Erun (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Ujal Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

stood before them.
    Damn the male to the seas. Then again, they’d both been damned had they not? And they both survived the best they could. Rhal as the king’s assassin and he… He hated those memories and refused to acknowledge them.
    “I am on an errand.”
    “For a specific female and her youngling.” The male sounded so smug.
    Erun decided Rhal was the hole of an ass. “The youngling is being neglected. It is my duty as a male to protect younglings.”
    “The youngling is human. It is not an Ujal concern.”
    “Any warrior worth his trident would—”
    “And Tabby is not neglected.” Rhal would not allow him to finish. If it were any other male… But it was not, and Erun knew they were equally matched.
    “Her dam allowed her to almost be killed in the street by a human vehicle!”
    Rhal sighed. “You don’t have younglings…”
    Memories of why he did not have a family of his own assaulted him. Being dragged from his home… Shoved at the slaver… The treatments that…
    Something like pity filled Rhal’s gaze. Unacceptable. “I do not have to have a youngling to recognize neglect.”
    “But they get into everything. One moment they are beside you and the next they decide a great white shark is the perfect playmate. Or a humpback whale.” Rhal shuddered.
    “You would never allow—”
    “It is not a matter of allowing them. It is a matter of their rapid disappearance before you know what has happened.”
    “Your young Shae would not—”
    Rhal shook his head. “Oh, she would. And has. I am tempted to place a leash on the child when in the seas. Cara insists Shae is not a puppy . Things happen, Erun.”
    “That does not negate her inattention. The males could have—”
    “They were movers. But still, they did not because you were present.”
    “She did not know—”
    Once more Rhal cut him off. He was very tempted to strike the male. He would if he did not have iggles—shrimp!— to fetch.
    “Admit you wish to know the female and that you are attracted to her. You followed her because you enjoyed her shape.”
    “You do not know what you are talking about. Now, I must return to my task. Tabby is waiting for her iggles .”
    “ What the hell are iggles?”
    Erun sighed. “Shrimp. Come, assist me in hunting. There is a hungry youngling waiting.”
    Rhal lifted a dark piece of fabric. “And how did you plan on returning with the youngling’s meal?”
    The fabric was actually a bag… to carry the shrimp. He hated Rhal at that moment. A flick of his tail brought him within reaching distance and he snatched the cloth from the male’s grip. “You can leave now.”
    He did not need an audience.
    “No, I believe I will remain. Shae is teething and I will appreciate the silence.”
    Erun did not know how to respond since he did not know of teething and instead continued his silence as he eased toward the shore. Teething was obviously a trial dams and sires experienced with their younglings. He would ask Vanessa if Tabitha had experienced such a thing.
    The shrimp were easily found and just as easily captured. The bag nearly burst at the seams with the small creatures. He’d decided he would remain for dinner as planned and the swim had made his hunger rise.
    “Did you capture enough?” Rhal was laughing at his expense.
    “Do you wish to journey with me to the sphere?” he growled at the male.
    Which made him cackle. It was undignified. “No, once is enough for me.” Rhal flicked his tail, bringing the bottom fins into view. “The scales never fully recovered.”
    All these passings later and Erun still regretted his actions that day. He’d known of Rhal’s reputation, his connections to royalty, his strengths and weaknesses. It was why, all those years ago while he was still enslaved, he’d fought hard to kill the male. If he killed the king’s assassin, his hope was the king would kill Erun in return.
    They’d entered the space merely called the sphere. It was formed and