A Very Alien Christmas: A Limited Edition Collection of Holiday Alien Romance

by Skye MacKinnon

  “Will you come with me?” His eyes plead, begging me to say yes. Why would he ask that?

  “I would go with you anywhere,” I tell him. “There’s nothing for me anywhere else. Where you go, I go. Though...Jari-ri is the only friend I have. If she wanted to come, would she be welcome?”

  “As the Crowned Daltaka, my word is law, and so is yours my—” He pauses for a moment as if trying to remember the correct word. “My queen. Jari-ri would be welcome.”

  Anxiety and worry rush through me like a whirlwind. Queen? I can’t even get my shit together. How can I be a queen to a race I barely know? How would the people receive me?

  “Do not fret, my Lahtva. The ancestors have told me this is the way. Come with me.”

  I guess he saw the worry on my face. Am I really that easy to read? He snatches up the gifts he gave me in one hand and places his other on the small of my back, guiding me inside.

  “I have one thing to confess. All that time ago, I was a different male. I left my people because I felt I had wronged them. I thought I did not deserve my station. The ancestors claim that I am wrong, and that this is a new era for our people.”

  “Our people?”

  “Humans. I want to rebuild, and your people are welcome to join us. Together, maybe we can ward off the Ru’tah. And then maybe one day, we can fight back.”

  I snuggle against his massive body. “Oh, Aarvik. This is more than I could have ever hoped for when I stepped foot on this planet, but I’m going to warn you. I will probably be the biggest pain in your ass,” I laugh.

  “As I deserve.” Chuckling, he crosses the room and grabs something from a box. A small black device with a blinking red light. “I think it has been far too long that I have left this unanswered.” He mashes several buttons, the device comes to life.

  “What is it?” I curiously ask.

  “A comm link to some of my people. I messaged them telling them their Crowned Daltaka is coming home with his Lahtva.” He pecks me on my cheek.

  Warmth blooms in my chest. One thing leads to another, and we find ourselves back in the furs mating like the wild beasts beneath our tamed facades. I fell for him quickly, taken by his sweet and caring side that nurtures me in all the right ways. Lust at first sight? Absolutely. Love at first touch? Almost definitely. I have no idea what I did to deserve to find myself such a caring mate, but I’m going to make it worth his while. Every. Single. Day.

  Epilogue

  Rena

  I’m glancing out the view screen from my incredibly cozy cabin suite. The view is incredible. Nothing but the best as my darling mate would say, or should I say my King, because that’s exactly what he is. His people use the term Crowned Daltaka, but it means the same thing. They even call me Crowned Daltakasa, which is very hard to get used to.

  Aarvik takes his role seriously, as if to make up for all the lost time, but from what I've gathered, his people adore him. They don't seem to place any blame on him for what happened to their home, Dakasu. They were, however, completely shocked at my presence at his side, even though he told them beforehand that he found his Lahtva. No one was rude, thankfully, because I know that my mate would be torn to beat down one of their asses if they had disrespected me. Not that I expected anyone to treat me unkindly.

  When my mate had explained to them that the ancestors had guided him to Delaruo Valdani to find his mate, their faces were in complete awe. Apparently, our news gave them a sense of hope; a reason to rejoice. Any pairings brought together by the ancestors are said to be blessed. I can’t lie, I do feel very blessed to have Aarvik, but being blessed doesn’t change the past.

  Sadly, the devastation was worse than what Aarvik had originally thought. The numbers of the Daltakeu are horrifically low, but the number of females that survived their planet’s decimation, even lower. The sheer fact that our species, Humans and Daltakeu alike, can breed solves more problems than just one.

  And that's why we're here, on this incredibly massive spaceship. One that was commissioned and gifted by a neighboring planet of Dakasu. It was unfortunate that the Dunip were unable to assist in time with Dakasu's war, which was only because it happened so quickly, but they are ready and willing to help us now. To find our people and rebuild.

  “There you are my Lahtva. I have been searching all over for you.” Aarvik sneaks up behind me and wraps his arms around me, placing soft kisses on the back of my neck. “I have missed you,” he lowers a hand to my large belly.

  We are pregnant.

  It didn't take long for me to realize the wonderful news. Tender beasts, morning sickness and irritable mood swings were all I needed to confirm my suspicions. Let me just say that Aarvik had no idea what his ancestors signed him up for, and I almost feel bad for him, but as much as I love him, he drives me up the damn fucking wall sometimes. So, I guess this makes us even.

  “How can you miss me when you sneak away from your duties every few hours just to slake your need for me?”

  “Hmmm…not just my need. I think everyone on this ship knows how much need you have, my Lahtva, when you are screaming my name for more.” He scrapes his teeth against my neck in a tease, just to prove how right he is.

  Heat floods my core. The very same one that he filled not too long ago. Several times.

  “What can I say? I blame it on the pregnancy hormones.”

  We watch stars, moons and planets pass by slowly on the view screen. We can't travel too fast because we want to give enough time to anyone we pass by to hear our broadcasted news. The Daltakeu are taking back their homeworld. We have no idea the conditions of which some of these aliens live in, and it would be a real shame if we missed someone because they didn’t have a chance to reach out to us in time.

  “How is the broadcast going?”

  “Excellent. We have received several responses and we will be making several stops in the next few days to rescue hundreds of my people and a few humans too.” His voice turns sad.

  “That's great news!” I turn in his arms; my belly is so large that it puts a good amount of space between us. For some reason, he frowns. “What is it? What's wrong?” I cup his cheek.

  He turns his head slightly, nuzzling himself against my hand. “I am just worried that we will never find them all. There are so few of us left, that it would be a great loss if someone was left behind.”

  “The more we find the easier it will be to reach more. We will find the means to commission more ships and shuttles and send them off in other directions just like we did with Jari-ri and your men.”

  He chuckles. “You do realize that Jari-ri only demanded to learn how to fly a ship and become a pilot so she could get closer to Kaarvin?”

  I slap him lightly against his arm. “She's my best friend, of course I knew. Who do you think gave her the damn idea?!”

  “I have a surprise for you,” he whispers in my ear, deflecting.

  “You do? What is it?”

  “Do not be so impatient!” He pulls me up into his arms, careful of our unborn child. I'm impressed with his strength and stamina, and being able to carry my ass for long periods of time.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “You will find out soon enough.”

  Uh huh. Just like last time I see. On Delaruo Valdani, when he hurried us up the mountain with me in his arms just so he could take me to his bed. Just as elusive. Always trying to surprise me with things. I can't complain, it's nice to have a family again. Of course this doesn't replace everything that I've lost. I have a special place in my heart for them, but Aarvik and our child deserve a place too.

  Though I also must make room for all the people we've rescued as well, Human and Daltakeu alike. I may not have been born a princess, but as the mate of the Crowned Daltaka, I have a responsibility to our joint people. It's been hard lately with this pregnancy going on, but I do what I can, learning as I go.

  My mate leads me to a set of double doors. A member of his royal guard opens them for us so we can pass th
rough.

  Inside is a large room. Almost everybody is here standing in a large group. They all shout “SURPRISE CROWNED DALTAKASA!”

  “What is this, a baby shower?” I ask, excitement fills and I break out into a smile.

  “A baby what?” Aarvik looks down at me in confusion, before setting me in his feet.

  “A baby shower,” I repeat, but the group of people in front of me splits up, revealing an incredibly long table filled with meats and fruits, dishes I’ve never seen the likes of before. It's a feast! Oh man, my stomach is practically rumbling in excitement. Then out of the corner of my eye, something catches my attention.

  “Oh, no you didn't!”

  “Oh, yes we did,” a familiar voice responds.

  “Jari-ri?” I say, freezing in Aarvik’s arms, and watch as my best friend pushes her way through a bunch of people.

  “Didn't think you could get rid of me that easy did ya?” She attempts to hug me while still in Aarvik’s arms. “She’s getting big, isn't she?”

  “He,” My mate corrects her, scowling from the side. I don’t think he appreciates Jari-ri accidentally brushing up against him, trying to snag me away from him.

  “Let's not worry about that now. I want to appreciate this surprise you’ve put together.”

  Aarvik sets me down and I wander around a little, chatting with people, eating food and then, something else catches my eye. My heart stops in my chest. This...this isn’t what I think it is, is it?

  I take a hesitant step toward a massive tree that looks nothing like an evergreen at all. In fact, it’s brown with yellow leaves, but it stands tall and proud, even though it’s decorated with nothing close to Christmas décor. Nothing about this tree screams christmas. Not the strange, alien bobbels, bells and wrongly colored garments strung across it, but at the same time, I know exactly what this is: a Christmas tree. As I walk around it, my foot hits something and I look down. To my surprise, boxes and boxes are stacked neatly under the tree with various names on them.

  Suddenly, someone throws small bits of confetti into the arm. The material is unrecognizable, but it’s small, white and fluffy. It’s also so light that all the dozens of pieces float in the air, slowly dropping to the ground like snow.

  “It’s snow,” Jari-ri says, dancing and twirling around.

  My heart doesn’t have the strength to tell her that snow goes outside, instead it feels warms and beats erratically, tears escape my eyes. They tried. A feast and a festival not quite like Christmas, a decorated alien tree and a beautiful attempt to recreate snow. It’s so wonderful and thoughtful, truly the most generous thing that anyone has ever done. Not just for me, but for all the humans who gather around, watching with proud eyes. I turn to face them, nodding silently as I wipe the tears from my face.

  “What is wrong, my Lahtva? Are you not happy? We have all worked so hard.”

  I smile up at him, caressing his cheek. “No, my love, I'm more than happy. Thank you so much. This is the best Alien Christmas ever. I just wish I had something to give back.”

  “You do,” he replies loudly for everyone to hear, then he leans down and kisses my belly.

  The room erupts into celebration and the real festivities begin.

  A Starship in the East

  J. A. Cummings

  About A Starship in the East

  For Carolyn, a trip home after rehearsals for the annual Christmas pageant takes a strange and intergalactic turn.

  Chapter 1

  Carolyn Walker waved goodbye to her fellow cast mates and headed out to her car. Her knees hurt from kneeling for hours at the side of the manger, pretending to pray over a papier-mache infant. Her allergies were killing her from being in straw for so long, and she would never get the smell of the sheep out of her nose.

  Well, she thought. You’re the one who wanted to play the Virgin Mary in the Christmas pageant.

  She turned on the radio as soon as the engine turned over, and the overly sweet sound of carols assaulted her ears. She loved Christmas, truly, which was why she’d auditioned for the party; tonight, though, she’d had all of the holiday that she could stand. She flipped stations until she found some classic rock and roll and started driving to the dulcet strains of AC/DC.

  It was long after dark, and the sky was clear. The lack of cloud cover meant that the cold was more acute than ever, and she wished that her beaten-up old car’s heater would work better. It was straining to kick out heat, but at the rate it was going, she’d have frostbite before she ever got home.

  Her route took her through acres of cornfields, fallow for the winter but still studded with broken stalks that looked like sentinels in the moonlight. Ahead of her, the stars were almost brighter than her headlights, and the night was glorious.

  Carolyn had always loved astronomy. When she was a little girl, she’d gotten a telescope for Christmas, and she still loved the thing. In fact, she carried it in her car trunk, just in case she happened to find herself out away from city lights on a night like this. The opportunity was too perfect to pass up, so she pulled over to the side of the road and set up the telescope.

  The view of the Milky Way was amazing, and she focused on the celestial bodies that she knew: the moon, of course, and Mars, Venus, and Saturn. Mercury shone red in her sights, and Jupiter was a brilliant dot. The Geminid meteor shower was what she really wanted to see, since tonight was one of two nights when it would be at its clearest. She focused the telescope on the correct region and watched as the meteors streaked past her little blue planet.

  One of the meteors didn’t follow the same course. In fact, it turned on a set of lights and shot away from the rest, coming closer and closer. Carolyn looked away from the eyepiece, blinking up at the sky without amplification. She could see the bright dot amid the stars, getting brighter and bigger.

  “What the…”

  She could see now that what she was looking at was no meteor. It was too regular in shape, too silver, with too many flashing lights around the edges. It was a classic saucer-shaped UFO, and it flew too quickly to be any craft from Earth. One moment it was hiding amid the meteors, and the next it was hovering overhead with a hatch opening on its underside.

  Carolyn knew she should be afraid, but mostly she was curious. This was the sort of thing she’d dreamed of ever since she was a child, and she didn’t feel terrified. She felt lucky. She grabbed her cellphone to shoot a video or take some pictures, but it was dead. She thought over every episode of The X Files and Ancient Aliens that she had ever seen, trying to predict what was coming next.

  A bright beam of light shone from the bottom of the craft to the ground, striking the road about twenty yards in front of her. A humanoid shape appeared in that light, slowly drifting toward the ground, arms extended and feet together. As soon as his feet touched down, the light dimmed, and she could make out the alien’s face.

  She almost forgot to breathe. The alien had the appearance of a human man, but with the most beautiful face she had ever seen. His skin had a metallic sheen, as if he were made of burnished copper. Like a human, he had hair on his head and eyebrows, and long eyelashes that she could see even from where she stood. The hair looked like delicate filaments of gold, and she wondered if he was a robot or some kind of construct. He wore a form-fitting black jumpsuit with an insignia over his left upper chest that was shaped like a strange squiggle. From his face to his body, he was too perfect to be real.

  “Greetings, human,” he said. His voice sounded strange, as if it were computer- generated. There was a metallic, unreal quality to it. “Do not be afraid. We mean you no harm.”

  Carolyn could only stare. Her silence seemed to make the alien uncomfortable, because he shifted his weight from one foot to the other before he spoke again.

  “Will you come with us? We want to learn.”

  She worked as an elementary school teacher when she wasn’t playing the Virgin Mary, so the alien’s last statement snapped her into something that passed for focus. “I
can help,” she said. “I… okay.”

  His eyebrows rose. “You’ll come with us voluntarily?”

  “Yes.”

  The alien looked dumbfounded. “Usually your planet mates say no and we have to take them against their will.”

  “That’s rude,” she said, as if he were one of her third graders. “You shouldn’t take people against their will. That’s kidnapping.”

  “Do your scientists not take life forms for further study? We have seen this on your broadcasts. Humans capture other creatures, perform experiments and measurements, and sometimes they release them. Sometimes they do not.” He looked honestly confused. “How is what we do any different than that?”

  She had to admit that he had a point. “I… Okay, yeah, I can see that. Let me just…”

  Carolyn picked up her telescope to put it away, and the alien held up his hand. “Please bring that. We would like to examine it.”

  She hesitated. “This is hardly the state of art. It’s old, and it’s a really weak telescope. There are a lot of much better ones out there.”

  “Perhaps,” the alien allowed. “But this one is yours.”

  She packed up the telescope in its carrying case and slung it over her shoulder. The alien waited patiently while she fussed with it, and when she was ready, he extended a hand toward her.

  “Please,” he said. “Come.”

  Carolyn looked at her car to make sure it was far enough off the road that nobody was going to hit it. She ran back and grabbed her purse, then followed where the alien led.

  As soon as she stepped into the light, she felt the air around her thicken, as if she’d stepped into pressurization. The alien smiled at her and put his hand on her arm, and then they levitated upward. Carolyn grasped her telescope and her bag tighter, briefly panicked when her feet left the ground. The alien was calm, though, and his demeanor helped her to settle her nerves.