Alex Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  Written in the Stars 2

  Alex

  An Alien Sci-Fi Romance

  By

  CL Rowell

  License Notes

  Thank you for purchasing this e-book. This work is the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

  This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  All characters are adults, 18+ in this story and no one is blood related.

  If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy and discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

  *The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction. The publication/use of these trademarks is not associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners. *

  Copyright © 2020 C Cowles

  All rights reserved.

  To love that’s written in the stars

  1

  Alex

  ◆◆◆

  “Rendezvous back at the Tarselese in no more than four weeks,” Zander reminded us as we prepared to enter the planet’s atmosphere. “Proceed directly to your chosen coordinates. Locate your quarry. Subdue, secure, and retreat, exactly as we discussed.”

  “What if there’s a problem?” It was Allister—of course it was. He always had to leave shit until the last possible second.

  “You’re trained soldiers. Figure it out.”

  I grinned and bobbed my head. You tell him, Zander.

  “What if—”

  A squeal of feedback reverberated over the open line as Zander glared at him—and us—through the live video feed connecting the pods. “Figure. It. Out.”

  I winced, jiggling my finger in my ear, my smile gone. That shit hurt. Payback was going to be a real bitch later. The jackass knows how sensitive my ears are. I flipped a choice hand signal at the screen and saw him grin. Yeah, he knew. Jerk.

  Cutting the connection when there were no more snide questions, he took the lead—as usual—diving into the pretty blue orb’s atmosphere like he just expected us to follow. Because of course he did. And we did. We’d follow him into the open maw of a va’sook on planet Uulzell in the Kahzaran galaxy if he asked us to. We wouldn’t survive it but we’d do it. He was our unofficial leader.

  I double checked my coordinates for the tenth time as my pod split off from the others, not wanting to take any chances. My ass was going to be back on that ship well within the four-week time limit, come hell or high water. I wasn’t getting left behind on a strange planet at the opposite side of the universe from our home world. He’d do it, too—without even thinking twice. That’s why he’s the leader. He made the tough choices.

  I focused and pulled up a map, studying it, searching for the tiny red dot that was my quarry. Surprise, surprise, she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Scowling, I flicked my eyes up to the top right corner of the map and made note of the time. I relaxed. It was early yet. There was still time for her to make it back to her living quarters before my arrival. And if she didn’t? I shrugged, grinning. We’d do it the hard way.

  Reassured that everything was on target, I dug in my pack, pulling out a sack of trail mix and a bottle of ale. I knew the rules. A hunter always eats before the hunt. Distraction could be deadly, as could exhaustion—so, a quick snack and a nap were in order.

  The nap wasn’t meant to be, though. I was way too wired. After thirty-five minutes spent staring at the ceiling through the lines of the map projection, I gave up and sat up. I took note of the timer counting down in the lower left corner of the map. Twenty minutes to arrival. I searched for the dot again. She still wasn’t where she was supposed to be. So be it. Sighing, frustrated, I reset the locator to her signature and scanned for a suitable spot close by to stash the pod.

  Twenty-two minutes later I casually strolled around the corner, taking a right turn from a dark, dingy alley onto the wider, brighter street. I kept my eyes open for any suspicious behavior. You would think I’d be left alone, considering I stand head and shoulders above all but the tallest of other humanoid species. Still, there are those on every planet I’ve visited who will see my stature and build as a challenge. My gaze, constantly moving and scanning my surroundings, bounced back and forth between the scenery around me and the map projected before my eyes that no one but I could see.

  My quarry was on the move. Frowning, I increased my speed, planning to intercept. I turned another corner and found myself in a less populated area. The buildings appeared more rundown. They were dingy. Many were abandoned and in varying states of neglect. Some, barely more than burned shells, listed to the sides, leaning on a neighboring building almost like old winos who’d imbibed too heavily and couldn’t stand without assistance. Shadowy forms followed my progress from dark corners and open doorways. I felt a sense of impending danger souring my stomach.

  Refusing to let fear get in my way, I increased my speed to a loping jog and was gratified to see the gap between me and the female I’d come to claim narrowing.

  Suddenly, without any warning, a tall thin form stepped into my path, forcing me to stop. “Hand over your wallet and no one gets hurt.”

  I peered down my nose at him. His clothing looked threadbare, in truth more holes than cloth. He held a wicked looking dagger clutched in one grimy fist. The blade curved slightly and appeared to have a well-honed edge. The hilt, from what I could see around his fist, was wrapped in leather strips and thin silver wire so that it was less likely to slip in the heat of battle. It couldn’t harm one such as me, but he had no way of knowing that and I felt a bit sorry for him.

  “Begone from my sight.” I kept my tone gruff, hiding my pity. “I carry no wallet and I do not wish to cause you harm.”

  “Big talk for one who isn’t armed,” he sneered. “I said hand over your wallet. If I have to ask again, I’ll be asking with this and taking your valuables from your bloody corpse.”

  I made to go around him and he lashed out with his blade, slicing the clothing across my lower belly but otherwise doing no damage. Faster than the eye could follow, I disarmed him. When he lunged at me with clawed fingers, I reacted without thinking, lifting him and tossing him over my shoulder. After observing him for a moment to insure he wouldn’t be getting up, I turned, intending to be on my way.

  “Not so fast.” Three more shady characters stood barring my path near where the other guy had first accosted me. “This is our territory. The fee to pass is…” the speaker paused dramatically, “your money or your life.”

  I laughed. “You can’t be serious. You just saw what happened to him. There may be three of you to one of me, but it won’t change the ending. Get out of my sight.”

  “I don’t think so.” He pulled out a gun. His friends waved knives like the last guy. “Willy only had a puny blade. Not even one as ginormous as you can withstand a bullet.”

  “Will you bet your life on it?” I was starting to become annoyed. Every second they delayed me widened the distance between me and my target. I straightened to my full height, flexed my muscles, and the two with knives tucked tail and ran.

  “Come back here, you cowards!” The instigator waved his arms in the air. Without thinking about it, I plucked the weapon out of his hand. He spun back to face me, “Hey! Give it back!”

  Gri
nning, I gripped it by the barrel and the grip, bending it before his eyes, rendering it useless. Without another word I tossed it at his feet and stepped around him. I searched for the red dot as I walked. She’d stopped moving but was surrounded by the darker dots representing her companions. The formation of the dots suggested foul play. I quickened my pace, hoping word would spread and other ne’er-do-wells would steer clear of the fearless freak I’d shown myself to be.

  2

  Aly

  ◆◆◆

  “I want to go home.” I backed further into the corner of the filthy motel room my dud of a date and his friends dragged me to, barely taking my eyes off them for the time it took to blink.

  It was four against one. The odds definitely weren’t in my favor. The other two girls who’d been with us at the bar ducked out when Leroy suggested it was time to take the party private. I wanted to leave, too, but I wasn’t given the choice. He latched onto my arm as Felicity stood and dragged DeDe away from the table. I called her name, begging her not to leave me behind. Ha! She didn’t even look back once as they hit the door. Some friend she turned out to be.

  “Come on,” Leroy coaxed, holding out his hand as he crept nearer. “If you don’t fight it, it won’t hurt.” Uh huh.

  “Much,” his buddy, a heavy goth-looking gamer, growled, scratching his balls. “I like it rough.”

  I bit my tongue, tempted to ask him if that’s what his mummy told him to say but figuring it’d be a bad idea to poke the bear. Instead, I turned back to their esteemed leader, Leroy. “If I’m unwilling, then it’s rape,” I informed him. “Rape is illegal. You’ll go to jail.”

  He shrugged, grinning, “It’s your word against ours and the guys will vouch for me that you were begging for it.”

  That was it. I’d heard enough. I screamed as loud as I could, hoping someone would hear me, “Help me!”

  Talk about instant gratification. With a screech of metal and crunch of wood, the door flew away into the night and in its place stood the Hulk’s honey-kissed cousin. I shit you not. If I’m lying, I’m dying. This guy stood at least ten feet tall, with muscles eerily similar to the green dude I was comparing him with. His hair, a couple shades lighter than his tanned skin, flowed past his massive shoulders and was caught up in an intricate but masculine clasp that kept it out of his way. I could see his silvery blue eyes and sharp cheekbones from the opposite corner where I stood, still trapped.

  “Holy shit,” goth dude whimpered as a dark patch bloomed against the front of his crotch.

  The big guy smiled at me, “You look like you could use a hand.”

  “Nah, carry your steroid pumped tiny dick ass on down the road.” Leroy waved his fingers at him in a shooing motion. “What do you think this is? A fucking party? Get lost.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you.” He raised his eyes back to me. “I was talking to her.”

  “Well, she ain’t—”

  “Yes, please,” I bounced on my toes, not hesitating for a second. My gut said he could be trusted, and I usually followed it since it never steered me wrong.

  “You stay right there,” Leroy ordered, staring me down. Turning his gaze on my hero, he pulled out a gun, “This won’t take long at all.”

  “No!” I lunged forward as he aimed and prepared to fire, grabbing his arm and knocking him off balance. The bullet went wide, shattering a window.

  “Bitch!” A blow I never saw coming sent me to my knees.

  As I collapsed to the carpet, before I even felt the throbbing sting from my bruised cheek, an angry roar shook the walls around me. It reminded me of the snarling bear I’d heard at the zoo and in the back of my mind I hazily wondered what a bear was doing inside the city. I looked up to see if I could catch a glimpse of it just as Leroy went flying. The crash and tinkle of glass shattering and raining down let me know exactly where he ended up, but it didn’t faze me. By then the left side of my face throbbed in time with my heartbeat and my adrenaline rush was starting to wear off. I just wanted to go home and stand beneath a scalding stream of water until the memory wasn’t quite as painful.

  “Are you okay?”

  I lifted my head and gazed into a pair of breathtakingly beautiful icy blue eyes. I blinked, dazed, and muttered, “Has anyone ever told you that you have the most amazing eyes?”

  “Do I?” He grinned and I blinked.

  “I’ve been rescued by the big bad wolf.” I lifted a hand toward his mouth, wanting to see if his teeth felt as sharp as they looked, but let it fall when the effort felt too hard. I frowned at him, “Are you going to eat me?”

  Laughter rumbled deep in his chest, shaking my whole body as he scooped me up like I weighed nothing. He settled me in his arms and pulled me close, breathing into my ear, “Only if you ask nicely.”

  3

  Alex

  ◆◆◆

  She blushed and hid her face against my chest.

  “Careful of your face, angel,” I cautioned.

  She jerked upright, wide-eyed, and inspected my shirt. “No blood. Sorry about that. I would have paid to have it cleaned.”

  “I’m not worried about the shirt. I just don’t want you to hurt your beautiful face on my hard chest.”

  She poked at my pecs with a pink-tipped finger, “Wow, it is hard. Are you this hard all over?”

  I laughed. “I’m getting there.”

  She scowled at me. “Stop that.”

  “Stop what?”

  “Stop calling me beautiful. Stop with the sexual innuendos. Stop with the flirting. Guys like you aren’t attracted to girls like me and I’m fine with that.”

  I was halfway down the block and had ducked into an alleyway to avoid running into the authorities I could hear approaching in the distance. Gunfire usually caught their attention. It didn’t matter what planet you were on. I wasn’t too concerned, though. I’d left no evidence of my presence behind. If those creeps were still hanging around and tried to pin anything on me all they’d have was their word that I was there.

  Stopping in my tracks, I stared at her. “Girls like you?”

  She motioned to herself, “Bigger girls.”

  My eyes widened and I didn’t try to hide my disbelief. She felt tiny and delicate in my embrace. Breakable. “Bigger by whose standards?” I demanded to know. “From where I’m standing, you’re perfect.”

  “That’s because you’re a giant. Almost anyone would seem small to you.”

  “Not a va’sook.”

  “A what?”

  I searched my brain for a comparable animal she could relate to. I finally settled on, “They’re like dragons.”

  She shot me a confused look. “Dragons aren’t real.”

  “They aren’t?” I wanted to say, then why are they in your movies, but I didn’t. Instead, I pulled her close and started walking again.

  “Where are we going?”

  I shrugged, “Just walking.”

  “Didn’t want to be there when the po-po arrived?” she teased. “Got a record?”

  I hacked into their wireless information system and searched for the meaning of her words. It took only a second or two to figure out she was asking if I had a criminal record with the local authorities. I grinned and shook my head. “I have no record,” I assured her.

  “That’s good.” I felt tension leave her body. “It’d suck to find myself murdered by my rescuer. Talk about irony.”

  Blood seeping from her wound reminded me of her injuries and offered me a safe way to change the subject. Blunt and to the point as always, I asked, “Is there anywhere we can go to bandage your face?”

  “Am I bleeding?” She touched a finger to her cheek and hissed. “Well, shit. I don’t dare head back to my place. If Leroy got caught and gave the cops my name that’s the first place they’d check.”

  “A shop?”

  She pouted and minutely shook her head. “If you take me into a store looking like this, they’ll call nine-one-one.”

  “Nine-one-one?�
�

  She shrugged one shoulder, “Po-po.”

  “Oh.”

  “What about your place?”

  “My place?” My pod appeared in my mind. Was it going to be that easy? I wondered.

  “Unless… do you live in your parents’ basement?”

  “No.”

  “Got a girlfriend?”

  “No girlfriend.”

  “Wife?” I shook my head. “Crazy baby momma?”