Ruzak's Claim: Sci-fi Alien Romance (Mitran Warlord Protectors Book 1), page 1
RUZAK'S CLAIM
A SCI-FI ALIEN ROMANCE
MITRAN WARLORD PROTECTORS
BOOK 1
ELLA BLAKE
Ruzak’s Claim: Mitran Warlord Protectors, BOOK 1
Copyright © 2024 Ella Blake
First paperback edition: February 17, 2024
ASIN: B0CSB698RT
Illustration: Chirunax
Cover Design: Ella Blake
The characters and events portrayed in this book are entirely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system is forbidden without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher.
The scanning, uploading, transcription, and distribution of any part of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
CONTENTS
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Also by Ella Blake
When there’s no safe place to hide you on Earth, Witness Protection sends you to another planet.
Tori
That’s how divorcing a crime boss landed me across the galaxy. Unlike the other women here, I don’t want to marry one of the—okay, fine, gorgeous—Mitran males. After I’m called to testify at my ex’s trial, I’m getting back my life on Earth. But Ruzak, the aloof warlord who holds himself apart from the throng of males hoping for a bride, needs my help identifying a spy who may not be as human as she appears. One wrinkle: Ruzak is much more interesting than he appears.
Ruzak
In exchange for breeding females from Earth, we must allow some humans to stay on Mitra who are not here to find a mate. It’s a small price to pay to give our struggling population a chance to survive. Victoria is spitting mad to be here, but the fact that she isn’t here to find love makes her an ideal choice to find the Dessican spy I know is in our midst. Victoria sparks my long-dormant desires, but falling for her comes with a price: I will have to let her go, no matter how fiercely I wish to claim her.
CHAPTER 1
Tori
So, life lesson learned—marry an organized crime boss and you may end up on a far-flung planet with a bunch of women looking for alien husbands. I clenched my hands on my lap and looked straight ahead as they practiced their Mitran language skills and talked about what they would wear to their first daka. I didn’t even know what that was.
The trip wasn’t that long and we were in light stasis for the bulk of it. It was this last part, where we entered the Mitran star system, that we were awake and I had to listen to all this twittering about the generous proportions of Mitran males. I wasn’t there for a man, alien or otherwise. I still wore the dress suit I’d worn to my divorce proceedings with its stains from where my would-be killer pushed me down in the dirt.
I looked over the sleek black table to the curved window beyond. This wasn’t what I expected when I agreed to enter witness protection. I thought I’d get a new name, have to dye my hair and move to New Jersey, but there was no place on Earth where I could be safe from my ex-husband, the interplanetary crime boss that at least five government agencies had been trying to build a case against for years.
Okay, yes. Marrying him was my first mistake. It wasn’t like I had no warning. My family and friends had given me that pinched, wincing look and said, “Are you sure you want to do this? I hear you can’t divorce these guys.”
But I’d already been swept off my feet. I was in love and I refused to believe that he could be involved in anything illegal. I wouldn’t need to worry about divorce because I was never going to divorce my amazing, successful, handsome Antonio. I was going to live with him for the rest of my life in our New York City penthouse, or our Tuscan villa, or our chalet in the Swiss Alps. I was going to make beautiful babies and learn to paint. Oh, life was going to be grand. And it was.
Until it wasn’t.
I couldn’t pinpoint the day things went bad. It had crept up on me. I could tell you when everything changed, though. That was the day my husband of five years, and ex-husband of about four hours, tried to have me killed.
In his defense, I was going to testify against him, so he had reasons. But still.
“Now approaching the planet Mitra,” said a voice through the speaker system. “Arrival time in eighteen minutes.”
The irritating twittering around me intensified, making me wish I had a room I could lock myself into for the next eighteen minutes. I consciously unclenched my jaw and forced a neutral expression on my face. It was shitty of me to be annoyed by their excitement. This was a fresh start for them. It was a gut-churning, scary side trip for me. This planet, Mitra, was where I’d be hiding out until summoned back to Earth to testify against Antonio at his trial.
Some instructional material displayed on the screens around the open cabin. Now that the beds we’d been lying in during light stasis were chairs, we were expected to sit and read this stuff. I wasn’t doing that. I knew everyone here had learned Mitran and I was the only one who hadn’t. The Mitrans weren’t big on translation implants, which was fine because I didn’t have one. I’d only been off-planet a few times, to visit the luxe colony on Mars and a quick stop on the moon for Antonio’s business. Every bit of the past five years of my life was tainted by Antonio.
Mixed in with Antonio’s legitimate business—which I’d naively thought was all he did—were late-night meetings behind soundproofed doors. Enormous armed guards. I was given no access to our finances. I was given an allowance.
When I started asking questions, I was assigned a bodyguard who went everywhere with me. Antonio wanted the nice, quiet doll who was dazzled by the life, the money—all of it—but that sheen wore off as quickly as his devotion and caring. When it finally sank in that my husband was not a good guy, I was trapped. Or so I thought.
By the time the FBI found a way to talk to me and offer a chance at a fresh start if I was willing to testify against Antonio, I was willing to work with anyone if it meant getting away from Antonio and my restrictive and dangerous life. The next year was a scary blur of poking into financial records I wasn’t supposed to look at, listening in on conversations I wasn’t supposed to hear, and pretending to be the perfect wife.
“Hey, we’re landing.”
I looked up to see a woman looking down at me. She looked younger than my twenty-eight years—almost all of them did—and wasn’t as made up as the others. Her dark hair was a mass of curls and her dark eyes shone with amusement.
I blinked up at her. “We are?” I rose quickly. “Wow. I was counting the minutes, then…” I spread my hands.
“You looked deep in thought,” she said. “Understandable, considering what we’re about to do.”
“Oh, I’m not—” I cut myself off, remembering almost too late that I had a secret identity to hide. “I’m not worried. I’m sure we’ll all find our perfect matches.” I hoped that sounded convincing enough. I wasn’t much of an actress and my lack of enthusiasm had to be obvious.
The windows had gone black. There was a bump as the ship docked on a platform, and the level of excitement rose. Most of the women moved toward the main doors, eager to get a look at their new life. I stayed where I was.
“I’m Lisa,” said the woman, who also stayed away from the doors. “And yeah. I’m sure we’ll be swept off our feet.”
She sounded as thrilled as I felt to be here. I wondered if she was also in witness protection, but there was no way to ask. We were strictly forbidden to tell anyone anything about ourselves that deviated from the script we were given. “I’m Riley,” I said, turning my head as the huge doors opened, sending a shaft of warm red light into the cabin. I pulled in a sharp breath at my first glimpse of the blinding beauty outside and murmured, “Looks like the adventure has begun.”
Lisa looked like she was going to be sick. “Right. I can do this.”
I put an arm around her. It was a little awkward, as I’d just met her. “We can do this,” I said with more certainty than I felt.
We stepped off the ship into an interesting landscape of dark reds and hardy plant life. No delicate tropical fronds here. Trees were stout and sturdy. Bushes thick and woody. Our ship had set down on a landing pad a little way off from what looked like an old wall. Beyond it, the tops of buildings could be seen.
“I guess we’re walking,” said Lisa, rolling her shoulders. “You’d think they’d park a little closer.”
I didn’t mind the idea of walking for a bit. It always helped clear my mind. “The air is different here.”
“Well, it’s not Earth, that’s for sure,” she said. “What happened to your suit?”
I looked down at the dirt stains on my cream-colored suit. “I, um. I fell.”
“You’ll be able to change soon, I’m sure,” said Lisa. “After a welcome address by some official.”
“Great.” I wasn’t looking forward to a speech I wouldn’t be able to understand.
We started walking. The ground was rocky, but a smooth path had been laid from the landing pad—of which there were many—to the city, or whatever it was. Thrail, I think I’d heard someone call it. Yes. This was a Thrail—the domain of a warlord. I couldn’t believe this was my new reality. We all now answered to a warlord. All I could do was hope he wasn’t an asshole.
CHAPTER 2
Ruzak
Istood on the balcony formed by the boughs of the massive kual tree and watched a stream of human females disembark the transport ship.
“They don’t look like us,” said Jina, my attendant. She stood beside me, looking fierce and imposing. That was her job.
“They do not,” I agreed. Humans did not have horns like we did, nor the deep red coloring that we had, which prevented the rays of our nearest star and gas giant from damaging our skin.
“Is that fur on their heads?”
“They call it hair,” I corrected her. “The Heveians have it, too.”
Jina grunted. “It’s strange.”
I couldn’t argue, but something about the strands were intriguing and I suspected many Mitran males would agree. These females didn’t all look the same. Their skin colors ranged from deep brown to pale cream. Their hair was brown, orange, black, and yellow, but there were some with augmented colors of pink and green and blue. Their bodies were tall, short, curvy, and slender. Some wore colorful garments. Watching them step onto Mitran soil for the first time was like observing a flock of bright binka birds descending on fresh carrion. It was beautiful and terrifying.
I glanced at the Mitran crowds that had gathered to greet the humans. Necks craned and curious eyes watched the females. From my angle two stories above them, I saw my proud people and could feel the tension in the square.
“Their offspring won’t look like us,” Jina said.
“Nor will they look like humans,” I replied. “But we will only survive by bringing in new breeding females.” Jina was well aware of this and had agreed that it was the most feasible way to keep our species going, but having the females here, walking on our soil and hearing their bright voices, made it all very, very real. “Their children will be something new,” I added. “But we will be.”
And that was better than going extinct.
“Some elders don’t want the humans here,” said Jina.
“Some elders think we have reached the natural end of our time and should die out quietly. They may have reached their natural end, but our people still have a future.”
“Here we go into a new era.” Jina crossed muscular arms over her armored chest. “On a less hopeful note, I have no new information to share on the Dessican. All of our people have been verified. If a spy is among us, it is not a Mitran.”
I gritted my teeth as both of our gazes moved to the humans below. The ambassadors had met them and were giving a welcome speech. Even from two stories up, I could feel the stew of emotions—excitement, uncertainty, and all variety of nerves. Forty-eight human females looking for Mitran males, had been on that ship. And one additional female, here by agreement with Earth, who would be here temporarily. She was here only for her protection. That was it. The words that neither Jina nor I spoke aloud were of the possibility that the Dessicans had planted a spy among them.
Each of the eight Thrails, or cities of Mitrans run by a warlord was receiving a ship today from Earth with willing females. I wondered what made these humans choose to give up their own home planet to start a new life here. Something had not gone right for them. Some were running from something. Some had likely made mistakes. Maybe some wanted an adventure or found our males more appealing to look at than human males. I would never know their reasons. Maybe, one day, their mates would.
The females watched the Mitran ambassadors with rapt attention. All but one—a softly curved creature with voluminous black hair that curled around her shoulders. Her head turned around, taking in the Thrail, rather than the speech, as if she found the whole thing a waste of time. She held herself apart from the others. Even from this distance, I could see weariness in the line of her shoulders and tension in her spine.
That had to be the one who was here for protection. And she wasn’t listening to the ambassador because she did not know the Mitran language. The other women had spent six months immersed in a program on Earth that taught them the culture, language, and everything else they would need to know to settle into Mitran society. This female was lost.
I pointed her out to Jina. “That one needs extra help settling in.”
Jina peered down at her. “Is that the one we’re hiding?”
“I would be shocked if she wasn’t,” I said. “She won’t be here long.”
“Unless she’s the spy.”
“If she is, the Dessicans have done a terrible job of making her blend in,” I said.
“True.” Jina rolled back her broad shoulders. “I wonder what she must’ve done to make her own planet unsafe for her. And make her so valuable that her government sent her here for protection.”
“That is not our concern,” I said, unwilling to admit that I was, at least, mildly curious, too. “She is here until she’s not. That’s part of the agreement with her people.”
“Yes, Pal-Ruzak,” she said, addressing me by my formal title, probably in response to my brusque tone. “I will see that she is looked after.”
Just then the dark-haired female turned her face towards the balcony and looked up. She was too far away for me to see details, but I could discern large eyes in a face the color of creamy gold. Even from this distance, the meeting of our gazes felt…too close. Too much like a touch. My body tightened and I held still even though I felt the urge to jerk away. A growl coiled in my throat. With long-honed discipline, I shifted my gaze away from her. “See that you do,” I said to Jina, then turned and left the balcony. I would be keeping away from this female. The unsettling effect of her gaze was an annoyance I had little patience for. Even if I had chosen to take a mate among these human females, this one was forbidden.
CHAPTER 3
Tori
He was way up there, standing on a balcony that looked like it had been grown or formed out of the enormous tree on the edge of the square. Even this far away it was clear that this was no ordinary Mitran. He stood perfectly still, arms crossed over a broad chest that was covered in black armor. Mitrans didn’t have hair, but rather, brakas—slender, ropelike protuberances that hung from their head at different lengths. Apparently they cut and styled these things as they pleased. This, of all things, I remembered from an exposé in an Earth Life News and Galactic Report piece.
Beside him stood a rare female Mitran—probably his wife, or mate, or whatever they called their partners. She looked just as powerful as he did. This had to be the warlord of the town, or city, or whatever they called places like this. That was confirmed by whispers around me. The women knew his name—it was Ruzak. Maybe I should have read the welcome packet after waking up from stasis.
I was sure he was looking at me when I looked up. But then, it may have been my imagination. We were a big group of highly energized women who had drawn the attention of seemingly everyone in this place. Of course he was looking at us. Then, he was gone. I blinked and the back of him was the last glimpse I got as he went inside the tree.
Meanwhile, a Mitran male with silver brakas and very long horns was going on about something as everyone listened. I couldn’t understand a word he said and wanted this to be over with so I could go to my room and just stay there until I could return home, testify, and be done with this entire bad chapter of my life.
