by Viola Grace
Yadeel finds herself fired, kidnapped, and threatened with dissection on the same day. Being rescued is needed, but it doesn’t turn out the way she expects.
Yadeel has been teaching for the last six years as far away from home as she can get without coming back. She gets fired and abducted two weeks from the end of her contract and wakes in a cell. Someone somewhere on W’lyn is looking to take her apart and use her for medical purposes. She did not volunteer for any of it.
She uses her talent for instinct to escape and is on a cliff edge when a guardian plucks her from the stone and brings her to safety. It was Toryl, and if there was anything she knew, it was that she was not his type. It would have been so much better if she didn’t know that he was her mate. He had no clue.
Toryl was the strongest guardian of his age, and Yadeel had been a friend of his younger sister. When he sees her climbing down the cliff face leaving a trail of blood from her lacerated hands, he brought her to safety immediately. Once he met her gaze, his intentions took a sudden shift. Things complicate quickly.
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Hidden Instinct
Copyright © 2021 Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-4874-ARC
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Hidden Instinct
Stellar Born, Book 2
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Yadeel stepped out of the shower and reached for the hypo as she did every week. She felt around for an area that felt unbruised and administered her shot into her neck. Once a week, every week. That was the rule.
She stowed her kit and got ready for work. Her work wasn’t in the capitol; she was a teacher on the shadow continent.
She put on her dress and tied it at her ribs and hip. The dark blue fabric was the uniform of the instructors for the children whose parents had grown up and thrived on the dark continent.
Yadeel Sanderson was one of five children born to her parents. She had an older sister and three older brothers. They were all working at her family’s legal firm in the capitol. She was here and working with children because she was in danger around adults if her injections were even one day late.
She ate her breakfast, got on the transport, and rode in to the school. A few masculine heads turned her way as she moved through the vehicle and exited at the school. Her shot would complete its work shortly, and she would be a simple woman of alien descent on W’lyn, just as dozens of others were. As long as she kept her paperwork with her that proved she was a citizen, she would be ignored by peacekeepers and accepted by her coworkers.
She entered the school and walked down the halls with her heels making a clicking sound. Yadeel settled in her classroom and organized her lessons for the day. The children would arrive within the hour, and she would begin training the next generation of shadows’ children on W’lyn. Today, they were covering the history of the treatise between the Admaryn and the Vimpyrs that made up the population. It was heavy stuff for children aged nine through twelve, but it was a solid start to their knowledge of what it meant to be a citizen of W’lyn.
“Miss Sanderson!” The little hand shot into the air.
“Yes, Tonian?”
“Where do your people come from?”
The lesson had gone well, and the lunch break was about to start. “My mother is W’lyn, and my father came from a world very, very far away.”
Tonian frowned. “Where is it?”
She spun her hand through the projection, and the small blue orb of Earth rotated slowly. “My father was one of the first wave of volunteers to leave his world and try to survive in the stars. He has done very well.”
The classroom of ten students gathered around and pelted her with questions, while the low chime rang out. She smiled and dismissed them, turning the lights on with a gentle touch on the controls.
“I thought you were supposed to teach them about our history, Yadeel?”
The headmaster of the school was glaring at her from the doorway. His suit was impeccable, his grey skin was sallow, and his dark green hair had a mossy cast. His eyes were black, and his gaze raked her from head to toe.
Tonian paused and spoke to him. “Sir, I asked a question, and Miss Sanderson has told us several times that the only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked.”
Yadeel blushed. “Thank you, Tonian. Don’t miss lunch now.”
Tonian nodded. “Yes, Miss.”
She looked at the headmaster, and she guessed at his next sentence. “My contract is not being renewed.”
He blinked. “Who told you?”
“Your face. So, two more weeks and then I am off. Fine. Thank you.”
“I am afraid that we can’t offer you references.” He walked toward her. “You have been far too reckless with the health of your students.”
Yadeel was shocked. “What?”
“You have a chronic disease, and you have exposed our students to it.”
She backed against the table. “I don’t have a disease. I am not ill.”
“You take an injection.” He was getting closer to her.
“I have a hormonal situation passed on by my father. It is under control.”
The headmaster smiled. “You know, my wife works at the pharmacy; she is aware of what your prescription does.”
Yadeel tightened her fists, and she stood straight. “I don’t give a fuck. Stop where you are and get your ass out of my classroom. I will be here until the end of term, and then, I will be gone. I am not going to beg or whine, I am not going to let you touch me to extend my contract, and if you don’t put your hand down, I will be forced to defend myself.”
“You smell like sex.”
She cocked her head. “Has your wife been diluting my restrictor?”
“She just wanted to expose you for the whore you are.”
He moved to grab her, and she snapped her hand up and into his nose, kicked his knee, and put him on the ground.
She spoke calmly. “Security cameras three through eight. Copy all images, video, and audio and send it to the Sanderson law practice.”
“What? How dare you have cameras in your classroom!”
“It was in my contract, asshole. You are not the first perv that I have come across. It is fairly common, but it is good to know that it is a failure in the meds and not me. So, thanks for that.”
She stood up and stepped aside. “I believe, in light of your assault on me, that you should get the assistant headmaster in to take over while you face charges. My next call is going to be to the peacekeepers, but first, when my students come back, I am goin
g to explain to them about body autonomy.”
“Please, forget this.”
“Oh. No. You have not only fired me for no reason, but you tried to have sex with me without my consent. I am not going to put up with that kind of nonsense.” She sighed. “I have other students that I can be teaching. I just thought that the locals here could use some exposure to alien cultures as you are nowhere near the capitol.”
She sighed, and he scuttled away. She called the peacekeepers and sent the images and videos. She also warned the dispatcher that she was hormonally active due to the interference.
When the children arrived, she explained that something had happened during lunch and that she wasn’t going to be able to continue as their teacher.
Tonian lifted his hand. “Was it the headmaster, Miss?”
“Yes. He did a few things that were very bad, and one of them was having someone mix up medication that I need to take to keep other adults from getting distracted.”
Jimla piped up, “You smell hot and pretty, Miss.”
Yadeel smiled. “That is it. How long have I smelled that way?”
The children looked at each other, and Jimla answered, “Three weeks, Miss.”
“Right. So, now, I have to go back to my home and get myself sorted out again so that I stop smelling like that. It is a side effect of my parents being from different worlds. My brothers and sisters are all W’lyn to the outside observer, and I am the only one who carries this. Remember when we discussed recessive traits?”
The kids nodded and smiled. They had all gotten excellent marks.
The peacekeepers came by to collect her statement, and they had filter plugs in their noses for this purpose. She spoke to them in the hallway, and they took notes.
One of them cleared his throat after she was finished. “We still have the matter of your being an illegal alien attacking a citizen.”
She pointed to the classroom. “My citizenship identification is in the classroom. I can grab it.”
One of the peacekeepers gripped her arm. “We can’t allow a dangerous alien around the children.”
She looked at him and took in his hair colour. “You are related to him.”
He put cuffs on her. “He’s my cousin. You should learn not to tease married men.”
She grimaced and then squeaked as she was knocked out with a stunner.
* * * *
Toryl was having dinner with friends when one of them got a call.
Morgolis sighed and answered the call from his father. The deep voice rang out of the speaker. “Morg, your sister has disappeared. She was at the school, there was an incident, and then, she left the room to speak with some peacekeepers and wasn’t seen again. Can you get out to the dark continent to find her?”
Toryl paused at the strange set of events. “Is that about little Yadeel?”
“Yeah. She finds trouble just by leaving the house. It is probably nothing.” He wiped his hands on a napkin. “I will arrange transport and get over there.”
“Does she get apprehended by peacekeepers a lot?”
Morgolis paused. “No. She doesn’t.”
Toryl nodded. “I will head over there and see what is going on. She’s on the dark continent?”
“She is. She teaches at the Shadow Academy.”
“She isn’t a lawyer?”
“No. She has an issue with Terran Syndrome, so it was considered best she works with those who had not yet gone through puberty.”
Toryl frowned. “Do you have a picture of her? I need to know what I am looking for.”
Morgolis held out his tablet, and an image of a young woman holding onto a W’lyn baby was on the screen.
“Isn’t that your nephew?”
“Yeah, the photo was taken a few years ago, just before she left.”
Toryl stared at the familiar face and tried to put it in context with the image he had in his quarters and the little girl who had instructed him on the proper way to woo a young lady while he was a teen. Time had passed, but the steel in her was the same.
“Right. I will head out right now. Keep me posted if any additional information comes up.”
“You don’t need to rush out. I am sure she is fine.”
Toryl got to his feet. “I am sure she isn’t. You have my com; call me if anything else comes to light.”
Toryl left the restaurant and politely excused himself as those who wanted to greet him began to crowd toward him. He stepped out of the building and took flight, heading for his long-range shuttle. Despite what her brother had said, Yadeel didn’t step into danger. It sought her out. There was quite a difference.
Chapter Two
Yadeel woke up in a small cell, but it wasn’t what she was expecting. She was underground.
She wasn’t tied, she was still dressed, and the lock on her door was very secure.
She paced back and forth; there was no light, no sense of time.
Yadeel heard the scuff of a boot, and she backed up against the wall on the same side as the door. The dark of her dress helped her blend into the shadows.
“Hide all you like. I can smell you.”
She grimaced but remained where she was. Stubbornness took over.
“So, you have some hand-to-hand training. Interesting. Where would a lawyer’s child get that kind of education?”
She kept her mouth shut.
“It doesn’t matter. The transaction will be complete soon, and you will be out of here.”
“What part of me are you selling? The secretion glands?”
He paused. He didn’t think she would have made that connection, apparently.
“They are buying the whole of you, but they are looking into extracting what they can, so you have that to look forward to.”
She grimaced. “Fucking fantastic.”
He murmured, “What did you say?”
“Never mind. Terran phrase.” She waited until she heard his footfalls fade off, and then, she looked for a way out. She didn’t use her latent talent often, but her instinct was her greatest secret. Her instinct had her put the cameras in her classroom and get it written into her contract, so it was all nice and legal.
Yadeel closed her eyes and opened them, looking for a hint as to how to escape. The glow along the edge of the bars was her focus. She walked to them and found a sliver of metal. It pricked her finger while she was working on it, but she got it out and walked to the lock. It was a standard lock used for security doors across W’lyn. It was also one that Yadeel had taken apart as a child.
She slid the metal rod carefully along the connection. She jolted and dropped the metal once and reached through to get her lockpick back.
The second attempt ended with the same electric jolt, and from there, she focused again and got the spike eased into the active point. The door swung open, and she slipped out of the cell after tossing the sliver back inside it. If she needed it again, it was best that she knew where she needed to grab it.
She put her finger in her mouth to stop the bleeding. One thing guaranteed to rile up the W’lyn was the scent of blood. All that Vimpyr ancestry made them sensitive to the scent.
Yadeel kept her finger in her mouth while she crept along the corridor. She closed her eyes and opened them, watching the path she needed to be taking glow in front of her. Typically, it was back the way she had come.
She turned and moved quietly down the hall, knowing that if any of them entered the hallway, she was done.
The instinctual vision that she followed was leading her deeper into the building. She had thought she was as low as she could be, but nope, she went deeper.
The walls of the level the cell was on had been painted, but the lower levels were raw stone. She followed the parts of the path that glowed in her sight, and when she saw the crack in the wall, she headed for it. She had never steered herself wrong yet.
* * * *
Toryl entered the peacekeeper detachm
ent. The man at the front jumped up and nodded. “Guardian, how can I help you?”
Toryl looked around and lifted his head to scent the air. “I am curious about an incident this morning at the Shadow Academy.”
“Oh, that was officer Meanar. Please, come with me.”
Toryl kept his senses alert for any sign of his friend’s sister. The Sandersons had a particular scent that any W’lyn would be able to find.
Toryl asked, “So, there was a call to the school.”
“Yeah, some uppity alien was giving the headmaster trouble.”
The video that Toryl had reviewed showed a different story. “She’s not an alien.”
The officer paused. “What?”
“Her family is blended, W’lyn and Terran. She’s a full citizen, and her family specializes in this sort of law. Expect an investigation.”
“She’s a citizen?”
“Born and bred in the capitol. She played with the siblings of the guardians when they were young. She is as much a W’lyn as I am. She just doesn’t look like it.”
“Oh, shit.” The officer’s eyes went wide. He turned to run, and Toryl grabbed his shoulder.
“Now that things are clear. Where is she?”
* * * *
She slid along the rock, feeling the scrapes against her skin. Her dress untied, and she felt the stone making its way through flesh, but she kept moving. The crack on the rock let her feel cool air, and it carried moisture against her skin.
She moved determinedly through the stone, and then, she paused at the opening. She was forty feet above the rocky shoreline, but there were handholds in the stone. She could do this. “I can do this.”
She tied her dress back in place, stepped out of the crevice, and turned to find the first foothold. It was time to get herself to safety.
