Mastered by Her Mates (Interstellar Bride Book 0) (2 page)

I licked my lips, swallowed. “I’m awake.”

My voice was scratchy as if I’d been crying out. Oh God. Had I really screamed when I came? Had I begged and moaned as these stoic women bore witness?

“Excellent.” The Warden looked like she was in her late twenties, perhaps a year or two younger than me. “I am Warden Egara, and I am in charge of the Interstellar Bride Program here on Earth. The processing program indicates a successful match has been made for you, but since you are the first volunteer bride that’s been matched using the Interstellar Bride protocols, we will need to ask you a few additional questions.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath, let it out. The desire was slowly seeping away, the sweat on my skin gone. Goose bumps rose on my flesh in the cool, air-conditioned room that worked so hard to stave off the heat of Miami in August. The hard chair felt sticky and the gown scratchy against my sensitive skin. Leaning my head back, I waited.

According to the aliens promising to “protect” the Earth from an alleged threat known as the Hive, these human women who stood before me had been mated to alien warriors in the past, and were now widows who had volunteered to serve the Coalition here on Earth.

Oh, and there were more than two-hundred and sixty alien races fighting in the Coalition forces, but they claimed only a fraction were compatible for mating with humans. That seemed odd. And how did they know, if a human had never been sent to space before?

The Coalition ships had shown up a couple months ago, on a Wednesday, June 4 at 6:53 p.m. Eastern Time. Yes, I remember the time exactly, like I’d forget the moment when I found out there really were others “out there”. I’d been hitting the treadmill at the gym, twenty-three minutes into my ninety-minute workout when the television screens lining the walls had all gone crazy. Every channel was suddenly alien ships, alien landings all over the world, and fucking huge, seven-foot tall, yellow alien warriors in black camo armor walking off their little shuttles like they owned us already.

Whatever. They spoke our languages and claimed to have just won a battle in our solar system. Once they had a television crew in their face, they demanded a meeting with every major world leader. A few days later, at that meeting in Paris, the aliens had refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of any country and demanded Earth choose one supreme leader, a Prime, they called it. One representative for the entire world. Countries were irrelevant. Our laws? Irrelevant. We were part of their Coalition now, and must follow their laws.

That meeting had been broadcast live all over the world in every major language, not by our television stations on Earth, but by their control of our satellite network. Angry and terrified world leaders broadcast live on international television in every country?

Let’s just say, the meeting had not gone well.

My blood boiled as I watched. Riots erupted. People were scared. The President had called out the National Guard and every police force and fire department in the country had been working overtime for two weeks. That was about how long it took people to realize the aliens weren’t going to just blow us up and take what they wanted.

But then…this. Brides. Soldiers. They said they didn’t want our planet, claimed to be protecting us, but they wanted our soldiers to fight in their war and human women mated to their warriors. And I was the crazy bitch who’d volunteered to be the first human sacrifice.

Giant, yellow alien sex? Because that’s what brides did, have sex with their mate. Yeah, it wasn’t a
husband
but a
mate
. Coming right up.

Yay, me.

The sarcastic thought made me shiver and I shook my head to clear it. I was on a mission, a critical assignment. The thought of fucking one of those huge warriors with a massive chest, golden skin and dominant expression should not excite me. I didn’t know who I’d get, but from all of the TV footage, they were
all
big. They were
all
dominant.

But it did excite me and I hoped that I’d find at least some pleasure in this mission. If I didn’t, I would endure. But if I could ride one of their huge cocks to a mind-numbing orgasm once in a while, would that be so bad? I’d consider it a perk of the job. I was giving up my life, my home, my whole fucking planet for the next few years. A couple of decent orgasms shouldn’t be too much to ask. Right?

I’d spent years serving my country, and I was confident in my ability to handle any situation, adapt to anything. I was a survivor, and more, I wasn’t buying their story, and neither had my superiors at the agency. Where was the proof? Where were these horrible Hive creatures?

The Coalition commanders showed videos to our leaders that any junior high kid with the right software could have created. No one on Earth had ever seen a Hive soldier in the flesh, and the Coalition commanders refused to give us the weapons and technology we would need to defend ourselves from such a deadly threat.

Me? I’d always been a skeptic, and extremely pragmatic. If something needed to be done to protect my country, I did it. I’d been worried about the usual, terrorism, global warming, illegal arms dealers, drug smuggling, international hacker taking control of our energy or banking systems. And now? Aliens. I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around that, despite the fact that I’d watched hours of videos and interviews with their huge, golden commanders from a planet called Prillon Prime. Seven foot of sexy on a stick.

So…one. I’d seen
one
race of aliens, out of the supposed hundreds. Even their processing center people, these Wardens, were humans they’d most likely brainwashed.

For a first contact scenario, the Prillon warriors weren’t doing much convincing. One would think they would have a better propaganda strategy going. Either that, or they didn’t give a shit what we thought because they were actually telling the truth and a very aggressive, nasty race of aliens along the lines of the Borg from
Star Trek
was waiting in the wings to destroy all life on Earth.

I was going with theory number one, but we couldn’t eliminate the possibility of theory number two. Earth did not want to be
assimilated.

My job? To find out the truth. And the only way anyone was going to do that was actually to go out into space. They weren’t taking soldiers yet, so lucky me, I was going the other route. The Interstellar Bride Program.

This was not how I’d envisioned my big day. No, I’d wanted the usual, a ridiculously expensive white dress, flowers, corny music played on harps and a bunch of family members in the pews I was paying a fortune to feed but that I hadn’t seen in a decade.

Speaking of weddings, how the hell had the women standing before me supposedly been mated to aliens, when, until a couple of months ago, humanity hadn’t even known that aliens existed?

“How do you feel?” Warden Egara asked, and I realized I’d probably been staring off into space for a few minutes as my thoughts chased each other in circles inside my head.

“Feel?” I repeated.

Really? I took a moment to take stock of my body. My pussy was dripping wet and the gown scrunched up beneath me was soaked. My clit throbbed in time with my pulse, and I’d just had two of the most incredible orgasms of my life. Good day to be a spy.

“As you’re well aware, you are the first human woman to volunteer for the Interstellar Bride Program, so we’re curious as to how you experienced the processing.”

“I’m your guinea pig?”

They all smiled, but it seemed only Warden Egara had been elected to speak. “In a sense, yes. Please tell us how you feel after your testing.”

“I feel fine.”

My gaze raked over their earnest expressions, but the one woman, the one with the dark hair who’d woken me from the dream, Warden Egara, cleared her throat.

“During the, um, simulation—”

Ah, so that’s what they were calling it.

“—did you experience the dream as a third-party witness? Or did it feel like you were really, you know, there?”

I sighed. What else could I do? I
felt
like I’d just had mind-blowing monkey sex with two huge alien warriors…and I’d loved it. “I was there. It was all happening to me.”

“So, you felt like you were the bride? That your mate was claiming you?”

Claiming? That was
way
more than just claiming. That was…wow.

“Mates. And yes.” Crap. Heat ran up my neck to pink my cheeks again. Mates? As in two. Now, why had I admitted to that?

The Warden Egara’s shoulders relaxed. “Two mates? Correct?”

“That’s what I said.”

She clapped her hands together and I turned to see a look of happy relief on her face. “Excellent! You were matched to Prillon Prime, so everything appears to be working perfectly.”

Big golden warrior for me, just like the ones on TV? Check. And how convenient that I wasn’t matched to one of the
other
races. I truly had to wonder if the others even existed.

The Warden turned to one of the other women. “Warden Gomes, will you please inform the Coalition that the protocol has been integrated into the human population and appears to be fully functional. We should be able to process volunteer brides at all seven centers within a few weeks.”

“Of course, Warden Egara. It will be my pleasure,” Warden Gomes replied, her response thick with a Portuguese accent. “I am eager to return to Rio, to see my family.”

Warden Egara sighed happily and walked away from me to lift a tablet monitor from the table on the edge of the room before returning to me. “All right. Since you’re the first woman in the Interstellar Bride Program, I hope you’ll be patient as we work through the protocols.”

She smiled, and the look on her face was radiant, as if she were thrilled to be sending me off planet to be married to an alien I’d never met. Had all these women
really
been married to aliens? Why were they the ones asking questions? I wanted to know more. Up until a couple months ago, aliens were only little green men in movies, or disgusting things with tentacles that either hunted us, or deposited larvae that made our chest explode.

Ugh. I watched too many sci-fi movies. And now that I was totally creeped out, I decided now was a good time to stall. “Um… I need to talk to my father before we go any further. He will be worried.”

“Oh, of course!” She stepped back and lowered the tablet, holding it at her side. “You should say your goodbyes, Amanda. Once we begin the protocol, you’ll be processed and transported immediately.”

“Today? Now?” Oh crap. I wasn’t ready for
now
.

She nodded. “Yes. Now. I’ll go get your family.” She left me alone, the other women streaming out in a line behind her. I stared at the ceiling, clenching and unclenching my fists, trying to remain calm.

My father? Yeah, so not true. He wasn’t my family, but the Warden didn’t know that. I hadn’t been home to New York in two months. Home? It was more of an apartment where I slept when I was not on assignment. Which was…practically never. But hey, at least I wouldn’t miss it.

My boss had called me in during my only three days off in the last three months, flown me straight from New York to the Pentagon for two months of intense debriefing and preparation. When I’d landed in Miami, they’d picked me up in a limousine. I should have known I’d wouldn’t go home again before the processing occurred. Hell, I
had
known, but some poor little corner of my heart had still been hoping this was all some big fucking joke.

No such luck, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. It wasn’t like you could tell the Company no. My job wasn’t the kind where you could just quit. It wasn’t the Mafia, but a spy didn’t just resign and become a school teacher either. There was
always
a new assignment. A job. A new threat, a new enemy.

But sending me out into space as an alien bride? That was off the charts, even for them. Still, I knew why I’d been chosen. I spoke five languages fluently, had been an active field agent for five years, and more importantly, I was single, with no family ties and nothing to lose. My parents were dead and I was a woman. Seemed the aliens only requested female brides, and I wondered if any of them were gay? Did the gay warriors request brides? Or did they just hook up with their fellow warriors and call it good?

So many questions without answers. That’s why they needed me.

Guinea pig? Sacrificial lamb? Yep. That about summed it up.

The heavy door swung open and my boss walked in, followed by a man I recognized, but barely knew. They both wore plain blue suits, white button-down shirts, one yellow and one paisley tie. Their hair was graying at the temples, both styles military short. They were unremarkable, men you’d walk past on a busy sidewalk and never take note of, unless you looked in their eyes. They were two of the most dangerous men I knew, and I knew quite a few in my line of work. They’d been chosen by the President to do whatever needed to be done to ascertain the truth about this new alien threat.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t buying the
—we’re here to save you, just give us your soldiers and your women
—line of bullshit these aliens were spewing. Not one government on Earth was happy and the U.S. and her allies were determined to discover the truth. And, with my mixed heritage of an Irish father and half black, half Asian mother, they’d all agreed I represented a whole lot of humanity. They’d requested I volunteer for this assignment.

Lucky me.

“Amanda.”

“Robert.” I nodded at the silent man to his right and had no idea if I even knew his real name. “Allen.”

Robert cleared his throat. “How did the processing go?”

“Fine. Warden Egara says I’ve been matched to Prillon Prime.”

Allen nodded. “Excellent. The Prillon warriors are in command of the entire Coalition Fleet. We were also informed that they keep their brides with them on their battleships, on the front lines of this alleged war. You should have access to weapons, tactical information and their most advanced technologies.”

Great.
Two weeks ago, when I had agreed to take this mission, I would have been thrilled. But now? My heart beat a little too fast at the idea that what I really
wanted
was unlimited access to two smoking-hot, dominant alien warriors’ bodies…