Alien Soldier's Baby (Scifi Alien Romance) (Zoran Warriors) Read Online Free PDF Page B

excuse for an explorer if I did that.
    I was hoping for a change of scenery, but Zenus is seemingly covered by a sea of identical-looking trees, as far as the eye can see. I’m glad Koryn has a tracker on his com, or I’d be helplessly lost. Down here, you can’t even use the sky to navigate, because the thick foliage obstructs the view.
    The lack of animals makes me uncomfortable, and I decide to fill the void with conversation.
    “What do you want to talk about?” I ask. “We’ve got six or so more hours to kill.”
    “Trees,” Koryn says dryly.
    “Err, anything but trees, please,” I say as I crouch to avoid another low-hanging branch.
    Koryn shrugs. I have to struggle to move through the high grass, but he glides through the woods, taking big, confident steps, making me feel like I’m a hobbit. Sometimes I forget just how damn big, strong, and fast the Zorans really are.
    “How did you and Jillian meet?” he asks after a pause. “You two are so different, yet good friends.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” I say, trying to get a rise out of him, but he just shrugs again.
    He’s not wrong, though. Jill and I are as different as can be, and maybe that’s why we work so perfectly together.
    “We met at university,” I say as I comb my fingers through my hair, removing some leaves, dirt, and other woodland paraphernalia. I can’t believe I spent over thirty minutes this morning on doing my hair… what a waste of time that has turned out to be!
    “We were in the same class. We actually hated each other at first, if you can believe that.”
    Koryn snorted. “I didn’t think either of you was capable of hate,” he says.
    “Hey, we can be fierce, jealous bitches, too!” I protest. “I mean, we’re not, of course. But we could be. Theoretically.”
    The purple alien pauses. “What does that mean?”
    I wave him away. “Forget I said that. Back to the story. We were in the same class at university, and we couldn’t get along, at all. Jillian thought I was a ditzy bimbo, and I thought she was a stuck-up snob.”
    “Why?” Koryn asks, as if the idea of competitive rivalry is lost on him.
    “Because we were both used to being the best, and now, neither of us were. It wasn’t until we were both assigned to a project together that we got to know each other and realized that, despite our differences, we also shared a lot of common ground.
    “Jillian’s not a snob at all: she worked her way out of the slums, and she only dressed like a librarian because she didn’t want anyone to know. And I don’t blame her. So many snooty people in college, it’s unbelievable. It’s like… yes, we know your dad’s rich, you know?”
    “What about you?” Koryn asks me. “Where do you come from?”
    “All over the place,” I answer. “My father was a Federation marine, and I spent my childhood moving from one base to another. When you spend so little time in any place, you learn how to make friends real quick… and learn to let those friendships go just as fast.”
    Koryn nods. He pulls a particularly low-hanging heavy branch out of the way so I can move past it.
    “Is your father still in the military?”
    “I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “My father abandoned my mother and me when I was a teenager, after we sacrificed our entire lives for him. I haven’t seen him since.”
    I sound more bitter than I’d like, but the wound has never truly healed.
    “Why?”
    “I don’t know,” I snap. “I don’t know.”
    “Sorry,” Koryn says.
    We spend the rest of the hike in silence. The discussion brought back many bad memories for me, and I make another vow to myself not to get involved with Koryn. He’s a warrior, just like my father had been, and that means he can’t be trusted.
    I promised myself I’d never end up like my mother: sacrificing her entire life for a man who left her with nothing but a child to raise on her own. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother to absolute