Kyro: A Sci-fi Alien Abduction Romance (Captured by Aliens Book 5) Page 26

  They stumbled more than walked toward the bridge, and the doors opened silently for them. Once inside, she set him down on the floor, moving into the room.

  “There must be some kind of map of this ship right. I need to find the med bay, patch you up. And I need to send a message to the others or pilot this ship somehow. Where the hell is the button to shut off this alarm? I need to think!”

  She was pacing as she babbled, and he loved it. The sound of her voice made him feel calm and whole.

  There was a strange peace settling over him as he listened to her.

  She was safe. She wasn’t badly harmed. She would survive.

  His mission had been completed.

  It was almost as if his body was wanting him to say a final word so he could go.

  “I doubt we can stay just hovering in space. Reinforcements are likely to come and I—” Her words cut off as she stopped walking abruptly.

  “Shit shit shit shit shit.” She clenched her fists as she headed back toward him. “Kyro?”

  She took his face between her palms as her concerned eyes looked over him. “Kyro?” She touched his cheek. “Shit. Oh God, whatever you do, do not close your eyes. I can’t allow you to fall asleep. Where the hell is the frickin’ med bay?”

  The ship’s alarm was still blaring.

  “Alarm,” he managed to mutter. “Disengage. Yellow button. Captain’s chair.”

  He felt her leave his position and then the deafening alarm stopped. Crouching by him once more, she took his cheek in her palm.

  “Kyro, darling, please don’t close your eyes. Stay awake for me.” She lifted his head. He could hardly see her. His eyelids felt heavy. Oh so heavy.

  “You’re losing so much blood.” There was an undertone of worry there. “Do you know where the med bay is?”

  “Kit in compartment under helm.” He fought to do what she asked of him, to keep his eyes open, but it was so difficult. Even more difficult than taking out the many guards. Yet, he tried. For her, he tried.

  He didn’t want to leave her until he was sure she was safe.

  She left his side then and he could hear her voice as she tried to find the compartment he told her of. There was a string of expletives and sounds of frustration until she exclaimed something, and her small footfalls headed back his way.

  She popped open the kit and rifled through the contents.

  “There are just a bunch on syringes in here. I have no idea which one to use.”

  “Purple...”

  He could see her hands were shaking as she fumbled with the serums, finally finding the one he needed.

  “Wait...” Maybe she was right. Maybe he was losing a lot of blood. As the minutes went by, it was as if he was losing more and more strength, becoming more and more tired. His voice sounded weak to his ears.

  “Vidi,” he murmured, and a square lit up in his pocket—the datapad activated by voice control. “Activate the last saved protocol.”

  The screen blinked once and he rested his head against the wall.

  “What was that?” Evren was looking from him to the device.

  “...contacted others...location sent...on their way.” He took a moment to breathe. “...they will find us. Take you home.”

  A soft smile graced her features as she looked at him but there was still worry in her eyes.

  Taking a huge breath, he mustered his strength. “We have a lot to talk about.”

  Evren smiled once more before he heard her chuckle in relief.

  “We do.” She paused, lifting the purple syringe in her hand. “Here, let me give this to you. We have all the time in the world to talk later.”

  43

  As the serum worked through his veins, Evren watched as Kyro’s eyes slowly closed. He looked as if he was sleeping now, resting, and she stood slowly, looking down at him.

  He was out cold. The exertion of killing so many guards had taken its toll. She still couldn’t believe she’d witnessed him slaughter so many beings.

  It had been horrific and, at the same time, glorious.

  He was right. There was a lot for them to discuss.

  She knew he could shift but...wow, she hadn’t expected any of what she’d seen.

  Looking at him now though, she knew it changed nothing.

  He’d come all alone, literally walking into the enemy’s camp to save her.

  What more could a girl want?

  He was everything she wanted, and more.

  Crouching, she brushed a finger over his cheek, and like that, right in front of her very eyes, he began to change once more.

  This change was smooth though, like the time he’d shown her who he really was.

  This change was slow, the bulkiness slowly seeping away under his skin till he was his usual size once more.

  This went beyond the laws of everything she knew. Yet, she was fascinated, enraptured by him.

  Checking his pulse, she felt a stable beat.

  That was good enough for now. He said he’d sent a signal and that the others would be there shortly. She just had to wait.

  Standing up once more, she let out a breath she’d been holding and began to pace.

  “Warning! Warning. An enemy ship has exited warp and is approaching. Warning!”

  The sound of the AI shook her to the core as her insides shriveled up at the warning.

  An enemy ship?

  Rushing to the console, her eyes flew over the many buttons there. Why couldn’t these spaceships have labels on them? Things would be a lot easier if they were.

  She had no idea what to do and a glance at Kyro told her he was still out of it.

  “Two minutes until docking.”

  Oh, frickin’ pasta sauce.

  They needed a break. Now wasn’t the time for enemy reinforcements to arrive.

  Staring at the buttons, she felt like a dummy. Those buttons did everything and right about now, they also did nothing. If she pressed something random, would it help them or make things worse?

  She tried to weigh the options.

  She could press a button or a series of buttons and the ship could do something that helped them or she could make the shield fall or something, disable an engine maybe, take life support offline...

  “One minute until docking.”

  Fuck.

  Rushing from the bridge, she almost stumbled over one of the bodies of the slain guards.

  Don’t think about the bodies. Don’t think about the bodies.

  Grabbing a blaster from the floor, and another, and another, she bundled as many as she could in her arms. She was on her way back to the bridge when the AI spoke again.

  “Ship docked.”

  Fuuuuuuuck!

  As she entered the room, she breathed hard, looking at Kyro’s resting form.

  She was going to do all that she could to keep them alive for as long as she could.

  There was no time to cover him so she’d just have to shield him with her own body.

  Crouching as she got the blaster ready, she’d just about settled her finger over the trigger when the door to the bridge opened.

  “Qrak me,” a voice said. “Who the qrak did this?”

  “Whoever it was, maybe we should get him on our team,” another voice said before a big head with two horns popped through the door.

  “Xul?” The blaster slackened in her hands a bit.

  The bull-man’s eyebrows shot up when he saw her before his gaze became guarded. Behind him, Crex appeared, his dark gaze looking all too pleased with the carnage outside the door.

  “Evren...” Xul said, his gaze on Kyro as he entered the bridge.

  Crex glanced from her then to the bodies outside and back again.

  Resting the blaster to the floor, she breathed out a breath of relief. The warning had been for their ship.

  She was an idiot. Of course, the AI would see the Restitution’s vessels as enemy ships.

  Rokan walked in next, his eyes surveying the bodies as well before t
hey fell on her and then on Kyro. He noticeably paled, if that was possible in his gray skin.

  Glancing back, Evren swallowed hard.

  Kyro hadn’t managed to shift back to his Borxclan disguise. He was Vorti, undeniably so. Right now, he was the most vulnerable he’d ever been, and it didn’t matter what his brothers said or thought, she was going to protect him from their judgment.

  “What happened here?” Xul asked, his eyes focusing on Kyro. “And who is that male?”

  Evren swallowed hard, her eyes flying to Rokan’s.

  There was no way out of this.

  In the time it took her to answer, Xul moved closer.

  “It’s Kyro,” she finally said. Xul paused, his brows furrowing. To his right, Crex folded his arms, his attention no longer on the damage that was done. His dark eyes were now on her.

  Looking straight at Rokan, she swallowed hard.

  “You know that device that changes your body. He was wearing one. He changed into this. But the Tasqals interfered with the device. I think we have to go back to base to fix it maybe.”

  Xul paused and for a moment she wanted to hit her head against the wall so she could come up with a better excuse.

  Turning to Crex, Xul regarded his friend. “It seems the device malfunctioned.”

  Crex nodded. “Those things can never be trusted.”

  Xul nodded back. “That’s why we don’t depend on such technology.”

  Crex nodded again. “Right. It’s his fault for using it. Maybe he should be stuck with that image. I never liked him as a Borxclan anyway.”

  They both looked at her then, possibly noting the frown that had started to form on her face.

  Were they mocking her?

  Amusement flooded Xul’s eyes before a smile played at the corner of his lips.

  “They know,” Rokan said.

  Evren blinked. She wasn’t going to take any liberties and volunteer information. “They know what?”

  “They know Kyro is Vorti.”

  Her eyes flew to Xul and Crex and found they were both smiling.

  “You know?”

  Xul nodded. “Rokan confessed after Kyro rushed out here to save you all alone. Somehow he knew that this would happen...the shift.”

  Evren glanced at Rokan. She had so many questions.

  “He thought it was best we be prepared for what we were about to see,” Xul continued. “We still have a lot of questions, but those can wait.”

  “And...you don’t mind?”

  “Mind?” Crex stepped forward. “Kyro will always be our brother...even if he is a pain in the gonads sometimes.”

  Xul chuckled and she couldn’t help her shoulders from sagging with relief.

  Xul glanced around before he looked at a device on his arm.

  “Right, we better get the qrak out of here. The Tasqals are bound to be sending reinforcements. Rokan, download all the data from the ship. Crex you bring Kyro back to our vessel. I’ll set up the self-destruct.”

  The other two men nodded and began moving.

  Getting the things they needed from the Tasqal ship had gone quicker than she’d expected it to. The brothers had downloaded the ship’s logs and then wiped the computer. Then they’d gathered the weapons and supplies they could find and set the ship on self-destruct mode.

  As their ship traveled back to the Restitution, Evren finally let her shoulders relax, her eyes on Kyro as she did.

  This ship was different from the others she’d been in. Not that she’d been in that many, but this ship had two rows of two seats at the front before a long bench at the back, on which she sat with Kyro’s head resting on her lap.

  She didn’t mind the layout. It meant the brothers were all looking ahead while she could have some privacy with Kyro.

  He was still unconscious, but she held his hand anyway.

  This was the man who had risked his life and his whole identity, just to save her. The same man who’d kept her company when she didn’t even realize she’d needed a friend.

  “You know, he’ll be fine,” Rokan said, turning so he could look over his shoulder. “He will heal. I will make another healing serum.”

  “Thank you.” She offered Rokan a genuine smile.

  “It’s a special serum for Vorti. It has to be made by hand because it is not available anywhere else. I was not able to make it before we arrived.” Rokan’s eyes fell on Kyro.

  “That’s okay. I think the thing he made me inject him with may be blocking the pain for now and he’s stopped bleeding so that’s good.” She smiled again and this time she saw a faint smile on Rokan’s face in return before he nodded and turned back to face where they were going.

  “We’ll have to cover him before he exits the ship. We can’t risk anyone seeing him,” Xul began. His voice boomed from the front of the ship, where he sat at the helm with Crex. “We will take him back to one of the private rooms with restricted access. It’s where we keep high profile witnesses who’ve been affected by the Tasqals. No one will question it if they see us bringing another there.”

  “Sounds good,” she murmured. She didn’t want to be anywhere near other people anyway. She needed time to allow the recent events to settle, for she’d been abducted, almost raped, and she’d seen so much death. Not to mention that she’d almost lost him—she squeezed his hand that she held once more—she’d almost lost Kyro.

  “Hey.” She almost forgot. “When we were on the ship, the toad-guy showed us someone on video. He was restrained and he looked like he was in pain. They were using him, using his powers. They used him to find out Kyro was on the ship.” She swallowed, her brows furrowing as she remembered the screen changing to show the tied-up male with the wires piercing his skull. “He looked just like Yce. Only shorter hair.”

  She could almost feel the sudden tension in the room.

  “Are you sure of this?” Xul asked. “He was an Arois?”

  “I’m not sure what an Arois is...”

  “It’s the name of Yce’s species,” Crex offered.

  “We have heard rumors of the Tasqals developing technology that could manipulate certain powers but never had we actually gotten proof of such,” Rokan added.

  “This changes a lot,” Xul murmured. “We will have to review the ship’s footage when we arrive at the base.”

  “Footage? There is footage of us on the ship? Of Kyro?” She hadn’t even considered that but of course, there would be. Earth had long developed the capacity for CCTV recording, why wouldn’t a more advanced alien race be monitoring their vessels too?”

  “Do not worry. The footage was downloaded, and the vessel’s memory wiped.” It was as if Xul was reading her mind. “Kyro’s secret will remain safe.”

  “What about the footage that you have now?”

  “We’ll delete him from that footage too,” Xul replied.

  Good.

  Squeezing Kyro’s hand again, she let out a sigh of relief as her shoulders sagged just a little more.

  This was a good step in the right direction, she could feel it.

  Everything would work out fine.

  44

  Two days later

  The new dwelling was in a bunker with artificial lights and metal walls, a small bed in the corner, a flat bench in another, a small kitchen with a burner and a sink, and a tiny bathroom with a shower stall and a strange-looking device she assumed was a toilet. It was a small living space, but it was private, and it was clean.

  After Xul and the others had deposited them there, Rokan had gone off to develop the serum while Xul and Crex had gone to go through the data and weapons they’d collected. Xul appeared sure they would find a lot more valuable information along with the clip of the Arois male they held in captivity.

  By the time Rokan had returned with the healing serum, she’d already cleaned as many of Kyro’s wounds as she could and removed his bloodied garments.

  Now he was resting.

  He still hadn’t regained consciousness yet but R
okan had assured her that was to be expected. Kyro had shifted into what Rokan had referred to as his “battle form.” It was a shift that used a lot of energy, so Kyro’s injuries weren’t the only thing that had drained him.

  It’d been two days, but he was still recovering and hadn’t regained consciousness yet.

  Heading to the small kitchen, Evren smoothed down the potato sack she was wearing. It was the only set of clothes provided down there in the bunker. Stooping, she rifled through the receptacles under the burner till she found one shaped like a pot. There was a box on the floor with packets of things she had no idea about, but she looked through them anyway. She was going to make Kyro something warm for when he awoke. A broth maybe. And if he didn’t awaken today, then she’d just drink it.

  There was a packet with something that looked like preserved vegetables. Rising with that one, she rested it on the small counter then filled the pot with water from the sink, humming as she did.

  Her spirits were light this morning. Or at least, she assumed it was morning. She didn’t know what time of day it was. The light in the bunker was always on and she never opened the door to head for the outside.

  Smiling to herself, she began to hum louder, a song that wasn’t really a song, just a collection of random sounds that vibrated against her throat.

  It made the place seem less lonely. It was always so quiet with Kyro asleep.

  She should go check on him. The water looked like it was going to take a while to boil anyway.

  Humming as she turned to step back into the bedroom/living area, her heart almost jumped out of her chest as she saw Kyro standing there.

  His frame filled the doorway, as he leaned against it, looking at her. She hadn’t even realized he’d come awakened. Those imperceptible steps of his meant he glided across the floor without so much as a sound, even though he was ill.

  “Kyro,” she breathed, her eyes traveling down his frame. He was naked. Utterly and completely naked and he hadn’t bothered to try and cover himself. When he’d been under the sheets, she hadn’t had the luxury her eyes were receiving at that moment but now he was standing there, looking almost completely healed and outright gorgeous.