Mila awoke in the medical bay, feeling stronger and healthier than ever. She couldn’t recall a time in recent history when she’d felt so filled with energy and hope. It was as if she’d been given a new life. She got out of bed and walked to the viewscreen, peering out at the endless expanse of stars moving rapidly by. She still had many questions for Stax. He hadn’t even told her where they were heading, but she assumed they were en route for his planet.

All Vaxxlian males who were off planet during the attack are expected to find human females to bring back to our settlement on New Vaxx. We must procreate and become as strong as we once were.

His words returned and for a reason she couldn’t fathom, she couldn’t wait for Stax to walk through the door. Her body hummed with pleasure at the prospect of seeing him again.

Could she really have a future with him and his people?

After being on her own for a long time, the idea of belonging to a family made her heart sing. She hadn’t been able to remain on Yozovinla with the surviving humans, as the pain of losing all her family and friends cut too deep. The daily reminders would have plunged her into an even deeper despair.

That’s not the only reason and you know it.

Her stomach tightened with nerves. She tried not to think of the other reason she’d left her home planet, but sometimes she couldn’t help it.

She’d also left Yozovinla because the man to whom she was betrothed made her skin crawl. As soon as Evan sent word he was coming to collect her after the death of her family, she’d started making plans to escape. Though she’d only met Evan once, during that interaction he’d leered at her in an almost cruel manner. When she’d called him out for his rudeness, he promptly informed her that once they were married, she would no longer be allowed to associate with her lowborn family and friends, nor would she be permitted to keep her job as a transport pilot.

At the time, she had been working for a transport company that moved traded goods between the human settlements on Yozovinla—the same company that sold her a trading vessel for dirt cheap when she’d needed to make her escape. Though she hadn’t particularly loved the job, she had been proud to find employment and help her family out, and Evan’s disdain for her work hurt.

He came from a wealthy, prominent family that owned most of the mines on Yozovinla. Eventually, Mila had realized the only reason Evan wanted to wed her in the first place was to help his family survive the latest in a string of safety scandals plaguing their mining business. If he married a lowborn girl, then in appearances at least, his family must truly care about their workers’ safety.

But she refused to be a pawn in a rich man’s game.

Technically, she’d broken a legal contract by leaving Yozovinla and not marrying Evan. She frequently worried he might find her, which was one of the reasons why she kept taking shipping jobs in faraway and dangerous areas of space. The further she went from her home planet, the safer she felt, even in places like Horstha. If Evan ever found her, he might drag her back to Yozovinla and force her into marriage. She shuddered at the thought.

Was Stax different? Was he a good man?

Would she find acceptance among his people?

He’d mentioned them having children together and she couldn’t help but smile.

Once, a long time ago, she had dreamed of having children with Evan. That is, until she met him and all those dreams died in an instant. After she realized what kind of person Evan was and his real reasons for wanting to marry her, she’d mourned the loss of the future she’d always envisioned for herself—a happy marriage like her parents and a houseful of rambunctious but loveable children.

But Stax was offering her all she’d lost.

Could she find happiness with not only a stranger, but an alien? She’d never once considered making a life with a non-human. Until today, she hadn’t known of any alien races compatible with humans. Sure, she’d heard of humans having sex with various alien species, but none of them had been truly sexually compatible—able to conceive children together.

She glanced at the monitors near the bed and wondered if the nanobots had finished their work. As good as she felt, she thought they must have. She hoped when Stax returned, he would permit her free roam of the ship and allow her to sleep in a normal bedroom.

As if reading her mind, the door zipped open and Stax—all seven feet of him—entered the medical bay. His gaze immediately sought hers and he gave her a warm smile. She smiled back and walked to him, her entire body buzzing with the need to be near him.

He cupped her face in his hands and then ran his fingers through her hair, his green otherworldly eyes glowing brighter as he stared down at her. “You look well rested, my little beauty. How are you feeling?”

“I feel wonderful, actually. I feel as if I could climb a mountain.”

His large warm hand brushed over her cheek, and she found herself leaning into his touch. Her heart raced at the physical contact. Stranger though he was, Mila could very well imagine herself spending the rest of her life with this huge Vaxxlian male who had saved her life.

“That’s the nanobots you’re feeling.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead. Her heart fluttered. “They’ve regulated all your body’s systems.”

“Can I leave this room yet?” she asked with a glance at the monitors.

“Let me take a look.” He guided her in front of the screens, keeping his arm wrapped around her shoulders as he examined the data.

She couldn’t read his native tongue and had no idea what any of the strange looking letters meant. Holding her breath, she prayed for good news. He shifted beside her and rubbed her back, as if sensing her abrupt nervousness and wishing to calm her. It worked. Her anxiety lessened in seconds and she gazed up at him with a growing sense of awe. It was as if his touch was magic.

“The nanobots have finished repairing all your injuries, Mila. Come, I will take you to my quarters and get you something more appropriate to wear. I have a replicator in my quarters and you can request any type of clothing you would like.” His eyes darkened with what she suspected was lust, and excitement unexpectedly surged within her.

“I-I would like that, Stax. Thank you.”

With her heart racing, she allowed him to guide her out of the medical bay into a narrow gray corridor lined with multiple doors on each side. Small circular lights were spaced throughout the corridor, attached to the walls in swirling patterns. To her surprise, he took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze, smiling down at her.

“I am glad you have recovered from your injuries. In the future when you become wounded, the nanobots will heal you quite rapidly. Much more rapidly than this time, as they will now be more familiar with your body’s unique systems. You will live much longer than the average human now as well.”

His pronouncement stunned her. “I’ll live longer? How-how much longer?”

He led her into an expansive room with a wide viewscreen and large bed. “Well, I am not certain yet. I developed the nanobots only recently, during the war against the Irrcons, and so far, only a handful of those who have been injected with the nanobots—human or Vaxxlian—have died. And in those rare cases, the subjects sustained grievous injuries. The Vaxxlians who were injected thus far show no signs of aging. Since humans are so similar to our kind, I believe the nanobots will have the same effect.”

“Wow, you invented the nanobots?” She’d read about human scientists who were attempting to create such a lifechanging medical treatment, but as far as she knew the invention hadn’t yet been achieved.

A troubled look entered his eyes. “I-I was fortunate to make a breakthrough in my research during the war. If I had not been able to create the nanobots, many more of our warriors would have perished.”

“So, you were a scientist during the war?” She stared at the stars as they stood at the viewscreen, drinking in the beauty of open space.

“Yes, I was.” He paused as the haunted look in his eyes deepened. “But, like all able-bodied Vaxxlian males, I was also trained as a warrior and I fought the loathsome Irrcons during the war.” He motioned around the room. “This is the Yeronna, and she served as my warcraft during the great battles. Most Vaxxlian warriors have their own smaller ships, rather than larger ones. It helps us to seemingly outnumber the enemy in battle, even if their numbers are truly greater. Most alien races attempt to build huge warships, some of them almost as large as generational ships. But we discovered the strategic advantage of thousands upon thousands of smaller, but equally deadly, ships a long, long time ago. Long before we ever heard of the Irrcons.”

“Are the Irrcons gone?” she asked with a tremor.

“Yes, they have been vanquished from the surrounding sectors, and the same probes we recently deployed to search for female human life will also alert us to the presence of any rogue Irrcon vessels. Don’t worry, my little beauty, you are safe now.” He gathered her closer and she inhaled his spicy, masculine scent, wishing she could bury her face in his shirt and take a long inhale. “As your mate, Mila, I vow to keep you safe from any harm. Protecting you and our future children will be my most sacred and important duty until the end of my days.”

Stax watched as Mila checked the navigation controls on the bridge, her face lit with joy. She’d already successfully plotted an efficient route around an asteroid field they’d come across, and he was highly impressed with her skill. Despite not being able to read his language, she hadn’t had any problems thus far on the bridge.

He studied her petite form and lust surged through him. He’d replicated a pair of black, form-fitting pants and a purple sweater for her, as she claimed purple was her favorite color. He mused that he would paint their entire house on New Vaxx purple, if only to see her smile. When she smiled, it was as if all the tragedies in the universe never happened. She brought joy to him in a way no one else ever had—including his mate, Sesonia.

Though he’d cared for Sesonia, they were only mated for a few days before the war with the Irrcons tore him and the rest of the Vaxxlian warriors away from his home planet. Since they hadn’t met before their first mating, as their match had been arranged by their fathers, they were still getting to know one another when the Irrcons destroyed Vaxxlia.

Mila spun around in her chair and stifled a yawn. “It’s set on autopilot and we won’t need to worry about any readjustments to our course for the next two days. There’s a chance we’ll run into a fleet of Eeasian trading vessels after that, but I set a ship wide alarm that will remind us to check.” She stifled another yawn.

He pulled her up into his arms and inhaled the lovely scent of her, musing that she smelled like a meadow after a light rain. Her hair was damp from her recent shower, and the reminder that she’d recently been naked while torrents of water rushed over her body incited his libido. Star God, he couldn’t wait to have her.

“It’s time for bed, my sweet.” His cock hardened against her stomach as he held her, but he made no move to hide it. He desired her and wanted to mate her for the first time tonight. There was no sense waiting. Even if she had reservations about becoming his mate, he still planned to bring her back to New Vaxx with him and present her as his mate. But the sooner he actually mated her, the better.

He wanted his scent on her when they arrived on New Vaxx so all other males knew she belonged to him. He did not want to risk her being claimed by another, though he would fight to the death if his possession of her was challenged by another male.

She was his. His mate. His little human.

Soon they would repeat the sacred mating vows of his people. Then he would spill his seed inside her, marking her as his for all time.

“Are-are we sleeping in the same room?”

“Yes, my little beauty.” He gathered her closer and pressed his cock harder against her, drawing a delicate gasp from her throat. “From this day forward, you will always sleep by my side.”

He swept her up in his arms and carried her off the bridge.

She buried her face in his chest as a slight shiver ran through her. She squirmed in his arms and the enticing scent of her arousal reached him. A primal growl built in his throat and he walked faster, his blood heating with the yearning to spread her thighs apart and sink into her feminine sweetness.

Once they reached his quarters, he brought her to the bed and laid her atop the covers. Her dark locks spread around her head on the pillow, framing her pretty, flushed face. Her chest began to rise and fall more rapidly, and the scent of her desire heightened in the air. His nostrils flared and he took a deep inhale, savoring the delicious aroma of her slickness.

His little human was getting wet just for him.

Her dark brown eyes glimmered with lust, but she also appeared nervous as she peered up at him, her lips parted as if she were about to say something. But she soon pressed her mouth in a firm line and swallowed hard.

“Do not be frightened, my beautiful human.” He joined her on the bed, wedging his legs between hers.

Her breath caught in her throat and the lust faded from her gaze. Uncertainty gleamed in her dark depths. “Stax, I—”

“Are you a virgin, Mila?” he asked gently. Though most Vaxxlian females waited to have sex until joining with their betrothed mate, he knew of many alien species who did not. “If you are not a virgin, it is all right,” he added, hoping she didn’t think he would look down upon her for having enjoyed intercourse outside the sanctity of a mating union. The past didn’t matter in this moment—not hers or his. All that mattered was their future and the life they would create together. “But from this day forward, I am the only male you will ever sleep with, Mila. You will be mine and mine alone.”