Deceived Read online

  Deceived

  Aliens of Malum

  Sophie Stern

  Copyright © 2021 by Sophie Stern

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Kasmit Covers:

  kasmitcovers.com

  Also by Sophie Stern

  Alien Chaos

  Destroyed

  Guarded

  Saved

  Christmas on Chaos

  Alien Chaos: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Bundle

  Aliens of Malum

  Deceived: An Alien Brides Romance

  Betrayed: An Alien Brides Romance

  Fallen: An Alien Brides Romance

  Captured: An Alien Brides Romance

  Regret

  Crazed

  For Keeps

  Rotten: An Alien Brides Romance

  Anchored

  Starboard

  Battleship

  All Aboard

  Abandon Ship

  Below Deck

  Crossing the Line

  Anchored: Books 1-3

  Anchored: Books 4-6

  Ashton Sweets

  Christmas Sugar Rush

  Valentine's Sugar Rush

  St. Patty's Sugar Rush

  Halloween Sugar Rush

  Bullies of Crescent Academy

  You Suck

  Troublemaker

  Jaded

  Club Kitten Dancers

  Move

  Pose

  Climb

  Dragon Enchanted

  Hidden Mage

  Hidden Captive

  Hidden Curse

  Dragon Isle

  The Dragon Fighter

  A Dragon's Bite

  Lost to the Dragon

  Beware of Dragons

  Cowboy Dragon

  Dark Heart of the Dragon

  Once Upon a Dragon

  Catching the Dragon

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 4-6)

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 7-9)

  Fate High School

  You Wish: A High School Reverse Harem Romance

  Freak: A Reverse Harem High School Romance

  Get Lost: A Reverse Harem Romance

  Good Boys and Millionaires

  Good Boys and Millionaires 1

  Good Boys and Millionaires 2

  Honeypot Babies

  The Polar Bear's Baby

  The Jaguar's Baby

  The Tiger's Baby

  Honeypot Darlings

  The Bear's Virgin Darling

  The Bear's Virgin Mate

  The Bear's Virgin Bride

  Office Gentlemen

  Ben From Accounting

  Polar Bears of the Air Force

  Staff Sergeant Polar Bear

  Master Sergeant Polar Bear

  Airman Polar Bear

  Senior Airman Polar Bear

  Red

  Red: Into the Dark

  Red: Through the Dark

  Red: Beyond the Dark

  Return to Dragon Isle

  Dragons Are Forever

  Dragon Crushed: An Enemies-to-Lovers Paranormal Romance

  Dragon's Hex

  Dragon's Gain (Coming Soon)

  Dragon's Rush: An Enemies-to-Lovers Paranormal Romance (Coming Soon)

  Shifters at Law

  Wolf Case

  Bearly Legal

  Tiger Clause

  Sergeant Bear

  Dragon Law

  Shifters of Rawr County

  The Lion's Fake Wife

  The Tiger's Fake Date

  The Tiger's Pretend Husband

  The Polar Bear's Fake Mate

  The Wolf's Pretend Mate

  Stormy Mountain Bears

  The Lumberjack's Baby Bear

  The Writer's Baby Bear

  The Mountain Man's Baby Bears

  Sweet Nightmares

  The Vampire's Melody (Coming Soon)

  The Sound of Roses (Coming Soon)

  Team Shifter

  Bears VS Wolves

  No Fox Given

  The Fablestone Clan

  Dragon's Oath

  Dragon's Breath

  Dragon's Darling

  Dragon's Whisper

  Dragon's Magic

  The Feisty Dragons

  Untamed Dragon

  Naughty Dragon

  Monster Dragon

  The Hidden Planet

  Vanquished

  Outlaw

  Conquered

  The Wolfe City Pack

  The Wolf's Darling

  The Wolf's Mate

  The Wolf's Bride

  Standalone

  Saucy Devil

  Billionaire on Top

  Jurassic Submissive

  The Editor

  Alien Beast

  Snow White and the Wolves

  Kissing the Billionaire

  Wild

  Alien Dragon

  The Royal Her

  Be My Tiger

  Alien Monster

  The Luck of the Wolves

  Honeypot Babies Omnibus Edition

  Honeypot Darlings: Omnibus Edition

  Red: The Complete Trilogy

  The Swan's Mate

  The Feisty Librarian

  Polar Bears of the Air Force

  Wild Goose Chase

  Star Princess

  The Virgin and the Lumberjacks

  Resting Bear Face

  I Dare You, King

  Shifters at Law

  Pretty Little Fairies

  Seized by the Dragon

  The Fablestone Clan: A Paranormal Dragon-Shifter Romance Collection

  Star Kissed

  Big Bad Academy

  Club Kitten Omnibus

  Stormy Mountain Bears: The Complete Collection

  Bitten by the Vampires

  Beautiful Villain

  Dark Favors

  Savored

  Vampire Kiss

  Chaotic Wild: A Vampire Romance

  Bitten

  Heartless

  The Dragon's Christmas Treasure

  Out of the Woods

  Bullies of Crescent Academy

  Craving You: A Contemporary Romance Collection

  Chasing Whiskey

  The Hidden Planet Trilogy

  The Bratty Dom

  Tokyo Wolf

  The Single Dad Who Stole My Heart

  Free For Him

  The Feline Gaze

  Fate High School

  Dragon Beast: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling

  Boulder Bear

  Megan Slays Vampires (Coming Soon)

  Once Upon a Shift: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Coming Soon)

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Sophie Stern

  Deceived: An Alien Brides Romance (Aliens of Malum, #1)

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Cha
pter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Author

  Destroyed

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  Further Reading: Alien Dragon

  Also By Sophie Stern

  I never should have flown this close to Malum.

  If I had stayed away, maybe it wouldn’t have come to this. Maybe I wouldn’t have crashed into the planet’s ocean and maybe I wouldn’t have climbed right into the cliff-side home of a creature so big, so wild, and so terrifying that I’m both horrified and aroused at our close proximity.

  Now that I’m deep in the heart of Malum, a planet both forbidden and feared by the people of mine, but something is wrong.

  Malum is nothing like I was promised. It’s not the horror-filled wasteland I was told that it was. In fact, it’s not nearly as scary as it should be, and the realization that my father lied to me is horrifying.

  There’s a big problem on Malum.

  It’s bigger than the ship I crashed.

  It’s bigger than the dreams I threw away.

  It’s bigger than the hopelessly handsome alien who is trying to guide me home.

  And I’m the only one who might be able to save everything.

  For my readers

  Thank you for all that you do.

  Chapter 1

  Paige

  If crash landing was supposed to feel good, then I was in serious trouble.

  It didn’t feel good.

  Like, at all.

  Once I got over the realization that my ship was definitely in a downward spiral and that my chances of surviving its collision with the planet I was heading toward were slim-to-none, I focused on bracing myself.

  Spears of pain shot through my flesh as my ship hit the water, and I closed my eyes. It was worse than I thought it would be. It wasn’t like I thought this would feel good, but I didn’t realize it would feel like I was dying.

  “Fuck.”

  Luckily, there was water, and I had somehow managed to angle the ship to hit it. The force was great, though, and the entire ship shook and started to shatter as it hit the dark waves and began to slide into the depths of the Malum sea.

  It felt like needles were being shoved into my body: like someone was slicing me open. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to die here. I wasn’t ready to die.

  “Focus,” I whispered to myself, trying to stay alive.

  I had to focus.

  My ship was going to sink. That’s what happened when you landed on water. It was going to sink, and I’d go right down with it if I wasn’t careful. Swimming had never been my strong suit, but I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?

  There wasn’t exactly a co-pilot or a passenger who could ferry me to safety. I didn’t have a big, strong man to depend on. It was just me. It was always just me.

  I pressed the emergency release button, grabbed my bag, and ejected myself from the ship. Every movement hurt, but I didn’t have a choice. If I let myself give in to the pain, I was going to die.

  “Not today,” I told myself.

  I wasn’t ready.

  I had too much to live for: too much to fight for.

  I held my breath and started kicking, fighting until I reached the surface of the water. I emerged, breathing like a madwoman, and looked around.

  It was dark.

  The lights on my ship were still flickering when I looked down. I could see them disappearing deeper and deeper into the water. I had either crashed into an ocean or some sort of huge, deep lake. I had no idea which direction land might be in, though. I didn’t want to swim in the wrong direction and then end up dying because of it.

  “This was a bad idea,” I said out loud.

  Apparently, I was full of bad ideas.

  Planet Malum, for example, wasn’t really the perfect place to crash. If I could have chosen any planet at all on which to crash, it would have been Sapphira or even Orchid. I would have chosen a place known for being hospitable and welcoming: not a place the rest of the universe absolutely despised.

  I spun in a circle, trying to glimpse anything at all that could help me decide where to go. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness, so I slapped the button on my command wristlet and instantly, a huge light was emitted from it. The wristlet was designed to help me communicate with other people from my planet, but it had a few other perks that made my life a bit easier.

  For example, the huge light that was shining out of it. I shone the light outward, spinning again in a circle. I thought I saw a glimpse of something to the west. I stared, trying to make out what my light was hitting. It was definitely something.

  “Where the fuck am I?”

  My parents had never been fond of the language I chose to use, but they weren’t here, were they? I was alone on a planet I was forbidden to ever visit. I was alone, and if I didn’t hurry, I was going to sink down into the depths of the water with my ship.

  I peered into the darkness, trying to make out the shapes I could see. They could be good or bad. I had no way to know, but I needed to start swimming in that direction.

  First things first.

  I tread water as I tried to use the command functions on my wristlet. The unit was supposed to let me communicate with different people in different places, but it didn’t seem to be functioning correctly. It was possible that I was too far from a city. Maybe if I got to a place on Malum with more people, towers, and communication abilities, I’d be able to reach home.

  For now, I needed to start swimming toward the dark shapes ahead of me. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stay here. If I didn’t pass out and sink to the bottom of the sea, I had a feeling that a giant fish might come eat me.

  I started to swim, trying to egg myself on as I moved slowly through the gentle waves.

  Maybe I’d find land.

  Maybe I’d find answers.

  I shut off the light temporarily. I wanted to find a safe place to hide or sleep until I could figure out how to get back home. Crash-landing hadn’t been on the itinerary for this little vacation.

  Nope.

  The goal had been to take off, travel around for a few days, and do some sightseeing before the wedding. After the huge fight I’d had with the groom, the last thing I needed was a disaster like the one I’d found myself in. The goal had been to relax.

  Well, apparently, I’d outdone myself.

  It felt like hours before I reached the thing I’d seen, but I knew it had been at most, ten minutes. I was sore and tired as I pressed my hands to the thing before me. It was cold. Wet.

  Despite my best hopes, it wasn’t a beach. It wasn’t an open field I could crawl onto and pass out on. Nope. It was a sheer rock wall.

  That’s what I had seen: a cliff.

  I clicked the light on again and shone it upwards. There was a sheer rock wall that stretched up as far as I could see. So, that was what I was dealing with: a huge wall. It was wet, but I could climb it.

  Maybe there would be a cave to hide in along the way. Once I was settled, I could sort through my stuff and see if anything still worked or was able to get a signal on this forsaken planet. I doubted most of my items had been damaged by the water. The stuff I carried in my bag was supposed to last me for years upon years, but shipwrecks were unpredictable.

  You never knew what you were going to need until it was too late.

  When I finally managed to reach the side of the stone wall that stretched into the sky, I was exhausted.

  My arms hurt.

  Everything hurt.

  The stone cliffs were wet, and I knew there was no way to grip onto the side. Fortunately, I had grip-gloves with me. I slipped them onto my hands, pressed my palms to the side of the cliff, and started climbing.

  It’s a funny thing, climbing.

  When you’re young and you’re training and learning how to do things, you think it’s the
hardest thing in the world. Then you grow up, and you realize there’s a tool or toy for every task you could ever encounter, and you realize that money will buy you anything you need to succeed.

  It’s a beautiful thing.

  I made my way up the rocks until, sure enough, I reached an opening to a cave. It looked out over the water, which was just as well. I could sleep in the cave, or at least try to sleep, and in the morning, I could make a plan.

  “There’s no point in panicking,” I reminded myself.

  I didn’t want to sleep here tonight. I wasn’t as prissy as my sister. I didn’t need a hotel or a special bed or fancy pillows. Crashing on a stone floor wouldn’t be too terrible, but it was going to be lonely.

  Was my family worried about me?

  Did they know something had happened to me?

  I climbed into the narrow opening. It was tiny: barely big enough for me to enter standing up. Once I was inside, I turned my wristlet light back on and shined it around. The cave seemed strangely clean: almost occupied.

  That would be crazy, though.

  I shook my head and looked around again. The cave was dry, for one thing. It was free from dust and debris, for another. Shouldn’t a cave this close to the water be filled with moss and seaweed and maybe a dead bird?

  I was in a single, empty room. The walls were perfectly flat and straight, as though they’d been created by someone and not just randomly carved by nature. It was the type of cave I’d read about in story books long ago.

  “Where the hell am I?” I muttered, looking around.

  “Funny,” a deep voice said suddenly. “I could ask you the same question.”

  I whirled around, terrified that I wasn’t alone, and I reached for the knife I kept sheathed to my hip. It had survived the crash, and it had survived my swim, but it was about to be brought into action.

  Only, before I could grab the knife, two strong hands were on my wrists. Whoever caught them spun me around and pinned me against the wall. Despite my wristlet light, I couldn’t see who the person was.

  I didn’t need to see them to know that whoever this was...they were unhappy about my arrival. Their anger and irritation radiated from their body. It was a man, I thought.

  A big one.

  “I didn’t know anyone lived here,” I said. Perhaps it was a stupid thing to say, but it was the first thing that popped into my head.