Kidnapped By the Alien Prince by Tori Kellett
Chapter Thirteen
Callie walked next to Voren, D’estaan at her other side, flanked by another thirty warriors. As overkill went, this was up there with the best of them. Rachel was tagging along, which was either a good or a bad thing. Isobel and Sascha had elected to stay in the palace. She hadn’t spoken to Lexie or Madison since last week. And to be honest, she wasn’t sure what to say now. The villagers met her with what she hoped was pleasure.
Brey was her normal levelheaded self, and after talking to Lexie for some time, Callie decided to meet Madison on her own. Voren wasn’t happy, but what Madison was going to do to her was anyone’s guess.
She’d been to see N’ameth last night to ask where he had found Madison, and it hadn’t been too far from her. She was worried she had family and that was what was upsetting her.
N’ameth shook his head. “No, Callie. She lived in a dwelling with other females. No males. There were some young, but our scanners told us this dwelling didn’t allow males there unless they were healers, so we knew she wasn’t mated.” He frowned. “We were going to take another. She had just arrived at the dwelling, and she was injured. We knew we could heal her, but she had a young with her. Madison did not, which is why we took her.”
Callie felt like lead had settled in her belly. She had a good idea what type of dwelling Madison had lived in from what N’ameth described and Madison’s fear and her hyperawareness of everyone. If she was right, being abducted by giant seven-foot males was the last thing she needed.
Madison was quiet. Way too quiet. Callie brought her up to date on everything she knew, and Madison just listened. Callie got one-word answers when she asked a question. If Callie was right, she needed care and professional counseling. Being forced into mating one of the warriors, no matter how noble they were, was a disaster waiting to happen. Being ripped away from what might have been her only safe space was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. No wonder Madison wasn’t talking to her.
Madison listened attentively to everything Callie said, and in the end, a heavy silence fell. Callie felt dreadful, like she’d failed her.
“And you’re sure that we will never be returned to Earth?” Madison leaned forward like it was so important.
For a moment, Callie was tempted to lie, but giving this young woman hope when there was none would be cruel. “No, not with the technology they have, and even if a wormhole opened, we have no idea where it ends. We could be sent somewhere so much worse. I’m sorry.”
Madison blew out a long breath. “So, there’s absolutely no way we can go back to Earth or that they can come here?”
Callie shook her head, wondering how many times Madison would ask and wishing she didn’t have to disappoint this young woman. Then Madison shocked her because she smiled for the first time since Callie had met her, and Callie had a feeling her guesses might have been right. She remembered the terror on Madison’s face in the tent, even when she had seen one of the village males, who were much more normal size, and couldn’t imagine what she had gone through.
Madison nodded as if Callie had answered something else. “And we have to mate?”
This Callie knew. “Eventually, yes. The planet is dying. I know that will never excuse what they did, but Zak has no choice but to let us mate. Apparently he has already had seventeen warriors apply to mate Sascha and Isobel.”
“Not Rachel?” Madison said with the first hint of humor Callie had seen.
Callie grinned, sharing the joke. She wasn’t sure if any of the warriors knew how to take Rachel. Callie was hardly a pushover, but she’d at least been as diplomatic as possible. Rachel seemed to want to push every button they had.
Madison picked at the colorful rug that wrapped around her knees. “I’d just like some time.”
Callie impulsively reached out for her, and Madison reacted like she’d been shot. There was an awkward silence for a moment while all Callie’s protective instincts rose. “Would you like to come back to the palace with us?”
Madison blinked. “Do I have to?”
Callie pondered that. Zak had placed extra guards in the village for Madison’s and Lexie’s protection, but she knew Lexie was eager to come to the palace. “It would be safer for you. I don’t know how much longer Zak can keep the extra guards here.”
“Can I stay a few more days? Please?”
She didn’t mention the Veerlash. She had the feeling enough people had bullied Madison, and she wasn’t about to start. “Let me go ask Voren.”
“Is Voren the doctor?” Madison asked casually, as if she didn’t really care and was only being curious.
“No, that’s Prince Azlaan. Zak’s younger brother. He has three. One is missing, and the youngest of them all, Prince N’ameth, is the one who came to Earth.”
Madison nodded but didn’t ask any more questions, so Callie went outside. Predictably, Voren was within a few feet of the small cabin entrance. “Madison wants to stay here another week before she comes to the palace.”
Voren nodded slowly. “She must be with us well before the start of the Dry.”
“I know.” She chewed her lip. “Has Azlaan been here?”
“He visited twice, I believe, to check on their progress. Brey was careful to be present, and he touched neither female.”
Callie hid her smile. “Perhaps Prince Azlaan could come back this week? A friendly face might help to reassure Madison she will be safe.”
Voren paused, seeming to search her face for a moment, then inclined his head. A loud clang had her whipping her head around and gaping. She watched as Rachel—holding what looked to be a wooden spear—and Theron, D’avid’s son, circled each other. Theron also had a spear. “He will not hurt her, my queen.”
Callie winced as Rachel got close enough to catch his shins. “I’m not worried about him hurting her,” Callie whispered, but as she watched, she could see Rachel was getting very frustrated, because it was obvious Theron was holding back. She started taunting him, subtle digs about his speed and prowess which eventually devolved into more obvious comments. Theron didn’t rise to any of them, but Callie shot a worried look at Voren because she didn’t think some of the villagers looked happy.
Then faster than she could take a breath, Rachel managed to trip Theron, and Rachel raised her stick but didn’t connect with his back, even as it looked like she’d been aiming for it because Voren had plucked it from her hand. She rounded on him, fury darkening her features.
“I wouldn’t have hurt him.”
Voren’s hand tightened on the spear and very deliberately turned and threw it. Even Callie gaped at the distance it had gone, and Voren didn’t look like he’d hardly tried, but then he whirled and took a threatening step to her. “You shame yourself, Rachel of Earth. Theron is quite capable of rolling you to the floor and getting you in a headlock that will snap your neck faster than you could take a second breath, but because he has respect for his king and his village, he is refusing to fight back.”
Rachel’s eyes darkened. “Why, because I’m female?” she spat in disgust.
“No,” Voren roared out. “Because you are a guest of this village. Ishtaans have shown you nothing but respect. They give you and the other females food that they cannot spare so as to not shame their king.”
Rachel swallowed. She turned to Theron, who stood looking miserably at the floor. The whole area seemed quiet, and Callie wondered if she should intervene. Rachel blew out a long breath and regarded the young man. “Theron?”
He looked up warily.
“I understand you are starting your warrior training soon?”
He nodded sharply, obviously wary of what he should say. Then, carefully, Rachel bowed to him from the waist. “On my planet I am a warrior. You fight well, and I am sorry I disrespected you.”
Even Voren looked shocked. She straightened up. “Perhaps you will also train me?”
Theron’s eyes flew to Voren’s, and Voren narrowed his.
“Actually,” Callie interrupted, seeing a good point to calm ruffled feathers, “Zak has agreed to train us all in self-defense. As you already know I, for one, need as many tips as you can give me.”
She caught Rachel’s ironic head tip, demonstrating she knew what Callie was doing, but Callie didn’t care. So long as things were okay, she’d done her job. Callie spoke to the village elders for a while, encouraging them to tell her what would make their lives a little easier, but they were all reluctant to be critical in case she took it personally or it was considered disloyal. She watched some of the children play. Theron’s younger brother, Mark’shey, was the youngest at seven cycles. The only females were all too old to get pregnant.
She refused politely when they were offered a meal, using the excuse of getting back before it grew too warm, but really because she knew the villagers would cook things for her that should be saved. Once they were walking back to the palace, Rachel seeming quiet but walking with her and Voren, Callie started wondering about the population as a whole. “How many settlements like this one are there on Ishtaan?”
“Perhaps eight hundred? The nearest is the mining settlement. The farthest away takes approximately seven daylights to get there. King Zakaarir used to visit them in Prince N’ameth’s shuttle every few weeks, but it got harder.”
“Why?” Rachel asked, seeming curious.
“Because they would hide.”
Callie’s lips parted in surprise, and she glanced at Rachel, who also looked shocked. “Hide?”
“Because the king’s guard were looking for workers in the mines.”
Callie paused, and so did all the guards. “What do you mean?” Her question was careful, controlled, but the leaden feeling in her stomach from when she’d been watching Rachel fight came back with a sickening jolt.
“They raid the settlements for the younger workers,” Voren said, his voice tight and flat as if he was being careful not to let any opinion enter it.
Rachel met Callie’s gaze. “How old?”
“Eleven cycles.”
“And their parents allow this?” Callie said incredulously.
“They have no choice,” Voren replied.
“And are these children still working in the mines?”
Voren nodded stiffly. “The elder king ordered King Zakaarir to arrange a hunting party before the Dry started. My king hasn’t gone because Maylesh—” Voren tightened his lips immediately, but Callie knew what he was going to say.
“Because she was sick?” she asked gently, and Voren nodded.
Then Voren cursed. “No, he didn’t go because he hated it. No warrior needs young to fight, but the battle over his duty and his honor got harder to fight every day.”
“Five years ago, I was in Somalia,” Rachel said quietly. “We were officially there to protect aid workers, and all US forces have since withdrawn, but between the different fighting factions, children as young as six were kidnapped for the army. Some simply to fetch and carry.” She paused. “Some not.”
Callie sighed. She knew that, and her heart hurt for Zak and other leaders like him. Not specifically in Somalia, but she had considered adoption from another country at one point. Gary wouldn’t consider it, so it had never gone anywhere. “How far are the mines?”
“An hour in the shuttle,” Voren said almost fatalistically.
Callie met Rachel’s determined gaze again. “Tomorrow, then? It will be too hot soon.”
Voren groaned. “My king will kill me.”
Rachel thumped his arm playfully. “Nah, big warrior like you? You can take him.”
Voren, it seemed, could think of no reply.
Zak didn’t, but Callie imagined it was a close thing. Callie told him when he arrived back to share the final meal. He brought Kaleth with him which was probably the only reason she had gotten away with it. Callie had suggested they all eat together at least once a day, and Kaleth, after threatening her with a knife that day in the flower garden, was becoming a delight. They talked about the mining operation. Zak had visited the camp only five weeks ago, and Callie learned just how truly awful his situation had been. If they didn’t mine the crystals, they couldn’t trade them for food, and his people would starve.
But all their equipment was old, and they hadn’t nearly enough workers able to get the crystals out. “New mining equipment is first on the list of things I’m hoping from our association with N’olaan.”
“Do they have females?” Callie asked.
“Yes, but they are prevented from coming here.”
Callie put two and two together. “But you said it was a genetic condition?”
Zak nodded. “But N’olaan, Lux, and Vedur, the three closest planets to us, have females with very similar biology. Their females are banned from entering our planet’s space or any interbreeding. If any do, it would be a one-way trip for them because they would never be allowed to return. We know the genetic changes can only be passed on through an Ishtaan female, but they won’t listen.”
Callie changed the conversation to include Kaleth’s studies. He was hoping to command his own cruiser someday, and Zakaarir listened to him fondly. Callie hoped he would have the opportunities denied to Zak but knew it was a small step at a time. Callie had made it clear she was going to visit the mines tomorrow with or without Zak, but she wasn’t sorry he was coming as well. Kaleth left soon after that, and Callie took her glass of water out onto the balcony.
In another moment, he was stretching his arms around her middle, and she leaned back. “It’s so overwhelming. It seems like there are so many things that need to change, how do you know where to start?”
Zak tucked her against him, and she smiled. She could feel exactly where Zak wanted to start, and she tilted her head, exposing the side of her neck. He obediently lowered his head and peppered kisses on the bare skin. She could feel her body’s immediate response and the way heat seemed to pool in her sex and spread out. She put down the glass before she dropped it, then twisted in his arms, his cock immediately pressing hard into her belly. She raised herself up on her tiptoes, and he immediately lifted her up, growling in that sexy way he had in the back of his throat.
“Are you sure you don’t come from dragons?”
He chuckled. “The plates on our skin can be restrictive. Does human skin shiver or vibrate in pleasure?”
“Mine certainly does,” she gasped. But she would have agreed to anything he said at this point.
“Well, the way the reaction affects the plates can be heard. You might think it comes from the back of my throat, but really it’s my whole body thrumming with the effect you have on me.”
“That is so cool,” Callie said, momentarily distracted until Zak bent his head again and slipped his fingers between the buttons of her shirt.
“I am so glad you do not wear that constrictive belt across your chest.”
Callie grinned. She had no idea what had happened to the bra she wore originally, but she didn’t miss it. She didn’t want to go for a jog anytime soon, but Tamara had promised to fashion her a small top she could wear under her flowing shirts. Freedom was one thing; every warrior being flashed by their queen was something else entirely. She had standards, after all.
“You have too many clothes on, my Callie,” Zak murmured.
“Then take me to bed and undress me.” I mean, really? Did she have to think of everything?
Zak headed back inside, carrying her effortlessly, and gently laid her down on the bed, shedding himself of what little clothes he wore.
“Why don’t you ever wear shirts?”
Zak shrugged and then laid out next to her. “Why? We would be too hot in the Dry and just miserable in the Wet. Our plates keep us warm.”
“Lucky you,” Callie murmured as he slid her shirt off one shoulder, baring her skin to his lips.
“But I love your skin. Your body is incredible and perfect for me.” He caught and held her gaze, she guessed so she would be convinced of his honesty. Zak, seeming satisfied they had done enough talking, unbuttoned her shirt and took one nipple gently between his teeth.
Callie arched immediately. When Zak touched her there, it seemed to send an electrical current straight between her thighs. Her sex throbbed, and still licking and sucking her breast, he reached down and pulled the sash away that cinched her pants and shirt. Material pooled around her hips, and a cool breeze from the open window wafted over her skin.
Callie moaned, her body lighting up with the first touch of his fingers as he pressed first one, then a second between her wet folds. He shuffled down a little.
“Zak,” she gasped.
Zak murmured and nuzzled her, his tongue flicking out and sending her wild.
“Zak what, my Callie? What is it you want me to do?” But Callie didn’t know because barely a second later when his fingers rubbed her clit, her first orgasm barreled into her. Not that Zak ever seemed content with just one, but this time he flipped her over, and the change in direction as he entered her from behind made her scream.
Finally going for the fucking trifecta, he pulled out and rolled her onto her back. Her legs were like noodles, but he didn’t seem to care. She stared at him in utter wonder, sweat-slicked skin glittering like the Azteen crystals they mined and his eyes blazing as he stared down at her. She met him, gaze for gaze, thrust for thrust, until his whole body seized above her and she was spun headlong into heat and light and pure, unadulterated bliss.
