Alien Warrior’s Second Chance by Sue Mercury

Chapter 13

Five days later…

“There’ssomething I need to tell you,” Karla blurted, staring across the table at Zorras. It was late afternoon, and they were in a cozy restaurant on the edge of Starzzia, enjoying an early dinner. She shifted in her seat, trying to work up the courage to tell him about the raiders. He’d taken her on a date every single day since his return to New Vaxx, and she wanted him to know her last dark secret before their relationship went any further.

He set his drink down and peered at her, giving her his full attention. “What is it, my sweet beauty? Is something wrong?”

“I think I should tell you what happened before I left Earth,” she began. “Well, I was always planning to come here—Rachel and Axall invited me—but I had intended to take my time since I wanted to sell my business and get a good price for it, as well as say goodbye to friends, that sort of thing. I didn’t want to rush. But anyway, something happened at Karla’s Kove that necessitated my immediate departure.”

Face etched with concern, he leaned forward and reached for her hands. “Whatever happened, Karla, I wish to know. Please, tell me.”

She sucked in a deep breath and braced herself for his reaction. She thought he would be understanding, but she couldn’t be certain. Still, she couldn’t hold her secret in any longer. “I-I shot and killed four men with a blaster. They’d just shot my neighbors and set their house on fire, and then they came upon Karla’s Kove and were ransacking my house. I-I heard them breaking things and it made me angry, and I was terrified they would set my house on fire too. So I came out of my hiding spot and ordered them to leave.” She shuddered as the memories assailed her. She’d been alone and terrified and had acted on instinct, and even all these months later, after she’d had adequate time to reflect upon her actions, she still wasn’t sure she’d done the right thing.

Was killing another person, even an evil person, ever the right course of action? The same guilt she’d felt when Merle died resurfaced—because she hadn’t mourned his death. She’d only felt utter relief when he died.

Zorras rose from his seat and her heart sank. He was leaving. He was disgusted with her. He was rejecting her. She lowered her head and stared at her hands in her lap, the very hands that had taken lives.

But a large arm soon wrapped around her, and she looked to her right to see Zorras had moved his chair and was now sitting next to her, holding her in the back corner of the restaurant, offering her comfort. He rubbed her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Thank you for finally telling me about what happened to you on Earth, Karla. I imagine you needed to flee so you wouldn’t get into any trouble with the authorities on your planet? From my knowledge, possession of blasters or any weapons that use otherworldly technology are illegal on your home planet.”

She nodded, her throat tight with emotion. She quickly explained how she’d gotten away with the crime, how she’d tossed the blaster into the lake and lied to the authorities. Then she’d described how she’d contacted Axall and Rachel for help, quickly sold her bed and breakfast, packed up her most important belongings, and got the hell out of Dodge.

As she told her story, he ran a hand up and down her back, and his touch brought her comfort. She felt a little foolish for thinking he might judge her, for thinking he might reject her just because she’d gotten into an altercation with some raiders back on Earth. She reminded herself that he was a Vaxxlian warrior who’d seen battle. He had likely killed more men than she had during his lifetime.

“Do you think I’m a bad person?” she couldn’t help but ask. She desperately needed his reassurance.

“No, Karla, I do not think you’re a bad person.” He shifted her deeper into his arms and started caressing her hair, causing endorphins to prickle her scalp and goosebumps to rise on her arms. “You have the heart of a warrior and there is nothing wrong with that. You are brave and you fought back against those who would’ve killed you had you not killed them first.”

His words washed over her like a balm, and she settled her head against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart. She didn’t feel like she had the heart of a warrior, but she kept this information to herself.

“You don’t think badly of me, then?” She peeked up at him and marveled at the acceptance in his gaze. She was bearing her soul to him, telling him one of her darkest secrets, but he didn’t think she was a bad person. He didn’t think she’d made the wrong decision. And he’d called her brave. “This doesn’t change the way you feel about me?” she asked, wanting to be certain. The past couple of days with Zorras had been wonderful and she didn’t want their courtship to end, but she also longed for their relationship to be built on a foundation of honesty.

“I don’t think badly of you, my sweet beauty.” He placed another kiss atop her head. “This also doesn’t change the way I feel about you.” He paused and a thoughtful look came over him, and he eventually said, “Well, that is not entirely true.”

Her stomach sank and she tried to pull out of his arms, but his next words calmed her all over again.

“What you just told me—this secret you have so bravely trusted me with—it makes me want to protect you even more. It makes me want to keep you safe, and it makes me want to dig up the graves of those men who tried to hurt you and kill them all over again. I wish I could seek vengeance on your behalf. It saddens me that you lived alone and had to protect yourself. In my culture, a female never lives alone. Our females always have an honorable male warrior who will protect them—whether it’s a father or a brother or an uncle or a mate.”

Karla felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Now that she’d finally confessed this secret to Zorras, she could breathe easier.

“Thank you,” she whispered, meeting his gaze. “Thank you for… for your understanding and your kind words. I hope you don’t think it’s weird that I told you this, but in my culture, keeping a secret like this from a potential future mate would be considered a deception.”

He cupped her face and she thought he meant to kiss her, but instead he stared at her for a long minute, as if trying to count the flecks in her eyes. Despite going on several dates already, he hadn’t yet kissed her on the lips. He’d placed a few kisses atop her head, but that was it. She suspected he was holding back because a real kiss might cause him to lose control.

“Not a potential future mate,” he said in a correcting tone. “Just future mate. It is going to happen, sweet beauty. Soon, I pray, though I will endeavor to remain patient with you.”

She smiled up at him, and for the first time in a long fucking time, she felt at peace.