Page 23 of Revealed

“Who is that?” Bryce walked toward the flat screen, his shoes crunching over the broken glass.

"I am High Commander Kax of the Drexian Empire. We come to you today in peace, and with an explanation long overdue."

Bryce put a hand to his cheek. “Are these the aliens who attacked us? Well, I’m sorry, but they’re gorgeous.”

“They didn’t attack us,” I said as I sank onto my couch. “It was the Kronock who did that, and they look like giant lizards.”

My friend swung his head to me, his eyes wide. “How do you know that? Did you see them?”

I shook my head. “Maxxon told me. He’s Drexian.”

Bryce ping ponged his head between me and the TV. “Tall, Dark, and Hunky is one of them?” He dropped his voice as if someone might overhear him. “He’s an alien?”

“Yeah.” I did not want to think about Maxxon, but I had to explain. “But the Drexians are the good guys.” Then I thought about Maxxon’s job of taking women from Earth without their permission. “Kind of.”

"For years, we have protected your planet from threats you could not have imagined," Kax continued. "And in return, some of your women have come to our world as brides for our warriors, helping to ensure the survival of both our species."

That was one way to put it, I thought.

Bryce shook his head. “I can’t believe it. Aliens are real and they’ve been coming to Earth all this time.” He sucked in air. “That means my Aunt Myrna was right when she said she was visited by aliens and probed. Well, now I feel bad for telling everyone she was crazy.”

“I don’t think they’ve been probing random people,” I said, although I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about that. “From what Maxxon said, they only take a select number of compatible females. And they don’t return them.”

As I listened to Kax explain the tribute bride program, I was relieved to have everything Maxxon had told me confirmed. I hadn’t thought he was lying, but hearing it broadcast to the world made it real, although no less bizarre.

Bryce put a hand on his hips. “They only take women? Talk about unfair.”

A laugh burst from my lips. “You want to be abducted by an alien?”

He flapped a hand at the TV. “If they look like that, hell yeah. Where do I sign up?”

He had a point. I had only seen a few Drexians, but none of them had been short of stunning.

"You know," Bryce wagged a finger at me, “I’ll bet everyone's going to want to be a tribute now. Forget having to abduct women, they'll have to beat them off with a stick!"

Now that I thought about it, he was probably right. The idea of big, brawny aliens and living on a fancy space station far surpassed most women’s lives on Earth. Then it hitme. Maxxon's job of procuring tribute brides would become obsolete. He'd have no reason to return to Earth.

I gave my head a quick shake. I didn’t know that would happen, even if I did suspect that everything was going to be changing—how the Drexians found brides, how the two species interacted, how Earth adjusted to the reality of living with aliens.

“So, where’s your alien hottie?” Bryce asked, twisting to take in the whole of my apartment. “Did he get first shower?”

“He’s gone,” I said, quickly before my voice could crack. “He went back to his space station.”

“Space station?” Bryce let out a low whistle and turned back to the press conference and the Drexian still explaining their culture and peaceful mission. At least my friend was too caught up in the dramatic reveal to notice the lump forming in my throat or the tears welling behind my eyes.

I turned away from him, feeling something wet on my hand. It was the dog, nudging me with his nose. I scratched behind his ears, grateful for the simple comfort of his presence and the fact that he’d seemed to sense my sadness.

"It's okay, boy," I murmured. “It’s all going to be okay."

Even as I tried to banish thoughts of Maxxon from my mind, I couldn’t help wondering what he was doing. Had he reached his space station yet? Was he thinking of me at all? Or had I already faded into the background of his memory, just another human he'd encountered on his missions?

No, he wouldn’t forget me so soon, I told myself. Even so, there was no use dwelling on things I would never know. The world was changing, and I needed to move on too.

I rubbed the dog’s head as he nuzzled his face against my leg, glancing at Bryce and then at Dinah, who had moved from under the table to perch on the arm of the couch. At least I wasn’t totally alone. That was something.

I knelt down and put my hands on both sides of the dog’s furry face. “I think I’ll call you Drex.”

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