Page 3 of Warrin
Chapter2
Warrin stoodnext to his Vaxxlian cruiser, impatience simmering in his chest.It was time to depart New Vaxx for Earth, yet his oldest friends, Lorrd and Balarr, were nowhere to be seen.He growled under his breath, casting an irritated glance at their cruisers, both parked neatly beside his on the shared landing platform between their homes.
He narrowed his eyes at Lorrd’s dwelling, then glared at Balarr’s, silently willing the males to emerge.The sun had just crested the horizon, bathing the city of Starrzia, the main settlement on New Vaxx, in brilliant gold and orange hues.They were supposed to leave together—each piloting his own ship—to retrieve the human females the Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides program had recently chosen for them.
Anxious to finally claim a mate, Warrin had risen long before sunrise.He’d gotten dressed in his newest warrior’s uniform, then he’d walked from room to room in his home, making sure everything looked perfect.He wanted his human female—a woman named Elora who lived in a place called Tennessee—to be impressed by his home.
His gaze fell on his dwelling, a large three-story structure of white stone.It contained twelve bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a library, a playroom for future children, and several sitting rooms and storage areas.A rooftop garden also flourished with many fruits and vegetables native to Vaxxlia.He hoped Elora would find both the house and the garden pleasing.
Elora.His heart raced at the thought of her.
What did she look like?
Why had she signed up for the VAMOB program?
He lifted his wrist comm and opened the acceptance message he’d received from VAMOB just yesterday, even though he’d already memorized its contents.The message included her full name—Elora Morningstar—and stated she was twenty-six years old, and said her hobbies included reading, listening to music, and painting.Aside from her pickup location, an address in central Tennessee, there was nothing else.
Still, she’d signed up for the VAMOB program.She needed a husband—a mate.Was she lonely?Was she eager to start a family?
A darker possibility crossed his mind.Was she in need of rescue?It was well-known that many human females applied to VAMOB to escape the dangerous conditions on Earth—war, disease, famine, drought, and environmental collapse.Impatience pricked at him as he imagined the worst.If Lorrd and Balarr didn’t come out soon, he would barge into their homes and drag them out himself.
As if summoned by his thoughts, both males finally emerged from their homes.Also dressed in their newest and finest warrior uniforms, they approached the landing platform where Warrin waited in silence.
Their troubled expressions were impossible to miss, and their grim moods stood in stark contrast to Warrin’s eagerness to claim a human female.A deep frown marred Balarr’s face—the widowed male was probably still angry that a commander had enrolled him in the VAMOB program behind his back.And a similar frown shadowed Lorrd’s features, though Warrin wasn’t certain why the male was so reluctant to claim a mate.Perhaps it was because a part of Lorrd had never returned from the war, and the darkness of battle clung to him still, evident in the haunted depths of his eyes.
Warrin knew the darkness of war—and the pain of loss—all too well.He’d lost his parents and sisters, as well as many extended family members and friends.All of them gone in a flash of unconscionable violence when the Irrcons destroyed Vaxxlia.But in the aftermath of the war and the destruction of his home planet, he'd thrown himself into his work as an exo-agrobotanist.He’d focused on creating—helping genetically modified crops thrive on New Vaxx and trying to create a better world for his people… and the human female he’d hoped to one day acquire.
As his friends stepped onto the platform, Warrin sent up a quiet prayer to the Star God, asking that the three of them find happiness in their impending mating unions.Now that the war was over and his people had vanquished the remaining Irrcons to distant sectors of space, he wanted nothing more than to start over.
The discovery of New Vaxx was a fresh, promising start, but they needed more females.Not only was it necessary to quell the loneliness many warriors were experiencing, but they needed to procreate as quickly as possible and grow their population.If they didn’t procreate, their numbers would eventually diminish to the point that they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves—a possibility that was many years ahead, but one that must be considered.
Warrin nodded at Balarr and Lorrd.“Good morning.I’d started to worry neither of you was coming.”
Balarr and Lorrd exchanged a look of commiseration.
The three of them had always been close.They’d grown up on the same street in a remote mountain settlement on Vaxxlia, and eventually, they’d attended warrior training together.During the war, they were even stationed in the same unit.
But Warrin suddenly felt like he didn’t quite belong.He also felt like it was his duty to help his friends see the positives of taking a mate, and he searched his mind for something he might say to change their outlook.
“I know you’re both reluctant to claim a human female,” he eventually said.“But you must consider how blessed we are to have been matched with women from Earth.You must consider how fortunate our people are to have discovered humans—the only alien race with whom we are sexually compatible.As we already talked about yesterday, the females who sign up for VAMOB are often desperate to escape Earth.Your mates—Luna from Colorado, and Wren from Virginia—will likely be relieved and happy to see you.”
Balarr and Lorrd exchanged another look that made Warrin feel even more out of place.But to his relief, as they stood on the landing platform and the sun beamed down brightly upon them, their expressions softened somewhat.
“I am still coming to terms with what Commander Marrx did,” Balarr said.“However, I intend to treat my mate well, and I want her to feel welcome on our planet—and welcome in my home.Our home.”
Warrin smiled.“I am glad to hear it.”Then he peered at Lorrd with a questioning look, waiting to see if the quietest among them would offer any assurances that he would strive to make the best of his mating union with a human female.
Lorrd heaved a sigh.“I’m not going to mistreat my mate, if that is what you are worried about,” he said in a biting tone.“Perhaps I will not coddle her as much as you will likely coddle your mate, Warrin, but I will take care of her to the best of my ability.I will find her, claim her, and bring her back to New Vaxx.I signed up for VAMOB, didn’t I?”
“Well, if you hadn’t signed up, Commander Marrx would’ve probably meddled in your life next,” Balarr said with a growl.
Warrin wanted to throttle them both.Lonely beyond measure, he’d spent many moon cycles hoping and praying that VAMOB would match him with a human female.Yesterday afternoon, he’d finally received an acceptance message, along with an apology note for the delay in processing his application due to a glitch on the Intergalactic Dating Agency’s end that had held things up.
He couldn’t fathom not being grateful for being paired with a human female—a woman he would claim and remain faithful to until the end of his days.Warmth flowed through him as he imagined bringing Elora home and carrying her to his bedroom—their bedroom.
Would they eventually fall in love?
How many children would they have?
