Her Alien Captor: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Alien Pirates Of Cania Book 1)

by Zara Zenia

  “Soon,” said Sina, “but she’s headed to your place. If you need anything, you know where to find us,” she added, giving him an affectionate embrace—something she’d never done before.

  Because of the babies.

  “The kids are gone!” he exclaimed suddenly. That was why it was quiet, why they looked well-rested and the place was spotless.

  “Nothing gets past you, Canian,” Gaddis said with a hissing laugh.

  “They’re with the care-bots and others their age now,” Sina said, and Devron was sure he heard a hint of sadness lingering in her voice. It seemed he was the only one who noticed it, though.

  “I should go meet the doctor,” he said, waving to his neighbors. “Congrats?” he offered, not sure what the customary words were for such an occasion. Sina shrugged and smiled. Seemed that was good enough.

  It was a little over an hour later when the doctor Sina called for confirmed his suspicions and offered an assortment of medicines and ointments to make Melody more comfortable during her illness. Devron felt odd not paying the doctor before she left, but he was grateful for it. No doubt, the whole kit of supplies she left behind would have cost a fortune if he’d had to pay for it himself.

  “Take this,” he told Melody, offering her a spoonful of a thick, green, syrupy liquid that smelled like something rancid.

  Predictably, Melody turned her nose up at it.

  “No, thanks,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest where she was propped up in the bed.

  “Why not?”

  “’Cause the last time one of you aliens gave me a ‘treatment’, I was chemically enslaved to you,” she spat, glaring at him with surprising animosity for someone who looked so sickly.

  Devron grumbled under his breath, but he could hardly argue with her.

  “It’s to ease your stomach and soothe your fever. Take it or not. It’s your suffering to endure.” He said it with a casual dismissiveness that he absolutely did not feel. Just as Melody had felt his agony during the Frenzy, he could feel echoes of her illness, the ache deep in her bones, the exhaustion keeping her pressed down into the mattress.

  It wasn’t just his own comfort on his mind, though. Devron hated to see her suffer. He hated to see her unhappy. He cherished the infuriating woman. She was his most precious possession, prized above all others, no matter how much she sometimes made him regret ever stealing her.

  She studied him for a long moment, assessing the sincerity of his apathy.

  “Fine,” she grunted, swallowing the spoonful down in one gulp, shocking the hell out of Devron. Maybe she wasn’t as tough as she wanted him to think. Maybe there was a little hint of weakness under that steel exterior.

  “The doctor also left this ointment,” he said, knowing full well that he was pushing it.

  Predictably, Melody glared at him.

  “You think I’m going to let you rub that shit all over me? Give it here. I’ll put it on myself,” she said, snatching the jar from him before he could think of a counter-argument.

  “Whatever suits you,” Devron said, throwing up his arms in defeat as he left the room.

  Melody watched him leave, the unopened jar in her lap, the awful licorice-fish taste of that medicine still lingering on her tongue, her body overwhelmed by alien sickness, and somehow, she still managed to feel guilty.

  Again.

  He did such a good job of looking like a kicked puppy. It wasn’t fair.

  Melody sighed, grumbling under her breath as she applied the slimy yellow ointment. At least it didn’t smell. It did dry into a kind of hard cast on her skin, but that just meant the little purple blisters weren’t nearly as painful or fiery.

  Before too long, the vile medicine she’d swallowed dragged her down into a deep, dreamless sleep, broken only by brief moments of lucidity when Devron came into the room to press the spoon to her lips again. She slept for what felt like forever, but after some time, the sleep wasn’t as uneventful as before. It must have been days that had gone by, because he’d bathed her and reapplied the ointment—all with the professional detachment of a nurse—a couple of times. It came to her in brief glimpses of wakefulness, fleeting moments of conscious thought that floated away like bubbles.

  But after days and days of it, her rest wasn’t so peaceful. There was something bothering her, something inside her telling her to wake up, telling her she needed something.

  Then the familiar pain came.

  Melody jolted awake with a gasp, sitting upright as the pain lanced through her gut. It was hot and intense, but it faded in a moment, leaving her gasping from the shock but not in lasting agony.

  Awake—really awake—for the first time in probably a week, Melody blinked, trying to get the room, and her thoughts, into focus. She heard a gasp from another room and decided to investigate.

  The bed rest and medicine had worked wonders, though she was still nowhere near well, and her knees buckled the moment she tried to put weight on her feet.

  She grunted and soldiered on, dragging herself slowly across the room to the doorway where she could hear strange sounds from the living room.

  “Devron?” she called in a raspy croak. Had he left for some reason? That would probably be enough to wake her up. Did he leave and someone else broke in?

  “Mel . . . what are you doing?” he groaned from the couch, curled up with a hand over his abdomen, his face sweaty and pale.

  “The Frenzy?” she asked, everything clicking together.

  Had it already been that long? A month since she first gave in to him? It seemed impossible, yet . . . not.

  He said nothing, his face scrunched into pain as an intense wave rocked through him, ripples of it hitting her too. He pried his eyes open to look up at her, and Melody’s breath caught in her throat at the desperation she saw there.

  Again, she was driven to help him, compelled to relieve his suffering.

  “Go back to bed,” he said through a clenched jaw. “We’re not doing this until you’re well. Go.”

  There was a commanding tone in his voice that she couldn’t resist even if she wanted to. Part of her did, of course. Part of her wanted to resist him because he was in pain and she could ease it—but she was still very ill, and there were the myriad other factors between them and their relationship.

  So she didn’t really want to argue with him or go against this particular order. Melody took her opportunity to scurry back to bed before she could think twice about it. Safely cocooned in blankets again, all she could think about was how surprising his refusal of her was and what it meant for them.

  18

  Once she was feeling better, Melody expected Devron to be knocking down her door to get to her. She couldn’t believe he’d been willing to endure the pain of the Frenzy for her sake while she was sick, but she wasn’t going to delude herself into thinking his benevolence would extend past her period of illness.

  The worst part—as always—was that she was almost, kind of, sort of looking forward to it.

  Damn it, she cursed herself. She hated her response to him. Hated that the cocktail of hormones had done its job so thoroughly in latching them together. She hated that she found him irresistible when she had no say in the matter.

  And she was done sitting around and waiting for something to change. Because it wasn’t going to. Melody had to be realistic here. The only person who was going to be able to get her out of this situation was herself.

  So, at the first signs of feeling well and being recovered, Melody pulled herself out of bed and ventured over to the neighbors’ house without saying anything to Devron. She didn’t actually see him on her way out, but if he’d been on duty, she would have known it from the deep-down tug to be nearer to him. He was somewhere close, but not anywhere to stop her from leaving, so she took her chance.

  She took her window of opportunity and went to Sina’s house—the only person she felt she could trust in this place. Trust was probably too strong a word for it. Melody had trouble tru
sting anyone after the way everything fell apart back on Earth, but Sina seemed to have integrity, at least. That was something. Perhaps she’d be able to help.

  Or maybe she’d turn around and immediately tell Devron what Melody was after.

  It was a chance she’d just have to take.

  Besides, how much worse could things get? She was already a slave.

  Despite that little bit of wisdom, Melody held her breath as she knocked on the door.

  It took only a moment for Sina’s lizard head to appear on the other side, and her warm eyes widened with surprise.

  “Melody! I didn’t expect to see you out of bed so soon. Feeling better, are we?”

  Melody gave her a small smile and a dip of her head, nodding. “Yes, much. Thank you for sending the doctor. She made a world of difference in my recovery.”

  Sina waved off her thanks and stepped back to usher her into the quiet cottage. Without sixteen little Selithi crawling around the place, it had almost a library-hush about it.

  “No need to thank me. It was your Alpha who came over in a panic, certain he was going to lose you.”

  Melody frowned at the way her heart skipped at that. It didn’t mean anything that Devron had been worried about her. He went through a lot to get himself an Omega, and from what he’d told her, he wouldn’t be likely to ever have another chance at one. Of course he didn’t want to lose her. It would be a huge blow to his overcoming the Frenzy.

  It had nothing to do with her.

  And yet she still felt the words warm her up inside. The thought that Devron was so worried for her, so concerned—had anyone ever been so invested in her survival? She was sure no one had ever cared so much. Even with the circumstances, that meant something to her.

  “I’m glad to be feeling better, nevertheless,” she said, hoping Sina didn’t spot the subtle shift in her demeanor. Luckily, she didn’t think the Selithi were any better at reading human emotions than she was at reading lizard emotions.

  “What brings you here?” Sina asked, leading the way into the kitchen to prepare them both a beverage. The day outside was warm and fresh, and Melody appreciated the open window, curtains fluttering in the breeze. She’d been cooped up inside for too long with the sickness, and breathing in fresh air for the first time in a week or more was like heaven—even if it was tinged with the unfamiliar scents of an alien landscape.

  “Or were you here just to thank me for the doctor?” Sina added, a knowing curve twisting her mouth.

  Melody took a seat at the table but shifted nervously in her seat. She had to be careful about how she brought this up, had to tread cautiously, else Sina might raise the alarm and ruin any chance she’d ever had of getting out of here.

  “Not exactly,” Melody answered sheepishly, ducking her head in a show of bashfulness that wasn’t completely fabricated.

  “I didn’t think so,” Sina said, her voice somehow comforting. She took the chair opposite Melody and passed her a mug of warm, steaming liquid that smelled like lemongrass. “So, what is it that’s on your mind?”

  Melody licked her lips and stared down into the mug of clear green tea. The warm breeze kissed the back of her neck, ruffling her hair around her face, and she took a deep breath as she pushed it back behind her ears.

  Just say it, get it out there, she scolded herself.

  “Sina, what do you know of the Alpha-Omega bond?” Melody asked finally, deciding to ease her way into it. There were things she hadn’t felt comfortable asking Devron. Maybe she’d be able to get more answers than just the one she sought.

  Sina looked thoughtful, her gaze drifting over to the window before getting a little more serious.

  “What do you want to know? The concept isn’t one we’ve ever adopted, but we do share a planet with the Canians.”

  “Is the Frenzy as bad as they say?” Melody asked, not even sure where the question came from. She’d felt Devron’s pain. She knew the kind of writhing torture he was in . . .

  Or did she?

  The so-called treatment that imprinted her to him, who was to say it didn’t also cause her intense pain if she didn’t sleep with him? Maybe it was all a ruse. Maybe the Frenzy wasn’t half as bad as they claimed and they were all a bunch of babies.

  Sina looked thoughtful, sipping her tea, staring past Melody out the kitchen window at the Selithi village and bright blue skies and seas beyond.

  “Canians are very vain, Melody. They always have been. For generations, their vanity played out through gene editing. They wanted to make themselves stronger, faster, more beautiful—but it came with a price.”

  “The Frenzy,” Melody finished for her.

  Sina nodded. “Not just that, but mass infertility. Canian women dislike the Alpha-Omega arrangement, possibly more than you do. They’re forgotten, neglected, and all for those whom they consider ‘lesser’. The Canians were dying before they discovered the Omegas. Devron is the only one I’ve ever known personally, and we have not discussed his Frenzy, so my interpretation may not be all that helpful, but as far as I see it, for the Canians to admit they destroyed their race, to admit they needed our help in finding suitable mates, and to make it clear to the galaxy that they have this crippling impediment—yeah, I think it must be as bad as they say. Otherwise, they would have hidden it, suffered in silence. But everyone knows of the Nobleman’s Frenzy, which makes me think it must be pretty awful.”

  Melody thought about that for a long moment before blowing out a heavy breath.

  It wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

  What she wanted to hear . . . well, she wasn’t sure, but it sure as hell wasn’t a story that was going to make her sympathize with these slaving assholes.

  “What about the bond itself?” Melody asked. “Is there any way to reverse it? To break it?”

  Sina narrowed her eyes then, finally piecing together what Melody was after in her not-so-innocent line of questioning.

  “I’m afraid not. That’s not to say it’s impossible, only that it’s never been done. Omegas are commodities here, Melody. One who doesn’t serve well isn’t released from duty. She’s killed.”

  Melody’s heart stopped for a moment, everything going still and silent, the only sound the rushing of her blood in her ears.

  There it was. The truth of the whole thing.

  She could be Devron’s sex slave, or she could die. Those were her options.

  On the other side of the open window, Devron watched Melody closely, seeing in real-time how her hopes for freedom melted away. He saw the weight of the knowledge settle down on her shoulders, making them slump forward, her spine arched under the burden.

  He knew he shouldn’t have been spying on her like he was, but he couldn’t resist. She’d been bedridden for so long that he had to follow to make sure she wasn’t in some kind of fevered psychosis. Then he followed her to Sina’s, and even though he knew she’d be safe with his neighbor, he still couldn’t leave her.

  What had been so important that it was the first thing she did after being ill for so long?

  Now he knew.

  She was just as determined as ever to get away from him.

  He’d been a fool for thinking he could bring her around. She was too stubborn. Too willful. Too headstrong. The treatment may have ‘worked’ on her, but it certainly didn’t make her an Omega.

  Devron watched with held breath, waiting for Melody’s reaction to what Sina had just said. He knew it was coming. He could see the indignant fury brewing in Melody’s head, a storm cloud practically gathering above her scalp as waves of outrage poured off her.

  He knew he should leave before she said anything, before she could catch him and turn her target. He knew he didn’t want to hear anything she had to say about the whole thing. He’d heard it all, and there was nothing more he could do than what he’d already done.

  Now Melody had heard it from another source. In the back of her head, there had still been a little hope, he knew. She’d still dreamed of finding
her freedom and leaving behind all memories of him and Cania.

  But it wouldn’t happen. Not unless Melody was willing to die to be rid of the bond.

  His knees buckled at the thought.

  Would he put it past her?

  A wave of nausea rushed through Devron at the thought of anything happening to Melody, but something that egregious? He couldn’t fathom it. Wouldn’t even try.

  And he wasn’t going to shy away from her vitriol like a coward. He might be outside eavesdropping like one, but he was going to take the brunt of whatever she had to say. It was the least he could do at this point.

  19

  “So, that’s just it, then?” Melody asked, her voice pitching to a near shriek. “That’s your response? That’s my only hope for life, to be a sex slave if I want to live?”

  It was only confirmation of what she’d already suspected, but that confirmation was enough. It was enough to make her tremble with the hot rage that flooded her veins.

  “Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?” she wailed, shaking her head. “I had a home. I’m not just some fish to pluck out of the ocean and bring home to display.”

  She trailed of, some of the vehemence dying out as she took in Sina’s pitying look.

  “But I am to you, aren’t I? That’s just it. I’m not on your level. I’m—”

  “Melody, that isn’t true,” Sina said calmly, but Melody wasn’t having it.

  “It is,” she said coolly. “To you, I’m not a person, not a human. I’m an Omega. Property of Devron, no matter how friendly you might seem with me.” She pushed back slowly from the table, standing on shaky legs that hadn’t been used nearly enough lately to be strong under this weighty conversation.

  “The Canians are terrible,” Melody said, clutching the edge of the table with sweat-slicked fingers. “They’re awful, horrible, woman-hating savages masquerading as enlightened nobles. They have no right to claim these women, to steal their freedom from them. I don’t care how desperate they are. Have they ever heard of asking? I’m sure there are tons of miserable girls who’d be willing to offer themselves up for an escape.” It sounded silly to her even as she said it, but she had to say something. She needed to rant and rage. She needed to vent some of the frustration that had been bubbling up, brewing and growing.