A must-listen prequel novella in the Stolen Warriors series from USA Today bestselling author Ella Maven. Contains mature themes.

The blue alien warrior pacing in his cage terrifies me. His long dark hair is wild and messy, and his scarred body looks made for murder. I deliver food to him every day, and I'm sure by the way he stares at me that he'd rather eat me. Yet there's something about him that captivates me, and I can't stop watching him. When he lets the snarling, fearsome mask slip, I start to see there's a cool calculation to his actions. I would be risking everything to help him escape, but do I dare let this monster free from his cage?

Space ship travel when you've been kidnapped sucks. I don't get a pillow, there's no snacks, and worst of all—the whole ship crashes. Except, it doesn't crash on Earth, or even Mars. Nope, I'm in a whole new galaxy on a foreign planet and some body-builder-looking blue horned aliens with lots of piercings have decided I'm their new play thing. And not in a good way. Until one alien decides he's not going to share, and maybe I have a concussion from the crash, because I'm all about the possessive way he protects me. But there's no way he'll fight his whole clan for me . . . right?

When space pirates attack the exploratory spaceship I work on and I'm forced to evacuate in an escape pod, I never expected to crash land on an alien planet. I have no idea where any of my fellow crew members are or if they even got away. I'm entirely alone. Or so I think. Instead, I'm rescued from a fierce predator by a towering purple alien with a tail and color-changing tattoos who ignites strange feelings inside me.

As merchandise heading to an intergalactic auction, Ashe’s future looks grim. So when a too-sexy-for-his-own-good alien outlaw solicits her help to break them out of lockup, she jumps on the chance. Ashe only needs to survive long enough with the known criminal to get her end of the bargain: freedom. She trusts the clawed and fanged Tallean warrior to keep her safe, but who will keep her safe from him?

In the blink of an eye, my whole world has collapsed around me. Headed towards my dream vacation, I was snatched right out of the air. My husband, the love of my life, was destroyed right in front of my eyes. He fought bravely trying to protect me from a horror neither one of us could have ever imagined. I find myself standing in the spotlight on a stage.

As the first humans allowed in Suevan space, there’s a lot riding on my all-woman team. Earth desperately needs their tech, and I’m determined to prove we can negotiate the price. Without their planetary defense systems, Earth is a sitting duck, ripe for invasion. Except the Suevan culture is nothing like ours. When I take part in what I think is a welcoming ceremony, I leave with more than I bargained for: a husband. A mate. Apparently, we’re there to marry them as payment—something the top brass on Earth doesn’t bother denying. Fantastic.

As if being abducted by space slavers wasn’t bad enough, I’m sold to a species of aliens in need of extras for their immersive entertainment moons, where their privileged citizens can hunt or battle or bed us at their leisure. When I’m separated from my crew and dropped into a lush alien jungle, I have no idea which fantasy moon I’m on—until the first arrow nearly impales me.

When my sister is chosen for the Monster Mate Hunt—an annual event where two women must sacrifice themselves to the orcs for the good of us all—I volunteer in her place. The orcs hunt me as I bolt through the forest. I'm captured by the gruff, growly Commander Jaus, who expects me to cook and clean, plus sleep in his quarters with him at night, despite insisting he doesn't want a mate. Then something changes, and his dark, brooding gaze turns my way . . .

As a prisoner in the arena, my greatest battle won't be for my life. It'll be for the heart of a woman. As a prisoner in the arena, my greatest battle won't be for my life. It'll be for the heart of a woman. Once I scented the human, she was mine. Every part of me hungered for her. To touch. To taste. To take. But she belongs to my enemy. Claiming her will cost me. I may sacrifice everything. My revenge. My life. My very soul.

Many generations ago, humans fled Earth and sought refuge on the planet Thyre, a world ruled by formidable warlords. In exchange for protection and the right to inhabit Thyre's lands, each year our outposts pay tribute to the warlords. This year, we fall short on our tythes, and the village mayor decides to pay the missing taxes in the form of four women. I'm chosen to be part of the tribute given to Brogan, the Warlord of Grymburg. I don't know what awaits me, but I wasn't prepared for the warlord to take my breath away and claim me.

R'jaal has waited many turns of the seasons for his khui to resonate, only to be disappointed time and time again. But when he is taken captive by strange beings hiding in the very tunnels of the fruit caves, he wakes up to find himself in a strange underground cage. Also in the cage? A very pretty unfamiliar human female. She says her name is Rosalind. She makes his khui sing. It's finally his time. There's a big problem, though—Rosalind has no khui of her own. And if she doesn't get one soon, she could die.

On a ruined world, I fell in love with a monster. And now he's back. Not that it matters. He is an orc warrior. I am a human woman. Amid a blasted Earth ruined by invasion, Yggy was always kind to me. His handsome face caused me to fall in love. Until one night, when I realized his love for me would lead to my death. Against all protests from my heart, I had to leave Yggy. But my orc never stopped searching for me. He never gave up. He always loved me. But when he found me, he found someone else that shocked him to his core. Our child.

Being kidnapped by aliens is one thing. Being kidnapped by aliens and sent to a prison planet is something infinitely worse. Here in Haven’s prison system, I’m stranded among strangers, enemies, and the most ruthless criminals in the galaxy. There’s no safety for a human woman here, especially not one branded as a murderer. I’m doomed to a fate worse than death. Then, he decides I should be his. His name’s Jutari. He’s seven feet tall, blue, and horned.

I don't believe in love. But then again, up until a week or so ago, I didn't believe in aliens either. And yet here I am having been abducted, stranded on a jungle planet, and now surrounded by a tribe of huge, protective aliens with wings and tails. At least these are the good guys. Their leader, Rynn, is convinced I'm the reason the skin on his chest is lit up like a Christmas tree, particularly the area directly above his heart. But that's just some weird alien biochemical reaction. Just like all supposed 'love', right?