Rhal Part 2 (Scifi Alien Serial Romance) (The Ujal) by Erin Tate

Chapter One
     
    Cara knew she couldn’t hide at home forever. It’d been three days since she’d discovered she’d be alone for the rest of her life.
    Degenerative genetic material.
    Right. Who even knew what that meant? She snorted. The Population Ministry, that’s who.
    With a shake of her head, she lifted her half-filled coffee mug to her lips. She blew cool air on the steaming liquid and then took a small sip. The bitter brew slowly got her body wakening, her mind gradually catching up with the rest of her. She still felt like shit, the flu she’d been carrying around still dogging her steps. She realized she was gonna have to break down and go to medical. Maybe they could give her more information on this weird flu and her “degenerative genetic material” crap.
    Watching the sun gradually transform the sky from darkness to multi-colored light, she realized why her best friend, Rina, loved this beachside house. It’d belonged to Rina’s parents, then Rina herself before she mated Tave, and now Cara rented it for next to nothing.
    Which meant she got this gorgeous view every day. Then there was the real scenery: Ujal and human males training on the sandy shore. Different groups trained every day, and there was no missing them running past every hour of the day.
    Cara preferred ogling the early morning runners made up of mostly Ujal. The way they moved, the way their scales shimmered—and didn’t—as they fought to control their bodies… The task was a race through the ocean shallows, enough salt water touching their feet so their scales and tail threatened to emerge. Their job was to remain on two feet and scaleless. Warriors and guards needed to be the strongest of all Ujal. She knew the station had just gotten another round of recruits, which meant her morning would be a combination of eye candy and giggles as the young males lost some of their control.
    She shouldn’t laugh. Really. But sometimes a girl needed a chuckle.
    Cara needed it very, very badly.
    A rainbow of tails dancing through the water caught her attention, and she smiled when a small group of younglings played in the water. Three older Ujal remained near them, teaching the children about the ocean and how to combat the sea’s dangers.
    Dangers and joys.
    Cara’s skin itched, her body vibrating every time she stared at the rolling waves. She’d been uncomfortable in her own body for almost two weeks, everything inside her beckoning her to the sea. She felt as if she were on drugs, uppers making her rush around and jumpy as hell while downers made her sleepy no matter the time of day. She was two sides of the same coin at the same time. Yeah, medical was definitely in her future.
    She took another sip of coffee, the once delicious drink now disgusting to her taste buds. That was bizarre as well, the sudden shift of appreciation for the drink. Love, then hate and then love again. She rolled the cup between her palms, eyes trained on the mug. Was that part of what was wrong with her?
    Degenerative genetic material .
    She took another swallow, and the drink was back to being delicious. Fun.
    Movement to her left drew her attention, and she spied a group of men jogging down the beach and toward her. She kept her gaze trained on them, waiting for a tell-tale flash of color and there it was. So, a dozen Ujal raced across the sand, then. A single male ran backward, his steps sure and smooth as he ran with his back to her and faced the males he led. The closer they got, the more she could see, and she felt bad for the young males. More than one had difficulty with his scales, their natural cover hovering beneath their skin or fully out and threatening to turn into a tail at any moment.
    The leader’s green hair billowed, the wind snatching at it and forcing the strands to dance in the air. So, not Rhal then.
    She wasn’t sure if she was happy or sad about that.
    Happy. I’m happy because I don’t want to speak with him or see him ever again.