Captured By her Alien Mate by Ava York

Riley

Istirred in the muted warmth of the room, and sent a searching hand over the covers to seek out the firm weight of my lover. My body still tingled with the dull waves of what we had been up to before toppling into sleep. The bed was cold. Indulging in that little hazy comfort that hangs at the edges of sleep, I curled up and hunted out his scent on the pillow.

Was he really gone?

“Kator?” At first, all I could manage was a light mumble. Then, the frost of his absence settled over me, and my eyes flashed open. Sitting bolt upright in the dark, the prickling sting of morning air raised goosebumps across my bare skin. Pulling the blanket around my nakedness, I shivered, and searched through the shadows of the room.

“Kator?”

He wasn’t sitting quietly watching me sleep as he might have been. Or standing at the window to watch the sunrise over the dew covered rooftops, something he might have done even a few days ago—relishing the safety and comfort of our little haven. But, he’d become obsessed with the shitty hand he’d been dealt.

If he wasn’t beside me, then I knew exactly what he was doing. In truth, I knew he might try something foolish. I could feel vibrating need inside him. So, I’d wreathed him extra tightly in my arms before we drifted off to sleep. As if the fact of my body and the love we shared would be enough to keep him.

Leaping fully into the blank chill of the room, I lit a candle and set about finding some clothes to cram myself into. Something I could travel in. Shit, something I could fight in, if I had to.

I could picture Kator on some stolen numa, galloping through the dark night toward Aetam. He was determined to exact his revenge on a king who turned out to be more than a tyrant. After a lifetime of cowering under Mofat’s gaze, and struggling to gain rank in a world that looked down on him, Kator was simmering with a fresh, burning hatred.

It was like a cloud cast over him, and I knew that he wouldn’t be able to rest until his sky had cleared again.

There was something admirable in his sheer focus, if only he wasn’t so goddamn stupid in setting out alone. I knew he’d try to do it all by himself, and the danger of that chilled me.

Sailing out into the hallway, I went in search of the one man able to help me. If I could just find Vokar, I knew I’d have an ally I could count on. The D’Tali might be suspicious of my half Aetamian love, but a history of clandestine dealings had bound those two like brothers.

Fortunately, at this hour, I knew where to find him.

Knocking lightly on Isabella’s door, I heard the quiet rumblings of people who didn’t want to get up. Not that I could blame them. Particularly after the rude awakening of my own. After a moment’s scuffling, the door eased open, and Isabella stood blinking away the puffy eyes of sleep.

“Riley? What is it?”

“I need to speak to Vokar. If I can?”

“What time is it?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Late. Could I please speak to your husband?”

With a tired shrug, Isabella turned back into the chamber. Almost immediately, her slender figure was replaced by the shirtless Vokar.

“What do you need?” Clearly, he was far more used to midnight activities, because any of the grogginess of sleep was absent. His eyes were alert, and he seemed ready for action. That was exactly what I was after.

“Could we step out in the hall for a second?” The last thing I wanted was for Isabella to hear any of it. There was a tiny glint in Vokar’s eye, as if he could smell intrigue in the air and was down for all of it.

“Alright,” he said, closing the door behind him. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Kator. He’s found some things out about Mofat and his mother, and it’s been eating him alive…”

“Don’t tell me. He’s gone, isn’t he?” All I could do was nod. Vokar scrubbed a hand over his face and glared at the floor. “That stupid bastard. He’s going back there on his own, is that right? Going in alone to try and kill that fucker Mofat.”

“I think so. No,” I shook my head. “I know it. He is.”

Vokar spun on his heel, and strode off down the corridor with such vigor that I had to jog to keep up. Winding down a set of stairs, he ducked into a low hallway and stopped at a door. Giving a couple of solid raps, he pushed it open without waiting for a reply.

I hung behind him at the threshold. The room already had a candle burning, and two D’Tali men were seated at a table. At least, they must have been before the door swung open. Now, they were both on their feet, daggers drawn and some sort of gambling game clattering on the table they’d just leapt up from.

“By the Ancestors, Vokar, don’t do that!” one of them said. “You nearly ended up with a knife in the gut.”

“You’d never have been able to get me, and you know it, Lonric.”

“Fair,” the other one chuckled, sheathing his dagger in his belt. “What’s got you barging in at this hour?”

“It’s Kator.” Vokar was all business, and I felt like I was peering in on a secret meeting. Which, I suppose I was. “He’s riding off alone to try and cut Mofat’s throat.”

Lonric whistled. “Shit. How long has he been gone?”

Vokar cut his eyes back to me, and I realized that my presence was actually more than decorative.

“Maybe an hour? Two at most.”

“Alright,” the third D’Tali said. “We need to hustle.”

Moving as one, the trio of bruisers led me through the castle with the kind of silence that could only come from a lifetime of killing for hire. You’d have thought that men of their size would have had heavy footfalls, but you’d be dead wrong.

At last, they shoved through a door, and the whole of our little party stepped into the royal armory. I’d known where it was, but had never actually been inside. The array of weapons was staggering, and these D’Tali moved among it all as if they could walk every inch of it blindfolded.

“I’ve got bad news, Strovan,” Vokar called from over among the daggers.

“What?” the third of the team asked warily.

“It looks like he took your favorite falchion.”

“Are you fucking serious? Man!” Vokar and Lonric had a hearty laugh at their friend’s expense, but the whole while, they armed themselves to the teeth with glittering blades.

“Why aren’t you just riding out? It’s possible we could still overtake him.”

“Even if we did,” Vokar said, lacing up some leather armor. “We wouldn’t be able to stop him. You know that.” It was true. I did know that. “Even if we did manage to bring him back tonight, he’d just pull the same stunt tomorrow.”

“What then?”

“What else?” Strovan shrugged. “We’ll just have to join him. It’s been a while since I had some Aetam blood on my hands. It’ll do me good.”

“You’re going to fight?” I asked, eyes wide.

“There’s not much choice.” Vokar was in his element. “If we can’t stop him, we can at least make sure he succeeds. But, don’t worry,” he said, putting hands on my shoulders to square me up. “I have a plan.”

The look on his face told me he meant it. As much as Vokar could seem like a kidder, there was something determined about him in that moment that I had never seen before. Almost forbidding. By the look of him, Isabella might just be the safest woman in Tahkath. Well, if Kator came home in one piece, the second safest.

“I’m coming with you.”

The words cracked out into the room, and the two D’Tali busily arming themselves fell still. Even Vokar’s face changed, and his grip on my shoulders tightened slightly.

“What?”

“I said, I’m coming with you.” Saying it again, my own certainty was firmer, and I could see that they knew it.

“Riley…” Vokar began, but I wasn’t giving an inch.

“What am I supposed to do? Sit here like some damsel in a castle, wondering if you’re going to bring my love back alive? Fuck that. If there’s blood to be shed, then I have a share in it. As Kator’s mate, I’m entitled to a portion.”

“So.” A sneaky grin played at Vokar’s lips. “You’re saying that you’re looking to cut some throats?”

“As many as I can reach,” I said. “If the whole of Aetam was after the man I loved, I’d fight them all for him.”

“Damn,” Strovan said. “Are you sure you don’t want to be my mate instead? I’d give anything for a woman who talks like that.”

“Sorry,” I shrugged. “I’m taken, fellas.”

“Well, alright then,” Vokar said. He stepped back to size me up. “I think there’s some boy’s armor that might just work for you. But, we’re gonna have to lace it up. Tight.”

“Bring it,” I said. “I’m ready.”

“You know something, Riley?” He looked down on me with something like pride. “I think you are.”