Chapter 1 #2
Keith, however, had a very nice and understanding boss. A good man with a loving heart who was extremely empathetic towards a loving boyfriend who was finally reconnected with his missing girlfriend. Keith was allowed to work off his laptop so he could stay with her.
But they weren’t together anymore, and Keith was really just here to get a bunch of content for his social media accounts. Pictures and videos and posts about how cool the aliens were. All for clout because the aliens could not stand Keith.
Hattie wasn’t comfortable with Keith. And because she wasn’t comfortable with him, and kept trying to push him away, her alien brother was always on the verge of fighting him.
Quite literally. The domini solved their problems with violence.
Never to hurt or kill each other, just a display of aggression and proof of strength.
Keith, though he was taller and fitter than Hattie, and not unattractive by human standards, didn’t stand a chance against any of the domini.
Even Romival, the shortest, leanest, of the males, was still taller and more muscular than Keith.
A fight between her ex and any domini was a forgone conclusion.
Hattie ignored Keith and his attempt to alter a prettier expression on her face – and to take her waist in a bit – and instead returned to watching the reception.
Alanna and Survii were having their first dance. Both of them looked so dreamy and happy. Hattie was waiting for the bartender to finish making her drink while mentally composing a list of all the things she would need to go home.
Alanna and Survii were about to go off on their honeymoon.
It was a perfect time for her to cross the ocean and visit her parents.
She was going to be returning to Turv with the aliens when it came time to leave Earth.
But before that, she wanted a chance to see her childhood home again and eat some of her mom’s cooking.
Hattie’s love of food and feeding others had come straight from her mother.
It was a tradition she carried on proudly.
Just as she carried on her father’s work ethic by taking that love and turning it into a thriving business.
And though Hattie enjoyed cooking for the people she loved, sometimes, she liked having people cook for her as well.
And no one cooked with love like her mother.
She had to ask the others if it was safe to go, of course.
Not everyone on Earth was happy with aliens or the idea of interspecies relationships.
There had been a whole incident at the hotel a few weeks ago.
If men charging their truck through the front doors and unloading huge guns their direction could be called an ‘incident’.
It had been terrifying. A tragedy. Yet Hattie’s biggest memory of that moment had been Tuvo picking her up like she weighed nothing and carrying her up multiple flights of stairs. He hadn’t even been breathing hard. Hattie couldn’t remember anyone ever making her feel so dainty and delicate.
Not that it was ever going to happen again. She didn’t plan to ever encounter another dangerous situation like that, and therefore there was no reason for Tuvo to carry her.
A shame.
“There. Now that’s pretty,” Keith declared, beaming at the picture he had doctored.
He had added a makeup filter, made her skin shinier, artificially pulled in her belly, and tilted up the corner of her lips so she looked like she was smiling.
He had even added hearts and sparkles all around the border, giving it a romantic air it certainly didn’t have in real life.
He tapped her picture. “You look great, Hats. The dress is super cute.”
“Keith-”
He already hit ‘post’ and just like that, his socials were exploding. People were desperate for more information about the aliens and the kidnapped women. He was super popular online for no other reason than he was the only one posting like this.
“How about a dance?” He asked, smiling as he slid his phone back into his suit jacket. A suit he definitely didn’t own – unless he had a drastic personality change in the year she had been gone. It wasn’t impossible, but she highly doubted it.
“I’m okay,” she said, accepting her drink with a smile at the bartender.
“Come on. Everyone else is doing it.”
He wasn’t wrong. The first dance was over and now Alanna and Survii were being joined by multiple other couples – including Scarlet and Havali.
The handsome alien male danced the waltz like he had been doing it for years.
They were both so beautiful, it seemed almost unfair.
Both dazzling and graceful and glowing with happiness.
And pregnancy.
Scarlet wasn’t showing yet, but she was carrying Havali’s baby.
Across the room, sipping at water Romival had brought her, Holly was also pregnant and definitely showing.
Peony wasn’t pregnant, but she was a mother already.
She and Atem were constantly using their comm to talk to the Jutiron Stor, the massive starship orbiting just beyond the moon, and their infant son who they hadn’t wanted to risk bringing down to the planet.
Alanna wasn’t pregnant, as far as Hattie knew, but it would only take one quick trip to the medical scanner to have her ovulation restored and she would be.
Hattie hadn’t turned off her period like the others. She didn’t want birth control. She wanted a domini male to look at her, fall instantly in love, claim her as his mate, and put his baby inside her immediately.
Well, she wanted Tuvo to do that, but he had made his disinterest clear. So, she obviously wasn’t his mate. Domini knew their mates on sight and would stop at nothing to claim them. And while Hattie had liked Tuvo on sight, he had not felt the same.
“Why don’t you want to dance?” Keith asked, oblivious to her longing thoughts for a domini male and a domini baby. She did not want a human man anymore. She was pretty sure Keith had ruined her for all of them at this point.
“Because these heels are hurting my feet,” she said, not even really lying.
It was the first time she had worn heels since being abducted – and probably a bit before that, actually.
The domini didn’t wear heels, and she hadn’t even tried to put on a pair since coming back.
But for a formal wedding, she could hardly say no.
Especially as a bridesmaid appearing in pictures with all the other girls wearing heels.
She was short enough already without being the only one not on stilts.
And she wanted to. She felt pretty in the heels. In the long, purple, bridesmaid dress. Her hair and makeup had been done by professionals. She smelled great, she looked great, she felt great. If only Keith would stop with his backhanded compliments!
But she could hardly express her frustration when her overprotective alien brother was likely to beat his face in if she let on just how uncomfortable he made her.
She didn’t like Keith. He had wrecked her self-esteem in their two-year relationship. She was still fighting the voice he had left in her head. But just because she didn’t like him didn’t mean she wanted Atem to stomp him into the dirt.
“Come on, Hats. You owe me a dance,” Keith said, rolling his eyes, exasperated like she was putting him out.
Hattie sipped at her drink before deciding to just do it. She wanted to talk to him without his phone in his hand anyway. It was the entire reason she had invited him here. She knew it would give her a chance to speak with him uninterrupted – as distasteful as the idea was.
The only reason she had let him stay here initially was because she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of the entire world.
She had tried to insist, multiple times, that he leave since then without making a big deal about it – either to him or the security team who would doubtlessly throw him out on his butt.
But it was time now to put on her big girl panties, put down her foot, and end this. For good.
“Sure. Let’s go,” she said, steeling her nerves.
She barely even got a chance to stand before he grabbed her hand and yanked her to the floor – a huge, self-satisfied grin on his face. He brought her around, putting his arms around her waist, and started swaying with her. He couldn’t actually dance.
“Where’s the photographer?” He asked, looking over her head. “She’s supposed to be getting shots of the wedding party, right? Think she’ll let me have the ones with us?”
“Keith.” She straightened, putting her face in his view, forcing him to look at her. “Keith! Can we talk?”
“Yeah, sure. I’m listening.” He smiled that charming grin that initially caught her heart.
Keith wasn’t an ugly guy. He was very classically attractive. Blonde hair with just a hint of a curl flopped neatly over a pair of deep, blue eyes. He wasn’t cut like the domini males, but when he took off his shirt for his posts, people were appreciative.
Hattie had honestly thought she had a catch when they first started dating.
And that feeling only grew as he started chipping away at her.
Constantly remarking on her appearance. Telling ‘jokes’ about her weight that hurt her feelings, and then not stopping when she told him so.
Never failing to remind her that she couldn’t do better than him.
And she had believed him. For a long time. Until the moment she realized what he was doing. Then, she broke up with him. He had still been calling and texting her, trying to force her to change her mind, when she had been abducted.
No one had known about their breakup yet, so when Earth had been informed that she and the others were returning, he immediately slotted himself in as her lover.
He had a free ticket to Geneva to meet her, was staying for free in a fancy hotel with the rest of the families, and his social media presence was off the charts.
He told everyone on Earth that they were still together. He was treating her like they were still together. He hadn’t tried to force himself into her room or anything, but he was taking couple selfies and calling her by that nickname she never liked and was always trying to touch her.
He was very lucky she didn’t want Atem to beat him up, because it would only take her permission.
“Keith, you need to go home,” she stated firmly.
“Huh? Why?” He had the audacity to look surprised.
“Because we are not together. Because you shouldn’t be here.”
“This again, Hats,” he sighed, long suffering and slightly annoyed. “I thought you were over this already. You’ve had plenty of time to calm down.”
“Keith. We. Are. Not. Together.” She spoke slowly. Forcefully. Making sure he knew she was not backing down from this decision. “I’m going back to Turv once we’re done here.”
“Why? The alien men didn’t want you. I’m the only one who wants you.”
She didn’t even react anymore when he said things like that. She knew he was only saying it because he was trying to manipulate her. Seeing the hand of the magician ruined the magic.
“I’m going to visit my parents after this. I’m taking you with me.”
“Yeah?” He grinned, like he had accomplished something.
“So, you can go to your own home,” she stressed. “I’ll visit my parents, then come back to Geneva, and you are staying there. Because we aren’t together.”
“But we can still have dinner and stuff, right? Nothing wrong with a couple of friends hanging out, is there?”
“No.” She held firm. “We’re not friends, Keith. We’re exes. I don’t want to embarrass you, and I don’t want to hurt you. I just want you to let this end.”
“Come on, Hats-”
“No.” She was the one who cut him off this time, and she could tell by the way his eyes flashed that he didn’t like it.
“Fine.” He grumbled. “Don’t know why you’re bothering though. You’d really rather fuck one of those things than a real man?”
“I’d rather fuck no one than ever touch you again,” she assured him.
She was immediately rewarded when he ripped himself out of her arms.
“I can’t even talk to you when you’re dramatic like this, Hats. We’ll continue this later.”
She said nothing as he melted back into the crowd. No doubt to make more videos of himself at the wedding. He had to show his new followers just how great his life was right now. Because appearances mattered to him more than reality.
Sighing, Hattie stepped off the dance floor and returned to the drink that the bartender had been watching for her.
And she felt better. Tired, but accomplished. She had stood her ground. More than that, Keith’s disparaging comments hadn’t affected her. A year ago, hearing him say those things would have made her feel guilty and irrational – just like he wanted. But not anymore.
She was freeing herself from him and it felt so good!