Aliyah paled so much that for a moment he thought she was going to pass out on him. “I can’t have children,” she whispered, her tone so low he had trouble hearing her.
The news surprised him but didn’t bother him as much as she obviously expected. Sure, he wanted to have children, most men did, but he had never considered it a goal in his life. If it happened, they would be more than welcome, but it wouldn’t be a tragedy if it didn’t.
“Then, we’ll find another way to convince them you’re mine.”
She looked at him with suspicion in her eyes. She didn’t believe him.
“Yours, is a terrible plan and it will fail disastrously,” she warned him.
“It will work.”
“Why are you doing all this? You’re not even sure you really want me,” she asked, shaking her head.
Vrak rubbed his face and sighed before he looked at her. “You’re right, I’m not sure. But I am sure what I feel for you is different from everything I’ve experienced in my whole life, and all my instincts tell me not to let you go,” he explained. “I’m alive today because I’ve always trusted my instincts. I’m not going to start ignoring them now, especially, when what is at stake is you.”
She shook her head and looked at her feet, not sure what to think or even what to say. “If we’re secluded here, how will you find out if they’ve finally accepted your deal?”
“Bulk will let us know. Right now, all we have to do is enjoy these days out here and hope for the best.”
“Kahm must be furious at you. He wasn’t very pleased when you first told him about your plans,” she said, clearing the table. She needed to keep herself busy, or she was going to freak out.
“I have to admit he wasn’t very pleased, but he, more than anyone, understands my position. He’ll do all in his power to help us,” Vrak assured her, as he helped her around the kitchen.
When all was done, he hugged her from behind and moved her thick braid so that he could kiss and caress her nape, sending chilling of thrills down her spine.
“We’ll be fine, you’ll see.”
She nodded and let him envelop her in the fire of the passion that burned between them. He carried her to the bedroom on the upper floor and spent the rest of the night showing her just how special things were between them.
The following days, they spent most of their time in bed. The storm was still raging outside, so going out wasn’t very appealing, but when the storm finally faded away, other concerns filled their minds.
“Don’t you think you should contact Kahm and ask him what is going on?” she asked him in the morning of the fifth day.
By then, her feelings for Vrak were clear, in her mind and in her heart. She loved him, and she would never accept marrying the Sumirion warrior, no matter what the consequences were.
Despite the intimacy they had shared during the past days, she had no idea about Vrak’s feelings. So far, he hadn’t expressed them in any way, and she simply couldn’t find in her heart the courage to ask him.
He shook his head. “They might try to track the call. I’m not taking any unnecessary risks,” he explained.
“We need to know what’s going on, Vrak. I don’t want to cause trouble to innocent people. We have no idea how the Sumirions reacted to your act of defiance,” she insisted.
He nodded. “I’ll call Bulk. He should know what’s going on.”
“Thank you.”
He pulled out his communication device and turned it on, using all the firewalls he could to hide his location.
“Bulk, how are you?” he greeted his man.
“Boss, I’m so glad you called. Things are very tense around here,” he explained, with a stern tone.
Vrak tensed up. “What’s going on?”
“A large group of Sumirions paid us a visit early this morning. They weren’t very happy to discover you weren’t here and that you had taken the woman with you.”
“Did they threaten you or the ranch?” he asked, with a deep frown.
Aliyah, sitting just in front of him was paler than ever.
“Not so far. Kahm was with them, trying to convince them to accept your offer, but they didn’t budge an inch on their position. They want the woman back.”
“Damn, they’ll have to accept it, eventually.”
“I really doubt it, boss.”
“They won’t have another choice,” he assured his friend.
“The Sumirion man has taken the whole situation as an insult to his honor. He won’t drop it easily,” Bulk warned him.
Vrak nodded. “I’ll be in touch. Just keep my whereabouts a secret, and we’ll be fine.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Vrak ended the call and looked at Aliyah.
“This won’t end well. Perhaps we should go back and let Sumirions take me with them. Once there, I’ll back out on the marriage contract, and he’ll have to let me go,” she suggested.
But he shook his head. “No. Once you’re in Sumitera, you’ll be under their laws, and they won’t respect the contract. The warrior will claim you as his wife, and you’ll never leave the place,” Vrak explained, with a deep sigh.
“You can’t know that…” she protested.
“Yes, I can. He didn’t care Selena was married to another man. He found her on his turf, and that was all that mattered to him,” he insisted. “As far as he’s concerned, you’re already his mate and he won’t accept a no for an answer,” he assured her.
“There has to be a way…” she cried out.
“Yes, my way. We stick to our plan and wait until the new bride arrives,” he replied, in a firm tone. “I told Kahm he had to talk to the bride before signing any contract and explained to her all she would be facing if she accepts to marry the guy. If he decides he doesn’t want her, we’ll find her another husband.”
“She’ll say yes, most women back on Earth are desperate to leave. Anything is better than what they have to live on a daily basis,” she explained to him in a sad tone.
He nodded. She had told him a lot about her life back on her home planet, and now he knew why she had accepted such contract.
He sighed and got up. “I need to go for a walk.”
“It’s cold outside,” she protested.
“You know that doesn’t affect me. I won’t be long.”
She nodded, understanding his need to go out. They hadn’t left the cabin in several days, and she was sure he was starting to feel trapped.
She got up and headed to the kitchen area to start preparing dinner. She had gotten used to the ingredients here, and now she was able to cook without Vrak’s assistance.
She was getting a piece of meat into the oven when she heard a strange noise coming from outside.
Intrigued, she closed the oven and walked to the kitchen door, opening it to see what was going on.
At first, she wasn’t able to see anything different, so she walked out of the back porch and looked around. She was about to go back inside when she finally saw them.
They had surrounded her in a split second, and the moment she saw them, she knew they were – the Sumirions.
Though they were humanoid creatures, they were very different from humans. They had greyish skin adorned with lighter spots all over their heads, necks, and shoulders. Instead of hair, had some thick crests that fell down their back, visually similar to the braids African people still wore, but clearly, these weren’t made of hair.
She gulped, scared, knowing their presence here meant bad news for both Vrak and herself. The men in front of her looked quite imposing, especially, if you looked at their big, dark eyes that stood out next to an almost flat nose, and a small mouth with thin lips.
They weren’t as tall or as sturdy as Vrak, but their massively muscled bodies were quite impressive, as well as the long, thick tail that hung from their lower back. Their bodies were covered with just some sort of loincloth.
She counted at least ten men heavily armed, and she realized they were lost.
One of the men took a step towards her. “Víf Aliyah, my name is Zag. I’m your mate, and I’m here to take you home,” he declared, in a formal tone.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm the deafening beats of her heart. She had never been more scared in her life. “I’m sorry you made the trip all the way here, but I already found my home, and it’s not with you,” she informed him, trying to control the trembling in her voice.
The man’s face became sterner, and she instinctively took a step back.
“That’s not for you to decide. You were brought here to become my mate, and nothing will change that,” he assured her.
She intertwined her hands together, forcing them to stay still, as she faced the man. “Yes, that was the original purpose of my trip to this planet, but my contract states that…” she started saying, but he interrupted her.