(A Sci Fi Alien Abduction Romance)

By Celeste Raye

Chapter 1:

Tralam. The fabled place of old.

It was likely all a bunch of bullshit, but he had to try to find it. If that place held the key to destroying the Federation and ensuring life would continue, he’d go, but damned if he wanted to—especially considering the crew he was traveling along with.

Drake paused in the act of pulling a clean tunic over his head as that thought hit home. He didn’t trust a single one of the beings he was traveling with, and he knew that was not unwarranted. He knew the supposed secret of Tralam, even if they didn’t, and he was in no mood to share it.

He was definitely not interested in getting close to the people he was traveling with because he might have to kill them, each and every one of them to boot.

That included his half-brother, Blade. Blade, outlaw and traitor to the Federation. At least they had that much in common.

His life had been spent between being proudly claimed by his and Blade’s father, the now deceased General Bates, highly decorated officer of the Federation and womanizer who’d had two sons by two different women. That in and of itself was not so unusual. What had been unusual was his having done so while wed to Blade’s mother.

Drake had spent most of his childhood being shunted aside and when Blade and his mother had learned of his existence, things had gotten very bad for him. Drake’s mother had died in a tragic accident, and General Bates had decided to bring Drake into the home he shared with his wife and legitimate son, to hell with the consequences.

Blade, who’d been known as Dirk back then, had been unamused. He’d also been a boy whose mother had constantly insisted he was ill and forced him into inactivity. So Drake, who was hale and hearty and eager to be a good son, had found himself in heavy competition with his sibling.

And when their father had taken Blade to the woods, the dangerous and isolated woods, and dropped him off, Drake had been torn between being terrified his sibling would never make it out of there alive, and hoping he wouldn’t.

Blade had. He’d found the first seeds of the powerful man and dangerous enemy he would one day become during that ordeal, and while it had marked and scarred him physically, it had also destroyed whatever shot the two of them might have had at being friends.

Bates had begun to favor Blade after that, saying he had something better than just courage—he had will. Drake had will too, but unlike Blade, he’d never had the chance to prove it. He had begged to be taken and left in those woods, but their father had slapped him across the face so hard it had crossed Drake’s eyes before telling him to never repeat another man’s glory and to find his own.

Tralam. Whatever they found there would either put his name in the history books as a hero—or forever mark him as the villain.

Either way, it would be his glory.

The knock on the door to his small cabin aboard the ship broke off his thoughts. He called out a gruff, “Enter,” and the door slid open to reveal Blade, his black hair shining and his body armor molded to every enviable muscle and line of his body.

They looked alike. Same height, same coloring. Same black hair and wide shoulders, same dark eyes and heavy brows. But Blade had that scar right above his eye and Drake’s scars were hidden below his clothes and his skin. Drake was taller, by a mere two inches, and his lips were fuller, his nose longer and straighter.

Blade eyed him. “The wormhole nears.”

Drake’s gut tightened. Were they really doing this? He’d been all the way to the wormhole before, but never past it. What lay on the other side was a door, and one he would not be able to open without the others. He needed all of their skills to enter that place.

He would not need them to exit, however.

Drake said, “I know. I can feel it. The grav-pull is so strong it feels like it’s trying to suck me through the sides of the ship.”

Blade’s eyes were hooded. All the old animosity still hung between them and Drake could feel it as Blade said, “Me too. You’re needed on the bridge. There are no navigation systems that can take us where we need to be.”

Drake nodded and finished tucking his tunic into his trousers. His boots, no longer polished but still fine leather, already rested on his feet and weapons sat in the belt around his waist.

Blade spoke again, his tone menacing. “Is there anything we need to know?”

Drake’s smile was bland, innocent. “If there was, I would have said it already. I need you, remember?’

Blade snorted. “I do remember. I just do not know if I believe you need us for anything except a ride in.”

Drake didn’t flinch. “I see.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“You’re going to have to trust me.”

“Not with my life.”

“I can understand your feelings. Now, should we get to the bridge?”

It was an impasse, and Drake knew it. He also knew that he had to do what had to be done, regardless of how he felt about it.