Shade's Embrace

SHADE’S EMBRACE OLIVIA RILEY Copyright © 2023 Olivia Riley All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, but not limited to, photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing by the author. This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, locales and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, places or events are purely coincidental. Cover by Olivia Riley Stock Photos: Depositphoto https://oliviarileyauthor.com SHADE’S EMBRACE : A DARK ALIEN ROMANCE For content warnings, please check the author’s website: https://oliviarileyauthor.com/shades-embrace/ CONTENTS Before the Fall Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Chapter Twenty-two Chapter Twenty-three Chapter Twenty-four Chapter Twenty-five Epilogue Bonus Epilogue Books and Series by Olivia Riley About the Author BEFORE THE FALL The deepest dark Madelyn ever knew surrounded her like a cocoon, its silent weight crushing. There were no stars to see, no lights save for those along the windowpane and across her dashboard. Her eyes fixed on the map over the dash, and she felt her heart sink and her stomach twist. She was flying through the blackness of space, alone in a pod that was taking her in the wrong direction. The cruise ship was gone, and there was no going back. The hull had torn down the middle, one half separating from the other, quickly growing distant. She had watched the disaster from the pod as it slowly faded away. By some miracle, she had found an escape but to what end? Because—from what Maddie could tell on the map—the pod was taking her to a place outside the protected systems. A place where her fate might be far worse than being blown out of a ship into deep space. At least that was a quick, merciful death. The Shadow Cleave was no place for the likes of her. Humans didn't tread within that territory. Not unless they wanted to be made to suffer at the hands of criminals, slave traders, and killers. Monsters. But the tracking program meant to take her to the nearest safe station was broken. So the alternative was the nearest place where she could even have a chance to survive. If it had oxygen and water, it was deemed suitable enough until help could come to fetch her. There were few places in the Shadow Cleave with even those essential needs. And the closest was the moon planet Seriph. She should just expel herself from the pod. Just end it now. But hope still clawed at her. She'd made it this far. Maybe she would be able to hide. Maddie laughed silently at the thought, her eyes stinging. She was truly descending into a nightmare. Maybe she could hide from the aliens who called that place home. But for how long? And if she landed within the city itself, she was as good as dead. If the citizens didn't find her right away, their most lethal crimelord would. Axaria Shade would. Space wouldn't be the 'deepest dark' she'd come to know. CHAPTER ONE MADDIE The moon was a dark orb floating around a dead planet, which was shaded in a deep red from the ember glow of light from the sun a long way away. The only other light came from the city—Blues, greens, and oranges spreading across the vast nothingness of one moon side. As Maddie's pod hit the atmosphere, it began to glow a soft yellow. She could see the city below, growing closer as she descended. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as the pod began to shake, a loud hissing coming from the back thrusters followed by a dull grinding noise as the pod's jets came to life, slowing her fall. Lights began to blink on and off, and a bell-like sound started to ring out, indicating something was wrong. Maddie's eyes flew open to stare at the dash. The thrusters weren't activating their full power. She was going to crash and seal her fate before anyone could rip her from the pod. Maybe it was for the best. Heart hammering in her chest, she tried a few of the controls, but they were locked on to land. She attempted to use the manual drive and found she could still steer but only to turn one way or another. She could glide, but not far. The only forward direction was down but at least she could choose now where she landed. As if that made her feel any better. Below, the ground was getting closer, and the cities' details were coming into view. Black towers with sharp tops stretched upward, and domed hubs sat below them, interlinking pathways for transports to move through. She passed by them until the city opened into smaller buildings clustered together then into glowing fields amongst jagged terrain just at the city's edge. She had no time to be grateful that she wouldn't be crashing into the city center as she turned the pod northward, dropping faster. Searching wildly, Maddie spotted a clearing—or what she hoped to be one. It was dark with few buildings. The lights, set in rows, made her think of a landing strip. She steered toward it, hoping it was exactly that. The lights grew brighter the closer she got, the pod appearing to move in slow motion while accelerating at the same time. As the ground came to meet her, Maddie braced for impact, her body tensing so hard her jaw hurt. She surged forward, nearly out of her seat as the pod came down hard, rattling and grinding against the ground, crashing into unknown objects outside that Maddie could hardly make out in the