Chapter 34

Sylvie held up her hands, moving away from the Supreme Regent, or more accurately, whatever had taken the regent's shape.

"Back up. Stay away from me. I know you’re not him."

"Aren't who?" it asked, striding forward and making another grab for her.

Sylvie danced backward. "You aren't the regent. You're Hareema."

"Very clever, Earthling.” It smiled with X's mouth and spoke with his voice. “How did you know?"

"X is an ass on occasion, but he’s not a prick. You, sir… are."

The smile vanished. "I knew you were clever. We'd established that before you departed from your planet, but I never counted on you being what we would consider ‘intelligent’."

"My race may be a little technologically disadvantaged compared to yours, but that doesn't make us idiots."

"No one said idiot, child. You’re locked into one solid form. Where that doesn’t affect your intelligence, it most certainly makes you inferior."

"I beg to differ." Sylvie lunged away as the big oaf reached for her again. It seemed to have trouble really pulling off the details of X’s movements. His body was so large and strong. It wasn’t a wonder. "At least we Earthlings don't have to pretend to be something we're not to fit in."

A nasty scowl was her reward for the comment. "The human sense of humor has been much maligned by other races. Now I can see why."

"Let me go.” She moved to the translucent walls and began to beat against them, getting nowhere. X was running out of time and she was stuck in a cell with a damn Hareema.

"Not likely. You've served your purpose. You are no longer needed."

The alien imposter grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back to the restraints, which had been abandoned once she and X closed off the room. Sylvie struggled, but the creature twisted her to the point of pain shooting through her neck and down the side of her chest. She turned to defend herself and the bastard snapped the collar back on her.

“No. Please.” She barely kept herself from hyperventilating.

“Shut up, woman,” he growled at her and jerked her toward the monitors.

She needed to get ahold of herself. She was smarter than this. He didn’t have anything invested in her survival, so pleading was out. A show of emotion would just upset the bastard more. Something had to work. Anything. Pride? Hitting on his pride? Every creature shared pride, especially in success. The gelatinous bastard had succeeded as far as everything seemed to be setting up. She could go with that.

"Impersonating the Supreme Regent was very clever, but I don't understand the seduction angle. I could have woken up already bound and in a cell. Why try the whole mating ploy?"

"We needed to keep you in reserve, in case our current operation fails."

"Current operation?"

"You Earthlings sure are curious. It’s almost cute.”

"Indulge me? My people have never met a race as advanced as yours. Your shape-shifting abilities alone are beyond anything I could imagine."

The creature sighed and moved her to stand in front of the monitor. It used X's hand to swipe across the console, bringing up the holographic display. A few movements, and an image came to dominate the screen.

It was a lab just like one they stood in. Almost identical, but something moved on the cushions, the picture was too blurry to understand what she was looking at.

The Hareema focused the device on the couple and they sprang into the foreground. It was X, the real X she assumed, and someone who looked exactly like her. Another Hareema operative. It appeared that they were trying the same ploy on him, but it looked like it was working. Fire burned in her belly as tears threatened to blur her vision further.

“No. Don’t do this. He can’t physically handle making love to her and not releasing. You’ll kill him.” Sylvie pulled hard against the binding.

“Exactly. So smart, little Earthling.” He kissed the side of her head as she jerked against the bindings, the pressure on her throat almost knocking her out.

“I can’t watch this.” She turned and closed her eyes.

"Seen enough?" The Hareema laughed behind her back.

“Yes,” she whispered and turned back to the creature with X's body, as defeat settled around her.

She regretted a lot of things in the moment, but what she regretted most was that she would never get the opportunity to mate with him, to have that one in a million chance of conceiving a child with the regent. Her heart begged for another chance, but it wasn’t happening.

"Come on, woman. Time to go."