Page 1 of Rathgar

BIRTHDAY PARTY

JANIE

If someone had told me I would be spending my nineteenth birthday on an alien planet, I would have laughed in their face.

Oh, how times have changed.

My name’s Janie. One year ago, my older sister Lara left Earth as part of an intergalactic surrogacy program. We were in dire straits at the time and needed the money, but it turned out to be so much more.

Now I’m sitting here with my sister, her alpha warlord husband, and their darling baby as we share a piece of strawberry cake. It’s something our mom used to make us when we were kids. We had it every birthday, and even after our mom passed, Lara made sure to continue the tradition.

Even now that we’re on a whole new planet, surrounded by aliens, she knows just how to make me smile. That’s one of the many things I love about her.

I have to admit, I wasn’t so sure about this alien breeding business at first. Getting paid to have babies for alien warriors sounded kind of shady, if you ask me. But then again, Iris’s father ran off the moment I got the pregnancy test back. Guess I don’t have the best experience with men, so it’s hard for me to trust anyone.

Being a teen mom on a plague-ridden planet was hard enough. Losing our parents and then our jobs was even tougher. We were already having a tough time feeding ourselves before Iris came. Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder what we would have done if Lara hadn’t found the application for the Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency.

I shiver. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

Iris squeals and reaches up to me, her chubby fingers flexing. Pulling off a soft piece of cake, I put it on her little fork and make zooming sounds toward her mouth.

“Here comes the spaceship…open wide!”

Iris opens her mouth and grabs the fork out of my hand, instead opting to smear the cake all over her cheeks with a laugh.

I can’t help but snort. That’s my girl. I used to say she was the messiest eater on planet Earth, but now she’s giving even Aesirheim a run for its money. Speaking of Aesirheim...

It’s so much like Earth in some ways, but in others…not at all. I can see why Lara fell in love with it, though. It’s so lush, so exotic compared to the desolate, sun-cracked fields we left behind. Fantastical creatures beyond my wildest imaginations roam the landscape freely, giant mushroom forests loom over crystal-clear lakes, and the sunsets are — literally — out of this world.

I never thought I would have a chance to experience any of this. Thought my life was practically over when that scumbag knocked me up and ran off. I promised Lara and my baby that I would be there for them, be the best mother and sister I could be. I’d given up any hope of a happy ending for my own, but when Lara found hers, I wondered if maybe I was looking in all the wrong places.

“Happy Birthday, Janie.” Lara raises a glass of the green, fizzy drink and clinks it against mine. “To a bright future, for all of us.” There’s a smile of pure contentment on my older sister’s face.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers,” I repeat, but my mind’s elsewhere as I mull over all the changes that Lara’s contract brought to our lives.

“You all right?” Lara nudges me. I don’t bother trying to lie. She’ll know anyway.

I give her a tight smile and take another sip of my drink. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“About?” She raises a single eyebrow at me.

Because I can’t lie to her, I can’t meet her gaze. “The contract.”

A pause. I’m staring at the ground, but even I can feel the tension in the air.

“You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” Her voice is softer now. Worried. She knows what it would mean if I violated the contract. There’s nothing really stopping them from tossing me back to my home planet if I don’t fulfill the written terms.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Is it? I worry that I was too hasty, but Iris and I didn’t have many better alternatives.

“Are you still having side effects from the shot?”

I shake my head. “It was only a partial shot, remember? Just enough for Iris and I to adjust to the atmosphere on Aesirheim. The…” I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Real one comes after they find me a genetic match. Which should be any day now, now that I’m nineteen…”

“I know it’s not the ideal solution, but that’s the only way we were able to get you a visa.” Soren, a huge golden-skinned alpha and my sister’s husband, speaks up. “Believe me, I tried.”

“I know. And I appreciate that. It’s just a little nerve-wracking, is all.” I try to brush the idea away like it’s nothing, but it still sits heavy in my gut.

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