Page 5 of Alien Prince's Fated Mate

Two guards walked past, their conversation drifting to us.

“...don’t understand why we’re wasting time down here. The Oracle wouldn’t come this way.”

“Orders are orders. Besides, better than cleaning up after the initiates’ meals. Did you see the mess in the dining hall?”

Their voices faded as they moved on, but the danger remained. We couldn’t stay here.

“Come on,” I whispered to Laren. “We need to keep going.”

She nodded, some of the fight returning to her eyes. We emerged from our hiding spot and continued down the corridor, our pace quickening.

We came to a junction, three identical passages branching off in different directions. I hesitated, doubt creeping in. Which way?

“Left,” I decided, hoping my instincts were right.

We hadn’t gone far when we encountered our first major obstacle - a heavy security door, its access panel glowing an ominous red.

“No,” I muttered, frantically searching for a way to bypass it. My old codes were useless now, stripped away along with my neural implants.

Laren tugged on my sleeve. “Niam, look.”

She pointed to a small vent near the floor, barely large enough for a person to squeeze through. It was our only option.

I pried off the grate, wincing at the screech of metal. “You first,” I told Laren. “I’ll be right behind you.”

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and crawled inside. I followed, pulling the grate back into place behind us.

The vent was cramped and dusty, filled with cobwebs and the skittering sounds of unseen creatures. We inched forward on our hands and knees, the metal digging into our skin.

After what felt like an eternity, we reached another grate. I peered through the slats, relieved to see an empty corridor beyond. We emerged, stretching our aching limbs.

“Where now?” Laren asked, her voice small and uncertain.

Before I could answer, the distant sound of an alarm cut through the air. My stomach dropped.

“They know we’re gone,” I said. “We need to hurry.”

We broke into a run, no longer bothering with stealth. The corridors blurred around us as we raced towards what I hoped was freedom.

We rounded a corner and there it was - the emergency escape passage. My heart leapt when I saw the nondescript metal door, our gateway to freedom.

“We made it,” I whispered to Laren, relief washing over me.

But as I approached the control panel, my hands trembled. The familiar interface felt alien without my neural implants. I input the access code, praying it would work.

Nothing happened.

“No, no, no,” I muttered, trying again. The panel blinked red, denying us entry. Panic clawed at me.

“What’s wrong?” Laren asked, her voice rising. “Why isn’t it opening?”

“I’ll figure it out,” I said, forcing calm into my voice. “Just give me a minute.”

I tried every override code I knew, my fingers flying over the keypad. Each attempt was met with the same mocking red light. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I worked, hyper-aware of every second ticking by.

“They’re coming,” Laren whimpered. “I hear them. We have to go back.”

“We can’t go back,” I said, not taking my eyes off the panel. “Just a little longer. I’ll get it.”

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