Found: BBW Alien Lottery Romance (Warriors of Karal Book 2) (2 page)

“But I don’t want to hear…”

She shook her head. “Probably not.” Gaia leaned forward and kissed Johnny one last time. “I wouldn’t have made you happy, Johnny.”

He nodded. “But it was a good dream.”

“Yes, it was.” She shut the door and watched as he drove away. Turning, she headed for the airport and her new life on a new planet.

“Do you ever get tired of returning here, Okil?” Rikka asked as they crossed out of the wormhole and headed through the beacons and on towards Earth.

“I thought I might. Once Tikki was with me on Karal. But no, I still love the first glimpse of the planet, so blue, so filled with knowledge beyond ours.” Okil smiled to himself, and Rikka found himself shaking his head. He would never understand what Okil saw in the human race; they were so flawed in their thinking.

“What knowledge can they possibly hold that is greater than ours? They have destroyed their planet and have no way of saving themselves unless we intervene.”

“It is something deeper, more profound than that. Their art, their music, it inspires me. They laugh at themselves in ways we would never dream of. They love, they hate, they have emotions we can only dream of possessing.”

“And that is why they have gone to war over and over again with themselves. Never learning that they were heading towards their own destruction.”

“And are we any better? So careful in everything we do. So blind to the joys of life,” Okil said, his eyes taking on a faraway look.

“Our sons will bring us joy,” Rikka said, and he meant it. He looked forward to the day he could point to the stars and tell his own son of the places he had visited, the things he had seen way out in the vast universe, places so far away you could not see them from Karal.

“They will, Rikka. They will. And when you take a mate you will see another kind of joy, a joy you never anticipated, or expected. A joy that will overwhelm you.”

“I doubt it, Okil. I am not as soft in the head, or in the heart, as you.” Rikka looked at his fellow Karalian and then thought he should temper his words. Okil had risen to some kind of power in the last few months since the discovery of Earth and its females. Rikka’s father had taught him to observe and respect those with more power than you. “I meant no disrespect.”

“None taken, Rikka. You can speak your mind with me. In fact, I appreciate it. In that way we can be sure we are on the same wavelength. It is of the utmost importance that you choose the right female to take with you on your mission, and to do that you have to be able to talk to me frankly.”

“I always thought the doctor, Darl isn’t it, made the matches. Is his selection process flawed? Is that why I have to choose?” Rikka began the descent through the atmosphere and down to the Earth’s surface.

“No. And he predicted the right choice for the first mission. But it is a far harder task than simply picking the right DNA. Your mate has to have the right temperament or else you may find yourself arguing for months, rather than fulfilling your duty to the Karal and making a child.”

“I do not need to be able to get on with a female to endure her company. I have travelled into deep space with Karalian warriors I would rather have left in some far unreachable zone, than journey back with. But I have
never
carried out those wishes and abandoned even the most infuriating warrior. So rest assured, a female will not get under my skin, no matter how annoying she may be.”

Okil laughed. “You say that now, but wait until you have been shut in a space cruiser for a week with a woman whose voice grates on your ears and whose very presence makes your skin vibrate with violet pulses.”

Rikka grinned at Okil. “No woman could be that bad,” he said.

“I kid you not. Some humans are that bad. I know I like them, but I am not so soft that I would not like to leave a few of them on this dead, decaying Earth.”

“It must have been beautiful once,” Rikka said as they drew closer to the ground. From above the decay was not as obvious, but now he could see the grey pall of smoke that hung over everything, contaminating all below, and he shuddered at the thought of being intimate with a creature who dwelled on such a dirty, dead planet.

“Yes. And I hope if we can ease the burden, there might be hope for it to rejuvenate itself.”

“Now you do sound like you live in a fantasy world; there is nothing in our known universe that can help this planet. Even if you removed every last human parasite.”

Okil chuckled. “Once you have met some of your human
parasites
, you might hold a different view. And as you said, nothing in our known universe, but don’t think we hold all knowledge. There is always something new to find. Something we have not explored. As you will find out when you experience love for the first time.” They came to a halt and Okil undid his seatbelt.

“So this is it. You expect me to walk down the exit ramp and be somehow transformed into thinking that humans are wonderful and should be saved?” Rikka asked.

“No. This is where you walk down the ramp and wonder how anyone survives in this atmosphere. The air is terrible. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Okil said as he pressed the button to lower the ramp.

Rikka went to stand by the side of Okil, while he introduced them to the Earth females. An unusual sense of excitement was building up inside him. He had to concentrate hard to keep his colours under control, something he never before found difficult. However, as the ramp lowered and he saw the faces of the human females in front of him, he struggled not to find them attractive. He had visited the sim; he knew how a male and female fit together to make a child. Yet being with the sim, no matter how realistic it made the experience, did not educate him on what it was like to stand before seven real, warm females, any one of which could be his mate.

It was like the morning of his birthday when his father would come into his room and give him a small gift. No matter how hard Rikka tried to guess, his father always chose something that was exactly what Rikka wanted, yet had no idea he needed.

It was like a sixth sense. As Rikka got older, he would spend the whole year trying to look for the signals in himself that his father noticed. All those little signs that led his father to his choice. Yet not once did he guess the gift, and not once was he disappointed in his father’s choice.

Would one of these females make him that happy? Did one of them possess the ability to give him exactly what he wanted, but didn’t know he needed? Would he once more feel like the child he once was, or would she leave him bitterly disappointed.

Before he looked on these faces, he hadn’t cared, but now he did. He found himself wanting to experience what Okil did everyday with his mate, Tikki. And as Okil looked at Rikka, he gave him a look of deep understanding.

“Embrace the adventure,” Okil said, and then took a step down the ramp, with Rikka following.

Rikka had landed on planets where he had no idea of what he would find, what adversity he would endure. Yet taking his first step onto the planet Earth, to stand before the lottery winners, was the most frightening step he had ever taken. Ridiculous, when you were a mighty warrior of Karal!

Gaia stood alongside the other six females who were about to embark on a new life on a distant planet, and excitement filled her. Until the spaceship had landed in front of her, she had thought that maybe she would wake up and it would all be a dream, or the lottery was one big joke. Aliens couldn’t possibly be real.

Yet two of them stood in front of her. Both impossibly tall and broad, like human men of centuries ago. Lack of food and good clean air had diminished the human race, and the men were often weak and pale. These two Karalians were a stark contrast; dark haired and dark eyed, they had an underlying vibe of danger. That once the gathered females stepped on to their ship, their free will would be taken from them.

Gaia felt a shudder of apprehension. The lottery was backwards in so many ways: the winner got to live on Karal, with good food and clean air. But in return, they gifted a part of themselves to Karal. Once she entered the spaceship, she would relinquish her freedom and agree to breed the next generation of aliens. The aliens were the real winners in the lottery.

Was that what she wanted? Or should she turn and walk away now? Turn and run back to her old life and her old home with its ghosts of the past?

“Welcome, ladies.” One of the Karalians spoke, his voice softer, more gentle, than his manner conveyed. “I hope you are all looking forward to this new adventure. If you bring your luggage, Rikka here will show you where to stow it. Then we can depart. Our first stop is a space station that orbits Karal; from there we will travel to our beautiful home planet.”

“I might need some help with this,” one of the women said, indicating her suitcase, which looked huge.

“I’ll help,” Gaia said, stepping forward. She shouldered her pack and went towards the woman, who scowled, making Gaia pull up short. “Or did you want to struggle on your own?”

“No. What I wanted was for one of those strapping young Karalians to come to my aid,” she said bluntly, but then her face relaxed. “Sorry. I have been dreaming of meeting the Karalian of my dreams and I can’t wait to get to know them. Silly, I thought maybe this would be love at first sight.”

“You don’t even know if these two are any of the aliens who will be matched to us,” Gaia said, holding the handle of the suitcase in one hand and lifting it. “What have you got in here?”

“Shoes. It’s my passion and I couldn’t bear to leave them behind. I’m Issy, by the way.”

“Gaia.” She nodded to Issy as they lurched forward with the overpacked suitcase. “How many pairs have you brought?”

Gaia only owned three pairs of shoes; they were seen as a luxury to most people. One for everyday use, one for when the ground was wet and muddy, and if you were lucky, one pair for best. Although the best pair were often poorly fitted hand-me-downs.

“Twenty. And then there are matching purses.”

“Matching purses? I only have three pairs of shoes and one purse,” Gaia said. “Why would you need so many?”

“For going out. You know, to the malls and restaurants.” She looked up at Gaia’s expression. “You’re a skim?”

“Yes. And I guess you are a pent. A very rich pent,” Gaia said, trying not to let it sound like an accusation, but knowing it did.

“A pent, yes, not so rich though. My mom owns one of the boutiques in the Regale Mall. She gets shoes at wholesale.” They reached the bottom of the ramp and began dragging the suitcase up the steps.

“And you think there will be an opportunity for you to wear all these shoes on Karal?” Gaia asked. She had always imagined the planet to be wild and untamed, a bit like the two aliens who were waiting at the top of the ramp as they heaved the heavy suitcase up. One thing for sure, they weren’t gentlemen. They were happy to stand and watch while the two women struggled.

“Why not? And if not, then it’s something I could help them with. Have you ever thought about how many women are going to be coming to live on Karal over the next few years? Soon they will have to speed the lottery up even more. My mom said they will need to clothe them.”

“And your mom wants to expand her business to a new planet?” Gaia asked, admiring the thought process of Issy and her mom. “Is that why you entered?”

“Partly. And partly because I wanted to see something else, other than the inside of a mall. I know you think we are lucky, but life does get dull. There is only so much coin a person can spend before it becomes meaningless.”

“Tell that to the skims who have no roof over their heads,” Gaia said.

“That’s just lies spread by those who want to raise our taxes,” Issy laughed.

“I have seen plenty of people who have no homes. Even in the small town I live in. We do our best, but yes, when there is little in the way of work, people go hungry and lose their homes.”

Issy stopped, standing up straight to look down at Gaia. “I always thought that was a lie.”

Someone bumped into the back of Gaia, and she turned round to see a nervous-looking slim woman. “Sorry. Was too busy looking at the aliens to see you stopped there.”

“No problem, come on, Issy. Time to get your travelling boutique stowed away.” Issy took hold of her handle and began to tug the suitcase up the ramp.

“You know, I have no idea about the world really, do I?” Issy said.

“That’s not true,” Gaia said. “You know lots about your life, I know lots about mine. But as of right now, none of that matters.” They had reached the threshold of the spaceship. “Because as of right now, we are about to enter a new life, in which we are all equals.”

Her eyes met one of the Karalians and she smiled; he just stared at her. They weren’t exactly the friendliest of people, but then taking a gaggle of females in a spaceship halfway across the galaxy might not be the most appealing thing to an alien. Especially when behind her, raucous laughter erupted as someone’s suitcase toppled off the side of the ramp and landed with a crash on the ground, its contents spilling out.

“We can all see the colour of your underwear,” one voice yelled and then more laughter erupted. A small timid-looking girl ran back down to retrieve her belongings, and from the shaking of her shoulders, Gaia was sure she was crying.

“Can you help Issy from here?” Gaia asked the woman behind them. Before the woman answered, Gaia had gone back down the ramp, pushing past the laughing women and jumping off the edge of the ramp to help the timid girl.

“Here, let me help you,” Gaia said.

“You don’t have to. I can manage.”

“No problem. Quicker we get it all packed away, the quicker we can get going. Here.” She passed her a hairbrush and a lacy bra. “I’m Gaia, by the way.”

“Berni. And thank you.”

“We should all help each other,” Gaia said, and handed over more lacy underwear and a pretty dress covered in a floral print. “You have some lovely clothes.”

“My mom brought me pretty things to disguise the fact that I am so plain.” Berni pushed her curly hair back from her face. “My mom is stunningly beautiful; she never quite got over giving birth to a
plain Jane
.”