Chapter 1
Hattie
Always a bridesmaid…
Well, to be technical, this was the first time she was a bridesmaid for this group of friends, but it wasn’t the first time she had seen one of them bound in matehood. And it definitely was not the first time she had been a bridesmaid.
Hattie stood at the end of the aisle in a beautiful greenhouse in the botanical garden her friend, Alanna, had chosen for her wedding venue.
A smile was fixed on her face as she looked towards the back.
Eager to witness her friend appear. She had already seen her in her dress, of course, but that didn’t lessen her excitement for this moment, when she appeared in front of everyone else.
And she was trying very hard not to look at Tuvo. The big, broad, and drop-dead sexy alien mountain of a male that never failed to make her heart flutter and pussy drip with wanting was directly across from her.
A guy that had said, in no uncertain terms, that he was not interested.
Because Hattie was always a bridesmaid.
By this point in Hattie’s life, all her high school friends were married – some of them multiple times over.
Her culinary school friends were married.
Her coworkers had all been married – except for, like, one who never wanted to be married in the first place.
And now, all the girls she had been abducted with were happily mated to their alien hunks.
And here was Hattie, once again, filled with joy for them and despair for herself.
Was there something wrong with her?
Surely, there wasn’t something about her so irredeemable that she couldn’t find anyone that wanted her who wasn’t also completely reprehensible.
Okay, she was short, but that wasn’t a huge deal breaker, right?
And okay, she was sometimes optimistic to the point of obnoxiousness, but that couldn’t be a reason for her to be unwanted, right?
And maybe she carried more weight than most people, but Hattie knew how to take care of herself and dress to show off her curves in their best light, so really that wasn’t the worst thing ever? Right?
Maybe there was something wrong with her-
No!
Stop that.
She very nearly shook her head to banish the morose thoughts. Ones that she had been battling since, truthfully, before she dumped her ex. Thoughts that were now engrained in her head because he had put them there.
The same guy that was sitting on the bride’s side of the aisle, grinning at her with a self-important smirk on his face. He was the only person not looking towards the back where the bride was already visible in silhouette behind gauzy, white curtains.
Hattie was trying not to look at him, either.
This had been a trying few weeks. Sometimes, she found it difficult to keep a smile on her face and continue on like she was okay.
It seemed like a lifetime ago now that Hattie had been abducted by aliens.
She had been closing up her catering business for the night, ready to walk home, then one thing led to another, and now here she was, bridesmaid in a wedding ceremony on Earth between her friend Alanna and First Voice Survii of Turv.
The final nail in the treaty to make Earth a protectorate of the Coalition – a powerful, multi-species conglomeration of aliens.
She was an adopted sister to the leader of a planet, her catering business was well and truly defunct, and her ex-boyfriend was trying to weasel his way back into her life for the social media clout because, hey, she was famous now.
Her life was really weird.
Hidden out of sight, the musician on the piano changed the tune. That familiar trill turned into the even more familiar bridal refrain, warning the gathered guests that the big moment had finally arrived. They stood, smiles stretched across their faces.
The curtains pulled back, finally revealing Alanna in her shimmering, white silk dress. Tight on her gorgeous body. A bright smile on her face. Literally having her perfect dream wedding in Geneva at the expense of the United Nations.
And Hattie was happy for her. She really was!
Alanna deserved good things. She was a great friend and good at bringing people together.
She had taken to being kidnapped like a champ and had immediately immersed herself in alien culture, allowing her to be the best person to be the go between for Earth and their alien visitors.
That’s why Hattie felt so guilty. Because she was envious. She wanted what Alanna had. What all her friends had.
Alanna and all the other bridesmaids were mated to alien beefcakes. Each male was lined up across from them, looking positively sinful in fitted, violet tuxedos – because black was too harsh on their camouflaging skin and purple was the wedding color.
Survii, fashionable and sexy, was the only domini with waves in his hair because he preferred looking good over catering to his camouflage reflex.
Atem, Hattie’s alien brother, with big arms and a big heart, had a big smile as he watched Alanna approach.
Havali, absolutely gorgeous with an aristocratic face that looked like it had been carved from marble by a master, stood with the easy confidence of a male that knew his worth.
Romival, the smartest man on his home planet, and almost definitely on Earth, wasn’t as buff as the other domini beside him, but instead seemed lean and tight – like a swimmer or a runner.
And then there was Tuvo.
He stood between Atem and Havali, the biggest, buffest dude in the room. Hattie, when standing beside him, could look straight forward and not even have a conversation with his nipples. Even in a tailor fitted suit, he looked like he was about to burst out of the seams.
He was so fine.
Tuvo was the only domini Hattie knew who had scars on his body.
Alien medical technology could heal without scarring and could repair scars once they were already formed.
Including stretch marks – to Hattie’s absolute delight.
But Tuvo was covered in a multitude of jagged marks.
Four long lines on his cheek were his most recent addition – courtesy of Havali.
The domini were a combat loving race and they took their fights seriously, even between allies.
It looked like Tuvo had his nose broken at least once, his long, pointed ears had nicks cut into them, and there was a kink in his tail.
Hattie didn’t know why Tuvo allowed himself to be scarred up, but it did wonderful things for her lady parts. It was like the proof of his strength and skills was written right there in his tough, color changing skin for all to admire.
What really drew her to him, however, were his eyes.
He was the only domini she knew that had such brightly colored eyes.
They were like a cross between green and blue, leaning more heavily towards blue.
Green was a very rare eye color for the domini.
Most were red or blue, even pink. Green was the rarest eye color.
And she was staring at him again.
Alanna reached the front of the aisle, and the ceremony began, but Hattie almost missed it while staring at Tuvo. Caught in his thrall. In the brightness of his three eyes that had almost no white, their marquis shape angled so their inner corners pointed towards the center of his face.
He kept his hair short and shaved in a strict, military style haircut. Which was suitable since he, himself, was a military man. Not just a regular soldier though – he was First Warrior. Leader of the entire domini military – both in space and on Turv. He was an incredibly impressive male.
No wonder he didn’t want her.
Nope! No! That was a negative thought again.
Hattie was delightful, dang it! She might not be well-connected and educated like Alanna.
Or brave and strong like Peony, the maid of honor.
Or gorgeous and talented like Scarlet, the tall redhead at her back.
Or even willowy and dedicated like Holly, the blonde who brought up the rear.
But Hattie was a great cook and a great friend, and she was beautiful in her own way too!
That evil little voice her ex-boyfriend Keith had put in her head was going to stop talking to her one day. Until then, she just had to keep drowning it out with endless positivity.
Because she was good enough. She was worthy of a good male. Just because Tuvo didn’t like her curves or her softness didn’t mean that nobody would.
She was worth it. She knew she was.
So, she could smile and be genuinely happy for her friend at her wedding no matter what. Even when, after the ceremony, she had to walk back down the aisle arm-in-arm with Tuvo himself.
And if she nearly got dizzy just from the strength of his forearm as he led her away, that was a secret she was going to take to the grave.
***
“Say, cheese!”
A sudden flash blinded Hattie before she had time to react. She hadn’t even noticed Keith coming up to her side until he had already taken the selfie of the two of them – his arm around her shoulder, having yanked her close, like they were still dating.
“What are you doing?” She asked, pulling back.
Not quickly enough. He had gotten the picture he wanted. She could see it on his phone screen – him beaming, her with an odd, expressionless face. He scowled at it.
“Would it kill you to smile, Hats?”
“I-”
“It’s fine. I can add some filters,” he dismissed her, already messing with it.
Hattie sighed but didn’t argue. He already had the picture. And it was hardly the first. Ever since she returned to Earth, he had been trying to get pictures and videos of them together. To make it look like they were still a couple.
Her parents hadn’t been able to stay in Geneva with her. Her father’s job wouldn’t let him have that much time off. So, they had left a couple weeks ago. They still talked to her every day, unable to resist video chatting with her after she had been missing for almost a year.