by Maia Starr
“That sounds like a good plan,” he said.
Over the next few hours, we indulged ourselves making love in the sand. We did not stay the night like we did before. He was so protective that he would not allow it. He picked me up, and we flew back to the village just in time for the sunset. It was very romantic.
Michelle and I had a victory party, just she and I on the beach the very next day. We danced in the sand and frolicked in the shallow water.
“I am so happy for you Amelia,” Michelle said.
“I am happy to. I did not think that it was going to happen. I started to lose faith that Ravinn still wanted me. I am so happy that it finally happened,” I said to her with a smile.
“So am I. Now you can be happy instead of crying, and we can have a good time here in paradise,” she said teasing me.
We were celebrating the fact that Ravinn finally made love to me. After waiting so long, he finally gave in to his desire and let the past be the past. It was the best sex that I had ever had in my life. It was full of hunger. It was full of satisfying our urges that we had denied for so long. Ever since then, we continue to make love as much as we could. We did it in the morning, and when there was time, we did it in the afternoon. And of course, we did it all night, causing many sleepless nights. I slept in during the day a lot in order to catch up on my sleep. We were like animals. We could not keep our hands off of each other. All it took was one raging argument for him to wake up and remember, see me for who I was. After that, we were golden.
This was the beginning of a peaceful and calm future. From that point on, it did seem like we were living in paradise. All was working out for everyone. Stephanie and Brenda were soon married to their warriors and then were pregnant right away. Michelle indulged in having a year to figure out what she wanted, and who she wanted, according to the King’s command. We lived in complete bliss, us women that were brought to this alien planet of Kelon together. It was completely surreal that it was happening to us and that we enjoyed it.
Many, many months later, we were blessed with another triumph.
“I think it is happening, Ravinn,” I said as I stood in his massive hut in the trees. He was cutting fruit to eat and did not look at me.
“What is happening?” he asked.
“I think it is coming,” I said as I put my hands on my full belly.
“Oh shit! Okay, come over here and lay on the bed,” he said guiding me over. “I will fetch the midwife. Hold on!” he said as he shifted and jumped out the window. In thirty seconds, he was back and carrying the midwife in his arms. She looked very surprised, as though he did not warn her but simply scooped her from the ground.
“It is my time,” I said to her as I had my hands on my belly.
“Yes, it is,” she smiled. Then she went to work. Then out of nowhere, Callisto, Ravinn’s father, arrived.
“I got your message, Ravinn. It is time!” he smiled.
“Yes, father!” he hugged him. It was good that they were excited. I was excited too, but also scared. But it was fast and easy. I gave birth to a son, a hybrid.
“We named him Daken Keed,” I said to Michelle as I carried my bundle of joy in my arms. She was standing with Stephanie and Brenda in my hut. Everyone close to Ravinn and I were around and celebrating.
“He is beautiful. Congratulations,” Michelle said.
“He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” I said. I was truly happy now that I had him and had Ravinn. I looked at Ravinn across the room. I was beaming with joy, and he had the same happy look on his face. I could not believe that the alien warrior that drove me to frustration when I first met him was now the father of my child. So much had changed.
I could not believe that I had left my life as a secretary in New York and started a life on an alien planet. I had been bored with my life, and I was treated badly at work. All of that seemed like it was many years ago. Time flew by very fast. I did not recognize the Amelia that I was back in New York.
Being taken by the Draqua was the best thing that could ever have happened to me. If I had to live that moment all over again, I would. I had found adventure and happiness in the most unusual place. It was very magical, and I would not trade it in for anything else.
A few weeks later, we were set in our routine with the new baby.
“Are you happy?” Ravinn asked me as we sat in the sand on the shoreline of the beach. He carried our son in his arms.
“I am so happy that I feel like I am going to burst with happiness,” I told him. He gave me a very deep kiss on my lips.
“I feel the same way. I never thought I could be this happy. I never thought I could learn to leave the past in the past. I changed everything that I am for you, Amelia, and I would do it again and again. You are everything to me, my beautiful wife. I love you,” he said.
“And I love you, my alien dragon shifter. You are magical,” I said back to him. We sat in the sand watching the sun dip into the ocean in the distance. The golden orange and pink colors danced on the turquoise blue waters. I had truly found paradise, but I had to leave Earth in order to find it.
The End(Flip page to read your bonus books!)
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Jaize: Verian Mates
(A Sci Fi Alien Abduction Romance)
By Stella Sky
Chapter 1
Commander Jaize Lorna
“It would have been a beautiful baby girl,” Doctor Trelas said, shaking his head sadly. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
I could feel my heart constrict tightly, and I almost didn’t dare to look at my wife. This was the third child we’d lost in four years, and yet Malnia insisted on continuing to try.
It was not an uncommon thing these days, to lose a child, and many speculated that it was something in the air that made the Verian babies susceptible to premature death. But Malnia was convinced that it had everything to do with me and blamed me mercilessly for the loss of our children.
“Thank you, doctor,” Malnia said, her voice cool and composed. It was a tone that scared me. She was furious, not distraught, about the loss of her child. And I knew exactly where she was going to turn that vengeance when the doors were closed and the doctor was out of sight.
“My condolences,” Doctor Trelas said with a deep bow. “I will have to take the child with me to prepare it for ceremony. Would you like a few moments?”
I opened my mouth – I would have very much liked to hold my child close for the first and last time – but before I could speak, Malnia’s cold voice pierced through the room.
“Please, just take her,” she said, casting an icy look upon me. “I’m tired of losing children.”
I cringed, feeling somehow solely to blame for this tragedy. I couldn’t blame my wife for being upset, of course, but if it truly was my seed that prevented any of our children from being born with breath in their bodies, then why would the same thing be happening to so many other Verians on our planet? It seemed unfair of her to blame me, but with the tragedies she had been forced to endure because of my physical interest in her, it was hardly my place to defend myself.
“Of course, Yula Lorna.”
The doctor carried the child away, and I watched helplessly as he disappeared from my home with the youngest of my stillborn children bundled in his arms.
“I would have liked to have seen her,” I said to Malnia.
“What is the point anymore? Another tragedy? Another child we will never watch grow into an adult?” Malnia’s voice was quaking with rage. “I should never have let you touch me again!”
“You wanted to try for another child,” I reminded my wife bitterly. “All of this was your own idea. You cannot possibly find blame in me.”
Malnia’s dark eyes fixed upon me, and a chill went down my spine. “It is our duty as Verians to provide c
hildren. Our population crisis demands it. And you know how we dreamed of starting a family when we were married.”
“That was six years ago,” I sighed. “We should know by now that it is nothing but heartache to continue trying.”
Malnia’s face was stony, and I felt my soul shrivel beneath her gaze. “I will serve my people. You answer to my father as much as I do, so you should know very well that failure is not an option. Not even in what used to be private family affairs. We need an heir.”
Malnia struggled to her feet, too proud to tell me to leave her be, and walked slowly, painfully, out the door. I watched her go, knowing better by now not to try to help her or tell her to lie back down in case she hurt herself. She was a stubborn Yula, raised by a man with a will of iron into a Yula who could bring any man to his knees. Sometimes I worried I might have forgotten what it was that I had seen in her. Time certainly had changed Malnia just as surely as it had changed the nature of our relationship. Perhaps we had only wanted to be together because, at the time, it was so forbidden.
I sighed heavily and glanced down at my watch. Malnia’s father would be expecting a report from me soon. As the Yul of the house, I was supposed to be the one less affected by the tragic state of our stillborn children, but lately it had seemed more and more to me that Malnia was more bothered by what she perceived to be my lack of fertility than the lives of the children that we lost together.
This thought left me feeling disturbed as I headed to the door and dressed myself for the gloomy trek. I wore the coat of my regimen – gold and silver – and the hood that covered my face as a sign of mourning.
Was Malnia mourning our children? Or was she simply angry that she had married a Yul who could not bear her children? What was it, exactly, that she expected of me? Perhaps I would never know.
***
“Jaize! It’s about time!”
The second in command stood upright at his desk as I entered his office. As usual, it smelled like the relics of the planet Earth that were displayed upon his walls. Like dirt.
“Greetings, Commander Karhal.”
Malnia’s father frowned and studied me closely. “I judge by your tone that it is not good news.”
“I would have guessed that you would judge by my hood.”
“Well, you’re meant to wear that out of grief for a good while after the loss of any child,” the commander said, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. “It could have been on account of the last that was lost. Anyway, how is my Yula doing?”
“The same as she was the last time.”
The commander nodded. “She’s a fighter.”
“That’s the truth.”
I hoped that my bitterness wouldn’t show in my voice, and whether it did or not, the commander mercifully ignored it.
“Well, I have some news that might cheer you up. I have a mission for you. It should be enough to take your mind off of the events of today.”
“A mission, sir?” I asked.
“We’ve heard rumors of a nuclear weapon on Earth that may be powerful enough to wipe out an entire fleet of our men. They’ve been searching, and we can’t stop sending troops in at this point. The battle has reached a critical stage. We need you to go down in stealth mode and locate the weapon. Disable it before it takes down more good men.”
“Of course, Yul Karhal. When will I be deployed?”
“Right now, if you wish. I can send the news to Malnia so you two can say a proper good bye.”
I frowned. “I don’t think she’s in the mood to talk right now, but please send her my best. I can leave right away.”
Commander Karhal nodded, and I sensed an unkind mirth in his eyes. “Trouble with the Yula?”
I knew the man had been angry that I’d bedded and wed his daughter. Being my boss, it had been quite the scandal at the time, but he liked to pretend that he was over his resentment toward me. Clearly, though, he wasn’t, and it seemed funny that the two of us could try to get along. He was my superior, and my father in law, and that was the end of it.
“Things are as good as they can be, considering the circumstances. I know you and your wife were fortunate enough never to lose a child, so I don’t expect for you to understand.”
Karhal grinned. “It takes a lesser man than I to spawn children that cannot thrive outside their mother’s womb. That is true.”
Hot rage flooded me, but as much as I wanted to lash out at him, it would do no good. He was just as stubborn as his daughter, if not more so, and would never admit to his mistakes. It’s part of what had gotten him to the position of second in command.
I was well on my way to succeeding him; at some point it would become an inevitability, but because of the demand for his mechanical expertise, I hoped the day was far in the future. He was great at putting himself first, and although I had been noted as a great leader, there were some elements of heartlessness that were required in positions of power that I just didn’t personally have.
“I’d like to leave now, Commander,” I said, ignoring the statement. It was just that kind of thinking that had caused my wife to despise the very ground I walked upon. She believed I wasn’t masculine enough to produce her a viable heir.
I knew, however, that there were rumors spread by some of the top scientists of Helna that our bodies were being compromised by diseases somehow spread by human means as a purposeful way to prevent our reproduction and ultimately win the war. It was a dirty trick, one that, if successful, would mean the end of our species once and for all. But if the humans were capable of such forward thinking and ingenuity, I had to admit, I found it impressive.
Still, as impressive as it might be, there was another aspect to this disease that few were speaking about. Perhaps because it was still so new, most men were ashamed to admit they had it. Mostly because there was a significant loss of strength associated with it. Not only did our children die in the wombs of Verian mothers, but our bodies were compromised as well. We became weak in every sense of the word. And it was terrible.
Malnia didn’t know it, but I had been volunteering myself for study at the laboratory near the prison where captive humans were kept. They were researching the trajectory of the disease after one of the prison wardens had nearly died from its effects. Since then, they’d been looking for other men to speak out about their condition so a cure might be found once and for all.
Unfortunately, in the case of the warden, few knew his fate, as he took a captive and sped off toward Earth, clearly delirious, but the scientists were sure they would come up with a cure soon enough.
If Malnia knew that I had the frightening disease, and that my occasional dizziness was also associated with other things, such as profound loss of coordination and musculature, I was convinced that she would want to leave me right then and there. Only the laws of our people would keep us united. It was bad enough as it was without giving her any more ammunition to use against me.
Our marriage had only gotten insufferable after the loss of our first couple of children, and now, it seemed that every time she looked at me, all she could see were the opportunities she’d wasted by marrying me. I could practically hear her thinking, “I should have listened to my father.”
And maybe she should have. It could have done both of us a lot of good.
I tried to push the thoughts away and headed to my ship. Since it was a stealth mission, I would go alone, and only myself and the Commander would know about it until I got back. Of course, my wife would also have a clue as to my whereabouts, but the specifics of the mission would be lost on her. To be completely successful, the fewer who knew of my whereabouts, the better.
But in truth, I was nervous about being on Earth alone. Most of the time, stealth pilots were given a partner to keep in touch with to prevent disaster from befalling the mission, but unfortunately, the combination of the disease and the war meant that fewer and fewer able-bodied Verians were able to make it out onto the field. Most of the men were needed on the front lines. I
would just have to go on my own.
***
As usual, the trip to Earth was uneventful, if even a little bit boring. I had made the trek dozens of times before, and always with the same impression. Space was vast and unpleasant, and I would just as soon stay at home than endanger my ever-weaker body to the elements of an unknown terrain.
Maybe if I had some backup, it wouldn’t have felt quite so menacing, but since I was alone, every little thing that jumped out at me had me spooked. I was used to being the strongest among my peers, and knowing there was anything that could slow me down was highly vexing. Getting rid of this disease once and for all was my primary concern. But before I could get back to the lab, where research would continue, I would have to face my limitations once more; and I would do it right in the heat of battle.
I steered the ship carefully through the turbulence of Earth’s atmosphere. Thankfully, it was much kinder than the turbulence of my own planet. Yet another reason the Verians hoped to colonize the planet once and for all.
When I finally landed, near Zone 36 of Earth, I took a deep breath. Regardless of where my people ended up settling down, I had to admit that Earth had a comforting feeling to it. Helna had become so barren over the centuries that it seemed impossible that such a lush, beautiful forest of life could exist anywhere else in the universe. It had been fortunate that we’d stumbled upon Earth. But when we weren’t met with friendly beings, and instead with immense hostility, the war for ownership over these resources began to rage.
