The blurb:
Nicolle James is far from her home in the human Sectors,
kidnapped by alien scientists to be the subject of horrifying experiments. Her only hope might be a mysterious soldier
she’d glimpsed outside the laboratory fence. She’d managed to sneak a few words
of conversation with him when her captors weren’t watching but now the aliens were
taking her inside the lab to begin the experiments.
Darik, a warrior of the genetically engineered Badari pack,
is on a solo recon mission to check out a mysterious new lab high in the
mountains. His orders are strict – do not engage. But when he has a chance
meeting with the woman who might be his mate, he vows not to abandon her,
orders or no orders.
Can he get inside an underground lab, find Nicolle and
rescue her without getting captured himself? And when he learns the lab’s
deadly secrets, can he get word to his pack about the new dangers?
Because the ruthless alien scientist running the experiments
wants to get her hands on him too and will stop at nothing to achieve her
goals.
The excerpt:
Darik measured the size of the huge paw print in the snow,
comparing the breadth to his own generously sized hand. “Big predator, nothing
we’ve ever seen before. Nothing comparable in the lowlands.” He took a deep
breath of the crisp mountain air, automatically sorting the scents and savoring
many new to him. Small furred creatures, towering trees, elusive woodland
flowers and moss – he enjoyed all the novelties. It was still a rare luxury for
him not to smell the hated disinfectants and chemicals of the Khagrish lab
where his kind were created.
His metallic companion MARL12 shifted beside him, disturbing
the air as the small alien device floated on an antigrav cushion. “Best to
avoid an encounter with any predators.”
Grinning, Darik rose to his feet and eyed the miniature
ovoid, now positioned a few feet further away, orange and pink lights flicking
across its shiny surface in rapid patterns. The one tiny patch of green on the
machine which he’d noticed was consistently present blinked in the lower rear
quadrant of the Alien Intelligence unit’s silver skin.
Darik dusted snow from his palms. “Nervous? I’ll protect
you, don’t worry.” He kicked loose snow over the tracks contemptuously. “Big as
this animal may be, he’s not going to challenge a full grown Badari male like
me. My talons are twice the size of his.”
“We can’t afford to be diverted from our primary mission—”
“Give it a break, MARL12. We’re in this animal’s territory
and, unless he challenges me, I’m not looking for trouble. Live and let live.”
Darik had been dropped off at a higher elevation in the
mountains so he wouldn’t be spotted by the enemy based in the foothills. He’d
descended thousands of feet since his arrival, taking a circuitous route to his
assigned target. Neither he nor his Alpha wanted any hint of a Badari presence
in the area to become known. He relished the chance to hike through the old
growth forest, alone except for his annoying AI companion.
“The sun will set in thirty two minutes and twelve seconds,”
MARL12 announced in a crisp tone with no resemblance to the timbre of either
human or Badari voices but was uniquely his own, as if a sizable bird had been
given vocal chords.
Darik glanced at the small alien AI dispatched to assist him
on this reconnaissance and decided to poke its emotional responses with a
little barb. “I can see in the dark perfectly well. It’s a Badari attribute.
Can’t you?”
A brief silence descended as the AI floated along on its
antigrav cushion, bobbing over bushes and other obstacles. MARL12 might be a
miniaturized version of its parent unit but the superior attitude was full
scale. “I have complete visual acuity under all circumstances. My concern was
for you to have a safe base camp established before dark.”
Pausing, Darik leaned in close.
The AI retreated a foot and hovered.
“I can take care of myself, thanks. I don’t need a minder.”
Standing at his full seven foot height, Darik sampled the air again. “There’s
no predator in this area capable of taking on a Badari and hoping to win.” He
flashed his talons and fangs for the sheer joy of it. Leaping to the flat top
of a nearby boulder, he surveyed the vistas ahead and expanded his chest with
pleasure. This was the way for a man to live—free, with unlimited nature to
explore. Of course, I do have a job to do. Aydarr didn’t send me here to have
fun.
