Barbarian Legacy Complete Series: An Alien Romance Box Set

by Abella Ward

  Chapec can’t believe his luck when he sees the human he’s supposed to escort to the Zon Sanctuary. All curves and softness. Just the sort of woman he'd like to hold all night while they…

  But never mind. He’s not looking for a mate. And neither is she. There are secrets that need to be kept at all costs. And a mission to complete.

  Can Veronica and Chapec reach the safe haven of the Zon Sanctuary in time? Can they keep their enemies at bay? And most importantly, will they find a way to trust and love each other?

  Chapter One – Veronica

  Her lungs felt like they were full of water. Veronica Benson coughed violently, unable to pull in a proper breath. Her head spun. She felt her legs beneath her but couldn't seem to make them work. Where was she? Flashes and bursts of color came from every direction. Nothing made sense. She lay flat on the cold floor, trying to get her mind and body under control.

  Breathe first, think later, she told herself, screwing her eyes tightly closed. She forced herself to take a few deep breaths, ignoring the uncomfortably full feeling of her lungs. The nausea churning in her stomach diminished and her head stopped spinning as much. Veronica shivered. What had happened? What had she been doing just before she got so suddenly ill?

  I was walking home from the fertility clinic.

  It had been a rocky appointment. The doctor had spent half the appointment trying to convince her that she should settle down and get married instead of trying to have children on her own. He eventually gave her the treatments she had paid for, but only with a great show of reluctance. This was despite the fact that she was over thirty, had all of one boyfriend in her life, and hadn't even had a date for about five years. She suspected it was more that the doctor thought she was too fat.

  Veronica's job as a financial advisor was going well. With a steady, sizable income, she could support a child. She already had looked at what she needed, had begun stockpiling diapers, and was looking at the best nannies to hire. Not to mention she had lots of family around who would shower the baby with attention, and three brothers who were ready to be positive male influences in its life. She explained this to the doctor, but he kept acting like she was going to end up making her child a drug addict because she didn't have a husband. By the time the appointment was over, she was so angry that she decided to walk back home instead of taking the bus in order to cool off.

  But what happened next? Veronica opened her eyes only to be blinded by a bright light. She closed them again.

  Had her mother called? She remembered a ringing sound. And a light. Had she answered her phone and stepped out in front of a car? There was a scream. Pain in the base of her spine…

  Something bit into her behind her right ear. It was a sharp jab, like the bite of a black fly. Veronica jerked, her hand flapping at her ear. Another hand caught her wrist and pushed it down to the floor. Her eyes snapped open, adjusting quickly now that the light wasn't shining into them. Another bite just behind her left ear.

  "Translators in and functional," a voice said from somewhere.

  "The sedative is wearing off," another voice said. "Give her some more."

  "I've given her enough. She has been in stasis for billions of years. It would be too easy to overdose her in this state. A dead human is worth far less than a living specimen. Let her adjust a little. If need be, I'll give her something to make her more complacent in a few minutes."

  The hand released her and she whirled around. Her eyes widened and her heart jumped to her throat. A gray face stared into hers, tentacles squirming around its nose and mouth like a living goatee. Pale white eyes with no pupils stared down at her. Her jaw dropped open to scream, but nothing came out.

  "Ah, it appears she's more aware than I thought." The mouth moved, the sound coming from the gray face, but it didn't match up. It was like watching a badly dubbed movie. And yet, she could understand every word.

  Veronica's panic pushed to the back of her mind. This had to be a dream. She often had vivid ones, although she could usually tell when she was dreaming right off the bat. But gray tentacle-faced creatures weren't real, so this had to be a dream. Which meant she was safe. Right?

  "We're lucky we were able to find a ship that still had a living specimen on it," the gray face said. "These days it's difficult to get them before the Zon Sanctuary arrives."

  "That T'shav thinks he's the creator incarnate," a voice said from the side, full of disgust.

  Veronica turned her head towards the speaker. A blue person with gold eyes stood there. It was a he, as far as she could tell, with a tall, lean figure. He held a long stick in his hand that looked like a fire poker. Just behind him was a coffin. Or at least something that vaguely looked like a coffin. Or one of those little fish oil capsules, only blown up a billion times bigger. A combination of the two, maybe. Thick yellow goo dripped out of it. She looked down and saw she was covered in the same icky stuff. She could feel the weight of it, a slight chill on her face, and her head spun again.

  Just a dream.

  It didn't feel like a dream. She jerked upright, slapping away the gray creature's hand as it reached for her. The blue creature straightened, the stick in its hand pointing towards her. Veronica pushed herself backward until she was pressed against the wall. Her heart faltered. This was no dream. An elaborate prank? Had she been kidnapped?

  "Who are you? What sort of sick joke are you playing? What do you want with me?"

  The blue creature laughed, and the gray one shot it a look that may have been disgust. "Do not be afraid, Human. My name is Kena, and I am a Wlobq. You were taken from Earth some billions of years ago and then put in a stasis pod on a ship traveling at light speed. The temporal distortion allowed the ship to survive all these years."

  One phrase stood out. Veronica swallowed down bile. "Billions of years?"

  The white eyes were unmoving in the gray face, making shivers climb up and down her spine. "The Earth you knew is dead. Humans have long since left its ground and traveled to other worlds, evolving into new species. You wouldn’t think it seems like it, but both Wlobqs like me and Aphrosians such as my companion are your distant descendants."

  Veronica's head spun. She wished she could pass out again but had no such luck.

  "Kena, her new owners will tell her all this. You're wasting time. Can we take her to the buyers or not?"

  Buyers? New owners? "What are you going to do with me?"

  The blue creature smirked, stepping forward. "Humans are rare commodities. Since all species are descended from humans, your kind can breed with anybody. Even squidface here. Best thing is, humans pass down very little of their traits to the offspring. You're also very useful in disease research and other sorts of testing."

  Veronica felt the blood drain from her face. She opened her mouth, but there was nothing she could say to that.

  Two sets of footsteps sounded from behind her, and she turned to see two devils striding up a long, shiny corridor. Both had deep red skin, black hair, and black eyes. All that was missing were the forked tails, horns, and pitchfork. As they got closer, Veronica processed that one was male and the other female. He wore a kilt and nothing else. She wore a flowy, strapless dress. Both had the hilts of swords peeking out over their shoulders.

  The blue creature – alien, Veronica's brain was beginning to process – straightened with a frown. He pulled a gun from his waist and pointed it at the newcomers. Veronica scrambled to her feet, her heart pounding.

  Just a dream. A trick. A prank. This isn't real. This can't be real.

  "What are you doing here? You'll have your chance to bid on the human like everybody else."

  "My brother wants to test out the product," the female said. "Chapec?"

  The male stepped toward Veronica. She shrank back – until their eyes met. A spark of electricity ran up and down her spine. His eyes were deep, with so much conflicting emotion in them that she wasn't sure how to take it. Those weren't eyes looking at her as if she was a product; they were seein
g her as a person. For that alone, she was drawn to him…

  Or maybe not that alone. Veronica had always been a fan of alien romance novels and movies, and right now she could have been looking at a Hollywood hunk painted red. Broad shoulders, symmetrical features, strong chin, muscles everywhere. He stepped closer again.

  "I just said—" the blue alien turned his gun on the male – Chapec.

  Before he could finish his sentence, the female did some sort of quick wrist movement. A flash of silver sped from her hand. In the next second, a spray of blood spurted from the blue alien's throat. His eyes bugged out and he staggered backward.

  The gray alien jumped to his feet, but Chapec was quicker. In one fluid motion, he drew the sword strapped to his back. An arm snaked around Veronica's waist, pulling her in tight against him as the sword made a circle. She barely had time to turn her face away before she heard the slice of flesh and twin thumps hit the floor.

  Bile choked her. She fought against the alien holding her. Her awareness was heightened tenfold. The heat of his skin against hers. The smell of blood in the air. The sound of her own ragged breath. Adrenaline pumped through her body.

  Oh, God! This is real.

  Chapec dropped his sword to hold her with both hands. "Calm down. We're not going to hurt you."

  With two bodies lying on the floor, Veronica wasn't going to believe that. She threw her head forward, her skull crunching against his nose. But even as he grunted in surprise, a sharp prick stabbed into the back of Veronica's neck.

  "That should calm her down," Chapec's sister said.

  Veronica sagged against the alien.

  "What did you just give her?"

  "A sedative. She'll hurt herself if she doesn't stop struggling. Besides that, think about it. The whole situation has a lot of shock inherent in it. It's healthier for her to sleep and process some of this unconsciously rather than being awake and going deeper and deeper into shock."

  Waves of black passed over Veronica's eyes. She tried to fight against it, but it was too powerful. The last thing she noticed was that Chapec smelled nice – like vanilla and cloves. Odd for a devil to smell like that, rather than like brimstone.

  Chapter Two – Chapec

  Chapec frowned as Dievca carried the human out from the bathroom on their ship. They normally didn't waste the ship's energy on showers, preferring to wash planet-side whenever they landed, but the human had been so covered in the foul-smelling gunk from the ancient stasis chamber that they had to clean her up. His sister had dressed their new acquisition in one of her old var'kins as well. The flowing garment covered up the bounteous curves the human had displayed in her own clothing.

  That wasn't what was making Chapec frown, though. He had carried the unconscious human back to their ship hours ago and she hadn't woken up yet. What had Dievca given her? What if it put her into a coma? Drugging someone out of stasis was usually a bad idea.

  "Are you sure she's alright?"

  "Yes. She should wake soon. Come on, Chippy. We have things to talk about."

  His twin left the room. Chapec stayed for a moment longer, watching the human sleep. She was beautiful. Her body was all curves with a perfectly round belly, hips, and breasts to match. Soft hair fell about her shoulders, and she had a round nose and perfect fat lips. Just the sort of woman he'd like to hold all night while they…

  He shook himself and followed Dievca to the center of the ship. Their vessel was a cozy three-bedroom rig with a spacious cargo bay, kitchen unit, and a reasonably efficient energy system – as long as they were careful. Owning the ship made it so that he and his sister didn't have to stoop to being full-blown mercenaries like many other T'shav like them. It was the only home they had, though, and at times, that got tiresome – especially for siblings.

  "Well, the first step in our plan has now been fulfilled," Dievca said, pulling a package of bleki noodles from a nearby shelf. "We have a human. She's our ticket into Zon's Sanctuary. All we have to do is get her to claim you as her mate. And given those bedroom eyes she was making at you before things turned ugly, you're well on your way."

  "Bedroom eyes?" Chapec stole the noodles from his sister. "She looked terrified. There were no bedroom eyes."

  "Terror and lust aren't always mutually exclusive," Dievca shot back.

  "There was still terror."

  "So, you just have to make her not be terrified. What's so hard about that?"

  Chapec grunted. "It's just this whole plan. It makes me uneasy."

  "I'm not overly fond of it, either."

  "You're the one who thought it up!"

  Dievca's eyes tapered to angry slits. She stabbed the pack of noodles through with a knife, narrowly missing Chapec's hand. He jumped back, reaching for the sword strapped to his back. The sword his father had made, the one bequeathed to his son upon his death. Chapec's throat constricted as emotion welled in him.

  He never got along well with his father. That was always Dievca. They shared so many of the same ideas and sense of humor. Chapec was too similar to him, but in all the bad ways. He and his dad never saw eye to eye. That wasn't to say that their relationship was without its good points. His father never made him feel any lesser for not sharing his viewpoints. But it was never a close relationship.

  And then, one day, he was gone. The United Species Corps had arrested him for an assassination he couldn't have possibly committed and sentenced him to die. They said that he had chosen his method of execution to be in the gladiator games that the Rayne Five Network held.

  Chapec swallowed hard. His gaze met Dievca's. He could see in her eyes that she was confronting the same memories.

  Their father was not a violent man. He didn't stand a chance against the murderers in the gladiator games. His death had been broadcasted to be cheered on by millions of viewers. The face of the man who killed him was burned in Chapec's mind. Eyes that were dead, a heart of coal. A T'shav gladiator by the name of Gylden – and now, the only thing driving the twins forward was knowing that they had to find and kill their father's murderer.

  Dievca drew her weapon and swung it at him, but not so fast that Chapec couldn't block the blow. It was aimed past his head, with no danger of hitting him. His sister sliced the noodles down the middle and flicked half of them in his face. Chapec grabbed her arm and dragged her across the table. She kicked him in the knee, and he responded by flicking his sword towards her. She blocked. He stepped back and turned his sword downwards.

  "I don't feel like fighting."

  Dievca scowled. "Fine."

  Chapec put his sword back into its sheath. "So how do I go about wooing a woman who is terrified of me?"

  "Like I said, she might be terrified, but she also desires you. You just have to lessen the terror and play up the lust." Dievca returned to the table and cleared off the noodles before grabbing two more packs, tossing one to her brother. "And you'll have to figure that one out yourself. I'm not getting involved in my brother's love life."

  Chapec rolled his eyes. "I don't see why I have to woo her anyway. We have her. Shouldn’t that be enough to get access into the Sanctuary?"

  "It gets her in, but not necessarily us. Zon is most accepting of T'shav with human mates. Our best chance to gain free access is if the human claims you as her mate. You know that. We can't take any chances with this."

  "I know."

  Dievca slurped up some of her food, a frown heavy on her face. "So. How are you going woo her?"

  "You just said that you weren't getting involved."

  "I know. But I don't have a mate and I'm bored. So. How? You shouldn't make it too hard for yourself. Probably start by emphasizing how much you wanted to help her, and how killing the Wlobq and Aphrosian was a necessary evil. Maybe make up some evil crimes —"

  "I think it's best to stick as close to the truth as possible. I'll think of something."

  "Good. Just don't get too involved."

  Chapec rolled his eyes. Sometimes it was really difficult to figur
e out what sort of things were going on inside of his sister's head. She always had a plan behind a plan, and he always felt like he was ten steps behind in her little schemes. It was annoying, but that was his sister.

  A groan from down the hall made him turn in time to the human leaving her room. She staggered, running face-first into the wall. Chapec jumped to his feet. As the human slumped to the floor, he ran forward and gathered her into his arms. She pushed a little against him before sagging against his shoulder and giggling.

  "You're hot. You're Mr. Hottie McHottie Hotpants."

  Chapec's brow narrowed. What was she talking about?

  "Wait." She straightened. "You're not allowed to be hot. You killed people!" A sluggish fist tapped him on his nose.

  Chapec had to smile at the weak attempt. He carried her to the table, where he set her down. She pushed at him, but as soon as he loosened his grip, she swayed, so he kept a hand on her shoulder to keep her upright.

  "You killed people," she repeated accusingly.

  "Those men were dangerous criminals," Dievca said. "They would have done terrible things to you. We had to kill them."

  "I want to go home. Take me back to Earth." The human rubbed her eyes. "Take me back to Earth this instant."

  Chapec frowned as he considered the human. She had just been taken out of the stasis pod. How terribly disorienting must all this be? Dievca may have thought that sedating her was the best way to get her slowly introduced into the new world that she found herself in, but had it really helped?

  "Earth is gone. I know it's hard to think about, but it is," Dievca said. Her voice was low and soothing. "But there are other humans. Thousands of them have been found and taken to a sanctuary. That's where we're headed. You'll be safe there."

  The human glared at her. "Take me to Earth!"

  "What's your name?"

  "Take me to Earth!"

  Would seeing the dust bowl that had been confirmed as Earth help or hurt her more? If he was in her situation, would he want to see the desolated place he had known as home? All of the ancient Earth structures were buried under rock and dirt. These days, only archaeologists and people who worshiped humans as the first ancestors dared venture towards that planet. Well, them and tourists.