Alien King’s Match
Timegate Mars 2
Scarlett Grove
Copyright © 2021 by Scarlett Grove
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
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1
Madeline
Doris opens the front door of her home and greets us with a wide smile. She reaches out and hugs me, Sophia and Bethany. The three of us have taken a taxi from the bridal mansion to Doris's estate.
Doris was the first of the girls from Earth to be matched with a Martian. She seems happy with her match.
“Come in,” Doris says, waving us forward.
Doris leads us into a large living room with comfortable modern furniture and big windows that look out over the beach.
“Is this all yours?” Sophia asks, looking out the windows, down at the crashing water.
“It all belongs to Jaxxo. So I guess that means it belongs to me now.”
There is tea and cake set out on a round table near the window. We settle into the chairs. Doris sips her tea and I take a bite of the vanilla cake with frosting.
“The housekeeper baked these this morning.”
“So you didn't just press a button on a replicator?” Sophia asks.
“No. We eat about half replicator food and about half fresh food. I'm sure you could get fresh food at the bridal house if you ask.”
“I haven't really noticed the difference,” I say, nibbling on the cake.
The truth is I don't have much of an appetite lately.
I am happy for Doris. She is a wonderful woman who deserves her happiness. But ever since we were all abducted by Mantises, and then rescued by the Martians, I've been in a bit of a funk.
I know I should be grateful for my life. Everyone on Earth was not as lucky as us. We would have become Mantis food if the Martians hadn’t rescued us.
But I had left my sister, Abigail, behind. Although I know she's been dead for a thousand years, due to time travel, I can't help but miss her more every day.
“Are you all right, Madeline?” Doris asks me, concern in her big green eyes.
I let out a sigh and smile. I've been trying to keep my spirits up for Sophia. She nearly lost it during the abduction. And with everything happening here on Mars, it wouldn't help if I started acting like Bobby.
Bobby is a teenage custodian from back at the college. She has enough negativity for all of us put together. And I don't want to add to it.
“I'm just dealing with it all, you know?”
“How is everyone back at the bridal house? Is Bobby still annoying everyone with her nihilism?” Doris asks.
“She is,” says Bethany, who was a nurse back at the college. She and Doris were best friends. Just like Sophia and me. And it is a consolation that we get to be together through all of this.
“I did invite her,” Doris says.
“She said she didn't want to be a part of your Stockholm Syndrome,” Bethany says with a laugh.
“How do you feel about being matched with a Martian?” Sophia asks. “I know he's handsome and rich and adores you, but has it been weird for you?”
“Jaxxo is a good man with strong ethics. I would have fallen for him back on Earth.”
“But would you choose for Earth to be destroyed by an alien invasion?” Sophia asks.
Bethany and I look at her with shock. It's not a fair question.
“Of course not. But the Martians had nothing to do with what happened to Earth. They just saved us from a sure and horrible death.”
“You've been listening to Bobby too much,” Bethany says to Sophia. “Personally, I can't wait to be matched with my Martian. It can't happen soon enough, in my opinion. I’ve wanted to find a man to start a family with for ages. But none of the eligible men back on Earth were ready for it. They all seemed to just want to watch porn and play video games. But enough about that. Tell us about your special announcement,” Bethany says to Doris, gently touching her arm. “I don't want all the depressing talk from Bobby to interfere with your news.”
Doris touches her stomach gently and smiles a secret smile.
“I'm pregnant,” she blurts out. “I’m going to have a baby girl. She will be the first child born on Mars in a generation and the first girl in a hundred years. Jaxxo and I are ecstatic.”
“Congratulations,” Bethany and I say at once.
Bethany jumps from her chair and hugs Doris tightly around the shoulders. Doris is positively glowing. It makes even more desperate to rescue my sister.
We lost our parents when we were young and we only had each other growing up. We were always close and always looked out for each other. Losing her was beyond hard.
“That is amazing. You are the savior of the human race!” Bethany says.
“It's true. This isn't just about Mars anymore. This is about all of us,” says Doris.
“Maybe you can ask Jaxxo about Abigail,” Sophia says, looking over at me.
“Maddie, I'm so sorry,” Doris says. “I forgot about your sister.”
“Me missing my sister doesn't negate your news.”
“But still. I feel terrible.”
“Why should you feel terrible about being
happy?” I say with a sigh. “I'm not Bobby.”
Everyone laughs. I eat another bite of cake.
“I wish she had come today,” Doris says. “I can't imagine she likes being left alone in the house by herself.”
“Are we talking about the same girl?” Bethany says.
“She didn't want to be in quarantine by herself. She allowed for the medics to inoculate her and test her for genetic abnormalities. But she still hasn't been entered into the genetic pool to find a match like the rest of us,” Bethany says.
“She’s still hell-bent on going back to Earth,” Sophia says. “Maybe if Maddie ever finds a way to go back for Abigail, they can take Bobby with them.”
“We should ask Jaxxo about it when he gets home,” Doris says. “If anyone would know a way to get back to Earth, it would be him.”
“Do you think there's a way?” I ask.
“I know that the timegate is sensitive technology. I've learned as much about it as I can from Jaxxo and from the Martian libraries. Their databases have satisfied my thirst for knowledge. But from everything I've learned, time travel comes with serious risks.”
“Are you saying it's hopeless?” Sophia asks.
“No. I'm not saying that. Maybe Jaxxo knows a way.”
“I don't want to bother your husband with my personal issues,” I say.
“Your sister's life is not a ‘personal issue,’” Doris says using air quotes.
“But if they go back for her, then where does it stop?” Bethany asks. “Interfering with time sounds too risky to me. No offense, Madeline. But we have a good thing here. We have the opportunity to start over. We are the lucky ones.”
“I can't believe you would say that,” Sophia says in my defense. “Especially right to Madeline's face.”
Tears well in her eyes and she looks like she's about to start crying.
“It's okay, Sophia. I'm coming to terms with it. I just haven't been able to get past it yet.”
“You shouldn't have to,” Sophia says.
There are footsteps in the hall and then the tall, gorgeous Martian who was the captain of the ship that had rescued us from the Mantises walks into the room.
“Hello, ladies,” he says, nodding toward us like a gentleman.
He walks over to Doris and kisses her on the cheek. They share a moment of affection. It looks so sweet and comfortable between them.
“I was telling my friends the good news,” she says, touching her still flat belly.
“That's wonderful,” he says, resting his hand on her shoulder.
“Madeline has a question about the timegate,” Doris says.
I bite my lip in anticipation. I fear the worst.
“She has a sister who is very dear to her. And she was left back on Earth during the invasion. Maddy wants to know if there's a way for us to rescue her.”
Jaxxo frowns and sits next to Doris in an empty chair. He clasps his hands on the table and looks down at them thoughtfully with his full lips pursed. He finally looks back up at me with a steely determination in his blue eyes.
“I would be lying if I said it was impossible,” he says. “But the precise calculations of the timegate and the control of any variables to prevent a time paradox would be exceedingly challenging. We have not yet passed the event horizon. Not to mention, the Mantises outnumber us a hundred to one.”
“But it's not impossible,” I say, feeling hope for the first time since we landed on Mars.
“Technically, no. It's not impossible. It is simply highly improbable. I don't want to get your hopes up, Madeline. And I am not the person who would authorize such action. I am but a captain.”
“But you're also a member of the Council,” Doris says, touching his arm gently.
He covers her hand with his and looks at her with a deep affection in his eyes.
“I am, indeed, my love. But it took us over a decade just to decide on a time to rescue your ship from the Mantises. Agreeing to go back to Earth and land on the planet could take another decade to approve. If ever, I'm afraid.”
I sit back in my chair and let out a long sigh.
“I'm not telling you that it's impossible, Madeline. And I'm not telling you that you should give up either. From everything I know about you, you are a determined and capable woman. If you keep that focus in mind, then perhaps there is a way, and perhaps you are the person to find it.”
2
Damious
I stand on the balcony of my tower, looking down at the wooded valley below me and the capital city beyond. I am king of my domain. King of the city, of this region, of this entire planet.
Yet I am alone.
The females have been here for weeks now. And the captain of the ship who brought them has already been matched with his lady.
Yet I, King Damious, have not. Why should I not have been the first to find my match? Why was I not the one to bring home his lady and fill her belly with a child?
It is inappropriate. It is in contrast to our way of life. I am king, and therefore I should be first.
I clasp my hands behind my back and pace the balcony. The cool wind does nothing to cool my hot brow. My emotions are high.
I have asked my scientists repeatedly why my match has not yet been found. And I don't know how much longer I can wait.
They will find out soon enough what it means to disappoint their king.
I sigh and grip the railing of the balcony, looking down at my feet. This is unbecoming behavior for a king.
I must have humility like my father taught me, and his father before him.
But I was the one to save Mars. I am the one who ensured we have a future. It was under my reign that we developed the timegate. It was I who oversaw bringing the Earth females here to repopulate our planet and save the human race.
The genetic mistakes of the past will be rectified during my leadership. I know how important it is for the mating program to work. Not just for myself, but for all of Mars. And if I never find my genetic match, then it will make no difference in the long run. Not for Mars or for her people. A new king will be found through another genetic line.
I have seen glimpses of these Earth women. Small and round and lovely. And while I still have not found my own as Jaxxo has, I imagine that having such loveliness in my life each day would make me a better man and a better king.
But I should not fool myself into believing that I want a match for some altruistic purpose. Because it would be a lie. I want a match because, from the first time I saw the Earth women through the holographic screens, I have thought of little else.
I glide my finger over my wrist device and check the status of my genetic analysis for the forty-seventh time in an hour. Still negative. No results have been found.
I grit my teeth and send a voice communication to Malico Ossi, the lead scientist in charge of genetic analysis.
“This is your king. I demand you tell me why my match has not yet been found.”
“Sire. We are working as fast as we can. The genetic tests are new to us. And it is challenging. We need to ensure accurate results. If you are matched with the wrong female, it could have dire consequences.”
“We are not incompatible species, even with the genetic manipulations our ancient ancestors performed. Why can we simply not match with any of these Earth women?”
I know the answer. I have read the reports. I have been a part of the planning of this mission from the beginning. But my impatience is mounting. I feel a temper rising within that is unrecognizable and growing more terrifying by the day.
“If we do not find the best genetic matches between Martian males and Earth females, the genetic abnormalities that have caused the disappearance of our females may persist in the next generation. Then all of our work will have been for naught.”
“Of course,” I say with a sigh. “Carry on.”
I don’t need Malico Ossi to remind me of this fact. No one wants to pass on to the next generation the genetic abnormality that ca
used all of our women to disappear. Over the last several hundred years, fewer and fewer females were born. And then finally there were none. The last Martian female died last year. And with her went all hope of a Martian future. The only hope for our people was to use the timegate to go back in time to Earth before the initial genetic modifications took place.
Earth had been invaded by a race of Mantises. They’d forced Earth humans underground in order to survive. During those years of survival on Earth, the first genetic alterations took place. When our ancestors finally escaped Earth on a mission to Mars, after the nuclear explosions decimated the surface in an attempt to destroy the remaining Mantises, the only hope left for us was a new planet.
When our ancestors had arrived on Mars, it was a desolate place and further genetic manipulations were performed to help our people survive.
Over the last thousand years, we have turned Mars from a barren desert into a luscious paradise. But the cost of our new world was our women.
I walk back inside and sit down on my couch. I need to clear my head. My rising temper will not help me lead our people into a new era of abundance, prosperity, and familial love.
I must keep my cool and maintain my focus. Developing the timegate took decades. The calculations to go back a thousand years in time had to be precise. If anything had gone wrong during the time jump, a paradox could have potentially destroyed our entire civilization.
Much care had to be taken so that we could succeed in bringing fertile Earth females back to Mars. We succeeded.
Alien King's Match: Alien Abduction Breeder Romance (Timegate Mars Book 2) Page 1
