by Luna Hunter
The alien voice sends a shiver down my spine — or it would, if I could move enough to shiver! It feels close, like it’s almost being whispered into my ear. It can’t be…
“Nem die nadel.”
“Stimmt.”
A whirring sound, like a dentist drill but a thousand times worse, makes every fiber of my being flood with panic.
It wasn’t a nightmare.
I’ve been abducted by aliens.
My eyes fly open, and what I see is even worse than what I could have imagined. Two Nezdek are hunched over me, their giant, white, ghostly eyes peering down at me. The aliens are tall and thin, their skin so pale it’s almost translucent. Their white hair is tied up in a ponytail that reaches down their lower backs, and they are dressed in armor the color of the sun.
The one on the left holds in his bony hand a massive drill which buzzes angrily, like a swarm of bees. My paralysis fades away, and I feel the control of my muscles returning to me. They must have used some kind of drug on me to keep me so sedated.
I only now realize that I’m totally and completely naked. Leather wraps are bound tightly across my body, keeping me pressed down against the cold metal slab.
I scream. I scream so hard and so loud that the two Nezdek wince and back away, scrunching their scary faces up.
I’m not letting them dissect me like some bug.
I struggle as hard as I can, but it’s no use. I’m bound too tightly. The aliens approach me with a strange device they try to place into my ear. I turn my head, but then a sharp, surgical knife is placed on my throat.
“Net bewgen.”
My stomach drops as I feel the strange thing slide into my ear… and the next moment, I suddenly understand their strange, guttural language.
“Can you hear me, slave?”
I turn my head towards the Nezdek. He’s frowning at me with his big bushy eyebrows. I’m not going to dignify that question with an answer.
Irritated, he snaps his fingers.
“Are you listening?”
He turns towards the other alien.
“This one is broken, Matif,” he says. “Look at her eyes. Braindead. These humans are weak.”
“No, impossible, Lord Erran,” the alien responds. “According to my readings she can hear us perfectly. Can you not, human?”
I glare as hard as I can at the two Nezdek, praying that it’s enough to turn them into vapor. Sadly, it’s not.
“Answer my question then, slave!” Lord Erran barks. “Where is the one you call ‘Sarah Granger’?”
Oh god.
As if having a bunch of students yell at me because they wanted to see Sarah wasn’t bad enough… now I’m getting kidnapped by these creeps because I filled in?! This is the last time I’m ever substituting, that’s for damn sure!
“You can start by using my name.” I scowl.
Lord Erran laughs haughtily. He grabs the drill, and the sound it produces makes my stomach drop.
“Talk, slave, or I’ll cut out your brainstem and I’ll get the answer from your grey matter directly.”
I swallow the lump in my throat.
Can he really do that?
“I don’t know,” I say.
The alien glares furiously at me. “She was supposed to be there!”
“Well, you got me instead. Sucks, right? You’re not the only one disappointed, if you can believe that.”
The pale alien raises his bushy eyebrows questioningly.
“Forget it,” I say. “Anyway, now that we both know we’ve got a mix-up going here, there’s no shame in dropping me back off, right? You don’t need to take me all the way home, just anywhere on Earth will do fine.”
“Bah!” the alien spits. “The Czar will have my head for this. I promised him the fiery blonde.”
His creepy eyes scan my naked body.
“Perhaps she will do,” he mutters to himself. “Matif, sedate her. Her babbling annoys me.”
Oh hell no. I’m not going back under.
Using every ounce of strength I have I manage to slip my hand out of its bonds. My hand freed, I loosen the wraps around my naked body as quickly as I can. The Nezdek are taken by surprise, and before they can stop me I jump up, snatch a surgical knife from the counter and point it right at the two aliens.
The Nezdek hiss at me, pointing that giant buzzing, whirring drill my way.
“Don’t move,” I snap. “Turn this ship around!”
The two aliens laugh, and the anger makes my cheeks flush bright red.
“Stop it!”
“You’re as fiery as Sarah,” Lord Erran says. “The Czar will enjoy breaking you.”
The two Nezdek circle me, and my eyes dart from one to the other. Taking on one alien would be difficult, but two? While naked? That’s a whole different story.
Erran lunges for me with his long, bony arms. Panicked, I slash at him, and he lets out a piercing scream. Blood gushes down his pale face — a deep cut across the left side of his face, across his eye.
“You bitch!” he cries, his hands covering his face.
I look at him, stunned, my hands still gripping the surgical knife. Did I just do that?
Then I feel a prick in my left shoulder, and a dull pain instantly courses through my veins.
I already know it before I see it — a needle is sticking out of me.
The damn Nezdek drugged me again.
I stumble and fall to the ground, pulling over a table of surgical supplies, fighting the drug as hard as I can… and failing miserably.
The last thing I see before I pass out is the pale face of the Nezdek doctor smiling down at me, baring his sharp teeth. I feel the last bit of hope I had left flow away along with my consciousness.
Click here to continue reading The Zoran’s Mate!
Preview of The Alien Prince’s Captive
Two warring alien species. One curvy human.
Amelia is having the worst day of her life. She just found out her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend, and on top of that, she just lost her job. When she receives a mysterious email from the Celestial Mates Dating Agency, promising a romance out of this world, she clicks accept without a second thought.
An exotic, mysterious hunk is exactly what she needs right now. What she doesn’t expect is to be drawn into an alien world, where gorgeous Thalanil and fearsome Qroqs do battle — and she is the prize!
Tau Thalanil is the prince of his species, and the last of his line. The tall, blue alien warriors are losing the war, and Tau is in desperate need of an heir. At first he is skeptical of the Celestial Mates, but the moment he lays eyes on Amelia’s luscious curves, he is sold. She is his fated mate, and he must have her.
When the Celestial Mates open up a portal to Earth, the Qroq strike and kidnap Amelia, ripping her from Tau’s grasp. If the Thalanil go too long without their fated, they go feral and lose control of their inner dragon. Can Tau reclaim his mate before it’s too late?
1. Amelia
“I demand to speak to your manager!”
“Please sir,” I say. “If you’ll let me finish, I can explain that—”
“Manager! Now!” the customer barks at me like a dog.
I mute the call and sigh deeply, rubbing my temples. Working customer service for a package delivery company might just be the world’s worst job. Well, that’s probably not true, but it’s a truly thankless job. All day long people call me to scream at me because the driver didn’t show up on time… and it’s my job to listen to them.
And get yelled at.
I don’t deliver the packages. Hell, I can’t even call the driver to ask him what the hell he’s doing. I’m a glorified punching bag.
But I grin and bear it — for Jake & Melissa. Jake is my boyfriend of the past five years. He’s in college, working towards a degree in engineering. With his workload he doesn’t really have time for a part-time job.
That’s why I dropped out of art school to become a full-time customer service
rep. Emma, my sister, said I was crazy, but that’s easy for her to say. She moved to Australia to be with Brad, her husband she met on her exchange year.
They have a perfect life together. A house on the beach, a baby on the way, two gorgeous dogs… and me? I have a crappy apartment filled with pizza boxes, a boyfriend who doesn’t know how to clean up after himself, and a ‘best’ friend who is overstaying her welcome.
Yeah, Melissa has been crashing on my couch for three months straight now. Her parents kicked her out, and she needed a place to stay, so like a sap I offered her a place to stay… I thought it would be for a few days, while she found a new apartment. A week or two at most.
It’s been months.
It’s totally killed our sex life. I can’t relax with her in the other room. I’m afraid she’ll hear everything! I’m so frustrated I feel like I’m about to explode at times, but strangely enough, Jake doesn’t really seem to mind too much.
Every time I try to steer the conversation to her moving out, she throws a fit, and Jake defends her at every turn. I’m at the end of my rope though. Tonight, I’m telling her to move out…
But first, I have to deal with this seething customer.
Right when I’m about to tell him that my manager is too busy to talk to him, all the lights in the stuffy, humid office flicker and die out. A collective groan passes through the room as everyone’s monitors fade to black.
A power outage!
“Keep calm everyone,” my manager says. “I’ll get this sorted out!”
I dig my phone out of my bag and text Jake a good morning. He had a big test this morning, and he always get a bit moody when those come around. I don’t receive a reply.
After a few minutes my manager storms back into the office.
“Bad news, everyone. The power will be out for an hour, maybe more. Some bonehead cut the line outside while doing road work. Take an early lunch.”
Yes!
This is just what I needed. The universe is being kind to me today. I text Jake what he wants for lunch, but I still don’t get a reply. He must have dozed off.
I drive home and swing by a fast food joint. Tacos always cheer Jake up. The moment I open the door to our apartment, I hear it.
Jake’s familiar, low, throaty moan.
I’ve heard it enough times over the years to know exactly what that means. He’s playing with himself— Melissa must be out.
Even though it’s perfectly natural, I feel kinda left-out. After all, he hasn’t touched me in months, yet he can take care of himself? Then again, perhaps I haven’t done my best either…
Time to surprise him. It’ll have to be a quickie, because if I’m even a minute late my manager will chew me out, but a quickie is better than nothing. I strip down naked in the hallway, feeling giddy with anticipation. I can’t wait to feel him inside of me.
I tip-toe down the hall and open our bedroom door.
“Guess who…”
My voice halts in my throat when I see the most awful sight of my life. Jake’s pasty, white butt is going up and down… and underneath him, naked and writhing, is Melissa.
My world comes crashing down in an instant. A giant black hole forms in the pit of my stomach, and my blood runs cold.
How could I be so dumb?
“Oh my god!” Melissa screams.
Jake nearly jumps out of his skin, falling off the bed, and scrambling to his feet.
“W-what are you doing home?!” he stammers. “You’re not supposed to be home!”
I’ve never felt so humiliated before in my life — and to add insult to injury I’m butt naked as well.
Without saying a word I back out of the bedroom, get dressed and run to my car. I go through the motions like a robot, my emotions muted. I’m too confused, too dazed to give in to rage.
Jake doesn’t even come out to try and stop me.
How long has this been going on… right under my nose?! Is this why he hasn’t touched me in months? I feel so dumb. So stupid. So naive.
I pull back into work with tears streaming down my face. I want to throw up, cry, sleep and beat something up, all at the same time. I need a break. I need help. I need Emma.
“Where have you been?!” my manager asks when he bumps into me in the hall. “Power’s back! I swear, if I have to write you up one more time, you’re outta here. I’ve had it up to here with your tardy attitude, missy. I know this is your first real job, but pull yourself together, for Christ’s sake.”
That’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back. All the rage that was so muted when I encountered my best friend stealing my boyfriend now explodes in glorious fashion.
Every little thing I’ve always wanted to say to my boss, I say. I scream it in his face, poking my finger in his chest. By the time I’m done, his face has turned a ghastly white.
The whole office has gone silent. Everyone is looking at me, wide-eyed.
“Get out,” he mutters. “Get out!”
Fuck.
Not only have I just lost my boyfriend and best friend, but my job as well.
This day can’t get any worse.
I run back to my car and call Emma, but it goes directly to voicemail. Of course, it’s a completely different time zone in Australia — she’s probably asleep already.
My phone vibrates, but my stomach drops when I realize it’s just another email. I’m about to swipe it away when the headline catches my eye.
Are you looking for a romance out of this world?
Oh god yes. That’s exactly what I need. An exotic hunk who’ll mend my broken heart, who will feed me grapes and carry me into the sunset. A long-haired, broad-chested, gorgeous hunk of a man who’ll speak to me in a foreign tongue as he makes love to me, as he makes my toes curl, as he makes me forget years and years of mediocre sex…
I open the email. It’s from some place called the Celestial Mates Dating Agency. Never heard of ‘em, and I have no idea how they got my address, but I don’t have any energy left to care at this point. They promise me a romance that’ll sweep me off my feet, an adventure I will never forget.
Sounds good to me.
All I have to do is click the “Sign Me Up” button at the bottom of the email, according to them. My thumb hovers over it.
Should I?
The email is rather strange, but… oh well.
Let’s take a chance.
2. Tau
The village is quiet as I make my way over to healer Eldrin. The wooden bridge creaks underneath my heavy boots, and low-hanging twigs brush against my armor.
Despite the canopy of trees providing us with shelter, I have ordered my people to take shelter in the caves of Mount Thirna. The Qroq are making their rounds, circling high in the sky on their captured dragons. We can’t risk discovery. Koti is our last hideout. The last vestige of the Thalanil Empire.
The Qroqs have decimated us, and I’m the prince of a fallen empire. The heir to a broken world.
A long line of rulers will end with me.
I knock twice before entering Eldrin’s home.
“Come in, come in,” the old man says. He’s wearing a simple gray robe, and he walks with a cane. His long hair has gone white, but despite his old age, his mind is as sharp as ever.
He’s my closest advisor, and I’m in dire need of his help right now.
No matter how many times we had to move to stay out of the Qroq’s grasp, Eldrin’s place always smells like home. As usual, he’s concocting a strange brew in his cauldron, the exotic smell reminding me when I was but a young lad and I would accompany my father on his visits to the esteemed healer.
I miss those days. Before the war, all I had to worry about was not disappointing my father.
Now, the future of our people rests on my shoulders.
I freeze when I notice an unfamiliar smell — and it’s not one of Eldrin’s brews.
“Someone’s here,” I say as I pull out my blade.
“Put that thing away before you hurt some
one,” Eldrin chides me. “I have a visitor.”
“Who?”
I sheathe my blade, but remain on my guard.
“All in due time. Where are your manners, Tau? Let’s have a drink first.”
“I’ll never say no to one of your drinks, old man.”
Besides healing and divining Eldrin is also very well versed in the art of brewing ale.
I sit down and gratefully accept the frothy drink.
“Cheers.”
We both take a sip, and let the silence linger for a moment. Difficult decisions have to be made. We are losing the war. For a moment, we can both pretend the world isn’t slipping through our fingers.
“How bad is it?” Eldrin asks, breaking the silence.
“Real bad,” I answer. “The Qroq have raided Kyla. The scouts have just come back… there’s no one there anymore. All captured. Or dead. Koti is our last home.”
“Betrayal.”
“I refuse to believe that,” I snap.
“There is no other way our hideout could have been discovered.”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“Then it is as I had feared,” Eldrin says with a heavy sigh. “If Kyla is no more, then there are no eligible mates for you left in our society.”
“You are right,” I say. “We have to strike back, organize a raid, free our people. The time for waiting and hiding is over. We have to strike first.”
“That’s not what I had in mind,” Eldrin answers. “The most important thing right now is that the Thalanil line continues.”
“Bah, my line?!” I say. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Your lineage travels back centuries, Tau. You know that as well as I do. It would be a catastrophic blow to our people if it is snuffed out with you.”
I avoid his gaze and stare at my drink. I am well aware of the weight on my shoulders. Centuries of successful, proud, bold chieftains lead directly down to me.
And I am unmated.
“What do you suggest?” I ask. My voice is filled with bitter anger. “I am not taking the melethril of one of my men. I won’t consider it for a second. I’d rather die alone.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of an off-world bride,” the old man says. I can tell he’s weighing his words carefully.
“What?” I snap. “What are you talking about?”