In that place where she had nothing and no one, she’d at least had him. A strong male who’d tried to protect her as best he could. Alice realized she’d been clinging to that version of him, the protector, while forgetting he was also a real man. Scratch that. She’d kept forgetting he was an alien. One she didn’t know and might not want to know.
Verakko was also right about Luka needing her. It would hurt to cut ties with him, seeing as she’d grown so attached, but she’d be able to move on if she had to. She was infatuated and attracted, but she wasn’t in love, and even if she was, people got over heartbreak all the time. If he was truly interested in being with her, he’d have to work for it too.
She stared up into his tumultuous blue eyes once more. She’d give him a chance, but she needed to hold on to her newfound strength. If he blew it, that would be the end. No second chances. No seeing the good in someone that just didn’t exist. No attempting to fix him. Alien or not, he could either win her over or live his life as a mated man without his mate.
One thing was clear—she and Luka needed to sit down and talk it out. She rose, taking a moment to prepare herself for the backlash she might get.
When she approached him, he stood, his eyes trained on her. Whenever she’d entered his cell in the facility, his body would relax, like he’d been waiting all day just to have a glimpse of her. Now, tension rolled off him in waves, and he clenched the back of his chair as though he might crush it at any second.
“Hello, Luka,” she said quietly.
He inclined his head a fraction. “Alice.”
Over their weeks together, her attraction to him had wormed its way deep into her very marrow. He’d only spoken one word, but his familiar, deep rumbling voice made a bolt of electricity shoot up her spine.
They stared at each other for long moments. This was the first time they’d really spoken since…ever. When she glanced around, she saw everyone’s attention had turned to them.
She felt heat rising on her cheeks. “After the meeting, could we talk outside?”
“No,” he said swiftly. The knuckles of the hand still gripping his chair were white.
She nibbled her lip, unsure how to reply to the blatant refusal. He opened his mouth, but then closed it again. Was it just her, or did he look pale?
“We should really talk. I want to apologize for what happened down there,” she urged, wondering if she was causing his sickly reaction. “I know you may not remember me or what happened, but I—”
“I don’t wish to talk to you right now, Alice,” he said through gritted teeth, then sat back down, not meeting her eyes.
Alice bit the inside of her cheek and continued to stare at the side of his face. Shame and embarrassment washed over her. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Taking in the uncomfortable exchange.
As she shuffled back to her seat and plopped down, she could just imagine the vivid shade of red her face had turned. A small part of her relaxed when she noticed most of the eyes in the room remained angrily fixed on Luka.
A deep scowl was clear on Verakko’s face, the most emotion she’d seen from him yet, and even Rhaego, who’d been nothing but kind and sweet to everyone he’d spoken to, sneered in Luka’s direction.
It’s not his fault. He has every right to be upset with me. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t want to see me, either.
Luka kept his gaze trained on his interlaced fingers in front of him, ignoring the silent berating directed toward him.
He could’ve handled it better, though. That was very rude. Alice’s chest puffed a little, indignation mixing with her embarrassment and sympathy. A part of her reasoned she didn’t know enough about the alien culture to assume Luka’s actions were rude, but the reaction of everyone else, paired with the kind, respectful treatment she’d been given from all of the other men, told her differently.
The Queen emerged from a door to the right along with a tall, elegant woman. The new woman’s eyes met Alice’s, and she gave a courteous nod before moving to sit next to Jade and Theo.
The Queen now stood near an empty seat at the table. She turned to Metli. “Is everyone accounted for?”
Metli nodded.
Alice told herself she needed to concentrate on this meeting. Make sure the Queen didn’t regret inviting her. But no matter how hard she tried to keep her mind focused, her thoughts and eyes strayed back to Luka.
She couldn’t decide if she should be heartened or wary of the fact that he kept glancing at her too. Whenever her gaze wandered to him, she’d catch him watching her before quickly looking away. His bitchy attitude with her must’ve made him feel better at least, because he no longer looked like he wanted to throttle her.
Great! Yet another person who feels better after taking it out on me. Just what I need.
Willing her mind to forget about Luka for a few minutes, she looked around the room, eyes landing briefly on each of the attendees. They all sat at a large round table with a hollow center. Verakko and Rhaego sat on either side of her. Next to Rhaego sat Theo, then Jade, then the graceful woman who’d been speaking with the Queen. Next to her, and directly across from Alice, sat the brooding Luka.
A pale woman with a platinum-blonde pixie cut and sour expression sat on his other side, her lips pursed. She didn’t look too different from a human, but the barely visible white markings running along her neck and bare shoulders were enough to tell Alice she was a Clecanian. Next to her sat Lucy, the only person in attendance who looked excited to be here. The Queen sat on Lucy’s other side, then Metli, and finally Verakko. Eleven in all.
Alice focused her attention back on the Queen and waited.
“Thank you all for attending this meeting. I am grateful to each and every one of you for your discretion,” the Queen said, sweeping her eyes around the room. “We are here today to discuss three things. One: the immediate threat of the Insurgents. Two: the revelation that humans are a compatible species and are able to not only bear Clecanian children but also to call forth our long-dormant mating instinct. And finally, three: to decide the best way to move forward with the rescued human females and how to proceed, now knowing what we know.”
The Queen stayed silent a moment longer, allowing for her words to sink in. “I’d like Luka to begin by recounting everything he has learned about the Insurgents from his investigation before being taken and anything he can remember after. Any piece of information might be enough for us to learn where their other locations are.”
Luka nodded, eyes flashing to Alice before settling on his tightly clasped hands once more. “Well, to start, they don’t have an official name. They have a code, sort of like a motto they use to identify each other. Before my…detainment, Helas taught me the code. They clasp forearms and say, ‘Purity. Reform. Integrity. Clecania.’ And I learned Helas was in contact with many other facilities. Outposts, he called them.”
Lucy began to snicker, and quickly covered her mouth. Everyone’s eyes focused on her, and she held up a hand. “Sorry. Sorry. It’s just…” She gave another small chuckle. “They call themselves PRIC?”
Jade and Alice began to laugh, but the aliens remained silent, seeming confused.
“On Earth, ‘prick’ is a slang insult. It means small penis,” Jade said, her shoulders shaking with repressed laughter.
Rhaego quickly stifled his deep laugh in a cough, and even the Queen’s mouth twitched in amusement. Luka’s lips stayed thinned, his jaw still clenched.
“How fitting,” the Queen began. “Metli, could you please make a note about the change of nomenclature? Moving forward, it seems only right that we use the name they’ve chosen. They’ll be referred to as PRICs or Insurgents.” She gave another brief nod toward Luka and said, “Please continue.”
“I wasn’t able to learn much before he figured out what I was doing, but he did show me five to six monitors with live feeds of incarcerated beings, held in other outposts. Mostly human females, but some Clecanian males and females as well.” Luka cleare
d his throat before continuing, “He inferred they’d emptied their cells of all non-human species since they felt they’d found what they were looking for in the humans.” His voice grew distant, and he shifted in his seat. “I don’t know what was done with the others.”
Pricks, indeed.
Alice studied Luka. His emotions were mostly hidden, but she thought she saw guilt lurking in his eyes. Even after his harsh treatment of her a moment ago, she felt her heart go out to him. He must know he couldn’t have saved them.
Verakko chimed in from next to her. “The ability to display other facilities’ vids means the outposts were connected. I tried to hack into the system after Jade was rescued and then again when Alice escaped, but in both cases the connection had been severed. They must have had a failsafe in place.”
Luka’s deep voice rang through the room, making goosebumps erupt over her skin. “From what I saw, their technology is outdated. I’m not sure how long they’ve been active, but it looked like the vast majority of their tech hasn’t been state-of-the-art for fifty years, at least. Early on, they were even using plain metal chains to tie me down rather than magnetic until…” His jaw clenched again, and he kept his stare trained on his hands. “Until they broke.”
“When they took me, they told me their organization had been active for a hundred years at least,” Jade confirmed.
“I’d like for you to continue looking for any trace of a signal. Just in case we missed something,” the Queen said, addressing Verakko.
“I’ll keep working on it, but even if I were to somehow gain access,” Verakko began, “I still wouldn’t be able to pinpoint their locations. It’s likely they’re frequency hopping multiple times per second. Without time, copious amounts of money, and unlimited resources, there’ll be no way for me to trace the signal to a physical source. Unless they were dumb enough to label each station link with its geographic location, we’ll have access but won’t be able to lead a team to rescue the captives.”
Another moment of silence passed, in which Alice caught Luka’s gaze. There was an answer staring them in the face, so why hadn’t anyone mentioned it yet? “Helas probably knows where the other outposts are.” Her stomach turned sour at the mention of his name.
Luka flinched almost imperceptibly as well.
The Queen let out a long sigh. “As of this morning, he has been less than forthcoming with that information.”
“I could make him talk,” Theo said gruffly, gripping Jade’s hand.
If Theo’s admission had affected the Queen, she didn’t show it. “We don’t know the extent of Helas’ reach. It’s clear the Insurgents have many powerful people working with them to have remained undetected this long. Helas is currently being detained at an undisclosed location, but there could be Insurgent moles lurking anywhere. For all we know, they could decide to destroy the outposts and start from scratch if they think we are getting too close. Keeping things quiet is our best chance to find the outposts and free the prisoners without any fatalities. All mention of the PRICs, humans, mating, and outposts needs to be contained to this room.” She turned her attention to Jade. “Does anyone else know about your pregnancy?”
The woman to Jade’s right answered before Jade could. “Wasde, from The Intergalactic Alliance, and Reana, from The Galaxy Supervision Federation, were both present for the announcement of the sex. They are trusted friends of mine and have sworn to keep what they know to themselves until we’ve decided what to do. In the meantime, they are thinking through actions plans of their own to bring to their superiors, when the time is right.”
The woman turned her attention to Alice and Lucy. “My name is Asivva, by the way. I’m a member of The Intergalactic Alliance, and I wanted to make sure we were prepared for the frenzy that will ensue once it’s revealed that Jade is not only pregnant but mated.”
Alice smiled, grateful the woman was making it a point to explain things to them.
“That brings us to our next topic of discussion,” the Queen said, interlacing her fingers in front of her. “Originally, when Jade was found, I had decided she should follow our rules and participate in the ceremony. Now, the situation is more complex. Since Jade’s rescue, the twelve human females found have been kept here, at the Temple. Humans are able to become pregnant with Clecania children, and they are also able to call mating marks forward. No male humans have been rescued, but it’s likely they will have the same effect as the females.”
The Queen eyed Luka’s wrists momentarily before continuing. “Because mating marks seem to only affect the Clecanians, it would be immoral to follow our currently outdated laws of matehood. Humans don’t feel the pull of matehood, and as such, I can’t force them to remain with their mates. Once we have control of the Insurgent situation, humans will be allowed to choose who they want to be with, where they would like to live, and how often, if ever, they will participate in the ceremony, whether or not they have called forth mating marks.”
Luka’s eyes flashed to Alice then to the Queen. “No!” he barked.
The Queen’s eyebrows rose. “Would you prefer I force Alice to stay with you against her will?”
He glanced to Alice again, and she felt as though he were actually trying to judge how to answer the clearly rhetorical question. Another shiver ran through her. Just because he doesn’t want to be with me doesn’t mean he’s impervious to the mating bond.
Rather than answering, he allowed composure to wash over his pinched features, answering her as a researcher interested in the topic would, void of emotion but curious and logical. “The answer to that question seems obvious, but I cannot in good conscious say one way or another. We don’t know the effect that unrequited matehood could have on our people. It’s been too long since a Clecanian mated pair walked our streets, and in those days, there was no question about whether the feelings would be reciprocated or not. We don’t have enough evidence to know what’ll happen to a mated Clecanian if they’re not permitted to be with their mate. For all we know, it could cause severe illness or death.” Luka fixed his gaze on his hands once again and winced. “Personally, I’ve already begun to experience some side effects.”
What side effects? Alice pondered how she should feel about that. What if it turned out he hated her but still needed to be close to her to relieve the negative side effects of the mating bond? Even through the hurt and embarrassment of their first meeting, she found herself wanting to be close to him.
Would she be able to be intimate with Luka without her emotions getting in the way?
Not likely.
“I’d like permission to begin research in the archives so I can see if there are any ways to calm the side effects and also to understand what mated Clecanians might need to know before we decide for sure that our laws need to be changed.”
The Queen nodded. “I see your point, Luka, and you will have the access you need.”
“I’ll also need access here,” he said coolly. “I’ll need to be able to visit Alice from time to time.”
Luka was holding her gaze with deadly calm. The hair rose on Alice’s arms. She’d learned she was safe with Luka, that even crazed he wouldn’t hurt her, but looking at his dark, unreadable expression now, she wondered if it was a good idea for him to have access to her home. She didn’t know this man. Didn’t know how he thought. Alice had been ready to jump in with both feet if he’d shown the smallest amount of interest, but now, fear tempered her excitement.
The Queen spoke, rousing Luka from his unwavering stare. “I understand your reasoning, but the decision of when and how often you visit will be left up to Alice. If she permits you to visit, you’ll be escorted. I cannot give you unfettered access to the Temple.”
Alice let out a relieved breath. Luka said nothing, but she could see the whites of his knuckles, clenched on the table again.
When Luka remained silent, the Queen continued, “What will happen to the human females and the laws concerning matehood will likely change worldwide when n
ews of their existence becomes public knowledge. I can make the laws here, but it is likely other cities will have different ways of dealing with the issue. Rhaego, forgive me if I’m wrong, but your people may not give as much choice to human females as we will.”
Alice could have sworn Rhaego’s purple horns darkened a shade. He nodded solemnly. “Matehood is revered in Tuva. Once word spreads, the chase will likely continue with renewed vigor, and I can only assume our citizens will become vicious and possessive of the human females if it is found they can be mated. In the minds of my fellow Tuvasta, mating is not something that can be controlled by laws. I fail to imagine King Yaskan putting any law into place that would keep a mated male from his female, and even if he did, none of our citizens would pay any attention to that law.”
“Thank you for your honesty. I assumed as much.” The Queen glanced around the room. “Many cities across Clecania will feel the same. The only way for human females to be protected is if there are laws put into place worldwide by The Galaxy Supervision Federation. Once we have revealed their existence and importance, we will need to have at least the beginnings of laws worked out with your contacts, Asivva. I’m afraid if we don’t, and we keep the females hidden here, the other cities will rebel. They will want the chance to visit and mate the females, and some of the more aggressive cities might try and take them by force.”
Rising, the Queen began to pace back and forth near her chair. “This brings me to our final issue. When the world learns of the humans’ existence and what they are capable of, there will be a call for action. Most leaders will want more females brought here.”
Alice was startled when the platinum-blonde sitting next to Luka finally spoke. In a cool voice, she intoned, “And why would we not bring more humans here?”
Alice eyed the pale woman. She was pretty, the way most of the Clecanians tended to be, but her dour expression lessened the effect. So far, she’d been watching the conversation with disinterest. Why had she been invited?
“For many reasons, Vila,” the Queen began. “Their planet is a Class 4 planet and is therefore off limits to us. They are a sentient species and not merely a herd of cethid. We cannot land on their planet and abduct hundreds, if not thousands, of Earthlings. We would need permission to reveal ourselves to the leaders of the planet, and then, we would need to find a way to transport only willing humans. I don’t know much about Earth,” she said, looking at Jade, Alice, and Lucy for support, “but I can assume they wouldn’t take kindly to aliens taking their citizens.”
Freeing Luka: The Clecanian Series Book 2 Page 13