Protected

  The Alien Mate Index

  Book 2: Protected

  Evangeline Anderson

  * * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Evangeline Anderson Books

  The Alien Mate Index

  Book 2: Protected

  Copyright © July 2016 by Evangeline Anderson

  E-book License Notes

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to the e-book retailer of your choice and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  Dedication: With love to all my Kindred readers. If you like Kindred, I think you'll love Alien Mate Index as well. I write these books with all of you in mind. I feel very blessed to have such awesome people to pretend with me.

  Hugs and Happy Reading to you all!

  Evangeline

  Disclaimer : This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. So please don't get your panties in a twist--this is all in fun. ; )

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  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  The End…or is it?

  Epilogue

  Descended: Book 3 of the Alien Mate Index Series

  The Warriors of The Alien Mate Index

  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Location: Aboard Assimilation ship EOC-2789, the private vessel of Count Doloroso.

  Time: .05 solar seconds following the departure of invaders who absconded with the Earth female, Zoe McKinley, a known Pure One and La-ti-zal, marked for impregnation with the first organic Assimilated.

  The echoes of the invaders boots had scarcely faded from the corridors of the Assimilation ship when a panel in the control room slid aside and a small, silver insect came buzzing out. It paused for a moment to ascertain that the invaders were truly gone, then continued its flight down to the medical suite. It hovered for a moment over the fallen body of its last host, the pink, featureless face twisted almost completely backwards with the blow that had broken its neck.

  The nano-chip inside the silver insect hummed. A waste. But this body had almost outlived its usefulness anyway. It had been chosen for its durability and the great wealth of its previous occupant—both of which had been nearly exhausted. The Assimilation had been hoping to make it last until another of the correct kind became available. Only a body of one of the Twelve Peoples, those grown from seeds scattered by the Ancient Ones, had long term compatibility with an Assimilation mind.

  But though no such organic body was available, there were a few “burner bodies” stored in the stasis booths located in the hold. The silver insect buzzed its way towards the hold and the large doors slid open soundlessly to admit it.

  In front of the first stasis booth, the insect hovered, waiting patiently as the organic unit inside was brought slowly back from the suspended animation it had been held in for the last fifty cycles.

  Soon enough it came stumbling out of the booth, its black, compound eyes blinking stupidly, its long ears twitching as it tried to ascertain its situation. It had green skin and a small, wrinkled blue hole for a mouth—a Grubbian. They were a species of traders and merchants, practical to use as temporary organic units since they were ubiquitous to the entire galaxy and so never attracted attention.

  The silver insect gave the Grubbian no time to get its bearings. Before it had taken two steps, the insect struck. Sinking the silver barbed stinger located at the end of its metallic abdomen deep into the greenish, pebbled skin at the base of the target’s neck, it injected its payload.

  “Ah!” The Grubbian cried out and flailed wildly—but only for an instant. As the nanobytes injected by the silver insect reached its bloodstream, it came under the control of the Assimilation. Its brain function was circumvented as new thoughts raced through the neural synapses. Soon the Grubbian’s personality was nothing but a distant memory—it had, in effect, ceased to exist.

  It had been Assimilated.

  The being lately known as Count Doloroso smiled and stretched his new arms. It was good to be in a fresh body, even if this one was only temporary. Of course, this body wouldn’t do for the planned impregnation of the La-ti-zal he had marked as the mother of the new race of organic Assimilated. He would have to find another and neither of the two in the stasis stalls would do. They were both of outside races, those not descended from the Ancient Ones.

  He frowned. Of course, it would do him no good to have the correct body, if he had no female to impregnate. Zoe was gone, in the company of two large and very capable males. She would be nearly impossible to recover.

  Reluctantly, Doloroso decided she was a lost cause. He would have to turn his attention to finding another female to take her place.

  Luckily, he had an idea of where her home planet was located. And he had two names to work with—the names of her friends who she had told him to leave alone.

  “Charlotte and Leah,” he mused, his voice hissing from the small, puckered blue hole of his new, temporary mouth. “Hold on, my future wives. As soon as I find the correct body to wear, I’ll be coming for you…”

  Chapter One

  Grav

  I’m not a nice guy.

  I’m a murderer and an ex-con and an all around son-of-a-bitch, ask anybody who knows me.

  But I’m also a Protector.

  I took an oath to guard the females I take as wards with my life, and I take that oath very fucking seriously. That’s why, when I see someone I’ve sworn to protect in danger, I take immediate action, even if the female I’m acting for doesn’t know I’m assigned to protect her.

  Of course, it helps if she knows I’m watching out for her—helps if she knows she can trust me. Because, unfortunately, I’m not the kind of male females trust on sight.

  I’m one ugly bastard, is what I’m trying to say.

  Half Braxian and half Vorn—the two most hated and feared of the Twelve Peoples the Ancient Ones seeded the galaxy with. I’m not smooth like an Eloim or pretty to look at like a Majoran. I have bluish-gray skin, black curling horns, and white-on-black eyes that can see every spectrum of light.

  And don’t forget my prison tats.

&nb
sp; But it doesn’t matter what I look like—I get the job done. And at the moment, my job was getting planet-side to save one of the Earth females who had been put under my protection.

  Only she didn’t know me—didn’t know I was watching her. And she sure as hell didn’t know I was trustworthy. I mean, what would you say if a seven foot tall blue alien with horns and freaky-as-shit eyes showed up at your door?

  Exactly.

  But none of that mattered—she was in danger and I had to save her.

  But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. I should start at the beginning…back when I first came aboard the Commercians’ space station, which was circling in low Earth orbit, spying on Earth females for their Alien Mate Index. A site which claims they can hook up any alien male with the perfect Earth bride or concubine—for a price.

  I wasn’t looking for either. I just wanted to serve and protect, no matter what it took…

  * * * * *

  “Can you tell me the sort of female you are interested in?” Char’noth S’roth, the lead Commercian asked me in his high, silly voice. “We have all sorts, my Lord…”

  “Grav,” I said, frowning. “And I’m not a ‘Lord,’”

  “Ah yes, forgive me, my Lord” Char’noth squeaked, rubbing several of his hands together.

  Commercians look kind of like dark blue worms with multiple limbs. They have the most ridiculous fuckin’ voices imaginable, but they’re shrewd in business and almost always the first to exploit any kind of commercial situation. It didn’t surprise me a bit that they had discovered Earth, once a closed planet, was finally opening up. Or as they put it, “ripe for harvest.”

  “As I was saying, my Lord Grav” Char’noth continued, “We have all kinds. Some tall, some short, some thin, some thick…”

  “I’m not a Lord,” I said again, interrupting him. “And I don’t wanna look at any you have for sale. In fact, I’m interested in two that aren’t for sale. Or they’d better not be—their contracts were bought and paid for with the understanding that they were to be left strictly alone.”

  “Ah…you must be referring to the two La-ti-zals whose contracts were bought by Lord Sarden, whom I am told has recently ascended to the throne of Eloim?”

  “That’s right,” I said, glaring at the little worm. “Which means he’s got considerable clout—so you’d better be keeping those two off your fuckin’ database.”

  “If you have been sent to see if we are honoring our agreement with Lord Sarden, you can put your mind at ease.” Char’noth’s high, piping voice sounded offended. “We Commercians do not renege on business deals. In fact, another customer has already come asking to see them and we refused all his offers, though they were quite considerable.”

  My protective senses went on high alert.

  “What? Why didn’t you say so? Was it a male about this high?” I showed him with my hand level to my chin. “With a smooth, pink face—only slits for eyes and a mouth?”

  Describing him left a bad taste in my mouth. The freak show of a Doloroso was disgusting—he even managed to make my ugly mug look pretty in comparison. I had killed him though—I’d felt his neck break in my hands and seen the life leak out of his slitted eyes. Still, Lady Zoe, Sarden’s bonded mate, was certain the bastard had somehow come back to life and was stalking her friends. That was what I was there for—to check up on them. I had never expected Lady Zoe to be right, but here we were. Apparently Doloroso was already on the prowl…

  But Char’noth was shaking his little blue head.

  “No—it was a Grubbian merchant. He said he wanted something extra-special for a client. A La-ti-zal.”

  La-ti-zal is the name for a female who has been extra-blessed with talents from the Ancient Ones. Lady Zoe was one and so her friends likely were too. It only takes one female with those latent abilities to start them growing in her closest friends and female relations. So it stood to reason that Lady Zoe—who was an Opener—would have friends who were also La-ti-zals, though what kind they would be, only the Goddess of Mercy knew.

  “So this Grubbian asked for a La-ti-zal and you showed them the two girls?” I growled. “Even though their contracts had already been paid for by Sarden?”

  “For demonstration purposes only!” Char’noth took an alarmed step back. “We have recently added special scanning equipment to the Alien Mate Index which enables us to pick out those females who are specially gifted. The two that Lord Sarden paid for shine the brightest of all.”

  “Shine the brightest?” I said. “What in the Frozen Hells of Arnoth does that mean?”

  “See for yourself.”

  Char’noth made a motion with two of his blue, clawed hands, causing a light-screen to appear in front of us. It was split in two parts and each half showed one of the females I was assigned to protect.

  I had seen them before in Lady Zoe’s memory cube but I had to say, her memories, while beautiful, didn’t do them justice—especially not the little morada who she called “Leah.”

  She had pale skin, big brown eyes, and long, silky brown hair my hands itched to touch. I could imagine the soft texture of those strands, sliding over my fingers. Braxian women usually have extremely short hair. Any female with hair past her shoulders is considered exceptionally beautiful and this little one called Leah had hair that went down to the curve of her lower back.

  You’re only here to protect and serve, I reminded myself sternly, reeling in my libido. And even if you weren’t, a female this gorgeous—not to mention a Pure One and a La-ti-zal—wouldn’t want anything to do with an ex-con murderer like you. Also, she’s already got a mate. So get a grip, Grav.

  Yeah, I’d like to get a grip on her, whispered a lustful little voice in my brain, completely ignoring my stern self-warning, as Leah bent over.

  She had full hips and a lush ass too, which was good. I don’t like females that are too skinny—nothing to hold on to. I saw she was surrounded by young ones, some playing and some sitting quietly. She seemed to be concentrating on one in particular—a small male with thick oculars covering his eyes. Hadn’t Lady Zoe told me something about her working with them? Young ones with some kind of disability, I thought, but I couldn’t remember what exactly. Something that made them non-responsive at times. But the small male seemed to be responding to Leah well enough. In fact, she seemed to really have a way with him.

  It made my heart ache as I remembered my last ward, Teeny. She had been older than the young ones I saw surrounding Leah on the light screen, but her beloved grandmother had been killed right in front of her. Then she had been captured and kept in a cell by the infamous gangster, Tazaxx of Giedi Prime. Sarden and Zoe and I had managed to rescue her but her big eyes were haunted and she had cried and cried when her grandfather canceled my contract with her and decided to send her to an all-female planet for finishing school.

  I wondered how Teeny was doing now. In all probability, I would never find out since her grandfather was a fuckin’ idiot. Poor kid needed counseling and to be with people who cared for her—not to be shipped off to some ridiculously expensive finishing school for the ultra wealthy of the galaxy. But what can you do? Though I had sworn my oath to Teeny, her grandfather had revoked it. Still, she would always be in my heart, even now that I had two new females to guard.

  “Do you see the glow?” Char’noth said, motioning to the light-screen.

  I dragged my eyes away from the little morada’s curvy behind and looked at both females with clear eyes. It was true that both of them had a kind of aura around them. Leah’s was a pale, lovely translucent blue. But the female named Charlotte—well, her glow was something special.

  Most males with Vorn DNA can only see colors when they meet a female they could call as a mate. But though I am half Vorn, my eyes favored my Braxian side. And, as I told you that Braxian eyes can see every spectrum of light—even those invisible to most other species.

  The female called Charlotte was putting out ray
s that would have blinded a normal male. A golden glow suffused with every color of the rainbow surrounded her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Clearly she was something special.

  It was fucking amazing and yet…my eyes kept getting drawn back to Leah with her big brown eyes and pale blue aura.

  “The glow, right,” I said, frowning. “So did the Grubbian merchant offer to buy them?”

  “Of course he wished to purchase them,” Char’noth said. “Especially this one.” He pointed to Charlotte. “She has the brightest and most complex glow we have yet seen. Clearly she is extra-blessed by the Ancient Ones—a La-ti-zal’s La-ti-zal.”

  “Whatever that means,” I grunted. “So what did you tell him?”

  Char’noth drew his little wormy body up to its full height of around three feet.

  “I told him no, of course. That these females were already paid for and were unavailable for anything but display purposes.”

  “As of now, they’re not available for that either,” I snapped. “Except by me. I’m here to make sure they’re safe and you’re honoring your end of the bargain.”

  “But how will we show that our equipment can spot a La-ti-zal?” he demanded in his high, squeaky voice. “No other females shine so brightly!”

  “Too fuckin’ bad,” I growled. “Stop displaying them now. As much as possible, they need to be left alone to live their lives. Well…” I cleared my throat. “Except for one thing. I need to go down to the planet’s surface and deliver these crystal message cubes.”

  I extracted them from my pouch, both square cubes cupped in one palm like an oversized pair of dice.

  “It will not be possible,” Char’noth said, hissing disagreeably. “Our transport facilities are only able to send living tissue. Unless you are able to conceal these communication devices somewhere inside your body, they will not be able to travel with you.”

  “Fine,” I growled. “Then I’ll go down myself in my own ship.”