Page 31 of An Alien for the Future

He wants proof. A core-rhythm that’s singing. A positive result from these tests they’re doing. I have neither.

My chest heaves as I take in the room.

There are too many Kari, and every single one of them wants my Donna, hopes she is theirs. She is in danger.

I level my gaze with the Saffion one last time before I turn and leave. I thought my resolve to camp out in those plains was sure. Now it is even more critical that I do.

I have to get out there and protect the female who has made my existence pivot. Donna has created a new path for my life. One I won’t let any of these hungry males walk over. She is mykahland when my core-rhythm awakens, even if she still rejects me then, I will stay by her side, protecting her until I have no more breath to.

9

DONNA

Stupid, stupid, Donna.

Seems like that bad luck that haunted me back in the States has followed me to this frickin’ hoohaa planet off in the middle of nowhere.

Dammit! I thrust the knife so hard it goes right through my bluebread and lodges in the counter. Trying to dislodge it only makes me more pissed off.

‘You’re my kahl.’ Must have taken me for a damn fool. How confident was he to say that out loud and think I’d fall for it? How naive do I look?

One whole day has passed and I’m still so angry about it all that it’s the single thing I can think about.

I’m so annoyed, I leave the bluebread with the knife still stuck in it and storm into the bathroom, my mood going even lower when I catch sight of myself in the mirror.

A whole day has passed, and I’m still fuming. Fuming because I let this vagrant get under my skin. Yes, he was a handsome vagrant. Strong too. He made me laugh and yes, my heart was beating all sorts of strange in those few days in his presence, but—

“Goodness, Donna. You sure know how to pick them.” I frown at myself. Just as I’d told myself before, generosity doesn’t always bring you blessings. I shouldn’t have been so kind.

Releasing a breath, I run my hand through the two-strand twists I’d done after the hours it took to wash, condition, and detangle my hair. Who on Earth told me it was a good idea to frolic in the mud like some child? I don’t know why I did it. Why I allowed him to pull me into the muck with him. Just another bad decision I can add to the long list of experiences with the males in my life.

Whatever had come over me, it’s gone now though, thank God.

I didn’t think he would listen. To be honest, when I told him to leave my property, my heart was hammering in my chest. My prevailing thought was to get inside and grab hold of a knife, just in case. I was hanging on to that stern facade, praying to every saint I could remember that he wouldn’t turn violent at the rejection.

I’ve seen that kind of anger before. The kind that simmers in a man’s eyes when he thinks he’s entitled to your time, your attention, your…everything. I wasn’t about to become a statistic, some cautionary tale whispered among the women of the Initiative.

But he’d left. Didn’t fight. Didn’t curse. That utter look of pain I thought I’d seen in his eyes might actually have been real. I’ve seen no sign of Tovan Kamesh in the day that’s passed and that’s just fine. My farm is quiet again. My life is quiet. And I am happy.

I force a smile in the mirror before turning away and heading to the front of the cottage. My comm beeps as I pass it and I ignore it. Probably the hundredth notification about some matching program New Horizons has developed. Something about a blood sample to match with a Kari mate.

Xarion has been trying to get my attention from the day before. Even left a long video message explaining the process. But he said it was voluntary, so I ain’t volunteering.

Yea, no thank you.

Inhaling a breath of fresh air as I step out on my porch, I take in the clear pink sky above me. Another day, some more work to be done. If the interaction with Tovan Kamesh taught me anything, it’s that I need to get this farm up and running. Need it to be bringing in credits to support my life here. Because, unlike Catherine and Eleanor, I have no mate to help carry this weight. And I sure as hell don’t want one.

I step off the porch, grabbing the bucket I’d left there earlier, and head across the field. The ground is still partly wet, causing my boots to sink a bit with each step, but I trudge through it without a bother. I’m really settling into this farm thing, aren’t I. The fresh air, the sound of the animals, the soothing peace.

It’s a huge effort to push away my anger, my sadness. To face the day. Topretend. But I need to distract myself.

It starts as a hum before the song bubbles in my throat.(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bayby Otis Redding. It’s a good song, one that immediately eases some of the strain, and I bob my head as I go.

My voice rises and I let the notes carry across the wind. Out here, no one can tell me it’s a waste of time and that I need to focus on a job that pays.

I’m singing, feeling the rhythm as I walk through the field when something catches the corner of my eye. My head turns on instinct, even before I realize what I’m looking at.

The song slowly dies in my throat as I frown.

---