Tabitha shifted her casted leg, brushing her hand over her soft pajama pants as she did so. Zevris had made a trip home to grab her a change of clothes before she’d been discharged. When he’d returned and pulled her favorite pair of baggy pajama pants out of the bag, she’d kissed him.
Zevris reached over and settled his big palm on her thigh. She looked up at him. Their gazes met for a moment; his eyes were soft and warm, and they shone with adoration and love. His hand was solid and strong, but that strength—as always—was there to support her. To comfort her. To ease her burdens in any way possible.
She smiled and traced her fingers over his, feeling his claws even though she could not see them. “I’ve missed seeing you.”
He chuckled, giving her thigh a gentle squeeze. “I left the hospital only twice in three days, Tabitha.”
Fortunately, Mia had been able to pick up Dexter on Tabitha’s first day in the hospital so he wouldn’t be alone for so long.
“I mean the real you. Without your mask,” she said.
“Ah.” His lips tilted into that wicked grin that always stoked the fire at her core. The only things missing were his fangs. “Well, you’ll see plenty of that soon enough.”
They pulled into his driveway shortly after, and it was only then that Zevris removed his hand from her thigh. She hadn’t realized just how much of a comfort his touch had been during the ride home.
“Stay there,” Zevris said as he opened his door and climbed out of the truck.
“Not like I can go anywhere anyway with my crutches in the back,” she replied with a smirk, causing him to laugh as he closed his door.
He rounded the truck and opened her door. Rather than retrieve her crutches, he slipped his arms behind her back and under her legs, carefully lifting her off the seat and out of the truck, clutching her to his chest.
“Zevris!” She looped her arm around the beck of his neck. She felt awkward with her big, bulky leg cast sticking straight out over the top of his arm.
“Hush,” he said gently before nudging the door shut with his hip. He carried her to the house effortlessly, his long, smooth strides ensuring she wasn’t jostled in the slightest along the way. “I wanted to carry my mate over the threshold.”
Tabitha arched a brow. “That’s what a husband does when he carries his bride home after they get married.”
He stopped at the front door, lifted a leg, and bent it to settle her on his knee. As he unlocked the door, he said, “Does the order matter?”
“Well…no…”
“Good.” He offered her a smile, opened the door, and turned sideways to carry her through feet-first.
Tabitha was hit immediately by a floral scent—roses. Her eyes widened as she glanced down.
Pink and red rose petals were scattered over the floor, creating a path that led down the hallway, through the kitchen, and into the living room, where the curtains were closed and it was relatively dark save for a gentle, flickering orange glow.
“Zevris…” She turned her face toward him. “You did all this because you were bringing me home?”
“Perhaps.” Smirking, he pushed the door closed with his foot. The instant it was closed, his holographic disguise faded away, revealing the alien features she loved so much. His eyes glowed bright—almost brighter than she’d ever seen.
He walked forward, following the petals. As he brought her near enough to see into the living room, Tabitha’s heart sped. The flickering glow was from a bunch of electronic candles, the ones that almost looked real, spread around the room. The largest concentration was on the coffee table, which was also sprinkled with rose petals. A vase at the center held a bunch of the reddest roses she’d ever seen. There were two empty wine glasses and a bottle of champagne on ice nearby.
No, not champagne, she realized with a smile. Sparkling cider.
And, set on a lacy white doily on the side of the table nearest the couch, was the keepsake box he’d gifted her.
“Zevris, what is all this?”
He carried her to the couch, where he stopped and set her down with immense care. As soon as she was settled, he straightened. “Comfortable?”
Tabitha tried to eye him with suspicion, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She gestured to her leg, which was covered in her blue pajama pants with their bright yellow moons and stars and was now sticking straight out in front of her. “As comfortable as this’ll allow me to be. Though, whatever all this is…I don’t exactly feel like I’m dressed for the occasion.”
“I could help you undress, if you’d like.”
Tabitha laughed; doing so still hurt a little. “I think we might have to get creative with positions,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows before wincing at the stab of pain from her skin pulling at her stitches.
Ouch. Don’t do that, Tabby.
Zevris delicately brushed the backs of his fingers across her forehead, soothing away the discomfort. “I trust our imaginations will not let us down. But first, I have something for you.”
He bent forward and took up the keepsake box in both hands, placing it gently on her lap.
She looked down at the wooden box, closing her fingers around it. She traced the design carved on the lid with her thumbs. Her wrist brace looked so huge in comparison to the little box. “It’s in here?”
“Mhmm.”
Tabitha eyed him with a smirk. “You didn’t, like, take a plastic spork or a latex glove from the hospital, did you? Cause if you did”—she looked back down and lifted the lid—“that’d just be—Oh my God! Zevris, is that…”
There, resting atop a small velvet pad amidst her other keepsakes, was a ring. It was polished white gold—or platinum, she couldn’t tell which—with a pear-shaped diamond at the center that was flanked on each side by a smaller diamond of the same cut, their points facing outwards. Even in the low candlelight, the ring sparkled brilliantly.
Heart fluttering, she looked at Zevris to find him down on one knee, his eyes intent upon her.
“Are you…” Tabitha could find no other words, couldn’t complete her question.
Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he reached forward and picked up the ring, holding it up to her. “Tabitha Mathews, you are my lifemate, you are my love, the reason for my every breath and every beat of my heart. You are the mother of our coming child. Would you honor me by also becoming my wife?”
Tears stung her eyes, and she smiled wider and wider as she nodded her head. “Yes. Yes. I want you in every way I can have you.”
His smile stretched in response, and he gently took hold of her left hand, lifting it away from the keepsake box. She spread her fingers, unable to keep them from trembling, and stared down as he slowly, delicately, slipped the ring onto her finger.
“And you belong to me, Nykasha, in every way I can make you mine.”
As strange as it was to see a glittering diamond ring contrasted by her hospital-issued wrist brace, Tabitha’s heart swelled at the sight.
Leaning forward, Zevris slipped his fingers into her hair, cupped the back of her neck, and drew her closer. His mouth captured hers in a kiss that was gentle, yet firm, a kiss that aroused her, that claimed her, and yet demanded nothing she wasn’t willing to give.
But Tabitha held nothing back as she returned the kiss. She gave Zevris her all—her love, her heart, her very soul. He was her forever.
He was her happily ever after.
Epilogue
A warm, fragrant breeze flowed across the field, making the grass and scattered wildflowers sway and ripple like the surface of a lake. Farther out, the dense trees and shrubs rustled beneath a wide sky that was a patchwork of large, fluffy white clouds and crisp blue.
Zevris braced his hands on the porch railing, leaned forward, and drew in a deep breath. The air was redolent of fresh vegetation, blooming flowers, and rich earth, with just a hint of rain to come. His second spring on Earth was already a couple months underway, and he enjoyed it. In his heart, he would forever li
nk the lush new growth of springtime with the birth of his daughter, who’d finally come into the world only two days ago.
“You were right, Zevris. There is great beauty here,” Khelvar who was standing beside Zevris, said in accented English.
Smiling, Zevris nodded. “Have I pushed you to finally consider your own retirement?”
Khelvar laughed and propped his elbows on the railing. “Perhaps I’m overdue… But what would I do with myself were I not an ultricar?”
“I’m sure you’d find some way to occupy your time.”
The doggy door slapped open behind Zevris, followed by the sounds of nails clicking and scraping across the porch’s planks. Zevris dropped a hand from the railing and twisted to look back as a pair of German Shepherds hurried toward him.
Dexter rose on his hind legs and braced his paws against Zevris’s abdomen. His tail was wagging, his tongue flapping.
“You’re not supposed to do this,” Zevris said as he petted and scratched the dog’s cheeks.
Seeing Dexter receive attention, Diana—the female dog Tabitha and Zevris had adopted several months ago—forced her way up next to Dexter, craning her neck as though to reach past the slightly larger male dog.
Chuckling, Zevris gave her the same scratches he’d given her counterpart.
For a few moments, he was petting both dogs, each of whom continued to move their head in front of the other’s, demanding his complete attention.
Finally, Zevris gently shoved both dogs down. “Go play, you two.”
The dogs trotted away, descending the porch steps to reach the ground. They raced across the grass with Dexter in the lead and Diana—whose gait had been altered by the litter of pups growing in her belly—lagging behind. Dexter’s ears perked, and he glanced back at Diana before slowing down. When she caught up with him, he fell into place alongside her, matching her pace as they continued to run.
The two German Shepherds had been inseparable since Diana had joined their little family.
“I see your beasts appreciate this property,” Khelvar said.
“They do,” Zevris replied. “I’m rather enamored by it, myself.”
Selling both their homes before finding and purchasing this place had not been a simple process, but Tabitha and Zevris had agreed it was the right thing to do. Despite the stress and difficulties involved, Zevris didn’t regret a moment of it.
They had land out here, privacy, peace and quiet. He’d converted the barn into a workshop for himself, and there was another freestanding shop near the house that now served as Tabitha’s workspace. Dexter and Diana had enough space to run around to their heart’s content. There were trees and plants, wild animals, fresh air, a slow-running creek… And, perhaps best of all, Zevris and his daughter, Skye, would be able to spend most of their time here without having to wear disguises.
This was the one place on Earth where they could be themselves, and they wouldn’t have to limit it to when they were indoors.
While he was here, Zevris could easily forget that there was a whole universe beyond the property lines. That was more liberating a feeling than he could ever have imagined.
“I can’t say I fully understand it,” said Khelvar, calling Zevris’s attention back to him, “but I can at least see a hint of what makes you want to stay here.”
The ultricar was looking out over the field again, a distant gleam in his eyes that Zevris had never seen there in all the years they’d known one another.
“This is part, yes, but a very small part. What truly keeps me here is currently in the house, dealing with your medical team.”
Khelvar snickered and shook his head. “From the beginning, this operation has been unconventional, and I say that as someone who has overseen the undertaking of unconventional operations for the Exthurizen for years. We have a full team of medical researchers here, a faloran midwife, an althicar and an ultricar, and that’s just within a hundred feet of this spot. But this moment, this place and time…we’ve made history. You’ve made history.
“Several more of our althicars have made mating bonds with human females over the last several months, but you remain the first, Zevris.”
“All I did was find my lifemate,” Zevris replied, turning toward the house and leaning back against the porch railing. “That’s all that matters to me. Those two in there…they are all that matters.”
“I suppose now is as good a time as any, then.”
Zevris glanced at Khelvar.
The ultricar placed a firm hand on Zevris’s shoulder and met his gaze. “Althicar Zevris Akkaran, as your ultricar, I hereby release you from the Exthurizen with all the honors you are due. You have served bravely and decisively across more than a dozen operations and as many worlds, and your actions have time and again safeguarded the faloran people and our allies everywhere. Your courage and selflessness have not gone unnoted. And now, your contributions have provided the first true hope our race has had in generations. You should be remembered forever as a hero to our people not merely for this mission, but for every one you have undertaken.”
Turning to face Khelvar, Zevris stood straight, shoulders squared. This was a moment he’d never imagined would come to pass. When he’d been younger, he’d assumed he would serve until the end of his life—and death had seemed far more likely than retirement. But as he’d grown older, as the duty had worn on him, he’d become more and more certain that this was what he wanted.
When he’d requested his release, he’d wondered how he would feel upon receiving it. Bittersweet? Relieved? Lost? All he’d known was that he was tired, that he was ready to move on to whatever the next step in his life was meant to be.
There was still a hint of sadness—he truly considered Khelvar a friend, a father, and would miss him—but it was overpowered by joy, by anticipation, by possibility. By his love for Tabitha and Skye.
“I don’t need remembrance, ultricar. I performed my duty with neither want nor expectation of reward. All that I need, all that I desire, is here on Earth. Thank you for helping me find it.”
“It has been an honor, Zevris. I will never find another althicar to match you.”
“The honor has been mine, Khelvar. There will never be an ultricar to match you.”
Smiling, Khelvar lifted his hand and gave Zevris a firm pat on the shoulder. “Now we don’t have to worry about formalities anymore.”
“You’ve seemed less and less concerned with them over the last year or two, regardless,” Zevris replied.
“Well, I have been considering retirement. Perhaps on a small, quiet planet.” Khelvar’s gaze dipped to Zevris’s arm—specifically, to the markings hidden under Zevris’s sleeve. “The medical team is equipped to alter your markings so they reflect the truth of your status.”
“Thank you.” Zevris gestured to the back door. “Shall we head back inside? The examination should nearly be through.”
“How could you know that?” Khelvar asked, brow furrowing slightly.
“Instinct.”
The two falorans walked to the back door, entered the house, and proceeded to the living room. Zevris sat on one of the couches as Khelvar strolled around the room, studying the objects on display. There were pictures of Zevris and Tabitha, of the places they’d been together, some of which were paired with souvenirs they’d collected during those trips. Tabitha had hung up a couple of lovely paintings on the walls, including one of white flowers that hung upside-down like bells—lilies of the valley.
Zevris grinned whenever he looked at it.
The bookcase—which Zevris had built upon moving in—was filled with all sorts of books, trinkets, and framed pictures, the most prominent of which were the photos taken on their wedding day. Tabitha, who’d already been the most beautiful female in existence, had looked infinitely more radiant that day, her boundless joy and love having made her shine brighter than the sun.
Zevris smiled to himself and leaned forward, running his hand across the surface of the coffee ta
ble. He’d been inspired by the table Hank had commissioned, and this one here was Zevris’s favorite work to date. It was shaped like a thick slice taken from a huge tree, its surface finished in a way that complemented the natural grain. There were subtle Faloran patterns etched into the wood, flowing along with that grain—and amidst them was the date upon which Zevris and Tabitha had been wed.
Thinking back on all the time he and Tabitha had spent together, all the things they’d done, was almost surreal. They’d packed so much into the months they’d shared, but Zevris always wanted more. More of her company, her touch, her voice, more of her scent and taste.
It was difficult to fathom that their wedding was already four months behind them. In some ways, it seemed like only days ago that he’d stood beneath an arch adorned with evergreen boughs and red and white flowers. The gathering had been small, and despite the chill in the air, everyone had been brimming with excitement. The sky had been overcast and gray but for one wide patch through which the sun had beamed.
Just before Tabitha had walked down the aisle, a light snowfall had begun. Zevris had never believed in magic until he’d watched his mate, resplendent in her white dress, walking toward him with that bright smile and sparkling eyes as glittering snowflakes swirled and danced in the golden afternoon sunlight.
That moment had only one equal across all eternity—when Zevris had first held his tiny, perfect newborn daughter two days ago.
“For all the places we’ve been and all the things we’ve done,” Khelvar said, “neither of us could ever have anticipated any of this.”
“No, we couldn’t have.” Zevris smiled to himself and dropped his gaze, tracing his fingers over the date etched on the table. Though the table’s surface was smooth, finished wood, he could feel that date in his soul.
Voices sounded from upstairs, muffled by a closed door.
Taken By The Alien Next Door Page 34
