Chapter 1
ONE
The project had been successful. Last time, ten women had been matched with Virilian males.
Seven of them had returned to Earth and three had chosen to remain with the child they produced and the male they had been paired with.
All had been paid what had been promised: the sum of five million dollars.
Madison McGurdy didn’t care about the money. She’d sooner burn that five million in a bathtub than return to Earth. If she was chosen, she was never coming back.
They stood outdoors in a desert. Tanks, helicopters, and other large transport vehicles surrounded them in a loose, distant circle.
Waiting in a cluster, farther away, sat other ships—vessels designated to take the chosen up into the stars to their mates.
Madison’s gaze flicked to them with anticipation and nervousness.
It was wearing on her, this state of being on edge, of feeling like she was always being watched.
Getting here was a miracle in itself. Madison had gone to great lengths to get this far.
She was always being watched. The trip to the airport had been tricky.
She was sure someone had followed her, but no one stopped the helicopter that took her and several other women to this secret location where the selection would be held.
She’d willingly donned the blackout helmet and swapped her clothes for a simple white shift.
The last batch of women had to do this naked because it had been thought the Virilian Sage who did the choosing needed nothing encumbering her unique vision.
This turned out not to be the case. Now she stood in a line with several hundred other women as the desert sand cooled beneath their feet and the sun slid toward the horizon.
The setting sun bathed the desert in shades of red, orange, magenta. Hopefully, this would be the last sunset she would ever see on this planet. The women in line with her were vague shapes. Her whole focus was on those waiting alien ships. Surely she wasn’t the only one running from something.
The first chill of evening brushed her skin as a new ship appeared in the sky above.
It made a vertical descent from the sky.
It wasn’t as quiet as the other alien ships that came and went from Earth these days.
The Baylans had been the first to visit, and claim mates, but now a few others came for trade and curiosity, including the Virilians.
The story was, these people had lost most of their females to a virus.
Consequently, they were facing extinction.
The program created to match human women with Virilian males had been controversial at best. Some saw it as an abomination, but others saw it as an opportunity. Madison just saw it as a way out.
The Virilian ship was the size of a large house, somewhat tear-shaped with enormous thrusters, which were cool just then, and overburdened with various weaponry. It was a fierce, aggressive-looking vessel.
It hovered three feet above the ground. A ramp slowly folded down, and a female emerged, assisted by two male Virilian attendants.
Madison heard the collective inhale at the sight.
The males were magnificent. At nearly seven feet tall, they were beautiful creatures of muscle and strength.
Their faces alone would elicit sighs. Each had the bone structure of a Greek god, with a commanding jawline and stunning, bright eyes.
They wore snug leather pants and thick straps that crossed their broad, tattooed chests.
They each had a long blue tail tipped with a cruel-looking barb.
However, it was the female Virilian who commanded attention with her presence and power. Long white braids hung almost to her thighs. Jewelry clinked at her throat and wrists. Her eyes were milky white.
Madison heard this female was the Great Sage Ferias, who chose the human mates.
The sage was technically blind, but had some special power that allowed her to know the perfect match for the males on her list. She held a collection of necklaces, each set with a different stone, and would dole them out to the women.
It looked like she held about a dozen gold chains.
Two hundred women but only a dozen placements. Most would not be chosen. Madison swallowed through a dry, tight throat.
The female held her chin high as she walked down the double line of women.
Her gait was slow, deliberate. The chains jingled from her fingers.
The males at her sides walked with stoic, impassive faces.
Their gazes never wavered as they stared straight ahead.
Their shoulders just brushed Ferias’ as if gently guiding her.
It didn’t appear the female needed guidance.
She stopped almost immediately to give a necklace to a dark-haired woman who accepted the chain placed around her neck with zero emotion.
Madison held her breath as Ferias made her way down the aisle.
So many necklaces were being handed out.
Only a few were left. She clenched her teeth and willed the female to stop at her.
If her heart could speak, she would be screaming, “Take me!”
But Ferias passed by Madison.
It felt as though a brick had been dropped on her chest. Her one chance at escape, gone.
But then, the female alien paused. With a movement as slow as the setting sun, Ferias turned and faced Madison.
Her smooth lips curved into a smile, revealing sharp eyeteeth.
Those milk-white eyes didn’t seem so blind as they moved over Madison.
The female spoke to her in a language Madison didn’t understand, and instead of giving her one of the gold necklaces she held, she reached into the folds of her cloak and removed a silver one with a red stone.
The necklace was warm as it was fastened around her neck. One of the male attendants raised his eyebrows—the first show of emotion from either of them. The female gave Madison’s cheek the softest of touches, and then she moved on.
She couldn’t believe it. Madison’s hand closed around the heavy stone just to make sure it was real—it was. Her knees weakened with relief. All she could hear was her own thudding heart and the hiss of wind over the sand.
This was it. She would be free. She would start again and leave the nightmare of her past behind.
The last of the necklaces were distributed.
The women leaving without one were escorted to the waiting vehicles to be brought back to their homes.
Those with necklaces were being shown to their ships.
No one came up to her. Madison stood there as people moved around her, talking, directing, whispering.
She clutched the necklace. It was not a mistake.
Several of the human guards and military-types who were facilitating the selection were on phones. One of them cast a furtive glance at her and spoke in hushed tones. It was then that Madison knew.
No place on Earth was out of his reach. Madison had tried. And failed. Now it appeared she had failed again.
Even here, he had contacts, spies, allies. She knew she’d been followed to the airport. It wouldn’t have been hard for his people to figure out where her helicopter was heading. Fear gripped her throat like a vise.
She looked around frantically, searching for her escort to the ship that would take her to her Virilian lover.
The Sage and her escorts were engaged in conversation with a slim, middle-aged human man wearing a suit and glasses and gesturing to a tablet lit up with messages.
Madison wondered what language they were speaking.
She knew they were talking about her. The silver necklace wasn’t on the list of those to be given out today.
Twelve women were supposed to be chosen.
Madison made thirteen. Her fear spiked to panic.
They weren’t going to let her go.
She turned to the sound of a roaring in the distance. A great plume of dust and sand kicked up behind a fast-moving vehicle. Its massive wheels and bright lights cut through the evening.
Everyone still present turned to see the figure of a dashing man alight from the vehicle. He strode toward her in an impeccable suit, perfect black hair, a pair of mirrored sunglasses to frame a ruthlessly handsome face.
Madison’s hands fisted. “Don’t come near me,” she snarled out.
“Madison McGurdy.” His voice was crisp and deep as he ignored her request. “I am very disappointed in you.”
She had no words. She was angry and devastated and knew it had been hopeless to even try to escape him.
“Where do you think you’re going, my love?” He gripped her upper arm and gave it a sharp yank. “You know I still have your passport locked in my safe.” He tugged her forward, toward the rumbling vehicle. Toward her doom.
“She doesn’t need a passport where she’s going,” said a voice. It was the suited, bespectacled man with the tablet. “This woman is scheduled to depart with her Virilian escorts.”
“She is not leaving.” The man holding her tightened his grip, making her wince.
The man in the glasses gave her a quick wink, then held up his tablet. “Sorry, but she signed a binding contract. Unless she changes her mind, no one can stop her from leaving.”
The man who had controlled Madison’s life for two long years drew himself up to his full height of six-foot-two and assumed his most arrogant posture.
“I am Michael DeLoray, owner and CEO of Pinross Enterprises,” he said loftily.
“This woman is very ill and must be released for the sake of her own well-being. She lacks the mental capacity to make any decisions for herself. I can show you documentation from a licensed psychiatrist, if you wish.”
Fury rose in Madison. “What? I’ve never been to a psychiatrist,” she fumed. “You’re lying. There is nothing wrong with me.”