Alien Protector’s Mate (Latharian Mate Program #4)

Chapter 7

7

J ade’s stomach wasn’t screaming at her anymore, half the stolen pastry still in her pocket. It was so large that it would easily do her for the rest of the day, which was good. The last thing she wanted to do was run into that alien again. He’d seemed nice, but she’d always prided herself on being able to read people, and Mr. tall, blond, and handsome had been half a second from calling security on her.

So she’d quit the market just to be sure and set out to explore. Which was how she’d found herself in a sprawling shopping complex, her eyes widening with each new thing she saw. The station’s mall stretched on forever, the ceilings so high they made her dizzy. Voices crashed over her like waves, but she couldn’t understand most of them. So they just became background noise. She could only understand some, which didn’t make sense. Why some and not others? Only when she saw a brooch on one alien’s collar glow when it spoke did she realize they were using translators. She needed to get a hold of one. But how? They all looked different. How was she to know what was a translator and what was just a brooch?

A group of aliens floated by, skin shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, and she had to stop herself from staring. She’d never seen anything so beautiful in all her life. Their voices tickled her ears, reminding her of the wind chimes Mrs. Morgan used to hang outside the kitchen window.

“Move,” a deep voice growled behind her.

Jade jumped and whirled around. A massive lizard man towered over her, four eyes blinking in what she really hoped was curiosity rather than hunger.

“I’m so s-sorry,” she stammered as she backed up. Her butt hit something solid, and she spun around again to face what looked like a walking chandelier.

It chimed, and then three crystals glowed in the middle of its chest. “No worries, little one. Stay calm.”

She nodded and hurried away. Finding a quiet corner by a giant purple plant in a blue pot, she leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths. She needed to pull herself together. If she freaked out at every new alien she saw, someone was bound to realize she didn’t belong here.

She looked out from her hiding place. She still couldn’t believe she was here, on a real space station, surrounded by real aliens.

Pushing off, she continued walking, peering into the shop windows and marveling at all the alien things. A crowd in an open area ahead caught her attention. Curious, she headed that way and joined the back of the crowd. Standing on tiptoe, she tried to see what was happening at the front.

In the center were two giant robots standing like statues. Each had a couch next to it. As she watched, a couple of alien men took a helmet each from the attendants and lay down on the couches. For a moment, nothing happened, but then suddenly, one of the robots came to life. It stood for a moment, looking down at its hands, and then broke into movement, doing what looked like some kind of breakdance combined with shadow boxing. Jade gasped. Was that alien controlling the robot?

“It’s a demonstration,” a voice said beside her. Jade turned to find an alien woman standing next to her, crow’s feet crinkling as she smiled. Her one-piece suit said she was some kind of pilot or flight crew. “They sell avatar uplinks for extreme sports. You get all the thrill without the risk.”

Jade shook her head. “But… why bother? Why not just do it for real?”

The woman chuckled. “Not everyone can, hon. Some planets are just way too nasty or filled with dangerous radiation. So they send in remote bots. I heard they even had one for the lava falls on the Nurekian Delta. I’d love to know what they reinforced those things with. The lava flow there melts even hull steel.”

The alien woman walked away, but Jade stayed to watch people trying the uplinks for the robots. The idea of having enough money to pay for something like that just for a hobby was mind-blowing to her.

She moved on, idly looking in windows as she worked her way up the levels. Some of them were dedicated to different things—clothes, entertainment tech, decor, and furniture. It looked like you could buy anything you needed here. It was a city in the stars, totally self-contained.

On the fifteenth floor, she spotted a sign above a door, and her heart leaped. Public toilets, and if she was reading the sign right, they had showers. She almost groaned, feeling every bit of grime on her skin. A real shower. It had been so long since she’d felt clean that she’d nearly forgotten what it was like.

Thankfully, the place was empty when she walked in. She spent a moment looking at the showers, but the stalls looked multispecies and normal enough. Quickly, she went from stall to stall, checking each of them, and grinned when she found three abandoned bottles.

Locking herself into one of the stalls, she cracked the lids on them one by one. The first released a pungent scent that made her recoil. It smelled like it would burn her skin off, just like the lava falls the alien woman had mentioned earlier.

“Nope, definitely not.” She capped that one quickly and set it in the corner of the stall.

The second was also odd, the smell like rotting meat, so she put that one with the first and turned her attention to the final bottle. It was the one that looked the most like human shower gel—clear plastic with pink gel inside. Lifting the top carefully with her thumb, she took a cautious sniff.

Floral. Sweet. She smiled in relief. Okay, so she wouldn’t have to go out there smelling like week-old meat after all.

Stripping her clothes quickly, she cranked the shower on, and once she was sure it was actually water and something like not lava, she stepped under it. It. Was. Heavenly. She groaned as she closed her eyes and let it soak into her muscles, washing away all the tension of the last few days. Her mind wandered as she lathered up with the borrowed soap, its floral scent filling the air. Maybe she could get a job here… cleaning or something. She knew how to do that, and if they had public washrooms, they definitely needed cleaners.

Reluctantly, she turned off the water and dried herself with paper towels from a dispenser on the wall. She sighed as she looked at her dirty clothes and then pulled them on. She was going to have to find a way to wash them as well.

Feeling more human than she had in days, she left the washrooms and headed up to the sixteenth floor. The shops here screamed money, all shiny surfaces and price tags with more zeros than she’d ever seen in one place.

While she was window-shopping, a familiar voice reached her ears. Her blood turned to ice as she recognized the harsh tones of the Lathar gang from the market.

Ducking behind an ornate pillar, she peered out. The group strutted down the boardwalk like they owned it, their pockets bulging. Her eyes widened. They weren’t even trying to hide what they’d stolen.

But that wasn’t her problem.

She needed to get out of here before they saw her. She knew bullies like this. If they spotted her, she was in for a world of hurt. But luck wasn’t on her side. As she stepped out of her hiding place, intending to go back the way she’d come, the gang leader stepped in front of her. His face twisted in recognition.

“You!” he growled harshly, a pin on his jacket glowing as it translated. “You were at the market earlier.”

Before she could answer, the gang surrounded her, cutting off her escape. She tensed, automatically falling into a defensive stance.

“I don’t want any trouble,” she said. “Just let me go.”

The leader let out a bark of laughter. “Trouble found you, human. This is our territory. You don’t belong here.”

Her gaze darted from face to face, but she knew she wouldn’t find any sympathy. Hard faces looked back at her.

“I’m just trying to survive,” she tried again. “Like you. This place is big enough for all of us. We don’t have to…”

Her words were cut short as the gang leader lunged, reaching out to wrap a huge hand around her arm. Years of dodging Mr. Morgan’s drunken swings kicked in, and she twisted, using his momentum against him. Caught off guard by her move, he stumbled, and she slammed her fist into his solar plexus. He gasped, and his grip loosened just enough for her to twist free. But the rest of the gang surrounded her, cutting off her bid for freedom.

“You’ll pay for that, human,” the gang leader growled, advancing on her like a predator.

Adrenaline surged through her veins, her heart like a drum against her ribs. She backed away, her expression flat as she watched for the next move.

“I don’t want to fight,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt. “Can’t we just walk away?”

The gang-leader’s laugh was cold and hard. “Fight? This isn’t a fight, human. This is a lesson.”

He lunged again, and she ducked quickly. She spun away, her smaller size and quick reflexes giving her an advantage in the tight space as she kicked out at the back of his knee. But one of the others grabbed her arm. Pain lanced her shoulder as he jerked her around to face the leader.

“Not so fast now. Are you?” The Lathar sneered, looming over her. “Pathetic human. You’re too weak for even a decent fight.”

Shit. She couldn’t overpower them, couldn’t outrun them. What did she do? His insults sparked an idea. She went limp, letting out a pitiful whimper.

“Please,” she gasped. “I… I can’t breathe. My heart…”

The Lathar holding her hesitated, his grip loosening slightly.

“Reav,” he said, uncertainty clear in his voice. “I think something’s wrong with him.”

Reav frowned, leaning forward to look down into her face. It was all the opening she needed. Driving her knee up, she slammed it into Reav’s groin. He let out a strangled cry, doubling over in pain.

She almost managed to tear herself free, but rough hands grabbed her arms and held her tighter. She found herself held between two of the gang, their faces twisted with anger and the promise of pain.

“You’ll regret that, human.” The leader growled, his voice strained with pain as he straightened up.

She winced, closing her eyes as she prepared herself for the first blow. But instead of pain, a new voice rang through the air, deep and commanding.

“What the hell is going on?”

Her eyes snapped open. The huge Lathar warrior from the market earlier was standing there. His long hair was braided tightly and adorned with beads that screamed “badass” in any language, and scars crisscrossed the skin of his chest and stomach, visible because of his open jacket.

The warrior’s hardened gaze swept over the scene, and his eyes narrowed.

“I asked a draanthing question,” he said, his voice deep and threatening. “What the hell is going on?”

Jade blinked as the gang scattered and disappeared into the throng of the shoppers around them. Breathing ragged in her ears, she looked at the big Lathar, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. He was huge and looked far more dangerous than he had this morning.

She took a step without realizing it. His eyes flashed, his deep voice cutting through the air. “Don’t even think about running, boy. I’ll catch you before you make it ten steps.”

She froze, her heart lurching uncomfortably against the inside of her ribs. Then his words sank in, and her eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t realized she was female. He thought she was a boy. Her disguise was still working.

She fought to keep her voice low and gruff as she responded, watching him from under the rim of her cap in case he made a grab for her. “I wasn’t looking for trouble. They attacked me for no reason.”

The big alien watched her for a long moment. She resisted the urge to squirm under his scrutiny, keeping her body language as neutral as possible.

“I believe you,” he said finally, and a wave of relief washed over her. “It seems that little lot have been causing problems for a while.”

He looked away, breaking the grip his gaze had on her, and tapped what looked like a thick leather bracelet on his wrist. Then he spoke rapidly in a language she didn’t understand. She should run while he was distracted. Surely with the crush of the crowd his warning was a boast. She was fast. She’d be gone before he could catch her. But despite herself, she stayed, listening to him speak. If he was speaking Latharian, it sounded beautiful, the lyrical cadence familiar somehow. As if, if she listened to enough of it, she would be able to understand him.

As he spoke, she couldn’t tear her attention away from him. He towered over her, easily nearly seven feet tall with broad shoulders and a muscular frame under all that leather. But his face held her attention. Handsome in a rugged way, he had high cheekbones and a strong jaw with masses of almost blond hair falling around his shoulders.

She flicked a look down and had to suppress a wince. Vicious-looking scars crisscrossed his chest and abdomen. Had he been in some kind of accident? She knew the Lathar were warriors. He must have been in some kind of battle—a nasty one by the looks of it.

The warrior finished his conversation and turned his attention back to her. “I am S’aad V’Renn,” he said, his words tinted with a slight accent. “Come with me.”

Before she could react or argue, his large hand closed around her upper arm. His grip was firm but not painful as he began to lead her down the promenade. Panic flared in her chest. She struggled against his hold, her feet skidding on the smooth floor as she tried to dig them in. But it was light fighting a juggernaut.

“Wait!” she cried, wincing as her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again, deeper this time. “Where are you taking me?”

He didn’t slow his pace as he glanced down.

“To the shuttle bay,” he replied. “I’m putting you on the next transport back to the surface.”

Her blood froze in her veins. She couldn’t go back.

“No!” She gasped, forgetting to disguise her voice in her panic. “Please, I can’t go back. I can’t!”

The big Lathar stopped so abruptly that she collided with him. She recoiled as if he’d burned her. Releasing her arm, he turned to face her, his expression suddenly serious.

“Listen to me, boy,” he said, his voice low and serious. “You cannot stay here. This place is not fit for a human alone. If you stay, you will become someone’s victim. If not those young thugs, then a trafficker… or worse.”

She jerked her head back. Yeah, sure she had known there were dangers…

“But… I thought just human females were at risk.”

A bitter laugh escaped him.

“For the bedchamber and breeding, yes,” he said, his expression tight as he looked down at her. “But other species are more interested in humanity for other reasons.”

“What reasons?” she whispered, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

His expression darkened. “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”

Silence fell between them, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Her mind raced. She couldn’t go back to Earth, but staying here seemed just as bad now. As she struggled to find words, she looked up to find S’aad studying her intently, his head tilted slightly to one side.

“Can you read and write human languages?” he asked suddenly.

“Of course,” she replied, forgetting to deepen her voice for a moment. “I mean, yes, sir. I can.”

His expression was thoughtful as he folded his arms across his broad chest. She tried to ignore the way the movement pulled at his jacket, revealing more of his scarred, cobblestone abs. Then he nodded, as if coming to a decision.

“Very well,” he said. “I find myself in need of a lab assistant. The job is yours if you want it.”

She blinked. Yeah, no… she couldn’t have heard that right.

“A… a lab assistant?” she rasped. She was going to end up with a permanently sore throat at this rate. “Me?”

“You,” he confirmed. Then he smiled, amusement in his green eyes. “Unless you’d prefer the shuttle, of course?”

She arched an eyebrow. It was a job, which meant a legitimate reason to stay on the station. Which… seemed too good to be true, and a lifetime of disappointment had taught her that something that looked too good to be true often was.

“Why?” she asked, unable to keep the suspicion from her voice. What was his deal? What game was he playing? “Why would you help me?”

His expression softened, just for a moment. “Because everyone deserves a chance at a better life. Let me be that for you.”

She searched his face, but his expression didn’t alter.

“I…” she began but then stopped. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. It couldn’t be any worse than that she’d been through with the Morgans surely? “What would the job entail?”

“Mostly data entry and organization,” he explained, stepping closer as the crowds on the promenade around them thickened. “My work generates a significant amount of information that needs to be processed and filed. Your familiarity with human languages and writing systems would be invaluable.”

She nodded slowly. It sounded simple enough.

“Where would I live?” she asked, hating how small and vulnerable her voice sounded. She cleared her throat, trying to pitch it lower again. “I mean, I don’t have any credits for housing.”

He frowned, his expression thoughtful.

“We have quarters available for program staff,” he said after a moment. “They’re not luxurious, but they’re secure and comfortable. You would have your own space with access to communal facilities. I’d have to apply for them, so we’d have to figure something out for the next few days, but it can be done.”

The idea of having her own space, somewhere safe and private, was almost too much for her. A lump formed in her throat and she blinked rapidly, fighting back tears. She couldn’t cry. Not here. Not in front of him.

“Sounds too good to be true,” she grunted, glaring up at him suspiciously. “What’s the catch?”

His massive hand clapped down on her shoulder, the weight of it surprisingly comforting.

“No catch,” he said. “I assure you this is a genuine offer. The work may not be glamorous, but it is important. And will give you a purpose on the station.”

“Okay,” she said, squaring her shoulders and meeting his gaze. “I accept. Thank you… for the opportunity.”

He nodded, and she thought she saw a look of approval cross his features.

“Good,” he said. “Now, let’s get you settled and introduce you to your new responsibilities. This way.”

She turned and walked with him down the promenade, the crowds parting before them when they saw S’aad’s tall figure approaching.

“I never asked your name,” S’aad said suddenly, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

“It’s, uh, Jared,” she said, thinking quickly. “Jared Ash… field. Most people call me Jay.”

“Well, Jared Ashfield.” S’aad nodded. “Welcome to your new life aboard Devan Station.”