Erun (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Ujal Book 4) (21 page)

“And you want another,” she murmured. They weren’t sure if they
could
have younglings of their own, but Erun was all for practicing. Sece was optimistic, but considering the hunt for Leox—and his victims—was already underway and they knew there were children who would need caring homes… Nessa was perfectly happy adopting another child. Or children. Sure, Tabitha was lucky that Nessa and Constantine were good parents—until he faked his death and tried to kill her—but how many weren’t?

“I want as many as we are able to care for.” Deep emotion made his voice tremble and she knew what he was thinking—a time of pain and heartache at Leox’s hands. He wanted to give every youngling what he himself was denied—love.

“Da. Man.”

One last sigh from Erun and he pulled away, apparently having his body under control. She couldn’t wait to have him lose control again. Hopefully when they were alone. “Let us go, Tabby.”

“Yay!”

Erun strode toward their daughter and caught her easily when she dove from Niax’s arms.

Vanessa shook her head and followed the two of them, listening to her mate’s deep baritone and Tabby’s answering high-pitched voice. It didn’t take them long to reach the edge of the sand and that’s where Erun paused to look back at her.

“You will be well?”

She rolled her eyes. “I only freaked out that one time.”

One panic attack over growing scales and getting webbed fingers and toes and now everyone worried she’d freak out at the drop of a scale.

He carried Tabitha into the water, holding her above the waves as he strode into deeper seas. Vanessa tugged on her bikini, making sure it was snugly in place before she followed him. Her hands and feet changed the moment she touched the water, scales sliding free to cover her skin in a flash. She could learn Erun’s level of control later. For now she was getting used to
having
scales.

Side-by-side, he carefully lowered a wiggling, giggling Tabby into the ocean. Her daughter’s transition was quick and easy, her clothing disintegrating into the water as her change overtook her. The fabric that melted at the touch of sea water had been an invention of necessity by the Ujal. While nudity at all ages was accepted, humans weren’t quite in line with that thinking. Hence clothes for the younger children that disappeared when they entered the water.

Now Erun was left holding a squealing, tailed child.

“Momma! Daman! See!” Tabby pointed at her golden tail.

“I do see. You ready for your first swim?” Nessa tried to keep the panic out of her voice.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” She patted Erun’s chest. “Down.”

A low, masculine chuckle drew her attention. She found Shon watching them with a smile on his face, but the expression was marred by a hint of sadness. She didn’t know the male’s full history but Rina had told her snippets, revealing that Shon was so enamored with children because he’d once had a youngling of his own.

“Shon?” She smiled at the male, refusing to let her knowledge affect how she treated him. It was something she’d learned after Constantine faked his death. A grieving widow didn’t want to constantly hear
I’m sorry
or
How are you feeling?
or
I can’t imagine what this must be like for you
. And being treated with kid gloves was the worst of all.

So she pretended she didn’t know. She pretended he was simply a male who was good with kids.

“Ready for her?” She raised her eyebrows. It’d been agreed that a tailed male would assist Tabby since Nessa wasn’t fast enough to catch a tailed youngling.

“Of course,” he held out his arms toward Erun and her daughter. “Come, Tabby Blabby. Let us test your tail.”

Erun released
their
youngling and Tabby raced away with a squeal, diving beneath the water. Shon disappeared for a moment and burst into the air a good fifty feet away, holding an ecstatic baby Ujal in his arms.

“Holy shit,” she whispered. “She went that far in…”

“Yes, it is why I did not fight too hard on the netting you requested. It will not only keep others out, but our Tabitha
in
. She did very well for her first run.” There was no missing the pride in his voice.

Well? How about it scared the hell out of Vanessa. If Tabby ran from her…

“Be easy,
lofei
.” He ran a hand down her back and pulled her close to him. His legs brushed hers and she was reminded once more of her mate’s strength. Waist deep in the sea and still his body clung to his human form. “By the time we are done in the coming days, Tabitha will know not to flee from you.”

And like that, she was reminded how well her mate knew her. “I wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

He pressed a kiss to her head. “She will learn, I swear it. And once she does, we can discuss creating a home in the seas.”

Her body yearned to delve beneath the waves and never leave. “That sounds perfect.”

He grunted. “Good. We will still keep a land home. If we are blessed with an adopted youngling, we will need a place to care for them on land.” He nuzzled the top of her head. “But the goal will always be to have my mate and my family safe beneath the waves.”

“You don’t think we’re safe now?”

“I don’t think we are unsafe, but I will remain concerned about Leox and his supporters until he is captured.” Shon brought Tabitha closer, talking softly as they slowly returned. “Now, let us teach this little one to swim in a straight line.”

With that, Erun was gone, diving into the waves. Purple rippled over his skin and with one flick of his tail, he was gone. His clothing was much like Tabby’s, though his would hold their shape much longer. The sides would split with a change, breaking away with ease, and they wouldn’t disintegrate for several hours. It allowed an Ujal to enter the water clothed, toss their clothing back to the shore and then quickly redress after their swim. If they never returned, the fabric would simply be swallowed by the sea.

Vanessa followed Erun’s path with her gaze, smiling when he popped up near Tabby. Their daughter reached for Erun and he caught her with ease, holding her snuggly against his chest. He turned them and then Tabby focused on her.

Tabitha’s eyes brightened and she nodded. “Momma! Catch!”

And Vanessa caught. Not just once or twice, but all afternoon. Tabby raced from one adult to the next, Erun swimming alongside her, gently guiding her from person to person until Tabby managed to navigate the pattern between adults without correction.

It was then, as the sun set and her daughter bolted toward Thame, scales glistening in the ocean’s clear blue water, that she realized moving to Tampa had been its own version of hell… until Erun.

Erun with his growls, snarls, and… love.

Erun broke the surface and eased toward her, his tail brushing her legs beneath the water. “What are you thinking,
lofei
?” Vanessa turned to him, sliding into his embrace and he kept them afloat with ease. “
Lofei
?”

“I love you, Erun fa Brooks. With my whole heart.”

His eyes softened and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him. “And I you,
lofei
. And I, you.”

“Momma! Kiss Daman later. Catch me!”

Tabitha swam toward them, but it wasn’t Vanessa who caught their racing daughter, it was Erun. In fact, Erun… caught them both.

Forever.

The End

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The Ujal Series

Vados –
http://scifibit.ly/vadoszon

Tave –
http://scifibit.ly/tavezon

Rhal –
http://scifibit.ly/rhalzon

The Ujal Volume One -
http://scifibit.ly/ujal1zon

Erun -
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Other Books by Erin

Not Quite Terran -
http://scifibit.ly/nqtzon

Alien Commander’s Chosen -
http://scifibit.ly/acczon

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Published by Erin Tate. Erun. Copyright © 2015 Erin Tate. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.