Married to Krampus (My Holiday Tails) Read online

  MARRIED to KRAMPUS

  My Holiday Tails

  * * *

  Marina Simcoe

  * * *

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  To My Captain

  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

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  EPILOGUE

  Next in My Holiday Tails Series

  More by Marina Simcoe

  About the Author

  Please Stay in Touch

  To My Captain

  Married to Krampus

  Copyright © 2020 Marina Simcoe

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact the author.

  Marina Simcoe

  [email protected]

  Facebook/Marina Simcoe Author

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions or locales is completely coincidental.

  First Edition

  Spelling: English (American)

  Story Edit by Amy Q Editing

  Copy Editing and Proofreading by Cissell Ink

  Married to Krampus is a Science-Fiction Romance. It contains graphic descriptions of intimacy. Intended for mature readers.

  Chapter 1

  “DAISY! HOW’RE YOU DOING, my baby sister?” The image of Lily’s face filled the screen of the ship’s communication device I’d gotten permission to use.

  “Um... I’m great, actually.” I rolled my shoulders back and stretched my neck.

  Physically, my muscles still ached and cramped a bit after the five-months long stasis sleep. Thankfully, my journey was almost over. I’d woken up yesterday and only had one more day to spend on this spaceship that was taking me to the country Voran on the planet Neron, the home world of my potential future husband.

  Emotionally, I felt even better. Expectant. Elated. Happy, even. Maybe that was the aftereffect of all the drugs and vaccinations I’d received in the past several hours since waking up, but it felt so good to be awake.

  “I’m great, Lily.” I flicked a strand of my hair back over my shoulder, noting how limp and dull it had become. I should wash and curl my hair before landing tomorrow.

  My heart leaped with excitement at the thought of finally meeting Colonel Grevar Velna Kyradus, the man with whom I might spend the rest of my life. Goosebumps rushed down my arms at the thought.

  “Are you ready for the landing?” Lily asked.

  “So ready! Honestly, I can’t wait.” I even bounced on the chair a little. Waiting for tomorrow felt very much like Christmas Eve, my favorite time of the year.

  I drew in a long breath, calming myself. “How are you doing, Lily? How is everyone?”

  “Oh, the usual.” She waved me off, swiping a strand of her hair away from her face. Medium reddish-blonde, her hair color was the same as mine. Unlike my long and still matted from sleep locks, however, Lily’s was neatly cut and styled into an impeccable bob. “Max and I are working. Kids are in school. Mom and Dad have just left for vacation... But please tell me more about the flight. You’re the farthest anyone in our family has ever been, sister.”

  Actually, I was the farthest most people from Earth had been. The first contact with the Voranians from the planet Neron had happened barely a decade ago. There’d been a few visits by political delegations and scientific missions between our planets, but I was the very first regular person traveling that way.

  “Five months is a long time to travel,” Lily went on.

  “Well, I slept through most of it.” I laughed.

  I’d had the choice to stay awake during the trip. The seven members of the Earth-Neron Liaison Committee, who were traveling with me, remained awake, but they had work to do. I’d just be wandering around the ship for the entire five months, anxious with anticipation for my arrival. I now had less than a day to wait, and I already felt wracked with nerves and excitement.

  “We’re all so proud of you, Daisy,” Lily gushed.

  My cheeks warmed with pleasure at hearing that. Normally, Lily had been the pride of the family, and rightfully so. My older sister had gone to college, got a well-paying office job upon graduation, married an amazing guy, and had the two sweetest children.

  After a quarter of a century in this world, I hadn’t achieved any of that. The bakery where I’d started working straight out of high school closed when its owner, Ms. Goodfellow, retired. I’d moved back in with my parents and worked odd babysitting jobs ever since.

  I loved working with children. They had the uncanny ability to make a person forget about their troubles. However, the fact that I had no career, no partner in life, and no place in the world to call my own had been harder to deal with the older I got.

  When the application for the Liaison Program had been made public, I applied on a whim. The opportunity to travel to another planet, live among an alien race, and learn a new culture enticed me. Without a boyfriend, a job, or even an apartment, I didn’t have much to give up. The position on the application was stated as “Potential Spouse.” And frankly, the prospect of an out-of-this-world romance appealed to me, too.

  Never in a million years had I thought I’d be the one chosen out of the thousands of applicants. I’d expected a long selection process with several rounds, but the reply came a week after the application submission deadline.

  When I saw my name as the selected candidate, it felt like I’d finally achieved something.

  “Has he called you yet?” Lily asked.

  My smile slipped off.

  Colonel Kyradus, my “Potential Spouse,” hadn’t contacted me at all. There’d been no messages, no calls, no communication, nothing.

  I snapped my spine straight and plastered the smile back on my face.

  “The Colonel is meeting me upon landing, and I’ll be there in less than twenty-four hours, so...”

  “Hmm.” Lily pursed her lips. “It’s rather weird, don’t you think, Daisy? Wouldn’t a man be eager to talk to his bride? He hasn’t even seen you, other than the application picture.”

  “Well, it’s not a typical situation. I’m hardly his bride...”

  I wasn’t thinking about myself as a bride or a wife yet, though the papers I’d signed were titled, “Marriage Contract.”

  Voranians’ birth rate had historically been hovering at about one girl to ten boys. In ancient times, their families comprised a wife with multiple husbands. Since all the technological advancements and cultural developments had taken place, the Voranian society had eventually moved on to a single partner marriage. Now, a wife only had one husband.

  With women being so few, most men never got married. However, every healthy male could have a family on his own. Artificially inseminated, the married females carried the babies o
f the unmarried males.

  Multiple births were a norm. As a result, the Voranians didn’t have repopulation problems. Having reached a healthy birth rate in their country, they even ensured the slight population growth required to support their economy.

  They weren’t interested in human females as breeders. Scientists had determined humans and Voranians weren’t genetically compatible to reproduce, anyway. Though, physiologically, the two species could have sex.

  Since Voran ended up being populated predominantly by single dads, the role of a human woman would be that of a companion as well as a child caregiver, I imagined.

  And that made my heart melt.

  The Colonel had two young boys, five-year-old twins, and I was dying to meet them. I had yet to see any images of them.

  When I woke up, I’d hoped some kind of communication would have come from the Colonel during my five months of sleep. There had been nothing, and I couldn’t help being disappointed.

  I hid it from Lily now, smiling wider than ever. There was no need to upset my sister.

  “I’ll get to meet his entire family soon enough.”

  Her frown of concern didn’t ease.

  “I hope Voranians look better in person,” she sighed.

  “Lily!” I threw my hands up in the air. “You can’t hold their appearance against them. For all we know, they’re lovely people.”

  “I know, I know... They’re just so scary-looking.”

  We’d all seen the footage of the official meetings of Voranians with our politicians, and the videos of scientific expeditions to Neron. In addition, I had a photograph of Colonel Kyradus. It was a head shot of him I’d received along with the confirmation letter from the Liaison Committee.

  The Colonel was definitely not someone a human would call beautiful. Or handsome. Or even pleasant to look at. In addition to the typical Voranian long horns and scruffy, charcoal fur, his blood-red eyes were, well... “scary-looking.” Terrifying, actually.

  The moment I first saw his picture, my breath stuck in my throat, and my heart dropped into my stomach. I hid the picture in a kitchen drawer for a while, afraid to keep it in my room or to look at it, especially at night.

  Over the course of the few weeks it took me to get ready to leave Earth, however, I’d gotten used to the picture, and even had it as the background photo on my cellphone.

  The Colonel’s looks meant nothing, I’d decided. Behind terrifying appearances could live the most amazing personalities. Just like many handsome men were major douche bags once you got to know them better. I should know, I’d had my share of pretty boyfriends who’d turned out to be real assholes.

  Though, I would’ve liked to get more pictures or videos of him and his family, the image of the Colonel’s flaming red eyes in the picture no longer terrified me.

  I’d read and watched everything I could get my hands on about Neron, Voranians, and their culture. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much. They had provided me with general information, but I wanted something more personal to give me an idea of the man, his family, and his home that might all become mine, too, one day.

  “Lily, I honestly don’t care about his looks. I’m sure the Colonel is a nice person, and we’ll get alone wonderfully,” I said, voicing my wish out loud.

  “Daisy, he would have to be a real asshole to not get along with you,” Lily said in her usual big-sister, no-nonsense tone. “You’re a sweetheart, honey. Everyone loves you.”

  A warm feeling spread through my chest. This was the reassurance I needed. Everything would be fine. Things could always be worked out between people, even if they came from two different planets.

  “Aww, Lily. Thank you.” I placed my hand next to her face on the screen, missing her and the rest of my family, now. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, sweetie. And don’t worry,” she added hurriedly. “You’ll do great. You’re super easy to get along with. I’ll be waiting for your messages, though.”

  I’d been told I would be able to send written messages to my family on a weekly basis and could have video communication with them on special occasions.

  “I’ll write every week,” I promised.

  Lily paused for a moment. Her desire to keep it positive was clearly warring with the big sister’s need to warn and protect.

  “If anything goes wrong or something doesn’t work out...” she started.

  “It’ll be fine,” I assured her. “In the worst-case scenario, I’d just come back to Earth in a year. Either way, it’ll be an adventure.”

  As excited as I’d been to receive the confirmation letter, I had made sure to read the Marriage Contract very carefully before signing it. There was a condition that stated both parties had the right to dissolve the agreement for any reason, after the first full year of the union.

  The way I viewed it, this was a year-long employment opportunity on another planet, with an added possibility for romance, which made it that much more exciting.

  “Oh, I almost forgot, Daisy.” Lily suddenly appeared uncharacteristically flustered. “There is this video that came to your email account here just after you’ve left. I asked the Committee to forward it to you. It’s from the Colonel...”

  “A video? From the Colonel?” A new wave of excitement flushed over me. He did send me something, after all. I’d just missed it by having boarded the spaceship already.

  “Yes. I can’t believe I almost forgot, but it’s been five months now, and it slipped my mind... I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s alright.” I waved off her apologies. “I can watch it right now, then.”

  “Yeah, well.” She bit her lip again. “Good luck, Daisy. Be careful, okay? And get out of there as soon as you can if anything goes wrong...”

  We said our goodbyes, and I tried not to dwell too much on the reasons behind the worry on my sister’s face. Instead, I allowed the excitement from finally getting a video to take over.

  I quickly logged onto the ship’s internal system and found the folder with my name. It contained all the information I had collected on Voran so far. The forwarded video file was also there.

  The video took a few moments to load, and I got up from my seat in the ship’s communication room to stretch my legs. Glancing at the progress bar from time to time, I paced the small room.

  The ship was enormous, with a private cabin for me. My bed proved comfortable enough, but I was looking forward to feeling the ground of a planet under my feet, soon.

  I wished I knew more about my destination, too. Waiting for the video to load, I wondered what would be in it.

  I hoped this would be the Colonel’s home video. The twins’ birthday celebration, maybe? Or a family trip? Maybe a dinner with the Colonel and the boys. I would love to see a holiday celebration.

  My favorite holiday had always been Christmas. Grandma and I used to bake and decorate early when she’d been alive. I even brought her favorite ornament to Neron with me. Since I would celebrate Christmas away from home this year, I wanted to have something with me that would remind me of my family and of Grandma.

  A dinging sound announced the loading of the video was complete, and I rushed back to the screen.

  It would be nice to see the Colonel in a casual setting. The one and only picture I had was of him in the dress uniform of the Voranian Army. In it, he was staring straight into the camera. Maybe that was what made his eyes look so exceptionally red? No one turned out good in official photos, right? I had my share of awkward pictures and often used pretty filters when posting photos of myself on social media.

  The video opened.

  Within seconds, I realized this was not a family celebration. The first image that came up was that of a metal wall. Then, a screeching sound hurt my ears. The wall split open, letting in a bright gush of light.

  The landscape of an unknown planet filled the screen—bright red sand and unfamiliar, lush green vegetation.

  The camera must have been mounted on someone’s body, as the
image was unsteady and accompanied by the heavy breathing of the person wearing it. As they turned, a Voranian military aircraft came into view. It appeared to have suffered an accident. It was lying on its side, its shiny metal hull crushed and dented.

  A group of what I had first thought were gray boulders on the red ground started moving toward the person with the camera. As they came closer, it became apparent the things were alive.

  Approaching the camera, they didn’t slow down, menacingly moving closer. Several thin protrusions extended from their large, lumpy bodies. The closest blob of flesh lunged forward, knocking the camera off. It fell to the ground, the image breaking into stripes and dots before disappearing completely.

  The next moment, the video resumed from a different angle—a camera from the damaged ship must have turned on. The group of gray blobs attacked a huge Voranian male who looked almost small in comparison.

  Bare from the waist up, the Voranian fought fiercely. His fur, slick with sweat and blood, plastered against his bulging muscles as he punched the gray blobs of flesh with his fists and tore at them with his horns.

  With a deep growl, he sank his fingers, tipped with long black claws, into one of the blobs attacking him. Baring his teeth in a terrifying grimace, he ripped the flesh apart, drenching himself in the pulsing gush of his enemy’s blood.

  The camera zoomed in on his face as he tilted his head back and released a deafening roar. The close-up of the Colonel’s red eyes left no doubt that it was indeed my “potential spouse” out there, ripping living things to pieces with his bare hands.

  Paralyzed by shock, I stared at the screen long after the video had ended.

  Was this the man I had to live with? Was that how he behaved at home, too? A shudder ran through me. Was a loving marriage possible with someone like that? Could I even spend a year in his employment?

  His poor children...

  “Daisy. Are you okay?” A touch to my shoulder brought me out of my troubled thoughts. Nancy, one of the Earth’s representatives to the Liaison Committee, gazed at me with concern.

  Absorbed by the horrors playing out in the video, I hadn’t noticed when she’d entered the room.