Captured By her Alien Mate by Ava York

Kator

There was a particular kind of silence in the library. It felt full of anticipation. It felt alive.

I supposed that was because a library was stuffed to the rafters with knowledge waiting to be read, waiting to be absorbed. There was something somehow both tense and peaceful about it. It’s hard to describe, but I felt it each time I came here.

And now, buried deep in the stacks of the Aetam library, I was more aware of that feeling than ever.

It was late, the moon was down, and for hours I had been pouring over records and documents that could relate to my mother’s capture. Looking for some hint as to what had happened to her and who had done it.

For the many faults that the Aetam had, recording keeping was not one of them. They were surprisingly meticulous in that regard. I had become friendly with the archivist, Leshone, who had been manning the desk at the library for as long as anyone could remember.

When I walked in tonight, she gave me a knowing look. I had been wary that news of my role in Riley’s escape had already reached Leshone’s ears, but she gave no sign. I had heard no whisper of my betrayal on the streets or within the corridors through which I had crept to reach these tomes.

Perhaps Mofat had chosen to sit on that knowledge. His having to admit I had betrayed him would certainly prick his ego. No, I suspected he more likely had chosen to keep that knowledge quiet—and set another assassin on my trail. Which increased my urgency here, on the last day of free access to this library.

“Back again, eh, Kator? You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,” she said.

“What can I say, Leshone? I learned from the best,” I said, throwing her a wink.

She scoffed at me as I moved into the military records section. Despite her gruff exterior, she had a soft spot for me. As soft as could be expected from an ancient Aetam female who spent all her time in a huge library all alone.

I had found my section, pulled out a stack of files and ledgers and sat down at a desk and started my search.

Hours later I was still there, pouring over the papers. Leshone came over to me, keys and a candle in her hand.

“How much longer will you be, Kator? Because I was going to go home for the night.”

Looking up at her with a smile, I said, “And here I didn’t think you had a home, Leshone. I assumed you never left the library under any circumstances.”

She curled her lips at me in a dismissive way. “Laugh all you want, young Kator, but I’ll have you know I have quite the full life outside of this place.”

“Indeed?”

“Indeed. So, I would like to get back to that life, if you please. Rather than babysitting a child who barely knows how to read.”

I laughed and she joined in. “Leshone, I need to ask a favor of you,” I said.

“Here it comes,” she responded, rolling her eyes.

“I have to go through this paperwork, and I need to do it tonight. Time is of the essence. It’s important.”

She narrowed her eyes at me as I spoke. “What is it you’re looking for, exactly? You’ve never spoken of it.”

I hesitated, then decided that at least some of the truth wouldn’t do me any harm here.

“I’m looking for information about my mother, Leshone. She died when I was a baby. And I need to know more about her. Please. Leave the keys. I can lock up. And I give you my word I won’t disturb anything,” I said.

Leshone looked me over. “And you’ll put everything back where you found it?”

“On my honor.”

She sighed deeply and nodded. “All right. Only because it’s about your mother. But when I return in the morning...”

“Not a hair out of place. I promise you.”

She slapped the keys down on the table. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“Thank you, Leshone,” I said.

She turned to go and looked back over her shoulder to me. “I hope you find it.”

“I do too.”

She left, and I was alone. Just me and a thousand, maybe millions, of pages. Waiting to be turned.

And that was where I found myself, sitting alone in a dark, quiet space. Although the work in front of me couldn’t have been more important, my mind drifted to thoughts of Riley.

I had hoped that I would have had this resolved by now, but it was taking much longer than I had anticipated. Being away from her for such a stretch of time... well... to say I didn’t like it was putting it mildly.

She was my mate. I knew that without equivocation. It felt wrong to be apart from her for an extended period of time. Every moment I was away was another moment that I was letting her down. And risking further exposure with every passing moment.

It was only a matter of time before I was found out, but I needed to use every moment of that time to find out who had attacked and raped my mother.

Riley’s words kept ringing in my ears.

“What would your mother want?” she had said.

But I couldn’t, no, I wouldn’t let it go. This was something I needed to do for me as much as my mother’s memory. I could never live with myself if I didn’t avenge her and honor her memory.

It was a challenging prospect, but it felt like I didn’t have a choice.

And while I missed Riley like the day misses the sun, this was something I had to do.

Lost in those reflections, I was only half-paying attention to what I was doing. I grabbed a thick, heavy logbook from atop a new pile I had pulled from a shelf. Glancing at the date, my mind suddenly snapped back into focus.

The place name and date on the logbook matched my mother’s village and the day she was taken. This was the logbook of the prisoners taken that day by the Aetam army and who was responsible for what. I couldn’t believe it. This was what I had been looking for.

I furiously flipped through the pages, tracking down my mother’s name. I couldn’t believe I had finally found this, and when I was only partially invested.

I found the section where my mother should have been listed, both her and her captor.

Anticipation welled up inside me. Finally, here it was.

But then, that anticipation popped like a soap bubble.

The pages were gone. Someone had ripped them out.

I shook the logbook, flipping through it to make sure it wasn’t stuck in the binding or between changes somewhere.

Nothing.

“Dammit!” I said out loud, my voice hushed by the shelves and papers surrounding me.

Someone wanted this information kept private. Who? Why? And what the fuck was I going to do now?

I stood up from the desk, pushing it away from me, books and papers sliding off and all over the floor. Leshone was going to kill me for that, I thought.

Then it occurred to me.

The Inquisitors. They would also have records. For every prisoner brought before them. The Aetam were meticulous record keepers.

But those records weren’t public, and the Inquisitors’ offices were locked and guarded. A lot of information in there that they would prefer not make its way out into the general public.

I made the decision in an instant. I had to get in there and find the records that were missing here. That would give me the answers I was looking for.

Moving swiftly, I stacked all the books and records I had pulled from the various shelves in the library and left a note for Leshone, apologizing for the mess and telling her I would make it up later.

I left the library and crept out into the night, heading for the Inquisitors’ building. It rose up alongside the river that ran through the city. As I suspected, there were two guards out front. They also looked profoundly bored.

Good,I thought. Should make this a little easier.

I slid up along the side of the building, from the rear. Waiting for a moment, I listened as the guards made small talk to pass the time. Then, as if the fates were smiling upon me, I heard one say that he was going to check the perimeter.

His boots crunched in the gravel as he approached. I flattened myself against the wall and waited.

Just as the guard was about to spot me, I lunged forward, catching him around the neck with my forearm. I rendered him unconscious before he could raise an alarm then grabbed his helmet and slipped it on, lowering my head. In the dark, I hoped the other guard wouldn’t be able to tell the difference too readily.

Rounding the corner, I heard him yawning. “That was quick,” he said.

Without warning, I leapt forward, driving a fist into his face, hard and solid, right above the bridge of the nose.

He went down like a stone, out cold.

I supposed I could’ve killed them both and be done with it, but I wasn’t sure that these soldiers were really my enemies.

I opened the door to the offices quietly and looked around. I didn’t see or hear any other guards, but that wouldn’t last.

I stole up the stairs like a whisper. The records were on the second floor, towards the rear right hand side of the building.

Reaching the floor, I grabbed a candle off a nearby table, lighting it with the flint I always kept with me.

Now that I had the correct reference, I scanned all the shelves, looking for the log that would tell me who had captured my mother.

Down below, I heard muffled voices.

Damn it. They found them quicker than I thought. I needed to move quickly.

With careful speed, I moved from shelf to shelf, tracking the dates on them. Boot steps were coming up the stair behind me. I had seconds at best.

And just then, there it was. The ledger I needed. I grabbed it from the shelf as the doors to the second floor banged open and the shouting of other Aetam guards echoed in the room.

I couldn’t possibly fight them all and I ran towards the rear of the chamber. There was one window, partially open already. I approached, pushing it open fully and looked out.

The river rushed past below, and I took a deep breath.

“STOP!” a voice cried out behind me and I heard a crossbow bolt whiz past my head.

No time to think. I clutched the ledger to my chest and jumped.

As I plummeted to the water below, I hoped that the ink wouldn’t wash away.