Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Makayla

Sitting on her new deck sipping a Moscow Mule that was heavy on the vodka, Makayla watched her hunky husband-to-be walk across the desert floor.

He displayed his more humanoid body. The one with muscles and long hair, and pale skin. She liked this body. In it, he was tall. Muscular, with just a bit of scruff on his face. He had soulful green eyes and reddish-brown hair that was a little wavy. And the hair was long, just brushing the top of his shoulders. She liked her man with long hair.

Other people changed their clothes, but Falcon was a Guardian, and that meant he was supposed to blend in wherever he went in the universe. So, he changed his body. It took just a thought and less time than it would take him to change his shirt. In many forms, that meant he was bald. No matter how he looked, Falcon was sexy to her, but she had to admit she preferred him with hair.

He had helped her save her sister and cousin after aliens abducted them. In the process, she'd grown to love him.

She was so lucky. So incredibly happy with the way things turned out. When Makayla and Falcon finally caught up to her family, they had a serious discussion about what would happen next. In the moments when she was alone with her thoughts, that conversation kept playing through her mind.

She looked into Kaitlyn and Laurens' eyes and explained, "The Guardians are part of an intergalactic agency that patrols space and all the planets. They hunt slavers and criminals of all types. Falcon is a Guardian, and to make a very long story short… when I chose him, I also chose to become one."

Lauren shifted in her seat, and Kaitlyn reached out to her sister again. "I take it part of being a Guardian means that Falcon has a spaceship."

Kayla grinned and nodded.

"You did this for us. Chose him and changed your life to come after us." Her voice was thick, as if Kaitlyn wanted to cry.

Makayla laughed and agreed. "I'd have done anything, everything, to get someone to believe me. The police and everyone else thought I was crazy. Worse, I think they believed I did something to you. They certainly didn't believe that aliens abducted you. When Falcon showed up at my door and offered me a spaceship, I went. I didn't ask questions—I didn't know about the silver body and all the benefits. At that moment, I'd have gone with anyone if it would allow me to find you."

Kaitlyn's face fell. She looked at Lauren and tears started falling down both of their faces.

Makayla shook her head. "I don't know why you guys are crying. It worked. I got here and found out you didn't need me to save you. Well, not until Viktal asked for our help. Falcon is one of the best things to happen in my life. He loves me, worships the ground I walk on," she giggled. "And I love him. Becoming a Guardian is like being an uber intergalactic soldier and techno-policeman in one. I love that too. Now that you guys are safe, I can't wait to start rocking my silver body and all the perks that come with it!"

Kaitlyn looked at her carefully, finally believing what Makayla had told her. That she was happy. "But I still don't understand why you have a silver body?"

"The changes to my physiology happened when I accepted Falcon as my mate. It allows me to change my body to mimic the natives, no matter where we have to go. Which makes undercover work incredibly cool. It also means I heal extremely fast. The body allows us to track criminals if they are moving between planets or realms. A realm is what you'd call a dimension that overlaps Earth. Besides the spaceship, the great thing about this job is that Falcon and I can pick where we want to live. We can choose Megoth as our home base. We will have plenty of time off so we can see each other."

"So, you'd have a home on Megoth?" Lauren jumped in her seat, excited.

Kayla smiled. "Something located between the two of you. Somewhere we can park the spaceship." She reached out her hands and took each of theirs. Her expression grew serious. "I need to tell you something else, my little Kit Kat. I've already told Lauren. So now it's your turn."

Kaitlyn blinked and sucked in a breath.

When Makayla called her Kit Kat, it was usually something serious. It was this time.

"We can never go home."

Kait snorted and giggled. Relieved at the topic. "Well, duh . As far as most people on Earth are concerned, little green men don't exist. Or little red men. Or men that turn silver or into dragons." She snorted again. "I knew we couldn't go home the second Daxter showed up. There is no way we could take Lauren's dragon-man back to Earth, and I didn't think she'd let go of him."

Makayla grinned. "True. So, the rest of this is easy. We can't go home, but Falcon has a group of people called Helpers, and they packed all our belongings. All the things in the house and in the shed. Even the animals in the barn will be cared for until we send for them or choose to let them go."

Kaitlyn sat up quickly. " Hercules? "

"Kayla said our horses are still alive, and someone is taking care of them!" Lauren exclaimed.

"Can we bring them here?" Kait asked, hopping up and down in her seat.

Makayla nodded. "I'll tell Falcon to just have it all shipped to Megoth."

Lauren leaned in and demanded, "Tell her the rest. The coffee, vodka, cow-meat stuff."

Kaitlyn frowned at Lauren. "What is she blabbering about?"

Makayla laughed. "Even while living on Megoth, we can get regular deliveries of the things we want or need. Like hamburger and ammunition, or ice cream."

Kaitlyn fluttered her eyes. "Really? Ice cream?"

Nodding, Kayla told her, "Yep. So far, I haven't found anything that Falcon can't get. We will put in an order, including a wedding dress for you, even before we leave the planet of Dorvan to return to Megoth." She ignored the girls' squeals. "In the meantime, I brought a ton of stuff from the house. It's all in the cargo hold. You have clothes, shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste and brushes, makeup, and hygiene products. I even packed toilet paper because I didn't know what we'd need in space. I have enough food, guns, and ammunition for a small army. We used a few of them yesterday, fighting the Visalla. But I have more. And there are lots of pictures and art supplies for the three of us. I even brought your favorite books."

"I put some of your things in the cave on Megoth. But most of your stuff is still on the ship," Lauren added.

Kaitlyn sighed. "One of these days I'd like to kick all the guys off the spaceship and have a drunken girls' night. I want to hear how Makayla met Falcon and how he turned her silver. I want more details about Daxter and those marks on Lauren's arms. I know we don't have time now, but eventually…"

Makayla and Lauren nodded their agreement. Makayla added, "I'm all for drunken girls' night. We can even watch our favorite movies and listen to music. The spaceship has access to everything. But I'll want to have a long talk. I have lots of questions."

Lauren snickered. "I'll bet you do."

Makayla looked over at Kaitlyn and frowned. "Something is bothering you."

Kait nodded slowly. "Yeah. I wasn't sure how to bring this up. You've noticed the mating bands on Lauren's arms?" When her sister nodded, she went on. "Did she explain that those bands tie her lifetime to Daxter's? Lauren will live a lot longer than we will."

Makayla sighed and took Kaitlyn's hand. She held on tight. "I didn't know. But that is another thing I need to talk about. Becoming a Guardian has extended my life as well. Or it is supposed to. Having our parents die when they were so young proves to all three of us that life expectancy isn't a guarantee. Lauren and I aren't immortal, so we may not live as long as we could. But this upsets me too. I will talk to Falcon and see if we can do something to extend your life too, Kait."

Her sister shook her head. "No. I wouldn't want to live longer than Viktal. I'll just take the sixty or so years I have left and be happy." But she didn't smile.

Just then, Viktal burst into the room and pulled Kaitlyn into his arms. "Sixty years? No. You are my genetic resonance mate. This means that our lives are tied together and extended. We have this one mystical opportunity to form a dynasty that lasts for centuries. There is no dynasty if we're dead."

Everything worked out. All three of them found the loves of their lives. They just happened to be aliens. And instead of one wedding dress for Kaitlyn, they'd ordered one for each of them. Well—actually two for each of them. Kayla figured someone would use the ones they didn't pick. There were a lot of Earth women on Megoth now.

All three were getting married soon. They made peace with the fact that they could never go home to Earth—and decided to make a home on Megoth. To these three Texan girls, that meant they needed their horses.

Makayla remembered something her mother used to say before she died— ‘Home is where the heart is.'

Makayla's heart was on Megoth. Her heart was her sister and her cousin. And a big part of her heart was Falcon.

Just watching him walk made that organ in her body accelerate. She couldn't believe her luck. This man was all hers. When he showed up on her doorstep and tried to convince her to be his Keeper, she was lucky she hadn't slammed the door in his face.

Well, okay. She did slam the door in his face. But he popped over to the other side of the door and proved to her that he could help Kayla rescue her family from aliens. She was lucky he was persistent.

Falcon climbed up the steps to the deck that wrapped around their landing pad for the spaceship.

She'd been enamored of this planet at first sight. She knew many of its inhabitants lived in caves. There were elaborate tunnel systems to keep them underground where it was cooler during the day and still get from one place to another. She'd yet to explore the tunnels, but she had plans.

In many areas, buildings were often built as additions to caves, using the sand to make a red brick that blended with the countryside. She'd considered that for their house, but living in the spaceship worked better. Yet they were close to the base of a red sandstone mountain that was riddled with empty caves. She might need them for something… someday. More storage maybe. Or a playhouse for the children, if she ever had any. Or maybe… guestrooms.

It was worth a thought.

Makayla and Falcon decided not to build a house. Makayla didn't want to transfer stuff from a house to a ship, and then the reverse… every time they needed to go somewhere. She wanted her things with her, no matter where they went. So, they built a deck that when the ship was parked here, allowed them to step off the ship and enjoy the fantastic views.

This would be their home. The one they used when they weren't on an active investigation. As Guardians they needed to be close to the ship's communications and all the weapons and safety gear. Her plan to park the ship right next to a massive deck worked brilliantly. They built a sunroom on one end to hold plants and had a big fire bowl on the deck for warmth and roasting marshmallows. Falcon had developed an addiction to them.

Her mate managed to find thermal springs close to where they parked. So, they were also in the process of building a bathhouse and a few outbuildings for storage. She'd keep supplies locked in a few sturdy sheds that her sister and cousin would have access to, even if Makayla was off policing the universe with Falcon.

She also wanted a few guest rooms, or maybe a tiny house compound for guests. She needed it when her sister and cousin visited. Along with the other women who were captured by aliens. Since Makayla and Falcon were making it their job to abolish slavery throughout the universe and free any captive of any species, she figured that for the foreseeable future, there would be a lot of guests. Captured slaves often couldn't or wouldn't go home. For several reasons, they needed time to heal physically and mentally. They needed to relearn how to take care of themselves, and that they had worth. If a human woman had a half-human baby, she rarely wanted to leave the child behind. Half-alien babies couldn't be taken back to Earth.

And if a woman wanted to leave her half-alien baby? Well, that was something Kayla would worry about when it happened.

What she and Falcon had been able to build so far was fantastic. One side of the deck was shaded with a long gazebo, the other end was open to the sun before it led into their sunroom—which already had a few fruit and vegetable plants from Earth.

They could have parties on this deck. She also ordered a big-ass BBQ grill and an above-ground swimming pool to add to the ambiance. You could take the girl out of Texas, but not Texas out of the girl. She wanted her barbecued meat. The next shipment would also have cattle on board.

"I'm going to bring you the Siloth ship tomorrow. Where do you want it? What do you want to do with it?" Falcon shattered her dream of hamburgers…

She smiled evilly. "I want to go through it. Open every door, search every room, and hopefully connect our computer to the Siloth one. I want to make sure that if any of the red and furry aliens are still on this planet, they aren't on that ship. Nor would they be able to use it if they somehow got on the spaceship. I want to know who they were, where they've been. Maybe discover who the hell they were dealing with on earth when they kidnapped the girls. In short, I want to make what was theirs—mine—and somehow get revenge. The aliens hurt Kaitlyn and Lauren. Scared them, and they did worse to some of the other women. Then I want to take that ship apart piece by piece and use it for scrap metal."

Falcon studied her with blatant appreciation. "You are so hot when you're angry." He scooped her up and took her inside the ship. "I love the taste of vodka and lime on your lips. Did you order more for the next shipment?"

She snorted. "Honey, you wouldn't believe what I've ordered. But I promise I will never forget the vodka."