Page 40

Grace

A SOUND IN THE CORRIDOR alerted me to what sounded like a scuffle outside our suite. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, causing me to tighten my grip on the fabric of my tunic.

Hesitant to open the door, I took a deep breath, hoping to calm my racing thoughts, but the door chimed, startling me.

My mind immediately raced to Orin. It had to be him standing on the other side of the locked door. Who else could it possibly be?

With cautious steps, I moved toward the door, my heart pounding.

I mustered the courage to speak, but my voice trembled. “Who’s there?”

An unfamiliar voice responded, the timbre laced with urgency. “It’s about the Prince. He needs to see you right away.” The words hung in the air, leaving me with a sense of foreboding.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I reached out my mind searching for Trex. What if he was hurt or unconscious again? He didn’t respond immediately, so I pressed the panel to open the door.

Before I had time to blink, something was sprayed into my face and I barely had time to call out.

THE SOUNDS OF SOMEONE muttering reached me as I opened my eyes. Panic rose in me when I tried to move and found my hands and feet bound to a surface like an angled bed.

Fighting my restraints, I gulped when I saw the strange doctor from the infirmary.

“Let me out of here!” I screamed.

He turned, holding a medical device in one gloved hand.

“Good. You have regained consciousness. This will make things much easier.” He moved closer and visually examined my entire body.

He leaned in and used the scanner on my abdomen.

“What are you doing? Where the hell am I?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm but failing.

There was no way out of the metal restraints that bound me to the table, but I struggled against my bonds instinctively. My wrists ached, but I was getting nowhere.

Damn it.

I was fed up with being abducted.

The room had a subtle chemical scent that caught my attention. It had the appearance of a science lab or surgery room. The walls were dirtier than the rest of the palace, assuming I was still in the palace.

I wondered if we were underground, as the faint smell of dirt permeated the air.

“I’m not going to help you with anything. Let me go.”

He behaved as though he hadn’t heard me. “The implant has attached itself perfectly. Soon, you will be ready. I heard there were other human females with you. Is that true?”

My thoughts turned to Riley and Olivia.

“Absolutely not. There are no humans anywhere in this section of space,” I lied, hoping he couldn’t read my mind.

He gave me a look. “Now. Now. We both know there are several human colonies in the sector. They are too protected to access right now. But that will change. What I want to know is if the Protectorate warriors brought more than just you back to Alara with them?”

“And what I want to know is what the hell you’ve put inside me? What do you mean by implant? To do what?” I seethed.

Surely if he meant for me to be a breeder the implant was not to prevent pregnancy? I shivered as my body recoiled.

“Our species do not mate the way many other humanoid races do. We produce offspring in labs back home, but here we have had to adapt. We use the implants to prepare your body to host our young.”

What?

“I don’t fucking think so,” I spat, fuming.

I started breathing rapidly and felt confused. The Alaran’s had to reproduce, but a breeder? No way.

Trex made no mention of that. Something is really off here.

The medic’s eyes and body began to transform right in front of me. I watched with morbid fascination as he transformed into a slender beige humanoid alien, no longer resembling an Alaran male.

I trembled and my jaw dropped. “Who or what are you?” I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Despite sharing some DNA, we shapeshifters possess greater intelligence than humans do.”

“ You carry human DNA?” No way. This is impossible .

He emitted an unusual sound that could have been a snort or a laugh, possibly?

“The order is incorrect. YOU have OUR DNA. You’re just a diluted, inferior species.”

He watched my face with what appeared to be great amusement.

“Our kind is created using incubators on my home planet. Once they reach maturity, they are hatched. My plan for preserving our race includes using human female wombs as incubators.”

Bile surged in my throat. “You can’t do that. There’s no way you know how human bodies work. It could kill me.”

A sinister grin appeared on his face. He’s out of his damn mind.

“I can achieve what others cannot because of my superior intellect.”

Wow. Arrogant much? I rolled my eyes. “Is that why you have the Krilex stealing females for you?”

He made a clucking sound. This time, it was definitely a laugh.

“The Krilex race is not good for much else other than thievery and corruption. They were easily bought with technology that is light stranas from what you have here in this section of space.”

Don’t I know it? The bastard’s already used their fancy new technology on those of us on the Chetok.

“Do they know you look like this?” I motioned with my head up and down his ghastly looking form. My mouth twisted. “I’m guessing no because the Krilex would see how weak you are and exploit it.”

The medic stared as if trying to figure me out. “We can take on many forms. But that is irrelevant. We are stronger.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. The fear I’d felt was gone. No one else was going to take me away from Trex.

Now I was pissed.

“But you’re not strong, are you? You are a weak race, on the verge of extinction, and have allied with two of the worst races of aliens.

You’re just as bad as the Krilex. In fact, you are even worse than they are.

At least they tell us their intentions. They don’t hide behind fake identities, manipulating and lying to have their way.

They are the assholes they appear to be on the surface. ”

He stiffened and gave a piercing look. “Do not dare to equate me with those lizards,” he spat.

“Looks like I hit a nerve.” My lips curved into a wicked grin.

Before speaking again, he gave me a menacing glare. “You won’t be feeling so confident soon. In a moment, I will have you on one of our cloaked ships that is waiting above the planet.” He released the bonds around my ankles, freeing my feet.

Dread crept through me. He meant to take me away from Alara? To kidnap me?

Oh, hell no. No freaking way.

I tried reasoning with him. “Why do you have to take me away to breed? There has to be a better way to continue your race. Maybe the scientists here will help you find it?”

He glared at me. “The scientists here are inferior and would be unable to help. You, however, are a solution I had not anticipated when I came here to poison the king.”

I gasped at his admission. Trex would kill him once he found out.

“There is no more time to waste. My race is becoming extinct. Our numbers are only in the hundreds.”

“And what? I am supposed to feel sorry for you? You killed the king. Why?” Come on Trex. Find me.

He appeared to contemplate it, then his shoulders twitched in what appeared to be a shrug.

“To destabilize Alara of course. We also need to weaken the Protectorate Forces so we can have access to what we need. By removing the leader of Alaran space, the Krilex can gain that access. And supply unlimited living human incubators.”

The mad medic continued. He turned and picked up a syringe and vial. “Now, I will prepare you for travel. You will be unconscious, but unharmed. When you wake, you will be on our science vessel. The largest in the fleet.” He seemed quite pleased with himself as he released my wrists.

“My leader Leox87003 will be happy I found you. Once the implant prepares your womb, you will make an excellent incubator for our species.”

He paused and put a skinny finger in the air. “Before we go, There is one more thing I have to take care of. It’s a shame my brethren failed in killing Prince Trex’Ul, but I am sure the Prince will give us what we want with no problem.”

“Trex...” I quickly corrected myself. “The Prince will never let you get away with this. He won’t give in to your demands.” I carefully touched my bruised wrists as they ached.

A sinister grin lit up his face. “He will when he knows I have his precious K’sha.”