Page 2 of Alokar
“Hannah, go!”
“I’m not leaving you!” My scope danced frantically, searching for any shot that wouldn’t paint the forest with my father’s blood. But the creature was too smart, too careful, keeping Dad positioned like armor between us.
“Go, baby girl.” The endearment that had followed me through childhood emerged as barely a whisper, cut short by a sound that would haunt me forever—the wet crack of ribs compressing under impossible pressure, like branches snapping in a winter storm.
“No!” The word exploded from me, primal and desperate.
The creature’s head tilted slightly, and in that moment, I witnessed something that defied every natural law I understood. The thing smiled. Not the baring of teeth that animals display in aggression, but a deliberate, conscious expression of cruelsatisfaction. Then, with the casual brutality of a predator claiming its kill, it lowered its massive head and sank those terrible teeth into my father’s neck.
“NO!”
My scream shattered through the forest as I squeezed the trigger, not aiming to kill but to terrify, sending a bullet whistling past the creature’s ear close enough to part its fur. The thunderous report should have sent any wild animal fleeing, but it only served to spook Jubal, whose training had kept him steady so far.
“Hannah.” My father’s voice was liquid and weak. Blood frothed from the ragged wound in his throat, painting the surrounding pines with crimson. Yet somehow, impossibly, his gray eyes remained calm as they found mine—full of the same unconditional love that had shaped every day of my life. In that horrible moment, we both understood this was our goodbye. Knowing me only as a father could, knowing I would never abandon him to save myself, he gathered the last of his fading strength for one final act of protection.
“Jubal, run!”
The great sorrel stallion responded to the command as he had been trained since birth. He reared slightly, his powerful hindquarters coiling like springs, then exploded into motion. The rifle tumbled from my nerveless fingers, clattering somewhere among the ferns and fallen leaves.
I collapsed forward, pressing my face against Jubal’s neck. My tears mixed with his lather as he carried me away from the nightmare behind us. Away from the father I’d never see again.
Chapter 1
Ewok
I was drowning in love.
Completely, hopelessly, helplessly submerged in an universe of adoration for this tiny, perfect creature.
My baby sister, Jordan.
She was a living masterpiece—delicate human features wrapped in the softest ivory pelt that shimmered like moonbeams. Her eyes were twin stars, swirling with the distinctive blue and gold that revealed her Vaktaire heritage.
The moment my human mother Daisy placed this precious bundle in my arms, something fundamental shifted in the very core of my being. Love crashed over me like a tidal wave—not the gentle affection I held for my adopted parents, Daisy and Daicon, or the warm kinship I shared with my adopted brother George. Not even the familial blood that connected me to my sister, Vienda, her mate, Talamus, and their daughter, Irsay felt this strong. This was something primal, fierce, and all-consuming.
I gave Jordan my vow. I would be her shield against darkness, her sword against every threat. Nothing in this universe or any other would ever harm her while breath remained in my body.
Then the pain started.
At first, I dismissed it as soreness from the daily training sessions with my dad, the ache of muscles pushed to their limits. I dreamed of becoming a warrior just like him, and pain was simply the price of strength.
It didn’t take me long to realize this was different. The pain deepened, seeping into my muscles like acid, twisting my bones until each movement felt like glass grinding between my joints. Soon, I couldn’t walk without dragging my feet, a pathetic shadow of the warrior I aspired to be.
Hakkar and his human mate, Dr. Agnes, were excellent healers—their skilled hands had safely delivered my baby sister into this world. Yet despite their arsenal of advanced scans and countless tests, the source of my torment remained a maddening mystery. While theBardagapossessed a Garoot Healer capable of curing virtually any ailment, Hakkar and Agnes hesitated to use it without understanding what disease consumed me from within.
My adopted brother George was a Garoot—a species with healing knowledge woven into the very fabric of their DNA. When word reached my parents that theHistoria, the vessel where he worked training others, had traveled within range of theBardaga, they didn’t hesitate. They commandeered a shuttle and rushed me to his side.
My brother was a truly brilliant healer. According to George, I suffered from a condition calledkuyaruka. A rapid, violent puberty that afflicted my kind—the Kerzak. Left unchecked, the hormonal storm could flood a male’s bloodstream with a toxic surge of what my mother calledtestosterone, transforming him into something cruel and savage, a monster.
Thankfully, my brother was able to ease me through the transformation, keeping my mind and emotions calm as my body underwent the change.
And how I changed!
A week ago, I had been a youngling whose head barely grazed my Vaktaire father’s chest. Now I towered above him like a mountain over foothills, my shadow swallowing his entirely. I stood taller than every soul aboard theHistoria—save perhaps Captain Adtovar, but he was an augment, artificially enhanced beyond natural limits.
I knew I was big, but I hadn’t truly grasped the magnitude of my transformation until Duke Ako’s gaze found me. Disbelief masked his pale features, and his mouth fell open as if the air had been stolen from his lungs.
“Ewok?” The name escaped his lips as barely more than a whisper, tinged with wonder and uncertainty.
