Tave: The Ujal

By Celia Kyle

Rina Zeret is not prepared to settle down. At least, not with a genetically selected mate. She wants true love and a happily ever after. Unfortunately, her mother has other ideas and submits Rina's biological material—the woman's a hairbrush thief!—to the Population Ministry to see if they can find a genetic match for her. Suddenly Rina is presented with Tave fa V'yl, Crown Prince of Ujal, High Warrior of the Ruling Caste and Earth's greatest ally.

 

Her mother is going to be so happy.

 

Tave fa V'yl is the strongest and fiercest warrior on all of Ujal and yet he cannot deny one tiny female—his mother. When he agrees to consider taking a mate this turning, he doesn't realize she takes things quite a bit further and finds him a woman. On Earth. Now he is presented with a woman who doesn't want him while he cannot think of anything past his wanting of her.Rina fights their attraction but doesn't realize Tave fa V'yl has never lost a battle… and he will not begin with her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Summerhouse Publishing
• Release date: Apr 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215420126

Celia Kyle

Ex-dance teacher, former accountant and erstwhile collectible doll salesperson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Celia Kyle now writes paranormal romances for readers who: 1) Like super hunky heroes (they generally get furry) 2) Dig beautiful women (who have a few more curves than the average lady) 3) Love laughing in (and out of) bed. It goes without saying that there’s always a happily-ever-after for her characters, even if there are a few road bumps along the way. Today she lives in central Florida and writes full-time with the support of her loving husband and two finicky cats.

Book preview

Chapter One

In hindsight, Rina realized she probably should have paid more attention to the letters from the Population Ministry. In her defense, the agency sent flyers to all unmated females under the age of forty regularly. Not to mention, she always got a crapton of junk mail. Crap. Ton.

So, when more and more showed up, she… recycled more and more. She was environmentally conscious that way. Plus, recycling was the law. But she would have done it anyway.

Except the letters… kept coming, she kept recycling, and her happy-ish little life continued as always.

Until The Knock.

Rina lived in one of the few true homes remaining along the coast of Tampa. Her parents never sold their small plot of land by the sea as so many others had. When they’d wanted to relocate to one of those high rises, they signed it over to her. She was bracketed by pristine, high-tech sky-high condominiums, with amazing security and… her house actually had a door. A wooden one. There were no bells or cameras to check for visitors. Nope, Rina was a windows and knocking kind of gal.

She ran her fingers through her hair, allowing the water—real water, not that sonic shower stuff—to rinse away the enviro-friendly shampoo she loved. She had exactly twenty minutes to finish her shower, toss on some clothes and makeup, and then dash out the door for work. At some point, she’d snag some sea toast—toasted seaweed, yum—to keep her going until lunch.

Same schedule, different day.

A rapid tap of knuckles on wood reached her and she froze, fingers buried in her soapy hair. Did she really hear—the sound came again, this time louder and firmer. Dammit. Didn’t they know she had to get to work? Her morning routine was planned down to the second so she could sleep in as long as possible every day.

She tilted her head back and ruffled her hair beneath the spray, hurrying to rinse her strands and answer the door. Of course, the thumping came again, echoing through her small home. Insistent assholes. She’d almost thought it was her mother being so impatient, but the interfering woman had her own key. Rina didn’t have the heart to upset her and change the locks, no matter how tempted she was.

More knocking and—did the wood creak? Were they breaking down her door? No. No way.

Growling, she ran her fingers through her hair once more and then cut the water. These intruders wouldn’t leave and she still hadn’t finished bathing, which meant she was gonna be late. That realization annoyed her even more than her visitors. And heaven help them if they were door-to-door salesmen.

Rina snagged her bathrobe and slipped on the terry cloth covering as she stomped to the front door. More knocking, more creaking, and she didn’t bother checking the peephole to see if she recognized her guests before she wrenched the door open. At the same time, a nice droplet of still-soapy water made its way into her eye.

Lovely.

Rina didn’t wait for them to identify themselves. Who are you and what do you want? Using her one good eye to peruse her visitors, she realized she should have identified them first, snarled second. Ujal guards stood on her doorstep. Not just Ujal guards. Oh no, she had to be bitchy to Ujal high guards. They protected the alien race’s Earth-based, high-ranking citizens. Or rather, they were living in Earth’s oceans. I mean, she cleared her throat. GentleUjal, how can I help you?

And please don’t imprison me for being a tad bitchy.

She wouldn’t admit that she was feeling more than a tad.

The Ujal had settled on Earth decades ago, appearing just when humanity needed them most. Their oceans were failing, water polluted, and animal life destroyed due to their own actions. The Ujal would care for the oceans… for a price. A price which ended up being new environmental laws—Rina was all for those—and their people building settlements within the oceans’ depths. They had scales and fins—tails—when they were encased in saltwater. Rina thought of them—secretly because it was a bit offensive—as mermaids, er, mermen.

The larger of the two, a male with bright red hair, searing red eyes, and a scar that bisected his face, gave her a narrow eyed look. You are not prepared.

Rina glanced down at herself, noting the fluffy robe and bare feet peeking out from beneath the hem. At the movement, her still somewhat soapy hair dangled within her line of sight. She raised her head, met his gaze once again, and she couldn’t stifle the annoyance that jumped back into her tone. "Well, someone knocked on my door and didn’t let me finish my shower. And that someone— she flicked her attention to the doorframe and back to him. —cracked said door."

His glare deepened, anger flushing his face, bringing out the shadow of scales that lurked beneath his skin. You—

The other male jumped into their conversation and shot his partner a shut-the-fuck-up look. We were sent to provide escort, Miss Zeret, to Ujal Station Tau.

Escort? She raised her eyebrows. Well, one eyebrow since her eye still stung like a sonofabitch and refused to cooperate. I’m perfectly capable of making it to UST on my own. I’ve done it every morning for the past four years. Ever since she got the job in the Ujal public relations department. She crossed her arms over her chest. Something was off in merman-land. What’s this about?

Then a high-pitched whir of a hovercraft cut into their conversation, drawing her attention from the guards and to the space in front of her house. Rina groaned. Both males tensed, stepped closer to her, and presented their backs to her. Their positions were of protection, as if they were about to face some enemy who was intent on doing her harm.

They weren’t all that wrong since she knew exactly who owned the vehicle. That supersonic squealing machine belonged to none other than… Rina’s mom.

And, really, her mother was Rina’s greatest enemy and ally in one… unless Rina thought her mom was wrong. Then it was on and heaven help her if she didn’t apologize. Fast.

She was sure she hadn’t done anything apology-worthy lately. But just in case…

Rina squinted then leaned left, right, and finally leaned a little left of right and pushed to her tiptoes so she could see past the wall-o-merman-meat blocking her vision. I’m sorry, Mom!

The males stiffened and the rapid click and clack of her mom’s heels on the concrete paused. Do you know why you’re apologizing?

Um… She winced. No?

She was sure she heard her mom mumble, Thank God before picking up her pace once again. The two Ujal guards eased closer to one another, cutting off what little vision Rina had. Dammit.

Hey! She tapped the nicer guard on the shoulder. Are you gonna tell me what this is about? No response. Tap, tap, tap. Seriously, what’s going on?

Don’t antagonize the dangerous men, sweetheart.

Sometimes her mother had a good point.

A deep pulsing sound vibrated the air, sinking into the earth and shaking everything around them. For an Ujal, that barely audible noise was equivalent to what the military called a warning shot. Ujals didn’t need weapons, they had their voices and specific tones could do deadly damage to humans.

Her mom’s feet skittered over the sidewalk. "Well, I never."

Rina’s tap on the man’s shoulder became a smack. Hey! She didn’t do anything wrong. What is this? Ujal brutality.

Neither responded, but remained in place. This time she pushed, anxious to get to her mother. Of course, shoving at the space between them drew the red-haired guy’s attention and now that deep tone was directed at her. She could practically see the ripples of air, the tremulous disturbance his warning caused as it traveled from his slightly parted lips to collide with her chest. She stumbled back a step, damp feet sliding on the polished wood floor.

The slightly nicer guy grunted, and then made his own round of sounds toward the evil red guy… and right on the heels of that noise came her mother’s