Hazel

“I’m going to sue him and I’m going to sue this entire police department and the city. And the state!”

Hazel kept her eyes to the floor. Scott just would not shut up. He’d be threatening to sue the Federation of Intergalactic Affairs next. He had enough spite and money to do it, too. She needed to put as many miles between her and Scott as possible.

Mentally she made a checklist of everything she needed: pack a bag, a burner cellphone, empty out her bank account and dump all her cash onto an anonymous card, and fill the tank up with gas. She could leave all her second-hand furniture. She didn’t have any friends to bother with goodbyes. Briefly she twinged about walking away from Polly without so much as a “see you later” but they were work friends, not hang-out-on-the-weekend friends. Polly would forget about Hazel in a week, tops. She should call her landlord and tell him she needed to leave town but for all Hazel knew, the landlord ratted her out to Scott. The utilities were registered with a fake name. They’d realize she didn’t live there anymore when the bills stopped being paid. And she’d need a new identity chip. A good one, better than the cheapy one she got last time, so Scott couldn’t find her again.

Basically, she needed a ton of cash. Funny how they always said money couldn’t buy happiness. Bull. Money solved a lot of problems. That sounded like happiness to her.

Hazel glanced up at the Mahdfel alien. A black plastic box sat on the desk and she recognized the interpretation device. It looked just like it did on all the cop shows. The alien would speak and a few seconds later, English came out. Whatever the Mahdfel said did not make the officers happy and they escorted him back to an interview room. He willingly allowed the officers to lead him because there was no doubt in Hazel’s mind that the alien male could resist and fight the entire station if needed. As he disappeared around the corner, Hazel realized that she didn’t even know full his name. If she ever wanted to find him for... whatever, she couldn’t.

And wasn’t avoiding aliens the reason she married Scott in the first place? The idea of being forced to marry an alien had frightened nineteen year old her. After staring at him for the last hour in the police station, however, she couldn’t remember why she had been afraid. He’d stood up for her. Even when he towered over her and knocked Scott unconscious, she never felt threatened. She felt safe, surprisingly.

She needed to know his name.

“I gave my statement. Can I go?” she asked.

The officer verified her contact information and waved her off with assurances that they would contact her if they had any other questions.

They wouldn’t. Scott’s money would fix his restraining order violation and she’d be out of state by the morning.

There was a lot to do and not much time. Hazel made her way out to the parking lot. She’d have to take the bus back to the restaurant to get her car. She needed to get to the bank before it closed or she’d have to wait until the morning to leave, and morning would be too long. Scott would show up at her door the moment the cops released him—

She couldn't say why she hesitated. There was so much to do and only one night to do it, so why was she wasting what little head start time that she had?

Seeran

“YOU CANNOT HOLD ME,” Seeran said. Whether his detainment was strictly legal was a moot point.

He had been held for hours in a small, windowless room. Hours. The walls were painted a flat, uninspired green. The air held a stale, dusty quality, indicating that the filtration system needed to be cleaned. And he could clearly detect another Terran observing them from the other side of the mirror at the end of the room.

The Terran law enforcement agent, Officer Miller, leaned back in his chair and it squeaked loudly in protest. “Breaking the peace is a civil matter, meaning civilian. Not military. And the days of martial law are long over. You don’t have authority here. I can do whatever I want.”

Seeran growled in frustration. A Mahdfel—a proper warrior—would hear his warning but it was just low enough to be out of the Terran range of hearing.

The male was soft, his body fallen into disrepair. This weak, complacent creature was why he fought the Suhlik? Why he came to Earth all those years ago and made his sacrifice? To protect Terrans so they could grow fat and play at being lords of their tiny territories? He disgusted Seeran.

“So tell me again what happened,” the soft Miller said, voice greasy and too well-pleased with himself. 

Seeran flexed his fingers, willing for ice to flood his veins and sooth the fire burning in his gut. He never lost control of himself. To be so agitated was new and... disturbing. “I saw a female in distress.”

“On the beach.”

“Yes.”

“And why were you on the beach?”

“I run.”

“And why were you on Earth?”

Seeran slammed a hand down on the desk. The male jumped back in his seat. “Do you want my complete service record? How many Suhlik I killed on Earth? Or how many tongues I carved out of the mouths of the Terran traitors?” The male went white. Good. The male’s obvious fear soothed Seeran’s rage. “I am on Earth because those are my direct orders from my warlord, which is a military matter and above your rank.”

“So you were on the beach—”

“I have told you. That male—Scott—threatened a female. He laid his filthy Terran hands on her and injured her.”

“And why did you think it was your job to—”

“Because it is wrong to harm a female,” Seeran said with enough ice for the words to hang frozen in the air.

Officer Miller leaned back again, his chair squeaking. “And every human woman is your concern? You animals think that just because you helped us in the war that gives you the right to steal our women. Or come between a man and his wife.”

Ex-wife. Although the Terran custom of terminating a marriage was abhorrent to the Mahdfel, they understood the concept. Hazel was not anyone’s wife, no matter what her former mate wished. And Seeran also understood that this soft Terran wanted to make him upset, to create an incident.

No Suhlik had set a golden scaled foot on Earth in more than a decade and already the Terrans forgot the alliance they were too happy to make with Seeran’s people. They chafed at the terms of the treaty, complaining that the bride price was too much, too great a burden. Again, Earth took and gave very little.

The true burden was knowing that he could spend his long life never finding his mate.

Or knowing that she was on Earth, tantalizingly close but soft-bodied, bigoted Terrans kept them apart with petty bureaucracy.

“You could have seriously hurt Mr.—” He glanced down at the notepad. “Schwartz...trouter.”

Seeran snorted at the ridiculous name.

“Laugh it up. You aliens don’t know your own strength. You’re just trained animals but you’re not as well behaved. You’re barbarians. Period. And you caught scent of a woman and your primitive brain went all wacky and you attacked a man.”

“It is wrong to harm a female!” Seeran’s hand rushed toward the desk. The officer flinched in anticipation but Seeran stopped himself. His palm hovered above the surface. He slowly curled his fingers into a loose fist and lowered his hand to his lap.

He needed to gather his thoughts and regain control of himself. This was not like him. He never lost his temper, not even in the heat of battle. Something about the female—Hazel, his mind supplied—cut right through his defenses. Her scent? The way her heavy breasts bounced in the scant fabric covering she wore? Or the way she fought even when backed into a corner by a male taller and stronger than herself...

A tingling, warm sensation spread over his tattoos at the thought of her.

Seeran placed his hands flat on the table and leaned forward in the hard, plastic seat. He needed to change the direction of the conversation. He needed to wrest control back. He studied the Terran opposite him before speaking. “Who was it you lost? Who do you blame the Mahdfel for taking away?”

Officer Miller looked surprised. “I’ll ask the questions here.”

“A sister?”

“That is irrelevant—”

“No,” Seeran said, confident. He’d conducted many interrogation and knew when his words struck truth. “It was someone you wished to impress. A lover, or a yearned for lover. Someone you still want to impress, so you take what little power you have and flaunt it around, warlord of your tiny, tiny clan.”

He held up two fingers to demonstrate exactly how tiny a clan the male possessed. It was immature and Seeran’s own warlord would cuff him on the ears for such a gesture, but he found it satisfying to watch Officer Miller grow red in the face.

“You can’t talk to me that way, you filthy alien.”

“Did she reject you? Would she rather take her chances with an unknown, filthy alien than with you? Does it keep you up at night?”

“You take away our women and act like we should be grateful! It’s disgusting.” Miller’s face went a brighter shade of red.

Seeran turned in the chair to face the mirror. He nodded to his unseen observers, pleased he revealed the man’s true, nasty nature. He didn’t have to say another word. The interview was over.

Another Terran officer entered the room. They spoke in low tones. Seeran’s soft officer was not pleased and stormed out of the room. The other male said, “You’re free to go.”