Alien Warrior’s Treasure by Sue Mercury
Chapter 9
Molly walkedbetween Belle and Khann, feeling the burn of dozens of male eyes upon her. Unmated males, to be precise. Some peered out windows, while others prowled closer to her on the street. She bristled when one of them inhaled loudly, no doubt savoring the scent of her. A low growl from Khann caused this particular male to retreat into a doorway.
She breathed an inward sigh of relief when Vaxxlian Matchmakers came into sight, a small white stone building with a bright yellow, arched roof. It was surrounded by tall purple flowers with stems as thick as small trees, as well as huge green bushes covered with blue berries. Birds flitted through the bushes, plucking away berries before flying off to their nests, to their families.
I’ll have my own family soon. A real family. A mate, and eventually, children of my very own.
Molly cringed when Gavvin’s face flashed in her mind. She would be glad when the burn of his insults faded. She hated that he was in her thoughts as she approached Vaxxlian Matchmakers. She barely knew him, and he’d made it perfectly clear that he didn’t wish to see her again, yet she couldn’t stop thinking about him. What was wrong with her?
Alone. He lived alone, and he didn’t have any friends, aside from a commander who visited on occasion. He was an outcast.
A long time ago, she’d been an outcast, too.
She would never forget the crushing loneliness of her childhood and teenage years.
Was this why Gavvin remained in her thoughts? Because she understood his pain?
It still bothered her that he’d treated her with kindness and had even seemed interested in her—only to push her away with cruel words at the conclusion of their night together. I do not wish to see you again, Molly. As he’d uttered these words, his tone had been cutting but resolute, his visage hard, his eyes dark. He’d meant it. He truly didn’t wish to see her again. No matter how kindly he’d treated her initially, at some point during the night, he must have changed his mind about her.
Not for the first time, she wondered if she’d seemed clingy and desperate when she’d started gushing about how much she’d enjoyed their evening together and that she hoped to visit him in the future.
They reached the yellow roofed building, and Khann pulled the door open and gestured for her to enter. Belle followed close behind, and Molly’s heart raced as she peered around the reception area of Vaxxlian Matchmakers. The room contained several chairs and sofas, bowls of fresh fruit, pitchers of water, and soothing music drifted from speakers in the ceiling. It reminded her of the waiting area of a fancy spa, like the one in the hotel where she used to work.
The waiting room was empty, and Molly exchanged a look with Belle, wondering if they should call out a ‘hello’ or just sit down and wait patiently.
“Are you certain you want to do this?” Khann turned and gave her a patient look that made her want to hug him. He’d become the protective big brother she’d never had.
“Yes,” Molly said, her mouth suddenly dry. “I appreciate all you guys have done for me, and I will miss you all terribly, but I-I want to start my new life. I feel like the time is finally right.” Her words felt hollow and untrue, and her face burned as nerves flitted in her stomach.
“We’re going to miss you, too,” Belle said with a sad smile. “I hope your mate—whoever he turns out to be—lives close to us. But no matter what, I hope you visit us often. I think Amie will miss you most.”
Guilt surged inside Molly at the mention of Amie. During the last few weeks, she’d grown attached to the talkative but sweet little girl. “I promise I will visit you guys often, and I hope you’ll visit me, too.”
Oh God, was she really about to do this?
Footsteps sounded in the corridor outside the waiting room, and a second later, a tall curvy brunette with the palest blue eyes Molly had ever seen appeared in the doorway.
“I thought I heard voices,” the woman said, smiling as her gaze settled on Molly. “Welcome to Vaxxlian Matchmakers. I’m Carmen.”
“Hi, I’m Molly.” She gave an awkward wave, nerves fluttering faster inside her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Molly. I’ve been waiting for you,” Carmen said in an eerie, distant tone that sent a rush of cold down Molly’s back.
Khann and Belle introduced themselves and took a seat on one of the plush sofas. Carmen motioned for Molly to follow her, and Molly felt as though she were in a dream as she trailed the so-called psychic into a cozy room at the end of the corridor.
“Please have a seat, my dear.” Carmen sank into a chair at a small table in the center of the room, and Molly slowly moved to occupy the other seat, facing the woman whose strange eyes seemed to peer directly into her soul. At least that was how it felt. One glance from Carmen and Molly felt as though the woman must know all her secrets.
“You didn’t just arrive here,” Carmen said, though it was more of a statement than a question.
“That’s right. I-I’ve been on New Vaxx for a full moon cycle now.” Molly shifted uncomfortably in her chair. What else did this woman know about her? What could she see? Gavvin’s face flashed in her mind and she tried to force thoughts of him away.
“Interesting,” Carmen said, her eyes appearing pure white for a second, but then she blinked, and the light blue shade returned.
Molly could only stare, open-mouthed. Holy shit. Maybe this whole psychic thing was for real. “Why-why is that interesting?”
“Because before you fled Earth with your friends Belle and Khann, you were on the verge of signing up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides. You’d even filled out the application, you just hadn’t actually submitted it yet.” Carmen’s eyes went white again, then returned to normal a moment later. “You still have many hesitations, but you have come here today mainly because you feel obligated to mate with a Vaxxlian warrior soon. You feel as though you are a burden to your guardian. But you’re also here for another reason—because you are running away from a recent heartbreak.”
Molly scoffed. “I wouldn’t call it a heartbreak. If you’re talking about the unmated male that I met in the forest the other night, we only spent a few hours together and nothing happened between us. Not even a kiss.”
Carmen didn’t appear convinced. She stared at Molly with a slight smile upon her face and a knowing look in those eerie but beautiful blue eyes of hers.
“Please, could you just tell me who I’m supposed to mate with?” A name, she thought. Give me a name. She knew that once Carmen announced the identity of her mate, the male in question would be summoned here to meet her. Then he would whisk her away to his home, they would mate—tonight, no doubt—and they would spend the rest of their lives with one another.
Carmen reached across the table for Molly’s hands. “Please close your eyes and clear your mind. Just try to relax and think of nothing.”
Molly obeyed, though she found it very difficult to think of nothing. Her mind kept going to Gavvin. To how insistent he’d been about tending her wounds, to how thoughtful he’d been to cook her a meal in the middle of the night, just because he’d heard her stomach growling. I don’t want you to leave.
At one point during the evening, he’d uttered this phrase which had stunned her yet brought her hope. But in the end, he’d decided he didn’t really like her. Maybe Skylar was right. Maybe he was an ass. Maybe she needed to stop thinking about him once and for all…
“Your mind is loud, my dear,” Carmen said, though her tone was kind.
“Sorry. I’m trying.”
“Have you visited any of the hot springs in the forest?”
“Yes, once,” Molly said, nearly sighing at the memory of the warm waters that had eased every ache in her body.
“All right, then. Picture yourself floating in a hot spring, your eyes closed, your only focus on the sensation of the warm water enveloping your body. You’re floating, floating, floating…” Carmen’s soothing voice trailed off. To Molly’s surprise, she had no trouble picturing herself in the hot spring.
Several minutes passed and Molly felt herself relaxing more and more. Carmen held her hands, occasionally squeezing them, though she remained quiet. As Molly envisioned herself floating in the hot spring, fatigue started to pull at her, and she soon found herself struggling not to fall asleep.
“You already know his name,” Carmen said, breaking the silence. “You have met your future mate before.”
Molly’s eyes popped open, and she was suddenly very awake. Her heart raced as she peered into the psychic woman’s unearthly blue eyes.
“Is he… one of the unmated males who sometimes hang out in the street below my window?” She couldn’t honestly say she remembered any of their names, though a few times, some of them had shouted introductions to her when she glanced out the window.
Carmen shook her head. “The unmated Vaxxlian warrior you would be happiest with is Gavvin, the male you met several nights ago. The male who has caused you heartache.”
“That’s impossible.” Molly pulled her hands from Carmen’s, more than a bit unsettled that the woman knew his name. “He said he never wanted to see me again. He was very rude about it, too. There must be some mistake. Should we try again?” She closed her eyes and reached across the table, trying to grasp the psychic’s hands.
“I know this must be confusing for you, Molly, but I am certain that Gavvin would be your best match. As I’m sure you know, Vaxxlians do not believe in soul mates or fated mates, but I do. So does my sister, Heather. That is why we started Vaxxlian Matchmakers—to help single human females and unmated Vaxxlian warriors find their soul mates. We were both lucky to find our soul mates among the Vaxxlian warriors, and now we believe it is our calling to help other human females do the same.”
Molly opened her eyes and regarded Carmen, disbelief waving through her. “Soul mates? I thought you guys just did your psychic thing and picked the male that we’d be most compatible with—a male who’d already signed up with Vaxxlian Matchmakers.”
“One might say that your best match is your soul mate,” Carmen said, “however, after several months of matching human females to Vaxxlian warriors, I am certain that soul mates exist between our people. In addition to experiencing the knowing personally, when I met my soul mate, I have also seen it when a matched couple meets for the first time. When one of my couples first meet, I see a flash of light between them, the moment when their souls experience a spiritual recognition, even though they might not be conscious of it at the time. I see it, and so does Heather. It’s a beautiful thing. If I’d been present the first time you met Gavvin, I would have seen the flash of light. I imagine it would’ve lit up the entire forest.” She emitted a soft sigh.
Molly’s head spun with this new information. Soul mates. Carmen claimed humans could have Vaxxlian soul mates and that Gavvin was hers. But apparently Gavvin hadn’t gotten the memo yet because he wanted nothing to do with her.
“Please give me another name,” Molly said. “Any other name. I know there’s a huge waiting list—hundreds if not thousands of unmated Vaxxlian warriors are waiting for human females.”
“If you mate with a warrior other than Gavvin,” Carmen said, “you will be mostly happy—Vaxxlian males are loyal and most treat their mates with kindness—however, you will never truly connect with the warrior. You will feel empty sometimes and you will spend the rest of your life secretly pining for what might have been with Gavvin. You will think of him often and this may cause problems for you, especially if you see him in the settlement.”
Molly didn’t like the sound of this. “But that’s ridiculous. I spent maybe seven or eight hours with Gavvin and our night didn’t end well. He was nice to me at first and I thought we were getting along great—and yes, I even thought about how wonderful it would be to see him again and get to know him better—but then he turned cold on me and said—”
“He lied to you, my dear. When he said he never wished to see you again, he was lying.” Carmen sat back in her chair and placed a comm on the table. “Now, I don’t know Gavvin’s comm number because he never formally signed up for Vaxxlian Matchmakers, but we can call Information Services right now and request a connection. I bet we can have him here within the hour.” A hopeful look entered her pale blue eyes, and she lifted her eyebrows in question, clearly waiting for Molly’s permission to make the call.
He lied. He lied!Molly’s heartache started to fade, if only a little. When Gavvin had announced that he hadn’t wanted to see her again, he hadn’t meant it, and this brought her hope.
“Wait.” Molly glanced over her shoulder at the door. “Khann, my guardian, as well as lots of other Vaxxlian warriors, think Gavvin is a traitor.”
Carmen smirked. “You know he’s not a traitor. And if evidence existed to suggest he was, Vaxxlian leaders would’ve had him executed long ago.”
“What I’m saying is, this is all getting really complicated.” Then she remembered what Gavvin had said during their evening together—that the situation with his people was complicated. Well, she’d now joined in the difficulty, it would seem. “Look, Khann will probably freak out when he learns Gavvin is my match. They have a history and are basically enemies.”
“Khann is your guardian, not your jailor. Legally, he cannot keep you from mating with the Vaxxlian warrior of your choosing. He might not be happy about it, but Gavvin is your soul mate. The two of you are meant to be together.”
But at what cost?Molly wanted to ask. She thought of the family she had now—Belle and Khann and Amie and all the others she lived with. She loved them all dearly and suddenly couldn’t imagine losing them. How could she remain close to them if she mated with a male that Khann and his brothers despised?
Would she become an outcast for the second time in her life?
She rose to her feet and backed away from Carmen.
“Thank you for seeing me today, but I-I need to think about this.” She opened the door and hurried into the corridor.
“What’s wrong?” Belle asked, jumping to her feet. Khann stood beside her, looking equally worried.
She peered at her friends, feeling her heart splintering in her chest. Uncertainty swept through her. She didn’t know what to do with the information Carmen had just given her. She knew only one thing—she needed to speak with Gavvin as soon as possible. In secret, of course.
“I’ve changed my mind,” she found herself saying. “Please, I-I want to go home now.”
