CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ALEXANDRA
I felt extreme amounts of guilt. After I was with Commander Vrerkin, I felt the shame set in. For days I could not come to terms with what I had done. I had betrayed Camilla, she was not there and was experiencing an awful fate with the Aeriwanas. And to make things worse, her best friend had slept with her lover. I felt very alone dealing with all of it. I couldn't tell anyone, not even Lisa, the human female that had been showing me the ropes of the village. I took a lot of alone time in my hut to think things over.
But then it was a complete surprise when Ineq showed up. I thought he had forgotten about me completely. The one time I talked to him in the village, he was very cold. At that moment, he made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with me. He got what he wanted from me; he mated with me. Then I was nothing to him. It hurt like hell.
So when he showed up at my door, I was in complete shock. His words about wanting to be with me but he was short on time because he was working on trying to get Camilla back was a piercing sting. He had been avoiding me simply because he was too busy trying to do something that would make me very happy, get my friend back, and how did I repay him? I slept with his best friend.
So when he flew off incomplete anger after I told him I slept with Commander Vrerkin, I felt very sick to my stomach. I ran to the washroom and threw up. What was he going to do to him? I was scared he was going to kill him. Then Camilla really would never forgive me. Not only did I sleep with her lover, but I also got him killed. It was too much for me to take in.
“Alexandra? Are you all right?” I heard Lisa's voice. She ran to my side as I puked.
“I am fine. I just feel nauseous. I'm sick to my stomach,” I said.
“I came up here when I saw fire shooting from a Draqua leaving your home. Who was that? Did he hurt you?” she asked.
“No, he did not. I hurt him. I made him angry. It is nothing; don't concern yourself with it.”
“Is it because you are pregnant?” she asked.
I turned to her with wide eyes. I was shocked. “Why would you say that?”
“Because you are puking and because it is the number one reason of why we are brought here in the first place. You have been here plenty, and the time you spent in space with the Draqua, it would be normal for you to be showing the symptoms of pregnancy.”
“Oh my god!” I said.
“Oh, sorry, I did not mean to catch you off guard. But it is possible, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Then let’s go to the healer. He will run a test and make sure. It is better to know now,” she said.
“Yes. Okay,” I said wiping my mouth with a cloth. She poured me a glass of water. I drank it and waited for my stomach to settle. Then we were off.
I followed Lisa across several rope bridges that linked the trees together. We walked into the healer hut.
“Jrarka, this is Alexandra… oh, I am sorry. I did not know you were attending a patient,” Lisa said.
“Vrerkin? What happened?” I ran to his side. He was holding a cloth to his head.
“You tell me,” he said.
“Ineq did this?”
He was quiet. He did not answer.
“Here you are. Take this as a tea, just as before. You will be fine. Just minor bruises and scratches from this incident. Not like the last. Go rest take a hot salt bath. Drink the tea every hour. It will help to heal you faster,” Jrarka said.
“Thank you,” he said, walking out. He gave me an angry look before he left. He had every right. After we had sex, we promised that we would keep it our dark secret. We would not tell the captain, and we would not tell Camilla. We knew that it was a one-time mistake and that we didn't have feelings for each other. But the guilt was too much for me. I did not know that he would go so crazy and hurt Vrerkin, though I should have. These were alien dragons; dragons had tempers.
“Humans, what can I do for you?” Jrarka asked.
“I have come for a test. I have been feeling nauseous, and I think that I may be…”
“Carrying offspring? Well, congratulations to you if you are. Come, we will test you quickly.”
I took a deep breath and did as the healer asked. It was a quick blood test with just a drop of my blood. A few minutes later, I had an answer: I was pregnant.
But I did not know who the father was.
I thanked the healer and left. I had to push Lisa out of my hut. She was full of questions, and I didn't have answers. I couldn't tell her that I was questioning who the father was because word would travel fast in the village. I needed to keep this a secret for now. I needed to speak with Ineq. I hoped that he had cooled off and we could have a real conversation. I needed him to forgive me.
I don't know what I expected from him, but I knew that I had feelings for him, deep feelings. If he was the father of the offspring I carried I would be very happy. He was the one that I was magnetically attracted to. He was the one I was always thinking about. I wanted him. I did not know if you would ever give me a second chance. It scared me to think he wouldn't, and that I possibly carried his child.