Betrothed to an Alien Shifter: Brides of Somtach, #1

By Pascia Thrall

"I traveled a million miles across the universe to meet my fiance, and one glance tells me he hates me."

 

Desperate to escape the zombie apocalypse that has taken over the Earth, Jane jumped at the chance of becoming bride to the son of an Alien Prime Minister
But Tarqi didn't choose her, like she thought. In fact, he never knew until the morning of her arrival that he was to be bonded to a human, and he loathes the idea.
They make a deal: do what it takes to win his father the next election, and then Tarqi will help set Jane up in this new society.
But doing what it takes means pretending to be a couple, and the more they pretend, the more Jane finds herself not pretending, anymore.

 

Betrothed to an Alien is a sci-fi romance novella, the first book in the Brides of Somtach series, set in the same world as the Scouts of Somtach series, aimed at adults aged 18+. Each book is a standalone, with it's own HEA.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pascia Thrall
• Release date: Nov 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9798201470654

Book preview

BETROTHED

TO AN

ALIEN SHIFTER

by

Pascia Thrall

Brides of Somtach 1

Betrothed to an Alien Shifter – Book 1 of Brides of Somtach

First Published September2020

This Edition May 2021

Copyright © Pascia Thrall 2020

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

––––––––

All rights reserved.  Except for use in any review, no part of this book may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author. 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Thank You!

About the Author

Chapter 1

The planet below could be Earth—except for the purplish tinge to the ocean. We've been circling for days, waiting for confirmation to descend, and now we have it. As we pass through the atmosphere, features coming into sharper focus; forests, rivers, settlements. It doesn't take long to become apparent we're headed towards a city, the ruddy brown of habitation a distinct shift from the surrounding greens and purples of the landscape. The city hugs the edge of the land, while smaller towns and villages are dotted up and down the coast.

Inland there is nothing but forest and desert and mountain.

The ship docks with the barest thud, and I glance out the window at the place that is to be my new home.

We’ve landed in some sort of square, a large area that’s been marked out by ropes. Behind the ropes the space is crammed with aliens for as far as the eye can see and spilling back between the buildings beyond.

Below me are people whose skin is all sorts of shades of gold; bright and shiny, burnished, bronzed. Great bat-shaped wings protrude from their backs, and they’re all wearing loose tunics. They have no hair—their scalps are domed heads on otherwise human looking faces.

Except for those black eyes.

I should be used to it. We might've been in a cryogenic sleep for eleven months, but we were awake on this alien space ship for at least two months, and I knew of Zak’il and Zakiex for at least a month before that.

I thought I would get used to it.

I haven't.

All of these aliens have jet black eyes, without a hint of white or colour.

Most are gazing up at the ship in expectation, their eyes stark against their golden skin, but some are caught in conversation, chatting, laughing, glancing now and then towards what I guess must be the door of the ship.

Above the crowd a group of children fly, tossing a ball to one another. It causes a strange pang in my chest. Could this be my children one day, flying above the crowd, playing catch? I don't even know if such a thing is possible. Can aliens and humans have babies? I guess we’ll find out, eventually.

A child misses the ball and it flies through the air, bouncing off the side of an adult’s head. Another adult who I assume is the parent grabs the child by the ankle and pulls them to the ground.

Whoa. Kiranda comes to stand beside me, and I glance up at her.

Yeah. Whoa is about right.

Guess it’s a big thing for the Somtachians, to have one of their Scout ships return, and for it to bring alien women with it.

Alien women? Oh. It takes me a moment to remember it’s not the people filling the square who are the aliens here. I am.

Are you nervous, Jane? Kiranda sits in the chair opposite.

Aren’t you? My heart pounds so loudly I’m sure everyone must be able to hear it, but she looks calm and confident.

A little. She smiles, glancing over at her bonded, Vukre. He’s chatting with some of the other single human women who’ve made this journey. But I’m arriving with a partner. That makes this a little easier. She tilts her head to the waiting crowd. At least I’m not facing all that alone.

I swallow, and her smile drops. She reaches out to squeeze my hand.

Sorry, that was cruel. You aren’t facing this along, either, you know? We'll always meet up, and visit each other whenever we can.

It’s fine. I force a smile. But you’re right. I feel like I am facing this alone. You guys will all go off and set up home, and I’ll be doing... well... I’ll be doing whatever it is the Prime Minister’s daughter-in-law is supposed to do here on Somtach.

That’s the spirit. Kiranda has such a friendly smile, I can’t help but relax, just a little.

The door opens and Chayya appears, followed Willa and Colette, and the rest of the human women who have taken this bizarre trip. There are women from all over the world, African, Asian, Aboriginal, but they all wear the same expression; fear mingled with excitement, and trepidation.

What have we gotten ourselves into?

I can’t believe it. Moire gazes out the window, bug-eyed. To think we’re about to meet the man of our dreams.

The alien of our dreams, don’t you mean? Devon nudges her, and they both giggle like school girls.

Are you a little bit scared? I ask, and Devon grins at me.

Terrified. But we’re here, and there’s nothing we can do about it now. Besides, only a few months ago I was certain I’d have to wait until another woman died to get even the slightest chance of having sex again.

Chayya raises a brow. A few months ago? Try a year.

Devon shrugs. Yeah, well... I was frozen for most of that, so it doesn’t count.

That makes it worse, actually. Moire interrupts. It’s not just two months to add on to our single status, it’s twelve.

Devon laughs. Exactly. And look out there. Out there is the potential for the sex I’ve been so sorely missing. Now it looks like it’ll be on tap!

She points at a group of what are obviously male aliens, right at the front of the crowd. They’re separate from the rest, roped off into their own area by the door, right by a small podium. I have to assume they’re the male aliens the other single women have been betrothed to.

They eye off the ship, their wings ruffling behind them.

It hits me, now, they’re not human men. Despite their human features, they’re a completely different species. And I’ve travelled halfway across the universe, give or take, to marry one.

What on Earth made me think I could marry an alien?

A shiver of fear travels my spine, and Chayya wraps an arm around me. You’ll be fine, she says. Zak’il and Zakiex both said Tarqi is a really good fellow.

I nod. They’d given me the full run down before I ever agreed to this bizarre situation. Prime Minister Tuktud, Tarqi’s father, is very much about power, Zakiex warned, and is someone I should be careful of. But Tarqi is said to be kind, and considerate, and caring.

Just the same as all the other Somtachian men I’d met so far.

If Tarqi is looking for a human wife, Zak’il informed me, I’d be treated like a princess.

There’s movement out the window. The crowd parts and a small group approach the podium. A tall slim Somtachian steps up and addresses the crowd. There’s a woman with him, and several slightly younger men. Is one of them Tarqi?

The door opens again and Vukre stands in the entrance. Are you all ready?

Everyone nods. I stand, but there’s a vice strapped around my chest and I can't seem to get enough air, and I sway a little.

Breathe. Colette leans close. We’ll get through this. It’s going to be the best decision we ever made. You’ll see. She’s not even looking at me, her gaze fixed on the outside world, one of many alien planets she’s always known must be out there, despite what we all believed. Of course this is exciting for her. Her every dream has come true.

I take a deep breath and push it out slowly. This is huge for all of us, no matter what sort of brave face the others might put on. I follow the group out the door and down the ramp, blinking as I step foot for the first time on Somtachian soil, the cool Somtachian breeze strange after so long in an air conditioned ship.

The sea of faces blurs into one gold streak, and I pull my gaze away, up to the pale purple sky. It’s beautiful, but strange, and my chest constricts again.

Great way to meet my future husband, hyperventilating from the stress of it all.

I take another deep breath and look at the ground. It’s a rough grey-brown. Not too unlike dirty concrete. Something I can focus on that isn’t too different from home.

Except Earth will never be my home again.

Faces appear in my minds eye; Blythe and Sierra, Maggie and Barbara and John and Irma and Grant. My chest constricts, and tears blur my vision, and I have to blink them away.

I've got to focus on the future, and the possibilities this opportunity brings. Free from the plague of zombies taking over the world, free from a future as a lonely spinster.

I peer to the end of the line. The man that must be the Prime Minister, my future father-in-law, is greeting people, but I still don’t know which of the men around him is the man I’ve been promised to, and from here they all look the same, anyway.

Devon catches up with me, and I glance up to catch her eye, but she’s staring straight ahead, her jaw set, her shoulders squared. She’s a tough one, that one, though she is