Queen Maker's Bride (Alien SciFi Romance) (Celestial Mates Book 6) Read online

  “What the hell? Don’t let them shoot you full of that stuff.”

  “I’ve always wanted the multi-language bacteria. It’s too expensive for the military to give to grunts like me, so this might be my only chance.” Watching them load it into a hypo-spray, Hel moved her hair to the side so they could get to her neck. The moment the syringe dispensed the liquid, all the males began screeching. Slowly their screeching turned into words in her mind. However, there was some kind of delayed reaction as her brain tried to select the correct word.

  “The liquid… medicine… serum is working… functioning… effective.”

  “Look at her beautiful vision… oculars… eyes.”

  Shaking her head, she tried to keep up.

  “The woman… female… queen is correct… righteous… perfection to my eyes.”

  Concentrating, she doubled down on trying to figure out their words.

  “Our drones will wish to see… behold… admire her beauty.”

  “Can you know… comprehend… understand our words, human queen?”

  Nodding, she spoke their tongue. “Yes. My name is Helena.”

  “Our company… people welcome you.”

  “Are we safe among your people?”

  “We will protect you with our blood… soul… lives.”

  “That is not an answer.”

  “As long as our queen does not find you, all will be well.”

  “I wish to speak to your human queen.”

  “There is no human queen.”

  “Yes, there is. I saw her with my own eyes. She had a Maruvian king at her side and they had four newly born young.”

  Several males made noises that sounded like disbelief.

  Looking from one to another, she explained, “I am told they were accepted into the Galactic Council of Worlds and awarded trading rights.”

  “We are at war with your people.”

  “You are not. Your new queen has brokered a peace for all Maruvians. You have a home world for crying out loud. How can you not know this?”

  “We are welcome in this region of space?”

  “You are more than welcome. I was told we are to protect your people as we protect our own.”

  One of the men stepped forward. “We are newly arrived in this dimension. Our queen slipped through a rift in space when a world exploded. There was a moment of flux where space time was stretched to the point of breaking. Instead of coalescing into a black hole, it stabilized. Our ship slipped through just before it calmed.”

  “Jesus, you have a crazy Maruvian queen aboard this vessel?”

  “Indeed we do, and she is much more unstable than most.”

  “Then we aren’t the only ones in danger.”

  “You are correct. She killed twenty-eight of my brethren in the last lunar cycle.”

  “Why did she attack the Terillian freighter?”

  “We scanned it and discovered Terillian females aboard. She is very territorial. We could not save the seven female members of the Terillian crew, but we spirited you away before we were forced to destroy the vessel. We don’t scan the cargo hold for people because it is closed off during transport.”

  “Did any of the Terillian get away?”

  “No survivors were noted. It took a coordinated effort of nearly thirty-three males to obscure your boarding. If she discovers we allowed you to live, the punishment will be death for all involved.”

  Stepping off the exam platform, she commented menacingly, “I think your queen is outliving her usefulness.”

  “I do not understand your words, Queen Helena.”

  “I won’t allow her to attack another ship. I’m a member of Earth Gov military and my job is to protect innocent lives.”

  Shaking his antenna, his expression turned dark. “You have no idea what you are saying. Our queens rule because they are stronger than males. They are intelligent, cunning, resourceful and ruthless beyond your ability to imagine. Our queen is twice your size and was practically born with a weapon in her hand. You are small and defenseless compared to a Maruvian queen.”

  “What do you suggest we do, just sit back and allow her go on a killing spree?”

  “I suggest you do nothing. Our fate is sealed with our queen at the helm. Our wish is to hide you away from her marauding eyes until we stop for supplies. Maybe we can smuggle the three of you to safety.”

  Glancing at her sisters, Hel knew she’d take that deal. As shitty as it made her feel to leave the men to their own devices, she had to get her sisters to safety. The older man must have seen her internal struggle because a hand landed reassuringly on her shoulder. “Do not allow guilt to eat at you, little queen. You must see that you have no hope of defeating a Maruvian queen.”

  “I’m a lot tougher than I look, but it pains me to admit that you are correct about this situation. I must see my sisters to safety, and then I will return with an army to deal with your queen.”

  “We lost hope long ago of anyone being able to stop her. Now we just save those we can. Can you tell us more of our brethren in this dimension?”

  Sighing, Hel replied, “I don’t know much more than I told you already. I saw the Maruvian delegation once from a distance. They visited Earth on a diplomatic mission and I was one of many assigned to secure the area.”

  “Their queen is human?”

  “She’s actually quite beautiful. Her king never left her side. It was strange that they had little ones and they didn’t look human at all.”

  “It is sometimes the way with our kind. I can’t help but to wonder why she singled out a drone and made him her king. A queen belongs to the many, not the one.”

  “I did not know that. They seemed very affectionate with one another. She touched him easily, and I even saw her kiss him.”

  “How many young did they have?”

  “I saw seven. Four were older and flying under the power of their own wings, but the other three appeared newly born. They were tiny and the male carried them tucked under one arm.”

  The man’s eyes got huge. “She couldn’t have chosen a true breeder.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “Our drones are divided into casts. Most drones are fundamentally warriors. However, we do have breeders who are caretakers for our queen. They are bred to be prolific breeders. They can carry up to fifteen eggs at a time. A queen maker can carry twice that many. The fact that they have spawned two times with small numbers means she chose a warrior to bear her young. That is not done among our kind.”

  “Well, she sure did it. I believe her name is Queen Carolyn. Earth Gov military says she intervened during a war between the Krylon and Maruvians, offering herself to the attackers in exchange for peace in our galaxy. She fought and defeated another woman to be their queen. Your people call her the Victorious Queen. She is held in high esteem because she managed to end the war and save a bunch of lives.”

  “Our queen must never know of her. She would stop at nothing to destroy such a rival and capture the drones that followed her.”

  “You’re pretty protective of a queen you’ve never met.”

  “We are protective of all queens.” Glancing nervously at Penny, he commented, “As such, I must advise the young one to be wary of the flesh eater.”

  Hel turned to see that Penny was now hugging and rubbing her face against the strange animal’s pelt. The creature was downright ugly. Sighing, she asked tiredly, “Would it be possible to purchase or trade for the animal? She is very attached to it.”

  “Did you not just hear me refer to it as a flesh eater?”

  Jerking her head up, she stared at the man. “I’m going to assume you mean it eats people not just the flesh of fruit.” God, she must have been mentally exhausted to have missed that.

  He slowly nodded.

  “Penny, take your hands off the animal. It eats people.”

  Looking up at her innocently, Penny responded, “Maybe, but he wouldn’t eat me.”

  “Leave it al
one.”

  Penny, noting the steely tone of her voice immediately stood and walked to her. “So you speak bug now?”

  Patting the exam platform, she quipped, “Sure do. You’re next, so hop up. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get the language bacteria as well and you can ask the creature yourself.”

  Penny’s eyes lit up, and she quickly climbed onto the floating platform. Hel felt kind of crappy about being intentionally dishonest with her little sister, but they needed her cooperation. The language bacteria only worked on sentient creatures. Watching the older drone give her sister a thorough examination, her throat tightened up. He was careful to clean her face and run a healing wand over each of the remaining injuries. When he was finished, she didn’t have a scratch on her. As he pulled out a syringe of the green language bacteria, an angry voice trilled out. “Leave my new queen be, old man.”

  “Calm yourself, Armon. This will help her talk to you. You may speak to her from a distance. No more touching.”

  “I do not accept your commands, drone.”

  Glancing around, a shiver crept up her spine as she realized the strange creature she’d been thinking of as an alien dog was the one speaking. Jesus, to think her sister hand been feeding and cuddling a totally sentient being like that left her shaken. They really needed to be more careful.

  Chapter 4

  ~ Raec ~

  Music Mix

  Vraden paced back and forth in the nursery. Raec hated to see his sire so upset. Picking up one of his brother’s hatchlings, he tickled the infant under his chin. The little one trilled a laugh and tried to nip at his fingers. The child’s innocence was too sweet to speak of.

  There were few moments in life when Raec actually envied his brother being chosen as their queen maker. Holding his brother’s young provoked feelings of longing Raec didn’t quite know what to do with.

  “I can’t imagine what made you and your brothers think the human queens could be helpful in our present situation. They are small, weak and no match for a Maruvian queen.”

  “They are beautiful creatures in their own right.”

  “Think with your brain, rather than your eyes, Raec. One of the three is merely a child.”

  Fluttering his wings in frustration, Raec responded curtly. “What did you expect us to do, sire? We could not bring ourselves to leave them behind. Especially not after the tame one laid claim to Drale. He is beside himself with excitement, and who can blame him?”

  “I have nothing against the human queens. They are lovely and brought us news of our brethren in this dimension. Who could fault them for anything? Gods, they don’t even quarrel among themselves. I’ve truly never seen their like.”

  “They behave more like drones in that regard. I find it strangely fascinating to watch.”

  “You would mate one, if she asked?”

  Quickly placing the child back into his cubicle, Raec turned to face his father. “After seeing Arac’s experience as a queen maker, I would sooner jump out an airlock than breed with a queen. They always appear alluring in the beginning, but things quickly turn unbearable. Perhaps the fault is with drones? We must somehow bring out the worst qualities in a queen.”

  “Your words do not reflect my personal experiences. When I was a breeder, my queen kept many of us breeding for her. She valued our contribution, saw to our comfort, gifted us with her affections and spent time with her young.”

  “If fear they do not make queens such as my mother anymore.”

  Swallowing thickly, the older drone lowered his head. “She was unique. Among all the Maruvian queens, she stood out as the best of her kind.”

  Grasping his sire’s arm, Raec spoke soothingly. “I am sorry for your loss, my sire. I can see that all these years later, you still grieve for her.”

  “I must look to the present and the future of our line, not stay focused on the past.”

  “Perhaps we can smuggle Drale and Armon off the ship? They could escort the queens to the new Maruvian home world the humans spoke of. I would see one my brothers find happiness with a queen, even if I never know such for myself.”

  “You are a kind and generous soul, Raec. I am pleased to call you my son.”

  “Forgive my next words, sire, but I sometimes find myself wondering if ever there is a situation that might justify drones taking matters into their own hands.”

  Vraden’s head jerked up and a small strangled cry broke from this throat. “You mean to say a situation where drones overthrow their own queen?”

  “Forget I spoke of such, father. I know it is the one taboo among our kind that is never broken.”

  “To harm a queen is unthinkable. I would not have a queen’s blood on my hands for all the ‘verse. It would mean death to all of my line.”

  “By who exactly?”

  Raec could tell when the magnitude of his suggestion finally registered with the loyal drone. “You are correct, my son. We are no longer in Maruvian territory. There are no queens to hunt or punish us. Though there is no one to stop us from revolting against our cruel queen, such a mutiny will define us in our own minds for all eternity.”

  “But our line would remain intact and we would be free to secure a new queen, or perhaps even keep the ones who have already come to us.”

  “Beware your words, my son. You walk the path of queens in making such suggestions. It is not the purview of drones to be decision makers. Drones are meant to face our destiny head on, submitting and making the best of whatever the gods throw at us. This you know, for I have schooled you myself in the ways of our people.”

  “What you see as strength, I see as weakness. I do not need a queen to fight for me. The new queens say that every person is meant to be free and everyone has a responsibility to fight evil where they find it.”

  Taking a tentative step backwards, the older man’s voice grew cold. “I will not listen to heresy against the institution of queens, for if I accept that then… I simply do not accept your words as truth.”

  Turning on his heel, Vraden stalked from the room, leaving Raec feeling guilty for speaking his mind. It was clear that his sire refused to accept his words because, if the words were true, it meant he could have fought with his beloved queen instead of letting her die at Kabelda’s vicious claws. That reality was too much to expect any drone to accept.

  Heading back to the holding area for the human queens, Raec took up his position along the wall. There was something about the humans that intrigued him.

  He tried to imagine what their lives would be like with a human queen in charge of their ship. They were sweet and laughed so easily. He wondered if they had any maliciousness about them at all. If so, he certainly saw no signs of it. They seemed grateful for the kindness and consideration shown to them by the drones. Most queens would consider it a drone’s job to provide for them. It was also strange that the humans seemed to prefer to do things for themselves, and often joined together to complete a task, much as drones did.

  If only his brother had been chosen by a human queen, instead of Kabelda, he would be in much better shape. Surely Raec was better off by far, for never having been chosen. Then again, if his sire was to be believed, not all queens were cruel. The thought of being bred by a soft queen with a ready smile, drew to mind a thousand pleasurable possibilities. Standing guard over the new queens, he let mind wander over the thoughts that warmed his soul.

  He thought of their dainty hands fluttering over his wings, and the feel of one of their warm bodies against his. It was enough to make him wish for things he’d sworn to avoid.

  Chapter 5

  ~ Hel ~

  Music Mix

  “You will answer my question, young queen.” Armon’s growly voice reminded Hel why she thought he was a Maruvian dog when they first met three weeks ago.

  Laughing, Penny tossed Armon one of the last of her oranges. “Nope, I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. I’m a queen and you’re a drone. You aren’t supposed to be telling me what to
do.”

  Making a chirping noise that sounded like frustration, the creature spoke again. “I wish to tear the male who injured you limb from limb. I cannot do that unless I know where to find him. Where is his lair, my young queen?”

  “If we’re going to be friends, you can’t go around tearing people’s arms and legs off. That’s just gross. Besides, the last time I saw the Commander some other dude was beating the crap out of him.”

  “It pleases me to know that bit of information.” Smiling broadly, Armon displayed a full set of dazzlingly sharp teeth. Hel thought he looked ridiculous, kind of like the grand gargoyle of oranges.

  Penny must have thought the same. “You look like an ornamental fruit dispenser, Armon.”

  Hel had to agree with her sister’s observation. The insectoid was hovering in midair with an orange skewered on the spikes protruding from the top of each joint around his wing span. Flipping a wing towards his mouth, he sloppily bit into one of the brightly colored globes. The ensuing slurping and munching had Hel looking anywhere but at the messy creature. Armon would definitely not be her first choice in dining partners.

  The Maruvian warriors standing guard almost never moved or spoke. One in particular caught her eye as he walked back into the room and took up his former position along the wall. He was huge, muscular, and his wingspan must have been a good thirty feet. His dark eyes were always on her, and it made her feel noticed in a womanly way. Lots of men stared at her, but he stared at her with something approaching longing in his eyes. Her eyes slid down, taking in every bump and bulge rippling under the tight uniform. Her body came alive in the space of seconds and a familiar craving pulsated between her legs. Oh, how this situation would be different if she didn’t have sisters to worry over.

  He wore his power and quiet dignity like a cloak of honor. The man was masculine in a way that would draw the notice of any woman who crossed his path. Something about him intrigued her and, before she could figure out what it was, she found herself walking towards him. As she drew closer, a strangely erotic scent filled the air. It was thick and musky, enveloping her and robbing her of the ability to resist.