Page 62 of Whisked Away By the Alien

“Please stay.”

She knows this is not my choice. But I understand her plea. I gather my courage, hoping what I say will not divide us. “You are my heartmate. You will come with me, to Zyan.” It’s not an order exactly, but I’m making a difficult decision for her… if she allows it.

She doesn’t react poorly to my order but shakes her head so subtly I almost miss it.

“Leaving Earth, leaving my family… You’re asking me to choose between you and my parents, Bubbe, Rachel, and Sadie. And all my uncles and cousins you haven’t even met. So many people. How can I forget about them like they don’t exist?” Tears fill the corners of her eyes. “But I can’t imagine losing you. I love you, Stenikov. More than life itself.”

She loves me… Drekk, I’ve wanted to hear nothing else since the moment I realized she was my sholani. This is indeed a joyous occasion, darkened by a decision she must make.

Two days to choose between me and her family.

Zyan’s laws permit me to bring my sholani with me, but I do not have permission for the rest of her family to accompany us, even if they would want to go with her, which I doubt. Her sister barely tolerates my presence. I cannot envision Rachel on Zyan. But Golda is fierce, brave, and open to new ideas. She would do well on my world.

Except she won’t have her family. Golda is a person who needs her family around her. They are a part of her. She will have me and my family, but will that be enough?

My fingers thread through her hair. “Sholani, we will find an answer. Together.”

When I call her sholani, the gravity of my situation hits me. I’ve been permanently reassigned to Zyan. It’s likely I’ll never return to Earth.

I don’t know what I will do if she doesn’t come with me. The prospect of leaving her behind is unfathomable. Especially after what happened here today. I nearly lost her.

The very thought of not being here to protect her evokes a fear I’ve never known. Deeper than when my father died, deeper than when I fought alongside my fellow warriors during the Grud invasion of Zyan.

“You don’t need to decide now. You can stay with your family and take your time deciding.” Forcing her to choose is cruel. “The zyanthan embassy in Los Angeles is working on a process to transport humans between our planets for cultural and work exchange. You can come then.”

Her eyes turn hopeful at the prospect. “How long before they’ll have that program up and running?”

“I don’t know.”

The excitement in her face dims. “Things don’t happen so fast here on Earth, except anything to do with planet security. That has top priority over everything. I doubt anyone will consider transporting humans between Earth and Zyan urgent.”

I hold her face in my hands. “Waiting even one day for you will be too long, but the alternative is unthinkable.”

“The alternative?”

“Never seeing you again. You are my future. I wish to make you mine and live our lives together, with younglings to love and worry us with struggles that will test us and draw us closer together until the day we part from this life and enter the next. Even then, I will not rest until I find you again. We will have an eternity loving one another and growing together, in whatever form or place the gods allow.”

“Together. No matter where we are. I like that.” She places her palms on my chest. “I love you, Sten. Will you be mine?”

“Drekk, sholani, I already am. I’m only waiting to claim you.”

“You already have my heart.”

I grip her face between my hands. “A full mating, the one that risks pregnancy, the one where a couple declares themselves to one another as sholan and sholani. We have ritual words.”

“But,” she stammers, and I see the panic in her face.

“Sholani… Golda… I wish to make you mine, even if you remain on Earth. I believe such a bond will bring us together again one day.”

She nods slightly but says nothing. I’m not sure if she’s agreeing to be mine, or if she fully understands what I’m asking. When she pushes me down on the bedding, I no longer question what’s happening. I will gladly take anything my sholani gives me. I pray this will not be our last time together.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

GOLDA

Iwake to complete silence. With Sten’s massive body curled around me, I don’t want to move, even though light streams through the sides of the tent. Morning. Wind no longer howls against the warehouse, so I suspect the storm ended during the night. Which means we’ll be leaving today.

Back to reality.

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