Soldier Mine

A Total-E-Bound Publication

www.total-e-bound.com

Soldier Mine

ISBN # 978-1-78184-243-0

©Copyright Amber Kell 2013

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright February 2013

Edited by Stacey Birkel

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2013 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a
heat rating
of
Total-e-sizzling
and a
sexometer
of
1.

This story contains 93 pages, additionally there is also a
free excerpt
at the end of the book containing 7 pages.

Thresl Chronicles

SOLDIER MINE

Amber Kell

Book one in the Thresl Chronicles series

When Kreslan is attacked, little does he know the shape-shifting beast who saves him will completely change his life.

When Kreslan Piers is attacked in the cargo hold, he is rescued by a rare shape-shifting beast who transforms into the reincarnated leader of an entire planet. Will Kreslan be willing to give up his dream of being an ordinary soldier to partner with an extraordinary creature?

Vohne has been named by his human half, and the longer they’re together the more he’s remembering the details of their previous lives—lives he shared with Kreslan before watching him die. When they reach the Thresl home planet, Vohne has to break the news to his skittish mate that they not only does he belong to Vohne, but he is fated to be his other half for the rest of eternity.

Dedication

To my science fiction fans who enjoy a little man love in their space adventures.

Chapter One

“Just who I wanted to see.”

Kreslan Piers didn’t need to turn around to know who had sneaked up behind him in the hall. Barley Tankis’ voice haunted his dreams. The bastard had made it his mission in life to bother Kres since basic training. Unfortunately, Barley’s father was an admiral in the fleet, so complaining about Tankis’ behaviour never produced any results. Kres had learnt that lesson the hard way and had a scar on his arm to show for his efforts.

“Hello, Barley.” Kres reluctantly turned to meet his nemesis.

“Hello, faggot,” Barley sneered. If his usual expression wasn’t so unpleasant, the tall blond could have been considered handsome with his wide shoulders and icy blue eyes. Unfortunately, it didn’t take much digging to find the vast ugliness that lay beneath the surface.

“What do you want?” Kres had just finished sixteen hours of guard duty after one of his co-workers had come down with a cold. He could barely keep his eyes open. He didn’t need to put up with Barley’s crap on top of everything else. He longed for a few hours of sleep followed by a trip to the bar to grab a willing bedmate for a round of stress-reducing sex. Hell, at this point he was so desperate he might even be willing to consider a woman.

“I talked to Sergeant Wallace, and he agreed with me that you should guard the creatures tonight.”

Kres’ stomach churned over Barley’s smug expression.

Shit. So much for stress reduction.

Even though he knew it was pointless, he offered a token protest. “I can’t guard them tonight. I just got off sixteen hours. I’m going to get some food, then go to sleep.”

Fuck, he needed sleep.

“So I should go back and tell the sergeant you’re ignoring a direct order?” Barley’s cold eyes glowed with malice.

Anger pulsed through Kres. He knew he was powerless but that didn’t stop him from issuing a threat that would no doubt go unfulfilled. “One of these days you’re going to get what’s coming to you.”

He had to believe that. It was the only thing that kept him from punching Barley in the face and getting court-martialled.

With a final glare at Barley, Kres turned and headed towards the cargo bay.

“Enjoy your shift.” Barley’s mocking laughter followed him down the hall.

Kres wished he could get away with punching the bastard again, but the last time he’d done that, he had been the one who had ended up in the brig for three days while Barley had roamed free. Kres had learnt his lesson. He only did things to Barley when he knew he could get away with them.

Sergeant Wallace gave him a cool look when he arrived. “Took you long enough to get here.”

“I came as soon as I heard you wanted me on guard duty, Sergeant. I just got off a double shift.” Kres didn’t bother to hide the annoyance in his voice. His feet hurt, his back ached and he longed for his hard cot of a bed with a fierce need. At this point, a trip to the brig would at least allow him to get some sleep.

“Then you shouldn’t have volunteered for this one,” the sergeant barked at him.

“I didn’t, Sergeant,” Kres replied through gritted teeth.

“Are you saying Barley is a liar?”

How he longed to say yes.

“I would never say that, Sergeant. But then, as I didn’t volunteer and Barley said you insisted I do this watch, I’ll let you make the judgement call.”

The older man gave him a long, considering gaze. “I like Admiral Tankis. Too bad his son is a prick. Unfortunately, because you were volunteered, I let my other guard go. I’m going to need you to take this shift, soldier, and then I’ll make sure Barley takes the next three.”

The thought of Barley watching animals for one evening much less three drained away most of Kres’ anger. “I’ll do my duty.”

The sergeant slapped Kres on the back, almost knocking the wind out of him. “I knew I could count on you. You’re a good man, Piers.”

Kres didn’t think a good man would enjoy the thought of his enemy’s punishment, but he wasn’t going to argue. “What do I need to do?”

“Keep an eye out that no one bothers the animals. Check on them if they make any noise. There’s been word that someone might be after the Thresl before he makes it to Callavar.” The sergeant pointed towards the huge cage in the corner.

Kres nodded. “I’ll keep a close watch on him.”

Thresls were rare shape-shifters—cat hybrids—that, once bonded with their owners, could take any form. However, the beasts were picky about who they bonded with and often wouldn’t stay with their owner if the Thresl found them unworthy. That fact didn’t stop black market thieves from snatching the creatures whenever they could. The rich considered owning a Thresl prestigious and would pay outrageous amounts to have one of their own, even if they had to keep it in a cage for the rest of its life. Kres felt sorry for the beasts.

After the sergeant had left, Kres walked amongst the rows of cages, peeking through the grates. Most of the creatures were sleeping. A low growl had him walking towards the Thresl’s cage, sweeping his flashlight back and forth to see if there was a reason behind the animal’s noises or if simple restlessness made it pace.

Careful to keep his steps quiet in case an intruder was hidden in the hold, Kres approached the Thresl’s location. A quick glance around showed no one immediately near the enormous cage. To be thorough, Kres walked all the way around the container. Unable to resist, he peeked inside. A pair of gold eyes peered back. Kres respectfully kept his distance. He’d heard about these creatures mauling people through the bars. The new criss-cross caging supposedly prevented that, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“I don’t see anything, pretty kitty,” Kres crooned to the animal. As if intrigued by his voice, the large cat moved closer to the latched door. The beast’s red and black markings shifted beneath the shadows and limited lighting. Unless there was active loading or unloading, they kept the lights low in the cargo hold in order to preserve power.

The cat gave another growl.

Kres spread his empty hands to show he meant no harm. “I’m not going to mess with you. I’ve heard how dangerous you are.” He stepped back from the cage and looked around. Nothing.

The animal made a low purring noise. Curious, Kres peeked inside again.

“You sure are a pretty thing.”

“Talking to the animals now, are we?”

Kres spun around.

Barley and two of his goons, Stanner and Philson, smiled at him, but the look in their eyes was anything but friendly.

“What do you want, Barley?” Kres looked back and forth between the three men. He knew in his gut that this time they meant to do more than just a little harassment. He could almost feel the antagonism pouring off Barley.

“You told Sergeant Wallace I volunteered you,” Barley accused.

“You did.”

“Why can’t you just take your punishment like a man?”

“Because you aren’t supposed to be fucking punishing anyone. You think you can do anything you like, but you’re just an asshole with a father who gets you out of trouble.”

It was like an alien had taken over his mouth and was making him blurt out things he was definitely going to pay for later. Why couldn’t he shut the hell up?

“Grab him,” Barley ordered.

Barley’s goons each took one of Kres’ arms and slammed him against the Thresl’s cage.

Kres wasn’t the type to go down without a fight. Using the goons as leverage, he jumped up and kicked Barley in the face. A satisfying crunch echoed in the hold. Kres smiled at the thought of breaking Barley’s nose.

“You bastard! I’m gonna kill you now!” Barley screamed.

Blood poured down Barley’s face as he pulled back his arm. He slammed down his fist, evidently intent on doing as much damage as possible, but Kres ducked and Barley hit the metal bars of the cage. Barley screamed with pain as his fingers crashed into the iron rods.

“I said hold him!” Barley shouted.

Stanner and Philson pinned Kres tighter against the Thresl’s cage. Kres knew this time there was no getting out of it.

Bracing his body to take Barley’s punch, Kres was unprepared for the door at his back to swing inward. Two clawed hands slashed out, swiping long bloody trails across both of the men holding Kres. Blood splashed out of their wounds as they screamed in pain.