said they wouldn’t need the extra food.”
“That was nice of her. Did she say what it is?”
“She did,” Melody said, not making any attempt at butchering the native name.
Devron looked at her expectantly, then figured out what she was doing and chuckled despite himself, shaking his head as he made himself a plate.
“You going to eat?” he asked.
“I’m not hungry,” Melody said, turning her nose up at the alien food even though it smelled pretty great.
Devron frowned. “You know a hunger strike won’t work, right? I could just order you to—”
“Yes, I’m well aware that you can order me to do anything you wish against my will. You don’t have to remind me of it every chance you get,” she spat before he could finish his thought.
Devron set his plate down with a clatter and turned a harsh look on her. “Perhaps it is more a reminder of what I’m not doing, Melody. Have you considered that?”
“I’m also well aware that you think you’re some kind of saint for not being the same level of monster as others like you, but I’m not going to grovel and be eternally grateful just because you’re not using me like a sex puppet.”
His face grew dark and dangerous as he parsed her words, and Melody was sure she’d pushed him too far, sure that he’d finally break and become the evil Alpha he claimed he could be. Her stomach twisted. All this time, she’d been saying it didn’t matter how he treated her, but that was when she was pretty confident he was going to keep being a decent guy. All of the sudden, Melody wasn’t so certain, and all of the sudden, she was scared of the man he could be.
“Are you going to tell me you haven’t begged for me to fuck you? That you haven’t willingly spread
your legs and welcomed my cock? Are you going to tell me that you haven’t writhed and screamed in pleasure with my dick deep inside you?” he growled, looming over her where she sat on the couch, cowering back into the cushions, not sure what to expect from him. This was a side of Devron she hadn’t seen before, and Melody didn’t know if he’d refrain from violence or not after she’d pushed him so far.
“T-that doesn’t count,” she said, finding the strength to rebuff him. He would not break her. “You . . . forcing me to want you isn’t the same. It’s not real.”
“The orgasms are real,” he challenged. “You’ll gladly take those and then deny any part in the whole thing?”
Without thinking about it, Melody pulled her hand back and smacked him—only she didn’t. She couldn’t. Her hand wouldn’t connect with his face, like there was an invisible barrier stopping her.
“Fuck!” she shrieked, storming off into the bedroom, the door slamming behind her.
17
“Do not touch me,” Melody growled as Devron approached from behind. She could hear his cautious footsteps approaching in between bouts of retching over the cold stone toilet. It was the third day in a row that she’d felt miserable like this, but now there were added symptoms. Just what she needed.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Devron snapped back.
“Just because I’m incapacitated doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass if you make a move,” she said, her voice wavering despite the strong message she was trying to convey. Her forehead was sweaty—actually, her whole body was sweaty—despite the constant shivers coursing through her, making her shoulders tremble until the movement triggered a fresh wave of nausea.
“Of all the absurd things you’ve said, Melody, that’s the most preposterous.”
“You wanna test me, UFO Boy?” she grumbled, even as bile tickled the back of her throat, leaving its sour taste lingering on her tongue.
“You’re ill, Melody. I want to examine you,” he said, exasperation evident despite the patience he forced into his tone.
Melody winced, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and groaning as her stomach did some complicated acrobatics routine worthy of Olympic gold.
“I–I’m fi—” Her body rebelled at the lie, refusing to let her finish the word. Her stomach clenched and her mouth filled with saliva. Her esophagus contracted, and when Devron’s hand landed softly between her shoulder blades, she didn’t flinch away because it was a welcome touch. He was gentle with her as his hand moved up and down her spine, soothing and comforting while her body worked to expel anything that had miraculously escaped previous purges.
“You’ve been in this village, on this planet, for over a month without inoculations. I didn’t realize Nor hadn’t . . . I should have—” Devron cut himself off with a growl and shook his head. “We’ll procure the proper vaccinations for you, Melody. I’m sorry for not thinking of it sooner. But in the meantime, I’ll get a doctor to look at you. There’s no need for you to suffer like this.”
She tried to pay attention to his words, but the only thing she was able to think about was not breaking down into a pathetic sobbing mess. The cool stone did little to soothe the itching burn of the pox-like rash that had broken out all over her skin. Even thinking about scratching the dark purple marks made Melody cringe, though. Any amount of pressure made the spots hurt and burn like a match being put out on her skin.
Devron’s touch was soft enough to avoid hurting her, but it was too soft. Too kind. Melody was too vulnerable to keep her guard up at a time like this, and Devron’s kindness nearly broke her.
“Please,” she muttered, “just leave me alone.”
Her stomach clenched and wretched again, but there was nothing left for her to expel, just painful dry heaves shaking her slight body.
It was a sight that cut Devron to his very core.
He was supposed to care for her, to make sure she was safe and healthy and happy to the extent that he could manage with her impossible attitude.
She was none of those things at the moment, and it was all due to his own failings. He was a terrible Alpha. She deserved better.
Unfortunately for Melody, he was what she had. That just meant he was more determined than ever to be a proper Alpha, to give her a better life than Nor ever would or could have.
Of course, Nor would have had her inoculated before taking her planetside. That was a major oversight on Devron’s part. Melody didn’t have resistances to any of their illnesses or diseases. They were remarkably lucky that she hadn’t caught something more dangerous than what he suspected was the fairly common Adristean Flu. A doctor would have to be brought in to be certain, but she had all the symptoms.
It was something most Canians were vaccinated for early on, and Selithi were immune. They could be carriers, though, and there was no telling how the disease had been passed to Melody, only that she was in a world of misery now because of it.
“Let me know if there’s anything you need,” Devron said with a heavy sigh as he left the bathroom, abandoning Melody to suffer in isolation. It was what she wanted though. He was only trying to give her what she wanted.
It was an impossible task, he knew. No matter how hard he tried, nothing ever really pleased Melody because she’d always be ‘in captivity’, as she put it. He couldn’t do anything about that, nor did he really want to. Melody would realize the arrangement wasn’t all that bad if she’d ever just open herself up to the idea. Instead, she stubbornly insisted that nothing good could ever come from such a twisted system, and they were left at an impasse. He could be the kindest, most permissive, generous Alpha there ever was, but all Melody would see was that he was an Alpha.
There was no hope of escaping that truth, and it seemed that they were both destined to be trapped in this unsatisfying arrangement.
As much as Devron had dreamed of an Omega of his own, had longed for one—and as irresistible and alluring as Melody was—the way she looked at him almost made him question whether it was worth it.
Perhaps the Frenzy would have been better, after all.
It was too late now, though. The only way to break the bond at this point was for one of them to die—and if Melody discovered that bit of information, Devron would have a lot more trouble sleeping.
They were stuck together, regardless of what either of them wanted. And to Devron, the least he could do was be better than she expected him to be.
After he left the bathroom, he headed over to the neighbors’ house. Gaddis and Sina were the only friends Devron had really made since coming to the Selithi village. Sina and Melody had a friendly relationship. Maybe the Selithi female could offer Melody comfort where she shut Devron out.
The neighbors’ place was oddly quiet when Devron knocked on the door, and Gaddis opened it with a sleepy, smiling look, blinking slowly.
“What brings you here, neighbor?” he asked, yawning behind one of his big clawed hands, then stretching before he dropped down to four legs.
“Melody’s sick,” Devron explained, “and—”
“Oh, no!” cried Sina, appearing from behind Gaddis, though she was on two legs, as usual. She looked different for some reason, but Devron couldn’t say why. New utility belt, maybe? “Sick with what?”
“Adristean Flu, if I had to wager. I was hoping you could help me get in touch with a doctor, though. I know it’s too late to vaccinate her for it, but there are treatments to make her less miserable. I don’t have much money, but if I can contact my mother, I can—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gaddis said, standing up to two feet now and waving Devron’s concerns off dismissively with two hands on the same side. “Our doctors work just like the rest of us—for the good of the colony. If there is a cost for the medicine, it is not something you’ll have to worry about.”
Devron frowned, shaking his head. “What? I don’t understand. Who’s going to pay for—”
Gaddis clapped him on the shoulder with a firm claw. “When the Nobleman’s Frenz
y began taking its toll, your Canian ancestors knew they needed to look elsewhere for breeding stock. Fortunately for Selithi, we had developed interstellar engines and were able to become incredibly rich from the Canians’ desperation.”
Devron’s brows lifted high, jaw dropping slightly. “So the colony is sitting on a massive pile of money?”
Gaddis shrugged. “More or less. We take care of our own, though, most importantly. And you’re one of us. Melody too.”
“I’ve already let Frastek know,” said Sina. “She’s a marvelous doctor, studied with Canians, even, so she should be able to help your Omega.”
“Thank you,” Devron said, able to breathe a little easier without the pressing urgency of finding a doctor and figuring out how to pay for treatment. The Selithis’ generosity apparently knew no bounds, and Devron was grateful yet again for where their boat had taken them.
“How is she?” Sina asked, her warm eyes focused intently on Devron. What was it that was so different about her?
“About how you’d expect from Melody,” he answered with a rueful chuckle. The Selithi might not know the typical behavior of an Omega, but they could certainly identify spiritedness in all its forms.
“Let me guess. Saying she’s fine while keeping you at a distance?” Sina said with pinpoint accuracy.
Devron blinked. “It’s like you were there.”
She laughed softly and shook her triangular head. “Your Omega doesn’t trust easily—or at all, from what I’ve seen.”
“I know,” Devron sighed, feeling resentful toward her for pointing it out. “I hope that will change with time. She’s still adjusting to it all.”
“Being sick likely isn’t helping,” Gaddis said with a sage nod.
Devron nodded and looked around their living room curiously, his mind struggling to come up with the thing that had changed. “Did you get new furniture?” he asked, frowning at the impeccably clean space.
“No,” Gaddis answered, confused.
“When will the doctor be here?” Devron asked instead of pursuing that curiosity any further.