Taken by Space Pirates: A SciFi Alien Romance (Bound to the Alien Book 2) (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Sam and I were impatient, pacing back and forth while we waited for Yastlama to finally appear. The door slid open and he walked in. He caught me in his arms before I could move away, hugging me tight. He was trembling with emotion.

"I'm so sorry, Thea. I hope one day you understand. This was the last thing of your father's cruelty and I had to fix it."

I held myself away from him, but finally bent and hugged him back. The world wasn't black or white.

"I can't say I entirely understand or forgive you. But I will let you explain."

"That is all I can ask for. Thank you."

We settled around the table, a feast spread in front of us.

We nibbled as Yastlama looked at us. "I didn't know how wrong and broken your father was. Or why. Something happened shortly after he bonded with your mother. He became obsessed with bloodlines and bonds. That if he created the perfect Madrelir bloodline, he would rule an empire that would never end. I think he realized that they were bonded but not in love. That she loved someone else."

I shuddered. "That's why he was trying to control how bonds work. And to bond with me."

Yastlama shook his head sadly. "Before your father broke, he had the makings of a great man. Perhaps that is when he met Dr. Blattodea. I'm hoping we find more from her. Thus far, she is not very cooperative."

Sam said, "I've only waited this long because I wanted Thea to decide if I needed to kill you. But my sister? And the contact?"

Yastlama sat bolt upright. "Be honest with yourself. It's been ten years since your sister was taken. She is not the 10-year old you remember. Her trials have been a thousand-fold what you endured."

Sam's shoulders slumped and I reached forward and touched his hand. He looked up, "I've spent the last decade doing everything I could to find her, save her, help her. Every night the last thing I think is, 'Could I have done anything else to save her? To have kept any of this from happening?'"

"If you think you are ready. Colleen is ready to meet you."

Sam leapt to his feet, I could feel the mingled joy and fear in him. The door slid open and we all gasped at the woman standing there.

"Colleen?" Sam's voice was small, as if he were 14 again.

Whoever she had been had been destroyed by Dr. Blattodea. Her face was the only human-looking thing left of her. The rest was silvery machine parts. Her hair was fine wires. She was a cyborg.

But Sam rushed towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She looked shocked, but then wrapped her arms around him. Tears flowed down both their faces. I felt like I was intruding, watching them. Sam pulled back slightly and touched her face.

He said, "I never, ever forgot you. Or stopped looking for you."

She smiled and said, "I know. It wasn't until recently that I could make sure our paths crossed again. You can tell him now, Yastlama."

He stood and said, "Sam, your sister was the contact. Dr. Blattodea considered Colleen her finest achievement and thought she'd completely destroyed and covered over her personality. She gave her more and more responsibilities and power."

Colleen smiled. "Yes, and learning how to subtly undermine her was the only thing that kept me going. I thought Sam was dead. The thought that I could completely destroy what they had built gave me a reason to live. And then I discovered you hadn't died."

She peeked past Sam and saw me. Her face went white and she backed away from Sam, pointed at me. "Her, that's her."

Sam grabbed her hands and forced her to look at him.

"Colleen. That's Thea."

"The one he was trying to take, to change."

"He died before he could do that. She won't hurt you."

Colleen closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. She looked at me and said, "I'm sorry. I suppose that is one final thing I have not managed to purge from my mind. They used imagery of you to taunt me."

I smiled at her. "I'm so sorry. I know I can't ever make up for what my father took from you, but he never got whatever it was he was trying for."

She tilted her head at me. "I know, I'm told when he last left me, he killed your mother to clear the way for your...change. But your brother stopped him in time."

I nodded. "Whatever faint grasp on sanity he had dissolved when he killed my mother. He was enraged."

Her voice was steady. "He hurt you."

"Not nearly as much as he hurt other people. And Tlavi stopped him. And then we had Yastlama to take care of us."

"And I had Dr. Blattodea."

I winced away from her sharp words. I didn't know what to say.

But she said, "I wouldn't have chosen this path, but I was put in the position to stop a great evil from continuing. So I do not regret my life. Regret is a wasteful emotion. That is a blessing Dr. Blattodea gave me. The ability to shut down my emotions."

Sam crinkled his brow. "Colleen, emotions aren't all bad. Don't you remember before...?"

She tilted her head at him and said, "One day I will tell you about the last ten years, then you can tell me if feeling is so wonderful."

I could feel the helplessness coming from Sam and I grasped his hand. Colleen's eyes narrowed but she didn't say anything.

Yastlama said, "As I promised you, Colleen, you will be part of the interrogation of Dr. Blattodea. Hopefully she will respond to you. Thus far she's said nothing."

Her smile was thin. "Oh, she'll talk to me. I know exactly how she's wired. Literally." She turned back to Sam and I. "I apologize that you ended up having to fulfill the bond before I arrived. I am hopeful what I learn from Dr. Blattodea will allow me to help you break the bond."

The breath disappeared from my throat. Why wouldn't he take her up on it? I closed my eyes, waiting for his response.

He squeezed my hand. "Colleen, I have no interest in breaking the bond. Thea is my mate, and I love her."

She just said, "We'll see. You don't have to remain connected to anyone, if you don't wish."

He wanted to stay with me. I beamed at him. He squeezed my hand. Yastlama cleared his throat, interrupting all of us.

"It will take some doing, but taking down the Reivers will undo the last lingering piece of evil your father left behind." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "That you know of. Have you truly found everything he fouled? How much of our family wealth was built on other people's pain?"

Colleen said, "Then turn it to good. You can't undo the past. You might never be able to know everything your father did. So cleanse what you can and rebuild." She waved down her body. "I was broken, a shell. And I remade myself. No one can ever hurt me again." She stood and nodded to all of us. "I am eager to speak with the doctor and begin my questioning. Sam - I look forward to relearning who you are."

I watched her walk out of the room. Her transformation would haunt Sam. She was not eager to have a big brother. It was just another connection that could be used as pain.

Yastlama covered the silence with genial banter, before he segued into more serious tones.

"Your brother sent Meli away."

"But she is his mate? How could he?"

"Let me finish, he went back for her. He was going to undergo the
Poloron Fallapadax
."

I gasped in horror. It was the closest thing to breaking an established bond that existed.

Sam said, "What is that?"

I shuddered. "It's a procedure that allows you to pump yourself full of drugs that...dull the life bond. It doesn't break it, not for both sides. The other person will no longer feel the bond as long as the drugs are maintained."

It was considered a last resort, to protect someone from a criminal. That my brother considered it as an option. I shuddered again.

Yastlama said, "I considered undergoing it myself, at one point. The pain of losing my mate was unending." I was silent. He'd never shared about this before. "That was the evil your father did to me. He told me my bond mate had died and sent her away."

I said, "But how did you not feel her missing?"

"I thought the pain I was feeling was her death and missing her. Not her pain at being abandoned echoing down our bond."

"So you've spent decades never knowing your daughter. Did the pain of your separation ever lessen?"

"Never. I ached for her day and night. When we return to Foundation space, I look forward to you meeting Lilah. You've already met our daughter."

"I have? Who is she?"

He smiled, clearly delighted. "Meli."

I looked at Sam in confusion. "How does that even work?"

Yastlama just smiled. "You'll both figure it out soon enough."

With that, he excused himself from the room.

Sam pulled me into his arms and I found myself leaking tears onto his chest. "Ssshh, why are you crying?"

"Sam, if your sister really can free you, take it. The bond feels good now, but it could be nothing but pain."

He pulled me down onto the sofa with him. "You idiot. You think just because something might hurt I'd walk away from you?"

I just cried into his warm chest. How could he not take the opportunity to be free? I saw the pain in Yastlama's eyes when he thought about the wasted decades believing his mate dead. I knew the anguish in my heart. How could I ask him to feel this with me?

Sam pulled my face up to his and said, "Do not think that way!"

My eyes went wide. Could he hear my thoughts?

"Yes, yes I can. And if you would stop freaking out, you would be able to feel mine."

I took a deep breath and settled my thinking. I became away for a warmth surrounding me, not physical but mental. It was like a fuzzy blanket wrapped around my thoughts. His thoughts echoed against mine.

Beautiful. Smart. Sexy. Curvy. Goddess.

I blushed and nuzzled in to him. His hands started stroking my back and I sighed. It felt good to have his hands on me. I squirmed as I realized the thoughts went from golden warmth to red-tinged lust.

His hands pulled me under him, pinning me down. All I could do was writhe against him while he sent me deliciously naughty thoughts. I tried to touch him, but he pressed my wrists back.

He murmured, "Do you believe me now? That I want you? That I want to be with you?"

"I think you could show me a little more."

"I'm going to show you over and over again how much I love and admire you. Until you are round with my baby. And then I'll just be more gentle."

I moaned as my wetness grew. The only touch I got was him nestled between my legs.

"Let me touch you."

I could feel his grin. "No. I'm going to make this take all night long. Until you are completely convinced."

And then he did.

~ * ~ * ~

Thank you for reading Book Two of the
Bound to the Alien
series,
Taken by Pirates.
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