Authors: S. E. Smith
Tags: #Fantasy, #alien, #Romance, #Science, #Fiction
Challenging Saber
Challenging Saber:
The Alliance Book 4
By S.E. Smith
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you to my sister and best friend, Linda, who not only encouraged me to write, but who also read the manuscript. Also to my other friends who believe in me: Julie, Jackie, Lisa, Sally, Elizabeth (Beth) and Narelle. The girls that keep me going!
—S.E. Smith
Montana Publishing
Science Fiction Romance
Challenging Saber: The Alliance Book 4
Copyright © 2015 by Susan E. Smith
First E-Book Published December 2015
Cover Design by Melody Simmons
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 from the author.
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 are strictly coincidental.
Summary: A damaged alien warrior to fights to save the human woman he loves when she is caught behind enemy lines during a civil war.
ISBN: 978-1-942562-70-2 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-942562-69-6 (eBook)
Published in the United States by Montana Publishing.
{1. Science Fiction Romance. – Fiction. 2. Science Fiction – Fiction. 3. Paranormal – Fiction. 4. Romance – Fiction.}
www.montanapublishinghouse.com
Synopsis
Sometimes it takes losing the one thing closest to a warrior’s heart to wake the beast that lives inside him…
Saber, a wounded Trivator, believes he is no longer a fit warrior, much less strong enough to claim a mate. Scarred, he does everything in his power to push away the delicate human female he has fallen in love with. He knows that she deserves a warrior who can protect her, not one that will need her constant help.
Taylor Sampson may be human, but that doesn’t make her weak. She and her two older sisters survived four years on their own after the Alliance made first contact with Earth. She is all grown up now and has her eye on the one stubborn Trivator that captured her heart seven years before.
Taylor has one last assignment on another planet in order to complete her schooling. Once she finishes, she plans to show Saber that he is the man she wants, but when civil war erupts she is trapped behind enemy lines. When Saber discovers that Taylor has been left behind, the warrior inside him refuses to think of her as collateral damage in a savage battle for power.
Journey to a lawless, alien world and discover what happens when the beast awakens inside a damaged Trivator warrior when the woman he loves is threatened.
Table of Contents
Seven Years Before – Earth:
The Collapsed Parking Garage:
“This way,” Hunter said in a quiet voice.
Saber nodded, staring at the dark crevice between the huge slabs of concrete. A curse echoed through his mind when he saw Hunter disappear into the opening. Sometimes he wondered about his friend’s sanity. If it had been him, he’d have left the human woman to her fate.
A grimace crossed his face as he slipped through the hole and slid down the incline created by the collapse of the building. With a shake of his head, he knew deep down he would have done the same thing as Hunter did if a human female had risked her life to save him. It was bred into their species to protect those that were weaker, that included all females.
Over the last four years of his mission, he had met a few human women. Most of them had been pleasant, but overall, he found them to be either too demanding or too delicate for his tastes. That had led to many frustrated nights since his arrival on the planet.
He paused when Hunter glanced at him and held up two fingers, then a third. Stepping to the side, he and Dagger spread out while Hunter took the center. This was Hunter’s mission; they were the support. His vision quickly adjusted to the darkness. His gaze narrowed on the dim light and the soft voices in the far corner. Hunter slowly moved off to search for the female that had helped him, leaving him and Dagger to deal with the other two. He watched as Hunter disappeared into the darkness before returning his attention to the two figures by the fire.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the figure of the youngest human. She wasn’t quite a woman, but she wasn’t a child either. What he did know was that she was in a very dangerous situation, and that ignited a flame of anger inside him that he had never felt before.
His eyes scanned the shadows of the parking garage for signs of any males. It was hard to tell from the scents in the air. He could smell fresh blood and the acidic smoke from the fire. The blood was the same as from the warehouse where they had tracked the female earlier. He knew that the female Hunter was seeking had to be here, it was just a matter of where.
He turned his gaze to search for Hunter. He caught a glimpse of his friend’s shadow and knew that Hunter was in the mode that made his name famous. It wouldn’t take long for Hunter to find his prey.
He glanced at Dagger. Surprise and amusement swept through him when he saw Dagger’s intense gaze on the two females. Dagger had always been the most forceful and deadly out of the three of them. It wasn’t like he or Hunter couldn’t be put in that same category, it was just they didn’t play with those that pissed them off before killing them. Dagger was known to draw out the deaths of those stupid enough to get under his skin.
Turning his gaze back to the two females, Saber felt a strange twist in his chest as he listened to them quietly talk. The little one was trying to take care of the other. His eyes swept over her tousled blonde hair and slender, almost fragile form.
Anger burned in him as he wondered why the females did not have a male or males to protect them. As a Trivator warrior, protection of a female within a family unit was top priority. If a warrior proved himself worthy, he would be gifted with a family of his own. All warriors hoped to one day prove they were strong enough to have an
Amate
, a mate, to carry on their bloodline and fill the empty space inside them.
Saber looked critically at the young girl’s face. There was something about her in particular that pulled at those protective instincts, that made him want to shield her from the horrors outside. She was too young and delicate to be living this way.
He wasn’t sure what Hunter’s plans were for the other female, but he had a feeling that it would involve offering his protection. If Hunter did, then these two would also receive the same shelter and care. That meant that he and Dagger would protect them as well, since they considered Hunter more of a brother than a friend.
Satisfied with his reasoning, he decided that Hunter could protect the one he was seeking, Dagger obviously was focused on the welfare of the injured female, and that left him to care for the little one. A grin curved his lips. Since she was obviously the youngest and smallest, that meant his job would be the easiest. He could handle that.
He snapped back to the present when he saw Dagger motion for him to move forward. He nodded and stepped out of the shadows into the dim light of the fire.
A moment later, he realized that he might just have made the biggest error of judgment in his life. His mistake was thinking the littlest one would be the easiest to control.
He drew in a hissing gulp of frigid air as he bent forward. He was trying to keep his footing after the little hellcat with blonde hair nailed him in the stomach with an anything but fragile piece of broken concrete that lined the fire pit. She had thrown it underhand with enough force to leave him gasping for air.
He rocked for a moment, trying to push away the pain. He thanked the Goddess that she hadn’t hit him a few inches lower. If she had, any hope of ever having a family would have been over. Straightening, he glared back at her defiant eyes.
Something tells me this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought,
he reflected, warily watching her as she bent and picked up another fragment of concrete.
“I swear, Hunter, if that she-creature bites, hits, or tries to escape one more time, I’m going to put her in a cage!” Saber growled, staring at the petite female standing behind his friend several hours later. “Why you little…!”
“Saber,” Hunter grimaced, looking at his friend’s murderous face. “She is a defenseless female.”
Saber could see what Hunter couldn’t. His hands curled into tight fists when she stuck her tongue out at him before giving him a self-satisfied smirk. He didn’t care that she was under Hunter’s protection. Saber was about to throw her over his shoulder and scare a little respect into her.
He rubbed his wrist. He was sure she had drawn blood this time. He wondered if he should have insisted that the healer examine her for any diseases instead of believing the medic on board the transport when he said that, except for being malnourished, the youngest one appeared to be healthy.
“I swear, Hunter,” Saber started to say again before clamping his lips shut. “Go, check on the other females, I will watch over her,” he finally said with a weary sigh.
“Are you sure? I could see if another warrior…,” Hunter offered before giving Saber a strange look when a growl escaped his friend.
“Did he just growl?” The young female asked in awe. “What are you guys? That sounded just like a tiger. I heard one do something similar at the zoo. Does he need to be caged or something? He isn’t going feral, is he? Ugh! I bit him. You don’t think he has rabies, do you? Maybe he should be quarantined. My neighbor did that to a feral cat that she found in the woods near our house. Do you guys have those big pet containers?”
“Taylor,” Hunter warned, glancing at Saber’s red face. “Saber is fine. He is under control. Isn’t that right, Saber?”
“Oh, I am under complete control,” Saber said with a tight, sharp-tooth smile. “Just leave the little human to me.”
“Thank you,” Hunter said with a relieved smile. “I won’t be long. I hope that the healer will allow me to bring both of her siblings back to my rooms.”
“Take your time, we will be fine, won’t we, Taylor?” Saber promised.
He stared over Hunter’s shoulder. His intense eyes locked with Taylor’s wary ones that gazed back at him with growing alarm. He rolled his shoulders and bent his neck from side to side, enjoying the feel of the crack that released the tension building inside him.
“Keep her safe, Saber,” Hunter finally said, breaking the growing silence. “Her sister is my
Amate
. That means that Taylor and Jordan are now under my protection.”
“I know what it means, Hunter,” Saber growled, not taking his eyes off of Taylor. “I promise there won’t be a single bruise on her.”
Hunter nodded, glancing once more at Taylor before reluctantly stepping around the table in the nearly deserted cafeteria. Saber had to give Taylor credit, she didn’t scream until Hunter walked out of the room. Still, he should have known it wouldn’t be easy to catch her.
*.*.*
Shewta, she’s fast, and slippery, and…,
he thought as he wiped the white gooey food matter from his face,
creative when it comes to escaping.
“I am so looking forward to wrapping my hands around her little neck,” he muttered under his breath as several warriors chuckled from where they were sitting and watching from the safety of a corner table. “Taylor, get down from there right now!” He ordered, looking at the top of the cabinets attached to the far wall.