Page 83 of Her Alien Neighbor

What this feeble human does not realize is that I am no ordinary male, and when a draxilio finds their mate, nothing can stand between them. I will not allow anyone to blame Vanessa for this, and I do not care if I have to burn this entire town to ash to make my point clear.

She laces her tiny human fingers through mine once we get out of the truck and head inside my house. We eat some of the leftover Chinese food Zev and Mylo left on the counter, and immediately climb into bed.

We do not have sex. In fact, we do nothing but kiss as Vanessa is clearly too upset. I do not mind as long as I get to hold her in my arms. And I do. I press kisses along her cheeks and forehead, and when she falls asleep, I whisper, “Nothing will part us, Vanessa. You will forever have my protection. This, I vow.”

Slowly extracting myself from her grip, I pull myself out of bed and take a seat at my desk. If I am going to do this, I need to make sure I leave things in order. Starting with Mylo, I write letters to all my brothers, including Luka, telling them where I have gone, and what I plan to do. I assure them that this will in no way complicate their lives. I will not allow my hasty decisions to ruin their futures here on Earth.

When I am done with the last letter, Kyan’s, I pull out a blank sheet of paper and begin my letter to Vanessa.

My love,

At this very moment, you are soundly asleep in my bed right where you belong. You look so ravishing, the way your lips are parted––despite the steady stream of dribble that is now on my pillow. I jest, of course. Every part of you makes me hard, including your sleep dribble.

I am so sorry for the place in which we currently find ourselves. It was never my intention to cause you distress. You do not deserve to relive this particular pain over and over, and while I thought my actions would ultimately bring you peace, I see now that I have only caused more harm.

The only way to clear your name is to give them mine. I shall confess to taking Trevor’s life while making it clear you had no involvement whatsoever. Officer Burton wants revenge, and to get that, he needs a criminal to charge. Once he has it, all of this goes away. You and my brothers will no longer be watched.

There is no reason to worry. While it will take some time for me to find a way back to you, I promise you, I shall find a way. We will not be apart for long. I refuse to exist without you.

You are the center of my universe, Vanessa. That shall never change.

I love you.

-Axil

I fold the letter and place it on the pillow next to her before I go. And I commit her shape and face to memory as the thought of her will be the only thing that sustains me over the coming days.

Taking a deep inhale once I am outside, I steel my spine. It is time to face my destiny.

CHAPTER 24

VANESSA

Iwake up to the crinkling of paper beneath my chin. Confused, I look around, still half-asleep. I realize I’m in Axil’s room, which makes me smile, but the smile fades when I reach over to his side of the bed and find the sheets cold. He’s not here and hasn’t been for a while.

Pulling myself up into a seated position against his headboard, I rub a hand down my face as I examine a piece of paper. It’s a letter from Axil.

I’m halfway down the page when I leap out of bed and run down the hall, screaming for his brothers to join me in the living room.

Mylo and Zev are already there, their expressions somber and serious. “You got one too?” They ask, holding up their letters.

“Yes,” I mutter. “Did you know he was going to do this?”

They shake their heads in unison.

“We called Kyan. He is on his way home,” Zev says, holding up the letter with Kyan’s name on it. “He has not read his yet.”

I shift my weight between my feet, not knowing what to do. If Axil turned himself in already, there’s not much Icando. Unless we figure out how to bust Axil out and then we go on the run. I’m not a huge fan of road trips, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with Axil. My acting career was kind of going nowhere anyway. And if we’re able to sell Aunt Franny’s house, we’ll have some cash to set us up for a little while.

Kyan bursts through the door, a welcome interruption from my anxiety spiral. He rips off his blazer and tosses it across the room in a ball, grumbling under his breath. “Stupid asshole!” he shouts.

Wow, he is terrifying when he’s mad.

He paces back and forth across the entryway, his muscles taut as he runs a rough hand through his hair. It’s longer than Axil’s, but the same light brown color. I would describe it as shaggy in length, but not in appearance. It’s always slicked back with gel, or whatever he uses, giving him a stern boss-man-from-the-eighties look.

“If he had just fucking waited two more days, I would have been able to help him,” Kyan yells, shoving his fist into the back of the leather couch.

“How?” I ask, taking slow, cautious steps toward him into the living room.

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