Drengr E-Book

Skye MacKinnon

• Herausgeber: Peryton Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

He thought his life was over. She’s about to prove him wrong.
After the loss of his betrothed, battle-scarred warrior Errik has locked his heart away. All he wants to do is be the fearless, emotionless Vikingr he trained to be. He never wants to love again – until he meets Holly, who knows the pain of loss. But is that shared experience enough to bring them together? And when the future of his species is under threat, will the strain tear them apart or make them stronger?

If you want hunky alien Vikings, strong women who don't like being told what to do, steamy romance and happily-ever-afters, dive into the world of the Starlight Vikings.

• Vikingr
• Berserkr
• Drengr

Part of the Intergalactic Dating Agency.

Other series in the Starlight Universe:

• Starlight Highlanders Mail Order Brides
• The Intergalactic Guide to Humans
• Starlight Monsters

Leseprobe

DRENGR

STARLIGHT VIKINGS

BOOK 2

SKYE MACKINNON

Copyright © 2022 by Skye MacKinnon

Peryton Press, Helensburgh.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover by The Book Brander.

Formatting by Peryton Press.

skyemackinnon.com

perytonpress.com

CONTENTS

Glossary

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Afterword

What is he hiding?

Intergalactic Dating Agency

The Starlight Universe

About the Author

Also By

BLURB

A scarred alien warrior without hope. A human teacher ready to give him a life lesson.

After losing his betrothed, battle-scarred warrior Errik has locked his heart away. All he wants to do is be the fearless, emotionless Vikingr he trained to be. He never wants to love again – until he meets Holly, who knows the pain of loss. But is that shared experience enough to bring them together? And when the future of his species is under threat, will the strain tear them apart or make them stronger?

To three very special teachers:

My little sister who’s now very grown up.

Mr S who encouraged me to be creative and to think outside the box.

Mr K, the sexiest maths teacher ever (not an oxymoron) and who was most likely an alien.

GLOSSARY

Albya – planet of the Albyans. Read the Starlight Highlanders series to find out more about these kilt-wearing aliens

Brullaup – wedding

Click – minute (30 Earth minutes are 20 intergalactic clicks)

Drengr - warrior

Fýst – the uncontrollable desire between mates

Goði – the spiritual leader of the Vikingar; non-hereditary position elected by the gods

Hamingja – guardian spirit who decides one’s luck and happiness

Hrafnasueltir – coward (raven starver)

Intergalactic Authority (IGA) – space police/law makers

IGU – Intergalactic University

Jörð – home planet of the Vikingar

Kamphundr – carrion eater

Kvenn/kvenna – wife/wives who aren’t soulmates

Quantnet – intergalactic internet

Rotation – one year

Skitr – shit

Valkyr – the spaceship captained by Njal the Bloodthirsty

Vitskertr – idiot

Some of these terms have been ‘borrowed’ from Old Norse. Apologies to my Viking Studies tutors at the UHI - I bet you didn’t expect me to use my new knowledge for this sort of book.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This book has been written by a Scottish author and therefore uses British English (less Z, more S).

Subscribe to Skye's newsletter and get a free book as a thank you:

skyemackinnon.com/newsletter

1

Errik

If Njal hadn't been my Captain and friend, I'd have punched him. 

"What did you do?!" I roared, my hand clenching around my battle axe. It was instinct to attack anyone who wronged me, and Njal had done more than just that. He'd gone against my explicit wishes, then lied to me, and now expected gratitude for it all.

Njal stood his ground, calm like a rock on the surface, but his dark eyes held a challenge. If I charged him, he'd retaliate, friends or not. 

"Your potential mate is about to arrive," he said calmly. "You need to get off this ship now. It's the rules. We want them to acclimatise to being in space before they meet their mates."

I couldn't believe it. I'd told him, I'd told everyone that I didn't want to be added to the database. I didn't want a mate. Didn't need one. Yet he'd done it anyway. The stinking kamphundr thought he was doing me a favour. 

"Get off this ship now," Njal commanded, now speaking as Captain of the Valkyr. "They will arrive any moment."

"Not my problem," I snapped. "I didn't submit a sample for a reason. You went behind my back like a hrafnasueltir-"

"What's that?" Steff asked from behind me. She was Njal's mate - and partly to blame for what was happening. 

"One who starves the carrion eaters on the battlefield," Njal explained with a loving smile. "A coward."

"I love your Vikingr insults," she grinned, completely oblivious to my plight. "It's probably good that the implant doesn't translate them." The Peritan female tapped the place behind her ear where we all wore our translator implants. 

An alert sounded, signalling that the shuttle was approaching the Valkyr.

"Off the ship. Now." Njal shot me an icy glare. "Most males on my crew would be grateful if I told them that mates have been found for them. Everyone is desperate for a female. You should think yourself lucky, not reject the good fortune you've been given."

I opened my mouth to respond, but then gave up. He had a point. 

I was lucky. And I didn't deserve it, which made it even worse.

"You'll be ported to the dwelling the agency has secured for us," my Captain continued. "You will stay there until your mate is ready to meet you. That will give you some time to think. I expect you to be on your best behaviour once you return to the Valkyr."

I saluted him half-heartedly and went to pack my things. Even though I'd not expected to be matched to a Peritan female, I knew the plan. They'd arrive on the Valkyr today to be greeted by Steff. She'd introduce them to life on a spaceship and tell them more about us Vikingar. Once she felt the females were ready to meet their males, the potential matches were allowed back onto the ship. We'd spent the last few days rearranging the cabins, merging them into larger rooms that would serve as private quarters for the new couples. Space to get to know each other while each also had their own small cabin, in case the female didn't want to complete the mating right away. My Vikingar brothers all assumed their females wouldn't be able to resist their charms, but Steff and her superior, Pam, had advised us that Peritans could be slow in accepting their mates. Something about their species not being used to having soulmates. They took life partners, what we called kvenna, but it wasn't the same as a mate, who was destined to be a perfect match by the gods themselves. 

I grit my teeth as I thought of my own kvenn. Randi. The most beautiful female I'd ever laid eyes on. My one true love. And one of a billion Vikingar who'd died when our planet Jörð had exploded.

There had been months when I couldn't even think her name. It was too painful. I didn't know how I'd endured her loss, how I was still alive. The pain had eaten away a piece of my heart, leaving only the cold certainty that I'd never feel true happiness again. 

I reached my cabin - due to my station, I had my own, albeit small room - and randomly dropped some clothes into a bag. My three shirts were tattered and full of patches where I'd tried to repair them. The others kept telling me to get rid of them, but how could I, when Randi had sewn them for me? If I started walking around in only breeches like the unmated males, I would spit on her memory. I would wear the shirts until they fell apart and then... 

I pushed away the thoughts and focused on what else I needed. I didn't know what our accommodation would be like. I'd assumed I'd be one of the select males chosen to stay on board, invisible to the Peritan females, tasked with keeping the ship running. It had been a logical assumption. I'd not submitted a DNA sample to be added to the matching database. I didn't want another mate. All I wanted was another battle in which I could meet my glorious end.

To distract myself, I looked around the small cabin. I had very few personal effects. Nothing I would miss during the days or weeks I’d have to spend on Peritus, except for a tiny holoframe that held a photograph of Randi. I stared at my kvenn with despair. What would she think of me now? Would she ever forgive me for not joining her in Valhalla right away? I should have followed her as soon as I heard of Jörð's destruction. 

At first, I'd been frozen by grief, disbelief and the hunger for revenge. Once we'd found out that nobody had claimed responsibility for the loss of our planet, that it had likely been a natural cataclysm, that hunger had turned into constant pain. It had devoured me from the inside until I was but an empty husk, cold and without emotion. No, that wasn't quite right. I still felt, if only one thing: guilt. 

Guilt for not being able to protect my kvenn. Guilt for not being with her when our planet broke apart. Guilt for still being alive.