Mated on the Moon Read online

  Mated on the Moon

  By Kate Rudolph

  Mated on the Moon © Kate Rudolph 2018.

  Cover design by Kate Rudolph.

  All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature readers.

  Published by Kate Rudolph.

  www.katerudolph.net

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  More from Celestial Mates

  About Kate Rudolph

  Also by Kate Rudolph

  Preview: Soulless

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER ONE

  NYCO NAZEL SAT IN ONE of the bars on Honora Station and looked out the view window while swirling his drink in his glass. Stars and galaxies twinkled, all the possibilities of space within reach if a man had a space ship and a bit of bravery.

  And time. A man certainly needed time. And as a Detyen, his was on the verge of running out.

  A giggly alien with pink skin and green hair that danced in braids slid into the seat next to him and leaned in close. “Ooh!” She spotted his drink and pointed before waving over the android attendant. “That looks fun, give me one!” She must have been partying somewhere else given her bubbliness, and when she leaned she almost landed in Nyco’s lap. Another time, another day he might have offered a smile and an invitation. But tonight didn’t feel like a night for celebrating. “So what brings you here?” she asked, undeterred by the fact that he’d said nothing since she drew near.

  Nyco threw back the rest of his drink and set the glass down as the alcohol burned down his throat. For a moment he considered getting up and ignoring her completely, but if his brother was still alive, he would have slapped Nyco for his rudeness and lectured him for hours. He tilted his glass and watched the final dregs of the liquid swirl around before motioning to the android for another. This was the last one for the night; he had an early day in the morning and couldn’t let his sorrows get in the way of his work. Even if his days were numbered, he still had things to do.

  “It’s my birthday,” he finally told her. Twenty-nine down, one more to go. But he kept that part to himself. His companion seemed so happy that he didn’t want to bring her down with the harsh reality of his fate.

  “Fun!” She bounced in her seat and as her smile widened he caught sight of her sharply pointed teeth. Nyco reassessed the woman beside him. Everything about her presence had screamed non-threatening sweetness, but with those teeth the game changed. She placed her hand on his arm and dark tipped claws rested lightly against his blue skin. She was a predator, but a fun-loving one.

  Well, Nyco had claws of his own, but he kept that to himself. The alien didn’t seem likely to turn on him, but there was no need to give away his advantage. It had kept him alive thus far. And he wasn’t done living yet. Not for one more birthday.

  He shrugged at her exclamation and gladly took the new drink the android set down in front of him. Had he really used to enjoy this? Sitting beside a woman at a bar, dancing this dance until one of them made a move and they tumbled into bed together? What had been the point? He’d pursued his pleasures for years and now here he was, alone on a space station without even a friend celebrating his final birthday and wishing the predator beside him would choose another man for her night.

  “So what’s got you so far from home?” his companion asked.

  That question almost had Nyco ordering more to drink, but he merely clutched his glass tight and took a controlled sip. “Don’t have a home besides my ship.” He’d used that line to elicit sympathy or cast himself as a dangerous man of mystery a hundred times before, and it slipped out before he could think better of it, but without the right inflection, he just sounded surly.

  And still the woman beside him wasn’t walking away. “Really?” She leaned in and her breath brushed against his neck. She smelled of sweet alcohol and the promise of a sultry night, but none of Nyco’s senses stirred. “But where are you from?”

  “A little bit of everywhere.” And nowhere. He was a Detyen, a man without a home. It had been destroyed by some mysterious enemy over a hundred years ago and it was only people like Nyco, a descendant of one of the few survivors, who were left to carry the memory and the curse of their people. Without a mate, he’d die on his next birthday. But there were few Detyen women left, and none he’d met had sparked the denya bond within him.

  He’d heard that when the planet was still alive, they’d had systems to match potential mates to one another and few ever paid the Denya Price. But those days were long passed and all of Nyco’s friends had paid, one by one over the past five years until he was the only one left. No friends, no family, no home.

  No woman either. He heaved a sigh of relief as his companion gave up on his company and flittered away. It was so much easier to wallow in his sorrows sitting at the bar alone.

  He watched out the window again and followed the glowing trail of a ship blasting away from the station, its red lights shooting a line across the sky as it journeyed out into eternity. The darkness of space had called to him once, the emptiness and open promise of possibilities, of a future. He’d seen planets made of diamonds and castles made of glass, impossible sights and sounds that few would believe, even if he could give proof. He’d been a mercenary and a guide, willing to sell his services to any who needed him and who could pay. But now the offers were drying up and he wasn’t quite sure where his next meal was coming from.

  It wouldn’t matter for long, but Nyco wasn’t about to spend his last year hungry. Not after the life he’d lived.

  A small man whose species he couldn’t determine took the stool that the pink alien had occupied. He ordered a drink and sat quietly, ignoring Nyco and the rest of the bar around them. The perfect companion for a depressing birthday night.

  Nyco paid his tab and stood, but before he could walk away, the man beside him held up a hand. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I think I have a solution to your problem.”

  “What?” Nyco narrowed his eyes as he snapped out the question. He didn’t have a problem, just a fate he couldn’t escape.

  The man produced a card from somewhere and held it out expectantly. “Have you heard of Celestial Mates?”

  “CELESTIAL MATES? REALLY, Dee?” Ruby hid her face in her hands to keep from reaching out and strangling her best friend. Married life had given Dee Fraser a healthy glow, a permanent smile, and the inexhaustible urge to pair up her single friends. Well, friend. Namely Ruby. “I’m not really interested in dating right now. I’m happy as I am.” It came out muffled by her hands, but if she looked up and resisted the temptation to strangle, she wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to glare. She would do anything for her friends, but sometimes Dee asked too much.

  “You told me that you missed being in a relationship!” Dee insisted. “Rich and I were talking about it and we just want you to be happy. You said you didn’t like any of the guys I set you up with, so we thought this woul
d be a great solution.”

  Great, now Dee was talking about Ruby’s perpetual singledom with her perfect new husband, Rich. Ruby had known something like this would be coming after the wedding, but she hadn’t expected it so soon. Why would she? Before Dee met Rich, she’d been just as staunchly single as Ruby and would tell anyone who asked—and many who didn’t—that she didn’t need a partner to be complete. Now it was like some pod person had taken over her body. A pod person dedicated to making sure that no one in her orbit was sleeping alone.

  Really, her heart was in the right place, but Ruby had her limits. After dealing with Jeremiah, the antiquities dealer who seemed to be hiding a big secret—because no guy could actually be that boring—Ruby had vowed that she wasn’t going to go on any more dates set up by Dee. It was one area where her best friend couldn’t be trusted. She understood Ruby’s favorite foods, her hobbies, her job, and her dreams, but when it came to matching her with a guy, it was like Dee’s brain short circuited and she just found the nearest available male shaped person and threw him in Ruby’s path.

  Ruby was done.

  “I appreciate all the—”

  “I’m so glad!” Dee interrupted her. “I can feel it, this time you’re going to find the guy for you.”

  Ruby sighed. “Let me finish,” she insisted. She wasn’t about to let Dee walk over her, not about something this important. “I said I appreciate that you care. But I can find my own guy. When I’m ready, which isn’t right now. Karen said I might be up for a promotion—”

  “At the job you hate,” Dee muttered, and Ruby tried not to make it obvious that her friend had scored a point with that dig.

  “That being said, a promotion is a promotion, and I need to focus on that. It’s what’s important to me right now. And...” she trailed off, not wanting to say too much and hurt Dee.

  “What?” Dee insisted.

  “Celestial mates?” Ruby had to ask. “You really think that there’s no man on the planet who’ll think I’m good enough?” Yeah, she had standards, and a sometimes demanding career, but it was tough to think that even her best friend didn’t think that there was one human guy who might be willing to put up with her.

  “No, no no no,” Dee tripped over herself to deny what Ruby was saying. She reached out and grasped her wrist until she could lace their fingers together. Ruby met Dee’s bright blue eyes and was struck by the intensity she saw there. This meant a lot to Dee, more than Ruby could understand. “It’s not about where you find a mate, it’s about trying something new. Maybe the reason none of the guys I’ve introduced you to have worked is because, well... they’re all a bit mundane.”

  “Mundane.” She wasn’t wrong. Accountant, antiquities dealer, arborist, banker, none of the men that Ruby had met in the past year had been exciting or particularly memorable. But... “I’m still not sure how an alien would be any better.” Not that Ruby had anything against aliens, there was one who worked in her office and he was perfectly nice. But that didn’t mean she was ready to go flying off planet to meet one in hopes of... what? That she’d find a perfect mate? That some super alpha dude would choose her to bear his alien babies and live as his passive wife? That would be even worse than the antiquities dealer.

  “You’ve got a spark,” Dee pressed on. “And I’m sure that Celestial Mates can find you someone who sees it, who respects it. Please,” she begged, drawing out the word until it buzzed in Ruby’s ear. “Just give it a shot. Go on a few dates, and if you don’t love it, I’ll cancel your contract.”

  Guilt nipped at the back of her neck as she saw just how earnest Dee was. This was really important to her in a way that Ruby couldn’t understand. And Dee had done a lot for her over the past few years, despite the slew of bad set ups. Would it really be so bad to go out and see what the Celestial Mates had to offer? What did she have to lose?

  Her respect. Her time. Maybe her job, if this took too long.

  Calm down, Negative Nancy, she told that inner voice of doubt. Dee looked so hopeful that saying no one more time might just crush her spirit, and Ruby couldn’t do that to her oldest friend, not when she was so passionate about this one little thing.

  Ruby sighed. “Fine,” she conceded. “I’ll go on one date. But if it sucks, you owe me big time. I’m talking alcohol and chocolate and pedicures.”

  Dee’s face lit up and she squealed with joy. “You’re not going to regret this! I promise. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!”

  Ruby slumped back into her chair, a trickle of dread crawling up her spine. What had she gotten herself into?

  CHAPTER TWO

  NYCO WAS POSING A PROBLEM for the Celestial Mates. Of course, no one was saying anything like that. He had been assured that the program could find him a mate before his deadline and that he would be more than satisfied by the result. Kenny, the man that he’d met at that bar on Honora Station, was his main contact with the company, and every time they met he seemed a bit more frazzled. If he had had any hair, it would be standing up on its end or Kenny would have torn it all out by now. But every time he looked at Nyco, he was all smiles.

  One month, more women than he could count, and no denya. It wasn’t all that different from any other month, but now that Nyco was determined to find his mate the disappointment of not recognizing her beat hard within him. What he was doing now felt artificial and forced. He was supposed to encounter his mate naturally, to see her and recognize her between one heartbeat and the next, his soul settling and finally whole. Instead Kenny offered him lists and lists of potential mates, hundreds of women who might just be perfect for him if only the bond would blossom between them.

  Nyco had been shocked to meet two Detyen women that he had never met before. But neither one of them had been his mate, and the disappointment on both sides of that match had been enough to send them hurtling towards despair. How could he expect to find a woman if the few who survived of his own race were not matches for him?

  But, Kenny insisted, all hope was not lost. Celestial Mates assured him that they could find Nyco’s match, and Nyco had heard his own rumors that sent a flutter of hope through him. It was said that some humans had ended up mated to Detyens in the past few years. Many of them came from Earth, and so Nyco had insisted that he would journey to that planet and try to find his mate there.

  He’d give it a few more months, and all those hundreds of dates if he had to, but he wasn’t going to waste the entire last year of his life trying to force something that might never happen. He hadn’t told that to Kenny, as he didn’t want to upset him or seem like the type of man who might give up. But Nyco’s days were numbered and he was only willing to waste so much time.

  His determination to give this his all while he was trying was what brought him to a small office in the middle of a suburban city that Nyco didn’t know the name of. Every planet had its own flavor, and Earth’s was green and full of life, even in a squat beige building without enough windows and air that had circulated so much it felt like he was back on his ship.

  Kenny sat behind a desk piled with folders and papers stacked tall enough to obscure him from view. Nyco had to lean around to get a good look at him, and he was pretty sure that the man hadn’t slept in several days. When he looked up there was a crazed look in his eye, the kind Nyco had seen in the eyes of an Oscavian mercenary who was about to lose his final battle.

  “I think I found the solution to our problem,” Kenny said, jabbing a finger towards him and making it clear that our problem was Nyco. “You said you would recognize this girl on sight, right?”

  A trickle of unease creeped down Nyco’s spine as he wondered what Kenny had in store for him. “Yes, that’s how the denya bond works.” The Celestial Mates seemed to know everything about every kind of mating or fated bond. They had to have a database somewhere and Nyco was kind of interested in seeing how it all worked, but he didn’t have time to research an idle curiosity.

  Kenny’s lips curled into a devious smile. “Excellent.�
�� He drew out the word and hugged the sound close, until it was sibilant and sinister. Had Nyco made a mistake? Or had Kenny cracked?

  “So when is my next meeting?” He wanted to get out of here, wanted to give Kenny some time to cool off. Maybe if the man had a nap he wouldn’t seem on the verge of evil.

  But Kenny was already shaking his head. “We both know the meetings aren’t working, so it’s time to change tactics.” He jumped up from his chair, his hip bumping into one of the stacks of paper and sending it tumbling over. He didn’t spare it a glance as he took a high step and came around from his side of the desk. “Follow me.”

  Curious despite his unease, Nyco got up and followed. They walked down a narrow hallway lined with pictures of smiling couples. These must’ve been successful matches, the kinds of which Kenny had bragged about while pitching the company to Nyco. Nyco tried to imagine himself in one of those pictures. What would his mate look like? Would she be human? Perhaps a little short, and blonde, with shining green eyes and a sweet smile? Or would it be dark hair and a sultry look that promised nights of pleasure and passion that he had never before imagined? And Nyco was capable of imagining a lot.

  His mind couldn’t settle on one type of woman. He’d seen so many since coming to Earth and he could appreciate them all. He didn’t care what his mate would look like, he just wanted to find her, to recognize her, and to hold her in his arms and seal the bond between them. Everything else could come later.

  Kenny had gone on ahead, not noticing Nyco’s pause. Nyco jogged to catch up, his footsteps echoing quietly down the hall. Kenny ducked into a room with two chairs and a large media screen against one wall. He pressed a button on the wall beside the screen. “You can send in the first batch now,” he instructed someone.

  Batch? Nyco already knew he wasn’t going to like this. And when a line of half a dozen women filed through an open door and lined up against the wall his stomach churned. They must’ve been looking into a camera and he wondered if they knew why they were here.