Treasured By the Alien Pirate by Celia Kyle Page 0,1

Seven days after waking up and right before we’d run out of food, water, and air, we were rescued by the aforementioned big, best-looking males, and were brought aboard their ship. Their timing was quite lucky. For us, anyway. I’m not sure how the Kilgari feel.

They’ve been working themselves nearly to death trying to accommodate us, but they don’t seem to mind. Probably because the Kilgari are part of a matriarchal society, where their females take multiple males for mates. I can’t fathom it but hey, to each her own. I don’t pass judgment on how others choose to live their lives.

Another reason they’re so accommodating is that despite the whole polygamy thing, the Kilgari also have an ancient tradition about fated mates, which I find completely romantic. They only moved to their current matriarchal society after a war nearly wiped out the entire female population. Before that, they’d subscribed to the idea that each male had a female out in the universe who was perfect for him in every way—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Over generations, the practice disappeared but seems to have had a resurgence since our two factions merged aboard the Queen.

Varia, it turns out, is the mate of the Queen’s captain, Solair. For that reason alone, the Kilgari are invested in our welfare. They’re a close-knit crew, and a mate is immediately accepted into the fold.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the concept of fated mates since finding out about Varia and Solair. I’ve been wondering if it’s possible that one of the Kilgari males is my mate, but so far there hasn’t been any indication. I haven’t met them all yet—there are one-hundred-fifty Kilgari on the Queen—and of course it’s not guaranteed any one of them will be my mate, but… But it might be nice to have someone to share my small little life with. It’s certainly gotten more interesting in the last little while, but going back to normal would be nice, too. If I wasn’t going back to normalcy alone, that is.

Varia told me the Kilgari first recognize their mate by her scent. I guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on every male who comes sniffing around.

Just this morning, Varia moved her stuff out of the makeshift room we’d been assigned when we’d boarded. She now shares Solair’s quarters, which is quite the upgrade from the glorified closet Thrase and I find ourselves stuck in. Upon tidying up earlier, I noticed she’d left her favorite necklace behind, so I decided to venture up to the bridge to take it to her. That’s when that damn klaxon alarm blasted again.

I swear to the Mother, I’ll never get used to that thing.

I’m not really sure about protocol when the thing goes off, so I’ve decided to just stay where I am, standing in the narrow corridor outside the medbay. I can hear shouts coming from one of the infirmary rooms, but I don’t dare go down there. Nicari, the Kilgari doctor, has been tirelessly working to bring the roughly fifty women who remain in stasis out of their slumber. If something’s gone wrong under his watch, I’m not really sure I want to be a witness.

The fifty-seven of us who’d woken up on board the Frontier were lucky. I’m not quite sure how we’d been properly awakened, but I’m thankful I’m alive with all my faculties. Coming out of cryo too quickly can have disastrous effects.

Varia and Solair rush onto the scene as I observe the flurry of activity inside the infirmary. Varia notices me standing there like a deer in the headlights and immediately grabs my hand, pulling me toward the action.

“Come with me.” It’s not a question and her voice is edged with worry. Not one part of me wants to go, but she’s my best friend. I would have died aboard the Frontier if it weren’t for her. So I snap myself out of my thoughts of what might be happening to one of those cryo’ed women and follow her.

“What’s going on?” Solair’s voice is commanding and firm, demanding answers from his medic.

Nicari looks as confused as I feel as he stares down at a woman slumped over sideways in one of the pods. She’s awake and breathing, but barely. Her skin has a bluish tinge to it—corpse-like under the harsh infirmary lights, like death warmed over.

My heart races as I observe the scene, holding onto both my breath and Varia’s hand.

“The pod had some kind of—of