Chapter 1
TEARS STREAMED DOWN GISELLE’S face, her hands gripping the wheel so hard her knuckles were turning white.
“I just don’t see how we would work long term.”
The words echoed in her head and she gritted her teeth, trying to blink away the wetness blurring her vision. She raced down the empty highway in her old sedan, bright headlights the only source of illumination in the dark desert.
It had been at least a couple of minutes since she’d last passed another car, though it was difficult to tell with the way her head was spinning, shock giving way to misery, replaced quickly by agonized rumination, emotions melding and roiling like a mass of worms wriggling in her stomach.
When had it all gone wrong?
This was certainly not how she had expected to end the night, driving blindly into the desert for who knows what reason? She hadn’t known where to go, and couldn’t return to their shared apartment after what had happened at dinner.
Impulsive, certainly, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Anything to get away, to escape, to give herself a chance to think after the gut punch she’d just received.
Her arms were trembling as she sniffled, trying to keep her eyes on the road.
Maybe if she’d just stop pestering him about spending more time together, Anthony wouldn’t have done this, wouldn’t have broken up with her at their anniversary dinner because he just didn’t see them working out long term…
Maybe she should have just agreed to trying for children, but he’d seemed ambivalent enough about it, not saying much after she’d scheduled a hysterectomy.
Though the way his mother had glared at her that first dinner they’d all shared after her surgery…
he must have told her, and clearly the bitter woman hadn’t been pleased.
“I just don’t see how we would work long term.”
The memory of his smug face replayed in her mind, making her shudder.
You’d think that would be something a person figured out before they let their girlfriend move in, before they intertwined their lives so intricately that it would be an absolute nightmare to break it apart.
She’d moved all the way to the West Coast for him, had taken a pay cut to do so, leaving everyone she’d ever known in the process all so he could be back in the same state as his family.
Giselle let out a wracking sob, her throat hurting and her chest clenching as the tears started again.
She took out her phone, a beacon of light in the stark darkness of her car, and scrolled through their last text messages, trying to find something, anything, that hinted at this. Nothing out of the ordinary, just grocery lists and funny memes, though in hindsight, it was all very one-sided.
The car vibrated as it hit the shoulder rumble strip and she dropped her phone, putting both hands on the wheel and swerving back into her lane.
She tried to breathe, tried to focus, tried to remember what her therapist had taught her.
“Sometimes you need to acknowledge and thank your mind for wanting to solve something it recognizes as a problem. It’s natural for the brain to want to review and understand what happened. Focus on your breathing exercises. Remember the present moment.”
Giselle gasped in a deep breath, letting the air flow out raggedly.
One in, one out. One in, one out.
She had to stay focused. Crashing her car would do her no good. If she went off the road out here in the middle of nowhere, who knows when someone would find her. There had been no service on her phone when she’d checked a moment ago, so calling for help was out of the question.
And who would she call, anyway?
Her shitty ex? Oh, she could just imagine the look of pity on his face, that expression of benevolence that made it clear he thought he was better than her. Who else was there? Her few friends, who always seemed to be too busy when she tried to call them?
Breathe.
One in, one out.
Giselle’s attempt at following the breathing technique she’d been taught wasn’t working, her mind going a mile a minute even as she tried to keep her eyes on the road.
Was there someone else? Someone prettier than her? Smarter than her? Anthony hadn’t seemed more busy than usual, but it wasn’t like they were together one hundred percent of the time. Wasn’t she good enough?
She was always looking out for others, volunteering at the food pantry, celebrating the successes of her friends, bringing Anthony coffee in bed every morning before she left for work at the bank.
In hindsight, perhaps her efforts had been less valued than she’d realized.
When had he ever thanked her? Or shown any sort of appreciation in return?
She was the one who took care of all the chores and cooking, even though they both had full-time jobs.
And he was the one who spent every evening glued to the small screen of his phone, even after her therapist had urged her to speak honestly with him about her needs.
They hadn’t had sex in months, and she knew it wasn’t because he wasn’t interested.
She’d overheard him in his office—somehow he had ended up with the extra room even though they split rent and he didn’t work from home—pleasuring himself to some cheesy videos.
The ones where the women fake moaned, all to appease the man who was drilling into her like a jackhammer.
There had been no intimacy or companionship of any kind, no dates, no nights out, no real conversations. She couldn’t even sit on the couch and try to watch a show without Anthony getting up to leave, as if he couldn’t bear to be in the same room as her.
Her friends weren’t much better. She’d treated them to so many celebration dinners over the years, but who had celebrated her when she got that promotion at work?
No one.
Was she a complete fool?
Of course she was. Totally blinded by the fact that she had no real friends beyond Anthony, so desperate that she was willing to look past all the red flags in order to see what she had wanted to see.
She had worn her favorite slinky black dress, thinking he might actually pop the question. She’d even gotten a damn manicure so she could take cute pictures of the ring.
The ring that didn’t exist.
At thirty-two, she was more than ready to settle down and had believed that her boyfriend had felt the same.
Ex-boyfriend.
As she sobbed, a light dotted on in the sky. It was dead ahead, a single star low on the horizon, but far brighter than any of the others around it.
The strangest part was that it appeared to be moving, shifting erratically in the dark sky, unlike any star or planet she’d ever seen. Was it a rogue satellite? A plane?
Giselle wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to focus on the darting object.
The darting object that was getting closer and closer.
Her pulse quickened, the ball of light transforming into a glowing disc which radiated a dazzling white aura.
Then, her head started to ache from the brilliance of the light shining in through her windshield like a spotlight. Out of nowhere, intense drowsiness overwhelmed her, and she felt the car swerve as the world went black.
Darkness.
Silence.
Nothing.
But no, there was something.
Voices.
Hushed voices, but voices all the same.
Hazy bliss filled Giselle, a sense of airiness like her body didn’t belong to her. She couldn’t see anything, her eyelids too heavy to open.
“The human is quite intriguing, and a female this time.”
“Ah, yes, a female. She will suit our needs admirably. Shall we try her out?”
“Thase, you must behave yourself. Look what you did to our last pet…”
“That wasn’t my fault. And don’t you dare try to tell me what to do. If I want to ruin this one as well, then I will.”
“If you ruin this one, then we will go home empty-handed. I’m tired of circling this planet.”
Giselle blinked her eyes open, swallowing hard as the words settled in her chest.
Ruin? Pet?
Where the hell was she?
A bright light blinded her, shining from above like she was at the dentist. She tried to focus her mind, but it was as if it were made of gelatin, wobbling around and unable to latch onto anything.
What had happened to her?
Her vision was blurred, and she was in some sort of icy room, cold metal chilling her bare arms and legs. Her dress was the only thing that warmed her, her favorite black dress.
The dress.
The dress she had worn to dinner with Anthony.
Anthony, her boyfriend.
No, her ex-boyfriend.
After he’d broken up with her, she’d stormed out of the restaurant, tears burning her eyes as she got into her car and took off into the night.
Into the desert.
There was nothing, and then there was the light.
The light in the sky, one that had grown closer and closer until she had passed out.
Where the hell was she?!
“She is awake.”
The words were quiet, and they sent a jolt of panic through her as her eyes darted around the room.
Was she in the hospital? Had she been in an accident? Crashed her car into some unknown vehicle? Oh, God, she would never forgive herself if her foolish actions had harmed another. But no, she didn’t feel any pain, nothing that would indicate a serious collision.
Had she been kidnapped? Had some pervert snatched her from her car after she’d passed out? Why had she passed out? Was there a gas leak or something?
What the fuck was going on?
Slowly, she focused on two things at the edge of the room.
Things that were making their way over to her.
Giselle wanted to scream, wanted to run, but her body was frozen, trembling as the creatures stepped into the light.
They were… they were unlike anything she had ever seen; her scream catching in her throat as her eyes widened with terror. Their skin was dark purple, the color of an eggplant, and though they were humanoid enough, they were distinctly inhuman.
“Who are you?” Giselle asked, her voice quivering as her eyes remained glued to the creatures.