Page 5 of Taken By the Alien Merrow King

4

DESBURCHÙ

She went limp in his arms, and his heart stopped. He’d only just found her. He couldn’t lose her. “Gunnar,” he shouted, desperately clutching her to his chest, willing her to live. How was it humans were so delicate? There was nothing in the information packet about how easily they were injured. How much blood could she afford to lose, anyway? She might be drawing her last breaths for all he knew.

As the other team members secured the ship and prepped to leave quickly, Gunnar pressed a button to convert two of the chairs into a couch and grabbed an orange lifesaver from a storage locker behind the co-pilot’s seat. “You have to put her down, Des, so we can get a lifesaver on her.”

“But she’s human,” he said, still grasping her tight. She was even paler than he remembered, her once-ruby red lips bloodless. “What if the lifesaver can’t do its job?”

“Human biology is very similar to ours, remember?” Gunnar said in a low, soothing tone even as he gave the pilot a thumbs-up sign, signalling a go for takeoff. “Put her on the couch, Des. We can’t stop the bleeding while she’s in your arms.”

The sleek ship shuttered as it lifted off, carrying them back to their kingdom in the north.

Des dropped to his knees and carefully lay Astra down on the cream cushions, not caring if the bloodstains ruined them. They were replaceable. She was not.

She was so still, so pale. He peeled her out of her uniform jacket and tugged up the hem of her blood-soaked tank top, raising her torso slightly while Gunnar placed and secured the lifesaver over her wound.

The emergency medical device hummed and clicked as it ran diagnostics, and Des held his breath as the light around the edge of a square screen projecting her vitals pulsed red. He didn’t let it out until the machine gave a satisfied beep, its indicator light switching to a steady green.

Gunnar placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “She’s stable, sire. The lifesaver is doing its job.”

It was. Already, her color was coming back. He sank into a chair at the head of the couch and fastened his seat belt. The tentacles of fear crushing his heart loosened their grip, and he could finally think straight again. He blew out a hard breath, scrubbed a shaky hand through his hair, and said, “Take us to Skualan.”

Gunnar probed the area around Des’s nose before snapping it back in place and handing him an ice pack. “Winipoi is closer,” he suggested, his attempt at being practical.

It was and they had a decent medical facility there, but it wasn’t good enough. Not for his mate. His people were the best, and now that she wasn’t on the edge of death, he didn’t want to settle. “I want her — no, I need her in my territory.” Leaning over, he brushed damp strands of hair off her forehead, her skin warm beneath his touch. He looked over at his friend buckled into the seat across the narrow aisle from him. “Gunnar, this human. She’s my mate.”

The ship was small enough that his entire protection detail heard his claim. Everyone except Gunnar froze at his declaration, eyes widening, jaws dropping. For him, especially as king and leader of his people, to claim a mate was nothing short of miraculous and completely unexpected. It didn’t matter that she was human and not of Sanos. True mates were blessings from the Universe and something to be celebrated.

Gunnar nodded sagely, a smug smile on his face. “Knew it. Set, you owe me fifty credits.”

Set grumbled in defeat and tossed a sliver chip to Gunnar, who caught it handily and tucked it away in his jacket pocket.

Des raised an eyebrow. “You were betting on me?”

“Of course we were,” Gunnar said with a wink. “We’re trained observers. The best of the best. There you were, all geared up to schmooze with the other planetary power players and suddenly, everything you planned to accomplish at the summit was flushed out to sea, and you’re headed towards this odd human female like a barracuda after prey. You’re impulsive at times, Des, but you’re not foolish nor capricious. I knew there was a good reason for your actions.”

“She’s not odd,” Des said, stroking the back of his finger over her soft cheek. She was perfect. His mate.

“The female licks rocks, sire. As unusual as they are, I cannot imagine most humans go around licking random rocks they find on a beach,” Gunnar replied, the corner of his mouth kicking up. “But odd is good. We like odd.”

“True.” Des himself was considered a bit odd for a royal. His brother always said it was lucky he wasn’t first born and destined to inherit the title, considering how much Des loathed all the trappings and fawning of the court. He was much better suited to his now-former role as an officer in the Royal Navy. He shook his head. Strange how the Universe worked. “Tell meshe’ll be okay, Gunnar. I don’t think I can lose anyone else so soon after Isak.”

“Your mate is going to be fine. We’ll be on Skualan soon enough and get her all patched up, good as new. Hang in there, Des.”

5

ASTRA

Astra swam back to consciousness to find herself in an strange bed and lay there for a moment, staring at the pale wood beadboard of an unfamiliar ceiling. She shifted, the shushing rustle of crisp white sheets gliding over her legs. Her body ached as if she’d run too far, too fast, and she felt strangely tingling all over. But she wasn’t dead, so she’d take it as a win.

A large hand covered hers, the pebbly texture of his fingers making her skin prickle. She turned her head to see Des sitting next to her bed, a faint smile playing across his lips. He appeared worse for wear, a shadow of growth covering his jaw, dark smudges beneath his sea kelp green eyes, and hair that looked like he’d been standing in a wind tunnel. Those surface imperfections didn’t change the fact that when she saw him, her heart skipped a beat and her entire body flushed.

What’s that about? she wondered, poking at the sensation.A residual effect of whatever they did to me to fix me?

Even as she thought it, she knew that was just a story she was telling herself. The truth was, she was incredibly attracted to Des.Disconcerting. And yet, she was cognizant that she andthe other women on this mission agreed to do whatever was necessary to secure refuge. They all knew that seducing the aliens, while not explicitly required by the higher-ups, was on the table. But she didn’t expect to have in-her-pants feelings for one of them. She rarely had those types of feelings for anyone. It was throwing her off her game and she’d never had much game to begin with.

“There you are, sweetheart,” Des said, the rich burr in his voice caressing her senses like the glide of silk over skin.

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