Chilled: Elemental Warriors (A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Paranormal Romance)

by Ashley West

  Reactions ranged from people calling him a liar, to people calling him an idiot, to people who believed him. Katia wasn’t really sure where she fell on that list, mostly because she had too many things to do to worry about whether or not one man in a state far from hers had actually seen an alien or not.

  But she still listened when Simmons got on the air.

  “Thanks for joining us for Half Time, Mr. Simmons,” the DJ said. “So I’m sure it’s safe to say you’ve had a busy few weeks.”

  “Oh, yeah. Definitely busy. Been on more talk shows than I’ve ever even seen before.”

  The DJ laughed. “Fame will do that to you. We don’t have a lot of time here, and I’m sure most of our listeners have already heard you speak somewhere or other, but can you, real quick, tell us why you believe there’s more out there.”

  “Of course.” Simmons was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “I mean, I could say it’s because I’ve seen it with my own two eyes, but I know there’s a bunch of people out there who don’t believe me and think I’m an idiot or something. And that’s fine. We don’t always believe stuff, even when they’re right in front of us. But think about this: it’s a big universe out there. Planets and nebulas and stars stretching out farther than we could ever get to. How in the heck can we say that we’re the only things kicking around out in all that. Just us on our little planet? It don’t make sense. Just because water and air and all that are things we need, don’t mean it’s all other species need. I believe we’ve been visited. And I don’t think it’ll be the last time.”

  She had to admit, it was a moving speech. Far from just being a crackpot like so many people assumed he was, Simmons spoke with an intelligence not usually heard on radio interviews like this. And he had good points. Katia didn’t particularly want to think about the vastness of space, and luckily her exit popped up quickly, and her mind was back on work and her goals for the week.

  “Good morning, Royal Tree Suites, how may I help you? Oh, yes, of course. Mmhmm. If you’ll give me just a moment, I can pull up your reservation information, Mrs. Scott.” Katia pressed the phone between her cheek and her shoulder, practiced fingers going to the keyboard to look up the reservation for the customer. “Alright, I’ve got it. And you wanted to add another room to that? Unfortunately that floor is all booked up, Mrs. Scott, but I can book you for a single on the next floor down. Yes. Yes, ma’am, it has all the same accommodations. We can go ahead and add it to your reservation, and you’ll be charged at checkout. Alright. Excellent. I’ll take care of it right now, Mrs. Scott. Yes. Thank you, ma’am. Have a good day.”

  She hung up the phone and sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face. She’d only been behind this desk for three hours so far, and already she wanted to be done with it. Her feet hurt, and the fact that she didn’t get a chair to sit in made her want to smack something or someone. Knowing that after this she had to go to her second job, just made things worse.

  Still, Katia entered the reservation information into the computer with the usual firm, decisive clatter of fingers on keys, and then sighed, grateful that the lobby of the hotel was deserted so she could sag against the polished counter for a moment.

  Royal Tree Suites was one of the nicer hotels in the city. It wasn’t as fancy as the ones near the airport, but it was several steps up from the inns and motels that lined the highway. It boasted free wifi, an indoor pool, and free continental breakfast for anyone with a reservation. It was a nice mixture of luxury and quaint, and still affordable on top of that, so it was very popular.

  Which, of course, meant that Katia’s downtime was nearly nonexistent outside of her breaks. She answered phones, she answered questions, she greeted guests, and handled checking in and checking out.

  When a woman with four screaming children stopped by the desk to complain that the couple in the room next to hers had been banging on the wall all evening the night before, Katia had to offer her sincere apologies instead of pointing out that maybe they just wanted her screaming hellions to keep their mouths shut for five minutes so that they could get some sleep or watch HBO or something. But professionalism demanded certain things, so she just smiled and said she’d have a word with them.

  “Why is it that people can’t control their spawn?”

  Katia laughed and turned to see her coworker Eliza coming up to the desk. She was one of Katia’s favorite people to work with, mostly because of things like the comment she’d just made. Eliza was amazing at smiling and being accommodating in the face of the guests, but as soon as it was just them, every sarcastic and rude comment she’d wanted to make came pouring out, usually making Katia laugh so hard her stomach hurt.

  “Who knows?” Katia replied, sliding over so there was room for Eliza behind the desk. “Maybe they’re scared of them.”

  Eliza snorted. “I know I would be. You know one of the best things about not being interested in men?”

  “According to you, there’s a million things that are good about it.”

  “Well, yeah, but some are in the top tier of good stuff. Like no accidental pregnancies.”

  Katia nodded. “Alright, yeah. I’ll give you that one.”

  “Thank you.”

  Having someone there with her made time go by faster, and soon her requisite five hours behind the desk were done and she was heading to her car to drive to job number two.

  Working this hard was stressful, and more often than not, when she finished a two job day, she ended up needing several cups of coffee to get through it all and then finding herself slumping into her house like her feet were weighed down with lead. She managed something quick and easy for dinner and then dragged herself into a shower before finally falling into bed. Luckily, it was only three days a week that she ended up at both jobs in one day, so she wasn’t always knock down, passed out exhausted. Just most of the time.

  But it was for a good cause.

  In her house, in the little, otherwise useless, cabinet above her refrigerator was a jar labeled ‘The Lily’. It was mostly symbolic since there wasn’t any cash in it, save for a some loose change and a few crumpled dollars, but it held the bank statements and deposit slips for the bank account she had set up for the express purpose of saving money for the inn she wanted to run in the future.

  It had always been her dream to have one of her very own. Ever since she’d stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast with her parents when she was a child. Just remembering the sense of wonder and being at home away from home that she’d experienced made her want to have something like that of her own, and as an adult, all of her extra money was going towards it.

  Katia had plans. She had business plans, financial plans, layout plans for the inn itself, ideas about who she would have staffing it. All of it had taken shape in her mind and in a pile of notebooks that she kept in a drawer in her bedside table. As with most things, money was the thing in the way, hence the two jobs.

  Her father had always told her that anything worth having was worth working hard for, and she was sure that it applied here. So whatever she had to do, she was going to do it, to make her dreams come true. As cheesy as that sounded.

  “Are you getting enough sleep, Katia?” her mother asked, and Katia snorted, pouring her another cup of coffee. It was…probably very sad that the only time she could really make to have a conversation with her mother face to face was when she was at work.

  Her parents understood her drive, her need to make this happen, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t worry about her and want her to not have to work her fingers to the bone. She could always see the concern in her mother’s eyes when she asked that question, and hear it in her voice, as well. Katia always nodded, though, before she took her break, settling in on the other side of the small table.

  “I’m fine, Mama,” she said, propping her chin up in her hand, elbow on the table.

  “And you would say that even if you weren’t fine,” her mother replied sternly. “I know you have dreams, Ka
tia, but you can’t work yourself to death to achieve them. You need to take care of yourself.”

  “I am,” Katia insisted. “I have three meals a day for the most part, and I get plenty of exercise running around here and the hotel. I get as much sleep as I can, probably more than I did when I was in college, even. I’m doing what I have to do, Mama.”

  Her mother sighed and nodded. It always came to this, and they both knew it always would. Katia was pretty sure her mother just needed to say the words. That she needed to know that she had expressed her concern and that Katia was still aware of it. And still looking after herself. It was nice that her parents cared, at the very least.

  “Tell me what’s been going on with you,” Katia said, changing the subject. “Any bride horror stories from work? You know how much I love those.”

  A smile curled over her mother’s face and she settled in. They only had twenty minutes to catch up, but it was a time they both looked forward to, Katia knew that. She liked hearing her mother’s stories of being a seamstress who specialized in wedding dresses. It was a welcome break from thinking about her own jobs.

  When her break was over, she’d go back to the grind, back to working herself to exhaustion in the name of her goals. It wasn’t a perfect life, not yet, but it was hers, and she had made it for herself. She was working towards making things even better, too, and that was admirable, even if only in her own mind.

  So she let herself have this time, sipping her coffee and leaning back in her chair, ready for a story.

  Silas: Imperial Warrior is now available for Kindle. Click here to get your copy.

  About the Author

  Ashley West was raised in a small Midwest town. She has always been a big fan of science fiction and paranormal books and movies. Her all-time favorite movies are the first three Star Wars movies. She started writing at a young age and has not looked back since. Ashley brings her worlds to life with vivid details and likeable characters.

  On her spare time, she enjoys painting, jogging, and curling up next to her favorite books. If you enjoy Ashley’s titles and wish to receive a Free Sci-Fi Alien Romance, stay updated on all her new releases and book giveaways, please visit her website.

  ashleywest.net

  Publisher's Notes

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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