Heart's Prisoner (Dark World Mates Book 1) Read online

  "It is disappointing that after months we still have no good intel on the subject," General Vearez said. "No clue of its home whereabouts. We did have a team scan every bit of that hell planet and didn't find a trace."

  "All I'm saying is I've talked to Officer Torrence, the head of security. He wants that thing dead too. But I've been thinking lately that we should maybe wait on that, ya know?"

  General Vearez got closer to the officer and Lana had to focus hard to hear them.

  "What are you thinking?" Vearez said.

  "I'm thinking we don't blow its head off just yet. They've been trying this whole time to play good cop with it but I think it's time to switch gears. And I think I can be the one to get it to talk."

  Lana didn't hear anything after that as they began to speak too low but she could guess what they were planning. Like a sleepwalker, she moved back to the table and picked up her purse.

  "Lana, hey, where have you been?" Nicole waved at her as she stood by a group of friends. Her expression grew concerned and she moved toward her. "Hey, is everything okay?"

  Lana swallowed hard. "I...um...I'm so sorry about this but I think I'm going to head off."

  "Okay. Will you tell me what's wrong?"

  "I'm just...not feeling well."

  Nicole's expression went from concerned to nearly horrified, her tone turning gravely serious. "What symptoms are you feeling? Do you feel dizzy? Confused?"

  Lana looked at her strangely but just shook her head. "No, no, nothing like that. I just...I just need to be alone. I'm sorry."

  The relief on Nicole's face wasn't hard to miss. "No problem, Lana, of course. I will be just fine here. You take care, okay?"

  "Thanks, Nicole."

  Lana didn't miss a beat taking her leave. She would have searched for Jacob but when she couldn't find him right away she decided to just speak with him later. She made for the elevators at breakneck speed, making sure to avoid Galger or any of the generals.

  ***

  As Lana came to her door, she paused before opening it. As much as she wanted to leave the gala, she also came to realize she didn't want to be alone in this moment. Afraid the frustration and anxiety might consume her as soon as she walked into her lonely little unit, she feared to walk inside and be taken unwillingly into that black abyss.

  Leaning against the door, she took a few deep breaths, then let out a cry and hit the metal siding with her fist. She turned over, leaning against the wall. She could feel tears welling up but she refused to let them fall. She blinked several times to dry her eyes then bowed her head. When she caught the gleam of her new bracelet, she rose her hand up and rubbed the charms between her fingers. For a long moment, she just stared at it, thinking of everything and nothing.

  She really didn't care for jewelry. She'd likely never wear the thing again. It would just collect dust in some corner of her room.

  She thought again for a long moment then a smile slowly pulled at her lips. He might be annoyed but Xerus never refused any of her gifts before.

  Without even going to her room to change, Lana went back to the elevators and this time pushed the button for twelve.

  When she got to the security desk she pulled out her security badge from her little purse and, though David gave her a weird look, he let her through. She went across the central lab, straight for Torrence's desk.

  "What the hell are you doing here?" he said in greeting.

  "I'd like into unit three, please."

  Torrence looked her over, a lot longer than usual. When he was still sure he was unsatisfied by her in some way, he leaned back in his chair. "You're off the clock."

  "But I still have authorization to see my client at any hour."

  Torrence didn't say anything nor did he move.

  "Alright, I guess I'll contact Cole then and let him–"

  "He's not contactable right now." Torrence grimaced.

  Lana raised a brow. "Well I have his number, I'll just message–"

  Torrence made an angry grunting sound and put in the security code for unit three. "Make it quick."

  Smiling, Lana turned and headed for the opening. As she waited for the door to close behind her and for the sliding door to open into the room, she unclasped the bracelet from her wrist and hid it in her hand. When the sliding door opened she went straight for the wall controls.

  "This is a surprise," she heard Xerus say. "What brings the good doctor here at such a..."

  When the screen lifted and Xerus got a good look at her, he froze. Even his tail stopped moving.

  Lana felt a blush coming on and realized it was because of the way he looked at her. She hadn't expected to get such a reaction from him despite her fancy get up.

  "I...um...I have a present for you," Lana said sheepishly.

  Xerus lowered his tail slowly to the ground and dipped his head. "Oh?...and what might that be?" He said in a strangely low, husky voice.

  Like a little girl, Lana skipped over to the transfer box and carefully slid the bracelet in. She stepped back to the glass to gauge his reaction. Xerus didn't move right away. He watched her instead and Lana had to coax him to open the box.

  Eventually, he did. When he entwined the bracelet in his fingers, he looked at it curiously, letting the light hit the gems, making them sparkle. He looked at her, confused.

  "What is it?"

  Lana giggled. "It's a bracelet. It goes around your wrist. Like this." Lana held up her other hand that had the slim diamond bracelet.

  Xerus looked it over again then glanced back at her. "But...why?"

  She wasn't sure if he was asking why it went around your wrist or why she was giving it to him. She chose to believe it was the former.

  "It's just meant to be like an...ornament. Something nice to wear."

  Xerus held it up higher to the light so that he could make out the charms.

  "Ah, the star...well you already know that symbol." Lana pointed out. "But the other one is of my homeworld. Earth."

  He tilted his head and grunted. Carefully taking it in his claws, he tried to lay it out on his wrist and to both of their dismay, the bracelet was much too small. It looked like something a child wore compared to his size.

  "Oh, well...I hadn't really thought about it fitting you," Lana said. "It was just last minute and I understand if you–"

  "Thank you."

  Lana's eyes widened. She watched as Xerus went over to the bed he rarely used and placed it on top. Right next to the lock of hair she had given him over a game of chess. She stared at them, and at Xerus, then moved closer to the glass.

  As if in sync, Xerus too came up beside the window and, when Lana placed her hand on the glass, he placed his against hers.

  Lana swallowed as her throat tightened. "Xerus...there's something I have to tell you. Something I should have told you before and I'm sorry...I'm sorry I didn't." She licked her lips. "You should know, you need to know, that in a week's time they are going to test you. To prove that you can be trusted."

  Xerus' expression darkened. "Tested how?"

  Lana shook her head. "I don't know, they wouldn't say but if you succeeded they promised me you would be given more lax holdings, you might even be allowed out from time to time."

  Xerus lowered his hand from the glass. "And if I fail?"

  Lana looked away and in that Xerus knew.

  "They won't just kill you though, Xerus, they plan to torture you."

  Xerus turned from her and Lana dropped her hand. "Please...please," she said. "If you do this. If you work with me I promise you I will do everything in my power to help you. To help even with your mission."

  Xerus turned back to her. "Even if that mission meant killing humans?"

  Lana opened her mouth then closed it.

  "I didn't think so."

  "You know I can't. And I don't believe you would do that."

  "You don't know," he said in a hushed tone.

  "Then tell me. Help me understand."

  Xerus shook hi
s head and it was the first she'd seen him use the human gesture. He averted his eyes from her and fixed his gaze on the bracelet. He stared at it for a long time before he looked back at her.

  "You are an enigma, you know. Just you," he said.

  Lana frowned in confusion and Xerus blew out a hard breath through his snout. His eyes fell over her once again. "Turn for me."

  Lana hesitated then did as he asked, letting him see her bare back and the twirl of her dress.

  Xerus grunted low. He said something in a whisper that Lana didn't catch.

  "You make everything more difficult," Xerus said, rubbing his face and exposing his fangs. He tugged on one horn and turned from her. "If things were different, maybe..."

  Yes, if things could be different. If he would only trust her more.

  "If you don't comply with the test you will automatically fail. Try for me, Xerus. You can't win your mission if you are dead."

  Xerus bowed his head as if in defeat. Lana waited for a response but he was silent. Even though he said nothing he must know that she was right.

  "Xerus..."

  He eyed her over his shoulder and the look he gave her was crushing. He gave her a single nod. "I will...try."

  Lana closed her eyes and sighed, relieved.

  "Stay with me tonight."

  When she opened her eyes she saw him back at the glass, his hand up against it. She smiled and placed her palm to his. "Okay."

  ***

  Lana woke up to the sound of someone calling her name.

  "Ms. Hart, get up."

  Her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head with a groan. The first image she saw was of Xerus laying beside her against the glass. She sat up slowly and saw he was awake, watching her.

  The intercom went off. "Ms. Hart, please return to the lab."

  Lana rubbed her temples and grimaced as her arm tingled and her neck ached. The floor was not a comfortable way to sleep. Xerus rose before her and stepped back from the window.

  "You should go," he said.

  Lana looked over to the digital clock on the wall and saw it was four in the morning. Carefully standing up, she sluggishly went over to the wall controls. Before she put the screen back, she smiled at Xerus and nodded. "See you tomorrow."

  As she left the room and headed for the lab, she felt weightless. Dare she say even a little content for the first time she'd stepped foot in Lazris.

  Even Torrence's seething glare couldn't phase her.

  "You fell asleep in there and left the screen down, that's against protocol and I'll have to write you up."

  Lana smiled at him. "Have a good night, Torrence."

  He mumbled something as she walked past his desk but Lana couldn't care less. As she left the facility and took the elevator up to her room, she thought about tonight. And she had hope.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The week started well. Besides the usual annoyances (Galger making inappropriate comments, Torrence's daily attitude, and Cole being more distant than ever) Lana was feeling good about the coming test. She continued to learn Xerus' language and work with him as normal and felt she was making good progress. Having studied linguistics at university helped make her a quick learner. Somedays she even attempted to speak in just Xerian (as she called it) though she could only manage a few simple sentences. She was better understanding it so far than speaking it.

  She focused all her time on Xerus. So much so that she hadn't really thought much about the fact that she didn't notice Cole's absence the past couple of days until one of the others mentioned it, or that everyone seemed on edge.

  "I need a vacation," a lab tech named Vigo said. "Those damn raptors have been screeching for days. And Asset T is moving around a lot more than usual. Thing gives me the damn creeps."

  "Has anyone heard about Jeff, by the way?" Samantha, another lab tech, asked. "Wonder if he's still feeling unwell."

  "Heard he was put on leave, but that's it," said another.

  The rest were silent, working on autopilot as they went about their daily tasks. Lana didn't think much of it, only that she noticed the lab was more quiet than usual. She caught Dahlia and Dr. Yanlin whispering to each other a few times, their faces tight with concern. She saw them looking in her direction once or twice but she thought nothing of it. She had other things on her mind than base drama.

  When there were only two days left until the test, that was when Lana began to feel the tug of anxiety. She couldn't help feeling as if she were being left out of some secret plan as everyone spoke in whispers around her and Torrence and Galger seemed to have more private conversations than usual. Already they had begun to plan their set up, with several guards to accompany the generals into the unit and stay by the doors. Torrence would be monitoring from his desk while Galger stayed in the room giving any necessary orders.

  Lana only knew this from the other guards talking not from anyone bothering to inform her. She also learned that the generals would come down to twelve as early as six in the morning to assess the rest of the facility and the test would be done last. This Dahlia told her.

  "If all goes well we can take off early for the day, though some will still have to take their night shifts," Dahlia said.

  "Did you speak to Cole about this?" Lana asked.

  Dahlia shook her head. "Just got the info from Dr. Yanlin. He said Cole has other matters he's been attending to."

  Lana frowned. 'What other matters could be possibly more important than this?' she thought.

  Sick of being left in the dark, she had half a mind to call him herself. When she got the courage to actually do it, she was left with his voicemail. She tried calling Nicole after, but she didn't pick up either. Her anxiety growing and her frustrations returning, Lana emailed Nicole on her work computer but didn't expect a callback.

  "I'm going to make dinner and come back after," Lana told Dahlia.

  "I'll be gone by then. See you tomorrow."

  Lana nodded and turned off her work computer and left. She went back up to her room and had a quick meal and shower before going back down to twelve to prepare Xerus' meals. She decided to leave him alone the day before the test, giving him time to rest and be prepared, even if he argued that he didn't need it. Wanting to give him as much time as possible, she planned to make him an extra meal so he had something for tomorrow despite him arguing he didn't need that either.

  Once she got back to the lab she went straight for the food prep area and made the usual meat and mango combo. As she picked up the trays and headed for the unit she glanced up and happened to notice Xerus' video feed was stopped, the monitor black. Frowning, she went over to Torrence's desk and saw he was watching his computer screen with intense interest. As she crept closer she saw on his monitor the live feed of Xerus' room. Someone was talking to him at the window.

  "What's going on?" she asked.

  Torrence immediately minimized the screen and twisted around to give her a dirty look. "I don't appreciate the eavesdropping, Ms. Hart."

  "I wasn't trying to...forget it. I need to give Xerus his meals so can you please open up–"

  "Now isn't a good time. Come back later."

  Lana pursed her lips then set the trays down on another desk nearby. "Who was that in the room?"

  When Torrence didn't say anything, Lana made for her computer where she could gain access to the room's feed if she liked.

  "Dr. Kingsley is inside just checking on the thing, alright," he called out to her.

  "I want to know what he is saying to him." Lana turned on her computer and logged in. As she went to pull up the unit's feed she heard Torrence curse. As the video popped up, she saw Cole close to the glass but she couldn't hear his words. Xerus stood before him and he looked–

  The feed froze and she was kicked out of the program with a popup saying she didn't have permission to access the feed. Lana's hands curled into fists.

  "You don't have the right to keep me from seeing," she snapped at Torrence who was at his desk
editing permissions. She got up from her desk and was about to stalk over and do–she wasn't sure what–when Cole's voice picked up on the intercom at Torrence's desk telling him to open the doors. Torrence put in the code and the door began to slide up. Lana took the moment to pick up her trays and go for the door, hearing Torrence's belligerent protests behind her. As she marched down the hall, the sliding door at the end opened. She froze as she saw Cole step out.

  "Lana." He smiled at her. But the smile seemed different. Colder. "Sorry, did I keep you from your task? I just needed a moment with the asset."

  His voice was off too but she couldn't place what it was.

  "I was just bringing his meals," she said quietly.

  "Well...don't let me keep you." He walked past her and Lana caught a whiff of something that smelled like copper. Frowning she looked back at him and, as if noticing her stare, he turned to look at her.

  "Asset X isn't feeling well though. Might be one of his moods again. I would be careful," he said.

  'Why would he be in a mood? What did you say?' she wanted to yell at him. Instead, she kept her lips tightly shut and only nodded, turning from him. She waited for Cole to pass the door and let it shut behind him. Then she bolted into the room.

  "Xerus?"

  There was no response. Lana placed the trays on the table and went for the controls. As she was about to turn off the screen she heard a low, sharp growl.

  "Don't."

  Lana paused. She lowered her hand and peeled her eyes over to the film of the window where she could see Xerus' silhouette.

  "Xerus, what happened? What did he say to you?"

  More silence then, "I need you to go."

  "But I–"

  He hissed. "Dammit, do as I say."

  That sharp needle of pain hit her chest. Not wanting to anger him further, she did as told, quickly placing the trays in the transfer box and forcing herself back to the door. She looked back and opened her mouth to say something but thought against it. Without another word, she left. As she walked the hall back to the lab she felt pressure in her head and in her chest, her body hot and shaking.