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

  Being face to face with the big brute was nothing short of thrilling. She took a deep breath and allowed his scent to wash over her. Her sister’s frantic voices were a distant echo, and the other drone’s screeching was regaled to mere background noise. She couldn’t have paid attention to them if her life depended upon it, for she was far too focused upon the startled man standing in front of her.

  In addition to being stunned, he seemed truly exasperated. Having him helpless before her drove home the power women wielded over the drones. She wanted him in every conceivable way. She could smell his desire and found it thoroughly irresistible. Reaching out her hand, she grabbed the front of his uniform and pulled him down for a kiss. The moment their lips met, he stilled beneath her sensual assault. The scent grew stronger, blinding her to the obvious.

  Rough claws jerked her away from the object of her affections. Armon had flown over, pulled her back, and flung her towards her sisters. Hel became aware that Alexis was shaking her hard. “Snap out of it, sis. What in God’s name was that all about? It’s not like you to jump a stranger in broad daylight in a room full of people.”

  Looking down, Hel saw that her shirt was ripped open and she was exposing one pert breast to the eyes of everyone in the entire room. Grabbing her clothing together, her head snapped back to the gorgeous one. He was leaning against the wall with one hand over his stomach, appearing out of breath and truly mortified.

  An alarm sounded and the lights went dim. Blue lights blinked around the top of the room.

  “Hel, what did you do?” Alexis’ alarmed tone gave voice to her own fears.

  A loud ugly, guttural roar split the air. The door snicked open and the three elders ran into the room, including Vraden, the older healer they’d spoken to before. He stated quickly, “We need to get you off this ship now. She knows.”

  The males mobilized, surrounding them as they were pressed though the door and into a corridor. Moving from one area of the ship to another, they were clearly intent upon making it to an escape pod or the docking bay.

  As they moved the older man complained, “Now was not the time to come into your own, my son.”

  Rather than answer, the man closed his eyes for a brief second and jerked his head in frustration.

  “Though I am thrilled to find that yet another of my prodigy is a queen maker, this discovery places us all in jeopardy.”

  “I did not intend to make a queen this day, you must believe me.”

  “You should have fled the moment your mating scent released.”

  “I was too shocked to move.”

  “It was sucked through the air ventilation system and now the whole ship knows that you’ve come into your own as a queen maker. Kabelda will be furious.”

  “I drew her notice to the human queens, didn’t I?”

  “Queen makers can only activate in the presence of a breedable female. Since you were not with her, she is now fully aware that there is at least one other female aboard her vessel.”

  They were cut off from the double doors leading to the docking bay by a huge form. Hel could see the form was female. Though she didn’t have wings, she had petrifyingly scary claws, and long lashes protruding from her back. They whipped angrily around her body, looking for something to tear into. The strange lashes appeared to be a cross between a tail and a tentacle, each with a sharp claw at the end. Naturally the queen had a nasty smirk to go along with her fearsome visage.

  Her furious voice rumbled down the corridor. “You dare to enter my ship and create a queen maker right under my nose? For invading my territory you will die. For touching my drone your last moments will be filled with pain.”

  Refusing to cower before the impressively terrifying woman, Hel shot back, “You have a ton of drones. One more or less can’t mean that much to you.”

  “You dare to address me directly?”

  “Humans are strange that way. We tend to talk back to whoever strikes up a conversation with us.”

  Sneering at her, the insectoid spat, “You are small and defenseless. The goddess did not even see fit to gift you with claws. I could slit your throat in the blink of an eye.”

  “Really? I thought you might be planning to talk us to death.”

  Rage filled the woman’s expression as she backed away from the door.

  “Why is she leaving?” Penny’s anxious voice sounded off, behind Armon.

  “She’s not retreating. Through that door is our only hope escape. She’s backing up to give us an opportunity to join her in battle.”

  Alexis huffed out an exasperated breath. “If we walk through that door we die, if we remain here, she’ll send her drones for us. I don’t see a way out for us.”

  Hel gritted out, through clinched teeth, “We don’t need a way out. We’re not fucking going anywhere.”

  Stepping forward with the handsome queen maker at her back, Hel watched the Maruvian queen’s smile grow larger. Instead of walking through the door, she hit the button to seal the door. “Flush the bay. Do it now.”

  The queen maker quickly danced his fingers over the control panel. Hel watched the woman on the other side carefully. She could see the exact moment the queen realized she was about to be flushed into space. Her hand came up and hit a button on her suit. Armor quickly clicked into place and a force shield covered her head. A look of absolute loathing jumped onto her face a second before she was sucked from the bay.

  “Get us the hell out of here.”

  “Where?”

  “Anywhere that isn’t here. Someplace she’d never think to go.”

  Vaguely aware that her new consort was screeching into his communications device, she saw the stars begin to move though one of the portals. The drones were good at following directions. “Isn’t she dead?”

  Turning to look at Penny, Hel sighed. “We just flushed her out with a bunch of drones and all our shuttles. If what they say about her being intelligent and resourceful is true, she’ll grab a shuttle and hunt us down. We need to get as far away from here as possible.”

  Alexis asked cautiously, “What’s the plan?”

  A deep voice responded, “We should head to the nearest populated planet and get you safely aboard a ship bound for your home world.”

  Glancing at the man at her side, she almost smiled. “We aren’t going anywhere.”

  “She’ll kill you.” His protectiveness was charming, but she wasn’t interested in another round of whatever took place back in the holding area. Losing control that way threw her for a loop.

  “She can try.”

  “I don’t want to leave Armon.” Penny’s shaky voice spoke up.

  Looking at Alexis, Hel waited for her to sound off. “I think we should head for the new Maruvian home world. The Queen Carolyn will know how to handle this situation.”

  “I’m not wild about leading Kabelda to the only stable Maruvian colony in this sector of space.”

  Suddenly, Penny was all kinds of invested in the conversation. “We need to set a trap for her.”

  Alexis pondered out loud, “What would bait a Maruvian queen?”

  Hel already knew the answer to that question. “Does she have a queen maker?”

  Looking conflicted, her drone answered. “My brother, Arac.”

  “Your name?”

  “Raec, my queen.”

  “Like I said before, your Queen is named Carolyn. Think of me as your new captain.”

  “Yes, my queen.”

  Sighing, she realized they were never going to think of a woman as anything but a queen. Turning to the older healer, Vraden, she lifted her chin. “Tell your men there’s a new sheriff in town and I expect their cooperation if they want to survive in this sector of space.”

  “The coms and security feed have been open this whole time. They are aware of the change in leadership. I can’t imagine they would see it as anything less than the opportunity of a lifetime.”

  “Gather whoever is in charge of operations in each department. I wi
sh to meet with them.”

  “Will you execute them?”

  “No one dies without good cause. If anyone has complaints against another, I’ll take each case individually. After listening to their various misdemeanors and dark deeds, we’ll we decided on appropriate consequences.”

  “Understood.”

  “I believe your people have something called an actionator. I wish you to fill that role, Vraden.”

  Not seeming very thrilled with the prospect, he bowed his head slightly. “I serve at your pleasure.”

  “Yeah, we’ll need to tweak the balance of power a bit around here.”

  “All will be as you say, my new queen.”

  “Hey, how did she get to be queen?”

  The older man shot Penny a questioning look. “You wish to be queen, little one?”

  “Doesn’t every girl?”

  Gesturing to the teen, he addressed Hel. “This is why we don’t have more than one queen aboard a vessel. Now you must fight to the death to establish leadership.”

  Rolling her eyes, Hel shrugged. “Fine, she can be queen. It’s not like I care.”

  Doing a little victory dance, Penny grabbed Armon excitedly. “Did you hear that? I’m the new queen. Isn’t that coolest thing ever?”

  The confused creature just stared at her.

  “Problem solved. I’m still in charge though.”

  Looking from one woman to the other, the older man straightened. “We could perhaps accept you all as a queen unit, temporarily.”

  “Good thinking there, Vraden. You’re clearly the brains of this operation.”

  Shooting the excited teen an indulgent smile, he turned his attention to Hel. “I have summoned the drones you requested to the throne room.”

  “Be sure to add two extra chairs,” Penny chimed in, clearly unaware of the seriousness of their situation.

  Turning to the strange animal her little sister was so fond of, Hel stated flatly, “Armon, I have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it. I task you with keeping the giddy one safe and out of trouble on this ship. Do accept the assignment?”

  Preening a bit, he jerked his head up. “I will accept the position of her protector. None will harm her under my watchful gaze.”

  Penny’s outraged voice sounded off. “Hey, I’m seventeen. I don’t need a babysitter.”

  Hel beat a hasty retreat after Vraden rather than get into a wrangle with Penny about that particular subject. Penny needed a protector more than any girl alive. Raec walked close enough to make her feel uncomfortably aware of his presence. He smelled fantastic. It was a distraction she did not need at the moment, but one she found herself desiring greatly.

  Chapter 6

  ~ Hel ~

  Music Mix

  Upon entering the throne room, Hel saw a huge male who looked almost identical to Raec trussed with his hands above his head. He looked like he’d recently taken a beating. “What’s wrong with you people? Why in the hell hasn’t anyone cut him down?”

  Pulling out her knife she approached him tentatively. He jerked in his restraints at the sight of her blade.

  Raec spoke quietly to his brother. “Calm down, Arac. Our new human queen and I are here to release you from your service to the queen.”

  “God, did I smell that awful when I called my queen? I feel like I’m going to choke.”

  Raec opened his mouth to speak, but apparently decided against it because his jaw set into a firm line as he worked the restraints.

  Trying to soothe things over, she murmured, “I think you brother smells fantastic. It must be a scent designed to lure women.”

  “Our ability to call a queen is the byproduct of hundreds of years of selective breeding. Of course our scent is designed to appeal to our queens. I am simply remarking upon how offensive it is to other males.”

  “Look, don’t bite my head off. We’re here to do what we can to remedy your situation.”

  Finally, they managed to get him free and he immediately brought his hands down to rub his wrists. “Thanks be to the gods that my service is no longer required. I wish to be left alone with my young.”

  “Your wishes will be honored.”

  Turning to Vraden, she tried to keep the disgusted look off her face. “Call your healers and get him to medical unit at once. See that he is well cared for and is given priority accommodations with his young.”

  “You are too generous, my queen.”

  “Jesus, stop with the queen business already.”

  Alexis grabbed her arm. “I know how stressful this is for all of us. Maybe now is not the best time to shove them all out of their comfort zone. They have an intact social order. Let’s just follow it for now.”

  “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “You were shocked at seeing this kind of abuse. We aren’t used to being exposed to shit like this. Just stay calm and keep your head about you. We’ll get through this, just like we always do.”

  Hel flashed her sister a strained smile. “It’s time to be big ass heroes, right?”

  “Yeah, if we play our cards right we might just make it out of this situation alive, and save a bunch of hot insectoid guys in the process.”

  Penny stuck her face into their field of vision. “Count me in. What can I do?”

  “Stick right by our side. I don’t want you out of our sight.”

  Folding her arms over her chest, she pouted. “Great, I’m the useless third wheel.”

  Grabbing her arm, Hel pulled her forward into a tight three person huddle. “No, you’re not. We need you to keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground to pick up whatever we’re missing. You’re good with details, and we need that now more than ever if we’re gonna make it home alive.”

  For once, Penny was speechless. Her eyes were as big as saucers and her head barely nodded as she took a deep cleansing breath.

  “We need to keep our emotions in check and our heads clear. That damn queen was bred to be intelligent, shrewd, and calculating. It’ll take all three of us working together to outsmart her.”

  “I agree. This whole damned situation is stacked against us.” Alexis’ exasperated voice evidenced her frustration.

  “We can do this if we stick together and keep our heads screwed on straight.”

  The three women broke formation and turned to the drones with a renewed sense of purpose. Walking up the three step platform, they squeezed onto the huge throne together. Since it was built for the oversized body of a Maruvian queen, it was more the size of human love seat.

  Hel spoke with the commanding voice she normally used to get things done. “Give us a quick verbal run down on operations.”

  “I am unsure what information you seek, my queen. Our ship is advanced far beyond any we’ve encountered in this galaxy. We have shielding and camouflage technology in place. Our engine is fueled by energy crystals that initiate a photonic reaction in our core. We depleted our supply breaching worlds and engaging in three battles.”

  “Talk to me about troop numbers.”

  “We have over seven hundred drones aboard this vessel.” He opened his mouth to speak again but thought better of it.

  “Finish your thought, Vraden.”

  Looking away, he sealed his lips.

  “My sire does not wish to speak of our young for fear that you will execute them.”

  Swiveling her head to look at Raec, she frowned. “Why would anyone kill children?”

  “Clearly, our young are at great risk because they belong to a rival queen. Drones value the lives of our young in a way that queens will never understand because we spawn them ourselves.”

  “Not all queens think that way.”

  “Kabelda killed them quite regularly herself, weeding out the ones she felt were weak or unfit.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, we are not like your former queen. The first order of business is to dispel this idea that people are expendable. We don’t kill over minor offenses; we simp
ly dole out unpleasant tasks until they fall into line. No one dies without a fair trial, a chance to defend himself, and a guilty verdict. Then he’ll probably end up getting banished to a deserted planet. There’s no excuse for indiscriminately killing people all the damned time.”

  “You are wise beyond your years, my queen.”

  “Assign drones to care for the children and see their medical needs are addressed immediately.” When the older man nodded, a rippling of whispers could be heard in the room. “Now, back to the task at hand. How will Kabelda track us?”

  “She can easily follow our decaying exhaust trail, unless we disguise it.”

  “Don’t do that. We need her to follow us if we are to trap her.”

  “You mean destroy.”

  “I did not say destroy, Vraden. Don’t presume to put words into my mouth. I mean to trap her and banish her to a planet devoid of sentient life. Humans consider being alone with nothing but endless years to ponder one’s poor life choices to be a severe punishment.”

  “Killing her is a goal we might achieve, trapping her will be nearly impossible.”

  “Since she is Maruvian, she will have certain expectations.”

  “It would not occur to her to think you would wish to trap her like an animal. Kabelda is very aware of the danger she poses. She will see the only rational choice as you hunting and killing her from a distance.”

  “In order to trap her, I need draw out her emotions and keep her off balance. To do that, I need to know what she values most. In my world, women value their mate and their offspring above all else. However, Kabelda abuses and debases these things, so it’s clear she does not hold them in high esteem.”

  Raec quickly answered her question. “Heart stones are the one thing our queens truly value. Deprive her of those and she will be furious enough to make mistakes in judgement.”

  “Ah, I have heard of these. Humans call them pleasure stones. I have seen them. They look like glass.”

  Penny spoke up. “Can we shatter them with sonic vibrations?”