Adverse Effects Read online

  ADVERSE EFFECTS

  Saving Caeorleia Book 2

  Alicia Nordwell

  Dade, human-Caeorleian hybrid and ex-military grunt, doesn’t fit in—not with humans, not with aliens, not anywhere. He’s always on the outskirts, angry, and people aren’t sure they can trust him. When he encounters a compatible tziu named Yaseke, secrets, misunderstandings, and attacks nearly prevent the two from making a connection Dade sorely needs. Dade and Yaseke face challenges that two newly-joined males should never have to endure.

  From traitorous council members, to sadistic aliens who plan to sell them as slaves, to meeting a mysterious race of revered aliens called Collectors, Dade and Yaseke struggle to stay together—and even rescue two missing youths, who’ve also lost their parents to the same betrayer.

  Someone from Dade’s past is at the root of everything he’s suffered. No way can he let them get away with what they’re planning, but can Dade stop them on his own? If he can’t let go of his isolation and risk the pain letting others—letting Yaseke—in will bring, can he save Caeorleia in time?

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Adverse Effects, Saving Caeorleia 2nd Edition, 2020 © Alicia Nordwell

  All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser or reviewer only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  Cover art: © 2014 Christine Griffin.

  [email protected]

  http://christinegriffin.artworkfolio.com/

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  Second Edition, Previously Published

  This book has been previously published. The cover may have changed, but the title, author, and story content have not changed from the first version originally published in 2014. If you have that version in your library, please do not purchase again.

  Praise for The Experiment, Saving Caeorleia Book 1!

  “I couldn’t put this book down till I’d read the last page in the wee hours with a grumpy hubby whining about having to get up for work soon.”

  —MM Good Book Reviews

  “I was impressed by this novel… The writing was entertaining enough that I didn’t want to stop reading, and I was drawn to these characters from almost their first words.”

  —Love Bytes

  “Nordwell’s characters are appealing, accessible, and fascinating… if you are a lover of science fiction or romance, then this is the book for you. Pick it up and settle in for a wonderfully engaging story.”

  —Joyfully Jay

  “…this was a great book. It captured my attention from the start when everything seemed so bleak and held it until the end when things worked out.”

  —The Blogger Girls

  “Overall, a fun, intriguing imaginative sci-fi read with a good mix of romance and action (and sexy times).”

  —Boys in Our Books

  “This story is exciting and unpredictable, especially the betrayals. This is fast-paced and the romance and world building keeps me hooked to the story.”

  —Books On Silver Wings

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Backlist

  Author Bio

  To my family… thanks for putting up with me and my voices!

  CHAPTER ONE

  Sunlight glared off the silver surface of the lake, blinding me where I crouched away from everyone. The guard currently assigned to me stood at my back, making my skin crawl. I shivered, even though it was hot enough I was sweating. I never knew when one of them might try to touch me.

  The water cooled my fingers when I dipped them in, making small swirling circles ripple around my hand. My hovering shadow, a guard assigned to follow me around, shouted over to the guards who were with the main group lounging together beside the lake. The sound startled me, and I jerked, splashing water over my robe. I glared at him from the corner of my eye, but my guard was talking to Fieo and not paying that much attention to me. Nicklaus was sitting in the shade of the weird brown trees by the water. He was busy talking to Ryker, the other human who’d set us free from the military scientists.

  Over the last few days, things had settled down. Those Caeorleian Council guys were no longer trying to force us into matches with their own people. Ryker’s guy had really told them off, calling it the rape it would have been. The other two men might want one of these pale aliens touching them, but I didn’t. I wasn’t sure what would happen to us on their planet, but I didn’t need anyone pawing at me. I’d known I would need more information, so I pumped the only person I could. Ryker had spent a few afternoons telling us everything he’d learned living on Caeorleia, which was the name of their planet.

  I’d tried to absorb everything about the Caeorleians, treating what he told me like a debriefing. Before Ryker and his isit had rescued us, the only term I’d heard the planet called was MC-214-XXV. It had been the subject of a lot of speculation among the rank and file since it’d been discovered. The rest of the time I stayed in my room, avoiding the guards. Especially the one always hovering over Nicklaus. It creeped me out to see the way he watched him every second—so possessive. Fieo never touched Nicklaus but focused on him with a single-minded intensity.

  Ryker and his alien guy, Seral, were never far apart, either. Being part of that kind of constricting relationship would’ve driven me insane. A slave to a need not my own? No. Not on the agenda.

  I sighed, dipping my other arm in the water up to my wrist. It was really too hot out in the sun, but the shade of those weird sampanga trees was filled with naked aliens. And as tempting as the water was, I didn’t want to go swimming. That would involve taking off my robe.

  I was not comfortable with that, even if it seemed like almost everyone on this planet shunned clothing. I’d never seen so many cocks and balls, and I’d been in military school and then actually joined the Space Forces as a teenager. Close quarters with a lot of guys was nothing new, but I couldn’t believe the Caeorleians’ blasé attitude toward nudity. Ryker had t
old us about the confusion over the different concept of clothing he’d encountered when he first showed up. Ryker ran around in a pair of shorts and had given Nicklaus a few pairs. I was too big for his shorts, so I had to wear the aliens’ version of a skirt and robe.

  It was awkward. I’d tried to wear my pants I’d been wearing when we fled the ship, but it was too hot. I was not going to go naked, though, not like these aliens.

  A shadow fell over me. I dipped my shoulder and spun as I surged to my feet. The guard who had come up behind me seemed startled and looked at me uncertainly as I glared at him.

  “Don’t touch me!” I snapped, clenching my hands into fists, barely resisting the urge to show him my fangs. “What do you want?”

  He held up his hands and took a step back. “Sorry. Everyone is going inside; it’s too hot out here. Seral has invited you to eat with him, and the midday meal will be served soon.”

  I grimaced. Being stuck in a crowd of people around a table was the last place I wanted to be, but I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice. I waited for the guard to move after he gestured at the path. The guard took another few steps away from me, but he didn’t start walking toward the building until I walked past him. Then he followed me. I ground my teeth, my shoulders hunching up.

  I could have been safe the past five years, in a hovel back on my home planet, working in a factory as a drone assembler or something. I might have more freedom to move around on Caeorleia than I’d had on the ship Ryker and Seral rescued me from, but at this point I wasn’t sure how much better it was here.

  Damn scientists. My commanders had cut me loose after my condition was revealed. Armed with just my psych-discharge papers and a minuscule credit account, I found civilian life had been brutal. I’d been stupid enough to volunteer for the doctors’ experiments again. My files were supposed to have been locked after I was discharged for “going crazy,” but somehow they’d gotten access to them. I thought it was just a social experiment. Five years, a small group, and a simulated alien environment. I was along to keep the peace between the others.

  I hadn’t taken any time to consider why they wanted me after I’d been branded a failure and kicked out of the military, but I should have. I’d been as much of a victim as the others those sadistic fucks had tormented—I just didn’t have any marks on my body like Nicklaus and Ryker did.

  The guards and doctors hadn’t had to beat me to hurt me, though.

  Lunch was loud. Seral, the big alien guy who had saved us along with Ryker, was at the end of the table. Ryker sat next to him. The humming vibrations from all the different conversations made the bones behind my ears itch. I sat next to my guard and across the table from a big guy and a woman I hadn’t met yet. I kept my eyes on my plate or focused on the wall behind her because she was topless. The last thing I needed was the man at her side pissed at me because he thought I was interested.

  “Dade? Nicklaus? I’d like you guys to meet my sister, Witani.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Witani? That was the name the asshole on their council said when he talked about the head guy’s heir. I’d wondered when we’d meet him. Apparently he was a she. Huh. I gave her a guarded smile and nodded.

  Nicklaus had lost a lot of his shyness and wasn’t quite so reserved in his greeting. “Hi!” he said. He was sitting next to Fieo, a few places down the table from me. “It’s nice to meet you. Fieo said you’d been hurt. Are you okay now?”

  I hid my surprise. She didn’t appear to have any injuries, or scars that I could see, but that would explain her guy’s hovering. The male who’d come in with her was never farther than an arm’s reach away.

  Her hum was soft and soothing when she spoke just loud enough to hear over the conversation at the other end of the table. “Yes, I’m fine. Our doctors fixed me right up.”

  I ground my teeth at the mention of the doctors and snarled as I pushed my plate away from me. “I’m done.” I ignored everyone’s reaction as I got up and strode away from the table.

  A different guard trailed me back to the suite I shared with Nicklaus. I narrowed my eyes at him when I slapped my hand on the door lock. “I’m going to take a nap. I don’t need you to follow me in.”

  He didn’t seem surprised by my anger. He didn’t snarl or bare his fangs back at me, but I was pretty sure he’d guarded me before. The new ones always seemed shocked at my hostility, but the others were used to it already.

  “I’ll be right out here if you need anything.” He leaned against the wall by the door, his body relaxed, but his gaze was alert as he looked up and down the hall.

  My hands clenched into fists.

  I was shaking as the door slid shut behind me, and then I slumped against the wall. The constant vigilance was wearing on me, along with the heat. Being alone in the cold cells on the ship for years hadn’t prepared me for the climate here. I’d been stationed on desert planets—three of them, actually—but I always hated jungle planets the most. Heat was mostly tolerable, but moist heat was another thing altogether.

  Alone at last, I slipped the robe off, but I kept the wrap on. I had to admit the silky fabric was cool, even if it wasn’t a style I was comfortable with.

  There wasn’t a lock on the door, though I wished there was. It opened when I neared it. I put my robe on a hook and then collapsed on my bed. It was softer than anything I’d ever slept on.

  I sighed and relaxed, throwing my arm over my eyes. Sleep beckoned.

  “You’ll be fine. You’ll be alert the whole time.”

  I eyed the doctor as he adjusted the patches on my head.

  “It shouldn’t hurt.”

  “Shouldn’t?”

  He patted my shoulder. “You’ll be fine, Sergeant.” He left the room, shutting the door behind him. I glared at the slab of glass set in one blank, white wall.

  If that was true, why had I been strapped down? They said it was for my safety, but sweat broke out on my forehead as I pulled on the bonds holding me down.

  “I… I’m not so sure about this.” I twisted my arms in the straps and tugged.

  A tinny voice came over the speakers in the room. “Stay calm, Sergeant Pareano. You signed the paperwork for the program. Settle down, and do your duty.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but it was too late. A sharp jolt spiked through my temples from the electrodes. My mouth slammed shut, my teeth sank into my tongue, and every muscle in my body went rigid. I had no control. It felt like hours before the pain shut off.

  “Fuck!” I groaned. I coughed and spat. The taste of blood filled my mouth from the bite on my tongue. I couldn’t take another jolt like that, not again. “Stop!” I shouted at the doctors who had to be watching from behind the glass. “That hurt.”

  “Oh buck up, Sergeant. You are a military man. I’m sure you’ve endured far worse than a little electricity.”

  I’d spent weeks being tortured by counter forces during a revolt once, but even a nerve tingler didn’t hurt as much as what I’d just gone through.

  “I changed my mind. I unvolunteer. Let me go.”

  The door opened, and the doctor came back in the room. I shifted in the chair, tugging on my restraints. Sweat dripped into my eyes, and I blinked to ease the stinging.

  “I’m sorry, but your agreement will not be rescinded, Sergeant. Your initial results are the best we have ever seen. With you, we could have our first success.” He tapped on the machines behind me, then stopped beside me and pushed up my sleeve. I watched as he uncapped a needle he’d pulled out from the pocket of his white coat. A viscous yellow fluid filled the syringe. “Just relax.”

  “Hey, hey, what’s that?” I yanked on the bands, straining away from him as hard as I could. The muscles in my arms bulged.

  “A little cocktail I came up with.” He pushed the needle into my arm.

  I winced at the pain as the cold fluid was forced into my veins.

  “Shit, that fucking burns.” I rocked in the chair, trying to get out of the straps.


  “You cannot get out of the chair. You can’t turn back now. Just try to relax. The more you fight, the worse it will be.” The doctor put the needle into a red container, then left the room, ignoring my shouts.

  My head began to throb with every beat of my heart. Sounds faded away as the booming overwhelmed me. The lines on the white walls began to curve and slide. My struggles became weaker as whatever the doctor had injected into my arm spread through my body.

  The jolt before was nothing compared to what came next. I screamed myself hoarse as white-hot lightning fried every cell in my brain. I could feel the connections firing at once as every synapse and cell lit up. Waves of agony filled me, and I went rigid for what felt like an eternity. I couldn’t even beg them to stop.

  The darkness was a blessing when it finally took me, but even that respite didn’t last long. Slaps to each cheek knocked my head around. My neck felt like a limp noodle, and my whole body hurt. Thousand-pound weights had to be resting on my eyelids. I finally got them open, blinking painfully at the bright lights.

  I was still strapped into my chair, but this time a man was in another chair a few feet from me. He stared at me, his eyes huge. His arms were fastened behind him, and his ankles were cuffed to the chair just above the wheels.

  The doctor startled me when he spoke beside me. “Finally, he’s awake. Okay, Sergeant. Let’s see how effective our procedure has been. Look into Mr. Lewnster’s eyes. What do you hear?”

  I shook my head, letting my eyelids slide shut. “No.” My voice was a croak. Whatever that asshole wanted, he could go fuck himself. I didn’t want this.

  A shock jolted through me, and I screamed. My throat burned, like I’d torn the inside.

  “You do not make the decisions here. You will do what I say, or you will face the consequences of my displeasure.” His fingers on my chin turned my face toward him. “Do you understand?”