Star Child: A SciFi Alien Romance (Brides of Alluvia)

by Juno Wells

  “I’m going to come,” I yelled, a little too loud. I didn’t care who heard.

  Aster slammed into me and I felt the wave hit, hard. I moaned, my sweat-drenched hair hanging in my face, and I felt his muscles tense as he found his release inside of me. And just like always, we lost ourselves in the moment as we came together, our bodies rocked with pleasure, flowing through us like pure electricity.

  “I love you,” he said, pushing his hips slowly against me, his body trembling. “Ava, I love you...”

  Our bodies stayed locked together for a long time, still shuddering with pleasure. Eventually we pulled apart and I turned to face him. I felt weak and lightheaded in the best way possible.

  “Now what?” I said, pushing the sweaty hair out of my face.

  “Let’s go celebrate our marriage,” Aster said.

  “Good idea. Let me just...” I fell back into a chair and sighed. “I just need to sit down for a minute. Then maybe take a bath.”

  But as soon as I fell back into the chair, I felt something strange. It felt like a rush, like a blast of pressure inside of me. Some sort of womanly instinct immediately kicked in. A mother’s instinct. I put my hands on my belly.

  “What is it?” Aster said, crouching down in front of me. “Is everything ok?”

  “Oh, fine,” I said, giving him a smile. A nervous buzz shot through my body. “But I think we’re going to have a baby tonight.”

  Aster’s eyes immediately grew determined, serious. “I’ll prepare the birthing pool,” he said.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “I knew this was going to involve water somehow.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  So much for a wedding reception. Instead, I spent the rest of my wedding night percolating in a giant tank of Alluvian water, waiting for our baby to make his appearance. Aster sat in the tank with me like a good husband, and to pass the time he told me stories of his past adventures in the galaxy.

  Every once in a while someone would stop by to check on us. Aster’s mother Vissa brought me fresh flowers and a snack. His sister Prix brought Pepper over for me to snuggle, but Pepper wasn’t at all interested in hanging out in a tank of water. And of course the Alluvian elders stopped by, all eight of them, dying to see the prophesied half-human, half-Alluvian baby. Aster sweetly shooed them away. He knew that the last thing I wanted was to give birth in front of an audience of alien elders.

  The hours ticked by. I wasn’t in pain, thankfully. Alluvian babies were unpredictable and came when they were ready, but the good thing was they came with little pain. My body flooded with brand new pain-minimizing hormones, given to me through the blood bond I shared with my Alluvian child, and I had to admit I felt pretty good.

  “These Alluvian hormones are even better than an epidural,” I joked. “I didn’t even have to get poked by a needle.”

  “So you’re feeling ok?” Aster asked, rubbing my back in slow circles.

  “I feel fine. I’m just ready to meet our son. To hold him.” I sighed and put my hand on my belly. It felt warm and tingly.

  “You know that even after he’s born, we can’t hold him for a while,” Aster reminded me.

  “Oh, right. The birthing sac thing.” This was yet another new detail in my life that I had to try to understand. Apparently, Alluvian babies weren’t born in exactly the same way as human babies. They came out surrounded by water, inside a protective bubble. And it took a bit of time for them to acclimate to life outside of the womb. So when our son came out, we had to stay with him in the tank until he was ready to push free of the protective bubble of water. And there was no telling how long that could take. Maybe minutes, maybe hours, maybe days.

  “You don’t think it’ll take days for him to come out of the water sac thing, do you?” I asked Aster.

  “You never can tell,” Aster responded.

  “Well I hope it doesn’t take him too long. I’m going to prune up in this tank waiting on him,” I joked. “But I bet it’ll be quick. I mean, I may be biased, but I think our son is a pretty advanced little guy. I can tell already.”

  “He’s definitely special,” Aster said.

  I’d tried not to think about the prophecy. It seemed like such a huge burden to put on a baby. Before he was even born – before he was even conceived – an entire planet was depending on him to bring peace to the universe. He was their savior. It was a lot to live up to. It was like his whole life was already planned out, written in the stars. I worried for him, my son.

  “I hope he has a happy life,” I whispered, feeling something shift inside of me. I knew he was close – it was going to happen any minute now.

  “He’ll have parents who love him,” Aster said, kissing me gently on the forehead. “That’s the most important thing.”

  And then, I felt the strangest feeling I’d ever experienced. There was no pain, no discomfort. It felt like light – like a starburst opening up inside of me. I tipped my head back and let the feeling wash over me. I tried to relax, to just let it happen. And after just a moment, it was done. I looked down and saw a beautiful baby, floating in a shimmering orb of water.

  “He’s here,” I whispered. I turned to Aster and saw tears welling up in his eyes. “I wish I could touch him. I want to hold him.”

  “Soon enough,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.

  We stared down at our child floating peacefully under the water, and I felt a rush of love flood my body that was bigger and brighter than anything I’d ever felt. And just like I’d predicted, our boy was advanced. Within two minutes he broke free of the orb of water and I grasped for him, bringing his tiny body up to my chest.

  He was perfect. Soft and sweet, with Aster’s indigo eyes and my light hair. I laughed and cried at the same time, overcome with emotion.

  “Welcome to the world,” I whispered.

  Epilogue

  I stood on the shore of the Alluvian Ocean, looking out at the beautiful blue water. My toes dug in the sand, and small crashing waves tickled my feet. Aster stood next to me, his strong hand on my shoulder. And in my arms I held our son.

  “What should we name him?” I asked Aster.

  “You already know what we should name him,” he replied.

  I remembered the dream I’d had the night we met, and goosebumps popped up on my skin. I’d dreamed this very moment, on the beach with Aster and our son. And in the dream, Aster had said a name. It came back to me immediately.

  “We should name him Kahal,” I said.

  Aster nodded. “It means peace in my language.”

  “It really does seem fitting,” I said, looking down into our son’s brilliant indigo eyes. “Kahal,” I whispered, kissing him on the cheek. “Get ready to save the world, little man...”

  . . . . .

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  And stay tuned for Star Prince, the next installment of the Brides of Alluvia series, co-authored by Juno Wells and Trina Novak! In Book Two, Aster and Ava’s son Kahal is now a grown man, and he must fulfill his destiny and bring peace to the galaxy once and for all. But there’s a second part to the elder’s prophecy. Like his father before him, Kahal is also fated to mate with a human woman, and only then will he become the fierce Alluvian warrior he was meant to be...

  Sign up for Trina Novak’s mailing list to be the first to know when Book Two of the Brides of Alluvia series is published.

  In the meantime, if you enjoyed Star Child, you'll love Star-Crossed, a sexy
short story by Juno Wells featuring a daring female astronaut, a hunky alien, and a steamy zero-gravity sex scene that shouldn’t be missed!

  An Excerpt from Star Crossed:

  I paced around the bridge of my ship, my palms sweaty and my heart lodged in my throat. “I really don’t feel comfortable with this, Steven. Can’t I just stay here until you send some... you know... humans to come rescue me?”

  The ship’s onboard radio crackled, and I heard Steven’s voice come through the speakers. “You know that’s not an option, Serena. We don’t want you on that ship any longer than you need to be. Not in the shape it’s in. And it would take way too long for us to send a crew out to come get you.”

  I knew Steven was right. A week earlier, my ship had been struck by a meteor that tore through the starboard hull and destroyed the main thruster engines. My two crewmates, Charlie and Natasha, had been killed instantly in the resulting blast. Since then, I’d been floating alone in space in a severely damaged ship. I should’ve been happy to be rescued by anyone, but the thought of being rescued by aliens sent a chill down my spine.

  “I know, Steven. Logically, I know this has to happen. I’m just... I’m having a hard time up here.”

  “I know you are, Serena.” Steven sighed, and his voice took on a softer, more sympathetic tone. “You’ve been through a lot this past week. Everyone at NASA is heartbroken over what happened. And we just want to get you safely home as soon as possible.”

  I thought about that word – home – and I didn’t even know what it meant anymore. It had been five years since I’d set foot on planet Earth, and I wasn’t exactly relishing the idea of going back. I’d be returning to an empty apartment – no family, no husband, no boyfriend – not even a pet goldfish. But I couldn’t just stay in my junked-up, half-destroyed starship, so I didn’t have much of an option.

  “Ok, Steve, send in the aliens.” I shrugged, even though there was no one on board to see it.

  “They’re already on their way, Serena. The estimated rendezvous time is 1600 hours. We’ve managed to patch them into your communication channel, so if you’re up for it, you can speak to them directly regarding the game plan. Do you want me to switch you to their channel? Their commander is standing by.”

  “Now?” My heart jumped back into my throat. I didn’t know if I was ready to talk to an alien. “Yeah, I guess. But Steven, what do you know about them? Are they... are they nice?”

  “They seem nice enough,” Steven said.

  “Nice enough doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence, Steve.”

  “Serena, we wouldn’t risk putting you on board an alien spacecraft if we had any doubts. And we have no doubts. As you know, we’ve been in contact with the Lithians for quite a while. We know a lot about their culture and customs, and everything is on the up and up. We feel we can trust them. And their technology is far more advanced than ours, so having you as a guest on their ship is a fantastic opportunity for us. We’re all very excited about what you’ll be able to learn while on board.”

  “Once again, Steven, you’re completely right. Listen, I’m sorry. Like I said, this week has not been easy for me. But this is a monumental opportunity. And I know that Charlie and Natasha would want some good to come out of this situation.”

  “You’ll be the first human being to ever make contact with an alien race in person. Think about that, Serena.”

  “It’s like an interstellar blind date,” I said, laughing. “I hope it doesn’t go as bad as my last blind date.”

  “I’m sure you’ll make an excellent first impression, Serena. Shall I patch you in to their communication channel now?”

  “10-4, Steven. I’m ready to meet the neighbors.”

  “Ok, stand by, Serena. This may take a few minutes. I have to reconfigure our satellites to pick up their signal.”

  I heard the onboard radio crackle, and then all was silent. I tried to calm my frazzled nerves, but the thought of speaking to an actual alien put my anxiety into overdrive. We astronauts are a tough breed, but in that moment I didn’t feel tough at all. I was exhausted from five long years of space travel, and heartbroken over the loss of my crewmates. What I really wanted, as I sat alone in my ship waiting to speak to my alien saviors, was a hug. And maybe a stiff drink.

  I heard the onboard radio crackle once again, and I jumped. Then I heard a voice fill the silent space – a deep, warm, and surprisingly sexy voice.

  “Hello, Commander Walker,” the voice said. “I am Commander Alzan, of the Lithian Federation. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “Hello,” I said, my voice coming out all funny and high-pitched. Then I froze, unsure of what to say next. “It’s... it’s nice to meet you too, Commander Alzan. Over the radio, at least. Though I’m not a commander, so you don’t have to call me that. I’m just a mission specialist. A glorified knob twiddler, basically.” Geez, I thought to myself. Did I just say knob twiddler? That sounds really dirty. “I’m sorry,” I continued. “I think I’m a bit nervous. I’ve never talked to a... you know...”

  “You’ve never spoken to an alien before.” He let out a small laugh – a pleasant, charming laugh – and I realized how long it had been since I’d heard laughter. It felt so good to hear that, and I knew that if this mystery alien could laugh, then maybe we weren’t so different after all. I felt my nervousness drift away like a passing storm, and found myself smiling, alone on the deck of my ship.

  “What’s so funny, Commander Alzan?”

  “I’ve never thought of myself as an alien before.” He laughed again, and my smile grew wider. “I consider you the alien, Ms. Walker.”

  “That’s a good point. I guess we’re both aliens.”

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