by Isabel Wroth
The holo-room was cleared for their use, and Alec sat when he nodded to one of the waiting chair.
Kalix paused, hesitating when he moved to make contact via the secured channel on his wrist unit.
“Alec, I do not yet known how far into the recordings the Asho has gotten. I would ask that you not yet mention the deaths of Lieutenant Commander Sully, or his mate, Sage.
“It is likely the Asho will have his mate present with him for this communication, and I would like to notify him first so he may be prepared to offer her comfort.”
Alec frowned in confusion, so he explained quickly Clary was the mate of their pride ruler. She seemed baffled, her mouth working, swallowing audibly while she gave off the scent of nervousness and uncertainty. Sadness too. But after a moment, her jaw snapped shut and she nodded, dropping her gaze to her lap where her hands twisted and knotted together.
“Believe me, I’m not eager to tell Sage’s daughter how she died. Sage and Sully took Meg and me in when our parents took the crew back aboard the Sestrenka. They raised us.” Her voice hitched, and Alec shook her head roughly in order to regain composure of herself.
When she steadied, she lifted her chin again and met his gaze, asking him a question he now wanted to answer even less.
“Did you find any evidence to say where the Sestrenka might be?”
He took in a deep breath, held it for an uncomfortable moment, and gave a tight nod.
“We did. We will speak of it after we have contacted the Asho.”
She quivered, gripping her hands together so tightly they blanched of all color, but not a single tear fell, and not a single protest left her pinched lips.
He took her silence as permission to continue, sending a request to Tarek to speak immediately.
It was late on Saraz, and he hoped he was not interrupting, but for this, Tarek would answer. Kalix offered Alec food and drink, but she declined, saying she was too ‘wound up’ to eat.
He was uncertain what that vernacular meant, but he did not have time to ask, as suddenly the space before them was filled with the image of the pride ruler.
“Commander Kalix, I assume as you have a human female beside you, your mission has been successful.”
Alec’s jaw dropped at the sight of the Asho, but Kalix was uncertain why. Whatever the cause, his beast was irritated by her appreciation of the pride leader. He cleared his throat and stood, inclining his head respectfully.
“We have recovered seventy five humans, males, females and young. The situation is—”
“Wait! Wait, I’m coming, hang on!”
Alec stiffened at the sound of Clary’s voice, he could not help but duck his head to hide his smile while Tarek gave a chuff and turned to speak to his mate, who was yet concealed from their sight.
“My One, I asked you to wait in our quarters.” There was no mistaking the fact Tarek cared deeply for his mate, and neither was his current exasperation with the feisty female who ruled at his side.
“Like I would miss this, jerk. Oh, wow. Hi.”
Clary burst into view, and no doubt to Alec’s eyes it must have seemed as though she was there in the room with them.
The scent of her sadness deepened, but she stood up on steady legs and greeted the Asho’na with respect.
His beast intensified his protective nature tenfold, and before Clary could launch into the thousand and one questions he could see on her face, he interrupted.
“Forgive my rudeness, Asho’na. There is one female infected in the infirmary. She is for the moment stable, though her condition remains critical. Have you read my last report?”
Tarek inclined his head, reaching out to curl his arm around his mate, who was no less lush, but several times smaller than she had been last time. The birth of her cubs made her seem even more radiant than before.
“We have. How far has the infection spread within her?” Tarek demanded, and at his side, Alec swallowed thickly.
“It is in the final stages, but my sister...” she had to pause, unable to continue speaking, her jaw clenching to no doubt hold the sounds of grief at bay.
He set his hand on her waist, knowing Tarek did not miss the gesture, but Kalix was too distracted by the scent he was coming to decide was the most terrible he had ever experienced to care what his Asho assumed.
“The parasites have begun to cannibalize her internal organs. The medics have streamlined regeneration gel directly into her system, but the damage is extensive and gaining a viable blood sample is difficult due to the volume of parasites flowing through her veins.”
Clary made a sound of distress, clutching at Tarek’s tunic and letting him pull her closer to his side.
Alec proudly lifted her chin and faced the pair boldly. “If they can’t find a way to stop the infection within twenty four hours, I want them to stop.
“She’s my sister, and I will not allow her to endure a single moment of pain longer than necessary. If they can’t fix it, I want to end her suffering. It’s what she wanted.”
She made her request, her demand, quickly and concisely, standing tall in the face of Tarek’s stone-faced expression and Clary’s one of pained shock.
Alec did not look away or back down under the powerful stare of the Asho, impressing upon the elder male the strength of her resolve.
Tarek did not blink or break away from her gaze, but he sighed and shook his head, taking his mate with him when he sat and rubbed his hand through his mane roughly.
“Her end, if it must come sooner rather than later, will not come by your hand.” He continued louder, speaking over her when Alec made to argue, his tone hard, yet compassionate.
“I understand how difficult this has been for you—”
Alec threw her hand up and her grief turned to rage, a teeming sea of emotion that ebbed and flowed with startling strength.
As overwhelming as it was for him to scent, Kalix couldn’t imagine how overwhelming it was to experience such a surge. If she had been hybrid, he would have been bracing to face a beast in full bloodlust.
“You stop. Right there. I’ve watched people I loved, people I grew up with, whose dirty diapers I changed, become ravaged with an infection I had no power to cure.
“I had to listen to them screaming and crying, begging for water. For death as the pain of that infection literally tore them up inside.
“And because I got the short end of the stick, the illustrious honor of being the first one born on that god forsaken planet, I was chosen to lead. Me, and not my sister who came out of the womb two minutes after me.
“It was my responsibility as the oldest, the one in fucking charge, to hold them in my arms and shove a knife into their hearts to put them out of their misery.
“To keep their bodies from being desecrated when the product of that infection oozed out of them to make more of those things.
“I stood there and ordered their bodies to be burned, the smell of it permeating my hair and skin while I watched, because it was the only way to be certain the infection didn’t spread to the rest of my people.
“So unless you can tell me you’ve experienced that, that you know exactly what I had to do for my people, I don’t want to hear you say you understand how difficult it’s been for me. That is my sister down there, and I will decide when it is time to end her suffering, not you.”
Her chest was heaving with her rage, her voice having risen until she was almost shouting while tears wet her reddened cheeks.
Clary was crying with her, while Tarek sat with his jaw locked and his eyes steady on Alec.
All three of them, silent and astounded, absorbed the enormity of what this female and her people had struggled through. What they had overcome.
Clary had told them of the resilience of humans, their unwavering determination to survive, but until this moment Kalix shamefully had to admit he had not understood.
Tarek finally spoke, interrupting his thoughts on what it must have been like for Alec to take the lives of her
own people in order to end their suffering.
She had made such brutal choices for the good of all, the responsibility of it forced upon her when she was little more than a cub herself, and had carried the burden of it alone to spare the rest.
The only being who she might have been able to lean on, to trust with the truth of how difficult it had been for her, was the sister who now lay dying in the medical wing.
Truly, Kalix had no words to describe how in awe of her he was.
“If her suffering becomes too great, at your decision, the medics will administer a fatal dose of sleeping tonic.
“Your sister will be delivered into the hands of your ancestors, painlessly, and with honor. Do you agree?”
Alec’s hands curled into fists at her sides, but she gave a jerky nod and finally lowered her eyes.
“Has a potential mate for the female been identified among your crew?”
*****
Tarek’s question had Alec jerking back to attention beside him, surprise and confusion plain on her face.
Kalix grimaced when she wasn’t looking at him, reaching up to rake his fingers through his mane, addressing the ruling pair in Saraz instead of the human’s tongue.
“No. I did not tell her of it, did not wish to give her hope if her sister’s mate was not on board.
“And in truth, as the medics are having trouble taking a pure blood sample from her, it is unlikely their beast would recognize her scent in her current state. I carried her on board, and her scent was extremely muddied with pain and decay.”
Alec snarled at him with all the potency of a Sarazen female, “If I have to break my fucking hand again, this time I’m doing it on your face. Speak. English.”
Clary rolled her lips together to keep from giving a watery smile, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling, and Tarek choked on a snort.
“The menfolk are discussing whether or not to offer you hope, in a situation where there might not be any,” Clary told Alec.
Alec gave a little hiss, raking her hands through her wealth of tight curls, fisting them tightly in the spiraled mass.
The three of them watched her pace angrily back and forth, and finally when Kalix’s beast was beginning to grow agitated within his fleshy cage, she stopped and spun on her heel to face the ruling pair.
“Whatever it is, just tell me.”
Clary nodded with a sound of approval as she dashed the tears from her cheeks. It was almost obvious how both he and Tarek were to glad to allow the female to explain.
Kalix prepared a chair, just in case Alec needed to sit down after the Asho’na was finished.
“As time is of the essence, I’ll break it down in small pieces. Later, I would very much like to sit down with you and your crew to explain in depth.”
Alec nodded to acknowledge the other female and hugged her arms around herself tightly, her feet braced as though ready to take a hit. Clary took a breath, and plunged headfirst into her explanation.
“When we first encountered the Sarazens, it was under battle conditions and I was wounded when Tarek brought me and my crew aboard his ship.
“I was given his blood, and it not only healed the wound to my shoulder, but caused my body to completely regrow my reproductive organs. I’d been sterilized at age nineteen, and I now have a pair of five-month-old twins to prove it.”
Alec sat down heavily in the chair he had scooted closer to her, for just this purpose, her jaw slack while she stared at the smiling image of the red-haired female.
“Before you ask, no, it can’t be just any Sarazen blood that does the trick. We did determine that much.
“Longer explanation for later, but humans are compatible partners to the warriors. Males and females both.
“They shift shape into what we can only compare to an ancient sabre tooth tiger, and for lack of a better explanation, the animal within chooses its mate based on scent and it bonds to that person. Forever. Instant husband and wife, and there is no such thing as divorce.
“It is possible your sister has a potential mate on board the warship you’re on now, and it is possible that the aggressive regenerative properties of his blood can eradicate the infection and repair the damage to her internal organs.
“Kalix and Tarek are reluctant to offer this possibility on the chance your sister’s potential mate is not on board, and due to the critical nature of her condition, she may die despite all attempts to heal her.”
Kalix wasn’t certain Alec was able to process all that condensed information in her current state. She was silent for long enough that he became concerned, but with no warning, she surged to her feet and drilled her finger into his chest, furious determination replacing the sickly sweet scent of her sorrow.
He hadn’t known it was possible for a human to feel so many emotions, all at the same time.
“I don’t give a shit if every warrior on this ship has to go in there and sniff Meg’s pits to identify her scent properly.
“If one of them can save her life, you get your men off their furry alien asses and exhaust every possibility there is to help her. Do you get me, soldier?”
He licked his lips and looked down at where her finger was stabbing uselessly against his chest, the surge of animalistic desire almost too strong to deny.
His beast was not, and never had been submissive, no matter what some of his fellow warriors thought.
The gods-cursed thing was all but vibrating inside him with the rumbles of pleasure Alec’s challenging tone brought.
Clary cleared her throat softly, murmuring to her mate, “I like her.”
Tarek snorted in response, “Of course you do, my One. Commander Kalix, you heard your female. Get your warriors off their furry alien asses.”
Kalix did not correct the Asho’s amused usage of the phrase ‘your female.’ He did wrap his hand around Alec’s finger, not interested in having to take her back down to medical and tell Beric she had broken her hand on his chest again.
“Apologies, Asho, but we are still uncertain of whether or not the infection can be spread through contact—”
“It is spread by bodily fluid. So as long as no one is sucking her blood or getting spit on, they’ll be fine.
“Not one of my people has contracted an infection via touch. Or smell. I have fourteen years of experience to trump your uncertainty.”
Tarek cleared his throat, not smiling, because this was not a time for smiling, but his appreciation for Alec’s commanding presence was obvious.
“Put medical on screen,” he ordered, so of course Kalix had to obey, standing beside Alec while Tarek gave the medics orders to give Alec full authority to decide her sister’s fate if her mate was not found among the warriors on board.
“Her status?” Alec demanded.
The medics seemed taken aback by the same tone of command he and Tarek used, but like them it came naturally to her.
Reykar cleared his throat too when Tarek didn’t interject or take her to task. “The regeneration gel is having little effect. The parasites consume the water of her cells almost as quickly as they are replenished.
“I cannot explain why as of yet, but the brain is not being consumed along with the rest of her body’s internal organs and muscle.”
Clary made a soft sound of sadness. “No progress at all has been made?”
Reykar swallowed thickly, his gaze dropping to obviously look down on Alec’s sister with a mix of pity and bafflement.
“I am ashamed to admit this is unlike anything I have ever seen. It may be beyond my skill and I was about to ask for contact with Ga’rae, Asho’na. Perhaps with his expertise we may be able to find a cure. Until then, I can only make her comfortable.”
Before Alec could demand Ga’rae’s presence, Tarek was barking the order into his wrist unit for the primary medic to attend him immediately.
“Bring Gwen, too!” Clary added in a rush.
Tarek muttered a curse under his breath, confirming the command to Ga’rae. “They wil
l arrive soon.”
FOUR
Alec lifted her head, looking at the ceiling where Kalix’s distinctive voice speaking in their goddamned native language instead of in English, came across loud and clear.
She just knew he was telling his warriors something important, probably about them, but for some reason didn’t want Alec and her people to know about it. Or maybe not all of his warriors spoke English. Doubtful, but maybe.
“Do you know what he’s saying?”
Alec licked her lips and grimaced at Liliya. “No. I’m going to sit with Meg while they do some kind of test to see if her blood is compatible with someone’s on board.
“I don’t know how long it will take, so you’re in charge till I come back. Keep everyone settled here, yeah?”
Liliya nodded, giving her hand a comforting squeeze, trying to look hopeful. She failed dismally.
“They showed us how to use their version of a shower. Don’t know about you, but I haven’t had one of those since I was a kid. You smell. Try it before you go.”
A guffaw burst from Alec, but a quick sniff at herself and she had to agree. She did smell pretty bad.
Alec let Liliya pull her up and take her into the cubicle that had no knobs or buttons, stepping in when Liliya told her to.
“Close your eyes. It’s some kind of enzyme wash. You don’t even have to take your clothes off, and you can open your mouth so it’ll clean your teeth.”
Alec looked at the other woman with one eye open, flinching and squeezing both eyes shut when a cool mist hissed out from somewhere around her, covering her in a tingly, sweet-smelling foam.
It actually felt good. Really, really good. Tasted okay too. Eventually the foam dissipated, and a warm wind followed, leaving her skin and teeth feeling squeaky clean for the first time in years.
None of her people had dared go close enough to any rivers or lakes to bathe, not even a pond for fear a Scylla would rise up out of it and spew their toxic slime all over them. When it rained, they bathed like it would never happen again.
But this? This was amazing.
“There, see? Now you smell like a human again.” Liliya winked at Alec when she stepped out.