Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Ice Planet BarBEARians (Book 1)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Ice Planet BarBEARians (Book 2)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
(Flames of Freedom Series Book I)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Flames of Freedom (Book 2)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Copyright © 2017 by C.J. Scarlett.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published in the United States of America
Other Books by C.J. Scarlett
Fire Princess (Prequel)
Celestial Mates Complete Box Set (Books 1-5)
Maruvian Bride (Book 6)
Queen Maker’s Bride (Book 7)
New Celestial Mates Series
Diplomacy of Love
Want a free book? C.J. Scarlett is giving away a free copy of Fire Princess, the prequel to Ambassador’s Bride (no strings attached). This book is exclusive to her VIP Reading Team.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Hero’s Bride
Glossary of Celestial Mates Terms
Bonus Series 1
Ice Planet BarBEARians (Book 1)
Ice Planet BarBEARians (Book 2)
Bonus Series 2 – Flames of Freedom
Spark (Prequel)
Tekkin (Book 1)
Flames (Book 2)
Battalion’s Bride
C.J. Scarlett
***
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Chapter 1
Unimaginable Loss
~ Ember ~
Music Mix
A rough hand snagged her arm, dragging her alone the edge of the crowd. His long grimy hair dripped with sweat in the heat of the day. When Dark turn to look at her, Ember couldn’t see his scarred face. Instead there was only an eerie old fashioned gas mask with specially coated glass wrapped over the face shield. The gas mask had been jerry rigged to block out the dangerous ultraviolent radiation. Earth’s surface had become a dangerous place since the ozone layer collapsed. A solar flare had rendered the surface uninhabitable. Humans had moved down below almost seven years ago in a last ditch effort to survive. Ember and Dark had ended up in a musty cave, since they were in painted desert in an isolated part of Colorado when the flare hit.
“You okay, Em?”
Nodding she tried to pull herself together. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Let’s make a run for it.”
Gripping her arm, he pulled her slightly to him. “No matter what happens, you keep moving.”
“But…”
“You get to that ship. That’s all that matters to me.”
Swallowing thickly, she wished she could see her brother’s face one last time. Getting up from their crouching position, they began to move around the angry mob. How had her life come down to this? They’d been living on handouts and whatever they could scrounge for so long Ember couldn’t even remember what it was like to eat real food. The thought of leaving her brother behind was bad enough but now people were rioting in the streets over Earth trading women to aliens for food and other vital necessities. The fact was Earth was a hallowed out dust bowl, and desperately needed the trades to survive.
Dark refused to allow her to be sold off to the highest bidder, electing instead to send her to the one world that refused to pay for women. He insisted they would treat her better and not think of her as property. For her part Ember didn’t know what to think. God knows, she needed to get off Earth and the Maruvian home world was reputed to be a pristine newly developed paradise. The thought of fresh air, green food and an alien husband who mated for life seemed like a pretty good deal, all things considered.
“Where in the hell do you think you’re taking the girl? Haven’t you heard we’re putting a stop to flesh pedaling.”
Dark moved almost faster than her eyes could follow. His huge black boot landed on the older man’s chest, knocking him backwards into the red dirt. She watched the mask fly from his face. He began to sputter and the sound of his dry hacking cough left her confused about if it because of the exceedingly poor air quality or because of the dust their tussle had churned up.
“Move, Em. We’ve got to go right now, before anyone sees what happened.”
They both began moving for the huge vessel. She could see a long line of strange looking men in what appeared to be flight uniforms. They were standing in at the ready to help any woman brave enough to make a run for it. The appeared shocked by the scene unfolding a hundred yards in front of them. Several had some kind of energy shield in one hand and a baton style weapon in the other.
A woman would have to be totally out of options for that sight to her holy grail. Sadly enough, she was one such woman. Getting to that ship meant survival and choices. Staying grounded on Earth would just be a slow painful death. Dark was right about this being her one and o
nly chance at a decent life.
They continued working their way around the edge of the crowd until they were about fifty yards away.
“We run now. Go, Em.”
They boot bolted forward, quickly garnering the notice they’d worked so hard to avoid. Sever laser weapons fired in their direction. One burned grazed her arm and she could feel the burn. The crazy radicals didn’t have the weapons on stun. When she was about twenty yards away, she heard a soft thud. Stopping in her tracks, she knew Dark had been hit.
“Run Em, you promised.”
Turning, she saw him lying on his stomach. He’d taken several shots, including one in the stomach. She could tell because smoke was rising from the laser burns. Suddenly, two aliens landed out of nowhere, one on each side of her.
“Take my sister. Get her out of here.”
“You are injured.” The alien’s voice was deep and raspy, but his articulation was perfect.
Clutching his stomach, he stared up at the alien protecting her with his shield. “You can’t save me. Take her out of here.” Dark’s voice sounded strange and disembodied thought the gas mask.
“I won’t leave you.”
Pointing one dirty, bloody finger at the man, Dark spoke haltingly. “I give my sister to you. See she gets to your world safely. If you don’t do right by her, my ghost will haunt you 'til the day you die.”
She wanted to scream at him that she wasn’t property, but Dark had already slumped to the ground. She saw the blood slowly staining the dirt a bright crimson and her knees gave way. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t.
The man immediately grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling. After screeching something to his partner, he whisked her away. Reaching out with both hands towards her downed brother, it felt like being sucked straight back into a black hole. Her head was buzzing and she couldn’t seem to suck in enough air. Becoming lightheaded, she saw the remaining insectoid kneel. He jerked something from around his neck and laid it on Dark’s body. It looked like a round metal disk. Tearing a thin bar off the side of his pants, he laid it down her brother’s chest.
All hope deserted her, as the realized it must be some strange alien funeral rite. Ember had slowly lost every member of her family over the last eight years, but nothing could have prepared her for losing Dark. He had been her everything, and now she was left with nothing.
Looking down, she saw her own feet swinging in the wind. She also saw another pair of feet. That’s when she understood they were airborne. Her new owner had wings, large ones, capable of transporting them both. It was too much to take in all at once. As her world faded to black, she felt the insectoid clutch her tighter.
Chapter 2
Gifted A Queen
~ Valic ~
Music Mix
Talon frowned at his clan mate. “I cannot believe you allowed this. A drone does not have the authority to gift you with a queen. You are a smart drone. I expected better decision making from you.”
“I believe this drone is her only living relative. Arranged marriages are deeply entrenched in human tradition, and we are obligated to honor our queens traditions as we do our own, are we not?” They both knew honoring human cultural rules would be the only possible exception to the rule of queens choosing their own drones.
Talon looked conflicted. “You and Haroc are battalion leaders. More is expected of you because you are seen as role models for the drones you lead. Our clan is close to the throne. I have no wish for us to be embroiled in a scandal, nor do I wish us to disgrace ourselves before Queen Carolyn. She has gifted our clan with endless favors. I will not repay her by causing conflict with Earth.”
“Disgrace would be allowing a young flawless queen to die on the battlefield because we were more concerned about ourselves than a helpless queen.”
“Flawless, you say?”
When the little queen was first gifted to me, I thought she must be damaged in some way. Why else would her drone be so eager to see her fitted with a clan?”
Talon’s eyes flew open. “We do not judge queens for such things.”
Smiling slightly, Valic explained. “When we disrobed her in the medical unit, we discovered she is a flawless beauty. I have never seen such loveliness among all the human females we’ve encountered.”
Talon dug in his claws. “We cannot allow our attraction to her to undermine our good judgement.”
“Her brother called her Ember. It is the human word for fire. Her hair is red, like you always dreamed of having in a mate. The way it caught and reflected the light stole my breath away.”
Talon expression turned longing. “She sounds truly remarkable.”
“I believe her brother gave her to me with his dying breath because she refused to leave his side when he fell in battle.”
Talon sucked in a deep breath. “You think she is loyal. We wish a queen to stay with us for all times.”
“She is our one, Talon. I guarantee you will approve.”
Pausing to think the situation over, Talon sighed. “As leader of our clan, I give you permission to keep the beautiful queen with you. Tend to her needs and we will see if she is willing to stand by her brother’s wishes.”
“I will see that she is well cared for.”
“Where is Haroc?”
“Retrieving the body of her fallen family member. We are putting him in stasis. It is doubtful the drone can be revived, but human custom dictates she at least has a grave to visit if at all possible.”
“That was a smart decision. Do not tell her we have him in stasis. I have no wish for her to mourn him twice, since chances are slim that he can be revived.”
“I will see to it, Talon.”
“You have done well by our clan today, Valic. I am proud to have you in our family unit.”
“Kind of you to say, Talon. I will com you when she is awake and in some condition to dialogue with you about her wishes.”
“I will speak to Queen Carolyn today and let her know that we are proceeding with all due caution, to ensure our new queen’s rights are not violated.”
Valic looked down at his sleeping queen. Her long beautiful hair had been cleaned and brushed dry. Her pale skin was speckled with tiny dots colored to match her hair. Her large shockingly green eyes were a sharp contrast the dark eyes of his people. He pulled up the soft bedding to ensure she was kept warm and dimmed the lighting. Since they were all alone, he settled into a seat at her side rather than stand watch in the traditional manner along the wall.
Talon had put out feelers for a new clan member after two of his original clan had taken individual mates. The clever drone made it clear he wished the new clan members to be part of their home world’s first contact with Earth. Being tasked with investigating queens for their clan was what drawn him to Talon’s clan, and where he went Haroc followed.
Valic had needed to see the millions of Earth queens with his own eyes to believe there were so many of the lovely creatures existed. Since arriving, he had seen thousands of Earth queens with his own eyes and many millions on their data stream. Thought they came in slightly different colors and their hair could be any color imaginable, none came close to his new queen in beauty.
Human queens were sweet, accommodating creatures by everyone’s report. He’d spoken to some of the mated queens on his home world . They were smart, outgoing and made him smile. In fact, he had yet to meet an Earth queen he didn’t admire.
Still this one was nothing like the others to his mind. Would her exceptional beauty have affected her personality? He certainly hoped not.
She might object to having a clan. Many human queens wished for single males rather than small clans. The new Maruvian queen had reordered their society by having males separate themselves into small groups of three to five males. Valic had been raised on a huge battleship with one queen and no hope of every enjoying her company. The thought of sharing a queen with a small number of his brother was both ter
rifying and thrilling.
“You look deep in thought, Valic.”
“I am greatly concerned that our queen will wish only one drone.”
“That does seem to be the way with their kind.”
“Sharing a queen between the three of us is terrifying enough, I can’t imagine being responsible for the safety of a queen all by myself. I worry that if she does prefer a single drone she will select me. Then I worry that won’t, and I will be deserted by the lovely creature. Does that make any sense?”
Haroc dropped down on the side of the bed, careful not to disturb his queen. “It makes perfect sense. I had much the same thoughts in the beginning. After seeing my brothers interact with their mates, I now know human queens do not expect us to do everything for them. They take genuine pride in being independent. Arac’s mate mined her own gemstone.”
Trying to keep the smile from his face, Valic responded quietly. “I had heard about that. She is the only queen who insists upon working. It seems very strange to me that she bought a ship and now spends her time transporting people and supplies around the planet.”
“She does not do it all day every day, like a drone works. She comes when called upon. Normally, she helps my brother with the defense grid around our planet.”
Valic couldn’t get his head around her working one job, much less two.
Haroc added, “If it makes her happy, who are we to judge?”
Their new queen shifted in her sleep, muttering words they could barely understand. “She keeps saying something about the dark.”
Valic moved the other side of the bed. “I believe Dark is her fallen brother’s name. Come, let us enjoy the privilege of being gifted with a queen.”
Haroc turned shocked eyes upon him. “You mean to sleep with her unbidden?”
Shrugging, Valic began peeling off his clothing. “I mean to hold her and comfort her as she slumbers. It claws at my soul to see her tossing and turning as she relives her brother’s unfortunate end. She is hurting and it is our responsible to dare all to see her well again.”
Swallowing thickly, Haroc nodded.
It amused Valic that in their professional life Haroc was commanding and expected to be obeyed, but in their quest for a clan and a queen, he just opposite.
Battalion's Bride Page 1
