Brooklyn's Baggage: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Brides of the Aashi Book 2) Read online

  Brooklyn’s Baggage

  Brides of the Aashi Book 2

  Belle Harper

  Copyright © 2020 by Belle Harper

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  For my eldest son,

  You are one of a kind.

  I love you to the moon and back.

  Contents

  1. Brooklyn

  2. Sako

  3. Brooklyn

  4. Sako

  5. Brooklyn

  6. Evzyn

  7. Brooklyn

  8. Sako

  9. Brooklyn

  10. Rion

  11. Brooklyn

  12. Sako

  13. Brooklyn

  14. Sako

  15. Brooklyn

  16. Rion

  17. Brooklyn

  18. Tiji

  19. Brooklyn

  20. Makee

  21. Brooklyn

  22. Sako

  23. Brooklyn

  24. Rion

  25. Evzyn

  26. Brooklyn

  27. Sako

  28. Brooklyn

  29. Tiji

  30. Brooklyn

  31. Makee

  32. Brooklyn

  33. Evzyn

  34. Brooklyn

  35. Rion

  36. Brooklyn

  37. Tiji

  38. Brooklyn

  39. Evzyn

  40. Brooklyn

  41. Sako

  42. Brooklyn

  Author’s Note

  Also by Belle Harper

  Belle’s Books

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Brooklyn

  Oh my God. I was on a spaceship; I had only been on this spaceship for two months. I still cannot believe they accepted me into this amazing program, and the women I was here with were so wonderful. I have always had problems making friends. I can be forgetful or talk out of turn, which that annoys most—or I’ve been told I was rude. I never meant to be, I promise. I just forget to think before I speak.

  When I applied for this job, I was on my way to be a financial advisor. I worked mostly from home, but I was bored. I had been at my job for years… Yes, I was young—only twenty-one—but my mother had the sense to home-school me, so I graduated high school at fourteen. She moved us to live near a college and I studied there until I graduated and got into finance. Mom thought it would be good career choice since I was good with numbers. She said one day I could afford to buy us a home to call our own.

  But that day never came. She was hit and killed by a drunk driver on her way home from work.

  That was over a year ago, and I just knew I couldn’t buy a house—that was our thing. I didn’t want to live in one without her. I loved my mom so much and had just felt lost without her around. I didn’t have any other family and friendships were lacking.

  When I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, I saw the ad for an amazing new job. I had scrolled past it twice, just wishing one of my friends on there would actually want to meet up with me and have a coffee. They always said “Yeah, sounds great I will check my calendar.” They were always busy… but then they would be posting photos of their week, going out meeting up with others, having fun. I knew then I didn’t have friends. Would they even notice if I deleted my account? Probably not.

  But that ad, it sounded too good to be true. It promised me travel and a way to meet new people—two things I needed. I really needed to get away, start fresh somewhere else. Meet some nice new friends and start really living life, away from my boring desk job. So I did what any person would do… I applied.

  I was so grateful when I got the call to come in for an interview. They had told me they looked up my history and didn’t find anything that would disqualify me from the position. I was glad because Mom hid my little secret from everyone. She told me I was a little different than others, that I could go to a real school but I might get left behind as I needed more help concentrating—which was why she home-schooled me.

  And I was grateful for that, but it left me with no real friends and I found it even harder to make them now I was older. I was so happy that I now have Elle, Hadley, Jessica, Luna, and Quinn. They are my new favorite people, and all my new friends. Well, maybe not Jessica… I think I must have said something to upset her as she didn’t seem to want to be around me this last week. I wish I knew what I said wrong because these women were my only friends on this spaceship and the alien planet we were headed towards.

  That was what the job ad was really about. The new people I was to meet weren’t these amazing women. No, I was to marry an alien guy.

  I asked one of the M’Mori alien soldier guys who worked in our section what they looked like, but he didn’t answer. And when they did tell us stuff, it wasn’t much. They did say they had four arms and tails.

  The fact we were marrying someone without even seeing them was like one of those reality TV shows, but like… with an alien. And not one you can just leave at the end. This was forever.

  But Agent Booker told us we were saving the Earth. The six of us were… well, being traded for a rock called… um… something. I didn’t remember the name— I was more focused on the marrying an alien part— but the rock powers spaceships. And Earth was getting some to power their own to protect it against other aliens who might want to take over Earth.

  I felt like we were always being watched by the M’Mori. They were the aliens taking us to be married. The ones who were giving the rocks to us… well, to the agents.

  We wouldn’t be seeing Earth again.

  “Do you think the Aashi will be ugly? Maybe that’s why they won’t show us photos?” Elle whispered to me. She was the nicest friend I ever had. She always was happy to talk and listen to me. And was always smiling when she saw me coming towards her, she was fast becoming my very first best friend.

  “I don’t think they will be ugly, Elle. I like to think positive. And these M’Mori aliens aren’t too bad looking.”

  Yeah, they were kinda pretty—their scales sparkled all pretty colors. I just didn’t know if I would want to kiss one. Their teeth were sharp, like scary pointy sharp. Plus, I wondered if they had no hair everywhere. They had none on their heads, they didn’t even have eyelashes. But they looked human-ish.

  “I guess so, it’s what we make it, hey? Um… can we like visit each other heaps?” Elle asked.

  I grabbed her hands and held them in my lap. “Of course, I would love to visit you. We can talk about everything and it will be so great. I hope we both get good-looking and nice Aashi guys.” I was positive they would be nice to us, and I was super excited since the Aashi women ruled their world.

  What would a world run by women be like?

  That agent Booker guy, the scary one with the gun, said we were compatible with the Aashi people, then I was sure that meant they looked like us—except the extra arms and the tails.

  “I hope our clans live next to each other and are not too far.” I remembered that part—there were six clans, which was why there were six women. Since they didn’t have enough females, we were here to marry one of their single guys and…

  “Are we supposed to have babies as well?” I blurted out without thinking. Elle looked at me, her brows raising high.

  “Um… weren’t you listening when they said
we were compatible?”

  I nodded yes. Oh my God. I thought they just meant their body parts were like, you know… the same as ours. I get it now.

  “Yeah, I just didn’t think about it that way until now.” I felt my cheeks flush and I shrunk back further into the seat, but she just gave me a big smile and a huge hug. I liked Elle, she understood me and plus she loved to hug me.

  I love hugs.

  The announcement stated we were landing. I was glad because it was kinda boring being in the same four shiny silver walls all day. The spaceship was cool and everything. I really loved it on the first few days. I loved the cool smooth surface of the walls and touched them everywhere I went. But then it just was the same every day, and we were super restricted and weren’t allowed in many areas. So those walls started to make me feel like I was trapped.

  I had a feeling the M’Mori didn’t like us very much, but I never said anything to anyone. I was starting to pick up on their language a little, but I didn’t use it at all. I didn’t want them to know I heard things that weren’t translated, not that I knew exactly what they were saying. But I understood them talking about females, they were talking about us. So the faster I was off this ship, the better.

  I was so excited that this was it. I think I need to pee… nope, I was just excited and thankful to be getting off this ship. I was getting more worried every day that I was here that the agents would know my secret. Would find me out… not that they could do much about it now. I was starting to think it didn’t matter, they would have selected me either way. They weren’t really interested in us as a person, just what we could give them in return.

  Rocks.

  I ran my hands down my stomach over my space uniform. The dark-grey pants and a long-sleeved top were made of this weird fabric. They were tight and showed off all my nice curves. My Aashi husband better like his woman with a little junk in her trunk.

  Hadley was teasing Jessica from what I could see, and she wasn’t happy. I will stay away from them, didn’t want to Jessica to yell at me again. I turned back to watch as Agent Chadwick and Agent Booker came over with some watches. Huh?

  “All right, ladies, we are landing three days early…”

  We are early? What does that mean?

  I was starting to sweat and now I felt sick to my stomach. I knew this day was coming and felt like I was prepared, but now that it was here… Oh, wow, I feel a little lightheaded.

  “Brooklyn, don’t forget, okay?” I looked up to see Agent Booker’s piecing blue eyes looking down at me. He had placed the watch thing on my wrist. I looked down at it as I rubbed the shiny black surface with my index finger. Huh, no numbers.

  “Now take your bag.”

  He held my backpack out for me. It was the same one we all got. Everyone got to bring their own things. I packed a photo of me and my mom, sneakers, two skirts, three short-sleeved tops—all black. I also had some nice jeans, two oversized cardigans, and all my sexy underwear, plus a pair of granny panties. I also packed tampons and condoms… although I suspected I wasn’t supposed to bring them now.

  I quickly opened my bag when I saw Luna doing the same. It looked the same as when I packed it. I felt down to the bottom… Shit, they took the condoms and tampons. At least they could have left me the tampons. What if I didn’t get pregnant straightaway? I totally didn’t want to have my period in the jungle without… well something. I guess their females use something, so I will have to ask one of them when I get there. I could feel the photo frame and my heart fluttered. Mom was here with me. That was more important than tampons.

  I took a deep breath and looked over to Elle, and I could see she was trying to keep it together, too. I quickly zipped up my pack and tossed it over my shoulders. I reached out my hand and took hers in mine.

  This was it, the M’Mori captain announced we would be landing. I was ready for this, so ready.

  “It’s okay, we got this. Ladies, we are going to meet our future husbands in about ten minutes. This is it! I hope mine is good-looking.” Quinn was so excited, and her huge smile settled the butterflies in my tummy.

  We can do this! I was about to meet my husband.

  When everyone moved, I quickly followed. Shit, I was daydreaming again. Did we land already?

  We were led down a corridor with the agents and some M’Mori solders. Man, it was hot down here, it was like I was in the Bahamas. That was a beautiful trip I took with my mom when I saved up a few months’ worth a pay, and it was worth being late on rent.

  It was bright down here and was hard to see exactly where I was going. I just followed Elle down a ramp and we were on the planet Aarzyn, home to the Aashi people.

  I was so glad I brought skirts because it was a nice warm day and the sun was shining brightly in the sky… Wait. I squinted to see… Was that a moon? That cannot be two suns. Well, I get it that I really am on an alien planet. This wasn’t some big joke; there were two suns in the sky and they felt great on my face. I heard the other women gasp at the view.

  Purple. Everything was purple. I loved purple. It was magical.

  The trees, the grass? Was that grass purple? I felt like singing, “Everything is purple,” but I remembered to keep my mouth closed to let everyone enjoy this first time seeing Aarzyn. I took in a deep breath and it smelled so different from home, almost like pumpkin pie. Yummy.

  Then I noticed them… Purple men were coming toward us, like a heap of them. Some of them carried spears. Elle took my hand again and squeezed it as they got closer.

  “Told you they would be hot,” I said, and I heard her giggle.

  I noticed that they were much taller than humans—and I really liked tall guys. I was five-foot-nine. Jessica was similar height to me, but the other women were shorter. I quickly glanced to the other girls to see their reaction to this. My whole body was vibrating, I wanted to jump up and down. Instead I bounced a few times on the balls of my feet.

  Their hair was a deeper purple than that of their skin and their tails. Holy crap, they really did have two tails; I could see them swinging like a cat’s tail behind them. They were magnificent. I couldn’t keep my eyes off them, like they were hypnotizing me. I blinked a few times and looked back at their chests. Dang!

  I cannot wait to find out which one was mine. Maybe the taller one of that group of six coming now, who was such a dark shade of purple, the darkest of this group. His hair was the color of eggplant. And that smile… Oh, that was a winning smile he had pointed right at me. I felt a little giddy at the thought of him being my husband. He was so handsome; his face was human but his eyes were much larger—and all black, there was no white from what I could see. But the smaller one was pretty and had a more lilac color skin.

  One of the M’Mori guys walked down to greet the first group of Aashi who were now only about a yard in front of us.

  “This is it, girls. I hope to see you again soon. Make sure we visit each other often,” Elle whispered before squeezing my hand one last time.

  Chapter Two

  Sako

  The M’Mori had arrived early. This was it… I was to meet my female. The one I shall share with my chosen brothers. I was blessed by the Goddess to be considered a chosen male. I was one of the largest and bravest warriors of Yaayi Clan. I had shown my queen what a great warrior I was after many years of dedication to protect her and our Clan’s land. And in kind, she selected me as a chosen male for this new female.

  “Let’s go claim the best female,” Lelan called out to us. We were near our Clan’s meeting hut and had been here for many days. But for me, it was days too many. Lelan was not a friendly Clan brother. I was not happy when he was selected as a Chosen male. He was brash and always said what was on his mind, even if it offended others.

  He was the grandson of our queen, which was why he was here as a Chosen, even though he was not a good warrior. Our clan lacked many females for many years; actually, for as long as I can remember the M’Mori being here to mine for Aket we have been lackin
g in females. I would not let Lelan being here affect me and my happiness today.

  My other chosen Clan brothers and I followed Lelan swiftly out of the trees. Even though I was larger of all the chosen males, I was not high born like Lelan. He would be chosen to mate our female first.

  Lelan was very impatient and turned to look behind at us. I could already see the chosen males from Taanin were ahead of us. We would have second choice, which was not going to please Lelan.

  “Jaim, faster you stupid takxe,” he growled and his tails showed his frustrations.

  The ground between us and the M’Mori craft felt long, as if the faster I walked the further away they were. I have waited all my years to be blessed as a chosen and now it was almost here I was starting to doubt myself that I could make a female happy.

  I was strong and the bravest warrior; however, seeing the small females in front of me had me feeling… curious. They had no color like the Aashi. These females were very strange in their colors.

  Taanin Clan chose the one with the darkest colors, and as they walked past us, one of their warriors snickered at us. I didn’t understand why, since we had not been at war with the Taanin Clan in many years and they had first choice in a female.