Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

M ina felt Mikel's body relax as they stepped out of the lift. She tightened her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you for coming for me."

"I will always come for you, little one."

"My angel. I love you."

She saw his eyes flare, and he started to bend his head, but just as his mouth brushed hers, a door opened at the far end of the corridor. She sighed.

"I guess the party is starting."

As much as she wanted to kiss him, she wanted to meet the other women and she wanted some answers. He reluctantly put her down but kept hold of her hand as they entered the door. Draco perched on his shoulder, half-hidden amongst his long hair.

Three couples waited for them in what could have been a comfortable Earth living room—although three of the occupants would certainly not have been found on Earth.

A big blue alien had his arm around a tall brown-haired woman. Sabrost was there with his Janet, a slender woman with a cap of golden curls. In the far corner, a massive green alien cradled a short, plump woman with dark hair who in turn was holding… a baby ?

A tiny baby with pale green skin. Did that mean?—

Her gaze flew back to the other women, and this time she noticed that both of them had a baby bump.

"You're all pregnant," she burst out.

Janet grinned at her. "Yep. You wanna bet whether or not you are too?"

Her mind raced back over the time since she'd arrived, trying to count the days. She was sure it had been over a month and she hadn't had a period the entire time. She looked up at Mikel, who didn't look quite as shocked as she felt.

"A child," he said slowly.

"I guess so. Do you mind?" she added nervously, a little afraid that it would stir up bad memories.

"Mind? I'm delighted!" He picked her up and swung her around happily.

"You'd better watch out," the brown-haired woman said dryly. "Pregnant women have a tendency to throw up."

Mikel quickly placed her back on her feet, and everyone laughed. The tension eased, and they introduced themselves. The brown-haired woman was named Erica, and her blue mate was A'rien. The green alien was Taraxan, his mate Jane, and their adorable baby Jaxan. Those two couples already knew about each other, but Sabrost and Janet had been unaware of them, although they had suspected they were not alone.

As the others discussed their living arrangements, Mikel drew her aside.

"Are you happy about the child, little one?"

She looked over at Jane cradling her son, her mate hovering protectively over both of them, and then up at Mikel's beloved face. Tears filled her eyes.

"I'm very happy. We're going to be a family. And our child will always have a home."

"Always," he vowed as he pulled her against his chest. Wrapped in their own little bubble of happiness, they stood in contented silence as the others talked.

And then the door opened.

Two tall, cylindrical tanks floated into the room. Each tank contained what looked like a cross between a giant brain and a jellyfish floating in a clear liquid. Three thick tentacles descended from beneath a pink dome-shaped mass, along with dozens of thinner strands. A ring of what looked like small, dark eyes circled the base of each dome.

All of the males assumed protective positions in front of their mates. Mina sighed and stepped up next to Mikel.

"Va'rik'at'char and La'tok'at'bron, I presume?"

"You are quite correct." La'tok'at'bron's voice seemed to come from the walls themselves.

"Who are you? Why are we here?" Taraxan demanded. The big green alien had an air of authority that suggested he was used to being in charge.

"In good time, Commander Taraxan," La'tok'at'bron said, confirming her guess. "Why don't you all sit down? This could take some time."

After a brief hesitation, they all obeyed except for A'rien. He raised an eyebrow, then leaned casually against the wall, although Mina noticed he kept a possessive hand on Erica's shoulder.

"I am La'tok'at'bron and this is my associate, Va'rik'at'char. We are the ones who brought you here to Vajoc," La'tok'at'bron began. "It is our home, although it was not always as you see it now. Our people once freely inhabited the surface."

"But we paid little attention to our surroundings," Va'rik'at'char continued. "We have always been a race of scientists. We devoted ourselves to study and learning, eventually developing technology to handle all of our physical needs. It was so successful that we didn't realize that our physical bodies were deteriorating, that our birth rates were falling."

The liquid in one of the tanks shimmered.

La'tok'at'bron made a sound that could have been interpreted as a sigh. "We were especially interested in how species survived. But despite all that time spent studying other races and their paths to extinction, we didn't realize that we were heading the same way. Until it was too late."

"The Collection - was that the result of your studies?" Sabrost asked grimly. "The metal guardian watching over your collection of extinct species tried to kill us."

"We wouldn't have allowed that to happen." Did Va'rik'at'char sound guilty?

The golden-scaled male drew Janet closer. She patted his chest, then studied the floating tanks.

"But if you're still here, then you are not extinct."

"We are the last. We chose this form because it required little maintenance while we continued to devote ourselves to our studies."

"What are you studying?" Mikel asked.

"The same thing. Life. Death. What drives a race to extinction."

"Did you find any answers?"

"None as conclusive as we would have wished. Some races do everything wrong and survive. For example, we expected humans to die out long ago. Other races vanish with no previous indication that they will not thrive."

Mikel's hand had tightened over hers when La'tok'at'bron said that humans should have died out. Now he frowned thoughtfully, and she could tell he was considering the matter from a scientific perspective.

"Without answers, what did you do?"

"We decided to take a different approach. We chose human females because of their race's resilience."

"And capacity to breed," Va'rik'at'char interjected.

"Yes, yes. And we chose a variety of males—all from species that we did not think would thrive—and placed each pair in a different environment."

"What do you mean ‘not thrive?'" Taraxan growled. "The Doturans are a race of successful warriors."

"Based on our studies, warrior skills are not sufficient. Nor are spiritual beliefs, or a distaste for authority." La'tok'at'bron seemed to focus on A'rien. "We had already proven that scholarship was not sufficient."

"Why the four of us, specifically?" Mikel asked.

"You were all most carefully chosen because you were not happy in your previous lives. You were saved from a meaningless military career, an unchosen vocation, a hanging…"

A'rien grinned unrepentantly before the eyes focused on Mikel.

"And as for you, you were saved from a solitary existence that brought no joy to you, or anyone else."

"And the goal?" Sabrost asked calmly. His usual serenity seemed to have returned.

"To see if you would form a mate bond, of course." The eyes surveyed them. "And you did, all of you. It's really most rewarding to see our theory proven correct."

"I don't understand." Jane frowned at the tanks.

"Our theory is that the capacity to form a mate bond is what keeps a species from becoming extinct—that bond, love if you will, between a male and a female. The human females seem to have the ability to inspire it."

"And now that you're satisfied? Are you going to return us to our lives?" Erica asked.

Mikel's hand clamped down on Mina's and she could see similar reactions from the other males.

"No, of course not." Va'rik'at'char hesitated. "Unless you wish it?"

No one responded.

"Now we will continue, with our own people," La'tok'at'bron said.

"You said you were the last," Janet protested.

"In some ways." A screen appeared on the far wall, showing a storage facility filled with row after row of small bottles. "They are our future. All that remains of our people. They sleep and wait."

"Wait for what?" she asked softly.

"For us to discover a solution. And now that we have one, we will grow bodies for them—physical bodies as we were long ago. Once they have been implanted in those bodies, they will start a new life on the surface, with a human female at their sides."

"You can't just take people away from their lives!" Janet protested.

"Why not?" La'tok'at'bron sounded almost amused. "None of you were happy either. You had no friends, no family…"

Erica made an abortive movement, then shook her head.

"Can any of you truthfully claim that you would rather return to your previous existence?" he continued.

Silence filled the room.

"The other females will be selected just as carefully. They will have the same chance to bond—or to return. That possibility is always open. We will seed the couples throughout the planet and give them the chance to grow a new society, one that will not become extinct."

"But what of us?" Erica asked.

"This lab is designed to meet your needs. As you grow, as your children grow." The eyes flicked briefly to Jane and her child. "You may choose to take advantage of it, or not. But we hope that as our race begins to return, you can help to guide them."

"Guide them?"

There was a slight hesitation.

"Yes. They will have fully adult bodies, with the necessary knowledge for survival. But they will have no real experience with relationships."

"Do we have a choice?" Erica asked sarcastically.

"Of course. The option to return to your planet is always open."

"Easy to say now," Jane muttered, cradling the small, pale green baby. "Jaxon wouldn't be welcome on Earth."

Taraxan gave her a worried frown, but she smiled up at him. "Don't worry, love. I would never have left you, even without our son."

She had a point, Mina realized. No one could return to Earth with a half alien baby. The knowledge didn't bother her. She was quite content to remain here with Mikel. As she looked around the room, she saw that none of the other women appeared to be concerned.

"Do you have any other questions?" Va'rik'at'char asked.

"I do not approve of your tactics," Taraxan said sternly. "But I cannot argue with the results. I will render whatever assistance I can."

"As will I," Sabrost added.

A'rien grinned and shrugged. "Perhaps I will teach them to play cards."

Erica shook her head, but she was smiling. Her smile faded as she looked back at the tanks. "I still think it's wrong to steal people away from their lives without giving them a choice."

"They will have the choice to return. Just as you did."

"I don't believe it's quite as simple as you make it sound."

"Perhaps not, but we do not have an alternative." La'tok'at'bron hesitated again. "Unfortunately, there is always the possibility that despite our success with each of you, our males will not be capable of forming the same bond. In that case, we will open the planet to settlement by a small, carefully selected group of immigrants. No matter what happens, you will not be isolated here."

Mikel frowned, and she squeezed his hand. She suspected he would enjoy the occasional company once he had the chance to get used to it.

"I suppose I am willing to help as well," he said.

"We were hoping you would… volunteer." Va'rik'at'char twirled gently in his tank. "The lab has been programmed to meet most basic requirements, but a skilled scientist could greatly expand its capabilities."

She saw the glimmer of interest on Mikel's face, but he kept his tone non-committal. "Perhaps."

Jaxan woke up and started to fuss, and Taraxan immediately rose to his feet. "I am taking my mate and child home."

The others nodded agreement and started to trickle out after arranging to meet in the near future—away from the lab. She and Mikel were the last to leave, and she stopped by Va'rik'at'char's tank, placing her hand on the glass.

"You weren't really going to send me somewhere else, were you?"

"Not unless you requested it. But you needed to learn to fight for what you want."

"I guess I had to find something worth fighting for." She looked up at Mikel. "You are worth it."

"As are you," he said solemnly, then his face lightened. "Let's go home."

He scooped her up in his arms, carrying her out of the building as she called goodbye to the two scientists. Draco hopped from Mikel's shoulder into her arms, and she cuddled him close as Mikel leapt into the air, his strong wings carrying them into the sky.

Exuberance filled her as they soared higher. She had a mate, a home, a child to come.

She had found the place where she belonged at last.