Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery - Margo Bond Collins

About Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery

There are about a million ways to end up in the Alien Bride Lottery. But all it takes is one.

Every unmarried female human over the age of twenty-one gets entered once a year. You can also accept extra entries for legal infractions—instead of paying a parking fine, for example, you can request an extra entry. Lots of women do that. I mean, why not? The chances are astronomical that your name will get chosen to be one of the hundred or so women who get shipped off to space every year.

And even if your name is drawn, the odds are slim that you’ll match up with an alien who’s looking for a mate.

Most of the lottery-drawn women come back to Earth every year and resume their lives as if nothing changed.

But some don’t.

And no matter what, getting drawn in the lottery means you have to compete in the Bride Games.

Guess that’s where I’m heading now.

I only hope I can avoid catching the eye of one of the giant, rainbow-hued brutes whose mission is to protect Earth—and who can claim me as a mate.

All because I was Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery…

Natalie

There are about a million ways to end up in the Alien Bride Lottery.

Every unmarried female human between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-five gets entered once a year. You can also choose to accept extra entries instead of dealing with the courts for various legal infractions—instead of paying a parking fine, for example, you can request an extra entry. Lots of women do that. I mean, why not? The chances are astronomical that your name will get chosen to be one of the hundred or so women who get shipped off to space every year.

And even if your name is drawn, the odds are slim that you’ll match up with an alien who’s looking for a mate.

Most of the lottery-drawn women come back to Earth every year and resume their lives as if nothing changed.

But some don’t. We Earth women mostly manage to ignore that part. At least, I always did.

So there I was on my twenty-first birthday, out with my college friends for my first legal drink, worrying a little about the midterm exam in my biology class the next week.

Not worrying about aliens.

Mostly, I had my eye on David Beatty, the sax player for the band that Jasmine, my roommate, had convinced to play tonight.

“Hey, Earth to Natalie.” Jas waved her hand in front of my face. “If you don’t stop eye-fucking him and start trying to get him into your actual bed, I might go hit on him just so someone does.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not his type. He’s pretty much made it clear that he’s not that into me.”

“Oh, bullshit. He’s never said any such thing.” She took a long drink of her whiskey and Coke. I shuddered—whiskey was probably my least favorite alcohol in the world. Jas eyed my own barely touched drink on the table between us. “No wonder you haven’t worked up enough nerve. You need to down your girly drink, then march your sexy ass over there and hit that.”

I laughed aloud but picked up my vodka and cranberry and downed it in two gulps. “It’s going to take more than that, girlfriend.”

“Oh, please, you’re a lightweight. Already slurring your words.” Jas hopped off her stool and grabbed my hand. “Come on. Let’s go talk to him. You have to at least thank the guys for playing tonight. Their break is almost over.”

“Okay, okay.” I stumbled behind her and was still laughing when all the lights went on in the bar. Everyone froze as the giant televisions on either end of the main room turned on and flipped to an image of a Khanavai male with bright green skin and a shock of white-gold hair in a buzzed mohawk.

The Lottery Director and Bride Games Administrator, Vos Klavoii.

“Hello, people of Earth.” He flashed a smile so white it should have been on a toothpaste ad. He’d been drawing the lottery names once a year for as long as I could remember. Not on any schedule that anyone had ever been able to determine, though. Instead, when they were ready, the Khanavai took over every communication device in the world and transmitted the Lottery Drawing.

Over the next few days, the entire world would be watching the most intense reality show ever filmed.

This time, it started at twelve-thirty in the morning, the day after my birthday.

Along with