by Tammy Walsh
Owned by the Alien
Fated Mates of the Titan Empire | 1
Tammy Walsh
Contents
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1. Alice
2. Nighteko
3. Alice
4. Nighteko
5. Alice
6. Nighteko
7. Alice
8. Nighteko
9. Alice
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Caged By The Alien Sneak Peek
1. Prologue - Maddy
2. Maddy
Also by Tammy Walsh
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Alice
A funny thing happens when you smash through a barrier and descend into a ravine two hundred feet below.
Gravity ceases to exist. You float up out of your seat, held in place only by a flimsy seatbelt. Time slows and you have eons to think, knowing your end is approaching, and you can’t do a damn thing to prevent it.
Death waits patiently below, skeletal arms outstretched, ready to catch you the moment the minivan’s whining engine explodes and what had been your innards suddenly become your outards.
Even sound slows. In the passenger seats, your friends’ screams could be the mating call of distant whales.
What they told you about your life flashing before your eyes? It’s true. The only part they got wrong was it’s not the past that catches up to you but the life you could have had.
Believe me, that’s a good thing. My life had been flaccid and dull up til now. Getting chased over the edge of a cliff by a UFO is easily the most interesting thing to have ever happened to me.
I see all the things I could have done, all the things that might have happened.
That hot guy I spoke to at that bar that time who gave me the cold shoulder? He could leave me a message on my cellphone that I’ll read the moment I get home.
Oh, and that job I applied for last month? They could want me to start next Monday at a salary ten times what I currently earn writing.
And that upper-class private school I dreamed of sending my as-yet-unborn children to if only I had the money? Now, I can afford it.
A million avenues of possibility I could have taken, none of which can ever happen. Because in less than thirty seconds of real time, I’m going to be dead.
I find myself wondering if my girlfriends in the other seats are thinking the same thing.
Hazel in the front passenger seat beside me, whose wedding tomorrow we’ve been celebrating all weekend, will no doubt be thinking about her fiancé and the future she’ll now miss out on.
Sirena and Bianca, immediately behind us. They’ll be thinking about boys and—
Oh dear. The huge black rocks in the front windshield have grown so large they’re all I can see. I send my best wishes to all four girls in the back, held my breath, and stupidly raised my arms over my head—as if that’s going to help cushion the blow.
Out of nowhere, a bright light filled every inch of the minivan and I jerked forward in my seat, hanging suspended, my arms and legs and hair hanging down as if God pushed the Pause button.
We’re no more than a few yards from the rocks and certain death. I wonder if this was what happened the instant you died. Heaven—God, I sure hope it’s heaven!—sends a spotlight to vacuum up your soul. I’ve seen the movie, Ghost. Why couldn’t that happen?
Any second now, we’ll sail up into that light, zooming up faster and faster until we’re standing on fluffy cloud shores and basking in warm sunlight. I hope they serve alcohol up there.
Then the moment stretched a little too long, and I turned my head to peer at Hazel…
Except, I can’t. My head is frozen, trapped in place. I peered out the corner of my eyes at her, floating like a fat gob of oil in a lava lamp. Her fingers gripped the dashboard so tight they’d embedded themselves in the plastic.
Good luck getting the deposit back, I thought idly before recalling our situation.
A stray tube of lipstick hit me in the face. I tried to speak but my lips won’t move either. I can only grunt at the back of my throat:
“Id… ederybody… okay?”
“No…” Hazel and the girls in the back said.
“Why… are… ve… flotting… here?” Hazel said.
“I… don’th… know,” I said. “Why… can’t… ve… talk… proderly?”
The doors creaked, groaning loudly, then snapped open, the bolts pinging outside. We squealed in terror and struggled against our invisible bonds, but it was no use. We couldn’t move a muscle.
Hazel’s head bumped on the ceiling and she turned toward me. Her eyes were wide with fear. Even in her frozen state, I could tell she was terrified. I wanted to reach for her, wanted to grab her by the hand and keep her safe. But it was okay, I thought. The seatbelts would hold us firmly in place.
Click.
Our seatbelts unfastened and the metal lock slipped free.
Oh, shit.
Hazel screamed dully in the back of her throat as something grabbed her and pulled her out the door and up into the light, disappearing in an instant. Sirena went next, then Victoria, as they were closest to the doors on that side.
Sensing it would be our turn next, I focused all my effort into looping my arm around my seatbelt. It was already halfway there. I just needed to tense my finger a fraction, and I would hold on.
If I could hold on long enough, maybe these people, these things, whatever had grabbed us, would let us go…
It made no logical sense but when you were desperate you grasped at whatever straws you could find.
I felt the same tug that’d taken Hazel, pulling me back. The seatbelt tightened around my arm, locking it tight.
Yes!
The force pulled on me, like gravity on overdrive, and my legs floated out behind me, but I still wouldn’t let go. Bianca squealed as she was tugged out of the minivan, with Maddy on her heels.
It was just me now, floating there like an ice cube in a forgotten drink. The pressure grew stronger as the force pulled harder, working to get me free. It felt like a giant had wrapped its hand around me and was growing irritated that I wouldn’t let go.
I had to hold on. The guys were counting on me!
Of course, they weren’t really. I had no idea where they went or what they were doing. But the mission became the goal. Achieving it became the only thing that mattered.
The force shifted, banging me against the ceiling and then forcing me down. My head thudded against the steering wheel. And still, I kept my finger cocked, holding the seatbelt in place.
But it was slipping. One inch, and then another…
The force swung me left to right and then twisted me around.
And that’s when I lost my grip.
No!
The instant I left the safe confines of the minivan, it immediately dropped and exploded, and the yellow flames chased me up, licking my boots, almost as fast as I was traveling, a million miles an hour, into the sky.
The light grew brighter and more intense until it burned my vision and I couldn’t see anything but white.
Just three hours earlier,
we clinked our glasses and together bellowed, “To your last night of freedom!”
We downed yet another cocktail—at least, my friends did. I was the designated driver and had to put up with passion fruit juice. The girls chugged back their drinks and hissed with delight.
Today was our second day of celebrations. We took a day off work so we could leave our New York offices Thursday night as early as possible. I picked up the hired minivan from the dealer, who couldn’t help but notice: “How well you drive a stick. You must have a lot of practice with sticks.”
Victoria would have given him the finger but I was too polite and shrugged my shoulders before taking off. Why did every loser think he could hit on me? I swore I was cursed.
The partying began in the minivan approximately ten seconds after I picked everyone up from Hazel’s apartment building. Despite the ample trunk space, there was barely enough room for all of Sirena’s things.
“I like to be prepared for any situation,” she said.
Although why she thought it necessary to bring a maid’s cosplay uniform, I had no idea.
“So, where are we heading?” Victoria said.
Maddy rolled her eyes. “Alice only sent us the memo, like, a dozen times.”
“I don’t read memos,” Victoria said.
“I doubt you read anything,” Maddy said.
“Hey! That’s uncalled for!” Victoria said. “I read sometimes… While I’m on the crapper. By the way, I heard a joke the other day. Do you want to hear it?”
“No!” everyone screamed.
Victoria lifted a leg and broke wind. It was so strong everyone wound their windows down and started coughing.
“Heard that one before, huh?” Victoria said.
“Only about a hundred times,” I said. “And it was just as funny the other ninety-nine times.”
Victoria shrugged. “I live in hope one of you will develop a proper sense of humor one of these days.”
Victoria and Maddy were as different from each other as it was possible to get without being arch enemies. Where Victoria loved nothing more than confrontation, Maddy ignored it. Where Maddy was organized and methodical, Victoria was messy and acted on impulse.
They were a modern take on The Odd Couple.
“So, where are we headed?” Victoria said.
“You’ll love it,” I said. “It’s a party town. I found it online. It looks amazing. The kind of place people can go and party without worrying if they’re annoying others.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Bianca said, the original party girl. “I like to party specifically to annoy people.”
“It’s called Party Central and it caters to our every whim. There are bars, clubs, Irish pubs—”
“Male strip clubs?” Bianca said.
“Three of them,” I said, knowing it would be her first question. “All themed by how dirty you want to be.”
“Not dirty!” Hazel voted, raising her hand.
“You’re the gal getting married,” Sirena said. “You don’t get a vote.”
“Since when?” Hazel said. “The bride should get a vote worth two of yours.”
“Except you’re not a bride yet,” Sirena said.
“Hey, girls,” Bianca said. “How about a little warm-up before we get there?”
She pulled a bottle of absinthe from her backpack. The party began then, and it hadn’t eased up for two whole days. We stopped only to sleep.
Party Central didn’t disappoint. It was safe and secure with its own police station. It had every type of restaurant and bar known to man. Far too much to try everything out on one visit. There were even large corporate franchises in case you missed the great American diet.
This evening was the final hurrah and I was on tee-total duty. I wouldn’t take a single drop. I needed to be as clear-headed as possible for the journey home. I was the maid of honor and it was my job to make sure we arrived back in New York in time for the wedding tomorrow morning. Hazel would marry her long-term boyfriend, Tom.
“Let’s go dance!” Bianca said.
“What an excellent idea!” Sirena said.
“How about you guys?” Bianca said. “Want to join us?”
“I’m going to the little girl’s room,” Maddy said.
“Same here,” Victoria said. “I’ll join you.”
Hazel waved a hand. “Maybe later.”
“Your loss,” Bianca said, grabbing Sirena by the hand. “Let’s see if we can pull the hottest guys in here!”
The table felt very empty without the others there. It left me alone with Hazel. It made me happy. I was never happier than when I spent time with Hazel.
For the past five years, we’d lived together. It was strange to think my friend had grown up and would soon be moving on to the next stage of her life. A husband, her own house, then kids, a dog…
Responsibilities.
I would live in our shared apartment until the lease ran out in three months. Then I would have to downsize. There was no way in this world I could afford to buy a place on my own.
And that’s what I always was. Alone.
Hazel had already moved her stuff out of our apartment to go live with Tom. Sometimes I found myself standing at the door of her bedroom, staring at where she had once slept.
“What are you thinking about?” Hazel said.
“Huh?” I said, snapping back to reality. “Oh. Nothing.”
I didn’t want to ruin her special day. I rubbed the heart-shaped locket on my bracelet. I did it so often over the years, it’d turned smooth.
Hazel glanced at the locket. “Thinking about your parents?”
“What?” I said, releasing the locket. “No.”
“You seem very quiet,” Hazel said.
“I’m just thinking about old times,” I said.
She leaned forward and balanced her chin on the palms of her hands. “Which old times?”
“All of them.”
The six of us grew up close, more like sisters than friends. Growing up could be hard. These guys gave me the love and support I needed. I guess we did that for each other.
I was really happy for Hazel. She’d found someone to love. Although, in all honesty, I never thought Tom would be the man she’d end up settling down with. He always seemed a little… dry. Whereas she was always full of energy. But I guess sometimes opposites attract.
I glanced at the party girls—Bianca and Sirena—on the dance floor. They bucked and writhed, each trying to outdo the other in the sexiness stakes. They moved like professional dancers without their poles. They made eyes at a nearby table with hot guys watching appreciatively.
I’m sure they wouldn’t mind providing a pole to dance with…
Hazel took my hand in hers. “We’re going to keep in touch, you know. I mean, I’ll only be three blocks away. We can still have our late-night movie marathons.”
She knew me so well. “I know.”
“I won’t be a ball and chain around your ankle anymore,” Hazel said. “Now you’re free to go and do whatever you want. How about those adventures you talk about? All those exciting trips you wanted to take? Maybe now’s the time to take them.”
I was a writer, trapped in my head. I went on adventures every day of the week. I lived them vicariously. I wrote about far-off places, daring swashbucklers, and maidens in distress. And, of course, a little of my patent steamy love scenes thrown in for good measure. My readers loved it, and I enjoyed writing it. But living it? Did I want to turn fiction into fact?
“You were never a ball and chain to me,” I said. “You were the one to encourage me to start writing in the first place.”
“Then why do you look so sad?”
I felt the waterworks behind my eyes. I fiddled with a damp tissue. “I guess I’m a little sad about losing you. All you guys are going to find husbands and have kids. I’ll be left alone.”
“That’s not true. I doubt Victoria will find a guy who’ll fall in love with her flatulence prob
lem.”
I chuckled and dabbed at my eyes.
Hazel leaned in close. “But you know, it’s not exactly alchemy. Nobody knows they’re going to fall in love. It just sort of happens. And the only way for that to happen is to get out from your dank hole—”
“Hey! That’s my creative writing space you’re talking about!”
“—and meet somebody. Meet guys. Meet lots of guys. String them along for a while, use them if you want to. Believe me, they’ll be grateful. Keep doing that until you find one you want to spend more time with. Trust me, the guy you choose will be the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.”
How did she always know how to say the right thing? I did spend too much time alone. I looked forward to seeing her after work every day. We gossiped about her co-workers as if it were a real-life soap opera.
I glanced at the dance floor. Two of the hot guys from the nearby table had joined the girls. One ran his hands over Sirena’s voluptuous body, the other just stood there and held on tight as Bianca ground hard on him. He wore a huge grin on his face.
Amazing that they’d only met a few minutes ago, I thought. I knew I could never do something like that. I would end up falling flat on my face for one thing.
Hazel took a sip of her mojito. It spilled down her chin and she choked.
“Holy moly,” she said.
“What?” I said, tapping her on the back. “What is it?”
“Over your shoulder. No, your other shoulder.”
I looked. It didn’t take me long to identify who she was talking about.
“Now that is the kind of man you should be tripping over yourself to get to know,” Hazel said.
“Why?”
“Why? Can you even see this guy? Every girl in this place is eying him like a cat with their next favorite play toy. He makes Chris Hemsworth look like a seedy uncle.”
