Alien Romance: Seized By The Alien: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Protectors Book 1)

by Aana Celestya

  The central tent had fallen away and the portal, even larger than Astrid had anticipated, was powering up and expanding, opening like a mouth to swallow the massive ship, the silver curtain of folded space rippling beyond it.

  "They're going to get through!" Astrid felt hopeless terror overwhelming her and she gripped Hestian's shirt with a white knuckled grip, realizing there was nothing she could do. The end of the ship vanished into the portal as Hestian's mount reached the center tent, taking his entire army with it.

  Tears of horror ran down Astrid's face as she slid down from the mount and ran into the circle of the collapsed tent, staring up the portal. Her home was on the other side, so close she could almost taste it, about to be destroyed.

  A wet cough interrupted her panic and she looked down in confusion. The red headed war bride was lying against the portal's console, the charred hole of a laser lance wound in her gut, dying.

  "He killed me," she choked out through the blood, "Just. Stabbed me. Like swatting a fly. For letting you go."

  The pain on her face, Astrid thought, was less from her wound than from the ache of that betrayal.

  "I just wanted to be free. I just wanted what everyone else had. Why did he kill me?"

  Astrid was surprised she could feel any sympathy for the woman amid the pain she was feeling, but she did. It was its own distinct drop of despair in the ocean she was drowning in.

  "I'm sorry," Astrid's tears flowed ceaselessly down her cheeks as Hestian, limping and exhausted, caught up with her, "I'm so sorry for all of this."

  "Not your fault," the woman couldn't focus her eyes on Astrid anymore, and her words were slurring, but she did her best to look at Astrid directly then.

  "You can still stop him," she said, fighting to keep her fading vision on Astrid, "We're far from your planet. He never listened to us when we tried to explain time dilation. To him, he'll be at earth almost instantaneously. But for us, he'll be in that tunnel for at least another few minutes. And if the portal, the wormhole, if it collapses while he's in it..."

  Hope flared like a firework in Astrid's chest.

  "Can you shut it down?" she asked, her eyes wide and shining with tears, "Can you stop it?"

  The woman shook her head.

  "Can't shut it down. Don't know the sequence. But I can stop it."

  She held up a laser lance with weak hands.

  "Just need a little help is all."

  Astrid was at her side at once, putting her arms around the other woman and helping her to her feet despite the cries and sobs of pain that left her as her wound stretched with the movement. At last, the red head was leaning against the console, pale and shaking as she began adjusting things.

  "When it comes down," she said, "It's going to come down hard. Might want to be clear of here."

  Astrid realized what the woman was saying and her heart ached painfully.

  "It's not fair," she said, her arms still around the red head.

  "I got to fight," the woman replied, "Got to feel like I was free for a few glorious minutes. More than I ever expected from life. It was enough."

  Astrid kissed the woman's forehead, then turned to hurry away, taking Hestian's hand. Suddenly she stopped, turning back.

  "Wait," she called to the red headed woman, her heart breaking, "What's your name?"

  The woman grinned, sharp toothed and brave.

  "I was Aris," she shouted back, "My name was Aris."

  Then Hestian pulled Astrid back onto his mount and shouted to his men who were still in the camp. They ran, getting as much space between them and the portal as they could. Just before she was out of sight, Astrid saw Aris plunge the laser lance into the console.

  The silver shadow wavering behind the portal shuddered and collapsed onto itself, condensing into a tiny white hot point that erupted a millisecond later, belching flames over the battlefield before the floating sections of the portal began to fall one at a time, collapsing onto the camp with great fiery crashes. Astrid watched her last chance of getting home burn, then pressed her face to Hestian's shoulder and closed her eyes as the terrible weight of all that had happened that day settled on her shoulders.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Life went on, as life must. The Shining City's losses were surprisingly minimal considering, but a day of mourning was still held, in honor not just of the warriors lost in Hestian's army, but the deposed prince and his men as well. Astrid stood beside Hestian as they watched the funeral parade make its way through the city, the normally colorful buildings draped in black cloth that waved in the bleak wind.

  Astrid made certain that Aris was honored among the dead for her sacrifice. The other widows of Orestes, save the one that had died alongside him, were moved into the garden of the Hesperides as members of the royal family. Astrid was worried there might be tension, but the Hesperides welcomed them warmly and with sympathy for the situation they had been in.

  Antheia and the woman who had released Astrid, whose name was Metis, seemed to hit it off in particular almost immediately, engaging in heated and highly logical debates and, Astrid suspected, some post-debate canoodling when no one was looking.

  Astrid had a feeling the women's quarters would be very lively for a while. But as for her, she spent most of her time confined to her room in the days after the battle, which would come to be called the War of Wives. She was still mourning her planet.

  Not lost, maybe, but lost to her all the same. The destruction of the crashing portal had thoroughly destroyed her pod and all the other technology she'd brought with her.

  There was very little likelihood she would ever even know for certain where she was in relation to earth, much less ever see it again. She tried to resign herself to it. Nibiru was certainly not the worst place to be trapped.

  The Hesperides cared for her like mothers and sisters, and Hestian doted on her like he was afraid at any moment she might disappear again, for good this time. It frightened her a little, the sheer power with which he loved her. She'd never seen such an intense love.

  There was never a touch, never a glance in her direction, that wasn't heavy with his affection for her. And it scared her, because she wasn't certain she had the strength to return it. She felt something for him, something powerful. It drew her back to him over and over and made her heart ache when he was away.

  When he touched her, for a moment she forgot everything that tied her to any place that was not him. And it was for that reason she refused to examine those feelings too closely or to let them overwhelm her. She couldn't forget Earth. She couldn't forget her home and her family and where she'd come from. If she just let it all go, what kind of person would that make her? But time ticked by, and with every passing day it was harder to ignore just how much every part of her wanted to love him.

  She was standing on the balcony outside his rooms in the palace. The view of the city and the mountains was spectacular, a patchwork of blue and white and gray, and the buildings distant and tinted by the clouds that drifted below them. But she wasn't looking at them.

  Her eyes were closed, the wind catching her hair and the loose, transparent violet dress she was wearing, which did little to cut the chill of the breeze or to hide her body, the curves of which it clung too devotedly. It was meant to be worn over an opaquer garment, but Astrid had only pulled it on to step outside for fresh air.

  With that breeze on her face, she could almost imagine she was back home, standing on the back porch before a rain storm maybe. Warm arms slid around her waist and pulled her against a broad, powerful chest as Hestian settled his chin on top of her head. She could feel him through the thin silk dress and smiled as she realized he was still naked.

  "I have something to show you," he said after a moment just holding her, "A gift."

  "You have to stop with the gifts," Astrid laughed, leaning against him, "It's getting ridiculous. I still haven't dealt with the pile you sent me before the battle."

  "I have the means to spoil the woman I lov
e," he ran his fingers up her arm with a soft, gentle touch, "Why wouldn't I do so?"

  Astrid shook her head, then turned around to face him, putting her arms around his neck.

  "So what is it this time? Not more furniture I hope."

  He shook his head, smiling gently down at her, his adoration for her apparent in his eyes.

  "It's a surprise," Hestian caught her hand and brought it to his lips, "I think you'll like it."

  Astrid raised an eyebrow, but let him pull her away from the balcony and reluctantly dressed in something less revealing so he could show her deeper into the palace.

  They made their way down to a lower interior room, deep in the heart of the mountain, far below the part of the palace that was visible outside the mountain. Astrid was starting to get suspicious when they finally reached a locked door, which Hestian pulled out a key to open.

  "Ready?" He asked, hand on the latch. When she rolled her eyes and nodded, he pushed the door open. Astrid's heart stopped at what she saw on the other side, and she stepped through the door in shocked wonder.

  In the center of the room was a portal not unlike the one she'd gone through to get here, humming with power, open and ready for her to pass through.

  "We rebuilt it," Hestian spoke gently behind her, and for the first time she heard the touch of sadness in his voice, "Reverse engineered the tech from the wrecked giant portal. I say we, but it was mostly the Hesperides. Orestes's widows were a big help."

  Astrid was still staring in shock, overwhelmed by the rush of emotion as she realized she could go home. She was going to see her family again, and tell the world about life on other planets...

  "It's a one way trip," Hestian's hand squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, "I want to be certain no one threatens Earth again until it's advanced enough to handle it. So once you're through, I'm going to destroy this portal with an energy pulse that will also destroy the lab of your Professor Brentwood, hopefully taking all his research with him."

  All Astrid's joy drained suddenly away, and she stared at the portal, wracked with indecision. She understood Hestian's logic. It was too dangerous to maintain a connection between the two planets, even one they controlled. They never knew whose hands it could fall into. The only way to keep Earth safe was to cut it off entirely until it was ready to venture out into the universe without outside interference.

  Astrid wondered where all her excitement had gone. She could go home. It was right there. She could see her family, her friends again. She'd been so close to giving up and now it was right in front of her, just waiting. But she couldn't make herself step forward.

  She realized, no matter how hard she'd been fighting it, her heart was connected to Hestian's. The thought of leaving him hurt like a physical wound, even more than the thought of leaving behind her home, and her family.

  "You don't have to hesitate for my sake," Hestian said, touching her arm gently, "I'm not going to hold you back."

  "Hestian..."

  "I love you," his voice was raw with feeling, making Astrid's chest squeeze with emotion, "I'm always going to love you. But I can't watch you suffer here, trapped a million light years from your home. I just want you to be happy, wherever you are."

  "Hestian," Astrid turned to look at him, her heart breaking, "I wouldn't be happy there. I'm not going to be happy anywhere without you. I love you too, Hestian."

  Hestian had been trying to keep his expression even, but at that it crumpled into bitter tears and he grabbed her in a tight, squeezing hug.

  "I'm not going anywhere," Astrid said, realizing it was true as she said it, "I'm never going to leave you again."

  He kissed her hard and she clung to his shoulders, trembling with emotion as she thought about all she was saying good bye to, and the future that she was choosing.

  When he let her go to breathe, she looked up at him and touched his cheek, love burning so bright inside her she thought she might combust. Only a love that fierce could make her leave her family behind.

  "Can I send a message through the portal?" she asked, "Before we destroy it? For my father."

  Hestian nodded, and released her long enough to write a letter. She helped him calibrate the portal to the right location before she tossed it through, hoping her message made it. Then she held his hand as he pressed to button to send the pulse through the portal to destroy Brentwood's lab and finally the portal itself. It hissed and popped as it shorted out.

  "I'll have it all melted down soon," Hestian promised, "Not a scrap will remain."

  Astrid took a deep breath, still coming to terms with her choice, and squeezed Hestian's hand.

  "Good."

  They stood there for a time, looking at the smoking machinery, before Astrid finally spoke, asking something that had been bothering her since the battle.

  "During your fight with Orestes," she asked, unable to meet his eye, "You said I was your destined mate. What did you mean by that?"

  Hestian considered his answer for a long moment, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

  "I mentioned destined mates to you when you first came here. They are a rare and precious thing for my species. There is only one woman to every hundred men, but only one in a hundred of those women will find her destined mate.

  Its part biological, your body recognizing the most physically idea reproductive partner. But part of is emotional, spiritual, as well. Two souls that have existed together since the beginning of time, finding one another over and over again throughout a thousand life times. Destined mates are protected by the Accords, because there is nothing someone will not do for their destined mate. It cannot be helped."

  Astrid considered this for a long moment, frowning.

  "Did you only say it because of the Accords?" she asked at last, "Because you would have been breaking them to rescue me otherwise?"

  A few seconds past before he answer in quiet, solemn certainty.

  "No."

  Astrid closed her eyes, feeling how perfectly his hand fit in hers, how comfortably their fingers laced. She felt the way her body seemed to pull towards his. She breathed deep and recognized his scent and how it calmed her. She loved him so much it ached.

  "What does it mean," Astrid looked up at shyly, "If we're destined?"

  "I will mark you as mine," Hestian replied, "And our names will be added to the book of destined loves. And when I am crowned, you will be Queen of the Shining City, and we will be together always, until the end of time."

  She smiled, though she was shivering at the magnitude of it.

  "I wouldn't have it any other way."

  He carried her back to the room in his arms so that he wouldn't have to stop kissing her the entire way. They shed their clothes as soon as they reached the privacy of his rooms and he laid her out across the bed to worship every inch of her body.

  He kissed her ankles, the tender backs of her knees, the inside of her thighs, the swell of her hips, the soft dip of her belly, the tip of each breast, and finally the hollow of her throat, where he lingered, his teeth brushing her skin.

  She pulled him up to kiss his lips again, finding she was swiftly becoming addicted to that taste, to the tingling rush of his skin against hers. She wanted to kiss him forever, and she wrapped her legs around his hips to show him so. He groaned, rocking against her, and she felt his hardness sliding between her wet lips, already eager to be inside her.

  Her hands glided over his skin, learning every part of him, memorizing every slope and ridge of muscle and bone. She wanted to know him by heart, to be able to feel him under her fingertips every time she closed her eyes.

  She rolled them over so that she could look down at him, gilded with golden light from the lamps, looking up at her like she was all that mattered in the universe, and then closing his eyes like she was too bright to bear looking at as she rocked her hips back to let him slide and grind between the cheeks of her backside.

  She moved suddenly, sliding down to sit between his thighs so that she c
ould wrap her hands around his girth and shower it in kisses, wrapping her lips around his head and swallowing him until he groaned and throbbed on her tongue. He squirmed, seconds from cumming, and finally reached out to pull her away. He dragged her up to kiss her again, unbothered by the taste of himself on her lips, then shifted out from under her, leaving her on her hands and knees on the bed.

  She was about to move before he caught her by the hips and she realized what he wanted. She was tempted to make him fight for it, but she wanted it too badly herself to tease him. Instead she rocked backwards to grind against him again, until he pushed her shoulders down against the sheets to make her hold still while he positioned himself at her entrance.

  Slowly, careful as he always was, he spread her open and slid inside her, filling her up till she groaned and her walls stung, stretched by the fullness.

  She gripped the silk sheets as tremors of pleasure ran through her with every shallow thrust as he eased his way in. At last he felt his hips against her thighs as he rocked against her, pushing for every last centimeter, until he could bed over and kiss the small of her back.

  He slid his hands up to squeeze at her breasts, flicking at her nipples while buried within her to the hilt. Finally, he caught her shoulder with one hand and her hip with the other and pulled slowly out, using his grip on her to push back in again.

  Astrid moaned as he took her tenderly, taking his time to pull out almost completely before surging back in again. She couldn't tell if he was teasing her or just truly wanted to relish the moment.

  His hand slid beneath her to rub slow circles over her clit in time with his deep, patient thrusts, pausing to grind against her inner walls every time he seated himself within her completely. It felt amazing, but the slow build was maddening, leaving Astrid desperate for more.

  "Please," she groaned, "Harder."

  "As my Queen commands," he said, teasing her, but she felt him pull back again and then, before she could brace herself for it, slammed forward again, so hard she saw stars.