Breaking Bonds: An Alien Romance Adventure

by E J Darling

  Instead, she stepped toward her door in silence and didn’t look back until she got to the double doors at the end of the hallway. The room had been hers since she was little, being gifted it by Zeke when she arrived, and it was her favorite place on the entire planet. Her space.

  Maeve took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she walked in. It had been exactly how she’d left it, as always, aside from one exception.

  “Mae Mae!” Her best friend jumped from her bed and ran towards Maeve. Gilla wrapped her tight and spun her around once before placing her back down on her feet, facing Teak. “I missed you!”

  Maeve smiled. “I missed you, Gill.”

  Gilladra Hallen was a Human slave in a household next to Zeke’s, and the two of them had been friends for cycles. She was a petite little thing and had copper colored hair that complimented her pale skin and freckles. Gilla hated it, but Maeve had always been in love with that curly mess that fell well below her waist in one thick braid.

  “Well let’s get this guy out of here so we can have some quality time.” She turned her head towards Teak and pointed to the floor next to him. “Put the bag there, thank you.”

  Teak’s face went blank and Maeve instantly turned protective. “Gilla. Don’t talk to him like that.”

  Gilla furrowed her brows and gave Maeve a confused look. She knew why, and she’d been guilty of it too in the past. There was always some hierarchy when it came to servants in the home and she and Gilla stood on the top of that. They were both educated to some degree, Maeve more so, and both were classed as Second Citizen. The servants that cleaned the homes, cooked for the family, and did other labor outside the home were Third Citizen. But Teak wasn’t going to be Third Citizen and not even Gilla was going to treat him like one.

  Gilla huffed a laugh and made a slow turn toward Teak. Maeve knew where that was going, and she was going to shut that shit down immediately. Where Maeve was the prude of the friendship, took her time with males, and made sure no one ever got too close, Gilla was the opposite. She’d sleep with anyone she found attractive and Teak was a perfect specimen.

  “You need to go.” She kept her voice flat and firm. There was no mistaking her meaning.

  Gilla spun on her heel again and glared at Maeve. “What is wrong with you, Mae?”

  “He’s mine. Don’t touch him.” Maeve balled up her fist but didn’t know why she was suddenly so infuriated at the thought of her best friend touching Teak.

  “Did you? Oh my God, Mae Mae. Did you finally do it?” Damn she hated that look on her friend’s face. Gilla looked back and forth between the two of them and her smile widened, only infuriating Maeve more. “Well damn. You sure did hold out for the right one, huh?”

  “It isn’t like that, Gilla.”

  “What do you mean it isn’t like that? If it isn’t like that then he’s fair game. If he wants this, he can have some.”

  Maeve clenched her jaw. “Leave, Gilla. Walk out that door before I regret hitting my best friend.”

  “Maeve!”

  She was happy there hadn’t been anyone else in the room but Gilla. If it had been anyone else, she didn’t know how far she could defend Teak’s honor as well as her own, but there wasn’t. It was Gilla, and Maeve could take her easily.

  With one more look to Teak, that had Maeve’s fists itching to hit something that wasn’t Roth’s face, Gilla walked out of her room and slammed the door behind her. Maeve took a deep breath and let it out as Teak just stood there, not saying a single word.

  “No one will touch you, Teak. Not as long as I have a say in it.” He nodded his head once, her first hint since he’d gone quiet that he was even listening to her, and she studied him.

  They were finally alone, finally free to be just them, and she hoped he’d open up. “I meant what I said back on the ship. You know that right?” Teak lifted his face and she finally got a look at his silvery eyes again. They were just as devastating as before, and it gave her hope that he was still in there somewhere. “I’m here, and I’ll always be right here.”

  Teak nodded again and slid her bag off his shoulder before walking out on the balcony. She waited for him to get a look at that view without her, but man was her view better. His hair blew in the warm breeze and the Light Star hit him just right, making him glow around the edges. How could she have lost someone so beautiful so quickly? It wasn’t fair.

  Maeve silently padded over to the balcony and placed her hand on the stone railing, the only thing separating them from the deep warm waters below. He didn’t look her way, but it was okay because she knew he was taking in the beauty that was before him, maybe even trying to understand himself a little as they listened to the soft sounds of waves crashing against the pillars below. It was easy to lose your troubles there and hoped it would help him lose his.

  “I love it right here in particular.” She sighed breathlessly, as if her own troubles were leaving her as well. “It’s a perfect place to just let it all go.”

  Maeve reached up and untied her hair from its binding, letting the golden locks fall to her waist. The breeze swept them around as she raked her fingers through it and finally tossed the cursed bindings to the wind. She hated having her hair up. It was heavy and sometimes gave her headaches when she’d done it up too tightly.

  The light star was high in the sky, but clouds had built up and blocked most of the harsh rays, making it perfectly tempered. Maeve closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the salty air she’d missed every moment of.

  A smile pulled at her lips as she imagined a time, both of them out here on a fresh new day, a morning perhaps, with breakfast on that table in the far corner. Small winged kensa would come fluttering about trying to get a nibble of her food. She would end up caving without too much effort on their part, as always. Teak would be smiling in that charming way he did, and all his traumas would be far behind him. That would be a good day.

  Maeve opened her eyes and saw that broken face looking at her, staring quietly. She felt small all of the sudden, wanted to hide because she’d been seen in her element by someone. He’d seen her. He just… stared. The wind blew her hair over her face and she slowly tucked it behind her ear. He blinked slightly, held back some emotion she couldn’t pinpoint, and his fists clenched as his body went just a little less rigid. Damn that female for hurting him, for making him that way.

  “I–” he paused, but even just that one sound from him had her heart racing and her body trembling. “I had a fantasy of you, just like this, your hair blowing in the wind.” He stopped again and looked back to the horizon for just a split second before he seemed to change his mind and locked eyes with her. “But I wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t supposed to be–”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered, taking just one step towards him, hoping he wouldn’t run away. He was fragile, but not like glass. Still, she needed to be gentle.

  Teak shook his head and looked back down to the ground. “It isn’t okay. I’m not okay.” His back stiffened and he stood tall, looking out to the horizon. Only that time, he didn’t look back at her and she knew she’d lost him again. “I’m going to keep my word to you, Maeve. You’ll have your credits.”

  “Teak, please.”

  He turned away as she approached, and she knew it was too late. Their moment passed. He never looked at her again, never looked at anything but the floor, and half an hour passed before she’d showered, changed her clothes, and readied herself to leave.

  “I’m going to be gone for a little while. Are you okay to be alone?”

  Teak nodded. “I’m not a child.”

  No, it’s that there’s an open balcony and you’re currently a jump risk. “I know that. It’s not what I mea–”

  “I’m fine,” he interrupted. “Just go.”

  She had to remind herself to be gentle with him, to use kind words instead of telling him off like she wanted to. He’d had a terrible two weeks and she needed to breathe through her anger and let it be for a whi
le, let him be for a while.

  “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  Maeve took one more long look at that beautifully broken male, and walked out the door without another word.

  Sixteen

  Teak turned up the hood of the cream cloaked he found hanging on a line, and slid into the shadows. Maeve was crazy if she thought he was going to let her out of his sight for more than the time it took him to hop the balcony, climb down the wall, and get to the front of the home. He wasn’t going to sit in that room and wait for her, twiddle his thumbs while he did nothing but mope around. She was his responsibility no matter the state of his mind.

  He couldn’t talk to her, but he could watch her. She was too comfortable in her own city, on her own planet. She knew the people and her way around, but he didn’t, and he didn’t trust a damn soul to be around her without him. The place was too perfect. It didn’t sit well with him.

  She’d visited a couple shops, bought clothing at one and something he couldn’t see at another, and had almost slipped him twice when she’d gotten on a transport, but it hadn’t been for long.

  Stares from the Tallek people ensured him he stood out like a sore thumb despite trying to hide himself, but he ignored them. He had one mission and that was to watch Maeve. People talked to her, flirted with her, and one male, a Human of course, handed her a flower of some sort that she’d delicately placed behind her ear under her loose hair. He fought every urge in him to not grab the male as he walked by and slam his face into something hard for even looking at Maeve, but he didn’t want to bring any attention to himself that he wasn’t already getting.

  It wouldn’t take Zekekiel Vint long to figure out it was him who’d started a brawl in the middle of the port town, being the only Turnish this side of the galaxy belt, or at all. The last thing he needed right now was to meet Vint when he didn’t have the upper hand.

  When the Human walked off, Maeve turned to watch him go, almost looking right at Teak when she did. Quickly sliding into the opening of a busy tavern, a tall male shoved him out of the way. The touch sent him over the edge. Teak spun and dropped the male on his ass before pummeling his face into the ground.

  Two other males, presumably from the tavern, pulled Teak off his victim’s body and he spit in his face. “Don’t fucking touch me!” He tried to shake the males off that held his arms, but they wouldn’t budge. He needed to get back to following Maeve. He didn’t want to be missing when she got to the home, and have her worrying about him. “Let me go!”

  A male chuckled. “Now, now. You’re ssspirited.” Teak studied the one who spoke and clenched his jaw in frustration. He appeared calm, as if his friends didn’t have a stranger bound up against his will. The male on the ground, a green skinned Tallel if he had to guess, shook his head and stood up on shaky legs. He moved to punch Teak in the gut, but before he could make contact, the male spoke again. “Ssstop, Bith.” The male halted and snarled in a way only the reptilian species could.

  “He deserves it, sir.”

  “Probably.” The strange male spoke with a slight hiss. “But if am not missstaken, he iss a Turnissh.” The male twitched his head to the side and looked to Teak for an answer. “Would I asssume correctly?”

  He wasn’t Tallek, though he resembled one. Tallek didn’t hiss and looked more Humanoid than this odd male did. He was Ballek. His skull pulled his face to a rounded point, but not enough to make them appear hostile. Their skin though, wasn’t pale like their dominant counterparts, but a soft natural brown, their neck and bellies faded to a lighter color. It betrayed their thinner and weaker flesh.

  “Well?”

  “Yes.” Teak growled.

  The reptile smiled wide, making his pointed face wider, like a lizard going for an insect. “Interesssting.”

  “Let me go. I have a job to do.” There was nothing more he wanted than to go on his way and be with Maeve, even if he couldn’t do anything but look at her, be next to her.

  “My name is Wilssit.” He waved his hand, and the males on either side of him released their hold. Teak shook off the anger and surprise of the action, not that he felt like he was free to go. “You’ve taken down one of my besst fighterss, misster–”

  Teak looked around the dark tavern, all eyes on him, and decided to answer. “Kade.”

  “Well, Misster Kade. I have to ssay, you are a well-built individual, and you sseem to know how to usse it all. I would be honored to have you at my disspossal.”

  Teak stared daggers at Wilsit. “I have a master. I don’t need anyone else telling me what I should and shouldn’t be doing.” He was done being used for his body, done doing anything for anyone that wasn’t Maevelin.

  Wilsit tilted his head to the side and smiled again. Teak wished he would stop doing that because it was getting creepier each time, and his mouth looked wide enough to swallow Teak whole. “You missundersstand me, Misster Kade. I am offering you a job.”

  “I stand by what I said.” He was getting pissed and growing more and more uneasy. Past memories of being held against his will were beginning to surface and panic raced through his veins. Blood, so much blood. “I need to get back to my master.”

  “You would be a good assset, Misster Kade. If you fight asss well asss I think you can, you could make me and yoursself a ssmall fortune in the pitss. Paid full in creditss.”

  Every hissed word Wilsit spoke sent a shiver down Teak’s spine. That last word peaked his ears, though, and his eyes widened. “Credits?”

  “I ssee I have your attention now.” Wilsit motioned his head to a male at the bar and he wrote something down on a piece of paper. Once he was done, the one named Bith handed it over to Teak. “The next fight iss in two dayss, Misster Kade. Thosse are directionss on where to find me. Don’t be late.”

  Teak studied the paper carefully, then met eyes with Wilsit. “I’ll be there.”

  Seventeen

  Eager to get back to her room, and show Teak what she’d gotten him, Maeve turned the knob of the front door and slipped inside. She made sure the door closed silently before turning to run up the stairs.

  “Maevelin.” A cold voice spoke in a hushed tone, making Maeve jump and turn quickly.

  Damn, she’d almost gotten away with it.

  Maeve cleared her throat and bowed her head. “Zekekiel.”

  He didn’t say a word, they just stood there in silence until it was too uncomfortable for her to keep going. “Is there anything I can do for you, sir?” More silence. Maeve finally braved a look his way and lifted her head.

  Zekekiel Vint was a proud and wealthy Tallek male, handsome by any species standards. His burgundy robes fell to the hard white floor, covering his body completely from the neck down. She’d never seen him in anything else and had no idea if he was soft under them or kept himself in shape. His face was firm, his jawline sharp, and his nose a perfect mix of masculine and rugged.

  His eyes were different though, and she’d never seen anything like them. They were a bright yellow that always mesmerized her as a child, but she’d never been brave enough to get closer to them. She’d wanted to inspect them, see if they looked as fascinating up close, but he’d never allowed that. Distance was his personality trait and she always had to remind herself that she wasn’t his child, that she was a slave in his home and nothing more. It didn’t matter the how’s and why’s of her being there. She was, and that was that.

  “Have you spoken to Roth, sir?” She knew when she asked the right question, Zeke would bend and at least start communicating in some capacity.

  “Mm,” he mumbled.

  Sniveling bastard. Maeve knew she’d get over it soon enough, she and Roth were basically family, but at the moment all she wanted to do was kick his ass again.

  “So, you know?”

  “What should I know, Maevelin?”

  Damn it she hated the riddles and half answers he always gave her. She never, and she meant never, knew where she stood with him. Maeve straightened her back and l
ifted her chin. He hadn’t educated her, spent money on teaching her histories of politics and languages, just so she could cower at his feet. Stick up for yourself. Stick up for Teak.

  “I guess that would depend, sir.”

  “On what?”

  “On what he told you.”

  If she’d been a betting type, she’d wager there’d almost been a smile on Zeke’s face. But she wasn’t, and that was a bad bet with some long odds. He did look… intrigued, though.

  “Will that be all, sir?”

  “No.” Zeke turned, and headed down the airy open windowed hallway in silence. She only assumed she was going to be forced to follow, so she did.

  She didn’t go to Zeke’s office much, the door was always closed when he was working, and it was always closed when he wasn’t. It felt off limits to her in a nonspecific way she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He’d never told her she couldn’t, never told her she couldn’t do a lot of things for that matter, since he never told her much at all.

  If she got missions, they were sent to her on a small comms tablet he’d given her. She’d never gotten in trouble before, so she didn’t know how he’d respond to the mess she’d found herself in.

  The door to his office was cracked and he pushed it open gracefully. He never looked back to her, but when she went to push it closed, he halted her. “Leave it open.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Stand there.” Zeke pointed to the spot she currently occupied by the door, an awkward distance from the desk for getting your ass chewed out. Zeke sat in his chair and stared at her in silence.

  Again, she’d held out as long as she could before she was forced to break it. “Sir, I ca–”

  He held two fingers up, silencing her instantly. She swallowed hard and didn’t know what to do.