Page 9 of Chieftain (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #1)

“My people, yes.” Khaion, Chieftain of the Vaktaire, shifted, lifting me slightly and bringing my face level with his own.

Good Lord, he was pretty.

“What is your name, little human?"

I was so busy gawking; I nearly missed his question. "Emmy, my name is Emmy. You- pushed me into the pod, didn’t you?” The memories in my brain were like ragged shards of mirrors floating in a haze. Occasionally, one would be clear enough for me to see a reflection of the past.

The full lips pressed together, and he nodded, eyes growing cloudy. "I apologize for our rough introduction, little human, but there was no time. The Trogvyk ship was set to self-destruct.”

“I’m alive?” I needed corroboration.

Full lips curved upward and parted slightly to reveal straight white teeth with elongated, dagger-sharp canines. The alien's smile was so dazzling I felt it all the way to my toes. His lips pursed slightly before forming the words. “Most assuredly so.”

Holy shit!

In my line of work, I pay close attention to people's lips.

How a person holds and moves their lips can signify a range of emotions, including dishonesty, which comes in handy when you have someone on the witness stand.

The fact that Khaion's lips matched his words was both startling and comforting.

“You’re …you’re not….” I tapped my temple. "You aren't using a translator thingie. You’re actually speaking English.”

“Yes.” There was a hint of amusement in the golden eyes. “I have no need of a translator thingie . I speak all 6492 of Earth languages.”

"Why?" It was the only question that seeped from my flummoxed brain.

Khaion grinned, proving my earlier assessment of his amusement was correct.

"We Vaktaire fulfill a directive to protect the Earth and its inhabitants.” He raised his shoulders just enough to peruse the dials and buttons near our feet.

“You will meet my crew soon. I have set the homing beacon on the pod, and they will find us shortly. Everyone on my ship speaks your language. Our practice is to learn as much as we can about those we protect, so the Vaktaire learn Earth language and study your culture and customs.”

“How?” My mind reeled, unable to grasp the enormity of the task. 6492 languages! I barely knew two and spoke Italian very badly.

“We learn much from intercepting your radio and television wavelengths and the golden disc you sent us in greeting....”

“Golden disk? Wait?” I interrupted, a hazy memory coming into focus.

In high school, my science class curriculum was the launch and travels of the Voyager 1 deep space probe on a mission to explore Jupiter and Saturn.

I recalled that the probe carried a 12-inch gold-plated disk containing sounds and images portraying life and culture on Earth .

“ You mean the gold record sent up with Voyager in 1977.”

Khaion frowned—and was still gorgeous. "I do not know where it came from. It had many images and sounds. The golden disk taught us much about your world.”

“Shit,” I breathed, sending a mental high-five to NASA.

“I know that word.” Khaion lips twitched upward. “My Sage is fond of your Earth curses. One in particular.”

They even knew how we cursed. "Fuck!"

"Yes, he particularly likes that one," Khaion said excitedly.

I shook my head, trying to get the thoughts whipping through my brain to settle.

Stick to the plan, find my friends, and get the hell out of here.

If the Vaktaire, whatever they were, protected humans, they surely could help me find Willa, Clara, Pearl, Daisy, and Agnes.

And if they were the good guys, then who were the aliens that kidnapped us?

So, the cat-aliens that were on the ship that blew up….”

“Cat Alien?" A slight furrow grew between Khaion's bronze brows, and my fingers itched to soothe it away.

“The one I saw... that spoke to me... looked like a hairless cat… with four boobs.”

Khaion grinned, a breathy chuckle escaping his lips. "Yes, I am aware the Trogvyk's anatomy is different from humans.”

“Trogvyk." I seared the word into my brain. "They are the ones that stole us from Earth.”

“Yes. Trogvyk are slavers specializing in human cargo.” Khaion gave a curt nod as he answered, a lock of bronze hair falling over his shoulder.

It looked thick and silky and…. Good God, Emmy, get a hold of yourself!

You're lying in a pod in the middle of space, hugged up by an alien.

The last thing you should be doing is enjoying yourself. Focus on the plan!

“Do you know what they did with my friends? Where would they take them?”

“Not yet, but we will.” Khaion’s gold eyes met mine, his gaze holding promise and determination. “My crew deployed trackers on the four skiffs that departed before we intercepted the Trogvyk ship.”

Relief made me tremble, and the arm around my waist tightened almost imperceptibly. Those smaller ships held Clara, Pearl, Daisy, and Agnes, so finding them might be easier than first expected. But what about…

“What about Willa?”

“Willa?” The furrow appeared between his brows again, and Khaion lowered his face, studying my expression. We were so close his warm breath wafted over my cheeks, holding a scent reminiscent of wine and chocolate.

“Willa and me… the alien cat lady said we were special…

sold to royalty or something like that. When the ship lost power, the alien cat-lady and another cat-man took us to the room where you found me.

The cat-lady... female Trogvyk dragged Willa into one pod, and the other guy was trying to put me in the other pod…

." The memory made me shudder, and Khaion's body tensed in response.

“I fought him… I didn’t want to get in the pod with him.

I knew he would take me somewhere bad. There was an explosion, and something hit me on the head.

When I came to, he was splatted under part of the ceiling.

I heard what sounded like fighting, so I hid in a cabinet until it got quiet.

I tried getting into the escape pod when you showed up. "

“What of the deceased male we found in the Medi-lab? Was he your friend?” Soft fingertips brushed back an errant curl lying on my cheek. The pelt on his fingertips felt like velvet against my skin.

“Male? I didn't know there was anyone on board but us.” I started to ask more, but the way Khaion’s expression flashed with revulsion dissuaded any further curiosity.

“My crew is going through the data recovered from the Trogvyk ship. Hopefully, they can pinpoint a navigational setting for your friend’s pod.

" Khaion said as he gently pulled another curl away from my face and placed it over my shoulder.

His touch was gentle, reverent, as if he held a precious object.

“And if they can’t.” My voice was raspy and painful. It was a question I didn't want to ask. I had to ask.

Khaion regarded me for a moment, his golden eyes shimmering.

"Despite your fragility, humans are prized sex slaves," Khaion gave a grunt that spoke volumes regarding his thoughts on the practice.

"Human females are usually purchased for private use or to work on hedonism ships.

We have many spies who alert us of the arrival of new humans in any sector.

" Khaion shifted to lie on his back. The movement made me realize that all the time we'd lay pressed together in the pod, he held himself so that his crotch hadn't touched me.

I couldn’t decide whether to be grateful or upset about that fact.

“Hedonism ships?" I feared I knew precisely what Khaion meant. A ship like that wouldn't be for the pleasure of my friends.

“I believe your common Earth term is brothel.” The color of his cheeks deepened a shade.

My stomach lurched at the idea. "Sex sells, even in space," I mumbled.

The concept of my friends servicing dozens of slimy bug or cat-shaped aliens made me want to vomit.

Maybe they'd get lucky, and all the aliens would look like Khaion.

Having sex with someone like him might not be too bad… not too bad at all.

Shit! Get your mind out of the gutter, Emmy!

I needed to focus on the plan, find my friends, and get the hell back to Earth. In the vastness of space, the task felt akin to riding a tricycle up Everest. But Khaion would help me. I knew he would.

“I have to find my friends. Willa and I made an oath before they took her. We would find our friends and get the hell back home. Will you please help me find them?”

“We will find your friends, tiny human.” Khaion laid a closed fist over his heart. “I give you my bond as a Vaktaire warrior." His expression flickered from determined to solemn. "But returning you to Earth isn't possible.”

“What? Why?” for the first time since waking up in his arms, a sliver of trepidation skittered down my spine.

On instinct, I placed a hand on his chest near the comforting thud of his heart.

The sight of my youthful skin provided the answer.

“It's because they made me look twenty again, isn't it.

Can't they just stick me back into the machine and turn me back into my real age?”

“Real age?” Khaion looked down to where my hand lay over his heartbeat, then met my gaze.

“I’m older than I look," I admitted with a soft snort. "Practically elderly in Earth terms.”

Bronze brows drew together, but there was amusement sparkling in his eyes. “How old are you?”

He obviously didn't get the Earth lesson on etiquette regarding asking a woman’s age. “I’m sixty Earth years old,” I admitted begrudgingly.

A rolling rumble escaped his lips, causing the muscles underneath my fingertips to tremble. Khaion was laughing. The deep, rich sound rolled over my body, causing all sorts of delicious tingles.

"That is not so old," he said after a moment. "I have seen one hundred and eighty-two of what your species calls a year.”

“Remind me to get your skincare routine." I quipped, aggravated at his amusement. "If looking younger is why we can’t return to Earth, we can pretend to have plastic surgery or claim to be related to the Kardashians.”

“Kar-dash-ee-an?" Khaion pronounced slowly, looking utterly adorable in the process. My hand remained in the center of his chest. I resisted the urge to cuddle closer, knowing my southern grandmother would fly down from heaven and slap me for being too forward.

“The Garoot Healer does more than affect how you look.” Khaion’s face twisted as though the words lay bitter on his tongue. “It prolongs your life span and makes you more adaptable to living in space. There are other alterations with women, such as the ability to breed with other species.”

The image in my head caused bile to rise in my throat. “Please stop. The idea of popping out a hairless four-boob cat-baby makes me nauseous.”

A fierce determination flashed across Khaion’s face.

"The Trogvyk will never touch you again.” I couldn't tear my gaze from his golden eyes.

They shimmered in a sea of cobalt, fierce and protective.

How Khaion looked at me sparked a fire in my stomach, turning my blood into lava.

Nobody had ever looked at me this way—like I was something extraordinary and precious to cherish and protect.

Rick never looked at me this way, not in our entire twenty-nine years of marriage.

“If we can’t go home, where will we go?” I whispered. The words seemed to echo within the small pod with mocking torment.

“There is a human settlement on Tau Ceti where your kind has been rehomed for the last one hundred years. It is safe there.”

"Hundred years? You mean to tell me aliens have been kidnapping people from Earth for over a hundred years?"

“Humans are considered a great prize in the galaxy.” Khaion's smile was heavy.

"Historically, what kept humans safe was that it took many light years of travel to reach your galaxy. A century ago, an explosion in the Reinaald nebula created a wormhole behind your dwarf planet, linking your galaxy with others, which made travel to Earth easier.”

"A wormhole behind Pluto," I murmured. The only things I knew about wormholes, star systems, and space, generally, came from that high school science class… and Star Wars.

Khaion’s hand rested on my shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze.

“In the Planetary Alliance, putting a human through the Garoot Healer is illegal.

A crime punishable by death. Still, it is done to raise your value as a slave.

If we manage to stop the slavers during abductions before any alteration can be made to your body, humans are returned to Earth with their memory wiped, so the incident seems nothing more than a bad dream.

Once you are altered by the healer, it is deemed hazardous to others on your planet.

It is against Alliance regulations to return a human that has been altered to Earth. "

“So that's it. I'll never return to Earth again?” The words came out harshly.

When the cat-woman told me it was impossible to go home, I thought she was lying.

The exact words coming from Khaion were sobering.

So much for the get the hell back home part of the plan.

Now it was finding my friends—that's all that mattered.

If we were together, we could deal with whatever this alien world threw at us. I had to find them.

“I am sorry tiny human.”

Khaion’s soft voice preceded an ever-so-gentle caress of his fingertip on my jawline. The touch said everything his voice didn’t. I am here. I will help you. Trust me .

Trust .

How fucked up is that the first man I think I can trust isn't even human. I could trust my sons, but they were light-years away.

Dammit!

Why hadn't I insisted they visit over the Easter holiday?

The last time they were in my house at the same time was Christmas.

I would never again see the boyish grins or hear the word Mom said in exasperation when I nagged about something inane.

I'd never see them rolling around my floor, wrestling and laughing.

I wouldn't be there for weddings. I wouldn’t be there for grandchildren.

I wouldn’t be there!

The sobs came out of nowhere, sounds of rage and grief shaking my body. Beside me, Khaion tensed, then massive arms pulled me close, and a large hand gently pressed my head to his chest.

"It will be all right tiny human. I am here. I will protect you and help you find your friends. You will be safe with me.”

Deep in my soul, I knew those were the truest words ever spoken to me.