Conquered by the Alien: A Scifi Alien Romance (Fated Mates of the Titan Empire Book 4)

by Tammy Walsh

  Yes, I thought. I did.

  “Thanks again,” I said.

  Me’ell stepped outside and I shut the door behind him.

  I returned to the front room and joined Vicky.

  “That was a lot of fun, huh?” I said.

  “He sure can talk,” Vicky said. “I guess it’s part of the job. He did well though.”

  “Yeah, he did,” I said.

  Vicky smiled at me and looked away again.

  “I should sweep the hair up,” she said.

  “You go rest,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

  She beamed at me and I felt my insides turn to water. I was as surprised I offered to clean up as she was.

  “And I’m a little hungry,” she said.

  “I’ll cook you something,” I said. “Do you have anything in mind?”

  “Actually, I was thinking I would cook this time. Something simple we eat back home.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  She sang as she got to work in the kitchen. I don’t think I’d ever heard singing in the apartment before. I’d heard screaming and shouting and trying to keep pace with the dance and techno music but never actual singing.

  She even had an angelic voice. I let it wash over me as I swept up her hair. I bent down and picked up a single coil and glanced at the kitchen before tucking it in my pocket.

  It took a moment for my own actions to register.

  Oh, yes.

  I was smitten all right.

  Badly.

  She called it a “quiche.”

  We had something similar in our culture but not with these flavors. It was delicious.

  Vicky relaxed and really unwound after that meal. She smiled at me in a way she hadn’t ever done before. She picked up the plates to wash them in the sink but I took them from her and did it myself.

  The following week went on like that, with us trading shy smiles and her cooking me meals for lunch and me making her breakfast. We usually ordered dinner in and enjoyed a glass of wine together over conversation.

  My communicator beeped and I checked the message. It was from Ettana. She messaged me every night, inviting me to a party she knew about. She wanted me to join her.

  I always declined.

  IS EVERYTHING OKAY? she messaged.

  EVERYTHING’S FINE, I sent. I’M JUST A LITTLE BUSY. WILL TALK LATER.

  The thought of her hot body and pleasing lips… It no longer had the same effect on me it once did. Every line of her body was replaced by Vicky’s more feminine curves.

  Ettana would lose interest in me the same way I’d lost interest in her. We’d never had what you might call a close relationship. It was a physical one, for fun and nothing more. She never intrigued me the way Vicky did, she never compelled me to want to become a part of her life.

  The only other time my communicator bleeped was when Zyod contacted me to ask how things were going.

  FINE, I messaged him. SHE’S TAKING HER CLASSES AND DOING WELL.

  IF YOU NEED ANY HELP SELECTING LINGERIE SHE MIGHT NEED TO WEAR, DON’T HESITATE TO GIVE ME A CALL! Zyod messaged.

  I rolled my eyes and turned the communicator off.

  Every day, Vicky had lessons. Sometimes they were for dress fittings, other days for pronunciation classes, and others specifically for Titan traditions. I had little part to play in any of them save one.

  Dance class.

  It was frustrating for both of us.

  Her, because she couldn’t remember the complicated moves, and me, because I wanted to hold her and get closer but she was having none of it.

  “No, no, no!” the dancing instructor said. “You must bow and turn! Bow and turn!”

  Vicky bunched her hair in her hands and let out a scream.

  “Why do I need to learn this?” she said. “Why can’t I just say I don’t know how to do it because I’m from a different planet?”

  “Because it’s part of the marriage announcement ceremony,” I said. “You have to learn it. It’s a way of showing how we come together and plan on dancing the rest of our lives together.”

  Vicky let out another groan.

  “Again!” the dancing teacher said.

  I took her in my arms—gratefully.

  She looked into my eyes and I saw the focus on her face. She wasn’t really looking at me. She was picturing the moves she had to perform.

  I, like all Titans, were taught the proposal dance from a young age and could perform it with my eyes closed. But I didn’t want to close my eyes. Not when I could be looking at her.

  The instructor played the music and clapped his hands in rhythm to it, counting down the movements and announcing them as Vicky carried them out one after another.

  The female’s job was far more complex than the male’s, with her needing to bob and weave and flex, while the man acted as the strong, stable hand that helped support her.

  She was doing well…

  Until she performed the same wrong steps.

  “No, no, no!” the instructor said.

  Vicky lost her balance and fell on her ass. She panted for oxygen and the sweat ran down her face.

  “I can’t do it!” she said.

  “Yes, you can!” the dance instructor said. “Your poise is excellent. You only need to remember the steps.”

  “There are so many!” she cried.

  “That’s because there are many ups and downs in a relationship. Come. We will do it one more time—”

  I raised a hand and shook my head.

  “Not today,” I said.

  I could see she was in need of some rest. Running through the dance over and over again wasn’t going to help when she needed to take a breather for a while.

  “I’ll show you out,” I said.

  I led the dance instructor to the door. I was glad when he left. He was a good instructor but carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sometimes people got so into their own spheres of interest that they applied it to all aspects of their lives. It made them the best at what they did but that did not make them the best teachers.

  When I turned back to the front room, I found Vicky still on the floor. She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead.

  “I can’t do it,” she repeated.

  I filled a glass with water and handed it to her. She took it gratefully and took a big gulp.

  “You just need some rest,” I said. “You’ll get it after you get some sleep.”

  She wore a tight pair of leggings that showed off her firm muscles. I couldn’t take my eyes off her ass.

  “Do you ever think maybe you chose the wrong girl?” she said.

  “What?” I said. “No. I don’t.”

  “A lot of them would already know this stuff,” she said. “They wouldn’t have to learn it from scratch.”

  “I chose you. I have no regrets. You’ll get it. And even if it’s not perfect when we perform it, it’ll be close enough.”

  “No. It has to be perfect.”

  “Why?” I said.

  There was a distant flicker behind her eyes. She hesitated before she answered.

  “Because I made a deal with you,” she said. “If I can’t do it perfectly, I don’t want to do it at all.”

  Then she got up without looking at me and left for her bedroom.

  “What do you want to eat tonight?” I said, calling after her.

  “I’m not hungry,” she said.

  The dancing class always ended this way. If she could be objective about it and compare herself from that first day to now, she would realize just how far she’d come.

  And we still had seven days left (there were fifteen days in a Baok month—a revelation that shocked Vicky no end). She could learn everything she needed in that time.

  I ordered some meals even though she said she wasn’t hungry and added some candles and music to the dining room. I thought it might help her to stay calm and relax. I went through to her room and knocked on the door.

  “Vicky?” I sai
d. “I know you said you’re not hungry but I ordered some food.”

  She didn’t reply.

  “Vicky?” I said.

  I tentatively nudged the door open and peered inside. She wasn’t there.

  She must be in the bathroom, I thought. I glanced at it and noticed the lights weren’t on inside.

  “Vicky?” I said. “Are you in there?”

  No. She wasn’t.

  I returned to the bedroom. The windows were shut and there was no other way out—the door connecting our rooms was always locked.

  “Vicky?” I said, louder this time.

  When she didn’t reply, I moved into the front room.

  “Vicky?” I shouted.

  She was gone.

  “Computer, locate Vicky,” I said.

  “Vicky is not here,” Computer said.

  “Is she in the building?” I said.

  “Scanning…” Computer said. “Yes. She is exiting the building now.”

  She’s running away?

  “Which direction is she heading?” I said.

  “She’s coming out of the west exit,” Computer said. “Beyond that, my scanners are unable to track her.”

  No shit.

  I ran to my west-facing bedroom window and peered out of it.

  There.

  She waited for a shuttlecraft to pass before bolting across the road toward the park.

  It was getting dark and the park wasn’t safe at night.

  Damn you, Vicky. What are you getting yourself into?

  Vicky

  I bolted across the street and into the thick copse of trees that lined the park. It was already growing dark and I used it to conceal my escape.

  How could I have been so stupid?

  How could I have honestly thought I could do this?

  I could let someone style me in the latest Titan fashions. I could let someone take my measurements and build a nice new wardrobe around me. I could even have learned the Titan language—as hard as it was to pronounce with my short human tongue—and studied the intricacies of their history.

  But I could never learn that damn dance.

  The movements were hard enough. They felt so alien to me, having to force my body to move in positions I wasn’t born to perform. They were nothing like traditional human performances, traditional or otherwise.

  And why was the woman expected to do all the hard work anyway?

  Oh yes, that’s right, because the Titan culture was as male-dominated as human culture. Women were expected to bend and flex to their paternal masters.

  Of course, that wasn’t modern Titan culture, but they could have changed the dance routine to fit modern culture, couldn’t they?

  I tried to convince Dyrel to go back to Star Cross’d Lovers and choose from the many other alien species who could do what he needed them to. They were obsessed with Titan culture.

  I was a stranger to this place. I knew nothing about the Titans because they hadn’t existed until a few short days ago.

  He point-blank refused to listen to my concerns.

  He wanted me.

  But I was going to fail him. I was going to make him lose his inheritance and, after being kind to me, he didn’t deserve that.

  So, I took off.

  I’d never been great at confronting my limitations and failures. And that was not about to change now.

  I was deep in the heart of the park now and peered around. I saw few Titans. One was walking a pet. It looked remarkably like a dog until I got a good look at it. It had no fur and his eyes perched on stalks.

  And over there, a couple sat on a bench. When they caught me looking, they hastily grabbed their things and left.

  I ran away. Now what was my plan?

  I would go and find help, find someone to direct me to the local police station. I could inform them I’d been abducted and now needed to return home. Surely with a civilization as advanced as Titans, they would take pity on me?

  I heard laughter.

  I spied three silhouetted figures, big and hulking, standing beneath a tree, hands in their pockets. A dull mist drew across them like a curtain.

  Did I notice them turn in my direction? Had they noticed me?

  I suddenly felt very self-conscious. I was a woman in a park late at night. It wasn’t exactly the smartest idea in the world, at least not on Earth. Maybe it was different here?

  I turned and hustled away, heading deeper into the park.

  I was lost. I could always turn back and return to Dyrel, but the thought of failing him, of me being the reason he lost his inheritance…

  I wiped the tears from my eyes.

  It was too much.

  I pressed on.

  Anything was better than that.

  Anything.

  The mist descended so thickly and fast I was suddenly unsure which direction I should be heading in.

  I paused and checked over my shoulders. The path faded within a few yards into the mist.

  I needed to get back to the city, I told myself. I needed to find a late-night cafe where I could get directions.

  I turned and pressed on.

  From Dyrel’s apartment building, the park looked like it’d been built in a rough square. I would find one of the edges if I just kept going.

  Snap.

  Something broke in the dull mist.

  Twigs didn’t snap by themselves.

  Something had to do it to them.

  A person? A creature?

  Didn’t I read about someone being attacked in a park by a lion that escaped from a zoo once?

  I shook my head. I had an overactive imagination.

  It’s just a twig, I told myself.

  Who was afraid of a twig?

  Not me.

  I lowered my head and pressed on.

  My footsteps were quick, my strides short and hurried. My head was tucked in, my shoulders hunched, smaller and more harmless than any Titan.

  Snap.

  Closer this time.

  Were they coming towards me?

  Did Titans have superior vision?

  Could they see in this mist?

  And what in God’s name was I doing out here in the middle of nowhere at nighttime alone?

  Stay calm.

  I just need a few more minutes. Then I would reach that cafe—if there was one—and someone could give me those directions. I just needed a little more time.

  Snap.

  Even closer this time. Worse, it sounded like it was coming from the path ahead of me, disappearing into the shroud.

  The mist seemed to carry sound with greater clarity than usual. The sound could have come from much further away.

  Snap.

  No. It came from right in front of me.

  No question about it.

  And any second now, someone would come lurching out from the mist.

  I peered around and found a small hedge. I hurried over to it and crouched behind it.

  I waited to see what would materialize.

  Probably the old guy with his not-dog from earlier, I thought.

  I would laugh so hard when I realized it was nothing to worry about.

  I stared, unblinking.

  “What are you doing?”

  I shrieked and spun around so fast, I lost my balance. I flopped over into the mud.

  Dyrel reached down to help me up.

  I slapped his hand aside and climbed to my feet by myself.

  I didn’t need his help. I didn’t need anything from him.

  I dusted off my hands.

  “It’s not safe out here,” he said. “Not at night. If you wanted to see the park, I could have brought you in the morning or afternoon—”

  “You don’t need to bring me anywhere!” I spat. “I’m not a damn dog!”

  He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender and calmly stepped back.

  “I never thought you were,” he said.

  Looking at him now, I could believe him. Was it my own psychoses playing
up again? Was it my own sense of independence preventing me from seeing the situation for what it really was?

  I’d been told it many times before—often by an insightful ex-boyfriend or, most often, by my closest friends—that I tended to imagine things that weren’t there. I was aware of it but that didn’t mean it was an easy thing to change.

  “How about we head inside?” Dyrel said. “We’ll have something nice to eat and drink and relax.”

  I smiled at the idea. It really was what I wanted. Then I shook my head and turned to march away.

  “No!” I said.

  He followed after me.

  “Where are you going?” he said.

  “Anywhere,” I said. “Somewhere. It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter. I’m responsible for you—”

  That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  I spun on him and waved a finger under his nose.

  “Just because you bought me, don’t think you own me!” I said.

  “I don’t own you,” he said.

  He wore the distinctive mask of hurt on his face. He’d been nothing but kind to me, and despite the situation, he’d never made me feel like I was a thing he possessed. He’d always treated me with respect.

  Could I honestly put my hand on my heart and say I had done the same?

  “Tell me what’s wrong,” Dyrel said.

  “You!” I said, my residual anger still pressing firmly on my emotions.

  “Whatever it is, I’m sure we can sort it out,” he said.

  My emotions were a thick tangle in my head, bouncing and cajoling, each one vying to be the dominant emotion in charge. I was sure my face was showing the same confusion.

  If he didn’t stop being so caring and considerate, I would soon throw a full-on wet rubbery one.

  Too late.

  I could already feel the tears shimmering in my eyes.

  “I’m here to do a job,” I said. “And I can’t do it.”

  It took a lot for me to admit that. Especially in front of him.

  He stepped toward me and raised his powerful hands. He hesitated, not sure how I might react if he placed them on my shoulders.

  So damn considerate.

  “You haven’t let me down,” he said. “I can see how hard you’re trying. What you’re doing is more than enough. You’ll get it. I know you will. You’ll do the dance and everything else. And my mom will love you. I know she will.”