Page 9 of Saved By My Alien Husband

8

DELPHINE

“ A re you okay?” Haven asked me a few hours later, as we walked to the spaceship with a hoard of cats behind us.

Tomorrow morning, Michael would call a meeting with all of the North American citizens to let them know the choice they must make. For now, he let them out of the bunkers, and had a smaller conversation with just the cat owners. The cats, and those that wanted to join them, were coming with us a day early.

We were doing a good thing, helping the world, yet I felt hollow.

“I don't know,” I finally answered, looking up at him. “It's a lot to take in. But I'm with you, and that's amazing.”

His answering smile was infectious. “It is.”

King Candor walked ahead of us, talking through plans with his advisors to expand the available space in the ship.

“Is there really enough room for every human?” I asked Haven. The ship was big, but was it that big?

“Yes, it will be a tight fit, but with only a few thousand left in the world, the ship can handle it. It will have to change how it formats some of the rooms, pulling them in tighter to accommodate the additional bodies,” Haven explained, his hand holding mine as we walked. “But it will work.”

“The ship can just rearrange like that?” I asked, thoroughly impressed. “What about food? That's a lot of people to feed. ”

“Talking like a princess already, Delphine,” he said with a grin. “We have a process to create food that expands based on our needs. It will be alright.”

Parvati meowed on his shoulder in agreement.

Peeking over at her, I asked shrewdly, “When were you going to tell me I wasn't crazy, Parvati?”

She stared at me and meowed back. In my head, an image of a star-filled night sky flashed. I had this strange sense that she was insinuating that the timing wasn't right, that she always planned to wait until I saw Haven the first time. It was like her intention was transmitted to me with the picture. I knew what she wanted, without needing any clarification.

“Oh,” I said. “You were going to tell me now. Alright, as long as it was planned and I wasn't left to go insane.”

I might have not agreed with her plan, but as long as it was thought through, then I didn’t feel as hurt.

“She spoke to you?” Haven asked.

I nodded. “That was odd. And powerful.”

“Talking through images and thought takes time to adjust to, but I agree with her. You needed to stay part of your society until I got here. If you knew too soon, it would have felt like a longer wait. You could have given us away prematurely, or they could have thought you needed to be restrained for insanity.” He shivered. “Depends on who you told.”

“I suppose so,” I admitted. “But it was also really lonely.” My shoulders curved slightly inward.

“You'll never be alone again, princess,” he promised, tugging me closer. “I'm sorry that you thought I wasn't real this whole time. I can only imagine what that must have felt like.”

“Promise?” My voice cracked. I've been alone for so long and this felt too good to be true.

“I promise, you are mine forever. Nothing can separate us now,” he said.

“I like the sound of that,” I said, tucked into his side as I surveyed our surroundings. Twice in one day I had left the dome I was born in. The place I thought I would die.

“Me too,” he said. “And Parvati can send my language to your brain while you sleep.”

“Thank you, Parvati,” I said to my cat, relieved I wouldn’t have to study. “Will it hurt?”

“No,” Haven answered for her. “You’ll both be tired and have headaches though. That’s why it’s not possible for everyone, but she’ll be okay doing it once.”

Glancing at my cat, I pursed my lips in thought. It would be convenient to get the language and vital info added to my brain in one night, but I didn’t want to hurt her.

Parvati noted my hesitation and transmitted calming thoughts my way to reassure me.

It’s no wonder we used to worship cats. They’re amazing.

Switching worries, I wondered what my parents would think when they found out I was a princess now. Would they go on the ship too? Will they care, if they stayed and I left the planet? Would it make a difference to them that I was the one who saved them?

The outside world was harsh, hot, empty. In the hundreds of years of irregular weather, there were back-to-back hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, and periods of ice that laid waste to only heat; all kinds of events that seemed to blur together until the world was wiped clean. The domes, and some of those more isolated cave areas in remote parts of the world, sustained what remained. They kept us safe while showing us what we couldn't ever be part of.

In only my second time walking outside of it, I disliked it. The heat and the smell was something I would never forget.

When we reached the ship again, I was grateful to walk into it, though I shivered at the sudden change in temperature. The air pushed out from the space between the door and the inner halls, brushing off the sand that accumulated from the walk.

“Father, I'm going to take Delphine up to our room to rest. This has been a lot to take in,” he told the king before they moved too far ahead. “I'll take her on a tour tomorrow instead of in the bigger group, if that's alright?” It sounded like a question, but I knew it wasn't.

King Candor nodded and clapped his son on the shoulder before turning to smile at me. “Of course. Welcome home, Delphine.”

“How did it happen, us talking in my dreams?” I asked when the king stepped away. A few aliens of Haven's same species passed us in the hall, nodding in quick bows to us.

“Your cat set it up,” Haven explained.

Parvati meowed and I got a picture of her sitting over me while I slept as a kid. She did something to me as her eyes squinted in a way that was not very catlike. After, she walked away from my still form. Wow. My cat did mind surgery on me and she’d be doing it again tonight.

“She thought we'd be a good match, and changed my brain so that I'd be able to get to know you?” I asked, seeking confirmation.

“As the latest ambassador of Earth's cats in her family, she can help establish additional connections. She recognized something in you that matched me, asked me if I wanted a friend, and showed me her memories of you. I said yes, and now you’re here. She closed the connection between us yesterday, when the ship was almost here. It creates an uncomfortable feedback loop if dreams are tied and you are physically together.”

That explains why I didn’t see him last night.

“Okay, my cat came from a long line of ambassadors to aliens, cats are in fact aliens to this world as well, and they can perform mind surgery,” I said. “It's a lot to take in.”

Parvati meowed from Haven's shoulder and the cats walking with the king turned to look at her. They stared for a time, sitting and nodding creepily in unison while their humans gawked, and left when the king gestured for them to follow. Parvati then turned to us, letting us know with her mind that she'd be touring with the other cats, but would find us in our room later.

Cats were really playing dumb this entire time? For thousands of years? I don't know how they had the patience.

It was just Haven and me in the cold hall for a quiet moment. Nervously, I giggled, then hid my head in Haven's chest. “I can't believe this is real,” I mumbled.

He squeezed me and I felt the warmth of his body. His swaying tail tucked around my legs like another arm.

“You're finally mine,” he breathed into my ear. “All mine.”

“I was so afraid to believe you,” I admitted, nuzzling closer. Every groove of his body was against mine and knowing it was real, rather than part of the weird pocket of reality we were in every night, made it feel different. We could touch each other when I dreamed, of course, but it was different now. Like a fog was lifted, and we were finally in full-color high definition.

“I never want to let you go,” Haven said, touching his nose to mine.

“Will you kiss me again, husband ?” I asked, testing out the word.

“I'll kiss you every moment of every day if you keep calling me that,” he whispered. “I'm real, I'm here.”

“Kiss me,” I repeated, desperately.

His rough lips caressed mine and I sighed into him, my body releasing all the tension of the day. Being named server, the frustration over Dr. Selvill, the fear of never seeing Haven ever again, and then the worry that I wouldn't get to Haven in time...it all melted away as his lips slid over mine. My heart may explode from the joy of setting it all behind me.

My life would start again, in space, with Haven. As it was always meant to.

We pulled apart and took a beat, staring at each other. Haven's eyes, dark abysses wide with no irises, seemed like they wanted to devour me. The feeling was mutual.

Smiling with devious intent, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me down the hall. Despite being here so often in my dreams, I didn't feel settled. We spent so much time in private together. There had been some exploring the ship, but not in a serious way, since I assumed it was all in my head. Now, I had to pay attention. This was my new home.

We passed Eldrin guards, their version of protectors, and I knew we were now in the family wing. It looked mostly the same as the other areas we had been in, but there were additional columns that added a sense of regality to the sleek black walls with swirling stars. It was as if this was an entrance to the stars, rather than a place to view them like the rest of the ship.

“This is a lot to take in. How will I ever find my way around when you aren’t next to me?” I asked. Here there were the columns, but the rest of the ship looked virtually the same.

It was odd that there were no pictures or paintings, but maybe that wasn’t typical for his species. With all the humans joining us, maybe that’s something we can bring from our culture to theirs. Then it would certainly be easier to figure out where we were.

“You did come here for ten years, or at least your mind did,” Haven said. “You’ll figure it out.”

“I mostly came at night, to you in your room, or in the gardens.”

He repeated with a smirk, “You’ll figure it out.”

He pointed to an arrangement of spots on the wall that he said meant it was the entrance to our room and I stared at it intently, as if I could memorize it when it just looked like speckles to me.

“I'm going to put my hand here”—he pointed to a spot—“and I want you to put your hand there.” He pointed to another area below it. “Then keep it still for seven seconds. That will program your hand as a key to our room.”

“Okay,” I said, putting my hand where he shared and it was slowly outlined in a green glow, shining brightly.

Haven put his hand in the spot above mine, leaning over me. His chest pressed into my back and he whispered a countdown.

“Five... Four...”

The green outline flickered.

“Three... Two...”

The outline turned yellow. I turned my head to look up at him, his face centimeters from mine. I swallowed the lump in my throat, licking my lips.

“One...”

The outline disappeared and a voice spoke, presumably saying its acceptance of my hand as a key, but I didn't know the language yet.

He didn't let go right away, keeping his body pressed against mine. I shivered under him, anticipation coursing through me. He said we'd have to consummate our marriage, when he kissed me last night...

The smirk on his face told me he was thinking the same thing as he stepped back. Haven showed me how to open the door, and I went inside the room that now also belonged to me.

“Do you remember what I promised you, princess?” he asked.

When the door zipped closed, as if it had never existed, I turned to the sound, finding Haven staring with a sultry expression. He dropped my duffle bag and crossed his arms, leaning on the space that used to be a door.

Yes, that promise. I could never forget that.

“Soon, princess. I promise I'll be there to make love to you,” he had said.

“This is the last time you can back out of this arrangement, Delphine. Do you want to officially be mine, my wife, and the princess my people have been yearning for, forever?” he asked. He seemed guarded now, unlike the sexy expression on his face seconds before.

“I will always be yours. You can't get rid of me now,” I assured him, placing my hands on his chest. He eased his stance and wrapped his arms around my back instead. “But tell me,” I continued, “what does it mean to be a princess? What would I have to do?” Being his was all I ever wanted, but being one of the people in charge seemed like a lot.

And I was a server, not a savior.

“It would mean a lot of things, or very little, depending on what kind of ruler you are. Some rulers let their advisors run it all, while others take the reigns. Neither is right or wrong, as long as you pick the right advisors anyway. There is power in delegating,” he explained.

“What kind of ruler are you?” I asked, trailing my finger up his chest to his neck. His head tilted, inviting me to continue.

“Somewhere in the middle. I want to be involved, to focus on my people, but I also take advantage of the freedoms this role can have. It's important to me to take enough time away from it, so that when I am ruling I am doing it from a position of rest and joyfulness,” he said. “That's why I always stopped what I was doing to be with you when you visited. You were my priority.”

“I like that,” I said with a genuine smile. “I've never heard anyone say that about power before.”

“Will you be in power with me?” Haven asked, holding me closer.

“I think if you teach me, I'd like to rule like you do,” I said, dropping my head to his neck with a kiss of assurance.

“Good, princess, there is a lot I could teach you. Many things that humans aren't as versed in,” he said.

I couldn't ignore the growing bulge between us. Isn't he supposed to be a virgin until marriage? Don't I know more than him? How can he always sound full of swagger?

Before he let me get too distracted, I asked, “Why would your people travel all this way, for cats?”

“They are our family,” Haven explained, rubbing his hands up and down my back. “When my race first evolved from cats multiple millennia ago, we knew others could come, so we found habitable planets, and placed a generation of undeveloped cats on each, hoping they would develop the same way we did, and our race would live across the stars. That only worked on two planets. The other dozen just stayed as cats. Many kinds of cats, big and small, as they changed for what made sense for their planets.”

He gestured to the stars on his wall, pointing out ones that he said were the galaxies of his cat families. “We kept tabs on them, but Earth was the farthest away. When we knew the planet was failing, the monarchy was split on the topic. It was a big debate, whether we should save the Earth. In the end, we decided that its citizens sealed the fate of the planet on their own, but we had to at least help the cats. They didn't choose to be there. We made that choice for them, so we came.” His tone spoke of the regret and conflict he felt.

“That's a hard choice,” I said. “It must have been really difficult for your family.”

“It was. My uncle was the born king of our planet, so my father agreed to take a crown of his own and lead an exhibition, not just this one but all exhibitions. The deal he struck with his brother is that he would be the king responsible for saving, helping, and checking in on all the planets where we left cats to grow on their own. He became the king of our ship, Eldrin, that day and forever more. There are a few thousand of my people here, ready to help. While it will take ten years for us to get to the next planet where we will drop off these cats, and some or all of your people, depending on how we get along and who wants to stay, we will continue on this ship to our next destination.”

Oh. So travel forever? Save cats until I die? Not actually being on the planet he was born on, but going to planet after planet with him and his family, growing this ship into a cat paradise?

Honestly, I kind of love that.

He worried his lip, which on his gorgeous face was really darn cute. “If you stay my princess, your home will be the Eldrin, forever going from place to place, rather than staying on a planet.”

I'd actually be a saver, in a way that no one on our planet could ever be, traveling the universe forever with the only man who ever cared to know me.

“That sounds like a beautiful way to live,” I said, searching his wide eyes.

“Truly?” he asked.

“I'm so glad to do this with you,” I said. Ten years was a long time. I'm curious how many people would decide to leave at that point. “I choose you,” I told him without fear. This was going to be a harder life than I imagined, but also a more beautiful one. Love was something I had resigned myself to losing, but now that I had it with the person who held my heart for most of my life. I could survive anything, even space travel and being a queen.

“I choose you too,” Haven replied, rough hands coming up to cup my face.

“Now, about that promise...” I said, taking his lips again into mine.

We kissed for a time, until he pulled back with a groan a few minutes later. My chest was heaving with gasps, my eyes blown wide with feeling and excitement.

“Before we take this further, there is one thing we need to do to make it official,” he said.

“What’s that?” I asked, curious.

“I know that in human tradition, you exchange rings. I don’t have any, but if you’d like we can have some made in the coming weeks. For my people, we do something different…” he hesitated a moment.

I rubbed his arms soothingly. “Tell me.”

“Marriage is seen as a permanent fixture. Instead of rings, we each get a matching scar on our hands.”

That’s romantic and scary, I thought. “Does it hurt?”

“For a moment, it does. It has a few days of healing time. We have a small tool to burn our hands, where we hold it for a certain amount of time to guarantee the scar. Is that something you feel okay with?”

He bit his lip and I couldn’t help but smile at his nerves.

“I trust you,” I whispered. “I’m marrying you, in your traditions.”

He held my hands tighter. “If you are sure,” Haven said.

At my nod, he went to his desk, picking up an object I hadn’t noticed. It was small and shiny black like the wall, a pointed thick object about the size of a long finger, with a triangular tipped end.

“How does it work?” I asked, taking it from his hand. It was heavier than I expected and seemed to have an indented button on the non-triangular side. “You had this waiting for me to say yes?” I teased him with a smile.

“I press that button, we wait for thirty seconds for it to heat up, then you press it into my non-dominant hand here.” He held up his left hand and pointed to a spot on his palm between his four fingers. “Hold it there for another thirty. My skin is thicker than yours, so I think for you we should do ten and ten, but on your dominant one.”

The thought of giving him a scar was oddly thrilling, since he’d give me one that matched. Maybe I needed to continue therapy even on the ship…

“Why those hands in particular?” That’s a very interesting detail.

“The hands we pick depend on who is the protector in the couple. Since I’m physically stronger, I need to have my dominant hand free to defend us, while I hold your hand on the other,” he explained, arranging us so we were holding hands, then taking out a knife he had on his vest. He demonstrated pretend stab motions, while maneuvering me behind him with his non-dominant hand.

Why was that such an attractive sight? “Wow,” I said, feeling a deep churning within me.

He put the knife back and took my hands in his again. He pressed the button on the burner and handed it back to me. “You'll do me first, alright?”

I held his hand and pointed where I thought I should place the burner and he nodded. Taking a deep breath, I counted the remaining seconds. He leaned his forehead against mine when I placed it down, a sizzling sound filling the air.

“I love you,” he whispered roughly, barely reacting to getting burned.

With a shaky exhale, I told him I loved him too, and removed the burner. In its place was a dark green indent, that triangle pointing between the four fingers on his palm.

He took the burner and double clicked it. His lips met mine in a soft caress. “Ready?” He asked.

I nodded and held my breath, nervous and excited at the same time.

Haven took a deep breath, as if needed to calm down as well, and pressed the pen to my skin. He waited a shorter time frame and held my hand, pressing it into place.

Whimpering, I breathed in and out from my nose, and he lifted the burner.

“I’m sorry, princess.” His voice sounded pained.

“It’s okay.” I felt a painful throb in my hand, like my hand had a heartbeat. “What is a few days of pain for a lifetime of love?”

He lifted my hand to his lips, kissing where he burned me. “I promise to never hurt you again.”

Wanting to lighten the mood, I asked, “What if I want you to?”

He laughed. “You dirty princess.”