Alien Mate

Chapter 6

Diana allowed him to seat her, still somewhat stunned by the reality of her situation.

I'm really on a spaceship flying through the universe on my way to a new world. Holy crap! And by the sounds of it, I'm not the first one.

A giant screen that had dropped down from the seamless ceiling lit up, and Kor stood beside it, pointing to the large planet that appeared in the middle of it.

"This is my home world, Xaanda, or, translated, Planet of Bounty. You'll notice it resembles your planet Earth quite a bit, although we are several times larger. We have a bright sun much like your own and a second, smaller, red sun. Rotating around our planet are three moons, the resting place for our ancestors. But that is a history lesson for another day."

Kor touched the planet on the screen and zoomed in quickly 'til the view shrank to a panorama of a city-a futuristic one by Diana's standards. It gleamed silver, white, and cream with some buildings towering high while others seemed low and spread. Little saucers zipped around busily like bees in a hive.

"This is our capital, Menderiosa, where what you would call a president or emperor resides. We will be living just outside the capital, here, in Jenol." Again he zoomed.

Diana gaped at the astonishing scenes he was showing her. It's so pretty, she thought. "It's all very nice, but you still haven't explained why you took me."

"I'm getting to that. We discovered the ability to space travel quite some time ago, something your people are only just coming into. We've been exploring the galaxy far and wide, bringing back treasures in the form of new plants and animals. We chart the stars and their planets, tracking other sentient beings like ourselves, making contact when deemed ready. We are, however, a violent species, much like earthlings. The world I showed you is divided into six major areas of government. And while we skirmish over borders and rights, we mostly save our aggression for the races beyond our planet who enjoy subjugating. One of these violent races thought to enslave us. They are now extinct."

Diana shivered at the dark smile that came over him when he said that.

Kor continued. "But before we destroyed them, one of them came to our world unbeknownst to us. He brought with him a deadly virus. One that attacked our women and killed them. Those who survived were left barren. Our males retaliated and wreaked horrible vengeance, but our revenge was bittersweet, for the cure to the disease was found too late. Over ninety percent of our female population died, and of the ten percent left, less than three percent could still bear children."

"That's horrible," whispered Diana.

"Beyond horrible. Without the gentle guiding hand of our females, the males became wild, fighting among each other, fighting over the few females left. We were going backward in evolution. Then the Oracle spoke. The Oracle, you have to understand, has always been. Whether it has always been the same being or if the position of Oracle is an inherited one, no one is sure. However, the Oracle is considered the most powerful person on the whole planet. When she speaks, all listen."

"The Oracle is a woman?"

"The Oracle has always been a female, yes. Anyway, she told us during the great turmoil to stop our fighting. If we wanted to rebuild our world, there was a way."

"So you started kidnapping women and forcing them to be your wives."

"No, not quite. See, even though we are similar physiologically, alien matings rarely reproduce. Certain conditions need to be met. One of them is mental harmony."

Diana giggled. "What, they need to be in love?"

Kor frowned at her. "I am not sure I understand that word. We don't have a translation for it in our language. What I am talking about is complete mental balance, where the souls of both join and become as one."

Now it was Diana's turn to frown. "What do you mean the souls join? You guys believe in souls? Life after death?"

"Yes, but we are digressing. The Oracle said she'd found a way for us to rebuild our population by bringing in female outsiders. At first this idea was scoffed at. We are a proud race, but numbers, mainly population numbers, brought us to our senses. If we did not do as the Oracle suggested, our race would die out."

"So one person is in charge of setting all you men up with wives?"

"Not quite. The Oracle, as you said, is only one, the universe vast. She wisely turned to the spirits of our ancestors to help us in our hour of need."

"You mean you're letting ghosts choose your brides?"

"The spirits of our ancestors are nothing so vulgar as your world's concept of ghosts. They are beings of energy that retain a sense of their corporeal self."

Diana snorted. "Ghosts."

Kor's brows drew together, and she could see him about to argue again, but he held himself back. With a pained expression, he continued as if she hadn't spoken. "The ancestral spirits, not being bound by the laws of physics that we are, can travel the galaxy quickly. With the fate of our civilization at stake, the Oracle asked them for help. While some had been dead so long they'd lost their sense of self and family, many others, especially the recently dead females, still remembered and thus set themselves the task of finding mates for their remaining male family members. As choices are made, the spirits inform the Oracle, who then notifies the lucky male."

"Do the men not get a choice in this?"

Kor squirmed a bit. "The males are given the choice of whether or not they wish to have an alien mate found for them, as the females of our species, even so many moon cycles later, are still too few."

Diana watched him and had a feeling there was more to it than that. "And?" she said, arching a brow and trying to look supercilious.

"Males fill out a questionnaire with one of the Oracle's acolytes, and the questionnaire is relayed to the spirits."

Diana jumped up. "You mean I was chosen from some kind of shopping list you made up?"

Kor's cheeks blushed a mauve color, but instead of admitting he was wrong, he jumped up to defend his actions. "If my ancestors had followed my list, you wouldn't be here. I asked for a biddable female, not someone who questions everything I say or do."

"Well, excuse me, Ken, for not being your perfect Barbie doll," she retorted, hurt that he didn't consider her his ideal female. She was even more pissed that she even cared what this stupid blue alien thought.

"I do not know what you refer to, but before you get all annoyed, let me just say in my defense that I was simply following procedure."

"Blah, blah, blah," chanted Diana. "I'm not listening to you."

Maybe it was the fingers in her ears that sent him over the edge. Whatever it was, Diana found herself wrapped in a pair of strong blue arms, looking up into a volatile pair of violet eyes that swirled with emotion.

"Let me g-" Diana never did finish her sentence, as his firm lips crushed hers and captured her voice. And to her mental chagrin-but her body's delight-she felt that same inferno as earlier go racing through her body, lighting all her senses and making her melt in his arms.

Floating on a pleasurable cloud that consisted only of his lips making hers feel ooooh soooo good, she didn't register what he said at first.

"They didn't follow my list, but," he said, tightening his arms when she tried to push away, "I'm realizing that perhaps my ancestors knew what I needed better than I did."

Diana stilled and looked up at him. "Really? Even though I'm not docile and I argue?"

"Well, I could do without the arguing. However"-he grinned at the glint in her eye-"it will sure make our lives more interesting, won't it?"

Giving her lots to ponder, Kor brought a dazed Diana back to the cabin. To her surprise, he left the door unlocked, a fact she discovered when she learned how to open the door by watching him. Basically she just needed to slide her hand over the wall in the right spot. So I'm not a prisoner on the ship, at least.

But instead of roaming, she paced, thinking about what she'd learned. Diana still wasn't crazy about the idea of some ghosts running around the universe with a list looking for gals who could be kidnapped, but in a perverse way, it was kind of romantic. I mean, think about it. Of all the women in the universe, they chose me. And from what Kor said, they know their stuff. Me, the perfect wife for a hunky blue stud.

Even better, in his obtuse way, Kor had said he liked her. Diana warmed at the thought.

Then kicked herself.

Hello, Earth to Diana. What the hell am I thinking? I can't seriously be entertaining the thought of bonding with him. He's arrogant, controlling, a kidnapper, not to mention part of an entirely different species. But then again, he's hot, he thinks I'm hot, and he makes me feel better than a cherry-topped, caramel-smothered, vanilla ice cream sundae. Mmm, now I'm hungry again.

"Alphie," she called.

"Yes, dear Diana."

"I'm hungry," she said plaintively. Although most of her hunger seemed to be centered between her legs. No matter, the between-the-lips kind would have to do. She never made important decisions on an empty tummy.

And as she sucked on her spoon, licking every creamy drop of the sundae Alphie managed to conjure up, she thought about her blue suitor and, to her chagrin, how he made her feel.