The Pact

Rosalynn
I've saved up for years to get my ticket and myself to the Alien Bride Race office on the lunar spaceport. Working retail for life and having no one to come home to except the stray cats in the alley has never been a dream come true. I've heard stories about ABR and how wild and territorial the alien males can get over the contestants. Just once, I want someone to need me.

I'm tired of being just a body to stand at the counter with a fake smile and pretend I am obsessed with every single perfume we sell. For too long, I have waited for the thrill of running with the other women, pretending to be scared. Inside, I'm excited to meet whoever catches me.

The males race around me, chasing other, faster women. I wonder if they don't find me a challenge and if I should've taken better care of myself or tried to scrub more of the perfume from my permeated skin. Males pass me, returning with other women in their arms who laugh and smile like I want to. I trip on a root and fall. A warm hand helps me up.

To my dismay, the sexy alien hunk already has a woman over his shoulder. He's built like a prime warrior and dressed in armor that bears the sigils of a kingdom I've not heard of. He's royalty. I'm a nobody. Yet in his gold eyes is a hint of regret as he leaves me behind to cart his woman off with the other males.

Soon, there is no one left but me. They've all gone inside the alien starship to begin the festivities. A woman from ABR hands me a credit chip for a million bucks and gives me her congrats. I thought for sure being slower would get me caught, and only the fastest won the money. I never thought I would win. This was never my goal.

The alien prince who passed me now watches from the open doorway of the starship. His stare stirs desire in me as I walk to the private transport that will return me to the spaceport. But he didn't choose me. He chose her.

I can start over and have almost anything I want...except the only thing I longed for most. But my new life doesn't start off quite as easy as I expect. There are a lot of others who want to get their hands on my new prize money. Now, I'm stuck in the race to protect my life.

Zinnar
My selected mate seems to have more interest in a Ginarigon who often picks females open to sisterhood. I am a wreck inside at her rejection. But I want to love and mate with one female. Clearly, I chose incorrectly.

I was not supposed to return home to my family's kingdom mateless. They will scold me for letting her go despite that she is undoubtedly happier elsewhere. I don't believe in forced marriages. I want someone who wants me, needs me like I need her.

Stepping outside of the party to get some air, I notice the woman in the field, among the trees and bushes, in silent tears as she walks toward the transport that will take her home. There is a special strength in her, a quiet pain of loneliness but conviction from her acceptance. She keeps going even though she scraped her knees in her earlier tumble. It's something I understand--making sacrifices for my kingdom.

I want to talk to her, though I don't know if she'll be interested now that she has the money. But by the time I make my decision, she's already taking off. When she glances at me from the window, I know I have to get to her before I lose her forever. At least we could give it a chance.

The race might be over, but my hunt for her has just begun. If she won't have me, I'll have to make her an offer she can't refuse. I'm not going home empty-handed.

A steamy scifi alien romance, featuring violence and cursing.