Page 56 of An Alien for the Future

What if I hadn’t been here?

Frakk.

I lean back, the water sloshing as I adjust my frame. The wounds and bruises beneath my scales don’t even concern me as I listen to my female move. Knowing she must be frightenedis tearing at me. Not knowing what she will do after this is even worse.

I’m tense, all my muscles tight, when the door to the washroom opens and my lira’an steps in. Her gaze finds me immediately, her brows twisting.

“How are you feeling?”

She’s brought heavy pieces of fabric, ‘toh-wells’ as she calls them, and there are round tins of ointment in her arms. A warmth immediately floods through me. She’s caring for me, even though she must be rattled by that other Kari’s sudden appearance.

But the warmth that suddenly rises within me quickly recedes. Because this is my Donna. She will care for me even if she will cast me away later. That is simply her nature. She is too good to let me bleed and suffer. Even if I deserve it.

That other Kari was right.

There are many others, many that have flocked to our small town, that deserve akahlmore than I do. He was right. I—

“Tovan.” Donna crouches, setting the things down as her soft claws skim over my chest, her soft digits rubbing away the blood that’s stuck beneath my scales. “You’re bleeding, but I can’t see the wound.”

Her fingers tremble and my core-organ aches.

I could end all this. This waiting. This ache. If I could just force my core-rhythm to sing, then it would all become clear. The others would leave her alone. They wouldn’t dare come to her farm on the off chance that she could still be claimed.

I could protect her with just my name, my lifeblood. All would know she is mine.

But my core-rhythm won’t activate. It…frakk.

I growl a little, my frustration evident. Evident enough for Donna’s fingers to stop moving against my scales. Her brown eyes shift to mine, searching.

“You’re hurt. I’m worried.”

I shift my body, and the water sloshes over the rim of the tiny bath, soaking her garments. She doesn’t even blink. Her other claw touches the water too, her touch as light as the wind as she brushes her digits across my jaw.

“You have to tell me this will heal. Like your foot did. You know, your magical alien mojo.” She grunts a soft laugh, but it’s different from the other times she’s laughed before. Almost hesitant. She’s…unsure. Scared even.

“I will heal.” I press a claw over the one she has resting on my chest. “It is minor, the injury.”

She nods, her digits shifting underneath mine. “Good.”

She doesn’t pull her claw away, and the one that’s gently brushing my jaw remains there too. Of all the times for my shaft to grow hard, now is the worst of them. It does so, anyway.

“I am sorry, lira’an. I was tending to your outbuilding. I wanted to clear it out for your oogas.” I pause, fighting the growing thing between my thighs as all my attention wants to go to how her soft claws feel against my scales. “I should have heard him sooner.”

“It’s not your fault. He’s a prick.”

That translates to him being a big, hard cock, and I’m tempted to reset my translator again.

“I’m happy you were here…” She doesn’t meet my gaze but the words alone settle something inside me. She doesn’t hate the fact that this male arrived because of my own body’s failing? She is too forgiving. Even of a male like me. “And you’re not undeserving.”

My whole being stills and she notices.

“Tovan…”

I can’t face her. Shame burns in my throat, a bitter taste. “You don’t know—”

“About the war? No. You’re right. I don’t know. But I come from a planet that’s seen its share of conflict, too.”

This makes me look up, meeting her eyes. Donna takes a deep breath before continuing. “My brother...he was in the Air Force. I saw firsthand how hard it was on him, the toll it took. The nightmares, the guilt, the struggle to adjust to civilian life afterward.” Her gaze meets mine. “I didn’t see your war, but I know you must go through the same thing. War leaves scars, Tovan, and not all of them are visible.”

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