Instructing the Novice Read online

  It will be fine, he told himself as he walked to his work station and logged in. He seated himself and began to work. To his right, growing in a little pot beside the 3-D monitor cube which hovered over the hand-board, was a small, green bush—a bonding fruit plant.

  Calden still didn’t know why he had planted the seed and grown it in the first place. Maybe to remind him of his home world and the Kindred Brothers he had left behind. Though he found his work here fulfilling, he still missed Ren and Bram and the rest of his friends aboard the Jor’gen Kindred Mother Ship. He wondered if they had ever found a new race of females to bond with. Had they also planted bonding fruit seeds in the hope of finding new mates?

  “Well if they did, I hope their seeds worked better than mine,” Calden muttered to himself as he studied the holo-cube of the 3-D monitor which glowed softly in the air in front of him. The seeds he had planted had resulted in a sickly, stunted piece of vegetation which had never bourn a single piece of fruit. It was almost as though the plant knew it wasn’t needed, so why bother to grow properly?

  Which was a silly thought, Calden told himself. You couldn’t go around anthropomorphizing plants or getting attached to specimens like the tiny, fluffy branthas with their big eyes and their affectionate way of rubbing their heads against your hand as though begging to be petted and stroked. His heart fisted in his chest as he remembered the way the last of the little specimens—his favorite if he was being honest—had collapsed in his hands as he held it and stroked its lithe body, waiting for the inevitable end. His throat got tight at the memory and his eyes seemed to burn.

  But that was emotion he was feeling—unnecessary emotion. He tried to push it away and concentrate on the task at hand.

  Calling up the controls to the nutrient tank where he had already planted the DNA for his new specimen, he gave it the command to start the growth sequence. Luckily, the subject’s brain had been preserved, though the body had been frozen solid and mangled by some heavy machinery aboard the ship—she must have died of shock and been instantly frozen the moment her ship was torn in two and the vacuum of space found her.

  Not a pleasant way to die but it was lucky for Calden. Her body was of no use since he intended to grow a new one anyway. But an undamaged brain meant that the clone he would grow in the nutrient tanks would have all of the original owner’s knowledge and the personality should be intact. It might take a little while for the memories to come back but that was just as well—it wouldn’t do to have her wake up in the tanks remembering the moment of her death. Such traumatic recollections could be emotionally scarring and were best left for later in the acclimation process.

  She’s going to be perfect, Calden thought as he entered the command to begin accelerated clone growth. Perfect inside and out and I’m going to learn so much from her…

  He had no idea how right he was…or how painful that knowledge would be.

  Want more? Of course you do! Awakened by the Giant will be available in early February 2019. If you haven't joined my newsletter yet, be sure to scroll on and do so. That way you'll never miss a new book.

  Hugs and Happy Reading!

  Evangeline

  Sign up for my newsletter and you'll be the first to know when a new book comes out or I have some cool stuff to give away. Don't worry—I won't share your email with anyone else, I'll never spam you (way too busy writing books) and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  As a thank-you gift you'll get a free copy of BONDING WITH THE BEAST delivered to your inbox right away. In the next days I'll also send you free copies of CLAIMED, book 1 in the Brides of Kindred series, and ABDUCTED, the first book in my Alien Mate Index series.

  You've read the book, now listen to the audiobook.

  My Kindred series is coming to audio one book at a time. Sign up for my audiobook newsletter. Besides notifications about new audio releases you may also get an email if I'm running a contest with an audio-book prize. Otherwise I will leave you alone. : ).

  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  Below you'll find a list of available and upcoming titles. But depending on when you read this list, new books will have come out by then that are not listed here. Make sure to check my website for the latest releases and better yet, sign up for my newsletter to never miss a new book again.

  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

  ENHANCED

  CURSED

  ENSLAVED

  TARGETED

  FORGOTTEN

  SWITCHED

  UNCHARTED

  UNBOUND

  SURRENDERED

  VANISHED

  IMPRISONED

  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

  All Kindred novels are now available in PRINT.

  * * *

  Also, all Kindred novels are on their way to Audio, join my Audiobook Newsletter to be notified when they come out.

  Kindred Tales

  The Kindred Tales are side stories in the Brides of the Kindred series which stand alone outside the main story arc.

  These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.

  MASTERING THE MISTRESS

  BONDING WITH THE BEAST (Also Available in Audio)

  SEEING WITH THE HEART

  FREEING THE PRISONER

  HEALING THE BROKEN (a Kindred Christmas novel)

  TAMING THE GIANT

  BRIDGING THE DISTANCE

  LOVING A STRANGER

  FINDING THE JEWEL

  BONDED BY ACCIDENT

  RELEASING THE DRAGON

  SHARING A MATE

  INSTRUCTING THE NOVICE

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 1

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

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 2

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

  KINDRED TALES VOLUME 3

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

  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)

  BORN TO DARKNESS BOX SET

  Contains Crimson Debt, Scarlet Heat, and Ruby Shadows all in one volume

  Alien Mate Index series

  (Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

  ABDUCTED (Also available in Audio)

  PROTECTED (Also available in Audio)

  DESCENDED (Also available in Audio)

  SEVERED (Also available in Audio)

  ALIEN MATE INDEX VOLUME ONE

  Contains Abducted, Protected, Descended and Severed all in one volume

  * * *

  All Alien Mate novels are now available