by M. K. Eidem
Ull
By M.K. Eidem
Ull
Tornians Book 7
By
M.K. Eidem
Turtle Point Publishing, Inc
Copyright © 2020 by Michelle K. Eidem
Cover Design by Judy Bullard
Edited by: [email protected]
All rights reserved: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is strictly coincidental.
License Statement
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Synopsis
Ull Rigel is a fit and worthy Tornian warrior, the first male of a powerful and respected Lord. Because of this, he'd always believed he'd be able to attract a female, securing his bloodline.
But he hadn't.
He hadn't even been able to attract one of the Earth females they'd discovered. But his younger brother, a third male, did. Now, the Emperor was sending Ull to Earth to protect it from the Ganglians who were abducting the females his brother warriors so need.
Trisha Burke had plans for her life. Career. Family. Friends. But one moment changed all that. Her friend, Lisa, and Lisa's two children suddenly disappeared without any explanation. When local law enforcement couldn't find them, she reached out to the most powerful person she knew, the President of the United States, her uncle.
Two people who have had their lives turned upside down are on a collision course. How these two handle the impact and deal with the aftermath will affect not just them, but all the Known Universes.
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
Epilogue
About the Author
Additional Books
Chapter One
Ull's knuckles whitened when he gripped the edges of the viewport as he stared down at the small blue planet. It had taken him longer to get here than it should have, and it was all the Emperor's fault. Ull should have been sent directly to Earth, but Wray had ordered him to take the Searcher and follow General Rayner, not only to Luda but then on to Pontus before heading here.
They'd wasted nearly a week on Luda, meeting with King Grim and his female, who, as far as Ull was concerned, should never have been included in the discussions. But King Grim, like his brother, Emperor Wray, had become weak since they'd joined with their Earth females. They seemed to have forgotten that males were the ones in charge, not the females. That males made the decisions, and that females were supposed to obey them.
General Rayner was no different, even though Ull had heard he was the strongest, most feared warrior in the Kaliszian Empire. He, too, listened to the female he claimed as his True Mate and even deferred to her at times.
What weak males they all were. Ull knew he would never allow himself to be like that.
When they'd finally left Luda, it took them eight days to reach Pontus, the small planet just on the other side of the Tornian-Kaliszian border. It had once been a beautiful, productive planet full of animal and plant life. It had been able to feed nearly the entire population of the Kaliszian Empire, but that was before the Great Infection had turned it into a barren wasteland.
If he'd had his way, they would have only been on Pontus long enough to collect the Earth males and females the Kaliszians claimed to have, then taken off again. But General Rayner's female had refused to allow that. She demanded time to 'explain' to them what was happening first. So, two days later, they'd eventually been able to leave on the two-week journey to Earth.
Now they were finally here, and it was time for him to secure females for his brothers-in-arms, proving to all that he indeed was a fit and worthy male. But he wouldn't be doing it the way the Empress and the Queen of Luda demanded. No, they were females, and he was a highly trained warrior, a first male, and would one day be the Lord of Betelgeuse, and a Lord didn't follow instructions given by females.
Turning away from the viewport, he looked to Captain Veron, who stood behind the navigation console. While the Emperor had entrusted Ull with this vital mission, he hadn't trusted him with Earth's actual location. No, that the Emperor had given to his most trusted Captain who had met them en route to Pontus.
"Notify the Emperor we have arrived," Ull ordered. They'd set up several transmission relay satellites on their way to Earth. They gave them the ability to send and receive verbal and text messages as far as Luda, but with several hours of delay. The Tornians were building a more advanced series of relay satellites, but it would take some time before it was complete. When it was, the Emperor would be able to communicate directly with Earth the same way he did with the Kaliszian Emperor. "I'm going down to the planet to scout the area."
"We need to determine the date first." Veron pressed several buttons on the console stabilizing their orbit. "Queen Lisa told us when her friend would be at the location."
"When she thought she would be there. She couldn't be certain," Ull stated while striding toward the door.
"This wasn't the plan." Veron moved to block Ull's way to the door.
"I am in charge of this mission, Captain," Ull growled nearly nose-to-nose with Veron. "Not you. Your only responsibility was to get us here. You've done that. Now stand aside."
Veron hesitated for a moment but knew Ull spoke truth. He was only in charge of getting them to Earth. Wray had given Ull complete control in accomplishing the rest of the mission, so Veron stepped aside.
Watching the younger Warrior pass, Veron hoped the Emperor's trust wasn't misplaced.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Ull's shuttle silently landed in a secluded area near the location the Queen of Luda had directed them. The shielding of the ship made it undetectable, except for the leaves and loose dirt it blew around. Not that there was anyone there to notice. The Queen had sent him to what she called a cemetery, a place where her people buried their ancestors.
On the flight down, Veron had notified him that he had been able to establish the date, and they were within the time frame the Queen had given them. Now all Ull needed to do was find the location the Queen had mentioned and wait for the female.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
For the second time, from his perch in a tree, Ull watched this planet's sun begin its daily ascent. It was beautiful the way it gradually lightened the sky and chased away the darkness. He couldn't remember the last time he'd watched the start of a new day. Maybe when he was a youngster and his manno would take him on hunting trips. They'd stay up late, and his manno would point out important stars, telling Ull stories of the ancestors. Then he'd rouse him to watch the beginning of a new day.
'It i
s a chance to begin again,' his father had said during those trips. 'A chance to right the wrongs you made the day before, learning from them.'
Since then, Ull had always been on the training fields, sparring instead of watching the start of a new day. As the rising sun burned away tentacles of fog that clung to the ground, it felt as if it was doing the same thing to the anger and murkiness that had filled his mind for so long. How long? He wasn't sure, definitely since the Joining Ceremony.
He remembered walking into that Assembly feeling so proud, strong, and self-assured. He'd known who he was, where he belonged, and his place in their society. By the end of that day, he would have a female, assuring the continuation of his bloodline. Then it had all gone wrong.
By the end of that day, he hadn't had a female. None of the twelve males presented, including Ull, had been. Also, by the end of the same day, two Houses were decimated, their Lords killed, and a princess was born.
Ull had no problem coming to his Emperor's aid, along with the rest of his House, for what Bertos and Reeve had done, and attempted, was pure evil. He had even agreed with the naming of Callen as the new Lord of Vesta. It was only when his younger brother, Ynyr, was named a Lord that things had begun to get hazy.
He'd been as shocked as the rest of the Assembly, but then he'd felt so much pride. The pride that now everyone knew just how fit and worthy his younger brother was. He and his manno had smiled at each other as tears ran down his mother's face.
But then one of the Earth females had chosen Ynyr as her male. A rage began to build in him, unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
It clouded his judgment.
It had him thinking things he'd never considered before.
It had him saying hurtful things.
It had him doing things he knew were unworthy of a future Lord, like what he planned on doing here.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"Hi, Mamá. Daddy." Trisha sat down on the bench her tío had placed beside their graves. She still found it hard to believe it had been two years since her mamá had died. There were days it seemed like a lifetime ago, and then others when she found herself picking up the phone to talk to her before Trisha remembered she was gone. Her mamá had been Trisha's rock growing up. She'd always been there, supporting her, loving her, telling her by word and example that she could be anything she wanted to be. Do anything she wanted to do.
Patricia Garcia had married the love of her life, Martin Burke, at eighteen. She'd told her daughter the story many times about how she'd rounded a corner and run into an unmovable wall. A pair of muscular arms wrapped around her before Patricia could fall. When her eyes looked up, she realized the wall was actually a broad chest. That broad chest had belonged to Trisha's father, in his uniform, straight out of basic training. That had been it for Patricia, for both of them.
For two years, they'd dated, despite her family's protests. Not only was Martin two years older than Patricia, but he was seriously Caucasian. During that time, the only family member who supported their relationship was Patricia's older brother, Aaron. Aaron hadn't judged Martin on the color of his skin or his ethnicity, but on who he was and how he treated his little sister.
It had been Aaron who had shown up at the courthouse when she'd married Martin on her eighteenth birthday.
It had been Aaron she had called, asking him to be the godfather of their child, when she'd found out she was pregnant.
And it had been Aaron who stood beside them holding her and her daughter's hand when they lowered Patricia’s husband into the ground.
"Tío Aaron would be here if he could, but you know how it is with the Secret Service and reporters. There's rarely a private moment when you're the President of the United States. Heck, he couldn't even visit you in the hospital without it being a major production." She lifted her face to gaze up at the turning leaves. "I miss you, Mamá, so much. But I'm glad you aren't struggling anymore, aren't in any more pain, and I know you're glad to be back with Dad."
She looked at her father's tombstone. He'd been so young when he died. The same age she was now, but he had accomplished so much in that short time.
He’d protected his country, married the love of his life, and had a child. All in just twenty-four years.
"You always kept him alive for me, Mamá. Telling me how much I look like him, even though we both know I look more like you. How he would be so proud of me, but I know it's you he would have been most proud. You're the one who never gave up, who never quit. You put not only me but yourself through law school. Then went on to become a professor, all as a single mamá."
"God, if I could do half the things you did, Mamá, have half the impact… I'd consider it a life well-lived, but I doubt that will ever happen. Not now." Tricia wiped away the tear from her cheek then gave her head a sharp shake. There was no time for that now. "I screwed up, Mamá. I shouldn't have left the girls. Not with Peter. But I didn't know what else to do. I let Carly and Miki watch videos on my phone until it died and forgot the charger. When it got late, and Peter came over, I couldn't call Lisa to verify that she'd sent him. I should have known better, should have known Lisa would never let that man watch her babies. But by the time I did, it was too late. Lisa and the girls were gone, and Peter was spouting nonsense about a growling seven-foot giant. I've spent the last four months trying to find them, Mamá. I even asked Tío for help, but it's like they disappeared off the face of the Earth."
The snapping of a twig had her spinning around, but before she could process what she was seeing, her world went black.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Veron's eyes widened as Ull entered the ship carrying an unconscious female in his arms. They hadn’t planned it this way.
"What, in the name of the ancestors, do you think you are doing?!" Veron demanded. "Queen Lisa gave specific orders that this female was to be approached, not taken!"
"I don't take orders from a female," Ull growled back even as he carefully laid the female down on the couch in his quarters. "What the Queen wanted was never going to be possible, especially when it was too 'inconvenient' for her to accompany us."
"Inconvenient?" Veron all but shouted. "She is with offspring! There was no way Grim would allow her to travel without him, and he couldn't leave Luanda, not when he now has so many females to protect."
"Then she should not have been involved in the discussion," Ull argued back.
"She's the one that had all the information we needed," he reminded Ull. "The one that knew who we needed to contact." He gestured to the female on the couch. "Her."
"And now we have," Ull told him.
"Not in an honorable way." Veron ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "We came here to return those that were taken, not take more."
"We came here to make a treaty with Earth to protect it from the Ganglians and Zaludians. In return, they would give us access to their females," Ull told him the most simplistic aspect of the plan.
"You know Wray wants to do more than that," Veron fired back. "He wants to end the Great Infection. For all species."
"The Great Infection never reached here," Ull spat out, angry with that for some reason. "They aren't going to care about helping us end it. Give me the educator."
"No," Veron told him, gripping the box that contained the device tighter. "The Emperor ordered that she must voluntarily put it on."
Ull opened his mouth to argue that the Emperor wasn't here when a low moan stopped him. They both looked to the couch.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Trisha lifted a hand to rub the back of her neck and groaned. Why was it throbbing? Had she slept wrong on her pillow again? And from where was that growling sound coming? She didn't have a dog. Opening her eyes, every muscle in her body tensed. A man was standing over her. A huge man who was staring down at her. A man she didn't know. She tried not to panic.
She'd always known this was possible, but never believed it would happen. That she'd be kidnapped because of who her tío was. Whil
e it wasn't a secret, she also stayed mostly out of the public eye. First, because of her age, then because her mamá had gotten sick. Tío Aaron had tried to make her accept a protective detail, but she'd refused. She wanted to live as normal a life as possible. Now she realized she'd been stupid.
She let her gaze travel over the man's features so she could identify him when she was rescued and found her mind fighting to reconcile what her eyes were seeing.
His features weren't right.
His skin wasn't just white. It had a pearly luminescence and rosy tint to it. His hair was long and pulled back from his face, but a few dark strands had come loose, and they brushed along a nose that was broader and flatter than usual. His cheekbones appeared chiseled from stone while his gray eyes stared down intently.
"Who are you?" she demanded, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice. She wouldn’t show how scared she was. "What do you want?"
She thought she was going to be able to keep it together, then his full lips pulled back, revealing teeth longer than any she'd ever seen as he growled at her. Screaming, she shot up off the couch, plowed the heel of her palm into his strange face, and ran.
Veron just stood there for a moment, shocked. He couldn't believe this female had not only attacked a male but had injured him if the way Ull was holding his nose was any indication. Veron wouldn't have believed it was possible if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He was beginning to find he liked these Earth females, but that didn't mean he was going to let this one get by him. Taking a step to the side, he blocked her path to the door and braced for attack.
Trisha ran for what she hoped was a door only to skid to a halt when another huge green man stepped in front of her. Seriously? A little green man? Okay, not so small, more like the Jolly Green Giant, who wasn't so jolly. Crouching down slightly, with her hands away from her body so she could protect herself if she needed to, she slowly began to back away from him.