A Tedoleran under the Christmas Tree E-Book

Nova Edwins

• Herausgeber: Black Umbrella Publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Tedoleran Christmas
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 67

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

I'm guarding a dark secret and don't have the slightest idea how to confess it to my friends. When we get lost in the middle of the snowy Colorado wilderness, I find the perfect solution to my dilemma—a menacing monster lurking among the pines. My plan is simple: I'll sacrifice myself so that my friends can escape to safety. If I'm no longer alive, I can't confess anything to them. Idiot-proof. Unfortunately, the monster has no interest in killing me. What it intends to do with me is much more diabolical... Dark sci-fi romance with a Christmas theme. Over the top and utterly ridiculous. Contains holiday lights, candy canes, and a happy ending in front of a fireplace.

Leseprobe

A TEDOLERAN UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE

TEDOLERAN CHRISTMAS 4

NOVA EDWINS

A DARK SCI-FI ROMANCE NOVELLA

CONTENTS

A Tedoleran under the Christmas Tree

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Epilogue

About Nova Edwins

A TEDOLERAN UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE

I'm guarding a dark secret and don't have the slightest idea how to confess it to my friends. When we get lost in the middle of the snowy Colorado wilderness, I find the perfect solution to my dilemma—a menacing monster lurking among the pines.

My plan is simple: I'll sacrifice myself so that my friends can escape to safety. If I'm no longer alive, I can't confess anything to them. Idiot-proof.

Unfortunately, the monster has no interest in killing me. What it intends to do with me is much more diabolical...

Dark sci-fi romance with a Christmas theme. Over the top and utterly ridiculous. Contains holiday lights, candy canes, and a happy ending in front of a fireplace.

PROLOGUE

ISLA

I squinted in the back seat and wished I could disappear. Wished to be able to simply vanish into thin air. I didn't want to exist anymore. How could I confess to my friends what I had done?

I probably wouldn't even be able to say it without throwing up. The shivering didn't stop, despite the fact that I was actually dressed too warmly for the car ride. The cold came from within me—probably from where my soul had been before.

No matter how many times I told myself Warren deserved it, the sinking feeling wouldn't go away, nor would the twinge in the pit of my stomach.

Taylor had taken me aside right at the beginning and warned me about Warren, but I hadn't wanted to hear it. No, I was smart and independent and didn't need any help.

Such bullshit. I wish someone would come and take me by the hand and tell me what I had to do from now on because as soon as I took responsibility for my own life, I basically threw myself into misfortune. And not only with men. The last job I had taken at a print store hadn't been a normal print store—they printed counterfeit money after closing time. I simply attracted misfortune, and when I tried to fix it, I only made everything worse.

Harry had helped me get a restraining order against Warren, so he couldn't come near me after he beat me up. He had to keep a distance of at least twenty yards. Still, I hadn't felt safe because he had always been hanging around on the other side of the street, waving at me with a sardonic grin.

Until this morning, when he apparently decided that the restraining order ultimately couldn't stop him from breaking into my apartment.

I had been so angry that I had pushed Warren off me with all my might. His head had hit the edge of the table. Blood had spilled onto my carpet while I stood there rooted to the spot. I realized that I should have called an ambulance. Or the police. Or both.

But I had taken my packed bag and left the apartment. Down at the roadside, I had waited almost forty-five minutes until my girlfriends picked me up for our Christmas trip.

I hadn't spoken a single word.

There were only two possibilities: Either Warren was dead, and the police would be waiting for me when I returned, or he wasn't dead, and he would be waiting for me when I returned.

Either way, I was probably better off disappearing into the snow. Maybe I'd wait until my girlfriends were asleep tonight, write them a goodbye note, and take a long walk. So long that I would freeze to death and my body would never be found.

Jen, Taylor, and Harry didn't deserve to be constantly dragged into my misfortune. They would probably even say that Warren deserved to die and that I had nothing to blame myself for. But I couldn't let them find out and risk being charged with aiding and abetting. Or failing to render aid. Or whatever.

I just wanted to disappear—no more decisions to make.

"Isla?" Jen said.

No, no, no. I couldn't talk to them now, or I'd burst into tears, and they'd immediately know that something was wrong. "I'm asleep," I claimed, squeezing my eyelids shut a little tighter.

"Why don't we just stop here for a minute?" Taylor suggested. "We'll stretch our legs and see if we can manage to get a signal on our cell phones. Otherwise, we'll keep an eye out for distinctive landmarks. Maybe we'll get lucky and happen to see Colorado's tallest fir tree to use as a guide."

"Sounds good," Harry said.

Yes. What a great idea! Getting out and pretending that everything was fine. Great. Just great.

1

COPID

I had never been a particularly social guy. The fact that Dashar and Voxen were now doing everything together just because we were stuck on Earth stressed me out. Yes, we were friends, but if it had been up to me, Dashar could have set the ah'tze cabins farther apart. Much further apart.

I just wanted to have my peace and not be constantly harassed by drones, and Dashar wanting to know how I was doing. We were here to protect Earth from potential attacks, not to talk about our feelings.

With a growl, I quickened my steps. I had already gone much too far from our camp, but I had to hike even further if I wanted my peace. I had climbed the mountain and was admiring the view when an automobile approached. If I understood correctly, humans actually called them cars. Dashar was not the only one who had acquired knowledge of the humans, but I did not find it necessary to correct him.

The car was slowing down, and although it was far enough away not to pose a threat, I thought it wiser to leave my high vantage point. My red skin stood out too much against the snow. I had been warm after the climb, so I had taken off my shirt, and I felt no desire to put the sweaty fabric back on now.

From my hiding place, I could see the car stop and four females get out at once. Females. Four human women. They were all so small and petite. Easy prey and a real feast for, say, a Horgerian.

Unlike the Horgerians, we Tedolerans were not cannibals who tore our sex partners to pieces after the act. We could control ourselves and knew what manners were.

My instructions were clear. We had to keep our hands off the humans—that applied to the women as well as the men.

I didn't usually have problems with my self-control, but today I felt anxious. Nervous. Tense.

What if one of them broke away from the group? It would be so easy to grab one and disappear with her. The others would never be able to catch up with me.

No.

No, I should not think like that.

Three of them were talking loudly and gesturing with their hands, while the fourth stood a little apart. She had her arms wrapped around herself and was barely visible under the many layers of fabric. Unlike her companions, not much was visible of her face.

I growled in displeasure because for some reason I couldn't explain, I wanted her to turn around.

A jolt went through her body. Had she heard me? No, she couldn't have. Humans didn't hear half as well as Tedolerans, and I hadn't been loud.

Or at least I assumed I hadn't, because really I should have known better than to growl in the first place. But I didn't feel like myself. The more I inhaled, the more urgent the need became to grab one of the women—particularly the one who smelled so ah'tze good. I had never perceived such a seductive scent. It made my mouth water, and my cock grow hard. I felt like a creature driven by instincts.