Erun (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Ujal Book 4) (7 page)

His tone was firm and his expression told her it was non-negotiable.

She kinda liked that. It was almost permission to be selfish and concentrate on her daughter.

“Okay,” she swallowed hard, finding it difficult to think with Erun so close to her. His scent surrounded her, the aromas of sun and sand soothing her with every breath. “Okay. So you’ll talk to me then. Tell me why you think this is a good idea. Why you want to risk tying ourselves together and you’re so insistent that you donate.” Erun grasped her hand and tugged her away from the bed, but she stood fast and shook her head. “No, I can’t…” Tears stung her eyes and she stared at her baby. “I can’t let go.”

She sensed him moving away and padding through the room, but her eyes remained firmly locked on her daughter. Then he was back, the scrape of metal on the hard ground sending a chill up her spine, but when she looked back it was to find two chairs. One sat right behind her while the other rested two feet away.

Cozy.

“Sit. Rest. This… is not a pretty story.” He glared at her. “And you will not pity me.”

Vanessa shook her head. “I won’t pity you.”

“Very well.” He lowered to the seat, thighs spread and he gripped his knees as if he held on for his life. “Some state I am not an Ujal. Not many. And if they do speak the words, it is only once.” His lips quirked up in a grin and she swallowed hard. Now wasn’t the time to be attracted to someone. Not with everything else collapsing around her. “I break their jaws. It is hard to talk when the mouth is forced shut by the doctors.”

She wasn’t going to say a word about that. Instead, she slid onto her seat, welcoming the ability to relax a little. “Keep going,” she encouraged him. She didn’t imagine this was something he shared often and she needed to know everything before she took his blood into her body.

Had she already made the decision?

Yes.
The devil you know…

Erun rubbed his jaw, palm sliding over his smooth face in a move filled with agitation. “It all began when I was a youngling. I was given supplements.
Medicine
,” he sneered, “that was supposed to make me large and strong.”

Well, they got that part right.

“But they also did other things. They stripped a part of me away. They altered my genetics. I am Ujal in my mind.” He tapped his temple. “And in my heart.” He laid his palm on his chest. “But my blood is different.”

And she could tell that the difference hurt him. Without second-guessing herself, she reached for him, her palm laying over his hand. Not with pity, but in support. “How? What did the drug do?”

He frowned and ran the fingertips of his free hand over his lower lip, gaze unfocused as he got lost in his thoughts. “Humans would call them
steroids
? Is that the word? It made me stronger. Fiercer. I was unbeatable in the sphere with those drugs. They allowed me to gain muscles that belonged to a male with twenty summers, not ten.”

“Erun…” She ran her thumb over his skin once more. “Start at the beginning. What’s a sphere? How old were you?”

“I…” He swallowed hard, vulnerability filling his features and—she couldn’t believe it—a sliver of dark purple scales rose beneath his skin.

“Erun?”

“I was born on Ujal to two parents. They did not always treat each other well, but I had food in my belly and a small dwelling. Our lives were not wonderful, but we did not starve.” His voice was fierce and he seemed intent on making sure she understood.

“You weren’t mistreated.” It seemed that was the point he was trying to drive home.

“No,” he shook his head. “Not then.” He went quiet and his lips pressed together until they formed a harsh line across his face. “But later, I was. My
sire
passed.”

“How?”

He blinked and jerked, almost as if he’d forgotten she was there. “I… It is irrelevant.”

“No, everything in your past made you who you are. How did he die?”

“They told me he was injured while hunting. Some of Ujal’s sea beasts are large and require several strong males to kill them. He was part of a hunting party made up of a few locals. They said he was pierced by another’s trident when they attempted to bring down the animal.”

“You sound like you don’t agree.” She raised her eyebrows, waiting for his explanation.

Pain filled his eyes and she thought she saw the beginning of tears. Erun? Cry? Then a blink had them retreating and it made her wonder if she’d actually seen his eyes filling. “I have made many kills with a trident. I know the damage they cause from all angles. The wound on my
sire’s
body…” He sighed. “I did not have the experience then to make a firm accusation. And today, others would doubt my words. They would believe my continued treatments cloud my mind.”

“You think he was murdered.”

“I know he was murdered,” Erun countered. “I know who murdered him. I know who took his life and then that same male destroyed mine. If he was not already dead, I would do the job myself.”

She remained silent, waiting for him to work through his pain and tell her the rest. The quiet stretched and she watched the painful battle slide over his features. Would he tell her the rest?

“Humans do not have a monopoly on pain. Or hunger. Or homelessness. They are not the only beings who neglect younglings. Or… sell them into service.”

Dear God, what had Erun endured?
Sold
. He’d been
sold
.

“My
dam
did not wait long before taking another mate. We were starving. My
sire
always provided for us and she had never worked. It would not be long before we were left to drift into the currents. It all changed with Tefor. But Tefor did not want a youngling not of his own within his house. So he mated my
dam
and the moment they sealed the mating…” Erun’s gaze became intent, focused and furious. “The moment they sealed the mating, I was gone. Tefor
sold
me to Leox.”

When quiet once again stretched between them, she asked the question lingering on the tip of her tongue. “What did Leox do?”

“He drugged me. He trained me to be a fighter. He turned me into the deadliest, most dangerous sphere fighter in Ujal’s capital. I made my first kill at twelve. I’d been on
krilate
for two years and became larger than most males. I even outgrew many of the king’s own high guards. I have performed for him; fought every male presented to me. Even Rhal.”

“Erun…” she whispered his name.

“You sound as if you pity me.”

She shook her head and lied. “Of course not.”

“I fought for years, Vanessa. I killed. I was drugged. I am Ujal, but the
krilate
altered me. I cannot
sire
younglings. My genetic material is different enough that I will never have an Ujal mate. Helping you and Tabby—it will grant me the closest I will ever get to offspring. I beg you let me assist her if I can. Join with you if the seas will it.”

A lone tear snaked down her cheek and she brushed it away. His past experiences went a long way to explain his assumptions. He was sensitive to a mother’s treatment of her children. The way a mother’s love could be destroyed by hardship. How she could… Vanessa turned her gaze to Tabby. She couldn’t ever imagine
selling
her child. Ever.

“Did your
dam
know what would happen to you?”

“Yes.” His answer was immediate and without hesitation.

And her heart broke for him. His body was tense, thrumming with emotions he refused to show, and she wanted to hold him close. She wanted to tell him it’d be okay. That no matter what, Tabby would always be in his life. Who better to have around than a male who’d endure so much and who’d be so driven to protect a child—her child.

“How did you get free? When?”
When did your torment end?

“Roughly thirteen years ago. I had to earn my freedom. I received a percentage of Leox’s nightly earnings.” He shrugged. “Some days were better than others. The older I became, the more I earned. When the king came, I earned the most.”

A deep voice she recognized came from the doorway. “I bet every credit in my possession every quarter.” Erun stiffened and they both swung their attention to Tave. “And I always bet against you. I wanted Leox to get every penny he could so your earnings were greater.” The prince slowly came into the room. “And I followed your progress through training. There is none fiercer than you, Erun. I would trust no other with my mate.” He tilted his head toward her and Tabby. “There is no other male I would trust for something such as this.”

“But Rhal…”

Tave shook his head. “Rhal knows how I feel about his abilities, and his past. Both of you have your specialties. But when it comes to pure desire to survive and subdue an opponent… Today I would put every credit I own on you. Every day, I put my happiness in your hands.”

Between Erun’s words and Rina and Tave’s opinion of the male before her, she made her decision. Her heart wanted him even if he was a jerk sometimes, and everyone trusted him even if… he was a jerk sometimes.

“Erun?” She drew his attention back to her. “I want to do this. If Sece says it’s safe and she can do this procedure, I want it to be your blood. And whatever happens between us… Then that’s what happens.”

Even—especially?—if it meant she ended up mated to him.

Erun nodded, his face set in an unreadable mask, but there was no missing the joy in his eyes or the way the irises slipped to a dark purple with her decisions. “I will not allow you to regret your choice. I will—”

The echoing blare of the station’s alarms silenced him and the first high-pitched whine was immediately followed by a loss of lighting. The room went dark, strobe lights flickering to life with the loss of power.

Tabby woke with a cry and Vanessa reached for her as she looked to Erun for an explanation. “What’s that? What happened?”

“That is the alarm for battle stations. Someone has attacked UST. I will get us to safety. Carry Tabitha.”

Tave vanished with the first hint of the alarm and Erun would be quickly behind the prince. But first he must get his family to safety. Family? He would do his best to make it so. Just as soon as he handled the attackers. He did not know what they would face, but he would destroy every person he came across because they frightened Vanessa. Then he heard Tabby’s soft whimper and cry for her
dam
.

They would not just die, but die painfully.

Vanessa snatched Tabitha to her chest, but he stopped her as she strode toward the door. “Wrap her first. I do not know what we face, but a blanket will offer her some protection.”

Fearful eyes collided with his and his gut twisted.

They would die painfully and
slowly
.

Vanessa remained frozen and he gently took Tabby from her
dam
.

“Daman,” Tabby whimpered.

“I’m here, little one,” he crooned. “I will bundle you and take you on an adventure.”

How many times had his
sire
said the same to him?

In moments the youngling was wrapped and he returned Tabby to her
dam’s
arms. “Now, we must go.” He led her to the doorway. “Stay behind me. I will lead us to the underground tunnels.” He turned, staring into her eyes and hoping she understood the weight of his vow. “I will not allow anything to happen to you.”

Vanessa swallowed hard and nodded. “I know.”

“Then come.”

He placed his palm over the pad and the doors parted. He stuck his head into the hallway, gaze missing nothing. Shouts came from the south, which meant he was forced to go north and away from whatever prompted those yells. It would take longer to locate an access panel, but he did not wish to lead the youngling into a battle area.

The lights tormented his vision, reminding him of the flashing brightness that used to accompany his entry into the battle sphere. The sirens replaced the cheering of the crowd, but it felt the same. Oppressive. Dangerous. Hated.

No. He was not in that place. He was free. He had a loving
dam
at his back who worried for her youngling and it was his task to get them to safety.

He strode down the hallway, senses alert, and his long-honed readiness overcame him. He would maim—kill—any who approached now. At the bend, he held out his hand, palm flat, to halt Nessa’s progress. He crouched and peered around the corner. This space, too, was empty.

Erun eased around the edge, uneasiness plaguing him. Where was the attacker? Where were those who wished the Ujal harm? He should have come across
someone
by now. Yet he hadn’t. By accident or design?

It did not matter. Only safety mattered.

Finally the sirens were silenced, telling him one of the higher ranked guards had finally gained control of the security station. The quiet was both good and bad. It allowed him to listen for any oncomers. It also allowed the invaders to hear Tabby’s low whimpers and Vanessa’s soft whispers to comfort the youngling.

He twitched his fingers, beckoning Vanessa as he slipped around the corner.

The
dam
and child practically clung to his back, her breath teasing his neck. Despite the circumstances, he enjoyed the closeness.

“Daman,” Tabitha called to him, but first he had to secure them. Then soothing could come.

Soothing for both females for he felt Vanessa’s trembles.

“Hush, baby. Hush. Momma has you.”

The youngling quieted, but he sensed her agitation.

They were close. So close. One more turn…

A chill bathed his back, the coldness going further than just tormenting his skin. No, it delved into him and right into his soul.

The scream that accompanied the freeze rattled his scales.

“Erun!” There was no denying the fear that filled her voice.

He spun in place, fists clenched and prepared for battle. He dropped into a low crouch, eyes locked on the male who threatened to destroy the future he’d dared to dream of.

Erun met his opponent’s gaze, cataloging his features. He recognized the dark eyes, the deep wrinkles, the sneer on his lips…

The clergyman—priest?—from the station’s parking lot. His first confrontation with Vanessa. Was it only that morning?