by Cara Wylde
“Kaylee. A meeting of the wives. It’s a good thing. It has to be. When women take over, things get fixed peacefully.” She straightened her back and took a deep breath. “Just hold it together a little longer, Avery. One day at a time. Hold it together now and see what tomorrow brings.”
She cleared her throat, rubbed her stomach until she felt better, then started the car and drove to HQ. Her little panic attack had made her later than she’d intended to be. As she got out of the car, she made a decision. Whatever happened the next day, her team deserved to know the truth. And she was the one who had to tell them. This wasn’t about Kryan and Aedar. They hadn’t done anything to her, hadn’t seduced her or forced her into pretending she was their pleasure slave, nor into becoming their lover. She was a grown woman who’d made her own decisions.
She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. Did she regret her relationship with the two Kralians? Hell no! Did it look wrong from the outside? Sure. But did it feel wrong from the inside? No. She smiled as a rush of joy and love flooded her stomach, clearing the acidity that had made her so sick just a few minutes before. She could feel them. Kryan and Aedar were close, just behind that door. She could feel their bodies vibrate inside hers and hear their hearts beating in her ears. What they had felt and was so right that even thinking about how it looked from the outside seemed silly now. She bit her lower lip and turned the doorknob. This time, the decision of telling Captain Shaw and the others the truth felt like the most obvious thing in the world.
“Avery! We almost started without you!”
Lisa seemed more surprised that she’d actually come than annoyed at how ridiculously late she was.
Captain Shaw simply checked his watch without saying a word. He didn’t have to. His body posture was enough to make his displeasure known.
“I’m sorry. I got held up.”
By what, Avery didn’t care to share, and no one seemed interested in finding out, anyway. She sat down in the only empty armchair and gratefully accepted the cup of steaming coffee Simon offered with a smile.
“What did I miss?”
“The Captains were just telling us about the meeting you’re attending tomorrow on their ship.”
She nodded. The plan had been to pretend she didn’t know anything about it, since she’d made Kryan and Aedar call the SPG, so Lisa would call her afterwards. There was no point in keeping up the façade now.
Seeing how Agent Tonkin was usually very vocal about everything, Captain Shaw was slightly taken aback by her silence. He cocked an eyebrow, but continued:
“From what I understand, this isn’t a usual meeting of the Alliance. You absolutely must go, and no one can accompany you this time. It’s a meeting of the wives.”
Avery turned to Kryan and Aedar.
“Did they say anything about their captains, masters, husbands… whatever? What made the wives call this meeting? What do they hope to gain from it?”
Aedar shrugged.
Kryan stood up and walked to the window. He could feel her. Something in her emotions and demeanor had changed, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was driving him crazy. His brother seemed to be less disturbed by it, but Kryan hated to be thrown in the dark by someone who mattered to him so much.
“No. I’m guessing that whatever they want to discuss is not for our ears.”
Avery chuckled. “Wow! Our trick worked wonders if the pleasure slaves gained so much freedom and power of decision in so short a time.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Captain Shaw intervened in a grave voice. “With so little information, we can’t afford to make any kind of assumptions.”
“I agree,” said Aedar. He made himself more comfortable on the couch. Even though his words expressed some concern, his body language showed confidence and trust in whatever was going to happen the next day. “The captains have gone silent, and the only communication we got so far was from Kaylee. My brother mentioned how he felt she sounded a bit agitated and unsure about what she was doing even as she was making the call. She didn’t want to speak to Avery, either. Whatever she, Ginny, and Grace are planning, the other wives are not in on it yet. They’ll hear about it for the first time tomorrow, just like Avery. Hell! The captains might have no idea, either!”
“I don’t know about you, but that does make me feel better,” Zadie Childs said. She shrugged when her remark was met with silence. “You call them ‘the wives’. I call them ‘innocent women who were kidnapped and enslaved by extraterrestrials’. This is their chance to take revenge and save everyone at the same time.”
“Err… that is not the plan,” said Avery.
“I know. Still, if I were one of them, I know what I’d do.”
Avery opened her mouth to argue her point and, maybe, bring up the half human and half alien children, but gave up and shook her head. Of course she understood where Zadie was coming from, but that didn’t change anything. To fix this, they all needed to strike a fine balance, and revenge was the last thing on their agenda.
“All right,” she said instead. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, on the Hordaa. Got it.”
“Are you ready, Agent?”
Avery smiled at her Captain. “As ready as I’ll ever be. No need to dwell on it.”
“I hope you’ll bring good news.”
They talked some more about the meeting, unable to stay away from making assumptions. It was human nature, after all. Kryan and Aedar did their best to answer their questions, but they were quite reserved. Avery almost didn’t participate at all. Her two Kralians tried to reach her telepathically once or twice, but she kept them away. She was starting to get a hang of controlling the connection they shared. She couldn’t hide her feelings from them, but she could think of something else and avoid envisioning scenarios of how Captain Shaw would react later, when she’d tell him about her, Kryan, and Aedar. It wasn’t easy, but it was doable. She focused on Kaylee and Grace, then made it a point to think about what she was going to wear to the meeting. A Kralian dress, probably. She’d grown to like their style.
Half an hour later, no one had anything new to add. They’d already been going in circles for a few minutes, as Carter Bloom had unsympathetically pointed out. Kryan and Aedar were the first to make their exit, slightly disappointed that Avery didn’t even spare them a glance. She had nothing against them. On the contrary, really, but she didn’t want to risk getting cold feet.
“I’ll come by later,” she sent them mentally.
They didn’t answer through words, nor thoughts. They didn’t have to. With a single well-aimed emotion, Aedar flooded her chest with love, and Kryan lit a fire in her lower belly. She shifted in her seat but kept her eyes on the floor. When they were finally out of the room, she breathed out in relief and looked up at a rather perplexed Ben Shaw.
“Agent Tonkin, are you all right? You’ve not been… yourself.” He stole a glance toward the closed front door. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
He almost motioned for the others to leave the room too, but Avery stopped him.
“Yes, there’s something… You all need to hear it.”
As if on cue, Lisa, Carter, Chris, Zadie, and Simon made sure they were sitting down. They had all felt something was amiss in the past few weeks, and they were ready to listen without a single word. They had no idea what Avery was about to confess, but they were bracing themselves for a surprise, nonetheless.
“Well?”
Avery bit the inside of her cheek, then dragged in a deep breath, straightened her back, and looked the Captain in the eyes.
“Kryan, Aedar, and I… we’re together.”
Silence.
Captain Shaw blinked twice, opened his mouth, then closed it and clenched his jaw.
“I knew it!” Lisa jumped and threw her fist in the air. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”
“Agent Jenkins, please,” the Captain hissed through gritted teeth.
Lisa looked around and seeing how no one was impressed with her kickass intuition, sat down shyly.
“Agent Tonkin, I’m not sure…”
“… you understand. You’re not sure you understand.” Avery smiled awkwardly. “I should have told you a long time ago. The moment it happened.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Feeling a bit bolder all of a sudden, she rolled her eyes.
“You would have thought I was a traitor who’d compromised the mission, and you’d have fired me.”
“Correct.”
“There you go.”
Silence again. One hundred times tenser, this time. The Captain didn’t seem interested in details, explanations, or excuses, which was okay with Avery. She didn’t particularly want to try to explain herself. She didn’t know how she’d do it. To some extent, she wanted to tell them about how it felt. Being with Kryan and Aedar, touching them, abandoning herself to them, allowing the powerful connection they had to consume her whole… It was much more intense than what the Captain and her colleagues experienced when they were around Kralians. Maybe, she should tell them. She should trust that they would understand how she couldn’t have possibly said “no” to experiencing love at such a high and pure level. She was living the dream! The dream all little girls had to find someone special one day, someone who would make them feel complete and at ease, safe and adored. Avery had found two someones. There was no career in the world for which she would have sacrificed what she had now. Her pulse raced as she was gathering her courage to speak up.
Captain Shaw saw the change in her eyes and posture. All of a sudden, he felt agitated and insecure. He could feel that she was getting ready to say something, and for some reason he didn’t have time to explore, he was afraid to let her tell her story. He wasn’t an idiot. He’d seen the way women looked at Kryan and Aedar, and he knew no one would refuse them if they so much as looked and smiled their way. He’d seen it in Lisa’s eyes, and even Zadie’s… The excitement of having them around. Once or twice, Lisa had been bold enough to sit closer to them, and those had been the meetings when she’d been the least focused and present. Damn it! He’d even felt it himself when he’d been on board of the Hordaa to meet the Kralian civilians! Those tall, beautiful, purple-skinned women could make him question his marriage if they wanted to. It had been a challenge to stay clear and sharp around them.
He raised a hand to stop Avery before she said anything that would only serve to shake him and his team more.
“Agent Tonkin, here is what we’re going to do. I’m going to thank you for your candor, as late as you showed it, and I’m going to postpone this discussion, as well as my final decision in regard to your future with the FBI, for after the meeting on the Hordaa. You’re crucial to this case, so I won’t pull you now. You’re dismissed.”
The words stabbed Avery like a well-aimed knife and caused her stomach to happily produce a new wave of acid. She stood up on slightly shaky legs and headed to the door without looking anyone in the eye. Lisa followed her, though. Once Avery was out of the building, the IT girl leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear:
“Just for the record, I think you’re a badass.”
Avery chuckled sadly.
“Girl, no joke. We have to meet for coffee or whatever because I need details.”
Avery turned and gave her a sincere smile. She had to admit that Lisa Jenkins could make her feel better in any situation. Right now, she was beyond grateful for her support.
“You’re sweet to say that. Thank you.”
“Good luck tomorrow!”
Avery nodded. When Lisa closed the door behind her, she went to her car, got in, and drove off before she changed her mind and went back in there to beg for her job.
CHAPTER THREE
Avery was the only representative of the Kralians in the room. She hadn’t even been a proper pleasure slave, so she was surprised she’d been summoned at all. Grace and Kaylee seemed to be presiding, and the rest of the seats at the long table were occupied by women dressed in Valgan, Norgavian, Cattalian, or Minarian garments. The women who hadn’t found a seat were either standing or sitting on the floor, on soft pillows. In short, the conference room on the Hordaa was crowded.
Grace had saved Avery a seat next to her, and Avery took it gratefully.
“They’re all…” she started whispering in her friend’s ear.
Grace nodded gravely. “Yes. All the wives and mothers on the four ships.”
Avery cocked an eyebrow and looked around her. This was the first time she saw all of them gathered in one place. The party on the Swetho hadn’t been for everyone, and maybe only half of the slaves had been allowed to attend it. As she studied the familiar and unfamiliar faces, she tried to wrap her head around how all these beautiful women had been kidnapped, some years ago, and some more recently. Now, they were here, united, ready to listen to what Grace, Kaylee, and Ginny had to say. Something must have caused this gathering. Something big. Avery hoped with all her heart it was what she thought it was. The Kralians, the SPG, and Dr. Jeffreys had done their best to put this plan in motion, but since the other four ship captains had been keeping them in the dark for over a week, Avery couldn’t tell which way their plan had gone. She was buzzing with anticipation, but she needed to contain herself. For once, she wasn’t the one running the show. She was there to listen, not intervene and influence.
Kaylee stood up and took a few seconds to look around the room. All women went silent. Satisfied, she started speaking in a clear, determined tone:
“Thank you all for coming here today. Some of you know why you’re here, but most of you don’t. Word travels fast on the Lyare and the Swetho, but not so much on the Verto and the Craziak, from what I hear.” She turned toward the side of the table where most of the Minarian wives were seated. “After the Kralians shared their secret with us, our captains made a decision. They made it days ago, and we did everything in our power to change their minds. We failed. This decision, as you’ve probably guessed, is not in our advantage, nor in our children’s. Today, we need to put our minds together and come up with a solution. We have to fix this before it’s too late.”
One of the Minarian wives raised her hand shyly. Kaylee gave her permission to speak with a swift nod of her head.
“I’m sorry, but our Captain hasn’t announced anything yet. We have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Kaylee sighed. “I was afraid of this. Let me assure you: Captain Araime knows what has been decided by the majority. She was present at the Alliance meeting when the votes were taken. Keeping this crucial information from you speaks volumes of her intentions.”
“Well, will you enlighten us already?”
“The Cattalians, the Norgavians, and the Valgans will follow the Kralians’ lead and abandon their mission on Earth. They will turn their ships around and cruise into the unknown, taking their children with them along with the wives who choose to follow them. Each captain first discussed all the viable options with their people, and the people voted. The only one who is not on board is Captain Araime, and I’m pretty sure she hasn’t told anything to the Minarians on the Craziak.” She made eye contact with the Minarian wife. “I’m glad you could make it here today. Ladies, you have a tough job now. When you go back to your ship, you have to spread the word around. The Minarians have a right to know what’s happening. Even though Araime is their captain, she can’t decide for everyone.”
The Minarian wife nodded.
Avery had no issue reading the room. Aside from the Minarian ex-slaves, there were also a couple of Cattalian and Valgan wives who’d had no idea there had even been an Alliance meeting a few days before. They were probably the wives of less prominent civilians on the ships, or their husbands simply hadn’t felt comfortable giving them the rather dreadful news. Avery huffed at her own thoughts. When had such news become dreadful?! The aliens were ready to leave them alone, and here they were,
trying to find another way, a way that would hopefully keep everyone alive; humans, aliens, and their children! If life wasn’t a massive, ridiculous joke…!
“Here’s why we can’t let this happen.” Grace took over, but didn’t stand up. Her huge baby bump had convinced her a long time ago that sitting or lying down were preferable to standing. “Yes, it would mean saving our planet, but at what cost? Are you ready to bid your children farewell knowing they will never find a home? Knowing that you’ll never see them? That they will probably live their lives and die on these cramped spaceships never to set foot on a habitable planet and breathe real, fresh air? Are you ready to follow your husbands and children to certain death?” She paused for effect. “I didn’t think so. So many of us are pregnant. Will our babies inherit our skin color or their fathers’ skin color? Are you willing to take this risk, return to Earth, and give birth?” Another pause. “I didn’t think so, either.”
“So, what you’re saying is… we should convince them to stay? Welcome them on Earth?” a Valgan wife asked. Her voice trembled slightly, and when the others felt her silent rage, they started murmuring between them. “I was kidnapped on my way to the office. I work…” She cleared her throat. “Worked in Human Resources. Did you know that? I have… had an old aunt I was taking care of. I don’t know if I even have her anymore. For two years, I’ve been wondering what she must’ve thought when I never came home that day, cried in my pillow because I was all she got, the only family who took care of her.”
“I understand,” Kaylee said compassionately.
“No, I don’t think you do.”
“I understand,” she repeated in a more convincing tone. “My mother was in the hospital when Gorgan took me. That was five years ago. Five. We were waiting on her test results. Is she still alive? I don’t know. If she is, is she suffering? Did my sister step up to help her? Did she move back home from Europe to take care of her?” She swallowed heavily and blinked to chase away the tears. “I understand. I do.”