From the Depths

by S. J. Sanders

  The revelation of his feelings bathed her in warmth, and eventually the pair fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  Epilogue

  Raschelle

  Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, but really…who was counting? Time was difficult to keep track of when a person was holed up in a cavern with little to no light. It was crappy, sure, but at least she wasn’t alone. Drashar spent most of his time in the little area that Raschelle had set up for herself. It wasn't cozy by any means. Hell, it wasn’t even up to a caveman's standards, but it was home. She learned to dry out seaweed and ferns much quicker with a draft she found in one of the tunnels. Unfortunately it was small and was in no way an exit.

  She couldn't complain. Not with a shortage of food Drashar made sure of and the freshwater leak she had previously found. She had the necessities to live, and with each passing day she found news ways to improve their lives. Some might have found it difficult, Raschelle saw it as an exciting Adventure.

  As time went on, Raschelle stopped trying to find an escape and started building a life with Drashar. She enjoyed his company, learning about Sa'Thulia and those that inhabited the planet. She kept herself busy crafting makeshift tools and supplies that improved her quality of life. She made several sets of knives out of bones, reinforced basket out of reeds, and was even able to make herself a comfortable bed after Drashar spent countless hours collecting and molding together something similar to the sea sponges on Earth. She was even able to brighten the cave, trimming some of the bioluminescent plants from much further back and replanting them near the front.

  Things were really starting to come together, especially their relationship. It wasn’t always smooth sailing. Although life was rough, they still loved each other. Drashar made her smile, she made him laugh, and they always ended the night making passionate love together. There were many luxuries she missed, many things she was without, but love wasn’t one of them.

  As Raschelle was just about to finish tidying up her area, Drashar’s urgent voice called to her from one of the tunnels.

  “Raschelle, come quick!” Drashar darted into the central cavern, now her home. His face was eager, his eyes wide and a smile was plastered on his face. “I found something.”

  The end.

  Want more of Raschelle & Drashar? Sign up for my NL so you don’t miss out on their full length coming later this year. <3

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  About the Author

  Harpie Alexander is a loving wife and mother to several pets. When she’s not caring for her ducks, birds, bunnies and fish, she can be found holed up somewhere reading the latest works by her favorite authors. After years of reading and running out of books that caught her eye, she was inspired to start a new journey for herself. Writing. Now she spends her days alongside her family immersing herself in the worlds she creates, hoping that her journey inspires others to write their untold stories too.

  Ecstasy from the Deep - A Verona Mate Novelette

  By: Octavia Kore

  Ecstasy from the Deep

  A Verona Mate Novelette

  Octavia Kore

  Oshen is a Venium warrior. A warrior who so badly wanted to explore Earth that he broke a direct order to be there. Something from the planet was pulling at him. Unfortunately, things go terribly wrong, and he finds himself wrecked, lost, and alone. The only thing he finds is an alluring human woman running from a Grutex.

  Amanda is a marine biologist who studies deep sea ecology. The project she has been slaving over was just shelved. In an act of rebellion, she decides she is going to continue Project Alpha with or without help, she had to; humanity depended on it. That is when a Grutex, the aliens that humans are currently at war with, decides to ruin her day. When trapped with nowhere to go, a mysterious new alien saves her. Now she has to return the favor by helping the unconscious, hurt male. Only things never work out the way she plans.

  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. This work of fiction is intended for adult audiences only and ​ may be triggering for some ​ . Strong language is used. Proceed at your own discretion.

  Dedications:

  Amanda Crawford ​ , not only are you an amazing cousin, but you are great to work with. I’ll be cracking that whip to make sure you stay in the rest of my books. This book was made for her and I love that she decided she wanted to help me write it. Thank you ​ Heidi ​ for editing our baby<3 It means the world. I’d like to also send out big hugs to ​ Sj Sanders ​ and ​ Calista Skye ​ who listened to me even when I was annoying and were my biggest supporters! Thank you to all of you for letting me bounce ideas off of you, and encouraging me to never give up. I couldn’t have done it without you ​ bitches ​ wonderful people.

  Alien Word Glossary

  Alien word Glossary: Brethren (Breth-rin) -​ Close allies. Brutok (Brew-tok) - ​Like a brother, best friend. Fushori (foo-shore-ie) - ​Glowing stripes that run along Veniums’ body. Grutex (Groo-tex) - ​Alien race who attacked humans and started a war. Gynaíka (he-nay-kah) - ​Wife or lifemate for Venium. Kókoras (co-core-ass) - ​Cock. Mía Kardiá (MEE-ah CAR-dia rolled rd ending ) - ​One heart. Mouní (moo-knee) - ​Cunt. Okeanós (ah-KEE-anos) - ​Ocean. Sanctus (sain-kt-us) - ​Rainbow female aliens (almost transparent) normally work in whorehouses or kept as pleasure mates only. Are seen as lower by nobles and not worth matehood. Sýzygos (See-zee-gos) - ​Husband or lifemate for Venium. Tigeara (Ti-gear-ah) - ​Feline like animal that is on Venium homeworld, mouth opens like The Predator. Venium (Vih-knee-um)​ ​- ​Alien race who saves humans from Grutex. Venora (vin-ore-a) - ​Venium homeworld. Xenomorph (Zeen-o-morph​) ​- ​Alien from the movie Alien.

  Chapter One

  Oshen

  The cool sensation of saltwater pressing in on him was the first thing Oshen latched onto as he came back to consciousness. He allowed himself to drift limply with the current for a moment as his jumbled mind worked to piece together what had gone wrong. He’d been on the hovercraft, hadn’t he?

  Oshen cracked open one gleaming, golden eye and peered into the murky darkness around him. ​Definitely not the hovercraft. ​ The gills on either side of his neck flared open as the unfamiliar​ okeanós ​ filtered in over them. His mouth pulled into a grimace. ​Definitely not the okeanós of the homeworld. ​ This water wasn’t as clean as he and Brin had hoped when they had decided to disobey their commander’s orders to stay on the ship.

  Oshen’s eyes flew open in alarm. ​Brin! ​ Where was the other male? He whipped his head around, searching desperately for any sign of his ​brutok, but the jerky movement only brought his attention to a large, painful wound on his side. He bared his teeth as he gazed down at his torn flesh. Oshen was lost and compromised in uncharted, alien territory. ​Fantastic.

  “Meatface. You survived? Lucky me.” The too-sweet, feminine voice of his comm’s A.I. made his midsection clench in annoyance. “I’ll be here to assist when you are done with your napping.”

  “​Mouní ​.” He sneered down at the wrist his comm was embedded in. When he located Brin he was going to give him another thump upside the head for reprogramming the unit only to answer to the word for a female’s sex. “Make yourself useful for once and run a full body scan.” He heard the soft chime that indicated the program was following his command and filtered more water slowly through his gills.

  “Scan complete, Meatface. It’s as I feared. Do you still wish to have a ​kókoras ​?”

  “What does my ​kókoras ​ have to do with anything?” Oshen was confused why the damned A.I. was commenting on his phallus. Was he in danger of losing it?

  “Well, you don’t need it. I insist you have it removed before we find dry land.”

  “Oh, for the sake of the gods! What is the extent of my injuries, you malfunctioning piece of scrap?” Gills flaring in annoya
nce, he forced water to push through at a quicker rate.

  The A.I. chuckled softly, “You’ll be fine. Quit acting like a pup.”

  Oshen moved his fingers along the deep gash in his side, trying to gauge how bad the damage was. ​What’s the point if I have to do this myself? ​ If Oshen had just listened to the commander he wouldn’t be dealing with this mess. The commander even tried to distract everyone to keep them in line. They were promised the opportunity to explore the vast waters as soon as the conflict with the Grutex was resolved, but only the gods knew when that would be. The reasons behind the Grutex invasion were of little interest to Oshen. He was determined to

  see the beautiful ​okeanós ​ before it was ruined by war. ​I should have followed orders and just had a good night.

  “I’m sure you’re wishing you’d stayed on the ship and enjoyed the company of the Sanctus female instead of disobeying orders and stealing that hovercraft.”

  Oshen glared at his device. He definitely planned on having her reprogrammed the moment he was back on the homeworld. “We didn’t steal the craft.” He pressed his hand against the wound, wincing. “It was tactically acquired.” The A.I. made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. “And I’m not interested in the Sanctus.”

  Though the rainbow females were very beautiful, finding another hole to put his​ kókoras in didn’t have an appeal. He wanted to find his ​gynaíka ​ , the female that would call to his body to start the reproductive process, but finding the bond was becoming increasingly difficult on his homeworld. Many of the Venium had taken to settling for pleasure mates. Oshen didn’t want that for himself, which was why he had politely refused the offer of the Sanctus female’s company.

  “I should have stayed home instead of accepting this mission.” Oshen commented, preferring the company of his family to the A.I.

  “Ah yes, I’m sure staying behind to care for an entire brood of pups is far more exciting.”

  He admitted that time away from his siblings had been something he had looked forward to, but Oshen was not used to being alone. His parents had blessed their failing species with fourteen healthy pups over the course of their mating. As the second born, Oshen had grown up looking after his younger siblings. This assignment would allow his people to gather more information on the Grutex and had the added benefit of a vacation. Helping with his siblings took a lot out of the male.

  Pain throbbed through his side. The gash was deep and jagged and would probably leave him with a scar. The salt in the water surrounding him stung his wound, and he gritted his teeth as he addressed his A.I. program, “​Mouní , any word from Brin?” Oshen knew the male was capable enough to look after himself, but worry clawed at his stomach.

  There had been more Grutex than they had planned for. Their simple hovercraft was not built for the strain of battle. It was lucky for them that the ​okeanós ​ on this planet was capable of sustaining their kind. There was little hope of finding an underwater city like the one on his homeworld since the dominant species here was land dwelling. He mentally shook himself. He didn’t have time to be homesick.

  “Still unable to locate the most handsome man in the verse.”

  Oshen rolled his eyes. ​Brin has definitely been messing with her programming again. Taking a deep breath, he turned his wrist over and looked at his comm. The screen projected onto his inner arm and he tapped on the display, sending out another ping to try and locate the wily male. The reception here was spotty at best, making it hard to get any signal whatsoever. Relief raced through him at the answering ping and a request to talk. Oshen didn’t hesitate to accept the call. He grimaced as Brin’s bloodied face filled the screen. Cuts mangled the grey skin of his cheeks and his black braids sat in disarray around his head.

  “Brin! Where are you? Are you okay?” He inquired as he coddled his own wound, trying to prevent more of his lifeblood from escaping.

  “Fine. Fine.” Brin grinned in his usual annoyingly charming manner, “Don’t act so worried,​ brutok. ​ We’ve been in more challenging situations. I’m not sure where the craft ejected you, but it was blown to bits by the nefarious males.” Brin waved his hand in a contemptuous manner.

  Oshen winced over the loss of the hovercraft knowing it had cost a fortune, but he was thankful they were both still alive. In the ​okeanós ​ , there was no way to know in which direction to go. It seemed to spread on for as far as the eye could see. The depths he would have found comfort in before now felt ominous. He could feel his gills flutter in the polluted waters. He hoped that his comm would work long enough to help him find the other male. They shouldn’t have disobeyed orders. The injuries to Brin’s face were upsetting. He knew the male took pride in his appearance and that once he saw the damage he would be devastated.

  “Do you know where you are, ​brutok ​ ?” Oshen felt disoriented as he looked around once more. There was no moon in the sky, and the surface of the water above him was calm.

  “I think I’ve found a place for us to get some land under our feet. I’m sending you my location now. I’ve already sent out a distress signal, and reinforcements should be here as soon as you make it.” Brin’s hand moved up to swipe some blood from his brow just before the comm ended.

  Oshen moved as close to the shore as he dared. His comm indicated that he needed to be in this area, but the sound of rushing footsteps caught his attention. A human female was hurt, fleeing from a large Grutex male. She didn’t seem to be used to the act of running nor did her body agree with it, though her voluptuous teats enticed Oshen with each stumbling step, his lifeblood heating. Venium females didn’t tend to have such curves, being more lithe in form. Her brown hair flew wildly behind her. Oshen’s concern increased as he placed his palms on the edge of the boardwalk and pushed down hard and fast. She needed his help.

  Chapter Two

  Amanda - A few hours before...

  Today was not going to go as planned. She could feel it in her soul. Somehow the universe was going to fuck it up, and she wasn’t looking forward to finding out what it had in store. Amanda hitched her bag higher up on her shoulder as she hurried down the empty hallway toward the gear room. She glanced down at her watch. ​Only ten minutes late. Thank you, unreliable alarm clock. ​ Trashing that old piece of junk was going to be so incredibly satisfying. Her footsteps echoed through the space as she sprinted the last few feet to the door and flung it open.

  “Amanda?” She squealed in surprise and spun toward the voice. Her supervisor was standing off to the side, clipboard clutched to his chest and thick framed glasses sliding perilously close to the tip of his nose. “Jim.” She wheezed, “I was just grabbing my gear and heading to the docks. Running a little behind.”

  His face twisted into a frown as he watched her heft the bulky scuba gear from the shelf. “You didn’t get my message? I could have sworn I got it out to everyone on the project.”

  Anxiety spiked through her. Amanda had been so concerned about making it in on time that she hadn’t even stopped to check her cell before running out the door. She patted her pockets but didn’t find her phone. “Uh, message?” Dropping into a squat, she unzipped her bag to rummage through the mess of notebooks, loose paper, extensive collection of pens, and snack wrappers. No phone. ​Crap, I probably didn’t even remove it from the charger. ​ She ran a nervous hand through her dark, tangled mane and huffed out a sigh of frustration.

  Jim scratched at his short, greying beard before tucking the clipboard under his arm and shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Seems that guys upstairs have decided it’s too dangerous to proceed with Project Alpha for the time being.”

  Ah, cue the universe and its fucking everything up. ​ “Too dangerous? How?” She stood, raising her brows and waiting for an answer. “What does that mean for us exactly?”

  “Unfortunately, it means no expeditions until we get the go ahead from the investors. Their funding, their call.” He sighed when he saw her shoulders sag in disap
pointment. “I know this is a set back, but there is nothing we can do about it. It’s a waiting game until this ridiculous war ends.”

  Amanda looked down at the bag and gear lying at her feet, squeezing her eyes shut to stop the angry tears that threatened to spill. Disappointment flared in her heart as she mourned the loss of her favorite retreat. As a Marine Biologist who studied deep sea ecology much of her work was spent in the depths of the ocean trenches. She loved to discover new things, and even with the precarious situation at hand, she found herself wanting to go out and explore. This was her project, her baby. This was what gave her a purpose for getting up every single morning. She couldn’t lose this. She wouldn’t.

  Jim turned back to his clipboard, effectively dismissing her.

  “Alright then, I guess I’ll see you when we have the green light to proceed.” Amanda grabbed her bag and put the gear back but didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

  Ok, so hiding out in a utility closet had seemed like a great idea hours ago when she had first ducked inside, but now her legs screamed to be stretched and her stomach rumbled its disagreement. ​Probably shouldn’t have eaten my emergency cheese puff snack ration in the bathtub the other night. ​ She rolled her head from side to side to work out the stiffness that had settled in. She couldn’t risk leaving just yet. Jim was still doing his inventory of the gear room, and she wouldn’t be able to explain why she needed to borrow the expensive equipment if the project they were working on was currently shelved. She still couldn’t believe the investors had decided it was too dangerous to continue their research. The urge to move was insufferable.