The rundown human worldship is a bleak place, but it's my home, and it's where all the people I care about live. My mother, my sister, my students, and my sweet fiancé, Nathan. I never imagined I'd be forced to leave...forced to become the mate of a barbaric Darrvason admiral.

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?

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.

I've heard of the big Kaluma with a spiked bat, so I know evading him won't be a cake walk. As my assassin, he's ruthless. Until he finds out my truth. Now he's sticking by my side, claiming me as his mate, and I can't believe it but . . . I think I'm falling for the cocky alien with glowing blue eyes.

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 . . .

Abducted off the space station where I teach the standard galactic language, I'm imprisoned with two other women in a cold, dirty cell on an alien ship. We're destined for something worse than death until a fierce, blue-haired alien male rescues us. We recover on his ship with his group of Heveian pirates. There, the attraction that formed when he first carried me in his arms grows into a force neither of us can deny. But something else has taken up residence on the ship. Something that will stop at nothing to destroy us all.

For eons, the Zodiac Warriors have fought in secret the evils that threaten Earth: aliens, monsters, even depraved humans. So when their seer predicts a coming calamity these fighters are more than ready to protect humanity. First up is Scorpio who is tasked with locating an artifact in Antarctica. A simple mission, except the doctor who's supposed to help him find it has no idea what he's talking about.

Scoring a job at the exclusive and secretive Hotel Castle Verna is exactly what I need to pay off my debt and avoid a punishment I might not survive. The guests are a little eccentric, but they are great tippers. All I have to do is ignore the strange sights, smells, and sounds coming from the guest rooms, and I can remain gainfully employed. Simple, right? Except there's one guest at the hotel who's always watching me with his mismatched black and white eyes.

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?

All I could do was run away or I would never be free… But I didn’t know running away could mean life or death. Due to my now ex, I had to board a ship that would take me somewhere. Supposedly it was suitable for humans, but I found myself getting sicker. When I thought I would die, he found me and saved me. Helioxus, a grand warrior general who has been without a mate due to one of his broken horns. I didn’t know he was saving me by giving me his essence. All I knew was that I continued to crave him. But it could all come crumbling to pieces when there are a few who would rather see me gone.

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.

I was escaping from my stalker ex when they took me from Earth. Dropped into a hellish alien maze where all I am is potential food. Until I run headlong into a huge, smoking hot alien dragon, covered in golden scales and an ego which could light up a planet. Draco rules the prison maze they call the Kirakos and he says I belong to him.

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.

A year ago, one of the males in my village hurt me. When he tried to do it a second time, I took care of that problem—permanently. Then I'm selected for the annual Monster Mate Hunt where two village women must enter the forest to be claimed as an orc's bride. If an orc tries to take me, I'll handle him just as I did the man in my village. To my dismay, I'm captured by a band of treacherous thieves. I'm planning my escape when an enormous, snarly orc attacks the camp. He slays the thieves and announces I'm his fated mate.

The rundown human worldship is a bleak place, but it's my home, and it's where all the people I care about live. My mother, my sister, my students, and my sweet fiancé, Nathan. I never imagined I'd be forced to leave...forced to become the mate of a barbaric Darrvason admiral.

Homeless and nearly destitute, I find myself standing on stage in a brothel, where I'm sold to the highest bidder. The winner, a massive half-orc named Knot Thazurok, happens to be a former priest and a former love interest of mine, but I soon discover he expects to get his money's worth. After the male's dominant claiming leaves me breathless, he shocks me with a marriage proposal, which I promptly decline. A fallen maiden has no business becoming a priest's wife, and besides, I have plans to leave the island far behind one day.

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.

Desperate to save her parents from debtors' prison, Esmay signs up as an alien mail-order bride. She'll travel to Mars to become a savage alien's mate, and in exchange for her sacrifice, all her family's debt will be forgiven. She prays she'll find some semblance of happiness on Mars and hopes her future husband treats her with kindness. But she's stunned to discover the muscle-bound blue alien she's been matched with is Prince Vaath, a fearsome warrior who once led a deadly battle against Earth. How can she willingly give herself to an alien who killed so many of her people?

Firebrand chose me. Me! I'd be flattered if I didn't know the all-alpha band has chewed through at least six other band managers in as many years. But I won't be their next ex-manager. I've been waiting for my shot, a chance to prove myself, and this is it. I will not mess it up. Jax, Dylan, Asher, and Holden will be whipped into shape if it's the last thing I do on this earth. I will not break. I will not give in to their charm. Not even when my body betrays me, its beta chemistry shifting in a way that I don't understand. That I can't control.