Stolen By the Alien by Ashlyn Hawkes

17

Hannah

Earth. I shouldn’t want to return there, but leaving my planet for all time by choice is a huge decision.

Garrus. I don't want to go there. It's clear to me that the maestro is an evil man, and while I doubt all Garrux are like him—clearly Omur isn't—it's possible the others will be prejudiced against Earthlings too, and I do not want to have to deal with that.

Rumus. I really do want to meet Omur’s brother. You can learn a lot about a person based on how they treat their family, but if he wants to bring me back to the maestro… He won’t. Omur’s convinced he won’t, but what about Rumus’s mate and his future son or daughter? Rumus has to protect his family. Who am I compared to his mate and unborn child?

I’ve been walking on Harrock aimlessly, but I sense someone or something behind me. I whirl around to see Rosina.

“I didn’t know if you wanted company,” the Rockian says softly.

“I don’t know much of anything,” I say, throwing up my hands. “Rockians have mates, right?”

She nods.

“Earthlings don’t.”

“Earthlings can,” she corrects.

“Only some of us? Why? And how can Rockians have mates but not Earthlings?”

“Rockians and Earthlings shared a planet, but we are not the same species,” she reminds me.

I grimace. “Any chance a Mayan stayed behind on Earth and might’ve had a long line of descendants, and I’m one of them?”

“If you can learn how to glide or use wind, it is possible. I do not know if it is likely, however. I cannot say why some Earthlings have mates and others do not, but I have seen a spaceship recently depart from Earth. I have to believe that was another alien coming for his mate.”

“You really think so?” I ask.

She nods. "I do. Not every humanoid species have mates. Earthlings are not the only ones who, for the most part, not have mates."

“It would’ve saved me a lot of heartache if I knew to hold out hope for a mate.”

“Some Earthlings, I thought, do wait until marriage to make love or even to have their first kiss.”

"Well, in some countries, there are arranged marriages, so some couples don't even meet face to face until their wedding day."

“And for religious reasons, perhaps?”

“Do you believe in God?” I blurt out.

She nods. “God, the universe… Does it matter what name we give to the force that binds all life together? There is a purpose for everything, a grand design for all life.”

"But for mates to be different species, to be born on planets so far apart that the chance of meeting the one person they're supposed to be with is so very small… Omur told me that the Garrux are having difficulty having enough babies for the upcoming generations…"

“It will all work out.”

“You think I will do my part.”

“I can sense that you are nervous about something.”

“The maestro, the ruler of the Garrus, hates Earthlings.”

“Ah, yes, I did hear about that, but Omur and yourself cannot be blamed for being mated.”

“We… ah… we aren’t entirely mated just yet,” I mumble. “At least, I don’t think we are.”

“Believe me. You will know when you have mated with him.”

“Do you have your mate?” I ask eagerly. “Can I meet him?”

“He has passed on,” she says without a trace of sadness. “I will see him again.”

My heart, for some reason, does not ache. She is not sad, so why should I be? It’s so strange, though, because normally, I would always offer consolation, but here, it does not seem necessary.

“You seem young,” I say slowly.

“I am over three hundred years old.”

“Oh,” I say faintly.

“Rockians can live to be over five hundred.”

“Must be nice.”

She laughs. “I wonder, if you were to stay, how long you would live for.”

I gape at her and shake my head.

“Do you not wish to be mated to Omur? Do you find him repulsive in some way?”

“No! Not in the slightest. He’s not repulsive to me.”

“Then why is it that you two have not melded?”

“Melded?”

“Joined to become one,” she says simply. “Mates have one half of a soul. Without your mate, you are incomplete. Have you ever felt as if you are not whole? As if you are missing a part of yourself?”

I nod several times. “Yes,” I murmur. “I’ve felt that for a long time. I thought… I was engaged to marry another man. An Earthling, obviously, but he wasn’t the one for me, and I realized that almost too late.”

“Earthlings can be a bit impulsive, from what I recall.”

“From what you recall?”

She shrugs. “I might’ve gone to Earth and lived there for a decade after Thorin died. I wanted to get away from everything.” Rosina tilts her head to the side. “I dyed my hair black then to fit in. I hated it, though, but your hair coloring… I love how it’s so light on top but darker underneath. You are beautiful, Hannah, but that is not why Omur loves you, and he does love you. I understand you are frightened.”

“Who wouldn’t be?” I mumble. “I was stolen by an alien late at night, the same night I found my fiancé in bed with my best friend, and yes, for one second before Omur stole me, I wanted to get away from everything, but to never go back… I mean, my job sucked. I used to lie to myself and act like I had a perfect life, but I didn’t, and now, it’s still not perfect! The maestro thinks Omur is dead because I was trying to get him to leave us alone, and now, he wants me for his own personal sex slave, and he’s sending Omur’s brother to come and collect me, and I made a whole mess of things.”

“You did not make a mess of things.”

“But everything is all fucked up!”

“Because the maestro will not accept that you and Omur are mates. Are to be mates,” she corrects herself.

“And I’m having difficulty accepting that too,” I murmur.

“Because your fiancé hurt you.”

I wring my hands. “I’ve always wanted to be independent, and Omur is giving me that. He’s never forced himself on me, has always been considerate of me. I know he’s desperate for me to, ah, meld with him…” I glance at her, and she nods. “But he’s not pressing me about it. He’s giving me space, and… If I go with Omur, what kind of life will we have? On the run from the Garrux. Will his brother be punished if he doesn’t bring me to Shule? I don’t want that. Rumus’s mate is pregnant. The last thing I want is for anything to happen to any of them.”

“I am sorry you have to worry about that,” she says.

“It’s so much.”

“Just focus on you. Ignore the maestro. Ignore Rumus. Ignore—”

“I can’t ignore Omur,” I murmur.

“How do you feel toward him?”

“I… He means a great deal to me,” I say carefully. “We have been talking more with, ah, our mouths instead of just, um, with our bodies. I appreciate knowing that it’s not all lust-driven between us.”

“Lust is not evil when it comes to the one you love,” she says.

“I suppose not.” I blow out a breath. “What is independence?”

“It’s deciding what is best for you and going for it,” she says.

“How do you know what’s for the best?”

“That is something only you can decide.”

"There's a world of possibilities out there that the Earthlings have no idea about," I say. "It's mind-boggling." I bite my lower lip and hang my head. "I know what's best for Omur. He… He can't return to the Garrux. Not with the maestro. Not with me. He… He's going to have to live his life on the run, isn't he? We're going to have to disappear."

“You could return to Earth, I suppose,” she says, but there’s doubt coloring her tone.

“I could, but maybe we could disappear together.” I swallow hard. “I… I want to love him. I do love him. But the idea of taking Omur away from his people, away from his brother and his nephew or niece... I hate that. I… How can I be his mate when he has to decide between his people and me?”

“His having to decide that is not on you. That is on the maestro and his prejudice.”

“All because he hasn’t found his true mate,” I say bitterly. “Or is it because no Earthlings can be a true mate? Is that why our divorce rate is so high? Do we, as a species, have issues with commitment?”

“It can be terrifying, the prospect of living your life with one person and sharing everything with them. Your mate is your other half, though. If you accept Omur truly and wholly, your life will change forever.”

“For the better?”

“I believe so, but only you can make that determination.”

I swallow hard.

“Do you love him?”

“I want to.”

She lifts her eyebrows.

“I don’t want to ask of him what loving me will require of him,” I explain.

“Isn’t that his choice? Do not take away his independence.”

I snort. “He’s already made his choice, but I don’t think he’s thought things through clearly.”

“Then maybe the one you should be talking to is him instead of me,” Rosina says gently. “Not that I do not enjoy our discourse, but this might be a conversation you should have with him.”

I nod. “I should…”

“But…” she prompts.

“But I fear he won’t listen.”

“Is that fair to him that you are putting your fear on him?”

“There’s too much fear inside me,” I whisper. “It’s making it almost impossible for me to feel anything else, and that includes love.”

“He wants the best for you. I’m sure he wants you to determine what precisely that best is.”

“He’s not like any man I’ve ever met, and I’m not talking about his vibrating cock.” My eyes widen, and I clap a hand to my mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud to you!”

“Oh, I know about the Garrux and their cocks. The Rockians have their own little tidbit.” A slow smile curls her lips before she shakes her head. “You and Omur need to determine what’s best for the both of you. I will say that I have never heard of two mates deciding it to be in their best interests to part ways, but your circumstances are not like many. The maestro could very well hunt you both down. What kind of a life would that be?”

“It’s not what Omur deserves,” I say.

“Such is life, but what life will you have? Will Omur have? That is what you must decide.”

“If love is enough,” I murmur.

“In my experience,” she says, “love is always enough.”