Page 8 of Taken By the Alien Kraken King

“I’m drowning,” she murmured.

“Are you?” I placed my hand against her chest, relishing the rise and fall with each breath she took.

“Not literally, I can breathe. Drowning in memories.”

“Instead of looking back, why do you fight so hard to turn toward the future? Become who you were meant to be.” I wrapped Kendall in my arms. My tentacles swirled underneath her, cradling her ass while I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her with everything I had.

I poured my soul into the kiss, teasing her lips with my tongue. I nipped at her lower lip with my teeth, careful to keep my sharp teeth from piercing her delicate skin. When her mouth parted and allowed my tongue to enter, she melted into me, wrappingher arms around my neck. She threaded her fingers in my hair, tugging gently. I groaned at the slight pain.

Kendall had no idea what she did to me.

Of their own accord, the tentacles not supporting her wound their way up her legs, pulling them apart. She wrapped her legs around my waist and my mating tentacle surged forward. Kendall gasped into my mouth. I took the opportunity to grind against her intimate parts while my mouth plundered hers. My hands caressed her shoulders before moving over her chest. I cupped her generous breasts in my hands, her nipples pebbling against the webbing between my fingers.

I wasn’t playing fair, testing our fledgeling mate bond. While I wanted to sink myself into her body and complete the bond, she needed to control the first time, and I refused to take advantage of her conflicting emotions.

She ground herself against me, her warm core making me ache with need. It took all of my willpower to break the kiss. “Kendall, you’re not ready for more.”

“Bourne,youcan’tkeepme here any longer.” I shouted into the empty bedroom. No clocks adorned the walls, so I couldn’t be positive how long he’d left me alone, aching with need, but based on my sleep cycle, I guessed no more than a full day. “Just because you kissed the daylights out of me, cuddled me all night without finishing what you started, doesn’t mean you get to leave.”

Though what I’d seen of Nonmore Chasm and the palace held the beauty of cathedrals I’d read about on Earth in Europe, like Notre Dame, Westminster Abbey or la Sagrada Familia, I couldn’t shake the feeling Nonmore was also my prison. Agorgeous prison, but a cage, no matter how gilded, nonetheless remained a cage. For whatever it was worth, I believed Bourne when he said he wanted to keep me safe. But the prophecy lingered.

I wasn’t anyone special. I was an Earth-born-and-bred human. Well, maybe not a full human anymore, thanks to Bourne changing me against my will. I still hadn’t fully forgiven him for that.

I leaned back on Bourne’s sea sponge bed and marveled again at how luxurious it was. Living under the water had some perks, like never needing to change sheets, a fact I discovered after Bourne broke the best kiss of my life last night, carried me to the bed, and curled up next to me, cuddling me in his arms, while his tentacles wrapped around my legs and waist. They were powerful muscles, extensions of his body, capable of extreme harm. But Bourne had yet to do anything to harm me, yet the power he wielded with his trident and strong tentacles kept me on my toes. As long as he continued to treat me with respect, I didn’t mind toeing the line. He was bossy, but I supposed that came from being royalty and

“Follow me.” Bourne’s voice cut through the stillness of the space, yanking me from my reverie. He slid into the cavernous room, moving with effortless command, his massive form gliding more than walking. Despite his formidable presence, Bourne didn’t frighten me. “I know you’ve been waiting. An urgent matter needed my attention, and you were asleep. I used my judgment.” He tilted his head, using the trident in his hand to prop up his crown. “I am used to making spur-of-the-moment decisions.”

At his words, I felt my anger dissipate. “It’s all right,” I said, and I meant it, finding comfort in his certainty, almost as though he were a fixed point in the shifting strangeness of my experience so far on Sanos.

I followed Bourne through a passage lined with glowing coral and whispering currents. The ground pulsed faintly beneath my boots, as though the ocean itself were breathing around them. A thousand questions ran through my mind, but for now, I fell back on my scientific training. My plan was to remain silent, gather information, and observe. “Where are we going?”

“This way,” he said, gesturing toward a raised platform in the center of a new chamber. It overlooked a pool of dark, churning water. “We call this the deep mirror. It shows what hides in ourselves.”

I hesitated. It sounded strange. “Like magic?”

Bourne gave a low, rumbling chuckle. “To your kind,hoomans, perhaps. To us, it is our resonance. I spoke with Ahtu earlier. He seemed to think it would help you accept your new circumstances.”

“It’s humans.” I stressed the vowel. “And resonance?” I asked.

“Watch.” Bourne placed his webbed hand into the pool. The liquid responded instantly.

Images bloomed across the surface, like oil on water. First, a ship crashing on Sano’s atmosphere; explosions on the pristine beaches and sea; drills boring into coral beds with dozens of creatures shouting.

Bourne’s breath hitched as images of nightmarish creatures with claws, rows of razor-sharp teeth, and lashing tails emerged from the deep. His demeanor change sent a shiver through my spine. “What are those?”

“Trench creatures. My people, our people, are the only defense between them and the rest of Sanos.”

Then, the images shifted to her shuttle and the explosion. The women scattered, and I saw myself dragged under the water. “That’s me.”

Bourne nodded.

“Is that what the aftermath of the explosion looked like? It’s a miracle I survived.”

“That’s why I gave you my mating venom. I didn’t think you would.”

I lowered my eyes.

“What about the others? I have to know if they’re alive.” I gestured to my wrist communicator. “The signal won’t go through. I’m not sure if it’s broken. And my communicator is dead.”

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