Alien Guardian's Baby (Scifi Alien Romance) (Zoran Warriors) (7 page)

T
he crawlspace
we’re in is long and dark. We move as silently as we can, and after half an hour of moving on our hands and feet like this, the space opens up into a poorly lit maintenance hallway.

“Do you think Tsula’s safe?” I ask.

Drax nods. “She can think on her feet. I’m sure she talked her way out of it.”

Just as a dark pit is forming in my stomach, the com she gave us crackles to life.

“You there?” she says, her voice distorted by static. “Come in!”

“We’re here,” Drax answers.

“Good! They suspect something, but I told them I sent you a few levels down for processing. Where are you now?”

Drax looks at me for help. I glance around, but there’s nothing but tubes here. After some searching I find a number etched into the wall above us – it’s so faded it’s barely legible.

“Stay there,” Tsula says. Ten minutes later the hatch above us opens, and Tsula’s green-and-yellow face grins down at us. “Gotcha.”

She rummages around before dropping down two thick Vortex Security jackets. “Wear this, it should provide some camouflage,” she says. “We don’t carry Zoran sizes, but hopefully it fits. You know, I was afraid I lost you there for a moment. Those tunnels go on for miles, and my com only has a reception of a few hundred yards.”

“Where to now?” Drax asks as he tries to put the jacket on. It’s way too small for him, and he tears the material the moment he pushes his muscled arm through.

“Good enough,” Tsula says. “I’ll take you two to my home while we come up with an idea how to deal with this mess. Follow me and keep your head down. And I mean it, no more stunts like in the market, you got that?”

“Yes ma’am,” Drax says, to my surprise. He didn’t even talk back!

Tsula is such a badass.

She guides us through Vortex Station, through many small alleys and dark hallways. With her security clearance she can open most doors, so we can avoid the busy main paths. She moves as quickly and easily as running water and I have to sprint just to keep up.

“This is it,” she says suddenly, stopping in front of a nondescript metal door. She flashes her keycard, and the door slides open.

“Mommy!”

A small girl runs out and jumps into Tsula’s arms. It’s like a miniature version of her: she’s got the same dark green scales and the same bright yellow fin on top of her head. The only difference is that the small girl has some red scales around her nose, kind of like freckles.

Tsula hands a teenaged-looking Terulian a fistful of coins and shoos her out the door – the babysitter, I suspect.

“Yona, say hi to mommy’s friends,” Tsula says.

The young girl looks at us, her red, reptilian eyes growing wide.

“Hello,” she says softly.

“Hi,” I say. My heart melts as I stare at the little kid alien. If my baby is anything like this bundle of joy, I can’t wait. I expect fewer scales though…

I realize I have no idea what a human/Zoran baby would even look like. Would he or she have my fair skin, or Drax’s blue coloring? Would our child turn out to be a small Zoran, or a huge human?

Drax assured me I’m pregnant with his child back on the shuttle, but since we landed here on station we’ve been running from one fight to the next, without any moment to take a breather and think.

Maybe we can find a moment of peace in Tsula’s home… though I know I’m kidding myself. We’re in the lion’s den. We won’t be safe until we’re off this station.

“Sit down, let me make you something to drink,” Tsula says as the door closes behind her.

Her home is small, but cozy. It smells of roses, to my surprise.

“What’s that smell?”

Tsula points towards her vent. “Auto-freshener,” she says. “You can get any scent you want. Helps to get rid of the smell of recycled air.”

Yona is clinging to her mom’s arms, obviously befuddled by the two strangers who have come into their home. I bet she’s never seen a Zoran or a human before – to her, we are the aliens.

“Why don’t you go make our guests a drawing?” Tsula asks. “Can you do that for me?”

The little girl nods and, after Tsula puts her down on the ground, runs into her room.

“She’s beautiful,” I say.

“Thank you,” Tsula answers. She pours us all a deep purple drink, and sighs deeply when she sits down across from us at her dinner table. Drax barely fits into the small seat, but he doesn’t complain. “Here,” she says. “It’s
gowe
. Best I can make it, at least here on Station.”

Carefully, I take a sip of the strange liquid. After Drax handed me a glass of the spicy, jet-black Zoran drink
cuhla
I’m not so keen on sampling alien drinks, but I don’t want to be rude. I’m happy to find it tastes like raspberry and mint. “It’s lovely,” I say.

Tsula nods. “Thanks. It reminds me of home.”

On the wall next to the table hangs a poster depicting a purple and green alien planet. The description below reads
Elohi
.

“Is that…?”

“Yes,” she answers. “My homeworld.”

“May I ask why you came to live on Vortex?”

Tsula looks down, avoiding my eyes as she swirls the
gowe
in her glass. “It’s a long story.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” I say. Tsula is one kickass dame. I’ll never forget how she dropped in and saved our asses from those horrible blobs, but seeing her make us a drink and play with her daughter makes her very relatable. Her brow furrows, and I realize I unintentionally struck a nerve.

“It’s none of my business,” I add.

“No, it’s fine. Just… maybe another time. We have a lot to talk about,” Tsula answers.

“Agreed,” Drax says. “We need to formulate a plan of action.”

“I have a plan. Of sorts,” Tsula says. “I think I might be able to get you two into a council meeting.”

“The Council of Four?” I ask.

Tsula nods. “The very same.”

“Won’t the Flaming Fang be there as well?”

“That’s exactly my point,” Tsula says. “We might be able to find a diplomatic solution to all this.”

Drax growls. “Impossible. I won’t leave this station without Bokito as my prisoner.”

Yona sprints back into the living room, a drawing in her hand. “Here,” she says, slapping it down on the table. She drew me and Drax – I’m pink, and he’s blue, of course. She drew us holding hands – is our bond so obvious that even a little kid can see?

“Thanks, sweetie,” Tsula says. “Can you make us another one?”

“Okay,” she blurts out, running off again.

Tsula turns back to Drax, her red eyes cold and businesslike. “I know you want revenge,” she says. “I understand that. But inciting a war is not the answer.”

“I didn’t incite a war,” Drax says, his voice as cold as ice. “The Flaming Fang did.”

“Do you have children?”

“What?” Drax says. “No. Not yet.” His yellow eyes turn to me, a hint of a smile in them.

“I do,” Tsula says. “And I’d like to see her grow up. And if you take down the Flaming Fang, that’ll lead to a power vacuum, and the other factions will go to war as they all try to get a piece of the pie. The Station will dissolve into chaos. Thousands will die. I’m a cop – I’ll be the first to go.”

“What other option do we have?” Drax growls, his voice throaty and low. “Do nothing? The Fang have access to stealth fighters that rival the Zoran. They are already too strong – it’s only a matter of time before they overthrow the council and take Vortex for themselves.”

“That’s why I think we need diplomacy,” Tsula says. “If we can talk to the council, we might be able to get everyone on our side. If we show the Fang that we’re united, they’ll back down. No one wins if we all destroy each other. If there’s no one left to exploit, they can’t make a profit either.”

“I’m not leaving without Bokito,” Drax says. “He killed my crew. I lost countless good men. That’s not something I can forgive.”

Tsula sighs deeply. “Maybe that can be one of our demands. I don’t think they’ll give up their leader, but… do you agree that we should at least
try
to reason with the council?”

Drax’s lips are pulled into a tight line. “What do you think, Isa?”

“Me?” I say. “Uhm, I don’t... I don’t know.”

I came to Vortex to look for answers – not to decide if and when to start a station-wide war! This is an impossible decision to make.

“It’s your call,” Drax says.

What am I supposed to say?!

“
L
et’s sleep on it
,” Isa answers.

I stare back at her, my face unmoving. My honor demands that I take revenge. I owe it to Vukota, to Zyn, to Sern, to all the soldiers that served on the
Eternity
. I can’t let such an act go unpunished. I’d rather die than walk away from this fight with Bokito.

At the same time, my mind and soul are bound to Isabella Parker. Our child is growing in her womb, and protecting her is my highest priority.

Juggling those two goals, while they seem to be mutually exclusive, is driving me mad.

“Fine,” Tsula says. “You can spend the night, though I’m afraid I don’t have a spare bed.”

“That’s not a problem,” I say. “Thank you, Tsula. You are very kind.”

“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for my baby.”

Yona runs back into the room as if on cue. The small lizard girl hands me a drawing of me and her together. “Here,” she says. “We’re friends now, okay?”

I nod. “Thank you, Yona.”

I never much cared for little ones, but with Isa pregnant with our child, I’m having all these new and confusing feelings. Maybe Tsula is right. Plunging the station into war is in no one’s best interest… but I doubt the Flaming Fang is going to surrender just because we asked nicely.

However, for Yona’s sake, we have to try.

“Say goodnight to our friends,” Tsula says as she picks her child up.

“Goodbye,” the girl answers, waving her scaled hands at us.

“Night, night,” Isa and I say as her mother carries her out of the room. My mate rests her head on my shoulder, and I wrap my arm around her.

“Do you think our baby will be that cute?” she asks.

“Undoubtedly.”

“Are you sure I’m pregnant?”

“I’m certain,” I growl into her ear as I place my hand on her stomach. “I can sense it. He’ll make a great warrior, with my strength and your wit.”

She covers my hand with hers. We sit in silence for a moment, enjoying the peace, before Tsula returns with a blanket.

“Here,” she says. “You can sleep on the couch, though I don’t think you’ll fit. I’m going to watch Yona sleep for a while, before… you know… everything goes to hell. Night.”

“Sleep well,” Isa says.

I stand up and clear some space for us on the living room floor. The couch is not an option, so I’ll sleep on the floor, and Isa can sleep on top of me. I want to feel her naked body pressed against mine, just once more before we face our enemies tomorrow.

“What are you—”

My mate falls silent the moment I slide out of my armor. I’m fully naked, and her eyes scour my perfect form.

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” she sighs under her breath as she stands up and wraps the blanket around my waist. “What if Tsula comes back in?”

“Then she’ll see. What is the problem?”

“You’re mine,” Isa whispers as her hand slides into the blanket, her fingers trailing the length of my cock. “I don’t want anyone else to see you naked – ever.”

My lips pull up into a smile. “You and your strange human customs. It’s only my body, not my mind.” I open the blanket, wrapping it around Isa as well, so that our bodies are pressed together. I kiss the top of her head, and she rests her head against my naked chest.

“I just don’t want anyone else to see,” she coos. “I’m possessive like that.”

“Then the bonding ceremony is going to be a problem.”

She looks up at me, eyebrows raised. “What’s that? And why?”

“The bonding ceremony is a Zoran tradition, which differs from clan to clan. Two mates declare their bond to their community.”

“Ah, like a wedding of some kind?”

“I suppose, yes. It is the tradition of my clan that the two mates are completely nude.”

A shocked look fills her blue eyes. “Wh-what?”

I nod, her expression making me laugh. “It signifies that the two mates have nothing to hide from their community.”

“I’m not doing that,” she says, her voice rising a pitch.

“No?” I say, raising an eyebrow. “It is customary for my people, Isabella Parker. What if I told you it’s important to me?”

Flustered, she shakes her head. “I-I don’t…”

“It’s okay,” I grin. “We don’t have to. It’s just a ceremony. You are already my mate, with or without the bonding ceremony.”

She rests her head against my chest again, heat rising from her cheeks.

“I’m afraid, Drax,” she says after a moment of silence.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” I answer as I pull her clothes off. A moment later she’s as naked as I am, her warm skin pressing against mine. I lay down on the floor and pull her on top of me, wrapping the blanket around us both.

“I don’t want to lose you. I can’t.”

“You won’t,” I say.

“You don’t know that,” she says, her fingers drawing circles on my broad chest. “I can’t raise this baby alone. I don’t want him to grow up without his father. I never had a… real family. It was taken from me. If I’m having this baby, I need you to promise you’ll be there for me. For him.”

“What do you want me to say, Isa? My life is yours. You know that.”

She looks up at me, a wounded look in her beautiful eyes. They’re the color of the sea, her hair the color of the sun. I’ve never seen a creature more wonderful; more mesmerizing than she.

“I know that you’re a warrior, Drax,” she says. “I know you want to take revenge. I can feel the anger in you. And I understand… but for my sake, and for the baby’s sake, you have to let that anger go.”

My expression goes cold, my lips pulled into a tight line. I hear what she’s saying, and a part of me agrees with her, but the beast inside me does not. I’ve been a warrior far longer than I’ve been a lover or a father. Battle is in my blood. I will not – I
cannot
– rest until I’ve made things right.

“I’ll… try.”

Isa sighs, the disappointment in her voice clear. She rests her head on my chest and closes her eyes, letting my breathing guide her to sleep. I hold her tightly, savoring the feeling of her body against mine.

Tomorrow, everything will change.