Page 7 of Errik

His heart pounded as he read the congratulations email.

A human female.

He’d been matched with a human female.

A woman named Holly from a place called Pennsylvania.

While he’d expected to receive a match quickly, he honestly hadn’t thought he would receive her name and location quite so soon, and he found himself fighting back a wave of apprehension. He hadn’t yet done anything to prepare for the woman’s arrival. He’d purchased a fully furnished house, yes, but he hadn’t acquired any of the items a human female might need.

From what he’d heard about Earth, conditions on the planet were dire, and many of the women who applied to the VAMOB program were desperate. It was possible Holly might be coming to him with nothing but the clothes on her back, and he felt honor-bound to provide for her in every possible way.

With that thought in mind, he headed back outside and walked toward the marketplace. He would procure clothing, shoes, jewelry, books, and other necessities, along with whatever extravagances he thought might please his future mate.

Then he would leave for Earth.

Tonight.

Chapter 3

Holly exhaled with relief when she saw her RV right where she’d left it in the municipal lot. She paused on the sidewalk, leaned against a building, and tried to catch her breath. Dr. Rowan had given her some medication to alleviate the worst of her symptoms, but she still felt pretty miserable. There was no way she would be able to walk far on her own or even consider driving away from this town. She was simply too exhausted, and the chest pain was more than a little unnerving.

Thankfully, the shelter-in-place order had been lifted about an hour ago, and Dr. Rowan had agreed to allow Holly to relocate her RV to the clinic’s parking lot. That way her Vaxxlian mate would be able to easily find her once the Intergalactic Dating Agency matched them.

Her Vaxxlian mate.

She could scarcely believe that she’d applied to become a mail-order bride.

But she was also having difficulty believing that she’d been born with a heart defect that she’d only recently learned about. She’d gotten regular checkups as a child, but somehow the issue had never been caught, though in all fairness, she’d honestly felt perfectly healthy up until a few weeks ago.

As she continued trying to catch her breath, she eyed her beloved RV. She would miss her little home. In anticipation of being accepted into the VAMOB program, she’d given Dr. Rowan her extra key, telling her to make good use of it. After thanking her profusely, the older woman had mentioned that she’d always wanted a mobile clinic to better help her patients in the mountains who had difficulty making it to town.

It warmed Holly’s heart to know her RV would get a second chance at life too.

She finally straightened and started toward her RV, taking slow, careful steps. Though she didn’t spot anyone on the nearby streets or in the parking lot, she instinctively reached for the taser she always kept in her pocket. The streets were eerily quiet, without voices, footsteps, children’s laughter, or barking dogs. It was a beautiful day, aside from the wisps of smoke in the distance, but she supposed the citizens of Meyersdale were probably erring on the side of caution and staying indoors for a bit longer this morning.

She climbed into the driver’s seat of her RV and immediately locked the door. Then she drove to the clinic’s parking lot and pulled into the large spot Dr. Rowan had pointed out earlier. She turned the engine off and leaned back in her seat, somehow out of breath once again.

When her phone dinged, she hurriedly pulled it from her pocket, her thoughts immediately going to her brother. Arnold. Maybe after all these years he was finally calling her back. Maybe he’d been off planet and unable to reach her until now. Maybe he’d been taken captive by alien outlaws and they’d finally freed him. She’d conjured all sorts of excuses for his silence, unwilling to give up hope that he was still alive.

But it wasn’t her brother.

It was a text from the Intergalactic Dating Agency.

The top line said congratulations, but she couldn’t read anything beyond that.

She swallowed hard, and her hands trembled as she swiped to read the full message.

Oh, my God. The trembling in her hands spread to the rest of her body. But whether she was shaking with nervousness or excitement, she couldn’t say. Perhaps it was a mix of both. Even though Dr. Rowan had insisted she would probably receive a response to her application within a few days, she hadn’t expected to hear back quite so soon. Only a few hours had passed since she’d pressed the submit button.

Her mouth went dry, and her shaking increased to the point that she wondered if it could be a side effect of the medication the doctor had given her.

Errik.

That was the name of the alien warrior who would soon arrive on Earth to claim her.

As his mate.

She released a shuddering breath as she reread the text a few times. It was a short message that provided the name of her Vaxxlian mate and said he would arrive on Earth within forty-eight hours to collect her. It also told her to pack her belongings and be ready to leave immediately.