Page 1 of Wrath

Chapter 1

Wrath

Shock and disbelief coursed through me as a powerful tingling spread at the back of my throat. My mating glands—forever dormant—awakened at last and swelled, a dull throbbing replacing the tingling. My head jerked up, and I swallowed painfully through my constricted throat. Eyes wide, I barely managed to keep myself from gaping as I stared in awe at the vision of perfection slowly walking down the ramp of the shuttle. Despite the somber colors of deep sadness tarnishing Kwan’s aura, it shimmered around her in a mesmerizing rainbow of colors, like a divine crown.

For sixty-five years, I had waited to meet my soulmate… Sixty-five long years, half of which I thought I’d lost her in the war. And yet, here she stood, slender and delicate, with long, dark-brown hair—almost black—and the loveliest doe eyes in a slightly lighter shade of dark brown. The sadness in her eyes gave her beautiful, oval face a wistful air and had my protective instincts firing on all cylinders.

“No way!”Linette telepathically said to me, breaking the trance I’d fallen into.“Oh my God, Wrath! Congratulations! She’s amazing!”

The love, joy, and shock my Soulcatcher felt for me flooded our psychic link. My head jerked towards her, and the glistening in her eyes spoke volumes about how moved she felt for me. I didn’t need to ask how she knew. For the past nine years, she’d been more than my Soulcatcher, but also my best friend and the sister of my hearts.

“Thank you! Kwan was meant to be ‘your’ surprise for your wedding. Instead, she’s mine,”I said, my mind still reeling at finally finding my soulmate.

“Kwan!” Linette exclaimed, waving at her long-time friend coming down the ramp.

Linette’s parents and brother—who had arrived on the same flight from Earth to attend her upcoming wedding to Varnog—stepped aside to let the two friends embrace.

“You sneaky girl!” Linette exclaimed. “I had no idea you were coming! How did you get an authorization to leave Earth?”

“It was easy enough,” Kwan said in a sultry voice that had the sweetest shiver running down my spine. “I’m not just here for your wedding, I’m also joining the Vanguard. And apparently, we’ll be on the same team.”

Linette froze, her alien eyes widening as she stared in shock at her friend. After a beat, she squealed then picked up Kwan in her arms, twirling with her and shouting with happiness. Varnog chuckled while Linette’s family gaped at her in disbelief. My Soulcatcher was a tiny little human female who I loved to affectionately call Half-Pint. Since mating with Varnog, she had undergone an even bigger transformation than the other females of the Vanguard who mated with one of us, Xian Warriors. Like her mate, she had acquired some of the traits of the genetically created Scelks, with a smattering of black chitin scales around her forehead, enlarged eyes and irises, claws, retractable wings, and a very nasty acid she could spit at enemies. The crazy strength she displayed lifting her much taller friend as if she weighed nothing was also part of the enhancement passed on to Linette by Varnog.

To my relief, although startled by this exuberant display, Kwan didn’t seem frightened by it, nor by her friend’s modified appearance. Linette introduced Kwan to her future husband. Varnog was on his best behavior for a change. Then again, Linette’s mother had somewhat traumatized him with her bold and eccentric ways. But as my Soulcatcher turned to introduce Kwan to me, my breath caught in my already constricted airways and the pulses of my twin hearts went into overdrive.

Being aware of the sad situation that had finally decided Kwan to join the Vanguard, I shouldn’t have expected her to fawn and drool over me when our eyes first met. However, I had hoped for more than the reserved and polite—if somewhat stiff—smile she gave me.

“Hello, Wrath,” Kwan said, nodding her head in greeting. “It is a pleasure to meet you in person after so many emails.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Kwan,” I said, surprised to be able to speak at all. “Welcome to the Vanguard.”

“Thank you for welcoming me here, and especially for allowing me to make it to Linette’s wedding.”

“He’s the best!” Linette said, giving me a shoulder bump, although her shoulder ended up bumping my elbow instead, thanks to her petite height compared to mine.

Under normal circumstances, I would have teased her about it. However, Kwan turning her attention back to my Soulcatcher, having apparently already dismissed me, hurt more than it should have. Considering that she had buried her fiancé just a year ago, Kwan obviously wasn’t currently looking for love. But her aura hadn’t even displayed the slightest hint of pink or magenta when she had looked at me—which would have indicated a sliver of romantic interest or at least attraction.

I watched her having a friendly chat with Linette and her family—who she knew well from Earth—feeling awkward and like the third wheel. All the while, my wretched mating glands seemed determined to choke me to death.

Just as I was trying to come up with some lame excuse to bow out, Myriam’s timely arrival put me out of my misery. Beautiful, with auburn hair, large green eyes, and the most adorable bud nose, she’d previously been Legion’s Soulcatcher, before marrying Dread and joining my team instead.

“Hello, everyone,” Myriam said with her usual beaming smile and charming personality.

Linette introduced Myriam to her friend and family.

“Welcome to Khepri and to the Vanguard,” Myriam said to Kwan. “I’m kidnapping you to give you a quick tour of Khepri and then taking you to your quarters in the Aspirants Residence. I will be your point of contact here if you have any questions about anything.”

“Thank you. That would be lovely,” Kwan said with a smile.

“Myriam is also part of our team,” Linette said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “But don’t be fooled by her sweet and gentle façade. She’s a dragon.”

“Hey! Don’t rat me out!” Myriam said playfully. “And I’m not a dragon. I just married one,” she added making a face at Linette before gesturing with her head for Kwan to follow her.

“I will bring Kwan’s bags to her quarters as soon as they are done unloading the ship,” I said to Myriam as they started to walk away.

“Awesome! Thank you!” she said to me over her shoulder.

Kwan gave me that same polite, somewhat distracted smile before leaving with Myriam. I’d never been so utterly dismissed by a human female before. Like all my Xian Warrior brothers, I’d been genetically conceived not only to be a badass killing machine, but also to be very pleasing to the eye. Usually, I felt awkward about all the feminine attention we received because of it. It was all the more troubling that we couldn’t fraternize with any female other than our soulmate.

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