She doesn't know she's supposed to be MINE. I knew the moment we parted ways years ago. It felt like dying. Now, she's in danger. I'm not wasting my second chance.

Zariah

The last package I receive from my mother contains the one thing I don't expect: an entry ticket to the Alien Bride Race.

My father was a savage bounty hunter turned pirate. I was a mistake. I was also, in his mind, free labor until I made my daring escape as a child. My twin brother stayed with our father and carries on the family tradition. I joined the shipping industry for an honest wage, but I can't seem to escape my past.

Now, I transport dangerous things as a private contractor. I trust few people and fewer aliens. But my mother's last gift included a message, apologizing for my childhood, one that makes me feel guilty for wanting to throw away my ticket. I don't want an alien mate. I'm not interested in starting a family when I come from one that's such a mess. But when the ticket falls out of my pack and a fellow contractor at the bar picks it up, I get teased to no end. To my surprise, Elix, someone I helped long ago, steps in and returns it to me.

He's a lone wolf type, keeps to himself, depends on no one, and is of an endangered species with few left in the universe thanks to the war with the Nebulous Empire. He's a jacked beast of a male with a protective tendency that I like. But more importantly, he's the only one who's gotten close to me and not tried to find out where my father hid his bounty.

I don't care for my father's credits or metal junk. All I want is to earn my way so I don't have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. My mother thought an alien mate might keep me safe. Maybe she's right.

I haven't seen Elix in two years. He's packed on a lot of muscle and, for a moment, makes me reconsider what I want for my future. But we come from opposite sides of the law, and I won't dishonor my mother's last request. With what's going on in my secret shipping life, the Alien Bride Race might be the safest place for me. I just have to win or make whoever catches me pick someone else so I can slip away again. A week's vacation to let the stardust settle sounds like a good plan.

I just didn't expect to want him...