Virtue Saved, page 8
“Are you feeling ill, sir?” she’d asked, thinking he had summoned her seeking medical treatment.
The older male leered at her as if she were a tasty klavabak treat. His incessant and unwanted ogling made her feel unclean and uncomfortable.
“I have been watching you. Our life is different here in space than the stories we tell of our past, but we must begin again. Our people’s survival depends on it.”
“Yes, sir,” she responded, uncertain where he was headed with this talk.
“You are lucky Daeja. I have chosen you as the first who will mate me,” the conceited pale-faced male had grinned at her, despite her derisive snort.
“I will not mate you, Commander Viper.”
“Then you shall go to work for me. Perhaps you would like to clean the waste receptacles? All must earn their place,” he growled.
Shivers raced up and down Daeja’s arms at the hated memories. She could not stand to think what he would do if he learned of her failure. Her apakein was a gentle male, undeserving of such punishment.
He was the last Flamebound male, an elder granted sanctuary for that very reason. His age had kept him alive, which was fine with her. Let them see him as no threat.
The Viper Clan males were vain and cocky, but even though their numbers were low, one male could not out fight a dozen. The losses on both sides were unfathomable and the cost far too great in Daeja’s eyes.
Their species had been decimated. Females outnumbered males at an alarming rate, and no new Drakein were being born.
Despite Commander Cass Viper’s belief that females were dispensable, they truly ran the ship. Daeja loathed the man and his antiquated ways. Could he not see it was those foolish beliefs that had almost destroyed them?
Cass Viper was a fool, as lousy in battle as he was at the helm of the last Drakein space craft. Without his father’s name and those guards still loyal to his house, males could bear arms and did so with skill, he would be nothing.
Despite that, he still had the power to hurt her. And if she did not check in soon, he would do it. The cruel male held her apakein hostage.
Gods, how could you let this happen?
She wiped away those cruel, angry tears that refused to abate. Captured by the enemy with no recourse!
Ugh. It was hopeless.
Daeja forced her tears to stop. She should show no weakness to these strangers. What good would that do?
She needed to be alert and careful, trusting her captors would be a grave error. Taught to gather information while revealing none, she tried to recall her lessons.
It was for her worthy ship mates and her grandfather that she would do this, steeling herself for what was to come, Daeja inhaled slowly. The very fate of all Drakein depended on her.
The 100 years Great War had devastated Drakeinan, consuming their kind in what turned out to be an almost species annihilating event.
It was the almost that counted, as her grandfather often said. The only thing that mattered was the war had ended.
They’d finally found peace with the last battle that had ended in the death of the royal line for the Flamebound Clan.
There were only forty-two of them left. Her apakein plus thirteen Viper males made up the current male population of their species, including the loathsome Commander. The remaining twenty-eight, including Daeja, were all female.
Theirs was a patriarchal society. Without strong males to lead them, what would happen to the softer, fairer female?
True, they’d had to abandon their home as it was no longer capable of supporting life, but they were hopeful of finding sanctuary on one of the several inhabitable planets among the stars. But that was not what kept them going.
Rumors of a legend persisted among the survivors as they searched for somewhere safe to land. Tales of four princes whisked away in the dead of night decades ago, sent to a faraway planet.
Those four princes would one day lead them to prosperity. At least, that was the hope.
Daeja had heard the stories often. Foolish old wives’ tales. But some, including Commander Viper, believed them.
The crazed male was hunting them. He wanted to extinguish the noble line. That was her mission.
Find the stasis pods. Destroy the royals.
Lost in thought, she hadn’t listened for the telltale click of the portal that allowed access to her holding cell. She turned her head, ready to defend herself, but the female who entered seemed nonthreatening.
She wore lenses on her face and looked at Daeja curiously. The strange non-Drakein was comely and appeared friendly.
Daeja gasped as she took in their similarities. The alien was bipedal. Her features were in the same places as Daeja’s. She wore clothing, had hair on her head, and smelled rather like the aerial species that used to roam Drakeinan.
“Can you speak?” the alien asked.
So, Daeja, being a Drakein, decided to give her a formal greeting call. She opened her mouth and shot her small, yet potent, pink flame across the room with a screech that would have made her apakein proud.
“Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!”
Which was how she wound up freezing, doused with water and covered in a strange white foam, then manacled by her throat, wrists, and ankles and bound to the chair and table in her holding cell.
Freking flarshlaks!
*Read more from Alien Protector today!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.D. Gorri is a USA Today Bestselling author of steamy paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She is the creator of the Grazi Kelly Universe.
Join her mailing list here: https://www.cdgorri.com/newsletter
An avid reader with a profound love for books and literature, when she is not writing or taking care of her family, she can usually be found with a book or tablet in hand. C.D. lives in her home state of New Jersey where many of her characters or stories are based. Her tales are fast paced yet detailed with satisfying conclusions.
If you enjoy powerful heroines and loyal heroes who face relatable problems in supernatural settings, journey into the Grazi Kelly Universe today. You will find sassy, curvy heroines and sexy, love-driven heroes who find their HEAs between the pages. Werewolves, Bears, Dragons, Tigers, Witches, Romani, Lynxes, Foxes, Thunderbirds, Vampires, and many more Shifters and supernatural creatures dwell within her worlds. The most important thing is every mate in this universe is fated, loyal, and true lovers always get their happily ever afters.
Want to know how it all began? Enter the Grazi Kelly Universe with Wolf Moon: A Grazi Kelly Novel or pick up Charley's Christmas Wolf and dive into the Macconwood Pack Novel Series today.
For a complete list of C.D. Gorri's books visit her website here:
https://www.cdgorri.com/complete-book-list/
Thank you and happy reading!
del mare alla stella,
C.D. Gorri
Follow C.D. Gorri here:
http://www.cdgorri.com
https://www.facebook.com/Cdgorribooks
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-d-gorri
https://twitter.com/cgor22
https://instagram.com/cdgorri/
https://www.goodreads.com/cdgorri
https://www.tiktok.com/@cdgorriauthor
Don't miss out!
Click the button below and you can sign up to receive emails whenever C.D. Gorri publishes a new book. There's no charge and no obligation.
https://books2read.com/r/B-P-AWQD-ZESKC
https://books2read.com/r/B-P-AWQD-ZESKC
Connecting independent readers to independent writers.
C.D. Gorri, Virtue Saved
