Mated to the Alien Beast: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Fated Mates of Adonia Book 1)

by Ivy Sparks

  I looked up at the cryo tube. Her hair floated in the water. Her gaunt form looked so pale. She looked near death… But honestly, she had looked that way since I first saw her on the Orion.

  Something deep down inside me, something primal and almost clairvoyant kept insisting on one thing: She would have died had you left her there.

  Maybe that was true. But I still couldn’t help but feel guilty that we didn’t meet under better circumstances. Not that there were a lot of occasions for a human and an Adonian to meet.

  Maybe this had been the only way. Maybe it was fated.

  “It will take some time for her body to adapt,” Dravak said from behind me. “It may take a few days before she awakens. You should eat something. It’s not like she’s going anywhere.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Dravak, swiveling around in his chair. “I’m an idiot, aren’t I?”

  Dravak stopped and cocked his head to the side. “When it comes to mechanics and bioengineering?” He clicked the metal around his ear, the visor’s screen disappearing. “You’re a damned genius.” He nodded toward Ellie. “When it comes to this human woman? Or women in general? Yep. Definitely an idiot.”

  I groaned.

  Dravak sauntered toward me, stopping in front of me and cocking his head to the side before breaking into a knowing smile. “Care to explain now?”

  I rubbed my temples. “I can barely make sense of it myself.”

  “You’re going to have to explain it to Zoe at some point. Why don’t you practice your explanation on me?”

  I groaned, leaning my head back and staring up at the ceiling. Zoe was going to pester me into revealing everything, and I could already hear her scolding me for thinking so stupidly. So selfishly. But her truthfulness was the reason I kept the little minx around.

  “Well?” Dravak prodded, growing impatient.

  I wasn’t sure why I kept this old grump around though. Well, okay, he might have been the best scientist on Adonia, and one who had served my family for generations. Perhaps that was reason enough.

  I sighed, pressing my hands into my neck and massaging the tense muscles there. “I met Ellie on the Orion Base,” I began, trying to think of what to say and what to omit from my story. Obviously, the little rendezvous I had with her in the blue light district would be omitted. The memory of that room, the feel of her wetness on my fingers, the way she ground her pussy down against me…

  “Obviously,” Dravak said, rolling his eyes.

  I shook my head, finding it difficult to push away those thoughts of Ellie and me in that room, the way she felt in my arms…

  I’d never been obsessed with a woman before. There was something seriously wrong with me.

  I fidgeted in my seat. No more, I told myself, banishing the memories from my thoughts. “When I met her, she had this very distinct smell.” Still had, I wanted to add, but didn’t.

  “A distinct smell?” Dravak arched a brow. “What do you mean by ‘distinct’?”

  I shifted in my chair. Even remembering it was causing my basic instincts to flare. My pants felt uncomfortably tight and I suppressed a groan when I remembered her climaxing in my lap, the scent of her infiltrating my senses. “She smelled like…” I tried to put it in words, yet describing rain falling on Adonia’ forests was not descriptive enough. “She smelled very nice.”

  Dravak’s eyebrows waggled.

  I scoffed and shook my head, turning away from him. “Don’t give me that look.”

  “What look?”

  “The look you’re giving me now.”

  Dravak clapped his hand on my shoulder. “So you took her back here.”

  I ran my hands through my hair, pulling at the locks. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I mean, look at her.” I gestured toward the cryo tube. “I have permanently damaged her for the rest of her life.”

  Dravak shook his head. “You did not. If anything you’ve improved her life. Being stuck inside a metal box is no way to live.”

  “But why her, out of all the humans there? I passed by so many of their women, and they did nothing for me.”

  Dravak shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  My head jerked toward him. “What?”

  He sighed, shaking his head. “She’s your mate. All of this was destined to happen.”

  I groaned. “Dravak, you’re a scientist. How can you believe in that nonsense?”

  Dravak shrugged. “It’s not nonsense. It’s real. It can even be measured biologically.”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t going to have this argument with him again.

  “Trust me. I never used to believe in it until I met my mate.” He turned back toward the cryo tube, smiling at Ellie. “That scent you smell on her? That’s the heavenly waters of the Solaris gardens. That’s destiny.”

  I stared at her floating in the tube. “Destiny is a sick joke if she is fated to me. A defective Adonian with a broken wing.” I chuckled and stood, ignoring Dravak’s gaze. “It doesn’t matter anyway. She’s not my mate. She’s just a poor human girl who showed me a little kindness. And I’m so love-starved that a little kindness has made me lose my mind.”

  Dravak wasn’t impressed, turning back to one of his many projects. “You’ll shed your denial eventually. But I can’t help you until then.”

  I grunted in response and headed for the elevator, knowing it was pointless to argue with the stubborn scientist. “Call for me when she starts to wake up.”

  Chapter Six

  Ellie

  My body was weightless, exactly how I imagined it would feel like floating in the salty seas of Earth. I always wondered what it was like, living on a planet with so much water, walking the lands without worrying about the oxygen levels and pressure. I wondered if Dad was enjoying his life there. If he even made it. If Earth really did still exist, or if it was destroyed like most suspected.

  I always wondered what it would feel like to swim, and now I knew. The only time I spent in water before I left the Orion was in a shower. A timed, cold shower. Hot water took energy, energy the Orion needed for other things. Showers were timed too, as it took energy to get fresh water. Who knew if Adonian water was diseased. We couldn’t take chances. But here I was, in Adonian water, safe and sound.

  The warm water caressed my body. Feeling slowly returned to my limbs as I began to fully wake up. The pounding in my head was gone, and the only pain I experienced now was a slight ache in my chest. My eyes fluttered open, water bubbling around me.

  I knew I was floating in water, but I hadn’t realized until now that I was breathing it in too. I jolted, fighting against my restraints.

  Where was I?

  My memories were slowly returning. They were foggy, weaving in and out of each other. I remembered Vorian putting his hand on the glass, telling me to sleep.

  Okay, I slept. Now I need to get out of here.

  I fought against my restraints again, but still they wouldn’t budge. I didn’t exactly know what I wanted, but I did know I wanted out. I needed to get out.

  Vorian appeared in front of the fogged glass, his hand pressing against the tank. He pressed a button. “It’s all right, Ellie,” he said through the intercom, his voice sending ripples in the water. “Breathe.”

  I inhaled the water slowly, ignoring the urge to fight it.

  “I’m letting you out now,” he said, his voice calming me. He walked away and typed something into the computer. The tank buzzed, then the water started draining. It quaked and slowly shifted, moving down into a horizontal position. When the water was completely drained, the doors slid open. A wave of nausea took over and I wrenched myself to the side, throwing up water.

  Vorian and his scientist associate pulled me from the vat, my body shivering and dripping water everywhere. I stepped a foot onto the cold floor, my leg giving out underneath me. Vorian caught me before I fell, pulling me into his chest.

  He grabbed a large blanket from the other Adonian and quickly wrapped it around me before pi
cking me up and pressing me into his warm body. I leaned into him; my body no longer my own. “You’re going to feel weak for a few days,” he said, carrying me as if I were a child. “But you are safe in our atmosphere now.”

  “You,” my voice croaked. I touched my throat and groaned. It burned.

  “Your throat will be sore.”

  I scowled up at him. He carried me into the elevator, the doors closing around us. “Where am I?” We were hoisted upwards and I pressed my head into him, another wave of nausea taking over.

  He shushed me, placing a finger on my lips. “You shouldn’t be speaking. It will only irritate your throat more.” If my glare could throw daggers, I would totally do it. “You’re in my castle. In the Crescent Peaks.”

  The elevator opened into a long hallway. On one side was wall-to-wall windows displaying Adonia. On the opposite side was a purple and gold wall decorated in portraits. I stared out the windows. This was my first time seeing Adonia. It was all completely new to me, since I had my eyes squeezed shut during the entire flight here.

  Of course, I’d seen pictures, but they didn’t do the planet any justice. The vast valley of dark peaks greeted me. They were covered in something dark and floral. The sun hung high in the sky, tinting the world with reds and purples.

  The sun. I reached toward it without thinking. If only I wasn’t so weak. I could spend the rest of my days under the sun. Running through the fields, swimming in the lakes, feeling the wind in my hair…

  They spoke about Adonia in school; about the natives and how they lived in the mountains; about the treacherous forests, the atmosphere’s effects on the human body, the barren soil. They never told me how beautiful it was, how it looked when the sun touched the peaks. How the flowers perfumed the air.

  Looking at Adonia now, the planet didn’t look barren. The peaks were bare, except for the flowers covering their tips, but in the distance I saw trees. Glowing lights hovered above the water and plants.

  It wasn’t barren, so why couldn’t the Orion farm anything?

  I was disappointed when we entered a foyer, the vast windows disappearing behind us, replaced by a high ceiling. The room was tinted in teal and lined in gold with a large hanging chandelier. There were two rooms near each other, both covered in gold paint with teal flowers adorning the doors.

  Vorian repositioned me in his arms, opening the door and nudging it further with his foot. The room was massive, the size of the auxiliary room. Against the back wall sat a canopy bed, the likes of which I had only seen in history books. A large transparent windowed door led out onto a balcony overlooking the mountains. I sighed, smiling when I saw Adonia again. As soon as I was able, I was going out on that balcony. I was going to smell the air. I was going to dance under the sky.

  Vorian placed me gently in the bed, the mattress swallowing me. He positioned the pillows around me, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear before grabbing the blankets.

  I swatted his hand away. “Stop,” I croaked. “I’m not a baby.” I grabbed the blankets and pulled them over me.

  He smiled, kneeling in front of me like a prince from a fairy tale. “Would you like food later? Zoe can bring you something—”

  I groaned and grabbed a pillow, putting it over my face. “Please, no. The thought of food is making me nauseous.”

  “Sorry,” he said, looking around. It seemed like he wanted to give me the world, but right now all I wanted was to sleep in this luxurious bed. I turned and nestled up against a pillow, already feeling like I could slip away into a deep sleep.

  He didn’t say anything, but I heard his footsteps on the floor. I glanced over my shoulder, watching him give me one more soft smile before closing the door behind him.

  I rolled back over, laying my limbs out over all six of the pillows. Never in my life had I ever owned six pillows. I was lucky to have even one old, flat pillow, which provided me barely any comfort. Were all the Adonians living in such splendor?

  I sighed, closing my eyes. Vorian kept his word. He flew fast. I didn’t drown. I was very much alive and well. Kept very well, like I was a precious princess. Just the fact that he didn’t abandon me when I passed out was good enough.

  He wasn’t like the men on the Orion, dumping a woman the second she became an inconvenience. Blue eyes flashed in my memory and an image of my father popped up. The way he looked away when he left me, how he refused to meet my gaze. Did I treat Lyra the same way? Was I my father’s daughter?

  At least I gave her the money. She was going to a better place. And it was good Vorian seemed nice. A better deal than I had expected, selling myself like a piece of meat. Despite how much I had devalued myself, he treated me with so much kindness, all because I was willing to look past his beautiful scars.

  I knew it wasn’t all a fairy tale. There’d be hiccups. There already had been one, with the atmospheric medication and treatment being so unpleasant. But I would fight through it.

  I wouldn’t be like my father, abandoning someone just because things got rough.

  I couldn’t be like him.

  At least, that was what I kept telling myself as I slipped into sleep.

  Chapter Seven

  Ellie

  My eyes fluttered open at the sound of the door clicking closed. The sun pooled into the room, the curtains billowing with the open windows. The peaks of Adonia greeted my eyes, the blue clouds hovering low, nearly kissing the tops.

  I heard the clinking sound of glass and with a turn of my head, I saw a dark-haired Adonian pouring steaming dark liquid into a tea cup. The tea pot was fat and lined in teal, decorated in an intricate design of gold plated flowers and vines which matched the craftsmanship of the cup.

  I never saw anything so elegant. No one on the Orion kept anything like it, only what was needed. Our cups, plates, and bowls were made of dented tin. It wasn’t logical to keep anything beautiful, because in the end it would get destroyed, or stolen before then.

  I wondered if Lyra was cooking now, stirring the ladle in the pot while she rationed the salt and pepper into it. I could hear her humming a song Mom used to sing when she cooked. I imagined her friends sitting at the table, wondering where I was. I could see Lyra taking a sip of the broth, pretending it tasted delicious when it was bland, spooning out the contents into a tin bowl.

  I should be there with her, but I had to be a prideful idiot. I had to fight against the abuse, even though I was the one who put myself where I didn’t belong in the first place. I should have kept my chin down, and just did the work expected of me.

  The Adonian looked up, her crimson eyes locking with mine, her reddened lips twitching upwards. She straightened herself, her hands stacking neatly in front of her, the long bell sleeves of her red gown pooling onto the floor. The back of the dress was open and low, yet she didn’t carry wings like Vorian or the other Adonian that was with him. Her ears were long and angled, her face narrow, cheeks prominent.

  Are females different? I wondered, sitting up in the bed and leaning over. Maybe her wings were smaller, or translucent. The blankets spilled off my shoulders and a chill prickled my skin. The breeze from the window touched places that should be covered. My gaze traveled down to my naked breasts and, quickly, I gathered the covers, wrapping them around myself.

  The female chuckled, her hand covering her mouth like a princess from a fairy tale. She smiled and took a few steps toward me, speaking words I didn’t understand. The syllables rolled off her tongue in a singsong tone, blending together fluidly.

  I shook my head, feeling stupid that nothing from my high school Adonian classes came to mind. Not even a simple greeting. I assumed my face looked stupid, or at least conveyed some sort of inability to understand, because she paused and cocked her head to the side.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t—” I was interrupted by a gesture of her hand, which she held out in front of her as if to say, “Stop.” All her movements were so fluid, so graceful, as if she practiced our meeting, or really, any meeting. She gra
bbed something from the gold platter on the table, walked toward me, then stopped to delicately swoop back a lock of my hair and attach a metal piece to my ear.

  “What is this?”

  She held up a finger to my lips before taking another ear piece to attach to herself. “Do you understand me now?” Her voice was smooth, a slight accent to the English words, yet clear.

  I nodded slowly, touching my ear. “How?”

  She smiled, exposing fangs. “Master Vorian. He’s a genius, isn’t he? I mean, there are other instant translation devices out on the market, but his produces a more natural cadence.” She returned to the tea set, bringing back the steaming liquid and handing it to me. “My name is Zoe. I am the maid of the Zhora household.”

  I sniffed the tea. At least, I thought it was supposed to be tea. I had no clue what the Adonians ate or drank. My nose twitched at the scent of what smelled like sour soil. Maybe not tea, then… It was like someone took a cup of dirt and soaked it in lemon juice and water. I held it in my hands, enjoying the warmth it brought to my frigid fingers, but made no move to bring it to my lips. “Zhora household?”

  Zoe walked around me, grabbing the blankets and pillows as she started making my bed. “Drink up, miss,” she said, nodding toward my drink. “It’ll help with your energy.”

  I sniffed the drink once more and nearly gagged. “I’d rather not.” I looked between her and the cup. “Can human bodies even digest this?”

  Zoe pressed the cup to my lips. “Should be fine. We are not that different from each other, you and I.” If it wasn’t for the fact she was stronger and knew the castle better than me, I would’ve thrown it and ran for the door. Instead, I sipped at the drink, grimacing. It tasted just as foul as it smelled. I tried to put it down, but Zoe pressed the cup up.