Free Theron Destiny (Brides of Theron) by Rebecca Lorino Pond

able to see a crystal clear picture.
    “See anything yet?” Avery asked out of curiosity. She had moved closer to the panel where Brylon was so she could see as well, yet distant enough to make sure that she wasn’t touching him.
    Brylon gave a big smile when the image on the screen came in better than he had hoped for. He looked over to where Avery was standing and said to her, “Come closer. I am not going to bite you. You don’t need to be so scared all the time. Come see.”
    She edged closer so that she was able to get a better view of the screen and immediately had feelings of homesickness settle over her as she watched an alien man walk around in her home as he gathered her belongings.  She was hit hard by the realization that after this moment she was never going to see her former home again. Everything she had worked for and cherished was being taken from her.  She could only take a fraction of her belongings. She started to clench and unclench her fists as she tried to control the anger that was now starting to over-take the homesickness.
    She watched as Zeb opened drawers and closets, tossing the items from her list into a pile on the floor. Her once clean apartment now looked ransacked, almost like a robbery had taken place. The pile on the floor continued to grow larger and larger but she had a little surprise waiting for him when he finished. It was an item that she intentionally left off the list and she knew it was going to catch him off guard. Just thinking about the moment when she would spring it on him helped to diffuse some of the anger that she was feeling.
    “Do you see anything else that you want Avery? I think I have everything on your list.”
    She looked around the screen that showed her living room to see if there was anything else she wanted, “Over there on the rocking chair is a quilt, its blue and pink. Do you see it?”
    Zeb scanned the room for this thing called a quilt but wasn’t sure what it was. “Would you please tell me what a quilt is?”
    She couldn’t help but smile, she told him, “It’s on the chair next to the sofa by the big window. It’s blue and pink and has printed flowers all over it. No, the other way. It’s right there in front of you.”
    He picked up the thing that he assumed was her quilt and questioned her again, “This thing?”
    A sharply snapped “yes” was her only reply to his sarcasm.
    “Anything else you want?” Zeb waited for her to reply.
    Now it was time to tell him of the other item she wanted from her apartment and it gave her a moment of happiness to think of his reaction. “Oh Zeb, there is one more thing that you need to get for me.”
    “Sure where is it?” He glanced around the room to try and figure out what it might be that she wanted.
    “It should be in the kitchen, in the window.” She struggled to keep in the giggle that wanted to escape but didn’t want to spoil the moment.
    Zeb walked into the kitchen and headed to the only window that was in the room. The curtains were over the window so he grabbed hold of the edge of the curtain and pulled it back. “What in the Gods name is that thing?” Zeb’s eyes almost bulged out of his head at the sight that confronted him behind the curtain. A creature he had never laid eyes on before now stood on all four legs with back arched and teeth showing. It was making a loud hissing noise in between low growls.
    “That’s my cat, Books. He’s really a sweetheart once he gets to know you.” She could no longer hold in the giggle that had threatened to erupt after telling him she wanted another item. “You’re going to have to put him in the carrier that’s on top of the cabinet, its red.”
    “This isn’t funny. That thing looks like it wants to rip my throat out.” He was looking straight into the camera and the look on his face made Avery laugh even harder. She had to take a deep breath before she was able to control her laughter and answer him, “I want my cat. You