Page 11 of The Alien’s Mate

He, on the other hand, did not seem to prepare for an attack. He just sat there, observing her from across the fire.

She wrapped her arms around her knees. Running would be fruitless, she knew that, and she’d rather not trigger anything primal in Atlas, like acting like prey. Instead, she buried her face in her arms and cried.

The alien was silent as the night, and for a moment, Lila heard nothing but her own sobs and the crackling fire. When she looked up again and wiped her tears, Atlas was still observing her. He wasn’t staring, not blatantly, but he didn’t look away. There was an intensity in his eyes that made her nervous, but there was no maliciousness there. Only undeniable dominance, as if he knew she was beneath him, that he could end her with a single strike.

They sat like that for what must have been an hour, at least. The fire burned down, leaving nothing but cinders. The cold crept nearer, and Lila wrapped the hide tighter around her.

The alien shifted, and the change made Lila tense.

“Atlas,” she tried again and sniveled. “Please, don’t hurt me.” She knew he wouldn’t understand her, but she couldn’t help it. She had to try, had to believe in the connection they might have. “I am not your enemy. I’m a friend.”

He tilted his hand again, and the dark brows she had learned weren’t hair at all, but short, dense whiskers, furrowed. A low, soothing rumble escaped him, almost like a purr, and it gave Lila slight hope—maybe he did understand her, after all.

“Yes,” she said and nodded. “A friend.”

But then, the beast rose, and at once, Lila felt terror shoot through her. She crawled back, as quickly as she could, to get out of his long reach. But Atlas did not try to grab her. Instead, he nodded his head deeper into the forest, waiting for her to respond.

She tried to read him, tried to figure out what he was telling her; soon, she realized that he wanted her to move along. Pulling the stiff hides closer around her, she swallowed. “In t-there?”

Atlas huffed, and he moved his hand to gesture her forward. The glass separating the enclosure from the rest of the facilities was so thick, it somehow must have warped his image; being this close to him, without the glass, made him look so much larger. His hand was massive, with one finger surpassing the size of two—or even three—of hers.

He chuffed, clearly impatient, and Lila gasped. Then, she rose on trembling legs, still holding the hide around her. She could barely breathe as she approached him. The smell of him was odd—clean but musky—and she felt his breath brush against her head as she passed him. The hair stood at the back of her neck, her belly tugged, and her lungs were nearly robbed of all air. But she put one foot in front of the other, and soon, she was walking further into the enclosure. Atlas walked behind her, his heavy and assured steps making her heart beat faster.

She was astonished at how large the enclosure was. It seemed like a real forest, deep and never-ending. In a natural forest, there would be stars lighting up the sky, but not in there. In there, faint fluorescent lights illuminated the man-made clouds, and cast dusk-like shadows over the dark moss.

Her legs were still heavy from the sedation, and the fear was still crippling; Atlas walked just behind her, silent and stoic. Sounds echoed around them—birds and wind and the creaking of trees—but Lila couldn’t decern if they were real or fake. All she knew, was that an eight-foot alien prowled behind her, and she had nowhere to run.

Carefully, she dared to glance over her shoulder from time to time. The alien’s bluish-grey reptilian hide melted strangely well with the muted colors of the forest, and despite the obvious fact that he was lethal, she felt a bit calmer thinking he hadn’t attacked her just yet. He didn’t even seem as though he wanted to attack her.

The universe, however, had other plans. Suddenly, he grabbed her and pulled her along behind a tree. She didn’t even have time to shriek, and she was completely frozen in fear as her face was inches from the alien’s ripped abdomen.

She shook violently, wishing that whatever he’d do, it would be over quickly—but Atlas only nudged her side and pointed behind the tree. Carefully, she leaned to the side and looked at where he was pointing. In a birch tree, amongst some branches, she noticed a small, red light pulsating in the dim light. It was a camera, and she couldn’t help but to feel disgusted. She knew there were cameras inside the enclosure, but being in the predicament that she was, she found the whole thing repulsive. Whatever they thought Atlas would do to her, they would watch it. She was strangely relieved he had moved her out of the way. Whatever potential depravity the alien would subject her to, she wouldn’t want anyone to watch.

Atlas steered her deeper into the enclosure, navigating the man-made forest as if he knew it by heart—which he probably did, after five years—and they steered clear of any cameras. Dr. Bryce had said the surveillance system was complex, but not complex enough to fool Atlas.

Finally, they came to the face of a mountain. Lila wondered if Howland & West had planted a mountain inside the alien’s enclosure, or if they used the mountains they had around the enclosure, seeing as the facilities themselves were built into a mountain range.

The alien brought them into a cavern. With a secure grip around her already bruising arm, he pulled her along through the vast system of passages. The way he so easily navigated the impossible darkness made Lila think he might see where humans did not.

Lila couldn’t see a thing, and when the alien released her, she didn’t dare take another step. She heard the echoes of his footsteps as he walked away from her, and soon, sparks illuminated the darkness as he lit a large fire, revealing a big chamber with stalactites and stalagmites breaking it off into smaller sections. The fire burned in a circular plateau, and around it, there were some types of furniture-like objects covered with the same kind of hide she was wearing.

Atlas chuffed as he looked at her and cocked his head. Understanding his request, she carefully stepped into the chamber. The alien straightened and eyed her slowly, and for the first time, Lila felt his gaze in a very different way. He wasn’t just eyeing her—he was measuring her, taking in her form.

An unfathomable dread filled her, one that was different from the fear of him killing her; he had led her to his lair, where he meant to violate her. She was sure of it.

“Please, Atlas,” she breathed, feeling the tears well up again. “P-please, don’t do this.”

The alien’s face turned into an agitated scowl, and his body tensed. It was a clear sign; he did not like refusal. Slowly but surely, he walked toward her.

Lila dropped her gaze and cried. Her whole body shook as she sobbed. It would be no point fighting the creature, no point in trying to run. All she could do was beg. “ Please ! Please, don’t do this!”

Atlas chuffed again, a sound that made her look up. He was close, but the scowl on his face was turned into a frown. He leaned down, his breaths exhaling in low rumbles. A large, clawed hand reached out and yanked her chin up, forcing her to look into his vast pools of liquid fire and smoke.

His lips moved, strange sounds filled the room with deep growls and hisses; he was speaking, but she couldn’t understand him. His eyes roamed her face as he spoke his alien tongue, and his thumb gently wiped a tear from her eye. And then, as if he forced the words out of his depth, he said, “Ell-ah.”

She gasped and stared at him. He had said her name. He had said her name in English. Almost desperate, she grabbed his hand and nodded. “Yes— yes ! That’s me, that’s my name! Lila!”

“Ell-ah,” he repeated and chuffed.