Free Alphas Unleashed by Mina Khan Carolyn Jewel Michele Callahan S.E. Smith Page B

children without fear or pain?” Evetta asked hopefully.
    Ben paled a little at the idea of children before he shook his head in amazement. He had never thought of becoming a father. Hell, he had never thought of becoming a husband. A small warmth flared deep inside him as he gazed down at Evetta’s hopeful look.
    “Let’s get that home first then we’ll talk children,” he suggested. He turned his gaze down to the still figure. “Something tells me she is about to wake up. Go check on Hanine. I’m worried about her.”
    “Thank you, Ben,” Evetta said. “For giving me something to dream about.”
    Ben watched as Evetta walked quietly out of the room. His eyes lingered on the gentle swell of her hips. He felt his body’s reaction to the thought of having a family with her. Dreams… He hoped there really was a Goddess somewhere looking down on them. Hopefully, she would see something worth saving in them.
    He turned when he felt an unusual stillness in the figure lying on the bed. It looked like their guest was about to wake up. He just hoped she was willing to listen to him before she demanded they return her to her friends.
    *.*.*
    Carmen Walker frowned as she lay still. Her mind flashed through the events. She had been enjoying her first trip to an alien Spaceport. She was used to the idea of aliens. Hell, she better be as she was one herself now.
    She might be human but her mating with a Valdier dragon shifter had unexpected consequences. As the true mate of a Valdier male, she had been accepted by the three parts of him; the man, the dragon and his symbiot. The other unexpected consequence was the change to her own body once he had claimed her.
    Carmen heard the faint sounds of feminine voices in the background but they were not in the same room as her. She cautiously opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. She jerked in surprise when she saw a pair of dark brown eyes looking back at her. Worry clouded them as they gazed down at her.
    “Can you understand me?” The male asked in a voice that sounded like it had been a while since he had spoken English.
    “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Carmen asked in confusion.
    The man smiled nervously down at her. “My name is Ben Cooper. Are you okay? I’m sorry about what happened. I didn’t know that Evetta and Hanine would do this,” he replied quietly.
    Carmen’s eyes followed him as he pulled a chair up near the bed she was lying on. Her eyes flew to the two purple-skinned women that came into the room to stand quietly behind him. One of them was biting her lip while the other looked at Ben with a look of worry. One of the women said something to Ben before she turned and disappeared into the other room again.
    “Why…why did they kidnap me?” Carmen asked, staring at the strange woman standing behind him.
    Ben carefully watched the woman named Carmen as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. He didn’t say anything as she took in the room around her. He knew what she would see. The room was dim, with only a couple of small lights on. The walls were dark and worn, but it was clean even if the furniture and fixtures were shabby.
    He studied the room as well, trying to see it through her eyes. The walls and floor were a dull gray. The furniture was sparse with only the single bed and a small table and chair. The outer room did not look much better. She would see that it contained another beat-up looking table and four chairs.
    “Where am I?” Carmen asked, turning her gaze back to him.
    “In the apartment we are temporarily renting,” Ben replied quietly. He turned slightly and held his hand out. “This is Evetta. She is my wife,” he said gently as his fingers closed over the slender purple ones. “My brother and I were kidnapped from Earth almost fifteen years ago. We were sold as slaves several times before the freighter we were on was raided five years ago by the warship Evetta and her sister were eventually