by Susan Hayes
JORAN
STAR-CROSSED ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES
SUSAN HAYES
CONTENTS
About The Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Book #2 - Vadir
Vadir - Chapter 1
Book #3 - Kash
About The Intergalactic Dating Agency Series
About the Author
ABOUT THE BOOK
What do you do when your planet runs out of women? Send for takeout, of course.
Joran, Crown Prince of Pyros, needs to claim his mate in order to ascend to the throne one day. The problem? His destined mate isn’t on Pyros.
When a galaxy-wide search uncovers a backwater world full of potential mates for Joran and the other unmated males on his planet, plans are set in motion and Star-Crossed Dating is created. Now, the first wave of men are on their way to claim their unsuspecting brides. Joran’s mission: Go to Earth, claim his mate and bring her back to Pyros. How hard could it be?
This book contains a redheaded barista who doesn’t believe in aliens, and a prince who is used to getting anything he wants without having to work for it…until now.
SUSAN HAYES
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. It is fiction so facts and events may not be accurate except to the current world the book takes place in.
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Copyright © 2017 Susan Hayes
Joran (Book #1 of the Star-crossed Alien Mail Order Brides Series)
First E-book Publication: September 2017
Cover Design: crocodesigns.com
Editor: Dayna Hart
Published by: Black Scroll Publications
ISBN: 978-1-988446-17-2
DEDICATION
For my Mum and Dad, for supporting me even when they thought I was crazy. And for my best friend, Karen, for putting up with me when I was definitely nuts.
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This book is also dedicated to Violet V for inviting me to join this series. I had a blast writing this story, thank you!
1
Maggie nestled into one side of her best friend’s worn but comfy couch with a container of rocky road ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. After the week she’d had, ice cream and a girls’ night in was exactly what she needed.
“Do we want to open the red or white wine?” Gwen called from the tiny, galley-style kitchen.
“Red. That’s a good pairing for cookie dough ice cream, right?” Lisa said, already digging into her ice cream from her perch on the other side of the couch.
“Everything’s a good pairing for cookie dough.” Gwen reappeared with a bottle of red wine and three glasses on a tray, along with her preferred flavor, chocolate ripple.
Gwen served the wine and then settled into a somewhat battered armchair with a contented sigh and raised her glass. “We survived another week. Here’s to the weekend.”
“Amen,” Maggie replied, before downing a significant portion of her glass.
“Uh oh. You only drink your wine that fast when the espresso machine at work is on the fritz or you’re having man trouble. Which is it?”
Maggie wrinkled her nose and sighed. “The latter. Jorge went back to his wife.”
Gwen’s hand froze, her spoon hovering halfway between the carton and her mouth. “Wife? I thought you said he was divorced?”
“He is. Well, he was. They finalized the divorce three years ago.” Maggie took another drink, but the wine couldn’t wash away the bitter taste that had lingered in her mouth since she got the text from Jorge the night before.
“Weren’t you two planning a romantic getaway next weekend? How the hell does a guy go from booking a trip with his girlfriend to getting back together with his ex-wife?” Lisa leaned over to snag the bottle of wine off the table and refilled Maggie’s glass.
“It was his turn with the kids last weekend. I guess he told them about me, and they went home and told their mother.” Maggie paused to take another spoonful of ice cream while Lisa and Gwen reacted like the best friends that they were.
“He’s an idiot. She doesn’t want him back, she just wants to make sure he isn’t with anyone else. The moment she finds out he dumped you, she’ll call it off again. If he can’t see that, he’s not worthy of you,” Gwen said, utterly indignant.
“Please, tell me you had a moment of glorious red-headed temper and tore him a new one before punting his sorry ass to the curb,” Lisa added.
“He didn’t give me the chance. He told me by text message late last night.”
“He broke up with you by text? The least he could have done was tell you in person. What kind of man does that?” Gwen asked.
“The only kind of man the three of us ever seem to attract. Weak, selfish assholes.” Lisa stabbed her spoon into her ice cream. “We need to expand our dating pool.”
Maggie shook her head. “I’m not sure how we’d do that. I work in a coffee shop, which means the only guys I meet are over-caffeinated business types who never look up from their phones long enough to flirt. You’re a street artist, so you’re surrounded by buskers all day. Those guys barely make rent, they can’t afford a girlfriend.”
Lisa grinned. “No, but the cute ones can rent me for a couple of days. Not every relationship has to last forever.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Some of us are getting too old to play the field. I’d like to meet someone special. He doesn’t need to be perfect, just…perfect for me.”
“You’ve spent too many years reading those romance novels you love, Gwen. There’s no such thing as a perfect man. He’s a myth, like unicorns and little green men from outer space.” Maggie took another drink of her wine. “I agree with Lisa though, we do need to find a better class of men to date. There has to be some out there, somewhere.”
“Given our track records, maybe not. Between us, we’ve dated a card-carrying member of the Ghostbusters fan club, complete with his own proton pack, two guys who forgot they were still married...”
Gwen chimed in with “Don’t forget the guy who met Lisa for coffee, talked about himself for an hour, then told her she was clearly a submissive and asked her to wear his collar…on their first date.”
Lisa groaned. “Seth. Oh man, I’d forgotten about him. He was a wannabe Dom with no clue what he was talking about. Quick, someone pass me more wine. I’m going to need it to erase those memories again.”
They spent the next hour drinking, laughing, eating ice cream, and reminiscing about their worst dating experiences. They’d been friends for so long they knew all the stories already, but that didn’t matter. They still laughed at each other and tossed in the occasional reminder about a detail someone had missed. Usually something that made the whole tale even more humiliating. That’s what friends were for.
Gwen and Lisa were more than friends, though. They were the sisters of her heart. They had been there for Maggie when she’d first landed in foster care as a broken and terrified twelve-year-old. Since then, the three of them had forged a friendship that had lasted twenty years
.
“This might be the wine talking, but I think I’m ready to try online dating again,” Lisa announced. “It’s that or dye my hair. Whichever. It’s time for a change.”
“You have gorgeous hair. Do you know how many women would kill to be natural blondes?” Gwen tugged on a curl of her tightly spiraled, jet-black hair to make her point. “Me, for one.”
“Then I’m taking your comment as a vote for a return to online dating. And so we’re clear, I’m not going alone. You two are coming with me.” Lisa grabbed her phone and started poking at the screen. “I got this email the other day. Some new dating site is coming online in the next few months, and they’re looking for some brave souls to beta test it for free. Maybe we should give it a shot.”
Maggie groaned. “You say that like you’re going to give us a choice.”
Lisa waved her hand around in vague circles. “What, and spoil the illusion? I like to let you guys think you have some say.”
“We’ve been friends too long. That illusion got shattered years ago.” Gwen drained her glass and then reached for her phone. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”
“Me, either.” Maggie checked her email and quickly found the invite. Star-Crossed Dating Service.
A quick scan of the contents made her curious enough to click the link. The site looked professional enough. No spelling mistakes or weird links. She started to read, then stopped and read the same sentence over again.
“Am I reading this right? They offer a money back guarantee? If we’re still single after six months, we get double our money back? I thought you said this was free?”
“Keep reading. In the next paragraph, they promise to pay us the cash, even as beta testers. They’ve got to be pretty confident to make that kind of offer,” Lisa said.
“There has to be a catch.” Gwen’s expression darkened as she kept reading. “Young women looking for adventure and an out of this world dating experience. I’m not that young anymore, and I’m not sure I’m the adventurous type.”
“You’re thirty-four, not eighty. Come on, Gwen. Maybe your perfect-for-you guy is on this site, waiting to meet you. You’ll never know unless you try.” Lisa turned her gaze to Maggie. “So, what’s your argument going to be?”
“I’m working on it. Give me a minute. I’ve had enough wine and ice cream that it’s tough to think right now.”
“Perfect. In that case, have another glass.” Lisa held up the nearly empty wine bottle. “Drink up, then sign up. We’re doing this.”
“Bossy cow,” Maggie muttered with a laugh as she held out her glass.
“Mooo ‘betcha,” Lisa retorted, and all three of them burst into a fit of giggles.
The laughter continued as they filled out the questionnaire for the dating site, each of them offering up suggestions on what the others should put. It was certainly more fun than doing it alone, but Maggie still didn’t expect much in the way of results. When it came to dating, being skeptical kept her from getting her hopes dashed over and over again.
As a girl, she’d lived like a princess in a fairytale, but when her father died, she’d lost everything. Her friends. Her home. Even her mother. She’d learned her lesson. Now, Maggie kept her expectations low and her dreams small. It was safer that way. If this dating site was as good as it claimed to be, then maybe it would match her with a man who understood how to live the same way she did. Small and simple.
Joran Pyr, Crown Prince of Pyros, was convinced his parents had lost their flaming minds. He stopped pacing the length of the ornate meeting room and spun on his heel to face them, turning his back on the portraits of his ancestors that lined the walls. “You’re telling me that you ordered our pilots to use a rift generator--technology we’re not supposed to have--to travel to the uncharted quadrants of our galaxy-- a place we aren’t supposed to go. And the reason for this illicit jaunt across the cosmos is to look for potential mates on planets we’re forbidden to interfere with because they’re not advanced enough yet? What happens if the other members of the Inter-Planetary Council find out?”
“If they find out, we’ll be at war. So, I suggest you lower your voice before someone overhears your dramatic recital of facts we’d all like to keep secret,” his father, King Janus, replied.
“Mother, you went along with this?”
Lilanna nodded. “You need a mate, Joran. Since the one you’re destined for is not on our planet, we’ve expanded the search.”
Well, that confirmed it. They were insane. “You’re risking an intergalactic war because you want grandchildren?”
“Yes,” his mother replied.
“You’re the last of our line, Joran. If you don’t mate and produce an heir, the throne, and the fate of our planet, will pass to the House of Tindor.” His father gestured to the rows of portraits that filled the space. “You were born to rule, and by the Flames of the First One, I will do everything I can to ensure you claim the throne when the time comes.”
“If it was my destiny to rule, don’t you think the Gods might have provided me with a mate? It’s not like they don’t know how this works. They made the rules, after all. No ruler may ascend the throne unless they have found their mate and undergone the Scorching. That’s not going to happen when there are six males to every female on the damned planet.” Joran uttered a bitter laugh. “If the Gods wanted your child to rule, maybe they should have given you a daughter.”
His mother’s golden eyes narrowed. “Or maybe you should give them more credit, son. Perhaps they brought about the lack of female births to force our people to search the stars. We were explorers once, and it may be that the Gods think it’s time that we returned to the old ways again.”
He loved his mother, but her faith in the Gods and their plans were beyond his understanding. Whenever he questioned her on it, she would smile and tell him that when he found his mate, he would understand.
When he found his mate. It was such a simple statement. Too bad reality was far more complicated. At first, the shift was so subtle no one noticed that there were more males than females being born. Even once the trend was spotted, it was dismissed as an anomaly. By the time the pattern was obvious, it was too late. Fewer females meant fewer matings, which meant fewer babies born. The population of Pyros was caught in a diminishing cycle no one had been able to correct.
“It’s still a terrible risk.” Once, the Pyrosians were one of the most influential races in the quadrant. They commanded fleets of spaceships carrying thousands of warriors, including many males and females who had undergone the Scorching. With their flame manipulation powers unlocked, they were a force to be reckoned with. As the number of mated pairs diminished, so did the strength of their military. The council no longer bowed to their wishes. Instead, Pyros was forced to bow to others.
“And if we don’t take the chance now, it might never come again.” His father squared his shoulders and Joran braced for yet another lecture. He’d been on the receiving end of so many over the years, he had them all memorized. “We stand on the brink, son. The future of our people is at stake. You need to mate and have children. We need to rebuild, so that one day we can retake our place at the head of the council. When you sit in my place, you will learn that there are no easy choices.”
“Besides, we aren’t only doing this for you. If the Gods are generous, then we will find mates for others. I am not the only mother who fears her child will be the last of their line.”
Are those tears in her eyes? Joran couldn’t believe it. His mother was too strong for tears. Too practical to ever let emotions cloud her judgment. Queen Lilanna was the steadfast star around which the entire planet orbited. To see her unguarded and emotional was a comet strike to the heart.
He sat in one of the chairs across from his parents, and a heavy weight settled on his shoulders. Talking about the day he took the throne always made him feel this way. He’d been trained since birth to rule. That wasn’t the problem. It was the fact that to claim the crown
, he’d have to bury his father, first. What had once been a distant notion was now an unavoidable truth. His father was aging, and the added burden of trying to save his people was only accelerating the process.
“How bad is it? For all of this to be necessary, things must be far worse than you’ve let everyone believe, including me.”
His father ran a hand through his greying hair and sighed. “I’ll send you the reports tonight. Until now, no one has seen them but the two of us. This has to remain a secret. When I said we were on the brink, I wasn’t being dramatic. It’s the truth.”
Joran swiped at his own hair, vaguely aware that he was mirroring his father’s actions. They were very much alike. Both blond and brown-eyed, at least until the Scorching had changed his father’s eyes to gold. They were both warriors at heart, and equally stubborn. A trait that had brought them into conflict more than once.
“I wish you had told me sooner.”
“There was nothing you could have done. We didn’t—“ Lilanna glanced at Janus. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
“According to Father, worrying is part of the job.” Joran leaned forwards in his chair as a new thought occurred to him. “You’re telling me now, though. Does that mean the scouts found something?”
The lines around Janus’ eyes softened a little. “We believe so. In a distant part of the galaxy, there is a planet that harbors a race that appears to be compatible with ours. More than that, our scientists have detected traces of Pyrosian genes in their DNA.”
“How is that even possible? We’ve never been to that part of the galaxy.”
“According to our records, no.” His mother agreed. “But our records are incomplete. Our best guess is that one of the missing colony ships from the Age of Expansion must have found its way to this planet. Its inhabitants call it Earth.”