Page 29

Two years later . . .

Zoriss

I’ve been both looking forward to this and dreading it. At least this time I know what to expect.

We’re back in Crentin for the Halloween Festival. The whole town celebrated the first Crentin female and Draalian male mating in the region.

My lovely mate is laughing and joking with all of her old friends. She’s so comfortable here, just like in our home back in Windy City.

It took awhile for her to really enjoy living there.

For me, though, by the time we hovered across the country and arrived in the city, I was ready to start my new life there.

I hadn’t lived on Draal in a long time. My life had been with my clutchmate, and now I was going to have a life with him, his mate, and my own.

At first, I missed the military, partly because I enjoyed many aspects of it, partly because it was all I knew. I never dreamed I’d find a job in my new town so quickly, especially one I’d love more than the army.

For my first year on Earth, Zorn and I were invited to join a task force empowered to hunt pirates and bring them to justice.

The force was an elite cadre composed of Earth’s three species of aliens along with Earth females.

We discovered and dismantled three separate criminal groups that had their tentacles high into the government.

We located many males who were brought here illegally. Many, like Zorn and me, had already found love but were living in hiding without proper documentation.

The Earth Repopulation Organization amended their laws and will allow black-market males to stay with the females of their choice if both parties are willing.

Once a month, Zorn and I lead a discussion group for males like myself who’ve been stolen and brought here illegally. I testify to the fact that there are options other than rushing back to their home planet. I’m helping in some small way, which makes me feel great.

Although there are still miscreants and pirates making Earth unsafe for immigrants, I chose a safer vocation where I’ll be home every night.

I’ve become head of security at one of the mating agencies.

Having both broken in—well, Lumina broke in—and broken out of the facility out west, I feel uniquely qualified to enhance security as well as provide the perspective of someone who has left their home planet for something better.

My life is so much better than it was in the Draalian military. I don’t have to worry about my safety or that of my brother anymore. Our mates love knowing we’ll sleep in the same bed with them every night.

I wasn’t sure the females would like the living arrangement we all agreed upon, but it’s working better than I’d ever imagined. Annora’s mom, Grace, moved into the newly renovated cottage behind the main house, insisting that taking care of the big house had become a burden.

That left the eighteen-room mansion for the four of us.

With a few renovations, we redesigned the space to have plenty of privacy for our two families, yet several common rooms to have fun together.

We all agree that having just one kitchen and sharing the cooking is the smartest thing we ever could have devised.

Lumina’s mom, Emerson, moved into a communal living situation in the heart of Windy City. She shares it with eight women about her age. After living in rural New Lilliana all her life, she tells us she’s having the time of her life.

Lumina loves her new practice. She’s taking over from a female who is preparing to retire. She’s even far enough out in the country that she can continue to treat not just household pets, but some of the large bovines and equines residing outside the city.

When I glance over at her across the Town Hall lawn, she’s absentmindedly rubbing her flat belly.

You’re doing it again , I tell her.

She immediately knows what I’m talking about and puts her hand on her hip. The look on her face is as guilty as if I caught her breaking into an exclusive alien dating mixer.

You don’t have to keep it a secret. Didn’t you decide you were going to tell everyone today, anyway? I ask.

Yes.

Her mom knows, of course, and Annora and Zorn. She decided to tell the inhabitants of her old town later today when the Festival is over.

Get your coat on, Captain. It’s showtime. She taunts.

She’s going to enjoy my misery as I kiss the town’s inhabitants all afternoon.

As I stride to the booth, she yells and makes the announcement that the kissing booth is now open for business.

I feel a pang of sadness when I look around and don’t see Edora McPhee.

Did Edora McPhee pass away? I ask. I can’t imagine she would miss this otherwise. She enjoyed it so much last time I was here.

The grapevine has it that she’s so happy with a certain Draalian sexbot she has no use for a real male anymore.

Well , I tell her, I’m glad you still have use for a real male . The sweet, happy smile she flashes fills me with love.

Lumina

I watch my mate man-up and pucker up for every female from thirteen to one-hundred-thirty who has hovered here from a hundred miles in every direction.

He’s so handsome. I still can’t tear my eyes from him, nor can I quit feeling like the luckiest female on this or any planet.

And the baby I’m carrying, how amazing is that?

Shortly after our private mating ceremony, the news was full of stories about the breakthrough allowing Draals and humans to conceive and carry to term.

Because the hybrids will be born live instead of hatched, they have just as much likelihood of being male as female.

When mom arrived in Windy City, we had a small public double mating ceremony at the mansion.

It felt even more special that Zoriss got to share the festivities with his clutchmate.

The only non-family member there was Taylor Vale from Antiqua.

There wouldn’t have been a mating ceremony without her.

She met a handsome Draalian at a mixer and they’re very close to a mating ceremony of their own.

I honestly don’t know who was happier on our mating day, the two couples, or our moms. It makes me sad that so many women, like my mom and Grace and thousands more who are my age, will never have the chance for love like I’ve found. Maybe life will be better for the next generation.

About a year after my walk down the aisle, the captain and I decided we were ready to expand our family and I started on the medication that would allow this miracle to happen.

I love my new job, mom’s happy in Windy City, Annora and I are best friends, and when Zorn and Zoriss hug, their love for each other overflowing, I can’t help but hope our children will grow up with that same ability to care deeply for each other.

Zoriss doesn’t have to speak through our psychic connection, he just casts his eyes toward me with the same pathetic cry for help as he did two years ago around this same time of day.

This time, out of an abundance of caution, I don’t balance on the booth’s horizontal board, I just stand in front of it and announce the kissing portion of the festivities is over.

“Thanks for your support. This year’s proceeds are going to a fund to help pay local women’s fees to the dating agency of their choice.

” I pause, suddenly feeling shy, but then say, “I’m also pleased to announce that the scientific advances you’ve all been reading about are true.

Zoriss and I will be bringing our youngling to the festivities next year. ”

I glance around the cheering crowd, most of whom are wiping moist eyes. This is the hope of every human on Earth—we’re truly repopulating the planet, one cute little Draalhuman baby at a time.

Earth is fully invested in this repopulation initiative, and it’s great to be a part of it, but on a smaller scale, everything is more personal.

When you peel back all the layers, everything is really about family.

By this time next year, we’ll have added a little Draalhuman or two to the mix, but right this minute, the most important thing in the world is Captain Zoriss Krine and me—and our love. It’s our passionate connection that started it all.

I love you , I tell him, then decide it shouldn’t be kept a secret just between us.

“I love you, mate,” I say loud enough for everyone on the lawn to hear.

“I love you, too,” he responds, an indulgent smile on his face.

“You literally came crashing into my life two years ago, Captain. I didn’t know it then, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Agreed, love, agreed.”