Ajos: The Restitution - A Sci-fi Alien Romance, Book 1

by A. G. Wilde

  “Oh, hello, Commander.” Iceon’s ears perked when he saw him.

  Ajos growled and Iceon’s ears immediately lost their perkiness and fell flat on his head. “Commander?”

  Ajos stalked forward and before Iceon could do anything, Ajos felt the male’s throat between his fists.

  Power surged into his arms as he lifted Iceon off his feet.

  “Commander?” Iceon gripped his arm but did not fight back. Maybe out of respect or maybe because of his rank, because he knew the male could defend himself.

  “What. The Qef. Were you doing. In the lab?”

  Iceon blinked. “That’s a bit personal,…Commander.”

  Ajos growled again. The male obviously didn’t know how close he was to snapping his neck.

  He knew Iceon was attracted to Keh-reh-nah. He’d seen the way the male had been looking at her when they went to the sky tower.

  “You should be at the sky tower.”

  “Yes, but I had…business to take care of here. I would have gone already too if the human females didn’t come in. I found it hard to leave when—”

  He didn’t want to hear the rest.

  Ajos threw the male and he crashed against the laboratory’s door. The door split in two, falling in on itself as Iceon’s large body skirted across the floor to bump into the long legs of a pale female.

  Ajos’ breath came hard from his body as he looked up slowly, his eyes following those legs.

  He knew those legs. Remembered them wrapped around him.

  Keh-reh-nah stared back at him, her mouth open, her eyes wide.

  He was vaguely aware that there were others in the room.

  In the blurry background of their surroundings, something the bright color of purple fell from her hand and into one of Aker’s many large receptacles laid out on the table.

  “Ajos?” His name came from her lips and for a moment, he was sane again.

  Ajos blinked, his throat moving as the world around them slowly came back into focus.

  His nefre pulsed and shivered with the agitation of unspent emotions.

  He wanted to kill something while, at the same time, he wanted to take her into his arms and be gentle with her.

  “What the fuck?” He assumed the other human there, Xul’s mate, Athena, said that.

  He wasn’t quite sure. He didn’t really care.

  He heard Iceon groan and let out a series of expletives himself.

  And then, there was another exclamation.

  “Raxu!” Aker pushed past the two females, his nose working like a piston as he leaned down to look at the vial by Keh-reh-nah.

  The contents of the vial were bubbling dangerously as they ate up Keh-reh-nah’s flower.

  Some guilt flooded into him. She liked that flower, and his lack of control had caused her to drop it.

  “Ajos?” she said his name again and his throat moved once more, unable to form words just yet.

  “Iceon, are you all right?” The other human asked the Ochair as he rose to his feet.

  He could feel the Ochair’s wary gaze on him and knew what the male was probably thinking.

  Again, he didn’t care.

  He could only think about the one person in his sights right now.

  Keh-reh-nah.

  She looked okay, as if the past few days hadn’t happened.

  For two days, he’d stayed with her as she shivered against him. He’d held her tight, never leaving her alone for more than a few moments.

  He doubted she remembered any of that, but that wasn’t the point.

  The point was that each moment he’d spent with her had made his decision to leave her side even the more difficult.

  “Are you okay?” he finally asked, his eyes on Keh-reh-nah.

  He watched her mouth close as her brows furrowed a little. She, too, had a wary look on her face and he hated to see it there.

  “I’m fine.” She forced a smile. “Aker gave me something. Some kind of serum. Didn’t you, Aker?”

  She glanced at the Taiq’ud but Aker wasn’t paying attention to any of them.

  Instead, he rushed across the room, throwing instruments this way and that before he grabbed something, opened a drawer that hissed as cold air was released from it, and retrieved a thin disc with what looked like goo on top of it.

  “What’s that?” Keh-reh-nah asked.

  “Stay away from it. It is highly contagious. It is a sample of Tasqal tissue.”

  “Eww, why the hell do you have that?” Athena heaved, holding her stomach as her face scrunched up at the sight of the disc’s contents.

  “I’ve been testing different things on it,” Aker said as he placed the disc on the table and rushed toward the still-bubbling receptacle near Keh-reh-nah. “I’m not a good fighter, so I contribute in the only way I know how: medicine and research.” He paused as he took a sample of the bubbling fluid and carried it carefully back to the disc holding the Tasqal tissue. “I’ve been working on something to eradicate the Tasqals. Something to take them out quickly. But, so far, I have not been successful. My formulation is missing something. But…if we can find a way to take them out biologically…”

  Ajos took a step forward, his gaze finally leaving Keh-reh-nah for a moment.

  Aker’s words interested him.

  If they could take out the Tasqals using some form of biological warfare…it would change the game considerably.

  Iceon stepped out of his way as he came to stand by Keh-reh-nah and she glanced up at him for a moment before her gaze returned to Aker.

  Everyone seemed to hold their breaths as Aker placed a few drops of the fluid unto the tissue.

  At first, nothing happened but Aker grabbed his pocket microscope and peered down at the thing.

  Silence enveloped the room.

  “Raxu…” The medic finally whispered.

  “What?” Ajos asked.

  Aker lifted his head slowly. “It worked.”

  25

  “What do you mean, it is healing it?” Kerena stepped forward, only to feel Ajos’ warm touch on her arm.

  She turned to look at him.

  He was sweating and his eyes still looked wild.

  He was still sick, obviously.

  His eyes dropped to his hold on her before he released her slowly. “Don’t go close,” he said. “Tasqal tissue is contagious.”

  Yes, Aker had said that.

  She nodded but heeded his words. Athena picked up her line of questioning.

  “Healed it?” Athena asked.

  Aker had his head over what looked like a crude magnifying glass.

  For what felt like minutes, he said nothing more and Kerena glanced at Athena.

  The woman shrugged.

  “Raxu…” Aker finally muttered. “The concoction seems to be fighting the disease, though, the effect is slow.” He looked at Kerena. “That flower. Where did you find it? Was it something you had with you from your planet?”

  “N-No. It was on Choria G622. I brought it back with me.”

  Aker shook his head vehemently.

  “Impossible,” he said. “We’ve tested samples from every plant known on that planet. None of them produced this result.”

  Aker began pacing before he came towards her and grabbed her arms.

  Beside her, a growl rumbled in the air and she looked up to see Ajos looking murderously at the doctor.

  If what he did to Iceon was any indication, he was unstable, and she didn’t need him hurting the one being who seemed to have the answer they all needed.

  Taking Aker’s hands, she gently removed them from her arms and frowned at Ajos.

  They’d have to talk about this.

  She wasn’t his property, but he sure as hell was acting as if she was.

  “That flower,” Aker said, pulling her attention away from the still-glaring minty-teal alien, “does not exist on Choria G622. I am sure of it.”

  Kerena blinked at the doctor, her mind buzzing.

  He might be rig
ht.

  Back on the planet, they’d been walking for some time and she hadn’t seen any flowers at all.

  They had only bloomed after her blood had touched the roots.

  Kerena’s eyes widened a little as it all came together in her head.

  She’d taken the flower because she’d wanted a better chance of studying why the plant had reacted to her that way. It reminded her of a parasitic plant, like the Rafflesia or corpse flower. But now, with Aker’s words, there was even more to it than that.

  “My blood…” she muttered.

  “What?” Athena asked. “What about your blood?”

  “The flower bloomed because of something in my blood,” she said. “Maybe something in my DNA caused the reaction.”

  “Bloomed?” Aker stepped away to stare into the receptacle that had been bubbling. Only the pollen from the flower remained untouched at the top of the fluid.

  Using a utensil, he reached in and scooped the pollen out.

  “Yes, it bloomed right in front of me,” Kerena said. “I’d never seen a flower grow that quickly.” She paused. “Actually, I’d never seen a plant behave like that at all.”

  “What do you mean?” Athena asked.

  At that, Kerena gave them a rundown of what happened. How she’d been pulled away and how she’d gotten injured, her blood falling on the roots to create the flowers.

  “Maybe the plants on Choria G622 are sentient.” Iceon chuckled a little, trying to lighten the situation, but his chuckle only got a growl from Ajos.

  He sobered immediately but Kerena frowned at his words.

  She’d never considered anything like that before.

  Wind blew inside from the destroyed door, lifting the pollen from Aker’s receptacle into the air.

  Almost immediately, Kerena rubbed her nose followed by Athena.

  For a moment, Aker tilted his head their way.

  “The pollen…” he said.

  “What about it?” Athena asked.

  “Do all humans react in such a way to pollen?”

  When Kerena glanced at Athena, she found the woman looking back at her as well.

  “No,” they answered together.

  As they said this, Athena staggered a little and leaned against the table, a cold sweat breaking out over her forehead.

  “Raxu,” Aker said, turning to Kerena. “How long were you exposed to this flower?”

  “A while,” she murmured as she rushed over to Athena. “Are you all right?”

  “I don’t know,” Athena said.

  “Iceon, bring her to the med bay immediately. Tell the interns to administer the same medication I gave to Kerena.”

  Iceon nodded.

  “Hurry,” Aker said as he moved across the room, depositing the rest of the pollen into a dish that he closed tight. “I suspect I have found the cause of your illness, Kerena.”

  “The pollen?” Kerena’s eyes darted to Aker as Iceon lifted Athena in his arms and rushed from the lab.

  “Precisely.”

  Aker drew some of Keh-reh-nah’s blood to run the tests he needed, all the while muttering to himself—most of which Ajos didn’t understand.

  “If there’s something in my DNA, or human DNA for that matter, that the plants react to, then I want to help with studying it,” Kerena said, rubbing her arm as Aker pulled the last vial of her life blood that he needed.

  A growl rumbled from him at her words.

  “No,” he uttered, and she raised those beautiful brown eyes to his. For a moment, he was lost in them until he realized they were glaring at him.

  “No, what?”

  Even in his agitation with everything and everyone around him, he felt somewhat rebuked by the tone of her voice.

  She was angry too, about something.

  “You are not doing that.”

  “What? You can’t tell me what to—” She stopped and took a breath, closing her eyes for a second. “Why?”

  It was simple. Didn’t she see?

  “The flower makes you ill. You almost died. There is no way you’re going to put yourself in more danger just to help us win this fight.” He glared at Aker. “We will find another way.”

  Keh-reh-nah stood and took a few steps toward him and Ajos could feel his throat move, a pulse running from his nefre straight down to his genital pouch at her nearness.

  Qef.

  He only had one metcer vial left.

  He’d have to get Aker to generate some more.

  “And if there is no other way?” She glared up at him.

  So small, yet she managed to look defiant.

  Her shoulders were set, her mouth was in a thin line, and her gaze was hard, unmoving.

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do. I am a member of the Restitution now and I’ll contribute in the best way I know how.” She turned to Aker. “I’m a botanist. Plants are my thing. I’m sure I can be of assistance.”

  Aker’s nose moved before he jumped a little in glee. “Perfect! I welcome the help! Between the med bay and the lab, I don’t get to do much research. This will be positive, indeed.”

  A growl rumbled from Ajos’ chest as he glared at the qeffing Taiq’ud.

  Aker stuttered. “B-but of course we’ll take precautions. You are still not healed. It is the serum giving you energy now. I’ll give you another along with one more dose of medicine so you can go back to the med bay to get some rest.”

  He moved to one of his tables and began preparing the vials. “We’ll look into getting some protective gear for you as well, if you don’t change your mind about working with me here.”

  Keh-reh-nah grinned. “Why would I change my mind?”

  Aker glanced his way and Ajos narrowed his eyes.

  He was pretty sure he knew what the male was thinking.

  He would do him the same way he did Iceon if he needed to. But Aker shook his head and said instead, “Well, it is a boring duty. It is all research.”

  Keh-reh-nah grinned some more. “That’s my job. It’ll be like I am still on Earth.”

  Staring at her, Ajos felt something move within him.

  The thought of risking her life just to discover whether this flower was the miracle they were looking for…the premise brought her joy.

  She felt useful…a bit like how he felt when he first joined the Restitution.

  Who was he to demand that she lose that happiness?

  Aker stepped forward and administered the medication.

  “Now to take you to the med bay. Ajos—”

  “On it.”

  Ajos reached forward and swooped his arms underneath Keh-reh-nah and she yelped a little in surprise.

  Walking forward through the broken door, he glanced back at Aker. “I’ll have that fixed for you,” he said.

  Aker didn’t hear. He was already back at his table, looking at his experiment.

  For a few moments, there was silence as he walked, only the footsteps of the other beings that walked the streets around them reached his ear.

  “I can walk, you know,” Keh-reh-nah finally said.

  “Nonsense.”

  He felt her body rise and fall against his in a sigh.

  “Hey, this isn’t the way to the med bay.”

  He glanced down at her and wished he hadn’t.

  The light of the star hit her eyes in such a way they shone. Her lips were moist as if she’d just wet them, and her filaments were blowing around her head like a halo.

  Ajos swallowed hard, his genital pouch pulsing.

  Qef.

  “I’m surprised you know the layout of the base already.”

  “I’m learning,” she said. “Where are we going?”

  “Home.”

  “You mean, your home?”

  Her words stung, even though they shouldn’t. But she was right.

  She wasn’t going to stay there with him and even so, if he was to open himself to her being his mate, he would have to get new quarters.

  “Yes,” he muttered
.

  The door opened as he reached his bunker and V’Alen stood at the inside.

  “Ajos,” he said, his eyes flicking to Keh-reh-nah.

  “V’Alen.”

  “Kerena,” V’Alen said next.

  “Oh, hi, V’Alen. I—”

  She didn’t get to finish because he was already heading into the quarters.

  “Thanks for all you did getting us home, V’Alen!” Kerena shouted and Ajos growled a little.

  “How do you know V’Alen did anything to get us home.”

  “Well,” she said, “you were a little…indisposed the last time I saw you on that planet.”

  Despite himself, Ajos huffed out a chuckle.

  He was by his room and the door was opening in the next second.

  “Computer,” he said, “adjust for Keh-reh-nah.”

  He set her down on his bed as he felt the temperature begin to change. As soon as his arms slipped from her, he turned from her.

  “Rest,” he managed to say as he stepped toward the door, but her next words had him frozen.

  “So that’s it? You’re just going to leave me here like that?”

  Ajos’ throat moved but he couldn’t turn to look at her.

  He could feel her glaring at him.

  “What do you wish for me to do?” he managed to say.

  She breathed out a hard breath. “I don't know. Look at me maybe?”

  He leaned his head against the door.

  He couldn’t do that.

  The whole reason he’d turned toward the door was because his control was hanging by a thread.

  A small palm landed on his back and Ajos shuddered.

  He hadn’t realized she’d moved from where he’d set her on the bed.

  “What is happening to you?” she whispered.

  “I’m fine.” His voice wasn’t his.

  It was deep. Gravelly.

  His body trembled underneath her touch.

  “Liar.”

  He turned on her then, so fast that she stumbled and would have hit the ground if his hands didn’t grasp her back.

  He pulled her into him, bringing her dangerously close. So close, he could feel every curve of her soft body against his.

  “Ajos?”

  Her eyes searched his face but before he could say a word, his body responded as his head dipped and his mouth closed over hers.