Branded

by Jenika Snow

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2015 Jenika Snow

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-429-6

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  I’d like to thank my publisher, Evernight, for all their help in getting my stories out

  BRANDED

  The Rogues, 1

  Jenika Snow

  Copyright © 2015

  Preface

  Thirty years ago a race of humanoid aliens known as Rogues came to earth in search of conquest and colonization. With the Rogues’ home planet dwindling in resources, and their males outnumbering the females, it was imperative that they find a new home to colonize and make their own.

  It wasn’t until they landed they realized the inhabitants of earth, a small, weak and inferior species, were actually very hostile, resorting to violence immediately upon the Rogues’ landing. But, it didn’t take long for the humans to realize they were no match for the bigger, more intelligent, and technologically superior beings. The Rogues were bred to be warriors, Enforcers of their kind, and because their own planet was diminishing in resources, and their males outnumbered the females, conquering the planet was imperative.

  But while the Rogues had originally planned on destroying every last human, they realized the weaker species could be used in many ways.

  As the years progressed the Rogues found out the humans could breed with their own kind, producing offspring that carried more Rogue genetics than human. The effect was a being superior to humans, but still weakened because of the lesser species genes. If the Rogues wanted to successfully stay on the planet they’d need to take the human females and breed with them in order to increase their population. Viable, fertile human females are used as breeding stock, caretakers for the half-breed children, and as concubines for the warriors.

  But there are small groups of humans in hiding, and it’s the hunters and trackers of the Rogues that are dispatched to find them. They must kill the males that are not of use for labor, and capture the fertile females for the breeding stock.

  This is the world of the Rogues now, and anything inferior and weaker will be destroyed.

  Chapter One

  Greta stared at the stone ceiling above her, the scent of sweat, the sound of coughing, shuffling, and of deep breathing her atmosphere. Now twenty-one, she had been born when the Rogues had already conquered earth. She’d known nothing different from the world before her. Humans no longer were superior, but then again she’d never known a world, a life, where humans had freedom, weren’t used for labor, sex, or as breeders for the monstrously large and dangerously volatile beings that had taken over their planet.

  Greta had heard stories from some of the elders, the ones that were near death from old age, but had been around before the Rogues first came to earth. There weren’t many elders in hiding anymore, but Greta knew that hiding from the very creatures intent on taking away humanity, civilization, and destroying everything in their wake, even if she had to live in a cave, was better than living in subjugation to the Rogues. She did wish she’d been around when humans had ruled earth, had seen the technology that had changed and shaped the world. Now they were living primitively, so isolated and in the dirt that it was like they lived millions of years ago.

  She sat up, tried to not wake the three people surrounding her. The sounds of huffing, of moaning, and of clothing being shuffled around had her looking over to the side, even though she knew what she’d see. Two people were engaged in sex, the man over the woman, her legs spread wide. This was what Greta’s life was, had always been, and she’d never known any different.

  The humans cramped in this cave deep in the bowels of a mountain were the only people she’d ever known. Ryeccu, one of the elders, was nearing eighty. He had lost his wife during the winter months, and she knew his loss and sadness from losing her would take him soon. He hardly ate as it was anymore, and to see that kind of sadness over losing someone so loved it ate away at them, had her feeling for the older man. Then there were Thindle and Frenna, a husband and wife that were expecting their first baby. Since living with this camp of humans in this mountain she’d seen three live births, helped in all of them, and also seen the devastation of two infant deaths. To say that experience ate away at a person was an understatement.

  “Greta, you must sleep.”

  She looked over at Jayce. He’d been with her since she was sixteen, watching over her, protecting her. He was older than she was, maybe in his thirties, although he wasn’t sure, as was many of the people here. Time just seemed to stand still, to stop when in hiding. But Greta knew her day of birth was always when the leaves started growing on the trees.

  He ran his hand over the pallet beside him, and she rested down again, facing him. She saw Jayce as a brother, but she knew he loved her, wanted her as his woman. And even if she should have been with him, because being surrounded by people yet still being alone was bad, she couldn’t be with him without emotions. Having a relationship with Jayce that consisted of them being physical, sexual, wasn’t something Greta wanted to think of, wasn’t something she could do.

  “You worry about everyone and everything,” Jayce said softly, and lifted his hand to brush her hair away. She’d found some vine when she’d been out with the scavengers last night, and had used it to tie her long dark hair up.

  “It’s hard not to worry when it is that worry that keeps us alive, alert.”

  He smiled softly. His blond hair was on the shaggy side, and his light blue eyes could be seen, even though shadows surrounded them, giving her this hope that everything would be okay. The small fire in the center of the cave gave off a small amount of light and heat, but she had enough hole-ridden blankets and animal hides on her to stay warm, as did everyone. She also had Jayce by her side, and his body heat helped the chill stay away.

  But the hunter that was sent out to find food for them hadn’t returned yet, and as the time moved by at a snail’s pace the more she felt her nerves grow.

  “You need to relax. Pylix will be back.”

  She knew Jayce was right, and wished she could be like everyone else resting, relaxing already. They’d been on the move this time for three days, moving farther away from the Rogue inhabited cities, and further into the wilderness. But they never could settle in one place for long, not when the risk of being found was too great. And they couldn’t try to find a permanent way to hide with no access to technology.

  “I wish we would have known each other in a different time, a different world,” Jayce said softly.

  She smiled, knowing she would have loved to know all of these people that she considered her family. After her mother and father died when the Rogues first found them, she’d looked up to Jayce and everyone else, not wanting to lose them either. This was all she knew, they were all she knew, and losing them meant she’d lose a part of herself.

  Jayce stared into her eyes, and she knew he was going to speak about the color before he opened his mouth and did just that. “I’ve never seen anyone with such beautiful eyes, Greta,” he said softly, then leaned forward, as if to try to kiss her. She placed a hand on his lips, shaking her head softly.

  “Jayce, you know how I feel. I think of you as my brother. I love you, just no
t that way.”

  He smiled from under her fingers, and when she removed her hand he took her wrist in a firm, gentle hold. “It’s just us, Greta, and I know one day you’ll see I’ll make a good husband.” He kissed her open palm, set it on the pallet, and turned around. The silence stretched between them, and she rested on her back, staring at the ceiling again. She’d never feel that way about Jayce, but she hated seeing his emotions for her, the rawness of how he felt, and not being able to give him what he wanted.

  She closed her eyes, exhausted, but unable to fully sleep. But as she started relaxing, the sound of running came closer and closer.

  Everyone instantly became alert, standing, preparing in case the Rogues found them. Cyrus, the young man that was on lookout this evening, was dripping sweat, out of breath, and looking terrified.

  “What is it, Cyrus?” Jayce said.

  Cyrus looked between them, wiped the sweat from his eyes, and said, “They’re coming. The Rogues are coming for us.”

  Chapter Two

  “A small colony of humans has been detected deep in the mountain.”

  Tolcan looked at his second in command during this tracking mission, saw the way focus covered Stellan’s features, and looked back at the mountain in the distance. The technology they had allowed them to see within structures, even if those structures were thick rock. The scanners were able to pick up heartbeats, if any, in dwellings.

  “Although they are so deep within the mountain that the heartbeats are faint, almost non-discernable.”

  “How many?” Tolcan asked again.

  “Maybe ten humans within one small cave.”

  “How many fertile females?” Tolcan asked, staring at the opening of the cave. They’d have to go in, because even if there was only one fertile human female they couldn’t risk losing her.

  “The scanner picks up at least three.”

  If they could be bred, then they were fertile to their kind. The Rogues, a species of humanoid aliens that had come here three decades ago, were in need of females to help propagate their species. They had their own Rogue females, but not nearly enough to help colonize this planet. This was their home now, and mating with the humans meant they could build armies and create warriors.

  “How many human males that can be used in the labor camps?”

  “According to the scanner all but two are of prime age.”

  He nodded but continued to focus on the cave. The labor camps were to have healthy, viable males to work. They were used to build equipment, set up camps, and other things the Rogues deemed lesser. The Rogues could have lived with the humans, could have been civilized, but when they were met with hostility and violence, the only way to retaliate, to survive, was to show they were stronger. In Tolcan’s eyes the years that had passed were enough to have everyone reevaluating what was happening, and to try to work together. But it wasn’t his call. He was an Enforcer, a warrior for his kind, and the Royal class was the one that called the shots.

  Until there were others that stood up for feeling the same way, or the Royals were overturned, nothing would change. But that was not something Tolcan would address by himself, not unless he wanted to be strung up and made an example of. And if that happened he wouldn’t be able to help his species prosper and grow. He was trained, bred to be the male he was today, and it wasn’t until he had landed on earth and seen how the Royals had disregarded the human life that wasn’t corrupt, that he realized his kind were acting exactly like the brute monsters the humans called them. There was strength in numbers, but so far, for these last thirty years, his kind was fine with how things were going, how earth was their new home, and how the humans were inferior to them.

  “Send Lycin and Petre to the perimeter of the mountain opening. You and I will take the cave. We can handle a handful of humans easily, but be mindful of those fertile females. I don’t want them harmed in any way during the extraction.”

  Stellan entered the codes that would send direct links to the other Enforcers, and giving them the orders he’d just initiated.

  “Let’s move out,” Tolcan said, and he and Stellan headed down the mountain and toward the cave entrance.

  They had their tranq guns at the ready, which when fired would stun their enemy, or in this case the humans, enough that they couldn’t cause harm to the Rogues or themselves, as some had tried to do numerous times.

  “I’ll take the front, you watch the back. Make sure there aren’t any humans lingering on the outside that the scanners happened to miss.”

  Stellan nodded.

  They moved through the cave, their vision far superior to humans’, as was every other sense about a Rogue. Not only were they seven feet in height, far taller than the average human, they also were bigger, more muscular, and their intelligence made humans’ look like rats’. But then humans’ technology hadn’t been as primitive as they would have thought. What they lacked in strategic skills and engineering superior weaponry, they made up for in lethal doses of violence.

  A Rogue saw perfectly in the dark, smelled things from a mile away, and had the strength of ten grown adult, fit human males. They didn’t need the humans as labor, but it allowed them to focus on creating new weapons, planning raids to hunt for more humans in hiding. It was the grunt work the humans did, the work they were able to accomplish without breaking their backs.

  They followed the tunnel in the cave for about a quarter of a mile, going lower into the mountain. The air became somewhat moist, and the scent of dirt and of vegetation that grew on the walls filled Tolcan’s nose. Then, as they rounded another corner, their weapons trained, a human came out and attacked Tolcan. He was momentarily surprised that the scanner hadn’t picked up the human, but as Tolcan took in the sight of the male covered in mud and moss, it was clear he’d done so to try to hide from them.

  Tolcan shoved the male away with enough force he slammed into the wall across from him. Pieces of moss fell from him, and the scent of minerals mixed in with the dirt came through.

  Tolcan aimed his tranq gun and fired. The flash of light went into the human’s chest, causing his eyes to widen right before he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

  “Let’s move. If he knows we’re here, the others might as well.”

  Stellan nodded, and they moved closer. Tolcan pressed the location switch on his GPS wrist device, alerting the other warriors above that they were making their move. If any of the humans tried to escape through an alternate exit the Enforcers above would be prepared.

  Tolcan heard the whispered, frantic murmurs just ahead, and signaled for Stellan to stay close and be ready. They rounded the corner, saw a small opening off to the side immediately, and noticed several of the humans moving through it. Tolcan raised his gun and started firing off shots. He was precise, exact in his aim, and had three down within a matter of seconds. Screams erupted, and some of the more prime male humans came forward, fighting back. They were easy enough to take down, especially since they were so small compared to Rogues, and were also weaponless.

  Tolcan moved into the cave, saw a man grab a female’s arm, tugging her toward the exit, and lifted his tranq gun toward the humans. But when the female turned around, her dark hair a wild mess around her frightened face, and her strange colored eyes watching him with fear, everything in him froze. Maybe it was the anomaly of her eye color that transfixed him? One was green, and the other was blue. Or maybe it was the fact she looked at him with a hint of pleading, a vulnerability that had everything inside of him freezing, and the very male, very primal, part of him waking up and taking notice.

  He wanted her, and even if it was the most ludicrous thing to want, to desire, it was undeniable. Tolcan had never wanted a female, not even as a concubine as so many of his kind took. He slept with female Rogues, found pleasure in his own kind, but for some reason he was hard, aroused for this human, and she did nothing but stare at him with fear and innocence.

  Stellan moved toward her after the human male that had been tr
ying to pull her in the opposite direction dropped to the floor. She looked so frightened, backing into the corner, and when Stellan was close enough she kicked out, landing a blow between Stellan’s legs. Tolcan was surprised at the feistiness in her, but he was more shocked at the fact he was just standing here, looking at her, wanting her.

  Tolcan came closer, and her eyes widened as she took in his size.

  “Stay back,” she spoke in her native language. All Rogues knew the humans language, but he doubted she’d been versed in his. Tolcan didn’t respond, but before he could stop it Stellan shot her with the tranq gun. She gasped before instantly passing out.

  Fuck, he thought, not about to voice that to Stellan. Showing any emotion for a species his kind deemed lesser would make Tolcan seem like a traitor, a sympathizer. There had been a few in the last thirty years that thought the humans and Rogues could live beside each other. Those had been deemed betrayers of their people, and sent off to the cells beneath the Royals’ home to live out the rest of their days. And for a Rogue that was a long fucking time since their lifespan was double that of a human.

  “She’s one that has a lot of spirit,” Stellan said and bent down to touch the female. “She’ll make a good breeder, produce good warriors.”

  “I’ll take her,” Tolcan said. He picked her up before Stellan could touch her, and knew that something with him was very wrong. He shouldn’t have wanted her for anything more than to hand her over to the Royal Guard, but for some reason this thing had awakened in him, demanding he at least entertain this emotion.

  Stellan looked at him curiously as he held the female.

  “Call the others to come down and gather the humans. By now the three Enforcers at top should have neutralized the escaped humans,” said Tolcan.