Now, there are shamans in space, and shifters who can't shift, and a geriatric galactic terrorist flying around causing mayhem. Yep, all my fault!
You can read Her Robot Wolf for free in Kindle Unlimited, or own it for 99c. Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072M3Q555
Jaya Romanov is an independent starship shaman. She studies the energy flows of the universe and—for a price—will harness them to her employer’s purpose. Wormholes are a whole lot safer to travel when a shaman guides the jump.
Vulf Trent is a bounty hunter. It was that or join the family business, piracy, and Vulf is too much the lone wolf to tolerate the demands of a large pirate crew. Where his family enjoys the bonds of pack, he prefers the freedom of ranging the universe, alone.
Seven generations ago, humanity evacuated Earth and the shifter clans’ ability to transform into their animal forms was one of the most terrible losses of that time. Now, the werewolves, werebears and other shifters are trapped in their human bodies and slowly losing the essence of their primal souls. Jaya is determined to heal their torn transformational abilities, but Vulf doesn’t believe her.
He didn’t kidnap her for her healing abilities.
Her Robot Wolf is a fabulous adventure in which rare, mystical science replaces magic, pirates are taught to respect lone women, the galaxy is imperiled —and perhaps, rescued—and a fated mate pair contemplate kicking Fate in the teeth. Have fun! Don’t forget to buy Galactic Insurance before leaving Earth!
Excerpt
I turned my attention to the immediate question of the straps that held me. They were fastened firmly, but not painfully tight. In fact, they weren’t restrictive. I wriggled my arms up and free, and undid the top strap. It was the kind that kept a sleeper safe during turbulence. It clicked open.
Relief whispered through me. I sat up and undid the second strap across my hips. As the blanket fell off, cool air caused my skin to goosepimple. The silky t-shirt and shorts appropriate to Tyger Tyger were inadequate here. The blanket had been a kindness. I wrapped it around me as I put my feet on the floor. Over to my right was a hatch set in the floor. Undoubtedly locked. On my left, there was a door; also closed, likely locked. I stared at it.
The door opened.
The bounty hunter entered. He stared at me.
His eyes were blue. He carried neither the disrupter nor a blaster. But then, why would he fear me? And the disrupter could operate from somewhere hidden to me.
“I can’t help you,” I repeated what I’d told him on Tyger Tyger. “And kidnapping is illegal. Where am I?” I couldn’t imagine that we were still on the tropical holiday planet.
“My ship.”
“And where is your ship?” Judging by the straps that had secured me, we were somewhere he expected turbulence. Had he taken us through a wormhole? They were rough journeys for most ships since few people could afford a starship shaman to smooth them.
Unsurprisingly, he didn’t answer my question.
“Jaya Romanov.”
While I’d been unconscious, he’d done his research. I couldn’t summon the energy to care. “And you are?”
“Vulf Trent.”
I hadn’t expected he’d answer my question. I certainly hadn’t anticipated his name. “Vulf?”
“A family name,” he growled impatiently, as if he’d explained it too many times.
But I wasn’t questioning the oddness of his first name. Excitement trickled into me, replacing some of the strange apathy that had weighted my body with uncharacteristic helplessness. I recognized the name Vulf, not for this man, but in terms of who named their children Vulf or Vulfina.
In light of that knowledge, I reassessed him. He still wore a dark gray utility suit. The smooth fit of its cut and fabric served to emphasize his well-defined muscles. Life onboard a starship meant exercise had to be scheduled into a person’s day. You couldn’t rely on it happening naturally. It wasn’t like you could go for a walk to the shops or a swim in the sea. For a moment I regretted that I hadn’t made time for a swim in Tyger Tyger’s tropical ocean. But Vulf’s muscles weren’t simply the result of time in a gym. They were a genetic inheritance.
He was part of my self-selected life’s work, and the irony of discovering his identity now, after Ivan had stolen my sha crystal, struck hard.
It made me careless. “Pirate turned bounty hunter. I guess I can see how that happened.”
The sudden chill in the air had nothing to do with a change in the cabin’s temperature, and everything to do with the expression in Vulf’s light blue eyes.
“Not your name,” I said hastily. “Not Vulf Trent. I had no idea who you are. Have no idea.” Predatory alertness sharpened his gaze and made me babble. “Ivan didn’t tell me anything. I recognized Vulf as a shifter name. The wolf clans. Shifters have a reputation as pirates.” I finally managed to close my mouth, perhaps because some of the icy suspicion in his eyes faded.
“Most people don’t know that the shifters became pirates within a couple of generations of Earth’s evacuation.” There was a question lurking in his comment.
Fortunately, I had a good answer. “The Star Guild Shaman Academy provided a comprehensive education, including the history of Earth and developments since the Evacuation.” And I’d had a personal reason for paying particular attention to anything and everything related to shifters—including the reason they’d abandoned regular society and gone rogue.
Read on ... Her Robot Wolf: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072M3Q555
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