Page 31 of Soren

"I'll take care of you, Lara. I will always take care of you and give you everything that you need. Everything that you want. You'll learn our ways and our customs, and in return, you'll have a more devoted mate than you could ever ask for."

"Thank you...Soren." I curl up against him, so small under his massive body, and listen to his heart beat. We may be on an alien world, but the beat of his heart is as strong and vital as ever. I'm too tired, too overwhelmed to speak, so I close my eyes and let my body do the talking.

WONDERMENT

SOREN

After my mate and I recover and clean ourselves, I pull her up onto Cali and we set off. I let her choose the place, so we're going to go see all of the things she pointed out from the windows back at the cottage.

I'm excited to show and tell her more about my planet. My heart leaps in my chest every time she gasps in wonderment. The ruddy flush of her cheeks and the way she points out everything we pass doesn't get old. She seems genuinely interested in what I have to say.

Even after our little 'learning opportunity' back at the stables, she doesn't hold it against me. She knows it's for the best, and it's not like she didn't enjoy herself as well.

My lips curl up into a grin. The way she looked, sagging against me as I spanked her pretty little bottom again and again... My cock throbs just at the thought of it. But there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I want to show her just how vast and wondrous my world truly is.

Each couple signed up for the surrogacy program has their own cottage and plot of land. They say it's for the women's safety, but it's just as much for ours. I smell other males in the air, but they're far off now.

No one to steal away my sweet Lara. I alone get to enjoy the swell of her curves and the taste between her thighs. Only I get to hear her sounds of pleasure and her cries of delight. I know that it won't always be like this, but for now, it's...nice.

We walk down a shaded trail toward a waterfall. Birds and butterflies flutter past us, painting the forest in shades of red, yellow, and green. It seems so normal, so natural to me, but to Lara this is like something out of a fairy tale. She will come to get used to it in time, but I'm going to enjoy every squeal of surprise while I can.

"This is so beautiful..." Lara sighs.

"It is, my sweet. And I promise, you will get to see it all."

The path opens up to a shallow pool and an overhanging rock formation. The rush of the waterfall drowns out all other noise, splashing down the rocks and into the pool below. Near the shore, brightly colored little fish zip back and forth. They use their huge tail fins to propel themselves out of the water in a dazzling display. "Oh my gosh!" Lara covers her mouth, watching them splash and jump over one another. It's like the most intricate fountain show, but with live fish instead. I knew she'd love it. "They're so cute!"

And that's only one stop on our tour.

She leans back against me as we ride. I know she doesn't realize, but the swell of her ass and the sweet, soft scent of her so close has me hanging on by a thread. It's not the alpha rut anymore that seized me with such fierce abandon, but something deeper. It sits at the very core of my being, an omnipresent partner.

A friend.

That's when it hits me. The feelings that poured out of me the first time we mated weren't just a surge of hormones driving me to spill into the nearest female. It was more than that, and it stayed with me to this day.

Lara is my heartmate. She has to be. My one and only. My star amidst a moonless night.

She nestles in closer to me, oblivious to my thoughts. When I signed the contract for the ISA, I didn't know what to expect. A willing vessel for my child. That was it. That was the bare minimum, and that's all they promised.

But Lara...

She's so much more than that. She's soft, and kind, and beautiful...

She makes me want to shout to the stars how much I love her. And all at the same time, she makes me want to hide her away from the world and keep her to myself forever.

It's in this moment of blissful, radiant revelation that I know she's the one for me. Already I can see her amidst our people, a babe on her breast and another in her belly. I can already tell she will be a wonderful mother. I hear the emotion in her voice when she talks about her family. About her life on Earth.

And that's precisely the reason that I'll never be able to truly have her. She likely doesn't feel the same, and even if she did, a contract is a contract.

Lara came here to lay with me, a total stranger, in exchange for food and resources. That was it. The circumstances were dire down on Earth, and I could provide everything she ever needed and more here on my planet.

But it wasn't that simple. With the same conviction that told me she was my fated one, I held another, secret fear in my heart.

That if she had to choose between me and her family down on Earth, she would leave, and I would never see her again.

POSITIVE PREGNANCY TEST

LARA

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