Page 21 of Alien King Crashes the Wedding

He took a deep breath, and knowing he was about to make the situation worse, he continued. “We do not need to fix anything because nothing is broken. We will not be ‘dating’, where any man can come along and steal you from me, and believe me, little one, when I say that I have every confidence in what you call my ‘super-sperm’. It is too soon to know without a very sophisticated test we use back on Caldor, but it is entirely possible that you conceived this evening.” He reached out to touch her but she pushed his hand away. She looked more and more like a thunderous cloud with each passing moment.

“Trust in me,” Dagan soothed. “Let me take care of you. We will have a binding ceremony and you will see that everything will work out fine. We are meant to be together. You know it as well as I,” he said reassuringly as he tried to calm her.

Hot tears fell like unchecked raindrops down Sasha’s delicate cheeks and splashed on the ground as she leaned over to shove her tiny feet into her boots. Every tear felt like a stab to his chest. She didn’t bother with her socks and took off as soon as her feet were in, laces be damned.

Dagan sighed and began to dress. So much for walking in together and announcing her as his future queen. He needed a new plan. He adjusted his pants, then shook the debris from the cloak and commanded it to return to its previous shape. He quickly put it on along with his shoes, and was heading toward the campsite when the tiny communicator buzzed in his ear. He combed through his hair with his fingers, “Yes?”

“Your majesty,” Vander’s voice crackled in his ear, “She skirted the camp and is headed down the other side. Cassiel is following discreetly behind. Do you want us to stop her?”

“No. Just make sure she makes it safely back to her hotel room,” Dagan sighed.

“Understood.”

Chapter Eighteen

Bang. Bang. Bang. “Just open the door already, Sasha.”Bang. Bang. Bang. “It’s not nice to make a pregnant lady stand so long.”Bang. Bang. Bang.“Come on, let me in. Why didn’t you come back to the base the other night? You’ve been holed up in your hotel room long enough. I'm getting worried about you. Dagan is worried, too.”Bang. Bang. Bang.“If you don’t want to talk, just open the door so I can see that you’re all right. Please?”

“No,” Sasha finally responded weakly as she leaned against the closed door. “I’m sick. You need to stay away so the baby doesn’t get it.”

“No. I think you’re just avoiding the situation. Dagan told us what’s going on, and that you’re having a hard time adjusting to some of the Caldorian ways. If it helps, I think it’s terrific you picked Cam’s best friend. I knew you two would hit it off, and it’s obvious how much he’s into you, too. Open the door and we can talk about it all day if you want. Nothing is going on at the base until later tonight, so I’m all ears. Just open up,” Rachel pleaded.

“I can’t,” Sasha moaned. “I really can’t. I’m burning up and I think I might be hallucinating. Please go back to the base now. I’m sure I’ll be better in time for your binding ceremony tomorrow.”

“You are the most stubborn person alive, Sasha Montgomery,” huffed Rachel as she awkwardly lowered herself into a sitting position on the floor. “Have it your way.” She reached into her over-sized purse and pulled out a baggie stuffed with dried fruit and an extra-large bottle of water. “I brought snacks.”

Sasha smiled weakly. Rachel was the best, and if she didn’t feel so terrible, she would have opened the door. She slowly walked back to the hotel bed and pulled the plain blue comforter and all the pillows off and dumped them near the door. She knew Rachel didn’t believe she was sick, and there would be no convincing her without opening the door, which she couldn’t do.

Sasha snuggled into the pillows and wrapped the comforter around herself like a cocoon. “Are you still there?” she said through the layers, her voice muffled.

“You know I am,” Rachel replied gently. They sat in companionable silence until Sasha finally spoke first.

“Did you know the men on Caldor get to decide when to have kids and how many and how often? That their women have no say?”

“Cam told me that it’s a mutual decision, and that it’s always made from the heart. Do you really think Dagan would deny you a baby if you really wanted one? Or trick you into having one you don’t want?”

“What if I’m already pregnant? What if he’s right and it happened already? And why didn’t you tell me how their culture works when I asked you?”

“Oh, sweetheart, if you’re pregnant then we can celebrate and be pregnant together, just like we planned when we were kids.” Rachel grinned as she added, “Dagan told me you shared that with him at dinner the other night when he asked you about children. You even told him you wanted a big family.”

“Well, I didn’t know he would take it as permission to get started!” Sasha grinned weakly at the sound of Rachel’s laughter through the door.

Rachel took a long drink of water and replaced the lid. “Well, to be fair, he offered you a choice. You were the one to insist he prove his manliness and ability to procreate first,” she chuckled. “Even if you didn’t know that was what you were doing.”

Sasha groaned. “Don’t remind me of my stupidity. I’ve been mentally replaying every conversation we’ve ever had since we met. I feel like one of those romance characters who are just too stupid to live.”

“Well, then I’m right there with you, girlfriend! Or have you not noticed the bowling ball under my shirt?” Rachel asked, her voice full of humor. When Sasha remained quiet, she asked, “What’s the real issue here, love?”

“It probably won’t matter soon, but what if he doesn’t love me?” A single tear escaped, only to evaporate on her feverish cheek before it could drip on her pillow.

“Of course he loves you, silly! I told you it happened fast for Cam and me, and the same has happened to the two of you. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about these Caldorians, it’s that they fall hard and fast. He loves you. He wants to marry you and have babies with you.”

“But he never said it.”

“Look. These men aren’t like the jerks you’ve dated before. So many guys we knew were all talk. Caldorians are different. They’re ninety-nine percent action. They don’t say they love you with words because they say it with their actions. He loves you, Sasha!”

“Maybe you’re right,” she said weakly as her eyes glazed over with fever.

“I’m right, so if that’s why you’ve been cooped up in here for two days, I have to say I’m relieved! I really thought it was because you were freaking out about the whole royalty thing. I was actually really worried when I first realized how serious it was between you two. I thought for sure you would hate the thought of being in the public eye all the time and decided to hide out for the rest of your life.”

---