Page 4 of Warrin
“Why are you smiling?”Balarr asked.
“I am thinking about my mate,” Warrin replied honestly.“I am thinking about our future together.”
“You haven’t even met the human female yet,” Lorrd said.“What if the two of you are not compatible?What if you’re too different?What if you’re not able to treat her as…gentlyas a human female expects to be treated?”
Warrin suspected Lorrd was talking about his own worries in regard to taking a mate, but he decided not to point it out.He also decided to share more about his plans for wooing his mate.Perhaps sharing his methods would help Lorrd and Balarr when it came time for them to claim their own females.
“Well, I intend to approach my mating union with Elora from a pragmatic standpoint—like a business arrangement.But just at first.Just until she becomes used to me and craves my touch.Clearly, she signed up for VAMOB because she wants to leave Earth, and I will help her do that.I will also provide her with any material things she might need.And yes, I realize there will likely be many differences between us, but it’s my hope that those differences will make things… interesting.Exciting.”
A long silence passed between them, and Balarr and Lorrd both appeared to be contemplating his words.Warrin remained quiet, allowing them to sort out their thoughts.
Balarr straightened.“Perhaps viewing the unions as business arrangements—initially—is a wise course of action.”
“We should leave now,” Lorrd said with a glance at the horizon, clearly wishing to end the conversation.
“All right, brothers,” Warrin said, unable to keep the eagerness from his voice.“Let us travel to Earth and find our mates.”
Chapter3
The building quaked,and Elora cast another worried glance outside, peering through the bullet holes in the boards that covered the nearest window.Rebel hovercrafts zipped through the sky, aiming beams of red at the U.S.military forces below.Armored tanks thundered down the street, shooting at the invaders in the sky.Several houses and businesses across town were aflame, and Elora didn’t know whether she should stay put or attempt to flee.
“What are you doing?Get away from the window!”Mr.Parker said.He rushed forward with his grandson, and after Elora stepped aside, they hurriedly replaced the bullet-riddled board with a new one.
“Sorry,” she muttered.“I just wanted to see what was going on.”She walked to the back of the diner and slipped into a booth.
With each boom, her fear increased.
She still couldn’t believe what was happening.
Two days ago as she was driving through this town—Grantville—someone fired at her solar car, causing her to crash into a parked hovercraft.After she’d fled her vehicle with nothing but the clothes on her back—and thankfully, her phone—she’d taken cover behind a nearby house.Then she’d watched helplessly as a rebel vessel flew overhead and destroyed what was left of her solar car, as well as all her belongings.
She’d eventually found refuge in Parker’s Diner.
She glanced around the restaurant.About a dozen people were hiding here—customers and employees who’d become trapped during the air raid.
How long would the fighting continue?
The emergency lights in the diner flickered, and Elora wondered how much longer they would last.Eventually, the diner would be plunged into darkness.And eventually, they would run out of food and water.
She couldn’t stay here forever, and even if the fighting stopped, she was still in a difficult place.She’d lost her solar car and all her belongings.Her funds were also frozen—standard protocol when an arrest warrant was issued—and she couldn’t even use her phone to pay for a hotel room or a cup of coffee.Even if she wanted to try to clear her name, she was too far away from Oakdale to return on foot.
She withdrew her phone from her pocket and pulled up her acceptance email from the Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides program, and her heart started racing.
Yesterday afternoon, during an especially loud and violent phase of the battle, she’d hastily applied for VAMOB.She’d received an acceptance email only an hour later.The email even included the name of the Vaxxlian warrior she’d been matched with.
Warrin.
According to the email, he would arrive soon to collect her.She prayed he would get here before the fighting grew more intense—or worse, the diner was destroyed.
Guilt settled over her as she looked around at all the frightened faces.She hadn’t told anyone that she’d signed up for VAMOB in a moment of desperation.She still couldn’t believe she’d done it; however, she didn’t see another way out.She hoped the others in the diner would survive the battle unscathed.
Not for the first time, she cursed Tobias’s name.She still couldn’t believe there was a warrant out for her arrest—shocking news Rory had texted her during her first full day on the road.She seriously doubted Oakdale or the surrounding precincts would bother trying to track her down, but just knowing Tobias had orchestrated such a plot filled her with heartache and anger.
Thoughts of Rory also filled Elora with guilt.She hadn’t answered her friend’s most recent texts, nor had she told her about her impending departure from Earth.She hoped to finally tell Rory once she was officially safe.If she confessed that she’d found herself in the middle of a war zone, Rory would only worry.
There were unanswered calls and texts from her parents and brother too—congratulatory messages, as well as requests for wedding photos.They still didn’t know what had happened.Again, she wanted to wait until she was somewhere safe before she contacted them.
Who would’ve guessed that “somewhere safe” would be New Vaxx?
