Title: A Badari SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series Book 1)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Jill Garrison, a maintenance tech at the Sectors Amarcae 7 colony, goes to sleep one night as usual only to wake up in her nightgown stranded in the middle of a forest on an unknown world. There’s no time to think as she’s stalked by carnivorous predators and rescued by genetically engineered warriors calling themselves the Badari. Turns out they and she, along with her whole colony, are now prisoners of the Khagrish, a ruthless race of alien scientists. Working for enemies of the Sectors, the Khagrish have created the Badari to be super soldiers.
Aydarr, the Badari alpha, isn’t sure he can trust Jill but his attraction to her is undeniable. He impulsively claims her as his mate to prevent her death at the hands of the Khagrish.
Can he continue to protect her from the experiments already underway? Will his claiming her put his pack in jeopardy from their alien masters?
As Jill searches for a way to rescue her fellow humans and get them all to safety, she finds herself falling for Aydarr, despite the secrets he’s keeping. She has a few of her own.
The situation becomes dire when Aydarr and his pack are sent offplanet on a mission, leaving Jill unprotected, prey for the senior scientist. Can she escape the experiments he has in mind for her? Will she be able to thwart the Khagrish plans and liberate humans and Badari alike? How will she and Aydarr reunite?
Excerpt
Why am I lying face down on the wet grass in the rain?
Jill rolled over, putting a hand to her forehead in an attempt to quell a ferocious headache. Opening her eyes gingerly, she blinked at the vividly colored pink, purple and blue leaves on the tree above her, which certainly had never grown on Amarcae 7. She’d been all around her home colony on various repair jobs, and nothing there had riotous leaves in these colors, much less with spikes at the tips. As she watched, one of the leaves snapped into a tight roll to capture a slow moving insect.
“Thank the Lords of Space I’m too big a bite.” Wary, nauseous, she sat up, swaying a bit, and examined her unfamiliar surroundings. She was in the midst of an old growth forest, with other forms of vegetation besides the carnivorous trees but nothing recognizable.
A loud roar in the distance gave her the shivers, and she forced herself to stand, staggering a few feet to lean on a less colorful tree’s broad trunk to stay upright. Despite the rain, her mouth was dry, and she had a hard time swallowing. “What the seven hells?”
Her mind was curiously blank, no memory of how she’d gotten to this place, or what had happened in the last few hours. She guessed it might be late afternoon here, from the glimpse she got of the white sun above the horizon, before the clouds drifted in front of the orb again. She refused to contemplate the fact that the star providing heat and light to her colony was yellow. If the sun here was white hot, the reality of where she stood, lost in the galaxy, was terrifying.
She remembered eating dinner in her small modular house on the edge of the colony, falling asleep watching an adventure trideo she’d seen a hundred times then…nothing.
“And now I’m here.” She took a closer look at her left arm and did a double take. A black bracelet she’d never seen before was solid against her skin just above the wrist, with no visible hinge or fastening. As she gawked at it, prying at the edges in an increasingly desperate attempt to make the band move, flickers of red and yellow pulsed inside the cool, hard surface. The bracelet and what it might mean scared her more than the loss of short term memory or even the unknown sun above her.
The roar came again, closer, and was answered by another. Something hunting me maybe? Distracted from the ominous mystery of the bracelet, she was briefly tempted to try climbing the tree, but the lightheadedness persisted. Also, the smooth trunk didn’t offer anything in the way of handholds. She pushed off, realizing she was barefoot, wearing her short, pink-and-black nightgown, molded to her body by the rain. Lingerie was her secret luxury after a day spent in technician’s coveralls, but certainly not suited to this experience.
Am I dreaming? She paused, gazing at the sky and pushing her damp hair off her face. The shower had tapered off and now the sun was shining but an ominous gray storm front was advancing. A bolt of lightning arced across the sky, and Jill broke into a zigzag run, forcing her body to respond to her terror. Standing anywhere close to a giant tree in a thunder storm was a recipe for disaster.
I’m in a nightmare, not a dream, but it’s all too real.
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Author Biography
USA Today Best Selling Author
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances!
She read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the official audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever”.
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/vscotttheauthor
Title Mateer: A Badari SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series Book 2)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Megan Garrison, a doctor at the Sectors Amarcae 7 colony, goes to sleep one night as usual only to wake up in her nightgown, strapped to a table in an alien lab, destined to be the subject of terrifying experiments. Granted a brief reprieve, Megan and the other kidnapped humans are released in the middle of a forestlike enclosure on this unknown world and told to survive as best they can for now.
Her only hope is Mateer, the genetically engineered alien warrior imprisoned with the humans. He knows more than he’s sharing about this planet, their captors and the fate of other humans, including perhaps her own sisters. Turns out everyone from her colony has been kidnapped by the Khagrish, a ruthless race of alien scientists. Working for enemies of the human-led Sectors, the Khagrish have created the Badari to be super soldiers.
Mateer, a tough Badari enforcer, now a rebel, is captured while infiltrating the lab to help his pack bring it down. He’s also been ordered by his leaders to search for Megan and save her life at all costs. Tortured by the enemy, he’s offered one chance at survival – convince Megan to become his mate and assist the Khagrish with further experiments.
As the situation at the lab grows worse, Megan struggles against her deep attraction to Mateer, while she does her best to shield the other humans from the terrible Khagrish experiments. For his part, Mateer knows she really is his fated mate and despairs of being able to keep her safe, as the rebel attack is delayed and she fights the truth of their bond.
Will they be able to work together to defeat Khagrish plans and preserve human lives until the promised rescue happens? And what of their future together – will Megan accept Mateer as her true mate, or walk away if she’s freed?
Excerpt
The guards formed the prisoners into two lines and conducted them through the halls of the complex. Megan got completely disoriented as they went, trying to memorize the route without success. She was directionally challenged at the best of times. The layout was like the setting for a bad horror trideo—endless featureless halls, with firmly closed doors. Suddenly, an alarm sounded and the guards grew agitated, shoving Megan and the others against the wall.
“What is it? What’s happening?” Megan asked, as the sound continued and the minutes passed.
The nearest guard backhanded her, knocking her off her feet. “Quiet. You talk entirely too much, human.”
Another woman helped her stand, and Megan put her hand to her aching jaw as tears of pain flooded her eyes. The guards had a lot less patience than the lab techs or even Dr. Lampergg.
The klaxon cut off abruptly and a door at the far end of the corridor burst open with such force it hit the other wall. A squad of excited guards raced down the hallway toward where Megan stood. They were escorting an antigrav stretcher and, as the security detail went past her, she realized the soldiers were transporting a prisoner. The guard in charge of her unit stopped the leader of the squad and asked him excited questions in Khagrish. She eyed the captive, pitying him. A big man, he was obviously wounded, bound hand and foot and strapped to the litter as well.
They must be scared of what he can do if he gets loose. She wished she could help him in some way, but the guard’s last violent reprimand had made her cautious. As she stared at the prisoner he opened his eyes and blinked hard, trying to get his bearings. His gaze met hers and his eyes opened wide as he whispered a single word, “Lily?”
Megan recoiled at the sound of her twin’s name, wondering where and how this man had seen her sister. Transfixed by the intensity of his regard, she couldn’t look away, holding her breath, waiting for him to say more.
He turned away from her and roared as he struggled with the restraints.
The guards reacted with terrified violence, one shooting him twice with the Khagrish version of a stun gun. As he convulsed against the restraints, the squad took his litter and ran down the hall, leaving Megan’s guards speaking to each other harshly, obviously highly agitated.
The guard who’d struck her grabbed Megan by the shoulder. “What did the Badari say to you?”
“The who? The wounded man?” She shook her head. “I don’t know—nonsense syllables. Maybe his own language?”
The guard stared at her for a moment longer before releasing her with a shove. Gesturing to the entire group with his weapon, he said, “Move out, prisoners. I don’t have all night to waste escorting you to your new home.”
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Title Timtur: The Teacher’s Alien Healer (Badari Warriors): In the Stars Romance Book 2.5
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Far from her home in the human Sectors after the mass kidnapping, teacher Lily Garrison is making a niche for herself in the valley by running a school for the Badari young. Although she yearns for Timtur, the pack’s healer, another Badari male has his eye on her and won’t take no for an answer.
Timtur feels the weight and responsibility of being the pack’s only healer, constantly on call as the soldiers fight ferocious battles against the alien scientists and their troops. With scarcely a moment to himself, he’s drawn to the gentle Lily but worries he won’t be able to juggle his duties, his loyalty to the pack and a relationship with a human woman.
When Lily’s stalker takes direct action to kidnap her and steal her from the safety of the valley, she’s forced to reach deep inside to find the strength to battle for her life. Timtur realizes too late how foolish he’s been to resist the bond with his fated mate and leads the rescue effort.
Before this situation can be resolved both will have to put their lives on the line and decide what really matters in a dangerous world ruled by the enemy.
Excerpt
He’s late. I hope he’s not planning to stand me up entirely.
Despite her concern and annoyance over her date Timtur’s failure to arrive on time, Lily sat on the flat rock jutting over the serene lake trying to remain calm. She raised her face to the sky, enjoying the warmth on her skin. Of course, all too soon she’d get a sun burn and be sorry for her rash behavior if she remained in the same spot. Red-headed, pale humans had that problem on every world, not just this one she’d been brought to by alien pirates as a kidnap victim.
Now she scanned the azure sky with less pleasure, fearing the sight of enemy flyers, even if this valley was labelled as a sanctuary by the Badari pack, including Timtur, who’d rescued the humans. Rising, she retreated to the shady forest glade surrounding the rock formation. The climb was an easy one, only a few feet, and she made it quickly. Heights were one of her phobias so she wouldn’t go much higher than this.
Except for the brief moment of savoring the sun’s warmth, on the whole, she felt safer hidden under the canopy of branches.
The picnic lunch remained in its container, probably still perfectly fine to eat, but not as delicious as it had been when she packed the foods in the valley’s communal kitchen a while ago. Winking and nudging her in the ribs playfully, the head cook made a joke about what big eaters the Badari warriors were. “Definitely, the way to his heart,” she’d said wisely.
Lily plunked down on the edge of the blue-and-green striped blanket she’d brought for this special date and knotted the fringe nervously. I can’t use the food to appeal to his heart if he doesn’t show up. This picnic had been his idea so surely Timtur wasn’t planning to avoid meeting her. She’d cancelled her afternoon classes to be free, gotten her hopes up maybe today was the day he’d want to talk about how he saw them as a couple…I probably placed too much emphasis on his wanting us to have time alone today, away from his packmates and my sisters. After all, dating is a totally new concept for the Badari.
She imagined him placing his strong, healer’s hands on her body, not just gliding above her skin exercising his special power. When she’d first arrived, she’d had a relapse of stasis syndrome that defeated the best efforts of the human doctor in the valley, and Timtur had spent hours attempting to heal her, monitoring her condition. In the course of the treatments, the two of them had talked endlessly about every topic under the sun and grown close. Of course, she’d fallen hard for her handsome healer. She wasn’t sure if he felt the same way.
Opening her eyes, she sighed. The healer was something special all right but, despite her best efforts to let him know how interested she was in taking their relationship further than friendship, he always held back. He didn’t show any interest in any of the other human women now living in the valley. She had no rivals for his affections. But still there was something keeping them from going to the next level, and today was the day she wanted to discover what the impediment was.
Which was going to be impossible if Timtur didn’t even bother to show up. Should I give up on ever being more than friends?
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Title Jadrian: A Badari SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series Book 3)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Taura Dancer has been pushed to her limits by alien torturers known as the Khagrish and is ready to die when suddenly the lab where she’s held as a prisoner is taken down by an armed force of soldiers.
The man who rescues her from a burning cell block is Jadrian of the Badari, a genetically engineered alien warrior with as many reasons to hate the Khagrish as Taura has. This set of shared past experiences and the circumstances of her rescue create an unusual bond between them.
Safe in the hidden base where Jadrian and his pack take her, Taura struggles to regain her lost memories and overcome constant flashbacks during which she lashes out at all who come near. Only Jadrian can recall her from the abyss of her visions and hallucinations.
As the war against the Khagrish continues, it becomes increasingly critical to find out who she really is and how she can help in the fight. Until she can control her terrors and trust her own impulses, Taura’s too afraid to pursue the promise of happiness a life with Jadrian as her mate might offer.
When he’s captured by the dreaded enemy, will she step forward to help save him, or will she remain a prisoner of her past?
Excerpt
She clung to him as tightly as she could while he carried her through the smoky corridors and outside into clear air and bright sunshine. Eyes watering, she blinked, not having been outdoors since the day she arrived at this cursed place.
“Where did you find her?” another soldier asked her rescuer as he continued to move rapidly away from the building. The entire structure was alight and she shivered at the sight. But for her mysterious hero, she’d have been a casualty and no one would ever have known.
“In the burning cell block, only one there. She’s in pretty bad shape.” His voice was deep, his arms around her comforting.
She leaned her head against his broad chest, clutching his arm, until a spasm of coughing shook her. “I can’t breathe.” Panic stricken as her vision darkened, and the coughing continued without expanding her lungs, she pushed against him. Truthfully, she didn’t think she could stand but her fight or flight reflexes were overruling her conscious thoughts. Taura didn’t recognize her own voice, pleading with the soldier. “Don’t let me die.”
“I’ll get you to the medic, hang on. Take small breaths and hold them, in and then out.” He quickened his pace.
As he ran with her, dodging into cover on occasion as weapons fired, Taura tried not to give into her overwhelming relief at being out of the prison. Too soon to allow the tears of joy to fall. For all she knew, these soldiers could be an even worse group to have fallen in with. The men certainly weren’t human and their motives for rescuing her could be just as bad as the Khagrish intentions had been. She was afraid to trust the hope trying to take root in her mind.
The man who’d rescued her was easily seven feet tall, amazingly fit and muscular, and almost preternaturally handsome, but definitely not Terran descent human like her. His amber eyes were kind, even when glowing golden, and he seemed concerned with her welfare, as evidenced by their current race to find a medic. A good sign, but she’d learned not to take anything or anyone at face value on this hellhole planet.
Unable to draw a deep breath despite his encouragement, she drifted in and out of consciousness until she realized she was lying across a row of seats on a flyer, while voices talked above her head. She reached out, wanting to keep her rescuer close. He represented safety, she trusted him as much as she was able to put her faith in anyone other than herself. He’d saved her once and she was going to rely on him to continue to intervene on her behalf.
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Title Darik: A Badari SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series Book 4)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Nicolle James is far from her home in the human Sectors, kidnapped by alien scientists to be the subject of horrifying experiments. Her only hope might be a mysterious soldier she’d glimpsed outside the laboratory fence. She’d managed to sneak a few words of conversation with him when her captors weren’t watching but now the aliens were taking her inside the lab to begin the experiments.
Darik, a warrior of the genetically engineered Badari pack, is on a solo recon mission to check out a mysterious new lab high in the mountains. His orders are strict – do not engage. But when he has a chance meeting with the woman who might be his mate, he vows not to abandon her, orders or no orders.
Can he get inside an underground lab, find Nicolle and rescue her without getting captured himself? And when he learns the lab’s deadly secrets, can he get word to his pack about the new dangers?
Because the ruthless alien scientist running the experiments wants to get her hands on him too and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
Excerpt
Nicolle stood with her back to the stream running unimpeded through the invisible fence, clutching a forked stick she’d grabbed from the ground as she slipped and scrambled to get away from the beast she was now facing. Holding the unwieldy branch like a trident, she tried to make herself appear bigger and more fierce. A human not to be messed with. Her throat ached from the first few screams of terror, but the sounds only seemed to intrigue the beast, so she bit her lip until she tasted blood. Not a good idea either, Nicolle. Blood probably entices the creature even more.
On all fours now, the animal studied her, sniffing the air as its massive head swayed from side to side.
Will anyone come to help me? When the creature stood on its trunk-like hind legs, it was easily 7’ high and the dinner plate sized paws carried multiple hooked claws. Its coat was an odd mix of white, silver and gray, in a camouflage-style pattern that made the animal hard to focus on and the fangs were like daggers. She sidled sideways a foot or so and the creature tracked her movements, stubby ears flattening on its skull. Nicolle stopped, searching desperately for a crevice, anything she could use to shelter or hide. Nothing helpful presented itself to her desperate gaze.
The pretty stream flowed through a meadow. The berries had lured Nicolle here as the Khagrish rations upset her stomach but, apparently, the wild animal had been breakfasting on the berries as well.
And now it wants me for a meal too.
Raising its outsized head, the predator sniffed the air and took a step in her direction. Rising to its hind legs and towering over her, the animal roared a challenge before dropping to all fours again and coming toward her, moving faster as it approached.
Frozen, hand clenched on the nearly useless forked stick, Nicolle had a vague idea of throwing herself into the creek or falling to the ground and playing dead.
A roar sounded from behind her, across the water, maybe even from outside the force barrier. Startled, she screamed and slipped on the mossy rocks, barely keeping her footing. The animal in front of her rose to its full height again, bellowing and displaying an impressive array of sharp teeth, as well as yellowed claws on its massive front paws. Nicolle cowered, but the beast wasn’t paying any attention to her now. All its attention was on whatever was beyond the stream.
The next roar from behind her was even more impressive. It sounded almost…human?
Ears flattened, the beast pivoted, dropped to all fours, and scrambled away from Nicolle as fast as it could go, bushy tail tucked away between its legs.
Breathing shakily, she steeled herself to turn, hoping this new threat was outside the force barrier and couldn’t get in.
Having wheeled to face the other direction, at first she couldn’t believe her eyes. Nothing but one man stood across the force barrier from her. Granted, he was incredibly tall and well built under his camouflage uniform, but there was nothing about him to suggest the ability to utterly terrify a creature like the one recently slavering to eat her. Had the beast been frightened off by the sight of his lethal pulse rifle? But then who or what had been roaring? “Thank you,” she said, her vocal cords barely working. “Who are you?”
“A friend.”
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Title Gabe: A Badari SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series Book 5)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Gabe Carter, hotshot pilot and exSpecial Forces soldier, is far from his home in the human Sectors, kidnapped by alien scientists to be the subject of horrifying experiments. Shot down by the enemy over desolate territory far from his Badari allies and gravely injured, Gabe’s only hope is a mysterious woman on the run herself.
Keshara has to decide whether to abandon the human to die of his injuries on a windswept mountain top or give up her own quest for freedom and take him to a place he can be helped. The undeniable spark between them complicates matters.
His attraction to her is off the charts but when she betrays him to the Khagrish enemy, Gabe doesn’t know what to believe. Trapped inside an alien lab bursting with mysteries and lies, his only hope may be to trust her…again.
Because the renegade alien scientist running her own private experiments wants to use him to accomplish her goals and perpetuate the evil, no matter what she has to do to ensure his compliance. Keshara’s life hangs in the balance and Gabe has to make a choice.
Excerpt
Groaning, he attempted to sit up but cut the move short with a jerk as he realized she was nearby. He fumbled at his hip as if searching for a weapon that was no longer there, lost in the turbulent fall perhaps. Then he spoke in a variation on her own language, the secret tongue the Director was unaware the sisters all knew. His accent was odd, some of the words made no sense, but the general meaning was clear.
“Well, you’re the last thing I was expecting.” He managed a lopsided grin despite obvious injuries, blood welling from a bad cut on one thigh and another on his head. He swiped moisture from his face. “Can we get out of the rain before we do introductions?”
Tongue tied, she stared at him. His face was undeniably handsome, although set right now in lines of pain, radiating from his eyes and lips. He was probably the same height as she was, well over six feet, and since his odd uniform was plastered to his body by the rain, Keshara could tell he was solidly built, with the muscles and sinews of one who was a deadly fighter. And what the wet fabric outlined between his legs was impressive as well. Her primary knowledge of males was gleaned from study modules, and observing the few Khagrish men left at the Retreat. This man put them to shame with his physique.
Thunder crashed again and lightning stabbed a tree at the far end of the meadow, throwing massive sparks high into the air and breaking her concentration. “We’d better get inside,” she said in her own tongue since he obviously understood the language. Reflecting on his aborted search for a weapon, she showed him the knife. “I’ll help you, but don’t think me easy meat for your taking.”
“Aww, seven hells, lady, if you’re what I think you are, you have better weapons than that.” His smile, although strained, was warming. “Do you have a shelter?”
“Yes, in the furbana den over there. It’s been abandoned for quite some time so the smell is tolerable.” She came to his side, scanning his condition with a critical eye. In close proximity she could tell one leg was obviously broken in several places, and she feared he might have internal injuries as well. His landing had been rough. “If we get you on your feet, can you lean on me and make it?”
“To get somewhere dry, I’ll do whatever it takes.” He reached out to her, and she helped him rise, balancing his sturdy frame on one leg. Keshara was glad of her own strength, which enabled her to support the injured pilot. He was turning his head gingerly, peering through the rain. “We need to take the antigrav ejection harness. Can’t leave it to draw the enemy’s attention once the storm passes. Let them think I died in the wreck, if they find it.”
So he views the Khagrish of the outer world as enemies too? What else do we have in common?
“Let me get you to safety, and I’ll retrieve it later,” she said, astonished at his ability to disregard the agony he must be enduring and cling to consciousness, let alone move.
He didn’t breathe a word of specific complaint, but grunted and cursed in his own language, and she had to take most of his weight as she guided him slowly toward the den. He was perhaps a foot taller than she, and outweighed her by 50-100 pounds but it was her strength keeping them moving forward.
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Title Kierce: A Badari SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series Book 6)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Elianna McNamee, spaceship engineer, is far from her home in the human Sectors, kidnapped along with all her shipmates to be used for horrifying experiments conducted on a remote planet by alien scientists.
Her captors decide to toss her in a cell with a ferocious predator, expecting him to kill her…but Kierce, the Badari warrior in question, has too much honor to mistreat a human woman. The trouble is, he’s trapped in a form drastically different from his own as a result of twisted genetic meddling and hiding dark secrets to save other Badari lives.
Able to become a man again briefly with Elianna‘s help, he and Elianna bond over their mutual hatred for the enemy but when rescuers finally arrive, the pair are separated by well-meaning Badari authorities.
Kierce struggles to overcome flashbacks from the torture and drugs the alien scientists inflicted on him. He and Elianna despair over whether he’ll ever be able to regain his rightful place as a man and a soldier in the pack, much less be ready to claim a mate.
Elianna accepts a risky but essential assignment far away from where Kierce is being held, working with another man who’s more than professionally interested in her. Her heart belongs to Kierce and she can’t forget their two nights of shared passion but will that be enough to lead them to a happy reunion?
Excerpt
The sun was beginning its descent for the night, and Elianna shivered, goosebumps pebbling her flesh as the breeze grew stronger. She startled as the tiger reappeared, butt first, half carrying, half dragging in its huge jaws a bowl full of what resembled kibble, which it brought to the base of the tree then backed away from. Making the guttural sound deep in its throat, the cat put one massive paw on the bowl, gazed at her blandly, and then retreated to the wall, sitting with its tail curled over its paws.
“You’re kidding me, right? Trying to lure me out of the tree with cat food?” Despite her dire predicament, Elianna laughed. But her mind was racing. Could this huge predator be a higher level sentient? Kidnapped from its own planet perhaps and brought here for experimentation? Was it trying to make friends with her?
“I must be insane.” Decision made, Elianna descended and then dropped from the tree, freezing for a moment to see what the tiger’s reaction would be. The beast merely sat, golden eyes watchful. The tip of its tail flicked once or twice. She scooped up a handful of the kibble and took a sniff. Vaguely fishlike but not unpleasant. “Like dried nutrient rations.” She put one in her mouth, prepared to spit it out. The taste was salty but not off-putting. “Thank you,” she said to the watching cat. Elianna crunched her way through the handful of nuggets, wishing for some water to wash them down. She probably couldn’t live on these, but the dry fare did allay the hunger pangs.
The tiger rose and made his way inside again. Now what? Elianna waited by the tree, hand on the branch, ready to ascend if needed. When the cat re-emerged, he was dragging a haunch of raw meat, clearly from some kind of hoofed animal. As she watched, the cat tore strips of the meat from the offering with its claws and laid them on the grass to the side, making soft sounds as it did so.
“For me?” she asked. “Thanks, but I’ll stick to the kibble. I don’t eat raw meat.”
The tiger picked up the rest of the meal as if to say “suit yourself” and moved off to the side of the enclosure, where it laid down again and devoured the meal with ruthless efficiency.
Elianna shivered as the sun disappeared below the horizon. In her torn clothing, which was thin to begin with, she doubted she could survive the night outside.
The tiger padded to the flap door leading inside, pushing it open with one giant paw then turning to stare at her. The beast uttered a soft sound.
Not really having any other choices, she walked slowly to where the tiger waited. He retreated a step or two, allowing her to pass in front of him. She forced herself through the tight opening, tumbling into the cell. As the animal bumped into her with his cold nose she shrieked and jumped. She faced him with her hands raised in self-defense.
He made the soft sound deep in his throat again and padded to the far corner of the cell, where a nest of blankets lay on a shelf raised off the floor. The tiger made a small leap onto the crude bed and lay in an elegantly casual curved position on his side. His eyes were warm jewels of color in the darkened cell.
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Title Camron: A Badari SciFi Romance Novel (Sectors New Allies Series Book 7)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Dr. Gemma Madarian is far from her home in the human Sectors, kidnapped along with hundreds of other humans to be used for horrifying experiments conducted on a remote planet by alien scientists.
She and another prisoner, Camron of the Badari, are the only survivors of a deadly crash landing. She’s paired up with the genetically engineered soldier by their mutual enemies and sent fleeing through rough country, hunted for pleasure by an enemy officer and his ferocious trackers.
The enemy wants a triumphant kill. Gemma and Camron want to survive.
Camron never dreamt of having a mate but Gemma shatters his preconceptions and makes him desperate to do everything in his power to save her life and claim her for his.
There’s no help or refuge to be had in the desert where they’re fleeing for their lives.
Or is there?
Will Camron and Gemma live to fight another day and explore the growing attraction between them, or will ancient secrets and bitter rivalries end their bid for freedom?
Excerpt
“Stop.” Camron’s voice was intense. “Don’t move.”
Heart pounding, Gemma stayed frozen in the position she’d taken to reach the berries. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“There’s a gliddern coiled under the bushes,” he said. “A reptile, highly poisonous. If you’re bitten there won’t be anything we can do to save your life, not out here in the forest.”
A chill ran through her body as if he’d poured ice water over her. Snakes were one of her biggest phobias. Afraid to move, she actually didn’t want to see the creature. Panic might make her lose self-control if she confronted the reptile—she’d certainly had uncontrollable visceral reactions to snakes on other worlds in the past. Voice shaky, she whispered, “What do I do? Will it bite me if I step away from it?”
“Take one tiny step and let’s see how it reacts. It may be torpid from the late afternoon chill, but if you hear a buzzing sound stop immediately.”
She unlocked her muscles and shifted ever so slightly to attempt the backward step and stopped in terror as a loud buzzing sounded from the brush close to her feet. “Lords of Space, help me.” Now Gemma was afraid she might pass out, which would probably mean she’d be bitten as she fell. Her vision blurred and her head swam.
“Order me to extract you from the thicket as fast as possible,” he said. “Use those exact words.”
She bit her lip as the buzzing continued and grew louder. Sweat popped out on her forehead and she debated the wisdom of what Camron was proposing to do.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked, voice harsh. “The gliddern is growing agitated. It may be nesting there, which will make it more aggressive. Give me the command so I can move.”
“Ex-extract me from the thicket as fast as possible,” she said, struggling to form the words. I can’t stay here.
Next moment a scream was torn from her throat as she was snatched from the center of the berry branches, thorns scraping her skin as Camron lifted her into his arms, pivoted and retreated faster than she’d have thought anyone could possibly move. The buzzing from the gliddern was angry and insistent.
He carried her probably a hundred yards away before she remembered she had to order him to stop. Then he set her down, and staggered a bit as he did so. Gemma turned to look behind her and saw a sinuous body slithering back under the bushes. The creature was easily twelve inches in diameter. She fell to her knees and threw up the berries she’d eaten, unnerved by the idea of having been so close to death.
Gemma wiped her mouth and spun around, fear rising in her as she focused on his torn pants leg. “Did it bite you? Seven hells, sit down immediately.” She rose to help him as he sank onto the moss underfoot. “What can I do?” She was wearing a one piece prison jumpsuit but she tried to tear a strip from the hem of the pants leg. “Tourniquet. Maybe we can stop the venom from spreading, keep the nerve damage localized.”
With a visible effort, muscle in his clenched jaw jumping from stress, he touched her arm. “Don’t worry about me. We Badari were bred to be immune to all poisons, venoms and diseases. My body is neutralizing the active ingredients in the venom now and repairing the nerve damage. “
It sounded too good to be true to Gemma, especially as he looked haggard and in pain. “Lie back, let me see the bite.”
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Title Badari Warrior’s Baby: Megan and Mateer (Sectors New Allies Series Book 8)
Author Veronica Scott
Genre SciFi Romance
Book Blurb
Dr. Megan Garrison, mate to the Badari Warrior pack’s senior enforcer Mateer, is perilously close to the due date of their baby when she’s kidnapped by human malcontents in Sanctuary Valley. The kidnappers threaten to harm her and intend to ransom the half human-half Badari child to the evil Khagrish scientists in return for their own lives.
Mateer and his fellow Badari launch a desperate effort to save his mate and child but the situation is made more complicated as Megan goes into labor. Can they rescue her in time to save mother and child?
A 25K word novella…
Excerpt
“If we go forward with this council, I will have veto power over any candidate,” Aydarr said, voice flat. “Certain humans have proven themselves to be untrustworthy. I refuse to deal with such individuals or give them higher status.”
Mateer opened his mouth to chime in on this point, since he had definite opinions about a few names, when he was hit with a wave of green suffusing his mind’s eye and the scent of Spring flowers and new growth filled his nostrils. Why is the baby reaching out to me? Without realizing he’d done so, he shoved back his chair and was on his feet, talons deployed. Under the beautiful fragrance there was a sense of unease. Something was wrong in the baby’s perception of her world right now, which meant something amiss with Megan. The baby was seeking her father as the other source of comfort in her limited awareness.
Everyone was staring at him.
“Megan needs help now,” he said with a snarl in his voice and sprinted from the room, heading for the hospital as fast as he could run. In his head he heard Aydarr issuing an alert to the entire pack wherever they were in the valley and then the Alpha was right behind him, coming to assist. Mateer tried to send calm reassurance to the child that he was on his way. Frustration over the baby’s inability to communicate in words ate at him, even as he recognized the ridiculousness of his expecting an unborn child to parse sentences.
He reached the clinic in record time, bursting through the door, taking note of Rik the nurse sprawled on the floor in a spreading pool of blood. His priority was his mate and since he knew others were close behind him who would take care of the injured human, he didn’t break stride but ran to Megan’s office. The room was in disarray, desk and chair shoved aside.
Camron and Gemma hurried down the hall from the meeting room at the other end of the building. “What is it? What’s wrong? Aydarr told me to get her here right away to help.” The soldier gestured at his mate who was the second doctor in the valley.
Gut churning with fear for his mate, Mateer waved them off. “Megan’s gone.” He checked his mate bond, glowing in his heart and mind and found the radiance strangely muted, as if Megan was a long distance away, but there’d been no time for her to be transported anywhere by whoever had entered the clinic.
“Harker,” Gemma said, eyes wide as she gawked at the disorder in the office. “He was her last appointment today.”
“Even he wouldn’t dare kidnap Megan, would he?” Talons and fangs deploying, Camron was appalled and ready to fight whoever had done this. “We have to find them.”
Mateer raised his head and breathed deeply of the air, seeking his mate’s scent, which for the past few months had also been underlaid by the perfume of the growing baby. He followed the faint dual trail to the side entrance and outside. Moving faster, he found himself heading toward the landing field, which made no sense. Harker wouldn’t have access to the flyers, which were heavily guarded.
Can MARL block the flyer from leaving the valley? He sent the desperate question to Aydarr.
The Alpha’s response was grim. Not without crashing it. We can’t take a chance with Megan presumably on board.
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