Page 9 of Her Alien Matchmaker

“You fucking bitch,” he growled, “I will pull you apart. I’ll—”

Snap. The sound of the collar locking in place nearly made me collapse from relief, but I wasn’t finished. Still gripping his neck, I used a finger to touch the shock ring on my finger, then let go before I also received the astronomical voltage.

Jet’s eyes widened as his mouth broke out into a huge grin.

“Tag. You’re it,” I croaked, panting from the adrenaline and effort it had taken to stay on Kastor’s back.

Kastor stood frozen, electrical blue sparks arcing across his body as they searched for the quickest way to the ground.

I released the ring button and nodded at Jet, who rushed in and slammed his hand upward, crunching the big man’s nose and spraying his eyes with a fistful of sand.

Major Kastor stumbled backward, his fists frantically wiping at his face, his voice a low growl. “I will kill you. I will…” His hands fell to his sides, and he stiffened, opening his bulging eyes, which stared at Jetarin with a blank, glassy stare.

“Your first mistake was threatening them.” Jet’s attention swiveled to Aaron and me, then swept over the soldier who still stood with his gun pointed in my direction, his eyes also glassy and empty.

“Your second mistake? Reminding me you are not the only person who understands how to use an augmented neural implant. After all, I did contribute everything you know.” He narrowed his eyelids.

“Now, I want all of you to get on your hands and knees and eat dirt.”

Every soldier did exactly as Jetarin instructed, digging in the sand like dogs and shoving it into their mouths.

The tension went out of my shoulders, and I laughed hysterically as tears fell from my eyes.

The hovering helicopter flew away. Ten seconds later a loud explosion shook the canyon walls, dislodging pebbles and small rocks to crash onto the ground.

“They will not bother us again, but we need to leave soon. The other unit is on the way.” Jet rushed over to me and touched my cheek, his eyes running quickly down my body then over Aaron. “You are not hurt?”

Aaron shook his head and ran to me, clinging to my neck while I supported his weight with my arms.

“We’re okay,” I said, forcing my laughter and tears to stop, pushing the hysteria away.

“But we need to get out of here.” The soldiers continued rooting around on the ground.

Strings of saliva and mud fell from the corners of their lips as they continued throwing sand into their mouths.

“Are you okay? Is your lifecord thing fixed yet?”

He wiped the drying blood from his head and face. “I am fine. You are well aware how fast my people can heal.”

True. It had been one of the many things we’d been trying to replicate for the super soldiers.

“As for my lifecord, I will need a few more minutes, but I am not sure I can maintain the clarity and focus to control them—” He motioned to the dazed soldiers. “—And finish repairs.”

“I’ll get those cuffs they have on their belts and tie them up. Would that help?”

He nodded. “It will keep the smaller guys down, but I do not know if it will keep that abomination compliant.”

“I’ll take all the guns, and if he tries to break out, I’ll shoot him.” I released Aaron. “Stay right here with Jet. Mommy’s going to help take out the bad guys.”

“Okay.” He reluctantly released me.

“I know you’re scared, and so am I, but we have to push through the fear.”

He gave a solemn nod and squeezed Crockett to his chest; the once green crocodile now stained with sweat, tears, and dirt. “I can be brave and fight, too.”

“Being brave isn’t fighting against the urge to run, it’s doing something even if we know it’ll hurt us. Bravery doesn’t mean we don’t get scared. It means we do things despite being scared, because we know it’s the right thing to do. Be brave a little longer for me.”

I put my words into action and walked to my former coworkers.

Jetarin subdued the soldiers mentally, forcing them to sit and put their hands between their backs.

I tightened the cuffs and removed every weapon I could find, putting them all into a pile near Jet, while he worked on the lifecord.

Major Kastor continued to act like a wild dog, his nose to the ground as he sniffed and licked the dirt, the grit of his teeth loud as he chomped on the sand and rocks.

I walked toward him and stopped, my gaze going to Jet, as if asking ‘ Are you sure?’

“I have control of him for now. Please hurry.”

My speech about being brave applied to the current situation.

This giant terrified me. Badly. He could snap my neck with one twist of his wrist or gore me with those sword-like horns.

He’s nothing like the Volderens, nothing like Jet.

No matter what procedures I’d performed on the aliens, they’d never tried to kill me.

This guy? He’d kill just to satisfy some primal urge to prove his superiority.

We’ve been the monsters all along, and he’s the physical proof of it.

A low hum sounded from above, and a knot of dread tightened in my stomach. “Not again.” I didn’t know how many men Jet could control, and if this helicopter pilot didn’t have a neural connection, then Jet wouldn’t be able to do any sort of neural suggestions.

Kastor rocked back on his haunches, his eyes clearer as he glared at me, his muscles straining as if fighting invisible bonds.

As I reached for his wrists, ready to slip the wrist cuffs on, a deep pressure sounded from behind me, near the entrance.

“Thank the gods.” Jet closed his eyes for a moment, then motioned toward me. “You do not need to secure him. We have help.”

Kastor froze in place, and I dropped the cuffs and ran to Aaron, holding him against my leg as he clutched his crocodile.

A small, narrow ship, shaped like a triangle on its side, appeared in thin air. Near the cockpit, a door ascended into the ceiling and a ramp extended. Blue and tall, a Volderen man sprinted outward, his eyes surveying everything, a spear made of purple light glowing in his hands.

“It is good to see you winning, Jetarin.” The purple Volderen’s curly black horns contrasted with the alien’s golden eyes.

“I would not say I won, Voren, but perhaps more of a draw.” Jetarin pointed at his head, where the blue blood had started scabbing over his temple and along his scalp.

Voren gave the man a quick glance, then cast a cold gaze over me, narrowing his eyes when they landed on Aaron, but directing his next words to Jet. “Brax received your message and sent help as quickly as possible. Why is there a human woman and baby?”

Aaron’s shoulders straightened. “I’m not a baby. I’m six years old and I can read and write and I’m learning algebra.”

Sharp, white teeth showed with Jet’s smile. “He is a bright child. I have offered our protection to Dr. Lambodino and her child, Aaron, for helping me escape the lab.”

“Wait. Is she not the doctor who experimented on you?” Voren’s eyes burned with hatred as he glared at me.

Jet limped to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Yes, but complicated. We have come to an understanding, I think?” He turned his face to me, a question deep in his pupils.

I lifted my chin to Voren. “You’re right.

I’ve made mistakes in my life, doing things in the name of science and justifying it with many excuses, but I want to do better.

I need to do better.” A lump formed in my throat.

“And I’ll understand if you refuse to help me, but please, please help my son.

If you don’t, XVU will hunt us down and you know what’ll happen after that.

” I bit the inside of my lip, using the pain as a focal point.

“He’s a kid. I’ll do anything to protect him, even if it means begging for mercy from those I’ve hurt. ”

Jet pulled me closer to him, and I didn’t push away. His warm skin, the fresh aroma of snow and clean air, and the quiet strength oozing from him wrapped me in tranquility. “Nir falient pasen, naro ci dun lertoi ci?”

I’d heard Volderen before, when patients begged for relief or fought against their bindings right before going under anesthesia, but I had no idea what Jet asked.

Voren inhaled, then let out a long sigh, motioning with a hand toward his spacecraft.

“Take them both. Xyra is on the way to help me control this mutation and start reversing everything done to him. He will use the neural network they created to hack into Roswell’s system and delete all files pertaining to this research. ”

Relief washed through my limbs, and I might’ve fainted if Jet hadn’t physically supported me. They’re going to take us, take Aaron. I won’t have to worry about XVU hurting him.

“But don’t think this deal will not come with consequences, Dr. Lambodino.

” Voren bent down and clamped a silver circlet over Major Kastor’s head.

The man collapsed to the ground. “Just like the other humans, you will earn your keep and assist us with preparations for our return journey. If you deviate one iota from your duties or give me a reason not to trust you, I will personally escort you to XVU’s underground headquarters, along with your son.

Do you understand?” His shocking blue eyes pierced my soul.

Of the dozens of aliens I’ve met, I know if I’d ever tried to experiment on him, he would’ve killed me with no questions asked. A chill traveled along my spine.

“I-I understand. My son is my priority. I promise to do everything I can to help you and make things right.”

Jet gave me a gentle squeeze, and Aaron tilted his head to glance at me, his worried face smoothing into a proud smile. “I knew you helped people.”

“Then let me clean up this garbage. Jetarin, you take the Sparrow to Mars. Atlantis is closer, but the council requests a first-hand accounting of your intel. Plus, they will want to ask your woman for additional information on past and future research, and with Lilly’s…

condition…she will feel much better knowing we have access to a human doctor.

We will load this abomination onto your ship once powered and escort him to Atlantis. ”

“Thank you, Commander.” Jet released me and pointed to the ship. “Let us leave. I will get everyone settled. Aaron, I think you will love this.”

Aaron, already seemingly forgetting the trauma he’d been through and not even noticing the different skin color of the other alien, nodded furiously, his red curls bouncing around his face.

“Can you teach me how to navigate it? Or do you use artificial intelligence to plot out a course? How fast does your ship go?”

The questions continued, and for the first time in a long time, I could take a deep breath.

An invisible hand had been squeezing me for years, and with every experiment, it had forced out pieces of my morality, my humanity.

How odd it took an alien—a being I’d thought lesser than me—to help me find those pieces I’d lost.

Sore, tired, and filthy, I followed Jet and Aaron onto the starship, more surprised at this new turn in my life than the alien technology surrounding me.