Her Alien Protector: A Sci-fi Romance

Part 3

Rigel

I am alone in my office at work reviewing files and readying myself for my next appointment with a client. When my wall unit flashes, alerting me to an emergency message, I wave my hand in front of my wall.

"Incoming Message Accepted," answers my wall unit.

A moment later, a scourge with mismatched eyes appears on my wall unit—it's Sirius. "Come to my location at once, we are in need of your assistance."

"I will meet with a client soon. Can you find another behaviorist to help you?"

"We believe you are the best behaviorist to help with this particular situation," says Sirius who proceeds to tell me about an abused human hiding in a storage room. "The human is so afraid of us I don't think she has eaten or drank in days."

"I'm leaving now. Send me your location."

The luminous path of light guides me through Hydra's hallways, leading me to where Sirius stands in front of a closed door.

Sirius pushes a box of emergency pet supplies into my arms. "I have already instructed all scourges to leave the premises. While you extract her, I will alert emergency vet services to get ready."

I enter the storage room with higher-than-normal ceilings and drop the box onto the floor.

The human might think she is sneaky, but it is rather easy to spot the dark eyes and hair peering down at me from the top of a tall stack of containers. Oh, my stars—how did she get up there?

Now I understand why Sirius probably summoned me. There is likely one way to get her, which requires someone to—

I open my wings, fly upward, and hold out my arms for her, hoping she will see me and leap.

Now that I am closer, I recognize the human, I had seen her previously for an evaluation. At the time I suspected her scourge owner abused her. Loviatar had refused to comply, walking out. I had notified the authorities but the fact that she is now hiding atop a stack of wobbling containers immediately tells me what I need to know; we failed her.

Guilt hits me. Could I have prevented this?

What is worse is that she doesn't seem to recognize me, although, with serious malnutrition and dehydration, she might be delusional at this point.

So, when she clings to her hovel, refusing to let go and (according to the translator in my wrist unit) tearfully begging me to protect her... I will not fail her.

I tap my translator, tapping at the words I want to say, and after listening to it, I look directly at her when I slowly enunciate the words myself. "Rigel protects Ava."

She sobs and leaps. In my arms, I catch her. She is feather-light, probably from all the not eating while she hid up there.

I take her to the floor, sort through the supplies, and triage her needs. Her shivering is constant, so I wrap her in a blanket. Next, I grab a water bottle and food rations.

The little human won't stop quaking.

I murmur in her ear. "Shh, Ava. You are safe."

Her wild eyes dart toward the door. Has she even heard me? I enfold my wings around her.

"Are you from heaven, angel," she asks, sagging against my chest.

I tap my wrist unit. The Hydra computer system cannot find translations for some of the words she mutters, like angel or heaven.