Page 37 of Soren

There, kept safe ever since I reached manhood, is a small black box. My mother, before she passed on, told me to open it once I found someone worth fighting for.

I was young, brash, and stupid back then. I cared only about proving myself in battle and had no idea what she was talking about. Now, as I hold her parting gift in my hands, I finally know what she meant.

We don't fight simply for the sake of it. I put my all into defending my home and my people because it was the right thing to do, yes. But now I realize what it's all for. To keep her safe. To raise our child. To pass on my legacy.

I crack open the lid to the box and there it is. An intricate silver ring inlaid with a single moonstone. Ancient runes encircle the band with our family's creed. The ring hangs heavy in my palm, but it's not because of the metal. The sheer emotional weight of it washes over me as I think back to my younger years. This is the very same ring my mother wore during her mating ceremony.

The same she gave to me to pass on to my chosen one, when the time came.

It's perfect.

Turning it over in my hands, I feel the same electric pull in my chest that I did when I first met her. She's the one. There's no doubt about it. And even though this ring is too large for her delicate fingers, I can easily have it resized.

If I have any chance of getting Lara to stay, I need to do this right. I'll wrap things up here and I'll return to her as soon as I can.

Before the baby comes and before she's whisked away back to Earth, I'm going to ask her to be my wife. To stay with me and raise our child.

Forever.

PROPOSAL

LARA

"Soren? What's this all about?" I giggle as he leads me by the hand toward an unknown location. He simply said he had a surprise for me, then he put on a blindfold and carried me over to Cali. We rode for probably half an hour, and now he led me on foot. Just what was going on? And why all the secrecy?

No matter how much I poke him, he won't tell me a thing. Which was both exciting and nerve-wracking, to be honest. For all I knew, he could have been leading me to my doom.

But I knew him better than that now. Soren, for his outwardly brusque exterior, treasured me more than anyone ever had. He did his best to provide for my every need and want. He went above and beyond, like that time he re-routed the power to let me call my sister.

So why did the stirring in my heart feel suspiciously like love?

I think again about my conversation with Janie. She knew just how tough it could be to sleep with someone and have them abandon you. Soren wouldn't do that -- not by choice -- but it's not like he has a choice in the first place.

The contract still binds us in black and white, saying that my time on this planet could not exceed one year. There’s no intention to house and provide for me, nor for my sister and niece, for longer than the required period to bear their next generation.

"Okay." Soren's hand at my back and his warm voice brings me back, but a fresh pain still simmers in my heart. No matter how much I care for him, I can't stay. I have a life on Earth. I have a family that needs me.

"We're here," Soren says, and he slips off my blindfold.

I suck in a gasp, and each reservation I have shatters like glass.

It's beautiful.

I don't know how he's done it, but before me is a lovingly recreated vintage drive-in movie theater. A tall screen sits upright on the green surrounded with speakers and twinkling lights. Bursts of colorful flowers surround us and in the center lies a huge checkered blanket and a wicker basket.

"You didn't..." I put a hand over my mouth in shock. My mind reels. All the late night conversations we had. All the little things we discussed here and there. He remembered them all.

Too many emotions hit me all at once. Gratitude. Excitement. Awe. And there's no use denying it any longer -- love.

Soren takes my hand and leads me across the green to the picnic blanket. "What do you think?" He says quietly. His voice is lower. More serious, somehow. "I know you have been missing Earth, so...I thought I would give you a taste of home."

"How did you do this?" I ask, looking around. "I mean, this is amazing!"

He shrugs. "I had some favors to call in. I wanted to give you a night you would never forget."

I melt a little bit inside. "You've already been so good to me. Why all of this? You didn't have to..."

"I know." He pauses, and that same serious tone is still in his voice. "But I wanted to. I...care about you, Lara. A lot. You make me feel things I've never felt before."

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