21. Lisa

“That went shockingly well,” I say as I dump my purse on my couch. The babysitter, Mrs. Keelie from two doors down, greets me with a smile.

“Zhara is sleeping like ... well, like a baby,” she says with a thick accent I can never quite place. “One of the best babies I’ve ever cared for.”

I smile at the awkward compliment and let Mrs. Keelie watch as I send her the payment –with tip– from my comm pad.

“Have a good night, Lisa,” she says as she shuffles to the door. But Ozadus steps in as she does, and she looks up at him with wide eyes. “Oh. Yes, I suppose you will.”

My face flushes as she giggles and squeezes past Ozadus.

“Strange woman,” Ozadus says. He closes the front door and takes off his shoes.

“I’m sure you’ve had your fill of them tonight.” I collapse on the couch, letting my head fall back as the last tendrils of alcohol-induced dizziness begin to release me. But my cheeks are still red, and my brain is very much buzzing with the night’s activities.

“On the contrary, I rather liked your friends.” Ozadus sits next to me and stretches his feet out. “You said Lace was quiet, but she had quite a lot to say about firearms when the topic came up. Think your friend might have a secret hobby.”

I smile and roll my head over to look at him. He’s relaxed, sitting here next to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Ozadus stretches his arms in the air and casually rests them on the back of the couch, one of them behind my head.

“Dannet and Vin were very easy to converse with. I had no idea the art of baking was so fascinating. Croissants really take that much effort to make? They should cost five times as much!”

I laugh, rolling my eyes. “Dannet was definitely exaggerating. But yes, those two are very good at what they do.”

“Beth is coming around. She wasn’t nearly as cold as before.”

“Well, she had to bear the brunt of my emotions, I’m afraid.” I sigh, thinking of long nights of cravings and erratic emotions with no one but Beth at my side. “She’s getting there.”

“And Tryla was much easier to win over than I thought.”

“Well, you really showed you know your stuff,” I reply. “She appreciates people who turn off autopilot. Even when they really, really shouldn’t.” Thoughts of banged-up hulls and broken thrusters run through my memory.

“It ruins the experience!” Ozadus says. “The best part of piloting a ship is the feeling of being engaged with the engine, knowing when you need to move or apply more pressure, how hard you can push it before the power starts to dip.”

I shake my head, then lean over and rest it on his shoulder. “The autopilot is safer,” I explain for the fiftieth time. “Most people should be using it when they fly.”

“Well, I’m not most people,” Ozadus says with a smug smirk. “And neither is Tryla. She knows her stuff.”

“Hmm. Sounds like you got along with her really well, actually.” A small, devious smile pulls at the corner of my lips. “Should I be nervous?”

Ozadus is silent. I look up to see his face is stone serious, his posture stiff.

“Never,” he says quietly.

I quickly sit up and shake my head. “Ozadus, it was a joke. Tryla isn’t into guys, anyway.”

“I know I… I just want you to know that–” He stops himself, looking down at the floor with his hands in his lap for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

I wonder how much of this uncertainty is my fault. I wasn’t exactly welcoming when he came back, was I? Of course, he’d be worried I was one bad experience away from abandoning him again.

Still, things have been going so well. So much of the life we’ve started putting together feels normal, even downright natural. Like this was exactly where both of us were always meant to be.

We’re a family now. Plenty of people in my life have remarked on it. One neighbor even asked why my husband had been gone for so long! Everything has just sort of fallen into place like that.

I know I need to show him he doesn’t need to worry so much. He’s not the only one who’s changed. I have just as much. I’ve learned through all this to trust Ozadus. I know he loves Zhara, and would never do anything to hurt her. I also know he gave up a lucrative but dangerous career just for me.

I know he’s committed to making this work. How do I show him that I am as well? That I’m not going to push him away or walk out of his life like that ever again? It feels strange, even now, to open myself up like that.

“Hey,” I say, putting my hands over his. “You’re doing great. I was really impressed with how well you held up to my friends’ scrutiny. I’m proud of how much you’ve done to make this really work.”

I reach up and stroke his jawline, feeling his scales under my fingertips. I look into his eyes and smile gently.

“I trust you.” It’s the most vulnerable, open thing I could possibly say. And I really, truly mean it.

Ozadus takes a breath, then grabs my hands in his. “Good. That’s precisely what I needed to hear. Because there’s something important I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

My blood rushes cold. A dozen intrusive thoughts flash through my mind, all of them terrible.

“Something you need to tell me?” I ask, my mouth bone dry. The words ‘secret girlfriend’ or ‘returned to the criminal life’ hang over my head.

He nods. “You’re my fated mate.”

Ozadus lets those words quietly settle over us for a moment.

“Fated… mate?”

“It’s a bond us Kaleidians hold as sacred,” he continues. “My culture states that, in some cases, a Kaleidian’s partner is written in the stars. It’s close to what other cultures might call a soul mate, but it’s different. Not every Kaleidian has one, but those who do know when they meet theirs.”

I sit up straight, blinking quickly. “This is… a lot to take in. We’re… soul mates? And how long did you know this?”

“On the Emery, the first time we touched. I was flooded with sensations, and the forging of a bond that was destined to exist.”

“But I’m a human. Wouldn’t it make more sense for fated mates to both be Kaleidians?”

Ozadus sighs. “Normally? They are. But a Kaleidian having a fated mate from a different species is not unheard of, though it is rare. Lisa…” he says, looking deep into my eyes.

“Please understand how important this is for Kaleidians. I wouldn’t say this unless I knew for a fact it was true. When we were apart, you were still with me in spirit. Your presence never left, and it’s what drove me to become a better man. All because of this bond we share.”

I slowly nod. “I think I understand,” I say. I recall how electric and passionate the sex was. How there’s always some sort of feeling I would get when he’s nearby. Like everything is precisely right. How, when we were apart, there was always a small, nagging sensation that I was incomplete.

“Humans don’t have fated mates. I mean, we have the concept of a soul mate, but it isn’t something that you feel. Palpably. But, even so, I think I understand.”

Ozadus smiles. “I knew you would.”

But something still weighs heavy on my mind. “Why did you wait so long to tell me?”

He shakes his head. “If I told you the moment I found out, you wouldn’t have believed me.”

I let out a short laugh, thinking about a strange alien man who accidentally kidnapped me telling me we’re soulmates the moment we met. “No. No, I suppose I wouldn’t have.”

“And if I’d told you when we reunited, you would have thought I was trying to manipulate you.”

I nod sadly. “Yeah. I would have.”

“I wanted to wait until I had you back, truly. That you knew I was here to stay and would do anything for you. And you believe that now, right?”

I don’t even hesitate. “Yes.” I throw my arms around him, reveling in the feeling that I truly understand now. Fated mates. We’re fated mates. The stars themselves chose us to be together, to have Zhara and raise her, to live a life of happiness and love. Together.

“It’s why I came back for you,” he says. “And I always will. No matter what happens, I will always come back for you and Zhara.”

Ozadus stands up, helping me stand with him. He strokes my cheek with his palm, staring deep into my eyes.

“I love you,” I finally say. I knew it, all this time I knew I did. But it was so hard to admit it. I’ve been burned so many times before. He wraps his arms around my back and holds me close.”

“I love you too, Lisa.” He bends down and softly presses his lips against my own. An avalanche of emotions breaks free, filling my eyes with tears of joy. They spill freely down my cheeks, warm and soothing.

Ozadus wipes them away, whispering soft words against my temple as he kisses the side of my face.

“I love you, Lisa. No matter what else happens, I will always love you.”

I kiss him again and sigh, my whole body relaxing in his arms. I know, now, that this is exactly where I belong.