Project: Adapt - Failure: A Space Fantasy Alien Romance (Book 4)

futures. It was already bad enough that I couldn’t teach them to become normal Aldawi cubs. I couldn’t leave them behind to be raised by others, especially since their father would succumb to my fate soon after I died.
No, I refused to allow our cubs to grow up without their parents because I was afraid of facing reality. I needed to pull myself together and assess my surroundings, so I could figure out how to survive until they came for me.
Xylo. Odelm. Z’fir. V’dim. Zirene.
All their lives were intertwined with mine, bonded in a way that I could never explain.
Until Kaede had put it into words.
Kaede.
My assigned bodyguard had always watched my every move and stayed by my side when I needed him.
Thinking back, it was all a blur.
Somehow, deep inside, I knew that he had come for me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget how his neon-slitted eyes bore into mine. His face was the last thing I had seen before I lost my grip on the present.
Did that mean he had rescued me already?
Slowly, I opened my eyes, wincing at the sore movement. Even this simple task was hard to do. Instinctively, I rubbed the crusty eye boogers away, shocked to find that my arms were no longer bound.
This wasn’t a drug-induced dream, after all.
My limbs felt stiff and sluggish, as if I hadn’t moved in a long time. I couldn’t believe how heavy and barely responsive they felt with each slight movement I made.
How long had I been unconscious?
My blurred vision made it difficult to see in the thick darkness, but I was determined to figure out what had happened to me while the world went on without me.
Carefully and quietly, I reached out my hands. Instantly, my fingertips found cool scales.
Scales?
How had I ended up in bed with my nestmates? Why was my memory still so foggy? I felt worse than the time I had been drugged during my girl’s night with the Fab Five. Only this time, instead of waking up alone in Kaede’s bed, I lay between my mates in my nestbed.
Not only was my memory hazy, I felt like someone had thrown me off the top of Destima’s highest mountain.
Gasping softly, I ran my hand down my chest. My fingertips discovered a slightly raised line of scar tissue along my sternum. Painful memories flashed through my mind as I recalled the fiery burning that had exploded through me. My captors’ laughter flooded my ears. They had tortured me for their gain.
Gingerly, I turned over, trying not to make any sharp movements in fear that I would wake those around me and alert them that I was conscious. By the pitch-black room, I surmised it must be late. Cloudy, too, judging by the lack of light reflecting off of Lunkai, which usually shone through my room’s domed skylight.
Sleep was an amazing prospect. Knowing that I was safe, I could finally relax, surrounded by those who loved me. Maybe it had all been a bad nightmare, after all. A trick from Xenak, who had mentally attacked me before.
Shaking my head, I refused to allow myself to fall for sleep’s allure. Something wasn’t right here, though I couldn’t pinpoint what. Something bad had happened to me; my memories were all too real. I couldn’t explain away my scar, proof that someone had attacked me during my drugged nightmare.
I was concerned that Xenak was the culprit. Oeta had assured me that she recognized his mental signature and would make sure he never trespassed on this side of the galaxy. She had threatened to share it with her father Mwe, the CEG’s Assembly Head Chairmen, who could destroy Xenak if he got too close.
However, Xenak might have found a way around their mental search, perhaps by creating a diversion so he could attack me one more time.
Reaching for my chest, I traced my scar once more to confirm it was still there, disappointed that it was.
Sucking in a deep breath, I reached for my nestmate’s body and leaned into him. Pressing my head against his side, I tried to will the sudden chills away as doubts filled my murky mind.
If I had truly been kidnapped and injured, how had I gotten back to the safety that only my clan could provide?
My bed faintly moved as something hard and flat pressed against my back. Looking over my shoulder, I found the silhouette of a pair of familiar curved horns and a curtain of long hair leaning over me in the shadows. The light radiating from my spots dimly highlighted someone kneeling directly behind me.
“Kaede?”
A hand cupped my cheek as if I were the most fragile being in the universe. Closing my eyes, I leaned into his touch as he traced the side of my face with his thumb. A sense of relief flooded me.
I wasn’t imagining this. My bodyguard was here with me and he would never allow anything to happen to me. All was well.
Sobbing, I jerked around and wrapped my arms around him as I buried my head into his chest.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I breathed, gripping him tightly. I didn’t care that he didn’t like being hugged—I needed this. I needed him to tell me that I was safe, and everything was going to be okay, like he always did. “Please, tell me, Kaede. What happened?”
He gripped my waist wordlessly, pressing me harder against his chest as he placed his head on top of mine. We held each other in silence while I tried to absorb all the comfort he could offer, yet something didn’t seem right. Kaede wouldn’t willingly allow me so close for so long without jerking away.
Lifting my head, I released my hold on him. “Kaede?” Placing my hands flat against his firm chest, I pushed him away to stare up at him. His arms resisted the movement as if he were afraid I might escape him. “What’s wrong?”
Sighing, he slowly dropped his hands, releasing me.
“Ixxska isk Kaede,” a