✅Jasmin (The Alien's Liar): Complete

Jasmin joins a program that matches humans to dragons in a post-apocalyptic Earth. When she gets entangled with a surly dragon, she wonders what burns hotter: His dragon's flames, or the seemingly invisible fire that burns between them.

JASMIN IS BOOK 3 OF THE LE’VRIS DRAGON SERIES

──────•~❉᯽❉~•──────

PART 1

JASMIN

Some things never change. As I walk down the streets of the slums, my home, I come across many familiarities. The town’s drunk mumbles, still smelling like a brewery but still attracting people with his old tales.

The fire hydrant I pass rusts and welcomes mosquitoes but we never remove it because of that one summer when it actually delivered water and brought us joy.

The prostitutes still hang in the corner, offering to take anyone away from this apocalypse and into a temporary heaven.

I’ve been away from Earth for months in a place I never dared to imagine. Le’vris; the planet of the dragons. I learned so many things and met amazing people. I had the chance of a lifetime to be paired with a dragon and live happily ever after.

Another girl wouldn’t dream of leaving that magical place, but here I am, back where I started. Because my match wouldn't give me another glance and I failed out of the program without exchanging more than a handful of words with him.

I enter the biggest brothel in town, ignoring looks from the patrons. The same men have been frequenting the brothel for many years, even back when I was younger. They eye me like meat. For most of my life, I was too naive to notice. But things have changed. I have changed.

That would explain plenty, like why my mother would blow a gasket whenever I wore any tight clothing. I was the girl of rags— always donning clothes too big for me. My mother wanted to protect me from the customers— her customers.

“Jasmin?”

I smile at one of the working girls. Kinsley and I were close. I’d tell her my desire to explore the world, and she’d tell me about the latest patron she fell in love with. She has a big heart, and never gives up on love no matter how many times it gives up on her.

I admire her persistence. Maybe if I was more like her, I would still be in Le’vris instead of returning home with my tail tucked between my legs.

“Hey. I’m back.”

She’s horrified. This isn’t the welcome I had been wishing for, but it was expected. I wasn’t supposed to return to Earth. I won one of five golden tickets to paradise. I hit the lottery. I wasn’t supposed to look back.

“H— hey,” Kinsley says, trying her hardest to regain composure.

“Have you seen my mom?”

“Jasmin!”

I look at the top of the stairs on the right. My mother is there, makeup as spotless as ever, intelligent eyes able to read any man and turn him inside out with desire.

I’m nothing like her. My figure is more petite, my hair shorter and darker, my personality shy, and I can’t seduce a man to save my life.

She stomps down the stairs, graceful even when angry. She takes my hand and drags me into her office on the first floor. It’s small but tidy. The single rusty shelf in here is full of accounting books and the files of the girls.

Then there’s the extra blankets, sanitation items, and snack bars she keeps for the poor. My mother is the head of the brothel, and she takes care of all her girls.

“What the fuck are you doing here!”

I take a step back, unfamiliar with the waters I’m threading in.

My mother never screams.

“I left the matching program,” I reply. “It wasn’t for me.”

Most of the other girls in the program had their matches wrapped around their fingers. There was an endearing connection between them– so romantic and natural. I’m happy for my friends, but feel like a failure.

My match, Errol, had no interest in me. It was like he was disappointed to be matched with me. Conversations were dry and forced. He skipped bonding activities and when I tried to speak with him about our relationship, it was like talking to a wall.

I ran away from the embarrassment; from the failure. I can only hope they gave my spot to a more deserving girl.

“You weren’t supposed to return,” my mother hisses. “You were supposed to be living a good life, not come back to this shithole!”

She had been so excited when I won the lottery. Happy that I would be rescued, and she no longer had to protect me from the dangers of the slums.

“Mom, I don’t need to be in a certain place to have a good life. I just need the right people. I want to be happy.”

“Stupid, stupid girl.” She cups her face, smearing her makeup. “You think I’m going to watch you waste away?”

“I can work at the factory. You know I’ve always carried my weight around here.”

“That’s not the point, Jasmin! There is no life in the slums, only survival! You know how cutthroat this place is. The chemicals in that factory make you sick, and it’s only a matter of time before you get hurt while walking home from a shift!” She slams a hand on the table, trembling. Her eyes glisten with tears, rendering me speechless because I don’t remember the last time I saw her cry.

“I will not lose another child. I will not watch you become a shell.”

I remember my brother drifting away as an infection raged through him. It’s impossible to forget the scent of sweat in the air. How he looked so frail and pale that sometimes I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or already dead. The one thing I can’t remember is much of his personality. I was too young when he died.

A piece of my mother died with him that day. She became a hardened woman, like the dirt he was buried under.

“You will leave,” she sniffles and regains her composure. “Leave and don’t come back.”

“Mom…”

“I’ll give you money to keep you on your feet for a few weeks. But after that, I don’t want to see you again. Don’t come back to this town. Find a home somewhere.”

I shake my head in disbelief. She’s my world. I’ve always been with her. The small room in the attic couldn’t hide the scent of sex and the sounds of pleasure that filled the brothel— things so unfamiliar to me, but painted the walls of my home.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.

“Because I’m tired of watching my daughter head towards failure. The brothel is failing, and it will only be a matter of time before you consider becoming a prostitute to save me. You’re a sweet girl, Jasmin. I will never put you in a place where you have to sacrifice yourself to save me. So go. Find a home somewhere, and be happy.”

“Go where?” My voice is choked with emotion. “You’re all I’ve ever known.”

“And that’s the problem. You deserve better. Leave in three days. I don’t have much to give you, but you can sell my jewelry.”

“Mom.” I take a few steps after her.

She rushes for the door.

“Mama,” I try again, right as she slams the door shut behind me.

I sink to my knees and stare at the chipped door in disbelief.

I have no match, no mom, and no home.

──────•~❉᯽❉~•──────

The three days are up quickly. I packed my bags early in the morning, and I left without saying a last word to anyone. This is what I do. I run when I’m rejected, because I’m no fighter.

I left empty-handed, not wanting to strip my mother of what little valuables she has.

At first, I sleep over at a friend’s house at the edge of town, but then as I ventured to another sector, I was alone. There was an overpopulated shelter that kept me from the rain for four nights. Someone stole my shoes, so the rest of my journey happened in flip-flops across the cold.

I quickly ran out of snack bars, so I stopped by a restaurant and washed dishes until I earned myself a plate of food. Two months into the struggle, I’ve settled down in an abandoned shed. I’m still looking for a stable job, but for now, anything that gets me fed will do.

I didn’t think I would make it this long, but I’ve surprised myself.

“Here, girl.”

I set down another box that I’ve unloaded from the truck. My boss is there, extending a letter. He doesn’t care to remember my name, but he doesn’t leer creepily at me, and that’s all I could ask for nowadays.

“Thanks.” I accept the letter and unroll it, quickly staining it with my dirty, oily fingers.

Jasmin,

It has taken some time to locate you. I hope you’re safe. I hate to be disrupting your journey, but something terrible has happened and we need your help.

The portal has become unstable. It can only be opened from a particular territory now, but it belongs to a dragon that wants nothing to do with us.

No amount of gold has interested him. If he doesn’t allow us to set the portal in his land, Earth and Le’vris will forever be disconnected. We won’t be able to transport food and medical resources to Earth, and the matching program will end.

I need your help, and I can only trust you to do this. Will you return to Le’vris and use what you learned in the matching program to seduce him? I know this sounds ridiculous, but you’re our last hope.

Please write back to me by visiting the closest embassy.

I’m sorry to ask so much from you.

Your friend,

Myra

I almost laugh.

Me? Seduce a dragon when I couldn’t get my match, Error to crack smile?

Please. I’m a plain Jane. Useless in the art of seduction.

I fold the letter and slide it into my pocket, my finger slipping out one hole on the denim.

I’m done with mysterious, intimidating males that are as hard on the inside as they are on the outside. I’ll have to settle with the human heroes in my novels who are far less lethal but much easier to love.

🎥 Browser Navigation Guide | 💬 Message Elaine

─────────•❉᯽❉•─────────

🐉 Also in this Series...

Book 1: Drakkon

Book 2: The Alien's Match (Amazon)