Page 14 of Rogue Starfighter

“Ongoing.”

“Queen Raya?”

“Will send assassins to eliminate you if you remain on Earth.”

“The women who disappeared a few years ago? Jamie, Mia, and Lily?”

“Alive. Serving on Moon Base Arturri with their bondmates.”

Relief rushed through me. I had never met them, but I had read their posts and watched their streaming videos before they vanished. “They chose to go?”

“Yes. As you must now choose.”

Behind me, my supervisor inhaled sharply. Vesh lowered his voice. “I have come to ask you to return with me. Velerion needs scouts. You are the first from Earth to complete the reconnaissance program.”

“What happens if I say no?”

His jaw tightened. “I leave. You remain here. No one will force you into service.”

“And if I say yes?”

“You leave Earth. You will be stationed on Arturri and fly the Wraith with me. You will enter enemy territory, gather intelligence, and most likely be shot at. Frequently.”

“You really need to work on your recruiting pitch.” He should have said I would be his mate. That he was madly in love with me. That he needed me. Wanted me. Thought I was beautiful.

“I will not lie to you.”

Ah. There it was. The truth. I was in love with a fantasy version of an alien warrior, and that fantasy didn't exist. Not in the real world. Still, he had just promised not to lie to me. That was better than most boyfriends I'd had over the years.

Truth, turned out, was sexy as hell. “Can I come back?”

“Gate travel is restricted during wartime. I cannot promise you will return anytime soon.”

“What about Gina and Alisha?”

“Your training partners remain in the program. If they complete their final missions and accept their pairings, they will be offered the same choice.”

Pairings? Was that what this was? "And are you mine? My pairing?"

He narrowed his eyes as if my question irritated him. "I am. We are bondmates."

My sleeping va-jay-jay leaped to attention at the word bondmate. Vesh was everything I wanted in a man. Tall, dark, handsome, strong. If he was real, and our ship, the Wraith, was real? Holy shit. I couldn't wait to fly her. In outer space. That, alone, would be worth the risk, even if my dream man didn't seem too excited about meeting me. Then again, what did I expect? He couldn't exactly walk in here, pull me into his arms and kiss me like he'd never get enough. Right? Wanting that was just…silly. And I was never silly.

I looked at my workstation. At the radar screen filled with aircraft. The headset I had worn for eight hours. The coffee mug Gina had given me three birthdays ago that said KEEP CALM AND LISTEN TO PRIYA. This was a good life. Safe job. Nice apartment. Two best friends I loved.

And every night I went home alone. Every day I was going through the motions, passing time, feeling like I was waiting for something. Apparently, that something was a heavily armed alien with terrible people skills.

So, Velerion. The Vega system. I knew all the lore. I had spent three days making this decision just in case there was a decision to make.

“Anand,” my supervisor said. “You don’t have to go anywhere with him.”

“I know.” That was why I could. I grabbed my headset and held it out to Alvarez. “You have my traffic. The Embraer is down. Everyone else is holding on approach. No weather problems.”

He took it automatically. “Priya, are you serious?”

“A year ago, I designed a perfect alien in a video game. He just crossed the galaxy to ask me to help save his planet. How often do you think this opportunity comes around?”

“Never?”