Aron: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Shifter Force) Read online

  Aron

  Alien Shifter Force

  Maya Kane

  Copyright © Maya Kane 2016

  All rights reserved

  1

  Athena shook her head and told herself to focus. They had just flown over yet another city that lacked any evidence of human life. This was no time for distractions.

  It was hard not to be distracted around Aron.

  She sighed and glanced down at the huge Drayon shifter.

  Typical, she thought. I stay laser focused on my work my entire life and become a hormonal mess when it’s time to fight for my planet.

  That was the understatement of the millennium—not that there was anyone left who could verify that.

  The rest of humankind had been vaporized.

  Athena bit her lip and tried to hold back the tears. So much had happened since she arrived back from her two-year posting to Kanaven, one of earth’s outposts, to find her planet stricken.

  Her commander had flown into a state of panic, insisting that they do nothing except arm themselves with more useless facts. Athena and the surviving members of her crew had disagreed.

  Strongly.

  Athena wasn’t feeling so strong now.

  She clung on tighter to Aron’s huge shoulders. Well, the Drayon’s shoulders. It was hard for her to believe that this huge dragon-like creature was Aron, the Dreon warrior she’d been spending so much time with lately.

  It was purely professional, of course. Athena shivered and immediately chalked it down to the frigid air temperature, despite her highly-insulated alien suit.

  Purely.

  Professional.

  It wasn’t like they had any choice but to spend their every waking moment together. As well as being second-in-command of the Dreon unit that had been shot down by their unknown common enemy, Aron was the only Dreon who spoke Uniton, the common language of the known universe. Athena was fluent too, so it had fallen to her and Aron to communicate on behalf of their little group of stranded aliens and mutinous humans.

  Dread rose in Athena’s throat. They’d flown over Chicago and Detroit by now, and her worst fears had been confirmed. She hadn’t seen one moving vehicle on the highways. The invaders had vaporized appeared to have vaporized every living being in the country. There was still no sign of any alien ships.

  They had broken into three search groups that morning to cover more ground. The satellite feeds at the base were limited to those that had been active before the attack: nobody had wanted to risk setting up a new feed and alerting the enemy to their presence in the Utah desert. They had only known for sure that cities in the southwest were affected. Her crewmate Kate had volunteered to check out that area, while Athena took the larger eastern portion of the country they suspected was clear.

  Athena shook her head. She wondered if they had made the right decision in separating.

  Because Athena was beginning to believe she wasn’t going to find them on this side of the country.

  The selfish part of her wanted to just keep on flying, comfortably nestled against Aron’s back. But she knew she should get back to base. The enemy appeared to track them using radio signals, so it wasn’t like she should just call Kate and tell her it was all clear. She had no choice but to do it in person.

  Still, the thought of seeing Aron in Dreon form again was an incentive to land and regroup. She leaned forward and tapped his shoulder as hard as she could. It was the signal they had agreed on: any less than her full force and he wouldn’t have felt a thing. Still, she felt guilty striking him like that. They were allies.

  We’re more than that.

  “No.” Athena shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that.

  Finally, he reacted to her signal and swooped to the ground. They were somewhere in Pennsylvania or rural New York—Athena couldn’t be sure. It had been harder than she thought to keep track of the highway network as they passed.

  As soon as they landed, Athena jumped out of the makeshift harness one of the other Dreon had fashioned from scrap metal and unstrapped it from his huge back. She stepped away and watched as the huge dragon changed before her eyes. One moment he was a fierce Drayon; the next a huge, muscle-bound alien warrior who could have passed for a super-size human in certain lights.

  Athena hadn’t been able to stop herself from scrutinizing him since they’d met. He towered over her. His golden eyes gleamed with intelligence and something else that made her want to blush whenever she was in his presence. She stared at him shamelessly. His thin spacesuit had been discarded back at the stricken Dreon ship they now used as their base—it was ripped to shreds the moment he transformed. He stood in front of her, seven feet tall and completely naked.

  He made attempt to shield himself from her.

  Athena’s body tingled. Kate’s had told her all about her time with Redon, so it wasn’t like she was completely ignorant of the prowess of the Dreon.

  Too bad: they had work to do.

  “Aron,” she said, trying and failing to keep her eyes off him. “We’ve flown over some huge cities now. It looks like they’ve just been abandoned. There’s no sign of life. Anywhere. But I also haven’t seen anything that could be the enemy. Have you?”

  His golden eyes bored into her. He had a strange, dazed expression on his face, as if his Drayon was still taking its time to retreat. Finally, he shook his head.

  “No,” he said. “Nothing. We should go on. Just in case.”

  Athena nodded. She was sure they wouldn’t find anything but it was her job to make sure. Once he had transformed into the huge Drayon, she stepped forward, intending to fasten her harness to his strong back. The weird, pliable metal slipped from her fingers before she could do so.

  Cursing, she bent to retrieve it. Being around Aron wasn’t just sending her mind haywire—it was making her clumsy as hell. She bent to scoop up the harness and then froze.

  That wasn’t right.

  “Aron,” she whispered, looking up. The blood drained from her face.

  He didn’t respond.

  Desperately, she crouched to the ground again and planted her hands against the dirt.

  “I must have been wrong,” she muttered. “There’s no way...”

  But there was no doubt in her mind now. They hadn’t seen the alien invaders, but she knew they were near—or had been very recently. In front of her, Aron shifted back to his Dreon form. Usually, the huge Drayon beasts didn’t react to human language but this was different—he must have sensed her terror.

  “What is it, Athena?” he asked leaning over her and gripping her shoulder.

  For once Athena wasn’t distracted by his huge muscular form looming over her. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

  2

  “Athena?” he repeated.

  She glanced up and was dimly aware of the worry lines etched on his rugged face. The strange ridges at his temples pulsated angrily.

  Athena grimaced. All she could do was jerk her chin toward the ground in front of her, on which both of her hands were now firmly planted.

  “What is it?” he growled. “Tell me. I’m here to protect you.”

  Athena shivered. She was used to protecting herself, but nobody could keep her safe from this, not even Aron and his tribe of shifter warriors.

  “Aron,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.

  That was the thing—she had no idea if they could hear her. She had only seen their actions on recorded satellite feeds. She had never seen one of the aliens; only the devastation they were capable of causing. It had been easy to be brave and decisive back at the base. She had drawn
maps and discussed tactics; her usual competent self. Now—in the field—it was different. She could barely think straight.

  Aron wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her back to him. A flicker of desire shot through Athena, but it was dulled by the ever-present knowledge of what surrounded them.

  “They’re here,” she muttered.

  Aron shook his head. She glanced at his feet, wondering how he hadn’t felt it. They were as bare as the rest of him. Athena’s thick-soled boots had prevented her from feeling it at first.

  “Who’s here?” he asked, confusion etched all over his face. “Who’s here? You said yourself that you didn’t see anything.”

  Athena shook her head. “I haven’t seen anything. But when I…” she gasped. It was crazy; so crazy. But she’d felt it for herself. “Put your hands to the ground,” she said quietly.

  He did so without question.

  “See?” she whispered, staring at him and willing him to shake his head and tell her she was nuts. “Do you feel it?”

  After a long pause, he nodded. “Yes. What is it?”

  Athena shook her head. “I’ve never felt anything like it. But it can only mean one thing. They’re near.”

  It was surreal. The ground itself seemed to throb. It wasn’t like an earthquake—she had only experienced one of those, but she’d never forget what it was like. No, this was like… Athena shook her head, suddenly repulsed by the only comparison she could draw.

  The weird throb was like a pulse: the ground beneath her feet was pulsing like it was alive.

  “This is not usual here on earth?” Aron asked.

  Athena looked up at him. There was no fear in his eyes, just calm. She shook her head.

  “No. Not like this. It’s rhythmic. Like a living creature’s heartbeat.”

  He nodded and touched his fingers to the ridges at his temples, which were throbbing. He reached for her wrist and held a huge calloused finger to her pulse point. He nodded. “Like this.”

  “Yes,” Athena said, ignoring her physical reaction to his touch. Now certainly wasn’t the time to get all hot and bothered over Aron. Try telling that to my body, she thought with a sigh. She shook her head. Get a grip.

  “Okay,” Athena said, looking away—as if that was going to help get him out of her mind. He was everywhere, his masculine scent cloying in the air around them. She wanted to scream. No, what she really wanted to do was drag him to the ground and get him out of her system once and for all.

  “Okay,” Athena repeated, more forcefully this time. “This isn’t normal. And it can’t be vibrations from a nearby ship because we would have seen it. There’s only one explanation I can think of.”

  He watched her, eyes narrowed.

  “They’re underground. But why? Why hide when they have weapons capable of destroying millions of people at a time?”

  He cleared his throat, looking calm despite those throbbing ridges. She knew all about those ridges and what they meant. Redon’s had gone crazy when he felt the mating call for Kate. She didn’t dare allow herself to think that that was what was happened between her and Aron.

  Because he would have told her by now if that was the cause. It was too dangerous not to. Athena had to fight to stop herself from imagining him pushing her up against a tree and taking her right there. For the sake of the mission.

  Athena shook her head, desperately trying to snap herself out of it. The only other explanation was that the extreme stress of their situation had caused his ridges to react like that. That would explain why he hadn’t discussed them with her.

  And that’s a good thing, she told herself half-heartedly. Because we can’t afford the distraction. So many lives depend on us now.

  Something struck her. She turned and paced the hard, dry ground, looking for any sign of disturbed soil. There was nothing. They stood at the top of a small hill and she could see for miles around. But there were no aliens—only grass and trees.

  “It feels like…” she shook her head. It was so alien; so much further advanced than earth science that she couldn’t even contemplate the possibility. “Could they be drawing power from the earth somehow?”

  Aron nodded slowly. “It’s possible. We don’t know who they are, but we do know that they’ve come from far away. Weapons capable of such destruction would need a lot of power. But, Athena. I see no sign of their ships.”

  She nodded and looked around. That was the huge hole in her theory. “I know, but it doesn’t make sense. That pulsing.” She shivered again. “There’s something there. It was like I put my hands on a huge animal.”

  He pulled her to him without warning. “We must go. I don’t like it. I don’t want you exposed to whatever this is.”

  She shook her head but made no attempt to wriggle free of his grasp. “But you’re the one who’s exposed. Look—I’m wearing this suit. And boots.”

  He just stared at her.

  “You think it’s radiation?”

  He shook his head. “No. I don’t know. There’s no damage to the vegetation.”

  Athena looked around. “No. Not that I can see.” It was green and lush and looked like it hadn’t been disturbed for years. “No. But what is it? I’ve never seen anything like it.” She shivered. “Is it some kind of weapon?”

  Aron growled and pulled her to her feet. “We must get away from here.”

  Athena nodded, hesitating. It seemed she’d been wrong about the aliens being based in the west. But what were their options? They’d lose another day if they were to go back and round up the others. “We’ll search every inch of the country if we have to. I want to know what they are.”

  3

  Aron stared at the human female and tried to make sense of the realization that had hit him moments before. He’d been dismayed by the revelation that his commander, Redon, had felt the mating call for one of the humans.

  How could he have known that the same thing would happen to him?

  It was unheard of. It had been a long time since he had felt the dizzying pull. His ridges had gone berserk whenever he was in proximity to Orosa, his other. He’d lost the ability to control his form, just like Redon had with Kate. It had been a whirlwind of emotions. And then, not long after they had mated, he had lost Orosa.

  That was it for Aron. Dreon mated once and they mated for life. He had never expected to feel the pull a second time because that was unheard of.

  That was why he hadn’t realized immediately. Everything had been fine when they met, apart from him feeling an unfamiliar appreciation for Athena’s form and intellect.

  Then the dreams had begun.

  And his ridges.

  He sighed. How long before she noticed?

  He turned and looked at her, his body filling with desire when he saw that she’d been watching him. She was probably wondering why he hadn’t transformed yet.

  Aron swallowed.

  Athena knew all about what had happened to Redon when he was drawn to Kate. Even thinking about it filled Aron with apprehension. Redon, the fiercest Dreon warrior, had fallen from the sky like a youth still trying to conquer his powers. If that had happened to Redon, what was going to happen to Aron when the surge took full effect? He had already allowed the two Dreon that accompanied them, Salen and Heran, to leave them and fly north. That was before Athena had discovered that thing in the ground.

  When the chemical surge had struck Redon, Aron had watched in horror as his commander fell from the sky. Aron had leaped into action and caught him. When it happened again, Redon had somehow managed to force himself to shift back. Aron had never seen anything like it.

  He glanced at Athena, wondering how he could explain what was happening. It had all been so clear-cut with Redon. Mate the human; kill the surge.

  If only it was that simple.

  “What is it, Aron?” she whispered, her whole face creased with worry. “Is something wrong?”

  He shook his head.

  There was a simple solution to all of
this. He knew what he needed to do. But he was unable to say those words.

  “Aron?” she said again, stepping closer and touching his bare chest with her tiny, delicate fingers.

  He knew what he should do. He should tell her that they needed to mate immediately. For her safety—and his.

  That was the only way.

  He glanced down at her and swallowed. Even swaddled up in that spacesuit he could see the feminine shape of her. She was magnificent.

  That was the problem. He couldn’t do it. How could he mate with her in such a cold mechanical way? He wanted her to beg for him, not succumb because it would help the mission. If that happened, she would never want him again and he couldn’t stand that thought.

  “It’s nothing, Athena.”

  She didn’t look convinced.

  “I promise you,” he said, leaning down and stroking her perfect, smooth face. “It’s nothing. We should go.”

  The last thing he did before his Drayon took over was focus on getting her out of his mind. It was vital for both of their sakes. Aron had the strongest willpower of anyone he knew. If anyone could do it, he could. But was attempting to outsmart the mating call asking too much?

  He stopped the change, hovering between Dreon and beast.

  I can’t pretend I’m not drawn to her, he told himself. How can I do that when it’s so clear even she must see it? But I must wait. When we get back to the ship, it’ll be a thousand times better if this happens naturally and not as something we must do to ensure our survival.

  He just hoped his Drayon would comply for as long as it took to find the enemy ships and get back to the stricken Uhalor III.

  4

  Athena stared at Aron. There was something in his face that confused her; a strange hesitation that she hadn’t seen there before. He had assured her he was fine, but she didn’t believe him. It was as if a shadow had suddenly come over him.

  “Aron?” she whispered. “What is it?”