Chapter 1

Royal Palace, Antar...

The city had been under siege for hours. Bombs were dropping one after the other and many buildings were nothing but craters. It had only been a matter of minutes between the initial attack and the defeat of the city’s outer defences. Everyone knew that someone had betrayed them, it was the only way the invaders could have progressed so far and so quickly, but for the moment the palace’s shield hadn’t been compromised.

“This is my fault,” Vilandra said, as she sat by the throne.

“No it’s not,” Ava said. “Kivar found our weakness and used it on you, you couldn’t have helped it. If he could have gotten to me he would have used me.”

“But...” Vilandra started to say but Ava reached over and kissed the other girl.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Ava said as she parted, leaving Vilandra more visibly relaxed.

Rath and Zan then entered, both headed straight to the girls. “We’re loosing power. The shield will only last a little longer,” Zan said.

“No,” Ava said.

“This is it then,” Rath said.

“Not quite. My mother has a plan,” Zan said.

“Zan, we’ve thought this over. The humans are just too dangerous,” Rath said.

“But it could give us enough of a second chance,” Vilandra said.

“Then we should do it,” Rath said and Ava nodded.

All four stood up and moved to each other. They all held hands as Zan’s mother entered with the most senior doctor in the empire. She looked at her son and the three he had taken as lovers, all four ruled over Antar and its holdings. They were the leading members of their houses. The King’s mother knew the parents of Vilandra, Rath and Ava all too well; their separate families had been friends since before their breed of Antarian took control of the planet.

They were the Rulan, a hidden species among normal Antarians. At least they were hidden until they could take no more of what was happening around them. The violence and disregard of the Antarians in their past forced the Rulan into breaking their secret existence and take control of everything from the people that were harming their world.

The doctor approached the Royal Four and carefully the doctor inserted a needle into the arms of all four. After taking blood from all of them he slowly placed the four vials of blood in a case.

“Is that going to be enough?” Rath asked.

“More than enough, Majesty,” the doctor said.

“What about our status, will that affect our lives on Earth?” Zan asked.

“Earth hunted down their version of the Rulan. The last one, we believe, was killed about two centuries ago. In order for you to be completely hidden I will suppress your abilities to enter the Change. You will still have the normal abilities of Antarians but it’s safer if you can’t Change,” the doctor said.

Zan nodded, “Is there anyway that it can come back...” he said just as there was a massive tremor throughout the palace.

“THE SHIELD IS FAILING!” a voice said, echoing through the halls of the palace.

“Go, quickly,” Zan said to the doctor.

He took hold of the case and ran out through a door. In minutes the ship was launched, narrowly avoiding the enemies weapons as they were fired on. Zan’s mother left at the same time, travelling in a diplomatic shuttle to the home of Larek, a friend, where she would be safe. Zan moved to the three others and as the doors started to thump loudly from someone trying to get through them, he kissed each one. His hands caressed Ava, Rath and Vilandra before they all turned to the door.

“At least our families are safe off world,” Vilandra said.

“I just hope our new selves can do what’s needed,” Rath said.

“It’s prophecy. It’s as old as the Rulan, we always new four of our kind would journey to Earth in new bodies,” Zan said.

“Yeah but I never thought I would be one of them,” Ava said.

“Let’s do this,” Zan said.

The doors burst open and as smoke from outside poured in; several Antarians entered and pointed their weapons at the Royal Four.

“Well, well, well. Zan,” Kivar said.

“Kivar,” Zan said.

“Finally our people would be free of you ... you ... animals,” Kivar said.

“You would have destroyed yourselves if we didn’t take over.” Zan said, “We’ve healed this planet.”

“Yes,” Kivar said with a smirk, “Now, here’s your reward.”

The four looked Kivar dead in the eye. Then their eyes changed, they became a deep blue and green fur began to cover their skin. Their hands became like claws and their teeth sharpened and grew longer. Their whole bodies grew and their muscles became more defined. All four looked primal, a cross between animal and Antarian.

“Animals,” Kivar spat.

The four charged toward Kivar and his forces, they leaped up and ran along the walls before gravity brought them back down to the ground but they landed on their feet, never stopping their charge. They each used their powers to attack, along with their primal strength. All Kivar needed to do was shoot. The room was filled with streaks of red energy as they fired countless shots at the royal four.

Meanwhile, the ship travelled through the emptiness of space as it carried its precious cargo to their new home. Once there, the DNA of the four would be blended with samples taken from selected humans. The resulting embryos would be placed into gestational incubation pods where they would grow and eventually hatch in bodies that resembled five year-old humans.

In the days that followed, the Rulan did what they could to hide. Kivar rallied many of the people to rebel against their rulers, spouting messages of hate & fear that fed the most dreaded thoughts of the people and drive more to his cause. For a time, many hid under Larek’s protection and he was able to get at least a handful out of the system. Kivar dedicated himself to do whatever he could to hunt every single last Rulan down.

In the night sky a full moon shone brightly down on the small town. Its light filled Liz’s bedroom and bathed Liz as she slept on her bed. She was tossing and turning as her dreams took over her mind. For three nights a month since her sixteenth birthday, during every full moon the dreams came and they were always the same. Not that she remembered any of them.

Dreamscape

Liz was in a deep jungle; sunlight could barely be seen through the thick branches from the above canopy. She was completely naked but didn’t feel exposed. All around her, she felt as though the animals were watching her. However there was only one of each species, only one reptile, a bird, a bear, a wolf, a bat, a horse and off to the side there was a lake with a shark that jumped out of the water and dived back under.

Then from behind her she heard a branch snap, and a loud roar. Liz started to run. She could hear the animal from behind her chase after her as the other animals left. She kept running, never looking back as she began to sweat. Her blood pumped in her veins as fear began to build. As she ran through the branches, and pushed some away, some began to cut into her skin and let the blood run free.

All through it, Liz may have been the one running but she felt as though she was being pushed almost guided onward. She never saw the animal that chased her but she never stopped hearing it, or the feeling that it was getting closer.

Then everything suddenly darkened and Liz tripped over a large piece of stone masonry. Above her the sun had been replaced with a big and bright full moon, its light bathed her body as she lay on the ground. She stood and before her was a ruined temple, a set of stone steps led up into it and flanking it on either side were statues of varying big cats. She started to climb the steps, Liz felt the eyes of the statues on her, following her every step as she climbed to the top.

The top was a flat surface with a single doorway that went into the building; Liz stared into the blackness that filled the door. Another roar came from behind her, she looked back around and started to take steps backwards until she was almost at the door. Then the roar came from the door, Liz spun around just in time to see a giant cat pounce toward her. Liz recoiled away; she brought her hands up to shield herself but the animal passed right through her and vanished.

Real World

As Liz slept, her parents were in her room looking down on her as she writhed under the covers.

“It’s nearly time.” Nancy said.

“By the next full moon I’d say. One month,” Jeff replied.

“Should ... should we tell her everything?” Nancy asked.

“I don’t want to, but how can we not. Everyone in our world knows about this, sooner or later Liz will find out. It’s best that it comes from us,” Jeff said.

“She’ll never have a normal life if we tell her,” Nancy said, as she brushed some hair from her daughter’s face.

“As much as I want her to have that kind of life, this is her destiny,” Jeff said.

“Doesn’t mean she has to follow it,” Nancy said.

“I don’t know how she could get out of it,” Jeff looked back down at Liz as she stopped moving. “The dream is over, we should go.”

Together her parents slipped out of the bedroom and returned to their own. Liz woke up soon after, she didn’t remember most of the dream but the image of the cat that leaped into her was there. More precisely, she couldn’t shake the image of its eyes. Slowly Liz slipped out of bed and went into her bathroom where she splashed water on her face. She looked up and into the mirror above the sink, for a split second her eyes were that of the cat. Liz had to do a double take on it and as she looked back for the second time her eyes were normal.

“Uhg ... I need more sleep,” Liz mumbled. She returned to her bed and collapsed on it, falling back into an even deeper slumber before she even got under the covers. One thing about the dreams, the body resting was not something that happens. All activities in it were as though it was really happening, with the exception of any physical harm.

Outside Evans’ Residence, 16:00 The Next Day

School had finished and Max was walking home with Isabel Davidson walking next to him. It had been many years since they hatched from their gestational pods and emerged from the hidden cave outside of Roswell. Even then, where they were found on the roadside and taken into care, they were practically inseparable but despite that they were adopted separately. Their parents gave them new names. They had to since nobody, not even the children knew their names from before the 1947 crash. Max went to the Evans and Isabel went to another couple.

Then there was a pleasant surprise to both of them. Not only did it turn out that they were adopted by two couples who were next door neighbours, but their bedroom windows looked out onto each other and were only a couple of meters apart. The two sets of parents watched as their new children got closer and closer. Every night the pair would open their windows to just look at each other before they feel asleep.

They talked constantly with each other and as they grew older they would carry on go on late into the night. Sometimes they even put a couple of planks of wood out from their windowsills to bridge the gap between their rooms and visit each other without their parents knowing.

Eventually Michael appeared, he’d ran off and hidden from the car that found Max and Isabel. Still, he was found and fostered off but nothing stopped them all immediately recognised each other. They kept that they were alien to this planet a secret and vowed never to tell another soul. Although the three of them still felt incomplete, as though a part of them was missing.

Then one week ago Isabel’s life was devastated. Her parents were killed in a car accident, a drunk driver clipped their car and they were sent head first into tree. She was on her way back from school when it happened and arrived home to find Sheriff Valenti’s SUV parked outside. He walked out of the Evans house when they saw them coming down the street and approached the two with Max’s parents standing on their front porch. He asked her inside and then told her, she felt sick, dizzy and confused all at the same time, and Max helped her remain standing long enough to get her into a chair. That night she stayed at their house, not that she slept but Max gave her his bed and he took the sofa, she couldn’t even think of going home.

The only thing that Isabel had was Max and his presence helped a lot. All through it he never left her side and held her close during the funeral. With the help of Max’s lawyer father, Isabel wasn’t returned to the care of the state. She became fully emancipated. Her parents had left her everything in their will from the fully paid-for house and car to every last little knick-knack that they had collected over the years.

They were careful people and made sure that Isabel would be well taken care of if something happened to them, not that they expected anything to happen. However, Isabel knew that her resources would only stretch so far and that she would need a job before long. Still, life went on and as much as she wanted to ignore it, she had something even more depressing to do.

“I’ll see you in a minute,” Max said to Isabel as she walked into her house and he headed to his.

Isabel smiled back at him as they paused to look at each other before entering their respective houses. Max went inside and immediately went to the kitchen where his mother was checking on the laundry.

“Hi mom,” Max said.

“Hey honey,” Diane answered, “How’s Isabel?”

“Not good, but she’ll be okay,” Max said.

“It’s good that she has you in her life. You have told her that if she ever needs anything she just has to ask us right?” Diane asked.

“Yeah, I told her and she said thank you,” Max said.

“And that she’s more than welcome to come over for dinner as usual,” Diane said.

“Yes mom,” Max answered.

“Well, it’s good that you’re home I could use your help with...” Diane said.

Max cringed, “Eh...”

“Max? What’s up?” Diane asked.

“I promised Isabel I would go over. She’s ... uh ... she’s packing up some of her parents stuff. Clothes and things. I told her I would help,” Max said.

“Oh of course. Isn’t it a little soon?” she asked.

“She’s not getting rid of them or anything. She’s just ... you know, packing it. I think she thinks it’ll help and right now I just want to be there for her. What is it you needed help with?” Max asked.

“It’s not important. The air conditioning is acting up and needs your special touch,” she said.

Max smiled, “I’ll take care of it.”

He then left the room. A minute later the air conditioning in the house came on and then there was the sound of the front door opening and closing. Diane just leaned against a kitchen counter to look at the nearest air vent and smiled, “How the hell does he do that?” she asked herself.

Davidson Residence...

Max let himself in; he, Isabel and their parents had a long-standing open door policy with regard to the coming and going of the two children. As Max entered, he immediately went upstairs to Isabel’s parent’s bedroom. He found her sitting on the large bed with her father’s bathrobe in her hands, she could still smell his aftershave and she was crying.

Max sat next to her and held Isabel’s hand. “It’s okay Iz. It’ll be okay,” He said as he held her.

“I ... I thought I could do this,” Isabel said.

“I know,” Max said. “Come on,” Max helped Isabel up onto her feet and she put the bathrobe gently onto the bed. He walked Isabel back to her own bedroom and helped her to her bed. “Rest here, I’ll get you some hot chocolate.”

Kitchen...

Max came down to the kitchen and pulled out what he needed, including a bottle of their little dietary quirk - Tabasco sauce. Just as he was about to boil a pot of milk, Max felt hands on his shoulder and he turned around to see Isabel before him. Isabel reached up and kissed Max. For a second he was reciprocating but quickly backed off.

“Isabel, we shouldn’t ... at least, not just now,” He said softly.

“I want you, Max. I need to make love to you,” Isabel said.

“Isabel ... please,” Max said, working to muster as much resistance as he could.

“Don’t you want me?” Isabel asked.

“You know I do but...”

Isabel reached up and ran her hand over the back of his ear and across the side of his neck, her hand glowing as it went. Max and Isabel had been together enough times and experimented with their powers and their bodies to know just what to do for each other. As much as Max wanted to resist, he couldn’t. Isabel kissed him again and this time both fell into it, their arms wrapped around each other as they moved into the living room.

Max pulled off Isabel’s top as she raised her arms up to help him and as soon as it was tossed off to the side, she pulled off his t-shirt. They kissed as they walked each other through to the living room. The two pressed together again, Isabel’s hands glided over Max’s hard muscles as she looked with heat into his eyes. Max gently touched her breast above her black lace bra, he felt the soft skin before he cupped the large mound and they kissed again.

As they parted, Isabel smiled before pushing Max back so that he fell on to the sofa. He gazed up at her as Isabel reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Soon it joined their tops as Isabel undid her jeans and slowly, teasingly slowly, pulled them down and off her legs. She was left in a pair of panties that matched her bra. Isabel knelt before Max, her hands run up and down his thighs. Their breathing became heavier, Max knew what Isabel wanted to do and didn’t stop her as she reached for the front of his pants and undid them. He brought his ass up slightly as Isabel pulled his trousers down, taking his boxers with them. Max’s hard cock twitched at the sudden exposure to the air but all Isabel could do was lick her lips.

Isabel reached out and pressed her palm against the dick she knew all too well at the same time as Max took the side of her head in his palm. Her fingers wrapped around his length and she stroked up and down, her hand was glowing and the sensual energy travelled to Max. Max closed his eyes, while one hand gently held Isabel’s face; the other gripped the fabric of the sofa tightly.

“Oh god ... Isssabel,” Max hissed as she continued her light strokes.

Then Isabel leaned forward and kissed the tip of his cock eliciting a sigh from Max. She licked the length of his dick before taking it into her mouth. As her head bobbed up and down slowly, Isabel began to suck and her tongue twisted and swivelled over Max’s length. Max groaned over and over again as his lover took his entire length into his mouth, her head continued to move up and down, gently sucking on it and sending wave after wave of pleasure into Max.

“I ... Izzzzzz ... oh fuuuuuuuuu...” Max groaned.

Isabel moaned contentedly, the vibrations adding to the sensations already tingling over Max’s erection. He almost didn’t want her to stop but he knew why Isabel started, at least started this session. He knew that Isabel wanted to feel better and that with the death of her parents a part of her went with them. It was that that caused Max to pull Isabel’s head from his lap.

Isabel looked at him questioningly, but he just smiled seductively and took her hands in hers. With gentle indication from Max, Isabel moved back slightly and together she and Max stood up. His hand moved down to her his and Max rotated her around so that she was against the sofa. Without saying anything, Max kissed her softly before sitting her down onto the sofa seat.

This time he ran his hands over her hers thighs, his fingers teasing her naked flesh as he crept up to her panties. He hooked his fingers over the waistband and started to pull them off of her, she rose up and then rested back down to help Max and in seconds both were naked. Max parted her legs and moved in, only breaking eye contact at the last possible second as he kissed his way up her inner thighs.

Isabel brought her legs up and placed them on Max’s shoulders. Soon he reached her sex and licked the length of her lower lips with his tongue. Isabel’s back arched as she gripped the sofa, her nipples became harder as Max continued to work her pussy with his tongue. He ran it over and over her lips in one continuing circle. On every pass he pressed his tongue against her clit.

“Aghhhhhh ... Oh ... ughhhhhhhh...” Isabel moaned to the delight of Max’s ears.

His hands continued to hold her thighs but then one snaked up her body and cupped a large heaving breast. Max played with the nipple; Isabel pressed her chest harder into Max’s grip. Max’s tongue darted in and out of her pussy, going as deep as possible and all the while he was sending his energy into her as she did with him. It increased the fire within her each time he hit the right spots with his power. So long as that was used, neither could resist the other.

Max kept going and going, sending his tongue deep into her and then sucked on her clit. Her body writhed and twisted under his touch until she grabbed hold oh his arms and pulled his body up and away from her cunt. There were beads of sweat on both their foreheads and as soon as their faces were aligned, they kissed each other. Both could feel how close their genitals were to each other.

Max gently eased Isabel onto her back so that they were both on the sofa lengthways. He didn’t move from being between her legs and the stared into each other’s eyes as Isabel reached down between them. She took hold of his hard cock and, working together, they placed it at her wet pussy. Isabel let go and Max sank into her, both opened their mouths and sighed the further he pushed inside.