Taken By The Alpha Warlord (Warlords 0f Farian Book 2) Read online

  Taken by The Alpha Warlord

  Warlords of Farian Book 2

  Bailey Dark

  Copyright © 2019 by Bailey Dark

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

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  One

  Vania

  The wind whipped my hair back in unruly brown curls as I pummeled the dummy. The storm was sinking into the valley with a ferocity that was knocking my breath out of me as much as the workout.

  “One, two, one, two,” I gasped, sharp intakes, timed perfectly. Guttural utterances of a disciplined strategy as I thumped the sackcloth figure around.

  Right hook left jab, right uppercut, right hook, left jab, left hook, right jab, roundhouse kick in an eight-blow pattern to finish him off as the lightning struck a defiant glory while thunder roared and the dummy crashed to the ground.

  I flexed my fists in and out in time with my breath and swiped the sweat from my brow. I bent over the dummy and grunted as I lugged it back upright. The jeers of the watching soldiers made the hairs on the back of my neck raise slightly. So I stood with my back to the dummy, hearing the men and women on the neighboring peak’s training clearing ring, much more highly trained than me, laughing at my attempts to best the sackcloth adversary.

  I looked out over the Farian valley, the grey dusk setting sooner as the storm clouds overwhelmed the rice paddies below, the terraced gardens on the distant purple mountains. Trails wound through the mountains from training ring to training ring in gentle clearings, small huts with the bare minimum of training essentials (weaponry, first aid items, tools), petrified wood had long ago been stacked as fences to line the stark edges that dropped for hundreds of feet into gorges against the descent to chilly rapid-bound rivers below. The training surface beneath my feet was hard and made of small pebbles that ground, bloody, into my knees when I fell. I waited, I breathed deeply… then lightning struck, and I spun jumped in the air and kicked the dummy to the ground again, just as the thunder spun a magnetic crescendo.

  For a moment after the thunder’s echo stopped, that silence was glorious, and that’s all I wanted: their glorious silence.

  I didn’t really fit in with my new home on Farian, and I certainly couldn’t go back to Earth. I was here to stay with my bestie Daphne, after all, Queen and Destin to Kajo, Curan Beast King of the Warlords of Farian.

  Kajo had defeated Rhone six months ago, saved my life, taken Daphne as his Destin, and somehow imbued us both with something new and spectacular. We weren’t quite Curan, but we were no longer human, either. I was no longer really Vania Bridger, originally from White Plains, New York. I was something bigger than that, now. I looked at my fists, wrapped for training in well-used fabric binds, stained with sweat and blood and a few tears, too. I was something stronger, now.

  Daphne was in her element: Queen of us all. A divine goddess. I rarely even saw her anymore. We would occasionally have lunch, like the old days. Or slip away for Taco Tuesdays with a type of tortilla-like bread and an alcohol that made a poor substitute for tequila but certainly got us drunk enough to satisfy.

  Otherwise, I spent my time training in Jase’s army. Jase was one of Kajo’s Commanders. He was an Alpha Warlord in his own right and held a small empire in the southern Curan lands. Cocky, dominating, and dark, Jase was rarely seen without his 3 main bodyguard Trio: Aimer, LeiLei, and Cassala. They were the strongest women in the Curan army. Some rumors said they were also his lovers, some said he kept a strict professional distance. I had never seen anything but firm, commanding leadership from him towards them. It was certainly notable that he kept his closest confidantes as women. They were skilled with all weaponry, could pilot all manner of ships, and were brilliant strategists; or, so I had heard. I had yet to go to war with Jase’s army.

  I had heard that Jase asked Kajo personally if I could train with his army. That made me uncomfortable—to say the least. I didn’t want to be some oddity, some unique collectible for this Warlord. Just some Earthling prize to be collected.

  I might be okay being a tool to be weaponized, though… I raised my eyebrows as I looked at the sparking sky and the fallen dummy. I did enjoy the power coursing through my veins, even though I was still just barely tapping into the Curan telekinesis and telepathy, unruly and ungainly as it was, somehow slightly gifted to me through the magic Kajo had used when he bound my body back together as I lay dying on that battlefield, as he sewed me back together and then the weeks I spent healing. I had a webbing of scars across my chest to prove it.

  I had poured myself into the training with Jase’s army once I healed. I was getting pretty good. I couldn’t wait to go up against one of his Trio, but he never had them train against me. Maybe I just wasn’t worth their time.

  Yet.

  As lightning flashed again, I did a backflip over the slain dummy and then jogged to my water bottle, conscious of the silent soldiers watching me. Rain unleashed from the sky just as I reached the overhang of the clearing’s hut, but not before I got pelted with drops and my curls hung limp, my training tunic pressed tight to my breasts.

  I reached for my water bottle, but right before I grabbed it, another hand pulled it just out of reach into the shadows. I was immediately on guard, my knife in my hand, fist pulled back to my chin, warrior stance, knees bent.

  Aimer stepped into the flashing, lightning shine and handed my water to me.

  “Jase would like to see you.”

  “He can’t just demand my presence.” I jerked the water from her alabaster hand, squirting some into my mouth.

  Her green eyes laughed into mine as the lightning struck something remarkably close by and thunder split our eardrums.

  “He is your warlord now.”

  “He won no war to lead me.”

  “Then let me battle you now, to win the right to take you to this meeting.”

  I swished water around in my mouth as I thought about it, my heart beating quickly. I wanted to scream: absolutely! I had been dying to battle one of the Trio. Maybe not the best one, right away. Not Aimer. But, I wanted my chance to shine. Here it was. Not right at the risk of a line being drawn that said Jase could order me around any time he wanted, but, he was, technically, I guess, my Commander. I was forced to have one on this planet that I now called home…

  “Fine.”

  Before I could even set the bottle down, she had lunged against me, and we were wrapped in the wetness of the rain, sheathed in the pitter-patter of its fall, our feet rising splashes on the training surface. She cleared my feet from under me by dropping down low and sweeping her leg against mine, then one forearm was at my throat as I lost my br
eath and my back crashed against the puddles, her legs were forced over my body, pinning me down far too easily, winning fully by the justice of surprise, as our wet bodies pressed against each other, faces inches apart, and she whispered into my ear, “I win!”

  I struggled to get up, but she clamped down hard on my throat and arms, the knife still in my hand pinned far away, my breasts heaving against hers and I was caught.

  “I will meet him,” I grunted out.

  Jeering laughter greeted my ears over the crashing thunder as Aimer helped me to my rain-soaked feet.

  Aimer picked up my water bottle from where it had been launched away into the sludge and handed it back to me. I set it down next to my training towel and backpack. I was having a hard time focusing back on the present moment, so overwhelmed by Aimer’s supreme force and skill. I had not realized I would be bested by her so easily. It was because she had surprised me, right? She was so incredibly… effective…

  “You can come back to your things. No one else will be up here training in this storm. Come with me now.”

  I nodded, wiped my gasping mouth on my wrapped hands, then let Jase’s head Trio lead me away, past the other soldiers, as I sheathed my knife, and kept my chin up. I didn't look at them, but just flipped them off with my right middle finger, though they had no idea what that symbol meant. It made me feel only slightly better. It was amusing to reflect that symbols of resistance had to be met by anger or distaste in order to give the same feeling of satisfaction.

  Then I followed Aimer to meet with Commander Jase, the brooding, blonde, tyrant of a man who had become, by default, my Alpha Warlord.

  Two

  Jase

  I shifted the papers on the table and sighed. Why couldn’t it just be easy? It seemed like I was going from one battle to the next. Usually, I thrived off the battle, the blood, the drive for conquest, but there was just something about this most recent threat… Tarsine, Rhone’s son was challenging my lands on the Southern Bordash/Curan border, where my Empire of Emerona lay and it was just… full-on offensive. Distasteful. Aggravating. Unnerving. How dare he…? How dare he try to pick up where his father had so gloriously failed?

  Granted, he wasn’t directly challenging Kajo, but he was challenging me, and in so doing, challenging Kajo. Kajo, leader of the Curans, Beast King of Farian, had been my friend since grade school. He was a few years older than me, but we had always had each other’s backs. He had granted me the Command over the Southern lands when it was clear I was good at winning battles in his name early on in the wars a decade ago. Now, Tarsine was taking advantage of that connection and trying to weasel his way into Curan land by taking over my throne.

  I slammed my fist down on the table and the papers scattered.

  No fucking way.

  I appreciated that Kajo was leaving this threat to me to deal with, for the time being. It gave me comfort that he had such trust in me, as he should. I didn't doubt that my troops could weed out the Bordash infiltrators, take on the separate fronts, and decimate our enemy. But, it did seem like Tarsine was gathering some pretty strong forces. We needed to go down to the hill country and see just how big his camps were. I was taking a small troop with me, and I wanted the Earthling to come along. I had been hearing of her relentless training and had even spied on her a few times myself. It was time she became part of my Crew.

  “Aimer and the Earth girl are here.” Cassala had no contempt in her voice when she said it, but there was also no respect. Of course, I didn’t expect there to be; my respect was not easily given, and I didn’t expect my commanders to give their respect easily, either.

  “Her name is Vaneah,” I said.

  Cassala barked a short laugh. I looked at her, brow furrowed and smoothed out the papers I had ruffled. One of my Trio of Commanders brushed her long black hair behind her shoulder and slung one of her battle axes from behind her back. She ran the blade along her palm and looked at me slyly. "Her name is Vania, Jase."

  I looked at her sharply and laughed, too. “Fuck. Oh well. We will see if I remember for the next time.”

  “We will see if she is worth remembering. You are sure you want her to come with us?”

  “There is something special about Kajo’s Earthling wife, Daphne. I have spent some time with her, and she really is remarkable. I know they are bonded as Destin, so that makes a difference. But maybe there is something to be said for merging Curan and Earthling. And Vania was saved by Kajo’s magic. You have seen her training. She has changed. Rhone certainly went to great lengths to get Vania here. Kajo was nice enough to let me have Vania serve in my army. I would like to not waste a tool if it is taking the time to sharpen itself.”

  Cassala nodded. “I can understand that.”

  I rubbed my forehead. I was starting to get the split of a migraine behind one eye. Just in time for a nice night’s rest. I reached into my pocket and felt for my comforting little dodecahedron wooden box I carried with me everywhere. The inside contents were the most precious thing I owned… I would protect them beyond anything else… Just feeling the strangely shaped little box made me feel better. I breathed deeply… “Ok. Please let them in.”

  Cassala whipped back her hair, slinging the battle-ax back to its spot on her back where it hardly ever left and opened the door to the council chambers. I didn’t look toward Aimer or the Earthling as they entered, just continued to gather the papers I had carelessly scattered about. I set them aside and cleared the table enough that the large map gracing its surface could be seen amidst the books, tablets, papers, scrolls, pens, trackpads, knives, and assorted drink settings. I rubbed my forehead one more time and looked at my roughly matted blonde hair. It was rakishly shoved to one side, and I wondered if it looked charming and impish or careless and slovenly. I hadn’t slept more than a handful of hours in the past few days. Aimer, Cassala, LeiLei, and a few others and I had been drinking, singing, laughing, strategizing, commiserating, late into the last few nights. We had been drinking… everything… I wondered if the Earthling could handle that. Could she handle everything we would throw at her?

  For the first time, I really looked at her.

  She had curly brown hair and deep green eyes, the kind that we painted onto children’s dolls because they were so alluring. Her features were tight and spaced properly, like an art student’s drawing: perfection. Slightly arched eyebrows and a pinpoint nose. Lips that were slightly pouting at the moment, the bottom lip almost too big for the size of the top one. Her hips were wider than her shoulders, and her ample breasts evened out the curves in a wandering rollercoaster that made me imagine ski-slopes in the winter that I would like to slide my body across. Her entire body rippled with muscle, finely tuned and athletic, not too overly wrought, but just perfect for the field of battle or for the tussle in the sheets.

  Of course, I had no interest in her for this. She was just another tool to be used. Another weapon in my arsenal. Another sharpened stick for my shed.

  But that body… My fingers curled into a fist as I removed the tactile temptation to touch her.

  It was especially hard since her clothes were rain-slick soaked against her skin, sticking tightly in all the right places, pleasing to the eye as her breasts heaved in a discontented sigh as she waited for me to finish my all-too-obvious examination of her body.

  I flicked my eyes up from her breasts to her slightly parted mouth to her searing green eyes and tilted my head slightly.

  “It’s Vaneah, right?”

  Cassala coughed a laugh to my left, and I realized my mistake.

  No matter.

  She could be insulted, correct me, let it go, or change her name for all I cared and be Vaneah for the rest of her life. At this moment, I only wanted to know how useful she was now--and in the future.

  “My name is Vania.”

  So, the correction route. Earthlings were not the best with cowing to authority, it seemed.

  “Vania, yes. I’m Alpha Jase. You’ve met Commander Aimer. Thi
s is Commander Cassala. They are two of my Trio. I am sure you have seen them around.”

  “I have.”

  “Then you also know they are three of the best Curan warriors Farian has ever developed.”

  “I have heard it is so, and Aimer has certainly demonstrated a little of that to me just today.” As Vania said this, she swept her hands out to her sides and motioned to her wet clothes. I nodded and smiled. So, Aimer was at least part of the reason Vania was wet. Goddess of Rain and our prayers for storms in the South might be the other part.

  "Yes, Aimer is not to be under-estimated. You have, however, been making a name for yourself, as well. You challenge men and women well above your training: and win. You work hard, relentlessly. You seem to want to learn every weapon and style you can, and when you are not in the training rings, you are in the library studying tactics. Why are you so committed to the ways of war, Vania of Earth?"

  Vania placed a slender finger against her chin and tapped it thoughtfully. A tendril of her chestnut hair curled around beside her pouted lips and seemed to point an arrow straight to her tongue as she spoke. I couldn’t help looking at it. It was bewitching. It was as if it were just inviting me to kiss her.

  I blinked my eyes sharply, dug my nails into my palm, and focused on her words, as she started to speak.

  “I would say I am more committed to the ways of winning, Alpha Jase. I have found myself in a strange situation, on another planet, that I now must make my home. I am at this time on the winning side, but this world is rife with war. I have always been motivated toward excellence, and now there is nothing more important than keeping my life, finding a new way to love my life here, and to, as one might say ‘make the most of it.' I'm not committed to the ways of war, Alpha Jase. I'm committed to finding ways to win wars so I can care about winning yours, so I can care about keeping my life alive."