Ark: A Scifi Alien Romance by Lucy Snow Page A

justice.

CHAPTER 04 - ARK

    For the first time in my life, I woke up with more than one purpose. Before that day I had dedicated my life to the empire, traveling throughout its vast reaches and doing the High Command’s bidding without a second question, relishing in my ability to get the job done and further empire’s interests.

    That ache to lead my men, that need to serve my people still burned within me this morning as I lay on the slab in my room at the station. But alongside it was a new purpose, a new goal.

    I had known from the moment I had laid eyes on her that this Melissa Crane of Earth was to be my mate for the rest of my life. And now, for the first time, I was no longer able to push down the weight in my chest that called out to me when I saw mated pairs together. The voice inside told me that I should find the same thing, but I had always quelled that voice, and moved on with my life, toward the next lonely place the empire needed my services.

    This was different, though. Melissa Crane of Earth was different. Of course, she was human - never in my wildest fever dreams had I thought that a non-Kreossian woman would capture the huge heart that beat in my chest.  

    It had taken all of my will to be able to control myself around her. The turmoil that had coursed through my veins had threatened to derail the control I had so meticulously tried to cultivate, under Admiral Kaalax’ tutelage. It had not been an easy process.  

    On the one hand, I thought as I stared up at the ceiling, it was a relief to know that I wasn’t some sort of aberration - a Kreossian unable to love, unable to feel the power that love could create in a warrior of my species. I had almost begun to believe that I was different from all the rest, that my dedication to my people had meant that I would never be able to find love, that I would be doomed to roam the empire, traveling from battle to battle, gathering glory and conquest but not being able to share it with anyone.

    Now that had all changed. I knew for a definite fact that my love did exist, that I had somewhere to place all the emotions and feelings that welled up inside me. That was a relief.

    But at the same time, she was a…human woman! How could this have happened? I knew better by now than to question my instincts, but at the same time, this was almost intolerable.  

    Still, I mused as I turned over to my side and looked out the giant porthole into the vast reaches of space, stars shining their unblinking light back at me, messages from eons ago, she was beautiful. She was definitely fit and healthy or the humans would not have let her accompany Ambassador Fuller on a trip like this, but even so I knew that next to me she was positively frail.

    That quality had never appealed to me in a potential mate before, but now after seeing Melissa, after feeling her touch, I could understand how my pulse quickened when she drew close, how my mouth dried up when she looked at me. I felt an overwhelming need to protect her, and I couldn’t explain why.

    Of course, I laughed mirthlessly to myself in the empty room, it was because she was to be my mate, even if she didn’t know it yet. I could already feel my body changing, accommodating the discovery of my mate, the need to keep her close growing.

    Of course, I would have to tell her soon. She would no doubt be wary of the entire idea, especially given the rather lax culture of love that had grown on her planet since they found out they were not alone in the universe. I was sure that Melissa Crane of Earth would warm up to the notion soon enough. Despite the tale she had woven about the short term relationships on Earth, Melissa did not seem like the type to just flit from man to man.  

    And though I had enjoyed the company of women of many species across the empire, it had never been meaningful. Not like I could already anticipate coupling with Melissa to be. The hardness I had woken up with pulsed as I thought of