Captured By her Alien Mate by Ava York

Kator

Iwasn’t sure I ever slept as well as I had that night. Holding Riley tightly to me, I passed the hours till dawn in a state of some kind of suspended animation, where nothing existed but the two of us.

No war. No struggle. No fear.

The sleep I had was deep, with dreams of calm waters and tall trees that waved in the mountain air.

But all dreams come to an end and this one was no different.

I stirred awake when I felt Riley get up. I was still in a bit of a daze but cracked open my eyes to appreciate her putting her clothes on.

“You can go slower than that,” I said with a tired lasciviousness.

She looked over at me and smirked.

“I’m sure I could,” she said. “But I don’t think Vokar would appreciate it too much.”

I propped myself up on my elbows, giving her a quizzical look. “Vokar? What do you mean?”

“Hey there, Kator,” I heard a familiar, masculine voice ring outside the tent.

I sat straight up. “Vokar?”

“Yup. Take your time. There’s no rush,” he replied.

I looked over to Riley, who shrugged and shook her head.

“Do you think you could back up, Vokar and not be so... you know... on top of us for a couple of minutes?”

There was the sound of rustling and movement from outside the tent.

“Ah, yes! Of course. Sorry. I’ll be over... well... you’ll see me when you come out. When you come out. That’s what I meant. Ah. Yeah. Ok. Sorry.”

I listened as Vokar moved away from our site and turned to Riley. “What was that? What time did he get here?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “All I can tell you is that very early this morning, I crept out of the tent to... ah... use the facilities, so to speak. And when I came back, he was standing by the tent.”

A terrible thought snuck into my head.

“Were you naked?” I asked.

She gave me an exasperated look.

“That’s what you’re worried about? Whether or not Vokar got a peek at me? Not whether or not I could’ve been attacked by Aetam soldiers?”

“Well, when you put it that way...”

She rolled her eyes at me as she pulled on her boots. “Men. The same everywhere. No matter the species.”

“I didn’t mean—” I began but she cut me off.

“It’s all right. Forget it. My bigger concern is that he approached us, and we were completely unaware. Doesn’t that suggest that the Aetam could be nearby too and we’d never know?”

I stood up, shaking my head. “I don’t think so. If the Aetam were nearby, they would’ve jumped us already, not giving us much chance to resist.”

“That makes sense,” Riley said.

“Plus, Vokar can be as silent as the grave when he wants to be. He could be standing outside right in front of us and if he didn’t want us to see him, we wouldn’t.”

Following Riley’s lead, it was my turn to get dressed. As I was pulling on my breeches, I caught her looking at me and gave her a grin.

“See something you like?” I said.

“Hey, a girl likes a fashion show too, sometimes,” she said with a smile that made me want to devour her right then and there.

But there wasn’t time for that. I was still surprised we managed to find the time we did last night. Those chances would be coming few and far between. That much I knew for sure.

I finished getting dressed and gave her a nod. She stepped outside the tent and I followed right behind her.

“Vokar,” I called softly.

He emerged from a tree line as if he had been invisible. Riley was noticeably taken aback. She looked at me with an open mouth and wide eyes.

“You weren’t kidding,” she said.

“I told you,” I said.

Vokar stepped over to us lightly and smiled. “It’s safe. I haven’t seen any sign of the Aetam nearby. But that doesn’t mean that we should linger too long.”

“Agreed,” I said.

“How’s your energy level?” he asked. “I mean that sincerely. We’re going to have to move with haste to make sure we clear out of their path. And I want to leave as little sign as possible where we were and where we are headed.”

“I feel good,” Riley said. “Ready to move at sprint, if we need to.”

“Good,” Vokar said. “I’m hoping that it doesn’t come to that, but it’s good to be ready regardless.”

“I am,” she said.

Vokar chuckled softly. “I hope so. Because if I can’t get you home in one piece, then I just may spend the rest of my life out here in the wild. I don’t want to face Isabella if I come back without you.”

Riley snorted a laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like her. She’s quiet, so you don’t realize that she can be a protective mama bear when she wants to be.”

“What’s a bear?” I asked.

Riley looked at me with some confusion.

“You know, I’m not really sure how to answer that. A bear is an animal. Big. Furry. Four legs. Strong. Can knock your head off with one blow. Maybe even to a D’Tali.”

Vokar and I exchanged a look at that. “Well. I’m glad they’re not here then,” I said.

“Sure,” Riley said. “But their babies are damn cute. Little furballs.”

“We’ll keep our eyes open,” Vokar said. “Kator, I can’t persuade you to join us?”

Riley whipped her head to me, a surprised look on her face. “What?”

“Vokar,” I said in a low voice.

He looked back and forth between the two of us. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought you would have told her.”

“Told me what?” Riley said, with real anger in her voice.

I took her by the wrist and led her slightly away. I looked to Vokar who nodded, but also indicated time was of the essence. I nodded in return.

“Riley—”

“No! Don’t ‘Riley’ me! What’s going on? Why aren’t you coming with us?”

“I told you about my mother, what had happened to her.”

“Yes, you did, but what does that have to do with—”

“I can’t leave yet. Not yet. There’s still a chance I can track down my father and punish him for what he did to her.”

Riley shook her head.

“No, that’s not an option. They’re going to know! Mofat, Hulat, all of them, they’re going to know that you’ve been betraying them this entire time! They’ll kill you as soon as you enter the city.”

“We don’t know that,” I said.

“You want to take a chance on that? Are you serious right now?”

“Riley, listen to me, we were careful, and I don’t think it’s likely that they discovered my betrayal.”

“Yet,” she said.

“Yet,” I conceded. “They’re going to find out. I can’t hide it much longer, but I have to use the time that I have left to track him down. Use every resource available to me. Because when I leave the Aetam, leave for real, I won’t be able to come back. I won’t be able to go through the libraries and records of the city to help me find him. Those avenues will be cut off to me.”

Riley threw her hands up in exasperation.

“So what? Listen, I know this is important, I understand that, I really do, I promise you. But it isn’t worth your life!”

I shook my head and stepped away from her. “You don’t understand, Riley. You say you do, but—”

She put her hand on my arm and turned me around.

“Kator, I hear you, I get it, but this is suicide! What happens if they find out when you’re there? Trapped behind enemy lines with no way to get out? You’ll be tortured and killed. And I willnever know anything about it. Do you understand that? I will be left in the goddamn dark for the rest of my life wondering what the hell happened to you!”

I took her by the hands and gave them a squeeze.

“I promise that I will always find a way to get word to you. No matter the cost and no matter the outcome. I give my word on that.”

It was her turn to step away from me this time and when she turned back around, her eyes were wet with tears.

“Riley—” I began but she cut me off.

“I’m going to say one last thing. One last argument, Kator. And if it doesn’t do anything for you, then I have nothing else to say and I will let it go. Will you hear it?”

I hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded. “Go on.”

“Kator... what would your mother want? Do you think she would want you to step into the predator’s den, setting yourself up for failure and death? Or do you think she would want you to live your life? To be happy and free? To not live under the threat of suspicion and capture all the fucking time!”

I looked at her then and I saw the truth in her words. But it changed nothing.

“I can’t speak to what my mother would want, Riley. She’s gone. I suspect you’re right. She wouldn’t want me taking this kind of a risk. But I’m not doing this just for her. I’m doing it for me. If I didn’t do something, if I didn’t try... I would never be able to live with myself. No matter how happy my life appeared to be. I hope you can understand that. And I’m asking you to try.”

She looked at me then, hard and long, and finally nodded.

“All right,” she said. “I give up. But be careful. Please, please be careful.”

I leaned down and kissed her. “I promise I will. Now,” I said, motioning to Vokar, who walked over to us, “go off with Vokar. He will keep you safe. And he will get you back home.”

“On my life,” he said. I clapped him on the shoulder, and he nodded to me.

Riley looked at me one more time, with a mixture of care and anger then she looked to Vokar.

“Let’s go,” she said and started marching off.

Vokar looked to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “She’ll get over it,” he said. “As long as you come back.”

He gave me an encouraging smile and headed off after her.

I could still feel her lips on mine.

I hoped it wasn’t the last time I would.