Epilogue
Devon
I hate lying to my friends, especially since they’re the best ones—okay, maybe the only ones—I’ve ever had.
We were only acquaintances at first. Nothing more than coworkers, really.
But when the four of us were chosen as part of a bridal lottery for a bunch of aliens on another planet, we somehow gravitated toward one another.
We grew closer on the flight from Earth to Bohna.
We stayed close even after Quinn mated Horek. After Olivia was kidnapped by Janik and then became his mate. We even remained close when Lindsey fell for Bannik—or Carrik, rather. At least, for a while. Until I stumbled upon a secret door and thought it a good idea to open it and see where it led.
Okay, so maybe stumbled upon isn’t entirely accurate.
I’d been all up in my head thinking about everything Johnna and I had talked about in regard to her former career.
Finding something to occupy my time had been a good idea at first. Except, the more she talked, the more I realized communications wasn’t really all that interesting, despite what I told my friends.
My brain didn’t make that discovery, though, until I’d been walking down a narrow path between two buildings and came to an abrupt halt when a flash of movement drew my attention.
“No good ever comes from someone skulking around.”
Despite her being gone for twenty years, my granny’s voice still echoes loudly in my head.
Although, I’m not the one doing the skulking.
No, that happens to be Beck. The phinnek pup has his nose to the ground, and he’s sniffing around the base of the mountain where some small shrubs grow.
He pauses every so often and whimpers before continuing on his quest for something.
In the distance, someone calls his name—the sound growing louder with each passing second. Beck ignores them, especially when he comes to a stop at a single spot and starts digging. Dirt flies behind him, and his whining gets louder.
Finally, footsteps are audible, and a young guard steps into view. For some reason, I pancake against the wall and try to avoid being spotted. Not that I needed to bother. The guard’s full attention is on the phinnek pup.
“Beck, stop that. Do you want me to get in trouble with the queen or the commander? They’ll throw me in the pit.”
After a lot of coaxing, the guard manages to draw the phinnek away. Of course, my curiosity is piqued, so once I’m certain neither Beck nor the guard is going to return, I step out of the passageway and approach the spot where the phinnek had been digging.
At first, there’s nothing noticeably visible.
Just clawed-at earth and a shallow divot embedded in it.
But the divot isn’t entirely in the ground.
A small section of the mountain wall is crumbled.
Enough for me to notice a seam. I glance around and find a girthy stick that should make a viable scraping tool.
I scrape along the bottom and follow the seam until it stops.
The scraping noise sends a chill racing down my spine.
It also triggers something. A locking mechanism, from the sound of it.
A short distance away, hidden behind a large shrub, the mountain wall shifts.
Dust clouds poof in the air, and a narrow crease appears.
Because I’m me, I push on the small section, and it opens inward.
That was the first of many times I’ve returned to this same hidden door. The door—and what’s behind it—is my little secret. In a practiced move, I glance around to make sure no one’s close by and then push open the small door that’s really no bigger than my kitchen cabinet and crawl through.
I snatch up the small light I stored just inside after that first day and switch it on.
Then, I shut the door, blocking out the sunshine and leaving nothing but a single narrow beam to guide my way.
Not that I don’t have the route almost memorized for the number of times I’ve walked this path since I found it.
It smells of darkness and dampness. That faint, wet smell of water over stone that forms a limey-coated surface.
Still smells better than the shit and refuse odor that never left my nostrils when I lived on Earth.
Almost three months later, I continue to have infrequent moments when I swear I still smell the sanitation facility.
My steps are quiet as I travel the length of the tunnel that’s pitch black.
It slopes slightly upward and levels out for a short distance before sloping downward.
That’s how I know I’m near the end where it spills out into an open area with several doors on each wall.
Doors that hide empty rooms. Except there’s one that isn’t empty.
It’s the reason I risk traversing that narrow, pitch-black tunnel far too frequently.
Growls are soon audible, but then they’re abruptly cut off. He must sense me. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking. I pause before exiting the tunnel and strain for any sounds other than what’s inside the room opposite the tunnel’s entrance.
The door is composed of a thick, impenetrable steel.
On the wall beside it is a keypad. I press the first button for the code, and it lights up.
Once I’ve keyed in the entire thing, the locking mechanism disengages.
On one of my many visits down here, I’d spied a guard keying in the code, while hiding in the tunnel.
I’d memorized the order the buttons were pushed, and the next time I’d come here and tried the combination, it had worked. No alarms blared or lights flashed to alert anyone to my presence. Aside from the deep-throated growls coming from inside the room, all had remained quiet, just like it is now.
With practiced ease, I gently push the steel barrier wide open.
Soft, bioluminescent light fills the room, allowing the vague shape on the far side to come into focus.
A massive Bohnari male is crouched against it.
I take slow, measured steps forward, stopping within an arm’s length of the transparent wall.
“Good afternoon, Alik.”
It’s hard to believe this is the prince of Bohna—or rather, one of them.
He’s filthy, and hair that once was short and always looked sex-mussed has grown to his shoulders and is a knotted mess.
Previously shorn horns near the top of his head have grown at least four inches and have started to curl similarly to what Janik’s—his brother—look like.
Of course, Alik doesn’t respond. He merely watches me intently with his onyx-colored eyes.
“I brought you a little something.” Using slow movements that I’ve learned during my many visits, I reach into my pocket and draw out a small pouch.
Alik remains frozen except for trace movements of his eyes as he follows my form that creeps closer to his prison. Carefully, I stuff it through a narrow hole, where it drops to the ground with a faint thud.
“I saw it in the market and thought you might like it. It reminded me of Beck. I saw him the other day when I went to the palace to see Olivia. He’s getting big.”
Even though Alik never reacts to my gifts or my stories, I continue bringing them and talking to him. I don’t know what he’s done with the other trinkets I’ve brought, but each time I return, they’re missing from where they fell after I pushed them through the hole.
“Your mom is doing well.” She’s really not, but Alik doesn’t need to know that.
“Oh, and have you ever missed the drama.” I chuckle.
“Apparently this former rebel named Ryvik is Orvak’s son.
You know who Orvak is, right? Mohneek’s consort, lover, or whatever he is to her.
Anyway, he tried killing Carrik—who’s been a freaking spy for you no less.
Bannik shot and killed him in return. Ryvik, not Carrik.
Of course that was before he could tell anyone where Mohneek and Orvak are hiding out, so Janik and Horek are back to square one with finding them.
“My friend Lindsey is pregnant. There’s going to be a baby Bohnari pretty soon. How exciting is that? She’s the one mated to Carrik. I think I told you that, but maybe I forgot.”
The entire reason Alik had us come to this planet was to bring a new generation of Bohnari to life. I actually thought that might get some kind of reaction from him, but he still sits there, silently assessing me.
“That’s now all three of my friends who’ve found their mates.
Some of the other women have too, so it seems as though your plan is working.
Well, once they all get pregnant, I mean.
But at least Lindsey’s got the ball rolling.
Quinn’s been complaining of not feeling well lately too, so we’re all wondering if she is as well.
I think she’s going to see Vornak in the next day or two to get tested.
” I laugh a little nervously. Out of habit, I lower myself to the ground and press up against the barrier separating me from the prince.
I pull my knees to my chest and rest my chin on them.
“I’ve never said this to any of them, and I never will, but I’m envious.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy as hell for them too, but at the same time, there’s a larger part of me that wishes I had what they do. ”
When Horek was pursuing Quinn before he was certain she was his heart’s fire, she’d balked.
Mostly because she thought he was really only interested in her due to the mating fever that affects all Bohnari males.
The four of us had a long conversation about it.
My thoughts still stand. I don’t care if the mating fever is the only reason a guy wants me.
So long as he’s kind, treats me with respect, and I don’t spend the rest of my life working myself to the bone for nothing more than scraps, then I’d be content.
“I didn’t come to Bohna expecting love.” I give a small self-deprecating laugh. “Not that it wouldn’t be nice, but I’ve long given up on the idea of it, you know?”
Before I started sneaking down here, I didn’t talk a lot.
More times than not, I got lost in my head and measured every word before speaking to make sure it sounded right.
Maybe because I’m not even completely certain how much of what I’m saying Alik’s taking in, I ramble.
It’s freeing in a way I’ve never experienced.
A soft shuffling sound comes from inside the containment cube. Instead of searching for its source—because I already know what it is—I keep talking. Anything to keep Alik coming closer.
“Quinn, Olivia, and Lindsey all found love. They’re the heart’s fire of three Bohnari males, which I’ve been told is something even greater than love.
It transcends any emotion, really. God, I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like.
It has to be overwhelming. Don’t you think so?
” Not expecting an answer, I go on. “I’ve never been in love.
Never even once thought I might be. If I think too long or hard about it, it’s sort of depressing. ”
I’d given up on the idea of love a long time ago.
“You never struck me as someone looking for love either. At least, not in those few times I ever saw you. Not that there were a lot or I was studying you that intently.” I have no idea why I’m in such a rush to reassure him.
“Anyway, I just mean you always looked like you were one step away from bolting anytime any of the brides was in the same room with you.”
Taking a chance, I glance toward Alik. He’s made his way across the length of his cell and sits against the same wall where I am, but he’s more behind me than in front of or even next to.
At least six feet separate us, but even still, his features are clearer between the light provided by whatever source in here that’s giving it off, as well as the narrow beam from the device I forgot to turn off.
For several seconds, we study each other.
I’m still not used to seeing him in this wild state.
Before the mating fever struck him during a brawl with Janik, Alik had been polite but slightly aloof.
Not because he’s a prince, I don’t think, but rather because he bore so much weight from the crown.
Or rather the responsibilities that come with it.
I’ve noticed the same thing happening to Janik, but at least he has Olivia to share the burden with. Who did Alik have?
The faint sound of approaching voices causes me to jump to my feet.
Alik goes tense, and a deep growl rumbles from his throat.
I cast one more quick glance at him, and for a second, I swear when our eyes meet, a flash of color similar to a spark from a match flares in his gaze.
It’s gone so quickly, though, I must have imagined it.
He scurries back against the farthest wall away from me, and I pick up the light from where it lies on the ground.
With hurried movements, I dash out of the room, close the door, and pray it does so quietly.
I’ve just managed to escape into the tunnel entrance and extinguish my light when the dim, overhead lights of the open space outside each cell illuminate. I creep farther into the darkness of the tunnel, keeping my gaze locked on the door that holds Alik prisoner.
Two guards appear. Directly on their heels is Queen Veroneek. They pause at the keypad and press the combination. The door I closed only moments ago reopens. The queen moves to step inside, but just before she does, she pauses and glances behind her.
While certain I’m far enough away there’s not a chance she can see me in the blackness of the tunnel, I freeze, my breath still in my lungs.
Her eyes narrow, and right when I think I can’t hold the air in any longer, she faces forward again and walks across the threshold of the doorway toward her son contained inside.
On a slow exhale, I release the breath I’d been holding and carefully make my way back through the tunnel to the secret door.
I listen for any sounds on the other side before locating the release lever and pulling it.
A sliver of sunlight appears in a crack, and I wedge my fingers inside.
Checking to make sure the coast is clear, I stash the light right inside the tunnel and crawl out into the full, bright sunshine.
After I’ve secured the door, I dust myself off and make my way back to the dormitory, knowing I’ll return here tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that, all while hoping I never get caught. I like knowing that my visits with Alik are a secret only he and I share.