Alienated

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Humans and L'eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn't seem more alien. Handpicked to host the L'eihr student, Cara knows that no human boy is this good-looking. When Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Cara is threatened. Aelyx isn't just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life, and for the boy she loves, and for the future of her planet.

Cara always knew that life on planet L'eihr would be an adjustment. With Aelyx, her L'eihr boyfriend, back on Earth working to mend the broken alliance between their two planets, Cara is left to fend for herself at a new school, surrounded by hostile alien clones. Even the weird dorm pet hates her. Things start to look up when Cara is appointed human representative to a panel preparing for a human colony on L'eihr. A society that melds their two cultures is a place where Cara and Aelyx could one day make a life together. But with L'eihr leaders balking at granting even the most basic freedoms, Cara begins to wonder if she could ever be happy on this planet. Meanwhile, on Earth, Aelyx finds himself in a full-scale PR campaign to improve human-L'eihr relations. Humans don't know that their very survival depends on this alliance: Only Aelyx's people have the technology to fix the deadly contamination in the global water supply that human governments are hiding. Yet despite their upper hand, the leaders of his world suddenly seem desperate to get humans on their side, and they hardly bat an eye when extremists make multiple attempts on Aelyx's life. The Way clearly needs humans' help, but with what? And what will they ask for in return?

After thwarting a deadly coup and saving the alliance between their worlds, Cara and Aelyx have finally earned a break. Their tiny island colony is everything they dreamed it would be-days spent gathering shells on the beach and nights in each other's arms. But the vacation is short-lived. The treaty between Earth and L'eihr has awakened an ancient force that threatens to destroy them all. The Aribol, mysterious guardians charged with maintaining interstellar peace, deem the alliance a threat to the galaxy. They order a separation of the races, decreeing that humans and L'eihrs must return to their own planets within the month or face extinction. In fact, they already have agents in place on Earth, ready to begin. With the clock ticking, Aelyx and Cara assemble a team of colonists and race back to Earth, where they unite with old friends to solve the mystery of who the Aribol are, what they want, and the real reason the alliance has provoked them. As tensions build to a full-scale war, Aelyx and Cara must fight harder than ever-not just for their future, but for the survival of both their worlds.