ROMANCE: MY ALIEN KING: Scifi Alien Invasion Abduction Contemporary Romance (Paranormal Fantasy BBW Alien Contact Anthologies & Collections Book 1) (56 page)

Instead, he merely smiled. The buzzing intensified, and with it, the room changed. The flat floor of the structure grew some protrusions that quickly formed into something resembling a table and two chairs. Then, the center of the table opened up, revealing a large bottle of expensive champagne and a pair of metallic-looking glasses.
Actually, the champagne would have been expensive before the war. Now it is priceless.

“Be my guest, please,” he said, gesturing for Deborah to take her seat. “I take hospitality seriously.”

Still on guard (for whatever that was worth), she obliged. The chair was comfortable, but some of Deborah’s ample behind spilled over its edge. It was embarrassing, and she squirmed in her seat. However, Var’ghan seemed to approve, the intensity of that inhuman gaze becoming more tangible with every second that passed.

“Please, allow me.” He took the champagne bottle, ripped the cork out with his bare hands, and emptied some of the contents into both glasses. Then, as if to prove that everything was fine with the drink, he downed his own in a single motion.

“Your turn,” he commented as he refilled his glass.

Ponderously, Deborah extended her right hand and wrapped it around the metallic glass. She took a sip. It was more sweet than strong, precisely the way she liked it. Downing the drink in one go was easy.

“More?” Var’ghan asked, ready to provide a refill.

Deborah replied with a question as she put the glass back in its place. “Are you going to kill me like the others?”

“Like the others, you say?” He poured her next drink. “What others? The soldiers have been merely knocked out. They should regain consciousness within several hours.”

“Ah… Why? I mean, I’m grateful, and I’m sure they are too, it’s just… why would you show us the courtesy? I’m sure our guys wouldn’t have done the same for you.”

“All life is sacred, pretty lady. Sometimes life must be ended so that more life might thrive, but today this was not the case. By the way, would you tell me your name?”

Can’t hurt, I guess. Although I do enjoy being called “pretty”…

“Deborah Hall,” she said after a short pause.

Var’ghan’s expression told her that he liked the way it sounded. “Pleased to meet you, Deborah. You already know what I am called, so that part is over. Now please tell me about yourself.”

“How about
you
tell me a bit about
yourself
?” She couldn’t resist turning the question around, despite her situation. “I think you owe me that much,” she added in an attempt to add more credibility to her claim.

“
Owe
.” The way he pronounced the word was similar to the way someone would speak out a good, short joke. “Very well, let’s pretend like I do owe you that. What do you want to know?”

“Why are your people here? Why are
you
here?” She gestured around herself, flailing with both of her arms. “What’s the point of all this horror?”

Horror. Maybe too strong of a word. Still, what’s said is said.

“Horror, Deborah? You think you know horror?” The way he looked at her as he talked was somewhat angry, yet still in control. “Try being the scion of one of the highest of your world’s elite tribes. Try losing the love of your life over something you had no control over. Try spending decades utterly deprived of anything resembling romantic companionship.
Alone
in in every way that mattered. Finally, try watching your children grow up without a mother, as well as any potential mates for them to continue the dynasty. Can you identify with any of this? Is that enough
horror
for you?”

I seem to have hit a nerve.

“I don’t understand the first thing about what you’re talking about, Var’ghan. Care to elaborate?”

“It’s excessively long and complicated,” he responded, a bit less unnerved this time. “The short version is that we lost all our females some time ago. Our great race is dying. We came here to get some of your females, those who are genetically compatible with us due to a mutation. You fought back. Of course, we were winning, but then you fielded new weaponry that made our combat robots laughably ineffective at capturing prey. Are you following this?”

Like a soap opera.

“I’m listening to every word, and let me tell you, it sounds completely
bonkers
.” She remembered the anger he had shown a little bit ago, and decided to soften the blow of her previous sentence. “But what do I know? I am but a simple archeologist. Please continue.”

“There is absolutely nothing simple about your area of expertise, Deborah. I myself share a passion for things that were. In fact, it is the reason you are here.”

What?

“Erm… come again? This ruin is the reason I’m here. Don’t tell me you’ve been hiding in this old place, waiting for someone interested to come.”

Because that would be just silly.

“Yes and no.” He smiled, betraying his own excitement about what he was about to divulge. “This isn’t an old ruin, Deborah. I had it made just last month.”

You have got to be kidding me.

“No way, no how, no chance! This place is ancient! I’d bet my career on it!”

“And you’d lose it if you did,” Var’ghan replied, the grin still gracing his handsome face. “The things one can do with our level of technology… You’d be astounded.”

“So, let me get this straight. Instead of abducting someone, say a supermodel, you’ve settled for plain old
me
?”

“In essence, yes. But there is a reason for it. And stop badmouthing your appearance. It is simply divine.”

Divine?
Deborah could not prevent the red from spreading across her round cheeks. Var’ghan took notice, and his disposition brightened up even more.

“I did not take part in the fighting on this planet, Deborah. Only one elite tribe was sent on this mission. Others, including my own, were sent to other regions of the cosmos. The commander we’ve sent to this part of space succeeded in finding a race that was more or less genetically compatible with ours. The rest of us did not.” His gaze darkened again, and the light from his eyes appeared to have taken on a darker shade. “By the time I came here, your soldiers had already been armed to the teeth with their new weapons, and abductions had become difficult. Most of them have outright failed, with all of you held up in your military bases. Lost inorganics are not easily replaced without the ability to salvage, so our attempts to find mates proved tenuous and costly. That, in essence, is why I’ve made this place.”

That’s crazy! And also kind of flattering…

“Wait, wait… so creating this ruin, fixing it up to be a mishmash of cultures and then aging it artificially was
not
expensive, then?”

“Of course it was. However, the important thing is that I realized that I was going to have to work for my mate either way. If I’m going to have to
jump through hoops
, as you say, I might as well attract a female who shares my interests. The science you call archeology, for starters.” He remembered his drink and downed it again in one go, and Deborah did the same. “The stage was set, and here you are, even
better
than I had hoped for!”

This seems way too bizarre to believe. However, if it is true…

“Wait, hold on!” She lifted both of her hands up, palms extended toward Var’ghan. “So, I am not going to be dragged up into space against my will?”

“You do not like my offer?” His expression changed into a look of disappointment. “I can give you everything you ever wanted. You don’t even have to be capable of bearing my children. I just want…
need,
your company.”

“A handsome man in need of my company? You’re
definitely
from space!” Her joke didn’t seem to take. “I never said I would refuse, Var’ghan. It’s just… having the choice is important.”

The alien seemed angry. His eyes narrowed as his expression changed into one of a man betrayed.

“Is it not enough for you?” He rose, slamming his palm onto the table. “Are you not impress—“

Suddenly, the wall behind Var’ghan exploded, showering him with debris. It would have shredded Deborah too, but his interposed body took the lion’s share of the impact. Instead of being blasted at full force, she merely fell backwards, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the floor.

“Spread out!” The voice of the corporal cut through the air like a whip. Immediately, all five members of the escort unit ran in. The hole in the wall behind them was sizeable, an obvious consequence of powerful explosives.

“Williams! Check if the bastard is alive! Jenkins! Examine the expert! The rest of you! Secure the perimeter! Move, move, move!”

Like a pack of attack hounds, each member of the unit took their assigned position. Add some snarling sounds and the effect would have been complete.

“Sir, the alien is breathing, sir!” Private Williams exclaimed while she checked Var’ghan’s pulse. “The blast did a number on it, but I don’t think it’s in danger of expiring.”

“Excellent, Williams! Hold it down, we don’t know what it can do yet!”

“Sir!” Jenkins exclaimed as he stood over Deborah’s prone body. “The expert does not show any signs of significant injury!”

“I see,” the corporal replied, the sound of disappointment all too evident in his voice. “Step back and take my position, then.”

“Sir, with respect,” the black-skinned soldier said, “I can do it if you want me to.”

“I know you can, Private,” the corporal replied as he approached. “But I owe her this much at least.”

Why is he talking about me like I’m already dead?

Private Jenkins saluted his superior and stepped away from Deborah to take watch at the colonel’s previous position.

“What… what the hell is going on here?” Deborah managed to yell out, her ears still ringing.

“Not that much, ma’am,” he replied, his rifle now pointed in her direction. “Besides your imminent removal, that is.”

Removal? Why?

“Excuse me!” In shock, Deborah found it difficult to fully grasp the situation.

“You are excused. Any last words?”

“Wait! Wait, please!” She tried getting up, but her disorientation prevented that. “What did I do? I’m a civilian, I couldn’t possibly have given up any relevant information!
Why
?” She spouted the sentence out in record time, even for her.

“Contamination, Dr. Hall. Risk of compromise.” The way he talked to her was decidedly different than the tone he’d had earlier that day. It was as if she was no longer human.

“What kind of contamination?” She searched for a way out, both with her eyes and in her head. There was none in sight.

“Emotional contamination. You see, we’ve learned that the women they capture invariably turn to the enemy’s side. It’s not your fault, but we can’t take that chance with you. I’m sure you understand. You are simply not worth the risk.”

Not worth it. The story of my life, it seems.

“But enough talk, Dr. Hall. This has taken way too much of our time already. Goodbye.”

Deborah closed her eyes and screamed, but gunfire snuffed out the sound of her voice.

She expected pain, the horrendous feeling of bones being crushed and organs perforated, driving her to an inevitable and horrible death. None of it came.

“What? Let go of me!” he heard Private Williams exclaim, inviting Deborah to open her eyes.

When she did, she could not help but stare in disbelief. The floor had risen up to protect her from the hail of bullets, forming a hollow, cylinder-like shelter around her. Gunfire and swearing could be heard from the other side. However, the intensifying metallic buzzing of the room combined with the ringing in her ears made it impossible for her to figure out what was going on. For some ten seconds it was like that, then everything went quiet.

“What’s going on out there? Tell me!” Deborah kept banging on the side of her barrier, panic taking over.

Suddenly, the cylinder melted back into the ground and she barely kept her fist from hitting the chest of Var’ghan.

He was in bad shape. There was blood everywhere. It was red, visually not distinct from that of actual human beings. Besides the injuries from the explosion, he had a couple of new gunshot wounds—one on his shoulder, the other on his thigh. Regardless of that, he was smiling.

It was obvious why. The room was littered with the soldiers’ broken bodies. The corporal had suffered the worst injuries, both of his arms and legs twisted at odd angles.

“Are you all right?” she finally managed to ask, the sight before her having rendered her speechless for a moment.

“Not at all,” he answered, his expression betraying just how tired he was.

“Did you kill them?”

He smiled, staring into her eyes with that inhuman pair of his own. “You know what? I have absolutely no idea,” he finally replied.

Instead of saying anything, Deborah Hall embraced him, engulfing his muscled body with her arms as well as her sizeable bulk.