Forced Marriage To The Alien General

The blood-red strobe lights pulsed in time with Allegra's racing heart.

A heavy, metallic grinding noise echoed through the boutique. Reinforced security grilles slid down over the glass storefront, locking them inside until the authorities arrived. The electronic locks on the back doors engaged with a loud clack.

They were locked in.

Behind the counter, Amber was curled into a tight ball, her hands covering her head. She was sobbing, terrified that the 'Ghost' standing in her store was going to mutate and slaughter them all.

Allegra backed up until her spine hit the wall of the fitting room. Her lungs burned. She knew exactly what happened to unregistered aliens in sci-fi movies. They were dissected.

Caleb stood in the center of the room. He had drawn his electromagnetic pistol. He kept the muzzle pointed at the floor, but his finger was hovering dangerously close to the trigger. His white rabbit ears were swiveling wildly, picking up the sounds outside.

He was staring at Allegra, his mind running through a thousand tactical scenarios a second.

The General had ordered him to protect her with his life. But military law demanded he execute or detain any unregistered Ghost on sight.

Outside, the wail of police sirens cut through the air. The heavy thud of combat boots hit the pavement. The local Capital Security Force was surrounding the building.

Caleb knew the local police. If they took her, she would be thrown into a civilian genetic screening camp. She wouldn't survive the night.

He made a split-second, career-ending decision.

Caleb holstered his weapon. He marched straight toward Allegra and ripped a pair of heavy, magnetic military cuffs from his tactical belt.

Allegra saw the cuffs and panicked. She raised her hands to fight him off.

Caleb grabbed her wrists with bruising force. He leaned in, his face inches from hers.

"If you want to live, shut up and play along," he hissed, his voice barely audible over the alarms.

Allegra froze. She stopped struggling and let him snap the cold, heavy metal bands around her wrists. The magnets engaged with a heavy thud, locking her hands together.

Sparks showered the floor near the entrance. The police were using a plasma torch to cut through the security grilles.

With a deafening crash, the metal door was kicked inward. A squad of heavily armored police officers swarmed into the boutique, their assault rifles raised and laser sights painting Allegra's chest red.

"Drop your weapons and step away from the suspect!" the police captain roared.

Caleb didn't flinch. He stepped directly in front of Allegra, shielding her body with his own. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a solid black badge bearing the golden crest of Military Intelligence.

He held it high in the air.

"Stand down, Captain!" Caleb barked, his voice dripping with the arrogant authority of the Imperial Military. "This is a classified military operation."

The police captain hesitated, his eyes darting from the badge to the cuffed woman. "The scanner flagged her as a Ghost. We have jurisdiction over civilian sectors."

"The scanner was a honeypot," Caleb lied smoothly, not missing a beat. "We rigged the terminal to flag her so we could make the arrest without causing a panic. She is a high-value enemy combatant. Military Intelligence is taking custody."

In the Empire, the military always won.

The captain ground his teeth, but he signaled his men to lower their rifles.

Caleb grabbed the chain between Allegra's cuffs. He yanked her forward roughly, playing the part of a ruthless captor.

Allegra kept her head down, letting him drag her out of the ruined boutique and into the blinding lights of the plaza. She felt a surge of gratitude for the rabbit-eared officer. He was saving her life.

Caleb shoved her into the back of an unmarked, heavily armored military transport van parked on the curb. He climbed in after her and slammed the door shut.

The moment the doors sealed, Caleb dropped the chain. He fell back against the metal wall, exhaling a long, shaky breath. Sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Thank you," Allegra whispered, her voice trembling.

Caleb glared at her. "Don't thank me. I didn't do it for you. I did it because of the way the General looked at you. That wasn't a commanding officer looking at a civilian. That was a high-tier predator looking at his mate. If the General comes back and you're dead, he'll go feral. His Psyche will collapse, and he won't just execute me-he will slaughter this entire sector."

The van didn't fly up into the sky lanes. Instead, it drove down into the subterranean levels of the city.

There were no windows in the back of the van. Allegra felt the vehicle taking sharp turns, descending deeper and deeper into the dark.

When the van finally stopped, the doors opened to reveal a damp, concrete loading dock. The air smelled of bleach, rust, and old blood.

Caleb grabbed her arm and marched her past guards wearing full-face tactical helmets. This wasn't a standard military base. It was a Black Site. An off-the-books interrogation facility.

He dragged her into a small, freezing room. The walls were made entirely of one-way mirrors. A single, blinding spotlight hung from the ceiling, aimed directly at a metal chair in the center.

Caleb forced her into the chair. He unlocked her handcuffs, but immediately pressed a button on the wall.

A heavy, invisible pressure slammed down on Allegra's shoulders. It was a localized gravity field. She was pinned to the chair, unable to even lift her arms.

Caleb stood at the heavy iron door. He looked back at her pale, terrified face.

"When the General gets here," Caleb said coldly, "you better have a damn good story."

The iron door slammed shut, plunging the room into a terrifying, isolated silence.