The Alien Commander's Surrogate

Episode 51

 Hillary

The two Trenzians were far too large to shake off. And Lylta, now held by another large stranger, one of the council members whose name I had already forgotten, was unable to help either.

I snarled at the pair holding me, who had the gall to look ashamed as they eased me towards the door.

"Oren you liar, you disgust me."

The Prime appeared at my side, his black eyes glimmering down at me. "You really mean to stay here, with that male, who thought of you just weeks ago as nothing but a womb for rent."

I gasped, blinking a little at the harshness of the words. I looked beyond, at the sliver of Salex I could still see. His muscles were corded, every part of his face tight as he fought against the grip on his body, both from the drugs and the handcuffs.

"Hillary," His voice was a nearly silent rasp.

I looked up at Oren, making sure my voice wouldn't relay the fury and fear that clogged my throat, "Yes."

"What?" Oren stared at me. The two Trenzians at my side halted their forward movement.

"I will always stay with him. I will stay with him on this god-forsaken ship, waiting to run out of air. Not because of some kind of chemical bond, but because I love him. Me. Hillary, the human who thought he was a dumb caveman-esque slab of muscle until a few weeks ago."

Behind me, I swore one of the council members snorted a laugh. But I couldn't look away from Oren. Slowly, his face relaxed. "You surprise me."

I groaned, dropping my head, "Do I need to say it again? Or write it out somewhere? What would it take for you to get it? He is mine. I am his. Now either help us fix this ship or get the fuck out of our way."

"Hmm," Oren's eyes flickered to the goons holding me. "Well you heard her, she wants to stay."

The two released me immediately, and then to top it off, one of them even reached out to fix the sleeve of my shirt that he accidentally rolled. I swatted at his hand, followed immediately by the other goon slapping him in the chest.

I stepped away, watching nervously as Oren moved to the side so I can see into Salex's office once more. "What's going on?"

The prime shrugged, "I had to know."

"The first couple of times I screamed at you didn't count?"

"I had to be sure. It is my job to protect my people, but that also meant to take accountability for their actions. If you were truly being held against your will, you would've allowed yourself to be taken."

My jaw was hanging, "That was the test," I said finally.

Oren's white teeth flashed in a grin, "Effective, isn't it?" I sputtered as he reached into his pocket and held out a small vial. "Give this to your mate, he will come right out of it."

"And then what? Are you going to stay in help? Or was that part of the test fake too?"

The council members stepped forward, "We will assist the Losskee with the adjustments needed to maintain better life support. Our engineers are already hard at work."

Relief and irritation warred in my chest. "Give me that," I said, pushing past the Prime.and back into the office. Salex looked up at me, his shoulder's relaxing as I moved to his side. I hesitated then, unsure how to administer the reversal.

"Here, Hillary, let me," Lylta said, holding out his hand.

I eyed him, "Were you in on this too?"

"Unfortunately not," Lylta said, flipping his hand over. The backs of his knuckles were rough and darkened with a fresh bruise. I glanced over, noticing one of the new Trenzian's was rubbing his jaw. My brows rose. The medic was normally passive and nonviolent. And yet, he'd attempted to defend her.

"Thank you, Lylta," I handed him the vital at the same time that Oren came in, releasing the cuffs from Salex's forearms. The moment the fluid flooded Salex's veins, my enormous male was up and out of his chair.

One hand held the Prime against the wall by his neck, the other fist curled and reared back waiting for the inevitable punch. "You dared to play with my bond and my mate?"

Salex growled, but all around us the males remained quiet and relaxed. Perhaps Oren had expected this. "Easy there, Commander."

"Fuck you, Prime, you ordered your people to touch what is only mine to touch."

Oren sighed, dark eyes flickering to me. I shook my head, I wasn't interested in bailing him out of this one. "You got yourself into this one, Prime."

Salex snarled again, his forearm's veins standing out starkly under his purple skin. "Tell me why I shouldn't pummel you to the size of a rafelt."

Oren's face slowly curled in a smile, "Because, Commander Salex, if you decide not to kill me, I might just have an offer for you. One that will change the future for all Trenzians."