Slag: Book Four in the Galaxy Pirates Alien Abduction Romance Series (Shifter) Alana Khan (love letters to the dead .txt) 📖

We all gaze at an ungainly waxy-yellow humanoid female dressed in stiff formal clothes. If I had to guess, she’s a preteen.

“This is Veryl Blinten Gollub. Princess Veryl Blinten Gollub. Her doting and ridiculously wealthy father, King Gollub of planet Norrel has put the word out on the Intergalactic Database that he is looking for a dreambaby for his beloved daughter’s sixteenth birthday. He didn’t come right out and say it, but his ad makes it very clear that he will accept a previously owned dreambaby that comes to him from questionable circumstances.

“Princess Gollub, though, is going to be gifted with this adorable animal that is unsullied and has never imprinted on any previous owners. We’re going to receive top credit for this piece of livestock.”

He nods, looking quite proud of himself. Then spears A’Zul once more as he asks, “You can do this, right?”

“I think so.”

“You can stay . . . in character for a couple of days?”

“I think so. Recently I spent days in my dragon form.”

When it looks like the discussion is over and Sextus and Lexa are halfway out of their seats looking as if they’re about to make a mad dash down the hallway to get to their room to have sex, Thantose says, “But, there’s more.”

Everyone settles back into their seats. Perhaps they’re wondering what could be better than bilking a fat-cat gazillionaire out of his not-so-hard-earned credits.

“King Gollub is known for his penchant for collecting. This male collects everything from rare crystals to rare ocean animals to rare antiquities. We’ve done business before when I stole a few paintings to his specifications. He’s a greedy motherdracker, and none of you should have any compunctions about swindling him.

“You’ll notice what all his collections have in common . . . rare. Rare has many synonyms, but one of those is ‘expensive’. There’s a treasure trove of valuable trinkets and baubles lining the walls, shelves, and closets of his castle. And now that we’ll have an inside male, or in this case, an inside dreambaby, we have access to every single thing.

“Here’s our plan,” he continues. Lo and behold, the table opens up to reveal a map, and damned if he doesn’t start a numbered and labeled list of every moving part of this caper.

Caper! 

Headline: former 911 operator turned pirate moll involved in intergalactic caper of the century involving a shapeshifting dreambaby. This is a far cry from assisting with the rescue of kittens stuck in trees.

I love it!

I’m even more excited when I hear that I even get to go to planet Norrel and perform a speaking role. Who knew that the 911 operator who was happy to stay safe at her desk hiding behind the anonymity of her headphone possessed a pirate spirit. All I needed was to be abducted, then saved by aliens.

Chapter Eleven

A’Zul

This caper, as my mate calls it, hinges on me. There are a lot of other working parts, but if I mess up, not only are we out five million credits, which I’m told is a lot of money, but people could get hurt—or killed.

I’ve spent the last ten days shifting. I’ve shifted when tired, hungry, walking, sitting, and even in the shower. I’ve mostly shifted to dreambaby form, but also to everything but my stallion and dragon forms and, of course, the true shape of A’zul—it’s like that part of me is trapped inside and can’t fight his way out.

I shifted to Slag’s form a decade ago to survive in the mines. This happened without a conscious decision on my part. I didn’t know anything like that was possible, but with the threat of death from the toxic minerals in the mine, the innate desire for self-preservation must have caused the transformation. It saved our lives. But now I don’t know how to get back into my original shape. It’s like some part deep inside me doesn’t believe I’m really safe even though the mines on Rhoid are far away in another sector of the galaxy.

Everyone is confident in my shifting abilities. Everyone, that is, except me. I need to get this right, especially for the health and safety of my beloved mate. But how could I say no to the male who helped us escape inhospitable planets not once but twice?

Sextus and Devolose are here at the exit area. They’re the muscle to safely escort us to the palace. KJ is here, dressed for her role as a server. She’ll fit right in with the diverse races the king uses as domestic help.

Thantose strides into the room, looking the part of a handsome pirate, wearing black leather pants and a coat that sweeps almost to his knees. He’s carrying my cage.

“Ready?” he asks me, a smile slashed across his face. This male can be harsh and single-minded when it comes to credits, but over the last ten days we’ve become friends.

From what I’ve told KJ, she figures I’ve been gone from my planet ten rotations. That’s a long time to go without a friend.

“Okay, my male,” he says as he pats my back. “It’s time.”

I shift into dreambaby form and scamper into the carrier he placed on the floor. Luckily, I can think clearly in this form. This is important because this whole caper is riding on me.

Thantose worked an impressive deal for five million credits. When KJ used the phrase ‘like taking candy from a baby’ he laughed and nodded and agreed that selling the dreambaby was almost too easy to be considered fun. He’s more excited about the long list of trinkets, baubles, and antiquities he wants me to steal and handoff to my mate on the sly.

I squeak when Thantose bumps me against his hip in this carrier, but he doesn’t speak dreambaby and pays no attention.

After