Page 18 of Stolen By Her Alien Mate

Lorraine’s smoke-induced chuckle fills the storage room. “That good, huh? I’ll say this, that man was unbelievably hot. Like he walked right out of the pages of one of my romance novels. Damn. I’d have had a hard time turning down his request to mate, had he propositioned me.”

I snort. “Mate. Who even says that?”

“Evidently your destiny does.”

chapter

five

KAEL

Well, frack.

That didn’t go as planned.

I can barely wrap my brain around all the ways that went sidewise, starting with me finding her with another man’s hands all over her and ending with her thinking I was playing some kind of cruel trick on her. As if I would ever. As if I even could intentionally do something to displease her.

The worst part… somehow she grew up, here on this primitive planet, with no knowledge of who she is or how she came here. With no knowledge of Perse, or the rebellion, or the role she could play in saving our people.

Begrudgingly I leave Big Mo’s Diner and my mate behind to return to my shuttle, using a mode of transportation called a Harley which I acquired this morning. Though the vehicle is enjoyable to ride, I am quite drenched by the time I make it to the shuttle.

As I dry off and change into dry clothes, I consider the problem.

Thanks to the extensive files about Earth that Cass was able to download from Irick and his mate, Cressida, I knew plenty about Earth when I landed.

The flight here was done on autopilot, so I spent time in the hypersubsumation chamber learning the languages and cultures of Earth. I had hoped that I would arrive to find that my Joey was living with the other lost princesses, under the care of the guardians who had been sent with them.

Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case.

Joey hadn’t known who I was. She didn’t even seem to know who she was.

One of the many things I learned in the HSC is that space travel via shuttle is uncommon on Earth. Also, humans are not yet aware of other forms of intelligent life, and aliens–as they call them–are largely something to be feared. Given all of that, I re-programed my shuttle’s external viz sensors to create the illusion that it is a common Earth vehicle called a Winnebago.

I landed the shuttle outside of town in something called an RV park. RV standing for recreational vehicles.

As long as no one gets too close, the illusion should hold until I can explain the situation to Joey.

In the meantime, I eat a nutrient pack and dig a little deeper into my research about earth. Since the shuttle doesn’t have its own Historian, only the Adjunct, this takes more effort on my part. The Adjunct is not nearly as powerful as Cass and has only a fraction of his capabilities. Still, he’s handy to have around and allows for verbal interface with the shuttle’s systems. While I’m on the shuttle I can simply talk to the Adjunct. Outside the shuttle, I can communicate with the shuttle via a small chip that registers my subvocalizations.

Right now, as I move around the shuttle’s main cabin drying my hair with a towel, I just speak aloud.

“Adjunct, while I was out, did you continue to scan the area for anything with a Persæn signature?”

“I did,” the computerized voice answers. “As you requested.”

While there are many similarities between Earth and Perse, from a compositional standpoint, there are a few key differences. Namely ones that relate to the Tides of Be’lah. From an early age, every high-ranking member of a clan carries a sacred amulet with them. The sacred water in that amulet, water from the Tides, emits a unique signature unlike anything else on earth.

Joey clearly doesn’t know that she’s a Persæn princess, but she definitely still has he’lahzun in her blood, which is how I found her this morning.

“What did you find out?” I ask, not bothering to hide the frustration creeping into my voice. I would have thought my first question would have been enough, but clearly I’m not being direct enough.

“There is still only one person, other than yourself, within the boundaries of Hat Creek, Texas who emits a Persæn signature.”

“Right.” If I’d thought more about it this morning, I might have realized that alone was a sign she’d been separated from the guardian. I just didn’t piece it together until I heard the words from her mouth.

“Is there anything other than the two of us? Something that’s not a person?”

“Yes. There appears to be something located approximately two point five Earth miles from the current location of Joey Kincaid.”