Page 13 of Alokar (The Alliance Rescue #2)
Confusion and disbelief warred across Hannah’s delicate features like storm clouds battling for dominance. After a long moment, wonder slowly replaced the turmoil in her expression, her gray eyes brightening. “Wait a minute, if you’re an alien, how do you speak English so perfectly?”
“My mom taught me.”
“Your mom?” Hannah blinked rapidly, her long lashes fluttering as she stared at me in bewilderment.
“My adopted mother Daisy is human,” I explained, watching as this new revelation sent another wave of shock rippling across her beautiful face.
Hannah’s lovely complexion paled, and she swayed slightly on her feet. “I think I need to sit down.”
Still clutching the rifle in white-knuckled fingers—though her grip had loosened considerably and the barrel now pointed more toward the ground than at me—she trudged back toward our campfire.
Her legs seemed to give out as she reached the fallen log I’d dragged over earlier, and she collapsed onto it with a soft thud, her shoulders sagging.
I moved carefully, deliberately, and non-threateningly as I knelt by the fire.
Spotting the wild mint I’d gathered earlier, I plucked a few of the fragrant leaves and dropped them into a tin cup, then covered them with steaming water from the small kettle hanging over the fire.
The soothing herbal scent rose with the steam.
I hoped the tea might help calm her frayed nerves.
She accepted the cup from my hands, her skin brushing mine for just an instant—a touch that sent electricity shooting up my arm despite the gravity of the situation.
I settled myself on the opposite side of the fire, giving her the space she clearly needed.
Her gray eyes tracked my every motion like wary prey watching a predator, but the rifle now rested loosely across her lap, more an afterthought than an active threat. Progress.
“How exactly did you end up with a human mother?” she asked, lifting the steaming cup to her lips with both hands to steady it.
“What I told you about my birth parents is true. Yaard murdered them.” Speaking his name aloud made my blood heat with familiar rage.
“He then exiled me and my sister Vienda—her to a distant planet and me to the Gilese mining moons as a slave, along with many other younglings. When my human mother, Daisy, got abducted from Earth, she was sent to the mining moon as a slave as well.” The anger in my blood gradually dissipated as I thought of my mom’s immediate, unconditional warmth from the very moment she’d first laid eyes on me.
“My adopted father, a Vaktaire warrior named Daicon, came to rescue her, and once we were free, Daisy and Daicon adopted me and my brother George.”
“George... is he a Kerzak too?” She studied me intently over the rim of her cup, steam curling around her face.
“No, he is a Garoot—they are a healer species,” I explained, watching as her eyes widened yet again at the mention of another alien race.
She seemed stunned, as if the casual mention of other species besides my own had thrown her completely off balance. Her cup paused halfway to her lips.
“And the baby sister you mentioned. What species is she?”
“Jordan is part human and part Vaktaire, born of the love between my parents,” I said softly, a smile tugging at my lips as I thought of my precious little sister.
Pure shock painted Hannah’s features, her mouth falling open slightly as the implication hit her.
“Wait a minute, you mean your human mother and this Vak....” Her voice trailed off, her eyes growing impossibly wider as the reality of what I’d just told her sank in.
“Vaktaire,” I supplied helpfully.
“You mean they….” She set her cup down with a soft clink and made a crude but unmistakable gesture with her hands—forming a circle with her thumb and forefinger, then penetrating that circle with the index finger of her other hand.
The meaning was crystal clear, and a flush of pink crept up her neck to stain her cheeks. “How does that even work?”
“Pretty well, apparently,” I grinned, unable to suppress my amusement at her flustered expression. “My parents are very happy together.”
“Are there other human women in space?” She lifted her tea and took a tentative sip, her storm-gray eyes never leaving mine.
“Many,” I admitted.
“And do they all have alien boyfriends?” The question tumbled from her lips with a mixture of curiosity and something that might have been hope, though she tried to mask it behind casual interest.
I couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth. “Some.”
“And the ones that don’t,” her voice trailed off as she set the cup down, a deep frown creasing her forehead. “Do they get to come home to Earth?”
“When possible.” The weight of truth settled heavily on my shoulders as I met her searching gaze.
I would no longer lie to her, no matter how difficult the reality might be to hear.
“The Alliance that governs the known universe has taken Earth into protectorate status, which means they rescue and protect abducted humans. They return as many to Earth as they can, but there are strict rules about returning humans to Earth once they have benefited from healing technology.”
“Healing technology?” Her curiosity seemed suddenly tinged with a thread of horror, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper. “What does it do to them?”
“Nothing bad,” I assured her quickly. My mother had told me of human entertainment that portrayed aliens as small gray creatures who enjoyed probing and experimenting on the abducted.
“Our healing technology is far more advanced than Earth’s.
We have ways of healing all disease and extending the human lifespan by hundreds of years. ”
“Damn,” Hannah muttered, her eyebrows shooting up toward her hairline as genuine amazement replaced the fear in her voice. “So, what happens to the humans who don’t get to return to Earth and don’t have alien boyfriends?”
I had to admit, I liked the alien boyfriend concept and wondered if she would ever consider me as such.
The thought sent a warm flutter through my chest. “There are several places that serve as havens for humans. The planet Tau Ceti, the Ardeese Valout space station, planet Ajaxiun, and just recently planet Zarpazia has offered haven to abducted humans, then there is....”
“Stop.” Hannah held up her hand, her face draining of color as she swayed dangerously on the log, looking as though she might topple over at any moment.
“Are you well?” Worry for her safety overshadowed my caution, and I moved to sit beside her. Her gray eyes tracked my every move, but she did not try to move away.
“It’s a lot to take in,” she muttered, pressing the heel of her palm against her temple as if trying to ward off a headache.
“I am sure it is,” I said gently, my voice soft with understanding.
Her gaze found my face again, searching my features with intense scrutiny. The fear had finally faded from her expression, but exhaustion had taken hold of the delicate lines around her eyes, making her look fragile and weary. “Why are you here? Really?”
“I am here for Yaard. To either verify his death or kill him.” The words came out flat and matter of fact, carrying the weight of my oath.
She seemed to relax slightly, her shoulders dropping as she finished the last of her tea. I took the empty cup from her hands, our fingers brushing briefly, and set about preparing her another cup.
“You really think he could already be dead?” Her voice was soft, threaded with something that sounded dangerously like hope.
“It’s possible.” I handed her the fresh cup, watching as she wrapped both hands around it, as if it were an anchor in a storm.
“Duke Ako recently returned to Earth to rescue his mate Helene from Yaard’s threat.
They had a run-in with Yaard at a place called Skadulwas Peak when Yaard tried to kill them.
Thankfully, Duke Ako and Duchess Helene prevailed, and based on their account, there is reason to believe he may have perished in the encounter. ”
She nodded slowly, her gaze distant as she pondered this information. “You’re absolutely certain this Yaard is the one that killed my daddy?”
“I would bet my life on it,” I vowed.
Her eyes cut to me with sudden fierce intensity, blazing with a fire that made my breath catch. “You may have to.”