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“Well, promise you won’t be mad at me…” Leah ducked her head. “It was your friend—you know the one from your law office that you recommended to me because she did really cheap divorce papers?”

  “What?” Zoe exploded. “You made Rylee a La-ti-zal? Do you know what you’ve done?”

  “I know, I know.” Leah looked like she might cry. “Look, I’m not even sure I gave it to her, all right? It’s just that our drinks got switched at Starbucks and she drank after me. Would that be enough to get it? I mean, I hope not but—”

  “Guys, come on,” I interrupted her. “You’re both acting like being a La-ti-zal is some awful disease when it’s actually pretty wonderful. Without it, none of us would be where we are today—or with the men we’re with.”

  “That’s true, I guess,” Zoe said grudgingly. “It’s just that I really liked Rylee and I don’t like the idea of some alien jerk just buying her and taking her away from Earth.”

  “You mean like Sarden did with you?” Leah asked quietly.

  “Shut up—that’s different,” Zoe said crossly. She looked at me. “Leah is right—you have to shut the Commercians and their damn Alien Mate Index down!”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to say, of course—I’ll make it the first order of business. But when I opened my mouth to say it, I heard a soft but powerful voice inside.

  No, my child…there is more to come.

  I closed my mouth and shook my head.

  “No,” I said. “I can’t close it.”

  “What?” Leah and Zoe both exclaimed and Zoe demanded, “Why not?”

  “The Goddess doesn’t want me to.” I looked at them apologetically. “That’s not to say we can’t regulate it some—put the guys who go there looking for a wife through a screening process and make sure the girls who get taken really want to go—something like that. But I can’t shut it down completely.”

  “But—” Zoe began.

  “Think of all the other La-ti-zals who could be on Earth right now,” I said, before she could really get going. “Living lives of quiet desperation. Wondering, like we did, why they don’t have any sexual urges or feelings. Wondering why they feel like they don’t fit in—why they don’t belong. Can you really condemn them to never find love and a rewarding life outside of our home planet?”

  “I…never thought of it that way,” Leah admitted.

  “I didn’t either until the Goddess showed me,” I said. “Although I did give a pair of Denarins the coordinates to Earth. Only after I touched them and could tell that they wouldn’t hurt a female, though.”

  “You what?” Zoe still looked upset. “Why would you do that?”

  I shrugged. “They were stuck in some kind of a wrong bonding—remember I told you they come in pairs, one Alpha and one Beta? Well, these two were both Alphas and they were miserable together. They just needed the touch of a Pure One to help break their bond and then they swore to let her go.”

  “In the meantime some poor girl on Earth is going to think she’s going crazy when she gets sucked through the bathroom mirror or the toaster or her yogurt spoon and winds up naked on those damn greedy Commercians’ space station,” Zoe grumbled. “Well all I can say is it better not be my friend, Rylee!”

  “If it makes you feel any better, Grav and I can go check up on her,” Leah said, patting her hand placatingly. “I’m overdue for a visit with my mom anyway.”

  “Yeah, well—okay.” Zoe sighed and pointed at me. “And you better put some regulations and a damn good screening process into effect!”

  “Now who’s acting like the queen of the universe?” I said dryly. “Yes, Zoe, I’ll see to it, I promise.”

  “Good.” She sighed and settled more comfortably on the cushions of the gold brocade couch. “As long as Rylee and all the other girls like her are okay, I’m fine with a little interstellar adventure.”

  “I’m sure she will be,” I said, smiling. “Don’t worry about your friend, Zoe—she’ll be just fine.”

  But would she?

  End

  Author's Note--if you have enjoyed Descended, please take a moment to leave a short review HERE. Good reviews are worth their weight in gold--they help readers decide to take a chance on a new book. Also, they give me the warm fuzzies. : )

  Thanks for being such an awesome reader! : ) Evangeline

  What should I write next?

  Want more Alien Mate Index? Of course you do! Don’t worry, book 4, Severed, is on the way in a couple of months, and so is Kindred 18, tentatively titled Uncharted. In fact, you can help me decide which one to write next. Read the blurbs for both books below, then go to my website and take a quick, one question survey letting me know which book you want to see next. I’ll look at the results and get writing.

  Hugs to you all, Evangeline

  Blurb for Alien Mate Index #4, Severed

  Rylee Hale is having a hard time. As a new business owner just starting out on her own, she’s struggling to attract new clients to her paralegal business.

  Then she attracts two that are way more than she can handle.

  Drace and Lucian are Denarins—a race of the Twelve Peoples where two males bond together in order to join with a single female. An Alpha and a Beta make the perfect pair to attract and care for a woman in every detail of her life.

  But what happens when two Alphas get wrongfully bonded? That’s the dilemma Lucian and Drace are in and only a Pure One from Earth can help them. When they see Rylee helping a couple with their divorce in the AMI viewscreen, they decide she’s exactly the female they need to break the bond between them.

  Nobody asked Rylee what she thought about being abducted from her life on Earth and caught in the middle of a conflict between two huge, muscular alien males, but she’s a smart girl—she can handle herself. But what will happen when the bond between Drace and Lucian starts spilling into her personal life? And once she gets a taste of being bonded to two sexy men who want to please her in every way, will she be able to stand by and watch them be…Severed?

  Blurb for Brides of the Kindred #18, Uncharted

  Commander Terex has had a terrible life. First he lost his mate, then he was taken over by an evil demon, then attacked and mutilated by the Dark Kindred, Two--enemy of his kind. He feels broken and the only thing that can make him whole again is vengeance--or so he thinks.

  Elaina Thornton has a secret grief--a sister who is terminally ill with no hope of recovery. She too, feels broken inside--unable to do anything but grieve.

  But then a prophesy is spoken--Elaina's healing and Terex's vengeance lie in the same direction, in the mysterious Dark Sector. Ships that fly into this part of the universe never return and yet this is where they must go.

  Despite Elaina's fear, she is willing to risk anything to save her sister. Terex just wants revenge. Neither of them is looking for love but sometimes the Goddess has plans of her own. What awaits them in the Dark Sector--love or death? You'll have to read Uncharted to find out!

  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  **Please note--these are Amazon/Kindle links. If you have a Nook or other reading device, please check my website for links to all other formats**

  Brides of the Kindred series

  Claimed (Also available in Audio and Print format)

  Hunted (Also available in Audio and Print format)

  Sought (Also Available in Audio and Print format)

  Found (Also Available in Audio and Print format)

  Revealed (Also Available in Print format)

  Pursued (Also Available in Print format)

  Exiled (Also Available in Print format)

  Shadowed (Also Available in Print format)

  Chained

  Divided

  Devoured (Also available in Print)

  Enhanced

  Cursed

  Enslaved

  Targeted

  Forgotten

  Switched

  Uncharted coming Fall 2016

  Mastering the Mistress (Brides of