Prologue for Passion's Hero: The Alpha King

So I thought I'd share the Prologue for Passion's Hero: The Alpha King which is Book One of the Passion's Hero series.  When I first wrote the book it was 80,000 words, then I pared it down because I thought that it was too long and it became 24,000 words.  But apparently I'd taken out a lot that should have been left in so I'm editing and rewriting the book until it returns to its 80,000 words version, or as close as I can possibly get it.

But anyway, here is the Prologue for the book:

Prologue

“Please, we beg you.  You have to save us!” the President of the United States of America pleaded with the leaders of the Galaxy Planetary Allegiance.  He visibly trembled and Torqran, the Commander of the Planet Strawxig looked at the screen with look of apathy.  The other leaders of the GPA as well as a few advisors, Elders, and planetary leaders watched as the humans pleaded for help from the other planets.  The humans had been amazingly arrogant up until that moment, certain that they could save themselves, heal their planet, and do it all without any help from those that they termed “aliens.”  However, when all of their efforts proved fruitless and the whole of the planet only contained 300 remaining humans all from different countries, speaking different languages, having different religions and ethnicities, the human leaders finally knew that it was time to ask for help.

“We cannot survive if you don’t save us.  We can’t survive.  We need your help.  Please help us.  PLEASE!” the American President shouted into the screen and Torqran, a snake shifter, pressed the switch to stop the vid stream with the pad of his scaly-skinned finger.  With a sigh, and a brief flick of his forked tongue against his bottom lip, he shifted his finger and tongue back into their male form and turned his chair to face the rest of the leaders and those who had the ambition to become leaders, and knew that something had to be done.

“And as you know, we helped those filthy creatures.  We knew that the only way to complete eradiate them was to help them and breed them with our species in order to completely phase out the human species.  Those filthy bastards didn’t follow the protocol, however, and instead of the humans dying out, we have four new breed of humanoids and while they are little better than those filthy Earthlings that our ancestors helped centuries ago, they are a vast improvement over those sniveling, arrogant, self-destructive assholes that they once were.”  Torqran watched as everyone nodded their heads in agreement and understanding.  The humanoids were not a breed that was universally liked, but they were much better than their predecessors.  Torqran glanced up when his second-in-command, Lorthander, his secret lover and brother of his wife, walked into the back of the room and nodded.  He gave the merest hint of a nod in acknowledgment and then smiled at the rest of the room.

“As you all know the real reason we are here is because of one specific breed of humanoid,” with a nod to Lorthander, Torqran continued speaking, watching as the larger man, a warrior of Strawxig, passed out folders to everyone in attendance. “In this folder is the information we have received about a particular breed of humanoid.  The Vermithians.  While we know that their bodies adapt to that of their mates in order for them to all get pregnant and have children, we did not have the evidence years ago that we have now.  Our scientists have been studying the offspring of Vermithian parents and they have a genetic anamoly that puts them beyond their expected gifts of being able to talk with nature and animals, beyond that of being able to heal others, but there is a new strand of Vermithians whose blood is infinitely more corrupted with that of their ancestors.”

“What the hell are you trying to say Lorthander?” a voice spoke up from the back of the room, his voice low and laced with anger and annoyance.  Lorthander knew who it was, he knew what planet the man came from…he also knew that this man was not one that he wanted to piss off, because this man was crazy enough to try and kill him…right now, in front of everyone.

“I am saying that the Vermithians have the ability to save the human gene and more than that, there is a family,” Lorthander grit his teeth, he hated to admit this. “Who is so powerful and so special that we haven’t been able to get close to them, but what we do know is that this particular family has the ability and the power to create a pure human race…regardless of whom they mate.”

Lorthander waited for the gasps and cries of shock, outrage and dismay to die down before he continued.  “Our best chance is to completely kill off this family of Vermithians and then to find every documented and even undocumented Vermithian and kill them all,” he advised.  He watched as everyone nodded their heads, in complete agreement and he got ready to hand out assignments and to lay out the details.

Without a sound and with no noticeable movement at all the man from the back of the room stood in front of him, covered head to toe in all black.  Lorthander tried not to gasp as he took in the man’s large frame and hard, cold, emotionless eyes.  Standing his ground he tilted his head and tried to seem much more confident and laid back.

“What is the name of this family that you want to dispose of?” he asked in a low voice, though everyone could hear his question and suddenly the room became frozen, no one breathed, no one spoke as if they were all awaiting Lorthander’s response.

With a cold, calculating smile Lorthander replied with seven words, two sentences that dramatically changed the universe, the GPA and history forever,” The Versuthions. We must kill the Versuthions.”

~~**~~                       ~~**~~                       ~~**~~                       ~~**~~

Talon Versuthion whispered to his pet flower, the stalk swayed and the petals bobbed in reply, and then smiled up at his parents when they rushed into his room.  He loved talking to the flowers and plants that his parents had put up all around his room.  His younger brothers had pet animals, most of which had to be kept outside, but Talon’s flowers were in the room with him.  He loved the fact that when he woke up every morning they were right there, waiting to talk to him, it made him feel special and it made him feel loved.  Well, more loved than he already felt.  His parents were pretty awesome.

His father, Taltrentuvaro, knelt in front of him and put his hands on either side of his face and Talon smiled at him.  His father didn’t smile back and Talon tilted his head to the side.  Why wasn’t his father smiling?  His father always smiled.  He heard the distant sounds of his mother rushing around the room, crying and sniffling, beeps and slamming noises letting Talon know that she was opening his drawers and toy chests for some reason.

Looking back up at his father he saw his father’s eyes fill with tears.  Talon lifted his own hands and put them on his father’s cheeks to wipe away the tears that had escaped.  He had never seen his father cry before and it scared him.  It filled him with a fear that he had never known before.

“Papa?  What’s wrong?” he asked.

Taltrentuvaro shook his head and then turned to kiss the palms of both of Talon’s hands, “Nothing my son.  Your mother and I are merely going out for a drive.  We’re going to send you over to Mrs. Lorankia’s house for a while.”

Talon’s mouth opened in gasp and then he began to shake his head frantically.  He hated Mrs. Lorankia!  They all did, especially his two younger brothers.  Trenton said she smelled like the replicas of the ancient humans that they saw in the museum.  Whereas Tuvarion said that she was just as stupid as the ancient humans.  Talon just thought she was mean.  She spent a lot of time telling the three Versuthion boys that they were abominations and that their parents were going to get what was coming to them one day.  Mrs. Lorankia wasn’t Vermithian like they were, she was Edifician, but his parents told him that that didn’t mean that she was better than them, just different.

Talon didn’t too much like different right then.

“No Papa!  No!  We hate Mrs. Lorankia!  Please don’t make us go!  What if she tries to eat Tuvarion again?  She says that he’s way too pretty to be a boy,” Talon pleaded with his father, not noticing the looks of grief and horror that passed between his parents.

“Well no worries there, my son, Trenton and Tuvarion aren’t going to stay with her.  Only you.  They have already left to go and…visit some friends and that’s where your mother and I are going right now, to go and pick them up,” his father reassured him.

Talon nodded.  As long as Tuvarion didn’t have to go and deal with Mrs. Lorankia and listen to her say mean things to him that made him cry, then he guessed it was okay if he went alone.  His father kissed his forehead and then his mother came over and clutched him to her chest fiercely.  She hugged him so tightly that he felt his face flush hot and the air leave his lungs.  She had never hugged him so tight and instead of filling him with love and a feeling of security, it filled him with fear.

His parents rushed him over to an obviously reluctant Mrs. Lorankia’s care and then with a final hug and kiss from them both, they left to go and pick up his brothers from wherever they were.  Talon knew that they would return soon but he couldn’t seem to shake the bad feeling that had taken up residence in his stomach.  He waited and waited for their return.  So did Mrs. Lorankia.

He never saw his parents again and his brothers had been taken away from him.  Talon was all alone and he knew that he would never give someone else the chance to leave him behind again.