ROKHAN is my latest in the Badari Warriors series about genetically engineered soldiers of the far future and their fated mates. It’s an ongoing series but the books can be read as standalones.

The excerpt:

Cinnthea heard a sound in the brush and sat up with an annoyed oath. The Badari kept the valley well patrolled so she wasn’t afraid but she didn’t want anyone intruding on her pity party. She looked around at the forest but didn’t see anything or anyone.

“You don’t have much situational awareness, do you?”

She shrieked and jumped to her feet, staring at the huge Badari male standing right next to her rock. “Where in the seven hells did you come from?”

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, his voice a deep rumble. “But if I’d been a bearbeast or other predator, you’d be in trouble.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been coming out here pretty much daily and I haven’t seen any tracks of anything bigger than a hopper, so I think I’m safe enough.” Despite the pounding of her heart, she sat down again and did her best to act nonchalant. Hopefully he’d move along and leave her to her peaceful contemplation of the lake.

“Little humans ought not to wander too far away from the caves,” he said, “Or at least not without an escort.”

“Is that a rule? Because if so it’s news to me.” She made her tone sarcastic. “You Badari have more than enough rules here, too many to keep track of if you ask me.”

He laughed and made a small leap to the rock, the distance nothing for his inner beast to achieve. “If you humans weren’t so prone to getting into trouble, we wouldn’t need so many rules. Watching over you takes time away from the war with the Khagrish.” He sat next to her, the warmth of his body making her want to sit closer.

Instead she stubbornly moved further away and sat with her arms circling her drawn up knees, trying to give him the hint she didn’t want company. “Weren’t you going somewhere?”

“Yes, here actually. I find this spot and this rock conducive to…well to something I’m trying to accomplish in my downtime.” He stuck his hand out in the human style. “I’m Rokhan.”

Cinnthea hesitated but extended her hand, watching as his much larger digits engulfed hers and they shook. He was careful with the pressure he exerted. “I’m Cinnthea Damone.”

“Yes, I know,” he said.

She made a disgusted face. “And I suppose you’d now like me to move along and let you have sole possession of the rock.”

“You were here first, fair’s fair.” Head tilted like a curious cat, he studied her. “Why do you assume I’m not enjoying your company?”

“None of you Badari react well to my presence,” she said, remembering some of her encounters when she was a server at the commissary.

“You still smell of him. It’s disconcerting to us.”

“I what?!” She practically shrieked the question, indignant. “I assure you I bathed more than once since coming here from the old Tzibir settlement.”

Rokhan shook his head. “No, you misunderstand me. Because you and Briator were together, even if not mated, you carry his scent to a Badari nose.” He tapped his index finger to the side of his nose. “It’s meant to warn other Badari off from a woman who’s spoken for, and also to provide a guide to her status, based on the male’s rank in the pack. Humans don’t have the olfactory sense necessary to detect it but you confuse and confound our instincts. Intellectually we know he’s dead but instinctively when we’re near you, we react as if we were in proximity to a powerful Alpha’s female.”

“Well thank you for a sensible explanation.” She tried to put am amusing spin on it. “I was about to go jump in the lake there to wash off the scent.”

“Please don’t.” He laughed and the sound was deep and enticing. “I’d have to jump in to rescue you and the water is too damn cold right now.”

ROKHAN: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES BOOK 18) by Veronica Scott

Cinnthea Damone was kidnapped by alien scientists who assigned her to a rogue Badari Alpha as his unwilling consort. Rescued by the other Badari packs, she’s now living in Sanctuary Valley and doing her best to fit in. She makes the Badari uncomfortable and the humans gossip about her. The improvements she suggests in various areas like the Stores are rejected and cause more animosity. Only one Badari Warrior becomes her friend but the abuse she suffered under the late rogue Alpha makes her wary of allowing any closer ties. The situation becomes intolerable and she flees the valley.

Rokhan, enforcer of the South Seas pack, realizes too late how much Cinnthea means to him and that she’s not merely a friend but his fated mate. When she leaves the valley he insists he be allowed to go on a solo hunt to retrieve her.

Aided by the Badari goddess, Cinnthea has gone much further than anyone would have dreamed possible and found a surprising haven far to the west. She learns a secret which the enemy will go to any lengths to uncover. When Rokhan arrives to take her back to the valley and proclaims her to be his mate, she’s torn between what her heart wants and her fears fueled by her past experiences. Can she overcome her trauma and find a future with Rokhan? Can they survive what the enemy plans?

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The rest of the series to date (21 books in all):