Unexpected Read online

  Blinking back tears of pain, she glanced up to see where the Alphans were and was shocked anew as she made out their large forms easily scaling the fence and leaping to the ground nearby. Before she knew what was happening, they were upon her, one at each side, their big arms circling around her waist and shoulders as she tried to both push them away and press her hand to the lump forming on her skull. A sudden memory of the Xyran striking her erupted in her mind, and she flailed, panicked by the pain and pressure of big bodies around her. With an inarticulate cry she cowered, clenching her muscles to draw her legs up to protect her belly, wrapping her arms around her skull so the kicks wouldn’t break her nose. The soft ground of the tilled garden cushioned her fall, and she rolled herself up as tight as she could, weak breaths huffing in and out of her mouth. She smelled dirt, felt cool leaves of some vegetable plant she’d fallen on under her cheek, then light pressure along her back, stroking up and down.

  It was one of the Alphans. She wasn’t so far into her fear not to know that. A sudden flash of embarrassment filled her. She’d lost control in front of them. They probably thought she was insane, not that she cared what their opinion was. Though their soft touches were soothing and driving away the idea that someone was going to hit her. A warm sensation trickled along her nerves, calm and steady, and her lungs expanded. Sucking in a deeper breath, she relaxed her arms and legs enough to begin to take her weight, and before she realized what was happening, they were helping her sit up, brushing dirt and debris from her as she kept her eyes averted. This was humiliating.

  “Alisa, our sincere apologies—”

  “We did not mean to startle you.”

  The sincerity in their tones broke through more of her frozen mind, and she risked a glance up through some of her messy hair. Both Mikel and Felix crouched at her sides, their amber eyes intent on her, equal frowns pulling down their mouths.

  “Well, I guess you see why I’m still here. Hiding.” The admission just tumbled out as her tears threatened to do. More tears. She was so sick of crying. At least now they’d leave her in peace. Alphans didn’t weep.

  Mikel narrowed his eyes and moved her fingers away from the bump on her head. He pushed back her hair and scrutinized the injury, his gaze so focused she couldn’t look at him any longer, so she stared at the ground she wished she could sink into. A big golden hand pressed against her shoulder, and somehow she was leaning her weight against Felix as she waited for Mikel to finish his evaluation.

  Felix cleared his throat, and she could hear the rumble in his chest. A wave of sleepiness overtook her, and she yawned. A day of hard work in the sun combined with her panic seemed to have sapped her of her strength.

  “You’ll have a bruise if we don’t treat it,” Mikel said. He was arranging her tangled hair, or trying.

  “Then treat it we shall,” Felix announced, and before she could react, his strong arms wrapped around her and she was lifted into the air as if she weighed no more than a tomato. Another tremble of fear pulsed through her, and she pushed at his block-like shoulder.

  “No. Put me down. I don’t mind a bruise.”

  “But we mind it most certainly, both because we triggered it, but because you are ours—” Mikel said as he stood next to her, again staring at the lump on her forehead.

  “I’m not yours. I’m no one’s. I’m mine.” Alisa was suddenly angry. Angry with her own volatility, angry that these big men assumed so much, angry at not knowing who or what she was supposed to be any more.

  “Let us help you, please. We wish to make amends,” Felix whispered in her ear, and she shivered. He still held her steady as gravity and weariness filled her.

  “I can walk.” Her protest was met with a silent beat, but after that slight hesitation, Felix gently set her down. She was quiet for a moment, undone by his quick acquiescence. She turned toward the brick living quarters, each man close to her sides as she tottered toward refuge. She briefly wondered how the two Alphans were going to explain their presence in the off-limits area, but soon decided she didn’t care. Her head hurt too much.

  ****

  “Absolutely unacceptable behavior,” Commandant Offen said as he leaned back in his chair. “I can’t imagine what you were thinking, Felix.”

  Their commanding officer shook his head and stared at first him, then Mikel. Everyone always looked to him first, Felix mused with some resentment. No one would believe him if he said the entire episode had originated with his bondmate’s impulsive inspiration to drop by with flowers for Alisa. Mikel had claimed it would be clearly “romantic”, whatever that meant. Felix had tuned out much of the human cultural minutia his partner had spouted ever since he’d consumed that etiquette book in one reading. Well, it had turned out poorly. The flowers were abandoned on the sidewalk by the fence, Alisa had become frightened of them, they’d caused an uproar with human and Alphan diplomats alike, and somehow because his bondmate rarely spoke up, Ivar was laying blame on him.

  “The last thing we want to do is leave the impression that our warriors are out of control, not that these humans practice any sort of restraint among themselves. Our welcome on this tawdry planet is tenuous enough.” Offen laced his fingers together and glared across the top of his bare and polished desk. The suite of offices for visiting Alphans was housed in a former academic building, and space was at a premium. Their commander had managed to arrange to have a large corner office nevertheless, with tall windows that looked out over a pleasant lawn dotted with green-leafed trees. This was such a peaceful island in the midst of all the chaos on this planet.

  “Perhaps you should consider deferring your service here and return to Alpha. It might cool the furor if you are gone.”

  Felix went still, and he sensed Mikel’s immediate alert. That course of action was out of the question until they’d formalized their bond with Alisa. At this rate, it would take several months before they were able to say more than three words to her without something going wrong. “Are the humans that outraged?”

  Ivar shrugged. “It’s hard to say. They tend to act aggrieved over the slightest thing. I’m more concerned with our fellow Alphans.”

  “What do you mean, sir?” Mikel asked, leaning forward slightly in his chair.

  “Well, leaping over a wall to get at a woman rather flies in the face of the procedures we have in place,” their commander said with a slight smirk. He was referring to the system whereby Alphans of rank had first priority whenever a social occasion involving available females occurred. He and Mikel had only managed their own encounters at large parties involving the entire contingent. “Some of our colleagues were unimpressed.”

  Unimpressed did not translate to discipline and being banned from Earth. Felix relaxed slightly. “We only scaled the wall because she was injured.”

  Ivar waved his hand with impatience. He’d heard the story from beginning to end already. “Of course. But it does raise a point I’ve been meaning to bring to your attention.”

  Their commander paused, and Felix braced himself. Perhaps they were being transferred elsewhere on planet? It would make seeing Alisa more difficult, but he was determined to win her over. A few continents or oceans between them wouldn’t hold them back. Although a few walls and doors seemed to be succeeding at the moment.

  “I’ve been laying the groundwork for you back on Alpha. As my protégées, your successes reflect on me and enhance my reputation for sound advice and clever strategy. You’ve passed all your physical and genetic fitness reports, and your service record is exemplary, today’s episode excepted. So it’s been my pleasure to submit you as candidates for consideration by the next available Alphan woman.”

  Silence reigned for a few beats. Just a week ago, this would have been the best news of his life, but now Felix wanted to shake his head, stand up, and leave the room just to emphasize how uninterested he was. Mikel leaned back and narrowed his eyes but fortunately refrained from one of his recent bouts of verbosity and said nothing. It was a high honor,
an enormous compliment, and one usually paid to bondmates with far more influence and experience than he and Mikel possessed at this time. But destiny had provided Alisa, and even the vision of a beautiful Alphan woman couldn’t distract him.

  “According to my sources, the next few girls who come of age will be presented at court in a few months, so if you both manage to avoid any more human entanglements, you can anticipate an unprecedented opportunity. Imagine the prestige and potential of such a union.”

  Ivar stared at the ceiling as he contemplated it, and Felix wondered why his commander hadn’t submitted his own pedigree and bona fides to the Alphan population managers. Considering all the favors the commandant must have called in to get him and his bondmate on the shortlist, Felix knew he couldn’t reveal their disinterest in this plan quite yet. Let them bond with Alisa and make their pact, then deal with the fallout. He was glad they hadn’t mentioned Alisa to Ivar. It was clear their commanding officer would object to the idea that they’d decided on a human bondmate in the last tumultuous hours.

  “Sir, that’s quite an honor. I’m, we’re … staggered,” Felix offered as he gave Mikel a cautionary look. His bondmate now looked ready to argue, and that would only cause more strife in a day that had already turned out not quite as planned. Alisa was tucked back in the women’s quarters, a bruise on her forehead and a bad impression of them in her mind. They had been in turn reprimanded and offered a prize they didn’t want, so the last thing they needed to do was to antagonize Offen before they had to.

  “Keep it in mind as you conclude your tenure here. Any tales of untoward conduct could easily make their way back to Alpha, and what parents would want their precious daughter exposed to ruffians? Find your amusements with human women all you like, but keep them superficial.” With that, their commander gestured at the door behind them in a clear dismissal.

  As one, he and Mikel rose and exited the office. As soon as the door closed, Mikel let out a sigh and leaned against the tiled wall, his head thudding back as he closed his eyes.

  “Felix, I want to see Alisa.”

  “I do, too.” The longing to find her filled him, wiping away all the petty concerns about appearances and rules in a heady, hormonal rush. They belonged together, even if she didn’t realize it yet. How could she when they’d only spent fleeting moments together? Humans weren’t attuned to the bonding instinct as Alphans were. Wooing her would just take a few more hours than they’d anticipated. “We’ll try again tomorrow. I’ll find out when Mak will be on duty and appeal to him. He seems to have some sympathy for our cause. But we must go gently. She’s clearly skittish.”

  “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”

  “Neither do I, Mikel, but it’s already late afternoon, visiting hours are over, and we are not exactly popular at the compound.” That was another obstacle to overcome. Well, they weren’t going to find their mate while on an adventure-filled quest like they’d imagined, but the logistics of getting access to Alisa was already a challenge.

  “Who says we have to wait?” Mikel righted his head to stare at him, a spark of some mischief in his eye. Felix knew his bondmate had always been the plotter and more daring of the pair, though from others’ observations, his own talkative, quick-to-act nature made it seem as if he was the instigator. Such a misunderstanding was exactly how they’d met. There had been some sort of incident with food coloring in the morning’s porridge during their Academy days, and he had made too loud a joke of it, bringing blame upon himself. During his punishment run, Mikel had silently joined him, only introducing himself and admitting his crime once they’d completed the course. They’d been inseparable ever since. So if Mikel had an idea, Felix was bound to follow.

  ****

  The lump on her head had reduced to a mere bruise, only tender if she touched it, thanks to the quick action of the men. Alisa hated to give them credit, but they had been skillful in treating her wound. She was sure neither of them would have even noticed it if they’d suffered something similar. It probably took a laser blast to attract their attention, they were both so big and solid. But she didn’t want to think about them. She was already distracted enough. If she thought about how Mikel had silently attended to her after they’d carried her to the compound’s medical center, despite the protests of the nurses in attendance, or of how Felix had held off the director of housing and one of his fellow Alphans until his bondmate had declared himself finished, she would become more flustered. She’d been flustered for hours now.

  Evening was falling, and she gazed out the window of her room which faced the edge of campus. A fence had been installed here once the buildings had been converted to use as a refugee center, just like the one the two Alphans had scaled so easily before. She hadn’t had a chance to thank them before they’d been herded away, but not before both had sent her quick smiles. They might be in quite a lot of trouble. One of the major tenets of this joint effort between the rulers of Alpha and some Earth governments was to provide a safe environment for humans who’d been displaced as a result of kidnapping by Xyrans. That meant no over-sexed, highly trained warrior Alphan males running amok within the walls, a rule rigorously enforced so that the women here were secure and not viewed as some sort of smorgasbord by the visiting aliens. Felix and Mikel hadn’t seemed to care that they were breaking the rules, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

  Her musings were interrupted by a rattling sound coming from outside, like a squirrel had climbed past the window. She told herself there was no danger even though her nerves twitched. The noise repeated, and she knew she had to investigate.

  Opening the window, she cautiously peered out, glancing along the walls for a stray animal or bird that might be clinging to the ivy that crept up the brickwork. A hiss from the fence made her look, and to her shock she saw Felix and Mikel standing in the shadows, staring right at her. Her belly clenched, and she gripped the edge of the windowsill with suddenly shaky hands.

  “Evening greetings, Alisa,” Felix said, his voice pitched loud enough to carry over the meters that separated them.

  “You look very well, Alisa,” Mikel added. “How is your head? I hope you weren’t inconvenienced by any residual pain—”

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered, too overcome by their audacity to simply retreat and shut the window as she should.

  “We’re here to inquire after your health, and offer you an invitation to join with us—” Mikel hurried on but was cut off by his bondmate, who poked him in the shoulder.

  “We don’t mean join with us now, in a physical way. That sort of joining is forbidden. For now. Not that we aren’t interested in … ah…” Felix trailed off, and his well-shaped mouth hung open slightly. She could almost feel sorry for him. He was so clearly trying to say the right thing and failing.

  “What are you talking about?” Why she asked she wasn’t sure. Again, she told herself to shut the window, draw the curtain, and turn off her lights. But, again, she remained, looking over the big men as they leaned against the thick bars of the fence, their big hands wrapped around the barrier like they were considering bending it apart. They were dressed quite nicely in slim-fitting dark uniforms that showed off their broad shoulders and long legs.

  “We’d like to invite you to come on a dating drive with us tomorrow. That’s the correct term, isn’t it, dating drive?” Mikel smiled at her, and she remembered how his eyes had gleamed with good humor earlier. Remembered how careful he had been when he’d touched her bruise. A shiver went through her belly.

  She shook her head, completely confused by what he’d just said.

  “Then perhaps some other outing of your choosing,” Felix said quickly.

  “No, I’m not saying no. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alisa wanted to take her accommodating statement back. She didn’t want to know what they were talking about. Felix and Mikel exchanged a confused look, one she could make out even from this distance.

  “We want t
o take you on a drive. Along with us,” Felix said.

  “As a dating,” Mikel added.

  “On a date,” Alisa corrected automatically, then realized what they were saying. Oh, what a terrible idea that was. Her seated between these two intimidating males, driving along some scenic road, forced into awkward conversation or even more excruciating silence. “Why?”

  “Because you are our—”

  “Because we’d like to get to know you better, in the acceptable manner.” Felix cut off his bondmate with a raised voice. “The human manner.”

  How in the world did Alphans get to know each other? Or how in the galaxy, to be more accurate. She drew back slightly, a new concern rattling around in her bruised head. “How did you find me?”

  The two men looked at each other again and were silent a few beats too long. Felix squared his shoulders and faced her again, his body squared away and at attention. “By subterfuge, we admit.”

  “I called the administrator and impersonated a reporter to ask about the history of the settlement here. From that I learned you would likely be in this section since you were one of the original inhabitants and this was the first building cleared for residence. We then made our way here and employed certain means to gain the attention of any residents with her light still on.”

  “What means did you employ?”

  Mikel closed his mouth.

  “We, ah, threw pebbles.”

  “At the windows.”

  Alisa sighed. She didn’t want to let her guard down just because these two had employed some boyish antics to find her. Another woman would be complimented, excited, even feel flirtatious at the effort they were making. “How many of my neighbors did you wake up before you found me?”