Alien Warrior’s Second Chance by Sue Mercury

Chapter 7

God save me from high handed Vaxxlian males.

Karla was currently on day fourteen of trying her best to ignore Zorras. When he approached her in the street, she would quickly turn and rush away, and when he visited her home, she would hide in her room or the kitchen and refuse to greet him. Axall and his brothers wouldn’t allow him inside the house without her approval, for which she was grateful.

Hopefully, Zorras would give up on her soon. He seemed sweet and rather harmless, even though on Earth his behavior would be considered stalkerish. But sweet or not, there was no way she would consider taking another husband. Despite her frequent bouts of loneliness, she believed she was better off by herself.

When a familiar voice reached her as she walked down the street, she picked up her pace and resisted the urge to peer over her shoulder.

“Karla! Sweet beauty! Stop!”

She rounded a corner and breathed a sigh of relief when Skylar’s home came into sight. Skylar used to live in her household but had recently moved out when she finally took a mate. Karla hadn’t visited her in a while and wanted to stop by and check on her friend, who was several months pregnant.

But before Karla could reach the door, bootsteps pounded the walkway behind her. She turned and gasped at the sight of Zorras running straight for her, his eyes glowing brighter than she’d ever seen before. His expression was strange too. He didn’t quite look like himself.

Fear skittered down her spine and she started backing away.

When he reached her, he grasped her by her upper arms and released a low growl. Nostrils flaring, he inhaled long and deep. His gaze hardened and her fear deepened.

“Zorras, let me go,” she said, trying her best to sound brave, though her voice wavered slightly. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t appreciate being chased down and grabbed, and she was starting to worry Zorras finally planned to follow through with his threat to kidnap her.

His sharp gaze made her legs wobble, and she shivered when he leaned down and trailed his nose over her cheek and down her neck, taking deep inhales and growling.

“Zorras, please. You’re scaring me.” She hated the pleading tone in her voice, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about this side of him. He was showing her his beast—the primal side of him who hungered to claim a female as a mate, whether she was willing or not.

Warmth quaked through her, her center pulsing as Zorras held her close. Godfuckingdammit. She was scared but turned on at the same time.

“You will come with me now,” he said in a deep, raspy voice. “Come with me now to Vaxxlian Matchmakers.” He lifted his head and stared at her, his face so close she could feel his hot exhales upon her flushed face.

Confusion swept through her. “Vaxxlian Matchmakers? But why?”

“So one of the psychic matchmakers can confirm that you are my soulmate. I want to prove it to you.” He guided her down the walkway, in the opposite direction of Skylar’s house.

Karla heard the door open behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see a surprised looking Skylar standing on the porch. She needed to get the hell away from Zorras and into the safety of Skylar’s house. Skylar’s mate, Tahrin, had installed a top-of-the-line security system in their home, which meant Zorras would probably have difficulty breaking inside. At least she hoped that would be the case.

“Um, Zorras? You’re hurting my arm. Could you please let go? I’ll walk with you to Vaxxlian Matchmakers if you release my arm.” She winced and groaned, pretending she was in real pain, even though his grip on her was just mildly uncomfortable.

A look of alarm came over him and he immediately released her arm. She rubbed at her arm for a few seconds while he stood there staring at her, an apologetic gleam in his eyes.

“My sweet beauty. I am truly sorry. Forgive me.” He cleared his throat. “Once Vaxxlian Matchmakers confirms we are soulmates, I will take you home and inject you with a dose of nanobots. It will heal any damage I have caused you. And then we will exchange mating vows and join our bodies as one.”

Karla didn’t know what to say, but she still wished to escape him. He was being more high handed today than usual and she could tell he was hanging on to his self-control by a thread. She had no plans to visit Vaxxlian Matchmakers with him and she’d only agreed so that he would release her arm. An idea came to her, one that she wasn’t proud of, but an idea nonetheless.

She widened her eyes and stared at something just behind Zorras. “Oh no!” she cried, pointing over his shoulder. “Watch out!”

Just as he tensed and spun around to face an imaginary foe, Karla bolted toward Skylar’s house. When she passed through the doorway, a frustrated growl sounded behind her, but the door zipped shut before he could catch her.

Skylar pressed at the control panel next to the door furiously, her brows narrowed in concentration. “There. The house is in lockdown mode. He shouldn’t be able to get inside.” She looked Karla up and down. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine. He didn’t really hurt me. I was just pretending so I could trick him into letting me go.” Karla’s hands shook at her sides and her legs felt weaker by the moment. “However, I-I think I need to sit down.”

Skylar guided her to a comfy chair in the sitting room. “Was that Zorras?” she asked. “When I saw Amie the other day, she mentioned that you had a boyfriend and told me his name.”

Karla shot her a withering look. “Yes, that was Zorras, but he’s not my boyfriend. He’s a big bossy stalker is what he is. He’s convinced we’re soulmates and he wants me to visit Vaxxlian Matchmakers so they can confirm it, despite my insistence that I have no intention of taking a mate.”

A banging noise made Karla jump. The sound continued as Zorras pounded on the door over and over.

“Wow, he’s persistent,” Skylar said. “Want me to call Tahrin to come home? I’m sure he could scare Zorras off. Or I could call Axall for you.”

Karla sighed. “When it’s time for me to head home, I suppose I’ll contact Axall myself and ask for an escort,” she said, tapping at her new wrist comm.

Skylar peered around Karla at something, her expression falling. “Um, maybe we should move our visit to another room.”

Karla turned to see what Skylar was looking at and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Zorras standing at the window. He was holding a makeshift bouquet of flowers, which he’d clearly just plucked from Skylar’s garden. He held the bouquet up in one hand and waved with the other. He didn’t appear as crazed with lust as he had just moments ago. His eyes were softer, his expression so gentle that Karla was tempted to go outside and accept the bouquet.

“What if you really are soulmates?” Skylar asked in a quiet tone. “If you found out that he was indeed your one true mate, what would you do?”

Karla forced herself to look away from Zorras. She met her friend’s compassionate gaze and drew in a steadying breath. “This is all so sudden,” she said. “But even if we are soulmates, how could our relationship possibly work? I-I know I used to joke around a lot and say that I would’ve signed up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides or visited Vaxxlian Matchmakers if I were younger, but the fact is I’m not younger and I’m also carrying a hell of a lot of baggage. As I’ve mentioned before, my first marriage was absolute hell and even though my husband died over twenty years ago, I still feel like I’m in recovery mode. I don’t even know if I could fall in love with Zorras—but he acts like he already loves me. Any relationship we had would likely be very one-sided. It wouldn’t be fair to him. It’s better that he finds another human female. I’m confident that if I keep ignoring him, he will eventually come to his senses.”

But why did the thought of Zorras mating with another woman make her heart ache?