Alien Commander's Chosen Complete Collection

by Erin Tate

  Joyce nodded and then realized verbal answers were a better idea. “Yes.”

  “I gave you cilotha since we did not have cay-anne.”

  She almost grinned at his version of the word cayenne but then she remembered it’d probably hurt. “Yes, and it was the perfect ingredient.”

  Yare’s face paled.

  “No, Joyce, it was not,” Kede growled, but she didn’t believe Yare heard him.

  The male kept speaking. “Cilotha is from a seed on my planet. It is harmless to Doshan, but when it hits the blood of non-Doshan…” His lips twisted in a scowl. “It is deadly.”

  “Oh,” throat suddenly dry, she swallowed hard. “Was I hurt then? From this chee-loth-a thing?”

  “Joyce,” Kede’s voice was so very soft, barely audible. “You nearly died. You bled more than I have ever seen. What the cilotha did to your flesh… I will show you the vids someday.”

  “I don’t want to see them.” She didn’t even want to imagine something destroying her body. “Will I live now?”

  “Yes,” he breathed out the word on a low gust.

  “Am I…” She recognized her nakedness beneath the warm sheet atop her. Much like before, she found herself nude and wearing nothing but a thin, yet warm, piece of fabric. Hands at her sides, she found firm skin beneath her fingertips. On her left, she was smooth. Yet on her right, her digits skated over rough lumps, the rise and fall foreign and tender to the touch. “I’m scarred.”

  It wasn’t a question. The proof lay beneath her palm. “How did it get on me? In me?”

  “You put it in your choc-olate.” She would have smiled at his pronunciation of chocolate if her world hadn’t been crumbling.

  A memory darted forward. Her standing at one of the stoves—heat panels—stirring chocolate as it melted. Her double boiler was rigged from two of Yare’s pots and it worked… sorta. But she hadn’t been paying attention, not really, and she burned her chocolate. Then she joked with the male and snatched a new package of chocolate from his hands…

  “So it got into me through the burns.”

  “Yes.”

  Joyce closed her eyes, she didn’t want to see the expression as he answered the next question. In truth, she didn’t want to hear his response. “Do I want to see them?”

  He said nothing for a while, nothing but the sound of his breathing filling her ears. Finally, he released a harsh breath and it shattered her heart. “No, you do not.”

  Eyes still closed, she drew her hand from beneath the fabric and brought it toward her face. She was afraid of what she’d find, but she needed to know the extent of the damage. Her whole right side hurt, shoulder to ankle, but her face was tight and ached as well. How high did the damage go?

  She ghosted her fingertips over her temple, around her eye, along her cheekbone. She traced the line of her lips and then slid her touch over her neck.

  She imagined it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

  “Will they ever get better?” She didn’t recognize her own voice as emotion clogged her throat.

  “They will heal. The skin will eventually darken to blend in.” Darken. Right. Joyce was as white as a cloud. “The unevenness will remain, but will also slowly ease.” He reached out and gently grasped her undamaged hand, slowly tugging it from her face. “The point is, you are alive, Joyce. To any other, exposure to cilotha is a death sentence. It is painful, agonizing.”

  Her chest constricted, the lingering pain and outlook for the future clouding her thoughts. “Why didn’t you let me die, then?” A tear escaped and burned her skin, the salty fluid searing the wounds and she hissed. “Fuck.”

  “Easy, let me help you.” His hands, so strong and rough, were gentle as he dabbed her cheeks with a cloth.

  She stared into his mismatched eyes and found pity laced with an emotion she couldn’t identify. “Why didn’t you just let it end? Why bring me back to this? I know the Doshan have…”

  Ritual termination. She couldn’t recall the Doshan word for the ceremony. Her mind hadn’t yet processed everything on the language chip. The vocabulary was vast with varying dialects by region.

  Kede gripped her healthy hand. “I would never, never do that to you. You cannot ask it of me because I would tell you no.” The fierceness, the intensity, in his gaze reminded her of an enraged animal. He was wild-eyed and vicious in that moment. The gentle glow of his eyes flared brightly and the heavy weight of his gaze settled over her. “I will always tell you no. No matter what, you will always return to me.”

  His glare intensified, his gaze expectant. The parts of her she’d been denying for four weeks finally clicked into place. Her injury, her brush with death, seemed to be a turning point for him. For them both. He looked at her as if…

  “Joyce?”

  “I will return.” She nodded.

  “To me.” He bared his teeth as if he were a feral animal, warning her to give the answer he desired.

  Despite the throbbing ache blanketing her body, she responded to the heat, the brutal threat in his expression. “To you.”

  Kede grunted. “Resane has been tending you, but he says he will release you soon.”

  “Okay.”

  “I have installed the door between our quarters. I will have access to you.” Another look from him that dared her to object.

  She couldn’t find a reason not to want him that close. Especially when she knew she’d need assistance of some type. Resane couldn’t be expected to cater to her as she recovered and she wouldn’t feel comfortable with another male close to her. Something about Kede made her want him near even as she raged at him.

  “Okay.”

  “I will order it done.” He jerked his head in a quick nod.

  “You just said it was already done.”

  He grinned. “I did not want to alter the ship and then chance you not granting me forgiveness.”

  Joyce furrowed her brow. “It is a Terran saying. It is sometimes better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

  He shrugged. “I did not want to harm the ship.”

  That brought a pained smile to her lips. The move tugged and pulled at her skin, but it lightened her heart just the same. Her eyes filled once again and he frowned at her.

  “You will not begin leaking again. It caused pain before. Stop it now.”

  God, it looked like he meant it, too. So, instead of crying she laughed. A little crazy, the chuckle danced on the edge of insanity, but at least it was a laugh and not more tears.

  “You can’t just order someone not to cry, Kede.” She grinned, ignoring the ache.

  He growled at her. “I am Commander Kede Tria-se of the Vehly. My word is law.”

  That had her smile widening while his words niggled at her memories. “I thought your last name, your family name, is Tria.”

  Kede jumped to his feet and ignored her comment. “I must see about the modifications. Rest. Resane will keep me updated on your condition.” He glared at her. “You will get better.”

  With that final order, he strode from the room. The door slid apart to grant him exit and it quietly closed behind him.

  Well, he’d demanded she get better. So, she better. Though, part of her wanted to remain unwell just to remind him that the world did not revolve around Kede Tria. Or rather, Kede Tria-se.

  Joyce wondered why he changed his name.

  Chapter Nine

  Kede stared at the rapid cycling vids before him. Reports flicked across the screen, one after another. He fought to process the words, his mind switching from Terran to Doshan and back again as he read the updates from his crew.

  He managed to remain intent for five minutes before his thoughts were yet again drawn to Joyce. His gaze strayed to the screen propped just within reach. It was a private comm, one that linked directly to medical. If Joyce so much as sneezed, he’d be informed. Especially after the last incident. She had sneezed then and some of the thin skin on her side stretched, leaking a small bit. It hadn’t been a large injury
, but even one did not sit well with him.

  The ship’s comm on the other side of his desk beeped and he immediately responded. Maybe there was something immediate to take his mind from his harae.

  “Tria-se.”

  The hailer paused for a brief moment before finally speaking. “Commander Tria—”

  Kede was quick to correct the crewmember. He had found his harae, even if the pairing was unorthodox. “Tria-se.”

  “Yes, Commander Tria-se, this is Ambassador Martins. I would like to speak with you at your earliest convenience. Terra would like to enter negotiations.”

  He frowned. “I am not authorized to enter into negotiations, please speak with Ambassador—”

  “With all due respect, Commander. The Terran government requires your participation as your actions instigated this… inter-planetary incident.”

  Kede rose to his feet, pressing his fists against the smooth top of his desk. It did nothing to intimidate the ambassador as she was not before him, but it made him feel better. “I have done nothing. I have not violated the treaty through word nor deed.”

  “Terra disagrees,” she snapped.

  He gritted his teeth against the desire to strangle the ambassador. “I would hear the charges so that I may prepare for this discussion.”

  “Negotiation.”

  “Ambassador Martins, I have done nothing wrong, so there shall be no negotiation. You may tell your government that.” He passed his hand over the tablet, ending the communication.

  The moment the connection was lost, a soft bell announced a visitor. A press of a button gave him visuals of his prospective guest. Perfect. Ambassador Haspava.

  “Enter.”

  The male strode through the portal the moment it slid open to grant him entrance. The expression told him Haspava was anything but pleased to visit him.

  “Commander Tria!”

  “Tria-se.” He needed to make a general announcement. Unfortunately, the broadcast could not occur until he spoke with Joyce. He had no idea when that would happen. He hated to stress her and he had no doubt that the discovery that she was now Doshan by blood as well as his heart would upset her.

  No, it would enrage her.

  He prayed to the bright light that she did not ask Resane for a mirror.

  “That,” he snapped, “is a topic up for discussion.”

  “No one, not even the government, can separate a bonded pair, Haspava.” Kede returned with the same heat.

  “Converting a species violates the treaty!”

  “It does not.” He’d checked. True, he had not done his research when his every thought was on saving Joyce, but as soon as it was clear she would live, he began his research. “The treaty with the Planetary Collective states nothing of transitions.”

  “Tran…” The ambassador’s eyes widened, the whites completely encircling the green and pale blue of his irises. “You have changed her species!”

  “I have encouraged evolution.” That was the best way Resane had been able to explain the process. “Doshan genetics were concentrated and introduced to Joyce’s body.”

  “Ambassador Enner,” Haspava corrected.

  “Joyce Enner Tria-se.” Now it was Kede’s turn to correct the male. “I have violated no treaty. I have broken no law, Doshan nor Planetary Collective. The rulers may not approve with my choice,” Kede knew that more than disapproval may await him. He had not breached any decrees, but that did not mean they would not hunt a reason to place him in stasis. “But it was my choice. The males that assisted me were there under my orders.”

  Haspava snorted. “You would cover for your friends.”

  “Why? What good would it serve? We did nothing wrong, Ambassador. For you or any other representative to say otherwise is incorrect and may end with charges brought against your Houses.” He let the threat sink into the male’s mind.

  Bringing charges against a House, being found guilty of such charges, could ruin an entire family line. That was why each male worked hard to make a life that would reflect positively on his family.

  “Terra is up in arms, Commander.”

  “Let them threaten. We have more to offer them than they can provide to us.”

  The male glared at him. “They are demanding her return.”

  He shrugged. “She will not go back. I will not release her.”

  Another hail came from his comm panel, the insistent beeps continuing until even Haspava demanded he answer the hail.

  “What?”

  “Commander Tria.” Martins. If he did not respect her sex, he would take her to the biomat for her continued disregard to his change in status. She was aware of the meaning behind adding “se” to the end of a Doshan’s name. That she would disrespect that…

  “Tria-se. What?”

  “The Terran ambassador is demanding your attendance,” the female snapped at him.

  Kede gritted his teeth and glared, his gaze momentarily meeting Haspava’s equally furious face before he finally focused on the comm panel once again. “Ambassador Martins, please have Terra review the Planetary Collective treaty. If they can find evidence of violation, I shall sit down with their representatives for questioning. Until that time, there is nothing to discuss.” He felt the heavy weight of the male standing across from him, but Kede didn’t care. His harae was injured in medical and he had a ship to run. Annoyed Terrans were not on his list of priorities.

  “Terra is recalling Ambassador Enner immediately.” The woman said the title with a sneer that set his teeth on edge.

  “Joyce Enner Tria-se is no longer a Terran citizen.”

  Anger-tinged silence stretched. “A Terran cannot be stripped of citizenship. That is a matter of Planetary Collective law.”

  “If,” Haspava stepped closer, shaking his head, but Kede was done speaking with this disrespectful female. He would drop her at the next habitable planet if she did not soon learn manners. “If Joyce were still Terran, then you are correct.”

  “Even if one species mates with an individual from another, it does not negate their status, Commander Tria.” Martins was quick to return. “Ambassador Enner is Terran and as such, she is being recalled.”

  “No, biologically, Joyce Enner Tria-se,” he roared the addition to her name, “is Doshan. There is no longer a single part of her that is Terran. You may tell your government that Ambassador Martins. No further requests regarding my harae will be entertained. Should you continue this line of questioning you may return to Terran’s surface and await the next ship.”

  Without waiting for a response, he slammed his palm against the comm panel, shattering the delicate screen.

  A tense silence followed the communication. Kede’s heavy breathing matched Haspava’s. Finally, after countless seconds, he raised his gaze to the ambassador. The male was as old as him, lines of worry aging his face further, but his true friend still lurked beneath the mantle of authority.

  “That was not well done of you.”

  “Hassee,” he fell back on his childhood nickname, “someone leaked the information to Terra. Their knowledge of what has occurred is threatening my harae. Would you have done any differently?”

  Haspava shook his head. “No. And I shall assist you with the council. For now, I shall speak with those not of our Houses.”

  Kede nodded. Hassee’s ancestral home was not far from his own. Resane’s and Yare’s even closer. There were countless males who shared his younger years. But there were just as many that did not.

  “Check with Resane.” Haspava shot him a shocked look and he was quick to finish his request. “No, he did not betray me, but he had two other medicos in the room when I offered to assist Joyce with her transition. Their whispers…” he shook his head. “Start there, then expand outward. I will have Yare listening during meals as well.”

  “You are allowing him to return to duties.”

  It had been a difficult choice to make. His instincts demanded blood, but he knew how Joyce cared for the male as a bro
ther. “Joyce would be… upset… should I restrict him from duties. The error was not intentional.” He sighed. “Plus, I need every House to assist me in keeping Joyce safe, Hassee.” He hated the request yet every warrior worth his weapon knew when to ask the most humbling question. “Please, help me.”

  Chapter Ten

  Something had changed. Joyce sensed it in the air, saw it in the way Resane interacted with the other medicos and crewmembers.

  Medical was off-limits. She hadn’t recognized the change at first, but when she was suddenly alone with the lead medico and no one arrived to relieve him for two days, it’d soon become clear. All individuals requiring care were softly rejected and even Ambassador Martins was denied entrance. Not that Joyce was particularly upset about that one. The woman whined and snarled at everyone and she’d had enough of the female’s haughty attitude.

  She was the officially selected ambassador to blah, blah, blah. She couldn’t have cared less. Joyce had other things to deal with such as her scarred skin and the rapid darkening of her flesh.

  She lifted her uninjured hand from the mattress and held it before her. She stared at the back and then at her palm, only to return to the back once again. Normally lily white, she suddenly had a warm, deepening tan.

  She’d slowly been luring the other medicos toward the truth, quietly urging them to give her details of her treatment. Terrans didn’t heal this fast. From what she’d been told, her injury occurred a mere four days ago. The first two were spent in stasis and she was conscious for the following two. Unfortunately her questioning ceased once they were banned from medical.

  Joyce carefully slid her other hand free of the blanket. The flesh was sensitive, the scarring extensive, but the color was deep tan as well. There was no hint of pink skin indicating a fresh and healing wound. No, the hue was smooth, even if the surface was not.

  All was not well in alien-land.

  The soft whoosh of the portal doors announced someone’s arrival and Joyce focused on the entrance.

  A massive male strode forward, the insignia asserting his station combined with the color of his eyes, which indicated his position. She may not know his name, but she did know he was a Doshan ambassador. He’d probably arrived to tell her she was being shipped back to Terra.