by Calista Skye
I help them up onto the edge of the spaceship, and we climb a little bit up on the sloping side to where we can see the dragons. They’re visible only because of their blue flames that burn through the ground, bright like a welder’s torch.
Our own men are only visible as dark shadows moving quietly through the terrain.
“You don’t think it’ll be dangerous?” Sophia asks anxiously. “It’s just, I kind of like Jax’zan, and I just thought I’d lost him...”
“It’ll be fine,” I say. “Those are small dragons. Inside this spaceship, you can see all kinds of recordings of adult dragons. Now, those are terrifying. And they fly.”
“Is that who owned Bune? Dragons?”
“No. There was only one alien in Bune. One machine-bound alien who had long ago forgotten what it’s like to have a body. But it was obsessed with revenge on the enemy that had forced its kind to leave the physical world and take up residence in hyper-advanced computers. That’s why it was here. That’s why the cavemen are here on Xren. To evolve and to be honed by this lethal planet into a very special kind of warrior.”
The men have almost reached the dragons and are spreading out. I think this will be a quick fight.
“It’s the perfect planet for it,” Aurora says. “So fucking deadly. And these guys seem to handle it pretty well. Better than me, anyway.”
One of the blue flames suddenly grows into a fireball, and a terrible shriek reaches my ears. Then there’s only one flame left.
“Yeah,” I agree. “The project has been very successful. These guys are pretty much as good as they can get. They don’t know it yet. But they can feel what they are.”
Heidi frowns. “They’re specifically designed to fight an enemy? What kind of super enemy can that possibly be? That you can only fight using huge warriors with swords?”
I point to the fight, where the second blue flame goes extremely bright and is then extinguished. Another furious shriek reaches us a second later. “This planet is full of deadly dinosaurs of all sizes. It even has dactyls. Flying predators the size of airplanes. What kind of warrior would you train on a planet like this?”
“Xark’on was never hypnotized by Troga,” Caroline says, having clearly figured out the answer.
“The dragons are the enemy,” Heidi states flatly. “The cavemen are meant to fight them.”
“Oh my fucking stars,” Emilia exclaims. “The cavemen. Our cavemen. They’re dragonslayers!”
I put my arm around her shoulders, with happy tears burning in my eyes. “That’s right. That’s what they are. And they are fucking magnificent.”
- - -
We build a fire, and Brax’tan and Trax’zor go inside the spaceship, returning with a small bundle of fabric tightly wrapped. They douse it in oil and put it on top of the stacked wood, then light the pyre.
The body that was Alesya’s burns brightly in the night.
“Poor Alesya,” Heidi says, her face lit by the flickering flames. “I’m glad she never knew what her body would be used for.”
“She was long dead,” I assure her. “There was nothing of her left in there.”
“She would never have allowed it,” Aurora says, tears streaming down her face. “She would have fought fiercely if someone tried to take her body with her still in it.”
“Imagine going to these lengths to get revenge on dragons,” Caroline marvels. “I really wonder who these aliens were.”
“I’m sure there must be clues inside there,” I say and point with my thumb at the spaceship. “There are endless computers and more rooms and all kinds of hanging gardens and I don’t even know what else.”
“How could you even fly that thing?”
I take her wrist and squeeze it. “I’ll tell you what I told Brax’tan when he asked me the same thing: I’ve been spending the past freaking year staring at wall paintings and that stupid spypad. Those symbols have become second nature to me. And the control panel in that ship had those exact same symbols and the same logic. The first time I saw it, it just fell into place, all in the space of one second. I can probably fly that thing better than the alien itself.”
Emilia scratches her head. “Can it take us home? To Earth?”
I sigh. “It’s badly broken. What you just saw is all it can do. Flying a few miles over a planetary surface at atmospheric pressure. I’m not even sure if it can do that again without disintegrating. And I don’t think I can fix it. So girls, I’m sorry. But that ship will never fly in space again.”
There’s a disappointed silence. We all had our hopes of getting home pinned to that ship.
“Okay,” Sophia finally says. “We’re here for keeps. But we have a spaceship to live in now. We have many more men. We have kids. We have pregnant women. I’m sure we’ll make many more friends among the tribes after this incredible demonstration of power. I’d say we’re much better off than before.”
“So,” Heidi says. “What do we do now? We have to explore the ship. There’s a lot I don’t understand.”
“We will,” I say.” I say. “But first, I’m getting married. Could you do the honors, please, Caroline? Tomorrow, maybe?”
“Try to stop me,” the Norwegian girl laughs. “I’ll wed you if it’s the last thing I do.”
I spontaneously hug her, reflecting that it’s something I’d never have done just two weeks ago. “I have a feeling it won’t be the last thing you do. Not by a long shot.”
41
- Brax’tan -
“Ai du,” Delyah says in her own alien language. Anything she says sounds sweet to me, but I think I know what that phrase means, and it makes it sound even more heavenly.
But of course I can’t be sure.
“That’s it,” their female shaman says. “You’re married. And because there’s sometimes a little bit of confusion about this part: Brax’tan, this was the whole ceremony. There’s no test or trials after this. It really is this easy. You really are married to Delyah now. You’re done.”
Everyone laughs.
I smile, too, although I’m a little confused. Well, it’s fine. I really liked what the shaman just said. And I did wonder if this was all there was.
I take Delyah’s outstretched hand, and we walk a little ways away from the altar that was made very hurriedly this morning, using some of the log fortifications that her tribe built on this hill last night.
To defend against my tribe and the army I assembled. The fact that I can’t remember doing any of it is a cold comfort to me. I did do it. Forced by an alien and its witchcraft, perhaps. And yet I feel guilty. Still, Delyah made sure no major disaster happened.
“Hey, you’re not being very exuberant,” she says and looks up at me with her dark eyes. “It’s your wedding day.”
“Ah, yes. Lost in thought for a moment.”
“Brax’tan, you had no control over yourself,” she says, understanding what I’m thinking. But of course she’s my wife now, so it’s to be expected. “The alien controlled you. Until you rejected it. How did you do that, anyway?”
“I didn’t knowingly reject it. I felt that would not be possible. I couldn’t overpower it. But I had a choice. I could remove myself as its tool. Not follow the Command. It would mean taking myself out of the world. It was the easiest choice I’ve made in my time as chief. No, in all my life.”
“You’d rather die than hurt me.”
I ponder the possibility of explaining to her the immensity of the difference between those two choices, as between a bright day of feasting in the village and a dark rainy night alone in the jungle, cast out from the tribe and without a sword. Except the difference was much greater than that. Between something that’s impossible and something that’s effortless.
“Yes,” I finally reply.
She squeezes my hand. “You won. You conquered that thing in your own head. Everything depended on that.”
“Everything depended on you.”
“On us.”
I can’t help myself.
I take her face between my hands and kiss her right on the mouth.
There’s laughter and clapping of hands behind us as her friends cheer us on.
“You have good friends,” I observe.
“So do you. They’re yours, too, now.”
The women come closer and surround Delyah with happy chatter, so I saunter over to the other warriors here.
They clasp my hand.
“Congratulations, warrior,” Xark’on says. “You are now a member of a very small club: those warriors who are married. There are six of us now.”
“It is a great honor. Your tribe is larger than I thought.”
“It has grown lately,” Jax’zan explains. “More warriors joined us in defense against the attacking army.”
“The army that was shamefully created by me.” It has to be said.
“I understand it was the alien entity in Bune that created the army, exploiting your skill and reputation,” Trak’zor says. “No blame attaches to you, warrior.”
“The alien entity could even control a dead body with its witchcraft,” Jax’zan says. “It is a marvel of our times that you could resist it at all. I would erect a victory pole to mark it.”
“And yet, what will you do with your tribe?” Ar’ox asks. “The army was led by a man with black stripes.”
“Sas’tar, my trusted friend,” I say darkly. “He murdered our shaman and led the army. I don’t think he was under alien control. Well, I am still chief. And I intend to remain so. The tribal council will determine the fate of Sas’tar and his followers. Who, I fear, were mostly my followers.”
“Only few men with black stripes were seen among our attackers,” Dar’ax states. “It appears most of your tribesmen stayed in their village when you were called to Bune. They would follow you only. Not Sas’tar.”
“That is well,” I say, relieved. “And yet, I apologize for my actions. And those of my tribe.”
“It was Bune,” Xark’on says. “Not you. Believe us, we’ve had to deal with other evil things coming from there. You were vital in conquering our main enemy, tribesman Brax’tan! We are grateful.”
I’m moved by their magnanimous attitude to my mistakes. “And so am I, tribesmen.”
I watch Delyah from the corner of my eyes. She’s throwing her little bunch of flowers, and some of the other women scramble to catch it. The woman I think she called Tamara finally holds it aloft in triumph and to much noise and mirth from the others.
“It’s a tradition with them,” Xark’on says as explanation. “One wonders if your wife Delyah is to give birth? It is common for women to be pregnant when they’re married. We think they can only be wed if they are expecting.”
I laugh. “Oh, no. No, no. Delyah is not expecting a child. Why, I have only Mated with her maybe twenty times.”
The other warriors look at each other.
“It appears that even such a low number of Matings can be enough,” Jax’zan says carefully. “Indeed, the women claim that one Mating is enough.”
“One?” I glance over at Delyah. “But she looks no different! I know your wife is pregnant, Dar’ax. Observe her roundness, as opposed to my Delyah’s! They are different in shape. While your wife is round around the middle, mine is mostly round around the… hmm... rear. The difference is considerable!”
“Ah, but Heidi has been growing steadily for months,” Dar’ax says. “When she was first deemed to be with child, she was as thin as your wife is now. Have you asked her? Sometimes the women are secretive about whether or not they have a baby inside.”
I’m shaken. Could it be?
I stagger over to Delyah on legs that suddenly feel soft. “My love.”
“Yes, my own?”
“The men are suggesting… I mean, it’s a ridiculous idea. And yet they think I should ask. Not for me, you understand. Just for them.”
She hides a smile behind her hand. “Yes?”
“Now, we Mated several times.”
“I seem to remember that we did.”
“And that is one way in which a woman might become pregnant.”
She nods seriously. “I would go further, Brax’tan. I would say that it is the only way.”
“Ah. Really? But then… if that is the only way… And we did it many times…”
She takes mercy on me. “Then am I pregnant? It’s too soon to say for sure, my love. But some signs are there already. Tribesmen have very potent seed. The signs that are here are quite strong.”
I don’t know what to say.
The women around us laugh at my confusion, but I don’t care. I have to check if I understood completely. “You might be pregnant? From Mating with me?”
“Yes, Brax’tan. I might be.”
The jungle spins around me. “We might have… a child?”
“If everything goes well.” She smiles, and the whole world lights up so bright I’ve never seen it quite like this.
I grab her waist and lift her up, then roar in pure happiness.
She laughs with abandon, and my heart swells more than I ever thought possible.
“You know what, warrior? Now you’re being exuberant.”
“I will be exuberant a lot from now on. And joyful. And perhaps even boisterous.”
My wife looks at me with joy in her eyes. “Will you be patient?”
“Of course.”
“Caring?”
“Yes.”
“Vivacious?”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Passionate?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Because,” she whispers loudly into my ear, “I will be horny. A lot. And I’ll need you to handle that. Like, pretty soon now.”
My crotch immediately swells. “That seems like something I will even enjoy doing.”
“I know, warrior. Just one more thing.” She looks into my eyes again, locking my attention to her soul. “The only thing I really care about. Will you be forever?”
“I think I just promised that I will. Forever. For you and for us. Will you?”
“Forever is a long time,” Delyah says. “But by your side, I think I will find it much too short.”
I kiss her full lips once more, marveling that such a thing as my wife can exist. “I think our forever has started already.”
She grins with her blindingly white teeth. “Then let’s make the most of it, warrior.”
© Calista Skye 2018
- - -
Make sure to catch the Epilogue at the end of the book!
- - -
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading my book!
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Calista
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Caveman Alien's Ransom: A SciFi BBW/Alien Fated Mates Romance
Being abducted by aliens was never on my bucket list. But I guess the aliens didn't get that memo, because one night I was beamed aboard a UFO. It dumped me and a bunch of other girls on an alien planet. A Jurassic planet where giant, murderous dinosaurs walk around, and everything wants to kill me. My only hope of surviving is the first man I met here. His name is Jax'zan, and he's an alien. And a caveman. As in, the hottest super-alpha caveman who ever lived. He's big and strong and doesn't talk much, but he's saved my life so many times now that I've lost count. My insides turn to hot mush whenever he fixes his smoldering eyes on me, and the scandalously sexy and unusual features his sensationally muscular body is rocking totally make me forget time and place. There's only one problem: He's holding me for ransom. And he wants t
o repopulate his woman-less planet. With me ... Expect steamy scenes, mysterious aliens with features like adult toys, deadly planets, and the love story between a BBW from Earth and a sensationally hot alien warrior. Full-length romance novel with no cliffhangers and a happily-ever-after ending!
Epilogue
- Delyah -
“Fuck Me Sideways, This Is Creepy: An Exploration of a Crashed Alien Spaceship,” Emilia says.
“Hard to believe something this beautiful could be this eerie,” Sophia agrees. “Are these fruits edible, Delyah?”
“They seem to be,” I say, putting my hands at my hips and gazing down to the many other levels of the hanging gardens inside the spaceship. “But we should probably check each one.”
“That alien,” Caroline says, “the one that ran this place. It can’t have been that different from us. I mean, if it could eat the same things.”
I pick a fruit I’ve tried before and bite into it. “It really can’t. I think they were pretty much very close to human. Not as close as cavemen, maybe. But pretty damn close.”
All the girls are here, except for Heidi, who’s much too pregnant and exhausted to move this far from the cave. Now we’re exploring the lower floors of the part of Bune that came with us when Brax’tan and I flew here in the top half of it. Everything seems to work still, even the super huge screens that show an image from an alien planet, making it seem as if we’re there.
“Is that the river that I fell into way back when? With the weird water?” Sophia points to the waterfall from this level down to the next one.”
“Could be,” I reply. “It might pick up some unsavory stuff on the way. I actually have no idea if it is the same one.”
“So this is where the aliens would take walks and try to be alive,” Eleanor says, looking around the tidy garden “Trying to feel like they were still alive. Wearing robot suits, living inside computers. Being computer apps, pretty much.”
“They were like apps on a phone,” Emilia says. “Super-advanced apps who had once been alive. They had to escape into computers to flee the dragons that had destroyed their planet. Only their minds could do it. The bodies were left behind. Is it wrong of me to feel sorry for them?”