Page 5 of Balarr
The nurse turned around and approached Luna, then she reached into her pocket and withdrew a candy bar.She held it out to Luna, her eyes heavy with guilt.
“Take it,” she said softly.“Your dinner tray will be up shortly, but it’s meatloaf night, and the meatloaf they serve is always terribly dry.”She wrinkled her nose briefly.
Luna wished she were too proud to accept the gift, but she was suddenly starving.She reached out and took the candy bar, then found herself blinking back tears when the nurse smiled at her.
“Thank you,” Luna whispered, her throat tight.
“You’re very welcome.”The nurse turned and headed toward the door.After she exited the room, Luna heard the telltale click of the door being locked.
She hated the slightclickthe door made each time it was locked more than any other noise in this wretched facility.It was the sound of hopelessness.It reinforced the knowledge that she was a prisoner.
As she thought about the email from VAMOB, however, she began to feel more optimistic.Balarr.She’d been matched to a Vaxxlian warrior named Balarr.
She peered out the barred window, straining for a glimpse of the darkening sky.It was her understanding that most Vaxxlian warriors arrived on Earth aboard their own sleek spacecraft.Would she see his Vaxxlian cruiser when he arrived at the facility?
She set the candy bar aside and eased out of bed.A spasm of pain ripped through her chest when her feet hit the floor, but she breathed through it and finally managed to stand up.She slowly crossed the room to the window.
She peered at the first star of the night.
Please come find me, Balarr.
Please hurry.
Chapter3
Balarr guidedhis cruiser toward the coordinates provided to him by the Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides program.After traveling to Earth alongside Warrin and Lorrd, each piloting their own ship, they’d recently parted ways so they could retrieve their assigned human females.
As he flew through the thick smog above the state known as Colorado, he kept one eye on the radar screen.There were multiple areas of combat nearby—though thankfully, none were close enough to pose an immediate threat to Luna’s pickup location.
He'd sent a drone ahead to scout the area in question, and to his surprise, he’d found the place was a medical research facility called Zalora Biotech.Did she really live in the facility?If so, why?Perhaps she worked there, he reasoned, and something had happened to her real home.
As he traveled beyond a small city, the smog began to clear, and the huge building he was looking for finally came into sight against the backdrop of rocky snowcapped mountains.The building was located on a large, fenced-in property, and there appeared to be a guarded entrance for hover cars.
But he wasn’t driving a hover car, and his mate was likely expecting him, so he piloted his ship past the guarded entrance and over the fence.
Balarr’s pulse quickened.His assigned mate was inside that building.Luna.The female he’d never intended to apply for, yet he’d come to Earth to claim her anyway.
He thought of how he’d heard her name on the breeze in the forest outside Starrzia just yesterday, and to his surprise, his anticipation grew.
Though he hadn’t signed up for the VAMOB program, Balarr still found himself looking forward to meeting Luna.A human female.He could scarcely believe it—he was about to meet the human female who would belong to him until the end of his days.
He narrowed his gaze at the large white building.Zalora Biotech.He conducted a quick search of Earth’s databases, but he was unable to find a list of employees to see if Luna was among them.Well, if this was the pickup location she gave the VAMOB program, he assumed she worked here.Perhaps she was a scientist.
He landed his Vaxxlian cruiser, theCormma, on a flat expanse of land that rested next to a parking lot that contained dozens of hover cars.He drew in a deep breath and rose to his feet.Just as he approached the vessel’s exit, a strange feeling came over him—the same ominous coldness he used to experience during the war just before the Irrcons attacked.
With a growl, he glanced out the main viewport toward the building, but he didn’t glimpse anything amiss.Of course, there wasn’t much to see.Just a parking lot filled with hover cars and the large white building.No one was outside, and from his current vantage point, he couldn’t see inside any of the windows.
But as his gaze traveled upward, he noticed something odd.The windows on the top floor of the building were barred.The ominous feeling increased, and he reached for a blaster and a stunner, securing both weapons to his waistband.
He headed for the ship’s exit and issued a verbal command for the boarding ramp to open.He strode down the ramp, then called out an order for the ramp to close.As it folded back into the ship, two human males dressed in black rushed out of the building and headed in his direction.
One of them shouted something into a handheld comm device.A moment later, both human males drew their weapons on him.
An amused Balarr paused near his ship and took in the scene.Did they really think they could hurt him with those rudimentary blasters?He recognized the weapon design as something often sold at interstellar outposts—a cheap rip-off of Vaxxlian technology.He also knew from experience that such weapons, even on their highest setting, would barely cause him to flinch.
“Freeze!Hands up!”the tallest male shouted in Galactic Common.
Balarr laughed as the security guards came to a halt in front of him.He didn’t put his hands up, but he didn’t reach for the blaster or stunner on his hip yet either.Perhaps these two males could be reasoned with.Perhaps if he explained his purpose for visiting Zalora Biotech, they would put their weapons away and take him to Luna.
