Chapter 1
Light laughter from across the meal room caught his attention. Katieran Commander LemAN glared at the back of the head of the female who was the bane of his existence: Teagan Marie White, an engineering and communications expert from Earth. She arrived on the transport from Earth a few months ago and used her genius knowledge of radio waves to detect an enemy transport ship that was camouflaged. She should have gone on to Katiera and found herself a mate. Instead, she was traveling on board LemAN’s transport, putting herself in danger helping to hunt down more Morins.
He felt a growl growing inside him whenever she would lightly touch the shoulder of one of the males sitting too close to her. She was pretty, but not as beautiful as some of the other females he had seen who had traveled from Earth to Katiera under the relocation negotiations that their Prime Leader RendEL worked out with the Earth World Government, EWG.
About five years ago, while the Katieran nation had sent out transport ships to explore other worlds in hopes of finding another species that would be compatible with its own, a beacon was sent from a primitive planet called Earth asking for assistance to save its people and its planet.
Earth had become overpopulated despite the laws it implemented limiting its people from multiplying. Its natural resources were nearly depleted and it would soon have a hard time supporting and sustaining life on the planet.
Even more surprising was how little space technology the humans had. The farthest they had gotten were visits to their moon and satellite probes they sent out to inspect other planets. They had no ability to travel into deep space or reach wormholes that would take them to other galaxies.
He had transported thousands of beautiful females from Earth, so why was he so drawn to this one? Her hair was dark blond but when the light hit it, gold strands would stand out, giving her a soft glow. Her voice was husky and every time he heard her speak it seemed to caress his body.
Frustrated with himself for watching the female flirt, he stood up and walked out of the meal room. He nodded at his lieutenants that passed him by. They were younger than him and full of enthusiasm, ready to battle the enemy. He sighed, feeling more than his thirty-eight years.
LemAN’s people, the Katierans, were much more advanced with technology, medicine, and space travel. However, there had been a time many decades ago that their resources had been diminishing, too. That’s why laws were implemented that would protect life and natural resources. He was shocked to find out that on Earth, people swam in rivers, oceans, and lakes. They threw their trash in landfills and cut down their forests. Not only did they reduce their oxygen source but they polluted their air, making it difficult to breathe in some locations.
No wonder the Earth people were ready to flee, but he questioned whether it was a good idea to bring them to Katiera. It wasn’t up to him, though. His job was to follow orders and protect the Katieran nation from threats internal and external.
So three years ago the EWG made an agreement with the Katieran nation. In exchange for Katieran help in replenishing Earth’s resources, the Katierans were allowed to hold their own type of sign-up for a relocation program. The only applicants they were accepting were single women of child-bearing age.
LemAn wasn’t sure if the EWG leaders were made aware or not that Katiera had issues of its own. Many decades ago it was attacked by a warring nation known as the Morins. The Morins used a virus that nearly killed the Katierans altogether.
For those who didn’t die, the virus slowly manipulated their DNA, causing some to have side effects such as the ability to read minds. Some were so hostile it divided the nation. The Katierans with serious side effects split off and formed their own nations on different planets, Kiljor and the Colonial Planet. The most devastating were the problems that occurred to the Katierans’ ability to reproduce. Very few young had been born in the past twenty years and most were male. Their scientists predicted that if they mixed their species with another compatible one, it would give their people a chance to rebuild their numbers. The Earth women were supposedly compatible. LemAN wasn’t interested in this idea. He had been once, a long time ago, but now he only had time to focus on his career as commander. Nothing else mattered, or shouldn’t matter.
He entered the command bridge and took his seat watching the viewing screen. “How far are we from the wormhole?”
“Commander, we will arrive in two hours.”
Good. He picked up his digital tablet and reviewed updates on the ship’s maintenance. He needed a distraction from the female.
*****
Teagan glanced over her shoulder and sighed when she saw Commander LemAN had left. She lost interest in what the men around her were saying. Why couldn’t she be interested in one of these guys? They were young, sexy, good-looking, and very eager. There weren’t any females on the transport ship, which made her a precious gem for these miners.
She quickly finished her meal and took the food tray back to the waste bin. As she got to the entrance of the meal room, Lieutenant VoyER was waiting for her. He was nothing if not persistent. They walked the corridors, Lt. VoyER talking to her while she got caught up in her thoughts.
She laughed inwardly. On Earth she was hardly sought after. Oh, she wasn’t ugly or anything, but she never paid a whole lot of attention to her looks. She had medium-length wavy dark blond hair, almost light brown. Nothing special. Her brown eyes were plain. Her complexion was fair. She burned easily so she kept out of direct sunlight when she could. She was short and lacked a lot of curves, but she did have nice lips and legs. On Earth she was considered cute but had a brilliant mind for figuring out how things worked. Here on theHorizenshe was treated like a beautiful, sexy goddess as well as still being brilliant at figuring out how things worked.
She had a high IQ in mechanics and engineering, but because she came from a very poor family, she’d never had the official schooling that would have helped train and cultivate her intelligence. Her parents were poor and weren’t very supportive.
When she became legally able to live on her own, she had no education to get anything more than manual labor type jobs. She hated waiting tables and constantly had to fight off unwanted male attention. Then one day she watched as a cable guy drove by. She probably knew more about satellite dishes than that guy did—she had set herself up illegally years ago to receive free satellite TV. She filled out an application and was surprised that she actually got hired. It was fine for a while and paid better than waitressing.
Then the aliens came to Earth. She was living a boring life, and the chance to travel somewhere new for free was too good to pass up. It wasn’t until she showed up at the hotel that she got the idea that these aliens were looking for women. She wanted to learn about their advanced technology. What was more exciting than traveling to another planet with sexy aliens?
She was always told her curiosity was going to get her in trouble, and it had over and over again. This time, though, her curiosity got her several galaxies away on an alien ship full of sexy men with golden irises. Her mind was needed but she felt that her body was what they coveted the most. Except for the commander—he acted like she was an inconvenience. Maybe that’s what made him irresistible to her, the fact that he wasn’t after her body.
“Would you care to share the Evening Meal with me this evening?” Lt. VoyER asked.
He had asked her out almost every day for the past two weeks. Each time she refused, giving him one reason or another. He wasn’t the only male who’d asked her out but she refused all of them. Her true reason was that she was waiting—waiting for someone else who wasn’t interested in her to finally notice her.
LemAN was older than the others, in his late thirties with a few silver streaks through his jet black hair. His body was as big and well-built as any of the other younger warriors. His hair and his eyes were the only things that showed his experience and age. Man, his eyes were intense, like they could see right through her to her very soul.
There was pain in those eyes that he tried to keep hidden from others. He did a good job because no one else seemed to notice it but her. Her mind looked for things most didn’t—figuring out a mathematical equation, how to divert a fuel line to another location. LemAN was a mystery that needed to be figured out. He fascinated her but he wanted nothing to do with her, which made her want him even more.
“Teagan?”
She’d forgotten about the young warrior walking next to her. “Maybe next time.”
