Zane (Alien Adoption Agency #4) - Tasha Black Page 0,1

the coward Jericho Caldwell as far as a cargo ship headed for the moon of Lachesis.

But she hit a dead end, because Lachesis was closed to new immigrants, and the PI could follow him no farther.

Sarah had done some homework, and learned that the only legal way onto Lachesis was through a special program, run by the Alien Adoption Agency. All adoptive mothers of Imberian babies would be given land and a modest stipend on one of the moons of Hesiod-8.

It was a long shot, but it was the only shot she had.

So Sarah had walked away from her old life to start this new one. She would begin with justice for her father. After that, she could allow herself to focus on single parenthood on the frontier moon. It was an honorable life, and she hoped to be a good mother, even if she had originally only decided to adopt the child to accomplish her own purposes.

And in her secret heart, she couldn’t wait to hold the little one in her arms and lavish it with all the love she had.

“Holy wow,” Abigail murmured.

Sarah followed her gaze out the window. The landscape below them looked almost like it was underwater. Low, murky light from between the clouds dappled long, waving grasses. The blues and greens of the vegetation were deeper and more vibrant than back home.

It reminded her of the aquarium her father used to take her to when she was a girl. They would spend hours gazing into the peaceful depths of that underwater world together.

Sarah had just enough time for a pang of quiet happiness to lift her heart at the memory before the ship dropped and caught itself again, causing Liberty to let out an unladylike yelp and then clamp her hand over her own mouth as Abigail giggled.

“Prepare for landing,” said a crackly voice over the intercom.

2

Zane

Zane held the little one securely in his arms. The whelp was very excited and wiggly as he took in the local wildlife.

A school of shiver birds winnowed through the air in formation, their silvery feathers sparkling in the low light. The little one waved his little hands and squeaked as if he wished he could swim after them.

A few feet away, Zane’s brother in arms, Rexx, paced with his own whelp, who was still fussy after the landing.

While the men were dragon shifters, whose bodies naturally accommodated environmental changes, the whelps were Imberian, and the lower-than-standard gravity on Lachesis made them uncomfortable.

But Zane was sure Rexx’s whelp would adjust to the new gravity soon. The babies had proven very resilient so far.

At the moment, Rexx wore an annoyed expression that had nothing to do with the little one. The blue dragon warrior valued discipline over everything, and the adoptive mothers’ ship was late.

“They’ll be here soon,” Zane said to him, hoping to ease his strain.

“It’s not a good sign,” Rexx snapped. “What kind of mothers will they be if they can’t even be bothered to show up on time for their first meeting?”

“I don’t think they’re piloting the plane,” Zane teased.

He glanced over at Odin, the third member of their group, for back-up. But the red dragon warrior looked even stormier than Rexx.

Odin was never exactly cheerful, but he had been downright snarly ever since the adoption date was scheduled. Zane was pretty sure it had to do with handing over the whelps.

The three were Invicta warriors, each of them with an impressive military career. And their purpose was to protect the younglings, not to form bonds with them.

Long ago, the Invicta had made a terrible mistake, annihilating the gentle people of Imber in an error that would haunt their ranks forever.

The intergalactic counsel had finally given them leave to make things as right as they could. Using preserved DNA from Imber, the Invicta had gestated a group of pod babies who would inherit their planet and its wealth once they were grown.

As part of the deal, each baby would be guarded until the age of twenty standard years by an Invicta warrior. Serving as a guard to an Imberian youth was considered the greatest honor that could be bestowed upon a warrior like Zane.

Some of his brothers took to it more happily than others.

But Zane himself had been both honored and excited to be chosen. He had always liked children. Spending time with a child while also helping to redeem the honor of the Invicta was a dream assignment.

The darker moments of his service seemed like only