Chapter 7

"No, absolutely not," Diana said, arms crossed, shaking her head.

Kor sighed and resisted the urge to rip out his hair. "These shots are necessary to ensure your health and well-being once we arrive on my planet." Not to mention one of them had the implant that would allow her to speak and understand all languages. He'd thought it best not to tell her about it being included in the shots, given her earlier rant about implants turning humans into killers. Earthlings had way too much imagination.

"No way. I am not letting you inject me with some weird alien cocktail," she repeated stubbornly.

"The shots will barely hurt. Please cooperate. We need to vaccinate you."

"Not to mention make your Earth eggs more viable," piped in an unhelpful Alphie.

With a mentally groan, Kor braced himself.

"What?" she shrieked. "You're trying to pump me with fertility drugs? I haven't even agreed to marry you yet."

Kor brightened. She used the word 'yet' instead of 'absolutely not'. I'm making progress. Now if she'd just calm down so he could give her the shots.

But Diana was on a rampage, and he watched her through slitted eyes as she railed back and forth about aliens and their needles. Although she did lose him for a bit when she ranted about anal probes. What kind of perverted medicine did earthlings practice anyway?

When she finally ran out of breath, Kor said one word that he'd discovered during his recent research into earthlings and their behavior. "Chicken."

Diana stopped and faced him, mouth open. "Am not," she retorted.

"Yes, you are chicken. All your unreasonable claims of me trying to poison, kill, or maim you are just that, unreasonable. If I wanted to hurt you, I could. Yet I haven't, even though you would provoke just about anybody else. So you know what? Don't take the shots. And when you end up in the hospital with your stomach dissolved and coming out of your rectum, don't complain. I'm just trying to prevent this." Kor had a hard time keeping a straight face when he said this, but his words had the effect desired. She turned to the side and presented him with the smooth flesh of her upper arm.

Kor quickly gave her the shots and then, in another Earth custom, kissed the red mark. "All done," he said, pleased when she flushed at his touch. His feisty intended seemed to be melting toward him. He just wished she'd hurry it up. He didn't want to be the first one to ever return unbonded because his chosen didn't like him.

"Why are our species so alike?"

Her unexpected question startled Kor, so he replied with a question. "Don't your people keep histories?"

Diana wrinkled her nose. "Of course we do, but what's that got to do with how similar we are physically?"

"I'd say we have a lot of differences. I can show you if you'd like?" Kor said with a comical leer.

Diana giggled and blushed. "No, I've seen your difference. I'm talking about how we look and stuff. I mean, we're both from different planets, right?"

"But we share the same creators."

She gave him a perplexed look. "What, you mean to say God made you too?"

"The progenitors of our race were not gods. We are-and I am speaking of both our people-descended from a race of superior sentient beings. Space travelers that roamed the galaxies seeding populations and starting civilizations."

"You mean we're descended from aliens?" Her eyes grew wide.

"Did it ever occur to you that who is an alien is a matter of perspective?"

Diana thought about this for a second and frowned. "Wait, are you saying you're not the alien, I am?"

"You will be when we reach my planet. But fear not, alienists are few. Rebuilding our species is more important than illogical notions. But forget about that. You want to know where we come from. Many sentient beings are descended from this super race. The differences that have evolved, such as our skin and small biological features, are a result of our different planetary environments. Our bodies' adaptations. This shared genetic heritage is why it's possible for us to mate. Sentient beings that evolved on their own do not share these common traits with us."

"You mean there are real aliens out there?"

"If you mean nonhumanoids, then yes. Alphie has a catalog of charted planets and their inhabitants if you're interested. I especially enjoy the Kergorsiams-their touch has enough hormones in it to make you orgasm on the spot. Kind of embarrassing if you're in public when it happens."

Diana laughed as he intended, and Kor went on to tell her more tales of alien encounters just to keep her smiling. It beat her yelling at him, and as she relaxed, he inched closer. He just couldn't help himself. He wanted, no, needed, to touch her. Even more puzzling, he wanted her to feel the same way.

Ancestors, what have you done to me?