Alien Bride: A Dark Alien Sci-Fi Romance Read online

  Alien Bride

  Penelops Woods

  Contents

  About the Author

  Introduction

  Prologue: Emma

  1. Lök

  2. Emma

  3. Emma

  4. Emma

  5. Rekker

  6. Emma

  7. Lök

  8. Emma

  9. Emma

  10. Vraik

  11. Emma

  12. Emma

  13. Rekker

  14. Lök

  15. Emma

  16. Rekker

  17. Emma

  18. Emma

  Epilogue: Emma

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  Penelope’s Dungeon

  About the Author

  About the Author

  For more steamy and dark fun, be sure to visit and like my facebook. More fun awaits below!

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  Penelope Woods is a top 100 Amazon author who writes dark sci-fi, horror, fantasy and uniquely gothic romance novels. When she learned about smut, it was like a light bulb clicked on in her head. She started writing in 2016 and has never looked back.

  Introduction

  Year: 2093

  The Ubaran Empire has seized production of breeding.

  With overpopulation threatening stability, Emperor Slain has called for a ban on all so-called reproductive assets.

  Females are illegal.

  Desperate to escape, three alien miners hunt for the one source of universal power. A hidden element only known as:

  Resnyx.

  Prologue: Emma

  When warlord aliens invade Earth, I watch as my world crumbles.

  Their mothership lowers above my head. A great beacon of light shines over the city.

  They don’t want Earth. They want me…

  Three brutal aliens force me to my knees. They accept no peace treaty.

  They demand one thing: A bride.

  That is final.

  One

  Lök

  Location: Orak Mines, Planet Ferän

  Planet Ferän is dead.

  Ferän is a dry, deserted planet. It lost its habitable atmosphere a long time ago.

  For us fucked up alien miners, it’s home.

  Our job is to scour places like this. We search within the crevices of rogue planets for minuscule elements that could grant us ultimate freedom from a tyrannical and ever-expanding Ubaran Empire.

  We go where the rich charlatans and police-force sentinels refuse to travel. In a sense, it allows us some mobility. We can travel from planet to planet, as long as we file the clearance documents necessary to leave.

  In reality, we are still under Emperor Slain’s control, mining for something that most likely no longer exists.

  He has used all of it. Resnyx. The element of all elements.

  One pin prick can power an entire planet for many moons, and he has used every last drop of supply.

  Now, Slain needs more, and we’re the ones who are going to get it.

  So far, no luck.

  No Resnyx. No females. Fucking nothing.

  Everyone has mined the innermost quadrants of the galaxy. Every planet on the outside is like Ferän.

  Dead and silently spinning. It’s eerie.

  Like parasites, we dig through the planet’s core. If we find it, Slain will grant us clemency. We can quit and settle down.

  Freedom.

  Our machines have cracked away at the planet’s surface. We have drilled to the planet’s mantle, to the very point where most of the hidden element was said to reside.

  But it can only survive in perfect conditions. If the heat touches it for too long, it won’t work. If it’s too cold, it won’t even form.

  Finding nothing, we resort to digging with crude tools.

  I wipe my forehead. Ferän’s double suns create brutal working conditions, but we push on.

  Grimacing, I shout, “On your knees, cockroaches. I don’t want you to stop digging until I see that sparkle and shine.”

  Shirtless alien workers from across the universe cut and hammer away at the glistening rocks.

  Diamonds are one thing, but the cosmos is full of precious metals and minerals. Our group hasn’t found anything too remarkable, but the gold is slightly worth the effort.

  The truth is I don’t give a flying fuck about Resnyx. I don’t care about Slain’s expansion into the cosmos. As far as I’m concerned, expansion isn’t worth the headache.

  We had something good. Planet Ubara was peaceful. We celebrated fertility and strength.

  The Resnyx ruined everything.

  There is one thing that I truly miss. Women. Just like Resnyx, they are impossible to find.

  In this region of the universe, pussy is a high commodity. Back home, it’s the same. Slain had them shipped out.

  He controls us by depriving our needs.

  I haven’t seen a woman in over twenty years. For some, that’s a lifetime.

  I’ve tortured myself to find Resnyx when in reality, I need to find a mate.

  Freedom doesn’t exist. There is only work and pleasure. Nothing in between.

  I have urges. Biological desires. I need to fuck.

  I’ll do anything.

  Anything…

  I crack my leather whip against a large boulder and shout, “We’re not stopping until sundown. Keep shoveling the shit, everyone.”

  I feel the heavy weight of someone’s palm squeeze around my shoulder blade. Pivoting, I see my colleague, Vraik.

  He salutes.

  His eyes are sunken, like mini-caves, cheeks weathered from the sun. His youth has faded. So has mine. We’re all dying over this shit.

  We have spent years searching for our ticket out of here. We have worked overtime for a tiresome wish.

  I have a strange feeling he’s thinking what I’m thinking.

  Vraik nods, frowning before calling out to the workers. “Pack it in. I’m calling it a day.”

  My blood pressure spikes. “What are you doing? These are my workers. Go back to your quadrant,” I say.

  Vraik nudges me away from the workers’ peering eyes. He leans near my ear and lowers his voice. “When was the last time your workers found anything of substance?” he asks.

  I clear my throat, buying some extra time to come up with a dignified answer.

  “Last week. The workers in the shafts found gold,” I say.

  The workers take off their helmets. A few of them sit and hang their heads in their palms. Sweat drenches their bodies. The ones closest to the magma pits look like weak.

  But I’m on a schedule. Twenty years to find one single fucking element is too long. “I need them to continue,” I say.

  Vraik’s eyes shift. “I’d like to speak with you in private,” he says, pointing to the exit. “Outside of the mines.”

  Irritated, I gaze at the sunlight leaking through the top of the shafts. I shiver with sickness, a fever that can only come from too much heat exposure.

  I shouldn’t appease him. There is more work to be done.

  But we are equals, and when we step outside, I see my third counterpart, Rekker. He waits, silently observing me.

  This is an intervention…

  Rekker is pensive. On any given night, one might find him staring up at the cloudless sky, as if one day he will be the one to point out the planet that will give us the element we dream of finding.

  “We need to talk,” Rekker says.

  I groan and huff the dusty air. “Talk, talk, talk,” I say. “All we do is talk and bark out orders.”

  Rekker ignores my temper. “Have your workers made any progress?
” he asks.

  Vraik chuckles. “Why ask if you already know the answer?”

  I push Vraik aside before glancing back to check if my workers are behaving. None of them have exited the cave, a good sign that they aren’t ready to test our rule.

  Sometimes I hear them speaking in whispers. I cannot be certain this won’t blow up in our faces.

  I chew on the inside of my cheek until a noticeable pain creeps into my system. “I am sure Resnyx no longer exists,” I say.

  Vraik shoves me back. “So why are we making our men work?”

  “If Resnyx still exists, we only have so much time before another mining company beats us,” I say.

  Vraik grows irritable. “Whether or not Resnyx exists is not the Ubaran Empire’s concern. It is ours. We have been the ones tasked to find it, and you swore on your life that this planet had it.”

  I’ve said a lot of things, but I never swore on anyone’s life. “My planetary analysis was not wrong. It told us that Ferän held trace elements of Resnyx.”

  Only problem is it might have all got burnt away.

  Rekker continues to walk, waving us to follow. “It’s been a year since we arrived, and we have found nothing near the planet’s core. If there was anything here, we would have found it by now,” he says.

  “You want to talk about time? The other mining contractors move faster than us,” Vraik says. “Why aren’t we following their lead?”

  “The other companies have found nothing either,” I sneer.

  We’re running around this idea in circles. Clearly, none of us have a clue.

  Dirt and earthy debris fills my lungs. The planet’s double suns are so fucking hot, I can’t think. One glance at the mine shafts makes me wonder if it’s better to be a worker. In the long run, they at least get to die with some dignity.

  But us, the alphas who take care of business, risking their standing within the Ubaran Empire are the lowest of the low.

  Shamelessly, we bow our heads to Slain. The population despises us for complying.

  We step into a rover vehicle, and Rekker steers us to a facility nearby. It’s our HQ, a place where we can go over data and landscape analysis charts.

  All for nothing, really. It’s really just a place to hide from the suns.

  Rekker slows the vehicle. His face hardens, eyes peering through the dust. “Admit it. You have failed us.”

  “Emperor Slain will kill us if we don’t find it,” Vraik cries.

  As my feet hit the sunbaked ground, I say, “So be it. This is no life worth living.”

  They run after me, but I’m carried by my own arrogance and dissatisfaction. Swiftly, I push through the large, metallic doors, rounding the corner of the brightly lit hallways I regard as my home.

  I pass by the med-bay and arrive at another tall door. It slides open as I punch in the code.

  The room is filled with blinking and humming hardware. In the center is a colorful hologram.

  It’s a picture of a blue planet, another place that could contain Resnyx. I’ve been thinking about abandoning Ferän for those blue waters, but if that planet gives us nothing, I will have no credibility left.

  “Resources are running low. The workers are talking,” Vraik says.

  I bow my head and exhale. “We treat them better than any of the other mining companies.”

  Rekker rounds my left side. His cape creates a violent gust of wind. “If we stay much longer, they will revolt,” he says.

  “Then I will crush them into submission,” I growl, clenching my fist.

  They’re right. They know the truth. But there’s no fucking way I’ll ever step foot on Ubara again. I hate the Empire as much as the rest of the citizens. They have only given me misery and pain.

  Worst part is knowing I may never have a child with someone. Because of Slain’s rule, I will die searching for something that won’t provide me any benefit. With each day that passes, I grow older and more bitter.

  I ignore my counterparts’ skeptical looks.

  Rekker sits and closes his eyes. “Look, Lök. We have harvested this planet dry. We have enough gold to last us a lifetime. Maybe if we offer Emperor Slain a share of that wealth, he will reward us for our hard work.”

  I face Vraik. Are they suggesting we go back to Ubara?

  “I’m assuming you’ve both discussed this at great length together,” I say.

  Vraik looks over at Rekker, a minor betrayal.

  Rekker widens his eyes and quickly shakes his head. “Don’t go there. This has been on the table since day one, and you know it,” he says.

  I lean forward and hiss. “Slain’s Empire will destroy everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve. Vraik, are you truly thinking about going back home?”

  The big brute’s gold necklaces jingle as he shrugs. “I go where I am told to go,” he says.

  I stare at the CTV holograms in horror. The workers have abandoned the shafts. Wielding their empire-issued tools, they speak to one another with hurried gestures.

  All three of us stand, silent.

  “Look at them,” Rekker says. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

  I shrug.

  “Can’t you see the storm heading our way?” Vraik asks.

  I swallow, parched as hell. A large glass of red wine would do the trick, but we went through the bottles last season. No, there’s nothing here to settle my nerves.

  They are right. We need to leave.

  I capitulate to their reason.

  “Okay,” I mutter, nerves twisting. “We’ll leave, but I’m not going back to Ubara. Vraik, do not hold back. What is your full assessment?”

  He leans against the control panel. Near the hologram of the strange blue planet, he says, “Well, I’ve got a feeling the empire won’t welcome us back with open arms without their precious element in hand. They will deny us access into the atmosphere, as they’ve done to countless others who have deflected. If we are forced into battle, the sentinels will easily force us into submission. They will treat us like we treat these slaves.”

  Rekker stands, cape whipping around his ankles. He wants to go home. He actually thinks it’s a smart idea.

  Well, I have a better idea.

  As he attempts to leave the room, I block him with one arm. “Rekker, we have to come together on an escape plan,” I say.

  He raises a brow. I point at the hologram. I try to explain what’s been on my mind in a way that’ll persuade him to trust me one last time.

  “There’s no escaping. Slain owns most of the cosmos. We can run, but we can’t hide forever,” he says.

  Rekker is a tough nut to crack. It’s much easier to convince Vraik, but as any diplomat can understand, you have to chip away at the harder personalities first.

  We gaze at the screen.

  Curiosity takes over. I can hardly conceal my excitement. This planet differs from any of the others we’ve found.

  This one has life. A civilization. And I will persuade them we need to invade it.

  For glory. For Resnyx. For human cunt.

  We will find us a bride we can breed...

  “What is its name?” Rekker asks.

  “Earth,” I whisper, hungry for what that blue celestial body has inside it.

  Planets with life are the only ones worth searching. Slain knows this, but he believes he can find the Resnyx elsewhere.

  He is wrong. If we want to find the Resnyx, we have to go where life exists. Once we get it, we’ll have everything we ever needed.

  We will be the ones in charge…

  Vraik hits a button on the console, zooming into Earth’s outer atmosphere. He hits it again to see a blurry, but contained image of a large, bustling city. It’s an image one might see in the history archives of lost civilizations.

  It’s perfect.

  “It’s not safe,” Vraik says. “They will have many armies on stand-by.”

  I try not to laugh. “They are not yet a united planet,” I say. “Their armies
are not well coordinated, nor are they led with cunning, alien genius. An invasion could easily crush their infrastructure.”

  “Hm,” Rekker purrs.

  I continue. “It will be easy to mine their resources. We can handle it ourselves. Our workers can rest here for a couple of days. It’s a win-win.”

  Rekker nods. “What if we get there, and we can’t find it?”

  I’ve been waiting to make this call for a while, but I’m shocked by their expressions. They appear ready.

  So I give them the entire pitch.

  “They have one resource more precious and valuable than all the universe’s Resnyx combined,” I say.

  Vraik grunts and grabs my shoulder. “Tell us more,” he says.

  I can’t hide my grin. “Female.”

  An unnatural excitement floods through my chest as I watch their expressions echo my own.

  I bite the inside of my bottom lip. “Billions of them. As far as the eyes can see.”

  “Bullshit,” Rekker mutters, testing me.

  “Say what you want. You’re free to look for yourselves,” I say.

  Rekker squints his eyes and views the choppy holographic footage transmitted from Earth.

  With this allure, I can make up for my past mistakes. I hit the fucking gold mine on this, and they know it.

  “Hm…” he hums.

  “Rekker, you were right,” I declare. “The resources we have harvested from this planet have provided us with more than enough wealth.”

  Rekker breathes out, patiently waiting for me to wrap up my speech. Instead, I drag it out for him.

  “We have been working for decades. The more time we spend, the more we lose. Alphas, we must answer to our biological needs. It is time to breed.”