This Alien Soul

Part 2 Chapter 3

Alek

"We are very sorry for the false alarm." My fathers second in command, Mateo, apologized profusely as he trailed a few steps behind my father and I. 

 "Hell of a false alarm." I couldn't keep the growl of annoyance out of my voice. An hour... it had taken a hour of time that I missed from Amber's side to chase down a lead on a sighting of my brother. 

Only hours after we had gotten Amber stable, after I'd had my heart ripped from my chest watching her die in my arms multiple times, we had received word from the underground bunker. Apparently, Zeke had not shown to a meeting with the Zinkin and the command center had been able to report any comings or goings from his room. 

Now a couple weeks later, Amber was still in a coma and my brother had not been heard or seen. 

"Alek." My father chided slightly. I knew he was just as pissed that it hadn't been my brother that one of the guards had claimed to see coming out of the woods to the compound. He understood why I was so mad at my time being wasted, how every second away from Amber raised my blood pressure another notch higher. 

"They know what Zeke looks like." I snapped, throwing a hand at Mateo who had brought us the lead from the guards description. "He should have known not to waste our time on this shit." 

The Zionian that had been mistaken for my missing brother hadn't even come close to resembling Zeke. He'd been at least a foot shorter than Zeke and blond for fucks sake. 

My  mood wasn't helped by the fact that I had had to leave Amber alone. For the last weeks the few times I had been pulled from her room at the clinic mom had been able to sit with her, providing me with a little comfort that my...my girl, was being watched over by someone I trusted. 

Last night mom had given birth to my new little sister, Zyla. While I was happy for my mom and dad and excited for the new addition to our family, I was selfishly disappointed that I had lost my moms help with Amber while she recovered and bonded with little Zyla. 

"I apologize for the inconvenience." Mato responded a monotone voice, not sounding sorry at all. I could practically hear the man rolling his eyes in his head. 

Dad put a restraining hand on my shoulder and kept me walking forward when I hesitated, wanting to turn around and put his second in his place. "How about going forward you investigate a little further before pulling my son and I away from our mates at this time?" 

As Mato half bowed formally to my dad and walked off I couldn't help but stiffen. 

'Our mates' dad had said. But what if that wasn't the truth? What if Amber wasn't my mate? 

I had been trying hard not to put that title on us yet. I didn't think I could take it if I started to dream that Amber was my mate and then that hope was snatched from me when she woke up and that bond wasn't there. 

Everyone else was just automatically assuming that Amber was my mate, based on how we had felt about each other before. My body had been reacting to her, between the attraction, the constant pull to be with her and the changes in my markings. In all likelihood the only reason the mate bond hadn't instantly formed was because of the treatments her father had been poisoning her with that had kept her Zionian traits at bay. 

Mom was beyond excited. Not only was she gaining two new daughters, one of them was the daughter of her lost best friend, Amer. 

I thought she might be even more devastated than me if Amber and I turned out to not be mates. No matter if we were or weren't Amber would still be mine. I couldn't let her go again. Not after everything that happened. Not after she almost died.