Alien Mine (39 page)

"Your surprise is ready, Natlia." He took her hand and led her into the cave.

"What is it? More clothes?"

He'd produced boots and pants and even a shirt for her made with their strange material.

He didn't answer and led her to the tunnel they'd been working on the last few days. The lights came on as they went into a long narrow tunnel. He'd told her they built the tunnels this narrow because if anyone attacked they would have to enter it one by one.

At the end of the tunnel a silver door was installed. He murmured something in Zyrgin and the door opened.

Natalie followed him inside, her heart beating louder than the thuds of the warriors practicing. She stopped and stared, tears ran down her cheeks as if someone had turned on a faucet in her head.

She stood in her home. The farmhouse living room was faithfully recreated. Even the windows showed the exact same view she grew up with. She vaguely realized it had to be holograms but her brain couldn't function.

"How?"

"We found images on your TC."

In a daze, she walked with him through bedrooms with exact replicas of the furniture she remembered.

"Oh Zacar, I don't know what to say."

"Say nothing. Kiss me instead."

She laughed and went on tiptoes and kissed him long and hard. "Let's go outside, I want to thank the others."

"Not with kisses," he warned and she suppressed her laughter.

They went outside and stood watching the warriors.

"Tell me about your planet," she asked without looking back at him. It fascinated her that there was a whole galaxy out there with different races, even species.

"What do you want to know?'

"How do you court a woman?"

"Court?" he asked.

"When you want her for your breeder, how do you convince her?"

"On our planet, we have many animals but one is a ferocious beast. Almost like the bears of your planet that died out. A warrior would leave alone and not return until he can lay the coat of the beast at his chosen breeder's feet."

"What if she doesn't want you?"

"Why would she not want a strong warrior?"

"Maybe--" She hesitated. How could she phrase this? "Maybe because she would like a choice in whom she spends her life with. Whom she has children with."

"Warrior choose. Most females are happy."

She threw up her hands. "I give up. You'll never understand. I cannot find women for your warriors. I lied to you. Julia is my only friend. If I can see her, I can tell her about your warriors. She's very delicate. Very frail." If she could convince them of that, her friend might be safe from being kidnapped. She had to ensure that, if Julia ended up with a warrior, it was by choice.

"We know that."

"How do you know she's frail?"

What she knew as his puzzled expression crossed his face. "Zurian went to town."

Her heart stopped. "What happened? What did he do?"

"He went to the house of the gold female and went inside, staying cloaked until she came home."

"Oh, heavens. What happened? What did he do to my friend?"

"When he uncloaked, her eyes rolled back and she fell."

"Oh my God. Julia must have been terrified. Is she okay? What did he do with her?"

"She's a weak woman. He put her in her bed and covered her with many blankets then left her."

If she knew her friend, by the next day, Julia would have convinced herself it had been a bad dream.

"Azagor wants a woman as brave as you. He went to a farm on the other side of the tiny town. It had many women and he walked in front of the one he liked, but she did not try to hit him with a twig. She just screamed and run away."

Natalie bit her lip. Hard. "I thought you didn't want to be seen."

"My warriors go camouflaged. Only the woman saw him."

"So what will they do now? I assume they abandoned the plan of being hit by twigs."

He gave a satisfied grunt. "They will capture their women according to the old ways."

While they talked, Zurian and Azagor came out and started to train with the twins. Her sons looked so fierce and cute, she wanted to rush over and hug them. She tried to look at them with objective eyes. After a while, she realized they might be small and not using real weapons, but they worked as a unit.

When the warriors broke out of formation, Azagor took the boys and trained them. He was clearly showing them how to work together, how to use their size to their advantage. Natalie shuddered. She wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of a fight with her children. When they broke for a few minutes, Larz strutted over to her, while Zorlorf stood talking earnestly to Azagor.

She gave Larz a brilliant smile. "You did very well. I'm sure your father is very proud of you." And he had better tell them that if he knew what was good for him.

"Father said if it was not for the law prohibiting it, he would give us real swords before our second change."

Natalie suppressed a smile at the way he pushed out his chest. She smiled up at Zacar before turning back to Larz. "So after your second change, you get a sword?"

"Yes, we are given a sword by our leader and that is the sword we have for the rest of our lives. We have to prove we can take on any enemy with only a sword. Then after our third change, we are issued with weapons and knowledge."

"Knowledge?" she asked, curious.

Zacar stiffened behind her and Larz suddenly turned and ran off, shouting over his shoulder, "I have to go and talk to Azagor."

Natalie watched him hurry away. They had grown a little over the last few weeks, but Larz seemed to have grown more than his brother. Bulkier. What knowledge would be imparted to them when they went through their second change? They referred to Zacar as Father to please her, but constantly slipped, calling him leader like the others. What would be the equivalent rank on Earth?

Wistfully, she looked up at Zacar. "They're growing up so fast. They were never my babies and now it feels as if they won't be my boys for very long."

He looked down at her and opened his mouth as if to say something but bent his head and kissed her instead. "They are good warriors."

She knew he was trying to make her feel better. She loved her sons. Her words were more an observation than a complaint. Giving the boys one final glance to ensure they were okay, she moved back into the cave.

Spring had finally come. She would enjoy it with her fierce warrior and her two sons. They would have many summers and, with her sons and Zacar with her, the winters lying ahead did not fill her with dread as they used to.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ever since she can remember Marie Dry wanted to travel. She had had the privilege of living in Zambia, Morocco, and Spain and sees herself as a bit of a gypsy. Every few years she gets restless and has to be some place new.

All her life she has read romances and was fairly young when she decided she would write the perfect story that had all the elements she looked for in a romance. In 1997 she shared a pizza with a friend. She promised her friend to go all out with her writing and get published. With her friends cheering her on ever since, Dry found it a wonderful experience to see the characters in her head coming to life on the page. So being published by Black Opal Books is a dream come true for her.

There are several wonderful moments in her life that she would never trade for anything. One of them was meeting President Nelson Mandela and the second being published.

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION/ROMANTIC SUSPENSE/STEAMY ROMANCE

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. The publisher does not have any control over or assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their contents.

ALIEN MINE

Copyright © 2014 by Marie Dry

Cover Design by Jackson Cover Designs

All cover art copyright © 2014

All Rights Reserved

EBOOK ISBN: 978-1-626941-39-7

FIRST PUBLICATION: June 21, 2014

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