Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Former: Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Books 1-5)

by Ashley L. Hunt

  He came back and walked past them. Caleb and Emerald fell in behind him, moving fast. “How many, Jared?” Caleb asked.

  “All who you left outside.” Jared took the stairs two at a time. “Things are not what they seem to be in this place, brother.”

  As they hit the last stair of the three sets Emerald noticed the paintings along the wall in the large room the stairs opened up in.

  The King was in one. The Queen in the one next to his and then there was one of Prince Kerr.

  Emerald said, “How beautiful the queen was with long, blonde hair and deep green eyes. The prince definitely took after her with his good looks. It was a shame about her early death.”

  All three stopped abruptly as two of the Palace Guards walked in from a side door. “Halt!” they shouted.

  Caleb drew his sword and Emerald followed, drawing hers. Caleb took his brother by the arm and pulled him to stand behind them.

  “We do not wish to harm you,” Caleb called out to them.

  “Surrender your weapons. We have the rest of your men,” one of the guards said.

  Jared leaned up and whispered. “They’re lying, there are more men upstairs. About twenty of them.”

  Caleb was sizing up the guards. Both were taller than he was. Both broader in the shoulders and he knew they were better muscled than he was.

  The Euthenians came muscled. Both wore the Palace Guard uniforms. Deep blue body suits made of the same protective fabric their clothes were made from and silver capes, boots, and gloves.

  Their weapons were long poles with a paralyzing charged tip on them. With a quick click of a switch, the charge could go from paralyzing to kill. The poles were five feet long.

  The length made them hard to handle in Caleb’s opinion. He’d watched the guards practice while at the palace.

  Things didn’t often require their skills as the citizens of Euthenia all knew the rules and most of the time they followed them.

  Caleb was certain he had more skill in fighting than any of them. If Emerald could manage to keep one’s attention on her for even a few moments, he could have both taken care of in seconds.

  They had no hoods or face masks. It would be unfortunate, but to stop them, their heads would have to be severed from their bodies.

  The precise reason Caleb had made the sharp swords. He knew he would have no issue with taking their heads, but Emerald would not want to do it.

  The two men had long, dark hair and were very handsome as the majority of Euthenians were extremely attractive. One glance at Emerald had him knowing she’d never be able to cut the handsome men’s heads off.

  Her voice was sure and strong as she called out to them, “This can be accomplished peacefully. We only wish for the same rights the rest of the Euthenian citizens have. It’s not a hard thing to grant us. There should be no need for blood to be shed.”

  “You came with weapons. Do you expect us to believe you meant for no blood to be shed with your take-over?” The guard on the right asked.

  The guard on the left added. “You may as well know the men we’ve captured have told us of the mission to take over the entire planet. The leader of your little expedition has been quite forthcoming. He told us he is the father of the woman who will be queen.”

  Caleb fought the urge to run has hand over his face as he was more than pissed about Emerald’s father. The man was not only an idiot but a traitor as well.

  “That man is not the leader of anything,” Caleb informed them. “I am the leader and my intention is only to gain equality. This planet is the only place we have to call home. You see us as Earthlings but the fact is we are not that any longer. Neither we nor our children can go back to Earth. I only wish to speak with Kerr when they get back.”

  The guard on the right cocked his head and said, “If you merely wanted a meeting with the Prince then why brings the entire army of male settlers with you?”

  “They were coming anyway. I could not stop them. It was either I lead them or another would’ve.” Caleb gestured to the walls covered with priceless art. “This place would have suffered heavy damage if that would’ve happened. I have great respect for the palace and the cities. It was never my intention to destroy anything, unlike the other man who was asked to lead this revolution.”

  The guards paused as if in thought. They whispered to one another for a while then looked back up at them. The one on the left said, “You have begun a revolution at one of the worst possible times.”

  Emerald asked, “Do you mean because the royals are all gone? Because that’s the perfect time to do this.”

  The other guard shook his head, making his dark waves bounce over his broad shoulders. “I mean because an uprising has already happened here.”

  Caleb and Emerald looked at each other with confusion. Caleb looked back at the guards. “Care to explain?”

  The guards retracted their poles and holstered them. One said, “If you will put the swords back in their sheaths we will take you to the one who can explain.”

  Emerald leaned in close as did Jared, she said, “Should we trust them, Caleb?”

  Caleb looked at his wife then his brother. “I think so.”

  Jared hissed, “You think? We need a little more than that, brother.”

  “This is a strange situation, Jared. We have our protective gear on and they are not asking us to hand over our weapons. Keep your knife hidden as well and we will go along to find out what in the hell is going on.” Caleb put his sword back into the sheath which hung at his side.

  Emerald did the same, and the three made their way across the large room and followed the guards out of it.

  Emerald asked, “Can you tell us where you took the men you captured?”

  “To the cells, underground. They are being treated well. The conditions there are better than any of the places you people live. The food is better, more nourishing.” The taller of the two nearly identical guards said.

  The other chuckled. “Though they all complained about the mite stew they were served.”

  Caleb laughed as he knew well the diet the Euthenian’s consumed. Insects were the main staple. He’d gotten used to it while living in the palace.

  One of the guards pushed his earpiece as a message came over it. All could hear the other man speaking through it. “We have captured the remaining men on the third floor. The monitors show no more rebels in the palace.”

  Jared mumbled, “So much for the uprising.”

  One of the guards looked back as they kept walking. “You have nothing to worry about, Earthling. Like I said, your people are being well cared for. The only thing I feel bad about is it looks like you left all your women back there alone. They’ll have a rough time of it.”

  Jared spoke up, “They’re a tough bunch of women. No need to worry about them.”

  Both guards sighed. One spoke, “Tough. That’s what you people are all about, isn’t it?”

  The other said, “You make things so hard for yourselves. When offered water, you declined. When we offered to teach you how to make your own water system, you declined. The same with the solar energy system. You want it rough for reasons we can’t comprehend. But now that we have enough of you to study, maybe we can begin to understand how to communicate with you more effectively.”

  Caleb pushed his hood back and took his mask off. His expression was one of agitation. “Who did you offer those things too? I’ve never heard any talk of it.”

  Emerald went to push her hood off as well, but Caleb grabbed her wrist and shook his head. She left it on and continued to follow the guards.

  “Your leader, of course.” The man on the right said.

  “We have no leader,” Caleb said.

  The guards stopped and turned to look at them. One asked, “You don’t know your leader? You lead a revolution and do not know the leader of your people?”

  Caleb shook his head. “Tell me his name.”

  The taller one said, “Samuel Winters.” Both guards loo
ked at them, their handsome faces riddled with confusion. “His wife’s name is Anna. They have two, nine-year-old twin daughters.”

  Caleb looked back at Jared then at Emerald. “Have either of you ever heard of any of them?”

  They both shook their heads. The guards looked even more confused.

  “They live in the city closest to the settlement. That man has been in charge of it since we began it. You are asking for equal rights from the wrong people,” the shorter guard said. “It’s he who has denied you the things you seek. Your own kind did that to you. We all thought you all were in agreement. The man has petitions with all of your signatures on them, stating you did not want our assistance.”

  Jared grasped his brother by the shoulder. “The man lives in the city. How is that? We aren’t allowed to them.”

  The taller guard said, “Only because he said you all wanted none of our ways. You wanted the desolation, and it was best to keep you out of the cities so you wouldn’t be tempted by the easy way of life in them.”

  “I need to see this man who has governed us all without us knowing.” Caleb shook his head. “We have been left in the dark for far too long.”

  Emerald and Jared nodded in agreement. The guards turned around and continued on their way through the large palace.

  The taller guard said, “Many thought it odd. He and his family live in a very nice place. He’s one of the King’s dearest friends. He frequents the palace and even has a set of rooms here. I suppose it’s one of the many things it seems the King has hidden from us all.”

  They followed the guards in silence the rest of the long walk to where ever it was they were going. Caleb’s mind was spinning out of control as he had no idea what was going on anymore.

  To think another man from earth would do the things he’d done to his fellow Earthlings seemed impossible. And how could the man be a close friend to the King?

  Caleb knew the King thought Earthlings to be incapable of real intelligence. The fact was, the King didn’t care for them at all.

  Caleb knew that for certain as he’d had many conversations with the man. Nothing was making sense. The whole situation seemed beyond his control any longer and that thought had him angry.

  He was not a man who liked to be out of control. The truth about everything had to come out and then he could find a way to deal with it all.

  His fight no longer seemed to be with the royals. It seemed it was with a man no one had ever heard of.

  If the man is friends with the King, though. How easy would it be to unseat him and place another in his position as leader of the Earthlings?

  Perhaps the poison which had been made for the King would best be spent on the man who was the secret leader of the Earthling settlement.

  Many things needed to be done, and it seemed they had only a few to help. Caleb, Emerald, and Jared were the only ones free at that time.

  And Caleb wasn’t very sure just how free they were. It seemed someone else was in charge with the royals gone.

  As they made their way through the room with the many works of art, one of the guards stopped in front of the painting of Prince Kerr and Caleb. He turned to look at Caleb. “It’s you!”

  The other guard nodded. “I thought I recognized you. Caleb! You grew a beard. The Prince talks about you often. Hopefully, he will take the news well.”

  Caleb narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two guards. “I remember you two now. The twins, Zin and Zan. You let your hair grow out. It was buzzed against your skulls.”

  “We were new when you were here. They buzz all the newbies,” the shorter guard Caleb then knew was Zan, said.

  Caleb gestured to the shorter one and introduced him. “Zan, this is my wife, Emerald and my oldest brother, Jared. The tall one is Zin. Kerr and I used to give them hell when I was a guest here.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Emerald said.

  Jared added. “The pleasure is all mine. Now can you tell us what the hell is going on?”

  Zan laughed. “Patience. We’re almost there.” They began walking again.

  Caleb took Emerald’s hand as they went into another room. This one was dark, and the guards turned on small lights to make their way to a bookcase.

  Pulling a red-covered book, the case moved back to the wall. The guards walked into a room filled with monitors.

  Each room in the palace was on the screens. The cells where the other men were being kept were up too and they could see all the rest of the men had been captured.

  All were resting on comfortable beds though and no one seemed the least bit distraught with their cells which were larger than their homes in the settlement.

  The lights went up and the back of a blonde head hovered near one of the monitors. Zin said, “We’ve brought them to you as requested.”

  The person rose. Long, blonde hair cascaded to a narrow waist. Long, flowing white robes were draped over the tall person.

  When she turned to face them, all three gasped.

  I thought she was dead!

  ‘The Rightful Reign’

  Book 6

  Alien Uprising

  (Book 3)

  CHAPTER 1

  Emerald

  Emerald’s heart stopped beating as she looked into the same blue eyes she’d seen in the painting of the Queen. It was her.

  “Where have you been, Your Highness?” Emerald asked as she bowed before the Queen.

  “In hiding. And your name is?” the Queen asked.

  “I am Emerald and this is…”

  The Queen held up her hand, stopping her. “I know who this young man is. Caleb is his name, and he is a great warrior from Earth. I’ve haunted this palace since my husband ordered an assassin to take my life because he didn’t want me to change the way things are done.”

  Caleb’s jaw dropped. “The King ordered your death?”

  She gave him a nod. The Queen had long blond hair and light blue eyes which housed years of disappointment and distrust in them. Her body was tall and lean and seemed to have a frailty from her time in hiding.

  “He did. Lucky for me the man he sent to kill me found he couldn’t take my life and hid me away in an underground city not many know exists.” She moved to leave the dark room full of monitors. “Let us retire to the parlor and sit in a more comfortable place.”

  They followed the Queen, clad in a long, flowing, white gown. Caleb took Emerald by the hand and gave her a look which let her know he was quite disturbed by what the Queen had said thus far.

  In a room not far from where they’d been, were overstuffed sofas covered in purple silk. The Queen took a seat then Emerald and Caleb sat down and Jared took another seat as did Zan and Zin.

  Caleb gestured to his brother. “Your Majesty, this is one of my older brothers, Jared.”

  She gave him a nod and Jared took her hand and kissed the top of it. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”

  “Thank you, Jared. It is nice to make your acquaintance as well.”

  Jared took the place on the other side of Caleb who looked confused and said to the Queen, “But there was a body, Your Majesty.”

  She nodded. “A woman had died of natural causes in the underground city. The assassin used her body to fool the King into thinking I was dead. It worked. Unfortunately for the man who was sent to kill me, he disappeared not long after that.”

  Jared frowned. “Why do you think that happened?”

  “The King most likely wanted no one who could ever tell on him. I never saw the man’s face. He wore a mask. I have no idea who he even was. But I owe my life to him and it was just another thing which devastated me at that time.” She jingled a little bell, and a man came in with a tray of drinks and some food.

  He placed it on the table between the two sofas and she gestured for everyone to help themselves. Caleb poured a glass of the purple liquid and placed it in front if the Queen who gave him a nod and a smile.

  Then he poured Emerald one and handed it to her. He asked,
“So how have you been in the palace with no one realizing it?”

  “There are secret passages to get inside the palace only Kings and Queens know about. My husband was not born royal, and I never showed them to him. There are secret passages inside the palace as well. The spaces between the walls are wide and many of the paintings I was able to see through.” The Queen sipped her drink.

  “So you’ve watched and known all which has gone on while never finding it a good idea to let all know you were alive and the King was a murderer?” Emerald asked with a frown.