“What does that matter? I’m a good and honorable, poor person who cannot stay on one planet long enough to build a life for myself for fear someone will figure out who I am and what I can do. They’ll either provide information to the Thruul, or they’ll try to enslave or extort me. Planet life isn’t for me, and life on a spaceship isn’t conducive for humans. They turn all sickly and pale.”
“Ipakethe can be your home, just like it’s quickly becoming Miranda’s home.”
“It can’t. I can’t endanger you and your family, and I can’t endanger Miranda and the kids. I’m a liability.”
Melis snorted. “Fanian, do you honestly believe the Thruul will come to this galaxy for you? You are but one Givvek and one isn’t sufficient to risk such a trip. Deep down, I think you’re more afraid of the idea of them coming.”
Fanian balled his hands into fists. “It’s not that easy to forget about the Thruul and the possibilities of what could happen if they come here.”
“It’s time for you to replace your old memories with new ones. You and Miranda deserve happiness.”
Could he forget about the past? Could he start anew? Ancients knew he wanted to. Fanian took a deep breath. “I gave Az’ud everything that was in my credit account. I have nothing to give to her. I can’t support a family.”
“Stay here and join my staff. I can solve your credit problem if you let me.”
Fanian shook his head. “I don’t want or need your charity.”
“What I want, is you on my staff.”
Of course, he did. No wonder he’d turned down an alliance with Az’ud. As corrupt as he was, Az’ud had power. Why ally with Az’ud when, with Fanian’s help, he could score stronger and more powerful alliances. Fanian wouldn’t allow himself to be used. He’d escaped his galaxy to ensure it.
Fanian stood. “You want to use me for my abilities.”
“If you’re talking about your ability to fight and hunt or your protectiveness and loyalty to family, then yes. I need someone like you on my security staff.”
“And my zvodny? Since you researched my species, I’m sure you know about that as well.”
“That’s a boon, but not needed.”
Fanian eyed Melis carefully. “Why would you want me on your security staff? Yours caught the two Yirzas. You seem to be doing fine without me.”
“My mate caught the Yirzas, against my wishes,” Melis pointed out with a grumble. “We’re a growing world. Our alliances are fresh and new. Our goal is for Ipakethe to become a hub for shopping, leisure, and play. I’ll need to expand my palace security as well as throughout my kingdom. I want you to lead that effort.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I want you to come on as the top security officer for the private sector. There’s already a small team in place that split their time between the palace and the kingdom. But I need someone like you to lead them so they can devote all their time to protecting the off-world visitors.”
Could he stop running? Could he dare to hope to settle down with a family of his own? What if the Thruul found him? What if another species as warmongering as they found him?
At Fanian’s silence, Melis continued, “You’ll have to trust we can keep you and Miranda safe, Fanian. You have to decide if you want to settle down and live your life or if you’re willing to give up the woman you love in fear of an event that may never happen. Stop living in fear. You’ve escaped your homeworld in hopes of a better life. You found it.”
“I need to speak with Payton. I need her help with something.”
“Does this mean you’ll take the job?”
“Yes.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The hovercar came to an abrupt halt. If it weren’t for the safety harness, Miranda’s head would’ve smacked the front window. Hard.
“Oops! Sorry,” Payton said with a sheepish grin. “I’m still learning to drive this thing.”
“I don’t understand why we didn’t have a driver bring us.”
They’d used a driver every other time they’d gone out, from visiting the amusement park to going to the fresh food market. Miranda preferred a seasoned driver to Payton any day. At least the drive would’ve been smooth, and she wouldn’t have a prayer on her lips the entire trip.
Payton was a typical American driver. She screamed at everyone else on the road, cut people off, and Miranda was sure they hadn’t obeyed some of the traffic laws Miranda had been studying.
Payton pressed a few buttons, and the hovercar lowered softly to the ground, and the engine disengaged. “Because I have to drive on my own at some point. I want to be independent, and driving myself is the quickest way of accomplishing that.”
Miranda also wanted to be independent and drive the hovercar Lanta and Melis had gifted her, but there was no way in hell she would be practicing where other hovercars were near. For now, she’d relegated herself to learning in an open field.
Miranda glanced over her shoulder. The hovercar following them since they’d left the palace was directly behind theirs. “And the guards that follow you everywhere?”
“According to Themba, they are a necessity, but ignore them.” When Miranda didn’t turn around to the front right away, Payton yelled, “I said to ignore them!”
Miranda faced forward. “Okay, okay, sheesh.”
Payton closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “If we ignore them, then we can believe we’re actually on a girls only trip away from palace life,” she said in a high-pitched sing-song voice.
Miranda crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, eyeing Payton. “Spill it, what’s the matter? From the outside looking in, your life is golden. A mate who worships the ground you walk on, puts your hair in funky braids every morning, and you have everything you need at your fingertips.”
Payton opened her eyes. “It’s not that. Not really. I just wonder what it would be like to live in a regular house. Like it was before Themba moved us back here. We had our own little place, just the two of us. I love the palace, but sometimes I get so overwhelmed with all the duties and expectations.”
“You want to give it up?”
Payton shook her head. “Themba and the palace go hand in hand. I wouldn’t give it up, because it would mean I’d have to give him up. I thought today we would be by ourselves, and seeing the guards back there irked me. I wanted today to be perfect for you.”
Miranda pulled her eyebrows together. “Perfect for me? Why does this day have to be perfect for me?”
“I have something to show you, and I wanted it to be memorable. You’ve been through so much. I wanted to help you replace the bad memories with some good ones. You deserve your little slice of happiness.”
Miranda worried Esme and Payton wouldn’t like the new her, and she couldn’t be more wrong. Payton and Esme welcomed her with open arms. Even though Esme had returned home and back to Turolois with Xrez, they talked on the holo-call almost every day. Miranda and Lanta were now really close too.
Everyone in the palace had gone out of their way to make her feel at home. The staff loved having Adam and Lexi around. They had a tutor who worked with them every day. One day she’d awakened to find a line of females outside her door, waiting to be interviewed for a nanny position she hadn’t asked for. After hearing all she’d gone through, they wanted the opportunity to help her take care of her children.
Things were perfect. Almost...
Miranda chuckled. “Payton, thank you. We’ve both been through hell. I’m fine. Life is getting better.”
“You don’t mind the guards trailing us?”
“The guards don’t bother me at all. They make me feel safe.”
“Really?”
“For sure.”
She preferred they follow them. Though she’d received word yesterday Az’ud had come to Ipakethe to claim her, but was sent packing, she was still skeptical. What if he came back? With the guards watching her every move, especially outside the palace walls, she felt safe. She wanted t
hem watching her.
Payton undid her harness. “Okay, then.”
Miranda looked out the side window. “Where are we anyway? This looks like a neighborhood.”
It appeared to be a neighborhood street lined with rows of houses, but unlike any neighborhood she’d been in, each place was completely different from the one next to it. Some houses were big, others small. Some were painted in bright, loud colors and others in muted browns, tans, or white. Some house had skewed angles, and some were round. Absolutely nothing matched.
Payton’s eyes twinkled. “We came to look at a house.”
“But you said you didn’t want to give up the palace.”
Payton opened the door and stepped out. “It’s not my house. It’s for you and the kids.”
Miranda fumbled with the harness. “M-Melis is kicking us out?” Her trembling hand somehow found the door. No more guards? No one watching over them? What if Az’ud came back? “What did we do? Please tell me. I know I can fix this.”
The kids loved the palace, and she was quickly getting used to it too. She didn’t have any official duties like Payton and Lanta, but she was finding her way.
Payton frowned at her. “Wait. What? You think we’re kicking you out?”
Miranda stood outside under the warm glow of the sun, but the rays didn’t meet the chill now penetrating her bones. “Why else would you be showing me a house? Melis doesn’t want us there anymore. If it costs too much to keep us, I can get a job to support us.”
“Jesus. This day is going to crap.” Payton rushed around the hovercar and grabbed Miranda’s shoulders. “Honey, calm down. This is only yours, if you want it. This is an inter-species neighborhood with a school, community center, park, and restaurants. You can have all the comforts of home and can raise the kids with some normalcy. I thought you might want this instead of being trapped in the palace where Adam and Lexi are the only children.”
She blinked the tears that had formed away. “I’m not being kicked out?”
“Your home is here with us. No matter where on Ipakethe, you decide to stay.”
Miranda glanced at the only house that didn’t appear like it’d been plucked straight from a sci-fi movie. It was a two-story colonial style with brick or what had the appearance of a brick frame. Blue shutters matched a blue door. It even had a matching screen door. Various plants and bushes were lining the front porch and under the windows. There was also a picket fence that surrounded the property as she’d imagined for herself, back when she was still dreaming of everyday life on Earth.
“I love the palace. It’s safe there. But I was wondering about a school and Adam not having any playmates. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look around.”
Payton looped her arm within Miranda’s and pulled her up the walkway.
“Isn’t this too far from the palace?” Miranda said. “I would miss hanging out with you and Lanta every day.”
“You’re only a five minute ride away.” They stopped at the front door, and Payton entered a series of codes.
“But it took us so long to get here.”
The door opened, and Payton pulled her inside. “I may have been trying to shake our tail. As I said, I didn’t want anything to ruin this special day.”
“Really, Payton. You didn’t have to...” Miranda stepped inside and lost her train of thought. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think she was back on Earth. The living room was painted in earthy tones with a burgundy couch and loveseat set. Dark wood tables complimented the area nicely.
Payton pulled her through the front of the house, leading her to a painted pale yellow kitchen with light-colored countertops and white cabinets.
“Payton...” Miranda finally breathed, turning in a circle, taking it all in. “This is a real house.”
“Would you say this is the perfect place to raise a family?”
Her eyes caught the jungle gym in the backyard sitting on a well-manicured lawn. She nodded.
Perfect.
When Fanian had asked her what kind of house she’d been looking for, this is what she’d imagined. How had Payton known what was in her heart? Too bad, she hadn’t told Fanian her vision had also included him coming home to her every night.
Before she could stop herself, she sniffled.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it? We can change anything you want. The beauty of these houses is you can program it to look like anything you want, either by voice or by picture. You don’t like the color? Say the word, and we can change it in an instant. Do you want glass cabinets instead of wood? Done.” Payton made her way to a control panel.
“No. It’s not the house. This place is per—”
“I’m available to help with any changes that you require, Miranda.”
Confusion washed over her. Miranda glanced at the speaker on the wall near the ceiling. “Omni?”
“Omni?” Payton chuckled nervously. “I don’t know who this Omni person is.”
“Omni is Fanian’s AI.”
Payton’s gaze narrowed “Surprise! This house comes with one of those. This one shouldn’t have spoken yet, though.”
“I will remain quiet,” the AI said.
Miranda shook her head. She was clearly missing Fanian way too much if she imagined Omni’s voice. “As I was saying, the house is perfect.”
“Then why are you tearing up?” Payton asked.
Miranda wiped the corner of her eyes. “Because it’s missing the one thing that can’t be replicated.”
“Fanian?”
At hearing his name, a sob tore through her. “I know I should give him up because he’s given me up. I’ll never see him again, but I didn’t think I’d never speak to him again either. It’s been weeks, and he hasn’t called me once.”
“So what you’re saying is that a hot hunter would make this house complete?” Payton did a little shuffling dance. “You’re in luck because this house comes with one.”
“Payton, I don’t know if that control panel will conjure me up a robot Fanian.” Since being on Ipakethe, she’d seen enough alien technology to make her head spin. “But no, thank you. I want the real thing.”
“And the real things wants you,” a deep voice said from behind her.
Miranda swung around. Fanian was down on one knee. Then she glanced at Payton, just in time to see her motioning for Fanian to hold the ring up. “You put this together?”
“He needed my help with getting the house specs right and how to propose. Everything else is him.”
She turned her attention back to Fanian. She couldn’t believe he was here. “Omni? Is that you?”
“Yes, it is,” Omni replied.
Miranda smacked Fanian across the face.
“Ow!” He rubbed his cheek with his free hand.
“So I may have misread your pining for him. I thought you wanted him back,” Payton said. “This is about to get awkward.”
“No, I’m fine,” Miranda said. “I wanted to make sure he was really here and not a hologram. And I also wanted to hit him for leaving me.”
Payton let out a relieved breath. “So, with that out of the way, I’ll leave you two at it then.”
Fanian held up the ring again. “Miranda Murphy. Will you do me the honor of being my mate for the rest of our lives?”
“You’ll never leave me again?”
“Never. Where you go, I go. Where I go, you go. We are extensions of each other, made for each other. One from now until eternity.”
She held out her finger, and Fanian slipped the ring in place. “Yes. A hundred times, yes.”
About A.M. Griffin
A. M. Griffin is a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas
, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies.
I LOVE HEARING FROM my readers. Like one of my books? Drop me and line! [email protected]
VISIT http://www.amgriffinbooks.com/ to find more titles by A.M. Griffin.
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Hunted by the Alien Vampire Page 25