Love: BBW Alien Lottery Romance (Chosen by the Karal Book 2) (8 page)

She nodded, the tears blurring her vision now as she fought to control her body, which had now began to tremble.

“I will see you naked. When we join together.” He hammered the point home.

“I know. But it will be different.” She still couldn’t let go of her objections.

He struggled to contain his impatience. “This has to be done, Celia. You cannot go any further without going through decontamination. We cannot allow anything from your Earth to taint our planet.”

“Great, so you think I’m diseased. I wonder why you would want to sleep with me at all if that’s what you believe.” She was trying to push him away, so that she wouldn’t have to do this. She had never been confident about her body, so the thought of standing here in this sterile room and stripping for anyone to see was one that terrified her.

“Celia,” he said, coming to her and placing his hand on hers. “You can do this. I will set the programme; it will begin in five minutes. I will leave, and I give you my word, that no one will look in here, or even walk by.”

“Torac, I can’t.”

His grip tightened on her hand, “Yes, you can. Now I am going to set the programme.” He released her, moved to the console, pressed a couple of buttons, and then moved to the door. He pointed at the screen. “There is the countdown. Please do as I ask.”

“What happens if I don’t?”

“I will either strip you by force, or put you under a deep sleep. Your choice.” His eyes were hard; she knew he would carry out his threat. “This is my mission and I am the Hier Commander of Karal. I am not going back to my planet without you.”

“I see,” she said, glancing at the timer. She now had three minutes left. Torac’s hands were tied; she knew that. It was exactly the same for her dad: turn up for work, compete your tasks, or else there were repercussions. “Leave, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Celia. I want you to know I do not want to force you to do anything.”

“But you will if you have to,” she said.

Torac had no answer for her, and he did not try to deny it. He simply left, pulling the door closed behind him and then moving along the corridor to the left. She imagined him going inside another of these rooms; he would no doubt strip naked without a second thought. Two minutes. Strip; that was what she had to do.

Going to the corner of the room, she quickly stripped down and placed her clothes on the table. Then she ran on her tiptoes to the chair, hoping that if she could tilt it back, no one would see her too easily. The seat was cold against the back of her thighs as she sat down. Lying back, she rested her head in the padded headrest and closed her eyes. Once more, she lost herself to the darkness, as the room began to fill with some kind of chemical. She could smell it, it wasn’t unpleasant, but it still terrified her. What if he planned to gas her? After all, she only had his word it was safe, and although he had said Okil was in one of the other rooms, she had not seen him.

Panic filled her, but she kept her eyes closed and refused to move. Either decon would soon be over, or she would be dead. She had to trust in Torac: he would not have brought her all this way simply to kill her now. He would take her down to his planet, she would be able to breathe fresh air and see life, things that grew. She imagined the colours, the different animals she might see. Perhaps there were horses on Karal. She might one day get her wish of riding one. All of this kept her mind active as the smell dissipated. Her skin felt clean, as though she had been sterilised by the chemicals.

A buzzing noise made her open her eyes. She lifted her head to check the screen. There was a green light flashing. She took that as a sign it had finished, so she got up and headed for the small table with her clothes on. As quickly as she could, she dressed, casting glances at the door to see if anyone was looking. They weren’t.

No one came by at all. Eventually she became worried he had left her here and gone to Karal alone. After what seemed like half an hour, she went to the door and pulled it. Locked. So she was a captive now? The feeling of panic began to return—should she bang on the glass to attract attention? The air in the room suddenly felt different—was it running out? Her claustrophobia returned and she wished he were here to help her overcome it. But he wasn’t.

Celia went to the chair and sat down, trying to regain her composure. But it was impossible. She was trapped on a space station somewhere in the universe; what was she supposed to do? What if there was a problem with the station and they had all evacuated, gone to Karal without her. Maybe it had happened when she was undergoing the decon and they couldn’t get her out.

All of these irrational thoughts cycled through her mind as she waited, and then she felt his presence. She stood up and went to the door, trying to hold herself together as he appeared. He was here; he hadn’t forgotten her. As he pulled the door open, she fell into his arms.

At first, he kept himself rigid, but then he placed his arms around her and cradled her against his chest. “Are you OK?”

“Yes. I was trapped, I couldn’t get out.”

“The door won’t open until the gas in the decon room is completely evacuated.” He let her hold him, let his sense of calm cover her. When her breathing was back to normal, he pulled back from her and then said, “Come on, let me show you my home.”

Celia wanted nothing more than to stand on solid ground once more. “I can’t wait,” she said, and followed him back to the space cruiser where Okil was waiting.

“Time to see your new home, Celia,” the other alien said, smiling at her.

And even before she was in her seat, they were powering away from the space station and beginning the short journey to Karal.

There was his planet; it was beautiful, appearing beneath them as they began their descent. “Look, there is Karal. We will be on the ground soon, and then we can get you settled in. I will make us some food while you unpack.”

“It’s a long way down.” Celia looked terrified.

He placed his hand on hers and then let his mood flow into her. He allowed her to sense his excitement, his pleasure at seeing his home once more. And he absorbed some of her fears, tried to figure out how he was supposed to help her make this easier. Was there a way? She was a long way from home, and apart from allowing her to visit Elissa, there was nothing else he could do. She had to settle down and accept her new life.

But he didn’t know what her new life would be. If he kept to the original plan, she would only be with him a few days; she might as well live out of her bags rather than unpacking. Yet as he sat here, touching her hand, feeling the life flow through her, it was hard to imagine sending her away. She was a part of him already; he wanted to show her his world, to look at it through her eyes, to see her wonder at all the things he now took for granted. The clean, clear water that flowed from Mushta, their highest mountain. The oceans, where they could swim with the Fushkil as they flocked to the shores when the sun was at its hottest, to bask in the warmth. All the things his father had shared with him, he wanted to share with her. Then again, as a family, with their child.

“Look, there is the great cloud bank off Grenvet. It is one of the only islands on Karal; all the rest of the landmass is joined together in the Northern Hemisphere.”

“I guess that makes it easier. If you all live on one continent, one land mass, there will be no arguments over your different views.”

“We are not like your people on Earth. We do not split into armies and fight amongst ourselves. We are citizens of Karal; we are not affiliated to different factions or religions.”

“So, no wars?”

“We live to find the mothers for our next generation.”

Celia laughed. “That means you live for me.”

Maybe he did.
As they entered the Karalian atmosphere, their talk stopped. The descent was turbulent and she dug her fingers into the seat. He sent her feelings of calm, but she struggled to accept them; instead she closed her eyes and held her breath.

“Celia,” he said, “You have to breathe. In and out. Do as I say or you’ll pass out.”

She let go of the big breath she had been holding onto. As he spoke, she took a deep breath and let it out. Then another. The space shuttle evened out, then they dropped again, the cloud cover giving them more turbulence, but then they were through.

“Look, look, Celia, there are herds of arunda moving across the plains. They have reached their summer grazing.”

She opened her eyes and peered out through the window, watching the big animals as they moved, slow and calm, always together, mothers and babies with the males watching over them. Even the animals knew that females were supposed to stay with their young. While he pointed out other sights to her, he tried to think of one single species on the planet that did not stay with its mother. Only the lesser species, the spiders and the bugs, had no maternal input. Their young were just cast out to fend for themselves.

“I can’t believe how green it is. I can only imagine that Earth was once like this. Will you show me everything, Torac?”

“Even I have never seen
everything
,” he said, skirting around his real response. If he stayed true to his course, he would not be with her long enough to show her anything. Celia would be ovulating now, according to the readouts from the tags she carried in her neck, this meant that if he mated with her in the next few hours, she would be pregnant in the first couple of days she was here, and then he would move her to the breeding house.

Or would he? He longed to show her the oceans, to climb to the top of Mushta with her and watch the twin suns set. It had been a long time since he had shared anything, any joy, with another person. Yet when the tower where the Hierarchy ruled from came into view, he was reminded of the reason he had been chosen to receive the next lottery winner.

Did he really want to go before the Hierarchy and explain his reasons for changing his mind, when he didn’t even understand them himself? How would that look to all the other Karalians on the small council? How would he look?
Like a lovesick fool.

The landing wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. It helped that the space cruiser seemed to transform into a car of sorts. The wheels came down and they didn’t even stop when they landed. Instead, they drove out off the runway through a security perimeter, where a guard, who made a special point of acknowledging Torac, checked their identities. Then they took off down deserted roads towards the high tower, which was the only visible building for miles.

“Is this where you all live?” She wondered if they lived in one big city. It didn’t seem practical, not when they had farms and presumably manufacturing plants. But then she knew there lifestyle and culture were different to hers.

“No, but I left my cruiser at the tower when I left for Earth. Okil will take us there and we can swap into my cruiser.”

She looked out of the window as they drove, the green vista filling her with happiness. There were trees everywhere, with a mountain in the distance, which stood tall, watching over the land below. Celia had only ever seen pictures of these things. It had been a hundred years since the last ancient forest had been felled on Earth. It had signalled the doom of mankind, the air had deteriorated so quickly, but there was nothing they could do. The lungs of the Earth had been taken away and it would take decades, if not centuries, to combat the decline. Time humans did not have. And then the Karalians had arrived and most people saw them as saviours. Most were under the impression that the aliens would take pity on mankind, and one day relocate the species to Karal.

Celia thought they would be more likely to take the last remaining wild animals. Creatures who deserved a second chance.

“Celia,” Torac said quietly as they came to a halt. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she said, wiping a tear away. “I never expected it to be so beautiful. So unspoilt.”

“We work hard to keep it that way. The Karal only breed one child each. So the population becomes stable once the elders die.”

“It works well for you,” She followed him out of the cruiser, taking a deep breath of the new air. “It’s … I don’t know. More than I ever expected. So fresh, so much colour. I’ve only ever seen scenery like this in old pictures and movies. I can’t wait to explore.”

“We must go to my house first,” Torac said. He fetched her bags from the cruiser and spoke briefly to Okil. “Tell the Hierarchy I will visit him tomorrow. I think for now I will take Celia home.”

“I will go and tell him now, Hier Commander.” Okil used his official title now they were back on Karal. “Goodbye, Celia.”

“Goodbye, Okil. I hope to see you again.”

“Perhaps,” Okil said, casting a glance at Torac and then turning to walk to the tower.

Celia took a moment to stand in awe of the huge tower. It wasn’t just the tower. Around the base of the giant structure, there were buildings with numerous windows. It was bigger than the university campus where she had studied.

“What is this place?”

“The tower is the symbol of power. As such, it was decided that all scholars and inventors should study here. It keeps them under the Hierarchy’s control.”

“What is the Hierarchy?” The name made her nervous. It sounded like a dictatorship.

“He is our ruler. He is advised by six members of a council. Of which I am one.”

“Wow. I didn’t realise.” It did, however, explain a few things about him and why he was used to having people follow his every word.

“For now, we can forget it. I want to show you where I live.” He walked off, carrying her bags while she continued to gaze upwards. Then, when he opened the trunk, or at least that was what she guessed it was, and put her bags inside, she thought it might be better for her to follow him. If he left without her, she would be lost.

His cruiser was smaller. But it still looked as though it had similar features to Okil’s space cruiser. “Can this go into space too?” she asked, getting in and buckling her seatbelt. For all she knew, they were going to fly to his house.