Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1)

by Beth Valentine

  The maroosh seemed to feel better because it turned back to Natalie and watched her, tilting its head to one side.

  They just stared at each other, neither one blinking or looking away.

  Natalie felt compelled to say something.

  “Thank you. You saved my life.”

  The maroosh just stared at her silently, before giving a nod of its head.

  Natalie felt her eyes widen in surprise before it butted its head against her stomach, rubbing against her. It started rumbling, its body shaking with the strength of it, inadvertently shaking Natalie too.

  “Tavanni. Is it purring? I have never seen, nor heard, of a maroosh ever doing that.”

  “I told you it didn’t want to eat her. Tavanni sent it to protect her for Taavi.”

  The maroosh settled against Natalie, its weight taking her to the ground. She sat with a thump, and the maroosh’s head landed in her lap. She wasn’t quite sure what to do or where to place her hands. She gently lowered them into her lap, one on her thigh and the other on the maroosh’s head. It rumbled and bobbed its head, and Natalie took that to mean it wanted a rub. So she scratched behind its ears and rubbed its head, causing it to lean more heavily against her and the rumblings to deepen.

  Natalie was actually feeling pretty relaxed under an animal that could kill her in seconds.

  “Holy shit. Is she petting it? What the heck is going on?”

  “Quiet. You’ll scare it or something and then it will attack.”

  For a few minutes Natalie and the maroosh sat in companionable silence, one giving scratches and rubs, the other rumbling its contentment. It signaled the need to leave when it stood up, licked her face, and loped off into the forest.

  Did that really just happen? I kind of wish I could keep it.

  Taavi swept her up in his arms, hugging her close. He squeezed her so tightly she had to fight to breathe.

  Taavi, you’re too tight. I can’t breathe.

  He loosened his arms and looked into her face, eyeing the bruising on her temple. He took her mouth in a gentle kiss and laid his forehead against her.

  “Tavanni. Natalie, I thought I’d lost you,” his voice broke, causing Natalie’s throat to tighten.

  She nodded her head in understanding and rubbed his back.

  “I’m okay. We’re okay. Did you catch them?”

  Taavi gently set Natalie down. He looked over his shoulder at Hannan, Aaren, and Aaden.

  “Where are Andris and Ben?”

  The men looked at each other, then back where Imhal and Crishal were, and sprinted in that direction. Taavi again grabbed Natalie and lifted her into his arms, running after them. They came upon Crishal’s blood, then Imhal’s blood, both men gone. They searched the area and found an unconscious and bleeding Andris.

  But there was no Ben.

  Ben was gone.

  They watched as a ship rose from the forest, a Tarlon ship, and sped off into the air, breaking through the atmosphere, and then was gone.

  And Natalie’s heart broke.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  “Natalie, are you okay?” Kayla ran toward her, wrapping her arms around her. She pulled back to look at her face and whistled. “Oohee. That’s going leave a mark. Tell me the other guy looks worse.”

  “I almost choked him unconscious until I was surprised by a second bad guy.”

  “Good for you. That’s my girl.” Kayla looked around the group, her eyebrows turning down into a frown. “Where’s Ben?”

  None of the men said anything, all turning their grim gazes toward Natalie.

  Natalie swallowed, took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry, Kayla. They took Ben.”

  Epilogue

  Ben woke up a little confused, but quickly shook it off as he looked around. He was in a metal room, probably a spaceship or something. Those assholes had taken him by surprise when he and Andris had circled around to cut them off.

  He wondered if Andris was okay, or if they had killed him.

  The grated floor hurt, so he struggled to sit up, just realizing his arms were tied behind his back. He lay back down, lifted his butt off the ground, slid his hands down to his feet before bringing them over, and sat up while bringing his knees to his chest so his hands were in front of him.

  If he was going to have to protect himself, he would do it with his hands in front.

  He looked around again, taking stock of the small sink in the corner and a cot on the floor. Other than that, and a small blanket and pillow, there was nothing else in the room.

  He looked toward the door and realized the door wasn’t really a door; it was seven bars across, locked from the outside with no handle.

  Figured.

  Just as he was about to sit down on the cot, footsteps sounded on the grate floor outside, coming to a stop in front of the door.

  A hideous pale creature with shedding skin appeared on the other side. It had no hair and its skull was elongated. Along with cringe worthy yellow-green snake eyes and some fangs, he was a nightmare come to life.

  It grinned at him and spoke. “I Imhal, human. I capture you. You mine to have, or sell, depend on how I feel.” His eyes narrowed, making Ben wince in disgust. “You make me angry. You take away my pretty. You pay for that.”

  A male chuckle sounded behind the creatures’ shoulder, and out stepped another man, this one tan, with pale eyes, and dark hair.

  He smirked at Ben.

  “So, you’re an alien man, huh? Got to say, I prefer the beautiful female aliens. When we take over, we’ll sell them for a pretty penny. Of course, they have to be sampled first, don’t you think? The one with the brown curls and blue eyes really turned me on. Now there’s a feisty female I’d like to get to know better. I bet she’d be a hellcat in bed.”

  “You stay away from her, and Natalie. I’ll kill you both. You won’t get away with this. You threatened the wrong people. Even your king was there.”

  The man sneered. “Fuck the king. He won’t be king much longer. And you don’t have a say in anything that goes on here.” He smiled and dangled a key, inserting it into the door. “Like my friend Imhal here, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Crishal.”

  He unlocked the door and walked into the room, followed by Imhal, who closed the door behind him.

  “Now, it’s our turn to play.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  It had been an hour before they were able to contact Admiral Himase, but by then it was too late. Ben and the other men were gone; none of the ships sent out could find or track them.

  It was as if they had just vanished.

  Ty had set an emergency council meeting, which most of the elders weren’t happy about. The arguing and constant questions were growing louder and louder until Ty slammed his fist on the table.

  “Shut up. Did I give any of you permission to speak?” He looked around the table, glaring at each person as they looked away. “We’re here because one of our men, Crishal, aided a Nezlean onto the planet to take Natalie. Thankfully, she was rescued, but Andris was hurt and one of the human males, Ben, was taken. I want to know how, I want to know why, and I want to know where the hell they are. And I want to know now.”

  The councilman with the salt and pepper hair, Narlan, stood up, blustering. “Crishal? No, it can’t be. He’s a loyal Tarlon, a brave and respected warrior. No, you must be mistaken.”

  Ty slowly stood, put his hands to the table, and leaned in.

  “I am not mistaken, Narlan. It was Crishal.”

  “But did you see him with your own eyes?”

  “No, Natalie did. And she was attacked by him.”

  “She could be mistaken. She isn’t from here, she doesn’t know what accusations like that could do to someone’s reputation.”

  Taavi stood, his hand reaching for the gun Ty had allowed him to wear to the meeting.

  “You dare accuse my wife, my soile-miena, of lying? I’ll kill you.”

  Ty turned to Taavi and shook his head. “No. Stand down.”


  Taavi, please. Just ignore that old bag of wind. Ty believes me, and that’s enough.

  He settled beside her again, taking her left hand and playing with the ring.

  I won’t let anyone disrespect my soile-miena, my wife. No one, Natalie.

  I know, honey, but you have to play the political game here. And since Ty is an expert, let him take it from here.

  He grunted and turned his attention back to Ty.

  Natalie watched as Ty addressed Narlan.

  “Do you think me, or Team One, are so easily fooled, Narlan?”

  Narlan paled, and stuttered a reply.

  “N-n-no, Your Majesty. It’s just that the girl could be mistaken. Maybe if it was Crishal, he was trying to help.”

  Natalie snorted. “He tried to rape me. I highly doubt when he was pawing at me and trying to shove my dress up he was ‘trying to help’. I’m not confused, I’m very aware of what happened, thank you very much.”

  Taavi squeezed her hand as some of the women and men on the council chuckled, making Narlan pale and sit down without another word.

  “Ladies and gentleman. I’ve asked you here as a courtesy, but I do not need your vote. It’s already done. We are sending thirty of our ships to search for Ben. We need him back if our treaty with Earth is to stand. Not only that, but he is innocent in our war with the Nezleans, and it is our responsibility for his protection now. We have failed. We will not fail again.”

  Natalie watched Ty and felt faint. After the day she had had, she was entitled.

  Taavi, I don’t feel so well. Can we leave?

  Taavi turned to her, concerned. He nodded and stood, pulling her up with him.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, Your Majesty, I’m afraid we’ve had a rather eventful day and would like to rest. Thank you for your time.” He bowed to Ty and pulled Natalie out of the room.

  Tali, Ginny, Harken, Selly, Lity, and Kayla were outside waiting for them. When they saw Natalie looking so pale, they immediately started asking what was wrong.

  “Easy. She’s just had an eventful day. She needs to rest.”

  Natalie shook her head as the edges of her vision dimmed.

  “Taavi…” she moaned before collapsing.

  He caught her, scooping her up into his arms.

  “Natalie? Natalie, are you okay?”

  Taavi, I don’t feel very well. I think I’m going to faint.

  She stared up at him as her vision faded, closing her eyes when the feeling became too much.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  “Tali!”

  “Calm down, Taavi. We got here as soon as we could, and according to the tests there is nothing wrong with her…” she trailed off, smiling a little.

  “Why are you smiling? You think this is funny? Are you insane? Having a breakdown?” Taavi ranted, pacing up and down the isle in front of Natalie’s cot.

  Calm down. I’m fine.

  “Natalie!” Taavi rushed over to the cot, sitting down beside Natalie and grabbed her hand. “I was so worried. What happened? Are you feeling better?”

  “I don’t know what happened,” she said squeezing his hand. “One minute I was fine, the next I felt faint. Probably an accumulation of today’s events and Ben’s abduction, I guess.”

  Tali gave a strangled giggle, hopping from foot to foot.

  Natalie and Taavi both looked at each other in question, shrugging, and turned to frown at Tali.

  “Why are you doing that? Stop it. What did the tests say? Was it from stress? Did I not eat enough today? Is my head still messed up from Crishal?”

  “No, no, no, no, no. Well, yes. Yes, it’s a combination of stress and not eating enough, and no, it’s not from Crishal.”

  Her grin was so big it took up her face.

  Natalie rolled her eyes in exasperation. Leave it to Tali to make Natalie fainting all about her.

  “Well, is that it? Just stress and not eating?”

  “No. You’re pregnant,” she shrieked, unable to contain her joy any longer. She bounded over and hugged Natalie, and then Taavi. “I’m going to be an aunt. I’ll go bring the others in so we can tell them.”

  “Wait,” Natalie grabbed Tali’s arm. “Can we keep this a secret for now? Typically on Earth, we don’t announce it until we are at least three months in, just in case something happens.”

  Tali’s smile dimmed. “Oh, of course. That’s sad, but smart thinking. I will still go let them know you’re alright. I’ll keep them out so you two can have some privacy.”

  She walked out of the clinic, closing the doors behind her.

  Natalie looked at Taavi who looked shell shocked, and felt a moment of fear.

  What if he didn’t want the baby? What if he had wanted to wait and now they wouldn’t have time together?

  Crap.

  “Are you happy?” she asked hesitantly.

  He slowly turned his head toward her, his eyes glistening with tears.

  “Alright? Am I alright?” He shook his head. “Tavanni has blessed me with a soile-miena, a wife, and now a child.” He shook his head again. “No. I am not happy. I am in awe. I cannot thank Him, nor you, enough for this precious gift. A baby, Natalie. Part of you and part of me, forever bound in one small creature.”

  As Taavi talked, Natalie felt her own tears well up and fall down her cheeks. She smiled and brought her hand to his cheek, wiping his tears away.

  “We are truly blessed.” She felt her throat tighten and had to wait a minute before she could speak. “I finally get to have my family back. It might not be the same as I had before, but now I get to be the wife and mother, and I could not be happier. I love you, so much.”

  Taavi smiled, gently kissing her on the lips and leaning his forehead against hers. “I love you, too, my miracle. My destiny. I found you.”

  “We found each other.”

  Note From The Author

  Hey everyone! I really hope you enjoyed Natalie & Taavi’s story! I’m excited to write, and share, Ben’s story next. He’s whispering in my ear, waiting for me to get back to the grind.

  If you would like to keep in touch, or up to date on Ben’s story, like me on Facebook at Beth Valentine – Author.

  If you liked the story, leave a review on Amazon. Each and every review is appreciated <3.

  About the Author

  Beth calls a small town in southern Ontario, Canada, home. She has a slew of relatives, all of whom she’s very close with, especially her immediate family. She has a wonderful and loving mother and father, and three amazing sisters.

  Beth is a 23-year old university graduate, and she was studying for her licensing exam when she started writing stories on her breaks. She has always made stories up in her head, but never thought about writing them down, never thought about publishing said stories. She became friends with an author and became a beta reader for her and was so inspired by her friend’s passion for the craft, she decided to write her own stories. And absolutely loved it.

  She has many, many more books planned, so follow her on Facebook at Beth Valentine – Author. She’s very excited to share her story worlds with everyone.