Page 37 of Alien Prince Fake Fiancé

Before she could say another word, Councilor Vorax loudly cleared his throat. “There seems to be some disagreement with your betrothed’s answer. Councilor Faro, what is your decision?”

Ashlyn stepped back from Zade, forcing him to lower his arms or look like a drunken fool standing there. She glanced over at the waiting technicians, then scanned the crowd, looking for her sister.

There, on the bottom row near the exit, sat Rachel and Cam. Even from that distance Ashlyn could see the plea in her sister’s eyes. Her hands came together as if in prayer, and Cam wrapped one arm protectively around her shoulders. He said somethingthat made Rachel nod, then they both stood up. She gave Ashlyn one more long, pleading look, then they turned and left.

What. The. Fuck?Her sister was leaving her there?Yes, dumbass, she lectured herself.She knows you wouldn’t want her to watch, which is her way of asking you to go through with it. For their stupid plan. For all the people who would suffer if C’Nar won. Damn it.

“Councilor Faro, for the last time, what is your decision?”

She couldn’t do it, couldn’t condemn so many people to suffer under C’Nar’s rule. She’d been so naïve going into this. So fucking stupid. This was exactly why she had no business taking a Council seat. These machinations were so far out of her league, she wasn’t even playing the same game.

Refusing to look in Zade’s direction, she answered in a flat tone, “I am ready to proceed with the medical exam.” It wasn’t going to kill her.

“Very well, then. The doctors and technicians are waiting. Once the testing begins, it must be completed. Do you understand?”

Again, in a monotone, she replied. “Yes. I understand.”

Zade tried to lead her forward, but she shrugged off his hand and made her way to the designated area on her own, refusing to acknowledge his presence in any way. The pain in her heart was too deep. If she looked at him, she would break.

Guided by the technicians, she removed her shoes and climbed to sit on the exam table. A blush of heat crawled up her cheeks, an unbidden response to the sterile touch of alien hands cutting and stripping away her clothing with clinical detachment.

The air was thick with the scent of sterile cleanliness and the murmur of the gathered crowd, their eyes hungry and fixated on her exposed form as her clothing fell away like petals from a flower. The technicians instructed her to lay back and she didso, bare before them, a spectacle for their unblinking gazes. Cold metallic stirrups bit into the fleshy part of her thighs, her legs splayed open in what could only be described as a vulgar display.

She shivered, the vulnerability of her situation sending a thrill of fear mixed with unwanted arousal deep within her core. She’d always been a bit of an exhibitionist, although this was far beyond her experience and comfort zone. Her nipples pebbled involuntarily under their alien scrutiny and her heart raced frantically as they placed her wrists in restraints at her sides.Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. Breathe. Breathe. Everything’s going to be okay.

An orange skinned humanoid with brown hair and eyes approached the exam table. He was handsome, large, almost as big as a Caldorian, and walked with a confident gait. Unlike the technicians, who all wore the same plain blue uniform, this man was dressed in black, with two red stripes embroidered across each shoulder.

He leaned down and made a point of messing with her wrist restraints, checking and rechecking the locking mechanism. She was about to turn away when he spoke in a very low, hushed tone. So low, she had to strain to hear his strangely accented words. “My lady, I am Doctor Kubro. I’ve been put in charge of your testing. I am from Cappra. Please clear your throat if you can hear and understand my words.”

Ashlyn blinked a few times, momentarily confused. She looked around. Plenty of spectators were watching, but none of the technicians were paying any attention to her at the moment. Against her better judgment, she cleared her throat.

Without any indication that he heard her, he walked around to the other side of the table and repeated the process of checking her wrist restraint. This time, she understood what he was doing. He needed to have a reason to be there, so he waschecking restraints that he already knew were secure. Her heart skipped a beat. What was happening? What did the doctor want?

“My lady, please trust in me that I am on your side. R’Gan Ubrion, father of C’Bor Ubrion, was responsible for the death of my wife and children. I never thought to see the day the Ubrions were ousted from power.”

He met Ashlyn’s gaze, his dark eyes full of pain as he made a show of checking the pulse at her neck, sweeping a pen light back and forth in front of her eyes, and looking inside her mouth, his own lips barely moving as he continued, “I hand selected this team. We have all lost loved ones to Ubrion greed and tyranny. We had spies inside the Ubrion domicile when the other woman married C’Bor. We do not care that you are not the same woman. We are determined to make your ascension to the Cappran seat permanent.

While you were in the other room with your Caldorian, the Ubrions requested C’Nar be allowed to participate in the exam and watch the breeding. I have no doubt this is intended to humiliate and intimidate you, but the Council has agreed. The Ubrions rightly suspect you are not who you say you are and want to force you into forfeiting. Do not give them what they want. Please, trust in us to see you through this. The people of Cappra will be forever grateful and loyal to you and your Caldorian prince.”

Ashlyn’s heart raced as the doctor’s words sank in. The medical team knew she didn’t belong there, and they didn’t care. How many others knew the truth? How many felt the same as the doctor? She took several deep, calming breaths as one of the more humanoid technicians with large gray eyes and skin a very pale green approached the head of the table with a leathery strap in one hand. It appeared harmless enough, with a small ball in the center.

“Greetings, Councilor Faro. I am Izura. I will be monitoring your responses today.”

“Okay,” Ashlyn said, swallowing the bile rising in the back of her throat, amazed she could speak coherently, considering the doctor had literally just dropped a truth bomb in her lap.Watch the breeding?Surely, he didn’t mean what she thought he did.

Without another word, the doctor left Ashlyn’s side and strode casually away like he hadn’t just turned her world upside down. They all knew the truth and were counting on her to save them. Fear unlike any she’d ever known skittered down her spine. She couldn’t do it. Couldn’t be responsible for so many lives. “This is a mistake.”

“Pardon?”

Ashlyn gave herself a mental shake. She could at least try, couldn’t she? Pasting on a fake smile for anyone watching, she took another deep breath then let the air out slowly. “I’m sorry. I was talking to myself. I meant to say, ‘is my right arm okay’?”

Izura tilted her head quizzically. “Your arm appears to be healthy, yes.”

Ashlyn blushed. “No. Sorry again. I was asking if you wanted to put the strap on my right arm, or the left?”

“Ah,” chuckled Izura. “I’m afraid my translator hasn’t learned your Earth slang yet. I apologize for the error. This is a sound adapter. It goes in your mouth, not around your arm. There are thousands of species represented here today. This procedure can be intense, and some spectators have very sensitive hearing, while others have no sound receptors at all and need sound frequencies translated into a medium they can understand. I’m sure you’ve noticed all the adornments they wear. Most of it is not only aesthetically pleasing, but functional as well. Today we have provided earpieces for those who did not come prepared. The Councilors are able to adjust the settings ontheir side to amplify, dampen, or translate any sounds you make, depending on their needs and preferences.”

She gulped down her terror. “Any sound?”

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