Blooming Desire: An Extraordinary Spring Romance Collection

by S. J. Sanders

  Calliope screamed again and Amon met her battle cry with a furious roar of his own. Following her when she darted left, he caught a glimpse of the utter terror that transformed Aella’s lovely features. He tasted her fear on his tongue. His mate pressed herself into the corner of her cell in an attempt to place as much distance between herself and the battling Songiell. Her fear shattered Amon’s control.

  With a ferocious roar, he twisted his body away from Calliope and spun around her. His tail twined around hers. This time, his dorsal fin flared to its full height, the spines glistening with venom and sparkling with his flickering blue bioluminescence. Her own spines were sharp enough to pierce his belly scales if she opened her dorsal fin in time – but Amon tightened his coils around her before she could do so.

  She gasped, the hilt of his energy blade falling from her fingers when his tightening coils broke bones.

  She pressed her hands against Amon’s chest, her ruby eyes wide with surprise.

  “Amon!” she gasped when his coils reached her waist. There were sickening, subtle cracks as he crushed her ribs. She trailed her claw-tipped fingers down his chest. “You w – won’t kill me,” she stammered. “I know you w – won’t, Amon. You l – love m – me.”

  He gazed down at her, his electric blue eyes dark with malice and his lips pulled back to bare his fangs at her, but his hands were gentle when he settled them on her shoulders.

  “Amon?” she whispered and her eyes sparkled with tears.

  “May you swim in the eternal seas with our All Mother and All Father,” he declared, speaking the final words of eternal rest.

  “I did it for you!” she cried, her sweet voice breaking. “Everything I did was so that we could be together, Amon!”

  “You did it for yourself, Calliope,” he growled, his deep voice strangely compassionate. “You promised to give the Ir’eils an innocent human in exchange for the ability to produce bioluminescence. You know that we have other methods of determining who one’s mate is.”

  “It wouldn’t glow for me,” she breathed, her body twitching when Amon squeezed her particularly hard. “The asa wouldn’t glow for me.”

  Amon closed his eyes, remembering the shattered glass that littered his office floor and the ashes of the withered flower.

  Lifting a hand, Amon cupped Calliope’s cheek in a familiar caress that once promised shared pleasure between the two of them. Now, this last caress was his farewell to a female he once loved.

  “It need not have ended this way, my dear Calliope,” he murmured, “but I cannot forgive you for what you have done. The Alliance would punish you for your crimes. I promise you a quick death in remembrance of what you and I once shared.”

  She gasped – and Amon lunged forward, his jaws clamping around her beautiful white throat. He tightened his arms around her, embracing her, even as he stole away her final breaths. When Calliope collapsed against him, he gently placed her on the floor, gazing down upon her solemnly, somewhat sadly, as her blood stained his fangs.

  The quiet tinkling of chains drew his attention and Amon gazed over at Aella. Their eyes met for the count of three heartbeats before she lowered her gaze submissively.

  Picking up the hilt of his energy blade, he slithered over to her, only to halt in front of her when her shoulders hunched downward. His tongue flicked between his lips, Amon recognized the submissive behaviour and, while he craved her subservience, he only desired her to be so when they were intimate. He would need to teach his mate how to grow her confidence.

  “Ella?” he murmured, keeping his voice soft and soothing as though he were speaking to a frightened hatchling.

  Again, she met his eyes for only the briefest of moments.

  Amon frowned, watching the vein in her throat pulsing with the rapid beat of her heart. She was afraid. Of him.

  “I’m – I’m okay,” she said, her voice a little higher in pitch than was normal for her.

  “You are afraid of me, Ella,” he murmured, keeping his distance no matter how much he desired to pull her against him. “I can taste your fear.”

  Soft, hysterical laughter bubbled up from her lips.

  “You and Calliope?” she choked. “It was scary, Amon. It was fucking scary! I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life and I survived the Invasion and the war!”

  “I am sorry, my mate,” he rumbled.

  She lifted her head and Amon finally understood just how traumatizing this was for her.

  For the past four years, she had fought to survive every single day, scrounging for food and shelter, avoiding groups of males that banded together and hunted females like they were prey and, worst of all, hiding from the Ir’eils. While Amon had heard that some of the larger cities were relatively well protected during the Invasion, most countries fell under martial law and then people started to die when sickness spread amongst their kind. His mate had survived all that and he could not fault her for breaking slightly at the events that had just befallen her.

  Quietly, he used the energy blade to cut through the chains and manacles that bound her before returning it to its scabbard on his hip. She rubbed her wrists, the skin red and bruised in places.

  “Come, Ella,” he murmured, “let me take you home.”

  She walked over to him. When she stood in front of him, she tilted her head back to stare into his eyes. “I am not afraid of you, Amon,” she said, her voice soft, sincerity ringing behind each word. “You’re a force to be reckoned with and, yes, what happened scared me but that doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you.”

  She held his gaze, silently willing him to believe her.

  He inclined his head.

  “I believe you, my mate,” he promised.

  And then he tenderly swept her up into his arms, holding her as he had the night he rescued her from the dark waters of Loch Ness, and they exited the Ir’eil drone ship.

  Aella

  Two days later.

  She sat on the grass, her legs crossed in front of her, the skirt of her spring dress rustling softly in the early afternoon breeze. She wiggled her bare feet, a smile curving her lips at the tickling sensation of the blades of grass caressing her soles; she wiggled her toes and, feeling rejuvenated and playful, she caught some stalks between her toes and yanked. She giggled. When was the last time she had enjoyed herself? Tilting her head back, Aella basked in the gentle warmth of the sun upon her skin. It was early spring but everywhere she could see signs of new life. Buds were growing on the branches of trees and flowers. The days were growing longer. And people were finally beginning to heal from the horrors of the Invasion although she knew it would take a very, very long time for Earth to completely recover.

  Water lapped gently at the shore, the sun’s rays shimmering off its calm surface like shards of glass. Her smile growing, she gazed out across the Loch. A week ago she had lost control of her vehicle and plunged headfirst into its frigid waters only to be rescued by a sea serpent. Now, she watched as the still surface was disturbed by the undulating coils of a massive tail.

  Amon enjoyed swimming in the cold waters of the Loch. He told her that the temperatures and its depths reminded him of the seas back on his home planet. Too cold for a human to survive without proper equipment, she took pleasure in watching him swim. His dark green scales shimmered with hints of emerald and jade and the black scales on his arms and lower tail were obsidian. He was magnificent.

  And he was hers.

  Humming softly to herself, she marked her page in the book she was reading and reached for her thermos.

  Coffee, coffee, coffee, she thought happily, her mouth-watering in anticipation of its glorious taste. Coffee was expensive and most people, including her, couldn’t afford to buy it; Amon, however, knowing how much she enjoyed the treat and wanting to please her, bought freshly ground beans for her.

  “Ella!”

  Shielding her eyes against the brilliant sunshine, she turned when someone called her name.

  Her eyes wide
ned.

  Her sister raced toward her, her red hair flowing behind her, her skirt clinging to her legs, her belly heavily rounded with the twins growing inside of her; her husband, Colin, followed her at much more sedate pace. Before she could react, Thea threw her arms around Aella and hugged her tight.

  Emotion swept through her.

  Surprise? Definitely.

  Shock? Absolutely.

  But joy? That was unexpected.

  For a long moment, Aella remained perfectly still in the circle of her sister’s arms, her muscles taught, wary of the other woman’s intentions. The last time Ella spoke with Thea, her sister made it absolutely clear that she wanted nothing to do with her. But then Thea’s shoulders started shaking and loud, gut-wrenching sobs wracked her slender frame. Aella slowly wrapped her own arms around her sister.

  “Thea?” she whispered her sister’s name, her voice cracking.

  Thea only hugged her harder.

  “Ella,” she wept, her voice muffled against her breast, “Thank God you’re alright!”

  Thea’s slender body shook with uncontrollable sobs.

  “I didn’t know,” she sobbed. “I didn’t know until I heard the news about a car found in the Loch. I recognized the description.”

  Thea lifted her head, her cheeks wet with tears, her green eyes bright and red-rimmed.

  “Ella,” she said, her voice hoarse, her words laced with desperation, “I don’t blame you for Mom or Daddy’s death. I don’t. I was so angry and I said some truly terrible things to you.” She lowered her head, unable to hold her sister’s gaze. “I know Daddy would have gone anyway. I know that. And I know Mom wouldn’t have regretted sacrificing her life to save a child’s.” Tears flowed freely down Thea’s cheeks, her green eyes sparkling, and she squeezed Aella’s hands when she said, softly, “It’s not your fault. None of it is. I am sorry, Ella.”

  I’m sorry.

  Who knew the power that those two little words possessed?

  With her sister’s apology, all the anger and all the hurt of the past seven years burned away like the sun appearing a hurricane. For the first time in a very long time, Aella’s heart soared. The weight of grief, of hurt, and of anger lifted from her shoulders. Her lips trembling, Aella swallowed the lump in her throat, squeezed her sister’s hands just as tightly, and nodded.

  “It’s okay, Thea,” she whispered and, blinking, her own tears started to roll down her cheeks - but these were of joy, not sorrow. “I forgive you.”

  With a cry, Thea buried her head against her sister’s chest and both women wept together, holding each other tightly in their arms, their tears washing away the harsh words of the past several years.

  “Ella.”

  The two women turned when Amon approached the two of them. Droplets of water clung to his scales, sparkling like hundreds of tiny diamonds when the sun’s rays hit them just the right way. His dorsal fin was flat upon his back and, for once, he was completely relaxed. Blue bioluminescence danced around his eyes and cheeks. He offered her sister a polite smile, his blue eyes twinkling with joy and happiness.

  “Thea, this is General Amon of the Interstellar Alliance. His ship is the Solar Flare,” Aella explained.

  “I know,” Thea said. A cool spring breeze ruffled the orange-red tendrils of her hair, loose strands blowing across her face; her lips curving in a smile, she pushed them behind an ear. “General Amon contacted me yesterday and told me what happened.” She clasped Aella’s hands in both of hers. “I didn’t know,” she whispered, her green eyes shining with tears, each word ringing with sincerity. “All I can promise is to be better, Ella, if you’ll let me.”

  Aella stared between her sister and her brother-in-law.

  “You” - she licked her lips - “you want me to be a part of your lives?”

  Thea shook her head and a lance of unimaginable pain pierced through Aella’s heart.

  “No,” Thea murmured. “No, Ella, I don’t want you to be a part of our lives. I want you to be in our lives!”

  Aella’s eyes widened.

  “You - you mean it?” she whispered, unable to keep the quiver from her voice or the hope from bubbling up inside of her. The fear of being rejected by her sister caused her heart to race. Amon, tasting her emotions, pressed his chest against her back, his hands settling on her waist comfortingly; a low sound vibrated in his throat.

  Thea nodded.

  “Yes!” she cried. “Yes, Ella, I mean it!”

  With a sob, Aella threw herself into her sister’s arms and they embraced each other. Both women had experienced pain and suffering during the Invasion and the following war but, now, they could forge a new, stronger relationship borne of love and forgiveness.

  Aella gazed up at Amon, the shimmering surface of Loch Ness and the rolling mountains behind him a reminder of how different her life would be with him by her side.

  The End.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you so much for reading His Forbidden Mate!

  I hope you loved reading about Amon and Aella as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

  I wish to thank Hayley Benitez for helping me every step of the way in writing this novella. As you well know, this was not the easiest story for me to write. Thank you for the encouragement and for helping me along whenever a part of the story was giving me difficulty. You are an absolute goddess!

  Thank you to Amanda Crawford and Caitlyn Tinsley Crossman for alpha reading for me. I truly appreciate it!

  I also wish to thank S. J. Sanders for giving me the opportunity to write in They Come From Beyond’s Spring Anthology.

  And, finally, two of the most important ladies in my life who manage to make smile, are always encouraging and believe in me no matter what. Thank you, Itta! Thank you, Ann!

  About the Author

  Julie L. Vance is a sci-fi/fantasy romance writer. Her first novel, Clara’s Christmas Wish is published in They Come From Beyond’s Christmas Anthology, Stars, Snow and Mistletoe: A Holiday Naughty List Collection. Her love for alien romance blossomed as a little girl when she watched a show called Gargoyles that aired during prime time on the Family Channel in the early ’90s. (It’s all your fault, Goliath! Totally your fault!) She enjoys hot alpha males that know how to treat their women properly: with just the right amount of sugar and spice. Julie hopes to become the J. K. Rowling of the romance genre.

  When she’s not writing away like a busy little bee, she can be found reading the latest sci-fi/fantasy romance, playing the latest game on her PlayStation 4 or just enjoying the weather while drinking a mug of hot chocolate.

  You can follow her on her Facebook page at Julie L. Vance

  Spring Moon

  Diana Rose Wilson

  Spring Moon

  Diana Rose Wilson

  Socialite and successful businesswoman, Veronica Klassen, has worked hard to build a cushy, extravagant lifestyle. She thinks she’s content until her daughter vanishes after fleeing her own wedding rehearsal dinner. Veronica goes looking for her and finds herself transported to a mysterious world where she must survive a strange wilderness to discover the truth about the disappearance—alone.

  Well, maybe not.

  There’s a handsome centaur who offers to track the missing woman. The problem is he is way too alluring. She must conquer her illicit attraction and focus on saving her daughter. Then she can take her home where the world is predictable. Will she ever be the same after she sleeps under the spring moon with the centaur? Can she be free when he and his whole world have staked claims on her? Does she even want to be?

  Spring Moon

  I can see the pain in you

  And I can see the love in you

  But fighting all the demons will take time

  It will take time

  Angels and Demons

  Dishwalla

  1

  Old Moon

  Veronica took in a long breath, looking around her again as if the scenery would change.

&nbs
p; It felt like a lifetime ago since she’d been in the civilized world.

  In actuality it had only been hours, but she wasn’t conditioned to the harsh reality of the unfamiliar wilderness she’d been thrust into.

  One, she was still wearing the cocktail gown from the rehearsal dinner for her daughter’s upcoming wedding.

  Two, she was an urban woman who’d never been camping in her adult life.

  Three, her heels were not made for the rough terrain.

  She had no idea where she actually was or where she should go.

  When she first had fallen through the stupid vortex the device created, she’d shouted herself hoarse calling for Tiffany. Her daughter couldn’t be so far ahead of her. Or at least that’s what she’d first thought.

  For a long while she waited there, pacing in the space the cluster of girthy trees allowed her. Hours after her arrival there was still no sign of her daughter. She had no idea what direction to search. She didn’t know how to read tracks for godsake. What had she expected? To find a trail of breadcrumbs? Strewn clothing? Ribbons tied to branches?

  There was nothing like that here.

  Only the seemingly endless forest.

  It was as if the young woman had vanished. Or maybe she’d never been there at all.

  And there wasn’t a device or doorway on this side to use to return home.