Freeing Luka: The Clecanian Series Book 2

by Victoria Aveline

  Alice couldn’t even imagine the worldwide panic that would ensue if not only one group of aliens but galaxies of different alien species were revealed to exist. She inwardly snorted; maybe the leaders of Earth would finally come together for once.

  “The fact that humans are Clecanian descendants and can be mated may hold the key to a cure for the people of this planet. Many believe our early interference with natural evolution may be, in part, why we are no longer fertile. Humans have not altered themselves in the same way. Studying their unique genetics could save us all. They may not take kindly to us in the beginning, but they’ll adapt, just as these females have,” Vila said, gesturing to Alice, Jade, and Lucy.

  “I agree, but communication and peaceful exchanges are our only answer. We cannot simply take what we want because we can,” the Queen said sternly.

  “It’ll happen regardless. You know that,” Vila said quietly, holding eye contact with the Queen.

  Alice decided she didn’t care for that woman. She could see where she was coming from, but the way she spoke suggested she’d already made her mind up about how they should handle the humans. Would this woman, Vila, keep the information from this meeting quiet?

  “Which is why I appreciate your silence,” the Queen said, reading Alice’s mind. “We need to come up with a plan before individuals start taking matters into their own hands.”

  Vila leaned back in her chair and lifted her chin. “I vow you have my silence, for now, but you need to come up with a plan quickly. Mating marks are not something you’re going to be able to keep quiet for long even if the males paint their hands. And if you’re able to rescue females from all of the outposts, word will spread even more quickly.”

  The Queen held Vila’s stare. “Do any of the humans present have anything to add?”

  Lucy stood, smoothing her long dress. “Hi, I’m Lucy,” she said brightly, smiling around the room. “Personally, I don’t mind being here, but I can say with absolute certainty that no matter how awesome this place is, people are going to freak out when they learn about aliens for the first time. You need to make sure that when you do reveal yourselves, you work on maintaining a certain image. I don’t know if your goal is to bring men here too, but if you just want heterosexual females, then you need to show off the Clecanian men. Also show any happy alien-human couples a lot too. If you bring some hot, charming aliens to Earth for your first meet-and-greet and put them on social media, you’re going to have ladies lining up around the block to hop on a spaceship back here.” She tucked a strand of honey-blonde hair behind her ear.

  Alice tilted her head and smiled at Lucy, who’d relaxed back into her seat. She had a way of making even the most daunting task seem reasonable and achievable. Her chipper attitude would cause many to believe she was shallow, but she spoke with a sort of optimistic intelligence that made it difficult to not both respect and like her. Alice wondered if she’d worked in media back on Earth. She’d have made a great reporter.

  “I agree,” Jade said, still sitting. “It was hard to remember why I shouldn’t want to live here when I watched my hunky husband dote on me. There are plenty of Earth women who’ll come voluntarily, but there are also plenty who are in loving relationships, and others who’d object to a lot of the customs here. It’s going to be difficult at first, but I think if you offer up some of your knowledge of technology and space travel, without asking for anything in return, that’d help grease the wheels.”

  “Thank you all for your valuable insight. I’m going to think on what you have said. I am hopeful that the next time we meet, we will have a plan that is clearer.” The Queen waved a hand toward Metli, who’d been silent throughout the meeting, diligently typing into a small screen in front of her. As Metli moved to bring the room back to the surface, people began rising and talking to one another.

  Luka stayed seated, his hard stare back on her. Alice was readying to retreat when the Queen approached her. Now that she was close, Alice could make out faint dark circles under her eyes and the strained note in her voice as she said, “Have you recalled the questions you would like to ask me?”

  Not wanting to keep the busy woman longer, she asked about something she’d pondered while sitting alone in her quiet house yesterday. “On Earth, I was studying to be a veterinarian, a doctor for animals. I started late, so I haven’t gotten that far into the program, but I was wondering if I’d be able to continue that training here.”

  The Queen gave her a small smile. “That is a marvelous idea. It’s wonderful that you feel you could stay here and make a career for yourself.”

  Alice looked over to find Luka watching them with narrowed eyes.

  The Queen continued. “Yes, of course you can continue your studies here, although you may need to start from the beginning, seeing as our animals are different.” She frowned then. “I’d ask that you hold off on this endeavor until we have revealed the presence of humans to our world. For now I can arrange for someone to teach you our language at The Pearl Temple, if you’d like?”

  “That’d be wonderful,” Alice exclaimed. She may be able to communicate with everyone thanks to her translator, but she couldn’t yet read Clecanian writing, as evidenced by her hand clock.

  “I’ll teach her,” Luka said loudly, startling both women.

  Alice frowned. A minute ago, he’d implied he wanted unrestricted access to her, and a few minutes before that, he’d wanted nothing to do with her. Why would he want to teach her? Make up your mind!

  “I don’t want you distracted from your research, Luka. No, I’ll find someone else to help Alice,” the Queen said.

  “No males,” Luka said simply, still not bothering to rise from his seat.

  Alice’s annoyance and frustration finally began to outweigh her embarrassment and hurt at his earlier rejection. Before the Queen could respond, she stomped over to Luka. “You have no right to tell me who I can or cannot take lessons from. You’ve made it abundantly clear you have no interest in me, so I don’t understand why you even care. I’m not going to keep apologizing for what happened at the outpost. I had no choice, okay?” She felt heat spread over her cheeks. Alice turned and walked away, muttering, “Why don’t you just run to the archives and get to work on your research so you can figure out how to get us unmated already.” When she reached the Queen, she noted her amused expression. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’d like to leave.”

  The Queen smirked at her and gestured to the exit.

  On her way out, she heard a scuffle behind her; turning to look, she found Jade and Theo approaching a pained-looking Luka. He had risen and was now looming over the table, watching her with brows drawn, the way he used to look after Helas had hurt him.

  Alice forced herself to turn her head. Don’t feel bad. Don’t feel bad. Just because he was mated didn’t give him the right to be proprietary with her.

  On her short walk back to her home, her thoughts were in turmoil. She wavered between anger and empathy for Luka. On the one hand, he had no right to treat her like property. Being cold to her one moment then controlling the next. On the other hand, she had no idea how the mating marks were affecting him. She knew mates felt a strong pull toward one another, but she didn’t how strong that pull was.

  If he was feeling this connection to her but also anger toward her, then obviously he was bound to have conflicting emotional outbursts. It’d make sense he didn’t want to talk to her but also didn’t want her to talk to any other man.

  She didn’t know how to feel. Should she be mad, or should she give him a break? Old Alice would’ve given him a break, no question about it. The terrible situation in which Luka found himself would’ve called to her. Tugged at her heartstrings. She would’ve tried again and again to make him like her. Convinced herself he just needed time.

  Even if she accepted that his actions were normal in this culture, and even if this was what men acted like on this planet, could she live with that?

  She slammed the
door as she entered her house. Not this time, she thought, angrier with herself than Luka. If he wants to apologize, I’ll hear him out, but I’m not going to let myself be walked on all over again. He’s been nothing but rude to me since we escaped, and I don’t deserve that. I was abducted and locked up too! No more thinking about Luka, that’s it.

  Chapter 13

  Fuck, this hurts. Luka tried to stand. To chase her. To tell her he wasn’t thinking clearly right now. But a searing pain shot up his leg, forcing him to fall back into his chair.

  He turned to see Theo and his new mate, Jade, approaching. Today was the first day he’d seen Jade, but even with his attention divided he’d noticed Theo didn’t seem uncomfortable or self-conscious when he was with her. The change in his brother was glorious and made him wonder how Alice might improve his own life. If he was able to undo the damage he’d just done, that is.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she said angrily, without any introduction.

  “I—” he began, but she cut him off.

  “Theo told me what happened to you in that outpost. That poor girl rescued you, and you treat her like that?” Luka tried to speak again, but Jade held up her hand for silence. “You couldn’t have just let her down easy. If you don’t like her, that’s one thing, but to embarrass her like that in front of everyone? Cold. Stone cold,” she finished, shaking her head disapprovingly.

  Luka eyed his brother, a silent plea for help. The corner of Theo’s mouth lifted in a smirk, and he stood back, allowing Luka to be scolded by his small pregnant wife.

  Before she could resume her yelling, Luka spoke. “I didn’t mean to treat her poorly, but I’m in a great deal of pain. Do either of you happen to have a healer on you?” he asked as politely as he could through clenched teeth.

  He’d found that while sitting, he could manage the pain, but any time he stood, blackness threatened to overtake him. He hadn’t meant to be so short with Alice, but he’d made the mistake of standing, as males were supposed to do when talking with a female, and at the time, pushing her away had seemed preferable to fainting on top of her.

  Theo’s grin faded, replaced by concern. “You’re hurt?” he said, scanning Luka’s body.

  “I tripped on the way here. I think I may have broken my ankle. I was already running late and had no time to heal it before the meeting started, so I decided to bear it instead.”

  “You tripped on the way here?” he repeated with narrowed eyes. Jade settled herself into a seat next to him, and while she was preoccupied, Luka sent Theo a warning glare. A muscle ticked in Theo’s jaw, but he said, “Let me find a healer for you. Stay here with Jade for a moment.”

  When Theo had left the room, Jade scowled at him once again. “Why didn’t you just tell her you were injured and in a lot of pain instead of acting like an ass?”

  Luka’s eyes widened in surprise. Jade wasn’t altogether wrong, but he wasn’t used to a female being so unguarded with her words.

  I was an ass.

  “Limping in injured and weak wouldn’t have been attractive,” he muttered, feeling as though his plan had only worked to hurt his chances with Alice.

  “So, you thought it’d be more attractive to look uncaring and possessive than weak?”

  “Yes!” His shoulders slumped, and he added, “At least for a Clecanian female.”

  Luka didn’t know what else to say. A Clecanian female wouldn’t have approached a male. She would’ve waited for him to approach her. It hadn’t factored into Luka’s decision that Alice may try and initiate a conversation with him. He also knew he’d vastly underestimated both his injury and the affect seeing her with another male would have on him. He flinched. Telling her she couldn’t be taught by a male had been over the line. It wasn’t his place to say that to any female. At least, not in that way.

  “A Clecanian female—” he began to argue before being interrupted yet again.

  “Ugh, this again. Sometimes I feel like Izzo is the only one of you with any brains. At least he had the good sense to come and ask for my advice about a human girl he likes. What makes you think you know how to act around a human?” She spoke her next words slowly, making Luka wonder if he liked Jade after all. “Alice is not Clecanian. She’s human, and I’m guessing by her reaction, she’s utterly offended right now. As well she should be. Most human women appreciate honesty. If you wanted to appear strong, congratulations, you did it. She now thinks of you as the strongest jerk around.”

  The female was rude and condescending and…right. He didn’t know how human females behaved or what they’d want out of a male. So far, he’d spent his time researching medical information pertaining to humans and watching her from afar, but he’d never thought to use one of the best resources he had at his disposal. A human female. His sister-in-law, no less. Luka was a proud male, but he was also a scientist. His logic had failed him, and he could admit when he was wrong.

  “You’re right. I thought she’d act like a Clecanian female, and now I worry I’ve ruined any chance I had. Can you help me?”

  Jade, who’d been shifting uncomfortably on the chair, looked at him with brows drawn. Slowly a smile curved over her face. “Wow. I’m glad you aren’t as stubborn as your brother. Or me, for that matter. I thought that would’ve been a hell of a lot harder fight. Ego being what it is.” She shot him a sheepish grin. “Sorry for going off on you. Between being cooped up in the house and close to full term, my temper’s out of control.”

  “That’s an understatement.” Theo entered then, carrying a healer. Jade rolled her eyes but said nothing.

  Luka could sing with relief. He needed to go and see Alice. Make things right. Explain why he’d behaved so badly. But first he had to learn more about humans from Jade.

  Grabbing the device out of Theo’s hand, he ran it over his swollen ankle.

  “You know that’ll only help with the pain temporarily,” Theo said. “You need to go and see a doctor right after this to fix any breaks.”

  Thankful the small device could give him any relief at all, he let out a sigh then looked to Jade. “What do I need to know to win a human female?”

  Theo snorted from behind Jade.

  Jade swatted at him then turned her attention back to Luka. “First, tell me, do you really like her, or do you just want to charm her because she’s your mate?”

  Luka had wondered this himself, but the more time passed and the more he watched her, small memories from the cell came back to him. “I can’t lie and say the bond isn’t causing me to have…intense feelings for her, but those feelings are more of a sexual and protective nature. I want her for those reasons, but they aren’t all. She saved me in more ways than one at the outpost. I was drugged, nearly out of my mind, but present enough to dimly understand what they were doing to me. If my foggy memories are correct, she was kind when she didn’t have to be. And brave. There aren’t many people who can boast that kindness and strength. My mating instinct may have drawn me to her initially, but she’s the only reason I was able to survive in that place. She tied me to my sanity. Gave me a reason to keep fighting. If she never wants to see me again, I’ll understand, but I’ll never stop wanting her.”

  Jade stared at Luka, a wide grin on her face. “Just tell her that. Easy-peasy.”

  “What?”

  “That was a great little speech.” She counted off on her fingers. “You like her for who she is. You’re insanely attracted to her. You’ll work hard to win her over, but you won’t try to force her to be with you if she doesn’t want to.”

  “She’ll be satisfied with that?” Luka asked curiously. “She won’t want gifts or a demonstration of my abilities or my grades?”

  Jade glanced toward Theo pleadingly. He took a seat near her, sighing. “We’re going to be here all day, aren’t we?”

  ***

  As Luka left the medbay Theo had escorted him to, he reflected on what Jade had told him. If she was right, Alice wouldn’t need the showmanship that normally accompanied a
courtship.

  Her descriptions of a human relationship were too good for Luka to believe. Constant affection? Shared bed for sleeping? Luka had never in his wildest dreams thought those things were possible, even if he found a cure for Clecanian infertility.

  In order to have all that Jade had told him, though, he’d need to redeem himself to Alice.

  He’d learned that his ankle, now fully healed, hadn’t been broken. The slender bone directly above his ankle, however, had been. When the doctor had examined him, he’d been surprised to learn Luka had not only been dealing with the pain for over two hours, but had tried to walk on the injured limb.

  Holding his guest pass ball tightly in his hands, he stared across the water at Alice’s small floating house. Anxiety made his heartbeat quicken and heat crept up his collar. Luka frowned.

  In his world, he excelled at almost anything he tried. If he set his mind to something, more often than not, he succeeded. Feeling anxiety wasn’t something he was used to.

  Whenever he’d interacted with females before, he’d been either charming, as his studies had taught him, or uninterested. He’d made it to the testing phase of the ceremony twice now, but had always refused to participate to avoid being chosen. He knew himself, and he knew what he wanted. A temporary wife was not that. Anytime he used what he’d been taught in school to charm a female, it’d always been with the direct and outspoken goal of having sex.

  As Luka felt his palms grow damp with sweat, he realized it was different with Alice. He cared if she liked him. He wanted her to like him. To seek him out for conversations. He wanted to be a person worthy of her attention, and right now, he didn’t feel that way.