Tabby Wilson gripped the handlebars of her stolen motorcycle, her curly black hair whipping out behind her as she rode. The orange sunset cast the desert in a warm glow. Tabby took the rural Arizona highway with the confidence of a skilled rider.

Today was the last straw. She wasn’t going to put up with Leo’s bullshit anymore. She was out. Screw him and his crew.

As a parting gift, she’d taken his bike and a wad of his cash. Her cheek still stung where he’d slapped after she’d caught him with another girl in her own bed. What an asshole.

Leader of a gang who dealt in techno-drugs, Leo Hendrix oversaw this part of Arizona, second only to the head honcho of the Arizona/Mexican techno-drug cartel, Juan Norte. Leo would be pissed about his bike, but Tabby knew it was small beans for men like Leo and Juan.

At the end of the day, Tabby knew that she was only ever another piece of tail for Leo. The curvy black girl who fit the outfits the way he liked. He could find another by the end of the day.

Even life with Leo had been better than the hell she’d grown up with. Poverty on the Mexican border for a minority girl like her, with a hot body and a pretty face, had been rough. She was lucky to find a man like Leo to protect her when she did.

Tabby was older now and she knew she deserved better. She had some clothes, makeup, and maybe a thousand dollars packed in the motorcycle.

She’d been so angry, she’d left without a plan. Leo had hit her before, but he’d been drunk and she’d been dumb enough to forgive him. This time, he’d gone too far. Hitting her because she caught him with another girl? That was it. She wouldn’t do it anymore. Tabby had some self-respect. Or at least she wanted to.

Goal: Learn to respect self.

She made a mental note. The desert stretched out in front of her, and she saw the distant lights of a small highway town. It was unlikely that Leo would ever find her here, out in the middle of nowhere. That was why she’d decided to travel this way. Nevertheless, a guy like him had eyes and ears everywhere. It would be best if she laid low for a while. She wouldn’t put it past Leo to want revenge for the bike and for leaving him.

She pulled into the small town. There was one stoplight along the highway. On one side of the street was a restaurant with a bar, and the other side had a hotel and gas station. Perfect. She pulled up to the hotel and parked the bike. Sauntering inside the office under the fluorescent buzzing lights, she could already tell this place was a dump. It had mismatched carpet on the floor and some kind of strange moldy, rotten smell she couldn’t place. Gross.

The old man behind the counter looked up at her with dark eyes and darker gaps in his teeth. After she rented the room, she decided the weird-ass smell must be coming from the man. He handed her a key and called her sweetheart. She gave him a smirk and winked at him.

Right… Sweetheart…

Tabby hadn’t been a sweetheart in a good long time, and she didn’t have any expectations of ever being one again. She’d seen too much and been pushed too far. She took the key and parked her motorcycle in the furthest, darkest corner of the parking lot and found her room.

She spotted it on the second floor, but decided to get something to eat first. She went across the street to the restaurant and sat at the bar. It was a local dive-greasy spoon combo.

Tabby sat at the bar with her beer and burger and surveyed the establishment. There were a couple families in the booths in the restaurant on the other side of the room from the bar. She felt a ting of sadness when she looked at them. That kind of life just wasn’t for her. It never had been. She’d be on the run forever if she didn’t figure out what to do with herself now.

She put her bottle down on the counter, put a bill under it, and walked out. A few orange street lights glowed on the pavement as she walked across the highway to the hotel. The big sky of the desert stretched overhead, brilliant with stars, even in town. Tabby trotted up the stairs to her room and shoved the key in her door. Inside, it was cold and musty. She shut the door and dropped onto the bed, fatigue setting in.

She couldn’t sleep now. She was too riled up to rest. Angry, she clicked on the TV and began to aggressively change channels. Everything was stupid. Tabby threw the remote across the room and groaned as she flopped down onto the bed.

The TV chattered and Tabby laid there, staring at the ceiling.

You, too, can live a life of luxury. All you have to do is enter the Draconian Mating Lottery for your chance to win a delicious Draconian mate. Why stay on the ground when you can live in the sky?

Tabby sat up straight and stared at the TV. What? She’d heard about the Draconians like everyone else. The dragon-shifting aliens from Draconia had come to Earth five years ago. In exchange for women, they’d given humans advanced technology. In the process, they also kind of messed up the Earth’s economy. Even the techno-drugs that Leo dealt had originated with the Draconians.

She’d never thought of entering the lottery. She’d been too young when it had started a few years ago. Seeing the commercial now was like a light going off in her head. If she matched up genetically with a Draconian male, she could have all that stuff they offered on the commercial. The luxury apartment aboard the ship. The designer clothes. And five hundred grand for anyone she chose on Earth.

That didn’t seem like such a bad idea. She thought for a moment. Maybe this could be her new life goal. Part of it anyway. She always knew she deserved better than what she’d had on Earth. Screw this shit hole. Why not have a better life in the stars?

She hurried to the desk and pulled out a pen and paper from the drawer, quickly writing down the information. The nearest Draconian consulate was in Phoenix. That was Leo’s territory. Screw it. She was going to enter that damn lottery, and Leo wasn’t going to stop her.