Captured By her Alien Mate by Ava York

Riley

Ialways thought that, when the dawn broke, not only should the world be flooded with light, it should be flooded with heat. It never made sense to me that we had to wait for the day to “warm up.”

As those first beams of sunlight hit the land, it’s never as warm as I wanted it to be. Why was that? I supposed that heat didn’t travel as fast as light. Which was bullshit as far as I was concerned.

Laws of thermodynamics, my ass,I mused bitterly as I wrapped a blanket around me, leaning on the balcony’s edge.

It was another early morning for me. Or maybe it was a late night. I couldn’t tell anymore. Sleep had become elusive, to say the least.

I would lay down exhausted, close my eyes, and promptly not fall asleep. The hours ticked by, one by one, in excruciating fashion, moving so slowly. There wasn’t a clock in my room (in fact, there weren’t many clocks in the D’Tali city. That was something I would need to ask Isabella about sometime) but I remained aware of the minutes creeping by.

My mind couldn’t stop turning with worry about Kator and thinking about his mission, his past.

That was an awful lot to deal with at such a young age. The fact that he wasn’t utterly consumed with anger at all times and hadn’t become a monster was a remarkable achievement. He had my utmost respect for that.

I couldn’t imagine what learning that your father raped your mother while she was a prisoner and then she died when you were born would do to you, to your spirit, your soul. To me, it was a sign of strength that he was able to handle it as well as he did.

Obsession was something I understood all too well. I had seen plenty of it when I was a cop. You got stuck on a case, a puzzle that you couldn’t solve and you absolutely could not let it go. You couldn’t, you wouldn’t and, moreover, you didn’t want to let it go. It’s like an itch you couldn’t scratch because it kept running away from you.

I had seen that plenty in my time as a police officer. Trying to solve a murder, an assault, a robbery. All the pieces dancing in front of you, clues that seemed unconnected but must be connected, evidence piling up that didn’t add up to anything, but it had to add up.

There were stories of cops and detectives getting lost in those cases that they couldn’t close. Even after they’d retired, taking case files home and working on them over and over again, while wives and husbands and children asked for attention instead.

But they couldn’t give it.

Because the crime was what mattered. Solving the crime. And that’s its own white whale. There were plenty of ex-cops still looking for justice. But there were just as many, if not more, who wanted the answer.

When they get the answer, the niggling in their brain stops.

Finally.

It gets quiet.

And then you can sleep.

After days, weeks, months... years sometimes. You finally sleep.

There’s a reason that cops look old so fast.

I sighed at that thought, wrapping the blanket around me tighter. Even with that covering, I could feel the cold stone I leaned on. It was like it was breathing cold off at me.

How this day was ever going to warm up, I had no idea.

That’s the other thing about not sleeping. The way the days stretched out, it felt like the hours lasted forever. And the idea of a day passing, the idea of the sun heating up the world after a cold morning, seemed impossible.

It’s like those old cartoons I saw as a kid, when the animated mouse would run down a hallway and it would stretch out father and farther and farther.

That’s what time felt like with a lack of sleep, warmth a fantasy for other people. But not for you.

I shook my head.

The brain takes some odd turns, doesn’t it,I thought and laughed at myself.

A brisk wind suddenly blew across the parapet I was standing on and it cut through my blanket like a knife. I shuddered and shivered, backing up from the edge I was leaning on.

I hoped Kator was all right in this cold. I hoped he wasn’t alone somewhere, with a fierce wind biting him like a wolf. I hoped he would come back to me soon.

I took one last deep breath of the clean, cold air and turned to go back inside. Maybe I would lie down a bit more. Maybe I could snatch a little sleep before the day took over.

But as I scanned the horizon and the grounds beneath the palace one last time, something caught my eye.

There was a figure shambling towards the city gates. Whoever it was, he stumbled left and right, unable to move in a straight line. Something was wrong with whoever it was.

Then it struck me:

It was Kator.

I could tell by the way the figure moved. It was him. He had made it back!

And he was in trouble, hurting.

Without thinking, I hurled the blanket off and threw on shoes and a jacket, running through the palace to Isabella’s rooms.

I pounded on the door. “Isabella! Isabella! Wake up!!”

I pounded and pounded until I heard the shuffling of sleepy feet. The door cracked open and Vokar appeared, more than a little dazed.

“Riley? What time is it? What’s wrong?” He opened the door wider as Izzy appeared behind him.

“Honey,” she said, “what is it?”

I shook my head and grabbed Vokar by the shoulders. “He’s here, Vokar!”

“What? Who?”

“Kator! He’s back! I just saw him now, outside the city walls. He can barely stand. He’s hurt! You have to help him, please!”

Whatever sleepiness remained in the two of them vanished in an instant. Vokar sprang into action, throwing on a cloak and his boots.

“Izzy,” he said, “go wake up Camilla. I know she has to be careful with the baby, but we’re going to need a healer. I’m going to grab a patrol and ride out to meet him, bring him in.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said.

Vokar shook his head.

“Absolutely not. I don’t know what state he’ll be in or who or what may be following him. I need to make sure it’s safe.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Isabella cut me off.

“Listen to him, Riley. You can come with me and help Camilla prep the sick bay,” she said.

I hesitated, every fiber of me screaming inside to see Kator, to hold him and comfort him --but I knew they both were right.

“Yes, ok,” I said, nodding.

Vokar put a hand on my shoulder. “I will bring him back to you, Riley. I promise.”

“Thank you, Vokar,” I said. He nodded, moving with speed and purpose. He kissed Isabella on the forehead then ran out of their rooms to get a patrol.

Isabella took me by the hand.

“Come on, let’s go get everything ready. Who knows what kind of shape he’ll be in when they get him back here,” she said. And off we went.

Despite the hour, and despite her condition, Camilla leapt to action. Mindful of the baby, she instructed the two of us on what we needed to prepare and what supplies to have on hand.

I heated water and got bandages and sutures ready to go. Isabella sterilized all the instruments and prepared all the salves and balms Camilla had concocted over the years.

I was putting clean sheets on the exam bed when the door to the sick bay banged open. Vokar pushed his way in, carrying Kator in his arms.

“KATOR!” I cried out and ran to him.

“Easy,” Vokar said, “he’s kind of out of it.”

“Kator,” I said, stroking his forehead as Vokar brought him to the bed. “Honey...”

He managed a weak smile and touched my face. “I... I g-gave you... my word...”

I smiled and started crying. “Yes, you did. And you kept your word, baby. You kept it for me.”

“Let me take a look at him,” Camilla said, and Vokar laid him down on the bed.

He was a mess of cuts and scrapes and bruises, with one doozy on his head.

“Camilla,” I said in a worried tone.

She looked at me with the calm that only a medic can possess.

“I don’t know yet, Riley, but it doesn’t look overly serious. We need to clean these wounds and stitch them up. He needs food and water and some sleep more than anything else right now, I’m guessing. But I’m going to do a thorough examination of him to be sure. I think we’re lucky, overall.”

Looking Kator over, I noticed he clutched something in his arms.

“Kator, let me see,” I said, gently prying his arms apart. “What is it?”

A fire burned in his eyes suddenly and he gripped my wrist. I could feel his old strength in that grip.

“I found it, Riley, I found it. Don’t let it go,” he said, then passed out.

Isabella looked at me questioningly as I took the ledger and held it close to my chest.

“What is that, Riley? What did he find?”

I looked at the ledger and looked back up at her.

“He found out who destroyed his life.”