Page 29 of Seized by the Alien Space Warrior (Alien Romance #8)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

A ekon floated in a wash of colour. Whites merged with oranges and pinks. He drifted for who-knew-how long, content to rest in the soothing colours. It was silent. Silent enough that he didn’t have to think. In fact, he didn’t have to do anything. Just drift. Sleep, rest, and drift. There was no place he had to be. Nothing he had to do. He could just be . Finally.

He closed his eyes, and let himself sink into the soothing floaty feeling that cocooned his body. The colours brightened, making the darkness behind his eyes uncomfortable, and the warmth grew hotter until it became uncomfortable. No matter which way he turned his head, or rolled to his side, the feeling intensified until his eyes snapped open, fully aware.

He hung suspended in the sea of colour. He reached for it, but the more he held out his fingers, the further away it moved until he felt as though he was on the inside of a multi-coloured, hollow ball.

He tried moving, but his legs kicked in mid-air. He wrenched his arms about, and spun once, coming to stop in his original position.

“Hello!” His voice echoed into the distance.

There was no answer. Nothing but silence.

“Anyone here?”

Nothing.

Where was this place? It seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. His chest grew heavy. A sense of unease became stronger with each passing moment until he was certain a blanket of dread cloaked his shoulders.

Yet the light was just as bright and glowing, the swirls making hypnotic patterns around him, and the warmth continued to stay the same temperature despite what he felt. There was something he was forgetting. Something important. Something greater than his life.

Ava!

His head snapped up as memories flooded back. He’d been struck by a blaster in his back and he’d fallen unconscious in his mate’s arms. He should have killed Zavis. Should have known there was nothing good in him to warrant keeping him alive, and yet he hadn’t been able to kill him front of Ava. There was a part of Aekon that believed in the good. That their mate-bond was sacred and he had no right letting her feel the strength of his rage and thirst for revenge.

Look where that got him.

“Ava!” he called, struggling to move anywhere but—wherever he was.

He felt her. That was the unease. She was filled with grief. The heavy weight of it was a stone in his gut. He had to get to her. Had to check if she was all right.

A swirl of rose pink glimmered within the colour. It swirled larger and larger until a figure formed within the light.

“Ava?”

He’d fallen unconscious on that asteroid. Left her to fend for herself. Zavis could have done anything to her. He should have killed him. He should never have sought revenge on that Ixod cruiser he rescued Ava from right from the start. If he had done that, he would have saved her. She would be living in the Sanctuary with other humans. Safe. Happy.

“And you would never have recognised her as your bonded-mate.”

Aekon’s head snapped up as the light surrounding the figure dimmed and Onda floated before him.

“Onda?”

She beamed at him, her eyes dancing, her nodes flushing light purple. She glowed, light infusing every cell in her body. She was beautiful. Ethereal. His heart thumped in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, only they slid right through her. She looked solid, but she wasn’t. She was spirit, made of light and the fabric of the universe.

“You can’t touch me because you haven’t crossed the veil,” Onda said.

“Why haven’t I crossed?” He wanted to cross. So badly. And yet, the heavy feeling in his gut stopped him in his tracks.

Onda was his bond-mate, but Ava waited for him on the other side. Two mates on either side of the veil.

“You know why. Aekon, you have a life to yet live. A bonded-mate given to you because of your heartache and suffering. A gift for the good you’ve given to all of those souls you’ve helped and rescued,” Onda said.

A breeze Aekon didn’t feel blew the long strands of her hair. How he wanted to reach out and feel its softness again, to sink his fingers through her hair as he kissed her as they used to do.

Yet, he’d kissed Ava as well. She had the power to ignite his blood. To make him feel alive and worthy.

“I was doing my duty,” he said.

“Aekon, you and I know you didn’t do that just for duty. You did it because there was no other way for you to be. Helping others is a part of you. You could no more ignore that than cut your own arm off,” Onda said.

“I would have cut my arm off and all of my limbs to save you.”

He might have saved others, but he’d failed saving the one soul that mattered the most.

Sadness was etched on Onda’s face. “We had a life together and it was beautiful. But it was my time to pass, Aekon. My death was to show you what a bonded-mate could feel like so you would recognise it and honour it. Otherwise when she came along, you would doubt your true bonded-mate in the face of duty. Something had to be done about that.”

“My true bond-mate? You are my true bond-mate, Onda,“ Aekon said.

She smiled, and shook her head. “I was for a time, but not now. Fate knows best and you and Ava are two true halves of the same soul. Fate has brought you together over time and space for the happiness of both of you.”

“But…I can’t leave you, Onda,” Aekon said.

“It is not up to you to choose the gift of life or the gift of a bond-mate. Fate has chosen wisely for you and Ava. She has given you something I never could. It is a gift that you see me this one last time before you pass the veil at the end of your life. Accept it for what it is,” Onda said.

He was torn in half. One part of him was desperate to be with Onda, but the other half reached for Ava. For the rightness of their connection. He loved Onda. But... “I’m in love with Ava.”

He was in love with her. Not just because of the mate-bond. Not because he was told, but because he wanted to.

He’d honoured Onda.

But he chose Ava.

The weight in his stomach shifted and released and a lightness he hadn’t known before filled him. Joy. Happiness. Brightness. A smile played on his lips, and he knew he could not join Onda. Not yet. Not for a long time.

“She is a gift.”

Onda smiled at him, her expression filled with joy. “I have another gift for you.”

She cupped her hands and before his eye, a little golden ball bounced around in the palm of her hands. As he reached to touch it, the ball flew up and darted about his head.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It is our child. She refused to grow on this side with me, instead remaining in her pure form until she could join you in the physical,” Onda said.

The ball floated in front of him. He cupped his hand and it nestled in his palm. “I don’t understand.”

“Aekon, just accept your daughter when she will be born. She will be a part of you, and Ava…and me.”

Heat washed over him, taking his words and his mind. “The three of us?”

“The four of us will live in one form or another. Go and live your life, Aekon. With my blessing.”

Light began to envelope Onda.

“Wait!” Aekon called, but the light grew so bright that he had to close his eyes against it.

The golden ball darted out of his hand and then he was completely blinded.

His eyes were glued shut and he was so tired. His limbs were heavy and felt like they were made from stone. It was a struggle to move his head, let alone drag his eyes open.

“Aekon?”

Ava. Her voice spun like silk through him. He wanted to speak to her, to see her, but his body refused to respond.

“Doctor! He’s awake!” Ava sounded relieved and worried at the same time.

He wanted to tell her he was fine. That he’d made it back. That he’d seen Onda and she had blessed them both. He wanted to say so many things to her, but then hands were on his body as cold instruments prodded him. A cloth washed over his face. The water helped to rouse him and this time when he tried to open his eyes, his lids went up half way.

His gaze darted about until he saw her. His beautiful mate. His gift.

“Ava.”

Gods, his voice sounded like week old garbage, but she didn’t seem to care.

She smiled, her face lighting up. Their mate-bond surged with relief and he was humbled knowing she felt so much, so strongly for him. For a warrior that had always put duty before all else. For someone who’d been afraid to love.

“You’re here,” Ava whispered.

She clutched his hand in hers and a faint tremor worked through her delicate touch. Tears left shining tracks down her pale cheeks. She hadn’t been looking after herself. He would see to it that she did.

“Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?”

His eyelids were growing heavy again. Exhaustion was fast pulling him back to sleep. He grappled to stay awake. She had to know. He had to tell her. He tightened his hold on her hands using the last of his energy.

“Choose you...Love…you.”

Her face fell open before she burst into tears. She sobbed, kissed his hands, and then his lips. “And I love you, my bond-mate. I love you to the end of the universe and back.”

His heart soared as sleep claimed him. He would recover now, because when he was better, he would show his mate just how much he meant what he said.