My body tenses more and more the longer the humans from Earth talk. I have always held Earth at the highest regard from the time I was a seven year old girl, whisked away in a flash of blinding white light and taken to another planet that would become my new home.

My thoughts and memories of my home planet are filled with sunshine, greenery and love but the humans here seem to think otherwise.

And I hate to admit it but it bothers me immensely to even consider that the planet that holds my heart could be synonymous with so many horrible issues.

War, slavery, human trafficking, corruption, extinction, pollution, discrimination. The list goes on and on and for a moment I wonder why the humans here are even fighting for our side when the situation on Earth sounds so horrible.

The tall middle aged woman who introduced herself as Mary now speaks about some sort of embezzlement scheme that lead to millions of elderly humans losing their entire life's worth of savings.

"I don't get it. Why would the government elect a random stranger to take care of an old person just because their doctor diagnoses them to be a danger to themselves? What about their children or relatives?" Joon is equally as flabbergasted as I am.

He's been on Pluto five years longer than I have and the shock on his face is even more apparent.

"Because there are corrupted people everywhere and everyone is out there to make a quick buck, even if it means destroying another persons life," A short blonde guy responds sordidly. I think his name is Alex but I can't be sure.

Everyone introduced themselves at once and I lost track after the third name.

"That's sick," I murmur and Cat whistles lowly.

That's one way to put it," She adds.

I lean against the wall, letting the hardwood take the weight off my shoulders. I don't remember if these same problems exist on Pluto, only the slavery and the disparity between us and the Plutonians.

It is a totalitarian, military ruled society functioning solely to conquer and run the remaining planets under the Plutonian rule.

Sure there are dirty, lying cheats like Lazarus calling the shots but the Plutonians conserved energy like it was fuel for their beating hearts and there was no such thing as extinction.

"It's all Lazarus's fault." My lips pull apart to form a sneer and the hatred in my voice is evident. "He's the one behind all the problems on Earth."

"It's not fair to blame another species for everything, let alone a single alien who appears to be around the same age as General Lucian," The middle aged woman speaks and my eyes narrow in dislike.

She doesn't even know what she is talking about. I saw all those clips in Lazarus's room. It's all his doing.

"She has a point. The corrupted humans on Earth agreed to ruin our planet for the Plutonians. They are to blame as well," Rachel adds. "They traded our freedom for their riches and information to advance their technologies. Everyone claims they have no choice but the truth is we all do."

"And the Plutonians have been controlling Earth since the beginning of time. Lazarus is just picking up from where the generals left off. And the ones before them," Joon reasons.

My heart sinks at their words but I can't deny them. It's easy to blame one person for everything because I hate him but the truth is everyone had a hand in the war and destruction to come. The humans and the Plutonians alike.

"What are we even fighting for?" I blurt out words that I don't really mean in a fit of disappointment.

Mary's eyes crinkle together and the wrinkles pool at the corners of her eyes as she smiles at me. "Because there's good and bad in every species. I know many humans who are kind, hardworking and honest and they do not deserve the future you and Joon have described."

Her admission strikes a nerve and I look down as my lip quivers slightly. I think about my parents and my brother. My childish love for them remains untainted because I saw them through a child's memories throughout my years on Pluto.

It is the same for Earth but that doesn't mean that my parents were perfect and neither is my home planet. Mary is right, there is good in everything, even Pluto.

I think of Lucian out of sheer habit and the warmth in my heart grows. He's the best thing about Pluto for me, definitely.

"My grandparents manage a field on Earth in India." The dark haired girl with milky white skin sitting across from me speaks for the first time. "They raised me from young and I want them to live for as long as they can. I don't think that can happen if the Plutonians take over. Who's going to want old slaves? Yes, there are many issues on Earth but home is always worth fighting for."

"What happens to old people in Pluto?" Someone asks. "Are you still supposed to fight in the pits? Or serve as a slave or lover?"

Come to think of it, I've never actually seen an old human during my time on Pluto.

Aries, the trainer who used to run our drills and combat sessions in the training centre would probably be the oldest human I've seen and even he looks like he's just in his forties.

"I've never seen any," Joon admits, his voice heavy and the realisation weighs down on my chest.

No human has ever made it into their old age on Pluto. Every slave, fighter and paramour has lost their lives along the way due to the nature of their jobs. This revelation only reinforces that we are doing the right thing by being here.

"How did you guys make contact with the rebels? With Commander Rigel?" Joon changes the morbid subject, his smooth voice dripping with curiosity.

"They made contact with us. We belonged to an online forum that researched UFO sightings, unexplained texts in history and voiced out flaws in the system. People brushed us off as lunatics until Irina hacked a military base and uploaded their documents online," Mary gestures at the pretty girl who spoke of her grandparents in India.

"The news blew up and suddenly all of us were being tracked. Irina was hunted down by numerous governments."

Irina shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, looking slightly pleased with herself. I don't blame her. What she did was pretty awesome.

"The rebels saved us and brought us to Commander Rigel. We have been living with them ever since but we haven't been able to hope for much, not until you and General Lucian joined us," Mary utters his name softly, whether out of fear or respect I am unsure but there is no mistaking the awe in her face.

"He looks so young," A red haired girl says, her eyes aglow with admiration. "It's hard to believe he's the leader of the Plutonian army and helping us."

The energy in the room shifts and I notice most of the women and some of the men's eyes glow as they turn to me. I didn't know Lucian had a fan club among st the humans as well but it's easy to see their admiration for him.

"Can you imagine? An alien leader fell in love with one of us," The red haired girl gushes again. It makes me wonder if her life long dream has been to fall in love with an alien. "It must be why he's decided to save Earth."

Joon casts me a look and I stifle a smile. To be honest I don't really blame them. I still remember the way everyone ogled at Lucian at the rebel base when he first landed. He is after all the powerful Plutonian leader who decided to fight with us and it doesn't help that he's drop dead gorgeous.

He is now also against the invasion of Earth and his fleet's involvement has become the game changer to the rebels.

Lazarus's desperation is evident enough of it.

I realise the humans here must see him as our hero just like that Ciderman on the televisions on Earth but what they don't realise is that we are all heroes here.

Mary sighs as well, letting out her inner teenage girl who has a crush but Cat just snorts.

"I'd rather Luna any day," She berates. "Or Deneb. The long hair really does it for me."

"Nahh, Lucian's got that whole tortured but responsible look down perfectly. Those dark circles and high cheekbones. So hot," Irina says followed by a chorus of agreement and I laugh.

All of us smile in amusement and the door to our room creaks open. My heart skips when I see Lucian peering inside. I'm almost positive everyone in the room stopped breathing for a second.

His broad shoulders and towering frame are hidden by the door, all we can see is his boyish face and pale blue eyes that settle on me.

"Heard my girlfriend was awake. Wanted to see it for myself," He admits, blushing.

His eyes are so earnest, I swear if the wall wasn't holding me up I would probably melt to the ground.

"Hi," I say quietly, feeling my cheeks heat up from the attention both of us are getting.

Nobody says a word. Everyone is staring at him, looking starstruck until Joon finally breaks the awkward silence.

"We should pack up. We're done for the day," Joon gets up and dusts his pants. He side eyes me and winks and I stifle a smile before walking to the door towards Lucian.

Lucian takes my hand in his the moment we leave the room. We leave the building and I notice the sky has turned a dark grey. No more burning sunlight.

"How are you feeling?" His hand tightens around mine as he studies me cautiously.

"I'm much better. There's barely any pain in my foot anymore," My cheeks redden even more at the thought of him taking care of me for the past few days. "Thank you. For everything."

"Nonsense. There's no need for formalities. It's you," He bristles and the waning sunlight casts shadows across his cheeks making his face look more angular.

Just staring at him makes my chest churn with a mixture of warmth and desire.

The sky darkens within a few seconds and I falter when a low rumble echoes from the sky above.

"It looks like its going to rain."

"Rain?" The foreign word jostles my memory as if it's something I'm familiar with.

A few drops of water fall on my head and then on my dress. Lucian holds out his hands, answering my question by gesturing at the water falling on his skin. It's starting to grow heavier.

"We should head inside. Don't want you catching a cold."

I place my hands out in front of me, enjoying the general warmth of this planet, even the water is warm. How can I catch a cold from something so comforting?

Lucian takes my hand, leading me to some shade but I pull back, wanting to experience this feeling. I've felt it before, I just can't remember when but it must be from when I was a child. It must be why this makes me feel so happy.

I don't want to move and when the rain beats down on us heavily, I rejoice.

"Aria!" Lucian calls out to me worriedly but I just smile at him.

I pull him along with me across the drenched grass and he follows as we walk hand in hand with nothing but the rain as our company.

"I love this," I say loud enough for him to hear me and he blinks away the water in his eyes to smile down at me.

By the time we reach our quarters, both of us are drenched from head to toe.

Lucian tugs me along as aliens stare at us with wide eyes. We ignore them, giggling and giddy headed as we pretend we are in our own little world.

A world where we are just two people in love with a blanket of rain shielding us from everyone and everything else.

Lucian closes the door behind us and I skip into the room laughing with him. He is currently making fun of the way I was so panicked about Lazarus's obsession for the past few days and the way he imitates my voice is so ridiculous, it makes me laugh uncontrollably.

"Stop!" I push him against the wall to silence him, my stomach already aching after laughing so much.

He obliges and suddenly there is silence as we stare at each other.

His eyes are so pale but they darken with focus, making my cheeks flush. My skin is hot as he bends down to kiss me.

His lips are so soft, his kiss urgent, the taste of him is so absurdly addictive and suddenly I find myself pulling his shirt over his head.

Lucian does the same to me and he shrugs of his pants as we stumble to the bed.

I push him down and climb on top of him, feeling his skin burn with the same fire that has ignited in the pits of my stomach.

I feel desire, so raw, so potent, I can barely think. All I know is that I want to feel all of him again.

Lucian's eyes are clouded and he sucks in a breath when I take all of him in. I gasp at the pain and feeling of fullness that he causes but when we move in synchronity all the discomfort disappears, replaced only with mind numbing pleasure.

His hands go up to my chest, his touch like fire and I wonder if he can feel my heart racing for him. I moan loudly as his fingers thrum against my skin, it feels like he is stroking my soul.

I move against him and he moans in response, head tilted back, exposing his sharp jawline. He looks up at me, his expression vulnerable and cheeks flushed and I swear I have never seen anything so beautiful.

He flips me over and swallows my moan with a kiss. He goes in deeper now and the feeling he causes makes me lose all sense of self.

His wet hair hangs over his forehead and he looks down at me, eyes filled with adoration.

I close my eyes, feeling a coil of tension building deep within my body. He picks up speed and I almost scream when the coil bursts, shattering me into pieces.

Lucian pulls out and moans as he releases as well. He then pulls me against him and wraps his strong arm around my waist.

We lie together like that for a while, both dripping wet, gasping and exhausted. Both silent as we listen to the sound of rain beating down on the roof.

Both content.

Guysss did u anticipate the last part?? This is me making up for the sex scene (or absence of it in the first book lol) hope u enjoyed the pg version in this one hehe its the most I can do :p