Surprise!
Happy Valentine's day, Lovers!
If you don't have a special someone today, I hope you find the fuzzy feelings within this story and know that I love and appreciate you! Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
-Kyla
The voices I could hear over my pounding headache made it sound like I was under water. I felt like I was floating, ebbing and flowing with the tide as I slowly came to. They were speaking in a language my foggy brain couldn't comprehend as I began to regain my consciousness.
What happened? I thought, trying to remember what caused my body to feel so utterly drained. Oh right. Even the tone of my thoughts were flat as I recalled that Connor had shot me with zero remorse. He hadn't even batted an eyelash when he had embedded that bullet into my stomach instead of Kade's.
Kade. The thought of him caused my consciousness to slam back into me at an incredible force. Blinding pain came along with it as I let loose a groan of distress. Even moving in the slightest caused an unbearable pain to twist in my stomach.
I felt someone at my side immediately. I recognized his comforting scent as my body relaxed in to his gentle touch. I pushed aside any lingering drowsiness and pried my sore eyes open, wanting to see him more than anything. My eyes felt dry; as if I had been crying for days.
Who knows, maybe I had. The thought crossed my mind. I blinked several times, clearing my blurry vision.
His handsome face was mere inches from my own, his blue eyes sparkling as my own widened in surprise. I would never get used to looking at him. He was the most gorgeous person I had ever laid eyes on. It was as if every time I looked at him, it was for the first time. My eyesight had improved drastically since I had become a Naurian; it was as if I was constantly mesmerized.
"Hi," My voice croaked out. I winced again at the movement of my stomach.
"Hi yourself." He mumbled, sounding troubled and frustrated. He almost seemed angry at me.
I furrowed my brow in confusion at him. "What's wrong?" I asked him. Besides the obvious, of course.
Kade gave me a dark look before exhaling loudly. "What's wrong?" He all but hissed out, "What's wrong is that my mate jumped in front of a bullet that was designed to kill our kind."
"Well, duh." I gave him a brooding look of my own. "All bullets are designed to kill." I huffed out, crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. He was really going to lecture me the second my eyes opened?
Kade gave me a flat looking expression and stared at me for a moment without speaking. His eyes traced over my face, my arms, landing on my stomach where the bullet had probably very nearly ended my life. His gaze flicked back towards me, a hard look on his handsome features once more.
"What happened to Connor?" I asked hoarsely.
Kade stilled immediately, snapping his attention back to our conversation as if I had slapped him. "What do you mean, what happened to Connor?" He grit out furiously.
"You know, the guy who oh so kindly decided to put a bullet in me. Connor." I responded, getting impatient. I wanted to go slap that son of a bitch right this very second.
"You knew him?" Kade hissed out, his voice quiet and deadly. As I stared at him, his blue eyes that I had grown so accustomed to turned an impossible charcoal black. I gasped, reeling back onto my pillow as I tried to gain some distance from the monster that stood in front of me.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" I asked him, trying to avoid sounding timid. I would slap him, too if I needed to. I narrowed my eyes at him.
He shook his head, ignoring my question. "Emily. You said you know him- how." His tone was demanding. He was nearly vibrating with anger.
I pursed my lips, having half the mind to ignore his questions until he answered mine. "He warned me to run back at the Department of Defense before anything happened to me. He was a friend there... or as close to one that I had."
Friends don't shoot each other. I thought angrily.
Kade exhaled a long breath of air, closing his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, the black demon-like eyes were gone. However, he didn't look any happier.
"You had better tell me my eyes will never do that." I muttered to myself.
Kade's lip twitched. "Only when you're angry enough to kill."
I groaned. "Okay. Now time for you to answer my questions. What happened to Connor? How bad was the damage?" I nodded towards my body, still pinned down by the excruciating pain that twisted in my stomach.
Kade's lips thinned. "The damage was bad, Emily. It wasn't a normal gun. I don't even know how you were able to move as fast as you did, because it was designed to fire nearly a hundred times faster than humans can move. You were already in front of me by the time I heard the gun shot. It stopped us from being able to heal you with our powers. If it weren't for Doctor Ama you would have bled out." His voice cracked at the end.
"So, what I'm getting from all of that is that I'm really fast." My lips twitched with humour. I couldn't stand to see Kade upset, so if it meant joking about something awful that happened to me to relieve some of his pain, I was willing to do anything. Even if I was more shaken about it than I was willing to let on.
Kade stared at me a moment before shaking his head at me in annoyance. "Connor is about to face execution, Emily." His expression was grim, and his tone was final.
My humour disappeared immediately. "What?" I screeched, jolting up in bed despite the protest from my wounds. I winced, at a loss of breath from the agony that spread through me.
Kade was immediately beside me once more, his hand on my back as he tried to ease my suffering. I shouldered his hand away, now incredibly mad.
"What do you mean, executed?" I demanded, now trying to stand up from the bed I had been cooped up in for far too long. Clearly, there were things going on here that I needed to address.
Kade's eyes flickered between black and blue, before he regained control once more.
"He made an assassination attempt on the future Queen of Nauria." Kade's voice was steely and the impression was clear; he did not care what happened to Connor.
But, for some reason... I did.
"I want to speak to him." I announced. "I don't care what you say. I need to do this, Kade. I didn't know him very well... but he seemed good. I need to know why he did this."
Kade stared at me for a long moment before he brought his hand up and ran it through his dark hair in exasperation. "I know you well enough by now that I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise. He's under maximum security right now, Emily. He's also been interrogated by our warriors. He's not going to talk to you."
I let out a breath of frustration. "I think you're wrong. I'm going to get to the bottom of this." I looked down at myself, still in a hospital gown.
"And my injuries?" I asked him, nervous for the answer.
"He ruptured your spleen. Like I said, the weapon he used was designed to kill our kind. I don't know how the humans even came up with the technology that is necessary to create a gun like that. It should have been centuries away from their abilities. It had a poison that we managed to remove from your body coated on the bullet. If Ama hadn't been able to get rid of the poison, you would be dead right now. He came here to kill one of us. And whether or not you were the original target, he nearly killed one of our females. That is a punishment of death among our kind."
I waved my hand, dismissing his comments. "I know. Obviously trying to kill someone deserves some kind of punishment. But this happened to me. And I will decide if he deserves to die for it."
I had never really agreed with the death penalty, and I wasn't going to change my mind now just because it affected me personally.
When Kade looked as though he were about to object, I interrupted.
"Am I or am I not going to be Queen one day? Should I not be allowed to decide what happens to a criminal that shot me?" I didn't get an answer. Kade merely narrowed his eyes at me.
"Yes." He finally responded. "But my father won't like it. Neither will our people. You cannot let his mediocre kindness back at the Department of Defense cloud your judgement. Remember, your position is also political among our kind. They will see you being lenient towards a grave crime as catering to humans. You are no longer from their world, Emily. So please let that help guide you in your decision."
I blew out a puff of air, now stressed out. "Okay. So is there some clothes here that I can change in to? Clearly a girl can't be out cold for a couple days or bad things start to happen when men are in charge." I gave him a slight smile, to show him I was only kidding. I wasn't sure how far along their sarcasm was coming considering this wasn't his first language.
Kade rolled his eyes. "I don't know how we've managed so long without you." His tone was coated in sarcasm and I grinned back at him.
I was handed a pile of fresh smelling black clothes and I slowly eased myself up, wincing once again as my stomach muscles stretched. Kade was beside me, his hand on my back as he helped lift me from the bed. His face was tense once again at my pain.
Once I was standing, he helped me undo the hospital gown but turned around when I raised an expectant eyebrow at him. I was not about to let him see me naked for the well, second time looking like a pathetic wounded little girl.
I would do anything to have my mother here by my side right now. I briefly wondered how they would have reacted to everything that had happened to me if they had been around still.
The Department of Defense probably wouldn't have taken me then. I thought, unsure of how to feel about that. I would've had family to advocate for my disappearance.
I cringed as I pulled the clothes over my bandaged skin, trying to avoid moving as much as possible. When I finished, I knew there was a light sheen of sweat coating my body at the exertion it caused me. I cringed at how weak I was in contrast to how amazing I had felt only just before I had been shot.
Kade turned around again, offering me his arm as he lead me out of the hospital room and down the hall to where I assumed Connor was being held. The hallways were surprisingly full of people who all bowed as I passed them, reaching out to brush their fingers lightly over my hand and forearm.
"You should have seen the commotion you caused when our people thought you had died sacrificing yourself for me." Kade murmured quietly as he kept pace with me, slowly moving down the hallways.
I raised an eyebrow, interested in what he was saying. "What do you mean?"
Kade gazed at me with an expression I couldn't quite place. "They tried to kill Connor themselves. We had to form a barrier around him in order to get the information we wanted from him. However... he didn't end up telling us anything. I don't think you'll have any better luck. He... hates our kind. That much is clear."
I nodded, imagining Jade lying in that hospital bed. "Well... I have an idea of why that is." I sighed, shaking my head. I wished I had been able to help her, but after everything that happened to me, I hadn't succeeded. It was one of the things I intended to ask King Kagorth. If Jade was still alive... I wanted her brought into our care. At least that way, I would be able to look out from her.
After a long and tiring walk through the metal ship, we finally came to what I assumed was their prison. I wondered how often they had to use it, considering their population had greatly been reduced.
Kade said something to the guards outside of the doors who gave the both of us a deep nod before moving aside to let us through. As we walked through the thick steel door, I was startled to hear the many loud yells of the prisoners that were being held in the cells that lined the walls on either side of us. I gaped at them, shocked that they had so many criminals with the size of their community.
"Why are there so many of them?" I hissed at Kade, trying to avoid the eye contact and leers that many of the men behind the bars were shouting at me. Kade bared his teeth at several of them, effectively shutting them up as he tightened his grip on my hand.
"After the plague many of those who lost their mates went mad with grief. They were overcome with rage, unable to function in a normal society. Unfortunately, this was the only solution we have here on Earth. We cannot risk letting them out because they run the risk of exposing us to the humans."
Several of the men that we passed were sitting on their bunks staring at the wall, unmoving. I felt a pang of sympathy shoot through me.
"That's really sad. They lost the most important person in their lives and now they're going to spend years in prison." I spoke, mainly to myself.
Kade made a noise of agreement as we finally reached the end of the hallway. We found Connor lying on his bunk facing the ceiling, looking void of any emotion. When he heard us approach, his eyes slid to us slowly, as if he had already accepted his fate. They had probably told him he was going to be facing execution.
"I still remember hearing your screams as they tortured you." His monotone voice filled the room, causing my face to drain of colour.
I opened my mouth and then snapped it shut just as quickly as I took in Kade's rigid posture and that his eyes had turned black once more. I elbowed him roughly, trying to get him to shake off the urge to kill the man behind the bars.
When I saw that he had himself under control once more, I cleared my throat. "Wow. Thanks for the very creepy conversation opener, Connor." I responded drily.
He scoffed, looking at the ceiling once more. "I see that you've found your place among the aliens, though. Congratulations. Queen, that's really something." Connor's tone was practically dripping with condemnation.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Well, I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter, Connor. And quite frankly, they've treated me much better here than I was treated by my own human kind."
Connor's void of emotion eyes found mine once more. "Until you refuse them, Emily. Then you'll see just how low you are in their eyes. Practically a mutt, I'm sure."
Kade let out a growl. "If you speak to her like that one more time I guarantee you will find yourself unable to speak for the rest of your days. However few there might be."
Connor laughed. He actually laughed. My eyes widened as I glanced at Kade, preparing to grab for him if he decided to launch himself at the defenseless human behind the bars.
I had had enough of the games. "Connor, what happened to Jade?" My tone was sharp.
Connor sprang up faster than I had anticipated. "How dare you speak her name through your filthy alien mouth." He hissed, and if I hadn't known any better, I would have assumed he had been possessed as he stared at me, looking like he would love nothing more than to finish what he had started when he shot me in the gut.
I placed my hand on Kade's chest just as he began to surge forward.
"Kade, could you please go speak to the warriors outside for a few moments? I'd like to have a minute alone with Connor." My tone was pleasant but my expression, I was sure, warned Kade that I wasn't really asking him.
He stared at me for a moment before giving me a small nod, then gave Connor one long, warning look before he stalked away, slamming the door open as closing it just as loudly.
I turned back towards my would be assassin, and rolled my eyes. "Men."
Connor didn't respond as he continued to glare at me.
"Okay, enough Connor. You have no right to come in here and act like you're all high and mighty over me. You know damned well what happened to me in there. For gods sake you warned me to run when you knew there wasn't a chance I was getting out of there unless I was an alien. I spoke with the King and he had no idea the government was treating women the way they were. I haven't had the chance to yet, considering the fact you shot me, but the King is willing to listen to what I have to say about the future of their agreement with Earth."
When he didn't respond I carried on. "I know you have some sort of heart in there. I saw it with my own eyes. Why did you try to shoot Kade?"
"Because he is the future King. I wanted to put an end to this program once and for all." Connor responded.
I shook my head. "Don't you see? That was never going to work. It's only going to get you killed. I want the same thing as you. I want changes to be made so that no one unwilling is forced into becoming an alien, for gods sake. Don't you get that? You've gone and made yourself an enemy of a species you know nothing about."
Connor looked away from me, gritting his teeth.
"Is Jade still at the government facility?" I demanded to know.
Connor visibly flinched when I said her name. "I don't know. I've been told that she's still alive, that she hasn't died but... I haven't seen her since the day you patched up my arm. Brian gave me his word that he has been trying to keep her alive, but he said things aren't looking good. It's because of these aliens, the Naurians," He said the name like it was a disease, "that she ever was taken to begin with. It's their fault she's sick." His voice broke at the end.
"I understand, Connor. I never had the chance to meet her, but I wanted to do anything in my power to help her in my short time there." I paused, studying him for a moment. "I want to bring her here. I know that they may be able to help her in a way that they can't. I think it's her best chance of surviving."
He stared at me a moment, looking shocked as he searched for a response. "Surviving as in turning in to one of you?" His tone was teetering on the edge of disgust and frustration.
I sighed. "I get it. I look like an alien now. I get that it's freaky. But I am being honest with you that they haven't given me any reason to not trust them as of right now. They haven't hurt me. They saved my life when you shot me, nearly killing me."
Connor visibly winced as I said that last part. He shook his head, "I'm sorry. I can see now that there is something left of who you were before. All I could do is blame them for what they've done to the people I care about most."
I nodded. "But at the same time, the King told me that they had never agreed for the government to take unwilling females. They were supposed to consent and be on their death bed. This was supposed to be their last hope."
Connor brought his hand over his face, rubbing at his chin distractedly. "Please bring her here then. I trust you over the horrible men at the facility like Kyle. There are some things that the Naurians should know."
I raised an expectant eyebrow. "Such as...?" I trailed off, leaning against the bars that separated Connor and I.
He snorted. "I may trust you more than the humans at the Department of Defense, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. I heard what they intend to do to me after I shot you. I guess shooting a Queen is a pretty frowned upon thing, huh?" His voice was sarcastic yet bitter.
I huffed out a sound of annoyance as I crossed my arms and stared at him pointedly. "You think? Anyways, I'm not a Queen yet... so technically the punishment should be less, don't you think?" I gave him a small smile.
I ignored his shocked expression as I continued on.
"I trust that you won't waste our time with pointless information. I will do my best to speak on your behalf, but if you ever," I paused, stepping closer to Connor through the cell door, "try to kill my mate again, I will rip out your intestines and tie them in a pretty bow outside of your body. I will make it hurt." I hissed, my voice deadly.
Connor stumbled back, shocked. "Y-your eyes..." He practically whispered.
I guessed my damn eyes has turned black too. Damn. I rolled my eyes, satisfied that my threat had hit its mark. I could forgive him for shooting me... kind of, but trying to shoot Kade was something that infuriated me beyond my control.
"Well, it's settled then. I'll speak to King Kagorth on both yours and Jade's behalf. Do me a favour and don't threaten anyone else's life today, okay?" My voice was sickly sweet. I was still pissed, but I understood his motives, no matter how wrong they still were. He blamed the aliens for Jade's condition, and, in a way... he wasn't wrong.
I hobbled back towards the doors that we had entered through, and to my surprise I noticed many of the prisoners giving me the Naurian sign of respect. I gave them a small, awkward nod as I hurried out the double doors, glad that Kade had trusted me enough to give me the space I needed to get information out of Connor.
When I opened the door, I found Kade leaning against the metal wall, staring straight at me. When he saw me, I could visibly see him relax a little more before he walked up to me, automatically putting his muscled arm over my shoulders in an attempt to ease the pain I was experiencing with walking around.
I could feel warmth radiating through me, but for some reason the pain wasn't ebbing away like I was sure Kade was attempting.
He growled, "We got as much of the poison out as we could, but your healing rate is still severely hindered. If he had hit any other vital organs you would be dead right now." His eyes were fixated on the door I had just come out of, as if he were about to go and end Connor's life at this very moment.
"Hey," I said softly, "I'm still here. And before you say anything else, no. I don't regret it. In fact, I would do it all over again in order to protect you."
Kade growled, "It's my job to protect you. Not the other way around. And I failed you that day."
I shook my head as we began to make our way towards the meeting Kade had arranged with his father. "It's the twenty-first century, Kade. We are equals."
He pursed his lips as if he were going to argue some more but thought better of it. As we were walking, I noticed a public washroom.
"I'll be right back." I muttered, suddenly wanting to see my wound. He gave me a brief nod as he leaned against the wall once more.
When I reached the mirror, I lifted my shirt nervously. I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to expect, and I was being perfectly honest with myself, I wasn't the best with blood and gore.
I cringed as I peeled the bandage away from my skin. Around the bullet wound was red, angry raised skin. But the actual puncture wound wasn't as bad as I had been expecting. It was a dark red, now scabbed, with several stitches that weaved through my pale skin, effectively keeping my guts from spilling out.
At least that's a plus. I cringed.
I brought my hand over my abdomen almost instinctively as pain surged through my body again at the slight movement of my muscles. My palms heated and the pain ebbed away slowly, until the heat from my hands was nearly unbearable on my skin.
When I moved my palm away, I gasped.
The doorknob twisted and suddenly Kade was standing in front of me, looking panicked. His eyes frantically searched my face until they finally landed on my exposed stomach... which was now completely healed. His eyes widened in shock as he moved closer, placing his hand on my soft skin, astonished. There wasn't even a scar.
"I don't understand-?" I stuttered in confusion. If Kade hadn't been able to heal me, why had I been able to? I didn't even know how to heal anyone.
Kade shook his head in awe. "You are full of surprises." His voice had taken on a tone I had heard once before.
My eyes flicked up to meet his, a small, playful smile on my lips. Kade materialized in front of the bathroom door and, with an audible click locked it. No one else was coming in here.
My breath hitched, suddenly nervous for whatever was going to happen between the two of us. I wasn't sure how much my heart could handle after everything that had happened lately.
Not even a second had passed before Kade appeared in front of me again. His hands were as hot as open flames, scorching me as they moved along my tender skin. My own hands found his soft, silky black hair and wound my hands through it. Kade pulled me close, pressing our bodies together like he had been starving for my touch.
And I was going to let him devour me.
Kade brought his lips to my neck, nipping at my skin lightly until he got to my breasts. It was as if my clothes evaporated into thin air as his mouth ravaged my nipples, grazing his teeth against the pink nubs.
My back arched and he growled into my chest as his length grew against my thigh. I groaned, struggling to keep my body upright as his scent and tongue drove me wild.
Finally, his lips captured my own as he ground in to me, the back of my legs pressing against the corner of the sink. Kade gripped my hips and lifted me with ease into the counter top as his tongue danced with my own.
I was sure I was going to combust when he began to slowly pull back, panting. His eyes were darker than before, not black but... this time a dark blue that aroused me even further.
Kade pressed another kiss against my lips before resting his forehead on mine.
"You're driving me crazy," His husky voice nearly sent me into a heated spiral. I was hardly able to resist taking him to the floor and doing much dirtier things to him.
Kade grinned down at me, looking smug and mischievous.
"You're beautiful." His eyes softened as he studied me, brushing the pad of his thumb over the corner of my lip affectionately.
I smiled up at him, feeling happy and content in his embrace.
"Emily... there's been something that I've wanted to say to you." Kade's voice was different this time. It was lacking the emotion it had only seconds before.
Was he trying to distance himself from me?
I bit my lip. "What is it?" I hated to admit it, but I was really starting to like Kade and the emotions he stirred within me.
"If you want to leave, I will arrange it. I won't make you stay here if this isn't what you want. I could never imagine holding you against your will, forcing you to lead a life you aren't interested in leading. Being with someone that was chosen for you."
I was staring at him with wide eyes, not believing he was actually willing to let me leave if that was what I wanted.
"Wouldn't the government come after me?" I asked him.
Kade's jaw tightened and he shook his head, "I would never let them. If you want to leave, you will do so out of your own free will. Your life will be yours, no one else's."
I nodded. "Wow. Thank you."
Kade seemed to withdraw further within himself. "When would you like to leave?" His voice was utterly emotionless now, and it caused my heartbeat to pick up quickly.
He actually thought I wanted to leave. Did I? If you had asked me weeks ago before any of this had happened, before I had met Kade and marked him, met his people...
I would have said yes.
But being here, the more time I spent with him... it made me wonder if we really could be soul mates. Everything happened for a reason. And if I was being honest with myself... there was a part of me that was growing more and more attached to him. His smile, his sarcasm, and every bit of information he cared to share with me.
I wanted to know all of him.
Kade was looking at me as though he was ready to carry out any demand I made.
"Kade. I don't want to go anywhere. I want to be here... with you. I want to get to know you. What I'm starting to feel when we're together... if I were to walk away from that now, I would wonder what I missed out on for the rest of my life." I told him honestly.
Kade didn't respond for a moment as he looked at me. He seemed to be in a state of shock. It took a moment for my words to fully register as his mask slowly thawed to reveal the true worry he had hidden when he had offered me a life outside from all of this craziness.
Kade moved closer, his expression still held a question, as if he was sure I was about to pack my bags and run away forever. "Thank you," He murmured, pressing his soft lips against my own.
I wanted to ask him what he was thanking me for, but the invisible bond between us seemed to tug against my consciousness as something more clicked in to place.
It was decided. I was staying. I was all in now. And being all in meant that I needed to find a solution for both the Naurians and the Humans to co-exist.
It was either that or both of our worlds would go up in flame.
———-
Hmmmm what did you think of this chapter?! Thank you so much for reading! This is an unedited first draft, so I apologize if this chapter seemed slow without much happening!
Please leave me a comment (there are two lovely readers that asked me to update specifically for Valentine's Day so the comments do work ;)) and vote if you enjoyed it! Sorry there wasn't much steam this chapter but it's coming don't you worry!
Love kyla <3