by Sue Mercury
“What about you?” Skylar said. “You don’t have any reason to stay on Earth. In fact, it would be safer if you left. You ought to sign up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides. Get you a muscle-bound protector who’ll keep you safe from that nasty ex of yours.”
Sienna chuckled. “I doubt my application would be accepted. I mean, I’m pregnant and there’s a warrant out for my arrest,” she said.
“First of all, the warrant for your arrest isn’t sanctioned by the Universal Alliance. I’m sure if you explained the nature of your crime to your new Vaxxlian mate, he would understand and wouldn’t think you were a criminal. He would likely be outraged by what happened to you and he would risk his life to keep you safe.” Skylar paused and drew in a long breath. “Second of all, it’s perfectly within the rules to apply for VAMOB when you’re pregnant or even if you already have human children. Vaxxlians welcome human children into their society.”
Hope flickered inside Sienna. “Wait… are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. I immediately thought of you when I learned about their welcoming attitude toward fully human children. In fact, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it.” Skylar’s smile broadened. “You really should sign up. I would miss you, but I’m certain we would see each other again one day. Like I said, as soon as I find Macy, I plan for the both of us to sign up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides and get the hell off Earth.”
A lump formed in Sienna’s throat. “I’ll miss you too.”
Skylar’s eyes widened. “Does that mean you’ve officially decided to sign up?”
Before she could lose her nerve, Sienna nodded. “Yes,” she replied, her voice sounding raspy. “Yes, I-I don’t think I have a choice. I want to keep my baby safe and provide a real future for the little guy, or girl, and I can’t think of any other option.” She drew in a steadying breath, her body breaking into a tremble. “I-I never told you this, but Brett wanted me to terminate the pregnancy. He said it would look bad if I made public appearances with him while I was fat. He said it would ruin my looks and that the entertainment company might terminate our joint contract.”
“Oh my goodness, girl, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I-I knew he was abusive, the horrible prick, but I didn’t know he’d wanted to get rid of the baby. How awful for you.” Skylar drew Sienna in for a quick side-hug. “Everything will be okay. I promise. You’re going to sign up for VAMOB and then live happily ever after on New Vaxx with your hunky alien mate and the three of you will become a family.”
“You make it sound so easy, but I’m still worried my application won’t be accepted if I admit I’m pregnant. Do you, um, think I’d be an awful person if I happened to omit that fact? Maybe I could tell my matched mate about the baby after we get to know one another better? After he starts to have feelings for me? Oh God, is that a terrible plan?” Sienna felt a jolt of worry.
“You’re not an awful person. Actually, on the application, women with children have to divulge whether or not they are legally allowed to leave Earth with their children. If the father of a child has part-time custody, technically the woman isn’t supposed to leave for another planet with her kids. So you can rest easy knowing that you’re doing the right thing for you and your baby. If you announced you were pregnant and that the father of the baby was a legal resident of Earth, that could cause some serious issues for you and hold up the application.”
“That makes sense. But what if my matched mate is angry when he finds out? What if he winds up rejecting me?” Sienna was used to thinking up worst-case scenarios and couldn’t stop the worries that suddenly whirled through her mind. Safety was within reach, but only if she lied on the mail order bride application, and only if her matched mate didn’t reject her after discovering the truth about her.
Skylar waved a hand in the air and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s nothing to worry about. According to the documentary I watched, Vaxxlians mate for life and they become extremely attached to their females. You’ll be fine, girl, I promise! Now, where’s your laptop? Let’s get you all signed up for some hot alien love.”
Chapter 2
Myadd stared at Earth from the viewscreen of his Vaxxlian cruiser, his hopes and dreams all wrapped up in a single word:
Sienna.
That was the name of his matched human mate, a female who hailed from a city called Houston in the United States. He couldn’t wait to locate the woman, claim her as his mate, and whisk her away from Earth.
Conditions on the human planet were treacherous and he couldn’t help but harbor the romantic fantasy that he was her brave rescuer, her last hope, a warrior come to save her in her most desperate hour. Nurtured by her gratitude, the seeds of love would sprout and eventually blossom into an all-consuming devotion. In return, he would adore her with his whole heart.
He shook his head to himself. If his brothers knew what sort of thoughts he was entertaining, they would probably think he’d gone mad.
“We’re here,” he told his brothers Axall and Khann over the transmitter. His two brothers had traveled to Earth as well, in their own respective vessels, so they might all claim human mates and return to planet New Vaxx around the same time. The three of them had all recently signed up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides and received information about their matched mates just yesterday.
“The journey was shorter than I predicted,” Axall said, his ship visible in the right corner of Myadd’s viewscreen.
“Indeed. It is my hope that our return trip through the Eshunna Passage will be just as quick,” Khann said, referring to the newly discovered wormhole from which they’d just emerged.
They bid one another good luck as they approached Earth. While Myadd was headed to Houston to retrieve his human female, Khann’s mate was located in Baltimore, and Axall’s mate was located in a rural area of Montana.
As he descended through Earth’s atmosphere, he continually scanned the planet below for any signs of fighting or danger. There were pockets of unrest in most major American cities, as well as full out war occurring in several locations on the planet. The recent surge in human females applying for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides was a good indicator that conditions on Earth were steadily becoming worse. When he detected a huge presence of American soldiers in Houston, he was not surprised.
Roadblocks were set up at every road leading out of the city. His scans showed groups of people were gathered at almost every one of these roadblocks, and when he passed near one of the groups a close-up image provided by his viewscreen revealed a chaotic scene. Many of the people were screaming and holding up signs. Some were hurling rocks and other objects at the soldiers. A cloud of gas began to spread over one area of the gathering, and some of the soldiers on the other side started shooting.
Alarm filled him and he quickly calculated the distance of the nearest roadblock from Sienna’s address. Only a few streets away. He navigated faster over the Houston skyline, determined to reach her soon. She lived in a tall apartment building in a severely dilapidated area of the city. Many of the nearby structures were crumbling and looked abandoned.
As he landed his cruiser on the roof of Sienna’s building, he frowned and gazed at the numerous plumes of smoke rising in the sky. He disembarked his ship, making certain his blaster was attached to his belt, and called out a verbal command for his vessel to lock down.
A smoky stench reached him, and he fought the urge to cough. Though it was daytime, he could barely make out the sun in the hazy sky. An ear-splitting boom rang out, somewhere to the north. The building shuddered beneath his feet.
While Myadd didn’t know the specifics behind the failing conditions on Earth, he had heard political unrest was a huge part of the problem in the United States. Apparently, some areas in this country were trying to secede from the United States and become their own self-governing countries. This had led to much bloodshed and unsafe conditions for the poor human females who called this country home. A sense of protectiveness rose within
him, a powerful urge to keep his matched mate safe and provide a better life for her on New Vaxx. He truly was about to rescue her.
He located a door that led to a stairwell and descended to the seventh floor, grateful he had arrived at Sienna’s apartment building before the fighting reached her street. He moved down the hall toward her door, eager to meet his mate for the first time.
He already knew what she looked like, as he’d been dreaming about her for years, rarely a night passing during which he didn’t glimpse his curvy blonde female with bottomless blue eyes, but he wasn’t certain what her voice sounded like or what sort of demeanor she possessed. Was she talkative or quiet? Was she outgoing or shy? Was she as eager to start a family as he was?
Had he haunted her dreams for years, just as she had haunted his?
He couldn’t help but wonder if a psychic connection of sorts existed between them, for him to have spent so many years dreaming of a female he had never met, even before he knew he would one day travel to Earth to claim a human woman matched to him by a mail order bride service.
When he reached apartment 7-C, he lifted his fist and knocked loudly, his anticipation growing. In his dreams, she’d had flowing blonde hair that he often buried his fingers in. He had touched her in the dreams, but whenever he spoke to her, she wouldn’t answer. She would simply stare at him, her huge blue eyes filled with longing, but sometimes tears.
She needed him. That, he knew for certain. She needed to escape Earth. That was undoubtedly why she’d signed up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides. He would not fail her, he told himself with a growing sense of purpose. He would keep her safe and treat her with kindness. Whatever horrors she had experienced on Earth would one day fade, if he was gentle enough with her and made her feel as though she mattered to him.
He had no doubt he would come to care for the human female, but he hoped she would also come to care for him. If she had never dreamed of him, would she find it strange, perhaps even unbelievable, that he had dreamed of her every night for years? His first dream of her had come on the eve of the war against the Irrcons, and his visions of her had helped carry him through some of his darkest moments.
He heard two distinct voices, both female, on the other side of the door, and he straightened when the door was finally pulled open. He stared into blue eyes, but quickly noticed the human female who had answered the door wasn’t his mate, for she had short black hair. As he fought back his disappointment, he scanned the room behind her and saw a curvy blonde who resembled the female from his dreams. His heart leapt with joy at the sight of her.
“Hello,” the dark-haired female said in Galactic Common, her eyes wide, her expression one of shock. “Um, please, come inside.” She lowered her head and moved aside.
“Hello,” he said with a polite nod at the woman as he strode into the small one-room apartment.
He walked directly to the beautiful blonde who was seated on the couch, who was wearing a similar expression to that of her companion. He sank down on the floor next to his mate and took her hands in his.
“Finally, we meet,” he said. “Sienna. My Sienna. I am honored to meet you and eager for us to leave Earth, mate, and start a family together on New Vaxx. I imagine we’ll have many offspring, and I long to see your belly swollen with our first child.”
The female’s eyes widened further. She wrenched her hands from his and scooted away from him. “Uh, I-I’m not your mate. I’m not Sienna.” The blonde pointed at the dark-haired human woman who’d let Myadd into the apartment. “She is.”
Chapter 3
As the large Vaxxlian male stared at her, a look of confusion reflecting in his green eyes, Sienna felt hurt by his assumption that Skylar was his mate. Was it because her friend was prettier? She resisted the urge to touch her short hair. Had the alien mistaken her for a man?
But no. A glance down at her attire told her that wasn’t possible. She was wearing a flowing purple dress that showed the smallest hint of cleavage. She’d also applied makeup and done her best to style her hair in a way that didn’t make it look so obvious that she’d hastily chopped it off herself, even though that’s exactly what she’d done.
“This female is my mate?” The alien asked, looking at Skylar as he gestured at Sienna. His name was Myadd, that much she knew from a follow-up communication with Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides. Yesterday, the service had sent an email that included her matched mate’s name and estimated time of arrival.
“Yes, that’s Sienna,” Skylar said with an awkward smile. “She’s the one you’re supposed to mate with. Congratulations, by the way. I think you two will make a cute couple.” Her smile brightened but Sienna could tell it was forced. Myadd had obviously made her uncomfortable when he’d knelt before her and started talking about how eager he was to meet her, mate with her, and make babies together.
Well, the Vaxxlian’s actions had made Sienna uneasy as well. Not only his assumption that Skylar, lithe and beautiful with long wavy blonde locks, was his matched mate, but his comment about how he couldn’t wait to see her belly swollen with their first child together.
She resisted the urge to place a protective hand over her stomach. The baby growing inside her was the reason she’d signed up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides in the first place. It hurt to think this Vaxxlian might react badly when he learned her stomach was about to swell up soon, but not with his child. Would it displease him to know their first baby would be fully human, a child conceived with a cruel human man?
Myadd straightened and glanced at Sienna. “Are you truly my mate? Are you Sienna?”
“Yes,” she replied, blinking rapidly against the burn of tears. She had a strong suspicion her looks disappointed him. He kept glancing just above her eyes. At her hair. He didn’t like her short hair. The burning in her eyes increased.
Myadd glanced at Skylar. “Then who are you?”
“I’m leaving,” Skylar announced, moving toward Sienna. “Sorry about this awkwardness, girl,” she whispered into Sienna’s ear. “I’m sure all will be well. Good luck, and I hope to see you on New Vaxx one day. Sooner than later, I hope.”
They hugged quickly, having already said their goodbyes, and Skylar departed the apartment, leaving Sienna alone with the huge Vaxxlian male who apparently wasn’t all that impressed with her.
Myadd stood rigidly, eyeing her with suspicion. “Do you swear on the souls of your ancestors that your name is Sienna and you were matched to me, Myadd,” he said, pointing at himself, “by the mail order bride service?”
She opened her mouth, ready to tell him to get the hell out, when she remembered the look in Brett’s eye when she told him she was pregnant. He’d been livid and disgusted, and for the first time since entering a relationship with him, she had truly feared for her life. She pressed her eyes shut, all the horrible things he’d screamed at her echoing in her ears. Her left cheek tingled, too, right where he’d slapped her.
She couldn’t tell Myadd to go screw himself, even if he didn’t like her. She needed to make the best of this situation and do whatever it took to get off Earth.
This is my life. This is how desperate I am.
God, help me.
“Are you feeling unwell, Sienna?”
She opened her eyes and looked up to find him standing over her, his handsome face etched with concern. She wished he weren’t so attractive. That would at least make her feel better about herself. Silly, because logically she knew she was sexy. She’d made a living off her looks, in fact, but for whatever reason, Myadd didn’t think so. How disappointed he’d appeared when he realized she was his mate and not Skylar.
“I-I’m fine,” she finally said, trying to force a smile. She peered up at him, praying she wouldn’t start crying. How tall was he, anyway? Seven feet? Taller than that? She fought a shudder. He was tall and well-built, with broad shoulders and bulging muscles.
Brett was tall and muscular as well, and too many times he’d used his size and strength against he
r. Sometimes to intimidate her. Other times to physically hurt her. Oh how she wished she could go back in time and never accept that first date with him. Then she wouldn’t be in this predicament right now—alone and scared and pregnant in a dangerous city.
“I’m sorry you don’t like my hair,” she blurted, still fighting back tears. Thank God none had escaped her eyes yet. How humiliating that would be. “I-I promise I’ll grow it long.”
He placed his hands upon her shoulders, his touch gentle but firm. She started shaking. Unable to hold his gaze for a moment longer, she lowered her face and stared at his chest, praying that her promise to grow her hair long pleased him, even as she kicked herself for being a pushover.
She used to be stronger.
Before Brett, she would have never cowered before a man, trembling as she promised to grow her hair longer for him. But here she was, a broken version of her former self, desperate and afraid and willing to do whatever it took to keep both her baby and herself safe. Life could be fucking cruel.
When Myadd lifted one hand and reached for her hair, it took all her willpower to keep from flinching or backing away. He stroked a hand through her short locks while she continued staring at his chest.
She was so nervous, just from him touching her shoulders and her hair, that she couldn’t imagine physically mating with him. Given his immense size, she worried it would hurt even if he tried to be gentle.
“Your hair is soft and pleasing to touch,” Myadd said, his voice deep but kind. He tipped her chin up and forced her to meet his stare. At least the disappointment from earlier had faded from his otherworldly gaze. Or maybe he was simply good at pretending. “It also suits you. Your dark locks bring out the sparkling depths of your gorgeous blue eyes. You do not have to grow your hair long on my account, little human. You are free to style your hair however you wish.”
Jesus. Now she really felt like crying. Did he mean it? God, how she would give anything if only he meant it. Even though she didn’t particularly like her new look, hearing him proclaim that he didn’t hate her hair brought her hope. Not to mention, his announcement that she was free to style it however she wished.