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PREVIEW OF ‘THE ALIEN’S PREGNANT MATE’ BY MARLA THERRON
Description:
Bright and earnest Erena has trained all her life for this. One of only five people chosen to leave Earth behind and embark on the first ever manned mission beyond Earth’s solar system, she’s the best humanity has to offer.
But after only a few months out, Erena’s ship is attacked by beings whose purpose she can only guess. She and the other female crew member are dragged away, while the male crewmen are killed before her eyes.
Confused and afraid, Erena finds herself being sold in an alien black market as a rare novelty. Sold to a strange but captivatingly handsome alien named Shang, Erena struggles to defend herself, find her crew, and get home.
But soon, she finds she must also resist the attraction she feels to her new owner.
Though she tells herself it’s only sexual, with every day they get closer and Erena’s determination to get home begins to waver, especially once she discovers cross species impregnation may not be as impossible as she thought…
Chapter One
The lights of the stage were blinding, dazzling Erena's already hazy eyes. Whatever drug her captors had forced on her had left her so helpless she could barely move, her skin burning, her body aching, her vision blurry.
Every sensation was overwhelming, from the clink of the silver chains around her wrists, to the grain of the cage floor beneath her bare skin, to the murmur of voices as creatures too strange to be real moved past her prison, only pausing briefly to stare at her before moving on.
She tried to hide her nakedness; ashamed of what she had come to, but moving was a desperate struggle against the drug, which made her limbs so heavy. And anyway, nothing mattered anymore. Her entire team was dead except for Alice, and Erena had no way of knowing where the other woman had been taken.
She could be in one of these cages too, or a thousand lightyears away. And as for Erena herself, she didn't know what was going to happen to her, but she couldn't imagine it was going to be anything pleasant.
She was naked and drugged and surrounded on all sides by strange, totally alien beings. Some of them looked almost human, but many of them were so far from humanoid she could barely comprehend them.
And the way they stared at her, openly hungry, eyeing her body like meat in a butcher's shop… Maybe that's what this was, she thought with trembling, hopeless fear. Or some kind of zoo. Whatever it was, she was certain it was the last place she would see. This was the end of her.
Just as she was giving up totally, the cage opened and something reached in, clipping a leash to the collar around her throat and dragging her out onto the stage.
"Our next item for bid," the thing holding her leash was shouting as it pulled her on her knees to the front of the stage, "A true rarity! A female from a totally undiscovered species, stolen from the furthest depths of uncharted space! Even if you aren't seduced by her alien beauty, she'd certainly be a fascinating research subject! She's already been outfitted with a full set of vaccinations and a language chip for your convenience! So who wants to start the bidding at ten million?"
The auctioneer rattled on, praising Erena's attributes as she sat on her knees, naked and trembling and confused. She could barely see the audience past the stage lights, but she could hear them crying out bids.
Fear bloomed in her despite the numbing effects of the drug. She was being sold, like an object. This wasn't right! She searched the crowd as tears stung her eyes, looking for someone, anyone, who would point out how wrong this was and save her.
Her eyes locked with a man across the room. At least, she thought it was a man, through the blinding stage lights everything looked strange. But she saw his eyes, piercing even from this far away. They locked with hers, clear even through the haze of the drug, and she trembled at the sharpness of that gaze.
Help me, she thought, wishing she had the strength to form the words, Please, save me!
Erena had dreamed of this moment all her life. She'd always longed to be a scientist. She'd grown up completely fascinated by all of it. Chemistry, biology, physics, nothing was beyond her. It felt like magic to her, learning all the building blocks of the universe, the secret undercurrents and reactions that caused every single thing on earth.
Eventually, she took a specialty in astro physics. Not because it was her favorite or because she wanted to stop studying everything else. She went on studying all the other subjects in her free time. But astro physics was what would allow her to go into space, and in this day and age all the most exciting discoveries were happening in space.
It had been many years since mankind had moved beyond earth and begun colonizing other planets in their star system. Only now were manned missions moving beyond the Sol system and out into deep space in search of new fantastic discoveries. Erena, thanks to her tireless hard work, was going to be part of the first manned exploratory mission into deep space.
She'd never been so proud. She was already going to be in the history books just for going, but Erena's excitement was entirely in thinking about the incredible things she would discover out there.
She was the ship's chief science officer. The captain was a tiny, red headed woman named Alice Harper, calm and clear headed with natural leadership instincts and a talent for getting along with anyone.
There was also Sergei, a swarthy Russian man and the security officer, and Paolo, the handsome bronze skinned Brazilian chief engineer, and Fin, a chipper and yet surprisingly serious dark haired French man, in Medical.
They were a small team, meant to work closely together, with everyone helping out with everything, deferring to each other's expertise in case of decisions.
Erena had been training with the four of them for years preparing for this and they knew each other better than anyone. Erena practically considered them her siblings. She'd even dated Paolo for a while, though it hadn't worked out and they'd broken it off amicably.
The day of departure, they waved to the cheering crowds seeing them off. Erena leaned over the high platform that connected to the side of the ship, smiling with delight. The sun caught her golden hair, pulled back in a business like pony tail, and highlighted her curves, held in by the skin tight silver flight suit she was wearing.
The team had been carefully chosen and groomed to be as attractive as they were qualified, as this mission was as much about inspiring people as it was about progress. But Erena, with her long, thick blond hair and her bright amber eyes, was a media favorite.
She and the team posed for a few photos, then strapped into their sleek space craft, the Spirit of Exploration. Erena had run through the simulated take off so many times it almost seemed unreal to be finally doing it, feeling the ship shake and roar as the powerful rockets below it fired, shooting it up into the atmosphere on a cloud of fire.
The rockets detached and the boosters kicked in, pushing them out of the atmosphere entirely and into orbit around Earth. From here there was a brief wait as they drifted, waiting for the ship's orientation to line up perfectly with their destination.
Then Captain Harper fired the ship’s impulse thrusters, pushing them off out of orbit, heading towards the edge of the solar system. The hard part was done. Fin cheered first, always loud and excitable, and Erena soon joined him, climbing out of her harness and going to hug her team mates. They celebrated their success, breaking out a bottle of champagne and staring out the windows at the earth as it dwindled.
"Alright everyone!" Captain Harper said eventually, "That's enough fun. It's time to settle in for the long haul. Let's get you kids to bed!"
Though Paolo grumbled and they tried to argue for a few more minutes of enjoyment, they had a schedule to keep. Alice programmed the auto pilot as the rest of the crew settled into their stasis pods. They would remain in semi-cryogenic stasis for several years as the ship traveled out of the solar system at near light speeds.
It was unhealthy for the hum
an body to be awake and active during near light speed travel, so until they reached their first destination they would be remaining unconscious, their bodily functions slowed to a near death like state, not even ageing.
It was the scariest part of the mission in Erena's opinion. This trip would take them nearly a decade, and due to relative time, far more time would pass on earth.
They'd had to leave their families and friends behind, knowing they would never see them again. Leaving her parents had been painful, but Erena had been preparing for this all her life. It also frightened her, thinking about how many advances and changes might happen before she returned.
The place she returned to would almost certainly be nothing like the place she left behind. But it was all worth it for the incredible things they would learn. Erena felt no regret, only eager optimism for the amazing future ahead of her. She sank into cryo sleep with a smile on her face, dreaming of the whole new worlds that would await her when she woke up.
She felt as though she'd barely closed her eyes before she was waking again, blinking frost from her lashes as she sat up. The rest of her team was shifting around her, stretching and groaning as they climbed out of their pods, ice clinging to the tight curves of their suits.
"Good morning," she said with a yawn.
Paolo, looking deliciously sleep mussed, his dark hair tousled and his eyes half lidded, draped himself across the end of her pod.
"Good morning bella," he crooned, gazing at her affectionately, "I dreamed of you the whole way here, and now I wake to see you looking more beautiful than ever."
Erena laughed, dismissing his compliments. Paolo talked to everyone like that. Besides, the blue white led lighting of the ship washed everything into a kind of pale morning haze, shining on the sleek gray panels and consoles of the ship's stylish interior.
Compared to such fashion forward surroundings, Erena was fairly certain no one but Paolo could manage to look anything but pale and drab. It had been very important to the directors of this mission that they glamorize space travel enough to attract more people, and thus more money, to it.
For that reason, one of the biggest costs of the project had been consulting fees for famous architects and stylists and expert advertisers to contribute designs for everything from the ship itself, to the suits they were wearing, to even the choice of team members.
"You're looking as cheesy as ever, Paolo," Erena replied, teasing, "Are you planning to try out for a soap opera after the mission?"
Paolo stumbled back, clutching his chest.
"My love!" he gasped, "You wound me!"
Erena laughed, and Paolo nearly tripped over Sergei, who was shifting past him to get changed. Sergei scowled at them both, his dark eyes withering.
"Stop fooling around," he scolded, "We have work to do."
"Ah, my brooding hero," Paolo instantly turned his playful flirtations on the Russian, "Could it be you're jealous of my attentions to the fair Erena? Could it be you've decided to return my affections at last?"
He clasped Sergei's hands, and the other man blushed, sputtering in flustered incoherency.
"You know," Paolo teased, leaning closer, "You are the only member of the team I have not yet had the pleasure of getting to know... intimately."
"It's true," Finn chipped in from across the room, his accent lyrical.
"Really Finn?" Erena laughed, "Even you?"
"He's a very handsome man," Finn shrugged, "And I have a weakness for people who can out drink me."
Sergei shouted something presumably very crude in Russian and hurried away, the other three laughing at his scramble to escape.
"I will woo him one of these days," Paolo vowed, beginning to strip out of his jumpsuit.
"Forget it Paolo," Erena advised him as she did the same on the other side of the room, "Some people just can't be wooed."
They changed into more comfortable clothing now that the tight flight suits were no longer necessary. They'd entered what Finn called the 'road trip' portion of their flight. They were well outside Earth's solar system now, and were approaching the first of the planets they would be examining.
Dressed in a simple white t-shirt and shorts, Erena drifted into the cabin where Captain Harper, the first to wake, was already at the console checking on their status.
"Is that it?" she asked, her hands in her hair as she tied it back, "It doesn't look like much."
Outside the front view screen a blue gray planet was turning, looking cold and uninviting.
"Yeah, it looks like your predictions about it were right on the money," Alice agreed, "Cold and barren."
"The gas super giant in this system causes too much interference with its orbit," Erena explained, looking down at the start chart displayed on Harper's console, "It's just too cold to be worth setting down on. Not when we only have enough fuel to do that a handful of times."
"Maybe five, if we stretch it," Alice's tone was thoughtful as she looked out at the ice planet, "Is it worth sending out a probe at least?"
"Definitely," Erena smiled enthusiastically, "I'm pretty sure this planet has liquid water whenever that gas giant isn't cutting it off from the sun. It could have microbial life."
"Well then, I guess we'll be hanging out here for a few hours till the probe gets back," Alice punched in directives for the probe and sent it out. They both watched as the tiny silver craft dropped out from under them and fell towards the planet like a shooting star.
"Tell Finn to break out the playing cards," Alice ordered, "And don't let him deny it. I know he has them."
A few hours later the probe returned and they were all busy for a time analyzing the data quickly to make sure there wasn't anything more interesting about the planet that they'd missed. When they'd confirmed that it was just the ball of ice Erena had thought it would be, they moved on.
"Now comes the real road trip," Finn commented, drawing a card from the deck, "Damn, another two."
"Are we up to near light speed already?" Erena asked, taking her own turn to draw and laying down a pair.
"As close as we can handle without cryo sleep," Captain Harper confirmed, rolling an e-cig to the corner of her mouth, "Got any sevens?"
Sergei reluctantly handed over a card.
"Did I read the plans right when I saw the interval between two of our stops is going to more than a month?" Paolo asked, laying down several matches.
"Yes, but that's the longest one," Erena confirmed, "I tried to plot a course with as short a distance between stops as I could. Using gravity to our advantage is what's making this possible. That month long wait would have been centuries if we weren't using my plan."
"Still, we will have to think of something to pass the time," Paolo waggled his eyebrows at Erena, "All those weeks in the lonely void of space with only each other for company..."
"Don't worry, Paolo," Alice replied dryly, "I'll keep you busy."
The others laughed but Paolo looked worried. His fling with Alice had ended quite quickly. Apparently she was a little more than even he could handle.
The trip proceeded almost uneventfully. Two months and several planets later, it was beginning to wear on even Erena.
She sat back from her microscope with a tired sigh, rubbing her temples.
"Is that the data from the last planet?" Sergei asked, leaning against the console where she sat and offering her one of the two cups of coffee he held, "You're still going through it?"
"Yeah," Erena pushed her hair back from her face and accepted the coffee, draining half of it, "It feels like I've been staring at it for a week."
"I take it you're not dwelling on it because it is fascinating?" Sergei sipped his own coffee, his dark eyes understanding.
"No, it's just tedious," Erena replied, "It's so similar to the other samples we've picked up that I keep feeling like I must have made a mistake and grabbed the wrong slide."
She looked out at one of the portholes, through which only empty space, shimmering with stars, was visible
.
"We're so far from earth," she mused, "Farther than anyone else has ever been. But we haven't even located a planet worth setting down on yet. I guess I just assumed we'd have found something exciting by now."
Hardly had she spoken those words than ship suddenly shook hard, nearly knocking Erena from her seat, spilling her coffee.
"What the hell was that?" Sergei asked, clinging to the console for support.
"It felt like an impact," Erena scrambled to her feet, hurrying for the cabin with Sergei in pursuit, "Meteorite?"
"Bigger," Captain Harper answered as Erena entered the room, "It came out of nowhere. It wasn't even on our screens until it hit us."
Finn was standing next to Alice, staring at the screen in grim worry.
"It put a dent in us," Paolo dropped in from the engineering section, "But it didn't break the hull. But that's not why we should be concerned."
"What should we be concerned about then," Finn asked sarcastically, "If not the huge thing that just rammed us out of nowhere?"
"The fact that it has grabbed us, right over the airlock, and appears to be dragging us off course."
"Holy shit," Finn replied articulately.
"Holy shit is right," Alice's face was pale but her gaze was steady, watching the console, "I can expend some fuel and try to pull away from whatever it is, but we don't have much room for unscheduled maneuvers like that in our flight plan. We might have to cut the last few planets off our trip."
"Assuming that shakes it off at all," Paolo pressed his lips together tightly in worry, "The way it is holding on to us, it's not like any meteor I've ever seen, or anything else."
Alice fixed him with a cold, serious stare, echoed in the solemn, anxious expressions of everyone else.
"What exactly are you suggesting?" she asked.
"It feels foolish to say extra-terrestrial when we left everything terrestrial behind light years ago," Paolo said, taking a deep breath, "But this feels like technology."
Alien Lords' Captive (Celestial Mates Book 6) Page 13
