A Warrior's Legacy — J.E. Thompson

Although the Morroks surpass Humans in both size and strength, for generations they have skulked in deserts and moved among Humans only in secret. They train their children with brutal thoroughness and psychological torment, teaching them both to isolate themselves and to kill without thought. Orestes is one such Human trainee for the first five years of his life. But after he is rescued from the Morrok Facility, Orestes grows up in Warrior Peak, a militaristic society that hasn't been to war in three generations and is reluctant to do so even as the Morroks begin to show themselves in the desert just miles from their home. Even in the midst of impending war, Orestes wrestles with the Morroks' hold over his mind and heart as he struggles to fight without malignity, to lead without tyranny, and to love without inhibition. The Morroks, however, are not as quick to relinquish their hold on Orestes, and the reminders of their training, often written in the blood of others, threaten to ruin him before he can lead the Humans in their last stand to defend the land against the Morroks. http://www.awarriorslegacy.com