Karak Warrior: An Alien Shifter Sci-Fi Romance (Alien Shapeshifters Book 2)

by Ruby Ryan

  The craft turned and followed a long gash of valley that had been destroyed by the forest fires last year. The trees still stood but were ghosts of their former selves, ashen and sad, a cemetery of a forest. The aircraft slowed, then lowered itself into a part of the forest where salvage logging had cleared away a wide space. It landed without any hint of touching the ground; only the still trees outside the cockpit told me we were no longer moving.

  "Why do I feel like I'm being kidnapped?" I said out of nervousness.

  Arix smiled at me, then rose and walked away. I followed him into the back room and down the ramp into the forest.

  "This is the place," he said, pointing at a specific spot on the ground. "I've sent the Karak images of human forms to use, which should make your meeting more comfortable than if you were speaking to us in our light forms."

  "Light forms?" I asked, but Arix extended his hand. I shook it.

  "Good luck." He turned away.

  "Wait! You're leaving me here by myself?"

  Arix grimaced. "My personal standing among my fellow Karak is... complicated."

  Now I really felt like I was being kidnapped and left to die. The panic rose up in my chest like a hot spring. "What if they don't come? What will I do then?"

  But Arix was already inside, and the ramp was receding into the craft. The aircraft rose gracefully, turned above the trees, and then soared out of sight.

  The dead woods held an ominous silence as I stood there.

  I stared at the sky and waited for the other Karak to immediately appear, but when they didn't I sat down on a nearby stump.

  The human brain was really stupid. I'd just flown here in a spacecraft, completely conscious and aware of what was happening the entire time, yet a large part of my brain still refused to accept the whole thing. It kept trying to think of explanations for all of this, a logical framework to wrap around it all to get it to make sense. But this wasn't an elaborate prank by my fellow officers, and I wasn't dreaming, and I wasn't hallucinating. At least, I was fairly certain the latter wasn't true. Crazy people never really knew they were crazy, right?

  My cell phone worked, but only had one bar of service. Worst case scenario, I could walk to a road and call someone to pick me up. I had a general idea as to where I was. That would be a weird phone call to the base. "Hey there, it's Base Commander Brandi Forbes. I know I just jogged out the south gate half an hour ago, but I seem to have suddenly teleported twenty miles away and could use a ride, please and thank you.

  Yeah, calling an Uber from Boise would be a better idea.

  I never would have noticed the aircraft if I hadn't been looking. It appeared above the trees to the right, sliding into view as silent as a stalking cat. It was larger than Arix's scout aircraft, and different in a way I couldn't explain. It bulged more, maybe. I watched with wide eyes as it drifted toward the clearing, hovered in place for a few perilous seconds, and then landed.

  I rose and brushed myself off. I wished was wearing my uniform instead of these running clothes. Fear crawled up the back of my neck again. All of my training had been around human enemies: dots on the ground that needed to be bombed or strafed with machine gun fire, or buildings to blow up. This scenario right here was one for which I was completely, and utterly, unprepared.

  I waited for a ramp to descend from the back, but that's not how these Karak decided to reveal themselves. The air ten feet in front of me suddenly shimmered like heat coming off a desert road. I held my breath as particles of light appeared from all around, pulled together like magnets, forming two bars of pure light. They pulsed gently, individual of one another, and my mind decided it was like two heartbeats. Heartbeats which were a lot calmer than my own.

  HELLO, one of them said into my mind.

  I recoiled from it, and took a deep breath, trying to make myself relax.

  Before I could respond, they began to change again. The individual photons of light fell apart again, twisting and changing into every color imaginable. The light formed back into human bodies, bones and muscles and then skin, tan skin that bulged with the muscle underneath and which was completely nude, their penises exposed, and then clothes formed from nothing and covered them as if they had always been there.

  The alien on the left looked like a Norse god missing his hammer, with shoulder-length blond hair and eyes as green as emeralds. His jaw was hard, his face emotionless.

  The other alien had short black hair and almond eyes, and some scruff on his cheeks like he'd skipped shaving for two days. He blinked rapidly behind his hooked nose.

  I couldn't not appreciate how they looked: they were gorgeous. Their faces had sharp features like cologne models, and the brief second I'd seen of their bodies made them look like athletes, all lean muscle and popping veins. But as sexy as the two men were, they were dressed ridiculously: they both wore black slacks and white dress shirts, with a tie and jacket. They looked like fucking Mormons!

  They took a moment to look down at their bodies, to touch themselves with foreign hands. Getting a feel for what human bodies were like, I guess.

  "Hello," the brunette repeated, this time in a deep human voice.

  "Do you, uhh, come in peace?" I asked.

  "Of course," the blond said, not getting the joke. "You are the one Arix brought."

  It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded all the same.

  "I am Tyrix," the blond said, "and my partner is Kerix."

  I tried to take a step forward to shake their hands, but my feet refused to move. "Nice to meet you," I said instead, wishing I had thought of something more profound to say.

  "Arix told us of you," Kerix said in a voice like smooth caramel. "Do you know where he went after bringing you here?"

  "I haven't a clue. Don't you guys know?"

  Neither of them answered, but they shared a look that reminded me of what Arix said: that his standing with them was complicated. I wondered what he'd done.

  "You are a military representation of earth?" Kerix asked. Already their words were less slow, more natural than at first.

  "I guess I am." I stood up a little straighter. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Brandi Forbes, Support Group Commander of Mountain Home Air Force Base."

  Once the words were out of my mouth, the title that filled me with pride felt woefully inadequate. Someone higher up should have been here representing earth. A General, not a fucking Lieutenant Colonel.

  But the two Karak nodded with satisfaction. "Lieutenant Colonel Brandi Forbes. We have much to tell you."

  THE FULL KARAK SHIFTER SERIES

  Karak Contact

  Karak Warrior

  Karak Invasion (Coming Soon!)

  If you're looking for paranormal romance with a more animal kind of shifting, you're going to love my Gryphons vs Dragons series. You can click here to buy it, or keep reading for a sample of the first book, EMERALD GRYPHON!

  *

  A priceless totem. An unexplainable transformation. And a secret he can't keep from her for long.

  Ever since finding the gemstone figurine in a cave in Belize, Ethan's been experiencing strange sensations: chills, body aches, and a buzzing in his chest like there's a beast trying to escape.

  Which is exactly what happens when Jessica, a temp in his office, finds the figurine and presses the emerald set inside.

  Now they share an impossible secret: that Ethan can shapeshift into a gryphon, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and head of an eagle. And as the one to first unleash it from the totem, Jessica is inexplicably bound to him.

  But just when they begin to understand what the shapeshifting entails, they're chased by a mysterious man with fire tattoos all over his body, who can turn into his own winged beast. As they scramble for their lives, soon Jessica and Ethan begin to wonder: is such an ability a blessing... or a curse?

  GRYPHONS VS DRAGONS is the new paranormal shapeshifter series from Ruby Ryan. There's steamy romance, exciting action, and no cliffhangers. Each book in the seri
es can be read standalone, and of course each features a Happily Ever After!

  1

  ETHAN

  "Dude, come on. Get up."

  I groaned and cracked open an eyelid. Sunlight streamed through the window of my bedroom, and even just the split-second of light was enough to send my head pounding.

  "Ugh," I moaned.

  I heard Andy round my bed and throw aside the curtains, then open the window. The smell of salt and sand gusted inside with the cool ocean air. I rolled over to face the opposite direction, but then Andy was stomping around to do the same on that side of the room.

  Christ, couldn't he let me sleep?

  "Get up!" he repeated, peeling off my sheets. I curled into a ball and wedged my eyes shut against the growing light of day.

  "I'm good here."

  "We're gunna be late," Andy insisted. "Orlando booked the cave tour days ago. He's gunna be pissed if people bail out."

  "You're gunna be pissed," I corrected.

  "Everyone's going. We can't stay in bed all day."

  I considered fighting longer, but Andy wasn't the kind of guy to give up unless I was dead. So I surrendered and grabbed my glasses from the side table.

  "I'm going," I croaked, mouth feeling like it was made of a lizard's scales. Andy shoved something at my face which ended up being a glass of water.

  "Meet you out front in fifteen."

  And then, blessedly, he left.

  I wasn't the drinker I used to be. None of us were, but that hadn't stopped us from emptying two bottles of rum between the five of us on the Belize beach. It wasn't often you celebrated your ten year college reunion with your best friends.

  Less alcohol tonight, I decided, head so cloudy that even those three words came with difficulty. It was our final night in the small Central American country, and I sure as hell didn't want to feel like this when I jumped on a plane in the morning. Maybe some beers instead of hard liquor, a drink I could sip on and take my time.

  Yeah. That sounded nice.

  I lurched my body into the shower and stood under the hot water until I felt vaguely human, threw on some shorts and a T-shirt, and left my room.

  The villa we'd rented had five bedrooms around a shared living space. The kitchen was filthy with upended shot glasses and cups that still held half an inch of alcohol in the bottom. The scent of alcohol was so strong I could smell it from the hallway, and I felt my gag reflex crawling up the back of my throat.

  I rushed outside to meet the others.

  The sun punched me in the brain like it'd been waiting in ambush, bright and hot and bright, did I mention bright? For a second I considered going back inside to put in my contact lenses, which would then allow me to wear sunglasses, but I didn't want to delay things further.

  I was the last one ready, I saw with muted annoyance. Andy stood chipper and cheery in a baggy white shirt, gesturing with his hand while he explained something only Andy could care about. Sam nodded along, his dirty blond hair bouncing gently with each movement.

  Roland stood next to them and stared off at nothing. He removed his sunglasses and rubbed at his bloodshot eyes, then scratched at his mop of Irish auburn hair.

  The Belfast-born man saw me and gave a nod of mutual agony.

  Andy clapped his hands together, finally noticing that I was there. "Good! We're all here. It was so quiet this morning I thought I'd find dead bodies in your beds."

  "Would that you did," Roland muttered, his Irish accent thick in the morning sun.

  Orlando spoke with the driver next to the jeep in Spanish, then turned to us. "We're all set. Ten minute drive out to the caves."

  I play-punched him on his dark-skinned arm in greeting as I passed, and he gave me a smirk in return. "If you get sick on the ride, hombre, speak up so we can pull over."

  "Why would I get sick?"

  It turns out the reason I might get sick was because the road to the caves was more of a game trail than an actual road. For fifteen minutes we bounced over rocks and jutting tree roots, and for half the trip I did think I was going to be sick. Somehow I held my nausea in check. Andy stood in the back of the jeep like a World War Two tank commander, gazing around like he was leading the way instead of an American simply along for the ride.

  The low-hanging jungle trees finally cave way to a small clearing, with enough room for three or four cars to park. The land sloped away in a trail, leading toward a small black crack in the slate mountain face.

  "These are the incredible caves you've been going on about?" Roland said, voice thick with disdain. "I got out bed for this?"

  Disappointment flashed on Andy's face, but only for an instant. "Don't judge a book by it's cover. It's bigger on the inside, right Orlando?"

  "That is how caves work," Sam mumbled.

  Orlando translated the question to the guide, who nodded vigorously. I shrugged and climbed out the jeep, already counting down the time until we were done and could return to our beds for a nap.

  The guide handed out helmets and gear, which ended up being thin harnesses with some sort of tracking device and a small LED flashlight. Our group of hungover thirty-somethings strapped the harnesses on in silence.

  "No picks or climbing equipment?" Sam asked, a frown falling across his blue eyes.

  Orlando laughed and said, "Dude, no. It's not that tough of a cave."

  "At least, not the part we're exploring," Andy cut in. "There are some expert tunnels, but that'd be a death sentence for anyone in your current state."

  "Amen," I said, which drew a few laughs.

  The guide addressed us, speaking in broken--but understandable--English. Follow him, taking care where we stepped. Always keep the person in front of you in view. Never leave the path unless he says it's okay.

  We nodded along, barely hearing.

  And then we were descending toward the cave entrance itself, an unimpressive black gash in the grey rock.

  The entrance tunnel was just wide enough to pass through without ducking, though my shoulders brushed against both walls. I wondered if any of my buddies were claustrophobic. That probably would have been a good thing for them to announce before coming out here, but there was rarely logic in a hungover mind. I was the fourth one in line, following behind our guide and Orlando and then Andy, and I kept the sight of Andy's white shirt within my view as I shuffled along the uneven ground. The tunnel extended maybe fifty feet, it was tough to tell--

  And then Andy disappeared.

  I felt a brief moment of panic before realizing our tunnel was opening into a larger area, and Andy had stepped to the side. I sighed with relief as I passed through the final squeeze of rock.

  I gasped.

  We were in an enormous subterranean chamber. The cone of Orlando's flashlight arced across the air above us, revealing a rocky ceiling so far above it almost didn't seem real. The air smelled faintly musty, and a rush of air stirred the hair on my legs. My brain struggled to make sense of the huge space and failed.

  "It's like being inside a sports arena," Sam said, words thick with wonder. Even Roland couldn't make a sarcastic comment now, and stared around with wide eyes.

  "Eh?" Andy said, smug as all hell. "Didn't I say it'd be worth waking up for?"

  The guide led us across the enormous cave, which was interspersed with small pools of still water. There were no markings anywhere I could see, but he seemed to know the way by heart, and we came to another crack in the far wall.

  Then we were scraping along another narrow corridor like the entrance. This one occasionally was marred by a jutting piece of rock from the ceiling, requiring us to duck down in several places. The tunnel curved to the left, then split, and our guide took us along the left-most path.

  "Everyone doing okay?" Orlando called from the front.

  "Is it too late to tell you I have to piss?" Roland said.

  "Wherever you go," Andy said, "don't do it in a place we have to walk back through!"

  But Roland remained right behind me with
out stopping. I couldn't blame him; I didn't want to get left behind in a place like this. The idea of pausing for even a few seconds while the group moved out of sight filled me with a primal terror.

  I moved a little faster at the thought, keeping Andy's shirt safely within view.

  We walked for the better part of fifteen minutes, our path slowly descending deeper into the ground. The air became more stale with each step, and I imagined the centuries and millennia and eons of time that must have passed before a place like this was ever discovered by humans.

  Eventually we came to another open room. It was significantly smaller than the previous one, though still roughly the size of a warehouse in volume. Our guide waited until we were all inside, then spoke with a silly grin on his face.

  "Eyes adjust," the guide commanded.

  "Okay. Everyone's lights. Turn them off."

  "Do what now?" Roland sputtered.

  "He's gunna show us how dark it is down here," Orlando explained.

  "I know what the dark is like, thank you very much," Roland said.

  "Not like this!" Andy snapped off his flashlight, then waved at the rest of us. "Come on guys! Don't be poor sports."

  One by one our lights flickered out. Roland's was the last one, until finally he shrugged and did the same. Darkness rushed into the vacuum left by the light, and my eyes tried to adjust, that moment when your pupils dilate and drink in as much light as they can... but they failed. The moment where objects materialized from the darkness never came. There was no light at all this far into the cave. The darkness was absolute.

  I'd never known what true darkness was until this moment. It was awe-inspiring.

  I reached out and grabbed Andy's arm, just to feel someone around me.

  "This is the kind of shit deprivation tanks are made for," Sam said. "Take away all light, and sound, and the brain starts hallucinating. If we had some noise-canceling headphones..."