Page 86 of Alien's Eternal Mate

She turned, those mesmerizing eyes locking onto mine. "Flatterer," she teased, but I saw the pleased flush creeping up her neck.

The memory faded, leaving me alone in my sterile apartment. I slammed my fist on the desk, anger and grief warring inside me.

"Dammit, Arael," I whispered, my voice breaking. "How am I supposed to do this without you?"

I stood up abruptly, pacing the small room. My eyes landed on the lumina horn sitting on a shelf. I'd managed to recreate a crude version of it, but it was a pale imitation of the real thing.

With trembling hands, I picked it up, bringing it to my lips. The light show that emerged was clumsy and disjointed, nothing like the beautiful patterns Arael could create. But as I played, pouring my heart into the discordant notes, I felt a little closer to her.

When I finally lowered the horn, my cheeks were wet with tears I hadn't realized I'd shed. The loss hit me anew, a gaping wound that refused to heal.

"I love you, Arael," I whispered to the empty room. "Always. And forever. Until the stars refuse to shine."

Only emptiness answered me back.

"What's the point?" I asked the empty room. "No proof, no credibility. Just the ramblings of a man who claims to have lived another life."

But even as doubt gnawed at me, I knew I couldn't stop. The Masari, my family, Arael – they deserved to be remembered. So I'd keep writing, keep documenting, hoping that someday, somehow, the truth would come out.

TWENTY-EIGHT

CARTER

Chapter 28

On a sunny day some six months after I was shipped off to Glimner, I shuffled out of the casino, missing my tail. It had been years, but I still felt as if I had phantom limb syndrome.

“What are you doing?” a female voice asked.

“Oh, nothing,” I said, pulling my gaze from my own behind. “I thought I sat in something….”

I stared into the most beautiful set of twilight purple eyes I’d ever seen. There was no way.

The eyes I had dreamed about for so long. That I had lived with for so much of my life as a Masari.

“Arael?” I breathed.

“Hmm? Oh, I’m afraid not. My name is Liara. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before.”

I blinked, trying to shake off the sudden surge of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. Those eyes... they were so familiar, yet different. My heart raced, and I had to remind myself that this wasn't Arael. Couldn't be Arael.

"I, uh... I work at the casino," I managed to stammer out, gesturing vaguely behind me. "Accounting."

Liara's lips curved into a smile that sent a jolt through my system. "Ah, a numbers man. No wonder you look so... intense."

I chuckled, the sound rusty from disuse. "Yeah, well, staring at screens all day will do that to you."

She tilted her head, studying me with those mesmerizing eyes. "You seem... different from the other humans I've met here."

"Trust me, I'm as human as they come," I said, wincing internally at the irony. "Just your average Joe trying to make ends meet on this rock."

"I don't believe that for a second," Liara said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "There's something about you, Carter Reed. Something... extraordinary."

I froze. "How do you know my name?"

Her eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, I could've sworn I saw a flicker of... recognition? But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"Oh, I don't actually know. I just somehow knew. I... I must have overheard it somewhere in the casino," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "This place isn't as big as it seems, you know."

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