Claimed by the Alien: A Scifi Alien Romance (Fated Mates of the Titan Empire Book 6)

by Tammy Walsh

  So be it, I decided. It was worth it.

  At least Fiath had a chance of achieving his mission and freeing his people. What was one life compared to that?

  The sneering Changeling grabbed me and yanked me from the tree.

  I used the momentum and swung my arm around. I struck him across the chest with the rock.

  He stumbled back but the hard outer plating of his body absorbed the worst effects of the blow. He swung out an arm lazily and knocked me to the ground.

  I landed in the thin stream and tasted blood on my lips.

  “She’s not even a Titan,” one of his Changeling buddies said.

  “What do you think she is?” the third one said. They had no distinguishing features and I couldn’t tell one from another.

  The sneering Changeling knelt before me.

  “Just another backward species,” he said.

  He pressed his blaster pistol against my temple.

  “I’m doing you a favor putting you out of your miserable existence,” he said.

  My instinct was telling me to plead for my life, but I refused to do it. Not to scum like this.

  He began to squeeze the trigger.

  YAAARRGGHHH!

  The howl snagged their attention. Plasma fire sprayed the area, some burning the earth not more than a few inches from my head.

  I wrapped my hands over my head—for whatever good that would do! I shut my eyes and said my prayers.

  The Changelings returned fire but it didn’t last long. Within seconds, it was over.

  Hands reached down and lifted me onto my feet.

  I spun around, fists clenched, ready to fight.

  “Easy there, little one,” Nus said.

  I could have hugged her for rescuing me but striding up behind her was Fiath.

  And he did not look pleased.

  “I told you to stay back,” he said, voice harsh.

  I raised my chin.

  “And I told you I won’t obey your orders,” I said.

  Our eyes met. His icy cold, mine fiery and hot.

  Despite himself, he bit off a grin and shook his head. He took me in his arms.

  “What am I going to do with you?” he said.

  “I have a few ideas…” I said.

  “I bet you do.”

  “I saw the Changelings about to ambush you. What was I supposed to do?”

  “We got them.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said.

  “Next time when I tell you to stay out of harm’s way, you’d better listen to me.”

  He kissed me on the forehead.

  “So long as you don’t put yourself in trouble, I will,” I said, reveling in his affections.

  Due to the Changelings almost getting the drop on them, the Titans grew eyes in the back of their heads and kept a very close eye on the hills around us.

  M’rar Thres ordered two large Titan soldiers to move a rock from the side of a small hill. When they did, it revealed a dark passageway that led into infinite darkness.

  We were still a long way from the palace and I wasn’t convinced a passageway like this could reach it.

  Fiath reached inside and withdrew a torch. A soldier lit it with a pair of flint rocks and led the way inside.

  Despite the torchlight, the tunnel was dark. I felt along the floor with my feet and the walls with my hands. We walked in single file and Fiath took point.

  He was much more surefooted. He must have come down this passageway many times. He ducked when there was nothing apparently there. I only saw the protrusion after he had passed it. When I ducked, the others followed suit behind me.

  I held Fiath’s narrow waist as he led us into the darkness. The others dared not touch me the same way for fear of incurring Fiath’s anger.

  Every so often, there was a thud as someone smacked their head, knee, or elbow and hissed through their teeth.

  I began to wonder if the tunnel would ever come to an end. Then I recalled just how far away the palace was from the passageway entrance. It could take hours for us to reach the palace.

  But it didn’t take hours. More like thirty or forty minutes.

  I bumped into Fiath, who’d come to a stop. He turned to face me and the others. Even with the harsh flickering light of the torch, he was a devilishly handsome figure.

  “Complete silence from here on out,” he said, pulling up the hood of his cloak. “We’re drawing near the exit. We don’t want the Changelings in the palace to hear us.”

  Fiath crept silently the rest of the journey, taking one small step after another. He slowed and pressed his hands against an invisible wall. He leaned his ear against it, no doubt listening for Changelings on the other side.

  Hearing nothing, he bent down and wrapped his hand around something that was also invisible to me. He yanked on it with a vicious tug. The entire wall slid to one side.

  Fiath leaned forward and then stepped back.

  Had he seen something?

  He edged forward into the hallway and checked each direction.

  “It’s clear,” he said.

  He helped me out of the tunnel. The natural light blinded me. I squinted to protect myself from the glare.

  The others spread out, eyes wary and watchful.

  Fiath reached for the statue of a Titan warrior carved from stone and pressed a button on the creature’s shield. The statue slid back into place. He checked it to make sure there were no lines or marks that would reveal the secret entrance. Confident, he turned to us.

  “This way,” he said.

  We hurried down the palace’s long hallways. The plan was to visit the armory and collect advanced weapons we needed to overpower the Changelings and take control of the defensive turrets.

  We edged down the hallways. The others held their swords and knives raised. I felt a little vulnerable without a weapon in my hand.

  Nus nudged my shoulder and handed me a knife.

  I nodded in thanks to her… then realized I had no idea if I could bring myself to stab someone. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to.

  It was slow, steady work. We needed to be careful.

  M’rar Thres came to a stop and peered out the window. His expression was frozen, ensnared by something outside.

  “What is it?” I said.

  I went up on tiptoe to peer outside and see what had arrested him.

  The scene was terrifying.

  In the distance, beyond the clutch of buildings of Okem town and its protective walls was a battle.

  The battle.

  The firepower of advanced weaponry was on one side. The Changelings attacked from the ground and air. The Titan army defended themselves as best they could with their shields, launching spears, axes, knives, and the occasional plasma bolt at the enemy, but it was clear who had superior firepower.

  For every Changeling soldier they took down, three Titans fell in their place.

  It was a massacre.

  Our creeping through the palace to disable the defenses was being paid for with Titan blood.

  Many of the injured were still alive, helped by their comrades, who dragged them through the mud to the rear ranks. From there, they were carried off on stretchers toward the impromptu field hospital.

  Where I should have been.

  “We must hurry,” Nus said. “They cannot fight much longer.”

  “Sh!”

  Fiath came to a stop and pressed his back to the wall. The others followed suit, with me hurrying behind them a moment later.

  We didn’t move a single muscle as a pair of Changeling soldiers strode past at the end of the hall.

  No one moved a muscle. They would have spotted us in an instant.

  The soldiers continued with their conversation as they passed and headed down the hall.

  Everyone waited a moment before sighing with relief.

  We pushed on and hustled down the hall. We hung a left and came to an old door with a thick padlock on it. M’rar Thres removed a long frayed length of string
from around his neck. It had a thick key attached to the end.

  He slipped it in the lock. It clicked open.

  The castle must be old for it to have such security measures, I thought.

  M’rar Thres eased the door open. It squeaked on rusty hinges. We hustled inside and shut the door behind us.

  Endless racks lined the walls with both ancient and modern weapons. The Titans hastily relieved themselves of their old kitchen knives and simple blaster pistols and replaced them with modern rifles and pump-action grenade launchers. At least, that was what they looked like to me.

  Once they were fully stocked and loaded, they turned to Fiath.

  “Now we’re going to head for the defense control room,” he said. “We have to get there fast. We’ll try to reprogram them to target the Changelings first but if we can’t, we’ll destroy them. Our Titan brothers and sisters are depending on us. We can do this.”

  The soldiers nodded in agreement. We were back out the door again and eased through hallways and opulent rooms.

  It struck me as strange so few Changelings were defending the palace. I guess most of them were attacking the Titan army.

  We came to a pair of ancient doors that groaned when Fiath and Nus put their shoulders to it and eased it open.

  They peered inside and seemed surprised at what they saw.

  They shoved the heavy doors open, revealing machines that blinked and whirred, their sights focused on distant Titans in case they wandered within range. The room was empty of Changeling soldiers.

  “Where are they?” Nus said.

  “Maybe they’re out there fighting,” I said.

  But even as I said it, I didn’t believe it. Why would you leave your most valuable resource unprotected?

  The blood ran from my face.

  “It’s a trap…” I said.

  Changelings marched into the room, weapons aimed, but did not open fire. Neither did the Titans. If they did, it would condemn us to death.

  “Weapons down,” a battle-scarred Changeling said.

  One antenna had been snapped off and he was missing half his eyes.

  Fiath lowered his weapons first, placing them on the floor at his feet. The others followed suit.

  We’d wandered into their trap. And now the brave Titans fighting on the battlefield were dying in vain.

  The Changelings moved forward and relieved the Titans of any knives or small blaster pistols they might have “forgotten.”

  Only once the weapons had been removed did a figure in a long flowing robe enter. A team of armor-clad soldiers streamed in and arranged themselves around the edges of the room. I knew nothing about soldiers but even I could tell they were exceptionally well-trained.

  Most surprising of all, they were Titans. Their leader was a distinguished looking man with grey at his temples.

  Even more surprising was the man in the flowing robe. He too was a Titan, but vastly different in appearance to the others. Where most Titans were thick like tree trunks, he was tall and spindly. Where they were muscled, he was weak and frail.

  On his face, he wore an expression I had seen many times. It was the face of someone used to wielding authority over others. Someone who had allowed that power to go to his head.

  Fiath had mentioned others who had betrayed him. Chief among them was someone called Slak, his main adviser. It wasn’t hard to imagine this was that person.

  “You Titans are so predictable,” he said.

  Even his voice sounded slippery with oil. Didn’t he realize he was one of these “predictable Titans” as he called them? I supposed he never considered himself as low as a regular Titan.

  “I know the ins and outs of this palace, including all its secret passageways,” he said. “Do you honestly think me so stupid as to not keep them watched at all times?”

  He was far too smug with himself. I wanted to wipe it from his face.

  His eyes flicked and found mine.

  “And what is this?” he said. “Consorting with lower lifeforms, are we?”

  “She’s not the lower life form,” Nus said, spitting to one side. “You are. You betrayed your own race!”

  The Changeling soldiers stiffened and aimed their weapons at her.

  Nus was now cowed.

  “I’m just smart enough to pick the winning side,” Slak said. “If you were in my shoes you would have done the same thing.”

  “You have no honor,” M’rar Thres growled.

  Despite his superiority complex, that insult had stung. No matter how hard he might try, he could never fully escape what he was. If you were born a Titan, honor was very important to you.

  “We will see who has honor by the end,” Slak said.

  There was another Titan in the room. He looked on and didn’t approve of what was happening in front of him. His armor was plain and simple, worn and dented from a thousand battles. He had to be Garrick, I decided. The only member of Fiath’s closest confidants he still trusted.

  Slak waved a hand, and the Titan guardsmen arranged around the room opened the balcony doors wide, revealing the view of the battle still taking place in the valley. The Titan’s side had swollen in number. It must have been the reserve forces that weren’t meant to take part until the Changeling army had been destroyed. Instead, they leaped to their allies’ side, into the breach even though they knew it meant certain death.

  “I’m pleased you have a front-row seat of the end of your destruction,” Slak said.

  We were witnessing the massacre of innocent people, fighting to defend their home planet and their loved ones.

  “Were you always a traitor?” Fiath said from beneath his hood. “Or did it happen slowly, over time?”

  Slak growled and gnashed his teeth.

  “It’s thanks to me we’re no longer led by a weak ruler!” he said. “The emperor never cared about the people. He only cared about himself. He was lazy and stupid. How else do you think I had him removed?”

  “I could never fully bring myself to believe you were so rotten inside,” Fiath said. “But now I see you for who you truly are.”

  Garrick snapped to attention, his interest piqued. Did he recognize Fiath’s voice? And what would he do if he knew it was him? Was he really his friend?

  Slak squinted at him.

  “Who are you?” he said. “You say you see the real me. How about we see the real you?”

  “Very well,” Fiath said.

  He yanked his hood and tossed it aside.

  Slak and Garrick reacted the same way. Their eyes bulged and snapped to his bare wrists. Not seeing the ring of skin around his arm, it meant he couldn’t be a Changeling.

  It was really him.

  And then the blood drained from both their faces.

  “That’s impossible!” Slak said. “I saw the explosion! No one could survive that!”

  “No one but the emperor,” Garrick said. “Long may he reign.”

  He reacted faster than Slak, who was still in shock.

  “Guards!” Garrick bellowed. “Destroy the Changeling intruders.”

  His guardsmen moved faster than I could believe. One moment their hands were empty, the next, they gripped plasma rifles. They opened fire on the Changeling soldiers, who didn’t stand a chance. They blasted holes in their armor. They might as well have been wearing paper.

  Fiath wrapped his arms around me and brought me into a low crouch.

  The team we brought with us snatched up their weapons and opened fire on the opposite side.

  Within moments, every Changeling soldier lay prostrate on the floor.

  Slak was already gone. He must have taken the opportunity to take off during the commotion. Garrick nodded at two of his guardsmen to give chase.

  The others formed a perimeter around Fiath and his team in case any of the Changelings arose from the dead for a final assault.

  “We need to target the Changeling army!” Fiath said. “Before they murder every last Titan down there!”

  Garrick
ran to the controls and placed his hand on a scanner.

  “Access confirmed,” Computer said.

  “Computer, target all Changeling soldiers and ships. Blast them all to hell!”

  “Change of target confirmed,” Computer said.

  The turrets shifted minutely and took aim at the ships hovering over the diminishing Titan force. They opened fire. The Changeling ships exploded and crashed, landing on their own men. The Changelings attempted to fight but it was no use. In a fair fight, there was no competition. Titans were far superior fighters.

  With the Changeling ship threat dealt with, the turrets aimed at targets within the town, taking out each Changeling soldier they came across.

  And I was still wrapped tightly in Fiath’s protective arms. He bent down, his lips finding mine moist and responsive.

  “We did it,” he said with tears in his eyes. “We did it!”

  I never wanted the moment to end.

  “Your Majesty?” Garrick said.

  He fell to his knees before him and removed his helmet. He extended a beautifully crafted knife to him.

  “I have dishonored you,” he said. “I beg for death. I ask only that you do not harm my men. They only did what I ordered.”

  “Were you in league with Slak?” Fiath said.

  “I would never work with that dishonorable scum. We all saw the explosion. We searched for days to find you but we found nothing. I had protocols to follow. And Slak had the decree you signed, for him to take over in the case of your death—”

  Fiath took the knife from Garrick and turned it around, handing it back to him handle-first. He braced his friend with a hand on the shoulder.

  “There is nothing to forgive, my friend,” he said. “You carried out your duty. No one can ever ask more than that from you.”

  Garrick bowed deeply, his fist to his chest.

  “There’s going to be a lot of injured soldiers,” Fiath said. “Give them food, blankets, beds, water, and anything else they require.”

  “Yes, your majesty,” Garrick said.

  He turned on the spot and marched away, issuing orders to his men.

  Drums rang out in Okem town’s streets, the equivalent of celebrating church bells back on Earth. And in the distance, approaching the town walls, the surviving Titan warriors sang songs of joy and victory that echoed through the town’s streets and rose to the palace and the emperor’s ears.