Clan and Covenant On Sale - Read First Scene Now

 

It's here! Clan Korkla's adventure is now available for purchase at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords. Also on sale in print. 

Read on for the first scene of the latest Clan Beginnings book:

 

“Let me cut in line.”

Nobek Raxstad gazed at Nobek Magral with a bland expression. He didn’t glare.

He also didn’t blink.

The problem with being bigger than…well, basically, everyone else…was it made him a target. Especially among his fellow Nobeks, the Kalquorian Empire’s warrior breed. Nobeks were forever looking for a challenge, and as targets went, Raxstad couldn’t be missed.

He’d been forced during his two-year stint in the military to find the right balance between force and compromise. Otherwise, he’d have spent all his waking non-duty hours fighting his comrades. With arms as large as many men’s legs, many saw him as a sort of proving ground to be overcome. Multiple defeats, such as those Magral had suffered at Raxstad’s hands, was an encouragement rather than deterrent to Nobeks to come back for more.

Raxstad loved a fight as much as the next warrior, and he particularly loved pounding Magral, who was too much a buddy to be an enemy, but too much of an asshole to be a real friend. However, Raxstad was home on Kalquor after two years. He was moments from that which he loved more than stomping the hell out of some jerk.

The hatch of the troop transport shuttle opened, and the line of soldiers began to file off. Raxstad ignored the air of anticipation that hung over the young Nobeks to deal with Magral’s jumping at the last chance to antagonize him.

“Is your family here to greet you?” Raxstad’s tone was flat, as unimpressed as his expression.

“Yeah, they are. It would be nice to toss your ugly carcass in front of them as a trophy if you don’t move out of my way.” Magral flexed his fingers, and his joints popped.

“Or they could watch you be stretchered to the base’s brig, where you’d be stuck for six months. Six extra months, pal, for starting a fight on the transport when we’re two minutes from finishing our tour. And a disorderly discharge. Not to mention having to suck your food through a straw for the rest of your miserable life. Still want to cut in front of me?”

The line was moving, but Raxstad remained in place. He watched Magral, whose ugly smirk was transforming into a glare.

Two seconds passed. Three. Then Magral’s broad features, dainty compared to Raxstad’s, broke into a grin. He slapped the bigger man’s shoulder. “I’m going to miss messing with you, you oversized ronka.”

Raxstad shook his head, but he returned the grin. “Fuck you. Take care of yourself since I won’t be around to do it, Magral.”

“I don’t need you, asshole. Have fun and kick ass in Global Security.”

Raxstad moved on, leaving Magral and his stint in the ground troops behind. Within seconds, he stepped off the shuttle and into a large bay full of docked military spacecraft. He bowed to his commanding officer, was told what a pleasure it had been to have had him in the company, and was dismissed.

With that, Raxstad was officially a civilian. He hadn’t been sure if the change in status would result in excitement to be on to the next phase of his life, or if he’d experience regret. Funny enough, neither reaction occurred to him. He gazed at the gathered families and clans welcoming their loved ones home, faces wreathed in smiles and glad cries ringing in the vast, echoing space. He searched. For a moment, his heart lurched in his wide chest when he thought no one was there for him.

Then a hand waved over the dark heads of gathered Kalquorians. A figure, familiar despite the many months since he’d last seen it, edged its way through the crowd. Raxstad laughed and hurried forward.

Korkla didn’t merely hasten to greet him. He ran. When the younger man reached him, he flung his arms around Raxstad’s thick neck. Still laughing, Raxstad enveloped his intended in a hug and lifted him off the ground.

Korkla, uninhibited in public when it came to affection, pressed a kiss to Raxstad’s lips. “You’re finally home! By the ancestors, did you get bigger since I last saw you?”

Instead of putting him down, Raxstad carried his future clanmate to the line of duty bags being tossed out of the transport’s baggage compartment. “Want to see what’s really enormous? Wait until I’m naked.”

“Calm down, big man. We have to go straight to your parents’ home. Your mother made me promise, and you know I keep my promises.”

Raxstad sighed. He’d missed his parents, but he was a grown man, twenty-six years old, not a homesick child. An adult who’d been without the lover he was pledged to…the lover who felt damned good in his arms after far too long.

He gazed at Korkla to drink in that adored visage. As a member of the Dramok breed, the men who were Kalquor’s natural leaders, Korkla possessed a commanding aura. His features, framed by frizzy shoulder-length hair, were a tad sharp to be called handsome. Nonetheless, when he beamed as he did at the moment, he was a striking sight.

“Put me down, you lug. Being carried around like a child isn’t dignified.” Korkla’s eyes twinkled, but there was no mistaking the authority he wore.

“Illusions of domination?” Raxstad couldn’t help teasing, but he set his intended on his feet.

“Illusions? Do we really want to have that debate?”

Raxstad chuckled. “All right, we’ll save the battle for control for later.” He looked forward to that, though Korkla was likely to win. Then again, there were no losers in contests of love.

He held onto his betrothed’s hand as he searched the baggage and found his duty bag. He slung it over his shoulder. “Take me home, my Dramok-to-be.”

“To your parent clan,” Korkla reiterated as they set off for the military complex’s visitor’s bay. “I was warned in great detail what would happen if I postponed our arrival.”

“Parents. Aren’t they the ones who were constantly nattering about learning patience?” Raxstad rolled his eyes.

“And your grandparents. And various uncles, aunts, cousins, and their clans. My parent clan is there too, so you have dozens of people waiting to see you.”

“Mother of All,” Raxstad groaned. “A surprise party?”

“They missed you.” Korkla smiled up at him, and Raxstad’s heart quickened at the open affection in his purple eyes. “As did I. Welcome home, my Nobek.”

 

 An arranged clanship. A threat to their lives. Does love have a chance?

Initially unsure about their impending arranged union, Dramok Korkla and Nobek Raxstad have grown to care for each other. They’re impatient to begin their life together when their parents spring a surprise on them: a third clanmate, someone they’ve never met, has been chosen to join them.

Imdiko Govi has delayed being promised to a clan for several reasons: his burgeoning psychology career and a past arranged clanship that went horribly wrong. However, his parents are certain they’ve found the perfect Dramok and Nobek for him and won’t take no for an answer.

The trio is reluctant to give the arranged relationship a chance, but sparks soon fly. Love seems assured, but trouble is waiting in the wings. Govi is crushed when he fails a patient, sending him into a tailspin that threatens his newfound relationship. Worse, as a member of the Royal House staff, Korkla soon finds himself in the path of a murderous foe. An attack on Raxstad threatens to destroy the clan before it begins.

Love on Kalquor is wonderful, if the trio survives to enjoy it.

Buy now at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords. Also on sale in print.