The Alien’s Obsession by Zoey Draven

Chapter Fourteen

“Why are you so quiet today?” Crystal asked, looking up from her tablet.

In the back of her mind, Lainey wondered if Kirov had also made the tablet at some point. Was it his own invention?

“Am I being quiet?” Lainey asked, tossing the mini-UFO, in its sphere form, back and forth in her hands. She shrugged, hoping it seemed nonchalant. “I guess I’m just tired.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” Crystal asked next, her eyes going back to the drawing she was working on.

Lainey relaxed a little, her gaze straying to Vixron, who was standing at the window, looking out over the view.

“No, not really,” she murmured.

It was early in the afternoon and after Kirov dropped her back off at the house last night, she hadn’t been able to sleep. For a multitude of reasons.

Part of it was because he’d been so sweet when they’d had to say goodbye for the night. He hadn’t said much, just pulled her into his body, giving her one of his fantastic, warm hugs, and tilted her face up so he could kiss her. He’d kissed her slowly and without any rush, despite that they’d needed to be quiet and sneak her back inside her room before Vixron noticed she’d been gone.

Part of it was also because she hadn’t wanted to say goodbye. She’d been tempted to just go back to his empty house with him and crawl into his bed and cuddle and kiss and touch him and do all the things she knew she shouldn’t do.

But a big part of why she couldn’t sleep was because she was worried. Worried about how things would unfold with him now that they’d been intimate and wondering how she could leave her heart intact and unbroken when she eventually had to leave Luxiria.

Lainey was so lost in her thoughts, staring into space, that she almost didn’t realize it when she heard a hovercraft approaching.

Her breath hitched and she was up, striding over to the window to see if it was Kirov, not caring if Crystal or Vixron thought her actions were odd.

But it wasn’t Kirov.

It was Kate. A very pregnant Kate, looking like she was about to give birth any moment. Vaxa’an, her mate and the Prime Leader of Luxiria, helped her down off the hovercraft. The blatant worry on his face, him fussing over her as she walked towards their house, was unexpectedly…cute. Watching them together, Lainey thought it was obvious that they loved each other deeply.

Kate had come at Lainey’s request, she realized, swallowing her disappointment that it wasn’t Kirov. Crystal stood up from the fire pit circle, frowning out the window, but Lainey was out the door, going to greet the human woman that they knew very little about.

“Lainey,” Kate said, smiling, reaching out to pull her into a hug. She was careful not to crush the other woman’s bulging stomach.

“Thanks for coming to see us,” Lainey said softly. “If I’d realized you were this pregnant, I wouldn’t have—”

“I’m glad to get out of the house. Honestly,” Kate murmured, stabbing a thumb over her shoulder at Vaxa’an. “He’s been a tyrant. He practically keeps me chained to the bed.”

Lainey laughed, believing it, before glancing back down to her belly. “We just saw you two weeks ago. I can’t believe how much your pregnancy has progressed.”

“Luxirian gestations are much shorter than ours. The babies grow much faster,” Kate explained. “At least that’s what Privanax believes. It won’t be too much longer now.”

“Oh,” Lainey murmured. She realized she was blocking the entrance to the house and sprung aside, opening the door for Kate. “Crystal’s here too.”

“I heard Erin and Bianca wanted to stay behind,” Kate commented, stepping into the house, Vaxa’an letting Lainey pass before he followed.

“We hope they’ll come here soon,” Lainey said quietly, remembering her argument with Bianca, wishing she hadn’t been so harsh with her words. Maybe if she’d been more like Erin, calm and level-headed, she could’ve convinced her to come along.

Crystal greeted Kate, exchanging pleasantries as Lainey stood next to Vaxa’an and Vixron awkwardly as they spoke to one another in Luxirian. Whatever Vixron said had Vaxa’an jerking his head in a hard nod, his gaze straying to Lainey briefly.

Paranoid, she wondered if he somehow knew she’d snuck out with Kirov last night, but when he didn’t say anything about it, she relaxed. She assumed that Kirov could get into some kind of trouble if Vaxa’an knew they were…involved. That must be why he wanted to keep it a secret.

But if he intended to take her with him to Troxva, it couldn’t remain a secret for long.

Lainey shook her head, wondering where in the world that thought had come from. In the back of her mind, however, she knew that he would be leaving in two days—one and a half now, really—and tomorrow might be the last time they saw each other.

Not if you go with him, like he wants, her treacherous mind whispered. He said he would make you a piano.

Her heart still fluttered whenever she thought about it, how she’d never heard anything more romantic in her entire life. He’d offered to make her a piano, just because she wanted one.

Lainey bit her lip, inhaling a slow breath and releasing it just as slowly. She needed to get a grip.

Kate turned to her mate and said, “Thanks for bringing me, Vaxa. You can go now. I seriously need some girl time without you hovering.”

Then Kate smiled sweetly, which told Lainey that she had the alien male wrapped around her little finger.

Vaxa’an growled a little at that. “Very well, female,” in a tone that made her think he knew exactly what his mate was doing. “Com me at the command center if you need me. If you need anything. If you feel—”

“Yes, yes, honey, I know,” Kate said smiling. She walked over to him and gave him a kiss, squeezing his forearm when she pulled back. “I’ll see you later.”

“Love you, female,” he growled.

“And I love you.”

And with one last, long look at Kate, Vaxa’an nodded at Vixron, at Lainey and Crystal, and left, the hovercraft pulling away from the terrace a moment later.

Kate sighed, a dreamy smile softening her face, as she looked after him and Lainey knew she had it bad for her male.

Then the pregnant woman clapped her hands and looked at them both. “Now, the real question is…what do you guys have to eat around here?”

* * *

“Want some company?”came a soft voice behind her and Lainey turned from her spot at the balcony to see Kate waddling up to her. Vixron was frowning at the both of them from the doorway, probably wondering how Lainey would corrupt his Prime Leader’s mate.

Lainey waved at him before addressing Kate. “Sorry for being rude. I just…needed some air.”

It was early evening and already the temperature of the Golden City began to cool.

“No worries. I get it,” Kate said.

“It’s hard for me to be trapped inside too long,” Lainey said, feeling like she owed her an explanation. “Now that we have access to the outside, I take advantage.”

Kate frowned, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder. “I am so sorry for how Vaxa kept you in that room for so long. He thought he was doing the right thing to keep you safe. I tried to tell him—”

“It’s okay,” Lainey said. “It was partly that, but mostly, it’s the memory of those cages, on that other planet.” She looked over at Kate. “But I don’t have to tell you about it. You were there too, before us.”

“Yes,” Kate said. “But thankfully not as long. Vaxa chose me my very first time in the Pit. I can’t imagine what you had to go through.”

Lainey didn’t respond to that immediately. She’d come to terms with her abduction and imprisonment. It would always be lurking in the back of her mind, but it had happened and she couldn’t change it. And she refused to let it break her down again.

“But I don’t want to ruin our time together talking about that place,” Kate added softly, reading her expression well. Kate reminded her of Erin, calm and kind and perceptive. “I had fun this afternoon with you and Crystal. I’m glad she finally warmed up to me.”

Lainey laughed, “She’s a little shy at first, but shy is not how I’d describe that woman once you get to know her.” She smiled. “I had fun this afternoon too. I’m glad you could come.”

All three of them had simply talked for a few hours straight, which probably bored Vixron out of his mind. They’d had him order some snacks for them too—Kate had ordered all her favorite things and Lainey had to admit that everything she tasted that afternoon was much, much better than the smoked meat they’d been eating.

So they’d eaten and gossiped all afternoon, talking about their lives back on Earth—they’d learned Kate had worked in publishing back in Chicago—and their atrocious ex-boyfriends and their college days and the foods they missed the most—an In-N-Out burger for Crystal, chicken tikka masala for Kate, and a dragon sushi roll for Lainey.

It felt nice, just talking and laughing with friends, Lainey realized. Lainey had cut a lot of people out of life since Nadine died. She’d folded in on herself and isolated herself.

It had been a long time since she’d simply enjoyed the company of other women and Lainey hadn’t realized how much she missed it.

“Can I ask you something?” Lainey murmured, looking over her shoulder to see Vixron still watching them, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Anything,” Kate responded.

Lowering her voice, Lainey asked the one question that had been plaguing her. “How did you know that Vaxa’an was the one?”

Kate looked her in surprise.

“I mean, how were you so certain about him, that you gave up your life on Earth, your friends and family, to stay here with him?” Lainey asked, her brow furrowing. “Sorry if that seems rude to ask, I’m just…curious.”

“I said you could ask me anything and I meant it,” Kate responded, brushing off Lainey’s concern. She pregnant woman sighed, shifting on her feet, looking out over Luxiria. “I honestly can’t give you a definitive answer. And trust me, at the time, I thought I was being crazy. I second guessed myself every moment, wondering if I was making the right decision or not.”

“So what made you stay?”

“I stayed for a lot of reasons, but the one that sticks out the most is that I simply couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to him.”

Lainey swallowed hard.

“I played every scenario in my mind of how to say goodbye and every single one left me completely heartbroken, every single one destroyed him,” Kate answered, frowning, as if the memory of it still hurt. “And I ask myself every single day how he made me fall in love with him so quickly, but it’s just…it’s him. It’s like we were truly meant to find each other, in this weird, big, strange universe. It really was fate.”

“So, you believe in the whole Instinct thing?” Lainey asked quietly, processing her words.

Kate laughed, turning wide eyes on her. “Oh yeah. Definitely. I guess you must think I’m crazy, but I can’t explain to you what it feels like. It’s something that can only be experienced for someone to fully understand.”

“But how would you describe it?” Lainey asked, clearing her throat. “If you had to.”

She hoped she didn’t seem too interested or else Kate might get suspicious about her line of questioning.

Thankfully, she pregnant woman simply smiled at her curiosity and said, “I would describe it like…a magnetic pull, I guess. But with a little ‘love at first sight’ mixed in. Now multiply those things by ten and you have one awakened Instinct. Both of those things combined…it’s an intense thing to experience. I didn’t even know what I was experiencing and I refused to believe Vaxa because I thought he was out of his mind at the time.”

That sounded familiar, she couldn’t help but think, goosebumps breaking out over her skin as she shivered with awareness.

Kate smiled over at her and asked, “Cold? Maybe we should go back inside.”

“No,” Lainey said, blowing out a breath. “I’m just so curious about it all. It seems unreal. So…alien.”

Kate smiled, her expression kind. “I know the feeling.”

They lapsed into silence for a moment as Lainey thought over her words.

Then Kate said softly, “I’ve felt them, you know.”

“Who?” Lainey asked, frowning.

“The Fates. Their deities. They’re real.” Lainey’s lips parted, even though a part of her wanted to dismiss Kate’s words. “And trust me, I didn’t believe it at first, but once you feel them, sense them inside you, they become very hard to deny. Not to mention the blood bond.”

Lainey had heard a little bit about the blood bond from Cecelia, though she’d, frankly, thought that her friend had lost her mind at the time.

Now, Lainey wasn’t so sure.

“That’s what happens during some ceremony, right?” Lainey asked, unsure, biting her lip.

“Yes, the mating ceremony. It’s like a marriage ceremony, I guess, only a lot more…intense. Not to mention very, very permanent,” Kate said, a teasing tone in her voice.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the blood bond,” Kate answered. “You’re bound to one another. He’s inside me, in my mind.”

Lainey frowned. “Like…metaphorically?”

Kate chuckled. “No. I mean I can sense his feelings, read thoughts that he sends to me, sense where he is, if he’s safe. And he feels the same for me.”

“That’s…that’s…” Lainey trailed off, gulping.

“Crazy?” Kate guessed and then sighed. “Yeah, but I’ve had time to accept it. It’s a lot easier to accept when you have someone else in your mind, trust me.”

“And Cecelia and Taylor and Beks all went through this with their, um, mates?”

“That’s right,” Kate said, nodding. She slanted her a look and teased, “You really are curious about this stuff.”

A little flustered, Lainey said, “It’s hard to believe. I guess I’m just trying to understand this place, these people better. Who knows how long we’ll be here.”

Kate patted her shoulder. “I’m sure they’ll find the crystal soon. One of Vaxa’s Ambassadors, Cruxan, is trying to track it down as we speak.”

The thing was…Lainey wasn’t so certain she wanted this Ambassador to find it anytime soon.

If only to give her more time with Kirov, to sort through the mess in her head.

Lainey sighed, leaning against the balcony, nibbling on her lip. Mess, indeed.

“Hey,” Kate said, her eyes softening in concern. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Lainey said, a bit too quickly. She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I’m just…overwhelmed. I’m still processing everything that’s happened.”

Something in Kate’s expression made Lainey’s stomach flutter in nervousness. Because suddenly, she wasn’t so sure that Kate believed that was the only reason. Lainey could practically see the brunette putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

Shit.

“Of course,” Kate finally said, her eyes careful. “If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Thank you,” Lainey said, not quite meeting her eyes. “I appreciate it.”