Hers, Untamed

by Anna Adler

  “I would treat you well,” she tried to explain. “Unlike before, you would be loved. We’d have to play by Silenian rules, but here at home you could be free. No cage, no collar, I promise.”

  But he could never even step outside the apartment without Alyssa accompanying him. He would never be a citizen. He would remain something that could be bought and sold on a whim.

  “I would never get married,” she whispered. “You’re the only male I need in my life. You’d have me all to yourself.”

  But her promises sounded weak. Alyssa chewed on her lip, unable to cover up the distant ache in her heart. She wrapped herself around Jax for comfort. His hand moved and stroked her hair.

  “Go to sleep already,” he muttered.

  Alyssa gasped. “I didn’t know—”

  “Naughty vixen…I should spank you.” He pulled her tighter to him. “My beautiful little vixen.”

  His breathing told her he was fast asleep. Alyssa smiled, enjoying the way he squeezed her to him. He cared about her, he wanted to keep her close. There was hope for them. A measure of peace settled in and she closed her eyes.

  “Good night, Jax.”

  Chapter 23

  Sunday morning, the air felt charged with electricity. Alyssa knew this was it; no room for mistakes or sentimentality. Everything had to go smoothly because Jax’s life was on the line. She chose smart clothes for both of them—good shoes they could run in and clothes that didn’t stand out from the crowd. She hid Jax’s gun in her purse.

  Once they were ready, Jax pulled her into his arms. He pressed his lips against her temple.

  “You’re not gonna betray me today, are you, Alyssa?” he murmured.

  Alyssa gave a slight shake of her head, leaning into his embrace, wanting it to last forever.

  “I really like you,” he continued. “You’re an amazing woman. I can’t take it if you turn on me now.”

  “I’m not going to turn on you,” she said, even though her heart was hurting. “I made a promise. I’ll help you escape.”

  She hugged him tight, inhaling his scent and enjoying the hardness of his body. She suddenly felt tears stinging her eyes. This might be the last time she ever embraced him. Jax buried his face in her hair.

  “We have to get going,” he said in a low voice. “Are you ready?”

  Alyssa sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes. She looked up at him in determination. “I’m ready.”

  It was hard to let go of him. Her every cell screamed to hold on to him and never let go, but Alyssa clenched her teeth and stepped back. What was he thinking? Did he really want to leave, after all? Didn’t last night mean anything to him? Maybe he was still in denial. Yes, that had to be it. He would change his mind.

  Once we get to the spaceport, he’ll realize he’ll never see me again. Then he’ll change his mind and stay.

  Until then, Alyssa was determined to keep herself together and stick to the plan.

  One last time, she picked up his collar from the floor. Jax let her put it on him, gazing down at her with an unreadable look in his eyes. Alyssa strapped the control band around her wrist. Then she fetched a leash that matched his outfit and clipped it on his collar.

  “Okay,” she sighed, putting on a brave face. “We better catch our train.”

  The trip to the spaceport passed in a haze. Alyssa functioned like a normal citizen taking her pet for a walk, but all she could think was, This could be the last time I sit next to him. The last time I hold his leash.

  She made sure to look happy and casual on the outside—a sad face would attract attention and endanger the plan—but on the inside, she was bleeding. Jax simply behaved like Jax. She couldn’t detect any difference in him. He played his part to perfection.

  They arrived at the spaceport. Like the day before, Alyssa went to a coffee shop first to get them two cups of coffee to go. Jax carried the cups while Alyssa searched for a convenient table. She chose a table on the second floor, next to the railing. The table had a view of the floors below, as well as of the camera they wanted to cripple. They sat down and sipped their coffee.

  “Five minutes,” Jax recounted their plan in a low voice. “Then you put your purse on the table and tell me to look for a tissue. I’ll take care of the camera.”

  “Once the camera is out, we’ll get up and walk down there and go through the door,” Alyssa continued. “As soon as we’re through the door, we run like hell and hope we don’t come across anyone.”

  Jax flashed her a grin. Dart-like, it shot straight into Alyssa’s heart.

  Maybe the last time I see him smile.

  She swallowed and looked into his eyes. “Jax…”

  His expression hardened. “Focus.”

  Alyssa pulled herself together. They kept drinking their coffee, but five minutes later, Jax spilled his.

  “Now look what you did,” Alyssa scolded, lifting her purse on the table. “Find a tissue and clean yourself up. Then we’re going.”

  Jax reached into her purse. Alyssa stood to go, partially shielding him with her body so he could aim and disable the camera without being noticed. His actions were fast and fluent. The gun was back in her purse in two seconds then Jax stood as well. Alyssa hung her purse off her shoulder, grabbed his leash, and led him back downstairs. Reaching the door seemed to take forever. Alyssa forced herself to walk slowly although she was certain alarms would sound any second and every manner of security would jump up to apprehend them. Nothing happened. The spaceport continued to go about its business as if nothing unusual was going on. During the last steps, she could barely breathe. Her heart pounded like mad.

  “Next to the wall, next to the wall!” Jax hissed behind her.

  Alyssa had forgotten about the camera above the door and quickly ducked under its eye. She flattened herself against the wall next to the door. Jax did the same next to her. Now they were definitely behaving suspiciously, and it was only a question of seconds before someone noticed. Holding her breath, Alyssa dug into her purse and zapped the door’s locking mechanism with the gun. Jax had turned it into an electronic lockpick as well. The control panel flashed a green light at them, and the door cracked open.

  Alyssa and Jax slipped inside and broke into a run. The straight, white corridor seemed to go on endlessly. Jax ran faster than Alyssa, and she had to let go of his leash, but she didn’t fall far behind. He reached the exit first and burst out of it, holding the door open for her before letting it fall closed behind them. Alyssa stopped to look around them. No one. She sprinted down the corridor to the right, up the stairs and then right again, toward the utility room they’d chosen as their breakup point. She heard Jax follow.

  Alyssa zapped the lock of the utility room with the gun, after which they both slipped inside and stood panting in the dimly lit room. Alyssa pressed the gun in Jax’s hand. He would need it to get farther. She was to remain here in hiding and wait until he’d boarded the shuttle. Once the shuttle had launched, she could relax, get herself caught, and face the consequences. She tapped her wristband to deactivate Jax’s collar.

  The possessive little demons gnawed at her brain once more.

  Don’t let him go! This is your last chance, you idiot! Keep him!

  Alyssa’s hand shook as she prepared to enter the final command. Her desires versus Jax’s freedom and happiness. She’d never put someone else’s needs before hers. She wanted to keep him. But she had promised to let him go, and she could not face the pain she would cause him if she betrayed him. She had to set him free, even if it broke her heart. Grinding her teeth, Alyssa killed the collar, reached around Jax’s neck and took it off him.

  Every second counted. The security AI might raise an alarm any moment, and Jax needed to get on the shuttle before it happened. Alyssa knew the moment of separation had come, but there was no time to say all the things she wanted to say. Tears fell down her cheeks. She looked up at him.

  “Goodbye, Jax,” she whispered, clutching his disabled collar in her hands. “
You have to go now. Promise me you’ll make it.”

  Jax’s eyes shone with pain and emotion. He clasped her into his arms and kissed her hard. Alyssa began to sob uncontrollably. She dropped the collar and hugged him with all her strength.

  “I’m going to miss you so much,” she sobbed against his chest.

  Jax held her tighter. Then he pushed her to an arm’s length, his fingers gripping her shoulders so hard it hurt.

  “Alyssa…” He nailed his gaze on her, his voice thick, his chest heaving.

  Mad hope jumped to life in her heart.

  Is he going to stay? Has he changed his mind?

  She stared at him, her eyes wide, her cheeks wet from tears.

  “Alyssa…”

  You want to stay, her feverish mind interpreted. Say it. Say it!

  He leaned closer. “Come with me.”

  Alyssa blinked at him, astonished.

  “I don’t want to say goodbye,” he hastily explained. “You kept all your promises. I want you to come with me.”

  She couldn’t get a word out of her mouth. Leave Silenia? Such a thing had never occurred to her. Her homeworld was all she knew. But Jax wanted her. What should she do?

  “I don’t have much to offer you,” he went on. “I’m nothing but a mongrel, trying to get by out there. But I’m devoted to you. I’ll take care of you. I’ll do anything for you.”

  Alyssa only stared in confusion.

  “Alyssa?” Jax demanded when she didn’t reply. His face twisted in panic. “Alyssa, I want you to come with me. Please!”

  “I…”

  “Don’t think, just say what you feel.” He yanked her into his arms, kissed and caressed her with burning urgency. “Say yes. Please, girl, I don’t want to let you go, you’re the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me. Say yes.”

  “Yes,” she breathed, overwhelmed.

  “Yes?” He clasped her face, wild joy in his eyes.

  Bewildered, Alyssa nodded. His face split into a huge grin and he grasped her into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet and spinning her.

  “God, yes,” he muttered hoarsely, squeezing her tight. “You’re mine. And you’re coming with me. I’m the luckiest bastard in the universe.”

  Alyssa let out a mixture of a laugh and a sob. Rays of happy sunlight began to penetrate into her mind. She and Jax were going to stay together. They were going to ride an ore transport to Earth and flee somewhere else from there, an adventure unlike anything she’d ever imagined.

  He set her down on her feet again. “We gotta run now.”

  Alyssa nodded and switched back into professional mode. But the moment they stepped out of the utility room, an alarm sounded out in the spaceport.

  Shit, they realized something’s wrong!

  Two restrainer bots emerged from their docking stations inside the walls, blocking the corridor leading to the shuttle.

  Alyssa tapped Jax’s arm. “Quick, upstairs!”

  They ran back to the nearest stairwell and went up to the ground level. Their plan B was the long corridor framing the launch pads. But since an alarm had already sounded, they both knew this way would now be blocked, too. Which left them with plan C—an emergency exit that opened into the launch pad. This meant sprinting 300 meters across the launch area to the shuttle, climbing 20 meters of the shuttle’s exterior and entering the shuttle through a maintenance hatch in Silenia’s freezing temperatures and poisonous air.

  Alyssa knew it would be hard, but she would make it. Next to the emergency exit would be a box with breathing masks. They should be able to stand the cold for a while even in their flimsy indoor clothing. But her brain now calmly informed her of another problem.

  They’re going to stop the launch.

  Once spaceport security figured out where they were headed, they would make sure the shuttle remained on the ground. Alyssa knew what she had to do, although it mauled her already battered heart.

  It was a beautiful dream—all five seconds that it lasted.

  Jax had to board the shuttle alone. Alyssa had to climb to the control tower to make sure the launch took place as planned.

  Once they reached the emergency exit, Alyssa dug into the supply box inserted into the wall and handed Jax a mask. While he put it on, she grabbed the large red handle that would open the heavy emergency door, readying herself.

  Jax stilled with alarm. “What are you doing? Put your mask on!”

  Alyssa shook her head. She didn’t have the strength to cry anymore. She only gave him a forlorn look. “I have to stay. I have to make sure they don’t stop the launch.”

  Jax grabbed her shoulders. “No!”

  “If you don’t go now, you’ll never make it,” she told him firmly. “They’ll kill you if you stay. You don’t want Silenia to win, do you?”

  His eyes blazed, but they both knew they had no time to argue.

  “I need the gun,” Alyssa said. He gave it to her with a limp, defeated hand.

  “I love you, Alyssa,” he said in a low voice muffled by the mask he wore.

  Alyssa felt as if her heart was torn from her chest. Nothing but her iron will kept her upright. She realized she loved him too, and that he was the only man she’d ever loved in her life, but she couldn’t say it.

  “Run, Jax,” she only said.

  She hit the switch and the emergency exit popped open, flooding the hallway with freezing, unbreathable air. Alyssa covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve. Her hair whipped in the vicious breeze. He gave her one more longing look, as if wanting to memorize her features. Then he leaped outside and was gone. Alyssa yanked the switch to close the exit, and once the heavy door slammed shut, the air soon returned to normal. After a moment of coughing and gasping, she pulled herself together and headed for the control tower.

  How she got there was a blur. She zapped security bots, guards, cameras and doors with the gun as they crossed her path. She barely noticed them. She had one driving force—protecting Jax. If they stopped the launch and caught him, he’d be terminated, but they’d have to do it over her dead body. No one was going to hurt her pet! She took over the control room at gunpoint, ordered all ten occupants into the adjacent room and jammed the door.

  She locked herself in the control room and blinded the cameras. Then she sat down at the launch terminal and stretched her fingers. They’d aborted the launch already, but Alyssa got the countdown running again. Her job as remote supervisor of the mining bots provided familiarity with these systems. The cameras out on the launch pad showed Jax climbing the shuttle. He moved with the dexterity of a seasoned climber. Despite being bare handed and without gear in the icy, toxic wind, he kept advancing at a steady rate. Then he reached the access hatch. Alyssa opened it for him by remote and he slipped inside. She exhaled with relief when the hatch closed behind him.

  He’s safe.

  Two minutes to launch. Everything was fine. Alyssa needed only to wait and ensure the shuttle lifted off without disturbance. The control tower staff pounded at the door from the other room. Heavier thumps came from the main entrance, where a bot was trying to break down the door. She barely heard them. Then two minutes were up and the shuttle ignited with a massive roar, trailing flame and white smoke as it rose up into the sky. Alyssa watched it rise higher and diminish, carrying 500 tons of pure platinum and the love of her life with it. She found herself smiling through her tears.

  Goodbye, my pet. Be free.

  The door behind her was broken down and security rushed into the room. Her mission accomplished, Alyssa didn’t resist as they grabbed her, pulled her to her feet and took her away.

  Chapter 24

  Alyssa sat in the corner of her padded cell, hugging her knees.

  “Disturbance of peace is one of the greatest crimes against our society,” the computer voice from the loudspeaker said in a compassionate, educational tone. “Your actions caused severe distress to countless fellow citizens. You also endangered a precious shipment, which could have led to
high material damages.”

  Alyssa didn’t react. She received these lectures at regular intervals and knew them by heart.

  “Releasing a pet is against the law. Pets do not know what’s good for them. They depend on their owners to make the right decisions.”

  Alyssa pressed her chin against her knees. “I made the right decision,” she whispered, mostly to herself.

  “You have been deemed unfit to own a pet. Your pet will be put down upon capture.”

  Alyssa fisted her hands and suppressed the urge to scream.

  “Silenia is a gentle and forgiving place,” the voice went on. “We regret that you must be punished for your actions, but soon you will become a free citizen again.”

  Alyssa forced her voice calm and asked, “When will you let me go?”

  “You will be released once you have served your sentence,” came the reply.

  “How long is my sentence?”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you that information.”

  Alyssa let it be. She had argued with the AI before and she knew it wouldn’t tell her anything. Not knowing how long she had to stay here was part of her punishment, and it was frightfully effective. What if they meant to keep her here forever? Alyssa shuddered. Panic throbbed in her chest and she hugged her knees tighter, fighting to keep it at bay.

  “Be patient,” the AI said. “Silenia will welcome you back soon. Reflect on your mistakes and prepare to return as a happy and productive member of society.”

  Alyssa looked around her. She didn’t have furniture. She only had the clothes she wore, a blanket, and a pillow. She didn’t even have a bed, but since the floor was soft, it was as good as a bed. A tiny shower stall and a toilet stood behind a narrow doorway, but the shower was far from comfortable. When she used it, it first sprayed her with soap then with water and finally with air to dry her. They didn’t allow her visitors, so she had no one to talk to except the AI. She had no contact with the outside world. The lights were always on, and she had no access to natural daylight. She lost track of time immediately after they locked her up, and by now she had no idea how long she had been here. Days? Weeks? Months? Her cell hung suspended in an old mining shaft. It had no windows, but one of the walls was see-through, giving a bleak view of a rock wall.