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    Reborn Hope
    Reborn Hope
    Reborn Hope
    Ebook194 pages2 hours

    Reborn Hope

    By Severine Wolfe

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Hadok’s life is changed forever when he discovers a brutal crime that could change his world permanently. Honor bound to correct the horrendous act committed by his twin brother, he refuses to look the other way. He will do what is right even if it goes against the laws of the society in which he lives.

    Natasha was ripped from her world. Held captive, her fear only escalates when her captor suddenly dies and leaves her in the hands of his twin brother. She is confused when, instead of killing her, he offers her hope and a safe haven from the Security Forces.

    Hadok and Natasha soon realize that her presence would start a conflict that will ignite the Selu society. Lies and oppression are only the beginning in a star system where rules are expected to be followed. Can Hadok and Natasha survive in a world where there are those that would silence them at any cost? If they do, what will it mean for the new life that Natasha carries?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSeverine Wolfe
    Release dateJul 19, 2016
    ISBN9781310913877
    Reborn Hope
    Author

    Severine Wolfe

    Severine Wolfe is a pen name. It's also a name I've used across the gaming world for nearly 20 years. I answer to, "Hey, Sev!" just as easily as my birth name.I am married and have four grown children and three grandchildren. I love to read and I read everything from treatises on philosophy to theories on the speed of light to the most bawdy of bodice rippers. My interests are varied but reading, knitting and gardening are my top three. Extreme knitting, not for the faint of heart.I've had stories running around my head for years and I'm just now letting them out to put themselves on the virtual page. I hope you enjoy the characters as much as I have over the years. You can contact me at sevwolfe@gmail.com.

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      Book preview

      Reborn Hope - Severine Wolfe

      REBORN HOPE

      Shifting Alliances Book 1

      By Severine Wolfe

      Science Fiction Romance

      Reborn Hope

      Copyright © 2015 by Severine Wolfe

      First E-Book Published July 2016

      Cover design by Melody Simmons

      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author.

      All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations are strictly coincidental.

      License Statement

      This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Hadok’s life is changed forever when he discovers a brutal crime that could change his world permanently. Honor bound to correct the horrendous act committed by his twin brother, he refuses to look the other way. He will do what is right even if it goes against the laws of the society in which he lives.

      Natasha was ripped from her world. Held captive, her fear only escalates when her captor suddenly dies and leaves her in the hands of his twin brother. She is confused when, instead of killing her, he offers her hope and a safe haven from the Security Forces.

      Hadok and Natasha soon realize that her presence would start a conflict that will ignite the Selu society. Lies and oppression are only the beginning in a star system where rules are expected to be followed. Can Hadok and Natasha survive in a world where there are those that would silence them at any cost? If they do, what will it mean for the new life that Natasha carries?

      Other Books by Severine Wolfe:

      Demonworld

      Dark Matters (Instruments of Wrath 1)

      Tangled Strings (Instruments of Wrath 2)

      Uncertain Principles (Instruments of Wrath 3)

      Complex Familiarity 3.5

      Moment of Inertia 4 (Late Summer 2016)

      Urban Paladin Series:

      No Owner’s Manual

      RTFM (Fall of 2016)

      Dedication

      I’d like to dedicate this story to Susan Smith, aka SE Smith, who was wonderful enough to help me title this baby when I’d lost all reason after more than six months of trying. She makes it look so easy!

      CHAPTER ONE

      It was tricky delving into the things people did when no one was watching. The society I lived in was structured so tightly that no one admitted or exhibited any outward aberrant behavior. It was known that there was a second society hidden by the outward one, but no one would ever speak of it, admit it out loud. It was why I had not let the authorities inform my parents that my brother had died in the bed of his mistress.  That, in and of itself, was shocking.  Most males in our society would not take a mistress until after they were married. Visits to off-world pleasure houses were one thing, keeping a bit on the side where you lived was quite another.

      You see, Fragard had been the good son. He had always done well in school, got an excellent job afterward working off-world. He did exactly as society demanded he does. However, it was obvious that he had depths of which no one was aware, including me, his twin brother. That was the way our entire society lived, though, the seen and unseen, co-existing while at the same time denying the other one did. It made for a very strange society. It made for an even stranger underworld. It’s a world everyone knows exists but no one will speak about out loud.

      I had just found out the rotation before that my brother was dead. I had had the sad duty of informing my parents. This was by far the worst thing I’d ever done to them since my birth. Until yesterday, the worst had been being unable to procreate. Perpetuating the species was important in my world, a genetic imperative and a social one. Your status was measured on the size of your family and how well you provided for them. Since my brother and I were the only children my parents had managed to have, all of their hopes of continuing their lines rested on Fragard’s shoulders. On our world, Selu, it could be a very heavy burden to bear, especially when you did not necessarily want to get married and have children. If you could not reproduce at all, you were considered less than trash. It was a testament to my parents’ sense of duty that I was not eliminated as soon as it was discovered.

      Which is why I sat outside a non-descript building in my transport, putting off a confrontation with what had to be a hysterical female that everyone would want to disappear. There was no doubt she had to be from off-world, most likely someone with The Accord, the loose confederation of worlds that explored space and colonized livable planets. I let my head fall back on the head rest of my seat and just stared, unseeing, out the window in front of me. It was hard enough dealing with the death of not only my brother, but my family line, but to have to deal with this woman who had been present at his death – it was just a bit much.

      This rotation my duty was to go to her and get the female back home. Which was I sat in my transport outside the apartment building where my brother had been keeping her. I will admit, I was preparing myself for histrionics, hysteria, crying, screaming, the whole gamut of things females did when confronted with a socially acceptable display of emotion. I was going in with no foreknowledge of her, nothing of the things said or promises made to her. She was a kept female and there was no honor in that.

      I finally took a deep breath and got out of my transport. I heard the locks engage. I stood looking at the building, anything to keep from going in and dealing with my brother’s mess. The unfairness of having to deal with it and also be the only one with the knowledge of it grated on me. It had been this way since my accident and it was discovered that I was useless to my world. The constant comparison to Fragard, always knowing people saw me and thought about resources being wasted on me, or the pity. That was worse. Way worse.

      I made my way up to the third floor and stood outside the door to the rooms where my brother died and stared at the door. After a few minutes, I pressed my thumb to the reader beside the door to announce my presence. It took several minutes for the door to be answered. I had opened my mouth to introduce myself and as I looked at the female all ability to speak left me.

      She was beautiful, even to someone of my world. Her dark brown hair fell in waves past her shoulders. I stared into light brown eyes with green motes in them. They were nearly mesmerizing. Her facial features were very fine and delicate, including her lips. I just stared at her.

      Can I help you? She finally said, looking at me quizzically. I had expected traces of crying – red, puffy eyes – but she was clear-eyed and her voice was like music to my ears. Although, I was unable to recognize the language she was speaking, my implanted translator was working. At least we could understand one another.

      I shook my head and tried again to speak.

      My name is Hadok, I managed to force past the lump in my throat. I am Fragard’s brother.

      The look she gave me was indecipherable, but if forced, I would say it was distrust. She also looked resigned.

      Let’s get this over with, then, and she stepped back and gestured me inside. I’ve already boxed his things up for you. I guess I should thank you for being quick about getting them.

      I was so puzzled by her statement. What did I know of mistresses, however? Much less off-world ones?

      What race are you? I asked because she didn’t seem to care at all that her protector was gone. Some races didn’t mourn at all. Perhaps she was from a newer world in The Accord that I’d not yet had contact with.

      I’m from Earth, she quietly admitted as we walked into the living area. I didn’t show any reaction because I didn’t want to startle her. My mind tried to madly make sense of her presence now. Perhaps the emergency services personnel had misunderstood her presence in my brother’s apartment. Was this Fragard’s apartment? I honestly hadn’t a clue.

      May I sit down? I asked because if she was telling the truth, my brother’s crimes were far worse than I had originally thought. It was a crime to take beings from Earth. They were a protected planet with no knowledge that other beings existed in the universe and knew about them. According to all sociologists in the known universe, it would be at least one hundred years before they would be ready to meet others. Perhaps longer if they could not curb their penchant for destroying themselves.

      Most beings in the universe were humanoid. Most could interbreed. It was a great philosophical debate that all livable worlds were seeded by the same kind of being and so we were all related in some way, just left to evolve as we would. It was also why I could not recognize her as being from Earth right away. Because we all looked the same, more or less.

      So you’re his brother, she said after she sat in a chair across from me. It was said in an accusatory tone. After everything I was not entirely sure I wanted to hear the story. How much worse could Fragard’s be? I merely nodded while not even trying to hide the fact I was staring her.

      That asshole steals me from my home, from my world, and then strands me here. Are you here to finish up his ‘good works’?

      I don’t understand, I was finally able to say. How are you here? How do you speak our language? I had so many more questions, but this was starting somewhere.

      She looked at me a moment as if trying to come to a decision about something. Finally, she sat back in the chair and looked me straight in the eye.

      Your brother kidnapped me from Earth, raped me, and continued to rape me while bringing me here to keep me locked up in this apartment. As for speaking your language, I was also forced to get an implant so I could understand what he wanted me to do.

      Why did you not tell the emergency services workers who came to help my brother last night?

      And have them send me to prison, or worse, kill me outright? No, I just pretended to be overcome by it all and his in the bedroom. They took his body and left, and I’ve been trying to figure a way to get back home ever since. You here to help with that?

      I stood speechless. This woman was making outrageous claims. Why? If what she had told me was true, what Fragard had done was so dishonorable, so against every single rule of our society, it was impossible for my mind to grasp.

      You never tried to escape?

      And go where? She threw up her hands as if a slow child had asked her a painfully obvious question. According to your brother if I so much as showed myself outside this building I would be arrested and killed because your kind doesn't accept outsiders and off-worlders.

      This was such a huge lie. If not for off-world pairings our society would not exist, would have, in fact, been extinct ages ago. Why had Fragard taken this female? Why had he kept her against her will? I wouldn’t even touch the question of her being from a protected world yet. That, thrown in with all the rest would completely stop my mental works from turning.

      More importantly, what in the seven bands of the world was I going to do with her? There was no way to get her back to Earth. Only scientists were allowed to approach protected planets and that was only to observe and listen to their communications to determine how they were developing. There was no interaction with them. To get her back I would have to admit what Fragard had done. That alone would kill our parents. But to have to admit he had taken this female against her will had kept her here for whatever purpose… That was a line I didn’t even want to look at much less cross.

      There was the larger problem of the scientists and The Accord forbidding her return now that she’d seen other beings, other planets, and the technology. Her world was in no way ready for these things. They feared what they didn’t know. They warred amongst themselves, and they couldn’t even decide on one language to speak so that everyone understood everyone else. I’m just glad it wasn’t my call.

      Do you know how long you’ve been here? I had to know how long Fragard had been hiding this from everyone.

      I’ve been planetside about two months, and it was a month before that I was taken, She looked down at her hands. It’s true that space is a very big place.

      I looked around the room, it was furnished very sparsely. It was not as richly appointed as how I remembered Fragard’s quarters at our family home. Of course, I hadn’t been there since just before I’d joined the military. It was just barely comfortable. And he had kept this female here, hidden from everyone. Why? If I removed the obvious, that she was from Earth, I could not balance the equation at all. Why would he steal someone from Earth? Why was he raping her as she claimed? I could not take all of it in.

      By the way, my name is Natasha or just Tasha, she held a hand out towards me. I was unsure of what social custom her kind held on introductions. For us, it was stating your name with a nod. You grab my hand and shake it, she finally explained, with a long-suffering sigh. I did grab her hand and then shook it. She laughed, which was magical if I believed in such a thing. Her entire body lit up with amusement.

      I guess that’s one way to do it, she said and pulled her hand out of mine. It felt strange.

      "Tasha, do you

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