Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery - Margo Bond Collins Page 0,2

appeared around me. The bar wavered in my sight and my hand pulled away from David’s, even though I was holding onto it as tightly as I could.

“I’m sorry,” I managed to say to him, tears springing to my eyes.

And then I was transported off my planet. Out of my life.

And into my own personal hell.

The Khanavai Bride Games.

Cav

I frowned at my commanding officer. “Wait. I’ve been what? Um…Sir,” I added as an afterthought.

When Commander Dren had called me in for a meeting, I had been expecting him to tell me I’d been accepted into the dark ops program.

“Your name was drawn in the Bride Lottery, Lieutenant. You’re going to be mated.” Dren beamed at me as if I’d won something precious. I guess in his mind, I had.

Most of my fellow officers would feel the same.

But I didn’t want a mate right now. I wanted to learn spycraft. Join the elite squads that carried out clandestine missions in enemy territory.

Commander Dren read my response in my expression. “This is an honor, you know.” His voice wasn’t unkind—after all, he too was a warrior. “The ops program will still be here when you return. And Command Central likes promoting mated officers. This will be good for your military career.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Now go pack a bag. You’ve been granted leave for this, and your shuttle leaves soon.”

I put on my blandest soldier’s expression. “Yes, sir.”

But as soon as I hit the corridor that led from the commander’s office to my own quarters, I let my true feelings shine through. Apparently, that meant I looked ready to kill. Every soldier who caught a glimpse of me scurried away as quickly as possible.

By the time I’d finished packing my bag, I’d resorted to muttering a constant string of curses.

I’d managed to refrain from asking Dren if another officer could be granted the honor of an Earth bride. I knew better. It was my duty to sire heirs, to keep the Khanavai race alive. To make sure we had warriors for the next generation.

That thought led me to switch over to cursing the Alveron Horde in general. It was their fault the Khanavai only produced males. The vile monsters used chemical warfare. Even the Earthers knew that poisoning one’s enemies was a horrific move. And they’d been well on their way to destroying their planet when we’d intervened to save them.

Lucky for them, their women were compatible with our men. Otherwise, we might have let the otherwise insignificant planet go.

I sighed as I slung my single bag over my shoulder.

I would do my duty. But I didn’t have to be cheerful about it.

The shuttle ride was short and uneventful. Luckily, I hadn’t been far from the station where the Bride Games were held. Flying with other pilots always made me want to chew off my fingernails. Not out of fear—no, our pilots were the best trained in the universe. But out of sheer boredom. I’d much rather be piloting the ship myself, even if it was only a shuttle.

As I stepped out into Station 21’s main thoroughfare from the station’s docking area, I took a deep breath.

Time to act like a civilized Khanavai.

I grinned at the thought. There were races out in the galaxy who might argue that the phrase “civilized Khanavai” was a contradiction in terms. They were wrong, of course. We could be as civilized as anyone—as long as we weren’t provoked.

A slight buzzing alerted me to a message, and I glanced down at the communication device I wore strapped to my wrist. The disembarkation specialist, a tiny nonbinary Poltien with a shock of blue hair from its left nostril, had promised they would have my quarters ready before I hit the Promenade.

Not quite—but close. It would have taken the Poltien longer to reach the main recreational area of the station, and I’d learned to make allowances for lesser creatures.

Like, I assumed, I would have to make allowances for my new Earther bride.

I shook off the irritation that came with the thought and followed the com’s directions to my quarters.

As I passed by the various shopfronts, I found myself noticing the few humans who moved among the crowds. Particularly the females.

With the exception of their generally bland coloring—most of them fell into some shade from pale pink to dark brown—they were attractive enough, with soft, yielding bodies. As a young soldier, I’d even tried a few at the holo-pleasure suites. If the holo designers were to