A Chance for Arus: A Sci Fi Alien Romance (Tallean Mercenaries Book 2)

by Lynnea Lee

  A hush descended through the room as the older man proceeded to the podium.

  “I am Reverend Jon. I have invited you all here today because we are all God-fearing citizens of Earth.” His voice sounded fake and theatrical. “Look around the room and remember these faces. Many of the humans brought here are sinners, but the faces you see here represent the righteous. We are the pure. These aliens took us from Earth. They force us to live in this sinful place. We all know these devils like to fornicate. Their bitches tempt our men, and their men defile our women. But we will not give in to sin!”

  Was this guy serious? Mia looked around and saw a few humans nodding their heads. Others looked as confused as she did. Isabella scoffed. Oh boy, what had her mom dragged her into this time?

  The reverend continued, “We must work together to protect ourselves and keep ourselves pure. It is my job to keep you all spiritually safe. It is a burden I will bear. And now, to keep you physically safe, we are very lucky to have Dr. Ives here with us. I will now give him the stage.”

  He gestured grandiosely to the slightly balding man.

  “Thank you, Reverend. As you all know, we have had several perimeter fence failures in the new colonist area. It is obvious the aliens running this colony care not whether we live or die. And yet, some of us have been interrogated about the fences as if we are responsible, as if we are criminals. It is preposterous!”

  Isabella tsked. “Oh pooh, I was there when that nice security guard asked you about the fence. He only asked you if you saw anything, because the cameras showed you were nearby when it happened. It was hardly an interrogation.”

  The doctor turned a shade redder on his already flushed face.

  “These aliens are trying to blame their failure to keep the fence running on me. You heard about the dragus at the orientation. What if they get in and come after us! We’ll all die!” Dan raved. “Not to mention, they stole us from our homes and brought us here. Now they demand we find work. I ask you, why? Why should we work for them? We owe them nothing.”

  Isabella spoke up again, “Listen, I’m not going to waste my time listening to this ridiculous drivel. These people here are giving us so much. We have two years to figure our lives out, and until we become contributing members of society, they will house us, feed us and clothe us! Bad people don’t do that. You have a roof over your head and food in your belly, so quit your bellyaching and be grateful for once.”

  It was the reverend who spoke. “People?” he thundered. “You must need new glasses, lady! They aren’t people. They are aliens! With claws and fangs like animals! Filthy aliens with sinful habits. They are feeding and housing us to lead us to hell.”

  “Bah, that is the biggest bunch of baloney I’ve ever heard. Is this what you called this meeting for? Quit wasting my time.”

  “Yeah, she’s right! This is bullshit,” a young lady agreed.

  Isabella turned to Mia, offered a hand, and said, “Coming?”

  Mia tried to get up, but her mother clutched her arm like her life depended on it. Mother Dear was literally dragging her down. Not wanting to get into a shouting match with her mother, Mia gave Isabella a defeated look. A few others got up, however, and joined Isabella. They started to the back of the room.

  “Wait, stop, you don’t want to leave,” Dan squawked. “I have a plan to get back to Earth. You don’t want to get stuck here.”

  But the ones leaving were not interested. They’d had enough of his crazy talk.

  Mia wished she could get up and go, too. She rubbed her forehead with her free hand. She just needed to not die of boredom and incredulity long enough to shake off her clingy mother and find her way to Arus’s inn. She hoped he forgave her for ditching him. It hadn’t been her plan. She really didn’t want to be here. But the last thing she needed was for her mother to have a meltdown in public.

  After what felt like forever the meeting drew to a close. Mia looked up at the clock. Only a half hour had passed. It felt like an eternity. Time to make her exit.

  “Bianca,” a voice called. “So, I finally get to meet the beautiful Mia you’ve been talking about.”

  It was Dr. Ives. He stuck out a hand and Mia shook it not to be rude. But instead of just shaking it, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Mia cringed and pulled her hand away.

  “Mia, dear, we are going to go have dinner with Dr. Ives,” her mother announced. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  Oh no, this had gone too far.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t come along. I have plans.” She looked at her mother pointedly. “Plans you dragged me away from by starting a scene at my work.”

  Bianca huffed. “Well, these are your new plans, honey.”

  The two ushered her towards their room.

  “Why don’t the two of you get to know each other?” her mother said. “I’ll go grab some food for you. “

  Bianca left Mia with the doctor just inside the door to their room.

  Mia decided to be honest.

  “Look, Daniel. I don’t want to waste either of our time,” she began. “I don’t know what my mother has told you, but I’m not interested. She’s always trying to set me up. I’m sorry she pulled you into this. Thank you for offering to join me for dinner, but I’m not interested.”

  “Oh, you are just shy,” Daniel said dismissively. “Your mother says you don’t date often.”

  Mia dated a lot. After all, a girl had needs. She just kept her personal life as far away from her mother as possible. Not to mention, she hadn’t found anyone worth bringing home yet, and even if she had, her mother would have chased him away for not having the right career. But Mia didn’t correct him.

  “Dr. Ives, I’m not interested.” She reached for the door. “I’m leaving.”

  She opened the door only to see her mom right outside with two trays of food. Damn it, they blocked her in!

  “Thanks for getting the door, dear.”

  Her mother bustled in, put the two trays on the table, and then turned to leave again.

  “You two love birds enjoy yourselves. If you need anything, I’ll be in the cafeteria.”

  The door closed. Mia was right back where she started.

  “Is it me? Or is it any man?” Daniel asked.

  “What?” Mia asked, confused.

  “You said you are not interested.”

  “I’m not looking for a relationship. And I’m also not looking for anything casual.” She added the last part just in case he suggested it.

  “Your mother might be right, after all.” He looked at her with a bit of disgust.

  “What the hell do you mean by that?” Mia demanded.

  “You never hit it off with any of the men she set you up with because you are a lesbian!”

  Mia was taken aback at first but decided to roll with it. Maybe if he thought she was interested in women, he would leave her alone.

  “Okay, okay. You got me,” she lied. “So, you see why this won’t work out. I’m sorry.”

  “I knew it,” his face turned red as he spoke. “The reverend was right! These aliens are corrupting our women with their hedonistic excuse for a culture.”

  He advanced on her, his face so red it looked like he would pop.

  “You said you had plans. You were going to see that alien bitch you work with, weren’t you?”

  Mia backed away, but realized that it put her further from the door.

  He continued, “But that doesn’t matter, I can fix this. At least that means you haven’t been defiled by one of those alien men.”

  She looked around for a weapon. Dr. Ives wasn’t a big man, but at five two and with no knowledge of self-defense, Mia knew she didn’t stand a chance fighting him. She made a mental note to take some self-defense classes.

  The doctor continued his tirade. “I usually insist on my women remaining pure until marriage, but this is a special case. I will teach you how it is between a man and a woman. I’l
l teach you your place!”

  Mia eyed the lamp.

  “You will never go back after I’m done with you,” he finished in a deranged shriek.

  This man was bat shit crazy! She needed to get out of here now.

  Daniel lunged for her. She grabbed the lamp and flung it at him. It distracted him just long enough for her to get a head start. Luckily, she still had her shoes on; she ran down the hallway. The crazy doctor might be taller, but he was out of shape. Mia could hear him wheezing as he ran after her.

  As she exited the building, Mia saw a familiar face in a guard uniform. Holden! She sprinted towards him.

  Holden caught her and immediately placed her body behind him protectively. He faced the doctor and squared his shoulders. Next to the Tallean male, Daniel looked positively scrawny.

  “You!” the doctor screeched. “You’re the stupid guard who can’t figure out how to make the fences work, so you have to blame one of us! This is none of your business. Give her to me and leave us alone!”

  “Anything that happens in this area is my business. And it’s definitely my business to keep the females safe. Leave now, or I’ll take you in for harassment.”

  To Mia’s surprise, Daniel did not back down. He got all up in Holden’s face, or tried to at least. It looked like a pigeon trying to intimidate a wolf.

  “She’s one of ours!” he blustered. “You can’t tell me what to do! What are you going to do? Beat me up? Go ahead! Then all the humans here will know that you are all just a bunch of bullies. Go on, show them you are all monsters!”

  The doctor gestured to the people stopped in the street to watch the exchange.

  Mia decided enough was enough.

  “You’re the monster, Daniel Ives!” she declared loud enough for everyone to hear. “I told you I wasn’t interested, but you wouldn’t leave me alone. You attacked me. You were going to rape me!”

  “Is that right?” Arus’s voice sounded from behind her. It was lower than usual and sounded deadly.

  Mia whipped around. Arus stood behind her with his arms crossed. He looked very much like an angry bear, his enormous canines on full display.

  “I hate males who force themselves on females,” he growled as he stalked forward, his talons tapping loudly against the ground with each step. “I’m a mercenary, and I don’t have to follow the rules here. Do you know what the authorities here will do to me if I kill you right now just because I want to?”

  Dr. Ives backed up, finally realizing the danger he was in.

  Arus continued forward. “Nothing. Nothing at all,” he growled.

  Hot damn, he was sexy when angry.

  Holden rushed forward to hold him back. “Let us deal with him. He’s not worth your time.” Then to Daniel, he added, “Go now, human, if you value your life. I’ll deal with you later.”

  But a few cocky men had banded behind Daniel, giving him a false sense of power and security. He stood his ground, a gloating look plastered to his face.

  A man next to him spat on the ground before he spoke. “Doctor’s right, that’s one of ours,” he sneered, referring to Mia. “You have no right to her. She doesn’t need your help.”

  “I run security in this section,” Holden’s voice was calm. “It’s my job to keep everyone safe. She is here, and therefore, she is under my protection. Don’t pick a fight, little male, you will lose.”

  The man who spoke was anything but little. Mia guessed he was at least six feet tall. He was brawny by human standards, and a group of rough-looking men had gathered behind him and the doctor. Mia didn’t like the way things were going.

  “Oh look,” Dr. Ives sneered, noticing the group behind him. “It looks like you are outnumbered.”

  “Yeah,” a voice behind him yelled, “and we don’t like aliens! Especially when they tell us what to do!”

  Two men rushed Holden. Another charged towards Arus, wielding a metal bar. Arus pushed Mia back to safety just as the man swung his weapon dangerously close to her face. It hit Arus across the back instead, but he barely reacted. He grabbed the piece of metal by the offending end and jerked it to the side, sending the man attached careening against another assailant. He threw the weapon away from the action of the fight.

  “Try to keep these jokers alive, and keep your feet out of it, won’t you?” Holden shouted to Arus over the chaos. “I hate filling out paperwork.”

  Arus grunted in affirmative as he danced between his attackers, blocking and parrying their attacks as effortlessly as if he was play-fighting with children. For such a big guy, he sure moved fast!

  Mia considered the feet Holden mentioned and realized just how well-equipped the two Talleans were. Those talons could eviscerate in a single slash. The idiots picking the fight didn’t understand how much damage these aliens could do if they wanted to. They were powerful predators.

  Arus landed a solid punch on one of his attacker’s face, and the man went down hard. He stalked after the second one as he retreated, but a third ran at him holding a rock. Arus ducked at the last moment, grabbed the man’s arm, and redirected his momentum, swinging the new man towards the retreating one. The man released the rock mid-swing. It came flying towards Mia as the two men crashed together in a mess of limbs.

  Someone pulled Mia aside just in time, and the rock sailed past her to thunk on the ground. Mia recognized him. He had left the meeting earlier with Isabella. She thanked him.

  “I’m glad these fools are getting their just desserts. They are making us look bad,” he stated. “But as great as it is, let’s watch the action from further away. It’s not safe so close.”

  They backed up to join the ring of spectators that had gathered. But the fight was already over as most of Dr. Ives’s gang of troublemakers retreated, including the doctor himself.

  Arus continued after him, his face filled with rage. But Holden pulled him back.

  “What the fuck!” Arus bellowed as he shrugged the guard off.

  “Get a hold of yourself, my friend. The human is annoying, but the fight is over. They are running with their tails tucked.”

  Arus calmed visibly. He looked around for Mia. She stepped forward to meet him.

  “I’ll go deal with the assholes,” Holden said. “This will count as their first official warning. One more and they will be space-bound. We don’t put up with those types here.”

  “Thank you for protecting Mia until I could get here.”

  Holden nodded and left.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, Dumpling. I followed you and that woman to the meeting room, but I got distracted by a comm. I didn’t see where you went after. I checked the cafeteria, but only saw the woman there.”

  “That’s my mom. I love her, but sometimes I wish she would stop messing with my life.”

  They both agreed that they needed to work off some energy before sitting down to a meal. A walk was the perfect opportunity to do that. Mia explained what had happened while they walked to the restaurant. Arus wrapped an arm around her and held her close all the way there.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Oh em gee, this is so good!”

  Mia’s reaction to the traditional food of his people was everything he had hoped for.

  “It’s always the hole in the wall dives that have the best food, isn’t it?” she mumbled with her mouth full.

  “That’s true everywhere in the known universe,” he confirmed.

  Arus wished he could whisk her away and show her the galaxy. They would stop with the Defiant at the ports, and he would bring her to all the secret dives and explore the gastronomical wonders the universe offered. On the ship, he would cook for her and watch her face as she enjoyed his food.

  “So, I guess you’ve been to a lot of places. You know, with your job and all that.”

  “I get around. We avoid the inner Dominion planets, but I’ve been to most of the outposts and colonies. I like to travel.”

  She looked w
istful. “I always wanted to travel. But aside from going to the big city for college, I haven’t had the chance. After college, I moved back to my hometown. I scrounged and saved enough to move out on my own. It’s been paycheck to paycheck after that. Nothing left for traveling. I guess I can consider coming here traveling. I’m as far from my hometown as I’ve ever been. And I’m experiencing new cultures.” She turned to him with a big grin. “And meeting new people.”

  “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “Yes, for sure,” she admitted. “Though I always thought I would leave my mother safely at home when I traveled. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I know she’s safe. But part of wanting to travel was so she won’t be in my hair all the time. That was why I saved up and moved out in the first place.”

  “I should meet you after your shift tomorrow,” he stated. “I promise I’ll save you from your scheming mother this time around.”

  “Tomorrow’s my day off, so I don’t need to head into the Daily Dose. I’m going to the shops with Sala instead. She’s meeting me in the dorm lobby in the morning. But can I ask you to accompany me into the dorms after our date tonight?”

  “You aren’t going back there. It’s not safe. You share a room with your mother, and she could just let that man in when you are sleeping.” He would not allow her to put herself in danger.

  Mia shuddered and shifted closer to him on her creaky stool. “That’s why you’re going back with me. I plan on asking the assignment office for another room. I need to grab my things. I don’t own much, but I want to get what I do own.”

  “You can stay with me for a while. I can rent another room for us, and Vore can use the old one.”

  Arus saw her hesitation.

  “You are leaving soon. I’ll need a place to go after. I might as well just ask for a new room now so I can get set up.”

  Mia was right. He was leaving soon, and she would still be here.

  “I’ll go with you, but not tonight,” he compromised. “Stay with me one more night. Vore won’t be back. I’ll go with you tomorrow morning. You can use my PPC to contact the housing office so they have the room ready for you in the morning.”