Alien Warrior’s Second Chance by Sue Mercury
Chapter 9
Karla bustledaround the kitchen as she prepared the evening meal, trying to ignore the hollow feeling in her chest. She didn’t feel like herself today and wasn’t sure why. Upon waking this morning, an aching emptiness had filled her, and her unease only increased with the passing of each hour. It was similar to how she’d felt when her grandmother had died.
Mourning. I feel as though I’m in mourning.
She gave herself a mental shake.
What the hell was wrong with her?
She listened to the sounds of the house and settlement outside and didn’t hear anything amiss. Everything seemed normal.
With a sigh, she flipped on the screen that was mounted on the kitchen wall and scanned the Vaxxlian community forum for any important news.
Hm. The only news today was a call for volunteers to help build an additional skywalk, and the joyous announcement that twenty-two half-Vaxxlian half-human babies had been born in Starzzia yesterday.
“Aunt Karla! Aunt Karla!” called Amie from the hallway. “I have something for you!” The child rushed into the kitchen holding a piece of paper.
“That’s a lovely drawing, Amie, thank you, my dear!” Karla said with a quick glance at the paper, even though she didn’t look at it long enough to see what it really was. She continued kneading the dough on the counter. “Why don’t you stick it on the display board in the living room?”
After coming to New Vaxx, Karla had quickly learned that Vaxxlians disliked the idea of placing drawings or important papers on a refrigerator, and instead most houses were fitted with large display boards in the living room where such papers could be pinned up.
Amie huffed and placed the paper on the counter next to the dough. “It’s not a drawing, Aunt Karla. Maybe you ought to get your eyes checked out. Want me to ask Daddy Khann to call a healer for you?”
Karla gave the child an indulgent smile and then focused on the paper, only to realize it was a letter written in English, though the penmanship was atrocious. It looked like something a child had written, though Karla didn’t recognize it as Amie’s handwriting.
“Who gave you this?” she asked, squinting down at the letter as she tried to read the first sentence.
“It’s from Warrior Zorras. He said it was very important. I don’t know what it says though. I tried reading it, but I think it’s in English,” Amie explained.
“Ah, and you never learned English since you grew up on an outpost and mostly spoke Galactic Common,” Karla murmured, more to herself than anyone else. “Hm. I think I can read it if I really concentrate. Would you do me a favor and let everyone know dinner will be about a half hour late?”
“Yes, I’ll go do that right now!” Amie bolted out of the kitchen, her long braids flapping against her back as she ran down the hallway shouting, “Dinner is going to be late because Aunt Karla got an important letter from her boyfriend and his writing is awful and it’s going to take her a half hour to read it!”
Karla repressed a groan when she heard footsteps headed her way. Probably Rachel or Sienna or Belle coming to ask about the letter. The three of them seemed to think Zorras would be a good match for her, and they kept trying to convince her to give the warrior a chance.
Not wanting to face any questions before she managed to read the entire letter, she tucked the paper into her pocket and dashed out the kitchen door and into the back garden, making sure to close the door behind her. Thankfully, she hadn’t put the faux-chicken pot pies in the oven yet, so nothing would burn if left unattended.
She found a bench in a secluded corner of the garden and took a seat. She pulled the letter from her pocket and smoothed it out on her lap, her heart racing with worry.
Maybe Zorras was dumping her. Not that they were in a relationship, but maybe he wanted to announce that he was no longer interested in her. Or maybe he wanted to tell her that he’d taken a mate. Oh God. Maybe he’d already mated with a younger female. Her spirits darkened and her chest ached so painfully, breathing became difficult.
Focus, Karla, focus.
She peered at the letter and slowly, very slowly, deciphered the messy handwriting.
Dear Karla,
You are the mate of my heart. I know this truth in my soul. When I think of you, my heart swells with affection. Each day when I awake, my first thought is of seeing you—even though you have been pushing me away. I always plan my day around seeking you out, hoping to catch you when you are on your way to visit a friend or out for an afternoon walk.
Of course, when I first glimpse you, my blood heats, and my ability to think rationally is sometimes affected by the lust coursing through my veins. I have never wanted a female as fiercely as I want you.
But it is more than physical attraction. Yes, I think you are beautiful—with the Star God as my witness, I swear you are the loveliest woman I have ever beheld. However, when our eyes meet, my soul recognizes yours. I cannot explain it, but it is a knowing that I experience every single time I see you.
Before the war against the Irrcons, which tragically resulted in the loss of most of our females, Vaxxlians did not mate for love. Vaxxlians did not have soulmates and it was a foreign concept to us. Instead, most mating unions were arranged by families. Often, a male and female would meet for the first time on the day of their joining. My marriage to Alinsha was arranged by our fathers, and while we enjoyed a happy mating union, our relationship took time to become comfortable.
I grieved and I screamed at the Star God when Alinsha perished during the war, as I had eventually grown to love her, and I missed her and mourned her death. As time passed, the heaviness of my grief began to lessen, and I started to pray to the Star God again. I prayed that Alinsha’s soul would find rest, but I also prayed for healing and for a second chance at love. When I learned that Vaxxlians were sexually compatible with humans, I began to pray for a human female of my very own.
It has been hypothesized by our philosophers, and suggested by the psychics who run Vaxxlian Matchmakers, that the Star God has blessed us with the gift of Vaxxlian-human soulmates. My people desperately need human women as mates, and many human women are eager to leave the failing planet known as Earth.
When I learned of this theory, I knew in my heart that one day I would meet my human soulmate. I expected Vaxxlian Matchmakers to find my mate for me. I never expected I might run into my soulmate on the street and recognize her at once—but that is what happened.
The instant our eyes met on that day, when you were carrying the box of donuts, I was struck with the certainty that you were meant to be mine, struck with the certainty that you were my soulmate.
I understand human courting customs are different from those of my people. Courting customs are strange to us since we never had them—we married the mate of our family’s choosing without question. But I would like to attempt to properly court you, if you will give me a second chance.
I am leaving today for an important mission on Earth, and I am unsure of how long I will be gone. I pray no longer than a moon cycle. My heart is already heavy with the missing of you. It grieves me to know we will be so far away from one another. It grieves me to know I won’t be able to see you every day—even if you are usually running in the opposite direction.
Amie told me that English is your native language, so I taught myself to write in English so I might better communicate with you. Your language is strange to me, but I am learning more and more every day. I wish to please you by learning more about your culture, and more about you as a person.
My instincts tell me you are a sweet soul who has endured much hardship during your life. While I do not know the specific events that haunt you, or your exact reasons for leaving Earth, I want you to know that if we become a mated pair, your happiness and your safety will be the most important thing in the universe to me.
I will contact you when I return to New Vaxx. Please give me a second chance, my sweet beauty. Please give me the chance to love you and help you heal from your darkness. You have pain in your heart, and I have loneliness in mine.
We can help one another.
We can love one another.
I hope you will stay well during my absence, and I hope to see you sooner than a moon cycle. Please give my letter some thought. Know that I would never hurt you. Know that I only seek to protect you. Know that I will love and care for you always. Please open your heart to me.
I will see you soon.
With all my devotion,
Zorras (your future mate)
