York (The Vorge Crew Book 3)

  York

  The Vorge Crew – Book Three

  By Laurann Dohner

  York by Laurann Dohner

  Watching his crewmates fall in love has left York craving a female of his own. That’s how he ends up being matched to a Parri female through a service to find bond mates. He’s excited at the prospect when he arrives on planet Relon. Until he actually meets her.

  Betrayed by her government in a bid for alien technology, poverty-stricken human Sara is doomed to be a prince’s sex toy, until she’s rescued on a planet that doesn’t take kindly to slavers. Suddenly free, she’s an outcast on her new home, treated with distrust…by everyone except a gorgeous, kind, huge blue alien. Too bad he’s getting married the next day. His future bond mate is a horrid, abusive woman, and Sara has a way to save them both—she’ll convince York to bond with her instead.

  The Vorge Crew Series List

  Cathian

  Dovis

  York

  Dovis by Laurann Dohner

  Copyright © October 2018

  Editor: Kelli Collins

  Cover Art: Dar Albert

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-944526-96-2

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles.

  Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is coincidental.

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  York – The Vorge Crew – Book Three

  By Laurann Dohner

  Prologue

  Two weeks prior – Earth

  Sara was drowning in fear, betrayal, and most of all, shock. Her stomach heaved but at least she didn’t throw up.

  One of the women broke loose from where they stood huddled together and made a desperate dash toward a door on the far side of the building.

  Two muscled military men rushed after her, grabbing her arms. She screamed and flailed, trying to break free.

  A third man in a white coat rushed toward them and jabbed her arm with a syringe. It knocked out the woman fast, and they dragged her limp body away.

  That caused a few other women to panic and make a run for it. They didn’t make it far. They were captured and drugged, too.

  “Remain calm!”

  Sara stared at the old jerk yelling behind the podium. He wore a military uniform with some medals attached. A feeling of hopelessness settled in. Even if she were to run and somehow manage to escape the building where they’d been taken, there would be nowhere to go. The police themselves had collected her from her secretary job.

  It wasn’t a group of criminals who’d stolen her and nineteen other women from their lives. This was a government-sanctioned so-called “program.”

  She’d heard every word the jerk said to explain why they’d been taken from their lives. He’d even shown a few charts on a big screen behind him, as if graphs could somehow make sense of what he was condoning. Women outnumbered men eight to one. Overpopulation had caused massive food and housing shortages. He’d sworn it would only get worse—but they’d come up with a solution.

  “Listen to me,” the jerk yelled. “You’re doing your country and planet a great service.” He cleared his throat, lowering his voice to a normal tone before once more speaking into the microphone. “These aliens will marry you. You won’t be harmed. In exchange, we’ll receive the technology we desperately need to fix our current problems.” A smug expression came over his wrinkled features. “You should feel honored that you’ve been chosen to represent the best our planet has to offer.”

  Sara mentally called bullshit. Oh, they might be trading women for technology, but she’d noticed all the other women who’d been brought in were like her—from the poor district. All of them wore similar low-quality clothing, shoddy shoes…

  They had been picked because, on Earth, no one cared what happened to them.

  Sara glanced at the woman softly crying next to her. “Do you have any family?”

  The brunette sniffed and shook her head.

  “I don’t either,” a woman behind them whispered.

  Just what Sara figured. No one to miss them or raise hell. Her job had probably already replaced her in the hours since she’d been escorted from the buildings. Jobs were scarce, especially in her district. She’d been one of the lucky ones, able to feed herself and pay rent on a crappy, tiny apartment.

  “Let’s go. This way,” another man shouted.

  Sara and the women who hadn’t panicked were led to a door at the back. The sun had gone down in the time since they’d arrived.

  The sight that met them made her whimper.

  A large cargo shuttle waited—and six huge aliens stood at the bottom of a ramp.

  Sara had seen aliens on the news a few times, but in person they were even scarier.

  These beings had bodies that resembled those of humans but their faces were almost fishlike in shape, with large guppy mouths, and instead of hair, they had large fins running along the backs of their heads.

  One of the women in front of her broke into sobs and a guard shoved her forward when she stopped. Sara managed to keep walking. But the urge to flee was strong.

  The aliens had devices around their throats, just above their blue inform collars, and she figured out what they were for when one of them spoke. His voice came from the device, rather than his moving mouth.

  “Board now. No fighting or you regret.”

  A shudder ran down her spine as she was herded aboard. There were cages waiting inside. Each woman was shoved into her own. The cages weren’t big, only four feet wide, maybe five deep, and about six feet tall. An alien slammed the door, locking her in. He stared at her with big watery yellow eyes and made a gurgling sound, maybe laughter, if she were to guess.

  “They tell you to be brides. Lies.”

  She stepped back. “What do you mean, lie? We’re being married off.”

  That gurgling came again. “Sex slaves,” the computerized voice stated from the device at his throat. “Auction take place while we transport and deliver you to buyer at trading planets.”

  She felt like she was about to throw up again.

  The alien moved away, probably informing the other women as he stopped at each of the cages. It seemed to amuse him to see their reactions. A woman down the line from Sara began to shriek.

  Sara sat on the hard floor. There wasn’t a seat, a blanket, anything…and as she studied the space, she was pretty sure the six-inch drain in the corner passed for a bathroom.

  “Oh God,” she whispered, hugging her chest tight, the beginnings of tears sliding down her cheeks.

  The shuttle took off, and she had to grab hold of the bars when it began to shake violently. Then she did get sick, using the hole to empty her breakfast into. Once the ride smoothed out, another alien, this one wearing a holster around his middle, stopped outside of her cage, watching as she wiped her mouth.

  “Stand and face.”

  She hesitated.

  He pulled a metal stick off the holster, waving it. It reminded her of a small version of a cattle prod that she’d seen in movies. His words verified her guess. “I touch you with. It hurt. Get up!”

  She struggled to her feet and stared at him.
<
br />   He put the stick back into the holster and pulled out what looked similar to an Earth camera. “Smile for buyers.”

  She forced one, too afraid to refuse. He scanned up and down her body before turning away. She retook her seat and leaned against the bars, terrified.

  It didn’t come as a surprise that they’d been lied to, but that whole spiel about being married to respectable aliens who’d treat them well had been her only comfort. That was gone.

  “This is so fucked up,” a tall blonde in the next cage whispered.

  Sara looked at her, nodding.

  “No talking!” An alien lunged at the cage holding the blonde and shoved his stick between the bars.

  The blonde screamed when it touched her and passed out in seconds.

  Sara quickly scooted away from the bars to the back of the cage, sealing her lips tight. The alien stopped in front of her, his yellow eyes fixed on her. “In week, we drop you at trading spot. Buyer pick up and take you home to his world, wherever it be. No talk. No cry. No annoy!”

  She managed to nod.

  He walked down the row of cages, and Sara silently let the tears fall.

  Sometime later, another shuttle met with theirs. Most of the cages with women were taken away, leaving only Sara and one other captive. Most of the fish aliens left with the others, leaving two behind to guard Sara and the other woman. These guards didn’t watch over them, instead leaving them to go to the front of the shuttle for hours.

  Sara tried to talk to the woman but she seemed to be in a state of deep depression, based on the way she was crying.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she called out to her. “We humans are tough!” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince more. Herself or the other woman.

  She eventually went to sleep curled up on the floor and woke sometime later to one of the guards yelling.

  Sara sat up and stared toward the far cage, where he stood. He stormed away—and that’s when Sara realized why he was upset.

  The other woman had used her shirt and the bars to hang herself. The sleeves of her shirt were knotted together around her throat. Her body hung inches off the floor.

  Sara closed her eyes for long seconds, filled with grief for the stranger. That poor woman had decided death was preferable to facing what might come.

  Loud noises came closer, and she opened her eyes but avoided looking at the body.

  The second guard returned with the first, both of them talking in high-pitched squeals. Their body language told Sara they were pissed. Both of them turned, glaring her way. She scooted to the far corner.

  One stormed toward her, stopped outside her cage, and pressed the device at his throat.

  “Give all clothing now!”

  They didn’t want to risk Sara ending her life, too.

  She stood, shaking, and stripped.

  Chapter One

  The public hover transport engines came on and Sara’s daily trip to a nearby city began. She lived in the alien city of Mors but had to work in Torq. It was a short ten-minute ride. She kept her bag with her lunch on her lap and her gaze down. Some aliens loved to stare at her…or worse.

  The soft vibrations under her seat lulled her back to the recent past, to that day just one week ago since the transport had arrived on the planet Relon, where her buyer was supposed to pick her up.

  She’d been so lucky.

  Instead of her buyer, Relon’s version of the police had stormed inside the shuttle when it landed. Turns out, slavery was illegal on their planet.

  Law enforcement had freed her from her cell and arrested the guards. They’d assured her they would issue a warrant for the alien who’d purchased her, too, for daring to use Relon as a rendezvous. As far as Sara knew, he hadn’t been caught so far.

  The nice customs man who’d recorded all her information had explained that some planets were very remote, and her buyer was likely a resident of one of them. That’s why the large port on Relon had become a hub of illegal trading. It was an ever-growing problem in recent months, and as a result, Relon police were checking all shuttles for illegal contraband.

  That would include her.

  Sara had refused to be sent back to Earth when they’d offered, too afraid her own government would just hand her back to the original aliens to be auctioned yet again. Instead, Relon’s customs department had transferred her to a rescue shelter for freed slaves.

  She had officially become a charity case.

  The shelter provided her with a bed, three meals a day, a job, and clothing. They’d also given her a nifty red bracelet with a panic button in case anyone messed with her, ensuring the police would promptly respond. She’d gotten an implant inside her head, too. It translated the more than twenty alien languages that were spoken fluently on the planet.

  However fortunate, Sara was slowly discovering there were just as many bad things about her new life on Relon.

  The fifty-plus various alien females she lived with in the shelter hated humans, and gave her a wide berth. That made it impossible to make friends. It seemed a lot of people from Earth that far out in space were criminals or slavers. And it didn’t bode well for Sara to be lumped in with them.

  Indeed, the only two humans she’d met since coming to Relon had both been terrible. Men who’d tried to lure her into becoming a prostitute for them, claiming curiosity from alien men would earn them all a lot of credits. It made her sick to her stomach thinking about that kind of life.

  The public hover transport shook, jolting Sara from her musings, and she glanced up. The alien male in a seat opposite her looked like a cross between a rabbit and lizard.

  That could be one of her potential clients. No way!

  She was currently headed to the job she’d been assigned. It was an easy one, serving drinks in a bar, and sometimes food in the dining area inside the same building. She sported some bruises on her ass from strange hands grabbing at her when she wasn’t quick enough to avoid being fondled. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, though. A job was required for her to get a bed and food. All her credits were saved, and in two months, the shelter would kick her out to fend for herself. That scared her, too.

  “Yard, you’re not paying attention to me!”

  The shrill female voice startled her, and Sara turned her head, watching a white-haired blue alien in a tight dress punch the leg of a bigger blue alien man with jet-black hair. They appeared to be of the same race.

  They looked somewhat human, only bigger boned, taller, and with that odd color. Their facial features were attractive—sharp cheekbones, full lips, and almost fully round eyes. The man had a super-muscular build, his black uniform stretched over a broad chest and thick biceps.

  He grunted, taking the hard hit with barely a flinch.

  “I apologize. My name is York.” He had a deep voice.

  The woman snorted and turned to a yellow alien female sitting next to her. That one was a bit shorter but rail thin and sporting four arms. “This is the best my father could do for me. Big and dumb, but he’s got an excellent job. He works for an ambassador on one of those huge space vessels! You must train them right from the start. Remember that if you decide to bond with a Parri.”

  “I’m not going to,” the thin alien replied, her voice cold. “I don’t like submissive men.”

  “Why not? It’s best to be in charge. Do you want one who’ll bully you?” The blue woman shook her head. “Jazzatzz, you need to listen to me. Parri males must do the bidding of their bond mate. It’s a matter of honor. This one will bow down to my every wish.” She suddenly reached out and smacked the massive male again, this time on the arm. “Tell her, Yarv.”

  Sara flinched at the loud slap. It sounded painful.

  The alien guy’s lips only pressed together tightly before he responded. “We treat our bond mates extremely well. And my name is York.”

  The blue woman turned on him. “I don’t like your tone! I’ll call you what I want. The bonding ceremony doesn’t take place until
tomorrow morning; apologize, or I’ll change my mind about becoming your mate. I’m doing you a great honor! Don’t you ever forget that.”

  The big alien rolled his shoulders. “I apologize.”

  The woman smiled smugly, glancing at her friend. “See? You train them from the first moment you meet. We bare their children, sleep in their beds, and in return, we’re to be treated with the highest respect. That’s why you should choose to bond with a Parri. Other races are too barbaric.”

  Sara lowered her gaze, feeling sorry for York. The woman with him seemed to be a controlling bitch. She had been told some aliens mated, some bonded, and others signed legal contracts when they married. It had been covered in one of the classes the shelter provided every night. She’d also slowly been familiarizing herself with the different alien species living on Relon. She’d spotted some of the blue aliens before but had yet to get close enough to really study them or listen to them interact with each other.

  “Yavor is buying me a new wardrobe before we fly off the surface to his job after the bonding ceremony. Only the best for me,” the woman bragged. “That’s one more reason you should pick a Parri, my friend. They aren’t allowed to say no to their bond mates. He’ll spoil me and give me whatever I want, or I’ll make him suffer by refusing to allow him to cuddle me. Males need to hold their mates while they sleep.”

  Sara glanced back at York. He looked miserable as his fiancée or whatever she was rambled on about all the ways she could make the poor bastard suffer. Not once did she get his name right, blundering it every time.

  Sara grew angry on his behalf.

  The attractive man didn’t correct the bitch after those first few times, but Sara noticed as his broad shoulders began to sag. Defeated had a look—and he wore it on his whole body. She knew it well, seeing it in her own expression every time she used a mirror as she got ready for work or before going to bed at the shelter.