Servant For An Alien Leader by Roxie Ray
1
Urul
Iblinked slowly, time seeming to slow down as I watched Slurya’s mouth open and close. It was almost like watching a fish underwater, and the sound coming from my curvy Macronite girlfriend was muffled as well.
I blinked again, time seeming to catch up with itself again as Slurya cocked her head, her dark emerald-hued hair falling in waves around her shoulders.
“Are you even listening to me?”
Well, I heard that much loud and clear.
Slurya pouted, pursing her lips so they looked fuller than usual, and when she leaned forward, I got an even better view of her ample cleavage. But when she slowly trailed her pale green finger up my thigh, I felt nothing. Not the slightest twinge of desire, despite the fact she was inching closer and closer to my cock.
“Yeah, I’m listening.”
With a sigh, I tried to focus on what she’d been saying. No doubt, something about her ex-boyfriend, Parth. Even in the middle of trying to seduce me, Slurya talked about the guy. I was over this.
We’d only been dating a couple weeks, and I prided myself on being a patient man, but this was too much.
“You’re such a good lover,” she cooed, still stroking my thigh. “Parth was just terrible.”
And there it was.
“He never gave me the attention I needed, was all about himself,” Slurya continued, apparently oblivious to the fact her magic touch wasn’t working on me—or that she wasn’t quite over her ex, though it was abundantly clear to me. “He spent all his time licking those damn mushroom-frogs. Apparently, I wasn’t enough and he felt the need to space out and escape reality.”
Her voice turned bitter and sharp. “He never truly valued me, not like I deserved—”
“Slurya,” I said as gently as I could, trying not to act on my frustration. I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and moved it away as I sat up on the couch in her living room. “I can’t do this.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
Honestly, the best way to do this was quick and to the point.
“I don’t think you’re ready to be with someone new.”
“What?” she sputtered, her mouth dropping open. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Slurya.”
I bent my head and stared into her large forest green eyes, willing her to see the truth. “You can’t keep lying to yourself, pretending everything is okay, when it’s clear you’re still hung up on Parth.”
Her eyes grew even rounder, and she opened her mouth like she was going to object, but then she pressed her lips into a flat line. I watched, half-fascinated, half-uneasy, as the veins beneath her smooth sage skin thickened and darkened, becoming a vibrant web that resembled vines.
Oh, boy. Most Macronites were fairly even-keeled, not ruffled easily. But when they were angry, this happened. I hadn’t seen Slurya’s temper in the short time we’d been dating, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Thankfully, she closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, and after a moment the veins faded.
“Well,” she said after a moment, “I do—I mean, did—love him. That doesn’t just go away so quickly. But he’s no good for me and didn’t treat me right.”
I nodded. “I get that. But I’m not going to be someone’s second choice, Slurya.”
Not again. I’d settled for that one too many times, hoping things would work out, that the woman would come around and find I was in fact better for her. Typically, though, I just ended up being the man they’d use to get over their last relationship.
I was done playing that game.
Slurya stared up at me with those abnormally large eyes unique to Macronites, running her hand up my leg once more. “But the sex is so much better with you,” she purred. “The best I’ve ever had.”
Part of me was drawn in by her gratifying words. This woman was sexy as hell, and I’d certainly have a good day if we started it off the way she wanted…
“You’re helping me forget him. Please don’t end things with me, Urul. We’re just getting started.” She gave me a pleading look. “Let’s give it some time to see what happens.”
I heaved a deep breath. Experience had taught me how to read women well enough by now that I was certain she was still deluding herself.
“Look, Slurya.” I moved her hand once more and shifted our positions on the couch so she would really hear what I was trying to say. “Maybe no one can be sure if something will work or not, but here’s the thing. I was willing to give this an honest try—to go in unattached to anyone else. But you, on the other hand, are clearly not over Parth.”
She shook her head and opened her mouth, ready to object yet again, but I kept on. “You’re wasting both of our time by pretending otherwise. Maybe when I was younger, I might have just been in it for the sex and would have been willing to see where things went. But I’m not in that place anymore.”
Hadn’t been for a long time. I’d grown up in a tight-knit family, and my mother and two brothers meant everything to me. I still remembered the relationship she and my father had when I was young—a unique one on Raider because they were truly, deeply in love. It hadn’t been just another arranged marriage. I wanted that for myself, and I wasn’t willing to settle for anything less.
I reached out and squeezed Slurya’s shoulder gently. “Let’s just be honest here. We should end it now before things become messy.”
I wouldn’t tell her this, but they already had become boring. Someone as gorgeous as Slurya should have had me ready to go at a single touch. But I wasn’t interested in a superficial relationship, something that only halfway satisfied me. I wanted a relationship that was vibrant and glowing, moonlight and magic. In short, I wanted to find my soulmate, as cheesy as it sounded.
Watching all my closest friends find love over the past few years made me long for something similar of my own—even more than I’d already wanted it.
Slurya’s face fell, sadness washing over her features. I felt bad, but it was better to end things now before we became attached—or worse, complacent. I refused to settle.
“Hey,” I told her, reaching out to pat her shoulder, “it’s going to be okay. You’ll be fine.”
“How?” she said, her voice cracking. “It’s just not fair. Maybe I don’t want to still be in love with my stupid, pathetic ex. I don’t want the past to have such a hold over me.” She looked me up and down. “I mean, just look at you. You’re a Raider. So damn hot. So exotic. Why do my stupid feelings have to get in the way?” A tear trickled down her cheek.
At least she was admitting it now. Patting her on the back, I said, “We both know it won’t work.” I reached for her Holopad sitting on the table and handed it to her. “I’m pretty sure I know what you want too. Why don’t you call him?”
Slurya’s mouth hung open as she stared at me, then down at the Holopad. But she didn’t object when I stood and started gathering my things. By the time I was headed to the door, I heard her initiating the video call, her voice full of hope.
I slipped out the door, already feeling lighter. This had been the right choice for sure, for both of us. And now that I’d taken care of it, I could fully focus on what was ahead of me today—work.
I’d been back on Macros for a few months now, working with the leaders of the planet to keep their fragile ecosystem in balance. Of all the planets I’d seen or learned about, Macros was considered the most environmentally friendly, something that meant a lot to me.
Rahl the Nourisher—a king of sorts here on Macros—and his sister Wisteria, a Sky and Soil Seer, had become dear friends of mine over the past few years. When my work on Tracorox ended, this was the place I’d wanted to come back to for my next chapter in life.
As fate had it, Rahl offered me a position here overseeing conservation efforts, and that’s what I’d been doing these past months. Now, Rahl was looking to hire more help.
Macros was a small plant, one of the smallest in known existence with a population of only fifty thousand citizens. But the majority of the planet was covered in lush green forests and abundantly fertile fields. One of my first jobs after I left my home planet of Raider had been here, and I’d fallen in love with the untouched natural environment.
Even the buildings in the developed parts of the planet were built to seamlessly blend in with nature. The reflective windows, developed to aid in vegetation growth, made it seem as if the buildings themselves were built right into the trees and hills.
These last few months had been tough, though. Something was changing on the planet, something no one had figured out. Not even Wisteria, who was known for her abilities to predict weather and forecast crop yields among other things, knew what was causing the changes. Or Rahl, whose very presence imbued the planet with nourishment and life.
All we knew was something toxic was seeping into the air, water, and land, poisoning precious plants and wildlife. It had started with mysterious injuries to the plants and animals, morphing into withering and death soon after.
Rahl and his wife, Gayle, worked tirelessly, as did Wisteria, but we needed help. We’d opened an animal hospital last month, and Gayle—a human botanist from Earth—had created a plant preserve. At this point, though, we needed more manpower to help this beautiful tiny planet survive.
Which was why I was scheduled to help Rahl choose two new hires, if he hadn’t already taken care of it. Not only did we need experienced staffing at the preserve and hospital, we needed help designing and building a new observatory.
I climbed into my rover, a Raider-built transport which was the standard imported vehicle here on Macros, and pulled out my Holopad. “Connect me to Rahl Prospero.”
“Connecting,” the digitized voice responded.
While I waited, I programmed the coordinates of the office into the rover’s console, then let the autopilot take over.
A moment later, a hologram of Rahl hovered over my screen. I grinned at the sight of one of my best friends. It was ironic we’d become so close. We’d first met through his wife, Gayle, who wasn’t his wife at the time. I’d been pretty hung up on her back then, but she’d only had eyes for Rahl.
That’s the way it goes for me, I thought wryly.
“Urul, great timing,” Rahl said with a grin of his own. “I was just about to call you. I already found someone who would be perfect for the design position, and I hired him on the spot.”
“Sounds like you’ve got things handled, boss. Maybe I’ll just take the day off.”
Rahl chuckled, knowing me better than that. “I seriously doubt you’d take the day off even if I ordered you to.”
“What can I say?” I shrugged as the rover continued along the road at a steady clip. “I like to be productive.”
“I’ll leave it to you to fill the other position—I have a meeting with some high-level IEP directors and won’t be able to make it to the auction. I have someone in mind, though—a woman who seems like she’d be a great fit. But I trust your judgment. Choose who you think will be best.”
“Will do, boss.”
We said our goodbyes, and I immediately pulled up the IEP auction on my Holopad. I’d just take a look at the prospects while I waited for it to begin. With a single tap, I expanded the live video stream of the auction room to fill most of the rover while it zoomed over the rolling hills leading to the main government building. Then I pulled up the statistics of the applicants in the auction room. Their qualifications hovered near their heads on screen, and I scanned them quickly.
One in particular gave me pause. A human woman who was more than qualified. I tapped to see more of her resume, and read through the finer details. Out of all the candidates with experience working with endangered animals, hers was the most extensive. This must have been the woman Rahl referred to.
Going back to the video feed, I tapped out of the statistics menu on the Holopad to zoom in on the candidate. She was average height for a human, and had bright blonde hair cropped to just below her chin. I couldn’t make out the color of her eyes, but there was no missing the serious look on her face. Was she nervous? I knew a good number of women who’d worked for the IEP, but I’d never given much thought to what went through their heads during an auction.
I was overly intrigued by this woman and zoomed in closer, pulling up her qualifications once more. She was definitely a suitable candidate for the position, but that wasn’t why I continued to stare at her. I couldn’t look away.
The strangest sensations washed over me. Heat coursed through my body, my head pounded, and my skin tingled with some electric force that zipped through my veins.
For a moment, I became lightheaded and thought I might pass out. Maybe I was coming down with something. Or maybe I was hungry. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.
No time to worry about that now, though. She was the right choice, and I tapped the button to place a bid. The holoscreen flashed: First in queue, please stand by.
I’d never actually engaged in one of these IEP auctions before, but I knew the basics. The humans requested certain job types or locations, then potential employers bid on their services for a contract length of one year. Seemed fairly straight forward.
Not a moment later, the image of the auction room was overlaid with the holographic image of a short, purple man wearing an IEP uniform.
“Thank you, sir, for your bid. I regret to inform you the candidate of your choice will cost more than the average starting bid to bring her to Macros,” he said in a bland, lifeless voice. His expression was equally blank. I considered suggesting he look for a new job because he certainly wasn’t thriving in his current one.
But I replied instantly, almost as if my mouth had a mind of its own. “Sure, that’s fine. I’ll pay whatever extra is needed.”
The man didn’t blink as he stated the price. Neither did I. Surely Rahl would agree to the extra pay, but I didn’t care if not. In fact, I was ready and willing to pay the extra fee out of my own pocket.
I couldn’t begin to say why. There was something about this woman that called to me, something I had no idea how to explain. All I knew was that she needed to be here, on Macros. There was a sense of certainty about it deep in my bones, right alongside the irresistible, inexplicable need to know her.
I stared at her image though the feed, ignoring the IEP official as he recited standard contract legalese. Yes, I was absolutely willing to pay to bring her here. There was no time to confirm with Rahl. Not if I wanted to secure the bid.
“Sir?” the official asked, snapping me out of my daze as I stared at the blonde woman. “Do you agree to the terms?”
“Yes,” I said immediately with zero hesitation. “That’s the one.”
A sharp pang in my chest left me breathless as I said it. I couldn’t wait for her to arrive.
