Captured By her Alien Mate by Ava York

Captured by her Alien Mate

Riley

“Riley!”

I heard someone call for me, the sound echoing from the metal walls.

“Could you come back here? I could use a hand.”

I clambered my way through the wrecked ship. I hadn’t been there since the crash and felt the stirring of old ghosts who’d just as soon not be disturbed. It reminded me somehow of the occasional car accidents I’d dealt with as a police officer.

I paused, caught in memories. Twisted metal, broken mechanisms. Things that used to run and now were so much junk. Things that used to carry us safely from one point to another. An illusion. That’s the one thing you learn as a cop—safety isn’t something that lasts for as long as you hope it will.

“Riley!” the voice called again. It was Isabella, our resident tech guru. She loved being here in the wreckage.

She didn’t see ghosts. She saw possibilities. I gave her credit for that.

Me? I could barely tell a hammer from a wrench. But I was glad to help her.

It had been a strange journey so far, being here on another world, caught in the midst of an ongoing war between the D’Tali, our hosts, and the Aetam, their sworn enemies.

Who were two species on this planet that were so similar they might as well have been kissing cousins.

I couldn’t figure out exactly what the beef was between the two tribes. It didn’t make much sense to me. But another thing you learn as a cop is that it doesn’t take much for folks to not get along. And it doesn’t take much for folks to end up hating each other.

So, you put yourself in the middle and try to keep the peace as best you can. There’s not much more you can do beyond that when it came down to it.

I finally stumbled my way to the back of the ship. Isabella was trying to pry something off a control panel.

“Hey there,” she said with a smile. She loved being back here in the ship, taking it apart and putting it back together.

“What’s up?”

“I need those big muscles you have to help me get this off. It’s a little rusted tight. I’m not able to get it off on my own.”

I gave her a little salute.

“Your wish is my command,” I said and I assumed a position next to her. We put our collective hands on the panel on each corner.

“On the count of three?” I asked.

Isabella nodded.

“One. Two. THREE!”

The pair of us tugged hard and yanked the damn thing right off and sent ourselves flying backwards onto the deck of the ship.

We both landed hard, cracking our heads.

“Ow,” I said, rubbing the back of my skull. “That hurt.”

“Sure, but hey, we got the panel off!” Isabella said brightly, holding the panel up like a fisherman with his prize catch.

Vokar came bolting around the corner with alarm in his eyes.

“You ladies all right? What happened?”

“We’re fine, honey,” Isabella said, climbing to her feet.

“Yeah, Vokar, we’re good. Just didn’t know our own strength for a moment. We’re super powerful you know,” I said with a wink.

He looked over to Isabella with a truly love-sick look. “Don’t I know it,” he said and leaned in to kiss her.

Ever since Isabella had been taken by the Aetam, Vokar was incredibly protective of her. Which I got. We all were. In many ways, Isabella was the most important among us. While Camille was the nurse and Sofia was our Queen, Isabella was the one who knew the tech. That’s what gave us a slight advantage (very slight) over the Aetamians. They’d love to get their hands on her, to improve their weaponry and tracking systems.

Isabella was working on teaching us all a little bit more about the tech and had been making some progress in that regard. We had all figured that it would make more sense if that knowledge was spread out a touch.

But even with that, Isabella was still the boss when it came to mechanics. Which was fine by me.

My attitude towards tech was slightly above “cavewoman.” I understood its value and how much it benefited us. But beyond that, I was more likely to rely on my eyes and ears to get me through situations.

Being the only sister with three brothers will do that to you. You gotta stay sharp or you’d be likely to find a frog slipped down your dress.

I had found a natural role among the D’Tali in the security detail, helping with defensive planning and strategies. I liked helping in that regard. It was what I was good at. And I liked being the lone human female in amongst the “proud” D’Tali warriors. It felt like I was back among my brothers again.

Don’t get me wrong, my brothers could be a pain in the ass, but I missed them, nonetheless. I supposed that would be true for anyone.

Vokar and Isabella broke off their kiss and I laughed. “Decided to come up for air?” I said with a smirk.

Isabella blushed.

“Honestly, Riley, sometimes I think she’s just going to swallow me whole,” Vokar said playfully.

“Oh, stop it,” she said, whacking his arm.

“Let’s get some air,” I said. “I think we could all use some.”

The couple agreed and we climbed our way out of the downed ship. There was a cool breeze and it felt good on my face.

Sometimes the best part about my old job was you were outside so much. And whenever things got rough (and believe me, they did), some fresh air in your lungs always worked wonders. Still did, it turned out.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and held it for a moment, before letting it out slowly.

“You ok?” Isabella asked with some small concern.

“Oh yeah,” I nodded. “Just enjoying the moment.”

But as soon as I said that, the moment ended.

Over Isabella’s shoulder, out in the tree line, I spotted movement. It was subtle, but it was there for sure.

“Vokar,” I said cautiously, “what do you make of—”

Before I could finish my thought, there was a terrific bang and shouting from all around us.

It was the Aetam. They were attacking, hurling heavy stones with some kind of crude catapult. They’d crept up on us around the perimeter of the ship’s crash zone.

Seriously, it was like these guys were never going to give up.

“Fuck,” I said. “They caught us napping!”

“Damnit, I was hoping for more time before they showed up again,” Vokar said, annoyance clear in his tone. He turned to me. “Riley, take Isabella and try to get out of here.”

“Vokar, wait a second,” Isabella began but he cut her off.

“No, Isabella. This isn’t time for a debate.”

The small attachment of D’Tali which had come with us to the ship were already responding to the assault, firing crossbow bolts and setting up smoke screens to give a little cover.

Vokar gripped me by the arm. “I’m counting on you, Riley. I have to go help fight them off.”

“I got this, Vokar. Go. Don’t wait on us,” I said.

He pulled Isabella into him by the waist, kissing her deeply.

“I’ll find you. Stay with Riley,” he said and then he was gone, drawing his weapons and running headlong into the battle.

“C’mon, Izzy,” I said. “We gotta boogie outta here.”

“But—” she said, looking after Vokar.

I shook my head. “He can take care of himself. Right now, we gotta take care of you, ok? Don’t be stubborn and make me knock you out and carry you.”

She nodded and I took her hand. We took off running, sticking close to the ship, while I scanned the tree line for Aetam soldiers.

The assault seemed to be mostly concentrated at the bow of the ship, the Aetam moving in a half-circle as they advanced. Vokar and the D’Tali were fighting them off, however. In my experience, D’Tali were superior fighters to the Aetam, but with smaller numbers. When you threw in an endangered loved one. . .yeah, I wouldn’t want to get in Vokar’s way right now. Let’s put it that way.

Straight ahead from the back of the ship, things looked pretty clear. I looked to Izzy and gripped her hand.

“Stay low and move fast. Don’t let go of my hand, ok? No matter what.”

She nodded, her face grave. I gave her hand a squeeze and off we went, darting into the trees.

We made it safely without trouble and dove into the underbrush.

“Stay down,” I whispered to her and she gave me a thumbs-up. I peeked my head out and I could see that the D’Tali were giving the Aetam all they could handle.

Looking down to Izzy, I smiled, saying, “I think we’re gonna win this.”

That’s when a crossbow bolt shot right across my field of vision, nearly taking my nose off.

“Goddamn!” I exclaimed and turned to my right. A small contingent of Aetam warriors were running towards us.

Without looking down, I told Izzy, “Flatten out! Keep still. I’m going to lead them away!”

She tugged on my ankle. “Riley!” she whispered with force. “Don’t!”

I shook my head. “Gave Vokar my word. I’ll be fine. When you hear them come for me, run low and fast back to the ship and the D’Tali. Don’t argue with me. Just do it. I got this.”

She squeezed my ankle again and let go, making herself as small as possible.

The Aetam were only about fifty yards away, all shouting at me.

“JESUS, YOU GUYS ARE UGLY!” I shouted and took off running to my right. Not that they’d be able understand a single word.

But I’d lay money they would get my tone of voice just fine.

Another crossbow blew past me. I darted into the trees. I wouldn’t be able to outrun them for long. They were bigger and stronger than me. But I’d make them fucking work for it.

The Aetam were in hot pursuit and I kept shouting and yelling nonsense to antagonize them.

“Man, you fucking losers are slooooow!” I said, laughing and turning my head to glance at them. “And your baseball team is never going to win, even if you invent baseball!”

And that was the moment I ran full speed into a tree. I smacked into it hard and bounced back onto the forest floor.

I groggily sat up, only to feel a knife point against my throat. I looked up and a very angry Aetam soldier was crouching there, ready to thrust his blade into me at a moment’s notice.

“Silly creature, thinking you could get away,” he said with a hiss. “You might make your strange noises now, but soon we will have your knowledge.”

Shit.