Page 4 of Charmed By the Alien Warrior

Maddie reaches to open the car door, and I stop her. “Hey, Mad.” She turns to me, her face solemn in the moonlight. “Listen, I’m really sorry about Connor. I know how much you cared for him. But you deserve so much more. You deserve someone who will treat you with respect. Someone who will love you. Someone who is just as amazing as you are.”

I don’t mention to her that I don’t really believe in love. That’s not something my heartbroken sister needs to hear right now. She needs hope and understanding, not my jaded view of relationships. But really, how could I have any other viewpoint after everything I saw with my mom? Love is just made-up stuff for romance novels and movies.

Except... sometimes, I wonder. When I see a couple check in to the hotel on their honeymoon, their eyes glued to each other, or I see couples walking hand-in-hand in the park. Maybe it does exist.

I shake my head as if I can shake the doubts away, and continue, “And the way he treated you wasn’t love. Connor is the one who will never be able to replace you, okay?”

Maddie nods her head and leans forward to give me a quick hug, whispering, “I love you, sis.”

I wrap my arms around her and a clear memory of the girl she used to be comes to me. Twelve years old with her arms wrapped tightly around me after I told her that our mom was gone. Tears come to my eyes, and I swiftly brush them away as we pull apart.

“Hey, I think there’s some rocky road ice cream in the freezer. Want to finish it with me?” I smile at her, and she returns it, wobbly though it is and I feel the weight lift off my heart.

Maddie is the only family I have left, and I hate seeing her in pain. It will take time to get over this breakup, but one day she will. And I’ll be here for her every step of the way.

Before either one of us can take more than a few steps toward the porch, a white light appears, illuminating the yard and house. The light isn’t just bright, it’s blinding. It burns into my retinas and drowns out everything else.

I squint and blink my eyes rapidly, trying to clear my vision. When I finally manage to see through the haze, I immediately wish I hadn’t.

There, standing just a few feet away, is a figure. It’s short—almost childlike in stature, but there’s nothing innocent about it. I can’t really make out any of its features, but somehow I know there’s something malevolent about it. A wave of cold dread washes over me, raising the hairs on my arms and locking the breath in my chest.

Maddie gasps as she sees it, too. I try to turn my head to look at her and tell her to run. That’s when I realize that I can’t. I’m frozen in place.

The light, which has been steadily glowing, suddenly blinks off, plunging us into pitch black darkness. For a brief, dizzying moment, the absence of light is disorienting, like stepping into a void.

But then the light flashes back on, and somehow it’s brighter and more piercing this time.

White-hot pain explodes in my head. I hear my sister cry out and I assume she must be experiencing the same thing. It sounds like she’s miles away, but I know she’s just feet away from me. I want to go to her, but I can’t. I can’t even turn my head to check on her.

Then, the shadowy figure moves closer, and I try to focus my eyes on it as its features somehow become clear despite the blinding light. Large, unblinking black eyes stare at me from a gray face, studying me as if I’m a bug under a microscope.

Oh my God, aliens are real.That’s my last thought before blackness appears at the edges of my vision, pulling me under until I pass out.

Chapter 1

Mara

“I want to go.” I speak up, my voice stronger than I expected, and raise my hand high to make sure I’m seen in the small crowd that has gathered.

The group of aliens and humans goes silent, their eyes glued to me. Most of them look at me as if I've lost my mind. And maybe I have, but the chief of the Anuriix tribe, Daggir, only nods his head before moving on to ask for more volunteers.

Draggar, the chief's first warrior and son and mate to my friend, Haley, stands beside him with the usual unflinching, stoic expression on his broad face while Haley shoots me an encouraging smile. I try to return it, but it feels shaky.

Isabella elbows me in the side. “You’re really going?” She whispers, her brown eyes wide.

I nod, not trusting my voice.

She studies my face for a moment like she's searching for something. Whatever it is, she must find it because she lets out a determined huff and squares her shoulders.

"Then I'm going too.” Before I can respond, Isabella raises her hand high, just like I did, and calls out, “I want to go on the mission,too.”

What the hell are we doing?

I can't speak for Isabella, but the person I was back on Earth would not do something like this—volunteering to travel across a hostile planet, one that is teeming with deadly creatures and aliens, just to search for other humans that we aren't even sure are out there. Or still alive if they are.

The old Mara was cautious. Maybe too cautious.

I never ventured outside my comfort zone. I buried myself in work and crime statistics and bad memories to prove to myself that the world was a scary place and I was better off protecting myself. I was convinced that if I was prepared enough, I could control the chaos of the world.

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