Claimed for the Alien Bride Lottery by Margo Collins (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📗

determination to protect his mate, and within moments, the fight was over—Cav gained several points, took the yellow warrior’s weapon away, and ended with both swords poised over the back of Tiziani’s neck, prepared to decapitate his opponent.

Everyone in the stadium froze, waiting as Cav held Tiziani bent over for three long heartbeats and then simply nicked the other male’s skin.

“Come with me,” I said to Mia as Vos blew his whistle and the stadium erupted in noise. Below us, Natalie leaped over the barrier separating her from the floor and rushed to throw herself into Cav’s arms. “We should go congratulate the newly mateds.”

Leading her down to the floor of the stadium, I held Mia’s hand and pushed my way through the crowd, where we discovered that as we made our way to the floor, Tiziani had attempted to attack Cav yet again.

“Why would he do that?” Mia asked in a whisper.

“He is entirely without honor,” I said disdainfully. “That cannot be allowed to happen—not without some form of consequence.”

“Nice to see you again, Commander,” Cav said, one foot holding the other Khanavai down on the station floor.

“You as well.” I glanced down at Tiziani. “Looks like you have everything under control.”

“At least for the moment.” The guardsman under his heel began to struggle and Cav leaned on that foot to hold him still.

“You know,” I continued, keeping my tone conversational, “I know Prince Aranov. I think it might be best if I commed him about his guardsman.”

“Yes,” Cav agreed. “Perhaps the prince will have some idea how to handle him.”

“Oh, no,” Natalie said, a smile beginning to grow across her face. “I have a much better idea.”

I turned my attention to her. “Yes?”

“Vos,” Natalie said to the Games Administrator, “don’t you have a position open?”

Vos’s smile flashed across his face. “I believe I might, come to think of it.”

“No!” From his position on the floor, Tiziani began to protest, having regained his breath.

“What kind of position?” I asked.

“I could use an assistant between now and the next Bride Games,” Vos said. “And we have never had a failed groom returned to the games. It could be an interesting storyline next year.”

“No,” Tiziani groaned. “I can’t leave my life on Khanav Prime.”

Adopting a serious expression, I shook my head. “Oh, I don’t believe you’ll be having any say in it.” I glanced down at Mia and squeezed her hand. “Besides, it might teach you something about how to interact with Earth females.”

Turning, I bowed to Natalie. “Congratulations, my dear. To Zont, I said, “I’ll take over here. I think you and your mate have a ceremony to plan.”

The matched pair smiled at one another and, as they turned to leave, I let go of Mia’s hand long enough to help Tiziani stand. “Come with me,” I said, pulling him toward the backstage area. “You have a future to plan, as well—though I doubt it will be as pleasant as Natalie and Cav’s.”

Chapter Eleven

Mia

I spent the next several days trying to figure out how to get off Station 21 and back to Earth.

Originally, the plan had been for Commander Gendovi and me to go through a series of Bride Games immediately. I had panicked at the thought but luckily—for me, anyway—pretty much everyone on two worlds was completely engrossed in the saga of the runaway human bride and her pursuing alien as it was playing out on Earth between Zont and Amelia. Vos had agreed to put off our games until those antics were over.

He would do almost anything for ratings, I had realized.

But watching Zont as he talked to his team, preparing to hunt down the woman who had tried to get out of being a bride at all had also convinced me of one important thing: getting away from a determined Khanavai warrior who believed he was your mate was just about impossible.

Running from Frank had been easy by comparison.

I spent my nights pacing the confines of my bridal room, trying to come up with a scenario that would allow me to get down to Earth, grab Josiah, get both our trackers replaced, and then get away from North America entirely.

It hadn’t occurred to me that I was being watched by vidglobes all the time until the morning Thorvid showed up in my room with a worried expression on its face, its lizard-like rill fluttering up and down on the back of its neck as its nose-braid quivered.

“Do you feel like a caged animal?” the Poltien asked as soon as the door closed behind it.

I blinked, trying to figure out where the question was coming from. “A little bit,” I admitted.

Thorvid drew me into the lav, turning on the sanicleanse and punching in a code on the mirror com, presumably to give us some privacy. “Vos called me into his office and ordered me to find out why you have been pacing in your room at night.”

I gave the Poltien a blank stare. “Shit.”

Thorvid tilted its head back and forth, examining me from all angles. “Defecation? That makes you need to pace? If you are having gastrointestinal difficulties—”

I snorted. “Shit was not an explanation. It was…” I paused as I tried to figure out how to explain that I’d been cursing. “It was an expression of dismay.”

“Ah. That makes more sense,” Thorvid said. “Would you like to explain to me why you’re dismayed?”

“Not really. I guess you can tell Vos I suffer from insomnia.” I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my chin with my forefinger. “I need to make him less suspicious of me.”

Thorvid mirrored my stance, crossing its own arms over its thin chest as it peered up at me. “The Games Director has instructed me to get you ready for a date with Commander Gendovi. I suggest you bathe, and then we will choose an appropriate outfit for you.”

“You really think I should?”

“Yes. You will assuage Vos’s concerns about you by going on an outing with the commander.” Thorvid gave me an