Alien Captain's Claimed Bride: A SciFi Alien Romance Read online

  Fury pounded through his body with the force of raging tornado. He pulled out his blade and turned to face Stonara. She laughed and plunged the sharp end of her tail through his chest. She lifted him up until her evil twisted face hovered too near to his own. “Never think for a moment you will escape my grasp or know a moment of peace. You belong to me, Meric of the clade of Rheric. I own you.” With a flip of her tail, she flung his body against the far wall. Shifting into her dragon form, she came for him again.

  Jerking awake from his all-too-real nightmare, Meric forced his breath to slow. He’d had such dreams too many times to allow them to haunt his waking hours. He slipped from around his queen, grabbed his clothing, and headed for the door. Sleeping with his queen had filled a void, but his priority was to check on his father and his young before starting his day.

  Stopping at her door, he turned to drink in one last long look of her nearly naked body. Moving quickly across the room, he picked up the warm throw he’d gifted to her and spread it over her lovely form. He smiled as he remembered her saying she loved the scent, his scent. He’d doused it with his mating scent in an effort to lure her back to him and it had clearly worked.

  Moving a strand of hair from her face, he imagined her in his quarters. She was smiling and laughing with his young the way a queen should. He’d trade all the pain he’d endured in his life twice over to make her his. Human queens mated one male to one female. That meant no other male would ever touch her precious body. She would be completely mine. Something about that thought almost provoked another round of his mating scent.

  20 Mating Scent

  Stacy

  Stacy was awakened by the sound of her door chime going off. She was still groggy and couldn’t get her bearings. Yanking her coverlet up, she yelled out. “Enter.”

  Running her fingers through her hair, she sat up and realized she was in her own bed.

  Balen came storming into the room. “How can you stand the stench? The revolting scent is overpowering my senses and making my eyes water. I can actually taste it on my tongue.”

  Shaking her head, she gave the caretaker a bewildered look. “What in the ‘verse are you talking about? It smells wonderful in here. Your captain gifted me with this cool scented throw.”

  The irritated man pinched his nose. “This is the one and only thing I truly hate about breeders. Their mating scent could choke the life out of another male.”

  Yawning, Stacy slid her legs over the side of the bed. “His mating what did you say? I’m so confused.”

  “Why are you just sitting there, my queen. Hurry yourself to the cleansing unit. I will be along shortly to scrub the stench from your skin. If you aren’t careful, no one will want to be within scenting distance of you today.”

  She stood up and let the covering fall away. She’d long since lost her interest in being modest around Balen. He’d seen her buck naked a dozen times and thought nothing of it. “Fine, but you’re going to tell me what it is you’re going on about, right?”

  “I’ll tell you anything you want to know if you will just get into the cleansing unit. I’m going to turn on the reverse air filtration and try to suck the scent out before it settles into the furnishings.”

  Yawning again, she ambled off to the cleansing unit, stopping first to relieve herself. Sitting on their bizarre rocking-horse-style toilet, she tried to remember what all had happened the day before. Meric and the guards were acting all kinds of weird, not that they came remotely close to the little freak-out Balen just had. She remembered feeling panicked and how she searched out biological contagions. Though she didn’t find anything dangerous in that regard, she did discover a weird sensor reading, a stowaway, a brain aneurism she was able to repair before it ruptured. That made the day a win in her mind.

  Yesterday had been one crisis after another, and right now all she wanted to do was crawl back in bed and snuggle up to that sweet-smelling coverlet. Then she imagined being snuggled up to her handsome captain, instead. Shock tore through her mind as she realized that he’d spent the night with her again, all on his own and without asking permission. Her shock turned to excitement. Did he really want back in the saddle again?

  The door slammed open and Balen stalked over and started a full-fledged, don’t-worry-about-conserving-water shower. “I do not mean to rush you, my queen, but our captain’s mating scent is probably infiltrating your pores even as we speak.”

  As soon as his back was turned, she hit the bidet-like device that cleaned her backside and waited for the dryer to finish. Once she was in the shower, she almost didn’t want to ask what he was talking about for fear of generating yet more histrionics.

  His expression still evidenced his disgust but he attempted to be polite. “I am pleased you are attempting to select a mate. Our captain is a worthy male to bear your offspring.”

  “It’s early and I haven’t even had a hydration pouch yet. Can you cut to the chase?”

  “You are interested in taking your first breeding partner from among the Dracon. I am pleased for you. However, when there is a prolonged lapse between initiating interest and breeding, the male’s scent will foul the air.”

  Sighing, she put her hands on the wall as the caretaker scrubbed her legs with a soapy sponge of some kind. Suddenly, it hit her sleepy mind like a ton of bricks. “That fantastic smell is his mating scent?”

  “It is designed to please a queen and lure her in for mating. Males only release their scent after a queen initiates interest. It gives the queen an opportunity to know if she is attracted to his biology prior to breeding him. The stronger the warrior, the more potent his scent is when he releases it.”

  Understanding slowly set in. Meric had apparently changed his mind about being with her. That fact pulled his recent behavior into sharp focus. He’d given her a fresh flower, a note saying he regretted his previous decision not to consider mating with her, and a blanket with his mating scent. That information coupled with his allowing his oldest son to work with her in medical, his electing to share her bed last night, and releasing his mating scent to the point that it made Balen gag led her to the inevitable conclusion he was serious about backpedaling on this issue.

  Smiling, she reveled in the memory of how warm his gaze had been when they were in the medical unit. He’d pulled her into his lap like she belonged to him already. All of that was brazen and out-of-the-ordinary behavior for a warrior. Then again, Meric was different from the warriors under his command. He was a leader, all male and used to taking charge aboard his vessel. And the best part to her mind was the fact that he had children. Each one of them represented a chance for her to unleash some mothering skills. God, she was so ready for that as well.

  Excitement zinged in her chest. She was so distracted that she didn’t even notice that Balen was scrubbing over her mound and up her stomach. Grabbing the sponge, she frowned down at him. “You know better than that.”

  “Fine, cleanse yourself. Just hurry.”

  Suddenly, the whole situation was hilarious. “Are you rushing a queen?”

  Coming swiftly to his feet, Balen stepped back. “Most certainly not, my queen. Please forgive my over-enthusiastic effort to cleanse away the stench covering your body.”

  “One male’s trash is another male’s treasure. Remember that, Balen.”

  She shut the shower door on the confused man’s face. A thousand pleasant images floated through her mind of having a real family. Then she remembered that she hadn’t gotten through all her exams yesterday. She was now more worried about uncovering latent medical issues that needed attending to, rather than checking for contagions. Worry creased her brow as she hit the drying unit and reached for the large comb she used to groom her hair as it dried. As she dressed in the uniform Balen laid out for her, she noticed he’d sealed her new gift in a clear box and placed that in a clear bag. The alluring scent was definitely gone, as was her caretaker.

  21 Toddlers

  Stacy

  Entering th
e healing unit, she found several warrior were working with Phan and Timric to continue with the evaluations. Meric and Tabor were sat at a small table in the corner of the room, drinking hydration packs. She shot the hot captain a smile before going straight to his father. The elder greeted her warmly. “Queen Stacy of the Lionheart, you are a fine healer and a diligent one as well. Do you realize that you worked until you literally dropped last evening?”

  “It’s no biggie. When I was on Earth, healers were in such short supply that sometimes I’d work for days, taking off a few hours to sleep in between. I’m used to long hard hours.”

  “And yet you still gravitate to the healing unit the moment you wake up.”

  “Cut it out Rheric, you’re going to embarrass me if you keep heaping on the praise.”

  “My son is correct about you being easy to talk to.”

  “Most people are if you give them half a second to think about what to say. I’m more chatty than most.”

  “Well, I like that quality in a queen.”

  Scrolling through the monitoring data from overnight, Stacy asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “I am well. Phan brought me breakfast and I ate and drank a full unit of hydro.”

  “Good. Whoever invented those hydration pouches really knew what they were doing. They’re chocked full of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes.”

  He beamed at her. “You will be pleased to know that Elder Salon is the person responsible for coming up with the exact mix we use today.”

  “That’s Phan and Tabor’s father?”

  “Yes and our closest friends. We are the only two warriors with families aboard this vessel.”

  “Well, you have a gorgeous son and some adorable grandkids.”

  “My sire was a breeder as was his. We were bred to create attractive hatchlings.”

  “I see that you don’t seem to be at all disturbed by having your bloodline controlled. On Earth that would be considered evil. We believe you should marry someone because you love them, not to produce any specific kind of offspring.”

  “We wondered why the queens of Dracon Two constructed our laws in a manner which forbids arranged mating.”

  “Yeah, we’re funny that way. We don’t believe people should be forced into marriage either. It all has to be completely voluntary to be legal.”

  “I am beginning to see the advantages to such laws, particularly for warriors. It affords us a layer of protection from forced breeding that we’ve never had before.”

  “How about falling in love? Have you found anyone among the human women we relocated to this ship?”

  Chuffing out a wheezy laugh the elder rasped, “I am too old to lure a mate, my queen.”

  “You know that isn’t true. Many of the elder warriors found human mates on Dracon Two. You don’t look very much older than Meric. I’m sure some nice woman would love to have you in her life. My friend Marion mated Elder Thermon, and they seem very happy together.”

  “I am happy for them. Elder Thermon suffered much under the queens of old and deserves the sweet elder queen. Unfortunately, I spend much of my time caring for my son’s scions. It’s left little time for such pursuits.”

  She glanced up to find him looking at her intently. “Once Meric takes a mate, perhaps you will find that you have more time on your hands.”

  His face lit up. “You breach the conversation I most wish to have with you, my queen.”

  Dodging any conversation that might include her mating his son, she took the conversation in an entirely different direction. “I don’t mean to be impolite, but since you’re so close to Salon, have the two of you ever considered sharing a queen?”

  The man’s eyes got big. Stacy could tell that she had shocked him. “Some of our mature females have suffered more trauma and hate to be left alone. Two warriors working together can trade off being with her throughout the day, where one might be overwhelmed.”

  “We have shared the responsibility of a mate in olden times. Draconian queens are difficult to handle safely. We work well together in that regard.”

  “If would be great if Draconian men could get past the whole idea of waiting for the women to approach them.”

  “It would be considered rude to impress our will upon a queen.”

  “Well, human men make us come groveling to them. They are few and we are many. That made them high status and us low status. It’s left a bad taste in our mouths about dating. Sometimes we feel like no one really wants us. Being pursued is considered a mark of respect among humans.”

  “I do not think anyone ever explained that to us in quite that way. I fear in our effort to be respectful we have made our new queens feel devalued. That wounds my soul to think we have failed them in this way.”

  “It’s an easy problem to fix. I know warriors always say they don’t have the right of choosing, but approaching someone does not take their choice away. They can always decline any invitation you extend.”

  “I did not think about that, my queen. You have given this old warrior much to think about during my recovery.”

  “Actually, you are fully recovered. The nanobots sealed and healed the opening where the aneurism formed. You can return to full duty. Do you mind if I ask what you do?”

  Sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the platform, he seemed happy and relieved. “My job is to manage the database of information in the ship’s computer, adding and annotating all new entries.”

  “Wow, I never would have taken a handsome man like you for a data management specialist. I was thinking something more along the lines of a training officer for new warriors or something like that.”

  The older man grinned mischievously. “I am Draconian and male. That means I am a warrior first and a data management specialist second. However, the duties you just spoke of are handled by my gorgeous and competent scion, Meric.”

  It was funny that he threw her own descriptor back at her when referring to his son. Meric was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. When she glanced across the room, his eyes found hers and heated almost immediately. There was no way around that fact. Attractive and interested in her was Stacy’s favorite combination. When she looked back, her patient was struggling into a clean uniform. She glanced back at Meric and began walking towards him. He stood and stepped out to meet her. “You look much refreshed today, my queen.”

  “I feel it as well. I must have gotten some good rest last night.”

  “You didn’t move unless I shifted you.”

  “Humans call that ‘dead to the world.’”

  Reaching out, he put his hands on her waist and drew her closer. It was a bold move with so many eyes on them. “I do not like aphorisms that link my queen and the word dead in the same sentence.”

  “Aren’t you a smooth talker? What changed you mind about us?”

  His lips curved up ever so slightly at the corners. “I figured that if I could handle a Draconian queen, then managing a human one wouldn’t be that much of a challenge.”

  “That shows how much you know. I’m definitely going to give you a run for your money.”

  “Did you enjoy waking up with my gift wrapped around your frail human body?”

  “Not as much as I liked having you wrapped around me last night.”

  His eyes got big, leading her to believe he didn’t think she had been prepared to duel words with him quite so brazenly. Grinning like a mad fool, she added, “I was more pleased with your gift than Balen was. I honestly thought the poor man was going to have a breakdown. Apparently he does not appreciate your mating scent quite as much as I do. Or at least that’s the impression I got, what with all the rushing me into the shower and airing out the room while practically gagging.”

  “He had no right to do that, but I don’t think any of us could find the words to describe exactly how revolting another male’s mating scent is to our senses. Since I am a breeder, mine is particularly potent. Therefore, I’m not surprised by his reaction. You have
been encouraging every warrior to speak his mind after all.”

  “I thought it was hilarious. Does that make me a bad person?”

  Pulling her close enough to run his cheek over the side of her face, he murmured, “I do not believe it is possible for you to be bad, my lovely queen.”

  Grasping his uniform, Stacy sighed. “Tell me we don’t have to interrogate prisoners today. I’d rather bump out the rest of the evaluations and spend some one-on-one time getting to know my favorite warrior.”

  “As tempting as that plan sounds, we really must discover why this man stowed away on our ship.” Pulling back, he looked down at her with a level of seriousness that she was expecting based on the playfulness that had just transpired between them. “Something serious transpired overnight that I think you should see.” He began leading her over to a monitor.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Remember that strange sensor reading you found yesterday? We finally tracked it down.”

  He pulled up digital images of his crew pulling what appeared to be small children from an air duct. Stacy gasped, “They’re nothing but babies, toddlers really. And their skin has the same pattern as our stowaway.”

  “That was our assessment as well.”

  Stacy sighed, “This is making a little more sense now. Do you think it could be that this is a Moltan warrior who hooked up with a human female? They weren’t on the vessel long enough to make babies, so I’m gonna say they were already there.”

  “This is the conclusion that Tabor and I came to, as it’s the only one that makes sense. The warriors can continue the assessments if you would like to speak to the female.”