Kidnapped By the Alien Prince by Tori Kellett

Chapter Nine

Callie opened her eyes, and it took her 0.5 seconds to realize she’d been had. It also took her approximately the same time to realize she was in deep shit. That guy—Mastuk—reminded her of the one and only time she’d ever been to one of those hypnotist shows in Vegas before she’d ever had to work in the same industry. Her friend Gemma had insisted it was a riot, and she had wanted it for her bachelorette party. In awe at never having been to one before, Callie had gone along in excitement. Shaking, sweating, and crying two hours into the show because she’d raced around the stage convinced she was in labor and had to find a special midwife before she could deliver her baby was too close to the real thing for comfort.

The hypnotist had taken pity on her. Said she had to be willing to be hypnotized to make it happen. That if you refused to be hypnotized, you simply wouldn’t be. She’d accused him at first of everything from drugs in her drink to mixing something into the oxygen, but he had stayed with her, given her a bottle of water, and gotten her a cab to take her home.

She knew there had been something else going on with Mastuk. The strange smell. His eyes, and the prick on her wrist that was definitely drugs. So even being aware wouldn’t help her this time. In fact, she didn’t even know where she was, but she had an awful feeling she wasn’t going to like it. Her mind might have been playing tricks on her, but her hearing worked just fine. And she could hear the hum of engines. Powerful engines.

The panel to the left of her she’d just thought was a wall slid open. Mastuk stood there along with Rhador. The fact neither was pointing guns at her showed they obviously knew she was no threat, and what was the biggest thing on a male apart from his gun?

No, not that.

His ego. And Calista smiled. It took Mastuk a second before he hesitantly smiled back. They were obviously expecting a furious, spitting hell-bitch because she’d been kidnapped. Well, she was going to turn things on their head. Even if all she could do was throw Mastuk off his game and let his barriers down enough to help Zak rescue her. Because she knew without a doubt as soon as Zak realized she was gone, he would be coming for her, and she didn’t want to be Mastuk when he did.

“Are we there?”

Mastuk narrowed his eyes. “Where?”

Callie sat up and put her hand to her head theatrically. “You said we were going to your home.” She looked up and widened her brown eyes because two could play at that game. “Didn’t you? I’m sorry, I’m a little fuzzy. Did I sleep for long?” She yawned and put her hand across her mouth, giggling vacuously and praying she could get away with it. All he knew about her so far was she was susceptible to his charms, so to speak. If she could convince him she still was, it might give her the edge she needed. At least keep her from being locked up, anyway.

Mastuk jerked his hand back to Rhador, and Rhador stepped back, letting the partition close. “Don’t play the fool, Callie, because we both know you’re not.”

Callie’s eyes widened again—crap—and she made one last desperate attempt, letting her eyes fill with tears. She hadn’t studied drama at school for seven years for nothing. “You think I’m foolish because I don’t want to be stuck down there with those gorillas?”

Mastuk frowned. She could see him translating what gorillas were, and then he smiled again, a hint of satisfaction showing in his eyes. He bent down and stared deep into her eyes. She could smell roses again and for an awful moment thought she was going to be sick. “You want to go home?”

Callie nodded slowly, gulping and letting a tear brim over. “You’re right. I don’t want to see your world. I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s very nice, but I have a life, a family. I don’t want to be here.”

“You would be a queen,” he said, obviously still not convinced.

“Of what?” she blurted out incredulously. “Zak is broke. They have nothing. I have my own Maserati back at my apartment. I’ve never walked so much in my entire life, and my feet are killing me.” She wriggled her bare toes. Well, innocent clearly wasn’t working, but she could still do bitch. He cocked his head, still staring.

“That is a transport vehicle.”

She scoffed. “A transport vehicle? That, my friend, is what money can buy.” She stood and swayed. He reached for her automatically, and she leaned into him.

“You really think you could take me home?”

“Absolutely. My ship has technology the Ishtaans only dream of. You would of course have to give us proper coordinates.”

Sure. Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning. “Why would you bother though?” Because there was no way this guy would do anything out of the goodness of his heart.

“Your world allows space pleasure flights. You told everyone.”

She nodded. That had been the explanation.

“But you are not yet advanced enough for intergalactic travel?”

She nodded again, unsure where this was going.

“And according to the reports, your hull wasn’t strong enough to withstand super tachyon speed or the magnetic forces of a space passage.”

She blinked at him again. This time there was no need to pretend her confusion, but he continued. “I just need you to take me to the point at which you entered our galaxy. We have magnetic plates that will reverse an area touched by a recent polarized shift, especially one that causes a gravitational vacuum, but that will only be possible for seven daylights if that.”

Callie folded her arms. “But why would you be willing to go to all this trouble?” There had to be a catch.

“I have amazing resources at my fingertips. The type that a world unable to master a tiny part of that would welcome with open arms.”

“You don’t like your home?” she asked because she wondered if that was what had driven him to this.

He scoffed. “What home? My world, like many others, is ruled by someone merely because of an accident of birth, not abilities or the simple fact they may be better at the job. I spend my days like some sort of petty regulator.” He glared. “I don’t care where the Ishtaans fly. Their ridiculous arguments and jealousies. Who needs to fight over who rules one small kingdom when there are entire new galaxies to be taken over?”

He had a god complex. This wasn’t about her at all, thankfully. He wanted her to tell him where Earth was so he could sweep in and be da king. The fact she had zero idea where she was didn’t help. Callie’s brain tried and failed to come up with an answer, but he obviously took her expression to mean she was still under his influence. He stroked her cheek. “We can both get what we want. You just need to tell me how to get you home.” He must have understood her distress though. “I know you traveled through a space passage, so all you need to do is show me where you entered our galaxy.”

“But I wasn’t flying it,” she said hesitantly.

He nodded. “I know, but there are certain obvious star systems very visible once you boarded N’ameth’s shuttle. I have an expert that can help you narrow it down. He can access the images in your brain easily. Rhador is a genius. He will be able to narrow down even the vaguest clues and program the magnetic reversal accordingly.” He smiled slyly. “There is no system in this world he cannot operate.”

Oh, hell no. There wasn’t anyone getting in her brain.

“Senator Vashti.”

Mastuk tapped the symbol on his shirt. “Yes.”

“We have picked up a craft. It doesn’t seem to have our speed, but it seems to be on a direct path to intercept.”

“Can we not simply outrun it?”

“Yes, Senator, but I understand you want us to maintain a slow course around the Dark while we get coordinates.”

“Maintain speed until I get there.” He tipped her chin up with one finger. “You help me, and I will take you home. Make you a real queen. You can have as many different transportation vehicles as you like.”

Callie’s heart beat faster. She’d been relieved when she found out he didn’t seem to want her. But it looked like he was going for a two-for-one deal. “What’s the dark? You talk like it’s something other than just an absence of light.” She had heard Zak refer to it like that as well.

“The Dark is the zone that connects the planets of this galaxy. No Ishtaan ships are allowed to cross it.”

“My apologies, Senator Vashti,” the voice came again, “but if we don’t increase our speed soon, they will be close enough to engage weapons.”

Mastuk swore, or at least she guessed what the untranslatable word was, and he stared at her even though he was talking to his warrior. “We both know who this is. They haven’t the weapons to be a threat, but they can be a nuisance while we take our time to establish a proper connection to the other system. I am on my way.”

He tipped his head questioningly. She guessed if he had eyebrows, he would have raised them. “Well?”

“We were all rendered unconscious as soon as we were taken. N’ameth wanted to bring us back for repopulation without giving us the chance to send a distress signal.” She really hoped he wouldn’t ask her how to do that. She was channeling every Star Trek episode she’d watched as a kid right now. “I want to get off this godforsaken place, but I have no idea how to do that.” The desperation he could hear in her voice was real, even if the cause wasn’t. “You have to ask N’ameth.”

He was silent for a moment, scrutinizing her. “The First Prince must be convinced you want to leave. I can offer to wipe the records of this transgression. He has violated the Dark traveling this far. If I wanted to, I could insist on N’ameth being either executed in my presence or taken to T’ulla for imprisonment.”

She nodded and rested her head against his chest to hide her face, hoping he would assume it meant she needed comfort. “Whatever you say.” Now what did she do?

Callie was sure of two things as she followed Mastuk into the what?—operations room, command center, whatever. She was out of her depth—completely—but she couldn’t let this guy go to Earth. She didn’t want to go either. Plus, she couldn’t let N’ameth or Zak get killed or locked up.

And that was way more than two things. Crap, she couldn’t even count. She really needed some way of telling him she didn’t want to go without telling him she didn’t want to go. They’d not even known each other for a week. That was hardly enough time to establish any sort of secret code.

“Be convincing, or I will make sure all the females are sent to T’ulla as prisoners. They will be shackled for the rest of their lives and used to entertain the guards. And in case you are wondering, T’ulla isn’t a planet with the possibility of escape. It’s a space prison. If you condemn me to live here in this hell, then I will make sure they get a worse fate.”

“Callie?”

Callie’s head shot up before she could react to the threat, and she stared at the screen in front of her. Like the black one on N’ameth’s ship, but this was larger. She could see every detail of Zak’s worried face staring at her, and even though her pulse seemed to be careening out of control, it was such a relief to see his face. She blinked her very real tears away before he saw them. She didn’t know what to do because she didn’t doubt the intention in Mastuk’s voice. He would do what he was threatening. And for a second, she was ashamed of herself. Zak could mate with one of the other women on the planet, but she didn’t want him to. She wanted to stay very badly, but if she didn’t convince him to let her go, he would be killed, and much as she wanted to be with him, she couldn’t allow that to happen.

Mastuk took a step to join her, slid his arm around her, and pulled her to his side. “Callie, please tell Prince Zakaarir that you are unharmed and are here because you want to return home.”

“We’re coming for you, my Callie,” Zak promised. “I won’t let you—”

“I’m here because I want to be, Zakaarir.” She used his full name, knowing it would be effective. Mastuk had used her nickname deliberately. Zak jerked his head as if he had been slapped.

“I don’t believe that,” he said after a moment.

“I want to return home.” She swallowed. “I have a life on Earth. A family. How can you possibly believe I would be happy to leave them?”

He looked confused as she expected. She hadn’t mentioned a family. N’ameth had insisted to them that he had brought the ones who didn’t have any. “But I thought you wanted a young with me?” He sounded so hurt that Callie could have cried. But she hardened her heart and said the only thing she could think of.

“Are you mad? I detest kids. I managed to get to thirty-seven without getting knocked up; do you really think the promise of some fancy jewels will change my mind?”

“Knocked up?”

“Pregnant, with child. Having a baby. Whatever you want to call it.”

Callie could feel the shocked silence all around her. She didn’t know Mastuk’s people, but she guessed if they thought half of what the Ishtaans did about kids, they would be horrified at her words. Zak gazed at her, his face going from frantic to a blank mask in seconds. Hate would have been better to see than such complete indifference.

He glanced at Mastuk. “So be it.” And Callie’s heart dropped. Did she mean so little to him?

“You have five other females on your planet,” Mastuk pointed out coolly. “I am sure one of those will do.”

Zak didn’t reply, but he was joined on the screen by N’ameth. Zak put up a hand when his brother would have argued. N’ameth glanced at Zak incredulously. “Are you sure? If they have the reversal technology, this can only be done once.” Zak nodded again and looked away as if he couldn’t bear to look at her. N’ameth sighed. “I will have to come and fit—”

“Absolutely not,” Mastuk spat out.

N’ameth looked bored. “I have adapted my own trace system. As you know, we are prevented from accessing technology the Alliance has built in the last twenty-five cycles. I can assure you not one of your engineers would be able to operate this.”

Mastuk glanced at Rhador, but their expressions were unreadable.

“And I want to hear the words affirmed from Calista without there being any way she could be forced,” Zak added.

Callie couldn’t even risk looking up in case he saw the longing in her eyes. He was coming on the ship? That was going to make everything a million times harder.

“I have over seventy weaponized crew,” Mastuk warned. “You are in no position to demand anything.”

“And you have one daylight to find the passage. I assure you,” Zak promised, “once I establish Calista isn’t being forced, I will leave her alone. The female Rachel has already indicated she would be more than happy to breed, and I’m not so desperate that I have to force anyone.” He looked at Callie derisively. “And she is only twenty-nine Earth cycles.”

Callie absorbed the hit. There was nothing she could do. She barely heard the instructions to arrange docking. The small shuttle would come alongside, and they would clamp the doors, only possible as both ships were going slow. He heard N’ameth say the clamps were engaged and at the same time felt the slight nudge of the ship that told her the shuttle was alongside.

She turned to Mastuk to ask if she really needed to be here for this. She didn’t know if she had the strength to look at Zak and maintain her charade, and in that moment, she saw the almost indecipherable nod to Rhador and the answering smirk and knew he was lying. They didn’t need N’ameth to work his technology. Rhador—Mastuk had even gloated about this—was a tech genius. There is no system in this world he cannot operate. It was a trick to get them on board. Mastuk wanted them dead.

She had seconds…somehow, she had to stop Zak coming on board or he would die. Without stopping to think, she screamed at the top of her voice and pointed behind her. “It’s a bomb!”

Okay, so that was a little weak, but predictably every guard jerked and turned to where she was pointing. Quick as a flash, she leapt forward and brought both hands down on the lever she had seen the guards just lower and yank it up the opposite way. The ship jerked, sirens sounded, and Callie felt a breathtaking pain in her chest. She had a second to realize something had shot her as she staggered back. She didn’t remember hitting the deck.