Bryce: Galactic Defenders, #1

By Jessica E. Subject

A dedicated Defender…

Bryce fell in love once, but after Lalia was ripped away from him, he locked his heart from feeling anything for anyone else. Instead, he devotes his life to the Galactic Alliance, killing every bloodthirsty Erebus he comes across.

A shunned princess…

Lalia Comosova fell in love with the wrong man. When her parents learned of her transgressions, they sent her to Earth to hide her error in judgment from the rest of the kingdom.

A second chance?

When these lovers are reunited after many years apart, they have a chance to find happiness together. But fate steps in and threatens to rip them apart as it did years ago.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jessica E. Subject
• Release date: Jun 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9780994843197

Jessica E. Subject

Jessica E. Subject is the author of science fiction romance, mostly alien romances, ranging from sweet to super hot. Sometimes she dabbles in paranormal and contemporary as well, bringing to life a wide variety of characters. In her stories, you can not only meet a sexy alien or two, but also clones and androids. You may be transported to a dystopian world where rebels are fighting to live and love, or to another planet for a romantic rendezvous. When Jessica is not reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to go to fitness class, listen to BTS, and walk her Great Pyrenees/Retriever her family adopted from the local animal shelter. Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers.

Book preview

Blurb:

A dedicated Defender…

Bryce fell in love once, but after Lalia was ripped away from him, he locked his heart from feeling anything for anyone else. Instead, he devotes his life to the Galactic Alliance, killing every bloodthirsty Erebus he comes across.

A shunned princess…

Lalia Comosova fell in love with the wrong man. When her parents learned of her transgressions, they sent her to Earth to hide her error in judgment from the rest of the kingdom.

A second chance?

When these lovers are reunited after many years apart, they have a chance to find happiness together. But fate steps in and threatens to rip them apart as it did years ago.

BRYCE (Galactic Defenders Book One)

Copyright 2016 Jessica E Subject

Published by Jessica E. Subject

Cover Art by Fantasia Frog Designs

ISBN: 978-0-9948431-9-7

Edited by Kate Richards of Wizards in Publishing

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

BRYCE

Galactic Defenders Book One

By

Jessica E. Subject

Table of Contents

Reader Letter

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Sneak Peek at Jager (Galactic Defenders Book Two)

Thank You!

Bibliography

About the Author

Reader Letter

Dear Reader;

Sometimes, when writing a story, an author gets it right the first time, combining engaging characters with an intriguing plot to create a story that readers love. Other times, it takes many rewrites, and even many years to get it right.

This story is a rewrite of my first finished manuscript. I admit, it was a hot mess. But, I was lucky enough to have the amazing Deborah Cooke—a good friend of mine—read the story, show me where I went wrong, and share options on how I could fix all the rookie mistakes. It took me a lot of brainstorming over a few years to decide which direction I wanted to take this story, and Bryce as an alien hunter seemed the best option. While the original story was set mostly on Earth, and only involved one alien species, this new version travels all over the universe and introduces many species of extraterrestrials. Pinterest helped me find my aliens and provided visuals to help with my descriptions. Creating different species and planets required a lot of note taking as well. I had to keep track of the various features of them all using spreadsheets and more.

While Bryce and Lalia are the hero and heroine of the story, Katrina plays a huge role. And you will get to read more about her in the next book in this series titled Jager to release in early 2017. Jace will release later in 2017, and the stories of other Defenders you will meet throughout the series will follow.

Look for Beyond Reach, a sensual sci-fi romance about a woman who is kidnapped as a young child, and the prince who saves her, to release later in 2016.

Wishing you all the best and plenty of good books to read!

Jessica

Chapter One

Bryce raised his crossbow, lining his sights on the creature standing amongst the bushes, its branch-like tentacles undulating in the gentle breeze. Focusing the crosshairs on the alien’s torso, he drew in a deep breath. He had one shot. If he missed, the Erebus would cry out and alert the natives of Terra to its existence, resulting in more casualties. At first glance, no one on the planet, also called Earth, would believe an Erebus anything more than an overgrown bush, but Bryce knew the truth. He’d trained to hunt the creatures from childhood.

Each step carefully placed, he advanced until he stood twenty feet from the Erebus, no chance to miss the shot. With a slight movement of his finger, he squeezed the trigger, sending a zuranium-tipped arrow racing toward the alien.

Quinn, would you grab me another garbage bag?

Fornax. The creature lunged toward the female voice, Bryce’s arrow stuck in one of its tentacles. A kill, but not instant.

He loaded another arrow. At the risk of being seen, he charged through the hedges. He had to cut the Erebus off before it had a chance to kill the Terran. He leaped over metal furniture and large urns, keeping his focus on the creature.

What the hell? Get out of my yard!

The woman rushed him, but Bryce darted around her. When the Erebus lumbered in front of him, he raised his weapon and fired. A clean shot to the middle. The creature dropped like a fallen log, crushing the furniture it landed on.

Bryce loaded the crossbow again. No time to celebrate the kill. He had to worry about the possibility of other Erebus in the area, along with the Terran woman who had seen him. Instead of running away screaming, as he’d expected her to do, she stared, wide-eyed in horror. Not at him, but the Erebus. Her body trembled as she shuffled backward, mumbling incomprehensible words.

An unexpected sense of familiarity washed over him. He couldn’t draw his attention away from her slim figure, the way her long brown hair flowed over her shoulders. Far more attractive than he’d pictured the Terrans when others talked about them. He took a closer glance. Lalia? How had she traveled so far from home without anyone knowing? She was no stranger, and definitely not Terran. Or, perhaps she was simply a doppelganger of the woman he’d once loved. He had the sudden urge to comfort her, relieve her worry. Hold her in his arms the way he had many years ago. But what if the missing princess had somehow made her way to a planet unaware life existed beyond their own? After she’d left Hemera and him behind without so much as a goodbye, he’d searched everywhere. Though not once had he thought to look on Terra.

A ground-shattering bellow pierced the night. Bryce spun around, finding himself face-to-face with another Erebus. It stared at him with beady red eyes. Thick black goop dripped from its mouth.

Bryce raised his bow, but the creature slammed him with one of its tentacles, flinging him back. The Erebus lunged at Lalia.

Rolling to his knees, Bryce aimed and fired. He hit the alien from behind, launching it forward. Onto his former lover. Slinging the bow over his shoulder, he raced toward her. The creature’s tentacles still pulsed, even though dead. Careful not to trip himself up, he shoved his hands under the creature’s torso and heaved it off her.

Lalia stood immediately and wiped the black goop from her clothes, as if she hadn’t been flattened by an alien. They weren’t supposed to follow me. I was supposed to be safe here.

Lindsay? A Terran man appeared in the doorway of the house. He surveyed the property before his eyes focused on Bryce. What the hell is going on? Who is that guy?

Lindsay? Maybe she wasn’t the woman he remembered, but his tired mind played tricks on his lonely heart.

Go back inside, Quinn. She held her hand in front of her, slowly heading toward the other man. It’s not safe out here.

I’m not going anywhere until—

An Erebus leaped over the hedges, landing mere feet from the man. Erebus generally traveled in packs, but specimens this large had never been hunted so far from the systems in the Galactic Alliance. With one swipe of a tentacle, the Erebus knocked Bryce onto his back. He grabbed his bow and loaded an arrow. He shot. Too late. The alien pounced upon Quinn, its poisonous saliva filling the Terran’s mouth.

Bryce lurched forward and heaved the alien off the man. He scooped the tar-like substance from his mouth. Spit it out. Don’t swallow. No one had ever survived an attack, but he had to try. Though with the black foam pouring from the man’s mouth, Bryce feared the worst.

Hey, there’s another Erebus.

The fact Lindsay knew the name of the creature gave him pause, but only for a second. Bryce pivoted and shot the creature the moment he had the arrow loaded. And missed. The Erebus bounded toward Lindsay, and she blocked his direct shot at the creature. With no other option, Bryce dashed to her, hoping to thrust her out of the way before the Erebus could pin her down. Closing in, he realized they would reach the Terran woman at the same time. As the creature launched into the air to attack, Bryce dove for her midsection. He skidded across the ground with her before the alien flew over them. It skidded to a halt, spinning around for another attack.

At the same moment Bryce readied his weapon, a younger woman raced out of the house, holding a knife above her head. She launched off the deck, flying through the air toward the moving alien. Before he could get a shot off, she plunged the knife into the back of the Erebus, dropping the creature to the ground.

What in Gaspra? Bryce stared, stunned by what he’d witnessed. She could only have killed the creature with a zuranium blade, metal not believed to exist on Earth.

Yet, Bryce had no time to confirm. He needed to secure the yard then get the two women to a safe house. They had already seen him and the Erebus. Pollux and his squad couldn’t erase what the Terrans had witnessed, but he could protect them from another attack.

After grabbing the canister from the side pocket of his pack, he thrust it at Lindsay. Spread this around the edge of your property. The zuranium powder would keep the Erebus back, give him a chance to get them to safety before he tackled the front of the house, allowing the cleanup squad the opportunity to do their job without coming under attack.

But, Quinn.... He’s gone? She glanced behind her at the foaming lump, once a man, her body quivering. This is all my fault.

Bryce gripped her biceps to hold her still. No, it’s not. None of this is your fault. Only his. He’d been too careless, easily distracted. But, I need you to take the powder and spread it along the edge of your yard. There are likely more Erebus on the way. Okay?

Lindsay nodded, and while she sprinkled the metal powder along the bushes surrounding the yard, Bryce surveyed the area. He didn’t want to be caught unawares by another creature. The younger woman sat next to the remains of Quinn, holding her knees and rocking back and forth. She never should have had to kill an Erebus. He’d failed at his job. Failed her, Lindsay, and the dead Terran.

Far too many beings had died across the universe at the hands of the Erebus, an experiment gone wrong by a now-extinct race. They’d thrown the creatures into the sun to burn, trying to put an end to their mistake. But the move produced the opposite effect, multiplying the Erebus’s numbers and giving them transport to many systems and worlds through solar winds.

The Defenders of the