Ajos: The Restitution - A Sci-fi Alien Romance, Book 1, стр. 7

Yet…his costume was so…lifelike.

Man?

Alien?

She wasn’t sure now.

If this was a lucid dream…it was really, really convincing. She hadn’t even known she could imagine an alien language that sounded so…real—as if the alien was actually saying something of meaning.

“Ajos!” A blonde woman rushed forward. “You’ve been over here for a while. Is she all right?”

The woman stooped down. “Oh, she’s awake!”

Kerena was mildly aware that the woman was touching her cheek and turning her head so she could look at her face.

“She looks ok. You removed the oxygen mask. She didn’t need it anymore?”

“Neg. Er er negelde. Wek fre frede erix fre quwekix qu oh freix ji elix,” the man, or alien, or alien-man said.

“Yes, but that could just be her way of processing this. Most of the others are hysterical, but we’d prepared for that. Maybe she is the type that doesn’t spook easily.”

Okay. None of this made sense.

Weren’t dreams supposed to be manifestations of her subconscious? It didn’t feel as if she was in control of any of this.

You know what, time to wake up.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kerena willed herself to wake, but when she opened her eyes again, they were met with the same golden eyes of the being that held her.

Fear began crawling up her spine.

Again.

Try again.

So she tried again.

But no matter how many times she closed then opened her eyes, the being before her always came back into view.

She never woke up in her bed. Cindy Clawford wasn’t by her feet hogging the blanket…

“No,” she managed to utter.

As she tried to scramble away, she almost fell to the floor, and she would have if it weren’t for the strong arms that held her.

“Er be' ee. Wek neg negix el ji enerfooel elqu negfre.”

Kerena’s eyes shot to the alien.

“It’s okay. I know this is a lot to take in, but try to remain calm. Just try to focus on me,” the blonde woman said. “We’ll explain everything to you soon.”

The woman’s words made her pull her terrified gaze away from the male that held her.

“Wh—where am I?” Kerena’s eyes darted from the woman back to the alien leaning over her—and the more her brain came online, the more terrified she became.

He looked too real to be a figment of her imagination.

It wasn’t a costume.

This…was…real.

“You’re on the Restitution’s base. You are safe,” the blonde woman answered.

“The what?”

“The Restitution. I know you don’t know what that means, but the alliance is the only reason you’re alive.” The woman glanced at the…the alien. “It’s the reason we all are alive.”

She’d heard her the first time, but the second time didn’t make it any clearer.

She turned the words over in her head.

The Restitution.

It sounded like a military base.

And the alien…

Area 51?

How the hell did she end up in Nevada?

Looking down at herself, she frowned even more.

She was dressed in the exact outfit she’d been wearing when she’d left work—a short sleeveless dress and her boots. They’d taken her on her way from work and brought her to Nevada?

And all the rumors about them hiding aliens…those rumors were real?

What kind of government bullshi—The fuck did she get herself into?! And how?

The only thing she could think of was the fact that she worked for one of the biggest bioengineering companies in the US. They conducted classified experiments the government might have been interested in.

But she was a botanist!

What did they need her for? Man-eating alien plants?

She wasn’t a part of the secret experiments she knew the company she worked for conducted. Her work comprised the more “ethical” experiments on which the company built its name and which the public knew about.

This didn’t make any sense!

The blonde woman had fierce eyes but a kind smile. She looked like the type of person who told it as it was. Possibly the type of person she could trust.

“I—” Kerena licked her lips and tried to keep her gaze from sliding back to the alien. “I don’t understand.”

The woman smiled.

“I know. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Athena.”

“Okay, Athena.” Kerena licked her lips again before her eyes darted to the tall mint-colored alien once more. “I’m Kerena.”

The alien’s golden eyes were still on her, and it didn’t take her long to realize he’d been watching the movement of her tongue against her lips.

“Um, Athena…” she whispered. “I don’t know if you noticed but…I think there’s an alien holding me in his arms.” She paused. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Athena’s shoulders rose and fell in a low chuckle before a sad smile twisted her lips.

“I don’t know how to break this to you, so I’m just going to come out and say it.”

Kerena froze. Those were not the words that usually came before good news.

“You were abducted…”

Everything within her stopped moving. She was sure even her heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

“And…” Athena continued.

Wait, there was more?

“There’s no way of going back home.”