Page 5 of The Stolen Tribute
TWO
JAXIR
The computer labs were quiet and dark. The screens were all off, except for a few near the back that cast eerie blue light through the small room. It was a training room used for new recruits. The place smelled of test anxiety and sweat.
I used my fake ID to pass through the airlock. “Welcome, Doctor Jaxir,” The computer voice said.
I held in a laugh. Like there was a timeline in this universe that I’d ever be a doctor. Still, it sounded impressive. The thought made me chuckle. That would have made my mother happy, at least. Too bad that my military training fell apart when I had to go rogue. But that was all in the past now.
I glanced out the window, making sure my starfighter jet was still waiting outside the airlock. It was an older model ship that often blipped out of radar, which worked well for my purposes.
I swiped the keycard again and booted up a computer. They were all thin with curved screens and ergonomic settings. My long fingers worked expertly on the keys. With a few keystrokes, I was into the system.
I let out a breath. “Ok, Jaxir,” I whispered to myself. I glanced around and went back to typing. I needed to find dirt on a very specific person, an old friend named Dal. The asshole who’d let me taken the fall for his own idiocy. The Zexian who stood with awards while I was banished to a life on the run. I needed to find out where he’d been transferred to.
“Where did you go, Dal?” I whispered to myself.
I scanned the student records, my fingers flicking along the trackpad, and my eyes snapping back and forth as the neon letters scrolled up with lightning speed.
There! I stopped when his name flashed by. He’d been sent to … Earth? No, that couldn’t be right. I blinked and looked again. He had. Dal was one of the new recruits that had been transferred to the Zexian Mothership that patrolled open space around Earth. This sad little planet used our military for protection. They were a good trade partner or something like that, I’d never really paid attention.
I snorted.
So, just because his mother was a politician, he got one of the comfortable jobs. There was never any action out there in that part of the Milky Way. Figured.
I used my communicator to mark down the coordinates of the mothership. It would take a few weeks to get there in my starfighter. I was banned from using teleportation gates, thanks to my record, so I had nothing but time.
While I had the file open, a spark of curiosity caught me. I went through the other notes. There was no mention of anything that’d happened between us. He was an exemplary student on paper, graduated top of our class. I growled when I read the lies that were inside.
I clenched my fists so hard that my knuckles popped before closing my eyes and taking a breath. Nothing could mess me up right now. I had to take my info and leave. But then, something caught my eye.
Earthling Tribute Bride.
I narrowed my eyes and clicked the tab. Inside, there were three profiles of possible Earthling mates. Ah, the Tribute Bride agreement, how could I forget.
I looked at each of the girls, all blond, but one stood out. She was beautiful, with a heart-shaped face covered in freckles. I felt a strange pull to her. I had an uncanny desire to be next to her, to feel her against me, to breathe in her scent. I shook my head and looked away. No. These were only his shortlist. But, that meant, one of these young Earth females was going to be bound to Dal as his mate?
I looked at the freckled blond again. Her picture made my skin hot, flush with black blood. My cock strained in my loose pants, sending a tremor of desire through my entire body. I longed to pleasure mate with her. More than I had any female I’d ever met. I’d never had an Earthling before. I wondered if they were fragile or if they were good lovers. I imagined how she’d feel on my cock. Obviously, we were compatible enough.
Somewhere I heard booted footsteps.
“Shit,” I breathed, shutting down the file and sneaking out through the shadows.
I scanned my card and escaped through the airlock before anyone found me. My old starship wheezed as I kicked it into hyperdrive. I had to get to the Earthling quadrant. I had to get to the Zexian mothership and find Dal. Maybe, if I hurried, I’d find this pretty Earthling, too.
