Chapter 1

MANDY

The beauty salon is eerily empty today, and a sense of doom hovers in the air. It’s Selection Day. That’s what everyone is calling it. I turn to the waiting area and peer out the large viewscreen. My stomach flips as I catch sight of the Darrvason fleet, a formidable group of fifteen technologically advanced ships. The alien vessels have been traveling in a shared hyperdrive bubble with the Jansonna , the human worldship, for over five months.

Selection Day . I suppress a shudder.

Will my name be on the list?

Will I soon learn I’ve been chosen to become a savage alien’s bride?

Technically, I’m engaged to a wealthy human Founder and my name shouldn’t be on the list. My fiancé promised I would be safe, but I still can’t help but worry. Neither can my mother. Even if my name isn’t on the list, there’s a good chance my sister’s will be.

I look at the nearest info screen just as it illuminates. It flashes blue before a ten-minute countdown appears. My trepidation deepens, a cold tendril of fear that caresses my spine.

Needing to keep busy, I set about tidying the area around my chair, though I doubt any clients will stop by today. My hands tremble as I arrange bottles of hair product, nail polish, beauty treatments, and random cosmetics. I take a long breath and glance in my mother’s direction, only to wish I hadn’t. Seated in the waiting area near the viewscreen, she’s staring at me with tears in her eyes.

“I’m going to miss you girls so much,” Mom says in a tone brimming with sorrow, and heartache promptly clutches me.

Forcing a smile, I join her in the waiting area and take a seat. I place a hand over hers and silently pray I won’t break down in tears. No matter what, I’m not going to cry. Even if my name appears on the screen. Even if my sister’s name appears.

“It’s going to be okay, Mom.” I swallow hard. “Even if one or both of us are chosen, we’ll be living on the same planet,” I say, referring to 58-Zallnanis, a habitable planet recently discovered by Darrvason probes. We’re currently en route. “I’m certain we’ll be able to visit you.” The lie tastes bitter. I’m not certain about anything.

Mom turns to face me. “The Darrvasons don’t plan to settle on the same continent as humankind. What if your husband, or Tasha’s husband, is a beastly, controlling male who won’t allow you to visit the human settlement?” A tear cascades down her cheek, and her hand is frigid beneath mine. “Any freedoms you girls have,” she continues in a trembling voice, “will be granted to you by your new alien mates. From what I’ve heard and observed, Darrvason males are domineering and only care about breeding their females.”

Nerves assail me at her choice of words. But she’s not wrong. Darrvason males are notoriously possessive of their mates. A long time ago, they lost most of their females during a terrible war, and now they need human women for procreation.

It’s why they made a shocking deal with the worldship’s command team: Two thousand one hundred and thirty human women in exchange for supplies and fuel, help repairing our dilapidated worldship, and assistance in reaching a habitable planet.

Thus far, one hundred and thirty (plus five) human women have been handed over to the aliens, the extra five being an imposed penalty after a coup gone wrong, and of these women just over a third have contacted their friends and family on the Jansonna . To my knowledge, only one has returned to the Jansonna for an in-person visit, a friend of mine named Leona. But she’s a special case. Her mate, Doctor Zahhn, visits the Jansonna regularly to treat my sickly younger sister, and he usually brings Leona along on his visits.

Today, the final group of two thousand human women will be announced, women specifically between the ages of nineteen to twenty-five. Selection Day, indeed. I go cold all over.

I squeeze my mother’s hand. “It’s going to be okay, Mom.” Again, the lie tastes bitter. Again, my stomach clenches with icy terror.

A contingent of security officers march past the salon, and Mom and I exchange a worried look as their bootsteps echo down the corridor. The ominous sound mirrors the rapid beating of my heart.

What will happen on the Jansonna once the full list of women is released? Will there be yet another uprising? Will more blood coat the corridors of the worldship?

I glance at the screen. One minute to go.

Well, at least I won’t have to wait long to discover my fate, or my sister’s. Our last name is Benton, and I expect the list will be in alphabetical order.

As the countdown continues, I think about some of the rumors I’ve heard recently. Rumors about older human women willingly becoming the mates of older Darrvason engineers who have visited the Jansonna to make repairs. Supposedly, several mothers of the randomly selected younger women decided to follow their daughters by offering themselves to older Darrvason males, males who wanted female companionship so badly that they didn’t care whether their mates were fertile.

I pray my mother doesn’t do something so foolish. I also hope that if one of us must be chosen, it’s me rather than my sister. Tasha is almost fully recovered from a terrible illness that plagued her for years, and she’s just starting to get her life back. Recently, she felt well enough to take on a job as a teacher’s assistant. She’s also been spending time with childhood friends, reacquainting herself with the cello, and enjoying numerous other recreational activities aboard the worldship for the first time in ages. I’ll be heartbroken for her if she’s selected, and I resolve that if she’s chosen but I’m not, then I’ll do whatever I can to trade places with her. I keep these thoughts to myself, however, not wishing to upset my mother any further.

At last, the names begin scrolling on the screen. I hold my breath as I await the B surnames. It feels like an eternity passes, but finally, they come.

The sickness permeating me increases. Maybe if Tasha’s name appears, I can convince my fiancé to marry her instead. It’s not like we’re a love match. Our impending union was arranged by my father months ago when the Darrvasons first made contact with humankind. A preventative measure, Dad called it. He’d arranged for Tasha to marry an elderly Founder as well, but my sister’s fiancé passed away just two weeks ago, leaving her extra vulnerable to the list .

Suddenly, the C last names start scrolling, and it takes me a few seconds to realize I’m safe. So is Tasha. Neither of our names appeared.

A sob erupts from Mom, and she gathers me close. I rub her back as she cries tears of joy. Relief washes through me, cautiously at first, before it becomes an immense wave of respite.

I’m safe. I’m safe and Tasha’s safe too.

When we arrive on planet 58-Zallnanis, just a month from now, we’ll be able to settle on the continent reserved for humankind. Yes, I’ll still have to marry Ned, the ninety-two-year-old Founder to whom I’m betrothed, but it’s my hope that he’ll agree to live with my parents and sister.

Tasha and Dad appear at the salon’s entrance, and I give Mom a gentle nudge as I announce their arrival. She turns, wipes her face, and bolts toward my sister. My heart swells as I watch them embrace.

Dad walks over and places a hand on my shoulder, and it’s all I can do not to cringe at his touch. “I’m so glad you’re safe from the Darrvasons. Tasha, too. I would be devastated if either of my girls had to marry one of those dreadful beasts.” Considering that a Darrvason doctor helped heal his youngest daughter, I’m a bit surprised by the derision that drips from his tone, though I don’t say anything. My father takes even the slightest contradiction personally.

To my surprise, Ned appears in the entryway, hobbling in while clutching his cane. Dad backs away from me and gives the older man a huge smile, though I know it’s forced.

“Hello, Ned, good to see you,” my father says. “I was just about to take Tasha and Adrianna to the mess hall for an early lunch, but Mandy already ate and I’m sure she’ll be happy to visit with you.”

It’s a lie. I haven’t eaten lunch yet and Dad knows it. But he also knows we must continue to kiss Ned’s ass. The elderly Founder is friends with Captain Warren and several members of the command team.

As Ned comes closer, his eyes rake over me in a strange way. Like he’s hungry or as though he expects something from me. Not for the first time in his presence, I feel uneasy and long to escape. But I can’t leave the salon. Not when he trekked all the way here from his posh quarters on Deck Twenty-Two. Though the salon is only two decks down, the corridors are long. At his slow pace, he likely spent twenty minutes walking to and from the elevators on each level. If I left now, it would be considered the height of rudeness.

Mom, Dad, and Tasha exchange pleasantries with Ned before they head for the corridor, and I swallow hard when my fiancé sits down beside me with a heavy groan. He angles his body toward mine and takes my hands in his.

“Just as I promised you, sweetie pie, you weren’t on the list.” His gaze travels over me again, his manner oddly unsettling, and I don’t understand why he pauses as he looks at my breasts.

Surely he can’t harbor a corporeal attraction to me. Fornication has been outlawed on the Jansonna for decades, and all adults aboard the worldship are given hormone suppression shots to help combat any unlawful urges.

Well, up until recently all adults were given the shots.

Women between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five stopped receiving the shots not long after the Darrvasons’ appearance, though as far as I know, everyone else aboard the Jansonna still receives the shots as regularly scheduled.

I suppose the women like me who weren’t selected to become Darrvason brides will soon resume the shots, though I don’t know for certain. All I know is that when I went to the medical bay to receive my annual shot three months ago, the doctor turned me away due to my age and the possibility that I would be selected to become an alien’s mate in the near future.

So, yes, Ned should still be receiving hormone suppression shots as regularly scheduled, though as he continues ogling my bosom in a salacious manner, I start to wonder if there’s an age cut off that I don’t know about.

“Thank you for keeping me off the list,” I eventually force out, though my voice wavers. I don’t like that Ned’s still gripping my hands so firmly, nor do I like the calculated gleam in his gaze when he finally meets my eyes.

He smiles, though it’s the sort of smile my father usually displays. An entirely fake one. The kind of smile that makes me nervous, one that’s meant to conceal ulterior motives. I resist the impulse to wrench my hands from Ned’s and scoot away.

“I think I’m going to enjoy having you as my wife.” He leans closer. “I also think we’ll have a good many years together. My father and grandfather both lived past one hundred, and I expect I’ll live even longer.” He releases my hands and gives me a pointed look. “Our wedding date has been set for next week. The captain himself will officiate.”

“Next week? But I thought we would be married on planet 58-Z? That’s what my father said. He said we would wait until?—”

“The plans have changed, sweetie pie,” he says, cutting me off, “and your father has already agreed. We aren’t doing anything fancy. Just a quick exchange of vows. I’m eager to make you my wife. Eager for us to live together.” He waggles his white, bushy eyebrows at me and slowly licks his chapped lips.

I quickly glance away, and my gaze comes to rest on the info screen where names are still scrolling by. Two thousand women who will be forced to mate with a Darrvason male and live under the oppressive authority of their husbands.

I remind myself that marriage to a Darrvason would be a far worse fate than marriage to Ned, even if the elderly man sometimes makes me uneasy.

When I return my gaze to my husband-to-be, I’m surprised to find he appears agitated, but I eventually realize he expects a response from me. Some sort of ass kissery about how I’m eager to become his wife.

“All right. I look forward to it,” I force out. That’s all I can manage.

“There’s something else I’ve been meaning to discuss with you, Mandy.”

A knot forms in my stomach. “What is it?”

“I don’t want you working at the salon anymore. Consider today your last day.” He glances around the salon with a look of disdain. “I won’t have my wife providing beauty services for Founders anymore. I can’t imagine anything more embarrassing.”

My heart plummets to the floor. “But I run this salon with my mother. She needs me, and we’ve always planned to open our own business on whatever planet humankind settled upon. Furthermore, we don’t just provide beauty services to Founders. Non-Founders visit the salon sometimes too, when they have the extra credits for it.”

Ned’s visage hardens. He draws in a long breath, but before he can utter a word, shouts and blaster fire erupt in the corridor. I gasp and jump out of my seat. Ned reaches for his cane and slowly stands with my help.

I’m not surprised by the violence. It’s Selection Day, and a lot of people are undoubtedly angry that their daughters and sisters are being chosen as Darrvason brides. Extra security officers were stationed on every deck, but apparently not enough to stem the unrest, at least not here on Deck Twenty.

We relocate behind the wide welcome counter, and I assist Ned in sitting on the floor. He groans and retrieves a bottle from his pocket. I watch as he swallows a handful of pills, presumably for his aches and pains, then I peek over the counter just as a group of security officers rush by with blasters held high.

“Idiots,” Ned says with a snort. “I’ve been around long enough to know even the most organized rebellion can’t thwart Captain Warren’s plans. In one month, on the very day we land on planet 58-Zallnanis, those two thousand young ladies will be handed over to the Darrvasons for breeding purposes. Killing a few security officers or members of the command team won’t change a thing.”

He's right. There have been many attempts to overthrow Captain Warren and dismantle his command team over the years. Each and every coup failed, always at great loss of life to the rebels.

In the last few months alone, there have been about ten separate attempts to overthrow the current command and break the treaty with the Darrvasons, including one that resulted in the demise of over two hundred members of a rebel group known as The Saviors. I shudder at the memory of that dark day.

The blaster fire continues for some time, and though the volume of the fighting is ear-splitting, Ned manages to fall asleep. I peer at him in shock and wonder what was in those pills.

When there’s a lull in the fighting, I peek over the counter, only to wish I hadn’t. A huge Darrvason male carrying a blaster in each hand glances into the salon as he walks by.

Our eyes meet and he pauses.

For a few seconds, I forget how to breathe.

He turns to face me, then strides directly into the salon, his steps quick and purposeful, an aura of authority radiating from his great, muscular form.

My heart races.

He’s tall tall, likely over seven feet, and my neck strains as I stare up at him.

“Human female,” he says in perfect Galactic Common. His voice is so very deep. It vibrates through me and causes a strange sensation between my thighs, a delicious spasm of pleasure I’ve never experienced before.

His nostrils flare as he inhales a long breath, and a rumbling growl resounds from his throat. I think it’s a growl of appreciation, though I can’t be sure.

His red eyes glow brighter as he stares at me unblinkingly. “Human female, do you require assistance?”