Guarding the Goddess: A Kindred Tales Novel (Brides of the Kindred) Read online

  Guarding the Goddess

  A Kindred tales

  novel

  Evangeline Anderson

  .

  * * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Evangeline Anderson

  Brides of the Kindred

  Copyright © 2020 by Evangeline Anderson

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook 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 person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com or Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  *Cover content is for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted on the cover is a model*

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  Author’s Note: Though Guarding the Goddess may be read as a stand-alone book, you will probably enjoy it more if you read the previous Kindred tales novel, Falling for Kindred Claus.

  Hugs and Happy Reading!

  Evangeline

  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  Brides of the Kindred series (Sci-fi /Action-Adventure /Romance)

  Claimed (Also available in Audio)

  Hunted (Also available in Audio)

  Sought (Also Available in Audio)

  Found (Also Available in Audio )

  Revealed (Also Available in Audio)

  Pursued (Also Available in Audio)

  Exiled (Also Available in Audio)

  Shadowed (Also Available in Audio)

  Chained (Also Available in Audio)

  Divided (Also Available in Audio)

  Devoured (Also Available in Audio)

  Enhanced (Also Available in Audio)

  Cursed (Also Available in Audio)

  Enslaved (Also Available in Audio)

  Targeted (Also Available in Audio)

  Forgotten (coming soon to Audio)

  Switched

  Uncharted

  Unbound

  Surrendered

  Vanished

  Imprisoned

  Twisted

  Deceived

  Kindred Tales series (side stories in the Brides of the Kindred which are outside the main story arc. These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.)

  Mastering the Mistress (Also available in Audio)

  Bonding with the Beast (Also available in Audio)

  Seeing with the Heart (Also available in Audio)

  Freeing the Prisoner (Also available in Audio)

  Healing the Broken (a Kindred Christmas novel) (Also available in Audio)

  Taming the Giant (Also available in Audio)

  Bridging the Distance (Also available in Audio)

  Loving a Stranger (Also available in Audio)

  Finding the Jewel (Also available in Audio)

  Bonded by Accident (Also Available in Audio)

  Releasing the Dragon (Also Available in Audio)

  Sharing a Mate (Also Available in Audio)

  Instructing the Novice (Also Available in Audio)

  Awakened by the Giant (Also Available in Audio)

  Hitting the Target (Also Available in Audio)

  Handling the Hybrid

  Trapped in Time

  Time to Heal

  Pairing with the Protector

  Falling for Kindred Claus

  Guarding the Goddess

  Born to Darkness series (Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance)

  Crimson Debt (Also available in Audio)

  Scarlet Heat (Also available in Audio)

  Ruby Shadows (Also available in Audio)

  Cardinal Sins (Coming Soon)

  Dessert (short novella following Scarlet Heat) (Also in Audio)

  Alien Mate Index series (Sci-fi /Action-Adventure /Romance)

  Abducted (Also available in Print and Audio)

  Protected (Also available in Print and Audio)

  Descended (Also available in Print and Audio)

  Severed (Also available in Print and Audio )

  The Cougarville Series

  (Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance/)

  (Older woman/Younger Man)

  Buck Naked (Also available in Audio)

  Cougar Bait (Also available in Audio)

  Stone Cold Fox (Also available in Audio)

  Big Bad Wolf (coming soon)

  The Institute series (Daddy-Dom/Age Play Romance)

  The Institute: Daddy Issues(Also available in Audio)

  The Institute: Mishka's Spanking

  The CyBRG Files with Mina Carter

  (Sci-fi /Action-Adventure /Romance)

  Unit 77: Broken

  Unit 78: Bred

  The Swann Sisters Chronicles

  (Contemporary Fairy/Funny/ Fantasy/Romance)

  Wishful Thinking (Also available in Audio)

  Be Careful What You Wish For (Also available in Audio)

  Nocturne Academy

  (Young Adult Paranormal/Action-Adventure/Romance)

  Lock and Key (coming Jan 2020)

  Fang and Claw

  Stone and Secret

  Compendiums and Box Sets

  Brides of the Kindred Volume One

  Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found

  Brides of the Kindred Volume Two

  Contains Revealed, Pursued, and Exiled

  Brides of the Kindred Volume Three

  Contains Shadowed, Chained, and Divided

  Brides of the Kindred Volume Four

  Contains Devoured, Enhanced, and Cursed

  Brides of the Kindred Volume Five

  Contains Enslaved, Targeted, and Forgotten

  Brides of the Kindred Volume Six

  Contains Switched, Uncharted, and Unbound

  Brides of the Kindred Volume Seven

  Contains Surrendered, Vanished, and Imprisoned

  Kindred Tales Volume One

  Contains Mastering the Mistress, Bonding with the Beast, Seeing with the Heart

  Kindred Tales Volume Two

  Contains Freeing the Prisoner, Healing the Broken, Taming the Giant

  Kindred Tales Volume Three

  Contains Bridging the Distance, Loving a Stranger, Finding the Jewel

  Kindred Tales Volume Four

  Contains Bonded by Accident, Releasing the Dragon, and Sharing a Mate

  Alien Mate Index Volume One

  Contains Abducted, Protected, Descended, and Severed

  Born to Darkness Box Set

  Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows

  *One Hot Halloween

  Contains Red and the Wolf, Gypsy Moon, and Taming the Beast

  *Have Yourself a Sexy Little Christmas

  Contains Kidnapped for Christmas, Cougar Christmas, and Seasons's Spankings

  *Bound and Determined

  Contains The Punishment of Nicolett and His Ward

  Stand Alone Novels

  (Sci-fi OR Paranormal Action-Adventure/Romance)

  Purity (Now available in Audio)

  Stress Relief

  The Last Man on Earth

  Anyone U Want

  Shadow Dreams

  Hunger Moon Rising

  Cougar Christmas

  Planet X (Also available in Audio)

  Deal with the Devil (Also available in Audio)

  The Sacrifice (Also available in Audio)

  Blood Kiss

  Take Two

  The Pleasure Palace

  The Last Man on Earth

  Blind Date with a Vampire

  Eyes Like a Wolf (Foster Brother romance)

  *Defiled

  *Ceremony of Three

  *Str8te Boys (M/M romance)

  * Forever Broken (M/M romance)

  * Red and the Wolf

  *Gypsy Moon

  *The Last Bite (M/M romance)

  *The Assignment (M/M romance)

  *Sex with Strangers

  *A Spanking for Valentine

  *The Covenant

  *Tandem Unit

  * denotes books that are only available at Evangeline's Aliens and Alphas Bookstore

  Naughty Tales (Short Reads to get you Hot and Bothered)

  *Sin Eater

  Confessions of a Lingerie Model

  When Mr. Black Comes Home

  Speeding Ticket

  *Putting on a Show

  YA Novels

  The Academy(Now available in Audio)

  Click HERE to join my audiobook newsletter.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-
two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek at my new series, Nocturne Academy, coming Jan 2020

  Give a Hot Kindred Warrior to a Friend!

  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  About the Author

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  Chapter One

  Y’res the Fourth, the newly crowned Potentate of Helios Beta, paced her royal apartment, her hands clasped behind her back, a frown of worried concentration on her face. Her sleeping chamber was all it should be—her bed hung with gold cloth and the walls covered in murals grown of the soft ura moss depicting her ancestors ruling the people, but she had no eyes for the grandeur around her. It had been only a week since the assassination attempt at the Feast of all Feelings during her coronation and now she was called upon to appear in public again.

  Another appearance. Another chance to die, she thought, her stomach fisting tightly as she paced. Another assassin could be out there, waiting.

  And this time they might succeed.

  She brushed a strand of hair behind one ear and felt her chewchie, Lor, scramble nimbly to one side to avoid her hand. It might have been hard for an onlooker to see the small, fluffy creature who was so much more than her pet. He was the same color as her hair—the same color as her skin and eyes, for that matter.

  Sacred Blue.

  The brilliant, royal blue color was a rare mutation of the usual skin color of her people. The Chorkay came in every shade of blue from a pale blue-gray to bright turquoise but only those royal females with the Sacred Blue hair, skin, and eyes were deemed fit to lead their people. It made Y’res the Fourth, not only a ruler, but a goddess among her kind.

  But even a goddess can be killed, she thought grimly. By someone determined enough to see her die.

  And her death would mean disaster for her people.

  Currently, she was the only female besides her grandmother, who had passed the crown to her, who had the Sacred Blue skin and the mandate of the Chorkay god, Thufar, to rule. Which meant if she was wiped out, her kingdom would fall into chaos. It was her duty to lead her people well, and to produce an heir as quickly as possible—a female who had the same Sacred Blue skin and eyes who would take the crown when she was deemed ready and worthy to do so. It was the only way to ensure the throne and the continued peace and prosperity of her planet.

  Produce an heir. Right, she snorted to herself. If only it were that easy.

  She had only been crowned a week ago—she certainly wasn’t ready to look for a proper consort yet. A man of noble birth and a skin color as close to Sacred Blue as possible in order to be certain that at least one of their daughters would also have the royal skin tone.

  The thought of doing that—of taking a consort and having his baby—turned her stomach. She knew what the nobles thought of her—had known it from an early age. The common people loved their queen—their “Goddess in the Flesh” as the reigning Potentate was often called. But they only saw her from afar. The nobles were close enough to see her differences—to understand that her Sacred Blue skin was not the only mutation she carried…

  Suddenly her chewchie, Lor, scampered down her arm and perched on the back of her wrist. He looked up at her, with his wide, dark, liquid eyes and spoke.

  “Ellina, my dear, are you tying yourself in knots again?”

  The voice was familiar and she knew it wasn’t her chewchie who was speaking. Rather, it was her grandmother speaking through him.

  Because it was so important that there always be a female with the Sacred Blue skin to rule Helios Beta, they were almost never allowed in the same place together. This was a hardship for Ellina, who wished she could spend more time with her grandmother in person.

  However, their chewchies were linked, which meant they were able to communicate constantly—a true blessing, especially when she felt in need of guidance, Ellina thought. Also, she liked that her grandmother still called her by her first name—everyone else in the palace referred to her only by her title now. Y’res the Fourth sounded so stiff when she had been Ellina all her life up until a week ago.

  “I’m all right, Grandmamma,” she murmured, speaking to Lor and knowing that the little chewchie would send her words telepathically to his counterpart—her grandmother’s ancient old chewchie, Shel—who would speak them with her own voice to her grandmother. “I’m sorry,” she added. “Were my feelings disturbing you?”

  Normally a chewchie would only convey thoughts and emotions to another if it was part of a matched pair. But though Lor and Shel were not mated, they shared a special link because of their Sacred Blue color, (though Shel was so old she was more silver than blue at this point.)

  Lor, like Ellina herself, was unmated and likely to remain so. Sacred Blue chewchies were almost as rare as the nobles they were paired with. In fact, it was said that the Chorkay god, Thufar, would not allow any egg to hatch a Sacred Blue chewchie until a worthy candidate to be paired with one was found.

  Lor’s egg had hatched on Ellina’s third name day—which was the usual time for a child to be paired with his or her chewchie for life. She had looked into his liquid black eyes and stroked his soft, Sacred Blue fur and an instant and life-long bond had been formed in that moment. The little chewchie was her constant companion and the only one in the world—besides her grandmother—that Ellina trusted completely.

  “What’s that about not trusting anyone?” Lor asked in her grandmother’s voice and Ellina realized her thoughts were going through their shared connection as well. Her anxiety must be broadcasting loud and clear to sharpen the link between the two chewchies so drastically. “Don’t you trust the new Kindred guards our allies sent us?” Lor continued, somehow managing to speak in the exact tone of gentle reproof that Ellina knew her grandmother was using. “The commander, especially—the one assigned to you—seemed very sincere when he swore his oath of loyalty. You ought to trust him, at least”

  “I…suppose I trust him because you do,” Ellina said reluctantly. In fact, the big Kindred, Commander Ty’rial was so aloof and businesslike it was difficult to know how she felt about him. “I guess I’m just missing Guffin,” she admitted.

  Guffin had been her bodyguard and the captain of her own personal royal guard from the time she was a little girl. A battle-hardened soldier and the scarred veteran of many campaigns though he was, the old guard had always been gentle and kind to her, especially after her father and mother had been assassinated, not long after her fifth name day. He had been utterly devoted and loyal beyond question—someone Ellina knew would die to protect her.

  Which is probably what happened, she thought, feeling a mixture of grief and guilt course through her.

  A few weeks before the coronation, Guffin had taken ill. So sick was he that Lord Kikbax, the High Priest of Thufar, had even sent his own personal physician to look in on him.

  The High Priest was a blustering, officious man whom Ellina had never cared for but she had been grateful for his care of Guffin. Yet, even his physician seemed unable to cure the old soldier. A “wasting disease,” he called it and indeed, Guffin—who had been so fit and hale despite his sixty years—had wasted quickly away to a mere shadow of himself. And then illness had led to death—and all within a matter of weeks—so quickly that Ellina was still reeling from his loss.

  She closed her eyes, remembering how she had held the old guard’s hand as he drew his last breaths, his pale blue eyes sunken in his grayish face…