Helion Read online

  Helion

  Olivia March

  Helion, crown prince of Arloren, is a veteran commander of the warriors of the Keeper race. After the Scourge attack his home planet of Arthaneas, Helion vows not to lay aside his sword until every last Scourge is slain. That desire for vengeance takes him to Earth and what should have been a routine mission. Everything is turned on its head, however, when Helion meets a delectable Earth female whom he will stop at nothing to possess.

  Gwen doesn’t want to be his possession. Her only desire is to stay alive so she can care for her vulnerable young daughter. When Helion captured her she was sure their lives would be forfeit. But it’s no longer merely her life at stake— now it’s her body and her heart. Now Gwen has to decide whether to protect her heart from Helion’s determined siege or embrace a new destiny with the alien prince of her dreams.

  Reader Advisory: This story has graphic sexual language and scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

  An adult sci fi romance from Ellora’s Cave

  Helion

  Olivia March

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my wonderful husband. Thank you for everything you do to support my dream of being a writer. You wouldn’t let me keep my scribbles to myself and always see the potential in everything I do. And thank you to my amazing daughters, whose presence in my life made me want to reach for my dreams so that one day they will reach for their own.

  Journal entry, High Commander Bron.

  Arrogance and ignorance. It was a dangerous combination, but one the humans of Earth were guilty of in one fashion or another. The majority had somehow fooled themselves into believing they were the only intelligent beings in the vastness that was space. And those who didn’t believe they were the only ones were certain that if life did exist on other planets, those planets were too far away to be a threat. Humans. Wrong on both counts.

  Humans sent many messages into space, some with the express purpose of making contact with other life forms. Did they ever really expect to get a response? Probably not. They greatly underestimated what was waiting out there in the vastness however. In their ignorance humans left a trail of breadcrumbs back to their small, nearly defenseless planet. In intergalactic relations humans were near the bottom of the food chain, so whatever they hoped to achieve with their messages made no difference. All they really did was invite disaster upon themselves. Now it was up to the Keepers to save Earth and the human race.

  Prologue

  Helion frowned as he watched the news feeds on the comm screen from his seat in the High Commander’s briefing room on Arthaneas. It should have been a peaceful scene. The High Commander’s chambers were light and airy in the way most Keepers enjoyed, lush greenery abounding among tall, elegant trees that provided shade, birds singing sweetly in the trees and the potent scent of flowering plants permeating the air.

  Helion, his clenched fists resting on his knees, was not soothed in the least, however. He wanted to close his eyes at the views on the screen but as prince of Arloren and Keeper Commander he chose instead to watch every atrocity so his hatred would glow brighter than ever. The Keepers’ sworn enemies, the Scourge, had found an obscenely vulnerable planet to attack. The primitive species on that blue dot could barely get into space, used brutish and ineffective weapons and had bodies too frail to repel Scourge attacks. The Scourge were the boots and the humans of Earth were the ants.

  The disturbing images being relayed made Helion’s blood boil in his veins. Masses of humans slaughtered, including women and children. Others carted off in chains for short lives as Scourge slaves on their hideous ships. Because that was all the Scourge had, that armada of ships. Parasites with no home planet of their own, having killed it with wars and disease and pollution, they now roamed the galaxies, looking for easy prey to supply their war machine with anything that could be scavenged from unlucky planets—anything from building materials to food to slaves.

  The Scourge had made a fatal mistake when they attacked Helion’s planet, he vowed. What had they seen when they’d decided to attack Arthaneas, the home planet of the Keepers? Smallish towns of great beauty? No massive war machines, no polluting commerce. A race that was quiet, its women delicate, its men imposing, but seemingly peaceful. But instead those seemingly peaceful people had become the greatest enemy the Scourge had ever known. They’d vowed to wipe out every last Scourge warrior, to destroy every last Scourge ship and to erase their name from history. So far they’d made admirable progress toward that goal.

  Helion swallowed a little guiltily. Fifty years of the Keepers’ relentless pursuit and assault had the Scourge desperate and on the run. So desperate, in fact, that when the Scourge had picked up on those human transmissions floating around in space, they’d immediately headed toward the planet sending them. The crude technology of the humans had told the scum all they needed to know about the strength of the beings of Earth. Easy pickings. Helion knew the Scourge—knew the way those bastards thought. Hit the planet hard with a full-on assault, taking as much as they could before the Keepers could intervene.

  And intervene they fully intended to do. Helion flexed his tense hand as he surveyed the Keeper war council planning their strategy. The Scourge had a jump on them, a brutal one. The humans of Earth were in chaos and dying in droves. Helion and his comrades stood grim and battle-ready, anticipation rocketing through their veins to wet their blades on Scourge blood.

  If Helion had anything to do with it, this young species would not be exterminated in the dawn of their existence.

  “Commanders, you’re each assigned to a major hub around the planet, the largest cities they have. The Scourge are likely to follow the predictable pattern of attacking the strong, populated centers of civilization and crippling the humans’ defenses before working their way to the fringes. You will mimic them, engage them in the cities and destroy them. And you will do so with minimal harm to the indigenous people wherever possible. We do not want to add to their casualties. Any questions?”

  Helion shared a droll look with his friend and fellow Commander Melithan. The Keeper asking the question, the architect behind all Keeper attacks on the Scourge, didn’t give the appearance of welcoming queries. Over two thousand years old, the mastermind of countless military campaigns, possessor of a devious, strategic mind—most would avoid asking High Commander Bron anything, because they didn’t want to draw his notice. Helion was not such a Keeper.

  “These humans are very primitive, High Commander, and the males at least show a marked tendency to be aggressive. Are we cleared to use deadly force if necessary?” Helion asked, not at all concerned when the High Commander’s swirling silver eyes focused on him with ire in them.

  “If a human attacks you, Commander Helion, I expect you to attempt incapacitation first. They are weak against us, don’t forget that. If death can’t be avoided, do what you must, but I’ll expect a report and it better be convincing.” Bron waited for Helion’s reluctant nod before continuing.

  “The High Council is sending diplomatic liaisons to the leaders of Earth governments, the ones who survive the initial invasion anyway. They may need assistance if things go awry, so be ready to lend aid. Otherwise this mission is much the same as the others. The Scourge have a head start on us, so be prepared for entrenchment. If there are no other questions, you’re all dismissed. Collect your men and head toward your gates.”

  The Commanders bowed in silence before lightstepping away to join their men, each eager to begin the battle, each Keeper ready to spill Scourge blood. Commander Helion, no less eager than the rest, quickly marshalled his troops. He allowed himself a grim smile as he took in the ranks of gleaming gold armor that would soon be covered in Scourge blood. Helion checked his own golden raiment, secure
d his long white hair at the nap of his neck and readied his weapons. As soon as his assigned city came through the mind link, he opened the gate to a place called Louisville, Kentucky, his purpose set. It was time to destroy the Scourge once and for all.

  Chapter One

  On the run. They were always on the run now. You kept on the move or you died. Your death would come from the Scourge or from your own people, humanity having devolved into utter chaos in the months since the invasion. No one could be trusted anymore, not the humans who survived the purge, not the creatures who had done the purging, and not the other creatures who had supposedly come to humanity’s rescue.

  So Gwen treated every creature with the same amount of suspicion. She had to—it wasn’t just her life at stake if she was wrong. She had to protect her precious girl, born just a month before the world went to hell. Tiny little Evelyn, who’d had just four scant weeks of security and comfort before the whole world had come crashing down around them. Gwen had been prepared to worry over every scrape and every sneeze but she hadn’t been prepared for living every day of their lives terrified they’d be caught by aliens and killed, or caught by humans and degraded before they were killed.

  Gwen crouched in the corner of yet another crumbling, abandoned building and sighed. A few months ago her worries had been caused by getting knocked up by a deadbeat, being left to raise a child alone, and how to afford diapers, formula, daycare and medical bills on her underpaid librarian salary. Making ends meet as a single woman by clipping coupons, living cheaply, with few luxuries.

  Evelyn had changed everything for her. Being one hundred percent responsible for another living being was terrifying. But nothing was more important to Gwen than providing for Evelyn, no matter what had to be done. Prior to the invasion that had meant trying to make more money, keeping Evelyn fed and clean and happy and taking every day as it came.

  Now, however, their cute little two-bedroom ranch was rubble, destroyed in a skirmish between the military and the Scourge. Gwen had barely had time to grab Evie and their emergency bag and flee the house before a bomb had exploded behind them.

  She looked around the run-down, cold, dirty little place, typical of those they laid low in during the day in the hopes no one would discover them. How long until night, when she had to risk leaving to forage for food and supplies, too often with little to no success? And then after a couple days begin the hunt again for a place to hide out during the day. They couldn’t spend too long in one place. Too much risk of being found.

  They had very little in terms of possessions anymore. Their prized possessions in the duffel strapped to her back were a pack of diapers and wipes, which had to be used sparingly, no matter how much Gwen wanted Evelyn to be comfortable. There was a small blanket for Evelyn, a little formula for emergencies and a couple bottles. Gwen tried to breastfeed Evelyn as often as she could but it was hard to maintain a good milk supply with not getting much to eat day by day. It was more tempting to stay inside in relative safety than risk going out to forage.

  It was dark now, though, and Evelyn was fed, changed and as content as she could be, warm and snug, wrapped tightly against Gwen’s chest with a long piece of fabric. Now was the best time to look for food. She’d gone without eating for too long already. If she didn’t eat something soon, Evie would suffer for it.

  And she had seen a Walmart a few blocks away when she’d scouted this building. It had definitely been looted in the weeks since the invasion but there were bound to be a few things left behind. A can of just about anything would be bliss right now and Evelyn really needed more supplies.

  After a tense trip, she arrived without encountering any hostiles. Worrisome but she couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Evelyn, bless her, stayed quiet and sleeping for the whole walk. Gwen was very lucky Evelyn was a quiet child who only fussed when she was extremely hungry or had a very dirty diaper. Gwen did her best to make sure neither situation occurred, though often there was nothing she could do about the latter.

  The parking lot of Walmart was completely trashed. Though she hadn’t expected any different, it did strike some fear in her chest. People always panicked and looted stores in TV shows about different types of apocalypse and that was certainly the case here. Of course, looting was also her plan, so she couldn’t exactly be judgmental. Gwen gingerly picked her way around overturned carts and piles of garbage, trying not to make any noise. This was in the open and therefore vulnerable to being easily spotted. There could be people inside the store as well and she didn’t want to alert them to her presence.

  There was no electricity of course. The automatic doors weren’t working but someone had been kind enough to knock huge holes through them. Using a small flashlight to guide her, just bright enough to see where she was going, Gwen headed toward the baby section. She carefully maneuvered around toppled racks and fallen shelves, seeking anything they could use.

  Gwen nearly cried out in joy when she realized baby items hadn’t been a huge priority of the looters. Her eyes had tears in them as she grabbed up several packets of wipes, diapers and powdered formula bags. There was even a nearly untouched rack of baby food she eagerly plundered, picturing Evelyn’s delight in tasting some fruits and vegetables. Gwen stuffed as much as she could in their duffel, even finding a few warm outfits she hastily added.

  Now if only she could find some food for herself as well, the night would be a resounding success. She cautiously headed over to the grocery section and it soon became clear these aisles had been more popular with the looters. After carefully searching the shelves, Gwen was soon overjoyed when she located several cans of soup that had been knocked to the ground. A couple aisles over she found a few boxes of crushed pop tarts and a jar of peanut butter and nearly cried again when she found a bottle of Coke poking out from under an overturned display.

  Gwen hastily spooned a scoop of delicious peanut butter into her mouth for energy—there was a long way to go to find somewhere safe to hole up again with their loot. The wonderful flavor burst into her mouth and she stopped a moment to savor the taste before putting the jar away. Eating a scoop of peanut butter was a lifesaving pleasure now. Regrets poured through her when she remembered how comfortable life had been before and how little she had appreciated it. All that time wasted on moaning and groaning about her problems and wishing for a bigger house, a better car, more money.

  Now she spent every moment of every day in fear for their lives, scavenging for scraps of food and places to sleep and dodging enemies left and right. She’d run into packs of humans, high on booze and drugs and barely escaped notice. She tangled with Scourge too and barely escaped with her life. Gwen would never forget that first close-up encounter. Scourge were hideous, gray-skinned abominations. They had oozing, open sores all over their bodies, creepy yellow eyes and savage strength. Whenever they met up with humans, all that was left in their wake was blood and pieces. She should have died then, with Evie, but a pack of humans had decided to test their bravery. Gwen could still hear the screams that had followed her as she ran as fast and far as she could.

  So here she was, hungry, dirty and terrified, with each day bringing the specter of death from any number of likely fiends. If she died, Evelyn would die, no question. The struggle was killing Gwen slowly and her enemies would kill her quickly. It was a lose-lose situation but she had to try to survive. Things couldn’t be this bad forever. And if things did get better, if order was restored, then Evelyn would have a chance at a future again. Gwen had to believe that. So she dried up the waterworks and built up her resolve. They had to get out of the store and begin the hunt for a safe place to lay their heads.

  A short time later, Gwen could hardly believe how their luck held out that night. Not only had she found all that loot at Walmart without being seen by anyone but a few blocks away she spotted an abandoned office building. She cautiously scoped out the place for activity but didn’t see hide nor hair of any living thing. She crept inside, hugging the walls as she
inched her way down dark corridors, barely breathing as she strained to hear sounds of anyone already occupying the building. But there was nothing.

  She crept forward through the deserted halls until she found a row of offices. A quick peek in every door on the row revealed nothing but overturned furniture and scattered papers and office supplies. Choosing the one that looked the least messy, she eased inside, closing and locking the door behind her.

  After searching every nook and cranny in the office, Gwen allowed herself a smile. This office had dark curtains she quickly pulled tight, a lock on the door, and a comfy-looking sofa. Sad as it was to say, this place was like Christmas come early. With all the supplies gathered earlier, they could stay here for several days, assuming it stayed quiet. The idea of resting on an actual cushion, with a full stomach and being able to just breathe for a couple of days without inhaling something foul or sitting on freezing concrete was just too good to be true.

  Happier than she’d been in weeks, Gwen quickly got them settled in. Evelyn was cleaned as best as she could be with a wipe, changed into a fresh diaper and put in one of her new, warm outfits. It had whimsical little fairies on it, which made Gwen smile again. Then she gave her as much breast milk as she wanted, with a special treat of some baby peaches at the end. Seeing Evelyn’s surprise and her smile of delight at the taste was a pure joy. They played for a while, quietly, before Evelyn was put to bed on the soft cushions of the sofa.

  After Evelyn was asleep, only then did Gwen look after herself. Even cold and eaten straight from the can, vegetable soup tasted so good to her starving taste buds, especially chased with a few sips from the bottle of Coke she had found. With her belly fuller than it had been in several weeks, she got up and quietly pushed the desk in front of the only door as a precaution before unrolling their blanket and joining Evelyn on the sofa. Gwen pulled her daughter’s tiny body snug against her own, letting the soothing sounds of her child’s breathing and the warmth of her body lull her to sleep.