“You think? This mind-meld stuff does my head in sometimes. Can’t even take a crap without someone knowing,” Riley said.
“All I know is that there’s a lot of people behind those doors from all of the Homelands waiting for us. The one thing my mates did tell me was that this is a monumental event and everyone from across all three Homelands want to thank us for bringing them all together,” Lucie said. “It’s a big thing.”
“Kind of like the end of the cold war,” Evelyn said.
“Well, you can’t have little baby crystals growing throughout the planet brought together by mama and papa crystals and not bring the people together as well.” Riley cocked her head. “That sounds so strange, but true.”
Lucie shook her head. “If we ever make it back home, I don’t think anyone is going to believe us.”
“Well, I think the little half alien inside of me is prohibitive to going back, but I don’t care. Nothing for me there anyway. I wouldn’t go back for the world,” Riley said, grinning from ear to ear.
“You know, I don’t want to go back either even if I take my guys out of the picture, but there’s no way I’d go anywhere without them now that I’m with them,” Evelyn said.
“I feel the same,” Lucie said, quietly. A pulse of love so strong washed over her. Her guys. Her mates. Her eternally bonded. She sent them her love back through the bond. There was nowhere else she wanted to be. “I hope the other women have found what we’ve found.”
“What, insatiable mates with higher than normal sex drives?” Riley smirked.
“Love. I hope they’ve found love,” Lucie said. That was the least she hoped for the other caged women. Who knew how many more had also been abducted that she didn’t know about? Somehow, with the enormity and single-mindedness of the entity, she doubted it would have stopped at just them. It might have been going on before their abduction, too. The entity had planned this for a long time. Their crystals had been stolen ten years ago. There’d be a lot of abductions in that time.
“Me, too,” Evelyn said.
“Me three,” Riley said.
There was the sound of three melodic beeps. The huge doors swung open and Tann smiled at Lucie, his eyes twinkling. “They’re ready for you.”
Lucie’s nerves jumbled all over the place. Whatever it was had been a big secret, and now she knew the others knew as little as her, trepidation swamped her.
She was washed through with a soothing calm. It’s alright, mate. Nothing to be fearful of.
That was Kyel, but he wasn’t afraid of anything. She squared her shoulders. Whatever it was, her mates had organized it and she knew they only did good things for her.
“Thank you, Tann. Please lead the way,” Lucie said.
Evelyn took her right hand while Riley took her left and together, they followed Tann down a short corridor. As they reached a set of double doors, guards opened them and the heralding sound of something like trumpets sounded their arrival.
They stepped to see a crowd of people swarming in the amphitheater, horned aliens glowing gold, magenta, and blue-green. The scene was awash with color—and happiness.
The crowd smiled and applauded.
She tightened her grip on her friends’ hands. “They don’t do anything by halves, do they?”
“Only Quads, it seems.” Riley smirked.
“Come, your Quads await you at the other end,” Tann said.
It was then Lucie saw her men. The three of them stood tall on a raised platform at the other end of the room, looking resplendent in their fighting leathers and tight black shirts. Even their horns gleamed as though they’d been buffed and polished.
The only buffing and polishing of our horns will be by your hand, mate. Now come to us so our people can properly show their appreciation, Kyel thought.
Her eyes had only been for her mates, but Evelyn and Riley’s mates stood next to hers on the platform. Royalty united. A Homeplanet united. She couldn’t stop the shiver of excitement and rightness at the thought.
Behind them were their parents, the kings and queen of each Homeland, looking as happy as she felt. It was quite the crowd waiting for them.
Tann stepped forward and together they followed him down a wide central aisle. People on either side of the row clapped and cheered, happiness found after the deaths of so many people. The effect was truly bittersweet.
Kyel held his hand to her while Paxt and Rujali held their hands to their respective mates. Lucie accepted Kyel’s hand and at the same time as Evelyn and Riley, Lucie stepped onto the platform.
“Come, mate, the people have something to offer you,” Kyel said.
Rujali, Klaej, and Setzan, all hulking, well-muscled males, bent to one knee in front of Riley. Rujali presented Riley with a golden, gleaming sword. It was a work of art. The hilt was embedded with golden crystals that glittered as bright as Lucie’s skin in the light. A molten, flowing design framed the crystal as intricate and beautiful as the most complicated Celtic pattern.
His eyes glinted as he spoke. “Riley, our little warrior queen. Please accept this sword that represents your courage in the line of fire. Know that you are the bravest soldier, a true warrior, and a blessing to the planet of Negari.”
“Geez, that’s…” Riley began, but her voice cut off.
Lucie had never seen Riley short of words, but now she floundered. She took the sword as reverently as Rujali gave it to her and everyone exploded in a cacophony of applause.
Paxt, Coltan, and Ashir knelt before Evelyn. Paxt held a small bejeweled metallic box in his hands. “Evelyn, our beautiful and brave mate. Please accept this gift of thanks for your beauty and bravery. Without you, we would no longer have a Homeplanet to call ours.”
Evelyn trembled as she took the box. It was silver, with gems placed in a design that was both foreign and stunning. She opened the lid and gasped. Inside were a set of earrings and a necklace that would rival the crown jewels.
Her mates stood, and Paxt took the necklace and put it around her neck. The magenta crystals in the pendant and along the chain glowed as did the gem in the middle of her forehead. She looked like an ethereal spirit—slender, silver, and achingly beautiful. Paxt gently took her lips with his, the action so intimate and tender even though it was in front of thousands. Evelyn didn’t even try to speak. She merely brought all her mates to her and surrounded herself with them.
Kyel knelt in front of Lucie, as did Zaen and Juliran. They peered up at her with looks she couldn’t quite define. That, and they weren’t holding anything.
Kyel held his hand out and she took it. “Lucie, our most beautiful, kind, caring, and gentle mate. Your voice can sooth the ire of thousands. Without it, we would never have joined with our fellow Homelands and stopped fighting enough to become one whole Homeplanet. I ask this of you…”
Zaen and Juliran stood and uncovered a huge box at the side of the stage she hadn’t noticed. When she recognized what it was, she gasped. “How did you...?”
“Well, we did know something of your gift,” Riley said.
“We hope we got it right. I can only remember childhood music lessons from school,” Evelyn said.
“And I sang so many songs, I hope they got the notes right, but I’m a bit tone deaf. We have to leave it to you,” Riley said.
“We also had help from musicians and craftsmen who probably did a better job than us at tuning it,” Evelyn said.
“I’m a hundred percent sure the master craftsmen did a better job than us. At least they’re the ones who made it,” Riley said.
“You knew… They did… For me?” Lucie couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence
“Let’s hope you can string some words together to play something for us,” Riley said.
Lucie’s gaze bounced from Riley to Evelyn to her mates.
Evelyn squeezed her hand. “Please, Lucie. I’d love to hear some Earth songs.”
“And we would love to hear your voice in this world,” Juliran said.
“I have dreamed of nothing else. Well, apart from my hands on your body,” Zaen said.
Kyel pulled out the stool and waited. She took a shaky step towards their gift and sat. It was perfect, albeit it with a few differences. While the white keys remained white, the black keys were a brilliant blue. The body of the instrument was finely crafted with deep blue wood and carved with flowing intricate designs. Inset in the design were gems the size of her fist.
A perfect, and very large, grand piano.
“Oh, my god, this is…” She felt the push of tears and somehow managed to stop them from falling. “This is too much.”
Her mates surrounded her. Kyel knelt next to her. “Nothing is ever too much. Without you, we would have nothing. We would be nothing. Our Lucie, with a voice that literally stops evil in its tracks, will you show us all what only we have been able to hear? Bring your voice into our world.”
She kissed Kyel, and then Zaen, and then Juliran. “I love you so much. Do you know that?”
“We know this to be true. As we love you, Lucie of Earth, our precious human female,” Zaen said.
“Please, Lucie. Play us a song.” Juliran placed his hand on her shoulder.
Evelyn and Riley and their mates stood around the piano. She knew there was a crowd waiting for her to sing, too, but they blocked the view of the audience, making it all so much more intimate.
“What are you going to play, Lucie?” Evelyn said.
Lucie splayed her hands on the keys. “I have the perfect song.”
One time, Grant had told her she sounded too much like Alicia Keys, that she had to make herself different. But here and now, she knew she didn’t have to be anyone else but herself.
She began to play and the world dropped away, like it always did when she sang. The first few notes rang out in perfect harmony and the room became still and silent. She began to sing the first song that came to her mind. The most perfect song she could think of. When You Really Love Someone never sounded so true or so real.
The notes flowed around her, floating perfectly in tune. She sang, and the music wrapped around her and through her. Music usually took her to her happy place, but now she stayed in the moment. She didn’t need to go anywhere else.
She had everything she’d always wanted, and more, standing right next to her—the only place in the universe she wanted to be.
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Protected by the Alien Space Pirate: A Rasidian Alien Warrior SciFi Romance
One Rasidian Space Pirate. One stolen human female.
Being a space pirate doesn’t make a being rich, which was why Rhilax was dealing with the biggest crime lord in the ten quadrants against his better judgment. He doesn’t know much about the job on offer, but he knows it’ll pay for food and supplies for himself and his brothers. Maybe enough to find a nice, quiet planet somewhere, forget about a life of smuggling and finally settle down.
He’s certainly not prepared when a female slave, none the likes he’d seen before, is led naked, chained and helpless to be his fated mate. He definitely wasn’t prepared when he obliterates his dream, along with the crime lord’s head, kidnaps the female and makes a target of himself and his brothers - The crime lord has a brother and the brother wants them all dead.
When their ship is destroyed, Rhilax and his brothers are blown into the far reaches of the known universe. To make matters worse, the escape pod is wrecked and his fated mate has escaped. Rhilax must find her before the crime lord’s thugs, or the unknown creatures on this planet, and complete the bond before his mind is lost to the mating urge.
She can’t remember her name. Or her life before the cages. Maybe it’s better not knowing. Being trapped in a cage and grieving a beautiful life would be the worst kind of torture. She’s good at zoning out, but it gets harder and harder to disregard the massive blue-skinned alien who tells her he is her fated mate, whatever that is. All she knows is if she doesn’t get away from him, she might never be free again.
If you like impossible odds, wilderness planets, sexy alpha blue-skinned aliens and the tension of fated mates, you’ll love Protected by the Alien Space Pirate.
Protected by the Alien Space Pirate
A Rasidian Alien Warrior SciFi Romance
Book One
Chapter One
“The Drumas turd has got a two, so bet on a three.”
Veri’s voice sounded through his internal ear comm, making it feel as though he was right here next to Rhilax, whispering in his ear. Contraband tech that Rhilax’s brothers as well as himself had outfitted with the payment they’d received hauling a cargo hold full of ‘supplies’ to the Vongi spaceport on Di-Yu. Not that he’d minded transporting toilet paper and dry foodstuffs. It was the New Zion alcohol that had been hidden beneath fragrant spices which had been outlawed in nine of the ten Quadrants that they’d been able to name their price.
Rhilax was glad they’d earned those credits. The tech had been expensive. More so to pay for the silence of the surgeon, Gratu, who had installed it into their bodies. Even damn good smugglers needed all the help they could get. Especially ex-Council military who needed to remain untraceable.
Rhilax called it insurance.
He flicked his left canine twice with the tip of his forked tongue, to let Veri know he heard, and then dropped the losing bet on the table. Shilsogar could hardly contain his delight. His grey chins jiggled, and an extra rope of drool dripped from the corner of his wide, downturned, black mouth.
The mobster had absolutely no game face. Rhilax was half disgusted he had to play so badly, when he was really very hard to beat. It went against his nature to lose to scum like Shilsogar, when his basest urge was to give the being a fourth eye where he only had three. Free of charge.
“Easy, brother. Lose this game and we’ll win in the end. I bet my left nut he’s cheating anyway,” Veri said.
They’d inconspicuously installed tech in the club during the previous evening, where all three of them had entertained a bar full of three-breasted, horny Vargians until the synth sun had come up. The Vargians were a tall species. Tall enough that even when Rhilax stood up he came to their breast height, and he was a tall species. What an eyeful they were. Beautiful breasts they never covered. Gods, he loved that species.
It had passed the time satisfactorily well enough, although the thumping hangover he’d woken up with wasn’t optimal. He never used to get a hangover. Maybe he was getting old. He certainly felt years beyond his age sometimes. Sitting opposite Shilsogar and playing his inane game was making his head hurt even more.
Rhilax gritted his teeth. He didn’t like dealing with scum like Shilsogar. The being was dirty and had his hands in numerous ‘business’ arrangements, but he paid well, and they were down to their last funds. There was only one being worse than Shilsogar, and that was his twin brother and business partner Xataxi. That being was a special brand of evil and even Rase, Veri and himself had not been desperate enough to secure any business dealing with that being. The Tourogan brothers were the criminal master heads of the ten Quadrants, but despite this being a well-known fact, they were as slippery as a Vargian’s delicious freshly suckled nipple. They were untouchable, and they knew it.
They needed money for fuel and food. If he didn’t secure this deal, chances were they didn’t have enough fuel to make it to the next space port to look for more work, which was why he was here sitting in a too-small chair losing to scum on the Solaris Station which was not much more than a wasted bucket of rusted bolts.
The place for their meeting had struck Rhilax as strange. Shilsogar normally didn’t go this far from the main trade thoroughfare, and he certainly was never seen in anything less than five-star accommodation. It was another thing that didn’t add up. Another thing that set his nerves on edge. Rhilax shoved the thought to the side.
He, as well as his brothers, needed this deal. The money would last them for the next annum at least. Maybe they’d make enough to be able to pur
chase property on a nice, scum-free planet, find females and raise children.
A real good dream. It gave him something to cling to. Everyone needed something. Their existence had been pointless enough since the day that had irrevocably changed their lives forever.
Shilsogar grinned and more drool dripped to his soaking stomach. His species was made up from roll upon roll of glutinous fat. So much so, Rhilax wondered if he had a skeletal structure at all.
“So, my friend. I hear you’re in the market for some work.” Shilsogar swept the credits from the center of the board to hit his fat stomach. Someone came from the shadows behind him and cleared the credits away, leaving a few yet to play. Rhilax inwardly groaned. He was down to his last. When he lost these, they really had nothing.
He grunted, pretending he was only half interested. “Might be. What you got?”
Shilsogar indicated the board. His mouth quivered into what Rhilax assumed was a smile. Rhilax hid his disgust. “Another game?”
“Sure. I’ve got nothing else to do.” Like hells he didn’t. The most urgent thing he wanted to do was to get the drek away from Shilsogar. The species brought out his scales and he had to exert undue concentration to keep them below the surface of his skin.
Shilsogar set out the cards and pushed a placeholder across the board. He lifted his cigar and drew in deeply from the corner of his mouth. The end glowed red and the acidic scent of smoke tainted the already-tainted air.
“Go for one. He’s got five. Resist the temptation to shove those credits down his throat, Rhi. We’ll never get this deal if you do that,” Veri whispered.
Rhilax grunted and shifted, unable to tell Veri that he wasn’t to shove the credits down the being’s throat, no matter how tempting the thought. Well, not yet. He wasn’t that stupid, although the thought had merit. Instead, he concentrated in the chair that was fast becoming unbearingly uncomfortable. It was too small for his large frame, no doubt given to him on purpose.
The Erion Triad: A Negari Sci-Fi Alien Abduction Reverse Harem Romance Page 18