Alien Healer

by Sadie Carter

  “I am sorry, my Empress. I did not mean to insult you.”

  “Racar, call me Zoey. And I get it. I’d have that look on face too if our roles were reversed.”

  The door from the hallway slid open and Racar couldn’t help the shudder of relief that filled him as the Emperor entered.

  The Emperor’s gaze immediately went to his mate. “Zoey, what are you doing? You’re supposed to be staying off your feet.”

  She was? He frowned, taking another look at the Empress. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes unusually bright, and she didn’t look all that well.

  He grasped hold of her hand to take her pulse. “How long have you been feeling unwell?”

  She blew out a breath. “Oh, I don’t know. Since I got pregnant.”

  “Zoey,” Dex said in a low, warning voice. But he walked over to stand behind her and she leaned back on him tiredly.

  “I’ve felt pretty crappy for the last few days. Moroco has been here and checked me over. He told me I needed to rest more and avoid stress. Not sure how a person is supposed to rest when they have a toddler.”

  “By letting others help, as they have all offered to,” Dex told her.

  Zoey grimaced. “I know, I know. But I’m pregnant, not an invalid. I should be able to take care of my own child.”

  “Your pulse is very fast. Moroco is keeping an eye on your blood pressure?” He wished he had brought his bag with him.

  “Yeah, he comes and takes it twice a day,” Zoey said tiredly. “It’s a little high.”

  “He is right, you need to rest. Keep your feet up. Drink plenty of fluids.”

  “Which is what I’m doing. But when you drink lots, you have to pee lots, which is what I got up to do.” She sent them both an irritated look.

  “Racar, please excuse us for a moment,” the Emperor said to him.

  He barely had time to nod his head before the Emperor had Zoey in his arms and was carrying her to the bathroom. He paced up and down the room as he impatiently waited for them to return. They came back a few minutes later, Zoey still in Dex’s arms. He set her on the couch and poured her a glass of water. “Drink.”

  She gave a tired nod.

  “So, Racar, what is so important you had to come tell us tonight?” Dex turned to him.

  “I have found it,” he told them both. “I’ve found a way to prolong human mates’ lives.”

  The Emperor’s eyes widened and he sat beside Zoey. She reached for his hand, clasping tight.

  “Really?” she whispered, tears in her eyes once more.

  “I did not mean to make you cry,” he said frantically as tears dripped down her cheeks.

  “These are happy tears.”

  Dex gave him a resigned look. “I am certain you are used to the fact that these human females cry when both sad and happy.”

  He frowned. “Ellie does not cry happy tears.” When was the last time she’d smiled?

  Zoey’s face tightened. “How is Ellie? I know this has been hard for her. Have you figured out why the mating bond hasn’t formed between the two of you?”

  “Maybe. I think it could be tied with my discovery. See, it was Ellie that led me to the solution.” He paced back and forth as he talked, unable to stay still. There was a sense of urgency beating at him, telling him he needed to be somewhere. “It was the java worm.”

  “The java worm?” Dex asked. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you remember when that java worm nearly killed Ellie?”

  Zoey wrinkled her nose. “Ew, yes. That was too gross to ever forget. But what does it have to do with anything?”

  “As I was trying to determine why the mating bond had not formed between Ellie and myself, I discovered some strange things in her bloodwork. As I investigated further, I found that Ellie has not been aging at the same rate as other human females.”

  “And you think it’s due to the java worm?” the Emperor asked.

  He nodded. “Yes, I believe so. The excretion it left changed Ellie’s DNA slightly; it has slowed down the aging process. And it may also be the reason why the bond has not formed between us.”

  “Wait, so, you’re telling us the cure is worm poo?” Zoey asked. “And if you give us this worm poo, which, gross, our bond to our mates may break?”

  He shook his head. “No. Well, yes. Perhaps if it is given in too great a quantity. But even with the worm inside her, I could sense that we were mates. I believe that if the bond has already formed, the java worm’s excretion will not be able to break it. The bond alters the human females’ DNA too much. The java worm’s excretion could not undo that. But still, it would have to be administered very carefully and in small doses so that we could ensure it did not make anyone ill.”

  “And what if a human female comes into contact with the worm before the bond is formed?” the Emperor asked.

  “Then that could well be a different matter,” he said grimly. “It could well interfere with the bond.”

  “So, do you think the mating bond will never form for you and Ellie?” Zoey asked sadly. “How is Ellie taking that news? She must be devastated. You as well.”

  “It could still be possible for the bond to form. I have not discovered what happens once the excretion of the java worm completely leaves a human’s system. Perhaps then the bond may form. I do not have all the answers yet.”

  “So, once it has left Ellie’s system, the two of you could possibly mate?” Zoey asked.

  “Possibly.”

  “Guess that’s some hope, then. Poor Ellie. I bet she doesn’t much feel like celebrating her birthday. I’m sorry we couldn’t make the party.”

  Horror filled him. “Oh, stars.”

  Zoey’s eyes widened. “You forgot it was her birthday?”

  “I am supposed to be at her party now.” How could he have forgotten?

  “Oh shit, you haven’t told her about any of this, have you?” Zoey asked.

  He shook his head. “I came straight here. I should go and tell her now.”

  “Won’t her party be in full swing?” Zoey asked. “Maybe you should wait until tomorrow.”

  “Yes. Yes, you are right. I should go now.”

  “You really should. I hope you’ve got her a really good present to make up for being so late.”

  He just stared at her.

  “Oh crap, you guys are so shit at this relationship stuff. You haven’t got anything, have you?” Zoey gave him an exasperated look.

  “No. She will understand. I have been busy.”

  Zoey shook her head. “Want some advice, my friend?”

  “All right.”

  “Start practicing your groveling.”

  The Empress’ words rolled around in his head as he made his way to Blue and Safan’s house. Ellie would understand why he was late. And why he had forgotten to get a gift.

  Ellie always understood.

  But still, worry filled him. And as he grew closer to Blue and Safan’s house, that worry grew. It was quiet. Too quiet.

  He went to the door and pressed his hand against the pad next to it to request admittance. He had to wait a moment, then the door slid open. Surprisingly, no one greeted him. He walked in to find the place empty, except for Safan, who sat on the sofa, watching something on the screen on the wall.

  “Safan? What is going on? Is the party over?” He looked around for Ellie as if suddenly expecting her to appear.

  Safan looked over at him, his face cool, gaze shuttered. “We canceled it.”

  “Why? Ellie was looking forward to it.”

  “Was she? Not sure there is much that Ellie looks forward to these days.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked, moving forward. His stomach tightened into a knot.

  “Ellie is not happy.”

  He sat on the end of the sofa; his legs unable to hold up any longer. “She told you this.”

  “No. But it is not hard to see. She rarely smiles. She never laughs. She was looking forward to this party, but when you did not sho
w up, she decided to cancel it.”

  Stars.

  “I forgot.”

  “You forget a lot of things, unless it is to do with your research.”

  “I know I get caught up in work. But Ellie has always supported my work. She has always understood if I get sidetracked and forget things.”

  “Ellie is very kind. That does not mean she deserves to be neglected. Or forgotten. Or made to feel less.” Safan glared at him.

  “I have not done those things,” he growled at the other male.

  “Have you not? Two weeks ago, it was Tane’s birthday. You did not show up to the dinner we had for him. Three weeks ago, Keely cut her arm and you did not even come to check on her.”

  “Ellie said it was fine that I did not come to that dinner. And she did not tell me about Keely until she had left the medical ward. She said she did not want to disturb me.”

  “Doesn’t mean that she did not need you,” Safan told him. “That she does not need you to be there for her. To reassure her that, even though the mating bond has not formed, you still want her.”

  “She knows that.” She had to know that.

  “Does she? Difficult to know that when you are never around to tell her.”

  It hit him hard. Breathing became difficult. His stomach tightened into a knot. “I have failed her. I promised myself that I would be there for her. That I would not fail her again. And I have. I was trying to work out why the bond has not formed.”

  “And now you may have lost the reason you were working so hard for.”

  “W-what? No. Where is she?” Terror filled him. Lose her? He could not lose her.

  “They’re at their thinking rock.”

  That made no sense to him. “What? What is a thinking rock?”

  “Stars, you do not know?” Safan shook his head. “It is a rock they all go to when they need to think. Have some time to themselves.”

  “Ellie has never told me this.”

  “I wonder why,” Safan said dryly.

  “Where is this rock? I must go to her. Explain.” Urgency filled him. He needed to see her now.

  Safan sighed. “You cannot go to the rock. It is their place.”

  “I am her mate. You are Blue’s mate. It is our right to be with our mates.”

  “See, that is what you have got to learn. The thinking rock is their place. Not ours.”

  He did not understand. “But they should not keep things from us.”

  “Why? Because they have had to give us everything? They live here for us. They follow our rules, well, mostly. For us. And you cannot give them this one thing of their own?”

  He swallowed. His mouth dry. “Can we go and wait for them?”

  “That we can do.” Safan stood. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yes.”

  “If the mating bond never develops, will you still want her? Because if the answer to that is no, then you need to let her go.”

  “I will never let her go, no matter what.”

  Safan nodded. “I had hoped that was your answer. Now you just need to convince Ellie of that.”

  13

  She stared up at the stars glistening in the distance.

  Her friends sat around her, silent, keeping her company. After she’d realized that Racar wasn’t coming to the party, she’d decided to call it off. She just wasn’t up to pretending to be happy, to be having fun. That everything was all right.

  Because it really wasn’t.

  “Ellie?” Keely asked, leaning her head against her shoulder. “Talk to us.”

  “About what?”

  “What are you thinking?” Jack asked.

  “I’m thinking that this isn’t actually the worst birthday I’ve had. It’s not even in top five. Which is pretty pathetic if you think about it.”

  Tane was sitting on her other side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

  “Sorry,” she murmured. “Guess the sort of party I really wanted was a pity one. I’ll snap out of it in a minute.”

  “Who said you had to?” Blue asked from behind her.

  “No one wants to be around someone who feels miserable and sorry for herself all the time. Do they?”

  “You’re entitled to be sad, Ellie,” Blue told her. “And mad. I’d want his balls on a platter.”

  “That can be arranged,” Tane said darkly.

  She chuckled, but even she could hear how forced it sounded. “I don’t want Racar’s balls. It’s not his fault I’m not his mate.”

  “You are his mate,” Blue insisted.

  “No. I’m not. And it’s time I stopped dreaming and woke up to the reality. I’m not his mate. Before we had sex, when he thought I was his mate, he was so attentive. He still worked, but he did as much as he could from home. He came home at night. He saw me. Now I’m back to the faceless woman who does his laundry and fills his autocooker. I can’t remember the last time he slept beside me.”

  “What a fucking dick,” Keely said.

  “Jerk,” Marc added.

  “Asshole,” Tane said.

  “Cocksucker,” Jack and Blue said together.

  “Hey,” Blue complained. “You’re always stealing my insults.”

  Ellie wished she could smile. “Guys, don’t blame Racar. He made a mistake. Now he doesn’t know how to remedy it. I guess he’s too nice to tell me that I’m not actually his. I need to let go of him. Walk away. For both our sakes.”

  “I’m so sorry, babe,” Keely told her.

  “Me too.” More than they could know.

  “What do you want us to do?” Marc asked.

  “Well, I guess you could help me move my stuff. Can I move back in with you, Keely?”

  “Of course you can. We can make a pact to live together until we’re old and gray.”

  “Que might have something to say about that,” she said.

  “Que can bite my ass,” Keely replied.

  “Ooh, he might like that,” Blue teased.

  Ellie snorted at Keely’s noise of disgust.

  “Are you going to start baking again?” Jack asked.

  She tensed.

  “We noticed you haven’t made anything in a while, babe,” Keely told her.

  “We’re worried about you,” Blue added.

  They were all touching her. She was nestled in against Tane’s side. Keely rested her head against her shoulder, the others gathered close in behind her, lending her their strength.

  “Yeah. Maybe. Guess I could think about opening my stall again.”

  Perhaps.

  “You don’t have to rush into anything, baby girl,” Tane told her. “But when you do want to get back into it, you’re going to let us help.”

  “Yes, sir,” she teased. She let out a sigh. “I love you guys. I don’t know where I’d be if I’d never met you. I don’t know why you took me with you, but I’m so glad you did.”

  “You really don’t know why?” Blue asked with surprise.

  “No. It’s not like I really add anything to the group. I’m not a fighter. Or good with people. Or a leader. Or good with machines and computers.”

  “Jesus, I can’t believe you don’t know,” Blue told her. “Ellie, honey, you’re the reason we’re all together. You’re the glue.”

  “You’re the reason we’re a family,” Jack added.

  “Without you, we’d probably have all parted ways long time ago,” Keely said.

  “Baby girl, you’re our heart.”

  “Ain’t no us without you,” Marc said. “Shit, that sounded so corny.”

  They all burst into laughter.

  “Really?” she whispered when all noise died away.

  “Really,” Blue told her. “So don’t be thinking you owe us shit or that you need to do something you don’t want to do because you want what’s best for us. We go with you.”

  She had to wipe away the tears dripping down her face. She turned and buried her face in Tane’s shirt. “All my life, I wanted a family. So
mewhere I belonged. I’m so glad I finally found mine.”

  “Us too,” Keely told her quietly.

  She breathed in deeply. “I like it here. It will be hard seeing Racar each day. He may not have feelings for me, but I still love him. But somewhere out there is his actual mate. I have to let him go so he can find her.”

  It would tear her in two, but it was the right thing to do.

  He couldn’t sit still and wait. He walked back and forth in front of Safan, who sat on a rock wall patiently waiting.

  “Should we not go and get them? What are they doing? It is not safe for them to be sitting on the side of the cliff in the dark.”

  “They are fine,” Safan replied.

  “Ellie could slip and fall to her death.”

  “Tane and Jack would not let that happen.”

  Tane and Jack? Tane and Jack were not her mates. He was. He should be with her. Just as he was about to go looking for her, he heard them coming along the pathway. They came into his view. Ellie was tucked in against Tane’s side once more.

  Jealousy reared and he had to stop himself from storming over there and ripping her out of his arms.

  “They are family,” Safan reminded him quietly. He stood up and moved beside Racar. Whether to support him or so he could grab hold in case Racar decided to forcibly remove Tane from Ellie’s side, he wasn’t sure.

  “Safan, what you doing here? Everything okay?” Blue looked over at her mate then to Racar. “What are you both doing here?”

  “Racar turned up for Ellie’s party,” Safan explained. “He grew concerned when she was not there.”

  “That so,” Keely drawled. “Funny, he hasn’t shown much concern for her wellbeing previously.”

  “Keely,” Ellie said in a soft voice.

  He only had eyes for Ellie; he did not care what the rest of them thought. “Mate, I must speak with you. Are you ready to return to our home?”

  She flinched at his words. He was not sure what he had said to cause such a reaction. He took a step towards her and held out his hand. She did not move. Fear struck him. Would she not come with him?