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Her hands were fiery, scorching my skin. I hadn’t known any other way to react other than to abruptly storm out of the pod just to remove myself from that life altering, mind bending desire and chemistry.

I lived my life as a one player game. I didn’t have time to be weighed down by a partner—no matter how exquisite she was, how toned and trim she was—yet somehow curvy and voluptuous in all the right places.

What was I to do either way? Eventually, I would cave to the impulsive desire that consumed me, drained me, flooded my senses. My cock throbbed. I needed an urgent release of the tension boiling inside me, but I couldn’t do it.

I was beyond worried that the universe had dealt me the same hand as my parents, and that if I acted on my longing and infatuated emotions for Alliana—then somehow, she’d be snatched away from me too.

I had a heart made of stone. I couldn’t open it to anything, or anyone. There was too much death and loss in the wayward world to deal with. The more reserved I was in regards to my feelings—the better off I was.

I couldn’t get hurt if I didn’t care. But I did…and she knew it.

After a few more minutes of strolling absentmindedly around the colony compound, I got this weird, prickly sensation that surged all throughout my body like pins and needles. My stomach suddenly soured, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Trusting my gut instinct, I spun around and quickly jogged back to the pod shelter. Sure enough—my hunch paid off. The room was empty.

Alliana was nowhere to be found.

She was just…gone.

Not only had she seemingly vanished into thin air while my back was turned and my guard was down, but I noticed that my sack, or my man-purse, as the Earth people called it, was gone. I did a quick search about the room, and I came up frustratingly empty-handed.

For the second time in less than an hour, I charged out of the pod—because of Alliana. I was going to find this stubborn human thief and bring her back, kicking and screaming if I had to—no matter the cost.

She wasn’t a murderer after all. She was a seductress and a thief. If I didn’t let her run off now, she’d steal my heart next. Maybe she already had. My urge to mate had awakened the moment I collided with the beast to save her. She was addicting. The urge to mate was addicting.

I hunted after her like the animal she claimed that I was.