Camron

by Veronica Scott

  CAMRON: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel

  (Sectors New Allies Series Book 7)

  By

  Veronica Scott

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  About the Author

  Other Titles by Veronica Scott

  Copyright 2019 by Jean D. Walker

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, places, characters, 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 written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover Art by Fiona Jayde

  DEDICATION

  To my daughters Valerie and Elizabeth, my brother David, and my best friend Daniel for all their encouragement and support!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Julie C and The E-book Formatting Fairies!

  CHAPTER ONE

  Camron stood on the rim of the sanctuary valley, staring into the distance, the lake and forest at his back. He wished his people weren’t tethered to this one place on the planet but were free to roam and explore. Maybe someday. He shouldn’t be ungrateful, since he’d spent his entire life until recently as a prisoner in a Khagrish lab, subject to cruel experiments by the diabolical alien scientists. Life in the valley was infinitely better than in the labs, and he and his packmates ventured forth regularly to wage war against their oppressors. I guess it’s the nature of man not to be satisfied with whatever the current situation might be. With a sigh, he descended the narrow path to the valley floor, having officially handed off his sentry duties for the day to the next soldier.

  He missed the island where he’d been assigned for a few months. At least that had been a different place to explore, and he’d had complete independence in his off duty time. But now Kierce was in charge there, which made sense as his human mate was still doing repairs to the captured alien spaceship, but it irked Camron to have been basically relieved of his command. Kierce was a good man and undeniably senior in rank to Camron, but the island had been his to safeguard until Kierce’s arrival.

  Maybe the Alpha would have a scouting assignment for him soon, or even a combat sortie. Camron craved action. He wanted out of the valley.

  He checked the position of the sun and decided there was more than enough time left before dark to go explore the isolated patch of parraps berries he’d discovered and see if any had ripened since yesterday. The fruit was rare and delicious, and if he took the valley’s head cook enough berries, she’d make a pie for him with a portion of the harvest. Pie was one human food of which he definitely approved. There’d been no scent of any other Badari near the small patch of berries, so he was pretty sure the treasure was his alone. Camron grinned as he got closer.

  Only to stiffen a moment later as he caught a different scent, one that shouldn’t have been there. He didn’t begrudge sharing the berries with the person he saw, but Dr. Megan Garrison, mate to his commander Mateer, was heavily pregnant and strictly forbidden by the healers to wander too far from the safety of the caves.

  How in the name of the below-demons had she persuaded the pack’s ferocious second in command to allow her to hike by herself to this remote spot?

  Knowing the doctor, Camron chuckled. Well, of course, she asked no one’s permission and had probably come here because it was forbidden. She had a rebellious side. He sped up, calling out to her cheerfully, “We’ll have to have a dominance challenge for possession of the berries, doctor. I’ve been monitoring this patch because I can already taste the pie I’m going to ask the cook to bake for me.”

  Megan turned to him with a wave and a cheerful expression, but it seemed to him her face looked strained, deep lines on her forehead and bracketing her mouth. “I wanted to surprise Mateer,” she said. “Tomorrow is our anniversary, and he raved about these berries the last time any were found.”

  “How did you know the berries were here? I’ve been watching this patch for a week, waiting for the right day to harvest enough for a pie.” He flicked a glance at the fat, many segmented golden-and-black berries hanging in clusters among the thorns. Plenty for both of them. But what was troubling the doctor? He observed her closely without being obvious. She was definitely under stress.

  “I cheated—I asked MARL to do a survey of the valley and tell me where I might find them.” She laughed but again he had the flicker of suspicion all wasn’t well with her.

  Suddenly, her face blanched white and she clutched her side with one hand, cradling the large roundness of her belly with the other. Camron was there in a heartbeat, moving with the uncanny speed the Badari’s creators had bred into them. He helped her sit on a tree stump, even as he blasted a call over his mental channel to Mateer.

  Your mate is in distress. He gave the location. He had no desire to be alone in responsibility for the pack’s number one enforcer’s mate. Completely out of his depth when it came to a pregnant woman, he wanted to hand off the overwhelming responsibility to the right person, as fast as possible.

  On my way. Mateer’s response was instant and tinged with disbelief his mate was in such a predicament.

  Camron studied Megan’s face and her hunched over posture. “What is it, doctor?”

  “An intermittent pain, nothing significant, I’m sure.” She rubbed her belly. “As the baby gets bigger, she rests on my nerves. And my bladder,” Megan added frankly, giving him a smile. “I can’t quite catch my breath.”

  Camron was horrified to see her lips turning blue and hear a subtle wheezing in her chest. Another man's mate or not, he scooped her up, pivoted and sprinted toward the area where the Badari and their human allies had settled. We’re on our way to the clinic now. Bring a healer, he said to Mateer mentally. Camron knew nothing about babies—no Badari did, having been created in a lab by alien scientists, but he doubted it was normal for a woman to be having so much trouble breathing.

  “You called my mate?” she asked, holding tight to his shirt as he ran. “I’ll never hear the end of this.”

  Camron remembered too late Megan could listen in on the Badari mindspeak unless the sender was careful to exclude her. Swerving to avoid a cluster of loose rocks, he said, “Mateer needs to be here.”

  “You should have called me, mate.” Mateer was running alongside them now, after bursting from the brush, having made excellent time from wherever he’d been when Camron called. “What’s the use of being able to speak mind to mind if you won’t use the gift when you’re in trouble?”

  “I wanted to surprise you with the berries.” She closed her eyes and leaned against Camron, who didn’t slacken his pace. Mateer gave off the aura of a man barely able to contain his emotions but both of them understood it was better to arrive at the small hospital as quickly as possible, not waste time transferring Megan from one man to the other. Ordinarily Camron wouldn’t touch another man’s mate but this was an emergency. He hoped the baby wasn’t about to be born and the mere idea was so terrifying he added a burst of speed.

  When he reached the cleared space in front of the makeshift hospital, Camron found both of the pack�
��s healers waiting, as well as Rik, the human nurse. Pausing on the threshold of the small building, he handed Megan over to Mateer, and the entire group rushed inside, while he remained outdoors. Working to catch his breath after the run, he received a quick message from Megan.

  Thank you. I’m sure the baby is fine—probably sleeping undisturbed in the womb.

  Camron hoped Mateer would talk sense into the doctor after this episode was over. She carried the first ever Badari child to be born. Although, of course, the girl would be half human, so pretty much the entire population of the valley was heavily invested in caring about this child. And about the mother, their only doctor.

  I can’t thank you enough, Mateer said in his head a few moments later. The healers tell me there’s nothing serious wrong but she’s to stay in bed for a few days for monitoring. The staff is giving her extra oxygen and fluids.

  It was my honor. Deciding he wasn’t hungry and also didn’t want to face awkward questions in the cafeteria about the incident and Megan’s health, Camron departed for a long hike along the edge of the lake. It wasn’t his place to discuss another man’s mate and child. Another doctor was sorely needed in the valley, but it wasn’t as if the pack could recruit. They could only make efforts to rescue each group of human prisoners they found and hope there might be another person with medical training. The Badari healers were able to assist to a certain extent but their innate, goddess-given powers didn’t stretch easily to human medical conditions.

  Eventually Camron perched on a big rock jutting out over the lake and tried to clear his mind of worry over things he couldn’t do anything about. Empathy for Mateer, who must be distracted by the situation of his mate’s pregnancy at all times, even if he didn’t show it, was uppermost in his thoughts.

  Camron shook his head. The human women were congenial and he admired them collectively for surviving and thriving in the difficult situation on the planet. He’d even been on a few of what the humans called "dates" with different women. Pleasant as the events were and much as he and the women had enjoyed each other’s company, his emotions hadn’t engaged on a deeper level with anyone. It was hard for him to understand what could drive a man and a woman to become mates. The situation seemed so intense to him, looking from the outside in.

  He preferred to keep his own counsel and be responsible to no one other than his pack leadership and his fellow Badari soldiers. He wanted no one to have any claim on him. Anything else was like the pie he’d been wanting—enjoyable but ephemeral. Temporary encounters and easy friendship he could handle.

  Deciding he was overthinking everything and knowing there wasn’t a mate for him in the valley population anyway, he rose and stripped off his clothes before diving into the lake to find a likely fish to grill for dinner. He didn't want to face the mess hall tonight at all.

  Two days later, he was summoned to the Alpha’s conference room, finding himself in a meeting with their leader Aydarr, and his top enforcers Mateer and Reede. Two other senior soldiers were present—Sarl, a member of the canine-descent subpack of Badari and Nevan, a feline-descent like Camron.

  Aydarr wasted no time in getting to the point. “We’re picking up intel from Khagrish intercepts detailing reports a small ship may have crash-landed on the planet recently.”

  “A Chimmer?" Sarl asked, eyes narrowed. “Could they mean the ship we captured?”

  “No, the Khagrish stated in so many words they suspect it was a Sectors reconnaissance scout.” Aydarr made eye contact with each man in the room. “If this rumor is true, it could be a huge break in our favor.”

  Adrenaline flooded Camron's system, bringing his senses to an extra degree of acuity. If the Sectors authorities were investigating the situation, the tide of their war could turn in dramatic fashion. “How can there be any doubt?”

  Aydarr shrugged. “You know the Khagrish, inefficient at anything but their science. Fortunately for us. We also believe if there is a Sectors scout nosing around, they’d want to keep the news from the Chimmer. It would be more proof of how badly the Khagrish have been handling things. I’m sending out three scouts,” he gestured at Sarl, Nevan and Camron. “You’ll each be dropped in one of the most likely areas of the crash from what we’ve gleaned from intercepted communications, and you’re to do a recon, see what you can find. There’s a Khagrish lab in each quadrant so you’ll have to be careful not to get caught. If there was a scout ship, if there are any survivors, we’ll do our best to rescue them.”

  “A lot of ifs,” Reede said.

  “Add to the mix the fact we’re hearing rumors of a new Khagrish security chief for the entire planet, which the enemy hasn’t had before,” the Alpha said. “Obviously in response to our escape and subsequently waging a war of attrition on them.”

  “I wonder how much authority they’ll give him or her when it comes to the scientists,” Camron said. “Unless he or she has a full head of flaming red hair to outrank them in their caste system the new security chief will have a hard time. Every one of the damn scientists thinks he or she is the sole authority in their own lab and knows better than anyone else.”

  “I’m counting on the anarchy and lack of central command to continue.” Aydarr grinned and his fangs flashed briefly. “The scientists have proven over and over they aren’t smart enough to contain us now we’ve become free men.”

  “And women,” Mateer said, referencing the small pack of Badari females who’d recently been discovered and joined their ranks. He looked at the three soldiers who were to go out on the special mission. “Also remember there’s been a report of a new kind of scanner capable of detecting Badari despite our usual precautions, so take extra care in the vicinity of the Khagrish facilities.”

  Happy to have important action on his plate, Camron left the meeting with a new bounce in his step. Any opportunity to carry the fight to the Khagrish who’d tormented his kind for centuries was a good thing in his mind, not to mention relieving his boredom at patrolling the valley’s borders. Being selected by the Alpha for this assignment was a vote of confidence and an honor. What more could a senior soldier in the pack need or want?

  CHAPTER TWO

  Gemma and the two other human women who’d been culled from the population in the prison cell were herded though the long corridors by the Khagrish guards and emerged into the bright sunshine. She blinked, greedy for the fresh air and the blue sky, after who knew how many weeks kept inside the grim building. The white star which was this planet’s sun was too bright but still an improvement over the artificial light inside their prison.

  “Wait here,” said the lead guard in Basic. He walked away, leaving them with two other Khagrish to keep watch.

  She was wildly tempted to run straight toward the low hills she saw on the horizon. She was sure the guards would shoot her with the stun guns, or worse bring her down with pain from the wretched neurocontroller bracelet, but she wanted so desperately to be free and away from the Khagrish and their casual cruelty.

  One of the guards was eyeing her and, as their gazes met, he laughed. “Go ahead,” he said, gesturing with his pulse rifle. “You won’t get far, but it’ll be fun using you for target practice.”

  Gemma squared her shoulders and averted her eyes.

  “Don’t aggravate them,” said the woman next to her, keeping her head bowed and her voice low but sharply disapproving. “You’ll make it worse for all of us.”

  How can it get any worse? Being in the hands of these alien marauders, constantly on edge she might be selected next for one of their experiments, from which no one ever returned to the huge communal cell, was Gemma’s idea of hell all right.

  Watching the building behind them, she stiffened as one of the arrogant upper caste scientists swaggered outside. Dr. Yunnivannx had arrived about a week ago and taken quite a few of the humans away to the labs. She was tall for a Khagrish with a mane of bright red hair projecting above her head in their preferred spiky style.

  If she’d been selected for s
omething involving Yunnivannx, the future was probably bleak indeed.

  The scientist was with another female scientist, who had a more subdued arc of hair on her head, pink dappled with red, and two lab techs, males of low caste. Like a queen with her fawning entourage in tow, the scientist walked over to stand near Gemma’s ragtag assembly.

  We must be waiting for the same thing. She shifted uneasily and searched the bright sky, thinking she heard flyer engines. Dread swept over her and she picked at a rough cuticle in a nervous tic she’d fought her entire life to conquer. Clenching her fists to make herself stop, she cast another glance at the Khagrish.

  “Where’s your pet?” the lower ranked scientist asked Yunnivannx. “Isn’t he going with you?”

  “Oh yes, indeed, he’s never getting far away from me again.” Laughing, she pulled out a feelgood stick, allowed a lab tech to light it then placed it between her lips. “I like it so much better nowadays, with the program ended and anyone who can get their hands on a rogue is free to do as they please with them.”

  Gemma had expensive hypno implants, able to translate virtually any language for her based on the most meager sample. She’d heard more than enough Khagrish in the last few weeks to eavesdrop on these women. Understanding the words didn’t give her a clear picture of what the pair was actually discussing. An exotic wild animal, she supposed, feeling sorry for any creature falling prey to the Khagrish.