Sold To The Werewolf Prince Read online

  Sold To The Werewolf Prince

  Daniella Wright

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  More By Daniella

  Never Touched Before

  Chapter One

  This planet looks so much like home that I think I’m going to cry. Those sparkling blue oceans and green land masses edged in what can only be golden sandy beaches bring to mind my grandparents’ home videos, scratchy with age. Images of sandcastles, and surfing, things lost to my generation when the sea levels rose, and both the sea and the shore became littered with pollution.

  “Initial scans completed.” Computer’s voice is a gentle female tone, designed to be soothing in the most stressful of situations. A stream of text flows onto the left-hand side of the screen, partially covering the image of the planet before us, as she relays the results. “High levels of iron ore, gold, silver and oil. Abundant fresh water. Life forms consist of single-celled organisms.”

  “This is perfect.” Ranger Desmon slaps the holodeck, his eyes shining as he turns to look at me. “It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for.”

  I nod my head, slowly. It is exactly what we’ve been looking for. But this planet is untouched. I can’t bear to imagine what it might look like in a year or two if we claim it.

  “We need to report it in, Ranger Bakewell.” Ranger Desmon frowns. “We can’t delay. This will put us in front of the Russians by miles.”

  I cringe. I can’t help it. Why the human race has to be so competitive is beyond me. Why can’t we just live in peace, and within our means?

  I take a deep breath. “Computer, perform a deep scan for life forms.”

  Ranger Desmon shakes his head. “Computer already reported on life forms. Single-celled organisms. Pre-Cambrian. Nothing that’s going to be bothered by us setting down a few settlements.”

  A few settlements. I’ve studied human history, and I know for a fact that every single time one country has set down ‘a few settlements’ in another, it’s resulted in a complete take-over, and destruction of the colony’s people and resources.

  I meet Desmon’s gaze, my eyes narrowed. “We need to be sure.”

  “Scanning initialized.” An overlay appears across the screen as our scanners range the planet’s surface and up to 50 miles below ground.

  Ranger Desmon stands with his arms crossed over his chest, his jaw clenched. What Desmon doesn’t know but would probably agree with if he did, is that we’ve been instructed to take out any opposition we might come across. Our state-of-the-art Ranger Ship is amongst the largest of the spaceships produced on earth, all grey and silver with sleek lines and the most powerful of everything; engines, weapons, technology. It’s more than capable of taking on the most powerful spaceship any other country on earth has produced, and, we assume, anything any alien, not that we’ve come across any of those yet. Despite the governments of the world confirming the alien and UFO sightings that occurred in the past, it’s been many years since there have been any such visits. I wonder sometimes whether the aliens have all died out, or whether they just decided we were too hard to deal with and abandoned us. Whatever the answer to that question, I’d told the crew we’d been instructed not to colonize planets with conscious life forms. I’d never imagined we might come across planets at the very beginnings of life.

  “With all due respect, Ranger Bakewell, we’ve been searching for resource rich planets for months now and have never come across any sort of alien life. Perhaps they once existed, perhaps it was the government cashing on an old conspiracy theory to distract the world from their other dealings. Either way, we are the only ones out here now, and we’ll be long gone before these life forms evolve enough to realize we were ever here.”

  Yes, gone, and their planet destroyed. But I can’t share such thoughts out loud. I just have to stall for as long as I possibly can and hope that Computer is able to find some sort of sentient life.

  Desmon speaks up again. “Computer, please make a record of Ranger Bakewell’s hesitation.” He glances at me. “I just want to be sure I don’t lose my position because of your dithering.”

  Desmon storms off, and I turn back to the screen.

  I stay on the main deck for the rest of the afternoon, just watching the planet below. It’s so pristine, so perfect, its life forms have barely begun their development into whatever it is they’re going to become.

  If I report this in, if the government claims it as their own, those life forms will never have a chance to become anything other than laboratory specimens, to be poked and prodded and studied, their genetic sequencing mapped out for anything that might be useful to the human population, or anything that might be modified in the lab and therefore made useful for humans. And if some alien biologist decides these life forms are somehow inherently dangerous? They’ll be eradicated altogether.

  Their planet will be razed to the ground, stripped of anything of use, and probably plenty that’s not. I can’t image how fast they’d achieve that. Back on earth there are still plenty of people protesting against environmental destruction, the remaining forests locked up under protection laws, with people always on the look-out for any attempt to weaken those laws. But out here… there’s so few people aware of what’s happening out here that there’s no one stepping up to protect these places. That’s why I had to come. I had to make sure we didn’t destroy any other planets the way we are destroying our own.

  As far the government is concerned, the needs of the American people are more important than anything else, and the American people need resources to create stronger alloys, faster ships and more powerful weapons. Anything that might put them ahead of the space-race.

  Computer informs me that it’s 3 am as the last of the scans are completed, the results displaying themselves across the screen in information I can’t deny. No sentient life forms. Single-celled organisms only. I rub my eyes and stifle a yawn. I should have gone to bed hours ago, but I couldn’t. I somehow felt that I’d be leaving the planet unprotected if I left my post. I don’t know how to protect it now. Once the crew find out I’ll be forced to report it in, unless…

  “Computer, can you delete the results of these scans?”

  “Delete the results? Are you sure, Ranger Bakewell?” Sometimes I wish Computer’s voice could change pitch. While her words express shock and confusion, the soft soothing tone almost suggests she’s patronizing me.

  I nod. It’s habit, even though I know Computer can’t perceive it, despite the cameras constantly recording here, on the main deck.

  Deleting those results is the only way to save this planet; I can put us in hyperdrive and send us miles away, removing any record of the planet from our system. I could tell the crew there were sentient life forms, so I’d decided to stop wasting time and move us along. It risked my job, but it would be months before we had to return to Earth, and with a bit of luck no one would question anything, anyway. And if they did? If I saved one planet from experiencing the earth’s destruction, then it would be well worth it.

  “I’m
sure, Computer. Delete the results, and put us into hyperdrive.” I swipe the touchpad to bring up a map of the known universe. “Send us to planet XD465.” It’s the next planet on our list. Right on the very edge of what is known as the Goldilocks Zone, planets that fall within a certain range from the sun, making them ‘not too hot, not too cold, but just right’ for life, and in turn, all the resources humans are greedy for.

  The door slides open behind me, almost silent footfalls crossing the floor. I turn to see Desmon, his eyes scanning the screen, a triumphant grin crossing his face.

  “See. I told you.” He looks at me. “We are the most advanced life forms in this universe. Those bacteria won’t even know what they’ve lost.”

  “They’ll have nothing left! We’ll destroy their planet before they’ve even had a chance to live on it.”

  “You weren’t going to report this at all, were you?” Desmon’s eyes were narrowed, but now he smirks. “Good thing I called this in before I went to bed, isn’t it?”

  “You did what?” I realize I’ve raised my voice and take deep breaths to get my temper under control. “We’ve got our planet, and we’ve almost destroyed that. We shouldn’t be taking land that doesn’t belong to us – surely our history has shown us that!”

  “Is that why you took the job? I thought it a bit strange, given your previous experience – Environmental Officer for the Forests Association. I was told you must’ve come to your senses.” He shakes his head, as if he can’t believe he ever accepted that excuse. “But why else would the former head of Environmental Protection want to come out on a ranger ship? You want to protect what’s out there, rather than—”

  The ship jerks, both Desmon and I losing our footing. Whatever else he’d been going to say is lost as we sprawl across the floor, our ship no longer hovering above the planet, but moving away from it.

  “Computer, what’s happening?” A hint of fear has crept into my voice, and I clench my jaw. I have to stay in charge.

  “A strong force is pulling us away from the planet.” There’s that patronizing tone again, and I have to remind myself that Computer is not programmed to be able to do that. “Scanners reveal nothing. There is no explanation for what is causing this.”

  Our ship turns, the planet slipping off the left of the screen, and as we stare out into the stars the stars themselves seem to fade, until before us hangs a great gaping hulk of a ship that fills our screens. My heart seems to beat in my throat.

  “That’s enormous.” Desmon’s eyes are wide, and part of me is relieved to see terror in his expression, too.

  “Computer, full power to the front boosters. Let’s get away from here.”

  “Boosters at full power.” Computer said. We see the boosters flare up, feel our ship straining against the pull of the other ship.

  We may as well be a feather, fighting a gale.

  The door opens, and several crew members tumble in.

  “What’s going on?” There’s panic on everyone’s faces, and I swallow my own fear to try and keep everyone calm.

  “An alien spaceship seems to be sucking us in.” Desmon’s voice wavers.

  “We’ll be fine,” I snap, glaring at him as one of the junior members goes deathly pale.

  I turn back to the screen. “Prepare the plasma cannons, Computer. Fire at full force.”

  “And a moment ago you wanted to protect any alien life forms.” Desmon sniggers, but it sounds forced. Still, I’m glad to see he’s trying to be his usual self. We have to keep the crew as calm as possible. Panicking helps no one in any situation.

  I ignore him, struggling to hide my terror as our fire explodes across the surface of an unseen forcefield. Computer fires again and again; our shots are prevented from reaching anywhere near that ship.

  There’s nothing we can do but watch as a door lowers open, and we are pulled into some sort of docking station deep in the underside of the ship. The door clangs shut behind us, the sound reverberating through our ship, and for a moment the screen shows a platoon of suited beings marching across the station floor towards us, before everything goes black.

  I take a deep breath to steady my voice before I speak. “Computer, wake up the rest of the crew.”

  Nothing.

  “The alarms should be going off.” My hands are sweating, and I wipe them on my jacket. I have to keep control.

  “Clearly they’ve gained control of our systems.” I can’t see Desmon’s face, but I know he’s looking at me with that knowing smirk. I feel marginally better knowing it’s his way of hiding his fear from the rest of us.

  He finds a torch before I do and grabs a laser gun from its place in the wall, pulling a helmet over his face. The other crew members seem unable to move, and Desmon doesn’t bother to help anyone else.

  By the time I’ve found my own torch he’s levered the door open and is gone.

  But he’s too late anyway, as two figures enter, covered from head to toe in white, with a visor covering their faces. They’re pushing Desmon ahead of them, guns pointed at his back. Their visors are mirrored, so we can’t see inside, though I’m relieved to see they have two arms and two legs, and they’re only a little taller than we are. They shout at us in a language no one understands, but their gestures are clear, ‘arms up’. I raise my arms, following one of the aliens as Desmon and the few crew members present are forced to follow behind.

  We’re led out of the ship to where the rest of my crew has already been gathered, lined up, arms raised. There should be 25 of us, and I try to count the rest of the crew out of the corner of my eye, but I can’t see all the way to the end, so I don’t know if anyone is missing. I turn my attention to the aliens. There are ten of them, each with a weapon that could probably disintegrate us, if the guns are anywhere near as powerful as the ship.

  We stand there for what feels like an age. My arms are straining but I’ve already witnessed one of the aliens jam their gun in the face of one of my crew, further down the line, for dropping their arms, and my self-preservation instincts have kicked in, adrenalin giving me the strength to continue.

  Finally, five more aliens come out of the ship, moving to stand in front of us. Someone steps forward, and their helmet slides back, disappearing into their crisp white space suits, to reveal a man with dark shaggy hair and an equally shaggy beard. His nose and mouth are slightly elongated, and his ears are pointed, but other than that he looks human enough. I sense a breath of relief flood through the crew. The aliens are not so alien after all.

  “S-sorry if we have c-caused offence.” Desmon is stuttering, and if the situation was not so dire, I’d be pleased to see he’s been proven wrong. Right now I just wish I could silence him, that he’d let me do the talking. He swallows, his voice clearer. “We didn’t realize you were interested in the planet as well. If you let us go, we will leave this area immediately.”

  But then the man speaks.

  “We have examined your ship,” he says, his English perfect. “And listened to your log. You are being charged with threatening the lifeforms of a Level 1 Undeveloped Planet, the consequences of which are execution. Your fate will be determined by trial on our home planet. Until then you will remain in cells. Your ship will be retained here until your trial is complete.”

  It's ridiculous, given the situation, but I can’t help but feel a sense of relief. These aliens wanted to protect that planet just as much as I did. In a way, my wish has come true. No humans will be able to ravage it. It will remain as pristine and pure as its own creatures will allow, and with a bit of luck, those creatures will be much more sensible than we humans have been.

  We are shepherded through the landing bay and down through the bowels of the ship where we are thrust into a large room.

  There are bunk beds around the grey steel walls, a toilet in one corner, and nothing else.

  “How long do you suppose this is going to take?” Zak is the youngest of our crew, and the member most convinced that aliens still existed somewhere i
n the universe. I guess that’s helped her move on so fast from shock to irritation, as though this is a minor obstacle to overcome. So far as I can see the rest of us are still stuck in shock-mode.

  I couldn’t keep quiet. “This would’ve been quicker if Desmon had listened to me. The only reason they think we’re threatening those life forms is because he reported it in.”

  Desmon is slumped against one wall but glances up when he hears his name. He looks lost. “They’re aliens, Bakewell. Actual, real aliens, who are far more powerful than anything we ever dreamed possible. They know everything about us. They viewed our log. They have our orders, they know what we were doing there. What I did or didn’t do has absolutely nothing to do with this.”

  I climb up onto one of the top bunks and lay down, staring at the ceiling. How arrogant were we to assume that we had the best technology in the universe, that our ship would be safe from alien attack? Still, that’s humans, isn’t it? Arrogant. We assume we’re the strongest and smartest in the universe simply because we’ve seen no alien life on Earth. And just like every other time we’ve believed that arrogance, it’s caused our downfall.

  I close my eyes, a single tear trickling down the side of my face to pool in my ear. My self-preservation instincts are still high, and I really, really, don’t want to die. I just can’t see any alternative. We’ve been charged with threatening the life forms on that planet, and all the evidence will show we’re guilty. What other outcome could there be?

  Chapter Two

  The cells are cold, and when our midday meal arrives it is an unrecognizable sludge that makes my stomach lurch just looking at it.