Page 55 of Bred by the Alien Prince

"Yes. Approximately four years ago. HQ was informed of an intelligent alien presence in this sector."

"Four years ago? How?"

"Team Alpha was sent to Scion 37y ten years ago to begin exploration and research for colonization. Once a suitable location was found, we were to begin the construction of the colony with aid from Earth. Team Alpha split into Teams Sigma and Delta. This unit was on Team Delta. The mission was to transport supplies between Earth and the colony. 2101-03-07 at 0900 unknown alien hostiles attacked and boarded us. We sent two units to Earth during the attack to report on the presence of a sentient space-faring alien life form."

"Well, what happened?!"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Just nothing?"

"The aliens took one of our pods and we made our report and continued with our objective."

What the hell? That was what I was thinking, but with a few more exclamation points to drive it home. They knew! Those rich bastards! Maybe they made a deal, but four years ago?! Were we sent here as some bait? Whatever it was, it didn't seem as if Lorvian knew about it. He seemed surprised to hear we sent androids first.

"All crewmen prep for takeoff," a machine-like voice announced on the loudspeakers.

"Take off?!"

"We must strap ourselves in. The ship is preparing to move."

"No, not here. Let's secure ourselves onboard our ship."

I didn't want to stay here, so I told Connor to take whatever he needed with him. Giving a damn was not on my menu; we were gonna take whatever we could from this place and put it on our own ship where I felt safe. Lorvian would find me anyway.

We wheeled out the two pieces of equipment Connor said were missing on our smaller ship—one large and the other rather small. Thankfully, it was a straight shot to the hangar bay.

We wheeled the equipment up the ramp into the cargo bay and wasted no time heading to the single elevator connecting each floor.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Cormac asked over the speaker.

"Stealing!" I shouted, though I wasn't sure if he heard me.

"Why?"

Okay, great, he heard me! "Because we need it, and you won't believe the news I've got for you!"

Lorvian's footsteps were heavy as he entered the cargo bay, this time dressed in something fancier yet not as extravagant as when I first met him. A plain black high-collared tunic with a strange set of curved markings on the edges, a black cape with a dark grey fur collar, black pants, and boots. I think I saw the glint of a few weapons on him, as well as silver chains and cuffs.

He looked like he had showered, too, which made me all too aware of how shitty I looked. I sniffed my pits and smelled nothing. Well, it was better than smelling like BO.

"How did I know you were already here?" He smiled and kissed my forehead. He touched my ears and lifted my face by the chin, and I looked away from his dark eyes as I've always done. God, they got me every time, and I didn't even think I'd like a guy with dark eyes.

"Lorvian, I have something to tell you." I didn't want to tell him everything, but I didn't want to keep him in the dark; perhaps I was still looking for a way to defuse the tension of a possible attack. I now knew I couldn't trust humans as much as any alien, and if something shady was going on with our own, then I needed to have as many bases covered as possible. "Connor told me that a human helped the Valisian kidnap him."

He looked past me as if thinking about something, and then he looked at me again. "Hm, the only Valisians I know who have had contact with humans are my brothers, Xil and Regis. Feion mentioned the possibility of contacting my siblings. I wouldn't be surprised if he already had dealings with one of them while he was making one with me." He sighed. "Though I find it hard to believe Xil would entertain speaking to him. Regis seems the likely culprit."

"What will you do if this woman is pregnant?"

"I don't know yet. But I haven't forgotten what you told me."

He took me by the hand and guided me further onboard.

"Did you know I was coming back to the ship?" I asked, pleasantly surprised to see him.

"I was on my way to come and get you." He smiled.

"I guess we're on the same page about not wanting to stay on that ship."

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