Janaya

by Shelley Munro

  “Killer is a her.” Janaya stepped closer to scratch the dog behind the ears. She growled and yipped at the dog. The dog seemed to like the attention because it swiped its pink tongue across Janaya’s face and barked.

  “It’s a deal,” Janaya said.

  Richard shook his head. Weird the way she barked at the dog, but if Luke liked her, that was okay with him. “I don’t know why you’re talking to Killer as if she can understand.”

  “She’s very intelligent,” Janaya said with a smile that made Richard appreciate why his son was attracted to her.

  “Woof,” Killer said.

  “Well, if you’re sure you’re fine, I’ll carry on to the wheat fields.”

  “Good idea,” Luke said. “Let me know how you get on.”

  Frowning, Richard drove on toward Ted Morrison’s farm. Something was up. He knew his son. Guilt and worry were written all over his face.

  It was bedlam at Ted Morrison’s. Vehicles choked the road, a lot of them he didn’t recognize. People wandered down the middle of the road in a casual manner without due care for oncoming traffic.

  Giving up the idea of pulling up outside the paddock gate, Richard parked as close as he could, pulling onto the shoulder of the gravel farm track behind a dusty sedan. The little dog jumped from the SUV when he opened the passenger door and trotted ahead of him, her head going from side to side as though she was trying to take everything in.

  The sun shined brightly, kicking quite a punch despite the early hour. A soft breeze blew as he walked toward the gate that led into the wheat field. The wind rattled the seed heads, knocking them together in a soothing melody. Better than the rap crap the Sloan youngsters played on their car stereos at full volume when they raced down the main street.

  Ted Morrison manned the gate, letting visitors inside his wheat field. He lifted his right hand in a casual wave. “Richard. Thought you were on holiday?”

  “Had to come back early. Luke has his hands full down at the station so I said I’d come to check out the circles and give a report.” Richard scanned the small sign by the gate. Entrance to Crop Circles—$5.

  He turned back to Ted, but the man was busy extracting money from a couple of townies. The female component of the couple wore pink high heels. How she thought she’d manage to walk through the wheat fields with those stilts on her feet was beyond Richard. He noticed Ted’s brows rise, almost disappearing beneath his woolen beanie. Richard grinned inwardly. Ted had worn a home-knitted beanie, no matter what the season, for as long as Richard could remember.

  The dog wandered up and pressed its nose against the woman’s tanned calf. She let out a piercing shriek and parted company from the land before her spike heels poked into the earth again to ground her.

  Richard clicked his fingers, attracting the dog’s attention. “Killer. Over here.” Thankfully, the dog obeyed and stayed close.

  “Do you have gumboots?” Ted asked, his frown narrowed at the woman’s delicate shoes.

  “Oh no,” the woman said, a shudder of distaste racking her narrow silk-clad shoulders. She jerked her heels from the dirt, before she and her husband wandered through the gate and headed in the direction Ted had indicated.

  “Bet you five dollars she falls flat on her face,” Ted said with a cackle.

  “Don’t be silly. I’d lose my money.” Richard stood aside for yet another group to pay their admission fee and file through the wooden gate. Business was booming.

  “Is there anywhere to buy a tea or coffee?” an elderly woman asked.

  “The Sloan Women’s Division have set up a stall near the crop circles,” Ted answered. “Best scones and raspberry jam in Sloan.”

  “Thank you,” the woman said, eyeing up Ted in clear speculation.

  Richard winced. At least the woman hadn’t chosen him. He’d far rather have Hinekiri check him out. The thought made him pause as a quite different vision danced through his head—naked bodies writhing together on a soft double bed. His double bed. No escaping the identity of the woman. Her soft blonde hair and beautiful violet eyes gave her away. Unfortunately, that was all he could see, his imagination unable to fill in the dots.

  “Richard? You okay? You have a weird look on your face.” Gruff concern shaded Ted’s voice.

  To Richard’s consternation, heat gathered in his cheeks. “The Women’s Division has set up camp here too?” The dog let out a soft woof that sounded like a question.

  His change of subject didn’t work, but then he hadn’t really expected it to. Richard had gone to school with Ted Morrison and they’d been friends ever since. “You’re either sickening for something or you’ve met a woman.” Ted studied him intently and a slow grin bloomed on his weathered face. “It’s a woman.”

  Alien Encounter: Hinekiri

  Excerpt – Captured & Seduced

  Copyright 2014 Shelley Munro

  Book one, House of the Cat series

  Camryn woke to the sensation of the floor shuddering. Her head vibrated in time. Damn whiskey kicked like a mule. A moan escaped, the sound tiny and insignificant. Her eyes flickered, the glare of light intense. A jagged slice of pain cut across her temples. Everything ached, even her eyes. She stopped trying to open them and her world ceased spinning. Cautiously, she catalogued her body for aches and pains.

  Dry.

  Her mouth felt like a dusty paddock during the middle of a severe drought. And her tongue—heck, that felt too thick and furry to fit inside her mouth. She moved her arms, or attempted to, but they stuck fast against her sides. Her heart thudded, an erratic beat of fear. Her brother. He’d told her—told her yesterday she had to stop drinking. If she didn’t…

  What had he done?

  She struggled, hyperventilating in fear. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

  For her own good, he’d said. Yeah, easy for him. He had a wife, a child. They were a family. A unit. She had nothing to live for. Not now.

  Camryn forced her eyes open, her heart drumming like the thunder of horses’ hooves during a race. Her gaze lit on a large black shape on the floor. Camryn closed her eyes and moved her head in a cautious shake, wincing at the sharp throb. When she opened her eyes again, the object came into focus. A large black cat lay on the floor near her. It stared at her with its green eyes. Its mouth lay open and sharp white teeth glittered in the bright light. Camryn swallowed. A dream. No, a nightmare. She wasn’t awake.

  Maybe Max was right—she’d started drinking too much alcohol.

  The cat stood, stretched just like her mother’s used to, extending front legs and sticking its butt in the air. Then it prowled toward her, black tail swishing from side-to-side. A panicked whimper escaped. Camryn wanted to flee but couldn’t move.

  Not her arms or legs.

  Trapped.

  The cat stalked closer until she felt the creature’s hot breath through the denim of her old jeans where her brother’s heavy coat had fallen away. The cat let out a sharp, fierce grunt, raising the hairs on her arms into a distinct prickle. She whimpered, the cry weak and thready. The cat moved nearer still. It opened its huge maw, globules of saliva visible. Oh heck. This was no dream. It intended to eat her. Camryn struggled fiercely, a ripple of pure terror pouring from her parched throat.

  The thud of running feet sounded and two people burst into the room. Camryn’s eyes widened and she screamed again. And again. The black leopard bit her on the leg, the sharp pain silencing her scream abruptly.

  They stared at each other before weird jabbers commenced, sounding like Chinese mixed with lots of clicks and guttural sounds too rapid for her to even start to understand.

  Camryn moaned when they approached and halted by the leopard. Fear, stark and real, pummeled her body, her mind. She cried out as they moved closer in a collective step.

  People. A loose term. Real loose.

  One appeared female and had bright electric blue hair and…and pointy ears. Her flashing eyes and rigid jaw brought a warrior to mind. The tight-fitting trousers and
brown tunic top, plus the huge number of weapons strapped on her slender yet muscular body confirmed the impression. The other was the palest person she’d ever seen. Everything about him seemed white. Totally colorless. Apart from his eyes. They were the palest violet and focused intently on her. While she gaped at the male—at least the bulge at his groin suggested the masculine gender—he changed color. Streaks of black swirled through the white, mixing to a slate gray. The black kept appearing in long ribbons across the part of his chest she could see until his skin and hair gleamed deep ebony. His eyes remained the same eerie violet.

  Camryn’s gaze traveled to the black leopard. It sat on its haunches between the warrior and the creepy changing man. Changing Man carried a satchel in his hand. After snapping several clicks at the other beings, he pulled a glass jar from the bag. He opened it and tipped the contents onto the palm of his black hand. He frowned at them, white ribbons of color suddenly swirling across his chest. His head dipped in a satisfied nod, and the things on his hand wriggled like fat scarlet caterpillars.

  She whined softly. God, this wasn’t a nightmare. These weren’t the orderlies at the clinic where Max had threatened to send her.

  They were aliens. Aliens.

  Her heart pounded, leaping against her breast. Camryn started to struggle. Not even a warning snarl from the leopard stopped her fear escalating into outright panic. With another grunt and three rapid clicks, the warrior approached her. She grasped Camryn’s head and held her still. Changing Man picked up one bright red caterpillar between gray fingers and shoved it in her ear.

  Sharp pain. Intense. Worse than even the most evil hangover. The caterpillar crawled down her ear canal. She heard the crunching sounds when it attached itself somewhere inside. Her head rang, agony slicing across her temples. She keened, her strength sapped and no contest for the warrior’s superior power. The warrior held Camryn’s head, forcing it in the opposite direction, baring her other ear for the same abuse. Anguished tears slipped down her face. She sobbed, but that didn’t stop Changing Man from forcing a caterpillar inside her ear. Camryn felt every slither when it crawled inside. The pain felt just as intense, the crunching sound deafening while the caterpillar ate into her head.

  “Gabriel,” she whispered, realizing she’d landed in hell. Gabriel wouldn’t be here. Only she had sinned enough to gain entrance to hell.

  “Stop crying,” the warrior woman snapped, her blue hair flying around her head in a halo. “Can you understand us now?”

  She could, but nausea tiptoed through her stomach. Camryn’s entire body shuddered with the depths of her misery. She’d heard hell was fiery hot, but ice enclosed her heart, her body. Nothing had changed. She still missed Gabriel.

  The woman bent, tipped Camryn’s head back and struck her face with the palm of her hand. Camryn jerked back, stopping her crying mid-sob.

  “Stop cryin’ and hold still while I take the seat harness off you.”

  “Keep still, child,” Changing Man soothed. “We intend you no harm.”

  Something in his calm violet eyes told her he spoke the truth. Maybe they didn’t intend to cut her up for experiments. Camryn cast a quick glance at the leopard and her anxiety ramped up again. The feline looked as if it would devour her in a few bites, gobble her up until nothing remained.

  “And him?” she croaked, heart fluttering like the starter’s flag in a stiff breeze.

  “Ry, back up and leave the woman alone. Shift.” The changing man didn’t seem frightened of the kitty at all.

  Camryn held still while the warrior released the restraints holding her in place. Her attention remained on the black leopard. She didn’t like the way the animal stared at her. The leopard curled its top lip and twitched its whiskers. Then, as she watched, the leopard started to blur. The warrior pulled the harness away. Camryn blinked, her spine slamming against the back of the chair. Tension seeped through her, finding an outlet in clawed hands, gripping the armrests. Under her horrified gaze, the leopard transformed to a man wearing tight black trousers and knee-length black boots. Tall and muscular with a wild mass of black hair falling down to his shoulders. A green gaze pinned her in place, studying her just as intently as she examined him. Her heart did a crazy flip, slowing and suddenly galloping into a frenzied beat. For the first time since she’d met Gabriel, she looked at a man in a sexual way, even if fear tinged the curiosity.

  The muscles in his chest rippled when he moved, the skin the color of burnished copper. A tattoo of a cat decorated one biceps, so real Camryn wondered if it might spring to life in the same swift manner the leopard had transformed to a man. The man’s trousers clung to his long, muscular legs and slim hips. The bulge at his groin proclaimed his maleness without a shred of doubt.

  “You’ve got clothes on,” she blurted. Mortified color spread to her face when she realized what she’d said. In all the books she’d read about shapeshifters they’d ended up naked after their change. When he’d morphed, his lower half remained covered.

  “I could always take them off,” he said in a husky voice.

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  About Shelley

  Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.

  Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her own hero and a rambunctious puppy in New Zealand. She writes erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres and has several self-published titles. Follow the links below to learn more about Shelley and her books.

  Visit Shelley at her website.

  Visit Shelley’s blog.

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  Visit Shelley’s Facebook author page.

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  Other Works

  Contemporary

  Playing to Win

  Spies, Lies and Sapphires

  Stranger Things Happen

  Wild Child

  Tea for Two

  Cat Burglar in Training

  One Night of Misbehavior

  Blindside

  Fringe Benefits

  Lovers at Last

  Ain’t Misbehaving

  Love and Friendship series

  The Bottom Line

  Past Regrets

  Farmer Wants a Wife

  Clare Chronicles

  Part-Time Lovers

  Enemy Lovers

  Fancy Free series

  Fancy Free

  Christmas is Coming

  Feeling the Buzz

  Paranormal

  Price of Love

  Curse of Brandon of Lupinus

  Sea of Change

  Sci-fi/Futuristic

  Sex Idol

  Interplanetary Love

  Middlemarch Capture

  Snared by Saber

  Favored by Felix

  Lost with Leo

  House of the Cat series

  Captured & Seduced

  Claimed & Seduced

  Merry & Seduced

  Stranded & Seduced

  Seized & Seduced

  Alien Encounter

  Janaya

  Hinekiri

  Alexandre

  Gay Romance

  Eye on the Ball

  Lone Wolf

  Seeking Kokopelli

  Stoned

  No Defense

  Best Man

  Historical

  Mistress of Merrivale

  The Spurned Viscountess

  Unforgettable

  Copyright

  Alien Encounter: Janaya

  Copyright © 2015 Shelley Munro

  ISBN: 978-0-473-31896-3

  Editor: Mary Moran

  Cover Art: Kim Killi
on of Killion Group Inc.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  ShelleyMunro.com