Leaving Dreamland (9 page)

“We can arrange for you to move to another base for now.”

“More military?” she asked.

“For now, yes. It’ll take a few months to see if the Keelons send more ships or not. We can’t risk the general population. You understand that?” he asked.

She nodded. “I don’t want anyone in danger. But after six months, we’re free to move wherever.”

“I need a year, but you can pick from a list of locations, and you can work as an astronomer there, as well,” Hastings countered.

“And it goes for all the groups? Bonnie, too?” Shannon asked.

Hastings nodded. “I was keeping both of you. Father was never a job I did well. This is.”

“So was I just a hybrid experiment?” she asked.

“No. It wasn’t planned. Your mother was the only female survivor. She’d hidden on a ship and took some sort of escape pod. Her group of men wasn’t very good to her. Some of the warriors can be very crude. We raised these men from a young age. The men you’re dating are not true Keelon warriors.” Hastings sighed.

“I know. They’ve told me they’d rather die than go back. I’m glad my mother escaped. I’m amazed she’d ever want to be around men again, including you.” She shook her head.

“I do have a nice side,” Hastings said.

“You’re not exactly a beta male.” Shannon couldn’t see him cuddling Bonnie as a child, a puppy or even a grandchild.

“She needed someone to make her feel safe and respect her space. In time, she came to trust me. I keep my word, and I’m dependable. My work does come first, but things happen.” He cleared his throat.

“Don’t want the details as long as she was willing.”

“She started it. Stranded on a strange planet can be very lonely. It didn’t last long.” He nodded. “Bonnie’s mother and I patched things up, and I’ve never strayed again.”

“And my mother didn’t want to raise me?”

“She did, but she knew how dangerous that would be. After you were born, all of our tests showed you were behaving and reacting like a normal human child. We found a couple of retired military personnel looking to adopt. They knew you were special and medically had to be treated at only certain places.”

“You never saw me growing up. How could you do that?” Shannon couldn’t imagine it.

“I checked in with the adoptive parents at regular times. Your mother fell ill. We couldn’t cure her. There’s a lot we learned from testing and monitoring her. We didn’t want to confuse you.” Hastings shrugged. “There’s no excuse other than it’d be too hard.”

“But you could pluck me out of my life and bring me here without explanation? Just let me sit there and not tell me who you were? Not let Bonnie tell me she’s my sister?” She shook her head. “You’re right. You’re not a good father.”

“You can have contact with your adoptive parents. They may not understand your new relationship, but that’s something I’ve come to accept. Bonnie refused to keep hers from her mother, and it’s made holidays rather awkward.” Hastings frowned.

“Do they know I’m half alien?” she asked.

“Yes. They had to. If you were ever in any danger as a child, we’d have brought you in the same as we did now. I’m sorry your life wasn’t ideal, but I don’t think you’d trade with Bonnie,” Hastings said.

“It might’ve been easier if I’d had a sister. Being an only child wasn’t fun for either of us.” Shannon studied the man and decided she and her sister needed to plan their future for the next year where they could get to know each other better. “When do you need to know where we want to go?”

“I’ll make lists available. We probably can’t move you for a couple months so you have a few weeks to decide,” Hastings told her.

“Thank you,” she said.

As she left, she knew she’d never have a warm and fuzzy relationship with Hastings, but she had her real parents. Poor Bonnie only had him for a father. No one had an ideal life, but she wasn’t going to take a backseat in hers ever again!

Epilogue

One year later…Somewhere in the Pacific North West

Shannon had had the day circled in her mental calendar since she’d made the deal. Finally, it was here!

Bonnie popped the cork on a big bottle of champagne as it turned midnight. No Keelon ships had been recorded around Earth or in the solar system since that big crash in Dreamland.

“It’s really over,” Shannon said as she took a glass.

“You didn’t believe they’d go away?” Curtis asked.

She sipped and shrugged. “Did you? There were so many abductions and visits. I still can’t believe a little powder did that much damage.”

“Biology is fragile. Meg got a huge promotion out of it.” Bonnie flopped on the couch in the observation room. Shannon was the resident astronomer here. Watching the stars was her passion, and now, she could do it without a worried eye for an ugly ship. She’d still watch for aliens and hope some were good out there, but she was in no hurry to meet any extraterrestrials.

“So what do we do now?” Gavin asked. “Do you want us to leave the military?”

Looking at her hunky guys, Shannon knew the decision had to be made eventually. She’d refused to discuss the future before the year was done. Getting her hopes up only frightened her. “I don’t know. I sort of like it here. I’ll never get equipment and access like this at a University. It’s astronomer heaven.”

Bonnie nodded. “I can see that for you. I don’t mind being away from dear old dad, and it’s better here. My photos of the Aurora Borealis are pretty popular. You get to look at the stars, our guys have jobs and we don’t have to move.”

“And if anything bad does happen, we’re already at a military base.” Shannon smiled. Her sister liked being farther north and away from Hastings. They’d made lives here. Some of the groups had moved elsewhere. Meg and her men had stayed in Dreamland. Shannon was just grateful that Meg’s biological weapon worked.

“Exactly! Plus we can have the military benefits. We can contemplate kids now.” Bonnie grinned at her trio. “Not sure I want to have any.”

Shannon understood. The hybrid thing was rough for a child. “I’ve been back and forth. But I want kids. I could adopt, but it’d weird enough with four fathers.”

“I don’t think that’d look normal on an application.” Bonnie finished off her first glass of champagne.

“Probably not. We should have a reunion of all the alien guys. It’s a weird group.”

“Vegas would be good for that. I don’t mind as long as we don’t invite dad.” Bonnie rolled her eyes.

“You went there for Thanksgiving,” Shannon said.

“You didn’t. I went for my mother.” Bonnie shrugged.

“Maybe if you had a child, you’d understand why he did what he did. I know he wasn’t great, but he didn’t abandon you and your mom. You had money, benefits, college and a home. If you’d had a sibling, it might’ve been better.” Shannon smiled.

“Well, I have a younger sister now. I’d have died to protect you. It’s a scary feeling. You have a baby first and tell me. Maybe a sweet little niece would make me understand?” Bonnie chuckled.

“So bottom line, we’re staying?” Milton asked.

Shannon nodded. “Let’s go celebrate a Keelon-invader-free year!”

“Is the baby-making beginning already?” Bonnie laughed then headed for her guys. “I just want sex.”

Laughing, Shannon followed her guys to their quarters and fell into bed. The fear was gone, and now, their lives could begin.

About the Author

A lover of unusual things, Cheryl Dragon enjoys writing unique stories with sinfully hot erotic romance. Her two favorite settings are Las Vegas and New Orleans...where anything can happen! Cheryl lives in the Chicagoland area with her deaf albino cat. By day she analyzes numbers for a division of a large international conglomerate, which leaves the creative juices free for her erotic romance novels.

Cheryl loves to talk to her readers and can be found at
www.cheryldragon.com
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