Villi's Bride (Norlanian Brides Book 4)
Villi’s Bride
(Norlanian Brides Book Four)
By R. E. Butler
Copyright 2017 R. E. Butler
Villi’s Bride (Norlanian Brides Book Four)
By R. E. Butler
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This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.
Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.
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Editing by Hot Tree Editing
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Thanks to Joyce & Shelley for beta reading
For BB and BL - I love you both.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Coming Next in the Norlanian Brides Series
Contact the Author
Other Works by R.E. Butler
Dero’s Bride (Norlanian Brides Book Five)
Villi’s Bride (Norlanian Brides Book Four)
By R. E. Butler
Villi grew up knowing that his people, the Ligaru, were feared by the Norlanians on the other side of the Issizlik Mountains. He wouldn’t care about that, except that his people have few females of their own. Unlike their Norlanian counterparts, the Ligaru don’t care about the females’ inability to breed. They only care that every female is with her soul mate.
During a mission to Kyvern City to destroy the soul-walk machine, Villi finds himself entranced with a scent in the building, recognizing it as the scent of his own soul mate. After his job is done, he leaves his people and locates the female, planning to prove to her that he’s no monster under the bed, but rather a male worthy of being her soul mate and loving her for the rest of his life.
Pilar Rotahn is a no-nonsense female who takes great pride in her catering business and teaching job at the culinary academy in Kyvern City. Although she would never admit it out loud, she doesn’t like coming home to an empty house each night or waking up alone. But as a sterile Norlanian female, she knows that no male will ever go on the soul-walk and dream about her.
One night, she’s woken by a strange male in her bedroom. He’s the sexiest male she’s ever seen, even with his fangs, and when he offers to take her to his home on the other side of the forbidden mountain, she throws caution to the wind and goes with him. Is the life that Villi offers too good to be true, or will Pilar find everything she ever dreamed of on the other side of the mountain?
Chapter 1
Villi studied the map as the two leaders of their group discussed the plans for the raid a final time. He’d always been a good hunter – his father had trained him from the time he was a child to move stealthily – but for the first time in his life, he wasn’t hunting animals; he was going to be using all his skills to destroy machines and medications.
His home planet, Norlan, was split into two main parts, separated by an enormous mountain range known as the Issizlik Mountains. On one side was the capital, Kyvern City, as well as other small cities, and on the other was a dense wilderness that included the hidden city of Villi’s birth. His people were known as the Ligaru. They were Norlanians, but they had long ago left civilization and started a new colony on the forbidden side of the mountains. His forefathers, males who hadn’t agreed with the soul-walk machines that chose mated pairs, had joined together and opted to choose their own soul mates, based on mutual attraction and affection. Over the generations, the Ligaru had changed physically to look different from their Norlanian counterparts – they had darker skin, sharp teeth, and brown hair from birth. Norlanian males were born with blue hair, which turned brown when they were given a vaccination from the organizers of the soul-walk, who used the soul-walk machine to match up males and females.
“Sloan said that the vaccinations are kept in the refrigeration room,” Warrick, Sloan’s soul mate and the leader of the Ligaru military, said. “Dex will disable the alarm system first so you can destroy the drugs and upload the virus to the computer system.”
Villi nodded. “And then he’ll be planting bombs at the soul-walk company.”
Dero, one of Villi’s brothers, nodded. “The bomb remotes are ready. They’ll go off as soon as we clear the city.”
“That will give us plenty of time to get back through the tunnel,” Dex said.
“What do you suppose the government will do when they realize that the soul-walk machines, the soul-walk drugs, and the prenatal vaccinations are destroyed?” Villi asked.
“Sloan believes that they’ll work feverishly to recreate the prenatal vaccinations first, but the soul-walk drugs and machines will take a long time to recreate,” Warrick said.
Sloan, a medical doctor and Norlanian female, had made the discovery that the prenatal vaccinations caused the sterility in their planet’s females. Once it was discovered that the Norlanian females were sterile, the government had stopped using the soul-walk machine to match Norlanian males and females and instead began searching other planets for breeding-compatible females. Sloan herself was sterile and had thought she would be unmated her entire life, but Warrick, who had been a captain in the Norlanian military, had chosen to mate with her regardless of her inability to bear young. They’d come to the forbidden side of the mountains because Villi and his people had thought Sloan was being held against her will by Warrick.
Villi’s father, Nelari, had invited Warrick and Sloan to live in their city. Their females, although few, were not infertile, which was what had led Sloan to discover that the government had been poisoning their females through the use of prenatal vaccinations and causing their sterility.
Villi looked through the trees that covered their hidden city and saw the sky beginning to darken as the sun set.
“It’s time,” Dex said, standing and shaking Warrick’s hand.
“Be safe,” Warrick said.
Villi, his brothers Dero and Carus, and two other males, shouldered their packs, checked their weapons, and headed for the bottom of the mountains, where they would use a magically protected tunnel to pass through to the other side. Beyond that was a forest that bordered the capital of Norlan. And there, in the depths of the city, were machines that matched males with compatible females from other planets. By dawn, the city would find itself without a way to match soul mates.
As they passed through the tent city on the way to the tunnels, Bella, Dex’s soul mate and a female from the planet Earth, ran to them. The small group stopped as she hugged Dex. She glanced at Villi. “You’ll keep my Dex safe, right?”
Dex snorted and Villi chuckled. Dex was a superior warrior, trained from a young age. Villi had been taught by his father to hunt and fight, but their hidden city had little need for warriors because no one knew they existed. Training with Dex over the last few months had been difficult, but Villi knew he was a better male for it in the long run.
“I promise,” Villi said.
Bella rubbed her swollen b
elly. They were expecting their first child in a few months. “Maybe you’ll find your soul mate.”
Villi’s brows rose. “I’m not planning to run into anyone in the city.”
Dex shook his head. “That would be dangerous, anyway. Norlanian females wouldn’t know what to think about the Ligaru males, and they’d be frightened. It would be a nightmare if we were caught by anyone.”
“How are any of the males here supposed to find their soul mates? Just wish real hard?” Bella asked.
Dex snorted a second time and then laughed. “You’re too precious, my Bella. Nelari said that he believes their males will find their soul mates in the way that is right for them and in the time that is right.”
“Nelari should write fortune cookies.”
“What’s a fortune cookie?” Villi asked. The Earth female often said things that Villi didn’t understand.
“A terrible-tasting cookie with a bit of vague advice in it. Don’t mind me, I’m just thinking about the future. I’m wondering how our children will find someone to love if we’re so far from others. It’s not as if there are other hidden cities with Ligaru on this side of the mountains.”
“It would be nice if there were,” Villi said. He’d often wondered himself how he would be able to find a soul mate. Maybe Bella was right and he’d run into his soul mate. Except he hoped she wouldn’t be frightened of him the way that Dex thought, and instead would be happy to have a male like him, who would spend his life making her happy.
Dex and Bella walked away to have a private moment together.
“Do you think Papa is right?” Carus asked.
“About us finding our soul mates in the right time?”
Carus hummed in agreement.
Villi shrugged. “I don’t know. I want to believe it, but I’m nearly thirty and the only females I’ve met are already mated.”
“Paoli’s sisters aren’t mated,” Dero pointed out.
Paoli had at one time sold his body for deenars to support his family. An Earth female named Kate had been sold to the owner of the brothel in Kyvern City, and Paoli had known they were meant to be soul mates. He’d bought her from the owner, and also paid for his own release. They’d been brought to the hidden city by Sloan and Warrick, along with Paoli’s younger sisters and brother, a Norlanian male named Eden, and his Earth mate Ashleigh. Warrick’s mother and aunt had also come along.
“Paoli’s sisters aren’t my soul mate. I know they’re not yours either, or you would have asked to claim one of them already,” Villi pointed out.
Carus sighed. “True.”
“We can’t afford to be distracted with finding our soul mates right now. We need to concentrate on the mission.”
Villi’s father came to him and clapped him on the shoulder. “I wish you a safe return.”
“I’ll make you proud,” he promised.
“I’m already proud of all of you.”
Dex returned to the group a few moments later and they continued on their journey, entering the tunnel and moving through the mountains.
There was little talk among them as they journeyed to the city. Villi was lost in thought, Bella’s words on his mind. Just how in the stars was he going to find his soul mate if he never met any unmated females?
Dex nudged Villi with his shoulder. “Did Bella upset you? She just worries about our young and their future.”
“She simply voiced something that has already been on my mind.”
“My people don’t have it right. Abduction with the soul-walk machine is not the best way to find a soul mate. Bella was picked by another male as his soul mate, but she never felt connected to him. She and I knew the moment we set eyes on each other that we were meant to be together.”
Villi felt strangely optimistic. “I’ll find my soul mate. When the timing is right.”
Chapter 2
Pilar Rotahn stood at the side of the room and watched the buffet table to ensure that there was still enough food for seconds. She was a culinary teacher by trade, and a request had come into the culinary school to cater a meal on behalf of a pregnant bride named Mellie, from the planet Earth. Rebekah, a friend of the bride and also from Earth, said it was tradition on their world for friends to throw a party for pregnant females, something she called a baby shower.
Pilar had never heard of such a thing, and at first thought the phrase “baby shower” meant the baby was supposed to be bathed, but after Rebekah had explained that the party was to give gifts to the pregnant female, Pilar decided it was a sweet gesture. Catering a meal for the female family members of the bride and several other Earth brides was fun. Pilar had been given a list of the bride’s favorite dishes from Norlan, and she’d prepared the dishes and taken them to the home of the bride’s mother-in-law.
The gifts included things for the baby, like blankets, clothing, and toys. It made Pilar both happy and sad to witness – happy because Mellie was so blessed to be surrounded by people who loved her and to have a baby on the way, and sad because Pilar would never know what it was like to find her soul mate and carry a child. She was completely sterile.
Years earlier, females had started to bear fewer young, and those who did were only having males. When females reached mating age, they were tested. If a female was found to be completely sterile, she could expect a life of solitude. Sure, Pilar had friends, but she had no one special in her life, and she most likely never would. It was possible that she might find a male someday who didn’t mind that she would never have children, but if there were males like that on Norlan, she’d never met them. Her best friend, Sloan, had been fortunate – Warrick had chosen her even though she was infertile.
Keeping her thoughts to herself, she smiled as Rebekah approached. “You did an amazing job. Thank you so much. My mate said that Norlanians don’t throw parties for pregnant females, but I told him that it would catch on fast. There are a lot of pregnant Earth girls. Mellie isn’t the only one who would want a baby shower.”
“You’re a wonderful friend,” Pilar said.
Rebekah looked thoughtful. “I’m from an entirely different part of Earth than Mellie, but her mate and mine both work for the military, so we’ve become friends. It’s easy to feel all alone when you’re the alien. I’m thankful to have friends. Keeping some of our Earth traditions helps with missing home.”
Pilar had never really considered how the abducted females felt about being picked up from their homes and told they were the soul mates of aliens. She didn’t think of herself as an alien because Norlan was her home planet, but to the Earth females, she was.
“I’m glad you found friends.”
“They make things easier, for sure.” Rebekah refilled her plate and returned to the others. The bride’s family members, her soul mate’s mother and aunt, were curiously watching as the Earth females chattered about the gifts and what to expect with the birth of the young. It was a sweet scene, and Pilar was thankful to be part of it.
When the party was over an hour later, she found herself with a lot of leftovers. Opting not to throw them out, she boxed them up and put them in her hover-machen. After saying goodbye to the partygoers, she headed to the medical center in Kyvern City. At one time, Sloan had been a medical officer at the center, but she and Warrick moved away from the capital months earlier. Pilar missed her terribly.
Parking in front of the medical center, Pilar carried the leftovers inside and stopped at the reception desk.
Tarihn, a sweet Norlanian female, smiled brightly. “Hi, Pilar! Something smells good!”
Pilar grinned. “Thank you. I catered a party for a pregnant bride and had leftovers. I thought I’d see if any of the staff wanted them.”
Tarihn stood and said, “Count me in. I’m starving.”
Tarihn took two of the boxes from Pilar and led her to the employee cafeteria. Pilar hadn’t planned to stay – she was tired from working for two solid days on the party food – but then Tarihn asked her to join and even fixed her a plate.
The males slipped away at her gentle rebuff to sit at a table with their coworkers.
“You don’t like soldiers?” Tarihn asked.
“I like them just fine,” she said. She opened her mouth to continue but then snapped it shut.
“It’s just for one night, though, right?” Tarihn said, cutting into a wedge of polanno and lifting a forkful of steaming noodles to her lips.
“Yeah. There was a time when I would have batted my eyes at them and hoped they’d want to spend time with me. Now, I don’t want only one night. I want all the nights.”
“Warrick was willing to overlook Sloan’s infertility. There must be males out there who would overlook it as he did.”
Thinking about Sloan, happy in her mating with Warrick, made something ache deep inside Pilar. She was jealous of her friend’s happiness, but she was also glad that Sloan was with the male she’d loved since she was young. There were no males like that for Pilar. She’d been tested for her fertility when she was old enough to be mated, and once it was revealed that she was sterile, anyone who had looked at her in interest had swiftly changed his mind.
“One of the Earth brides told me that on her planet, a female’s infertility wouldn’t necessarily be considered a fault.”
Pilar snorted. “It’s hard to imagine that scenario.”