The Alien’s Seduction by Zoey Draven

 

Chapter One

The memory of the dream made her angry when Crystal Lee woke that morning. Angry and frightened, which only made her angrier. Angry and frightened and helpless, which only made her sad.

She didn’t need to remember the wisps and remnants of the half-dreamt dream. She remembered the way she felt. That cloying memory and the panic when she sensed her ex-boyfriend’s presence in her consciousness, pressing and pressing into her mind like the way he’d pressed and pressed into her body. It had been five years since she’d last seen him. Five long years of trying to rebuild her life, her shattered self-esteem, her nonexistent confidence. She’d been young and stupid and because of that, she might always be haunted by him in her dreams when she least expected it.

A price she would pay, always.

The regret squeezed her heart so tightly in that moment that Crystal struggled to breathe through it. She was sitting up in a bed mounded with furs, on the alien planet of Luxiria, in a domed house high on a mountain that felt as strange to her as the reality of her situation itself.

Scrambling for her tablet on the floor next to the platformed bed, Crystal dragged it into her lap, her fingers clenching around the metal cylindrical tube of the ‘pencil’ that a Luxirian had given her, so tight that her fingertips turned white.

Her sudden movements jostled Bianca, who was sleeping beside her. The dark-haired woman blinked over at her, gaze sleepy, but then her eyes shut again and she turned away from Crystal to face the wall of the room they shared.

“I’m sorry,” Crystal whispered to her turned back, feeling guilty she’d woken her.

Erin, the last member of their dwindling group of three that had started out at seven strong when the Luxirians had rescued them from the Pit, was sleeping on the floor next to Bianca. They took the floor in shifts, though there was a perfectly good, empty room on the opposite side of the house with a perfectly good, empty bed.

That had been Lainey’s room. Before she’d run away with her Luxirian male, an alien named Kirov. The last thing Crystal had heard was that they’d gone through something like a marriage ceremony, something called a ‘ravraxia’ or whatever the hell that was.

The fact of the matter was that one less woman would be traveling back to Earth with them, whenever the Luxirians got their shit together and found the crystal that was missing. That crystal had been their only fuel source home. One more woman—and dear, dear friend—chose to stay behind on this strange, alien planet…chose to stay behind with her alien mate.

Until then…they waited. Just like they’d been doing since being abducted from Earth by the other alien species. As if the knowledge of one alien species wasn’t enough…

Crystal pressed the pencil down onto the strange tablet that Kirov, Lainey’s male, had given her. Lainey must have told him that she liked to sketch and draw and she supposed that the tablet was the Luxirian version of paper and a pen.

She was grateful for the gift. Extremely grateful. Drawing had always been her escape. It focused her, centered her. Whenever she was upset, or sad, or angered…she drew. Whenever she was happy, or inspired, or determined…she drew. She would draw all day if her hand didn’t cramp up on her eventually. It was the only time she felt like herself. Her old self. Or perhaps the person that she wanted to be.

Crystal was working on a new project. A series of illustrations that had been in her imagination for many, many years. Illustrations she wanted to put into a children’s book one day—if she ever got the opportunity, if she ever got back home—of a little goblin named Krane and his adventures with a friend named Jron. Crystal and her sister, Lauren, had always spun strange tales during playtime when they were younger and for some reason, Crystal always returned to their goblin friends whenever she wanted to remember something good.

So, that morning, waking up from that dream, she sketched Krane running through the maze of his underground world, with his little slippers and his black tunic and his big ears. And it made her feel better, if only for a little while. It even made her smile when she finished the simple sketch.

Erin woke shortly after, briefly glancing at Bianca’s turned back, before regarding Crystal. “Good morning,” she whispered, her hair in disarray. Her face scrunched when she stretched a little, no doubt sore from sleeping on the ground. “I’m gonna go take a bath. I feel gross.”

It was already getting hot in the room, humid even. It was scorching in the Luxirian city, due to the two suns, which were steadily rising from the horizon, the heat rising with them.

Crystal nodded. She looked down at the finished sketch, turning the tablet back and forth in the light. Then she pushed up from the bed and stood. She felt the glimmer of sweat on the back of her neck as she said, “I’ll come with you.”

The ‘bathroom’ in the house was really more like a luxury suite with its own heated pool as the bath in the very center. Steam rose from the surface, always hot.

The two women undressed, pulling off the comfortable tunics they’d worn to bed. If Crystal thought it was strange before to bathe almost every day with another woman, well…she got over it quickly. Erin was like a sister to her now. They spent almost every single moment of the day together. And nothing bonded two people together like being abducted by aliens…

All the women had become like sisters to her, even Bianca who was prickly and quiet most of the time. A makeshift family that had been patched together slowly yet hurriedly over time. How long had it been since the Luxirians had rescued them from the Pit? How long ago had it been since they’d been taken from Earth?

She truly didn’t know. Not for certain. But what she was certain of was that it had felt like years ago.

“So, how long do you think it’ll be until Lainey’s knocked up?” Erin asked, her voice soft, yet teasing as they both waded into the large bathing pool.

Crystal marveled at Erin sometimes. Out of all the women, Erin had adjusted the best. It was just the way she was. She was laidback, yet calm and controlled. She took everything in stride. Nothing seemed to surprise her.

“I would be surprised if she wasn’t already,” Crystal commented back, feeling a pang in her chest as she said it. Envy, perhaps?

She didn’t want to dwell on it so she pushed that emotion from her chest.

“Luxirians do seem to be…potent,” Erin said, lathering the soap granules up in her palms before spreading them over her arms.

Crystal didn’t say anything in response. She didn’t know what to say anymore. They’d talked about Luxirians many, many times. About their Instinct—a force inside them that chose a mate. They’d talked about the women, getting snagged up one-by-one, talked about how they all seemed blissfully happy with their new mates…even Lainey, who had been the most outspoken of all of them about the Luxirians.

There was a large window in the bathroom that overlooked the backside of the mountain. It wasn’t much of a view—not like the magnificently strange view of Luxiria from the front of the domed house—but it let in a beautiful amount of light that sparkled off the pool’s surface.

Crystal ran her hand over the water, observing the shadows and the highlights, wondering how she could capture it on her tablet.

“Are you okay?” Erin asked quietly. “You seem quiet this morning.”

Crystal simply said, “I had another dream.”

Erin sobered. “I’m sorry,” the brunette said quietly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Crystal said, looking up at her. “I just want to—”

She froze.

Erin was silhouetted by the light coming in from the window just behind her. But a shadow had suddenly appeared, a shadow that cast a darkness over the surface of the water.

It was a Luxirian male…emerging from some kind of hidden door in the mountainside that slid open and closed seamlessly behind him.

Except, he was unlike any Luxirian male she’d ever seen.

His dark hair was wild and loose, trailing to the middle of his back. He had strange markings on his arms, blue markings that ran from his wrists to his shoulders. He was bare-chested, his nipples pierced just like many of the Luxirian males she’d seen. But he wore a fur covering over his genitals, like a loincloth, and he hurriedly raced around the edge of the domed house, silent and quick.

Alarm went through her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

“There was a male,” Crystal said, her brows furrowing. “He came out of the mountain.”

Erin immediately turned around, staring out the window, before hunching down in the water to cover her bared breasts. “What? Did he see us?”

“No,” Crystal said, but the unease she suddenly felt didn’t leave her body. Something about him, the way he moved, the determination in the lines of his body screamed that something was off. “We need to go tell Horex and Vixron.”

Their guards. The ones assigned to protect them and keep them out of sight.

Hurriedly, they waded to the edge of the bathing pool but just as they ascended the steps, they heard commotion in the front of the house. Harsh Luxirian words, curses even, and the sound of large bodies thudding onto the stone floor.

It all happened too fast, too quickly, that neither women had any time to think before a dark male figure appeared on the threshold of the arched door of the bathroom.

Crystal gasped, stumbling back into the water, crouching low to shield her nudity. Panic infused her veins, panic she hadn’t felt for a little while though it was not a new sensation to her by any means.

Erin stood her ground, however, her spine straightening, her arms loose at her sides, eyeing the strange male, who, to Crystal, seemed untamed. Unlike any Luxirian she’d encountered thus far, males who seemed in control and disciplined at all times.

It was that wildness, that unpredictability, that alarmed her the most.

The male had striking blue eyes that cut to Crystal first, given her sudden stumbling movement back into the bathing pool. But quickly, his eyes darted to Erin…and it was in that moment that he froze.

A loud growl emanated from his throat, making Crystal’s heart lurch in her chest. She heard Erin swallow thickly, saw the way her hands trembled at her sides, though the rest of her nude body was still.

The male never took his eyes from the brunette. He took a step towards her, as if he was tugged into the humid, sticky room by a force unseen.

But what struck her the most was that the male seemed to grow. Physically grow in size the longer he stared at Erin. His exposed muscles bunched before expanding slightly, his spine grew straighter, and the massive breadth of his shoulders widened.

“What do you want?” Erin asked, her voice calm despite her trembling hands. The male hissed at the sound of her voice, taking another step towards her. “We want no trouble.”

The Luxirian male shook his head, as if trying to clear a fog. He grit his teeth before tearing his eyes away from the naked woman in front of him, but the move seemed to pain him. Crystal froze when his eyes returned to her, crouched in the water, before he looked down at Erin’s feet, as if he refused to meet her gaze.

“Cover yourself, female,” he growled out unexpectedly, his English rough, like he was speaking it for the first time. He’d gotten a language implant, Crystal realized. Recently. “Both of you,” he amended, casting a glance to Crystal. “We leave now.”

“No,” Erin said. “We aren’t going anywhere. Our guards will—”

“When they reawaken, you will be long away from this place, female,” the male said, his voice so harsh that he sounded angry. The lines of his body screamed his discomfort. “Now cover yourself,” he barked, making both of them jump.

Crystal caught Erin’s eyes, who gave her a small nod. This male seemed unhinged, just slightly. They didn’t want to anger him. If he could take down two trained Luxirian males…there was no telling how strong he was.

On shaking legs, Crystal quickly emerged from the bath and Erin gave her her tunic first, using her own naked body to shield her as she changed, something Crystal was immensely grateful for. Then Erin pulled her own tunic over her head and then cut the Luxirian male a glare.

“Happy now?” Erin asked softly.

His eyes narrowed onto her. Instead of responding, he approached Erin and with a swift motion, ripped the bottom hem of her long tunic off in one long strip. Erin didn’t even flinch.

The male’s eyes never left hers as he ripped the strip into two.

“Hands,” he barked.

Erin’s lips pressed together, but she did as he said and held out her hands, her wrists touching. Quickly, he bound them together, tying them tight, before looking at Crystal.

Dread filled the pit of her stomach, but she needed to be strong, like Erin. She didn’t want to show this male her fear. That made it feel like he was winning, like he was in control.

He was even larger up close and Crystal did her best not to flinch when he tied her wrists together too.

He jerked his head to the door and all of them walked through. Crystal glanced down the hallway that led to their bedroom, praying that Bianca would stay quietly inside. There was no sign of her, which was a relief.

In the living room, Crystal’s breath hitched when she saw Horex and Vixron sprawled on the floor. On the sides of their necks, a small black square, like a chip, was attached to their skin.

“What did you do to them?” Erin asked, her voice quiet yet angry.

The male grunted but didn’t reply. Crystal remembered that he said they would reawaken, so she had hope that they were alright, simply knocked out.

Quickly, the male ushered them outside, but before he did, he turned to them and growled, “Make a sound and you will regret it.”

Crystal swallowed as he led them around the side of the house, shaded from the sun, out of sight. She knew it wouldn’t matter if she did try to scream. No one else resided on their high terrace and the Luxirian city was farther down the mountain, many, many levels below. Her scream would be carried away by the gentle breeze before it ever reached anyone.

They approached the same hidden entrance into the mountainside Crystal had seen him emerge from.

The Luxirian placed his hand onto the stone just to the right of the door. She saw a blue light flash from underneath his palm, just before the door slid open silently. Completely hidden, completely secret. But how did he know about it? Who was this male?

Wind rushed up from the entrance, blowing back their hair, and Crystal stared into the cool, quiet darkness and heard the emptiness of the tunnel.

“Down,” their strange Luxirian captor growled out. “It is a long way down, so you better start moving, females.”