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

Momma will take care of you.” With that soft whisper, her daughter’s tension eased further.
    Erun stiffened at her side, his massive form growing taut with her words. She realized he must have gotten other clothes from somewhere. He’d literally run through her home and straight out the front door wearing nothing. He raced naked down the street and into the station, bellowing the whole way.
    A youngling was injured. She needed care.
    Keep the female from the youngling until she can be judged.
    Judged. As if she’d ever do anything to Tabby.
    She knew the medical staff hovered near, their handheld devices waving over her daughter. Faim pressed a hypo to her skin, drawing blood, while the female came even with her on the other side of the bed. “Mrs. Walker…”
    “It’s Miss.” Calling her Mrs. reminded her of what she’d lost… of what she may still lose.
    “Miss Walker. Can you give me some of your daughter’s medical history?”
    “Tabitha is not her daughter,” Erun sneered and Rina’s response was immediate.
    “Silence.” Her voice whipped through the room.
    At least she wasn’t alone in her anger toward the Ujal male any longer. But Vanessa couldn’t withhold her response to him. She kept her hands on Tabitha but angled enough so she could meet his furious stare.
    “I get that you don’t like me. I get that you have a fuck of a lot of opinions about me and my life. But this child is mine. She was placed in my arms the day after she was born. I raised her. Through sickness and smiles, I was there. I am her mother even if you hate it.” She ignored him then and focused on the female.
    She learned her name was Sece and while Faim was her father and standoffish, his daughter was curious and polite. Vanessa knew they would want to know more than her medical history once Tabby was stabilized, but for now she rattled off the dates of her vaccinations (two weeks before they moved), any surgeries (none), and any illnesses (Tabby had never had a cold).
    The longer Sece questioned her, the more Tabitha settled until the pale gold scales were a thing of the past and even her golden eyes settled back to a shade of blue. She looked like her little Tabby once more.
    But she wasn’t. Because every indication pointed at Tabby being Ujal. The question became, how the hell did an Ujal child end up adopted by two humans in the middle of the Arizona desert?
    Staring at the medical staff, at Rina and Tave, and finally Erun… she realized answers would come soon. Very soon. They wouldn’t leave a single stone unturned in an effort to discover what happened.
    She wasn’t sure how they’d be discovered because all but Rina and possibly Tave, wanted her blood.
    Tabitha finally drifted to sleep, her bow-shaped lips slightly parted and she occasionally made a suckling motion with her adorable mouth. There was no evidence of her recent pain, no hint that not long ago she’d been run into medical clinging to life by a scale.
    Vanessa finally withdrew one of her hands and leaned her hip against the bed, turning so she could face Rina. She ignored everyone else in favor of her very best friend in the whole universe . “I didn’t know she was Ujal.”
    “I know.”
    They both ignored Erun’s snort.
    “And I don’t know how I ended up with her. But she’s mine.” Vanessa ran her thumb over her daughter’s petal-soft hand. “And I won’t let anyone take her from me.”
    Rina came forward, arms outstretched. Her friend pulled her into a firm hug, hard but not jarring her hold on Tabby. “We won’t try,” she whispered in Vanessa’s ear. “I promise.”
    “Principessa…” Faim’s voice held a warning and like a switch had been turned, Rina spun to face the male.
    “No. This is non-negotiable.” Vanessa knew that tone. If they kept pushing, they’d be dealing with one very pissed off woman. And there was nothing scarier than an angry Rina who now had the power to back up whatever threats she threw around