Love built on betrayal.
Lust that can’t be denied.
Temptation of the forbidden.
Prepare for out of this world stories as you delve into these 8 unforgettable sci-fi alien romances. This isn’t a rescue mission. This is ABDUCTED. Abducted includes stories based on forbidden romances, enemies to lovers, and happily ever afters – there is something for everyone!
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Authors include:
Elle Ryan
Margo Bond Collins
Katherine E. Soto
Jordan Elizabeth
Nova Celeste and Lexi Velvet
Grey Dawn of Dharaven: Katz Island Bk1
Chapter 1
Grey’s Expedition
Sitting in her office, Dr. Grey Dawn Fields was nervous. A News 55 crew was busy inside her office getting ready for the upcoming interview as they snaked electrical lines from outlets to the camera and audio inputs. They hooked a microphone to the front of her blouse earlier. The make-up lady came over to add some powder to her face so she would not shine on camera and tried to fix her hair into something more presentable than her usual messy bun. Grey was dressed in her favorite green blouse with black pants because it was her best-looking, most comfortable outfit for work. She wanted to make a good impression in the news interview.
The reporter entered the office. “We’re ready for you, Dr. Fields.” He turned both their microphones on. He took her by the hand and brought her towards him, then pointed to a taped line on the floor. She stood on it.
“Tell us about your new expedition, Dr. Fields.” Mark turned to her after a countdown from three. Grey looked at the reporter. He had told her to act like they were having a conversation.
“I’m pleased to give information about the University’s new expedition. I will lead an archaeological expedition to Katz Island to search for a Human Underground Settlement,” she said.
“Why do you think there’s an Underground Settlement on Katz Island? No one else does, according to my research. It seems to me you are going on a useless quest that will use up money and University resources.” Mark was up on his research to Grey’s surprise.
“There is no reason for humans not to have developed an underground settlement in tandem with the other two races on Katz Island when they resettled along race lines. It makes for an interesting question I spent two years researching. I found an ancient map that shows it in an area near the eastern edge of Katz Island. There is never a waste of resources when the quest is looking for something that might change our world’s history.” Grey gave a small smile.
“The Katz Island officials have allowed no one on the island to study for the last five years. They think they have found all the history to be found on it. They restrict the island to tourists and school tours. How did you get permission for an archaeology exploration based on an old map?” He looked straight at Grey.
“It’s a good map, plus I filed a lot of paperwork.” Grey smiled. The reporter gave a small laugh. “I worked with the Katz Island Oversight Committee from my first idea that there might be something there. I went to the three race governments to get permission to explore on the island. It was not an easy process. I am working with a representative from the Committee to obtain my final expedition permits.”
“Do you think your expedition will change Human history on Dharaven?” he asked.
“Finding new information about any race on our planet changes history whether it be Human, Elven, or Dwarven, or even the Ancients. If I find the right place, it will change early settlement theories for humans on our planet of Dharaven. It might give us a glimpse into the Clans and the Ancients, if we find sites that contain their artifacts, but I’m looking for Human habitation as I explore the eastern areas of Katz Island. I have designated areas I can explore; beyond those, I’m not allowed to go without checking with the Committee.” Grey shifted her gaze to the camera.
“It’s a dangerous place on Katz Island; according to maps I have seen there are valleys, mountains, cliffs, and jungle. Snakes and dangerous slides, and earth tremors.” Mark motioned with his hand to a map of the Katz Island on the wall behind them.
“We plan to start in a forested meadow then work our way east if there is a way up out of the first valley. If not, we stop, regroup, and study the maps I have of the area. Making on site plans is what archaeologists do when we explore. Katz Island does not have large predators. A snake, some mice, and a rabbit or two, may be the only creatures we run into on that part of the island.” She beamed up at Mark.
“Are you sure the area is not inhabited? You might walk into an area someone has claimed.” Mark shifted his weight from one foot to another.
“I doubt the eastern area of Katz Island is settled. It looks rugged with the mountain ranges on that side of the island. We have sent drones over the area several times. There are no signs of anyone living there. No strange smoke signals from a tribe living alone in the wilderness. But, if we find them, you’ll be the first reporter I tell.” Mark snickered at her offer.
“I discovered there have been several threats made against you and the university if they allow this expedition to happen. Does that make you afraid to go ahead with it?” A serious expression crossed his face.
“Every expedition has people who don’t want it to happen. There are ecologists who see the eastern part of Katz Island as prime wilderness. I’m not taking a big expedition onto Katz Island and we carry the most recent camp ecology equipment. There are people who decide they don’t like me and/or the university. Safety is our first concern. I hired a superb Security Chief. He hired a team to keep my archaeology team safe while we explore on Katz Island.” Grey’s thoughtful look emphasized her point.
“When does your expedition begin its exploration on Katz Island?” he asked.
“Because of security reasons, I can’t give an exact date. I’m hiring personnel and gathering supplies. I look forward to a final push off date within the next two months,” she said.
“Your expedition sounds interesting, Dr. Fields. Do you need a news reporter?” He grinned at her.
“I filled my quota of news personnel, Mark.” They laughed. “You can have an exclusive when I find the Human Underground Settlement.”
“I look forward to it. Good luck, Dr. Fields, on your expedition to Katz Island. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Mark cut the interview with a signal to his cameraman.
“Thanks, Dr. Fields. Your interview will broadcast this afternoon.”
“Thank you, Mark. Interviews are difficult for me, but you make it seem like we’re talking to each other. I appreciate you coming to do this today. I had to do one interview about the expedition because the University is funding it.” Grey walked Mark and his crew out of her small office down the hallway past the Dean’s office.
The Dean watched as the news team walked out of the building. He waved Grey into his office. “I see the news team left. How controversial were you this time?” he asked.
“It was a little controversial for you. I made a statement that my findings might change Human race settlement history on Dharaven.”
“Grey, we have these discussions about watching what you say. Please don’t make those kinds of statements to news people. They blow it out of proportion. I have grave doubts you’ll find anything on that island. Humans were the first race to settle on Dhar. There was never a Human Underground Settlement. Why the university is letting you go, I can’t figure out.”
“It’s a university requirement that I do a news interview before my expedition can get its permits. That news reporter does interesting stories for Channel 55 News. I’m following university regulations.”
“I’m putting your expedition under a news blackout from today forward. Don’t talk about it to anyone except expedition members or myself. Sign this form that says we notified you.” Grey scrawled her signature on the bottom of the form the Dean placed in front of her.
“I’m on my way home,” Grey said. “Tomorrow I plan to organize the interviews for the expedition personnel, see if the final permit is ready, and check on supplies. If you want to sit in on the expedition meeting with my team, it will be at ten a.m.”
“Let me check my schedule in the morning.”
“Good night, Dean Latimer. Have a good evening.”
Grey left the Dean’s office and returned to her own. Talking to him was exhausting. He was a university bureaucrat, more interested in the rules and paperwork than getting out to new areas. Grey was one teacher in the Anthropology/Archaeology department Dean Latimer led. The arguments they had when she was a student under his supervision and when she arranged her own schedule to obtain her Photographic Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Archaeology were well known around the university. Grey counted the days until she left for her expedition. She turned off her computer, locking its information along with her passwords, then gathered her walking stick and backpack from behind her desk for her walk home.
Grey carried a walking stick from her Clan on Aven. She was well versed in combat skills with it. She studied with her Clan’s Sensei from the time she became a young adult. She was a small woman, a little over five-feet-tall in bare feet, and a tad taller in the low-heeled shoes she preferred to wear. Brown hair cut short, with green eyes; at a hundred thirty pounds she was a little heavier than she wanted to be, but University food was rich, and her life was busy. People left her alone when she walked with the walking stick. It made her look taller and a lot fiercer with its strange carvings down it and the crystal near the top.
Grey walked across the street into the Subterranean Shopping Area. It was closest to the Tube that would take her home. Several store owners hollered hello at her as she passed by. She had completed a photo picture flyer for advertising the area earlier in the year. The store owners appreciated the way she caught them working in their stores. The flyers were an instant hit around the city of Deerfield. Foot traffic increased.
She stopped to get supper at one of her favorite fast-food restaurants in the area, then continued to the Wayen Tube to go home. Grey lived in the oldest part of Deerfield, the city where Dhar University had its main campus. Few people lived in the run-down part of town named Wayen. The Clan on Aven bought the entire building as a place for Clan members living in Deerfield. Her Clan helped her to become self-sufficient at Dhar University after testing, applying, and being accepted. It was a secret she kept that she was from the Continent of Aven from the Earth Dragon Clan. Dean Latimer assumed she was from Dhar. She used the apartment address on her applications for university and work. On the continent of Dhar, people from the continent of Aven were thought to be regional and backward. The Clans claimed Aven and allowed only one Dhar-like city on it. The maps of Aven showed a large, wild continent with few settlements. The Clans said they were this world’s people. Grey never mentioned her upbringing to anyone. She went home to the Clan once a year at Spring Equinox.
Grey stepped off the Tube Stop stairs onto a dusty road. She whistled “Grey’s Tune” when she spotted one of the Hoods up on a roof watching for her. A whistle came back through the air. He would be her lookout on the way home. A few times the Hoods had rescued her from dangerous areas and people when she was out on photographic forays in the neighborhood. The Hoods were the premiere gang in Deerfield. Her apartment building sat near the gangs’ Central Hub. This afternoon, Grey scurried down the road with her mind on her expedition needs. She was not paying attention to her surroundings.
A woman stepped in front of her stopping Grey in her tracks. “Grey Fields, the photographer archaeologist?” the woman asked.
“What do you want?” Grey put her hands close to the knife embedded in her walking stick. “Who are you?”
“My name is Oleana. I’m an Elven Monk Warrior. I have been sent to give you a warning.”
“A warning? Who sent it? About what?” Grey took an attack stance with her stick in front of her. This woman looked dangerous. She was dressed in the brown/black robes of an Elven Monk. They were not used as messengers as far as Grey knew.
“There are serious threats being made at you and the Katz Island Expedition. The warning is: Dr. Grey Dawn Fields, watch your back and be careful.”
“What I want to find on Katz Island are Human sites,” Grey said. She looked the Monk Warrior in the face to show her she did not fear her. The Warrior Monk Woman stood tall in a relaxed stance in front of Grey. Her hood shrouded her face. She was inches taller than Grey. Grey realized she would lose if it came down to a fight.
“I will honor any ancestor sites I find whether Ancients, Clan, Human, Elven, or Dwarven. I am an archaeologist with knowledge of archaeology on both continents. My maps show no Ancients sites on Katz Island. The Elven cave sites are far away from where I want to search. What’s the real reason they sent you to talk to me?”
“Someone is not happy with your expedition going into the eastern areas of Katz Island. Someone who wants to help you, sent me to tell you to be careful exploring Katz Island. There are people involved in criminal activities that do not want you there. I am to be part of your expedition.”
“No, I won’t have a Monk Warrior with the expedition. It says to everyone the Elven have a piece in my expedition and they don’t. This expedition is funded by a Human university.”
“You’re a Clan Member, Grey, not Human. Why do you have leadership of the expedition?”
“I found the map that shows where the Human Underground Settlement should be. No one else has it. I don’t share that information with anyone.”
The Elven Monk Warrior uttered a cut off laugh. “That’s one way to do it.” She shifted her position to step back from Grey. “Remember me as your warning about Katz Island. You will see me again, Grey Fields.” Grey watched as she vanished off the street.
Tony walked up the street toward Grey as she collected her thoughts. “I came to see if there was a problem,” he said.
Grey relaxed the tight hold on her stick. “Someone’s trying to scare me off my expedition.” Tony and Grey walked down the block to Grey’s building.
“Do you remember when we met?” Grey asked.
“Yeah, I do. I checked you out the first day you moved into the neighborhood. It was a nice summer day when you moved into the apartment building using a remote hover sled to bring things to the apartment by yourself. You knew we watched you walk in and out of the neighborhood. I was not subtle with my approach.”
Grey searched her memories of that day.
“Hey Lady, what’re you doing here?” A deep voice came from an alley way as she walked by.
She went into a fight pose with her walking stick, twirled towards him, knocked him flat on the ground, then pulled the knife from the walking stick up into her hand.
“What do you want?” The knife in her hand was at his throat.
“Just checking you out, Lady.” He had his hands up by his head in a surrender pose.
“Nothing funny when I let you up.”
“No worries, Lady.” He rose off the ground. He towered over her. She kept the knife in her hand. “I’ve never seen a woman do that before,” he said.
“I don’t like surprises in these streets. I heard there was a gang in the neighborhood, so I’m careful. Who are you?”
“I’m Tony, the Leader of the Hoods.”
“Oh great, the one person I want to find in this lousy neighborhood I put on the ground at knifepoint.”
“You impressed me. Made a laughingstock out of me in front of everyone watching us. Anyone as small as you taking me down deserves respect.” Tony, over six feet tall and well over 200 pounds, loomed over her five-foot, one hundred-thirty-pound frame.
“If I’ve impressed you, can we be friends? I live there.” She pointed to her building.
“Yeah, we watched you move in.”
“I know. I saw people on the roofs and in windows watching. My name is Grey Fields. I’m a photographic archaeologist and professor at Dhar University.”
“I’m Tony.”
Grey put her hand out for a handshake. “Friends? Or at least not enemies?”
He shook her hand. “Not enemies. We’ll see about friends.”
A friendship developed with the Hoods through her photography in the neighborhood. She made free prints for them of any gang member pictures she took. She also took pictures of their girlfriends, and their babies in the studio next to her apartment for a small fee.
At the door she asked him: “Have you considered the job offer I made to you to be part of the security team on the expedition? It’d be great work experience for you. Might even get you a real job in Security when you get back.”
“I might not pass your security checks at the University,” he said.
“Have you done jail time?”
“No, I stay out of real trouble. Been arrested, but they dropped the charges.”
“I’ll have my security Chief check your record. He might want to interview you. If you turn up clean, we can hire you.”
“Sounds good. See you round, Doc!” Tony melted into the neighborhood by vaulting the nearest wall.
Grey unlocked the locks on the door to her building. She was the one tenant in the building, so the mail scattered around the mailbox opening was hers. She stood at the bottom of the stairs, taking a few deep breaths, trying to deal with being accosted by an Elven Monk Warrior in her own neighborhood so soon after her public interview. She did not show it, but she took the Monk Warrior’s warning to heart and it scared her. She picked the mail up off the floor.
Her apartment was on the fourth floor. She took one last deep breath with the mail in her hand, she dashed up the four flights of stairs in record time. She ran out the scared feelings from the encounter in the street. The keys shook as the door locks were unlocked one at a time. The door slammed shut hard. She threw the locks back into use one by one. Grey was home for the night.
Her first writings were free-form poetry, although there are fond memories of creative stories written for her grandmother. Katherine enjoys composing short stories, flash fiction, poetry, sci-fi/fantasy novels, and nonfiction. She claims her writing muse is a dragon who rampages in her mind until she sits down and starts creating. She has written a sci-fi/fantasy fiction novel, with a series in mind.
She enjoys reading science fiction and fantasy books, creating art journals, and antiquing. She can be contacted at her author site: linktr.ee/KatherineESotoAuthor
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