Page 10 of Alien Jeopardy

“How much money is that in, er, American dollars?” she asks.

There’s no answer.

I roll my eyes, catching a small grin on Lu’s face.

We might all be pissed off, but none of us are truly angry. Lily looks madder than the rest, but I know the sound of the reward’s already put her at ease.

“Before we begin, we have one last contestant to announce.” A door slides open with a pneumatic hiss, and a thin, hard-looking woman walks in. Her eyes are dark, her collarbones jutting out sharply from beneath the simple shift dress she wears. Shoulders hunched, she surveys us with suspicious eyes.

“Introducing Selene!”

I nod at her, managing a quiet hello, completely unsure what to think about the newcomer. The rest of my friends look slightly nervous, all greeting her with varied degrees of enthusiasm.

“Why is it just the six of us? That doesn’t seem like enough people—” Lucy starts.

“You will be allowed to select your mate now, and once chosen, you will be marked and dropped at a secret location. Good luck to all of you, and welcome toMated and Afraid.”

Music starts, dramatic and ridiculous.

“Is that supposed to be the theme song?” Lily asks, frowning. “It’s not very good.”

Lu laughs at that, then winces. “I’m still so hungover.”

“How the hell did they get us to Sueva so fast?—”

Poppy gasps, interrupting Lily as she takes several steps forward.

Reflexively, we all look towards where Poppy’s heading.

The glass isn’t opaque any longer.

Nope.

It’s clear, and I swallow hard, my heart beating incredibly fast at the sight on the other side of it.

Five winged aliens, in colors I didn’t know aliens came in. Sure, one’s green, like the Suevans, and though they have a pattern to their skin, they aren’t scaled like the Suevans, or the grey velvet of the Roth. None of them are wearing anything but sturdy-looking pants, weapons strapped to their thighs and hips.

I fan my face.

They’re huge.

Huge, and more muscled than anyone I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Whew.

“Those are our partners?” Lucy sounds like she might faint.

Lily and I share a concerned look. If the opening of this show is anything like the human reality survival shows we like, Lucy and her hangover are in serious trouble.

“You have thirty seconds to choose a partner. Ellison Price, you will choose first.”

Oh shit, that’s me.

Thirty seconds?

Sure enough, a lit-up clock appears in the glass, ticking down from thirty.

I shake my head, my gaze skimming across the veritable buffet of stunning specimens in front of me. All five seem incredibly tense, their wings all at half-mast, tails flicking like an angry cat’s behind them.

Except for one.