The alien protectors mat.., p.1
The Alien Protector's Mate (Protectors 0f Svante Book 2), page 1
part #2 of Protectors 0f Svante Series
The Alien Protector’s Mate
Protectors Of Svante: Book 2
Roxie Ray
Contents
1. Terrox
2. Vivian
3. Terrox
4. Vivian
5. Terrox
6. Vivian
7. Terrox
8. Vivian
9. Terrox
10. Vivian
11. Terrox
12. Vivian
13. Terrox
14. Vivian
15. Terrox
16. Vivian
17. Terrox
18. Vivian
19. Terrox
20. Vivian
21. Terrox
22. Vivian
23. Terrox
24. Vivian
25. Terrox
26. Vivian
27. Sif’en
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The Alien Protector’s Mate
1
Terrox
I stood on the threshold of the exit ramp and sniffed the air. The blanket of smoky mist that was rolling into the hangar carried a subtle scent of fear underneath. As the ramp hit the ground, I saw the Earthlings move forward a little.
I knew them well enough now, Charles Cross and Bill Lancaster. Quatix and I had been dealing with them ever since the initiation of the bride program. You would think they’d have gotten used to my appearance, but apparently my crimson eyes and immense height, tall even by Svanteian standards, never failed to offend and intimidate the Earthlings.
The Earthlings are not the only ones.
Sif’en joined me at the threshold of the Cirrendel. Vuks and Doreno had been to Earth before, but this was Sif’en’s first time. He wrinkled his nose, and his moss blue scales seemed to shimmer with distaste.
“It smells of dust and ash,” he said.
“You’ll get used to it,” I told him.
“Liar,” Sif’en replied.
One corner of my mouth curled up in a jaded smile. “Come, the Earthlings are chomping at the bit to know why we’re here on an unscheduled visit.”
I walked down the ramp with Sif’en at my heels, and Vuks and Doreno following close behind us. I noticed a line of uniformed guards standing several feet away. Each one was armed and armored.
That was new.
I lowered the barrier that unleashed my telepathic abilities so that I could suss out the atmosphere we were walking into. Most Svanteians preferred to bar themselves from the emotions of the people around them. The white noise could often drive you insane, but there were moments, like today, when it was useful to be able to pick up the tenor of emotion in others.
I could sense dislike, even waves of hate rolling toward us from the line of guards behind Charles and Bill. I straightened instinctively, my eyes roving across the guards’ faces. Intimidation was usually a pretty effective strategy, and luckily for me, it came naturally as well.
“Charles.” I nodded to the graying Earthling with tired eyes.
“Terrox,” Charles replied. “Welcome back to Earth.”
My gaze fell on the small contingent of guards behind them. “This is quite the welcome you’ve arranged for us.”
Bill stiffened visibly, and his eyes darted between my brothers and me.
“Our government has implemented a new protocol for the bride program,” he said, trying to sound confident.
“To what purpose?” I asked conversationally.
“For… safety concerns.”
“Safety concerns?” I repeated. “Is that right?”
“Why don’t we head to the meeting room?” Charles suggested. His tone was light, almost pleasant, but I could sense the stress beneath his words.
Bill and Charles turned and started to lead the way out of the hangar. I followed behind them, while the line of human guards split in the middle to allow us to pass. As we entered the building, Charles led us into a tiled foyer that seemed to split into several branches. We took a left branch and found ourselves in a rectangular room with a long table running down the middle. Earthling architecture possessed little in the way of beauty or character. Each room was as plain and cold as the next, with nothing to set them apart from one another.
“Please.” Charles gestured to the uncomfortable looking chairs. “Take a seat.”
Sif’en threw me an unimpressed look and went to claim his seat around the table. I moved to the head of the table instinctively, forcing Charles and Bill into the two chairs next to me. I watched the line of armed guards file into the room and stand at attention on opposite sides of the entrance.
“Part of the protocol?” I asked, tilting my head toward the guards.
Bill had a harder time looking me in the eye than Charles did. “We were surprised to receive your message. We weren’t expecting you for another few months at least.”
“Something unexpected happened,” I replied. “It required our immediate presence on Earth.”
Bill and Charles exchanged a glance, and I felt Sif’en lean in a little.
“The two of you seem very nervous,” Sif’en said bluntly. “What is the reason for that?”
Before either Bill or Charles could answer, the door opened again, and another Earthling walked in. This one had dark, shifty eyes and an energy that burned hot and confrontational, rather than nervous or fearful.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, addressing Bill and Charles, even though his eyes were fixed on me.
Charles stood up awkwardly and said with forced calm, “We told you that you weren’t needed for this meeting.”
“Our superiors disagreed.”
Charles took a deep breath and turned to me. “This is Dustin Cooke. He’s a new member of the board.”
Dustin Cook gazed at the four of us critically. I could see the veil of prejudice falling over his eyes. “Have you told them yet?” Cook asked Charles.
Sif’en growled under his breath beside me. The sound was too low for the humans to hear, but I shot him a warning glare.
“Told us what?” I pressed, keeping my tone neutral.
“We’re closing down the bride program,” Cooke said immediately.
Charles paled visibly. “Now hold on… that hasn’t been decided yet.”
I cocked my head to the side, focusing only on Bill and Charles. “You’re having doubts about keeping the bride program open?”
“It’s complicated,” Bill sputtered. “We don’t think it’s in our best interests—”
“We give you gold, gems, and precious materials,” I said, cutting him off. “In exchange we take your women and give them good lives and prosperous futures. They are not forced or coerced into anything. They willingly sign up for the program in the hopes that Svante will give them what Earth has not. What about the program is not agreeable to you?”
Cooke turned his dark gaze on me. “This program has put Earth in jeopardy,” he spat at me. “We’re targets now because we’ve made a deal with the devil.”
Sif’en’s growl rose higher, and Bill and Charles both jumped in their seats. Cooke managed to contain his reaction, but I noticed goose bumps prickle his skin.
“Are we the devil in that equation, Dustin Cooke?” I asked.
He hesitated. Self-preservation fought hard against his desire to be honest. “I… we… we’ve been receiving threats.”
I didn’t give anything away, but the news surprised me. “What threats? And from whom?”
“We don’t know from whom,” Cooke replied. “All we know is that we’ve been asked to cut off ties with you and your kind… for our own good.”
I growled. Bis’er—it could only be him. The leader of the Sives had become a far greater threat than any of us had anticipated. Who else would want to destroy the already fragile alliance we had with the Earthlings? Anger was rolling off Vuks in waves, and I knew my brothers were thinking the same thing. I turned to Charles.
“Are you closing down the program?” I asked directly.
“I’m not going to lie,” Charles replied. “We have been considering it in light of the recent threats. But…”
He trailed off, but I knew exactly what he had left unsaid. The program was too valuable for them. They relied on the gems and gold we gave them in exchange for their females. They were scared, they were worried, but they were not desperate enough to close the program—not yet, at least.
“You need us,” I said smoothly. “Just as we need you.”
“You can’t be fucking serious,” Cooke exclaimed.
Charles ignored Cooke and exchanged a glance with Bill. “The decision was left in our hands.”
Cooke jumped right into Charles’s face. “We don’t need them. We don’t need their filthy gold—”
“Enough!” Charles said, raising his voice for the first time since I’d met him. “Ryan, Cotter, escort Mr. Cooke out of the meeting room please. We have important matters we need to discuss.”
“You self-serving bastard!” Cooke yelled, as he was pulled from the room by two guards who wore sympathetic expressions.
The door slammed on his yells, and I turned back to Charles.
“Why was he appointed to the board?” I demanded.
Charles sighed. “Our government is split. There are some who think the bride program is a good idea and there are others who don’t. Some feel that Bill and I are… biased.”
“
And are you?” I asked.
“The bride program has been very beneficial for us in the past,” Bill admitted. “Of course, things have changed now. Now we’re facing a serious threat by another alien entity if we choose to continue to work with you.”
I frowned, sensing the catch in his voice. “What are you saying?”
“You need to make it worth our while,” Bill said, tripping over his words a little.
“I see. So what Bill is saying is that the cost of keeping the bride program open has just increased. Am I correct?”
“In other words, you’re trying to extort us for more gold,” Sif’en said in a low, dangerous voice.
Charles balked as though Sif’en had just used a dirty word. “I, that’s not… we just—”
“Spit it out,” Vuks snarled.
Charles seemed to go a curious shade of green. He looked to Bill for help, but his colleague seemed to have lost his tongue. I rolled my eyes.
“If you wish to renegotiate our terms, I am willing to allow it,” I said. “However, there is something you must do for me.”
Charles and Bill glanced at me anxiously.
“What do you want?” Charles asked.
“Help,” I replied. “That is all.”
“Help?” Bill repeated.
“It is the reason we moved up our trip to Earth,” I explained. “There is a creature that has entered your planet. The creature is of Svante, and we need to take it back there.”
The life force of our planet was directly linked with the gnosees’ magic. Despite the fact that our knowledge of the gnosees was pitifully limited, we understood at least that much. Svante had given birth to the gnosees, and Svante was the only thing that could suppress the ancient creatures’ power. Like a mother disciplining her most unruly child, Svante asserted discipline over the gnosees’ alluring magic.
Charles and Bill looked completely perplexed.
“How did a creature from Svante even get to Earth, unless it was transported here by someone?” Charles asked.
“These creatures are not like the animals of Earth. They are beings of magic. They are intelligent, cunning, and very powerful.”
Charles frowned. “So you’re saying that this creature—”
“Gnosee,” I corrected.
“Excuse me?”
“The creature is called a gnosee.”
Charles looked unimpressed by the name. “Uh, yes, so you’re saying that this no-see, just decided to come to Earth?”
“Gnosees are creatures of chaos. They seek out places of mayhem and turmoil, and then they capitalize on it.”
“Are they dangerous?” Bill asked.
“Yes,” I nodded. “But not in the way you’re thinking. They will not hurt you or hunt you. They will not attack or chase you. They will take your fears and worries, your prejudices and jealousies, and amplify them. They will make you do things you might not have otherwise done. They will remove caution and wisdom from your actions, and push you into reckless impulsivity.”
One would argue that closing down the bride program is proof of the gnosee’s chaotic magic.
I knew the weight of my words, but the Earthlings remained woefully ignorant. I could see it in their eyes. They did not consider the gnosee to be a great threat.
“I don’t really understand,” Charles said.
The truth was that we didn’t truly understand, either. The gnosees were part of Svante, but had remained removed from us Svanteians for many centuries. Their lives and the magic that governed them were still largely a mystery to us. Of course, the humans didn’t need to know that.
“Nor would you if I were to explain,” I replied. “It is best you try not to.”
“What do you want from us?” Bill asked.
“I need to locate the creature and take it back to Svante with us,” I said. “I will need to venture outside these walls in order to do that.”
“I’m afraid that is impossible,” Charles said without hesitation. “You can’t leave the compound.”
“We cannot leave Earth without the Chaos Maker.”
Charles looked at me hesitantly. “I’m not sure what we can do to help…”
“I came to Earth for the gnosee, and I intend to leave Earth with the gnosee,” I said, glaring at Charles unblinkingly. “The fact that you are unwilling to assist my brothers and I changes nothing.”
Charles gulped, and I could smell the stench of sweat wafting off him. “You intend to find the gnosee without clearance?”
“If I am forced.” I leaned in a little. “Are you forcing me, Charles?”
Charles turned the color of buckwheat and stammered out his next few words. “I… of course… we just have—there are rules…”
“I understand your rules,” I replied. “No one outside of this compound can know about our existence. I don’t intend to reveal myself to anyone in pursuit of the gnosee, so you have nothing to fear.”
“Terrox…”
“Charles,” I said, cutting him off firmly. “This is happening. You can either have some say in the manner in which we locate the gnosee, or you can have none. It’s your choice.”
There was a long moment during which Charles just stared in my general direction without actually meeting my eyes, and then he sighed heavily.
“We will introduce you to one of our lead scientists,” he conceded. “She might be just the person to help you track this creature.”
Bill seemed to take a breath before he spoke. “And in return you will—”
“Renegotiate our contract terms. Yes.”
“Very well.” Charles nodded as he turned to Bill. “Let’s get in touch with Vivian Cooley. I think she’s the best person for the job.”
Bill and Charles excused themselves and left the meeting room. Their line of guards stayed behind, their eyes flitting to each one of us in turn.
Sif’en leaned back in his seat and sighed.
“Why do we need the Earthlings’ permission at all?” he asked, reverting back to our native tongue so that the guards wouldn’t be able to understand us.
“Because we need the Earthlings,” I replied. “We need the bride program. In the last decade alone, only two female Svanteians were born. If we want our species to survive, we cannot do anything that will make the Earthlings back out of our agreement. Especially now with the Chaos Maker loose on Earth.”
“They sense that we need them,” Vuks said darkly. “They sense that they have the upper hand.”
“They do,” I said bluntly. “We need their women more than they need our gold.”
Vuks balked. “Their planet is dying—”
“And they will allow it to die so long as they’re surrounded by gold,” I replied. “Their greed makes them stupid and reckless. We cannot risk jeopardizing the program, and we will not let them know the power they truly have.”
“Svanteians have mated with other beings,” Doreno pointed out. “Xehrulian females have made good mates in the past.”
“How many Xehrulian females choose to marry? How many of them choose to bear children?” I nodded at their silence. “Female Earthlings have proven to be the most compatible with our race. Without them, Svante has no future. We will descend into a planet of males and die out from there.”
Vuks sighed. “Very well, the program must stay open at all costs.”
“What do you think about the threats Earth has received?” Doreno asked.
“Bis’er,” I replied. “I have no doubt.”
“Do you think he’ll act on it?” Vuks asked.
“I cannot say,” I admitted.
Bis’er was a difficult being to read, and that made him all the more dangerous. He was not predictable. He was smart, ruthless, cunning, and patient. He had a plan in the works, and I was willing to bet anything that he was playing the long game.
I looked toward the tinted windows that allowed us a muted view into the world outside this lackluster glass building. I could still smell dust and ash; it seemed to permeate through everything, a constant reminder that Earth was dying. The irony was that the humans barely seemed to care.
