ThunderClaw
Alien Warrior Book Two
PENELOPE FLETCHER
penelopefletcher.com
Contents
Foreword
Before
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
After
Then
Now
Afterword
Smolder by Penelope Fletcher
Copyright © 2017 by PENELOPE FLETCHER
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Foreword
ThunderClaw took me what felt like forever (two years) to finish. Apologies it took so long! Aside from it being a longer-length novel (the equivalent of three standard novels), life needed living. After seven years of writing, I needed a quiet, lengthy break to revive my creativity. Beowyn was meant to have a teeny part in Venomous, but had such giant presence, he ended up with his own book. I thought this story would be all about him, so imagine my surprise when things turned out differently. I used several unusual names in this book, and I will outline them here with their pronunciation.
Sìne ~ Shee-na
Beowyn ~ Bae-oh-wun
Éorik ~ Ae-oar-ick
Wulfyn ~ Wool-fin
Wyrhild ~ Wer-hil-d
Sjörn’ ~ S-yaw-n
Hel Bhyr ~ Hel Bear
Hel Bihter ~ Hel Bye-ter
for my husband
Truth, I am who females like best.
King Beowyn, Great Alpha, House of ThunderClaw
My wife and husband do not get along.
High Commander Éorik, Royal Defender, House of SnowBlade
Like my ancestors before me, I fight to the death for freedom.
Sìne of Clan Grae
Want binky.
Fergie of Clan Grae
Before
On the planet of Rök…..
He, Venomous One stroked the crimson hood of the zýt as she slithered through the welcoming swirl of the haze and out into the arid desert.
With a rattle of her tail, she burrowed into the powdery sand.
Tension weighted the air inside the lair, his mate on one side of the room, his nest-mates on the other. They frantically beckoned him to join them. They spoke over each other to explain what caused the strange atmosphere.
‘How long has she been standing there?’ Venomous asked.
He, Fiercely Comes the Night lowered his brow scales as he considered the tense set of his primary nest-mate’s sharp features. ‘Since second sun rise.’
Grunting his displeasure, Venomous leant back from the huddle. He watched his Rä’Na spread her legs.
She squeezed her fists, going up onto her toes, and then relaxed, keeping her fixed stare on the characters interacting on her favourite holovid.
Disconcerted, he crouched back in. ‘You tried to move her?’
He, Cobra that Strikes made a shuddering motion. Heavy slabs of armour plating tightened along his long torso. ‘Touching is an issue.’ He nudged Fiercely and gave him a pointed look.
Inhaling deeply, straightening and rolling his shoulders, Fiercely stood. His voice rose. ‘Lumen?’
‘Hm?’
‘Your primary mate has returned.’
‘I’m not blind.’
‘The volbeast perished.’ Venomous’ hunt for the murderous beast had gone well.
She tutted. ‘Poor creature.’
He lost his patience. ‘Why do you leak from your skin and eyes?’
‘Oh, you know, heavy stuff.’
He hesitated, not sure how to deal with her strange mood. Never had she not greeted him with happiness and her addicting kisses. ‘May I come to you?’
She flapped a dismissive hand over her head.
‘Perhaps you are hot?’ Fiercely said. ‘Perhaps you will feel better–.’
‘Come near me, and you will not like what happens.’
‘Thsst!’ Disgruntled, Fiercely threw up his arms and scowled.
Venomous sidled closer to his beloved mate but had enough sense not to touch her. ‘Rä’Na?’
Her eyes flicked up to meet his brille.
Her usually soft, welcoming expression held a touch of hostility.
He retracted his claws to stroke her elbow. When she didn’t rebuff the contact, he relaxed but took care in where he trod. ‘Dearest, why do you stand in a puddle?’
‘See, this is why I’m having a nervous breakdown. Doing this naturally seemed so wonderful and primal, but my waters broke three bells ago. I don’t know what to do. Oh, and I’ve come to the realisation tranquillizers must be awesome. I’m alone. There are no humans here to understand what I’m going through, and I’m so scared. I keep thinking I’ll pass out, but then the pain comes back and snaps me out of it.’
Spine stiffening, Venomous stepped into the liquid. He placed his lower hands on her stomach. It was hot and tight. ‘You are labouring?’
Cobra and Fiercely hissed.
He cupped her face. ‘Why did you not say you were hurting?’
‘Scared.’ She shrugged. ‘The watery pink stuff is amniotic fluid.’ Her eyes were shinier than he was accustomed to and darted from his to her surroundings. ‘I remember that much. It’s the stuff that surrounds and protects the baby.’ She made a fluttering motion over her middle bump. ‘It’s coming now. Just a matter of time.’ She giggled shrilly.
Venomous never realised how thin the air was in the lair.
As he headed towards the comms matrix, he wondered how the uneven flooring had gone unnoticed for so long.
‘We need to comm Nāga.’ He stopped and spun realising he’d walked away from his mate who was in pain.
‘I tried.’ Lumen sank onto the cushioned divan. ‘He’s busy on the borderlands. Something about a Rä mother cracking her egg and losing her mind. He’ll get here soon as he can.’ She sucked in a breath and groped the air. ‘This is unnaturally painful.’
He rushed to her side, knelt, and slipped an arm around her shoulders, his other hands patting her middle. Her stomach shifted, thin flesh squeezing under his palms. It was a wholly alien and startling experience and one he’d rather never endure again.
Seeing his human mate’s pale skin and leaking eyes, he remained where he was in the hope his presence might ease the burden in some mystic way.
‘May we approach?’ Fiercely called from across the lair as if he hadn’t hear
d every word. His face strained, his hands balled into fists.
Lumen shifted with a smile. ‘Of course. I’m sorry. I was frightened and didn’t know how to deal.’
He and Cobra stormed across the room and touched her all over, assuring themselves she was unharmed.
When her stomach tightened, they recoiled.
‘Nāga must come.’ Fiercely’s green flesh pulled tight over the bones in his face. ‘I will comm him and tell him so. He vowed to be here.’
‘He can’t help that he’s busy.’
Fiercely scowled. ‘He vowed.’
‘Will stating the obvious magically make him appear? Do you think I’m standing in a swamp of my bodily fluids without a trained medical professional because I like how it feels to have mucus dripping down my thighs?’
Fiercely stared. ‘Are you done?’
Making a feeble noise, Lumen sagged into Cobra’s side.
‘I will comm him,’ Fiercely repeated.
Cobra’s breathing turned into a shallow wheeze. ‘And I will ready the hatchling’s nest.’ He dropped a kiss to Lumen’s sweaty face and bolted.
Fiercely snarled at the comm console at whatever it was he heard. He disconnected then twisted to them. ‘You need a healer.’ He marched through the haze and locked it behind him.
‘I didn’t mean to shout,’ Lumen said. ‘He makes me crazy.’
‘The feeling is mutual, I think.’
She sniffed. ‘Do you think he’s coming back?’
Venomous snorted.
She, Lumen of the Stars, Intergalactic Ambassador for her adopted home world of Rök, and mate to three mighty Rä warriors, clutched her rounded belly.
She moaned in pain from the rippling sensations across her middle.
Hours into her labour, she had barricaded herself in the lair to keep out hundreds of inquisitive relatives.
The Rä was a humanoid species of alien and reproduced by laying eggs.
They were used to bring present during a female’s laying period as she went into seclusion soon after to hatch her offspring.
Giving birth was hard enough.
She did not need a warrior horde of semi-hysterical Rä crowding her.
Seeing the matrix had a response to the message she’d sent her friend to bring his furry ass over to her neck of the universe, she hobbled over to the console and slapped at the buttons. She was too frazzled to use mental commands. Instead of Beowyn sending a calming response reassuring her he rushed to her side with ice chips like he promised, she received a holoshot of him leaning into the askew frame, thumb claws up, leonine face ecstatic. He posed before a county boundary sign wreathed in lush green ivy on her home planet. Grinning pearlescent fangs so large they resembled tusks, he wore a plastic bucket on his head as one would a helmet. The metal handle hugged his chin. A foamy pint of lager was clutched in his fist, a meat pie in the other. The slaphappy glaze misting his silver eyes told a tale of shameless debauchery. Accompanying the picture was a short message.
Seeking my one.
My whole name is Beowyn Hassabard Gengorye ThunderClaw.
Push hard.
The audacity of the suggestion behind the message had her choking. Another contraction ripped across her distended middle. ‘You’re supposed to be here moping my brow and doing random best friend shit, not playing snatch and run with yet another flipping wife.’ Shouts of protest coming from the sandy paradise outside rose in volume. Ignoring it, Lumen woodenly faced her Rä’Vek. ‘It’s fine. Everything–aarrgghh–is under control.’ She was hot as hell, there were no ice chips, but she was handling it like the female boss she was.
Venomous One lifted his Rä’Na into his lower arms. His upper hand caressed her cheek; its golden hue pale from stress. ‘That is the hundredth and sixth time you have said such.’
She scoffed at the exaggeration.
‘I am counting.’ He nuzzled her. ‘Do not fret. At this moment, you must focus on the hatchling.’
She gripped his shoulder. ‘Don’t leave me.’
‘Never.’
She panted through another contraction then let her head fall back. ‘Why aren’t you panicking?’
‘I have been preparing for your labours for moontides. You warned it would pain you.’ A hint of anguish crept over his unearthly features. ‘Not this much, I confess, but you are built to withstand this trial, I think. I know we will be blessed, and so, I remain calm.’ He held her tighter, chin lifting. ‘You need me to, and I vow to be everything you need. It is husbands duty.’
Laughing softly, she brushed a kiss to his pointed chin. Amidst the craziness, his straightforward outlook grounded her. ‘Okay.’ Her breathing hitched. ‘Take me to lie down. The feeling to push is getting stronger, and I think it’s best I follow my body’s cues until Nāga gets here and says otherwise.’
He strode forward, head turning to the increasing noise outside. His dread-lock like quills fell over his shoulder in a raven waterfall. She grabbed a handful to distract her from the pain. ‘You will not share this with them?’ He sounded resigned and a little hurt.
Rolling her eyes, Lumen sighed.
Denying him wasn’t something she managed well. The only reason it didn’t make her feel like a love-addled twit was knowing he suffered the same affliction.
The doorway cleared and Fiercely rushed inside. Spinning he locked it against the growing throng gathering in the hope of being allowed admittance.
He glanced at them, nodded, then ran into the depths of the lair.
Lumen decided to let him do whatever it was he needed to do. She peered at her mate in amusement. ‘He returned without the healer I desperately need because…?’
Venomous’ chin lowered. The Rä gesture expressed his genuine confusion.
Another contraction had her lips thinning. Sweat popped on her forehead and ran down her temples into her coiling hair. The thick mass caught the heat pouring off her and made her head and nape feel like they were on fire.
She breathed out a sigh when the band of flames around her belly eased.
She rubbed the hollow of Venomous’ throat to soothe the tension of his bunched muscles.
He disliked seeing her hurt.
Each moment that passed, he struggled to hide it as well as he had since he found out her waters broke.
Which is why she said, ‘Settle me down, then you can go get our kindred.’
A happy hiss vibrating his massive chest, a spring lifted Venomous’ heavy steps. Entering the nest, he heaved a sigh at the bickering duo scuffling in the corner. He headed straight for the cosy jumble of lush goodbeast furs and knelt to place his burdened mate in the middle.
A loud crash then an exchange of curses signalled the escalation of hostilities between their nest-mates.
‘Our offspring does not need a cot,’ Fiercely spat.
‘Our Rä’Na does not like it when you call our babe offspring.’
‘It will sleep in our nest. Safe with us where it belongs.’
Cobra hissed. ‘Human babes sleep in cots and cribs.’
‘It is not only human.’ Smug, Fiercely crossed his upper arms. The bottom appendages tried to remove a painted wooden structure from the room. ‘It is human-Rä.’
‘My baybee will have whatever is needs.’ Cobra adjusted the fabric canopy of the cot he’d crafted using Lumen’s enthusiastic if somewhat confusing descriptions. ‘Leave it be.’
Venomous frowned. ‘How do they expect to care for our hatchling when they cannot agree on so simple a thing?’
A smile trembled on Lumen’s lips.
Her happiness despite the unrest caused by her Rä’Veks clashing ideals pleased Venomous, and she was often happy, so he was often pleased. His brow smoothed. He nuzzled the curve of her cheek. ‘Rest. I will bring our kindred, and you will feel better surrounded by the power of our combined anima.’
Lumen scrambled onto her hands and knees. ‘Be quick. I’m pushing.’
Snarling at his nest-mates to tend her,
he sped from the inner lair.
Cobra’s warm palm smoothed down her curved spine. He grabbed the hem of her softsuit then pushed it up to her lower back. ‘I see blackness.’ He sounded aggrieved. ‘A giant hole where my seed stem used to fit.’
‘Now when you say giant? Bring me a mirror. Wait! Forget that. Bring the SonCom Wyn sent and point the camera,’ she made a flapping motion over her ass, ‘down there. I want to see what we’re dealing with here.’
The Rä exchanged glances.
Cobra patted her thigh. ‘Another cushion, my hearts?’
‘Don’t placate me. Does it or does it not look like a giant black hole?’
‘What do we say?’ Cobra whispered.
‘Do you want to live to see the egg?’
‘Yesss.’
‘Then say nothing.’
Lumen whimpered into her forearm as another contraction tightened her muscles. Excitement chased pain. A healthy dose of disbelief she was doing this with no medication had her limbs shaking.
Fiercely’s emerald scales paled. ‘Our hatchling claws free.’
‘He’s crowning.’ She panted for air but managed to send her mate a reassuring smile. ‘There’s no egg shell to fight free from, sweetheart. He may not have fangs or be able to hold his head up either. Remember?’
He looked sceptical. He always did when she used gender and human newborn traits to describe their baby. ‘I have been thinking.’
‘That was your first mistake.’
‘What do you say?’ he demanded.
‘Conversations you start in that manner never end well. We discussed this. In detail. Many times.’
‘It is best you no longer speak of sweet tasting hearts. Our hatchling will struggle in Rä society if it clings to your cannibalistic human ways.’
‘We discussed this.’
‘There is hair on its head and blood and mucus.’ Cobra sounded scandalised. ‘There is truly no egg.’
Despite Nāga showing scans, her mates struggled with the concept of being born with sexual organs. Venomous tried to explain it stemmed from fear the youngling wouldn’t be able to mature for a mate, something sacred in Rä culture. Lumen pointed out numerous times humans chose their mates. Repeated assurances kept them from worrying themselves sick over it, but they never accepted they already had a son and not an a’Ra, a genderless adolescent. ‘We,’ wheeze, ‘discussed,’ inhale, exhale, ‘this too.’