Alien Pirate's Bride: A SciFi Alien Romance (Moon Company Brides Book 2) Read online

  With my valuables removed, I’ll have no way to communicate with my sister or Celeste. The pirates drag me to the ship hatch—the one I entered to board the ship.

  “Come on, guys, don’t throw me out there without a mask and a suit. I’ll get air embolism, you know. Come on, don’t turn me into a fucking human balloon.” There are worse things that will happen to me out there in space without a suit or mask. For instance, after about fifteen seconds of floating out in space, I’ll lose consciousness because my oxygen free blood will travel to my brain. Oh and let’s not forget radiation and the potential to freeze to death eventually.

  One of the angry pirates reaches over, grabs a stewardess helmet off of the wall and puts it on my head.

  I hear Bingo ask, “Will I get to play with her later?”

  No one answers him. The angry pirate reaches in one of the ship assistant’s lockers and pulls out a suit. He puts the suit on me, attaches the air pack to my back, and plugs the extension into the helmet and the suit.

  “There you go,” the pirate says to me in English. He opens up the hatch. And would you believe it? He pushes me out.

  3

  Freda

  A mechanical arm of some sort reaches out and grabs me after about a few seconds of me floating in space. The mechanical arm drags me toward this enormous dark ship. The ship is black as night with the windows blacked out. The onyx exterior of the ship’s body is covered with red markings and weird symbols that I’ve never seen before. I’m going to go ahead and assume that it’s the pirate’s ship.

  To say that I’m freaking out now would be the biggest understatement in all the universe. Oh well, I guess I’m destined for the undermarket sex slave trade. I hope someone nice purchases me.

  A hatch to the pirate ship opens, and the mechanical arm shoves me inside and releases me. My ass slams down on the floor. I look around. The floors are gold. The walls are gold. The ceiling is gold. I hardly expected this to be the case.

  From the ship’s menacing outside appearance, one would think that it would be cold and dirty in here. But no! It’s bright with gild.

  Three Havener pirates, with long black hair peppered with gold dots and flowing down their backs, stand before me with their arms crossed. They’re all red, as Haveners are, and they look like they hate me.

  They’re all big guys, dressed in dark colors, muscular, and they all have gold teeth. I’m scared out of my mind.

  “Say, guys, come on. You don’t want me. I’m bad news. Trust me,” I say to none of them in particular as they busy themselves, helping me out of my suit. I search for something else to say to get me out of this situation, but I can’t really think of anything worthwhile. “I mean, I guess I could stay for a while,” I say, shrugging. I touch the floor. “Oh, this is nice. Gold flooring, eh? Never seen this before. Must have been really expensive.” They remain silent, but they at least give me a good scowl. “Say, can I get a drink of water or something? I’m parched.” I grab at my throat.

  The pirates don’t move. They only stare at me. I’m wondering how long this sort of thing is going to go on for. Although, I guess sitting on the floor basically unharmed is better than what likely awaits me, so I’ll take this. Soak up the moment of safety like it’s the last water on Earth. Water, wouldn’t that would be nice? It’s hot as Hades on this ship.

  The door behind me slides open. The sound of the door opening and closing sounds like thunder. In walks the haughty, quiet pirate who seemed too cool for school when we were back on the transport ship. Unlike the other pirates before me, his hair is cut short. Some of his teeth are gold. He’s got a chiseled jaw, big hazel eyes, and the long eyelashes. The pirate says something in Havener and then flicks his hand at the other pirates.

  The pirate in charge obviously used a tube to get onto this ship, so he had no need to wear a helmet or suit. Neither did Bingo.

  Bingo slides down off of the Pirate’s shoulder and skitters out of sight. The other pirates move out of the way. For some reason, I feel like it might have been better if Bingo had stayed. The main pirate walks past me and disappears down the corridor. What the heck? Where did he go?

  Soon he comes back, wearing what I think is a permanent scowl. I want to ask him if he has any other facial expressions in his repertoire of facial expressions, but that might get me killed. Plus, he’s already told me to shut up once. I guess that has never really stopped me before, but circumstances were different in those other situations, meaning my life wasn’t hanging in the balance

  “We go,” the pirate says.

  “Wait. What do you mean, we go? What about the ship out there? The people? Me? Can I get back on the ship since you aren’t going to take it?”

  The pirate grabs me by the arm, lifting me halfway off of the floor. I can feel the heat coming off of him like it was coming off of the others. I kick and struggle.

  “I would not struggle if I were you,” the pirate says as he continues to drag me along.

  “Why not? What would you do if you were me? Struggle, right? I mean come on, dude.”

  The pirate doesn’t answer. When we arrive in front of a large gold door, he tips his mouth under something, a sensor I guess and smiles. The light flashes across his mouth. There’s a beep, and a door opens. Before us is a sprawling deck. The walls are made of gold and so are the chairs. There are control centers everywhere and scopes.

  “Sit, here,” the pirate says.

  I take a seat where he tells me. I’m sweating like I’m in a hot zone. I look out the gallery window in front of the main control station. I see a bunch of escape pods flying out before us.

  “You let all the people go?” I ask, wiping sweat from my brow.

  “Yes,” he says.

  “Why not me?”

  “Because, I have plans for you,” he says.

  I swallow hard. “Why me?” I ask.

  “You’ll see.”

  I’m about to ask the pirate if he’s been sent by the Governor to capture me, as a way to get back at who he thinks killed his son, but I think the better of it, in case the two things have nothing to do with each other. If he took me without knowing that the Governor wants me, then I ought not to be the one to tell him because then he might strike a deal with the Governor for a ransom.

  Instead, I ask, “Where are we going? And can you please turn on the cool? I’m sweating my balls off.”

  “You’re a human female. You do not have balls,” the pirate says, staring straight ahead. It’s like he doesn’t even want to look at me, but I sure want to look at him.

  The eye candy is nice, but I was warned. I was warned not to go on this trip. Now I realize more than ever that I should have listened.

  4

  Bastian

  This woman is beyond annoying. She asks too many questions. But she is beautiful. I watch her. Her eyes quiver with fear. Her brown curly hair is lovely. Her large brown eyes are stunning.

  I spin around in my chair.

  “Make sure they touch nothing on the other ship, Lago,” I say.

  Lago nods his head. We’ve known each other since childhood. If there’s one person I can trust, it is him. He’s one of my larger crew members. He’s definitely intimidating when we go out on the hunt. Lago turns away and goes as I have bid him.

  “Tell me what you’re going to do to me,” the woman says.

  “Freda Chou, please be quiet,” I say.

  “Freda Chou? How do you know my name?”

  “I went through your comms and tablet.”

  “That’s against the laws of privacy.”

  I have no idea what the laws of privacy are. I’m not sure if I care.

  “Please, just tell me what you’re going to do to me. I beg you. I just want to know so that I can mentally prepare myself. Also,” she says, fanning herself, “can you please cool down this ship and give me some water. I’m dying of thirst.”

  “We do not like cool air,” I say. “As for the water. I will have Bellum fetch you some
. Bellum, please.”

  Bellum is another trusty member of my crew who I’ve known since childhood. Bellum is smaller than Lago, but that’s no matter. What he lacks in muscle he more than makes up with brains.

  Freda Chou’s mouth falls open. She throws her head back against the chair and turns away. I hear sniffling. I think she is crying.

  These humans are a special group. Unfortunately, there is no choice but to migrate to their system. Protos will be no more due to the destruction of our suns.

  I point my base-ship towards the planet Havenu which is my home. It has been some time since I’ve been there, but it’s important that I go. There are trades that I need to make.

  The woman’s sniffles get louder and louder. Then she wails. She is so beautiful but so annoying. She turns to me, wailing, pulling at her hair.

  “Do you need a sedative?” I ask her.

  She stops crying for a tick. “A sedative?”

  “Yes, you seem distraught. Do you need a sedative?”

  Freda Chou frowns and wipes the waterworks off of her face. Her eyes are red and so are her cheeks. “No. I don’t need a sedative. I need to go back home.”

  “Where’s home? Mars or Earth’s moon?”

  Freda Chou scoffs. “You know it’s really rude to go through people’s stuff. I guess you don’t care about manners.”

  I shrug. She yawns.

  “Are you tired?”

  “I am. I’m tired of your kidnappy bullshit!”

  “You humans require horizontal sleep? I have a bed.”

  “Good for you red hot.”

  “Come, allow me to show you to a chamber where you can rest,” I say.

  “Is there gas in it?”

  “Gas? You mean to breathe?”

  “Yes, but the deadly kind. You know,” she grabs her throat and makes an ack ack sound.

  “It is not deadly,” I say. I scour. Maybe I ought to put a brace over her face to keep her from opening her mouth.

  “Come.” I stand up. Freda Chou follows me off of the deck. We walk down the corridor. This corridor is made from the pieces of many ships, all ones I have procured myself, chopped down, refabricated for my purpose and then covered with gold plates. The pieces of the ships I take that I don’t want to keep, I sell. It will be more difficult to make these sort of exchanges in Teros as piracy is illegal here, but on Havenu, my home planet, piracy is a way of life. Those who are best at it are the ones who manage to thrive. I thrive. So much so, that I am known as the Pirate King.

  The name is a bit overzealous, and it carries with it responsibilities which grate. Including rivalries with previous Pirate Kings.

  “Do you have enough gold in this joint?” Freda asks.

  “Yes,” I say. “Over here.” I tilt my head at the scanner. The door slides open. “In here then. Lay there.”

  “This is a gold cavern,” Freda Chou says. Bingo sits on the bed.

  “This is my private chamber,” I say. “Bingo get down from there. Go.”

  Bingo jumps down off of the bed and runs out of the chamber.

  Bellum finds us and hands Freda Chou a jug of water. She gulps it all down without stopping. She gasps when she removes the cup from her lips and frowns.

  She stalks toward the bed and jumps on it. I only have a bed because it is the custom of the humans, and I figured it would make a nice addition to the room and serve as a reminder that soon I will be home no more. I never use the bed.

  “It’s soft at least. Better to have a soft bed before death,” Freda Chou says.

  I say nothing. Instead, I make my way back towards the deck. I sit down in my captain’s chair.

  Bellum sits next to me. “Your resolve hasn’t weakened?” he asks me.

  I frown. “In what way.”

  “The way you look at her is more pleasant than how you chose to look upon others. As a matter of fact, it is more pleasant a look than I’ve ever seen before.”

  “She is nice to look at. That is all.”

  “The human woman? You do not wish to stick only to your kind?” Bellum asks. If you were to take her as a lover, the Havener females would kill her.

  “Not if I protected her.”

  “So you are considering taking her as a lover?”

  I laugh. “No. I am only answering what you said before. Why would I do that? She is but a silly human woman,” I say. “I simply have my plans for her.”

  “And for that ship?”

  “And for that ship,” I say.

  “The fate of our people rests on you fulfilling your plans, Bastian.”

  “I know. You need not remind me.”

  Here I am. Always fulfilling my plan. I rise from my seat, satisfied with our course. I decide to go see how the human woman is doing in my chamber. When I get to the chambers, I find the woman lying there in the bed. She’s sullen.

  “You took away my comms,” she says. “How mean.”

  “I had to. I can’t allow you to have the ability to contact others.”

  Freda Chou growls. She rushes me. This I was not expecting. I contain her. She thrashes in my arms. Her nails scrape across my face. I place my hand on her head. I am doing the forbidden thing. I can subdue her with my command, through suggestion which I transmit through my hand. I only do it enough to show her what will happen to her if she does not cease to attack.

  She backs away against the bed. “You would really do all that to me?” Freda Chou asks me.

  “You’ll never know. So, if I were you, I’d heed the warning.”

  She scoots up towards the head of the bed. “How did you do that?”

  “These are secrets belonging to my people. Of course, it is forbidden in Teros, but I’m a pirate. What use do I have for the Teron Juris and their insistence on order? I come and go and do as I please. Even when the gate to Protos is heavily armed, if I wish to pass it, I will. It also helps that I have friends.”

  “Friends? What sort of friends?” Freda Chou furrows her brow. Her large eyes watch me like I’ve never been watched before by another being.

  “I have friends everywhere. Friends willing to do my bidding should I ask them. So, if I were you, I’d bide my time, behave. You’d not want to be tortured.”

  “Why not just kill me?”

  ‘As I’ve told you. I have plans for you.”

  “Screw your stupid plans. Let me go.”

  “I cannot and I will not,” I say.

  Freda Chou pokes out her lip and swings her leg back and forth. Before her lower half was completely covered, but now it is not. The blanket is covering most of her. I see nothing but her legs. Her legs are creamy, beautiful. I have the urge to touch them.

  Freda Chou gives me an evil eye. “Are you trying to kill me with a death stare?” I ask, laughing.

  “This is funny to you!” She begins throwing the comforts that were placed on the bed at my head. I duck and swing away from being hit by her projectiles.

  Freda Chou screams. I laugh. I can’t help it. Then she begins to sob.

  My heart melts at the sight of Freda’s tears, and it sickens me. I storm out of the chamber before I do something that I cannot take back.

  5

  Freda

  That son of a bitch! I pace the room. I’ve got to come up with a plan to get off of this effing ship. If I get any angrier, I’m going to start sounding like my sister, cursing like a member of the Teron force. I saw that bastard, the nerve of him, staring at my legs. He seemed to like them. And that look on his face when I began to cry. He looked as if he was in some kind of pain.

  I get an idea. Maybe if I come on to Bastian, I can incapacitate him. But what of his crew? How will I get rid of them? And then what? What will I do? I only need a little space to slip off of the ship. Maybe if I take an interest in the ship, the pirate will warm to me.

  I’ve heard that pirates are very precious about their vessels, which I find to be ironic since they make it their business to go around taking other people’s precious things, l
ike their freedom for instance. Maybe if I ask for a tour of this ship, I can find some way to slip away.

  I search around the room. The pirate has to keep weapons in here somewhere. What kind of pirate would he be if he didn’t?

  I march around. I’ve got to become him to see what he knows. “Aargh, shiver me timbers,” I say marching around the room. “Walk the plank!” I yell. Nope isn’t working.

  Maybe because I’m imitating some ancient human pirate. I have no real deep understanding of these Haveners and the way they work. They seemed to be obsessed with gold. That much I do know.

  I’ve heard a couple of stories about how obsessed with gold the pirates are, but I never expected it to be to this extent. I’ve also heard something else juicy. Havener cum is actually gold.

  I push through compartments, through clothing, treasures, goblets, jewelry, credits from many different planets, and at the bottom of one compartment. I find a picture. It is a picture of a female Havener. She is beautiful. She has lovely long black hair and a nice face. Her eyes are large and black. I wonder who she is. Maybe she’s the pirate’s lover. If so, I wonder how she puts up with him.

  He has absolutely no sense of humor at all. To see him loving someone, anyone, is a bit hard to imagine. He’s got a stick up his butt, that’s for sure, but he is good-looking. His square jaw, his pouty mouth, his high cheeks, and those hazel eyes of his make him quite the hottie.

  I shake the thought of how attractive he is out of my head. I need to get to my sister Cleo so that I can see the baby. I also need to make it back to Moon Company Moon to complete the marriage between the Edener and me in the hall of ceremonies. From there, I don’t know what, but I know that I must get the heck off of this ship.