Page 48 of Cursed Alien
A shadow fell across the doorway, interrupting her words, and her father looked up, his face draining of what little color it had.
“Gods above,” he whispered, staring at Malrik. “You brought the beast with you. Why?”
Malrik remained in the doorway. She could tell he was doing his best to appear non-threatening, but he was too big and powerful to be anything else.
“Papa, this is Malrik,” she said as she went to join him. She put her hand on his arm and smiled up at him, and the tension in his shoulders eased slightly before she turned back to her father. “He’s the one who found you in the storm. He… he kept you safe.”
“Safe? He locked me in a tower!”
“To keep you out of the storm,” she said patiently. “He could have hurt you, but he didn’t. He took care of you until I arrived.”
Her father’s eyes darted between them, fear and confusion giving way to dawning understanding as he studied the two of them, his gaze going from their faces to her hand on Malrik’s arm.
“Bella,” he said slowly. “What’s going on here?”
She took a deep breath. “It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it,” he demanded, his voice firmer now.
“I stayed to fix things at the keep, like I promised. But while I was there…” She glanced up at Malrik, who was watching her with those intense yellow eyes. “We formed a connection. A bond.”
“A bond. With a Vultor. With the beast who imprisoned me.”
“He was cursed, Papa. He’s been alone for years, trapped in his beast form. But when I came, something changed. He started to remember who he was.”
Her father shook his head, disbelief etched on his features. “Bella, do you hear yourself? This sounds like something from one of those ridiculous romances you and Tessa used to read.”
“I know how it sounds,” she admitted. “But it’s real. He’s real.” She turned to Malrik. “Can you show him? Show him who you really are?”
Malrik hesitated, then nodded. He closed his eyes, and she watched as the transformation took hold—fur receding, features shifting, becoming more defined, more Vultor. When he opened his eyes again, he almost looked like any other Vultor warrior, although hints of the beast remained.
Her father stared at him, speechless.
“I apologize,” Malrik said, his voice deep but clear, “for frightening you. For confining you. My beast… it doesn’t always understand human ways.”
“Your beast,” her father echoed. “You speak of it as separate from yourself.”
“It is and it isn’t. The curse fragments the mind. The beast takes control. But Bella…” He looked down at her with such tenderness that her heart ached. “She helped me remember. She brought me back.”
Her father studied them both, his engineer’s mind visibly working through the problem. “And this bond you mentioned?”
She knew she was blushing, but she met his gaze steadily. “We’re… together.”
“Together,” he repeated. “As in…?”
“As in I love him, Papa.”
The words hung in the air between them. She hadn’t planned to say it, but as soon as the words left her lips, satisfaction filled her.
Malrik’s sharp intake of breath made her look up. His eyes were wide, filled with wonder and something that looked suspiciously like hope.
“You love me?” he asked, so softly she almost didn’t hear it.
“Yes,” she said simply. “I do.”
For a moment, the room was utterly silent. Then her father sighed heavily.
“Well,” he said, “I suppose that complicates things.”
