Captured By her Alien Mate by Ava York

Riley

There are a lot of things they taught you at the academy.

How to fire a gun, for instance. That’s a big one. How to give comfort to victims (we could’ve been a little better at that, truth be told). How to drive a car in a high-speed chase. (No kidding, we really did that.)

But there was maybe no skill that was more useful than the one I was using now: how to assess a situation.

After the Aetam soldiers nabbed me in the forest and started dragging me through, I made sure to make a big ruckus, screaming and yelling that they would pay for kidnapping me, not that they would understand a thing I said.

All that really mattered was keeping Isabella safe.

And the real Isabella was safe.

The downside of making a big ruckus, however, was that it deeply annoyed my captors. After several attempts to get me to shut up, and my staunch refusal every time, the leader of the Aetam patrol had had enough and, with a heavy sigh as I shouted in his face that “Isabella was the pride of the D’Tali and I would be rescued and avenged for this indignity!” (I admit, I was laying it on a bit thick, but hey, you gotta throw yourself into the role) cracked me hard across the face.

I dropped like a rock, unconscious. I had a vague sense of someone picking me up and carrying me but then I was gone. Out like the proverbial light.

So it was that my situational assessment training was coming into play now. I was coming to. Slowly. I knew enough to know that I didn’t need to rush the process.

I scanned my body with my mind and, other than my head, I didn’t detect any pain or injuries. That said to me that I was relatively safe, or at the least, not in immediate danger.

Keeping my eyes closed, I could also feel there wasn’t much light (if any) in the room with me. And I was inside somewhere for sure. There was no breeze and the floor I was laying on felt like slabs of hewed stone. It was cool and damp.

I was in a cell somewhere. The Aetam had taken me from the forest all the way to their city. I wasn’t sure the distance we’d traveled, but it wasn’t close. That much I knew.

I strained my ears to listen for voices or the shuffle of guards’ feet. But I heard nothing. Just the soft echo that hangs in the air of prisons, present whether there was audible sound or not.

Deciding it was safe and I had learned all that I could playing dead, I sat up. And immediately regretted it.

Throbbing pain shot through my head as I moved, nearly flattening me to the floor again. I took a few deep and slow breaths, trying to calm it down. It was working, thank God. The pain was easing, if not entirely going away.

Well,I thought, let’s take what we can get.

I straightened and pushed up to my feet. I was a little unsteady and the room spun, but just for a moment.

I pressed my hands against the wall on my left and rested my forehead against the stone. Its cool temperature was soothing and I sucked in some more slow breaths.

The throbbing subsided slightly, and I finally opened my eyes.

I may as well have kept them closed.

There was practically no light. I could just make out the outline of a cell door and a faint, very faint glow through what I presumed to be a grate in the cell door.

Continuing to assess the situation, I felt my way along the walls, determining the size of the space. It wasn’t big, that’s for sure. But that made sense. You don’t make prison cells to be comfortable.

My foot kicked something, and I heard a small little splash.

Water.

Reaching down carefully, I felt a cup that had been left for me. Bringing it up to my face, I swirled it around, trying to feel the weight of the water. There wasn’t much in there, but I was grateful for whatever there was.

I brought it to my lips and carefully drank. I didn’t want to risk swallowing it all down in case it had something in it that could prove toxic. Taking a small sip, the water was cool and fresh, and I couldn’t detect anything in it dangerous.

That told me they were invested in keeping me alive.

So, I drank it all down, slowly but every drop. Getting that water in my system helped my head immeasurably.

It occurred to me that I was taking a chance drinking all that water now. They may not bring me any more. But I suspected that wouldn’t be the case. If they thought I was Isabella, they would do everything they could to keep me alive. If they had figured out that I wasn’t her, they would have killed me.

So. What to do now?

Another thing that they teach out in the police academy is maybe the single most valuable lesson of them all: to be patient.

There’s an enormous amount of time spent as a cop doing absolutely nothing at all. Sitting on stake outs. Driving around for hours on patrol. Filling out paperwork.

Crime was never as rampant as you’re led to believe. So, action was in short supply. More often than not, you’re twiddling your thumbs waiting for something to go down. So, patience was key.

And it was going to serve me now.

I felt for the back wall of the cell and leaned my back on it. I slid down carefully until I was sitting down, knees up, head back, facing the door.

I took another deep breath and began the watch.

What was it that Tom Petty said?

“The Waiting...is the hardest part.”

Amen, Tom. Amen.

Turned out, however, that I didn’t have to wait too long after all.

Beyond the door grate, I saw a flash of light that grew, brightening the hallway outside. Then I heard the heavy steps of Aetam soldiers.

The door suddenly swung open and three Aetam stalked inside. One marched right up to me, towering over my seated position.

“Hey fellas. How’s tricks? I have to say, the service isn’t the best in this hotel but there’s still a chance for you to salvage a five-star rating from me. Maybe if you get some food, more water and, oh yeah, LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”

The Aetam before me snarled, “Why’d we have to get saddled with this animal?”

These assholes didn’t know I understood them, and I had no plan to clue them in any time soon, either. Maybe I could use that to my advantage at some point but for now, at least I could annoy them.

“Don’t follow, ugly,” I said. The Aetam reached down and grabbed me by the throat, pulling me up and off my feet.

“This...isn’t...gonna improve...your rating....” I managed to gasp out.

The solider pulled me close to his face, his mouth curling into a sneer. His breath was truly reprehensible. That, combined with the fact that his hand was wrapped around my throat, made air a precious commodity.

I kicked out with my feet but I may as well had been kicking a tree for all the good that it did me. The Aetam soldier started laughing at me and the other two joined in.

Maybe they weren’t so invested in keeping me alive after all.

Then another voice boomed out.

“Let her go! Now!”

I was dropped instantly, grasping at my throat and trying to suck in as much air as I could.

As I lay trying to catch my breath, another Aetam walked in. He was tall, golden, and clearly in command. The others deferred to him without question, even bowing slightly.

The golden orange one looked at me for a moment, then nodded.

“Leave us,” he said, and the soldier hesitated. The newcomer looked at them and a fire blazed in his eyes. “Do not make me repeat myself, or the Assassin’s Guild will have new training targets.”

That’s all it took. The soldiers left in a hurry.

The golden one walked over to me and I was able to really look at him. There was something almost...familiar about him. Something in his bearing reminded me of...the D’Tali. I didn’t know how that was possible.

He reached down and pulled me up by my wrist.

“All right, you bastard, if you’re going to kill me, then let’s get it the fuck over with,” I said.

“Silence!” he whispered fiercely.

He understood me.

This fire-scaled guy understood what I just said…how was that possible?

“I don’t know why you understand me, but if you think I’m going to tell you a goddamned thing about the D’Tali, you’re out of your mind. So, do us both a favor and don’t waste my time. Kill me and have it be done!”

To my surprise, he moved in a flash and put his hand over my mouth.

“Be quiet for a fucking second, you fool! If you’re not careful, they are going to kill you. And worse! If you want to get out of here, you’re going to have to trust me, Isabella!”

My eyes grew wide. Was this Aetam trying to...help me?

“Do you hear me?” he said. “Stay quiet and I will get you out of here, but we have to move fast!” He removed his hand from my mouth, slowly. “You understand?”

Still stunned, I shook my head. “I’m not Isabella,” I said softly.

He looked at me, shocked, then looked towards the door. There were sounds from out in the hallway.

“Well,” he said turning back to me, “you are for now.”